83. They cried out to the Lord for help.

Judges 6:1  The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country. They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count them or their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it. Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help.

When the Israelites cried out to the Lord because of Midian, he sent them a prophet, who said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians. And I delivered you from the hand of all your oppressors; I drove them out before you and gave you their land. I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.’ But you have not listened to me.”

The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”

“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”

“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”

The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”

The Israelites were told not to do something, specifically not to turn from God and become like the people in the land they were living in.  God gave them promises of blessings and warnings.  Blessings if they gave their whole heart to humbly serve, rely on, and obey Him.  Warnings/curses if they did not.  We can see what happens when God’s word is neglected and complacency is the norm.   Drifting, sliding, and falling away from the truth of God’s word occurs when our heart and mind are filled with more and more of cultural norms than God’s word.

Why is it that we must fall away and find ourselves in trouble before we realize how far we have drifted from God.  It is so easy to set aside His word and commitment to rely on Him and to obey Him.  At first, His word is set aside for just one day and then one day becomes a week, and soon neglect is the norm.  Reliance and obedience so easily fall in line with self-interests, wants and satisfaction.  We find ourselves in a trial or troubling circumstance and wonder where God is, only to be reminded that we had left Him to go our own way.

Intentionally stay in His word.  Covet it. Desire it, Learn from it. Cling to it. Seek to understand it.  Learn to humbly serve, honor, follow and obey Him.

Light shinning in the Darkness

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.”

“I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

John 8:12  Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.”  Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going.  You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one.  Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me.  In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true.  I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.”

Isaiah 42:6    “I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations,  to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.

Isaiah 60:1     Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.  For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.  And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

Malachi 4:2    But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.

Luke 1:78    because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high  to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Acts 13:47     For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”

Job 33:28     He has redeemed my soul from going down into the pit, and my life shall look upon the light.’

2 Peter 2:4     For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment;

How does the Light of the world shine into an individuals life?  The word of God is this light.  So how does this light shine in darkness?  Scripture says Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.  These are the places of darkness, full of sinful intent. The light we are seeking and if we are seeking comes from the word of God.  His word does not return to Him void, it will accomplish His purpose.  Think about being in darkness and having a flashlight but choosing not to turn on the light.  If you are lost and trying to find your way in the darkness does this make any sense?  Not being able to see the obstacles and pitfalls in front of us leaves us in danger.  This is not a very good way to walk through life.  Yet we choose to neglect the light and walk the paths of this world in darkness.  Open up God’s word and read light into your life.  Share the light with others.  Give God honor, glory and praise with a thankful heart for this light.