Thematic Bible
Thematic Bible
Baal » An idol of the phoenicians, God of the sun » The israelites wickedly worshiped in the time of the judges
Samuel said to all the people of Israel, "If you are really turning to the Lord with all your hearts, remove from among you the foreign gods and the images of Ashtoreth. Give your hearts to the Lord and serve only him. Then he will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines." So the Israelites removed the Baals and images of Ashtoreth. They served only the Lord.
That entire generation passed away; a new generation grew up that had not personally experienced the Lord's presence or seen what he had done for Israel. The Israelites did evil before the Lord by worshiping the Baals. They abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors who brought them out of the land of Egypt. They followed other gods -- the gods of the nations who lived around them. They worshiped them and made the Lord angry. read more.
They abandoned the Lord and worshiped Baal and the Ashtars. The Lord was furious with Israel and handed them over to robbers who plundered them. He turned them over to their enemies who lived around them. They could not withstand their enemies' attacks. Whenever they went out to fight, the Lord did them harm, just as he had warned and solemnly vowed he would do. They suffered greatly. The Lord raised up leaders who delivered them from these robbers. But they did not obey their leaders. Instead they prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them. They quickly turned aside from the path their ancestors had walked. Their ancestors had obeyed the Lord's commands, but they did not. When the Lord raised up leaders for them, the Lord was with each leader and delivered the people from their enemies while the leader remained alive. The Lord felt sorry for them when they cried out in agony because of what their harsh oppressors did to them. When a leader died, the next generation would again act more wickedly than the previous one. They would follow after other gods, worshiping them and bowing down to them. They did not give up their practices or their stubborn ways. The Lord was furious with Israel. He said, "This nation has violated the terms of the agreement I made with their ancestors by disobeying me. So I will no longer remove before them any of the nations that Joshua left unconquered when he died. Joshua left those nations to test Israel. I wanted to see whether or not the people would carefully walk in the path marked out by the Lord, as their ancestors were careful to do." This is why the Lord permitted these nations to remain and did not conquer them immediately; he did not hand them over to Joshua.
They abandoned the Lord and worshiped Baal and the Ashtars. The Lord was furious with Israel and handed them over to robbers who plundered them. He turned them over to their enemies who lived around them. They could not withstand their enemies' attacks. Whenever they went out to fight, the Lord did them harm, just as he had warned and solemnly vowed he would do. They suffered greatly. The Lord raised up leaders who delivered them from these robbers. But they did not obey their leaders. Instead they prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them. They quickly turned aside from the path their ancestors had walked. Their ancestors had obeyed the Lord's commands, but they did not. When the Lord raised up leaders for them, the Lord was with each leader and delivered the people from their enemies while the leader remained alive. The Lord felt sorry for them when they cried out in agony because of what their harsh oppressors did to them. When a leader died, the next generation would again act more wickedly than the previous one. They would follow after other gods, worshiping them and bowing down to them. They did not give up their practices or their stubborn ways. The Lord was furious with Israel. He said, "This nation has violated the terms of the agreement I made with their ancestors by disobeying me. So I will no longer remove before them any of the nations that Joshua left unconquered when he died. Joshua left those nations to test Israel. I wanted to see whether or not the people would carefully walk in the path marked out by the Lord, as their ancestors were careful to do." This is why the Lord permitted these nations to remain and did not conquer them immediately; he did not hand them over to Joshua.
the Canaanites » Part of left » To try israel
So I will no longer remove before them any of the nations that Joshua left unconquered when he died.
Verse Concepts
These were the nations the Lord permitted to remain so he could use them to test Israel -- he wanted to test all those who had not experienced battle against the Canaanites. He left those nations simply because he wanted to teach the subsequent generations of Israelites, who had not experienced the earlier battles, how to conduct holy war. These were the nations: the five lords of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo-Hamath. read more.
They were left to test Israel, so the Lord would know if his people would obey the commands he gave their ancestors through Moses.
They were left to test Israel, so the Lord would know if his people would obey the commands he gave their ancestors through Moses.
Covenant » The reward for transgressing the covenant of the lord
Then the Lord said to Moses, "You are about to die, and then these people will begin to prostitute themselves with the foreign gods of the land into which they are going. They will reject me and break my covenant that I have made with them. At that time my anger will erupt against them and I will abandon them and hide my face from them until they are devoured. Many disasters and distresses will overcome them so that they will say at that time, 'Have not these disasters overcome us because our God is not among us?'
When such a person hears the words of this oath he secretly blesses himself and says, "I will have peace though I continue to walk with a stubborn spirit." This will destroy the watered ground with the parched. The Lord will be unwilling to forgive him, and his intense anger will rage against that man; all the curses written in this scroll will fall upon him and the Lord will obliterate his name from memory. The Lord will single him out for judgment from all the tribes of Israel according to all the curses of the covenant written in this scroll of the law. read more.
The generation to come -- your descendants who will rise up after you, as well as the foreigner who will come from distant places -- will see the afflictions of that land and the illnesses that the Lord has brought on it. The whole land will be covered with brimstone, salt, and burning debris; it will not be planted nor will it sprout or produce grass. It will resemble the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord destroyed in his intense anger. Then all the nations will ask, "Why has the Lord done all this to this land? What is this fierce, heated display of anger all about?" Then people will say, "Because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.
The generation to come -- your descendants who will rise up after you, as well as the foreigner who will come from distant places -- will see the afflictions of that land and the illnesses that the Lord has brought on it. The whole land will be covered with brimstone, salt, and burning debris; it will not be planted nor will it sprout or produce grass. It will resemble the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord destroyed in his intense anger. Then all the nations will ask, "Why has the Lord done all this to this land? What is this fierce, heated display of anger all about?" Then people will say, "Because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.
But in the same way every faithful promise the Lord your God made to you has been realized, it is just as certain, if you disobey, that the Lord will bring on you every judgment until he destroys you from this good land which the Lord your God gave you. If you violate the covenantal laws of the Lord your God which he commanded you to keep, and follow, worship, and bow down to other gods, the Lord will be very angry with you and you will disappear quickly from the good land which he gave to you."
The Lord was furious with Israel. He said, "This nation has violated the terms of the agreement I made with their ancestors by disobeying me. So I will no longer remove before them any of the nations that Joshua left unconquered when he died. Joshua left those nations to test Israel. I wanted to see whether or not the people would carefully walk in the path marked out by the Lord, as their ancestors were careful to do." read more.
This is why the Lord permitted these nations to remain and did not conquer them immediately; he did not hand them over to Joshua.
This is why the Lord permitted these nations to remain and did not conquer them immediately; he did not hand them over to Joshua.
The king of Assyria deported the people of Israel to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, along the Habor (the river of Gozan), and in the cities of the Medes. This happened because they did not obey the Lord their God and broke his agreement with them. They did not pay attention to and obey all that Moses, the Lord's servant, had commanded.
Israel » Under the judges » Idolatry
That entire generation passed away; a new generation grew up that had not personally experienced the Lord's presence or seen what he had done for Israel. The Israelites did evil before the Lord by worshiping the Baals. They abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors who brought them out of the land of Egypt. They followed other gods -- the gods of the nations who lived around them. They worshiped them and made the Lord angry. read more.
They abandoned the Lord and worshiped Baal and the Ashtars. The Lord was furious with Israel and handed them over to robbers who plundered them. He turned them over to their enemies who lived around them. They could not withstand their enemies' attacks. Whenever they went out to fight, the Lord did them harm, just as he had warned and solemnly vowed he would do. They suffered greatly. The Lord raised up leaders who delivered them from these robbers. But they did not obey their leaders. Instead they prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them. They quickly turned aside from the path their ancestors had walked. Their ancestors had obeyed the Lord's commands, but they did not. When the Lord raised up leaders for them, the Lord was with each leader and delivered the people from their enemies while the leader remained alive. The Lord felt sorry for them when they cried out in agony because of what their harsh oppressors did to them. When a leader died, the next generation would again act more wickedly than the previous one. They would follow after other gods, worshiping them and bowing down to them. They did not give up their practices or their stubborn ways. The Lord was furious with Israel. He said, "This nation has violated the terms of the agreement I made with their ancestors by disobeying me. So I will no longer remove before them any of the nations that Joshua left unconquered when he died. Joshua left those nations to test Israel. I wanted to see whether or not the people would carefully walk in the path marked out by the Lord, as their ancestors were careful to do." This is why the Lord permitted these nations to remain and did not conquer them immediately; he did not hand them over to Joshua.
They abandoned the Lord and worshiped Baal and the Ashtars. The Lord was furious with Israel and handed them over to robbers who plundered them. He turned them over to their enemies who lived around them. They could not withstand their enemies' attacks. Whenever they went out to fight, the Lord did them harm, just as he had warned and solemnly vowed he would do. They suffered greatly. The Lord raised up leaders who delivered them from these robbers. But they did not obey their leaders. Instead they prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them. They quickly turned aside from the path their ancestors had walked. Their ancestors had obeyed the Lord's commands, but they did not. When the Lord raised up leaders for them, the Lord was with each leader and delivered the people from their enemies while the leader remained alive. The Lord felt sorry for them when they cried out in agony because of what their harsh oppressors did to them. When a leader died, the next generation would again act more wickedly than the previous one. They would follow after other gods, worshiping them and bowing down to them. They did not give up their practices or their stubborn ways. The Lord was furious with Israel. He said, "This nation has violated the terms of the agreement I made with their ancestors by disobeying me. So I will no longer remove before them any of the nations that Joshua left unconquered when he died. Joshua left those nations to test Israel. I wanted to see whether or not the people would carefully walk in the path marked out by the Lord, as their ancestors were careful to do." This is why the Lord permitted these nations to remain and did not conquer them immediately; he did not hand them over to Joshua.
Proof » The lord proving
The Lord was furious with Israel. He said, "This nation has violated the terms of the agreement I made with their ancestors by disobeying me. So I will no longer remove before them any of the nations that Joshua left unconquered when he died. Joshua left those nations to test Israel. I wanted to see whether or not the people would carefully walk in the path marked out by the Lord, as their ancestors were careful to do." read more.
This is why the Lord permitted these nations to remain and did not conquer them immediately; he did not hand them over to Joshua.
This is why the Lord permitted these nations to remain and did not conquer them immediately; he did not hand them over to Joshua.
Suppose a prophet or one who foretells by dreams should appear among you and show you a sign or wonder, and the sign or wonder should come to pass concerning what he said to you, namely, "Let us follow other gods" -- gods whom you have not previously known -- "and let us serve them." You must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer, for the Lord your God will be testing you to see if you love him with all your mind and being.
Examine me, O Lord, and test me! Evaluate my inner thoughts and motives!
Verse Concepts
All the people were seeing the thundering and the lightning, and heard the sound of the horn, and saw the mountain smoking -- and when the people saw it they trembled with fear and kept their distance. They said to Moses, "You speak to us and we will listen, but do not let God speak with us, lest we die." Moses said to the people, "Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you so that you do not sin."