Digging in Deeper: Judges 6:7-10

“When the people of Israel cried out to the Lord on account of the Midianites, the Lord sent a prophet to the people of Israel.  And he said to them, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of slavery.  And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land.  And I said to you, “I am the Lord your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.”  But you have not obeyed my voice.'”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

The people of Israel were hurting and broken and desperate. They were starving. The Midianites were taking everything. They were keeping them weak and unable to mount any kind of a meaningful resistance to their reign of terror. The Israelites were but a couple of generations into the land God had provided for them and it looked like he had abandoned them to this enemy for good. Now, the reality was that it had only been like this for a few years, but when you’re trapped in misery, a few years can seem like a lifetime. They did the only thing they could: Scrape together a meager survival and cry out to the Lord. Read the rest…

Morning Musing: 1 Samuel 4:18

“As soon as he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy.  He had judged Israel forty years.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

A couple of things stand out here to me. This verse is an indictment of Eli as well as a commentary on how tragic his family situation was. Both of these are things we want to avoid being said about us. Read the rest…

The Man Who Got It

In this second-to-last installment of our series, Hard Sayings, we wrestled with the power of the cross.  Just how big is the grace Jesus won for us there?  It can save a normal sinner, sure, but can it save the worst of them?  We’re actually faced with a harder question here: Do we want it to?  Is Jesus’ offer of life to anyone fair?  Keep reading to see the answer.

 

The Man Who Got It

Do you remember your parents ever doing something for your brother or sister that they did not do for you?  What was your immediate complaint?  That’s not fair!  Actually, you probably said it with a bit more…emotion in your voice.  That’s not faaaaaaiiiir!!!  Worse yet, do you remember your brother or sister or cousin or a friend or, really, just about anyone, getting something you were convinced in your heart of hearts they didn’t deserve?  What did you say then?  About the same thing: “That’s not fair!” Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Judges 2:4

“As soon as the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Do you remember a time as a kid when you were misbehaving, knew it, but weren’t doing anything about it? You just kept right on down that path figuring that you’d deal with the consequences when that time came. And eventually, the time did indeed come. Your parent or teacher or some other authority finally caught you and sat you down and basically said, “You’ve had your fun, but what were you thinking? Now it’s time to pay the Piper.” Read the rest…

Morning Musing: 1 Samuel 2:25

“‘If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him,  but if someone sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?’  But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the Lord to put them to death.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

This is one of those verses that’s hard to get our minds around at first read.  And second read.  And third too.  The Lord willed to put them to death?  What happened to mercy and compassion and grace?  Who can survive if the Lord deigns to destroy them? Read the rest…