Return to God’s Ways

July 31, 2011


Background Scripture: Judges 10:6 – 11:33; 21:25
Lesson Passage: Judges 10:10 – 18; 11:4 – 6, 32, 33

Sometimes we get off track. Mostly it is a result of trying to live according to our own desires rather than seeking God’s will for us but nevertheless when it happens, we need help to get back on track. God always send a servant to warn us about the outcome of our actions, pronounce judgment against our actions, or provide reassurance of deliverance from our situation. As has been the theme of the book of Judges, Israel had again committed evil as a nation and God had allowed their enemy to oppress them because of it. The oppression of the enemy was more than Israel wanted to endure so they cried out to God for help. They repented and admitted their sins of omission and sins of commission had led to their situation of vexation. God again provided a deliverer in their midst. This deliverer was a social outcast. He was the son of a harlot. Moreover, he was rejected by his father’s legitimate sons. They refused to allow him to inherit part of their father’s estate. His name was Jephthah. In the process of time the Ammonites began to oppress Israel on the east side of the Jordan in the land of Gilead and they even invaded their ranks in some areas on the west side in the land of Canaan. It was at this time that the leaders of Israel in the land of Gilead sent word for Jephthah to come in lead them into battle against the Ammonites. Jephthah expressed resentment towards them for rejecting him when things were going well and calling upon him to lead them when times were tough. Only after a deal was struck whereby Jephthah would be accepted as the leader of Israel in Gilead after the war with Ammon was over did Jephthah agree to go with Israel’s leaders to be the commander-in-chief over their army. Jephthah inquired of the Ammonite king what reason did he have to war against Israel. The king replied that Israel had taken their land after they came out of Egypt and therefore Ammon was merely fighting to restore the land back to their ownership. Fortunately, Jephthah knew the history of Israel’s dealings with the Moabites and the Ammonites. All of it was honorable and Israel had indeed respected the territory of Ammon and Moab as God had directed them to do. However the land of the Amorites was the land possessed by Israel after they had subdued the Amorites. Jephthah went on to declare that whenever God allowed Israel to dispossess a people from a land, the land then belonged to Israel and not another. In fact, if not for this guideline that sees Israel as an instrument used by God to determine possession of land, Israel would have no land at all. Jephthah stated that Israel had possessed the land for three hundred years and its ownership had not been questioned during all of those years. In other words, why is ownership of the land coming into question now? Ammon still refused to hear Jephthah and God delivered the Ammonites into Israel’s hands under Jephthah’s leadership. Jephthah was well versed in the history of Israel and God’s dealings with them. He used this knowledge to lead Israel back to God’s ways. As a result of Jephthah’s faith in action, today we know the name of this once social outcast of Israel but his brothers who were the legitimate sons of their father, their names remain anonymous.

Robert C. Hudson
July 25, 2011

Let God Rule

July 24, 2011

Background Scripture: Judges 6 – 8; 21:25
Lesson Passage: Judges 7:2 – 4, 13 – 15; 8:22 – 26a

As we continue to review Israel’s historic cycle of disobedience, oppression, repentance, and deliverance, today we turn our attention to Gideon. Prior to preparing Gideon for the task of delivering Israel, God sent a prophet to rebuke the people and to remind them that their situation was brought on by their repeated disobedience in spite of His pass kindness to them. The Midianite occupation had left the nation of Israel impoverished. Gideon believed that his family was notably poor even among the tribe of Manasseh and he was the least of his father’s children. Whether this represented low self-esteem or great humility, Gideon was the type of person God could use. But even an angel of the Lord telling him that the Lord was with him was not enough to convince Gideon that God had chosen the right man to deliver Israel out of this situation. After Gideon was convinced that this was indeed an angel of the Lord, he received his first assignment. This assignment involved correcting the internal problem of disobedience within his father’s house. Gideon had to remove his father’s altar and groves that were erected to serve idol gods. Still operating in fear, Gideon chose ten of his servants to help him and afterwards they did it by night to keep from being discovered. After this success, God strengthened the hand of Israel’s enemies and they formed a confederacy against Israel. Gideon needed additional encouragement to go against this confederacy. He took a fleece of wool and asked God for the assurance of victory by showing him two signs; God did as Gideon requested. Then God made Gideon’s assignment more challenging by telling him to reduce the size of his already outnumbered group. Gideon’s group was reduced from thirty two thousand men down to three hundred men. With this greatly outnumbered group of men (there were over one hundred twenty thousand Midianite soldiers), Gideon led Israel to one of its greatest victories during the time of the judges. This victory moved Israel to submit themselves to Gideon and request that he become their ruler and be succeeded by his descendents after him. Israel wanted a king who would start a royal line of rulers like their neighbors. They were convinced that Gideon and his sons (he had seventy sons) and his grandsons would be ideal for the job. God had demonstrated that He was indeed working through Gideon so Israel wanted to make it official. This was an offer that many individuals would not walk away from. All Gideon had to do was accept the offer and there would not even be an election. Gideon’s answer to them was no. In his humility, Gideon knew that the victories that were ascribed to him had been achieved by God working through him. It was not Gideon’s smarts or his strength that had brought deliverance to Israel. Israel was delivered by God and God alone. Gideon had merely submitted himself to God and he recommended that Israel do the same thing. Israel did indeed need a ruler. Gideon recommended that Israel allow the Lord to be their ruler. Israel desired a monarchy but Gideon reminded them that there governance was that of a theocracy. Forget about the earthly kings, let God rule.

Robert C. Hudson
July 5, 2011

Use God’s Strength

July 17, 2011


Background Scripture: Judges 3:7 – 31; 21:25
Lesson Passage: Judges 3:15 – 25, 29, 30

Our lesson today revolves around Ehud; a man from the tribe of Benjamin. Ehud was a very crafty man who also exhibited signs of bravery. He went into the enemy’s camp under false pretenses and took advantage of their lax security to slay their leader Eglon. Eglon, king of the Moabites, had enjoyed eighteen years of rule over Israel. God allowed this misfortune to befall Israel because of Israel’s disobedience to the commands of God. God had given Eglon the strength and perhaps the wisdom to form a confederacy of Moab, Ammon, and Amalek. This confederacy quickly subdued disobedient Israel and enslaved them—no doubt by taxing them. All of this was in keeping with the covenant Moses delivered to Israel on the plains of Moab prior to his death. God had offered Israel continuous blessings in exchange for their loyalty to him through the keeping of the covenant. On the other hand, Israel had been assured that if they chose not to obey the covenant, they would suffer at the hands of their enemies. God strengthened Israel’s enemies in times of disobedience so that Israel could not resist them. Only after national repentance and prayer did God raise up a deliverer in Israel’s midst. (There is no record of God sending Israel a deliverer from outside their families.) Their deliverer was always someone who was already among them. Only after God had called these deliverers to the task and empowered them were they able to throw off Israel’s oppressors and lead Israel to follow God again. Note that most of the judges did not exhibit extraordinary physical strength or power. Instead, they depended on God’s guidance and when necessary, he gave them extraordinary power to accomplish His will. Ehud is a good example of one not totally dependent on his own abilities but he took advantage of all he had. It is recorded that he was a left-handed man. This seems somewhat common among the tribe of Benjamin as is pointed out later in the book of Judges where seven hundred Benjamites are identified as being distinguished for being left-handed marksmen skilled in the use of a sling. Being left-handed, Ehud hid a special dagger in an unexpected place—on the right side of his body where it was less likely to be detected. When the time was right and all of King Eglon’s bodyguards were gone, Ehud quickly removed the dagger and used it to slay the king and he escaped out the back way before the bodyguards were aware of the king’s death. After escaping, Ehud rallied the fighting men of Israel and positioned them to cut off the escape route of the Moabites. The Moabites were slain as they tried to return to their homeland. Through Ehud’s anointed leadership, Israel was able to throw off the oppression of their enemies and after this they enjoyed eighty years of rest from their oppressors. Again, Ehud was already among them when their enemy put them to shame so it was not Ehud’s cunning maneuvers or military prowess that led to victory but instead, like all judges and spiritual leaders, it was the use of God’s strength that secured deliverance and peace for Israel.

Robert C. Hudson
July 1, 2011