Some more notes on Naomi in Ruth 1

Ruth 1:1 - Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.

NOTE: As most others, Naomi and Elimilech did that which was right in their own eyes in going to Moab.

Cross References: Deuteronomy 12:8; Judges 17:6, 21:25; Proverbs 21:2

NOTE: The believer will always suffer outside the will of God.  You will always lose more in a green Moab, than even in a famined Bethlehem.

Ruth 1:6 - Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the LORD had visited his people in giving them bread.

NOTE: She missed the best part of this revival.

Ruth 1:21a - I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty...

NOTE: Didn't she leave thinking she was empty in Bethlehem and going to Moab to get full?  Leaving for Moab will forever change your life!

Ruth 1:20 - And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.

NOTE: He might bring you home empty, but He wants to bring you home!

Judges chapter 20 note

Note at Judges chapter 20: Compare Hosea 10:9-10.

Jephthah Did Not Sacrifice Daughter

Notes on keeping straight the Ammonites, Amorites and Moabites in Judges 11:

Ammonites and Moabites are descendants of Lot (Genesis 19:36-38) and often confederate together.

Amorites had invaded into Ammonite and Moabite land and conquered it before the Exodus of Israel. Israel then conquered the Amorites when their kings fought against them after the Exodus (Numbers chapter 21). So the Ammonite king is wrong in Judges 11:13 and Jephthah corrects his history in Judges 11:14-23.

Judges 11:26 - Clue as to the timing of this chapter, about 300 years after the conquering of Canaan by Joshua.

Jephthah did NOT sacrifice his daughter's life:

Jephthah's vow, Judges 11:31 - "Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD's, [or] I will offer it up for a burnt offering.

Notice KJV translator margin, "OR I will offer it up" instead of "AND I will offer it up." Whatever or whoever first came forth would be the LORD's. If an animal lawful to sacrifice, then it would be sacrificed. If a person, he or she would be consecrated to the LORD.

Jephthah's daughter was therefore consecrated to the LORD, that she would not marry. So she bewailed her virginity, not her impending death, Judges 11:37-38. Not being able to bear children was a major source of disappointment for a Jewish girl, in a society where children were so prized and every woman wanted to be the one through whom the Messiah came forth. And this a disappointment to Jephthah, for his line would end with her, his only child, so his grief in Judges 11:35.

This fact of the vow confirmed - not that he offered her up, but explained that "she knew no man", Judges 11:39. She was probably set apart from society to live alone under her father's care. And the daughters of Israel went yearly to visit with her, Judges 11:39-40 (note KJV marginal translation, "to talk with her" a more clear translation).

Jepthah is named in the Faith Hall of Fame in Hebrews 11:32. This man would not be a hero of faith if he had actually bargained with God with the life of his daughter. His vow is more like the vow of faith of Hannah, I Samuel 1:11, which God honored.

VM

Introduction to Judges

Notes on the Introduction to Judges

The Book of Judges spans the gap from the conquering of Canaan by Joshua until the nation becomes a monarchy ruled by a king in I Samuel. Paul says in Acts 13:20 that the period lasted "about the space of four hundred and fifty years." You cannot determine the timing of events by simply adding up the length of the time the judges ruled, because some of them appear to be local judges in different places; not ruling the entire nation at one time. Some may have even been simultaneous with others, ruling in different areas. Other events in Judges are not given in the text in a chronological order but in a logical fashion. For example, Judges 17:1, "And there was a man..." does not fix the time of this event or this judge.

Chapters 1 and 2 recount some of the events of Joshua, expanding on some in more detail.

Then Judges 2:10-23 outlines and summarizes the entire book. The book shows Israel following a cycle pattern of: (1) national sin and falling away; (2) judgment from God in the form of enemies ruling over the people; (3) repentance on the part of the people; (4) God delivering the people through the hand of a "judge"; (5) that generation dies off and the nation repeats the cycle in the next generation. Judges has been given the theme, "Defeat and Deliverance."

Another summary of the period of the Judges is in Judges 21:25 (repeated often in the book): "In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes."

VM

Dan - The Conquering Tribe

Joshua 19:47 - And the coast of the children of Dan went out too little for them: therefore the children of Dan went up to fight against Leshem, and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and possessed it, and dwelt therein, and called Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their father.

This conquest explained in detail in Judges chapter 18. Leshem is called Laish there. See for example Judges 18:29.

VM