Jonathan’s Victory

84 – Jonathan’s Victory

1 Samuel 13-14

Continued from the previous story

Jonathan looked at the Philistines’ camp on the other side of the pass. He said to his armor bearer, “Let’s go over there and kill a few Philistines. The Lord just might help us. He’s not limited by how many of us there are.”

The man said, “If you go, I’ll go with you.”

Jonathan said, “Here’s my plan. We’ll go across to the rear of the Philistine camp. We’ll let them see us at the bottom of their cliffs. If they tell us to stop, we’ll come back here. But if they tell us to come up, we’ll consider that a sign from God. We’ll know that the Lord will give us victory.”

They decided not to tell the king where they were going. When they got to the cliffs, the Philistines saw them. They said, “Look, the Hebrews are coming out of their hiding places!” They yelled down to Jonathan. “Come on up, and we’ll teach you a lesson!”

Jonathan laughed, “Follow me. The Lord has given them to us.” The two men climbed up the cliffs and killed twenty Philistines.

News quickly spread through the rest of the Philistine camp. This caused panic. They said, “The Israelites have attacked us from behind.” Suddenly the earth shook, and their panic turned to terror. They ran in every direction.

Men in Saul’s camp saw this and told the king. He looked around. “Call the roll and find out who’s missing.” They found that Jonathan and his armor bearer were gone.

As Saul assembled his troops, the panic in the Philistine camp intensified. When Saul’s army marched into battle, he found that the Philistines were fighting each other.

The Israelites that had joined the Philistines now rallied around Saul. Those who hid among rocks and caves came out and joined the battle.

Saul wanted his men to completely focus on winning the battle, so he shouted, “I put a curse on anyone who eats food before we win this victory.” His men obeyed, but soon they became hungry and tired.

Jonathan didn’t know what his father had said. He found some honey in the forest and ate it. Others immediately told him about the king’s order. He said, “The king shouldn’t have said that. Look at me. I ate some honey, now I’m ready to fight again. Our men should eat all of this food that the Philistines have left behind. Then they would fight harder.”

Saul finally realized his army was famished! He had a meal prepared and allowed his men to eat. The king then wanted to go back into battle, but suddenly realized something was wrong. He called everyone together and said, “Something is wrong, and I’m going to find out who’s behind it. Once I know who it is, he’ll be put to death, even if he’s my own son.”

He then drew lots, and it fell on Jonathan. The king asked him, “What did you do?”

“I ate some honey. If I’m to die for that, then I’m ready to die.”

Saul said to his son, “I took an oath, therefore you must die.”

The people shouted, “Jonathan won’t die! God used him to give us victory today. As the Lord God lives, not one hair of his head will fall to the ground.

So the people saved Jonathan’s life. With that, the battle was over and the Philistines returned to their own territory.

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Gideon’s Fleece

64 – Gideon’s Fleece

Judges 6:1-40

For seven years, the Midianites came into Israel like a swarm of locusts. They moved across the land, taking everything off it—all the crops and farm animals. They left nothing for the Israelites to eat. The people became desperate and had to find places to hide in mountain caves.

A man named Gideon was also hiding from the Midianites. He had to thresh his wheat in a wine vat instead of an open threshing floor. The Angel of the Lord came and sat under an oak tree nearby. He said, “The Lord is with you, oh mighty warrior.”

Gideon said, “Oh my Lord! If God is with us, why is he allowing all these bad things to happen to us? Where are all the wonderful miracles our fathers told us about? God is no longer fighting for us.”

The Angel said, “I’m sending you to deliver Israel from the Midianites.”

Gideon was shocked. “Lord, how can I deliver Israel? I’m a nobody.”

The Lord said, “Yes, but I’ll be with you, and you’ll have victory.”

Gideon said, “Lord, I need a sign that you’re really talking to me. Please, stay here while I prepare a sacrifice.”

The Lord said. “I will stay here until you return.”

Gideon rushed off and prepared a sacrifice for him. When it was ready, he put it on a rock. The Angel of the Lord reached over and touched the sacrifice with the tip of his staff. Fire came up from the rock and burnt it up. And then the Lord vanished.

Gideon yelled, “Lord God! I’m about to die! I’ve seen the Angel of the Lord face to face!”

The Lord said, “Don’t be afraid. You’re not going to die. Do what I say. Your father has an altar of Baal. Tear it down and build an altar to God. Then offer a burnt offering to the Lord.”

Gideon obeyed, but he did it at night. He was afraid of his family and the men who lived in his city.

In the morning, people found Baal’s altar torn down. They saw the altar to the Lord built in its place, and the ashes of the burnt offering on top of it. Soon they learned Gideon had done this.

The men of the city went to his father’s house and said, “Give us your son! We’ll kill him because he tore down Baal’s altar.”

Gideon’s father said to them, “Show me the man who is defending Baal. He’ll be dead by morning! If Baal is really a god, let him defend himself.”

Once again the Midianites came into Israel and camped in a valley. The Spirit of the Lord filled Gideon, and he sent out messages for people to come, ready to fight.

Then Gideon prayed, “Lord, give me a sign.” He then put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor and said to God, “I’ll know you’ll deliver us if the morning dew is only on the fleece, and all the ground is dry.”

He got up early in the morning and found that the fleece was soaking wet, but the ground was dry.

Gideon said, “Lord, don’t be angry with me. Allow me one more test. This time let the fleece remain dry, and the dew be all over the ground.” In the morning, the fleece was dry, and dew was all over the ground.

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Joshua’s Farewell

60 – Joshua’s Farewell

Joshua 14:1-15 15:1-63 23:1-24:33

After Joshua cleared many of the nations out of Canaan, the land was divided among the various tribes. Caleb went to Joshua and said, “I was forty years old when you and I spied out this land. We brought back an honest report, but our brothers put fear in the hearts of the people. You remember, Moses promised that we would inherit the land we saw that day.

“I am now eighty-five years old, but I’m as strong today as I was forty-five years ago. I still go into battle and do my daily chores. Now give me these hills. The Canaanites still live there, but I’ll drive them out.”

So Joshua gave him the region around Hebron. Caleb organized his people and drove the Canaanites out of each city. When he came to one city, he said, “Whoever conquers this city may marry my daughter.”

A man took the challenge and conquered it. So Caleb sent for his daughter. As soon as she arrived, she said to her future husband, “Ask my father for that field. It has a natural spring of water.”

She got off her donkey and faced her father. He said, “What do you want?”

“You gave us this city, now give us the spring of water as well.” So he gave her what she wanted.

Years later, Joshua knew he was about to die, so he called the people of Israel to come to him. When they were gathered he said, “You have seen all that the Lord has done for you. You have land where your families can live because he fought for you.

“Be strong and continue to obey the Law of Moses. Don’t turn away from it. Don’t start worshiping the gods of the people who still live in this land. Instead, remain true to the Lord your God. If you don’t, he will take you off this land.”

Joshua then reviewed the entire history of Israel. He finished by saying, “God sent hornets ahead of you and drove out the people who lived on this land. He gave you fields you didn’t buy, houses you didn’t build, and vineyards you didn’t plant.

“Choose today who you’re going to worship. You can serve the idols your fathers bowed down to. You can worship the gods of the people who live in this land. Or you can worship and serve the Lord who brought you here with his mighty hand. As for me and my family, we’ll serve the Lord.”

The people said, “We won’t worship the gods of this land. We’ll remain true to the Lord our God. We’ve seen his mighty works, so we too will serve the Lord.”

Joshua said, “I don’t believe you. You’ll turn your back on the Lord, so he’ll have to destroy you. How could you do that after he’s been so good to you?”

The people shouted, “No! We’ll worship and serve the Lord.”

Joshua said, “You’re witnesses to what you’ve said. These stones are also witnesses to what you’ve said. Get rid of all the stupid idols and fully trust in the Lord your God.”

Soon afterwards, Joshua died at 110 years old. The people worshiped the Lord throughout the time he led them in the land. They also served the Lord throughout the lifetime of the elders who served with Joshua.

But then another generation grew up that didn’t know the Lord. They hadn’t seen what he had done.

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Unholy Fire

46 – Unholy Fire

Leviticus 10:1-7 Numbers 9:1–11:3

God gave exact instructions to the people of Israel for how they were to worship him. Aaron, the brother of Moses, was chosen to be the high priest, and his sons were to serve with him. When Aaron would eventually die, they would replace him as high priest.

The congregation gathered at the Tabernacle for the ordination of these men. Moses anointed them with oil and made sacrifices to the Lord. He told Aaron and his sons that their ordination would last for seven days, and they were not to leave the Tabernacle until it was over.

Aaron’s oldest two sons were Nadab and Abihu. During this time of ordination, they decided on their own to burn incense before the Lord. But they put coals from a common fire into their censers.

As soon as they came into the presence of the Lord, fire blazed out and killed both men.

Everyone was shocked, but nothing could be said. Moses had some men take the bodies out of the camp. He told Aaron and his other sons that they had to continue with the ordination since they had already been anointed with oil before the Lord.

This meant that they couldn’t properly mourn their loss. So the rest of Israel mourned the death of the two men, while their father and brothers continued at the Tabernacle.

On the second anniversary of leaving Egypt, the people of Israel celebrated Passover. They were still at Mount Sinai.

A cloud hovered over the Tabernacle during the day, and it looked like fire at night. God had told them that as long as the cloud hovered there, they were to stay where they were. But if the cloud lifted, they knew it was time to continue their travels.

One month later, after celebrating Passover, it was time for them to move toward the land of Canaan. As the people watched, the cloud lifted and they set out from the mountain of God. They traveled toward the place where they were to enter the land of Canaan.

Within a short time, the people started complaining openly about their hardships. This made the Lord angry and he sent a fire among them, especially around the edges of the camp. Many people died. So the others ran to Moses for help. He prayed for them and the fire stopped. They named that place “Burning.”

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Straw for Bricks

37 – Straw for Bricks

Exodus 5:1 – 7:13

Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says. ‘Let my people go into the wilderness for three days so they can worship me.’”
The Pharaoh was shocked and said, “Who does the God of the Hebrews think he is—telling me what to do? I don’t know him, and I’m certainly not going to let my slaves go into the wilderness.”

He then focused on Moses and Aaron. “All of your talk about worship is keeping my slaves from doing their work. Stop all this talk and get back to work!”

He then called for his slave drivers. “My slaves are lazy! They have so much time on their hands that they’re talking about going out into the wilderness and worshipping God.

“Well, I’ll fix that. From now on, stop giving them straw for the bricks. Let them go get it themselves. Still, they’re to make just as many bricks as before. That’ll teach them not to stand around and listen to these fools!”

The slave drivers went and told the Israelite foremen what the Pharaoh said. “We’re not going to give you any more straw. You have to get it yourselves. Still you’re to produce just as many bricks as before.”

So the people immediately went throughout Egypt gathering straw. Because of this, they weren’t able to fulfill their allotted quota for making bricks. Therefore the slave drivers beat the foremen. They said, “You aren’t doing your job. You aren’t making enough bricks.”

The foremen went to Pharaoh. “Why are you treating your slaves this way? If we don’t have the straw, we can’t make the same amount of bricks as before.”

Pharaoh yelled at them. “You’re lazy—Lazy, I say! You’ve got time to stand around and say, ‘we want to go worship the Lord.’ So now it’s time to work. Go get your own straw, and I want the same amount of bricks as before.”

Moses was waiting for the foremen when they left Pharaoh. They said to him, “You have made us stink before Pharaoh. You put a sword in his hand, and he’s going to kill us with it.”

Moses went to the Lord and said, “Why did you send me here? You haven’t delivered the people. You’ve only caused them more trouble.”

The Lord said, “Oh Moses. You’re about to see what I’m going to do with Pharaoh. When I’m done, he’ll beg you to take these people away.

“Go tell the people that I am the Lord. I have heard their groaning, and I’m about to take them back to the land I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

Moses went to the people and gave them this message, but they wouldn’t listen to him. They were defeated and discouraged.

Then the Lord told Moses to go and talk to Pharaoh again. “Tell him to let my people leave this land.”

Moses said, “I’m not any good at this. If the people of Israel won’t listen to me, why would Pharaoh?”

The Lord said, “Moses, I have made you like a god to Pharaoh, and Aaron your prophet. Go and I’ll give you the words to say.”

So Moses and his brother Aaron stood before Pharaoh and asked him to allow the people of Israel to go into the desert and worship. Pharaoh asked for a sign, so Aaron threw his staff on the ground and it became a snake. The court magicians and sorcerers threw their sticks on the ground and they also turned into snakes. Suddenly Aaron’s snake ate the rest of the snakes! Still, Pharaoh wouldn’t listen to them.

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Finding a Wife

34 – Finding a Wife

Exodus 2:11-22

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was lifeless, empty, and dark. Then the Spirit of God moved across the vast emptiness. He said, “Let there be light.” Suddenly light shone around the entire sphere of the earth! God looked at the light, and saw that it was good. Pharaoh’s daughter raised Moses as if he were her own son. When he was grown, he went out to his people and saw how they were being abused as slaves.
Suddenly, he saw an Egyptian beating one of his people. Moses looked around to see if anyone was watching. He then hit the Egyptian and killed him. He quickly hid the body in the sand.

The next day, he went out again, but this time he saw two Hebrews fighting. He stopped them and said, “With all of your problems, why are you fighting each other?”

They pulled back and yelled, “Who made you our leader? You’re not our judge! Are you planning to kill us like you killed the Egyptian yesterday?”

Moses was shocked! He now realized his crime wasn’t a secret. Soon Pharaoh found out about it and sent men to kill Moses. So he ran away and barely escaped Egypt with his life.

He ended up out in the wilderness, at a place called Midian. Once he got there, he sat down next to a well. Soon seven women came to the well to draw water for their sheep. They were the daughters of Jethro, the priest of Midian.

Suddenly, some shepherds came and started to chase the women away. Moses stepped in and defended them. After the fight, he helped the women draw the water for their sheep.

When they got back home, Jethro was surprised his daughters were back so soon. They said, “An Egyptian protected us from the shepherds, and he even helped draw water for the flock.”

“So where is he? What! Did you leave him at the well? Go get him and invite him to come and have a meal with us.”

Moses stayed with Jethro and his family, and eventually married one of his daughters, a woman named Zipporah. Together, they had two sons.

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Speckled Spotted, & Streaked

24 – Speckled, Spotted, & Streaked

Genesis 29:31 – 31:3

Jacob worked for his uncle Laban a total of fourteen years to get his two wives. It was obvious that he loved Rachel more than Leah.
The Lord saw that Leah was unloved, so he kept Rachel from having children. After Leah had four sons, Rachel was so jealous that she yelled at Jacob, “Give me a son or I’ll die!”
He said, “I’m not God. I didn’t make you barren.”

With this, Rachel gave him her maidservant. She said, “Sleep with my servant. She can have children for me.” Jacob agreed and soon the servant started having children.

Suddenly Leah was unable to bear children. So she gave her maidservant to Jacob. Soon, with three women, Jacob had ten sons and one daughter. At that point God allowed Rachel to give birth to a son. She called him Joseph. He was the eleventh son.

At this point, Jacob went to Laban and said, “I want to return to my home. Give me the freedom to take my wives and children and go.”

Laban said, “Oh Jacob, be kind to me and don’t leave. I’ve learned that the Lord has blessed me because of you. I’ll pay you whatever you want.”

Jacob said, “You don’t have to pay me anything. Instead, allow me to build up my wealth by keeping a part of the flock.”

“I’ll oversee your flocks, but I’ll keep all the goats and sheep that are born speckled, spotted, or streaked. You keep the rest. In this way, you’ll know if I’m stealing from you. Simply check my flocks and see if they all have the right markings on them.”

Laban agreed to these terms, but immediately separated all the speckled, spotted, or streaked animals out of the flock. He sent them away with his son, so Jacob started this new agreement with nothing but Laban’s herds.

Still, Jacob had a way of making the lambs be born speckled, spotted, and streaked. Using this process, he made sure all the strongest of the flock were his, and all the weakest of the flock were Laban’s. In frustration, Laban changed their agreement ten times in order to gain the advantage. Even so, Jacob became very rich over the years.

One day, he overheard a conversation between his brothers-in-law. They said, “Jacob has built his wealth by taking what really belongs to our father.” He also noticed that Laban’s attitude had changed towards him.

The Lord said to Jacob, “Go back to the land I gave to your fathers, and I’ll be with you.”

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The Well Digger

21 – The Well Digger

Genesis 26:12-33

Isaac was a farmer while he lived among the Philistines. The Lord blessed his harvest so much that he became more and more wealthy. Eventually, his wealth was so great that the Philistines became jealous. They decided to plug up some wells Abraham had dug. In time, Abimelech asked Isaac to leave their country. He said, “You’ve become too powerful. We feel you’re a threat to us.”

Isaac moved to another valley, and his servants unplugged some of Abraham’s wells. They also dug some new ones. Suddenly they found precious spring water. The herdsmen in that area said, “That water belongs to us.” So Isaac’s servants went and dug other wells, and again found water. Again, the herdsmen said, “That’s our water.”

They went to another area and dug some more wells. This time, no one argued about the water they found. Isaac said, “Finally! The Lord has made room for us. We can now prosper at this spot. He called that place, “Plenty of Room.”

Abimelech and a delegation from the Philistines went to Isaac. When he saw them he said, “You sent me away in anger. So why have you come to me now?”

Abimelech said, “It’s clear to us that the Lord has been with you all this time. We want a treaty with you. We were good to you when you lived among us. Yes, we sent you away, but it was in peace. Now, let’s agree that you’ll treat us the same way and won’t harm us.”

So Isaac prepared a banquet, and they all ate and drank together. The next morning they each gave an oath that they would live in peace with one another.

As Abimelech and his delegation left, servants came and told Isaac about their newest well. They said, “We’ve found water.” So he called the place Beersheba, which means, “Well of the Oath.”

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Storm at Sea

255 – Storm at Sea

Acts 27:1-44

Arrangements were made for Paul to travel to Rome on cargo ships. He was put in the custody of a Roman officer named Julius. He was kind to Paul and allowed his friends to visit him whenever they were in port.

Travel was slow because of storms. After many stops and changing boats several times, they eventually arrived at Fair Haven on the island of Crete. It was close to winter so they had to stop.

Still, the captain wanted to sail a few miles up the coast to a better port. The weather had cleared and there was now a gentle breeze.

Paul said to Julius, “Tell the captain to stay here! If he doesn’t, he’ll lose the ship and its cargo and some people may die.” The Roman officer thought about what Paul said but decided to allow the captain to move on to the other port.

They left Fair Haven and started sailing along the coast. Suddenly a fierce wind pushed the ship out into deeper water. The crew struggled to fight the wind, but the storm grew more intense. Finally the captain stopped fighting the wind and allowed it to drive the ship along.

After several days in the storm, the crew threw the cargo overboard. A couple of days later they threw the ship’s gear overboard. In time, everyone knew they were going to die. They hadn’t seen the sun or stars for days and they hadn’t eaten anything.

Paul stood before the men. He said, “I told you not to leave the harbor. You didn’t listen, but now I have good news for you. An angel appeared to me last night with a message from God. He said, ‘Don’t be afraid! You’ll stand before Caesar. No one on this ship will die.’ What God says is true.

We’ll all live, but the ship will be destroyed.” They were in the storm for a total of fourteen days. About midnight on the last day, the sailors realized they were approaching land. They quickly let down an anchor to keep from running into the rocks.

Some of them started to let down the lifeboat so they could get off the ship. Paul shouted, “You will all die if these men leave the ship!” Immediately soldiers cut the lines and let the lifeboat fall into the water. Everyone prayed that morning would come soon.

Paul talked to the crew just before daylight. He said, “You haven’t eaten for fourteen days. Eat something because you’ll need your strength to go to shore today.” He then picked up some bread, gave thanks to God, and started eating. Everyone on the ship ate some food.

When it was light, they could see land through the storm. The captain spotted a bay with a beach. He decided to run the ship toward the beach as far as it would go. They pulled up the anchor and hoisted a sail. The fierce wind drove them toward the beach until the ship struck a sandbar. It jammed in the sand, and then started breaking up because of the waves.

The soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners so they wouldn’t escape. Julius stopped them because he wanted to save Paul’s life. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard and get to shore. Everyone else had to find planks from the ship and use them to float ashore. Soon everyone was in the water, and they all reached land safely.

Continued in the next story

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The Joys of Giving – 2 Corinthians (b)

248 – The Joys of Giving – 2 Corinthians (b)

2 Corinthians 7:1-13:14

This second half of 2 Corinthians is the most personal of all of Paul’s letters. Its purpose is to restore the relationship between him and the church before his upcoming visit. He continued by saying:

When I got to Macedonia, I was constantly thinking about you. I still didn’t know how you responded to my letter. But then I found Titus, and his report made my heart leap for joy! He told me how you loved me and wanted to do right. He said my letter caused you grief, but a godly grief. It led you to repent and continue your walk with God. My rejoicing has never been so full.

Another source of my joy is seeing how the churches here in Macedonia are giving to help those who are suffering in Jerusalem. They organized together so they could meet that need, even though they themselves are poor. The people have given according to their ability to give, and yes, beyond their ability.

I asked Titus to share this need with you because I knew you’d want to follow the example of the Christians here. But it’s also the example that the Lord Jesus gave us. He left the riches in heaven to become poor, so we could be rich.

Titus told me you immediately responded and wanted to give to this need. Praise God!

Now listen. The principles of giving are simple. First, every farmer knows—you don’t harvest much if you don’t plant a lot of seeds. Your giving is like planting seeds. If you’re generous, you’ll gain a generous harvest.

Next, each person should decide what he wants to give and then give it. God loves it when people give with gladness in their hearts.

Finally, when a seed is planted, it produces many seeds. So it is with giving. God multiplies your gift. Here is how it multiplies. First, the receiver is thankful for the gift. Second, you are blessed for giving. Next, they pray for you and then you pray for them. And finally, they are prompted to be generous with others when they are able. And it goes on and on.

Now, concerning my letters. I know some are saying, “Paul is bold when he writes letters, but he is nothing when he’s face to face.”

Don’t believe it. I’m the same person. I may be weak on the outside, but my weapons are powerful through God. He works through me to tear down anything that stands against him. Don’t make me be that way when we see each other.

Would it help if I bragged about myself? You know I don’t like to do that, but I’ll do it if it helps you be true to Christ. You let others brag about themselves, and they don’t even love you. I’ve totally given myself for you, so maybe you’ll put up with just a little bragging.

I’m a son of Abraham in every way. I serve Christ more enthusiastically than anyone. Because of my walk with Christ, my body has suffered every abuse that man can give. My travels for God have exposed me to every disaster a man can endure. Danger has been my constant companion. I’ve given up all comforts of life for Christ. On top of all that, I’m constantly burdened about the well being of all the churches.

I can’t keep this up. Let me say it this way. I know a man who was taken to the third heaven. I don’t know if he was dead or alive. All I know is, while he was in paradise, he saw and heard things that can’t be talked about.

I have to stop this foolishness. I’m really only proud of one thing. God has given me a thorn in the flesh because of all the special revelations he has given to me. I prayed three times, asking him to remove it. Finally he said, “My grace is all you need, because my power will be seen in your weakness.”

Now that is where I’ll brag—in my weakness! God gave it to me to demonstrate his power. Therefore when I’m weak, I’m strong.

Well, I’m a fool for bragging so much. Actually it is you who should be bragging on me. While others debate whether or not I’m an apostle, it shouldn’t be a debate for you.

Oh, my dear brothers. One fear clouds all my joy. I’m afraid we’ll all be disappointed when
I come to you. I dread the fact that I may find nothing at all has changed. I’m warning you. If that’s what I find, you’ll see the power of God working through me, and you won’t like it.

Our time together would be much better if you’re strong and I’m weak. That’s why I’m writing this to you now.

Finally brothers, be of good cheer and make sure you maintain spiritual health. Give everyone a hug for me. May the grace of the Lord Jesus, the love of the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you.