God did not want the nation to go through life without a realistic view of the damage sin causes. Therefore, He did not totally eliminate all their enemies at once. He left several nations for His people to remove from the land. This would test their resolve to following God's commands and reliance on His strength.
The nation did NOT obey. They fell into the hands of Mesopotamia for 8 years, until they repented and God raised up a man named Othniel to deliver them. The disobeyed again and were put under the oppression of Moab for 18 years. God delivered them from Moab by the hands of a man named Ehud. After Ehud's death, the people returned to their sin - and God returned them to subjugation, this time from a Canaanite king. God used two leaders, Deborah the prophetess and Barak (and a woman named Jael) to defeat the forces of Canaan. The land then temporarily enjoyed a period of rest.
No comments:
Post a Comment