When Israel had Sown - Judges 6:3

In the book of Judges we learned, “And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds”, and in chapter six and verse three of Judges, we learn, “when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up” where we read,

And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, 

and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them;

The verse reads, “And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, …” The writer began with the words, “and so it was” which means “and the following happened and occurred”, “when Israel had sown” or “at the time and moment Israel whose name means ‘God prevails’ and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob, scattered yield producing seed”, “that the Midianites came up” which means “that the Midianites whose name means ‘strife’ and was a son of Abraham by Keturah and progenitor of the tribe of the Midianites or Arabians, ascended, rose and extended themselves”. The writer shared at the time “Israel” planted “seed” for crops, the “Midianites” arose.

The verse goes on to say, “… and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them;” The writer continued with the words, “and the Amalekites” which means “and the Amalekites whose name means ‘dweller in the valley’ and was the son of Eliphaz by his concubine Timnah, grandson of Esau, and progenitor of a tribe of people in southern Canaan”, “and the children of the east” or “and the offspring and progeny belonging to the people in the eastern direction”, “even they came up against them” which means “also and indeed they, the Amalekites and children of the east, arose in opposition to Israel”. The writer shared how the “Amalekites” and offspring belonging to the people in the eastern direction also rose up against “Israel”. 

When we think through the words in this verse, we see how there were groups of people who rose up in opposition to “Israel”, and their timing was after the people of Israel planted their seeds. We shall see what they do in our next verses, but for now, let us be reminded that all this happened because the people of Israel “did evil in the sight” of Jehovah God. God wants us to be holy even as He is holy, (See 1 Peter 1:15,16) and this is made possible when we yield to His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was resurrected from the grave after three days. When we put our faith and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and give us His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and equip us to live according to that truth so we are prepared for every foe who rises up against us. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8; Romans 8:37)

Next time we learn how, “they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth”, 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".