One Year Bible, April 25

JUDGES 4:1-5:31                                                                                               
HERE WE GO AGAIN! Ehud is dead, so Israel did "THE evil". This time God sold them to "Jabin", whose name means "mind of the flesh", "intelligent".  Jabin was the "king of Canaan". "Canaan" means "to oppress or humiliate". The king of Canaan can symbolize the natural mind, but not the devil (because we are never told to "kill" a devil.) Rom 8:7 says, "the old sinful nature within us is against God. It never did obey God's laws and it never will." The captain of this antichristian nature within every one of us was named "Sisera". His name had produced fear in Israel for 20 years because of his oppression, his vast army and his 900 chariots of iron.

DEBORAH:  (5:1) Says she was raised up by God to "avenge Israel". The literal translation of that phrase is "when leaders lead."  BARAK: His name means "flashing sword". He has gotten a bad rap because he refused to go to war without her. But, in actuality, I believe he is a picture of the Holy Spirit - our "flashing sword". The Holy Spirit will go WITH us, BEFORE us, BEHIND us, and even HELP us - but that is His function: a paraclete (one called alongside, a helper). Deborah is not mentioned in Hebrews 11, but in 11:32 Barak is, as being a man of faith.  So I don't believe he was a coward. Deborah had a plan, but Barak implemented it and showed great daring.

AMBUSHMENTS:  Deborah and Barak poised on Mt. Tabor with 10,000 troops.   An unnamed captain gathered troops on Mt. Ephraim on the south side of the Jezreel Valley.  When Sisera and his iron chariots reached the Valley of Megiddo, it began raining and then a huge flood washed through the riverbed. That was Deborah's signal to attack!  But who actually ambushed the enemy?  5:20 says "they fought from heaven: the stars in their courses fought against Sisera." and 5:4 says that "God marched" and "the earth trembled".

JAEL:   After luring Sisera into her tent, she fed him milk and "butter in a lordly dish". When he fell asleep, she killed him with a hammer and nail (through the skull). 5:27 says, "At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: at her feet he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead."   A three-fold victory: body, soul and spirit.

HOW TO DEFEAT THE ENEMY: Reuben, Gad and Asher valued their possessions more than their brethren and were rebuked for not fighting.   Zebulon and Naphtali "jeoparded their lives unto the death", exposing themselves to great danger in battle. (5:18 and Rev 12:11). By NOT loving their own lives, they got a great victory, even against iron chariots!  Our natural way of thinking has to be handled with a hammer and a  nail - crucify it!  Then don't be afraid to fight.  Just remember who/what it is that you are fighting against.

RESPONSE:   It was a situation where it was all or nothing. GOD FOUGHT FOR THEM. There is no question that heaven intervened when they OBEYED. Sometimes it takes great courage to obey God - especially when going against our own minds, our own reasonings, what seems logical and right. But it is good, and right, and safe to believe God and to trust Him.

LUKE 22:35-53                                                                                                        

SELL YOUR SHIRT AND BUY A SWORD:   Expect trouble. Forewarned is forearmed. Two swords for 12 people - some people are so literal! The times would be perilous, and unbeknownst at that minute, all 12 would die as martyrs.  Jesus never intended for them to USE those swords - as Peter did in the garden.  Jesus had to heal the servant whose ear Peter lobbed off!

PRAY UNTIL YOU BLEED!  What was all this praying for?   Was Jesus really trying to get God to change His mind? NO!  Jesus knew when He came as a baby that His death on a cross was already planned (Heb 10:5).  BUT, just as He warned the disciples, "Pray God that you will not fall when you are tempted." In the other Gospels He said, "the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak".

RESPONSE:  Don't pray for ESCAPE.  That is pagan in nature and is not the way of the cross. But pray that you will obey God when you are afraid. Pray that you will obey God when everything in you wants to quit or run. Pray that you won't back down from laying down your life, your plans, your indulgences.

PSALM 94:1-23                                                                                                        
FOOLS: One whose carnal nature outweighs his spiritual nature and so he cannot discern spiritual things. He is so foolish as to think that God doesn't necessarily see and hear everything!

ENEMIES:  The natural mind and the world system. The enemy despises God and does not fear His vengeance. (Rom 8:7) They are bloodthirsty, blasphemous oppressors. The punitive judicial rule of God over the heathen is an undeniable fact. He who chastens nations will also punish the oppressors. He who teaches knowledge, knows the thoughts of man. I am my own worst enemy sometimes.

RESPONSE:   The world thinks God doesn't care because He delays judgment.  Actually God DOES care, and so He leaves time and space for people to repent.  It is IMPOSSIBLE for God to "forsake His inheritance." (us). "In the multitude of my thoughts within me, thy comforts delight my soul." "Thoughts" is "my distracting and perplexed thoughts". The picture is of the top of a tall tree that is being whipped back and forth by the wind. These are conflicting thoughts. God's comforts "intensely delight" or "rejoice" or "make me deliriously happy" (Rose translation). When I think about Jesus, and all He's done for me, and all His faithfulness to me, and all His wonderfulness to me....sometimes I have to run outside and yell!

PROVERBS 14:3-4                                                                                            

THE STRENGTH OF AN OX: This is the strength to go the distance, endurance. This is what is needed to bring in the harvest. Joshua and Caleb were as strong at 85 years old, as they were at 40! Isa 40:31 says that this kind of strength is obtained by waiting on the Lord so we don't faint or grow weary. As we WAIT (aggressively hold our minds steady through praise and thanksgiving) we grow stronger and stronger. Strong enough to get the job done.