Judges 2:15 "Whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the LORD was against them to defeat them, just as he had sworn to them. They were in great distress." The LORD was against His own people? He sold them, defeated them, and tested them. As Melinda mentioned, Israel was caught in a vicious cycle throughout the time of the judges. Did you notice that each time Israel strayed from God, He allowed their captivity to last even longer? 8, 18, 20 years. It took longer and longer for Israel to cry out for deliverance.
Ladies, I absolutely do not want us caught in a cycle like that! When we begin a time of testing, we must immediately ask God what He wants us to learn. We must cry out the very moment we recognize that our hearts have been taken captive by the worries of this world. Ask God to send one of His judges into your life to come along side you to fight the battle. Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, Deborah, Gideon (read Gideon's story in Judges 6-7). When God sends these people into our lives, we should welcome them, even when what they have to say to us may be painful.
The story of Deborah in Judges 4 is interesting. This passage would have been the story of Barak if he had taken the leadership role God had commanded him to take. Judges 4:8-9 "Barak said to her, "If you go with me, I will go; but if you don't go with me, I won't go." "Very well," Deborah said, "I will go with you. But because of the way you are going about this, the honor will not be yours, for the LORD will hand Sisera over to a woman." Pray for God to raise up godly men in our day. If you are married, pray continually for God to strengthen your husband, that he will have the courage to follow God with wild abandon.
Judges 13-16 Samson, what a character! God allowed him to lead Israel 20 years, which amazes me. He must have had good qualities, but the stories we get to read certainly highlight Samson's weaknesses. He seemed to enjoy living on the edge, and he had a pattern of tricking people. His motto seemed to be "I merely did to them what they did to me." (Judges 15:11) The story of Samson and Delilah astounds me. Samson had to know that Delilah was planning to tell the Philistines his secret, yet he told her anyway. Women were certainly one of his weaknesses. Pray that God will protect our leaders from this temptation.
What insights did you gain from reading about the Judges?
Next, we will read the book of Ruth, only 4 brief chapters. I think you will enjoy her story.
Dana, I can't help but think of the church of today. We so easily begin to follow the man(pastor) and not Christ and when the pastor leaves the church there are struggles and many leave. I have even seen a church completely close their doors after a pastor left.
ReplyDeleteIn the story of Samson, it just amazes me how many times he is deceived by women and continues to stay in their company eventually giving up His connection to God which leads to his loss of strength in the Lord. Another reminder to seek only the Lord!
You are correct in saying that we cannot focus on following a person. Christ is our true leader, the head of our church. People will usually disappoint us. Jesus never fails.
ReplyDeleteWhat struck me over and over again throughout these passages is how many times they turned and did evil in the sight of the Lord and how patient He was when they cried out to Him. He helped them out every single time. How many times do we help someone out after they have hurt us, once, twice maybe, definetly not a third time though. It shows us just how much He really loves us and wants us to get it right. He just keeps giving us chances over and over and over and over again. And welcomes us back every time we come back to Him. It's a good thing I'm not God, cuz I would've nuked everyone a long time ago.
ReplyDeleteYou are right, Melissa, and not only are we not patient with others, we are not patient with ourselves. We get really down on ourselves when we have to keep coming back to God asking for forgiveness for the same old stuff. I'm so thankful He keeps taking me back.
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