A Good Thing

Posted on April 20, 2018 by Pete

Yesterday, I heard of man who doesn’t like singing. Says he’s a believer, but doesn’t like singing . . . not his own, not others. Apparently he’ll listen to instrumental music, but doesn’t listen to, or like being around, melody with lyrics. And to be honest, I wonder how that’s possible? How does a believer not like singing?

Not saying it can’t be. And, I have to admit that I have a pretty strong bias–I’ve always been drawn to music, both pre-salvation and post-salvation. In fact, I can remember the joy when I realized, shortly after turning from the world and turning to Christ, that music wasn’t something that was going to be removed, but something that was going to be exchanged. That, in Christ, the child of God is given a new song to sing.

He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog,
   and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
   a song of praise to our God.

(Psalm 40:2-3a ESV)

There’s something about redemption that should result in a response. Something about rescue that should evoke rejoicing. Something about being given new life that’s just going to  bear the fruit of a new song.

And this morning I’m reminded it’s a good thing.

It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
   to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
to declare Your steadfast love in the morning,
   and Your faithfulness by night,
to the music of the lute and the harp,
   to the melody of the lyre.

(Psalm 92:1-3 ESV)

It is good. It is becoming. It is appropriate. It is pleasant and agreeable. It is rich and esteemed valuable. Beneficial. And just plain the right thing to do.

To give thanks to the LORD. To sing praises to His name. To declare His holy character to the music and melody of instruments.

You can’t get any more biblical than singing with the saints.

So how come this guy I heard about doesn’t have a heart tuned to sing His praise? I don’t know. But there might be a clue in the fact it didn’t sound like he didn’t have a Sabbath cycle. Didn’t sound like he was setting aside time weekly to rest, reflect, and yes, rejoice in the mighty works of God on his behalf.

For you, O LORD, have made me glad by Your work;
   at the works of Your hands I sing for joy.

(Psalm 92:4 ESV)

Psalm 92 says it was a song written for the Sabbath. Written for that time when, weekly, God’s people were to pause, turn towards the temple, and remind themselves of God’s work in creation. That it was a good work. That it was a finished work. That it was a work worthy of resting in. Just like the work of salvation.

Guessing that if we don’t slow down regularly to be reminded of, and to remember, His mighty works, it might be kind of hard to sing for joy about those works. That if we don’t see the value of being with other redeemed souls, we might have a problem to know afresh the awe and wonder that comes from considering the One who redeems.

I get that some may just be more wired to worship in song than others, but I also find it kind of sad to think of songless saints.

Because song born praise is a good thing. A good thing to do individually. A good thing to do corporately.

It is good to give thanks to You, LORD . . . and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High.

Because of Your grace. All for Your glory.

(Got a few more minutes this morning for a good thing?  Check out Paul Baloche’s take on Psalm 92 by clicking here).

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You Need a King!

Posted on April 19, 2018 by Pete

Wrapped up Judges this morning. Heavy sigh! What a train wreck.

The book finishes with three accounts of incidents which occurred “in those days, when there was no king in Israel.” Not necessarily chronological, occurring after the days when Samson was judge, but illustrative of the time period after Joshua and his generation had passed, when “there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel” (Judges 2:10). Narratives which portray the depths of depravity a people who had forgotten their God descended into.

The stories seem to present a slippery slope. Begins in a home where a man decides he no longer needs to go to the temple in order to worship. Instead he makes his own idol of silver, fashions his own ephod for worship, and ordains one of his own sons to be his priest. He then “upgrades” his customized religiosity when he contracts a wandering Levite to be his own personal intercessor between God and man. And the crazy thing is, rather than see how far he’s strayed, he is almost giddy with how close he thinks he is drawing to God.

Then Micah said, “Now I know that the LORD will prosper me, because I have a Levite as priest.”

(Judges 17:13)

But, in those days when there was no king in Israel, what began with an individual soon spreads to an entire clan. And the tribe of Dan, still trying to appropriate the land they had been given, convinces Micah’s priest that if being the priest to the house of one man is good, then being the priest to an entire tribe of Israel has got to be better. And so, they take the priest, and the priest takes the idols and ephod from Micah’s house.

And the people of Dan set up the carved image for themselves, and Jonathan the son of Gershom, son of Moses, and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land. So they set up Micah’s carved image that he made, as long as the house of God was at Shiloh.

(Judges 19:30-31 ESV)

And so, an entire tribe of promise settles for a cheap imitation of the Promiser.

But hearts that have ceded the throne of God to idols of their own making are prone to cede it further to the desires of hearts steeped in their own depravity. And the final story (ch. 19-21), in those days when there was no king in Israel, is one of unbridled sexual lust,  violence, rape, and human desecration beyond imagination. One resulting in God ordained revenge and destruction, but one of man marred foolish oaths and desperate “Plan B’s” which result in chaos and confusion. And all this because, as the book concludes:

In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

(Judges 21:25 ESV)

You can’t read the end of Judges without hearing the repeated warning: People! You need a shepherd! You need a ruler! You need a king!

Left to our own self-governance, we can only expect descent into increasing depravity and destruction. Hearts set on idols are hearts disconnected from heaven’s ideal. Worship as it seems right in our own eyes can only lead to worship of the wrong things. Distancing ourselves from the Author of Life can only diminish our sense of the purpose, value, and sanctity of life.

Maybe that’s why something I also read this morning, in Mark’s gospel, is resonating so deeply:

And [Jesus] asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered Him, “You are the Christ.”

(Mark 8:29 ESV)

Just as Peter did, we need to affirm allegiance to our King. Regardless of what others say, what scoffers scoff, what skeptics deride, we need to double down that there is a King. And that we, by His divine enabling through the gospel, will set our faces to follow Him and do what is right in His eyes.

In these days, there is a King. The King of heaven who rules over the kingdom of heaven established in the hearts of His people.

How we need a King.

A King of grace. The King of glory.

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Satisfied in the Desert

Posted on April 18, 2018 by Pete

It’s a prayer of Moses. Kind of amazing that it would have been preserved for so many years and found its way into a collection of songs by David and his worship leaders. The same sort of amazing I should feel when I think about the Scriptures as a whole–breathed of God, preserved of God, presented by God.

And the overall context for this song of Moses seems to clearly be the dirge of desert wandering. Moses acutely aware of what a difficult life looks like and what its ultimate destiny will be–that God returns man to dust (v.3). Moses aware of life’s transience as he sees those who walked out of Egypt being swept away “as with a flood” (v.4). Here one day and gone the next, their lives are like grass which in the evening “fades and withers” (v. 6).

Every evening! Literally! Moses saw some of his people fade and wither every day for forty years.

I don’t think it’s bad math to estimate that about a million souls were told that they wouldn’t enter the promised land and would die in the desert because of their rebellion and refusal to trust God to provide what He had promised (Numbers 13 and 14). Because of their lack of faith and fear of the “giants” who inhabited the land, they would instead learn to trust in God, and to fear Him all the days of their lives, as they sojourned in the desert. And if those million souls died over a period of 40 years, then there were, on average, 70 new graves a day. Every time they broke camp in the morning to move on, they left a small cemetery behind. Seventy people who woke “like grass that is renewed in the morning” would fade and wither by evening.

Talk about a depressing day-in-day-out reality. The years of life being 70, or perhaps 80, determined by up close and personal observation. Their span but “toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away” (v.10). (Is that where “I’ll Fly Away” came from?)

That was their reality. No wonder Moses asks of the Time-Maker:

So teach us to number our days
  that we may get a heart of wisdom.

(Psalm 90:12 ESV)

But Moses also petitioned the God who had been their dwelling place in all generations (v.1) for something else. Something which I think I’ve tended to overlook in past meditations of his song. He asked that they would be satisfied in the desert.

Satisfy us in the morning with Your steadfast love,
   that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

(Psalm 90:14 ESV)

Knowing their lives were short, that they would “end like a sigh” (v.9), Moses asked that each day until then would have a reminder of God’s faithful presence. Aware that the desert they sojourned today would be the same desert they would walk tomorrow, that they would awake each morning to an awareness of God’s steadfast love. That even amidst toil and snare, they would know the mercies of God and rejoice and be glad in the days He had allotted. The manna a daily reminder of His provision. The morning visitation of bread from heaven a reason to be satisfied, even in the desert.

Let Your work be shown to Your servants,
   and Your glorious power to their children.

(Psalm 90:16 ESV)

I’m reminded this morning that we can be satisfied in the desert. That the steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, that His mercies never come to an end; that they are new every morning and that great is His faithfulness (Lam. 3:22-23).

And ours is not some aimless wandering that comes up short of the promised land, but ours is a pilgrimage with the assurance of victory that one day we will inhabit His glory.

“O death, where is your victory?
   O death, where is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

(1Corinthians 15:55-57 ESV)

Satisfied in the desert.

By His amazing grace. For His eternal glory.

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Promises and Circumstance

Posted on April 17, 2018 by Pete

I read Psalm 89 and am again reminded of how much I want a story to have a happy ending. If Ethan the Ezrahite’s song had stopped at verse 37, that would have worked for me. If the pivotal phrase, “but now,” had been omitted, I’d be happy to glory in the greatness and goodness of God without trying to reconcile it with the struggles and sorrows we sometimes face.

But, praise God, I’m not the songwriter. And so, I’m left to noodle on this song that exalts the LORD, rehearses His promises, declares His steadfast love and faithfulness, and still asks the question, “How long, O LORD? Will You hide Yourself forever?”

And so, I’m left to chew on the reality of promises and circumstance.

The songwriter comes out of the gates with glorious praise. He sings of the LORD’s steadfast love and makes known His faithfulness to His covenant with David — themes repeated throughout the song (v. 1-4). He then shifts gears and transcends earth to consider the praise of the heavens. Awesome above all who are around Him is our God! The name of the LORD magnified for His mighty arm, His righteousness, and His justice (v.5-14).

And what of the people who walk in the light of the face of such a God? Blessed! That’s what they are. And so, the song shifts to the benefits of being the people of God. They know the festal shout. The exult in His name and, in return, are exalted in His righteousness. He is their shield. He is their help (v.15-18).

The song then returns to the opening theme and rehearses in full length the terms of the promise to David, and to his offspring, concerning his eternal throne (v.19-37).

And then . . . . Ethan slams on the brakes! Throws the wheel wildly to the left and spins the song 180 degrees from laud to lament, from worship to weeping, from praise to the problem. From promises to circumstance.

But now You have cast off and rejected;
   You are full of wrath against Your anointed.
You have renounced the covenant with Your servant;
  You have defiled his crown in the dust.

(Psalm 89:38-39 ESV)

Wait a minute! This isn’t where I thought this was going. This isn’t the crescendo I was looking for. Why bring in reality? But the songwriter mournfully pours out his petition before a seemingly silent God (v.38-51).

Don’t know exactly who Ethan the songwriter is, or the timing and occasion of his song, but he knew the promises made to David and was living out a dire circumstance befalling Israel. And it seems, at face value, like all bets are off. That the covenant must have been renounced by heaven as he sees the crown of David’s forever throne defiled and cast into the dust.

Lord, where is Your steadfast love of old,
  which by Your faithfulness You swore to David?

(Psalm 89:49 ESV)

Such is reality, so often, when promises meet circumstance. When the pieces don’t seem to add up. When the story’s not going as we’d like it to. Whether because of sin or just a sin-marred world, our happy ending is interrupted by a cruel or difficult reality.

So what do you say when you don’t know what to make of things? When promises and circumstances don’t seem to line up?

Blessed be the LORD forever!
  Amen and Amen.      (Psalm 89:52 ESV)

That’s how Ethan wraps up the song. Blessing God who is God forever and ever. Knowing that His steadfast love and faithfulness prevail even when the promise seems swallowed up by the circumstance. Believing that what He has said will be accomplished will, in fact, be accomplished . . . punctuating that belief with a double amen!

Verily, verily! Truly, truly! So be it, so be it!

So, while the song didn’t progress the way I might have wanted it to, it finished just as God had intended. Calling His people to trust Him. Assuring His people of His steadfast love and His faithfulness in all the promises and circumstance.

Because of His unfailing grace. For His everlasting glory.

Amen and Amen?

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Living Outside of Legacy

Posted on April 16, 2018 by Pete

He knew who he was, he just chose to ignore it. Aware of where he’d come from, he didn’t really want it to impact where he was going. Able to articulate his roots, but not all that willing to live in light of who he was. As I chew on the life of Samson this morning, I can’t help but think this guy was a really complex character.

The fingerprints of the Almighty are all over him. From his divine birth announcement to his parents by the angel of the LORD Himself (Judges 13), to God’s calling on his life as an instrument to “begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines” (13:5), to the number of times it is recorded that the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon Samson to allow him to wage war against the enemy (14:6, 14:19, 15:14)–all of it pointing to Samson being God’s man for God’s purposes at God’s time.

But what a train wreck this guy’s life was. Having a divine calling, he subjects it to his own lustful desires. Given a platform for deliverance, he instead plays silly games. Endowed with great power, he recklessly presumes upon it so that he can pursue the world’s pleasures.

God gets done what God wants to get done through Samson’s life, but it’s almost in spite of Samson. Mission accomplished, but the missionary was a mess.

Like I said, kind of complex.

And what’s hit me this morning is the tragedy of living outside of legacy.

And the Angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. . . No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.”

(Judges 13:3, 5b ESV)

And [Samson] told [Delilah] all his heart, and said to her, “A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mothers womb.”

(Judges 16:17a ESV)

He knew!!! That’s what hits me between the eyes. When Samson finally caves to Delilah’s incessant, sensual interrogation, when he carelessly open his heart to her, it’s clear he knew who he was and why he had been born. His parents had done their job. They had brought him up “in the way he should go” and when he was at the end of the life he didn’t depart from it (Pr. 22:6). He knew his calling, he knew his legacy. But he chose to live most of his life outside of that legacy.

That he was to be devoted to God was part of his DNA, but he chose to desire foreign women anyway. That he was to pursue holiness had been drilled into him, but defiling himself with what was unclean made more practical sense. That God would have him be a deliverer had been the stuff of bedtime stories as kid, but that he would desire forbidden fruit had been the bedmates for most of his life.

To be sure, you read this story and you’re reminded again that a sovereign God will accomplish His sovereign purposes in whatever sovereign manner He chooses. But you can’t help but wonder, “What if?” What if Samson had been happy to be God’s guy, doing God’s work, God’s way?

Instead, there’s just a sense of tragedy when reflecting on the life of someone who knew better, but lived worse. A mighty man who became a shadow of a figure because he settled for rewards far below his high and holy calling.

Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.

(1Corinthians 10:11-12 ESV)

We too are people of a high and holy calling. Set apart from birth. Our DNA wired for holiness and power through regeneration of the Spirit. Given everything we need to participate in the divine nature and partake in His divine mission. More than conquerors in Him, even if, sometimes, despite ourselves.

But oh, to know the blessing of living in light of our legacy.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Jephthah

Posted on April 12, 2018 by Pete

Hovering over Judges 11 this morning. Noodling on Jephthah, deliverer and judge of Israel. And honestly, not sure what to do with him.

He was a man of disreputable beginnings, the son of a prostitute. He was rejected by his family, his half-brothers running him out of town so that he would have no part in their father’s inheritance. Ends up in a foreign land and gains some level of notoriety as an outlaw leading a gang of “worthless fellows.” Out of sight, maybe, but not off the radar.

Such was his reputation that when the Israelites need a military leader to battle the Ammonites, they actively seek out and recruit Jephthah. “If I come back to be your deliverer,” Jephthah says in essence, “then I need to be your leader as well” (11:9).

And at this point, there’s a sense of type of Christ here. Controversial birth. Rejected by His brethren. Eventually recognized as the only hope for deliverance. Rightfully demanding that He be both Savior and Lord.

And Jephthah continues to impress. Though confident in his abilities, he recognizes that he will only defeat the Ammonites if “the LORD gives them over to me” (11:9). And not only does he look to the God of the Scriptures but he also seems pretty familiar with the Scriptures of God. Before entering battle with the Ammonites he tries to negotiate a settlement with them first. And his case is based on the record of Moses and of how Israel came to possess the land. The son of a prostitute, friend of worthless fellows, and he knows the word and will of God (11:12-28).

What’s more, he trusts in God:

“I therefore have not sinned against you, and you do me wrong by making war on me. The LORD, the Judge, decide this day between the people of Israel and the people of Ammon.”

(Judges 11:27 ESV)

And the happy ending that I so want is so close to playing out . . . “Then the Spirit of the LORD was upon Jephthah” (11:29) . . . “So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the LORD gave them into his hand” (11:32).

Good! Stop there! Let him serve Israel without notable incident for the next six years and we’ve got the sort of story I find myself so wanting.

But . . . ugghhh . . . I need to wrestle with the rest of the story . . . the parts I would just as soon skip over.

And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD and said, “If You will give the Ammonites into my hand, then whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the LORDs, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.” . . . So the Ammonites were subdued before the people of Israel. Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah. And behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dances. She was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter. And as soon as he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the LORD, and I cannot take back my vow.”

(Judges 11:30-31, 33b-35 ESV)

Dummy!!! That’s what I want to say. What’s that about? Why mess things up?

Commentators fall on both sides as to whether Jephthah’s vow resulted in an actual human sacrifice or whether his daughter was given to be a perpetual virgin in service for Jehovah. Either way, Jephthah was rash with his vow and broken by its consequence. And I’m bummed because of the cloud it hangs over what might have otherwise been a pretty positive story in a generally negative era.

So, like I said, don’t know exactly what to do with Jephthah’s story.

Doesn’t fit in a nice neat category of either “good or bad” . . . “victory or defeat” . . . “God honoring or not.”

But maybe that’s the point. God uses less than perfect people (Paul calls them “jars of clay” in 2Cor. 4:7) to accomplish His perfect purpose. While we might look to men to lead us, we trust in God to love us and work all things “together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28). Though our stories don’t always have a neat and tidy, happy ending, they always reflect an ever-present and sovereign, heavenly hand upon us.

And, if along the way, we see glimpses of the Savior, then we rejoice with the reminder that we are His. And, if along way, we are reminded of our clay feet, then we praise Him for His finished work on the cross, knowing again that we are more than conquerors not because of who we are, or what we can do, or how well we can avoid being caught up in sin’s snare, but because of Him who loved us and gave Himself for us.

Such is the blessing of grace. To Him be all the glory.

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Sometimes, It Is About Us (2009 Rerun)

Posted on April 11, 2018 by Pete

Hovering over Psalm 85 this morning. And while the mind is spinning, the fingers aren’t getting much traction. Finding it hard to put thought into sentences, impressions into paragraphs.

What grabbed me is the songwriters’ plea for restoration and revival. For knowing return and being re-energized. And the songwriters’ confidence, by faith, that the God who has been “favorable” in the past; who has already forgiven iniquity and covered sin; who has before withdrawn His wrath and turned away His anger, is the God of who will do it again.

And that’s where I kind of stall out . . .

So went back into my journal. Here’s how I thought about it one morning back in 2009 . . . unedited . . .

———————————–

So . . . it’s Psalm 85 that I’m chewing on this morning. There’s always a danger about jumping to application too quickly . . . but hey, I think “devotional reading” is not so much about gaining some knowledge for the day as it is about picking up some practical tips or receiving some encouragement for navigating what’s ahead in the next 24 hours. And the middle section of Psalm 85 seems to provide some fuel for the fire as I head out for the day . . .

Ok . . . the big picture . . . I don’t know exactly what the nation of Israel or the Psalmist are enduring at the time this Psalm is written but it seems to be some pretty tough stuff . . . stuff that has made God seem somewhat distant . . . as if He’s angry with them. Based on my readings in Judges, it feels like the kind of position they might be in when they have turned from God toward idols, when God has judged them through other nations, and, as a result, their hearts are being turned back to their God and they’re seeking His deliverance. And the Psalm seems to have 3 main parts: 1) God, You have been our deliverer in the past . . . You are mighty to save . . . You have covered sin and forgiven our iniquity; 2) Do it again God; 3) I’ll rest in confidence that You will answer my prayer and act . . . I will know God’s intervention . . . I will hear His voice . . . mercy and truth will meet . . . righteousness and peace will kiss . . . my God is so faithful, it’s a done deal! And it’s that “do it again God” portion of the Psalm that’s got me thinking.

As I read verses 4 through 7 over and over they really seem to be about “us” . . . literally . . . “Restore us” . . . “Revive us” . . . “Show us Your mercy” . . . “Grant us Your salvation”. Sometimes . . . it is about us . . .

Now while the Psalmist’s exact situation may not be something I’ve known, there are times when I feel like I’ve been de-railed . . . my focus shifted from my home in heaven and consumed with the circumstances of my pilgrimage . . . times when God doesn’t seem “as close” . . . and I know it’s not that He’s moved, it’s me . . . and at some point while in this “distant land,” I realize a thirst for the way things were . . . when God and I were really enjoying communion and fellowship . . . and in that place, it seems to me that it would be appropriate to take the Psalmists queue and make it about us . . .

Restore us, Lord . . . bring us back to that place, my God . . . return me to the intimacy I have known with You . . . that’s my desire . . . I look to Your gracious work. Revive us, Lord . . . give back some life . . . stoke the fire . . . refresh the weary . . . jazz the un-jazzed . . . that my thirst would become full out pursuit . . . that my pilot light would fan into a rip, roaring flame . . . again, Your gracious work. Show us mercy, Lord . . . let me know again Your goodness . . . Your kindness . . . Your faithfulness . . . remind my repenting heart that the blood of Jesus cleanses from all sin . . . let me see again the cross and it’s all sufficiency to cover all my transgressions . . . open my eyes afresh to Your mercy and grace, that I might be encouraged. And, finally, grant us Your salvation, Lord . . . deliver me from current uncertainty . . . let me know victory — not necessarily over my particular circumstance — but over the sense of separation I have from You . . . victory from the doubts . . . victory from the depression . . . victory from the distance. God . . . make it about us . . .

Oh, that I would have the Psalmist’s heart . . . that when the going gets tough, that I would getting going to my God . . . and prevail upon His grace . . . and seek His face . . . that He would restore . . . that He would revive . . . that He would show mercy . . . that He would grant salvation. That I would do so with confidence knowing that He will respond and speak peace to His people and to His saints (85:8) . . . that His salvation is near and that His glory will dwell in the land (85:9).

Father, thank You that sometimes it is about us . . . and our need for You to draw us again to Yourself . . . Revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You (85:6) . . . for our blessing and benefit . . . and for Your glory . . . amen!!!

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The 300

Posted on April 10, 2018 by Pete

We know it’s not about us . . . but maybe, just maybe, we like to think it is a bit. We know it’s not about who we are or what we’ve done . . . but I wonder if deep, deep, down, sometimes we like to think it could be, if even only a little.

Reading again in Judges this morning. And I’m chewing on the 300.

In Judges 6 the Angel of the Lord (another pre-incarnate visit by the Second Person of the Trinity?) tells Gideon that he has been called and is being sent to “go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian” (6:14). But Gideon is kind of aware of how un-mighty “this might of yours” is. His clan is the weakest in Manasseh and he is the “least” in his father’s house (6:15).

And he’s not kidding. He’s not just being humble. He really isn’t all that mighty.

When God asks him to tear down the altar of Baal his father has built, while he obeys, “because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night” (6:27). And then, he tries to avoid graduating from tearing down altars to inanimate objects to facing an army that has horribly oppressed Israel for seven years by testing God’s resolve with a fleece (6:36-40).

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not criticizing Gideon. By Judges 7 he’s ready to go into battle. I’m just saying he may not be your stereotypical mighty man material.

It gets really interesting in Judges 7 when Gideon’s call for men to follow him into battle ends up with 32,000 fighting men responding. Ok, now I might be feeling a bit better about this whole kick-some-Midian-butt thing. But God says, too many men for me to give the Midians into your hand–pare it down “lest Israel boast over Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me'” (7:3). So 22,000 men are sent home. Only 10,000 left. If it’s me, sweat is forming on my brow.

But God says, “Still too many.” And He gives Gideon the next level of filter.

So [Gideon] brought the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, “Every one who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself. Likewise, every one who kneels down to drink.” And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water. And the LORD said to Gideon, “With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home.”

(Judges 7:5-7 ESV)

I have a picture of me at those waters from a trip to the Holy Land back in ’97. And guess what?  I’m not kneeling, I’m putting my hand to my mouth. (What was I thinking!?! Really? I want to be one of those 300 guys going against that enemy hoard? Give your head a shake, Corak!)

Anyway, I posed for the picture that way because our tour’s Bible teacher said God picked the 300 who put their hands to their mouth because it showed they were alert and ready for battle. That they wouldn’t go to both knees because that was a compromising position and not very soldier like. That those who took time to get down on their knees for a drink were eliminated while those who quickly lapped like a dog and were ready to move on were kept. (Now that I think about it, sounds like a reason for boasting to me.)

But what if wasn’t about these guys being the elite of the elite? What if it was simply about the number 300?

What if the guys who lapped their water did so because they had bad knees? What if they didn’t get down because they weren’t sure they could get up? What if they were so nervous that they weren’t sure they could keep the water down and so just took a little sip? What if it wasn’t about them at all? What if it wasn’t about who they were or what they had done? What if it was simply about God wanting only 300? And those 300 would do?

I’m not saying that my Israel tour Bible teacher was wrong or that I have any new revelation. I’m must noodling on the fact that God wanted to make sure there was no doubt in anybody’s mind as to who defeated the Midianites. That God wanted the smallest, and therefore weakest, army possible. That it wasn’t that God needed a few good men, but that He wanted a few men of faith. Men willing to go into battle because God had called them to and they believed Him when He promised that He would go before them.

What if it was just about the 300?

Then it would show the amazing grace of God, alone.

Then it would be to the eternal praise and glory of God, alone.

And it really wouldn’t be about us.

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In the Battle

Posted on April 9, 2018 by Pete

Noodling on the story of Deborah and Barak in Judges 4 and 5 this morning. And to be honest, the danger in familiar stories is that the lessons are familiar, too. In this case, before I even start reading I’m thinking about Barak’s unwillingness to go into battle unless Deborah goes with him. And so, when I get to her response, where the prophetess Judge of Israel says, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman” (Judges 4:9), I’m thinking, yup, Barak blew it.

Failure because of a lack of faith, I’m thinking. Came in second place because he settled for second best, I’m thinking. Poor Barak, I’m thinking.

But then, something I read in the celebratory song penned by Deborah and Barak after Sisera and his army of chariots are defeated, has me rethinking things a bit.

Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day:
   “That the leaders took the lead in Israel,
    that the people offered themselves willingly,
    bless the LORD!”

(Judges 5:1-2 ESV)

The leaders led. The people offered themselves willingly. Bless the LORD!

Barak’s story might not permit him to take on the super-hero status I would have liked, but bottom line? . . . He was in the battle.  He led as he should have.  To God be the glory.

As I chew on it, who am I to sit in judgment of this commander of Israel’s army? He had lived through the 20 years of cruel oppression under Sisera and his boss, King Jabin (4:1-3). Though Deborah was known as a prophetess and had been a faithful judge in civil matters, her “thus sayeth the LORD” that now was the time for an army of infantrymen to take on an army of chariots may have come from out of left field a bit. Probably no better way to test how certain the prophetess was that she had heard the voice of the LORD then to say, “Ok then, how about you go with me?”

Regardless of what Barak was thinking, how much he battled the fear factor, or to what degree he sported feet of clay, bottom line is that he went. He was in the battle.

The leaders led. And when they did, the people offered themselves willingly. Bless the LORD!

Barak was man of faith. How do I know that? Because he was in the battle. And, because the Scriptures says so . . .

And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets–who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.

(Hebrews 11:32-34 ESV)

Barak would never have the selfie of him standing over a defeated Sisera, that honor would be given to a pilgrim’s wife who knew how to work a hammer and tent peg (4:21). But Barak had led his army of foot soldiers against an army of horses and chariots, with Deborah at his side, believing that God would go out before him. And the LORD did route Sisera “and all his chariots and all his army” and He did it by the edge of Barak’s sword (4:15).

The leader’s led, by faith. The people offered themselves willingly, by faith.

A prophetess Judge was found trustworthy, a pilgrim’s wife was found courageous, and a commander of the army was found faithful, being where he should have been, in the battle.

And this too, by faith.

Bless the Lord!

For His grace. For His glory.

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Drive Them Out . . . Again (a 2013 rerun)

Posted on April 6, 2018 by Pete

Looking back through my journal, it’s been a reading that I’ve spent extra time “chewing on” seven of the past ten years. The opening chapters of Judges have repeatedly served as a fresh warning against the propensity to compromise. The Israelites failure to drive out the inhabitants of the land an ominous reminder of what happens when we get comfortable with the sin in our lives, or try to buddy up with the world around us.

They thought they were strong enough to live over their enemies and were confident that they would continue to submit them to forced labor–their arrogance blinding them to the real danger of their enemies’ gods gaining the upper hand and having dominion over them. Thorns that festered in their sides, snares that would eventually entrap them, that’s what they would become (Judges 2:1-3).

If for no other reason then the a regular reminder of these types of ageless warnings, having a plan to read repeatedly through the whole Bible on a regular basis has been of great value for me.

This morning, I’m rerunning some thoughts from 2013 that I remixed from some thoughts in 2008. The message unchanging, Drive Them Out!

————————–

“This town ain’t big enough for the both of us!” So goes the old western movie cliche. So sets up the confrontation at high noon. If one ain’t leavin’ peaceably-like, then the other’s gonna make him git! So what’s got me thinking of old western re-runs? (Or was it a Bugs Bunny cartoon? . . . whatever.)  It’s the opening chapter of Judges and the ominous foreshadowing of a phrase repeated nine times. The land wasn’t big enough for the Israelites and the Canaanites . . . but the Israelites did not “drive them out.”

Through Moses, God had made the game plan clear. He was going to give them the land He had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  They were to go up in the power of His might and possess the land.  And they were to rid the land of its previous inhabitants . . . completely!  The warning had been clear:

But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those of them whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell.

(Numbers 33:55 ESV)

Any Canaanite remnant would tempt the Israelites away from their God.  Their worship would contaminate true worship.  Their world-view would obscure heaven’s view. And so the charge was unambiguous, “Drive them out!”

Looking at the original word, it looks like it has the idea of possessing or inheriting by the means of dispossessing or impoverishing. Moving into the promised land of God was dependent on completely evicting the previous owners.

But they did not completely drive out the inhabitants of the land.  They allowed them to live among them or they pressed them into forced labor. Bottom line is that God said they needed to be gone, and the people settled for “mostly gone” or “kinda’ gone”.

And Judges 2 says that within just a few decades the result was disastrous. Within a generation, “the people did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals” (Judges 2:11).

These pagan nations left to live among them became a snare to them in subsequent generations. In particular, their gods and pagan religions became an alluring trap. The people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, but, as the next generation grew up, those who didn’t have this first hand knowledge started being attracted to other gods. And our God, who is a jealous God and will not share His glory with another, dealt with this infidelity quickly and harshly.

Thus the vicious cycle of Judges: the people serve other gods . . . God judges them by allowing the nations around them to oppress them . . . the people cry out to God for deliverance . . . God raises up a judge to deliver the people . . . there’s a time of peace . . . and then the people slip back into serving other gods . . . and so it goes.

And so the warning is pretty clear to me . . . Drive them out!

By the abiding grace of God and the indwelling power of His Spirit, I need to put away that which is temptation and can become a snare. I need to renounce that which is of the world and would fester as a thorn. As much as lies in me, I need to leave no fuel to feed the old nature’s fire. I need to dispossess the things of the old man and the old way, that I might fully possess that which God has promised for the believer.

Drive them out!

By His grace . . . for His glory . . .

This town ain’t big enough for the both of us!

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