March 11 – Day 71 – Judges 20-21; John 18 Day 346 – 2 Thessalonians 1-3; Luke 5

[NOTE: For those who are continuing the 1-year Bible reading plan we started on April 1, 2018, just go to the end of this entry and you will find the Day 346 – 2 Thessalonians 1-3; Luke 5 summary!]

Judges 20-21 offers us the pathetic story of how Israel judged the tribe of Benjamin for their heinous crime against the Levite’s concubine. All Israel went out in battle against Benjamin and nearly wiped the tribe from the face of the earth, but not until the Benjamites had killed thousands of Israelites from the other tribes. When the fighting had ended, only 600 men of Benjamin remained. The Israelites wept that one of the tribes had been eliminated from Israel. The people had vowed not to give any of their daughters as husbands to the men of Benjamin, so it did look as if the tribe would perish. Then a plan was developed that provided 400 young women from Jabesh Gilead as wives. The remaining 200 men were given permission to “take” wives from Shiloh. This didn’t break their vow not to “give” their daughters in marriage to Benjamites, but it treated their daughters with little respect. At the end of chapter 21, we read once again that there was no king in Israel, and everyone did what was right in his own eyes. That statement is so accurate. As we reflect on the Book of Judges we see how over and over again, the Israelites abandoned God, turned to worship false gods, found themselves enslaved by the people of the land, cried out to God and received deliverance. But they didn’t learn from the experiences. They fought with each other. They abandoned God, and they received punishment for their actions. This illustrates what it’s like to do what is right in our own eyes. We have all experienced this rebellion and its results in our lives, whether when we were non-believers, or when we reject God’s leadership in our lives now. As we move from Judges, let us learn the lesson the book teaches: Those who turn away from God will bear the consequence of rejecting Him, and it will never be better when we’re in active rebellion against Him.

As we return to John 18 once again, we remember Jesus’ arrest, His examination by the priests and Pilate and Peter’s denial of Him. We’ve now read these accounts twice in Mark and twice in John, yet the impact of how easily the people of Israel found it to reject the Son of the living God of the universe might not yet have set in. Every time I read these passages, I think, “How could they not have seen what they were doing? How could Pilate have gone along with the crowds when he knew Jesus was innocent? The short answer to every question we could ask about this terrible time at the end of Jesus’ life is: God planned for Jesus to die for us. He was going to die. It was the time for Him to die. Nevertheless, it always seems to me it shouldn’t have been so hard for everyone to see who Jesus was, to repent and turn to Him. The religious leaders of all people ought to have recognized Jesus. But they were more concerned with their own short-term “salvation,” than about their long-term salvation. As we go about our days living on the resurrection side of Easter, let’s not fall into the same trap of putting our selfish desires before faithfulness to Jesus. His condemnation, death, and resurrection were God’s means of saving us from sin and death. They are therefore, the greatest opportunity for us to remember how much God loves us, and to live into our relationship with Him in Jesus’ name and in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Day 346 – 2 Thessalonians 1-3; Luke 5

Today we turn to the Apostle Paul’s second letter to the church at Thessalonica. In this brief letter, Paul encourages the Thessalonians once again to remain faithful. He corrects the erroneous proclamation of some that Jesus had already returned and reminded them this wouldn’t happen until “the man of lawlessness” had been revealed. He urged them to continue to pursue the work of the Lord, and admonished them that the ones who weren’t willing to work ought not to eat, that is to be provided for by those who were working. Paul was not speaking of those who “could not” work, but those who “would not” work.

In 2 Thessalonians 1, Paul gave thanks to God for the believers there, and called out God’s punishment on those who hurt them or spoke against them. 

In 2 Thessalonians 2, Paul started by telling them he had not sent a letter saying Jesus had already returned. This concern emphasized the Thessalonians preoccupation with Jesus’ return. While we must be ready for it, the best position to take is not to be preoccupied with Jesus’ return, but always living in such a way we will be ready when He comes Paul reminded those who were concerned, that Jesus wouldn’t return before the “man of lawlessness,” was revealed. Most biblical scholars, consider this man to be one and the same with the anti-Christ.

In 2 Thessalonians 3, Paul urges the believers to work diligently and to be found at work when the Lord returns. He reminded them how he had said that those who wouldn’t work ought not be able to eat. That reminds us of the importance of working if we are able. We aren’t to rely on others to provide for us, un less we can’t work, and then of course it is the responsibility of the believers to provide. As those who live in our current age of entitlement, here in America, it is a helpful reminder to be diligent in our work, so long as we can. In that way, we will be able to help others who need it, and when our time comes to need help, we will have brothers and sisters to help us!

As we return to Luke 5, Jesus called the first disciples. This account is extended in comparison with those of Matthew and Mark. Here we find Jesus intervening in the fishermen’s lives and helping them catch many fish. Peter’s response to the miracle was fear.  He told Jesus to leave because Peter saw himself as a sinful man. But Jesus’ response was, “Don’t be afraid…” Jesus saw Peter’s self-denigration as a sinner, as a revelation of Peter’s fear.  Jesus promised to take away the fear and make Peter and the others fishers of people.

Next, Jesus healed a man with leprosy, followed by healing a paralytic. Both of these miracles saw Jesus doing something that set Him apart from others. Jesus touched a leper, which ought to have made Him unclean. Instead, the leper became clean! Jesus forgave the paralytic’s sin, before healing his physical ailment. This rightly caused the religious leaders to notice. “Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” they asked. Good question. Jesus isGod, which is why He could take such action.

Jesus then called Levi or Matthew, the tax collector to follow Him. This cause Matthew to rejoice and throw a party at his house, to which he invited Jesus and all his “sinner” friends. The religious leaders couldn’t handle this, but Jesus reminded them the healthy don’t need a physician, but the sick. That’s why He had come to call the sinners, not the “righteous” to repentance. I put “righteous” in quotes, because none of us are righteous apart from the saving power of Jesus in our lives.

The chapter ends with Jesus having a discussion about fasting, and why His disciples didn’t fast, when the religious leaders and John’s disciples did. The short answer was Jesus’ presence meant a party was going on, and we don’t fast during parties!

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