KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Friday, March 31, 2017
Chapters: Judges 3-5
Message: A Virtuous Woman
Hello My Friend,
Virtuous; morally good, acting in conformity to moral law, practicing moral duties, and abstaining from evil. Behind every God fearing, successful man is a God fearing, virtuous woman, she may only be a housewife who stays home to take care of the home, but she is the backbone of every bit of success in her family. Never underestimate the power of a woman, she can make or break a person, which is why it is important that all women be virtuous, no matter where they are. “Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.” – Proverbs 31:10,30.
Being a Christian or even walking with God before Christ came has never been about following a bunch of rules, it has been about choosing God, loving Him unconditionally with faith and trust, and making Him apart of our lives. Are we always going to be jumping for joy in our faith every day? Of course not, but He ought to get some part of our lives every day, even if it is to thank Him for getting us through another day. We can fall and get into some serious trouble when we forget to talk to God, even for a day. It did not take long after Joshua and the elders died before Israel began living in then world, and since they thought they knew better and did not need God telling them what to do, they got themselves into a heap of trouble as they became apart of them.
“Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan; Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof; Namely, five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount Baalhermon unto the entering in of Hamath. And they were to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would hearken unto the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites: And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.” – Judges 3:1-6.
“And they were to prove Israel by them,” God used the people of the land that Israel spared as a means for Israel to prove their faithfulness to Him. Temptations and trials reveal the wickedness in the hearts of sinners, but strengthen the grace of believers as they constantly deal conflict with the devil, sin, and the wicked world with Christ as their leader. As Christians we are to be in the world, not conform to it, this marks the difference between true followers of Christ and those who only appear to be on the surface. The friendship of the world is being in a war with God, only when we humble ourselves to Him can we find His grace. “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” – James 4:4-6.
God uses every willing person to get His people to see that they need Christ more than just for their salvation. God knew that as long as Israel had a godly leader they would remain faithful to Him, so over the years he appointed judges to govern them, but only when they cried out to Him. Three men, Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, judged Israel after they became so oppressed by their enemies that they cried out to God, and He delivered them. Then we come to the fourth judge, a woman named Deborah, God used her to judge Israel for over forty years.
“And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time. And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment. And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedeshnaphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun? And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand. And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go. And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.” – Judges 4:4-9.
“for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Back then and in many parts of the world today, if a man was lead by a woman it was a disgrace to the man. Deborah knew this, but she still obeyed God and led the people peaceably for forty years. God uses every willing soul for His work, if the men will not step up, He will appoint a woman to do it. I do not know how many times I get a man telling me that I am to remain silent about teaching the Bible. God never said that a woman cannot teach the Bible, He just said that a woman is not to have authority in His church, and she is to remain silent from arguing the views of a man who is head of His church. “Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.” – I Timothy 2:11-14.
We can expect God to try us, to prove us so that we will learn to be in subjection to His power. The key to enduring all the challenges we are faced with is offering ourselves to Him willingly and unconditionally, then praising Him for helping us through. After their victory, Deborah led the people in a song praising God.
“Praise ye the LORD for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves. Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, even I, will sing unto the LORD; I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel. LORD, when thou wentest out of Seir, when thou marchedst out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens dropped, the clouds also dropped water. The mountains melted from before the LORD, even that Sinai from before the LORD God of Israel. The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel. They chose new gods; then was war in the gates: was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel? My heart is toward the governors of Israel, that offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless ye the LORD.” – Judges 5:2-5,7-9.
“My heart is toward the governors of Israel,” God has a special place in His heart for those who serve Him faithfully, it is not what He calls us to do that is important, it is our willingness to do it with our heart. When we willingly offer ourselves to Him He will bless us, yes, He will place things before us to prove our faithfulness to Him, but they will not last. Never confuse something from the devil as something from God, while God will prove us by His Word, the devil will tempt us to go against His Word. “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” – 1 Corinthians 10:12,13.
Jesus Christ Magnified: Today, Jesus is revealed through Othniel, who God delivered Israel from their oppression. Jesus delivers all from oppression when they believe in and receive Him as their Saviour. “Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;” – II Corinthians 1:10.
Today’s Prayer: God, I know that I am nothing without You and that everything in my life, good, bad, and the ugly, are allowed to prove my faithfulness to You. Lord, purge me from the things that prevent me from being who You want me to be, lead me and guide me, help me to find the strength to stand before You as a virtuous vessel of honor, let me be an encouragement to others, the Light that leads them to Your truths, me be strong for those who may need a helping hand, and to keep serving You however You lead me. In Jesus’s name Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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