The Berean Pursuit
After the death of Joshua, the Israelites inquired of the LORD, "Who will be the first to go up and fight for us against the Canaanites?"
"Judah shall go up," answered the LORD. "Indeed, I have delivered the land into their hands."
Then the men of Judah said to their brothers the Simeonites, "Come up with us to our allotted territory, and let us fight against the Canaanites. And we likewise will go with you to your territory." So the Simeonites went with them.
When Judah attacked, the LORD delivered the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hands, and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek. And there they found Adoni-bezek and fought against him, striking down the Canaanites and Perizzites.
As Adoni-bezek fled, they pursued him, seized him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes. Then Adoni-bezek said, "Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have gathered the scraps under my table. As I have done to them, so God has repaid me." And they brought him to Jerusalem, where he died.
Then the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it. They put the city to the sword and set it on fire. Afterward, the men of Judah marched down to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country, in the Negev, and in the foothills.
Judah also marched against the Canaanites who were living in Hebron (formerly known as Kiriath-arba), and they struck down Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.
From there they marched against the inhabitants of Debir (formerly known as Kiriath-sepher). And Caleb said, "To the man who strikes down Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give my daughter Acsah in marriage." So Othniel son of Caleb's younger brother Kenaz captured the city, and Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to him in marriage.
One day Acsah came to Othniel and urged him to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, "What do you desire?"
"Give me a blessing," she answered. "Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me springs of water as well."
So Caleb gave her both the upper and lower springs.
Now the descendants of Moses' father-in-law, the Kenite, went up with the men of Judah from the City of Palms to the Wilderness of Judah in the Negev near Arad. They went to live among the people.
Then the men of Judah went with their brothers the Simeonites, attacked the Canaanites living in Zephath, and devoted the city to destruction. So it was called Hormah. And Judah also captured Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron-each with its territory. The LORD was with Judah, and they took possession of the hill country; but they could not drive out the inhabitants of the plains because they had chariots of iron.
Just as Moses had promised, Judah gave Hebron to Caleb, who drove out the descendants of the three sons of Anak.
The Benjamites, however, failed to drive out the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. So to this day the Jebusites live there among the Benjamites.
The house of Joseph also attacked Bethel, and the LORD was with them. They sent spies to Bethel (formerly known as Luz), and when the spies saw a man coming out of the city, they said to him, "Please show us how to get into the city, and we will treat you kindly."
So the man showed them the entrance to the city, and they put the city to the sword but released that man and all his family. And the man went to the land of the Hittites, built a city, and called it Luz, which is its name to this day.
At that time Manasseh failed to drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo, and their villages; for the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land. When Israel became stronger, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor, but they never drove them out completely.
Ephraim also failed to drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer; so the Canaanites continued to dwell among them in Gezer.
Zebulun failed to drive out the inhabitants of Kitron and Nahalol; so the Canaanites lived among them and served as forced laborers.
Asher failed to drive out the inhabitants of Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, and Rehob. So the Asherites lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land, because they did not drive them out.
Naphtali failed to drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath. So the Naphtalites also lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land, but the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath served them as forced laborers.
The Amorites forced the Danites into the hill country and did not allow them to come down into the plain. And the Amorites were determined to dwell in Mount Heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim. But when the house of Joseph grew in strength, they pressed the Amorites into forced labor. And the border of the Amorites extended from the Ascent of Akrabbim to Sela and beyond.
Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, "I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land that I had promised to your fathers, and I said, 'I will never break My covenant with you, and you are not to make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall tear down their altars.'
Yet you have not obeyed My voice. What is this you have done? So now I tell you that I will not drive out these people before you; they will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a snare to you."
When the angel of the LORD had spoken these words to all the Israelites, the people lifted up their voices and wept. So they called that place Bochim and offered sacrifices there to the LORD.
After Joshua had dismissed the people, the Israelites went out to take possession of the land, each to his own inheritance. And the people served the LORD throughout the days of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him, who had seen all the great works that the LORD had done for Israel.
And Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110. They buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath-heres in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
After that whole generation had also been gathered to their fathers, another generation rose up who did not know the LORD or the works that He had done for Israel. And the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals.
Thus they forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and they followed after various gods of the peoples around them. They bowed down to them and provoked the LORD to anger, for they forsook Him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.
Then the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He delivered them into the hands of those who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist. Wherever Israel marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them to bring calamity, just as He had sworn to them. So they were greatly distressed.
Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them from the hands of those who plundered them.
Israel, however, did not listen to their judges. Instead, they prostituted themselves with other gods and bowed down to them. They quickly turned from the way of their fathers, who had walked in obedience to the LORD's commandments; they did not do as their fathers had done.
Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for the Israelites, He was with that judge and saved them from the hands of their enemies while the judge was still alive; for the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning under those who oppressed them and afflicted them. But when the judge died, the Israelites became even more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods to serve them and bow down to them. They would not give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.
So the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He said, "Because this nation has transgressed the covenant I laid down for their fathers and has not heeded My voice, I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. In this way I will test whether Israel will keep the way of the LORD by walking in it as their fathers did."
That is why the LORD had left those nations in place and had not driven them out immediately by delivering them into the hand of Joshua.
These are the nations that the LORD left to test all the Israelites who had not known any of the wars in Canaan, if only to teach warfare to the subsequent generations of Israel, especially to those who had not known it formerly: the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived in the mountains of Lebanon from Mount Baal-hermon to Lebo-hamath.
These nations were left to test the Israelites, to find out whether they would keep the commandments of the LORD, which He had given their fathers through Moses. Thus the Israelites continued to live among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. And they took the daughters of these people in marriage, gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.
So the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD; they forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs. Then the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram-naharaim, and the Israelites served him eight years.
But when the Israelites cried out to the LORD, He raised up Othniel son of Caleb's younger brother Kenaz as a deliverer to save them. The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he became Israel's judge and went out to war. And the LORD delivered Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram into the hand of Othniel, who prevailed against him.
So the land had rest for forty years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died.
Once again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD. So He gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD. After enlisting the Ammonites and Amalekites to join forces with him, Eglon attacked and defeated Israel, taking possession of the City of Palms.
The Israelites served Eglon king of Moab eighteen years. And again they cried out to the LORD, and He raised up Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed Benjamite, as their deliverer. So they sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab.
Now Ehud had made for himself a double-edged sword a cubit long. He strapped it to his right thigh under his cloak and brought the tribute to Eglon king of Moab, who was an obese man.
After Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he ushered out those who had carried it. But upon reaching the idols near Gilgal, he himself turned back and said, "I have a secret message for you, O king."
"Silence," said the king, and all his attendants left him.
Then Ehud approached him while he was sitting alone in the coolness of his upper room. "I have a word from God for you," Ehud said, and the king rose from his seat.
And Ehud reached with his left hand, pulled the sword from his right thigh, and plunged it into Eglon's belly. Even the handle sank in after the blade, and Eglon's fat closed in over it, so that Ehud did not withdraw the sword from his belly. And Eglon's bowels emptied. Then Ehud went out through the porch, closing and locking the doors of the upper room behind him.
After Ehud was gone, Eglon's servants came in and found the doors of the upper room locked. "He must be relieving himself in the cool room," they said. So they waited until they became worried and saw that he had still not opened the doors of the upper room. Then they took the key and opened the doors-and there was their lord lying dead on the floor.
Ehud, however, had escaped while the servants waited. He passed by the idols and escaped to Seirah.
On arriving in Seirah, he blew the ram's horn throughout the hill country of Ephraim. The Israelites came down with him from the hills, and he became their leader. "Follow me," he told them, "for the LORD has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand."
So they followed him down and seized the fords of the Jordan leading to Moab, and did not allow anyone to cross over. At that time they struck down about ten thousand Moabites, all robust and valiant men. Not one of them escaped.
So Moab was subdued under the hand of Israel that day, and the land had rest for eighty years.
After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath. And he too saved Israel, striking down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad.
A Miktam of David.
Preserve me, O God,
for in You I take refuge.
I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord;
apart from You I have no good thing."
As for the saints in the land,
they are the excellence
in whom all my delight resides.
Sorrows will multiply
to those who chase other gods.
I will not pour out their libations of blood,
or speak their names with my lips.
The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup;
You have made my lot secure.
The lines of my boundary have fallen in pleasant places;
surely my inheritance is delightful.
I will bless the LORD who counsels me;
even at night my conscience instructs me.
I have set the LORD always before me.
Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will dwell securely.
For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
nor will You let Your Holy One see decay.
You have made known to me the path of life;
You will fill me with joy in Your presence,
with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.
One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courts and proclaiming the gospel, the chief priests and scribes, together with the elders, came up to Him. "Tell us," they said, "by what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?"
"I will also ask you a question," Jesus replied. "Tell Me: John's baptism-was it from heaven, or from men?"
They deliberated among themselves and said, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will ask, 'Why did you not believe him?' But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us, for they are convinced that John was a prophet."
So they answered that they did not know where it was from.
And Jesus replied, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things."
Then He proceeded to tell the people this parable: "A man planted a vineyard, rented it out to some tenants, and went away for a long time. At harvest time, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed.
So he sent another servant, but they beat him and treated him shamefully, sending him away empty-handed.
Then he sent a third, but they wounded him and threw him out.
'What shall I do?' asked the owner of the vineyard. 'I will send my beloved son. Perhaps they will respect him.'
But when the tenants saw the son, they discussed it among themselves and said, 'This is the heir. Let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.' So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and kill those tenants, and will give the vineyard to others."
And when the people heard this, they said, "May such a thing never happen!"
But Jesus looked directly at them and said, "Then what is the meaning of that which is written:
'The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone'?
Everyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed."
When the scribes and chief priests realized that Jesus had spoken this parable against them, they sought to arrest Him that very hour. But they were afraid of the people.
So they watched Him closely and sent spies who pretended to be sincere. They were hoping to catch Him in His words in order to hand Him over to the rule and authority of the governor. "Teacher," they inquired, "we know that You speak and teach correctly. You show no partiality, but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"
But Jesus saw through their duplicity and said to them, "Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?"
"Caesar's," they answered.
So Jesus told them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."
And they were unable to trap Him in His words before the people; and amazed at His answer, they fell silent.
Then some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to question Him. "Teacher," they said, "Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man is to marry his brother's widow and raise up offspring for him. Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a wife, but died childless. Then the second and the third married the widow, and in the same way all seven died, leaving no children. And last of all, the woman died. So then, in the resurrection, whose wife will she be? For all seven were married to her."
Jesus answered, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy to share in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In fact, they can no longer die, because they are like the angels. And since they are sons of the resurrection, they are sons of God.
Even Moses demonstrates that the dead are raised, in the passage about the burning bush. For he calls the Lord 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all are alive."
Some of the scribes answered, "Teacher, You have spoken well!" And they did not dare to question Him any further.
Then Jesus declared, "How can it be said that the Christ is the Son of David? For David himself says in the book of Psalms:
'The Lord said to my Lord,
"Sit at My right hand
until I make Your enemies
a footstool for Your feet."?'
Thus David calls Him 'Lord.' So how can He be David's son?"
In the hearing of all the people, Jesus said to His disciples, "Beware of the scribes. They like to walk around in long robes, and they love the greetings in the marketplaces, the chief seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at banquets. They defraud widows of their houses, and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will receive greater condemnation."