God's Will

I Sam. 2:25

"But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the Lord to put them to death."

Hophni and Phineas were worthless men who did not know the Lord even though they were the sons of Eli and served as priests at Shiloh. Not only did they treat the offering of the Lord with contempt, but they did immoral acts with woman serving at the tent of meeting. Eli was not ignorant their behavior and spoke to them asking why. Even though that seems pretty weak, he did tell them that their would be no one to mediate for them with God. As a result, God declared that Eli's house would be cut off from the service of the Lord and his two sons would die on the same day. How sad! Eli's spiritual vision was so clouded that he couldn't see or deal properly with his sons. In his mind, he knew what God would do, but in his heart and his life he could do nothing.

As I read this story, I wonder who was to blame. Did Eli educate his sons in the ways of the Lord, or was Eli's heart far from the Lord as well? Was Eli's spiritual insight so dulled that all he did was go through the motions of being a priest? Was he just an indulgent father? Whatever the problem, the sons would not listen or heed their father. Perhaps they were very strong-willed and would not listen to their father, but at the same time, it says that it was the will of the Lord to put them to death. This story poses all kinds of questions about parenting and training, but at the same time I see that the will of God outweighs anything man can do. God was working out His plan for Israel by bringing Samuel to the forefront. It is good for me to remember that God's will always orchestras the ways of man. Certainly, Eli should have been a good father, but these were the circumstances that God chose to have his man Samuel as His voice.  How man's actions and God's will operate together is a great mystery, a mystery that doesn't negate human obedience and faithfulness or negate God's will and purpose. What is my answer? I must be obedient to God's word and seek to bring Him glory. I must trust His sovereign will and plan for my life. What He says will come to pass!

Father,

Help me trust You even though I don't understand many things. Thank You for Your words that guide me and give me life.

In Jesus name,

Amen

No King

Judges 21:25

"In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes."

Where was Israel without a king, either human or divine? Sadly, they did what was right in their own eyes. If everyone acted independently of the others and pleased themselves, then strife, conflict, and confusion would result. Specifically, the men of Gilead would be aggressively violent to others. The whole incident toward the Levite and his concubine ended with the nation going to war against the tribe of Benjamin, nearly eliminating one tribe. However, at the conclusion of the event the tribe of Benjamin was intact, and the others went back to their inheritances.

Where would I be without my King? No doubt, I would be doing what would be right in my own eyes. Without Jesus as my Lord and Master, all forms of evil would result. But thankfully, Jesus is my King and I have His Words as my guide and my lifeline. How revealing is this account about the heart of man! Without the King of Kings in the life, evil runs rampant. There is no hope for peace. As I look at the world around me, I see that men still are doing what is right in their own eyes. Mankind still needs a king, the King of Kings. Jesus is the only answer for the evil, selfish heart of man.

Father,

Keep my eyes on You, my King. Give me the strength to have Your grace be my all sufficiency for all things and at all times.

In Jesus name,

Amen

The End

Judges 16:30

"And Samson said, 'Let me die with the Philistines.'Then he bowed with all his strength, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life."

How sad! Samson achieved more in his death than he did in his life. The phenomenal strength that God had given him to deliver Israel was wasted over the fleeting pleasures of a woman. His flesh won out over his spirit until the very end of his life when finally he cried out to God for help and killed 3000 men and women.  Even with this, Israel was not delivered. "In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes." 

Micah, a man of the hill country, crafted his own shrine, made an ephod and household gods, and even ordained one of his sons to be a priest believing that God would bless him now that he had his own priest.  Later, a group of 600 Danite men spied out an area for their inheritance. But before, taking the land, they heard about Micah's gods and priest so they came and took them. Micah could do nothing in retaliation because of their strength. Religion had degenerated so far as to be something that could be stolen having nothing to do with their hearts. How far from God were His chosen people! Sadly, doing what was right in their own eyes, did not involve following the commands of God in any way. Instead, they patterned their lives after the heathen people that God had commanded them to destroy. 

It didn't matter if it was Samson, Micah, a tribe, or a nation, when their eyes were away from God, sin resulted! Man can not do what is right in his own eyes and be pleasing to God! Man can only please God when his eyes are on Him and his heart is obedient to all that God says.

Father,

Thank You for choosing me as Your child. Help me to keep my eyes always on You. Show me how to 'put off' and 'put on' so that I might be used of You.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Father,

The Glorious Beginning

Judges 13:3-6

"And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, 'Behold you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines."

What a glorious beginning! Not only was his birth foretold by the angel of the Lord, but his and his mother's lifestyle was described before it began. He was to be a Nazirite, someone set apart for God. He was to save Israel from the Philistines. Surely, out of such a beginning as this, greatness would follow, but sadly it didn't. The account says that the woman bore a son named Samson who grew and was blessed by the Lord. The Spirit of the Lord began to stir in him, but his vision was clouded. He saw a Philistine woman and wanted her as his wife. Disregarding the advice of his parents,  he took her and she became his first break with God. He blatantly disobeyed God's instruction about marriage. Even though he had done this, God did use him. The Spirit of God did rush upon him at times in miraculous ways, and he did judge Israel for 20 years. But what would his life have been like if he had wholly obeyed God? What a parallel to Israel! Up and down, times of obedience and miracles, and times of disobedience, idolatry, and foreign women. So sad to see someone chosen by God begin in such a way and throw it all away for the lust of the eyes and the lust of the flesh. Am I up and down in my spiritual life? Do I still see the world and desire its pleasures?

Lord,
Thank You for gloriously choosing me to be Your child. Help me to stay strong and faithful to You by the power of Your grace. Keep my eyes on You and  not on the pleasures of the flesh.

In Jesus name,

Amen

The Power of Words

Judges 11:35

"...For I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot take back my vow."

Jephthah told the Lord that if He would give the Ammonites into his hand, then whatever came out from the doors of his house to meet him would be the Lord's as a burnt offering. The Lord did as Jephthah requested giving him the victory over the Ammonites. As Jephthah approached his house, his daughter came running out to him. His grief was immediate. His only child was to be sacrificed because of his words. He saw firsthand the power of words and their consequences.

However, his daughter responded differently to the vow. Willingly and submissively, she told her father to do as he vowed, but to allow her a 2 month period to mourn her virginity. At the end of that time, she returned and her father completed his vow. Her life was over, but God had destroyed the enemy.

How powerful are words! Is making a vow like this an effort to coerce God or to get something from God? God is sovereign, and His power overrules all man's desires, thoughts, and plan. Since this is true, would the Ammonites have been destroyed without Jephthah's vow? Would his daughter have lived a longer life? Or was the vow the method that God chose to work? I do not know, but I can say wholeheartedly, words are powerful!

Father,

Keep me constantly resting in Your sovereign power and purpose, Help me to desire Your will above all my plans and desires. Teach me to be submissive and dependent.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

How Soon!

Judges 8:33-34

"As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned again and whored after the Baals and made Baal-berith their God. And the people of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies on every side..."

Forty years of rest had vanished because the people whored after idols. Their memories of God were replaced with a cheap and false substitute. Not only did they forget what God had done for them, but they forgot Gideon's family. Once Gideon was off the scene physically, he had lost their honor and respect. Sadly, there was no enduring love for God's man or God Himself! Good was consumed with evil.

The power of the flesh is so strong that its false pleasures obliterate God. What a warning! Idolatry can not coexist with God. Two opposing masters are an impossibility within the human heart. How often do I remember what God has done in my life? Do I keep Him and His servants as my priority? Do I guard against my flesh as it ever seeks to take hold in my heart? 

Father,

Keep my memories of You and all You have done strong in my mind. Strengthen me in my battle against my flesh. Grow me in Your grace. 

In Jesus name,

Amen 

For the Lord and for Gideon

Judges 7:16

"When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp and shout, 'For the Lord and for Gideon."

The angel of the Lord recognized Gideon as a mighty man of valor who was called to save Israel from the Midianites. But Gideon, from a human point of view, was a man of fear, excuses, and tests. First he declared that his clan was the weakest in Manasseh, and if that was not enough, he was the least in his father's house. God reassured him telling him he would attack Midian as one man, one man empowered by God. Should this have been enough for Gideon?

Strangely enough, it was not. Gideon asked God for further signs to prove to him that he was to really do what God had said. After the first test, he declared that he had seen the angel of the Lord. He even built an altar there calling it "The Lord is peace.' Certainly, Gideon would be alright now.

God called him to pull down the altar of Baal and replace it with an altar to the one, true God. Gideon obeyed, but he was so afraid of his family and the men of the town, that he did it by night.The men came for him, but his father defended him. From that day on, he was known as Jerubbaal which means 'Let Baal contend against him.' God used him mightily in spite of his fear.

As the Midianites approached, the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon. Even though he bravely called for his men, he had his own private conversation with God where he asked God to show him two more signs confirming his mission. Even though fear was his ever present companion, God was patient with him.

Before the battle, God told Gideon that he had too many men in his army. Finally there were only 300 men. God spoke to him that night and told him that the Midianites would be delivered into his hands, but that if he was still afraid, he could take his servant with him when he went into the enemy camp to hear what they had to say. He did take his servant! But after hearing the words of the enemy, his heart was strengthened. He went back to his men and gave the orders. With a trumpet and a shout, he yelled,  'For the Lord and for Gideon.' The battle was decidedly the Lord's. His power was sufficient in the face of Gideon's overwhelming fear.

When God chooses a man to be his servant, it doesn't matter if he is fearful because God's power is what enables the man. Whatever the weaknesses of any servant of God, God's grace is still stronger and more abundant. "For my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Does this apply to me? Yes, Yes! All my weaknesses are opportunities for service because of the grace of God. God does not want my talents or my gifts; instead, He wants my dependence on Him. Is that why He used Gideon? Even though Gideon was afraid, he came to God for what he needed. He didn't do anything in his human strength or with his own plan. His way was completely God orchestrated!

Father,
Help me to see all my weaknesses so that I might come to You for Your grace. Use me as you did Gideon.
In Jesus name,
Amen