This is my one hundred and seventieth monthly teaching letter and continues my fifteenth year of publication. I started this series entitled The Greatest Love Story Ever Told with WTL #137, and have been expanding on the seven stages of the story as follows: (1) the courtship, (2) the marriage, (3) the honeymoon, (4) the estrangement, (5) the divorce, (6) the reconciliation, and (7) the remarriage.

THE GREATEST LOVE STORY EVER TOLD, Part 29:

THE ESTRANGEMENT continued:

As I explained in the last lesson, there were four different periods of time in which the “estrangement” of Yahweh and His people (the house of Israel and the house of Judah) came about. In taking these eras into consideration they consisted of:

(1) The conquest of Canaan under Joshua.

(2) The reign of the Judges.

(3) The reign of the Kings.

(4) The nation of Israel divided into two kingdoms; the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

Let’s examine this man Joshua. At Exodus 23:20, he is the angel who is God’s representative leading the people of Israel into the promised land. Let’s read vs. 20 through 23:

“²⁰ Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. ²¹ Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him. ²² But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries. ²³ For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off.” There is only one person who fits this description of “my name is in him”, and that is Joshua, who had the same name as Christ in the New Testament, or Yahshua. The letter “J” had not developed until the 17th century A.D. If one will pronounce Joshua with a “Y” sound rather than a “J”, the relationship will become obvious. Sometimes the combination of Hebrew #’s 4480 & 430 can mean “angels”, but at Exodus 23:20 the word translated “angel” is Strong’s #4397, “... mal’âk, mal-awk’; from the unused root meaning to despatch as a deputy; a messenger; specifically of God, i.e. an angel (also a prophet, priest or teacher:– [rendered in the KJV as] ambassador, king, angel, messenger.” Therefore, it is evident that this Hebrew word can mean both supernatural or natural beings.

I will now give the history of the English letter “J” from The Readers Digest Great Encyclopedic Dictionary: “j J (j) n. pl. j’s or js, J’s or Js, jays (jaz) 1. The tenth letter of the English alphabet. The shape of the Phoenician consonant yod was adopted by the Greeks as iota and became Roman I. In the 17th century, the calligraphic practice of carrying the initial I (which usually had consonantal value) both above and below the line gradually developed into a graphic distinction between i the vowel and i or j the consonant. Also jay. 2. The sound represented by the letter j , usually a voiced affricate, as in judge (juj) or, in borrowings from Modern French, often (zh), as in jabot. –symbol In Roman numerals, one: used as a variant of i at the end of a number, as vij, especially in medical prescriptions.”

Upon understanding that the English letter “j” did not exist before the 17th century A.D., I challenge anyone to attempt to pronounce “Joshua”, “Jesus” or “Jezebel” without the sound of the letter “j”! Go ahead and try it, and see what kind of a result you get! It’s a long story, so I suggest you read William Finck’s essay, Yahshua To Jesus, Evolution Of A Name.

I will point out that, as recorded at Joshua 5:13-15, an angel did appear to Joshua, but the angel refused to give Joshua his name. However, as quoted here before, it was revealed that the “angel” at Exodus 23:20 was Joshua. It should be noted that only in a few isolated instances did angels reveal their name. This was to prevent men from worshipping angels (Josh 5:13-15):

“¹³ And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? ¹⁴ And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of Yahweh am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? ¹⁵ And the captain of Yahweh’s host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.” It is evident, here, that Yahweh didn’t invest His Name in angels, but inasmuch as He came in the flesh as Yahshua, it shows He did invest His Name in man.

Interestingly, there is much more that we need to know about the definable aspects of the name “Joshua” as used in Scripture. “Joshua” is #3091 in the Strong’s Hebrew dictionary:

“3091. ... Y^ehôw shûwa‘, yeh-ho-shooah; or ... Y^ehôwshû‘a, yeh-ho-shooah; from 3068 and 3467; Jehovah-saved; Jehoshuä (i.e. Joshua), the Jewish [sic Israelite] leader:– [rendered in KJV] Jehosua, Jehosuah, Joshua. Compare 1954, 3442”

Here Strong’s definition is incorrect, as there was no “J” in the Hebrew. Notice that Strong has “yeh” for the Hebrew articulation, not “jeh”! Strong is correct, however, that shûwa‘ means “saved”. Also, Strong’s reference to the Hebrew word #3068 is very important to our subject here.

“3068. ... Y^ehôvâh, yeh-ho-vaw; from 1961; (the) self Existent or eternal; Jehovah, Jewish [sic Israelite] national name of God:– [rendered in KJV] Jehovah, the Lord. Comp. 3050, 3069.” While the Strong’s dictionary is a help in many ways, it is evident that Strong didn’t know the difference between the 123 B.C. converso Edomite- jews and the ancient Israelites! To get a better perspective on what Strong defines as “Jehovah”, we must explore #3050:

“3050. ... Yâhh, yaw; contraction for 3068, and means the same as Jah, the sacred name:– [KJV renderings] Jah, the Lord, most vehement, Cp. names in ‘-iah,’ ‘jah.’” Here Strong has the Hebrew articulation of #3050 correct as “yaw”, but there still wasn’t any “J” in the Hebrew. Therefore, the better pronunciation for the Sacred Name would be “Yahweh”, and “Yah” would represent its contraction. So what we have in the name “Joshua” is the contraction of Yahweh, i.e. “Yah” and shûwa‘, i.e. “saved”.

But this is not all of the story! Before Joshua’s (i.e. Yahshua’s) name was Joshua, it is recorded at Num. 13:8, 16 as “Oshea”, and at Deut. 32:44 as “Hoshea”:

Num. 13:8, 16: “⁸ Of the tribe of Ephraim, Oshea the son of Nun. ... ¹⁶ These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun Jehoshua.”

Deut. 32:44: “And Moses came and spake all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshea the son of Nun.”

Oshea and Hoshea are both Strong’s #1954, and defined thus:

“1954. ... Hôwshêä‘, ho-shay-ah; from 3467; deliver; Hosheä, the name of five Israelites:– [KJV renderings] Hosea, Hoshea, Oshea.”

Yes, the second part of Joshua’s name is the same as the prophet Hosea, Strong’s #1954. And to show how it was so badly translated from the Hebrew to the Greek (due to the differences in the articulation of the two languages), Hosea is recorded as “Osee” at Rom. 9:25. No wonder there is so much corruption of the name of Joshua (i.e., Yahshua, the same name which Christ bore).

We will now consider Matthew Henry’s Commentary, (vol. 2 of 6, p. 1), “On The Name ‘Joshua’, An Exposition, With Practical Observations, of The Book of Joshua” in part:

“… Though Joshua is not expressly mentioned in the New Testament as a type of Christ, yet all agree that he was a very eminent one. He bore our Saviour’s name, as did also another type of him, Joshua the high priest, Zec. 6:11, 12. The Septuagint, giving the name of Joshua a Greek termination, call him all along, Iesous Jesus, and so he is called [at] Acts 7:45, and Heb. 4:8. Justin Martyr, one of the first writers of the Christian church (Dialog. cum Trypho. p. mihi 300), makes that promise in Ex. 23:20, My angel shall bring thee into the place I have prepared, to point at Joshua; and these words, My name is in him, to refer to this, that his names should be the same with that of the Messiah. It signifies, He shall save. Joshua saves God’s people from the Canaanites; our Lord Jesus saves them from their sins. Christ, as Joshua, is the captain of our salvation, a leader and commander of the people, to tread Satan under their feet, to put them in possession of the heavenly Canaan, and to give them rest, which (it is said, Heb. 4:8) Joshua did not.” [emphasis mine.]

A few things should be noted here, particularly that the Joshua of the Old Testament saved the Israelites from the Canaanites of that day (attempted to give them rest). Matthew Henry almost gets it correct here, as our Joshua (Yahshua = Yah-saves) will also save us from the modern-day Canaanites. Paul the apostle made it clear at Romans 16:20 that the Romans would tread, or “bruise Satan under your feet shortly”, and the Romans (who were by-and-large Zerah-Judah Israelites) of the seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15) surely trounced the hell out of the converso Canaanite-Edomite-jews at Jerusalem in 70 A.D. But that’s not the end of the story, as at Yahshua’s Second Advent “the seed of the woman” (in the person of Yahshua-Christ) is going to do it again, and permanently (Zech. 14:21). Without an understanding of the two “seeds” of Genesis 3:15, the Bible makes little sense! Churchianity has made a big thing out of so-called “personal salvation” while completely overlooking the seed of the serpent vs. the seed of the woman. Note: I do not fully endorse Matthew Henry’s comments, but he did quite well here.

I will now quote from The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, vol. 3, pp. 698 & 700, on the subject Joshua:

“JOSHUA ... 1. Family. The son of Nun, he belonged to the tribe of Ephraim (Num. 13:8 RSV). He settled in Tinnath-serah (Josh. 19:50; Timnath-heres, Judg. 2:9) in the hill country of Ephraim, and was buried there (Josh. 24:30).

“2. Training and experience. As Bezaleel and Oholiab (Exod. 31:1-6) undoubtedly had received training as slaves in the arts and crafts of Egypt, and as Josephus imagines that Moses led an Egyptian army against the Ethiopians (Jos. Antiq. II. x. 1, 2), it is likely that Joshua had served in Pharaoh’s army before the Exodus. Foreigners were common in the army of Egypt. Moses considered him sufficiently battle-tested to appoint him leader of the Israelite defense against the attack of the Amalekites at Rephidim (Exod. 17:8-16). Since Joshua was apparently known to Moses, he may already have been in charge of organizing the undisciplined crowd of slaves who had escaped from Egypt into orderly marching columns.

“Joshua served as personal minister to Moses when the latter was on Mount Sinai receiving the law (24:13; 32:17). Joshua was in attendance whenever the Lord would speak to Moses in the tent of meeting outside the camp (33:11). From Moses he learned the value of the anointing of God’s Spirit when he would have forbidden certain elders to prophesy (Num. 11:27-29).

“His selection as one of the twelve spies gave Joshua the opportunity to learn the nature of the Canaanites and the topography of the land at first hand. This information became invaluable when his time came to plan the campaigns to conquer Canaan. Furthermore, he grew in strength of character as he and Caleb stood against the majority with their minority report of the reconnaissance (14:6-9). They called upon the community of Israel to rise up in faith and expect Yahweh to give them the excellent land to the north. Caleb and Joshua were spared when the ten who had incited the Israelites to grumble against Yahweh by disparaging the land were struck dead (14:30, 36-38). Of the generation numbered at the beginning of the wilderness journey only Joshua and Caleb followed the Lord faithfully and remained alive to be registered at the end of the forty year period (26:65; 32:12; Deut. 1:34-40).

“3. Commission. When Moses was told that he must die instead of being allowed to lead the Israelites into Canaan, the lawgiver asked God to give the community of Yahweh a new shepherd (Num. 27:12-17). Telling Moses to select Joshua, a man indwelt by the Spirit, the Lord replied: ‘You shall invest him with some of your authority, that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey’ (27:20). Moses formally ordained Joshua in the presence of Eleazar the priest and the whole community (Num. 27:21-23; Deut. 3:21-28), and imparted to him the spirit of wisdom by the laying on of hands (Deut. 34:9). Later, Moses commanded Joshua before the entire nation to be strong and to lead Israel across the Jordan in order to possess the land promised to the patriarchs (Deut. 31:3, 7, 8). Then the two presented themselves at the door of the Tabernacle. There Joshua received the divine commission or charge from God (31:14, 15, 23). After Moses’ death the Lord graciously repeated this commission to Joshua privately and enlarged upon it, to prepare him for the overwhelming task lying ahead (Josh. 1:1-9).

“4. Leadership qualities. Several outstanding characteristics enabled Joshua to perform the responsibilities committed to him. First, he was humble enough to recognize that he was not the gifted and educated man that Moses was. Joshua accepted himself and thus leaned all the more heavily upon the Lord in his comparative ordinariness. He was not too big for God to use; hence God could exalt him (3:7; 4:14). Second, he was a man of strong faith and faithful to his calling. When the divine Commander-in-chief appeared in theophany to him as he scouted the Jericho defenses, Joshua was quick to bow in worship (5:13-15) and to receive orders how to capture the enemy bastion (6:2-5). Even though the daily encirclement with trumpets blowing might seem militarily stupid, and be subjected to the ridicule of the defenders, Joshua obeyed implicitly. He cried to God in repentance for his nation after the Ai debacle (Josh. 7:2-5). At the foot of Mount Ebal he put worship and covenant before further war and conquest (8:30-35). At Gibeon he prayed for supernatural assistance, and God answered with a terrifying hailstorm (10:10-14). Third, he saturated his mind and heart with the word of God, meditating therein day and night. Thus the people had confidence to execute his decisions (see 1:13-18; 8:30-35; 11:12, 15; 14:1-5), and he could appeal to them at his life’s end to continue adhering to the law of Moses (23:6).

“Fourth, he displayed sound military strategy. He established his base of operations at Gilgal with its easy access to the Trans-Jordan tribes as a source of supplies and in its position guarding two trade routes up into the central highlands. By capturing Ai and silencing Bethel (8:17; 12:16) he took the heart of Canaan first, and cut the land in two. He was able to campaign separately against the southern and the northern kings. His military policy was a combination of surprise and speed, of catching his enemies in the open and destroying their troops, since his own desert army was untrained in siege operations ...

“Fifth, Joshua was an able administrator in peace as well as in war. His keen geographic judgment enabled him to draw up boundaries for the tribal allotments that were sensible and not provocative of inter-tribal wars. He did make mistakes, as LaSor points out (pp. 75f.), by allowing the crafty Gibeonites to keep their territory, by not capturing Jerusalem from the Jebusites, and by failing to dispossess the small but growing enclaves of early Philistines. These factions divided the country across the middle, so that after Solomon’s death the nation split apart forming two kingdoms. Some would criticize Joshua for failing to pick and train a successor; on the other hand, after the partitioning of the land God meant that each tribe should consolidate its own territory as Caleb did at Hebron ....”

[Note: after presenting a Biblical oriented article on Joshua, the author spoiled his creditability by comparing the Biblical Israelites with the converso Canaanite-Edomite-jews by stating: “Israel’s six-day war of June, 1967, illustrates the result of high morale and incentive, brilliant leadership, and swift attack against numerically superior but terror-stricken enemies.” Maybe the author should have cited how the impostor “Israelis” attacked the US Navy USS Liberty June 8, 1967!]

AFTER AN AMAZING BEGINNING, DISOBEDIENCE SETS IN

Even before the twelve tribes of Israel had entered the promised land of Canaan, Yahweh informed Moses that they would forget their nuptial agreement with their Husband, Yahweh, at Deut. 31:16-21 thusly:

“¹⁶ And Yahweh said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them. ¹⁷ Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us? ¹⁸ And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods. ¹⁹ Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach it the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel. ²⁰ For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxen fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant. ²¹ And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are befallen them, that this song shall testify against them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed: for I know their imagination which they go about, even now, before I have brought them into the land which I sware.”

From Barne’s Note’s, The Bible Commentary, vol. 2, p. 332, we have the following concise remark on vs. 16:

“16. The future apostasy of the people is announced in the presence of Joshua that the latter might be fully aware of the danger and strive in his day to avert it. This he faithfully did (cp. Josh. xxiv. 31); but we find him in his own last address to Israel repeating (Josh. xxiii. 15, 16) the self-same prediction and warning.”

From Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible, vol. 1 of 6, p. 859 in part:

“Verses 14-21 ... III. He tells Moses that, after his death, the covenant which he had taken so much pains to make between Israel and their God would certainly be broken. 1. That Israel would forsake God, v. 16. And we may be sure that if the covenant between God and man be broken the blame must lie on man, it is he that breaks it; we have often observed it, That God never leaves any till they first leave him. Worshipping the gods of the Canaanites (who had been the natives, but henceforward were to be looked upon as the strangers of that land) would undoubtedly be counted as deserting of God, and, like adultery, a violation of the covenant. Thus still those are revolters from Christ, and will be so adjudged, who either make a god of their money by reigning covetousness or a god of their belly by reigning sensuality. Those that turn to other gods (v. 18) forsake their own mercies. This apostasy of theirs is foretold to be the effect of their prosperity (v. 20): They shall have eaten and filled themselves; this is all they will aim at in eating, to gratify their own appetites, and then they will wax fat, grow secure and sensual; their security will take off their dread of God and his judgments; and their sensuality will incline them to the idolatries of the heathen, which made provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts of it. Note, God has a clear and infallible foresight of all the wickedness of the wicked, and has often covenanted with those who he knew would deal very treacherously (Isa. 48:8), and conferred many favours on those who he knew would deal very ungratefully. 2. That then God would forsake Israel; and justly does he cast those off who had so unjustly cast him off (v. 17): My anger shall be kindled against them, and I will forsake them. His providence would forsake them, no longer to protect and prosper them, and then they would become a prey to all their neighbours. His spirit and grace would forsake them, no longer to teach and guide them, and then they would be more and more bigoted [in the sense of their brothers CAE], besotted, and hardened in their idolatries. Thus many evils and troubles would befall them. (v. 17, 21), which would be such manifest indications of God’s displeasure against them that they themselves would be constrained to own it: Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us? Those that have sinned away their God will find that thereby they pull all mischiefs upon their own heads. But that which completed their misery was that God would hide his face from them in that day, that day of their trouble and distress, v. 18. Whatever outward troubles we are in, if we have but the light of God’s countenance, we may be easy. But, if God hide his face from us and our prayers, we are undone ....” Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible is one of the few commentaries that has much to say on this passage. Adam Clarke, in his Commentary, made the mistake of applying Deut. 31:16-21 to the converso Canaanite-Edomite-jews.

A similar warning like Deut. 31:16-21 is given at Exod. 34:10-16:

“¹⁰ And he said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of Yahweh: for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee. ¹¹ Observe thou that which I command thee this day: behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite. ¹² Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee: ¹³ But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves: ¹⁴ For thou shalt worship no other god: for Yahweh, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God: ¹⁵ Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice; ¹⁶ And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods.”

Barne’s Note’s, The Bible Commentary, vol. 2, pp. 93-94, has a very important observation on this passage:

“15, 16, An expansion of v. 12. The unfaithfulness of the nation to its Covenant with Jehovah [sic Yahweh] is here for the first time spoken of as a breach of the marriage bond. The metaphor is, in any case, a natural one, but it seems to gain point, if we suppose it to convey an allusion to the abominations connected with heathen worship such as are spoken of in Num. xxv. 1-3.” Since this Barnes’ note speaks of “the nation”, it can only be referring to Yahweh’s marriage to His Cinderella bride, the twelve tribes of Israel.

After Joshua died, we read at Judg. 2:11-23:

“¹¹ And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of Yahweh, and served Baalim: ¹² And they forsook Yahweh Elohim of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked Yahweh to anger. ¹³ And they forsook Yahweh, and served Baal and Ashtaroth. ¹⁴ And the anger of Yahweh was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies. ¹⁵ Whithersoever they went out, the hand of Yahweh was against them for evil, as Yahweh had said, and as Yahweh had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed. ¹⁶ Nevertheless Yahweh raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. ¹⁷ And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of Yahweh; but they did not so. ¹⁸ And when Yahweh raised them up judges, then Yahweh was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented Yahweh because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them. ¹⁹ And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way. ²⁰ And the anger of Yahweh was hot against Israel; and he said, Because that this people hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my voice; ²¹ I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died: ²² That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of Yahweh to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not. ²³ Therefore Yahweh left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua.”

In order to comprehend this passage somewhat better, I will now quote from the Baker Commentary on the Bible (based on the NIV) on this citation from Judges ch. 2, found on pp. 161-162:

“The immediate cause for the people’s disobedience is their neglect of God’s great deeds: the Israelites fail to teach these mighty acts to succeeding generations (2:6-10; cf. Deut. 6:20-25). Those who had seen these deeds kept the people faithful to God, but Joshua’s death marks the end of the generation that heeded these works.

“The fourfold pattern of disobedience is made explicit in 2:10-19. The people’s sin is described as unfaithfulness to the covenant God who brought them out of Egypt. The people practice the pagan fertility rites of Canaan, worshiping the Baals and the Ashtoreths. Judgment comes with ‘raiders,’ who reflect the international upheavals and migrations of this historical period. Israel is defeated and distressed. Repentance and restoration follow. In response to his people’s cries, God raises up judges to save them.

“Persistence in evil is one of the tragic facts of human depravity. Even after God’s gracious forgiveness and restoration, the Israelites forget and turn back to evil. Repentance lasts only as long as the judge who delivered them from oppression; then the people turn back to their evil ways.

“Israel’s persistent disobedience to the covenant arouses God’s anger and calls forth judgment (2:20-3:6). Once more (cf. 2:3), God’s judgment is that the Canaanites will remain in the land (2:21). Yet God will use the presence of the Canaanites for two purposes. First, the Canaanites will test the future covenant obedience of the Israelites (2:22-23; 3:4). Second, they will teach war to Israel (3:1-2). But Israel defies God’s purposes by making peace with the nations that are left, intermarrying with them, and sharing in their pagan religion.”

From Jamieson, Fausset & Brown Commentary, vol 2, pp. 74-75:

“11. the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord – This chapter, together with the first eight verses of the next contains a brief but comprehensive summary of the principles developed in the following history; and an attentive consideration of them, therefore, it is of the greatest importance to a right understanding of the strange and varying phases of Israelitish history, from the death of Joshua till the establishment of the monarchy. served Baalim. The plural is used to include all the gods of the country ... 13. Ashtaroth – Also a plural word, denoting all the female divinities, whose rites were celebrated by the most gross and revolting impurities ... 14. the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel – adversities in close and rapid succession befell them. But all these calamities were designed only as chastisements – a course of correctional discipline by which God brought His people to see and repent of their errors; for as they returned to faith and allegiance he ‘raised up judges’ (Judg. 2:16). 16. which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them – The judges who governed Israel were strictly God’s viceregents [sic] in the government of the people, He being the supreme ruler. Those who were thus elevated retained the dignity [as long as they lived; but there was no regular, unbroken succession of judges]. Individuals, prompted by the inward, irresistible impulse of God’s Spirit when they witnessed the depressed state of their country, were roused to achieve its deliverance. It was usually accompanied by a special call, and the people seeing them endowed with extraordinary courage or strength, accepted them as delegates of Heaven, and submitted to their sway. Frequently they were appointed only for a particular district, and their authority extended no farther than over the people whose interests they were commissioned to protect. They were without pomp, equipage, or emoluments attached to the office. They had no power to make laws; for these were given by God; nor to explain them, for that was the province of the priests – but they were officially upholders of the law, defenders of religion, avengers of all crimes, particularly of idolatry and its attendant vices ....”

We are now living in a day when we are witnessing a greater disobedience to Yahweh’s Covenant by White Anglo-Saxon Israel and related peoples, especially for the sin of miscegenation! Yahweh didn’t put up with such things in ancient times, nor will He tolerate it today! Inasmuch as the twelve tribes of Israel didn’t escape punishment in ancient times shows that we shall not avoid judgment for our miscegenation of today! Yahweh hated Esau for this very same reason!