Immerse: Kingdoms Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 57
1:34–2:16
J u dges
45
As for the tribe of Dan, the Amorites forced them back into the hill
country and would not let them come down into the plains. The Amorites
were determined to stay in Mount Heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim, but when
the descendants of Joseph became stronger, they forced the Amorites to
work as slaves. The boundary of the Amorites ran from Scorpion Pass to
Sela and continued upward from there.
The angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said to the
Israelites, “I brought you out of Egypt into this land that I swore to give
your ancestors, and I said I would never break my covenant with you. For
your part, you were not to make any covenants with the people living in
this land; instead, you were to destroy their altars. But you disobeyed my
command. Why did you do this? So now I declare that I will no longer
drive out the people living in your land. They will be thorns in your sides,
and their gods will be a constant temptation to you.”
When the angel of the Lord finished speaking to all the Israelites, the
people wept loudly. So they called the place Bokim (which means “weeping”), and they offered sacrifices there to the Lord.
After Joshua sent the people away, each of the tribes left to take possession
of the land allotted to them. And the Israelites served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and the leaders who outlived h im—those who
had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel.
Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110. They
buried him in the land he had been allocated, at Timnath-serah in the hill
country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for
Israel.
The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight and served the images of Baal.
They abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought
them out of Egypt. They went after other gods, worshiping the gods of
the people around them. And they angered the Lord. They abandoned
the Lord to serve Baal and the images of Ashtoreth. This made the Lord
burn with anger against Israel, so he handed them over to raiders who
stole their possessions. He turned them over to their enemies all around,
and they were no longer able to resist them. Every time Israel went out to
battle, the Lord fought against them, causing them to be defeated, just as
he had warned. And the people were in great distress.
Then the Lord raised up judges to rescue the Israelites from their