Samuel's Farewell Address as Judge

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(1 Samuel 12:1) And Samuel said to all Israel, "Behold, I have hearkened to your voice in all that you said to me and have made a king over you."

Samuel had done what the people asked and what God told him to do, and he anointed Saul as the Israelites' king.  In the last chapter, Saul led Israel to a great victory over the Ammonites, and he gained the admiration and support of the people.  Now the prophet Samuel began an address to the people, telling them how he had listened to them and had done what they wanted and found them a king.

(2) "And now, behold, the king walks before you, and I am old and gray headed, and behold, my sons are with you, and I have walked before you from my childhood to this day."

Samuel told the people that they now had a king, and he was old and gray, indicating his plan to step aside and let the king rule the people.  He told them he had walked before them since his childhood, and now his sons were with them, too.  His point was that they had observed him since his childhood, and they could observe his sons, as well, so they knew him well.

(3) "Behold, here I am. Witness against me before the Lord and before His anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Or whose ass have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or of whose hand have I received a bribe with which to blind my eyes? And I will restore it to you."

Samuel stood before the people encouraging them to tell him where he had wronged them.  Had he ever taken anything of theirs?  Had he defrauded or oppressed anyone?  If he had ever wronged anyone, he wanted them to tell him before God and His anointed king, and he would restore whatever he owed to them.

(4) And they said, "You have not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither have you taken anything of any man's hand." (5) And he said to them, "The Lord is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand." And they answered, "Witness!"

The people said Samuel had never done any of those things to wrong anyone.  Then Samuel told the people that God and His king were witnesses to the fact they had said that, should anyone later try to accuse him of something.  He had been fully cleared before God and the king of any misdeeds.

(6) And Samuel said to the people, "It is the Lord who advanced Moses and Aaron, and who brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. (7) Now therefore stand still that I may reason with you before the Lord of all the righteous acts of the Lord, which He did to you and to your fathers."

Samuel reminded the people that it was the Lord who raised up Moses and Aaron to lead the people, and it was the Lord who brought their forefathers out of the land of Egypt.  He asked them to stand there while he reviewed all the great and righteous things the Lord had done for His people.

(8) "When Jacob had come into Egypt, and your fathers cried to the Lord, then the Lord sent Moses and Aaron who brought forth your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place."

Samuel reminded the people about when Jacob and his family had gone to Egypt and stayed there.  The posterity of Jacob became greatly oppressed by Pharaoh and the Egyptians, and the people cried out to the Lord.  In response to their cries, the Lord sent Moses and Aaron to deliver them out of Egypt and into their promised land flowing with milk and honey and all good things.

(9) "And when they forgot the Lord their God, He sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them."

When their fathers had forgotten their Lord God and turned away from Him and toward idolatry, the Lord put them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the army of Jabin, king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor (Judges 4:2).  Other times the Lord sold them into the hand of the king of Moab (Judges 3:14), and into the hand of the Philistines (Judges 13:1).  Sisera, and the king of Moab, and the Philistines all fought against the Israelites and overcame them so that they fell into their hands.  It was a merciful thing when the Lord allowed His people to become oppressed by an enemy.  When they chose to turn away from Him, He allowed them to have what they wanted and turned away from them.  Then they would see their need for Him, which He knew to be the best for their welfare, and they would willingly come back to Him.

(10) "And they cried to the Lord, and said, 'We have sinned because we have forsaken the Lord and have served Baalim and Ashtaroth, but now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve you.'"

Each time they were oppressed by their enemy, the people would cry out to the Lord, repenting of their sins, praying that He deliver them from their enemy, and promising to serve Him only.

(11) "And the Lord sent Jerub-Baal, and Bedan, and Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and you dwelled safe."

Samuel reminded the people how each time they cried out to the Lord and repented, He sent the people a deliverer, one in Jerub-Baal who was Gideon.  The Lord also sent "Bedan."  There was no judge named Bedan in the history of the judges.  Biblical scholars have different ideas about who this might be.  Some say it might refer to Samson, as it could be interpreted "of Dan" rather than as a name.  However, in 1 Chronicles 7:17, there was a Bedan who was the son of Ulam, but it doesn't necessarily mean that it was the same Bedan.  Other scholars think that the name was meant to be Barak, and others say that Bedan could be a textual corruption or a scribal error arising from the similarity of Hebrew letters. This theory suggests that the original text may have intended to refer to a different deliverer entirely.  Whoever was meant, the people would have understood who Samuel meant.  Samuel told the people that the Lord had also sent Jephthah and Samuel himself to deliver the people out of the hands of their enemies, and they had dwelt in safety.

(12) And when you saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, you said to me, "No, but a king shall reign over us when the Lord your God was your king."

Even though the Lord had always saved them from their enemies, raising up judges to deliver them, when Nahash king of the Ammonites came against them, they decided they would rather have a king, when the Lord had always been their king.

(13) "Now therefore, behold the king whom you have chosen, whom you have desired! And behold, the Lord has set a king over you. (14) If you will fear the Lord and serve Him and obey His voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall both you and also the king who reigns over you continue following the Lord your God."

Samuel told the people to observe the king whom they had desired.  Even though the Lord and Samuel saw it as a rejection of the Lord, still the Lord gave them the king they desired.  And He even told them through Samuel that if they would fear the Lord, serve Him, and obey Him, and not rebel against His commandments, then both the people and their king could continue in the Lord's guidance and protection, as always.

(15) "But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord and rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall the hand of the Lord be against you as against your fathers."

However, Samuel continued, if the people did not obey the Lord and rebelled against His commandments, then the Lord would be against them with His righteous judgments, just as He had done with their fathers.

(16) "Now therefore, stand and see this great thing which the Lord will do before your eyes. (17) Is it not wheat harvest today? I will call to the Lord and He shall send thunder and rain, that you may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking for a king."

Samuel instructed the people to stand there and observe the great thing the Lord was about to do.  He pointed out that it was wheat harvest time.  He was going to call on the Lord to send thunder and rain, which was very unusual for that time of year.  Proverbs 26:1 speaks of things extremely rare and unheard of, like "snow in summer" and "rain in harvest."  Therefore, the people would know that it was the Lord sending the thunder and rain as judgment against them, that they would understand their wickedness in rejecting the Lord as their king.

(18) So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day, and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

Samuel indeed called to the Lord, and He sent thunder and rain that day.  The historian Josephus said that He sent a terrible storm with thunder, lightning, and hail.  No wonder the people feared God and His power and Samuel who had such favor and therefore power from God.

(19) And all the people said to Samuel, "Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we do not die, for we have added to all our sins evil, to ask for a king." 

In their fear, they asked Samuel to pray for the people that they not die, for they could perceive and understand that they had added to their sins by asking for a king.  Note that the people had rejected Samuel as their judge in desiring a king, but they now called themselves his servants.

(20) And Samuel said to the people, "Fear not; you have done all this wickedness, yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart, (21) And do not turn aside after vanity which cannot profit nor deliver, for they are nothing."

Samuel told the people not to fear, for even though they had done all that wickedness, God was not going to destroy them as they feared, provided they follow Him and serve Him with all their hearts and did not turn aside to vain idols that could do nothing for them because they were nothing.

(22) "For the Lord will not forsake His people for His great name's sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you His people."

Samuel assured the people that God would not forsake them, not because of anything they had done, but for His great name because it had pleased Him to make them His people, again not because of their merit.  If God had given the people what they deserved, there would have been no more Israelite people and therefore no Christian church.  God's purpose in preserving His people was not yet accomplished, so He would always save at least a remnant of His people no matter how wicked they were.  

It pleased the Lord to make Israel His people, and it pleased Him to graft us Gentiles into the vine of Israel.  God first made us only for His pleasure and fellowship.  He did not need us for any fulfillment.  God is already all perfect.  It pleased Him to make us in His own image and after His own likeness (Genesis 1:26).  Micah 6:8 said that the Lord had shown us what was good, and all He required from us was that we "do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God."  Be righteous, love, and walk with God.  That gives Him pleasure.  However, we let sin come between us and God.  God is all-good and all-perfect and cannot abide in sin.  But because God's nature is love, He provided a way for us to remain in communion with Him through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ whose shed blood covers our sins.  Why would He do that?  Why not destroy us all because we did not live up to the purpose for which He created us in the first place?  Because He is love, and because it pleased Him to have us in fellowship with Him.

(23) "Moreover, as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you, but I will teach you the good and the right way."

I believe Samuel's point was that he would also forgive them for rejecting him as their judge.  He would not sin against the Lord by being arrogant and self-centered when the Lord Himself forgave His people.  He would not cease to pray for them as he always had, and he would teach them the good and right way of the Lord.

(24) "Only fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart, for consider how great He has done for you. (25) But if you shall still do wickedly, you shall be consumed, both you and your king."

In contrast to the fear Samuel spoke of in verse 20, this fear he spoke of was a reverential fear out of love for the Lord and the knowledge of how great and awesome He was.  He told the people to serve God in truth with all their hearts, considering all the great things He had done for them.  However, if they rebelled against their Lord and chose to depart from Him, they would be consumed.  Without God, they would be destroyed and die, and their king would not be able to save them, as he would perish with them.

Samuel Judges Israel

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(1 Samuel 7:1) And the men of Kirjath Jearim came, and fetched up the ark of the Lord, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the Lord.

In the last chapter, the Philistines sent back the ark of God because keeping it had caused them much death and destruction.  They sent it to Beth Shemesh, where the people were not careful in handling the ark as it should be handled according to the law, and the Lord struck down over 50,000 men.  The men of Beth Shemesh wanted to send the ark away because of all the destruction, and they sent messengers to Kirjath Jearim to have them come and fetch the ark, which they did.  They brought the ark to the house of a man called Abinadab, the one on a hill in Kirjath Jearim, distinguishing him from some other Abinadab.  This Abinadab appears to have been a man of great esteem for religion and righteousness, and he sanctified his son Eleazar to be in charge of the ark of the Lord, to watch over it and guard it from people touching it or using it irreverently.

(2) And it came to pass while the ark abode in Kirjath Jearim, that the time was long, for it was twenty years, and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord.

The ark of God had remained in Kirjath Jearim for twenty years up to this point.  The people lamented after the Lord, becoming sensible of their evil deeds and repenting of them.  They cried after God who had withdrawn from them.

(3) And Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, "If you do return to the Lord with all your hearts, put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts to the Lord, and serve Him only, and He will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines."

Samuel now judged Israel, and he spoke to the people, telling them that if they truly were returning to the Lord with all their hearts, then they should put away the false gods from among them and also Ashtaroth who represented the female gods, destroying all their images and altars from among them.  They should direct their hearts to the Lord only and serve only Him, and then the Lord would deliver them out of the hand of the Philistines, under whose dominion they still were and had been for many years.

(4) Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth and served the Lord only.

The Israelites indeed put away the Baals, the male gods, and Ashtaroth, the female gods, and they served the Lord God only.

(5) And Samuel said, "Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you to the Lord."

Samuel called for all the people to be gathered to Mizpeh on the borders of Judah and Benjamin, and he would pray to the Lord for them.

(6) And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the Lord, and fasted on that day, and said there, "We have sinned against the Lord." And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh.

Samuel gathered the people to Mizpeh where they drew water and poured it out before the Lord, symbolic of the sincerity of their repentance, as they poured out their hearts in repentance, as water.  They acknowledged that they had sinned against the Lord, and they prayed and fasted.  Samuel judged them there at Mizpeh, listening to them, addressing grievances, and teaching them how to get reconciled with God.

(7) And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together at Mizpeh, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard, they were afraid of the Philistines. (8) And the children of Israel said to Samuel. "Do not cease to cry to the Lord our God for us, that He will save us out of the hand of the Philistines."

When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered together at Mizpeh, the lords of the Philistines gathered forces and went up against Israel in a surprise attack.  When the Israelites became aware of them, they were afraid and cried out to Samuel to continue praying to the Lord that He might save them from the Philistines.

(9) And Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered a burnt offering wholly to the Lord, and Samuel cried to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord heard him. 

Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered a burnt offering to the Lord, the whole lamb being burnt.  Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord heard his cries.

(10) And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel, but the Lord thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines and confused them, and they were struck down before Israel.

As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to the Israelites, but the Lord thundered with a great thunder upon them that confused them so that they were struck down before Israel.  The Israelites never had to engage in battle; the Lord Himself struck down the Philistines with His thunder and lightning.  This fulfilled a prophecy of Hannah's, Samuel's mother, in her song, "The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall He thunder upon them." (1 Samuel 2:10)

(11) And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh and pursued the Philistines and killed them until below Beth Car.

The Israelites then went out of Mizpeh and chased the remaining confused and terrified Philistines as far as below a place called Beth Car, killing them.

(12) Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpeh and Shen and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, "To this point the Lord has helped us."

Then Samuel set a stone as a monument between Mizpeh and a place called Shen.  He called it Ebenezer, saying the Lord had helped them.  Ebenezer meant literally "stone of the help," and was the same place that the Israelites had pitched in 1 Samuel 4:1; there Samuel wrote that it was called Ebenezer even though it had not yet been named at that point.

(13) So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more into the border of Israel, and the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.

The Philistines were subdued and no longer came inside the borders of Israel.  The hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.

(14) And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath, and their territory Israel delivered out of the hands of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

All the cities from Ekron to Gath, at least all those between those two cities were restored to Israel.  Dr. John Gill wrote in his Exposition of the Bible, that if Israel had indeed taken back Ekron and Gath, "they were not long held by them, for we soon read of them as in the hands of others."  There was peace between Israel, and as "Josephus calls them the remnant of the Canaanites; these, finding the Philistines were subdued, were quiet and peaceable, and gave Israel no more trouble."

(15) And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. (16) And he went from year to year in circuit to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpeh, and judged Israel in all those places.

Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.  He went in circuit every year to the cities of Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpeh, and judged Israel from those places where the people would come from all parts for advice and counsel.

(17) And his return was to Ramah, for there was his house, and there he judged Israel, and there he built an altar to the Lord.

After making his circuit, Samuel would return to Ramah where his house was.  As the last judge of Israel, he judged Israel there, at his home base, so to speak, and he built an altar to the Lord there.

The Call of Gideon

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Judges 6:1) 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.

In the last chapter and post, Deborah as judge, with Barak, had delivered Israel from Jabin king of Canaan and Sisera the captain of his army.  The land had rest for forty years.  But now the people again began doing evil in the sight of the Lord, and He allowed them to be delivered into the hand of Midian for seven years.  The Midianites had been decimated by Moses about 200 years prior, but it seems many of them had fled to neighboring countries and subsequently returned to their own land and grew in number.  God had probably purposely increased their number so that they would be a check on His people.

(2) And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strongholds.

The Midianites prevailed against Israel and brought them into subjection to them.  Because of the oppression of the Midianites, the children of Israel built for themselves dens and caves and places for them to hide out from their enemy.

(3) And 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; (4) And they encamped against them and destroyed the increase of the earth till you come to Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.

When the children of Israel came out of their hiding places and sowed the land, the Midianites came along with the Amalekites and the children of the east, who were probably Arabians.  They all joined forces and camped by the Israelites and destroyed their growing crops all the way to Gaza which was on the Mediterranean Sea in the far west of Canaan.  As they had come from the east, this meant they destroyed the whole land from east to west.  They left nothing for the Israelites, no crops and no animals.

(5) For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; both they and their camels were without number, and they entered into the land to destroy it.

The Midianites, Amalekites, and other eastern tribes, came into Canaan with all their flocks and livestock to eat up the crops.  They came with tents that they could move from place to place in order to take of all that Israel had.  They were as grasshoppers in the land, just as numerous and devouring everything in their path.  They came with camels that were just as numerous, as Midian and Arabia were famous for camels.  They ate as well and trampled and destroyed the land. 

(6) And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites, and the children of Israel cried to the Lord.

Israel became greatly impoverished because of the Midianites and others, and they cried out to the Lord, which is always the purpose of God's punishments, to bring His people back to Him, their only source for life.

(7) And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried to the Lord because of the Midianites, (8) That the Lord sent a prophet to the children of Israel who said to them, "I brought you up from Egypt and brought you forth out of the house of bondage, (9) And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out from before you, and gave you their land, (10) And I said to you, 'I am the Lord your God; do not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell but you have not obeyed My voice.'"

When the children of Israel cried out to the Lord, He first sent them a prophet to make them realize how they had sinned against Him and brought this oppression on themselves.  The prophet spoke the words of the Lord, reminding the people how He had brought them out of bondage in Egypt, and He continued to drive out all who came against them to give them their land in Canaan.  He had said to the people that they were not to fear the gods of the Amorites.  He did not mean not to be afraid, but rather have no reverential fear of them so as to worship them (Deuteronomy 7:16).  However, the children of Israel had disobeyed Him, and that is why they found themselves in the trouble in which they now were again.

(11) And there came an angel of the Lord and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that of Joash the Abiezrite, and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress to hide it from the Midianites.

Meanwhile, there came an angel of the Lord who sat under an oak tree belonging to Joash, a descendant of Abiezer, in a place called Ophrah.  Joash's son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, which would have been an unsuspecting place, so he could hide from the Midianites.

(12) And the angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, "The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor."

The angel of the Lord who had been under the oak tree appeared to Gideon and called him a mighty man of valor and assured him that the Lord was with him.  I love this!  Gideon was just a son of a poor man trying to get by by hiding away in fear of the Midianites.  Yet God was calling him a mighty man of valor!  God can call any of us poor weak individuals to do great things for Him, as He will be with us to perform any task to which He calls us.

(13) And Gideon said to him, "Oh, my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? And where all His miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, 'Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?' But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites."

However, Gideon answered the angel, probably not understanding he was an angel, but seeing him as a distinguished man, asking how it could be that the Lord was with them when He had allowed all that misery to befall them.  He wondered where all God's miracles were of which their fathers had told them, specifically about how God had brought them out of Egypt.  He felt that the Lord had now forsaken them because He had delivered them into the hands of the Midianites.

(14) And the Lord looked upon him and said, "Go in this your might, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?"

The Lord Himself looked upon Gideon, and through the angel He told him to go forth in the might he had received from the Lord, as he had already been told by the angel that the Lord was with him (verse 12).  He would save Israel from the oppression of the Midianites because the Lord Himself was sending him, and He would be with him.

(15) And he said to Him, "Oh my Lord, how shall I save Israel? Behold, my family poor in Manasseh, and I the least in my father's house."

But Gideon answered, asking how it was that he could save Israel.  He was from a simple family in the tribe of Manasseh, which is a better translation than "poor," for we will see in a later verse that he must have had some wealth.  He called himself the least in his father's house.  He may have been the youngest in his family or just considered himself the least fit to take on such a great work.

(16) And the Lord said to him, "Surely I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man."

The Lord assured Gideon that He would be with him, and he would be able to strike down the Midianites as easily as if they were just one man.

(17) And he said to Him, "If now I have found grace in your sight, then show me a sign that You talk with me."

Gideon then asked that if he had surely found grace in the Lord's sight, he might receive a sign from the Lord that it was truly Him talking to him through the angel.

(18) "Do not depart from here, I pray you, until I come to you and bring forth my present and set it before You." And He said, "I will tarry until you come again."

Gideon asked the angel not to leave there until he had come back with a present for him.  And the Lord, through the angel, said He would wait until Gideon came again.  In the words of Dr. John Gill, in his Exposition of the Bible, this "was a wonderful instance of divine condescension," that the Lord would patiently wait on a man.

(19) And Gideon went in and made ready a kid and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour; the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and he brought it out to Him under the oak and presented it.

Gideon went in and prepared a goat kid and unleavened cakes he had made from an ephah of flour, that is about two thirds of a bushel of flour.  He brought some cakes, the goat meat in a basket, and its broth in a pot, out to the angel who was still under the oak tree and presented it all to him.

(20) And the angel of God said to him, "Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes and lay them upon this rock and pour out the broth." And he did so.

The angel told Gideon to place the meat and the unleavened cakes on a rock and pour out the broth.  In this, he was making an offering to God of the meat and bread and likewise with the broth, he used it as a libation, a drink offering poured out to the Lord.

(21) Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff in his hand and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and there rose up fire out of the rock and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight.

The angel of the Lord touched the flesh and the cakes with the end of his staff, and fire rose up out of the rock and devoured the meat and cakes.  With that, the angel left, leaving Gideon with the sign for which he had asked.

(22) And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, "Alas, O Lord God! For I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face."

Gideon then realized that the man was an angel of the Lord, and he cried out.  The exclamation "Alas!" was a word used to express pain exclamatorily in the Bible.  Speaking of seeing the angel of the Lord face to face demonstrates that Gideon had fear because of the notion that it was death for mortal man to see God.

(23) And the Lord said to him, "Peace to you, fear not, you shall not die."

The Lord knew Gideon's fear, and He told him to have peace and not be afraid for he was not going to die.

(24) Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it Jehovah-Shalom; unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

Gideon then built an altar there to the Lord and called it Jehovah-Shalom, which meant "the Lord is peace."  The altar was still there at the time of the writing of this book, and that was most likely by the prophet Samuel.

(25) And it came to pass the same night that the Lord said to him, "Take your father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that your father has and cut down the grove that is by it."

That night the Lord spoke to Gideon, perhaps in a dream, and told him to take his father's young bull and a second bull of seven years old.  It's a little difficult to discern if there was one bull or two.  The verse is written in a way that could be interpreted that his father's young bull was a bull of seven years old, perhaps the second in age or position among his team.  However, the phrase "even the second," originally "sheniy," meant more precisely "double, duplicate," so it appears there were two bulls.  It becomes clearer in later verses that there probably were indeed two bulls.  One was to be Gideon's father's young bull and the other may have belonged to the people and was to be offered to Baal which seems plausible in the subsequent verses.  The Lord told him to use the bulls to tear down the altar of Baal that was apparently on his father's property, and also cut down the grove that was by it.  Groves of trees were planted near pagan altars for places of worship to the false gods.

(26) "And build an altar to the Lord your God upon the top of this rock in the proper arrangement, and take the second bull and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which you shall cut down.

The Lord continued with His command that Gideon then build an altar to Him on the rock, possibly the same one where Gideon had built his altar, or more likely it was just the large rock where Gideon had hidden himself as the Israelites had been forced to do (verse 2).  He was then to take the second bull and offer a burnt sacrifice of it with the wood of the grove he was going to cut down.

(27) Then Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the Lord had said to him; and so it was, because he feared his father's household and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.

Gideon took ten men of his servants, which proves he was not a man poor in wealth (verse 15), to help him do what the Lord had told him to do.  Because he feared the wrath of his father, or the fact that his father would surely try to stop him, and he feared the men of the city which proves the altar to Baal, and perhaps the grove, was frequented by the public even if it was on his father's land, he tore down the altar and cut down the grove at night.

(28) And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered on the altar that was built. (29) And they said to one another, "Who has done this thing?" And when they enquired and asked, they said, "Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing."

When the men of the city arose early the next morning, they saw that the altar of Baal had been cast down and the grove next to it had been cut down, and a new altar had been built that had a bull as an offering upon it.  They asked one another who had done such a thing, and either received an answer from someone who knew, or just surmised that it was Gideon, perhaps because they knew him to be no friend of Baal.

(30) Then the men of the city said to Joash, "Bring out your son that he may die because he has cast down the altar of Baal and because he has cut down the grove that was by it."

Then men of the city then demanded of Joash that he bring out his son Gideon so that he might die because he had destroyed the altar of Baal and the grove that was beside it.

(31) And Joash said to all who stood against him, "Will you plead for Baal? Will you save him? He who will plead for him, let him be put to death while morning. If he is a god, let him plead for himself because one has cast down his altar."

Joash spoke to the men seeking Gideon.  He asked if they would plead the case for the false god Baal.  After all, these men were children of Israel and knew their one true God.  He asked if they would save Baal.  After all, if he was truly a god, he could save himself and plead his own case.  If he was truly a god, he knew who cast down his altar.  He also said that whoever would plead for the false god Baal should be put to death immediately while it was still morning.  It appears that Joash had come to his senses about worshiping false idols, or at the very least, in trying to save his son, he spoke common sense truth.

(32) Therefore on that day he called him Jerub-Baal, saying, "Let Baal plead against him because he has thrown down his altar."

Joash then called his son Gideon, Jerub-Baal, which literally meant "Baal will contend," because Baal would contend with Gideon if he could.  It appears that name stuck as Gideon was called by that name in several other subsequent verses of the Bible.  It seems to me it would be considered a symbol of courage that he was the man with whom Baal should contend and destroy, but obviously he couldn't, and Jerub-Baal's very existence proved His Lord God's dominion over Baal.

(33) Then all the Midianites and Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together and went over and pitched in the valley of Jezreel.

Because they had heard what Gideon had done, or perhaps just because it was harvest time and time for their usual devouring of the land, all the Midianites, Amalekites, and Arabians from the east gathered together and went over the Jordan River and pitched their tents in the valley of Jezreel.

(34) But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, and Abiezer was gathered after him. (35) And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh who was also gathered after him, and he sent messengers to Asher, and to Zebulun, and to Naphtali, and they came up to meet them.

The Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon and filled him with determination, strength, and courage, and he blew a trumpet of alarm.  The Abiezrites, of whom Gideon was a member (verse 11) gathered after him.  He then sent messengers throughout the rest of the tribe of Manasseh, and they also gathered after him.  He also sent messengers to the tribes of Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they came up to meet him.

(36) And Gideon said to God, "If You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said, (37) Behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the floor, and if the dew is on the fleece only and dry on all the earth, then I shall know that You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said."

Gideon then said to God in prayer that if He intended to save Israel by Gideon's hand, as He had said, then he proposed a sign to confirm it.  Gideon admitted that God had already said what He wanted him to do, yet Gideon asked for a sign.  His faith may have needed a boost, but this may have been more for the soldiers he had gathered together so that they would be encouraged by the confirmation that God would be with them.  He proposed that he would place a fleece of wool on the floor, probably the threshing floor where the angel first appeared to him which would have been exposed to open air, and if dew was on the fleece but not on the ground around, Gideon would know that the Lord would indeed save Israel by his hand.

(38) And it was so, for he rose up early the next day, and he thrust the fleece together and wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.

It was just as Gideon had proposed.  He rose up early the next morning, grabbed up the fleece and wrung out a bowl full of dew from it.  The verse doesn't say it, but I am sure we can safely assume that the ground around him was dry.

(39) And Gideon said to God, "Let not Your anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once; let me prove, I pray You, but this once with the fleece, let it now be dry only on the fleece, and on all the ground let there be dew."

Then Gideon spoke to the Lord and actually asked for another sign!  However, he did ask with a great deal of humility and consciousness of the boldness and appearance of distrust he showed in asking for another sign.  He asked that the Lord not be angry with him, and that this would be the last time he asked for a sign with the fleece.  He asked that this time only the fleece would be dry, and all the ground would be wet with dew.

(40) And God did so that night, for it was dry on the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.

The Lord patiently and graciously did as Gideon asked that night, for the next morning the fleece was dry and there was dew all over the ground around it.  Was it Gideon whose wavering faith needed so much strengthening?  If so, it is a beautiful picture of how patient God is and willing to come to us and meet us at our level of weakness and infirmity.  However, Gideon was called one of the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11:32.  He probably had faith in God as he had already done things God called him to do but perhaps lacked faith in himself to be the one who could fulfill God's will.  He had thought of himself as simple and poor and the least among his father's house (verse 15).  We must remember that whatever God calls us to do, He equips us to do; He will be with us.  God knows the heart and one's faith and desire to have stronger faith, as demonstrated in Mark 9:24, "...Lord, I believe; help my unbelief."  However, once again, this request for a second sign might have been more for the soldiers Gideon had called, to encourage them and reinforce their faith in God to defeat their enemy. 

Introduction to the Judges

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Judges 2:1) And an Angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, "I made you to go up out of Egypt and have brought you into the land which I swore to your fathers, and I said, 'I will never break My covenant with you.'"

The end of the last chapter described all the places in their promised land where the Israelites had failed to drive the Canaanites out.  Now an Angel of the Lord was said to have come up from Gilgal to a place called Bochim.  He said that He had made the people leave Egypt and had brought them into the land He had sworn to give their forefathers.  This Angel of the Lord appears to be Jesus Christ who last appeared at Gilgal to Joshua (Joshua 5:14).  Some people believe that these words were spoken by the prophet Phinehas, but as the angel did not say, "Thus says the Lord," it appears more likely that this was Jesus Christ, the only one who could have ascribed these words to Himself.  He referred to the past when He had told His people He would never break His covenant with them, that it was an everlasting covenant (Genesis 17:7, Leviticus 26:42).

(2) "'And you shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; you shall throw down their altars,' but you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this?"

The Lord reminded the people that He had specifically commanded them not to make any covenant with the inhabitants of Canaan (Deuteronomy 7:2).  They were to destroy their pagan altars (Deuteronomy 7:5).  However, they had disobeyed Him, and He asked why they had done such a thing.

(3) "Therefore I also said, 'I will not drive them out from before you, but they shall be thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.'"

However, He also reminded them that He had said if they did not drive the inhabitants out of their land, He was not going to do it for them.  He had warned that those inhabitants would be thorns in their sides (Numbers 33:55), and their gods would ensnare them, drawing them away from the worship of the one true God.

(4) And it came to pass when the Angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voices and wept.

After the Angel of the Lord had spoken those words to them, the people wept.  One wonders if they cried out of conviction in their consciences that they had sinned against their Lord, or if they cried because they selfishly feared what was coming to them because they had sinned.  I imagine it was a combination of the two.

(5) And they called the name of that place Bochim, and they sacrificed there to the Lord.

The people called that place where the Lord had spoken to them Bochim, which literally meant "weeping" or "weepers."  They then sacrificed there to the Lord.

(6) And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man to his inheritance to possess the land.

This is not to be understood as happening after the Angel of the Lord spoke to them.  This subject begins with the retelling of what had happened after Joshua had divided the land and everyone went to their own inheritance, and it will continue to explain how the people had behaved after that time.

(7) And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua who had seen all the great works of the Lord which He did for Israel.

During the life of Joshua and the lives of the elders who had served with Joshua and had outlived him, the people served the Lord.  Joshua and the elders had personally seen all the great works of the Lord and could continually remind the people of them.  This is an almost precise retelling of Joshua 24:31.

(8) And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died one hundred and ten years old. (9) And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath Heres in the mount of Ephraim on the north side of the hill Gaash.

Joshua died at 110 years of age, and the people buried him in his inherited land in Timnath Heres in the mountains of Ephraim on the north side of Mount Gaash.  The account in Joshua called the place Timnath Serah, but "heres" and "serah" mean the same thing, "sun."

(10) And also all that generation was gathered to their fathers, and there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord nor the works which He had done for Israel.

That entire generation died out, and there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord nor the great works He had done for Israel.  I have to say, it seems the people of Joshua's generation must not have done a very good job of teaching their children the way they were supposed to (Deuteronomy 11:19).

(11) And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served Baalim.

That next generation of Israelites did evil in the sight of their Lord and served the false god, Baal.  Baalim was the plural of Baal as there were many Baals, Baal Peor (Numbers 25:3), Baal-Berith (Judges 9:4), Baal-Zebub (2 Kings 1:2), etc.

(12) And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods of the gods of the people who were all around them, and bowed themselves to them, and provoked the Lord to anger.

The people abandoned the worship of their Lord God and followed the false gods of the Canaanites who remained in their land all around them.  They bowed themselves to the false gods, giving them religious worship and honor, provoking the true God to jealous anger.  God's jealousy is not petty; it's zealous and passionate.  Because He loves us so fervently, He does not want us to fall under the spell of false gods that will only hurt and eventually kill us.  Those pagan gods are of Satan who only wants to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10).

(13) And they forsook the Lord and served Baal and Ashtaroth.

The people forsook the worship of their Lord and served the gods of Baal and Ashtaroth.  The Baals were male gods and the Ashtaroths were female gods.

(14) And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and He delivered them into the hands of spoilers who spoiled them, and He sold them into the hands of their enemies round about so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies. (15) Wherever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn to them, and they were greatly distressed.

The anger of the Lord was hot against His people; it burned as a flame that consumed them.  He delivered them into the hands of their enemies all around them and allowed those enemies to plunder them of their goods and substance.  They could no longer stand before their enemies.  Wherever they went, in anything they undertook, the Lord was against them, as He had warned them He would be (Leviticus 26:15-25).  The people were greatly distressed.  The Lord used His punishment to bring His people back to Him, their only source of life and blessing (Deuteronomy 30:19, Leviticus 26:23-24).  It's because of His love for His people that He chastises them in order to save them from eternal damnation.

(16) Nevertheless, the Lord raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who spoiled them.

However, in His mercy, the Lord raised up judges who delivered His people out of the hands of their enemies.  That is the subject of this book of the Bible, the judges who ruled Israel in the times between the death of Joshua and the rise of Samuel.

(17) And yet they would not hearken to their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods and bowed themselves to them. They turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do so.

Yet the people would not listen to their judges but went after other gods and bowed down before them.  The Bible calls it whoring because it was spiritual adultery.  They turned from the way of their fathers who walked in the way of the Lord, obeying His commandments.  This generation of people did not do as their fathers had done.

(18) And when the Lord raised them up judges, then the Lord was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge, for it repented the Lord because of their groanings by reason of them who oppressed them and vexed them.

When the Lord raised up a judge, He was with that judge and would deliver His people out of the hands of their enemies all the days of that judge.  This repenting of the Lord just meant that He changed course.  He felt compassion for His people who groaned under the oppression of their enemies and turned back toward them, sending them judges to guide them and deliver them from their oppressors.

(19) And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, they returned and corrupted themselves more than their fathers in following other gods to serve them and to bow down to them; they did not cease from their own doings nor from their stubborn way.

However, when that judge died, the people returned to their corruption and served other gods.  They became more corrupted than their fathers ever were, probably seeking new gods and being more constant in their worship of those false gods.  Even though the Lord had been with the judge and therefore with them, they never ceased from their corrupt doings and were stubborn in their own ways.

(20) And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and He said, "Because this people has transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers and have not hearkened to My voice, (21) I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died, (22) That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the Lord to walk in it, as their fathers did keep, or not."

The anger of the Lord was hot against His people every time they fell back into idolatry after He had sent them a judge.  He said that because that generation of people had transgressed His covenant with their forefathers and would not hearken to His commandments, He would not continue to drive out the nations that still remained in their land after Joshua's conquest.  Through those nations that remained in Israel, He would try His people's faith, whether they would return to the ways of their one true God and walk in His ways as their forefathers had done, or if they would not do so.

(23) Therefore the Lord left those nations without driving them out hastily, neither did He deliver them into the hand of Joshua.

Because God knew from the beginning that His people would repeatedly fall back into their corrupt ways, He purposely left some of those nations and did not deliver all of them into the hand of Joshua.  They were designed to be a check on His people.  It was obvious that had He completely driven out all the inhabitants of the land, the people would have completely abandoned their God.  By allowing them to be persecuted by their enemies, it made the people dependent on their Lord, realizing that He was their only source of life and supplier of all their needs.  It's an important lesson to learn that God, in His mercy, does not give us all that we desire, for if He did, we would not recognize our need for Him, and we would surely fall into the ways of the world which lead only to destruction and death.

The Lord's Continual Deliverance and Mercy

Continuing a chronologically ordered Bible study set forth by Skip Andrews, who stated, "Although we may not be able to precisely date these Psalms at this time, their general themes fit the topics we have just read in Deuteronomy":

(Psalm 106:1) Praise the Lord! O give thanks to the Lord for goodness, for His mercy forever.

The author of this psalm is unknown as is the occasion on which it was written, but like Psalms 78 and 105, it contains ancient history of the Israelites and was written for instruction in gratitude and admonition.  The psalmist begins by exhorting his listeners to praise their Lord God and thank Him for His goodness and mercy that endures forever.

(2) Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord? Who can show forth all His praise?

The psalmist asked who could ever have the right words or be able to enumerate the countless mighty acts of the Lord.  Who could ever have words worthy enough to praise Him?

(3) Blessed are they who keep judgment, he who does righteousness at all times. 

Blessed are the people who observe and execute the righteous judgment of God, the one who continually follows the righteousness of God in all times and circumstances.

This hits me hard at this particular time, a time in which people want to separate God from culture and politics.  Today is Election Day and the end of "election season."  There are Christians who won't vote because politics are dirty or won't vote for Donald Trump because he is an immoral man.  However, they would vote for the opposition who kills babies up to the point of live birth, oversees the slave trade of 325,000 lost children coming across our borders, facilitates the death of a million young men in a war that cannot be won in Ukraine, for that matter, is pushing us toward World War III, encourages the sexual mutilation of children without their parents' consent, and on and on and on.  How can any Christian follow the righteousness of God by turning a blind eye and not doing the one small thing he or she can do, vote against unrighteousness?  As far as not voting for Donald Trump because he is immoral, David was an adulterer and a murderer, but he sought the righteousness of God and was called a man after God's own heart.

(4) Remember me, O Lord, with the favor to your people; O visit me with Your salvation.

The psalmist asked that the Lord remember him with the favor that He had for His people.  He asked that the Lord come to him with His salvation.  This looks to be a prophetic reference to the coming of Christ who would bring salvation.

(5) That I may see the good of Your chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation, that I may glory with Your inheritance.

This is a prayer all Christians could pray.  We want to see the blessings of God's chosen people.  We desire to be called His people, and we do rejoice as His nation does.  And we rejoice in the blessings of His people and nation and are grateful that we were allowed to be grafted into it, and we are able to glory with God's inheritance.

(6) We have sinned with our fathers; we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedly.

The psalmist acknowledged that he with his nation of people had sinned and done wickedly just as their forefathers had done.

(7) Our fathers did not understand Your wonders in Egypt; they did not remember the multitude of Your mercies, but rebelled at the sea, at the Red Sea.

Their forefathers had not totally understood the meaning behind God's miracles in Egypt.  They were not just for the destruction of their enemies, but they proved the power of God, the one true God, over all the false gods of Egypt.  As the one and only true God, He deserved all their worship and gratitude, but they did not remember all His mercies and provision for them.  They often doubted God's power and providence when they had no reason to ever doubt it as He had always been there for them.  Even so soon after they had seen all the miracles in Egypt, when they saw Pharaoh and his armies coming behind them at the Red Sea, they doubted God's power to save them and wished to go back to Egypt (Exodus 14:10-12).

(8) Nevertheless He saved them for His name's sake, that He might make His mighty power to be known.

However, God saved His people, even though they had no faith in Him at that moment.  He saved them not for their sake, but that the world might know His mighty power to save His people.  And we who read about that event are able to know of God's mighty power that we may have faith in Him.

(9) He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it was dried up, so He led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.

The Lord rebuked the Red Sea and made it dry up for a path for the escaping Israelites.  He led them through the sea as if it were dry land just as the wilderness was.

(10) And He saved them from the hand that hated them and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. (11) And the waters covered their enemies; there was not one of them left.

The Lord saved His people from the Egyptians who hated them.  Once His people had crossed through the sea, He brought the waters back down to destroy every one of their enemies.

(12) Then they believed His words; they sang His praise.

THEN they believed the Lord's words.  They had to see it once again to believe, and then they sang His praises.

(13) They soon forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel, (14) But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness and tempted God in the desert.

However, once again, the people forgot His works of salvation and providence.  They did not ask God for His counsel, but followed their own desires and wishes, like when they lusted after meat when God had provided them with manna, the perfect nutritious food for their needs.

(15) And He gave them their request but sent leanness into their soul.

The Lord gave them their request when He gave them more quail than they could eat, but in their lust and gluttony, they ate till many were sick and died.  I believe the sense of the second part is that giving them what they desired rather than providing what God knew was better for them, it provided no good to them, but killed many and did nothing for their souls that would have greatly benefited if they had trusted in their Lord.

(16) They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron, the saint of the Lord.

The people were jealous and gathered themselves against Moses, and Aaron, the Lord's anointed high priest (Numbers 16:3).

(17) The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan and covered the company of Abiram.

The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan, one of the heads of the conspirators against Moses and Aaron.  Likewise, it did the same to the company of Abiram and others not mentioned here (Numbers 16:32 and Deuteronomy 11:6).

(18) And a fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.

The Lord sent a fire after that that consumed 250 men in their company of conspirators (Numbers 16:35).

(19) They made a calf in Horeb and worshipped the molded image.

The people urged Aaron to make an idol of a golden calf that they worshipped while Moses was on the mount with the Lord (Exodus 32:4).

(20) Thus they changed their glory into the image of an ox that eats grass.

The people had reduced their Lord, their glory, to a statue of a lowly ox that eats grass of the ground.  

(21) They forgot God their Savior who had done great things in Egypt, (22) Wondrous works in the land of Ham, terrible things by the Red Sea.

Because Moses had tarried so long on the mount with the Lord, the people had forgotten their Lord and all the wondrous things He had done for them and turned to a false idol of gold to worship (Exodus 32:7-8).

(23) Therefore He said that He would destroy them, had not Moses, His chosen, stood before Him in the breach to turn away His wrath, lest He should destroy them.

The Lord threatened to destroy the people and instead make a great nation from Moses (Exodus 32:10), but Moses beseeched the Lord to not destroy them, not for their sake, but for the sake of His glory in the eyes of the Egyptians and for the sake of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to whom He had made the promise, and the Lord turned away from His plan (Exodus 32:11-14).

(24) Yes, they despised the pleasant land; they did not believe His word, (25) But murmured in their tents and did not hearken to the voice of the Lord.

The people did not believe God's word about the fact that He was bringing them to their wonderful promised land flowing with milk and honey, but they murmured and complained that they should have never left Egypt (Numbers 14:2 and 14:27).  It's the reason the Israelites had to wander in the wilderness for forty years.

(26) Therefore He lifted up His hand against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness, (27) To overthrow their descendants among the nations and to scatter them in the lands.

God resolved to cut off the present generation of His people from entering the promised land.  That is the whole truth about why they had to wander in the wilderness for forty years.  He told them their children would have to bear their parents' sins against the Lord and wander in the wilderness for forty years until that present generation had died there.  Then their children would be the ones to inherit their promised land (Numbers 14:31-33).  However, their children's nation would be eventually overthrown in the Babylonian captivity, something I have not yet studied in my chronological study, and they would be scattered in foreign lands.

(28) They joined themselves also to Baal of Peor and ate the sacrifices of the dead.

God's people joined with the worshipers of Baal to worship him and eat the sacrifices of false dead idols (Numbers 25:2-3).

(29) Thus they provoked His anger with their inventions, and the plague broke in on them.

The Israelites provoked their Lord to anger with their imaginations and deeds.  The plague that broke out on them referred to a plague of death (Numbers 25:5).

(30) Then Phinehas stood up and executed judgment, and the plague was stayed.

When one Israelite had the audacity to bring a heathen woman into the camp and into his tent, Phinehas went into the man's tent and killed them both, and the Lord's anger was appeased, and the plague was stayed (Numbers 25:8 and 11).

(31) And that was counted to him as righteousness to all generations for evermore.

That action of Phinehas was counted to him as righteousness by the Lord, and He gave him a covenant of peace, to him and his descendants after him forever (Numbers 25:12-13).

(32) They angered Him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes, (33) Because they provoked His spirit, so that he spoke unadvisedly with his lips.

The people angered the Lord at the waters of Meribah, which means "strife."  Because Moses was angry with the people because they had once again provoked the Spirit of God to anger, he spoke and acted according to his own will and not according to the will of God (Numbers 20:10-12).

(34) They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the Lord commanded them, (35) But were mingled among the heathen and learned their works.

The Lord had told His people to destroy the nations that inhabited their promised land (Numbers 33:52), but they did not completely destroy them.  This takes place later chronologically, but the Lord had warned about what would happen to them if they failed to completely destroy their enemies (Numbers 33:55-56), and that appears to be just what happened; they were mingled among the heathen they did not destroy and learned their ways.

(36) And they served their idols which were a snare to them.

The Israelites served the false idols of the heathen which proved to be a snare to them.  When we dabble in things we ought not dabble in, we open the door to trouble.

(37) Yes, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to devils, (38) And shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood.

The Israelites actually sacrificed their sons and daughters to false gods.  They shed the innocent blood of their own children in sacrifice to the demon gods of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood.  The first reaction is to wonder how they could actually do that!  But then immediately comes the realization that we do that in our country on a daily basis.  The innocent blood of babies, sons and daughters, sacrificed to demons of sexual lust and convenience.  Just yesterday I was thinking about this subject.  My niece has a beautiful baby boy, now about two years old.  She loves him dearly, more than life itself, but when she was pregnant and having some doubts and fears, she referred to him as a fetus.  That was her beautiful baby boy all along, growing inside of her, but that "fetus" could have been killed if his complications had been too great.  Would she ever dream of killing him now if he developed great complications?  Of course not!  Well, that was her sweet baby all along.  If a mother chooses to kill that baby just because she hasn't come to know and love him yet, that is pure selfishness for her own feelings with no thought for her baby who can feel the pain of abortion.  "There but for the grace of God go I."  I can just hear my immature selfish self in my 20's saying that the government shouldn't be able to tell me what I could do with my own body.  Totally cringe-worthy now; what about the body of that beautiful precious innocent baby growing inside of mine, totally dependent on me for life?  

(39) Thus they were defiled with their own works and went whoring with their own inventions.

God's people were defiled by their own actions because they sought demon gods to deliver them.  They were whoring after those false gods with their own imaginings of what they could do for them.  God's relationship with His people is often spoken of as a marriage relationship.  Jesus is often called the bridegroom and His elect are His bride.  One is being adulterous if he seeks after a false idol.

(40) Therefore was the wrath of the Lord kindled against His people, insomuch that He abhorred His own inheritance.

Once again the wrath of the Lord was kindled against His people as a flaming fire to destroy them.  Once again we read that the Lord abhorred His own people as we read in Psalm 78:59.  And once again we must understand that God did not really hate His people, for God loves all His creation, including all sinners.  He certainly hated their actions, and He treated them as if He abhorred them, rejecting them for a time.

(41) And He gave them into the hand of the heathen, and they who hated them ruled over them.

Chronologically, these events haven't happened yet in my study, but we know that the Lord would indeed allow their enemies to take them, and they would once again be ruled by people who hated them, back in their same situation before God led them out of bondage.  How often does God lead us out of bondage only to have us return to it basically of our own accord?

(42) Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand.

Their enemies once again oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand.  While that surely means they became subjects of their enemies, Dr. John Gill pointed out in his Exposition of the Bible, that the meaning may be that they were brought into subjection to their Lord by their enemies.  By their enemies, they were humbled before the Lord and realized their need for Him.  God's punishment of His people is always about bringing them back to Him, their only salvation.

(43) Many times He delivered them, but they provoked Him with their counsel and were brought low for their iniquity.

Many times the Lord delivered His people, but they always wound up provoking Him again with their thoughts and plans.  Then they would be brought low again, only to call on the Lord again to deliver them.

(44) Nevertheless, He regarded their affliction when He heard their cry.

Their loving and merciful and oh so patient God, knowing how they would always return to their wicked ways, had compassion on them when He heard their cries.  What a beautiful promise!  Even when we are weak and keep falling back into our sins, if we sincerely call out to God for His deliverance, He will hear our cries.

(45) And He remembered for them His covenant and repented according to the multitude of His mercies.

It's not that God ever forgets anything, but for the sake of His people, He turned back toward His covenant and His promise.  That is the Biblical meaning of repenting, changing course, turning back.  He once again because of His unlimited mercy, turned back to His people to fulfill His promises.  

(46) He made them also to be pitied by all those who carried them captives.

The Lord turned the hearts of His people's captors to have pity on them.

(47) Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the heathen, to give thanks to your holy name, to triumph in your praise.

Although we don't know the occasion that prompted this psalm, the psalmist was recalling all the times that the people had sinned against their Lord, but in His great mercy, He always came to their aid.  He was calling out to the Lord again to save His people and to gather them from the heathen where they might once again give thanks to their Lord for their triumph only in Him.  These words could have been said any time in history.  Think how pertinent they would have been after the Holocaust when God ultimately gathered His people back to their own state of Israel in 1948.

(48) Blessed the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting, and let all the people say, "Amen!" Praise the Lord.

The psalmist ended with praises to the Lord God of Israel who was and is to be blessed forever.  He is to be worshiped and praised forever for His mercies endure forever (Psalm 136).  Let all the people say, "Amen," which literally means "sure, truly, so be it, truth."  Praise the Lord!

Just like other psalms studied chronologically after Deuteronomy, this psalm included a history of the Israelites, but its main purpose was to show the mercies of God and to call on Him again.  As I type this on Election Day 2024, I call on Him to have mercy on our country, a mercy I know we don't deserve, but when has His people ever deserved His goodness and mercy?  Never!  He gives it out of His loving goodness, and I pray for that again.  Thank you, dear Lord!