KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Thursday, March 30, 2017
Chapters: Judges 1-2
Message: Weak Flesh, Strong God
Hello My Friend,
The Book of Judges contains twenty-one chapters, the author is Samuel and it was written to Israel. The timeline for these events took place approximately between 1425 BC to 1120 BC. The purpose of the book was to record Israel’s behavior after the death of Joshua, their repeated sin, confessions, and the judges God sent to redeem them. What we are to learn from the book is that God’s chastisement gets us to turn away from sin and to the Saviour. “And the children of Israel said unto the LORD, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day. And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.” – Judges 10:15,16.
Tributary; Paying tribute to another, either from compulsion, as an acknowledgment of submission, or to secure protection for the purpose of peace. The children of Israel are now facing life without Joshua, what were they to do? Just as Joshua told them, drive out the Canaanites and follow God’s commands. The tribes of Judah and Simeon worked together to get the people out of their towns, but the rest of the tribes did not want to fight or were afraid of them, they ended up taking money from them to keep the peace.
“And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. And the name of the city was called Hormah. Also Judah took Gaza with the coast thereof, and Askelon with the coast thereof, and Ekron with the coast thereof. And the LORD was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron. And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel: and the LORD was with them. And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out. Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them. Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became tributaries.” – Judges 1:17-19,22,28-30.
“when Israel was strong,” It is easy to push God to the side when we are strong, we literally can do all things by ourselves. The trouble with life is that we cannot do everything ourselves all the time, we become weak because our flesh is weak, and it does not happen quick, it is gradual, a little compromise here, a little slip there and all of a sudden we become the ones who are paying to keep the peace and God is no where to be found. We need Christ in our lives at all times, especially when we are strong, for He is our strength. “The way of the LORD is strength to the upright: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.” – Proverbs 10:29.
When we make a promise to live our lives with Christ, God pays attention and expects us to follow through with our promise, and since we are incapable of staying in His will at all times He allows snares and thorns to get in our lives so we learn we need Him at all times. God watched as Israel began joining forces with the Canaanites, started doing the things they did, and did what He promised, they would always be a snare in their side.
“And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this? Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you. And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept.” – Judges 2:1-4.
“and their gods shall be a snare unto you.” Snare; To bring into unexpected evil, perplexity or danger. As Christians we do not have to suffer as much as we do, but the truth is we often suffer more because our flesh is weak, again, our strength comes from Christ and if we push Him to the side and allow the things of the world to creep into our lives, evils will come that we cannot get rid of. “For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” – II Corinthians 12:8-10.
When we are weak, then we are strong in Christ, it is Christ who gives us great strength to defeat our enemies, and resist the temptations of the world, but if we rely only on our own human strength we are going to get defeated. Being saved keeps us from hell, it does not keep us from suffering caused by sin. Once Israel allowed the Canaanites to dwell with them, it did not take long before they began living the way they did, worshiping their gods and even offering human sacrifices to them.
“And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim: And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger. And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth. And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and he said, Because that this people hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my voice; I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died: That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not.” – Judges 2:11-13,20-22.
“whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein,” God allows us to live in our own will for one reason, to see if we are going to be wholly committed to Him. God did send judges from time to time when things got out of hand in hopes that they would turn from their gods to Him, but once the judge died they went right back to the evil because they had no one to follow. Today, Christ is our Judge, He is the only one we need to follow, and as long as we do we can get through all things. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” – Philippians 4:13.
Jesus Christ Magnified: Today, Jesus is reveal as the angel of the LORD, Jesus, is God in the flesh and Spirit, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” – Revelation 1:8
Today’s Prayer: God, While we cannot avoid temptations in life that seem to never go away, we can overcome them by accepting Your Son, and living in obedience to your commands. I trust You and know that good things will truly come to me as I remain faithful to You and abide in Your Word. Lord, I am weak, but You are my strength, lead me, guide me, give me Your power, strength, mercy, and grace to endure the snares that are in my life. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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