How commendably patient Thou art
With the slow progress of
My proud heart.
There is none like Thee,
My Saviour and my King;
How great Thy wisdom,
How great Thy mercy,
How great Thy love,
That fills my joyful
heart,
How very great Thou art!
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: Hope Deferred by Chris Brazelton)
When Joshua and the leaders of Israel who
served under him died, tribal loyalty replaced nation unity. Each tribe looked
to its own resources without giving help or asking aid from their fellow
Israelites.
As the people chose evil by worshipping
heathen gods, the Lord allowed them to fall into the hands of their enemies. It
is then that the people remembered their God and cried to Him for deliverance (Judges
3:9). The Lord then raised up ‘judges’ to deliver them. The so-called
judges of this period were more military heroes rather than officers of the
judiciary. The twelve judges of Israel and their tribes of leadership are
outlined in the book of Judges chapters 3, 4, 6, 10, 11, 12 and 15. Their
conquests make fascinating reading.
There are two significant judges that stand
out to me, Gideon of Manasseh in Chapter 6 and Samson of Dan in Chapter 15.
GIDEON:
His is one of the most intriguing and
faith promoting stories of the Old Testament. He was obedient to the call, tore
down his father’s grove and the altar for Baal worship and in their place
erected an altar to Jehovah. This, I think, was the cause of his success. Gideon started off with 32,000 soldiers in his
army which was required to defeat a Midianite army of 130,000 (Judges 8:10).
This alone would have sent fear through Gideon, but things got worse.
By the process of elimination, the Lord
reduced this army to 300 that ‘the help of the Lord’ might be apparent to
Israel so that they might not boast in their own strength (Judges 7:2) but
Israel was hard of heart and did not stay on the right path. This mistake led
them into bondage to the Philistines for forty years (Judges 13:1). I guess you
can take Israel out of Egypt but you can’t take Egypt out of Israel…..
SAMSON:
Samson, born of a barren woman in the
tribe of Dan, had the potential to be one of the greatest leaders in Israel
since Joshua. Foreordained and chosen by the Lord to be a Nazarite who would
conquer Philistines and end Israel's 40 year bondage, his birth announced by an
angel (Judges 13:4,5), Samson fell into the chosen category with Isaac, John
the Baptist and Jesus himself.
“A Nazarite was someone who was separated
from others by a special vow of self-dedication to Jehovah. The term ‘set apart’
is used to mean that one has been given a special calling or position and is
thus separated from others” (OT Student Manual Book 1, p 259). A Nazarite could
never cut his hair for the length of his hair was indicative of the length of
the vow thus when his hair was cut, it was an indication of the end of his vow
and not his strength (Judges 16:17).
Samson was born with tremendous gifts, one
of them being a gift of incredible strength. His courageous feats include
slaying a young lion with his bare hands (Judges 14), killing 1,000 Philistines
with jawbone of an ass (Judges 15), ripping away the doors and posts of Gaza's
gate and carrying them 40 miles to Hebron and bringing down a whole building
killing himself and 3000 Philistines (Judges 16).
Samson had massive potential but his is a
story of self-indulgence, immorality, selfish seeking for revenge and violation
of the covenant. Instead of conquering Philistines, he repeatedly joined
them and even married one of them. His misfortunes began when his
confidence in God turned into conceit and pride, the breaking of his vows as a
Nazarite and violating the commandments, including the law of chastity (Judges
16:1). He began great but ended up being one of the greatest tragedies of
history.
The Book of Judges is one of the most
fascinating books in the Old Testament. It offers endless lessons and showcases
Jehovah’s mercy and tolerance towards His people. It shows us clearly that the
power to break the Abrahamic covenant lies solely with us, and NEVER with Him
(Det 4:31; Leviticus 26:44,46; Isaiah 49:15,16; 2 Kings 13:23).
Out God is a God of mercy, grace,
forgiveness and love. He is worth our adoration, worship and life-time
commitment. He is the light, the truth, and the way….He is the Creator, He is
the Redeemer, He is the Saviour…..and there is none else.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Artist Unknown)
Son of my body,
Heart of my heart,
I give you to God,
Knowing not despair,
I know my son, you will be safe
In his merciful, tender care.
I know He will watch over you
And honour your faith;
I trust He will guard you
Against the open jaws of hate.
Son of my body,
Heart of my heart,
I will wait with faith
Knowing not despair,
I know you will return
To my loving, tender care.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: Divine Call by Sandy Freckleton Gagon)
I’ve
written quite a bit about idolatry this year but felt this was worth
mentioning. Judges Chapter 3 gives us a clear answer as to why ancient Israel
fell into serving other gods once they moved into the promised land:
“And the
children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites, and
Perizzites and Hivites, and Jebusites….And they took their daughters to be
their wives and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods…..And
the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgat the Lord
their God, and served Baalim and the groves.”
(Judges 3:5-7)
Both Moses
and Joshua warned the Israelites against inter-marriage with the heathen
nations (Deut 7:3-4; Joshua 23:12-13). Moses accentuated the influence of women
in a marriage in his warning and Joshua warned that inter-marriages would
become “snares and traps” and lead to spiritual and national downfall.
Despite the
warnings, the children of Israel did this very thing which led them to break
their covenant with Jehovah. And this is why…..marriage is a powerful union and
the stronger influence of the one puts both parties on the same path.
There are
some strong examples of this in the scriptures. Solomon married outside the
covenant, and “his wives turned away his heart after other gods” (1 Kings
11:1-4). Solomon married seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines….did
he really stand a chance????
Another
notable example is King Ahab who married the infamous and evil Jezebel from the
land of Phoenicia. This marriage caused the downfall of the northern kingdom of
Israel. Jezebel introduced into Israel the worst forms of idol worship from her
land in place of the worship of Jehovah (1 Kings 18:13,19). Not only did
Jezebel influence Ahab to worship Baal but to kill many of God’s prophets (v 4).
Her nemesis? Elijah. One of my most favourite stories in the Old Testament…..
These
examples show the downfall of a whole nation and of generations to come. We can
also see in the scriptures this power of marital union when used for good.
One of the
most positive examples would have to be Ruth, who converted to the God of
Israel when she married Naomi’s son. Her conversion and union with this Israelite
produced such covenant loyalty that Ruth
entered into a levirate marriage upon his death. Ruth married the next of kin
according to Israel’s law whose name was Boaz. Ruth and Boaz had a son called
Obed who became part of the Lord’s covenant line. Obed was the father of Jesse
who was the father of King David (see Ruth 1 and Ruth 4). That’s a ‘marriage influence’
story in the best possible way. This woman is one of my favourite Old Testament
figures.
The power
of marriage never ends with just two people. It is passed on to the children
and the generations to come. This can be seen in the Book of Mormon with the
‘stripling warriors’. I doubt very much that those boys could have been taught
to believe and not doubt God’s power if their mothers did not follow and
worship the God of Israel (Alma 56:47-48). I am convinced that the fathers were
there in that influence too but somehow I think this is the reason why Moses
accentuated the influence of women within the marital union and the home. Women
bear and rear children and their influence with them is perhaps the strongest.
Who you
marry would have to be the most important choice in anyone’s life because
through this union you create the future. From two people united comes a
family, comes a community, comes a country, comes a nation, comes the future
that extends into eternity. Think of Abraham and Sarah......there is no greater example.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: Abraham and Sarah by AI)
-
Did You ever feel the weight
Of Your calling as You spoke the Word
For heavens and earth to be?
From the valleys, the hills, the
oceans
And grand mountains that be,
You left Your mark of power for all to
see.
Were You heavy hearted
When You created the hill of Calvary?
And did You hear it whisper Your
victory
When You were in Your agony:
The mighty God, the Author of
Creation,
The fountain of all salvation…..
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: Jesus Christ the Creator by SKAI Studios)
There is a desire in my soul
That wants to conquer Goliath
And watch him fall….
This warrior within me never sleeps
And yearns to hear the angels’ call,
A call to battle to make the devil fall.
And when Christ comes in clouds so holy
He will conquer that enemy
And we will confess His glory.
(Art: Put On the Armour of God by Celestial Heritage)
