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THE MEN WHO FAILED GOD (X)
TUESDAY, MARCH 7
Judges 20:15-21

Joshua 7:1-5

 

“…the hearts of the people melted,

and became as water.”

 

THE MEN WHO FAILED GOD (X)
 
With the Benjamites and the men of Israel resolved in their positions and set in array for battle, war was imminent. The casualties were going to be high and all this would result from actions and choices taken by individuals. This should show us that no one can measure the full extent of the consequences of their actions whether it is for good, or whether it is for evil. May God always help us to seek His will and consider His Word in all choices we make.
 
“And the children of Israel arose, and went up to the house of God, and asked counsel of God…” (Judg 20:18). Whenever sin is to be addressed, there will be sympathisers who take the side of the sinners in the community. That happens even in the process of church discipline. How then can we excise the leaven that gradually leavens the whole lump? We must approach it spiritually, biblically and wisely. The men of Israel should have consulted the LORD before making their first choice, though they did right to subsequently seek counsel of God. They were already resolved and their question was not as in Judges 20:28: “Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease?” This question left room for God’s will and counsel, and recognised that though they sought to address sin and folly in the land, they were dealing with their brother. In this instance, however, the question was one of seeking divine approval for decisions already made rather than seeking counsel and direction on what to do: “Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin?” (Judg 20:18). Consider the battles in the book of Judges which occurred in the same period and context: Gideon assembling thirty-two thousand men and God reducing them to three hundred; Barak assembling ten thousand men to face Jabin and his chariots; Jephthah not having the assistance of the men of Ephraim. Yet in all these battles, God gave the victory. It is not enough to be on the side of the right. We must stand on the side of the right, submitted and obedient to God and His will as revealed in His Word. God must be sovereign, and that means He must have a say in all our matters, and we must be driven by His Word and His glory alone as we do His will.
 
THOUGHT: God does not act in response to man, He is sovereign.

PRAYER: Father, may I truly submit my life to Thee.

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