The Latest From Our Blog…

Sorry this has been a long time coming because of our missions trip, but for any of you who need a reminder about where we are in Judges…

Chapter 17
Verses 1-6, Most people believe these last 5 chapters of Judges actually took place before chapter 3 and the arrival of the judges. If so, it would make this account the first official instance of idol worship and the subversion of the first tribe of Israel–Dan.
–Notice the wickedness of the mother, son, and grandchildren. There is a total lack of godly authority and government authority as repeated in 17:6; 18:1; 19:1.
–The “worship” being perpetrated here is still under the same of Jehovah just as in Aaron and the golden calf. See Ex. 20:1-4 and 32:1-8.

Verses 7-13, Here we see forms and rituals without meaning. Men who care nothing about God or knowing God still want their forms. It is easy to deceive oneself by partial reformation. Just because in one particular instance they are no longer as bad as they have been–now they are as good as they should be!

Chapter 18
Verses 1-13, Just because things “fall into place” does not mean that God is pleased or involved. Think: mother’s blessing, Levite arriving, 5 men of Dan, truth of prophesy, etc… Clear direction comes to us through God’s Word.

Verses 14-20, How crazy this would be to any Jew who knew what the Levites were supposed to be! We should not allow ambition or money to affect our service to the Lord.

Verses 21-24, How ridiculous would 24 have sounded! It is a sad day when our gods can be taken away from us.

Verses 25-31, Notice the contrast of verse 31. False worship while the True God had His living presence and glory not far away in the tabernacle. See Deut. 27:15.
–Read Isaiah 44:13-22 for a good summary of this problem.

The Herodian version of the model shows visitors how excavators believe the Temple Mount site appeared prior to its destruction by Roman troops in the year 70 CE. The focus is on the southern portion of the enclosure, and includes reconstructions of Robinson’s Arch (an early overpass linking the top of the platform with the major city street below), the Hulda Street gates and passages onto the platform, the Royal Stoa, and the Second Temple. The reconstruction is based on the excavations at the Temple Mount.

Dealing with sin is always hard, whether its owning up to our sin or confronting someone else’s. I know it is possible for Christians to be giddy in pointing out the sins of others. We all run the risk of getting pride and vindictiveness wrapped around the axle of truth.

But I also know the struggle a good many Christians have in calling sin “sin.” They feel terrible because someone’s feelings might get hurt. They hang their heads low to know that sincere people disagree with them. They get wobbly in knees at the thought of offending the culture, their family, or their friends. Very few of us enjoy confrontation, especially with those who also call upon the name of Christ. We dislike the whole business of discipline, rebuke, and drawing boundaries. We hate to see the tears of those who believe with all their might that a certain doctrine, practice, or sexual behavior is commended by Scripture when we know that Scripture does not.

And yet, something should eat us up inside even more. Something should disturb us more than the feelings of those with whom we disagree. Something should move us to tears more than the tears of those who feel pained by our convictions and correction.

Psalm 119:53 Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked, who forsake your law.

Psalm 119:136 My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law.

Psalm 119:139 My zeal consumes me, because my foes forget your words.

Psalm 119:158 I look at the faithless with disgust, because they do not keep your commands.

With all the sensitive emotions and wounded spirits in the church today, who will weep for the forsaking of God’s law? With all the attention given to the feelings of others, even those who disobey the word of God, who will consider how God feels about our actions? Is it not worse to grieve the Holy Spirit than to grieve those who call sin “holy”?

The language of the Psalmist may sound harsh to us, but that’s a testimony to how much little we treasure the commands of God. If we truly want our hearts to break for things that break the heart of God, we will weep to see the word so badly handled and so boldly broken in our day. God have mercy on us all.

Okay, there has been a bit of a blogging drought due to the Zambia trip but we are back! I should have some pictures up on the website within a week or so. Thank you to all those who prayed for us. God was faithful to keep us physically, meet us personally, use us publicly, and bear fruit eternally. For all those that stayed back with “the stuff” but were with us in Spirit–that fruit is to your account as well.

Thanks again!