March 31, 2006 - Judges 11-12 and Luke 6:1-26
This passage in the book of Judges shows us two good examples of what can happen when people are disoriented toward God. Can you think of things you have done, when you were not walking in God's wisdom? Were they pretty dumb? Many times we do very foolish things when we get away from the Lord, and we can think that we are doing the right thing. That is the terrible thing about being disoriented to God.
In chapter 11 we see the people rejecting Jephthah and then calling him back to be their leader in battle, just because he was a brave man of war. They did not pray for God's will and neither did he. I am not saying he was an evil person, but God did not choose him first, the people did. Then, God sent His Spirit to be on him for the battle with Ammon. (v.29) God wanted His people to win the victory, so he enabled them in this case. I think it was the grace of God helping them out, even though they were far from Him. God has to do that all of the time for people. However, the main item of concern to us in this chapter is Jephthah's foolish vow to sacrifice the first thing that came out of his house, if God would give them the victory over Ammon. His daughter was the first thing to come out. He probably thought it would be an animal, but since he had vowed to God, he carried out his vow. (v.39) What a tragedy! This wasn't God's command as it was in the case of Abraham preparing to offer Isaac, but even then, God stopped him from killing his son. I believe Jephthah meant well, but I believe he missed God's will in this case, because he was disoriented to God. We should not keep foolish vows once we see that we have spoken in our own flesh or wisdom. We should correct the error of our own hearts, so that we will not act foolishly again.
Then, chapter 12 tells us of the in-fighting between two tribes of God's people. Jephthah's army of Gilead killed 42,000 men of the tribe of Ephraim just because of jealousy. They were left out of the battle with Ammon, so they were upset. A war ensued, and brother killed brother. Isn't that what happens today in the spiritual realm? Two Christians or two groups of Christians attack each other out of jealousy or some other ungodly reason, and lives are destroyed in the process. This is not God's will. It is the result of being disoriented to God's will and God's ways. Let's stay close to the Lord, and follow His Word. Let's stop fighting each other and fight Satan and his army.
Luke 6 reminds us that Jesus is Lord, and we need to listen to Him to show us what to do in every situation. Today, we have the Holy Spirit to guide us as believers. We don't just read His Word and interpret it the way it seems right to us. We must find His meaning and live by His will. Too many people live by tradition or by what their parents or pastors have taught them, but they have never sought out the Spirit to show them the truth in each situation. Therefore, they miss God's will, as these people missed it in Jesus' time. Look at the sermon Jesus preaches in this chapter. It sounds like the Sermon on the Mount, but this is the Sermon on the Plain. Jesus says some profound things to introduce His message. Blessed are the poor, the hungry, and those who weep and are persecuted. Does that sound like what most people think or believe? No. He says woe to you, if everyone speaks well of you. Is that how most people think? No. We need to surrender to Jesus as Lord and let Him show us how He thinks and show us what to do. We need to let Him show us by the Spirit how to interpret the Bible, so we don't miss His message.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Judges 13-15 and Luke 6: 27-49.
In chapter 11 we see the people rejecting Jephthah and then calling him back to be their leader in battle, just because he was a brave man of war. They did not pray for God's will and neither did he. I am not saying he was an evil person, but God did not choose him first, the people did. Then, God sent His Spirit to be on him for the battle with Ammon. (v.29) God wanted His people to win the victory, so he enabled them in this case. I think it was the grace of God helping them out, even though they were far from Him. God has to do that all of the time for people. However, the main item of concern to us in this chapter is Jephthah's foolish vow to sacrifice the first thing that came out of his house, if God would give them the victory over Ammon. His daughter was the first thing to come out. He probably thought it would be an animal, but since he had vowed to God, he carried out his vow. (v.39) What a tragedy! This wasn't God's command as it was in the case of Abraham preparing to offer Isaac, but even then, God stopped him from killing his son. I believe Jephthah meant well, but I believe he missed God's will in this case, because he was disoriented to God. We should not keep foolish vows once we see that we have spoken in our own flesh or wisdom. We should correct the error of our own hearts, so that we will not act foolishly again.
Then, chapter 12 tells us of the in-fighting between two tribes of God's people. Jephthah's army of Gilead killed 42,000 men of the tribe of Ephraim just because of jealousy. They were left out of the battle with Ammon, so they were upset. A war ensued, and brother killed brother. Isn't that what happens today in the spiritual realm? Two Christians or two groups of Christians attack each other out of jealousy or some other ungodly reason, and lives are destroyed in the process. This is not God's will. It is the result of being disoriented to God's will and God's ways. Let's stay close to the Lord, and follow His Word. Let's stop fighting each other and fight Satan and his army.
Luke 6 reminds us that Jesus is Lord, and we need to listen to Him to show us what to do in every situation. Today, we have the Holy Spirit to guide us as believers. We don't just read His Word and interpret it the way it seems right to us. We must find His meaning and live by His will. Too many people live by tradition or by what their parents or pastors have taught them, but they have never sought out the Spirit to show them the truth in each situation. Therefore, they miss God's will, as these people missed it in Jesus' time. Look at the sermon Jesus preaches in this chapter. It sounds like the Sermon on the Mount, but this is the Sermon on the Plain. Jesus says some profound things to introduce His message. Blessed are the poor, the hungry, and those who weep and are persecuted. Does that sound like what most people think or believe? No. He says woe to you, if everyone speaks well of you. Is that how most people think? No. We need to surrender to Jesus as Lord and let Him show us how He thinks and show us what to do. We need to let Him show us by the Spirit how to interpret the Bible, so we don't miss His message.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Judges 13-15 and Luke 6: 27-49.