The Monarch Butterfly—An Illustration of Transformation—Part 16—Joshua, Judges, and Ruth

 

Monarch Butterfly

Introduction and Review

The previous article in this series studied the transformative and transitional aspects of the Book of Numbers and its record of the children of Israel's wilderness wanderings. 

This installment will examine these same aspects found in the Books of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth. 

Joshua Crossing the Jordan River With the Ark of the Covenant by Benjamin West

Joshua

The Book of Joshua is the first of twelve (4 x 3) historical books (Joshua—Esther). According to C.I. Scofield's Commentary, it records Israel's redemption from Egypt.

"The story of the Historical Books is the story of the rise and fall of the Commonwealth of Israel, while prophets foretell the future restoration and glory of that under King Messiah ... The book of Joshua specifically records the consummation of the redemption of Israel out of Egypt."   

 

Joshua falls into four parts:

1. The conquest, 1-12.
2. The partition of the inheritance, 13-21.
3. The incipient discord, 22.
4. Joshua's last counsel and death, 23,24.

In appointing cities for the Levites, 48 (4x12) in Joshua chapter 21, "four cities" in each territory is the common theme, except for Judah/Simeon with nine and Naphtali with three.

Jordan and the Promised Land

Crossing the Jordan

The central theme of this book is crossing over the Jordan into the Promised Land. The east side of the Jordan represents our physical earthly life, and the promised land on the "other side" of the Jordan represents our spiritual inheritance through Christ.

The book of Deuteronomy, the fourth book of the Bible, records God's words and instructions to the children of Israel just before they cross over into the promised land. The Hebrew word "avar," meaning "to cross over" or "pass through," appears 44 times in this book, including four times in the fourth chapter. This fourth chapter also mentions four things created on the fourth day, which we should not worship. 

 

... take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see 

1. the sun, 

2. the moon, 

3. and the stars, 

4. all the host of heaven. 

— Deuteronomy 4:19

The Jordan River's upper four sources. These rivers' names are significant. Their meanings reflect the things we must cross to reach the other side.

Upper sources:

1. Ayun means ruin
2. "Snir" means a noisy clattering and clanking.
3. Dan means to judge and is rooted in a Hebrew word that means to strive and contend.
4. "Banais" means son of mischief and hurt.  

Lower sources:

1. Yarmuk means 'high place,' which could allude to pride. 
2. Jabbok means "empty" and reaches the Jordan River at Adam.
3. Jalud means born,
4. and Jabesh means dryness and confusion.

There is no particular order to this list. Still, I think each word captures an element of being born into a lowly state in Adam, into a prideful, empty, dry existence, leading to a ruinous, noisy, contentious, mischief-bearing life. In this case, Joshua is a picture of Jesus leading the way through this impossible life without Him, the river. Joshua and Jesus are the same name, by the way.

From Bible Gateway

The Book of Judges

The book of Judges takes place among the generations following Joshua and the conquest of the promised land. This period is said to span about 400 years. Four times in this book, the following statement is noted.

In those days, there was no king in Israel. 

— Judges 17:6, 18:1, 19;1 21:25

The first and last of these four add this clause to the observation.

... and everyone did what was right in his own eyes. 

— Judges 17:6, 21:25

We could view this as a chiasm. The two outer occurrences of the four "there was no king in Israel" include the phrase "everyone did what was right in their own eyes." They bookend an incident involving the Danites. This particular tribe could not conquer their allotted land and subsequently viciously attacked a vulnerable group of folks to the far north. These people were quiet and caused no harm, and they were not in a treaty with anyone who could help them. The inclusion of two additional outer phrases indicates that this was not done with God's approval. They did what was right in their own eyes, not God's. The four "king" phrases indicate that they were relying solely on tangible reasoning rather than being Spirit-led. 

In a second event that occurred with these statements, the Danites hired a fickle priest who was abducted by Micah, a man who lived in the territory of Ephraim. In the process, the Danites stole four idolatrous things used by Micah and his priest as consultants. These actions indicated the worldliness of the people and the priesthood of this time.

1. an ephod,
2. teraphim,
3. a graven image,
4. and a molten image

— Judges 18:14

A little background note: In chapter 17, we read that Micah's mother makes the graven and molten images for him after he stole her money. 

"Micah's mother makes an idol, and Micah expects the blessing of Jehovah because he has linked his idolatry to the ancient Levitical order." 

— C.I. Scofield 

Micah reaped what he had sown while living by the dictates of the flesh nature and yet serving the Lord. 

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. 

— Galations 6:7-8

The second and middle event of our chiasm concerning the "there was no king in Israel" clauses is the gruesome account of a Levitical priest who had a concubine who "played the whore" and went home to her father's house for four months. After these four months, her husband "arose and went after her." He abode with his father-in-law for three days. A transition occurs on the "fourth day." The Levitical priest arose to leave, but the father talked him into staying one more day. The following day, the father-in-law tries to convince him to stay and pleads with him until evening (the time of the day for pitching tents for the night). It is at this time that he decides to leave for home. The servant with him tries to talk him into staying in a town named Jebus, occupied by Jebusites, but the priest refuses and insists on going to Gibeah (mentioned 24/4x6 times in Judges). Gibeah was an Israelite city that was four miles beyond Jebus. Both cities belonged to Benjamin.  

Before we move along, a note concerning patterns: Benjamin is the tribe from which Israel's first fleshly king, Saul, will come, and he will establish his capital in Gibeah. When the priest, his concubine, and his servant arrive in Gibeah, hoping to take shelter for the night, they go to the city square because no one will take them in. Travelers of this time were entirely dependent upon the hospitality of strangers. An older man, an Ephraimite temporarily lodging in this community, came in from working in the field and invited them in. He asks them, "Where do you come from, and where are you going"? "Where are you going" is used four times in the Old Testament (Gen 16:8/Hagar, Gen 32:17/Esau, Judges 19:17/Levitical priest, Zechariah 2:2/Zechariah in the measuring of the city). The priest replies that he is coming from Bethlehem, meaning the house of bread, and returning to Ephraim, meaning fruits. The Expositor's Bible Commentary notes the following.

"This Ephraimite was residing in Gibeah on a temporary basis, somewhat as Lot had been living in Sodom (Gen 19:9). Like Lot, the old man did not share the morals of the townspeople."

What happens next is deplorable. The townspeople, Benjamite men, come beating on the door and demanding that the older man send out the Levitical priest so that they can rape him. Once again, this is reminiscent of the Sodom and Gomorrah accounts. Things had deteriorated in this tribe to that degree. Ancient laws of hospitality led to a horrifying solution.

... lo, my daughter, the virgin, and his concubine, let me bring them out, I pray you, and humble ye them, and do to them that which is good in your eyes, and to this man do not this foolish thing.' 

— Judges 19:24

Recall that this was the exact solution Lot concocted. Nothing is mentioned about the offered virgin, but the concubine gets tossed out to the wicked men, and she is abused all night by them. She was discovered dead in the morning, clinging to the door's threshold. Recall four's association with "door." 

The Levitical priest cuts the woman's body into twelve (4 x 3) pieces. He sends each tribe a portion, intending to stir up indignation and provoke a military response. Again, we see this repeated with Saul at Gibeah when he cuts up an ox and sends its parts throughout Israel to muster an army against an enemy. Initially, they confronted Benjamin's tribe and demanded that they hand over the men who had done this, but they refused. 

Four hundred thousand men of Israel drew a sword from the eleven tribes to go up against Benjamin, and forty thousand died in the first two battles. With the first two attempts, they asked the Lord if they should do this, and God said, "Yes." So why weren't they successful the first two times, but they were victorious on the third? After two failed attempts, they decide to do something different.

Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the Lord, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. 

— Judges 20:26

They had forgotten the sacrifice on the other two occasions. Therefore, they went into battle with their own human, natural, and physical strength, and they were defeated. Recall when the children of Israel went up to defeat Ai and could not overcome them because of Achan's sin. They also placed their confidence in the size of their army and the smallness of the opposing tribe, which led to their defeat. Recall the "I brought you out" phrases in Scripture 28 (4 x 7) times. And remember Christ's command, "Do this in remembrance of me" (remembrance in Greek New Testament used four times; Luke 22:19, 1 Corinthians 11:24-25, Heb 10:3)

... beware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out (this phrase used 28 - 4 x 7 times) of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 

— Deuteronomy 6:12

Forgetting God and recalling that our real victory comes from Jesus Christ alone, he is our only path to victory in this world.

Benjamin is defeated, and 600 men escape. They dwelt in the Rock Rimmon (the site of the former city of Ai) for four months. These men would be the remnant that would redevelop the tribe. The wives for this rebuilding would be 400 virgins from Jabesh Gilead, the one city that did not go up and help fight. Israel sent 12,000 (4x3000) men to destroy these inhabitants to obtain the brides for the subsequent development.

Jabesh Gilead, a town east of the Jordan River (meaning the dry, rocky place), is mentioned in four books of the Bible (Judges, I Samuel, II Samuel, and I Chronicles). Jabesh is used alone 24 (4 x 6) times and in combination with Gilead 12 (4 x 3) times.

We can see that the two outer occurrences of "there was no King in Israel, and everyone did what was right in his own eyes" clauses, in the Bible Gateway image above, sandwich two cases of gross idolatry and the vile results thereof. 

When trouble visited the children of Israel, most generally as a result of not following God's ways and worshiping false idols, they would cry out to the Lord, and He would mercifully appoint a judge or leader, similar to the chief of a tribe, who would raise up a force to defeat their oppressors.

Jeptha and His Daughter

Jepthah

Chapter eleven of the book of Judges records an event involving Jephthah, the son of Gilead. His mother was a harlot, and he was rejected by the other sons of Gilead's legitimate wife. Jephthah moves away and becomes a strong warrior. Once again, when Israel begins to be oppressed by their enemies, the sons of Gilead run to Jephthah and ask him to lead their army. Jephthah mentions that they had earlier rejected him but accepted the challenge anyway.

His first order of business was to confront the king of Ammon by messenger and recount that the accusations and justifications for making war with Israel were unfounded. In this account, the Hebrew word "avar," meaning "to cross over," is used four times to describe the process by which they crossed over to the territory God had given them.

Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, 

1. “Please let me (avar) pass through your land.” But the king of Edom would not heed. And in like manner, they sent to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. 

2. So Israel remained in Kadesh. And they went along through the wilderness and by-passed the land of Edom and the land of Moab, came to the east side of the land of Moab, and encamped on the other side (avar) of the Arnon. But they did not enter the border of Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab. Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, king of Heshbon; and Israel said to him, 

3. “Please let us pass through (avar) your land into our place.” 

4. But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory (avar). 

So Sihon gathered all his people together, encamped in Jahaz, and fought against Israel. 

— Judges 11:17-20 

Ammon's king did not care, and the theme of crossing over is used four times again in reference to Jephthah's advance towards the Ammonites through Gilead.

Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah,

1. and he passed through (avar) Gilead and Manasseh,
2. and passed through (avar) Mizpah of Gilead;
3. And from Mizpah of Gilead, he advanced (avar) toward the people of Ammon. And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord, and said, “If You will indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my hands, then it will be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the people of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”
4. So Jephthah advanced (avar) toward the people of Ammon to fight against them, and the Lord delivered them into his hands. And he defeated them from Aroer as far as Minnith—twenty cities—and to Abel Keramim, with a very great slaughter. Thus, the people of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.

— Judges 11:29-32

Jephthah makes a disturbing vow to secure his victory by offering whatever comes out of his doors upon his return home as a burnt offering. Ken Bailey, who was raised in the Middle East, explains that in an ancient Middle Eastern home, the animals were brought into a section of the house for the night and let out in the morning. Therefore, Jephthah would expect an animal to come out of the doors of his home.

This explanation also applies to Christ's birth, with the thought that Jesus most likely was born in a home rather than in what we would consider a barn. The manger was generally located at the end of the living area of the house where livestock were kept at night. The verse that records that there was no room at the "inn" most likely does not refer to a hotel but to a guest room in a home, as most homes had to accommodate the stringent rules concerning hospitality. The verse tells us why Jesus was placed in the manger of this family home. It was because the guest room was already occupied.  

Back to our story, upon Jephthah's return, an animal does not come out of the doors of his home, but instead, much to his regret, it is his daughter. His daughter encourages him to do as he has promised the Lord, but asks that she may, first, go and mourn her virginity with her friends for two months. 

And it was so at the end of two months that she returned to her father, and he carried out his vow with her, which he had vowed. She knew no man. And it became a custom in Israel that the daughters of Israel went four days each year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite 

— Judges 11:39-40

There were twelve (4x3) judges, and eight (4x2) were explicitly mentioned as such and recorded in this book.

"The Expositor's Bible Commentary" summarizes the physical and material aspects of the book of Judges as it relates to the fours.

"The purpose of the book of Judges is to show that Israel's spiritual condition determined its political and material situation. When the nation turned to God in obedience, God graciously sent deliverers to rescue the people from oppression. When they disregarded Joshua's warnings and worshiped the gods of Canaan, the nation came under the rule of tyrants and invaders." 

This situation in Judges is consistent with our understanding of four regarding physical created things that are subject to change for good or bad.

There is also a fourfold "forty-year" sin cycle in the Book of Judges.

1. doing evil in the sight of the Lord
2. judgment in the form of enemy oppression
3. They would repent and cry out to the Lord
4. Then God would send a deliverer.

Olive tree Al-Chami, Fig tree Fettlemap, Grapevine, and thornbush by Neut Dilma 

Four Trees

In chapter nine of Judges, beginning with verse seven, there is an incident with Gideon's son Abimelech, who took it upon himself to make himself a ruler. He killed 70 of his brothers while establishing himself as a ruler. One brother, Jotham, escaped. The men of Shechem declare Abimelech as king, and when Jotham hears about this, he tells them a parable about four trees in hopes that they will see the ridiculousness of their decision.

Now, when they told Jotham, he went and stood on top of Mount Gerizim, and lifted his voice and cried out. And he said to them: “Listen to me, you men of Shechem, that God may listen to you! “The trees once went forth to anoint a king over them. 

1. And they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us!’ But the olive tree said to them, ‘Should I cease giving my oil, with which they honor God and men, and go to sway over trees?’ 

2. “Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and reign over us!’ But the fig tree said to them, ‘Should I cease my sweetness and my good fruit, And go to sway over trees?’ 

3. Then the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and reign over us!’ But the vine said to them, ‘Should I cease my new wine, Which cheers both God and men, And go to sway over trees?’ 

4. “Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us!’ And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in truth you anoint me as king over you, then come and take shelter in my shade; But if not,

let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon!’ 

— Judges 9:7-15 

Trees in Scripture can represent leaders and kingdoms, which align with what the number four reveals. Here, we see a parable that very much fits the culture we see today, where "everyone does what is right in his own eyes." The leaders we choose are those we seem to think will best accommodate our idolatrous wishes.

Deborah Beneath the Palm Tree by James Tissot
Brooklyn Museum

Judges 4 and 5 record the account of Deborah, Israel's fourth and only female judge. She was also a wife, counselor, and warrior. Recall that during this time, "Israel had no king, and everyone did what was right in their own eyes," mentioned four times in the book. Her announcement of her service is in verse four. 

Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, was judging Israel at that time. 

— Judges 4:4

At this time, Israel was in its fourth cycle of a four-step process of worshiping idols, suffering the consequences, crying out to the Lord, and the Lord rescuing them by raising up a leader to help them. God gave them victory over their enemies, and the scriptures record that they rested for forty years after this.

In Judges, chapter five records a victory song about the event, depicting the cause, result, and rescue. Four earthly manifestations of God's power are demonstrated in this song.

1. The earth trembled and
2. The heavens poured,
3. The clouds also poured water.
4. The mountains gushed before the Lord.

This Sinai, before the Lord God of Israel.

— Judges 5: 4-5

Verse eight of this song says that the Israelites would have been utterly defenseless regarding their human ability if not for the Lord on their side.

They chose new gods;
Then there was war in the gates.
Not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel.

— Judges 5:8

Forty thousand without weapons indicates that their victory would not be a natural one. 

Awake is used four times in the song and expresses the prophetic office that Deborah held. Her name means bee and is derived from the Hebrew word for "Word," with the idea of bringing order. She was the wife of Lapidoth, meaning fiery torch. Her prophecy was the "fiery" word that scattered the chaos and restored order to Israel's camps. The idea of light bringing order is similar to the Genesis "beginning" narrative. It is depicted in the earlier verses of four and five ( a thought borrowed from "Grace in the Torah.com)

1. “Awake,
2. awake, Deborah!
3. Awake.
4. awake, sing a song!

— Judges 5:12

The word "fought" also appears four times in this song, depicting an earthly battle fought on a heavenly front.

“The kings came and fought,
Then the kings of Canaan fought ...

They fought from the heavens;
The stars (fourth day creation) from their courses fought against Sisera.

— Judges 5:19-20

The fighting theme suggests that a heavenly spiritual war is being waged on the earth and throughout the created realm.

In verse fifteen of Deborah's song, Issachar, mentioned four times in Genesis, who began his tribe with four sons and received the fourth allotment of land, along with sixteen (4 x 4) towns, is mentioned in terms of assisting in the victory.

The princes of Issachar were with Deborah;
Issachar was with Barak.

— Judges 5:15

In the record of David's army at Hebron (formerly Kiriath Arba, meaning "city of four"), Issachar is also acknowledged for four things.

... of the sons of Issachar who

1. had an understanding of the times (fourth day objects of measuring time created)
2. to know what Israel ought to do
3. Their chiefs were two hundred
4. And all their brethren were at their command.

— I Chronicles 12:32

According to Rabbinical literature, he is also thought to have been born on the fourth of Av.

Ruth in Boaz's Field
Julius Schnoor von Carlsfeld

The Book of Ruth

The book of Ruth is four chapters long and portrays the gentile bride of Christ. The narrative begins with four Israelites from the promised land who turn to their enemy, the Moabites, for relief during a famine in their homeland. These four were Naomi, Elimelech, and their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion.

The storyline develops as Naomi's husband and two sons die while in Moab. Her sons had married gentile brides from the region, and one, namely Ruth, was faithful to travel back to Naomi's homeland of Israel with her. Upon their return, Ruth meets and marries Boaz, who redeems her husband's land and marries her.

" ... and she gave birth to a son." 

— Ruth 4:13

The above phrase is used four times in Scripture, referring to the births of Seth, Obed (Ruth and Boaz's son), Samuel, and Solomon.

The story concludes with a family of four, just like it began.

1. Naomi
2. Ruth
3. Boaz
4. and Obed (son of Boaz and Ruth - King David's grandfather)

King David was the fourth generation from Boaz.