The BOOK – Ruth

The book of Ruth gives us some idea of the domestic life of Israel at the period of anarchy. Samuel might have been the author of this book. 

Ruth was the great-grand mother of David. This book gives us the lineage of David, the ancestor of Christ. Ruth was a Moabitess, who are the descendants of Lot. They were the people who were worshipping many gods and goddesses. God chosed a beautiful girl from there, led her to Bethlehem where she met Boaz. God adopts the Gentiles into Christ’s family.

Boaz was the son of Rahab, the prostitute in Jericho who helped Israel to capture the city. God can choose any broken or unused vessel to bring his glory.

If you think you are not a believer, you don’t know Jesus Christ, or you are following other gods and goddesses, this book gives you the right encouragement to accept the true living God. The people mentioned in this book are the ancestors of Jesus Christ. God chosed those people and gave them the greatest blessing to be the grand parents of the saviour, even when the chosen people where there. You might see Christians around you. But you can be special, if you accept Christ as your saviour and believe in him, so that God can use you to do greater things. 

Be encouraged!

The BOOK – Apostasy

In the book of Judges, we have a picture of seven failures and seven deliverances. The Israelites intermarried with the surrounding idolatrous people, worshipped their shrines and practiced their values and laws, which God told them not to do. There was no unity of action, except in the time of danger when the tribes combined for their own good. When the people sinned against God, their enemies defeated them and ruled over them. One of the best known nations whom the Lord used to test Israel was the Philistines. The Israelites feared the Philistines and did not mix freely with them. They only met in war.

First Apostasy (Judges 3:7-11)

Sin – Idolatry, Punishment – 8 years, Deliverer and Judge – Othniel

For trying to live in peace with the Syrian nations, Israelites intermarried and started trading with Amorites, Hivites and Perizzites. Next they accepted their neighbour’s religion, and then their bad customs. But soon the Mesopotamians began to oppress them and then they realized that they had a God who took them from slavery and placed them here. God send a deliverer, Othniel, who was Caleb’s nephew. “Spirit of God came upon him, so that be became Israel’s Judge and went to war” – Judges 3:10. First he prayed and then he went to battle. He threw away the idolatries of Israel and taught them the law of the Lord and reminds them of their calling as a nation. Soon success and victory was theirs. (Judges 3:10-11). He was the first of the Judges. 

Second Apostasy (Judges 3:12-31)

Sin – Immorality and Idolatry, Punishment - 18 years, Deliverer and Judge – Ehud and Shamgar

Israel did go back to their old ways, as they went after immorality and idolatry. They got the punishment from God and Moabites attacked them and they were under Moabites for 18 years. Again people cried unto God and God gave them a deliverer, Ehud, with whom Shamgar’s name is associated. They defeated Moabite King and because of them peace was there for 80 years.

Third Apostasy (Judges 4-5)

Sin – Departed from God, Punishment – 20 years, Deliverer and Judge – Deborah and Barak

Sisera took over Israel for 20 years because of the punishment they got from God. They cried unto God and this time God chosed a prophetess called Deborah. Deborah called Barak to help her and together they delivered Israel from oppression. After that the land rested for 40 years.

Fourth Apostasy (Judges 6 – 8:32)

Sin – Departed from God, Punishment – 7 years, Deliverer and Judge - Gideon

Midianites held Israel for 7 years and God gave them Gideon as deliverer. He broke the alter of Baal and restored the worship of God. Gideon, with a band of 300 defeated the enemy, which can be seen in the scripture as a supernatural hand of God. 

Fifth Apostasy (Judges 8:33 – 10:5)

Sin - Departed from God, Punishment – Civil war, Deliverer and Judge – Tola and Jair

People fail once again and worshiped Baalim as soon as Gideon died. There came a civil war in which Gideon’s son Abimelech was involved. But he was slain by a woman and a period of 45 years of quietness followed under the judgement of Tola and Jair.

Sixth Apostasy (Judges 10:6 – 12:15)

Sin – Idolatry increased, Punishment – Philistines and Ammonites, Deliverer – Jephthah

Here we see people almost entirely given over to idolatry. God sent judgement this time from the Philistines for 18 years. When they cried, God refused to hear them. But God can’t bear his children suffer, and so deliverance came through Jephthah. He judged Israel for 6 years.

Seventh Apostasy (Judges 13 -16)

Sin – Departed from God, Punishment – Philistines, Deliverer - Samson

Once again Israel did evil in the eyes of the Lord. This time they were disciplined by Philistines under whose oppression they lived 40 years. God called Samson and his life is filled with opportunity and failure. Everything should have being in Samson’s favour, but he entered into an unholy alliance, which meant his downfall. But he delivered Israel and died along with it.

These are history which God wanted us to read and understand how Israel, the chosen people have gone away from God and how he disciplined them. Since we are the chosen Israel presently, you can just replace the enemies Israel faced with your friends and weaknesses. God delivers you from your bad habits and friends and then when everything is fine, once again you are forced to go back with your habits by your flesh. We need to understand that God gave this book as a warning symbol so that we will walk close with God, and be holy as he is Holy.

I pray that you understand the importance of being separated from the world to see and know how good our God is, and walk along with him to live a testimonial life, Amen

The BOOK – Dark Age

Judges covers the period after the death of the great leader, Joshua to the ascension of Israel’s first King, Saul. During this period, the people of Israel were ruled by Judges whom God raised up to deliver them. This book is filled with struggles and disasters, but also with the moral courage of a select few. 

There are fourteen Judges mentioned, starting from, Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, Deborah, Gideon, Tola, Jair, Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, Abdon, Samson, Eli and Samuel.  Gideon and Samson were warrior judges, Eli was a priest judge, and Deborah and Samuel were Prophet Judges. The Chief Judges were Deborah, Samson, Gideon and Samuel. 

The People of God went away from Jehovah by worshipping the gods of the nation’s round about them. They forgot that God had chosen them for a purpose – to tell the world the truth that there is but one true God. In punishment for their sins God would deliver them into the hand of other nations. Then under the oppression of these new enemies they would cry to God for mercy and God would hear them and send a Judge to deliver them.

Human pride would love to believe that humanity’s trend is upward. But God’s word shows us that the natural course is downward.

Judges 1 to 3 we see Israel’s failure after Joshua’s death. Israel’s troubles were due directly to their disobedience to God. Instead of exterminate enemies from the land, they worshipped the idols of those people and became corrupted in their mind. Chapter 1 records a series of disobedience and Chapter 2 see defeat and failure. Children of God brought on their own judgement upon themselves and became their own executioners. 

God does not forget his covenant, but he allows our very weakness, our guilty weakness, to drive us back to him. God wanted the chosen people to realize that they were a holy people. They must not mix with the wicked nations about them. They must continuously separate themselves. People who believe in Christ Jesus today must remember that they cannot mix with the world. They must keep close to God and war against sin and unrighteousness. God wants us to be good warriors. 

I pray that this study will make you think about the desires you had with the world. Those same desires, God wants to take away from your mind and soul to make you separate and keep you beside him. May you surrender to Christ and leave the worldly life style and obey him to see his blessings upon your life, Amen.

The BOOK – Farewell

When the Israelites walked into the Promised Land, Joshua had a friend Caleb, who along with him trusted God in taking Promised Land. These were the only 2 people in their generation who could enter the Promised Land because of their obedience. Now you see in Joshua 14:12, Caleb, who was 85 years old asks for high and walled cities, which Joshua gave him as granted. Caleb might be the happiest man in the camp because he had overcome so much and yet had fields to conquer. “Difficulties are things which show what men are”. In your life when you see the glory of God come and change your life in the midst of trials and tribulations, you will trust God all through your life, even in the hardest times. 

Lord never promised his children that they will have an easy time serving him. “In this world you will have trouble” – John 16:33. We see Paul encouraging Timothy, “Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus” – 2 Timothy 2:3. Caleb knew since he is obedient to God, God had given him the land, as he had seen it before. Even when you face diseases, sickness, financial problems or any earthly problems where the whole world comes around to take you out, if you are faithful to God, you will see your saviour fighting the battle on your behalf and giving you the victory.

Like Moses, Joshua also gave the people some last words when he became very old. He called the leaders and then people and told them not to forget the power and faithfulness of God and told them to be faithful to God. “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness” – Joshua 24:14. He also warned them about choosing whom to serve, whether to serve the gods of their forefathers or the true living God, and confessed he and his family will serve the Lord. “But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” – Joshua 24:15

It is good to make open confessions and commit ourselves to a solemn purpose. People of Israel also said they will serve the Lord. When you confess your weakness and how you overcame it through the power of Jesus, your followers will also do the same and become a testimony. If you live a life of hypocrisy, your followers will also come as hypocrites, and even they will not be faithful to you.

At the age of 110, Joshua died. His greatest achievement Certificate is seen in Joshua 24:31 – “Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua”. A leader or a minister should be faithful to Lord and his people and be a testimony to each of his followers. 

You cannot run away from your sins. Be sure, your sin will find you out. In the midst of a sinful life, it is better to leave everything and confess it before God and ask for the forgiveness. Most of the people hate this step – confession. Yes everyone have a problem of confessing before men, but they take the same attitude before God also. We should understand the sins which happened through our mind, mouth and even physically, God was a witness. So confessing before God does not make you a small being, as we are already small and nothing before the Holy God. But for coming out of the sinful world, you need to confess the sins before God and believe in faith that for all the sins you have done, Christ came and took the punishment. Now as you take Christ in your heart, you are free, but you will sin no more. 

Joshua served the Lord and walked with him. He led a testimonial life so that the people who followed him did as he did. Today, without our knowledge our children or other people near to us, follows us and does what we do. It is a choice for every one of us how you want them to be as their life depends on your holiness and faithfulness. May Almighty empowers you to lead a holy life in Christ Jesus and be testimony for him as Joshua was. Amen

The BOOK – Division of Land

When Joshua was about 90 years old, he decided to divide the land which they had taken and to-be taken among the Israelites. They divided it in a way – This is Judah’s, this is Asher’s and so on. They said this even while most of the portions were occupied with Amorites, Jebusites and Hittites. This division of the land was the announcement of faith that under God’s guidance they will occupy the land. When you read the life of great men of God, most of the decisions taken by them were with faith and then depend on God’s providence. 

I am reading about a book on Oral Roberts, a great healing evangelist in the 50’s and 60’s. Everything he did in life was with prayer and faith. He prayed and heard the word of God and in faith took decisions. It started with his ministry and even with that faith he started the Oral Roberts University. They fast, they pray and then by the word and faith they start impossible and God will guide them to move forward. 

Although all this land was allotted to various tribes, all of it was not conquered until the time of David. Division happened according to the will of God, and so the strong did not take the best part leaving the fragments to weak, neither did the rich purchase the choicest spot, leaving the poor more undesirable sites. 

When God takes control, there is no rich or poor. I have heard preaching that poor will be the privileged people in God’s kingdom. God does consider everyone sinners with respect to his holiness. Whosoever confess their sins and accept Jesus and believes that through accepting Christ his sins are forgiven and forgotten are taken equally into God’s Kingdom, whether it is rich or poor, strong or weak. 

I pray that you understand the faith which people of Israel had at the time of division, and have that faith with prayer and a personal relationship with God and do the things which are impossible according to the world, Amen.