Humble Yourselves...Fast and Pray

Judges20:14-18 -  From their towns they came together at Gibeah to fight against the Israelites.  At once the Benjamites mobilized twenty-six thousand swordsmen from their towns, in addition to seven hundred chosen men from those living in Gibeah.  Among all these soldiers there were seven hundred chosen men who were left-handed, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.  Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand swordsmen, all of them fighting men.  The Israelites went up to Bethel and inquired of God. They said, "Who of us shall go first to fight against the Benjamites?" The LORD replied, "Judah shall go first.”

 

The man had cut his dead concubine up into 12 pieces…so he could send a piece to every tribe of Israel. He wanted to send the most graphic picture possible of the evil that had befallen his family…and make sure all the tribes of Israel knew what immorality had overtaken the tribe of Benjamin.  So from their towns they gathered…and inquired of the Lord what they should do…to bring justice…and purge the evil from among them.

 

They called for the town to turn over the men from the gang…but they protected them for some reason. So God allowed the other tribes to form bands of fighters…grouped by tribes…to go and rid the town of the evil men that had done this horrible deed. They lost many men in the battles that followed this meeting. It took four long months for God to bring about a complete victory…allowing the destruction of the whole Benjamin tribe…except for 600 that fled and hid in the mountains.

 

As bad as this story is…and as tragic as the loss of life was as a result…it is important to remember that God used this civil war of sorts …to usher in a new time of judges. And I also thought about the fact that God used this difficult time to humble all the tribes…and teach them to call on him again …for direction and guidance.  It wasn’t until after their second loss…that they fasted and offered offerings to God to humble their hearts and try to understand God’s purpose for the many men they had lost.

 

I have to admit that prayer and fasting is a hard thing for me to do. But the sacrifice you make when you pray and fast…focuses your heart on the Lord above…and helps remind you to pray for his will…and helps prioritize your wants and needs in a way that God might want them to be.  God rewards your effort to do without…whether it be food…TV…a game….facebook…that favorite beverage…..or the sugar that makes those sweet treats. He somehow takes that time that you spend doing without…and uses it to focus your mind and heart on him.

 

Father….I thank you for the reminder that I must constantly find a way to ask you what direction you need my life to take. Help me find the strength to fast and pray…and humble myself to your will and purpose when I have a decision to make. Go with me this day and help me to think more about you…and what you would have me do in every situation I am placed.  Give me strength and courage to complete each one as you reveal them to me.  Amen.

Changing Evil With Prayer

Judges 19:1-4 -  In those days Israel had no king. Now a Levite who lived in a remote area in the hill country of Ephraim took a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah.  But she was unfaithful to him. She left him and went back to her father's house in Bethlehem, Judah. After she had been there four months,  her husband went to her to persuade her to return. He had with him his servant and two donkeys. She took him into her father's house, and when her father saw him, he gladly welcomed him.  His father-in-law, the girl's father, prevailed upon him to stay; so he remained with him three days, eating and drinking, and sleeping there

 

Israel still had no king or judge…and many of the people had become quite perverse.  The story that unfolded in this chapter was unsettling to my soul…maybe because it was so inhumane…or maybe because it resembled the state this great land I live has become.  The man took to himself a concubine…an extra wife…which was very common to the culture of the Israelites. But this man’s concubine left him…and went back to her father. The man decided to go try and convince her to return…and with great success he began the journey home.

 

It was when they stopped for the night…that a kind man gave them lodging for the night.  But during the night a band of very immoral men came to beg the man to give them the male traveler …to do with as they pleased. It is unthinkable to me that the man offered them his own daughter and concubine…and even more perplexing is the fact that this traveler…who had worked so hard to retrieve his own concubine…threw her out to the men…who had their way with her all night…to the point that she died…as she was crawling back to the doorstep where she was supposed to find shelter for the night.

 

This story is a graphic reminder of what happens when we separate ourselves from the laws of God.  The absence of God allows pure evil to seep into the world around us.  It is a reminder to me how very much the world resembles the sad state of the Israelites. The news is filled with story after story that rival the evil in this story….and I believe with all my heart that God has allowed it for a season…to remind us that we must find a way to convince the people around us to return to the way God planned for us to live.

 

I have pondered just what God is saying to me with this story... maybe it is just a reminder to pray for my world.  I can’t argue that immorality has become way too tolerable in many of the people of the world.  What we need is a great worldwide revival…one that sets a fire of passion in every soul that belongs to God…to preach his pure true word…and change the hearts of those that engage in the kind of immorality that brought such a tragic end to the life of this young concubine.  Maybe if we all call out to God together….the cry will bring about his great compassion…and he will see fit to cleanse the immorality from the hearts of so many unbelievers and then use them to change even more.

 

Father…I thank you for this story….for even though it was hard to read…I needed the reminder today to pray for the world.  I ask you this morning to place a burden on the heart of every believer…to pray …to call out to you to rid the world we live in of the thoughts that convince so many it is okay to participate is such horrible deeds …that cause such pain and injury to the souls of the victims.  Show me how to tell the ones that live near me about your great love that can wash the evil out of their hearts…and make them new creatures in you. Amen.

Is My Treasure of God?

Judges 18:27-31 -   Then they took what Micah had made, and his priest, and went on to Laish, against a peaceful and unsuspecting people. They attacked them with the sword and burned down their city.  There was no one to rescue them because they lived a long way from Sidon and had no relationship with anyone else. The city was in a valley near Beth Rehob. The Danites rebuilt the city and settled there.  They named it Dan after their forefather Dan, who was born to Israel--though the city used to be called Laish.  There the Danites set up for themselves the idols, and Jonathan son of Gershom, the son of Moses, and his sons were priests for the tribe of Dan until the time of the captivity of the land.  They continued to use the idols Micah had made, all the time the house of God was in Shiloh.

 

Israel still had no king…no judge…no leader…so instead of conquering the land God had given the tribe…they set out to find an easier place to live.  Spies were sent….and the 5 of them happened by Micah’s shrine and spent the night on their way to check out the hill country of Laish.  The spies found a peaceful people…which they could destroy easily with their resources.  They ended up taking the land…then stole Micah’s idols …and Micah’s priest…to set up their own temple in the new home they called Dan.

 

The minds of men…when left to their lustful roots…can justify just about any action as godly. It is so sad to me that a tribe justified so easily …killing so many peaceful people…whom it does not mention at all were guilty of the idol worship God saw fit to destroy in the other parts of Canaan. They had become so self-consumed that they also justified stealing all that Micah had built around him. It is a living example of why these great words of Matthew 6:19 word recorded….   "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.”  What Micah built around him …was taken in moments…leaving him with nothing.

 

This story reminds me how important it is to place more importance on the treasure I store in my heart…instead of the shoes …jewelry…furniture…or other material wealth that can be destroyed in the blink of an eye. Micah had no insurance…and sure couldn’t go purchase any in those days…so all he had…because he had built it for himself…was taken.  I really need to make sure that I have asked God about everything I have around me…and be sure that the resources I have are being used to do his work.  It is our lustful human nature to want to collect nice things around us…instead of share all we have with others.

 

I have this one problem that might be a little out of control.  I love yarn…and just can’t seem to stop buying it.  I am sure that I don’t stop and ask God every time I go to Big Lots and buy 6 or 7 new skeins of yarn. And I sure don’t think about where I am going to store it...because 3 drawers I reserved for yarn are overflowing into the floor. And I sure don’t have a plan in mind when I buy it…it just looks pretty…and I think...I can make something out of it. One of my sisters has the same shopping disease…but her stash was wiped out recently…when her basement storage room was flooded. Almost all she had collected over the years …skeins and skeins…..was destroyed in moments….a present day reminder to me to be more careful.  A simple story that God can use to remind us all to be careful what we collect on Earth.

 

Oh father...help me to let go of the need to have ‘things’ around me.  Help me to fill my heart and soul with your words from the bible….and use the resources you have blessed me with to help others.  Put purpose in all my collections of ‘things’ and remove from my life anything that threatens to become an idol.  Help me to remember to ask you each and every time I think I need something new…to make sure is something you can use in my life to bless others…or help me grow in understanding of your deep love for me.  Amen.

As God Sees Fit

Judges 17:5-6 and 11-13 -  Now this man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and some idols and installed one of his sons as his priest.  In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit……

So the Levite agreed to live with him, and the young man was to him like one of his sons.  Then Micah installed the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in his house.  And Micah said, "Now I know that the LORD will be good to me, since this Levite has become my priest."

 

After Samson’s death…Israel was without a judge.  God left men to do their own study and interpret for themselves what being a follower meant.   Micah’s family must not have studied very hard…for they had some strange notions about how to worship him.  They dedicated some of their silver to God by forming it into some sort of image….and Micah dedicated a portion of his house as a sort of temple …complete with carved images some commentaries feel were images of the ark and cherubim from the real tabernacle.  He even named one of his own sons to act as a priest.

 

Micah’s intentions might have been good…he did confess his crime….and return his mother’s silver.  He created a place to worship God…and felt God had blessed him when a real priest from the tribe of Levi  happened by one day…and agreed to be in charge of his shrine.   How sad that he never took the time to read the rules of Moses…and find out how much God detested the idols and carved images in his home.   How sad that he allowed satan to trick him so badly…because he did not take to time to learn the true ways of the God he wanted blessings from.

 

It reminded me of how selfish we can become… getting so wrapped up in our lives that we find ways to justify what we do as acceptable to God…some of us even study enough to be dangerous…pulling scripture out of context to support our lifestyle.  We are so like Micah…retaining and justifying the things we want in our lives…instead of accepting the clear messages of the Bible…that express God’s displeasure in our ways.

 

You pick the lie.  Maybe it is drinking….or drugs…..or an affair….or you are having sex before marriage.  Maybe you support partners of the same sex…. or stealing….or you lust after some material possession.  Maybe you are disrespecting your parents….or you support abortion.  The list of things we accept in our nation is growing every day…all clearly spelled out as unacceptable to God in his word.  Like Micah…our intentions might be good…but if God has told us that something is wrong in his word….we had better listen and remove it from our lives.  The lies we have told our self about God’s acceptance of the things we do ...might be clearly wrong according to his Bible…and we will find ourselves separated from him….confused about why he hasn’t answered our prayers.

 

Father…help me examine the beliefs I hold in my heart and expose the ones that I have accepted or explained as acceptable ….in a way that is not supported by your word. Forgive me for allowing satan to trick me into thinking that some things in my life are justified. Show me in your word the places that I need to study …to help me have a clear picture of the rules you gave Moses so long ago. Show me how to remove the things that are displeasing to you…and grow closer in my relationship with you. Amen.

Hair Grows Back

Judges 16:22and 26-28   -   But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved…..   Samson said to the servant who held his hand, "Put me where I can feel the pillars that support the temple, so that I may lean against them."  Now the temple was crowded with men and women; all the rulers of the Philistines were there, and on the roof were about three thousand men and women watching Samson perform.  Then Samson prayed to the LORD, "O Sovereign LORD, remember me. O God, please strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes."

 

Samson had let his lust for beautiful women overcome his soul again. He slept with a prostitute…then became involved in a relationship with a most deceitful woman…Delilah.  She twisted words and begged Samson until he finally revealed the power God had placed in him through his vow to never cut his hair. And so in the night…while he slept…the leaders who sought to take his power….shaved his head …captured him…and put him on public display to humiliate him.

 

It is so comforting to me to know that Samson’s separation from God’s power was temporary.  His hair began growing back the second it had been cut…as the power that had been drained from his soul grew slowly back in his weak body.  God knew all along that he would succumb to satan’s trickery…and slowly restored his soul with a desire to know God’s power in his life again…as he sat blind in the cell that held him captive.

 

Samson’s motives may not have been pure …for he still sought revenge for his blindness…but he did call out to God one last time for the supernatural strength he once had in his body.  Then he trusted God one last time…and collapsed the temple of Dagon…killing 3,000 Philistines…ending his own life as well.

 

No matter what we have done to separate ourselves from God…it is only temporary.  God is always there…restoring what we need to call out to him for restoration…strengthening us…waiting  on us to realize that his power in our lives is just a cry away. And as our metaphorical hair grows back…and we realize that God is still there…waiting on our hearts to convict our heads of the wrong we have done…he silently places back in our lives the tools we need…and the people that we need to finish the job he placed us here to do.

 

Oh father…how I thank  you that no matter what mistakes I make…and how far away my sins take me away from you…you are never really absent from my life.  Thank you for using the time that I am fixed on my own selfish desires … to silently load my heart and mind with the thoughts….scriptures….and people that you know can bring me back to you again.  Help me to cry out to you for restoration…and return to my heart and life with full power to complete the job you placed me here to do. Amen.

God Has The Last Word

Judges 15:12-15   -  They said to him, "We've come to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines." Samson said, "Swear to me that you won't kill me yourselves."  "Agreed," they answered. "We will only tie you up and hand you over to them. We will not kill you." So they bound him with two new ropes and led him up from the rock.  As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands.  Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men.

 

Samson had somehow reached a point of forgiving his fiancé… we are not told just what changed his mind…but he is so intent on renewing his vows to her that he brings her a gift.  But Samson is too late.... she has been given to another…and he allows anger and bitterness to begin a horrible progression of revenge.

 

First Samson strikes out at the Philistines by burning their fields with foxes…tied together with flaming torches.  Then the Philistines destroy the home …. father ….and life …of the woman he loved with equivalent fire.  So Samson just attacked them outright….destroying as many as he could before retreating to a cave to hide.  This is where he stayed… till a band of his Jewish brothers came to bind him up and deliver him back to the Philistines…because they  feared for what the out of control game of revenge might do to their own families…already under the oppression of the mighty Philistines.

 

And then God takes control.  He sends his precious Holy Spirit into Samson’s soul…and this third time … it releases a surge of power in Samson…that ends the mad game they are playing with people’s lives and belongings. The supernatural strength Samson receives from the Lord …kills one thousand Philistines … with a simple jawbone of a donkey….and Samson becomes Israel’s leader for 20 years…beginning the process of delivering the people of Israel from the bondage of the Philistines.

 

I can’t let Samson take the rap on this on be alone…and I might win a bet that says I am not the only one who has ventured to play the game of revenge with someone.  We may not have committed arson…or murdered people in the process…but we definitely did some damage to someone’s lives…if not our own…with our need to get even.  But I am reminded by this story…that no matter how tied up we are in our own selfishness…and our need to play games of life that help us feel we are in control…God will have the last word.  And when God’s spirit is released into our lives….his power puts us right back where he wanted us to be.

 

I am comforted by the knowledge that God is watching me…and controls me even when I think I am acting on my own. His purpose will be accomplished…his plan will be put back on track…when he decides to take control once again in my life. He will even forgive me for my period of selfishness.   He will cleanse my soul of the need to act out in bitterness and anger at someone else who hurt me…and replace it with his precious love…his power  to meet the needs that I forgot are more important.

 

Oh father…I thank you this morning for the love that watches over my every move.  I thank you that you can take control of everything in my life…at the exact moment that it will start to accomplish your purpose.  Help me to stop and consider your love the next time satan tries to trick me into a game of revenge…and wait on your justice and judgment to decide what is right for me.  Cleanse my soul today of all traces of bitterness and hate...that might tempt me to take matters into my own control.  Amen.

Consider God's Plan

Judges 14:1-4 -  Samson went down to Timnah and saw there a young Philistine woman.  When he returned, he said to his father and mother, "I have seen a Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife."  His father and mother replied, "Isn't there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?" But Samson said to his father, "Get her for me. She's the right one for me."  (His parents did not know that this was from the LORD, who was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines; for at that time they were ruling over Israel.)

 

Samson grew to be old enough to marry…and a young woman did catch his eye…but she was a Philistine.  So he asked his parents to arrange the wedding…saying simply that this woman he had his heart set on was the right one for him.  It was against everything his parents had  been taught….and must have been very hard for them to accept….but they agreed…not knowing that God had somehow planted this desire in Samson’s heart.

 

The rest of the chapter goes on to explain that Samson kills a lion on the way to visit the town where he would marry.  A lion attacks him…but is quickly destroyed when the Spirit of God embeds itself in Samson again….showing the great strength that God had planted in this Nazarite.  The story gets even stranger as he travels back by the carcass later…and notices some sweet honey has been deposited by a swarm of bees.

 

I’m not convinced that Samson has a clue what God intends to do with his life…for he seems to get lost in how he can use the craziness of the story to build his wealth…not promote the God who gave him the strength to kill the beast…or thank the God who fed him that wonderful honey.  Samson forms a riddle…and sets his new wife up to be harassed by her tribe….as they threaten to destroy her home and everything her father had if she did not help them solve the riddle.  Who could blame her for being more loyal to her family than her new husband…and convincing him to tell her the meaning of his strange riddle.

 

The anger Samson feels toward his new wife destroys his new marriage.  His bitterness festers so that he walks away from this woman he once thought was the right choice. But this is after he goes to a neighboring town to kill 30 men…so he can keep his bet…and deliver 30 robes to the family of the wife he no longer trusted.

 

I see myself in this story…not because I make crazy bets…or kill lions...or eat sweet honey from the carcass later…or murdered 30 men.  I see myself in this story….because I don’t always stop to consider God’s plan for my life …and end up making crazy choices because I don’t wait on his clear answers.  Sometimes I even miss the clear presence of his spirit...and totally miss out on the reason he put me where he did in the first place.  I too let anger and bitterness influence more than one decision…and have walked away from more than one commitment in my life.  Thank God that he is a forgiving God that keeps chasing us till we get it right.  This is not the end of Samson’s story…and God is not through using him…even though he has clearly made some poor decisions here.  And it proves to me that every morning I can wake with a new resolve to listen to his voice….hear his clear words of direction...and try once more to get it right. 

 

Father…I thank you for your forgiveness and grace.  I thank you for the way you never give up on me…and continue to work in my life...even though I have clearly made mistake after mistake that has slowed your ability to use me to do your work. I ask your renewed forgiveness of any decisions I have made without your guidance…and pray that you will keep my heart…and my ears….and my eyes wide open….so I will notice your spirit when you send it to help me.  Help me father to wait on your answers…and not try to work ahead of you.  Amen.