Category: Old Testament

Re:Verse passage – Judges 16:15-21 (day five)  

Samson’s story is tragic to say the least. Yet, he is listed in the “Hall of Faith” found in Hebrews 11 (vs 32). Wait? Wasn’t Samson faithless?  Well, he believed the prophesy and promise of God. Samson knew his strength came from God. He trusted that God would provide that strength when he needed it. Every act Samson did could have been seen as an act of faith. But in the midst of his faith, Samson began to think more highly of himself than of God. So what was missing??  I believe it was love. “And if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” 1 Corinthians‬ ‭13‬:‭2‬  Samson didn’t have a love for God, which produces the fruit of obedience.

I close with a quote from Jon Bloom, “So let Samson’s faith soberly remind us that our spiritual or talent gifts are not God’s endorsement of us, that faithful obedience is better than impressive giftedness.” And that faith must be governed and balanced by a vibrant and deep love for the Lord.

Re:Verse passage – Judges 16:15-21 (day four)

Samson is a truly unique character. We know that the Lord is with him, but he seems to have an ego and a careless attitude. You almost don’t want to root for him. If nothing else, though, he’s relatable. I’ve always gotten a chuckle out of v. 16, “his soul was annoyed to death.” We’ve all been there!

But his biggest mistake is even more relatable: he didn’t take the holiness of God seriously. Samson made a vow with the God, but he broke that vow over and over again. Here in his exchange with Delilah, he put his trust in his own wit and his own strength, forgetting that God was the source of his strength all along. It didn’t go well for him. How often do we do the same? When we rely on our own strength, we always come up short.

Contrast this with the apostle Paul: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

Let us commit to this way of living: “Yet not I, but through Christ in me.”

 

Re:Verse passage – Judges 16:15-21 (day three)

“She … called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his hair.”

The evangelical church seems to be of two minds regarding the body’s importance. In attempting to honor the truth that the body is a temple, the church often focuses solely on warning of behaviors that would degrade it. Simultaneously, the church sometimes refers to death as a leaving behind of the body, implying that one’s destiny is something higher than the body. Both emphases can suggest a view of your body as a location of shame – mostly a magnet to degradation from which it’s good to escape. Not so. The passage not included in this week’s text says that Samson’s hair began to regrow, and that as it did, his strength began to return. God treasures your body as a place to draw near to you.

Re:Verse passage – Judges 16:15-21 (day two)

Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? vs. 15a

A few years ago we did a study on the Judges of Israel. It was fascinating to look at the lives of these leaders. To say they were flawed is an understatement. Bryan used the term anti-hero, and that is about as close as we can come to describing most of those characters. They don’t share the archetypes that we usually associate with leadership, but it also shows that God can use anyone to fulfill his purpose. In our story this week we see how the impetuous Samson is unequally yoked to Delilah. Their union was not what you would want for your children. There was never a shared story between them that lead to their marriage. What is most troubling is Samson did not see the deceit that was brewing in front of him. When we make decisions based on desire rather than the leadership of the Holy Spirit we so often become blinded to the danger that is right in front of us. We must take care to always be sensitive to the Spirit, so we know when to turn right or left.

Re:Verse passage – Joshua 7:6-12, 20-21 (day seven)

I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy the things under the ban from your midst. Joshua 7:12

and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Matthew 28:20

Aren’t you thankful for the cross? Without the cross, we alone are accountable for our transgressions. Without the cross, we are dead in our trespasses and sins. Without the cross, we put others at risk with every selfish decision. Aren’t you thankful for the cross?

Aren’t you thankful for the empty tomb? Without the empty tomb, the presence of the Lord is not guaranteed. Without the empty tomb, we are left to fight our enemies alone. Without the empty tomb, death would be our greatest fear. Aren’t you thankful for the empty tomb?

The cross and the tomb bring us the promise of a Risen Savior. They bring us a promise that the Lord will always be by our side. They promise us hope.

He is Risen!

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 28:16-20 (alternate Easter text) (day six)

¹⁸ Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,^[a] baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. ²⁰ Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:16-20

After defeating sin and death in his resurrection, Jesus’ full rights as the Son of God have been restored (see Philippians 2:7), demonstrated in his “authority in heaven and on earth.” Of course, this means he has the authority to command the church to “make disciples” with the full expectation of obedience. It also means he has the authority to fulfill the command through us; to finish the task. That’s what Jesus meant when he said, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

May that give us the confidence to obey this command through our church family faithfully.

 

They returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not let all the people go up; only about two or three thousand men need go up to Ai; do not make all the people toil up there, for they are few.”
What’s missing from the plan?  Did you catch it? In the previous battle  of Jericho, God was drawing up the battle plans- down to the last detail. They sought His guidance and leadership. They had an overwhelming victory. Yet, just 1 chapter later, no mention of God at all in the planning or preparation.
What if Joshua had stopped after hearing the “scouting report” and prayed?  Asked God for His wisdom and direction? Think the Lord would have confronted them about the sin problem? I do. Joshua and his leaders forgot. They were planning and fighting by sight, not faith. Dangerous. Easy to do. Forgetting how finite and prone to sin and disobedience we are. That’s one of the reasons Jesus says, “Do this in remembrance of me”. A visual and verbal reminder of our sin and need for a savior. Whatever our plans or activities or priorities, we must ask the Lord to lead and guide us- checking our hearts daily, hourly, at every step. We need that because we are sinners saved by grace.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and turn away from evil. Proverbs‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬-‭7‬

Re:Verse passage – Joshua 7:6-12, 20-21 (day four)

We live in a very individualistic culture here in the West. It’s easy for us to think of sin as mainly personal. “No one knows the sinful thought I had this morning,” we think, “it’s not impacting anyone else.” “Surely no one will be hurt if I take a few things for myself when no one is looking,” Achan probably thought.

But I don’t think the Kingdom of God shares this individualistic culture. Passages like this remind us that even private sins have corporate consequences. Living in genuine, Christian community with one another means that the sin of one person impacts the whole, just as the faith of one person impacts the whole. There are real people on the other side of our obedience.

As we look towards Good Friday, we can be grateful that the passion of Christ was big enough to cover us, both personally and collectively.

Re:Verse passage – Joshua 7:6-12, 20-21 (day three)

“Why is it that you have fallen on your face?”

God seemed to view Joshua’s posture of humility as a substitute for necessary critical thinking about important matters of moral responsibility. Joshua’s genuflection was a waste of Joshua’s energy and time when, instead, some attention and reflection on Joshua’s part would have made plain to him that he had failed to convey to his soldiers that violations of the ban were placing the nation in danger of spiritual and societal corruption. If total adherence was only a small thing in Joshua’s mind, his thinking would influence the troops to consider their excursions as a free-for-all, devoid of the sober-minded focus on righteous action. This perspective would eventually contaminate all Israel. God said, in effect, “Go do what you know you needed to do in the first place.” Unaddressed sin doesn’t fade away.