Judges 3
Nations left to prove Israel’s faithfulnessverses 1-4
Now these are the nations which the LORD left – to PROVE Israel by them
even as many of Israel had not known all the wars of Canaan
Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know
to teach them war – at least such as before knew nothing thereof
namely – five lords of the Philistines – all the Canaanites
Sidonians – Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon
from mount Baal-hermon unto the
entering in of Hamath
And they were to PROVE Israel by them
to know whether they would hearken to the
commandments of the LORD – which HE commanded
their fathers by the hand of Moses
Intermarriage and false worshipverses 5-6
And the children of Israel dwelt among the
Canaanites – Hittites – Amorites – Perizzites – Hivites – Jebusites
and they took their daughters to be their wives
and gave their daughters to their sons
and served their gods
Servitude for eight yearsverses 7-8
And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD
and forgot the LORD their God
and served Baalim and the groves
THEREFORE the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel
and HE sold them into the hand of Chushan-rishathaim
king of Mesopotamia – and the children of Israel served
Chushan- rishathaim – eight years
Othniel the judge given by the LORDverses 9-11
And when the children of Israel CRIED to the LORD
the LORD raised up a DELIVERER to the children of Israel
who delivered them even Othniel – the son of Kenaz
Caleb’s younger brother
And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him – and he judged Israel
and went out to war – and the LORD delivered Chushan- rishathaim
king of Mesopotamia into his hand
and his hand prevailed against Chushan-rishathaim
and the land had rest forty years
And Othniel the son of Kenaz DIED
Servitude for eighteen yearsverses 12-14
And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD
and the LORD strengthened Eglon – the king of Moab against Israel
BECAUSE they had done evil in the sight of the LORD
And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek
and went and smote Israel – and possessed the city of palm trees
So the children of Israel served Eglon – the king of Moab
eighteen years
Ehud the judge brings tribute moneyverses 15-17
BUT when the children of Israel CRIED to the LORD
the LORD raised them up a DELIVERER
Ehud – the son of Gera – a Benjamite – a man LEFT-HANDED
and by him the children of Israel sent a present unto
Eglon – the king of Moab
But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges – of a cubit length
and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh
and he brought the present unto Elgon – king of Moab
and Eglon was a very fat man
Ehud tells king he has a secretverses 18-19
And when he had made an end to offer the present
he sent away the people that bare the present
but he himself turned again
from the quarries that were by Gilgal
and said – I have a secret errand to you – O king
who said – Keep silence
and all that stood by him went out from him
Ehud gives message from Godverses 20-23
And Ehud came to him
and he was sitting in a summer parlor
which he had for himself alone
And Ehud said
I have a message from God to you
And he arose out of his seat – and Ehud put forth his left hand
and took the dagger from his right thigh
and thrust it into his belly
and the haft also went in after the blade
and the fat closed on the blade
so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly
and the dirt came out
THEN Ehud went forth through the porch
and shut the doors of the parlor upon him
and locked them
Servants find locked doorverses 24-25
WHEN he was gone out – his servants came
and when they saw that – behold
the doors of the parlor were locked
they said – Surely he covers his feet in his summer chamber
And they tarried till they were ashamed – and behold
he opened not the doors of the parlor
Therefore they took a key – and opened them – and behold
their lord was fallen down dead on the earth
Ehud escaped before servants found king deadverses 26-27
And Ehud escaped while they tarried
and passed beyond the quarries
and escaped to Seirath
And it came to pass – when he was come
that he blew a trumpet in the mountain of Ephraim
and the children of Israel went down
with him from the mount
and he before them
Ehud calls Israel to battleverses 28-29
He said to them – Follow after me
FOR the LORD has delivered your enemies the Moabites
into your hand
And they went down after him
and took the fords of Jordan toward Moab
and suffered not a man to pass over
and they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men
all lusty – and all men of valor
and there escaped not a man
Israel defeats Moab and has peace for eighty yearsverse 30
So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel
and the land had rest fourscore years
Shamgar the judge – killed Philistinesverse 31
And after him was Shamgar – the son of Anath
which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad
and he also delivered Israel
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 2 Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof. (4421 “war” [milchamah] means crush, hand-to-hand fighting, struggle, the waging of armed conflict against an enemy, instruments of war, combatant, or combat)
DEVOTION: Battles are normal in the life of anyone. There are daily battles that we face just driving to work or going to school. There are tests we take during the week either in the classroom or on the job.
Life is about learning. God wanted the children of Israel to learn how to fight their own battles. They were not to be cowards. They were to be obedient to HIM.
Their battles were religious. They faced the worship of false gods every day, and they needed to know that they were not to worship any God but the True God that brought them out of Egypt.
This was a new generation that needed to learn warfare. They needed to learn how to fight their battles and when to fight their battles. They were to have an attitude of readiness.
We have to have this same attitude today. There are battles we need to fight. We need to be ready to say just the right things to defend our faith to those around us. We need to know when to say “Get you behind me Satan.” We need to know when to say HELP.
Once our children see how we handle trials that come our way it will help them in the future know how to handle life. When we have a lot of bills and little money they need to see us turn to the LORD for help. When there is a special something happening at school and we don’t have the money to send our children with the other children we need to sit down with our children and pray and watch the LORD work out the details.
Our children need to learn that sometimes God says NO to our requests. That can cause a battle in itself.
CHALLENGE: Battles are a part of life. Face them with the help of the LORD for the next generation’s sake.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 6 And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods. (802 “wives” [ishshah] means married, a man’s partner in marriage, female, woman belonging to a man, of one betrothed, or female spouse in a marriage union)
DEVOTION: One of the major trials or battles our young people face today who to marry. Christians are to marry only fellow Christians. The problem is that there are not many Christians who are obedient to the LORD. They want to be both in the world and of the world. They want to do everything everyone else does whether it honors the LORD or not.
Christian men want to be allowed to sin just like other men when it comes to dating someone of the opposite sex. Remember God set up marriage to be between one man and one woman for life. That is HIS standard.
Here we find the sons of Israelites were looking to marry the daughters of the nations around them. They were only to marry within their tribes. They were only to marry those who loved the LORD. If no one loved the LORD who could they marry.
Also the daughters of Israel were marrying the sons of the nations around them. What would happen to the children that were raised in these homes? How could there be any consistency in the teaching regarding the True God of Israel.
The intermarrying of both the sons and daughters caused all kinds of confusion to the children. This is true today. Many Christians find a man or woman who are not believers and start dating with the thoughts that they would never marry a non-believer but they do. Some men and women fake that they are believers and once the marriage is completed they show their true colors.
God wants Christians to only marry fellow believers who love HIM. This can only be done with prayer. This needs to be done with both the man and woman attending a good Bible believing church where they are active. This is not sure fire but it is a good test. One of the other ways to tell if your future spouse loves the LORD is what they do with the first ten percent of their money each paycheck.
Man and woman need to not settle for someone who doesn’t love the LORD.
Confusion reigns in the life of the children for the rest of their life. If you think you can win your future spouse to the LORD after marriage you are lying to yourself.
CHALLENGE: Keep your standards high!!
: 7 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD and forgot the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves. (7911 “forgot” [shakach] means forgotten, ignore, to dismiss from the mind, stop remembering, wipe out the memory, or to leave something from forgetfulness)
DEVOTION: Some of us have a good memory. As we get older the memory begins to slip. It is harder to remember some things that we did an hour ago. This in no fun. As we get older the memory is something that we would like to have back.
Here we have the people of God, the children of Israel, forgetting who God is and how important HE is in their lives. They are a new generation that has no memory of the fighting for the land. They have no memory of what the LORD has done for them. They have no memory of their responsibility toward the LORD.
This new generation didn’t know the difference between sin and honoring the LORD. This can happen any time a nation that once honored the LORD stops honoring the LORD as each new generation is not taught to remember all the blessing their parents had from the LORD.
The children of Israel were no longer slaves in Egypt but this new generation didn’t even know about Egypt except from history lessons they might have been taught by their grandparents or parents.
Now this is true in some homes where the grandparents were strong Christians and taught their children to love the LORD. Then the next generation didn’t teach all the blessings the former generation had from the LORD. The third generation would not even know how they received all the blessing they were enjoying because they grew up with the blessings.
Here we have a generation that didn’t think anything was wrong with worshiping false gods. They were around when they were growing up and so it was natural to not understand their obligations to the one TRUE GOD.
Is this happening here today as well? There are many things around to draw each generation away from a belief in the one TRUE GOD of the Bible. This is happening because of parents who are not 100% behind the teaching of the Word of God. They are living a religious life but not a Biblical life.
Some parent’s wonder why their children are acting the way they are but don’t realize that they have been watching them worship the LORD and seeing it doesn’t mean as much as their grandparents learned.
CHALLENGE: Are we passing on a genuine faith in the God of the Bible to our children? Is our faith as genuine as the past generation?
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 9 And when the children of Israel cried to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. (3467 “deliverer” [yasha] means to be open, free, avenging, defend, help, preserve, or rescue.)
DEVOTION: There is a pattern set in the book of Judges. The children of Israel commit sin. They become servants of a heathen nation. The children of Israel cry out to the LORD. The LORD sends a deliverer. The children of Israel commit sin.
This pattern is repeated often. It would seem like they would learn from these occasions but they do not. They have rest from war for a number of years and then return to their evil ways. The LORD becomes angry with them and sends a nation to give them problems.
The pattern is repeated three times in this chapter. Each judge does his job. The people have deliverance but don’t learn from this lesson. Each generation needs a new lesson regarding dependence and obedience on the LORD. Each time they worship false gods and intermarry with those who are not followers of God.
This pattern is true in the days of Christ. This pattern is true in this present church age. We find that many who claim to be followers of Christ are more concerned with being politically correct instead of Biblically correct. We find that many followers of Christ become sidetracked by single issue problems in our society instead of the single issue the LORD wants us to be concerned about which is the salvation of the souls of those in our world.
We need to be obedient to the LORD, so that, we do not end up crying out to the LORD for deliverance from the nations around us. Our deliverer has arrived and told us to spread the news that HE is alive and active in heaven for us after dying on the cross for our sins. Praise HIS name. Let us not continue to repeat the pattern of the time period of the Judges.
What are we going to say to people we meet on a regular basis? Are we going to tell them about the birth of a Savior, Jesus Christ or are we going to be general in our conversation talking about God, that is, whatever God they want to serve?
CHALLENGE: Our country needs revival. The time is NOW to talk about Jesus!!!
: 15 But when the children of Israel cried to the LORD, the LORD raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man left-handed: and by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab. (2199 “cried” [za‘aq] means call for help, cry out in need, call out for aid, wail, weep, or to raise a battle cry)
DEVOTION: Joshua challenged the people to be obedient to the LORD. There were other leaders who understood that the people were not obeying the LORD and warned them but they would not listen. They thought they could live their lives without obeying the LORD and HE would continue to bless them. They were in the Promised Land. They owned property and were tired of fighting. So instead of fighting the enemies they joined them in marriage and worship. This really displeased the LORD.
HE sent HIS people into captivity under nations that were supposed to be killed before they were done fighting. During this time period the LORD raised up individuals who were faithful to HIM to help the children of Israel.
They knew enough to call for help. They knew where to go for help. They knew the way to get help. So, they prayed and the LORD send someone to help.
In this case the second judge came to their aid. He was left-handed which made him the only one in his right mind. He also was one who didn’t make as many mistakes as those who were right-handed. Remember there are fewer left-handers in the world compared to right-handed individual.
So Ehud had a plan to end the rule of Eglon the Moabite. Remember that the Moabites were related to Israel through Lot, Abraham’s nephew. They mistreated the Israelites. Now the LORD wanted him and the Moabites dealt with for their actions against Israel.
Ehud killed Eglon and called the children of Israel to action and they followed him. The land had rest for eighty years after this battle with Moab.
Do we think that we will be blessed of the LORD when we live as we please? Do we turn to the LORD when everything seems to be going wrong?
CHALLENGE: Obedience is the only way to guarantee a good standing with the LORD.
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)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Israel cried to the LORDverses 9, 15
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Commandments of the LORDverse 4
Mosesverse 4
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant-keeping, Personal)verses 1, 4, 7-10, 12, 15, 28
Sight of the LORDverses 7, 12
God – Elohim (Creator)verses 7, 20
LORD their Godverse 7
Anger of the LORDverse 8
LORD raised up deliverers (Judges)verse 9
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Spirit of the LORD verse 10
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)
Canaanitesverses 1, 3, 5
Five lords of the Philistinesverses 3, 31
Sidoniansverse 3
Hivitesverses 3, 5
Hittitesverse 5
Amoritesverse 5
Perizzitesverse 5
Jebusitesverse 5
Chushanrishathaim – king of Mesopotamiaverse 8
Israel served him eight years
Eglon – king of Moabverses 12-15, 17, 28-30
Ten thousand Moabites killed
Children of Ammon and Amalekverse 13
Enemiesverse 28
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Israel took wives of nationsverse 6
Israel gave their daughters to nationsverse 6
Israel served false godsverses 6, 7
Evilverses 7, 12
Forgot Godverse 7
Served Baalimverse 7
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Proveverses 1, 4
Teach them warverse 2
Hearken to the commandmentsverse 4
Cried to the LORDverses 9, 15
Delivererverses 9, 15, 28, 31
Spirit filled man = Othnielverse 10
Restverses 11, 30
Deliveranceverse 28
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Israelverses 1, 4-31
Wars of Canaanverse 1
Children of Israelverses 2, 5, 7-9, 12, 14, 15, 27
Mosesverse 4
Othniel – judgeverses 9-13
Spirit of the LORD in him
Land rested 40 years
Israel served Chushanrishathaim eight yearsverses 8-10
Israel defeated him under Othniel
Israel served Eglon – king of Moab eighteen yrs.verse 14
Ehud – judge (left-handed)verses 15-23, 26-30
Tribe of Benjamin
Made a dagger
Said he had a secret mission
Message from God
Killed Eglon
Blew the trumpet for battle
Rest fourscore years (80)verse 30
Shamgar – judgeverse 31
Slew Philistines
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
3:4. This is the third time the Lord’s purpose, to test the Israelites, is mentioned (cf. 2:22; 3:1). (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.)
(2) The Purpose of the Test (3:4)
4 They were left to test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the Lord’s commands, which he had given their forefathers through Moses.
3:4 In addition to the didactic function specified in v. 2, v. 4 reiterates that Yahweh’s aim in not clearing the land of Canaan of its inhabitants is probationary. His purpose is reflected in two infinitives: “to test (lĕnassôt) Israel through them” and “to determine” (lādaʿat) whether or not they would express allegiance to Yahweh by obedience to the Mosaic revelation. Of course this test is not for the benefit of Yahweh so he can tell whether or not Israel is faithful. He sees all things. The test is for Israel, to give them an objective instrument that would declare to them the depths of their infidelity and the justice of God. The content of the latter is expressed in the form of a question, literally, “Will they obey the Lord’s commands which he gave their ancestors by the hand of Moses?” This question assumes not only the existence of the historical person Moses but also familiarity with the divine revelation transmitted by this man. We have no clear indication of the form in which that revelation was preserved, either at the time of these events or at the time of writing, but one may assume some version of the present Pentateuch, particularly the Sinai ordinances and the Book of Deuteronomy, which contain respectively the terms of the covenant and the exposition of the same. Here the test is broadened beyond the mandate to drive out the Canaanites to obedience to all the commandments Yahweh gave the ancestors through Moses. (Block, D. I. (1999). Judges, Ruth (Vol. 6, pp. 139–140). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
3–4 The Philistines are mentioned first (v.3), perhaps because they were to become the primary opponents of Israel. Their five-city cluster along the Mediterranean included Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron (see 1:18 and Josh 13:3). Each city was ruled by a seren a word probably cognate to the Greek tyrannos and familiar to us in the English derivative “tyrant.” The Philistines migrated from Caphtor of the Aegean area (perhaps “Crete”) and were among the “Sea Peoples” who ravaged Asia Minor and Ugarit before succumbing to Egypt about 1190 b.c. (Wood, Israel’s History, pp. 59–60). The term serānîm for “rulers” is used only for the Philistines.
The “Sidonians” refers to the Phoenicians, whose leading port city was Sidon. After 1100 b.c. Tyre began to eclipse Sidon in importance (cf. 1:31).
The Hivites were located in northern Israel in Joshua 11:3, but Shechem (cf. Gen 34:2) and Gibeon (Josh 9:3, 7) in central Palestine were also Hivite cities. The Hivites are sometimes identified with the “Horites” or “Hurrians” (see comment on 1:21; cf. Gen 36:2, 20; ZPEB, 3:172). “Mount Baal Hermon” is given as a border of the tribe of Manasseh in 1 Chronicles 5:23. Some (cf. J.B. Scott, ZPEB, 1:436) identify it with Baal Gad, a town at the foot of Mount Hermon (Josh 11:17) denoting the northern limits of Joshua’s conquests (Josh 13:5). Lebo Hamath is likely the same as modern Lebweh, fourteen miles northeast of Baalbek. (Wolf, H. (1992). Judges. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel (Vol. 3, pp. 396–397). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
1–4. This is an interesting chapter, and the first verse acts as a key to let us into the meaning of it. The Lord, we are told, left those nations to prove Israel. Hence we learn, that the trials of God’s people are of God’s appointment. I stay not to dwell much upon the historical part of it, for I think it quite enough to observe, that the five lords of the Philistines, which, in after ages of the days of the kings of Israel, made such a figure in history, were the lords of Ashdod, and Gaza, and Askelon, and Gath, and Ekron. 1 Sam. 6:17. And all the Canaanites, included the idolatrous inhabitants from the extreme point of Israel’s territories. But I rather would call the Reader’s attention to the spiritual sense of the history. There is a passage in the Psalms that serves to shew how the Lord raiseth up scourges for his people in their enemies, where it is said, that the Lord turned the hearts of the Egyptians to hate his people. Psm. 105:25. Hence in all the afflictions for sin, the Lord’s hand is in every appointment. And this, Reader, may serve to illustrate the whole of our eventful life. Love is at the bottom of all the Lord’s dispensations. He is ever pursuing one invariable plan of mercy. But if the followers of Jesus transgress, and are led away by their idolatrous neighbours, God will visit their offences with the rod, and their sins with the scourge. So the promise runs, Psalm 89:30–32. (Hawker, R. (2013). Poor Man’s Old Testament Commentary: Deuteronomy–2 Samuel (Vol. 2, pp. 316–317). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.)
He would use the enemy to train Israel, to help the new generation learn the meaning of war (Jdg. 3:1–2; see Ex. 13:17). Life had been relatively easy for the Jews in the Promised Land, and they needed the challenge of ever-present danger to keep them alert and disciplined. This is not to say God always approves of war or that participating in conflict always builds character. Combat experience might do just the opposite. The point is that the Jews had to keep some kind of standing army, or their enemies could quickly unite and overpower them, especially when Israel was at such a low ebb spiritually. In the years to come, both Saul and David would need effective armies in order to overcome their many enemies and establish the kingdom.
God also used the Canaanite nations to test Israel and reveal whether or not His people would obey the regulations Moses had given them from the Lord (Jdg. 3:4). God had made it very clear to the Jews that they were not to study “comparative religion” and get interested in the pagan practices of the Canaanites (Deut. 7:1–11). It was that kind of curiosity that had brought divine judgment on Israel in the land of Moab (see Num. 25), because curiosity is often the first step toward conformity.
Of course, Israel should have been a witness to the surviving pagan nations and sought to win them to faith in the true and living God, but they failed in that responsibility as well. What a difference it would have made in subsequent national history if the Jews had won the Canaanites to the Lord instead of the Canaanites winning the Jews to Baal! (Wiersbe, W. W. (1994). Be available (p. 23). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
Ver. 4. And they were to prove Israel by them, &c.] They were left in the land, as to inure them to war, and try their courage, so to prove their faithfulness to God: to know whether they would hearken to the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses; even all the commandments of the Lord delivered to them by Moses, moral, civil, and ceremonial, and particularly those that concerned the destruction of the Canaanites, their altars, and their idols, Deut. 7:1, 5. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 2, p. 288). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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!!)
NO GOD BUT GOD: Breaking with the Idols of Our Age
by Os Guinness & John Seel.
Politization, which is the act of suffusing everything with politics, has had a baneful influence in the modern world. In our politicized world people demand and seek political solutions for everything. I will argue that one of the dangers to be avoided in our newfound political activism – on both the Left and the Right – is the politicizing of our faith and an idolizing of politics. (p. 51)
The question has never been whether Christians should be involved in politics, but rather what issues they should be most concerned with and what are the most prudent ways to express such convictions. (p.52)
Many evangelicals, being relatively new to politics, do not realize that the art of prudent and principled compromise is necessary in the political arena. (p. 54)
Evangelicals urgently need to develop a public language, philosophy, and posture that shows our loving concern for the common good of all, and not just the common good of fellow believers. (p. 55)
The fruits of common grace include the ability to perform what has been called “civic righteousness,” whereby God uses both believers and nonbelievers through the power of the state to restrain evil and sin. (p. 55)
Genesis 22
Abraham offers his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice.
INSIGHT
God tests our faith — not to catch us failing so that He can punish us or merely to determine genuineness — but to strengthen and increase our faith for the future.
The concept of testing includes refining or purifying. It is the same word used to describe the process of refining gold to purify it and to increase its value. The purpose of testing is to yield spiritual maturity.
We see from Abraham’s life that God tests us for our good. We, then, can trust Him, even during times of testing. (Quiet Walk)
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PENTECOST
Would God that all the LORD’s people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them! Numbers 11:29
The great purpose of Pentecost is to give the final proof of the fact that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God and the Savior of the world. That is declared. The second thing is the great inauguration of the Church as His Body; and third, it is a proof of the fact that the various people who are added to the Church are members of the Body.
Also, in the Old Testament we are told that the Holy Spirit was with men or that He came upon them. He worked upon them from without, as it were, and what David even said, you remember, was, “Take not thy holy spirit from me” (Psalm 51:11), as if the Holy Spirit was with him—that is the Old Testament terminology. The New Testament terminology is in, within; He works from within, and He abides. In the Old Testament He came upon men and left them. He comes, in the New Testament, because we are members of the Body of Christ and because the Spirit comes from Christ through the whole Body. Because we are members of the Body, the Spirit abides in us—perfectly; and that, it seems to me, is the essence of the teaching with regard to this matter.
On the Day of Pentecost the rushing mighty wind and the cloven tongues as of fire especially emphasized, not the filling with the Spirit, but the baptizing into the unity of the Body, the inauguration of the Church. That is why you have the special phenomena. The cloven tongues of fire were never repeated. The walls were shaken on another occasion, but this particular sound, this noise, the gathering together of the special phenomena places a uniqueness upon the event of the Day of Pentecost that has never been repeated. The filling with the Spirit is something that can be, and often is, repeated, but that is not the vital thing that happened at Pentecost. What is emphasized at Pentecost is that the Church became Christ’s Body, and the Spirit was given to fill the Body.
A Thought to Ponder
Pentecost inaugurated the Church as Christ’s Body.
(From God the Holy Spirit, pp. 40-41, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
What’s Your Song?
So Moses wrote down this song that day and tau ght it to the Israelites.
Deuteronomy 31:22
Most Americans knew little about Alexander Hamilton—until 2015, when Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote his hit musical Hamilton. Now schoolchildren know Hamilton’s story by heart. They sing it to each other on the bus and at recess. He’s their favorite founding father.
God knows the power of music, and He told Moses to “write down this song and teach it to the Israelites and have them sing it” (Deuteronomy 31:19). God knew that long after Moses was gone, when He had brought Israel into the Promised Land, they would rebel and worship other gods. So He told Moses, “This song will testify against them, because it will not be forgotten by their descendants” (v. 21).
Songs are nearly impossible to forget, so it’s wise to be selective about what we sing. Some songs are just for fun, and that’s fine, but we benefit from songs that boast in Jesus and encourage our faith. One of the ways we “[make] the most of every opportunity” is when we speak “to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit.” So “sing and make music from your heart to the Lord” (see Ephesians 5:15-19).
Songs can be an indicator of the direction of our heart. Do the words make much of Jesus? Do we sing them wholeheartedly? What we sing will influence what we believe, so choose wisely and sing loudly.
By Mike Wittmer (Our Daily Bread)
The Righteous Word
“Righteous art thou, O LORD, and upright are thy judgments. Thy testimonies that thou hast commanded are righteous and very faithful.” (Psalm 119:137-138)
The writer of the book of Hebrews called God’s Word “the word of righteousness” (Hebrews 5:13). Nehemiah declared that God had “performed thy words; for thou art righteous” (Nehemiah 9:8). Those two concepts merge in the beauty of the Word. “For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth” (Psalm 33:4). The written Word is righteous; the cause of the Word is righteous. That theme pervades this stanza of Psalm 119. Several synonyms describe this characteristic of the Scriptures.
The Lord is righteous, and therefore His judgments are upright. “Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way” (Psalm 25:8).
God’s Word is very pure (Psalm 119:140), like refined gold. “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times” (Psalm 12:6).
Because the righteous acts of the Lord have everlasting consequences, the “law is the truth” (Psalm 119:142)—“the righteousness of thy testimonies is everlasting” (v. 144).
Since the psalmist dedicated his heart and life to the clarity of God’s Word, righteous jealousy consumed him on behalf of God because the enemies of the Lord forgot His Word (v. 139). Furthermore, even though he felt “small and despised” (v. 141) and trouble and anguish surrounded him, he still delighted in understanding God’s righteous commandments (v. 143).
May the Lord God strengthen our resolve this day to be “doers of the word, and not hearers only” (James 1:22). (HMM III, The Institute for Creation Research)
Bill J writes (MO): Today’s Humor:
My nephew was overweight, so his doctor put him on
a diet. “I want you to eat regularly for 2 days, then skip
a day, and repeat this procedure for 2 weeks. The next
time I see you, you’ll have lost at least 5 pounds.”
When he returned, my nephew shocked the doctor by losing nearly 20 pounds.
“Why, that’s amazing!” the doctor said, “Did you follow my
instructions?”
My nephew nodded, “I’ll tell you though, I thought I was
going to drop dead that third day.”
“From hunger, you mean?” asked the doctor.
“No, from skipping.”
By Kurt Vonnegut:
“When I was 15, I spent a month working on an archeological dig. I was talking to one of the archeologists one day during our lunch break and he asked those kinds of “getting to know you” questions you ask young people: Do you play sports? What’s your favorite subject? And I told him, no I don’t play any sports. I do theater, I’m in choir, I play the violin and piano, I used to take art classes.
And he went WOW. That’s amazing! And I said, “Oh no, but I’m not any good at ANY of them.”
And he said something then that I will never forget and which absolutely blew my mind because no one had ever said anything like it to me before: “I don’t think being good at things is the point of doing them. I think you’ve got all these wonderful experiences with different skills, and that all teaches you things and makes you an interesting person, no matter how well you do them.”
And that honestly changed my life. Because I went from a failure, someone who hadn’t been talented enough at anything to excel, to someone who did things because I enjoyed them. I had been raised in such an achievement-oriented environment, so inundated with the myth of Talent, that I thought it was only worth doing things if you could “Win” at them.” Kurt Vonnegut
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