Today’s scripture: Judges 4:1-7, 14-16, 23-24 (ESV-text and audio) (KJV) (The Message) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Steve Adams):
The obvious lesson in this story is that God made Israel — and therefore can make us — victors, even after years of living in defeat. Israel had done evil and received the consequences, but God helped them triumph, even when they were a “dual underdog” — Deborah, their prophetess leader, because of her gender, and Israel, because they were militarily inferior.
But I sense another message in this story. At first it seems to contradict the theme of victory we see in Judges 4, but, actually, it doesn’t at all. The message is “Don’t forget the losers!” It’s remarkably easy to totally forget about them, isn’t it? Especially when I’m “living the good life” that God gave me.
Let’s face it: in our culture we put the winners on a pedestal and disregard — or even ridicule — the losers. In the world of sports, just look at the attendance figures and atmosphere in the stadium of a perennial loser compared to that of team steeped in a long, winning tradition. The song Maybe This Time, sung by Liza Minnelli, brilliantly captures the attitude of the world. “Everybody loves a winner, so nobody loved me!” And I think this mentality has rubbed off on Christianity — much to our detriment!
When I was a young Christian, someone who knew more of the Bible than I did told me that the successful people are the ones with lots of faith, while the unsuccessful people are those with weak faith. This individual also had basically no concern for the plight of disadvantaged people around the world, saying those countries were poor because they didn’t have faith, and were under the influence of the devil.
In the many years since, I’ve heard of many misfortunes of good, faithful people. I recall the parents who were heartbroken when a child was born with a disease that required many hospitalizations and surgeries. Or, parents are blessed with a beautiful, bright, healthy child who is killed in a car accident . . . a teenager dies of cancer . . . someone is the victim of cruel, unjust betrayal. Do we forget about these “losers” as easily as we forget about a bad football team?
God’s kingdom views winning and losing the opposite way our culture does! It’s not to receive big paychecks, trophies, rings, and fame. The purpose of the winners in God’s kingdom, as Pastor Jeff Miner communicated in the sermon Little Ol’ Me, is to love! And help!
When God gives us victory (spiritually, financially, etc.), sure, it’s fun. But, then we (hopefully) think, “Hey, now I’ll be able to consistently tithe to church, because I know they’re helping those who need it! And I can help that family who’s mourning, and maybe even my friend who’s broke, and my neighbor who’s sick! And, if I get more, I can even help the people in Darfur, or Pakistan, or Indonesia! Wow, this is cool! This is life!”
* The New Oxford Annotated Bible states “The number of chariots . . . reflects the hopelessness of the situation. These chariots of iron . . . were a technology Israel did not possess.”
Thought for the day: God gives us victory so we can help others attain victory!
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.