Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
The men of Ephraim called out their forces, crossed over to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, "Why did you go to fight the Ammonites without calling us to go with you? We're going to burn down your house over your head."
Jephthah answered, "I and my people were engaged in a great struggle with the Ammonites, and although I called, you didn't save me out of their hands. When I saw that you wouldn't help, I took my life in my hands and crossed over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave me the victory over them. Now why have you come up today to fight me?"
Jephthah then called together the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim. The Gileadites struck them down because the Ephraimites had said, "You Gileadites are renegades from Ephraim and Manasseh." The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Ephraim, and whenever a survivor of Ephraim said, "Let me cross over," the men of Gilead asked him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" If he replied, "No," they said, "All right, say 'Shibboleth.' " He said, "Sibboleth," because he could not pronounce the word correctly, they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. Forty-two thousand Ephraimites were killed at that time.
Jephthah led Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died, and was buried in a town in Gilead.
After him, Ibzan of Bethlehem led Israel. He had thirty sons and thirty daughters. He gave his daughters away in marriage to those outside his clan, and for his sons he brought in thirty young women as wives from outside his clan. Ibzan led Israel seven years. Then Ibzan died, and was buried in Bethlehem.
After him, Elon the Zebulunite led Israel ten years. Then Elon died, and was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.
After him, Abdon son of Hillel, from Pirathon, led Israel. He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys. He led Israel eight years. Then Abdon son of Hillel died, and was buried at Pirathon in Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.
Judges 12
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
In chapter 11, we saw where God had given the judge Jephthah victory over the Ammonites but at a great cost. You’ll recall that before the battle, Jephthah made a vow to commit to the Lord and sacrifice the first thing that ran out of his door to meet him upon returning home from victory. So as Jephthah returned home, his daughter…his only child…ran from the door to him and his vow turned tragic as he knew he had to sacrifice her to keep his vow to God.
As Chapter 12 opens, Jephthah finds opposition from an unlikely source. For the Gileadite is confronted by “the men of Ephraim” who imply that Jephthah went to fight the Ammonites without calling them so they could participate, an allegation that Jephthah vehemently denied saying that he had called but the Ephraimites had not responded or helped. Ephraim’s threat to burn down Jephthah’s house showed their commitment to conflict and conflict is what they got.
The sad part about what was to come is that it didn’t have to be that way. The Lord had given the Ammonites into Jephthah’s hand and it didn’t matter who did or didn’t fight with him for victory was already certain. The Ephraimites should have been in a spirit of thanksgiving and giving glory to God for His latest display of grace and deliverance but they weren’t. Instead, they were upset about not getting a chance at glorifying themselves in battle…jealous that Jephthah had been used in way that they hadn’t.
How often do we display this same kind of jealousy when we see others succeed around us? Don’t we too often covet what they have achieved instead of just being happy and congratulatory toward them? In fact, there are too many people who can’t deal with another’s success to a point where they go out of their way to try and make them look bad so they might look good…a kind of personal or professional sabotage if you may. We need only look at the way our politicians often behave to see it in full display.
So what happens between the Ephraimites and Gileadites, the men of Jephthah? Well, we see where a bloody battle ensues with the Gileadites wiping out the attacking men of Ephraim (42,000 total) who would have been so much better off just giving credit where credit was due…to God. But instead, Ephraim let their pride get the best of them and ended up finding out the hard way that pride can often lead to destruction (what would become a famous proverb…Proverb 16:18).
As Chapter 12 ends, we see Jephthah dying after a six year reign as judge. He would be followed by Ibzan, Elon and Abdon who would lead Israel over the next 25 years.
So what do we take away from this scripture? We should all learn a lesson from Ephraim and beware anytime we begin to feel jealous or covetous of another for what they have or what they have achieved. For God would expect us to share in one another’s joys and successes, celebrating what He has done while giving Him glory for the vast measure of His goodness. In the end, He and only He is worthy of all our praise, now and forever. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
http://www.faithhopeandlove.info/
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
FREEDOM ISN'T FREE
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
When the Ammonites were called to arms and camped in Gilead, the Israelites assembled and camped at Mizpah. The leaders of the people of Gilead said to each other, "Whoever will launch the attack against the Ammonites will be the head of all those living in Gilead."
Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute. Gilead's wife also bore him sons, and when they were grown up, they drove Jephthah away. "You are not going to get any inheritance in our family," they said, "because you are the son of another woman." So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where a group of adventurers gathered around him and followed him.
Some time later, when the Ammonites made war on Israel, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. "Come," they said, "be our commander, so we can fight the Ammonites."
Jephthah said to them, "Didn't you hate me and drive me from my father's house? Why do you come to me now, when you're in trouble?"
The elders of Gilead said to him, "Nevertheless, we are turning to you now; come with us to fight the Ammonites, and you will be our head over all who live in Gilead."
Jephthah answered, "Suppose you take me back to fight the Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me—will I really be your head?"
The elders of Gilead replied, "The Lord is our witness; we will certainly do as you say." So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them. And he repeated all his words before the Lord in Mizpah.
Then Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king with the question: "What do you have against us that you have attacked our country?"
The king of the Ammonites answered Jephthah's messengers, "When Israel came up out of Egypt, they took away my land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, all the way to the Jordan. Now give it back peaceably."
Jephthah sent back messengers to the Ammonite king, saying:
"This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites. But when they came up out of Egypt, Israel went through the desert to the Red Sea and on to Kadesh. Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, 'Give us permission to go through your country,' but the king of Edom would not listen. They sent also to the king of Moab, and he refused. So Israel stayed at Kadesh.
"Next they traveled through the desert, skirted the lands of Edom and Moab, passed along the eastern side of the country of Moab, and camped on the other side of the Arnon. They did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was its border.
"Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, 'Let us pass through your country to our own place.' Sihon, however, did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. He mustered all his men and encamped at Jahaz and fought with Israel.
"Then the Lord, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his men into Israel's hands, and they defeated them. Israel took over all the land of the Amorites who lived in that country, capturing all of it from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the desert to the Jordan.
"Now since the Lord, the God of Israel, has driven the Amorites out before his people Israel, what right have you to take it over? Will you not take what your god Chemosh gives you? Likewise, whatever the Lord our God has given us, we will possess. Are you better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever quarrel with Israel or fight with them? For three hundred years Israel occupied Heshbon, Aroer, the surrounding settlements and all the towns along the Arnon. Why didn't you retake them during that time? I have not wronged you, but you are doing me wrong by waging war against me. Let the Lord, the Judge, decide the dispute this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites."
The king of Ammon, however, paid no attention to the message Jephthah sent him.
Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there he advanced against the Ammonites. And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord : "If you give the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lord's, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering."
Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into his hands. He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued Ammon.
When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of tambourines! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter. When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, "Oh! My daughter! You have made me miserable and wretched, because I have made a vow to the Lord that I cannot break."
"My father," she replied, "you have given your word to the Lord. Do to me just as you promised, now that the Lord has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites. But grant me this one request," she said. "Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry."
"You may go," he said. And he let her go for two months. She and the girls went into the hills and wept because she would never marry. After the two months, she returned to her father and he did to her as he had vowed. And she was a virgin.
From this comes the Israelite custom that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.
Judges 10:17-18, 11
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
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 10:15-16
Israel had done evil before God once again and found themselves in big trouble in Chapter 10 because although they cried out to God, God wasn’t willing to help them. He instead told them to go back to the false gods they had decided to worship and ask them for help. As we saw in our study yesterday, Israel took three key steps to reconciling themselves with God: 1) they repented 2) they submitted and 3) they took action where action was needed. In return for their contrite attitude, God, unable to bear their misery any longer, gets set to once again deliver them from their oppressors.
Those oppressors, the Ammonites, were “called to arms and camped in Gilead” while the Israelites “assembled and camped at Mizpah”. With a battle nearing, the “leaders of the people of Gilead” said, "Whoever will launch the attack against the Ammonites will be the head of all those living in Gilead." There obviously weren’t a lot of volunteers because we read that the “elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah” and asked him to be their commander when the “Ammonites made war on Israel”. Jephthah was definitely qualified as scripture tells us he was a “mighty warrior”, but there was only one problem. The very men who were now asking Jephthah to lead them were the same ones who mistreated him and threatened to remove any right to a family inheritance. This was because Jephthah’s mother was a prostitute, making him an illegitimate son in the eyes of his other brothers who caused Jephthah to flee and settle “in the land of Tob, where a group of adventurers gathered around him and followed him”.
At first bitter with the elders because they mistreated him, Gilead asks them to affirm that they will do what they said they would do…make him the head of Gildead if the Lord gave them into his hand. The elders of Gilead replied, "The Lord is our witness; we will certainly do as you say." So Jephthah went with the “elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them”. Jephthah then “repeated all his words before the Lord in Mizpah”.
So Israel once again had a judge in the person of Jephthah and he didn’t take long to address the problem at hand…the Ammonites.
We read where Jephthah and the Ammonite king exchanged dialogue on the land, specifically regarding who had rights to it. After Jephthah asked the Ammonite king why they had attacked Israel, the king accused Israel of taking the land from the Ammonites after they had departed Egypt. Jephthah countered by setting the record straight. After leaving Egypt, Israel had been rejected in their attempt to enter Moab and Edom by the kings of those lands and eventually battled Sihon who “mustered all his men and encamped at Jahaz” to fight Israel. During that battle, “”the Lord…gave Sihon and all his men into Israel's hands and they defeated them”, taking over “all the land of the Amorites who lived in that country” and “capturing…it from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the desert to the Jordan”. In other words, the land already belonged to Israel and the Ammonites were trespassing on it.
Jephthah goes on to mock the Ammonite king asking him if he’s not satisfied with what his god, Chemosh, had given, instead going after the land that Israel has occupied for “three hundred years”. He also asks the king why he waited until now to attack and attempt to take the land. Finally, Jephthah tells the king, “I have not wronged you, but you are doing me wrong by waging war against me. Let the Lord, the Judge, decide the dispute this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites." Indeed the Lord would decide, even if the “king of Ammon…paid no attention to the message Jephthah sent him”.
Scripture tells us a “Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah” as he “crossed Gilead and Manasseh” and “passed through Mizpah of Gilead” before advancing “against the Ammonites”.
And this is where this story of Jephthah takes a weird turn. For whatever reason, Jephthah, who already had the Lord with him going into battle, decided he needed to make “a vow to the Lord”, a vow that would have tragic consequences.
For Jephthah promised, “If you give the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lord's, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering." And with that, Jephthah leads the fight against the Ammonites and “the Lord gave them into his hands”, devastating “twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim” before subduing Ammon. Enthused with the victory, “Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah”.
And as he approached his home, out came his daughter…”his only child”…“dancing to the sound of tambourines”. Jephthah remembered his vow and immediately fell distraught, tearing his clothes and crying out, “Oh! My daughter! You have made me miserable and wretched, because I have made a vow to the Lord that I cannot break." For Jephthah would have to offer his only daughter up as a burnt offering.
Jephthah’s daughter shows exceptional poise despite the circumstances and tells her father, “…you have given your word to the Lord. Do to me just as you promised, now that the Lord has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites. But grant me this one request…Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry." And so Jephthah honored her request, letting her go for two months while “she and the girls went into the hills and wept because she would never marry” and “after the two months, she returned to her father and he did to her as he had vowed”. His daughter died a virgin.
The story of the judge Jephthah is a bittersweet one. While he had great success in his life, he also had great tragedy as well as he ended up having to sacrifice his own daughter as a tribute to the victory that God had given. I can’t help but see this account as a prelude for what was to come. For we will see how Israel will never seem to be able to break the endless cycle of doing evil in the eyes of the Lord, finding themselves disciplined for it, crying out for deliverance and receiving it before being restored. Then they would do it all over again. Sin was destroying Israel as it was all mankind and something had to be done to stop it…something significant in order for victory to be made certain. So God sent His only Son Jesus from heaven to earth to live and walk amongst the people, show them the way to live the holy, righteous, loving life the Father expected, and then offer Himself up as a living sacrifice, allowing Himself to be nailed to the cross to pay the price for our sins. Through Christ’s death and ensuing resurrection, we discover that freedom is not always free…the same lesson that Jephthah learned when he sacrificed his only daughter. And since Christ sacrificed it all for us…laying down His life…we should be willing to lay it all down for Him as well. He gave up His freedom for ours…He sacrificed it all so we might not have to…and then gave us the instruction we need to follow His lead.
What did He tell us?
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20
Through Jesus’ death and victory over the grave, we too received the assurance through Him that we would not perish but have eternal life. In other words, through our belief and trust in Jesus as Savior, our future is already set. And so our focus is to be on those whose future is not yet set, those who are lost and do not yet know Christ.
Will doing that require sacrifice? Yes.
Will doing that mean that we need to lay aside our desires for the desires of Jesus? Absolutely.
Should we complain and belabor what we are to do for the cause of Christ? We had better not.
Friends, as Christians, we have avowed ourselves to Jesus Christ…to live as He lived…to think as He thought…and to act as He acted…which included total sacrifice out of love and compassion for others. Settling for anything else than our total sacrifice and dedication toward loving and seeking to help others know and trust in Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior is falling short of the mark. For Christ died to set us free to live, showing us that freedom isn’t free but comes with a cost. As we enjoy the freedom He died to provide us, the least we can do is sacrifice some of our freedom to help others find theirs. We should want to do nothing less for our blessed Savior and the Father who gave Him up for us. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
http://www.faithhopeandlove.info/
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
When the Ammonites were called to arms and camped in Gilead, the Israelites assembled and camped at Mizpah. The leaders of the people of Gilead said to each other, "Whoever will launch the attack against the Ammonites will be the head of all those living in Gilead."
Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute. Gilead's wife also bore him sons, and when they were grown up, they drove Jephthah away. "You are not going to get any inheritance in our family," they said, "because you are the son of another woman." So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where a group of adventurers gathered around him and followed him.
Some time later, when the Ammonites made war on Israel, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. "Come," they said, "be our commander, so we can fight the Ammonites."
Jephthah said to them, "Didn't you hate me and drive me from my father's house? Why do you come to me now, when you're in trouble?"
The elders of Gilead said to him, "Nevertheless, we are turning to you now; come with us to fight the Ammonites, and you will be our head over all who live in Gilead."
Jephthah answered, "Suppose you take me back to fight the Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me—will I really be your head?"
The elders of Gilead replied, "The Lord is our witness; we will certainly do as you say." So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them. And he repeated all his words before the Lord in Mizpah.
Then Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king with the question: "What do you have against us that you have attacked our country?"
The king of the Ammonites answered Jephthah's messengers, "When Israel came up out of Egypt, they took away my land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, all the way to the Jordan. Now give it back peaceably."
Jephthah sent back messengers to the Ammonite king, saying:
"This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites. But when they came up out of Egypt, Israel went through the desert to the Red Sea and on to Kadesh. Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, 'Give us permission to go through your country,' but the king of Edom would not listen. They sent also to the king of Moab, and he refused. So Israel stayed at Kadesh.
"Next they traveled through the desert, skirted the lands of Edom and Moab, passed along the eastern side of the country of Moab, and camped on the other side of the Arnon. They did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was its border.
"Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, 'Let us pass through your country to our own place.' Sihon, however, did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. He mustered all his men and encamped at Jahaz and fought with Israel.
"Then the Lord, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his men into Israel's hands, and they defeated them. Israel took over all the land of the Amorites who lived in that country, capturing all of it from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the desert to the Jordan.
"Now since the Lord, the God of Israel, has driven the Amorites out before his people Israel, what right have you to take it over? Will you not take what your god Chemosh gives you? Likewise, whatever the Lord our God has given us, we will possess. Are you better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever quarrel with Israel or fight with them? For three hundred years Israel occupied Heshbon, Aroer, the surrounding settlements and all the towns along the Arnon. Why didn't you retake them during that time? I have not wronged you, but you are doing me wrong by waging war against me. Let the Lord, the Judge, decide the dispute this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites."
The king of Ammon, however, paid no attention to the message Jephthah sent him.
Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there he advanced against the Ammonites. And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord : "If you give the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lord's, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering."
Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into his hands. He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued Ammon.
When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of tambourines! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter. When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, "Oh! My daughter! You have made me miserable and wretched, because I have made a vow to the Lord that I cannot break."
"My father," she replied, "you have given your word to the Lord. Do to me just as you promised, now that the Lord has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites. But grant me this one request," she said. "Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry."
"You may go," he said. And he let her go for two months. She and the girls went into the hills and wept because she would never marry. After the two months, she returned to her father and he did to her as he had vowed. And she was a virgin.
From this comes the Israelite custom that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.
Judges 10:17-18, 11
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
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 10:15-16
Israel had done evil before God once again and found themselves in big trouble in Chapter 10 because although they cried out to God, God wasn’t willing to help them. He instead told them to go back to the false gods they had decided to worship and ask them for help. As we saw in our study yesterday, Israel took three key steps to reconciling themselves with God: 1) they repented 2) they submitted and 3) they took action where action was needed. In return for their contrite attitude, God, unable to bear their misery any longer, gets set to once again deliver them from their oppressors.
Those oppressors, the Ammonites, were “called to arms and camped in Gilead” while the Israelites “assembled and camped at Mizpah”. With a battle nearing, the “leaders of the people of Gilead” said, "Whoever will launch the attack against the Ammonites will be the head of all those living in Gilead." There obviously weren’t a lot of volunteers because we read that the “elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah” and asked him to be their commander when the “Ammonites made war on Israel”. Jephthah was definitely qualified as scripture tells us he was a “mighty warrior”, but there was only one problem. The very men who were now asking Jephthah to lead them were the same ones who mistreated him and threatened to remove any right to a family inheritance. This was because Jephthah’s mother was a prostitute, making him an illegitimate son in the eyes of his other brothers who caused Jephthah to flee and settle “in the land of Tob, where a group of adventurers gathered around him and followed him”.
At first bitter with the elders because they mistreated him, Gilead asks them to affirm that they will do what they said they would do…make him the head of Gildead if the Lord gave them into his hand. The elders of Gilead replied, "The Lord is our witness; we will certainly do as you say." So Jephthah went with the “elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them”. Jephthah then “repeated all his words before the Lord in Mizpah”.
So Israel once again had a judge in the person of Jephthah and he didn’t take long to address the problem at hand…the Ammonites.
We read where Jephthah and the Ammonite king exchanged dialogue on the land, specifically regarding who had rights to it. After Jephthah asked the Ammonite king why they had attacked Israel, the king accused Israel of taking the land from the Ammonites after they had departed Egypt. Jephthah countered by setting the record straight. After leaving Egypt, Israel had been rejected in their attempt to enter Moab and Edom by the kings of those lands and eventually battled Sihon who “mustered all his men and encamped at Jahaz” to fight Israel. During that battle, “”the Lord…gave Sihon and all his men into Israel's hands and they defeated them”, taking over “all the land of the Amorites who lived in that country” and “capturing…it from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the desert to the Jordan”. In other words, the land already belonged to Israel and the Ammonites were trespassing on it.
Jephthah goes on to mock the Ammonite king asking him if he’s not satisfied with what his god, Chemosh, had given, instead going after the land that Israel has occupied for “three hundred years”. He also asks the king why he waited until now to attack and attempt to take the land. Finally, Jephthah tells the king, “I have not wronged you, but you are doing me wrong by waging war against me. Let the Lord, the Judge, decide the dispute this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites." Indeed the Lord would decide, even if the “king of Ammon…paid no attention to the message Jephthah sent him”.
Scripture tells us a “Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah” as he “crossed Gilead and Manasseh” and “passed through Mizpah of Gilead” before advancing “against the Ammonites”.
And this is where this story of Jephthah takes a weird turn. For whatever reason, Jephthah, who already had the Lord with him going into battle, decided he needed to make “a vow to the Lord”, a vow that would have tragic consequences.
For Jephthah promised, “If you give the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lord's, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering." And with that, Jephthah leads the fight against the Ammonites and “the Lord gave them into his hands”, devastating “twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim” before subduing Ammon. Enthused with the victory, “Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah”.
And as he approached his home, out came his daughter…”his only child”…“dancing to the sound of tambourines”. Jephthah remembered his vow and immediately fell distraught, tearing his clothes and crying out, “Oh! My daughter! You have made me miserable and wretched, because I have made a vow to the Lord that I cannot break." For Jephthah would have to offer his only daughter up as a burnt offering.
Jephthah’s daughter shows exceptional poise despite the circumstances and tells her father, “…you have given your word to the Lord. Do to me just as you promised, now that the Lord has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites. But grant me this one request…Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry." And so Jephthah honored her request, letting her go for two months while “she and the girls went into the hills and wept because she would never marry” and “after the two months, she returned to her father and he did to her as he had vowed”. His daughter died a virgin.
The story of the judge Jephthah is a bittersweet one. While he had great success in his life, he also had great tragedy as well as he ended up having to sacrifice his own daughter as a tribute to the victory that God had given. I can’t help but see this account as a prelude for what was to come. For we will see how Israel will never seem to be able to break the endless cycle of doing evil in the eyes of the Lord, finding themselves disciplined for it, crying out for deliverance and receiving it before being restored. Then they would do it all over again. Sin was destroying Israel as it was all mankind and something had to be done to stop it…something significant in order for victory to be made certain. So God sent His only Son Jesus from heaven to earth to live and walk amongst the people, show them the way to live the holy, righteous, loving life the Father expected, and then offer Himself up as a living sacrifice, allowing Himself to be nailed to the cross to pay the price for our sins. Through Christ’s death and ensuing resurrection, we discover that freedom is not always free…the same lesson that Jephthah learned when he sacrificed his only daughter. And since Christ sacrificed it all for us…laying down His life…we should be willing to lay it all down for Him as well. He gave up His freedom for ours…He sacrificed it all so we might not have to…and then gave us the instruction we need to follow His lead.
What did He tell us?
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20
Through Jesus’ death and victory over the grave, we too received the assurance through Him that we would not perish but have eternal life. In other words, through our belief and trust in Jesus as Savior, our future is already set. And so our focus is to be on those whose future is not yet set, those who are lost and do not yet know Christ.
Will doing that require sacrifice? Yes.
Will doing that mean that we need to lay aside our desires for the desires of Jesus? Absolutely.
Should we complain and belabor what we are to do for the cause of Christ? We had better not.
Friends, as Christians, we have avowed ourselves to Jesus Christ…to live as He lived…to think as He thought…and to act as He acted…which included total sacrifice out of love and compassion for others. Settling for anything else than our total sacrifice and dedication toward loving and seeking to help others know and trust in Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior is falling short of the mark. For Christ died to set us free to live, showing us that freedom isn’t free but comes with a cost. As we enjoy the freedom He died to provide us, the least we can do is sacrifice some of our freedom to help others find theirs. We should want to do nothing less for our blessed Savior and the Father who gave Him up for us. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
Monday, October 20, 2008
REPENT, SUBMIT, ACT
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
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 this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
In Chapter 9, we saw a truly ruthless and evil leader, the first king in Israel, Abimelech who 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 and then stabbed by an armor-bearer so that it might not be said that he (Abimelech) had been killed by a woman.
In 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.
After both had ruled and passed away, we read where once again, Israel reverted to their evil ways, serving “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”. They “forsook the Lord and no longer served him”. So as you would expect, God “became angry with them” and “sold them into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites who…shattered and crushed them”. The oppression would last “eighteen years” and effect “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”. In the end, “Israel was in great distress” and, as we have seen before, “cried out to the Lord” saying, "We have sinned against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals."
Given the number of times that Israel has decided to return to doing evil before the Lord, you might expect Him to start losing His patience. And that he does. For He responds to Israel’s cry by 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!" Israel had forsaken God over and over in favor of false gods. Now God was forsaking them…telling them to turn their cries toward the false gods they had placed so much trust in, asking them to save them. Something that God knew would never happen. Without Him, Israel would be in a perpetual place of suffering…the place any of us will be when we live our lives void of the Lord.
Question: How often are we like Israel? We fail to turn to God until things get too tough for us to handle and all of a sudden cry out to Him to come and rescue us…like He’s there to answer our beckoning call. In doing this, we get it all wrong because no one…and I mean no one…dictates to God what God will do. We need to get a grip and understand who is in power and control…and it’s not us, no matter how much we might think we are.
So Israel was in real trouble this time. Before, the Lord had always answered their cries and sent a deliverer. But now…what would happen to them? God had deferred their needs to the false gods they decided to worship…gods that allowed them to do what made them feel good but never answered their cries. So Israel, realizing their dire circumstance, made one last ditch effort to regain God’s favor. They took three critical steps that we need to take as well if we ever find ourselves in the same place in our own lives…and don’t think it couldn’t happen if we decide to just continue sinning in the same way over and over and over again and just think that the Lord is going to find that acceptable. The three steps were:
1. Repentance. It all starts with a heartfelt commitment to turn from your transgressions, confessing your wrongs before the Lord. In our scripture we see where the “Israelites said to the Lord, ‘We have sinned’. Admittance that you have wronged is the first step to reconciliation.
2. Submission. Repentance doesn’t mean that you won’t be disciplined. There are often negative consequences attached to our sinfulness. We need to accept these consequences, understanding that the Lord is always trying to teach us (the root meaning of the word discipline) and help us grow stronger in our walk with Him. Israel realizes that God is in control and His will is going to be done with them as they say, “Do with us whatever you think best…” and then add a plea for Him to “please rescue us now." The key was submission after repentance.
3. Action. You can repent and submit but if you don’t then take action to correct your sinful behavior, then your words and surrender are hollow and irrelevant. You must be willing to part ways with whatever is causing you to sin. In Israel’s case, “they got rid of the foreign gods among them” and then recommitted themselves to serve the Lord. We should all follow this pattern as well when we find ourselves in a position to restore ourselves to God’s favor.
So Israel had repented, submitted and taken action to rid themselves of the false idols they chose to worship, deciding instead to serve God and God alone. And their willingness to get right with God paid off for we read where God, showing once again His love, compassion and forgiveness, “could bear Israel's misery no longer”. Israel was once again on the brink of being restored…and so can we if we follow the three basic steps to restoral…repent, submit to God, and take action against what makes us sin.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
http://www.faithhopeandlove.info/
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
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 this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
In Chapter 9, we saw a truly ruthless and evil leader, the first king in Israel, Abimelech who 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 and then stabbed by an armor-bearer so that it might not be said that he (Abimelech) had been killed by a woman.
In 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.
After both had ruled and passed away, we read where once again, Israel reverted to their evil ways, serving “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”. They “forsook the Lord and no longer served him”. So as you would expect, God “became angry with them” and “sold them into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites who…shattered and crushed them”. The oppression would last “eighteen years” and effect “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”. In the end, “Israel was in great distress” and, as we have seen before, “cried out to the Lord” saying, "We have sinned against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals."
Given the number of times that Israel has decided to return to doing evil before the Lord, you might expect Him to start losing His patience. And that he does. For He responds to Israel’s cry by 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!" Israel had forsaken God over and over in favor of false gods. Now God was forsaking them…telling them to turn their cries toward the false gods they had placed so much trust in, asking them to save them. Something that God knew would never happen. Without Him, Israel would be in a perpetual place of suffering…the place any of us will be when we live our lives void of the Lord.
Question: How often are we like Israel? We fail to turn to God until things get too tough for us to handle and all of a sudden cry out to Him to come and rescue us…like He’s there to answer our beckoning call. In doing this, we get it all wrong because no one…and I mean no one…dictates to God what God will do. We need to get a grip and understand who is in power and control…and it’s not us, no matter how much we might think we are.
So Israel was in real trouble this time. Before, the Lord had always answered their cries and sent a deliverer. But now…what would happen to them? God had deferred their needs to the false gods they decided to worship…gods that allowed them to do what made them feel good but never answered their cries. So Israel, realizing their dire circumstance, made one last ditch effort to regain God’s favor. They took three critical steps that we need to take as well if we ever find ourselves in the same place in our own lives…and don’t think it couldn’t happen if we decide to just continue sinning in the same way over and over and over again and just think that the Lord is going to find that acceptable. The three steps were:
1. Repentance. It all starts with a heartfelt commitment to turn from your transgressions, confessing your wrongs before the Lord. In our scripture we see where the “Israelites said to the Lord, ‘We have sinned’. Admittance that you have wronged is the first step to reconciliation.
2. Submission. Repentance doesn’t mean that you won’t be disciplined. There are often negative consequences attached to our sinfulness. We need to accept these consequences, understanding that the Lord is always trying to teach us (the root meaning of the word discipline) and help us grow stronger in our walk with Him. Israel realizes that God is in control and His will is going to be done with them as they say, “Do with us whatever you think best…” and then add a plea for Him to “please rescue us now." The key was submission after repentance.
3. Action. You can repent and submit but if you don’t then take action to correct your sinful behavior, then your words and surrender are hollow and irrelevant. You must be willing to part ways with whatever is causing you to sin. In Israel’s case, “they got rid of the foreign gods among them” and then recommitted themselves to serve the Lord. We should all follow this pattern as well when we find ourselves in a position to restore ourselves to God’s favor.
So Israel had repented, submitted and taken action to rid themselves of the false idols they chose to worship, deciding instead to serve God and God alone. And their willingness to get right with God paid off for we read where God, showing once again His love, compassion and forgiveness, “could bear Israel's misery no longer”. Israel was once again on the brink of being restored…and so can we if we follow the three basic steps to restoral…repent, submit to God, and take action against what makes us sin.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
http://www.faithhopeandlove.info/
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
STAY IN GOD'S PURPOSE
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
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 this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As Judges, Chapter 9 begins, Israel has been freed from the oppressive rule of Midian thanks to the leadership of Gideon, hand-selected by the Lord to serve and fight in His name. In return, God gave Midian into the hands of Gideon.
After Gideon’s death, Israel begins to yearn for a different kind of leadership…a king. Keep in mind that all leaders up to this point had been selected by God to carry out His purpose for them. And in each incident, Israel experienced deliverance from the hands of an oppressor. Keep in mind as well that Gideon had told the people of Israel that they were, first and foremost, under the rule of the Lord. (Judges 8:23) Still, we see Israel seek rule from man over God.
For as Chapter 9 opens, we find Gideon’s son, Abimelech, actually petitioning the people of Shechem to make him their ruler. He said “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 Abimielech’s mother’s brothers do ask the people of Shechem who were “inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, ‘He is our brother.’ " They further paid him “seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-Berith” which Abimelech used to “hire reckless adventurers, who became his followers”. And so 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. All were killed except for “the youngest son”, Jotham, who “escaped by hiding”. After Abimelech had slaughtered all of his siblings, “all the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo gathered beside the great tree at the pillar in Shechem to crown (him) king”.
Note Abimelech’s ruthlessness in seeking power and authority. Where his father ruled under God’s guidance, Abimelech established his rule by bloodshed and intimidation, not even hesitating to murder his own siblings in order to ascend in power. Additionally, Abimelech gladly took payment from the temple of the false god Baal...a 70 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 we too have a tendency to get power hungry or controlling to the point where we are willing to run over anything or anyone who might get in our way as we move toward what we want. We might not murder someone like Abimelech did but demeaning others or back-stabbing or spreading false rumors to make yourself look better than another is sinful nonetheless. In the end, we should never force the issue. For God will always put us where He wants us according to His purpose for us.
Getting back to our scriptures, we see Jotham, Gideon’s youngest son, climb Mount Gerizim and address the people of Shechem as they are ready to crown Abimelech as king. After getting their attention, Jotham tells them a story illustrating the mistake the people had made as well as the consequences that were yet to come.
In the story, note that the trees represented the people of Shechem who were determined to have a ruler over them. The trees first asked an olive tree to lead them, followed by a fig tree and then a vine. All three turned down the proposition 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’s purpose for it. And the vine yielded wine that was used for many functions including religious functions…and that was God’s purpose for it.
Unable to convince the olive tree, fig tree or vine to rule over them, the trees turn to the thornbush…a dried up, jagging tumbleweed that had no real purpose and was very prone to catch fire. As the trees ask the thornbush to rule them, we see it sarcastically tell the trees to come into its shade if they really wanted to anoint it king. And if they didn’t want the thornbush to lead them, then it would just consume the trees with fire. Note that the thornbush had no commitment to anyone including itself. It didn’t turn down rule because it had a special purpose. It also didn’t go out of its way to show it really wanted to rule the people. In fact, it would just as easily destroy the people as it would lead them. And unfortunately, this is exactly what happens when Abimelech assumes responsibility over Shechem.
There’s a lot for us to glean from this parable told by Jotham, especially when it comes to realizing what our purpose is in God. Do you know what His purpose is for you? Have you realized the special gifts and talents that God has given you to carry out His will? We must never ever cease to seek what God wants from us each and every day that He blesses us with. And never forget that God could always reveal a new gift from within you at any time. This is why we should never use the word “can’t” in regard to doing something. Maybe you think you can’t but God can turn that can’t to a can if it’s His will to do so. In the end, we all could be a olive tree or a fig tree or a vine or anything else of special purpose to the Lord. But conversely, we could easily become a thornbush as well if we fail to seek God’s will and purpose for our lives…finding ourselves dried up…void of His spirit…useless and purposeless.
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 reveal His purpose for His life. Shechem refused to allow the Lord to rule over them and instead opted for a murderous, power-grabbing son of a Gideon who did nothing but commit first fratricide on his own siblings before committing genocide on the people of Shechem. Had only Shechem turned to God for leadership and guidance it all would have ended so differently. Ditto had Abimelech just turned to God as his father had done and sought His purpose for his life.
Today, let us not repeat the mistakes of the past. There have been way too many Abimelechs and Shechems in the world since the days of the Old Testament...people unwilling to surrender themselves to the will of God. We can stop that trend by all doing three things each and every day:
1. Seek God’s purpose.
2. Carry out God’s purpose after He reveals it to us.
3. Remain in His purpose until you accomplish what He wants you to do after which you should go back to step 1 and start seeking again.
For one thing is certain, there will never be a time when God will not have a purpose for you. Believe and trust in that. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
http://www.faithhopeandlove.info/
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
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 this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As Judges, Chapter 9 begins, Israel has been freed from the oppressive rule of Midian thanks to the leadership of Gideon, hand-selected by the Lord to serve and fight in His name. In return, God gave Midian into the hands of Gideon.
After Gideon’s death, Israel begins to yearn for a different kind of leadership…a king. Keep in mind that all leaders up to this point had been selected by God to carry out His purpose for them. And in each incident, Israel experienced deliverance from the hands of an oppressor. Keep in mind as well that Gideon had told the people of Israel that they were, first and foremost, under the rule of the Lord. (Judges 8:23) Still, we see Israel seek rule from man over God.
For as Chapter 9 opens, we find Gideon’s son, Abimelech, actually petitioning the people of Shechem to make him their ruler. He said “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 Abimielech’s mother’s brothers do ask the people of Shechem who were “inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, ‘He is our brother.’ " They further paid him “seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-Berith” which Abimelech used to “hire reckless adventurers, who became his followers”. And so 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. All were killed except for “the youngest son”, Jotham, who “escaped by hiding”. After Abimelech had slaughtered all of his siblings, “all the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo gathered beside the great tree at the pillar in Shechem to crown (him) king”.
Note Abimelech’s ruthlessness in seeking power and authority. Where his father ruled under God’s guidance, Abimelech established his rule by bloodshed and intimidation, not even hesitating to murder his own siblings in order to ascend in power. Additionally, Abimelech gladly took payment from the temple of the false god Baal...a 70 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 we too have a tendency to get power hungry or controlling to the point where we are willing to run over anything or anyone who might get in our way as we move toward what we want. We might not murder someone like Abimelech did but demeaning others or back-stabbing or spreading false rumors to make yourself look better than another is sinful nonetheless. In the end, we should never force the issue. For God will always put us where He wants us according to His purpose for us.
Getting back to our scriptures, we see Jotham, Gideon’s youngest son, climb Mount Gerizim and address the people of Shechem as they are ready to crown Abimelech as king. After getting their attention, Jotham tells them a story illustrating the mistake the people had made as well as the consequences that were yet to come.
In the story, note that the trees represented the people of Shechem who were determined to have a ruler over them. The trees first asked an olive tree to lead them, followed by a fig tree and then a vine. All three turned down the proposition 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’s purpose for it. And the vine yielded wine that was used for many functions including religious functions…and that was God’s purpose for it.
Unable to convince the olive tree, fig tree or vine to rule over them, the trees turn to the thornbush…a dried up, jagging tumbleweed that had no real purpose and was very prone to catch fire. As the trees ask the thornbush to rule them, we see it sarcastically tell the trees to come into its shade if they really wanted to anoint it king. And if they didn’t want the thornbush to lead them, then it would just consume the trees with fire. Note that the thornbush had no commitment to anyone including itself. It didn’t turn down rule because it had a special purpose. It also didn’t go out of its way to show it really wanted to rule the people. In fact, it would just as easily destroy the people as it would lead them. And unfortunately, this is exactly what happens when Abimelech assumes responsibility over Shechem.
There’s a lot for us to glean from this parable told by Jotham, especially when it comes to realizing what our purpose is in God. Do you know what His purpose is for you? Have you realized the special gifts and talents that God has given you to carry out His will? We must never ever cease to seek what God wants from us each and every day that He blesses us with. And never forget that God could always reveal a new gift from within you at any time. This is why we should never use the word “can’t” in regard to doing something. Maybe you think you can’t but God can turn that can’t to a can if it’s His will to do so. In the end, we all could be a olive tree or a fig tree or a vine or anything else of special purpose to the Lord. But conversely, we could easily become a thornbush as well if we fail to seek God’s will and purpose for our lives…finding ourselves dried up…void of His spirit…useless and purposeless.
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 reveal His purpose for His life. Shechem refused to allow the Lord to rule over them and instead opted for a murderous, power-grabbing son of a Gideon who did nothing but commit first fratricide on his own siblings before committing genocide on the people of Shechem. Had only Shechem turned to God for leadership and guidance it all would have ended so differently. Ditto had Abimelech just turned to God as his father had done and sought His purpose for his life.
Today, let us not repeat the mistakes of the past. There have been way too many Abimelechs and Shechems in the world since the days of the Old Testament...people unwilling to surrender themselves to the will of God. We can stop that trend by all doing three things each and every day:
1. Seek God’s purpose.
2. Carry out God’s purpose after He reveals it to us.
3. Remain in His purpose until you accomplish what He wants you to do after which you should go back to step 1 and start seeking again.
For one thing is certain, there will never be a time when God will not have a purpose for you. Believe and trust in that. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
http://www.faithhopeandlove.info/
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
Saturday, October 18, 2008
LET GOD RULE OVER YOU
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
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 this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As we finish Judges, Chapter 8, we see the final excerpt in the lie 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 man who fashions an ephod which his people ended up worshipping in his town of Ophrah. Truly, in Gideon we see a classic example of an inconsistent servant of the Lord…someone that I have mentioned prior that we could probably relate to.
For I often wonder how God must feel about us as we go through life day-by-day…the 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 the next 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. That key? It comes in who we allow to rule over us in 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 Gideon anywhere. We read where they say to Gideon, “Rule over us — you, your son and your grandson — because you have saved us out of the hand of Midian." Not only would Israel submit to Gideon’s leadership but the leadership of his descendents as well.
But Gideon would have none of what Israel was proposing. Instead, he turned Israel’s attention to where it needed to be…on the Lord…the One who had truly handed Midian over to the Israelites. For Gideon tells the people, “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.
Truly, the key to consistently living in the way that God expects us to live is to surrender ourselves and allow Him and Him alone to rule over us. After all, He and He alone is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. There is no greater power and authority over Him…and there is no greater power or authority over us as well. That power…God’s power…will allow us to become the steady, faithful, trustworthy servant that God desires us to be…a servant that will model the life of His Son…our Savior…Jesus Christ.
And as Christians…isn’t that what we’re supposed to be doing? Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
http://www.faithhopeandlove.info/
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
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 this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As we finish Judges, Chapter 8, we see the final excerpt in the lie 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 man who fashions an ephod which his people ended up worshipping in his town of Ophrah. Truly, in Gideon we see a classic example of an inconsistent servant of the Lord…someone that I have mentioned prior that we could probably relate to.
For I often wonder how God must feel about us as we go through life day-by-day…the 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 the next 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. That key? It comes in who we allow to rule over us in 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 Gideon anywhere. We read where they say to Gideon, “Rule over us — you, your son and your grandson — because you have saved us out of the hand of Midian." Not only would Israel submit to Gideon’s leadership but the leadership of his descendents as well.
But Gideon would have none of what Israel was proposing. Instead, he turned Israel’s attention to where it needed to be…on the Lord…the One who had truly handed Midian over to the Israelites. For Gideon tells the people, “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.
Truly, the key to consistently living in the way that God expects us to live is to surrender ourselves and allow Him and Him alone to rule over us. After all, He and He alone is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. There is no greater power and authority over Him…and there is no greater power or authority over us as well. That power…God’s power…will allow us to become the steady, faithful, trustworthy servant that God desires us to be…a servant that will model the life of His Son…our Savior…Jesus Christ.
And as Christians…isn’t that what we’re supposed to be doing? Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
http://www.faithhopeandlove.info/
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
Friday, October 17, 2008
IT'S ALL ABOUT LOVE
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
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 this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Judges, Chapter 7 details Gideon’s victory over the Midian army as God handed the Midianites over to him and the 300 men that God appointed to fight with him. You’ll recall that God sent Gideon with such a small force so that Gideon would realize that it was God who had given them victory, not their own actions.
Up to this point, we have seen a Gideon who was obedient to God and carried out His will. As we open Chapter 8, we will see a different Gideon, one who becomes obsessed with his power and darkly vengeful in his actions.
In the first few verses, we see Gideon confronted by the Ephraimites who criticized him sharply while asking him, "Why have you treated us like this? Why didn't you call us when you went to fight Midian?" It’s obvious that the men of Ephraim did not take kindly to just finishing up what Gideon and his 300 men had started, having wanted to be a part of the initial attacking force…the force who would be entitled to all the spoils of victory.
Take notice here how Ephraim didn’t consult God about their concerns. If they had, God would have surely explained that the 300 men were ordained by Him to go and fight. He would have told the Ephraimites that Gideon had not personally made the selections but had instead followed the directions He had given. No…Ephraim didn’t consult God because they were so caught up in their own pride and greed. It was all about them.
How often do we find ourselves like Ephraim? We see others succeed or have good things happen to them and sit around and covet their successes, wishing we were in their place or a part of their winning team. Satan definitely uses our pride and selfishness against us at any opportunity he can find. We need to recognize these sinful attitudes when they begin to take root within us and turn to the Lord for strength and guidance. For if we do this, the Lord will always lead us to an attitude of joy for what others have accomplished…to a spirit of congratulations instead of resentment.
Going back to our passage for today, we see 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. He also praised the fruits of Ephraim’s harvest to get Ephraim to look at how they had been truly blessed by God in other ways. And we see where Gideon’s words took root in the hearts of the Ephraimites for scripture tells us that “their resentment against him subsided”.
Having resolved the conflict with Ephraim, “Gideon and his three hundred men, exhausted yet keeping up the pursuit, came to the Jordan and crossed it” coming to the town of Succoth. There, he 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." Gideon asked expecting hospitality but didn’t get what he expected.
For 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?" Once again, we see Gideon facing conflict but his reaction to the officials of Succoth was far different than with Ephraim. For his tone is one of anger and retribution as he told them, “Just for that, when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will tear your flesh with desert thorns and briers." The word “tear” in this verse can also be translated as “thresh” which connects better to the Gideon we were introduced to…the Gideon threshing wheat in a winepress under an oak tree. (Judges 6:11) Gideon’s words paint a pretty gruesome scene…one of suffering and revenge.
How often do we do this as well? Someone disrespects us or violates us in some way and we immediately react in a vindictive, retaliatory fashion. We might not vow to tear someone else’s flesh but any feelings of malice toward another that rises up within us is not of God but of Satan. Keep in mind that Jesus taught us to love our enemies (Matthew 5:43-44) not hate them. For in Him, we see the model of forgiveness, grace, mercy and love, even when those He loved so much shouted for Him to be crucified. Jesus didn’t condemn them but rather asked His Father to forgive them for they didn’t know what they were doing. (Luke 23:34) He did so to validate His words…love your enemies. He expects us to follow His example.
Gideon might have been led to this level of forgiveness and grace had he consulted God. But not once did he do so in Succoth. Neither did he do so in Peniel where he went next, again asking for bread for his 300 men and again being denied. Gideon responded with another retributional threat, telling the “men of Peniel, ‘When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower.’ "
Gideon then leaves Peniel and attacked the “unsuspecting army of “Zebah and Zalmunna…”a force of about fifteen thousand men” encamped at Karkor. The army was routed and when the two Midianite kings, Zebah and Zalmunna, tried to flee, Gideon pursued and captured them. He then took them with him as he returned to exact judgment on Succoth and Peniel as he had promised.
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. .
Indeed, we see a very troubling, evil side to Gideon as this passage continues. For after Succoth and Peniel, he turns his attention to the two kings and asks them, "What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?" "Men like you," they answered, "each one with the bearing of a prince." Little did the kings know that they had murdered Gideon’s brother at Mount Tabor, an action that would now cost them their lives. For Gideon angrily proclaims, “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." But their lives were not spared and Gideon was set on making the kings pay the price.
Notice once more that Gideon doesn’t turn to the Lord for direction. No…he is driven solely by blind rage…a rage that can easily come upon anyone who allows hatred to overcome love and forgiveness. God could have helped Gideon through this difficult time but Gideon wasn’t interested in God. It was all about what He saw as being just that counted, even if it meant killing.
What happened next must have come as a bit of a surprise, for instead of killing the kings himself, Gideon turned to “Jether, his oldest son” and commanded him to "Kill them!" But scripture tells us that “Jether did not draw his sword, because he was only a boy and was afraid”. And amazingly, the two kings almost mock Gideon telling him to kill them himself because “As is the man, so is his strength." And so Gideon did it…he “stepped forward and killed” the Midianite kings, taking their “ornaments off their camels' necks” afterwards.
As we have seen with so many other Old Testament figures, they have flaws just like you and I. Although they were often hand-selected by God to do His will, nonetheless, they were still sinners and just a prone to falling and failing as anyone else. And we see this happen the most when these Old Testament figures decide to turn away from God in what they do. They get so caught up in their own needs and desires that God becomes secondary. And this is when they get into trouble.
Friends, the same applies to all of us. We can be as good or as bad as we choose to be. We can be as sinful or as holy as we choose to be. It’s all about choice in the end. Choose to follow God and always seek His guidance and you have made the choice to do what is good and holy and righteous and just. But decide to turn from God and you can become like Gideon…resenting, revengeful, hateful, evil. Ultimately, the difference maker between these two choices of good and evil is love. Love for the Lord will always lead us to relate and commune with Him. And that will ultimately lead us to a love attitude toward others, even those who do us wrong. Choose the not love the Lord and watch Satan enter into your heart and mind and soul…leading you to wrong others just as they have wronged you. Satan would want to take us as far away from love as possible. We can’t afford to allow that to happen.
So what do we gain from our lesson today? My hope is that we see our way clear to love everyone at all times…just as our Lord does. We can only reach this goal if we strive to be like the Lord in every way ourselves and we can’t possibly attain that goal if we aren’t full committed to live for him 24/7, 365 days of the year. Let us all strive toward this goal, knowing we serve a Lord who is ever ready to guide us right…now and forever. Thanks be to God.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
http://www.faithhopeandlove.info/
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
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 this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Judges, Chapter 7 details Gideon’s victory over the Midian army as God handed the Midianites over to him and the 300 men that God appointed to fight with him. You’ll recall that God sent Gideon with such a small force so that Gideon would realize that it was God who had given them victory, not their own actions.
Up to this point, we have seen a Gideon who was obedient to God and carried out His will. As we open Chapter 8, we will see a different Gideon, one who becomes obsessed with his power and darkly vengeful in his actions.
In the first few verses, we see Gideon confronted by the Ephraimites who criticized him sharply while asking him, "Why have you treated us like this? Why didn't you call us when you went to fight Midian?" It’s obvious that the men of Ephraim did not take kindly to just finishing up what Gideon and his 300 men had started, having wanted to be a part of the initial attacking force…the force who would be entitled to all the spoils of victory.
Take notice here how Ephraim didn’t consult God about their concerns. If they had, God would have surely explained that the 300 men were ordained by Him to go and fight. He would have told the Ephraimites that Gideon had not personally made the selections but had instead followed the directions He had given. No…Ephraim didn’t consult God because they were so caught up in their own pride and greed. It was all about them.
How often do we find ourselves like Ephraim? We see others succeed or have good things happen to them and sit around and covet their successes, wishing we were in their place or a part of their winning team. Satan definitely uses our pride and selfishness against us at any opportunity he can find. We need to recognize these sinful attitudes when they begin to take root within us and turn to the Lord for strength and guidance. For if we do this, the Lord will always lead us to an attitude of joy for what others have accomplished…to a spirit of congratulations instead of resentment.
Going back to our passage for today, we see 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. He also praised the fruits of Ephraim’s harvest to get Ephraim to look at how they had been truly blessed by God in other ways. And we see where Gideon’s words took root in the hearts of the Ephraimites for scripture tells us that “their resentment against him subsided”.
Having resolved the conflict with Ephraim, “Gideon and his three hundred men, exhausted yet keeping up the pursuit, came to the Jordan and crossed it” coming to the town of Succoth. There, he 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." Gideon asked expecting hospitality but didn’t get what he expected.
For 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?" Once again, we see Gideon facing conflict but his reaction to the officials of Succoth was far different than with Ephraim. For his tone is one of anger and retribution as he told them, “Just for that, when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will tear your flesh with desert thorns and briers." The word “tear” in this verse can also be translated as “thresh” which connects better to the Gideon we were introduced to…the Gideon threshing wheat in a winepress under an oak tree. (Judges 6:11) Gideon’s words paint a pretty gruesome scene…one of suffering and revenge.
How often do we do this as well? Someone disrespects us or violates us in some way and we immediately react in a vindictive, retaliatory fashion. We might not vow to tear someone else’s flesh but any feelings of malice toward another that rises up within us is not of God but of Satan. Keep in mind that Jesus taught us to love our enemies (Matthew 5:43-44) not hate them. For in Him, we see the model of forgiveness, grace, mercy and love, even when those He loved so much shouted for Him to be crucified. Jesus didn’t condemn them but rather asked His Father to forgive them for they didn’t know what they were doing. (Luke 23:34) He did so to validate His words…love your enemies. He expects us to follow His example.
Gideon might have been led to this level of forgiveness and grace had he consulted God. But not once did he do so in Succoth. Neither did he do so in Peniel where he went next, again asking for bread for his 300 men and again being denied. Gideon responded with another retributional threat, telling the “men of Peniel, ‘When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower.’ "
Gideon then leaves Peniel and attacked the “unsuspecting army of “Zebah and Zalmunna…”a force of about fifteen thousand men” encamped at Karkor. The army was routed and when the two Midianite kings, Zebah and Zalmunna, tried to flee, Gideon pursued and captured them. He then took them with him as he returned to exact judgment on Succoth and Peniel as he had promised.
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. .
Indeed, we see a very troubling, evil side to Gideon as this passage continues. For after Succoth and Peniel, he turns his attention to the two kings and asks them, "What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?" "Men like you," they answered, "each one with the bearing of a prince." Little did the kings know that they had murdered Gideon’s brother at Mount Tabor, an action that would now cost them their lives. For Gideon angrily proclaims, “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." But their lives were not spared and Gideon was set on making the kings pay the price.
Notice once more that Gideon doesn’t turn to the Lord for direction. No…he is driven solely by blind rage…a rage that can easily come upon anyone who allows hatred to overcome love and forgiveness. God could have helped Gideon through this difficult time but Gideon wasn’t interested in God. It was all about what He saw as being just that counted, even if it meant killing.
What happened next must have come as a bit of a surprise, for instead of killing the kings himself, Gideon turned to “Jether, his oldest son” and commanded him to "Kill them!" But scripture tells us that “Jether did not draw his sword, because he was only a boy and was afraid”. And amazingly, the two kings almost mock Gideon telling him to kill them himself because “As is the man, so is his strength." And so Gideon did it…he “stepped forward and killed” the Midianite kings, taking their “ornaments off their camels' necks” afterwards.
As we have seen with so many other Old Testament figures, they have flaws just like you and I. Although they were often hand-selected by God to do His will, nonetheless, they were still sinners and just a prone to falling and failing as anyone else. And we see this happen the most when these Old Testament figures decide to turn away from God in what they do. They get so caught up in their own needs and desires that God becomes secondary. And this is when they get into trouble.
Friends, the same applies to all of us. We can be as good or as bad as we choose to be. We can be as sinful or as holy as we choose to be. It’s all about choice in the end. Choose to follow God and always seek His guidance and you have made the choice to do what is good and holy and righteous and just. But decide to turn from God and you can become like Gideon…resenting, revengeful, hateful, evil. Ultimately, the difference maker between these two choices of good and evil is love. Love for the Lord will always lead us to relate and commune with Him. And that will ultimately lead us to a love attitude toward others, even those who do us wrong. Choose the not love the Lord and watch Satan enter into your heart and mind and soul…leading you to wrong others just as they have wronged you. Satan would want to take us as far away from love as possible. We can’t afford to allow that to happen.
So what do we gain from our lesson today? My hope is that we see our way clear to love everyone at all times…just as our Lord does. We can only reach this goal if we strive to be like the Lord in every way ourselves and we can’t possibly attain that goal if we aren’t full committed to live for him 24/7, 365 days of the year. Let us all strive toward this goal, knowing we serve a Lord who is ever ready to guide us right…now and forever. Thanks be to God.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
http://www.faithhopeandlove.info/
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
ALL GLORY TO GOD
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. The Lord said to Gideon, "You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, announce now to the people, 'Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.' " So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.
But the Lord said to Gideon, "There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say, 'This one shall go with you,' he shall go; but if I say, 'This one shall not go with you,' he shall not go."
So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, "Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink." Three hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.
The Lord said to Gideon, "With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the other men go, each to his own place." So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites to their tents but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others.
Now the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley. During that night the Lord said to Gideon, "Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands. If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp." So he and Purah his servant went down to the outposts of the camp. The Midianites, the Amalekites and all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley, thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore.
Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream. "I had a dream," he was saying. "A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed."
His friend responded, "This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands."
When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped God. He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, "Get up! The Lord has given the Midianite camp into your hands." Dividing the three hundred men into three companies, he placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them, with torches inside.
"Watch me," he told them. "Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do. When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, 'For the Lord and for Gideon.' "
Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands. The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, "A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!" While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled.
When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the Lord caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. The army fled to Beth Shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath. Israelites from Naphtali, Asher and all Manasseh were called out, and they pursued the Midianites. Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, saying, "Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of them as far as Beth Barah."
So all the men of Ephraim were called out and they took the waters of the Jordan as far as Beth Barah. They also captured two of the Midianite leaders, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued the Midianites and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was by the Jordan.
Judges 7
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
In Chapter 6, we saw where God provided Gideon several signs to assure him that He was with him. All this was after God had told Gideon that he was to deliver the Israelites from the oppression brought on by Midian. As Chapter 7 opens, Gideon is preparing to do just that.
We read where the Midianites were camped out in a valley “near the hill of Moreh” which was north of the Israelite camp “at the spring of Harod”. Gideon had formed a formidable group of men to take on the mighty Midianites but God had other plans. For He says to Gideon, “You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands”. And so He told Gideon to tell his army, “Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead”, and scripture tells us that “twenty-two thousand men left”.
So why did God do this?
Because He didn’t want Israel to feel like they had won victory over Midian on their own and boast about their own strength. Instead, He wanted to make sure that He was praised and glorified by the results.
God’s concerns were definitely legitimate. For too often, His people fall into the trap of pride, arrogance and self-centeredness. Too often, it’s all about us as we can’t wait to show people how good we are…how talented we are…how affluent we are…how attractive we are…and I could go on and on and on but you get the point. God expects that we give Him credit for everything good that we have or accomplish. For it’s by Him and Him alone that we are blessed.
Back to our passage for today as Gideon is now down to ten thousand men. This is still too many for God who orders another elimination phase where Gideon’s forces will be reduced even further. God command Gideon to take his men down to the water, observing how they drink, and Gideon complied. Then we read that the Lord told him, "Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink” and all but three hundred got down on their knees to drink. God told Gideon He would give the Midianites into his hands with the “three hundred men that lapped” and so “Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites to their tents” as God commanded. The remaining three hundred “took over the provisions and trumpets of the others”.
So the stage was set. Gideon and his three hundred men against the powerful Midianite forces. While looking merely at the number of fighting men on each side, it would have been seen as a tremendous mismatch with Israel set up for slaughter. But there was an additional member of Gideon’s team that more than made up for his lack of men. Gideon had God.
So as Gideon looked down upon the massive Midianite camp, God came to him in the night and said, “Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands. If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp." So Gideon and Purah his servant went down to the “outposts of the camp” and arrived just as a man was telling a friend about a dream he had. In the dream, the man said “a round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp”, striking the tent “with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed." This led the friend to reply, “This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands." This was all Gideon needed to hear. God was making good on what He had promised and this led Gideon to a spirit of worship.
How often do we forget to immediately give God praise for what He does for us? For the Lord is always making good on His promises to us and yet we too often fail to stop and worship Him for His goodness and providence. We should all strive to be like Gideon, praising the Lord in worship and giving Him all the glory for the good and perfect things He does in our lives and in the lives of others.
Well, our passage tells us that Gideon “returned to the camp of Israel” after worshipping and rallied his three hundred men together saying, “Get up! The Lord has given the Midianite camp into your hands." He then divided “the three hundred men into three companies” and “placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them with torches inside” before giving them the following orders:
"Watch me…Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do. When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, 'For the Lord and for Gideon.' "
So Gideon and hundred of his men “reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard” and “blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands”. The three companies followed suit, blowing their trumpets and smashing their jars” before “grasping their torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow”. The men shouted, "A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!" and scripture tells us that “while each man held his position around the camp…all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled”.
The battle had begun with Midian running for their lives and “when the three hundred trumpets sounded”, we read where “the Lord caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords”. The Midian army “fled to Beth Shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath” and were pursued by the “Israelites from Naphtali, Asher and all Manasseh”. Additionally, “Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim and called on its men to “seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of (the Midianites) as far as Beth Barah” which they did. Through all the conflict, “two of the Midianite leaders, Oreb and Zeeb” were captured and killed. Their heads were then taken to “Gideon, who was by the Jordan”.
And so God once again proved that He could make the improbable probable…the impossible possible…the remarkable seem commonplace. By His power, not Israel’s, He had delivered His people from the oppression of Midian and had developed a very obedient, respected leader in Gideon in the process. And in Gideon, we have truly seen where God can do extraordinary things through ordinary people. All this adds up to continue to show us that we serve an almighty, powerful, amazing, awesome God who can and will do all things in accordance with His will. Truly nothing is beyond the works of His hands and thus He and only He deserves all our glory…today, tomorrow and forever more. Let us give Him all our praise. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
http://www.faithhopeandlove.info/
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. The Lord said to Gideon, "You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, announce now to the people, 'Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.' " So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.
But the Lord said to Gideon, "There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say, 'This one shall go with you,' he shall go; but if I say, 'This one shall not go with you,' he shall not go."
So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, "Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink." Three hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.
The Lord said to Gideon, "With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the other men go, each to his own place." So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites to their tents but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others.
Now the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley. During that night the Lord said to Gideon, "Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands. If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp." So he and Purah his servant went down to the outposts of the camp. The Midianites, the Amalekites and all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley, thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore.
Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream. "I had a dream," he was saying. "A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed."
His friend responded, "This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands."
When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped God. He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, "Get up! The Lord has given the Midianite camp into your hands." Dividing the three hundred men into three companies, he placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them, with torches inside.
"Watch me," he told them. "Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do. When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, 'For the Lord and for Gideon.' "
Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands. The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, "A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!" While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled.
When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the Lord caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. The army fled to Beth Shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath. Israelites from Naphtali, Asher and all Manasseh were called out, and they pursued the Midianites. Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, saying, "Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of them as far as Beth Barah."
So all the men of Ephraim were called out and they took the waters of the Jordan as far as Beth Barah. They also captured two of the Midianite leaders, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued the Midianites and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was by the Jordan.
Judges 7
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
In Chapter 6, we saw where God provided Gideon several signs to assure him that He was with him. All this was after God had told Gideon that he was to deliver the Israelites from the oppression brought on by Midian. As Chapter 7 opens, Gideon is preparing to do just that.
We read where the Midianites were camped out in a valley “near the hill of Moreh” which was north of the Israelite camp “at the spring of Harod”. Gideon had formed a formidable group of men to take on the mighty Midianites but God had other plans. For He says to Gideon, “You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands”. And so He told Gideon to tell his army, “Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead”, and scripture tells us that “twenty-two thousand men left”.
So why did God do this?
Because He didn’t want Israel to feel like they had won victory over Midian on their own and boast about their own strength. Instead, He wanted to make sure that He was praised and glorified by the results.
God’s concerns were definitely legitimate. For too often, His people fall into the trap of pride, arrogance and self-centeredness. Too often, it’s all about us as we can’t wait to show people how good we are…how talented we are…how affluent we are…how attractive we are…and I could go on and on and on but you get the point. God expects that we give Him credit for everything good that we have or accomplish. For it’s by Him and Him alone that we are blessed.
Back to our passage for today as Gideon is now down to ten thousand men. This is still too many for God who orders another elimination phase where Gideon’s forces will be reduced even further. God command Gideon to take his men down to the water, observing how they drink, and Gideon complied. Then we read that the Lord told him, "Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink” and all but three hundred got down on their knees to drink. God told Gideon He would give the Midianites into his hands with the “three hundred men that lapped” and so “Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites to their tents” as God commanded. The remaining three hundred “took over the provisions and trumpets of the others”.
So the stage was set. Gideon and his three hundred men against the powerful Midianite forces. While looking merely at the number of fighting men on each side, it would have been seen as a tremendous mismatch with Israel set up for slaughter. But there was an additional member of Gideon’s team that more than made up for his lack of men. Gideon had God.
So as Gideon looked down upon the massive Midianite camp, God came to him in the night and said, “Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands. If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp." So Gideon and Purah his servant went down to the “outposts of the camp” and arrived just as a man was telling a friend about a dream he had. In the dream, the man said “a round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp”, striking the tent “with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed." This led the friend to reply, “This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands." This was all Gideon needed to hear. God was making good on what He had promised and this led Gideon to a spirit of worship.
How often do we forget to immediately give God praise for what He does for us? For the Lord is always making good on His promises to us and yet we too often fail to stop and worship Him for His goodness and providence. We should all strive to be like Gideon, praising the Lord in worship and giving Him all the glory for the good and perfect things He does in our lives and in the lives of others.
Well, our passage tells us that Gideon “returned to the camp of Israel” after worshipping and rallied his three hundred men together saying, “Get up! The Lord has given the Midianite camp into your hands." He then divided “the three hundred men into three companies” and “placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them with torches inside” before giving them the following orders:
"Watch me…Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do. When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, 'For the Lord and for Gideon.' "
So Gideon and hundred of his men “reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard” and “blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands”. The three companies followed suit, blowing their trumpets and smashing their jars” before “grasping their torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow”. The men shouted, "A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!" and scripture tells us that “while each man held his position around the camp…all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled”.
The battle had begun with Midian running for their lives and “when the three hundred trumpets sounded”, we read where “the Lord caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords”. The Midian army “fled to Beth Shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath” and were pursued by the “Israelites from Naphtali, Asher and all Manasseh”. Additionally, “Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim and called on its men to “seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of (the Midianites) as far as Beth Barah” which they did. Through all the conflict, “two of the Midianite leaders, Oreb and Zeeb” were captured and killed. Their heads were then taken to “Gideon, who was by the Jordan”.
And so God once again proved that He could make the improbable probable…the impossible possible…the remarkable seem commonplace. By His power, not Israel’s, He had delivered His people from the oppression of Midian and had developed a very obedient, respected leader in Gideon in the process. And in Gideon, we have truly seen where God can do extraordinary things through ordinary people. All this adds up to continue to show us that we serve an almighty, powerful, amazing, awesome God who can and will do all things in accordance with His will. Truly nothing is beyond the works of His hands and thus He and only He deserves all our glory…today, tomorrow and forever more. Let us give Him all our praise. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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