Promises Week 11:
Joshua 22 - Judges 17
…delighting in Him and His Word…Psalm 37:4
Joshua 22 Returning Home. Joshua sends the tribes home reminding them to love and obey the Lord “with all your heart and with all your soul.”
Joshua 23 Importance to Separate. Chapter 23:6 – adhere to God’s Word…23:7 separate…23:8 cleave to the Lord’s love.
Joshua 23 and 24 - the Lord’s Faithfulness and Demands. Joshua 24:15 is a solemn vow by Joshua that idolatry would not be tolerated within his home and his family were bound together to worship and serve God and God only. By this example – all of Israel served the Lord through Joshua’s lifetime – see verse 31. What an example of Godly leadership and the blessing a committed life brings to others. Follow God, not people, do not let anyone steal from you what Jesus died to give you-the freedom to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Judges explores a time when, after settling in the Promised Land, the Israelites departed from God. Because of His mercy God raised up good leaders such as Deborah, Gideon and Samson and also sent His Spirit upon certain people and gave them power, wisdom, and ability to be victorious. The crying out brought the deliverer.
Judges 1 Failure to Obey and Separate. Judges 8 – Gideon’s Ephod
Judges 2 - 4 Obedience = Favor/Disobedience = Defeat. Judges 2:1 to 4 God had kept his promise of the Promise Land – but the Israelites turned their eyes away from the Lord.
Judges 4:9 – Deborah (means to subdue, speak and destroy)– Deborah’s faith and trust in the Lord prepared her for leadership. Judges 5:31 …may all those who love the Lord be like the sun when it rises in its strength…peace.
Judges 5:12: Using the Hebrew meaning of the names in this verse it reads as follows: Awake Subduer (Deborah), arise Flashing Sword (Barak) and lead your captives away you son of the Father of pleasantness (Abinoam).
Memorable quote: Gideon’s angelic visitor – Gideon intended a dinner – the angel turned it into a sacrifice (Bishop Hall).
Because he was unsure Gideon asked God for a sign, not once, but twice. Even though God did honor his request faith itself requires no signs in order to believe and obey. Gideon’s story shows us the reward of relying on God for our victories. The way the 300 men were selected from the massive army of 32,000 points out that God wants us to depend entirely on Him. After choosing the men who were most suited for battle the Lord filled both their hands so that He was the One who won the battle for them.
The Lord Sends Peace. Judges 6:24 – Gideon built an altar to the Lord, and called it Jehovah-Shalom.
Judges 8:23 Gideon says I will not rule over you…the Lord will rule over you. Gideon knew the Lord was His Savior and humbly points to the Lord. Gideon’s actions are a strong reminder that we need the Lord … not men.
Judges 14 Samson (means Sunlight) had extraordinary strength from God and his might and ability were directly tied to obedience. The story of Samson encourages us to be aware of our weaknesses and to pray for God to strengthen us. Don’t wait until you are in trouble to pray, pray ahead of time. God will give us the ability to resist if we will be faithful to pray for His strength and resist whatever attacks the enemy sends our way. To many it is curious that Samson is listed in Hebrews in the faith hall of fame but we see in his story of redemption a man who though blinded by lust as his hair (faith) started to grow back he called upon the Lord (Judges 16:28) gave up his life to destroy the Philistines. (Judges 16:30) So the dead he slew at his death were more than they whom he slew in his life.
This gives us great hope that the latter is greater than the former for us too!
Week Twelve: Judges 17 to I Samuel 13