On Eagles' Wings - In the Promised Land by Maya Etkiin - HTML preview

Judges¹

“In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was proper in his own eyes.” ²

 

Prologue

Joshua was dead
and different times now lay ahead. The older ones who followed him and tried to function without sin were dwindling and were dying off. Their children then began to scoff. The new generation got into contamination, began to worship pagan gods without thinking it was odd. They intermarried without thought not wondering ‘should’ or ‘ought’, but went on in their careless way leaving the old faith to decay. Evil ways began to grip,
evil thoughts began to trip.

Since there was no king
to rule the land, to whom to cling, every man did what was right in his own eyes,³ which was often foolish, rarely wise.⁴ Pagan pockets still remained where they’d not been driven out nor slain, so the Israelites – no more restrained learned pagan ways and them retained, Idolatry became widespread, to pagan gods¹ they bowed their head. Intermarriage was seen as right, though a sin in Lord God’s sight. The pagan culture gained in Israel’s domain.

¹ The period of the judges between Joshua and Samuel lasted for approximately 350 years. During this period there were 14 judges, of whom four are written about here.
² Judges, 17:6.
³ Judges 17:6
⁴ Deuteronomy 32:6

Now – very angry was the Lord and gave them to the pagan sword, hoping they might learn their old religion not to spurn. Eventually, under their pagan heel they suffered, knelt to God to appeal that forgiveness he would grant and idolatry they would recant. The Lord God then did relent and a righteous leader² sent against the pagan ones to fight, to the pagans smite.

Then they again entered God’s domain followed the laws that He’d ordained, freed from idolatrous sin they returned to worship Him.

Over and over the cycle went; idolatry being prevalent, the Israelites suffering punishment experiencing much torment until they became penitent and of their evil did repent.

Over and over came their lament saying that they did repent begging God that he relent

and end the pagan instrument. ¹ Baal and Ashtaroth ² i.e. a judge

Over and over God then sent a leader great, benevolent, fighting pagans virulent and winning battles subsequent. Conversion then they underwent and learned much as God had meant. For the nation had a righteous base¹ given to them by God’s Grace, which did evil ways displace and led them back to God’s embrace. But when their leader passed away, they went again astray. So God again did mortify and with pain did purify; and again a leader sent to put a stop to their descent, to fight with might the pagan heel and move again the turning wheel, to the people sanctify
and the Lord God glorify.

Ehud the Cunning

Ehud the Benjaminite learned early how to fight.² He was clever, cunning, very tough, and could deal with matters rough.

Ehud was short and broad with muscled arms,³ able to inflict great harm.
Being a left-handed man,

he carried out a special plan; it was devised by him, was very grim. It needed someone strong and smart with a calm, courageous heart.

When Israel began again to sin, and the pagan ways began to win,

¹ The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20)
² Author’s image.
³ Author’s image.

God chose again, from a pagan domain,¹ a tribe whose purpose was to smite, their lives to blight. Moab did Israel overrun
and for eighteen years they served Eglon. Then, caught in a snare, in despair, they turned to God with fervent prayer. Help us! they cried,
we cannot this abide!
God heard their torment and Ehud, his instrument, sent.²

The Israelites, being astute, sent to Eglon a great tribute. Ehud, as messenger, was to please the king, to him defer. A dagger he made with a two-edged blade, a dagger long, sharp and strong.
He hid the weapon beneath his cloak in preparation for his master stroke. The dagger rested on his right thigh, up quite high;
with his left hand he could it draw
before anyone the action saw.
After the royal gift was shown
Ehud asked they be alone
saying he had a secret to declare
about which Eglon was then unaware. The king – curious and with greed, agreed to proceed.

Now the king was very, very fat
and in his little room alone he sat.
Ehud said:
I have a message sent by God to you – then with his left hand, from his right thigh his dagger drew and the king he slew!
With a swift and well-aimed thrust,
he plunged the dagger deep inside the gut making so deep a cut
that the shaft and blade got stuck
and he could not pull it out, or move it about, for the fat closed in on it
around the slit.

¹ From Moab, whose king was Eglon, Judges 3:14. ² Judges 3:15.

 

Eglon collapsed and died with the dagger still inside.

After Ehud fled, the courtiers found Eglon on the ground; horrified at the bloody harm, they sounded an alarm. Ehud, in safety, ran away,
the news at home to relay.
He told the Israelites to him obey;
he shouted out:
Follow me and you’ll be free!
By God’s Will we will attack,
and take our country back!
The Moabites, ten thousand able bodied men were conquered, were all slain –
ending Moab’s reign.

Then Israel lived without fear for eighty years.

 

Deborah, Beloved Prophetess, and Barak

Her mind, her heart, her soul committed were to God’s control.
People came, sat at her feet, her wise judgements to entreat.

She dwelt beneath a great palm tree her long grey hair flowing free.¹ She was tall and thin, with sun-bronzed skin, her face strong, yet feminine; She had deep – set eyes of softest brown that matched her long and flowing gown. Her feet were often bare,
especially when she knelt in prayer, her face intent, uplifted, reverent, her love for God most eloquent. Her fame spread far and wide reached many needing her to guide.

After Ehud was dead, the people’s faith in God had fled, they turned to worship Baal instead. Because they had become depraved,

¹ Author’s image

God let them be again enslaved. It was the time of Jabin’s reign,¹ a reign cruel and inhumane with much misery and many slain. Under Sisera, his army’s head was much oppression, many dead For twenty tears he ruled the land with a cruel and iron hand. The Israelites had great fear and begged the Lord to interfere.

Deborah called for Barak – together they’d take power back.

Barak had been a fighter long, he was powerful and strong, ²
a man brave, to whom God courage gave. He was devout, yet in himself he had some doubt, but with Deborah he made a pair – they were a power to beware;
with ten thousand men they went, in their success confident,
with faith they were God’s instrument. As they went on their way,
Deborah prophesied that on that day a woman would Sisera slay.

The Lord brought about complete defeat. Sisera, his forces in retreat on foot fled,
leaving all his men for dead; and indeed, all were slain in that campaign –

as God ordained.
Sisera – on foot – fled to Jael’s³ tent. She, appearing innocent,
invited him to enter in,
and covered him with a good skin.

¹ Jabin was king of the Canaanites at Hazor. Judges 4:2
² Author’s image
³ Jael was the wife of Heber, the Kenite who was at peace with King Jabin. Judges 4:17

She gave him milk to drink, and told him to have cheer, to have no fear.
He said to her:

Stand before the door;
if a person does appear
and asks if a man is here
say No – and they will go.
Then, when he slept, she, very adept,

hammered a peg¹ right through his head. and he lay dead.
Jael had struck a blow for Israel!
Then when Barak came, she exclaimed: come and see, Sisera is dead
with a peg right through his head.

So God defeated king Jabin – for the Hebrews He did win.

Deborah and Barak sang a song, ² ecstatic and long,
praising God for all and for Jabin’s fall. And praising Jael too, that Sisera she slew.

Then there were forty years of peace, as fighting ceased and prosperity increased.

Deborah – judge and prophetess, by God blessed,
with Barak, judged Israel for forty years and was by the people much revered

The Sword of Gideon

Gideon was called to the service of the Lord to conquer enemies by edge of sword.
He was strong and brave, yet a humble man, who played his part in Lord God’s plan.

He was tall and slim and long of limb,³ with grave brown eyes, knowing, wise; his wavy hair was shoulder length and rippling muscles spoke of strength. Inside him was a lion’s heart, intelligence to spare, and devotion to his Lord God rare.

¹ It was a tent peg. Judges 4:21. ² Judges 5:1-27

In Gideon’s day, there was much dismay. Israel had God disobeyed and betrayed, doing evil in His Sight,
so He set them under Midian might. For seven bitter years
they suffered, and wept copious tears. They lived in dugouts¹ and in caves, wherever nature shelter gave.

They were under three-fold attack² as their land was all ransacked. They were oppressed and dispossessed. Their enemies came in amount too numerous to count;
with their livestock, camels, tents, they plundered as they went. What Israel did sow, their enemies did reap, leaving them to starve and weep. Like swarms of locusts they devoured and the land they scoured,
eating all that they could see leaving only sad debris.
The Israelites, impoverished and in despair sent up to God a fervent prayer, begging Him to give them aid against the pagans who did raid.

Gideon was threshing wheat that they might eat, hidden by a broad oak tree
where the Midianites could not see. The angel of the Lord appeared, radiant in light, dressed in white³;
then – he sat beneath the oak, and to Gideon spoke.
The Lord is with you, O mighty hero ! Gideon said: I beg you my Lord – if God is with us Israelites why are we in this dreadful plight?

¹ In the mountains. Judges 6:2
² From the Midianites, the Amalekites, and “children of the east”, Judges 6:3

Where are the wonders of His Might? He has deserted us and we are lost, paying a terrible cost,
for we are beneath the Midian heel everything we have they steal. Then the Lord turned to him and said: Go with all your might
and you will win the fight. Behold, I have sent you! I know what you can do.

Gideon said:
With what shall I Israel save? My doubts are grave;
my father’s house is poor
and I’m the least and so obscure. The Lord said to him:
I shall be with you all the way through; you shall strike Midian
as if it were a single man.
Then the Lord left before Gideon’s eyes, leaving him to agonize.
He was terrified,
for he feared that he would die.¹ The Lord returned and said to him: Peace be with you!
Hear me and do not fear,
you shall not die, on that you can rely. And the Lord went, ending that divine event.

The enemies were gathering for war; ² they were an enormous corps ³
as across the landscape they did pour. The Spirit of the Lord flowed over Gideon, who then knew what must be done. He blew his horn with a loud sound that did everywhere resound; many messengers were sent for his army to augment.

¹ Because he saw an angel face to face.
² Judges 6:33 The Midianites, the Amalekites, and “the children of the east” gathered in the valley of
^Jezreel.3 The Midianites numbered one hundred and thirty five thousand.

 

The Miracle¹ of the Three Hundred

Gideon and his host rose early in the day in preparation for the fray.
The Midianites were in a valley to his north,² and from there they would come forth. The Lord said to Gideon:
You have too many men to win over Midian; when they win they’ll think its their own feat, and will feel conceit.
They must know it is the Lord who defeats the Midian horde. So they did a test from which they chose the best. The Lord God said to Gideon: With the three hundred that remain I will save Israel’s domain.
I will be your strength
throughout this battle’s length.

Into three bands did Gideon his men divide and thus he did them guide:
He gave to each an empty pitcher and put a lamp inside, and put a shofar in the other hand to be blown upon demand.
He said to them:
Watch me and copy what I do,
when I blow my horn, then blow yours too; and shout out:
The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!!! We’ll surround the camp
carrying the pitcher with the lamp; break the pitcher, hold the lamp in your left hand and in the right, hold the shofar tight and blow with all your might.

¹ Judges 7:2, God wanted the victory to be known as a miracle. ² Judges 7:1.

And the three hundred did as Gideon had bid. The enemy was amazed, dazed, completely fazed. God set up the kill according to His Will. He sent confusion and delusion; they turned upon each other –
each man slew his brother.
The enemy then fled
leaving many lying dead.

Gideon sent messengers to many tribes, who did the victory describe. So they came and joined the fight and vanquished the enemy Midianites. At last, as more enemies were slain and Israel did its land regain, the Midianites were subdued, and no more their fight renewed.

Hostilities ceased
and the country lived in peace,
for forty years –
finally a release from fears.

To a ripe old age Gideon survived, had a great many loving wives; and had a large number of sons ¹ before his earthly life was done. On his death bed he well knew that to God’s mission he’d been true.

Tragically, after he died, there was no gain for Israel turned to Baal again. They forgot once more their loving Lord who rescued them by Gideon’s sword; nor to Gideon’s house were they kind – kept not his goodness in their mind; they forgot he did succeed and how at long last they were freed. Again, idolatry began to reign and the people God disdained, going back to evil ways,
and setting up more tragic days.

¹ Judges 8:30. Gideon had seventy sons by his wives, and one, Abimelech, from his concubine.

Farewell, Gideon,
a strong and brave and humble man, who played his part in Lord God’s plan.

The Mighty Samson¹ – Strong Man of the Lord

Samson – hero to the Israelites, in whose strength they took delight; a holy person in God’s Sight, who fought Philistines with all his might. He had a strong and handsome face² glowing with God’s Grace. His black hair, so thick and long ³ was what made him super strong His back was as an iron rod, his shoulders massive, hard and broad. His hands were big, with a powerful grip. With his tall height and his great might he was a man who’d win a fight.

Again had Israel gone astray
and followed evil pagan ways.
They worshiped Ashteroth and Baal in their tragic spiritual fall.
So God’s anger grew
and from the Israelites He withdrew. Again, He sent them punishment so they’d repent.
This time, the Philistines were his violent instrument ⁴ to torment and cause lament.

A Danite woman⁵ who could not conceive, a fact which caused her much to grieve, an angel saw, one thrilling day, whom the Lord had sent to say: You shall conceive and bear a son a very special blessed one.

¹ Judges 13:5.
² Author’s image.
³ He wore his hair in seven locks.
⁴ Judges 13:1. The Israelites lived under Philistine rule for forty years.
⁵ Judges 13:2. She was married to Manoah and lived in Zorah.

Be careful, drink nothing strong for that would be very wrong. Drink no wine, any time,
nor dare to eat of food unclean for that is harmful and obscene. No razor may touch your son’s head, his hair on it must grow instead. While in your womb God will him bless¹ – great qualities will he possess, and he will have much success to aid your people in distress. He is destined to fulfill God’s Will.

The woman to her husband came and exclaimed, that she met a man of God who had no name, but like an angel he appeared,
awesome, with eyes blue and clear,² with hair as golden as the sun
and great beauty that could stun. A radiant light did him surround
leaving her entranced, spellbound. She told her husband all the words that she had heard.

Manoah offered up meat and a kid, and as he did
the flame, with the angel deep inside, ascended high into the sky;
an amazing, beautiful sight
of soaring brilliant light.
The couple watched the swift ascent, reverent, and in awe and wonderment. Dumbfounded, they fell, faces to the ground.

Manoah, fearing death,³ was in despair; but his wife, more spiritually aware, said to him: God will not us kill, that is not His Will.

¹ Judges 13:5. He’ll be a Nazirite unto God. See also Numbers 6:1-8.
² Author’s image.
³ Judges 13:22. Because they’d seen an angel of the Lord.

The woman gave birth to a son; the name they gave him was Samson. He would God serve

 

with vigour and with verve.

 

Samson’s Marriage

When Samson was grown, his great strength shown, He spied a Philistine girl¹-
as lovely as a pearl.²
She was exquisite, tall and slim with sparkling eyes and dusky skin. His meeting her was not by chance³ ’twas to create a circumstance
that could the chance of war advance. He told his parents he wanted her, but his parents did demur.
No! No! they cried: you can’t her wed, choose a Hebrew maid instead; you must wed within our creed – do not commit a gross misdeed. But Samson, not letting them impede, insisted to proceed.
He chose a marriage of a different kind than his parents thought he had in mind. The girl would be his spouse
but live still within her father’s house. There he could her visits pay,
and as long as he wished he could stay.

One day, when he to Timnath made his way a young lion came at him and roared, and he, not armed with a sword, with both hands bare,
with strength and courage rare, tore the lion apart, and did depart. When later he saw again the lion that he’d slain it was lying dead, outspread, and had a swarm of bees inside with honey that they did provide. Oh! He cried, what a tasty treat, and took the honey out to eat. He continued on his way
to celebrate his wedding day.

¹ In the Philistine town of Timnath.
² Author’s image.
³ Judges 14:4.

To his wedding feast were invited friends¹ to attend. Thirty Philistine men came
and Samson offered them a game. ’Twas a riddle he put to them –
a riddle he thought was a gem, since he thought he would them best with his cunning text.
It went like this:
‘Out of the eater came forth meat and out of the strong there came forth sweet.’ The men had one week to the answer seek.² The bet, which made them fret, was thirty garments and thirty sheets to the one who did defeat.
Try as they might the guests could not see the light. They could not the riddle understand and so the answer did demand
from Samson’s mate
threatening her with a fiery fate. They said to her:
find the answer from your spouse or we’ll burn you and your father’s house. With her eyes aflood with tears, her anxious heart all full of fears, she went to Samson to inquire
the answer that would stave off fire. But Samson told her the answer not, nor of his plot.

¹ Philistine friends of his in-laws to be.
² Judges 14:17 the wedding feast lasted seven days.

But she wept and pled for seven days threatened she would make him pay until he gave in, and so they did win.

The men came and said to him: ‘What is sweeter than honey? What is stronger than a lion?’

Samson said that they had learned that straight from his mate: Had you not ‘plowed with my calf ’, you would not have solved my riddle!¹

He felt the Lord His guidance send, felt God’s Spirit o’er him descend, and knew what Lord God did intend. He went down to a Philistine town,² where thirty men he attacked and slew

taking their garments as his due.

To the winners he delivered on his bet so he would not be in their debt. Thirty garments, thirty sheets, did they receive so they could not be aggrieved.

After a while, Samson, with a smile, as a new bridegroom
came to visit in his wife’s room. Her father would not let him enter: he said to Samson:
You are too late –
I thought you did her hate, so I’ve given her to your good friend, so now you have to bend.

¹ Judges 14:18.
² Ashkelon Judges 14:19. Her younger sister is more fair – take her to be with you to pair.

Samson said:
Am I less to blame than they who did betray? Though I did some harm one day I’ll make them further pay.
So he did not overlook, but his revenge he took. Three hundred foxes¹ he sought and caught, turned them tail to tail with a torch between each pair and with great care
set each torch on fire, letting loose the group entire into the Philistine farms
to the crops to do great harm.
The foxes ran according to his plan; They ran through the Philistine domain burning standing grain,
burning vineyards, olive trees, struggling to get free. The Philistines, inflamed, roared: Who’s to blame? What is his name?
Who did this vile deed?
In our revenge we will succeed! They were told:
It was Samson who has this done; he is the Timnites son-in-law
whom people saw,
who burned those fields, destroying all their yields; for the father gave his wife unto his friend, bringing his marriage to an end.
The Philistines commenced to take vengeance for Samson’s offence.
Their means was to kill innocence with violence. They burned alive Samson’s wife, thus ending horribly her young life; then they burned her father as well, within the house where he did dwell.

¹ Judges 15:4

Samson now had an excuse to use, He said to them: I’ll take revenge and then I’ll cease, and give you peace. With all his might he did them smite; a multitude he slayed that day to make them pay.

Then he left and dwelt in Etam’s cleft.¹

The raging Philistines to Judah stormed, over the land they swarmed.
The men of Judah said in dread: Why have you come ’gainst us? What’s the reason for all this fuss? The Philistines in angry hate replied, telling what Samson did unto their side. We wish to Samson find
that we can him bind;
to punish him we have in mind; as he did to us, so we’ll do to him. Three thousand Judah’s men went to the rock Etam, and to Samson said:
Don’t you know the Philistines are our foe? They rule us and they dominate, determine what will be our fate. What have you to us done?
What have you now begun?

Samson gravely answered:
As they did to me, so have I done to them, for their deeds I do them condemn. They said to him, faces most concerned and grim: we’ll have to give in to their demand, bind you and put you in their hand. Samson spoke with courage, yet with grief:² Swear to me you won’t me slay this day. They promised, with sincerity: No! No! we definitely won’t kill you, we’ll only bind you to subdue. So to the Philistines they gave him, bound with two new ropes, that did surround. The Philistines, when they saw him, shouted out with an enormous sound. Then did God send a Spirit¹ of His to descend and over Samson flow
so that he could defeat his foe. His ropes softened and fell away, much to the Philistines’ dismay. The jawbone of an ass by the roadside lay. Samson seized it and used it to slay a thousand Philistines on that