Choices of Life

“Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth; cast aside the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:14

God told Joshua to call the Israelites to himself. He told Joshua his death would be soon. The Israelites needed to be reminded of who God is, has been, and will be, as well as what He has done for them as His people. In Joshua 24:14, God, through Joshua, challenges them to recommit themselves to Him.

As we consider this verse, we must notice all the imperatives—fear, serve, cast aside, serve (again). For one verse to have so many commands, this should cause us to ask some questions. The questions that come to my mind are the following four.

·       Who gave these commands? God gave them.

·       Whom did God command? He commanded His people, Israel, and, by forward-pushing, His children by faith.

·       How were God’s people to keep His commands since humanity is sinful and unfaithful? God would give them the will and ability to do what He commanded. God gives absolutes. His ways are bigger than people’s. People must have the desire (will) to follow God through their daily growing relationship with Him, which makes His desires theirs. People also receive God’s empowering to do what He commands, asks, and lays out.

·       What did God command the Israelites to do? He gave four commands by using three words and used one of them twice. God emphasized one command because it was a very important imperative.

God’s first command to the Israelites was to “fear the Lord.” Fearing God comes from the Hebrew word yare’. It means to revere and honor. God commanded the Israelites to revere and honor Him above all else. He would give them the ability to do this. The Israelites would be in awe of God and could only worship and revere Him solely if they grasped onto His power to forsake the self-concerned murmurings of their fickle hearts and minds. God does not require what He does not give the ability to do. People must want to be close to God so that they receive His enabling because of their hearts and minds being attuned to His. God said, “Fear the Lord,” to the Israelites. Draw near and worship God.

God commanded the Israelites to “serve Him.” Again, what God commands people He enables them to do. It requires selflessness, which will lead to godliness. God commanded the Israelites to serve Him, Yahweh (the always existing One), not other gods. Those other gods, which Yahweh said not to serve, include manmade things, self, or other God-created things. He told the Israelites how to serve Him—"in sincerity and truth.” People have a faithlessness that allows them to perform worship acts without involving their heart, mind, and soul. God told His people to serve Him with their whole being (sincerely) and faithfully (in truth). These descriptors of the worship God requires may have caused the Israelites recall what Moses told them. He said in Deuteronomy 6:5, “Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.” Jesus reiterated this in Matthew 22:37. So, God commanded the Israelites to grasp His enabling of them faithfully to serve Him sincerely with their whole being.

God gave a third command in verse 14. He demanded they “cast aside the gods your fathers served.” Cast aside means to put away, remove, turn aside from. God commanded the Israelites to grasp the power He gives them to turn away from the false gods the Egyptian, Abraham, along with his ancestors, venerated. Do not worship them; intentionally turn away from worshipping created things. Instead, be in awe of Yahweh and worship Him, the One who was before time, is now, and will be even beyond time. Choose to revere and serve Yahweh faithfully (singularly) and completely, with your heart, mind, body, and soul.

That third command in this verse leads to God’s final command. The final command is a reiteration of the second imperative. He commanded the Israelites to cast away the gods of their forefathers and the Egyptians and “serve Him.” Serving God requires exclusivity, serving only Him. It requires oneness of being and faithfulness. Serving God requires awe and reverence of Him singularly daily. God enables His people to serve Him completely and exclusively. People are fickle and unfaithful. Yet God does not command of people what He does not enable. God gives His people the ability to have a close and personal relationship with Him. From that relationship comes the will and desire to be closer to God and to honor Him with their lives by word, action, attitude, and exclusive worship.

Even today, God enables people to serve Him completely and selflessly. He does this by bringing a sinful person into a close and personal relationship with Him through Jesus. Because of God’s great love for people, He sent His Son, Jesus, into the world to be born in human form, live sinlessly, die unjustly, and arise from death victoriously. Jesus died for our sin punishment, which we deserve, so that whoever believes in Him will be saved from their sin and given eternal life with God in His kingdom (John 3:16). For anyone who confesses with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and believes in their heart that God raised Him from the grave will be saved (Romans 10:9).

Anyone who is God’s child can obey His commands in Joshua 25:14 with His enabling. Trying to live as God’s child without His strength, power, and enabling, leads to sinning--missing the mark. God expects His children to live by His enabling them with ability, power, and strength. Anything less than exclusive and sincere worship of God is unacceptable. They become tepid water He spits from His mouth (Revelation 3:15-16).

Today, I encourage you to consider your relationship with God. Do you have a relationship with God by believing in Jesus? Is your worship of God true worship—done with your whole being? Do you worship God faithfully daily and weekly? Do you grasp God’s gift of enabling you to worship Him in these ways? Have you turned away from other things in your life that had more importance to you than God and returned to worship Him wholeheartedly and singularly?

“Choose you this day who you will serve.” (Joshua 24:15a)

 

The Six Gifts

Judges 6

In this chapter of Judges, the writer of judges, most likely Samuel, introduced his readers and hearers to Gideon, his family, the Israelites, and their plight of Midianite oppression. As we read about Gideon in chapters 6-8, we learn several things. First, we learn he was a faithful son of his father Joash. Gideon thought of a way to fool the Midianites and keep food for his father and the entire family. Second, we learn that Gideon's father called him Jerubbaal, which means “let Baal plead.” Third, we learn Gideon’s name means “hewer” or “cutter down.” The latter we will learn is an apt name for him. Fourth, we learn the Midianite kings killed Gideon’s brothers. Fifth and most important, God used Gideon for His purpose. Before you begin to read this Bible study, I recommend you read Judges 6-8 to recall what occurred. This study covers mostly Judges 6:11-24.

The preliminary verses, Judges 6:1-10, give us background of what occurred during that time. The Israelites chose to worship Baal, the god of the Canaanites. When Yahweh gave the land to the Israelites as the Promised Land, He told them through Joshua not to worship the gods of the land, the gods of their fathers, or the gods of Egypt (Joshua 24:11, 14-15). After Joshua’s speech, the people chose and testified they would serve the LORD (capitalized LORD stands for Yahweh in the Hebrew language). As we return to Judges 6, we read the Midianites ravaged the land of Israel, took their grain harvest, and took their animals. For seven years this occurred. The people despaired and thought God left them to perish. When the people cried out to the LORD, He sent a prophet to them who said in verses 7-10,

Now it came about when the sons of Israel cried to the LORD on account of Midian, that the LORD sent a prophet to the sons of Israel, and he said to them, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'It was I who brought you up from Egypt and brought you out from the house of slavery. I delivered you from the hands of the Egyptians and from the hands of all your oppressors, and dispossessed them before you and gave you their land, and I said to you, I am the LORD your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live. But, you have not obeyed Me.’ [NASB]

This prophet sent by God explained to them why God’s hand of protection left them. An angel of the Lord appeared as a wayfarer, a stranger to the area to speak to them. He came to speak with Gideon, specifically.

            The angel of the Lord gave Gideon six things from the LORD. First, before we learn what the angel said, we need to understand who or what the angel of the LORD is. The Hebrew word used here is mal’ak yehwah. The mal’ak yehwah is a supernatural being bearing a message for God. In the Old Testament, the angel of the Lord was part of the Godhead, while in other passages a distinction occurred between the Lord and the angel. Generally, though, the terms “angel of the LORD,” the “Lord,” and “God” are synonymous (Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology). The angel of the Lord brings messages of good and evil (Genesis 16:7-14, Joshua 5:13-15, 2 Kings 19:35, and Zechariah 1:12). A connection exists between the angel of the LORD and the pre-incarnate Messiah (Judges 13:9-22). The New Testament makes no mention of the angel of the LORD because the Messiah is this person. When we look at the Judges 6 passage of our study, we find the angel of the LORD speaks to Gideon in verse 12 and the LORD speaks to him in verses 14, 16, and 23. Gideon recognized the angel of the LORD as Yahweh in verse 22 and feared being in His presence and having looked at Him.

            Let us now consider what the Lord gave to Gideon. First, the LORD gave Gideon courage. In verse 12, the angel of the LORD said, “The LORD is with you, oh valiant man.” It appears Gideon did not do anything about which the LORD would proclaim him valiant. When we look at the life of Gideon in hindsight, we see otherwise. First, Gideon supported his father after the slaying of his brothers. Second, he became the sole son to ensure food and other provisions were available for the entire family. He hewed a wine press out of rock and beat the wheat against the rock to get the grain. By doing it in this way, he hoped to thwart the Midianites taking their grain again. Third, the LORD knew Gideon would be valiant in the future. He helped rout the Midianites, Amelekites, and the armies of the east. Hence, the angel of the LORD gave Gideon courage.

            Next, the angel of the LORD gave Gideon a command. Verse 14 says, “The LORD looked at him and said, ‘Go this in your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?’" Gideon spent the previous seven years with other Israelites who suffered hunger as the Midianites pillaged their towns and villages. He was downhearted about this knowing, as every Jewish child did, that the LORD gave them the Promised Land and promised to be their God. Gideon wondered, as each Israelite did, why God took His protective hands from them. God provided an answer through His prophet and through the angel of the LORD. He chose Gideon, a valiant man, to bring His deliverance to Israel and remove the hands of Midian from them. God answered Gideon and He commanded him.

Third, the LORD gave a covenant to Gideon. God promised in verse 16, "Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat Midian as one man." This promise is the second one He gave Gideon. The first promise we find in verse 12, “The LORD is with you.” This second covenant is a more emphatic statement. Yahweh Himself spoke this time. He promised His presence with Gideon as he defeated the Midianites and their allies. God is always faithful to His covenants/promises. This covenant shows the Midianites that God’s hand remains on His people.

The fourth thing the angel of the LORD gave Gideon was comprehension. God caught Gideon’s attention. Gideon felt the wayfarer was more than a mere man. He felt he might be hearing from the LORD Himself. Gideon asked to prepare a meal for the messenger and begged the man to stay until he returned from his preparations (vs. 18). When Gideon returned with the meat, broth, and bread, the LORD told him to place it on a rock and pour the broth over it (vs. 20). The LORD then placed His staff on the meat and bread and fire sprang from the rock and consumed them. Gideon knew for sure at that point he was in the presence of the LORD. If the messenger were a man, he would have eaten the food. The LORD has no need for food. The food Gideon brought to the LORD was an offering to Him, not sustenance. The LORD consumed the food with fire as a fragrant offering, which is what Gideon learned from his past teachers. This messenger was not a mere man, but the LORD. Gideon understood/comprehended. He feared for his life because he saw the LORD’s face.

Fifth, the LORD gave calm and peace to Gideon. He said, “Peace to you, do not fear; you shall not die” (vs. 23). Gideon needed God’s peace for two reasons. He needed His peace to face the Midianites and their allies. Most importantly, at that moment, Gideon needed peace that God would not strike him dead instantly because he saw the face of God. Remember Moses covered his face when he came before the LORD at the burning bush (Exodus 3:6). Elijah covered his face when he went to the mountain and heard God’s voice in the quiet after the strong wind, earthquake, and fire (1 Kings 19:13). The LORD taught Moses that humankind cannot see His face and live (Exodus 33:18-20). Moses and his descendents taught the Israelites this lesson. Gideon feared for his life after seeing the LORD’s face, but the LORD gave him calmness and peace within himself.

The final gift the LORD gave to Gideon was consecrated commission. Being consecrated means being set apart for God’s purpose. The LORD commissioned Gideon to destroy the altars to Baal and Asherah. He commanded Gideon to build an altar to Him from the wood of the Asherah. Gideon reminded the people who Yahweh is when he shattered the altars. He showed the people Yahweh was real and Baal and Asherah were not when the gods the people worshipped did not retaliate. Gideon showed Yahweh’s supremacy and built an altar to Him as He required in verse 26. Yahweh said, “And build and altar to the Lord your God on top of this stronghold in an orderly manner and take a second bull and offer a burnt offering with the wood of Asherah, which you shall cut down.” Gideon became God’s anointed leader for Israel for that time.

God saw a valiant man. Gideon played a role in God’s eternal purpose, received a covenant from God, comprehended God talking to him, and received calmness of spirit from God. God’s work did not end after Jesus’ apostles died. He continues to call out and set apart people today for His purpose. God continues to give courage, covenant, and calm to His people. God is ever-present, non-ending. Time does not contain Him; thus, He continues to work in our lives and world today.

If you are a follower of Jesus, are you reading the Bible and praying every day? Would you be able to hear God’s voice if He spoke to you? He has a purpose for everyone. God calls His children to “go and make disciples in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the farthest parts of the earth” (Matthew 28:19-20). He consecrates and commissions every Christian to tell others about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God not only calls us to go out and tell, but He gives us courage, His covenant, and calm. We have to decide if we will listen to Him. We must seek Him in Bible reading, in prayer, and in listening to sermons and teachings from the Bible.

God gives each of us the choice to turn to Him or go our own way. He will not force His will upon us. We must choose. God gave Gideon courage,

                                                                     a command,

a covenant,

    comprehension,

           calm,

                  and a consecrated commission.

These go hand in hand when a person chooses to follow God. 

Each person can answer God’s calling and purpose for his or her life and receive these, too.

 You must choose