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

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lovingscripture.com/2021/09/30/judges-3-commentary/

Judges 3 Commentary

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Chapter 3 is fast-paced. We have three Judges: Othniel, Ehud, and Shamgar. They all intervene at critical moments in the history of the nation. But what has brought Israel here?

The chapter is beautifully arranged to highlight the realities on the ground. The LORD providentially subjects Israel to warfare. The thought is that the warfare is meant to test Israel. And Israel fails the test. The scripture gives us the areas of failure

Firstly, they freely live among the Canaanites, Hittetes, Amorites, perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. The call to come out of her and be separate appears to have been ignored completely.

Secondly, instead of driving them out completely, they marry and get married to them. This only happens because Israel feels the Canaanite peoples are good enough. After all, there is no difference between us and them. The dividing lines are broken. There is no ‘them’ any longer. We are one.

Thirdly, Israel begins to serve the gods of the Canaanites.

It is in these three areas where they fail the test. These constitute the battlefront. All along the battle hasn’t been about military weapons and strategy. The battle has been about obedience. It has been about the Ten Commandments.

It really should be simple but Israel is impossible: a non-starter situation. It is loud and clear for us all today. You are in this world though not of the world. Providence dictates that you live among men of unclean lips. It is an exam. It should be passed and not failed. It is designed to be passed. There is no godliness without this test. Don’t fail it. We also learn that no one graduates without passing this exam. There are consequences.

In the immediate context, Israel is left to exist without the benefit of grace. The blessing of Issachar plays out. “Issachar is a rawboned donkey lying down among the sheep pens. When he sees how good is his resting place and how pleasant is his land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labor.” Genesis 49 verses 14 and 15.

That brings us to the three Judges that the LORD providentially raises at critical moments during this time of great suffering for Israel. The first Judge is Othniel whose victory over Aram brings peace for forty years. Ehud comes second and his military exploits are discussed at length. Notice the eighty years of peace: these multiples of the famous 40. Shamgar’s record is very brief.

From the three Judges so far, we can see that these were not spiritual revival peddlers but mere military efforts through which the LORD brought temporal relief to the nation. But what else did you expect? Israel had cried out to the LORD because of physical hardship. Had it been a cry of the brokenness of heart because of sin, maybe the result was going to be different.

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This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lovingscripture.com/2021/09/29/judges-2-commentary/

Judges 2 Commentary

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Why have you done this? The question was directed at Israel but I think the LORD is asking me the same question. Why have you broken faith? What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad?

And see the reaction of Israel! “There they offered sacrifices to the Lord.” Israel is so bad that she thinks of the LORD as one of the Canaanite gods to be appeased by sacrifices! Obedience is better than sacrifice.

“After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel.” You would think like you are reading about a Pharaoh who didn’t know Joseph. The result is the same: the enslavement of the glory of the LORD and the rise of idolatry. Christianity is always a See-saw. There is nothing like an innocent dip in spirituality. Godliness goes down as ungodliness goes up.

Never forget what the LORD has done for you. Command your memory to remember the goodness of the LORD. Forget not all His benefits, as the Psalmist David would put. Forgetfulness for Israel wasn’t an innocent act of ignorance but a deliberate decision to ignore the works of the LORD. The result is the withdrawal of the grace of the LORD. Israel is left to experience life without the benefit of grace. Defeat follows defeat. The nation is enslaved again and again.

Relief only comes when the LORD raises a Judge to deliver Israel. But it is all temporal. Israel would return to her sinful ways and the cycle of suffering would restart until the next Judge. The Book of Judges would follow this format of sin, Judge, salvation, and then sin again.

We can see something here. Just like in Egypt, Israel only remembers the LORD when suffering and pain become unbearable. At this point, they cry out to the LORD. At what point do we kneel down in prayer? Is it only when our suffering reaches unbearable levels or when the secret sin brings public shame to our respected self?

The trouble of calling upon the LORD only when in deep trouble is the high possibility of idolatry when the motivation for prayer is withdrawn. These pages are calling us to a life that feels the brokenness of sin and makes it the motivation to seek help in prayer and genuine repentance. However, it takes even a greater degree of arrogance to fail to pray when in deep physical trouble. If healing is the only motivation that you have to pray, as bad as it is, men are encouraged to go for it. How we should pray that the physical deliverances remind us of the need for spiritual deliverance! Then we can have hope even for the vanity seeker.

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This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lovingscripture.com/2021/09/28/judges-1-commentary/

Judges 1 Commentary

It is a sad reality that the sure word of the LORD has to see fulfillment in these pages. Judges, therefore, becomes the sorry story of the conqueror becoming the conquered. However, the generosity of the LORD is seen in the many times that He intervenes to save Israel through human agents. Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson are famous names among the 12 judges that we shall read about.

Chapter 1 gives us the general picture of the settled nation. It is a mixture of success and failure. This picture is what you get when you mix obedience and disobedience. Being neither hot nor cold is unacceptable before the LORD. So we await the reaction from the LORD as we journey through the Book of Judges.

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This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lovingscripture.com/2021/09/26/joshua-23-commentary/

Joshua 23 Commentary

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Joshua - slave, special aide, general, leader, commander-in-chief. Who else qualifies more than Joshua to do this important citation? He was probably in his late thirties or forties when Israel matched out of Egypt. He had seen all. You want to believe a man like this. This one and the next chapter are reserved for Joshua's closing remarks.

He says of the Commander, “himself will push them out for your sake. He will drive them out before you, and you will take possession of their land”.

The saint does well to remember that the Commander who stood tall with a drawn sword, and before whose presence Joshua took off his sandals, is the same LORD Jesus of Revelation 19 with a sharp sword coming out of His mouth. “He will strike down the nations.”

“Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left.” These are the parting words of Joshua to the nation. They are the same words that were passed on to him as he took over from Moses. It is every man’s duty to pass on the same message to his children.

Further Joshua warns the people not to ‘intermarry with them and associate with them’. Keep away from sin. Don’t associate with sin. Know the difference. This message is loud and clear for us today. The mention of snares and traps resonates with the devil’s way of operating, by schemes and lies that we find in the New Testament. The mention of ‘whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes’, may refer to the pain and suffering that the ensnared saint undergoes. It is real. Watch and pray.

Joshua is now very old and about to transition. He has been a very courageous soldier but he knows the victories have come because the LORD is faithful. He has generously fulfilled all the promises. Reading chapter 23 is like having lunch with an old man. He has unpacked your future by looking back. The LORD has honored His part of the contract; will you honor yours?

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This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lovingscripture.com/2021/09/25/joshua-22-commentary/

Joshua 22 Commentary

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Chapter 22 gives us a smell of the Book of Judges. The trans-Jordan tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh are released to return to their inheritance in the east. The returning troops stop by the Jordan and erect an imposing altar. The other tribes interpret it as idolatry. The reader can judge for themselves. The reason given by the eastern peoples is both lazy and hideous. It is nevertheless good enough to avoid the first civil war.

If the eastern tribes worried so much about the glory of God, one would expect them to have carried with them copies of the law. There isn’t even any evidence of them having consulted the LORD over their vanity project. Even the priests among them are conspicuously silent.

And the western peoples’ reaction? Well, it looks decent enough but again we are not entirely impressed with them. Their concern is a possible wholesale punishment falling on the entire nation and not a brother’s concern for the glory of the LORD. The brother’s love for the LORD (first commandment) isn’t emphasized but that the sin of the eastern peoples would result in punishment on the western peoples indiscriminately. Of course they are right and they have good reasons for this fear but again we are not impressed with their core reasoning. Neither should we be impressed with today’s gigantic church projects that have nothing to do with the glory of God, though they are carefully clothed in very good religious lingo.

Nothing has changed. The eastern people’s motive for erecting an imposing altar is exactly the same reason for man’s vanity projects. Some vanity projects have good titles such as success, hard-work, talent, genius, ingenuity, comfort, development or expansion to the ‘glory of God’ for church people, but they all project pride of heart and a vanity seeker’s effort. The saint must worry about vanity. The saint must worry about the motives behind any investment. The church must worry about their own church projects. Is it truly to the glory of God?

For now we leave it here but watch this space.

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This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lovingscripture.com/2021/09/24/joshua-21-commentary/

Joshua 21 Commentary

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Like that special room that the LORD Jesus has gone to prepare for you, is this piece of land to Israel. The exodus was about this same piece of land. An enslaved nation, now freed, must be resettled under freedom and the leadership of the LORD. Yes, according to the original plan. A revision was made to the original plan which saw priests come into the picture as the proxy between Israel and God.

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This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lovingscripture.com/2021/09/23/joshua-20-commentary/

Joshua 20 Commentary

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Cities of refuge. The purpose is clear: “anyone who kills a person accidentally and unintentionally may flee there and find protection from the avenger of blood”.

The distribution of these cities in the occupied land is quite deliberate. They were accessible and within reach by everyone.

No one in the entire history of mankind abused this facility more than David. It is little wonder that many associate this word with the Psalmist David. The words ‘intentionally’ and ‘unintentionally’ are important. Because David’s killing of Uriah was intentional, he didn’t qualify under this facility. Again the facility was a physical city and not a person. David’s decision to make the LORD his city of refuge was a travesty of justice.

Isn’t this word speaking to the saint today? Hasn’t the holiest of us beaten David’s record for our many intentional sins that the LORD has forgiven? And who is not encouraged that the real city of refuge in Jesus Christ is within reach – just a prayer away?

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This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lovingscripture.com/2021/09/22/joshua-19-commentary/

Joshua 19 Commentary

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Simeon’s lot lies within the territory of Judah. From the Book of Numbers we saw how Simeon’s population reduced from 59,000 at the first count to about 22,000 at the second count. And here we see how Simeon gets only towns within the territory of Judah. Simeon’s destiny has unfolded without the benefit of grace. Jacob had spoken of scattering for Simeon and Levi while Moses strangely omitted Simeon entirely from the blessings. You may want to check Genesis chapter 49 and Deuteronomy 33 for context.

We have the picture of two destinies right before our eyes. Simeon’s diminished fortunes are in sharp contrast with Judah’s elevated status. The end times will see this picture fully unpacked. While the sheep will go on to inherit the full package, the goats will on the other hand suffer total exclusion. The story of Simeon is a warning for us all.

What may not be clear from the text is the fact that each tribe is allocated land according to the measure of grace and expectation. Trade and commerce were important activities for the nation. The blessing that each tribe received envisioned and projected an expectation of prosperity. Some tribes would be located along the coastline for trade purposes. Others lay deep within the continent for reasons of mining and land based agricultural activities. There is a reason and an expectation for your posting. There is a pool of resources at your area of posting to support the purposes of the LORD for your life.

Like Caleb, Joshua is given a portion of land according to the command of the LORD. Acting on the word of the LORD is key and instructive. How many of us make decisions based on the commandments of the LORD? Obedience is measured by the extent to which the word is obeyed. The exam to isolate decisions based on the law of God from decisions based on logic, convenience, greediness and general ungodliness can be very interesting. One basket will be nearly empty. And I know I need help.

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This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lovingscripture.com/2021/09/20/joshua-17-commentary/

Joshua 17 Commentary

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It isn’t a small matter to have your name printed in the holy script. But to have your name show up three times as the main character should be something special. That is the story of Zelophehad’s daughters, Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah and Tirzah. There should be something important about their story.

In the Book of Numbers, they had pressed Moses for an inheritance seeing that their father didn't have any sons. Under the traditions of the community, only sons could inherit land. Their strange request was brought before the LORD. The LORD ruled against cultural norms and granted the 5 five daughters their request. Their victory changed history.

Inheriting the land (as in the case of Zelophehad’s daughters) involves petitioning the LORD to act on His own word. “The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our relatives,” they quoted. And so it was. It is easier to pray this way. Is this pointing us to the importance of prayer in battle? Yes, absolutely. Countless blessings flow by simply asking. The Apostle Paul put it this way: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

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This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lovingscripture.com/2021/09/19/joshua-16-commentary/

Joshua 16 Commentary

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Chapter 16 is about land allocation to the two tribes of Joseph. The blessing of fruitfulness for Joseph meant that the one had become two. The name Joseph itself means addition. The two portions for Joseph is the fulfilment of the blessing of increase and fruitfulness.

While details in this chapter may suggest much smaller portions of land for Joseph, the fact is that Joseph’s sons inherited a much bigger portion of land comparable with Judah’s massive blessing.

They did not dislodge the Canaanites living in Gezer; to this day the Canaanites live among the people of Ephraim but are required to do forced labor. Joshua 16 verse 10. We saw this statement with Judah and here we see it again. The victory that we are celebrating carried with it seeds of failure. Indeed the instruction was to drive out (destroy completely) the Canaanite peoples and then settle. It hasn’t happened. This is human failure with huge consequences but that is the story for the Book of Judges.

Salvation in Jesus Christ is a great point of rest. The enemy to drive out completely is greediness or lying, immorality or stubbornness, pride or selfishness, drunkenness or simply stupidity. Each time the saint has ‘settled’ in their salvation with any of these neighbors, the results have always been pain and suffering – a joyless existence. This is not part of the spec! If only the saint knew that the same Commander of the armies of the LORD still stands ready – now as the Holy Spirit within the saint. These battles are winnable.

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