19-The First Failure

AUDIO TEACHING

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FULL RECORDED MEETING WITH MIDRASH. The Midrash has a lot of good information contributed by the audience.

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NOTE: THE TRANSCRIPT IS NOT EXACTLY LIKE THE RECORDING.

This is the account of the national Judges of Israel during the time of Othniel, Ehud and Shamgar.

Judges 2:1  Yahweh’s angel came up from Gilgal to Bochim. He said, “I brought you out of Egypt, and have brought you to the land which I swore to give your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you. 

Who was this “angel”, this “messenger”? This is YHVH Himself is because He announced that 1) He was their God that brought them out of Egypt. Although He did not say “I am your God”, we know it was God who brought them out Egypt. 2) He laid claim to being the one who had made, and would never break, His covenant with them.

Who made the covenant with Israel? YHVH! This is how we know this appearance is YHVH Elohim in physical form and is why no human should ever doubt that this same person could and would later show up as fully human in Yeshua, the Messiah and Savior of Israel and all the world. If YHVH can make a preincarnate appearance as God in the flesh, He most certainly can accomplish becoming an incarnate God in the flesh.

This also shows Yeshua and YHVH are the same personage and Yeshua is just as much YHVH and Elohim as His Father. All sons are like their fathers.

He has now appeared to the Israelite people in a human preincarnate form whether it was to all of the Israelites in all tribes or just to those in a certain area, Bochim. This time, though, He was not showing up as YHVH of hosts, the highest military commander of all Israel like He did to Joshua, but as Israel’s covenant maker and He spoke to everyone who was present at Bochim.

Furthermore, His form, which appears as a human means He is the Physical representation of His Father which is Spirit only. Judaism doctrine says this was the High Priest Phinehas. However, Phinehas was one of those rescued by YHVH from Egypt. Phinehas did not have any part in doing the rescue as did Moses and Aaron.

Also, this angel or messenger of YHVH spoke of His covenant with Israel. No angel or other messenger ever made a covenant with Israel. Only YHVH made a covenant with Israel.

Second, He will now go on to pronounce judgement on Israel because they did not drive out the Canaanites but instead made covenant with them. Only YHVH has the right to condemn Israel for breaking their side of the covenant with Him. No regular angel or messenger nor any human has this authority and the power to enforce such a national verdict.

The implication in verse 1 is that all the people who were at Bochim saw Him. Now we need to find out about Bochim.

Why did YHVH come from the direction of Gilgal to Bochim and not from Shiloh to Bochim? It was at Shiloh where the Tabernacle now sat. It would seem more sensical for YHVH to come to Bochim from Shiloh, not Gilgal. He came from Gilgal to them because Gilgal is the place where YHVH rolled the shame and reproach of Egypt off of them and they had now returned their hearts back to Egypt in the worshiping of other gods.

Jos 5:9  Yahweh said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” Therefore the name of that place was called Gilgal, to this day.

This was the first time Israel had wholesale served other gods after coming into the Promised Land. Of course they were weeping and sorry for doing it. Bochim may or may not have been the name of the place where this happened. The word “bochim” means “weeping” indicating their proper reaction to YHVH’s rebuke. So, Bochim was the name of the incident but Samuel does not tell us where the actual place of YHVH’s appearance happened.

During this incident when all the people who were present saw YHVH, they were still of the first generation who had entered the land, and they now understood they had broken YHVH’s covenant just like their forefathers in the wilderness and those of their own generation who worshiped Baal Peor in the wilderness.

Judges 2:2  You shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land. You shall break down their altars.’ But you have not listened to my voice. Why have you done this? 

YHVH requires an answer from them of why they have done this. It is legal and proper for the highest Judge of Israel to ask this question and get an answer.

How did they make covenant with the “ites” in the land? It wasn’t from offering peace to the cities before attacking them. Offering peace is required in the Law. Making peace in order to put them to forced labor was not the making of covenant with the “ites”. The making of a covenant means they married the Canaanites and other “ites”. Marriage covenants with Canaanites and Canaan’s descendants breaks YHVH Law and causes the people to fall under the influence of their spouses and to serve their gods. This failure happened fairly quickly after Joshua died.

Judges 2:3  Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be in your sides, and their gods will be a snare to you.’” 
Judges 2:4  When Yahweh’s angel spoke these words to all the children of Israel, the people lifted up their voice, and wept. 
Judges 2:5  They called the name of that place Bochim, and they sacrificed there to Yahweh. 

My personal theory is different from others, and I have 2 of them. I believe “bochim”, the weeping, actually happened at the Shiloh Tabernacle. The reason I think this is because it would have been at Shiloh where the highest number of people could see YHVH’s physical appearance. His presence was at the Shiloh Tabernacle. He had presented Himself in the wilderness at the gates of the Tabernacle in the form of a cloud. Now, the people are in the land and they need a direct confrontation by their God and King. They wept there and sacrificed there at Shiloh because it appears no other god high places were yet set up.

The other option was the Bochim had become a high place of the gods of the Canaanites. It would have been a remote place where they had been sacrificing to the other Canaanite gods but quickly destroyed the altars of the Canaanite gods by sacrificing to YHVH there.

Now, Samuel will insert a reiteration of the account of Joshua’s death to let us know Israel’s other god worship had not happened until after Joshua died. Samuel is not just jumping around in Israel’s history. He wants us to know the progression of events so he reiterates it here.

Judges 2:6  Now when Joshua had sent the people away, the children of Israel each went to his inheritance to possess the land. 
Judges 2:7  The people served Yahweh all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of Yahweh that he had worked for Israel. 
Judges 2:8  Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Yahweh, died, being one hundred ten years old. 
Judges 2:9  They buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath Heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north of the mountain of Gaash. 
Judges 2:10  After all that generation were gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them, who didn’t know Yahweh, nor the work which he had done for Israel. 
Judges 2:11  The children of Israel did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, and served the Baals. 
Judges 2:12  They abandoned Yahweh, the God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed themselves down to them; and they provoked Yahweh to anger. 
Judges 2:13  They abandoned Yahweh, and served Baal and the Ashtaroth. 
Judges 2:14  Yahweh’s anger burned against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of raiders who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies. 
Judges 2:15  Wherever they went out, Yahweh’s hand was against them for evil, as Yahweh had spoken, and as Yahweh had sworn to them; and they were very distressed. 

At this point, Othniel has not yet become the national judge. No one person is leading Israel yet. No one has replaced Joshua. But even though YHVH’s hand is against them now, He still provides a way for them to be saved from their enemies.

Judges 2:16  Yahweh raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 

Saving Israel from their enemies was the purpose of the judges. It is much the same purpose as the military leader, Joshua. We tend to not think of the judges as military leaders or saviors of any kind but only as those who settle matters of sin between individuals. The righteous judges did lead the Israelites back to YHVH so YHVH could put Israel’s enemies into their hands. In this way, the judges were like saviors. In fact, YHVH used the word ‘savior’ for some of the judges in Judges 3:9 and 15.

Now Samuel will give us an overview of what the Israelites did over the next 325 years. He says:

Judges 2:17  Yet they didn’t listen to their judges; for they prostituted themselves to other gods, and bowed themselves down to them. They quickly turned away from the way in which their fathers walked, obeying Yahweh’s commandments. They didn’t do so. 
Judges 2:18  When Yahweh raised up judges for them, then Yahweh was with the judge, and saved them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for it grieved Yahweh because of their groaning by reason of those who oppressed them and troubled them. 
Judges 2:19  But when the judge was dead, they turned back, and dealt more corruptly than their fathers in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down to them. They didn’t cease what they were doing, or give up their stubborn ways. 
Judges 2:20  Yahweh’s anger burned against Israel; and he said, “Because this nation transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and has not listened to my voice, 
Judges 2:21  I also will no longer drive out any of the nations that Joshua left when he died from before them; 
Judges 2:22  that by them I may test Israel, to see if they will keep Yahweh’s way to walk therein, as their fathers kept it, or not.” 
Judges 2:23  So Yahweh left those nations, without driving them out hastily. He didn’t deliver them into Joshua’s hand.

There are some people who say the account of Joshua and Judges has a discrepancy in that Joshua says all the land was subdued and now in Judges we read that not all the nations were driven out. The answer is simple. All that YHVH of Hosts gave to Joshua to conquer, Joshua conquered. But YHVH did not tell Joshua to go conquer all of the Canaanite descendants. He left some there to test the Israelites for hundreds of years to see if they would remain faithful to Him. Scripture says so right here in Judges 3:1.

Judges 3:1  Now these are the nations which Yahweh left, to test Israel by them, even as many as had not known all the wars of Canaan; 
Judges 3:2  only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at least those who knew nothing of it before: 
Judges 3:3  the five lords of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon to the entrance of Hamath. 

It is important to note that the Philistines and the Canaanites were not friendly to each other. This will be an important point when we get to one of the judges later in this teaching because it may be that the conflicts between 2 of Israel’s enemies actually helped save Israel. More on that in a minute.

Judges 3:4  They were left to test Israel by them, to know whether they would listen to Yahweh’s commandments, which he commanded their fathers by Moses. 
Judges 3:5  The children of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 

Instead of saying the Canaanites and other “ites” lived among the Israelites, YHVH (through Samuel) said it the other way around, so complete was their betrayal of the covenant with YHVH which they had made at Mount Sinai, which was renewed at Sinai and which was renewed again in the wilderness of Moab.

Judges 3:6  They took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons and served their gods. 

Samuel will now present the first of the various national judges of Israel starting with Othniel.

Othniel

Judges 3:7  The children of Israel did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, and forgot Yahweh their God, and served the Baals and the Asheroth. 
Judges 3:8  Therefore Yahweh’s anger burned against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia; and the children of Israel served Cushan Rishathaim eight years. 
Judges 3:9  When the children of Israel cried to Yahweh, Yahweh raised up a savior to the children of Israel, who saved them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. 

The first savior of Israel was Othniel from the tribe of Judah. Imagine that! There is prophecy in right there.

Judges 3:10  Yahweh’s Spirit came on him, and he judged Israel; and he went out to war, and Yahweh delivered Cushan Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. His hand prevailed against Cushan Rishathaim. 

Othniel showed himself worthy of leading Israel by going to war. He had probably fought in the war at Hebron spoken of in chapter 1, but it was this war in which he differentiated himself in valor from all the other warriors.

Judges 3:11  The land had rest forty years, then Othniel the son of Kenaz died. 

Ehud

Judges 3:12  The children of Israel again did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, and Yahweh strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight. 

The land had rest, meaning there was peace in Israel, for 40 years. Peaceful times are also times of testing.

Judges 3:13  He gathered the children of Ammon and Amalek to himself; and he went and struck Israel, and they possessed the city of palm trees. 
Judges 3:14  The children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years. 
Judges 3:15  But when the children of Israel cried to Yahweh, Yahweh raised up a savior for them, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man. The children of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab. 
Judges 3:16  Ehud made himself a sword which had two edges, a cubit in length; and he wore it under his clothing on his right thigh. 
Judges 3:17  He offered the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 
Judges 3:18  When he had finished offering the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute. 
Judges 3:19  But he himself turned back from the stone idols that were by Gilgal, and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” The king said, “Keep silence!” All who stood by him left him. 
Judges 3:20  Ehud came to him; and he was sitting by himself alone in the cool upper room. Ehud said, “I have a message from God to you.” He arose out of his seat. 
Judges 3:21  Ehud put out his left hand, and took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his body: 
Judges 3:22  and the handle also went in after the blade; and the fat closed on the blade, for he didn’t draw the sword out of his body; and it came out behind. 
Judges 3:23  Then Ehud went out onto the porch, and shut the doors of the upper room on him, and locked them. 
Judges 3:24  After he had gone, his servants came and saw that the doors of the upper room were locked. They said, “Surely he is covering his feet in the upper room.” 
Judges 3:25  They waited until they were ashamed; and behold, he didn’t open the doors of the upper room. Therefore they took the key and opened them, and behold, their lord had fallen down dead on the floor. 
Judges 3:26  Ehud escaped while they waited, passed beyond the stone idols, and escaped to Seirah. 
Judges 3:27  When he had come, he blew a trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim; and the children of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he led them. 
Judges 3:28  He said to them, “Follow me; for Yahweh has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” They followed him, and took the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites, and didn’t allow any man to pass over. 
Judges 3:29  They struck at that time about ten thousand men of Moab, every strong man, and every man of valor. No man escaped. 
Judges 3:30  So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. Then the land had rest eighty years. 

Shamgar

Judges 3:31  After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who struck six hundred men of the Philistines with an ox goad. He also saved Israel. 

Shamgar is listed by many scholars as a Judge of Israel but the scripture does not say he was. It is possible and I have also listed him as a national Judge but there may be a reason that “judged”, or was used to judge Israel by YHVH without him actually being an Israelite.

Shamgar was Israel’s third savior but no one knows anything about him other than his being the “son of Anath”. But who is Anath? Probably a Canaanite female deity. Shamgar may have been the first foreigner to be used by YHVH to save Israel. If this is the case, Shamgar’s salvation was inadvertent since the Philistines were mutual enemies of both the Canaanite tribes and the Israelites. So Shamgar is probably an accidental savior who saved Israel when he was saving the Canaanites from the Philistines. Nonetheless, it was by the design of YHVH to use Shamgar whether or not he was a Canaanite worshiper of a Canaanite deity. YHVH uses circumstances and conditions around us to rescue us.

It is during this period when Ruth’s story likely happened. We will study Ruth starting next week.