How bad can things get? (Judges 4-6, Luke 21)

God’s people had turned away from Him again, so God handed them over to the Canaanites who oppressed them for 20 years, then God gave them rescue through very unlikely rescuer and means, a woman and a tent peg (see Judges 4-5).

Surely God’s people would learn not to turn away from Him after this? Sadly not, in Judges 6 we see the cycles again, they turn away from the Lord and God hands them over to the Midianites. For 7 years, Israel tried to plant crops and rear livestock, but then raiders would come from the East and take everything. Israel were brought so low that they cried out to the Lord. It was a severe mercy, for as the psalmist says, “before I was afflicted I went astray” (psalm 119:67). Sometimes the Lord brings severe trials to bring us back to Him.

After they cried out to the Lord, God raised up an unusual and weak looking rescuer. Gideon admits to being from the weakest clan, and that he is the weakest in his father’s house. But this is God’s way, to uses the seemingly weak and foolish to shame the powerful and wise, it’s the same today, a message of a crucified saviour looks so weak and insignificant, but it is the power of God to save!

God is going to use Gideon’s weakness to bring down the mighty, and God will reduce Gideon’s army so that it is clear where the victory came from.

And what about Gideon’s fleece?! Sometimes people talk about laying a fleece to try and discern God’s will. But the point with Gideon is that God has already told Gideon that He will save Israel through him. He should not have out the Lord his God to test, He should have simply taken God at His word. Nevertheless God graciously allows Gideon to perform his test with the fleece to reassure Gideon. God’s will is normally very clear, He’s given us His Word, and He calls us to obey. If there’s a decision that you have to make and both options are honouring to God, then we should pray for wisdom, but should not fret over which decision to take. God has told us what is important and gives us freedom to live within His commands.

In our reading from Luke 21 Jesus tells us that things will get really bad before He returns, but He tells us what to do, He calls us to watch ourselves, to stay alert, but not to allow ourselves to get weighed down with the worries if this world.

So as you see things looking bad, we shouldn’t be surprised, but we should keep going with Jesus, and urge others to follow Him all the more as we see the day approaching. (Hebrews 10:25).