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timewithgod.blog-city.com — November 2007
Judges 17 & 18 -- The Consequences Of Giving In On The Little Things
don't give an inch
You'd almost swear that what's written in these chapters was happening near the end of Israel's existence rather than prior to the time they had their first king! The law of Moses wasn't being obeyed. Offerings weren't enough to support the priests and Levites, so one Levite had left his place looking for work. He encountered Micah, who'd stolen money from his mother, then admitted it when she called down curses on the thief. She then blessed him, cancelled the curse, and used the recovered silver to make two idols to worship Jehovah!
The Levite agreed to become Micah's priest for a salary and fringe benefits, even though he was unqualified to do so according to the law, since he wasn't from the tribe of Aaron. Both men knew this. Micah had previously appointed his own son as his priest. The father should be the spiritual leader of his son, not vice versa!
Soldiers from the tribe of Dan passed through on their way to conquer more territory, stealing the idols and hiring the "priest" for their tribe. Once they settled in, Moses' own grandson, also unqualified for priesthood, became their idolatrous priest! Centuries later, Jeroboam would set up on of his golden calf idols in that city. They remained idolaters until their eventual defeat.
It seems unconscionable that their nation has just formed and yet the people have already fallen away from God to such an extent! They thought nothing of doing the very things that had led God to drive out the former inhabitants of the land! My commentary cited Proverbs 14:12 about it all -- "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death."
Father, with how many small and seemingly inconsequential things do we compromise in our lives today that might add up over time to the point that they cause us to fall away from You? Giving even an inch, crossing the line just once, makes it so much easier to do it again. Please give me strength to say "no", to stand firm and not yield or compromise, even in the smallest things. It's not about being legalistic, Father. It's being faithful to the One I owe my whole existence to, for without You, I would be nothing.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Judges 19 -- A Little Something For Everyone To Abhor
We cannot tolerate sin in our lives
Wow, this chapter certainly shows us how terribly morals had vanished in Israel.
Why had a Levite taken a slave girl as a sexual companion?
Why not marry instead?
She left him, traveling back to her father's house, where she took up life as a prostitute. The Levite traveled to Bethlehem to get her back.
Her father kept entertaining the Levite to prolong the time she would be home, seemingly preferring that she remain there, leading the life of a harlot, rather than living with "a man of the cloth".
Unwisely choosing to leave late in the day, the Levite chose not to stay the night in Jerusalem because it was not yet a Jewish city. He didn't want to stay among Gentiles. Instead, they traveled to Gibeah where none of their fellow Jews offered lodging until late in the day when an old man came in from the fields. Knowing the sexual depravity of his city, he insisted they stay with him. In a scene right out of Sodom and Gomorrah, several men from the city showed up, intending to gang-rape the Levite.
Following Middle Eastern custom that assaults the Christian heart, the old man offered hi virgin daughter and the Levite's slave girl to the men instead. They refused, but finally the cowardly Levite sent his slave girl out and shut the door. Not really satisfied, but hell-bent on sex, the men raped her and she was found dead on the doorstep the next day.
The Levite was so enraged that this could happen in Israel that, rather than burying her, he cut her body into 12 pieces and had them delivered to the 12 tribes to highlight how bad things had gotten in Israel.
The what-if's are never-ending....
What if the Levite had married instead?
What if his slave girl had not desired the life of a prostitute and remained faithful to him?
What if the father had simply let them leave in the early morning instead?
The results are what are important, because it showed the world then (and continues to do so today) what tolerating sin can lead to.
Father, I tolerate sin in my own life that I shouldn't allow, wrongly thinking that it is of little significance or that it does not impact my walk with You. But that is a lie straight from Satan. It gets between You and me. Father, whether in thought or in deed, I pray that You will call a spade "a spade" and force me to acknowledge that I am attempting to compromise my beliefs. Never let me rationalize a thought or an action that You abhor. I don't want to give that pathetic excuse for a devil any foothold in my life. But I cannot do it in my own strength. I must have You working with great power in my life. Do so now, Father. Make it so.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Judges 20-21 Why The Battle Isn't Working
getting right with God
I think we all often tend to believe that our sins probably hurt no one but ourselves, if even that, at times. Such a belief reveals a spiritual callous that has probably developed, whether from sin, frustration, temptation, or even overall busy-ness. Whatever the cause, we've allowed ourselves to pull away from God in one or more areas. Each time we do, we give the devil one more access point to persuade us to compromise our beliefs and those of our family.
It was incredible watching this happen to Israel in Judges, which appropriately ends with the phrase, "Everyone did what seemed right." Unwritten at the time, Proverbs 16:25 answers them: "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is death."
For a Christian, I think "death" comes in the form of a hardened heart. The spiritual callous leads us to believe we somehow deserve a break from some discipline we've set for ourselves, such as Bible study, prayer time, or even giving, when there are many other things in life we could "sacrifice". Once the line is crossed, unfortunately, it's a small matter to cross it again, and each time we do, the guilt lessens as the callous grows. Soon the "break" we've allowed ourselves becomes instead a lifestyle away from God -- the One most important Person in our lives.
Had we just bothered to look, we most likely would have found much better candidates to break from in our lives, gaining the rest we need from anything but our walk with God. At that point of realization, it's vital that we examine the fork in the road where we first misstepped.
As the armies of Israel found out in this chapter, while losing battles they should have been winning (400,000 vs. 26,000) they had to humble themselves in repentance before God would lead them to victory.
Oftentimes, we may find that we have painted ourselves into corners by our choices. The Israelites discovered that after the battle was won. They ended up with only 600 men left of all the tribe of Benjamin, and no wives to help repopulate the tribe. They decided to attack the one city that chose not to help in the war, gaining 400 brides, then had to allow the "kidnapping" of daughters from another innocent city to make up the difference.
In our lives, we must extricate ourselves from our dilemma using whatever it takes, not letting pride get in the way. For the gains we receive from our renewed closeness with God will far exceed any losses, embarrassment, or other results of our return to God.
Father, in my own life, I've let busy-ness cause me to neglect my prayer life. I've let other things creep in that seemed to zap my spiritual energy. Thank You for revealing what I need to work on. Give me the desire to correct what is out of balance in my life right now. Help others to understand if I must renege on promises I've made.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Ruth 1 -- Love (And Grace) Out Of Disobedience
amazing love
Until I read my commentary, I'd always seen in the book of Ruth a wonderful picture of God at work in the lives of those who were living according to His way of love. I'd never thought of it as being a tale of God's grace in the midst of disobedience.
The disobedience seemed to begin when Naomi's husband led his family to Moab during a famine. The commentary cited Deut. 23:3-6, which casts the people of Moab in a most unfavorable light. They'd refused to give bread and water to the Israelites leaving Egypt, and God had told the Israelites not to wish for their peace or success. Out of all the places he could have chosen, it seems the choice of Moab was among the least obedient.
Naomi's sons married women from Moab during the 10 years the family lived there. Again, this was disobedience. Ezra and Nehemiah both clearly state that Israelite men had sinned by marrying women of Moab. Both sons died early, leaving no children.
Despite the fact that the family left Israel to better their condition, we find Naomi returning to the Promised Land with nothing that she left with -- not her husband or her sons, or any grandchildren. She even returned without her joy, stating that her name (my joy) should instead be Mara (bitter).
Then there was Ruth. She was a foreigner when she returned with Naomi to Bethlehem. Her accent and appearance were different. She was a Gentile despised by God's people. She was a woman, and a widow at that, considered "used goods", and as low on the Jewish social ladder as one could get. Probably her appearance with Naomi worsened Naomi's standing at home in Bethlehem, with neighbors gossiping about how she could have let her sons marry the likes of Ruth.
But these feelings and attitudes reflected the legalism of that society -- meant to reveal the hopelessness of trying to be right with God in our own merits. They failed to reflect the love of God so evident in Ruth's care of her mother-in-law, along with her sacrifice of giving up everything and everyone she knew to fulfill an obligation of love. She sounds remarkably like one of her distant male descendants -- Christ.
Father, over the years working with youth, being a coach, and being a banker, You've helped me to get to know people I might never have associated with. You've enriched my life just by those I've met as a result of Your gift of Josh and Joseph to me. Thank You for helping me to see them with Your eyes and not simply with the jaundiced eyes of the world. Please let me always see their worth and dignity, and bless me through them and them through me, as You did here.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Ruth 2 -- How Do We Measure Up?
in the work ethic/character department
How many of us would walk through an already-harvested wheat field, stabbing our fingers and hands on the stalks of stubble as we try to pick up heads of grain that were dropped by the combine? How many of us would do that all day, in the heat of the day, with only a few minutes of rest? How many of us would then have the willpower and stamina left to take what we'd gathered and extract the grain from the heads, which would require a lot of beating and sweeping with our hands? Particularly, how many of us would do that, without complaint, and be thrilled beyond measure to come up with just one-half of a bushel of barley ($5 worth on today's market)?
Would we feel blessed or abused? Would such work be beneath our dignity? What if all we had to eat was what we gathered, and we would be sharing it with someone unable to work?
It doesn't sound like much, but that might provide 1/2 a month's food for two people. Twenty-four days of such work might provide the equivalent of a year's worth of groceries for two! Still I think most would pass.
I received a forwarded email, supposedly reciting something Jay Leno had written about how great America is but how spoiled Americans have become, trading an appreciative attitude and good work ethic for constant griping, whining, and complaining. I tend to agree with what he said. That's why it's so refreshing to find someone who would be thankful for so little after so much work.
Her name was Ruth And who found her refreshing? The landowner, Boaz, who'd also heard of how this Gentile woman had stuck by and cared for his relative, Naomi. Her dedication caught his eye, and soon would catch his heart.
There's something about a strong work-ethic that says much about the person it describes. Character is valued and not often found today, but we are called to be persons of character by our Savior. I've heard it said that character is what a man does when he knows he will never be found out.
Father, I pray that, like Ruth, my character will honor You and not disappoint You. Help me to remember that hard work builds it up, and that a person who remains appreciative in the midst of hard work is one to model our lives after. Help me to instill this in my sons as well. I want them to be men after Your own heart.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Ruth 3 & 4 -- Not Being The Nameless Man
trusting God
Of all the characters in this story that could capture my attention, God pointed me to the nameless relative whose refusal to redeem Ruth led to Boaz becoming her husband.
This man had been willing enough to buy back the land but not Ruth as well. He was thinking about himself and his family and whatever effect financially such a transaction would have on him. In other words, he counted the costs and decided they were way too high.
What he never realized was that, centuries later, he would be giving up his spot in the royal bloodline of both King David and Jesus Christ.
We never know how God will bless our obedience, but we do know that, in Malachi 3, God promises: "Test Me in this. I will open the windows of heaven for you and pour out all the blessings you need....All the nations will call you blessed."
God may only present such an opportunity once in a lifetime. We never know. And this man, who would not save his brother's name by redeeming Ruth, did not have his name saved in the Scriptures.
I went on a mission trip so that I could go to Russia. God had placed that desire in my heart years before so that, when I was willing to obey, He would have me where He wanted me. He'd even given me a curiosity about international adoption by that time. My "sandal moment" came on the last day at the orphanage when God convincingly spoke to me and broke my heart for the boys I was leaving behind. The unnamed man in Ruth 4 went home that day with less than he'd started out with -- he'd left his sandal with Boaz to seal the fact that he would not redeem Ruth. I left my heart there, sealing my agreement with God to return to a former Soviet country to someday get my son. And true to His word in Malachi, God has poured out form the windows of heaven all the blessings I need -- including another son! As I "redeemed" and adopted Josh and Joseph, God gave me such a clear picture of what Christ had done for me as well.
Father, my heart overflows with thankfulness this morning that You found me worthy of my boys -- that You decided to test me. Thank You for helping me answer "Yes".
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Daniel 1 -- God's Making Of A Man
power restrained and under control of the Master
God was actively at work in the lives of Daniel and his three friends. He had pre-positioned them for what He'd planned, moving them from Israel to Babylon. They'd traveled as captives, but God was simply using a pagan king to pay their transportation costs. He had made them handsome and without physical flaws, so they would be noticed by the king, and as verse 17 says, "God gave these four young men wisdom and the ability to learn many things that people had written and studied." And they were from important families -- families that God had placed them in. He had also placed the desires in King Nebuchadnezzar's heart, (and later Cyrus' heart as well) to surround himself with such men. This wasn't simply a luck-of-the-draw contest.
Daniel, particularly, had devoted himself to God. He'd decided ahead of time that, should the opportunity arise, he would not compromise his morals and beliefs, for though he was far from home and everything familiar, God had not abandoned him.
That's the attitude and commitment that we must adopt as well. We must never buy into the belief that we exist in a world of random chance. Instead, our world unfolds as God directs. He is not God from a distance. He is personally active, especially in the lies of those who love and fear Him. Our desires were placed in our hearts by Him for the purpose of attracting us to what He has in mind for us. Our aptitudes are God-given to assist us in what He's planned for our lives since before time began. We are His.
The toughest thing for a young man to accept is abandonment of self-will, I believe, for we are led almost from birth to "be our own man". We glamorize the "breaking away" events of youth. Perhaps the best way to understand God's idea of a young man's channeling of his energies to Him would be the power and majesty of a stallion trained for its highest and best, willingly accepting the commands of the person who holds the reins. It is power restrained for a purpose. There is no shame in that at all. There is honor.
Father, I pray that as my boys become young men that they will adopt this belief. I want them to take to heart what You did in the lives of Daniel and his friends and to see that they, too, experience true power in their lives when they turn over the reins to You. Guide them, Father.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Daniel 2 -- Trusting God Even Before Asking
knowing prayer works
Who but God could reveal what a man chooses to withhold of the dreams he has at night? Nebuchanezzar was about to destroy the most intelligent men in his country because he didn't want to be fed a lie. What amazed me the most was Daniel's faith and his trust in God to reveal to him what he hadn't yet asked. He first applied for an appointment to tell Nebuchnezzar the meaning of his dream, then he went to his friends and asked them to pray with him to God, asking Him to reveal what Daniel now so urgently needed.
It would have been one thing to have actually received the interpretation and then asked for the appointment, but Daniel trusted his God to care for him and to protect him by revealing to him both the dream and its meaning. How awesome that Russ' sermon yesterday about prayer and his call to effective prayer should have been timed by God to be given yesterday, when God had already started me in Daniel and this particular chapter on a schedule that God started me on over 9 years ago!
Father, it was only a few weeks ago that You began to speak to my heart about the time I'd not been spending with You in prayer, and You've reinforced that message yesterday and today. Please show me how I can get back into the habit of effective prayer and when I can do it. You know my schedule and the needs of my family. Please direct me in the way You know best.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Daniel 3 -- Not Having To Wonder
certainty as to what God wants
The sidebar in my Bible was from J.I. Packer's Knowing God, and it really captured the sense of the moment:
"Daniel and his friends were men who stuck their necks out. This was not foolhardiness. They knew what they were doing. They had counted the cost. They had measured the risk. They were well aware what the outcome of their actions would be unless God miraculously intervened, as in fact He did. But these things did not move them. Once they were convinced that their stand was right, and that loyalty to their God required them to take it, they "smilingly washed their hands of the consequences".....It is the spirit of all who know God. They may find the determination of the right course to take agonizingly difficult, but once they are clear on it they embrace it boldly and without hesitation. It does not worry them that others of God's people see the matter differently and do not stand with them. They were clear as to what they personally had to do, and that was enough for them. By this test also we may measure our own knowledge of God."
I don't think any Christian wants to wonder whether he is on the correct path God has laid out for him. That's why it is so vitally important that we prayerfully inquire of God not only about which path to take, but also for certainty in our convictions regarding that path. With that certainty comes the ability to "smilingly wash our hands of the consequences."
Father, I've known that certainty at times in my life, particularly during the process of going to Ukraine to get Josh. I look back on those times and cherish the "at-oneness" I felt with You. When delays, roadblocks, or great burdens cropped up, such assurance allowed me to wait on You without complaining, because I knew that You had said it and that it would happen. I don't want such times as those to be rare in my life. I want them to be habit. Grow me in my at-oneness with You. Help me to better sense Your will and to always trust You to be leading me to the very best You have to offer for my life.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Daniel 4 -- Bow Now, Or Bow Later
better to do it out of love than grudgingly
I remember the Christian song with those lyrics: "Bow now, or bow later..." It was meant to remind everyone that "one day every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord."
King Nebuchadnezzar had let his position get to him. His incredible power had produced incredible pride. Although Daniel had become a close confidant of the king and had lived a lifestyle that bore imitating, the king was still too full of himself and would not repent. He refused to bow to God.
God was gracious, giving him a clear warning and one year to comply. When that didn't happen, God showed him how easily He can turn the tide in human lives. For seven years the king was insane. He remembers the end: "I looked up toward heaven, and I could think normally again." I thought it significant that he had to turn his face to God to regain his life.
Control is such a big thing to men. We like to have our world under our control -- no surprises. I see it even in my 10-year-old son! But often what comes with control is pride and loss of our sense of our need for God. When He sees that in us, He loves us enough to prod us back to Him. Some of us may have become so willfully disobedient that we have to hit rock bottom to start our way back up to Him. Many, in fact, will refuse to bow and will grudgingly hold on to their miserable existence until one day they meet God face to face. How much better to be overjoyed at that reunion than to be grudgingly admitting our stupidity and realizing that the desire to be totally in control of this life has cost us everything in the next!
Father, I willingly and humbly bow to You in this life, knowing that You have Your best in mind for me. Whenever You find me holding on to anything else too tightly, as a young child would to a cheap toy, please deal with me in grace and love, and move me toward a deeper knowledge of You.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
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