Welcome back to the history of Akobe web series, we are glad you have returned to learn and engage yourself in the story of the Bible, told from an African perspective for a change; we believe you’ll be very happy. In this segment, we dive into the life of Joshua the general and leader of the children of Akobe after the passing of the great prophet Moses. In addition, we will hear from other great saviors, or as they were called, judges of the Bantu. Let us get into Episode 4: The History of Akobe and the Divided Kingdom.
Joshua or (Oshea) became the leader of the Bantu and prepared to take the Bantu into the land of Canaan, the land the Great Spirit promised. We have to bear in mind that the children of Akobe were a two-million-plus nation of people who had dwelt in the wilderness for the last forty years. Many of them died in the wilderness and a new generation was being prepared to go into the land of Canaan.
These were the children of the rebellious generation who feared going into the land. Joshua, who was from the tribe of Yosef (by way of Efraim), was the leader. He prepared the children of Akobe to mentally, physically, and spiritually, prepare themselves to take the land. The land was from the wilderness to Lebanon to the great river. It included all of the lands of the Hittites and went all the way to the great sea, which faced toward the going down of the sun.
The Bantu Will Be Prosperous
The Great Spirit promised to be with the Bantu as HE was with Moses. They only were required to keep the book of the law in their mouth, to meditate on it day and night, and to keep the Creator’s charge. This would make them prosperous and give them good success in all endeavors. The key to them taking the land was to be strong and courageous. The children of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh promised to help the tribes of Akobe claim all lands before they settle in the land of the Amorites east of the river. Jericho was the land that was spied out first.
The king of Jericho sent an official to the house of Rahab, a woman known as a harlot in the town. The secret service spies of Akobe had spent the night there but were gone by the time Jericho’s officials checked her residence. The spies of Akobe were able to retrieve enough intelligence to carry out their mission to take down Jericho.
The House of Akobe then crossed the river. Joshua was magnified in the eyes of the people by the Creator, and as soon as the twelve men were chosen from each tribe and the twelve priests who bore the ark of the Great Spirit set their feet in the river, something amazing happened. The waters that came down from above stood up like someone built a dam across the river. They were able to cross over or pass over the Jordan on dry ground. The Bantu set up a monument for the occasion as well as set up camp at a place called Gilgal. They were preparing for battle as they marched into Jericho to take the city.
The Circumcision Was Required
The people of Jericho were terrified at this point, but they knew there was nothing they could do. However, before the children of Akobe could take the city, they had to handle some business with the Great Spirit. The business was to celebrate the Passover. In order to celebrate the Passover, they first had to circumcise themselves.
This generation had not been circumcised because their parents were not on top of the business of the Great Spirit’s covenant (eighth-day circumcision of each male child). Nevertheless, after they circumcised themselves, and ate the Passover, the Bantu captured Jericho through the power of the Great Spirit. They circled the city six times silently. On the seventh circle, they blew the trumpets and all the people shouted and took the city.
This was an ultra-powerful amazing feat. They burned the city with fire. And they only allowed silver, gold, vessels of brass, and iron into the treasury of the house of the Great Spirit. The Bantu also preserved Rahab the harlot and all her household. She dwelled among the Bantu all her days, and her father’s house still existed among the Bantu.
Achan and the Babylonianish Garments
The children of Akobe still experienced their own troubles prompted by the decisions of a man named Achan. When the Bantu went into the city of Jericho Achan decided to keep some of the nicer styles of apparel as well as some gold and silver to himself. When the children of Akobe readied themselves to take down the next city, the city of Ai, they were beaten badly. It was because of what Achan had done. The situation was fixed thanks to Achan fessing up (confession) but it cost him his life. Not only his life, but also cost him the life of his household, wife, and children.
After this, the Bantu was able to successfully take the city of Ai. Joshua’s clever war plan drew the military of Ai out of the city, which left the city wide open for attack. The ambush was a successful one as the military of Ai saw the city torched. Afterward, Joshua gave a thanksgiving offering to the Great Spirit and read all the words of the law, the blessings, and curses, as it was written in the book of the Law to all the people. There was not a word of all Moses commanded that Joshua didn’t read before the entire congregation of the Bantu. It was mighty important then and mighty important now.
He read it to everyone, to the women, children, strangers, small, and mighty. As the Bantu waited on their next mission, they ran into a mighty setback. This setback would haunt them even until this day. The setback was that of deception and a gross oversight in counsel. It involved the people of Gibeon.
Gibeon Faked the Bantu
They deceived the children of Akobe into a treaty of peace and goodwill. They came to the Bantu and were already a very powerful people among the Canaanite peoples, but still they were scared. They’d witnessed what happened to Jericho and Ai; they decided to take a different route.
They disguised themselves as people who were from afar. The Gibeonites pretended to have heard the goodness of the Great Spirit and decided to bring gifts to the Great Spirit’s people. They brought molded bread and worn out sandals and clothing to make it appear as if their journey was of a great distance.
Without taking counsel from the Great Spirit, Joshua made a peace treaty with them (the Gibeonites) and vowed not to kill them or their people. The Bantu was deceived and because they did not take counsel with the Great Spirit, they were not able to catch on to the deception. The congregation became very upset with the leaders of the Bantu for making this horrible agreement.
Covenants Cannot Be Broken
Joshua cursed the Gibeonites for lying but that was the smallest concern for the Gibeonites. They had other plans of breaking free, they only needed to be alive to implement it. Shortly after, a king named Adonizedek of Jerusalem heard how a general named Joshua had captured and destroyed Ai. Adonizedek also learned of how Jericho was sacked by the same Bantu.
The more shocking news to this king was that the Gibeonites had double-crossed him and signed a peace treaty with the general and leader of the nation. He was frightened and angered because Gibeon was a great city, one of the royal cities of Canaan that produced many warriors. Adonizedek gathered the neighboring kings to him to fight against Gibeon.
Five Amorite kings and their armies gathered against Gibeon; Gibeon called for the Bantu to protect them according to the peace treaty. This became known as an epic battle for the Bantu. The Great Spirit threw down great stones from heaven on the Bantu’s enemies. More people died from the hailstones than those who were slain with the sword by the Bantu.
A Mere Man Commanded the Sun
Then the improbable happened that made this battle an epic one. Joshua was able to command the sun to stand still. That’s right, a mere man called for the sun to stand still and it happened. It is recorded that there was no day like it before or after. The Great Spirit listened to the voice of a man in battle (he’d hearkened to Moses regarding the near genocide of the children of Akobe).
Joshua and the children of Akobe defeated the five Amorite nations. Joshua killed their kings. The general of the Bantu and the house of Akobe continued their conquest. Onto the next king, a king named Jabin of Hazor. He heard about the violent momentum the Bantu was having and he called for a confederate of kings to join him to defeat the children of Akobe.
It is very comforting to know the Great Spirit will fight the battles.
The Great Spirit commanded Joshua not to worry because the king of Hazor will be delivered into Joshua’s hands and would be dead very soon. As the Great Spirit said, Joshua and the Bantu destroyed them all. There wasn’t a city that made peace with the children of Akobe except for the Hivites (Gibeonites). The Great Spirit wanted it that way so He could destroy them all.
The leader of the Bantu destroyed the Anakims and captured many lands. There were a total of thirty-one lands conquered by the children of Akobe. While they conquered many lands, there were plenty of Canaanite territories that they were not able to take over. Moses had already given the land east of the Jordan River to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh. The only tribe not to receive land were the children of Levi (Lawaya).
The children of Yawada were unable to fully drive out the Jebusites, who dwelt among them. Also, the children of Efraim were unable to fully drive out the Canaanites who were in Gezer. The Canaanites remained among the Efraimites during those days and times. However, these nations were under tribute to the Bantu.
The remainder of the land of the children of Akobe was divided up.
Joshua made his farewell speech and took his rest. He lived for 110 years. After the death of Joshua, the Bantu petitioned the Great Spirit for help to drive out the Canaanites. The tribe of Yawada was chosen to first attempt to drive the Canaanites out of Jerusalem and other strongholds.
Yawada partnered up with the tribe of Simeon to fight against and remove Canaan. They defeated ten thousand soldiers of Canaan and Periz in a town called Bezek. Bezek’s king was Adonibezek. He had a custom where he would cut off the great thumbs and toes of kings he would conquer.
He did this to seventy kings and made them sit under his table to eat food. Vicious! The children of Akobe did the same thing to him after they caught him. He accepted it as karma from the Creator. The Great Spirit helped the tribe of Yawada to capture the towns, Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron, and other nearby towns.
Canaanites Dwelling Among the Bantu
There still were people who lived in the valleys that had iron chariots. Yawada was unable to drive them out and capture their lands. Caleb, the confident vocal leader of Yawada, was able to secure Hebron as his personal inheritance as Moses promised. Caleb defeated three prominent sons of Anakim. Just as Yawada was unable to fully drive everyone out of the valley, the children of Benjamin also didn’t fully drive out the Jebusites who were living in Jerusalem. In the end, the Bantu did not get rid of all the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, Kitron, and Nahalol.
The most they were able to do was to put those people under them in servitude. The Amorites forced the tribe of Dan to stay in the mountains and they controlled the valley. They also secured Mount Heres, but the house of Yosef finally grew strong enough to prevail over the Amorites and made them tributaries. The Amorites were able to keep the lands from Akrabbim to Sela, up to the higher places.
On-Again-Off-Again
After the death of Joshua, the children of Akobe began to move away from the Creator of the Bantu. The following generation did not know the Great Spirit or any of the things the Great Spirit had done for the Bantu. This angered the Great Spirit greatly and thus the Great Creator allowed other nations to invade the Bantu and take their possessions. The Great Spirit allowed the Bantu to face oppression from their surrounding enemies until they returned to Him.
However, from time to time, the Great Creator of the Bantu would raise up a judge or judges who would deliver the Bantu out of their oppressor’s hands. Whenever the children of Akobe would break their covenant with the Great Spirit and forsake to honor their ancestors, the Great Spirit would discontinue the Heavenly Kingdom’s help to them against their enemies.
This was why they could not fully drive out the Canaanites and other nations in the land as they attempted full conquest. The Great Spirit left these nations in the land for a couple of known reasons. One, these nations would test the children of Akobe and also train them better to become warriors.
Enemies Mount When They Were in Violation of Their Covenant
The children of Akobe would do evil before the Great Spirit’s viewing by serving Baalim. For this, the Great Spirit allowed Chushanrishathaim (Cushan Risha-Thaim) of Mesopotamia to crush the Bantu for eight years. During this oppressive burden, the Bantu begged for help and the Great Spirit sent them a man named Othniel. Othniel was a man of Yawada. He was the nephew to Caleb, his father was Kenaz.
He was the one who took down Chushanrishathaim and allowed the Bantu to rest for forty years. After those forty years of rest, the Bantu fell away from the Great Spirit Yah again, after the death of Othniel. This time the Great Spirit allowed them to be defeated and subject to king Eglon of Moab. King Eglon joined up with the Ammonites and Amalekites and attacked the Bantu.
He was able to take Jericho and rule the Bantu for eighteen years. During this time the Bantu had to pay very heavy taxes. Again under this oppression, the children of Akobe cried out to the Great Spirit and the Great Spirit sent a man named Ehud. Ehud was from the tribe of Benjamin and was noted for being left-handed. He single-handedly assassinated the king of Moab with a dagger to his “fat” tummy.
Jael and Deborah to the Rescue
After Ehud judged the Bantu, Shamgar helped the Bantu. The House of Akobe fell away again, and the Great Spirit sent them a woman who was assisted by a man. The duo was Deborah and Barak (not Michelle and Barack). The Bantu were put to shame by the Canaanite king, king Jabin of Hazor. Jabin had a captain whose name was Sisera. He stayed in Harosheth of the Gentiles otherwise known as Harosheth-Ha-Goiim.
Barak delivered the people in battle, but two women were the true catalyst to overthrowing Canaan at this time. These women made it happen; Deborah, and Jael. Jael was the wife of a man named Heber who was from the Kenite tribe. Jael killed Sisera by driving a tent nail through his temples while he slept. Sounds gruesome, but it delivered the Bantu from the king of Canaan. The Great Creator subdued Canaan that day the Bantu prospered and prevailed against Jabin king of Canaan.
It did not take long for the children of Akobe to fall away from the Great Spirit. Once again, the Great Spirit allowed the nation of Midian to control the Bantu for seven cruel years. It was economically cruel for the Bantu during this time, but it was once again the result of turning from the Great Spirit.
An Angel Sent to Prepare the Bantu for Deliverance
The Great Spirit of the Great Creator sent an Angel to Ophrah that belonged to Joash and his son Gideon. They were from the Abiezrite clan from the family of Manasse, who belong to the house of Yosef. The Angel told Gideon that the Great Spirit was with him, especially since he is a mighty strong warrior.
Gideon wasn’t fond of the message from the Angel. He was in the midst of cruel captivity to the Midianites and was a bit apprehensive about any talks of overthrowing them. He responded by saying, “Please do not take this the wrong way, However, if the Great Spirit is with me and the Bantu, why have all these awful things happened to us? Further, where are all the miracles we heard of from our fathers about the Great Spirit who brought us out of Egypt with eagle wings? We have been forsaken by the Yah!”
The Great Spirit nonetheless assured him that he should use his might and save the Bantu. After getting over his fears and tearing down his father’s altar to Baal, Gideon finally broke through. He went to battle and defeated the Midianites, Amalekites, and all the children of the east.
The Might and Power of the Great Spirit
The spirit of the Great Spirit came over Gideon as he slew them to the ground. The Great Spirit played a big role to assure that Gideon and his army did not think it was because of their might that they won. To do this, the Great Spirit minimized the size of Gideon’s military. They initially sent twenty-two thousand (22,000) troops home, and most of them were really upset about it.
There were ten thousand (10,000) troops still; ninety-seven hundred and one (9,701) too many. Only three hundred were told to stay and fight against the Midianites, and guess what? they won! When they won, Gideon officially killed Midian by killing their two kings, Zebah and Zalmunna.
Fine Possessions Instead of Leadership
After his success, the children of Akobe asked Gideon to become their ruler. However, the warrior turned it down. He told the children of Akobe that the Great Spirit would rule over them.
He didn’t want to rule, but he did want riches and jewels. Instead of ruling the people, Gideon asked for every man’s spoil of gold earrings and Ismaelite garments. He wasn’t interested in ruling the people, he was interested in gold, apparel, and plenty of women. Gideon had many wives and concubines, and as a result, he had seventy sons.
When he died, the Bantu turned their backs on his family and on the Great Creator. The Bantu reestablished their idols and the worship of Baal, Baalim, and Baalberith. They forgot the Great Spirit their Ruler and they showed no love towards Gideon, who was also known as Jerubbaal. One of the sons of Gideon took notice of how the Bantu turned their backs on the family of Gideon, and he set out to do something about it.
His name was Abimelech.
He wanted to be the central ruler over the tribes (of Manasse) instead of all seventy of his brothers and half-brothers. The leaders of a town called Shechem agreed to his desire and gave him money to campaign. He hired vain and light persons to follow him as he brutally murdered all seventy of Gideon’s sons. However, the youngest son, Jotham, was able to hide and get away.
When the leaders and Abimelech were holding a meeting, Jotham spoke up on the other side of the terrain and let them know how bad their actions and behavior were. He reminded them that his father Gideon risked his life for them and saved them from the Midianites. Again, he told them they were wrong to make Abimelech their ruler, on top of his insignificance, since he was the son of a maidservant.
He cursed Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem. That struck a nerve so he ran off. Things went according to plan for Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem for three years. Then the Creator decided to punish him for murdering Gideon’s seventy sons. The first step to tearing a situation or group down is to turn people against each other.
The leaders of Shechem turned against Abimelech.
He found himself fighting with the very people of Shechem who helped put him in power. In a strange battle, he torched a few towers that people would typically run to for safety. At the last tower, a woman threw out a stone that cracked his skull. He only had hours to live, so he had his arms bearer thrust him through so it is not reported that Abimelech was killed by a woman. So for the record, he was badly injured by a woman, but not killed by her (wink, wink).
The Almighty rewarded the wickedness of Abimelech that he committed against his father by killing his seventy brothers. The Bantu went back to sinning against the Great Spirit, and the Great Spirit sent them the son of Puah or Pawa, Tola by name. He was from the tribe of Issachar and lived in Shamir, a town in the hill country of Efraim. He judged the Bantu for twenty-three years. After him, the next judge was a man named Jair.
He lived in Gilead and lead the Bantu for twenty-two years. He fathered thirty sons, and each one of them had their own mule; a prestigious family. The children of Akobe fell off again, as they disobeyed the Great Spirit, serving Baalim, Ashtaroth, and the gods of Aram, Zidon, Moab, Ammon, and the Philistines.
Why Could Not the Bantu Obey and Stay Faithful?
Once again, the Great Spirit was very hot in anger against them and allowed them to be sold into the hands of the Philistines and Ammonites. They vexed and oppressed the children of Akobe for eighteen grueling years. Life was miserable for the Bantu; it was so bad they begged the Great Spirit for help and they confessed their rebellion before Him.
They also stopped their worship of Baalim. However, the Great Spirit was tired of their on-again-off-again relationship and chose not to listen to them. Picture the Great Spirit reading the daily newspaper with his eyebrows up, ignoring their pleas. In fact, the Great Spirit told them to go petition the other gods they loved and have those gods deliver them. However, with much pleading, they were able to get the Great Spirit to relieve the pressure.
the Warriors of the House of Akobe
Beginning with the elders of the tribe of Gilead, they searched for someone who could lead them in battle. They found and asked a very brave warrior whose name was Jephthah (Yefatha). Although part of the Gileadite clan, he was treated like an outsider. He had been excommunicated because he was the son of a “prostitute” whereas his half brothers were from his father’s wife.
He left them and lived in the land of Tob and had a gang of vain men as his entourage. In their dire situation, he was sought after; Yefatha rubbed it in the face of the children of Akobe for coming to get him now that they were in distress. He said he’d come back on one condition; his condition was that he would be made captain over the Bantu. The elders of Gilead agreed before the Great Spirit to make him so.
Then Yefatha got right to business.
To be continue; join us for the next episode, the History of Akobe!
Don’t forget to visit our series Unprofitable Lies. We are rewriting the narrative of the scriptures, putting back what was taken out, and taking out what was erroneously placed in the ancient scrolls.
Salud
Minister Koko
BSM
BibleStudyMinistry.com
(Tell a friend about us, about the movement for truth and righteousness, all for a better world community)
With all love and Spiritual regards, be strong and very courageous in all good things!
