SPEAK UP
Suggested Reading: Judges 19
Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).
The Via Dolorosa (Latin for “Way of Grief” or “Way of Suffering”) is a street in two parts, within the Old City of Jerusalem, believed to be the path that Jesus walked, carrying His cross, on the way to His crucifixion. The winding route from the Antonia Fortress west to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is a distance of about 600 metres (2,000 feet). There are 14 “Stations of the Cross” that have been marked along the way, with the last 5 Stations being inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.
Key Verse: Judges 19:22
As they were enjoying themselves, suddenly certain men of the city, perverted men, surrounded the house and beat on the door. They spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, “Bring out the man who came to your house, that we may know him carnally!”
Perversion, rape, and murder — The moral disease of sin is death! It’s difficult to understand how God, in Christ, took sin into Himself, and became the embodiment of all that is evil, all that is destroying the human family. But He did! The words in 2 Corinthians 5:21 assure us that God, “Made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us.” For encouragement we may want to read 2 Corinthians 5:17-21.
Our key verse gives us a picture of people enjoying relatively “small sins” inside the house when they were invaded by more dramatic sins from the outside. Actually, there are no pastel shades of sin. Sin is sin. It’s all as dark as the pit of hell. We must live in a state of repentance for our sin, trusting that, as 2 Corinthians tells us, we are a “new creation.”
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord Jesus, I want to keep on thanking You throughout all eternity for taking my sin into Yourself and bearing the separation from all that is pure, all that is loving, and all that is holy. Grant me grace to live my life here and now in such a way that I do not add to Your sufferings by more and more sin. Amen! Amen!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
I may have many questions for the Lord in eternity, but perhaps not. Perhaps I will be so taken up in worship that I forget my questions. One question that comes to mind concerns a family I knew before I knew Norma-Jean, my wife of almost 55 years. I won’t use their real names. This story comes to my mind frequently. It made such an impact on my young life.
I was still a teenager when I rented a hall and began preaching the Gospel. I was also a public school teacher then and met people who needed Jesus very much. One Sunday, as I gave an invitation to receive Christ as Saviour and Lord, I noticed that Barbara (not her real name) was gripping the back of the chair in front of her so tightly that her knuckles were white. She refused to give her life to Christ. The following Saturday night after a party, where there was heavy drinking, she and her husband were driving home while drunk and Barbara was killed in an accident. I was asked by the police if I would be the one to tell her husband that she had passed away (he was in the hospital). As a result of this experience, he gave his life to Jesus, and was a new man from then on. The following summer, while Barbara’s two children were visiting their grandparents, there was a house fire and both children died. I may have been 20 years old when I stood beside Barbara’s grave and led in a prayer as the children were buried just above their mother. I weep as I type this. I am still perplexed! I have so many questions. I know one thing that I do not question…God’s overall purposes are good. In the light of eternity, all is well.
Yours for understanding fully God’s purposes some day,
David
Here is Station #7 of the Via Dolorosa. Tradition says that Jesus fell the second time here. However, the Bible does not confirm this.
Inside Station #7 of the Via Dolorosa.
This is “deep calling unto deep” (Psalm 42:7). My line of work brings me into many moments where all I can do is stare and question the fairness as you did David. I could only imagine how at 19 or 20 years of age this must have been a heavy weight to carry David. We can question why, we can get angry or cry out at the seeming injustice of it all, or we can say as you have David “God’s overall purposes are good. In light of eternity all is well”. My inclination or prompting by the Spirit tells me that this quotation is a wise statement of faith. There are things we just won’t know this side of eternity … but God is good, this I know, and one day we will know just as God knows, and all of our anxious questions will be laid to rest when we see our Lord face to face.
1 Corinthians 13:13 (NKJV) “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
As Bob Marley sang, “Everything is going to be alright.” A horrific story in today’s reading which makes no sense. Neither does it make sense of the fourteen year old girl crying out hear death at the 401 major collision near Windsor, “I’m too young to die!” Neither does it make sense of a client of mine whose depressed and suicidal daughter, while suspended to the ouside of her balcony called out to her for help, responded to save her and could no longer hold tight grip of her hands had to release her and see her fall to her death below. She was visiting her daughter who was depressed with her newborn. I have reached the conclusion, if we cannot find God in our lives, there is only darkness. Or, the illusion of happiness (i.e.. people, places and things). I will be busy worshiping God as well, for mankind has only one answer found in Jesus of Nazareth.
I respect that you are offering that example to help, David. Repeating a client’s information is a complete breach of confidentiality, whether you mentioned names or not. Above all else, it is disrespectful to the client. Offering up my prayers for the family.
Sincerely,
~Beverlee~
This incident, which happened over thirty years ago, was made public knowledge by the press. Therefore, no breach of confidentiality. I am well aware of these guidelines and the corresponding legalities.
The impact of this tragedy has stayed with me all these years. Many prayers were said for the mother.
Thanks for your replies, David. I wasn’t intending to criticize you. Bless you!
Judges 19 would be a top question to ask God about in heaven, David; agreed.
I don’t ever remember reading in the Bible about a female, whether a concubine or not, being thrown out in the night to be abused by drunken men and then chopped up into pieces by her master. That is one amazing thing about the Bible–new things are always revealed–perhaps when we are ready to process them. God knows the many reasons why the OT happened as it did. I am thankful He saved us from our sinfulness with the sacrifice of His son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Worshiping Jesus and being present in His glory might certainly outweigh any need to ask God about this, in heaven.
Bless you, David, and wishing you peace, comfort and happiness. So looking forward to singing and worshiping at church, this morning. Blessings to everyone, today!
Hi David, What a difficult piece of scripture to read this morning! We certainly were not spared any of the details. Sometimes the enemy tries to play with our emotions and tell us how heartless these incidents are and hopes to bring us to false conclusions. My wise mentor, a missionary to India always told me, when your heart is troubled, go back to the Cross, Jesus gave us his everything to save us, that is his heart. l,ve been helped many times as l take my mind away from the accuser, and onto Jesus and the Cross.
Oh David my heart breaks for us !!!!!!!!!!
I thank you again for sharing your heart and experience. We are compelled by the love of God to share the love of God with others. I am amazed how God has used you Mr. (Rev. David Mainse) over the years to share the wonderful hope of the message of Jesus Christ. God knows whether she gave her heart to the Lord in a quiet moment after hearing the gospel message. I know that the Lord used 100 Huntley street many years ago in my life as I gave my heart to Jesus. I didn’t understand many things that were talked about in the program but God is faithful to bring us along.
Believing God for more and more through the love and power of Jesus.
Thank you for sharing this story as it has encouraged me to keep believing even though we don’t always understand and the way gets very hard. God bless you!
It is sometimes difficult to comprehend the the cruelity, violence, killings we read in scripture…the barbaric way they lived back then…but if one looks around today, there is still much of this going on…there is still much ‘darkness’ resulting in immorality, abuse, mutilations, violence, cruelity, to each other as well as all things living. Reminds me of Sodom and Gomorrah. We as Christians need to be much in prayer for the Light to penetrate this darkness, opening hearts and minds, bringing renewal, new life, to those lost and wandering in sin, hopelessness, and pain. We as Christians need to rise up and let our faith and ‘light’ shine into this darkness.
Lifting up our minds and hearts to God and His love, none of these things can touch us by being in tune with infinite Love The powers that be dwell within us. Believe in the goodness of God. Peace, victory and all the blessings of life are ours right now! Wonderful! The law of life is the law of belief.(faith)..As you have believed, so be it done unto you. Matt. 8:13. Believing in the best, expecting the best, inevitably the best of everything will and must come!
Amen, Connie, amen!
I’m not sure where the context for “small sins” comes from the content of them “enjoying themselves”. I don’t want to argue against a statement which has rationale I’m unaware of, so I’d prefer that someone could shed some light on how these small sins were committed and approximately what was committed. Thanks.
Mark I looked in my MaCarther study Bible and “enjoying themselves also means making their hearts merry which usually mean getting drunk. I hope that helps, but as David indicated as well sin is sin.
The answer to the questions of why terrible things happen is simply that we now live in a fallen and cursed earth. Not everything that happens is from God or allowed by God as many preach. It is for now the kingdom of Lucifer, because of the original sin, and he doesn’t spare any vicious blows. The real question may be “Why did dealing with sin have to be this way? Why did God create evil in the first place? Could it not have been done differently”. Well, perhaps God didn’t create evil per se. He created the potential for evil in order to give a choice for man between good and evil, so that we would be free agents — otherwise we would have to be created as robots without feeling and freewill or animals with feeling but without freewill.
Mark, Judges is about sinfulness of the people; their pulling away from God; and not continuing to follow God and his rules; over and over again. In Judges 18, the Levite man followed after his wife to have her come home from her father’s; fell into days of eating and drinking at her father’s house; left and on the way home did not have a place to stay; had a man invite them into his home for the night; they ate and drank; the Levite man threw his wife out onto the street to quiet the perverted men pounding at the door; they raped her all night long; she lay at the door the next morning; the Levite man leaves and says get up wench; throws her on the donkey; takes her home and chops her up into pieces to dispose of her. From the mildest of sin to the darkest.
I am wondering how you choose the books of the bible (what order you are planning). I am so looking forward to Revelation as there are promises of blessings for those who read, hear, and, keep the lessons. I am anxious to get to that in light of the happenings in our world now (comet, asteroids, shootings, etc). I do enjoy the present choices but I look forward to Revelation too. Love you and Norma-Jean. You both work hard at this blog as do your sons. God bless you all (and all the extended family).