When Enough is Enough

The infamous tragedy of the Levite and his concubine recorded in Judges 19 was a wake-up call that united the nation to stamp out the abominable conduct of Benjamites in Gibeah.  The gang-rape and murder of the concubine by men of Gibeah was savage, and when the Levite posted her corpse in pieces throughout the tribes the whole nation took notice and united to take decisive action.  Such a shocking thing had not been done or even heard of before, and when the Levite sent notices with decomposing body parts of his concubine to all the tribes it illustrated the sinful rot in the nation that literally was slaughtering their citizens.

I do not believe the Benjamites or those in Gibeah were worse than any other tribe in Israel, for many times the book of Judges explains how in those days every man did what was right in his own eyes.  Because mankind is naturally sinful, what happened during that fateful night in Gibeah was just a small sample of how wickedness had corrupted the nation.  God used the incident to galvanise and unite Israel to stamp out the guilty and take a look in the mirror.  It was easy for the other tribes to find fault in the Benjamites and condemn them for their conduct, but it would take a miracle to erode the tribalism and self-righteousness that ignored the faults of their own people within the borders of their inheritance.

In the parable Jesus told of the prodigal son, the young man was corrupted by pride, selfishness and ingratitude long before he demanded his inheritance from his father and wasted it all on profligate living.  While the prodigal was boozing and carousing he was incapable of seeing his own wretchedness.  It was not until he found himself feeding pigs and coveting their slop he realised how far he had wandered from the favour of his father's house enjoyed even by servants.  It was in that moment he came to himself and decided to take action to rectify the ruin he welcomed into his life by his foolish choices.  The killing of the concubine brought the nation of Israel to a crossroads where they finally decided to take action against those who did wickedly--even at great personal cost.

The historical account of Judges 19 and the parable of the prodigal Jesus both describe occasions when people said, "Enough is enough."  It was not sufficient to grieve, become angry or speak strongly against evil but practical action needed to be taken:  the nation mustered to fight against Gibeah, and the prodigal son left the pigs and went home to humbly beg for a servant's position because he had been an unworthy son.  In both these cases God used circumstances to prompt his people to be confronted with their own sinfulness and need for repentance.  These passages show how subtlety we can slide into sin and often it requires extreme and shocking circumstances for us to be moved to challenge and overthrow the sinful status quo we have long accepted as part of life.

Praise the LORD He delights to restore the repentant soul, and His ears are open to our cries.  As it is written in Psalm 34:15-19:  "The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry. ¹⁶ The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. ¹⁷ The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. ¹⁸ The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit. ¹⁹ Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all."  With our great God the hopeless have an everlasting expectation of good that cannot be cut off.

All Our Ways

One thing I appreciate about the Bible is how true to life it is in the depiction of human character.  While every person has a unique genetic makeup and personality, there is much we naturally share in common because we are of the same kind.  There are aspects of humanity that are as predictable as the force of gravity on earth, like being focused on ourselves.  We want to do what we think is best for ourselves and benefits us the most.  "Looking out for number 1" is a maxim most people live by without ever being taught or taking a course.

This self-focused perspective was demonstrated by the men of Dan when they travelled to the house of Micah and spoke with the priest he made for himself--in the hope the LORD would do him good.  Judges 18:5 says in the KJV, "And they said unto him, Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous."  The men did not ask counsel of God for guidance but wanted assurance their way would be prosperous.  They were not interested in being told what to do by the priest or even by God.  They were going their own way with the aim to benefit and enrich themselves, and they were pleased to have God's guarantee or stamp of approval.  Without hesitation the imposter priest told them to go in peace, for it pleased him to please men.  Working for Micah was how the priest sought to benefit himself in a self-serving household and world.

It is important to realise that after being born again by faith in Jesus we can retain this humanistic, selfish approach to life.  Instead of seeking to please the LORD, to seek to know Him and His ways that are not our ways, we may assume God is obligated to bring blessing and prosperity on our ways.  We imagine we know what success and prosperity looks like for us, and we are pleased to use God's help (if needed!) to achieve our goals.  We can desire and seek after prosperity or assurance of success when we have not sought the LORD God as our Master we are called to serve and obey.  In stark contrast to human nature, Proverbs 3:5-6 explains God's plan for our lives:  "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."  Faith in God leads in obedience and submission to God in all our ways.

Because God has given man understanding, knowledge and capacity to make judgments, we naturally tend to rely upon our own ways and thoughts.  Our flesh is pleased in a world where we live as God, a life where God bows to our desires and serves us, where we make choices autonomously and have no need to change for anyone or anything--whilst enjoying success and prosperity at every turn.  God's word reveals this personal utopia to be a foolish fantasy and hellscape in Proverbs 14:12:  "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death."  Proverbs 12:15 also says, "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise."  Let us not be as the men of Dan, imagining God approved of their ways and would bring success without seeking God to be guided by faith in God and His wise ways.  May we trust in the LORD with our hearts and in all our ways acknowledge Him by heeding His divine guidance to walk in His ways.

Man's Precious Possession

"The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting, but diligence is man's precious possession."

Proverbs 12:27

What incredible, divine insight this verse provides!  I imagine if most people were given three chances to name a precious possession of mankind, diligence would not even be a consideration.  Health, wealth, security, love, friends, peace and prosperity would likely be chosen over plodding, dull and monotonous diligence.  God created mankind in His own image, that we would have a mind not only to start tasks but to see them to completion.

The verse begins by saying, "The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting."  We must understand the "lazy man" identified here would likely be seen by others as a go-getter and a dedicated worker.  In Solomon's day (and to this day) people hunted primarily to obtain food for themselves and their family.  Hunting required waking early and sometimes travelling great distances to scout and track prey.  It meant making or buying weapons, sharpening arrows and blades, developing skill to use them effectively, and physical exertion to chase and kill an animal.  After an animal was killed, it needed to be skinned and dressed before cooking.  Imagine being hungry and deciding to go hunting, to wake up and rise before dawn, endure the elements, to find and kill prey--and then stop short of roasting and eating!  Neglect to roast the meat sourced during a hunt undermined the primary purpose for hunting in the first place.

In contrast to the lazy man who does not roast what he took in hunting, the diligent man sees the task done from start to finish.  Diligence is man's precious possession, for such a one endures the hunt and concludes with food for himself and his family.  Proverbs 13:4 says, "The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; but the soul of the diligent shall be made rich."  The difference between the lazy and the diligent is the diligent puts forth constructive effort that accomplishes much.  The diligent implements their plans and sees them through as it says in Proverbs 21:5:  "The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, but those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty."  The hasty and lazy may put forth strong effort, but because they do not have a plan brought to completion they end up lacking and losing.

Diligence is man's precious possession.  It is a good thing to consider personally:  what am I hunting for?  Do I have plans I began to implement but have left unfinished?  God has given us the precious possession of beginning beneficial tasks we can bring to completion through His wisdom, guidance and strength.  Day by day, step by step, faithfulness to labour in what is good will provide great rewards that eclipse the enjoyable satisfaction of a job well-done, for our souls and character are greatly enriched in the process by faith and obedience to our LORD.

Strength of Samson

Samson was a man who, by faith in God, stopped the mouth of a lion, waxed valiant in battle, and out of weakness was made strong.  As I observe the life of Samson in the book of Judges, the majority of the time it seems he took the supernatural strength provided by the Holy Spirit for granted.  Without uttering a prayer or making a request to God, the Holy Spirit came mightily upon him, his bonds put up the resistance of ash, and he defeated numerous Philistines.  After he was made weak as any other man, he cried out to God who remembered and strengthened him to fulfil God's purpose to wreak havoc on the Philistines who oppressed Israel.

God's plan and purposes for Samson were revealed when he sought a wife of the Philistines--much to the dismay of his God-fearing parents.  Judges 14:4 says, "But his father and mother did not know that it was of the LORD--that He was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines. For at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel."  For 20 years Samson judged Israel and terrorised the Philistines with his great strength provided by God's grace.  The life of Samson is often criticised for his lack of morality because the Bible presents an unvarnished account of his going into a harlot in Gaza, living with a lover Delilah while unmarried and taking vengeance on the Philistines.  While sin is never justified, Samson's faith in the LORD God is commendable and ought to be emulated.

After much pestering, Samson revealed the secret of his strength to be his hair which had not been cut from his birth in obedience to the LORD.  Delilah betrayed him into the hands of the Philistines by having Samson shaved while he slept.  His hair, however, was not his true source of strength:  it was the Holy Spirit who had strengthened Samson during his life.  When his hair was cut, Samson did not realise the Holy Spirit departed from him.  It is God who is to be praised for the strength and marvelous exploits of Samson--despite his moral failings.  God ought to be glorified for using a crude implement to supply a miraculous deliverance for His people.  After his capture, Samson cried out to God for strength once more to be avenged on his enemies for His eyes, and God graciously did this to fulfil his designs for Samson's life.

Faith in God is what our LORD God requires of us, and our faith ought to be shown by obedience to Him.  We might assume it is God's will for us to walk in victory over evil in this world, yet victory springs from our faith God.  That is how Samson prevailed over the Philistines with foxes, the jawbone of a donkey, and by collapsing the temple of Dagon by muscling up on the supporting pillars:  faith in God.  We can make victory our aim when God desires we would exercise faith in Him.  Walking in victory is the result of faith, for without faith in God we are weak as the most pathetic.  In recognition of our chronic weakness, it is faith in God that makes us strong to endure and prevail--even if it is the last thing we do.