Who is God? And, how can we find God - Bible answers.

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lovingscripture.com/2021/10/10/judges-13-commentary/

Judges 13 Commentary

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Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years. This statement here and in several other places in this book gives us an impression that Israel had a see-saw relationship with the LORD. We can doubt this view. Israel’s faith appears to have been on a constant decline. It is very difficult for us to identify moments of real repentance. This statement may refer to periods when the grace of the LORD expired and Israel was left to exist on her own terms. Freedom from the law of the LORD is actually enslavement.

Samson is born during one of these periods of enslavement and oppression.

Each birth represents a planned orchestration of life by the LORD. But when the LORD moves in and disturbs the production line, and makes changes to the mold, you suspect there is something special coming up.

There are special instructions for this special child. First, for the child; second, for the mother; and eventually, for the father too. His hair should not be cut. The mother shouldn’t drink wine. The father must ensure that these instructions are carried out. The boy would be a nazirite of God according to the nazirite rules of Numbers 6 verses 1 to 21. His dedication to the LORD was from conception, which is why the mother didn’t drink beer as this would pollute the boy inside her womb.

The womb isn’t a container. It is every child’s home for nine months. What happens in that home defines the destiny of the child. You would understand why the angel appeared to the woman and not to the man. Even when the man prayed that the angel comes again, the angel appeared to the woman, again. The man was simply called in. Child-bearing is a woman’s God-given mandate and involves everything life and life-like. We cannot afford to miss this point!

These instructions were first delivered to Manoah’s wife by the angel. When Manoah was told about the angelic message, he prayed as he wanted to know exactly what the instructions were for the life and work of the child. Parents need to have time to seek the face of the LORD over the life and work of their children. All of this even before the child is conceived!

The child was born and named Samson. He grew and the Lord blessed him.

So far so good. This is exactly the point. And we know why. The mother’s obedience to the word of the LORD was mission-critical. Her holiness was key. Samson would later confess that no razor had been used on his head. His parents worked to ensure the instructions were followed.

Manoah and his wife are such sweet fellows who have given us a reason to smile. How we needed it! This book has been such a rough ride! They are a godly couple whose example we need to emulate. Like them, we need to seek the face of the LORD for instructions concerning the ‘life and work’ of our children. Like them, we need to ensure that we, ourselves do not eat unclean things – holiness must begin with us. Like them, we need to ensure that our children stick to the rules. They shouldn’t start taking drugs under our roof. Like them, we need to continue providing guidance to our children, explaining to them why they should ‘keep their hair’.

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This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lovingscripture.com/2021/10/09/judges-12-commentary/

Judges 12 Commentary

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Ephraimites confront Jephthah with the complaint that Jephthah didn’t involve them in his battles against Ammon. We first met this kind of reaction from the Ephraimites when Gideon defeated Midian. Gideon’s wisdom had pacified the situation. Jephthah is not Gideon and so the outcome of the confrontation is very different. Civil war ensued. How we need to pray for wisdom!

When there was real a need and a real enemy, the Bible tells us that the “Spirit of the LORD came on Jephthah”. Chapter 11 verse 29. But here the Bible is silent. The battle is needless and lacks the support of the LORD. Forty-two thousand Ephraimites die as a consequence. The enemy within has killed more than the enemy without. This enemy has a name: Mr. P I Arrogance. The initial ‘P’ would stand for pride while ‘I’ would stand for ignorance. Ignorance of who the real enemy is, or improper identification of battle targets can be very costly.

After Jephthah we have three other Judges whose reigns pass without much-reported activities. The Bible isn’t narrating history for record-keeping purposes. There are lessons for the saint and those who care to look into the scriptures. The ten years for Elon’s reign are definitely more than the six years for Jephthah but it is passed over in silence. Jephthah was followed by Ibzan, then Elon. Abdon came after Elon.

The next Judge is the famous Samson. But that is for the next chapter.

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This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lovingscripture.com/2021/10/08/judges-11-commentary/

Judges 11 Commentary

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The story of Jephthah is similar to Abimelek's. Both are born under similar circumstances. You would expect Jephthah suffered abuse from other family members before he was eventually driven out. That is the difficulty that men subject their children to when they decide to have children in that way. The LORD, however, treats all equally as we learned from Jacob's multiple marriages.

What is very interesting is that Jephthah decides to keep a sinful promise that he shouldn’t have made in the very first place. This strong feeling to stick to a wrong decision that has neither the LORD’s blessing nor support from the written word of the LORD is most amazing.

John the Baptist died because of a foolishly made promise that an evil king thought he needed to keep. If only men manifested the same attachment to the commandments of the LORD!

The chapter closes on this very sad note. Does anyone still ask why we need salvation?

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This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lovingscripture.com/2021/10/07/judges-10-commentary/

Judges 10 Commentary

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After the time of Abimelek, we have a couple of Judges that come and go without much-reported activities: Tola and Jair.

Our attention is drawn to the eighth judge, Jephthah. He came into the picture at a time when Israel was in great distress. And for a change, Israel prayed the right prayer: “We have sinned against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals.” In response, the LORD wonders why Israel wouldn’t call upon the various named gods to which they had willingly sold themselves.

Eventually, the LORD is overcome with compassion for Jacob and the chosen instrument is the outcast Jephthah. This chapter only gives us the background to Jephthah’s rise.

In their distress, the people looked for a leader. This search for a leader is actually strange as the LORD had offered Himself to lead Israel against her enemies. He was their Commander-in-Chief. Joshua knew it but this community is way too raw to appreciate this privilege.

This chapter has a couple of positives. The prayer is right. And secondly, the reaction to the word of the LORD is also correct. One cannot expect deliverance while still holding on to foreign gods. As someone has said, you cannot escape a swarm of bees with honey in your hands. Genuine repentance would the right term for the New Testament child of God.

However, from verse 18, you can tell that the nation is looking for a human leader. Yes, a man would be used to deliver Israel. In the immediate context, that man is Jephthah. But in the background and unknown to Israel, the LORD is nurturing the seed. It is during the times of these Judges that Boaz and Ruth show up to parent David’s ancestor. Ruth 1 verse 1. David’s dynasty was itself simply a pointer to humanity’s real savior, the LORD. In keeping with man’s need for a man leader, the LORD would show up as the man Jesus Christ.

For now, we can focus on the man Jephthah. That is the subject for the next two chapters.

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This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lovingscripture.com/2021/10/06/judges-9-commentary/

Judges 9 Commentary

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The history of Israel during this time was defined by the two idol temples mentioned in this chapter. Baal-Berith was a temple of crime. The other unnamed temple was a temple of sinful indulgence and revelry, from which Abimelek's opponent mounted an insurrection. Idol temples have continued to influence world history. Today, advanced idol temples even decide who becomes president and how much people pay for essential commodities. Nothing has changed.

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This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lovingscripture.com/2021/10/05/judges-8-commentary/

Judges 8 Commentary

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Now we can approximate the size of the army that had gathered against Israel. How can an army of 120,000 be routed by a mere 300 poorly equipped men? With God nothing is impossible and we are also reminded of the promise that one would put a thousand to flight. This is one important fact that the triumphant Gideon quickly forgets. He returns, and humiliates, and kills his fellow Israelite men who had declined his request for help. From what we can see, Gideon didn’t need their help. He was simply a proxy in the entire operation. You probably won’t hate, and hurt a man if you know they are not a factor in your elevation.

There are many mistakes in this chapter save for one moment of brilliance when Gideon gracefully cools down the enraged Ephraimites. The biggest of them all is Gideon’s idol. Did Gideon fabricate this idol to honor himself or the LORD that he felt helped him? Whatever the reason, Gideon is very ignorant of the Ten Commandments. A leader with this level of ignorance is a danger to both himself and the entire community.

Another forty years of peace would follow Gideon’s triumph over Midian. Take note of this number, again.

The human author zooms in and reports to us another downer. Israel forsakes her God again. She also forgets Gideon’s family. It is always the case that a lack of respect for God’s commandments is always followed by a lack of respect for fellow man. Evil is actually the fruit of ungodliness rather than the cause.

We can look at Gideon as a man who was used by God to save Israel but not exactly a born-again man. During his time there was orderly idolatry under his leadership as men flocked to his town to worship the idol he had set up. After his death, Israel needed another god, so they set up Baal-Berith as the new god. These were desperate times for the name of the LORD. As we shall see from the next chapter, Abimelek’s crimes were actually sponsored by money from the temple of Baal-Berith. These idol temples were serious institutions right within the borders of Israel.

What we can tell for sure is that the physical salvation from physical enemies had an expiry date. That could be the reason why we are seeing these 40s everywhere as rest periods for Israel. The chapter closes with an ungrateful Israel looking at Gideon’s baseborn son Abimelek. He is the subject of the next chapter.

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This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lovingscripture.com/2021/10/04/judges-7-commentary/

Judges 7 Commentary

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Hidden in the lines of chapter 7 is an important contrast that can help us decipher what the LORD is trying to do. Coming up against Gideon is a league of nations, led by Midian and so numerous that they could not be numbered. So really, the thirty-two thousand that Gideon marshaled are a drop in the ocean and clearly a joke against such a formidable enemy.

Any general should be looking at increasing his military strength but not Gideon. The LORD’s instruction to Gideon is the very opposite; “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.’

While Israel is looking at physical deliverance, the purpose of this victory is deep. The LORD wants to re-establish His name again in Israel. The LORD wants to be the only hero.

By this miracle, the LORD seeks to heal the leaky roof as opposed to simply providing more buckets. We are like Israel when we fail to see the real problem. The real problem here is not the league of nations assembled to impoverish Israel. The problem is a lack of an acknowledgment of who God truly is among Israel. So the victory is designed to elevate the name of the LORD.

As we learn here, Gideon couldn’t fix it all by himself. Faith can be such an expensive commodity! Who doesn’t need help here? “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” This cannot be a stupid prayer at all.

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This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lovingscripture.com/2021/10/03/judges-6-commentary/

Judges 6 Commentary

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Chapter 6 finds Israel in trouble again. As everywhere else in this Book, pain and suffering are expected and fully deserved. God's contract with Abraham hasn't performed well. We know the culprit. Israel has not kept the faith. It's a fact that the visiting angel of the LORD underlines. And we are able to see it right here in this chapter. Gideon’s father is a worshipper of Baal as evidenced by the presence of Baal’s altar in his backyard.

The intervention by itself speaks of unimaginable compassion only comparable with the LORD’s mercies at the Cross. Israel has done nothing deserving of good words. At this moment you cannot tell an Israelite from a Canaanite. They are all Baal worshippers.

Midian's rule over Israel is ruthless. The power of Midian was so oppressive that Israel prepared shelters for themselves in the mountain clefts, caves, and strongholds. Midian’s strategy may interest the saint today. The enemy still ruins saints’ blessings: incomes and investments. An impoverished saint is a mission accomplished in the dark camp. Some losses are not natural.

Gideon is the chosen instrument of salvation. Yes, the same doubting and fearful Gideon. It is a fact of redemption that the saved are picked not from a pile of gems but from the ash heap.

The LORD must introduce himself to Israel again. There is hope that Israel can begin to see the worthlessness of Baal’s altar. The LORD instructs Gideon to pull it down and instead erect the altar of the LORD. There is a chance that the miracle of salvation can be associated with this new altar. In the next chapter, Gideon would defeat a huge army with only 300 men. Will the miracle help Israel turn back to the LORD?

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This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lovingscripture.com/2021/10/02/judges-5-commentary/

Judges 5 Commentary

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This chapter is fully devoted to Deborah's song. It is a song of praise but there is a lot more to look at.

But who cares about numbers? Yes, people do, not God. He saves with many or with just one. He works with the willing. The reference to 'a mother in Israel' as God’s instrument speaks volumes. Weapons are missing, courage is missing, desire is missing, and men are missing. The LORD should be stuck, you would guess. But there is a mother in Israel. It would take another mother in Israel to carry within her womb the seed for humanity’s redemption.

When you are at your very last point, know that the LORD still raises support. So we are amazed but not surprised, by the willingness of other tribes that gladly show up for the cause.

Then the land had peace for forty years. The chapter closes with this statement. It is yet another forty. We began with forty years, then eighty and now we have this forty years after the LORD’s intervention via Deborah. We are simply adding to the already famous ‘forty days and forty nights’ mystery. Then you know this can be very important.

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This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lovingscripture.com/2021/10/01/judges-4-commentary/

Judges 4 Commentary

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It speaks of God's generosity that Israel's cry for help can be heard. We also know any such relief is short-lived as it functions like a bucket of water. It will not heal the leaky roof. The LORD does however help Israel and the human agent is the courageous leader in Deborah.

She is described as a prophet. The guess is that her influence was such that the military commander in Barak couldn’t do without her presence. She authoritatively delivers the word of the LORD to Barak. The instruction is to mobilize troops and march against a formidable opponent. Barak’s response is a combination of doubt and fear. Regardless of the negative environment, the LORD saves Israel.

Barak’s fear prevents him from the privilege of being the instrument of honor in the hands of the LORD. Accordingly, the enemy Sisera dies but not by the hand of Barak. The instrument used is another housewife with the courage that Barak lacked. This is for those who think muscles are an important armory in the battle of life. The LORD’s message to Joshua was simple: Be courageous, be strong, and don’t fear.

I can reflect on an opening that the LORD gave me to preach to a group of people a couple of weeks ago. Fear won the day. Sadness and a great sense of guilty still hang on my head. Barak isn’t alone.

The choice of Deborah as Israel’s fourth Judge and deliver is very interesting. Firstly, the physical battle is for men and not for women. It is a shame that men never came forward to do what men should do. Even when Barak was reminded of his duty, Deborah still provided the required courage and strength of character by her presence – the brains of the operation. Shame. Could it be that the cry for female leadership is in itself evidence of a vacuum that drunken and fearful men have created?

Secondly, and so far, Deborah’s revolution is the first by an officer of the Kingdom. Don’t be mistaken. The LORD may use elements and processes that are neither religious nor spiritual. The LORD may raise up ungodly political leaders to achieve His desired purposes. The first three Judges don’t appear to have thrown themselves on national duty by any direct word from the LORD, but it was there. The LORD is sovereign.

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