Gideon is no hero but a man who was afraid, and also had a real fear of man. But this text is persuading us that no matter how weak, limited and sinful we are, we have no ability to overcome God’s grace. God’s grace extends even to those who are weak.
We often struggle to read and feel poetry. But it is important for us to understand and feel from this song because this is a part of God’s word. This is a song that is also meant to be sung and internalise.
This is not a text that is strictly speaking about gender roles. However, Deborah is often cited as an example of what godly women should aspire to be. Some say that godly women should aspire to lead, be a prophetess and speak a word of authority like Deborah. But is this so?
Deborah is given as a model, but not of these things.
This is a text that is about God. We are not to find ourselves as the primary actors in this narrative. Rather, we are supposed to see that God is the hero of the story. God’s people find themselves falling into sin and oppression as a result of their rebellion, and God saves them. They are like sheep that go astray and God the Good Shepherd must save them once again.
How is the book of Judges designed? We begin by reading of how Joshua led the people in the Promised Land and as they entered, the reader should have in mind how God’s people finally entered God’s Promised Land under God’s leader with God’s presence. It may seem like everything will now be restored but we also read of how Israel does not fully possess the land as they allow some of the inhabitants of the land to remain there.
God begins to raise up judges – heroes raised by God to save His people. From Judges 3:7, the introduction of the book is now over and we begin to read of the individual stories of the judges. In this study, we will try to see what we can learn from these men.
In Judges 1, we read of the tribes of Israel resuming the conquest of Canaan after the death of their leader, Joshua. We saw things seeming to work out well on the surface, with Israel taking possession of some of the lands. But as we looked closer, we saw Israel’s disobedience and failure to trust in God’s promise to deliver, resulting in their failed conquest and God’s curse that they will not drive out the inhabitants of the land.
The narrative restarts, and we have a second introduction to Judges. The focus shifts from Israel’s military campaign, to the state of their relationship with God and the cyclical pattern that recurs throughout the book of Judges. The text ends just before the introduction of the first three judges.
In Judges, the people repeatedly rebelled, turn away from God, God is angered and allows the enemies to oppress them; the people cry out; God raises a judge to deliver them; there is peace and the pattern repeats itself.
And it gets worse each time. It is a dark book about how the people of God repeatedly turn away from Him and sin.
We also see repeatedly how this God is a holy God who loves His people. He graciously and repeatedly raises a judge each time to save His people. This is a tension that is repeated raised and not resolved in the judges, not when they get a king and is only resolved when Christ comes.
We come to the end of our series on the church and in this session we are to understand something about the kingdom of heaven and sin.
Jesus declares clearly in Matthew 16:18 that He will build His church. This is something that He is committed to doing.
We have been seeing how Jesus came and declared that the kingdom has now come. The kingdom of heaven is not an abstract idea but is something that one can enter into. Baptism is the sign of entering this kingdom.
The church is not built on a personal relationship with Jesus nor is it on a moral life though both are important. The foundation of the church is the teaching of the apostles, found in the New Testament.
Matthew is about the invasion of the heavenly kingdom onto earthly kingdoms.
In this section of Matthew, we read about the twelve disciples or apostles. The word disciple means “follower” and an apostle is one who is commissioned and sent out. Thus, the ones who come as disciples to follow Jesus are sent out as apostles. There are twelve of them, and the Gospels name them for us. The number “twelve” is significant because it represents the totality and fullness of God’s people in the form of the twelve tribes of Israel.
When Jesus comes and gives the twelve authority, Jesus is performing a reset. They are so critical because it is upon these apostles and their witness that the church is built.
The gospel of Matthew opens and closes with the theme of authority and speaks of the arrival of the Kingdom of Heaven. With this in mind, let us see how these passages in Matthew help us to understand how the church is God’s kingdom.
What do you want Jesus to do for you today?
One of the themes in Mark is the kingdom of God. In Mark 1, Jesus proclaims that the kingdom of God is at hand and calls the people to repent and believe the gospel. In Mark 4, Jesus talks about what the kingdom is like through parables. He teaches that it is like a mustard seed that starts off as the smallest of all seeds, and yet it grows to become a big tree. It starts out growing in hiddenness and even without people realising, continues to grow and grow.
So, what is is the kingdom like? How does one even enter into the kingdom?
This is a question that this passage will answer for us.
It is possible to read these verses in Mark 10:1-12 and be very offended. But it is not a bad thing if you feel offended — if you are trying to understand the text in light of the real world and your experiences.
However, if you thought that this text does not apply to you because you are neither married or divorced, we encourage you to pause and reconsider. Pray and ask God to help you read Scripture as His Word.
In this section of Mark, we will learn about Kingdom greatness as defined by Jesus. He defines it as service and welcome of the lowly — a comprehensive inversion of every cultural status system, including the competitiveness that had already infected the disciples.
In the book of Mark, we read of people who were in need who approached Jesus and yet in their need, they could also be spiritually blind. What do you think are your problems right now? What do you think your spiritual needs are?
It is also entirely possible for us to misunderstand our needs tonight. Are we willing to let God show us our real need?
The events of the transfiguration in this passage clearly revealed the glory of Christ. Christians often use the word glory to refer to the surpassing worth and magnificence of God’s own person.
But how does knowing glory change your life? Do you understand the cross and all that it means? How does it change our view of Christ?
To understand this section, we need to read Mark 8:22-26 in light of Mark 8:27-30. The healing of the blind man in two stages was intentional, and is meant to show us what it means to see and not see clearly.
Jesus deliberately goes out to the Gentiles, foreshadowing the kind of work that He is going to send His disciples to do after His resurrection (c.f. Matt 28:19-20).
What is in your heart?
In this passage, Jesus turns the spotlight to shine on our heart. He calls us not to be fixated on the externals, ignore essentials and reveal the internals.
This section may be familiar to some of us but what are we actually supposed to take away from this account?
We may have heard of the feeding of the 5000, with an emphasis on the boy who has offered the 5 loaves and 2 fish and thus, we are asked to think about what we are to offer Jesus. However, in this account in Mark, there is no mention of this boy. The feeding of the 5000 and Jesus walking on water are meant to be understood together (Mark 6:52) .
If our hearts are hardened, we will be unable to understand Him as He intends!
