Judges 1-2

1:3 - It is good to ask your brothers for help and to help them in return.

1:6 - When the Bible records that they cut off the thumbs and big toes it meant that the person would then have trouble picking up stuff and walking. It relegated people to being beggars who crawled around. It was a total act of humiliation.

1:19 - The enemies of Israel had superior technology (iron) and yet with God with them they had no trouble overtaking them. Technology and resources do not determine the outcome when God is with you.

There were a few times I picked up on the phrase the Lord was with them. This is highly significant. God didn't tell them what to do and then stand back. He was actively engaged with them while they carried out His commands. God is no less with us when we do what He calls us to. We need to remember that.

1:35 - I wonder what would have happened had the Israelites been more determined than the people in the land. I heard one man say that if the Israelites had been willing to come out of the foothills and take the good land that god offered them they would have had an even greater influence over the world at that time. Fear kept them in the foothills and it kept them from making the impact they could have made. What does fear keep us from influencing?

2:2 - Had the people disobeyed by making a covenant with another nation (yes the Gibeonites) and had they worship other gods and bowed down at their altars (yes). We can not follow God AND....and anything.

2:3 - God left some people in the land because of the Israelites disobedience. He didn't want it that way, but that is what their disobedience led to. What is in your life because you have not fully obeyed God that causes you grief?

2:7 - The people served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders... - We need to do all that we can to make sure that our ministry outlives our lives.

2:10-11 - After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals. - I want you to see a pattern here. The people didn't properly pass on their faith. They didn't teach and tell the stories of God's faithfulness. and since they didn't teach the younger generation what God had done and how He had been faithful those people walked away. Are you doing all that you should be doing right now to make sure to take about God and His faithfulness to your kids and to other kids? Will they know enough about how He has been faithful to trust Him themselves or will your lack of talking lead them to go find something else to worship? We are the bridge between our faith and whether faith will exist in the lives of those closest to us in the future. We have to talk about God's faithfulness or they will go looking somewhere else.

2:14 - Obedience grants god's favor which allows you to resist evil and overcome in life.

2:19 - more corrupt...They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways. = the Lord was very angry with them. What are you hanging onto that you refuse to give up? Do you know that it causes God to be angry with you? I think we think that because of Jesus God never gets upset with us. Our evil practices and our stubborn ways still anger God.

2:22 - Their punishment was that God would now leave the snares in the land that He initially had intended to remove. God had a great plan for their life, but their refusal to follow Him completely even when things got tough meant they would never experience it fully. They would get some of it, but not all. We need to decide if we are okay with some of it or if we want God's very best for our lives, family and community. If we want God's best for PW than we need to fully obey our God.

Love, Michael