The LORD was Hot Against Israel - Judges 2:14

In the book of Judges we learned about Israel how, “they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger. And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth”, and in chapter two and verse fourteen of Judges, we learn how, “the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel”, where we read,

And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.

The verse reads, “And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, …” The writer began with the words, “and the anger of the LORD” which means “and the wrath that wrinkles the nostrils, nose and countenance belonging to Jehovah who is the existing One and is the proper name for the One True God” “was hot against Israel” or “existed as furious, burning, kindled and incensed 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 delivered them” which means “and he, Jehovah God, gave, granted, bestowed and assigned them, the people of Israel” “into the hands of spoilers” or “into the power, might and authority belonging to the plunderers and robbers” “that spoiled them” which means “who plundered and robbed them, the people of Israel”. The writer shared how the heated wrath of Jehovah God was in opposition to “Israel”, and He granted and assigned them to robbers and thieves who stole from them.

The verse continues, “… and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.” The writer added the words, “and he sold them into the hands” which means “and he, Jehovah God, merchandised and surrendered them, the people of Israel, into the power, might and authority” “of their enemies round about” or “belonging to their, the people of Israel’s, hating foes and adversaries who encircled and surrounded them”, “so that they could not any longer stand” which means “which caused Israel to be unable to remain, endure and continue” “before their enemies” or “in front and in the presence of their hating foes and adversaries” The writer shared how Jehovah God surrendered the people of Israel into the power and might of their hating foes who surrounded them, and this prevented them from remaining in front and in the presence of their hating adversaries. 

When we think through the words in this verse, we learn about the consequences Israel suffered because they “forsook” their relationship with Jehovah God. When the people of Israel worshiped and labored for other gods, God’s heated wrath was in opposition to them, and He granted and assigned them to people who hated them and were their foes. This was not the way it was to be, and this is not the way God wants for us. God loves us, and when we make Him first in our lives through His Son Jesus who was crucified on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raised from the dead after three days, 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 never have need to be assigned to our “enemies” because we have forsaken Him. (See John 3:16; Matthew 6:33; Hebrews 13:5)

Next time we learn, “whithersoever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil”, 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".

 

Forsaking the LORD for Baal - Judges 2:13

In the book of Judges we learned about Israel how, “they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger”, and in chapter two and verse thirteen of Judges, we learn how Israel, “forsook the LORD, and served Baal”, where we read,

And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.

The verse reads, “And they forsook the LORD, …” The writer began with the words, “and they forsook” which means “and they, the people of Israel, left, let loose of, abandoned and neglected” “the LORD” or “Jehovah who is the existing One and is the proper name of the One True God”. The writer reemphasized how the people of Israel abandoned Jehovah God. 

The verse goes on to say, “… and served Baal and Ashtaroth.” The writer continued with the words, “and served Baal” which means “and worshiped, labored and worked for Baal whose name means ‘lord’ and was the supreme male divinity of the Phoenicians or Canaanites” “and Ashtaroth” or Astaroth whose name means “star” and were “the false goddesses in the Canaanite religion, usually related to fertility cult.” The writer shared how the people of Israel abandoned their relationship with Jehovah God to worship and serve “Baal and Ashtaroth”. 

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn how the people of Israel left their personal relationship with Jehovah God to serve “Baal and Ashtaroth” instead. These pagan deities were among the group of gods that Jehovah told them would be like traps and snares, and now, they fell into their trappings. God knows what is best for us, and when we have a personal intimate relationship with Him through His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was raised from the dead after three days, 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 resist all other gods and their trappings to continue in worship and fellowship of Him. (See John 3:16; 15:5; Jude 1:21)

Next time we learn how, “the anger of the LORD was hot against 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 Forsaking the LORD - Judges 2:12

In the book of Judges we learned how, “the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim”, and in chapter two and verse twelve of Judges, we learn how Israel, “forsook the LORD God of their fathers”, where we read,

And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.

The verse reads, “And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, …” The writer began with the words, “and they forsook the LORD God” which means “and they, the people of Israel, left, let loose of, abandoned and neglected Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name for the One True God and Supreme Deity” “of their fathers” or “belonging to their, the people of Israel’s, male progenitors and ancestors”, “which brought them” which means “who carried and led them, the people of Israel” “out of the land of Egypt” or “from the territory, region and country belonging to Egypt whose name means ‘land of the Copts’ and is a country at the northeastern section of Africa, adjacent to Palestine, and through which the Nile flows”. The writer shared how the people of Israel abandoned their relationship with Jehovah God who was their male progenitors’ Supreme Deity and the One who led them away from the country of “Egypt”.  

The verse continues, “… and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.” The writer added the words, “and followed other gods” which means “and proceeded, lived and walked after alternate deities” “of the people” or “belonging to the human beings” “that were round about them” which means “who encircled and surrounded them, the people of Israel”, “and bowed themselves unto them” or “and prostrated, crushed, humbly reverenced and stooped their own selves to them, the other deities”, “and provoked the LORD” which means “and vexed, sorrowed and grieved Jehovah who is the existing One and is the proper name for the One True God” “to anger” or “to indignant, wrath and rage” . The writer shared how the people of Israel proceeded after pagan deities which were worshiped by the people surrounding them, and they stooped down and prostrated their own selves to them as well. This caused Jehovah God to be grieved and vexed to indignant rage. 

When we consider the words in this verse, we learn how this “generation” who did not know Jehovah God nor the works He performed among the people of Israel began to bow down to, worship and serve the pagan deities of the people who surrounded them. This infuriated Jehovah God, and because this act was a direct violation to His instruction, we can only imagine how vexed, grieved and “angry” He was. We shall see the consequences for the actions of the people of Israel in our next verses, but for now let us consider that God wants to be first and exclusive in our lives. When we receive His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was raised from the dead after three days, 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 to ability to continue our relationship with Him and never forsake Him for pagan deities. (See John 3:16: 16:13; Acts 1:8; Matthew 6:33)

Next time we learn how, “they forsook the LORD, and served Baal”, 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 Children of Israel Did Evil - Judges 2:11

In the book of Judges we learned how, “Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old. And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash. And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel”, and in chapter two and verse eleven of Judges, we learn how, “the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD”, where we read,

And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:

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” or “produced and performed bad, disagreeable, malignant and wicked acts and deeds within the vision and physical presence” “of the LORD” which means “belonging to Jehovah who is the existing One and is the proper name for the One True God”. The writer shared how the offspring of “Israel” performed wicked and malignant deeds within the vision and physical presence of Jehovah God.

The verse goes on to say, “… and served Baalim:” The writer continued with the words, “and served” which means “and worshiped, worked and labored for” “Baalim” whose name means ‘lord’ who was the supreme male divinity of the Phoenicians or Canaanites”. The writer shared how the people of Israel worshiped and labored for “Baalim” instead of Jehovah God. 

When we think through the words in this verse, we learn how this next “generation” performed wicked and malignant deeds in the presence of Jehovah God, and they forsook Him to worship and labor for the pagan deity “Baalim”. We can only imagine how much this angered Jehovah God, and we shall discover the consequences for their actions in our next few verses, but for now let us be reminded that the reason God sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of everyone and to be resurrected from the grave after three days was because people worship and labor for other deities all over the world. God wants to be first in our lives, and no other god is to come before Him. (Matthew 6:33) When we yield to His Son Jesus 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 keep us from worshiping and serving other gods that will only bring destruction and eternal peril into our lives. (See John 3:16: Exodus 20:3; 1 Thessalonians 1:9)

Next time we learn how the children of Israel, “forsook the LORD God of their fathers”, 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".

 

All that Generation Passed - Judges 2:10

In the book of Judges we learned how, “Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old. And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash”, and in chapter two and verse ten of Judges, we learn how, “all that generation were gathered unto their fathers”, where we read,

And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.

The verse reads, “And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, …” The writer began with the words, “and also all that generation” which means “and even so and indeed each, the whole and every one of the periods, ages and times of posterity” “were gathered unto their fathers” or “existed as collected and assembled to their male progenitors and ancestors”: “and there arose another generation” which means “and there followed one other period, age and time of posterity” “after them” or “following the previous one”. The writer shared how the people who lived within the period of time of “Joshua and the elders” were at this time passed away and replaced by the next age of people. 

The verse continues, “… which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.” The writer added the words, “which knew not the LORD” which means “who did not perceive, discern, discriminate, distinguish or experience Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name for the One True God”, “nor yet the works” or “neither even so and indeed the acts and deeds” “which he had done for Israel” which means “that he, Jehovah God, produced and performed on behalf of Israel whose name means ‘God prevails’ and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob”. The writer shared how the next age of people or “generation” did not perceive who Jehovah God is and what He had done previously for “Israel”. 

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we discover the passing and transition from one “generation” to another. Time continued, and those within the “age” of Joshua and the elders of Israel died. The new group who replaced them did not perceive who Jehovah God is, and they were unaware of His mighty acts and deeds. We shall see how this affects their behavior in our next verses, but for now let us consider how each “generation” must come to know God and His “works” for themselves, and because God loves every “generation”, He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and to be 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 help us know Him and His mighty acts and deeds that were performed in ages past and are done in the current day. (See John 3:16; Psalm 145:4, 12)

Next time we learn how, “the children of Israel did evil 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".

Joshua Buried - Judges 2:9

In the book of Judges we learned how, “Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old”, and in chapter two and verse nine of Judges, we learn about Joshua how, “they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres”, where we read,

And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, 

in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash.

The verse reads, “And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, …” The writer began with the words, “and they buried him” which means “and they, the people of Israel, interred and entombed him, Joshua” “in the border” or “within the territory, region and boundary” “of his inheritance” which means “pertaining to his, Joshua’s, share, portion and heritage” “in Timnathheres” or “within Timnathheres or Timnant-serah whose name means ‘portion of the sun or abundant portion’ and was a city given to Joshua as a inheritance in the mountains of Ephraim on the north of the hill of Gaash where he was buried”. The writer shared how the people of Israel entombed “Joshua” within the boundary of his property in “Timnathheres”. 

The verse goes on to say, “… in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash.” The writer continued with the words, “in the mount of Ephraim” which means “within the rising of the plain or mound belonging to Ephraim whose name means ‘double ash-heap or I shall be doubly fruitful” and was “the second son of Joseph, blessed by him and given preference over first son, Manasseh”, “on the north side” or “in the northern direction” “of the hill Gaash” which means “pertaining to the mount named Gaash which means ‘quaking’ and was a mountain of Ephraim where Joshua was buried”. The writer shared how “Joshua” was entombed within “Timnathheres” that was located within the rising above Ephraim’s plain within the northern side belonging to the mound known as “Gaash”. 

When we consider the words in this verse, we discover how “Joshua” was “buried” within the boundary of His inherited land, Timnathheres, which was located in the rising above the plain known as “Ephraim” which was in the northern side of the mount of “Gaash”. (See Joshua 19:30; 24:30) Although we may not be familiar with these places, the people of Israel were. God loves the people of Israel, and He loved “Joshua”. He loves us as well and wants all of us to “follow” Him because we can have no better life. God gave His Only Begotten Son Jesus to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and He raised Him from the dead after three days so when we yield our lives 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 to equip us to live all the days of our lives in a manner that is pleasing to Him. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8; Revelation 4:11)

Next time we learn how, “all that generation were gathered unto their fathers”, 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".

Joshua Died - Judges 2:8

In the book of Judges we learned about Israel how, “the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel”, and in chapter two and verse eight of Judges, we learn how, “Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died”, where we read,

And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old.

The verse reads, “And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, …” The writer began with the words, “and Joshua” whose name means “Jehovah is salvation” and was the successor to Moses as the leader of the children of Israel; led the conquest of Canaan” “the son of Nun” or “the male offspring and progeny belonging to Nun whose name means ‘fish or posterity’ and was the father of Joshua and the successor of Moses”, “the servant of the LORD” which means “the bondman, slave and man of servile condition”, “died” or “took his last breath, became inanimate and expired”. The writer shared how “Joshua” breathed his last breath and expired. (See Joshua 24:29-30)

The verse continues, “… being an hundred and ten years old.” The writer added the words, “being an hundred” which means “existing for one hundred” “and ten years old” or “and ten years of age”. The writer shared how “Joshua” lived for “one hundred and ten annual set of days”. 

When we think through the words in this verse, we learn how “Joshua” lived for “one hundred and ten years” before he died, and he spent much of that time serving Jehovah God through Moses and the people of Israel. He took the people of Israel through the promise land, and Jehovah God sustained him until it was his time to go to be with Him. God wants all of us to live eternally with Him though a personal relationship with His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was resurrected from the dead after three days. When we put our faith and trust in 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 give us the ability to live according to that truth under the leaders and authorities that He places within our lives. (See John 3:16; Romans 13:1)

Next time we learn how, “they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres”, 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".