Devotional

Jdg 11:29-31, THEN THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD CAME UPON JEPHTHAH, … AND JEPHTHAH MADE A VOW TO THE LORD, and said, “IF YOU WILL INDEED DELIVER THE PEOPLE OF AMMON INTO MY HANDS, THEN IT WILL BE THAT WHATEVER COMES OUT OF THE DOORS OF MY HOUSE TO MEET ME, … SHALL SURELY BE THE LORD’S, AND I WILL OFFER IT UP AS A BURNT OFFERING.” 

Jephthah source of courage was the Spirit of the LORD that came upon him! Yet, a Spirit-filled man can do & say foolish things!

Jdg 11:34, When Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah, THERE WAS HIS DAUGHTER, COMING OUT TO MEET HIM WITH TIMBRELS AND DANCING; and she was his only child. Besides her he had neither son nor daughter. 

In Jephthah’s mind he thought a cow or sheep would come out yet it was his only daughter!

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A GREATER SIN IN THE EYES OF THE LORD FOR HIM TO ACTUALLY FULFILL HIS VOW AND SACRIFICE HIS DAUGHTER! THIS IS FOOLISHNESS, BETTER NOT TO VOW AT ALL! THERE IS NO NEED TO BRIBE GOD FOR HIS HELP; HE IS WITH US ALREADY!

Ecc 5:4-5, When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; For He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed— BETTER NOT TO VOW THAN TO VOW AND NOT PAY.

Jdg 10:10, And the children of Israel cried out to the LORD, saying, “We have sinned against You, because we have both forsaken our God and served the Baals!” 

Jdg 10:13-14, Yet you have forsaken Me and served other gods. THEREFORE I WILL DELIVER YOU NO MORE. GO AND CRY OUT TO THE GODS WHICH YOU HAVE CHOSEN; LET THEM DELIVER YOU IN YOUR TIME OF DISTRESS.”

Israel willingly chose to serve other gods! AS CHRISTIANS WE WORSHIP THE LORD WE DON’T WORSHIP WHAT THE WORLD WORSHIPS, BUT THIS SHOWS THAT WE ARE IN DANGER OF BEING LEAD ASTRAY!

Jon 2:8, “THOSE WHO REGARD WORTHLESS IDOLS FORSAKE THEIR OWN MERCY. 

Jdg 10:16, So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD. AND HIS SOUL COULD NO LONGER ENDURE THE MISERY OF ISRAEL. 

HE LOVES HIS PEOPLE EVEN THOUGH WE DON’T DESERVE IT. THE HEART OF MAN IS EVIL, BUT THE HEART OF THE LORD IS FILLED WITH COMPASSION, MERCY AND GRACE!

Hos 11:7-8, MY PEOPLE ARE BENT ON BACKSLIDING FROM ME. THOUGH THEY CALL TO THE MOST HIGH, NONE AT ALL EXALT HIM. … MY HEART CHURNS WITHIN ME; MY SYMPATHY IS STIRRED.

Jdg 9:4-5, So they gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-Berith, with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless men; and they followed him.… killed his brothers, the seventy sons of Jerubbaal, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, because he hid himself.

Abimelech the son of Gideon killed his brothers to eliminate any other potential Challengers, but the youngest escaped!

Jdg 9:56-57, Thus God repaid the wickedness of Abimelech, which he had done to his father by killing his seventy brothers. And all the evil of the men of Shechem God returned on their own heads, and on them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.

Gideon, started out strong, but his son Abimelech completely destroyed his legacy! He was an ungodly leader to ungodly men who followed his ways and not GOD’s way!

Psa 55:23, But You, O God, shall bring them down to the pit of destruction; Bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; BUT I WILL TRUST IN YOU. 

Pro 27:20, Hell and Destruction are never full; So the eyes of man are never satisfied. 

DON’T PLACE YOUR TRUST IN FALLIBLE MEN, BUT PLACE YOUR TRUST IN GOD! FOR HE SHALL NEVER LEAVE US NOR FORSAKE US! HE IS FAITHFUL!

Jdg 8:22-23, Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “RULE OVER US, BOTH YOU AND YOUR SON, AND YOUR GRANDSON ALSO; FOR YOU HAVE DELIVERED US FROM THE HAND OF MIDIAN.” But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; THE LORD SHALL RULE OVER YOU.”

Gideon wanted GOD to reign in Israel, yet for the rest of this chapter he acted as a king!

Jdg 8:27, Then Gideon made it into an ephod and set it up in his city, Ophrah. And all Israel played the harlot with it there. It became a snare to Gideon and to his house.

Jdg 8:30-31, GIDEON HAD SEVENTY SONS WHO WERE HIS OWN OFFSPRING, FOR HE HAD MANY WIVES. And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, WHOSE NAME HE CALLED ABIMELECH.

Gideon showed great faith in his despair, yet greatly fell in his success! He named his son Abimelech which means, “father of a king” he intended that his son become king.  IN TIMES OF DESPAIR AND IN TIMES OF SUCCESS WE MUST ALWAYS BE DOING THE LORDS WORK! RUN YOUR RACE AND FINISH WELL!

2Ti 4:7, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 

Jdg 7:2, And the LORD said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, LEST ISRAEL CLAIM GLORY FOR ITSELF AGAINST ME, SAYING, ‘MY OWN HAND HAS SAVED ME.’ 

32,000 men were with Gideon, but the LORD reduced it to 300 men vs 135,000! THE LORD WANTED IT TO BE KNOWN BY ALL, THIS IS THE WORK OF HIM AND NOT OF MAN! NO MAN CAN TAKE CREDIT FOR WHAT CLEARLY IS IMPOSSIBLE ODDS! 

Luk 18:27, BUT HE SAID, “THE THINGS WHICH ARE IMPOSSIBLE WITH MEN ARE POSSIBLE WITH GOD”.

EVEN WITH JUST A FEW IN THE HANDS OF THE LORD CAN TAKE THE WORLD BY STORM! HE USED ONLY 12 MEN TO PREACH TO THE WORLD AND ALMOST 2000 YEARDS LATER HIS WORD IS STILL HERE DOING WHAT HE INTENDED IT TO DO!

Isa 55:11, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. 

Zec 4:6, …NOT BY MIGHT NOR BY POWER, BUT BY MY SPIRIT, SAYS THE LORD OF HOSTS.

Psa 20:7, Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the LORD our God. 

WHO DO YOU TRUST IN, THE STRENGTH OF MANY MEN OR THE STRENGTH OF THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY!

Jdg 6:1, Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD. So the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years,

Jdg 6:7, … when the children of ISRAEL CRIED OUT TO THE LORD because of the Midianites, 

God sent a prophet who said to them “I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD, BUT YOU HAVE NOT OBEYED MY VOICE” VERSE 10

Jdg 6:12-13, And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him (Gideon), and said to him, “The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!” Gideon said to Him, “O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about…

Gideon knew the stories of the miracles done by the LORD just like us today! We have heard the miracles of JESUS But we don’t see many miracles today! THE LORD HASN’T FORSAKEN US AS WE MAY BELIEVE, BUT HAS ALWAYS BEEN THERE WAITING FOR US TO CALL UPON HIM! LEAVE YOUR SIN AND SEEK THE LORD. CALL UPON HIM DAILY AND TRUST IN HIM! WHAT IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH MAN IS POSSIBLE WITH GOD! SEEK HIM DILIGENTLY AND YOU SHALL FIND HIM! Pro 8:17.

Mar 9:23, JESUS SAID TO HIM, “IF YOU CAN BELIEVE, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE TO HIM WHO BELIEVES.” 

A song of Deliverance, a song describing what happened, who helped, who didn’t help, & how the LORD gave Israel rest from tyranny!

The Tyrant Sisera had a strong army with 900 chariots of iron, YET THE LORD CAUSED IT TO RAIN MAKING THEIR CHARIOTS SINK INTO THE MUD! VERSE 5 & 20-21

Those who helped were Ephraim, Benjamin, Zebulun, Issachar and Naphtali!  THERE WERE GREAT RESOLVES OF HEART. AND THOSE THAT STAYED HOME WERE, Rueben, Dan, Asher (verses 13-18)

Jdg 5:24-25, “MOST BLESSED AMONG WOMEN is JAEL… BLESSED IS SHE AMONG WOMEN IN TENTS. HE ASKED FOR WATER, SHE GAVE MILK; SHE BROUGHT OUT CREAM IN A LORDLY BOWL….

It was the obligation to protect a guest in your home in that region, YET SHE MADE HIM FEEL WELCOMED, OFFERED MILK INSTEAD OF WATER, BROUGHT OUT CREAM FOR HIS DELIGHT! THEN SHE DROVE A STAKE THROUGH HIS TEMPLE AS HE SLEPT!

Jas 2:13, FOR JUDGMENT IS WITHOUT MERCY TO THE ONE WHO HAS SHOWN NO MERCY…

YOUR EITHER IN THE BATTLE OR SITTING ON THE SIDELINES, BUT THE LORD IS GOING TO DO THE WORK WITH OR WITHOUT YOU!

Jdg 4:3, And the children of Israel cried out to the LORD; FOR JABIN HAD NINE HUNDRED CHARIOTS OF IRON, and for twenty years he had harshly oppressed the children of Israel. 

Deborah, a prophetess call for Barak to go and fight against Sisera! There enemies had was more technologically advanced than Israel for they had 900 iron chariots, fighting in the open plains giving them the advantage!

Jdg 4:7-8, …I will deploy Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude at the River Kishon; and I WILL DELIVER HIM INTO YOUR HAND’?” And BARAK said to her, “IF YOU WILL GO WITH ME, THEN I WILL GO; BUT IF YOU WILL NOT GO WITH ME, I WILL NOT GO!”

Barak, mentioned in Heb 11:32 as a man of Faith, showed some unbelief! He trusted more in her relationship with the LORD than his own! Israel grew stronger and stronger (ver 24) and defeated their enemies! IF YOU TRUST IN THE LORD HE WILL STRENGTHEN YOU AND GIVE YOU THE VICTORY OVER ANYTHING!

Psalm 73:26, MY FLESS AND MY HEART FAIL, BUT GOD IS THE STRENGTH OF MY HEART AND PORTION FOREVER!

IN WEAKNESS TRUST IN HIS STRENGTH!

The people whom Israel didn’t drive out as per the Word of God, He used to test Israel (ver 4)

Jdg 3:7, So the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD. THEY FORGOT THE LORD THEIR GOD, and served the Baals & Asherahs. 

ISRAEL CHOOSED TO SERVE OTHER gods RATHER THAN THE ONLY TRUE & LIVING GOD! GOD SOLD ISRAEL INTO THE HAND OF THE king OF MESOPTAMIA! AFTER 8 YEARS ISRAEL CRIED OUT TO THE LORD!

Jdg 3:9-10, …the LORD raised up a deliverer for the children of Israel, who delivered them: OTHNIEL THE SON OF KENAZ, CALEB’S YOUNGER BROTHER. THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD CAME UPON HIM, AND HE JUDGED ISRAEL…

Besides Othniel, He also raised up Ehud and Shamgar as judges! But upon their death Israel departed from serving the LORD only to serve their sin! YOU EITHER SERVE THE LORD OR SERVE YOU SIN! JESUS SAID (MAT 6:24)”NO ONE CAN SERVE TWO MASTERS”

Jas 4:4, Adulterers and adulteresses! DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT FRIENDSHIP WITH THE WORLD IS ENMITY WITH GOD? WHOEVER THEREFORE WANTS TO BE A FRIEND OF THE WORLD MAKES HIMSELF AN ENEMY OF GOD. 

IT’S A CHOICE THAT HAS BEEN GIVEN TO US! DRAW NEAR TO HIM OR YOUR SIN! ONE LEADS TO DEATH WHILE THE OTHER LEADS TO LIFE! THE CHOICE IS YOURS!

Jdg 2:2, And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed My voice. WHY HAVE YOU DONE THIS? 

Israel partially completed the work of the LORD, but partial compliance is not obedience!

Jdg 2:3, Therefore I also said, ‘I WILL NOT DRIVE THEM OUT BEFORE YOU; BUT THEY SHALL BE THORNS IN YOUR SIDE, AND THEIR GODS SHALL BE A SNARE TO YOU.’ ” 

Joshua warned them, Moses warned them yet they didn’t heed their warnings! Num 33:55

Jdg 2:16, Nevertheless, the LORD raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them.

YET, AFTER THE JUDGE DIED ISRAEL RETURNED TO THEIR EVIL WAYS! Jdg 2:19

THIS BOOK DISPLAYS MANS EVIL HEART; ALWAYS WANTING TO DO WHAT WAS RIGHT IN THEIR OWN HEARTS! IT ALSO SHOWS THE HEART OF THE LORD, HAVING PITY ON MAN! HOW MANY TIMES HAVE WE FAILED THE LORD, YET HE IS ALWAYS THERE FOR US!

Joe 2:13, So rend your heart, and not your garments; RETURN TO THE LORD YOUR GOD, FOR HE IS GRACIOUS AND MERCIFUL, SLOW TO ANGER, AND OF GREAT KINDNESS; AND HE RELENTS FROM DOING HARM.