When the Lord asks, forget the push-back. - 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 12:1,

"The men of Ephraim called out their forces, crossed over to Zaphon
and said to Jephthah, 'Why did you go to fight the Ammonites without
calling us to go with you? We're going to burn down your house over
your head.'"

Here we go with the Ephraimites again. These johnny-come-latelys had
aleady pulled this once before in Judges 8:1. There, after Gideon's
initial rout of the Midianites, he had called for help from Naphtali,
Asher and both sides of Manasseh as he pursued the fleeing remnant of
Midian's army. Gideon also sent messengers to the hill country of
Ephraim to ask for their assistance to finish the job. When the
Ephraimites had captured and killed the two Midianite leaders, Oreb
and Zeeb, they returned and criticized Gideon, "Why have you treated
us like this? Why didn't you call us when you went to fight Midian?"

Now, again after the big fight, here comes Ephraim with the grievance
they were left out of the action. It is apparent Jephthah had already
asked and been refused help from the Ephraimites, "I and my people
were engaged in a great struggle with the Ammonites, and although I
called, you [Ephraim] didn't save me out of their hands." Nonetheless,
here they come with their complaint after the heavy lifting had been
accomplished.

It is speculated that the tribe of Ephraim felt their importance in
the nation was challenged by Manasseh at the time, the tribe both
Gideon and Jephthah came from. It appears in both instances, when
victory had been achieved against the enemies of Israel with Ephraim
missing out on the main events, Ephraim sought to reestablish itself
as the leading tribe of Israel. I also wonder if there were jealousies
over the distribution of booty, etc.

In any event, the Lord raised up victors for Israel in Gideon and
Jephthah and both were confronted by the men of Ephraim. No good deed
goes unpunished and when any of us do something for the Lord, we very
well may find opposition as well.

Regardless the opposition we may face, when we do things for the Lord,
we find the ultimate in fulfillness and purposefulness in this life.
What we accomplish in this life for God's kingdom will follow us into
the next and we can always take great satisfaction that we have served
him. And, lets face it, who could shy from fulfilling what we know our
Lord asks of us, no matter the push-back, the consequences, the cost.
When we consider the boundless love he has for us, the miserable death
on that cross he took on himself for us, the invitation to his family
he has extended us, the Holy Spirit he has given us as a companion in
this life, as we consider all the Lord has done for us, when he asks
something from us, how can any of us shy away, even given opposition?

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