EXPOSITION
Now these are the nations, etc. We are now told in detail what was stated in general in Judges 2:22, Judges 2:23, after the common method of Hebrew narrative. To prove Israel. This word to prove is used here in a somewhat different sense from that which it bears in Judges 2:4 and in Judges 2:22. In those passages it is used of their moral probation, of proving or testing their faith and obedience; but here it is rather in the sense of "to exercise" or "to accustom them," to train them to war. A considerable period of rest had followed Joshua's conquest, during which the younger Israelites had no experience of war; but if they were to keep their hold of Canaan, it was needful that the warlike spirit should be kept up in their breasts.
The five lords, etc. The title seren, here rendered "lord," is one exclusively applied to the lords of the five Philistine cities enumerated in Joshua 13:3; 1Sa 6:17, 1 Samuel 6:18, viz; Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. It occurs repeatedly in 1Sa 16:1-23.; 1 Samuel 5:1-9; 1 Samuel 6:1-9; 1 Samuel 29:1-9; etc. The word means an axle-tree. The entering in of Hamath. There are two theories in regard to Hamath. Some, as Professor Rawlinson in the 'Dictionary of the Bible,' identify it with Hamah, a large and important city on the Orontes in Upper Syria, and consider that the kingdom of Hamath, which was overthrown by the king of Assyria (2 Kings 18:34; 2 Kings 19:13), and of which Hamath was the capital, was for the most part an independent Hamitic or Canaanite kingdom (Genesis 10:18), but occasionally, as in the days of Solomon and Jeroboam (1 Kings 8:65; 2 Kings 14:28; 2 Chronicles 8:4), subject to Israel Others, however, justly considering the great improbability of the Israelite dominion having ever extended so far north as the valley of the Orontes, and observing how it is spoken of as an integral part of Israel (1 Kings 8:65), look for Hamath much further south, in the neighbourhood of Beth-rehob (see Judges 18:28, note). As regards the phrase "the entering in of Hamath," the identical Hebrew words occur seven times, viz; Numbers 13:21; Numbers 34:8; Joshua 13:5; in this passage; 1 Kings 8:65; 2Ki 14:25; 2 Chronicles 7:8, and are variously rendered in the A.V.: "as men come to Hamath;" "unto the entrance of Hamath;" "the entering into Hamath;" "the entering in of Hamath (three times); and the entering of Hamath." The exact meaning of the phrase seems to be "the approach to Hamath," some particular spot in the valley from whence the direct road to Hamath begins; very much like the railway term for certain stations which are the nearest to, though at some little distance from, the place from which they are named, as, e.g; Shapwick Road, Mildenhall Road, etc. The latter words of the verse describe the territory of the Hivites, which reached from Mount Baal-hermon in the Lebanon range as far as the point where the road leads to Hamath.
The Canaanites, etc. The same enumeration of the tribes of the Canaanites as in Exodus 34:11.
They took their daughters, etc. Here is a further downward step in the disobedience of the Israelites. Intermarriage with the Canaanite nations had been expressly forbidden (Exodus 34:15, Exodus 34:16; Deuteronomy 7:3; Joshua 23:12), and the reason of the prohibition clearly stated, and for some time after Joshua's death no such marriages appear to have been contracted. But now the fatal step was taken, and the predicted consequence immediately ensued: "they served their gods;.; they forgat the Lord their God, and served the Baalim and the Asheroth."
HOMILETICS
Ungodly marriages.
The distinctive lesson of this section seems to be the fatal influence of an ungodly marriage. And this lesson is one of such daily importance to Christians in every station in life, that we shall do well to concentrate our attention upon it. On entering upon the history of that troublous and calamitous time for the tribes of Israel which intervened between the triumphant governments of Moses and Joshua and the glorious reigns of David and Solomon,—the time of the Judges,—we find it initiated By the intermarriage of the Israelites with the idolatrous Canaanites. No sooner was that shameful alliance contracted than the national apostasy followed instantly. "They forgat the Lord their God, and served Baalim and Ashtaroth." And the connection between this religious apostasy and the first servitude by which they lost their national independence was no less close. "The children of Israel served Chushan-rishathalm." If then we read Scripture with a view to our own admonition, our attention must be arrested by this striking example of the danger of ungodly unions. And the example does not stand alone. The marriage of Esau with the daughters of Heth, in connection with the loss of his birthright and his blessing; the degradation and death of Samson in spite of his splendid gifts and powers; the tarnished fame of Solomon's old age, and the break-up of his kingdom after his death; the dynastic ruin and destruction of Ahab and all his house from his marriage with Jezebel,—these and many other examples in Holy Scripture convey a solemn warning against the peril of ungodly marriages. And it must be so in the nature of things. The marriage union is so close and intimate, it gives the opportunity for such constant influence, it makes continual resistance to that influence so irksome and tedious, it gives such advantage to the working of influence through the affections, that no man with a due regard for his own soul's salvation would expose himself to such peril. Moreover, the true notion of the partnership of marriage is a fellowship in heart, in thought, in affection, in interest; an identity of aim and purpose in life, each helping the other, each contributing a portion to the common aim; a joint action in all that relates to God and man; united counsels in fulfilling the various duties of the home, of the human society, of the Church of God. How could the Israelite, seeking the glory of Jehovah, wrapped up in the triumphs of his own favoured race and pure creed, and hating the detestable abominations of heathenism, so insulting to God, and so injurious to man, have such fellowship with the daughter of an Amorite or Canaanite? And how can any true servant of the Lord Jesus Christ have such fellowship with one whose heart is wholly given up to the world, and has no concern for the kingdom of heaven. "Marriage is not to betaken in hand unadvisedly, lightly, or wantonly by any Christian man or woman, but reverently, discreetly, advisedly, soberly, and in the fear of God." And it is the object of these remarks to induce young men and young women, in deciding upon marriage, to take into consideration the probable influence of their partner upon their moral and religious life, and the aid or the hindrance they are likely to have in the fulfilment of their Christian duties. The life-long loss of domestic happiness, the blighting of affections, and a heavy crop of trouble and vexation, the sure fruit of an ill-assorted union, is a heavy price to pay for the momentary gratification of a mere fancy; but the permanent loss of moral tone, and forfeiture of one's place in the kingdom of God, is an unspeakably heavier one.
HOMILIES BY A.F. MUIR
The proving of Israel.
The general lesson of the Book of Judges is here repeated. There is shown to have been a Divine providence prevailing through and above the defections of Israel. God uses the consequences of their neglect as a means of grace. The nations that had not been rooted out became in turn their tempters and their tyrants; and thus they outlive their minority, and are prepared for the great place they have to take in the history of the kingdom of God.
I. IT WAS A RESULT OF PARENTAL NEGLECT. The fathers had left much of their task undone. A determined attitude on their part, and vigorous measures, would have rid the land of the nuisance. One generation may do much good or evil to its successors. We never reap all the results of our own misdoing; a great portion is left for the children of after generations. The neglect of the laws of health, of the canons of a moral life, of educational institutions, social and political progress, may entail grievous disadvantage upon those who come after us; as much that comes in this way, comes in this way alone, and cannot be produced suddenly. And so it is with the growth of theological truth, and the habits and usages of the spiritual life.
II. BUT THE CHILDREN TOO WERE TO BLAME. The oracle of God at Shiloh could have been consulted still. God's will could easily have been ascertained. Thorough and absolute trust in Jehovah, and devotion to his service, would have rid them of their enemies. They were therefore the children of their fathers in this also, viz; that they were not wholly given to God's service and the desire after righteousness. How much of human guilt consists in mere letting alone, or in supinely submitting to evils as if they were inevitable or incurable!
III. IT WAS AN INSTANCE OF EVIL DIVINELY UTILISED. A probation. To call forth the courage and faith of the new generation. To prevent them accepting the situation as a final one, or calmly submitting to and acquiescing in the wicked customs and idolatries of their neighbours. Some natures find the way of transgression harder than others. They are finer, more susceptible, have more deeply-set longings after goodness. They feel the inherent contradictions of evil more acutely; its penalties press more heavily upon them. This is not an injustice on the part of their Maker; it is a mark of his goodness and mercy. He would have them fenced in by the sanctions of righteousness; driven back into his fold. He has meant them for a better life. So it was with his elect people then. They and their heathen neighbours were upon a different footing. It was the destiny of Israel not to be let alone. A later experience in order to the comprehension of an earlier experience. One of the most valuable uses of experience—to throw light backward. It reveals the true value of an inheritance, and renders precious things more precious. Otherwise the younger Israelites who entered into the conquests of the first warriors would not have known the severity of their toils, or the mighty hand of God which wrought their deliverance. There are some lessons every man must learn for himself. A true appreciation of God's saving grace is a personal and, for the most part, an incommunicable thing. "To teach them war, i.e. to inure them to it as a necessary discipline, and as the preliminary work that had to be done ere the kingdom of God could be brought in; and, as above, to show them how much spiritual privileges cost, and how difficult and yet how honourable it was to defend and secure them. Still it was—
IV. AN INSTANCE OF A PROVISIONAL ALLOWANCE OF COMPARATIVE IMMORALITY. The world was not ripe for the morality of Jesus. The self-contradiction of a continual state of warfare was to be their schoolmaster to bring them to Christ. The state of peace is not of itself more moral than that of war. It is "the things that make for peace," the spirit of brotherhood and Christian charity, that are the aim of the righteous mind. The world must first be righteous ere it can be peaceful.—M.
The forbidden covenant.
When Israel entered the land it was on the express condition that no terms of marriage or intercommunion should be entered into with the aboriginal tribes of Canaan (Deuteronomy 7:1-5). This seems either to have been forgotten or deliberately ignored. The consequences predicted came to pass, and the hearts of the people were led away from the worship of the true God.
I. THE LIMITS OF COMMUNION BETWEEN THE CHILDREN OF GOD AND THE WORLD, The law of extermination prescribed to Israel made the path of duty very clear. It was God's purpose to disentangle the national and individual life of his people from the perversions, corruptions, and self-contradictions of idolatrous worship. He desired to separate them entirely to himself. Severe and uncharitable as this rule might at first appear, it was true mercy to the world as yet unborn, and to the future that was to be redeemed to God. Some comforts and conveniences, a few really valuable fruits of pseudo-civilisation and the contact with the currents of thought and life in the great world of men, had to be sacrificed, but the advantage was more than worth them all. The same problem presents itself to-day to the Christian. How far is it allowable for the life of a child of God and a child of this world to intermingle? What relations of this life are to be kept apart from the world, and to subsist only between Christians, and what relations may be shared with the world? The letter of the ancient prescript is of course obsolete, but the spirit must still be binding. Evidently, however, the relations of what are strictly religious communions can only be sustained between true Christians. And many of the higher relations of our natural life, as, for instance, marriage, can only be worthily sustained by Christians. The spirit of the old law was, immediately, severe, but, ultimately and more largely, merciful. So ought the disposition of the Christian to be. Of course the extent and direction in which we observe this law of heavenly prudence must be left to every man's conscience in the sight of God. It ought to be remembered that often when it seems to act against others it is really for their good.
II. HOW INTIMATE ASSOCIATION WITH THE WORLD AFFECTS THE TONE AND QUALITY OF THE SPIRITUAL LIFE.
1. Habit blunts the conscience to unlawful customs.
2. Personal attachments and friendships lend attraction to social and religious observances which are really unrighteous.
3. The relations of civil life create entanglement and perplexity.
4. The peculiar, intimate, and profound relations of marriage add to the force of all influences that affect the religious nature and the spiritual life.—M.