Category: Through the Bible Devotions

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

A downward spiral

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Dan Freeman on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from the book of Judges.

When I read through the rest of Judges, from chapter 9 to the end, I’m amazed at Israel’s downward spiral into idolatry, cruelty, and the abuse of power.

  • Gideon’s son Abimelech kills almost all of his brothers to secure a position ruling over Israel (Judges 9:5)
  • Jephthah sacrifices his own daughter as fulfillment of a stupid vow he made to the Lord (Judges 11:31,35).
  • Samson uses his strength mostly to mess with the Philistines and get women (Judges 13-16).
  • Micah makes his own idol and hires his own personal priest (Judges 17).
  • A Levite chops up his raped and murdered concubine and sends it out everywhere in Israel to spark a war with Benjamin and all but wipe out the tribe (Judges 20).

By the end of the book, the nation has descended into moral, social, political, and spiritual chaos. Just when you think they’ve hit bottom, a new chapter filled with new atrocities begins. And it’s all because “There was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25).

Increasing chaos awaits us, too, unless we have a king. And the king we need is Jesus.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Somebody

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by The Jopwell Collection on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Judges 6.

God says to Gideon, “Go in this strength of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian” (Judges 6:14).

Gideon responds, “O Lord, how am I to save Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house” (6:15). In other words, “How am I going to do that? I’m nobody.” God says, “Don’t worry about it. I’ll be with you.”

Never underestimate the value of someone who says, “I’ll go with you.” To the doctor. To the funeral home. To lunch. To the store. Suddenly, you’re somebody. And so are they.

God has always been “somebody” to me. But how often do I think about me being “somebody” to God? When I pray, he listens – to me. When I’m reading scripture, he is speaking – to me. He created everything, and he created me.

I don’t have to work that hard to be somebody. I already am.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Somebody’s hero

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Esteban López on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Judges 3.

As they put down roots in the promised land, God’s people get into a cycle of unfaithfulness, repentance, and deliverance. They drift into idolatry, God lets enemies torment them, they cry out for help, God sends a judge to deliver them, after which they will drift into idolatry. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. God’s patience seems to be infinite.

The judges God raises up are an interesting bunch. Each is an example of personal Spirit-filled heroism. Many have a memorable quality. Ehud is left-handed, an uncommon trait among fighters of that time (Judges 3:15). Shamgar uses an oxgoad to kill six hundred Philistines (Judges 3:31). Gideon has the fleece (Judges 6:36-40). Samson exhibits superhuman strength (Judges 14:6).

Few people think of themselves as heroes. Most of the time, they’re just doing their job. But when you’re there at the right time in the right place, you might just be someone’s hero.

From Jesus’s point of view, heroes were always the least and the last. His heroes were children, servants who simply did their jobs, and sometimes those who did nothing but listen to him teach.

Every judge reminds us that Jesus is our deliverer, our ultimate hero.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

An environment for unfaithfulness

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Nathan Cowley on pexels

A “through the bible” devotion from Judges 1 and 2.

Productivity gurus and life coaches will tell you that your environment determines your habits.

  • If you’ve got chips in the house, you’ll eat chips. Throw out the chips and fill the fridge with fruit. You’ll be much more likely to reach for a healthy snack.
  • You’ve got your guitar in a case over in the corner. You’re not as likely to pick it up and play it as you would be if it were out on a stand where you can see it.
  • Own a dog? You’ll walk a lot more than if you didn’t have one.

God’s people didn’t create an environment for faithfulness. Over and over again we read, “[They] did not drive out the inhabitants” (Judges 1:30,31,33). As a result, “The sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals” (Judges 2:11). If you’ve got Baal worshipers living in the neighborhood, you’ll be tempted to join them. And that’s exactly what happened.

I wonder what happened. Did the people just get tired of fighting? Did they think the benefit of slave labor outweighed driving out all the inhabitants of the land? Were they simply disobedient? Yeah, I’ll bet it was the last one that got them into the most trouble.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

More than a memory

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Judges 2.

It only took one generation. The people were serious when they promised, “We will serve the Lord” and got rid of their foreign gods (Joshua 24:22,23).

I turn one page in the bible and read, “There arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel. The sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals” (Judges 2:10,11).

How could that happen? Did no one tell them? Or weren’t they listening? It was probably a combination of both. The powerful accounts of crossing the Jordan on dry ground and watching the wall of Jericho fall were interesting and inspiring. But it wasn’t their experience.

I don’t fully understand my father’s experience of being away from home in the South Pacific for eighteen months during World War II. In a similar way, my grandchildren will never know what it felt like to watch the Twin Trade Towers collapse on September 11, 2001. The youngest of my grandchildren will look at pictures one day and ask, “What were you wearing a mask?” They didn’t live through the uncertain times of a pandemic.

That reality sounds sad until I remember that His story is different than history. The biblical accounts of God at work open our eyes to see him at work in our lives. As we gather for worship and live out our faith in the world, it becomes our experience, too. It is our story.

Someone is always watching you, learning from you. They might be related. They might not. Let them see someone affected by the God who was, and is, and always will be. Let them see someone who loves because they’ve been loved.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

You have to make a choice

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Marques Thomas on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Joshua 24.

I used to hear these words all the time: “We know there are many airlines to choose from, so thank you for choosing [our airline].” Maybe I just haven’t been paying attention. Or maybe there was commotion from passengers wrestling carry on bags from the overhead compartment. Most of the time, I can’t even understand what the flight attendant is saying over the intercom. It just seems like I don’t hear that any more.

It’s crazy how many choices are available to us. How many makes of automobiles can we choose from? One source I checked reported over a hundred. My grocery store has a whole aisle devoted to nothing but different kinds of cereal. Running shoes? There are endless manufacturers and models. Milk? Why buy it from a cow when you can buy milk made from soy, almonds, oats, cashews, peas, coconut, flax, or rice?

So, life is filled with choices. Every day we have to choose whether we will fear, love, and trust the one true God or some other god we have manufactured. Joshua put it this way:

“Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve” (Joshua 24:15).

What’s it going to be, folks? Those Egyptian gods you left when God brought you out of bondage? The local Canaanite gods worshiped in the land God brought you to? Or will it be the One who delivered you, provided for you, protected you, and led you to this time and place?

This choice is not just an intellectual exercise. Your choice will guide your actions. If you choose the one true God (and I’m thinking that most of my readers will be in that camp), you choose to do what he commands and avoid what he forbids. It means you’ll be kind, generous, forgiving, and merciful. It means you’ll tell the truth, obey civil law, and love your neighbor. It means you’ll keep your word, take care of your health, and clean up your language.

Don’t answer too quickly. Who will you choose to serve, obey, and worship? Are you sure? Final answer?

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

The day the sun stood still

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Patrick on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Joshua 10.

Ever have a day that seemed to go on forever?

Maybe it was a travel day, when you had delays, cancelled flights, and endless lines. It took you a whole day (or more) to get home.

Some of the days when hurricanes were coming through seemed to go on and on. The power was out and the storm was in no hurry to move along. The night seems even longer as the wind howls and you wonder what just hit the roof.

Or you’re sitting in the hospital waiting. You’re waiting for the surgeon to come out and tell you how the procedure went. Or you’re waiting for the baby to be born. Or you’re in the emergency room, waiting for lab results. The time seems to pass so slowly.

When I was growing up, the one-hour drive to my grandmother’s house on the other side of Philadelphia seemed so long. The 1-1/2 hour drive to the Jersey shore seemed to take a day and a half.

Our perception of time doesn’t actually change a time period. Only God can do that. He only does it a couple of times in scripture. One of those times is when Joshua fights an alliance of kings who have attacked Gibeon. In the account, Joshua asks the Lord to slow down time so Israel can avenge their enemies. God does just that. In fact,

“The sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies…The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and did not hurry to go down for about a whole day” (Joshua 10:13).

The Day the Sun Stood Still by Poul Anderson, Gordon Dickson, and Robert Silverberg is a collection of three science fiction novellas that explore that day. How would the world react if that actually happened? What would be the effect on religious, political, and personal life?

I read this book a long time ago. Having remembered the title, I need to go back and read this again! When I do, I promise to update this post.

There are moments when we wish time would speed up. Like when you’re hungry and it’t still hours till supper. There are others times when we wish we could slow time down and enjoy the moment a little longer. Like those times when our children grow up so quickly.

Are you someone who has plenty of time? Or not enough time? Ironically, we’ve all got the same amount of time, twenty-four hours, every day.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

The walls came down

Posted on by William Douthwaite

People are screaming, “Why didn’t you write about Jericho?” Relax. Here’s a “through the bible” devotion from Jericho 6.

There are lots of walls in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. As we drove from the airport to our guest house, every home that could be lived in was enclosed in an eight-foot tall wall topped by shards of broken glass. Heavy iron doors were the only way in and out, and you had to call ahead of time so someone on the inside would open them.

Safe? Secure? Not really. All it took was a moment, a 7.0 earthquake, and many of those walls, gates, and homes fell into piles of rubble.

Jericho looked secure from the inside and the outside (Joshua 6:1). Safe? Secure? Not really. Not after seven laps around the city, when the priests blew the trumpets, the armed men shouted, and “the wall fell down flat” (6:20). A well-timed earthquake? A sonic-wave of destructive proportions? Who knows? The earth shook at Mount Sinai and at Jesus’s temporary tomb. The sound of many waters and loud thunder accompanies God’s presence. If the Lord can raise the dead with a cry of command and the sound of a trumpet (1 Thessalonians 4:16), then a few city walls are a cinch.

The fall of Jericho is Israel’s first victory in the promised land. They marched. They blew ram’s horn trumpets. They shouted. But God did the heavy lifting. He brought down the walls. Is there a lesson there for us? We go (to all nations), we lift up our voices and play our instruments in worship, and God “gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Fake ID

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Lydia Matzal on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Joshua 9.

How does the world know you are who your are? Much of the time, a driver’s license is adequate ID. Sometimes you need a second form, like a passport. My phone and computer need my fingerprint. Some phones take a look at your face. Some websites make me answer security questions.

Apparently, fake IDs are still a thing. I read that one third of college students have used a fake ID to get into a bar. But that’s not new. Joshua encounters people with fake IDs as Israel fights to take possession of Canaan.

It was so obvious. These poor people have been on the road forever. All of their supplies are used up and worn out. They aren’t a threat. They aren’t on God’s most wanted list. They aren’t Hittites, Perizzites, or any of the other enemy “-ites” God told you to be wary of.

“The men of Israel…did not ask for the counsel of the Lord” (Joshua 9:14). Instead, they made a covenant with the people of Gibeon, who deceived them by dressing up like worn and weary travelers from far away. It was their form of a fake ID.

This account implies that Joshua should have asked God for advice. As hard as it is to accept, there’s really only one person (I know, God’s not a person, but you know what I mean) you can trust. He is faithful and true, and in fact, he embodies the truth. You better do a deeper dive with everyone else.