April 23rd One Year Bible Readings

~ Click on this link for today's readings ~
Judges 1:1-2:9 ~ Luke 21:29-22:13
Psalm 90:1-91:16 ~ Proverbs 13:24-25

Old Testament - Today we begin the book of Judges! Coming up in this book, we’ll be reading about Deborah, Gideon, Samson, Delilah, and Micah - to drop a few names.  Below is a great map of the judges in Israel that we'll be reading about:

Judges
Author: Unknown
Date: Eleventh century B.C.
Content: The book of Judges covers a period of several hundred years following the conquest of Canaan, during which time the people were ruled by individual leaders called judges or saviors. Their task was primarily military, being to expel the enemy from the land. Throughout this period of Israel’s history there is a tragic cycle to be observed - that of rebellion against God, followed by the judgment of God, usually in the form of foreign invasion. The children of Israel then cry to God for help and a “judge” is sent to save them. This cycle is repeated numerous times throughout the book. Tragically, the people never seem to learn that rebellion against God is a sure road to disaster.
Theme: The grim lesson of Judges is that “the wages of sin is death: (see Romans 6:23). Sin takes many forms, from the sophisticated sins of kings to the barbaric events that close the book, but the net results is always the same: when everyone does his own thing, chaos and destruction are the inevitable outcome. Through it all, however, God in his faithfulness saves the people when they truly repent and turn to him. (Above commentary is from Tyndale Publishers “The One Year Bible Companion” p. 4)

More commentary on Judges is at these 3 links:
Really interesting commentary is at this link titled “The Role of Women in the Book of Judges."  (below is an image of Deborah)
http://bible.org/page.php?page_id=887
http://bible.org/page.php?page_id=951

An image is below for Judges chapter 1 verses 14 & 15 today: "When Acsah married Othniel, she urged him to ask her father for an additional field. As she got down off her donkey, Caleb asked her, "What is it? What can I do for you?" She said, "Give me a further blessing. You have been kind enough to give me land in the Negev; please give me springs as well." So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs."

Today in Judges Chapter 2 verses 1 & 2 we will read these words from the angel of the Lord – “I said, “I will never break my covenant with you, and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars. Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this?”” The Israelites disobeyed God back then. Why? Do we disobey God in our lives today? Why do we do this? I have a hunch that maybe sometimes we are simply afraid. Afraid of fully following and trusting God. We may think that God really won’t live up to his promises. At these moments our faith is weak. And we end up disobeying God. Fortunately our inconsistencies do not affect God’s perfect consistency. God never changes. We do. And we can allow ourselves to either be changed by God such that we live in obedience to him – or, we can continue to disobey God and live tumultuous lives. It’s a pretty simple choice. One decision brings an amazing peace that surpasses all understanding and the other decision – grief and frustration. Do we disobey God in our lives today? Why have we done this? Can we instead choose to obey God in our lives?  An image is below for Judges chapter 2 verses 4 & 5 today  - "When the angel of the LORD finished speaking, the Israelites wept loudly. So they called the place "Weeping," and they offered sacrifices to the LORD."

New Testament - Today in Luke chapter 22 we read in verses 3-6: "Then Satan entered into Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve disciples, and he went to the leading priests and captains of the Temple guard to discuss the best way to betray Jesus to them. They were delighted, and they promised to give him money. So he agreed and began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus so they could arrest him when the crowds weren’t around."  Sad...  Bible.org has a powerful essay on "The Biography of the Betrayer" at this link.    Below is a fresco from the early 14th century by the Italian Renaissance Florentine painter Giotto titled "Pact of Judas."  In this fresco the two priests on the right discuss Judas's treachery, while the third plots with Judas, who is in the clutches of the devil...

Bible.org's commentary on our Luke readings titled "The Second Coming of Christ" is at this link and commentary titled "Preparations for the Passion of Christ" is at this link.

Psalms - Today in Psalm 91:11-12 we read the words quoted by Satan to Jesus during the temptation in the desert: “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” As you read this Psalm, do these words apply to Jesus only? Or to those who trust in the Lord as well? Do you believe that the Lord is guarding you in all your ways? Do you believe this is possible? (I hope your answer is yes) Do you recall Jesus’ response to Satan in Matthew 4:7: “It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” What do Jesus’ words to Satan tell you about these words in the Psalm? Can we believe these words of the Psalmist, and also not put God to the test at the same time? As an example, maybe to just myself :) , is driving over the speed limit putting God to the test? Is deciding to skip church one week (or for many weeks) because we have some chores to catch up on / or fun stuff to do / or because we’re just tired, putting God to the test?  Think we just might look like this little guy below to God when we come up with all of our excuses of why we don't go to church...?

Bob Deffinbaugh with Bible.org has commentary on Psalm 90 titled "Place for Pessimism" at this link and his commentary on Psalm 91 titled "A Psalm of Safety" is at this link.

Proverbs - Proverbs 13:24 is true - "If you refuse to discipline your children, it proves you don't love them; if you love your children, you will be prompt to discipline them."  The one thing that makes me a bit nervous about this Proverb is that I have a hunch us humans can over-do our discipline.  I think there is obviously a difference between loving / godly discipline of our kids and mean / destructive discipline.  I pray that we are led by God to know the difference.  Yes, discipline is good.  Godly / loving discipline.  Mean / destructive discipline is not good.

Comments from You & Questions of the Day:  Do you agree with our Proverbs today that if you love your children you will be prompt to discipline them?  Do you think this same logic applies to our relationship with God, our Father?  If God loves us, do you think He will be prompt to discipline us?  Also, what verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings?  Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!

God bless,
Mike

Comments

[Rosyln]

The commentary from the link "The Role of Women in the Book Judges" is indeed interesting reading although I do not fully subscrtibe to some of the ideas that are discussed in the article.
I get the message that it is only when men fail to lead because of their lack of trust and faith in God, that women are given the opportunity to lead? That this could spell disaster in the end?

I will probably be attacked for saying this. But there are those among us women who can equally take positions of strong leadership regardless of whether men fail or not.
And what is bothersome to me is when women do take on positions of leadership, that they are attributed all sorts of negative labels.

In the context of marriage, a strong woman---emotionally and spiritually---is a great asset in keeping the marriage together.

Reading " Women of the Bible" by Spangler and Syswerda ---a one-year devotional study of women in Scripture has opened my eyes to many of the women I've never heard of in my earlier religion/theological studies.

[R]

Rosyln,

I don't think the issue is that woman can't lead, The Apostle Paul sent his Letter to The Romans, by way of a woman. The issue is men, who are designated or purposed to be leaders (Yes, God does have a plan and a purpose for everyone, even if they fail, like Israel and the Church, to step up to the plate) not taking their role.

Not every man is leadership material; ask Korah and his gang, as well as Aaron. In the exodus and in the desert, Moses was the man God chose. When males fail to be men, women suffer. The problem is people do not understand what it means to be in a leadership position, thus they fail at leading. Jesus definitely was and is a leader; however, he led by serving, empowering those who follow Him to do the work they were designed to do or created for.

To get the true picture of what is meant one MUST go back to “In the Beginning ..” before the fall of man. We are a broken people, using our gifts, talents and abilities wrongly. When the purpose of a thing is not understood, abuse is inevitable (Rev. Myles Monroe). We must go back to God’s original intent not what we see with out eyes and experience in a fallen world.

[R]

Judges 1-2:9

Seeing something for the very first time after seeing it over and over is both stunning and invigorating. I’m reading these verses and saying, “Why didn’t I see that before?”

Israel’s failure to root out the enemies most likely came from a kind of self-satisfaction with their initial conquest: A sudden change of perspective from God’s point of view to their humanly point of view regarding the strength of their enemies and their own strength. Success, if not carefully handled, can make you think you are, “All that and a bag of chips.”

The problem with them and with us is this, we forget that it is God working in us and for us to do … [Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight. (Philippians 2:13 AMP).

After Israel crossed the Jordan and before Israel attacked Jericho, if you call that an attack, they did two things, circumcise all the males who were not circumcised in the wilderness, and celebrate Passover. Before Passover is celebrated one of the household chores that MUST be done is removing all traces of Yeast, no matter hot tiny or insignificant. That yeast represented sin; big sin, little sin, garden variety sin—sin is sin and it needed to be rooted out completely not partially. When Israel chose to leave some of that sin, make friends with that sin, use that sin to work for them, they failed at understanding and translating the ritual of removing ALL yeast out of their daily lives.

We understand this medically. If I have surgery to have cancer cells removed, a good surgeon will not say, “Hey, I’m tired. I’ve been at this cancer removal now for about three hours, going on four and there is only a little bit of cancer cells remaining. I’ll close up now and go home and take a nap.” I am a dead person!

In answer to the entire nation on who should be the tribe that attacks first, God says, "Judah, for I have given them victory over the land." It was God not them at work. Then three more times in the first chapter (verses 4, 19, and 22), is either states the Lord gave them victory or the Lord was with them. That God was with them, when they failed to root out the enemy means that it wasn’t that these folk were stronger, bigger or had better weapons, it means there was a failure of perseverance, they didn’t get out all the cancer cells. Not only is this enemy dangerous to them militarily, but more important this enemy is dangerous to their souls.

My question to myself is this, How many times have I played with the enemy of sin because I grew weary, thought the “sin” was beneficial. How many times did I let pride take over and failed to not understand that it is,
[Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight. (Philippians 2:13 AMP).

LORD HAVE MERCY!

[L]

Rosyln, I think this issue of women leading in the church because men have 'defaulted' is something that irks me. I applaud your courage in stating your view.

The fact is, there are multiple perspectives on this complex topic falling under the categories of egalitarian, complimentarian, and some other views that are not coming to mind right now. Our formlery Brethren church (I dislike that name 'brethren") recently made a decision (long overdue) to include women in positions of elder leadership. It has taken us 6 years, yes 6 years to come to this prayerfully studied position. I realize there are those who would question just about every interpretation we have made on specific verses but the fact is, there is room to have different convictions and practices. Some will argue, (good friends of mine) that we are heading towards the end times with 'allowing women' into leadership equal to men. I say, give me a break. Has anyone taken care to highlight the women of God that have been raised up throughout church history recent and past, that have breathed life into the church.

There are godly and intelligent men and women on both sides of the issue of women in church leadership. Suffice it to say there have been VOLUMES written. I have found great help in Ronald Pierce and Rebecca Merrill Groothius and Gordon D. Fee (author of How to read the Bible for all its worth) book "Discovering Biblical Equality--Complementarian without Hierarchy" very helpful in maintaining a balanced and thoughtful perspective.

as well N.T Wright, probably the leading scholar on New testament studies has a lecture called "Men, Women, and the Church" delivered in september 2004. It's worth reading and can be found at www.ntwrightpage.com

Having just celebrated the resurrection of our Lord let's remember something important that Wright points out. Please bear with the lenghty quote.
"It is interesting that there comes a time in the story when the disciples all forsake Jesus and runaway; and at that point, long before the rehabilitation of Peter and the others, it is the women who come first to the tomb, who are the first to see the risen Jesus, and are the first to be entrusted with the news that he has been raised from the dead. This is of incalculable signficance. Mary Magadelene and the others are apostles to the apostles. We should not be surprised that Paul calls a woman named Junia an apostle in Romans 16:7. If an apostle is a witness to the resurrection there were women who deserved that title before any of the men." By the way I am aware that there is debate as to whether Junia was actually a man. There is not a shred of historical or exegetical argument available to those who keep insisting Junias was a man.
One thing my wife, a gifted leader herself, says to me, is "Luch please don't patronize me or any other woman. We have been gifted by God and are accountable before the Lord for our stewardship. There is neither male nor female, for we are all one in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:28

[Linda in California]

Luch,
I am not ready to make definitive statements about women in leadership, but that scripture you quoted is about salvation, not leadership.
"26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise." Galatians 3:26-29. It does seem to me that women are raised up when men fail. This is from a woman who was raised in a church pastored by women. During the 1950's there did not seem to be a place for single and divorced women and God raised up some women to fill this void. I need a lot of study, and personal "feelings" and militant feminism have no place here. Stating that men and women have different roles, is NOT putting down women. We have been so conditioned, by "militant feminism" that we seem to be losing our way. I think that when a woman is meant to be a leader, she will not have to push her way in. God will open the door and it will be natural and in harmony.

[Becky]

I think it's pretty clear from Scripture that women are not to be ministers, pastors, priests or whatever you want to call the leaders of the church.
Timothy says that an elder should be the husband of one wife. It doesn't say the elder should be the spouse of one spouse. Christ chose twelve special apostles-- and they were all men. The books of the Bible were all written by men, inspired by God. If Christ wanted women to be pastors, I think he would have had 6 women apostles and 6 men apostles.
That's not to say that women don't have important roles to play in life and in church. We do, but being the pastor isn't one of them.

[Michael W]

In a some what different vein...Judges 1 -

I am a new reader of this blog so please be patient if I am repeating a previously posted question

This reading has many implications for religious tolerance. The Israelites were not to be tolerant of the Canaanites and violence against their adherants, even genecide, is implied.

Throughout the history of Christianity the church has not tolerated heresy or the practice of other religions within the areas where it had influence. This zeal for purity of practice was also often accompanied by corporate or individual violence against heretics and the adherants of other faiths. Ironically, the Jewish people were often victems of religious violence at the hands of the church.

What does this say about our current practice of religious tolerance in the west? We are watching the results of a movement towards religious purity in Islam and recoil from its violence.

Does anyone else have any ideas about how we can reconcile our deeply felt need to respect others with the message of the angel in this reading?

[PM]

God loves us and disciplines us- Promptly! He also gives His grace to us! If we don't discipline our children, they never learn right from wrong and the consequences of their choices. It is very unloving to let a child be with-out discipline.

A guy I have been helping in his relationship with God, viewed God as an knit picking, all knowing, deliverer of cruelty. That is because the father who raised him spent his time getting wasted and in his sober moments would punish him cruely and abusively for even the slightest accident or oversight in his chores. The father would not discipline him by teaching him how to do things correctly, or thoroughly, only dole out punishment.

Our God is loving and gives us grace upon grace- even when we make mistakes (or do things on purpose). His forgiveness is there, and so is His discipline - teaching us - instructing us to save us from eternal punishment. God's discipline is not pleasure, it comes in trials, and they teach us promptly, or we get to repeat them.

That is soo much like the discipline God wants us to have with our children. Teach them, correct them, show them grace and forgiveness and use the law of the Lord to bring them up in the proper discipline - not sloppy punishments that don't correct them, but discipline that actually creates character.

The young man I spoke about was provoked to anger and has had to deal with deep anger issues that got him into serious trouble before he knew the Lord. Now he sees the "fear of God" as a reverance and respect for the all powerful God who chose to give His life for us.

[Katie]

This morning I read this aloud to my son (he was in here eating breakfast), and when I read the proverb, he rolled his eyes... then giggled. He is a wonderful boy! I've had to discipline him on many occassions, and I've had to be disciplined by my Heavenly Father in learning how to parent, too. When I was pregnant, I prayed James 1: 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. I prayed, "Lord, PLEASE give me wisdom...I sure don't know what to do" ... I was a newly repentent, newly walking with God single pregnant mother, and I was scared silly! But I prayed over and over for wisdom in raising my child, and my son has turned out to be a wonderful, amazing young man. Not my doing, but by the Grace of God!

The Lord tells us what to do with our kiddos, we have to listen to Him and be willing to act when told what to do. Or else He may have to discipline US :) ugh - lol
Amen

[Mae]

Do we disobey God in our lives today? Why do we do this? I have a hunch that maybe sometimes we are simply afraid. Afraid of fully following and trusting God. We may think that God really won't live up to his promises. At these moments our faith is weak. And we end up disobeying God. ~ I'm not sure about this one ... I disobeyed the Lord not too long ago. Not because I was afraid, but because I didn't understand and wasn't sure it was Him. What He asked seemed so weird! But now I know I shouldn't doubt it, Gods ways are beyond us and we just should obey Him. I know I have a lot of 'growing up' to do in hearing His voice. During my quiet time with God or my prayers, I know it's Him when I hear Him, but just during the normal things in live - so to speak - I can have my doubts. But to go back to the disobeying ... I'm not afraid to obey Him, but what I'm afraid of is to not have heard Him and obey to somebody else. Does that sound weird to anyone?

Luke 21:33 "Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear". ~ Simply beautiful!!!

Proverbs 13:24 "If you refuse to discipline your children, it proves you don't love them; if you love your children, you will be prompt to discipline them." ~ To discipline children is a good thing, it's a way to make them strong enough in this world. Indeed godly/loving discipline. My cousins girlfriend always tells me I should not raise my voice when Jaden doesn't listen to me. But I do that so Jaden knows I'm very very serious and I'm not happy with the thing he just did. I mean, come on, I don't yell at the top of my lungs! I'm not going all mental to him! He needs to know a difference in my voice. I do it my way, she does it her way ... but I have to admit that Jaden does it better when it comes to listerning. She only believes in being nice and sweet all the time, she thinks children will experience something traumatic when you discipline them. Her children can do anything at any time, well I'm sorry, I don't do that with Jaden! As long as he lives under my roof ... I really and truly believe children need discipline, for their own sakes and ours to!

[John]

Michael

I believe the angel is Jesus Christ pre-incarnate. Notice all the "I's" in verses Judges 2:1-6. The statements clearly go beyond the scope of one of God's angels, but not "the" angel of the Lord - Jesus Christ.

http://www.gotquestions.org/angel-of-the-Lord.html

"We know this is Jesus for two reasons: first, because the Angel of the Lord here claims divinity by saying that He is the one who led Israel up from Egypt, made a covenant with Israel, and personally called Israel to obedience. Second, because this person, appearing in human form before Israel, cannot be the Father, because the Father is described as invisible (1 Timothy 1:17) and whom no man has seen or can see (1 Timothy 6:16).

The idea of Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity, appearing as a man before Bethlehem is provocative, but logical - we know that He existed before Bethlehem (Micah 5:2); why should He not, on isolated but important occasions, appear in bodily form? (see also passages like Genesis 18:16-33; 32:24-30; Judges 13:1-23)." - David Guzik
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If it is Jesus, then God himself is telling them of His faithfulness, and asking why the Israelites had not carried out His instructions to possess the land (by exterminating the inhabitants).

Even if it is not Jesus, God has clearly passed judgment on the inhabitants of Canaan previously in the OT. In Leviticus 18:24-28 the practices of the "ites" had so abhorred God that he punished them for their sins by ordering judgment to be carried out by Israelites. God's cup of wrath regarding the "ites" was full - this leads to judgment.

He told this to Moses and Joshua, and it continues here in Judges.

Some will say this is the mean old God of the Old Testament, not the New Testament. They are wrong. God was patient - 400+ years passed from when he told Abraham his desendants would have the land. God was merciful - the "ites" had time and learned and knew all about the God of Israel and feared Him and his people. (See Rahab). Did they throw down their arms and say - teach us of this God of yours? No, they fought. They rejected the God of Israel.

The sentence for rejecting God has never changed:
- not for the "ites".
- not for those who reject Christ.
- not for those who oppose Christ at Second Coming.

The sentence is death - eternal separation from God. God has a right to make that judgment call at the time and way He decrees - He is the Creator.
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The difference between possessing the land of Canaan and your Church example.

Judgment in Canaan was decreed and ordered by God. Israel was the implement of God's judgment on the "ites". Just as later when Israel screwed up the Assyrians and Babylonians were the implements of God's judgment on Israel.

In your examples whether by historical Catholics or Protestants, judgment was decreed by man via his man-made institutional religion.

Big difference.

The first is God-ordered. The "ites" had rejected the God of Israel. By ridding them from the land - the practical problems of rampant sexual diseases, and worse, idolatrous worshipping would not influence the growing nation of Israel, not to mention it would be carrying out God's orders.

The second is un-Biblical. Nowhere in the New Testament does it say to spread the gospel by the sword, or to maintain territorial purity. How many examples do we see of Paul walking away from a fight or someone who rejects His evangelism. I don't know the specific cases you refer to - but I would surmise the decision to be intolerant arose out of at best - fear of the other group, or at worst - a power grab for land and money. Regardless, these are man's decisions and not an edict from God. God wants man to choose Him out of free will, not be forced by some dunking machine or inquisition out of fear to declare for a man-made religion.
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As to us today - here I speak for myself. I do not respect any institutional religion, belief set, new age movement, or alleged Christian cult that does not state Christ is Deity, Salvation is of God through Jesus Christ - and there is nothing we can do to earn it.

I do feel sorry for the people trapped in those non-Christian groups and will always try to share my testimony and the gospel with them.

As to tolerance - I cannot force them to see the Truth, they must be seeking it. Therefore, if they want to worship a false god, so be it. I would hope that they would feel the same way towards letting me worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Looking at the world now - I would say there is much less tolerance of Christianity than anything Christians have done to other groups - notwithstanding your historical (time frame???) examples.
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I deliberately used judgment instead of your word - "genocide".

Genocide connotes murder. For the "ites" Judgment is execution by one who has the power and authority to execute. God has that power, authority, and right.

[jen]

Old Testament
Yes I confess I do disobey God sometimes. I think tempations overcome me. I can try to obey God but we are sinners.

New Testamant
It was sad and such a betrayal

Psalms
I dont usually miss church. I tend to miss it if I dont attend for too long.

Psalm 90
A summary of this Psalm
Verses 1 and 2 talk about how God is constant. he always has been.
Verse 4 His timing is different to ours
verses 3 and 5 He is in control
verse 7 sees all knows all
verse 13 and 18 helps those whom mourn
verse 15 to 17 looks after us

Proverbs
There is a big smacking debate going on in New Zealand. Some MPS want to legalies it. The community of New Zealand doesnt want this. Lots of people believe its part of raising children. The MPS argue that this is why there are manslaughters and the such going on. I dont see anything wrong in smacking childrena dn I dont think this will help to stop those that actually do abuse their children. There is a big difference bewteen smacking and abusing.

Comments
I do think we need to face up to our sins and try to repent and stop doing the wrong thing. I do think that God punishes us by allowing bad things to happen to us to teach us things. He brings us to our knees but He never allows us to go though more than we can handle

[John]

Judges 1-2:9

Series of Compromises

Originally the Isralites went to the Lord, and subsequently there is no mention of going to God, giving Him the glory,, offering sacrifices, etc.

When things got dangerous difficult it became easier to compromise (because the tribes were not relying on the Lord???) then to follow the instructions of the Lord.

[Is that true of you and I today???]

Various "ites" were allowed to stay, regions were left unoccupied, even when stronger the "ites" were utilized as slaves - making life easier for the Israelites. Jerusalem was razed, but not occupied - the Jebusites came back. Tribe after tribe had incomplete or partial conquests.
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Not only did the Israelittes compromise but there were some "character" changes showing up:

They humiliated Adoni-Bezek by cutting off his thumbs and big toes. Just like he had done previously in other wars. Israelites were called to execute judgment not called to humiliate enemies. They were showing signs of becoming like their enemies.

Othniel was a brave warrior, but he was nagged by wife and usurped in the request for land by his wife. Showing a difference between himself and Caleb.
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All in all it was a series of compromises to the Word of God. The angel of the Lord (I believe pre-incarnate Christ) came and spoke.

God always reminds us first of His love and faithfulness to us, then He asks the question:

'So why have you not followed my commands?'

So be it - you want to straddle the fence and compromise - they shall stay and be a thorn in your sides, and their gods a snare to you.

"The word "snare" means a trap with a noose in it which a rabbit runs through and gets caught--and you eat the rabbit. "Their gods shall be a snare to you. Their gods will eat you up, so to speak. They will destroy you as a person." - Ron Ritchie

Thes people did the right thing - they wept, repented, and offered sacrifices. As long as joshua and other elders were alive these people DID serve the Lord.

But what about the Next Generation - how would the compromises made in possession of the land affect them??????

[John]

Luke 21

Fig Parable

Luke 21:32 "I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened." NIV

I can see only three possibilities for the meaning of "this generation", but am open to other suggestions.

- generation of Jesus' time. Cannot be this one as Jesus has not come back yet.
- the generation of the time when the events are beginning to happen (sprout leaves in parable) will not pass away.
- the "race" of man (alternate translation) will not pass before it happens.

But more importantly - "heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away."

You can bank on it - Jesus is coming back and will set up the physical kingdom of God. Timing is not the issue - HE will be back! We have His Word.
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Regarding Judas

Luke 22:3
"Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve." NIV

"How was Satan able to do that? Well, Judas was ready for him. Our hearts were created to be ruled, and if they are not ruled by God they will be ruled by something or someone else. The gospels show us that this man's heart was ruled first by the world. He had hungered for a political kingdom and had followed Jesus until those dreams were shattered on Palm Sunday. Sometime in the following three days he had gone to the chief priests and betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver (see Matthew 26:14-16). Then he was ruled by the flesh. He was selfish, coveted money, and eventually became a thief (John 12:6). And finally he became ruled by the devil." - Ron Ritchie
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Passover Parallels

Jesus ate the Passover meal with eleven of His disciples (see Passover in Bible Times). Just as the priest was to teach, pray, and offer sacrifice, Christ, the High Priest, taught, prayed, and then offered Himself as our sacrifice.

[Michael W]

John,

Thank you for your well thought out and well articulated response to my question. You have given me plenty to reflect on and I want to spend some time thinking about it before I comment. In the event that I have nothing to add, let me thank you now for your time and trouble in framing it.

[Jenny]

Great readings. I was sad to hear Joshua died....again. didnt they say that at the end of the last book? :p
Anyhow, I think we sin also because we are still in our fallen nature and sometimes we simply let the flesh rule us. I have sinned deliberately and i was very wrong to, it was more lack of fear on my part. i wanted what i wanted, i allowed my flesh to overtake me, i ignored God. I admit it. but i understand wat the blogger meant by being afraid of things God asks us, like to share with someone and i simply get afraid n dont. what i'm afraid of? dont know, but its ridiculous that i am at times. (reminds me of that song by Shaun Groves, Should I Tell Them..."cause i'm unshamed, but i'm unprepared, and just plain afraid..should i tell them that You are the One who has saved me and set up a home here inside. should I tell them that i am a perfect example of all you can do in a life...." its a good song! =)

Another note on satan tempting Jesus...satan knows scripture, he will use it, but twist it to lure us, the same as he tempted Jesus!
yes, i need His discipline and yes parents should discipline their children out of love! You can tell, especially young adults, kids that werent disciplined enough by their parents.

K, a personal thing here. i love my dad so much and God has totally restored him, me, our relationship...but wen i was young, i was punished waaaay too much, for things i didnt even do. My dad came home from work in a bad mood and was angry n wanted to take it out on someone and it was me...(and my older sibling n my mom). But i got it the worst, even he admits it and apologized. the physical abuse affects me a bit to this day but the emotional abuse was much worse tho..had not been for Christ in my life, it would have been irrevocable. As a youngster, my dad was a authority figure and a believer, a respected elder in the church, i assumed he was a representative of God. Was God angry? wanting to beat me any chance He could? did He hate me? did he think i was worthless and had no future as my dad implied about me? I believed it very much so, i tried to take my life at 17. I accept my wrong, I became angry at God, in fact I hated Him and I hated my dad. But I was wrong, but it was also wrong to mislead a youngster into believing God was angry and didnt care about them. When i turned 17, i told my dad i didnt want to go to church anymore, i was old enough to decide and he respected that, but said, thats ok, you wouldnt like heaven anyway, you'd be better off in hell with ppl like you. :((
Out of the blue once, he tried to cast a demon out of me! he thought i was possessed bcos i was an emotional teen! he would try to talk to me and see if i was possessed...that was damaging...am I possessed by a demon? i knew i wasnt, but how cruel!!!! Sundays in my house were the worst days ever, the days of abuse...every sunday. Once, my sis n i were very young, like 6 n 8 and my mom hid us in the bathroom because my dad was angry and wanted to take us to night church n we didnt want to go n he was getting violent, so my mom gave us the key and was fighting with my dad trying to protect us...you dont know the terror i felt, being so young small, helpless in the bathroom crying...and he was trying to break the door down! all to take us to night church, which we were to young to comprehend. I was terrified of church, his anger for so many years, i mean TERRIFIED! once wen i was about 13 my sisters n i were waiting for our mom to pick us up after sunday school, and my dad wanted me to stay for the adult part, i was looking at him and the sun was behind him n i was squinting my eyes i guess and i was swinging my purse around. I was tiny, about 4'11, 75 lbs. to my and my sisters shock out of no where he back handed me across the face so hard i fell over, but my hair got caught in his fingers so that kept me up. Ppl at the church saw and were very upset. he later said i was standing there glaring at him, trying to hit him with my purse, wat???? and right in front of the church were ppl could drive by a see; gee, greeeat witness :/
He would make my older sis and i have bible study...which sounds good, but would have us listen to tapes of the books like Numbers, just names, about 10 minutes long and he would ask us Qs and we didnt know the answers, so he made listen again, we still didnt know..again, up to 5 times, and he was soooo angry at us! we were evil rebellious children to him but we didnt understand those passages! the Bible and church became a place of punishment!!! God was, in my mind, mean! eventually, i wanted nothing to do with God n vowed i'd never go to church again....i was sooo confused as to who God was. fortunately i had my mom who was loving and godly and told me how wrong my dad was. God was nothing like dad! nothing! i was soooo confused growing up! but God worked it all out.
My life, my dad's life turned miraculously....I finally found out God did love me, wasnt angry. So i stand witness God can change hearts, lives, heal the abused and heal the one who abuses. A total 360 change on my dad's part and mine! I dont know why i shared all this, but maybe someone can relate or is going through this.
But, its just past, gone...its still my past but i have no anger, no hatred, i love my dad and wouldnt change dads for the world...no matter all the bad, i'm soooo blesssed to have a godly father! he thought he was doing right at the time, and he did plenty of good things too.