“Have I not sent you?” –Judges 6:14
The book of Judges is a fascinating series of historical accounts chronicling the history of ancient Israel after their great leader Joshua dies. There appears to be a theme or constant refrain at the beginning of each new epoch as evidenced by the following:
The son’s of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord gave them into the hands of Midian seven years –Judges 6:14 NASB
Then the son’s of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the sons of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; thus they forsook the Lord and did not serve Him. The anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and into the hands of the sons of Ammon. —Judges 10:6-7 NASB
It was apparent, due to the judgement of God, that after much suffering and persecution, there was the response of God’s people crying out to Him for help, and in return He always sent a spiritual leader to help them to confess their sin, and as His covenant people, repent, turn back to God, and experience His forgiveness and salvation. This was all dependent upon the Israelites following the Law as mediated by Moses as this sampling of Deuteronomy 28:1 demonstrates:
Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.–NASB
The spiritual leader God chose in Judges chapter 6 was Gideon. He was a man threshing out wheat in a winepress, hiding his harvest from his enemies. The Angel of God came and greeted him with, “. . . The Lord is with you, o valiant warrior” (Judges 6: 12 NASB). Now Gideon did not feel particularly valiant or that he was of the warrior type. Look at his response:
Then Gideon said to him, ‘O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, “Did not the Lord bring up from Egypt?” But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.’ –Joshua 6:12 NASB
Now, let me digress if I may. I can see a parallel to the contemporary church of the West regarding the vicious attacks, contemptible attitude toward orthodox Christianity, and Judeo-Christian-traditional values as experienced in the United States of America. The words of an old “Virginian Slim,” cigarette commercial, “You’ve come along way, baby,” is akin to how far away from God and some of the “core” values that our Christian societies once had, such as a passion and love of Jesus Christ, love of family, love of country and love of our fellow man, particularly demonstrated by a fervor for evangelization, we have become. This departure reflects an America that continues to be on a free-fall into moral depravity, and chaos at “terminal velocity” as is evidenced by what we see in all segments of our society. The lack of civil and reasonable discourse on our college campuses, streets, news, and social media are just a few examples of what I am talking about.
Just as ancient Israel cried out for help, there are voices within our society, including the Church, which are crying out for help to this situation as well. Everyone worldwide knows that Uncle Sam is extremely sick, from the crown of his head to the very soles of his feet. No amount of change from Capitalism to Communism and in between or calls for MAGA is going to make him well. The virus is SIN; the vaccineis “. . . the blood of Jesus His son cleanses us from all sin” (I John 1:7).
We should do well to note God’s promise to King Solomon:
“. . . and 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, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” II Chronicles 7:14 NASB
In addition to the humbling, praying, repenting, and spending time with God for spiritual intimacy and development; there is the call to action. “Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself” (James 2:17 NASB).
I’d like to recall a particular account in the Los Angeles area during the infamous Rodney King—L.A. riot in 1992. Another fellow clergyman friend and I, he from the Reformed Episcopal Church in Compton, attended a Compton City Council meeting. This meeting was regarding the rioting in the L.A./Long Beach Transportation Corridor which included the churches in our area. The “Transportation Corridor” was the designated area for trains and trucks running south from the L.A. Harbor traveling north to downtown Los Angeles, where they would travel east across the country transporting their cargo. During the meeting, the Chief of Police, inquired about the major concerns of the pastors in the community. Representatives from various denominations expressed concerns for more police presence to deal with gangs, drug dealing, prostitution, larceny, drive-by shootings, and murders. My colleague and I would turn to each other after each speaker and shake our heads. We were both thinking the same thing. We would say, “these guys just don’t get it.” Not that we were better or more righteous than they, but the Church of Jesus Christ has the answer; we have the solution people need to hear. There needs to be a witness- an infusion of the Gospel to tell and proclaim the good news to change these lives taking the path to hell.
People of God, yes you Christian! Are you fearful? Are you hiding in the winepress storing your “stuff”—guns, food, ammo, water, stocks, bonds, gold, bitcoin, and Word of God in safety? You are a valiant warrior. See yourself as the Lord, God sees you! Look at the Lord’s response to Gideon:
The Lord looked at him and said, ‘Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?’ –Judges 6:14 NASB
God is calling you! Christ is compelling you! We need to be going where the people are with the Gospel because LOST LIVES MATTER!
