Title: Israel's First Victory
Contents
2006. 12. 9. (Sat) Israel's first victory
Hymn of the Day / Chapter 135 on Mount Calvary
1. I stood on the cross on Mount Calvary, a sign of the Lord's suffering
2. My heart is drawn to the cross of the Lord, which is despised
3. I look at the blood that the Lord shed on the rough cross with faith, and the blood that the Lord shed to forgive me and forgive my sins
4. Until the day the Lord calls me to my hometown prepared by the Lord, I will always wear the crooked cross and be faithful to death.
[Refrain] I will love the cross of the Lord until I receive the final victory I will hold on to the rough cross until I receive the shining crown
Today's Word / Judges 1:1 - 8
After Joshua died (1:1-2)
1 After Joshua died, the children of Israel inquired of the LORD, saying, Who among us will go up first to fight the Canaanites?
2 Judah shall go up, saith the LORD; behold, I have given the land into her hand.
First Victory (1:3-8)
3 Then Judah said to his brother Simeon, "Come up with me to the land that I have lottered, and fight the Canaanites, and I will go with you to the land that you have lotted me with." So Simeon went with him.
4 And Judah went up, and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hands; and they killed ten thousand men in Bezek.
5 And he met Adoni Bezek at Bezek, and fought with him, and killed the Canaanites and the Perizzites.
6 When Adoni Bezek fled, they pursued him, seized him, and cut off the thumbs of his limbs.
7 Adoni Bezek said, "Once upon a time there were seventy kings with their thumbs cut off, and they found food under my table, and God has rewarded me for what I have done." And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.
8 And the children of Judah struck Jerusalem and took it, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and burned the city.
word of the day
After Joshua died (1:1-2)
Judges begins with “After the death of Joshua.” No matter how great a hero is, he cannot escape death. Joshua followed Moses and led the Israelites out of the wilderness into Canaan. He urged the people to renew the covenant at Shechem so that they would stand right before God, saying, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord, so choose whom you will serve.” In this way, Joshua, who had fulfilled his responsibility for the people of Israel, passed away. Now they ask God who will fight the Canaanites first. God made the tribe of Judah go up first, saying, “I have given the land into their hands” (verse 2). The battle has not yet begun, but victory has been promised. God promises us victory too. That is why we live with confidence in the future.
First Victory (1:3-8)
The tribe of Judah obeys the word of God. Anyone would have tried to do something easy and convenient, but this is a job with life as collateral. Nevertheless, Judas is willing to take the lead in the battle according to God's word. Judas also knows the value of partnership, so he asks his brother Simeon to go with him. As God had promised, “the Canaanites and the Perizzites were delivered into their hands” (v. 4). Among the Canaanites they defeated, the representative figure was Adonibezek. He was a war-maniac who captivated several kings and crippled their limbs. The tribe of Judah seized Adonibezek and cut off the thumbs of his limbs. Adonibesek then confesses that he is paying the price for the sins he has committed in the past. In this way, people do not realize their mistakes until they have experienced them.
today's meditation
A separate earner and a separate eater?
George Mueller was dedicated to helping those in need. He struggled to save the orphanage. At one time he wrote about orphanage ministry: “The funds are running out. We even had to sell everything we had as a reserve.” As Mueller and his co-workers were praying for the fourth day, a woman suddenly appeared at the door of the orphanage with a huge donation. She said she had been traveling around the area for the past four days. Mueller said: “The money had been near the orphanage four days ago. I realized that God was willing to help us from the beginning.”
Mueller's entire life was a series of testimonies of God's care. As he saw the invisible hand of God at work every day, he learned to trust Him more. One day Mueller told someone that the situation at the Bristol orphanage made it difficult to provide enough food to the children. Then the person said, "You seem like a person who earns a day's income." Mueller replied. "That's right. But it is me who eats, but God who earns.”
Throughout his life, Muller has not lost faith that God not only wants to take care of us, but that he actually takes care of each of us every day. Our prayers have already been answered, and our battle has already been won. Because God has decided to take care of us from the beginning.
- "God has fallen for me" / James Bryan Smith
today's prayer
Praise the Lord who gives us victory every day. Even if I fall, I don't fall very much because there is God's right arm who will raise me up again. May I have victory today by relying on Your power.
deeper contemplation
● God promised Israel's victory, and Israel believed in that promise. Do I have this kind of belief?
● When everyone is hesitating, what is the lesson for the tribe of Judah to go to war first according to God's word?