Israel — Quovadisworld

THE BIBLE BOOK OF RUTH

The Origin of the House of David

ISRAEL’S WAR WITH THE TRIBE OF BENJAMIN

Israel’s War with the Tribe of Benjamin. The men of Israel turned back against [the tribe of] the sons of Benjamin and struck them with the edge of the sword, both the entire city [of Gibeah] and the livestock and all that they found. They also set on fire all the [surrounding] towns which they found.

A LEVITE AND HIS CONCUBINE

A Levite and His Concubine. Now it happened in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that a certain Levite living [as an alien] in the most remote part of the hill country of Ephraim, who took a concubine for himself from Bethlehem in Judah.

SAMSON DEFEATS THE PHILISTINES

Samson Defeats the Philistines. He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, so he reached out his hand and took it and killed a thousand men with it. Then Samson said, “With the jawbone of a donkey, Heaps upon heaps, With the jawbone of a donkey I have struck down a thousand men.”

FURTHER DISOBEDIENCE AND OPPRESSION

Further Disobedience And Oppression. Then the Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD; they served the Baals, the Ashtaroth (female deities), the gods of Aram (Syria), the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. They abandoned the LORD and did not serve Him.

“THROUGH SLAUGHTER TO A THRONE”

“Through slaughter to a throne” Then he went to his father’s house at Ophrah and murdered his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, [in a public execution] on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left alive, because he had hidden himself.

A FARMER CALLED TO BE DELIVERER

A farmer called to be deliverer. Now the Angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth tree at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, and his son Gideon was beating wheat in the wine press [instead of the threshing floor] to [hide it and] save it from the Midianites.
And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, “The LORD is with you, O brave man.”

THE “MESSAGE FORM GOD”

The “message from God”. Ehud came to him as he was sitting alone in his [private] cool upper chamber, and Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And the king got up from his seat.

THE COVENANT RENEWAL AT SHECHEM

Choose Whom You Will Serve. If it is unacceptable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

JOSHUA RENEWS THE COVENANT

Joshua Renews the Covenant. And there, in the presence of the sons of Israel, Joshua wrote on the stones a copy of the Law of Moses which Moses had written.