| Date | Version | Reading Plan |
|---|---|---|
| @August 6, 2024 | ESV (2016) | M’Cheyne Plan 2024 |
Judges 20
Judges 20:18 (ESV) 18 The people of Israel arose and went up to Bethel and inquired of God, “Who shall go up first for us to fight against the people of Benjamin?” And the LORD said, “Judah shall go up first.” … 23 And the people of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until the evening. And they inquired of the LORD, “Shall we again draw near to fight against our brothers, the people of Benjamin?” And the LORD said, “Go up against them.” … 27 And the people of Israel inquired of the LORD (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, 28 and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, ministered before it in those days), saying, “Shall we go out once more to battle against our brothers, the people of Benjamin, or shall we cease?” And the LORD said, “Go up, for tomorrow I will give them into your hand.”
The people of Israel inquired of the LORD three times regarding battle against the tribe of Benjamin. The Israelites were defeated in the first two campaigns but victorious in the third. A couple of interesting details emerge in these events. First is that the initial inquisition of the LORD to go to battle against Benjamin was not whether they should go but who should go first, to which the LORD answered that it was to be Judah. The FSB Notes provides some helpful context:
Yahweh responds by endorsing the punishment of Benjamin, instructing Judah to take the lead. Judah’s primacy should be no surprise, as Judg 17–21 serves as a polemic for kingship (see note on 17:1–3). Judah is the tribe of David, the ideal king; the tribe of Benjamin, the tribe targeted for punishment, is the tribe of Saul—the king who seeks to kill David.
Second is that only in the LORD’s response to the third inquisition did He say, “I will give them into your hand.” The first two include instruction to “go up” but the final response included God’s explicit declaration of victory.
Acts 24
Acts 24:20–21 (ESV) 20 Or else let these men themselves say what wrongdoing they found when I stood before the council, 21 other than this one thing that I cried out while standing among them: ‘It is with respect to the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you this day.’ ”
Paul replied to his accusers in the company of the governor, Felix. As the BBC Notes state, Paul “challenged those Jews who were present to state clearly what crimes he had been proved guilty of when he stood before the council in Jerusalem. They could not do it. All they would be able to say was that Paul cried out, ‘Concerning the resurrection of the dead I am being judged by you this day.’ In other words, those things in the accusation that were criminal were not true, and those things that were true were not criminal.” Paul had truth on his side, allowing him to proceed with strong conviction, boldly confronting wrongdoing and false accusations. We see in this the assured opposition we will encounter in sharing the gospel but also the courageous manner by which it is to be faced. We are to convey the truth of Christ with fervency properly balanced with love and compassion for the lost.
Jeremiah 34
Jeremiah 34:4–5 (ESV) 4 Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah! Thus says the LORD concerning you: ‘You shall not die by the sword. 5 You shall die in peace. And as spices were burned for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so people shall burn spices for you and lament for you, saying, “Alas, lord!” ’ For I have spoken the word, declares the LORD.”
Zedekiah and all his officials would be given into the hand of their enemies, but Zedekiah’s death would not be by the sword. The FSB Notes says that, “Zedekiah would receive a funeral appropriate for his status as a king of Judah.” Although it would be in a foreign land, Zedekiah’s death certainly seemed on the more favorable side. The word “peace” used in Jer. 34:5 conveys completeness, soundness and welfare. However, his death would come after the events recorded in 2 Kings 25:7 in which Zedekiah’s sons were slaughtered before his eyes and the king of Babylon put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains.
Psalms 5–6
Psalm 5:4 (ESV) 4 For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you.
God’s righteousness and holiness prohibits acceptance of wickedness. Sin and evil cannot may not dwell with God just as darkness cannot occupy the same space as light. By our sin and corruption, this is the natural state of man, entirely severed from God’s presence. Isaiah first gives the bad news in Is. 53:6a, speaking that “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way”. Only by an act of God can this condition be changed. All praise and glory be to our God who sent His only Son to be the propitiation for our sin, fulfilling the rest of Isaiah’s sentiment in Is. 53:6b that “the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” in order that we may be reconciled to Himself.