The Reluctant Rescuer.

“…if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn’t they say, ‘The LORD brought us up out of Egypt’? But now the LORD has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites.” ­– Judges 6:13 NLT

Do you ever doubt God? Do you ever struggle believing He’s there? Or that He cares? Do you feel like you’re out-numbered and under-manned at times? Do the odds ever seem stacked against you? If so, then you’re going to relate well to Gideon. There are some characters in Scripture I have a hard time relating to (i.e. Daniel, Joseph). But Gideon is my kind of guy. He is painfully honest and transparent and the Scriptures don’t cover up his flaws. His story begins with some less-than-spectacular circumstances. Israel finds themselves once again under oppression because of their disobedience and unfaithfulness. The Midianites have been harassing them for seven years. They were experiencing regular invasions at the hands of the Midianites and the loss of their crops and livestock. They had been reduced to near starvation. Their land had been stripped bare and so they were once again crying out to God for help? (Isn’t that just like us?)

In the midst of all this, God sent a prophet to remind them of all that God had done for them. He had brought them out of Egypt. He demanded faithfulness. But they had failed. “I said to you, “I am the LORD your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live. But you have not obeyed Me.” (Judges 6:10 NASB). The people had been worshipping Baal. Even Joash, the father of Gideon, had been worshipping Baal. And so God comes up with His plan of rescue and redemption. And He chooses an unlikely hero. We find Gideon threshing grain in a wine press. He is hiding from the Midianites, trying to keep what little he has from being stolen. Yet when the angel of the Lord comes to Gideon, he addresses him, “O valiant warrior!” The New Living Translation renders this phrase, “Mighty hero!” What an unexpected greeting. What had he done to deserve this title? Nothing up to this point. But God is actually revealing who Gideon would become, not who he was. It was a title of expectation. Much the same way God called Abraham the father of a multitude of nations before he even had any children. He called him that when Abraham was old and his wife was barren! Jesus called Peter a rock before he behaved as one. God calls us saints even though we’re not yet as saintly as we will one day be. God knew what He was going to do in and through Gideon.

The angel then tells Gideon, “The Lord is with you!” This is the theme of these two chapters. This story is really about God, not Gideon. We are all bit players in God’s grand play. He is the author, director, and star. God is choosing to use Gideon, not because of who he is, but because God wants to reveal who He is through Gideon. But Gideon gives an unexpected response to God’s call. He responds a little flippantly. He accuses God of abandoning them and not doing anything for them. He takes a look at the current circumstances and determines that God has been nowhere to be found. Gideon wants to know why all this has happened. He wants to know where all the miracles are. He’s basically accusing God of doing nothing and of abandoning them. But it was really the other way around. He failed to realize that their condition was the result of their abandoning God, not His abandoning them.

God’s response was to tell Gideon to go and deliver! He tells Gideon to go in his strength. What a strange statement. What strength was God talking about? Gideon hadn’t exactly shown himself to be strong up to this point. Once again, God is not talking about a strength coming up from inside of Gideon. He is talking about a strength that would be based on God’s presence. This isn’t about how strong Gideon is, but about how strong Gideon’s God is. Gideon was to go in the strength of God’s presence. God was sending him. God was going with him. God would give him victory over the Midianites (Judges 6:16). But Gideon shows his doubt again. He tells God he is too weak and insignificant for the job. But God refused to listen to Gideon’s excuses. Instead He tells Gideon to clean house! He commands Gideon to go and clear out the idols in his own home (Judges 6:25). His own father had erected idols to the gods of the Midianites. Gideon obeys, but fearfully. He tears down the altar at night because he is afraid of what they might do if they catch him. And his fears are justified because when the people find out what he has done they threaten to kill him.

Gideon continues to struggle with trusting God. Time and time again, God assures him of His presence and His calling on his life. But Gideon doubts. He is reluctant to believe God and step out in faith. So God continues to reassure Him with a variety of signs. God is preparing Gideon to accomplish great things, and He is willing to tolerate Gideon’s doubt. Much the same way He does with us today. We constantly doubt and question God. We look at our circumstances and question whether God is even there. We look at our own strength and qualifications and determine ourselves unfit for duty. But God has other plans. He has resources we aren’t aware of. He can even use us to do His will. And He will, if we allow Him to.

Father, if You can use Gideon, You can use me. And You do – on a regular basis. And each time You do, I am amazed and humbled. Thank You for tolerating my doubts and using me in my weakness. I know I can’t boast in my accomplishments, because anything I do of value is all a result of Your activity in my life. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Thank Heaven For Little Girls.

“Very well,” she replied, “I will go with you. But since you have made this choice, you will receive no honor. For the LORD’s victory over Sisera will be at the hands of a woman.” So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh. ­– Judges 4:9 NLT

Barak hesitated. This valiant warrior was given the honor of leading God’s troops into battle against the Canaanites, but he hesitated. He told Deborah, the judge God had raised up to lead His people, that he would not go into battle unless she went with him. We don’t know the exact reason for his reluctance to fight without her, but it seems clear that he was unwilling to do the job he had been called to do. He tells Deborah, “I will go, but only if you go with me!” (Judges 4:9 NLT). For refusing to simply obey the command of God, Barak would lose the honor that would come with the defeat of the Canaanites. God had already assured him of victory, but Barak would not get to enjoy the glory that normally comes to the conquering hero. Instead, an obscure woman named Jael would get the glory and honor.

The key to this story is that God is the one who deserves recognition and honor. He is the one who rescued the Israelites from the hands of the Canaanites, in spite of their unfaithfulness. He rose up Deborah. He gave her the command to attack the Canaanites. He led her to choose Barak to lead the troops. He assured them of their victory. And he placed Jael at just the right place at the right time to ensure that Sisera would be killed. This was God’s battle and God’s victory. And He determined who He would use to bring it all about. The fact that He chose to use two women to bring about a resounding victory just further illustrates the power of God. In that culture, women were not held in high esteem. They were viewed as little more than property. But God chooses to use two women to bring about a great victory. It is Deborah, a woman, who leads Barak, the great warrior, into battle against the Canaanites. It is Jael, who eliminates the Canaanite threat once and for all by killing the Canaanite king Sisera.

But when all is said and done, it is God who gets the glory. “So on that day Israel saw God subdue Jabin, the Canaanite king” (Judges 4:23 NLT). God will use whoever He wills to accomplish His will. In this case He chose to use two women. Barak hesitated. Jael didn’t. But God gets all the glory. Deborah, Barak, and Jael would all eventually fade into obscurity, but not God. He would continue to lead and deliver His people just as He does today. And He is using men and women of all types to accomplish His will. Are you one of them?

Father, use me. I want to be like Jael, ready to do Your will – to get my hands dirty if necessary. I want to be used by You to bring about victory, but I want You to get all the glory. Raise up a host of men and women in Your church who will serve like Jael. There is work to be done and You will accomplish it through some unexpected sources. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Our Standard Achievement Test.

“I did this to test Israel – to see whether or not they would follow the ways of the Lord as their ancestors did.” ­– Judges 2:22 NASB

Have you ever wondered why God left you here? I mean, if heaven is so great (and I think it is!), then it seems like it would have made more sense for Jesus to take us to be with Him when He saved us. But for some reason He chose to leave us here. So we spend out lives living in a place that really isn’t conducive to Christ-likeness and where the inhabitants really don’t like us very much. Jesus Himself warned us that the world would hate us (John 15:19). And yet, we have to live and somehow survive here. He even expects us to thrive here. Why? Could it be that He wants to do the same thing for us that He was doing for the Israelites? God put them in a place where they were surrounded by enemies. The land He had given them as a possession was not void of conflict, but seemingly full of it. The Philistines, the Canaanites, the Sidonians, the Hivites… were all in the land. So what was God up to? He was testing them. Yes, He was punishing Israel for her infidelity, but there was more to it than that. He would use the presence of these nations to continue to test Israel’s allegiance. Each of these nations had their own gods and Israel would be constantly tempted to make those gods their own. Not only that, there would be a constant temptation to interact with and even intermarry with these nations – even though God had forbidden it.

So how did they do on the test? Well, not too well. Not only did the Israelites live among them, they intermarried with them and ended up worshiping their gods (Judges 3:5-6). But there was another test. God was allowing the enemy to remain in the land not only to punish Israel and tempt them, but to prepare them for battle. They were going to learn to fight. This generation was not battle-hardened or ready for war. So they would have to learn to fight. They still had land that needed to be conquered and to do so would require going to battle. That meant they would have to become warriors. You don’t really learn to be a soldier in boot camp or in peace time, but on the battlefield. And we learn to fight the spiritual battles in our lives not by learning the concepts of war, but by getting in the trenches and doing battle with the enemy. God left us here to test us, try us, and train us. He is using the trials of this life to teach us to trust Him, rely on Him, turn to Him, and to serve Him alone. God wants to reveal our weaknesses and display His power.

As we read through the history of the various judges of Israel, we see how the people of Israel did with the tests of life. And we see how God intervened and rescued them time and time again. He is always faithful. What an incredible reminder to us that God is with us in our daily battles with sin and temptation. He is testing us, but He is also fighting alongside us – showing us that He can be trusted for the victory we need in whatever conflict we find ourselves.

Father, thank You for allowing me to experiences the tests of life. Forgive me for the many times I fail, but continue to show me what You have to teach me. And continue to reveal Your power in the midst of my weakness and failure. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

A Lack of Drive.

“The LORD was with the people of Judah, and they took possession of the hill country. But they failed to drive out the people living in the plains because the people there had iron chariots.” ­– Judges 1:19 NLT

The first three chapters of the book of Judges will paint of picture of why this period in Israel’s history was even necessary. The book forms a bridge from the time in which Israel was ruled by God (a theocracy) to the time in which they would demand rule by a king (a monarchy). As we read we will see Israel move from success to failure. They will go from victory to defeat. All due to their disobedience and unfaithfulness to keep the commands of God. But the primary purpose of the book of Judges seems to be to show the sovereign grace of God in preserving Israel in spite of Israel. God will remain faithful in spite of their increasing unfaithfulness.

Chapter one sets the stage for what is to come. Joshua has died and God does not replace him with another military style leader. Now the individual tribes are expected to continue to process of conquering the land and inhabiting it. We read in verse 19 that Judah had the presence of God with him as he and his tribe fought against the Canaanites. But in spite of God’s presence, they were unable to defeat the inhabitants of the hill country. The excuse given for their failure is the advanced weaponry of their foes (iron chariots). But was that the real reason for their failure? As we continue to read in the days ahead we will discover that the real issue was their disobedience. Rather than fight, they were making allegiances and alliances with the people and worshiping their gods. The people of God had become highly selective in their obedience to God’s command. They were making executive decisions about what they would and would not do. And as a result, they were experiencing limited success. In fact, verses 27-36 record failure after failure on the part of Israel in driving the inhabitants from the land.

…Manasseh did not take possession of Beth-shean…

…but they did not drive them out completely…

…Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites…

…Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron…

…Ahser did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco…

…Napthali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh…

And on it goes. The situation in the Promised Land will continue to degrade until God has to intervene and rescue His people yet again – time and time again. The book of Judges is a record of the period of the judges. Who were these individuals? Were they prophets, pseudo-kings, or military leaders? To help us get a better grasp on the role these people played in the lives of Gods people, take a few minutes to read what John Bright has to say about them:

Though the judge enjoyed great prestige, he was in no sense a king. His authority was neither absolute, nor permanent, nor in any case hereditary; it rested solely in those personal qualities (the charisma) that gave evidence that he was the man of Yahweh’s spirit. It was a type of authority perfectly expressive of the faith and constitution of early Israel: the God-King’s direct leadership of his people through his spirit-designated representative. . . .

The judges were by no means men of identical character. Some (e.g., Gideon) rose to their task at the behest of a profound experience of divine vocation; one (Jephthah) was no better than a bandit who knew how to strike a canny bargain; one (Samson) was an engaging rogue whose fabulous strength and bawdy pranks became legendary. None, so far as we know, ever led a united Israel into battle. All, however, seem to have had this in common: they were men who, stepping to the fore in times of danger, by virtue only of those personal qualities (charisma) which gave evidence to their fellows that Yahweh’s spirit was upon them, rallied the clans against the foe. – John Bright, A History of Israel

So as we read through the book of Judges, keep your eyes open for God’s faithfulness. Look out for examples of His sovereign grace and mercy. Watch how He rescues His own even in the midst of their rebellion. He is faithful. And look at the ways in which he uses ordinary men to accomplish extraordinary tasks. Just like He longs to do today.

Father, as we read through the book of Judges, give us eyes to see You. Don’t let us read it as ancient history, but as an up-to-date glimpse into Your heart. You are still gracious and merciful. We are still rebellious and disobedient. And You continue to rescue us from the results of our own unfaithfulness. Make that reality come alive to us in the days ahead.  Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org