And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.
Judges 3:6 belongs to the introduction to the book of Judges, together with chapters 1 and 2 and 3:1-5, showing that Israel had not possessed all of the country. It is part of the account of Israel's repeated backsliding and captivities during the period between Joshua's death and the raising up of Samuel. It records that Israel took the daughters of the peoples left in the land as wives and gave their own daughters to their sons and served their gods, instead of driving those peoples out.
This was the failure of the younger generation to meet the test God had left them in the land, an experience meant to develop essential traits through the effort of overcoming difficulty. Intermarriage with the remaining peoples led Israel to serve their gods, turning away from God into idolatry and failure to follow His instructions. The blending of family ties brought about a blending of religious practices, so that Israel abandoned the pure truth God had given them.
The verse thus illustrates the danger behind God's prohibition of marriages with the surrounding nations, since they turned His people away from Him and brought them into idolatry. It shows Israel falling into idolatry despite living under God's rule. It describes backsliding from God amid awful moral surroundings and the demoralizing influences of the tribes Israel permitted to remain, which brought suffering, oppression, captivity and servitude leading to consequent captivity.
That backsliding was followed by returning to God with forgiveness and deliverance, a cycle repeated through Judges 3 to 17 that reveals the perversity and unbelief of the people and the long-suffering and goodness of God. The verse gives God's counsel in love and mercy that marriage must be only in the Lord and not by taking unbelieving wives or giving daughters to unbelieving sons, because such intermarriage leads to serving false gods. Reading, prayerfully considering, and cheerfully obeying it gives important instruction and timely warning that escapes bitter anguish of heart, painful regret for long years, and frequent disappointment in marriage, and it requires studying the duties of marriage before entering it.
The verse illustrates the danger of learning the ways of those Israel was meant to drive out, warning younger Seventh-day Adventists against repeating that pattern by joining the surrounding world instead of developing the reform begun by the pioneers.
Judges 3:6 belongs to the introduction to the book of Judges, together with chapters 1 and 2 and 3:1-5, showing that Israel had not possessed all of the country. It is part of the account of Israel's repeated backsliding and captivities during the period between Joshua's death and the raising up of Samuel. It records that Israel took the daughters of the peoples left in the land as wives and gave their own daughters to their sons and served their gods, instead of driving those peoples out.
This was the failure of the younger generation to meet the test God had left them in the land, an experience meant to develop essential traits through the effort of overcoming difficulty. Intermarriage with the remaining peoples led Israel to serve their gods, turning away from God into idolatry and failure to follow His instructions. The blending of family ties brought about a blending of religious practices, so that Israel abandoned the pure truth God had given them.
The verse thus illustrates the danger behind God's prohibition of marriages with the surrounding nations, since they turned His people away from Him and brought them into idolatry. It shows Israel falling into idolatry despite living under God's rule. It describes backsliding from God amid awful moral surroundings and the demoralizing influences of the tribes Israel permitted to remain, which brought suffering, oppression, captivity and servitude leading to consequent captivity.
That backsliding was followed by returning to God with forgiveness and deliverance, a cycle repeated through Judges 3 to 17 that reveals the perversity and unbelief of the people and the long-suffering and goodness of God. The verse gives God's counsel in love and mercy that marriage must be only in the Lord and not by taking unbelieving wives or giving daughters to unbelieving sons, because such intermarriage leads to serving false gods. Reading, prayerfully considering, and cheerfully obeying it gives important instruction and timely warning that escapes bitter anguish of heart, painful regret for long years, and frequent disappointment in marriage, and it requires studying the duties of marriage before entering it.
The verse illustrates the danger of learning the ways of those Israel was meant to drive out, warning younger Seventh-day Adventists against repeating that pattern by joining the surrounding world instead of developing the reform begun by the pioneers.