Thursday, May 19, 2022

Bible in one year 5/18/2022 Judges 4-9 Gideon’s Deliverance By Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

 Bible in one year 5/18/2022 Judges 4-9

By Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

Christian Arts Ministries: Biblical precepts & Gospel music; Pastoral ministry & Counseling 


Judge 4 Canaanite Oppression and Deliverance by Deborah and Barak

            This Jabin ruled about a century later than the one mentioned in Josh. 11. Hazor, the most important stronghold in northern Canaan, was four miles SW. of Lake Huleh on a principal trade route. The Kishon River.(v.7). A stream that flows through the valley of Jezreel. Aparenthetical note introducing the family of Jael(v.17; 1:16). Verse 15, according to 5:21 the Lord sent rain that flooded the stream and valley, neutralizing the chariots. A similar thing happened when Napolean defeated the Turks in the same place in A.D. 1799. Verse 21 Cf.5:26 for more details. The mallet and tent peg were easily accessible, since pitching a tent was the woman’s job.

Judge Chapter 5 Deborah’s song

            This chapter contains the postic version of the prose account of chapter 4. Shamgar.(v.6)(3:31). Because the Canaanites controlled the roads, the Israelites had to use other routes. Israel turned to idolatry and was unarmed.(v.8). Reuben, Gilead, Dan, and Asher refused to join in the battle against Sisera.(vv.15-17). A reference to the cloudburst God sent. Verse22 Apparently the hooves of the horses stamped the ground in their effort to escape the flood of water. Verse 23 the town of Meroz did not help the Israelites and was cursed for it. The scene shifts to Sisera’s home. His mother’s concern is abated by the assurance that the delay in Sisera’s return was caused by the dividing of the spoils. (vv.28-30)

Judge Chapter 6 Midianite Oppression and Gideon’s Deliverance

            The Midianites. (v.1) refer to Ex.2:15 and Num.31:2. Amalekites(v.3). The other eastern peoples included other nomads from the Syrian desert region. The use of camels made long distance raids possible.(v.5).  the angel of the Lord(v.11). Another theophany(2:1; Gen.16:9) Abiezer was a son of Manasseh(Josh.17:2) Gideon’s threshing wheat in a wine press was an act of desperation, lest the Midianites discover and seize even the small amount that could be threshed that way. Fire(v.21). The sign of divine acceptance of Gideon’s offering(Lev.9:24). The wood of the Asherah pole.(v.26). So deep was their commitment to idolatry that these men were eager to kill the one who destroyed Baal’s altar (v.30). Joash’s logic is irrefutable: a god who can’t save himself is not worth worshiping. (v.31). Jerub-Baal (v.32) The meaning is let Baal contend”. Jezreel (v.33) is the eastern part of the plain of Megiddo, an historic battleground in the heart of Palestine. Here it is said that the Spirit literally clothed Gideon. (3:10). Gideon evidently realized that the previous sign may not have been a sign at all (v.38), since the ground would naturally have dried before the fleece. (v.39).Fleece.Shorn wool.

Judge 7 Gideon’s conquests

            The well-know Mount Gilead is E. of the Jordan. This may be another one, otherwise unmentioned; or perhaps leave should be translated “go toward.” (v.3). Like a dog (v.5) Evidently the three hundred used their hands to bring the water to their mouths, while standing upright, just as a dog uses his tongue to bring the water to his mouth. This proved them to be watchful and alert in contrast to those who knelt. Trumpets(v.16). Ram’s horns. Jars. Earthenware vessels in which the provisions mentioned in verse 8 were possibly carried. The beginning of the middle watch(v.19). About 10 p.m the smashing of the jars not only made noise but allowed the lights to be seen suddenly.

Judge 8 The Ephraimites complained that they had not been in on the initial rout of the Midianites.

            The Ephraimites complained that they had not been in one the initial rout of the Midianites. Gideon’s soft answer, reminding them that they had captured two Midianite chiefs(7:24-25) calmed them. Succoth was E. of the Jordan and N.of the Jabbok River (vv.5-6). The residents did not wish to take a chance helping Gideon until they were certain that he had captured the Midianite chiefs. Peniel(v.8) was four miles E. of Succoth. These people also tried to remain neutral. (Gen.32:30). Gideon had the leaders of Succoth dragged over thorns, which probably resulted in their deaths.(v.16). For Jether to have performed the execution would have been an honor for the boy and greater humiliation for those to be slain. (v.20). The ornaments were worn as amulets (Isa.3:18) (v.21). Ishmaelites.(v.24).A term for nomadic traders, which the Midianites were (Gen.37:25). This was at least 350 ounces of gold, more if the reference is to the “heavy” shekel.(v.26). The form of the ephod is not known, but clearly it became an object of idolatrous worship.(v.27).

Judges chapter 9 Abimelech’s Tyranny

            Though Gideon declined to start a dynasty, Abimelech (his son by a concubine from Sheshem) had other ideas. He appealed to his family ties in Shechem, received silver from the idol temple treasury, killed all but one of Gideon’s other sons, and was made king. On one stone(v.5) implies that the execution was public. By his standing on a lower slope of Mt. Gerizim overlooking Shechem, Jotham’s parable could be heard by the people of Shechem.(v.7). The point of Jotham’s warning is simply that Abimelech, like a bramble, could offer no real security to the people of Shechem, instead, he would be both the cause and the means of their destruction (vv.42-49,57). Beer means “well” (v.21). An evil spirit (v.23). A demon, as also in 1 Sam.16:14 and 2 Cor.12:7)(v.23). Gaal appealed to the people to restore the ancient Shechemite aristocracy ( regarding Hamore, (Gen.34:25-29),hinting that he himself would be a good man to lead them.(vv.28-29). Scattered salt over it.(v.45). A symbolic ritual, with obvious direct effects that condemned the land to desolation. Later, Shechem was rebuilt by Jeroboam(1Kings 12:25). The tower(v.46), apparently a stronghold outside the city. The nearby temple of Baal, to which the men of the tower fled, was burned down by Abimelech and his men(v.49). A woman dropped an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head and bracked his skull, Abimelech wanted to avoid the disgrace of dying at the hands of a woman(v.54). so he called his armor-bearer to draw the sword and killed him. Thus God repaid the wickedness that Abimelech had done to his father by murdering his seventy brothers. (v.56).

 --------------------------------------------

Old Testament (NIV) Judges Chapter 4 -9

Chapter 4 Deborah

4:1 After Ehud died, the Israelites once again did evil in the eyes of the LORD.

4:2 So the LORD sold them into the hands of Jabin, a king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth Haggoyim.

4:3 Because he had nine hundred iron chariots and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the LORD for help.

4:4 Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time.

4:5 She held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites came to her to have their disputes decided.

4:6 She sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, "The LORD, the God of Israel, commands you: 'Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead the way to Mount Tabor.

4:7 I will lure Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River and give him into your hands.'"

4:8 Barak said to her, "If you go with me, I will go; but if you don't go with me, I won't go."

4:9 "Very well," Deborah said, "I will go with you. But because of the way you are going about this, the honor will not be yours, for the LORD will hand Sisera over to a woman." So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh,

4:10 where he summoned Zebulun and Naphtali. Ten thousand men followed him, and Deborah also went with him.

4:11 Now Heber the Kenite had left the other Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, Moses' brother-in-law, and pitched his tent by the great tree in Zaanannim near Kedesh.

4:12 When they told Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor,

4:13 Sisera gathered together his nine hundred iron chariots and all the men with him, from Harosheth Haggoyim to the Kishon River.

4:14 Then Deborah said to Barak, "Go! This is the day the LORD has given Sisera into your hands. Has not the LORD gone ahead of you?" So Barak went down Mount Tabor, followed by ten thousand men.

4:15 At Barak's advance, the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and army by the sword, and Sisera abandoned his chariot and fled on foot.

4:16 But Barak pursued the chariots and army as far as Harosheth Haggoyim. All the troops of Sisera fell by the sword; not a man was left.

4:17 Sisera, however, fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there were friendly relations between Jabin king of Hazor and the clan of Heber the Kenite.

4:18 Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, "Come, my lord, come right in. Don't be afraid." So he entered her tent, and she put a covering over him.

4:19 "I'm thirsty," he said. "Please give me some water." She opened a skin of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him up.

4:20 "Stand in the doorway of the tent," he told her. "If someone comes by and asks you, 'Is anyone here?' say 'No.'"

4:21 But Jael, Heber's wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died.

4:22 Barak came by in pursuit of Sisera, and Jael went out to meet him. "Come," she said, "I will show you the man you're looking for." So he went in with her, and there lay Sisera with the tent peg through his temple--dead.

4:23 On that day God subdued Jabin, the Canaanite king, before the Israelites.

4:24 And the hand of the Israelites grew stronger and stronger against Jabin, the Canaanite king, until they destroyed him.

 

Chapter 5 The Song of Deborah

5:1 On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song:

5:2 "When the princes in Israel take the lead, when the people willingly offer themselves--praise the LORD!

5:3 "Hear this, you kings! Listen, you rulers! I will sing to the LORD, I will sing; I will make music to the LORD, the God of Israel.

5:4 "O LORD, when you went out from Seir, when you marched from the land of Edom, the earth shook, the heavens poured, the clouds poured down water.

5:5 The mountains quaked before the LORD, the One of Sinai, before the LORD, the God of Israel.

5:6 "In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the roads were abandoned; travelers took to winding paths.

5:7 Village life in Israel ceased, ceased until I, Deborah, arose, arose a mother in Israel.

5:8 When they chose new gods, war came to the city gates, and not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel.

5:9 My heart is with Israel's princes, with the willing volunteers among the people. Praise the LORD!

5:10 "You who ride on white donkeys, sitting on your saddle blankets, and you who walk along the road, consider

5:11 the voice of the singers at the watering places. They recite the righteous acts of the LORD, the righteous acts of his warriors in Israel. "Then the people of the LORD went down to the city gates.

5:12 'Wake up, wake up, Deborah! Wake up, wake up, break out in song! Arise, O Barak! Take captive your captives, O son of Abinoam.'

5:13 "Then the men who were left came down to the nobles; the people of the LORD came to me with the mighty.

5:14 Some came from Ephraim, whose roots were in Amalek; Benjamin was with the people who followed you. From Makir captains came down, from Zebulun those who bear a commander's staff.

5:15 The princes of Issachar were with Deborah; yes, Issachar was with Barak, rushing after him into the valley. In the districts of Reuben there was much searching of heart.

5:16 Why did you stay among the campfires to hear the whistling for the flocks? In the districts of Reuben there was much searching of heart.

5:17 Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan. And Dan, why did he linger by the ships? Asher remained on the coast and stayed in his coves.

5:18 The people of Zebulun risked their very lives; so did Naphtali on the heights of the field.

5:19 "Kings came, they fought; the kings of Canaan fought at Taanach by the waters of Megiddo, but they carried off no silver, no plunder.

5:20 From the heavens the stars fought, from their courses they fought against Sisera.

5:21 The river Kishon swept them away, the age-old river, the river Kishon. March on, my soul; be strong!

5:22 Then thundered the horses' hoofs--galloping, galloping go his mighty steeds.

5:23 'Curse Meroz,' said the angel of the LORD. 'Curse its people bitterly, because they did not come to help the LORD, to help the LORD against the mighty.'

5:24 "Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, most blessed of tent-dwelling women.

5:25 He asked for water, and she gave him milk; in a bowl fit for nobles she brought him curdled milk.

5:26 Her hand reached for the tent peg, her right hand for the workman's hammer. She struck Sisera, she crushed his head, she shattered and pierced his temple.

5:27 At her feet he sank, he fell; there he lay. At her feet he sank, he fell; where he sank, there he fell--dead.

5:28 "Through the window peered Sisera's mother; behind the lattice she cried out, 'Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why is the clatter of his chariots delayed?'

5:29 The wisest of her ladies answer her; indeed, she keeps saying to herself,

5:30 'Are they not finding and dividing the spoils: a girl or two for each man, colorful garments as plunder for Sisera, colorful garments embroidered, highly embroidered garments for my neck--all this as plunder?'

5:31 "So may all your enemies perish, O LORD! But may they who love you be like the sun when it rises in its strength." Then the land had peace forty years.

 

Chapter 6 Gideon

6:1 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites.

6:2 Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds.

6:3 Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country.

6:4 They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys.

6:5 They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count the men and their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it.

6:6 Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the LORD for help.

6:7 When the Israelites cried to the LORD because of Midian,

6:8 he sent them a prophet, who said, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

6:9 I snatched you from the power of Egypt and from the hand of all your oppressors. I drove them from before you and gave you their land.

6:10 I said to you, 'I am the LORD your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.' But you have not listened to me."

6:11 The angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites.

6:12 When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior."

6:13 "But sir," Gideon replied, "if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, 'Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian."

6:14 The LORD turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?"

6:15 "But Lord," Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."

6:16 The LORD answered, "I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together."

6:17 Gideon replied, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me.

6:18 Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you." And the LORD said, "I will wait until you return."

6:19 Gideon went in, prepared a young goat, and from an ephah of flour he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought them out and offered them to him under the oak.

6:20 The angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth." And Gideon did so.

6:21 With the tip of the staff that was in his hand, the angel of the LORD touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the LORD disappeared.

6:22 When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the LORD, he exclaimed, "Ah, Sovereign LORD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!"

6:23 But the LORD said to him, "Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die."

6:24 So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

6:25 That same night the LORD said to him, "Take the second bull from your father's herd, the one seven years old. Tear down your father's altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.

6:26 Then build a proper kind of altar to the LORD your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second bull as a burnt offering."

6:27 So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the men of the town, he did it at night rather than in the daytime.

6:28 In the morning when the men of the town got up, there was Baal's altar, demolished, with the Asherah pole beside it cut down and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built altar!

6:29 They asked each other, "Who did this?" When they carefully investigated, they were told, "Gideon son of Joash did it."

6:30 The men of the town demanded of Joash, "Bring out your son. He must die, because he has broken down Baal's altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it."

6:31 But Joash replied to the hostile crowd around him, "Are you going to plead Baal's cause? Are you trying to save him? Whoever fights for him shall be put to death by morning! If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar."

6:32 So that day they called Gideon "Jerub-Baal," saying, "Let Baal contend with him," because he broke down Baal's altar.

6:33 Now all the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples joined forces and crossed over the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.

6:34 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him.

6:35 He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, calling them to arms, and also into Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, so that they too went up to meet them.

6:36 Gideon said to God, "If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised--

6:37 look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said."

6:38 And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew--a bowlful of water.

6:39 Then Gideon said to God, "Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece. This time make the fleece dry and the ground covered with dew."

6:40 That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.

 

Chapter 7 Gideon Defeats the Midianites

7:1 Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh.

7:2 The LORD said to Gideon, "You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her,

7:3 announce now to the people, 'Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.'" So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.

7:4 But the LORD said to Gideon, "There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say, 'This one shall go with you,' he shall go; but if I say, 'This one shall not go with you,' he shall not go."

7:5 So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the LORD told him, "Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink."

7:6 Three hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.

7:7 The LORD said to Gideon, "With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the other men go, each to his own place."

7:8 So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites to their tents but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others. Now the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley.

7:9 During that night the LORD said to Gideon, "Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands.

7:10 If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah

7:11 and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp." So he and Purah his servant went down to the outposts of the camp.

7:12 The Midianites, the Amalekites and all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley, thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore.

7:13 Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream. "I had a dream," he was saying. "A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed."

7:14 His friend responded, "This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands."

7:15 When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped God. He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, "Get up! The LORD has given the Midianite camp into your hands."

7:16 Dividing the three hundred men into three companies, he placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them, with torches inside.

7:17 "Watch me," he told them. "Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do.

7:18 When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, 'For the LORD and for Gideon.'"

7:19 Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands.

7:20 The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, "A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!"

7:21 While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled.

7:22 When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the LORD caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. The army fled to Beth Shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath.

7:23 Israelites from Naphtali, Asher and all Manasseh were called out, and they pursued the Midianites.

7:24 Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, saying, "Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of them as far as Beth Barah." So all the men of Ephraim were called out and they took the waters of the Jordan as far as Beth Barah.

7:25 They also captured two of the Midianite leaders, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued the Midianites and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was by the Jordan.

 

Chapter 8 Zebah and Zalmunna

8:1 Now the Ephraimites asked Gideon, "Why have you treated us like this? Why didn't you call us when you went to fight Midian?" And they criticized him sharply.

8:2 But he answered them, "What have I accomplished compared to you? Aren't the gleanings of Ephraim's grapes better than the full grape harvest of Abiezer?

8:3 God gave Oreb and Zeeb, the Midianite leaders, into your hands. What was I able to do compared to you?" At this, their resentment against him subsided.

8:4 Gideon and his three hundred men, exhausted yet keeping up the pursuit, came to the Jordan and crossed it.

8:5 He said to the men of Succoth, "Give my troops some bread; they are worn out, and I am still pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian."

8:6 But the officials of Succoth said, "Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your troops?"

8:7 Then Gideon replied, "Just for that, when the LORD has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will tear your flesh with desert thorns and briers."

8:8 From there he went up to Peniel and made the same request of them, but they answered as the men of Succoth had.

8:9 So he said to the men of Peniel, "When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower."

8:10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with a force of about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of the armies of the eastern peoples; a hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had fallen.

8:11 Gideon went up by the route of the nomads east of Nobah and Jogbehah and fell upon the unsuspecting army.

8:12 Zebah and Zalmunna, the two kings of Midian, fled, but he pursued them and captured them, routing their entire army.

8:13 Gideon son of Joash then returned from the battle by the Pass of Heres.

8:14 He caught a young man of Succoth and questioned him, and the young man wrote down for him the names of the seventy-seven officials of Succoth, the elders of the town.

8:15 Then Gideon came and said to the men of Succoth, "Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me by saying, 'Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your exhausted men?'"

8:16 He took the elders of the town and taught the men of Succoth a lesson by punishing them with desert thorns and briers.

8:17 He also pulled down the tower of Peniel and killed the men of the town.

8:18 Then he asked Zebah and Zalmunna, "What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?" "Men like you," they answered, "each one with the bearing of a prince."

8:19 Gideon replied, "Those were my brothers, the sons of my own mother. As surely as the LORD lives, if you had spared their lives, I would not kill you."

8:20 Turning to Jether, his oldest son, he said, "Kill them!" But Jether did not draw his sword, because he was only a boy and was afraid.

8:21 Zebah and Zalmunna said, "Come, do it yourself. 'As is the man, so is his strength.'" So Gideon stepped forward and killed them, and took the ornaments off their camels' necks.

Gideon’s Ephod

8:22 The Israelites said to Gideon, "Rule over us--you, your son and your grandson--because you have saved us out of the hand of Midian."

8:23 But Gideon told them, "I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The LORD will rule over you."

8:24 And he said, "I do have one request, that each of you give me an earring from your share of the plunder." (It was the custom of the Ishmaelites to wear gold earrings.)

8:25 They answered, "We'll be glad to give them." So they spread out a garment, and each man threw a ring from his plunder onto it.

8:26 The weight of the gold rings he asked for came to seventeen hundred shekels, not counting the ornaments, the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian or the chains that were on their camels' necks.

8:27 Gideon made the gold into an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family.

Gideon’s Death

8:28 Thus Midian was subdued before the Israelites and did not raise its head again. During Gideon's lifetime, the land enjoyed peace forty years.

8:29 Jerub-Baal son of Joash went back home to live.

8:30 He had seventy sons of his own, for he had many wives.

8:31 His concubine, who lived in Shechem, also bore him a son, whom he named Abimelech.

8:32 Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

8:33 No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They set up Baal-Berith as their god and

8:34 did not remember the LORD their God, who had rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on every side.

8:35 They also failed to show kindness to the family of Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) for all the good things he had done for them.

 

Chapter 9 Abimelek

9:1 Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal went to his mother's brothers in Shechem and said to them and to all his mother's clan,

9:2 "Ask all the citizens of Shechem, 'Which is better for you: to have all seventy of Jerub-Baal's sons rule over you, or just one man?' Remember, I am your flesh and blood."

9:3 When the brothers repeated all this to the citizens of Shechem, they were inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, "He is our brother."

9:4 They gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-Berith, and Abimelech used it to hire reckless adventurers, who became his followers.

9:5 He went to his father's home in Ophrah and on one stone murdered his seventy brothers, the sons of Jerub-Baal. But Jotham, the youngest son of Jerub-Baal, escaped by hiding.

9:6 Then all the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo gathered beside the great tree at the pillar in Shechem to crown Abimelech king.

9:7 When Jotham was told about this, he climbed up on the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted to them, "Listen to me, citizens of Shechem, so that God may listen to you.

9:8 One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, 'Be our king.'

9:9 "But the olive tree answered, 'Should I give up my oil, by which both gods and men are honored, to hold sway over the trees?'

9:10 "Next, the trees said to the fig tree, 'Come and be our king.'

9:11 "But the fig tree replied, 'Should I give up my fruit, so good and sweet, to hold sway over the trees?'

9:12 "Then the trees said to the vine, 'Come and be our king.'

9:13 "But the vine answered, 'Should I give up my wine, which cheers both gods and men, to hold sway over the trees?'

9:14 "Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, 'Come and be our king.'

9:15 "The thornbush said to the trees, 'If you really want to anoint me king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, then let fire come out of the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!'

9:16 "Now if you have acted honorably and in good faith when you made Abimelech king, and if you have been fair to Jerub-Baal and his family, and if you have treated him as he deserves--

9:17 and to think that my father fought for you, risked his life to rescue you from the hand of Midian

9:18 (but today you have revolted against my father's family, murdered his seventy sons on a single stone, and made Abimelech, the son of his slave girl, king over the citizens of Shechem because he is your brother)--

9:19 if then you have acted honorably and in good faith toward Jerub-Baal and his family today, may Abimelech be your joy, and may you be his, too!

9:20 But if you have not, let fire come out from Abimelech and consume you, citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and let fire come out from you, citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and consume Abimelech!"

9:21 Then Jotham fled, escaping to Beer, and he lived there because he was afraid of his brother Abimelech.

9:22 After Abimelech had governed Israel three years,

9:23 God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem, who acted treacherously against Abimelech.

9:24 God did this in order that the crime against Jerub-Baal's seventy sons, the shedding of their blood, might be avenged on their brother Abimelech and on the citizens of Shechem, who had helped him murder his brothers.

9:25 In opposition to him these citizens of Shechem set men on the hilltops to ambush and rob everyone who passed by, and this was reported to Abimelech.

9:26 Now Gaal son of Ebed moved with his brothers into Shechem, and its citizens put their confidence in him.

9:27 After they had gone out into the fields and gathered the grapes and trodden them, they held a festival in the temple of their god. While they were eating and drinking, they cursed Abimelech.

9:28 Then Gaal son of Ebed said, "Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should be subject to him? Isn't he Jerub-Baal's son, and isn't Zebul his deputy? Serve the men of Hamor, Shechem's father! Why should we serve Abimelech?

9:29 If only this people were under my command! Then I would get rid of him. I would say to Abimelech, 'Call out your whole army!'"

9:30 When Zebul the governor of the city heard what Gaal son of Ebed said, he was very angry.

9:31 Under cover he sent messengers to Abimelech, saying, "Gaal son of Ebed and his brothers have come to Shechem and are stirring up the city against you.

9:32 Now then, during the night you and your men should come and lie in wait in the fields.

9:33 In the morning at sunrise, advance against the city. When Gaal and his men come out against you, do whatever your hand finds to do."

9:34 So Abimelech and all his troops set out by night and took up concealed positions near Shechem in four companies.

9:35 Now Gaal son of Ebed had gone out and was standing at the entrance to the city gate just as Abimelech and his soldiers came out from their hiding place.

9:36 When Gaal saw them, he said to Zebul, "Look, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains!" Zebul replied, "You mistake the shadows of the mountains for men."

9:37 But Gaal spoke up again: "Look, people are coming down from the center of the land, and a company is coming from the direction of the soothsayers' tree."

9:38 Then Zebul said to him, "Where is your big talk now, you who said, 'Who is Abimelech that we should be subject to him?' Aren't these the men you ridiculed? Go out and fight them!"

9:39 So Gaal led out the citizens of Shechem and fought Abimelech.

9:40 Abimelech chased him, and many fell wounded in the flight--all the way to the entrance to the gate.

9:41 Abimelech stayed in Arumah, and Zebul drove Gaal and his brothers out of Shechem.

9:42 The next day the people of Shechem went out to the fields, and this was reported to Abimelech.

9:43 So he took his men, divided them into three companies and set an ambush in the fields. When he saw the people coming out of the city, he rose to attack them.

9:44 Abimelech and the companies with him rushed forward to a position at the entrance to the city gate. Then two companies rushed upon those in the fields and struck them down.

9:45 All that day Abimelech pressed his attack against the city until he had captured it and killed its people. Then he destroyed the city and scattered salt over it.

9:46 On hearing this, the citizens in the tower of Shechem went into the stronghold of the temple of El-Berith.

9:47 When Abimelech heard that they had assembled there,

9:48 he and all his men went up Mount Zalmon. He took an ax and cut off some branches, which he lifted to his shoulders. He ordered the men with him, "Quick! Do what you have seen me do!"

9:49 So all the men cut branches and followed Abimelech. They piled them against the stronghold and set it on fire over the people inside. So all the people in the tower of Shechem, about a thousand men and women, also died.

9:50 Next Abimelech went to Thebez and besieged it and captured it.

9:51 Inside the city, however, was a strong tower, to which all the men and women--all the people of the city--fled. They locked themselves in and climbed up on the tower roof.

9:52 Abimelech went to the tower and stormed it. But as he approached the entrance to the tower to set it on fire,

9:53 a woman dropped an upper millstone on his head and cracked his skull.

9:54 Hurriedly he called to his armor-bearer, "Draw your sword and kill me, so that they can't say, 'A woman killed him.'" So his servant ran him through, and he died.

9:55 When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they went home.

9:56 Thus God repaid the wickedness that Abimelech had done to his father by murdering his seventy brothers.

9:57 God also made the men of Shechem pay for all their wickedness. The curse of Jotham son of Jerub-Baal came on them.

 

Bibliography,

 

Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie study Bible (NIV).Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986

No comments:

Post a Comment