Judges. That is the next text in our continuing look of going through each book of the Bible through our newsletter series. The book of Judges covers a time between the death of Joshua to the emergence of the prophet Samuel and King Saul and later, David. Although the book calls them “Judges”, these leaders not only solved legal disputes, but more often than not, led different tribes of Israel as the struggled in the Promised Land.

Interestingly enough there are some parallels between this book and the celebration of Easter that we can see, most of all in the overarching pattern of the book of Judges because it is similar to our journey of faith: God rescues us from sin, sets us to right, then we wander away being drawn and enticed by temptation, we then reach a point of being ensnared, then we cry out to the Lord in repentance, and he mercifully rescues us because He is faithful. It reminds me of a question that I still am challenged with today: Is your faith in your circumstances or is it in God who is more powerful?
Although starting on a positive note and displaying the actions of faithful men and women of God as they led His people, the deeper into Judges you read, often this a book about what not to do. Many of the Judges had human failings just like us. They were arrogant, prideful, angry, and so much more. Yet, even in this, God is showing us something beautiful: He uses us, even in our shortcomings, to accomplish His purposes. Although the book of Judges does not shy away from the times that they were not “at their finest hour”, both Judges and the book of Hebrews lists many of them as heroes of faith in chapter 11. The lesson is simple: Often we only see where we fall short, and sometimes that realization can discourage us from ever thinking God could use us to accomplish His purposes. Yet, where we only see our flaws, He sees so much deeper: to our potential that He gave to us because He made us. With that in mind, He gives a simple message: Follow me and I will sharpen and draw forth that potential so that you will do works the likes of which you could not even imagine before!

There is one final parallel that I can see with this Easter season that emerges from the book of Judges: God is the only true King of Kings. So many times throughout Judges, the people put their trust in their human leader as a type of a king, but it is God who is always the hero of the narrative. Ironically enough, the true King of Kings never led a military campaign, never drove the enemy out of Israel, and never celebrated an earthly victory. Yet, this King fought a spiritual war that was waged with weapons of love, peace, grace, truth, faith, and hope, drove out the bigger enemy of sin from the hearts of men, and is now celebrated constantly throughout heaven and earth for what His heavenly (and one day, completed earthly) victory. The lesson in the book of Judges is really the lesson of the whole Bible: God is the one King who will never fail because He is faithful, and our ultimate proof is that this King entered His kingdom by becoming like one of us, the servants who had wronged Him, and He puts to right all things, changing corruption to incorruption, and death to life.
Hallelujah and Happy Easter!!! He Is Risen INDEED!!

Your Brother,

Craig

The sixth book of Scripture seems to bring to a conclusion what the first book started. In Genesis we see the beginning of God’s chosen people through the Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and God’s promise to them and their descendants of a land “flowing with milk and honey”. We follow the story in the books of Exodus through Deuteronomy where God frees this chosen people from slavery in Egypt, gives them the Law, leads them through the wilderness, reminds them of His goodness and their responsibility, and brings them to the boundary of this Promised Land. Moses has died and Joshua is now leading the nation. The book of Joshua hits the high note by God fulfilling His promise to give it to Israel and them seeing that fulfillment. 

Yet, the book of Joshua is “holy history” meaning that the story is meant to teach us more about God and His ways as well as our walk with Him. God has shown his faithfulness in the past to Israel and continues to do so in the book of Joshua. He wins them decisive battles against forces much stronger, and under His leadership through Joshua, Israel is a united front. They move as one people under one God and have success in their mission to settle in the land. However, the second half of the book presents each of the twelve tribes going on their own, and because some tribes wandered away from obeying God, many of the inhabitants of Canaan who were wicked were not driven out of the land. Perhaps this was God’s plan all along. Even in Israel’s failure, God is still working and this meant that the Canaanites, the people who were to be driven out because of their wickedness, are being shown mercy by God and being invited to know Him by living with His people Israel. Because God is the only God of all people, there are different “non-Israelites” in Joshua who come to know Him: Rahab and the Gibeonites. The choice for everyone is stark but simple: life or death. The message of Deuteronomy (as we have seen) and all of Scripture is that God loves humanity (that means you!) and is inviting them to choose Him and find life. 

Like Israel, God has shown us His goodness and faithfulness despite our “wanderings”. It is because God has been faithful in the past that He asks us to trust and obey Him in the present and future. He asks us to trust Him because He is trustworthy. God does not simply drop obscure and confusing teachings from the sky and says, “obey me now!” He acts and shows us who He is. He asks us to put our faith in Him, but He also gives us the Bible which is a record of His actions and proof that He is good. God has already acted, made the first move, then looks back at us and invites us to take His hand and follow. Like Israel, our responsibility is not simply to say we believe with our words, but also prove we trust Him by our actions. When we act in faithful response to God’s offer of grace, we show the world our faith is true and genuine, which brings honor and glory to Him. Like Israel, we in the church are called to be a united, holy community that faithfully obeys God wherever He leads us, even if it is to face some uncertain trials and enter “lands” we have never traversed. And like Israel, God desires to use us to invite all people to know Him and experience His love and grace. Brothers and sisters, do not fear, for even if God leads us into unfamiliar territory, rest assured He has already done the work and paved the way. All He asks us to do in return is be faithful and trust Him day-by-day and step-by-step. 

Your Brother in the Lord,

Craig

Continuing our journey through the Scriptures throughout these articles, we now turn to one of my personal favorites: Deuteronomy. This fifth book of the Bible means “second law”, and it contains much of the same content as Exodus through Numbers as it retells the story of God saving Israel and then the giving of His law to the people. Deuteronomy was considered to be so important that some scholars believe a copy of it was to be personally kept and read by each King of Israel to help them rule.

Deuteronomy’s themes have their foundation on the most important verse of the book and this verse is still recited by many Jews daily, “Hear, Oh Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one” and the following verse, “Love the LORD your God with all heart and with all your soul and with all your strength”. This most important verse was cited by our Lord Jesus Christ as one of the two most important commandments.

Throughout Deuteronomy, we see that God alone is to be worshipped, and although we may take this fact for granted, the book also answers that all important question, why. Idols are just as prevalent today as they were back then, and these idols surround pride, power, and pleasure. These “idols” that compete for our attention seem more real that God because we can see them and touch them in our hands, so that is why Deuteronomy (and this applies to the Bible as a whole) is a story about how God has done for Israel (and for us) something that no idol ever could: Love us enough to save us and set us free from sin. Deuteronomy is a reminder to the people that they are to love God because God first loved them. All throughout the text, we see God’s grace and mercy making the first move to bring His people out of slavery. He gave them the Ten Commandments and the rest of the law so that they would live out that new, free identity, and so that they would always remember they belong to Him not any human being. God’s grace and mercy also makes the first move on our behalf. God saw we the human race in slavery to sin and therefore He himself took on flesh and dwelt among us in the person of Jesus Christ, and when He died on the cross, He gave us our freedom. The whole Bible and especially the New Testament is our law so that we too would live out that new, free identity and so that we would always remember we belong to Him and not those former idols that enslaved us.

Deuteronomy also contains ten sections that takes each of the ten commandments and expounds on them, giving depth to each one of their teachings. We may know the ten commandments by heart, but these sections add breadth to each of them. This was written so that when Israel crossed into the promised land under Joshua (more on that in the next newsletter!) and become wealthy and prosperous, they would not forget about God. These teachings were to be how they lived in holy community with one another. Although I am thankful to God to live in a country so prosperous, we must never forget Who is ultimately responsible for making us that way. We in the church are also a holy community called to live lives that reflect God in all we do.

I leave you with the same last words Moses spoke as Deuteronomy came to a close and he offered the people of Israel a choice whether they would choose God and life or sin and death: “Choose life that you might live!”
Your Brother,

Craig

As I pen these words, I pray that all who read this had a blessed Christmas and joyful New Year’s celebration. The beginning of a new year brings with it hope and optimism and with Jesus Christ, we as believers have both in abundance. As we continue through our journey to hit every book in the Bible in this newsletter series, we come upon the book of Numbers. Although Numbers is a book with which many of us may not be familiar, it is important as both “holy history” and (as I heard it once put) “theology in the trenches”. In other words, similar to how viewing a painting or piece of art may teach us something about ourslves while we enjoy its beauty, Numbers tells a story that is meant to show us something about ourselves in the process. It shows us what it means to take our belief and live it out in our daily lives. 

My personal study Bible writes, “When Numbers opens, the Israelites are camped in the wilderness of Sinai, where they have been since Moses led them out of Egypt. Exodus revealed how God brought them to Sinai to instruct them on becoming a treasured possession, a priestly kingdom, and a holy nation. These instructions continue through Leviticus and into Numbers, which also narrates the journey after they break camp. Numbers demonstrates that, within the framework of God’s plans for further provision, guidance, and blessing, Israel must choose to proceed faithfully or retreat fearfully”. Unfortunately, when the people arrived at the Promised Land the first time, they chose fear over faith. Out of the twelve spies sent to investigate the land, only Joshua and Caleb encouraged the people to trust God rather than cower in the face of their enemies. Joshua and Caleb tried to remind the people of God’s power and faithfulness and how He promised to take care of them. Sadly, the people refused to listen and a wilderness journey that should only have taken a matter of days or weeks stretched out to forty years! However, Numbers ends on a good note as the new generation of Israelites finally make it to the border and are ready to cross and finally experience the freedom and new life God has been promising them since He made a covenant with their ancestor, Abraham. 

Like the Israelites, our lives are a journey, and often it can be a journey through what seems like barren wilderness. Yet, like the Israelites, God provides us with everything we need. He leads us through life, and all the while, asking us to trust Him and to display that trust by following Him daily. Every day, we too must make the choice of whether to move forward in faith and boldness or retreat backward in fear and mistrust. Forty years may seem like a long time, but it is only a series of days. All throughout Exodus and Numbers, there is rich symbolism pointing to Christ. Just as the people were instructed to use a passover lamb and spread the blood on their doorposts, Jesus Christ is the true Passover Lamb whose blood covers our sins, and He died so we would not. Just as Moses struck the rock and water came forth, so too Jesus the Rock of our salvation was struck for humanity’s sin and He is our Living water that gives us new life. Just as every journey begins with the first step, trust God for every step and move forward with boldness, humility, and persistence. One day, God will lead you and I into that promised land, His kingdom.