the lefty and the locked room

Posted on February 4, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

Judges - 1

the lefty and the locked room

Judges 3:14-26 (JDV)

Judges 3:14 The Israelites served King Eglon of Moab eighteen years.
Judges 3:15 Then the Israelites cried out to Yahveh, and he raised up Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed Benjaminite, as a deliverer for them. The Israelites sent him with the tribute for King Eglon of Moab.
Judges 3:16 Ehud made himself a double-edged sword eighteen inches long. He strapped it to his right thigh under his clothes
Judges 3:17 and brought the tribute to King Eglon of Moab, who was an extremely fat man.
Judges 3:18 When Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he dismissed the people who had carried it.
Judges 3:19 At the carved images near Gilgal he returned and said, “King Eglon, I have a secret message for you.” The king said, “Silence!” and all his attendants left him.
Judges 3:20 Then Ehud approached him while he was sitting alone in his upstairs room where it was cool. Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you,” and the king stood up from his throne.
Judges 3:21 Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and plunged it into Eglon’s belly.
Judges 3:22 Even the handle went in after the blade, and Eglon’s fat closed in over it, so that Ehud did not withdraw the sword from his belly. And the waste came out.
Judges 3:23 Ehud escaped by way of the porch, closing and locking the doors of the upstairs room behind him.
Judges 3:24 Ehud was gone when Eglon’s servants came in. They looked and noticed the doors of the upstairs room locked and thought he was relieving himself in the cool room.
Judges 3:25 The servants waited until they became embarrassed and noticed that he had still not opened the doors of the upstairs room. So they took the key and opened the doors – and there was their lord lying dead on the floor!
Judges 3:26 Ehud had escaped while the servants waited. He passed the Jordan near the carved images and reached Seirah.

the lefty and the locked room

Long before Agatha Christie, the Bible gave us a locked room mystery. Okay, it was not much of a mystery, because the Bible tells us who did it. But it is interesting that the first clue people had was a red herring. The smell made Eglon’s servants think that everything was okay. They thought their master was relieving himself.

Ehud — the left handed judge, had killed his people’s enemy, and retreated to organize his army to finish the job. Think about all the things that aligned just right in order for him to carry it off. When he saw the opportunity, he took it.

Lord, show us when the time is right for us to make a difference for you.

Posted in discernment, discipleship, plan of God, purpose | Tagged | 1 Comment

a culture of compromise

Posted on February 3, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

Judges - 1

a culture of compromise

Judges 3:5-13 (JDV)

Judges 3:5 But they settled among the Canaanites, Hethites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
Judges 3:6 The Israelites took their daughters as wives for themselves, gave their own daughters to their sons, and worshiped their gods.
Judges 3:7 The Israelites did what was evil in Yahveh’s eyes; they forgot Yahveh their God and worshiped the Baals and the Asherahs.
Judges 3:8 Yahveh’s anger burned against Israel, and he sold them to King Cushan-rishathaim of Aram-naharaim, and the Israelites served him eight years.
Judges 3:9 The Israelites cried out to Yahveh. So Yahveh raised up Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s youngest brother, as a deliverer to save the Israelites.
Judges 3:10 The Breath of Yahveh came on him, and he judged Israel. Othniel went out to battle, and Yahveh handed over King Cushan-rishathaim of Aram to him, so that Othniel overpowered him.
Judges 3:11 Then the land had peace for forty years, and Othniel son of Kenaz died.
Judges 3:12 The Israelites again did what was evil in Yahveh’s eyes. He gave King Eglon of Moab power over Israel, because they had done what was evil in Yahveh’s eyes.
Judges 3:13 After Eglon convinced the Ammonites and the Amalekites to join forces with him, he attacked and struck Israel down and took possession of the City of Palms.

a culture of compromise

Othniel’s rescue of the Israelites established a pattern that the other Judges followed. The fact that the Israelites were rescued by God’s power is encouraging, but the fact that they went back to forgetting God as soon as Othniel died showed a chronic weakness.

Note that the “Israelites cried out to Yahveh” (9). They prayed for deliverance from the oppression of King Cushan-rishathaim. They did not pray for deliverance from the real enemy. The reason King Cushan-rishathaim was a problem was that the Israelites themselves were weak and lacked the courage to stay true to God. They wanted to blend in with the culture around them.

Christians, before we cry out to God for deliverance, we had better be prepared to cry out to him in repentance. Often trouble comes to us for the same reason it came to the Israelites here. Our failure to stay committed to God and his covenant through Christ is often the cause behind the suffering. We can pray for deliverance, and God in his compassion will often send Othniels to rescue us. But if we do not deal with the underlying cause, the pattern will repeat.

LORD, give us wisdom to stand for you and stay true to your covenant in the midst of a culture of compromise.

Posted in commitment, courage, discipleship, faithfulness, repentance | Tagged | 1 Comment

tests and lessons

Posted on February 2, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

Judges - 1

tests and lessons

Judges 3:1-4 (JDV)

Judges 3:1 These are the nations Yahveh placed to test all those in Israel who had experienced none of the wars in Canaan.
Judges 3:2 This was to teach the future generations of the Israelites how to fight in battle, especially those who had not fought before.
Judges 3:3 These included the five rulers of the Philistines and all of the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived in the Lebanese mountains from Mount Baal-hermon as far as the entrance to Hamath.
Judges 3:4 They were for testing Israel, to know if they would keep Yahveh’s commands he had given their fathers through Moses.

tests and lessons

The Israelites had failed to drive out some of the nations, but that is only part of the story. Another factor was that God allowed these nations to remain among them to test them — and to teach them how to fight in battle.

Our God knows what we are experiencing. He has designed the playing field. If there are challenges we face, he is aware of the challenges. He wants us to overcome them — with his help.

Both testing and teaching are things that happen in education. There are aspects of education that challenge the learner, but each aspect is important for the development process.

That is what God is doing among us by allowing these difficulties that force us to learn and grow, and depend on him.

Lord, thank you for the tests and lessons.

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weathering the storm

Posted on February 1, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

Judges - 1

weathering the storm

Judges 2:20-23 (JDV)

Judges 2:20 Yahveh’s anger burned against Israel, and he declared, “Because this nation has violated my covenant that I made with their fathers and disobeyed me,
Judges 2:21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died.
Judges 2:22 I did this to test Israel and to see whether or not they would keep Yahveh’s way by walking in it, as their fathers had.”
Judges 2:23 Yahveh placed these nations and did not drive them out immediately. He did not hand them over to Joshua.

weathering the storm

I have been reading a scary book lately. It documents the rise of secularism and its effect on popular culture, together with its declared antagonism toward the Christian faith. The more I read, the scarier it gets. I find myself wondering if my children and grandchildren will be able to share the religious rights I have enjoyed.

Thankfully, I am also reading Judges. This book chronicles a similar “gathering storm” — but goes deeper. It explains that the troubles the Israelites experienced were the result of their violating the covenant God had made with them. It also shows that even in this terrible time of conflict and bondage, God kept showing up and providing deliverance. He wanted his people to know that he has not abandoned them utterly.

LORD, revive us again. May we walk according to your covenant, and weather the storm.

Posted in conflict, worldview | Tagged | 1 Comment

infusion of hope

Posted on January 31, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

Judges - 1

infusion of hope

Judges 2:16-19 (JDV)

Judges 2:16 Yahveh raised up judges, who saved them from the power of their raiders,
Judges 2:17 but they did not listen to their judges. Instead, they prostituted themselves with other gods, bowing down to them. They quickly turned from the way of their fathers, who had walked in obedience to Yahveh’s commands. They did not do as their fathers did.
Judges 2:18 Whenever Yahveh raised up a judge for the Israelites, Yahveh was with him and saved the people from the power of their enemies while the judge was still alive. Yahveh was moved to pity whenever they groaned because of those who were oppressing and afflicting them.
Judges 2:19 Whenever the judge died, the Israelites would act even more spoiled than their fathers, following other gods to serve them and bow in worship to them. They did not turn from their evil practices or their obstinate ways.

infusion of hope

The judges were instruments of God’s compassion. He saw his people suffering for their sin, and intervened by sending an infusion of hope just when despair was at its peak. God did not send his judges to deliver his people at the point where they deserved it. We are often tempted to think that if we can just get our act together for a short while, God would reward our faithfulness with a miracle.

Nope. He sends his miracles to the undeserving — those who need hope to carry on just one more day. He responds to our groaning. If we want God to act in our lives, we need to recognize how badly we have failed, and cry out to him in prayer. The devil wants us to stop praying when we fail God. He tells us that God hates us because of our weakness and sin, so going to God is hopeless. But going to God in times of hopelessness is the only wise move. He is there and ready to infuse our hopeless situation with hope from above.

Commenters on this text often point out the cycle of sin, oppression, suffering, groaning, rescue, and then forgetting God and sinning again. They emphasize the people’s lack of faithfulness. But contrasted to that is a corresponding compassion from God and his faithful sending of rescuers when they are needed. When things are hopeless, look up. He stands ready to infuse hope into our hopeless situation.

LORD, thank you for your acts of mercy, always ready to help us.

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consequences of ignorance

Posted on January 30, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

Judges - 1

consequences of ignorance

Judges 2:11-15 (JDV)

Judges 2:11 The Israelites did what was evil in the Yahveh’s eyes. They worshiped the Baals
Judges 2:12 and abandoned Yahveh, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed other gods from the surrounding peoples and bowed down to them. They angered Yahveh,
Judges 2:13 because they abandoned him and worshiped Baal and the Ashtoreths.
Judges 2:14 Yahveh’s anger burned against Israel, and he handed them over to raiders who raided them. He sold them to the enemies around them, and they could no longer resist their enemies.
Judges 2:15 Whenever the Israelites went out, Yahveh was against them and brought disaster on them, just as he had promised and sworn to them. So they suffered greatly.

consequences of ignorance

A new generation had grown up in the land who looked like their parents, but unlike their parents, they did not know God, and had no awareness of all the miracles God had done for them. This ignorance caused them to abandon God. God had not changed, but the ignorant ones had. They followed other gods and bowed down to them. This angered God, and he acted responsibly. He consulted his own manual of operation — his covenant. He had promised to bring trouble to those who abandon him. All of the heartache that we read about in this book could have been avoided. It was all brought about by walking away from God.

There are many today who claim to not know if there is a God. We have been taught that we should respect their agnostic beliefs. We have been taught to be considerate of them and not condemn them. We are told that their religious choice is just as appropriate as those who choose to follow the God of the Bible. What we are not taught is the principle highlighted in today’s text: ignoring God leads to disastrous consequences. Someone else always fills the void when one walks away from a relationship. If you deny the existence of God, other gods are waiting to take his place. Also, failures, weakness, bondage, and numerous kinds of suffering will come to those who forget God. Our present generation should know this — because we are living it.

LORD, we recognize that we are living out the consequences of ignoring you. Rescue us Oh God!

Posted in relationship with God, worldview | Tagged | 1 Comment

The sin of inclusion

Posted on January 29, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

Judges - 1

The sin of inclusion

Judges 2:1-10 (JDV)

Judges 2:1 The agent of Yahveh went up from Gilgal to Bochim and he said, “I brought you out of Egypt and led you into the land I had promised to your fathers. I also said: I will never invalidate my covenant with you.
Judges 2:2 You are not to cut a covenant with the ones living in this land. You are to tear down their altars.” But you have not obeyed me. What is this you have done?
Judges 2:3 Therefore, I now say: I will not drive out these people before you. They will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a trap for you.”
Judges 2:4 When the agent of Yahveh had spoken these words to all the Israelites, the people raised their voices and wept.
Judges 2:5 So they named that place Bochim and offered sacrifices there to Yahveh.
Judges 2:6 Previously, when Joshua had sent the people away, the Israelites had gone to take possession of the land, each to his own inheritance.
Judges 2:7 The people worshiped Yahveh throughout Joshua’s lifetime and during the lifetimes of the elders who outlived Joshua. They had seen all Yahveh’s great works he had done for Israel.
Judges 2:8 Joshua son of Nun, the servant of Yahveh, died at the age of 110.
Judges 2:9 They buried him in the territory of his inheritance, in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
Judges 2:10 That whole generation was also gathered to their fathers. After them another generation rose up who did not know Yahveh or the works he had done for Israel.

The sin of inclusion

God’s agent brought a word of condemnation at Bochim. He condemned the Israelites for tolerance of an enemy within their territory. They knew that God had given them the land, and that it was to be a holy land. But they failed to take seriously the threat that intermingling with pagans would entail.

Our generation faces the same condemnation, and is suffering the same punishment. We have made inclusion the highest good, and have resisted any warning of its danger. Among us there are those resist God’s call to holiness. They value their will over God’s word. They insist that our faith must be silenced, while their faithless lives must be first tolerated and eventually reproduced by us.

God punished the sin of inclusion by allowing it to continue. He knew the pagan lives and unholy religions of those nations he had told his people to drive out would entrap them. As long as they were allowed to stay within the borders of the promised land, they would disrupt families, incite rebellion, and embed themselves as pockets of resistance to peace and God’s will.

LORD, we confess the sin of inclusion. The secular, sinful and satanic has insisted that we allow them to dwell in our land, we tolerated them. For generations they have slaughtered our children, poisoned our minds, eroded our communities. We did nothing to stop them. Revive us! Restore in us a zeal for your holiness.

Posted in commitment, discernment, enemies, worldview | Tagged | 1 Comment

Luz compared to Jericho

Posted on January 28, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

Luz compared to Jericho

Judges 1:21-36 (JDV)

Judges 1:21 At the same time the Benjaminites did not drive out the Jebusites who were living in Jerusalem. The Jebusites have lived among the Benjaminites in Jerusalem to this day.
Judges 1:22 The house of Joseph also attacked Bethel, and Yahveh was with them.
Judges 1:23 They sent spies to Bethel (the town was previously named Luz).
Judges 1:24 The spies saw a man coming out of the town and said to him, “Please show us how to get into town, and we will show you covenant loyalty.”
Judges 1:25 When he showed them the way into the town, they struck the town down with the sword but released the man and his entire family.
Judges 1:26 Then the man went to the land of the Hittites, built a town, and named it Luz. That is its name still today.
Judges 1:27 At that time Manasseh failed to take possession of Beth-shean and Taanach and their surrounding villages, or the residents of Dor, Ibleam, and Megiddo and their surrounding villages; the Canaanites were determined to stay in this land.
Judges 1:28 When Israel became stronger, they made the Canaanites serve as forced labor but never drove them out completely.
Judges 1:29 At that time Ephraim failed to drive out the Canaanites who were living in Gezer, so the Canaanites have lived among them in Gezer.
Judges 1:30 Zebulun failed to drive out the residents of Kitron or the residents of Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them and served as forced labor.
Judges 1:31 Asher failed to drive out the residents of Acco or of Sidon, or Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob.
Judges 1:32 The Asherites lived among the Canaanites who were living in the land, because they failed to drive them out.
Judges 1:33 Naphtali did not drive out the residents of Beth-shemesh or the residents of Beth-anath. They lived among the Canaanites who were living in the land, but the residents of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath served as their forced labor.
Judges 1:34 The Amorites forced the Danites into the hill country and did not allow them to go down into the valley.
Judges 1:35 The Amorites were determined to stay in Har-heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim. When the house of Joseph got the upper hand, the Amorites were made to serve as forced labor.
Judges 1:36 The territory of the Amorites extended from the Scorpions’ Ascent, that is from the Sela upward.

Luz compared to Jericho

The failures and partial successes in this section should make us pause and evaluate. Something is not right.

The story of the taking of Luz seems similar to the victory at Jericho under Joshua. But a closer look reveals some startling differences.

Rahab had been spared because of her declaration of faith in the God of Israel. The man from Luz had no such faith. He did not convert from his paganism and join the Israelite community. He just left and rebuilt his pagan city elsewhere.

Perhaps the Israelites were seeking to reproduce a miracle of their past, but they seem to have left out some major elements of the equation.

You and I should be careful of that tendency. If we want to do something for God, we should seek to do it his way. Just seeking to replicate something that has been done before might bring partial victory, but it probably will not come close to what God wants.

Instead of settling for less, let’s try to get God’s vision for what he wants of us today.

LORD, build in us a passion for your will that does not settle for partial reproduction of past victories.

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Hebron, Debir, Hormah

Posted on January 27, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

Judges - 1

Hebron, Debir, Hormah

Judges 1:1-20 (JDV)

Judges 1:1 It happened after the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked Yahveh, “Who will be the leading tribe to go up for us to battle against the Canaanites?”
Judges 1:2 Yahveh answered, “Judah is to go. Notice I have given the land to his hand.”
Judges 1:3 Judah said to his brother Simeon, “Come with me to my allotted territory, and let us fight against the Canaanites. I will also go with you to your allotted territory.” So Simeon went with him.
Judges 1:4 When Judah went up, Yahveh gave the Canaanites and Perizzites to their hands. They struck down ten thousand men in Bezek.
Judges 1:5 They found Adoni-bezek in Bezek, fought against him, and struck down the Canaanites and Perizzites.
Judges 1:6 When Adoni-bezek fled, they pursued him, caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes.
Judges 1:7 Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to pick up scraps under my table. God has repaid me for what I have done.” They brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.
Judges 1:8 The men of Judah fought against Jerusalem, captured it, struck it down with the sword, and set the city on fire.
Judges 1:9 Afterward, the men of Judah marched down to fight against the Canaanites who were living in the hill country, the Negev, and the Judean foothills.
Judges 1:10 Judah also marched against the Canaanites who were living in Hebron (Hebron was formerly named Kiriath-arba). They struck down Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.
Judges 1:11 From there they marched against the residents of Debir (Debir was formerly named Kiriath-sepher).
Judges 1:12 Caleb said, “Whoever strikes down and captures Kiriath-sepher, I will give my daughter Achsah to him as a wife.”
Judges 1:13 So Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s youngest brother, captured it, and Caleb gave his daughter Achsah to him as his wife.
Judges 1:14 When she arrived, she persuaded Othniel to ask her father for a field. As she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you want?”
Judges 1:15 She answered him, “Give me a blessing. Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me springs also.” So Caleb gave her both the upper and lower springs.
Judges 1:16 The descendants of the Kenite, Moses’s father-in-law, had gone up with the men of Judah from the City of Palms to the Wilderness of Judah, which was in the Negev of Arad. They went to live among the people.
Judges 1:17 Judah went with Simeon his brother, struck the Canaanites down who were living in Zephath, and completely exterminated the town. So they named the town Hormah.
Judges 1:18 Judah captured Gaza and its territory, Ashkelon and its territory, and Ekron and its territory.
Judges 1:19 Yahveh was with Judah and enabled them to take possession of the hill country, but they could not drive out the people who were living in the valley because those people had iron chariots.
Judges 1:20 Judah gave Hebron to Caleb, just as Moses had promised. Then Caleb drove out the three sons of Anak who lived there.

Hebron, Debir, Hormah

I was struck by the terms that are used here to describe the degrees of success that the Judah and Simeon had in accomplishing God’s will.

Some went up to the enemy, some marched against the enemy, some fought against the enemy, some pursued the enemy, some captured the enemy, some drove out the enemy, some struck down the enemy, some completely exterminated the enemy.

The transition from a promised land to a possession would not be an easy one.

Such is the case for us today. We are not called on to possess a land, but to proclaim the gospel. We must strive to do God’s will for us today, and seek means to do it more efficiently and effectively.

Some examples are given in today’s text of places that were so effectively possessed that they were renamed (10, 11, 17). Our gospel proclamation should be so effective that the targets of our evangelism see themselves not just as liberated people, but as new people.

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authenticating signature

Posted on January 26, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

2 Thessalonians

authenticating signature

2 Thessalonians 3:16-18 (JDV)

2 Thessalonians 3:16 May the Lord of peace himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with all of you.
2 Thessalonians 3:17 I, Paul, am writing this greeting with my own hand, which is an authenticating mark in every letter; this is how I write.
2 Thessalonians 3:18 The favor of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

authenticating signature

Paul had warned the Thessalonians that someone might write a deceiving letter, claiming to be him, so he concludes this letter with some writing in his own hand. Paul usually dictated his letters to an amanuensis, but he wanted to authenticate this one.

Many of the books of the Bible are under attack today. Some attack the words as being outdated or otherwise harmful, others doubt the authenticity of many books long held as scripture.

We do not have any of the original scripture texts, including this one. We have to trust God that he has preserved the text so that we can have a sure word from him.

Test these words, and the words in the other 65 books of the Old and New Testaments. You will see that God has left his authenticating signature in them.

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