In the book of Judges we learned how, “Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. And the name of the city was called Hormah”, and in chapter one and verse eighteen of Judges, we learn how “Judah took Gaza, Askelon and Ekron” where we read,
Also Judah took Gaza with the coast thereof, and Askelon with the coast thereof,
and Ekron with the coast thereof.
The verse reads, “Also Judah took Gaza with the coast thereof, and Askelon with the coast thereof, …” The writer began with the words, “also Judah” which means “even so and indeed Judah whose name means ‘praised’ and was the fourth son of Jacob by Leah and the male progenitor of the tribe of Judah” “took Gaza” or “possessed, seized and occupied Gaza or Azzah whose name means ‘the strong’ and was a city of the Philistines located in the extreme southwest of Palestine close to the Mediterranean” “with the coast thereof” which means “accompanied by the border, territory and region of Gaza”, “and Askelon” or Ashkelon whose name means ‘the fire of infamy or I shall be weighed’ and was a maritime city of the Philistines which was located southwest of Jerusalem” “with the coast thereof” or “accompanied by the border, territory and region of Askelon”. The writer shared how the people of “Judah” seized “Gaza and Askelon” accompanied by their borders and regions.
The verse continues, “… and Ekron with the coast thereof.” The writer added the words, “and Ekron” which means “emigration or torn up by the roots” “with the coasts thereof” or “accompanied by the border, territory and region of Ekron”. The writer shared how the tribe of “Judah” also occupied “Ekron” and it’s borders.
When we consider the words in this verse, we learn about three more locations and the their boundaries that were seized by the tribe of “Judah” in the promise land. “Gaza, Askelon and Ekron” along with their boundaries became places where the people of “Judah” would live and worship Jehovah God. God loves the people of Israel, and “Judah” was one of the tribes that received His promised land. God loves us as well, and 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 “Savior and Lord” to be forgiven of our sins, granted everlasting life and given His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and give us the strength to live in a conquering manner over all He desires to give us. (See John 3:16; Romans 8:37)
Next time we learn how, “the LORD was with Judah”, 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".
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