Victory! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Judges 5:31,

"So may all your enemies perish, O Lord! But may they who love you be
like the sun when it rises in its strength."

At the end of Deborah's and Barak's victory song is found a curse and
a blessing. A curse is uttered upon those who, horrifically, find
themselves as the enemies of the Lord, while a blessing is called upon
those who love the Lord. This is exactly the scene given us at the end
of the age. In the book of Revelation we read of the cursed
unbelievers who are God's enemies that are cast into a fiery lake of
burning sulfur, while those who love the Lord, those who have
embraced him in faith enter into an eternity of blessings and bliss.

I find a victory song in the form of the worship of the "twenty-four
elders" in Revelation 11:17-18 that points to the disposition of the
enemies of God as well as those who have embraced him in faith:

"We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
the One who is and who was,
because you have taken your great power
and have begun to reign.
The nations were angry;
and your wrath has come.
The time has come for judging the dead,
and for rewarding your servants the prophets
and your saints and those who reverence your name,
both small and great—
and for destroying those who destroy the earth."

A wonderful victory song is shouted in Revelation 19:6-8:

"Hallelujah!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear."

This victory is pointed to in Revelation 22:14-15, "Blessed are those
who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life
and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs,
those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers,
the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood." Paul
speaks of the victory the faithful have as theirs through the
resurrection they look forward to, "When the perishable has been
clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then
the saying that is written will come true: 'Death has been swallowed
up in victory.' 'Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is
your sting?' The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the
law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord
Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:54-57.

John tells us how this ontological victory is had, "This is the
victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that
overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of
God." 1 John 5:4-5.

Deborah and Barak found victory in obedience to the Lord. The Lord's
enemies were vanquished and those who loved the Lord were blessed.
Likewise we find victory over the pull of the world, over sin and over
eternal death through faith! "Faith is the victory."

How I thank God victory comes through faith! If it depended upon my
performance I'd have no hope!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Our compelling Lord - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Judges 5:2,

"When the princes in Israel take the lead, when the people willingly
offer themselves— praise the Lord!"

Often when the Lord takes action in this world he does so through
people. Here in Deborah and Barak's victory song, as they extol
Israel's victory over king Jabin and his army with its commander
Sisera, they acknowledge those who were willing to work in concert
with the Lord. The Lord had commanded the Israelites, through Barak
and ten thousand men from Naptali and Zebulun to vanquish Sisera and
his army. That being accomplished, those who "willingly offer
themselves" are acknowledged in their praise of the Lord.

Clearly, the choice of those who were willing, in an exercise of their
own free will, is something Deborah and Barak praise the Lord for. In
their first call for praise of the Lord it is "when the people willing
offer themselves." In their second call for praise, verse 5:9, Deborah
declares, "My heart is with Israel's princes, with the willing
volunteers among the people. Praise the Lord!" Willing. Willing people
and the willing volunteers among the people - cause for the praise of
the Lord.

In the song, the people of Meroz, a town thought to have been
somewhere just north of Mt. Tabor in the plains of Galilee, were
cursed because they were unwilling to participate in the Lord's
endeavor to vanquish Jabin and Sisera, 5:23. On the other hand Jael, a
Gentile, is honored with a blessing for her action in killing Sisera,
"Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, most
blessed of tent-dwelling women." Judges 5:24.

What amazes me is that the Lord uses people to accomplish what he
desires. Not only this, but he often does so within the framework of
the free will he has endowed man with. Those who choose God and are
willing to give themselves to what the Lord purposes and desires find
themselves the objects of blessing. This song ends with an imprecation
followed by a blessing, "So may all your enemies perish, O Lord! But
may they who love you be like the sun when it rises in its strength."
Judges 5:31.

Certainly the Lord had brought Israel to her knees because of her
idolatry and rebellion against him. Now that he has their attention,
now that they are focused on him, they find within him those things
that prompt them to give themselves to what he wants done. I firmly
believe when we have clarity in our perception of God, it prompts us
to do those things for him we might not otherwise. This is the nature
of what our God is like and why it is he deserves our praise when
others will and act in accordance with his desires and his will. To
know him moves us, compels us to do those things he desires.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Why pain? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Judges 4:1-3,

"After Ehud died, the Israelites once again did evil in the eyes of
the Lord. So the Lord sold them into the hands of Jabin, a king of
Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera,
who lived in Harosheth Haggoyim. Because he had nine hundred iron
chariots and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years,
they cried to the Lord for help."

The Lord had his plans for Israel. Paul enumerates some of these in
Romans 9:4-5, "Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine
glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and
the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the
human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised!" With
these and other purposes he had for Israel, his agenda precluded
Israel from wandering off as a people to go their own way, at least
very far. With the exercise of their own free will the Lord himself
had given them, coupled with a sinful nature that is universal among
all mankind since that fateful day in the garden of Eden, they
inevitably turned in rebellion from him. Repeatedly. His response was
to intervene and bring them back. Make no mistake about the pain
brought their way by the intervention of the Lord. Here we learn this
king of Canaan had a massively equipped military and the oppression he
brought to Israel was cruel.

Certainly the Lord's intervention had an educational element in it,
pointing to the reality that rebelling against God brings painful
judgment. With the white throne judgment we will all face at the end
of the age, he certainly doesn't want anyone to mistake him to be
without a sense of justice. All who read of Israel's history cannot
miss this point. Additionally, as a practical point, the Lord
intervened in the national life of Israel to insure she would be
useful to his purposes, particularly those mentioned by Paul in Romans
9.

Over and over in the book of Judges we read of Israel's turn to
wickedness and over and over we read of pain, misery and suffering the
Lord brought to Israel. Over and over again we read of Israel turning
back to God as they cried out for deliverance from this pain the Lord
brought their way. Here is another typical example, "Once again the
Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and because they did this
evil the Lord gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel... The
Israelites were subject to Eglon king of Moab for eighteen years...
Again the Israelites cried out to the Lord..." Judges 3:12-15.

God not only has an agenda for Israel, God has an agenda for all
peoples of the world and utilizes a similar strategy. His purpose is
to build his kingdom out of folks who live in this life. It is as if
this world were the obstetrics ward of creation. It is within this
life people are brought into being and from these, all who will
embrace him in faith are born again, into his kingdom. In the Lord's
pursuit of this I am reminded of Paul's observation in Romans 8:20-21,
"The creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but
by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation
itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into
the glorious freedom of the children of God." It is when we face the
pain, the frustrations in this life we often reach out to God for help
and deliverance. As we reach, we find him waiting for us with arms
opened wide.

God brings frustration and pain into this life that he might fulfill
what Paul had to say at the Aereopagus in Acts 17:27, "God did this so
that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him,
though he is not far from each one of us."

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!



Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

The Lord uses the unexpected: I'm baffled and still learning - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Judges 4:9,

"...the Lord will hand Sisera over to a woman."

Although Barak is recognized for his faith in Hebrews 11:32, along
with others, and we read in Hebrews 11:38 that, "the world was not
worthy of them", he showed little faith in his commission by God to
destroy king Jabin's army, and its commander, Sisera. The prophetess
and leader of Israel, Deborah, summoned Barak and told him what the
Lord had commanded of him, but Barak flinched and said he would only
go if Deborah went with him. Deborah's response must have been a
disappointment for Barak, "because of the way you are going about
this, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will hand Sisera over
to a woman."

Barak would do all the heavy lifting, and instead of earning the great
honor of doing something great for God, that honor would go to a woman
by the name of Jael, a Gentile, who would deliver the fateful blow to
Sisera. Following the events, to commemorate the day, Deborah composed
a song. In that song, in Judges 5:24-26 we read, "Most blessed of
women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, most blessed of
tent-dwelling women. He asked for water, and she gave him milk; in a
bowl fit for nobles she brought him curdled milk. Her hand reached for
the tent peg, her right hand for the workman's hammer. She struck
Sisera, she crushed his head, she shattered and pierced his temple."

The account is an interesting read and it reveals some interesting
things about how God uses folks in this lost world to accomplish what
he desires. I note that the destruction of Sisera was the Lord's doing
carried out by Jael's hand, who drove a tent peg through his head. But
clearly, the Lord manipulated events such that Sisera's demise was
certain. In verse 4:15 we read of the Lord routing Sisera and setting
up the events that led to his fateful encounter with Jael.

When Sisera was fleeing Barak, who had by now entirely destroyed his
army, Jael went out to meet him. In an act of deceit, Jael tricked
Sisera into taking refuge in her tent. "Don't be afraid", verse 18. He
asked for water but she gave him milk to relax him to sleep, and when
asleep she drove the tent peg through his temple into the ground.

Now, I know there are many people who feel that the Lord would never
allow the methods of someone who would lie, deceive and trick, or even
be associated with Jael's actions in any way. However, her lies, her
deceit, her trickery fulfilled what the Lord committed himself to
accomplish and Jael received the honor for it.

Does this mean the Lord condones lying and deceitfulness? Not at all.
He condemns it. "Do not testify against your neighbor without cause,
or use your lips to deceive." Proverbs 24:28. I am mindful of the
ninth commandment to not lie. Yet, these are the very things employed
by Jael to accomplish what God desired, and she is commended for it in
Deborah's victory song. I have read a number of commentators who have
gone through no end of gyrations in an attempt to make the story into
something other than what we read.

While I am not prepared to explain it away myself, or accept the
attempts of others, I have to confess I remain somewhat perplexed over
it. The observation needs to be made that much of the book of Judges
contain accounts of those who are motivated by ungodly passions
(Samson), whose faith seems to be on life-support (Gideon) and require
conditions to do what God tells them to do (Barak). Yet throughout the
book, while mankind's sinful nature is on vivid display, God acts and
accomplishes all he desires in, among and through those who do not
often reflect his own character and nature.

What I do know is that God's character and nature is pristine, perfect
and without blemish. Our very concept of what is righteous is defined
by his own character and nature and he is entirely and perpetually and
perfectly consistent with it. In him is no wrinkle and no shadow. All
he does and all he accomplishes flow from the posture of his many
perfections.

Somehow, some way, our God of perfection finds a way to accomplish
things through sinful and imperfect people... just like me. Baffling,
isn't it?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

You say you believe? How your faith will be tested - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Judges 3:1,4,

"These are the nations the Lord left to test all those Israelites who
had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan... They were left to
test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the Lord's
commands, which he had given their forefathers through Moses."

Talk is cheap. In discussing the wickedness of man Paul observed,
"Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools..." Romans 1:22.
Lots of folks claim lots of things and just because they lay claim to
something, it doesn't make it necessarily so. When it comes to the
things of God, it best be sincere, genuine and authentic - the "real
deal". Although we read of the power of confession in Romans 10:9-10,
"If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is
with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with
your mouth that you confess and are saved.", be assured the integrity
of that confession will be tested.

The nature of that test lies in the concept that our actions prove our
words, display whether we really have faith. James said, "Show me your
faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do." James
2:18. James isn't saying what he does earns salvation. What he is
saying is the veracity of one's faith is proved in one's actions.
Peter put it this way, "In this [the inheritance of the saints] you
greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to
suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your
faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined
by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and
honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." 1 Peter 1:6-7.

Obeying the Lord's commands does not have as its fulfillment the
proving of our capacity for obedience but something far beyond.
Obeying the Lord's commands is a matter of proving, manifesting
genuine faith. Here is where I part company with some schools of
theology. Whether we are talking about Adam and Eve, the patriarchal
age, Israel's history following the law given through Moses, the time
of Jesus' first visit to mankind or the church age, it is all about
faith. It has always been about faith. As Paul points out, "For in the
gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is
by faith from first to last, just as it is written: 'The righteous
will live by faith.'" By faith from first to last!

Our relationship with God is predicated upon faith and faith will be
tested during opportunities for obedience to God's will. Here is the
reason God left certain nations to "test" Israel. The test was to see
if Israel would obey the Lord's commands and thereby prove or manifest
where their hearts lay. The history of the book of Judges is
represented by the people God raised up as judges or leaders in Israel
and the important contribution they played in communicating the place
of faith in our relationship to God.

The writer of Hebrews points to patriarchs, to the judges of Israel
and the prophets, all the men and women of renown is Israel's history
as those who manifested faith, "Now faith is being sure of what we
hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients
were commended for." Hebrews 11:1-2. In 11:32 we read, "And what more
shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson,
Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets..." specifying those during
the time of the book of Judges when God was looking for faith in his
people. "the world was not worthy of them." Here are some ways these
had their faith tested, "... through faith conquered kingdoms,
administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the
mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge
of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became
powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back
their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to
be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced
jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison.
They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by
the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute,
persecuted and mistreated..." 11:33-37.

When it comes to those difficulties in life as a believer I need to be
mindful that the Lord is proving or testing my faith as well as
developing needed qualities in my life, "Consider it pure joy, my
brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know
that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance
must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not
lacking anything." James 1:2-4. And, Lord knows, I have qualities that
are in sore need of developing...

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Our Creator is speaking to us - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Judges 18:19-20,

"'Come with us, and be our father and priest. Isn't it better that you
serve a tribe and clan in Israel as priest rather than just one man's
household?' Then the priest was glad. He took the ephod, the other
household gods and the carved image and went along with the people."

A man named Micah hired a wandering Levite to be his "father and
priest". Micah had a shrine and had made an ephod and some idols. His
mother also contributed to this enterprise by giving about five pounds
of silver to a silversmith who made it into an image and an idol.
These were placed in Micah's home as well. Now, in this account, five
men from a war party of six hundred from the tribe of Dan in route to
Laish came to Micah's house. After seizing the carved image, the
ephod, the other household gods and the cast idol, they offered this
Levite a great opportunity for his career. "Isn't it better that you
serve a tribe and clan in Israel as priest rather than just one man's
household?" Judges 18:19. They hired him out from under Micah without
his knowledge as they were stealing Micah's idolatrous religious
stuff.

These all are Jews, of whom we are told, "everyone did as he saw fit."
It takes place during a period of time following the passing of both
Moses and Joshua which meant they had abandoned the law, the
tabernacle worship and the appropriate installment of God's own
choosing for a priesthood. Everyone was certainly doing as he saw fit
and what God had given was now replaced.

It is not hard to see the same thing in play today in Christendom.
Folks have set themselves up with positions of authority they have
claimed for themselves. Many have abandoned some or much of Scripture,
turned their backs on apostolic teaching and instituted their own
concept of worship and practice within the church. They are very
enthusiastic in their own defense and castigate those who oppose their
teachings. I like Arno Clement Gaebelein's comment on this passage,
"... The Levite exchanges his ministry for priesthood in the house of
Micah, where the idolatry of the place is sanctified with Jehovah's
name. All this is simple enough to read by those that care, and
Christendom has exhibited every detail of this transformation--not,
alas, as it would seem, a long process: a manufactured priesthood for
manufactured gods, all covered with a fair name of orthodoxy, and men
doing with great satisfaction what is right in their own eyes!"

The human heart is deceptive. Men in their foolishness arrive at their
own perspective on the things of God, apart from what God has revealed
of himself, and then seek to convert the rest of us for the usual
reasons: power, influence, fortune and fame.

The Lord, knowing the capacity of our hearts for deception, has
provided us a clear and authentic library of documents that we might
know the truth, that we might know accurately the things of him, that
we might be equipped to worship him acceptably and serve him
appropriately. I am reminded of Paul's word to Timothy regarding the
Scriptures, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching,
rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of
God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy
3:16-17.

When the church runs off the tracks it is not God's doing, as he has
provided us all we need. "His divine power has given us everything we
need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us
by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very
great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate
in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by
evil desires." 2 Peter 1:3-4. I am ever appreciative of what the Lord
has done for us by revealing himself, his agenda, his purposes, his
truth, his desires for us through the Scriptures. All of it has come
from him through men he raised up for the purpose of providing us his
written record, "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of
Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy
never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as
they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." 2 Peter 1:20-21.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Our "interactive, real-time" God - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Judges 13:1,

"Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord
delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years."

Here we see the Lord actively involved in the national life of Israel.
They acted in a certain way and the Lord responded in a way that
impacted them. In this case, quite severely. In another place we see
Israel act in an entirely different way by turning to the Lord. There
we see the same thing with the Lord responding in a way that impacted
them, "the Israelites said to the Lord, 'We have sinned. Do with us
whatever you think best, but please rescue us now.' Then they got rid
of the foreign gods among them and served the Lord. And he could bear
Israel's misery no longer." Judges 10:15-16. In the account we see the
Lord raised up Jephthah and delivered Israel from the Ammonites who
had oppressed them (again, as a response of the Lord to choices the
people of Israel had made.) Maybe this is an obvious point, as the
Scriptures are full of them. However, I find for myself it is good to
be reminded.

From these accounts we find the Lord very "interactive" with the
nation of Israel. However, as we see in the book of Joshua and many
other places in Scripture, it is not just with the nation of Israel
the Lord is interactive. The wicked nations of Palestine provoked the
ire of the Lord who used Israel to vanquish them. And, don't forget
the flood in Genesis 6-8 where all mankind provoked the Lord into an
action that impacted all in a big way. We read in Jeremiah 18:7-10,
"If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted,
torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its
evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had
planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is
to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does
not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for
it."

It is not just on a world-wide or national level that the Lord is
interactive in "real-time". He is on a personal level with us as well.
In Acts 5 we read of Ananias and Sapphira who lied to the Lord, Acts
5:4 which brought a response from him. In an entirely different way we
see the Lord responding to choices we make, "to all who received him,
to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become
children of God..." John 1:12.

The Lord searches our hearts and responds interactively with the
choices we make. I am reminded of how involved in our lives the Lord
is with verses such as, "We are not trying to please men but God, who
tests our hearts." 2 Thessalonians 2:4. "... he who searches our
hearts ..." Romans 8:27 and "Nothing in all creation is hidden from
God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of
him to whom we must give account." Hebrews 4:13.

Sobering to me and something I need to keep mindful of as a prudent perspective.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

When the wicked call out to God - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Judges 20:18, 23, 28,

"The Lord replied...", "The Lord answered...", "The Lord responded..."

In both Judges 17:6 and 21:25 we read, "In those days Israel had no
king; everyone did as he saw fit." Using those two verses as bookends,
the last four chapters in Judges contain nothing of God save the three
statements referred to above. (There is potentially a fourth in Judges
18:5-6, but I find it questionable as an oddball Levite hired himself
out as a "priest" and claimed to have had word from God.) What we do
find between the two comments of "everyone did as he saw fit" is
theft, idol worship, rejection of the appropriate worship of God in
favor of "rolling your own", total apostasy, genocide against "a
peaceful and unsuspecting people" in Laish, adultery, homosexuality,
offering helpless young women to escape danger and the total disregard
of the welfare of a helpless victim of a gang rape, murder, the
destruction of one of the tribes of Israel and a sleazy maneuver that
provided for the abduction of young girls to avoid the consequences of
failure to fulfill an oath. This is what happens when a people do as
they see fit. And, don't be deceived, it isn't just Israel, it is all
mankind. The Gentile peoples in Palestine at the time were no better.

However, in the three verses above I find something remarkable. In the
midst of depravity, when Israel sought God, they found him. When they
sought his direction, he responded. Right in the midst of this
horrific depravity God answered when they called. Three times (not
counting the occasion in Judges 18:27) we see men inquiring the Lord,
and in one of them weeping before the Lord: Judges 20:18, "The
Israelites went up to Bethel and inquired of God. They said, 'Who of
us shall go first to fight against the Benjamites?' The Lord replied,
'Judah shall go first.'" Judges 20:23, "The Israelites went up and
wept before the Lord until evening, and they inquired of the Lord.
They said, 'Shall we go up again to battle against the Benjamites, our
brothers?' The Lord answered, 'Go up against them.'" Judges 20:27-28,
"The Israelites inquired of the Lord... They asked, 'Shall we go up
again to battle with Benjamin our brother, or not?' The Lord
responded, 'Go, for tomorrow I will give them into your hands.'"

What do I make of this? Did the Israelites deserve to hear from God,
to have him answer them during this dark time of moral and spiritual
decay and depravity? Yet when they called out to God from the
darkness, there was God, he responded. What we find in God is mercy,
kindness and compassion such that the most wicked can call out to him.
And, although God is equally terrifying in his judgment, he
responds... for now.

Why is this? In Romans 3:23-26 we read, "All have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace
through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as
a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to
demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the
sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his
justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who
justifies those who have faith in Jesus." Here is why it is possible
for wicked men to call out to God and find him: Jesus Christ has paid
the penalty for the sins of all mankind for all time. In the days of
the judges it was something in the future looked forward to in the
court of God, and in our day it is something we look back to.

I am not saying these men were "saved" because they looked to God for
direction, but when they did, God responded. Certainly the Lord used
the occasions and events of these dark days in Israel's history to
accomplish his purposes. Additionally, what I find in the Scriptures
is that due to God's love for sinful man and the atonement of Jesus
Christ on that miserable cross due to that love, when wicked men look
to God, they find him.

How thankful I am that the worst of sinners can call out to God and
find him. Were that not so, there would be no hope for me!

As we all are aware, there is a point in time when it will no longer
be so. There will remain only a dreaded certainty of that fiery lake
of burning sulfur for all who have not availed themselves of God's
invitation in the gospel. I am reminded of what Paul told his
listeners at the Areopagus in Acts 17:30-31, "In the past God
overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere
to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with
justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all
men by raising him from the dead."

Now is the time the wicked can call out to God and find him. Tomorrow
may lie beyond this opportunity.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

What life looks like apart from God - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Judges 19:22-30,

"While they were enjoying themselves, some of the wicked men of the
city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they shouted to the
old man who owned the house, 'Bring out the man who came to your house
so we can have sex with him.' The owner of the house went outside and
said to them, 'No, my friends, don't be so vile. Since this man is my
guest, don't do this disgraceful thing. Look, here is my virgin
daughter, and his concubine. I will bring them out to you now, and you
can use them and do to them whatever you wish. But to this man, don't
do such a disgraceful thing.' But the men would not listen to him. So
the man took his concubine and sent her outside to them, and they
raped her and abused her throughout the night, and at dawn they let
her go. At daybreak the woman went back to the house where her master
was staying, fell down at the door and lay there until daylight. When
her master got up in the morning and opened the door of the house and
stepped out to continue on his way, there lay his concubine, fallen in
the doorway of the house, with her hands on the threshold. He said to
her, 'Get up; let's go.' But there was no answer. Then the man put her
on his donkey and set out for home. When he reached home, he took a
knife and cut up his concubine, limb by limb, into twelve parts and
sent them into all the areas of Israel. Everyone who saw it said,
'Such a thing has never been seen or done, not since the day the
Israelites came up out of Egypt. Think about it! Consider it! Tell us
what to do!'"

Disgust, revulsion and plain sorrow are the emotions I feel every time
I read this account. It is difficult to read it and not feel grieved
over it. It strains the imagination to consider how it was possible
"God's people" had sunk to such a decay in morality both in the social
fabric of the day as well as in the hearts and minds of men.

We see an old man coming in from his work in the fields express
compassion to a Levite, his concubine (hey, who needs that "slip of
paper anyway?!") and his servant who needed a place to stay. But then
we learn the act of compassion was really an act of mercy as the men
of the town were homosexual predators looking for victims. Apparently
the old man thought it best to provide them safety from his neighbors
but it turns out the old man and the Levite were all too willing to
throw the old man's virgin daughter and the Levite's live-in-love-in
out the door to save their own skins. Apparently it never crossed the
minds of these two that there might be virtue in dying while defending
themselves and their women. These fine examples of humanity raped and
abused the Levite's concubine so horrifically, she died at the door
after having made her way back to the old man's house. The concern of
the old man and Levite for her safety is documented in how they
couldn't be bothered or disturbed till morning about her safety or
whereabouts. Rather than being concerned with her well-being upon
finding her, the Levite simply told his dead concubine, "Get up! Let's
go!"

No wonder the concubine left the Levite in the first place, returning
home to her father, resulting in the trip in the first place! What
miserable people the men of Gibeah (the town where this took place)
had become. What a miserable person this Levite was. How did this take
place in Israel? How did the people God had chosen for his own sink so
low? Here is the offspring of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, living their
lives in a moral and spiritual decay, such that they look little
different than any of the peoples God had commanded be thoroughly
destroyed due to depravity.

We read in Judges 17:6 that "everyone did as he saw fit". This
observation is a part of the prelude to the story. It is also found at
the conclusion of the larger account in Judges 21:25. This is what
mankind sinks to when they follow their own "best thoughts", their own
devices, when God is forgotten and his word abandoned. Mankind has a
sinful and depraved nature and always, without fail, deteriorates into
the horrific depravity we read of in this account apart from God's
revelation, God's word.

We read in Proverbs 29:18, "Where there is no revelation, the people
cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law." When we
abandon our Bibles as a people there is only one direction a culture
and society goes. It isn't evolution, but devolution into depravity.
Some people who are hostile to God and his word accuse believers of
"pushing religion" on everybody when they stand for the truth. Somehow
that has been defined as something "wrong to do". Our culture is
hurtling toward Gibeah in a mad dash to sink into moral decay and
depravity.

Whenever I have been told by someone (and I have been many times) that
I shouldn't be pushing my religion on others as I point to the
Scriptures, I am reminded that as a society will will live by a
standard of morality, a standard of ethics that has been defined by
someone. Whose definition will the culture embrace? It will be
someone's. Will it be God's? Will it be what comes out of Hollywood?
Will it be what we see on TV? Will it be what godless college
professors are teaching our children in academia? Who are we going to
follow? Are we on our way as a culture, as a society, toward Gibeah?
Or, will we return to God in a critical mass such that our society
escapes such a future the men of Gibeah's past had become?

It is important if you have children, if you have grandchildren.
Imagine seeing them playing in the town square in Gibeah...

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Bizarre people doing bizarre things: the story of Micah - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Judges 17:6,

"In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit."

In the episode of Micah, together with the events that follow, we are
told that "everyone did as he saw fit" twice. Four times we are told
Israel had no king. In two of them it precedes the observation that
"everyone did as he saw fit". Apparently the "no king" included the
Lord as well. He was to have been Israel's king, but the Israelites
spurned the Lord and went their own way. The account beginning in
chapter seventeen is bizarre and startling. The whole book of Judges
begins with what might be considered a low point in Israel's history
and spirals downhill from there. By the end of the book we find the
Israelites at an horrific stage of depravity. The whole of it treats
us to a view of what happens when God's word is lost along the way.

Micah's story begins with him, his mother, one of his sons and a young
Levite. All of these people are bizarre, misguided, misfits, and badly
mistaken about the things of God. Micah's mother blessed her thieving
son who had stolen 28 pounds of silver from her. Having confessed and
returned the money to her, she consecrated the silver to the Lord for
her son to make a "carved image and a cast idol." Just the thing to do
when you are doing as you "see fit". Although the Lord had condemned
such actions and behavior and had even instituted capital punishment
for such an evil thing, it must have seemed like just the thing to do
for this man and his mother from Ephraim. Following this, Micah
"installed" one of his own sons as his priest. Did I mention how
bizarre and mistaken these people were about the things of God? Not
content with that, Micah next hired a wandering "young Levite" to be
his "father and priest", Judges 17:10-12. This apparently seemed like
such a great idea to the fighting men of Dan, they sought out the
Lord's direction by consulting Micah's newly installed in-house
version of a priest. Did I mention how bizarre and mistaken these
people were about the things of God?

The motivation for all of this bizarre behavior stemmed from something
that has been felt by all humanity from the garden of Eden till today.
This motivation has launched bizarre religions, ignorant theologies,
and plunged all mankind into a wild pursuit for anything and
everything imagined to address it. In Judges 17:13 we hear Micah say,
"Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, since this Levite has
become my priest." Since mankind has become estranged from God with
the resultant felt loss of meaning and purpose in life, he seeks and
he does what he sees fit to address it. It is not just Israel, it is
all mankind. It is this sense of need that something has to be "fixed"
about us. Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, atheists, agnostics, socialists
and communists all feel compelled to pursue wacky and weird things
because they know something is wrong. They are just looking in all the
wrong places.

It is no surprise today that those who reject the gospel message are
found to be buying in to things that are so misguided. Even within
what is called "Christianity" we have all kinds of made-up things that
distort the truth of Jesus Christ, the message and priority of faith
found in the gospel, the worship and practice that is so clearly
portrayed and spoken of in the word of God.

When I view the events portrayed in Israel's history during the time
of the judges, I see exactly what mankind is today. Nothing has
changed where the word of God is abandoned. Folks have a way to fill
the void when God's revelation is rejected. They fill it with all
kinds of things that outwardly express an inward and compelling sinful
nature.

It makes me so thankful that God has seen fit to provide us what he
has to say in the Scriptures so that we might not follow the
imaginings of our own sinful hearts. It is so unfortunate that so many
fail to avail themselves the opportunity of truth.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

What gifts has God given you? - Ruminating in the Word of God.

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Judges 13:25,

"The Spirit of the Lord began to stir him [Samson] while he was in
Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol."

Samson had tremendous abilities and strength given him by the Lord. It
is in this verse we read of the first stirrings of this empowerment,
this enablement. The accounts of Samson are amazing. He tore a young
lion apart with his bare hands, he killed 30 men from Ashkelon to pay
off a bet over a riddle, he destroyed the grain crops, vineyards and
olive groves of the Philistines with three hundred foxes he had
caught, he killed a thousand Philistines one day with a jawbone of a
donkey, he ripped down the massive doors of the city gate in Gaza,
together with the posts and dragged them up a hill, and at the end he
pulled down the temple of Dagon killing thousands of Philistines.

The strength and power manifested by Samson did not have its origin
within him, but was given him from the Lord. The Lord had gifted
Samson. I am reminded we all are given gifts from the Lord to
accomplish the things he desires of us. "We have different gifts,
according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let
him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him
serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him
encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give
generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is
showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully." Romans 12:6-8.

The Lord expects us to utilize the gifts he has given us, "Each one
should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully
administering God's grace in its various forms." When we exercise
these gifts we need not feel "proud" of ourselves for having done so
as if these gifts originated within us, or as if we are doing God or
others a favor. We are only discharging what is expected of us. Jesus
taught us, "So you also, when you have done everything you were told
to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our
duty.'" Luke 17:10.

For me, I find this to be one of the many mystical and enchanting
things the Lord does within us as believers. The Lord is active in our
lives and provides us abilities and tools to do the things he desires
to accomplish. It is in the accomplishment of these things, with their
eternal ramifications, that provide us with true and meaningful
purpose and fulfillment in this life, something sorely needed by many
in our day.

The question I have for myself this morning: am I doing those things
the Lord wants me to do with the gifts he has given me? How about you?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Christmas, an offensive holiday! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Galatians 5:11b,

"In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished."

While discussing the tension Paul had with those who taught the
Gentile believers were to keep the laws in the old testament, he
mentions the "offense" of the cross. Why would the cross of Jesus
Christ be an offense? Simply put, to recognize Jesus Christ paid the
penalty for all our sins, is to acknowledge all our sins. Something is
wrong with us if we need him to pay for our sins. It is an offending
message, needfully so. No one is saved from something they are not
endangered by. We won't reach for salvation if we don't know we are
lost. I believe the offense of the cross will result in our culture at
some point concluding that evangelizing children will be a form of
child abuse. Wait and see if I am not wrong on that...

Many people refuse to embrace Jesus Christ in faith. When he was here
he told Nicodemus why that would be so, "This is the verdict: Light
has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light
because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light,
and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be
exposed." John 3:19-20.

We may be a pillar of the community, we may give to all kinds of
wonderful charitable organizations, we may comport ourselves properly
in mixed company, we may be kind to our dogs and have good table
manners, but the truth is we all are sinful and we all need to be
saved from God's wrath for our sins. "All have sinned and fall short
of the glory of God." Romans 3:23. The trouble for many, as far as
Jesus was concerned, is they would rather cling to their sins than
turn to God in faith and trust. His observation of mankind is, "Many
are invited, but few are chosen." Matthew 22:14. Why are they not
chosen? As we read John 1:12, "To all who received him, to those who
believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God."
God has elected or chosen for himself all who will turn to him in
faith as a response to the invitation, the gospel. A turn to God
results in a turning from our past ways and committing ourselves to
living for God. Some people are simply too interested in the things
they are currently immersed in than turn to God.

To be reminded of God is to revisit that fateful decision to reject
God's offer, his invitation. Consequently, not only is the cross of
Jesus Christ offensive because of its claims on our sinfulness, but
any mention of God, any reminder, any symbol that places the cross of
Jesus Christ in front of an unbeliever can be confrontive and
offensive. This is a big reason atheists are so animated in their
opposition to public displays of crosses, to nativity scenes on public
squares at Christmas time, having the ten commandments posted anywhere
they may see them. Why would you want to be reminded that you have
turned your back on God's gift of joining his family because you
desire to cling to a life that excludes him?

All the wishful thinking, all the "banking" on the notion that just
maybe the Christians are wrong, that the gospel is a hoax, that God
doesn't exist won't wash away the painful reminder that those who have
rejected the gospel are on very thin ice and headed for that "fiery
lake of burning sulfur", Revelation 21:8. Who wants to be reminded of
that all during the Christmas season? Rejection of God spawns recoil,
animosity, confrontation. All of which I find a good thing. No one
should feel confident and comfortable in this life rejecting God's
offer of forgiveness through Jesus Christ.

I think the perspective of feeling picked on when the atheists and
agnostics take action to have Christmas displays removed, to have
crosses removed, to have the ten commandments taken down is not the
best response and represents the wrong outlook. We should expect
unbelievers to feel offended, to feel a need to oppose any display
reminding them of their fateful choice of rejecting the gospel,
rejecting God's offer of forgiveness. Rather, we should exult in being
on the offense, we should embrace the opportunity to challenge
unbelievers who oppose us. I don't care a whit about my "rights" when
compared to the need for us to get the gospel in front of as many
people as often as we can.

When a governor wants to call it a "holiday tree", when a school wants
to scrub the traditional Christmas carols from the "winter
celebration" program, when the football team is told it can't pray
before the game or the valedictorian is told to remove God from the
speech, I'm far less concerned about "my rights" as I am about the
opportunity such occasions provide for championing the gospel and
furthering the message.

This Christmas season, lets all get out there and be offensive!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

The petty personal revenge of a Nazirite - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Judges 13:24-25,

"The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson. He grew and the
Lord blessed him, and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him while
he was in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol."

Samson's birth to a previously barren woman was heralded by the angel
of the Lord. She was told he was to be set apart as a "Nazirite", one
dedicated to the Lord, "the boy will be a Nazirite of God from birth
until the day of his death." Judges 13:7.

The Lord used Samson to deliver Israel from a forty year domination of
the Philistines. What we read is something startling. Samson's
victories we read of over the Philistines came about through his
pursuit of Gentile women, Philistine women. In the accounts of two
wives and a prostitute we read of Samson's exploits. And, although the
"Lord blessed him, and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir in him",
his conquests over the Philistines never had lofty origins in a desire
to see Israel freed from the domination of the Philistines but through
a more petty motivation: personal revenge.

The first account is of a nameless Philistine woman who Samson
insisted be his wife over his parent's objections. The outcome is
that, burning with anger after the Philistines used his wife to win a
bet over a riddle, he killed thirty Philistine's to pay off the debt.
Later, after learning his wife's father had given her to another, he
burned up the fields of grain, vineyards and olive groves of the
Philistines. When the Philistines killed his wife and her father over
it, "He attacked them viciously and slaughtered many of them." Verse
15:8. This he did after telling them, "Since you've acted like this, I
won't stop until I get my revenge on you." Verse 15:7. When the
Philistines gathered to attack Judah for Samson's slaughter of the
Philistines and Judah went to arrest Samson, it resulted in Samson
killing another thousand Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey.
This, after telling the men of Judah, "I merely did to them what they
did to me." Verse 15:11. Again, personal revenge.

The second account is of the Philistine prostitute. Not much is
provided us except that the Philistines wanted to kill Samson and laid
in wait at the city gate in Gaza where Samson spent the night with the
prostitute. But he had gotten up in the middle of the night and
performed an enormous feat of strength by ripping down the massive
doors of the city gate, together with their posts, and dragged them up
a hill.

The third account is of Samson's love for, yet, another Philistine
woman, Delilah. When the Philistines used her to capture Samson, gouge
out his eyes, and humiliate him by using him for slave labor, he took
his revenge on the Philistines by calling out to the Lord, "O
Sovereign Lord, remember me. O God, please strengthen me just once
more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my
two eyes." Verse 16:28. Being empowered by the Lord one last time,
Samson took his personal revenge upon thousands of Philistines at the
temple of Dagon by pushing the temple's pillars over.

Samson was a man devoted to the Lord and empowered with super-human
strength to free Israel from Philistine domination. He is among the
heroes of faith in Hebrews 11 where we read, "the world was not worthy
of them", Hebrews 11:38, and "These were all commended for their
faith" Hebrews 11:39. Yet, here is a man who defied his parents
counsel, chased after pagan women the Lord warned against, made use of
prostitutes and carried out his exploits for purely personal revenge.
What to make of it?

I find an interesting observation in the Hebrews chapter. In 11:40 we
are told of Samson and the other heroes that, "God had planned
something better for us so that only together with us would they be
made perfect."

What I take from the accounts of Samson is that being set apart from
the Lord, having the Spirit begin "to stir" in us, being empowered and
strengthened by the Lord does not make us sinners perfect. The Lord
takes us and uses us, in spite of our sinfulness, our weaknesses and
our frailties to carry out his agenda, his purposes. Further, faith is
the door through which we have opportunity to be perfected in our
sinfulness and weaknesses - but it doesn't happen immediately and
automatically, as Samson's life illustrates. In the sacrifice of Jesus
Christ we have the opportunity for perfection, "by one sacrifice he
has made perfect forever those who are being made holy." Hebrews
10:14. It is that "being made holy" part that tells us that those who
embrace the Lord in faith are on the path to perfection, but that
perfection will not come till resurrection day when we finally leave
that stubborn and persistent sinful nature behind. As Paul tells us,
"we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly
as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our
bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no
hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for
what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently." Romans 8:23-25.

In the meantime, although we may disappoint the Lord, ourselves and
others from time to time, it does not mean we cannot be used by the
Lord for his purposes. After all, the perfect things the Lord
accomplishes in this life are never through perfect people when he
uses us. He accomplishes what he does through us perfectly due to his
perfection - not ours.

On another note, do you know of any other literature that is nearly as
honest and straightforward about the shortcomings of its heroes? One
thing I love about the Scriptures is the refreshing honesty and
truthfulness as they portray the events and realities of this life.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

The terrifying experience of proximity to the Lord - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Judges 13:22,

"'We are doomed to die!' he said to his wife. 'We have seen God!'"

This is the cry Manoah, Samson's father, made to his wife when he
realized they had just been in company with the angel of the Lord. The
angel visited the couple to prepare them for Samson's birth. We are
told when they made an offering to the Lord in the angel's presence,
"the Lord did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: As
the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the
Lord ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with
their faces to the ground." Judges 13:19b-20. It was only then Manoah
realized he had been visited by the angel of the Lord.

I don't know about you, but from time to time I have thought it would
be fascinating and wonderful to have some kind of a visit from the
Lord, or one of his angels. I suspect what may have been missing from
my musing is the recoil and horror those who have actually had a visit
experienced. I think of the nation of Israel at the foot of Mt. Sinai.
"When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet
and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at
a distance and said to Moses, 'Speak to us yourself and we will
listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.'" Exodus
20:18-19. Another instance is Isaiah at his commissioning. Having had
a vision of God on his throne he cried, "'Woe to me!' I cried. 'I am
ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of
unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.'"
Isaiah 6:5.

At times of reflection I have recognized more fully, as many do I am
sure, my own sinfulness. Apart from the purifying and cleansing nature
found within the atonement of Jesus Christ for my sins, I am compelled
to feel I would recoil in the presence of the Lord's pristine
perfections, the beauty of his multifaceted character, the absolute
purity of his unadulterated nature that remains impenetrable, without
wrinkle and consistent for all eternity. How is one to stand in the
presence of that?! I don't think you do. Paul told Timothy God "lives
in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see." 1 Timothy
6:16. That "unapproachable light" must be the transcendent and awesome
glory of God that radiates from his being.

Even Moses, when he had been in the presence of the Lord on Mt. Sinai
and now reflected that glory when he came down the mountain found his
family fleeing from him, so great was that radiant glory! "When Moses
came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in
his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had
spoken with the Lord. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his
face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses
called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came
back to him, and he spoke to them." Exodus 34:29-31. Moses had to
chase after them!

Since I have not had a visit myself (and given the accounts of those
who had, I suspect it is for the best), I take the word of those who
have had an encounter "of the third kind" with God. His glory is so
magnificent as to be unapproachable and his presence so overwhelming
because of his character and nature, he is terrifying to encounter.
Especially for one who is plagued with the frailties of sinfulness and
weakness as I am.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Our unconstrained Lord - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Judges 14:1-4,

"Samson went down to Timnah and saw there a young Philistine woman.
When he returned, he said to his father and mother, 'I have seen a
Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife.' His father
and mother replied, 'Isn't there an acceptable woman among your
relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised
Philistines to get a wife?' But Samson said to his father, 'Get her
for me. She's the right one for me.' (His parents did not know that
this was from the Lord, who was seeking an occasion to confront the
Philistines; for at that time they were ruling over Israel.)"

In Exodus 20:12 we read the fifth commandment, "Honor your father and
your mother". Proverbs tells us things like, "Listen, my son, to your
father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching. They
will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck."
Proverbs 1:8-9. Listen to this one, "My son, keep your father's
commands and do not forsake your mother's teaching. Bind them upon
your heart forever; fasten them around your neck. When you walk, they
will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you
awake, they will speak to you. For these commands are a lamp, this
teaching is a light, and the corrections of discipline are the way to
life, keeping you from the immoral woman, from the smooth tongue of
the wayward wife." Proverbs 6:20-24.

Samson was set aside for the Lord before he was born, "the boy is to
be a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth", Judges 13:5. As such he
was chosen specifically by the Lord for his purposes. Knowing things
ahead of time, the Lord raised Samson up to be one of Israel's
"deliverers" we read of in Judges. What catches my eye is that the
Lord intended Samson to take a direction with his parents that
contradicted the fifth commandment as well as the yet to be written
axioms in Proverbs, as well as many other Scriptures that speak to the
importance of following our parent's counsel.

Just when I think I have it all "figured out", I discover I really
don't know much. What is clear is that there is the "normative", that
which I should follow to live a life pleasing to the Lord, that which
he has spoken to. And, yet, there is the "non-normative", that which
the Lord is doing that may run contrary to the former. The Lord is not
constrained and does things in ways I may never understand. The beauty
of it is I really don't need to understand. What I read is that
Samson's insistence on a Philistine wife was "from the Lord" even
though it was not consistent with the fifth commandment and other
Scriptures relative to following parental counsel.

I think I feel more comfortable knowing God transcends my simple
understanding of things. As such, it is mine to accept, to embrace and
to use in my worship and adoration of him. How about you?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Who decides our blessings? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Judges 11:23-24,

"Now since the Lord, the God of Israel, has driven the Amorites out
before his people Israel, what right have you to take it over? Will
you not take what your god Chemosh gives you? Likewise, whatever the
Lord our God has given us, we will possess."

This is the closing argument provided by Jepahthah in his message to
the king of Ammon who had called his army to camp at Gilead to attack
Israel. Ammon's grievance was that Israel had taken land from the
Ammonites when they came out of Egypt. Jephthah's response was that
God gave Israel the land from the Amorites because they had opposed
them when leaving Egypt. We are told the king of Ammon paid no
attention to the message and war ensued. In Judges 11:32 we read,
"Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave
them into his hands. He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the
vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued
Ammon."

I note two important points in Jephthah's closing argument. The first
is that Jephthah acknowledged it was the Lord who had provided the
original victory of Israel over the Amorites resulting in their
possession of the land "from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the
desert to the Jordan." Verse 22. This is an important point for us. We
live in a day where the notion that the Lord has brought about or
provided our nation with success, blessings, prosperity, freedom or
any other advantage we may enjoy is vehemently denied and a thought
that is recoiled from. Just how long does a nation think it might
enjoy what the Lord has provided when it denies and are hostile toward
the one who provided? This is a serious issue today that transcends
politics and religion. This is an issue that may find its expression
in political campaigns, op-ed pieces, Sunday morning sermons and
fodder for pundits but it is being fought out in a spiritual theater
of intense warfare for the hearts and lives of all people.

A second point is that Jephthah declares, "Whatever the Lord our God
has given us, we will possess." When the Lord gives a nation
something, there is a responsibility not only to recognize the giver,
but to approach the possession of it with careful stewardship. Again,
this is another important point for us today. We also live in a day
where we question the validity and appropriateness of what the Lord
has given us as a nation. Consider the arrogance and conceit inherent
in such a thing! Ruthless, overbearing and misguided anti-colonial and
social justice sentiments demand we relinquish what God has
legitimately given us as a nation. If the Lord has blessed us with
something, who are we to reject it? What is his to give is not to be
rejected when he gives it. To do so would be to question God's
fairness, God's justice. To do so would be antithetical to his
purposes and his agenda. Again, the rejection of what God gives a
nation ultimately points to an intense conflict in the spiritual realm
where the hearts and lives of people are at stake. The big picture of
this life's purpose is that God is building his kingdom. Over and over
in the pages of Scripture we read of the acts of God to accomplish
this end.

We live in a day when all trace of God is to be erased from the public
square. No free exchange of ideas are tolerated when speaking up for
the things of God. We live in a day when man questions what God gives
to substitute what fits his own desires. We live in a day when men
feel they know better when it comes to the disposition of life,
liberty and property. Rejecting God's determination of what is an
abomination and replacing it with his own determination of what is
fair and just is pursued in our day.

Just how far will a nation get as our Creator looks on? I refer us to
Jephthah's insights, a man who learned a thing or two after Israel had
had the tar beat out of it by God himself.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

God's compassion afforded sin - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Judges 10:11-14,

"When the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, the
Sidonians, the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you and you cried
to me for help, did I not save you from their hands? But you have
forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. Go
and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you
are in trouble!"

OK. I know I used a dicey phrase in the subject line... but I really
wanted to catch your attention because of something wonderful
believers have encountered that Israel lacked in the book of Judges.
Follow me on this...

The book of Judges illustrates the truth Paul presents in Romans 3.
Mankind is sinful. His observation of mankind in general is clearly on
display in the history of Israel. We all have a bent to turn from our
Creator, go our own way and follow the promptings of our own sinful
nature. As Paul quotes Psalm 14 and 53, as well as Ecclesiastes 7:20,
"There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who
understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have
together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even
one." Romans 3:10-12. Apart from God's intervention we just drift
further away from the One who created us for his own purposes.

As we read in Romans 8:20-21, God brings distress, frustration into
our lives to draw us to him, "For the creation was subjected to
frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who
subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from
its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the
children of God." This we see played out again and again on a national
level as God brought enemies against Israel in the midst of their
abandonment of God to bring the nation back to him.

Again and again we see Israel brought to her knees and cry out to God.
Again and again God, in his wonderful mercy, compassion and kindness,
lifted the suffering from Israel through judges or leaders. He would
bring them relief as his purpose in bringing enemies against them
became accomplished.

Here is the frustrating dilemma of sin: as soon as the suffering and
threat was eliminated, the removal of the very stimulus that brought
them to their knees before God, the Israelites would follow the
promptings of their sinful natures and turn their backs on God yet
again. We might consider that God's blessings of relief, peace and
prosperity for Israel provided opportunity and set the stage for
Israel falling into sinful rebellion all over again. In a sense, God's
compassion for the nation afforded the Israelites the opportunity to
rebel against him. To be sure, it was not God's compassion that caused
the sinful rebellion, but the sinful impulses of the nation. What a
dynamic on display in the book of Judges! Sin in the heart of man
turns God's compassion into an opportunity for sinful rebellion! Each
time we see this cycle take place. And, I am reminded, it isn't just
the thick-headed Israelites, it is also me. I know all too well the
promptings of my own sinful nature.

But thanks be to God! The promptings that influence the things I
think, do and say are no longer monopolized by an overbearing sinful
nature! God, in his wonderful kindness has provided us an unspeakable
gift in the Holy Spirit. In announcing his new covenant that he would
establish through Jesus Christ, he said, "I will put my law in their
minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will
be my people." Jeremiah 31:33. This he has accomplished by sending his
Holy Spirit into all the hearts that have embraced him in faith since
the Pentecost following Jesus ascension to heaven. "I am going to send
you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have
been clothed with power from on high." Luke 24:49. As we read in
Romans 8:9, "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but
by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does
not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ."

How wonderful that on a personal level we do not have to be caught up
in the kind of cycle the nation of Israel was caught up in the
historical accounts we read of in Judges. How wonderful God saw fit to
bless those who have embraced him in faith with his indwelling Holy
Spirit that we can live a new life!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Distress and deliverance - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Judges 6:14,

"The Lord turned to him [Gideon] and said, 'Go in the strength you
have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?'"

As the Israelites repeatedly turned from the Lord, the Lord brought
them distress, that they might recognize their need of him. He did
this out of his love for Israel as he is, has been, and ever will be
the only means by which any nation might find deliverance, resolution,
salvation, extrication from the collective sinful nature of its people
and the consequences that collective sinful nature brings. God loves
the people of the world and seeks to draw as many into his kingdom as
he can. The only purpose any nation exists is to find its place in
God's great agenda of building his kingdom. When a nation ultimately
ceases to respond to the Lord, as well as his attention-getting
efforts, it ceases to be useful to this end and discovers the
threshold of God's ultimate judgment in the ash heap of the world's
failed nations.

It is apparent that distress is one means the Lord uses to draw
nations to himself, that they might reach out to him. "From one man he
[God] made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole
earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places
where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and
perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each
one of us." Acts 17:26-27.

As Israel would come to it's senses through divinely crafted distress,
and cry out to the Lord, he would raise up a judge or leader to
provide his deliverance. In the book of Judges there is a succession
of these the Lord used. He always, or often worked through someone. We
read of some thirteen people in the book of Judges (if my count is
right) followed by Eli in 1 Samuel and Samuel prior to the kings that
began to reign in Israel.

If I didn't know any better, I might think the Lord uses these
accounts, which seem to follow a pattern of repetition in many
respects, to get it through my thick head that God provides
deliverance out of a love for people and he seems to do so through a
deliverer. In Judges we read of folks like Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar,
Deborah, Gideon, Abimelech, Tola, Jair, Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, Abdon
and Samson who served as Judges or leaders in the nation when the Lord
provided deliverance.

On a personal level, I discover I have my own sinful nature that
leaves me in need deliverance. A brief reading of Romans tells me
without God's intervention I face his certain judgment for my sin -
here is the distress I face. I discover he has, just as in the history
of the life of Israel, provided a deliverer for me. "This is good, and
pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a
knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between
God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for
all men..." 1 Timothy 2:3-6a. Just as the judges in Israel's history,
God uses him to bring me deliverance from my distress.

It is interesting to see how God uses the history of Israel to teach
us about how he does what he does, even in our day. "For everything
that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through
endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."
Romans 15:4.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Do you know what lurks in the spiritual realm? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Judges 13:17-18,

"Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the Lord, 'What is your name, so
that we may honor you when your word comes true?' He replied, 'Why do
you ask my name? It is beyond understanding.'"

The account of Samson's parents is an astonishing story. In a cycle
oft repeated in the book of Judges, Israel, yet again, turned from the
Lord and found herself under his judgment. We are told, "so the Lord
delivered them [the Israelites] into the hands of the Philistines for
forty years." After this period of time the Lord visited a couple,
Manoah and his wife. They would become the parents of the deliverer,
Samson, that the Lord would raise up to free Israel from the grip of
the Philistines following the forty years.

At first "the angel of the Lord" visited Manoah's wife and told her
she would bear a son that would be dedicated to the Lord as a
"Nazirite". As such she was not to drink alcohol or eat unclean food.
When Samson was born he was to never cut his hair, "No razor may be
used on his head." She reported this visit to her husband who prayed
to God for direction on how to raise such an unusual child. The angel
returned to Manoah's wife and when she retrieved her husband, he asked
the angel "What is to be the rule for the boy's life and work?" The
angel repeated what he had told Manoah's wife. After inviting the
angel to stay and have a meal (which the angel refused), Manoah asked
the angel his name so he could honor the angel when the boy was born.
What the angel had to say is what is striking to me this morning. The
angel told Manoah that his name was "beyond understanding" or
"wonderful", such that it was pointless for Manoah to ask it.
Apparently, the angel's name was beyond Manoah's ability to grasp it
in one way or another.

As is for many, I am sure, the interaction of angels and mankind is
just fascinating to me. A visit from heaven, a realm we know very
little of, yet exists as certainly as any other place we know of, is a
reminder that there is far more to life than we perceive. To have a
visitor from there is astonishing. Only in the accounts of a very few
events we read of in Scripture do we know of such contacts. Yet, in
some of the accounts, there seems to exist the teasing possibility of
much more interaction between heaven and earth that we might imagine,
much more going on.

Such an example comes to mind in Genesis 28 where we read of a vision
that Jacob had, "He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on
the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were
ascending and descending on it." It turns out this dream was a vision
of a reality kept from us. Of the place, Bethel, Jacob said, "How
awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this
is the gate of heaven." Genesis 28:17.

I suspect there is much that surrounds us that we are entirely unaware
of. Just as when I watch a dog exploring with his nose a whole
dimension I know nothing of, there is that which is imperceptible,
that which we only get a peek of from time to time in the Scriptures -
a reality surrounding us that would astonish us to stumble upon.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Having the Holy Spirit come and acting wickedly - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Judges 11:29,

"Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah."

From my perspective Jephthah represents just how far Israel had
wandered from her God. As Jephthah faced his military challenge of the
Ammonites, he felt compelled to make a vow to God to perform a human
sacrifice of whomever walked out his door when he returned home if God
would provide him the victory. "I will sacrifice it as a burnt
offering." Judges 11:31b. How far this nation had sunk in depravity!
To think that God's chosen people had gotten to the point that they
felt twisting his arm through human sacrifice was the way to gain his
help is astonishing. God wanted their hearts, not a human burnt
offering.

It strikes me that God's judgment of Jephthah may have been
orchestrated by God himself in having his only child come out that
door on the fateful day. It wasn't a servant or anyone else, it was
his only child! I'm just speculating here...

Jephthah's gamble crushed him, "Oh! My daughter! You have made me
miserable and wretched, because I have made a vow to the Lord that I
cannot break." No, I don't buy that for a minute. She didn't make him
miserable and wretched, he made himself miserable and wretched for
attempting to barter with God through human sacrifice.

Astonishingly, all this took place after "the Spirit of the Lord came
upon Jephthah"! What we learn from this is that God's Spirit can come
upon anyone to carry out what he desires, even when they act sinfully.
Further, at this time, even though the Holy Spirit enabled someone to
do what God had decided does not mean they had been transformed into
God's character and nature. Jephthah here is manifesting just how
sinful and removed he and the nation had become from God.

Yet, I read of Jephthah in Hebrews 11:32-40 where he in mentioned in a
list of those "commended for their faith", those of whom "the world
was not worthy". Jephthah was a man of faith. As noted in many places,
faith does not make a person perfect. David and Bathsheba, Abraham
lying, etc.

This is not the only example we see of someone being filled with God's
Spirit while doing evil. The fascinating account of King Saul having
the Spirit come upon him, resulting in him prophesying in the midst of
his insane attempt to murder David is another example of this, 1
Samuel 19. What I glean from this is that God is able to use anyone.
He is able to have his Spirit come upon people to accomplish things,
and, strikingly, it is not necessarily an indication of whether God is
pleased with them or things they may do. They may just be as sinful as
you and me!

I should mention that I certainly recognize the new ministry of the
Holy Spirit following Jesus' ascension to heaven. He told his
followers to stay put in Jerusalem till he sent them the Holy Spirit,
which happened on the following Pentecost. Today the Holy Spirit has a
wonderful part in the lives of believers by transforming us into the
image of Jesus Christ himself. Something we don't necessarily see in
some of the accounts in Israel's history.

Interesting, isn't it?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

- Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Judges 10:11-16,

"The Lord replied, 'When the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites,
the Philistines, the Sidonians, the Amalekites and the Maonites
oppressed you and you cried to me for help, did I not save you from
their hands? But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will
no longer save you. Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let
them save you when you are in trouble!' But the Israelites said to the
Lord, 'We have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best, but please
rescue us now.' Then they got rid of the foreign gods among them and
served the Lord. And he could bear Israel's misery no longer."

I am struck with the wording that the Lord "could bear Israel's misery
no longer." After providing the Israelites deliverance from their
enemies, Israel turned its back on the Lord to go serve other Gods.
Yet again, they cried out to the Lord for help, acknowledging their
sin. Since he could not bear their misery he raised up a Jephthah to
subdue Israel's enemies once again.

This the Lord did after telling them he would no longer save them. The
theology of many in our day will not allow for the Lord to change his
mind and do what he just said he would not do. Apparently the Lord did
not consult the great minds of today and did as he pleased. What he
was pleased to do was to change his mind and save Israel yet again
when they cried out to him and repented of their sin and rebellion
against him. They got rid of their idols and served the Lord.

I am reminded that our God is not constrained with a prescripted
creation, that all that happens is preordained. The Scriptures never
tell us that all that happens has been determined ahead of time.
Certainly many things are predetermined, but not all things. When the
Lord created us, he was pleased to do so by incorporating within us a
will. The Lord interacts with us as we exercise that will. I am
mindful of Jeremiah 18:6-10, "'O house of Israel, can I not do with
you as this potter does?' declares the Lord. 'Like clay in the hand of
the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. If at any time I
announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and
destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I
will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. And if
at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up
and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me,
then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.'"

The Lord interacts with us in "real time". Don't let anyone tell you
anything different.

The other thing that catches my eye in the above passage is that the
Lord's heart was moved, "he could bear Israel's misery no longer."
Where the nation deserved nothing but the Lord's condemnation and
judgment, he extends is compassion. I can't begin to tell you how much
that means to me! Were it not for this compassion and kindness, where
would I be?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Vitiating the Lord's Compassion - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Judges 8:22-27,

"The Israelites said to Gideon, 'Rule over us—you, your son and your
grandson—because you have saved us out of the hand of Midian.' But
Gideon told them, 'I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over
you. The Lord will rule over you.' And he said, 'I do have one
request, that each of you give me an earring from your share of the
plunder.' (It was the custom of the Ishmaelites to wear gold
earrings.)... Gideon made the gold into an ephod, which he placed in
Ophrah, his town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it
there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family."

We are told in Judges 6 that the Midianites oppressed the Israelites
for seven years. So great was the devastation Midian brought on Israel
that they had to flee to shelters they made in mountain clefts, caves
and strongholds. They had become so impoverished, that in the midst of
their sin, rebellion and idolatry, they cried out to the Lord for
deliverance. It was then that the Lord raised up Gideon, and through
him and a mere 300 troops, the Lord brought relief for the Israelites
and their deliverance from the Midianites.

From the account we learn that the Lord did so out of his own
compassion for Israel. From a broader standpoint, the whole of it was
to gain Israel's attention, that they not have to face an even greater
judgment from him - a judgment they would eventually encounter. The
Lord's compassion and kindness found its expression for Israel in the
victory he provided the nation. The victory itself provided some
booty, and promptly that booty became an object of Israel's further
sin, rebellion and idolatry: the golden ephod Gideon made.

A person might think the Lord's compassion would bring a desire and a
devotion for him from his people. I am reminded of Paul's challenge,
"Do you show contempt for the riches of his [God's] kindness,
tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you
toward repentance?" Romans 2:4. Here we see Israel taking the very
evidence of God's compassion, the booty from the victory God provided,
used in sinful and rebellious idolatry against their God of
unfathomable compassion!

These are the very people of whom Jesus lamented, "O Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how
often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers
her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!" Luke 13:34.
These are the very people for whom the Lord came and died a miserable
death on that cross that they might have opportunity to enter into
God's kingdom, to have a place at his table, to enjoy the Lord in
paradise for an eternity! As a nation, Israel typifies all mankind,
and all mankind has been the recipient of God's wonderful love and
compassion.

How is it this love and compassion of our God remains extended to us,
even when the manifestation of that love and compassion becomes an
object of sin, rebellion and idolatry? What kind of unfathomable love
is this?!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com