Judges 1 Chariots of Iron

seekeroftruth

Well-Known Member
Judges 1:16 The descendants of Moses’ father-in-law, the Kenite, went up from the City of Palms(b) with the people of Judah to live among the inhabitants of the Desert of Judah in the Negev near Arad.

17 Then the men of Judah went with the Simeonites their fellow Israelites and attacked the Canaanites living in Zephath, and they totally destroyed[c] the city. Therefore it was called Hormah.[d] 18 Judah also took[e] Gaza, Ashkelon and Ekron—each city with its territory.

19 The Lord was with the men of Judah. They took possession of the hill country, but they were unable to drive the people from the plains, because they had chariots fitted with iron. 20 As Moses had promised, Hebron was given to Caleb, who drove from it the three sons of Anak. 21 The Benjamites, however, did not drive out the Jebusites, who were living in Jerusalem; to this day the Jebusites live there with the Benjamites.​

b. Judges 1:16 That is, Jericho
c. Judges 1:17 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
d. Judges 1:17 Hormah means destruction.
e. Judges 1:18 Hebrew; Septuagint Judah did not take

Verse 19 gets the majority of the attention today. These verses are about the Israelites failing to do what God told them to do. God wanted them to run the Canaanites out of the Promised Land. God didn't want them intermarrying. God didn't want them to pick up the habits and traditions of the Canaanites. This is a Theocracy moving into the land and a Theocracy has no room for shortcuts. In a Theocracy you have to do what God tells you to do... it's not a democracy in the Promised Land allowing man to do what man thinks is best.... it's a Theocracy. The Israelites are opting for cheap labor instead of doing what God told them to do.

God told them to take the land. In verse 19 the Israelites were unable to drive the people from the plains because they had chariots fitted with iron. These were the tanks of the time. These were the Abrams M1A2 tanks of the day. Wait.... weren't the Egyptians that followed the Israelites out of Egypt into the dry river bed [taken out by God in the time of Moses] the latest chariots of the day? God doesn't back away from technology. God created the mind that created the technology so it's child's play to God.

This is from Bible.org.

Of all the tribes of Israel, our author has devoted the greatest amount of attention to Judah. This is the finest example of faith and obedience in Israel, and Caleb is our hero, flanked by Othniel and Achsah. But even Judah has his flaws. The treatment of Adoni-bezek is the first clear example of disobedience. And now we come to his failure on the coastal plain. The reason, we are told, is because the inhabitants of the valley had high tech weapons – chariots of iron. And because of this, we are told, Judah was not able to drive out those living in the coastal plain.

Strangely, I somehow find myself accepting this justification as though it made perfect sense: “Of course, how can I expect Judah to drive out an army equipped with iron chariots?” Once again, the Scriptures set us straight on this matter. In the first place, God promised Israel that He would give them the victory over their opponents. Are iron chariots somehow beyond God’s sovereign power? Not only did God promise the Israelites that He would make them victorious over their enemies, He specifically instructed them not to be intimidated by the chariots of their enemies:

Deuteronomy 20:1“When you go to war against your enemies and see chariotry and troops who outnumber you, do not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, is with you” .​

I guess I should remember the current little ditty going around "Let go and Let God". That's what the Israelites should have done.... Let Go and Let God... if asked He probably would have just melted the chariots of iron.... Right? The Israelites are going to pay for this.

Stupid Humans....

:coffee:
 
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