Old/New Testament
Modern readers wrestle with the violence in the Old Testament. In the wake of events like the holocaust, when the Jews were slaughtered by the millions, many do not see God as a protecting God or as a God of might.
But in Judges we learn about a God who fights for His chosen people or empowers champions to protect them. This was certainly the way the people of God in the time of Judges thought about God, as defender and protector, and the way people in the ancient Middle East understood faith, worship, and divinity. But the Lord is different from all the other gods. He is jealous, so when His people abandon Him, all that power is turned against them in the form of invading armies. The Israelites have need of judges who can lead them in their military exploits and who can keep them faithful to the mighty God of Israel.
1 After Joshua died, the people of Israel asked a question of the Eternal One.
Israelites: So now who will lead us in our wars against the armies of Canaan?
Eternal One (to the leaders of Judah): 2 Judah will go and fight. See, I am giving the land into their hands.
3 The tribe of Judah enlisted support from the tribe of Simeon.
Tribe of Judah: If you will help us fight for the land we were given in Canaan, we will do the same for you.
The tribe of Simeon agreed to help them. 4-5 So Judah and her ally went up to fight against Adoni-bezek at the town of Bezek, and the Eternal gave them victory over the Canaanites and the Perizzites. They killed 10,000 of them at Bezek; 6 and although Adoni-bezek tried to escape, they caught him and cut off his thumbs and big toes, which rendered him useless for basically anything.
Adoni-bezek: 7 In my time, I cut the thumbs and toes off 70 kings and left them to scramble for scraps under my table. And now God has done the same to me.
They carried him away to Jerusalem, where he died.
8 Then the people of Judah attacked Jerusalem; and when they had captured it, they killed many, burned the city, and destroyed it. 9 After that the people of Judah swept down upon the Canaanites remaining in the highlands and in the lowlands and in the southern desert. 10 Judah campaigned against the Canaanites of Hebron (formerly Kiriath-arba), where they defeated Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, 11 and then they went out in battle against the people of Debir (formerly Kiriath-sepher). 12 It was about this battle that Caleb had made a vow.
Caleb: Whoever attacks and captures Kiriath-sepher will receive my daughter Achsah as his wife.
13 Othniel, the son of Caleb’s younger brother, Kenaz, captured the city, so Caleb gave Othniel his daughter Achsah to marry. 14 When she came to Othniel, she persuaded him to ask her father for a field. As she dismounted from her donkey, Caleb approached her.
Caleb: What do you wish?
Achsah: 15 Here is what I would like as a wedding gift: since you have given me a place in the southern desert, also give me some springs of water.
And so Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.
16 The people who descended from Moses’ father-in-law, Hobab the Kenite, went with the people of Judah from the city of palm trees into the wilderness of Judah, and they settled there with the people, the Amalekites, in the southern desert near Arad.
17 Then Judah and Simeon defeated the Canaanites who lived in Zephath and destroyed them completely, so their city was renamed Hormah, which means “destruction.” 18 Judah went on to take the cities of Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron and all the land surrounding them. 19 The Eternal was with Judah, and the tribe conquered all of the highlands. But those living in the plains had iron chariots, so Judah could not drive them out. 20 Caleb received the land of Hebron, as Moses had promised many years earlier, and he drove out the three sons of Anak. 21 The people of the tribe of Benjamin, however, did not drive the Jebusites out of Jerusalem, and the Jebusites live alongside the Benjaminites in Jerusalem to this very day.
22-23 The tribe of Joseph went up against Bethel (which was formerly known as Luz), and the Eternal supported them. They sent out spies 24 who intercepted a man leaving the city.
Spies: Show us the way into the city, and we’ll spare you.
25 He showed them the way, and they destroyed the city with swords; but as they had promised, they let the man and his family go. 26 This man went into the land of the Hittites, and there he established a city; he called it Luz, and that is still its name.
27-28 The tribe of Manasseh failed to drive out the people who lived in the cities and surrounding villages of Beth-shean, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, and Megiddo. The Canaanites continued to live in those regions for they were determined to live there; but when the people of Israel grew strong, they made the Canaanites their slaves and did not completely drive them out.
29 So it was with the tribe of Ephraim, who did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer but lived among them.
30 Zebulun also did not drive out the people of Kitron or Nahalol, so these Canaanites lived among them and became their slaves.
31-32 Asher failed to drive out the people of Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, and Rehob; instead, the tribe of Asher lived among the Canaanites who lived in the land.
33 Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh or Beth-anath but lived among these Canaanites who lived in the land. They also became the slaves of Naphtali.
34 The Amorites pushed the tribe of Dan back into the hills and did not allow them to dwell in the valley. 35 The Amorites persisted in living on Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, but the tribe of Joseph overpowered them and forced them into labor. 36 In those days, the border of the Amorites ran from the heights of Akrabbim to Sela and beyond.
2 The Eternal’s messenger traveled from Gilgal to Bochim.
Messenger (to the people of Israel): I rescued you out of the land of Egypt and brought you into this land that I had promised to your ancestors. I said, “I will never break My covenant with you. 2 As your part of this bargain, you shall not make a covenant with the inhabitants of this land. You must tear down the altars of their gods.” But you did not do as I commanded. Do you realize what you have done? 3 Now I tell you, “I will not drive them out before you. The people of the land will irritate you, and their gods will ensnare you.”
4 When the Eternal’s messenger spoke these words to Israel, the people wept bitterly. 5 So they named that place Bochim, which means “weeping,” and there they sacrificed to Him.
6 When Joshua sent the people away, each tribe of Israel went to gain possession of its territorial inheritance. 7 The people served the Eternal as long as Joshua lived and through all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua—those who had seen all the great works that the Eternal had done for Israel.
8 Joshua, son of Nun, the Eternal’s servant, died at the age of 110 years 9 and was buried within the borders of his inheritance at Timnath-heres in the hills of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 10 Now that whole generation, the generation that had walked with Moses—the generation that saw the walls of Jericho fall—that generation passed on, and another generation grew up after them, a generation that did not know the Eternal and had not seen the great works He had done for Israel. 11 Consequently this new generation served the gods of Canaan—the Baals[a] as they were called—doing what the Eternal God considered evil. 12 They abandoned the Eternal One, the True God of their ancestors, who brought them safely out of Egypt. Instead, they began to serve the gods of their neighbors, the Canaanites, bowing low before their images, causing the Eternal to burn with anger.
13 The Israelites abandoned the worship of the Eternal One and turned to serve Baal and his consort the moon goddess, Ashtaroth. 14 So the Eternal’s anger burned hot against them, and He caused them to be overcome by those around them, using their enemies to plunder them so that the Israelites could no longer stand against their enemies. 15 Whenever they marched out to battle, the hand of the Eternal One was raised against them in evil, as He had warned and promised them, and they were in anguish.
16 But the Eternal appointed judges among them, leaders and liberators who rescued the Israelites from their enemies who plundered them. 17 Even then the people of Israel did not listen to their judges, but instead passionately pursued other gods and bowed down to them. How quickly they turned from the faithfulness exhibited by their ancestors in obeying the Eternal’s commandments. This younger generation did not follow their ancestors’ example.
18 Still, whenever the Eternal appointed judges among the Israelites, He was with each one, saving the Israelites from their enemies as long as that leader lived, for He was moved to compassion by the groans of His people when they were persecuted and oppressed. 19 But when the judge died, then the people would fall away from their faithfulness, and the next generation behaved even worse than their ancestors, pursuing and serving other gods, and bowing down before them. They would not change their bad habits but clung to them stubbornly.
20 So the Eternal’s anger burned hot against the people of Israel.
Eternal One: Since these people have violated the covenant I gave as a commandment to their ancestors and no longer listen to My voice, 21 I will no longer drive out from their path any of the nations who still remained in this land when Joshua died. 22 I will put My people to the test to see whether or not they will walk the faithful way of the Eternal as their ancestors did.
23 So God did as He promised. He left those pagan nations in the land of Canaan. He did not drive them away immediately, nor did He give them into the hands of Joshua and his armies.
3 Here is a list of the nations that the Eternal left in the land to test those Israelites who had not gone to war in Canaan, 2 so that those who had not experienced war personally might know it: 3 the five Philistine capital cities, all the Canaanite tribes, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived on the mountains of Lebanon from Mount Baal-hermon to the entrance of Lebo-hamath. 4 They were intended to test the Israelites, to determine whether they would follow the commandments that the Eternal gave to their ancestors through Moses.
After Joshua dies, the people of Israel are left without a leader. How will they know what to do? They are still surrounded by hostile peoples; there is still land to be fought for and won.
The people of God have some military success, but they are not able to drive out all the people of Canaan. They are forced to live among the pagans; and their ways, women, and gods become a temptation to the people of God. This situation is the catalyst for the next 1,000 years of Israel’s cyclical unfaithfulness and repentance.
5 The people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 6 They took the pagans’ daughters as wives, gave their own daughters to the pagans’ sons to marry, and worshiped pagan gods. 7 Israel committed what the Eternal considered evil: they forgot the Eternal, their True God, and instead worshiped the Baal and Asherah deities,[b] the various local gods of the people of Canaan.
8 So the Eternal’s anger burned against Israel, and He gave them into the hands of Cushan-rishathaim, a king of Mesopotamia. The Israelites toiled like slaves for Cushan-rishathaim for 8 years; 9 but when they cried out to the Eternal, He raised up a liberator from among them—Othniel, the son of Kenaz, the younger brother of Caleb. 10 The Spirit of the Eternal came upon Othniel, and he became a judge over Israel. In God’s power, he emancipated Israel and went to war for them. The Eternal then delivered Cushan-rishathaim, king of Mesopotamia, to Othniel, and Othniel’s army defeated him. 11 Afterward this territory had peace for 40 years. Then Othniel, the son of Kenaz, died.
12 The people of Israel again did what was evil in the eyes of the Eternal, so He gave Eglon, king of Moab, power against the Israelites because they did what He viewed as evil. 13 Eglon allied with the Ammonites and the Amalekites; they went to battle against Israel and defeated them, and they captured the city of palm trees. 14 The Israelites toiled for Eglon, king of Moab, for 18 years; 15 but when the people of Israel cried to the Eternal for relief, He raised up a left-handed liberator from among them: Ehud, son of Gera the Benjaminite.
The Israelites sent Ehud to bring tribute to Eglon, king of Moab. 16 Before he set out, Ehud made for himself a double-edged sword about 18 inches in length, and he fastened it onto his right thigh, hidden under his clothes.
17 Ehud brought the tribute to Eglon, king of Moab, who was a very fat man; 18 and when he was done with the presentation of the tribute to the king, he sent away those who carried it. 19 Ehud stopped on his homeward journey at the engraved idols near Gilgal and returned to speak with Eglon.
Ehud: I have a secret message for you, O king.
Eglon: Be silent.
Eglon sent his attendants away; 20 and Ehud came in to the king, who sat alone in a cool, private, upstairs room supported by beams.
Ehud: I have here a message for you from the True God.
As the king got up from his throne, 21 Ehud reached beneath his robes with his left hand, took the sword strapped to his right thigh, and thrust it deep into Eglon’s belly, 22 so deep, in fact, that the hilt followed the blade, and he did not remove the sword because the fat closed over the blade, and the contents of Eglon’s intestines spilled out. 23 So Ehud locked the doors of the roof area himself and exited through the porch. 24 After he had escaped, eventually the servants came to check on their master. When they saw that the doors to the upstairs room were locked, they assumed Eglon was relieving himself in the upstairs chamber. 25 They stood around waiting until their embarrassment grew too great. When Eglon didn’t open the doors, at last, they opened the doors with the key, and there was their master, lying dead on the floor.
26 Ehud took advantage of the delay. He passed the idols of Gilgal and escaped to Seirah. 27 Reaching safety, he sounded the trumpet in the hill country of the tribe of Ephraim, and the Israelites followed him back down the mountain.
Ehud: 28 Follow me, because the Eternal has given your enemies, the Moabites, into your hands.
So they followed him, and together they captured the crossings of the river Jordan into Moab, not allowing anyone to pass. 29 At that time, they killed an army of 10,000 Moabites, all of them strong and well-equipped warriors. No one escaped.
30 So Israel defeated Moab on that day, and this region experienced rest from war for 80 years. 31 When Ehud was gone, Shamgar, the son of Anath, was also a liberator of Israel, killing 600 Philistines with an ox goad.
While genealogies may seem tedious, for people in many cultures (including Luke’s), genealogies are important and meaningful because they give a sense of identity and history. Luke places Jesus in the mainstream of biblical history, connected to King David, Abraham, Noah, and Adam. By connecting Jesus with Adam, and ultimately with God, Luke shows how Jesus is connected to and relevant for all people, and he may also be suggesting that in Jesus God is launching a new humanity, with Jesus as the new Adam. Unlike the first Adam, though, Jesus will be completely faithful to God, as the next episode makes clear. Perhaps echoing Adam and Eve being tempted by the serpent in the garden (Genesis 3:1–7), Luke moves from the stories of Jesus’ beginnings to His temptation.
4 When Jesus returned from the Jordan River, He was full of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit led Him away from the cities and towns and out into the desert.
2 For 40 days, the Spirit led Him from place to place in the desert, and while there, the devil tempted Jesus. Jesus was fasting, eating nothing during this time, and at the end, He was terribly hungry. 3 At that point, the devil came to Him.
Devil: Since You’re the Son of God, You don’t need to be hungry. Just tell this stone to transform itself into bread.
Jesus: 4 It is written in the Hebrew Scriptures, “People need more than bread to live.”[a]
5 Then the devil gave Jesus a vision. It was as if He traveled around the world in an instant and saw all the kingdoms of the world at once.
Devil: 6 All these kingdoms, all their glory, I’ll give to You. They’re mine to give because this whole world has been handed over to me. 7 If You just worship me, then everything You see will all be Yours. All Yours!
Jesus: 8 [Get out of My face, Satan!][b] The Hebrew Scriptures say, “Worship and serve the Eternal One your God—only Him—and nobody else.”[c]
9 Then the devil led Jesus to Jerusalem, and he transported Jesus to stand upon the pinnacle of the temple.
Devil: Since You’re the Son of God, just jump. Just throw Yourself into the air. 10 You keep quoting the Hebrew Scriptures. They themselves say,
He will put His heavenly messengers in charge of You,
to keep You safe in every way.
11 And,
They will hold You up in their hands
so that You do not smash Your foot against a stone.[d]
Jesus: 12 Yes, but the Hebrew Scriptures also say, “You will not presume on God; you will not test the Lord, the one True God.”[e]
13 The devil had no more temptations to offer that day, so he left Jesus, preparing to return at some other opportune time.
14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Holy Spirit, and soon people across the region had heard news of Him. 15 He would regularly go into their synagogues and teach. His teaching earned Him the respect and admiration of everyone who heard Him.
16 He eventually came to His hometown, Nazareth, and did there what He had done elsewhere in Galilee—entered the synagogue and stood up to read from the Hebrew Scriptures.
17 The synagogue attendant gave Him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, and Jesus unrolled it to the place where Isaiah had written these words:
18 The Spirit of the Lord the Eternal One is on Me.
Why? Because the Eternal designated Me
to be His representative to the poor, to preach good news to them.
Luke’s audience doesn’t divide the world into sacred vs. secular or religious vs. political. For them, life is integrated. And for them, these “religious” words from Isaiah have a powerful and “political” meaning: because they see themselves as oppressed by the Roman occupation, Jesus’ words suggest that His “good news” describes a powerful change about to come—a change that will rescue the people from their oppression. His fellow Jews have long been waiting for a savior to free them from Roman oppression. Jesus tells them their hopes are about to be fulfilled. But then, just as people speak well of Jesus, He lets them know their expectations aren’t in line with God’s plans. He tells them not to expect God to fit into their boxes and suggests the unthinkable: that God cares for the Gentiles, the very people who are oppressing them! They aren’t too pleased by this.
He sent Me to tell those who are held captive that they can now be set free,
and to tell the blind that they can now see.
He sent Me to liberate those held down by oppression.
19 In short, the Spirit is upon Me to proclaim that now is the time;
this is the jubilee season of the Eternal One’s grace.[f]
20 Jesus rolled up the scroll and returned it to the synagogue attendant. Then He sat down, as a teacher would do, and all in the synagogue focused their attention on Jesus, waiting for Him to speak. 21 He told them that these words from the Hebrew Scriptures were being fulfilled then and there, in their hearing.
22 At first everyone was deeply impressed with the gracious words that poured from Jesus’ lips. Everyone spoke well of Him and was amazed that He could say these things.
Everyone: Wait. This is only the son of Joseph, right?
Jesus: 23 You’re about to quote the old proverb to Me, “Doctor, heal yourself!” Then you’re going to ask Me to prove Myself to you by doing the same miracles I did in Capernaum. 24 But face the truth: hometowns always reject their homegrown prophets.
25 Think back to the prophet Elijah. There were many needy Jewish widows in his homeland, Israel, when a terrible famine persisted there for three and a half years. 26 Yet the only widow God sent Elijah to help was an outsider from Zarephath in Sidon.[g]
27 It was the same with the prophet Elisha. There were many Jewish lepers in his homeland, but the only one he healed—Naaman—was an outsider from Syria.[h]
28 The people in the synagogue became furious when He said these things. 29 They seized Jesus, took Him to the edge of town, and pushed Him right to the edge of the cliff on which the city was built. They would have pushed Him off and killed Him, 30 but He passed through the crowd and went on His way.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.