God's Word For Every Day

“Every man did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). This sad situation is with us still. May God give us grace to pray, “Not my will, but Thine be done” (Matthew 26:42).

Judges 1:1-2:5 When things are going well, help us, Lord, to thank You. When things are going badly, help us to trust You. Judges 2:6-3:11 Sometimes, Lord, You say to us, “This is the way, walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21). Sometimes, You say to us, “This is not the way. Do not walk in it.” Help us, Lord, to walk in Your way –  and not in the way of the world. Judges 4:1-5:11 Lord, may there be less trying to get our own way – and more walking in Your way. Judges 6:11-7:14 We are weak. You are strong. Teach us, Lord, to look beyond our weakness to Your strength. Judges 7:15-8:35 We find it so easy, Lord, to forget You and all that You have done for us. We feel the pull of the world – drawing us back to what we were before we met You, drawing us away from all that You are calling us to become. Give us grace, Lord, to remember You, to rejoice in You, and to be renewed by You. Judges 9:1-49 Lord, there are two ways of living – the self-centred way and the God-centred...

Judges  The book of Joshua speaks of a high-point in the history of God’s people, Israel. By faith, they took possession of the land which the Lord had provided for them. The book of Judges tells of the downward slope - “ ... The people of Israel did what the Lord considered evil ... “ (Judges 2:10-15). Although this was a bad time in the history of Israel, there was also some encouragement - “Then the Lord would send judges to rescue them from those who robbed them” (Judges 2:16). Sadly, the people wouldn’t listen to the judges (Judges 2:17-19). There were difficult times ahead for the people of Israel. The Lord allowed the nations to remain in the land. This was His way of testing His people (Judges 2:20-23). In the book of Judges, we see both sin and salvation - “The people of Israel did what the Lord considered evil” (Judges 3:7,12); “Then the people of Israel dried out to the Lord for help” (Judges 3:9,15); “The Lord sent a saviour to rescue them” (Judges 3:...

Judges 20:1-28 Even when we get ourselves into a right mess, You're still in control. You are Lord. Nothing changes that. we wonder, "Can things be turned around?" You say to us, "Yes. They can." You say to us, "It's not all about you. I am there with you. I have never left you. I'm not going to leave you now. Trust Me. Let My love give you the strength that you need to keep on going, when the going gets tough."

Judges 7:15-8:35 We find it so easy, Lord, to forget You and all that You have done for us. We feel the pull of the world - drawing us back to what we were before we met You, drawing us away from all that You are calling us to become. Give us grace, Lord, to remember You, to rejoice in You, and to be renewed by You.

Judges 13:1-14:9 Lord, may our lives be an echo of the words of Jesus: "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me ... " (Luke 4:18-19). We look at what we are, and we ask, "How can we become more like Jesus?" It begins with the death of Jesus - "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). It continues with the gift of the Holy Spirit - "the Holy Spirit has been given to us" (Romans 5:5). we look at Jesus, our Saviour. We look at the Holy Spirit. What do we see? We see Your love(Romans 5:8 and Romans 5:5). It's Your love that changes us. It's Your love that makes us more like Jesus.

Judges 18:14-19:30 Help us, Lord, to "be still, and know that You are God" (Psalm 46:10) - but help us not to remain silent when we should be speaking up for You: "If you confess with your mouth , 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9).

“If the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?” (Judges 6:13). God has spoken words of encouragement: “the Lord is with you, brave man” (Judges 6:12). Things were not going well. Gideon was having doubts about God: “now the Lord has abandoned us” (Judges 6:13). God was quick to reassure Gideon: “You will rescue Israel … I am sending you” (Judges 6:14). Gideon moved from the ‘why’ question to the ‘how’ question: “How can I rescue Israel?” (Judges 6:15). God’s answer is still the same: “I will be with you” (Judges 6:16).

Judges 4:1-5:11 Lord, may there be less trying to get our own way - and more walking in Your way.

Judges 18:14-19:30 'Keep quiet' - There is a guilty silence which comes from disobedience (18:18-20). When God's people remain silent, things go from bad to worse - 'Where there is no prophecy the people cast off restraint'. We must not be 'disobedient to the heavenly vision' (18:30; Proverbs 29:18; Acts 26:19). Chapter 19 warns us: Sin brings judgment. God cannot stand sin. He punishes sin (Habakkuk 1:13; Numbers 32:23). Sin must be taken seriously. God takes it seriously (Hebrews 10:29-31). It is not easy to see the hand of God in the sinful and shameful events of chapter 19. We must keep on believing that He is present, even when He is 'most invisible' ( Church Hymnary , 670). Sometimes, He is present as our Judge. Judgment is not always immediate. There may be 'peace' before the storm. 'Consider' - and learn (19:20, 30)!

Judges 20:1-28 God uses a sinful and shameful situation - 'Such a thing has never happened or been seen from the day that the people of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt until this day' (19:30) - to call His people back to Himself - 'all the people of Israel...assembled as one man to the Lord' (1). God's call was clear - 'Put away evil from Israel'. 'The Benjaminites would not listen' to this call for holiness among God's people (13). This was a serious situation. It was not to be taken lightly. This was no mere difference of opinion, something that would soon be forgotten. 'The Benjaminites came together...to go out to war against the people of Israel' (14). Three times, God called His people to 'go up' against the Benjaminites (18,23,28). Victory comes from the Lord: 'I will give them into your hand' (28).

Judges 16:4-31 The story of Samson is a story of tragedy and triumph. We see Samson's tragedy - '"I will go out at other times, and shake myself free". But he did not know that the Lord had left him' (20). There is a warning for us here. Yesterday's triumphs do not guarantee today's victory. Today's challenge needs today's grace. We need to keep close to the Lord - 'His mercies...are new every morning' (Lamentations 3:22-23). We see Samson's triumph - In his death, he triumphed over the Philistines (30). What encouragement there is for us here! How often we feel like Samson - 'seized...gouged...brought down...bound...in the prison' - going through 'the mill' (21)! Satan seems to have the upper hand. We feel so helpless. Satan will not have the last word. Take this for your encouragement: Satan will be 'thrown into the lake of fire' (Revelation 20:10).

Judges 20:29-21:25 Judges ends on such a sad note: 'every man did what was right in his own eyes' (21:25). This situation is  not merely political - 'no king'. It is moral and spiritual. The people had no regard for the authority of God and His Word. In Romans 5:20, we have Good News: 'where sin increased, grace abounded all the more'. Here, we have bad news: 'where grace increased, sin abounded all the more'. Reading Judges, we become acutely aware of the need for revival in our own day. In 2 Chronicles 7:14 we see the way to revival: 'If my people who are called by My Name humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land'. Read of human 'compassion' (6,15). Rejoice: God 'will again have compassion upon us' (Micah 7:19).

Judges 14:10-16:3 'This man receives sinners' (Luke 15:2). These are the words of legalistic Pharisees. They were intended as an insult. They are also words of divine grace: 'Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners' (1 Timothy 1:15). Samson was a sinner. There is no question about that. Is he any different from the rest of us? - 'All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God' (Romans 3:23). Samson was a sinner yet, 'the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him' (14:19). We are sinners. Christ died for us. God has given us His Spirit (Galatians 3:13-14). This is divine grace. Samson often wandered. Still, the Lord was at work in him. Prompted by the Spirit, Samson 'called on the Lord'. Samson was 'very thirsty'. He prayed. He was 'revived' (15:18-19). 'Wilt Thou not revive us again...? (Psalm 85:6). Pray for revival!

Judges 17:1-18:13 Things are not going well - 'every man did that which was right in his own eyes' (17:6). People were doing what suited themselves. Micah was trying to 'get the best of both worlds'. He was worshipping idols (17:4-5). He was trying to keep on the right side of the Lord - 'Now I know that the Lord will prosper me, because I have a Levite priest' (13). Micah's priest was a 'Yes' man. He told Micah what he wanted to hear. Many people 'refuse to listen to the truth'. They prefer to listen to those who 'tell them what they want to hear' (2 Timothy 4:3-4). Many are 'lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God' (2 Timothy 3:4). We must not fall into the trap of 'trying to please all the people all the time'. Seek to be like Jesus - 'I seek not My own will but the will of Him who sent Me' (John 5:30).

Judges 13: 1-14:9 Samson's birth was announced by an angel. Jesus' birth was announced by angels (13:3; Luke 1:30-33; 2:8-14). Samson's death was a great triumph over the Philistines. Jesus' death brought the greatest triumph of all - victory over Satan (16:30; Hebrews 2:14-15). The story of Samson points us to the greater Story of Jesus. There is, however, a great difference between Samson and Jesus. Often, Samson was concerned only with what pleased him (14:3,7). Always, Jesus did the will of God (John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38). 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me' (Luke 4:18) - We expect these words from Jesus Christ, the perfect Son of God. When, however, we read that 'the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon' Samson (14:6), we rejoice in the grace of God - 'while we were yet sinners...the Holy Spirit has been given to us' (Romans 5:8,5).

Judges 11:12-12:15 Israel was not looking for trouble - 'Let us pass...through your land to our country'. The Amorites insisted on fighting with them. They had to be faced and defeated (19-21). The Christian life is like an 'obstacle race'. We do not go out looking for problems. Sometimes, we cannot avoid them. Obstacles can become opportunities - for spiritual growth (James 1:2-4). Watch  what  you say (29-40; Ecclesiastes 5:2-6). Watch  how  you say it (1-6). The accent is not the important thing. It is the attitude. Is the accent on Christ? Let the attitude be less of self and more of Christ. Proclaiming the same Christ is more important than pronouncing the words in exactly the same way! Be slow to say, 'He is not one of us'. Be quick to say, 'Christ is proclaimed; and in that I rejoice' (Philippians 1:18).

Judges 9:50-11:11 With verses 56-57, read Romans 1:18 - 'The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men who by their wickedness suppress the truth'. Doing 'what was evil in the sight of the Lord', 'the people of Israel' brought themselves under God's judgment (10:6-9). When Israel began to return to the Lord, He said to them, 'Mean what you say' (10:10-14). When they persisted with their confession of sin, He answered their prayer - 'In all their affliction He was afflicted...In His love and in His pity He redeemed them' (15-16; Isaiah 63:9). God's answer came in the shape of Jephthah, 'a mighty warrior', a man who 'spoke all his words before the Lord' (11:1,11). Thrust out by men (11:1-2), he was loved by the God of grace - His ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:9)!

Judges 9:1-49 Things were going from bad to worse! The people of Israel had forgotten 'the Lord their God' (8:34). 'The enemy' was ready to 'come in like a flood' (Isaiah 59:19). Abimelech - Gideon's son by 'his concubine who was in Shechem' (8:31) - was very unlike his father. Gideon had pointed away from himself to the Lord (8:23). Abimelech was eager to draw attention to himself. He murdered his seventy brothers, paving the way for himself to become king (1-6). Abimelech spelt trouble! Things were only going to get worse with Abimelech. There was 'an evil spirit' at work among God's people (23). Where was God in all this? - 'Since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a base mind and to improper conduct' (Romans 1:28). What kind of person are you becoming? Each of us must choose!

Judges 7:15-8:35 'For the Lord and for Gideon' (7:18). Notice who comes first. It is not Gideon. It is the Lord! 'The men of Israel' attached too much importance to Gideon - 'Rule over us...you have delivered us'. Gideon gave all the glory to God - 'I will not rule over you...the Lord will rule over you' (8:22-23). What happens when people make too much of the man and not enough of the Lord? - As soon as the man is taken away from them, they forget the Lord (33-34). It seems like they were just waiting to turn away from the Lord. The moment Gideon was no longer there to keep an eye on them, they were back to their old ways again (33)! We must never let the servant of the Lord become more important than the Lord. When God's servant has become a distant memory, we must keep on 'remembering the Lord our God' (34).