Obedience

The Power of the Invitation

To this point Israel has had 14 judges (including Eli —but not his children— and Samuel). And they all judged Israel for years, and they had some crazy exploits and military victories over the enemies of Israel. But you know what we never see? Repentance. I’ve talked about that before. Israel continually asks God to save them, but they don’t actually repent of what they’ve done wrong.

But what’s interesting is that none of the judges even ASK them to repent… until Samuel…

7:3 Samuel said to all the people of Israel, “If you are really turning to the LORD with all your hearts, remove from among you the foreign gods and the images of Ashtoreth. Give your hearts to the LORD and serve only him. Then he will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” 7:4 So the Israelites removed the Baals and images of Ashtoreth. They served only the LORD. 7:5 Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the LORD on your behalf.” 7:6 After they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the LORD. They fasted on that day, and they confessed there, “We have sinned against the LORD.” So Samuel led the people of Israel at Mizpah.
1 Samuel 7:3–6, NET

This, ladies and gentlemen, is the power of the invitation! Even a people as terrible as the ones described in Judges 19-21 can be brought to repentance with the power of the invitation. Don’t be afraid to ask. Don’t be afraid to say something. You simply don’t know when God will use the simple invitation you have extended to accomplish His greater goal(s). Your simple step of obedience can become a real difference-maker.

Never underestimate the power of the invitation.

1 Samuel 4:12-8:22 | 100/365

Conquest & Compromise

Today’s passage has us reading about the land allotments for Judah, Ephriam, and Manasseh. While passage like this with an inventory of town names that mean little to those among us who have never been to Israel or studied ancient geography. But! There is a very interesting pattern that emerges in today’s chunk.

Judah received their allotment of land, but could not drive the Jebusites out of Jerusalem. And this despite the fact that the King of Jerusalem had already been captured and killed along with, presumably, many of his fighting men. Ephriam and Manasseh were also unable to remove the Canaanites from their allotments of land. Curiously, however, they were eventually able to subjugate the people as slaves.

Did the Israelites forget the command God gave them?

But in the cities of these peoples that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance, you shall save alive nothing that breathes, 17 but you shall devote them to complete destruction, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, as the LORD your God has commanded,
Deuteronomy 20:16-17

Did the Israelites forget what they were able to do in Egypt despite being slaves? Did they forget what happened to Achar? Compromise might be a good way to mediate a dispute, but it is a terrible way to serve God! Watch over the coming months how things go with the Judges, and then the Kings, and then the Captivity. It’s so sad to watch the fall of the chosen people of God.

As a Christian, compromise is a concession to defeat. To compromise is to the wave the white flag at Satan and drop the drawbridge. It’s either conquer with Christ or be conquered by death. To compromise is to choose the latter.

Choose wisely.

Joshua 15:20-17:18 | 086-365

A Pleasing Aroma

Just a quick thought today. If you have been reading along you’ll have noticed that the phrase “a pleasing aroma to God” has appeared a great many times in Genesis, Exodus, and especially Leviticus. Depending on what translation you use this phrase pops up some 43 times in the Old Testament.

But what does it mean? We burn a bull or a ram or a sheep or a pigeon and that is a “pleasing aroma” to God? Maybe He just really likes BBQ? He’s a well-done guy I guess… but the same is true when it’s bread being converted to charcoal on the altar as well. And ain’t no one likes charcoaled bread.

So what does it mean? It’s pretty simple, really. It’s not the smoked meat that God is enjoying, it’s the smell of obedience. The scent of demonstrated love. The fragrance of reconciliation. And how can we be sure of this? The Apostle Paul writes the following in Ephesians 5:2 (NLT), “Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.” God wasn’t pleased that Jesus died, but he was pleased that this act of sacrificial obedience opened the floodgates of restoration for a broken people made in the image of their loving creator.

And our daily acts of worship are the same. They are a sweet smell to God. So make sure you spend some time today, and tomorrow, and the day after that creating a pleasing aroma of worship, love, and devotion to the Lord.

Be blessed, my friends.

Leviticus 7-8 | 049/365

Give ‘Til It Hurts

Exodus 38:8 says, “Bezalel made the bronze washbasin and its bronze stand from bronze mirrors donated by the women who served at the entrance of the Tabernacle.”

While this may not have blown your hair back in amazement, it’s still interesting to me that the women who served at the Tent of Meeting (we are not sure in what capacity) gave up their mirrors for the construction of the new Tabernacle. As servants who worked at the entrance to the Tabernacle, these women would have been seen by anyone or everyone and so their desire to be presentable was probably fairly high. I know mine would be. Yet, when God put out the call for “bronze” they offered up their mirrors. A sacrificial gift. It would have hurt to give these things up, yet they did so in service of the Lord.

Do we have anything that we would NOT be willing to give up? Are there any things in our life that — though we would never admit it — we value more highly than obedience to God? Would we be willing to hurt for God?

That’s between you and Him, and He already knows your heart.

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