Judges

Judges 9-10, Acts 22

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Called and Commissioned.

Judges 9-10, acts 22

And he said, “The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth;for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard.” ­– Acts 22:14-15 ESV

Our two passages today present a stark contrast between two different men. In the book of Judges, we are introduced to Abimelech, the son of Gideon. He proves to be a conniving, murderous individual who will stop at nothing to see himself made king over the people of Israel. He was not appointed by God. He had no commission from God to seek the kingship. But after the death of his father, Gideon, Abimelech saw an opportunity to take advantage of. He knew that at one point the people of Israel had wanted to crown Gideon king. “Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, ‘Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian’” (Judges 8:22 ESV). But Gideon had refused their offer to make him king, warning them, “The Lord will rule over you” (Judges 8:23 ESV). But once Gideon was out of the way, Abimelech saw his opportunity. His father’s death had left a leadership void. But he had 69 brothers, all born to different mothers, with whom to contend. So took matters into his own hands and Abimelech murdered them all. Then his mother’s relatives, the Shechemites, crowned him king of Israel, and he reigned for three years. But his reign was not commissioned by God and it did not have the blessing of God. It would end in tragedy and with Abimelech’s violent death. And nothing Abimelech had done with his life left a lasting or positive impact on the nation of Israel. They remained unfaithful to God and continued their pattern of rebellion.

But in the book of Acts, we meet a man of a different sort. Actually, Paul was probably much like Abimelech at one point in his life. He was a self-made and ambitious man who was working his way to the top. Paul’s own story of his early life is quite transparent, revealing some of the more sordid details of his background. “I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished” (Acts 22:4-5 ESV). Paul was a professional bounty hunter whose job it was to round up Christians and thrown them in jail. But something happened. God got a hold on his life and transformed him from the inside out. That day on the road to Damascus, as Paul was making his way to carry out his original commission from the Jewish religious leadership, he received a new commission and calling from God Himself. “The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard” (Acts 22:14-15 ESV). Paul was given a clear charge by God to act as His spokesman and representative, carrying the Good News of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles.

What does this passage reveal about God?

It is clear from the book of Judges that God uses men and women to accomplish His will. So far, we have seen Him call Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, Deborah, and Gideon. These individuals were chosen by God to accomplish His divine will in the lives of His people. Each had a role to play in God’s plan. They were called and commissioned by God and had the hand of God on their lives and, as a result, they were able to deliver the people of God from oppression at the hands of their enemies. In the book of Acts, we see God call Peter, Barnabas, Paul, Timothy, Silas and John Mark. He chooses these men to accomplish His will and to carry out His work among both the Jews and the Gentiles. They did not aspire to their roles or seek them out. But God placed His hand on their lives and divinely empowered them to accomplish His will. Paul’s story is a vivid reminder of how God can take one man’s agenda and turn it on its ear. Paul had a plan for his life and he was working that plan out on a daily basis, doing what he felt was best for his own life. He even believed that his plan was well within God’s will, “being zealous for God” and persecuting “this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women” (Acts 22:3-4 ESV). But Paul’s way was not God’s way. He did not have the call of God on his life. But that would change. God would recommission him and reassign him for duty, providing him with new duties and responsibilities.

What does this passage reveal about man?

Like Abimelech, most of us can end up living our lives with a me-centered mindset that focuses on what is best for us. Abimelech didn’t really care about the people of Israel. And he most certainly didn’t care about his 69 brothers. He saw everyone as a potential roadblock to his own personal aspirations and plans. His desire for the crown was self-motivated and clearly not God-ordained. God had never called him to be king, but that didn’t stop Abimelech from doing everything in his power to see that it happen. At one point in his life, Paul believed he was doing the work and the will of God by arresting any and all who followed “The Way.” He saw this new-found sect called Christians as a nuisance and a potential threat to the one true religion: Judaism. He thought he was doing God a favor by wiping out this dangerous cult and had the blessing of the high priest and the whole council of elders. But he was wrong. He was not called by God. But his mistake would be rectified by God Himself. He would receive new marching orders and a new purpose for his life that would radically alter his future.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

Every human being wants to know what the purpose of their life is – why they are on this planet. They seek to find significance and meaning for their existence. And without a clear calling from God, we all begin to slowly determine our own destiny. Abimelech was not content to be just one of the sons of Gideon and slowly fade into insignificance after the death of his father. He had grander aspirations, and if they included the murder of his brothers, so be it. Nothing was going to stand in his way. But he was not called or commissioned by God. He did not have the blessing or permission of God to do what he did, and it did not turn out well. As a believer in Jesus Christ, it is of utmost importance that I seek to know what it is that God would have me do. It is a dangerous thing to assume I know what is best for my life. God calls us and then commissions us. We are not free to establish out life plan and agenda. And yet, that is exactly what most of us do. We make life plans without consulting God. We determine and map out our destinies without giving God a second thought. It is as if we think God is somehow obligated to bless our decisions with His divine stamp of approval. But God doesn’t call without commissioning. He doesn’t choose without having a very good reason behind that choice. I am here for a reason. God didn’t just save me in order to guarantee a future place for me in heaven. He has work for me to do while I am here. The same thing is true of every believer. But are we seeking to know His will for our lives? Are we asking for Him to provide daily direction for our lives? Do we make plans without His input and set agendas without His permission? God calls. God commissions. Abimelech had no calling on his life from God. Paul did. And the outcome of their lives are radically different.

Father, You have called me and You have a job for me to do. Never let me forget that fact. Don’t let me waste my life living it according to my own agenda and plan. Help me to live with a constant ear to hear what You are saying. Give me a growing sensitivity to Your will and Your Spirit’s voice in my life. I want to live out my calling and my commission faithfully. Amen

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

Judges 7-8, Acts 21

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Little Is Much.

Judges 7-8, Acts 21

The Lord said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’” ­– Judges 7:2 ESV

There is an old song in which the chorus begins, “Little is much when God is in it!” Those words aptly reflect the lesson given to Gideon and the people of Israel in chapter seven of Judges. As God’s chosen deliverer, Gideon is about to lead the people of Israel into battle against the Midianites. According to chapter 8, there were more than 135,000 enemy soldiers camped in the valley by the hill of Moreh. When Gideon gathered his own troops, he could only muster 32,000 men. Then God did something rather unexpected and, from Gideon’s perspective, a bit uncomfortable. He told Gideon to send home all those who were fearful and trembling. The result was that 22,000 men walked away, leaving Gideon with only 10,000 soldiers to do battle with 135,000 Midianites. But God was not done. He then told Gideon, “The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ shall not go” (Judges 7:4 ESV). God devised for Gideon a simple means of determining the men He wanted to take into battle. The test God devised had nothing to do with the caliber of the men chosen, but merely provided a means of trimming the number of men down to the bare minimum. Again, the result was that Gideon was left with only 300 men. From a human perspective, the odds were clearly against Gideon. His army was too small and his enemy was too great. But Gideon had God on his side.

What does this passage reveal about God?

God had told Gideon, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” (Judges 6:14 ESV). “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man” (Judges 6:16 ESV). God had clearly called Gideon and given him a mission to accomplish. He had also confirmed for Gideon that He would be with Him and fight for him. God did not need Gideon or Gideon’s troops to accomplish His mission. But God chose to use them both. God allowed Gideon and his 300 men to witness an amazing victory that day, as God destroyed a superior army right in front of their eyes, as they stood, swords and torches in hand. God caused the enemy to attack themselves and all Gideon and his men had to do was stand and watch. When the time came, God allowed them to get in on the action. But the victory was His doing.

In reading the history of the spread of the church recorded by Luke in the book of Acts, it is amazing to consider just how rapidly and aggressively it all happened through the efforts of a relatively small number of individuals. We read of Peter, Paul, Barnabas, Timothy, Silas, John Mark and a handful of others who were used by God to spread the Good News around the known world at that time. In a relatively short period of time, thousands upon thousands of people came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ through the efforts of these men. Paul alone had a tremendous impact on the spread of the Gospel. He was one man traveling through enemy territory, taking the Good News of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles and facing constant opposition from pagans and Jews alike. But God accomplished the impossible through him. His faithfulness and God’s power were no match for the enemy. What Paul brought to the table was his determination to do God’s will at all costs. When warned by Agabus the prophet that he would face certain arrest and imprisonment if he returned to Jerusalem, Paul simply replied, “For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 21:13 ESV). He knew he was simply a vessel in the hands of God, and was willing to be used up in His service in order to accomplish God’s will.

What does this passage reveal about man?

We are all about the numbers. If we had been in Gideon’s sandals and been asked by God to do battle against a superior foe with a handful of soldiers, we would have thought the idea was crazy. It would have made no sense. We live in a society in which “little is much” makes no sense. We firmly hold to the idea that there is strength in numbers. More is better than less. Strength trumps weakness every time. But for the believer, victory doesn’t come as a result of our effort or effectiveness. It has nothing to do with our numbers or the abundance of our resources. The battle is the Lord’s. And the sooner we realize that the odds are always in our favor because God is always on our side, the quicker we will experience the peace that Paul had. And the sooner we will be able to say, “Let the will of the Lord be done” (Acts 21:14 ESV). Gideon had no idea how that day was going to turn out. Paul had no idea just how things were going to unfold when he arrived in Jerusalem. But both had the assurance that God was with them. They also knew that God was going to have the victory one way or the other – either with them or without them.

But even when God gives the victory, it is so easy for us to try and claim credit. After their amazing defeat of the Midianites, the people of Israel attempt to make Gideon king. They saw him as the source of their victory. They mistakenly thought that if they could make him king, future victories would be assured. But what they didn’t realize was that their future success was based solely on their present faithfulness to God. And we read that “As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned again and whored after the Baals nad made Baal-berith their god” (Judges 8:33 ESV). Even Gideon, before he died, was guilty of apostasy, worshiping an ephod he had made from the gold won in his God-given victory over the Midianites. Unlike Paul, Gideon proved to be unfaithful and unreliable. He lost his focus. He made it all about himself, rather than all about the will of God.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

Little is much when God is in it. God is able to do far more with far less. He is able to accomplish the impossible using the improbable. Paul wrote, “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us…” (Ephesians 3:20 ESV). He knew that God was far more capable than he was. He knew that God was able to what no man could have ever done. God wants to do the impossible in our lives today. He wants to give us victories over the greatest of enemies. He wants to provide us with inexplicable success over insurmountable foes. But we must trust Him. We must long for His will to be done. We must leave the outcome to Him, and give all the praise, glory and honor to Him when all is said and done.

Father, You don’t need much to do great things. You can even use me and I find that amazing and humbling. Forgive me for thinking that more is better. Forgive me for thinking that numbers are the key to success. Help me learn to trust You more. Help me have the faith and focus of Paul. I want to watch You work in and around my life in ways that are beyond imagination and way outside human explanation. Amen

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

Judges 5-6, Acts 20

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The Mystery of God’s Ways.

Judges 5-6, Acts 20

And Gideon said to him, “Please, sir, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” ­– Judges 6:13 ESV

It is sometimes difficult to understand how God works. Because of our limited perspective and somewhat myopic, self-centered viewpoint, we can find ourselves looking at the events taking place around us and come to the wrong conclusions. Gideon did. He was secretly threshing grain down in a wine press just to keep the Midianites from knowing about it. As he assessed the circumstances surrounding the people of God, he couldn’t help but conclude that God had abandoned them. He had a hard time understanding why they were under constant attack from their enemies and living in fear for their lives. Of course, we know that it was because “the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of Midian for seven years” (Judges 6:1 ESV). This was all part of the cycle of rebellion that marked the lives of the Israelites during the period of the judges. But for Gideon, it was all a mystery. He wanted to know where the great God his ancestors worshiped had gone to. From Gideon’s perspective, it was God who had left them, not the other way around. But in spite of Gideon’s faulty assumptions, God was going to use him to deliver His people. God even referred to Gideon as a “mighty man of valor” (Judges 6:12 ESV). Which I find interesting, because at that very moment, Gideon was hidden away in a wine press beating out grain and hoping the Midianites didn’t discover him. But God had a job for Gideon that was going to be way out of his comfort zone. He was going to accomplish His will through Gideon and reveal that He had never really forsaken His people at all. But again, Gideon’s limited perspective prevented him from seeing how any of this could work. His response to the angel of the Lord was, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house” (Judges 6:15 ESV). None of this made sense to Gideon. As far as he was concerned, he made a highly unlikely hero.

What does this passage reveal about God?

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord” (Isaiah 55:8 ESV). God rarely does things the way we think He should. And sometimes, like Gideon, we can misread God’s actions and draw faulty conclusions regarding what it is He is doing. There was no doubt that God was punishing Israel for its unfaithfulness. But God had not abandoned them. He had already made plans to send a deliverer. But His choice for a deliverer was going to be a surprise for everyone, including Gideon himself. The presence of trouble wasn’t proof of the absence of God. It was evidence of the unfaithfulness of men. But God had a plan. Unbeknownst to Gideon and the rest of the Israelites, the days of the Midianites were numbered. The suffering of the people of Israel was going to come to an end. How? No one had a clue. When? God had not yet revealed His timeline. But it was wrong for Gideon to assume that God was not at work and that He had no plan in place for the salvation of the people of Israel. It was also wrong for Gideon to conclude that he was the wrong man for the job. He was about to learn that God’s ways were quite different than anything he could ever have imagined.

It’s interesting to note that when Paul spoke to the elders in Ephesus, he revealed that there was much about God’s plan for his life that he didn’t know or understand. He told them, “And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained bythe Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there,except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me” (Acts 20:22-23 ESV). All Paul knew was that he was headed to Jerusalem, having been given clear direction to do so by the Holy Spirit. But he didn’t have any idea what was going to happen to him when he got there. Except for the fact that the Holy Spirit seemed to let him know that imprisonment and afflictions were on the agenda. It would have been easy for Paul to ask God why. He could have questioned the wisdom behind God’s plan. But rather than doubt, question and fear, Paul simply responded, “But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24 ESV). Paul may not have completely understood what was going on, but he completely trusted that God’s will for his life was best and could be trusted.

What does this passage reveal about man?

We have an insatiable desire to know and understand. We want to have an explanation for everything. But God is not obligated to explain Himself or His ways to us. He does not owe us an explanation. He is God. His ways are not our ways. His methodology does not always make sense to us, but He can always be trusted. Paul knew that. Gideon was going to learn it through personal experience. Every time Paul got on a ship, set out on a journey, walked into a new town or opened up his mouth to “testify to the gospel of the grace of God,” he was venturing into the unknown. He never knew how people would respond. In some cases, they gladly received his message and placed their faith in Christ. Other times, they responded in anger, hurling accusations and throwing stones. Paul’s obedience to the will of God was not based on the response of his audience, but on his willingness to do what God had called him to do. He was content to trust God with the outcome whether he fully understood what was going to happen or not.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

So much about our life on this earth as followers of Christ is a mystery. We don’t know what the day holds. We have no idea what is going to happen in the next half hour, let alone the next decade. There is much about God’s will we know and understand, but there is also much of it hidden from our view. We suffer from a limited perspective and a distorted viewpoint. But we must constantly learn to trust God. He knows what He is doing. Paul told the elders at Ephesus, “And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified” (Acts 20:32 ESV). Paul encouraged them to trust God. He wanted them to understand that it was God who would care for them, protect them, and ultimately, provide for them their future inheritance as His children. Their trust needed to remain in God. Their hope needed to based on the character of God. Circumstances change. God doesn’t.

Father, thank You for this reassurance this morning. Forgive me for making snap judgments about You based on what I see happening around me. May I have the mind of Paul, that whatever mystery I may face in life, I keep moving forward, trusting in You and resting in Your faithfulness to me and love for me. Amen

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

Judges 3-4, Acts 19

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Remorse Versus Repentance.

Judges 3-4, Acts 19

Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily. ­– Acts 19:18-20 ESV

The book of Judges paints a bleak picture of the spiritual condition of the people of Israel after the death of Joshua. They found themselves in the land, but they had failed to faithfully follow God’s command and purge the Canaanites from their midst. “So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods” (Judges3:5-6 ESV). Their refusal or reluctance to do things God’s way resulted in a lengthy period of testing at the hand of God. It began a cycle of rebellion, which resulted in their rejection by God, but also in their eventual rescue at the hands of the judges who God raised up on their behalf. What is interesting to note is that while the people showed remorse for their sin, there is never any evidence of repentance or true heart change. The punishment of God in the form of defeat at the hands of their enemies caused them to cry out to God for help, but they never seemed to make the connection that their rebellion required repentance, or a change of heart. They never seemed to really learn their lesson. So we continue to read, “And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord” (Judges 3:12 ESV). Their hearts remained unchanged. Their sins remained unconfessed. They wanted God to rescue them, but they were not truly interested in rejecting their sinful way of life.

What does this passage reveal about God?

It is clear from the passage that God was fully in control of the circumstances during the period of the judges. “Now these are the nations that the Lord left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before” (Judges 3:1-2 ESV). God always has a purpose for what He does, or what He allows. In the case of the Israelites, He seemed to have four different objectives in mind. First, was going to use the enemies left in the land to teach the Israelites how to fight. Most of the Israelites who were alive at this point had not participated in the battles to conquer the land and were inexperience at war. Plus, God wanted them to know how to fight according to His terms, not their own. Secondly, it is clear that God intended to punish Israel for her open rebellion against Him. So He made their enemies “thorns in their sides” and their gods would become “a snare.” Thirdly, God would use this period of time to expose within the people of Israel their lack of love and faithfulness. Finally, according to Deuteronomy 7:20-24, God actually preserved the land by allowing the Canaanites to remain in it until the Israelites were capable of taking it over and cultivating it themselves. Otherwise, if God had wiped out the Canaanites before the Israelites were ready to move in, the land would have gone wild. God had a purpose behind all of this, but the primary desire of His heart was that His people repent of their sins and return to Him. This is the primary message of the Old Testament. It is the central message that each of the prophets who would eventually be sent by God would proclaim over and over again. But in the book of Judges repentance seems to be missing.

What does this passage reveal about man?

Each and every time the people of God turned away from God, they suffered the consequences. And their suffering caused them to cry out to God for help. It is amazing just how powerful and robust our prayer lives can become when we find ourselves in trouble due to our own sin. When the Israelites found themselves in a jam, they cried out to God. It reminds me of the old adage: There are no atheists in fox holes. The Israelites clearly knew that their predicament was due to the discipline of God and they also knew that their only hope was going to found in Him. And God responded. He sent deliverers. He heard. He listened. He acted. But the saddest part of the story is that it just keeps repeating itself. They never seemed to learn. But in contrast, there is the story of the people of Ephesus recorded in Acts 19. These pagan people were exposed to the Good News about Jesus Christ through the ministry of Paul and many of them became believers. But what is amazing is how they changed. Their new-found relationship with Christ brought about a radical alteration in their behavior. We read, “…many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver.So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily” (Acts 19:18-20 ESV). The change in their lives was significant and far from superficial. It was internal, but showed up in tangible, external ways. And their behavior ended up impacting their community. It ends up that so many had come to faith in Christ and were repenting of their former way of life, that it was having a economic impact on the community. Those who made idols were feeling the pinch from the drop-off in sales. There was a growing fear that if something didn’t happen soon, the entire economic infrastructure of the city and the Temple of Artemis were going to suffer irreparable harm. The Good News was turning out to be bad news for a lot of people, because of the transformative power of God in the lives of those who placed their faith in Jesus Christ.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

What God longs for in the life of His people is their unapologetic allegiance to and love for Him. He wants to reveal His power in their lives and help them live as the people of God in the midst of a world full of people who do not know Him. He is fully aware that, even as followers of Christ, believers still struggle with sin and are prone to rebellion. But what God desires is that we cry out to Him for help and be willing to repent or turn from our sin and return to Him. The people of Israel never really returned to Him. They cried out. They accepted His rescue. But they never truly turned away from their idols and returned to the worship of God. The were remorseful or sorry that they had been caught in sin by God and were more than willing to have Him bail them out, but they were unwilling to walk away from their sin and return in faithfulness to Him. In the New Testament, the Greek word for repent is metanoeó. It means “change my mind, change the inner man (particularly with reference to acceptance of the will of God), to repent.” Sometimes it is referred to “an about face.” You are headed one direction, then you stop and head the other way. But notice that it includes the mind. It is a change in the way you think. The people of Israel thought they could worship other gods and get away with it. They thought they could choose to disobey God’s will and not suffer for it. They thought they knew what was best for their lives. But they were going to have to change their way of thinking. When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, He simply said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37 ESV). Those new believers in Ephesus knew that their behavior was change. Their way of thinking was radically altered by the presence of Christ in their lives and it showed up in the way they lived. They repented of their former way of life and turned to a radically new one – motivated by their new found relationship with Jesus Christ.

Father, may true repentance always be a recognizable part of my life. I want to constantly learn to change the way I think about You, about life, about my own sin, and about the way my faith shows up in my everyday life. Forgive me for the many times I have cried out to You for help or rescue, but have failed to really want to turn away from doing things my way and start living Your way. Amen

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

Judges 1-2, Acts 18

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If God Be For Us.

Joshua 17-18, Acts 14

And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.” ­– Acts 18:9-10 ESV

It is interesting to note the parallels between the history of the people of Israel as they attempted to conquer the land and the New Testament saints as they attempted to spread the Gospel around the world. Both represent the people of God, having been commissioned by God to accomplish His will in the world. Both faced intense opposition, but had experienced the power and presence of God in significant ways. They each knew that God was with them. He had proven time and again that He was on their side. But He fully expected obedience to His commands – in spite of the opposition they faced, the fears they may have felt, and the seeming impossibility of their assignments. But the similarities begin to fade as we compare the book of Judges and the events recorded in the book of Acts. After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel still found themselves facing countless enemies who still occupy the land given to them by God. We repeatedly read of the failure of the people of Israel to rid the land of its pagan inhabitants.

And the Lord was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron. – Judges 1:19 ESV

But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem… – Judges 1:21 ESV

Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages, for the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. – Judges 1:27 ESV

Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites… – Judges 1:29 ESV

Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them… – Judges 1:30 ESV

Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon or of Ahlab or of Achzib or of Helbah or of Aphik or of Rehob, so the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out… – Judges 1:31-32 ESV

Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, so they lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. – Judges 1:33 ESV

The Amorites persisted in dwelling in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim… – Judges 1:35 ESV

The people of God had failed to do what God had commanded them to do. Either out of fear, laziness, indifference or as a result of their own “better” judgment, they refused to do things God’s way. And their disobedience brought God’s discipline. He made it clear what they were to do, but they had refused to obey. And while they might have rationalized that their efforts were adequate because they had ended up enslaving the very groups they had failed to destroy, God knew their half-hearted obedience was going to whole-hearted rebellion against Him. “You shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars. But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you” (Judges 2:2-3 ESV). The book of Judges is a painful history of this prophecy played out. The failure of the people of God to obey the commands of God would result in their ultimate apostasy from God. “And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger. They abandoned the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth” (Judges 2:11-13 ESV).

What does this passage reveal about God?

God had a perfectly good reason for His command that the people completely destroy the inhabitants of the land. He knew full well that their refusal to eradicate the land’s occupants would lead to their abandonment of Him and their pursuit of other gods. They would end up turning their backs on God and, therefore, He would be forced to turn His back on them. “So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hands of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies” (Judges 2:14 ESV). God could not and would not tolerate their disobedience. So rather than God’s presence and power going before them, the Israelites found themselves fighting without Him. Their efforts would prove futile. Their strength would be insufficient for the task. And rather than being able to enjoy the fruits of the land promised to them by God, they found themselves “in terrible distress” (Judges 2:15 ESV). The book of Judges records one of the saddest periods of time in the long history of the people of Israel. It contains a repetitive cycle of sin and rebellion, but it is also marked by the enduring patience and faithfulness of God. While He would give them over to their enemies as punishment for their open rebellion against Him, He would never fully give them up. “Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them” (Judges 2:18 ESV). The people would sin. God would give them over to their enemies. The people would cry out in despair. God would hear and send a judge who would deliver them. Then in time, the people would abandon God again, and the cycle would repeat itself. Rebellion – Remorse – Rescue – Restoration – Repeat. That is the pattern of the book of Judges. But God’s faithfulness is in full view throughout the entirety of the book. He never gives up. He never fully abandons them – in spite of them.

What does this passage reveal about man?

Over in the book of Acts, we have recorded the early history of the spread of the Gospel as Paul and the other apostles make their way around the known world of their day. In obedience to Christ’s commission, they had begun in Jerusalem, moved on to Judea and Samaria, and were now moving out to the ends of the earth. In chapter 18, we have Paul visiting Corinth, Caesarea, Syria, Antioch, Galatia and Phrygia. And in almost every city he visited, Paul found himself facing intense opposition and threats on his life. He was seeing tremendous response to the Gospel message, but with each conversion, the enemies of God seemed to increase in number and intensity. And yet God gave Paul a vision, telling him, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people” (Acts 19:9-10 ESV). God assured Paul of His presence and power. He let him know that obedience to His will was Paul’s only concern. God would take care of the rest. Paul was still going to face opposition. He would still encounter threats on his life. But He would know that God was with Him. I am reminded of the words of the Psalmist, “The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Psalm 118:6 ESV). Those same words are echoed in the book of Hebrews. “So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:6 ESV). The key was Paul’s obedience. He was expected to faithfully carry out his God-given assignment, in the face of opposition and in spite of potential setbacks. He had to do His part. But he could rest in the knowledge that God was there with Him, doing His part, each step of the way.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

What an amazing contrast. What a powerful reminder of the need for obedience in the life of the follower of God. We all tend to want to enjoy the blessings of God, but too often we refuse to live in obedience to His will. At times we question it. Sometimes we rationalize reasons to ignore it. There are plenty of times we simply choose to twist it into something that is more palatable to our senses and appealing to our own desires. The Israelites were guilty of trying to do God’s will in their own way, and their half-hearted obedience resulted in whole-hearted rebellion against Him. Paul’s assignment was no less easier than theirs. He faced just as much opposition and potential danger to life and limb. But he obeyed. He persevered. He listened to the Word of God and obeyed. God did not remove the obstacles or eliminate the opposition. He simply assured Paul of His presence, protection and power. As long as Paul did the will of God, he could be confident to receive the help of God. It is far too easy to question God’s will when things don’t seem to go the way we think they should. Obstacles tend to come across to us as signs that we are somehow out of God’s will. Difficulties are too often viewed as proof of God’s absence, but God never promised us an absence of trouble. He simply promised us access to His abiding presence and power. After Paul’s vision from God, his efforts did not become any easier and his opposition did not become any less intense. But he continued to do the will of God in full confidence that He had the full and abiding presence of God. Like Paul, I want to learn to trust God as I increasingly learn to obey Him. I want to say as he did, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31 ESV). Paul was able to speak those words because he had experienced their reality in his daily life. He had seen them proven true time and time again, in spite of death threats, stonings, beatings, imprisonments, setbacks, false accusations, fruitless sermons, unfaithful disciples, and physical infirmities. Paul was able to keep on keeping on because he knew that God was with him. As long as he remained obedient to the call of God on his life, he knew he would have the presence of God in his life.

Father, may I learn to live like Paul. But too often my life can be characterized by the repetitive cycle of rebellion, remorse and rescue found in the book of Judges. Help me to live in obedience to You, regardless of the circumstances. I don’t want trouble, trials, opposition or difficulties to cause me to abandon my hope in You or fail to live in obedience to You. You are with me. And if You are with me, who can stand against me?

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