JUDGING JUDGES
Today’s Reading: Judges 1 & 2
Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion on the right-hand side).
The Roman Cardo at Beit She’an National Park, Israel. Around 1100 BC, Canaanite Beit She’an was conquered by the Philistines, who used it as a base of operations for further penetrations into Israel proper (Judges 1:27). During a subsequent battle against the Jewish King Saul at nearby Mount Gilboa in 1004 BC, the Philistines prevailed. 1 Samuel 31 states that the victorious Philistines hung the body of King Saul on the walls of Beit She’an. Portions of these walls were excavated on Tel Beit She’an recently. King David was able to capture Beit Shea’an in a series of brilliant military campaigns that expelled the Philistines from the area, pushing them back to their coastal strongholds of Ashkelon, Ekron, Gath, Gaza, and Ashdod. During the Iron Age II period, the town became a part of the larger Israelite kingdom under the rule of the Biblical kings David and Solomon (1 Kings 4:12 refers to Beit She’an as a part of the district of Solomon).
GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.
Key Verse: Judges 2:10
When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel.
This is one of the saddest verses in the Bible. It should be a warning to us that our faith in God is only one generation away from near extinction. We must invest heavily in the supreme task of communicating the Word of God to future generations.
These two chapters are an overview of what is to come for Israel. Judges tells us of seven cycles of moral corruption from within and subjugation from without by the nations around them. After 40 years of victories under Joshua, Israel now suffers defeat after defeat, also deliverance after deliverance. The very last verse of Judges provides the answer to this inconsistency of serving the God of their fathers. Judges 21:25 tells us that “everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” At first glance it sounds good, but this is spiritual anarchy. This is a recipe for disaster. We must do what is right in God’s eyes according to His Word to us.
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord God, You’ve given me the desire to read Your Word daily so that I may know what is right in Your eyes. Again and again I pray for the grace to hear Your voice as I read, and then walk in the light that You provide for me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen! (as I pray this, I’m thinking of 1 John, chapter 1. Click here).
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
I confess that I felt somewhat discouraged in reading today’s chapters. So I thought, “I’ll turn to the next book in our readings, which is 1 Corinthians.” In chapter one there is much to encourage me, but I also read of divisions in the church. In chapter two, there was encouragement, but chapter three tells me that people are people. There was envy, strife, and they were behaving “like mere men.” God’s mercy and forgiveness was given over and over to Israel when they repented and cried out to Him. I’ve cried out to the Lord again and again since I first decided to follow Jesus 64 years ago as a 16-year-old. He’s forgiven me and restored me. I’ve done an overview of Judges, and I discovered that the people were living right before God most of the time. That gives me reason to be hopeful. Again, the first chapter of 1 John is my “go to” chapter for my life. Here it is again (click here), and then I’ve taken the time this morning to read 1 John chapter two (click here). I’m greatly encouraged now. Judges 2:22 gives the reason God placed Israel in the midst of the ungodly world. It was a test! I pray for grace to pass any test that comes my way. I can testify to the power of Christ, that while I may not be graded at 100%, I definitely am passing my exams, because of Jesus.
Yours for a passing grade, perhaps even honours (I study God’s notes – His Word – daily, and there I find the right answers),
David
Beit She’an theatre.
Remembering the chariate wheels found recently where the water covered the Egyptians as they pursued the Israelites !
I see more light when I look up at the Son,
And I see more stars when the day is done;
So He shows me I am not the only one,
For He knew me when the world was not begun.
GWM (It just popped into my head.)
“….see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is what he promised us—eternal life.” https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20John%202&version=NKJV;NIV
Our Infection
In the darkest shadows of our minds
Is where we lock our sins away
But He sees what His light finds,
For He sees shadows as bright as day.
In our closet are hidden from us
What we can not fight on our own,
But there is One called Jesus
Who has the brightest light ever known.
This light is free,from a ransom paid,
To all those who will take His name,
For in His torment He made
A sacrifice when He had no blame.
He knew,back then,of our infection
And of the power we denied,
So ignoring rejection,
He left us the grace we had defied.
(G.W.)Bill Marshall/11 July, 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI33izOgRdY A very beautiful song by the Booth Brothers
Tried twice to post but failed.I suspect others have too….
One Hundred Words is not the light
But it is a torch that shines so bright
That others may see that they walk right
When given the Word of heaven’s might.
Oops,sorry.I didn’t expect this to succeed./
Thank you, Anne and Ron. Thankful for the blood of Jesus.
We must do what is right in God’s eyes according to His Word to us. Amen! Here’s for encouraging scripture to lift us up! Love today’s prayer! Blessings fellow saints in the Lord! Oh, how He loves us, so!!
Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.
Psalm 34:14 ESV
Vinesong – Peace Like a River (Lyric Video) LIVE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF6n49nKrXA
Wonderful worship song!
African Children`s Choir sang last night; they are from Uganda, praying for healing for Kathy Mainse; children were wonderful, all had been rescued; Praise & Thank God for all of His blessings today; very thankful to be in the right place at the right time to help others last night;pray they got home ok, had a BIG rock slide on the highway,thankful no one was killed; thankful for the high way construction team to clear the road; thankful for the snow plowing on the roads;praying for our leaders in Canada and other countries;pray the Holy Spirit enters the hearts of these leaders to help them to be good leaders;praying that those dealing with winter storms are safe and able to get around, thank the Lord for all the people involved with running our communities;our local governments;may God guide them on how to spend good money in our communities;Thank You Lord for a good night`s sleep. in Jesus Name we Pray amen