Chapter 16 jewish army defeated

Under the leadership of several shrewd leaders, a Jewish nation was finally established in the land of Canaan. The land had been conquered, and the original inhabitants were either killed or turned into slaves, but there was still a lot to do for the Jews to truly become the real masters of the area along the Mediterranean coast in western Asia (now called Palestine). Joshua eventually died of old age, and the tribes held a grand funeral, but they did not appoint a new leader. Now that the war is over, there is no need for a commander in chief of the army.The high priest living in Shiloh was always available to explain the covenant of the Lord when needed.The election of a military leader also sparked disputes among the major tribes.And after many years of fighting, people want to avoid things related to the war.People yearn for peace and talk about the fields.

But it soon became clear that a country, especially a new one, surrounded by enemies, could not survive without a nominal leader. The small states of Canaan posed no threat to the well-trained armies of Moses and Joshua.But beyond the eastern borders, on the plains of Mesopotamia, there were several powerful rulers, one of whom was the king of Babylon, who was the challenge that the emerging Jewish people had to face from the founding of the state. When the Babylonian king marched into Canaan and occupied several cities, the Jews began to rethink whether they needed a supreme leader. They did not want to establish a formal kingdom, but they could recognize a single leader's dictatorship.This leader is called the "Judge" (after several centuries, the power of the judge gradually expanded, resulting in the Kingdom of Judea. This will be described in detail in later chapters).

The first distinguished judge was named Othniel.He is famous for leading an army that captured the Anak giant's capital.It was these Anakites who once feared Moses' men because of their tall stature, but now these giants either died or became paupers.Another thing that made Othniel famous was that he married Caleb's daughter.Forty years ago, Caleb and Joshua were assigned by Moses to scout out the enemy. Othniel led the Jews to drive the king of Babylon out of the land of Judah. ​​After that, Othniel was the uncrowned king of the Jews for thirty years. But after the death of Othniel, the Jews returned to a state of disunity. They married the daughters of pagans, and they also accepted the women of the local residents of Canaan. Belief.In short, they forgot what Jehovah taught.Without Yahweh, they were just a small Semitic tribe at their mercy.

As a result, they soon lost their common national feeling (which was the emphasis in Moses' national program).They quarreled and quarreled with each other.The news of the infighting among the Jews soon spread to the eager aliens. The Moabites, the Ammonites, and the more ferocious Amalekites united to regain the territory occupied by Joshua. The Jewish army was defeated and the Jews were enslaved again for about twenty years.During this time, the Hebrew tribes recognized Eglon, king of Moab, as their lord. It was a man of the tribe of Benjamin named Ehud who delivered the Jews. Ehud was left-handed, which made him less susceptible to suspicion.He hid a dagger in the left sleeve of his robe, though of course it would not have occurred to the guards of Eglon to inspect the left sleeve.

Then Ehud asked for an audience with the king, because he had some secret information to report to His Majesty alone.Suspicious as all Eastern tyrants were, King Eglon thought the news must be of a mutiny, and he ordered the guards to stand down.As soon as the door was closed, Ehud drew his dagger, and the king of Eglon jumped up to defend himself, but was too late, and Ehud's dagger pierced him in the heart, and he fell down dead. This is the signal for the Jewish uprising.After the Moabites were driven out, Ehud was elected judge of Israel for his merit.The Jewish people once again enjoyed a brief period of peace and independence.

Next, the judges succeeded one another, all strong personalities, constantly battling the heathen beyond the borders. The border war was very cruel, the Philistines burned down a Hebrew village, the Jews were about to destroy two Philistine villages in retaliation, then the Philistines thought they had to destroy three Jewish villages, and the Jews burned Four Felix villages fought back.The vicious cycle of meaningless killings is endless. However, in the early start-up era, almost all countries have experienced such a period.So, just blaming the Jews is pointless.Our ancestors committed the same crime.This kind of massacre and destruction is not unique to a certain nation.Just because we study the Old Testament, we know a little more about the history of the Jews than we do about the history of the Babylonians, Assyrians, or Hittites.That's all, those inhabitants of West Asia are no better than their neighbors, the Jews.

Closer to home, let us continue the records of the holy book.