JUDGES - CHAPTER 1
A
Bible Study - Commentary by Jim Melough
Copyright
2000 James Melough
1:1.
“Now after the death of Joshua, it came to pass that the children of Israel
asked the Lord, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight
against them?”
As
noted already, the period following the death of Joshua represents this present age
which has followed the victorious death of the true Joshua, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Prior to his death Joshua had potentially conquered the land, so that it
remained only for the individual tribes to enter into the benefits of his victory by
exterminating the defeated foe, and taking possession of the lots assigned them by
God. The victory won at Calvary left the
Church in the same position spiritually: she had but to enter into the enjoyment of
the blessings made available to her through the Lord’s sacrificial death.
The
book begins with a brightness that all too quickly fades.
The obedience that impelled their question was of brief duration.
How different their history would have been had that same spirit of obedience
continued!
Canaanite,
meaning trafficker, is the general name of the enemy tribes occupying the
land, tribes who represent various aspects of the world, and the flesh, as well as
the hosts of spiritual foes seeking to keep believers out of their God-given
inheritance. The very name of the enemy
alerts us to the fact that the warfare to which we are summoned has to do largely
with trafficking in spiritual things; but inasmuch as trafficking almost invariably
has about it the aura of illegality, the warning is that our greatest foe is not only
those false professors amongst us, who trade in spiritual things for their own
profit, but the tendency within each one of us to also be mere spiritual
“Canaanites,” trafficking in spiritual realities.
The
commendable resolve “to fight against them” very quickly vanished, a fact that
should remind us of how often our own good resolves have faded.
We do well to remember the conduct of Christ as foretold by the prophet,
“...therefore have I set my face like a flint....” (Isa 50:7), and as recorded in
Lk 9:51, “And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received
up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem.”
Nothing could alter His resolve to do His Father’s will.
Paul manifested that same spirit, as recorded in Php 3:13-14, “...this one
thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those
things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of
God in Christ Jesus.” Nor should we
forget the Lord’s own warning, “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and
looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Lk 9:62).
However
simple the task undertaken in the service of Christ, it should not be abandoned until
completed. The crown of the overcomer is
not for the fast starter who drops out of the race, but for him who “holds fast”
till the race is run.
In
the beginning, the sole resolve of the Israelites was “to fight against them
(the enemy).” Abandonment of that
resolve was their undoing. We must never
forget that there is to be no compromise with the enemies represented by the
Canaanites. They are implacable foes
against whom we are to fight with unrelenting vigor, and they are not to be spared.
God’s command to Israel was, “When the Lord thy God shall deliver them
before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no
covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them” (De 7:2).
Israel’s disobedience of that command foreshadows the spirit of compromise
abroad today; and as it brought disaster to Israel, so is it bringing ruin to the
professing Church.
1:2.
“And the Lord said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land
into his hand.”
The
lesson of Judah’s being assigned this eminent position is easily read, for Judah,
meaning he shall be praised, represents the spirit of praise and worship.
It takes precedence over service, as is demonstrated by the fact that the
Christian week begins with the Lord’s day when we come in to worship, and then go
out to serve. We reverse that order at our peril. He who absents himself from the Lord’s table, and yet attempts
to serve, is undertaking the impossible.
It
is significant that God, having designated Judah, added immediately, “Behold, I
have delivered the land into his hand.” The
spirit of worship is the spirit of victory. The
measure of a man’s spiritual state is not his ability to preach or teach, nor is it
the amount of his knowledge, but his ability to worship.
And for a very good reason. The
character of his worship reveals the nature of his inward life.
It is in his worship that he reveals what time he spends with God when there
is no one to see or hear. The necessity
of spending that time is declared by the prophet, “They that wait upon the Lord
shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run,
and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isa 40:31).
He
who spends much time in the inner sanctuary, listening while God speaks to him from
the pages of the Bible - he in turn speaking to God in prayer - is the man who
emerges to fight, having the assurance, “I have delivered the land into his
hand.”
The
paucity of worship in the assemblies of God’s people today declares the sad truth
that there are few Judah’s left amongst us, as is witnessed by what passes
for worship at the Lord’s supper. In
all too many instances hymns outnumber prayers, and frequently the Scriptures opened
are prostituted to the display of knowledge rather than the presentation of the worth
of Christ. Those having the ability to
lead the congregation in the prayerful presentation of their worship are a vanishing
class. There has never been greater need
for the genuine plea, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Lk 11:1).
1:3.
“And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, that
we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot.
So Simeon went with him.”
The
bright hope engendered by the first two verses seems to be continued here in the
third, but unfortunately the seeming good indicated by a casual reading, is found on
more careful examination to be absent.
Since
Simeon, meaning hearkening, speaks of obedience - and surely praise and
obedience belong together - it appears at first as though this suggestion by Judah
must certainly have the Divine approval. But
it didn’t! Judah was guilty of adding
to the word of God. Simeon had been
given his lot within the portion of Judah, but in this present instance God had not
said that Simeon was to go up with Judah, and Judah’s unauthorized suggestion is
discovered to be, in fact, wrong, for it declares that he lacked full confidence in
God’s promise, “Behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.”
It was the subtle revelation of the fact that he didn’t have implicit faith
in God to do what He had promised, and lacking that faith, he would rely on a fleshly
arm - his brother Simeon.
This
was the germ of unbelief within the heart of Israel that would grow until it filled
the heart, and became the total apostasy which provoked the wrath of God repeatedly
throughout the days of the Judges. God
will not share His glory, and Judah’s suggestion would give to Simeon some of the
glory which belonged entirely to God for the victory.
In
Re 22:18-19 God warns against tampering with His Word, “If any man shall add unto
these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: and
if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall
take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city....”
In spite of this warning, however, men - many of them professing Christians -
are guilty of the same sin. Commandments
of God are dismissed as being local, cultural, or for the Apostolic age only, when
clearly they are for the whole Church age; and the silence of God is construed as
permission for activity which is contrary to the clear teaching of Scripture, so that
in this the end of the Church age, it is as it was at the end of the era of the
Judges: spiritual anarchy reigns. Every
man does that which is right in his own eyes. It
is as though there were no king in Israel, as though the Lord Jesus Christ weren’t
Lord.
And
the same distrust of God is rampant in the professing Church today. Believers for the most part have forgotten that He is omnipotent,
having no more need of a thousand men than of one, and in their unbelief they attempt
to accomplish through organizations the work that He intended to be done by obedient
individuals. It is significant that in
the Bible, which is filled with the mighty accomplishments of individuals whom
God has used, there is not one instance of His ever having used an organization!
One
clear lesson God would teach us from this verse is that no matter how plausible human
expedient may seem to be, it must not be allowed to take the place of God’s Word.
It
is to be noted further that the intention was good: it was to fight against the
Canaanites; but good intentions don’t justify our going beyond Scriptural methods.
God had said “Judah shall go up,” not “Judah and Simeon shall go up.”
1:4.
“And Judah went up; and the Lord delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites
into their hand: and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men.”
Some
have assumed, wrongly, that since the Lord gave Judah and Simeon victory, there was
nothing wrong with their alliance; but God’s giving this victory is but the
parallel of His giving water when Moses, instead of speaking to the rock, “smote
the rock twice” (Nu 20:11). God
didn’t announce His displeasure by withholding the water, but in declaring,
“Because ye believed me not... therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into
the land which I have given them” (v.12).
To
assume that the victory given was indicative of God’s approval of Judah’s
incomplete obedience is to misunderstand God’s nature.
He will never condone even the slightest disobedience, for all disobedience is
sin.
Canaanite
trafficker reminds us that believers are continually confronted with the
spiritual equivalent of this foe. The
world, the flesh, and the devil incessantly entice us to “traffick” with them,
the enticement often so subtle that we fail to recognize it.
How often, for example, have we traded away time that belonged to God, in
exchange for a little money, ease, pleasure, etc.?
How many hours that ought to have been given to prayer and the study of
Scripture, are given instead to the pursuit of money above and beyond what we have
need of, to TV viewing, to hobbies, to our families, etc.?
Our spiritual poverty declares both the extent and the folly of all such
trafficking, as it declares also that we have failed to exterminate the
“Canaanite” as God has commanded.
Perizzite
means rustic, with squatter as a second possible meaning. The spiritual lesson isn’t difficult to read, for a rustic is
basically one unlearned, capable of only the most unskilled labor particularly in
connection with tilling the earth, while a squatter is one who settles upon land to
which he has no legal right. The two
meanings combine to present the picture of a condition found all too frequently
amongst God’s people: the mere professor who knows nothing of spiritual things, but
who, through the negligence of those who should be guarding the flock from just such
intruders, has slipped in and taken a place in the local fellowship.
The man who hasn’t been born again is a spiritual Perizzite, for he is “of
the earth, earthy” (1 Co 15:47); and as such he is an enemy of God, and of His
people.
The
spiritual “Perizzite” is no more to be spared than was his literal counterpart.
The assembly is for believers only, and nothing but ill can attend the
negligence that permits the “Perizzite” to intrude.
This
is not to be construed as indifference to the man’s spiritual state.
The preservation of God’s order is, in fact, the truest care for the souls
of those seeking fellowship, for the inquiry that discloses the man’s spiritual
state affords the opportunity to either give him a warm welcome as a believer, or to
make him aware of his need of a Savior. The
carelessness, which under the guise of love, omits inquiry, is the real indifference,
for it cares neither for God’s honor, the welfare of the believers, nor the
well-being of the one seeking fellowship. It
is to be remembered that it is God Himself Who excludes the unbeliever from the
assembly, but it is also He Who commands us to “preach the gospel” to that same
man, and when he repents and believes, then to receive him.
The
Perizzite, however, represents not only the unbeliever, but also the spirit of
carnality (earthiness, occupation with earthly things to the neglect of spiritual) in
the genuine believer. We are not to
spare that spirit in ourselves any more than was Israel to spare the literal
Perizzite. The need to exercise that
judgment is impressed upon us in 1 Co 11:27-32, particularly verses 30-31, “For
this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.”
Regarding
what has been described as “the cruelty of God” in commanding Israel to
exterminate the Canaanites, it is to be remembered that those same Canaanites had
been given a long time in which to repent (at least four hundred years, see Ge
15:13-16). Nor must we forget that they
had had ample warning: they weren’t suddenly and unexpectedly overtaken.
Those who died did so in spite of warning, and in spite of opportunity to
escape by leaving the country.
It
is to be further remembered that they were a people whose moral corruption was an
offense not only to God, but to man as well. Their
history reveals them to have been the most morally depraved people ever to cumber the
earth. Having exhausted God’s
patience, and having sinned away their day of grace, they must suffer the
consequences of their folly.
“And
they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men.”
The meaning of Bezek is alleged by some to be fetters, but the correct
meaning appears to be lightning, and since lightning is almost invariably
associated with the display of Divine anger, the lesson of these ten thousand slain
Canaanites appears to be that their evil conduct had made the place where they were
the place upon which the judgment (lightning) of God must fall.
Every unbeliever stands spiritually at “Bezek” - the judgment of God will
eventually fall upon him.
Ten,
however often multiplied by itself, remains the number of Divine government, so that
in the number slain, God would remind us that though He may bear long with man’s
sin, His patience will not last for ever, as it is written, “My Spirit shall not
always strive with man” (Ge 6:3), and again, “He, that being often reproved
hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy” (Pr
29:1). A fearful day of reckoning awaits
every man who refuses to trust in Christ as Savior.
1:5.
“And they found Adoni-bezek in Bezek: and they fought against him, and they
slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites.”
Like
virtually every rebel leader mentioned in Scripture, Adoni-bezek, meaning lord of
lightning, represents Satan, for it is he who is found behind all rebellion
against God. It is significant to note
what is written in Lk 10:18 concerning the fall of this evil prince of darkness,
“And he (Jesus) said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from
heaven.”
Adoni-bezek’s
being lord of lightning declares, not that he was lord of the literal
lightning, but that he was lord only over that upon which the judgment (lightning) of
God must fall. And Israel’s fighting
against him reminds us that we too are to resist the devil, see Jas 4:7, and 1 Pe
5:9.
The
fact that “they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites,” but not Adoni-bezek,
reminds us that the one whom the Canaanite king represents will not be destroyed by
man, but by Christ Himself.
1:6.
“But Adoni-bezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut
off his thumbs and his great toes.”
This
was inflicting upon him the same mutilation he, by his own admission, had inflicted
on others, in which sense it was justice. But
God hadn’t commanded Israel to mutilate the Canaanites: they were to exterminate
them, so that their sparing Adoni-bezek was disobedience.
Having regard to the fact that this enemy represents not only the devil, but
also the world and the flesh, Israel’s sparing him becomes the symbolic
announcement of the truth that we all too often “mutilate” the flesh when we are
to crucify it, Gal 5:24. We curtail its
activity in some areas, but indulge it in others.
This
mutilation rendered him powerless to wield a sword, or to walk properly, but it
didn’t diminish the power of his mind. He
was still capable of plotting mischief. It
is in the mind that our spiritual battles are lost or won, for we are commanded,
“Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your
mind....” Ro 12:2.
1:7.
“And Adoni-bezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and
their great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table: as I have done, so God
hath requited me. And they brought him
to Jerusalem, and there he died.”
So
will every foe yet be made to acknowledge the righteousness of God’s judgment.
Jerusalem is synonymous with the presence of God, so that Adoni-bezek’s
dying there is the symbolic announcement that sin cannot live where God is.
We should note also that he does not appear to have been slain by the
Israelites, but that he died of “natural” causes.
This continues to emphasize that it will be Christ, not man, Who will slay
Satan.
Before
continuing, we might pause to note a few things in connection with this section of
Judges. It is clear that there is the
repetition of some events which occurred during Joshua’s lifetime, a repetition
intended no doubt to emphasize the importance of the spiritual lessons being taught.
It is to be noted also that there is difficulty in determining just exactly
the extent to which Israel controlled Jerusalem, for there is no question that their
control was not complete until the days of David, see 2 Sa 5:6. Since our purpose, however, is to determine what spiritual lessons
are to be gleaned from this history, we need not concern ourselves with these other
problems.
As
there will be no peace in the world until Christ rules in Jerusalem, and as there is
no peace in the life until Christ reigns in the heart, it isn’t difficult to see
that Jerusalem is the Biblical symbol of the human heart. The control of the city - alternating between Israel and the
original inhabitants, the Jebusites, until the days of David - declares all too
clearly the state of our divided hearts. The
enemy won’t be completely expelled until the true David rules.
1:8.
“Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it,
and smitten it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.”
It
is generally agreed that this occurred under Joshua, see Jos 11:23, but it is equally
clear that Israel failed to take possession of what was theirs potentially as a
result of Joshua’s conquest, see Jos 15:63, “... Judah could not drive them out:
but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at Jerusalem unto this day.”
In view of the fact that God had assured them that every place upon which they
trod would be theirs, Judah’s “could not” is really “would not.”
Christ’s
victory at Calvary fulfilled the type of Joshua’s victory, which potentially gave
the whole land to Israel, but our failure to take full possession of all that Christ
has made available to us through His death, fulfills the type of Judah’s failure to
exterminate the Jebusites.
1:9.
“And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the
Canaanites, that dwelt in the mountain, and in the south, and in the valley.”
Again,
we needn’t concern ourselves with the question of exactly when this took place: it
is sufficient for the purpose of our present study to try to determine what spiritual
lesson God would teach from the record of Judah’s conflict with these Canaanites.
A
mountain is not only the Biblical symbol of a king and/or a kingdom, but also of the
place of separation from the world. There
will be victory in our Christian lives only as we secure “the mountain,” i.e.,
reserve time each day to be alone with God, allowing Him to speak to us from His
Word, and we in turn speak to Him in prayer. We are to fight against every activity of the world, the flesh,
and the devil, that would keep us off the mountain. The opposition of the enemy takes many forms, some of them so
subtle as to be virtually undetectable. For
example, legitimate things such as jobs, families, etc., may become the means by
which we are robbed of time that should be given to prayer, study or service, so that
we find ourselves spiritually impoverished. There
is need for discipline to ensure that the foe doesn’t emerge the victor in such
situations.
Then
there are “the weights” which we are to lay aside (Heb 12:1) - the things which
in themselves may not be obviously evil, but which can only hinder us in the heavenly
race, e.g., work, family, reading, music, hobbies, etc.
The “weights” come in many forms, and are a powerful weapon in the arsenal
of the enemy.
“...
and in the south.” The south is the
Biblical direction of faith, so that the lesson of Judah’s fighting against the
Canaanites in the south is that we too are to oppose every effort of the enemy to
keep us out of the enjoyment of all that is available to us through faith.
In this sphere, the ploy of the enemy is to have us look at circumstances
rather than at the God Who orders or permits the circumstances.
For example, how many of us have the faith to see in a lost job, lost
finances, lost health, the loss of a loved one, etc., not the hand of God against us,
but rather His hand weaving all the circumstances of life together for our
good?
We
may measure the success of this “southern” enemy, and our own failure, by the
number of times we have given way to doubt in the face of circumstances, when God
bids us cling to His assurance that, “All things work together for good to them
that love God....” (Ro 8:28), and the further assurance that His will is “good,
and acceptable, and perfect” (Ro 12:2).
It
must be realized, however, that the time on the mountain is to equip us to come down
to “the valley,”
which
represents the sphere of fruit-bearing and service, a fact which makes the lesson
clear: the enemy will use every weapon in his arsenal to prevent our producing fruit
for God’s glory, and from rendering any service to God, and his success may be
measured by the meagerness of our spiritual fruit, and the dilatoriness of our
service.
Let’s
look briefly at the means by which he keeps us out of “the valley,” and achieves
his victories. First, the production of
fruit and the rendering of service, require time, and the enemy has a thousand ways
of stealing that most precious of all commodities.
It is a healthy exercise to list the number of our waking hours, and then to
fill in opposite each how we have used it. Such
an analysis will reveal an amazing amount of time devoted to unnecessary activities -
time that could be far more profitably invested for eternity.
Prayer
and study are two more prerequisites of fruitfulness and service, the one being
essential for power, the other for ability (2 Tim 2:15), and here also the enemy has
countless ways of filling the time with unessential things.
Nor
should we miss the significance of the fact that it was Judah who attacked the enemy.
The attitude of praise which Judah represents, is the most successful opponent
of the evil forces that would keep us out of the enjoyment of the riches that are
ours in Christ.
1:10.
“And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron: (now the name
of Hebron before was Kirjath-arba:) and they slew Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.”
This
is the repetition of the account given in Joshua 14 and 15, where we read, “Hebron
therefore became the inheritance of Caleb .... And the name of Hebron before was
Kirjath-arba; which Arba was a great man among the Anakims” (Jos 14:14-15).
“And unto Caleb ... he gave a part among the children of Judah ... even the
city of Arba the father of Anak, which city is Hebron.
And Caleb drove thence the three sons of Anak, Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai,
the children of Anak” (Jos 15:13-14).
From
Nu 13:2,3,6, we learn that Caleb was a ruler in Judah, one of the spies sent by Moses
to search the land, and when the others discouraged the people, “Caleb stilled the
people ... and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to
overcome it,” Nu 13:30. His
faithfulness was rewarded with the promise of God, “But my servant Caleb, because
he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the
land whereinto he went; and his
seed shall possess it,” Nu 14:24. And
when the unbelieving spies, “died by the plague before the Lord ... Joshua ... and
Caleb ... lived still,” (Nu 14:37-38).
Nu
34:17-19 informs us also, that having appointed Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the
sun of Nun, to divide the land to the tribes of Israel, God also declared, “And ye
shall take one prince of every tribe, to divide the land by inheritance,”
- and first on that list of princes is, “Caleb, the son of Jephunneh.”
The
portion given Caleb was the city and region generally known as Hebron, but under
Canaanite control, known as Kirjath-Arba, “the city of Arba the father of Anak.”
Hebron
means communion, and Arba, four, but since four is the number of earth
in connection with testing, the lesson being taught in the change of name that
accompanied change of ownership, is that the world has also its own form of communion
enjoyed by its own; but we do well to note that the son of Arba was Anak, meaning neck-chain:
long necked, which represents pride and its accompanying bondage.
As Anak was the son of Arba, so is pride the offspring of worldliness.
The “communion” available to the worldling binds him to the necessity of
keeping up with those whose fellowship he covets.
Let his income, or his political power cease, however, and see how quickly the
“fellowship” also ceases.
How
different in the realm of faith! The
communion which the believer enjoys with God, and with every other believer, is not
dependent on the fluctuating values of earth, but on the changeless eternal love of
God.
From
Joshua chapter 14 we learn that for forty-five years, since the day he first caught a
glimpse of it, Caleb had never lost his desire to possess Hebron.
The same desire for what Hebron represents would preserve us from many a
sorrow, for communion can’t be separated from obedience, nor obedience from
blessing.
“And
Caleb drove thence the three sons of Anak, Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai, the
children of Anak” (Jos 15:14). Arba’s
posterity didn’t end with Anak. Anak
had three sons, Sheshai, meaning my fine linen: whiteish; Ahiman, brother
of a portion: brother of whom?; and Talmai, my furrows.
As
the children of one who represents pride, these three are themselves representative
of what characterizes pride. The
significance of Sheshai is easily deciphered. He
represents the proud satisfaction with their own righteousness that marks so many of
the world’s unconverted. Caleb’s
expulsion of Sheshai, however, reminds us that the believer may also become proud of
his righteousness, forgetting that it is the righteousness of Christ that gives him
acceptance with a Holy God. Religious pride is much more prevalent than many of us would care
to admit. There is as great need for us
to expel the pride which Sheshai represents, as there was for Israel to expel the
literal giant Sheshai.
The
lesson of Ahiman is also easily read, for the “brotherhood” of the world depends
on the “portion” possessed by the man who wants to have fellowship.
Let his “portion” of wealth, power, influence, etc., fall below that of
those with whom he has fellowship, and he finds himself very quickly unwelcome within
that circle.
This
is a form of pride regrettably rampant in Christendom today, in spite of the numerous
Scriptural warnings against it, e.g., Jas 2:1-9, “... if ye have respect to
persons, ye commit sin....” and 1 Co 11:22 “... despise ye the church of God, and
shame them that have not?” Pride,
which is the spiritual counterpart of the giant Ahiman, is likewise to be expelled
from the midst of God’s people.
The
spiritual significance of Talmai is likewise easily translated. The furrow is produced by plowing, and in an agricultural society
there was an obvious correlation between the number of furrows, and the amount of a
man’s wealth. It is regrettably true
also in Christendom today that all too often a man is esteemed in proportion to his
secular success, while he who labors in spiritual things is despised.
“Talmai” remains unexpelled in many a church today.
Countless believers are starving spiritually under the “ministry” of the
spiritual “Talmai’s,” and countless others groan under the misrule of men whose
only leadership qualifications are secular or academic rather than spiritual.
There
is just as great need for individual believers, and churches today, to expel these
spiritual sons of the giant Pride, as there was for Caleb to expel the literal sons
of Anak. Caleb’s enjoyment of Hebron
depended on their expulsion. Our
enjoyment of the communion which Hebron represents, depends on our expulsion of the
pride which they represent.
The
only difference between the account in Joshua 15, and that given here is that in the
former Caleb appears to have expelled the three giants, but here they are slain.
1:11.
“And from thence he went against the inhabitants of Debir: and the name of
Debir before was Kirjath-Sepher:”
1:12.
“And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjath-Sepher, and taketh it, to him will I give
Achsah my daughter to wife.”
Having
expelled the sons of the giant from Hebron, Caleb’s next concern was to take
possession of the place, which under the control of the Canaanite, was called
Kirjath-Sepher, meaning, city of the book, but under Israelite control, Debir,
meaning, an oracle.
The
spiritual lesson isn’t difficult to learn. This
city represents the Word of God, which to the natural man, is simply another book -
as literature, the finest in the world, but still just another piece of literature.
Faith, however, transforms that piece of literature into the written Word
which is the God-breathed revelation of Him Who is the Living Word, the Lord Jesus
Christ.
The
whole-hearted faith which Caleb represents is marked by an equally strong desire to
take possession of what it viewed once as simply another book, but now recognizes as
the inspired Word, the spiritual food without which spiritual life can’t exist.
Regrettably there are many today content to leave “Kirjath-Sepher” with
the “Canaanite,” few willing to devote the time and effort needed to wrest it
from the control of the enemy, and make it their own.
The indifference that is satisfied with its ignorance of Scripture is apparent
everywhere today amongst those professing faith in Christ, raising the question of
the reality of their profession, and explaining the rapid abandonment of Scriptural
order amongst the assemblies of God’s people, and their inability to recognize
error when it confronts them.
Caleb’s
magnanimous spirit is disclosed in his willingness to accord others a share in his
victories. There is no question that he
could have taken Kirjath-sepher himself, but he would encourage others also to expel
the enemy and enjoy the privilege of having a part in the conquest of the God-given
inheritance. His encouragement, however,
went beyond mere words. He would substantially reward the overcomer, the prize being his
daughter Achsah, meaning to tinkle: anklet.
The
spiritual significance of this is easily discerned, for that ornament encircling the
ankle and emitting a pleasant tinkle with each step, speaks of testimony.
The foot represents the walk or manner of life, so that what Achsah portrays
is a life encircled by the obedience that produces an effective witness.
The conqueror of Kirjath-sepher would be joined to this woman: she would be a
part of him. So is it with the man who
takes the Word from the enemy’s control and makes it his own.
Obedience will encircle his life, and, fulfilling the type of the tinkling
bells on the hem of the high priest’s robe (Ex 28:33-35), the obedience of his life
and the testimony of his lips will be a witness for God.
Satan
has succeeded in deluding many into believing that a verbal testimony is unnecessary,
his lie being, “It’s better to let your life speak for itself.”
Acceptance of this deadly doctrine has silenced many, with the result that the
unconverted, observing the believer’s circumspect life, have been led to conclude
that all that is needed to fit one for heaven is a moral life.
God’s word is, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord
Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart, that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou
shalt be saved. For with the heart man
believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation,” Ro 10:9-10. It is that
same truth that is being taught in Caleb’s promise to give his daughter Achsah to
the man who would take Kirjath-sepher, for that victor represents the believer whose
obedience to God’s Word produces not only an obedient life, but also a courageous
verbal testimony.
1:13.
“And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it: and he
gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.”
Othniel
means seasonable speaking of God; and Kenaz to hunt: a hunter.
The language of this verse is ambiguous relative to the relationship of
Othniel to Caleb, but many competent scholars understand Othniel to have been
Caleb’s younger brother; and Kenaz, not Othniel’s father, but rather the
grandfather of both Othniel and Caleb. Since
the hunter and hunting always have an evil connotation in Scripture, the evil
therefore associated with the meaning of Kenaz is simply the symbolic reminder that
every believer has a similar evil ancestry.
Since,
as has been noted already, Achsah represents testimony, it is not just coincidence
that her husband’s name should also speak so clearly of testimony, nor is it mere
chance that we should find these two mentioned in connection with the capture of
Kirjath-sepher, which we have seen to represent the Word of God - to the natural man,
merely a book, but to faith, the God-breathed Word.
He who takes possession of that Word, i.e., makes it his own by obeying its
precepts, can’t fail to be an effective witness for God.
The
fact that Othniel was the brother of Caleb a dog: whole-hearted, scarcely
needs comment. An effective witness is
inseparable from the humility that is satisfied to be counted but a dog, and the
whole-heartedness which Caleb represents.
1:14.
“And it came to pass, as she came to him, that she moved him to ask of her
father a field: and she lighted off her ass; and Caleb said unto her, What wouldest
thou?”
It
has been noted in other studies that a wife represents the expression of a man’s
spiritual life: the godly wife representing true spiritual life; the ungodly wife,
what passes with the natural man for spiritual life. (Adam, alone, represents man unconverted; and it is significant
that God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone” Ge 2:18, but Adam
with Eve, now capable of reproducing his kind - being fruitful -
represents the converted man, capable of being fruitful for God, Eve
representing the expression of the new spiritual life, apart from which spiritual
fruit is impossible).
A
field represents, not only the world, but also one of the spheres of Christian
service, so that Achsah’s request for a field portrays the desire of the new
spiritual life for a sphere of service. There
is something wrong with the faith that has no desire to serve, and the lesson to be
learnt from the fact that it is Caleb who gives the field, is that whole-heartedness
will always furnish a sphere of service. Absence
of any desire to serve indicates a divided heart, and we shouldn’t forget that it
is written, “My son give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways” (Pr
23:26).
“...
and she lighted off her ass.” Recognizing
that the wild ass is a type of the old nature unrestrained; and the domesticated ass,
that same old nature, but under some degree of moral restraint, Achsah’s
dismounting from the ass speaks of Faith’s refusal to be carried along by the
impulses of the old nature. He who would
serve God must divorce himself from the dominion of the old nature.
1:15.
“And she said unto him, Give me a blessing: for thou hast given me a south
land; give me also springs of water. And
Caleb gave her the upper springs and the nether springs.”
Her
plea, “Give me a blessing,” portrays the desire of Faith for the blessing of God,
and it must not be forgotten that obedience is a prerequisite of blessing.
“...
for thou hast given me a south land,” scarcely needs comment. Since the south is always associated with faith, the lesson being
taught is that the believer’s portion is in the realm of faith, not sight.
We are not to measure blessing in terms of earthly things.
Faith’s blessings are spiritual - incomprehensible to the natural man, and
therefore in his sight, worthless. Those
blessings, however, are precious to the obedient believer, for he walks by faith and
not by sight (2 Co 5:7).
“Give
me also springs of water.” Apart from
the dew (type of the Holy Spirit); and the early and the latter rains (type of Divine
blessing); and the springs of water (type of the Word), the south land would have
been a parched desert. So is it in the
spiritual realm. To the disobedient
believer the realm of Faith is but a barren desert, for disobedience stays the dew
(quenches and grieves the Holy Spirit); cuts off the essential “rain”; and dries
up the “springs.”
The
springs, bubbling up by a mysterious unseen force, represent the different parts of
the written Word, whose spiritual meaning is unfolded to obedient Faith by the Holy
Spirit. Disobedience shuts off that
ministry of the Holy Spirit, and reduces the living Word to nothing more than a piece
of literature, as incomprehensible to the disobedient believer as to the unbeliever.
Various
suggestions have been offered concerning the spiritual significance of “the upper
springs, and the nether springs,” the most popular being that they represent the
Old and the New Testaments, or truth appropriate to spiritual growth - the lower
springs representing truth that may be grasped by the newest convert, while the upper
springs represent what is appropriate to a mature spiritual state.
1:16.
“And the children of the Kenite a smith: a fabricator, Moses’
father in law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into
the wilderness of Judah, which lieth in the south of Arad wild ass; and they
went and dwelt among the people.”
There
is considerable disagreement amongst scholars regarding this verse, first, not only
as to whether “the city of palm trees” was Jericho; and second, as to whether “the people” among whom
they dwelt, were Judaeans or Amalakites. There
seems little doubt that the city was Jericho; and apart from much manuscript evidence
in favor of their having dwelt among the Amalakites (to whom they were related, and
which would make them representative of the flesh), there is much else connected with
them that savors of evil. As children of
the Kenite, Moses’ father in law, they were Midianites, which points to them as
representing strife and contention, for Midian means strife and contention.
Arad wild ass has also a bad connotation, for as noted already, the ass
represents the old nature, and in the case of the wild ass, as here, the old
nature, without any moral restraint.
All
things considered therefore, I am inclined to agree with those who see them as
representative of evil, like the mixed multitude that went out of Egypt with Israel
at the time of the Passover, a multitude that proved to be simply a thorn in the side
of Israel. That multitude which
represents the flesh, went with Israel at the time of her deliverance, just as the
flesh goes with the believer after his deliverance; and now that flesh, in the guise
of the Kenite, is seen again as Israel attempts to take possession of her
inheritance. The flesh is with us as we
seek to take possession of our inheritance, and it proves to be a very great
hinderance.
Grant’s
comments are worth quoting in this connection, “We find ... the Kenite settling
among the children of Judah.... They are the Midianite tribe out of which Moses’
wife had come ... and who, upon Moses’ invitation, had accompanied them into the
land. But they never unite themselves
with the people of God, though settling among them .... They are Midianites, men of
the world, but not at strife with Israel, as others of their race.
Nay, they make a nest for themselves among them, and it is for the nest they
are there. They come now and dwell on
the southern border of Judah in the wilderness, their natural home, south of Arad,
the place of the wild ass. They
keep their wilderness manners in the land, - are not at home there, though they may
like the security it affords. All this
describes but too well the condition of many who attach themselves, in every
dispensation, to the people of God, yet are not of them.
The victories of the children of Judah invite them and make way for them; but
their presence is no strength, and no sign for good.”
1:17.
“And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew the Canaanites that
inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. And
the name of the city was called Hormah.”
Zephath
means watchful, but as a Canaanite city, and therefore a city of the enemy, it
speaks of the ceaseless vigilance of Satan, exercised through the men and things of
the world, to keep believers out of the enjoyment of the rich inheritance secured for
them through Christ’s death. The utter
destruction of this place by the two tribes whose names speak of praise and obedience,
reminds us of the power that accompanies these two Christian virtues.
(This in no way alters the fact that in refusing to go alone as God had
commanded, Judah was disobedient, but here at the beginning, when humanly speaking,
there was hope of recovery, God in grace gave victory, just as in spite of the
disobedience of Moses in striking the rock twice, He still gave the water).
The
change of name to Hormah destruction would serve both as a reminder and an
encouragement to others. All that would
oppose our entrance into the possession of spiritual blessing is to be destroyed.
Where thankfulness and obedience are found together the victory will be given
in spite of all the watchfulness of the enemy.
1:18.
And Judah took Gaza with the coast thereof, and Askelon with the coast
thereof, and Ekron with the coast thereof.”
These
were Philistine cities, and since the Philistine represents apostate Christianity,
the lesson here is that the spiritual enemy represented by these three cities wears
the cloak of Christianity to hide his true nature.
Gaza means she was strong; Askelon, the fire of infamy: I shall be
weighed; and Ekron, uprooting.
Are
we tempted to compare the outward power and glory of the great harlot church, with
the seeming weakness of the true Church as seen in the little struggling assemblies
of true believers - and despair of ever overcoming? Israel’s destruction of Gaza is to remind us that we are not to
be deceived by outward appearances. That
great apostate system calling itself “the Church,” has only as much power over us
as we are willing to give it. We are not
to ape its ways no matter how successful those ways may appear to be, and how
unsuccessful God’s ways may seem. There
is no doubt about the final outcome. We
are the victors.
Askelon
is more difficult to interpret, though the fire of infamy may speak of the
unremitting zeal with which the great false church pursues her evil course, the
second meaning I shall be weighed
reminding us that the day is not far off when she will be weighed in God’s balances
and, like Belshazzar, be “found wanting.” The realization that we too are going to be weighed in those same
balances, should turn us to God for the grace that will prevent our also being
“found wanting.”
Ekron
uprooting certainly reminds us that the day is coming when the evil system
represented by these Philistine cities will be uprooted; but we are to remember that
we have the responsibility here and now to “uproot” from our lives and our
assemblies everything that corresponds to Ekron.
There is that evil, which under the disguise of being more enlightened
Christianity, would “uproot” Scriptural order from the assemblies of God’s
people. Under the plausible pretext of
“keeping pace with the times,” there is much being introduced into our assemblies
that would subvert God’s order. It is
no more to be tolerated than was the literal city of Ekron.
It is to be uprooted.
1:19.
“And the Lord was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but
could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of
iron.”
We
have already noted that the mountain represents not only a king and/or a kingdom, but
also the place of separation from this evil world.
One aspect of the “mountain” is the time reserved each day for study and
prayer, shut in with God above earth’s distractions; but it is to be remembered
that that time is to equip us for service and fruitbearing, which are associated with
“the valley.”
This
verse has to be understood in the context of Jos 1:3, “Every place that the sole of
your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you....”; and 17:18, “... for
thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and
though they be strong”; and Dt.20:1,4, “When thou goest out to battle against
thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not
afraid of them: for the Lord thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the
land of Egypt.... For the Lord your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you
against your enemies, to save you.” Judah apparently went up on the mountain where the iron chariots
of the enemy couldn’t go; but it seems that he was so intimidated by the sight of
the chariots in the valley, that he wouldn’t venture to set foot there.
It
wasn’t that they couldn’t drive them out, but rather that they wouldn’t.
It wasn’t the enemy’s iron chariots that made the difference: it was
Judah’s lack of faith in God, and his trust in his own strength.
That distrust of God was disclosed first in his taking Simeon with him,
without bidding from God, and now it reveals itself again.
He clearly doubted the ability of God to overcome the chariots of iron,
because like many another, he professed with his lips to trust God for victory, but
in his heart he was looking to self, not God. And
as always, when the might of the enemy is compared with mere human ability, the enemy
must appear invincible. It is the
reverse when the eye is on God.
It
is significant that God had specifically promised them victory over the chariots of
their enemies, “When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest
horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the
Lord thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.... For the
Lord your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to
save you” (De 20:1-4). The reference to their deliverance from Egypt should have reminded
them that the God Who had destroyed the mighty Egyptian army was no less able to
smash the lesser might of these Canaanites. Joshua
had also assured them that they would overcome these iron chariots, see Jos 17:18.
Our
defeats measure, not the inadequacy of God, but the paucity of our faith.
As
already noted, the valleys represent the sphere of service and fruitfulness, so that
Judah’s failure to secure the valleys, speaks of our failure to produce spiritual
fruit, and to take possession of a sphere of service. A large part of the enemy’s success lies in our failure to
recognize him. How many, for example,
fail to see that they are giving to an occupation, time that belongs to God?
Countless believers, unwilling to lower their standard of living, bind
themselves to a job that demands all of their time, and leaves no time for the things
of God.
Fear
is another enemy that has kept many a believer from rendering effective service in
the Gospel. Fear of being laughed at has
silenced many a word that might have been given in testimony.
The
love of ease is another foe to be credited with keeping many a believer out of “the
valley.”
Judah’s
taking the mountain, but not the valley, translates into the truth that it is
possible to devote time to study and prayer, but then to fail to produce any
spiritual fruit or yield any acceptable service.
Prayer may become a mere time consuming mechanical ritual; and Bible study, a
mere time consuming academic activity. Knowledge that isn’t used in practical service is of little
worth. We must take “the valley” as
well as “the mountain.” We are not
only to refrain from doing wrong, we must also do good works.
1:20.
“And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, as Moses said: and he expelled thence the
three sons of Anak.”
Since
the spiritual significance of this has already been considered (Jos 15:13; Jg 1:10),
there is no need of further comment here.
1:21.
“And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited
Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto
this day.”
Better
things might have been expected of the warrior tribe Benjamin, meaning son of the
right hand, but of him it is written simply that he “did not drive out the
Jebusites....” Is it possible that he
didn’t even try?
Jebusite
means he will be trodden down. This
foe remained in Jerusalem until the days of David (2 Sa 5:6-7).
The ambiguity of the meaning of the name makes it hard to discern the exact
spiritual significance, for it is difficult to identify the “he” who will be
trodden down. Is it the Jebusite, or
someone else? If the Jebusite, then the
message is that in the end he will be trodden down by God, but the equally certain
fact is that if we submit to the evil represented by the Jebusite, we will be
trodden down.
But
what does this particular foe represent? Since
Jerusalem is a type of the human heart, the Jebusite’s ruling in Jerusalem makes
him the representative of anything and everything which is allowed to usurp the place
that belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ. This foe, in fact, may well be a type, of the old nature in
general, rather than of one particular aspect of it. The presence of the Jebusite in Jerusalem during all the long
period from Joshua to David, reminds us that the old nature will be with us until the
earthly journey is ended, and we’re home in heaven.
1:22.
“And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel: and the Lord was
with them.”
“The
house of Joseph” is generally accepted as being Ephraim and Manasseh, but the
omission of those two names, and the mention of Joseph let him add, may be to
remind us of the spiritual increase that comes from the spiritual equivalent of
Israel’s taking possession of Bethel house of God, i.e., the sphere where
God’s Word is obeyed. Spiritual
increase is always in proportion to the measure of our obedience.
“...
and the Lord was with them.” It is
easy to see why this should have been added. Obedience
guarantees the Lord’s presence and blessing.
1:23.
“And the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel house of God.
(Now the name of the city before was Luz perverse.)”
There
are several other instances of Israel’s having sent spies ahead of them: e.g.,
their sending the twelve spies into Canaan (Nu 13 and De 1); and their sending spies
into Jericho (Jos 2), and of their sending spies to Ai.
Without entering into a discussion of the merits of their action on those
other occasions, the glimpses of faithlessness already given, indicate that in the
present instance their sending spies continues to betray lack of faith.
The
change of name from Luz to Bethel that accompanied the passing of the
city from Canaanite to Israelite possession, reminds us that the perversity that
marked our unsaved state is to be exchanged for the obedience of which Bethel speaks.
1:24.
“And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him,
Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will shew thee mercy.”
In
view of the lack of faith so clearly indicated in their readiness to rely on an arm
of flesh rather than on God, the present appeal to this unknown man can scarcely be
construed other than as another disclosure of faithlessness.
Was not God perfectly capable, not only of showing them “the entrance into
the city,” but of delivering it into their hands?
How often, unfortunately, we too are guilty of the same lack of faith!
There is ever present that evil tendency to rely on man rather than on God; to
adopt human expedients, instead of rendering simple obedience to the Word of God.
“...
and we will shew thee mercy.” This was
in blatant defiance of God’s command, “When the Lord thy God shall bring thee
into the land .... And ... shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and
utterly destroy them: thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto
them” (De 7:1-2).
1:25.
“And when he shewed them the entrance into the city, they smote the city
with the edge of the sword; but they let go the man and all his family.”
The
zeal that saw the city smitten was counteracted by the disobedience that spared the
man and all his family. The sparing of
that one man is the equivalent of sparing some perversity (sin) in our lives; and
“all his family” has an ominous significance, for it hints at the possibility of
his increase, an increase all too plainly disclosed in the following verse.
1:26.
“And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and
called the name thereof Luz: which is the name thereof unto this day.”
That
man and his family spared, became the founders of another Luz, this time in the land
of the Hittites terror. The
lesson is easily read. There may be a
great deal of zeal for God, but where sin is spared, zeal furnishes no protection
against the evil that will accrue from what may be carelessly viewed as but “a
small sin.” There is no such thing as
a small sin. All sin is as heinous to
God as it is dangerous to man. That one
man and his family spared, soon became a city. One
sin spared, allowed place in the life, will quickly become another “city” - it
will spread like a cancer and destroy the life.
Nor
should we miss the significance of his building the second Luz in the land of the
Hittites terror. They represent
fear, and were one of Israel’s most formidable enemies.
As noted already, fear of man is one of Satan’s most effective weapons in
preventing victorious Christian living.
1:27.
“Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and her towns,
nor Taanach and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the
inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns:
but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.”
Manasseh
means causing to forget, a meaning which recalls the exhortation of Paul,
“... this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching
forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of
the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Php 3:13-14). The failure therefore of Manasseh to wrest these five cities from
the enemy, points to the possibility of failure on our part to make spiritual
progress because we allow “those things which are behind” to hinder us.
Since five is the number of responsibility, there being five of these
cities signifies that our defeat stems from unfulfilled responsibility, i.e.,
disobedience.
But
what are “the things which are behind”? One
of them may be the world to which we (like Lot’s wife) look back, with longing for
its wealth, pleasure, ease, fame, applause, etc., or it may be a morbid occupation
with the past, either our unconverted past, or the failures of our converted past.
The one is as great a hindrance as the other.
The remedy is to remember that all our sins (past, present, and future)
were forgiven the moment we trusted Christ, and the communion interrupted by sins
committed after conversion, is restored the moment we confess them to God, and
forsake them (1 Jn 1:9).
But
these five cities go beyond the general and point to specifics. Beth-shean, house of quiet, left in the possession of the
enemy, warns us that the spiritual equivalent will rob us of the enjoyment of what is
ours in Christ. The lesson isn’t
difficult to read. Failure to reserve
time each day to be alone with God, to read and pray, and have our souls quieted in
His presence, is the cause of a great deal of spiritual poverty amongst Christians
today. That neglect robs us of the peace
God would have us enjoy. Failure to secure that time is the spiritual counterpart of
Manasseh”s leaving Beth-shean in the possession of the enemy.
Taanach,
she will afflict thee, is the second city mentioned, and while the spiritual
lesson may at first appear obscure, a more careful examination will disclose that it
is just as clearly written as is any other.
First,
we note that this spiritual foe is described as she, but since the female in
Scripture represents passivity rather than activity, the lesson appears to be that
our being passive when we should be active, is another way to rob ourselves of the
enjoyment of blessings made available to us through Christ’s death.
This
failure takes many forms, but a glance at one or two will suffice to indicate where
our own delinquency lies. Surely no one
will fail to see that the vast majority of us are to be charged with disobedience of
the Lord’s command, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every
creature” (Mk.16:15). Of how much this
neglect has robbed us will not be fully known until that day when we stand at the
judgment seat of Christ. It is largely
because of this negligence that our assemblies are lying in ruins today, and we
ourselves deprived of the joy of seeing souls led to the Savior.
The
loss accruing from failure to read and pray has already been discussed, and need not
be repeated here.
Failure
to attend the scheduled meetings of the assembly is another fruitful source of
spiritual penury. But a little
soul-searching will reveal to each of us the area of failure in his or her own life,
for the forms of this delinquency are as varied as our faces.
Discovery
of the sin, however, apart from abandonment of it, will simply compound our guilt.
The
third city Dor, generation: dwelling, reminds us that Manasseh’s failure is
not confined to one generation. The
habits of one generation are all too frequently molded by those of its predecessor.
No man lives unto himself. Whether
we wish it or not, we influence the lives of others, particularly the young who look
to older believers as role models. We do
well to note the exhortation of Paul, “... but judge this rather, that no man put a
stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way” (Ro 14:13), and the
further exhortation, “But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become
a stumbling block to them that are weak” (1 Co 8:9).
The
lesson of the second meaning dwelling is also easily read. As each believer is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, so are
we “builded together for an habitation (dwelling place) of God through the
Spirit” (Eph 2:22). The local
assemblies are the habitations or dwelling places of God, and as literal houses tend
to reflect the character of their occupants, so does each assembly tend to have
impressed upon it the character of the individuals comprising that fellowship.
We
might note further, that as believers, we are a new generation, a new creation.
We are to pass through this world as pilgrims and strangers, “for here we
have no continuing city, but we seek one to come” (Heb 13:14).
Heaven is our home, our eternal dwelling place.
The
fourth city is Ibleam meaning he will swallow them: he will swallow the people,
and the problem is to determine what is to be understood by “he.”
A clue to the spiritual lesson of Ibleam may be furnished by the fact that it
is the fourth city on the list, and four is the number of earth and testing.
This, then, would make Ibleam a type of the world; and the “he,” Satan,
the prince of this world. Scripture
abounds with warnings to believers relative to the dangers of entangling themselves
with the things of this world, e.g., “the friendship of the world is enmity with
God” (Jas 4:4), “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.
If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 Jn
2:15).
The
sorry state of a Christendom that does love the world and the things of it, is
eloquent testimony to the warning sounded symbolically in Manasseh’s failure to
take Ibleam. The world has all but
swallowed the Church, but since Satan is the prince of this world, it is he, aided by
our disobedience, who has wrought such havoc.
The
fifth place, Megiddo, meaning invading: gathering for cutting (self): his
cutting-place, is not as difficult to interpret as might at first appear when we
remember that it is this very vale of Megiddo that is to be the gathering place for
the rebel armies of earth just prior to the Lord’s return to destroy them, and
inaugurate His millennial kingdom.
Five
is the number of responsibility, and in not taking Megiddo, Manasseh failed to
fulfill his responsibility, with the result that the foe, left there, frequently
“invaded” Israel to her hurt, “cutting” her, as it were, but since that
cutting would have been impossible had she obeyed God and exterminated the foe, it
was in a very real sense, she who cut herself. Since,
however, it was God Who permitted the cutting as chastisement for disobedience, it
was “His cutting place.”
God
takes a serious view of responsibility unfulfilled.
It brings chastisement, when obedience would have brought blessing.
Israel is the prime example; and of course the ultimate demonstration of the
principle will be that final great gathering of earth’s rebels in the plain of
Megiddo at the end of the Tribulation, when the Lord, returning in power and glory,
slays them.
“...
but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.”
Other renderings of this are, “... were determined to live in that land”;
“clung to this country”; “... held their ground.”
Since Canaanite means a trafficker, the lesson being taught here is
that the spiritual counterpart of Manasseh’s disobedience results invariably in
there coming in also the counterpart of the Canaanite - the spiritual life
degenerates into a mere dull, cold “trafficking” in spiritual things.
This
degeneracy was found in Ephesus, for in Re 2:2 it is written, “I know thy works,
and thy labor, and thy patience....” but as others have noted, when Paul commended
the Thessalonian believers for those very same things, he wrote of their “...work of
faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope” (1 Th 1:3).
The Ephesians addressed by the Lord in Re 2:2, continued with the outward
form, but the faith, love and hope were gone - they had become mere traffickers in
spiritual things. It is to be feared
that many of us are guilty of similar trafficking.
Instead of being true to our Manassite character, and forgetting the things
that are behind, we have allowed those things to hinder our progress, with the result
that the enemy occupies what God intended us to possess and enjoy.
If
we find that Manasseh’s failure is but the picture of our own, our study of his
history will have been profitless unless it begets the determination that from this
moment on it will not be such a prophetic picture. That resolve will be made good as we follow the example of Paul,
“... but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and
reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the
prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Ph 3:13-14).
1:28.
“And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites
to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out.”
Putting
the foe to tribute was not what God had commanded, and in this expedient we have the
foreshadowing of that which is largely the character of the professing church today:
God’s order has been rejected, and replaced with human expedient.
Israel’s
taking tribute from the Canaanites speaks of the Church’s taking the things of the
world for her own use, and the extent of our guilt may be measured by the degree to
which the things of the world are found in the Church.
To look at but a few, one of the most obvious is our taking money from the
unconverted. The prevalence of this pernicious practice is too well known to
need comment, and the harm it has done to the cause of Christ can be measured in the
frequency with which we hear the comment, “All the church wants is money.”
It is an affront to God to accept the “offering” of the unconverted, and
it is an even greater affront to beg the unconverted for money “for the Lord’s
work.” The principle that is to govern us in regard to this is
declared in the words of Abraham to Bera, king of Sodom, “I will not take from a
thread even to a shoelatchet ... I will not take anything that is thine....(Ge
14:23). The Lord has no need of the
money of the believer, much less that of the unbeliever, to carry on His work.
Another
is the readiness with which the unconverted are welcomed into the fellowship which
God says is for believers only. The
average congregation today has in it the same “mixed multitude” as accompanied
Israel out of Egypt, and which proved to be to her a “thorn” in her side, and is
no less so to many a congregation today.
Still
another is the hierarchical form of church government which has either replaced the
rule of the elders, or reduced it to a shadow of what God intended.
The schemes of men, patterned after the methods of the world, have largely
replaced the leading of the Holy Spirit. But
the “democracy” that gives every man a vote has no place in the government of the
Church.
Likewise,
the gifts of the Holy Spirit, neglected, and often deliberately rejected, have been
replaced with the world’s “common sense” methods, while the gifted men given to
the Church for her upbuilding, have been replaced with the unscriptural cleric, whose
only qualification is academic, and therefore no qualification at all.
We
might continue the list, but sufficient has been said to indicate the extent to which
the Church has put the Canaanite to tribute instead of exterminating him as God had
commanded.
The
easy revenue may have convinced the Israelites that that was even better than
exterminating the enemy, but such a myopic view failed to take account of the fact
that the presence of the Canaanite was nothing less than the evidence of Israel’s
disobedience. And that had an ominous
significance which far outweighed the small gain derived from the tribute.
That disobedience alone guaranteed chastisement and diminished blessing.
Foolish Israel eventually aped the ways of the Canaanites, and bowed down to
their gods, thus provoking the wrath of Jehovah, so that, with His protecting hand
withdrawn, the position was soon reversed, and the former serfs became the masters.
1:29.
“Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the
Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.”
Ephraim,
meaning double ash-heap: I shall be doubly fruitful, represents the
fruitfulness that should be the accompaniment of an obedient Christian life, that
fertility being twofold: (1) production of the fruits of the Spirit as listed in Ga
5:22, and (2) fruitfulness in the Gospel: spiritual sons and daughters begotten, men
and women led to the Savior. (Double
ash-heap is no contradiction, but rather a confirmation of the thought of
fruitfulness, for the ash-heap indicated the size and prosperity of the city - a
double ash-heap spoke of unusual size and prosperity.
But the spiritual application is even more apt.
Fruitfulness will be in proportion as we cast on the “ash-heap” the
worthless things of this world, after the example of Paul who declared, “I count
all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for
whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may
win Christ” [Php 3:8]).
Ephraim’s
failure to drive out the Canaanite, however, was nothing less than disobedience,
itself the guarantee of diminished fruitfulness.
Since the Canaanite means trafficker, and represents “trafficking”
in spiritual things, i.e., engaging in spiritual activity for earthly, rather than
eternal gain, Ephraim’s failure is but the symbol of our own.
This spiritual “trafficking” takes many forms, e.g., studying Scripture in
order to display knowledge rather than seeking to equip myself to be “a workman
that needeth not to be ashamed;” engaging in good works in order to be thought
“godly”; feigning humility in order to be thought humble so that I may be
secretly proud of my humility; engaging in Christian service for monetary gain ...
the list could be extended.
But
it is to be noted that Ephraim’s failure was connected specifically with Gezer,
meaning a piece: a portion (as cut off).
Gezer appears to represent this world as Satan’s kingdom today.
It is inferior to what it was when he ruled it as Lucifer: it is but “a
piece, or a cut off portion” - it is a poor thing indeed compared to the perfect
realm he once ruled for God.
An
obvious question presents itself, however, If Gezer does represent this world as what
remains of Satan’s once perfect domain, in what way may we expel the Canaanite from
the world? Since it is clearly beyond
our power, as individuals, to influence the whole world, the obvious explanation
appears to be that the reference is to that little part of it in which each of us is
involved, in which we do have influence. That
makes the lesson practical. The little
part of the world from which we may “expel the Canaanite” is that part where we
may exert an influence for good.
But
what is the spiritual equivalent of “expelling the Canaanite” in this context?
One way to allow the Canaanite to remain is to trade with our families - buy
their goodwill by refusing to present them with the Gospel.
The same applies to the neighborhood, and the work place.
And
there is another way to leave the Canaanite undisturbed in the context of the work
place. When we as employees are willing
to do what is shady or wrong, we are duplicating Ephraim’s failure.
When as employers, we are willing to adopt the world’s shady or outright
wrong methods, we are leaving the Canaanite in possession of what God intended us to
enjoy.
“...
but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.”
And so is it in Christendom today. Converted
and unconverted alike are mingled together, not only in our families, and
neighborhoods, and work places, but in our assemblies - and this in spite of the
command to keep ourselves separate from them. Indifference
to God’s commands regarding separation, and our quest for numbers, have resulted in
our welcoming the “Canaanite” into our midst, so that the average congregation is
simply a “mixed multitude,” where unbelievers often outnumber believers.
As
spiritual Ephraimites, our delinquency is just as great as was that of our literal
counterparts long ago.
And
another thought in connection with Gezer’s meaning a piece: a portion (as cut
off), is that when we fail to maintain the separation enjoined by God, the rich
full portion He has given us will become but a piece, or cut off portion, diminished
by our disobedience. If we live for the
things of the world, the most we can hope to gain is a small piece, a cut off
portion, which must be left behind when we leave this world and enter the next, and
in grasping for that small worthless temporary part we rob ourselves of the precious
and eternal. What folly, then, to pursue
earthly things rather than heavenly!
1:30.
“Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the
inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became
tributaries.”
Zebulun
means dwelling; Kitron, incense-burner; Nahalol, being tended: tended as in a
pasture.
Zebulun,
of course, should remind us that as believers we have here on earth no dwelling
place, but are as pilgrims and strangers passing through on the way to our eternal
dwelling place, that same place sought by Abraham, “a (the) city which hath
foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Heb 11:10), where even now Christ is
preparing us a place (Jn 14:2-3).
The
fact is, however, that practice and profession are all too often at odds.
Our lifestyles demonstrate that we have set our affections on earthly things
rather than heavenly, so that we have settled down in the world, and have become
“earth dwellers,” governed by earthly standards, seeking earthly treasure,
delighting in earthly things.
The
first place mentioned in connection with Zebulun’s failure is Kitron, meaning incense-burner,
a meaning whose spiritual import is easily read, for incense is a symbol of worship,
as is made clear by that part of the Levitical ritual pertaining to the golden altar,
also referred to as the altar of incense (Ex 30:27).
Compare also, for example, Ps 141:2, “Let my prayer be set forth before thee
as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice,” and Ex 30:8,
“...at even he (Aaron) shall burn incense upon it (the golden altar).”
As
the Canaanite dwelt with Zebulun in the place that speaks so clearly of worship, so
does the spiritual “Canaanite” still dwell at “Kitron.”
In many congregations today the unbeliever mingles freely with those who are
of the household of faith, some of them occupying the place of “pastors,” and
presiding over the presentation of “worship.” Nor is this evil confined to the so-called “denominations” -
the “open table” policy of all too many assemblies encourages the same travesty.
Toleration
of the Canaanite in Kitron and Nahalol resulted in loss of blessing, for Israel all
too quickly adopted the evil practices of the “traffickers” in their midst, and
incurred thereby the wrath of God.
The
lesson of Nahalol is equally easy to read, for its meaning being tended: tended as
in a pasture is the very clear symbolic description of our position as believers:
we are those who are being tended by the good Shepherd, the “pasture” being the
written Word as our spiritual food and drink. The
presence of the Canaanite in Nahalol has its spiritual counterpart in the professing
church today. Since teaching is the
fundamental activity connected with “pasturing,” the lesson of the Canaanite in
Nahalol is related to the work of pastors (elders) and teachers, and it is to be
noted that an elder’s principal work is teaching, one of the qualifications of an
elder being “apt to teach” (1 Tim 3:2). It
is to be noted also that Peter, who describes himself as an elder rather than
an apostle (1 Pe 5:1-4), and who exhorts the elders to, “Feed the flock of
God....” is the one who was himself specifically commanded by the Lord, “Feed my
lambs ... feed my sheep ... feed my sheep” (Jn 21:15-17).
And small wonder. The well-fed
(well-taught) flock has little to fear from the spiritual “wolf.”
Their knowledge enables them to discern the “wolf’s” false teaching.
The
“Canaanites” in our midst, however, would try to tell us that elders are to be administrators,
in spite of the fact that the Word of God is silent as to any such gift, office, or
work. (1 Co 12:5 is no exception.
The word that has been translated administrations in the KJ version, is
recognized by competent scholars as being correctly ministries, i.e., forms of
service). These same false teachers,
from this wrong premise, proceed to tell us also that part of the elder’s work as
an administrator is to delegate, in spite of the fact that here again no such
teaching is to be found in Scripture. The
Holy Spirit is the only Administrator of the Church.
Not even elders have authority to delegate either authority or work.
It is the prerogative of the Holy Spirit alone to appoint each man his
position and his work.
“...
but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became tributaries.” Having examined the spiritual significance of this in our study of
verse 28, it is unnecessary to dwell on it here again.
1:31.
“Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho, nor the inhabitants
of Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob:”
In
Asher, meaning happy, we are reminded that we are to be a happy people, our
happiness continuing even in the midst of tribulation, since its source is heavenly,
not earthly. The world has neither the
power to give it, nor to recall it.
Asher’s
failure, however, continues to declare that in the sphere of happiness also, our
failure to drive out the enemy has permitted him to rob us of what God has given us.
The degree of our failure (and therefore of the enemy’s success) may be
measured in the lack of true happiness in the midst of God’s people today.
Accho
means his straitness, and while that meaning may appear at first ambiguous,
the context indicates that the reference may be to the straitness which is the
accompaniment of obedience to the Word of God, for it must not be forgotten that
conversion carries us from the broad way that leads to destruction, on to the narrow
(strait) way that leads to heaven (Mt 7:13-14).
There is no place in the Christian life for indulgence of the flesh, but here
again the spiritual “Canaanites” in our midst would tell us otherwise.
They would read into Scripture license which is not to be found there.
Under the guise of “Christian liberty” many things which God condemns are
tolerated in the midst of His people today.
In
much of Christendom the “Canaanite” has been left undisturbed in “Accho.”
Zidon
has two meanings, a hunting, and a fishery. It represents the world as the place in which Satan hunts for the
souls of men to destroy them, but where believers, as the Lord’s fishermen (Mk
1:17), are to go out with the Gospel and fish for men’s souls so that they might be
saved. Significantly, it is situated on
the seacoast, the sea being the symbol of earth’s unconverted masses (Isa 57:20).
The believer who would enjoy the happiness which Asher represents, is he who
yields obedience to the Lord’s commission, “Go ye into all the world, and preach
the gospel to every creature” (Mk 16:15). It
is in that great “sea” of humanity that we are to fish for souls.
That
the “Canaanite” has been left undisturbed in “Zidon” is painfully obvious
from our failure to go out to an unconverted world with the Scriptural Gospel that
fearlessly declares man’s ruined state, his need of a new birth through repentance
and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and the need of a life that confirms the
testimony of the lips.
Nor
is our failure diminished by the preaching of the spurious watered-down thing that
passes for the Gospel in much of Christendom today.
The
second meaning of Zidon, a hunting, has ominous significance, for the hunter
is never found in a good connotation in Scripture.
He is the opposite of the shepherd. The
hunter destroys life, the shepherd preserves it.
Nimrod, the evil founder of Babylon was a hunter.
Christ, the good Shepherd gave His life for the sheep.
This
second meaning is meant to teach us that it is all too possible for a local church to
become a spiritual Zidon, not as a place associated with “fishing” for souls, but
with “hunting.” The substitution of
a spurious “gospel” for the Scriptural reality, makes many a “church” simply
a place where Satan enjoys very successful “hunting,” for that spurious
“gospel” lures many into the belief that they are saved when they aren’t.
Reception
of the unconverted into the fellowship which God says is for believers only, is
another way to make a church a place of hunting rather than fishing.
Those welcomed without any question as to their spiritual state, may be lulled
into believing that they are saved just because they are doing the same things as
those around them who claim to be Christians. In
such a church Satan enjoys very successful hunting.
Ahlab,
meaning I shall be made fat, may also at first appear ambiguous, for obviously
what is true of the city must also be true of its inhabitants; and God had given
Ahlab to Asher. Asher is the one whom
God would have made “fat,” but in failing to expel the Canaanite, Asher became
“lean,” and the enemy “fat.” There
is no ambiguity about the lesson. We
have left the “Canaanite” in “Ahlab,” thus making him “fat,” and
ourselves “lean.”
Concerning
Israel, it is written, “They soon forgat his (God’s) works; they waited not for
his counsel: but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert.
And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul” (Ps
106:13-15). Only the spiritually blind will fail to see that the Church has
fulfilled the type both of Israel in the desert, and of Asher in the land.
We have lusted for the things of the world, and become thereby lean of soul.
And the undisturbed “Canaanite” in our midst has contributed to that
leanness, while he has become correspondingly “fat.”
Achzib,
meaning I shall make a lie, conveys a very necessary warning.
The word is related to the idea of a winter torrent that fails in summer.
It is possible for an outward morality to disguise a wrong condition of heart.
We may deceive men, but we cannot deceive God, for He discerns the thoughts
and intents of the heart.
Service
may also be a sphere in which we “make a lie.”
The motive must be pure if the service is to have value for eternity.
Spiritual gift may corrupt by begetting pride.
Following the list of Lucifer’s endowments comes the pronouncement of God,
“Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by
reason of thy brightness....” (Eze 28:17).
Fear of man may induce the preacher to adapt his message to suit the taste of
his hearers. The evangelist may be lured
into being more concerned with the number of converts than with the reality of their
profession. Teachers may become proud of
their knowledge, so that their ministry is prompted less by a desire to build up
God’s people than that they themselves should appear knowledgeable.
Achzib’s
being within the lot of Asher would remind us of the constant necessity to guard
against “making a lie.” Purity of
motive in all we do is essential to the happiness which Asher represents.
Remembering
that Canaanite means trafficker, the lesson of Asher’s leaving the Canaanite
in possession of Achzib is easily read. All
of the evils referred to above are unfortunately all too common in our midst today.
The “Canaanite” has been left in possession of “Achzib.”
Helbah
means fatness. The spiritual
application of course is to the condition of the soul, so that Helbah’s being left
in the possession of the Canaanite simply emphasizes that as we allow the principle
of trafficking (i.e., having an impure motive) to govern our lives, there will be
corresponding leanness of soul. The
condition of Christendom verifies that Asher’s failure is but the type of our own.
Aphik
means channel: restraint, the first meaning reminding us that we are to be the
channels through which the water of life flows out to others, but Asher’s allowing
the Canaanites to dwell there in their midst points to the fact that wherever we
allow the slightest impurity of motive in what we do, we are diminishing the
effectiveness of that channel.
And
the lesson of the second meaning restraint is also easily read.
It would remind us that “All things are lawful unto me, but all things are
not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the
power of any” (1 Co 6:12), and the context emphasizes that since we have been
bought with a price, we are not our own: our bodies are to be used for God’s glory.
1 Co 10:23 repeats that, “All things are lawful for me, but all things are
not expedient: All things are lawful for me but all things edify not,” but now the
application is to our relationship with others.
Where the exercise of my Christian liberty might stumble a weak brother, I am
to impose restraint upon myself so that the weak brother, instead of being stumbled,
may be edified or built up.
An
impure motive is offensive to God, and may result in my stumbling another believer.
Rehob
meaning broad place (as modern “square, plaza”), is the last place
mentioned in connection with Asher’s failure to take full possession of his
portion. It represents the “broad
place” into which faith has brought us as believers.
As to the new life we possess, it is “broad” in every sense: it is
abundant, it is eternal, and of such a nature that even here on earth it is
unaffected by the normal vicissitudes of life. It
is paradoxical in that this “broad place” of blessing is available only to the
man who steps by faith from the world’s “broad way, that leadeth to
destruction” (Mt 7:13), and enters in by the strait (narrow) gate on to the narrow
way that leads to heaven.
Nor
should we miss the significance of its coming immediately after Aphek.
If there are restraints upon us, they are for our good, and the exercise of
them is found, in fact, to be no restraint at all, but rather the means by which we
are brought into the “broad place” of the enjoyment of even greater liberty.
He Who said, I am the way, the truth, and the life” (Jn 14:6), said also,
“the truth shall make you free.... If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye
shall be free indeed” (Jn 8:32-36), and again, “Come unto me, all ye that labor
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take
my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall
find rest unto your souls.”
1:32.
“But the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land:
for they did not drive them out.”
Asher’s
failure is greater than a casual reading would indicate.
It is emphasized that “Asher dwelt among the Canaanites, but since it
is not said that they put the enemy to tribute, as did some of the other tribes, the
implication appears to be that Asher may have dwelt there by permission of the enemy.
Asher
means happy, and since each tribe of Israel points to what should characterize
us as God’s people, Asher is meant to remind us that of all the people on earth, we
are those who have most reason to be happy. It
is difficult, however, to see how Asher could have enjoyed much happiness living as
she did in the midst of an enemy she should have exterminated, and living moreover,
if not as the subordinate, at best as no better than the equal of that enemy.
But as noted already, the Canaanite trafficker represents occupation
with spiritual things for temporal rather than spiritual gain.
In other words, it is engagement in spiritual activity out of an impure
motive. Asher’s dwelling amongst the
Canaanites therefore, is meant to warn us against the folly of trafficking in
spiritual things: of doing anything that isn’t impelled by a pure motive.
1:33.
“Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, nor the
inhabitants of Beth-anath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the
land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became
tributaries unto them.”
Naphtali,
meaning my wrestling: my tortuosity, was the second son of Jacob by Bilhah,
Rachel’s maid. At the time of his
birth Rachel declared, “With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I
have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali” (Ge 30:8).
Naphtali
reminds us that we are also a people engaged in a warfare, “For we wrestle not
against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the
rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to
withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (Eph 6:12-13).
The
Lord Himself gave the warning and the encouragement, “In the world ye shall have
tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33).
Rachel
spoke not only of having wrestled, but of having prevailed, and the Lord, while
warning that we shall have tribulation, assures us also that we shall prevail, for He
has overcome the world, and in Ro 8:35 it is written, “Who shall separate us from
the love of Christ? shall tribulation, etc.?” and Ro 8:37 declares, “Nay, in all
these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.”
However
long and arduous the battle, however much it may seem that the enemy is winning, the
final outcome is never in doubt, “We are more than conquerors....”
It
is to be noted also that Naphtali’s was the sixth lot, and six is the number of
man, weakness, failure, sin.... In this
God would remind us that because we are men still in their earthly bodies, and
therefore subject to weakness and sin, we shall know much of failure in ourselves,
but we are to look, not at self, but at Christ.
Peter, with his eyes off Christ, and on the waves, began to sink (Mt 14:30).
So will it be with us when we take our eyes off Him and look either at self or
circumstances.
In
the Epistles of John we find repeated assurances that we are overcomers, e.g., 1 Jn
2:13-14 “... ye have overcome the wicked one”; 1 Jn 4:4, “Ye are of God, little
children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that
is in the world”; and again 1 Jn 5:4-5 “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh
the world.... Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus
is the Son of God?”
The
lesson of Naphtali is that we are engaged in a warfare, but since the outcome is
never in doubt, we are to fight with the confidence and courage of those already
assured of victory.
There
is, however, much in Christendom today to point to the fact that in the sphere of
conflict with the forces of darkness, we too have simply put the “Canaanite” to
tribute, when we should have exterminated him. (For
the significance of their putting the enemy to tribute, see comments on verse 28).
Beth-shemesh
means house of the sun, and inasmuch as the sun has been from time immemorial
a universal object of heathen worship (an idolatry of which Israel has also been
guilty at times), the spiritual significance of this city may be related also to our
own idolatry.
Since
the sun rises in the east, the connection with that compass direction is also easily
made, and, as noted in other studies, is a direction invariably associated in
Scripture with departure from God. The
east’s being the source of natural light, (itself the symbol of natural
intelligence as opposed to faith), immediately reminds us that Scripture has nothing
good to say of the east, neither does it speak well of worldly wisdom (1 Co 1:17-31;
2:1-16). Yet, as noted already, that
same earthly wisdom is one of the gods worshipped today, even by believers.
That
natural wisdom, of which Beth-shemesh appears to speak, lies within our inheritance
also, and there is the very great danger that we, like Israel of old, may be guilty
of bowing down to the goddess of earthly knowledge more often than we would care to
admit, or even be aware of. Are we, for
example, as much concerned that our children “grow in grace, and in the knowledge
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” as we are that they excel in the wisdom of
the world? Do we accord more respect to
believers with high academic qualification than those without?
Do we attempt to apply the wisdom of the world to the solution of spiritual
problems in our own lives, or in our assemblies?
Do we attempt to use the world’s methods in connection with spiritual work?
Do we attempt to employ its methods in connection with our worship?
One has but to look at what passes in Christendom today for worship to realize
how very much we have allowed the world’s wisdom to replace God’s order.
Nothing but disaster will attend such attempts.
The
present state of the Church declares all too clearly that we have put the
“Beth-shemesh Canaanite” to tribute when we should have expelled him.
We have attempted to solve spiritual problems by use of the world’s wisdom,
and we have attempted to do spiritual work by means of that same wisdom.
Beth-anath,
meaning house of response and also house of affliction, would remind us
that as this city lay within the lot of Naphtali, so does its spiritual counterpart
form part of our inheritance here on earth.
The
very idea of response conjures up the thought of our responsibility to yield
obedience to God’s commands, but it reminds us that Satan also seeks to secure our
obedience to his evil inducements, so that invariably we find ourselves in the
position of having to choose whether to obey the command of God or the inducement of
Satan.
But
Beth-anath speaks also of affliction, reminding us that not infrequently obedience to
God brings affliction from the world. The
inducement to yield that obedience, however, comes from the knowledge that obedience
to Satan’s enticements brings the affliction of chastisement, for God loves us too
much to leave us to the tender mercies of one who would, if he could, destroy us.
A
further inducement to respond obediently to God is that whatever affliction may come
from the world as a result, it can last only for a little while, but for the
unbeliever, the affliction that attends obedience to Satan is eternal.
It
is significant, however that though Beth-anath was assigned to Naphtali, it remained
under the control of the Canaanites, Naphtali being content to merely exact tribute.
That partial control, which should have been total, is an accurate
foreshadowing of the spiritual condition prevailing in the professing church today.
In the matter of response to God’s commands, it is painfully apparent that
we too have left “Beth-anath” in the hand of the “Canaanite,” we being
satisfied to maintain merely the appearance of control. The price of blessing, however, is total, not partial obedience,
for God will not share His glory. His
command is, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart” (Lk
10:27); and again, “My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my
ways” (Pr 23:26). Note also the many
references in Scripture to a whole heart. God will be satisfied with nothing less.
1:34.
“And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain: for they
would not suffer them to come down to the valley.”
Dan
means judging: a judge, reminding us that we are a people who are not only to
pass judgment, but who will also be judged at the judgment seat of Christ.
Judgment begins at the house of God (1 Pe 4:17), but we are informed that
“... if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged” (1 Co 11:31); in other
words, if we judged our lives according God’s Word, i.e., lived in obedience, there
would be nothing to bring the judgment of God upon us.
Amorite,
however, means a sayer, which makes the lesson easy to read.
This enemy represents talk or profession, and surely no one will dare to deny
that invariably our conduct contradicts, rather than complements, our profession.
We
have noted already that a mountain represents, not only a king or kingdom, but also
the place of separation, it being necessary, not only that we keep ourselves separate
from the world, but also that we have a time reserved each day to be “on the
mountain” alone with God, above the distractions of the world.
Those seasons, however, cannot constitute the whole of our lives.
They are to be used to equip us to live for God in the world, without being of
it. They are to enable us to bear fruit
for God. That is what the valley speaks
of. It is the place where we are to
labor, and bear fruit. The Amorite’s
occupation of the valley, and his compelling Dan to dwell only on the mountain,
points to a condition all too obvious in Christendom today.
We talk much about separation from the world, but that is all many a Christian
life consists of: we refrain from evil, but we fail to do good, to produce fruit for
God.
The
Danites might walk through the valley, but the Amorites would not permit them to work
there. It is the same in Christendom
today. We walk through the world, but
without producing any fruit for God. We
“don’t drink, we don’t smoke, we don’t dance....” but neither do we preach
the Gospel, or produce in our lives the fruits of the Spirit (Ga 5:22).
As it was then, so is it now: the “Amorite” has forced us into the
“mountain,” and refuses to allow us to dwell in the “valley.”
1:35.
“But the Amorites would dwell in mount Heres in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim:
yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so that they became tributaries.”
Heres
means the sun, and is believed to be the same as Beth-shemesh.
(The location of the Beth-shemesh of verse 33 mentioned in connection with
Naphtali, is unknown). Heres therefore
would appear to have much the same spiritual significance as Beth-shemesh, i.e., mere
human intelligence or worldly knowledge.
Aijalon
means deer-field: a large stag, and since Christ and the believer are both
spoken of under the figure of a deer or hart, this may be to remind us that Aijalon
represents the place that God wants His own to occupy.
The deer-field would speak of pasture for deer, so that the lesson becomes a
warning against allowing the enemy to have anything whatsoever to do with the Word as
our spiritual food. Many a believer has
made shipwreck of his Christian life by allowing his faith in the Scriptures to be
undermined by the false teaching of the world’s intellectuals.
The
field represents the world as the sphere of our service, as the Lord Himself said,
“The field is the world” (Mt 13:38). We
are to be busy sowing the good seed of the Gospel in the world.
Shaalbim
means he regarded the hearts: he regarded the lions, and while the lesson is
obscure, one thought suggests itself: God is the One, Who by His Word, is “a
discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Heb 4:12).
Christ and Satan are both spoken of under the figure of a lion (Satan, the
“roaring lion ... seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pe 5:8); and Christ, as the Lion
of the tribe of Judah (Re 5:5). Perhaps
the lesson is that the God Who reads the thoughts of believer and unbeliever alike,
is the same One Who also watches the “lions” who would ravage His “deer,” and
who will not permit the “lion” to go beyond what He permits.
Since
Dan was not descended from Joseph, the question arises, Why is it said here that
“the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed”?
Since Joseph, meaning let him add, is very clearly a type of Christ, it
may be to remind us that in spite of much failure on our part, the ultimate victory
will be secured by the Lord Jesus Christ. The
“Canaanite” may temporarily usurp the place that belongs to us, but eventually he
will be expelled. In that the Amorites
became tributaries, God reveals, not only the delinquency of Dan, but also the fact
that in the final analysis all things are made to serve the purposes of God.
1:36.
“And the coast of the Amorites was from the going up to Akrabbim, from the
rock, and upward.”
Akrabbim
means scorpions; and “the rock” is believed by many to be literally Sela
or Petra, the old rocky stronghold of the Edomites, a city carved out of the face of
the mountain, and which disappeared from history for almost two thousand years, being
discovered just a little over a hundred years ago, standing today virtually unchanged
by the passage of those two millennia. That
same city is also believed by many to be the place where the persecuted Jewish
remnant will find refuge from the beast in the Tribulation.
There may perhaps be significance to the fact that the border which has as one
terminal the place associated with scorpions, symbol of Satan, has as its other
terminal “the rock,” symbol of Christ. He
is the believers Rock of refuge from all the malignant hatred of Satan.
The border of the enemy Amorite didn’t extend beyond the rock.
Satan can’t go beyond what the Lord permits.
[Judges 2]