The Pencil Message

It is wonderful to realise God knows what we need and is able and willing to meet our needs.  He has promised to provide for us, and sometimes we don't recognise what our needs are.  We might think God's provision of our needs depends upon us remembering to ask Him.  While it is true we do not have because we have not asked, God has freely provided our needs before we were born without us acknowledging Him at all!  He does more for us than we could ever ask or think.

I have been reading lately through the life of Gideon in the book of Judges.  Gideon was a bit incredulous God would choose him to be a deliverer of God's people from Midianite oppressors.  When the Angel of the LORD ascended to heaven, it confirmed God's call upon Gideon and strengthened his faith to take additional steps of obedience.  On two occasions Gideon asked God to confirm he was indeed the one to lead Israel into battle with a fleece, and God did.  Trusting in God, Gideon immediately took action to muster the men of Israel for battle.  After God instructed him to cull the fighting force to a meagre 300 men, God told Gideon to sneak down into the Midianite camp.  As he and his servant crept near to a tent, they heard men discussing a dream about a loaf of barley bread which tumbled down a hill and knocked a tent over.

Judges 7:14-15 says, "Then his companion answered and said, "This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel! Into his hand God has delivered Midian and the whole camp." ¹⁵ And so it was, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, that he worshipped. He returned to the camp of Israel, and said, "Arise, for the LORD has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand."  Gideon had not asked God for a sign, but God gave obedient Gideon a sign which prompted him to worship God.  Hearing the dream and interpretation from the tent of an enemy quickened Gideon to further trust God to arise and fight.  That very night God wrought a great deliverance in Israel, and helped Gideon every step of the way.  When God's people trust and obey Him, God will do marvellous things.

It is good to be reminded of God's calling upon our lives, especially when things are difficult.  God has used many people and situations to bring encouragement my way when I didn't realise I was discouraged.  Once God even used a simple pencil to encourage me!  Growing up in San Diego, I was introduced to golf in my later teen years by friends.  I became a junior member of Singing Hills Country Club and played super cheap golf almost weekly on the executive Pine Glen course.  It seemed to fall to me to organise tee times, and I called the Pro Shop all the time.  It has been about 20 years since I played on Pine Glen and moved to Australia about 7 years ago.  A while back I began to play golf more regularly.  I typically play early in the mornings and walk alone.  This is a great time for me to enjoy exercise, think about things, and pray.  I suppose I was feeling a bit low, and it was more than just my poor golfing!  As I walked up the 9th fairway and conversing with God, I saw a pencil laying on the turf.  Would you believe it was a pencil from my old home golf course (now called "Sycuan Golf Resort") in San Diego?

When I picked up the pencil on an Australian golf course in Windsor with wide eyes - engraved with the "619" area code and the familiar number - I had the overwhelming sense  God knew where I was, He had not forgotten me, I was not alone, and He would supply my needs.  To date it is the only pencil I have ever seen on a golf course in Australia.  The odds of me finding a pencil in Australia from a particular golf course in the United States are staggeringly long.  With God, odds are nothing.  Now the pencil serves as a little reminder on my office bookshelf, a wooden "Ebeneezer" of sorts, a testimony of our faithful God who calls, sends, provides for, and guides His people.  When I saw the writing on the pencil I worshipped God because He used it to speak comfort and peace to my heart.  Let us worship the LORD for His goodness, and for the love and grace He freely offers to all.

Lackey or Leader?

Yesterday I read a familiar text from the book of Judges 5, the narrative of when Jael dispatched general Sisera by hammering a tent peg through his head.  The children of Israel had been oppressed by the Canaanites for 20 years, but God raised up the prophetess Deborah and Barak to defeat their powerful enemies.  Sisera led 900 chariots of iron into battle against Israel, but God aided His people to an improbable victory and routed the Canaanites.  Sisera managed to escape the field of battle and Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite invited him into her tent.  The fleeing general thought he found a safe haven, for the relations between his king Jabin and the house of Heber the Kenite were good.

After she provided milk and a warm blanket Judges 4:20 says, "And he said to her, "Stand at the door of the tent, and if any man comes and inquires of you, and says, 'Is there any man here?' you shall say, 'No.'"  There is no explanation provided for what Jael did next.  She did not appear to be intimidated or afraid of Sisera, seeing she freely invited him into the tent.  Perhaps she had remained loyal to the children of Israel because Heber was a descendant of Jethro, the father-in-law to Moses.  Maybe she feared the God of Israel and decided all who waged war against His people were her enemies as well.  Though she had been tasked by Sisera to guard the door and lie about his whereabouts to throw his pursuers off the trail, Judges 4:21 simply says:  "Then Jael, Heber's wife, took a tent peg and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went down into the ground; for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died."  Jael then went out to Barak, told him she knew where Sisera was, and showed him the dead corpse.

In seeking to apply this passage to myself, I don't think an appropriate application is "Walk softly and carry a hammer and sharp tent peg."  What I do find compelling is how decisive Jael's actions were.  She was not overwhelmed or intimidated by the enemy general and was determined to bring his deceit upon his own head - quite literally.  She did not feel obligated to obey his request, and always knew in her heart where her loyalties lay.  There is no evidence of any internal conflict, no wavering at all in her plan of action.  She did not seem to worry of retribution from King Jabin or his army, though she lived in a tent without walls, gates, bars, or an army.  This woman was bold, courageous, and without fear.  She took the right course of action without hesitation.  In the Song of Deborah her bravery was lauded, recalling the depth of her commitment.  Judges 5:26 reads, "She stretched her hand to the tent peg, her right hand to the workmen's hammer; she pounded Sisera, she pierced his head, she split and struck through his temple."

The enemy Sisera wanted Jael to be his lackey, but she refused this role.  God delivered his enemy into the hands of a woman as prophesied in the previous chapter by Deborah.  Many who oppose God today are glad to have lackeys in the church, Christians who agree with their worldly perspective and try to influence others to go astray.  The point of application brought home to me from this narrative is I must be willing to take the lead as Jael did, to decisively take action based upon my loyalty to God and His Word.  Many are swayed by the fear of man, and may God's faithful followers not be numbered among them.  We are not called to violent action to achieve any aim, but to follow the example set by Christ to love and serve one another sacrificially.  Jesus was willing to be pierced so I and others could be saved and live forever.  We must take the lead in following Christ's example.  It is not Jael's deception I admire but her decisiveness, and may we be bold in our witness for God even if we are the ones who end up being skewered.

Our Mighty Weapons

"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. ⁴ For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, ⁵ casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, ⁶ and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled."

2 Corinthians 10:3-6

In the days of the judges in Israel, God allowed enemies of Israel to remain to test His people.  God wanted His people to know war, and the second generation of Israelites born in Canaan knew nothing of it (Judges 3:1-4).  It may seem a strange thing God would want His people to know war, but the way they were to fight was different from everyone else.  It was never about global domination, but possessing the land allotted by God for them.  Since God promised to fight for His people, the way to victory was found in seeking God and obedience to Him.  The walls of Jericho were not breached by elaborate war machines or the ingenuity of men, but through faith and obedience to God.  David defeated the giant of Gath not with a sword or spear but faith in God and willingness to meet the one who defied God with a sling and stone picked up from a brook on the way.  It was God - not Israel's great military might or weaponry - who caused terror to fall upon the enemies of Israel and turned their swords upon one another.  The children of Israel needed to know how to battle trusting God as they remained obedient to Him.

I believe people who comprise the true church of Jesus Christ today find themselves in a similar position as the second generation born in Canaan.  Though countless believers in the world today suffer oppression and persecution for their faith in Christ, there are many Christians who remain unfamiliar with war.  There are battles in our own lives we do not know how to fight, and we look with concern at the mighty cultural forces rising in society which furiously oppose God.  The great temptation Christians face is the one the children of Israel needed to learn to avoid, the seeking and reliance upon worldly means to achieve "victory."  There is a temptation to launch campaigns against those who oppose biblical morality, to leverage media to spread the word, to contribute financially to activists, labour for political sway, and push legislation to protect ourselves and interests.  This only scratches the surface of the carnal (fleshly, temporal) weapons people use in the world to get their way.  I am not claiming any of these approaches are wrong in themselves, but they are all wrong if they are substitutes for faith in God and obedience to His Word.

Paul understood this very well.  He lived in a degenerate culture filled with political intrigue, scandalous sin, and the rife persecution of Christians.  There was undoubtedly a temptation for Christians to use the very means those in the world employed so effectively.  But Paul realised the way a Christian deals with conflict is to be completely different from the world, for our God fights our battles.  Our battle is not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers, demonic forces which incessantly labour out of sight to oppose God and destroy His people (Ephesians 6:12).  The conflict we face is primarily a spiritual one.  The only way we can learn to fight and prevail against the onslaught of our enemy (which again are not governments, worldviews, or people but are satanic) is to use the mighty weapons God has provided to pull down strongholds, cast down arguments which oppose God, bring thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ, and maintain the righteous integrity of the church.

God has given Christians the indwelling Holy Spirit who girds us with armour and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.  Prayer is a primary means of rightly fighting the war which rages around us today.  Ephesians 6:18 exhorts us to be "...praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints..."  Instead of praying to carnal ends, according to sight or our fleshly desires, we are to pray according to the will of God revealed in scripture.  IF we believe in the power of our God and the effectiveness of the mighty weapons He has provided, we will make constant use of them.  Worldly weapons have limitations:  there are only so many rounds in a clip, effectiveness of firearms depends upon the aim of the shooter, and a blunted blade is ineffective.  Those who kill with the sword can also die by the sword.  Those who trust in the LORD find themselves eternally victorious even if it seems we are "losing" a culture war.  Fighting a culture war according to the culture is a losing proposition, but the victory of Christ through faith cannot be stripped away - even by Satan himself.

The battle is the LORD's, and this is not a call to careless passivity:  we have received our orders from the Most High, and we are called to fight His battle His way.  Instead of wringing our hands about the state of things, taking up worldly weapons to do battle, or digging in underground with the hope of remaining hidden, God wants us to learn of war so we might walk in victory and freedom.  We can pray like we have already won because God already has.  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 is a fitting exhortation:  "Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."  In the joy of the LORD is our strength.

A Familiar Flavour

Even as we use our senses to discern if food is suitable for eating, so we must be watchful concerning Bible teaching.  Elihu said in Job 34:2-4, "Hear my words, you wise men; give ear to me, you who have knowledge. ³ For the ear tests words as the palate tastes food. ⁴ Let us choose justice for ourselves; let us know among ourselves what is good."  There are foods which looked questionable to me because they were unfamiliar, but when I tried them I agreed they were delicious.  There have also been times when I realised the taste of a familiar food was quite off!  As Christians in this world, there will be unsound teaching which is passed off as biblical the discerning believer will find unpalatable and should reject.  We should not be skeptical or cynical based on appearance alone, but we should be as the noble people of Berea who are described as receiving the Word with readiness of mind and searched the scriptures daily to see if the claims Paul and Silas were valid (Acts 17:11).  And this is the point:  people should not preach themselves or their opinions, but endeavour to preach the Word of God.

As children of God filled with the Holy Spirit who guides us into all truth, we can discern truth from error.  Seminary degrees have their merit, but they are no substitute for the indwelling presence of God.  Just because a man is revered as a Greek scholar does not mean he is infallible, and some who claim to be filled with the Holy Spirit are full of nonsense.  The Word of God, the Bible, is a indispensable beacon of divine light, a revelation of God's truth He has placed above His own name.  We do not worship the scriptures, but the scriptures reveal the God who inspired them and our Saviour who is worthy of all worship.  People usually are playing a sort of game when they tell you to close your eyes and taste food, and no child of God ought to blindly swallow down whatever is offered to them.

How can we know what is sound teaching?  By using scripture to interpret scripture.  The study of scripture can be a very complex process, but it is understood easily enough by those who have faith in God and a hunger to know and do the truth.  Jesus spoke many parables which remained unsolvable mysteries to unbelievers, but they were designed to reveal spiritual truth to those who believed.  Knowledge of scripture helps us to know when teaching diverts from it - even for a moment.  God is able to even use dubious interpretations of men to lead men to discovering the truth.  One of my favourite examples of this is in the Daily Bread devotional titled, "The Oyster Man."  God's grace is no excuse to justify wilful ignorance, but God's Word preached even by unlearned men has power to impact people for eternity.

Paul exhorted Timothy in light of the deceivers in the world to "Preach the Word!"  We live in a day where many people will not submit to sound doctrine but have turned aside to fables, emotionally stirring vignettes, and worldly wisdom.  The way we avoid error is to keep ourselves aligned with the scriptures.  We should be familiar with the Bible as we are with the taste of salt.  We know when food is savoury, and know when it needs salt.  Whenever I cook dinner and the result is a little different than normal, my wife and kids always know.  I can't slip a half teaspoon of chilli or curry powder into lentil soup without notice, and we should notice when a preacher veers from the truth of the Bible.  If the flavour is a bit off, ask questions and dig into the Bible.  Let us put into practice the truth of God's Word, searching the scriptures to confirm what is preached.