Day 18
Judges
If anything stands out on this day's reading, it's the ping pong of pigheadedness! The people of this time just refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways! After how far they've come, after all God has, does, and will continue to do for them, they still revert right back to their evil ways, worshipping other Gods. Then expecting "the" God to bail them out!
In Judges 6, the Lord sent the Midianites a prophet who said, "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I snatched you from the power of Egypt and from the hand of all your oppressors. I drove them from before you and gave you their land. I said to you, "I am the Lord your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.' But you have not listened to me."
I like how God once again shows grace and mercy in equipping Gideon.
Judges 6:14
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 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."
I love how I can relate to this. So often our biggest fears in not doing is because we don't think we're smart enough, important enough, or strong enough.
That verse begs the differ. If God calls you, he equips you.
God doesn't tell you to go conquer the world with the strength of an army. He doesn't tell you to solve the worlds problems with the intelligence of a genius, ---- he simply tells us to "Go with the strength you have..."
Not with anyone elses strength that might be greater. But that YOUR STRENGTH will be sufficient to succeed!
I'm comforted by that!
Again and again in this book, it is that ping pong. Doubt. Disobedience. Doubt. Disobedience.
Finally in Judges 10:11, God seems to have had enough. The Lord replied, "When the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, the Sidonians, the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you and you cried to me for help, did I not save you from their hands? But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!"
I just love this personal reminder over and over, of how very blessed we are and how God asks so little of us in return, yet we make it seem like so much.
If we're too busy for God on Sunday, we have no business to ask him to save us from a deadline or test on Monday.
If we worship our free time more than the sacrifice of serving others or spending some time each day getting to know God more, then we should call on those other more important 'gods' in our lives to save us. Not call on God, the one we put last.
I know people call the Old Testament just a book of rules....
I'm beginning to see it as simply blessed assurance.
Where God assures me my obedience will be blessed.
