This morning during my daily bible reading I was struck by this pattern in Judges 20. If you're not familiar with Judges 20 or the book of Judges at all, one of the things that is consistent in Judges is this phrase, "In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes."
Throughout the book of Judges we see the Israelites doing "what they thought was right in their own eyes." They don't remember the great acts of God's deliverance nor do they obey any of his commands. They set up idols in place of God and each person has their own set of morality. Right and wrong is subjective. Truth is relative. Sound familiar?
The part of this chapter that directed me to the phrase above was this passage:
Judges 20:13
"Now turn those wicked men of Gibeah over to us so that we may put them to death and purge the evil from Israel."
This is the first instance in Judges(since Joshua) that we see the people of Israel grieved over sin and ready to take action to cleanse themselves of impurity so that they will remain in the land. Earlier in Israel's history God told the people of Israel that they could and would remain in the land as long as they obeyed Him. The blessing of God upon the land of Israel was directly proportional to their obedience and love for God (Dt. 29:1-29, 30:1-10; Jud. 2).
The rest of the chapter plays out with the Benjamites refusing to hand over the wicked men and going to war with the rest of Israel. Israel seeks God's guidance about what to do and eventually defeats Benjamin bringing to justice the wicked men of Gibeah. However, the most striking portion of this chapter is perhaps the section between Judges 20:29-36.
The army of Israel sought God for guidance about whether or not they should fight against Benjamin. They even asked who should be in front leading the charge. And on the first day Israel was defeated. Israel went back to seek God and ask again, "shall we go up again to fight against the Benjamites, our fellow Israelites"(Jud 20:23)? God tells them to go up against them. Israel goes out and again they are defeated. Again Israel goes before God to seek Him. Again God tells them to go up because He will allow them to defeat the Benjamites. So the Israelites obey doing what God says, despite the previous two days of defeat and massive casualties(over 40,000 men). However, because the Israelites persistently sought God and obeyed Him, the were given victory.
This really made think about my own life and how in times past I've sought God for guidance and direction. I've prayed and asked God to reveal Himself and allow me to feel His presence. But I wonder how many times I gave up too soon. How many times did I allow the circumstances of my life and my emotions to deter me from continuing to seek God.
I think this is something we all do. When faced with difficult circumstances we give up seeking God. God doesn't give us the answer we want when when want so we stop asking. We try and do things ourselves and hope that things will go our way. So some things to think about...
Reflective Questions:
1. Have I given up seeking God too soon?
2. Am I willing to continue seeking God even when things don't seem to be going well?
3. How can I persevere in seeking and obeying God?
4. Would the support of other believers help me persevere? (Jud 20:22)
5. How can other believers support and encourage me to trust and obey God?
Additional Reading:
The part of this chapter that directed me to the phrase above was this passage:
Judges 20:13
"Now turn those wicked men of Gibeah over to us so that we may put them to death and purge the evil from Israel."
This is the first instance in Judges(since Joshua) that we see the people of Israel grieved over sin and ready to take action to cleanse themselves of impurity so that they will remain in the land. Earlier in Israel's history God told the people of Israel that they could and would remain in the land as long as they obeyed Him. The blessing of God upon the land of Israel was directly proportional to their obedience and love for God (Dt. 29:1-29, 30:1-10; Jud. 2).
The rest of the chapter plays out with the Benjamites refusing to hand over the wicked men and going to war with the rest of Israel. Israel seeks God's guidance about what to do and eventually defeats Benjamin bringing to justice the wicked men of Gibeah. However, the most striking portion of this chapter is perhaps the section between Judges 20:29-36.
The army of Israel sought God for guidance about whether or not they should fight against Benjamin. They even asked who should be in front leading the charge. And on the first day Israel was defeated. Israel went back to seek God and ask again, "shall we go up again to fight against the Benjamites, our fellow Israelites"(Jud 20:23)? God tells them to go up against them. Israel goes out and again they are defeated. Again Israel goes before God to seek Him. Again God tells them to go up because He will allow them to defeat the Benjamites. So the Israelites obey doing what God says, despite the previous two days of defeat and massive casualties(over 40,000 men). However, because the Israelites persistently sought God and obeyed Him, the were given victory.
This really made think about my own life and how in times past I've sought God for guidance and direction. I've prayed and asked God to reveal Himself and allow me to feel His presence. But I wonder how many times I gave up too soon. How many times did I allow the circumstances of my life and my emotions to deter me from continuing to seek God.
I think this is something we all do. When faced with difficult circumstances we give up seeking God. God doesn't give us the answer we want when when want so we stop asking. We try and do things ourselves and hope that things will go our way. So some things to think about...
Reflective Questions:
1. Have I given up seeking God too soon?
2. Am I willing to continue seeking God even when things don't seem to be going well?
3. How can I persevere in seeking and obeying God?
4. Would the support of other believers help me persevere? (Jud 20:22)
5. How can other believers support and encourage me to trust and obey God?
Additional Reading:
- Jeremiah 29:11-14
- Deuteronomy 4:25-31
- 1 Chronicles 22:19
New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Jdg 17:6.
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