This might of yours

Judges 6:14 And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?”

God told Gideon to go rebel against the enemy and fight in “this might of yours,” "in this thy might."  He did not say, “Gather yourself together, train, get your supplies, and go.”  Instead, He told Gideon to go in his might.  What kind of “might” did Gideon have?  He was hiding his threshing job in a wine press.  He was timid and afraid, almost of his own shadow.  He was discouraged and disheartened by the oppression of the enemy.  He was from an unknown, just normal, household family.  He was afraid of even his neighbors (see 6:27) much less the powerful enemy.  In other words, Gideon’s “might” was almost nil!  God did not want him to go in any strength or power other than God’s power and strength.  If he trusted in that, Gideon could (and did) succeed.  So he DID go in his might and he DID trust God to add the extra “might” he needed and he DID succeed in defeating the oppressing power of the enemy.  All because he went in “his might.”

There was no king

Judges 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel.  Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

I found at least 15 times just in the book of Judges when the people of God, the Israelites, did not choose to obey and worship God and in every case had to be brought back through hardship of some kind.  Several times I noticed that the scripture said the people had no king, as did this verse.  The implication for me is that without good influence at “the top” the people went their own way.  This verse even says they all did what was right in their own eyes.  With our sinful nature, we have to have someone leading us along the right way.  For me, I had my parents help me in those early years, then through the years there have been other mentors who have helped me know and understand the right way until my spiritual maturity was such that I could see what is right with my own eyes, and now I am able to be that spiritual guide to others, thus repeating the process for the next generation.  At the same time, I continue to be mentored by others such as my pastor and Sunday school teachers, Bible study leaders, etc.  We help mentor one another so that we can be obedient to God’s Word as we grow in our understanding of it.  We don’t have to be caught up in sin by doing what is right in our own eyes unless we choose to do so.

Disciplinary action

Judges 21:6 Now the Israelites grieved for the tribe of Benjamin, their fellow Israelites.  “Today one tribe is cut off from Israel,” they said.

The Benjaminites had, as a group, become quite wicked, wicked to the extent that no one stood up for doing what was right even to the extent of mistreating travelers (see chapter 19) who stopped for the night.  The leaders of the other tribes of Israel tried to make things right by talking to those from Benjamin, to no avail.  In chapter 20 we are told the Israelites prayed for wisdom then went to battle against the Benjaminites.  In the horrific defeat and consequent ostracizing of the Benjaminites, I see a picture of the Church as God has intended when disciplinary action must be taken.  Even when having to punish someone drastically, there should be an undercurrent of love and tenderness over the “loss” of an errant fellow-believer.  In “the rest of the story” they worked out a plan for restoration of the wayward Benjaminites – a great picture of mercy and love.

The saddest verse in the Bible

Judges 16:20b But he did not know that the Lord had left him.

I think this is the saddest verse in the Bible.  For Samson, who had lived his entire life under the vow of a Nazarite (one dedicated to serving God), not cutting his hair as a part of his dedication to God, for him to not even recognize the absence of God’s Spirit, is so sad.  It is also frightening to me to see how easily this happened.  In spite of that vow of service, Samson lived a life of extreme self-indulgence without any regard for anything or anyone else, it appears.  Everything was about Samson, with no thought about his relationship with God.  I never want to become so full of myself and my own desires that I lose my sensitivity for holiness, for God’s presence and activity in my life, for attention to godliness, that I lose the ability to recognize spiritual weakness and the desire to be right with God first of all.

Breaking the ropes

Judges 15:14 The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him.  The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands.

I don’t think that we, for the most part, have a real grasp of just what the Spirit of God in us can accomplish through us if He is given the opportunity.  Samson had the strength to resist his enemies from the very start, but he waited for just the right opportunity and timing to use that strength.  When he did so, the power of the Spirit of God gave him the ability to make the most of the situation.  And from what followed, it is clear that God used Samson in spite of, and not because of, his general attitude of selfishness (see Judges 15:18-19).  The Spirit of God can work in me and through me in spite of my weaknesses if my heart is right.

Misery

Judges 10:16 Then they got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the Lord.  And he could bear Israel’s misery no longer.

As happened so many times in the history of the Israelites in the early years in their promised land, the Israelites were heavily influenced by the worship of other gods and in doing so, forsook their worship of God alone.  In the verses leading up to this verse, we are told that God became angry with them and “sold them” into oppression by surrounding peoples.  He allowed them to fall into hard times.  This time, when the Israelites called out to God, His response was, “Go and cry out to those gods you are worshipping.  Let them save you!”  And, as happens to all of us from time to time, the troubles we face can be like a smack on the side of our head, the “ah-ha” moment when we realize that we have lost our focus on God.  At that moment, we can refocus and take steps to get back in line with God’s purpose for us.  I love the end of this verse as it reminds me of God’s continuous love and care for me even when He has to allow bad things to happen to me to get me back on track.  He cannot bear to see me in misery ... it is never His delight or His will for that to happen, but He will allow it to happen if that is what it will take to get me back on track spiritually.

Battle experience

Judges 3:1-2 These are the nations the Lord left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants … [who had] not had previous battle experience).

At least some of the “new” challenges I find myself experiencing in my life are probably allowed by God just as He allowed the battle experiences for the Israelites.  So many times I find myself saying that it seems like after so many years of walking the Christian life, I should not have to be fighting that particular battle.  But it is for that very reason … I have to learn how to fight, and the only way I can do that effectively is to actually fight!  God knows that so He allows certain battles to come along just so I can get the experience I need to be a better, stronger Christian.  It takes practice to do that.