Judges 6:1

The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites.

From Background Notes [BN] for January 11^th & 12^th  written by Pastor Bob Brown:

 

Southeast of Canaan, on the northwest Arabian Peninsula (see William G. Dever2), Midian is located on the Gulf of Aqaba. Midianites, according to Genesis 25:2-4, descended from Abraham through his wife Keturah (also, 1 Chronicles 1:32-33). They would later lose at least one battle with their distant cousins who descended from Esau (Genesis 36:35).

 

Midianites sold Joseph as a slave to the Egyptians, paving the way for his eventual rise to prominence as savior from a severe famine. It was to Midian that Moses would eventually go after fleeing from Egypt (Exodus 2:15-16; 3:1; 4:19; 18:1; Numbers 10:29). As these texts suggest, Moses’ father-in-law was “the priest of Midian,” a man who gave him wise counsel in the early days after the Exodus. According to the book of Numbers, hostilities between Israel and Midian led to a bloody war and the taking of human booty (Numbers 22; 25; and 31; 1 Chronicles 1:46; Psalm 83:9; Isaiah 9:4; 10:26), as well as eventual conquest under Joshua (Joshua 13:21).  Gideon’s battle would once more bring the Midianites into the foreground of Israelite history.  [BN,6]

 

Join us this week in Study, Worship, Praise and Celebration at Chicago First Church of the Nazarene:

* Saturday 6:00pm
* Sunday 8:30am & 11:00am