Reading
- Judg. 2:8-9
- Josh. 24:33
- Judg. 1:1-10, 16-19
- Josh. 15:13-14
- Judg. 1:11-15, 22-26
- Josh. 13:13; 16:10
- Josh. 17:11-13
- Josh. 15:63
- Judg. 1:21, 30-36; 2:1-5
Devotional
In today's text, the bones of Joshua, Eleazar (the son of Aaron) the high priest, and Joseph are all buried in the Promised Land. This ends the last living connections to Moses and Aaron. Remember that Joseph had made his people promise to carry his bones out of Egypt when they left. Joseph's bones were over 400 years old by this time!
Although Joshua led the invasion of the land of Canaan and divided the land to the various Israelite tribes as GOD commanded, there was still much work to do. Each territory still had Canaanites living there and it was the responsibility of each tribe to kill them and rid the land of all its inhabitants. This was GOD's command.
Sadly, one by one the tribes failed to obey completely what GOD had said. They killed the majority of inhabitants but almost every tribe allowed a small number of Canaanites to live in their homes. Instead of killing them, the Israelites made them slaves. This must have seemed like the smarter thing to do, in their minds, because it was so consistent from tribe-to-tribe.
GOD was furious once again because this was a breach of covenant.
Then the Angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said: “I led you up from Egypt and brought you to the land of which I swore to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you. And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this? Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they shall be thorns in your side, and their gods shall be a snare to you.’” So it was, when the Angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voices and wept. Then they called the name of that place Bochim; and they sacrificed there to the LORD.
(Judg. 2:1-5 NKJV)
Unfortunately men and women have not learned the lesson from the Israelites' sin. Instead of placing our faith in GOD and in His wisdom, we do what makes sense to us and we suffer as a result, because GOD's wisdom is so much higher than man's. GOD would later say through the prophet Isaiah:
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.
(Isa. 55:8-9 NKJV)
GOD's commandments are for our good, always! When we choose to follow our own thinking as opposed to listening to what GOD says we are rejecting His blessing and choosing our suffering. Israel would soon find out what path their sin would lead them down, and it would result in the loss of their inheritance hundreds of years later.
