I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Judges 4-6.

    This passage shows us that the Judges of Israel were not always military leaders. Deborah was a prophet and judge of Israel. When declared to her that it was time to overthrow the forces oppressing the Israelites, she sent word to Barak, a military leader of the people. It seems likely that if Barak had not been afraid to go into battle without the prophetess along that we would not have heard of Deborah (that, by the way, does not mean that her significance would have been any less). I would also like to point out that I am not suggesting that Barak was a coward. One thing that I want to make clear, Barak did not do anything wrong in this story. However, because he insisted on having Deborah with him when he went into battle, he did not get credit for the victory.

    NExt we have the story of the call of Gideon. I am convinced that Gideon had been among those calling on the Lord for help. It strikes me that he was likely troubled by the way in which his fellow Israelites worshiped idols. As I have been reading the Bible more and more, I have become convinced that the average Israelite did not see a distinction between God and Baal. They believed that the people worshiping Baal were worshiping the same God as they were. They understood that the methods of worship were different and that some of the practices which were followed were different, but they believed they were all worshiping the same god. They even recognized that some of the practices which the Baal worshipers followed were wrong, but even then they believed them to be merely misguided, not serving a different god. From time to time, a leader would rise up who would call the Israelites to a purer worship of God. A leader who would show them the distinction between Baal and Yahweh. Gideon was one such leader. He did not start out as a military leader doing battle against the oppressors of Israel. He started out as a religious leader calling for a rejection of idolatry and faithful worship of God. This is an important reminder for us. Reclaiming our land for God starts with being more faithful in worshiping Him.