Food for thought....from Priscilla Shirers study of Gideon (Judges 6, 7, & 8) The Principle of Abundance and Oppression: As you consider Gideons abundance of wheat, dont miss an important principle. Gods people were oppressed by the Midianites. Their dismal plight was a direct consequence of their rebellion. Gideons tribe, Manasseh, like many other tribes in the nation, had not taken full possession of their land. They fell into idolatry as they mingled with the Canaanites. God was obviously not pleased, yet He supplied His peoples needs. The fact that He chose to bless them with wheat to thresh does not imply that He had truly blessed them as a people. They had wheat, but not peace. Grain, but not goodwill. Consider and internalize the Principle of Abundance and Oppression: 1. God is still faithful to us even when we are faithless. 2. Gods faithfulness does not signify Gods approval. May we never equate His faithfulness to us in times of rebellion with His endorsement or tolerance of our choices. When we are unfaithful to God, He WILL NOT excuse or overlook our sin. But because we are His, He will still demonstrate His love and care by remaining faithful to His covenant with us and populating our lives with certain blessings. These gifts are not designed to lull us into spiritual apathy or lighten the weight of our offenses. He intends to woo us, graciously, kindly, lavishly---back into intimate fellowship with Himself. Something else that struck me in her teaching.....yesterdays partial obedience creates staggering consequences in todays experiences. AND, in other words....Todays difficulties are often a result of yesterdays disobedience.
Posted on: Sun, 02 Feb 2014 13:25:19 +0000