April 6 - Judges 19-21: Civil War to Purge Evil

Today’s Reading: Judges 19-21

The Message

English Standard Version

Congratulations! You have made it through yet another book of the Bible (#8). The most depressing part is over (for a while, at least). Look for a great story tomorrow.

Thought to Guide Your Reading

God's Chosen People do not want to fight their brothers but they have no choice.

Summary in 100 Words or Less

A Levite man and his concubine stayed in Gibeah, a city in Benjamin’s land. Unable to get at the Levite to molest him, Gibeah's men raped his concubine until she died. The Levite sent pieces of her body to the tribes. They sent representatives and decided to kill the men of Benjamin. They each swore not to marry the tribe's daughters.
Before each battle, God directed their steps and allowed the tribes to defeat Benjamin.
Distraught, the surviving Benjamites asked for wives for their sons. The other tribes allowed them to take wives from the people who did not fight.

How Today’s Reading Contributes to the Gospel: God is Setting All Things Right

This story shows how evil God's Chosen People could become.

This story is out of chronological order—it happened near the beginning of the time of the judges. This story brings out the similarities between Sodom and Gomorrah and Gibeah. When Sodom and Gomorrah defiled God's land He rained fire upon them and destroyed the cities. In one way Gibeah is worse than Sodom and Gomorrah. They did not have a covenant with God. They were not God's Chosen People. God had not saved their ancestors from slavery. God did not give them land. Gibeah had no excuse. God's Chosen People have no excuse to do wicked acts.

The people of Israel are rightly outraged and are willing to act.

This is important for the entire story. It is not enough that the man has provided proof of what happened. Israel must act swiftly to purge the evil from the land. So they fight. God can set things right on this earth when His Chosen People are willing to police themselves.
What does this mean for Christians today? This part is difficult because we have such different communities of Christians who are no longer in one culture. Several churches attempt to police the entire Christian world even though they have no influence on the ones they are trying to change. They preach sermons, they write "open letters," they teach classes about what other churches do, and they tell each other how bad these groups are. These acts are not the same as what went on in Israel. The best place to apply this text is our local congregation, our local towns, our spheres of influence. Americans getting hot and bothered by what Christians are doing in the Outback of Australia won't change anything until they are willing to send a force to bring justice to these Christians. Condemning the sins of people outside of your sphere of influence from pulpits and gossip is not the same thing as setting things right on the earth.

The tribes ask God to measure their response.

Israel does not want to fight Benjamin; however, they must purge their land of evil. This quandary is solved by asking God for the proper response. "They set out and went to Bethel to inquire of God. The People of Israel said, "Who of us shall be first to go into battle with the Benjaminites?" God said, 'Judah goes first'" (20:18, The Message). This continued every day they fought. When God's Chosen People police themselves, they should ask God for the proper, measured response.

May we all obey God and never need policing.

April 3 - Judges 10-12: Tola, Jair, Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, Abdon

Today’s Reading: Judges 10-12

The Message

English Standard Version

Thought to Guide Your Reading

God decided to no longer save Israel.

Summary in 100 Words or Less

Tola judged Israel 23 years. Next was Jair for 22 years. After he died Israel returned other gods. Punishment? Philistine and Ammonite torment for 18 years. Israel cried out for salvation. God ignored them until they purified their houses.
Jephthah, an illegitimate child chased from his home, was called back to lead Gilead's army with Ammonites at the gate. The Ammonites would not negotiate. Jephthah defeated them. He made an unfortunate vow forcing him to sacrifice his only daughter.
Ephraim and Gilead quarreled and fought. Jephthah judged six years.
Next, Ibzan judged for seven years, Elon for ten, Abdon eight.

How Today’s Reading Contributes to the Gospel: God is Setting All Things Right

God tells Israel to cry out to their foreign gods.

After two judges had uneventful careers (at least recorded), Israel returned to its old ways. God has had enough of these people that He tells them, "I'm not saving you anymore. Go ahead! Cry out for help to the gods you've chosen - let them get you out of the mess you're in!" (10:12-13, The Message). As a Christian, this is scary! God is basically telling them if they think the Baal gods and Ashtoreth goddesses are their protection in good times then they should also be their gods in bad times. God is willing to allow you to worship other gods in good times and in bad! However, do not expect God to save you.

God hears Israel's cry when they clean out their house of foreign gods.

Lest we think the Israelites are forever forsaken by God, Judges continues. Israel repents of their spiritual adultery by cleaning out their homes. So God hears their cry and provides Jephthah to save them.

God provides Israel with another example of God being willing to use anyone willing to obey Him.

Jephthah is not a powerful man. He is an outcast—the son of a prostitute and a rich man who could afford to toss him away. Yet God was willing to use Jephthah because he would follow God. God can use anyone who will obey Him to set things right on the earth.

God never gives approval to Jephthah's vow or the sacrifice of his daughter.

For me, this story is here to caution against hasty vows. God does not want child sacrifice (Leviticus 10, Deuteronomy 18, Jeremiah 7). Jephthah is not offering his daughter because of God's Law. He is doing this because he made a hasty vow. Be careful with your words, you may forever regret your mistake!

How have your words gotten you into trouble?

April 1 - Judges 6-7: God Calls Gideon to Fight the Moabites

Today’s Reading: Judges 6-7

The Message

English Standard Version

Thought to Guide Your Reading

God proves His ability to the Israelites by having a small force led by a small man defeat a large force led by big men.

Summary in 100 Words or Less

Israel continued doing evil. Punishment? Midian terrorism. Israel cried out to God. God's prophet gave His message of deliverance.
God came to Gideon, the smallest member of the smallest clan of Manasseh (the half tribe). Gideon required a sign. God's wanted Gideon to tear down his father's altars and offer their best bull on a fire made from the altar's wood. Gideon obeyed. He asked for two more signs then lead God's forces against Moab.
God trimmed the force down to 300 to prove His ability. God defeated the Midianites and Gideon's forces chased them to the Jordan.

How Today’s Reading Contributes to the Gospel: God is Setting All Things Right

God uses Gideon to prove to Israel His ability to defeat their enemies.

Gideon is not a warrior. Yet God calls him a warrior. God can use anyone who will obey Him to set things right on the earth.

Joash, Gideon's father, provides the greatest philosophy on apologetics.

When Gideon was found out as the one who destroyed Baal's altar and the Asherah pole the men wanted to kill him. Joash responds,

Are you going to fight Baal's battles for him? Are you going to save him? … If Baal is a god in fact, let him fight his own battles and defend his own altar. (6:31, The Message)

Although Joash's statement is about a false god, we can apply this to our true God! It is one thing to suggest that Christians should know why God exists and trust in His abilities. It is something completely different for Christians to feel the need to "defend" God any time someone says something negative about Him or tries to do something against His Word. We should have the same attitude for God Joash had, if God is a god in fact, let Him fight His own battles and defend His own Word. When we shift to this attitude we give God's Word to others in ways that will convict and promote obedience because His Word will defend itself.

God wants Israel to know they do not win their own battles.

God tells Gideon to trim down the warriors. "You have too large an army with you. I can't turn Midian over to them like this - they'll take all the credit, saying, 'I did it all myself,' and forget about me" (7:2, The Message). God wants to make His abilities obvious: you didn't build that!

How has God won your battles?

March 31 - Judges 3-5: Othniel, Ehud, and Deborah

March 31

Today’s Reading: Judges 3-5

The Message

English Standard Version

Congratulations! You've made it a quarter of the way through the Bible! Keep going!

Thought to Guide Your Reading

God is showing the next generations of Israelites His power and ability to defeat their enemies.

Summary in 100 Words or Less

God left five kings to help Israel continue learning about war.
Israel cheated on God. Punishment? Serving Cushan-Rishathaim for eight years. Caleb's nephew Othniel saved them. Peace lasted 40 years.
Israel cheated on God again. Punishment? Serving Eglon 14 years. Ehud saved them by killing Eglon (a fat man). Peace lasted 80 years.
Israel continued doing evil. Punishment? Serving Jabin for 20 years. Deborah helped Barak lead against Sisera, the leader of Jabin's army. Jael, the wife of a Kenite, killed Sisera with a tent peg. Deborah and Barak sang a song of praise to God. Peace lasted 40 years.

How Today’s Reading Contributes to the Gospel: God is Setting All Things Right

God wants His Chosen People to remain ready for battle.

When 21st century Americans read this we think God continuing war is strange. Once again, this confusion is a situation of misunderstanding because of our time distance. The people of that day faced military forces that were often at war with each other. If they had peace for too long, Israel would grow, in the words of Deborah, "fat and sloppy" (5:7, The Message). God knew the people would be sitting ducks for any enemy. God wants His Chosen People to be ready to protect themselves in this world.

Israel blatantly disregarded God's commands about staying away from the people in Canaan.

God told Israel that if they intermarried Canaan's people they would serve Canaan's gods (Exodus 34:16). So here are the people giving their daughters to the people in Canaan and marrying their daughters. And Israel worship Canaan's gods. God punishes Israel. Do not marry people not wholly for God!

The judges were to show how God continued to love Israel.

God provided Othniel, Ehud, and Deborah to deliver His Chosen People from their captors. Israel needed to know how God still loved them. God will rescue His Chosen People when they are led into captivity.

God chosen both men and women as judges.

It is possible to make too much of this, to make having both male and females in leadership positions mandatory. What should be seen here is that God worked through Othniel, Ehud, and Deborah because they were willing to set things right for God's Chosen People. God can set all things right on this earth through anyone willing to obey Him.

Israel goes through cycles of generations who obey God and generations who do not.

God's people are not so fickle that they turn against God right away. It takes a generation or two to turn against God. But they always do. Faithfulness to God is not inherited. It must be learned.
It is this reason that people who complain about the USA going away from its foundation are right. The story of Israel gives ample evidence that generations do not follow in their ancestor's steps. The solution, however, is not to go back to their faith but to cry out to God to deliver us from our current sin and serve God again.

"Thus may all God's enemies perish, while his lovers be like the unclouded sun" (5:31, The Message).

March 30 - Judges 1-2: Introducing the (Need for) Judges

Today’s Reading: Judges 1-2

The Message

English Standard Version

Today we begin Judges. Chapters one and two introduce the need for judges. The first chapter repeats much of Joshua, so scan through it if you are behind or are short on time.

Thought to Guide Your Reading

Israel ignored God's commands to tear down the altars to the false gods of the people in Canaan even though He repeated it so often.

Summary in 100 Words or Less

After Joshua died God told Judah to fight the Canaanites. Judah and Simeon teamed up to conquer their lands.
Eventually Israel failed to drive out the Canaanites and made them slaves.
Though God never broke His Promise Israel did not keep their promise. Because they did not tear down the alters in Canaan God allowed the Canaanites to stay. They would cause Israel to worship other gods.
When Israel worshiped other gods they were punished. God raised judges to redeem Israel but they would not listen and remained in sin. The nation of Israel would not be wholly for God.

How Today’s Reading Contributes to the Gospel: God is Setting All Things Right

The first chapter of Judges sets the background for the book.

Each book of the Bible was circulated on its own for thousands of years. This meant it needed to tell background information to set the stage for what would happen in its contents. This is why the first chapter repeats much of Joshua. People reading or listening to the text would need this chapter to remember what they read or heard a few months/years ago when they read the other book.

Israel fails to obey God's most-repeated law.

It what may be the saddest part of scripture so far, God reprimanded Israel for not following the law that was repeated more times than any other law—destroy any and every trace of the gods of the Canaanites. Because they would not do this God would no longer protect them. Canaan's unholy influence would overtake them and they would be punished. When God's Chosen People do not make themselves wholly for God (holy) then they will eventually forsake God completely.

Israel's new generation does not follow in its predecessor's footprints.

Disobeying another oft repeated law, Israel fails to pass on faith in God to their children. Whether this is the fault of the parents or of the children God does not say—most likely because it is not important. Parents must pass on to their children that that God is setting all things right on this earth or they will not be wholly for God (holy).

God provides Israel's judges.

Even though Israel is not willing to obey God, He still sends them judges to call them back into a right relationship with Him. God is willing to call His Chosen People even when they are not willing to obey Him. How wonderful is our God!

God uses the Canaanites to test Israel's faith.

Since Israel was not willing to destroy the idols of the Canaanites God would no longer drive the Canaanites out of the land. This meant Israel would not only have to fight them when they wished for revenge but they would also tempt Israel to worship their gods. When we are not holy, God allows us to keep temptations around.

In what ways has God not driven out your Canaanite temptations?