Judges 2
Angel of the LORD confronts Israelitesverses 1-3
And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim
and said
I made you to go up out of Egypt – and have brought you to
the land which I swore to your fathers
And I said – I will NEVER break MY covenant with you
and you shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land
you shall throw down their altars
BUT you have NOT OBEYED MY voice
Why have you done this?
WHEREFORE I also said
I will not drive them out from before you
BUT they shall be as thorns in your sides
and their gods shall be a snare to you
Israelites weepverses 4-5
And it came to pass – when the angel of the LORD
spoke these words to all the children of Israel
that the people lifted up their voice – and wept
And they called the name of that place Bochim
and they sacrificed there to the LORD
Joshua’s generationverses 6-10
And when Joshua had let the people go – the children of Israel went
every man to his inheritance to possess the land
And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua
and all the days of he elders that outlived Joshua
who had seen all the great works of the LORD
that HE did for Israel
And Joshua the son of Nun – the servant of the LORD – died
being an hundred and ten years old
And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in
Timnath-heres in the mount of Ephraim
on the north side of the hill Gaash
And also all that generation were gathered to their fathers
and there arose another generation after them
which knew not the LORD
nor yet the works which
HE had done for Israel
LORD fights against Israelverses 11-15
And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD –
and SERVED Baalim
and they FORSOOK the LORD God of their fathers
which brought them out of the land of Egypt
and FOLLOWED other gods – of the gods of
the people that were round about them
and BOWED themselves to them
and PROVOKED the LORD to anger
And they FORSOOK the LORD – and SERVED Baal and Ashtaroth
and the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel
and HE delivered them into the hand of spoilers that spoiled them
and HE sold them into the hands of their enemies round about
so that they could not any longer stand
before their enemies
Whithersoever they went out
the hand of the LORD was against them for EVIL
as the LORD had said
and as the LORD had sworn to them
and they were greatly distressed
LORD raised up judgesverses 16-17
Nevertheless the LORD raised up JUDGES
which DELIVERED them out of the hand of those that spoiled them
And yet they would not hearken to their JUDGES
BUT they went a-whoring after other gods
and bowed themselves to them
they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in
obeying the commandments of the LORD
BUT they did not so>
Judges rescued Israel from their enemiesverses 18-19
And when the LORD raised them up JUDGES
then the LORD was with the JUDGE
and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies
all the days of the JUDGE
for it REPENTED the LORD because of their
groanings by reason of them that oppressed
them and vexed them
And it came to pass – when the JUDGE was dead
that they RETURNED and CORRUPTED themselves
more than their fathers
in following other gods to serve them
and to bow down to them
they ceased not from their own doings
nor from their stubborn way
Israelites continued to be disobedient to the LORDverses 20-23
And the anger of the LORD was HOT against Israel
and HE said
BECAUSE that this people has transgressed MY covenant
which I commanded their fathers
and have not hearkened to MY voice
I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the
nations which Joshua left when he died
that through them I may prove Israel
whether they will keep the way of the LORD
to walk therein
as their fathers did keep it
or not
Therefore the LORD left those nations
without driving them out hastily
neither delivered HE them into the hand of Joshua
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 2 And you shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; you shall throw down their altars: but you have not obeyed MY voice: why have you done this? (1285 “league” [bariyth] means covenant, alliance, pledge, treaty, agreement, an eating together, make a pact, or obligation against brothers)
DEVOTION: The angel of the LORD in this passage is Jesus Christ come in the flesh to talk with the children of Israel. Theologians call these occurrences a THEOPHANY. This means the visible appearance of deity in the Old Testament. The only person of the Godhead that has ever appeared is Jesus Christ.
Now Jesus Christ is talking with the children of Israel regarding their obedience to the commands that the Godhead had given them to follow. They were to no worship the false gods of the Promised Land but they were doing it anyway.
This did not please the LORD and HE told them that because of their actions they would be given trials to face. If they kept the covenant the LORD made with them they would win their battles but if they broke the covenant they would lose the battles against the people of the land.
This is true today just as it was true then. We face many battles in our walk with the LORD. If we are obedient, we will win the battle. If we are disobedient, we need to confess our sin and HE will forgive our sin and give us a victory.
The choice is ours regarding how we live our life. We have two roads we can walk down. One is the right one and the other is not.
I would recommend that every young believer read not only the Bible but a book called Pilgrims Progress. It will help you understand the struggles that Christians face and how they should respond to them.
CHALLENGE: The present generation of Israel made wrong choices. What kind of choices are you making? We are to be obedient to the commands of the LORD!!!
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 4 And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice and wept. (1058 “wept” [bakah] means bewail, mourned, tears, cry, shed tears, to cry freely and profusely from sadness or distress)
DEVOTION: The reaction of the children of Israel when Jesus Christ spoke to them was one of repentance. They cried because of what the LORD had presented to them. They knew HE was right and they had to change their ways.
Well a revival broke out and they not only wept but they offered sacrifices to the LORD to show that they meant business. They wanted HIM to know that they were going to try to be more obedient to HIS commands.
Well as soon as this mini revival was over they turned back to serving the idols or false gods of the land. We need a revival today too but one that lasts a lot longer than this revival lasted for the children of Israel.
When we weep we need to realize that it is a lifelong commitment to follow the LORD no matter what happens in our life. HE will send trials our way and we will fail the test sometimes but the majority of time we will try to follow the LORD faithfully.
God wants more than tears coming from our eyes. HE wants us to walk in HIS way. HE wants us to be obedient and not give in to false gods in our life. There are many temptations to get us away from the LORD.
However, the Holy Spirit can give us strength to fight off those temptations and show us the right way to live.
CHALLENGE: You can count on the strength of the LORD to help you through any trial HE allows in our life.
: 7 And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel.(4639 “works” [ma`aseh] means action, transaction, activity, deed, operation or needlework)
DEVOTION: Each generation has to make a choice as to whether they will serve the LORD. The older generation had seen the LORD in action in the battles that were fought under the leadership of Joshua.
Now a new generation was coming on the scene. This generation did not see the LORD do great deeds. They were the generation that was to take the rest of the land. They thought it was good to only conquer the people of the land but not utterly destroy them. They thought it was not so bad to worship some of the gods of the land. They thought it was not so bad to marry some of the beautiful women of the land.
In one generation they had forgotten the LORD. In one generation they had forgotten the covenant that their fathers had made with the LORD. The LORD was asking the question “Why have you done this?” HE knew the answer. HE wanted them to face the facts about their relationship to HIM. They were not hearing HIM. HE told them that HE would not hear them when they cried for help.
However, HE did send judges to help them when they were in trouble. They would listen to the judges for a while but then return to their old ways. It is so easy to return to their old ways.
It is so easy for us to return to our old ways. We were born with a sin nature. We naturally go in the direction of sin. It is only through the power of Christ that we are able to resist sin and serve the LORD. Jesus Christ came to this earth to show the world a new way to serve the LORD. HE is the final judge.
Our children learn from us. If we are obedient to the LORD, they will see the example and have to make a choice regarding who they will serve. They can serve self or serve the LORD. They have a choice. We can pray for them. We can try to set the example. We fail sometimes but the LORD knows our hearts. Our children have to understand that the LORD is looking at their heart, as well as, ours.
We have a choice. Do we see the LORD in operation in our world or not? IF we see HIM in action, what are we doing about it? Our we walking in the way of the LORD? Our God is still active today!!! Praise HIS name.
CHALLENGE: Don’t watch our next generation turn away from the LORD; help them turn in the right direction. Our prayers and actions can help them move into the way of the LORD.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 12 And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves to them, and provoked the LORD to anger.(5800 “forsook” [‘azab] means to leave, to leave behind, abandon, give up, loose, desert, give up, or reject)
DEVOTION: One generation was faithful and the next generation abandoned the faith of their fathers. We find that the children of Israel didn’t follow the LORD after the older generation died.
Apparently, the older generation didn’t teach the younger generation the lessons they had learned from the LORD. The first generation saw all the wonderful works of the LORD in the conquering of the land but they gave the new generation no example to follow regarding their worship of the LORD.
One generation later the next generation found other gods to worship. They were still religious but it was not the faith of their fathers. Something was missing. If we read carefully we would find that many of the fathers to this generation had not be true to the LORD as they should have been.
We have this happening in our country as well. We find that our country was founded on the faith found in the Bible. The leaders of the country wrote a constitution that wanted the next generation to understand that the country wanted to be one that was going to honor the LORD. The money of our country says “IN GOD WE TRUST.” The courts used to have people swore on the Bible that they were telling the truth when they gave a testimony.
Now we live in a world that wants to not honor the Bible. We live in a nation that is not training the next generation to be honest in their dealings with people. We live in a nation that the schools who used to have prayer each morning and a pledge to the American flag don’t do that anymore.
We have a nation that wants to find the faults of the previous generations and try to change everything to make it more open to everyone to do as they please without any restrictions regarding improper actions. Everything is on the table to change.
The next generation in Israel did this and the LORD had to judge this generation. Will HE not judge our nation for trying to get rid of all religion and worship only self instead of God. There are many false gods in our world as well but most are manmade.
CHALLENGE: We need to get back to the basics of what the Word of God teaches and train the next generation to honor the God of the Bible and not make humans the final authority.
: 22 That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not. (5254 “prove” [nacah] means test, try, train, assay, make a trial, exercise, allow hardship, adventure or put to the proof)
DEVOTION: As a teen I was on the wrestling team at my high school. We had a championship team with many of the other wrestlers going to the state finals. I fact our team was the state champion.
One of the ways we trained to wrestle was to run around the school with sandbags under each arm. By the time we ran a few times around the halls of the school we were exhausted. Yet we had to come into the gym and wrestle with others in our weight class or sometimes there was a wrestle off between all weight classes. I even won one of these wrestle offs. It was work but it was fun too.
Now we have the children of Israel tested to see if they were on the LORD’S team or another team. The only way the LORD could prove whose they were was by testing them in the area of worship. Who were they going to go to when they were in trouble? Were they going to the LORD or to false gods of the people of the land they were supposed to conquer?
It was found that most of the time the children of Israel selected the false gods of the Promised Land. They wanted to fit in with the people around them rather than set an example of following the LORD.
They had the choice of following the LORD and HIS way of doing things or the way of the people of the land. Their fathers had followed the LORD and won their battles. They had set an example for their children but it seems that either their children were not listening or were just plain lazy regarding their battles. It was easier to not fight the people of the land. It was easier to just worship with them and act like them.
This is a problem today with the present generation. Our grandfathers who were believers gave us examples of what it meant to worship the LORD. They were in church most Sundays and read their Bible throughout the week. They had family Bibles where they wrote out the births and deaths of the family members. It was a different generation.
Now we have the baby boomers that have retired and are leaving the world to the next generation. We find that many of those in the next generation are not sure they want to follow the LORD. In fact, they are being taught by their teachers that there is no God.
We have all evolved from monkeys and therefore should just act like monkeys in everything we do. There are no absolutes to follow. This new generation doesn’t seem to want to live by any standard, especially the standard set down by the Bible. God is testing our generation.
CHALLENGE: How are you doing regarding your total dependence on the LORD? Do you believe that HIS standards are the only standards that you should live by?
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Wept before the LORDverse 4
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Offered sacrifices to the LORDverse 5
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Commandments of the LORDverse 17
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Promise-keeping, Personal)verses 1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10-18, 20, 22, 23
Great works of the LORDverse 7
Servant of the LORDverse 8
Sight of the LORDverse 11
God – Elohim (Creator)verse 12
LORD God of their fathersverse 12
Provoked the LORDverse 12
Forsook the LORDverse 13
Anger of the LORDverses 14, 20
Hand of the LORDverse 15
LORD raised up judgesverses 16, 17
Way of the LORDverse 22
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)
Angel of the LORD (Theophany)verses 1, 4
Covenantverses 1, 20
Not drive out verse 3
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Egyptverses 1, 12
Enemiesverses 14, 18
Nationsverses 21, 23
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
No league with inhabitantsverse 2
Altars to false godsverse 2
Not obeyedverse 2
Other godsverses 3, 12, 17, 19
Generation that knew not the LORDverse 10
Evilverses 11, 15
Served Baalimverse 11
Forsook the LORDverses 12, 13
Bowed down to false godsverses 12, 17,19
Provoked the LORD to angerverses 12, 20
Served Baal and Ashtarothverse 13
Not hearkening to judgesverse 17
Whoring after other godsverse 17
Turned quickly out of the wayverse 17
Corruptedverse 19
Stubbornverse 19
Transgressed covenantverse 20
Not listened to voice of LORDverse 20
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Covenantverses 1, 20
Wept over sinverse 5
Sacrificedverse 5
Inheritanceverses 6, 9
Servedverses 7, 8
Seen great works of Godverse 7
Judgesverses 16, 18
Deliveredverses 16, 18
Walkverses 17, 22
Obeyverse 17
Proveverse 22
Way of the LORDverse 22
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
False gods are going to be thorns to Israelverse 3
False gods are going to be a snare verse 3
Joshuaverses 4, 7, 8, 21, 23
Children of Israelverses 4, 6, 11
Elders: saw great works of Godverse 7
LORD delivered Israel into hands of enemiesverse 14
Israel greatly distressedverse 15
LORD raised up judgesverse 16
Groaning of Israelverse 18
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
Joshua died (110 years old)verses 8, 9, 21
DONATIONS:
Remember that all donations to Small Church Ministries are greatly appreciated. The treasurer will send a receipt, at the end of the year unless otherwise requested. Please be sure to make check out to “Small Church Ministries.” The address for the treasurer is P.O. Box 604, East Amherst, New York 14051. A second way to give to the ministry is through PayPal on the website: www.smallchurchministries.org Also if you can support this ministry through your local church please use that method. Thank you.
QUOTES regarding passage
20–23 For the third time since v.11, the anger of the Lord is mentioned (v.20; cf. vv. 12, 14). There is a note of contempt as the Lord addressed the people as “this nation” rather than as “my nation” (cf. Hag 1:2 [“These people”]). The summary in vv.20–23 closely resembles the stern pronouncement of vv.1–3 by the angel of the Lord. Violating the covenant meant a slower conquest of Canaan. The nations would be left there to test Israel’s desire to obey the Lord (v.22). The constant pressure from a pagan culture would prove who the genuine believers really were. (Wolf, H. (1992). Judges. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel (Vol. 3, p. 395). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
2:20–23. This paragraph, along with the next one (which identifies the remaining enemy nations still in the land, 3:1–6), concludes the theological analysis of the period of the Judges. Whereas the pattern identified in 2:11–19 related to surrounding nations that came in and plundered various tribes of Israel, 2:20–3:6 refers to Canaanite peoples already in the land which Israel failed to displace because of lack of faith and obedience.
The Lord allowed the Canaanite nations to remain in the land for four reasons: (1) He chose to punish Israel for her apostasy in turning to idolatry (2:2, 20–21; cf. Josh. 23:1–13). In identifying themselves with the peoples of the land through marriage and subsequent idolatry (cf. Jud. 3:6), the Israelites violated the covenant that the Lord gave their forefathers (cf. Josh. 23:16). Therefore, as God had promised (Josh. 23:4, 13), He would no longer drive out before them any of the nations, Joshua left when he died. (2) The Lord left the Canaanites in the land to test Israel’s faithfulness to Himself (Jud. 2:22; 3:4). This provided each generation with an opportunity to keep the way of the Lord (cf. “the way of obedience,” 2:17) or to continue in the rebellion of their immediate ancestors. (3) The Lord left the Canaanites in the land to give Israel experience in warfare (see comments on 3:2). (4) Another reason is stated in Deuteronomy 7:20–24—to prevent the land from becoming a wilderness before Israel’s population increased sufficiently to occupy the whole land. (Lindsey, F. D. (1985). Judges. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 384). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
They failed to learn from what the Lord did (vv. 16–23). Whenever Israel turned away from the Lord to worship idols, He chastened them severely; and when in their misery they turned back to Him, He liberated them. But just as soon as they were free and their situation was comfortable again, Israel went right back into the same old sins. “And the Children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord.… Therefore, the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and He sold them into the hand of …” is the oft-repeated statement that records the sad cyclical nature of Israel’s sins (3:7–8, see also v. 12; 4:1–4; 6:1; 10:6–7; 13:1). The people wasted their suffering. They didn’t learn the lessons God wanted them to learn and profit from His chastening.
God delivered His people by raising up judges, who defeated the enemy and set Israel free. The Hebrew word translated “judge” means “to save, to rescue.” The judges were deliverers who won great military victories with the help of the Lord. But the judges were also leaders who helped the people settle their disputes (4:4–5). The judges came from different tribes and functioned locally rather than nationally; and in some cases, their terms of office overlapped. The word “judge” is applied to only eight of the twelve people we commonly call “judges,” but all of them functioned as counselors and deliverers. The eight men are: Othniel (3:9), Tola (10:1–2), Jair (10:3–5), Jephthah (11), Ibzan (12:8–10), Elon (12:11–12), Abdon (12:13–15), and Samson (15:20; 16:31).
The cycle of disobedience, discipline, despair, and deliverance is seen today whenever God’s people turn away from His Word and go their own way. If disobedience isn’t followed by divine discipline, then the person is not truly a child of God; for God chastens all of His children (Heb. 12:3–13). God has great compassion for His people, but He is angry at their sins.
The Book of Judges is the inspired record of Israel’s failures and God’s faithfulness. But if we study this book only as past history, we’ll miss the message completely. This book is about God’s people today. When the psalmist reviewed the period of the Judges (Ps. 106:40–46), he concluded with a prayer that we need to pray today: “Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from the nations, that we may give thanks to Your holy name and glory in Your praise” (Ps. 106:47, NIV). (Wiersbe, W. W. (1994). Be available (pp. 19–20). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
2:20 this nation: Hebrew writers rarely used the word nation to refer to Israel. The phrase here has a contemptuous ring. Usually, the word was used for Israel’s neighbors, while Israel itself was called the people. The choice of the impersonal word nation reflects the distance between God and His people. (Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1997). The Nelson Study Bible: New King James Version (Jdg 2:20). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.)
Ver. 20. And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, &c.] As at first, so whenever they fell into idolatry; see ver. 14. and he said, because this people have transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers; made at Sinai, in which they were enjoined to have no other gods before him: and have not hearkened to my voice; in his commands, and particularly what related to his worship and against idolatry. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 2, p. 287). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
The second section is in Judges 2:20–23, and describes the consequence of Israel’s relapse in reference to the surviving Canaanite and other tribes in the land St-self. Note that ‘nation’ in Judges 2:20 is the term usually applied, not to Israel, but to the Gentile peoples; and that its use here seems equivalent to canceling the choice of Israel as God’s special possession, and reducing them to the level of the other nations in Canaan, to whom the same term is applied in Judges 2:21. The stern words which are here put into the mouth of God may possibly refer to the actual message recorded in the first verses of the chapter; but, more probably, ‘the Lord said’ does not here mean any divine communication, but only the divine resolve, conceived as spoken to himself. It embodies the divine lex talionis. The punishment is analogous to the crime. Israel had broken the covenant; God would not keep His promise. That involves a great principle as to all God’s promises,— that they are all conditional, and voidable by men’s failure to fulfil their conditions. Observe, too, that the punishment is the retention of the occasions of the sin. Is not that, too, a law of the divine procedure to-day? Whips to scourge us are made of our pleasant vices. Sin is the punishment of sin. If we yield to some temptation, part of the avenging retribution is that the temptation abides by us, and has power over us. The ‘Canaanites’ whom we have allowed to lead us astray will stay beside us when their power to seduce us is done, and will pull off their masks and show themselves for what they are, our spoilers and foes.
The rate of Israel’s conquest was determined by Israel’s faithful adherence to God. That is a standing law. Victory for us in all the good fight of life depends on our cleaving to Him, and forsaking all other.
The divine motive, if we may so say, in leaving the unsubdued nations in the land, was to provide the means of proving Israel. Would it not have been better, since Israel was so weak, to secure for it an un-tempted period? Surely, it is a strange way of helping a man who has stumbled, to make provision that future occasions of stumbling shall lie in his path. But so the perfect wisdom which is perfect love ever ordains. There shall be no unnatural greenhouse shelter provided for weak plants. The liability to fall imposes the necessity of trial, but the trial does not impose the necessity of falling! The Devil tempts, because he hopes that we shall fall. God tries, in order that we may stand, and that our feet may be strengthened by the trial. ‘I cannot praise a fugitive and cloistered virtue, unexercised and unbreathed, that never sallies out and sees her adversary, but slinks out of the race, where that immortal garland is to be run for,—not without dust and heat.’(MacLaren, A. (2009). Expositions of Holy Scripture: Deuteronomy-1 Samuel (pp. 201–202). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.)
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
“You feel like quitting, like giving up. You can’t understand why the road doesn’t get easier, why God doesn’t remove the stones and straighten the path. If God did that, you might never get to the top, because the bumps are what you can climb on.” Warren Wiersbe
Genesis 21
Abraham and Sarah rejoice in the birth of the son of promise.
INSIGHT
Perhaps we do not celebrate enough — often enough or grandly enough. Perhaps we do not make enough out of the good things God does for us.
Abraham made a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned. Certainly, that was a cultural event.
It would seem odd to celebrate the same event today. Yet there are other things we could celebrate within our culture, but we don’t.
When was the last time you made a big deal out of something important? Perhaps a high school or college graduation. A successful music recital. Climbing a mountain, or running a marathon.
God has created us with emotions that make life a richer experience for us. Perhaps we should celebrate more — in both quantity and quality. (Quiet Walk)
THE HOUSE OF CORNELIUS
And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.
Acts 11:15
You can say that the Day of Pentecost was the day of public inauguration of the Church as the Body of Christ. There was something new there that had never been before. There is a sense in which you can speak of the Church in the Old Testament, yes, but it is not the same as the Church was subsequent to the Day of Pentecost.
Look at what happened in the house of Cornelius. Peter, of course, as a Jew would obviously have found it very difficult to believe that Gentiles could really come into this unity. That was why the vision was given to him as he was there on the top of the house. As he was praying, he saw a great sheet coming down with clean and unclean animals and birds upon it, and he heard God’s voice telling him to kill and eat. God said, “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common” (Acts 10:15).
But is there not a further suggestion that even that vision was not enough? Certainly it was enough to take Peter to the house of Cornelius and to preach as he did. But even while Peter was preaching, the Holy Spirit descended upon Cornelius and his household. And Peter and the Jews were amazed at this. They could not quite understand it, but they had to face the facts as they heard these other people speak with tongues and magnify God. “They of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 10:45).
The thing that Peter later emphasized was that while he was speaking, the Holy Spirit descended upon them: “And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning” (Acts 11:15). Now you see what was happening. God was declaring that the Church was to consist of Jews and Gentiles.
A Thought to Ponder: God was declaring that the Church was to consist of Jews and Gentiles. (From God the Holy Spirit, pp. 36-37, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
A Mighty Man
“And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.” (Judges 6:12)
Gideon was not a very promising leader to all outward appearances. He was of the undistinguished and divided tribe of Manasseh, and “my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house” (v. 15).
But that’s exactly the kind of man God knows He can use, for “God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty” (1 Corinthians 1:27). God, therefore, greeted him thus: “The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valor” (text verse).
As a matter of fact, there were other qualities in Gideon that must have commended him to God. He was already busy threshing “wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites” (v. 11). He was not sitting idly but was already doing what he could for his people. Furthermore, even though he lived in a time of great apostasy when even his own father kept an altar for the god Baal, he still worshipped the true God and was greatly exercised that “the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites” (v. 13). He was burdened for his people, but all he had been able to do was to try to feed them, hiding his wheat from the invaders. Before the Lord could use him further, however, he had to destroy the family idol and offer his own sacrifice to the true God, even though he knew his family and neighbors might try to kill him (vv. 25-32). God, then, did indeed “save Israel from the hand of the Midianites” through Gideon (v. 14).
If we would be mighty for God, like Gideon, we must begin like him: poor yet faithful, burdened for the Lord’s truth, and doing what we can—putting away every idol of the mind, and acknowledging our Savior’s sacrifice for us.
(HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
Visit our Facebook page for Small Church Ministries – please invite others to join us on Facebook. Thank you. Look for the logo from the devotionals.