Hello, my ‘Walking with Jesus’ friends,
I begin today with three important questions for all of us, no matter where we live in the world…
1… Does God see and understand the pain in your life, even better than you understand it?
2… Does God hear the cries of your heart emanating from the pain of your life, even if you aren’t crying out to God?
3… Does God have the desire and ability to respond and do something helpful in the face of your painful circumstances?
Of course, the answer to all three questions is an emphatic YES and the story of Moses at the burning bush in Exodus 3 is one of many great proof texts from the Bible.
So, here’s a fourth important question? Does God change over time?
If God is eternal and He is the same God who met Moses at that burning bush, has God grown weary with our human race and our consistent failures, generation after generation? Even if our pain is caused by the very same issues of generations ago, is God still hearing, caring and willing to help us?
The answer of course is YES, and I have two responses from God’s Word for us. 1st is Malachi 3:6 “I the LORD do not change” and the second is the Bible book of Judges which is where we are today in our journey through the “Grand Narrative” and may be the very best practical proof because generation after generation God heard the cries of His people in the painful pits of their own doing, and generation after generation God responded with His help and His love!
Yesterday, I left you in Judges 3:8 where the Israelites, only a few generations removed from those slave pits in Egypt, had turned away from God and were once again living under the domination of a neighboring wicked people! That very painful situation existed for 8 years and the people cried out to God in their pain, (Judges 3:9) as their ancestors had done. (Ex. 2:23) And as with generations before God heard the cries of his people and despite the fact that they were living in pain caused by their own terrible, rebellious choices, God responded with His help!
Judges 3:9 declares: “But when the Israelites cried out to the LORD, He raised up for them a deliverer, Othniel, son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, who came to their rescue. The Spirit of the LORD came upon Othniel so that he became Israel’s ‘judge’ and went to war. The LORD gave Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram into the hands of Othniel, who overpowered him. So, the land had peace for 40 years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died.” (Judges 3:9-11) Oh my, do you see God’s powerful answers to the cries of the Israelites in those days are also God’s answers to our questions today?
Of course we remember Caleb, the man who, along with Joshua, stood courageously in opposition to the false, fearful report of the other 10 scouts which Moses had sent in to spy out the land, as recorded in Numbers 13:30. Caleb and Joshua were the only two men of that generation who came into the Promised Land and five years later Caleb had been given, by Joshua, the town of Hebron as his inheritance. (Joshua 14:6-15)
Judges 1:12,13 tell us the story of Caleb offering his daughter to the man who would capture one of the towns near Hebron. That man was named Othniel the son of Kenaz, yes, the very same Othniel who now years later is raised up by God as the first Judge in response to the cries of God’s people years after both Joshua & Caleb are deceased and the people have turned away from God!
I’ve always wondered how significant it was in Othniel’s life that he married into Caleb’s family and Caleb became his father-in-law and we presume a mentor to Othniel. That challenges me, and all of us men who have given the hand of our daughters in marriage to a young man as he married into our family. How are we as spiritual and character mentors to our sons-in-law, even if they live far away, as mine does?
Did you notice the secret to Othniel’s success was not his being a son-in-law to Caleb but rather this statement in vs 10: “The Spirit of the LORD came upon Othniel…” Yes, this is the very same Holy Spirit which came upon Jesus at His baptism (Matt. 3:16,17) and the same Holy Spirit Jesus promised He would send to live with and in all of those who believed in Him and were born again. (John 14:16,17,26) This is the same Holy Spirit who came upon those followers of Jesus 10 days after His ascension back to heaven. (Acts 2)
So how exactly did the Spirit of the LORD affect Othniel? Well, that verse continues by saying ‘…he became Israel’s judge and went to war.” Judges have one primary role… to discern the truthfulness in a complex situation and to give wise decisions, guidance or judgements which resolve disagreements or conflict.
The primary need of a judge is WISDOM and DISCERNMENT, both of which are primary attributes of the Holy Spirit of God! For any Judge, then or now, the greatest gift they could possibly receive is: an anointing of the Holy Spirit of God, do you agree?
Secondly, it seems the Holy Spirit gave Othniel a tremendous amount of courage and even a warrior spirit to rally the men of Israel to defend their families and property against the invading marauders. The Spirit of the LORD evidently gave Othniel great military strategies for the men he led were victorious in overthrowing those who terrorized them.
Finally, the Spirit gave Othniel great wisdom in leadership over the next 40 years to help Israel live in peace and with the focus of their hearts and minds restored to honoring the covenant of their ancestors with God! What an amazing story of God’s mercy and miraculous work through one man, Othniel, who was willing for God to raise him up and equip him for leadership at a time when Israel was floundering.
Now friends as you read through Judges 3,4,5 you’ll see this same pattern repeated several more times with the people of Israel. After Othniel died in the absence of a Holy Spirit filled leader, Judges 3:12 says “Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD and because they did this evil the LORD gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel… and the Israelites were subject to Eglon king of Moab for 18 years…” And the remainder of Judges 3 gives us the story of the next man named Ehud whom God raised up in response to the desperate cries of another generation in great pain. Like Othniel, Ehud was empowered by God to lead the Israelites back to God and to defend themselves and once again peace came to Israel, this time for 80 years! (Judges 3:30)
Judges 4 gives the remarkable story of another ruthless ruler Jabin king of Canaan who was terrorizing Israel in the next generation and Judges 4:3 gives us this painful picture: “Because he had 900 chariots fitted with iron and cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, the Israelites cried to the LORD for help. Now Deborah, a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at the time.”
Yes, the LORD God raised up a remarkable woman named Deborah to be God’s Judge and leader of Israel during this time. She is the only woman given this great honor and her story is remarkable. I urge you to take the time to read through it watching for the unique things God did with and through Judge Deborah at a time when no man was willing to lead Israel! Deborah’s story concludes again with this wonderful statement: “Then the land had peace for forty years.” (Judges 5:31b)
Do you see the pattern my friends, the “Judge’s cycle”? It happened over and over for about 300 years and tomorrow we’ll look at one of the more famous of those God empowered Judges, Gideon. Let’s pause right here and reflect on what this all means. None of these Judges sought the role God gave them, none of them did it for their own fame or personal profit or the accolades of the people.
Almost all were reluctant but willing if God appointed and empowered and led them. It calls us to look around our world today and ask God to help us understand what He is doing in the cities where you and I live and what your role and mine might be in God’s plan for our cities?
Further notes are available, as you know, at the Grand Narrative link below, and I’ve found a great worship song, “God of My Tomorrows”, which might have been so appropriate for Deborah as she contemplated what God was calling her to! You’ll find the song at the link below, and I’ll meet you here again tomorrow as we meet Mr. Gideon…
Today’s Scripture: Judges 3-5.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Judges 4
Judges 5
Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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