Let's go back to realize something Gideon did not. The reason it appeared to Gideon that the Lord had forsaken Israel is simply due to the fact that Israel had forsaken the LORD. I find it fascinating that God did not directly respond to Gideon's question, but simply tells him to go and save Israel from her oppressor, Midian.

Though Israel endeavored to follow this judge or that judge's leadership, as soon as that judge died, the people of Israel reverted back to their former ways and began again to worship foreign gods (v19). It is amazing to me that God continued to put up with that and if not for His unconditional covenant with Israel, He would have completely wiped that nation off the face of the earth. He did not do that though He often destroyed many within Israel because of how they rejected Him continually.

I've said this before and it bears repeating. I knew that the Left would try everything they could to stop Trump from doing what he could to make America great again. I'm not an idiot and neither are you. We know that whatever Trump accomplishes will only be due to God's allowing him to accomplish it. However, Satan doesn't give up. He doesn't need a break, nor does he even stop when he knows he's losing. He keeps on going, doing whatever he can to throw a monkey wrench into the works.

By the time the coming Tribulation begins, I'm guessing that much of the human population on earth will be either demonized outwardly or fully possessed. Demons seem to be coming out of the woodwork in preparation for what is coming to this earth. However, during the Tribulation, they actually do come out of the woodwork in several of the judgments God pours out on the earth.

In truth, it is not just that Israel rejected the Good Shepherd, but that Israel then embraced/will embrace Worthless Shepherds throughout her history and will do so a final time in the future! This recounts the events of the Messiah's first advent and death, followed by the destruction and dissolution of Jerusalem and Israel as a nation in AD 70. (The video did not turn out, so there is only audio for this particular message.)

Understanding what Satan is attempting to accomplish and will be allowed to accomplish through those sold out to him, sets us free from the worry that fear can create. We are not meant to live forever in this life. The fact that God physically expelled Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden so that they could not eat of the tree of life after sinning proves that He doesn't want us to live eternally in this life, in our sin. We will all pass from this life to the next and as Christians will be given immortal bodies forever free from sin. It will be then that we will live forever as He originally intended.

Zechariah 11 deals with the problems that Israel would face. The prophet was speaking a hundreds of years before Roman armies surrounded and sacked Jerusalem, but his words came to fulfillment. While many conservative commentators believe there was partial fulfillment of Zechariah's prophecies in the Roman destruction of Jerusalem (AD 70), the full and final aspect of this fulfillment will not occur until the coming Tribulation period of seven years, leading up to the physical return of Jesus to this planet.

This entire incident has become another "stone of remembrance" for me. Silvia and I can look back at this situation and know beyond all doubt that God oversaw it and was fully in the details. Even though we had our own plans, God interrupted us with His plans. He knew what was going to happen with my wonderful wife and He deliberately had us in the right place at the right time for medical care.

For Christians today, we are all fully under the blood of Jesus. Without it, we have zero protection from God's wrath. With it, we are fully protected from it. However, the same temptation exists today for all Christians that existed for Nadab and Abihu. That is, the tendency to take God for granted or to allow our arrogance to move us away from how God expects us to live in this life. It is a constant battle for the Christian, isn't it? Thank God He does not deal with us as He dealt with the Israelites under the Law!

But nuancing is one excellent way to hide actual truth, by dressing it up as something it's not. Off the top of my head, I can think of numerous leaders within Christendom who routinely nuance things. It makes them sound very intellectual and who doesn't like to listen to an intellectual? Of course, Jesus was the most intelligent and intellectual of all, yet aside from the fact that He often presented truth in parabolic form, He also spoke plainly. I do not consider Jesus to be a nuancer. He was not cunning, crafty or subtle in His approach to people and most certainly not where God's Word was concerned. He spoke the truth and only the truth. He didn't soft soap it or cunningly attempt to hide the often brashness of God's Word. He spoke truth and let the chips fall where they might.