"Cautionary tales"

You get bonus points today if you can guess where my picture is from!

I've wrestled a little bit with this book. It's taken some prayer and time for me to crystalize in my mind what has really been bothering me. In the last few books we've been reading, we've seen a lot of God's specific commands to Israel. We were reading the "law" as it were. Now, here we are, back in storybook mode, and you've got to admit it's certainly exciting! I think Jerry Springer would have a lot to do to live up to some of the drama we've read so far. And what has bothered me is that SO MUCH of what we've read has been contrary to how God commanded the Israelites to live. We are seeing lived out in the words of these stories what happens when people, even people with good intentions, don't adhere to God's word. Or, worse yet, forget the God behind the law.

We see a couple of men who there apparently wasn't much to say about- except that one had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys. Wooohooo. The sum of this guys life came down to the fact that he had a donkey for each son. At your funeral do you want people sitting around going, "Gosh, I don't know what she really did with her life. But, hey! Each of her kids had their own car!" So- point number one.

Life lived apart from God leads to a life wasted on things that will not matter in the end.

Jephthah. A leader of a rag tag group of men, exiled from his family, who God used to defeat the Ammonites. I would like to be sure and point out however, that no where in the chapters does it tell us that God appointed him as leader. It specifically says the elders of Gilead sought out Jephthah, and requested he be their commander. Given that he had been exiled from his family, I can imagine it was a huge boost to his ego to have them begging him to come back as their leader. We see through the story that the spirit of the Lord did come on Jephthah, and that he showed exceptional leadership, strategy and bravery. He was obviously someone gifted for the position. We learn from Jephthah what happens when even gifted and brave, well-intentioned people try and serve God without a thorough knowledge of His law. Jephthah makes a rash, prideful vow to God that ends up costing him his daughter.

I had a hard time here, so I'm going to spend some time on this because I'm guessing you may have had a hard time with this as well. We have to look at what is NOT here as well as pay attention to what is. God did NOT tell Jephthah to make that vow. He didn't even ASK him to make that vow. It was completely unnecessary- and he would have known that if he had full knowledge of the law. He obviously remembered that God expects vows to be kept. What he missed was that God WANTED them to clear the land of the Ammonites, He had already commanded they be destroyed and driven out generations before. God would be completely behind his mission anyway, without a rash vow. Furthermore, God specifically forbade child sacrifice- or human sacrifice of any kind.

We live in a time when we (even in the church) exalt emotion, feeling, and things of the "Spirit." Many churches have made a name for themselves with wild emotional displays. There is a place for emotion in church- and many people worship different ways. God and I have certainly had our emotional times. I'm not downing emotion. What I am cautioning against is a walk with God based on feelings that has not been tempered with a healthy dose of good old fashioned education on the laws and nature of God. Remember that Jesus called the Holy Spirit our "teacher". He is there to help us better understand the things of God. And, let me tell you, knowing God will bring out your emotion. But even the best of intentions and passionate emotion will not excuse to God the lack of attention to His word and commands. It cost Jephthah dearly. Jesus said, "If you love me you will obey what I command."

Point number two:

We cannot rely on our own good intentions, abilities or emotions. It will end up costing us and our loved ones in the end. Following God demands obedience, which requires knowledge of what to obey.

We close our reading today with a few other men who were barely notable. Ibzan specifically broke God's law by giving his sons and daughters away to people outside their clan. That's all we know. All we know about Elon was how long he led, and where he's buried. Abdon had FORTY sons and thirty grandsons. Oh, and by the way, he had donkeys for each of them as well.

What we learn from all of these men, their successes and mistakes, is that humans are...human. Shocker, right?! All through out these stories I see one common mistake. The people of Israel are following a man. God wanted them to follow HIM. God used leaders- just like he had done with Moses and Joshua. But instead of recognizing the God behind the man, they just worshipped and followed the man himself. It's so easy to do, and we all have our "heros and heroines" of the faith. But when we put all our faith on those human shoulders, they can never hold up. I hope those heros point our hearts to the God they served, and don't stop at just serving the people serving God. If they do we are just setting ourselves up for disillusionment, faithlessness and a big let down. Furthermore, we might just be missing out on our own adventure with God. Which brings me to my third and final point:

God is the only one who will never let you down. Run hard after Him. He is the only thing that will make life worthwhile.

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind."

Matthew 22:37