Grace Bible Church
Pastor-Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
Thursday,
February 21, 2019
Pastor Rick Kabrick
JUD 2:16, “Then the LORD raised up judges, who (those judges) saved them out of the hands of these raiders.
Sarai said to Abram, “This is all your fault. I gave my handmaid into your bosom, and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes. The LORD judge between me and you.”
In the days of the Judges GOD’s people worshipped many false god’s like Dagon and Baal. Nowadays those false GOD’s are still here.
Even though human civilization has changed tremendously
over the years, human nature (regardless of what one may think) has not changed.
After Joshua died there was a whole generation who didn’t know the LORD and what HE had done for Israel.”
When man forgets the Word of GOD, forsaking the GOD of the Word is right around the corner.
When Israel turned away from the LORD to worship idols, HE punished them, then, in their misery they cried out in repentance, HE liberated them.
But as soon as they were free, they went right back into the same old sins.
That’s are warning for us…we too can forget GOD’s word, when we do we forsake what HIS word says and then we forfeit what HE has planned for us. Until we return to HIM and HIS plan.
But GOD did not forget HIS covenant—and because of HIS great love for HIS people, HE disciplined His sinful children so that they might return to HIM.
Israel became satisfied with far less than what GOD wanted them to have, and far less than what GOD had provided for them. Once we satisfy ourselves with less than GOD's best for us, we will never be what GOD wants us to be.
The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years the LORD gave them into the hands of the Midianites (the number of completion).
VS 11-15, The angel of the LORD (Jesus Christ) came and sat down
Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites.
The LORD said to Gideon, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”
VS 28, In the morning when the people of the town got up, there was Baal’s altar,
demolished, with the Asherah pole beside it cut down and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built altar!
“I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said.”
Putting out a fleece is not a positive. For Gideon as it is for anyone was and is a sign of a lack of faith.
God’s patience shown to Gideon highlights the greatness of his grace towards both Gideon and Israel. He essentially holds Gideon’s hand throughout the entire process, thus addressing his lack of faith, his faulty theology, and his fear.
The lesson is that our GOD is great. HE is able and willing to save, and he is motivated by HIS grace, HIS love and that because HIS Justice is satisfied.
So, we don’t test GOD, we believe GOD.
Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with a force of about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of the armies of the eastern peoples; a hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had fallen.
They set up Baal-Berith really Baal Zebub which is lord of the flies historian say the people would carry a token with a fly symbol and take it out and kiss it as a form of worship.