First, let me apologize for not getting part 2 of Joshua's story onto the blog. For several days I wasn't even certain that I would end up having class last week due to our church having a missionary. So when I did decide to have class - I did it from memory since it was a well-known story of Joshua and the Battle of Jericho. So we did a lot of review, followed by that story.
This week we are moving past Joshua into Judges. At the opening of Judges we learn that Joshua has passed away and nobody was specifically chosen before his death to continue leading them into battle. So Judah goes ahead to the city of Bezek to conquer it. Adoni-Bezek, the king of Bezek ran away during the battle on his city. When the Israelites found him, they cut off his thumbs and his big toes so that he could no longer carry a weapon or run away anymore. Then they carried him to Jerusalem where he eventually died.
Because God had not named a successor over Israel to take Joshua's place - God had expected Israel to allow Him to be their king so that they would not need a man as their leader now that they were in the Promised Land. The Israelites didn't go for that and they demanded to have someone over them "like the other cities have" and so God placed judges over them. Only God could decide who the judge would be. The Israelites would only serve God if they had a judge over them, God found out. As soon as a judge had been removed from their post - the Israelites went back to serving other gods. What would WE do if we suddenly did not have a pastor? Would we fall apart and worship other gods? The answer to that question is revealing as to whether we have the truth in our hearts or if we are going to church out of expectation from our pastor.
During the time of the judges they had an oppressive enemy in Moab named Eglon who made life miserable for the Israelites for 18 long years. The second judge of Israel - a left handed man named Ehud - was sent to defeat Eglon. Because Ehud was left-handed, which was most unheard of - the king didn't expect his knife to be kept on his right side rather than his left side. When he gained access to the king by pretending to have a present for him, he took his knife and plunged it into Eglon's stomach. Eglon was so fat that Ehud's whole knife and hand went into the king and he thrust the knife so hard, that he came out his back. Eglon dropped dead instantly. Now Ehud had to figure out how to get out of the King's presence without being seen by the guard. He accomplished this by closing and locking the door to the room they were in - he then, presumably, escaped through a window. The guard realized the door had closed but assumed the king was "reliving himself" or rather, going to the bathroom. But so long of a time passed that they became anxious and knocked on the door. No answer. They took their key and unlocked the door to find their King lying dead on the ground. During this time is when Ehud had taken the opportunity to escape. He came to a safe place and blew his horn. This was a sign to the Israelites that the king was dead and they could rush in and take the city.
This week we are moving past Joshua into Judges. At the opening of Judges we learn that Joshua has passed away and nobody was specifically chosen before his death to continue leading them into battle. So Judah goes ahead to the city of Bezek to conquer it. Adoni-Bezek, the king of Bezek ran away during the battle on his city. When the Israelites found him, they cut off his thumbs and his big toes so that he could no longer carry a weapon or run away anymore. Then they carried him to Jerusalem where he eventually died.
Because God had not named a successor over Israel to take Joshua's place - God had expected Israel to allow Him to be their king so that they would not need a man as their leader now that they were in the Promised Land. The Israelites didn't go for that and they demanded to have someone over them "like the other cities have" and so God placed judges over them. Only God could decide who the judge would be. The Israelites would only serve God if they had a judge over them, God found out. As soon as a judge had been removed from their post - the Israelites went back to serving other gods. What would WE do if we suddenly did not have a pastor? Would we fall apart and worship other gods? The answer to that question is revealing as to whether we have the truth in our hearts or if we are going to church out of expectation from our pastor.
During the time of the judges they had an oppressive enemy in Moab named Eglon who made life miserable for the Israelites for 18 long years. The second judge of Israel - a left handed man named Ehud - was sent to defeat Eglon. Because Ehud was left-handed, which was most unheard of - the king didn't expect his knife to be kept on his right side rather than his left side. When he gained access to the king by pretending to have a present for him, he took his knife and plunged it into Eglon's stomach. Eglon was so fat that Ehud's whole knife and hand went into the king and he thrust the knife so hard, that he came out his back. Eglon dropped dead instantly. Now Ehud had to figure out how to get out of the King's presence without being seen by the guard. He accomplished this by closing and locking the door to the room they were in - he then, presumably, escaped through a window. The guard realized the door had closed but assumed the king was "reliving himself" or rather, going to the bathroom. But so long of a time passed that they became anxious and knocked on the door. No answer. They took their key and unlocked the door to find their King lying dead on the ground. During this time is when Ehud had taken the opportunity to escape. He came to a safe place and blew his horn. This was a sign to the Israelites that the king was dead and they could rush in and take the city.