Day 19 ~ Rinse & Repeat: do evil, be oppressed, get delivered, peace

I'm wondering how long I can keep up this detailed reading and blogging. Maybe I'll have to limit myself to 5 comments or less. I'm enjoying it, but it is taking alot of time, and looking at the stuff that I'm not getting done (putting away clothes, sweeping, cooking, ironing...you get the picture), I can't keep this up for 71 more days. Will I be able to give up my attention to detail - who knows, maybe the Lord will reward me, or maybe He will allow me to "let go" and "just read it". I can't fathom how I will be able to get through some of the new testament passages unless I do that. I have the rest of my life to go back through and spend some time. For the mean time, though, I took 3 full pages of notes on Joshua 21 - Judges 7.

• 21:45 The Lord fulfilled His promises.
• What was the iniquity of Peor in 22:17 (this is where Balaam built 7 alters in Numbers 23)
• Apparently the eastern tribes built an altar in memorial, which nearly cost them a smack down from the other tribes.
• Chapter 23 covers in some detail the nations that were not utterly destroyed, and that they would be snares to the Israelites.
• 24:12 - what was the hornet that the Lord sent out before the Israelites that drove out the nations. (Ex. 23:28, Deut 7:20)
• Joshua instructs the Israelites shortly before he dies to ..."choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve"..."as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. So the people answered and said: “Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods" (Joshua 24:15, 16). How far, exactly, Israel?
• Joshua is dead at 110 years of age. The Israelites will walk the straight and narrow through all the days of the elder following Joshua (a generation?). Eleazer the High Priest also dies. There is no record of God instructing Joshua or Eleazer to pass the leadership on to another like God instructed Moses and Aaron. I'm going to assume Eleazer's son Phinehas assumed the role of high priest.
• Joseph's bones brought from Egypt just as Joseph had requested, and are buried in Shechem, which had been purchased by Joseph's father Jacob long ago and has now been reclaimed. 24:32.

Joshua is completed. 6 books down, 60 to go!

• Judges chapter 1 Adoni-Bezek (introduced in Joshua 10) must have been famous for cutting off the thumbs and big toes of his enemy kings, and finds out payback stinks.
• Chapter 1 also recounts many failures in driving out the native nations from the promised land. Dan was actually forced from his territory (1:34).
• All who had seen the great works of the Lord obeyed. Those who followed disobeyed and God responds with defeat.
• In place of great leaders, God raises up Judges in areas where there appears to have been localized defeats and captivity of tribes. The Israelites basically do everything Joshua warned against in his farewell address in Joshua 23.
• Watch the developing cycle: Israelites do evil...become oppressed by a native people who weren't utterly destroyed...God raises a judge to delivers them...followed by a period of obedience and peace.
• Mesopotamia...8 years slavery...judge Othniel...40 years of peace
• fat Eglon in Moab...18 years...left-handed Ehud...80 years of peace
• Shamgar - no specifics on this judge
• Jaban of Canaan...20 years...Deborah (who is a bit cocky, it seems to me)...40 years
• Midian...7 years...this is where we leave off with Gideon...

A break for a moment to return to my questions about Jethro, Moses' father-in-law. Judges refers to Moses' father-in-law twice already as "the Kenite" (1:16) and "Heber the Kenite of Hobab" (4:11). Hobab was a son of Reuel, a Midianite (Num 10:29). I don't know what that is based on. I thought Jethro was his name-o, and that he was from Midian. According to some footnotes, Jethro was also known as Reuel. Moses did have the Ethopian wife, but Ethopia is nowhere near this area.

• Part of Deborah's song recounts how the tribes are out doing their own thing and not watching the backs of their neighboring tribes for the next part.
• Gideon makes an offering of sorts, even though he isn't near the altar the angel provided the fire needed to consume and accept the offering.
• The Spirit of the Lord came on to Gideon in 6:34 - we haven't seen this in awhile. Chapter 6 tells us the testing of God by Gideon and God's response to convince Gideon he is chosen.
• Gideon builds up an army and God breaks it down - first all you who are scared can go home, and 2/3 of the people go. What I don't understand is why 9,700 people drink like dogs on their knees. I would think most people would drink using their hands as cups, as the 300 who who go to fight did.
• In all the times I've read or heard about Gideon, I had no memory of his listening in on the dream and it's interpretation.
• I do remember the tactical strategy they employed against their enemies with the pitchers, torches and trumpets.

God seems to have changed His way of communicating to the Isrealites now that Joshua and Eleazar are gone. He is now using angels (at least three times in today's passage). An what happened to the tabernacle, the sacrificing and the feasts. Other than Gideon's sad offering, these very important rituals are now silent in the written text.