JUDGES 19:1-20:48
OUTRAGEOUS SIN: Moral degeneration followed their religious degeneration. When a Levite priest travelled to retrieve his concubine from her father, he spent the night with a Benjamite in Gibeah. During the night, a gang of men ("sons of Belial" - perverted men), demanded to have the priest! Instead, the host gave them the priest's concubine. They raped her all night and left her dead on the man's doorstep. The Levite took her home, cut her corpse into 12 pieces and sent one to each tribe. All who saw it said they have never seen such an evil thing in their lives! And so 400,000 of them gathered "from Dan to Beer-sheba" to fight against the Benjamites.
CIVIL WAR: Political degeneration. They demanded that Benjamin give up the Gibeanites and Benjamin sent out 26,000 to war against them. Day #1 - 22,000 Israelites killed. Day #2 - 8,000 Israelites killed. Day #3 - Israel set an ambush and drew the men of the city outside - and killed 25,100 Benjamites - leaving only 900 men in the whole tribe! While 600 of those hid, Israel destroyed the rest of the tribe in a blind fury.
RESPONSE: They are degenerating from evil to evil. Phinehas is still High Priest, so this all happened SOON after Joshua's death! But, it gets worse! Confusion and anarchy and ruin - a downhill course. When we live independent from God and rely on self-effort, we are left to do what WE think is right - anarchy! Yet, it happens so often. "Doing the right thing" is NOT an option. Obeying God is our only answer.
JOHN 3:22-4:3
THE SECRET OF JOY: "He must increase, but I must decrease". The truth was that John's crowd of followers was dwindling because they were leaving him to follow Jesus now. But this gave John JOY because this was the fulfillment of his ministry. Putting Jesus FIRST is the secret of joy! (v.29)
MORE SECRETS: Jesus comes from "above" or "heaven". God had already given "all things into His hand." And that includes "Life" as opposed to "wrath".
RESPONSE: When the Bible uses the term "eternal life", or "everlasting life", the word for "life" is Gr: zoe - which is life in the absolute sense, which Jesus manifested in the world. Other Greek words are bios - which is biological life. And psuche which refers to a man's soul-life, his personality, his inner life. Along with zoe, often the word "the" is added, for "the life". This is referring to the life I enter NOW by faith, a quality of life. It's distinguishing characteristics are fullness of life, unrestrained by human-ness, and a connection with God as we live in our eternal life NOW. Wowza! All that and heaven too!
PSALM 104:24-35
ALL LIFE COMES FROM GOD AS ITS SOURCE. Outside of God is only death. God gives; we gather it up. God opens His hand; we have our fill. God hides His face, we are dismayed. V.30 is significant because it shows the Holy Spirit hovering the earth - like a brooding bird keeping it warm and bringing forth life. "The Lord shall rejoice in His works". Just think, God can look at all He made all at once and any time He wants to! No wonder He is happy!
PROVERBS 14:22-24
The ones who plan evil, will themselves go astray. The ones who plan good, will receive mercy and truth, and thus stay on the "straight and narrow".
Less talk and more work.
Foolishness in - foolishness out.
RESPONSE: Our success in living as Christians depends on meditating the Word of God (Josh 1:8). Meditating keeps the Word of God in front of me, regardless of the bludgeoning of the world, my circumstances, or the devil. Our lives depend on it. Complaining is negative meditation. It also documents character defects and is evidence of ingratitude and unbelief.
No comments:
Post a Comment