A Woman got the glory

  

Judges 4:17-24

 

But Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.   And Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside my lord; turn aside to me; do not be afraid.” So, he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug.   And he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So, she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink, and covered him.   And he said to her, “Stand at the opening of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?’ say, ‘No.’”   But Jael, the wife of Heber, took a tent peg and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness.  So, he died.   And behold, as Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So, he went into her tent, and there lay Sisera dead, with the tent peg in his temple.

 So, on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel.   And the hand of the people of Israel pressed harder and harder against Jabin the king of Canaan until they destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.

 

As you recall, I use an old Paul Harvey line “The rest of the story” the above, is it.   Put what is our takeaway from the tent peg lady?  What it is not, is that you cannot trust a person living in a tent, for in all the recorded history in the Bible this is the only account of a woman driving a tent peg through a person's head while they were sleeping.  It's not that people who live in tents are bad people, for this lady was no different than Barak, she must have heard a word from the Lord, and unlike Barak, she obeys that voice.  Now that's just my opinion, but it seems clear that what Deborah had told Barak, that he would not receive glory from the victory over Sisera, but a woman would.  At first, I thought she was talking about herself, but as you have read it was Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite.  Barak was not willing to trust God, he needed Deborah to go with him, and that was his terms, but it was not obedience.  

 

How often do you and I want God plus, and we will always miss the blessing that would have been ours if only God's word was obeyed?

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Deborah and Barak

 December 7, 2020

 

Judges 4:1-16

 

Deborah and Barak

And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud died.   And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin, king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim.   Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years.

Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time.   She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the people of Israel came up to her for judgment.   She sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, Has not the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun.   And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand’?”   Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.”   And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh.   And Barak called out Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. And 10,000 men went up at his heels, and Deborah went up with him.

Now, Heber, the Kenite had separated from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh.

When Sisera was told that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, Sisera called out all his chariots, 900 chariots of iron, and all the men who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon.  And Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which the Lord has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the Lord go out before you?” So, Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him.  ^` And the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. And Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot.   And Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left.

Do you recall what Deborah said to Barak when he told her he would only do what the Lord had told him to do if she went with him?    And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.”  Tomorrow we will have the rest of the story.  Let me close with this word, it is very dangerous to not obey when God has chosen you for a task.  The Lord is very patient with us but He is also very clear about obeying His voice.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Shamgar

  

Judges 3:31

 

Shamgar

After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed 600 of the Philistines with an oxgoad, and he also saved Israel.

I took this information from the Bible Guy, “Shamgar is not specifically described here as a “judge,” but two things tell us that he was one.  First, he came “after” Ehud — that is, ruled after him. Second, he “was a champion of Israel” 

 

Not a lot of information, but this we can understand, when God’s people who are called by His name humble themselves and pray and seek Him, He has always sent a person to rescue them.  We are going to see God using a woman to be His Judge, and so it was not just men, God uses.

 

But that brings me back to the present, as I stated it has been a long time since our nation has been what its founders set it up to be.  Today, it is still the dream of many to come to the USA in hope of freedom and a better way of life.  But you and I called to be the Ambassadors of Christ, have not answered our call.  We as a whole have been good neighbors, many of us have been good citizens, we vote, we give to help others, but we did not share the hope we had in Christ.  Did I say we bought into the Francis of Assis quote, with this one exception, we forgot the last three words. “Do all you can to preach the gospel and if necessary use words!”  Look around you, read what the media is saying about you, ask a non-Christian why he/she is not a Christian, and then share with them why you are.  

 

Could the problem be we do not have those kinds of people in our relationships, and that our lives and testimony are having little if any effect on the world we live in.  Maybe we need to study the role of an Ambassador, and in so doing live up to that call.

 

From our Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Ehud called by God to lead a nation to freedom

  

Judges 3:12-30

 

Ehud

And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel because they had done what was evil in the sight of the Lord.   He gathered to himself the Ammonites and the Amalekites and went and defeated Israel. And they took possession of the city of palms.   And the people of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.

Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab.  And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his clothes.   And he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man.   And when Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute.   But he himself turned back at the idols near Gilgal and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he commanded, “Silence.” And all his attendants went out from his presence.   And Ehud came to him as he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat.   And Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly.   And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and the dung came out.   Then Ehud went out into the porch and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locked them.

When he had gone, the servants came, and when they saw that the doors of the roof chamber were locked, they thought, “Surely he is relieving himself in the closet of the cool chamber.”   And they waited till they were embarrassed. But when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them, and there lay their lord dead on the floor.

Ehud escaped while they delayed, and he passed beyond the idols and escaped to Seirah.   When he arrived, he sounded the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim. Then the people of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was their leader.   And he said to them, “Follow after me, for the Lord has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So, they went down after him and seized the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites and did not allow anyone to pass over.   And they killed at that time about 10,000 of the Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men; not a man escaped.   So, Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years.

Take notice, the first time the people cry for a deliverer after 8 years, this time it was 18 years before they asked for a deliverer to rescue them and his name was Ehud.  We do not know a lot about Ehud, this is it; Ehud, in the Old Testament (Judges 3:12–4:1), son of Gera, the Benjaminite, Israelite hero who delivered Israel from 18 years of oppression by the Moabites. A left-handed man, Ehud tricked Eglon, king of Moab, and killed him.

 

How I’ve got a question for all of you self-righteous preachers, and church members, who were offended by President Donald Trump; was he chosen by God as was Ehud?  And about 4:30 this morning I believe the Lord woke me with this thought, you would have not wanted a King David as your leader for he had a man murder to cover his adultery, or what about the apostle Paul, who gave his blessing while a follower of Christ was being killed.  Let me guess at your responses, but both of these men ask forgiveness as if you have the ability to see into the President's heart.  God uses flawed men, He always has He even uses men like you, and sometimes very flawed men like me. 

 

Let me be very clear, I’m asking for forgiveness, for mercy, for we the people of the United States of America, who have long ago chased after the little gods of this world, and forgotten the price that was paid for us by God only Son, Jesus Christ.  

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

The USA and Israel have much in common

 December 3, 2020

 

Judges 3:7-11

 

 

Othniel

And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. They forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth.   Therefore, the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim, king of Mesopotamia. And the people of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years.   But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother.   The Spirit of the Lord was upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the Lord gave Cushan-rishathaim, king of Mesopotamia, into his hand. And his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim.   So, the land had rest forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

 

God had mercy on the people after they had been slaves for eight years.  After eight years, we understand why God allowed them to be taken into the king of Mesopotamia, hands for they had gone after the Baals and the Asheroth.  What were they; Ashtoreth is the preeminent goddess in the Bible, and the plural Ashtaroth is a generic term for goddesses, used together with *Baal as a collective term for illicit worship (e.g., Judg. 2:13.”  God who does not change made it clear He was a jealous God and yet His chosen people, forgot God and chased after the false gods of this world.

 

I ask why eight years, it took that long before they came to a place of examining themselves, and repenting, and I’m fearful that the people of the United States may find themselves where God has had a gut full of us.  We are not Israel, for we live in a nation that many have never known the God of Abraham, nor His only Son, Jesus Christ.  We who go by the title of Christian, have not changed our world, nor have we told our neighbors of the hope we have in Christ.  We have been quiet, good neighbors who just wanted to get along.  But that is not what Jesus instructed us to do, was it?

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

The Value of training in the ways of God

  

 

Judges 3:1-6

 

“Now these are the nations that the Lord left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan.   It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before.   These are the nations: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath.   They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.   So, the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.   And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods.”

 

Often, way too often you and I read Scripture without giving thought to or asking the Spirit that lives in us to open our minds to what we have read.  Why did God want the people that had not experienced war, to understand the cost of being a people of God?  If you look at a person like me, drafted into the Army back in the dark ages of the 1960s to today's no draft and most of them would have a heart attack if you ask them to get off the couch and turn off the phone, for a few minutes. 

 

So, as you observe this upside-down world we are enduring, at this time in our great history, of freedom, and how easy the ignorant youth are willing to allow the government to be their provider, but have no understanding of the cost because they have never had any skin in the game.

 

It is apparent, their parents did not parent, as mine did at a very young age, I was taught the value of honesty, learning, of work, and that God loves me and wants a personal relationship with me.  Look at this chart of 33% in Gallup surveys conducted in 2019 to date say they have no religious affiliation.

Not only are millennials less likely than older Americans to identify with a religion, but millennials who are religious are significantly less likely to belong to a church. Fifty-seven percent of religious millennials belong to a church, compared with 65% or more in older generations.

And that is why Israel did not follow the laws that Moses had left, because they sought the gods of their neighbors, and paid a great price for doing so.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Yellow Line Faith or Hebrews 11:1 Faith

 November 21, 2021

 

You have a lot more Faith than you  may understand

 

Have you heard the term people of faith, and they are meaning they are very religious, they may be people who are moral and spiritual people, they may be “Followers of Jesus Christ”, but I must tell you it has become clear to me that everyone has faith. 

 

Looking up the word “Faith” you find definitions: trust, belief, confidence, conviction, credence, reliance, dependence, optimism, hopefulness, hope, expectation.   I must share that you use faith in so many everyday things, one that jumps off the page is a yellow line that runs down the road of most streets and highways.  I’ve been on those roads in a lot of places in this world and it matters not where the custom is to drive on the right side of that line or the left, it is a small yellow line you have put trust into keeping the guy coming at you at seventy, or eighty miles an hour to not cross and kill you and your family.  If you did not trust, belief, have confidence, and have conviction, in that small yellow line, you would never get into a car.

 

Now the good news is most people honor that thin yellow line and stay on their side of it, but the truth is some do not, and it may be too many adult beverages, drugs, legal and illegal, texting, and just not paying attention. 

 

But the Bible gives a much different definition of faith in Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”  The yellow line you can see is not hoped for, the only hope is that the guys who come eighty do not cross it.  So, it does not meet the requirement of Hebrews 11:1, in fact, this faith has the assurance of things hoped for, and the conviction of things not seen.  That is a very different kind of faith, the yellow line you put faith in has no assurance that the other driver will not have a heart attack and come into your lane, or a tire blowout and cause him to hit you head-on.  So maybe it is time to explore Hebrews 11:1 faith.

 

Chapter 11 in Hebrews is full of wonderful insights to people who walk by faith, and 11:6, is a great place to start;  ^“And without faith, it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”  Faith in God's written word is not blind, no it is not even something one can obtain without first asking for the childlike faith to believe that He exists.  In the book of James 1:6, “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”  One wonders if the abstinence of belief that God will do what He has promised is why the church often has no power.  For years I struggled with believing God could love a person like me, I knew He knew all about me, and my friend Jack Archer showed me in the Scripture that even a rascal like me was loved by God.

 

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.   And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”  (James 1:2-4)  I have yet to meet a person that signs up for trials, and I am including myself.  I’m like many people, I want an easy life of blessing and trials I’ve often seemed to do repeatedly to get the response of not my will but yours Father.

Once we look at our Lord's action as a man, it was always Father, not my will but yours.  In the final hour before being taken to the Priest for a setup trial, Jesus asks, Father is there another way, but not my will but yours. 

 

There is no yellow line in the faith talked about in Hebrews 11:1, no it is the kind of faith we find in 1 Peter 1:8-9, “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

 

If you have not experienced 1 Peter 1:8-9 and  Hebrews 11:1, faith, and only have the yellow line faith, you may need to act on Romans 10:9-10,  ^“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.   For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice