Chapter 3: verse 2... sometimes we have to be taught/reminded how to go into battle and how to fight for God... not necessarily physical battle, but spiritual battle... afterall, that is what we are to be engaged in as Christians, and that is why the spiritual disciplines, such as prayer, meditation, reading the Bible, etc are so important... maybe God leaves some 'enemies' in our lives to make us more prepared for the battles we are to fight in the future... see Ephesians 6:10-19
verse 6... I think that the 'serve their gods' part is probably the part that was so wrong... however, the 'taking daughters' part probably led to the 'gods' part... when we find ourselves deep in sin, we likely didn't just jump right into the middle of the deepest part... we probably eased in by doing just a 'small' thing which began to snowball before we realized it... sin is a slippery slope... if we give Satan a foothold, he will make a stronghold out of it before too long, so just don't even give him any opportunity to get in at all... just destroy all the sin, remove yourself from all temptation, and never look back... Ephesians 4:17-32, specifically verse 27 for part about giving the devil a foothold, but the rest for how and why to put off our sinful desires of the past and put on Christ instead.
verse 9... Othniel is a heroic man!
verse 10... God's Spirit came upon him to do things for God... now, as part of the new covenant, God's Spirit lives in us continually (once we've accepted Jesus as our Savior)... so, if they could do so much for God when the Spirit was with them in spurts, just think how much more we can do for God, since His Spirit is with us continually, and how much less we need to worry about whether God will be with us... He is with us, since in us is where He lives (see John 14:12-20)
verse 11-12... ok, so they only obeyed as long as someone was breathing down their necks? where is the spiritual maturity that says 'I will obey no matter who sees or not because I know it is the right thing to do'?... I am also starting to think, that as "we would have been better off left in Egypt, we will die here" was the theme in Exodus, "oh, look there's no one watching let's do as we please" is the theme in Judges?
verse 15... what's with the reference about him being left-handed?
verse 16... big sword?... must have been baggy clothing to hide that big of a sword, I think
verse 17... ok the details are killing me... "a very fat man" :)... ok, acting like a grown up now. :)
verse 19... apparently the king liked secrets?
verse 21... wow... that is quite a message!
verse 22... don't know if I should be amazed, amused, or grossed out here
verse 24... so, they locked the doors when they went potty... interesting to know
verse 25... "they waited to the point of embarrassment"... I think there is something important to think of here, but my mind is not really working on it well... so, leaving it for future thought
verse 27-30... ok, duh statement, but have to make it... thinking their victory had more to do with God's help than with their strategy and strength (see verse 29, especially)
verse 31... study notes mention that 'Anath' was Baal's sister, and a goddess of war... interesting that God chose a deliverer who was related to the 'enemy'... however, as we can probably all attest, one family memeber's lack of faith in God does not necessarily have any bearing on ours (or another familiy member's) decision to follow Christ whoheartedly... on a side note, what is an "oxgoad"
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Chapter 4: verse 4...interesting that a woman (with a husband, no less) was leading Isreal, and not her husband... wonder why?
ReplyDeleteverse 7... anticipating what the 'lure' could be
verse 8... smiling here, because the warrior is asking the woman to go with him, or he won't go :)
verse 9... sounds like Deborah thinks its kind of crazy, too
verse 10... ok, sorry, but still smiling... 10,000 men, ready for battle went... and so did Deborah... trying not to laugh... really it is a huge honor and tribute to the kind of Godly woman Deborah must have been... it does seem that people want to gravitate toward those that they know have a good relationship with God, in hopes that their relationship will rub off on them... when, in reality we can all have that kind of close relationship with God, and we don't need to live vicariously through others...
verse 13... 10 to 1 odds... plus God
verse 18-22... wow... I guess that is a 'lure' and a definitive choosing of sides... if you can't trust your friends, then you better be trusting in God!... so this must have been what Deborah was talking about when she said that the honor for killing Sisera would go to a woman (verse 9)... I had thought Deborah had been talking about herself... what plot twists there are in this book!
Chapter 5: verse 1... I always wondered how they came up with these songs... I guess I thought they just kind of made them up as they went along, but here is a duet, so they must have had some writing time... was there any practice... not really important I suppose, but just wondering
ReplyDeleteverse 2... 'when the people willingly offer themselves-praise the Lord'... yes!
verse 11... did they have minstrils singing about the laws and stories of God at the common places in their towns?
verse 12... did Deborah frequently sing as a way of prophesying?... 'take captive your captives'-they really are already Isreals captives I guess, huh, since God gave them over to the Isrealites before and wants to keep them under the Isrealites rule, if the Isrealites will just obey... how often do we have to re-take captive the things in our lives because we stray from God and the sin begins to run rampant again? how do we keep from ever letting it happen again? (I say these as thought provoking questions, but I hope that the answer of staying close to God and 'taking captive our evil thoughts' and renewing our mind, is familiar - 1 John 1:5-9, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, Romans 12:2)
verse 15-16... so the Reubenites did not join in with the rest of the Isrealites in this battle? why not? is this something to do with them living on the other side of the Jordan? did they forget the alter that was built there as a witness already?
verse 17... so, Gilead, Dan, and Asher stayed behind, too? why was Isreal not united in battle anymore? were they not united in bondage?
verse 20... 'the stars fought'... cool idea, but is this a literal meaning (like the weather was against the Canaanites, or the stars foretold this battle through astrology?), or was it figurative (like God was fighting for them, or maybe even angels came down to be on their side?), or something else entirely?... whatever, I still think it is cool termonology...
verse 21... 'march on my soul; be strong!'... sometimes we need that added encouragement in the midst of the 'battles' we are facing
verse 23... who is Meroz? is it the tribes that did not come to help in the battle?
verse 24... interesting to distinguish her as a 'tent-dwelling woman'
verse 25... I didn't catch that... she gave him better than what he asked for to completely comfort him and throw him off of her plan
verse 28... that is sad... I guess I never think about the feelings of the people who lost their loved ones in the battles against the Isrealites... this is sad
sandJ
Read it.
ReplyDeleteSandj