Judges 17-19 - Israel Becomes Sodom

Judges 17-19

All who saw it said, “Nothing like this has ever happened or been seen from the day when the sons of Israel came up from the land of Egypt to this day. Consider it, take counsel and speak up!” (19:30)

Message: Israel Becomes Sodom

Time: Judges covers about 250 years from death of Joshua to birth of Samuel (1360-1110 BC). The people of Israel largely divided with different local triable judges. It was a period of stirring interventions by the Lord and also great disobedience on the part of the Israelites. Without a king, everyone did right in their own eyes (Judges 21:25). 

What the Lord is Saying: 

Judges 17 - Micah of Ephraim is on the scene with his mother with 1100 pieces of silver taken from her now back with him. Mother appreciates this. She dedicates the silver to the Lord but then has her son make a graven image. 200 pieces were taken for the image to be made by the silversmith. Micah made his son the priest with the idols. Note: no king at this time in Israel and "every man did what was right in his own eyes." Once again, people need a king to help them know what to do. A Levite from Judah came to stay with them. Micah promises 10 pieces of silver annually if he will stay. Micah believes with the Levite with him the Lord will prosper him. 

Judges 18 - The Danites, sons of Dan, are seeking an inheritance for themselves. They send out 5 men and came to Micah to lodge there. They recognize the Levite and question him. They ask the Levite if their way is to be prosperous by the Lord and he confirms this. They came to Laish and the Sidonians had no ruler. They believe this is the land to possess. So 600 men of war from Danites set out. They came to the house of Micah. The five men who were spies make a remark about the graven images being present. With the 600 men standing by they took the graven image from Micah. The priest is alarmed but goes with them as they say that is better to be with many rather than just one. But then those in the house of Micah overtook the sons of Dan. Micah and the men are bothered, wondering why the priest and the images have been taken from him. They arrive in Laish and burn the city, now calling the name of the city Dan. They set up the graven image. 

Judges 19 - once again, the chapter begins with a reminder that Israel has no king.  A Levite takes a concubine from Judah. Four months later, she leaves him. The Levite goes back to get the concubine. The father convinces him to stay another day as he is preparing to leave each morning. This goes on for six days and then he leaves. He and the concubine head to Jebus. But these are not Israelites so they go on to Gibran but no one took them in. They end up in a remote area of Ephraim. An older man offers to house them. But then some worthless fellows show up at the man’s house, and want to have sex with the Levite. The owner tries to dissuade these men from this wicked act. The concubine comes out, and the man raped her repeatedly. He tries to have the concubine go with him, but she does not move from lying at the threshold of the door. Ends up cutting her into 12 pieces And sending those pieces throughout the territory of Israel.

Kind of an unsettling set of chapters here. Idolatry is a common theme and also sodomy. All is done without a leader this stressing the importance of good leadership. But even the Levite does not conduct himself in an honoring way. Chapter 17 and 18 mention idolatry and yet people try to speak in a way that the Lord God approves by invoking his name. Overall I continue to see the impacts of allowing the Canaanites and the worlds ways to impact those called by God. We can clearly be impacted by the ways of the world if we are not careful. And we try to cover ourselves by invoking his name. 

I think we dance with danger but we can’t help but getting impacted by it. No matter who we are as even the Leviticus priest was callous. We must continue to surround ourselves with good people - good teaching - daily discipline in God’s word. God needs to be present in every part of our life. 

I am sitting in a doctors office patient room right now. On the wall is a vision statement of the practice and mission statement and 4 core values. The statements seem like common sense in a way. And yet they align everyone. Thus it seems important that they probably have this posted to remind themselves and their patients of these goals. They want to be accountable. This is who they are and want to be. 

In the same way I need to align myself with environment that extol my Christian beliefs. And I need daily reminders to stay on course. 

Summary: once again people did right in their own eyes , idolatry occurred as did sodomy and murder. 

Promise: be consistent with spiritual disciplines. 

Prayer: O Father - you provide me with so many different ways in which I can each day confirm in my life what is most important. Thank you for instilling in me a desire to get in the word and studying for understanding and application. Thank you for helping me be healthy and strong and taking care of myself. You have made me the way you have for a purpose and I have a responsibility to live at a high level in my life. In so many ways, my wife is easy. I see people experiencing challenges in their lives and struggles. I noticed in my life when things are hard and makes everything in life a little bit more difficult. I’m blessed and I thank you God for blessing me. Help me to not be so selfish as I know there’s a continual tendency in me train me to be more of a giving person and helping others.

Note: If you are interested in other studies/devotions, check out my index of Bible Study's.

I Corinthians 5:1 - Restraint and Guilt

I Corinthians 5:1 - It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife.

Message: Restraint and Guilt

Time: Paul spent 18 months in Corinth and this is his 2nd letter to them (the first did not survive). He penned his letter in AD 55. There was quarrelling already in this church and deep divisions. Sin needs to be confronted and he did this boldly.

What the Lord is Saying:

As was seen in the previous lesson, the law is given for all, to restrain all from sin. Now we can't help but notice that this law of God has changed significantly, even in my lifetime. I can remember very few stores being open on Sunday. Thus, Sunday was thought to be a day of rest. And even stores were not open for 24 hours very often. But, all that has changed and there is rarely a day of rest when some stores are open on Christmas day. In addition, what has been defined as acceptable behavior has broadened.    

Homosexuality, sex before marriage, pornography, drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana -- were all even 40 years ago considered taboo and yet now they are celebrated as acceptable behavior and the needle continues to move as we have individuals now choosing their own biological sex. 

Yet the needle has not moved all the way and we are still centered on certain restraints, like murder, hate, theft, incest, torture, and certain aspect of sexual immorality like forcing minors to engage in sexual acts. 

In today's passage from I Corinthians 5:1 is an example of a sin that even the pagan world thought was wrong -- a sexual relationship between a man and his stepmother after his father died or divorced her. And this is a sin that was being practiced among those that call themselves followers of God. Thus, an example of how their was a law even in the pagan world of what is acceptable and unacceptable. And the Christians were those ones not rightly applying God's word. I've seen this in my lifetime. I remember my father saying that my faith would be challenged more by attending the Christian university that I did than if I were to attend a secular university. And having worked for Christian businesses as well, I found that I was treated differently than if I had been working for a business not made up of Christians. And even in the church, rather than being different, often churches are no different than the world. 

Many non-Christians are good citizens, doing good things, having good morals. They love their children and see the problem of exposure to all that the world offers and often are in very close relationships with one another. This is a good thing. And yet the words of the Bible decry an outward only manifestation of the truth of God, stating that it must be an inward change. Doing good and being Godly are very different things. None of us are perfect and all of us still are sinners and are in need of a Savior to redeem us from ourselves and bring us into God's acceptance. 

Promise: The Law of God is meant to be a restraint, and the world is watching how Christians restrain themselves. Let us seek to use the Law of God as a restraint so that others may see Christ in all His glory. 

Prayer: O God, thank you for the truth of You and the morality that you have set up in this world. You are holy and you have called your people to holiness. Thank you that our country was founded on Godly principles and this world still in many ways follows these creeds. Thank you that this country started with the right foundation and even I can remember these practices in my lifetime. Sin remains a surprise in all of its forms, and I pray that mankind would be redeemed and the law of God would be recognized again as the standard to live by. Draw people to yourself and help me to practice my faith at all times in all settings, to give you glory and be a testimony of God's love and right ways. 

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 celebrating the 500th year of the Reformation. The month of July is about the right use of God's Law; June was justification by faith alone; May about solus Christus - Christ Alone; April, salvation by grace alone; March, the sovereign providence of God; February, the doctrine of revelation and the various aspects of the doctrine of Scripture that sola Scriptura seeks to preserve; January, the doctrine of God.

The Restraint of the Law - the law is given for lawless, unholy, disobedient people, to restrain us from acting on our sinful thoughts. 

The BIble and Homosexuality

New American Standard Bible 

Genesis 19:4-9

⁴ Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter; ⁵ and they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them.” ⁶ But Lot went out to them at the doorway, and shut the door behind him, ⁷ and said, “Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly. ⁸ Now behold, I have two daughters who have not had relations with man; please let me bring them out to you, and do to them whatever you like; only do nothing to these men, inasmuch as they have come under the shelter of my roof.” ⁹ But they said, “Stand aside.” Furthermore, they said, “This one came in as an alien, and already he is acting like a judge; now we will treat you worse than them.” So they pressed hard against Lot and came near to break the door.

Leviticus 18:22
You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination. 

Leviticus 20:13
If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them.

I Timothy 1:9-10
⁹ realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers ¹⁰ and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching,
  
Jude 7 
just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire. 

Romans 1:24-27
²⁴ Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. ²⁵ For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
²⁶ For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, ²⁷ and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

I Corinthians 6:9-11
⁹ Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, ¹⁰ nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

Mark 7:21-22
²¹ For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, ²² deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness.

James 1:14-15
¹⁴ But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. ¹⁵ Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.

Titus 2:11-14
¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, ¹² instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, ¹³ looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, ¹⁴ who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
 


 

Proverbs 21:30-31 - Our Wisdom and God's

Proverbs 21:30-31 -

³⁰ No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel
    can avail against the Lord.
³¹ The horse is made ready for the day of battle,
    but the victory belongs to the Lord.

Message: Our Wisdom and God's

Time: It seems that Proverbs was written and then compiled sometime between the tenth and sixth centuries B.C. Proverbs was probably written during the reign of Solomon, 971-931 B.C.

What the Lord is Saying:

Here in these verses, I believe, is the idea that no amount of personal wisdom, understanding, or counsel can ever lessen the need for the Lord. Nothing is greater than God. Sin, is our attempt, to rescue ourselves, through our own means. We do not want to look to God and His ways for accountability, but rather we want to think that our own personal outcomes will succeed in giving us peace, wisdom, understanding, or counsel. This is the big danger with sin. It deceives us when we think that sex outside of marriage is okay or getting drunk is not that big of a deal (i needed it; it helped me to be rescued from the stresses of life or looking at pornography is okay because i don't have an outlet for that sexual need or lying is okay because I do not want to hurt someone or stealing is okay because I have a need and society is not meeting it, and the list goes on. Rather than submitting to the Lord and His ways, we find these pursuits are able to rescue us from what life presents to us. We then view ourselves as wise, having understanding, and recipients of good counsel. 

And verse 31 is a reminder that even the best laid out plans for man does not excuse him from God's path for man. Is it good to eat properly? Yes. Is it good to manage our money well? Yes. Is it good to go to church on Sunday? Yes. But, I am to not thing that by doing these things, I will then avoid God's intended path for me. The victory belongs to the Lord, not to me. He gets the glory. The horse is made ready for the battle, but the victory is the Lord's. I submit and surrender to Him. 

Promise: God has the final say in all matters.

Romans 12:3-5 - The Sober Judgment of the Members

Romans 12:3-5 - ³ For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. ⁴ For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, ⁵ so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

Message: Our response to being transformed: A sound mind

Time: Written in AD 57 from Greece, to the Christians, both Gentile and Jewish in Rome.

What the Lord is Saying: 

Don't think more highly of oneself
Because of grace, and because I have a renewed mind, I am to realize that my condition in Christ is not due to my own special doing. Grace is a gift. Ephesians 2:8 says, "it is by grace you have been saved." Now here in Romans 12:3 is a similar message, "for through the grace given to me." Therefore, I need to be very careful not to think of myself, and my position in Christ, as something that I have earned or even deserve. Paul previously spoke out against the Jewish people. Paul spoke against the Jews declaration that it was their heritage or their lineage or their circumcision or their handling of the Scriptures, that then gave them some sort of special exemption before God. That because of these things anything God prescribed they did not necessarily have to adhere to. Yes, they were God's chosen people but this did not mean that they did not have to submit and surrender to Him. 

This is a very difficult practice in life. I think it is very difficult for the Christian to see himself as higher than others either in the faith or out of the faith. As Christians, we are called to live in the world and yet not be of the world. The world sees this and sees how we separate ourselves from the world and therefore, they think we are making ourselves out to be better than anything in the world. 

I think this is such a hard line to draw. Take the issue of homosexuality. The Christian, evangelical church has clearly put forth that homosexuality is a sin. Much has been made of this because the focus of homosexual activists is to conform people to the view that homosexuality is not only okay, but people are born like this. And therefore, any message that is contrary to this is viewed as narrow. And then when the Christian states disagreement in this, they are said to be judging these people. And there is also the feeling that the Christian sees there way as superior. And then suddenly the Christian looks at themselves as more highly positioned than those that don't agree with their ways. 

With the issue of homosexuality there are huge problems on both sides of the fence.  

I was speaking to my atheist friend recently and thought that my focus and position before him should be expressed that I don't believe I am any better than him. I need to believe and think that I don't think of myself as being any better than him. Sure, I might think I am better off for eternity, but I can't for a moment let it seep in that I think I am more of a person than he is.  

A measure of faith
Now this is interesting because I wonder if we do think that faith is something we bring to the table with God. That I am saved by my faith through the grace of God. And therefore, God is somehow waiting for me to have faith in him. I think that is an application of this verse. God has allotted to each a measure of faith. He provides us with the faith that we need. He allows the temptation, but also provides the way out. He is the hand of providence in our life. In no way does he only have a certain amount of faith and I get one piece, but rather faith is allotted or given to me. 

But, also faith has been given, now what will I do with it? And what stands out about me is the influence of faith on my minds. I am so quick to judge myself by the tangible things I have. I often thing, "Wow, I am glad God has placed me here rather than there." Is that because I feel blessed here and I wouldn't feel blessed if he had placed me in a hut in Africa with no running water, toilet, or refrigerator? Therefore, is my faith really in God or is it more in the creature comforts that I find all around me. Do I really have a faith in things? 

So faith has been measured to me, but what have I done with it? How is that I really live by faith? 

Members of the Body of Christ
Paul takes this message of being no better than anyone else and presents the Body of Christ. And i should see that what he is saying is no one person in the Body is better or more of a significant part than another member. I believe I have sometimes placed certain people like a lead pastor or elder above others in the church, but the body, whether it be a nursery worker, a person maintaining the church, a greeter, a teacher, all carry some level within the Body of Christ.  In addition, "we are members one of another" and so there is a connection between all of us and what we are doing in the Body. 

Sometimes I think the church really struggles with this as it differentiates between the work of paid staff and non-paid staff. Paid staff becomes the leaders that direct the flock and the non-paid staff become the support. There is just a danger in having ourselves look no different from the world where the ones getting made are making the decisions for the ones not getting paid. 

As in many areas of scripture, we need to "be careful." We must be careful in how we apply this scripture, making sure the application is not just a mirror of the application in our worldly professions. 

Promise: There are no disctinctions when it comes to our signifcance in the church and before God (Galatians 3:27-29) - Tabletalk, September 10, 2014
 

Romans 1:26-27 - Giving Up What is Natural

Romans 1:26-27 - 26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

Message: Giving up what is natural

Time:  Written sometime in AD 57-58, probably from Corinth, at the end of Paul's third missionary journey.

What the Lord is Saying: 

These verse are on the heels of verse 24 where it states that God gave the people over to their sins. Basically that is the thought. People had been given an awareness of God in their life, but exchanged it for a lie and worshiped the creature rather than the creator. Verse 24 mentions that "their bodies might be dishonored among them." John MacArthur states, "The more he (man) exalts himself, the more he declines. The more he magnifies himself the more he diminishes. The more he honors himself, the more he becomes dishonored." And so this verse that speaks of bodies being dishonored among them partly seems to speak of sexual sin. Preceptaustin.org states on this verse, "Remember that Paul was writing Romans from the city of Corinth, where every sort of sexual immorality and ritualistic prostitution was practiced promiscuously. In fact things were so vile in Corinth that the expression “to live like a Corinthian” came to mean “to live a life of moral degradation”! Corinth’s idol temple had more than one thousand so called priestesses dedicated to gratification of lust."

Thus, we come to verse 26 and 27, two verses that I have always spoke of homosexuality or practicing the gay lifestyle. The homosexual would say that these verses instead speak more of idolatry that has been referenced in the verses previously stated in Romans 1:19-23. My thinking, however, is the words that are being used, specifically the words found in the New American Standard translation. In 24, it is "lust of their hearts to impurity" and "bodies dishonored." And even in 25, it gives the idea that the relationship with a person supersedes the relationship with God.

And verse 26 refers to passions.The Greek word for passions is pathos and has 2 other references in the new testament in Colossians 3:5 and I Thessalonians 4:5 and both instances refer to sexual passions. Again, Paul is writing from Corinth which was a mecca of sexual sin and in Greece homosexuality was rampant and even because a lifestyle that people that was cool. I believe now we are seeing the same thing to do. It has become almost cool to be gay.

I don't know how this passage could be anything but about homosexuality but I am sure many will try to make it out to be something different. Homosexuality is against nature. It is a choice people make. Over time, men and women may have a predisposition to that choice, but it is still a choice. One thing I notice about my life is the more time I spend in the Word, the more time I spend reading the things of God and praying and engaging in communication with others, the more I become aware of the sin in my life and the wrongdoing. The closer I get to God, the more I see how awful of a person I am. So, for people to not see this in themselves must mean that they are not reading the Bible or not reading it to conform to God and His ways, but instead just read it like a school book. God's word must be read with an eye toward change and conforming to the will of God. As we do, God changes us. This entire chapter of Romans is a progression from being near God to being away from God and it is a chapter that describes what happens to a man that over time exchanges the truth of God for a lie. But, that lie ends up becoming that person's truth. We can't be surprised at sin in the world and the way people embrace it. They are spending their days without God so they are naturally moving in that direction. The challenge of the disciple is to continually help people see that their is a God and Gospel and God does care about us and our entire life and how it is lived. It is so easy to get comfortable in life and feel like all you are doing is okay and decent. But, God is just not on the throne so clearly. And more and more we need Him and He needs to be in the center of our life. O wretched man that I am. Lord, bring people to their knees. Yes, we need a revival, but that revival needs to start within the Body of Christ. Yes, the masses of Society need to change, but God, change me. Change us.

Promise:  God has an order and a way for male and females. Don't adjust it or change it. Accept it and God will bless us.