Judges 8
Ephraim angry with Gideonverse 1
And the men of Ephraim said to him
Why have you served us thus
that you called us not when
you went to fight with Midianites?
And they did chide with him sharply
Gideon’s answer pleases Ephraimitesverses 2-3
And he said to them
What have I done now in comparison of you?
Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the
vintage of Abiezer?
God has delivered into your hands the princes of Midian
Oreb and Zeeb – and what was I able to do in
comparison of you?
THEN their anger was abated toward him – when he had said that
Gideon asked Succoth for foodverses 4-5
And Gideon came to Jordan – and passed over – he
and the three hundred men that were with him – faint
yet pursuing them
And he said to the men of Succoth
Give – I pray you – loaves of bread to the people that follow me
for they be faint – and I am pursuing after
Zebah and Zalmunna – kings of Midian
Officials of Succoth say noverse 6
And the princes of Succoth said
Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand
that we should give bread unto your army?
Gideon told them he would be backverse 7
And Gideon said
Therefore when the LORD has delivered
Zebah and Zalmunna into mine hand
THEN I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the
wilderness and with briars
Gideon gets the same reply from Penuelverses 8-9
And he went up thence to Penuel – and spoke to them likewise
and the men of Penuel answered him
as the men of Succoth had answered him
And he spoke also to the men of Penuel
saying
When I come again in peace – I will break down this tower
Gideon finds Zebah and Zalmunna in Karkorverses 10-12
Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor
and their hosts with them – about fifteen thousand men
all that were left of all the hosts of the children of the east
for there fell an hundred and twenty thousand men
that drew sword
And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents
on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah
and smote the host – for the host was secure
And when Zebah and Zalmunna fled – he pursued after them
and took the two kings of Midian – Zebah and Zalmunna
and discomfited all the host
Gideon deals with Succoth and Penuelverses 13-17
And Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle before the sun was up
and caught a young man of the men of Succoth
and inquired of him
and he described unto him the princes of Succoth
and the elders thereof – even threescore and seventeen men
And he came to the men of Succoth
and said
BEHOLD Zebah and Zalmunna – with whom you did upbraid me
saying
Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand that we should
give bread unto your men that are weary?
And he took the elders of the city – and thorns of the wilderness and briars
and with them he taught the men of Succoth
And he beat down the tower of Penuel – and slew the men of the city
Zebah and Zalmunna killed Gideon’s familyverses 18-19
THEN said he to Zebah and Zalmunna
What manner of men were they whom you slew at Tabor?
And they answered
As you are – so were they each one resembled the children of a king
And he said
They were my brethren – even the sons of my mother
as the LORD lives – IF you have saved them alive
I would not slay you
Gideon tells oldest son to kill themverse 20
And he said to Jether his firstborn
Up – and slay them
BUT the youth drew not his sword
for he feared – BECAUSE he was yet a youth
Gideon kills them himselfverse 21
THEN Zebah and Zalmunna said
Rise you – and fall upon us – for as the man is
so is his strength
And Gideon arose – and slew Zebah and Zalmunna
and took away the ornaments that were on their camels’ necks
Israelites ask Gideon to be their rulerverse 22
Then the men of Israel said to Gideon
Rule you over us – both you – and your son
and your son’s son also
for you have delivered us
from the hand of Midian
Gideon refuses to rule Israelverses 23-24
And Gideon said to them
I will not rule over you – neither shall my son rule over you
the LORD shall RULE over you
And Gideon said to them
I would desire a request of you
that you would give me every man the earrings of his prey
(For they had golden earrings because they were Ishmaelites)
Gideon requested and received percent of spoilsverses 25-26
And they answered
We will willingly give them
And they spread a garment
and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey
and the weight of the golden earrings that
he requested was a thousand
and seven hundred shekels of gold
besides ornaments – and collars
and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian
and besides the chains that were about their camels’ necks
Gideon made ephod that caused false worshipverse 27
And Gideon made an EPHOD thereof – and put it in his city
even in Ophrah – and all Israel went thither a whoring after it
which thing became a SNARE to Gideon
and to his house
Forty years of peace for Israelverse 28
Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel
so that they lifted up their heads no more
And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon
Gideon diedverse 29-32
And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten
FOR he had MANY WIVES
And his concubine that was in Shechem
she also bare him a son – whose name he called Abimelech
And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age
and was buried in the sepulcher of Joash his father
in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites
Israelites turned to false godsverses 33-35
And it came to pass – as soon as Gideon was dead
that the children of Israel turned again
and went a whoring after Baalim
and made Baal-berith their god
And the children of Israel remembered not the LORD their God
WHO had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies
on every side – neither showed they kindness to the
house of Jerubbaal – namely Gideon
according to all the goodness which he had
showed to Israel
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 1 And the men of Ephraim said unto him, “Why have you served us thus,” that you call us not, when you went to fight when you went to fight with the Midians? And they did chide with him sharply. (7378 “chide” [riyl] means plead, strive, contend, debate, make complaint, quarrel, dispute, or quarrel)
DEVOTION: After seven years of oppression and starving to death their enemy was finally defeats by Gideon and the three hundred. God didn’t want Israel to take credit for the victory because it was a victory in which HE did all the work.
Now comes the mop up exercise and the men of Ephraim are confronted Gideon for not calling them to battle when he really did. It was their pride that was hurt and they wanted to kill Gideon for his actions. They wanted the victory to be theirs or at least partly theirs.
Now during the confrontation Gideon told them that they had a great victory during the aftermath of the original battle. God again didn’t want anyone to claim victory but HIM.
Today we have individuals in our churches who want to be the center of attention. They want to be where the action is and be part of all the decisions made in the church. No one should be able to move without them. This is wrong.
When a church has a victory the whole congregation can rejoice. It doesn’t matter who led the project or who the main characters were in the project it is a victory for the church. God likes HIS people working together when HE gives them a victory.
In the home we can have made major decisions that the whole family sometimes is involved and other times one person makes a decision. We have to work together as a family.
Now remember that Manasseh and Ephraim were the sons of Joseph. They were born in Egypt. It seems that sibling rivalry was present even to this point in their history.
Are there siblings in your family that don’t get along? I know of many families where brothers don’t talk to brothers and sisters don’t talk to sisters. There is no family reunion when all the cousins get together. It is sad but true.
Is this what God wants in families? Should families even today communicate better? How is your family doing in this area? One of the things I have always admired is that the Asian think family is very important.
CHALLENGE: How about at least getting along with the family of God in your church. It would be great if siblings got along. God can change our attitude toward each other.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 7 And Gideon said, Therefore, when the LORD has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into mine hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers. (1758 “tear” [duwsh] means to give a thrashing to, beat hard, trample down, to pound, to break in pieces, exterminate, or destroy)
DEVOTION: Here is the fearful Gideon we met a few chapters ago now being fearless and threatening his own people because they will not give him bread. They were hungry and had won a great victory but the two commanders of the Midianite army were not captured yet and so the people turned him down for fear that he might fail.
He told them he would be back as a victor and would deal with them according to their treatment of him and his soldiers. So, we see a different Gideon. Remember he had them shout the “sword of the LORD and Gideon.” Did this mean that he was taking partial credit for the victory?
Sometimes victory can go to the head of the meekest man. Gideon was totally dependent on the LORD in his village but now seems to have the power going to his head. His relatives should have given him bread but he should have left their judgment to God.
We sometime want to judge people who mistreat us. Should we leave all the judgment to the LORD in HIS timing? Does HE sometimes want us to confront people who have mistreated us? We need to have the grace to know when to confront and when to leave it in the LORD’S timing.
This is very hard sometimes. Our human nature is one that wants to get people judged quickly that have hurt us.
CHALLENGE: We have to leave judgment to the LORD regarding those who hurt us. The LORD will take care of proper judgment.
: 20 And he said to Jether his firstborn, Up, and slay them. But the youth drew not his sword, for he feared, because he was yet a youth. (3372 “feared” [yare] means be afraid, to fear God, to be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a situation or event, or frightened)
DEVOTION: Gideon found out that these two commanders had killed his family while they were wandering the land. Somehow, he was gone when this killing of his relatives happened.
He was very angry and told his young son to kill these two men but he was afraid. Sometimes we ask our children to do things that they are not mature enough to do. It might be something we were able to do at their age but we all grow up in a different home than our children. We might be better parents than our parents. We might honor the LORD in the raising of our children when our parents didn’t really honor HIM.
So to command a son who is not a warrior to kill two warriors was something that made him afraid. He might have thought that they would fight back. He might have thought that he had not killed anyone yet. Not sure how old he was but we need to not think of him as a coward just too young to complete the task.
We need to allow our children to fail at times without yelling and screaming at them. We failed at times in our youth. Give them a break. Gideon was told to kill them himself and he did. Problem solved.
We have to check the maturity level of our children. It should never be compared to other children their age. Some mature faster and others mature slower.
CHALLENGE: Give them grace to mature at their own level.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 23 And Gideon said to them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you. (4910 “rule” [mashal] means to have dominion, governor, reign, or have power)
DEVOTION: One of the habits of a group of people who follow someone who is willing to lead is that they want to make him king or something else. The nation of America has made many of the generals who have led armies to victory their president. Very few men are willing to lead in dangerous situations. Those who are willing are considered heroes.
The children of Israel had seen Gideon reduce his army because the LORD told him to. They saw the victory that the LORD had given. Gideon took an army of 32,000 soldiers to 300 soldiers. The 300 defeated the Midianites. He calls the other tribes to help with the cleanup of the enemy army.
He takes his tired army across the Jordan to chase the kings of Midian. He asks the towns of Succoth and Penuel for food for his troops. They refuse. He tells them he will be back after he captures the kings to deal with them. He captures the kings.
He returned to deal with Succoth and Penuel. He kept his word. They were sorry they didn’t help him. Now there is peace.
The people approached him to be their Ruler. He refused by saying that only the LORD should be their ruler. He didn’t want to reign or have his sons reign over the Israelites.
Instead, he asked for an earring from each of the soldiers. He made a gold ephod and set it up in his city. The problem was that people started to worship it instead of God. When he died the people returned to worshiping false gods.
The lesson that Gideon had learned is that there is only one who should have power over the people of God and that is the LORD. The people thought they needed a flesh and blood ruler. They wanted someone who was a proven leader. Sometimes people look up to someone who has shown that he can get the job done. They forget that in the work of the LORD, the one who gets the job done is the LORD.
We need to allow the LORD to pick the leaders. Remember that Gideon didn’t want to lead. Too often we have people who want to lead or rule and those are the ones that we have to watch out for in the work of the LORD. Once the LORD picks a leader, we should follow him as long as he is following the LORD.
We need to remember to always look up to the LORD for guidance and not blindly follow a proven leader. Christ was a proven leader that we should follow. Let us keep our eyes on HIM!!!
Watch out for the praise of people. Watch out for the thinking that you are important. You may be important but the LORD honors humility. Gideon expressed it but then did a foolish thing by making an ephod of gold. Even good leaders can make foolish decisions.
CHALLENGE: Remember that after great victories many bad decisions are made by those who are honored. If you are honored remain dependant on the LORD. Watch out for the enemy of self-indulgence.
: 35 Neither showed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, namely Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had showed to Israel. (2896 “goodness” [towb] means kindness, happiness, that which is pleasing or valuable or useful, benefit, generous, or bounty)
DEVOTION: Gideon was a judge who defeated the Midianites. He has rescued them for an army that was described as being without number and like grasshopper in multitude.
He did it with an army of three hundred men. He had them on the run and wanted other to help but they refused because they were still afraid of the same number that were left. They were not willing to help him defeat them.
So, he went on and defeated them with his small army and when the victory was won, they were judged by Gideon for their actions.
After Gideon died the people didn’t remember all that he had done. In fact, they mistreated his children. They showed them NO kindness.
They also returned to worship the false gods that the other nations were worshiping. They renewed their worship of Baalim and made Baal-berith their god.
Can you imagine people who were delivered from an enemy and given another chance to follow the one true God and still they would rather go and worship a false god.
Not only that but they didn’t care that they had been delivered. They were an ungrateful people.
Does this happen today? Do people who turn to the LORD in a time of trouble ask others to pray for them to get out of a circumstance that they can’t control? Once the deliverance comes, they forget about their need for the LORD and return to their old ways of doing things. This is what seems to happen even today.
We need to make sure our commitment to the LORD is not something that we have one day and the next we forget about our obligation to the LORD.
CHALLENGE: Have we ever prayed for deliverance from a problem and the LORD gives it and then we return to our old actions that are not pleasing to the LORD? This shouldn’t happen!!
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)
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)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
God – Elohim (Creator)verses 3, 34
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal)verses 7, 19, 23, 34
LORD their Godverse 34
Delivered them out of hands of enemies
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)
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)
Midianitesverse 1- 28
Princes of Midian: Oreb and Zeebverse 3
Kings of Midian: Zebah & Zalmunnaverses 5-7, 10, 12, 15, 18, 21
15,000 men left of 120,000
Killed Gideon’s brothers
Children of the eastverse 10
Enemiesverse 34
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Chideverse 1
Angerverse 3
Fearverse 20
Giving Gideon credit for victoryverse 22
Gideon making ephodverse 27
Whoringverses 27, 33
Snareverse 27
Worship false gods: Baalim &Baal-berithverse 33
Israel remembered not LORD their Godverse 34
Didn’t show kindness to Gideon’s familyverse 35
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Deliveredverses 3, 7, 34
Knowing it is the LORD who should ruleverse 23
Goodnessverse 35
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Gideonverses 1-35
Asked his firstborn to kill kings
Gideon kills Zebah and Zalmunna
Asked to rule over Israel – refused
Took some of spoils and made an ephod
Put ephod in Ophrah
Concubine in Shechem that bare him a son Abimelech
Died at a good old age
Buried in sepulcher of Joash
Ephraimverse 1
Men of Succoth: denied bread for armyverses 5-7, 14-16
Judgment on
Men of Penuel: denied bread for armyverses 8, 9, 17
Gideon confronts men of Succothverses 13-16
Gideon deals with men of Penuelverse 17
Quietness for forty yearsverse 28
Gideon had seventy childrenverse 30
After death of Gideon Israel turned to Baalimverse 33
Baal-berith became their god
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
Gideon diedverse 32
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
33 Abimelech is not called a judge. Nor was he raised up by God to rescue Israel. Therefore, this section differs from the other cycles. Since Abimelech was the son of Gideon, this period stands in a unique relationship with the preceding one. The introduction follows the common pattern quite closely in recording Israel’s sin. Again, the Israelites became enamored with Baal worship, and particularly Baal-Berith (v.33; cf. 2:11), whose worship was centered at Shechem. Baal-Berith means “Baal [or ‘lord’] of the covenant” and may indicate that they had made a covenant with Baal or that Baal was the god who “watches over agreements” (so KB, s.v.). The deity is called “El-Berith” in 9:46, providing an interesting interchange between the head of the pantheon, El, and his more famous son, Baal. (Wolf, H. (1992). Judges. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel (Vol. 3, p. 436). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
8:33–35. As though they had been waiting for it with expectancy, Gideon’s death triggered Israel’s immediate return to idolatry (cf. 2:19). Instead of worshiping Yahweh with thanksgiving for all His deliverances, they set up Baal-Berith as their god, who had a central shrine at Shechem (9:3–4) where he was also worshiped as El-Berith (9:46). Their accompanying failure to show gratitude to the family of Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon; cf. 6:32; 7:1; 8:29) may have accounted for the apparent ease with which his sons were soon slain by Abimelech (9:5). (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. 396). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
8:30, 31 many wives. Gideon fell severely into the sin of polygamy, an iniquity tolerated by many but which never was God’s blueprint for marriage (Ge 2:24). Abimelech, a son by yet another illicit relationship, grew up to be the wretched king in Jdg 9. Polygamy always resulted in trouble. (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Jdg 8:30). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
8:33–35 Baal-Berith means “Baal of the Covenant,” an ironic contrast to the covenant God of Israel whom the Israelites should have been worshiping. This god is also called “El-Berith” (9:46). (Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson’s new illustrated Bible commentary (p. 319). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.)
Ver. 33. And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, &c.] From God, and the pure worship of him, to idolatry: and went a-whoring after Baalim; the gods of the Phœnicians and Canaanites, the several Baals of other nations, the lords many which they served; these they committed spiritual whoredom with; that is, idolatry: particularly and made Baal-berith their god; which was the idol of the Shechemites, as appears from a temple being built at Shechem for it, ch. 9:5 and had its name either from Berytus, a city of Phœnicia, of which Mela and Plinyo make mention, and where this Baal might be first worshipped; it was 400 furlongs from Sidon, and was in after-times a seat of learning; of this city was Sanchoniatho, a Phœnician historian, who is said to receive many things he writes about the Jews from Jerombalus, supposed to be Jerubbaal, or Gideon; see the note on ch. 6:32. and who tells us, that Cronus or Ham gave this city to Neptune and the Cabiri, and who also relatesr that Beruth is the name of a Phœnician deity. Though it may be rather this idol had its name from its supposed concern in covenants, the word Berith signifying a covenant; and so the Targum and Syriac version call him the lord of covenant; and the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions are, “and they made a covenant with Baal, that he should be their god;” as if he had his name from hence; though rather from his presiding over covenants, as Janus is said to do, and from his avenging the breach of them, and rewarding those that kept them; the same with Jupiter Fidius Ultor, and Sponsort with the Romans, and Horcius with the Greeks. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 2, p. 325). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
33. Baal-berith, the covenant Baal; so called from his being considered the deity that presided over compacts, leagues, and covenants (9:46). In the political organization of ancient Canaan, “several contiguous cities were leagued for their mutual interests in a bond of Confederacy, their center of union being a temple of Baal—called from that circumstance Baalberith, lord of the league, as Jupiter federalis among the Greeks and Romans” (see on 2:13). (Welton, D. M. (1931). The Book of Judges (p. 50). The American Baptist Publication Society.)
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!!)
Isaiah 53 When Christians suffer, they are tempted to resent God, to wonder: “Why me?!” If God is all good and all powerful, why must His children suffer? The answer to that question is difficult –and not totally satisfying to the finite mind. Jesus maintains His credibility, however, in that He readily suffered for us all—suffering more than He will ever ask of us. Why must God’s children suffer? We don’t know. What we do know is that God was willing to suffer for us. He asks nothing of us that He was not willing to do for us. (Quiet Walk)
THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Genesis 1:1
We say we want to worship God and to know Him; so the first thought that comes to our minds is the existence of God, because, as we all know full well, there are many people who tell us they do not believe in it. It is not so much that we are concerned with them and their arguments as that, from our own standpoint, it is essential that we should be clear in our thinking about this subject.
The Bible does not argue about the existence of God–it declares it. The Bible does not give us any proofs of the existence of God–it assumes it. Take that opening phrase of the Bible. Genesis does not start by saying, “Well, by the following proofs we establish the existence of God, and because He was existent, we establish that at the beginning He created….” Not at all! “In the beginning God created….” It just states His existence and His being.
Some theological books present a number of “proofs” of the being and existence of God. There is the so-called cosmological argument, which is an argument from nature: Every effect has a cause. Then there is the argument from order and design, called the teleological argument, which says that everything leads up to something–that is clearly evident. Then there is the moral argument, which concludes that our awareness of good and bad, our sense of right and wrong, point to the existence of a moral God.
Now what the Bible teaches about such arguments is that they can never create faith. They are useful in a negative sense, but they will never lead to faith; and according to the Scriptures, no one can believe in God without faith, without the inward work of the Holy Spirit that leads to faith.
A Thought to Ponder: The Bible does not argue about the existence of God–it declares it. (From God the Father, God the Son pp. 48-49. By Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
Genesis 39
Joseph resists the advances of Potiphar’s wife.
INSIGHT: Mark Twain once wrote: “Always do right. It will gratify some and astonish the rest.” While we smile at that, there are greater reasons for doing right.
Joseph is a good example. When he resisted the advances of Potiphar’s wife, Joseph set himself on the road to the throne of Egypt. Had he given in, Joseph would have set himself on the road to ruin.
Always do right. There is more at stake than you might think. (Quiet Walk)
A Legacy of Acceptance
Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.
Romans 15:7
In his book Breaking Down Walls, Glen Kehrein writes about climbing to the roof of his college dorm in Chicago after the assassination of civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. “The sound of gunfire bounced eerily back and forth off the large buildings, and soon my rooftop perch provided a near panoramic, yet horrific, view. . . . How in the world did I get from a Wisconsin cornfield to a war zone in the inner city of Chicago in less than two years?” Compelled by his love for Jesus and people whose backgrounds were different from his, Glen lived on Chicago’s West Side and led a ministry there that provided food, clothing, shelter, and other services until his death in 2011.
Glen’s life mirrors the efforts of believers in Jesus who’ve come to grips with the need to embrace those who are different from themselves. Paul’s teaching and example helped Roman believers see that God’s plan to rescue wayward humanity included Jews and gentiles (Romans 15:8-12). Believers are called to follow His example of acceptance of others (v. 7); prejudice and discord have no place among those called to glorify God with “one mind and one voice” (v. 6). Ask God to help you cross barriers and break down walls and to warmly embrace everyone, regardless of their differences. Let’s strive to leave behind a legacy of acceptance.
By Arthur Jackson (Our Daily Bread)
IN CHRIST
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1 Corinthians 15:22
Paul draws a contrast between the union of the unbeliever with Adam and the union of the believer with Christ. This is the greater argument in Romans 5, which is repeated in 1 Corinthians 15:22,49. In Romans 5 the whole argument is that death passed on to all people because of Adam. Why? Because of their relationship to Adam; that is the whole doctrine of original sin. We are all condemned in Adam because of Adam’s sin. He was our representative, he was our federal head; and not only that, we are bound to him, we were in the loins of Adam when he fell. In Adam all died. In Christ all shall be made alive again. That is it. The relationship of the believer to Christ is the same sort of union and relationship as that old relationship of the whole of Adam’s posterity to Adam. We are all born in Adam, and we are related, we are joined in that way. Yes, but being born again, we are in the same sort of relationship to Christ.
Regeneration and union must never be separated. You cannot be born again without being in Christ; you are born again because you are in Christ. The moment you are in Him you are born again, and you cannot regard your regeneration as something separate and think that union is something you will eventually arrive at. Not at all! Regeneration and union must always be considered together and at the same time because the one depends upon the other and leads to the other; they are mutually self-supporting.
There is nothing that so strengthens my faith and fills me with a longing to be pure as He is pure and to live even as He did in this world as the realization of what I am and who I am because I am a Christian. I am a child of God, and I am in Christ.
A Thought to Ponder: Regeneration and union must never be separated.
(From God the Holy Spirit, pp. 104-105, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones)
A Better and an Enduring Substance
“For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” (Hebrews 10:36)
Christians have certain heavenly possessions, and this knowledge helps put our earthly possessions and welfare in proper perspective. Evidently, some to whom this was written had been imprisoned, and others impoverished for their faith. “For ye…took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance” (v. 34). Peter called it “an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:4).
These possessions are attainable; they are not in question; they are ours, given to us by the One whose name is “Truth” (John 14:6) and whose Word is trustworthy. We “know” (Hebrews 10:34) this beyond all doubt.
Furthermore, these possessions are valuable. We must “cast not away therefore [our] confidence, which hath great recompense of reward” (v. 35). With this assurance, we are able to bear up under any suffering or persecution that comes our way (see also Romans 8:18).
Knowledge of these possessions is prescriptive, for it helps us cope with longstanding troubles. In our text, we “have need of patience” to get through them and do “the will of God.” “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh” (James 5:7-8).
Lastly, realization of these possessions is imminent. “For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry” (Hebrews 10:37). “He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20). (JDM, 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.