Vexed and Oppressed - Judges 10:8

In the book of Judges we learned how, “the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the LORD, and served not him. And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon”, and in chapter ten and verse eight of Judges, we learn how the Philistines and the children of Ammon, “vexed and oppressed the children of Israel”  where we read,

And that year they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel: eighteen years, all the children of Israel that were on the other side Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead.

The verse reads, “And that year they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel:” The writer began with the words, “and that year” which means “and that particular annual set of days” “they vexed and oppressed” which means ”they, the Philistines and Ammonites, harassed, dashed in pieces, shattered, broke, crushed and discouraged” “the children of Israel” or “the offspring and progeny belonging to Israel whose name means ‘God prevails’ and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob”. The writer shared how the “Philistines and Ammonites” harassed and discouraged the offspring of “Israel” for the following length of time. 

The verse continues, “… eighteen years, all the children of Israel that were on the other side Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead.” The writer added the words, “eighteen years” which means “eighteen annual sets of days”, “all the children of Israel” or “each, the whole and everyone of the offspring and progeny belonging to Israel whose name means ‘God prevails’ and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob” “that were on the other side Jordan” which means “who were located upon the opposite bank of the Jordan whose name means ‘descender’ and was the river of Palestine running from the roots of Anti-Lebanon to the Dead Sea a distance of approximately 200 miles (320 km)” “in the land of the Amorites” or “within the territory, region and district belonging to the Amorites whose nam means ‘a sayer’ and was one of the peoples of east Canaan and beyond the Jordan, dispossessed by the Israelite incursion from Egypt”, “which is in Gilead” which means “that exists within Gilead whose name means ‘rocky region’ and was a mountainous region bounded on the west by the Jordan, on the north by Bashan, on the east by the Arabian plateau, and on the south by Moab and Ammon; sometimes called 'Mount Gilead' or the 'land of Gilead' or just 'Gilead'. Divided into north and south Gilead”. The writer shared how the “Philistines and the Ammonites” harassed and discouraged the people of “Israel’ who were located on the opposite bank of the “Jordan River” within the territory of the “Ammonites” in “Gilead” for the length of “eighteen” annual sets of days”.

When we consider the words in this verse, we learn how “eighteen years” was the length of time  that the people of “Israel” suffered harassment and discouragement from the “Philistines and Ammonites” especially those who were located on the opposite side of the Jordan River. This is not the way God wanted it to be for “Israel”, however, they “forsook” Him for other gods, and they reaped what they sowed. (See Galatians 6:7) God knows we have sinned against Him and His laws, and still He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and to be raised from the dead 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 put His Holy Spirit within us to guide us into all truth and help us to live in a manner that is pleasing to Him without a need to suffer discouragement and harassment from our enemies and foes. (See John 3:16: Acts 1:8; Romans 8:37)

Next time we learn how, “the children of Ammon passed over Jordan to fight”, 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”.