Free Daily Bible Study Podcast

Judges 12 | Acts 16 | Jeremiah 25 | Mark 11

At this point, it is already obvious that the book of Judges is an extremely low point in the Bible. Because there is no king in Israel, every man does what is right in his own eyes. Here in Judges 12, we see another step down the long, deep stairway into the dungeon of Israel’s apostasy. This time, Israel destroys itself not with idolatry but with petty, deadly bickering among themselves.

Immediately on the heels of a great victory against the Ammonites, men of the tribe of Ephraim pick a fight with the Gileadites, insisting that they should have been involved in the war, challenging Jephthah and threatening to burn his house down (Judg. 12:1). Now, we read back in Judges 10:9 that the Ammonites had fought against Ephraim as a part of Yahweh’s handing his people over to their enemies; however, we do not read anything in Judges 11 to corroborate Jephthah’s claim that he had asked the Ephraimites for assistance (Judg. 12:2–3). Perhaps he is telling the truth, and perhaps not.

Regardless, Jephthah takes the same approach that he had with the king of the Ammonites, attempting to seek peace by asking, “Why then have you come up to me this day to fight against me?” (Judge. 12:3). The Ephraimites do not relent, however, so Jephthah gathers his army from Gilead to fight against the Ephraimites. Then, once they defeat the Ephraimites, Jephthah guards the return back to the land of Ephraim by asking each person attempting to cross the fords of the Jordan whether he is an Ephraimite. If the person is not able to pronounce “Shibboleth” correctly (instead saying “Sibboleth”), Jephthah and his men slaughter that fugitive. In all, the Gileadites slay 42,000 of their fellow Israelites from Ephraim.

First, Israel’s sins are interconnected. It is not as though Israel could have enjoyed peace and prosperity while they still served idols. Rather, when human beings do not rightly worship the living God, they cannot rightly relate to one another.

Second, Israel’s in-fighting is an even greater crime than normal human squabbling. These are the chosen people of God, whom Yahweh redeemed out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm! How could they possibly slaughter one another in a petty territorial dispute?

There is a warning here for those of us who live in Christian communities, since Satan tries to attack us from many angles. Sometimes—even when we focus vigilantly on guarding our own personal piety—Satan attacks us by trying to divide us against our fellow believers. He is a cunning, deceitful liar, and he will divide us however he can.

For this reason, David exclaims in Psalm 133:1, “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” Brothers and sisters, let us seek peace and unity with our fellow believers for whom Jesus Christ died.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Judges 11 | Acts 15 | Jeremiah 24 | Mark 10

In yesterday’s reading, Yahweh tested Israel by promising not to save them after the latest round of rebellion and idolatry. To their credit, Israel repents for seemingly the thousandth time, putting away the foreign gods and returning to serve Yahweh. In response, we read that Yahweh “became impatient over the misery of Israel” (Judg. 10:16)—that is, he was moved compassionately to save his people. To accomplish this salvation, Yahweh raised up a judge named Jephthah who not only saved Israel but also accomplished something far more significant by foreshadowing Yahweh’s own Son, Jesus, in three important ways.

First, notice that Yahweh raises up a savior for Israel from an outcast born to a woman of ill repute. Because Jephthah’s mother had been a prostitute, his half-brothers had rejected him—until now. This is an interesting wrinkle to the story, since later on Jesus also was born out of wedlock, so that even Joseph desired to break off his betrothal to Mary (Matt. 1:19). Then, Jesus was rejected by his family (John 7:5). Eventually, however, Jesus arose to become the savior of Israel.

Second, Jephthah reasons with the king of the Ammonites, asserting Israel’s legitimate claim to the land of Gilead peaceably rather than rashly going to war (Judg. 11:14–28).1 But when the king of the Ammonites nevertheless insists on marching into battle against Israel, the Spirit of Yahweh comes upon Jephthah to give him victory in battle (Judg. 11:29). In the same way, Jesus came first peaceably, but after being vindicated through his resurrection, he ascended into heaven with a warning that he would one day return as a conquering warrior.

Third, the tragedy of this story involves Jephthah’s foolish vow to offer up as a burnt offering the first living creature who approached him from his house upon his return if Yahweh would give him victory over the Ammonites—a vow that cost him his only, beloved daughter (Judg. 11:30–40). At a time when Israel habitually forsook Yahweh, Jephthah’s daughter insisted that her father keep his vows to Yahweh, even at the cost of her own life.

And it is here that we see the picture of Jesus shining most clearly. All the way back in Genesis 15, Yahweh had sworn to be torn in two if Abraham or Abraham’s offspring violated the terms of the covenant. Jesus did not dispute the vow of his Father but rather obediently took upon himself the full wrath of his Father’s covenant curses against Israel for their disobedience, fulfilling the vow that Yahweh had sworn to Abraham.

We are not meant to admire Jephthah’s foolishness as we read this story. Rather, we are meant to behold the costly, magnificent grace of God who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us at the cross to fulfill God’s covenant vows to his people.

1 This passage is a bit confusing because of the fact that Gilead is the name of Jephthah’s father (Judg. 11:1) and also the name of the region east of the Jordan River, which belonged to the tribes of Manasseh and Gad as their inheritance (Num. 32).

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Judges 10 | Acts 14 | Jeremiah 23 | Mark 9

After the leadership of two more judges, Tola and Jair, Israel descends deeper into their rebellion and idolatry, forsaking Yahweh once again. So Yahweh again hands his people over to their enemies to oppress them because of their idolatries (Judg. 10:7–9). And—exactly according to the pattern—Israel cries out for Yahweh to save them from their enemies, confessing that they had sinned.

But this time, as if recognizing that Israel had begun to treat his grace cheaply, Yahweh refuses Israel’s request. In Judges 10:11–14, Yahweh recounts that he had saved Israel from the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, the Sidonians, the Amalekites, and the Maonites through their history but that his intervention to save them has never made a difference in their hearts. Yahweh states here that he will no longer rescue his people: “Yet you have forsaken me and served other gods; therefore I will save you no more. Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress” (Judg. 10:13–14). If these other gods are worthy of your worship, Yahweh reasons, then let them save you.

Yahweh makes two things clear in this passage. First, he insists that he is able to save Israel—and more than that, that he has saved Israel, again and again. But second, Yahweh explains that there comes a point in the process of apostasy where Yahweh must allow us to go our own way to experience the full consequences of our sin without his help.

In this way, Yahweh is testing Israel. Will they genuinely repent, or not? Often, the only way that Yahweh can get our attention is by giving us exactly what we want, by handing us over to our sin. For the same reason, Paul instructs the church at Corinth to deliver an unrepentant sinner “to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord” (1 Cor. 5:5). Notice that last phrase: the goal of excommunication is “that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord,” which is accomplished by confronting him with the terror of being cut off from God.

There is no sinner who has gone too far to receive Christ’s mercy. There are, however, sinners who have gone so far so that they do not want Christ’s mercy any longer. When sinners are handed over to Satan, it is because their hearts have been hardened to the degree that they no longer desire forgiveness.

Today, pay careful attention to the words of the prophet Isaiah: “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near” (Isa. 55:6). Are you permitting sin and idolatry to remain in your life? Cut it off before you cut yourself off from the mercy of the Lord.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Judges 9 | Acts 13 | Jeremiah 22 | Mark 8

With each chapter, the story of Israel during the period of the judges descends lower and lower—from the godly elders who served with Joshua in Judges 1, we now come to the story of the wicked Abimelech. Oddly, Abimelech’s name means “my father is king,” even though Abimelech’s father, Gideon (also called Jerubbaal; cf. Judg. 6:32), had refused Israel’s offer to make him king in Judges 8:22–23. It is possible that Abimelech changed his own name to legitimize his claims to the throne, but regardless, he clearly wanted to exploit the request of the Israelites for Gideon and Gideon’s sons to reign over them.

To do so, Abimelech is willing even to murder seventy of his own brothers in order to remove any other contenders for the throne of Israel, saying, “Which is better for you, that all seventy of the sons of Jerubbaal rule over you, or that one rule over you?” (Judg. 9:2). The leaders of Shechem listen to Abimelech’s bloodthirsty, treacherous plot, and they give Abimelech the money to hire worthless men to murder his brothers (Judg. 9:3–5). Once the deed is done, the leaders of Shechem make Abimelech king over them (Judg. 9:6).

And yet, Yahweh does not permit either Abimelech or the leaders of Shechem to get away with the evil they have committed. God sends an evil spirit to provoke conflict between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem (Judg. 9:23), a conflict that ends with the death of many inhabitants of Shechem as Abimelech burns the Tower of Shechem, killing 1,000 men and women in it as judgment for their crimes (Judg. 9:49, 57). Then, God returns Abimelech’s murderous brutality literally on his own head, as a woman in Thebez throws an upper millstone over the city wall, crushing Abimelech’s skull (Judg. 9:50–57).

Now, we should see this story as a move—albeit, a wicked move—toward the good goal that Yahweh has in mind for his people. As we have mentioned already, the whole book of Judges proclaims that Israel needs a king. The story of Abimelech is the story of an illegitimate, bloodthirsty attempt at enthroning a scoundrel in order to gain that king. Because Israel has no king, they are doing whatever is right in their own eyes rather than waiting on Yahweh’s choice of a king.

But we should hear a warning in this story against our own treachery—even when we stop short of bloodshed. Very often, our impatience or greedy ambition leads us to pursue good gifts from God in bad ways. We become willing to manipulate, cheat, or lie in order to obtain whatever our hearts desire.

Therefore, the story of Abimelech is given for our instruction. Repent and wait on Yahweh to give you the good desires of his heart in his own timing.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Judges 8 | Acts 12 | Jeremiah 21 | Mark 7

In Judges 6–7, we might have developed high hopes for Gideon’s potential. Here was a man who began his service to Yahweh in extreme humility, insisting that he was the least man in the weakest clan in all Israel (Judg. 6:15). Still, Yahweh gave him signs to confirm his call at every step of the way. If there was anyone who should have understood his own frailty and Yahweh’s power, it was Gideon. But here in Judges 8, we read two stories about how Gideon’s life tragically did not end in the way that it began.

The first story is actually a continuation of Israel’s battle against Midian from Judges 7. In Judges 8, we find Gideon and his 300 men continuing to pursue Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian, all the way to Succoth. There, Gideon asks for bread to sustain the strength of his men, but the officials of the city refuse to provide them with food for fear of supporting a losing army (Judg. 8:4–6). This rejection infuriates Gideon, and when he eventually does capture the two Midianite kings, he returns to flail the flesh of the officials of Succoth with thorns and briers (Judg. 8:13–16)—but then he overreacts to such a degree as to kill the rest of the men in the city (Judg. 8:17).

And sadly, the second story is even worse. In Judges 8:22–28, the people of Israel plead with Gideon to rule over them—him and his sons after him. To his credit, Gideon refuses to become the king (Judg. 8:23), but then the story takes a terrible turn. In a scene highly reminiscent of the golden calf story from Exodus 32, Gideon asks the people for their golden earrings, which he melts down into an ephod—probably a gold-laden cloak with clear religious significance, perhaps built to resemble the ephod reserved for the priests of Israel to wear (Ex. 28:6–14, 39:2–5).1

We aren’t given many details about this ephod, except that it became a snare for Israel, and even for Gideon and Gideon’s family, leading them to whore after the ephod—that is, to use it as a part of worshiping false gods (Judg. 8:27). It is worth noting that in the later chapters of Judges, an ephod is created again explicitly for idol worship (Judg. 17:5, 18:14–20).

The mere fact that we begin our race well does not necessarily mean that we will end it well. As we grow, we must remain vigilant not to let our love for the Lord grow cold, nor to begin to nurse bitterness from self-righteousness, pride, and arrogance toward those around us, even when others hurt us.

Learn from Gideon’s story and pray that God would give you the grace necessary to persevere and complete the course set before you.

1 C. J. Goslinga, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, trans. Ray Togtman (Grand Rapids: Regency Reference Library, 1986), 351–52.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Judges 7 | Acts 11 | Jeremiah 20 | Mark 6

In our meditation for Deuteronomy 20, we looked at three of the possible exceptions that would allow an Israelite to opt out of going to war. If a man had just gained a new house or a new vineyard or a new wife, that man was exempt from the requirement of going to battle (Deut. 20:5–7). There was a fourth reason that a man could cite for not going to war, however: if a man was fearful, he could opt out, “lest he make the heart of his fellows melt like his own” (Deut. 20:8). In other words, the practical consideration was to prevent the fears of one soldier from bringing down everyone else with him.

In Judges 7, Yahweh instructs Gideon to pare down the number of soldiers going out to battle with him. First, Yahweh instructs him to ask whether any of the men are fearful to go to battle, and so 22,000 soldiers leave while 10,000 remain (Judg. 7:2–3). Then, so that all Israel will know for certain that Yahweh alone is giving them the victory and not the strength of their own hand, Yahweh tells Gideon to have his soldiers take a drink from the river. Any who make themselves vulnerable to enemies by putting their heads down to lap directly from the river are sent home, while the cautious ones who stay alert by bringing water up to their mouths will stay for the battle. After this test, only 300 warriors remain (Judg. 7:4–8).

One of the ironies of this story, however, is that the very man whom Yahweh has called to lead Israel into battle is the most fearful of them all. Even though Gideon had requested three different signs in Judges 6, Yahweh graciously provides Gideon another sign in Judges 7:9–14. As Gideon spies out the Midianite camp, he overhears one Midianite tell another of a dream where a cake of barley bread destroyed the entire camp of Midian. The man’s fellow soldier interprets the dream clearly: “This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp” (Judg. 7:14).

That sign is all that Gideon needs to lead his fellow Israelites into battle. There, through the crashing of the jars and the burning of the torches and the shouts of the men, Yahweh sends Midian into a panic, so that the Midianites largely kill one another, and the Israelites pursue the rest.

What fears plague you as you follow Jesus? Take comfort in the fact that when Yahweh calls fearful people to serve him, he makes ample, gracious provision for their fears. Fearful one, trust in the Lord. His power is made perfect in your weakness (2 Cor. 12:9).

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Judges 6 | Acts 10 | Jeremiah 19 | Mark 5

After Israel had been oppressed by the Midianites for seven years (Judg. 6:1), God raises up a leader to save his people—not a valiant warrior-judge, but a weak, fearful man named Gideon. And because Gideon is weak and fearful, he has much to teach us about following Jesus in spite of our fears and unbelief.

To begin, Gideon does not take his call to judge Israel with vain overconfidence but with humility—and even with great fear. In fact, he humbly asks, “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” (Judg. 6:15). Furthermore, when Gideon does obey Yahweh by pulling down the altar of Baal and cutting down the Asherah pole, he is so afraid of his family and the men of the town that he does so at night (Judg. 6:27). This is not a man who believes himself capable of overturning the world—this is a man like you and me, one who is terrified of what other people might think of him for obeying Yahweh.

Additionally, Gideon asks for multiple signs—first, the angel of Yahweh gives him a sign by consuming the meat and unleavened cakes with fire that Gideon had brought in Judges 6:17–21. Then, in Judges 6:36–40, Gideon asks to see Yahweh put dew on a fleece while keeping the ground dry but then to keep a fleece dry while putting dew on the ground. He is willing to step out in faith, but he wants to make absolutely certain that it is Yahweh who is sending him.

We should learn two important lessons from this first glimpse into the life and ministry of Gideon. First, we should recognize that God knows our weaknesses. Our fear and unbelief do not catch God off guard because God knows our hearts, and he loves us. God wants to lead us beyond our fears, but he is patient with us in the midst of our fears.

Second, we should also recognize that God has made provisions to help us in our weaknesses. Just as God was pleased to give Gideon a sign to help his unbelief, so also God is pleased to give us signs to help our unbelief—and in fact, God has given us better signs. The signs God gives us in baptism and the Lord’s Supper are physical, tangible signs that point us to the full realities of the gospel of Jesus. It isn’t that God’s word is lacking, but our faith is lacking and so God meets us in our frailty by giving us physical signs to help our unbelief.

Are you afraid to follow Jesus? If so, take advantage of the signs God has given for your benefit. These signs proclaim the gospel to you in order to give you confidence when your faith falters.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Judges 5 | Acts 9 | Jeremiah 18 | Mark 4

Judges 4 narrates the story of how Yahweh saved his people from the oppression of Jabin, king of Canaan. The prophetess-judge Deborah sent Barak, the commander of the army of Naphtali and Zebulun into battle against the army of Jabin’s general, Sisera (Judg. 4:4–10). During the battle, the Canaanite army and chariots were defeated, so that Sisera fled from the battlefield and sought refuge and rest in the tent of a non-Israelite Kenite woman named Jael (Judg. 4:17–18). But as soon as Sisera fell asleep, Jael killed Sisera by driving a tent peg through his temple with a hammer (Judg. 4:19–22).

In Judges 5, then, we find a song celebrating this brutal end to not only Israel’s battle against Sisera but also to the oppression Israel had faced at the hand of the Canaanites for twenty years before Yahweh raised up Deborah to judge Israel (Judg. 4:3). Modern readers might find this song a bit uncomfortable, since it celebrates the execution of Sisera at the hand of Jael. What, then, should we take from this passage?

To begin, we should keep in mind the context of this story. In Judges 5:4–5, the song sets this latest battle in the context of a long line of Yahweh’s earth-trembling acts, beginning during the ministry of Moses, when Yahweh led his people out from Seir, through the region of Edom, and toward Mount Sinai. Here in the book of Judges, Israel is in the Promised Land, and they are still fighting to drive out the Canaanites who surround them, just as Yahweh had commanded them to do.

Focus then on the way that the song concludes in Judges 5:31: “So may all your enemies perish, O LORD! But your friends be like the sun as he rises in his might.” Despite our potential misgivings, it is important to recognize that the Bible is a story about warfare—in the new covenant our warfare is spiritual rather than against flesh and blood (Eph. 6:12), but it is warfare nonetheless. The deep brokenness of creation cannot be solved through peace movements or skilled diplomacy, since our adversary the devil desires nothing except our utter annihilation (1 Pet. 5:8). There can be no lasting peace until Jesus Christ puts all of his enemies under his feet forever (1 Cor. 15:25).

Therefore, brothers and sisters, sing. Even though we face setbacks and sorrows in this life, let us sing in the knowledge that the enemies of Yahweh will perish because Jesus reigns. Sin could not conquer him, Satan could not destroy him, and death could not hold him. And we—the friends of Jesus—will shine like the sun as he rises in his might to return for us on the last day (Judg. 5:31).

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Judges 4 | Acts 8 | Jeremiah 17 | Mark 3

In Judges 3–4, we read short descriptions of the ministries of four of Israel’s judges: Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, and Deborah. As a preface to the stories of three of these judges (Shamgar’s one-verse story being the only exception), we read that the people of Israel sin by serving the false gods of the surrounding nations, provoking Yahweh to anger, and Yahweh then hands Israel over to oppression from their enemies (Judg. 3:7–9, 12, 4:1-3). In these stories, we see that the spiritual condition in Israel is rapidly deteriorating but that Yahweh repeatedly saves his people through the faithful ministry of even a single servant in each generation.

Those single servants whom Yahweh sends to judge Israel in Judges 3–4 were mighty, valiant people. The Spirit of Yahweh himself was upon Othniel (Judg. 3:10), and the story of how Ehud killed Eglon to give Israel eighty years of freedom after eighteen years of Israel’s oppression is extraordinary (Judg. 3:12–30). Finally, the story of Deborah, Barak, and Jael is absolutely worthy of the song recorded for us in Judges 5.

If Joshua was a high point in the story of Israel, Judges is a very low point—and, with each cycle of Israel’s apostasy, the degree to which the people sin against Yahweh will increase and the relative strength of the judges whom Yahweh sends will decrease over the course of this book. By the end of Judges, we no longer see strong leaders like Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, and Deborah but rather fools like Jephthah and Samson, all leading up to the horrific, final scene of a gang rape and murder in the Benjaminite city of Gibeah. But along the way, in situations that are by no means ideal, even one man or woman willing to obey Yahweh in these situations can make a big difference.

From these stories, we should recognize the value of our own obedience, even in the midst of mass unfaithfulness from professing believers. It should grieve us to see widespread apostasy, but we should take comfort in the fact that, as Paul writes, “So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace” (Rom. 11:5)—that is, there is a group of people whom God is preserving through his grace to continue his work in this world until Jesus returns. The strength and size of the church will grow and shrink, but just as one judge could return the people of Israel back to serving Yahweh, so now God can use even the smallest remnant to restore his church to the faithful service of Jesus Christ today.

As those around you fall away, remember the words of Jesus: “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Judges 3 | Acts 7 | Jeremiah 16 | Mark 2

In Judges 3:4, we read that Yahweh allowed Canaanites and Philistines to remain in the land “for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.” This does not mean that Yahweh didn’t know which direction Israel would go (we will look at two factors that tell us this). In fact, this passage has much to say to help us understand better the significance of Yahweh’s tests for those of us living today.

First, Yahweh had made no effort to keep Israel’s inevitable failure a secret. Yahweh had told Moses that, after Moses would die, “this people will rise and whore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will forsake me and break my covenant that I have made with them” (Deut. 31:16). Joshua had even told the entire nation of Israel when he flatly told the people, “You are not able to the serve the LORD, for he is a holy God” (Josh. 24:19). From what we have read so far, the results of Israel’s tests are a foregone conclusion.

Second, God makes it clear that his reasons for testing Israel are multifaceted and not a blind experiment. In Judges 3:2, Yahweh explains another purpose behind testing Israel: “It was in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before.” Yahweh knows his exact purposes in these tests.

But if it isn’t that Yahweh needed to learn that Israel would not be able to obey his commandments, then what was the point of testing Israel at all? Why not simply wipe away the Canaanites and the Philistines so that Israel could get on with enjoying the Promised Land? In fact, these tests came in order to teach Israel that they were incapable of obeying Yahweh. The law was given, the Apostle Paul explains, to teach us our depravity: “So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith” (Gal. 3:24). That word “guardian” (paidagogos) is the word from which we get our word pedagogy, a word referring to the practice of teaching.

These failures taught Israel that their hearts were hard, that they were not capable of obeying Yahweh, and that they needed a king who could make them righteous in spite of themselves.

In fact, the law continues to teach us that we also stand in need of a king who can make us righteous. But hear now the good news of the gospel: Jesus Christ came to be tested in our place so that we might be rewarded on the basis of his performance, since he was cursed on the basis of our failure.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.