Forty Years of Rest - Judges 3:11

In the book of Judges we learned, “when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel, and went out to war: and the LORD delivered Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed against Chushanrishathaim”, and in chapter three and verse eleven of Judges, we learn how, “the land had rest forty years” where we read,

And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

The verse reads, “And the land had rest forty years.” The writer began with the words, “and the land” which means “and the territory, district and region” “had rest” or “was quiet, tranquil and at peace” “forty years” which means “for forty annual sets of days”. The writer shared how the territory of “Israel” was at peace for “forty years” length of time.

The verse goes on to say, “And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.” The writer continued with the words, “and Othniel” whose name means ‘lion of God’ and was the younger brother of Caleb, and husband of Achsah the daughter of Caleb and his own niece; first judge of Israel, who after the death of Joshua, delivered the Israelites from the oppression of Chushanrishathaim” “the son of Kenaz” or “the male offspring and progeny belonging to Kenaz whose name means ‘hunter’ and was a brother of Caleb and father of Othniel” “died” which means “took his last breath, became inanimate and expired”. The writer shared how Jehovah God’s judge of Israel “Othniel” breathed his last breath and expired.

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn how the territory of the people of “Israel” was tranquil and at peace for “forty years” length of time, and afterward, “Othniel” expired. God used “Othniel” to rescue “Israel”, and when he died, his mission was over. In a similar manner, God wants to have a personal relationship with us through His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was raised from the dead after three days. When we yield to Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put His Holy Spirit within us to guide us into all truth and give us the ability to perform our mission in His Kingdom until He calls us to be with Him in Heaven. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8; 2 Timothy 4:7,8) 

Next time we learn how, “the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".

The Spirit of the LORD Came Upon Othniel - Judges 3:10

In the book of Judges we learned how, “the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgot the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves. Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia: and the children of Israel served Chushanrishathaim eight years. And when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother”, and in chapter three and verse ten of Judges, we learn how, “the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel” where we read,

And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel, and went out to war: and the LORD delivered Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed against Chushanrishathaim.

The verse reads, “And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel, and went out to war:” The writer began with the words, “and the Spirit of the LORD” which means “and the mind, courage and vivacity belonging to Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name for the One True God” “came upon him” or “took place, arose and happened to him, Othniel”, “and he judged Israel” which means “and he, Othniel, governed, vindicated and executed judgment over Israel whose name means ‘God prevails’ and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob”, “and went out to war” or “and dispatched, proceeded forth and departed to battle and fighting”. The writer shared how Jehovah God’s “Spirit” descended upon “Othniel”, and he vindicated “Israel” by going forth to battle and fighting. 

The verse continues, “and the LORD delivered Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed against Chushanrishathaim.” The writer added the words, “and the LORD” which means “and Jehovah who is the existing One” “delivered Chushanrishathaim” or “gave, put, set and entrusted Chushanrishathaim whose name means ‘’twice-wicked Chushan” “king of Mesopotamia” which means “the royal ruler and leader belonging to Mesopotamia or Aram or Arameans whose name means ‘exalted’ and was the Syrian or Aramean people” “into his hand” or “over to his, Othniel’s, power, might and strength”; “and his hand prevailed against Chushanrishathaim” which means “and his, Othniel’s, power, might and authority was stronger, more firm and stout in opposition to Chushanrishathaim whose name means ‘twice-wicked Chushan’”. The writer shared how Jehovah gave “Chushanrishathaim” who was the royal ruler belonging to “Mesopotamia” over to “Othniel”, and “Othniel’s” power and might was stronger than “Chushanrishathaim’s”. 

When we consider the words in this verse, we learn how Jehovah God was involved in rescuing “Israel” from “Chushanrishathaim” through “Othniel”. God empowered “Othniel” through His Spirit, and he as the deliverer and judge of “Israel” was able to overpower their foe. God loves the people of “Israel”, and He loves us. When we yield to His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was raised from the dead after three days as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put His Holy Spirit within us to guide us into all truth and empower us to live according to that truth so we are victorious over our foes when they rise up against us. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Romans 8:37)

Next time we learn how, “the land had rest forty years”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".

 

A Deliverer Raised Up - Judges 3:9

In the book of Judges we learned how, “the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgot the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves. Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia: and the children of Israel served Chushanrishathaim eight years”, and in chapter three and verse nine of Judges, we learn, “when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer” where we read,

And when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother.

The verse reads, “And when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, …” The writer began with the words, “and when the children of Israel” which means “and at the time and moment the offspring and progeny belonging to Israel whose name means ‘God prevails” and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob” “cried unto the LORD” or “called out for help to Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name for the One True God”, “the LORD raised up a deliverer” which means “Jehovah, whose name means the existing One, fixed, confirmed and established a liberator, savior and rescuer” “to the children of Israel” or “unto the offspring and progeny belonging to Israel whose name means ‘God prevails’”, “who delivered them” which means “who rescued, saved and preserved them, the children of Israel”. The writer shared how Jehovah God responded to the calling for help by the offspring belonging to “Israel” by establishing one who rescued and saved them. 

The verse goes on to say, “… even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother.” The writer continued with the words, “even Othniel” which means “that same one was Othniel whose name means ‘lion of God’ and the younger brother of Caleb, and husband of Achsah the daughter of Caleb and his own niece; first judge of Israel, who after the death of Joshua, delivered the Israelites from the oppression of Chushanrishathaim” “the son of Kenaz” or “the male offspring and progeny belonging to Kenaz whose name means ‘hunter’ and was a brother of Caleb and father of Othniel”, “Caleb’s younger brother” which means “Caleb’s, whose name means ‘dog’ and was the godly son of Jephunneh and the faithful spy who reported the Promised Land favorably and urged its capture, male sibling who was less old than he”. The writer shared how Jehovah God established “Othniel” who was “Caleb’s” younger brother as a judge over “Israel”.

When we think through the words in this verse, we learn how Jehovah God responded to the call for help from the people of “Israel” by establishing “Caleb’s” younger brother “Othniel” as the “deliverer” and judge over them. God took pity upon the people of “Israel” when they called out for help, and He will do the same with us when we humble ourselves and receive His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was raised from the dead after three days. When we yield to Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put His Holy Spirit within us to guide us into all truth and equip us to live according to that truth whenever we call out to Him for support. (See John 3:16; Isaiah 55:6)

Next time we learn how, “the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".

 

Israel Sold - Judges 3:8

In the book of Judges we learned how, “the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgot the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves”, and in chapter three and verse eight of Judges, we learn how Jehovah God, “sold them into the hand of Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia” where we read,

Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia: and the children of Israel served Chushanrishathaim eight years.

The verse reads, “Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia:” The writer began with the words, “therefore the anger of the LORD” which means “wherefore, then and on this account the wrath that wrinkles the nostrils, nose and countenance belonging to Jehovah who is the existing One and is the proper name of the One True God” “was hot against Israel” or “existed as furious, burning, kindled, incensed and grieved in opposition to Israel whose name means ‘God prevails’ and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob”, “and he sold them” which means “and He, Jehovah God, merchandised and surrendered them, the people of Israel” “into the hand” or “to the power, might, strength and authority” “of Chushanrishathaim”  or  Chushan-rishathaim which means “belonging to Chushanrishathaim whose name means ‘twice-wicked Cushan’ and was a king of Mesopotamia defeated by the judge Othniel the son-in-law of Caleb” “king of Mesopotamia” or “the royal ruler and leader belonging to Mesopotamia or Aram-naharaim whose name means ‘Aram of the two rivers which were the Euphrates and the Tigris”. The writer shared how the people of Israel abandoning their relationship with Jehovah God caused Him to be furious with them, and He delivered them over to “Chushanrishathaim” who was the royal ruler belonging to “Mesopotamia”. 

The verse continues, “and the children of Israel served Chushanrishathaim eight years.” The writer added the words, “and the children of Israel” which means “and the offspring and progeny belonging to Israel whose name means ‘God prevails’” “served Chushanrishathaim” or “labored and worked for Chushanrishathaim whose name means “twice-wicked Chushan” “eight years” which means “eight annual sets of days”. The writer shared how the offspring belonging to Israel worked and labored for “Chushanrishathaim” the royal ruler of “Mesopotamia” for “eight years”.

When we mediate upon the words in this verse, we discover how the forsaking of Jehovah God by the offspring of “Israel” made Him exceedingly wrathful, and He turned them over to the pagan “king of Mesopotamia, Chushanrishathaim”, for eight annual sets of days. We might think that these adverse consequences time after time would be enough to divert this behavior from the people of “Israel”, however, it did not. God wants us to align with Him and His ways because He and they are better for us. When He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raised Him from the dead after three days, He made the way through faith and trust in Him as our personal “Savior and Lord” to be forgiven of our sins, granted everlasting life and to be given His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and empower us to live according to that truth so we avoid all adverse consequences that shall arise because we forsake Him. (See John 3:16; Acts 1:8; Revelation 4:11) 

Next time we learn, “when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer” among pagan people, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".

 

Forgetting the LORD and Serving Baalim - Judges 3:7

In the book of Judges we learned how, “the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites. And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods” and in chapter three and verse seven of Judges, we learn how, the people of Israel, “forgot the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves” where we read,

And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, 

and forgot the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves.

The verse reads, “And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, …” The writer began with the words, “and the children of Israel” which means “and the offspring and progeny belonging to Israel whose name means ‘God prevails’ and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob” “did evil in the sight of the LORD” or “performed and produced bad, malignancy, disagreeableness and wickedness within the vision and presence belonging to Jehovah who is the existing One and is the proper name for the One True God”. The writer shared how the offspring belonging to “Israel” performed bad and wickedness within the presence of Jehovah God. 

The verse goes on to say, “… and forgot the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves.” The writer continued with the words, “and forgot the LORD” which means “and ignored, withered away from and ceased to care for Jehovah who is the existing One and is the proper name of the One True God” “their God” or “their, the children of Israel’s, Supreme Deity”, “and served Baalim” which means “and labored, worshiped and worked for Baalim whose name means ‘lord’ and was the supreme male divinity of the Phoenicians or Canaanites” “and the groves” or “and the sacred trees and poles set up near an altar for idol worship”. The writer shared how the “children of Israel” ignored and ceased to care for Jehovah God and instead worshiped and labored for “Baalim” within the idol worshiping sacred tree altars.

When we consider the words in this verse, we learn how the offspring of “Israel” once again forsook Jehovah God and went after pagan deities. Not only did they ignore and cease to care for God, but they also began to worship and serve “Baalim” at “altars” set within pagan worship locations. God knew this would only serve to harm the people of Israel, and for this reason His wrath was set fast against them. God wants us to worship and serve Him and Him alone through His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of the world and was resurrected from the dead after three days. When we yield to Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put His Holy Spirit within us to guide us into all truth and equip us to live according to that truth so we never abandon or forsake Jehovah God for some other deity or within a place of worship that is an abomination to Him. (See Matthew 6:33; John 3:16; Revelation 21:27)

Next time we learn how Jehovah God, “sold them into the hand of Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".

Marrying Pagan Daughters and Sons - Judges 3:6

In the book of Judges we learned how, “the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites” and in chapter three and verse six of Judges, we learn how, “they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods” among pagan people where we read,

And they took their daughters to be their wives, 

and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

The verse reads, “And they took their daughters to be their wives, …” The writer began with the words, “and they took their daughters” which means “and they, the people of Israel, fetched, lay hold of, seized and acquired their, the pagan nations’, female offspring and progeny” “to be their wives” or “to exist as their, the people of Israel’s, female spouses”. The writer shared how the men of Israel acquired the female offspring of the pagan nations to exist as their spouses. 

The verse continues, “… and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.” The writer added the words, “and gave their daughters” which means “and granted, bestowed and assigned their, the people of Israel’s, female offspring and progeny” “to their sons” or “to their, the pagan nations’, male offspring and progeny”, “and served their gods” which means “and worshiped and labored for their, the pagan nations’s, deities”. The writer shared how the people of Israel granted their female offspring to the pagan nations’ male offspring, and the people of Israel worshiped and labored for their deities. 

When we think through the words in this verse, we discover how the people of Israel became fully engaged and involved with the pagan nations who lived among them. They intermarried with them, and they worshiped and labored for their deities. We can imagine how much this angered Jehovah God. Rather than serving Jehovah God who delivered the promise land into their hands, they “served” deities that did nothing for them. This is the temptation of the world. God wants to be first in our lives, (See Matthew 6:33) and when we receive His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was resurrected from the dead after three days as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and give us His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and empower us to live according to that truth without “serving” and worshiping the “gods” of this world. (See John 3:16; Romans 12:2)

Next time we learn how the people of Israel, “forgot the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves” among pagan people, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".

 

Dwelling Among Pagan People - Judges 3:5

In the book of Judges we learned how pagan nations were left among the people of Israel, “to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would hearken unto the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses” and in chapter three and verse five of Judges, we learn how, “the children of Israel dwelt” among pagan people where we read,

And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, 

Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites:

The verse reads, “And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, …” The writer began with the words, “and the children of Israel” which means “and the offspring and progeny belonging to Israel whose name means ‘God prevails” and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob” “dwelt among the Canaanites” or “lived, abided and were inhabitants in the midst and middle of the Canaanites whose name means ‘zealous or lowland’ and were the descendants of Cana”. The writer shared how the offspring belonging to “Israel” lived in the midst of the people of “Canaan”. 

The verse goes on to say, “… Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites:” The writer added the word, “Hittites” whose name means ‘descendant of Heth or terror’ and was the nation who descended from Heth, the second son of Canaan; once inhabitants of central Anatolia (modern Turkey), later in north Lebanon”, “and Amorites” whose name means ‘a sayer’ and was one of the peoples of east Canaan and beyond the Jordan, dispossessed by the Israelite incursion from Egypt”, “and Perizzites” whose name means ‘belonging to a village’ and was a people who inhabited southern Canaan prior to the conquest”, “and Hivites” whose name means ‘villagers’ and was the sixth generation of descendants of Canaan, the son of Ham, who were living in northern Canaan near Mount Hermon at the time of the conquest ”, “and Jebusites” whose name means ‘threshing place’ and were the descendants of Jebus and an early name for Jerusalem also known as Jebusi”. The writer shared how the “Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites” were also among the pagan nations that were left within the promise land among the people of “Israel” to test their faithfulness and obedience to Jehovah God. 

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn about more of the people groups who were allowed to remain among the people of Israel. The “Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites” were all in the promise land when the people of Israel crossed the Jordan River. God wanted Israel to destroy all of them, but they did not obey Him. They rather allowed them to stay and followed after their deities. This angered Jehovah God, and He permitted them to remain in the land to test the people of Israel’s commitment and adherence to God’s words. God knows what is best for all people, and because He knows “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God”, (See Romans 3:23) He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raised Him from the dead after three days. When we yield to Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and equip us with His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and empower us to live according to that truth so that our lives align with His ways to live in this world. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8; Revelation 4:11)  

Next time we learn how the people of Israel, “took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods” among pagan people, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".