Judges 5-7

We didn't get the reading assignment for today, so I read what seemed like a reasonable amount.

We begin with Deborah and her song. What I liked most about this was in 5:28. She is telling about the death of Scare by Jail. We see his death not from his murders point of view or from Deborah's point of view, but from his mother's. Reminding me that no matter how horrible a person is, he is someones child.

The notes at the bottom of my page say it best

"who should 1st suffer anxiety if not the mother? Of a wife, nothing is said; such love thrives not in the harm of a prince. He is his mother's pride, the great hero, who has hitherto been invincible. What she has in him, and what she loses, concerns no other woman"

We see too familiar names next, Gideon and Ophrah (who Oprah was named after, but someone in her family misspelled it)

As I said yesterday, the Israelis aren't doing so well and finally we get another appearance from our dear old friend the Angel of the Lord. I think he musts been on a little vacation, perhaps with Joshua?

Anyway he comes down and speaks the Gideon and tells him to go and put bibles in everyones hotel rooms. And after that to amass an army cuz they're about to kick some wild ass.

He's not sure the Lord is actually who he says he is, sorta like Abe Froman. But he cooks him some meat on a rock and all is well. For now anyway.

God has him do a little "house keeping" some tearing down of alters, some building of alters and then another test. Not 100%, why the consuming of meat by a rock twasnt enough, but to each his own.

I do think God is patient with these tests, especially this fleece one. First Gideon lays a fleece down and says "if you are truly going to deliver Israel by my hand, then make to dew only ON the fleece and not on the ground"

And in the AM, he wrung it out just like a sham-wow.

Was that enough? Nope.

Then he says....just once more? Don't be mad, but if we could try this just one more time. This time though, if you could do the opposite. Which I think is clever, because he may be making sure it wasn't coincidence. Like maybe dew was attracted to the fleece or something. But in the morn, the fleece was dry and the ground alllll dewy.

Now he can get to the business of gathering a big, giant army. But wait, there isn't going to be a big, giant army is there?
Nope.

Couldn't anyone win with a big, giant army? Perhaps.

But what if, you have a tiny, little army of 300 and you win because you have God fighting for you.

And so that what He does.

Now I'm stopping here because I'm about to throw this phome through my beautiful picture window! Its frustrating blogging on it, hopefully I will get the computer thing sorted out today.
Wouldn't that be something to write about.