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Judges 17-21

God is not someone who can be bandied back and forth, but that’s just what the Israelites did.  They took their gold and silver and created ephods and idols that they called upon whenever they wished.  Of course their behavior was as holy as the gods they worshipped, culminating in all of the tribes uniting to go against Benjamin in retribution for the Levite whose concubine was raped and murdered as he tried to make his way from Bethlehem to Ephraim.  In the end over forty thousand Israelites and twenty-five thousand Benjamites lost their lives in the battle that ensued.  Brother fighting against brother.

As Dr. Phil would say, ‘How’s that working for you.”  Little gods do not deliver us, they only put a murderous heart in our midst.  I recognize the same thing in me.  When I start worshipping man made possessions, the ephods and idols created from the gold and silver of our current day, I suddenly become more self-protective, my heart is more easily deceived into fighting my brothers and sisters over things that really don’t matter.  I never feel that way when God is at the center of my life, when he is the only one I worship.

Judges 15-16

Sampson was the Arnold Schwarzenegger of his day, a muscle bound action hero, swinging a donkey jawbone or setting foxes on fire to run rampant through the Philistines fields, but in the case of Sampson, driven more by lust than by any sense of purpose.  A typical politician, Sampson led Israel for twenty years, but those years were fraught with his escapades with prostitutes, and finally with Delilah, his eventual undoing.

It was only because the Lord God had chosen him, and his parents had been faithful when they raised him as a Nazarite, that he had any strength at all.  His strength was not in his hair, it was merely a symbol of his consecration to God.  God was the only source of his strength, and when that tie was cut he was a mere human.  With his connection to God gone, the Philistines were able to subdue Sampson, put him in shackles and gouge out his eyes.

While Sampson pushed the grinding stone around and around in prison, his hair and his strength returned.  Although his motive was not completely pure…he wanted revenge for what the Philistines had done to him…he finally acknowledged the source of his strength and called out to God for strength one more time.  With that strength he toppled the temple of the Philistines on three thousand of their leading citizens and with his death killed more of them than he had in his lifetime.  Sampson had to be shackled in order to rid Israel of the Philistines as God intended.  Sampson had to be blinded in order to see.

Judges 13-14

The story of Sampson’s life includes three common themes found throughout the Bible:  a childless woman, the appearance of an angel from God., and  the fiery consumption of an offering to God.  So the story of Sampson begins with a nameless woman, married to a man from the tribe of Dan named Manoah, which means ‘rest or quiet’.  There was no rest or quiet in the land of Israel  This time it was the Philistines who had been beleaguering Israel for the past forty years.  They need a savior, and what better place to get one than from a quiet man and a barren woman. 

When his wife told Manoah that an angel said she would bear a child, his main concern was bringing the child up the way God wanted. ‘Then Manoah prayed to the LORD : “O LORD, I beg you, let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born.” –  Judges 13:8 NIV

The angel does come back, and when Manoah asks him what his name is, he receives no answer except for the sacrificial goat being consumed by fire. Ah, this has a familiar ring.  It has happened before in the history of the Israelites.  Not frequently, but at low points in their history when they found themselves in need of a savior. 

So Sampson is born.  He is dedicated  as a Nazarite according to the dictates found in Numbers Six, and raised to be zealous for God.  He abstains from wine and cutting his hair and as a result, grows stronger than any of his peers.  But he has no inward strength and a weak spot where women are concerned.  His external appearance can not mask the weakness inside. Instead of being quiet and peaceful like his father or nameless like his mother, Sampson is brash and reckless.  Can he be what God intends to use to confront Israel’s enemies?

Judges 10-12:

Not all great men, or not so great men, of God come from the finest stock.  Jephthah was the son of Gilead and a prostitute who was shunned by his brothers, and driven away where he gathered a band of men, probably from other circumstances of ill-repute; a band of adventurers and a leader who was zealous for God and his people.

They must have had a reputation, because the elders of Gilead persuaded Jephthah and his men to go after the Amorites who were pestering them.  Jephthah and the Amorites have an ongoing discussion as to who is entitled to possess the land, with Jephthah’s argument being the most convincing.“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. –  Judges 11: 23-24 NIV

It didn’t matter to the Amorites, they went to war, and because God was on their side, Jephthah was successful.  That is where the story gets interesting.  As a thanks offering, Jephthah promises to sacrifice the first thing he sees upon his return and it turns out to be his only child, his beautiful, vibrant, young daughter.  What a dilemma, but Jephthah had made a vow to God, and he kept it.  What is this story all about?  What is the price we must pay when, those of us born out of sinful circumstances choose God?  Will anything but our most precious possession be enough to sacrifice?

Judges 8-9

The struggle for power at any cost is not new.  During the time between when the Israelites entered the promised land and when they finally had a king, they were involved in constant wars among themselves when they were not being attacked by their enemies.  One of the most flagrant struggles for power took place between Gideon’s sons after his death.  His son Abimelech conspired with the town of Shechem to become their leader.  The people from Shechem gave him money which he used to hire ‘reckless adventurers’ who killed all but one of the remaining seventy sons of Gideon. 

Jotham, the one son who escaped, climbed to the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted this to the citizens of Shechem.
 “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!‘ – Judges 9:8-15 NIV

The people of Shechem got what they wanted, an evil king, and what they deserved.  They were eventually destroyed by that very same king and he met his own disastrous end when a woman dropped a millstone on his head and cracked his skull.

In Isaiah 5, God says that he will take away his vineyard and thornbushes will grow up in their place because when he looked for justice all he saw was bloodshed. But God also says in Isaiah 55,  that we will ‘go out with joy and be led forth in peace….and instead of the thornbush the pine tree will grow’. If in the end, evil always meets its own end, why are we so quick to follow after the thornbushes when it is clear that power is all they want and at any cost?

Judges 6-7

It might seem strange that Gideon was threshing grain in a wine press, but that was what the Israelites daily reality had become.  Their enemies, the Midianites, were trashing the place and making their lives miserable.  So miserable, that the Israelites were hiding in caves and mountain clefs.  So Gideon was threshing wheat in a place where the Midianites could not see him.

But God could see him, and in Gideon he saw someone he could use, someone who would listen and more than just listen, someone who would obey.  So God sends an angel.  When Gideon looks up from the wine press and sees him sitting under an oak tree the following conversation takes place.

‘When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.”
“But sir,” Gideon replied, “if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?’  But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian.”
The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”
“But Lord,  “Gideon asked, “how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”
The LORD answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together.” ‘ – Judges 6: 12-15 NIV

So Gideon makes an offering of a young goat and unleavened bread that is miraculously consumed by fire and Gideon realizes who he has been talking to:

‘”Ah, Sovereign LORD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!”
But the LORD said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.”
So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD is Peace.”‘ – Judges 6:22-24 NIV

The Lord is Peace.  That is all Gideon needed to know as he tears down the altars to Baal and issues a trumpet call for troops to muster.  The Lord is Peace.  That is all he needs to know when God has him whittle the twenty-three thousand troops down to three hundred men.  The Lord is Peace.  That’s all he needs to know when he sneaks into the enemy camp and sees  ‘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.’ – Judges 7:12 NIV

The Lord is Peace.  That’s all Gideon needs to know as he blows his trumpet for the three hundred men to attack and watches as God delivers the enemy into his hands.  God did not abide Israel’s enemies constantly harassing and attacking His people.  The Lord is Peace.

Judges 4-6

The Israelites were to live the same folly over and over again.  They would go their own way, forgetting about the Lord God that had brought them out of captivity.  Things would flourish for a while and then get desperate.  Their enemies would ‘suddenly’ bear down on them and the Israelites would run to a leader who had the ear of God who would be successful in thwarting the advance of the enemy.  They would rejoice over their victory.

“So may all your enemies perish, O LORD!
 But may they who love you be like the sun
 when it rises in its strength.”
Then the land had peace forty years. – Judges 5:31:  NIV

And then they would forget.

God does marvelous things when his people turn back to him, but as long as they are seeking their own solutions, their own profit, they will fail miserably.  You cannot serve two masters, even if the one master is your own well-being.

It’s one thing for the world to prosper.  It’s another for God’s people to abandon him in order to achieve prosperity.  The latter often results in being forced hide out in order to avoid your enemies.  That’s what happened to Israel whenever they forgot God.  They were overrun by their enemies. 

God’s was still watching over his people and Gideon saw that in the form of the angel that sat down under the oak where he was threshing wheat in a winepress.

“But sir,” Gideon replied, “if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian.”
 The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”
 “But Lord,” Gideon asked, “how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” – Judges 6:13-15  NIV

As is always God’s way, he chose the weakest link to be Israel’s savior.  As we cast around today for answers to the seemingly hopeless situation in our country and the world as a whole, we need to remember that it will not be power of any sort that brings us through.  It will not be some televangelist, promising that we can expect great things, who will show us the way. It will be those who are weak enough to know that they are powerless who will lead us out of our oppression.

Joshua 20-24

Joshua chooses to end his life by reminding Israel of all of God’s promises and how they have always been fulfilled.  “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. “- Joshua 23:14 NIV

Through Joshua, God reminds them of their heritage, when their ancestors before Abraham lived beyond the River and worshipped other gods.  And then he traces their journey and all the promises:  the promise to Abraham of a great nation, the promise to bring them out of Egypt, the promise to give them their own land.  Each step demonstrated God’s faithfulness to these people and his abundant blessings.  God reminds them that  “I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’ – Joshua 24:13 NIV

The contrast is always there between those who followed other gods and relied on their own abilities and those who followed the one true God and relied solely on him.  So Joshua issues one last impassioned plea. “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.  But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” – Joshua 24:14-15 NIV

As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

Joshua 13-19

“You are very old,” God tells Joshua in Joshua 13.  How would you like to hear those words, especially when they are followed by “and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over.” The region of Philistines, the Canaanites, as well as Lebanon and several other occupants still needed to be conquered.  God says that he will drive out the Sidonians, but Israel will have to deal with the rest.

So the land is divided up and the remaining tribes who had not taken land on the east side of the Jordan, receive their allotment, with the exception of the Levites whose inheritance was the Lord God of Israel.  Unfortunately, some of the allotted land included inhabitants who could not be dislodged.  Judah’s territory included the Jebusites, while Ephraim’s included the Canaanites.

Some of the tribes knew exactly what land they wanted, and others had lots drawn to determine what the boundaries of their allotment would be.  Then a final allotment was made for Caleb as promised when he was faithful after spying out the land and another allotment was made for Joshua, who has been God’s faithful servant. 

It would be nice to think that the issue was settled for once and for all, but that land, the promised land, has been fought over for generations up to this present day.  We could ask again, ‘What’s up with that God?,’ but the answer would be the same as well.  It goes all the way back to Adam and Eve and man’s freedom to choose.  We seldom choose life.

Joshua 9-12

I have a tendency to limit God.  We so seldom see him move with the power that was exhibited in the Old and New Testaments that it is an easy thing to do.  Aside from earthquakes and tsunamis, today God’s power is seldom seen, at least not like it was when the children of Israel fought the Amorites and The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a man. Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel! – Joshua 10:13-14 NIV

But even now, the Lord is fighting for Israel.  What has the promise of becoming a more frightening situation for Israel, is still ordained by God.  In addition to causing the sun to stand still, God has a history of toppling kings, or hardening the hearts of pharaoh’s. 

We’re going back to Israel in two weeks. If you read the news, you will see that Israel, like the rest of the world, is confronting the Coronavirus. I suppose we should be anxious, but we are not.  What better place to be should the worst happen?  God has a history of delivering his people by unconventional means.  There is no reason to think the same won’t happen this time. 

In Israel, we will once again visit at least one ‘Tell’, the remains of ancient civilizations, some of which consist of over 20 different layers.  The sun has risen and set on all of those different civilizations, yet God’s people have been preserved and are once more back in the land of their ancestors.  Think of all God has seen them through:  the Exodus, the capture of Canaan, the building of the great temple and city of Jerusalem, being forced into exile in Babylon, conquered by the Romans, Byzantines, Muslims and Crusaders and finally the Holocaust.  God’s eye is still on his people, the same God that caused the sun to stay still for a full day.  He’s still in control and the more desperate the situation, the more his power can be displayed.