Understanding the Old Testament: THE PROPHET ISAIAH

Today I need a young volunteer to come up and help me.  Do you know what this is? 

Yes, it is a view master.  When you look through these holes, what do you see?  Right. Pictures.  Today we are going to play a little game.    J   I want you to pretend that this view master will actually show you  PAUSE what is going to happen   PAUSE in the future!!!!!   J J J

·       So, look in and tell me what you see? PAUSE   How about in this view master?  Okay, that concludes our game.  Thank you for your help.

Today we move towards the competition of our Old Testament sermon series, as we focus upon the Prophet Isaiah.   Prophets, in the Old Testament were people to whom God revealed what would happen in the future!!!! Isaiah has been called, “The Prince of the Prophets.”  If Matthew, Mark, Luke& John are the Gospels of the New Testament, then Isiah is the 5^th Gospel contained in the Old Testament. 

Isaiah, who lived 3000 years ago, was an unusual prophet, because he was also s priest at the temple. He was also an ambassador that was sent to represent the King to other nations.

The Old Testament Book of Isaiah is the 2^nd largest book in the Bible.  God spoke to Isaiah, inspiring Him to speak God’s Word to God’s people, calling them:

(1) To repent of their sins

  (2) To foretell the eventual defeat and exile of God’s people, as a consequence of their sins

 (3) To foretell of a time of hope in the future --- when God’s people would be reconciled with Him. PAUSE

Last Sunday, we spoke of the defeat of Israel & Judah,   and the destruction of Jerusalem, by the Babylonian empire. Isaiah and other prophets proclaimed that this was a result of the faithlessness of the people and their religious and governmental leaders.  Not only that, but God’s people were sent into exile BY THE RIVERS OF BABYLON FOR 70 YEARS.

·       Not in order for us to better empathize with this  history,   SLOW we need to imagine how we would feel if our nation was invaded and defeated; PAUSE how we would feel if we lost our homes, and were exiled to Brazil. PAUSE And there we lived in tents not by the rivers of Babylon, but by the Amazon River.  Think how HEARTBROKEN we would feel for ourselves, our loved ones, and our nation. PAUSE

·       Now, the fact is that you and I do not have to be defeated and exiled to feel despair.  One psychiatrist puts it this way: We have ALL felt despair during difficult periods in our lives. We may occasionally despair about our job, marriage, love life, family, finances, world events, etc. But typically this despair dissipates in time, and life goes on. When despair doesn't dissipate but rather deepens, it may take control and become CHRONIC, diminishing quality of life, impairing functioning, and keeping us from moving toward our goals, dreams and desires. Then our despair may become pathological or clinical despair. Clinical despair can be conceptualized as a profound and existential hopelessness, helplessness, powerlessness and pessimism about life and the future. Despair is a deep discouragement and loss of faith about one's ability to find meaning, fulfillment and happiness, to create a satisfactory future for oneself. PAUSE

·       I wonder if you can think of people you know who are currently experiencing such darkness? PAUSE  I wonder how many of us in this room are in such a state now?

·       PAUSE    L   I remember long times of despair in my life, where my depression just would not lift. God seemed very far away…and discouragement and depression were my constant companions. All my thoughts were negative and self-condemnatory.

However, while God’s people cried in Babylon, the prophet Isaiah received a word from God—a word of hope for them and for us.  Please open your bulletins to page 4, looking at verse one, where God speaks and says, “Comfort, comfort for my people says the Lord. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim  to her that her punishment is over, that her sin has been paid for , that she will receive from the Lord’s hand double for sins”—meaning that God will  pardon, reconcile and give double blessings in proportion   for the amount of trouble that they endured.  And God sums up his promises, in one of the most beautiful and inspiring promises that God makes to us in all of Holy Scripture.  Let us read responsively verse 31: 

For those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.

THEY WILL SOAR ON WINGS LIKE EAGLES; THEY WILL RUN AND NOT GROW WEARY, THEY WILL WALK AND NOT BE FAINT.

Now, this word of hope speaks on two levels:

1.    It was intended to bring hope to the ancient people of Israel—to serve as a light at the end of the tunnel. Indeed, as God’s people heard and meditated on this word 3000 years ago, they found God’s promised strength, power and encouragement to help sustain them through the exile, with an ANTICIPATION of their RETURN TO THEIR HOMELAND and the RETURN OF GOD’S FAVOR.  As people read this word, they began to understand that God was speaking to them; and that comfort began a positive turn around, so that his people did wait upon the Lord who renewed their strength, just as God promised.  PAUSE / SLOW…..And such hope is available to us. PAUSE

·       So in my case, these words were especially meaningful to me.   While I was in the darkness….I prayed these words…and I grew to comprehend that these were not just words printed on the page of my bible-----for through these words, I heard God speak personally to me—John Donnelly. I was encouraged to seek help from my loved ones, and then a counselor.  I grew to understand, in a new way, that I could accept God’s promise and to choose to believe that He was renewing me day by day…and slowly, but surely, I began to emerge into the light, as I replaced my negativity with encouragement from Jesus Christ. PAUSE

·       Whether or not you have faced prolonged despair, you can be an instrument of God by encouraging your friends & family.  Bring a smile...a hug…a prayer...a listening ear, and your will be a ray of light. PAUSE

2.    So, our first reading today was meant to encourage God’s people then, and us in the future.  Secondly, today’s passage on the reconciliation between God and men and women is elaborated on in Isaiah’s prophecies, which followed today’s readings…that the final reconciliation with God would be accomplished by a suffering servant—an innocent, who would take our punishment upon himself…one, whom Isaiah called ,”

 Wonderful... PAUSE Counselor…. PAUSE Almighty God… PAUSE Everlasting Father… PAUSE the Prince of Peace.”   

Now,J J J  of whom is Isaiah speaking? PAUSE He is speaking of Jesus. PAUSE Now, Jesus was a great reader of scripture, and he learned of his mission on earth by reading Isaiah.   PAUSE  Indeed, in his first public sermon, as we hear in today’s Gospel, he quoted Isaiah to proclaim his identity.  Would you all please turn to page 5 in your bulletins, and let us read the portion of the Gospel highlighted in bold face italic print?

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,    because he has anointed me    to proclaim good news to the poor.    He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners    and recovery of sight for the blind,   to set the oppressed free, ¹⁹     to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

MY FRIENDS, THE YEAR OF THE LORD’S FAVOR IS NOW!  We, right here at Christ Church, are the ones so fortunate to see the prophecy of the past fulfilled in the present. 

·       Aren’t we blessed by hearing the good news of God’s word explained & proclaimed PAUSE  & studied in Small Groups???

·       Aren’t we blessed as God the Holy Spirit opens up our spiritual eyes to see His hand at work in our families, church and in the world?

·       Aren’t we blessed by the forgiveness of sin, won for us at the cross by Jesus Christ, the King of the Universe?

You see, the prophet Isaiah could only the future through fuzzy pictures, like one peering through a view master.

We, however, are able to witness in our own time PAUSE  that which prophets could only dream of, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Understanding the Old Testament: Exile

Camelot is the name of the legendary place in England, where King Arthur is said to have ruled the land in collaboration with the Knights of the Round Table; perhaps in the time after the Roman Empire left England. However, the peace and good will of Camelot was short lived, when Arthur was betrayed by his wife and best friend.

Camelot defended as an idyllic time of happiness and peace, could also be ascribed to the time of King David, who ruled from 961 to 1000 years before the birth of Jesus Christ. For much of David’s reign, this was a perfect time for God’s people.

• They were ruled by a benevolent King, anointed by God, to whom God gave many victories in battle.
• David ruled in accordance with God’s covenantal law; and facilitated a time of spiritual revival among the people—that they might have a personal relationship with God.
• Indeed, this was a time of prosperity as well, which continued during the reign of David’s heir and son, King Solomon.
• If there was any time in the history of the Jewish which could be considered a time of Shalom—of peace, well-being, & spiritual comfort—it was during David’s reign, and during the first part of Solomon’s reign.

However, David was a horrible father, whose son, Absalom, instituted an unsuccessful revolution to claim his father’s throne.

After David, his son, Solomon was made king.  During much of his reign, the time of Camelot continued.  However, like many kings to succeed him,  Solomon turned  his back on God, his covenant,  and began practicing pagan religions. In response, God condemned Solomon, saying, quote, “…Since this is your attitude and you have not kept My covenant and My decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you.” unquote

                                                                                                    

Accordingly, shortly after Solomon died, the nation of Israel was torn in half.  The 10 northern tribes formed their own nation, which they called Israel; and the southern 2 tribes formed the kingdom of Judah.

Would you please take out the yellow insert in your bulletin, and you will see the centuries that we have covered in our summer sermon series. Please look down to pint # 7—which begins in 933 BC.  From that time on, up until 536 BC, spiritual and often social & political chaos reigned.

1. During that time, the people of Judah and Israel fought and lost battles and wars against many empires, which surrounded them:

1. The  Ancient empire of Egypt to the south;
2. The Assyrian Empire to the North, where Syria is today
3. The Babylonians from the north west, where Iraq is today;
4. The Phoenicians, from modern day Lebanon
5. And finally the Persians, from modern day Iran.

These nations exacted tribute, and defeated armies the armies of Israel & Judah, and placed their own puppet kings on the throne.

 God could have intervened and the enemies of Israel & Judah, but God chose not to do so. As we heard in today’s reading from 2^nd Kings, since God’s people repeatedly broke the Mosaic covenant, which God had initiated to protect and love His people.

• Going back to Solomon, the Kings did not turn to God for help, but they made alliances with foreign nations, which was forbidden in covenantal law.
• The national leadership and the wealthy oppressed the poor and the needy through self-serving regulations and horrendous taxes.
• At one time, the northern nation of Israel actually invaded southern Judah, though they were unsuccessful.
• God’s people started intermarrying with foreigners, and that unleashed a whole host of pagan religions, which led God’s people astray.

1. “The Mother goddess religion, which was popular in the Middle East, competed for Jewish converts, as did the nature religion of Baalism, the cult of the dead, divination, idolatry,  astrology, séances, and the cults of black magic.  Some of these religions called for human sacrifices of both unborn and older children, who were thrown into the sacrificial fires.

• Finally, the religious leadership became a clique of proud, arrogant, self-serving autocrats, who valued gold and silver more than God. Oh, they continued doing the regular sacrifices at the temple. Unfortunately, their heart wasn’t in it.   They were simply going through the motions, just like the Pharisees and religious leaders during Jesus time, as described in today’s Gospel. As the Bible says, “Man looks at outward appearances, but God looked at the heart.”
  
  

So, going back to shalom machine----the leaders and people rejected God’s law, and God let them go on their own way.  But to tell the truth, God was furious with his people, and sometimes intervened in battles to let pagan nations defeat them.

Essentially the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah began to rot from the inside out, which resulted in their own self destruction.

• Looking to # 7 C in your outline, the nation of northern Israel was defeated around 733 BC by the Assyrian Empires.  These 10 tribes went into exile, but they were never heard of again. 
• Then looking to # 8, one hundred and fifty years later, the southern nation of Judah was defeated by the Babylonians, who exiled elite and wealthy people, leaving the rest to fend for themselves in a waste land with no protection at all.
  
  

During the time preceding these exiles, there were some small groups of holy men and women, who remained faithful to God’s covenant.  These people gathered around unofficial spiritual leaders known as Prophets.  Prophets were faithful people, whom God raised up to speak His word to the people and leaders of his people, whose hearts had hardened against Him.

 

One such man was the prophet Jeremiah.  He received many words of judgement from God, who called his leaders and people to repent.  Jeremiah hated his job much of the time, because either people refused to listen, or they did not believe him. Eventually, Jeremiah stirred up so much trouble, that the King of Judah imprisoned him at the bottom of a dry well.  Once the Babylonians defeated Jerusalem, the conquering emperor released Jeremiah.

Being exiled—losing the Promised Land—losing God’s favor—really broke the backs of the people of God.  They began to repent, as we heard in today’s psalm, and to call upon the mercy of the Lord.  However, simultaneously as God judged his people, He also offered them so me faithful encouragement.   You see, with God, judgement is never the last word.  Mercy and hope are the last words. Thus, through Jeremiah, God proclaimed this word to all of God’s people, both those in ancient times, and to all of us here today.  This word of prophecy is fulfilled through the King of heaven and earth, who is Jesus Christ our Lord:

“A new day is coming,” announces the Lord.    “At that time I will raise up from David’s royal line
    a godly heir to the throne.  He will be a King who will rule wisely.
    He will do what is fair and right in the land.⁶ in his days, God’s people will live in safety.
And this one will be named, The God Who reconciles us to Himself.

--The Rev. John Donnelly    8/23/15

Undesrtanding the Old Testament: King David

This morning I would like to begin out discussion with an informal poll. Here is the question:  How active is God in making all good things happen in our world? …………..How active is God in making all good things happen?

• Now for our poll, 5 is highest—that means that God is responsible for every single good thing that happens everywhere—
• And one is the lowest. God is totally remote, not at all involved in making good things happen.  All god things happen because of human efforts, or by chance.
• So 5 is the highest, and one is the lowest.

 How active is God in making all good things happen

• One—no activity?____________
• Two—low activity?___________
• Three—medium activity or you are not sure?__________
• 4—high activity in providing good things?___________
• 5—God is the sources of all good things?____________

Analysis:

Total of ones and twos_____Total of 3s_______  Total of 4s & 5s______

Well, today we are going to reflect on a man, who in terms of the world, was widely successful----and He would have voted number 5.  King David of ancient Israel ruled from for 39 years, and his descendants ruled for another 50. Considering the savage warfare and the surrounding evil empires, like the Egyptian and the Babylonians, that was remarkable !!!!  J      Beginning as a teenager, he became a famous military hero.  As he continued to win small skirmishes, then battles, and miraculous victories, his fame spread throughout the 12 tribes of Israel; indeed, his popularity was so high, that Saul, the first king of Israel, became furiously jealous; and he put a reward on David’s head.

David fled from Saul, and soon his own army of volunteers gathered around him.  At that time, the land that we know as modern day Israel was filled with warring Canaanite tribes, who made war on the 12 tribes of Israel.  After all, through God’s covenant with their ancestor Abraham, they had been awarded this was their “Promised Land.’  Not infrequently, David and his army, when they were not running away from the King, defended the 12 tribes.  Once the King was slain in battle, David was made the king.  As King, David unified he kingdom of Israel, which grew into a small, but prosperous empire, governed by God’s law.  And David, on his part, gave all the glory to God.

Two things I want you to remember about King David of Israel.

First, while upon David’s death bed, God spoke to David and made a new Covenant, or promise to David.   As some of you have heard, our God is a god who has historically chosen to relate to people by promises and agreements, which the Bible calls a covenant.   Please look at your insert under the first reading, where God describes His new covenant with David and his descendants.  Looking at the end of the 11^th verse, I am going to some of what is written where God says, “‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house (or a dynasty) for you: ¹² When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³ He is the one who will build a house (or everlasting temple) for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ¹⁴ I will be his father, and he will be my son…¹⁵ but my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. ¹⁶ Your house/dynasty and your kingdom will endure forever before me^[b]; your throne will be established forever.’”

Tell me, of whom is God speaking when He speaks about a descendent of David, who will rule forever?        Yes, Jesus Christ…first prophesized here.  So, in today’s Gospel, Jesus was called the Son of David.  God, in His love for his people, promises us a leader who will be even better than David—

One who will rule both heaven and earth!!!  One who would teach us, comfort us, lead us, heal us, forgive us, and bless us one and all.  So, it seems to me that God is modeling the Messiah on the person of King David.  Why was David so great?  He was horrible father, and adulterer, and an ambitious politician. PAUSE  J I could say that that wounds like a lot of guys in Washington, but the bishop might not like that. J PAUSE

What made David great?  In my opinion, David was great because he was the first, in Holy Scripture, to model a personal relationship with God.

• Up until that time in the scriptures, we hear of God primarily relating to the leaders of his people—like Abraham & Sarah, Moses, the priesthood that Moses ordained, and   Deborah and the other judges.
• To me, it looks like regular people related to God only through a mediator---so that people were at a distance & God was remote.

As many of you know, David wrote, collected, and commissioned the Book of Psalms in the Bible.  There are 150 psalms, which are actually songs—sung and chanted in the ancient Hebrew temple, accompanied by strings, horns, drums, and instruments that historians cannot even describe. 

But these psalms are the first prayers of the people.  You see, David had this rich relationship with God, and wrote down his own personal prayers, so that we might learn to pray to God.

Now, if you have a personal relationship with someone, one thing you might do is to thank her when she does o you a favor. Likewise, in the psalms, David acknowledges that all good things come from God, and he thanks God.  Please open your prayer books to Psalm 95 found on page 82 of your Red Prayer Books.  [Ps. 95 is an example of Thanksgiving]

Next,  if you have a personal relationship with someone, you might ask  him to help you.  Please look at today’s Psalm on your insert:    Verse 6: The poor man called, and the Lord heard him.  He saved him from his troubles. PAUSE We CAN turn to God with our own personal needs. This type of prayer is called supplication.  Some people erroneously believe that it would be selfish to pray for their own needs.  But that opinion is unbiblical. Look at verse 17, and let us read that together, saying, “THE RIGHEOUS CRY OUT, AND THE LORD HEARS THEM; HE DELIVERS THEM FROM ALL THEIR TROUBLES.”

So, we give thanks and make requests of God, just as we do to the people we love.

Thirdly, when you have a personal relationship with someone, you tell her that you love her, and you praise her on a regular basis. That’s what David does in the psalms, and that type of prayer is called ADORATION.   Let’s hear from Psalm 31:23, please repeat after me,” O love the Lord your God, because he hears your voice and punishes the wicked.”  We can love the Lord because He promise to bring justice to evil doers, of which there is an oversupply.

Finally, when you have a personal relationship with someone, you tell him that you are sorry when you have done something wrong.  When you do that to God, it is called confession--. Pls open your red prayer books to Psalm 32, verses 5 & 6.  Let us read those together.

Now for those of you who have not heard this before, we have just described the way that Christians, who want a personal relationship with God, pray:

A>C>T>S—“ ACTS”  

• A is for adoration.   C is for Confession    T is for thanksgiving
• And S is for supplication, or for seeking God’s help.

To learn more about this prayer method, I now ask the Ushers to please pass out a description of this Prayer method from the Billy Graham Association. PAUSE

But here is the power point of the Day.  David modeled how to have a personal relationship with God; and Jesus invites us to have a personal relationship with God through Him.

  Begin, or grow that relationship—and see how more good things will begin to happen in your life and in the lives of those for whom you pray.  

From the Billy Graham Association w/ edits by J. Donnelly

Q: How does one pray? I’ve never been taught how to say a personal prayer or really talk to God.

A: There is no formula to prayer—it is simply conversing with God. It is essentially talking with God as you would talk with an earthly parent who loves you and wants the best for you. God is your heavenly Father who loves you perfectly.

The ACTS model will be helpful to you as you learn how to pray. ACTS stands for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication.

• ADORATION means worship. We encourage you to begin your time of prayer by adoring and praising God. Praise Him for who He is and for all that He has done for you.  Tell Him why you love him. God delights in your praises!

• CONFESSION, the next component, means agreeing with God about the things that you have done wrong. It’s a time to express sorrow about what you have said, thought, or done that is not pleasing to Him. Ask God to forgive you for these things, and then believe that He does so freely. When you confess your sins, you receive God’s cleansing and this helps to remove any barrier in your communication with Him (read 1 John 1:9).

• THANKSGIVING basically means being thankful to God. Thank Him for His love, protection, and provision just to name a few things.

• SUPPLICATION is the final component, and this means praying for your needs and for the needs of others, such as friends, family, your pastor, missionaries, government leaders, and persecuted Christians around the world. You may want to pray for such things as God’s guidance, wisdom, and opportunities to serve.

Keep in mind that the ACTS model serves as a guide to help you, not a rigid formula to follow. There is no “canned” approach that you need to take; just talk from your heart. There are additional steps that will help. Set aside a specific time to pray each day.

Pick a quiet place where you can be alone with God. You will also find a special blessing if you begin your time by reading the Bible. Select a passage to read (download a Bible reading plan) and spend some time thinking about it deeply. Reflect on what God is impressing on your heart to you through the passage.

Ask God to help you apply what you are learning. God wants you to share your heart with Him, and He wants to share His heart with you—this can take place anytime, day or night!

Understanding the Old Testament: Book of Judges

It is a very touching love story….a story of a passionate Lover… seeking his beloved….His beloved initially falls in love the with the Lover; but after a time the beloved betrays Him.   Instead, she seeks out other lovers and lies with them.  In turn, the passionate Lover is broken hearted, and grieves his loss.  But the passionate Lover is ever faithful, and awaits her return.

After the adulterous beloved falls into ruin, she returns to the Lover she betrayed.  They reconcile, and the passionate Lover binds up the wounds of his believed; and nurses her back to health; and His love heals her.

But once she is on her feet, she has a wandering eye.  And before long, she succumbs to her lust; and the story is repeats over and over again.

What kind of man the passionate Lover?  To the unknowing, he might appear to be one of the greatest patsies of all times.

HOWEVER, this story is not a soap opera. Rather, I have just summarized the drama of the scriptures of the Old Testament, also called the Old Covenant. 3500 years ago, God made an agreement with his beloved people, who were our spiritual forebears, the ancient Israeli people.  The heart of this covenant is the 10 commandments, given to God’s people that they might live infused with shalom, which means peace, happiness, wellbeing, harmony,  health, and prosperity.

But like adulterous beloved in our story, they continually turned away from God, which led to disaster.

Today we are going to see how this love story gets played out by looking at the Old Covenant Book of Judges, which covers the history of God’s people in Israel time between 3400 to 3000 years ago.

• The background is this:  under General Joshua, who was Moses appointed successor, God’s people left the Sinai wilderness and invaded what we know as modern day Israel. This, they called, the Promised Land, because God had promised this land to the descendants of Abraham, one of the great spiritual heroes of their faith.
• Under Joshua, the invasion was successful and   God’s people obeyed the convent and lived together in relative Shalom.   But once Joshua died, everything fell apart.  God’s people began to turn away from God.  Anarchy descended as the many Canaanite people fought against God’s people, and divided them, and defeated them. Soon, God’s people rejected their religion in favor of the Canaanite religions and cults.

So, to best explain the theological and historical dynamics of this time period, I am going turn to my greatest invention, the Shalom machine.  The Shalom machine is a model, which helps us understand the workings of God’s covenant during the times of the Old Testament, and today.  EXPLAIN…..

1. God had blessed His people with His love and His laws, which was truly the framework of God’s love for them, because He was passionately in love with them. This frame works similar to the covenant of Christian marriage, when woman and man promise to love each other exclusively as long as they both shall live.  (TOSS)
2. Now, God’s Law demands a response—the response of obedience, to keep everything in harmony. (TOSS)
3. But time and time again, God’s people turned away from God and worshipped foreign gods and idols.  Now an idol is similar to our giraffe statutes, whom the Canaanites beloved to be actual gods.  So they would pray to blocks of wood. Idol worship was prevalent throughout the Middle East; and God’s people liked the idea of worshipping a God that they could see.
4. But that got them into trouble(TOSS) in two ways:

• First God commanded that they should worship no other Gods but him; and should not worship idols. 
• Secondly, when they began to worship other Gods, they began to forget and to disobey the 10 commandments, and the other laws of God.
  
  

1. So, what happened?  God withdrew his presence, protection, & provision from his people; and then turned them over to the oppressive Canaanite peoples, who defeated and enslaved them.  PAUSE
2. However, when God’s people repented of their sins and cried out for help, God raised up leaders called Judges, who delivered them from their oppressors. (TOSS)

So, here is the cycle than ran for the 400 years of the Judges, and throughout all the Old Testament. Please repeat after me:

Number 1: God’s people rebelled

Number 2: God disciplines His people

Number 3: God’s people repent

Number 4: God delivers his people//from their enemies.

There were 12 different judges, whom God raised up during this time.  Now these judges not only settled legal disputes between people, but they were magistrates, rulers, and even military leaders.  These judges were faithful to God and his covenant, so God used them as his instruments to liberate his people.

• Perhaps the most widely known Judge was Samson, who delivered his people from the tyranny of the Philistines.

Another Judge was a woman named Deborah, who led Israel 3235 year ago.  Deborah and her general made plans to defeat General Sisera of the Cainites.  Deborah received message from God, telling her that He alone would receive glory for this victory, and would demonstrate that by handing over General Sisera not over to a soldier, but into the hands of a woman.  Sure enough, their armies clashed, and the army  of General Sisera lost.  However, Sisera deserted his men & fled and sought refuge at an isolated mountain camp, where he met Jael, the mistress of the camp.  As we heard in today’s responsive reading, she waited until he was asleep; PAUSE and drove a spike through his head.  God’s word of prophecy came true.

Another famous Judge was named Gideon, who was a small man, and a quiet farmer.  However, he had been faithful to god’s covenant, so God called upon to Gideon to raise an army to defeat Israel’s enemies. At first Gideon refused, but God assured him that He would bring victory to Gideon.  The hostile Canaanite army numbered in the tens of thousands.  However, God wanted to glory for this victory. So, he had Gideon choose a select army of only 300 men.  One night Gideon’s army snuck up on the enemy camp, and they attacked in a manner that God had prescribed.  Instead of going in with swords and spears, God had all 300 men blow trumpets.  As the enemy was aroused, God inspired fear in the enemy; and the soldiers turn against one another, killing each other. The remnant of the enemy army soon ran in retreat, terrified by the Lord God almighty.  So God’s people were victorious, and they enjoyed peace in the land for the next 40 years.

Now, you might well ask what does this have to do with me.  Good questions.  We live in a day and a time which is similar to that of the time of the Book of Judges.

The Canaanite idols of wood and gold have been replaced by the idols of materialism. Christianity is the most materialistic of all the world religions.  God gave us our wealth from the earth so that we could enjoy it in a state of Shalom with Him.

  But too many people have forgotten about God.  They worship celebrities with more devotion than God.  They have made idols of fashion, technology, cars, sexual promiscuity, vanity, gluttony, narcotics, success, money, and much much more.  As such, too many people have chosen their own ways instead of God’s way; and they and our culture are all headed for trouble.

Faithful Christians are called to pray for those people who have turned away from God.   He is still seeking them, for He is a passionate lover.  May we, by the example of our faithfulness, by sharing the Good News, by opening our hearts, churches, and homes, together we  can point the way to the one who will deliver us like the Judges of old—the mighty general of the angel armies, Jesus Christ, our lover, redeemer, friend and Lord.  Amen.

--The Rev. John Donnelly