Hello, this is Father Paul, and I'm glad we're
taking this journey together to read the Bible
in a year. Today's reading is from Judges chapters
3 and 4. Chapter 3 Now these are the nations
which the Lord left, that he might test Israel
by them, that is, all who had not known any of
the wars in Canaan. This was only so that the
generations of the children of Israel might be
taught to know war, at least those who had not
formerly known it. namely five lords of the philistines
all the canaanites the sidonians and the hivites
who dwelt in mount lebanon from mount baal hermon
to the entrance of hamath and they were left
that he might test israel by them to know whether
they would obey the commandments of the lord
which he had commanded their fathers by the hand
of Moses. Thus the children of Israel dwelt among
the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the
Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And
they took their daughters to be their wives,
and gave their daughters to their sons, and they
served their gods. So the children of Israel
did evil in the sight of the Lord. They forgot
the Lord their God, and served the Baals and
Asherahs. Therefore the anger of the Lord was
hot against Israel, and he sold them into the
hand of Cushan Rishataim, king of Mesopotamia.
And the children of Israel served Cushan Rishatayim
eight years. When the children of Israel cried
out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer
for the children of Israel who delivered them,
Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother.
The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he
judged Israel. He went out to war, and the Lord
delivered Cushan Rishatayim, king of Mesopotamia,
into his hand. And his hand prevailed over Cushan
Rishatayim. So the land had rest for forty years.
Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died. And the children
of Israel again did evil in the sight of the
Lord. So the Lord strengthened Eglon king of
Moab against Israel, because they had done evil
in the sight of the Lord. Then he gathered to
himself the people of Ammon and Amalek, went
and defeated Israel, and took possession of the
city of Palms. So the children of Israel served
Eglon king of Moab eighteen years. But when the
children of Israel cried out to the Lord, the
Lord raised up a deliverer for them, Ehud the
son of Gerah the Benjamite, a left -handed man.
By him the children of Israel sent tribute to
Eglon king of Moab. Now Ehud made himself a dagger,
it was double -edged and a cubit in length, and
fastened it under his clothes on his right thigh.
So he brought the tribute to Eglon king of Moab.
Now Eglon was a very fat man. And when he finished
presenting the tribute, he sent away the people
who had carried the tribute. But he himself turned
back from the stone images that were at Gilgal
and said, I have a secret message for you, O
king. He said, keep silence. And all who attended
him went out from him. So Ehud came to him. Now
he was sitting upstairs in his cool private chamber.
Then Ehud said, I have a message from God for
you. So he arose from his seat. Then Ehud reached
with his left hand, took the dagger from his
right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. Even
the hilt went in after the blade, and the fat
closed over the blade, for he did not draw the
dagger out of his belly, and his entrails came
out. Then Ehud went out through the porch and
shut the doors of the upper room behind him and
locked them. When he had gone out, Eglon's servants
came to look, and to their surprise, the doors
of the upper room were locked, so they said he
is probably attending to his needs in the cool
chamber. So they waited till they were embarrassed,
and still he had not opened the doors of the
upper room. Therefore they took the key and opened
them, and there was their master fallen dead
on the floor. But Ehud had escaped while they
delayed, and passed beyond the stone images and
escaped to Sarah. And it happened when he arrived
that he blew the trumpet in the mountains of
Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down
with him from the mountains, and he led them.
Then he said to them, Follow me, for the Lord
has delivered your enemies, the Moabites, into
your hand. So they went down after him, seized
the fords of the Jordan leading to Moab, and
did not allow anyone to cross over. And at that
time they killed about ten thousand men of Moab,
all stout men of valor. not a man escaped. So
Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel,
and the land had rest for 80 years. After him
was Shamgar the son of Anat, who killed 600 men
of the Philistines with an ox goad, and he also
delivered Israel. Chapter 4 When Ehud was dead,
the children of Israel again did evil in the
sight of the Lord. So the Lord sold them into
the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned
in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera,
who dwelt in Haroshet Haguyim. And the children
of Israel cried out to the Lord, for Jabin had
nine hundred chariots of iron, and for twenty
years he had harshly oppressed the children of
Israel. Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of
Lapidoth, was judging Israel at that time. And
she would sit under the palm tree of Deborah
between Ramah and Bethel in the mountains of
Ephraim. And the children of Israel came up to
her for judgment. Then she sent and called for
Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali,
and said to him, Has not the Lord God of Israel
commanded, Go and deploy troops at Mount Tabor?
Take with you ten thousand men of the sons of
Naphtali and of the sons of Zebulun, and against
you I will deploy Sisera, the commander of Jabin's
army, with his chariots and his multitude at
the river Kishon, and I will deliver him into
your hand. And Barak said to her, If you will
go with me, then I will go. But if you will not
go with me, I will not go. So she said, I will
surely go with you. Nevertheless, there will
be no glory for you in the journey you are taking,
for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of
a woman. Then Deborah arose and went with Barak
to Kadesh. And Barak called Zebulun and Naftali
to Kadesh. He went up with ten thousand men under
his command, and Deborah went up with him. Now
Heber the Kenite of the children of Hubab, the
father -in -law of Moses, had separated himself
from the Kenites and pitched his tent near the
turbaned tree at Zanim, which is beside Kadesh.
And they reported to Sisera that Barak the son
of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor. So Sisera
gathered together all his chariots, nine hundred
chariots of iron, and all the people who were
with him, from Harosheth Haguyim to the river
Kishon. Then Deborah said to Barak, Up! For this
is the day in which the Lord has delivered Sisera
into your hand. Has not the Lord gone out before
you? So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with
10 ,000 men following him. And the Lord routed
Sisera and all his chariots and all his army
with the edge of the sword before Barak. And
Sisera alighted from his chariot and fled away
on foot. But Barak pursued the chariots and the
army as far as Haroshet Hagoyim. And all the
army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword.
Not a man was left. However, Sisera had fled
away on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of
Heber the Kenite. For there was peace between
Jabin king of Hazor and the house of Heber the
Kenite. And Jael went out to meet Sisera and
said to him, Turn aside, my lord, turn aside
to me, do not fear. And when he had turned aside
with her into the tent, she covered him with
a blanket. Then he said to her, Please give me
a little water to drink, for I am thirsty. So
she opened a jug of milk, gave him a drink, and
covered him. And he said to her, Stand at the
door of the tent, and if any man comes and inquires
of you and says, Is there any man here? you shall
say, No. Then Jael, Heber's wife, took a tent
peg and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly
to him, and drove the peg into his temple, and
it went down into the ground. For he was fast
asleep and weary, so he died. And then as Barak
pursued Sisera, Jial came out to meet him and
said to him, Come, I will show you the man whom
you seek. And when he went into her tent, there
lay Sisera, dead with the peg in his temple.
So on that day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan
in the presence of the children of Israel. And
the hand of the children of Israel grew stronger
and stronger against Jabin king of Canaan until
they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan. I hope
you enjoyed today's reading as much as I did.
And I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow
to continue on our journey. God bless you and
have a great day.