INTRODUCTION
TO THE BOOK OF JUDGES
THE Book of Judges, called in Hebrew שׁוֹפְטִים, in the Septuagint Κριταὶ –
Kritai – JUDGES, and in the Vulgate LIBER JUDICUM, or JUDICES, takes
its
name, like the other historical books, — the five Books of Moses, the Book
of
Joshua, the Book of Ruth, the Books of Samuel and of the Kings, the Books
of
Ezra and Nehemiah, and the Book of Esther, — from its contents, viz., the
history of certain transactions which took place in
The judges were those extraordinary civil and military
rulers who
governed
the foundation of the
of
Samuel was a kind of connecting link between the two — Samuel himself
being a judge, though of a different character from those that preceded
him,
and his government merging in the latter part of it into the kingdom of
Saul; so that the times of Samuel
occupy a middle place between the
Judges and the Kings,
belonging partly to both, but wholly to neither.
The age of the world in which the transactions recorded
in the Book of
Judges occurred was somewhere between the years B.C.
1500 and 1000.
It was one marked by the same peculiar features in
different parts of the earth
It was the dim twilight of history; but, as far as we can
judge from those
mythological accounts which precede the existence of true history, it
was a
time of much movement, of the birth of heroic characters, and of the
incipient
formation of those nations who were destined to be foremost among
the nations of
the
earth. The mythologies of
and
disturbed times, the clashing of race with race, fierce struggles for the
possession
of
lands, terrible conflicts for dominion or existence. And as far as such
mythologies
contain, as they doubtless do, some shreds of historical truth,
and reflect something
of
the character of the men of the period, they are in accordance with the picture
contained in the Book of Judges of the times which were more or less
contemporary.
Instead of a comparison of the Greek mythologies leading to
the conclusion that
the
history in the Book of Judges is mythological also, it rather lends a valuable
confirmation of that historical character which the internal evidence
of the book so
abundantly claims for it. The features which are common to the Greek
mythologies
and
the Hebrew history, the wars of new settlers with the old inhabitants, the
recklessness of human life, the fierce cruelty under excitement, the
heroic deeds
and
wild adventures of a few great leaders, the taste for riddles, the habit of
making vows, the interference of gods and angels in human
affairs, the
frequent consultations of oracles, and so on, are the products of
the same
general condition of human society at the same epoch of the world.
The
difference between the two is, that the Greek traditions have passed
through the hands of
countless poets and story-tellers, who in the course of
generations altered, added,
embellished, confused, distorted, and invented,
according to their own
fertile fancy and their own creative imaginations;
while the Hebrew records, by the special providence of God,
have been
preserved some 3000 years and upwards uncorrupted and unchanged.
Judges 1
1 “Now
after the death of Joshua” - The events narrated
in from ch. 1:1 to
2:1-9 all occurred before the death of Joshua, as appears
by ch. 2:8-9, and by a
comparison of Joshua 14:6-15 and 15:13-20. The words,
and it
came to pass after the death of Joshua, must therefore be understood (if
the
text is not corrupt) as the heading of the whole book, just as the Book of
Joshua has for its heading, “Now after the death of Moses
the servant of
the
Lord it came to pass” - “it came to pass, that the children of
the LORD,” -
The same phrase as ch.
18:5; 20:18, where it is rendered asked
counsel of. So also Numbers
27:21, where a special direction is given to Joshua to
make such inquiries as that mentioned in this verse before Eleazar the priest, through
the
judgment of Urim and Thummim
(compare I Samuel 23:10,12). A still more
common rendering of the Hebrew phrase in the Authorized Version
is “to inquire
of God” (see ch. 20:27-28; I Samuel 22:13,15; 23:2,4; 28:6, and many other
places).
Such inquiries were made:
o
by Urim
and Thummin,
o
by the word of the
Lord through a prophet (I Samuel 9:9), or
o
simply by prayer,
(Genesis 25:22), and improperly of false gods
(II Kings 1:2,16), of teraphim, and
semi-idolatrous priests (ch.18:5, 14) -
“saying, Who shall
go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight
against them?
2 And the LORD said,
delivered the land into his hand. 3 And
Come up with me into my lot,
that we may fight against the Canaanites;
and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot.
So Simeon went with him.
4 And
the Perizzites into
their hand: and they slew of them in Bezek ten
thousand men.”
5 “And
they found Adonibezek” - means
the lord of Bezek. He was the
conqueror of seventy petty kings - “in Bezek:”- The site of it
is unknown; it is
thought to be a different place from the Bezek
of I Samuel 11:8 - “and they
fought against him, and they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites.”
6 “But Adonibezek fled; and they pursued after
him, and caught him,
and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.” These cruel mutilations, like the
still more cruel one of putting out the eyes
(Judges 16:21; Numbers 16:14;
I Samuel 11:2; II Kings 25:7), were intended to cripple the
warrior
in
his speed, and to incapacitate hint from the use of the bow, or sword, or
spear, while yet sparing his life, either in mercy, or for the
purpose of
retaining his services for the conqueror.
7 “And Adonibezek said, Threescore and
ten kings, having their
thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered
their meat under my
table: as I have done, so God hath requited me.
And they brought
him to
and took it, and smote
it. It is the continuation of the narrative of the exploits
of
Judah and Simeon in conquering their respective lots.
8 Now the
children of
taken it, and smitten it with the edge of the
sword, and set the city
on fire.”
9 “And
afterward the children of
Canaanites, that dwelt in the mountain, and
in the south, and in the
valley.” -
i.e. the Shephelah, or lowlands, between the mountains and
the coast
of
the
10 “And
Numbers 13:22; Joshua 14:13-15; 15:13-19.
Abraham and Sarah (Genesis 23:2; 25:9), of Isaac and Rebekah, and of Jacob
and
Leah (Ibid. 35:27-29; 49:31; 50:13), and the mosque, within whose massive
walls the tombs of Abraham and the other four above mentioned
are still preserved
with the utmost reverence, is the most remarkable object in the modem city,
which
is
called El-Khalil (the friend), after Abraham, the friend
of God. David reigned
in
to
was Kirjatharba:)
and they slew Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.
11
And from thence he went against the
inhabitants of Debir: and the
name of Debir before
was Kirjathsepher:
12 And Caleb said, He that
smiteth Kirjathsepher,
and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah
my daughter
to wife.”
13 “And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s
younger brother,” - Mentioned in
Joshua 15:17, and I Chronicles 4:13, where he is placed
under “the sons of Kenaz,”
And seems to be the father of Hathath and Meonothai. The Hebrew, though
grammatically it favors the view that Othniel
was the brother of Caleb, does not
absolutely exclude the rendering that Kenaz
was his brother, and so Othniel his
nephew. Compare Jeremiah 32:7, where the words “thine uncle” apply to Shallum,
not
to Hanameel, as is clear from v. 8. And as the
chronology seems to make it
impossible that Othniel should be Caleb’s
brother, since Caleb was eighty-five
years old at the time of Othniel’s
marriage, and Othniel therefore could not be less
than fifty-five, an improbable age for his marriage; and since, again, Othniel could
not
well have been less than eighty at Joshua’s death, which, allowing only
ten
years for the elders, and reckoning the eight years for Chushan’s
dominion, would make him ninety-eight when he was raised up to
deliver
understanding the words, Caleb’s younger brother, to apply
to Kenaz. But
perhaps the least objectionable escape from the difficulty is to
take the
phrase in its most natural grammatical sense, but to understand
the word
brother in its wider and very
common sense of kinsman or fellow-tribesman.
They were both sons of Kenaz, or Kenizzites. Caleb was the head of the tribe,
and
Othniel was next to him in tribal dignity, and his
junior in age, but probably
succeeded to the chieftainship on Caleb’s death. This would leave
the exact
relationship between Caleb and Othniel
uncertain - “took it: and he gave
him
Achsah his daughter to wife.”
14 “And it
came to pass, when she came to him, that she moved him to
ask of her father a field:” - There is some
obscurity in this verse,
which seems to tell us that Achsah, on
her wedding-day, when she was
going to her husband s house, persuaded him to ask of her father
the field,
viz.
that in which the springs of water were, and which were not included
in
her original dower; and then goes on to tell us that Achsah
herself made
the
request. The Septuagint reads, “Othniel urged her to
ask the field of her
father,” and the Vulgate has, “Her husband told her to ask her
father,” and
then it follows naturally, “and she lighted from off her ass,” etc. But the
Hebrew reading may be right, and it may be that when her husband,
brave
in storming a
city, but timid in asking a favor, hung back, she, with the
tenacious will of a woman, sprang off the ass herself, and
successfully
preferred her request. Dean Stanley identifies (though not with
absolute
certainty) the “field thus obtained by Achsah
with an unusually green valley
amidst the dry, barren hills of the south country, lying south or
west of
ridden on their way from
breaks into a precipitous and still greener ravine, and both the
upper and
lower pastures are watered by a clear, bubbling rivulet, which
rises in the
upper meadow, and flows to the bottom of the ravine below. The
name of
a
village, Dewir, seems to represent the ancient
Debir - “and she lighted
from off her ass; and Caleb
said unto her, What wilt thou?”
15
And she said unto him, Give me a blessing: for
thou hast given me
a south land; give me also springs of water.
And Caleb gave her
the upper springs and the nether springs.”
16 “And
the children of the Kenite, Moses’ father in law,
went up out
of the city of palm trees with the children
of
of
that the invitation given by Moses to his “father-in-law,” or rather
“brother-in-law,” Hobab, to accompany him and the Israelites to the land
of
promise, though at first rejected (Numbers 10:29-30), was
eventually accepted. Hobab and his tribe, a
branch of the Midianites, called
Kenites, from an unknown ancestor, Kain,
at first settled in the city of palm
trees, i.e.
started on his expedition with Simeon to conquer the south laud,
the
Kenites went with him. A subsequent migration of a portion of this
nomadic tribe is mentioned (ch.4:11). “and they went and dwelt among
the people.” -
i.e. the people of
17 “And
(Joshua 19:4) - “and they slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath,
and utterly destroyed it. And the name of the
city was called Hormah.”
For Hormah, identified by Robinson (2:181) with Es-sufeh, see Numbers 21:3.
The Hebrew verb for “they
utterly destroyed” is the root of the name Hormah,
i.e. utter destruction.
18 “Also
coast thereof, and Ekron
with the coast thereof.”
were all cities of the Philistines. But though
he was
not able permanently to expel the inhabitants.
19 “And
the LORD was with Judah; and he drave
out the inhabitants of
the mountain; but could not drive out the
inhabitants of the valley,
because they had chariots of iron.” The chariots of
the Canaanites were very
formidable to the Israelites, who had no means of coping with them.
Thus
we
are told of Jabin, king of
900 chariots of iron, and mightily oppressed the children
of
were later an important part of King Solomon’s army (I Kings 10:26).
See too Joshua 17:16.
20 “And
they gave
Kenezite, an Edomitish tribe, was one of
the spies sent up to spy the land,
and
in doing so he came to
Anak (Numbers 13:22). When all the spies brought up an evil
report of
the
land, and by doing so raised a rebellion against Moses and Aaron,
Caleb the Kenezite, alone with
Joshua, stood firm, and, as a reward of his
faithfulness, received the promise that he and his seed should possess
the
land on which his feet had trodden. Accordingly
inheritance of Caleb the Kenezite (see
Numbers 13 and 14.; Deuteronomy
1:36; Joshua 14:6-15; 15:13-14) - “as Moses said: and he expelled
thence the three sons of Anak.”
21“And the
children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites
that
inhabited
Benjamin in
15:63, except that there we read “the children of
children of Benjamin,” as in this verse. The boundary line between
(see Joshua 15:8; 18:28;
here ch. 19:10-11; I Chronicles 11:4-5). Jebus was not
finally held by
the Israelites till the time of David.
Jerusalem is numbered
among Joshua’s conquests at Joshua 10:23; 12:10. But from ch. 19:10,
it
would appear that the Israelite population had withdrawn and left the city
to
be entirely occupied by the Jebusites, who held it
till the time of David
(II Samuel 5:6).
22 “And
the house of Joseph,”- i.e. Ephraim, but probably, here
spoken of as “the house of Joseph because in the original
document, from
which both this chapter and Joshua 15:63, and chapters 16 and 17
are taken,
the
mention of “the lot of the children of Joseph” occurs, embracing both
Ephraim and Manasseh - “they also went up against
LORD was with them.”
23 “And
the house of Joseph sent to descry
the city before was Luz.) - now
Beitin. The name (house of God) had been
given by Jacob (Genesis 28:19), but obviously would not be likely to be adopted
by
the Canaanitish inhabitants, by whom it was
called Luz. As soon, however,
as
the Ephraimites conquered it, they re-imposed the
name, in memory of their
father Jacob
24 “And
the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said
unto him, Shew us, we
pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we
will shew thee
mercy.” - Compare the saving of Rahab alive, with all her
house, at the taking of
in
the parallel place in Joshua 16.
25 “And
when he shewed them the entrance into the city, they
smote
the city with the edge of the sword; but they
let go the man and all
his family.
26 And the man went into the land of
the Hittites, and built
a city, and called the name thereof Luz:
which is the name thereof unto
this day.
27 Neither did Manasseh drive out the
inhabitants of Bethshean
and her towns, nor Taanach
and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor
and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the
inhabitants of
dwell in that land.”
28 “And it
came to pass, when
Canaanites to tribute,” - or made them tributaries, as in vs. 30,33, i.e.
imposed forced labor upon them, as the Gibeonites
were made hewers of
wood and drawers of water (Joshua 9:21, 27; see I Kings 9:21) - “and did
not utterly drive them out.”
Human Wisdom Versus
Divine (v. 28)
No option was left to the Israelites as to the mode in
which they were to deal with the
Canaanites. Even if they were unable to subdue the Canaanites because
of their own
weakness, it would not be without fault; for had they not to
sustain and direct them?
But the sin of
direction, THEY SET IT ASIDE IN FAVOR OF A POLICY OF THEIR
OWN! This was direct disobedience,
however it might be disguised by the name
of
prudence or expediency. In the end they
had to RUE THEIR OWN FOLLY!
·
PEOPLE IN PROSPEROUS CIRCUMSTANCES ARE FREQUENTLY
TEMPTED TO FOLLOW A
WORLDLY INSTEAD OF A HEAVENLY
LINE OF CONDUCT, AND TO QUALIFY THE DICTATES OF
OBVIOUS DUTY BY CONSIDERATIONS THAT ARE PURELY
SELFISH AND PRESUMPTUOUS IN THEIR NATURE.
·
WHEN MEN THUS SHIRK OBVIOUS DUTY, THEY DO IT
FROM A TWOFOLD MISCONCEPTION:
Ø
of their own power and
wisdom, and
Ø
of the true character of that
with which they tamper.
·
IN THE END THEIR FOLLY WILL MANIFEST ITSELF IN
DISASTER AND RUIN
29
“Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in
the Canaanites dwelt in
out the inhabitants of Kitron,
nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the
Canaanites dwelt among them, and became
tributaries.
31
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:”
32 “But
the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites,” – In vs. 29 and 30
it
was said that the Canaanites dwelt among the Israelites; but here we read that
the Asherites, and in v.33 that
Naphtali, dwelt among the Canaanites, which
seems to imply that the Canaanites were the more numerous people
of the
two, yet the Israelites were able to keep them in subjection -“the inhabitants of
the land: for they did not drive them
out. 33
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. 34 And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into
the mountain:
for they would not suffer them to come down to
the valley: 35
But the
Amorites would dwell in mount Heres in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim: yet the
hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so that
they became tributaries.”
36
“And the coast of the Amorites was from the going up to Akrabbim,” -
See Joshua 15:3, Maaleh-acrabbim. In Numbers 34:4 “the ascent of Akrabbim.”
The whole name, put into English, is “the ascent, or
going up, of Scorpions,” a
Mountain pass so called from the abundance of
scorpions found in the whole region.
The exact locality is uncertain, but it is thought to be
the pass El-Safeh,
immediately to the south of the
The neighborhood to
“the rock,” in Hebrew has-selah, which is
the distinctive name of the rocks or
cliffs on which
roughly, a line drawn westward from El-Safeh to the
“
whom they displaced. The
battle with the Amorites (Deuteronomy 1:44), in which
the
Israelites were discomfited and pursued, is thought to have been at El-Safeh.
Inquiry of God (vs.1-7)
No tribe had premier rank amongst its fellows. God must decide who shall go up
first. He is the fountain of honor, and He must be approached by the wonted avenues.
Accordingly, the priest or the prophet is called upon to exercise his functions. There
is something very beautiful and pathetic in this united asking of Jehovah by the tribes.
Where God is acknowledged as the Supreme Arbiter, HARMONY IS
CERTAIN TO PREVAIL! It is well for Christians to submit all their anxieties to
their Divine Father. So we find the early disciples praying after their Master’s
ascension. And the Church at
forth to the region beyond (Acts 13-3). Spiritual work must ever be prefaced by
prayer; and although God may not declare the leaders of it by a special utterance,
tokens will be given which will enable them to be
discovered.
BUSINESS WE OUGHT
TO SEEK GOD’S DIRECTION.
Distrust of our own wisdom,
misgivings as to our motives, and the
feeling that the issues of all events are in the hands of God’s
unerring
providence, should always prompt us to look to God for guidance.
(“O Lord, I know that the way of
man is not in himself: it is
not in man that walketh to direct
his steps.” (Jeremiah 10:23)
Even when we do so no little
care is needed to be sure that our
interpretations of God’s will are not biassed by
our inclinations.
(“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man but the
end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12). We read
in Jeremiah 42 that
the captains of the forces of the remnant of the Jews
went to Jeremiah after the deportation of their countrymen to
and said to him, “Pray
for us unto the Lord thy God, that He may show
us
the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do,”
and even bound themselves by a solemn oath to obey the voice of the Lord,
and do whatsoever He should command them by the mouth of Jeremiah.
But when, after ten days, God s
answer came, bidding them abide in
the
hearts were set, viz., to go down to
falsehood, and went down to
so it too often is. Men ask
God’s direction, hoping that the answer will
be in accordance with their own inclinations, and do their best
to
twist it into such accordance. But if this is impossible they act
in
bold defiance of it. In
seeking God’s guidance, therefore, especial care
should be taken so to mortify our self-will that we may be ready to act upon
the answer of God, however contrary it may be to the dictates of our own
hearts. This may be applied to cases where pecuniary loss, or sacrifice
of
worldly advantages or pleasures, or self-humiliation and self-denial, or
mortification of enmities, resentment, jealousy, pride, vanity, love of
praise,
and so on, are involved in an entire obedience to the dictates of the
word
and Spirit of God given in answer to prayer. As regards the ways in
which
a Christian now can “ask
the Lord” concerning’ the course he ought to
pursue on any particular occasion, we may say, following the
analogy of
the inquiries to which our text refers, that:
Ø
He may inquire or ask counsel of Holy Scripture. He may seek
light and truth from that word which is the expression of the
mind and
will of God. There is no
state of darkness, or perplexity as to the true
path of duty, to which Holy Scripture, wisely and prayerfully
interrogated, will not bring satisfactory light; no question of
morality
or conduct on which it will not shed the ray of truth. The
old superstition
of the sortes Virgilianae applied to the Bible, so that the page
opened
at random should supply the answer required, had this much of
truth in it,
that the Bible has an answer for every question of an inquiring
soul. But
this answer must be sought in intelligent, prayerful study, and
not as a
matter of blind chance or in the presumptuous expectation of a
miraculous answer. The answer may be obtained either from the
example of some eminent saint under similar circumstances as of
Abraham giving up his right
in order to avoid strife with
13:8-9), Elisha refusing Naaman’s gifts, Job blessing God in the
extremity of his affliction and the numerous examples in Hebrews
11.;
James 5:17, etc.; or by
impregnating the mind with the teaching
of the word of God, such as Deuteronomy 6:5, or the
Sermon on the Mount, or the
precepts in Romans 12 and 13;
Galatians 5:22-23;
Ephesians 4:22, sqq., and I Peter throughout.
And either way the answer
will be sure if it is sought faithfully.
Jesus said, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye
shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:”
(Matthew 7:7)
Ø A Christian may inquire of the Lord by seeking the counsel of a
wise and honest
friend, who will give him impartial advice. The
prophets were distinguished for
their faithful boldness in speaking
unwelcome truths as much as for
their inspired knowledge. Nathan
speaking to David, Isaiah counselling
Hezekiah, Daniel reproving
Nebuchadnezzar or
Belshazzar, Jeremiah
advising Zedekiah, are
instances of such faithfulness. Let the Christian
then who is in doubt
or perplexity as to the course which he ought to take seek the counsel
of a wise and faithful friend, whose mind will not be biased by passion
or prejudice, and let him act according to it.
Ø
God’s guidance
may be sought by simple prayer. Just
as
Hezekiah in his great
perplexity and distress spread Sennacherib s
letter before the Lord, and betook himself to earnest prayer
(II Kings 20:1-3), so may a
Christian man spread out before
God all
the particular circumstances of his case, and all the doubts
and difficulties by which he is harassed, and in simple-minded
earnestness ask God to direct and guide him aright. And the answer
will doubtless come, either by the Holy Spirit suggesting to
his mind
the considerations which ought chiefly to influence him, or
strengthening
feeble convictions, and confirming uncertain opinions and
hesitating
reasonings,
or clearing away the clouds which obscured his path, or
in some providential interference barring, as it were, the
wrong course,
and throwing open the gates of the right one for him to pass
through.
The opportune arrival of Rebekah at the well while Abraham’s servant
was in the very act of prayer (Genesis 24:15); the arrival of
the
messengers of Cornelius while Peter was in doubt what the vision
which
he had seen might mean (Acts 10:17); the dream which Gideon
heard
the Midianite tell to his fellow,
just when he was hesitating whether he
ought to attack the Midianite host,
are examples, to which many more
might be added, how providential
circumstances come in to give
to the servant of God
the guidance which he asks. It is
obvious
to add that these three modes of inquiry may be combined.
UNDERTAKINGS OF COOPERATION AND THE MUTUAL
ASSISTANCE OF FRIENDS. The answer from God to the inquiry,
Who shall go up first? had come. “Judah shall go up: behold, I have
Delivered the
land into his hand.” Yet none the less did
Simeon his brother, “Come up with me,… and I likewise will go with
thee
into thy lot.” The laws under which humanity is placed by God may
require that man have also the help of man. “As iron sharpeneth iron, so
a man’s countenance his friend” (Proverbs 27:17).
Our Lord
sent out
the seventy “two and two
before His face” (Luke 10:1). “Separate me
Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called
them” (Acts
13:2), was the saying of the Holy Ghost. The strength
of two is greater than
the strength of one.
The wisdom of two is better than the wisdom of one.
In cooperation one can supply what the other lacks.
One has courage,
Another has prudence. One has knowledge, another
knows how to use it.
One has wealth, the other has the wit to use
wealth. One has wisdom, but
is “slow of
speech;” the other “can speak well,” but is foolish in counsel
(Exodus 32.). No man has all the qualities which go to make up
perfect action, and therefore no man should think to do without the
help
of his fellow-man. It is a presumptuous state of mind which makes
a man seem sufficient to himself,
and an uncharitable state of mind which
prompts him to withhold help from his fellow. A
beautiful lesson may be
learnt from the cooperation of the
blind with the deaf and dumb in
institutions where they are trained together. What the blind learn by the
ear they communicate to the eye of the deaf, and what the
deaf learn
by the eye they communicate to the ear of the blind. And so it should
be in everything. A man should seek help from his neighbor, and should be
equally ready to give help to him in return. “Come up with me
into my lot,…
and
I likewise will go with thee into thy lot,”
should be the law of human
fellowship running through all the transactions
of human life. But yet not so
as to weaken individual responsibility,
or to destroy just independence of
character; but so as to give to each the
full help towards the performance
of duty which God has provided
for him, and to nourish man’s care for
his neighbor by listening to
his neighbor’s calls for help.
ASSIGNED TO DIFFERENT PERSONS: MORE SHOWY ONES TO
SOME, MORE HUMBLE ONES TO OTHERS, But the humbler part
may he as really useful and as acceptable to God as the more
showy one.
To some the lot is assigned of
merely helping others to rise to their
destined eminence, and then being forgotten. And yet they really
have a
share in all that is well done by those whom they helped to
raise, and who
could not have risen without their help. Thus Simeon helped
possession of his lot, and Judah ever after took the foremost place
among
the tribes of
manner Andrew first brought his brother Simon to Jesus; but it is
Simon
Peter to whom
were given the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and who
occupies the first place among the twelve. Barnabas took Saul and
brought
him to the apostles, and again went to seek him at
to
transcends that of Barnabas as the place of
transcends that of Simeon. This should give encouragement to those
whose
work is humble and out of sight. Let the servant of God do “what he can”
(Mark 14:6-8). Let him not envy the talents, the brilliant
gifts, the powers,
the fame, the glory of others. But let him be content if by
the grace of God
he can in any way help forward the work of God’s Church on
earth,
although his name be not mentioned till he receives his reward
before the
judgment-seat of Christ.
Faith (vs. 8-20)
The principal incident in this section is the conquest of
v.20), and in it we have a most striking illustration
o
of the nature of
faith,
o
of the triumph of
faith,
o
of the faithfulness of
God’s promises, and
o
of the extension of
God’s covenant to men of every nation and
kindred.
·
THE NATURE OF FAITH. When
the Israelites were in Kadesh Barnea,
near the borders of
determined on their own suggestion, with the full approval of Moses,
to
send spies to search out the land, and to bring back word what
road they
ought to take, and into what cities they would come. Thus far
there had
been only a due exercise of human wisdom and caution. But when
the spies
returned after forty clays they brought back a mixed report
(Numbers 13).
On the one hand they reported that it was
indeed a goodly land. Its fertile
soil, its genial climate, its beauty and its richness, were
attested by its
abundant produce. As they held up the heavy bunch of the grapes of Eshcol,
a burden for two men to carry upon a staff, as they showed
them the
luscious figs and the juicy pomegranates, who could doubt that it
was a land
worth possessing? It was rich too in its pastures and in its
cattle, and its
wildflowers were as good as the thyme of
swarmed amongst them. It was a land flowing with milk and honey. But
here their good report stopped. This good land was guarded, they said,
by a mighty people. It was a gigantic race that possessed it,
and they dwelt
in fenced cities with Cyclopean walls rising up to heaven.
How could the
children of
enterprise, and could only end in their own discomfiture and death.
Those
men of great stature would crush them like grasshoppers under
their feet.
At these unbelieving words the
hearts of the whole congregation melted
Within them, and anger against
Moses filled every breast. The suggestion
ran from mouth to mouth to choose a captain and return to
promises of God were all forgotten. The mighty wonders at the
Sinai, in the wilderness, were
lost sight of, and their hearts sunk through
unbelief. Then Caleb’s faith
shone out, and spoke out before the people.
“Let us go up at
once and possess the land, for we are well able to
overcome it.” (Numbers 13:30) “Fear not the
people of the land; for
they are bread for us: their defense is departed from them, and the
Lord is with us:
fear them not.” “If the Lord delight in
us, then He
will bring us into this land and give it us” (Ibid. 14:8-9). That was
faith, laying hold of God’s promises and God’s almighty power,
and
making no account of apparent difficulties, or of human weakness.
Just
such was Abraham’s faith, who “staggered
not at the promise of God
through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God,
and
fully persuaded that
what He had promised He was able also to
perform” (Romans
4:20-21). Such has been the faith of saints at all times,
piercing through the mists and clouds of the present, and seeing
the bright
sun of the future; despising the visible because, like Elisha
in
sees the invisible (II Kings 6:13-17); calculating truly,
because it takes
into account the power and faithfulness of
God which are left out of
the calculations of the unbelieving.
·
THE TRIUMPH OF FAITH.
And we see here the triumph of faith.
The whole congregation of the
unbelieving, of those who in their
hearts
turned back to
perished in the wilderness. They
died and were buried, and never saw
the land of promise. But Caleb
was alive, and in the full vigor of his strength
he marched against the stronghold of the Anakim,
and took it, and slew the
sons of Anak in spite of their great
stature, and took possession of their
city in spite of its lofty walls, and it became his possession
for ever. That
was the triumph of faith, that faith which disappoints not,
and maketh not
ashamed. (Romans 5:5)
·
THE FAITHFUL PROMISES.
We have here too an eminent
illustration of the faithfulness of God’s promises. Caleb’s triumphant
possession of
God’s performances
as compared with His promises. “He hath holpen
His servant
“He hath
remembered His mercy and truth toward the house of
(Psalm
98:3). “He
hath visited and redeemed His people, as he spake
by the mouth of His holy prophets,… to perform the mercy
promised
to our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant; to
perform the
oath which He sware to our
forefather Abraham” (Luke 1:68-73).
“He is ‘faithful’
that promised” (Hebrews 10:23). “blessed is she that
believed: for there
shall be a performance of those things which were
told her from the Lord”(Luke 1:45). “There failed not
aught of any
good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of
all came to pass” (Joshua 21:45 – neither has anything ever failed which
He has promised to me for 68 years - CY – 2012) A thorough appreciation
of faithfulness to His Word as one of the prominent
attributes of God is the
inevitable result of a full knowledge of
the Scriptures, as it is most
conducive to the stability of the Christian character. “For ever, O Lord,
thy word is settled in heaven; thy faithfulness is unto all generations’’
(Psalm
119:89-90).
·
A GLIMPSE OF THE
MYSTERY. But we must also notice the
illustration here given of God’s purpose to extend His covenant to men
of
all nations. Caleb was not an Israelite by birth. He was a Kenezite, i.e. a
descendant of Kenaz, whose name is a clear
proof of Edomite origin
(Genesis
36:15, 42). And accordingly we are
told, “Unto Caleb the son
of Jephunneh he gave a part among
the children of
15:13); and again, “
Of Jephunneh the Kenezite,
because that he wholly followed the
Lord God of
foreign origin. We have here then the breadth of God’s grace and
love
breaking out in the narrowness of the Jewish dispensation; we have a
glimpse of the mystery,
which Paul spoke of so rapturously, that it was
God’s good
pleasure in the dispensation of the fullness of times to
gather together into
one all things in Christ, and that the Gentiles
should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of
His
promise in Christ by the gospel (Ephesians
1:9-10; 3:6). Caleb,
possessing his inheritance in the midst of
followed the Lord the God of Israel, was the forerunner of that great
multitude of all nations and kindreds and
peoples and tongues who
shall stand before the Lamb clothed in white robes and palms in
their hands (Revelation 7:9-12), and shall sit down with Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, in the
LEST YOU BE LEFT OUT, OR THRUST OUT! (Matthew 8:11-12;
Luke 13:27-30)
The Presence of God in the
The most remarkable circumstance connected with the wars of
ancient
religious faith which guided and inspired the people for battle. In
this respect the
conduct of those wars is typical of the Christian method of
spiritual warfare.
·
GOD IS WITH HIS PEOPLE IN THE
only the Refuge in distress and the Father of peaceful mercies;
He is the
Source of strength and of
courage, and the Inspirer of the masculine
virtues of the Church militant — he is with us in battle. God
does not grant
His aid from a distance, through
messengers, etc.; He is present in
the
active exercise of His power.
Ø When God
calls people to any task, He will
follow and help
them
in it. God had
chosen
Canaanites. He also followed
followed by Divine power. God never expects us to undertake
any work in which He will not aid us. If He calls us to any difficult
task, He will go first, and prepare the way for us, and then will
accompany us in it, as our Guide and Protector.
Ø They who are
united in, the service of
God have peculiar
reason
for expecting the presence of
God. Judah
and Simeon
were united, and God aided them in their common task.
God does
not desert the solitary: e.g. Hagar (Genesis 16:13),
Jacob (Ibid.
28:16), Elijah (I Kings 19:9). But we
have a special right to expect
His presence when we
cooperate in brotherly sympathy. Christ
is
present where two or three are met together in His name.
(Matthew 18:20) The Holy Ghost
came on the day of Pentecost,
when the whole Church was assembled together (Acts 2:1).
·
THE PRESENCE OF GOD IS THE CHIEF SOURCE OF SUCCESS
IN THE
possession of the mountains. If God is with His people in their time
of toil
and difficulty, His presence is a security of active aid. He
is with us not
merely to approve, but to help. The victory comes
from Him. It is not all
who have faith and spiritual insight to discern this truth.
God does not
come with a visible host and with “chariots of iron;” but His
presence and
aid are felt in the providential control of events; in the
inspiration of
strength and courage; in the enlightenment of Divine wisdom. The
best
human securities for success will not justify us in neglecting
the help of
God. Simeon and Judah were united, and were the stronger for
their
union; yet it was not the human strength thus
obtained, BUT GOD’S
PRESENCE WHICH
BROUGHT THE VICTORY! There is a danger
lest we should trust too much to imposing human arrangements,
large societies,
elaborate organiZations, etc. The most splendid Christian army will be
miserably defeated if it ventures to enter the field without the
leadership of
the “Captain of
salvation.”
·
THE PRESENCE OF GOD WILL NOT ALONE SECURE
PERFECT AND IMMEDIATE SUCCESS. Though God was with
Ø
God’s presence and aid do not dispense with human effort.
It is Judah who fails. We may fail on our side of the work
while God is not wanting on His.
Ø God’s presence does not make us entirely independent of
earthly circumstances. God did not annihilate
the chariots of
iron here but did at the crossing of the
I recommend arkdiscovery.com
and check out the
Crossing – CY – 2012) We must not expect
God to work such
violent miracles as shall liberate us from all the inconveniences
of life.
Ø Human
weakness may still linger about us after we have been
blessed with the aid of God’s presence. The Israelites were too
weak to overcome the inhabitants of
the valley. Possibly they feared
to face the chariots of iron.
The measure of help we have from God
is not limited in itself, but it is limited by our faith. (Who knows what
God would have done had Judah
and Simeon put forth an honest
Effort? I doubt if the Isaraelites anticipated God working the way
He did at the time the were
trapped at the
DID! If
we had perfect faith we should have perfect success.
But when we look away from
God to the iron chariots of our foes,
or, like Peter, from Christ to the threatening waves (Matthew
14:
28-31), we may fail from
fear and human weakness, and God’s
almighty power will not then save us from defeat.
Weak Faith Producing Weak Action (vs. 21-36)
This section, contrasted with the preceding, gives us an
instructive picture of a weak faith,
not
of absolute unbelief forfeiting the whole promise of God, but of a
weak faith —
coming short of the fullness of the blessing of THE GOSPEL OF
CHRIST!
Caleb’s
faith, we have seen, was strong, and so his success
was full. The faith of the
tribes here enumerated was weak, and so their success was only partial In the career
of
those who are of weak or little faith we may notice the following features
which
usually belong to them:
·
THE LACK OF A HIGH AIM.
These tribes did not rise to the full
purpose of God to give them the land for their possession. They were
content with a partial possession. So many Christians do not aim at perfect
obedience to the law of God, or a perfect conformity to the mind of
Christ,
but are content with
a conventional standard of Christian morality,
very far below the measure of
the stature of the fullness of Christ!
(Ephesians 4:13). They do
not aim high enough in knowledge, or in
character, or in works, or in godliness, or in the victory over
sin,
or in self-control, or in heavenly-mindedness.
·
THE OVER-ESTIMATE OF DIFFICULTIES. These tribes thought
the iron chariots invincible, shrunk from encountering them in
the valleys,
and slunk away into the hills and fastnesses out of their way.
So to those of
little faith the difficulties in the way of a thoroughly godly
life seem
insuperable. The fashions and
customs of the world, the adverse
opinions of men, the possible losses in trade or worldly
advantage,
or in useful friendships, the sacrifice of inclinations or
interests,
cannot be got over. Their hearts quail
before difficulties and obstacles,
and they are ever of
a fearful and doubtful mind.
·
THE DISPOSITION TO COMPROMISE. These tribes could not or
would not drive the Canaanites out, but they would make them
tributaries.
That was something done, if not
all that ought to be done. So the WEAK
IN FAITH COMPROMISE in respect
to their Christian duties.
They do not yield a bold, whole-hearted
obedience at any cost, but they
will go half-way, and STOP! They will curb the flesh, but not crucify it;
they will check, but not destroy, the body of sin; they will follow Christ’s
directions up to a certain point, and then, like the young ruler, GO
AWAY
SORROWFUL! (Matthew 19:22-24)
And this want of
thoroughness is FATAL to the peace and comfort of a Christian’s
walk with God as was
the compromise of the Israelites to their
enjoyment of the promised
land. In
their case the enemies whom
they failed to destroy
were constant thorns in their sides —
rising
against them whenever they were weak, always ready to
join their
enemies, taking advantage of every opportunity to harass
and distress
them. And so in the case of these Christians of little
faith: the sins which
they spare, the affections with which they compromise, the
habits which
they will not utterly break off, and the unfinished victories at
which they
stop short are continually
marring their peace, and even threatening
their hold on the
condition of the
NOT OF MASTERY,
of hollow truce instead of DECISIVE
VICTORY!
·
AN UNDERRATING OF THE POWER AND GRACE OF GOD.
This is the cause of all the
evil, and is of the very essence of a weak faith.
When God’s power and goodness and
grace are underrated, ALL
GOES WRONG! Low aims, fear of difficulties, base compromises are
sure to prevail. But with the due
sense of all-sufficient grace ALL
GOES WELL! “My grace is sufficient for thee,” saith the Lord to
his believing servant. (II Corinthians 12:9) “I can do all
things through
Christ which strengtheneth
me” is the servant’s answer.
(Philippians
4:13) Let us make a due estimate
of the glorious grace of God in
Christ Jesus our
Lord; so shall we be “strong in
the Lord, and in
the power of his might.” (Ephesians 6:10)
The Failure of Duty of One
an
Occasion of Inconvenience to Another (vs. 34-35)
Joseph, strong enough to have destroyed the Amorites, made
them tributaries. The
same people a little further away were thereby enabled to afflict and annoy
a
companion tribe. “The Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain,”
The cause of Dan ought to have been the cause of Joseph. Joseph was
therefore guilty of INTENSE SELFISHNESS!
·
IT IS A SIN FOR CHRISTIANS TO REAP ADVANTAGE AT THE
EXPENSE
OF LOSS OR INCONVENIENCE TO THEIR BRETHREN.
·
GOD OFTEN MAKES THE UNWORTHINESS OR FAULT OF
ONE
OF HIS CHILDREN A DISCIPLINE TO ANOTHER.
·
BUT THIS DOES NOT FREE THE LATTER FROM THE
RESPONSIBILITY
OF DOING HIS BEST. Dan might be
annoyed,
And justly, at the indirect help
given to his oppressors, but all the same he
ought to have invoked the aid of Jehovah and gone forth to do
battle
against them. He might
have delivered himself from the inconvenience to
which he was subject. And so with
all the indirectly produced ills of life; a
heroic faith is
certain to overcome them, or render them comparatively
innoxious.
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