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1 Samuel 21:4 (ESV)

 

And the priest answered David, “I have no common bread on hand, but there is holy bread—if the young men have kept themselves from women.”

 

When David was running from King Saul, he stopped by for a little visit with Ahimelech, the priest. David left the priest with the sword of Goliath and some day-old show bread.

 

Something ran through my mind when reading this passage that has nothing to do with the intent of the text. Yet, this giving of the holy bread to David demonstrates a genuine difference between faith in the God of the Bible and other world religions. Both the priest and David understood that David could eat the show bread.

 

Why is that reality interesting to me? Back when I lived in Korea, I recall learning about a particular festival that occurred every year. Korean families would visit the graves of their ancestors and would leave out food. In other celebrations, the families would share a meal together, and they would set aside food for their ancestors. When asked if they later ate the food that had been set aside, the Koreans remarked that they would not eat that food, because all the nutrients would be gone. They believed that their relatives received nourishment from the food, even though the food did not disappear. [Note that this is one explanation I was given. I’m sure that other Korean families would present this ceremony in a different way.]

 

The beliefs of the Korean families about feeding their dead relatives is little different than the beliefs of many ancient religions. Worshipers of idols would often burn food offerings to their gods. In some sense, the people believed that they were feeding their deity.

 

So, what struck me in a new way this morning was the fact of the difference. Biblical believers have never believed that we feed our God. Ahimelech and David knew that the bread did not lose any of its nutritional value simply because it had been used in a religious ritual.

 

I know, this is not that profound. But, it interests me. God is bigger and greater than the gods of other religions. He is beyond needing anything from us. He would not ask us for food. He does not need our money or our help. He allows us to serve him for our good, not for his. And, one little reminder of this fact for me today is the fact that David could eat day-old show bread.

Romans 13:1-2

 

1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.

 

Here in the latter chapters of Romans, Paul offers instructions to believers about how to live as believers in this fallen world. He has already clearly explained the glories of the gospel, and now he focuses his readers on living in the light of that gospel.

 

In this section, he begins a brief discussion of how believers are to live in relation to the governmental authorities. Paul argues that God, sovereign over all, has put in place the rulers of the day. The apostle calls the Roman Christians to obey those authorities and to recognize the hand of God in the politics of the day. Later, he will call on them to give those in charge their due.

 

What strikes me, of course, is that it is not at all easy to obey and respect ungodly authority figures. It is easy to say that, while this obedience is the general rule, obviously God would want us to oppose and bring down leaders with whom we disagree. Yet, such would be illogical. Paul was living under some pretty corrupt rulers. He was writing to the church in Rome, where Caesar lived. While the timing of this letter makes it unlikely that Nero was on the throne, there is no doubt that Christians in Rome understood the government to be full of corrupt and perverse men. Adultery, politically motivated divorces, homosexuality, drunkenness, bribery, and violence marked these leaders throughout much of this period of history.

 

So, what do we do with Paul’s words? We understand that Paul completely understood what it was like to live as a Christian under hostile leadership. Paul knew what it was like to be governed by people who would have thought him to be insane for his beliefs. Paul knew what it was like to have to follow the rules set forth by men who many of us would not have ever wanted in our homes because of their violent, dishonest, and corrupt character.

 

But God tells us to obey the authorities over us, because those authorities have been put their under his sovereign design. This does not mean that God embraces or approves the evil actions of such men. However, throughout history, God has given nations people to rule them who properly represent the people. God has used even wicked rulers to accomplish greater plans. God has placed kings on thrones to bring about the rise of some nations and the fall of others. Our Lord’s ways are far beyond our ability to understand.

 

Thus, it is right for us, in even our messed up political environment, to understand that the Lord is in control. Whether you like one of the candidates for president or you plan not to vote for any of the corrupt options set before you, know that God is in control. As a believer, it will be your call to obey the laws of the land in which you live so long as those laws do not contradict the command of God. Part of what will make this difficult will be learning how to express opposition to immoral commandments while at the same time showing proper respect for the authority that God has given us. In this, we need wisdom and courage from the Lord to live as his followers in the middle of a corrupt nation, just as Paul needed the same in a very similar circumstance.

 

Lord, I would ask that you help your people to obey your command and to trust your sovereign will. You will give us the rulers that you intend. We will trust you that your kingdom will not fail because of kings, prime ministers, or presidents. We ask for mercy from you. We ask for men of character to lead our nations toward righteousness. Yet, we also grasp that the true hope for our nation is not in politics but in the gospel. Give us, I pray, the courage to live godly lives in the here and now. Give us wisdom to know what laws we can obey and when those laws so oppose your word that we cannot follow them. Grant us courage to live as aliens in a land not our own as we look for the coming of our Savior who will set right all that is wrong.   

Judges 18:14-20 (ESV)

 

14 Then the five men who had gone to scout out the country of Laish said to their brothers, “Do you know that in these houses there are an ephod, household gods, a carved image, and a metal image? Now therefore consider what you will do.” 15 And they turned aside there and came to the house of the young Levite, at the home of Micah, and asked him about his welfare. 16 Now the 600 men of the Danites, armed with their weapons of war, stood by the entrance of the gate. 17 And the five men who had gone to scout out the land went up and entered and took the carved image, the ephod, the household gods, and the metal image, while the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the 600 men armed with weapons of war. 18 And when these went into Micah’s house and took the carved image, the ephod, the household gods, and the metal image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” 19 And they said to him, “Keep quiet; put your hand on your mouth and come with us and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and clan in Israel?” 20 And the priest’s heart was glad. He took the ephod and the household gods and the carved image and went along with the people.

 

In this passage, we see something of the decline of Israel. The people of Dan are looking for a place to live, because they have not obeyed God and driven out the inhabitants of their assigned portion of land. While scouting out a place, the men of Dan discover that an Israelite man has a little pagan shrine in his home with an idol, ephod, and Levite serving as their godless priest.

 

Fascinating is the tension in the scene. The scouts say to the soldiers, “Now therefore consider what you will do.” The answer should have been violence against the Levite and Micah who had fashioned false gods and was corrupting the worship of the true God in Israel. That would have fit everything else happening in the Old Testament at that time. However, the answer was something different. Instead of opposing the blasphemy happening in Israel, the Danites decide that they would rather have the idols for themselves.

 

I suppose that this gets my attention this morning because it is such a clear picture of a people turning away from the Lord. How far must they have fallen to look at something clearly wrong and call it right? But, a look at Romans 1 shows us that such things happen to societies, and that is the judgment of God for the sinfulness of people.

 

Lord, I ask that you would protect me from the sinful desire to call right wrong and wrong right. Help me to follow your word. I understand that the failure of the men in this passage is not unique. I know that I could also easily decide that something that is clearly wrong is OK for me or that something that clearly is right is not necessary for me. Keep me, I pray, in your word and filled with your Spirit so that I might rightly recognize right and wrong and follow you faithfully. I also thank you for Jesus, who paid the penalty for all the times that I already have mixed up good and evil in my own heart.

Judges 14:2-3, 8-9

 

2 Then he came up and told his father and mother, “I saw one of the daughters of the Philistines at Timnah. Now get her for me as my wife.” 3 But his father and mother said to him, “Is there not a woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.” …

8 After some days he returned to take her. And he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey. 9 He scraped it out into his hands and went on, eating as he went. And he came to his father and mother and gave some to them, and they ate. But he did not tell them that he had scraped the honey from the carcass of the lion.

 

Samson wanted a Philistine wife. God, of course, had forbidden such an intermarriage. Yet, to Samson, it looked and felt right. It was what he wanted.

 

In the same chapter, Samson killed a lion. Later, he looked and found that bees had made honey in the carcass of the lion. Samson chose to eat that honey and to give it to his parents who were unaware of what was going on. Eating honey from a dead animal carcass would have clearly violated God’s laws relating to clean and unclean foods.

 

What do we see here? God has clear rules that he commands that we follow. In two instances, we see Samson disregard the rules of God simply because he wants to. Not only does Samson break the laws of God, he also drags his parents into his mess with him, corrupting those around him with his selfish sin.

 

Truly, this is a picture of our own sinfulness. When we sin against God, is it not because what we do seems right in our eyes at the time? We want what we want. What we want seems sweet and satisfying. We do not like that God would forbid anything from us. So, we break the law of God. Then, in order to satisfy ourselves more, we often drag others into our mess in order to feel better about our own failings.

 

The word of God is perfect. His law is worth far more than gold and his standards are sweeter than honey (cf. Psalm 19:10-11). Never is breaking the law of God OK. Never does it lead to satisfaction and joy. Never does it benefit us in the long run. Never can we strive against God and win.

 

Lord, the truth is, we are sinful people. It is so easy for me to decide that I want what I want and I will disobey your commands. I pray that you will work in my heart a love for your word so that I will not break it. I pray that you will put obstacles in my path when I would run to sin. I pray that you will convict me of sin and help me toward holiness. I ask for friends who will confront me when I fail and whose wisdom I will hear. Please do not let me get honey from a carcass and think it good. Thank you for your Holy Spirit to convict me and for the finished work of Jesus by which I am forgiven. 

Judges 13:22 (ESV)

 

And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, for we have seen God.”

 

When God came to Manoah and his wife to promise the coming of Samson, the couple had a very fascinating experience. It was a terrifying moment when they realized that they had been speaking directly to the angel of the Lord. In fact, as the verse above indicates, they feared that they would die.

 

As we study Scripture, we find that a fear of death is a proper and common fear when a person sees God. It happened to Daniel, Ezekiel, and Isaiah. Why? Something about being in the presence of the Holy One is enough to make us feel as though we will fly apart and be destroyed.

 

What caught my attention with this today is the fact that such a response to the presence of God seems out-of-place and almost silly to so many in our culture. Whether it be people who are part of churches or people who are fully opposed to the things of God, it seems that most people in our world cannot imagine feeling any fear of the Lord. To lack that fear, however, is to lack a proper understanding of the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man.

 

Lord, help me to better grasp your holiness so that I do not ever treat you with less reverence than you deserve.  

Judges 9:56-57

 

56 Thus God returned the evil of Abimelech, which he committed against his father in killing his seventy brothers. 57 And God also made all the evil of the men of Shechem return on their heads, and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.

 

In Judges 6-8, we see the story of Gideon. Many look at him as a hero, but we see in chapter 8 and in the life of his son that Gideon lacked character. In naming his son Abimelech, Gideon chose the name of a godless leader, just as Gideon himself became a godless leader after the victory over the Midianites.

 

Judges 9 shows us the rise of Abimelech to power. He violently destroys his brothers and uses evil men and deceptive and nasty tactics to become ruler.

 

Interestingly, the following parable is recorded in this chapter about the rise of Abimelech to power:

 

Judges 9:8-15

 

8 The trees once went out to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’ 9 But the olive tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my abundance, by which gods and men are honored, and go hold sway over the trees?’ 10 And the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and reign over us.’ 11 But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit and go hold sway over the trees?’ 12 And the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and reign over us.’ 13 But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my wine that cheers God and men and go hold sway over the trees?’ 14 Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us.’ 15 And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in good faith you are anointing me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade, but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’

 

The parable uses different kinds of trees as images for a ruler. The people could not get any sort of good and godly ruler to lead them. So, the people turn to a bramble, a harsh, nasty, and untrustworthy character, and they ask him to lead instead. This, of course is Abimelech.

 

A look at the rest of the chapter shows the consequences of the people following a man as leader who is nasty, immoral, and dangerous. Battles happen and people die.

 

Then, in the end of the chapter listed above, we find out that this all happened as a result of the judgment of God.

God judged the people for choosing a man without character to lead them. God also judged Abimelech, even though it appeared, for a time, that he was successful.

 

In observing this passage, we should first grasp that God is sovereign over all. God used Gideon and even Abimelech to accomplish his will. God was not surprised by the rise to power of these men, nor was he surprised by their lack of personal character, but he did use them to judge those who had already turned against him. God is mighty and able to accomplish his will in an amazing way, even if that way is one that people would never expect.

 

Also, of interest, is the danger that is clearly present when a people choose to follow a leader who lacks character. Such a choice by the people of a land indicates that the judgment of God is coming upon a people who are refusing to follow God’s ways. God can certainly judge such a people by giving them the kind of leader they deserve. Then, God can also judge that leader as a final display of his perfect justice.

 

Obviously, a look at this chapter rings in my mind because of where we are in the present election cycle in my country. The people of the USA are about to elect a leader. Is it possible that we have no strong trees left and are calling on brambles to lead us? Could it be that we are facing the judgment of God for our refusal as a people to obey his commands?

 

I must recall that God is in control. I must recognize that God’s judgment is a part of his sovereign will. I also know that God will always be right in how he handles the nation.

 

The truth is, our nation certainly deserves the judgment of God. Our morality as a people has disappeared in so many ways. Goodness, even if we were a basically moral nation, God has called all people everywhere to repent and to turn to Jesus for his mercy. We, as a nation, have been far from that for a long time.

 

I’ll not tell people how to vote. However, I will remind people that the character of a nation’s leaders matters. If we choose to support people without character, we are certainly bowing to the bramble and facing the judgment of God. And, if we are facing that judgment, it is right and God will be glorified through it.

 

Lord, I look at this season in our history, and I plead with you for mercy. We deserve your judgment. I ask that you would, instead of judging us, radically save our nation for your glory. I ask that you would turn people to Jesus and thus turn our desires away from sin and toward righteousness. Nevertheless, not my will but yours be done. I ask that, should it be your will to give our nation over to our sinful desires, that you will give your people the courage to stand in the face of persecution and be a true witness to the glory of Christ.

Judges 7:13-15

 

13 When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.” 14 And his comrade answered, “This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp.”

15 As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped. And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the Lord has given the host of Midian into your hand.”

 

When Israel was under the harsh domination of the Midianites, God raised up Gideon to deliver the people. But Gideon was afraid, lacking confidence that he was truly being sent by God. Just before the major battle, God allowed Gideon to overhear at Midianite soldier describe a horrifying dream that he had dreamt, a dream that showed Gideon that God was most certainly going to give Israel the victory.

 

The thought that catches my attention here is the sovereignty of God over an insurmountable circumstance. There is no way that a band of 300 soldiers should have been able to have an impact on the massive Midianite force. There is no way, unless God was working behind the scenes. What happened? God moved to strike fear into the Midianite army. All Gideon and his men had to do that night was to make a lot of noise and shine their torches; the Midianites and their God-given fear would take care of the fighting. When Gideon and his men woke up the Midianite army, they fought amongst themselves and God gave the victory.

 

God moves in ways we cannot imagine. God is sovereign, even over the fears and dreams of enemy armies. Though we often look at circumstances believing that we must be able to understand how they will work out, God shows us here that he is at work behind the scenes accomplishing his will in ways that we could not imagine.

 

Where might this come to bear? Perhaps there is a friend who seems unreachable with the gospel. God works behind the scenes and beyond our vision to accomplish what only he can do. Perhaps our government seems beyond hope. But God is bigger than Washington. Perhaps our families seem unsalvageable. God is able to move in hearts in ways that we could never predict,.

 

God, in this passage, wants for us to praise him for his amazing sovereign power. We should see that he is mighty to accomplish his plan, even if the world around us would call that plan impossible. This should give us courage to pray boldly and to live faithfully in the midst of a very dark-looking world. 

Psalm 60:11-12 (ESV)

11 Oh, grant us help against the foe,

for vain is the salvation of man!

12 With God we shall do valiantly;

it is he who will tread down our foes.

 

In this psalm, we see the prayer of a person in need. They know that there is no hope in their own strength. They cry out to the Lord, and they know that only in the working of God is their salvation.

 

This morning, I read a lot of gloom and doom in the social media posts of believers. Truthfully, I share in their feelings. It appears that the nation in which I live is making foolish choice after foolish choice. It is true that, in our nation, all forms of basic, common-sense morality have gone out the window. I cannot recall an election cycle where I was more personally disinterested in any of the candidates.

 

Yet, I recall, as the psalmist wrote, that our salvation, our victory, our protection is only in the Lord. Only God can accomplish his will in our nation. Only God can accomplish his will in my life. Only God, by his power, can build his kingdom. And God will, by his power, allow nations to rise and fall. My hope is only in him and his victory. And, by the grace of God and through the word of God, I know that this victory is assured.

 

Lord, I do not know what your plans are for me or for my nation. I often am tempted to despair of the nation ever turning to you and repenting of sin. Yet, I also know that you are Lord. Your right arm is strong and mighty to save. You can change the course of the nation. You can change the course of a life. I ask that you turn me from sin and to obedience. I ask that you turn my family and church from sin and toward obedience. I ask that you turn my city from sin and toward obedience. I ask that you turn this nation from sin and toward obedience. I acknowledge that only in your power is victory possible. I acknowledge that, should you will it, your victory is sure. Have mercy on us, o God, and display your glory.