Tag: Gideon

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Judges Devotionals

When we forget

Never forget the cross

When Gideon died, the Israelites turned and prostituted themselves by worshiping the Baals and made Baal-berith their god.

The Israelites did not remember the Lord their God who had rescued them from the hand of the enemies around them. (Judges 8:33-34)

Those verses epitomize the problem with the Israelites in the book of Judges: they so quickly forgot God’s grace and mercy to them.

For that matter, they didn’t seem to realize where their blessings came from in the first place, giving credit to Gideon for their salvation. (22)

The result? No heart of love and gratitude to the God who saved them.

It’s so easy to lose our first love for God when we forget the love and grace he has shown us, when we lose our gratitude and joy for all he has done for us.

Father, let me never forget or take for granted the love and grace you have shown me.

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Bible Original Judges Devotionals

What’s important

I am with you

The LORD is with you, valiant warrior.” (Judges 6:12)

Lord, let me not be a spiritual wimp, but a valiant warrior for you.

What’s important is not how strong I am or what my pedigree is.

What’s important is that you’re with me.

And you’re sending me into spiritual battle to set those I love free from the Enemy.

I am not competent in myself to accomplish anything. You make me competent. (2 Corinthians 3:5)

And your strength is made perfect in my weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

So help me to remember what’s important and run to the battle.

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Judges Devotionals

The gentleness and humility of wisdom

Judges

Who among you is wise and understanding? By his good conduct he should show that his works are done in the gentleness (humility, NIV) that comes from wisdom. (James 3:13)

I couldn’t help think but think of those words (and all of James 3) as I read this passage.

True wisdom in a teacher or a leader of any sort is shown by that person’s gentleness and humility, both in their actions and their words.

Gideon showed great gentleness and humility with the Ephraimites (Judges 8:1-3).

But as for the rest of the chapter, not so much.

Instead he was wrapped up with desires of revenge for how people had treated him (4-17) and how they had treated his family (18-21).

Gideon also got caught up in his own selfish ambition (22-32).

Even in rejecting the Israelites request that he become their king, he acted like one, asking for the people’s gold, and taking on many wives like the kings of the times.

And despite his pious words of God being king and Israel serving him, he made an ephod (Exodus 28:3-8) for himself, and basically set up his own place of worship with himself as a priest. As a result, he turned many people away the Lord.  (27).

As James said,

Such wisdom does not come down from above but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. (James 3:15)

Gideon was a spring from which both fresh and salt water flowed through his actions as well as his words. (James 3:11)

May we not be that way. As leaders in our families, at work, at church, or whatever position of leadership we may hold, let us be marked by the humility and gentleness that comes from wisdom. What does that look like?

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without pretense.

And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who cultivate peace. (James 3:17-18)

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Judges Devotionals

Yahweh-shalom

Judges

Lord, you are Yahweh-shalom.

I am not worthy to stand before you and see your face. I deserve to die because of my sin.

But you look at me in love, and say, “Peace to you. Don’t be afraid. You will not die. You will live. Now go. I am sending you. I will be with you. You have peace with me. Now bring my peace to those who are oppressed by the Enemy.”

Like Gideon, I am weak. I am nothing. But you delight to use what is insignificant and despised in the world—what is viewed as nothing to bring about your salvation. (1 Corinthians 1:26-31)

So, Yahweh-shalom, here am I. Send me.

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Judges Devotionals

The Lord is peace

Judges

I’ve been preparing a message on Luke 2 for my church, so I couldn’t help but notice some parallels between this story and the story of the shepherds.

As with Gideon, the shepherds must have been wondering why God had abandoned Israel. They were under Roman occupation, and even worse, God had not spoken to them in over 400 years.

But just as the angel told Gideon, “God is with you,” the angel told the shepherds, “Immanuel is born! God is truly with you!”

Gideon and the shepherds are also both told, “Do not be afraid.”

The angels also gave both of them a sign showing God’s favor to them.

Most importantly, in both cases, God then proclaims peace to his people.

Gideon, in fact, says, “Yahweh is peace.”

Hundreds of years later, the prophet Micah would say of Messiah, “He is our peace.”  (Micah 5:5)

So this Christmas season, whatever trials you may be facing, remember:

Don’t be afraid. God has shown his favor to us in his Son. And through his Son, we now have peace with God.

More than that, Jesus himself is our peace.

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Hebrews

When we trust God

Hebrews

Have you ever noticed the people that the writer of Hebrews mentions as “paragons” of faith in verse 32? Most of them were hardly paragons.

Samuel, though he was a great judge and prophet, failed greatly when it came to raising his sons.

And while David was the greatest king in Israel’s history, he stumbled badly twice, once in his sin with Bathsheba, and once in counting his fighting men out of his pride.

Yet at least for the most part, these were good and faithful men.

The rest?

Most people when they think about Gideon only think about his triumph over the Midianites. But after that, his actions were hardly stellar.

He took vengeance on two cities that refused to help him in his fight against the Midianites.

Then, although he refused kingship, he nevertheless started to act like one taking multiple wives, and even naming his son Abimelech which means, “My father is king.”

More, he made a golden ephod which was usually a garment that priests used for consulting God. So it almost looks like he was trying to take on that duty as well.

Worse, the people started to worship that ephod and it became a snare to him and his family.

Barak? He refused to go to war against Israel’s oppressors unless Deborah the prophetess went with him.

Samson? Sure he brought a measure of deliverance to the Israelites from the Philistines. But he broke all his Nazirite vows in the process, drinking wine, touching dead carcasses, and allowing his hair to be cut.

More, he was sexually immoral and vindictive. The fact that he delivered the Israelites seemed more incidental than intentional on his part.

Jephthah? By a foolish vow he made, he either unintentionally was forced to put his daughter into the service of the Lord, never to marry or have children, or he actually sacrificed his daughter on an altar, completely contrary to the commands of God.

Why in the world, are these latter 4 mentioned as paragons of faith?

Maybe for the simple reason that they are not paragons.

They were ordinary sinners just like us. They did many awful things. But when they actually did put their trust in God, they did awesome things.

What can we learn from them? God can use you to do great things if you’ll just trust in him day to day.

But when you fail to do so, you are also capable of doing horrific things.

How people will look at you at the end of your life will greatly depend on how you live.

Will you consistently, day in and day out, put your trust in God? Then people will look at you as they do with Daniel and his friends. As men that shut the mouths of lions and quenched the fury of the flames.

But if you are one day trusting him, and one day living for yourself, you’ll find yourself with the legacy of a Samson or Gideon. People who accomplished great things when trusting God but making an utter of mess of things when they didn’t.

Which will you choose?