Posts Tagged ‘religion’


Under Gods Command
Proverbs 23:19-21 Listen, my son and be wise, and keep your heart on the right path. Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.

Over drinking or overeating will make you poor. Young men are especially vulnerable to these temptations, as most any American college fraternity will prove. Solomon, the wise Preacher and father, warned his son against these two evils and their destructive effects on a man’s career and finances. America, the land of plenty and then some, is a prime breeding ground for both of these corrupting excesses. Let every young man beware!

Consider the context. The inspired father asked his son to hear, be wise, and choose what is right (23:19). He warned him against drunkards and gluttonous eaters (23:20). He also exhorted his son to honor both parents (23:22), put a priority on wisdom (23:23), and to consider the great joy a wise life could give his parents (23:24-25). So great is the danger of these foolish, youthful lusts, he forbad even associating with such sinners (23:20).

Young men think drunkenness is cool – because they are childish, foolish, and ignorant (22:15). They actually boast about getting sick and puking on themselves! They revel in how long their hangovers last! But the great God considers it sinful and stupid. Drinking until you are drunk is a sin against heaven (1 Cor 6:9-11); (Gal 5:19-21; Eph 5:18), and it is stupid for the painful consequences such drinking brings (23:29-35; 31:4-5).


Under Gods Command
Disobedience and defeat

Judges 4:3 Because he had nine hundred iron chariots and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the LORD for help.

After 20 years of unbearable circumstances, the Israelites finally cried to the LORD for help. But God should be the first place we turn when we are facing struggles or dilemmas. The Israelite’s chose to go their own way and got into a mess.

Lets bring it home: We often do the same. Trying to control our own lives without God’s help leads to struggle and confusion. By contrast, when we stay in daily contact with the LORD, we are less likely to create painful circumstances for ourselves. This is a lesson the Israelites never fully learned. When struggles come our way, God wants us to come to him first, seeking his strength and guidance.


Under Gods Command
Disobedience and defeat

Judges 4:1-3 After Ehud died, the Israelites once again did evil in the eyes of the LORD. So the LORD sold them into the hands of Jabin, a King of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth Haggoyim. Because he had nine hundred iron chariots and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the LORD for help.

Israel sinned “in the eyes of the LORD. “Our sins harm both others, and ourselves but all sin is ultimately against God because it disregards his commands and his authority over us. When confessing his sin David prayed, “Against you, you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight” (Psalm 51:4). Recognizing the seriousness of sin is the first step toward removing it from our lives.

This is the only time during the period of the judges when the Israelites enemies came from within their land. The Israelites had failed to drive out all the Canaanites. These Canaanites had regrouped and were attempting to restore their lost power. If the Israelites had obeyed God in the first place and had driven the Canaanites from the land, this incident would not have happened.

Chariots were the tanks of the ancient world. Made of iron or wood, they were pulled by one or two horses and were the most feared and powerful weapons of the day. Some chariots even had razor-sharp knives extending from the wheels designed to mutilate helpless foot soldiers. The Canaanite army had 900 iron chariots. Israel was not powerful enough to defeat such an invincible army. Therefore, Jabin and Sisera had no trouble oppressing the people-until a faithful woman named Deborah called upon God.


Under Gods Command
Proverbs 23:17-18- Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD. There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.

How easy it is to envy those who get ahead unhampered by Christian responsibility or God’s laws. For a time they do seem to get ahead without paying any attention to what God wants. But to those who follow him, God promises a hope and a wonderful future even if we don’t achieve it in this life.


Under Gods Command
Disobedience and defeat

Judges 3:12, 15-21, 30
12Once again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and because they did this evil the LORD gave Eglon King of Moab power over Israel.

15-21: Again the Israelites cried out to the Lord, and he gave them deliverer-Ehud, a left handed man, the son of Gera the Benjamite. The Israelites went him with tribute to Eglon King of Moab. Now Ehud had made a double-edge sword about a foot and a half long, which he strapped to his right thigh under his clothing. He presented the tribute to Eglon King of Moab, who was a very fat man. After Ehud had presented the tribute, he sent on their way the men who had carried it. At the idols near Gilgal he himself turned back and said, “I have a secret message for you, O King.” The king said, “Quiet!” And all his attendants left him. Ehud then approached him while he was sitting alone in the upper room of his summer palace and said, “I have a message from God for you.” As the King rose from his seat, Ehud reached with his left hand, drew the sword from his right thigh and plunged it into the Kings belly. Even the handle sank in after the blade, which came out his back. Ehud did not pull the sword out, and the fat closed in over it.

30: That day Moab was made subject to Israel, and the land had peace for eighty years.

Ehud is called a deliverer. In the broadest sense, all the judges can be looked upon as foreshadowing the perfect Deliverer, Jesus Christ While Ehud delivered Israel from its enemies, Jesus delivers us from sin, our greatest enemy.

This unusual story demonstrates how God can use us just the way he made us. Being left-handed in Ehud’s day was considered an exceptional ability. Many Benjaminites were left-handed (see 20:16), making them highly specialized troops, able to use a sling or bow with tactics designed to repel right-handed warriors. Eglon’s bodyguard never checked Israel’s messengers for left-handed weapons. But God used Ehud’s overlooked ability to give Israel victory.

Lets bring it home: Let God use you the way you are to accomplish his work. The enemies we face are as real as Ehud’s, but they are most often within ourselves. The battles we fight are not against other people but against the power of sin. We need God’s help in doing battle against sin. We also need to remember that he has already won the war. He has defeated sin at the cross of his Son, Jesus. His help is the cause of each success, and his forgiveness is sufficient for each failure.


Under Gods Command
Proverbs 18.21 The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Satan uses the tongue to divide people and pit them against one another. Idle and hateful words are damaging because they spread destruction quickly, and no one can stop the results once they are spoken. We dare not be carless with what we say thinking we can apologize later, because even if we do, the scars remain. A few words spoken in anger can destroy a relationship that took years to build. Before you speak, remember that words are like fire-you can neither control nor reverse the damage they can do.

 


Under Gods Command
Disobedience and defeat

Judges 3:10-11 The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, so that he became Israel’s judge and went to war. The LORD gave Cushan-Rishathaim King of Aram into the hands of Othniel who overpowered him. So the land had peace for forty years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died.

Othniel was Israel’s first judge. In 1:13 we read that he volunteered to lead an attack against a fortified city. Here he was to lead the nation back to God. Othniel had a rich spiritual heritage-his uncle was Caleb, a man with unwavering faith in God (Numbers 13:30; 14:24). Othniel’s leadership brought the people back to God and freed then from the oppression of the King of Aram, Naharaim. But after Othniel’s death, it didn’t take the Israelites long to fall back into their neighbors’ comfortable but sinful ways.

Lets bring it home: The Holy Spirit is available to all believers today, but he will come upon believers in an extraordinary way for special tasks. We should ask the Holy Spirit’s help as we face our daily problems as well as life challenges


Under Gods Command
Proverbs 17:17 – A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

What kind of friend are you? There is a vast difference between knowing someone well and being a true friend. The greatest evidence of genuine friendship is loyalty, being available to help in times of distress or personal struggles. Too many people are fair-weather friends. They stick around when the friendship helps them and leave when they’re not getting anything out of the relationship. Think of your friends and assess your loyalty to them. Be the kind of true friend the Bible encourages.


Under Gods Command
Disobedience and defeat

Judges 3:8-9 The Anger of LORD burned against Israel so that he sold them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim King of Aram Naharaim, to whom the Israelites were subject for eight years. But when they cried out to the LORD, he raised up for them a deliverer, Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother who saved them.

Othniel was Israel’s first judge. In 1:13 we read that he volunteered to lead an attack against a fortified city. Here he was to lead the nation back to God. Othniel had a rich spiritual heritage-his uncle was Caleb, a man with unwavering faith in God (Numbers 13:30; 14:24). Othniel’s leadership brought the people back to God and freed then from the oppression of the King of Aram, Naharaim. But after Othniel’s death, it didn’t take the Israelites long to fall back into their neighbors’ comfortable but sinful ways.

Lets bring it home: How many of us, when we win battles by asking other people to pray to for us or even going to God when we need to win a battle forget about Him and go back to our sinful ways after being shown favor.


Under Gods Command
Disobedience and defeat

Judges 3:7 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD; they forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs.

Baal was the most worshiped god of the Canaanites. Most often cast in the form of a bull, he symbolized strength and fertility and was considered the god of agriculture. Asherah was Baal’s female consort, mother goddess of the sea who was worshiped by means of wooden pillars that substituted for sacred trees.

Lets bring it home: It is difficult to imagine the people of Israel trading worship of the Lord for worship of idols of wood, stone, and iron, but we do the same when we forsake worshiping God for other activities, hobbies, or priorities. Our idols are not made of wood or stone but they are every bit a sinful