WEBVTT 00:00:00.979 --> 00:00:03.700 Hello, this is Father Paul, and I'm glad we're 00:00:03.700 --> 00:00:05.700 taking this journey together to read the Bible 00:00:05.700 --> 00:00:08.820 in a year. Today we begin the book of Judges, 00:00:08.880 --> 00:00:11.660 and today's readings are Judges chapters 1 and 00:00:11.660 --> 00:00:16.260 2. Chapter 1 Now after the death of Joshua, it 00:00:16.260 --> 00:00:18.219 came to pass that the children of Israel asked 00:00:18.219 --> 00:00:20.820 the Lord, saying, Who shall be first to go up 00:00:20.820 --> 00:00:23.260 for us against the Canaanites, to fight against 00:00:23.260 --> 00:00:26.800 them? And the Lord said, Judah shall go up. Indeed, 00:00:26.820 --> 00:00:29.440 I have delivered the land into his hand. So Judah 00:00:29.440 --> 00:00:32.479 said to Simeon his brother, Come up with me to 00:00:32.479 --> 00:00:34.880 my allotted territory, that we may fight against 00:00:34.880 --> 00:00:37.259 the Canaanites, and I will likewise go with you 00:00:37.259 --> 00:00:40.079 to your allotted territory. And Simeon went with 00:00:40.079 --> 00:00:42.520 him. Then Judah went up, and the Lord delivered 00:00:42.520 --> 00:00:44.500 the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their 00:00:44.500 --> 00:00:47.500 hand. And they killed ten thousand men at Bezek. 00:00:47.929 --> 00:00:51.350 And they found Adonai Bezek in Bezek, and fought 00:00:51.350 --> 00:00:53.229 against him, and they defeated the Canaanites 00:00:53.229 --> 00:00:55.950 and the Perizzites. Then Adonai Bezek fled, and 00:00:55.950 --> 00:00:57.649 they pursued him and caught him, and cut off 00:00:57.649 --> 00:01:00.750 his thumbs and big toes. And Adonai Bezek said, 00:01:00.990 --> 00:01:03.509 Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes 00:01:03.509 --> 00:01:06.849 cut off, used to gather scraps under my table, 00:01:06.950 --> 00:01:10.150 as I have done, so God has repaid me. Then they 00:01:10.150 --> 00:01:12.090 brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died. 00:01:12.620 --> 00:01:14.739 Now the children of Judah fought against Jerusalem 00:01:14.739 --> 00:01:17.040 and took it. They struck it with the edge of 00:01:17.040 --> 00:01:19.480 the sword and set the city on fire. And afterward 00:01:19.480 --> 00:01:21.659 the children of Judah went down to fight against 00:01:21.659 --> 00:01:23.959 the Canaanites who dwelt in the mountains, in 00:01:23.959 --> 00:01:26.579 the south, and in the lowland. Then Judah went 00:01:26.579 --> 00:01:29.120 against the Canaanites who dwelt in Hebron. Now 00:01:29.120 --> 00:01:31.459 the name of Hebron was formerly Kirjas Arba. 00:01:31.719 --> 00:01:34.780 And they killed Shishai, Ahiman, and Telmai. 00:01:35.060 --> 00:01:37.159 From there they went against the inhabitants 00:01:37.159 --> 00:01:40.079 of Debir. The name of Debir was formerly Kirjas 00:01:40.079 --> 00:01:43.349 Sefer. Then Caleb said, Whoever attacks Kirjas 00:01:43.349 --> 00:01:46.329 Sefer and takes it, to him I will give my daughter 00:01:46.329 --> 00:01:49.909 Aksa as wife. And Othniel, the son of Kenaz, 00:01:49.989 --> 00:01:52.310 Caleb's younger brother, took it. So he gave 00:01:52.310 --> 00:01:54.870 him his daughter Aksa as wife. Now it happened 00:01:54.870 --> 00:01:57.310 when she came to him that she urged him to ask 00:01:57.310 --> 00:01:59.750 her father for a field, and she dismounted from 00:01:59.750 --> 00:02:01.950 her donkey, and Caleb said to her, What do you 00:02:01.950 --> 00:02:04.329 wish? So she said to him, Give me a blessing, 00:02:04.489 --> 00:02:06.849 since you have given me land in the south, give 00:02:06.849 --> 00:02:09.360 me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her 00:02:09.360 --> 00:02:11.840 the upper springs and the lower springs. Now 00:02:11.840 --> 00:02:14.159 the children of the Canaanite, Moses' father 00:02:14.159 --> 00:02:16.580 -in -law, went up from the city of Palms with 00:02:16.580 --> 00:02:18.300 the children of Judah into the wilderness of 00:02:18.300 --> 00:02:21.120 Judah, which lies in the south near Arad. And 00:02:21.120 --> 00:02:23.439 they went and dwelt among the people. And Judah 00:02:23.439 --> 00:02:25.300 went with his brother Simeon, and he attacked 00:02:25.300 --> 00:02:28.280 the Canaanites who inhabited Sephat, and utterly 00:02:28.280 --> 00:02:30.900 destroyed it. So the name of the city was called 00:02:30.900 --> 00:02:34.080 Hormah. Also Judah took Gaza with its territory, 00:02:34.360 --> 00:02:36.840 Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its 00:02:36.840 --> 00:02:39.599 territory. So the Lord was with Judah, and he 00:02:39.599 --> 00:02:41.740 drove out the mountaineers, but they could not 00:02:41.740 --> 00:02:43.860 drive out the inhabitants of the lowland, because 00:02:43.860 --> 00:02:46.400 they had chariots of iron. And he gave Hebron 00:02:46.400 --> 00:02:49.240 to Caleb, as Moses had said. Then he expelled 00:02:49.240 --> 00:02:51.860 from there the three sons of Anak. But the children 00:02:51.860 --> 00:02:54.219 of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites, 00:02:54.300 --> 00:02:57.020 who inhabited Jerusalem. So the Jebusites dwell 00:02:57.020 --> 00:02:59.280 with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to 00:02:59.280 --> 00:03:01.939 this day. And the house of Joseph also went up 00:03:01.939 --> 00:03:04.990 against Bethel, and the Lord was with them. So 00:03:04.990 --> 00:03:07.530 the house of Joseph sent men to spy out Bethel. 00:03:07.550 --> 00:03:10.430 The name of the city was formerly Luz. And when 00:03:10.430 --> 00:03:12.509 the spies saw a man coming out of the city, they 00:03:12.509 --> 00:03:14.729 said to him, Please show us the entrance to the 00:03:14.729 --> 00:03:16.969 city, and we will show you mercy. So he showed 00:03:16.969 --> 00:03:18.870 them the entrance to the city, and he struck 00:03:18.870 --> 00:03:20.729 the city with the edge of the sword. But they 00:03:20.729 --> 00:03:23.189 let the man and all his family go. And the men 00:03:23.189 --> 00:03:25.490 went to the land of the Hittites, built a city, 00:03:25.569 --> 00:03:28.449 and called its name Luz, which is its name to 00:03:28.449 --> 00:03:30.900 this day. However, Manasseh did not drive out 00:03:30.900 --> 00:03:33.219 the inhabitants of Beth -shin and its villages, 00:03:33.500 --> 00:03:36.060 or Tanakh and its villages, or the inhabitants 00:03:36.060 --> 00:03:38.680 of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of 00:03:38.680 --> 00:03:41.400 Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of 00:03:41.400 --> 00:03:43.560 Megiddo and its villages, for the Canaanites 00:03:43.560 --> 00:03:46.099 were determined to dwell in that land. And it 00:03:46.099 --> 00:03:48.159 came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they 00:03:48.159 --> 00:03:50.259 put the Canaanites under tribute, but did not 00:03:50.259 --> 00:03:53.240 completely drive them out. Nor did Ephraim drive 00:03:53.240 --> 00:03:55.419 out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer. So the 00:03:55.419 --> 00:03:58.240 Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them. Nor did 00:03:58.240 --> 00:04:00.520 Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, 00:04:00.639 --> 00:04:03.500 or the inhabitants of Nahalol, so the Canaanites 00:04:03.500 --> 00:04:05.719 dwelt among them, and were put under tribute. 00:04:06.060 --> 00:04:08.479 Nor did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Akko, 00:04:08.580 --> 00:04:12.120 or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Ahlab, Aghzib, 00:04:12.280 --> 00:04:16.339 Helba, Afik, or Rehab. So the Asherites dwelt 00:04:16.339 --> 00:04:18.519 among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the 00:04:18.519 --> 00:04:21.180 land, for they did not drive them out. Nor did 00:04:21.180 --> 00:04:23.420 Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Beit Shemesh, 00:04:23.560 --> 00:04:26.339 or the inhabitants of Beit Anat, But they dwelt 00:04:26.339 --> 00:04:28.240 among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the 00:04:28.240 --> 00:04:30.660 land. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of Beit Shemesh 00:04:30.660 --> 00:04:32.860 and Beit Anath were put under tribute to them. 00:04:33.259 --> 00:04:35.680 And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into 00:04:35.680 --> 00:04:37.620 the mountains, for they would not allow them 00:04:37.620 --> 00:04:39.800 to come down to the valley. And the Amorites 00:04:39.800 --> 00:04:42.600 were determined to dwell in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, 00:04:42.819 --> 00:04:45.639 and in Shabim. Yet when the strength of the house 00:04:45.639 --> 00:04:47.660 of Joseph became greater, they were put under 00:04:47.660 --> 00:04:50.240 tribute. Now the boundary of the Amorites was 00:04:50.240 --> 00:04:53.600 from the ascent of Akrabim, from Sela, and upward. 00:04:54.840 --> 00:04:57.800 Chapter 2 Then the angel of the Lord came up 00:04:57.800 --> 00:05:01.100 from Gilgal to Bokim and said, I led you up from 00:05:01.100 --> 00:05:03.259 Egypt and brought you to the land of which I 00:05:03.259 --> 00:05:05.240 swore to your fathers, and I said, I will never 00:05:05.240 --> 00:05:07.519 break my covenant with you, and you shall make 00:05:07.519 --> 00:05:09.680 no covenant with the inhabitants of this land. 00:05:09.800 --> 00:05:11.759 You shall tear down their altars, but you have 00:05:11.759 --> 00:05:14.040 not obeyed my voice. Why have you done this? 00:05:14.300 --> 00:05:16.620 Therefore I also said, I will not drive them 00:05:16.620 --> 00:05:19.620 out before you, but they shall be thorns in your 00:05:19.620 --> 00:05:21.920 side, and their gods shall be a snare to you. 00:05:22.300 --> 00:05:24.279 So it was when the angel of the Lord spoke these 00:05:24.279 --> 00:05:26.459 words to all the children of Israel that the 00:05:26.459 --> 00:05:29.060 people lifted up their voices and wept. Then 00:05:29.060 --> 00:05:31.560 they called the name of that place Bokim, and 00:05:31.560 --> 00:05:33.939 they sacrificed there to the Lord. And when Joshua 00:05:33.939 --> 00:05:36.319 had dismissed the people, the children of Israel 00:05:36.319 --> 00:05:38.860 went each to his own inheritance to possess the 00:05:38.860 --> 00:05:41.399 land. So the people served the Lord all the days 00:05:41.399 --> 00:05:43.540 of Joshua and all the days of the elders who 00:05:43.540 --> 00:05:46.220 outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works 00:05:46.220 --> 00:05:48.660 of the Lord which he had done for Israel. Now 00:05:48.660 --> 00:05:50.560 Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, 00:05:50.639 --> 00:05:54.360 died when he was 110 years old. And they buried 00:05:54.360 --> 00:05:57.000 him within the border of his inheritance at Timnah 00:05:57.000 --> 00:05:59.379 -Herez, in the mountains of Ephraim on the north 00:05:59.379 --> 00:06:02.079 side of Mount Gash. When all that generation 00:06:02.079 --> 00:06:04.839 had been gathered to their fathers, another generation 00:06:04.839 --> 00:06:07.300 arose after them who did not know the Lord nor 00:06:07.300 --> 00:06:09.759 the work which he had done for Israel. Then the 00:06:09.759 --> 00:06:12.079 children of Israel did evil in the sight of the 00:06:12.079 --> 00:06:14.560 Lord and served the Baals. And they forsook the 00:06:14.560 --> 00:06:16.740 Lord God of their fathers, who had brought them 00:06:16.740 --> 00:06:18.779 out of the land of Egypt. And they followed other 00:06:18.779 --> 00:06:21.139 gods from among the gods of the people who were 00:06:21.139 --> 00:06:23.439 all around them. And they bowed down to them, 00:06:23.519 --> 00:06:26.480 and they provoked the Lord to anger. They forsook 00:06:26.480 --> 00:06:28.740 the Lord and served Baal and the Ashtorethes. 00:06:29.000 --> 00:06:31.360 And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel. 00:06:31.709 --> 00:06:33.850 So he delivered them into the hands of plunderers 00:06:33.850 --> 00:06:36.410 who despoiled them, and he sold them into the 00:06:36.410 --> 00:06:38.769 hands of their enemies all around, so that they 00:06:38.769 --> 00:06:41.649 could no longer stand before their enemies. Wherever 00:06:41.649 --> 00:06:43.870 they went out, the hand of the Lord was against 00:06:43.870 --> 00:06:46.889 them for calamity, as the Lord had said and as 00:06:46.889 --> 00:06:49.149 the Lord had sworn to them, and they were greatly 00:06:49.149 --> 00:06:52.430 distressed. Nevertheless, the Lord raised up 00:06:52.430 --> 00:06:54.529 judges who delivered them out of the hand of 00:06:54.529 --> 00:06:56.730 those who plundered them. Yet they would not 00:06:56.730 --> 00:06:58.850 listen to their judges, but they played the harlot 00:06:58.850 --> 00:07:01.480 with other gods and bowed down to them. They 00:07:01.480 --> 00:07:04.040 turned quickly from the way in which their fathers 00:07:04.040 --> 00:07:06.180 walked in obeying the commandments of the Lord. 00:07:06.279 --> 00:07:09.360 They did not do so. And when the Lord raised 00:07:09.360 --> 00:07:11.759 up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge 00:07:11.759 --> 00:07:13.959 and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies 00:07:13.959 --> 00:07:16.920 all the days of the judge. For the Lord was moved 00:07:16.920 --> 00:07:19.300 to pity by their groaning because of those who 00:07:19.300 --> 00:07:21.600 oppressed them and harassed them. And it came 00:07:21.600 --> 00:07:23.819 to pass when the judge was dead that they reverted 00:07:23.819 --> 00:07:26.259 and behaved more corruptly than their fathers 00:07:26.259 --> 00:07:29.120 by following other gods to serve them and bow 00:07:29.120 --> 00:07:31.269 down to them. They did not cease from their own 00:07:31.269 --> 00:07:33.889 doings nor from their stubborn way. Then the 00:07:33.889 --> 00:07:36.350 anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and 00:07:36.350 --> 00:07:38.870 he said, Because this nation has transgressed 00:07:38.870 --> 00:07:41.350 my covenant which I commanded their fathers and 00:07:41.350 --> 00:07:44.350 has not heeded my voice, I also will no longer 00:07:44.350 --> 00:07:47.069 drive out before them any of the nations which 00:07:47.069 --> 00:07:50.050 Joshua left when he died, so that through them 00:07:50.050 --> 00:07:52.670 I may test Israel, whether they will keep the 00:07:52.670 --> 00:07:55.129 ways of the Lord to walk in them as their fathers 00:07:55.129 --> 00:07:57.980 kept them or not. Therefore the Lord left those 00:07:57.980 --> 00:08:00.139 nations without driving them out immediately, 00:08:00.420 --> 00:08:03.100 nor did he deliver them into the hand of Joshua. 00:08:08.139 --> 00:08:10.319 I hope you enjoyed today's reading as much as 00:08:10.319 --> 00:08:12.439 I did, and I look forward to seeing you again 00:08:12.439 --> 00:08:14.879 tomorrow to continue on our journey. God bless 00:08:14.879 --> 00:08:15.939 you and have a great day.