Pride (Judges 9:7-21)

1/25/2010 8:20 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                                 Focus:  Pride

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  Judges 9:7-21

 

            Message of the verses:  “7 ¶  When it was told to Jotham, he went and stood on top of Mount Gerizim and cried aloud and said to them, “Listen to me, you leaders of Shechem, that God may listen to you. 8  The trees once went out to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’ 9  But the olive tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my abundance, by which gods and men are honored, and go hold sway over the trees?’ 10  And the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and reign over us.’ 11  But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit and go hold sway over the trees?’ 12  And the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and reign over us.’ 13  But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my wine that cheers God and men and go hold sway over the trees?’ 14  Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us.’ 15  And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in good faith you are anointing me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade, but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’ 16  “Now therefore, if you acted in good faith and integrity when you made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house and have done to him as his deeds deserved— 17  for my father fought for you and risked his life and delivered you from the hand of Midian, 18  and you have risen up against my father’s house this day and have killed his sons, seventy men on one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his female servant, king over the leaders of Shechem, because he is your relative— 19  if you then have acted in good faith and integrity with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you. 20  But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech and devour the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo; and let fire come out from the leaders of Shechem and from Beth-millo and devour Abimelech.” 21  And Jotham ran away and fled and went to Beer and lived there, because of Abimelech his brother.”

            “3  For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.”  This is from Romans chapter twelve and verse three, and it explains what Abimelech did as he became king over the people of Shechem.  His half-brother, Jotham, who escaped from the killing of the other sons of Gideon came and gave a parable to the people of Shechem telling them that they were making a mistake in making Abimelech their king.  He told them this in this first parable that is seen in the Bible. 

            The place where he was giving this address was probably the place that is spoken of in Deut. 27:12, 28, a place where both blessings and curses were given from two mountains with a valley in between.  God would give Israel blessings if they followed His commandments, and curses if they did not.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As I continue to read the letter to the Ephesians I have found that in chapter four that because of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross and His resurrection that He has given gifts to the Church, gifts that are given to each member of the church in order to build up the body, and to bring glory to the Lord who has given the gifts.  When a member of the body of Christ begins to do things on his own, not using his gifts or not being led by the Holy Spirit then he can get himself in trouble.  The church in Corinth had this problem and Paul had to write to them about this problem in two letters.

            I don’t want to follow the life of Abimelech, but I want to be led by the Holy Spirit using the gifts that he gave me to accomplish the work that was given me to do in eternity past all to the glory of God.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. In the same way that I was saved, by grace through faith, I want to walk, accomplishing the work that God has planned for me to do.

 

1/25/2010 8:47 AM

Dishonesty (Judges 9:6)

1/24/2010 8:01 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                        Focus:  Dishonesty

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  Judges 9:6

 

            Message of the verses:  “6  All the men of Shechem and all Beth-millo assembled together, and they went and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar which was in Shechem.”

            Warren Wiersbe describes still another commandment that Abimelech broke, and this time it is the ninth commandment:  “"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”  Since Abimelech probably took and oath of office to be a king he certainly would be breaking this commandment because he was doing things that were for his agenda and not for the people of Israel.  If he gave an oath in the name of the Lord then he broke the third commandment also:  “7  "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.”

            I can truly see the work of Satan in this man for all he seems to do is ungodly and not for the glory of the Lord.  As far as him being a king in Israel he is not even recognized as their king.

            Dr. Wiersbe brings up a number of wonderful things that happened at the site where this all took place, among them is when the Lord appeared to Abraham, and it was also the place where Jacob had his family burry their idols and then take a step in moving towards serving the Lord.  Joshua gave his last or farewell speech there so this place had a lot of wonderful memories there and now this awful godless man comes to this place and stains it with he being crowned as a king there.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Abimelech did not do things in his life that brought glory to the Lord, but this has been something that recently has been in my mind as I have been studying about it as I study a series about the love of God, and it is my hearts desire to bring glory to my Lord.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. Keep in step with the Spirit so that I can do the work that He has prepared me to do, and by doing this work bring glory to the Lord.

 

1/24/2010 8:18 AM

Murder (Judges 9:5)

1/23/2010 6:14 PM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                                 Focus:  Murder

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                  Reference:  Judges 9:5

 

          Message of the verse:  “5  Then he went to his father’s house at Ophrah and killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, for he hid himself.”

            As was mentioned in the first SD that covers chapter nine of Judges, Abimelech broke the tenth commandment, the commandment that says that one should not covet, and after this commandment was broken it was easy to break the rest and so not he commits murder, and murderers will go to hell unless they repent, and it does not look like that was the case here.  Murder is worse when one kills their brothers.  Fratricidal is a new word that I have learned today and it means somebody who kills a brother and there are a number of cases like this in the Word of God.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Anger is the first step to killing somebody, and thus it is something that I don’t want to do is be angry and then sin.

            This is the verse that I was not looking forward to reading or commenting on because of the awfulness of what is in it, but God has a plan that will take care of Abimelech and those who worked with him in killing Abimelech’s brothers for God is equitable. 

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. I trust the Lord to use the “gut” problems for His glory.

 

1/23/2010 6:43 PM 

Idolatry (Judges 9:3-4)

1/22/2010 9:46 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                        Focus:  Idolatry

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  Judges 9:3-4

 

            Message of the verse:  “3  And his mother’s relatives spoke all these words on his behalf in the hearing of all the leaders of Shechem; and they were inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, "He is our relative." 4 They gave him seventy pieces of silver from the house of Baal-berith with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless fellows, and they followed him.”

            Warren Wiersbe points out that Abimelech broke the first two commandments which are as follows:  “. 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4  Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5  Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6  And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.”

            These two verses in Judges nine show that Abimelech was his own god, and that he had no interest in God’s will for the nation of Israel.  He was also in bed with those who worshipped Baal for he took money from them and hired some worthless terrorists to do his dirty work of killing his sixty-nine brothers so that there was none who would be able to lead Israel from Gideon’s family.

            It is interesting that at the end of chapter eight of Judges that it records that Israel had peace for forty years and that is the last time that they had peace in the book of Judges.  (I am speaking of peace in the land).

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have written on different occasions that the things that are written in the OT are for me to learn from, and that the actions that are taken by people such as Abimelech were sinful and just because they are in the Bible do not mean that I should repeat them, but as stated I should learn from them and as far as the sinful things should not repeat in my life.  Those from the OT that are mentioned in the NT do not have any of their sins mentioned in the NT because the blood of Christ has cleansed them and they are clean.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. 1.  I have been asked by a couple of people to speak with them about concerns of the church, and because I was ready to leave the church and seek another one until I had a meeting with our Pastor some people want to know why I changed my mind.  As I go to meet with Pat and Ernie I pray that the Spirit of the Lord who lives in me will have control of my mind and my heart and especially my tongue for Proverbs 10:19 says:  “When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, But he who restrains his lips is wise.”

 

1/22/2010 11:02 AM

 

 

 

Selfish Ambition (Judges 9:1-2)

1/21/2010 9:32 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                        Focus:  Selfish ambition

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  Judges 9:1-2

 

            Message of the verses:  “1 ¶  And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother’s relatives, and spoke to them and to the whole clan of the household of his mother’s father, saying, 2  ‘Speak, now, in the hearing of all the leaders of Shechem, ’Which is better for you, that seventy men, all the sons of Jerubbaal, rule over you, or that one man rule over you?’ Also, remember that I am your bone and your flesh.’”

            As I move into the ninth chapter of the book of Judges, which is the longest chapter of the book of Judges, I also move into the seventh chapter of “Be Available,” which is Warren Wiersbe’s commentary on the book of Judges.  He entitles this chapter “My Kingdom Come,” and the first of three main divisions in the book is entitled “Seizing the kingdom.”  Today’s lesson is on the first sub-point of the first section:  “Selfish Ambition.”

            I think that one of the problems in this chapter goes all the way back to when Israel first entered the land, and were given the orders to kill all of the Canaanites, which of course they did not do and they had become a thorn in the side of Israel ever since.  Abimelech was the son of slave woman from Shechem who was a Canaanite. 

            I want to quote a paragraph from Dr. Wiersbe that I have highlighted in his book:  “You shall not covet’ is the last of the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:17, NKJV), but breaking it is the first step toward breaking the other nine.  Of itself ambition isn’t an evil thing, provided it’s mixed with genuine humility and is controlled by the will of God.  If it’s God’s wind that lifts you and you’re soaring on wings that He’s given you, then fly as high as He takes you.  But if you manufacture both the wind and the wings, you’re heading for a terrible fall.”

            From the very beginning of this chapter nine in Judges one can see that Abimelech is headed for a great fall, and will eventually be killed by a woman, which was certainly a disgrace in that era, and that culture.

            Dr. Wiersbe in one of his note on this chapter says that Abimelech did not rule over all of Israel, only a very small portion.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I truly believes that the rewards that one gets in heaven are for how well one follows the leading of the Holy Spirit as He leads one through the Word of God.  Things that are thought up on oneself and not controlled by the Holy Spirit will get a person in trouble.  This goes back to the quote that is from Dr. Wiersbe’s book that is copied above. 

            I want to sore on the wings of God, and do the things that he has given me to do:  “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”  I personally believe that the Lord has prepared work for me to do for Him, and the cause of Jesus Christ in eternity past, and that His Spirit will lead me to do this work, however if I am in sin and do not fulfill this work for Him then someone else will do this work and I will not receive the reward for doing it, and that is why I must keep my life clean and pure and finish the race strong.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. Do the work that the Lord has given me to do humbly and faithfully without pride.

 

1/21/2010 10:38 AM

Gideon Requests Gold (Judges 8:24-35)

1/20/2010 9:01 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                        Focus:  Gideon requests gold

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                  Reference: Judges 8:24-35

 

          Message of the verses:  “24  Yet Gideon said to them, "I would request of you, that each of you give me an earring from his spoil." (For they had gold earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) 25  They said, "We will surely give them." So they spread out a garment, and every one of them threw an earring there from his spoil. 26  The weight of the gold earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments and the pendants and the purple robes which were on the kings of Midian, and besides the neck bands that were on their camels’ necks. 27  Gideon made it into an ephod, and placed it in his city, Ophrah, and all Israel played the harlot with it there, so that it became a snare to Gideon and his household. 28  So Midian was subdued before the sons of Israel, and they did not lift up their heads anymore. And the land was undisturbed for forty years in the days of Gideon.

            “29 ¶  Then Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and lived in his own house. 30  Now Gideon had seventy sons who were his direct descendants, for he had many wives. 31  His concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech. 32  And Gideon the son of Joash died at a ripe old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. 33  Then it came about, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the sons of Israel again played the harlot with the Baals, and made Baal-berith their god. 34  Thus the sons of Israel did not remember the LORD their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side; 35  nor did they show kindness to the household of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in accord with all the good that he had done to Israel.”

            This section will end the things that happened in the life of Gideon, and the ending is not as great as the beginning.  It is interesting to me that there have been different people to rule over Israel for forty years, Moses for instance ruled from the time he was 80 years old to 120 years old, forty years, and so did Saul, and so did David, and yet the pages of Scripture are lot greater in number for Moses and David than for Gideon or Saul or some of the other rulers of Israel.  Gideon’s name is in Hebrews chapter eleven and of course there is no mention of the sins that he committed, I think the reason for that is that Christ had paid for those sins and therefore they are not spoken of in the NT Scriptures.

            Gideon turned down being a king, but he lived like a king and for whatever reason that he made the ephod I don’t know, but it did not turn out to be a good thing as it led Israel back into idol worship, adultery as the Bible describes.  Gideon had many wives and many children, but the one son of his concubine would eventually kill all seventy of his sons.  This is a sad ending to what could have been a great story if Gideon would have done as his ancestor Abraham had done after his victory over the five kings, for he took no spoils from the heathen king of Sodom, but worshiped the Lord and gave 10% to Melchizedek, who was a type of Christ as he was a priest and king to the true God of heaven.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I think that what I wrote yesterday about finishing strong is seen here as Gideon did not finish strong and people will remember person’s failures more than the good things that they do.  It is important for me to finish my life strong, for although I am not really old at this time I am “looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.” 

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. Trust in the Lord with all of my heart and lean not upon mine own understand, in all of my ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct my path.
2. Pr 10:19  When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, But he who restrains his lips is wise.

 

1/20/2010 10:20 AM    

           

The People Request a King (Judges 8:22-23)

1/19/2010 5:43 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                        Focus:  The people request a king

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  Judges 8:22-23

 

            Message of the verses:  “22 ¶  Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, ‘Rule over us, both you and your son, also your son’s son, for you have delivered us from the hand of Midian.’ 23  But Gideon said to them, ‘I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; the LORD shall rule over you.’”

            This section is a sub-point from the next point in Warren Wiersbe’s book, “Be Available.”  The point is “A puzzling reply for his friends” and this “narrative focuses on two requests, one from the people to Gideon and the other from Gideon to the people.”  The first request will be looked at in today’s SD.

            Gideon is a person that has always been hard for me to figure out because of the way his life was lived out, but because of human nature, that we all have, it should not be a big surprise to me at all. 

            Gideon in these two verses rejected to be king over Israel, and that was a good thing for him to do because God was their king as stated in many other portions of Scripture dating back to when Moses led the people through the Red Sea and the people confirmed that the Lord was their God.

            The puzzling thing here is that after Gideon turned down being a king he then began to act like a king and even named one of his sons by his concubine Abimelech which means “my father is a king.” 

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  One of the things that I have learned from the teaching of Scripture is that a person needs to finish strong in his walk with the Lord.  During my first years as a believer I heard a wonderful album from the Bill Gaither group called “Allehia! A Praise Gathering for Believers,” and there is a song in the album called “The Longer I Serve Him” which is sung by the soloists that worked so long for Billy Graham, whose name I have forgotten.  The song is about an older person who has looked back at his life and is praising the Lord for the sweetness of his life because of his service to the Lord.  Now I know that there has been a lot of trouble in my life and that my life has not always been pleasing to the Lord and if it were not for His wonderful grace I am forgiven for my sins and able to get back on my feet and serve the Lord.  The point in all of this is that it is my hearts desire to finish strong in my service to the Lord and as I look at the life of Gideon, at least his retirement portion I certainly want to do as the Scripture speaks of and that is learn from it and by God’s grace not follow those mistakes, but finish strong!

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. I trust the Lord that He will give me both the grace and the strength to finish strong.
2. My prayer is that Pastor Whiting will listen some of the things that I have to say this morning and that the Lord will open his eyes and see what some of the problems and sins that are in his life so that he can be used of God to work out the many problems at GBC.

 

1/19/2010 6:29 AM 

A Solemn Question for his Enemies (Judges 8:18-21)

1/18/2010 8:26 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                              Focus:  A solemn question for his enemies

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  Judges 8:18-21

 

            Message of the verses:  “18 ¶  Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, "What kind of men were they whom you killed at Tabor?" And they said, "They were like you, each one resembling the son of a king." 19  He said, "They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As the LORD lives, if only you had let them live, I would not kill you." 20  So he said to Jether his firstborn, "Rise, kill them." But the youth did not draw his sword, for he was afraid, because he was still a youth. 21  Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, "Rise up yourself, and fall on us; for as the man, so is his strength." So Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescent ornaments which were on their camels’ necks.”

            This paragraph tells of the killing of Gideon’s brothers by these two kings, Zebah and Zalmunna, but it goes into no details of how it happened; only that it did happen.  It may have been when the Midianites came into the land to steal all of the food from the children of Israel and Gideon’s brothers were defending their family.

            Since there was no police force in Israel at this time it was up to the family to pursue justice upon those who had killed someone in their family and that is exactly what Gideon did.  He offered the job of killing these kings to his sons, but he was probably too young to do it, and so Gideon killed them by himself and the matter was settled once and for all.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  When there is a problem in my life I have to have the courage to do what is right.  I believe that the Lord is now leading Sandy and me away from our church home into something that is better for us, and this excites me.  I also believe that there are real problems at GBC and if not corrected that it will die.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.    Trust the Lord to give me the right words to say at the meeting tomorrow that will be true and that will be honorable to the Lord.

 

1/18/2010 8:43 AM

A Stern Warning for the Skeptics (Judges 8:4-17)

1/17/2010 10:12 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                              Focus:  A stern warning for the skeptics

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  Judges 8:4-17

            Message of the verses:  “4 ¶  Then Gideon and the 300 men who were with him came to the Jordan and crossed over, weary yet pursuing. 5  He said to the men of Succoth, "Please give loaves of bread to the people who are following me, for they are weary, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian." 6  The leaders of Succoth said, "Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hands, that we should give bread to your army?" 7  Gideon said, "All right, when the LORD has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will thrash your bodies with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers." 8  He went up from there to Penuel and spoke similarly to them; and the men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth had answered. 9  So he spoke also to the men of Penuel, saying, "When I return safely, I will tear down this tower." 10  Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their armies with them, about 15,000 men, all who were left of the entire army of the sons of the east; for the fallen were 120,000 swordsmen. 11  Gideon went up by the way of those who lived in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and attacked the camp when the camp was unsuspecting. 12  When Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and routed the whole army. 13  Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle by the ascent of Heres. 14  And he captured a youth from Succoth and questioned him. Then the youth wrote down for him the princes of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men. 15  He came to the men of Succoth and said, "Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, concerning whom you taunted me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are weary?’" 16  He took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and he disciplined the men of Succoth with them. 17  He tore down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.”

            I have stated one of the key verses in Judges in earlier SD’s, and it seems like it is appropriate to do so here as this situation warrants the repeating of it:  “Every man was doing what seemed right in his own eyes.” 

            There is a difference between the sins of Ephraim and the sins of what the people in Succoth and Penuel did, for Ephraim’s sin was one of pride, and Succoth and Penuel’s sin was rebelling against the Lord’s appointed leader who was Gideon.  Gideon would harshly discipline these two cities because they were actually traders, for they would not give bread to the army of Israel for fear they would not win the battle and thus have Israel’s enemies defeat them, however they must have heard that it was the Lord who was with Gideon and He would give them the victory.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Going against a leader that is appointed by God is something that should not be done unless the leader is in sin, and then it must be done.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.     Trust that the Lord will give me the strength to do what is right in His eyes concerning the cancer that is in our local church.

1/17/2010 10:32 AM

A Soft Answer for his Critics (Judges 8:1-3)

1/15/2010 9:12 PM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                              Focus:  A soft answer for his critics

Bible Reading & Meditation               Reference:  Judges 8:1-3

            Message of the verses:  “1 ¶  Then the men of Ephraim said to him, "What is this thing you have done to us, not calling us when you went to fight against Midian?" And they contended with him vigorously.  2  But he said to them, "What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?  3  "God has given the leaders of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb into your hands; and what was I able to do in comparison with you?" Then their anger toward him subsided when he said that.”

            Why would Ephraim be criticizing Gideon?  Maybe it was because they had missed out on all of the spoils of war.  Proverbs 15:1 reads as follows, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger,” and that is exactly what Gideon did in answering the men from Ephraim.

            Verse two shows that the people of Ephraim had killed the two leaders of Midian and that was enough to satisfy them.

            One more point and that is the men from Ephraim should have been thanking Gideon and praising the Lord for the great victory and not worrying about spoils, for as least they were safe.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  “I need to remember proverbs 15:1 and put it into practice in my life.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1. Remember the principles of Proverbs 15:1.

1/15/2010 9:22 PM