THE BEAUTY OF BEING CHASTE: HEART MATTERS - PART THREE

"But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart."   

I Samuel 16:7

"But it doesn't matter what I wear!" Sarah scoffed. "God sees my heart!" Sarah finished putting on her lipstick while Hannah tried in vain to reason with her old friend.

"Yes, God does see the heart," Hannah explained, "but nobody else does, especially boys. They see that." Then Hannah moved her hand quickly in front of Sarah's revealing outfit. "Don't you see? They are too distracted by what you are wearing to notice you."

Sarah said, "But that is my point! I don't care if boys notice me or not." Hannah smiled bashfully. "I just care what God thinks and He can see my heart for sure."

Haven't we all heard the expression, "It is what is inside that counts."  Indeed there is a lot of truth in this. God is mostly concerned with our hearts. We do not want to be like the Pharisees of Jesus' time who were more concerned about the outwardly beauty and appearance. They wanted to appear before men as holy and pious, while in fact they were full of filth on the inside.

Our Lord Jesus rebuked them calling them hypocrites for this very thing. This is what Jesus said to them:

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.  You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness.  So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."    Matthew 23:25-28. 

Do you not know that our God can cut into the divisions of our soul and of our spirit, our joints and our marrow, and can know the thoughts and intentions of our heart? In fact, God knows us better than we know ourselves! But my point is, do we not often judge someone by a quick examination and observation regarding their appearance? Let us take a look at what happened in I Samuel 16:7.

"But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." 

The LORD was directing Samuel to the one that He had chosen to be anointed as King of Israel. Samuel was impressed with Jesse's oldest son, Eliab, who happened to be full grown and physically better than the rest of his brothers. Samuel made the mistake of thinking that Eliab surely had to be the one whom God would choose to be king. But God had already chosen David, the youngest of Jesse's eight sons. God's thoughts and ways are different from ours. They are much higher! That became obvious when both Eliab and David faced the challenges of Goliath and only David stepped forward in valiant faith.

God saw in David a heart of FAITH. God was trying to teach Samuel that men do not see and regard things the way God does. God searches and sees the hearts of men, while men tend to see only the things on the surface. It is our human frailty.

Let us consider the Apostle Paul who had trouble with people misjudging him. His authority was questioned many times because while his words were powerful, bold and weighty, he appeared to be weak in his body before them and his speech was said to be despicable.  "Look at what is before your eyes. If anyone is confident that he is Christ's, let him remind himself that just as he is Christ's, so also are we... For they say, 'His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account.' Let such a person understand that what we say by letter when absent, we do when present..."  2 Corinthians 10:7-12.

Sadly, we have the tendency to judge too quickly. We have the bad habit of making quick judgments without full examination. It seems as if we are only concerned about looking at the physical beauty, the clothing, the house people live in, the car people drive, the hair styles that people have. And the list goes on. We are so easily swayed by smooth speech and what some call "charisma."  Let us be wise for a moment. Stop and think. All these things can easily distract us from knowing who people really are.  Let us not focus on seeking the wrong things!  Let us imitate Christ and His Father who see what is on the inside of men, the heart.  Does God know my heart? Yes, He does!

Remember, God looks at the heart. Unfortunately, what men see is what is in front of their eyes… what we show them. God warns us over and over that we should not regard or judge others by their outward appearance. Man's failure and weakness is to focus on the outward appearance and not the heart. What do you think?

Although we as Christians are aware that we should not judge others by their outward appearance, we must remember that others have this weakness. Our purpose should be that of desiring to communicate the righteousness of God and His Son by the way we behave and present ourselves to others, especially to a lost and dying world, steeped in darkness.

Take heart, what is inside of us will eventually show up on the outside, "Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life."  Proverbs 4:23. 

"You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks."  Matthew 12:34. 

"But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander." Matthew 15:18-19. 

"For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness." Mark 7:21-22.

"The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks."  Luke 6:45. 

So, if your demeanor is sloppy, sensual, careless or unclean, you must ask God to help you change your heart for a righteous one. Why not ask yourself the following questions:

1. Does my outward appearance communicate a message of love for Christ and my neighbor, or do I appear to want to be perceived as someone who never seems to care? 
2. Do others who meet me ever act surprised when they find out that I am a Christian because of what I apparently regard as important to me, such as my affection for subculture dress, leather, body piercings...?
3. Does the way I dress and behave communicate a message of chastity, or would others assume I am trying to look "hot'?
4. Why not look in the mirror and ask, “Does my demeanor appear to be gloomy or severe, or do I see joy and loveliness in my reflection?”

Remember that everything matters.  Every bit of it!  And the foundation for all of this is found in the words of our Lord:   

"And He said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the great and first commandment.  And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." Matthew 22:37-40.

It is all about loving God with all your heart as well as loving your neighbor as yourself. One way I can express such love for Jesus our Lord is by honestly representing Him well.  It is our duty before our God to be prepared to act like godly women and godly men. What that means is that we must be careful to appear godly before a world of darkness. Our lives as Christians are open Bibles that represent Christ and can save souls. But we must be careful not to become stumbling blocks. We must learn to use discretion!

This is my question to you then, 1)  Is it okay for Christians to go to the PROM?  2)  Is it okay to wear indecent and immoral gowns just because everyone is wearing them and that is what our culture dictates?   3)  Are we fiercely guarding our reputation before our God?  4)  Don't you know we are commanded by our Lord to guard His reputation?  We clothe ourselves with Christ, "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ."  Galatians 3:27.   5)  Are we aware at all that when we dress, speak and behave, we are speaking of the purity of Christ whether it be honestly or dishonestly?   6)  Do we want to leave doubts about our chastity?  7)  Do we want to appear as contradicting the WORD of God? 

REMEMBER, the way I behave and present myself to the world points others to Christ, and should not distract them from Him. The same questions need to be faced concerning wedding gowns. Delicate sisters who would never dare to appear in public showing so much skin as the typical wedding gowns uncover, give themselves permission to do so in church.  Are their worldly friends thinking about how godly she looks or are they thinking how “hot” she looks?

Likewise older women are commanded to admonish the younger women to be "chaste" among other things. And why? The Word of God says, "Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled."  Titus 2:3-5.  This admonition is very serious, "that the Word of God may not be reviled."

May we never cause the Word of God to be reviled among the unbelievers as well as believers by the way we live and behave that is counter to what is described in Titus 2.  To revile or blaspheme literally means to slander, to communicate that which is not TRUE. We must live a life behaving in a manner worthy of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. What that means is that we must live a life that is consistent with the WORD of God, lest we give the unbelievers the opportunity to slander God because of our hypocrisy. Perish the thought! That would be a horrible thing!


As Christians, we might regard ourselves as being active just because we pass out tracts all day long, read our Bibles, or evangelize... The list can be long.  But if we leave out showing the purity of the Gospel before the lost, those that need to be inspired by us and the Word of God, because we neglect living according to the Word of God, we are allowing Satan to take away the power of the Gospel of our Lord. The Word of God says, "And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes."  Ezekiel 36:23.

My question then is this,  1)  Does your life vindicate God's holiness?  2)  Do those around you see a true and honest picture of God's righteousness and holiness?  3)  Do they see the beauty of Christ in your life by the way you live?  4)  Do they experience the power of the Word of God through the Gospel in you?  5)  Did you know that our primary purpose while we walk this path of life here on earth is to glorify our God in our bodies?  Our lives are to reflect His holiness, His character, His love, His purity and His beauty.   

"Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body."   

I Corinthians 6:19-20. 

Here is another admonition, "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."  Romans 12:1-2.

Let us take these admonitions to heart and obey them! 

So with all these admonitions and exhortations about CHASTITY, let us behave in a manner that is pure and godly. Let’s let our godly conduct speak for us before the unbelievers. Let us be women and men who are chaste.  Let us be women who are submissive to our husbands in spirit in our conduct, living a life that reflects the TRUTH and PURITY of the Gospel of our Lord and Savior. 

“Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct.  Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear—  but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious."  Lest we forget true beauty is found in the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, I Peter 3:3-4.

My greatest desire and hope is that we learn that TRUE and BIBLICAL beauty is found in the heart of a woman who is chaste, godly, modest, gentle, meek and submissive to all the authorities in her life. She is the woman who lives a life that is marked by her good works, "with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works."   I Timothy 2:10.


May the Lord help us to live a life that is simply beautiful before His eyes.  May we make our lives as well as the lives of our daughters define our true beauty.  And may it be a life that is consistently evident by our godly behavior to the lost and dying world around us.  Hallowed be His name!


Luci

NOAH AND THE FLOOD

"And Jehovah saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented Jehovah that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And Jehovah said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the ground; both man, and beast, and creeping things, and birds of the heavens; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found favor in the eyes of Jehovah... And I, behold, I do bring the flood of waters upon this earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is in the earth shall die."

Genesis 6:5-17

There are many variations of the Biblical Flood account which are found in various cultures and on every continent.  Although the stories differ in their details, it is significant that there are so many stories about a worldwide Flood.  The Flood was so massive that it changed the whole world into a new one.  The Flood is remembered by cultures around the world even millenia later.  The Flood drives history:  before the Flood, the Bible tells us little about human history except that the people grew wicked.  After the Flood, we start to see some recording of human events.

One difference between the Bible account of the Flood and other accounts is that  in the Bible, God himself starts the flood and ends it after forty days (although the waters prevail and subside for over a year).  In most other tales and fables, it is said that an evil god starts the flood and a good god then ends it.  Of course the Bible emphasizes that there is only ONE GOD and that He is GOOD.  Notice that other cultures blame the gods for the evil that happens on the earth, whereas the Bible blames sinful men.  The Biblical account of the Flood begins in Genesis 6.  In Genesis 6:5 we read, "The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."  Now if we contrast that verse with verse 9 of Genesis 6 we read,  "Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God."  The contrast between Noah and the rest of the human race is important.  Noah was everything that God desired and expected of man.  God's divine design is stated thus, "He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth Jehovah require of thee, but to do justly, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with thy God."  Micah 6:8.

Noah was a righteous man in whom God found favor.  He was the only one that was found blameless that was living on earth at that time. Noah was living in a world that was consistently and totally evil.  He was a man who walked in close fellowship with his God in faith.  We see a very angry God; a God that was grieved in His heart and was sorry that He had made man on the earth. Our God hates sin very much and when He saw that the intentions of man's heart was in doing evil continually, He decided to blot out man whom He had created from the face of the earth except for Noah and his family.

The following is what the Bible tells us that God felt about the wickedness of man in the earth:

"And Jehovah saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  And it repented Jehovah that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And Jehovah said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the ground; both man, and beast, and creeping things, and birds of the heavens; for it repenteth me that I have made them."  Genesis 6:5-7.

Notice that only Noah and his family would be saved.  "By faith Noah, being warned of God concerning things not seen as yet, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; through which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith."  Hebrews 11:7.

"That aforetime were disobedient, when the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water: which also after a true likeness doth now save you, even baptism, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the interrogation of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ."  I Peter 3:18-21.  

Some scholars believe that it had never rained anywhere on the earth before the Flood.  The following is what they point out: 

• Genesis 2:6 says that "but there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground."  This clearly indicates that the earth was watered by a mist and not by rain.  We don't know whether this natural process continued until the time of the Flood.
• Hebrews 11:7 may indicate that Noah had never seen rain. "By faith Noah, being warned of God concerning things not seen as yet, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; through which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith."  Of course, he had never seen a worldwide flood either.
• The mere fact that the rainbow, given after the flood as a covenant between God and Noah, is such a new phenomenon which could easily indicate that it had never rained before.
• The fact that Noah was mocked by others while he was building the ark could easily indicate that rain and a flood was unreasonable and unknown in their minds.

 God gave Noah specific instructions about how to build the ark, Genesis 6:13-22.  God told Noah who and what to take with him.  Notice also that Noah by faith obeyed God.  "Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he."  Genesis 6:22. God also promised He would protect Noah and his family throughout the flood.  God also made a covenant with Noah which is the first recorded covenant that God made with man:

"But I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee."  Genesis 6:18.

In this manner God's covenant places Him precisely in contrast with the other so called gods of the Ancient Near East.  The gods of these Ancients never made covenants with humans.

 

In Genesis 6:19, Noah is instructed by God:  "And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female."

Then in Genesis 7:2-3, Noah is instructed by God "Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee seven and seven, the male and his female; and of the beasts that are not clean two, the male and his female: of the birds also of the heavens, seven and seven, male and female, to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth."

Why do you think there are two different instructions to follow?  Why does God tell Noah to take all the animals two by two?  Why does God tell Noah to take seven of every kind of clean animals?  Notice that God tells Noah this just a few verses later.

An explanation for the above instruction lies in the understanding of clean and unclean animals under the Old Testament.  In the Old Testament, clean animals were animals that were considered suitable for food and for sacrifices offered to God.  The sacrifice of clean animals was pleasing to God.  Hence, God instructs Noah to bring seven of every kind of clean animal to fulfill both of these purposes.  The reason for this was that Noah and his family were evidently going to survive the Flood.  They would need clothing, shelter and food.  The clean animals would help provide these things.  These clean animals would be the beginning for Noah to have access to a new livestock, perhaps, with cows and goats for milk and meat, chickens for eggs, sheep for wool, and so on.  Our wonderful God thinks of everything that we need and provides it!!

After Noah and his family left the ark, they built an altar and made a sacrifice to God.  "And Noah builded an altar unto Jehovah, and took of every clean beast, and of every clean bird, and offered burnt-offerings on the altar."  Genesis 8:20.  Notice that some of the clean animals were set aside for this sacrifice.

After Noah and his family went into the ark, the LORD shut them in.  This is also unique to the Biblical account of the Flood.  By contrast, in other Ancient cultures of the far East, their stories or fables tell of boats.  It was always a man who closed the door.  In the Bible account of the Flood, God closed the door.

God then released heavy streams of rain until the mountains were covered.  In other flood accounts, the gods became terrified at the forces that were released.  Some of them cowered and cried out.  However, in the Biblical account of the flood, God remained fully in control.  After forty days and nights, the rain stopped and the waters began to recede:

"God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged; the fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained; and the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of a hundred and fifty days the waters decreased."  Genesis 8:1-3.

Noah then sent out birds from the ark as God had instructed him in order to make sure the land was dry.  Noah first sent a raven, then a dove.  All this was done three different times.  In the fables and stories regarding the flood, birds appear also.  The second time the dove returned, it brought an olive leaf to Noah.  The third dove did not return.  Genesis 8:7-11

Afterward, the LORD told Noah to leave the ark.  One of the first things Noah did was to build an altar to the LORD Jehovah.  There he offered a sacrifice to the LORD.  Although, other flood accounts do mention sacrifices, the sacrifices were only  for the purpose of  feeding the gods since the flood had destroyed their food supply.  On the other hand, in the Biblical account of the Flood, Noah offered sacrifice as an act of worship.  The worship was to be a fragrant aroma sacrifice that was to be pleasing to God.  In the case of Noah's sacrifice God was pleased.  Genesis 8:15-22

Finally, the LORD Jehovah made a covenant with Noah where God promised not to ever destroy the earth with another flood.  The LORD Jehovah placed a rainbow in the sky as a sign of  His oath saying:

"And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud, and I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth."  Genesis 9:12-17.

There is a fascinating fact about the Ice Age and the Flood where Creationists believe that the waters of  the Flood came both above and below the ground, as Scripture says in Genesis 7:11.  According to this view, waters bursting out of the ground might have caused earthquakes, volcano eruptions and massive changes in the earth's crust.  Volcanic ash and dust might have spewed into the atmosphere, creating an "anti-greenhouse" effect that brought on the so called "Ice Age." 

The story of Noah and the Flood stands as an historical warning that not only did God judge the wickedness of ancient men, but He also has fixed a day in which He will judge the wickedness of all men again.

"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness; but is longsuffering to you-ward, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing that these things are thus all to be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy living and godliness, looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God, by reason of which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?  But, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for these things, give diligence that ye may be found in peace, without spot and blameless in his sight."  II Peter 3:9-14.

Luci

THE LONG AWAITED LAW OF CHRIST

And many peoples will come and say, 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways and that we may walk in His paths.'  For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.  

Isaiah 2:3

God had promised He would send His Messiah, Jesus, to teach us His LAWS in order that we might walk in His pathways.  Likewise, God promised the Law would come from Jerusalem from His Son, Jesus, to be taught in our hearts, the glory of God which is His righteousness, "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."  John 1:14.  This is what the Scriptures say,  “Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, a people in whose heart is My law; do not fear the reproach of man, nor be dismayed at their revilings." Isaiah 51:7.  This Law of God planted in the hearts of those who would listen was to be the Law of God's Words.  This Law was to teach us the righteousness of God through Christ to everyone who believes, "but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law."  Romans 9:31; "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes."   Rom. 10:4.

This Law was to be the Law of His Son, Christ, which was of faith, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,  being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;  whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;  for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.  Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one.  Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law."  Romans 3:23-32.  This Law of Christ was to be good, holy and righteous, "So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good...."  Romans 7:10-19.

The Law of God, the Law of Christ concerned the inner man, the law of the mind "For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man."  Romans 7:22.  The Law of Christ was to be the Law of God within our mind vs. the law of sin, the law of flesh, "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin."  Romans 7:25.  The Law of Christ was to be the law of the Spirit to set us free from the slavery of sin, "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit"  Romans 8:2-4.

This Law of Christ was to bear fruit pleasing to God, "Because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God."  Romans 8:7-8.  The Law of Christ was to be the law of practicing love and not of practicing evil, "Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law."  Romans 13:10.   This Law of Christ was to be the salvation of all men.  The Law of Moses directed the thinking of men to Christ, "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes."  Romans 10:4.  "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to every one who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."  Romans 1:16.

It is through the Law of Christ that we are able to receive the promise of  our inheritance, our hope of heaven.  This Law of Christ was given because of our sins.  The Law of Moses was ordained by angels through a mediator until the promised seed should come, Christ our seed.   "Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made."  Gal. 3:19.  The Law of Christ, who is the "promised seed," was to give us life.  The Law of Moses served as the guardian of God's promises that Jesus Christ would fulfill, but the Law of Moses could not make anyone righteous without the blood of Christ. "Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law."  Galatians 3:21 ESV.

This Law of Christ was to be given to judge the unrighteous, the lawless, "But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers and [g]immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted, realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers."
I Timothy 1:8-11.

The Law of Christ was to be the law of liberty that would judge the hearts of men, "But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does."  James 1:25.   "For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not commit murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.  So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty."  James 2:11-12.  "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart."  Hebrews 4:12 ESV.

The Law of Christ was to be the royal law and would have to be observed in order to be blameless, "If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself,' you are doing well.  But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all."  James 2:8-10.  We cannot neglect all of the LAWS of Jesus Christ and still claim to be blameless.

But we must OBEY IT with humility, "Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.  I Peter 5:6.   He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?  Micah 6:8.  The Law of Christ was to be the law of kindness and justice.  The Law of Christ was to be the law of righteous judgment toward our neighbor, "Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it.  There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?"  James 4:10-12.

The Law of Christ provided the only way that man could have access to the blood which takes away the guilt of sin to those who OBEY IT, "And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.  Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.  You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him."  I John 3:1-6.   "If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."   1 John 1:6-9.   Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Brethren, what shall we do?'  Peter said to them, 'Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."  Acts 2:37-38.

But we must  TREASURE THE LAW OF CHRIST if we indeed are His children who practice His righteousness and are HOLY like HE IS, "Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous."  I John 3:7.  "As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”   I Peter 1:13-17.

The Law of Christ is the Law of God's commandments, testimonies, reverence(fear), statutes, precepts and judgements, "Because Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes and My laws.”   Gen. 26:5.  "The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.  The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.  The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether.  They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.  Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward."  Psalm 19:7-11. The PERFECT LAW of Christ is able to restore the soul to wisdom and purity.

Although the word LAW does not appear in John 12:48, the words of Jesus Christ that will judge us on the last day could as easily be called the Law of Christ, "The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day." 

CONCLUSION:

The Law of Christ, the Law of God is the Law that was to be planted in our minds, hearts and souls in order to be His children, His own special people, being called out of darkness into His Son's kingdom of light, purified for good deeds, “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel After those days, says the Lord:  I will put My laws into their minds, and I will write them on their hearts.   And I will be their God, And they shall be My people."  Hebrews 8:10.   "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy."  I Peter 2:9-10.  "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds."  Titus 2:11-14.

Finally, the Law of Christ, the Law of God was to be the covenant between our God and those who would LISTEN AND OBEY IT.  He would write the Law in our hearts and erase our lawless deeds and make us into new creatures of righteousness, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord:  I will put My laws upon their heart, and on their mind I will write them,” He then says,  “And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”  Hebrews 10:16-17.  "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."  2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV. 

Thanks be to our Father in Heaven for sending us His Son, our Messiah, to teach us His Father's paths, His LAWS, in our hearts in order that we might have abundant life and the hope of eternity in heaven with HIM and His Son.  Thanks be to our Father for His PERFECT LAW that is able to restore the souls of men transferring them from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of His Son Jesus, "For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son."  Colossians 1:13.  Thanks be to God for His Law, the Law of Christ which makes us wise through the simplicity and purity of His Gospel.  2 Corinthians 11:3.  Thanks be to God for Christ's Law because it is righteous altogether, enlightening the eyes of our heart with understanding and His righteousness, giving us a clean conscience and pure heart.  "How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"   Hebrews 9:14. 

May our God help us to meditate and delight in His LAW, the LAW of Christ, with OBEDIENCE so that we may be acceptable in His sight and never be put to shame.



Luci

THE ISRAELITES IN CANAAN: RUTH

 

But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.  Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the Lord do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me.”

Ruth 1:16-17

THE BOOK OF RUTH

GIANTS OF THE FAITH:  RUTH

The Book of Ruth is such a breath of fresh air after all the sad and ugly events of the Book of Judges.  It is also such an inspiring, heart-felt Bible story of faith, loyalty and unconditional love.  The book begins with Naomi, a widow whose husband and sons have died, leaving her in despair without hope of an heir to carry on the family name.  Naomi also had a very unique and special daughter-in-law named Ruth.  The book ends with the same Naomi  holding her grandson who will become David’s grandfather hence one of Jesus' ancestors.  The Book of Ruth is one of my favorite Bible stories in the Old Testament because it is so rich with grace, mercy, beauty, loyalty and love.

The Book of Ruth is divided into six sections.  This beautiful book offers several similarities between the first and sixth sections, the second and fifth sections and the third and fourth sections.  This literary scheme is called a "chiasm," and it is found throughout the Scriptures.  This was a way to draw attention or emphasize something.   This chiasm helped the listeners to remember Scriptures more easily.

NAOMI'S SORROW (Ruth 1:1-5):    Naomi, her husband and sons were from the line of Judah. Naomi’s family were from Ephrath, the old name for Bethlehem.  When a famine struck the land during the days the judges governed,  they sojourned in the land of Moab.  Although they are in a foreign land, they chose to remain godly people determined to reject and embrace the gods of the foreigners.  This beautiful story opens with the deaths of Naomi’s husband and two sons.  She finds herself left alone in despair and without hope, along with two widowed daughters-in-law far from her homeland.  Notice that both daughters-in-law are Moabites, Gentiles.

THE CHOICE (Ruth 1:6-22):    When the famine is over, Naomi decides to go back home, to the land of Judah, little Bethlehem.  It is then that she realized she had nothing to offer her two daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah so she tells them to go back to their own mothers' house in order that they might be able to find husbands for themselves.  At first they both refuse but when Naomi appeals a second time, one of the daughters-in-law, Orpah, agrees to leave, leaving her with the other daughter-in-law, Ruth, who chooses to stay loyal to her mother-in-law, even though that meant leaving her own home.  I am convinced that the reason why Ruth wanted to remain with Naomi was because of the faith, conviction and beauty of her mother-in-law's righteous life and faith.  This would allow Ruth to declare her own love and loyalty to Naomi and faith in her God Jehovah.  The following is Ruth's reply to Naomi when she asked her to leave: 

"But Ruth said, 'Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.  Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the Lord do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me."   This makes my eyes water!

The two women then arrived in Bethlehem.  Naomi told her people all of her sorrows and loss.  At this point Naomi and Ruth are destitute and alone.

RUTH MEETS BOAZ (Ruth 2):  Under the Old Testament law, the law stated that when one reaped his  harvest, he had to leave the corners of  the field, nor could he gather the gleanings of his harvest so that the alien, the orphan and the widow could go behind the harvesters and glean whatever was left, Leviticus 19:9 and Deuteronomy 24:19.  It turns out that Naomi had a rich relative named Boaz. By “chance” when Ruth went out to glean, she came upon his fields. Boaz treated her kindly for the sake of his kinsman and gave her food.  Finally hope had arrived for both Ruth and Naomi!  When Boaz saw Ruth, he praised her for her faithfulness and loyalty toward Naomi.  He blessed her for it.  Boaz arranged things so that Ruth would find more to glean than the average widow.  At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here, that you may eat of the bread and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar. So she sat beside the reapers; and he served her roasted grain, and she ate and was satisfied and had some left. When she rose to glean, Boaz commanded his servants, saying, 'Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not insult her. Also you shall purposely pull out for her some grain from the bundles and leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.”  Ruth 2:14-16.

We can clearly see Boaz placing protection around Ruth and being kind to her.  When Ruth returned home she told Naomi everything.  When Naomi realized that Boaz was a kinsman redeemer, she praised God because He had not forgotten or forsaken them.  What a loving, kind and merciful God we serve!!!

RUTH PROPOSES TO BOAZ (Ruth 3):   Naomi encouraged Ruth into an action that would bring security to her daughter-in-law. Naomi sent Ruth to the threshing floor where the harvested grain was separated from the straw by threshing so that she could indicate to Boaz that she wanted him to redeem her.  Naomi coaxed Ruth into going to Boaz while he is sleeping , uncovering his feet and lying down at his  feet. When Boaz awoke, he said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth your maid. So spread your covering over your maid, for you are a close relative.” Then he said, “May you be blessed of the Lord, my daughter. You have shown your last kindness to be better than the first by not going after young men, whether poor or rich.  Now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you whatever you ask, for all my people in the city know that you are a woman of excellence.  Now it is true I am a close relative; however, there is a relative closer than I. Remain this night, and when morning comes, if he will redeem you, good; let him redeem you. But if he does not wish to redeem you, then I will redeem you, as the Lord lives.  Lie down until morning.”  Ruth 3:9-13.

When she left in the morning she told everything to Naomi.  Ruth said,  "These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said, ‘Do not go to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’” Then she said, “Wait, my daughter, until you know how the matter turns out; for the man will not rest until he has settled it today.”  Ruth 3:17-18.

THE CHOICE (Ruth 4:1-12):    Boaz goes to the city gate, where business was usually conducted, and offers Naomi's land to the other relative, that was the closest kinsman redeemer, in the presence of a group of ten elders.  At first the kinsman redeemer wanted the land, but when he realized that Ruth was part of the deal, he refused to redeemer her.  Boaz then claimed his right to redeem the land and Ruth.  Boaz pledged himself to Ruth before the elders and all the people.  Finally, Ruth and Naomi were no longer alone and destitute!  God provided both a home and a heritage. 

NAOMI'S JOY (Ruth 4:13-22):    Boaz married Ruth and she bore him a son, Obed. Obed was the father of Jesse, father of David.  Naomi, the desolate widow, now had a grandchild from her husband’s line to love and cherish.  What a beautiful story of God's providence!

THE KINSMAN REDEEMER:    Something interesting to note under the Law of Moses, is that if a person was forced to sell his property or sell himself into slavery, his nearest kin were allowed to step in and buy back whatever he sold.  This buyer was known as the "kinsman redeemer."  Also, if a family member died without an heir, the kinsman redeemer could carry on his name by marrying his widow and rear any son in the name of the widow's dead husband, his kinsman.  You can read of this in Leviticus 25:25, 48; Deuteronomy 25:5; Genesis 38:8.


Notice that both of these factors came into play in this beautiful story of Ruth.  Ruth was a widow who had borne her husband no heir leaving her in need of a kinsman redeemer to carry on her husband's line.  Also, since she was a  widow, she was eligible to receive part of her husband's estate along with his other property, Ruth 4:4-5.  Ruth decided to take advantage of this law, when Naomi made it known to her that she was selling her son's land.  In this way God provided for the widows as long as faithful Israelites like Boaz upheld the law.

A FINAL NOTE ABOUT THE BOOK OF JUDGES AND RUTH
The Book of Judges begins with hope but deteriorates into despair, closing with the pronouncement that Israel had no king.  The Book of Ruth on the other hand, begins with despair and no hope which later changes into hope.  The Book of Ruth closes with a genealogy.  The last name listed is that of Israel's greatest king, yet to be born:  Ruth’s great-grandson.

JESUS ANCESTORS UP TO THIS POINT
Abraham - Isaac - Jacob - Judah and Tamar - Perez - Hezron - Ram - Amminadab - Nashon - Salmon and Rahab - Boaz and Ruth - Obed - Jesse - King David

This beautiful story of Ruth shows clearly what happens when God's people uphold His good laws.  In my next study we will consider the transition to government by kings.


Luci

THE ISRAELITES IN CANAAN: JUDGES

 "In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes."

Judges 21:25

The period of the Judges was discouraging as well as exhilarating. I invite you to think with me for a few moments over the things we learn from the Book of Judges. Our God is RIGHTEOUS but also MERCIFUL!

The Book of Judges is filled with shocking events and strange heroes.  It chronicles the various epochs in which Israel fell into rebellion and disobedience.  We see the everlasting faithfulness of God.  The two major themes of this book focus on the sinfulness of Israel and the faithfulness of God Jehovah.  It is amazing to me, as I read through the history of the Israelites and their relationship toward their God Jehovah, that this pattern of rebellion is repeated over and over again.  Notice the recurring pattern:  1)  The Israelites do evil before the LORD; 2)  The LORD allows some foreign king to oppress and/or enslave the Israelites;  3)  The Israelites cry out to God because of the oppression remembering their covenant with God; and finally, 4)  the LORD raises up a judge for them who delivers them because they are His people, the Israelites.  Although the Israelites broke their promise given to God before Joshua to never forsake the LORD, God never broke HIS promise!  By the time of Gideon in Judges 6, the Israelites are in severe decay, and it is more evident.  Even though a judge was a military leader as well as a hero, he was often a prophet and the judge who settled disputes.  The judge could come from any tribe.  Although this was a patriarchal society, there was one female judge named Deborah.  There were thirteen judges altogether.  Seven of them were considered major judges, heroes.

THE SEVEN MAJOR JUDGES:

OTHNIEL (Judges 3:7-11):  The Israelites began to commit evil before the eyes of the LORD, serving their idol gods.  The anger of the LORD was upon them selling them into the hands of an evil king from the north, Mesopotamia, who attacked them and defeated them, enslaving them for eight years.  The Israelites cried out to their LORD, and God heard them raising up Othniel, the son of  Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, who became Israel's judge.  He fought against the king of Mesopotamia, defeating him.  After the victory,  Israel was at peace for forty years.

EHUD (Judges 3:12-30):   Again, the Israelites did evil before the LORD, and the anger of the LORD was against them.  He raised up and strengthened Eglon, king of the Moabites as a sign of His judgment toward them.  The Moabites, the Ammonites and the Amalekites waged war against the Israelites and defeated them.  They took the Israelites captive for eighteen years.  Once again, the sons of Israel cried out to Jehovah their God for help and Jehovah God raised up Ehud, a Benjamite, who was left-handed.  Ehud killed the Moabite king defeating and driving out the invaders.  This time, the land was at peace for eighty years.

DEBORAH  (Judges 4):   The Israelites forgot what they had learned and began again to do evil before the eyes of Jehovah their God.  They provoked Him to judgment.  In this judgment, the LORD gave them into the hands of the king of Canaan, Jabin, who reigned in Hazor with his commander named Sisera.  Again the Israelites cried out to the LORD.  This king had an army of nine hundred mighty iron chariots with which he attacked and oppressed the Israelites for twenty years. The Israelites began to listen to a woman named Deborah, who was a prophetess and she judged them at that time.  She liked to sit under a palm tree between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim.  She sent for a man named Barak and said to him, “Behold, the Lord, the God of Israel, has commanded, ‘Go and march to Mount Tabor and take with you ten thousand men from the sons of Naphtali and from the sons of Zebulun.  I will draw out to you Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his many troops to the river Kishon, and I will give him into your hand.’”   Now Barak replied, “If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go.”  She said, “I will surely go with you; nevertheless, the honor shall not be yours on the journey that you are about to take, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hands of a woman.”   Barak was to be the man she chose to lead the army.  Barak insisted that she come with him to war against the enemies.  She agreed, but she also prophesied that a woman would get the glory for the victory.  In the end, it was the woman Jael who killed the Jabin’s commander by driving a peg through his head.  Deborah and Barak sang: "When leaders lead and people are willing, praise the LORD! Blessed is Jael; Let your enemies perish, O LORD!"  Once again the land was at peace for forty years.

GIDEON (Judges 6-8):   The Israelites did what was evil in the eyes of their God Jehovah, and He gave them into the hands of the Midianites for seven years.  The Midianites oppressed the Israelites with such severity that the Israelites had to hide in dens, caves, and strongholds in the mountains.  Once again the Israelites cried out to their God Jehovah for help, and the LORD sent them a prophet.  He said to them, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘It was I who brought you up from Egypt and brought you out from the house of slavery. I delivered you from the hands of the Egyptians and from the hands of all your oppressors, and dispossessed them before you and gave you their land, and I said to you,  'I am the Lord your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live. But you have not obeyed Me."  Judges 6:8-10.  Then the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon saying, "The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior.” Then Gideon said to him, 'O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.'  The Lord looked at him and said, 'Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?'   He said to Him, 'O Lord, how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.'  But the Lord said to him, 'Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat Midian as one man.'  So Gideon said to Him, 'If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who speak with me.  Please do not depart from here, until I come back to You, and bring out my offering and lay it before You.' And He said, 'I will remain until you return."  Judges 6:12-18.

As you can see, Gideon objected at first but eventually he obeyed the LORD.  The LORD told him to tear down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah, a wooden totem.  When his people began to quarrel with him, his father Joash asked, “Will you contend for Baal?  Or will you save him?  Whoever contends for him shall be put to death by morning.  If he is a god let him contend for himself, because his altar has been broken down.”  That is how Gideon’s name was changed to Jerubaal, he who contends with Baal.  When the appropriate tribes were mustered for battle, the LORD told Gideon to send away all but 300 men. The 300 crept into the Midianite camp at night. They blew their trumpets and smashed their pitchers revealing burning torches.  They cried out, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!”  The Midianites fled.  Gideon defeated Zebah and Zalmunna and punished Succoth and Penuel.   Although this story ends on a positive note, because the land was at peace again for forty years, Gideon had to deal with a complaint from the tribe of Ephraim, because they were not called first.  With calm and wisdom, Gideon soothed their pride and vanity by reminding them of the “trophies” they had captured.  The Israelites asked Gideon to become their king believing that he had saved them from their enemies’ hands.  Actually, it was God who saved them.  In any case, he refused to change the pattern that God had ordained.  He refused to rule over them.  Although Gideon refused their offer, he did allow them to give him the golden earrings from the spoil with which he made an ephod of gold to place in Ophrah, and this became a snare to his family and all Israel who worshiped it.   When Gideon died Israel again served the Baals, especially the god Baal-Berith.

ABIMELECH (Judges 9):    Again, the Israelites did evil before their God.   Abimelech, one of Gideon's sons, raised himself up as Israel's king.  He killed his brothers, seventy men on one stone.  But Jotham, his youngest brother survived since he hid himself.  Then 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.  Judges 9:6.

Jothan cried out to the people from the top of Mount Gerizim saying, "Listen to me, O men of Shechem, that God may listen to you. Once the trees went forth to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us!’ But the olive tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my fatness with which God and men are honored, and go to wave over the trees?’  Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come, reign over us!’ But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit, and go to wave over the trees?’ Then the trees said to the vine, ‘You come, reign over us!’  But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my new wine, which cheers God and men, and go to wave over the trees?’ Finally, all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come, reign over us!’ The bramble said to the trees, ‘If in truth you are anointing me as king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, may fire come out from the bramble and consume the cedars of Lebanon.’  'Now therefore, if you have dealt in truth and integrity in making Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have dealt with him as he deserved— for my father fought for you and risked his life and delivered you from the hand of Midian; but you have risen against my father’s house today and have killed his sons, seventy men, on one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your relative— if then you have dealt in truth and integrity with Jerubbaal and his house this day, rejoice in Abimelech and let him also rejoice in you. But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech and consume the men of Shechem and Beth-millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem and from Beth-millo, and consume Abimelech."  Judges 9:7-20.  Afterward, Jotham escaped and fled and went to Beer and waited for Abimelech, his brother.

Abimelech ruled over Israel for over 3 years.  The LORD sent an evil spirit between the men of Shechem and Abimelech. These men of Shechem dealt with Abimelech falsely.  The blood of Abimelech's brothers was on him and on the men of Shechem.  God caused the Israelites to fight against Israelites in this shocking story.  In the end, Abimelech was defeated.  A man named Gaal aroused and was against them.  Abimelech destroyed Shechem but was killed by a woman who tossed a millstone from the wall down on his head.  In point of fact, he committed suicide so that it would not be said that a woman had killed him.  God repaid Abimelech's evil and the curse of Jotham his younger brother came upon the men of Shechem.  Judges 9:53-57.

JEPHTHAH (Judges 10:6-12:7):   Again, the Israelites did evil before the LORD.  The Israelites ended up being oppressed by the Philistines and the Amorites for eighteen years.  The Israelites cried out to the LORD saying, "We have sinned against You, for indeed, we have forsaken our God and served the Baals.” The Lord said to the sons of Israel, “Did I not deliver you from the Egyptians, the Amorites, the sons of Ammon, and the Philistines?   Also when the Sidonians, the Amalekites, and the Maonites oppressed you, you cried out to Me, and I delivered you from their hands.  Yet you have forsaken Me and served other gods; therefore I will no longer deliver you. Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your distress.”  The sons of Israel said to the Lord, “We have sinned, do to us whatever seems good to You; only please deliver us this day.”  Judges 10:10-15.   The LORD did not believe them, so they put away their idol gods and began serving the LORD.  They once again cried out to their God Jehovah, and the LORD raised up Jephthah, the son of a prostitute who had been rejected by his family.  The LORD has such a way of choosing his heroes!  Jephthah vowed to sacrifice whatever came out to meet him if he defeated the Ammonites. When he came home in victory, it was his daughter who came out to meet him with the joy of tambourines.  She was his only child, but to fulfill the vow he had to give her to the Lord.  The Ephraimites in their pride protested that Jephthah had not called them to fight their enemies.  They attacked Jephthah and Jephthah with the Gileadites defeated them.  They caught the survivors by making them say 'Shibboleth.'  Here again, the story ends sadly with Israelites fighting Israelites.

SAMSON (Judges 13-16):   Again the Israelites did evil before the LORD.  Thus the Philistines oppressed them for forty years.  Note that the Israelites did not cry to the LORD this time, yet the LORD still cared for them and showed mercy to them by raising up Samson.  This story is the longest story in the Book of Judges covering three chapters.  Samson was born of godly parents who raised him as a Nazarite, set apart for God from birth.  According to the Nazarite vow, he could not eat anything that came from the vine nor could he drink wine or strong drink, nor could he eat any unclean thing.  He could never cut his hair.  He had to observe all that the LORD commanded.

Samson is an unlikely hero in spite of his great beginnings.  He was spoiled and selfish, living for the desires of his flesh despite his Nazarite vow.  Against his parents' counsel, he chose a  Philistine woman to be his wife.  In spite of all this negative part about him, God used him against the Philistines, empowering and strengthening him with tremendous physical strength.  He killed a lion and bees made honey in the carcass.  He posed a riddle to the wedding party based on the marvel of the lion and the bees, but his wife under duress revealed it. Samson's wife married another man, so Samson burned the Philistine crops. The Israelites bound him and delivered him to the Philistines, but he killed a thousand Philistines when they took him into custody.  Samson then met a Philistine woman called Delilah whom he loved.  This Delilah was used by the Philistines to bring him down.  She tricked Samson into revealing his secret about his strength in his uncut hair, the sign of his vow to God.  She later brought a man to subdue him having one of them cut his hair while he was sleeping.  She had his head shaved so that he lost his strength and was captured.  His eyes were gouged out, and he was forced to amuse them.  They made him stand between the pillars.  He died pulling down the Philistine temple. There was a boy who was holding his hand whom Samson asked,  "Let me feel the pillars on which the house rests, that I may lean against them.  Now the house was full of men and women, and all the lords of the Philistines were there. And about 3,000 men and women were on the roof looking on while Samson was amusing them."  Judges 16:25-27.

 In the end, Samson prays to “O Lord God, please remember me, and please strengthen me just this time, O God, that I may at once be avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes."  Judges 16:28.  God answers his prayers, and Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and braced himself against them, the one with his right hand and the other with his left.  And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” And he bent with all his might so that the house fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he killed in his life. Then his brothers and all his father’s household came down, took him, brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah, his father. Thus he had judged Israel twenty years."  Judges 16:29-31.


ISRAEL'S DESCENT INTO UTTER CHAOS  (Judges 17-21)

The remainder of the Book of Judges, chapters 17-21, tells two shameful stories of Israel's lawlessness.  They were a nation without a king or a prophet.  They no longer worshiped and obeyed God Jehovah as a nation.  Most had turned to the foreign gods of the Canaanites.  The first story tells how a man makes his own idol and shrine, hiring his own personal priest to tend it.  Micah appointed a Levite as his priest.  Spies from Dan stayed with Micah.  The Danites from the Israelite tribe of Dan who should have known better, steal his idol and his priest for their own use.  When the Danites went against Laish, they took Micah's idol and his priest.  They named the city Dan.

The second story is even worse than the first, chapters 19-21.  When a Levite came to Gibeah, the men of the city raped his concubine until she died. He was so distraught that he cut up her body and sent a piece to each tribe.  In the ensuing war between Israel and the tribe of Benjamin,  the Benjamites were so decimated that only a few men survived while all the women were killed.  They had vowed to allow no daughters of their to marry a Benjamite, so they destroyed Jabesh-Gilead and captured wives for the remaining Benjaminites.  The Israelites had apparently failed to live up to their covenant with God during this period of Judges.  They descended into near moral chaos and lawlessness as a result of their rebellion and disobedience toward their God Jehovah.  The Book of Judges ends by saying, "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes."  Judges 21:25.    The Book of Judges begins with hope and deteriorates into despair closing with the pronouncement that Israel had no king.  God wanted so much to be Israel's king, but since they chose to reject God's kingship, God would give them the human king that they longed for in the Book of Samuel.  The Book of Judges leads into what follows in the Book of Samuel, in which God chooses a prophet who finds a suitable king for Israel.

In my next study, we will study the Book of Ruth which begins with despair that changes into hope.  Ruth closes with a genealogy of David, Israel's greatest king, Ruth’s great-grandson.


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