An Angel Came from Gilgal - Judges 2:1

In the book of Judges we learned, “the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain: for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley. But the Amorites would dwell in mount Heres in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim: yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so that they became tributaries. And the coast of the Amorites was from the going up to Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward”, and in chapter two and verse one of Judges, we learn how, “an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim”, where we read,

And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I swore unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.

The verse reads, “And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt,…” The writer began with the words, “and an angel” which means “and a messenger or envoy” “of the LORD” or “belonging to Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name of the One True God” “came up from Gilgal” which means “arose and ascended apart from Gilgal whose name means ‘a wheel or rolling’ and was the first site of an Israelite camp west of the Jordan, east of Jericho, here Samuel was judge, and Saul was made king; later used for illicit worship” “to Bochim” whose name means ‘weeping’ and was a place near Gilgal (or Bethel), where sons of Israel wept”, “and said” which means “and uttered, declared and proclaimed”, “I made you to go up” or “I, the angel of the LORD, caused you, the people of Israel, to arise and ascend”, “out of Egypt” which means “from 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 a spiritual messenger from Jehovah God and most likely Jehovah God Himself arose from the city of “Gilgal” to “Bochim” and told the people of Israel that He was responsible for causing them to ascend and depart from “Egypt”. (See Exodus 3:2-6)

The verse goes on to say, “… and have brought you unto the land which I swore unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.” The writer continued with the words, “and have brought you” which means “and have led and carried you, the people of Israel” “unto the land” or “to the territory, region district and country” “which I swore” which means “that I, Jehovah God, took an oath and promised” “unto your fathers” or “to your, the people of Israel’s, male progenitors and ancestors”; “and I said” which means “and I, Jehovah God, uttered, declared and proclaimed that”, “I will never break my covenant” or “I, Jehovah God, shall not in any way or manner shatter, violate and make ineffectual my, Jehovah God’s, alliance, treaty, agreement, league and pledge” “with you” which means “together and alongside you, the people of Israel”. The writer shared how the angel of the LORD told the people of Israel that He led them to the territory that He promised to their forefathers, and He would not in any way or manner violate His pledge and alliance with them. 

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn how the “angel of the LORD”, more than likely Jehovah God Himself, was involved in bringing the people of Israel to the promise land. God told their forefathers He would lead them there, and He would not abandon His oath with them. God desires to have a personal relationship with all of 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 personal “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and grant us His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and give us the ability to live according to that truth so we too are led by Him as we live as His witnesses in this world. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8; Revelation 4:11)

Next time we see how the angel said, “you shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land”, 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".