In the book of Judges we learned, “Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became tributaries. Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob, but the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: for they did not drive them out.”, and in chapter one and verse thirty-three of Judges, we learn, “neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Bethshemesh”, where we read,
Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Bethshemesh, nor the inhabitants of Bethanath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of Bethanath became tributaries unto them.
The verse reads, “Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Bethshemesh, nor the inhabitants of Bethanath;” The writer began with the words, “neither did Naphtali” which means “no and not in any way did the tribe of Naphtali whose name means ‘wrestling’ and was the sixth son of Jacob and the second by Bilhah the handmaid of Rachel” “drive out the inhabitants” or “seize, dispossess, disinherit, occupy or expel the people who lived and dwelt” “of Bethshemesh” which means “within Bethshemesh whose name means ‘house of the sun or sun-temple’ and was a town in southwest Judah”, “not the inhabitants” or “no and not in any way the people who lived and dwelt” “of Bethanath” which means “within Bethanath whose name means ‘house of response or affliction’ and was a place in Naphtali”. The writer shared how the tribe of “Naphtali” in no way expelled the people who lived within “Bethshemesh and Bethanath”.
The verse goes on to say, “but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of Bethanath became tributaries unto them.” The writer continued with the words, “but he dwelt” which means “however, nonetheless, notwithstanding and moreover the tribe of Naphtali lived and abided” “among the Canaanites” or “within the midst and middle of the Canaanites whose name means ‘zealous or lowland’ and was the descendants of Canaan”, “the inhabitants of the land” which means “the people who lived, abided and dwelt within the region, district and territory”: “Nevertheless the inhabitants” or “notwithstanding, however and moreover the people who lived, dwelt and abided” “of Bethshemesh” which means “within Bethshemesh whose name means ‘house of the sun or sun temple’” “and of Bethanath” or “and belonging to Bethanath whose name means ‘house of response or affliction’” “became tributaries unto them” which means “came to be forced laborers, task-workers and taxpayers to them, the tribe of Naphtali”. The writer shared how the tribe of “Naphtali” lived in the midst of the “Canaanites” who were abiding within the region, however they made the people of “Bethshemesh and Bethanath” to be servants and taxpayers to them.
When we consider the words in this verse, we learn of another tribe of “Israel” who did not expel the “Canaanites” who were dwelling within the territory given to them. “Naphtali” did not disinherit all of the people who were living in their region which included the cities of “Bethshemesh and Bethanath”, and they thought it good to make them laborers and taxpayers. These compromises would later become stumbling blocks to their relationship with Jehovah God. When God sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and resurrected Him from the grave after three days, He made the way for us to be forgiven and cleansed from all sin, granted everlasting life and equipped with His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and give us the power to put away sin and the influences that would draw us away from our personal relationship with Him. Let all who read these words yield to Jesus, and be free from the power, influence and compromise with sin. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8; 1 John 1:9)
Next time we learn, “the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain”, 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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