Judges 10, Acts 14, Jeremiah 23, Mark 9

DateVersionReading Plan
@July 27, 2024ESV (2016)M’Cheyne Plan 2024

Judges 10

Judges 10:14–16 (ESV) 14 Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.” 15 And the people of Israel said to the LORD, “We have sinned; do to us whatever seems good to you. Only please deliver us this day.” 16 So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD, and he became impatient over the misery of Israel.

After Abimelech, Tola and Jair died, the people again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, kindling His fire against them. The LORD thus He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and Ammonites who crushed and oppressed the people for eighteen years. The people cried out to the LORD for deliverance, but He told them to cry out to the false gods instead and let them save them from their distress. The people responded with confession of sin, putting away the foreign gods, but the CSB Notes asks the question, “Was their repentance real, or was it just another attempt to manipulate God into rescuing them again?” This is an important question—of this context as well as our own—for evaluating pure motives. Are we truly mortified by our sin that we turn toward the LORD in genuine repentance? Are we seeking to live in a way that honors God or manipulating Him that He may honor us? Whether our walk be new or seasoned, these are questions that we must oft ask of ourselves.

Acts 14

Acts 14:19 (ESV) 19 But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead.

Paul and the disciples had fled to Lystra to avoid mistreatment and stoning by the Gentiles and Jews with their leaders. But the Jews traveled from Antioch to catch up with the disciples at Lystra, about one hundred miles away. The proceeded to persuade the crowds and stoned Paul, dragging him out of the city because they supposed he was dead. The amount of animosity displayed by the Jews toward Paul and his ministry is incredible. The Jews were adamant in their pursuit to thwart Paul’s mission to share the gospel of Christ. It can be difficult as modern westerners living in a culture largely accepting of Christianity to imagine such hostility, but visit persecution.org or other such resources and one can see its sustained prevalence around the world.

Jeremiah 23

Jeremiah 23:21–22 (ESV) 21 “I did not send the prophets, yet they ran; I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied. 22 But if they had stood in my council, then they would have proclaimed my words to my people, and they would have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their deeds.

These are helpful verses in depicting false and true prophets. False prophets were not sent by God and yet they ran and prophesied. As the CSB Notes says, “They had no authority as God’s couriers and no understanding of God’s purposes.” True prophecy, by contrast, manifests in proper proclamation of God’s words, evoking conviction of sin and turning from evil deeds. We should bring this understanding into our continued discernment regarding prophecy, following what John says in 1 John 4:1-3a: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.”

Mark 9

Mark 9:5–6 (ESV) 5 And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified.

In response to the transfiguration of Jesus and the appearance of Moses and Elijah, Peter sought to make tents for the three of them because he was terrified and did not know what to say. It is interesting that Peter’s first instinct to this incredible event was hospitality. The NAC provides some additional insight as to why Peter reacted in this way:

[Peter] may have gotten the idea [of making the three tents] from the use of booths in the wilderness and at the Feast of Tabernacles (cf. Lev 23:39–43; Hos 12:9; Zech 14:16–19). The transfiguration may have taken place in the early fall about the time of that feast. To have erected shelters as Peter wished would have put Jesus on the same level as Moses and Elijah. It would have prolonged or even made permanent the situation. To do so, however, would have detoured Jesus from the cross. Although the transfiguration gave a preview of Jesus’ future glory, in actual fact the cross had to precede glory. Mark wanted to emphasize that suffering was also a necessity in the case of Jesus’ disciples.

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