Judges 20-21

The book of Judges finishes on a very low note. But then that shouldn’t really surprise us – the WHOLE BOOK has been full of “low notes”! The last verse – ‘In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit’ – sums up the problem pretty well. The sort of mess that we read about in Judges is the sort of mess people make for themselves when they reject GOD as king and instead simply do as they see fit. The very sad truth is that the world is not in much better shape today than it was back in the days of the Judges – history does repeat itself, again and again and again… and we’re all guilty of this destructive attitude towards God.

But there is one huge difference in the world today. The people of God do have a King who has forgiven us for our sin and given us the gift of His Spirit so that we are now able to live for him instead of just doing ‘as we see fit’.

Those who belong to King Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (Galatians 5:24-25)

Have a great day!

Judges 18-19

The events that take place in Judges 18 and 19 will drive the narrative to a close in chapters 20 and 21.

Both episodes begin with the same mantra:

In those days Israel had no king.

What transpires in chapter 18 is an intriguing battle account as the last tribe to settle takes land for themselves. The intriguing thing is that the gods who go in with them are, well, false gods.

Chapter 19 is downright shocking. You want to turn your head in horror.

It’s hard to know what to do with these accounts. But it seems the line that opens these episodes must have something to do with it:

In those days Israel had no king.

Stay tuned for tomorrows Bible Blog to see how the book finishes.

Judges 15:1-17:13

Wow what a passage. I think I would have liked to have seen the 300 foxes all tied together and the jaw bone incident sounds like the first VB add. Well if ya haven’t read yesterdays blog – in it you will find out what to do with Samson and how it applies to us.

The verse that stuck out to me today was 17:6.

In those days Israel had no king: everyone did as he saw fit.

This is an interesting verse. We know that the kings aren’t on the scene yet. But I reckon it just points to the sinfulness of Israel, not realising that God was their KING and that he had told them how to live.

For us it’s great that Jesus Christ – Jesus the KING came to die our death, rose again and gave us his spirit and his word so that we can have life and so we can know how to live.

Judges 12-14

It’s hard to know exactly who the most famous of the judges is, but I reckon it’d have to be between Gideon and Samson – probably with Samson winning the race in a photo finish. The story of Samson has all the features of a classic drama – a flawed hero, a dangerous liaison, a fall from grace and a final, unexpected redemption. But what does it have to teach us about God and ourselves?

Today we look at the lesser-known first half of the story of Samson. We read of his “miraculous” conception, his “setting apart” as a Nazirite, and the unusual tale of his marriage to a Philistine woman. To be honest, it’s a story that raises more questions for me than it provides answers! Why doesn’t the angel of the Lord answer Manoah’s question about how the child should be raised? Why does God use Samson’s disobedience to judge the Philistines? And what on earth is chapter 14 all about?!

Whenever I’ve got that many questions with a passage, I try to start with what I DO know. First, God obviously has a plan for Samson. Somehow, God is going to use Samson to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines. Second, God wants Samson to be holy in a special way – set apart in a way that is over and above what he expects of the average Israelite. Third, Samson is going to fail miserably at his calling – he might’ve let his hair grow and avoided alcohol but it seems like every other decision he made was a long way short of holy! And finally, even though Samson fails, God stays with him and works in him and through him.

Samson’s got a lot of flaws, but so do I. Praise God that he sticks with me and has promised that he will never leave me. Praise God too that he can work through me to save others too. That’s amazing!

Judges 9:1-11:21

First of all, sorry I’ve been such a slacker! being away at METRO conference last week through me out a bit and a bunch of other things have meant that the blogging (for my part at least) has been a bit scarce! However the good news is that I’ve been hanging on for dear life to the reading schedule as it hurtles on into 2010. I hope you’ve been able to keep it up to.

Today’s passage carries on from the sad ending of Gideon’s story in chapter 8 with the gruesome story of Abimelech, his son. The key to chapter 9 is that in setting up Abimelech as king, Israel was rejecting God as their king. This was a principle that Gideon had understood (Judges 8:22-23) but that his son and the people of Israel later rejected.  In exchange for the God who GIVES they installed a king who TAKES (checkout 1 Samuel 8:11-22) . The result, as Jotham predicts (Judges 9:20), is destruction.

After a few “minor” judges who we don’t learn much about, chapters 10 & 11 tell the story of Jephthah – and what a tragic story it is! From it’s beginnings in the evil apostasy of the Israelites to its conclusion with Jephthah’s killing of his own daughter, it’s a sorry affair. I think the key to Jephthah’s story is to understand the foolishness of doing deals with God. God doesn’t do deals. He doesn’t bargain with his people. he doesn’t want them to contribute anything to his triumphs lest the glory and praise be misplaced. Jephthah’s vow was foolish and he paid dearly.

Ever made a deal with God? You know: “If you… then I’ll…” Don’t do it. Repent if you have. God doesn’t work that way. He is the God who freely gives – even his only Son.

God has ALREADY saved us – we don’t need to do any deals. So let’s live lives that says “thank you” for all that he has done for us in King Jesus.

Judges 6:1-8:35

Gideon is a strange character.

He is fearful of men:

²⁷ So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the men of the town, he did it at night rather than in the daytime.

The Lord had directed him to destroy the false worship amongst his people, for that is why Israel is oppressed. He does it but at night so no one can see.

A doubter of God:

³⁶ Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised- ³⁷ look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said.”

Gideon is amazing here. He asks God to show him these signs, in spite of Gods promises and the words God spoke.

A servant of God:

²² The Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us—you, your son and your grandson—because you have saved us out of the hand of Midian.”

²³ But Gideon told them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The LORD will rule over you.”

Gideon gets this one right. The people want to set up a monarchy in the line of Gideon. He says we already have a king. God.

A stumbling servant:

²⁴ And he said, “I do have one request, that each of you give me an earring from your share of the plunder.” (It was the custom of the Ishmaelites to wear gold earrings.)

²⁵ They answered, “We’ll be glad to give them.” So they spread out a garment, and each man threw a ring from his plunder onto it. ²⁶ The weight of the gold rings he asked for came to seventeen hundred shekels, ^[i] not counting the ornaments, the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian or the chains that were on their camels’ necks. ²⁷ Gideon made the gold into an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family.

Straight after Gideon got it right about God he gets it wrong. Setting up a site of false worship.

A temporary solution:

³³ No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals.

You will see this is the cycle that emerges with Israel in the book of Judges. Israel sins, God raises up a judge, God saves his people, the judge dies, Israel sins again.

This is the cycle of sin and salvation.

Our salvation came through one mighty act:

we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Heb 10:10

Joshua 22:1-24:33

I’m not sure whether you noticed it or not, but I find it intriguing that at the close of the book of Joshua, Joseph gets a mention.

Why on earth does Joseph get a mention, he is long gone. To discover an answer we will need to go back then forward.

Firstly when we go back to the final chapter of Genesis. Here we see the faith of Joseph in the promises of God and he makes the sons of Israel swear an oath:

Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” 25 And Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.”

Genesis 50:24-25

As we come to the final chapter of Joshua we see Israel has got it right and now that they have peace in the promised land, they bury his bones.

Yet this is not the end of the story. For when we look forward the NT reminds us of this act of faith on behalf of Joseph. But Hebrews 11 describes that these godly characters  did not receive what was promised. However at the close of Joshua they have just entered the promised land. So hasn’t Joseph received what was promised the author of Hebrews thinks not:

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country– a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

Heb 11:13-16

Joshua 18:1 – 21:45

As I started today’s reading I was thinking this is gunna be a tough blog. But then I got to the end and saw those sweet verses – Joshua 21:43-45.

43 So the LORD gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their forefathers, and they took possession of it and settled there. 44 The LORD gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their forefathers. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the LORD handed all their enemies over to them. 45 Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.

After reading those verses the first part of the reading made more sense. All the detail as to who gets what is meant to point us to the fact that God is fulfilling his good promises, every single one.

It’s is great to know that God is faithful to every promise – But how should I apply this my life now, living between the first and second coming of Christ?

Joshua 7:1-10:15

After the success of the opening chapters, it does not take long before Israel blows it. It is an intriguing little section.

Joshua after the defeat Israel faced is informed by the Lord that the defeat they faced was due to sin that was amongst then. Joshua acts as commanded by the Lord and Achan stands before the assembly and this is what he has to say about himself:

²⁰ Achan replied, “It is true! I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: ²¹ When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, ^[f] two hundred shekels ^[g] of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, ^[h] I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

Achan saw, coveted and took. Sound a little familiar. Now listen to Gen 3:6

⁶ When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

Eve saw, coveted (fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye) and took.

Rebellion in the garden, rebellion in the land.

Though Israel go on to victory in Josh 8:28-29, we look forward to a greater victory Gen 3:15.

¹⁵ And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring ^[a] and hers;  he will crush ^[b] your head, and you will strike his heel.”

Jesus would come and defeat sin, death and the devil. Now those who trust in that victory can look forward to a land free of rebellion.  Heaven.