Judges
1 – 6
In what appears to be a never ending cycle we see Israel
drifting once again towards the gods of nations that live among them. Everyone
points to God as being some brutal dictator that makes people bow to Him or
they are destroyed. One of the reasons God commanded His people to clean how is
He knew this would happen. It’s interesting how people resist God and will
flock to other gods even after watching the Red Sea or Jordan River part.
Verse 3:7 introduces Asherah:
Israel committed
what the Eternal considered evil: they forgot the Eternal, their True God, and
instead worshiped the Baal and Asherah deities, the various local gods of the
people of Canaan.
Although
Baal was introduced early on we see Asherah for the first time in The Voice. We
notice that although not mention in this version, others note Asherah Poles
prior and later in the versions. Also, Asherah is supposedly Nimrod’s wife
Semiramis, who is steeped in legends. What are Asherah Poles or obelisk anyway?
In essence they are large phallic symbols to represent Baal’s “manhood” and
placed throughout the land to worship Asherah.
Interestingly
you find these all over the world; most significant is the Washington Monument.
These Poles will often be found within a circle representing the woman and the
act of sex. I know that is something we cannot wrap our heads around since one
of the most famous monuments in our nation. God says tear them down and destroy
them. I am NOT suggesting we tear down the Washington monument, but at the same
time one has to wonder the origin, since the Washington was laid out by
Freemasons.
Verse
5:7 is a stanza from the Song of Deborah:
But those from
rural areas stayed away,
the
destitute in Israel kept far off,
Until I, Deborah, arose
to
be a mother to Israel.
One of the major complaints of the church
is it’s “sexist” and does not view women well. Sure there are the biological
differences that are undeniable, but this is not based in scripture. The story
of Deborah is one of those where the triumphant characters are women. The two
heroines are Deborah who leads them into battle and Sisera who drives a spike
into the head of the king. If it was “scriptural” that women could not lead or
have roles of power these stories would never have been included.
Chapter 6 starts the story of Gideon and
his prompting. Verse 6:15 shows God uses the most unlikely to do His will:
But, Lord, how am
I supposed to deliver Israel? My family is the weakest in the tribe of
Manasseh, and I am the least of my family.
Think about all the stories in the Bible,
rarely do they take the most obvious choice for a leader. Moses was an outcast
murderer and David was his brothers’ helper. God’s glory can be explained away
if the logical choice is used since God’s power can be applied to man and not
where it rightfully should be. God wants it to be clear who is working here in
this world.
I have to comment on the fleece story since
that always gets me. Is Gideon actually testing God twice? He hears a voice,
tests the voice and then tests it again. I think I would have got it the first
time, but then again I would want to be sure before risking my life and the
life of others. So in a way this is a good way to be sure. I wish all decisions
were answered this way!!
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