THE THREE STEPS TO RESTORATION

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

After the time of Abimelech, a man of Issachar, Tola, son of Puah, the son of Dodo, rose to save Israel. He lived in Shamir, in the hill country of Ephraim. He led Israel twenty-three years; then he died, and was buried in Shamir.

He was followed by Jair of Gilead, who led Israel twenty-two years. He had thirty sons, who rode thirty donkeys. They controlled thirty towns in Gilead, which to this day are called Havvoth Jair. When Jair died, he was buried in Kamon.

Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord. They served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. And because the Israelites forsook the Lord and no longer served Him, He became angry with them. He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites, who that year shattered and crushed them. For eighteen years they oppressed all the Israelites on the east side of the Jordan in Gilead, the land of the Amorites. The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim; and Israel was in great distress. Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord, "We have sinned against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals."

The Lord replied, "When the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, the Sidonians, the Amalekites, and the Maonites oppressed you and you cried to Me for help, did I not save you from their hands? But you have forsaken Me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!"

But the Israelites said to the Lord, "We have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best, but please rescue us now."

Then they got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the Lord. And He could bear Israel's misery no longer.

Judges 10:1-16

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Judges, chapter 9 was dominated by a truly ruthless and evil leader, Abimelech, who was the first king in Israel. You’ll remember that he murdered all but one of his siblings and most of the people who crowned him king before being struck in the head by a millstone dropped from a tower by a woman in Thebez. Seriously injured, Abimelech asked his armor bearer to kill him so it wouldn’t be said that he had lost his life at the hand of a female.

As we turn to chapter 10, we are briefly introduced to two more judges appointed by God: Tola who ruled for 23 years and Jair who ruled for 22. We don’t gain much detail about what happened over those 45 years so we can assume I guess that the nation of Israel was at peace. Unfortunately, this didn’t stay that way after both these judges died.

For the scriptures tell us that after Tola and Jair passed away, Israel reverted to their past evil ways, serving “the Baals and the Ashtoreths” as well as "the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines”. They willingly chose to forsake “the Lord and no longer served him” and so as you might expect, God “became angry with them” and “sold them into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites who…shattered and crushed them”. This oppression lasted “eighteen years” and impacted “all the Israelites on the east side of the Jordan in Gilead, the land of the Amorites” before the “Ammonites…crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim”.

All this left the Israelites “in great distress” and as we have seen before, they “cried out to the Lord” saying:

"We have sinned against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals."

Now, given the number of times that Israel had relapsed into doing evil in the sight of God, you might expect that He would start losing patience with His people and as we see, indeed He does. For we find Him giving this response to Israel saying:

“When the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, the Sidonians, the Amalekites, and the Maonites oppressed you and you cried to Me for help, did I not save you from their hands? But you have forsaken Me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!"

Turning away from the Lord one time would have been too many but as we know, the Israelites seemed to make a habit out of it. Over and over and over again, they abandoned the one true living God who had done so much for them in favor of following false, lifeless gods and idols. So now, they would get a taste of their own proverbial medicine as the Lord would now reject them, making it clear to His people that if they wanted to follow other gods so much then they could take their problems to them. They could try and see if those idols could save them, something that would never happen.

In the end translation, God would teach the Israelites an important lesson. For if they chose to love life without Him, they would be destined for a place of perpetual suffering and hardship…a place we will find ourselves in today if we try to exist without Him.

For too often, we are just like the ancient nation of Israel. We shun God in our lives because we want to chase after our own desires in life and when things don’t work out like we want, then we cry out Him wanting deliverance and rescue from our difficult circumstances. We treat the Lord like He’s a “fast food kind of God”, ready to give us what we want as soon as we order it.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that. No mere human dictates terms to God. Rather, all people are utterly subordinate to Him. It’s high time we get a grip on who we He is and who we are before Him. He is in total authority, power, and control over us. It’s as simple as that.

Going back to the scriptures, the people of Israel quickly realized that they were in deep trouble this time around. For before, the Lord had always answered their cries and sent them a deliverer. But now, they were left to fend for themselves, seeking help that would never come from the false gods and idols they chose to worship.

And so in that place, bottomed out and out of favor with God, we find the Israelites making one last ditch effort to regain the Lord’s favor, following three critical steps that we need to follow as well if we find ourselves in the same place…having sinned over and over and over again, thinking the Lord will just continue to forgive and restore us every time. Those three steps include:

1. Repentance.

The first step starts with a person’s heartfelt commitment to turn from their transgressions, confessing their wrongs to the Lord. In our scripture passage, we see where the Israelites confessed to the Lord, “We have sinned”.

Admittance that one has wronged is the first step to reconciliation.

2. Submission.

We need to understand that repentance doesn’t mean that we won’t be disciplined by the Lord for there are often negative consequences attached to our sinfulness. When those consequences come, we need to accept them, taking accountability for our wrongs while God works to correct us and teach us in the ways we should be living, ways that produce righteousness and the holiness He expects.

As we see in the scriptures, the Israelites realize and acknowledge that God is in control and His will would end up being done, no matter what, saying:

“Do with us whatever you think best” before adding a plea for Him to “please rescue us now."

Their words show us that submission is the next step following repentance.

3. Action.

You know, a person can carry out the first two of these steps but their words can ring hollow and insincere unless they willfully change their behavior to show they’re working to correct the sinful behavior. One must be willing to take action, parting ways with whatever caused them to sin in the first place.

In the case of Israel, they chose to get “rid of the foreign gods among them” before recommitting themselves to serve the Lord and Him alone. We need to follow their lead, adopting the same action to regain God’s favor in our own lives.

So as we close this message, we see where the Israelites had repented, submitted, and took action to rid themselves of the false idols they chose to worship, opting instead to serve their God and Him alone. This willingness to get right with God paid off for we read where God once again extended His love, compassion, and forgiveness toward His people, unable to “bear (their) misery (any) longer”. God’s people once again found themselves on the brink of being back in His good graces…and so can we if we follow the three basic steps to restoration: first repenting of our sin, then submitting ourselves to God and His authority, and finally taking action against what causes us to sin.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

SEEK, FIND, AND CARRY OUT GOD'S PURPOSES

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Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Abimelech, son of Jerub-Baal, went to his mother's brothers in Shechem and said to them and to all his mother's clan, "Ask all the citizens of Shechem, 'Which is better for you: to have all seventy of Jerub-Baal's sons rule over you, or just one man?' Remember, I am your flesh and blood."

When the brothers repeated all this to the citizens of Shechem, they were inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, "He is our brother." They gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-Berith, and Abimelech used it to hire reckless adventurers, who became his followers. He went to his father's home in Ophrah and on one stone murdered his seventy brothers, the sons of Jerub-Baal. But Jotham, the youngest son of Jerub-Baal, escaped by hiding. Then all the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo gathered beside the great tree at the pillar in Shechem to crown Abimelech king.

When Jotham was told about this, he climbed up on the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted to them, "Listen to me, citizens of Shechem, so that God may listen to you. One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, 'Be our king.'”

"But the olive tree answered, 'Should I give up my oil, by which both gods and men are honored, to hold sway over the trees?'”

"Next, the trees said to the fig tree, 'Come and be our king.'”

"But the fig tree replied, 'Should I give up my fruit, so good and sweet, to hold sway over the trees?'”

"Then the trees said to the vine, 'Come and be our king.'”

"But the vine answered, 'Should I give up my wine, which cheers both gods and men, to hold sway over the trees?'”

"Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, 'Come and be our king.'”

"The thornbush said to the trees, 'If you really want to anoint me king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, then let fire come out of the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!'”

"Now if you have acted honorably and in good faith when you made Abimelech king, and if you have been fair to Jerub-Baal and his family, and if you have treated him as he deserves - and to think that my father fought for you, risked his life to rescue you from the hand of Midian (but today you have revolted against my father's family, murdered his seventy sons on a single stone, and made Abimelech, the son of his slave girl, king over the citizens of Shechem because he is your brother) - if then you have acted honorably and in good faith toward Jerub-Baal and his family today, may Abimelech be your joy, and may you be his, too! But if you have not, let fire come out from Abimelech and consume you, citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and let fire come out from you, citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and consume Abimelech!"

Then Jotham fled, escaping to Beer, and he lived there because he was afraid of his brother Abimelech.

After Abimelech had governed Israel three years, God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem, who acted treacherously against Abimelech. God did this in order that the crime against Jerub-Baal's seventy sons, the shedding of their blood, might be avenged on their brother Abimelech and on the citizens of Shechem, who had helped him murder his brothers. In opposition to him, these citizens of Shechem set men on the hilltops to ambush and rob everyone who passed by, and this was reported to Abimelech.

Now Gaal son of Ebed moved with his brothers into Shechem, and its citizens put their confidence in him. After they had gone out into the fields and gathered the grapes and trodden them, they held a festival in the temple of their god. While they were eating and drinking, they cursed Abimelech. Then Gaal, son of Ebed, said, "Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should be subject to him? Isn't he Jerub-Baal's son, and isn't Zebul his deputy? Serve the men of Hamor, Shechem's father! Why should we serve Abimelech? If only this people were under my command! Then I would get rid of him. I would say to Abimelech, 'Call out your whole army!'"

When Zebul, the governor of the city, heard what Gaal, son of Ebed said, he was very angry. Under cover he sent messengers to Abimelech, saying, "Gaal, son of Ebed, and his brothers have come to Shechem and are stirring up the city against you. Now then, during the night you and your men should come and lie in wait in the fields. In the morning at sunrise, advance against the city. When Gaal and his men come out against you, do whatever your hand finds to do."

So Abimelech and all his troops set out by night and took up concealed positions near Shechem in four companies. Now Gaal, son of Ebed, had gone out and was standing at the entrance to the city gate just as Abimelech and his soldiers came out from their hiding place.

When Gaal saw them, he said to Zebul, "Look, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains!"

Zebul replied, "You mistake the shadows of the mountains for men."

But Gaal spoke up again: "Look, people are coming down from the center of the land, and a company is coming from the direction of the soothsayers' tree."

Then Zebul said to him, "Where is your big talk now, you who said, 'Who is Abimelech that we should be subject to him?' Aren't these the men you ridiculed? Go out and fight them!"

So Gaal led out the citizens of Shechem and fought Abimelech. Abimelech chased him, and many fell wounded in the flight — all the way to the entrance to the gate. Abimelech stayed in Arumah, and Zebul drove Gaal and his brothers out of Shechem.

The next day the people of Shechem went out to the fields, and this was reported to Abimelech. So he took his men, divided them into three companies and set an ambush in the fields. When he saw the people coming out of the city, he rose to attack them. Abimelech and the companies with him rushed forward to a position at the entrance to the city gate. Then two companies rushed upon those in the fields and struck them down. All that day, Abimelech pressed his attack against the city until he had captured it and killed its people. Then he destroyed the city and scattered salt over it.

On hearing this, the citizens in the tower of Shechem went into the stronghold of the temple of El-Berith. When Abimelech heard that they had assembled there, he and all his men went up Mount Zalmon. He took an ax and cut off some branches, which he lifted to his shoulders. He ordered the men with him, "Quick! Do what you have seen me do!" So all the men cut branches and followed Abimelech. They piled them against the stronghold and set it on fire over the people inside. So all the people in the tower of Shechem, about a thousand men and women, also died.

Next Abimelech went to Thebez and besieged it and captured it. Inside the city, however, was a strong tower, to which all the men and women—all the people of the city— fled. They locked themselves in and climbed up on the tower roof. Abimelech went to the tower and stormed it. But as he approached the entrance to the tower to set it on fire, a woman dropped an upper millstone on his head and cracked his skull.

Hurriedly he called to his armor-bearer, "Draw your sword and kill me, so that they can't say, 'A woman killed him.'" So his servant ran him through, and he died. When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they went home.

Thus God repaid the wickedness that Abimelech had done to his father by murdering his seventy brothers. God also made the men of Shechem pay for all their wickedness. The curse of Jotham, son of Jerub-Baal, came on them.

Judges 9

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As we turn to today’s text from the Book of Judges, chapter 9, we find Israel having been freed from the oppressive rule of Midian thanks to the leadership of Gideon, a man who had been hand-selected by the Lord to serve and fight in His name. In return for his faithfulness and loyalty, God handed the nation of Midian into the hands of Gideon and the Israelites.

Well, after Gideon died, we find Israel yearning for a different kind of leadership: a king. With this, we need to keep in mind that all leaders up to this point had been selected by God to carry out His will and in each incident, the Israelites experienced deliverance from the hands of an oppressor. Ultimately, Gideon had told his brother and sisters that they were, first and foremost, under the rule of the Lord (Judges 8:23) and yet we still see the Israelites seeking to be led by a man rather than their Lord.

This all got started when Gideon’s son, Abimelech, petitions the people of Shechem to make him their ruler, saying this “to all his mother's clan”:

"Ask all the citizens of Shechem, 'Which is better for you: to have all seventy of Jerub-Baal's sons rule over you, or just one man?' Remember, I am your flesh and blood."

And so we see that Abimielech’s mother’s brothers repeated the words “to the citizens of Shechem” who became “inclined to follow Abimelech” who they saw as their “brother”. Further, they paid Abimelech “seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-Berith” which he then used to “hire reckless adventurers, who became his followers”.

After this, Abimelech, with the endorsement of the people of Shechem, “went to his father's home in Ophrah and on one stone murdered his seventy brothers”, the sons of Gideon. Only one, “the youngest son” Jotham, managed to escape “by hiding. Abimelech followed this slaughtering of his siblings by assembling “all the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo” beside “the great tree at the pillar in Shechem to crown (him) king”.

We need to note Abimelech’s troubling display of ruthlessness as he sought power and authority. In deep contrast to how his father ruled under God’s authority and guidance, Abimelech established his own form of rule through bloodshed and intimidation, not even hesitating to murder his own siblings in order to ascend in power. Additionally, he gladly took payment from the temple of the false god Baal...a seventy shekel payoff from the people of Shechem who were just as guilty as Abimelech after they endorsed his murderous idea.

Truly, there’s much we need to learn from Abimelech because I’m afraid that we too have a tendency to sometimes get power hungry or controlling to the point where we’re willing to run over anything or anyone who might get in the way of us getting what we want. We might not murder someone like Abimelech did but demeaning the character of others, back-stabbing people, or spreading false rumors to make ourselves look better is a sin nonetheless.

In the end translation, we should never force any issue in life without seeking whether or not it’s in alignment with the Lord’s will. He will always put us where He wants us to be in order to accomplish His purposes.

Going back to our scripture passage, we find Jotham, Gideon’s youngest son who had survived Abimelech’s sanctioned execution, climbing Mount Gerizim and addressing the people of Shechem as they were ready to crown Abimelech king. After getting their attention, Jotham tells them a parable illustrating the mistake they had made as well as the consequences that were yet to come.

In the story, the trees represented the people of Shechem who were determined to have a ruler over them. We find the trees first ask an olive tree to lead them, followed by a fig tree, and then a vine…all of which rebutted the offer to rule.

Why?

Because God had made them for a different purpose.

The olive tree realized that its oil was needed to honor others…for that was God’s purpose for it.

The fig tree bore good and sweet fruit that was needed to nourish others…for that was God had purposed it for.

And the vine yielded wine that was used for many functions including religious events because it was how God had purposed it.

And so unable to convince the olive tree, fig tree, or vine to rule over them, the trees turned to the thornbush…a dried up, jagging tumbleweed that had no real purpose and was very prone to catch fire. We find the trees asking the thornbush to rule them and in response, it rather sarcastically tells the trees to come into its shade if they really wanted to anoint it king. If they didn’t do so, then it would indicate that they didn’t really want the thornbush to lead them, in which case it would just consume them with fire.

Here we find that the thornbush had no commitment to anyone, including itself. It didn’t turn down the offer to rule because it had any kind of special purpose. Additionally, it didn’t go out of its way to show it really wanted to reign. In fact, it was just as willing to destroy the trees as it was to lead them.

Unfortunately, we see where Jotham’s parable was a complete overshadowing of what Abimelech’s actions once he assumed responsibility over Shechem.

As for us today, there’s much we can glean from the story of the trees and their quest for a ruler, especially when it comes to realizing God’s purpose for each of our lives. For we all have one. We just need to seek it and then be ready to carry it out once He reveals it to us.

Part of finding our purpose involves identifying the special gifts and talents that God has provided. This is paramount because the Lord will call us to use those gifts to carry out His will every day and we should never cease to seek what He desires…then do what is needed to meet those desires. Like the olive tree, fig tree, and vine, we can bless others with the special things God equips us to provide others.

Conversely, we could also easily become a thornbush if we fail to live with any purpose in life, never allowing the Lord to guide what we do. In that place, we will find ourselves dried up and void of His Spirit…useless and pointless.

As we see in this chapter of Judges, Shechem would end up appointing Abimelech as king and in the end, they would destroy each other just as Jotham had predicted. Abimelech refused to allow God to lead Him and therefore never realized the purposes He had for him. Further, Shechem rejected the Lord’s rule and chose instead to allow a murderous, power-grabbing son of a Gideon to take control, a man who thought nothing of committing fratricide on his own siblings before committing genocide on the people he was given the privilege to rule.

If Shechem had only just led God lead them, it all would have gone so differently. The same applies to Abimelech who could have just chosen to submit himself to the Lord as his father Gideon had done.

Friends, let’s commit ourselves to not repeat the mistakes of the past today. For in the course of human history since biblical times, there have been way too many other Abimelechs and Shechems in the world...rulers and their people who were unwilling to surrender to the will of God.

We can stop that trend by all doing the following three things each and every day:

1. Seek God’s purpose.

2. Carry out that purpose after He reveals it to us.

3. Continue working within His purpose until you accomplish what He wants you to do…then simply go back to step 1 and start again.

Rest assured of one thing. There will never be a time when the Lord doesn’t have a purpose for you and your life.

You can believe and trust in that.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com. 

LET GOD RULE OVER YOU

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

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."

But Gideon told them, "I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you." 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.)

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. The weight of the gold rings he asked for came to seventeen hundred shekels, 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. 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.

Thus Midian was subdued before the Israelites and did not raise its head again. During Gideon's lifetime, the land enjoyed peace forty years.

Jerub-Baal, son of Joash, went back home to live. He had seventy sons of his own, for he had many wives. His concubine, who lived in Shechem, also bore him a son, whom he named Abimelech. Gideon, son of Joash, died at a good old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They set up Baal-Berith as their god and did not remember the Lord their God, who had rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on every side. They also failed to show kindness to the family of Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) for all the good things he had done for them.

Judges 8:22-35

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As we finish Judges 8, we see the final chapter in the life of Gideon, an Old Testament figure who is truly an enigma.

For we have seen him go from a humble man selected by God to lead Israel to victory over Midian, to a man obsessed with vengeance and exacting justice on anyone who would do him or his people wrong, to a man who turns Israel to God as their true leader, and finally to a man who fashions an ephod which his people ended up prostituting themselves by worshipping it in his town of Ophrah.

Truly, in Gideon we see a classic example of an inconsistent servant of the Lord…someone who we might be able to relate to. I know I can.

For I often wonder how God must feel about us as we go through life day-by-day…this very life that He blesses us with. How does He feel when one moment we are the faithful, obedient servant He wants us to be and then turn around in another moment and conduct ourselves in some sinful manner that has to disappoint Him greatly. Our inconsistency must frustrate Him as much as it should frustrate us as we seek to grow more and more in Him and His way.

Well, in our passage today, there lies one absolute remedy for inconsistency…one key to ensuring we always remain constantly righteous and holy in all our actions and attitudes.

What is that key?

It involves allowing the Lord, and Him alone to rule over our lives.

For after Gideon had gained such great success and victory over Midian, freeing all of Israel from their oppression, the people were ready to follow him anywhere. We read where they say:

“Rule over us — you, your son and your grandson — because you have saved us out of the hand of Midian."

Note here that it wasn’t just the current generation of Israelites who vowed submission to Gideon’s leadership but their descendents as well. But as we see, Gideon would have none of what Israel was proposing. Instead, he turned Israel’s attention to where it needed to be…on God, the One who had truly handed Midian over to His people. Here’s what he told them:

“I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you."

And indeed, He does rule…not just over the Israel of the Old Testament but over the world we live in today. Gideon attributed full surrender to His authority and we need to as well.

So truly friends, this is what’s needed in order to consistently live in the way that God expects us to live. It involves total deference to Him, a willingness to allow Him to have control over every aspect of who we are and what we do. For after all, He and He alone is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and there is no greater power above Him. Thankfully, He is willing to lend us some of that power so we can have the strength and perseverance to become the steady, faithful, trustworthy servants He wants us to be…servants who model the life of His Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ.

And as Christians…isn’t that what we’re supposed to be doing?

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

IT'S ALL ABOUT LOVE

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Now the Ephraimites asked Gideon, "Why have you treated us like this? Why didn't you call us when you went to fight Midian?" And they criticized him sharply.

But he answered them, "What have I accomplished compared to you? Aren't the gleanings of Ephraim's grapes better than the full grape harvest of Abiezer? God gave Oreb and Zeeb, the Midianite leaders, into your hands. What was I able to do compared to you?" At this, their resentment against him subsided.

Gideon and his three hundred men, exhausted yet keeping up the pursuit, came to the Jordan and crossed it. He said to the men of Succoth, "Give my troops some bread; they are worn out, and I am still pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian."

But the officials of Succoth said, "Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your troops?"

Then Gideon replied, "Just for that, when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will tear your flesh with desert thorns and briers."

From there, he went up to Peniel and made the same request of them, but they answered as the men of Succoth had. So he said to the men of Peniel, "When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower."

Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with a force of about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of the armies of the eastern peoples; a hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had fallen. Gideon went up by the route of the nomads east of Nobah and Jogbehah and fell upon the unsuspecting army. Zebah and Zalmunna, the two kings of Midian, fled, but he pursued them and captured them, routing their entire army.

Gideon son of Joash then returned from the battle by the Pass of Heres. He caught a young man of Succoth and questioned him, and the young man wrote down for him the names of the seventy-seven officials of Succoth, the elders of the town. Then Gideon came and said to the men of Succoth, "Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me by saying, 'Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your exhausted men?'" He took the elders of the town and taught the men of Succoth a lesson by punishing them with desert thorns and briers. He also pulled down the tower of Peniel and killed the men of the town.

Then he asked Zebah and Zalmunna, "What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?"

"Men like you," they answered, "each one with the bearing of a prince."

Gideon replied, "Those were my brothers, the sons of my own mother. As surely as the Lord lives, if you had spared their lives, I would not kill you." Turning to Jether, his oldest son, he said, "Kill them!" But Jether did not draw his sword, because he was only a boy and was afraid. Zebah and Zalmunna said, "Come, do it yourself. 'As is the man, so is his strength.'" So Gideon stepped forward and killed them, and took the ornaments off their camels' necks.

Judges 8:1-21

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Judges, chapter 7 details how God helped the Israelite army of only 300 men gain victory over the much larger and formidable Midianite forces. You’ll recall how the Lord systematically reduced the size of Gideon’s force to where it would be very obvious that it was He who had given them the victory, not anything they did on their own.

Well, up to this point we have seen a Gideon who was completely submissive and obedient to God, ready to carry out His will without question. But as we see in the opening verses of chapter 8, we unfortunately see a major shift in Israel’s judge, one that finds him obsessed with power and darkly vengeful in his actions.

This all begins in the first few verses as Gideon is confronted by the Ephraimites who criticized him sharply, asking:

"Why have you treated us like this? Why didn't you call us when you went to fight Midian?"

Through their words, it was obvious that the men of Ephraim did not take kindly to just finishing up what Gideon and his 300 men had started. They had wanted to be a part of the initial attacking force…the force who would be entitled to all the spoils of victory.

Of interest here, we should note how Ephraim didn’t consult God once about their concerns. If they had, the Lord would have surely explained that the 300 men of Gideon had been prescribed and ordered by Him to go and fight. Further, He probably would have told the Ephraimites that Gideon had not personally made the selections but rather had followed the directions He had given him. In other words, everything that had happened was just the way God wanted it to happen. All this could have been known by Ephraim before they went off the deep end but they ended up so caught up in their pride and greed that they never considered seeking the Lord’s counsel.

Unfortunately, we can too often act like the Ephraimites ourselves as we see others find success or have good things happen to them…and then sit around and covet what they have accomplished, wishing we were in their place and enjoying their spoils.

Indeed, the enemy definitely uses our pride and selfishness against us any chance he can get and so we need to recognize these sinful attitudes when they begin to take root within us and turn to the Lord for strength and guidance to ward them off. For if we do this, the Lord will always lead us to an attitude of satisfaction with what He has given us in life…an attitude of satisfaction that allows us to rejoice over the victories of others vice resenting them.

Back to our passage now where we find Gideon responding to Ephraim’s criticism saying:

"What have I accomplished compared to you? Aren't the gleanings of Ephraim's grapes better than the full grape harvest of Abiezer? God gave Oreb and Zeeb, the Midianite leaders, into your hands. What was I able to do compared to you?"

In other words, Gideon was letting Ephraim know they were just as successful as he was. The Lord hadn’t just handed the Midianites over to Gideon but to all of Israel. Further, Gideon turned the attention of his critics to the fruits of their grape harvests, trying to get them to see how they too had been richly blessed by God. His words were effective for we read where they took root in the hearts of the Ephraimites, leading to “their resentment against him” subsiding.

Next, having resolved the conflict with Ephraim, “Gideon and his three hundred men”, who were “exhausted” and “yet keeping up the pursuit”, arrived at “the Jordan and crossed it” coming to the town of Succoth. There, Gideon appealed to the “men of Succoth” saying:

"Give my troops some bread; they are worn out, and I am still pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian."

Through his words, we see that Gideon was asking for and expecting hospitality but as we see, he didn’t quite get what he expected. For we read where the “officials of Succoth” replied:

"Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your troops?"

Once again, we see Gideon facing conflict but his reaction to the officials of Succoth was far different than with Ephraim. For note how his tone shifted to one of anger and retribution as he said:

“Just for that, when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will tear your flesh with desert thorns and briers."

Of interest, the word “tear” in this verse can also be translated as “thresh” which connects better to the Gideon we were initially introduced to…the Gideon who the Lord found threshing wheat in a winepress under an oak tree (Judges 6:11). Through his tone, we see how Gideon paints a pretty gruesome scene…one of suffering and revenge.

Do we too often act like this, displaying the same sinful attitude that Gideon displays?

For how often do we react in vindictive, retaliatory fashion when someone disrespects or violates us in some way? We might not go as far as vowing to tear someone else’s flesh but any feelings of malice that rise up towards another is not of God but of Satan.

Friends, we need to keep in mind that Jesus clearly taught His followers to love their enemies (Matthew 5:43-44) not hate them. And He didn’t just tell them to do it, He did it Himself. For in Christ, we find the clearest model of what forgiveness, grace, mercy, and love looks like, even extended to those who shouted for Him to be crucified. You’ll remember that Jesus didn’t condemn them but rather asked His Father God to forgive them for they didn’t know what they were doing (Luke 23:34).

Indeed, Jesus perfectly practiced what He preached and He did it so we could follow His example.

Going back to Gideon, I’m pretty sure he would have been urged to show forgiveness and grace if he had only consulted God but he didn’t. Not in Succoth nor in Peniel where he went next, once again asking for bread for his 300 men. And after he was rebuffed again there, he responded with yet one more retributional threat, telling the “men of Peniel”:

“When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower."

With that, we read where Gideon leaves Peniel and attacked the “unsuspecting army of “Zebah and Zalmunna…a force of about fifteen thousand men” who were encamped at Karkor. Gideon and his men routed the army of Zebah and Zalmunna and when the two kings tried to flee, they were pursued and eventually captured. Gideon then took the captured kings with him as he returned to exact his promised judgment on Succoth and Peniel.

While on his way to Succoth, Gideon questioned a young man who “wrote down for him the names of the seventy-seven officials of Succoth, the elders of the town”. Gideon then called the officials together and showed them the two captured Midianite kings saying:

“Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me by saying, 'Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your exhausted men?'"

Gideon then continued to show his dark side…a side that was torturous and unmerciful…a side that “took the elders of the town and taught the men of Succoth a lesson by punishing them with desert thorns and briers”…a side that not only “pulled down the tower of Peniel” but then “killed the men of the town”, far more damage than what had been promised at first. .

Through all this, we see a very troubling, evil side to Gideon which gets worse as this passage continues. For after exacting punishment on Succoth and Peniel, he turned his attention to the two captured kings asking them:

"What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?"

To which they replied:

"Men like you, each one with the bearing of a prince."

The two kings said this not knowing that they had actually murdered Gideon’s brothers at Mount Tabor, a wicked action that would now cost them their lives as we find Gideon angrily proclaim the following:

“Those were my brothers, the sons of my own mother. As surely as the Lord lives, if you had spared their lives, I would not kill you."

Unfortunately, the two kings didn’t spare the lives of Gideon’s brothers and so now Gideon would gain his revenge.

Again, we should note once more how the Lord isn’t consulted at all. Gideon isn’t interested in what God wanted done. Rather, we find him solely driven solely by blind rage…a rage that can easily come upon anyone who allows hatred to overcome love and forgiveness. The Lord could have helped Gideon through this difficult time but Gideon wasn’t interested in Him. Rather, he was centered on what he wanted…on what he saw as justice, even if it meant taking the lives of others.

What happened next must have come as a bit of a surprise to all, for instead of killing the kings himself, we find Gideon turn to “Jether, his oldest son”, commanding him to “Kill them!" But the scriptures tell us that Jether wouldn’t “draw his sword, because he was only a boy and was afraid”.

Amazingly, we find the two captured kings essentially mocking Gideon. Encouraging him to just do the job himself because…“As is the man, so is his strength", Gideon takes them up on the offer, stepping forward and killing the Midianite kings, taking their “ornaments off their camels' necks” afterwards.

As we finish this passage, we’re reminded yet again how so many Old Testament figures, some very famous, were just as flawed as you and me. And although they were often hand-selected by God to carry out His purposes, they were still sinners and just as prone to failing and failing as anyone else. When they did, there was usually one common denominator. They decided to turn away from God so to do their own thing, getting so caught up in their own needs and desires that the Lord becomes secondary.

And it’s this that gets them into trouble.

My brothers and sisters, when it comes right down to it, we can opt to be as good or as bad as we want to be. Or putting it in spiritual terms, we can be as sinful or as holy as we want to be. In the end, it’s essentially about choice.

When we decide to follow God and always seek His guidance, then we willingly side with what is good and holy and righteous and just.

Conversely, when we willfully turn away from God and His counsel, then we can end up like Gideon…resentful, vengeful, hateful, and overall evil.

Ultimately, love becomes the key factor here between these two competing choices. A steadfast, committed, devoted love for the Lord will always lead us to relate and commune with Him. This is what leads us to a love attitude toward others, even those who do us wrong, because we’re not trying to love based on what we think but rather on what God wants.

This isn’t what Satan wants at all. For he would like nothing more than for us to go the Gideon way, choosing an eye-for-an-eye instead of showing grace and forgiveness. And it becomes easy for him when we decide to shut God out of our lives because it gives our enemy the chance to enter into our hearts and minds and souls so to lead us toward wronging others just as they have wronged us.

When it comes right down to it, the devil wants to pull us as far away from love as possible...far away from what the Lord wants when it comes to relating to one another properly. Frankly, we can’t afford to let that happen.

So what do we gain from all this today?

My hope is that we see the way clear to love everyone at all times…just as our Lord does and we can only reach that goal if we strive to be like our God in every way. To get to that point, we need to be totally committed to live for the Lord 24/7, 365 days of the year. To that end, let us all strive toward this goal, knowing we serve a Lord who is ever ready to guide us in the right and righteous ways…now and forever.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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