Today, I am reading and commenting on Judges 7-8.

I debated on writing my initial thoughts about today’s passage because they are about the obvious lessons from this passage.  However, they are important lessons.  The first lesson relates to something I heard someone say when talking about a New Testament passage (I no longer remember either who said it, or what passage they were talking about), but it’s related to today’s passage.  The person said, “If you look at what you feel called by God to do and think, ‘I can do that.’  That isn’t what God is calling you to do.”  He went on to say that God calls us to tasks which we can only accomplish through the grace of God.  God calls us to tasks where we must give credit to Him.  When Gideon saw the army which had assembled in response to his call-to-arms, God told him that if he went into battle with that many men, the people of Israel would think they had won because of their prowess in battle and would not give credit to God for delivering them.

Now, I do not think that the quote I gave above is necessarily accurate…I think that sometimes God does call us to tasks about which we will say, “I can do that.”  In fact, I think to some degree He does so in ways which relate to the second lesson from today’s passage.  After God had reduced Gideon’s army to a mere 300 men, He gave Gideon a sign to reassure him that God would deliver the Midianites into his hands.  When we think about this, it is important to remember that Gideon had only summoned the Israelites to fight because God had given him a sign (actually, multiple signs) that He was calling him.  So, before going into battle, God gave Gideon a sign that God was going to use his plan to defeat the Midianites.  When God calls us, He will give us signs that we are doing His will, and that we are still on track.

As an example of this, almost 25 years ago when my fiancé, now wife, were planning our wedding we received such a sign.  For reasons, we had put our wedding planning on hold.  Then we resumed planning just a few months out and my wife had decided that she wanted a particular venue for our reception.  We spoke with the proprietor, who told us, “I am sorry.  I have no openings for the next two years, except for this specific date.  The couple that had reserved that date just cancelled yesterday.”  The specific date he had open, which had just opened up the day before we spoke to him, was the day which we had chosen for our wedding.  We locked in the date immediately.  As soon as we left, I told my now wife that this was God giving us a sign, that there would be times in our marriage when we would wonder if we had done the right thing in getting married.  God had him say that as a reminder to us that He had blessed our marriage.  If you have any question in your mind that you are doing God’s will, ask Him and He will provide you with a sign.  In this case we had not asked for a sign, just as in today’s passage Gideon had not asked for a sign, but God knew that we, like Gideon here, needed a sign.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

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

Today’s passage begins with, “Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord,” a sentiment with which this book begins the account of each of the judges (with maybe one or two exceptions).  The lesson being that again and again we fall away from the Lord and suffer the consequences.  And time after time, God raises up leaders to bring us back to Him.  The song of Deborah and Barak contains some lines about what happens as people turn back to God.
“When the princes in Israel take the lead,
    when the people willingly offer themselves—
    praise the Lord!”
When I read that in the song, it seemed to me to be talking about when those who have been blessed with skills and resources which give them prominence using that prominence to lead people to do God’s will.  It follows that up by commending people in general following their lead and sacrificing their own self-interest to further God’s plans.  Then a little later in the song comes this line:
“When the princes in Israel take the lead,
    when the people willingly offer themselves—
    praise the Lord!”
I am reminded of what happened to bring peace in Northern Ireland, what will have to happen to bring peace between Israel and the Arabs.  Peace came in Northern Ireland when mothers tired of seeing their children die to advance the interests of selfish people who fanned the flames of hate rose up and said, “enough is enough.”  When the Arab mothers have had enough of their children dying to further the interests of selfish people, then there will be peace in the Middle East.  Of course, there is one other point I want to make.  The mothers in Northern Ireland came to the realization that their children were dying for no reason when they turned to God.  There is one more point from the Song of Deborah and Barak that I want to note.  People came from disparate parts of Israel to stand for God.  And those who failed to answer the call had to reflect on why they did not risk themselves for God.

Which brings me to the account of Gideon.  I know I have written about this before, but we often miss what may be the most important part of Gideon’s call.  When the Israelites cried out to God for rescue from the oppression by the Midianites, God sent them a prophet.  The prophet condemned the Israelites for worshiping the gods of the Amorites despite the fact that God had commanded them not to do so.  The prophet did not lead the Israelites against the Midianites.  In fact, there is no further mention of this prophet, but, when God called Gideon to save Israel out of Midian’s hand the first thing Gideon did (after making an offering to God and building an altar to Him) was to destroy his father’s altar to Baal and tear down the accompanying Asherah pole.  There are some interesting things to note in the aftermath.  Gideon was afraid of both how his family and his neighbors would react to him destroying his father’s altar to Baal.  However, even though it was his altar, Gideon’s father defended his actions while Gideon’s neighbors were angered by it.  All of this resulted from a prophet who called Israel to forsake idolatry.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Judges 1-3.

I struggled with writing this today, but for a different reason than any of those I usually have.  I knew from the second read through what I wanted to write about, but I struggled with how to start.  The writer gives the theme for this book in the latter portion of the second chapter.  As the Israelites continued to conquer the land after the death of Joshua they made deals with the people living in the land, contrary to what God had commanded them.  The writer seems to make a distinction between those peoples living in the land that the Israelites were unable to drive out at that time and those whom they chose to live alongside.  He brings up the failure of the initial generation to break down the altars of the people of the land.  He implies that they did not destroy their altars because they were leaving open the possibility of worshiping those gods, and indeed they did worship the gods of the people whose land they were conquering.  Rather than call the people who remained in the land to turn to God and worship Him, the Israelites joined with them in worshiping their false gods.  The Israelites were unable to drive all of those living in the land out, but instead of having limited dealings with those that did not worship God, they saw economic benefit in taking part in their worship practices.  As the dominant people, the Israelites forced the peoples they did not drive out of the land to serve them as labor for jobs the Israelites did not wish to do.

The situation reminds me of one aspect of the way many in the U.S. deal with illegal immigration.  The Israelites joined the people of the land in the practices which had resulted in God handing the land over the the Israelites.  In the same way, rather than call immigrants to adopt the practices of the U.S., including worship of Christ, all too often we encourage them to continue the practices of their homelands.  Practices which led to the conditions which led these immigrants to leave those lands.  Of course we often make the same mistake with those born and raised in this country who have become immersed in an idolatry that is American in origin.  This failure to call people from the practice of idolatry has led to progressively worse consequences for our society, just as it did for the Israelites.  And just as He did for the Israelites, God will send people to call us back to Him.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Judges 20-21.

As I read this passage I see that the tribe of Benjamin knew that the rest of Israel was gathering at Mizpah to decide what to do about the events which occurred a Gibeah.  One way of reading this passage says that the tribe of Benjamin was summoned to this meeting along with everyone else and chose not to go.  Another way of reading it would interpret it that the tribe of Benjamin was not summoned, but knew that this meeting was happening, and why.  Either way, the tribe of Benjamin was in the wrong for not sending a delegation.  If the second scenario was true, then the other tribes were equally guilty for not inviting the tribe of Benjamin to the gathering to discuss the crime committed in Gibeah.  The tribe of Benjamin compounded their sin of not joining the rest of Israel to discuss dealing with the crime of Gibeah by defending the men of Gibeah rather than bringing them to justice.  Nevertheless, the rest of Israel was not justified in taking their war against Gibeah to the rest of Benjamin.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Judges 17-19.

I am unsure what the significance is, but the first thing I noticed was that Bethlehem in Judah played a supporting role in both of these accounts.  In the account of Micah, his Levite, and the tribe of Dan, the Levite was from Bethlehem in Judah.  In the second account of the Levite and his concubine, his concubine was from Bethlehem in Judah.  The fact that both of these stories involve a Levite traveling from King David’s hometown tells us that there was a significant population of Levites living in Bethlehem during the pre-kingdom time of Israel.  That would certainly have played a role in David growing up with faith in God.  There is much to be learned by thinking about these accounts, and if you would like a little more about that try reading what I wrote in 2022: March 26, 2022 Bible Study — Idolatry And Betrayal

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Judges 14-16.

When Samson asked his parents to arrange a marriage for him with a Philistine woman, the writer tells us that this was from the Lord.  God sought to create a confrontation between Samson and the Philistines.  In previous years I have written about how this passage shows that Samson had poor judgement when it came to the women with whom he chose to have relations.  I still believe that holds true, but this passage shows how God used Samson’s weakness to accomplish His purposes.  For twenty years, Samson led Israel to follow God, and kept them free from Philistine rule, despite his weakness, despite the fact that he was unable to overcome his lust for Philistine women.  Yet, in the end, Samson’s poor judgement when it came to women, his inability/unwillingness to follow God’s commands regarding expressing his sexuality, led to his downfall.  Even then, when God’s enemies gave credit to another for Samson’s defeat, God used Samson to once more demonstrate His power.  In the same way, God will use us, flawed as we are.  Nevertheless, Samson also serves as an object lesson that, even though God may use us despite our flaws, we will pay a price if we fail to allow His Spirit to transform us to overcome them.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Judges 11-13.

Back towards the end of the Book of Joshua when the warriors from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half tribe of Manasseh were sent home from fighting alongside the other tribes west of the Jordan, they built an altar to remind those tribes that those Israelites living east of the Jordan River were their brothers.  Today’s passage contains evidence that their concern was justified.  After Jephthah was successful in defeating the Ammonites who were threatening the people of Gilead (the Israelite territory east of the Jordan River), the Ephraimites mustered against them.  Similar to when Gideon was victorious over the Midianites, the Ephraimites complained that they had not been summoned to the muster for war.  Jephthah claimed that he had called upon them to join him, but they had not come in a timely fashion.  In response, the Ephraimites called the Israelites living east of the Jordan river renegades from the territory west of the Jordan, in a manner similar to what worried those who originally built that memorial altar.  Their hostility for their fellow Israelites ended badly for the Ephraimites.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Judges 9-10.

I was going to write about Abimelek and Shechem but then I was struck by what happened before the people of Gilead decided to follow whoever was willing to lead them against the Ammonites.  We tend to perceive the Book of Judges as teaching that when the people cry out to God because of the suffering which their sin has brought upon them that God raises up a leader, a judge, to lead them back to Him.  However, the passage today makes clear that the people turned back to God before a leader rose up to lead them against their oppressors.  Which is consistent with what God told the Israelites through Moses and other prophets.  And is consistent with what He tells us today.  Personally I think the pattern laid out here perfectly expresses how we should turn back to God.

• Confession: We (I) have sinned
• Do with us (me) whatever You think best
• Get rid of the idols we(I) have set up for myself
• Serve the Lord
• God sends someone to lead us in serving Him

When we look at the world around us and see the corruption which abounds, let us not wait for God to send a leader to lead the people back to Him.  Let us confess our sins, throw ourselves on His mercy (which means admitting that we deserve the suffering we see coming on those around us), get rid of any and all things which lead us to sin, start serving God in whatever ways we can find.  Then perhaps God will send a leader to lead our society back to Him.  And, if not, well, we have turned to Him and serve Him.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Judges 7-8.

When Israel’s enemies mustered their army to raid Israel once more, Gideon summoned the warriors of Manasseh, Asher, Zebulon, and Naphtali.  However, the army which answered Gideon’s summons was too large for God’s purpose.  So, God instructed Gideon to reduce his army, from 32,00 to 300.  Here is the important lesson we can take from the story of Gideon’s victory over the Midianites.  When God sends us on a mission, we can’t accomplish it on our own.  In fact, God wants us to go into it knowing that we will only succeed because of Him.  If we go into it thinking that we can pull it off with the resources we have gathered, we aren’t doing it right.  When we go into something to which God has called us, we have to know that we will only succeed because God ordained our victory.

There is a second lesson in this passage as well.  After his initial defeat of the oppressing army, Gideon summoned the warriors he had originally dismissed, plus the warriors of the tribe of Ephraim.  He asked the tribe of Ephraim to hold the crossing points of the Jordan so that the bulk of the enemy army could not escape.  They were successful, but resented that Gideon had not summoned them when he first gathered troops for battle.  However, Gideon did not give them attitude back.  Instead he praised their accomplishments.  He could have claimed credit for what they did, since, after all, what they accomplished was only possible because of what he had done first.  However, Gideon recognized that the glory was neither his, nor theirs, but rather the glory belonged to God.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

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

I was going to write about Deborah and Barak, but then I noticed something about the story of Gideon that we do not often pay any attention.  After the story of Deborah, Jael, and Barak, the writer tells us that the people of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and that they were oppressed by the Midianites for seven years.  As a result they called out to the Lord for help.  Then the writer goes into the account of Gideon, as he did for previous judges.  But before going into the account of Gideon the writer tells us that God sent a prophet who reminded the people about what God had done for their ancestors and about how they had failed to be faithful.

Now, why is that important?  Because, I believe, Gideon had heard that prophet and listening to him had led him to ask the questions he first asked when the angel came to him.  I imagine Gideon having the following conversation with a friend who also loved the Lord, or possibly even that prophet:
Gideon: “If the Lord is with us, why did this happen to us?  Where are the wonders that our ancestors told us about?”
Friend: “Because our people worship Baal, and other gods of our heathen neighbors.”
Gideon: “Well, I don’t and you don’t.  Why does God let us suffer?”
Friend: “Well what have you done about the idolatry?  Your own father has an altar to Baal!”
Gideon” “But my father thinks I’m just a boy, he won’t listen to me!”

I imagine that conversation going on regularly, interspersed with Gideon crying out to God, until God sent His messenger.  So, maybe we aren’t called to be Gideon, maybe we are called to be that prophet (or Gideon’s friend, who egged him on).

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.