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The fact that Israel was "at Rest" during the Judges affirms that Israel, under oppression, can be "at REST" TODAY!
The era of the JUDGES is strong evidence that Israel is "at REST" TODAY Return to Main Page
Ezekiel 38-39 prophesies that In the latter years Israel will be Supernaturally Rescued from the massive Invasion of the Magog Coalition in an Event that will Magnify God’s Name across the World.
The Timing of the invasion is keyed to two (2) statements...
1. Eze. 38:8—"After many days you will be summoned [to Israel when] …they are living securely, all of them.”
2. Eze. 38:11—"and you will say…I will go against those who are at rest, that live securely..."
In the Ezekiel passage, the Hebrew word for "secure" is “betach”, and for "rest" it is “shaqat”. As demonstrated in the graphs 1 below, the use of these same words elsewhere in the Bible, in conditions which parallel modern Israel,, show that TODAY Israel can be said to be "secure" and "at rest."
How can Israel be “at Rest” while enduring War after War?
The answer is found in the time of The JUDGES 4
EZEKIEL 38:11’s “shaqat” Rest IN LIGHT OF THE JUDGES’s “shaqat” Rest
So Moab was subdued...under the hand of Israel.
And the land was undisturbed (“shaqat”/Rest) for eighty years. (Judges 3:30; i.e., "rest from war", Joshua11:23; 14:15)
1. Since the “(shaqat) rest” periods of the Judges experienced an overlap of periods of oppression, resulting in Rest periods marked by the shadow of war (All major chronologies of Judges concede this overlap of rest and oppression periods), 5
2. Then the same could be true of the “(shaqat) rest” condition of Israel in the Magog passage of Ezekiel 38:11.
Was Israel “at Rest” between—but DURING the shadow of—Wars?
The JUDGES says, Yes! Compare below: This looks like Israel TODAY.
"Betach" Security in JUDGES 4
The Prediction
When you cross the Jordan and live in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to inherit,
and He gives you rest [nuwach] from all your enemies around you
so that you live in security [betach] …Deuteronomy 12:10
The Fulfillment
"Then the LORD sent Jerubbaal and Bedan and Jephthah and Samuel,
and delivered you from the hands of your enemies all around,
so that you lived in security [betach]. 1 Samuel 12:11
Is the rest period “vertical” in the Ezekiel 38:11 Magog Attack?
Examples of the overlap of “(shaqat) rest” and “oppression” in the Book Of Judges, & the recurring “Vertical Mountain Peak” Rests
"Mountain Peaks" of REST
LEFT: The "shaqat Rests" of JUDGES
are recurring Rests between wars.
1. Most Chronologies show that the oppression of Jabin the Canaanite overlapped the last 20-years of the 80-year "(shaqat) rest” period of Israel under Ehud the Judge. 6 & 7
2. The account in Judges 4-5 shows that at least 6 Tribes, from Benjamin-south to Nephalti-north, were disturbed enough by Jabin’s oppression 6 to join the fight to drive the Canaanites out (5:14-18).
This is evidence that at least HALF of Israel (6 of 12 tribes) was involved in Ehud’s 80-year “(shaqat) rest” period, and that DURING the last 20 years of that “(shaqat) rest” period the SAME HALF of Israel was under severe oppression. These were not just regionally-isolated events.
(NIV Study Bible, Zondervan, 2015, Map p.424).
Therefore Jabin “oppressed the sons of Israel severely” for 20 years with a large force of 900 “iron chariots” DURING 6 the 80-year “Rest” period of Ehud the Judge. (Note the shaded areas on the graph, above, showing the shadow of impending war overlapping each preceding “Rest” period).
3. The series of recurring “Rest” periods in the Judges demonstrate that, on a graphic timeline (above), these “shaqat Rests” are vertical mountain peaks of peace which rise up between wars. 8 The 2 graphs high-above show how Israel TODAY mirrors the periods of “at rest” in the Judges era and illuminates “at rest” in the Ezekiel 38:11 Magog passage.
It is during a period when Israel is “at Rest” between wars 8 that the Russian-Islamic “Magog” invasion will occur.
The OVERLAP of Rests and Oppression 5
"The events narrated in Judges cover a period of 410 years if viewed consecutively. Such a lengthy time does not, however, fit any accepted chronology of the early history of Israel. Consequently some of the judgeships must have overlapped."
The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Vol. 3, Judges, "Introduction: Historical Background", Frank E. Gaebelein, ed., Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1992, p.376.
The following 2 Graphs illustrate the required OVERLAP 5 of Rest periods and Oppression in the chronology of the Book Of Judges
RIGHT:
When the total years of the Judges (Rests periods and oppressions) are added, there are 410 years.
RIGHT:
The entire period of the Judges MUST fit between two KNOWN events--the death of Joshua and the coronation of King Saul--yet there are only 330 years between those two events...thus the certainty of an OVERLAP 5 of "shaqat" Rests and Oppression.
MORE on the "Mountain Peak" REST periods between Wars in the Book of Judges
The Graph to the RIGHT shows the use of "shaqat Rest" in The Judges. See Footnotes 1 & 8. This "shaqat Rest" OVERLAP with Oppression in The Judges is seen in the rising up of Shamgar against the warring Philistines DURING the 80-years Rest period of Ehud the Judge (below). 7
LEFT
The period of Ehud’s 80 years "shaqat" Rest for the Land is overlapped by Oppressor-Nations. Therefore, the “rest” for the Land was not “rest” from oppression. It was "rest from war." (Joshua 11:23; 14:15) Shamgar (left) battled Philistine oppressors during Ehud’s 80 years "shaqat" Rest. 7 In The JUDGES, oppression led to deliverance when Israel, under a Judge, rose up against the oppressor, and that was the War...which would then be followed by another Rest period, 8 another oppressor, and another deliverance constituting another War... a cycle which continues throughout The JUDGES period.
ABOVE:
A strict chronology of Ehud's Rest/Oppression/Deborah's Deliverance-Rest.
"...scholars agree that the periods of some oppressions and judgeships overlapped."
The Bible Knowledge Commentary, John F. Walvoord & Roy B. Zuck, eds., Victor Books, Wheaton, IL, 1985, p.374.
BELOW:
OVERLAP-chronology 5 required by known dates of Old Testament chronology. Furthermore, Jabin's 20-year overlap-oppression 6 of Israel DURING the period of "shaqat" Rest is required because of the direct involvement of Ehud's tribe, and most of the tribes across the breadth of the land (Judges 5:14-18), in the War of Deliverance under Deborah. Thus, the "at rest" period in Eze. 38:11 (the precursor to the Magog War) can be in the "shadow" between Wars. 8
The JUDGES “shaqat” Rest…A KEY Question…
Is there a PATTERN to the Rest Periods?
A PATTERN exists which cast light on the Magog "at rest" period in Ezekiel 38:11
1. They occur BETWEEN WARS.
2. They are called “rest from war” 8 (in Joshua 11:23 & 14:15; Deu. 12:10)
3. They merge into the shadow of the next war.
The JUDGES PERIOD and the MAGOG INVASION of Ezekiel 38-39
1. [Shaqat] RESTS are the “mountain peaks” between Wars.
This looks like ISRAEL TODAY!
2. [Shaqat] RESTS are marked by Threats of approaching War.
This looks like ISRAEL TODAY!
In GOD-GIVEN CURRENT AGE [shaqat] REST, Israel rests between wars,
shadowed by the onset of the next war.
“SECURE” & “AT REST” TODAY, Israel awaits its date with Glory
in the MAGOG INVASION of Ezekiel 38-39
The Four (4) Biblical examples in this study provide a solid rationale that TODAY…...
1. Israel has been under (betach) SECURITY since 1948, protected through multiple “miracle-wars” (EXODUS example) from the brink of annihilation amid the on-going shadow of enemy terrorists states (SOLOMON example).
2. Israel has experienced a series of (shaqat) RESTS between these wars at a level which has permitted Israel to fortify as an “armed camp” (ASA example) and become a world-class socio-economic super-state while under the ever-present shadow (JUDGES example) of another war. The SECURITY of Israel TODAY is a sign of the imminent fulfillment of Ezekiel 38.
3. The JUDGES is 1 of 4 Old Testament eras that witness to Israel's Security TODAY. All 4 Old Testament Security-eras in this study are highlighted in bold in numbers 1 & 2 above; follow the links to them to get the full scope of this study. (But it's best to START with the Main Page which provides a Summary Introduction