Judges 1; Jeremiah 14; Matthew 28; Acts 5
These days of reading four passages and listening for God’s rhema word to me, I often struggle with hearing truth upon truth and cannot narrow it to a specific thought. I’ll write what I hear today and see if it comes together at the end.
Judges is a history book. God’s people vowed to follow Him but this book has a pattern. They didn’t keep their vow, God sends an enemy to put pressure on them, they cry out to the Lord for help and He sends a judge to deliver them.
The phrase, “Every man did what was right in his own eyes” is common throughout. However, the first chapter begins well. Two of the tribes conquered enemies in the land God gave them. I noticed that what they did to one of the kings was his pattern of dealing with those he conquered. He said, “As I have done, so God has repaid me.”
“Paradise Lost” is an imaginary description of hell. In it the author describes levels of torture that matched the major sins of those in that level. If they were adulterers, they lived in a constant state of adultery but never being satisfied. A liar would be with liars and never hear anything true.
That makes me think of Satan, the Father of lies. He dwells in darkness and cannot ever know or see the truth. In our world right now with the contradictions and media reports, people are saying “they are all liars” yet not having truth is unsettling like a ship without an anchor. Thinking about “getting what we deserve” comes to mind and I shudder.
Jeremiah speaks sharply to God’s people because they have been listening to false prophets who tell them in so many words that they are God’s so don’t worry, be happy, nothing will happen to you. This attitude is an assumption that they can do what is right in their own eyes and God will allow it, even bring them peace and comfort as they do it.
I think of two news items. One was a choir in a church that defied government guidelines about large gatherings. Instead of obeying Romans 13, they wound up with most of them getting Covid-19. The other was a video of police trying to convince church-goers that it was not safe to gather. One woman yelled at them with, “I’m covered by the blood of Christ. Nothing bad will happen to me.” Was that the same line Jesus heard in the Garden of Gethsemane, “You are the Son of God; nothing bad can happen to you?”
Matthew 28 is the climax, the time in history where God stepped in to rescue us rebels. The women who loved Jesus were at His tomb. An angel appeared and said to them:
“Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” (Matthew 28:5–7)
At that everything changed . . . or did it? God’s people are now those who follow Jesus with new life and the aid of the Holy Spirit to obey Him. Yet our wars go on in a different venue. Our battles are not on the hills of Galilee but in the attitudes of our hearts. The desire to do my own thing resists the Spirit who loves me into wanting the will of God.
This shows up in Acts where two people lost that battle and their lives. They wanted to look good and lied to do it. The realization of their sin stopped their hearts. This is a warning to not play around with ego-protection. This same chapter show how the Lord empowered His workers; they defied those who came against them, not with lies or pretense but with the truth. Jesus was their Messiah who came to die for the sin of the world and bring forgiveness and hope to those who acknowledged their need for it and confessed their sin to Him.
Besides hearing God in these readings, I found a quote that says, “Confession no more creates forgiveness than a cheque creates money that you don’t already have in your account . . . it just releases it.” This also speaks to me. He has filled my account with Jesus and because of Him, I can choose to faithfully follow Him.
APPLY: Before salvation, my account was without any resources. But now Jesus is here. He is all that I need to stop sinning and to trust and obey Him even when life is tough and full of tests. I know my way does not work well because Jesus is full of grace, always showing me what is far better. He tells me to keep listening and knowing that He is God and I am not.
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