August 3rd, 2011 by Kristi Stephens

As I pondered how to summarize an overview of the Israelite’s history as they settled into the land during the time of Joshua and then encountered all kinds of drama through the period of the judges, this verse was echoing in my heart.

Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.

Psalm 86:11

An undivided heart. God longs for us to have undivided hearts that are focused only on Him. It is why He began the ten commandments like this:

I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

You shall have no other gods before me.

Exodus 20:2-3

It is why Moses pleaded with the people in his final address, “Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other.“ (Deuteronomy 4:39) Why Joshua cried out these familiar words in his own final address:

“Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

Joshua 24:14-15

Interestingly, the people responded vigorously to Joshua’s address, claiming that they would never turn their backs on the LORD in favor of the false gods of Canaan.

Sadly, that is exactly what they did.

The book of Judges is a horrifying tale of depravity, starting badly and cycling downward until it leaves us with some of the most disturbing stories in the pages of Scripture. [We took a more in-depth look at Judges here.] Judges 2:19 summarizes the state of the nation succinctly:

But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their fathers, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.

Divided hearts. They refused to give up their idolatry, the evil practices they loved, they refused to bow their knee to the God who demanded their whole hearts and souls and lives. Oh, they gave Him a portion of their hearts – after all, He was the one they would cry out to in distress – but not all. Their hearts were divided, and they did not fear God’s name.

So, as I ponder these portions of Scripture, I am left with this staggering reminder of how very quickly our hearts can become divided, how quickly my heart becomes divided. Oh, I want to love and serve God, but am I undivided in my focus? Or have other things – even worthwhile things – crept into my life and heart and divided my affections?

Undivided hearts cause us to fear and love and worship the Lord in all aspects of our lives, mundane or extraordinary. Divided hearts allow idolatry, pride, stubbornness, and rebellion to sneak into our hearts and lives and destroy us. Sometimes we have divided hearts even while loudly proclaiming our single-minded focus on the Lord who rescued and saved us, just as the Israelites did.

We must choose for ourselves this day whom we will serve – who is it going to be? And before we point to the “as for me and my household” plaque on the wall of our living rooms… let us seriously reflect: who are we really serving with our time, energy, emotion, talents, money? Do we have undivided hearts? Do we fear His name?

He is the only one worthy of our undivided focus – give it to Him freely, for it is painful when He must demand the adoration He is due.

We’re continuing our One Summer, One Story series – a fast-paced overview of the “big story” of the Bible! Missed anything? Find all the past posts here. Just a reminder, also, that we have two different “blog ministry projects” going on right now – please consider joining us for Got Milk? and the SOS Project – because although the problems are overwhelming, our God really IS BIGGER!

July 27th, 2010 by Kristi Stephens

This is our last post in our series looking at the book of Judges. I hope this has been helpful and challenging for you! Just in case you haven’t realized, there are MANY posts similar to these archived from past studies we have done. I invite you to click over to the “Sweeter Than Honey” link on the right side below my picture – you will find Bible studies categorized by book, and many are also available in ebook form (all are free!) under the “Resources” link at the top of the page.

And by the way – have you joined us on facebook?  We’d love to see you there!

We made it through Judges! Judges is a strange book for so many reasons. I find it strange because it’s an easy read – all exciting and intriguing stories – yet I get to the end and feel awful! This is no mistake – narratives like these are meant to elicit an emotional response. To what end?

In our first post on Judges, we mentioned that the last chapters of Joshua are crucial to understanding the mess that they are in during the book of Judges (see You Can’t Add God to your Pantheon). They have not rejected idolatry and it lands them in a heap of trouble – remember Gideon’s ephod? Jephthah‘s horrible misunderstanding of the demands of God? Micah‘s household idols made out of stolen silver dedicated to the Lord? All of these strange cases resulted from embracing idolatry and trying to somehow mesh it together with the worship of Yahweh. Not only did this destroy the nation spiritually, it caused an increasing decay of morality.

One of the things we were watching for as we worked through the book was the progression from one story to the next. We started back with Ehud, which included some disgusting detail, but it’s not too bad when held against the others in the book! Then we moved on to Jael, with the warm and cozy story of this woman nailing a man to the ground inside her tent. As we continued we covered Samson (parts one and two) and his lustful, fleshly perversions of the calling God had on his life, then to Micah and the tribe of Dan‘s immoral slaughter of the town of Laish, and finally ended with the sickening account of the Levite and his concubine (parts one and two), the attack against Jabesh Gilead, and kidnapping women during a festival to the Lord. Notice a progression? We’re moving from bad to worse, from God-appointed leaders delivering the people from enemies to people murdering and mutilating for their own selfish ends.

What about the other topic we were observing as we moved through: how the role and treatment of women is seen? This, too, goes from bad to worse. From Jael using her maternal instincts to brutally kill a man to a woman being gang raped, left for dead, and dismembered as a “message” to Israel. It ain’t pretty. As the overall culture of Israel decays and moves farther and farther from the fear of God, women suffer the effects most vividly. As mentioned back in the story of Jael, women become increasingly brutalized and brutal as a culture moves farther from God.

We were created in the image of God. We were meant to be rational and relational beings, created to rule over the earth as stewards, and given the capacity as men and women to glorify God and picture His relationship with mankind through marriage and proper sexual relationship. As mankind plunges into sin and refuses to fear the Lord, we turn into animal-like beings who are irrational, selfish, sexually perverted, and destructive and abusive to one another and everything around us.

Left to our own devices, want to know what we would be? Take Judges 17-21 to heart. This is a real story about real people who rejected God and instead lived a nightmare. We need God. We NEED a Savior, for we cannot and will not reach back to Him on our own.

This is the significance of the repetition toward the end of Judges: there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes. Remember our “Land, Nation, Leader” promise from Genesis 12? Judges points out how hauntingly empty we are without that promised Leader! We need the True King, we need a Savior!

The story and meaning of Christmas is often watered down and sentimentalized. Jesus was not just a cute baby who would someday show us how to be kind and good and loving. He was all of that, but He was so much more. He was the promised Redeemer. Without Him, without His death on our behalf, without His transforming grace, our righteousness is filthy rags. Without Him and His grace, we all would be somewhere in the pages of Judges. Maybe we wouldn’t look as bad as some in this book, but remember Jephthah – even his sincere attempt at worship was corrupt and disgusting. We desperately needed the Leader, and in His perfect timing, He came.

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6

July 26th, 2010 by Kristi Stephens

Picking up from Going From Bad to Worse…

The end of the passage we considered in Friday’s post almost sounds more like a modern episode of “Criminal Minds” than it does a Bible story.

When her master got up in the morning and opened the door of the house and stepped out to continue on his way, there lay his concubine, fallen in the doorway of the house, with her hands on the threshold. He said to her, “Get up; let’s go.” But there was no answer. Then the man put her on his donkey and set out for home.

When he reached home, he took a knife and cut up his concubine, limb by limb, into twelve parts and sent them into all the areas of Israel. Everyone who saw it said, “Such a thing has never been seen or done, not since the day the Israelites came up out of Egypt. Think about it! Consider it! Tell us what to do!”

All of the tribes are outraged after receiving the “message” from the Levite. They assemble together to attack the tribe of Benjamin in vengeance for their part in the woman’s death. After several days of battle, only a few hundred men are left from Benjamin. All of the other tribes take an oath to not give their daughters in marriage to a Benjamite, but then they realize that the entire tribe will be extinguished with no women for the survivors to marry. The solution? They realize that no one from the town of Jabesh Gilead came to help them, so they decide to go up and slaughter the entire city except for the virgin women. 400 virgins are taken captive and given to the surviving Benjamites, but there aren’t enough to go around.

Then the brilliant plan develops to have the Benjamites who don’t have wives hide in the vineyards during a festival to the Lord that was to be held in Shiloh. While the young women were dancing, they each ran out and kidnapped a bride! Notice how they justify this:

When their fathers or brothers complain to us, we will say to them, ‘Do us a kindness by helping them, because we did not get wives for them during the war, and you are innocent, since you did not give your daughters to them.’ (Judges 21:22)

Oh, well in that case, I guess it’s ok. ??

This story is confusing – God apparently approves of the outrage against this unspeakable evil committed in the tribe of Benjamin and directs that Judah will lead the battle against them. This is consistent with the law – as we’ve discussed before, Leviticus states that when such evil was uncovered in Israel they were to blot it out.

It sounds cruel to us, but again, we must remember: God is a HOLY God. It was unacceptable for the people called by His name to act in such utter wickedness. If Sodom and Gommorah were destroyed for this kind of evil, how much more the people who have God living amongst them? Notice, however, that the text does NOT show God giving approval for any of the rest of the story – the mutilation of this young woman’s body, the slaughter of Jabesh Gilead, and the kidnapping of women to provide wives.

The last verse of the book of Judges is haunting and familiar: In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit. (21:25)

In the next post, I will look more at the overall message of Judges and tie some things together. Today I just want to leave you with this thought: what happens to humanity when we shrug off the authority of God and a standard for Truth outside of our own personal feelings and judgment? What does the book of Judges have to say to us today? Please share any thoughts you have!

There are six things the LORD hates,
seven that are detestable to him:
haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to rush into evil,
a false witness who pours out lies
and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.
Proverbs 6:16-19

July 22nd, 2010 by Kristi Stephens

The last story was bad, but this one does get worse, unfortunately! This next account primarily involves a Levite and his concubine, and when we continue tomorrow we will also find the tribe of Benjamin in the story. Please read Judges 19-21 to get all the details.

The Levite’s exact relationship to the woman is a little fuzzy – the text refers to her both as his concubine, and also as his wife. Anyway, she has left him for some reason, and after a while he follows her and stays with her and her father; after a few days, he decides it’s time to leave her father’s house and get on their way.

When they were near Jebus and the day was almost gone, the servant said to his master, “Come, let’s stop at this city of the Jebusites and spend the night.”

His master replied, “No. We won’t go into an alien city, whose people are not Israelites. We will go on to Gibeah.” He added, “Come, let’s try to reach Gibeah or Ramah and spend the night in one of those places.” So they went on, and the sun set as they neared Gibeah in Benjamin. There they stopped to spend the night. They went and sat in the city square, but no one took them into his home for the night.
(19:11-12)

Implication? He wants to stay among Israelites, presumably to be safer. They arrive in Gibeah, and no one will take them in. During these times, strangers to a town would wait in the city square for someone to offer hospitality and let them stay for the night. Finally, an old man comes in from the fields and invites them into his home for shelter. The next events are so appalling I will just quote the text.

While they were enjoying themselves, some of the wicked men of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they shouted to the old man who owned the house, “Bring out the man who came to your house so we can have sex with him.”

The owner of the house went outside and said to them, “No, my friends, don’t be so vile. Since this man is my guest, don’t do this disgraceful thing. Look, here is my virgin daughter, and his concubine. I will bring them out to you now, and you can use them and do to them whatever you wish. But to this man, don’t do such a disgraceful thing.”

But the men would not listen to him. So the man took his concubine and sent her outside to them, and they raped her and abused her throughout the night, and at dawn they let her go. At daybreak the woman went back to the house where her master was staying, fell down at the door and lay there until daylight.

When her master got up in the morning and opened the door of the house and stepped out to continue on his way, there lay his concubine, fallen in the doorway of the house, with her hands on the threshold. He said to her, “Get up; let’s go.” But there was no answer. Then the man put her on his donkey and set out for home.

When he reached home, he took a knife and cut up his concubine, limb by limb, into twelve parts and sent them into all the areas of Israel. Everyone who saw it said, “Such a thing has never been seen or done, not since the day the Israelites came up out of Egypt. Think about it! Consider it! Tell us what to do!”
(Judges 19:22-30)

What does this awful story remind you of? Hopefully, it’s ringing a bell – it’s written very much in parallel with Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19. And in both cases, the men who should have been the leaders and protectors in the situation offer the women of the house in exchange for themselves!

It’s also disturbing to note that the Levite apparently slept all night, or at least stayed in bed, until getting up to continue on his journey. You see absolutely no concern for the welfare of this woman. After unspeakable evil committed against her, she apparently drags herself back to the house and dies with her hands on the threshold. He must have stepped over her to get out of the door and then just says, “Get up. Let’s go.”

I hate to leave our look at this horrifying account at this point, but we will finish our discussion tomorrow to keep this from being too long.  In the meantime, consider this – when we wander from God’s Truth, when we lose sight of His standards, when we do only what is right in our own eyes… the consequences are hard to fully understand.

Our society is on the same track.

*Picture from http://www.travelmania.com