YHWHtruth

(Judges 1:19) And Jehovah continued with Judah, so that he took possession of the mountainous region, but he could not dispossess the inhabitants of the low plain, because they had war chariots with iron scythes.

Under guidance of Jehovah’s angel prince, city after city fell before Joshua and the Israelites. (Josh., chaps. 6, 10, 11) God’s people were given solid basis for being zealous in pursuing to its completion the divine commission to dispossess the Canaanites. But did they obey to the extent of keeping their faith fully alive?

No, for the Bible later mentions another appearance of God’s angel, this time with a gloomy message. We read:

“Then Jehovah’s angel went up from Gilgal to Bochim and said: ‘I proceeded to bring you up out of Egypt and to bring you into the land about which I swore to your forefathers. Furthermore, I said, “Never shall I break my covenant with you. And for your part, you must not conclude a covenant with the inhabitants of this land. Their altars you should pull down.” But you have not listened to my voice. Why have you done this? So I, in turn, have said, “I shall not drive them away from before you, and they must become snares to you, and their gods will serve as a lure to you.”’” Judg. 2:1-3.

Showing how Israel had “not listened” to God, the Scriptures relate that the tribe of Judah neglected to dispossess the inhabitants of a certain area of southern Canaan “because [the inhabitants] had war chariots with iron scythes.” (Judg. 1:19) Apparently these scythed chariots frightened the tribe of Judah. Thereafter the tribes of Benjamin, Manasseh, Ephraim, Zebulun, Asher, Naphtali and Dan likewise failed to drive out the Canaanite inhabitants of numerous cities and dependent towns. Instead, they consented to dwell in among the Canaanites, setting some of them to “forced labor.” Judg. 1:21-36.

Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708) states:

We have here a further account of that glorious and successful campaign which Judah and Simeon made. 1. The lot of Judah was pretty well cleared of the Canaanites, yet not thoroughly. Those that dwelt in the mountain (the mountains that were round about Jerusalem) were driven out (v. 9, 19), but those in the valley kept their ground against them, having chariots of iron, such as we read of, Josh. xvii. 16. Here the men of Judah failed, and thereby spoiled the influence which otherwise their example hitherto might have had on the rest of the tribes, who followed them in this instance of their cowardice, rather than in all the other instances of their courage. They had iron chariots, and therefore it was thought not safe to attack them: but had not Israel God on their side, whose chariots are thousands of angels (Ps. lxviii. 17), before whom these iron chariots would be but as stubble to the fire? Had not God expressly promised by the oracle (v. 2) to give them success against the Canaanites in this very expedition, without excepting those that had iron chariots? Yet they suffered their fears to prevail against their faith, they could not trust God under any disadvantages, and therefore durst not face the iron chariots, but meanly withdrew their forces, when with one bold stroke they might have completed their victories; and it proved of pernicious consequence

Max

Toto

So which is it? Are you saying that YHWH could have smashed those iron chariots if the Israelites had just destroyed the alters of the inhabitants to other gods, but their failure broke the covenant with YHWH; or it is that YHWH was there ready to smash those iron chariots except the Israelites chickened out?

And how can you get either interpretation out of the original?

mark9950

It means what it says.

I do not care what
YHWHtruth says he twists scripture and dances around the issue.

What was not said was that God did not want to drive out the inhabitants,because they had chariots.

Sounds like an incompetant God to me.

God does not have the vocabulary to mean what he says.He expects us to burn in a tormenting hell forever whether we believe his nonsense or not.

WinAce

So basically, iron is the equivalent of Kryptonite to deities? You gotta wonder why they created it in the first place. Must not have been omniscient enough to know it'd be used against them.

YHWHtruth

>>>>>>I do not care what YHWHtruth says he twists scripture and dances around the issue. <<<<


Mark no, let me give you some advice, friend: Don't misrepresent your enemies and belittle their arguments, when you have failed to properly convey and understand them yourself. This is especially true when there is really nothing ambiguous about the arguments at all. Instead, show love and respect to those who oppose you, and when you are wrong, admit it and move on. If I make an error, then I will acknowledge it. I have no "image" to live up to. I am not above error. But the kind of error you made is hard to imagine, and is certainly not "minor." But, I have moved on, why can't you?

Max

Arken

Probably for the same reason God created evil, and Satan and all the people he had to drown in his flood thingy and all that other nasty stuff that supposedly happened even though he knew it was going to happen.

Obviously, this particular omniscient, omnipotent dude ain't too bright.