Judges 4:17-22 - Providential Governance Through Means

Judges 4:17-22
17 Now Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. 18 Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, “Turn aside, my master, turn aside to me! Do not be afraid.” And he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug.19 He said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a bottle of milk and gave him a drink; then she covered him. 20 He said to her, “Stand in the doorway of the tent, and it shall be if anyone comes and inquires of you, and says, ‘Is there anyone here?’ that you shall say, ‘No.’” 21 But Jael, Heber’s wife, took a tent peg and seized a hammer in her hand, and went secretly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went through into the ground; for he was sound asleep and exhausted. So he died. 22 And behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” And he entered with her, and behold Sisera was lying dead with the tent peg in his temple.

Message: Providential Governance Through Means

Time: Jewish tradition says that Samuel wrote Judges. Samuel, one of the last judges, that God raised up to rescue His people. This is a sequel to book of Joshua and spans from 14th century and ends about 300 years later.  The pattern of behavior in the book of Judges is clear: the people rebelled through idolatry and disbelief, God brought judgment through foreign oppression, God raised up a deliverer—or judge, and the people repented and turned back to God. When the people fell back into sin, the cycle started over again.

What the Lord is Saying:

The topic recently in this study of God's sovereignty has been God's providence, which, in a way, expresses his ongoing work through history. God is active in controlling all activity in creation. He decreed and created all and is active in preserving creation for his intended purpose. His creation benefits followers and non-followers. Thus he preserves but he also governs things. He governs the big things of life, like the dynasties of nations and their effects on society, but he also governs small things, things we might consider defining as chance (rolling the dice or flipping a coin).

The Westminster Shorter Catechism Question 11 states - "God's works of providence are, his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures and all their actions." God never takes a break in our lives.

My father spoke last night about all of the little decisions that occurred in leading up to him going to the BSU when he was at Tulane because they were offering a free meal and my mom was getting up to speak and when my dad saw her he had great desire for her. And spending time with her his grades suffered and he had to not spend time with her but have a standing date in order to get his studies back in order. His roommate, T - was his nickname - wanted him to go to the dinner and my dad was saying he had too much to study but the guy would never give up. So finally he relented and went. And he talked about how he ended up at Tulane from a recommendation from someone at college. He had dated a lot at Baylor but never at Tulane. And he emphasized these are the events and how we all are here. For me, I was thinking it was all divine providence. God governs the events of our lives and everything works out in our lives for His good purposes. He has a plan and that was His plan for me even way back then.
God works in established means or He works through people and physical laws, personalities, and decisions to bring about His purposes. He does not suspend natural processes or override plans and choices but He works in their decisions to bring about His purposes. This is what He did with my dad and what He does throughout our lives. There is purpose and order in our lives.

Judges 4:17-22 records the story of Jael and Sisera. Sisera is a commander of the Canaanites. He had lost a battle against the Israelites, led by Deborah and Barak. Sisera fled to Jael, someone he thought an ally, but Jael drove a tent peg through his skull while he was asleep. This fulfilled a prophecy that a woman would get the glory for killing Sisera (Deborah predicted this). Jael, a woman, was someone trained in erecting and dismantling tents. Numerous times she had hammered a tent peg and that skill was used to deliver the Israelites when the need arose. God worked through Jael's skill to bring about the fulfillment of prophecy.

Promise: God works through means so we do not know how the Lord may use us and our talents but we do know that He can use anything for His purposes.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the way you orchestrate events in our lives and how you do in fact work everything out for Your good. You have done this throughout history. Thank you for showing me how you work in our lives and I want to thank you for Your good work.

Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines with March being about the sovereign providence of God and looking at how the Bible reveals His control over all things.

Acts 17:26-27a - Providential Governance of Big Things

Acts 17:26-27a
and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him


Message: Providential Governance of Big Things

Time: Clearly written by Luke, this book follows the lives of Peter and then Paul after Jesus' ascension into heaven. The book was completed about 62 AD as Paul sat in prison. It provides an account of the growth of the Church and spread from Jerusalem, from a small group of frightened believers in Jerusalem transformed into an empire-wide movement of people who had committed their lives to Jesus Christ, and it should help us to be bold and have zeal in our walks with God.

What the Lord is Saying:

This creation that he extends to us is a common grace, meaning it is common to everyone. Everyone in history benefits from His creation, no matter whether they acknowledge God as creator and Lord. Everyone needs His creation. Thus there is providential preservation. Everything that exists in creation exists only because He preserves its very being. Thus, when we talk about the God actively controlling all things that occur, this means that his created order is not simply of the past, but is now.

Another part of his providence, in addition to preservation is governance. He governs all his creatures and their actions. As I study history at various times, it is amazing to see that today we are not very far off from our history. There are events like the British Empire and Ottoman Empire that still affect us today. When we look at our thinking today it is often because of events from the sixties. I've looked at Roman Catholicism and people's thinking about the fact that Bible reading is reserved to bishops and this continues to affect life today. Thus, it seems clear that God has steered the course of human history. He allots specific periods for His purposes. This may mean that he allows earthly powers according to His good pleasure. We like to however think that as time goes on we develop and progress and evolve in the strongest manner, but in actuality the events of our times are still steered by God. 

The verse from Acts today states in 17:26-27 that He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation. Many in this nation are appalled at the leaders of our nations and what they are doing. Yet, this isn't here by accident. 

This is interesting as I think also about the power of prayer. When I pray, what I am asking God to do is steer things in a certain direction. I am asking Him to change direction. But, sometimes I wonder if what I am getting out of this is the idea to trust Him for how He has steered things. 

Additional verses are:

• Psalm 103:19 The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all.
• Matthew 10:29-30 - Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

To think that the actions of a sparrow are from the Father and he knows the numbers of hairs on our head which means he knows when they are on our head and when they have fallen out. Thus, His knowledge of us is complete. 

Promise: Nations do not rise and fall by their own design but succeed and fail only according to the Lord's will. God will preserve His people through all the storms of life and this includes the governments and powers we are under. 

Prayer: Lord, as I continue to learn that your providence now is governed, that the events of life are determined for a reason, I see that events of life are steered by You. You order things for your good purpose. I admit my struggle is finding purpose in these events. 

Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines with March being about the sovereign providence of God and looking at how the Bible reveals His control over all things.