A BLESSED SONG OF PRAISE

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In Christ, Mark

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

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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

On that day Deborah and Barak, son of Abinoam, sang this song:

“When the princes in Israel take the lead, when the people willingly offer themselves - praise the Lord!”

“Hear this, you kings! Listen, you rulers! I will sing to the Lord, I will sing; I will make music to the Lord, the God of Israel.”

“O Lord, when you went out from Seir, when you marched from the land of Edom, the earth shook, the heavens poured, the clouds poured down water. The mountains quaked before the Lord, the One of Sinai, before the Lord, the God of Israel.”

“In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the roads were abandoned; travelers took to winding paths. Village life in Israel ceased, ceased until I, Deborah, arose, arose a mother in Israel. When they chose new gods, war came to the city gates, and not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel. My heart is with Israel's princes, with the willing volunteers among the people. Praise the Lord!”

“You who ride on white donkeys, sitting on your saddle blankets, and you who walk along the road, consider the voice of the singers at the watering places. They recite the righteous acts of the Lord, the righteous acts of his warriors in Israel.”

“Then the people of the Lord went down to the city gates. 'Wake up, wake up, Deborah! Wake up, wake up, break out in song! Arise, O Barak! Take captive your captives, O son of Abinoam.'”

"Then the men who were left came down to the nobles; the people of the Lord came to me with the mighty. Some came from Ephraim, whose roots were in Amalek; Benjamin was with the people who followed you. From Makir, captains came down, from Zebulun those who bear a commander's staff.”

“The princes of Issachar were with Deborah; yes, Issachar was with Barak, rushing after him into the valley. In the districts of Reuben, there was much searching of heart. Why did you stay among the campfires to hear the whistling for the flocks? In the districts of Reuben, there was much searching of heart. Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan. And Dan, why did he linger by the ships? Asher remained on the coast and stayed in his coves. The people of Zebulun risked their very lives; so did Naphtali on the heights of the field.”

“Kings came, they fought; the kings of Canaan fought at Taanach by the waters of Megiddo, but they carried off no silver, no plunder. From the heavens the stars fought, from their courses they fought against Sisera. The river Kishon swept them away, the age-old river, the river Kishon. March on, my soul; be strong! Then thundered the horses' hoofs; galloping, galloping go his mighty steeds.”

“'Curse Meroz,' said the angel of the Lord. 'Curse its people bitterly, because they did not come to help the Lord, to help the Lord against the mighty.'”

“Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, most blessed of tent-dwelling women. He asked for water, and she gave him milk; in a bowl fit for nobles, she brought him curdled milk. Her hand reached for the tent peg, her right hand for the workman's hammer. She struck Sisera, she crushed his head, she shattered and pierced his temple. At her feet he sank, he fell; there he lay. At her feet he sank, he fell; where he sank, there he fell-dead.”

“Through the window peered Sisera's mother; behind the lattice she cried out, 'Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why is the clatter of his chariots delayed?' The wisest of her ladies answer her; indeed, she keeps saying to herself, 'Are they not finding and dividing the spoils: a girl or two for each man, colorful garments as plunder for Sisera, colorful garments embroidered, highly embroidered garments for my neck — all this as plunder?'”

“So may all Your enemies perish, O Lord! But may they who love You be like the sun when it rises in its strength.”

Then the land had peace forty years.

Judges 5

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

In the fourth chapter of the Book of Judges, the Lord delivered Israel from the oppressive King Jabin and his army commander, Sisera, using Deborah, the ruling judge of the time, Barak who commanded the Israelite forces, and Jael, the woman who killed Sisera as he sought refuge in her tent from the pursuing Barak. You’ll remember that Jael’s actions fulfilled God’s promise that a woman would kill Sisera, not Barak.

So as chapter 5 begins, Israel has a great deal to celebrate and we see Deborah and Barak singing a special song commemorating the victory, a song that chronicled all the important aspects of the event, beginning with Israel being under such terrible oppression that “the roads were abandoned” and “travelers took to winding paths” because of their fear of attack. We read where “village life in Israel ceased” because it wasn’t safe to live outside of the walled cities. Additionally, “war came to the city gates” and Israel was helpless to defend itself as “not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand”. Indeed, Israel was in dire straits.

But things changed when Deborah was appointed as judge. She selected Barak to lead the Israelite forces who came from the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali. These troops were given victory over Sisera’s army and Sisera himself was killed by Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite after she drove a tent peg through Sisera’s temple as he slept. Her actions led to being labeled the “most blessed of tent-dwelling women” within the song.

Finally, we see in the song’s last stanza where Sisera’s mother is looking for her son’s return and wondering what might be taking him so long from returning with the spoils, unaware that he would never return again.

All and all, the song is a powerful account of God’s power and providence as He led His people from oppression to victory and I would like to focus in on two specific points that God’s Word makes, one at the beginning and one at the end.

First, note the initial words at the very start as Deborah and Barak begin singing:

“When the princes in Israel take the lead, when the people willingly offer themselves — praise the Lord! Hear this, you kings! Listen, you rulers! I will sing to the Lord, I will sing; I will make music to the Lord, the God of Israel.”

You know, when people willingly offer themselves to the Lord’s service and then He uses them to do great things in His name, then believers should always feel ready to praise Him, giving thanks for all he has done through them. One of the ways this can be done is through lifting up His name in song.

Personally, I love to sing whether it’s one of the classic hymns of the church (How Great Thou Art and Holy, Holy, Holy are two of my all time favorites) or a contemporary Christian song that speaks to God’s greatness (Chris Tomlin’s Holy Forever or Rich Mullins’ classic Awesome God are just two of many songs I love). Regardless the song that is sung, there’s something awesome about lifting our voices to Heaven while proclaiming our honor, respect, and adoration for the One who so richly blesses us in all things. I hope you agree.

The second point comes at the very end of this song before we learn that Israel would have peace for forty years. Revisiting those words, we see this:

“So may all your enemies perish, O Lord! But may they who love you be like the sun when it rises in its strength.”

These are words that celebrate victory against the enemy, those who would oppose and even seek to do harm to God’s people. They also serve as words of condemnation for those who choose to reject believing in and serving the one and only true God.

So do the people of God have enemies today?

You better believe it and there’s a passage from the New Testament Book of James that helps define who that enemy might be…and you may be surprised about the qualifier:

“You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” James 4:4

You may have been thinking that the enemy is Satan and Satan alone but here we find it’s much broader than that. For we read where anyone who chooses to befriend the world instead of the Lord becomes His enemy.

You see when we get right down to it, the ways of the world are always counter to God’s ways because the world is the devil’s domain…the place where he leads the world astray (Revelation 12:9). And so adopting the world’s ways over God’s is akin to partnering with Satan devil…and this will always make someone an enemy of God.

Conversely, those who love the Lord, those who are fully dedicated and devoted to Him, have a power within them that will always allow them to gain victory over the enemy and the world...both in life and in death. For by simply believing in Christ Jesus, we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit which comes to dwell within our hearts and minds, This allows us to shine the Lord’s holy light into the darkness of the world, illuminating it with the penetrating brilliance of God’s goodness, grace, mercy, and love (Matthew 5:14-16).

Friends, the song found in Judges, chapter 5 proclaims, using the sweetest refrains, that our God is good…awesome, powerful, and mighty in every way. My prayer is that we, like Deborah and Barak, will bring the Lord our own songs of praise, raising our voices in admiration for all He is doing, has done, and is yet to do in our lives. For He and He alone is the One worthy of all the glory, honor, and praise we can give.

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.

A PENALTY FOR UNTRUSTWORTHINESS

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.

After Ehud died, the Israelites once again did evil in the eyes of the Lord. So the Lord sold them into the hands of Jabin, a king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth Haggoyim. Because he had nine hundred iron chariots and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the Lord for help.

Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time. She held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites came to her to have their disputes decided. She sent for Barak, son of Abinoam, from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, "The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: 'Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead the way to Mount Tabor. I will lure Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River and give him into your hands.'"

Barak said to her, "If you go with me, I will go; but if you don't go with me, I won't go."

"Very well," Deborah said, "I will go with you. But because of the way you are going about this, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will hand Sisera over to a woman." So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh, where he summoned Zebulun and Naphtali. Ten thousand men followed him, and Deborah also went with him.

Now Heber the Kenite had left the other Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, Moses' brother-in-law, and pitched his tent by the great tree in Zaanannim near Kedesh.

When they told Sisera that Barak, son of Abinoam, had gone up to Mount Tabor, Sisera gathered together his nine hundred iron chariots and all the men with him, from Harosheth Haggoyim to the Kishon River.

Then Deborah said to Barak, "Go! This is the day the Lord has given Sisera into your hands. Has not the Lord gone ahead of you?" So Barak went down Mount Tabor, followed by ten thousand men. At Barak's advance, the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and army by the sword, and Sisera abandoned his chariot and fled on foot. But Barak pursued the chariots and army as far as Harosheth Haggoyim. All the troops of Sisera fell by the sword; not a man was left.

Sisera, however, fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there were friendly relations between Jabin, king of Hazor, and the clan of Heber the Kenite.

Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, "Come, my Lord, come right in. Don't be afraid." So he entered her tent, and she put a covering over him.

"I'm thirsty," he said. "Please give me some water." She opened a skin of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him up.

"Stand in the doorway of the tent," he told her. "If someone comes by and asks you, 'Is anyone here?' say 'No.'"

But Jael, Heber's wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died.

Barak came by in pursuit of Sisera, and Jael went out to meet him. "Come," she said, "I will show you the man you're looking for." So he went in with her, and there lay Sisera with the tent peg through his temple-dead.

On that day, God subdued Jabin, the Canaanite king, before the Israelites. And the hand of the Israelites grew stronger and stronger against Jabin, the Canaanite king, until they destroyed him.

Judges 4

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

As Judges, chapter 4 opens, Ehud has passed away and scripture tells us that Israel “once again did evil in the eyes of the Lord” and so the Lord did what He had done prior…He handed them over to an oppressor as punishment. This time, we read where He “sold (Israel) into the hands of Jabin, a king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor”, and in his custody, they were “cruelly oppressed” for twenty years before crying out to the Lord for help. We’re told that Jabin’s army was commanded by “Sisera, who lived in Harosheth Haggoyim”.

The scriptures also tell us that Israel was under a new ruler, a prophetess named Deborah who God had appointed as their new judge. She was holding court “under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim” and it was there that “the Israelites came…to have their disputes decided”.

Well, in regard to their captivity and oppression of King Jabin, we see where Deborah sends for “Barak, son of Abinoam, from Kedesh in Naphtali”, giving him the following guidance:

“The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: 'Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead the way to Mount Tabor. I will lure Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River and give him into your hands.'"

The command was simple enough. All Barak had to do is take his ten thousand men to Mount Tabor and wait for the Lord to deliver Sisera and his troops into his hands for victory.

Now, surely Barak was aware of how many times the Lord had done this in the history of Israel and so he had no reason to doubt that He (the Lord) would do what He said He would do. And yet, for whatever reason, he didn’t show faith in God and as a result, forfeited his chance to be used by God for an important act.

You see, God fully expects His followers to have faith in Him…to show that they trust Him unconditionally to carry out everything He says he will do. For He made many promises to His people and as we see in the scriptures (and still today), He never fails to keep His word.

Well, the promise in our passage for today was that He would deliver Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, and all his fighting forces into the hands of Barak but this assurance of God’s powerful presence and subsequent deliverance wasn’t enough. For we see that Barak feels that is Deborah, Israel’s judge, cam along with him that he would guaranteed victory. We know this because of Barak’s own words as he says this to Deborah:

"If you go with me, I will go; but if you don't go with me, I won't go."

In other words, Barak would choose to be disobedient to what God wanted him to do unless Deborah was with him. Wow!

Well, we read where Deborah agrees to go but makes it clear to Barak that there would be a consequence attached to it for not trusting the Lord, saying:

“…because of the way you are going about this, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will hand Sisera over to a woman."

And with that, they departed…Barak, Deborah, and the ten thousand men from “Zebulun and Naphtali”.

Meanwhile, Sisera received word that Barak was at Mount Tabor and so he “gathered together his nine hundred iron chariots and all the men with him, from Harosheth Haggoyim to the Kishon River” to enter into battle. As they approached the Israelite forces, we see where Deborah tells Barak:

“Go! This is the day the Lord has given Sisera into your hands. Has not the Lord gone ahead of you?"

With this, we read where Barak takes his army and fights with the Lord alongside him, routing “Sisera and all his chariots and army by the sword”. With this, the Lord delivered all of Sisera’s men into the hands of Israel with not one man remaining and typically the leader of the Israelite army would get the honor of executing the leader of the enemy troops but not in this case. For the Lord had promised that it would be a woman, not Barak, who would get to kill Sisera and that promise was about to be fulfilled.  

For as Sisera “abandoned his chariot and fled on foot”, he ran to the “tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there were friendly relations between Jabin, king of Hazor, and the clan of Heber the Kenite”. Surely, Sisera thought he would be harbored there safely but he couldn’t be more wrong.

We see where everything seemed fine to him at first. There was no hint of any danger as Jael went out to meet him saying:

"Come, my Lord , come right in. Don't be afraid."

And with that, he accepted her offer and “entered her tent, allowing Jael to “put a covering over him” and giving him a drink of milk. Then, we read where Sisera asked Jael to do this:

“Stand in the doorway of the tent (and) if someone comes by and asks you, 'Is anyone here?' say 'No.'"

Through his words, we know Sisera was obviously concerned that either Barak or one of his men might come seeking to kill him. He never thought for a moment that his life would end at the hand of a woman and so he trusted Jael, drifting off to sleep in the midst of his exhaustion. It was at that moment that he met his end for we read where Jael took a hammer and drove a tent peg “through his temple into the ground”, killing him instantly. This was just ahead of Barak arriving who had been “in pursuit of Sisera”.

The scriptures tell us that “Jael went out to meet” Barak, telling him that she would show him the man he was looking for. And so she took him into the tent and there was Sisera, dead with a tent peg through his temple. Imagine what must have been going through Barak’s mind in that moment as the Lord’s words to him had come to pass. His unwillingness to trust God had cost him the honor of finishing off his adversary.

Well, the chapter closes with God subduing “Jabin, the Canaanite king, before the Israelites” after he had lost his army and commander. On the other hand, the Israelites grew “stronger and stronger against Jabin” with the Lord’s help “until they destroyed him”. And so God ultimately did what He had done prior, delivering His people from the hands of their oppressor. It was something He could easily do without the help of anyone.

All this got me to wondering if we aren’t like Barak sometimes. Maybe we choose to doubt God and take Him at His Word. Perhaps we fail to trust the promises He has made, as if He would ever break them. Worse yet, we might have decided that we know better than the Lord in our life circumstances more than a time or two.

Indeed, Barak made all of these mistakes and paid the price for them. Likewise, we too will be held accountable anytime we fail to trust in God’s ability to deliver us through the challenges we face in life. Those challenges might seem beyond the work of our ordinary selves but we need to remember that when the Lord is with us, He is capable of using us in extraordinary ways so to make a difference in His kingdom and ultimately bring Him glory and honor.

In the end translation, we should never doubt what God can do in and through us. Equally, we shouldn’t underestimate how the Lord can do anything on His own without us or even choose to use someone else to accomplish His ultimate purposes if we display a lack of belief, like He did in raising up Jael over Barak.

Friends, why would we ever choose to not fully believe in the God who made everything we know, the God through which nothing is impossible?

How could we ever fail to accept and show faith in His awesome power and ability to do all things?

And how can we profess to be His followers and believers and then fail to trust in His abundant promises, especially when He has never broken a single one?

The time is now for all of us to give God our unconditional confidence, submitting ourselves to Him so to do anything He asks, no matter how extraordinary His calling may be.

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.

SUBJECT YOURSELF TO GOD

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.

Once again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and because they did this evil the Lord gave Eglon, king of Moab, power over Israel. Getting the Ammonites and Amalekites to join him, Eglon came and attacked Israel, and they took possession of the City of Palms. The Israelites were subject to Eglon, king of Moab, for eighteen years.

Again the Israelites cried out to the Lord, and He gave them a deliverer — Ehud, a left-handed man, the son of Gera the Benjamite. The Israelites sent him with tribute to Eglon, king of Moab. Now Ehud had made a double-edged sword about a foot and a half long, which he strapped to his right thigh under his clothing. He presented the tribute to Eglon, king of Moab, who was a very fat man. After Ehud had presented the tribute, he sent on their way the men who had carried it. At the idols near Gilgal, he himself turned back and said, "I have a secret message for you, O king."

The king said, "Quiet!" And all his attendants left him.

Ehud then approached him while he was sitting alone in the upper room of his summer palace and said, "I have a message from God for you." As the king rose from his seat, Ehud reached with his left hand, drew the sword from his right thigh and plunged it into the king's belly. Even the handle sank in after the blade, which came out his back. Ehud did not pull the sword out, and the fat closed in over it. Then Ehud went out to the porch; he shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.

After he had gone, the servants came and found the doors of the upper room locked. They said, "He must be relieving himself in the inner room of the house." They waited to the point of embarrassment, but when he did not open the doors of the room, they took a key and unlocked them. There they saw their lord fallen to the floor, dead.

While they waited, Ehud got away. He passed by the idols and escaped to Seirah. When he arrived there, he blew a trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went down with him from the hills, with him leading them.

"Follow me," he ordered, "for the Lord has given Moab, your enemy, into your hands." So they followed him down and, taking possession of the fords of the Jordan that led to Moab, they allowed no one to cross over. At that time, they struck down about ten thousand Moabites, all vigorous and strong; not a man escaped. That day Moab was made subject to Israel, and the land had peace for eighty years.

After Ehud came Shamgar, son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad. He too saved Israel.

Judges 3:12-31

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

Earlier in Judges, chapter 3, we studied about Othniel, the man who was selected by God to be Israel’s first judge…the deliverer who rescued them from the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim, king of Aram. We read where the Lord gave the king over to Israel after which they enjoyed forty years but unfortunately, they failed to learn from the mistakes of the past.

For after Othniel died, the scriptures tell us that the Israelites “once again…did evil in the eyes of the Lord” and this led to the Lord bringing punishment on them in the form of “Eglon, king of Moab” who was given power over them. King Eglon enlisted “the Ammonites and Amalekites to join him” before attacking Israel and taking “possession of the City of Palms”, better known as Jericho. After this, the Israelites, who had endured eight years of hardship under Cushan-Rishathaim prior, now saw their penalty grow significantly longer as they were “subject to Eglon, king of Moab, for eighteen years”.

It was in the midst of that eighteenth year that the people of God reached another breaking point, going back to what worked before as they cried out to the Lord. This led Him to sending another deliverer, this time a “left-handed man” named Ehud who was the “the son of Gera the Benjamite”.

We read where it was around the time for Israel to bring the king their annual tribute so Ehud accompanied the Israelites to meet with Eglon, carrying with him a “double-edged sword about a foot and a half long” which he had made and “strapped to his right thigh under his clothing”. After presenting the tribute to Eglon, who described as a “very fat man”, Ehud sent the rest of the Israelites on their way and followed them to “the idols near Gilgal”. Once there, he turned back toward the king and exclaimed:

“I have a secret message for you, O king."

Knowing that the Israelites were a people who served a powerful God, King Eglon was anxious to hear the divine message Ehud was about to deliver to him and so he ordered everyone to be quiet before dismissing “all his attendants”. Now alone with Eglon, Ehud “approached him while he was sitting alone in the upper room of his summer palace” and said:

“I have a message from God for you."

And “as the king rose from his seat” to receive what he thought would be divine words from Israel’s Go, he instead was surprised by Ehud who “reached with his left hand” and drew the “sword from his right thigh”. Ehud then plunged the sword “into the king's belly” so far that the “handle sank in after the blade which came out his back”. And as a testament to just how obese Eglon was, the scriptures tell us that “Ehud did not pull the sword out and the fat closed in over it”.

Well, after leaving Eglon for dead, “Ehud went out to the porch…shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them”. He then escaped as Eglon’s servants were unable to discover the king’s death due to the “doors of the upper room” being locked. The servants didn’t want to disturb their king and so they “waited to the point of embarrassment” before getting a key, unlocking the door, and finding “their lord fallen to the floor, dead”.

In the meantime, Ehud “passed by the idols” before arriving in Seirah where he “blew a trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim” and assembled the Israelites for battle with Moab, saying this to his fighting forces:

“Follow me for the Lord has given Moab, your enemy, into your hands."

And with that, the Israelites obeyed Ehud, following him and “taking possession of the fords of the Jordan that led to Moab” where they “allowed no one to cross over”. They “struck down about ten thousand Moabites”, not allowing a single man to escape before making the Moabites subject to them, a classic role reversal.

When it was all finished, the Lord’s blessing of victory through the leadership of the second appointed judge, Ehud, resulted in Israel enjoying “peace for eighty years”. We then read a brief mention of Israel’s third judge, Shamgar, who delivered Israel from the Philistines by striking down 600 men with an oxgoad, a long-spiked stick used to drive oxen.

As we close, our scripture passage for today touches on the matter of being subjected to someone. For after the Israelites disobeyed the Lord, they angered Him and were made subject to King Eglon of Moab for eighteen years.

So what did that mean, being subject to Eglon?

The dictionary gives us the following definition for the verb “subject”:

1: to bring under control or dominion.

2: to make (as oneself) amenable to the discipline and control of a superior.

3: to cause or force to undergo or endure something unpleasant, inconvenient, or trying.

In other words, God had turned His people over to another authority, a human authority that was far from holy and righteous in nature. This authority was imposed on them by an earthly ruler who subjected the Israelites to their discipline and control and as a result, the people of Israel suffered greatly and endured trying times that were often unpleasant.

But here’s the thing…it didn’t have to be that way.

All the Israelites needed to do was to obey God and His commands, meeting His expectations. But the people instead chose to behave as if following God’s stringent rules was too hard for them then and so the Lord allowed them to fall under the rule of someone else…just to show them how truly good they had it when He was on their side. It was as if God said to His people, “If you think it’s hard living with Me, try living without Me and see how hard it is.”

The same applies today.

People too often decide that they want to control their lives vice follow what God expects them to do and so He allows them to go their own way and do their own thing without Him until they find themselves oppressed by some life circumstance or circumstances. And when they find out what the Lord already knew…that they can’t make it without Him…then they, like Israel, cry out to Him for rescue. He then responds by sending them deliverance from their hardship.

Friends, God doesn’t want us to go through these periods of hardship but He equally doesn’t want us to live in disobedience. When it comes right down to it, He wants us to make the right choice…to choose Him and His will every single time, always subjecting ourselves to His will in every situation. For when we do this, we will find ourselves not only in His favor but living fully in righteousness, joy, and peace.

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.

JESUS, OUR HOLY DELIVERER

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

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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

The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs. The anger of the Lord burned against Israel so that He sold them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim, king of Aram Naharaim, to whom the Israelites were subject for eight years. But when they cried out to the Lord, He raised up for them a deliverer, Othniel, son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, who saved them. The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, so that he became Israel's judge and went to war. The Lord gave Cushan-Rishathaim, king of Aram into the hands of Othniel, who overpowered him.

So the land had peace for forty years, until Othniel, son of Kenaz died.

Judges 3:7-11

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

This book of the Bible is called Judges, named for the leaders appointed by God to save Israel after their sinfulness led Him to hand them over to oppressors and plunderers. In today’s passage, we meet the first judge, Othniel.

You’ll recall Othniel was Caleb’s brother and Caleb was a part of the group of spies who crossed into Canaan the first time Israel was on the brink of entering the Promised Land. Upon returning from the scouting mission, Joshua and Caleb were the only ones who stood confident that the Lord would be with Israel despite the opposition that awaited them. You’ll remember that the rest of the spies convinced the people that the way ahead was too dangerous and the enemies too formidable, convincing the people to rebel against the Lord and His will. As a result, He refused to allow them to enter Canaan and sent them back into the wilderness to wander for 40 years.

Despite this, God never forgot Caleb’s faithfulness and once Israel, led by Joshua, did cross the Jordan and conquer the land, Caleb was given “a portion in Judah — Kiriath Arba”…better known as Hebron. After this, Caleb had many conquests which included defeating the “three Anakites — Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai.” The scriptures tell us he then led his men to Debir, also known as Kiriath Sepher where he said this:

“I will give my daughter Acsah in marriage to the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher."

This is where we meet Othniel, Israel’s first judge for we read where “Othniel, son of Kenaz, Caleb's brother” defeated Kiriath Sepher and thus “Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to him in marriage” (Joshua 15:13-17). Following this, we don’t hear from Othniel again until we reach this third chapter in Judges but we can assume that he was a faithful, trusted servant for the Lord…faithful and trusted enough to be elevated up into leadership.

So why did Israel need a deliverer in the person of Othniel?

Because they “did evil in the eyes of the Lord”, forgetting Him and serving false gods such as Baal and Asherah. This angered God so much that “He sold them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim, king of Aram Naharaim” who kept Israel in oppression for eight years. This led to God’s people crying out to Him for relief and He provided it in the way of Othniel who saved them after the “Spirit of the Lord came upon him” and “gave Cushan –Rishathaim, king of Aram, into his hands. Through the Lord’s power, Othniel overpowered Israel’s oppressor, bringing peace to the land for forty years before he died.

You know, I got thinking about this period in the history of Israel and couldn’t help but wonder what Israel’s plight might have been if they hadn’t received a deliverer. My guess is that they would have remained in a state of perpetual hardship, oppression and suffering with little or no hope for escape or rescue.

Of note, this wasn’t the first time that Israel had been in this position for you’ll recall their time of enslavement in Egypt under Pharoah. Historically, it was a terrible plight for Israel with no end in sight until Moses came along…a man appointed by God to lead His people out of their captivity and into freedom. Moses became Israel’s deliverer then and in today’s passage, Othniel became their judge and rescuer. Soon, God was going to send an even greater Savior for His people….a Savior who still delivers today.

His name is Jesus.

Going back to the Israelites, their problems were much deeper and personal than being under the hardship of a physical oppressor. I say this because it was sin that got Israel into trouble in the first place. Either unable or unwilling to stand firm against temptation, Israel decided to worship other gods, showing their total lack of faith and allegiance to the one true God…their Maker and Master. And so their enemy was a spiritual one, sin, and they desperately needed rescued from it or else they would be destined to continue repeating the same mistakes over and over and over. Unfortunately, this is exactly what happened as we read through the rest of the Old Testament as the Israelites chose disobedience over compliance which put them in a place where they needed repeated deliverance from their Lord.

With this, something drastic needed to happen to break the vicious cycle. And so when we get to the New Testament, we find God deciding a new covenant between Himself and His people was in order. This covenant was established when He sent His perfectly sinless one and only Son, Jesus, to walk among His people and not only tell them how to live but show them as well. When we look at His ministry, we see how He taught them how to pray with these words contained within what we know as “The Lord’s Prayer”:

“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” Matthew 6:13

After this, we know He would go on to be the Deliverer for all mankind…past, present and future…as He surrendered His life on the cross of Calvary, the blameless Lamb of God who was sacrificed and died in the place of every sinner so they might be saved and set free from the captivity of their transgressions. Jesus brought victory over the enemy and the grave for everyone who would simply place their belief in Him. This is the good news of the Gospel.

And so just as Israel was freed from the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim, king of Aram Naharaim by their deliverer Othniel who led them into freedom and peace, so too are we freed from the hands of sin by Jesus and led into the freedom and peace of knowing our iniquities no longer have any power over us because we have the strength and protection of the Holy Spirit within.

Friends, the truth is that we have good news to celebrate today, even in the midst of this often evil world we live in. For we have a sure Deliverer in Jesus who has freed us from sin’s bondage and brought us salvation with the assurance of everlasting life in Heaven when this life is over.

In concert with the Apostle Paul, let us too say this:

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! 2 Corinthians 9:15

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.

TURN TO GOD AND GOD ALONE

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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

Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hands of these raiders. Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them. Unlike their fathers, they quickly turned from the way in which their fathers had walked, the way of obedience to the Lord's commands. Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for them, He was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the Lord had compassion on them as they groaned under those who oppressed and afflicted them.

But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their fathers, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.

Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and said, "Because this nation has violated the covenant that I laid down for their forefathers and has not listened to Me, I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. I will use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the Lord and walk in it as their forefathers did." The Lord had allowed those nations to remain; He did not drive them out at once by giving them into the hands of Joshua.

These are the nations the Lord left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience): the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo Hamath. They were left to test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the Lord's commands, which he had given their forefathers through Moses.

The Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. They took their daughters in marriage and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

Judges 2:16-23, 3:1-6

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

Looking back in the history of the Israelites, when they needed someone to deliver them from the oppression of the Egyptians, we find the Lord selecting Moses, partnering with him to get the Israelites to the brink of entering the Promised Land. Then, before Moses died, the Lord selected Joshua to lead Israel across the Jordan River and into battle in Canaan, partnering with him to guide Israel into victory against any and all adversaries so they could take custody of the land He was giving them. And once the fighting was nearly over and the land was divided amongst the twelve tribes, Joshua too died.

Given this, who would be next to lead Israel? Or did God’s people not need a leader now that they were settled into their respective cities and territories?

Well, as we look at today’s scripture passage, the second now in the Book of Judges, we find answers to both of these questions.

First, we read where “the Lord raised up judges who saved” Israel from those who were attacking and raiding them. And once appointed, these judges would govern Israel as God’s appointed leaders…just as Moses and Joshua had before them. In fact, Israel would be ruled by judges from this point forward until they ask the Lord for a king to rule them, the governing model they saw in other nations. We will see that they get what they asked for in a man named Saul but for now, the answer to the question regarding who would lead the Israelites is the judges.

Secondly, we read where Israel was a stubborn, obstinate people who could never seem to attain any semblance of spiritual integrity. Instead, they decided to consistently fail in the area of obedience.

The scriptures tell us that when a judge would die, “the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their fathers”, following “other gods and serving and worshiping them” while refusing to “give up their evil practices and stubborn ways”.

We should note that Israel’s sinful behavior was not just limited to after a judge would die. No, in our passage we see that “even when the judges were in charge, Israel refused “to listen” and “prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them”. They “turned from the way in which their fathers had walked” which was “the way of obedience to the Lord's commands”.

So did Israel really need a judge?

The answer has to be a resounding “Yes!” For the people of God definitely needed sound spiritual leadership from someone who was well versed in God’s Word and ways…someone who could be the voice of the Lord to the people. The judge fit that job description for the Lord was always with them while they ruled, with them to save His people “out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived.” He did so because He had “compassion on them as they groaned under those who oppressed and afflicted them”.

Well as you might imagine, God wasn’t very pleased with His people as they broke His first and primary commandment to have no other gods before Him (Exodus 20:3). And so in anger, He told them this:

“Because this nation has violated the covenant that I laid down for their forefathers and has not listened to Me, I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. I will use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the Lord and walk in it as their forefathers did."

In support of this proclamation, the Lord “allowed…nations to remain” and “did not drive them out”. They included the following:

“…the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo Hamath”.

The scriptures tell us that these nations were left by the Lord to “test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the Lord's commands” and unfortunately, they failed miserably. We know this because Israel “lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites”, taking “their daughters in marriage” and giving “their own daughters to their sons” while serving “their gods”. You’ll remember how God had warned His people against allowing survivors during their conquest of Canaan because it would result in them being adversely assimilated into sinful Canaanite worship practices (i.e. worshipping foreign gods). God could see the danger ahead well before anyone else but Israel failed to heed His warning…and found themselves out of His favor as a result.

This left me pondering the world we live in today. After all, it isn’t like God has taken away anything that might adversely influence Christian believers toward disobedience to God’s Word, will, and way. Actually, far from it.

For we are in the world and surrounded by sinners and their sinful behaviors and practices. There is always a constant temptation to assimilate with them and be drawn into disobeying God’s commands and expectations through doing things that would lead us down the road of destruction and out of favor with our Lord…just as Israel did.

So how do we withstand the constant urges that would entice us to abandon God’s way for the ways of sin?

The bad news is that we can’t if we turn from the Lord and His Word because it’s Him and Him alone who provides us with the strength and power to defend ourselves, standing firm against Satan and his tempting ways.

So in closing, don’t try to fight sin on your own because you will fail and fail miserably. Instead, turn to God at all times and in all situations for He will never guide you wrong and will always protect you. Through Him, you can be assured you’re living a life that is pleasing in His eyes and my friends, there is no better life for us…no other life that God desires…outside of 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.