BIBLE READING FOR 2DAY Tuesday 07/10/14 Judges 6:1-32 New Living Translation (NLT) Judges 6:1-32 Gideon Becomes Israels Judge 1 The Israelites did evil in the Lords sight. So the Lord handed them over to the Midianites for seven years. 2 The Midianites were so cruel that the Israelites made hiding places for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds. 3 Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, marauders from Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east would attack Israel, 4 camping in the land and destroying crops as far away as Gaza. They left the Israelites with nothing to eat, taking all the sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. 5 These enemy hordes, coming with their livestock and tents, were as thick as locusts; they arrived on droves of camels too numerous to count. And they stayed until the land was stripped bare. 6 So Israel was reduced to starvation by the Midianites. Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help. 7 When they cried out to the Lord because of Midian, 8 the Lord sent a prophet to the Israelites. He said, This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of slavery in Egypt. 9 I rescued you from the Egyptians and from all who oppressed you. I drove out your enemies and gave you their land. 10 I told you, I am the Lord your God. You must not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you now live. But you have not listened to me. 11 Then the angel of the Lord came and sat beneath the great tree at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash of the clan of Abiezer. Gideon son of Joash was threshing wheat at the bottom of a winepress to hide the grain from the Midianites. 12 The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, Mighty hero, the Lord is with you! 13 Sir, Gideon replied, if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didnt they say, The Lord brought us up out of Egypt? But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites. 14 Then the Lord turned to him and said, Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you! 15 But Lord, Gideon replied, how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family! 16 The Lord said to him, I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man. 17 Gideon replied, If you are truly going to help me, show me a sign to prove that it is really the Lord speaking to me. 18 Dont go away until I come back and bring my offering to you. He answered, I will stay here until you return. 19 Gideon hurried home. He cooked a young goat, and with a basket of flour he baked some bread without yeast. Then, carrying the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, he brought them out and presented them to the angel, who was under the great tree. 20 The angel of God said to him, Place the meat and the unleavened bread on this rock, and pour the broth over it. And Gideon did as he was told. 21 Then the angel of the Lord touched the meat and bread with the tip of the staff in his hand, and fire flamed up from the rock and consumed all he had brought. And the angel of the Lord disappeared. 22 When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he cried out, Oh, Sovereign Lord, Im doomed! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face! 23 It is all right, the Lord replied. Do not be afraid. You will not die. 24 And Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and named it Yahweh-Shalom (which means the Lord is peace). The altar remains in Ophrah in the land of the clan of Abiezer to this day. 25 That night the Lord said to Gideon, Take the second bull from your fathers herd, the one that is seven years old. Pull down your fathers altar to Baal, and cut down the Asherah pole standing beside it. 26 Then build an altar to the Lord your God here on this hilltop sanctuary, laying the stones carefully. Sacrifice the bull as a burnt offering on the altar, using as fuel the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down. 27 So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord had commanded. But he did it at night because he was afraid of the other members of his fathers household and the people of the town. 28 Early the next morning, as the people of the town began to stir, someone discovered that the altar of Baal had been broken down and that the Asherah pole beside it had been cut down. In their place a new altar had been built, and on it were the remains of the bull that had been sacrificed. 29 The people said to each other, Who did this? And after asking around and making a careful search, they learned that it was Gideon, the son of Joash. 30 Bring out your son, the men of the town demanded of Joash. He must die for destroying the altar of Baal and for cutting down the Asherah pole. 31 But Joash shouted to the mob that confronted him, Why are you defending Baal? Will you argue his case? Whoever pleads his case will be put to death by morning! If Baal truly is a god, let him defend himself and destroy the one who broke down his altar! 32 From then on Gideon was called Jerub-baal, which means Let Baal defend himself, because he broke down Baals altar. LESSONS FOR 2DAY: Vs 6: Again the Israelites hit rock bottom before turning back to God. How much suffering they could have avoided if they had trusted Him! Turning to God shouldnt be a last resort; we should look to Him for help each day. This isnt to say life will always be easy. There will be struggles, but God will give us the strength to live through them. Dont wait until youre at the end of your rope call on God first in every situation. Vs 13: Gideon questioned God about the problems he and his nation faced and about Gods apparent lack of help. What he didnt acknowledge was the fact that the people had brought calamity upon themselves when they decided to disobey and neglect God. How easy it is to overlook personal accountability and blame our problems on God and others. Unfortunately, this does not solve our problems. It brings us no closer to God, and it escorts us to the very edge of rebellion and backsliding. When problems come, the first place to look is within. Our immediate response should be confession to God of sins that may have created our problems. Vs 14-16: I will go with you, God told Gideon, and God promised to give him the strength he needed to overcome the opposition. In spite of this clear promise for strength, Gideon made excuses. Seeing only his limitations and weaknesses he failed to see how God could work through him. Like Gideon, we are called to serve God in specific ways. Although God promises us the tools and strength we need, we often make excuses. But reminding God of our limitations only implies that He does not know all about us or that He has made a mistake in evaluating our character. Dont spend time making excuses. Instead, spend it doing what God wants. This is the word of the LORD. We will succeed in Jesus’ name. Friends of God Fellowship: A full gospel church. Our vision is Restoring the ancient landmarks: Lifting up a standard: Raising kingdom builders. We believe the church has a major role in the restoration of Nigeria, and sponsored TheseLiesMustStop to uproot the lies and misconceptions being perpetuated in the present day church by boldly standing for the truth. We are located at 258 Ikorodu Road, Obanikoro Lagos. We meet 9am on Sundays. Please check the Facebook Page of TheseLiesMustStop for messages on the transformation of the church for the healing of Nigeria. Shalom.
Posted on: Tue, 07 Oct 2014 05:47:12 +0000
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