Feasting on God's Word (One Year Bible)

“Every man did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). This sad situation is with us still. May God give us grace to pray, “Not my will, but Thine be done” (Matthew 26:42).

“If the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?” (Judges 6:13). God has spoken words of encouragement: “the Lord is with you, brave man” (Judges 6:12). Things were not going well. Gideon was having doubts about God: “now the Lord has abandoned us” (Judges 6:13). God was quick to reassure Gideon: “You will rescue Israel … I am sending you” (Judges 6:14). Gideon moved from the ‘why’ question to the ‘how’ question: “How can I rescue Israel?” (Judges 6:15). God’s answer is still the same: “I will be with you” (Judges 6:16).

The book of Joshua speaks of a high-point in the history of God’s people, Israel. By faith, they took possession of the land which the Lord had provided for them. The book of Judges tells of the downward slope - “ ... The people of Israel did what the Lord considered evil ... “ (Judges 2:10-15). Although this was a bad time in the history of Israel, there was also some encouragement - “Then the Lord would send judges to rescue them from those who robbed them” (Judges 2:16). Sadly, the people wouldn’t listen to the judges (Judges 2:17-19). There were difficult times ahead for the people of Israel. The Lord allowed the nations to remain in the land. This was His way of testing His people (Judges 2:20-23). In the book of Judges, we see both sin and salvation - “The people of Israel did what the Lord considered evil” (Judges 3:7,12); “Then the people of Israel dried out to the Lord for help” (Judges 3:9,15); “The Lord sent a saviour to rescue them” (Judges 3:9,15). Viewed...

Judges 1:1-2:5 When things are going well, help us, Lord, to thank You. When things are going badly, help us to trust You. Judges 2:6-3:11 Sometimes, Lord, You say to us, “This is the way, walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21). Sometimes, You say to us, “This is not the way. Do not walk in it.” Help us, Lord, to walk in Your way –  and not in the way of the world. Judges 4:1-5:11 Lord, may there be less trying to get our own way – and more walking in Your way. Judges 6:11-7:14 We are weak. You are strong. Teach us, Lord, to look beyond our weakness to Your strength. Judges 7:15-8:35 We find it so easy, Lord, to forget You and all that You have done for us. We feel the pull of the world – drawing us back to what we were before we met You, drawing us away from all that You are calling us to become. Give us grace, Lord, to remember You, to rejoice in You, and to be renewed by You. Judges 9:1-49 Lord, there are two ways of living – the self-centred way and the God-centred...

Judges 1:1-2:5 When things are going well, help us, Lord, to thank You. When things are going badly, help us to trust You.

Judges 9:50-11:11 You call us, Lord, to get real with You, to mean what we say. We're not to say one thing, and do something else. We say, I will follow You, Lord." Help us to remember what we have said - and help us to remember what Jesus said, "I am with you always" (Matthew 28:20).

Judges 6:11-7:14 We are weak. You are strong. Teach us, Lord, to look beyond our weakness to Your strength.

Judges 13:1-14:9 Lord, may our lives be an echo of the words of Jesus: "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me ... " (Luke 4:18-19). We look at what we are, and we ask, "How can we become more like Jesus?" It begins with the death of Jesus - "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). It continues with the gift of the Holy Spirit - "the Holy Spirit has been given to us" (Romans 5:5). we look at Jesus, our Saviour. We look at the Holy Spirit. What do we see? We see Your love(Romans 5:8 and Romans 5:5). It's Your love that changes us. It's Your love that makes us more like Jesus.

Judges 9:1-49 Lord, there are two ways of living - the self-centred way and the God-centred way. Show us, Lord, that Your way is always the best way.

Judges 20:1-28 Even when we get ourselves into a right mess, You're still in control. You are Lord. Nothing changes that. we wonder, "Can things be turned around?" You say to us, "Yes. They can." You say to us, "It's not all about you. I am there with you. I have never left you. I'm not going to leave you now. Trust Me. Let My love give you the strength that you need to keep on going, when the going gets tough."

Judges 4:1-5:11 Lord, may there be less trying to get our own way - and more walking in Your way.

Judges 2:6-3:11 Sometimes, Lord, You say to us, "This is the way, walk in it" (Isaiah 30:21). Sometimes, You say to us, "This is not the way. Do not walk in it." Help us, Lord, to walk in Your way -  and not in the way of the world.

Judges 7:15-8:35 We find it so easy, Lord, to forget You and all that You have done for us. We feel the pull of the world - drawing us back to what we were before we met You, drawing us away from all that You are calling us to become. Give us grace, Lord, to remember You, to rejoice in You, and to be renewed by You.

Judges 11:12-12:15 Lord, we don't go out looking for problems - but, sometimes, we can't avoid them. Help us, Lord, to turn obstacles into opportunities. When we're on the verge of collapse, may Your grace lead us on to spiritual growth.

Judges 14:10-16:3 Lord, we thank You that our lives are not controlled by what we are. They are transformed by what You are. We are sinners. You are the God of grace, Shall our sin triumph over Your grace? - "God forbid!" (Romans 6:1-2). "Sin shall not have dominion over us" (Romans 6:14). Your grace has brought us forgiveness. May it also bring us renewal: "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23).

Judges 16:4-31 Lord, we find ourselves somewhere between tragedy and triumph. We look at ourselves - and we see our potential for tragedy. When we forget about You, we're like a runaway train - out of control and heading for a big crash. When, Lord, You take control, everything changes. You turn things around. You set us on the road to triumph: "Thanks be to God who always leads us to triumph in Christ" (2 Corinthians 2:14).

Judges 20:29-21:25 Lord, we read in Your Word that "every man did what was right in his own eyes" (Judges 21:25) - and it seems like we are reading a description of today's world. We look around us, and we see so little love for You. Your Son is "despised and rejected by men" (Isaiah 53:3). Our Saviour is "ignored" (Hebrews 2:3). We seem to hear nothing but bad news. Is there any good news? Do You have something to say to us - something to lift us out of our darkness and into Your light? we thank You, Lord, that there is Good News - Jesus is "the Light of the world" (John 8:12). Help us, Lord, to pray that the light of Jesus will shine more brightly in our world. Help us to pray for revival - and help us to begin with ourselves: "O Holy Ghost, revival comes from Thee. Send a revival. Start the work in me" (J. Edwin Orr, "Search me, O God").

Judges 18:14-19:30 Help us, Lord, to "be still, and know that You are God" (Psalm 46:10) - but help us not to remain silent when we should be speaking up for You: "If you confess with your mouth , 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9).

Judges 17:1-18:13 Lord, it's not easy to keep on praying, "Your will be done." Our will gets in the way. We start thinking about what we want - and we forget about what You want. We try to get the best of both worlds - pleasing You and pleasing ourselves. We become "lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God" (2 Timothy 3:4). Help us to become more like Jesus; "I seek not My own will but the will of Him who sent Me" (John 5:30).

Things were going from bad to worse!  The people of Israel had forgotten ‘the Lord their God’ ( Judges 8:34 ).  ‘The enemy’ was ready to ‘come in like a flood’ ( Isaiah 59:19 ).  Abimelech - Gideon’s son by ‘his concubine who was in Shechem’ ( Judges 8:31 ) - was very unlike his father.  Gideon had pointed away from himself to the Lord ( Judges 8:23 ).  Abimelech was eager to draw attention to himself.  He murdered his seventy brothers, paving the way for himself to become king ( Judges 9:1-6 ).  Abimelech spelt trouble!  Things were only going to get worse with Abimelech.  There was ‘an evil spirit’ at work among God’s people ( Judges 9:23 ).  Where was God in all this? - ‘Since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a base mind and to improper conduct’ ( Romans 1:28 ).  What kind of person are you becoming?  Each of us must choose!