Day 84: Judges 4-6

 Do things seem strange in these next few chapters? Shamgar, the third judge, got mentioned in the final verse of Chapter 3, and then there’s this reference to evil arising again once Ehud is dead. Ehud, of course, is the second judge, so what a strange point to make, that Shamgar arises after Ehud, but it’s after the death of Ehud that the Israelites returned to evil after Ehud’s death. Shamgar is not a Hebrew name, and calling him “Son of Anat” could very well be a reference to the Canaanite goddess Anat, who was the consort of Ba’al. Then there’s Deborah, who is said to be a prophetess. Why is a woman judging Israel? And Barak refuses to go to war without her. Even Deborah appears to recognize the shame of his reluctance to take leadership. (See Genesis 3:16) When Gideon is called, the angel instructs him to build an altar made from the scraps of the Asherah poles and the altar of Ba’al, then offer the bullock he uses to tear it down as a burnt offering. Under normal circumstances, it would be a violation of the Law (see Leviticus 17:3-9) to offer a sacrifice anywhere besides the Tabernacle. (See Joshua 19:51) It seems that something is wrong with the worship of Israel. This whole section of Scripture is an important reminder not to use a narrative passage as a prescription.

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