11 And it cometh to pass, after the death of Joshua, that the sons of Israel ask at Jehovah, saying, 'Who doth go up for us unto the Canaanite, at the commencement, to fight against it?' 2 And Jehovah saith, 'Judah doth go up; lo, I have given the land into his hand.' 3 And Judah saith to Simeon his brother, 'Go up with me into my lot, and we fight against the Canaanite—and I have gone, even I, with thee into thy lot;' and Simeon goeth with him. 4 And Judah goeth up, and Jehovah giveth the Canaanite and the Perizzite into their hand, and they smite them in Bezek—ten thousand men; 5 and they find Adoni-Bezek in Bezek, and fight against him, and smite the Canaanite and the Perizzite. 6 And Adoni-Bezek fleeth, and they pursue after him, and seize him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes, 7 and Adoni-Bezek saith, 'Seventy kings—their thumbs and their great toes cut off—have been gathering under my table; as I have done so hath God repaid to me;' and they bring him in to Jerusalem, and he dieth there.
8 And the sons of Judah fight against Jerusalem, and capture it, and smite it by the mouth of the sword, and the city they have sent into fire;
9 and afterwards have the sons of Judah gone down to fight against the Canaanite, inhabiting the hill-country, and the south, and the low country; 10 and Judah goeth unto the Canaanite who is dwelling in Hebron (and the name of Hebron formerly 'is' Kirjath-Arba), and they smite Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.
11 And he goeth thence unto the inhabitants of Debir (and the name of Debir formerly 'is' Kirjath-Sepher), 12 and Caleb saith, 'He who smiteth Kirjath-Sepher—and hath captured it—then I have given to him Achsah my daughter for a wife.' 13 And Othniel son of Kenaz, younger brother of Caleb, doth capture it, and he giveth to him Achsah his daughter for a wife. 14 And it cometh to pass in her coming in, that she persuadeth him to ask from her father the field, and she lighteth from off the ass, and Caleb saith to her, 'What—to thee?' 15 And she saith to him, 'Give to me a blessing; when the south land thou hast given me—then thou hast given to me springs of water; and Caleb giveth to her the upper springs and the lower springs.
16 And the sons of the Kenite, father-in-law of Moses, have gone up out of the city of palms with the sons of Judah 'to' the wilderness of Judah, which 'is' in the south of Arad, and they go and dwell with the people. 17 And Judah goeth with Simeon his brother, and they smite the Canaanite inhabiting Zephath, and devote it; and 'one' calleth the name of the city Hormah. 18 And Judah captureth Gaza and its border, and Askelon and its border, and Ekron and its border; 19 and Jehovah is with Judah, and he occupieth the hill-country, but not to dispossess the inhabitants of the valley, for they have chariots of iron. 20 And they give to Caleb Hebron, as Moses hath spoken, and he dispossesseth thence the three sons of Anak.
21 And the Jebusite, inhabiting Jerusalem, the sons of Benjamin have not dispossessed; and the Jebusite dwelleth with the sons of Benjamin, in Jerusalem, till this day.
22 And the house of Joseph go up—even they—to Beth-El, and Jehovah 'is' with them; 23 and the house of Joseph cause 'men' to spy about Beth-El (and the name of the city formerly is Luz), 24 and the watchers see a man coming out from the city, and say to him, 'Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance of the city, and we have done with thee kindness.' 25 And he sheweth them the entrance of the city, and they smite the city by the mouth of the sword, and the man and all his family they have sent away; 26 and the man goeth to the land of the Hittites, and buildeth a city, and calleth its name Luz—it 'is' its name unto this day.
27 And Manasseh hath not occupied Beth-Shean and its towns, and Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Iblaim and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns, and the Canaanite is desirous to dwell in that land; 28 and it cometh to pass, when Israel hath been strong, that he setteth the Canaanite to tribute, and hath not utterly dispossessed it. 29 And Ephraim hath not dispossessed the Canaanite who is dwelling in Gezer, and the Canaanite dwelleth in its midst, in Gezer.
30 Zebulun hath not dispossessed the inhabitants of Kitron, and the inhabitants of Nahalol, and the Canaanite dwelleth in its midst, and they become tributary. 31 Asher hath not dispossessed the inhabitants of Accho, and the inhabitants of Zidon, and Ahlab, and Achzib, and Helbah, and Aphik, and Rehob; 32 and the Asherite dwelleth in the midst of the Canaanite, the inhabitants of the land, for it hath not dispossessed them. 33 Naphtali hath not dispossessed the inhabitants of Beth-Shemesh, and the inhabitants of Beth-Anath, and he dwelleth in the midst of the Canaanite, the inhabitants of the land; and the inhabitants of Beth-Shemesh and of Beth-Anath have become tributary to them. 34 And the Amorites press the sons of Dan to the mountain, for they have not suffered them to go down to the valley; 35 and the Amorite is desirous to dwell in mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, and the hand of the house of Joseph is heavy, and they become tributary; 36 and the border of the Amorite 'is' from the ascent of Akrabbim, from the rock and upward.
21 And a messenger of Jehovah goeth up from Gilgal unto Bochim, 2 and saith, 'I cause you to come up out of Egypt, and bring you in unto the land which I have sworn to your fathers, and say, I do not break My covenant with you to the age; and ye—ye make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land—their altars ye break down; and ye have not hearkened to My voice—what 'is' this ye have done? 3 And I also have said, I do not cast them out from your presence, and they have been to you for adversaries, and their gods are to you for a snare.' 4 And it cometh to pass, when the messenger of Jehovah speaketh these words unto all the sons of Israel, that the people lift up their voice and weep, 5 and they call the name of that place Bochim, and sacrifice there to Jehovah.
6 And Joshua sendeth the people away, and the sons of Israel go, each to his inheritance, to possess the land; 7 and the people serve Jehovah all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who prolonged days after Joshua, who saw all the great work of Jehovah which He did to Israel. 8 And Joshua son of Nun, servant of Jehovah, dieth, a son of a hundred and ten years, 9 and they bury him in the border of his inheritance, in Timnath-Heres, in the hill-country of Ephraim, on the north of mount Gaash; 10 and also all that generation have been gathered unto their fathers, and another generation riseth after them who have not known Jehovah, and even the work which He hath done to Israel.
11 And the sons of Israel do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, and serve the Baalim, 12 and forsake Jehovah, God of their fathers, who bringeth them out from the land of Egypt, and go after other gods (of the gods of the peoples who 'are' round about them), and bow themselves to them, and provoke Jehovah, 13 yea, they forsake Jehovah, and do service to Baal and to Ashtaroth. 14 And the anger of Jehovah burneth against Israel, and He giveth them into the hand of spoilers, and they spoil them, and He selleth them into the hand of their enemies round about, and they have not been able any more to stand before their enemies; 15 in every 'place' where they have gone out, the hand of Jehovah hath been against them for evil, as Jehovah hath spoken, and as Jehovah hath sworn to them, and they are distressed—greatly. 16 And Jehovah raiseth up judges, and they save them from the hand of their spoilers; 17 and also unto their judges they have not hearkened, but have gone a-whoring after other gods, and bow themselves to them; they have turned aside 'with' haste out of the way 'in' which their fathers walked to obey the commands of Jehovah—they have not done so. 18 And when Jehovah raised up to them judges—then was Jehovah with the judge, and saved them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for it repenteth Jehovah, because of their groaning from the presence of their oppressors, and of those thrusting them away. 19 And it hath come to pass, at the death of the judge—they turn back and have done corruptly above their fathers, to go after other gods, to serve them, and to bow themselves to them; they have not fallen from their doings, and from their stiff way. 20 And the anger of Jehovah doth burn against Israel, and He saith, 'Because that this nation have transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened to My voice— 21 I also continue not to dispossess any from before them of the nations which Joshua hath left when he dieth, 22 in order to try Israel by them, whether they are keeping the way of Jehovah, to go in it, as their fathers kept 'it' or not.' 23 And Jehovah leaveth these nations, so as not to dispossess them hastily, and did not give them into the hand of Joshua.
31 And these 'are' the nations which Jehovah left, to try Israel by them, all who have not known all the wars of Canaan; 2 (only for the sake of the generations of the sons of Israel's knowing, to teach them war, only those who formerly have not known them)— 3 five princes of the Philistines, and all the Canaanite, and the Zidonian, and the Hivite inhabiting mount Lebanon, from mount Baal-Hermon unto the entering in of Hamath; 4 and they are to prove Israel by them, to know whether they obey the commands of Jehovah that He commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. 5 And the sons of Israel have dwelt in the midst of the Canaanite, the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, 6 and take their daughters to them for wives, and their daughters have given to their sons, and they serve their gods;
7 and the sons of Israel do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, and forget Jehovah their God, and serve the Baalim and the shrines.
8 And the anger of Jehovah burneth against Israel, and He selleth them into the hand of Chushan-Rishathaim king of Aram-Naharaim, and the sons of Israel serve Chushan-Rishathaim eight years; 9 and the sons of Israel cry unto Jehovah, and Jehovah raiseth a saviour to the sons of Israel, and he saveth them—Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother; 10 and the Spirit of Jehovah is upon him, and he judgeth Israel, and goeth out to battle, and Jehovah giveth unto his hand Chushan-Rishathaim king of Aram, and strong is his hand against Chushan-Rishathaim; 11 and the land resteth forty years. And Othniel son of Kenaz dieth,
12 and the sons of Israel add to do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah; and Jehovah strengtheneth Eglon king of Moab against Israel, because that they have done the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah; 13 and he gathereth unto him the Bene-Ammon and Amalek, and goeth and smiteth Israel, and they possess the city of palms; 14 and the sons of Israel serve Eglon king of Moab eighteen years. 15 And the sons of Israel cry unto Jehovah, and Jehovah raiseth to them a saviour, Ehud son of Gera, a Benjamite (a man—shut of his right hand), and the sons of Israel send by his hand a present to Eglon king of Moab; 16 and Ehud maketh for himself a sword, and it hath two mouths (a cubit 'is' its length), and he girdeth it under his long robe on his right thigh; 17 and he bringeth near the present to Eglon king of Moab, and Eglon 'is' a very fat man. 18 And it cometh to pass, when he hath finished to bring near the present, that he sendeth away the people bearing the present, 19 and he himself hath turned back from the graven images which 'are' at Gilgal, and saith, 'A secret word I have unto thee, O king;' and he saith, 'Hush!' and go out from him do all those standing by him. 20 And Ehud hath come unto him, and he is sitting in the upper chamber of the wall which he hath for himself, and Ehud saith, 'A word of God I have unto thee;' and he riseth from off the throne; 21 and Ehud putteth forth his left hand, and taketh the sword from off his right thigh, and striketh it into his belly; 22 and the haft also goeth in after the blade, and the fat shutteth on the blade, that he hath not drawn the sword out of his belly, and it goeth out at the fundament. 23 And Ehud goeth out at the porch, and shutteth the doors of the upper chamber upon him, and hath bolted 'it'; 24 and he hath gone out, and his servants have come in, and look, and lo, the doors of the upper chamber are bolted, and they say, 'He is only covering his feet in the inner chamber of the wall.' 25 And they stay till confounded, and lo, he is not opening the doors of the upper chamber, and they take the key, and open, and lo, their lord is fallen to the earth—dead. 26 And Ehud escaped during their tarrying, and hath passed by the images, and is escaped to Seirath. 27 And it cometh to pass, in his coming in, that he bloweth with a trumpet in the hill-country of Ephraim, and go down with him do the sons of Israel from the hill-country, and he before them; 28 and he saith unto them, 'Pursue after me, for Jehovah hath given your enemies, the Moabites, into your hand;' and they go down after him, and capture the passages of the Jordan towards Moab, and have not permitted a man to pass over. 29 And they smite Moab at that time, about ten thousand men, all robust, and every one a man of valour, and not a man hath escaped, 30 and Moab is humbled in that day under the hand of Israel; and the land resteth eighty years.
31 And after him hath been Shamgar son of Anath, and he smiteth the Philistines—six hundred men—with an ox-goad, and he saveth—he also—Israel.
41 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, turned back from the Jordan, and was brought in the Spirit to the wilderness, 2 forty days being tempted by the Devil, and he did not eat anything in those days, and they having been ended, he afterward hungered, 3 and the Devil said to him, 'If Son thou art of God, speak to this stone that it may become bread.' 4 And Jesus answered him, saying, 'It hath been written, that, not on bread only shall man live, but on every saying of God.' 5 And the Devil having brought him up to an high mountain, shewed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and the Devil said to him, 'To thee I will give all this authority, and their glory, because to me it hath been delivered, and to whomsoever I will, I do give it; 7 thou, then, if thou mayest bow before me—all shall be thine.' 8 And Jesus answering him said, 'Get thee behind me, Adversary, for it hath been written, Thou shalt bow before the Lord thy God, and Him only thou shalt serve.' 9 And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, 'If the Son thou art of God, cast thyself down hence, 10 for it hath been written—To His messengers He will give charge concerning thee, to guard over thee, 11 and—On hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou mayest dash against a stone thy foot.' 12 And Jesus answering said to him—'It hath been said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.' 13 And having ended all temptation, the Devil departed from him till a convenient season.
14 And Jesus turned back in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a fame went forth through all the region round about concerning him, 15 and he was teaching in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
16 And he came to Nazareth, where he hath been brought up, and he went in, according to his custom, on the sabbath-day, to the synagogue, and stood up to read; 17 and there was given over to him a roll of Isaiah the prophet, and having unfolded the roll, he found the place where it hath been written: 18 'The Spirit of the Lord 'is' upon me, Because He did anoint me; To proclaim good news to the poor, Sent me to heal the broken of heart, To proclaim to captives deliverance, And to blind receiving of sight, To send away the bruised with deliverance, 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.' 20 And having folded the roll, having given 'it' back to the officer, he sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue were gazing on him. 21 And he began to say unto them—'To-day hath this writing been fulfilled in your ears;' 22 and all were bearing testimony to him, and were wondering at the gracious words that are coming forth out of his mouth, and they said, 'Is not this the son of Joseph?' 23 And he said unto them, 'Certainly ye will say to me this simile, Physician, heal thyself; as great things as we heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country;' 24 and he said, 'Verily I say to you—No prophet is accepted in his own country; 25 and of a truth I say to you, Many widows were in the days of Elijah, in Israel, when the heaven was shut for three years and six months, when great famine came on all the land, 26 and unto none of them was Elijah sent, but—to Sarepta of Sidon, unto a woman, a widow; 27 and many lepers were in the time of Elisha the prophet, in Israel, and none of them was cleansed, but—Naaman the Syrian.' 28 And all in the synagogue were filled with wrath, hearing these things, 29 and having risen, they put him forth without the city, and brought him unto the brow of the hill on which their city had been built—to cast him down headlong, 30 and he, having gone through the midst of them, went away.
(Read Luke 4:1-13)
Christ's being led into the wilderness gave an advantage to the tempter; for there he was alone, none were with him by whose prayers and advice he might be helped in the hour of temptation. He who knew his own strength might give Satan advantage; but we may not, who know our own weakness. Being in all things made like unto his brethren, Jesus would, like the other children of God, live in dependence upon the Divine Providence and promise. The word of God is our sword, and faith in that word is our shield. God has many ways of providing for his people, and therefore is at all times to be depended upon in the way of duty. All Satan's promises are deceitful; and if he is permitted to have any influence in disposing of the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, he uses them as baits to insnare men to destruction. We should reject at once and with abhorrence, every opportunity of sinful gain or advancement, as a price offered for our souls; we should seek riches, honours, and happiness in the worship and service of God only. Christ will not worship Satan; nor, when he has the kingdoms of the world delivered to him by his Father, will he suffer any remains of the worship of the devil to continue in them. Satan also tempted Jesus to be his own murderer, by unfitting confidence in his Father's protection, such as he had no warrant for. Let not any abuse of Scripture by Satan or by men abate our esteem, or cause us to abandon its use; but let us study it still, seek to know it, and seek our defence from it in all kinds of assaults. Let this word dwell richly in us, for it is our life. Our victorious Redeemer conquered, not for himself only, but for us also. The devil ended all the temptation. Christ let him try all his force, and defeated him. Satan saw it was to no purpose to attack Christ, who had nothing in him for his fiery darts to fasten upon. And if we resist the devil, he will flee from us. Yet he departed but till the season when he was again to be let loose upon Jesus, not as a tempter, to draw him to sin, and so to strike at his head, at which he now aimed and was wholly defeated in; but as a persecutor, to bring Christ to suffer, and so to bruise his heel, which it was told him, he should have to do, and would do, though it would be the breaking of his own head, Genesis 3:15. Though Satan depart for a season, we shall never be out of his reach till removed from this present evil world.
(Read Luke 4:14-30)
Christ taught in their synagogues, their places of public worship, where they met to read, expound, and apply the word, to pray and praise. All the gifts and graces of the Spirit were upon him and on him, without measure. By Christ, sinners may be loosed from the bonds of guilt, and by his Spirit and grace from the bondage of corruption. He came by the word of his gospel, to bring light to those that sat in the dark, and by the power of his grace, to give sight to those that were blind. And he preached the acceptable year of the Lord. Let sinners attend to the Saviour's invitation when liberty is thus proclaimed. Christ's name was Wonderful; in nothing was he more so than in the word of his grace, and the power that went along with it. We may well wonder that he should speak such words of grace to such graceless wretches as mankind. Some prejudice often furnishes an objection against the humbling doctrine of the cross; and while it is the word of God that stirs up men's enmity, they will blame the conduct or manner of the speaker. The doctrine of God's sovereignty, his right to do his will, provokes proud men. They will not seek his favour in his own way; and are angry when others have the favours they neglect. Still is Jesus rejected by multitudes who hear the same message from his words. While they crucify him afresh by their sins, may we honour him as the Son of God, the Saviour of men, and seek to show we do so by our obedience.
