Burunche’s Blog

Judges 2:16 – 23 “Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them from the hands of those who plundered them. Israel, however, did not listen to their judges. Instead, they prostituted themselves with other gods and bowed down to them. They quickly turned from the way of their fathers, who had walked in obedience to the LORD’s commandments; they did not do as their fathers had done.

Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for the Israelites, He was with that judge and saved them from the hands of their enemies while the judge was still alive; for the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning under those who oppressed and afflicted them. But when the judge died, the Israelites became even more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods to serve them and bow down to them. They would not give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.

So the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He said, “Because this nation has transgressed the covenant I laid down for their fathers and has not heeded My voice, I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. In this way I will test whether Israel will keep the way of the LORD by walking in it as their fathers did. That is why the LORD had left those nations in place and had not driven them out immediately by delivering them into the hand of Joshua.”

TALK ABOUT BLOWING IT!!! The Israelites were doing great as long as they stuck to God’s program. But once they began settling and compromising, the wheels began to come off the bus. All the Israelites had to do was to keep their covenant with God and everything would have been fine. What went wrong?

1. The Israelites failed to study God’s commands themselves or to teach their children. Vladimir Lenin once said, “Give me a child until the age of five and that child will be mine forever.” Repeatedly, God ordered the Israelites to teach their children about Him. “These words I am commanding you today are to be upon your hearts. And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:6 – 9

2. The Israelites falsely assumed that they didn’t need God’s help anymore. Instead of realizing how much God was still helping, the Israelites chose to believe that they had done everything on their own. Sort of “Thanks, God, but we’ll take it from here! So long!” Considering that the Amorites then pushed the tribe of Dan up into the hill country and that the nations with iron chariots ran rough – shod over the Israelites, you can see how well that worked.

3. When things began going wrong, the Israelites never repented; instead, a new cycle sprang up. Israel would fall away from the Lord/their enemies would attack/Israel would cry out to the Lord/God would send a righteous judge/Israel would follow the Lord as long as the judge was alive/ the judge would die and the mess would start all over again.

APPLICATION: What’s happening in your life? Are you depending on God, or are you going off on your own and then running back to God when things go wrong? Many of us who have enjoyed a comfortable life style are shocked when sickness or injuries or natural disasters such as floods and tornadoes suddenly rip away everything on which we have relied. When we are in the midst of a catastrophe, it’s easy to pray because we have no other recourse. But many times, once things get better, we are no better than the Israelites. We quickly fall back into the same spiritual pattern we had before. If you could plot our spiritual state, it would look just like a bouncing basketball.

The stories in Judges are some of the saddest stories in the Bible. But today people in many parts of the world are witnessing similar events. Nations that once served God are trying to depend on themselves, unwilling or unable to realize that it was God who helped them in the first place and that they only continue to exist by the grace of God.

Each of us has a choice: will we serve God faithfully or will we bounce up and down like spiritual basketballs. The problem is that the “ups” may get shorter and shorter while the “downs” get deeper and deeper. And at some point we might find ourselves in a spiritual hole with no way out. Don’t wait until you are at the bottom of a hole to repent; you might run out of time!

PRAYER: Father God, help us to follow you faithfully and consistently. Help us to love you more each day than we did the day before. Please deliver us from basketball lives! In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Judges 2:6 – 9 “After Joshua had dismissed the people, the Israelites went out to take possession of the land, each to his own inheritance. And the people served the LORD throughout the days of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great works that the LORD had done for Israel. And Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110. They buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath-heres in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.”

10 – 15 “After that whole generation had also been gathered to their fathers, another generation rose up who did not know the LORD or the works that He had done for Israel. And the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals.

Thus they forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and they followed after various gods of the peoples around them. They bowed down to them and provoked the LORD to anger, for they forsook Him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. (fertility gods and goddesses)

Then the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He delivered them into the hands of those who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist. Wherever Israel marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them to bring calamity, just as He had sworn to them. So they were greatly distressed.”

Joshua was dead. All the others who had accompanied Joshua to the Promised Land were dead. And now “another generation rose up who did not know the Lord or the works that He had done for Israel.” HUH???? WHY??? The Israelites had made a good beginning, and Joshua and Caleb and others had received their land promised to them by the Lord. But now there was a new crop of Israelites who didn’t know anything about God.

Repeatedly, Moses had warned the Israelites that they had to teach their children the facts about their slavery in Egypt, about God’s deliverance, and about how God had led and protected them. Moses had also warned that if the Israelites failed to follow God, God would stop helping them and would allow their enemies to triumph.

“In the future, when your son asks you, “What is the meaning of the decrees and statutes and ordinances that the LORD our God has commanded you?” then you are to tell him, “We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Before our eyes the LORD inflicted great and devastating signs and wonders on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on all his household, but He brought us from there to lead us in and give us the land that He had sworn to our fathers. And the LORD commanded us to observe all these statutes and to fear the LORD our God, that we may always be prosperous and preserved, as we are to this day. And if we are careful to observe every one of these commandments before the LORD our God just as He has commanded us, then that will be our righteousness.” Deuteronomy 6:20 – 24

What happened to the Israelites was very simple; they failed to teach their children anything and they failed to model faithfulness to God. In addition to these failings, the Israelites also failed to eliminate the demon worshipers and their places of worship. These failures to keep covenant with God left the next generation uninstructed, unprepared, and vulnerable. The results were disastrous.

APPLICATION: The Ashantis in Ghana have a saying that “The one that cuts the path doesn’t know that it’s crooked.” (It’s only the person coming along behind who can tell whether or not the path is straight.) Another proverb says, “”When you follow in the path of your father, you learn to walk like him.” While the Israelites were busy conquering Canaan, they forgot to teach their children about God and all the great things that He had done for them. They failed to eliminate the potential sources of moral pollution that dotted the landscape. And they failed to set good examples for their children.

In an earlier generation, there was a saying, “Do as I say, not as I do.” Unfortunately, that idea never worked well. Children are realists and they can spot a hypocrite instantly.

Several years ago, we worked with a nurse who owned a drinking bar bearing the slogan “Drink deep or taste.” Despite the fact that this lady was profiting from the sale of alcohol, she forbad her own children to drink and lectured them on the evils of alcohol. The predictable happened: her son followed her example and not her verbal teachings. One night the son and a friend were drinking together when the friend became annoyed. Pulling a sharp pair of scissors from his pocket, the friend stabbed the nurse’s son in the heart, killing him. By the time the young man was rushed to the hospital, it was already too late.

What examples are we setting for our children and our friends? Are our actions an encouragement towards righteousness, or might someone use us as an excuse to pervert themselves? When we fail to worship God in our own lives, our children will fail to worship Him in their lives as well. If we drink or gamble, we cannot say anything if our children or friends do so as well. If we fail to teach our children about the One True Living God, they will find something else to worship. If God does not have first place in our lives, our children will know.

St. Augustine wrote in the beginning of his “Confessions” that “while turned from Thee, the One Good, I lost myself among a multiplicity of things.” How many of us find ourselves distracted and confused? The answer is simple: return to God. Confess that you have put other things before Him. And ask for His forgiveness and His strength to change and to cut straight paths. Your children’s lives depend on your decision.

PRAYER: Father God, help! We thought we were cutting straight paths, but we were wrong. Forgive us for getting hooked on ________. (Fill in your pet sins here.) From this day forward, help us to follow hard after You, to love You, and to serve You. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Judges 2:1 – 5 “Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land that I had promised to your fathers, and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you, and you are not to make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall tear down their altars.’

Yet you have not obeyed My voice. What is this you have done? So now I tell you that I will not drive out these people before you; they will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a snare to you.” When the angel of the LORD had spoken these words to all the Israelites, the people lifted up their voices and wept. So they called that place Bochim and offered sacrifices there to the LORD.”

Several years ago, a friend used to sing a song in Sunday worship entitled, “I’m tired of being stirred but not being changed.” That song precisely describes the Israelites.

God has delivered the Israelites from Egypt. God has protected the Israelites through 40 years of wandering around in the wilderness. God has repeatedly given the Israelites victories over some of the toughest armies going. And as if that weren’t enough, God has promised to help the Israelites completely conquer Canaan with all its small nations and armies.

Throughout all this time, have the Israelites been grateful or obedient? Are you kidding? It’s a good thing that Moses spent 40 years herding sheep in the wilderness before he began leading the Israelites! There must have been many days when Moses wished that he was back there where all he had to listen to was “Baaaa.”

At Mount Sinai God made a covenant with the Israelites. When Moses challenged the Israelites to obey the Lord, everybody was right there agreeing. Later on when Joshua challenged the Israelites to decide which gods they would serve, the Israelites insisted that most definitely, they were ready to serve the Lord. But that was before the Israelites got into Canaan, before they saw all those iron chariots, and before they actually saw giants. What’s so ridiculous about this is that God already helped the Israelites defeat the giant named Og, King of Bashan, east of the Jordan River.

As recorded in Judges 1, the Israelites were doing a poor job of conquering. Any time things got a bit tough, the Israelites backed off and compromised. And among other things, the pagan altars dedicated to demons still dotted the landscape. Finally, God had had enough. The angel of the Lord met up with the Israelites at a place that was probably close to Bethel and confronted them with their failures. The angel reminded the Israelites that God had already warned them that these altars would become a thorn in their sides and a snare.

Whew! You would think that if an angel showed up to reproach people, those people would pay attention. Perhaps the people would even repent and beg for forgiveness. It’s possible that had the Israelites completely humbled themselves and repented, the whole story might have been far different.

Rather than truly repenting and begging God to forgive them and to continue to help them, the Israelites shed a few tears, slaughtered a few animals, and that was it. The Israelites were stirred but not changed.

APPLICATION: The Israelites made a whole series of terrible mistakes. They began well by making a covenant with God, but then they went back on that covenant repeatedly. Throughout the wilderness journey and throughout the early conquest of the Promised Land, God continued to warn the Israelites that all places of worship of any kind had to be completely obliterated. The nations already in Canaan were to be completely destroyed. But the Israelites failed miserably.

When I was in surgery residency, one of my chief residents used to admonish us that if we came to a patient’s bedside to carry out a procedure, we should do that procedure completely and not shy away at the last minute. Failure to properly and thoroughly care for a patient could mean the death of that patient. This doctor’s advice was good and applied to other matters outside medicine.

There are times when God calls us to do difficult things. When those times come, we must choose. Will we struggle and complete the task, no matter how difficult, or will we settle for something less? Will we take a strong moral stand and stick to it no matter what, or will we compromise? Will we allow God to change us or will we settle for being stirred and then subsiding back into mediocrity?

Christians are not called upon to be popular; we are called upon to be faithful. Sometimes faithfulness may result in loss of our careers or even our lives. Even as I am writing this, Christians in Nigeria are dying for their faith and Christian school children are being kidnapped by terrorists. But God tells us in Revelation 2:10 “Be faithful even unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives. Help us not to compromise or to “go along to get along.” Please change us into Your image. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Judges 1:27 – 36 “At that time Manasseh failed to drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, and Megiddo, or any of their villages; for the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land. When Israel became stronger, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor, but they never drove them out completely. Ephraim also failed to drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer; so the Canaanites continued to dwell among them in Gezer. Zebulun failed to drive out the inhabitants of Kitron and Nahalol; so the Canaanites lived among them and served as forced laborers. Asher failed to drive out the inhabitants of Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, and Rehob. So the Asherites lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land, because they did not drive them out. Naphtali failed to drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath. So the Naphtalites also lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land, but the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath served them as forced laborers. The Amorites forced the Danites into the hill country and did not allow them to come down into the plain. And the Amorites were determined to dwell in Mount Heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim. But when the house of Joseph grew in strength, they pressed the Amorites into forced labor. And the border of the Amorites extended from the Ascent of Akrabbimg to Sela and beyond.”

This passage is one of the most disappointing pieces of Scripture there is. All of these tribes had been promised that God would go before them and would help them conquer; yet, they failed. Look at the list: Manasseh, Ephraim, Zebulon, Asher, Naphtali, Dan – Half the tribes of Israel failed to conquer the land that had been promised to them. Why? “Because the ____ were determined to dwell in that land.”

God had already promised His guidance and His blessing, but the Israelites had to go in and conquer. Instead of conquering, these tribes settled for what they could get easily. Instead of seeking help from God to overcome these obstacles, these men simply lowered their expectations. Perhaps the reasoning went something like this: “Yes, we know that God ordered us to kill all these people, but really is that necessary? Won’t it be the same thing if we just live among them? Then we can teach them about God. Doesn’t that sound like a better idea? Surely God doesn’t REALLY want all these people to die.”

 In the case of the tribe of Dan, the Amorites forced the Danites up into the hill country. If the name “Amorites” sounds familiar, you have to go all the way back to Genesis 15 where God cut covenant with Abraham. At that time, God told Abraham that Abraham’s descendants would not receive their land immediately “because the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” (Genesis 15:16)

God gave the Amorites hundreds of years to repent and turn away from their wicked practices, but now it was time for the Amorites to be wiped out. Instead of completing the conquest, the tribe of Dan retreated into the hill country and then later put the Amorites to forced labor. The tribes of Zebulon and Naphtali also put the people whom they were supposed to eliminate to forced labor. But if the Israelites became strong enough to put these people groups to forced labor, why didn’t they just go ahead and conquer them completely? The answer is simple: these tribes had already settled. It’s quite possible that young people from these tribes were intermarrying with the local people. To wipe out those local people at that point would have meant killing the Israelites who had married in defiance of God’s explicit orders. Having not acted decisively when they should have, these warriors would now face murdering their own children and grand children. And really, wouldn’t putting these people to forced labor accomplish the same purpose? Actually, no!

APPLICATION: Human beings have an incredible ability to rationalize. Several cynics have observed that many people regard the Ten Commandments as if they were the Ten Suggestions instead – something to be accepted or rejected, depending on convenience.

The small nations that the Israelites were to obliterate had dedicated themselves to worshiping demons. God knew that as long as there were any traces left of those people or their form of worship, the Israelites would be at risk of compromising. Some of the most tempting cults were the fertility cults that celebrated with mass orgies and ritual sex, a total departure from the manner in which God wanted His chosen people to live. These same people also sacrificed their children to several different gods, another practice that God abhorred.

As we read these accounts, we might feel a bit smug. After all, we don’t compromise…or do we? In recent years, many Christian groups have faced major challenges in funding. Sometimes funds are available but they come with strings attached. Accept money from some sources and your organization may find itself buying into a set of values that are totally wrong. And once you have taken someone’s money, it means that they have bought you and your reputation. Now these groups can use your acceptance as propaganda to get others to compromise as well.

The question that the tribes of Israel failed to confront is this: where is your source of supply? Whom will you serve? If you serve the One True Living God, then you must refuse any assistance that will lead you in a wrong direction. And the second related question is this: Can God supply all your needs or not? If God is truly who He says He is, then God can supply your needs and you should refuse to bend your principles.

The Israelites failed to conquer the land of Canaan completely, and the people groups that were left behind proved to be the downfall of the Israelites. Today, many of us face enormous challenges, and the question remains the same. Will we trust God or not?

PRAYER: Father God, help us to trust You no matter what! Lord, You know the pressures on each person who reads this devotional. Help them to choose to follow you, even if things become difficult. Help us all not to bend or bow to evil. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Judges 1:22 – 26 “The house of Joseph also attacked Bethel, and the LORD was with them. They sent spies to Bethel (formerly known as Luz), and when the spies saw a man coming out of the city, they said to him, “Please show us how to get into the city, and we will treat you kindly.” So the man showed them the entrance to the city, and they put the city to the sword but released that man and all his family. And the man went to the land of the Hittites, built a city, and called it Luz, which is its name to this day.”

If the name “Bethel” sounds familiar, that’s because it was the place where Jacob slept on his way out of Canaan and where he saw his vision of the heavenly ladder with angels ascending and descending. The name Bethel means “house of God.” But after the Israelites left for Egypt, others came in and built a city called Luz.

“Luz” means “departure” or “separation.” You have to feel sorry for this guy caught by the spies. What was he supposed to do? He could either save himself and his family, or they could all die with the rest of the city. So this inhabitant of Luz showed the spies the way into the city. Since most cities in those days were built on top of hills for safety against enemies, perhaps the entrance to the city gate was hidden between huge rocks, making it difficult to find. At any rate, this man and his family fled Luz and went east and established a new city away from the Israelites.

APPLICATION: The men of Joseph conquered because the Lord was with them. This statement implies that these men probably prayed and sought God’s guidance before tackling the conquest of Luz. And they were successful; they obliterated Luz.

In an earlier age, there was a saying, “Don’t go off half – cocked.” This phrase originated in the days of flintlock and caplock firearms, where the half-cock position of the hammer was both a rudimentary safety, and the proper position for priming the pan or inserting a percussion cap. The phrase was originally rendered, “to go off at half-cock.” Once the pan was primed with gun powder or a percussion cap was inserted, the gun could be fully cocked and prepared to fire. Any attempts to fire a gun when it was in the half cocked position would fail, making the shooter look ridiculous.

Throughout the time that Moses and Joshua were with the Israelites, they both warned the Israelites that seeking God had to be the major part of their preparations. When Joshua and the Israelites crossed the Jordan, they conquered Jericho so easily that they thought conquering the city of Ai would be simple. Unfortunately, a man named Achan had stolen some of the loot from Jericho and had hidden it against God’s orders. Eventually this man had to confess and he and his family be put to death before the Israelites could conquer Ai.

To go through life without God’s guidance is like trying to shoot one of those old guns when it’s in a half – cocked position. You might get lots of noise and smoke, but you won’t hit your target. “But,” you say, “I’m doing just fine. I have succeeded all on my own and I have never sought God’s help.” Oh? And how much peace do you have in your life? If you or someone you love are suddenly hit with sickness or an accident, what happens then? Money cannot buy peace of mind, neither can fame. Several years ago, I saw a tycoon from Singapore being interviewed on TV. This man was talking about all the charitable things he would do, once he had succeeded in getting enough money. The host was quite perplexed because this man was already a billionaire, so he asked the tycoon how much money would be enough. The tycoon simply answered, “More.” The lesson was obvious; this man would never be satisfied because he was looking for spiritual satisfaction in the wrong place.

There is no lasting peace when you are out of the center of God’s will. You will always suffer from a holy restlessness until you find what God wants you to do and then do it.

In the fall of 1985 I had completed my surgical training and was working temporarily for a chain of minor emergency clinics. Our income had drastically improved over the amount I made as a resident. We were in a good church and my husband also had a job he liked. Everything was fine….. except, it was not. We were uncomfortable without knowing why. The only thing we had not acted on was an application from a mission group sent by one of our friends. Not until we completed that application and submitted it did we achieve peace.

This was not a TV movie; that first mission group rejected us on the grounds of theological differences. (We were charismatics and that group did not believe in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.) But the important thing was that we had made a start, and now God could guide us. Eventually, we connected with a different mission group and came to Ghana, where God intended us to be. It is the certain knowledge that we are in the center of God’s will for our lives that has kept us going until now.

There is a meme that says, “No Jesus? No peace. Know Jesus? Know peace.” Let’s pray.

PRAYER: Father God, all of us need peace! Many of us feel as if our lives are flying apart in all directions. We don’t want to go off half cocked but we do need guidance. Please help everyone who reads this devotional to search for Your perfect Will for their lives. Thank You that You are a good Father who does not play charades. Thank You that You will guide us when we ask. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Judges 1:16 – 21 “Now the descendants of Moses’ father-in-law, the Kenite, went up with the men of Judah from the City of Palms to the Wilderness of Judah in the Negev near Arad. They went to live among the people.

Then the men of Judah went with their brothers the Simeonites, struck the Canaanites who were living in Zephath, and devoted the city to destruction. So it was called Hormah. And Judah also captured Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron—each with its territory. The LORD was with Judah, and they took possession of the hill country; but they could not drive out the inhabitants of the plains because they had chariots of iron.

Just as Moses had promised, Judah gave Hebron to Caleb, who drove out the descendants of the three sons of Anak. The Benjamites, however, failed to drive out the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. And to this day the Jebusites dwell among the Benjamites in Jerusalem.”

When God was giving the Israelites instructions, He promised to go before them and to be with them as they conquered Canaan. That conquest had only been partially completed at the time that Joshua died. Now it was up to the Israelites to complete the job…… and they failed.

Even while Moses was still alive, God warned the Israelites against mingling with the nations they were about to encounter. Deuteronomy 7:1 – 6 “When the LORD your God brings you into the land that you are entering to possess, and He drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you— and when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you to defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy.

Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, because they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods. Then the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and He will swiftly destroy you. Instead, this is what you are to do to them: tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their idols in the fire. For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession, above all peoples on the face of the earth.”

Why did God want the Israelites to completely wipe out all these other nations? God already knew the perverted religions practiced by these people and He also knew that the Israelites could be easily seduced into heresy.

But if God was on the side of the Israelites, why didn’t they completely conquer all these other groups? The answer lies in the excuses that were recorded. The men of Judah conquered the hill country and even conquered all the cities of the Philistines. BUT the people of the plains had iron chariots, the equivalent of tanks. Now, could God have given the men of Judah strategies to defeat these charioteers? Of course! But did anybody ask God for strategies? Doubtful! Instead, the men of Judah assumed they could take care of things themselves and then chose to settle for what they could get easily. And the same thing was true of the Benjamites, who failed to defeat the Jebusites and who wound up shrugging their shoulders and living together with the Jebusites in Jerusalem in direct disobedience to God’s orders. When the going got tough, these guys wimped out.

Reading this passage is very disappointing, but what about Caleb? Remember that by now, Caleb was probably nearly 90 years old. But Caleb was a man of tremendous faith; it was Caleb and Joshua who told the rest of the Israelites that God would help them if they would only go on into Canaan. Now Caleb and his men drove out the three sons of Anak. Who were the sons of Anak? These were the very giants that had frightened the Israelites 40 years earlier. When Caleb reminded Joshua of God’s promise for Caleb to possess Hebron, Caleb was already praying and planning on ways to defeat those giants. Even though Caleb was probably twice the age of most of the men fighting with him, Caleb was victorious. Caleb was too busy fulfilling God’s purposes to waste time whining.

APPLICATION: Have you ever found yourself in a situation in which you have been called upon to do things you never thought you could do? You look at the tasks before you and all you can think of is how can you get out of this? But sometimes, you don’t have choices.

For those of us growing up on farms in the 1950’s and 1960’s, there were many times when we found ourselves having to cope with problems we had never encountered before. I might have been nine or ten years old when I found myself in the back of a pickup truck shoveling a half ton of ground feed into a feed bin. How did I do it? One scoop shovel full at a time. During harvest season when my dad was out in the field, my brothers and I became responsible for all the farm chores, including hauling feed and water to hogs in the pasture, feeding and watering beef cattle, milking cows by hand, and caring for our chickens. When animals are depending on you, you can’t quit until the job is completed. Those animals are your family’s livelihood.

What made the difference between the men of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin and that crusty old warrior Caleb? Caleb relied on God. God said He would help and Caleb believed him. Caleb had spent a lifetime of relying on God and also carrying out his work completely. So when it was time to face giants, Caleb looked to God and God gave him the strategies and the power to defeat them. Bottom line: Caleb was not a whiner!

Has God called you to do something so difficult you don’t see how you can make it? If you are sure that God has called you, then ask Him what to do and where to start. Finding the answer to those questions might be like trying to find the end on a roll of Scotch tape, but keep looking and keep trusting. And once you make a start, who knows? You may turn around at the end and realize that you have left a trail of dead giants, just like Caleb.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for Your marvelous promises! Thank You that if You call us to do something, You also will guide us and provide what we need to get started. Help us to follow hard after you and refuse to whine. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Judges 1:8 – 15 “Then the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it. They put the city to the sword and set it on fire. Afterward, the men of Judah marched down to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country, in the Negev, and in the foothills. Judah also marched against the Canaanites who were living in Hebron (formerly known as Kiriath-arba), and they struck down Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.

From there they marched against the residents of Debir (formerly known as Kiriath-sepher). And Caleb said, “To the man who strikes down Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give my daughter Achsah in marriage.” So Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, captured it, and Caleb gave his daughter Achsah to him in marriage.

One day Achsah came to Othniel and urged him to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you desire?” “Give me a blessing,” she answered. “Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me springs of water as well.” So Caleb gave her both the upper and lower springs.”

At first, this story about the conquest of Canaan sounds great! Jerusalem captured! Hebron captured! But when it’s time to capture Debir, Caleb makes a strange promise: he promises his daughter Achsah’s hand in marriage to whomever captures Debir. And Othniel, Caleb’s nephew, wins the girl.

Who was Caleb? When Moses sent twelve spies into the land of Canaan to check things out, Joshua and Caleb were the only two men who brought back a good report and who urged the Israelites to go in faith that God would help them. Numbers 13 records the story. After telling how wonderful the land was, ten of the spies terrified the Israelites with stories of giants. Joshua and Caleb attempt to rally the people; however, they fail. But for this act of faith, God preserves Joshua and Caleb while all the rest of those who failed to trust Him die. Later on at the age of 85, Caleb testifies of how God has kept him strong and asks to be given Hebron, even though it is a city where giants live. The story as told in Joshua 14 is one of the most inspiring stories in the Old Testament and well worth reading.

Achsah is the bold daughter of a bold and righteous man. Caleb has become a prominent leader, second only to Joshua. It’s quite possible that Achsah is being pestered by a number of young men who hope to gain Caleb’s wealth by marrying Achsah. When it comes time for Caleb to find a husband for his daughter Achsah, he wants someone truly worthy of her for her husband. The name “Othniel” means “God’s strength, God’s lion.” By conquering Debir, Othniel lives up to his name, proving himself worthy to marry Achsah.

What does Achsah think about this whole matter? Perhaps Achsah and Othniel have already formed some kind of a bond. The name “Achsah” means “adorned,” a name Caleb obviously has given her in love. At any rate, Achsah does not complain about her new husband. But there is a small problem. Caleb has given Achsah land in the Negev, a wilderness area where water is particularly precious. Othniel and Achsah have a discussion, and in the end it is Achsah who goes to Caleb and requests land with springs of water. When Achsah asks for a blessing, Caleb gives her not one, but two sets of springs, a priceless gift.

APPLICATION: What can we learn from Achsah?

1. Achsah knows her father is a good and faithful man who loves her, and she trusts him.

2. Achsah is not afraid to go to her father and ask for a blessing.

3. When Achsah asks Caleb, Caleb gives her more than she has asked for.

Many times we are afraid to ask God for things. Perhaps we aren’t sure that God really loves us or that He will hear us when we pray. Perhaps we have committed some sin that haunts us so that we are afraid to go to God in prayer. Perhaps we don’t really know God. Achsah knew her father Caleb was good and faithful and loving; however, many of us firmly believe that God is an angry Deity who is just waiting for us to mess up so that He can punish us. Nothing could be further from the truth!

John 3:16 – 17 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” God has already sent Jesus to die for our sins so that those of us who believe on Jesus will have eternal life in heaven. If God has already loved us this much, why won’t He also hear our prayers? True, we may ask for things that we shouldn’t. No parent agrees to everything their children ask. But God also delights in blessing us as it says in 2 Corinthians 9:8. “ And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”

Let’s pray together.

PRAYER: Father God, we confess that we are sinners and that by ourselves we do not deserve anything good. But we thank You that because Jesus has died for our sins, He has paid the price of sin for us. Lord, we come to you asking for Your blessings. (Here you can insert your own needs.) Thank you for loving us! Thank you for hearing our prayers! And thank you that the answers to our prayers were already on the way even before we asked. Amen.

For the last several months we have been following Moses and the Israelites through the Book of Exodus. The next book in the Torah/Pentateuch is Leviticus, the Book of Laws; however, we are going to skip over Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Joshua. The title for the studies in Exodus was “Mercy” because had it not been for God’s mercy, the Israelites would not have left Egypt or else they would have all died on the way to the Promised Land. All of us are prone to the same problems that plagued the Israelites. All of us need God’s mercy!

Now we are moving into the Book of Judges, and the title for this series is “Obedience or Chaos.” Moses dies at the end of the Book of Deuteronomy, leaving Joshua as his appointed successor. But when Joshua dies at the end of the Book of Joshua, God does not appoint any successor. Now the Israelites are in the Promised Land with no established leader; will they follow God or go off on their own? The pattern of disobedience/half obedience/foot dragging/and whining continues. But why spoil the story? Let’s get started.

Judges 1:1 – 7 “After the death of Joshua, the Israelites inquired of the LORD, “Who will be the first to go up and fight for us against the Canaanites?” The LORD answered, “Judah shall go up. Indeed, I have delivered the land into their hands.”

Then the men of Judah said to their brothers the Simeonites, “Come up with us to our allotted territory, and let us fight against the Canaanites. And we likewise will go with you to your territory.” So the Simeonites went with them. When Judah attacked, the LORD delivered the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hands, and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek. And there they found Adoni-bezek and fought against him, striking down the Canaanites and Perizzites. As Adoni-bezek fled, they pursued him, seized him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes. Then Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have gathered the scraps under my table. As I have done, so God has repaid me.” And they brought him to Jerusalem, where he died.”

Getting the Israelites out of Egypt took a leader with enormous capabilities. Without Moses, the Israelites would have remained slaves forever. When Moses died, the Israelites still needed a strong leader to spearhead their move into the promised land. But now it was time for the Israelites to depend on God alone instead of their leaders.

At the beginning, the Israelites do the right thing: they ask God for direction, and He answers them, advising that the tribe of Judah should go up first and that God has already set things up so that Judah will be victorious. The tribe of Simeon also comes alongside Judah and fights with them. When the Israelites follow God’s directions, God gives them victory.

The king whom the Israelites defeated was named Adoni – Bezek, which means Lord of Lightning. One of the main gods of the Canaanites was Baal, who was generally portrayed as standing with a lightning bolt in his hand. When God struck the Egyptians with the various plagues, He effectively made a mockery of the most important Egyptian gods. Now by helping the Israelites defeat this “Lord of Lightning,” God was graphically demonstrating that the gods of the Canaanites were equally helpless before Elohim, the One True Living God.

Why cut off thumbs and big toes? Such mutilation would render a warrior useless. Without thumbs, the warrior could not draw a bow, wield a sword, or handle javelins or spears. Without big toes, a warrior could only limp and not run.

APPLICATION: What do you do when your leaders have died and there’s nobody to take their places? Why didn’t God move Joshua to anoint a new set of leaders? Strong leaders may be helpful, but it’s all too easy for people to venerate the leader instead of the God he/she is serving.

In our area, we have lost several key leaders in the last few years. Unfortunately, younger people who could serve as leaders do not appear to be stepping forward. Throughout the world right now, many countries are suffering from crises brought on by the lack of wise leadership. But balancing being a leader with subjecting yourself to God can be a tough proposition.

One of the continuing temptations leaders face is the temptation to take first place in the hearts and minds of their people. The rise of satellite TV and live streaming on the internet has allowed preachers who would otherwise be locally famous to assume positions of international influence. Numbers 12:3 tells us that “Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.” Unfortunately, that isn’t necessarily true for many preachers and other leaders.

Here in Ghana it is common for churches to have big sign boards prominently displaying photos of the pastor or even of the pastor and his wife. But if all power belongs to God, why encourage people to worship the messenger rather than the One who has sent the message?

Before Joshua died, in Joshua 24:14 – 15, he threw out a challenge to the Israelites, asking them which gods they were going to serve. “Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; cast aside the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if it is unpleasing in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD!”

Joshua’s challenge remains for each one of us. What do we do when the charismatic leaders are no long there? Will we serve God whole – heartedly, or will we look for another man or woman to inspire us and to take the place of God in our hearts?

PRAYER: Father God, help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives! Help us to love You with all our hearts, minds, souls, and strengths. Thank You that You always empower us to do Your Will if we will only ask. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Exodus 40:34 – 38 “Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Moses was unable to enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Whenever the cloud was lifted from above the tabernacle, the Israelites would set out through all the stages of their journey. If the cloud was not lifted, they would not set out until the day it was taken up. For the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel through all their journeys.”

That day when Moses was directing the erection of the Tabernacle for the first time, he had no idea what was about to happen! Moses set up the Tent of Meeting first and then sited the various articles in their specified locations. The final act was to set up the courtyard with its curtains and its gateway. Obviously, Moses must have had lots of help, probably from the priests and all the artisans who had worked on the Tabernacle.

Did the earth begin to shake as Moses closed those gateway curtains that completed the courtyard? Were there divine trumpet blasts? We don’t know. All we do know is that the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle, appearing like a cloud over the Tabernacle. As if that were not enough, at night the cloud glowed with the Fire of God. By that point, people may have been flat on their faces in awe!

From the time the Tabernacle was dedicated throughout the rest of their journeys, the Israelites were led by the Glory of the Lord as expressed in the cloud. If the cloud began lifting, those assigned to carry the various parts of the Tabernacle would have had to move swiftly to roll up curtains, pack up basins and altars and pillars and be ready to start walking as soon as the cloud began to move forward. Everyone else in the camp would have to be ready to pack up and move as well.

Living under these conditions could not have been easy. Imagine being an Israelite housewife. You finally have the tent arranged the way you want it and you have finally unpacked things you have carried for months. Suddenly the word goes through the camp that it’s time to move. You have no choice; you start packing immediately. And as you are packing, you wonder what your next camping place will be like. Will there be water? Will there be shade? Will there be grazing for the animals? What will you use for cooking fuel? No. Maintaining a household under such circumstances could be really tough!

APPLICATION: Be careful what you wish for! Many times, people will claim that they just want to know God’s will for their lives. The unstated implication is that as soon as God reveals His Will, these people are ready and willing to obey. But in practice, this is far from the truth. When you follow God, the only thing certain is God Himself.

“Well, we will go visit that village, but there’s no way we will work there. You are a surgeon, and the only health facility is a small health center.” The year was 1992 and we were visiting a remote clinic at the invitation of some friends. We had all our reasons marshaled as to why this location was a totally impossible idea…. And those reasons all fell apart when we stepped out of the vehicle in the mission house yard, and the Holy Spirit descended, wrapping around us like a warm blanket. Suddenly, we KNEW that we were supposed to come to that village.

Subsequently, we endured a small tribal war, health challenges, and a number of other problems. But what kept us in that location was the certain knowledge that this was God’s perfect Will for our lives.

How can you know God’s will? Ask Him! God is a good Father and does not play guessing games with His kids. But you must be ready to follow His leading once you have asked.

One of my favorite hymns describes what happened to those men who became disciples of Jesus:

They cast their nets in Galilee
just off the hills of brown;
such happy, simple fisherfolk,
before the Lord came down.


Contented, peaceful fishermen,
before they ever knew
the peace of God that filled their hearts
brimful, and broke them too.


Young John who trimmed
the flapping sail,
homeless in Patmos died,
Peter, who hauled the teeming net,
head-down was crucified.


The peace of God, it is no peace,
but strife closed in the sod,
Yet let us pray for but one thing—
the marvelous peace of God.

PRAYER: Father God, help everyone who reads this devotional to seek Your perfect Will for their lives. And help them to follow Your leading. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Exodus 40:18 – 33 “When Moses set up the tabernacle, he laid its bases, positioned its frames, inserted its crossbars, and set up its posts. Then he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering over the tent, just as the LORD had commanded him. Moses took the Testimony and placed it in the ark, attaching the poles to the ark; and he set the mercy seat atop the ark. Then he brought the ark into the tabernacle, put up the veil for the screen, and shielded off the ark of the Testimony, just as the LORD had commanded him.

Moses placed the table in the Tent of Meeting on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil. He arranged the bread on it before the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded him. He also placed the lampstand in the Tent of Meeting opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle and set up the lamps before the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded him. Moses placed the gold altar in the Tent of Meeting, in front of the veil, and he burned fragrant incense on it, just as the LORD had commanded him. Then he put up the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle. He placed the altar of burnt offering near the entrance to the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering, just as the LORD had commanded him.

He placed the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing; and from it Moses, Aaron, and his sons washed their hands and feet. They washed whenever they entered the Tent of Meeting or approached the altar, just as the LORD had commanded Moses. Then Moses set up the courtyard around the tabernacle and the altar, and he hung the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard. So Moses finished the work.”

Reading this account, you would be forgiven if you wondered why so much repetition? After all, the instructions and specifications for the Tabernacle have been given multiple times. Why not just state that Moses completed everything as God wanted him to and be done with it?

The answer lies not in the initial establishment of the Tabernacle, but in the future organization of it. The Israelites were not exactly a compliant bunch of people! Given any opportunity at all, they veered off in weird directions. This account in the last chapter of Exodus was not merely a description of the first time the Tabernacle was being set up but it was also to serve as an example for all those who would be setting up and taking down the Tabernacle in the future. Moses wasn’t leaving anything to chance; he wanted to make sure that the Israelites realized that every detail was being done precisely as God had ordered.

APPLICATION: Oswald Chambers in his famous book “My Utmost for God’s Highest” talks about the need for believers to become entirely devoted to God. (July 31 “Becoming Entirely His”) Chambers writes: Many of us appear to be all right in general, but there are still some areas in which we are careless and lazy; it is not a matter of sin, but the remnants of our carnal life that tend to make us careless. Carelessness is an insult to the Holy Spirit. We should have no carelessness about us either in the way we worship God, or even in the way we eat or drink.

Not only must our relationship to God be right but the outward expression of that relationship must also be right. Ultimately, God will allow nothing to escape; every detail of our lives is under His scrutiny.”

We live in a house riddled by termites. Before the house was ever built, there were large numbers of termite mounds on that ground. During the construction of the house 25 years ago, no attempts were made to deal with the termites. Perhaps people felt that because the house was constructed of cement block, there would be no problems. But over the years, the foundation has settled and cracks have developed, allowing termites access to the walls of our house. In the past, the termites have totally devoured two built in closets with their shelves. Only recently, my husband was attempting to replace a wall socket, only to find that once he removed the old one, the wall was full of termite mud. In addition, the termites were making inroads into the back side of my file cabinet in my office. Now we are faced with examining all our sockets in this end of the house to make sure the pesky creatures are not creating more problems.

If you had looked at that electrical outlet in my office this morning, you would never have known that there were termites lurking inside the walls. In the same way, many times we appear to be obedient believers; however, there are parts of us that have not been brought under God’s control.

Proverbs 4:23 says, “Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life.” Just as Moses was careful to follow all God’s instructions to the letter, so we should endeavor to keep our hearts and consciences clear. You don’t want spiritual termites!

PRAYER: Father God, please help us to follow You completely and not partially. Help us to realize that our pet sins are just as devastating as termites to a building. Thank You for loving us and caring for us. Please change us into Your Image. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.