The House of Joseph Decrying Bethel - Judges 1:23

In the book of Judges we learned how, “the house of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel: and the LORD was with them”, and in chapter one and verse twenty-three of Judges, we learn how, “the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel” where we read,

And the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.)

The verse reads, “And the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel.” The writer began with the words, “and the house of Joseph” which means “and the dwelling place, habitation and abode belonging to Joseph whose name means ‘Jehovah has added’ and was the eldest son of Jacob by Rachel and the male progenitor of the tribe of Joseph which was divided between Ephraim and Manasseh” “sent to descry Bethel” or “searched out, spied and explored to find out Bethel whose name means ‘house of God’ and was ancient place and seat of worship in Ephraim on border of Benjamin, identified with Luz (former name)”. The writer shared how the dwelling place belonging to “Joseph” dispatched spies to explore the city of “Bethel”. 

The verse goes on to say, “(Now the name of the city before was Luz.)” The writer continued with the words, “(now the name of the city before” which means “the fame, reputation and glory belonging to the dwelling place, habitation and above prior to and in advance of this time” “was Luz” or “existed as Luz whose name means ‘almond tree’ and was the early name of Bethel and probably the name of the town in close proximity to the actual location of the altar and pillar of Jacob’”). The writer shared how “Bethel” was formally called “Luz”.

When we think through the words in this verse, we learn about the territory the “tribe of Joseph” was to seize. They dispatched spies to explore the city of “Bethel” which was formally known as “Luz” before they attacked. This was a wise and prudent move on their part, and with Jehovah God going before them, they were assured of the victory. God desires to be in a personal intimate relationship with us as well, and when we put our  faith and trust in His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of everyone and was raised from the grave after three days as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and equip us with His Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth and to empower us to live according to that truth so we are equipped to conquer every territory that He desires to give us. (See John 3:16; Acts 1:8; Romans 8:37)

Next time we learn how, “the spies saw a man come forth out of the city”, 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".