Today’s Reading: Judges

When I read the book of Judges, it reminds me of a superhero comic book. Over and over again, God’s people get themselves into a mess and He sends a superhero (or judge) to come in and save the day! God gave some pretty ordinary people some pretty extraordinary moments!

The superheroes in the Bible were not perfect, but superheroes rarely are. They were flawed, imperfect people with a desire to see God do something heroic. God called them into leadership and filled them with His Spirit so that He could rescue His people through them. The true Superhero in this book is God Himself.

THE HEROES IN THE BOOK OF JUDGES WERE REGULAR PEOPLE WILLING TO LET GOD DO SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY WITH THEIR LIVES.

After 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, God’s plan was to give them a peaceful and beautiful land but, because of their tendency towards disobedience, they needed to be rescued over and over again from the villains in their life. So God raised up “superheroes” to lead them out of the trouble they found themselves in over and over again.

First there was Caleb’s nephew, Othniel through whom God gave the Israelites victory after 8 years of suffering. Then there was Ehud, who was left-handed, which came in useful when he reached with his left hand for his dagger and plunged it into the king’ belly. The king was so fat that the dagger disappeared. Ehud locked the doors and escaped down the latrine (3:15-23).

After Ehud, Shamgar son of Anath rescued Israel. He once killed 600 Philistines with an ox goad. — Judges 3:31

The next average-person-turned-superhero is Deborah – the Bible’s Wonder Woman. This woman of God would sit under what became known as the Palm of Deborah, and people would come to her for judgment. Obviously God had given her the gift of wisdom and trusted her with great responsibility.

When Barak led the warriors into battle, God caused Sisera and his warriors to fall into a panic. Barak and his men chased after the fleeing army and killed all 900 warriors, but Sisera had hopped down from his chariot and escaped on foot. Heber’s wife, Jael, invited Sisera into her tent. When he asked for water, she gave him milk. When he laid down, exhausted from his flight, she covered him with a blanket while she took watch for anyone approaching. But as soon as he fell into a deep sleep, Jael took action.

I CAN DO ALL THINGS, EVEN HARD THINGS, THROUGH CHRIST WHO GIVES ME STRENGTH.

Jael saw that God had strategically positioned her and she was up for this opportunity to let God do SUPER THINGS through her — she made the decision to do a hard thing! I believe God must have given Jael some extra strength as she picked up the tent peg and hammer, walked across the tent, and placed the end of the peg on Sisera’s temple. I believe God must have given her extra courage and superhero strength in order to drive the tent peg into his skull, killing the king and finishing the battle.

After Deborah and Barak led the Israelites to victory, there was peace in the land for forty years. But the Israelites began doing evil in the Lord’s sight, so he handed them over to the Midianites for seven years. When they finally cried out to God for help, he called Gideon to be the next judge or superhero.

Then the angel of the Lord came and sat beneath the great tree of Ophrah…Gideon son of Joash was threshing wheat at the bottom of a winepress to hide the grain from the Midianites. The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!” – Judges 6:11-12

When Gideon asked for a sign that God was really calling him to take action, God gave Gideon the proof he asked for. Although he still experienced fear, Gideon now also had peace. That’s what God often does for us — He gives us the peace we need to obey Him, even when it does not make sense to us. At first Gideon followed through with God’s plan at night, out of fear, but then scripture says the Spirit of the Lord took possession of him (6:34a). Now filled with the MIGHTY SPIRIT, Gideon blew a ram’s horn as a call to arms. He sent messengers out, calling all of Israel’s warriors to come together to fight.

A great lesson for Gideon and a good reminder for me today is that God ALWAYS keeps His promises. When He sends us to do something, He equips us with the strength to be obedient. There is no need for Him to repeat Himself or to prove His faithfulness, for God can be trusted. I want nothing more than to blindly follow God wherever He leads, allowing my extremity to be His opportunity.

More judges came and went for the people of God – Tola judged for 23 years and Jair for the next 22 years. Next God used Jephthah, the son of a prostitute, to rescue the people of Israel. He was a great warrior because God chose to use him to give His people victory over their enemies.

NO MATTER WHAT IS IN YOUR STORY, THE GOD OF MERCY CAN USE YOU TO DO AMAZING THINGS IN THE LIVES OF OTHERS.

And lastly, we are probably all familiar with the way in which God used the strength and confidence of Samson. Samson’s biggest problem was that he consistently thought HE was winning the battles. He saw himself as the hero in his stories, missing who the true hero was. He did not recognize that his battles were won when the Spirit of the Lord came upon him. He thought he was avenging himself, but God was using this AVENGER to bring trouble to the Philistines, who were oppressing God’s people.

I may be the main character in my life production, but the hero of my story is God. Every victory experienced is for His glory, every battle won is to His credit. Thank you, God, for the gift of your Spirit in my life, giving me the strength to accomplish what you have called me to do. I make myself available today to be used by you — my Hero!