Pastor’s Bible Reading Schedule: Judges 1-3
Devotional Thought:
“And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel.” (Judges 2:7) Joshua was a great leader for Israel. He taught them to fear the Lord, to trust the Lord, and to obey the Lord; however, after his death there arose a generation that had not been taught what God had done for Israel. I fear we may be facing the same thing in America today. We have a generation that does not know how God has blessed America, and what it was about America that He chose to bless. We have a generation that does not even know our true history, and they certainly are not being introduced to our God. In the book of Judges we find a nation that demonstrates the humanistic tendencies of our flesh when we are ignorant, willfully or otherwise, of God and His program. In chapter one, some of the worldly influences are driven out and others are not. In chapter two, the angel of the Lord reminds the children of Israel of God’s commandments and His promises. “And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?” (2:2) The children of Israel certainly knew God’s plan for them was to drive out the inhabitants of the land. They certainly had been warned about the dangers of allowing the influence of the world into their families. However, we find in verse 10, “… there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.” The book of Judges reminds me of a principle throughout scripture. God demands personal responsibility from people. God provides the knowledge, the strength, and the grace necessary for us to obey, but God does not obey for us. God was clear to the children of Israel that He would not do their job for them. “I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died: That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not.” (vs. 21-22) May I remind you that God will not flee youthful lust for you, He will not put on the whole armor of God for you, He will not read your Bible for you, and He will not witness to your neighbors, friends, and family for you. God is not going to discipline your thinking for you or drive out your temptations, but rather He uses them to prove whether we will “keep the way of the Lord to walk therein.” May we be warned today of the danger of allowing evil influences into our lives by not putting on the Lord Jesus and making provision for our flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof. (Romans 13:14)
Personal Requests:
• Lord, please help me to be honest with my weaknesses and may I allow the Spirit of God to control my decisions so that I will not make provision for my flesh.
• Lord, please help me to be obedient regarding the temptations that I am susceptible to in my life and that will derail me spiritually if I do not drive them out.
• Lord, thank you for your promised grace and the victory that is mine if I will simply trust and obey.