Doesn’t it seem a lot of the book of Judges screams “chaos”? This past week we saw chaos on a whole new level. The account of a wayward Levite in Judges chapter 19 isn’t read in many churches. This priest goes to bring home a concubine that left him and while heading back home with her he runs into big trouble. The tragedy includes gang rape, murder, dismemberment, and leads to a bloody civil war. If you decide to read the entire chapter you might wonder why this account is recorded in the Bible. The Bible includes much of the major history of this nation – and leaving this tragedy out of those historical accounts would be like leaving the cold facts of Hitler out of our textbooks. The depravity of the facts help us see how far the people had walked away from God.
God’s people launched an ugly civil war against one of their own tribes to purge the ugliness of the sin among them. Maybe this account is recorded to remind us how to think about the sin in our own life. Are we ready to take on the things we have tolerated and dedicate ourselves to the God who saves us?
Disobedience, Bondage, Repentance, Devotion. All different stages on a spin-cycle of this nation. Beneath the surface of the depravity, chaos, and disappointment of this life is a God ready to rescue us!
“…And the most famous of them all – that long-haired dude named … Samson!”
The story of Samson is like a crazy roller coaster ride. We learn from birth he is set apart under a Nazarite vow. If you read Numbers chapter six, you’ll see this vow was a way to be “set apart” to God for a period of time. The vow involved abstaining from certain things, one of which was shaving your hair. God set Samson apart from before his birth and gave him a supernatural strength to conquer the enemies of his people.
Eventually Samson’s heart becomes wayward. He uses the power of God to escape situations he should have never gotten involved in. In chapter 16 he visited a foreign prostitute and when they tried to capture him he escapes by the power God gave him. Had Samson become so sure of his strength and power he’d forgotten its source?
Samson’s next bad move was to fall in love with a foreign woman named Delilah. Delilah was the modern day version of a “gold-digger”. She tries to find out the secret to Samson’s strength in order to turn him over to his enemies for big cash. She’s so brash it’s hard to believe Samson finally gives in – but she has his heart. Samson suffers great pain and eventually pays for his mistakes with his life.
I guess when we look at Samson it’s easy to see his foolishness. A good heart examination would have done Samson a world of good. The Bible instructs us to examine ourselves and consider our ways (2 Cor 13:5). Have we really entrusted ourselves to him? Have we given ourselves to things or people that are not worthy of our hearts? If so, isn’t now the moment to change?
Last week we looked at the story of Gideon again and saw how this man of reluctant faith became a faithful instrument of God. Gideon is going to battle the Midianites and Amalekites and again asks God for a sign. It’s pretty easy to look down on Gideon and think about all the other people in history who were expected to follow God in faith without a sign! But God knows the heart of each person and how to draw them into becoming a courageous follower.
In chapter seven God gets a chance to test Gideon! Gideon starts with 32,000 troops for battle and God takes Gideon through steps to narrow the army down to 300 men. He executes God’s plan and drives out an enormous army.
It’s pretty easy to decide how we’d like to live our lives. It is super easy to ask God for a sign and go our own way while we wait. Our God is big enough to take us from a reluctant faith to embracing faithfulness. Are we ready to join him on that journey?
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