TODAY’S READING FROM THE ONE YEAR BIBLE:
APRIL 29 Judges 9:22-10:18; Luke 24:13-53; Psalm 100:1-5; Proverbs 14:11-12
We see many sinful attitudes motivating the destructive actions described in the Book of Judges. Abimilech’s reign is one of cruel pride. His punishment for killing the seventy sons of Gideon catches up with him (Judges 9:56).
The prophesied fire comes out of the bramble of Abimilech’s hot headed pride to destroy his former support base, the people of his mother’s family- Shechem.
Gaal son of Ebed foolishly boasts of his worthiness to rule and challenges Abimelech’s authority. He earns the trust of the disillusioned of Shechem. But his foolish pride blinds him to reality of Abimilech evil schemes and leads to his being driven out of Shechem.
Abimilech is destroyed by a woman who drops a millstone on his head. He asks his armor-bearer to draw his sword and kill him so it would not be said that a woman slew him.
It is interesting to note what is recorded in the Bible and how it tracks the motives of the proud Adamic nature. It is what we were born with.
Marvel not, Jesus said. You must be born again. (John 3:3-6)
JUDGES 10
The first four cycles of deliverance involved God raising up those judges who would help turn the people from serving idols to serving the living and true God.
We notice that there is no record that the next judges, Abimilech, Tola, and Jair, acknowledged God.
THE SIXTH APOSTASY (10:6f)
After the death of Jair, the sin cycle starts with the familiar words:
1. Sin
Then the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, (10:6)
2. Idolatry
(They) served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the sons of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; thus they forsook the Lord and did not serve Him. (Judges 10:6)
3. Punishment
The Lord is angry at sin and sells them into the hands of the Philistines and Ammonites for 18 years.
4. Repentance.
Then the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord, saying, "We have sinned against You, for indeed, we have forsaken our God and served the Baals." (Judges 10:10)
5. For the first time, the Lord refuses to save them.
The Lord must first let them know how completely given over to idolatry they are:
Judges 10:13-14 "Yet you have forsaken Me and served other gods; therefore I will no longer deliver you. [14] "Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your distress."
6. DELIVERANCE? How will their prayers be answered? (We will read further on tomorrow).
What we read in verse 16 is revealing.
16 So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD; and He could bear the misery of Israel no longer. (Judges 10:16)
Whereas we have seen the motive of pride in the actions of men like Abimilech and Gaal, we can see the motive of God’s love in disciplining His people. “He could bear the misery of Israel no longer.”
The Lord is restless with love! We have the anthropomorphic expression of God’s strong desire to relieve suffering when he sees it, even when he knows that the suffering is the result of direct rebellion and disobedience.
NEW TESTAMENT READING: Luke 24:13-53
We call the study of sermon composition and delivery “Homiletics”. The root word is the Greek verb ‘homileo’ which we find in Luke 24:14. It is translated as “talking”, “conversing” and” discussing”. It is used to describe the activity of the two disciples of Jesus who were walking to a village named Emmaus, 7 miles from Jerusalem, after the resurrection of Jesus.
Luke 24:14 (NASB) 14 And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place.
This is hardly the idea we have today of sermonizing. You get the picture that the disciples are fully engaged in a vigorous dialogue with one another.
Jesus, unrecognized by his disciples, approaches them and contributes to the discussion the revelation of Himself from the Scriptures. It is vitally important to discern and welcome the revelation of Jesus in all the Scriptures to our ‘homiletic’activity. We commune with Him in our preparation in study and in prayer. We commune with Him as we share what He has shown us of Himself with others. Instead of merely lecturing our audience, we need to be actively participating in the process of knowing Jesus and making Him known. Whether we are preaching in a more formal gathering or sharing our hearts in an informal conversation, we all should sense, no matter who we are in the dialogue, speaker or audience, that we are participating in a process in which it is Jesus who is engaging with us and making Himself known.
In this incident in which Jesus is welcomed to stay with the disciples we have a foreshadowing of how Jesus will make Himself known to us also when we gather together to break bread and share the cup in remembrance of Him and His self-giving sacrifice that gave us new life (Luke 24:30; 1 Cor. 11:23-26).
In this incident in which Jesus is welcomed to stay with the disciples we have a foreshadowing of how Jesus will make Himself known to us also when we gather together to break bread and share the cup in remembrance of Him and His self-giving sacrifice that gave us new life (Luke 24:30; 1 Cor. 11:23-26).
Notice the Sovereign activity of the Holy Spirit, the spirit of wisdom and revelation of the knowledge of Christ, who either opens eyes to recognize more of the truth of Who Jesus is, or who prevents eyes from seeing Jesus (v.16).
How often do we really recognize the Lord’s presence in our Bible study and in our discussions? How wonderful it is when we let Him explain to us all the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures (Luke 24:27). He has given the Holy Spirit to do this. He leads us into the discovery of this reality! (John 16:13).
Luke 24:32 (NASB) 32 They said to one another, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?"
PRAYING FOR THE NATIONS
From the Prayer Guide “Operation World”
The Cook Islands
Geography: Over 100 coral atolls and volcanic islands 3,500 km northeast of New Zealand, 15 of which are inhabited.
Population: 19,933 Annual Growth: 0.87%
Capital: Avarua
Official language: English,
Niue
Pacific
Geography: Area: 258 sq km; The world’s largest coral island.
Population:1,438 Annual Growth: -2.64%
Capital: Alofi
Pitcairn Islands
Pacific
Geography
Area: 47 sq km
Pitcairn is one of the smallest (47 sq km and 47 people) and most isolated territories in the world.
Population: 50 Annual Growth: 0.00%
Capital: Adamstown
Tokelau Islands
Pacific
Area: 12 sq km
Three infertile coral atolls 480 km north of Samoa.
Population: 1,206 Annual Growth: -0.12%
Answer to Prayer
Niue has effectively shut down its offshore banking industry, since it was becoming a money-laundering haven. Praise God for the commitment to root out evil practices. Pray for just and wholesome ways to earn a living – for islanders who already suffer from a lack of resources.
Challenge for Prayer
The strong Christian legacy of over 150 years – bordering on theocracy on some islands – is fading rapidly. Increasing numbers are nominal or even non-religious, and Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses are the fastest growing groups. Pray for reversal of these trends and for new life to come to the mainline Churches.
Pastor David
So, naturally, we proclaim Christ! We warn everyone we meet, and we teach everyone we can, all that we know about him, so that, if possible, we may bring every man up to his full maturity in Christ. (Colossians 1:28, J.B. Phillips paraphrase)
New Life Community Church, Concord, MA 10742
Meeting Sundays at 10:30 AM at the Emerson Umbrella for the Arts, 40 Stow Street, Concord MA
Mailing Address: Post Office Box Five, Concord, MA 01742
Church Offices: 35 Bypass Rd. Lincoln, MA 01773 978-369-0061
Home Office: 978-371-3176
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