In the book of Judges we learned how Israel forsook Jehovah God, and “the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and he said, Because that this people has transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my voice. I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died. That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not”, and in chapter two and verse twenty-three of Judges, we learn how, ““the LORD left those nations” where we read,
Therefore the LORD left those nations, without driving them out hastily;
neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua.
The verse reads, “Therefore the LORD left those nations, without driving them out hastily;” The writer began with the words, “therefore the LORD” which means “wherefore, then and on this account Jehovah who is the existing One and is the proper name of the One True God” “left those nations” or “departed from, let lie and allowed to remain the pagan, heathen and Gentile people groups”, “without driving them out” which means “while not in any way or manner seizing, dispossessing or disinheriting them, the pagan people groups” “hastily” or “speedily, swiftly or quickly”. The writer shared how Jehovah God allowed the pagan people groups to remain and did not dispossess them in a speedy fashion.
The verse continues, “neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua.” The writer added the words, “neither delivered he them” which means “no and not in any way did he, Jehovah God, give, bestow, grant or consecrate the pagan nations” “into the hand of Joshua” or “in the power, might, strength and authority belonging to Joshua whose name means ‘Jehovah is salvation’ and was son of Nun of the tribe of Ephraim and successor to Moses as the leader of the children of Israel who led the conquest of Canaan”. The writer shared how Jehovah God did not give the foreign people groups over to the power and might of “Joshua”.
When we think through the words in this verse, we learn how Jehovah God allowed the pagan nations to remain among the people of Israel, and unlike before, the did not expel them in a speedy fashion nor give them over to “Joshua” to seize. God wants a personal, intimate and exclusive relationship with all of us, and this is obtained when we receive His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was raised from the dead after three days as our “Savior and Lord”. When we surrender to Him, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put His Holy Spirit within us to guide us into all truth and “drive out” all sin from our lives as we take heed to Him. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8; Matthew 4:10; Luke 4:8)
Next time we begin a new chapter and begin to learn, “these are the nations which the LORD left”, 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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