Year 7, Day 281: Judges 20

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Judges 20 is essentially an extension of the story we read yesterday.  When God’s people hear about the sin of Gibeah, they gather for battle.  They desire to do something about this evil growing and living in Gibeah.

Note, however, that we can learn about the perspectives of human beings.  While most of God’s people gather to oppose Gibeah, the tribe of Benjamin stands with Gibeah.  The Benjaminites choose to stand with their brothers instead of choosing to stand with God’s ways.  If we are not careful, we can easily slip into the perspective of choosing family over God.  If we are not careful, family can become like an idol to us.  If we are not careful, we learn to justify the sins of our family because they are family.  If we are not careful, we gain a blind spot towards our family and become of little help to them when they are tempted by sinfulness.

Another thing that we can learn from this story is that God will always be the ultimate victor.  At first, it seems like the people of Gibeah will get away with their crime.  At the end of the last chapter, their crime had gone unpunished.  As the troop gather for battle we see the not once but twice the Benjaminites rout the people of God.  However, what is really going on here is that the people of Gibeah are being set up for utter destruction.  God doesn’t want to just teach them a lesson and put them in their place.  God wants to judge their whole city for their crimes and livelihood.  God is the ultimate victor in this story.

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Year 7, Day 280: Judges 19

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Judges 19 is a chapter that always makes me feel uneasy.  When I read it, I wonder what its place is in the Bible.  It seems to take death too lightly.  It seems to promote a comedy of errors.  It just doesn’t have the right feel at all.

In part, I think that’s the point. The story revolves around a Levite.  The Levite’s life, however, shows very little evidence of a relationship with God.  For example, we are told that the Levite has a concubine.  However, the Bible also speaks of the concubine’s father as the Levite’s father-in-law.  This is likely evidence that there was a marriage, but it was a marriage of legality and not a marriage of love.  This was likely an arranged marriage where the Levite never truly develops any kind of love for his wife.  She remains a concubine because he does not take her emotionally into his life for a full wife.  Even when the father-in-law pleads for the Levite to stay among them and develop relationship, the Levite is focused on returning home.  There is little relationship there.

We get further evidence of this Levite’s heart as they pass into Gibeah.  Granted, the people of Gibeah are clearly in the wrong as they look to have a lustful night of homosexual relations with the Levite.  Yet, the Levite himself shows just as much contempt for God’s ways when he pushes his concubine out among them.  He forces her to go out and be violated so that the lust of the people will be appeased.  He has no concern for her at all.  There is no love there.  There is no reflection of relationship with God in this act.

Even more, see how this Levite acts when he comes out onto the threshold the next morning!  He looks to the concubine and says, “Get up.”  There is no compassion.  There isn’t even any concern in his voice for her.  When she doesn’t move, he takes her dead body, sits it on top of his donkey, goes home, and cuts up her body!  There is no evidence of mourning.  He is solely focused on showing the people of God the brutality of the people of Gibeah.

We can absolutely become too focused on the law.  We can take such a legalistic approach to life that we lose all compassion.  We can become so focused on the black and white spaces of right and wrong that we utterly lose all perspective on love, grace, and mercy.  The Levite is a tragic role in this story, a person who has lost attachment to the joy of life that God has placed within him.

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Year 7, Day 279: Judges 18

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Two questions are raised within me as I read through Judges 18.  Both questions deal with faith.  Both questions deal with our human motivation within our relationship with God.

The first question is born out of the question that the Danites ask the priest when they come to plunder Micah.  “Would you rather be the priest of 1 or the priest of 600?”  Not that I think that Micah is the world’s most faithful person, but I don’t think I’d like to be the priest of 600 thieves and bullies, either!  The greater point that we hear in this is the human idea that bigger is better.  Are 600 automatically better than 1?  What if God’s calling is to the 1?  What if the 600 have no respect for God?  Yet, at first pass, human beings almost always pick the greater quantity instead of the lesser.

The second question comes out of Micah’s response to his gods and priest being taken away.  “What have I left if you take away my gods and my priest?”  This phrase reveals a great deal about Micah’s relationship with God.  Can mankind take away our relationship with God?  If God is the source of our power, life, and salvation, then who can take away those things?  Micah is more worried about the material representations of life than true life itself!

Don’t get me wrong on either of these points.  Human nature is to fall in line with the assertion of the Danites.  We think more is better.  Human nature also tends to focus on the tangibles and forget about the intangibles.  Both are short-sighted opinions, however.  We should be more focused on things like where God is calling and how God can provide for us.

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Year 7, Day 278: Judges 17

Theological Commentary: Click Here

This is an obscure little story.  It’s probably a story that you’ve seldom if ever read before.  It’s a bit of a confusing story and if we aren’t in the habit of looking at motivation we can easily get lost in the story.

There is a young man whose name is Micah.  To show his moral character, we are to understand that he steals from his own family.  Of course, he is the son from a woman who is in the habit of pronouncing curses upon people who wrong her.  To give him a little credit, at least he does return the money he stole.  Granted, had he not stolen it in the first place, he wouldn’t have needed to return the money.

His mother takes a small amount of the money and gives it to a smith to make an idol.  This should cause a little more concern.  The fact that Micah goes out and finds his own personal Levite should concern us a bit more.  The fact that Micah then ordains this Levite under the auspices of his household god should really concern us.  Things are going south pretty quickly now.

If we aren’t careful, this sounds like the story of a grateful woman who dedicates some money for religious practices and whose son is so interested in the faith that he supports a Levite all on his own.  But that isn’t what is going on here at all.  This is a superstitious family doing right in their own eyes.  This is a young man who thinks he can buy his way into grace.  Do you see how this chapter ends?  Micah believes that now that he has his own Levite that God will notice him.

We need to be careful with our faith.  If we aren’t careful, we end up thinking that we can impress God with our surroundings.  We end up living life with the wrong motivation.  We end up doing right in our own eyes and maybe even fooling the people around us while we’re at it.

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Year 7, Day 277: Judges 16

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Samson continues to be a tragic story.  After Samson gets into trouble because of how he treated his wife, Samson goes and is consoled by a prostitute.  He doesn’t really learn. He is simply running around to find that which is right in his own eyes.

Then, Samson meets Delilah.  She tries to get him to tell his secret.  Here’s the thing, though.  Samson clearly doesn’t trust her.  He lies to her several times.  Several times she betrays him.  Clearly this isn’t a relationship founded on mutual respect and trust!  Yet, Samson continues to stay with her.  This is just more proof that Samson continues to what is right in his own eyes.  He’s not interested in thinking, planning, and being logical.  Samson is interested in doing whatever he wants to do in the moment.

Samson is betrayed and captured.  He becomes the laughingstock of the Philistines.  However, God is still planning to use Samson.  As his hair grows back, God’s strength returns to Samson.  In one final act of judgment, Samson reigns down death upon his captors.  Samson’s life ends as rashly as it was lived.

As I read this story, I can’t help but wonder if this is really the life that God desired for Samson.  Did God want Samson to be so impulsive?  Did God want Samson to be this role model?  Did God want Samson’s life to be snuffed out helplessly?

God uses Samson.  God punishes the Philistines through Samson.  But it is such a tragic story.  If anything, I see Samson as proof that God will use us in spite of ourselves.  God gives us free will, knowing that He can work in and through us regardless of what we choose.

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Year 7, Day 276: Judges 15

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Samson makes me laugh.  I don’t truly know how young Samson is in this chapter, but he seems like an impetuous young man.  He is rash.  He is doing what is right in his own eyes.

In fact, Samson knows this about himself.  I don’t think the Bible really wants to paint him as being innocent of the prior actions.  Do you hear Samson’s confession?  “This time I will be innocent.”  In other words, he hasn’t been innocent in the past.

I don’t really think that he is all that innocent now, either, for the record.  He thinks that he is, but he isn’t.  Why do the events of this chapter happen?  At the end of the last chapter, Samson didn’t particularly want his wife.  He gives the indication that he’s done with her.  Her father gives her to another man.  Samson comes back, for whatever reason, and is mad that other people moved on after he was impulsive.  He’s rash and not really all that innocent.

Don’t get me wrong.  God still uses him to bring judgment against the Philistines.  But don’t think for a minute that God has to be happy with Samson’s behavior!  Do you think God wants his own people binding up Samson because they know of his recklessness?  Do you think God wants one of his leaders treating women the way that he does?  God punishes the Philistines, but that doesn’t mean that God condones his behavior.

In fact, look at what happens what the fight is over.  Samson whines to God about how thirsty he is.  God splits open a rock to give Samson some water!  What does the Bible say happened?  Samson got a drink and then left.  There is no thanks to God.  There is no recognition of the miraculous.  Samson gets a drink, feel his need satisfied, and moves along.

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Year 7, Day 275: Judges 14

Theological Commentary: Click Here

I believe that we should be careful to distinguish between God using people voluntarily and God using people’s desires involuntarily.  In the last chapter, we see that God used Manoah and his wife voluntarily.  The wanted to be obedient.  They were humble.  They sought out the will of the Lord.

With Samson, God uses him involuntarily.  Samson isn’t coming to God to seek His will.  Samson isn’t obediently putting aside his desires to follow those of His Lord.  Verse 7 sums it all up rather well.  When Samson is looking for a wife, he looks for someone who is right in his own eyes.  His father and mother counsel Samson to find a Hebrew girl.  He wants a girl who is pleasing to his eyes.  God will use him and his desires involuntarily if He has to.

This moves us to his feast.  Samson’s father comes to visit and Samson throws a feast.  Samson’s wives’ people come to the feast and Samson thinks himself to be quick of wit.  He gives them an impossible riddle, convinced that he can use it to make himself rich.  Delilah’s own people get her to work against her husband – her loyalties are clear – and she tells them the answer.  The people foil Samson riddle.

Naturally, Samson isn’t dumb.  He can readily figure out where they got their answer. Rather than admit defeat, though, he solves his problems rashly.  He goes out, slaughters 30 innocent people, and gives their clothes to the people who had figured out his riddle.  He then turns around and gives his wife away, for the time being, to his best man.

Samson is once more solving problems according to what is right in his own eyes.  God will use the enmity Samson is building between himself and the Philistines, but that doesn’t mean that Samson is acting in a very godly manner.

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Year 7, Day 274: Judges 13

Theological Commentary: Click Here

In this chapter we get to experience the birth of Samson.  Samson is a man that I admittedly love to pick on.  It is important to remember that in all things, he was still called upon by God to save the people of God. 

Before we get to Samson, though, look at the people that God uses to bring about Samson.  Here is a woman who is barren.  In the ancient world, being unable to produce children was akin to bearing a scarlet letter of the gods’ judgment against you.  There should be little doubt that this woman lived in the specter of shame.  She may not have felt it every day of her life – at least I hope not!  But it did shroud her life.  Yet, God picked her.

Notice that God comes and talks to her, by the way.  God chooses this woman, whose name is not recorded in the Bible, to bring God’s peace to the family.  God speaks to a barren woman, a soul on the fringe of outcast.  God speaks through her.  God saves His people from the oppression of the Philistines through her.

What is also neat about this story is that her husband, Manoah, has no trouble with any of this.  An angel of the Lord comes to his wife and he is prepared to listen.  He is willing to obey and follow.  For the record, this is a pattern that we see throughout the plan of God’s salvation.  When the law is lost and rediscovered, it is the prophetess Huldah who confirms that the Law is good and it should be followed.  When Jesus is to be born, it is Mary to whom the angel appears first.  When Jesus is raised from the dead, it is Mary Magdalene who is told to bring the message to the disciples.  One of the points that we can take from this story is that God works through men and women.

What do this husband and wife do?  They live in obedience.  Manoah prays to God for more direction and he receives it.  They offer a sacrifice to the Lord.  They do as God asks.  Followers of God hold no prejudice and they live in obedience.  That’s what they do.  That’s what Manoah and his wife do.  It is these people who are the focus of God and his plan to save His people.

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Year 7, Day 273: Judges 12

Theological Commentary: Click Here

No good deed ever goes unpunished.  I’ve found that’s a pretty true saying in my life.  When you compliment one person, others around you get jealous of why they didn’t get a compliment.  When you invest in the life of another, other people wonder why you didn’t invest in their life.  When you buy a small gift for another person, people wonder why you didn’t get one for them or even ask them to so in on the gift and make it from a whole group.  It seems like no matter what good we do, there is always a place that others can be critical should they seek to find such a place.

That’s not too far from what happens to Jephthah here. Jephthah goes out and frees the people from the Ammonite oppression.  When he comes back, the people of Ephraim are angry that they don’t get to participate in the glory.  Rather than celebrate the freedom from oppression, their worried about the fact the others might notice that they didn’t help out.  Jephthah feels the brunt of their wrath because they didn’t come out to help when called.

What’s worse is that this feeling escalates to war between the people of God.  Thousands of people die over a matter of social standing.  People die over a dispute of who gets honor and glory.  People die because Jephthah is the son of a prostitute who became a leader and did a great thing and others were unable to accept it as God’s hand of salvation at work.  People die because others are blind and ignorant.

Human jealousy is a terrible thing.  Our own envy can cause us to taint our perspective of God’s hand at work.  Our own envy can infect other people and bring them into destruction.  As I said, no good deed ever goes unpunished.  When we do good, we are just as open to criticism and strife as when we do evil.  The sad part is in that case it is for all the wrong reasons.

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Year 7, Day 272: Judges 11

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Much has been said about the end of this chapter because of the startling story which it contains.  I remember the first time that I read this chapter.  I was rather shocked to hear this content in the Bible!  While appalled at Jephthah’s ignorance, I remember feeling drawn more into the truth of the Bible because there would be no reason to include this story otherwise.  It isn’t a story that is likely to impress too many people.

However, not much is said about this story’s beginning.  Look at where Jephthah gets his start.  He is the daughter of a prostitute.  He is the product of a man and a woman outside of the bond of marriage.  Naturally, that isn’t Jephthah’s fault.  We can’t hold that against him.  But he is certainly a product of a sinful union.

In fact, his family does hold it against him.  His culture holds it against him.  They drive him away.  They tell him that he’s not welcome.  They remove him from their presence.  We don’t know why, but it isn’t unreasonable to think that they didn’t want the black mar of sin hanging over their family’s head.

That being said, God doesn’t hold it against Jephthah.  God still empowers Jephthah to defeat the enemies of Israel. I’m sure that there were plenty of people in good communal standing who could have stepped into the role of leadership.  However, God picks Jephthah.  We don’t have to be perfect.  We don’t even have to come from the right side of the proverbial tracks.

What does God want of us?  He wants a heart that is willing to follow.  He wants a heart that is focused on obedience.  He simply wants someone who is willing to follow His desires.  He gets that is Jephthah, the son of a prostitute who is reviled by his own family.

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Year 7, Day 271: Judges 10

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Here’s a fun little chapter on humanity.  Once more we see that when life is good, people abandon God.  They follow the frivolous passions of their hearts.  They chase after their gods.  They leave the straight and narrow and follow what is right in their own eyes.

Get the next part of the story right in your understanding.  God lifts His hedge of protection.  He allows them to fall into the hands of the surrounding nations.  They begin to be oppressed.  Persecution falls upon them.  This happens not because God forces it, naturally.  It happens because God doesn’t protect them.  It happens because God allows the people to follow the natural course of action from their choices.

Furthermore, take notice of how long the people were under persecution.  They were oppressed eighteen years!  Sometimes human beings are really slow to pick up on wrongdoing.  This is even more true when it is a cultural issue and not an individual issue.  It’s hard to change a culture that is happy doing what’s right in their own eyes.  It takes them eighteen years to figure it out!

After eighteen years, they final turn to the Lord.  After eighteen years they finally repent. After eighteen years of oppression they final begin to see their error and how the pursuit of their own desires wasn’t as satisfying as it could have been.

That kind of explains why God seems so resistant to taking them back, doesn’t it?

In the end, though, God does hear them.  Above all else, God forgives.  He will allow us to walk away.  He will watch us live in the consequences of our own sin.  But He does hear repentance and forgive us.

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Year 7, Day 270: Judges 9

Theological Commentary: Click Here

I know that I’ve read Judges 9 before.  I can even look on my blog and see the posts that I’ve written about it.  Yet it doesn’t feel like I’ve studied this passage before.  With the vivid description of human sinfulness throughout this story, I should remember it more than I do.

This story starts out with human ambition.  Abimelech wants to take over the leadership of the people when his father dies.  For the record, this tells us something about Gideon.  Gideon may not have said he was a king, but he certainly lived enough like a king so that Abimelech felt he should take over as leader.

After all, Abimelech does mean “My dad is king.”  Learn this lesson well, especially if you are a parent or someone who works with shaping young minds.  How we raise our children will impact how they behave when they are older. Abimelech is named to reflect that Gideon was a kingly leader among the people.  Abimelech lived into that self-fulfilling prophecy.

Furthermore, Abimelech goes out with a plan to kill his brothers (half-brothers, really).  He wants to be king so bad that he is willing to kill to get it.  This is really an act that is all about removing the opposition.  If none of Gideon’s children remain, nobody can challenge Abimelech for the role.

Notice, though, that we get more than just a self-fulfilling prophecy of kingship.  We also see that those who act dishonestly to get what they want often end up being bit by the same sword they used.  Abimelech is killed after a short reign.  Unlike Gideon, who followed God’s will and was allowed to live out his life in full, Abimelech kills to get into power and he is killed in order to get him out of power.

The way we are raised affects how we live.  The way we live affects the way we will live.  The way we live will affect what we can do in this life and how we can follow God’s will.  When we get it right, it can be a beautiful thing for parents and mentors to watch.  When we get it wrong, it can all come crashing down around us.

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Year 7, Day 269: Judges 8

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Before beginning Judges 8, I want to highlight some information in the commentary that I wrote six years back.  It has to do with exactly where Gideon’s heart rested with respect to ruling the people.  While he denies ruling them, he doesn’t exactly refute it by his lifestyle.  You can read more about it by following the link above and looking in the Gideon's fault section.

For the rest of this blog, I want to focus on the passage of Gideon.  Remember what Gideon has done.  With God’s help, he has freed the people from the grasp of the Midianites.  He has scattered incredibly large armies.  He has hunted down their kings and killed them.  He has brought freedom from oppression to the Hebrew people.

You would think that the people would be gracious, wouldn’t you?  You would think that the people would learn their lesson and realize how much they need God.  However, this isn’t what the Bible tells us happened at all.  As soon as Gideon dies, the people turn away from God and turn their eyes to other pursuits.  Their faith isn’t legit.  They are feigning faith while Gideon is around just to appease God and Gideon.  Their true colors show as soon as they can.

I think we all need to be careful or we fall into the trap of the Hebrew people.  It’s easy to turn to God when we are oppressed.  It’s easy to look like we believe when we are being watched.  It’s easy to say all the right words when people ask questions.  But how do we live when nobody is looking?  How do we live when the decision is ours to make and the consequences don’t appear to affect anyone but ourselves?  What is the true quality of our life?  What is our character?  What ethic do we hold ourselves to, if any?

These are really important questions.  Sometimes we get it right; sometimes we get it wrong.  The only way that we’ll improve and be the person God wants us to be is to admit our faults, watch out for them, and ask the hard questions of ourselves to see what truth really says.

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Year 7, Day 268: Judges 7

Theological Commentary: Click Here

In Judges 7 we see how God takes care of the Midianites through Gideon.  The part of this passage that I think is really neat is that while Gideon is the physical hero, clearly God is the power behind the action.  After all, what human being would come up with a plan that involves sending away 99% of the people who come out to fight with you?  God is the power here in this chapter.

Look, though, at the process that God walks Gideon through.  Gideon starts out with 32,000 men for battle.  God tells Gideon to send everyone home who has a bit of fear within them.  22,000 people leave.  God looks at Gideon, who is a bit timid and fearful himself, and sends away the timid.  God is telling Gideon that while fear is human nature, it can be successfully put aside.

Next, God sorts out the people who live by instinct versus those who think.  Gideon has the people drink from a stream.  300 of the people dip their hand in the water and bring the water up to their mouth.  The other 9,700 kneel down and bring their face to the water like animals drink.  God sends those who lap up the water like animals away.  God is sending another message to Gideon.  God casts away out instinct and wants us to think.  God has empowered us to be able to rise above our natural instincts.

With those 300 men, God has Gideon explain his plan.  Imagine attacking a whole city of thousands of people with a mere 300 men.  Then, imagine doing it with clay pots and candles as your major strategy.  This is why the fearful and the instinctual had to be sent away.  This plan is ridiculous; it takes a thinking man and a God-fearing man to see the brilliance in it.  The brilliance is that it is all about God, not about us.

In the end, the city is set into panic.  People flee.  They turn on each other with their swords.  As they flee, more Hebrew people join the fight and hunt down these Midianites.  God has won through His power and Gideon’s obedience.  God didn’t mind Gideon’s timidity and doubt.  Obedient people can be timid and doubt.  They just need to be obedient in their timidity  and doubt.

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Year 7, Day 267: Judges 6

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Today I’m going to split my time between two thoughts, neither of which is new to the study of Judges or the study of the whole Bible.  For the first thought, we look at how this chapter opens.  The people had fallen away from God’s ways.  The Midianites were running amok with the Hebrew people.  They were stealing their food.  They were taking their possessions.  They were such a threat that the Hebrew people had caves to dwell in to protect them from their raids.

Why is this happening?  This is happening because the Hebrew people had abandoned God’s ways.  God had lifted His protection from over the Hebrew people because they were no longer following Him.  The people are not listening to God.  The walked away from Him; God is letting them get far enough away that they recognize their need of Him.

Look at how this plays out in reality.  The Hebrew people have embraced other gods.  The Hebrew people have built the Asherah poles and the altars of Ba’al.  The Hebrew people are simply doing what we all do to be successful.  We look at the strong and popular people around us and imitate them.  When we are emulating godly people, this can be a good thing.  But when we are emulating the world – or emulating godly people for the wrong reasons – it will actually lead us away from God.  The Hebrew people are actually walking away from God because they are looking to emulate the success around them instead of acknowledging that true and satisfying success comes from living out our identity that comes from God.

The second thought for today takes us to Gideon.  Remember how often we think about the judges and see them as bold and vibrant personalities?  Deborah was bold, but Barak was a bit of a chicken in need of encouragement.  Now we see Gideon.  Gideon is often thought of as a war hero because of this story.  Tomorrow we’ll see the hero.  Today we see the humble beginnings.

Do you hear the doubt in Gideon’s voice?  Gideon s visited by an angel of the Lord and told to go out and conquer, yet Gideon’s response is to ask God how he can possibly beat them with his obvious lack of power.  When God convinces Gideon that he needs to rely upon God’s power, Gideon still needs to test God to make sure He’s serious.  When God passes the test, Gideon needs him to pass another test.  This is not the sign of a bold man.  This is the sign of a man who is cautious, timid, and uncertain.

Believe it or not, I actually think this is a good thing.  I’m not trying to slam Gideon here.  I’m certainly not trying to diminish Gideon’s reputation.  I’m lifting this up because I think that it has more to teach us than we think.  Most of us have moments of uncertainty.  Most of us have moments of timidity, especially just before we do something big or challenging.  It’s common for us to question and doubt.  It’s human.  When we have moments of question and doubt, we are being normal.

The cool thing about this is that God accepts it.  God still works with Gideon. God answers Gideon’s challenge.  God doesn’t dismiss Gideon for his doubt; God still works His power through Gideon.  God will accept our bravery.  He also will accept our hesitation.  He will accept our doubts.  He’s bigger than our weaknesses.  That’s our God.

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Year 7, Day 266: Judges 5

Theological Commentary: Click Here

As we continue the story of Deborah in Judges 5, we see a familiar continuation of the themes from the last chapter.  Deborah sings a song about the victory.  Do you hear who the main characters are in the praise?  Deborah and Jael get the praise throughout the whole hymn.  Of course, it is most proper to say that Deborah and Jael get the praise because they are the hands of God’s will.

Naturally, the soldiers who came out behind Deborah and behind Barak also get praise.  Ephraim, Benjamin, Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali came.  These are the people who responded to the call.  These are the faithful who allowed themselves to be led.  These were the followers who were willing to risk life and death for the completion of God’s calling.

However, there were also timid tribes.  There were those who did not answer the call.  There were those who hesitated when others acted.  Reuben struggled to respond.  Gilead stayed behind.  Dan stayed with their ships.  Asher stayed in the comforts of home.  There are those who rally for God.  There are also those who seek their own will when things get tough.

The real question is where our loyalties lie?  When push comes to shove, are we God’s leader?  If not God’s leader, are we at least prepared to follow and accomplish God’s will under the guidance of others?  Or are we likely to look for our own interests and stay where it is comfortable when God’s call arrives on our doorstep?

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Year 7, Day 265: Judges 4

Theological Commentary: Click Here

One of the things that I love about the Old Testament is just how often the text causes us to grow and stretch.  Human beings really prefer to read the Bible and think that they have it all figured out.  We really like to put God in a box.  We like to think that we can put God in our bulleted lists and our quaint little platitudes.  The truth, however, is that God is bigger than our conceptions.  We’ll never figure out God.

For example, take this story about Barak.  We like to think that God’s appointed leaders were bold and fearless defenders of the faith.  That’s not what we see today.  Barak knows God’s will.  Deborah tells him that she has told him to go up and be bold.  She reminds him that God has told him to go.  Even when he is reminded, Barak is hesitant and declares that he will only go if Deborah goes with him.  Fortunately for Barak, Deborah agrees.  Barak also only goes out when he manages a huge force against his enemy.  In all of this, we can see that Barak is not the bold defender that we would expect.  He does go, but it isn’t what I would call boldly.

Who is bold?  Jael, the woman.  Jael goes out to meet Sisera.  She invites him in.  She plans his death and executes him.  The enemy leader of the Hebrew people die at the hands of a woman.

We are called out of our comfortable understanding of God by hearing that the only reason Sisera dies is because Jael goes out.  The only reason that Barak comes to battle is because Deborah agrees to go with him.  It isn’t Barak who is the bold defender but these two women!

Here’s the deal for today.  To the people who say that women can’t be called into leadership over men, I present Deborah who clearly led Barak.  To the people who think that women can make powerful moves and save others, I present Jael.  To the people who think that God gives up on people who are timid, I present Barak.  God is in the business of using the unusual suspects to accomplish His will and to bring salvation to His people.

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Year 7, Day 264: Judges 3

Theological Commentary: Click Here

In Judges 3 we get a perspective of God that may make us uncomfortable.  God allowed some of the Canaanites to continue to live in the land.  The disturbing part is why.  Don’t get this point wrong.  The Bible is pretty clear on this point.  The Canaanites who are left are left there so that the Hebrew people would be tested.  God allows them to remain to see whether the Hebrew people would be faithful or not.

The Bible is also clear on the reality that God discovers.  The people do not remain faithful.  It isn’t long at all before the people rebel.  The Hebrew people mingled with the Canaanites, meaning that the Canaanites families – more importantly their gods – became a part of the Hebrew culture.  It isn’t long before the lines blur between God-fearing and those who are walking apart from God.

Again, though, we learn the point from yesterday.  God isn’t abandoning the people.  When the Hebrew people fall away into their selfishness, self-centeredness, and their sin God does not walk away.  God sends judges among the people to intervene.  God sends judges to remind the people where their focus should be.  Rather than abandon and start over, He calls and recalls.

I find that this truly speaks to the nature of forgiveness.  Those who do not forgive are completely able to abandon.  Only those who are willing to forgive cannot abandon.  To put it another way, if we want to be a forgiving people, we cannot be a people who abandon.  God is setting a precedent for us to follow.  People will walk away from us, just like we walk away from God.  We don’t need to actively pursue them; God lets us walk away from Him.  But it is up to us to make sure that there is a way back through forgiveness.  That is vital.  That is largely the overarching premise of the book of Judges.  Truthfully, that’s pretty much the overarching premise of the Bible, too.

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Year 7, Day 263: Judges 2

Theological Commentary: Click Here

We get more of a glimpse at humanity as we look to Judges 2.  The pattern that is about to lay out before us comes clear in this chapter.  We have a faithful generation followed by an unfaithful generation.  God raises up a judge and we have more faithful people.  The next generation falls away.  Then a judge comes.  Then people fall away.  Human civilization is always ebbing and flowing in faith depending on whether on our circumstances.  That’s just who we are.

That being said, we learn a good bit about God in this chapter.  God doesn’t abandon us.  He knows our faith ebbs and flows.  But He stays with us.  He doesn’t walk away permanently.  He sends judges into our lives to remind us of faith and faithfulness.

But, that doesn’t mean that we are completely protected from the idiocy of our decisions, either. When the Hebrew people fall away, God doesn’t force them to come back.  He doesn’t force them to endure goodness.  God allows them to experience the pain of failure and the consequences of walking away from His ways.  He does give them judges to help bring them back, but not before they have to deal with the results of their self-centeredness.

The same is true with us.  God is always speaking to us and trying to get our attention.  He will never abandon us.  However, He will allow us to walk away and deal wth the consequences of our actions.

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Year 7, Day 262: Judges 1

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Judges is one of my favorite books of the Bible.  I tend to gravitate towards the books of the Bible that have a fair portrayal of humanity.  In Judges we will see the good and the bad.  We see success and failure and often in the same passages.  I love books like Judges because of its honest portrayal of life in general.

In this first chapter, we start out strong.  At the beginning of the chapter, we hear about hos Judah and Simeon rise up and take on the Canaanites after Joshua dies.  The land must be under conquest.  These two tribes try and take the leadership role in pursuit of conquest.  They are largely successful.

However, they are not fully successful.  We hear in a few places that the Canaanites stick around.  The Judahites aren’t actually able to accomplish the goals.  We can’t fault them for their effort.  Even still they are not successful.

Then we hear about the experience of the other tribes.  They aren’t successful, either.  Granted, all of the tribes experience some measure of success.  They don’t experience total success, though.  There are cracks in what they are able to accomplish – and in some cases absolute holes!

This feels like life to me.  In some cases we try and find success.  In other cases we try and find marginal success.  In other cases we try and fail.  We seldom ever go in and do something so absolutely perfectly that it cannot be improved upon.

Note that God doesn’t abandon the Hebrew people because of their inability.  Their inability will even come back to affect them, but God doesn’t hold that against them.  God stays by their side.  He continues to call them His people.  The same is true for us.  God will not abandon us.  We need to try as hard as we can and for His sake.  But God will no more abandon us as His people as He abandons the Hebrew people in their moments of failure.  God will stick by His people regardless.

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