In the book of Judges we learned, “when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them. And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till you come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass. For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it”, and in chapter six and verse six of Judges, we learn how, “Israel was greatly impoverished” where we read,
And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites;
and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD.
The verse reads, “And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites;” The writer began with the words, “and Israel” whose name means “God prevails” and is “the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob” “was greatly impoverished” or “was exceedingly, abundantly and to a great degree hanging down, languished and distressed” “because of the Middianites” which means “since and on account of the Midianites or Midian whose name means ‘strife’ and was son of Abraham by Keturah and progenitor of the tribe of Midianites or Arabians and the tribe who descended from Midian”. The writer shared how the people of “Israel” were exceedingly distressed on account of the “Midianites”.
The verse goes on to say, “and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD.” The writer continued with the words, “and the children of Israel” which means “and the offspring and progeny belonging to Israel whose name means ‘God prevails’” “cried unto the LORD” or “called for help, summoned and loudly proclaimed 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” once again shouted loudly for help from Jehovah God.
When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn how the people of “Israel” called out to Jehovah God for help and assistance. As we have seen, this has been their pattern. They received difficult circumstances because they forsook Jehovah God and His ways, and after some time, they called out to Him and He responded. God loves the people of Israel even when they have abandoned Him, and He loves us in the same manner. God knows we all have sinned against Him, (See Romans 3:23) and the “wages” for those sins is “death” (See Romans 6:23). For this reason He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross in our place, and He raised Him from the dead after three days so when we put our faith and trust in 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 continue in our relationship with Him and forsake all ways of sin that dominated our lives. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8; James 4:17)
Next time we learn how, “the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of 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".
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