Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.

Romans 2:1

Then Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, which were come to him, Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves? When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness.

Luke 22:52-53

O fools and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?

Luke 24:25-26

Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.

Luke 24:38-39

After telling the story in Luke 15 of one lost sheep being found by a shepherd who had ninety-nine other sheep, and the story of a woman who seeks a lost coin until she finds it, although she has nine others, Jesus tells about a man who had two sons and lost one. Even many who know little of the Bible know something of the prodigal son, so I won't take much time to comment on him here, except to say that he is a wonderful example of how God is willing to offer complete forgiveness to the sinner who repents and returns to Him.

What struck me recently as I was thinking about this passage was that this prodigal has a pharisaical sibling. This elder brother claims to have obeyed his father in everything while the wayward younger son was off wasting his portion of the inheritance in riotous living. But how sad that this "obedient" brother fails to honor his father with his heart. In Luke 15, Jesus is speaking to publicans, sinners, Pharisees, and scribes. The latter two are like this older brother: they aren't very interested in what Jesus has to say, only in objecting to the fact that he is accepting of sinners. The publicans and sinners, like the prodigal son, eagerly seek after Jesus to hear his wonderful words.

Now consider those who profess Christ today. Often those who have just found salvation are much like the prodigal son, grieved by their sin and finding joy in the salvation which the Lord has provided them. But many who have grown up in a religious setting are more like the pharisaical elder son and see themselves as obedient while finding fault in others. Even worse, like the prodigal's brother, they see the lives of those who do not meet their standards with a kind of envy, as if sinning and being forgiven for it were better than avoiding sin completely! They see the sin as desirable, and the judgment for sin as undesirable, when, in fact the sin is less desirable than the judgment! Furthermore, their attitude is that they don't really believe that they can sin and be forgiven, because if they did believe this, they would either sin themselves, seeing it as desirable, or else rejoice when sinners recognized the wretchedness of their sin and repented.

But for us there is another Son who is not talked about in Jesus' story here. He is the perfect Son of God, who actually did obey the Father from His heart! And He is the one who offered Himself for the sins of the other two types of brothers. He could rightly say that His Father has not offered the fatted calf for Him, when no greater offering could be made for His brothers than was provided by the Father, but instead He has found joy in both offering and being the sacrifice for us! Let us offer unto Him the sacrifice of thanksgiving for His work!

A lot of these thoughts are tied up in the words spoken to Saul by Samuel when Saul was rejected from being king: "Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams" (I Samuel 15:22). Obedience renders sacrifice unnecessary, but sacrifice demands obedience. If sacrifice is to be efficacious for disobedience, there must still be obedience or there is no satisfaction in the sacrifice. Praise the Lord that our Savior was obedient so that He could offer a sacrifice that covers our sins!

Are we perfect like the Savior? Are we prejudiced like the Pharisees? Are we penitent like the prodigal son? Let us seek to see our sins as God sees them and walk in the Light of His Word and in fellowship with Him, delighting in Him and rejoicing with Him in the repentance and salvation of sinners.

Last weekend, Warren Henderson hosted another men's study at his house, which I had the opportunity to attend. There were a few interesting things that happened over the weekend, which I'll share here.

Partly because of all the snow on Thursday and Friday, and partly because I sleep better in my own bed, I got up early on Saturday morning and left by 5:30am for Colfax. The drive usually takes about 2 hours, but driving toward Wabasha on Hwy. 42, I wasn't sure how long it was going to take me, since there was a strong northwest wind and frequent icy patches that combined to limit me to driving about 45 mph. As I descended the hill into the Mississippi valley, though, the icy patches became wet patches and I was able to drive the speed limit for most of the rest of the trip.

The other interesting event that occurred while driving took place in Durand, WI. I came to the intersection where I'd usually turn to stay on Hwy. 25, but was surprised that there was no longer a stop sign there. I turned anyway, and then noticed that where there had been a bridge over the river the last time I drove through (October 2006), there were now just construction barriers, beyond which all you could see was the snow covering the frozen river! So I turned and headed east along the river until I found the new bridge, which turned out to be harder to get to than I expected, but I finally got across and back on track. The trip ended up taking just about 15 minutes longer than usual.

For the study, we were looking at different religions. In particular, we had a session each on Islam, Mormonism, and Jehovah's Witnesses. It was interesting enough, but I thought the evening session was probably the most interesting when we discussed what the world's religions have in common and what sets the salvation offered through the Lord Jesus Christ apart as unique from all those religions. In particular, there were three things that I thought were interesting, all of which derive from the fact that the world's religions hold that people can make up for their sins through good works:

1. None of the world's religions allow God to be truly just. If they did, they would acknowledge that no amount of works can make up for even one sin.
2. None of the world's religions allow God to be truly merciful. If they did, they would not require men to perform works to make up for sin.
3. The true character of God is such that He would not be invented by men. A man by nature would not invent a god who condemns him, because there is nothing satisfying in such a god if it is merely an invention of man's imagination. In order for God's just and holy nature to be satisfying to man's need, He must be real.

Of course, the salvation that God offers is the only one that allows God to justly condemn sin while at the same time offering justification to the sinner! This is only possible through the work of the Lord Jesus Christ who, without sin, offered himself for our sin on the cross of Calvary!

In the afternoon, we went outside to try to get some exercise, and ended up playing ultimate frisbee for half an hour or so. It was a lot of work running through 15-20 inches of snow, but it was still quite enjoyable. We ended up quitting just because people were getting too tired. I also got a souvenir that's been annoying me the last couple of days—I laid out to catch a frisbee and ended up getting someone's knee in my gut; my skin got pinched between the knee and my hip bone, so I now have a nice credit-card-sized bruise that hurts when I cough or use my stomach muscles. Sunday afternoon I tried throwing a football and found that to be quite painful! On the bright side, I did catch the frisbee that I was diving for when I got the bruise!

The eclipse happened over supper, and we all forgot to try to look for it. That's okay, though, I don't think the moon rose in Colfax until after totality had ended.

I thought the meetings on Sunday morning were the high point of the weekend, which is as it should be, in my opinion. My thoughts during the remembrance meeting were on Jeremiah 2, which I had read that morning. In verse 2, the LORD says, "Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown." I like the reminder that God remembers Israel; considering that in light of the current dispensation, the Lord Jesus Christ bears the wounds of His love in his hands, feet and side; how can He not remember us? And he asks us to remember Him! What a joy to do so! The rest of the chapter repeatedly alludes to wilderness experiences and God's faithfulness to Israel in spite of Israel's failures. It reminded me of the hymn by J. N. Darby with which we closed the meeting:

Rise, my soul, thy God directs thee;
Stranger hands no more impede;
Pass thou on; His hand protects thee,
Strength that has the captive freed.

Is the wilderness before thee?
Desert land where drought abides?
Heav'nly springs shall there restore thee,
Fresh from God's exhaustless tides.

Light Divine surrounds thy going:
God Himself shall mark thy way:
Secret blessings, richly flowing,
Lead to everlasting day.

In the desert God will teach thee
What the God that thou hast found,
Patient, gracious, pow'rful, holy,—
All His grace shall there abound.

Tho' thy way be long and dreary,
Eagle strength He'll still renew;
Garments fresh and foot unweary,
Tell how God hath bro't thee through.

There no stranger God shall meet thee;
Stranger thou in courts above,
He, who to His rest shall greet thee,
Greets thee with a well-known love.

I really like the last verse.

In the second meeting, Joel Hanson spoke and gave an excellent message on David's mighty men. He began talking about David's own might as demonstrated by his faith in God when confronting Goliath, who was blaspheming God. Then he mentioned Jonathan's friendship with David, and moved into the mighty men presented in II Samuel 23, focusing on the three threes in verses 8-23. The first three are Adino, Eleazar, and Shammah. As best as I can figure, I think these are the same three who broke throught the Philistine garrison in Bethlehem to draw water for David from the well there. But, whether it is the same or not, Joel treated them as the second three. The third three consist of Abishai, the brother of Joab and the son of Zeruiah, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and—wait a minute, there are only two of the three listed! In fact, if you count the mighty men listed in this chapter, there are thirty-six names listed, one less than the total of thirty-seven that is noted in verse 39. So there seems to be a name missing here, both from the complete list and from the third "three" in verses 18-23.

So who is the third of this third three? Joel proceeded to present a theory about who it might be. First, he noted that Joab, although he is not identified here as one of David's mighty men, he is mentioned several times in relation to other men: Abishai is his brother, as is Asahel, and Nahari is his armourbearer. Then Joel went through a history of Joab and his brother, Abishai.

Both men were "sons of Zeruiah;" Zeruiah was David's sister, so Joab and Abishai were his nephews. Each of these men has recorded three opportunities to kill men, which Joel brought out in an interesting way.

Abishai went with David to Saul's camp by night, and, while there, asked David if he could "smite [Saul]...with the spear" (I Samuel 26:8). David replied (v. 11), "The LORD forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the LORD's anointed." Then, in II Samuel 16, when David is fleeing Jerusalem because of Absalom's treachery, Abishai hears Shimei cursing David and says to the king, "Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head" (v. 9). David replies, "What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? so let him curse, because the LORD hath said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Wherefore hast thou done so?" (v. 10). Finally, in II Samuel 19, after Absalom's rebellion has been put down, Shimei comes and repents before David for having cursed him. Abishai asks, "Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the LORD's anointed?" David answers, "What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah, that ye should this day be adversaries unto me? shall there any man be put to death this day in Israel? for do not I know that I am this day king over Israel?" (II Samuel 19:21-23). In all three of these instances, you see Abishai with the king, honoring David's word.

Joab stands in stark contrast. In II Samuel 3, David has made peace with Abner, who had sided with Ishbosheth against David and slain Asahel, Joab's brother, in battle. But in spite of this, Joab, holding a grudge against Abner, pursues and slays him in cold blood. Then, in II Samuel 18, Joab acts in direct violation of David's explicit command and slays Absalom when Absalom is helpless to defend himself. And, in II Samuel 20, he kills Amasa, who had sided with Absalom in the rebellion. David had promised Amasa that he would replace Joab, but Joab prevents this by deceitfully putting Amasa to death. So in these three instances, Joab acts contrary to David's will, which he should have at least been able to figure out, and in some instances had been directly told.

Joel then told about how David reminded Solomon of Joab's bloody revenge in time of peace, and instructed Solomon to "let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace" (I Kings 2:6). So the suggestion is that Joab's name is not listed among David's mighty men because of his failure to seek after the king's command rather than trying to accomplish what he thought should be done in his own eyes. The application to us is that we, too, should beware, lest we should prove ourselves unworthy of the crown prepared for us by acting according to our flesh rather than walking in the Spirit. I really enjoyed the way Joel presented this message; it would have made the weekend worthwhile in itself!

Before leaving Chippewa Falls for Rochester, we ate a potluck dinner and played a brief game of ultimate frisbee in the parking lot. All in all, a very enjoyable way to spend the weekend!

Last weekend I was privileged to attend a youth conference hosted by Meadowridge Bible Chapel in Fargo, ND. There were 9 young people with me from our assembly here in Rochester, MN, and there were some interesting events over the weekend. Travel was somewhat eventful, as we had tire problems on the way up—fortunately it wasn't as serious as it might have been, but I noticed a shimmy while slowing down for a traffic light that turned out to be a tire that needed replacing. So we were delayed a couple of hours in arriving at our destination, but at least we didn't have the tire blow out!

One of my favorite memories will be singing with Holly and Bethany while driving—or just listening to them, since I didn't know all the songs and had a sore throat. They certainly harmonize beautifully, and have a pretty good selection of songs, too!

At the conference, the featured speaker was John Heller, and I really enjoyed the thoughts he shared about humility from I Peter 5:6, and the importance of believers spending time meditating on the Word of God—it seems like so many of us are caught up in the things of this world, if not the flesh and even Satan that we don't give any time to considering what God has said to us, much less the time of which He is worthy to have us dedicate to Him.

Having said all that, what this blog is really about is a conversation that I had with an old friend (such fellowship is the real reason I go to conferences) named Jason. He was telling me about a conference he went to in Florida recently where the speaker went through the books of Joshua and Judges. Since I finished leading a study in Judges about a year ago, I asked further about that, and was impressed enough with the sketch that Jason told me about that I spent some time this afternoon looking into it more carefully.

First, it is pretty easy to make the case that there are seven main characters in the book of Judges; they are, in chronological order: Othniel, Ehud, Barak, Gideon, Abimelech, Jephthah, and Samson. Okay, you might argue about Deborah and I would probably be inclined to make a case for Jotham rather than Abimelech, but I'll use this list; I don't think the connections here disappear if you choose to highlight slightly different people.

The interesting idea is to consider these men in pairs: Othniel and Samson, Ehud and Jephthah, Barak and Abimelech, and then look at Gideon and compare him to himself. So these seven men form a sort of pyramid with Gideon at the peak and the others at different levels up and down the sides. The book of Judges shows how these men failed to accomplish what was right in the sight of the LORD.

So, consider Othniel. He married Achsah, Caleb's daughter, a neat picture of Christ and His bride. But, in Judges 3:6, we see that the rest of the people did not follow Othniel's example, but intermarried with those in the world around them! So the LORD sends Chushan-rishathaim to chasten them and then raises up Othniel as judge to deliver them. But the thing to notice here is that Othniel had to deal with the people regarding their intermarriage with the Canaanites. Which leads to the connection with Samson: in Judges 14, we see him marrying a Philistine! What a vivid picture of man's failure!

Next, consider Ehud. After slaying Eglon, he takes "the fords of Jordan toward Moab, and suffered not a man to pass over. And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, all lusty, and all men of valour, and there escaped not a man" (Judges 3:28-29). This has a striking parallel with Jephthah, who, after gaining victory over Ammon (Moab's step-brother/cousin), takes "the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites" (Judges 12:5) and slew 42,000 men of Ephraim because they didn't help him fight the Ammonites! What a tragedy that Jephthah would fight against his own brothers in this way; again demonstrating the failure of man's way.

The third case is Barak. As the story goes in Judges 4, Deborah tells Barak to destroy Jabin's army, commanded by Sisera. Because Barak refuses to go unless Deborah accompanies him, Deborah tells him that he will not receive the honor for the victory—Sisera will be sold into the hand of a woman. And so it is: Jael, Heber's wife ends up killing Sisera with a tent peg, thus accomplishing the LORD's deliverance. Here's the striking parallel with Abimelech: Abimelech, after killing all his brothers and setting himself up as a ruler in Shechem, goes up against Thebez and takes it. But the people of the city flee to a tower, and Abimelech decides to burn the tower; as he is doing so, a woman throws a piece of millstone down from the tower, mortally wounding Abimelech! He commands his armourbearer, "Draw thy sword, and slay me, that men say not of me, A woman slew him" (Judges 9:54). Of course, the woman still gets credit in my book for putting an end to Abimelech's life. So what befell Israel's enemy, Sisera in chapter 4 lines up well with what came upon the ruler Abimelech in chapter 9.

Finally, consider Gideon. He starts out tearing down the altar of Baal, from which story he receives the name "Jerubbaal" (Judges 6:25-32). He ends up making an ephod in Ophrah, "and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house" (Judges 8:27). In Judges 8:1-3, he makes peace with the Ephraimites, pointing out to them that they have obtained greater honor than himself in having the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb delivered into their hands, then goes on to fight against his brothers in Succoth and Penuel for not providing assistance when he was in need of it (Judges 8:16-17). And he gives a clear answer to the people when they ask him to rule over them: "I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you" (Judges 8:2-23). But then he names his son by the concubine in Shechem, "Abimelech" (Judges 8:31), which means "my father is king!" So, in Gideon, you see him failing in the very areas in which he had previously done what was right!

One other thing that fits in well with these thoughts is this: 4 times in the book of Judges we see the land having rest. The first time is after Othiel: forty years in Judges 3:11. The second is after Ehud: eighty years in Judges 3:30. The third is after Barak: forty years in Judges 5:31. Finally, the fourth is a forty year period during Gideon's life in Judges 8:28. After that, you do not again see the land having rest in the book of Judges!

How fortunate we are that we don't need these men to judge us—we have a greater judge, the Lord Jesus Christ, who "hath done all things well" (Mark 7:37). He is "Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war" (Revelation 19:11). What a Judge! But what a Deliverer! And he offers us true rest!