Bible text: Judges 6, 1-24
The book of Judges describes a recurring cycle (the people turn away from God, are punished by God, at the low point they call out to God again, God appoints a judge and delivers the people from the hands of their enemies, but then they turn away from God again). This cycle is part of this devotion, but the prehistory is also briefly considered in a theater. We are ultimately concerned with why God repeatedly delivers them from the hand of their enemies.
Prehistory
* God makes two promises to Abraham
* The people of Israel are enslaved in Egypt
* God delivers the people of Israel from the hand of their enemies
* God gives the people the law
Getting started with theater
Many, many years ago there lived a man whose name was Abraham. (1st person plays Abraham.) He trusted in God and God gave him two promises. "Abraham!" he said, "I will make you the father of a great nation. Your children will be as numerous as the sands of the sea, as the stars in the sky." And God went on to promise him a fertile land - a land flowing with milk and honey. Many years passed and the people grew larger and larger. (2nd person symbolizes the people.) But what about the land? There must have been problems. The people ended up in Egypt and were enslaved and oppressed. (3rd person with whip represents the enslavement.) They had to do hard labor. But God is merciful and keeps his promise. He calls a man - his name was Moses. (4th person takes the other two) Through him, God freed his people Israel from slavery, you know, many cows died, frogs, hail, mosquitoes and similar nice plagues he thought up and let happen that prepared Pharaoh and the people could go. On the way, God gave them the law, which begins: "I am the LORD your God! I have brought you out of Egypt, I have freed you from slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. So God led them through the desert, the Red Sea and via several detours into the promised land.
The cycle in the Book of Judges
* The people do what displeases God
* God punishes his people for their disobedience and gives them into the hands of their enemies
* At their lowest point, they cry out to God
* God appoints a judge and delivers his people from the hands of their enemies
Main part
Once in the land, God deliberately left a few nations. He wanted to test the trust of his people. Now we are in the time of the judges. During this time, there was behavior that was constantly repeated. It is said several times: "But the people did what displeases God. What did they do specifically? They took women from the peoples who lived in that land and worshipped their gods. Do you remember which commandment God gave his people first? That's right: You shall have no other gods before me. What did God do in this situation? He gave them into the hands of their enemies. They ruled over them and oppressed them. Almost at rock bottom, the people cried out to God again and God heard them and appointed a judge. He had the task of freeing the people.
But as soon as they were helped, they turned away from God again. This was also the case in the story of Gideon. Even then, the people turned away from God again and did things that did not please him. That is why he gave them into the hands of their enemies for seven years, and they were not exactly squeamish. Whenever the Israelites sowed grain, the other peoples would march across the fields and destroy the entire harvest, as well as stealing all the livestock - sheep, goats, cattle and donkeys. The enemies were as numerous as locusts and the people became destitute.
We can already guess what happens. They cried out to God again. And God sent a prophet first. He said to them: "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel. I have freed you from slavery in Egypt and brought you here. I rescued you from the Egyptians and from the hands of all the nations that oppressed you. I drove these nations out of their land and gave it to you. And I said to you: Do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live But you did not listen to me."
They knew all this, they were told it over and over again. At the table they spoke of the miracles of God and yet they turned their backs on him again. Something fascinates me, namely that God is faithful to his promises. After all, he practically guaranteed Abraham that he would give his descendants this land. He does not abandon his people, who have turned their backs on him so often. This time he appoints Gideon as judge over the nations to free them from the hands of the other nations.
Gideon was threshing wheat - as we have already seen today. He was not doing this in his usual surroundings, but had first brought the wheat to safety from the Midianites. Then he was met by the angel of the LORD, or you could also say the messenger of the LORD. Gideon did not immediately recognize that he was talking to an angel. He said to him: "God with you, you brave warrior!" How would we have reacted to such a greeting? Would we have rejoiced? I mean, the people were oppressed and they were in a bad way. Gideon, for his part, was completely honest. He replied: "If God is with us, how could so much misfortune befall us? He brought us here from Egypt. Where have all his miracles gone? No, God has turned his back on us, he has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites!" But the LORD replied: "You are strong and courageous, Gideon. Go and rescue Israel from the hand of the Midianites. I am sending you!" Great, thought Gidieon. Why me of all people? His family was the smallest in his tribe and he was also the youngest of the family. He simply thought. I'll never manage that. How could he manage it? But the LORD said to him: "I will stand by you and you will defeat the Midianites in one fell swoop." And God gave him another clear sign. Gideon ran home and came back with some food. He put meat and bread on a rock. The angel touched it with the staff in his hand and fire burst out of the rock and distorted everything. This made it clear to Gideon that God was serious about what he was saying. And by then the angel was no longer there.
Practical part and final thoughts
Now to us: You know, God also makes us a promise. He promises us that he wants to save everyone who trusts Jesus with all their heart. At the end of the Gospel of John (one of the books in which the life of Jesus is reported in detail) it says almost at the end:
'What is recorded here has been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you may be saved in his name' (John 20:31).
This is the promise that God makes to us. He holds fast to this promise. There is nothing to shake about it.
We too have turned away from God time and again. Maybe we've had arguments with our siblings, maybe we've offended a schoolmate or work colleague, maybe we've lied and thought it was just a little white lie. None of us is perfect. We simply cannot claim that we are always pleasing to God. We also know this downward trend in life. We also know situations in which we have acted wrongly. Unfortunately, we know them all too well.
But God has patience with us, just as he had with his people who kept turning away from him. When people cried out to him, he helped them out of their distress.
The Bible says:
If we confess our sins, God proves himself faithful and just: he forgives us our sins and cleanses us from all the wrongs 'we have committed' (1 John 1:9).
You know, faithfulness always requires a promise. God has promised that he will forgive us through Jesus Christ, who died in our place for our sins, and he will do so unconditionally if we ask him. A simple prayer is enough to make peace with God. We can tell God everything we have done wrong. He is happy when we recognize our mistakes and want to live with him. That is why God is faithful and just, because he stands by his promises without ifs and buts. He forgives our guilt and cleanses us from all the wrongs we have committed. In other words, he frees us from the worst enemy of all. He frees us from the power of the devil or Satan, he frees us from guilt and sin and makes it possible for us to live with him.
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