AN INTRODUCTION TO THE THEOLOGIES OF THE BOOK Although the backbone of the whole book bears the tune of humiliation and affliction; yet the Holy inspiration opened the book by the spirit of conquest over Adoni-Bezek and the Canaanites, to provoke in us the spirit of the joyful hope. But now, as the people were slothful in their obedience to the Lord, the angel of the Lord moved to ‘Buchim’ to bring them forth to weep by the spirit of repentance; so that, once they become greatly afflicted, God would send to them someone to save them through the spirit of repentance. 1- The angel of the Lord in ‘Bochim’ 1 - 5 2- The death of Joshua 6 – 10 3- The people worship the Baal, and set judges 11 – 23 1- THE ANGEL OF THE LORD IN BUCHIM: “Then the Angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said: “I led you up from Egypt and brought you to the land of which I swore to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you” (1) https://coptic-treasures.com/ “ And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this?” (2) “Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they shall be thorns in your side, and their gods shall be a snare to you” (3) ” So it was, when the Angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voices and wept” (4) “Then they called the name of that place Bochim and they sacrificed there to the LORD” (5) These verses present to us an accurate summary of the Theologies of the whole book, and a clear line of its goal. In them we notice: (1) The angel of the Lord mentioned here, according to most scholars, most probably refers to a divine apparition of the Word of God. For it was the living Word of God who led the people to ‘Gilgal’; and it was Him who brought them up to ‘Bochim’, being, both the Grantor and the Receiver of repentance. (2).Coming up from Gilgal to Bochim bears a deep Theological concept. For Gilgal, as we have seen in our study of the book of Joshua, was where the first camp of the people was set, after they crossed the Jordan and entered into Canaan. The name ‘Gilgal’, meaning “roll away” or “a circle”; came to proclaim that the old reproach of bondage has been rolled away https://coptic-treasures.com/ from the people of God (Joshua 5: 9). For the reproach of bondage would not be rolled away from us except by our entrance into the “circle of eternity”. Gilgal was the military center of Joshua; and in it the people were circumcised (Joshua 5: 9); and appeared as a holy location in the days of the prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 7: 6);; and there was most probably a temple there. And it became a center of military campaigns for king Saul against Amalek, etc…… In other words, ‘Gilgal’, refers to the inner sanctuary of the heart, in which our Lord Jesus Christ carries out the spiritual work; ………. In which the heavenly life (the second spiritual circumcision) is transfigured; ………. In which a thanksgiving sacrifice is offered to God; ………and through it we wrestle against the devil (Amalek) . This sanctuary is deserted by the angel of the Lord, proclaiming our disobedience and breaking the covenant with God; and He brings us forth to ‘Bochim’; turning our hearts to remorse and weeping; so that if we return to God in our depths, we offer a spiritual sacrifice to the Lord. (3) The angel of the Lord summarized our sins in His proclamation that He would not break the covenant with us forever. Yet we, on our side, disregarded the divine covenant, to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, namely with sins. Being a jealous God, He intends for us to be in unity with Him on a matrimonial level; Any union with others (sins) is counted as adultery; because of which our matrimonial unity with Him is dissolved. (4) God strongly sanctifies human freedom. Once we make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land (sins); He gives us our heart’s desire, and will not drive them out before us; to become thorns in our side (7) https://coptic-treasures.com/ God turns our actions into a chance to chastise us. He will never commit us to repent; but once the bitter fruits of our sins afflict us, and we, by our own whole free will lift up our hearts to Him, we shall find the eternal arms open before us. Anyway, by going up from Gilgal to Bochim, and talking to them, the angel of the Lord proclaims the treatment ahead of showing the bitterness of the illness. So God deals with us; He opens before us the doors of hope ahead of time; so that when we fall, and remember His mercies, we would set forth by the Holy Spirit to Bochim to offer thanksgiving sacrifices of repentance to the Lord, in the worthiness of the precious blood. Now, having presented the treatment, He started to reveal the illness; He talked about the era of Joshua and the elders who accompanied him; all of whom having seen the amazing works of God, did not pervert from faith; although “another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel” (10) 2- DEATH OF JOSHUA Joshua heard the words of the angel of the Lord in Bochim, and saw how the people lift up their voices and wept, because they knew what will dwell upon them or upon the generations to come, as a fruit of their slothfulness with the pagan nations. …………after sacrificing there to the Lord (5); :Joshua dismissed the people, and the children of Israel went each to his own inheritance to possess the land” (6) https://coptic-treasures.com/ What a marvelous living portrait of the true church; gathering together with Joshua to practice collective penitence in Bochim, and to offer a sacrifice to the Lord by a collective one spirit; but every one of its members has his own portion of inheritance. Namely the church life is a collective life of one body; yet each of its members has his own work and fellowship. In other words, the collective life does not mean disregarding the personal work, or the secret personal relationship that binds the soul to God; And the personal work, as well, does not disregard the collective life. But are integrated together and inseparable. ………I know the Lord my God as my own Head “My beloved is mine, and I am His” (Song 2: 16); With Him I encounter in secret on a personal level; but, being a member of the holy congregation, He is the Head of the church (Ephesians 1: 22), in which I am a member. “So the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD which He had done for Israel” (7) When the true Joshua – the Lord Jesus Christ – is the Leader of the church, who spiritually moves her, the people worship God in the heat of the Spirit; so they will do when the church is received by elders, namely shepherds who had seen all the great works of the Lord, and got in touch with His cross. Whereas if the church is received by shepherds who have no fellowship with the true Joshua, the people will pervert from the true worship of God. “Now Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died when he was one hundred and ten years old” (8) https://coptic-treasures.com/ “ And they buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath Heres, in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash” (9)] Caring to proclaim the death of Joshua and his burial within the border of his inheritance, reveals to the people the faith in the resurrection of the body; something that the Jews could not completely perceive at the time. He was buried in a barren region chosen by him after distributing the land among the tribes; for he sought what is best for the others rather than what is for his own. He was buried in a barren land to enjoy the new land, namely the eternal life, with the abundance of heavenly riches. He was buried in ‘Timnah Heres’, or ‘Timnah Serah’, as it came in (Joshua 24: 30); the city was known by both names: the first means (portion of the sun); and the second means (a double portion). According to the Rabinites, it was called by the first name, because the sun stood still in Joshua’s days (Joshua 10); and that is why the sun was portrayed on his grave. Anyway, Joshua was buried in this town to have the Sun of Righteousness – the Lord Jesus Christ -- as his portion. Namely he died with the hope to enjoy Him; and with enjoying Jesus, he would count himself as having a double portion That town was in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash; namely the mountain of the earthquake; that would refer to the earthquake which will happen on the day of the resurrection of the true Joshua. …….Joshua died anticipating to have “the Sun of Righteousness”, Himself, as his “double portion”, by whom he would enjoy the quake of the old life, to enjoy His life resurrected from the dead. . 3- THE PEOPLE WORSHIPTHE BAAL AND SET JUDGES: https://coptic-treasures.com/ Now, as the death of Joshua was proclaimed with the hope for the resurrection; and, “When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the LORD, nor the work which He had done for Israel” (10). In few verses, revealing the essence of the events of the book of the Judges, and the dealings of God with the people; the rest of the chapter says: “Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served the Baals; and they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them; and they provoked the LORD to anger” (11 - 12) The new generation forgot the great works of the Lord, the God of their fathers; and their hearts retreated to idol-worship, for the sake of what it bears of the easy way of abominations and carnal pleasures “They forsook the LORD and served Baal and the Ashtoreths; And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel” ( !3, 14) What does it mean that “they provoked the Lord to anger”, and “the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel”?....... God has no reactions like ours; and in his love He embraces us like His bride; as His beloved children, to dwell in His bosom; https://coptic-treasures.com/ and pours His love on us with no limits. ……… Provoking Him to anger rather refers to our slothfulness to receive His love, and our despise of His friendship. His anger refers to our fall under His divine justice, to reap the fruits of our sins……….. God appears as angry, on account of that they have forsaken Him, the Source of their life; and set forth to vain worships; and denied themselves by themselves of the divine mercy. ……… “So He delivered them into the hands of plunderers who despoiled them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies. Wherever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for calamity, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were greatly distressed” (15). “Nevertheless, the LORD raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them” (16). “ And when the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed them and harassed them” (18) . 19 And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they reverted and behaved more corruptly than their fathers, by following other gods, to serve them and bow down to them. https://coptic-treasures.com/ They did not cease from their own doings nor from their stubborn way” (19) “Then the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and He said, “Because this nation has transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers, and has not heeded My voice” (20) “ I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died” (21) “so that through them I may test Israel, whether they will keep the ways of the LORD, to walk in them as their fathers kept them, or not” (22) “Therefore the LORD left those nations, without driving them out immediately; nor did He deliver them into the hand of Joshua” (23). This is the story of the whole book of the judges, or rather the life story of many of us. We soon forget God’s dealings with us to walk according to our own desires. And once we suffer the fruit of our evil, we cry out to God. And when He responds and deliver us, we revert, forget God, and disregard His covenant. “We do not cease from our own doings nor from our stubborn ways” (19) The worship of Baal was offered to the Canaanite god ‘Baal’ (Pleural Baalim), meaning (master, lord, or husband). For them he was the god of fertility; the lord of plantations, and who cares for animals. He was the god of the sun; whereas his wife ‘Ashtoreth’ was the goddess of the moon, for whom women used to bake cakes (Jeremiah 7: 18), with the portrait of the moon on them. The worshippers counted Baal as their father, and Ashtoreth as their mother; to whom they used to offer their children sacrifices and burnt offerings. They made for them bronze https://coptic-treasures.com/ hollow statutes, under which they ignite fire, and when their arms and hands become red hot they put their little ones on them amid the thunderous sound of drums that drown the screams of the little victims while burning. The Baal had many priests who used to deceive worshippers by their magic; and many priestesses who used to offer themselves for adultery and abominations, as a part and rite of the worship (Hosea 4: 14). Worshipping the Baal, at that time, became so wide spread in East, that every country had her own Baal, like Baal of Peor and Beelzebub
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