1. Summary
In the wake of the Levite's concubine case
the Israelite assembly gathers
at Mizpah
to put an end
to the tribe of Benjamin.
2. What God is saying to me today
(1) Let go of your own passions, and examine yourself.
Then all the Israelites from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came out as one man and assembled before the LORD in Mizpah.
The leaders of all the people of the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand soldiers armed with swords.
(Judges 20:1-2)
Now is not the time for Israel to fight Benjamin.
The real enemy is within and without.
Within was spiritual corruption to the point where a Levite could have a concubine.
Without them was the threat of the Canaanites.
Instead of taking care of themselves and facing the real enemy, they were fighting a ridiculous battle.
particularly impressed by the phrase "400,000 soldiers".
How I wish I could have been this passionate about defeating enemies, both internal and external.
I see my own self-righteousness in them.
They are evil themselves, yet they are eager to destroy another evil.
I see myself doing the church wrong, and then claiming to have found the right theological alternative to solve other churches' problems.
It is time to stop being so passionate about this, to examine my own spirituality, and to get passionate about resisting the real enemy, Satan.
(2) 하나님이 달아보신다. 하나님이 결정하신다. 하나님이 판결하신다.
The incident of the Levite's concubine, recorded earlier,
This is clearly the sin of the Benjamites of Gibeah.
However, the Levite traveling with his concubine is also guilty of sin.
The fact that he allows his concubine to die, and then later appeals to the nation by sending her in pieces by package, is insane enough for a soap opera.
What's even more shocking is that the Israelite assembly doesn't recognize the sin of the Levite at all.
In other words, the whole of Israel is corrupted by sin.
(The Benjamites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah.) Then the Israelites said, "Tell us how this awful thing happened."......So all the men of Israel got together and united as one man against the city.
(Judges 20:3-11)
The Israelite assemblies then proceed to condemn Benjamin as "evil".
The evildoers call the evildoers evil, and they set themselves up as justice.
There is no God in their hearts.
So what about me?
Does my heart accept God as the only source of justice?
Have I ever been consumed by a personal sense of righteousness against the evil around me?
......
Yes!
The smokers in the villa parking lot who harm me by preventing me from leaving my home windows open, the fellow theological aggressors from the same seminary who make me feel inadequate, the strangers who never want to hear my story but treat me as if I owe them a debt and demand my time, the rude people who invite me to preach but treat me with disrespect......
In front of them, I would get carried away with righteousness, emphasizing the "I" word.
......
But this is not right.
God alone measures people, God alone judges people, and God alone condemns people.
I, too, am to be tested, judged, and condemned before God.
In the face of the supposed wicked, I must de-emphasize "me," think "God," and emphasize "God" alone.
3. Prayer of the Day
Dear Heavenly Father, my Lord and Master.
Thank you for speaking to me today, for being a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
Thank You for showing me that I am in no position to judge anyone.
I have judged the people You have allowed me to meet.
I ask You to forgive me.
I have strayed from Your way of righteousness, the way of the cross, which You have given me.
Forgive me, have mercy on me, and help me to give up all judgment of people.
Help me to look to You instead of judging myself.
Help me to hide behind your judgment, take care of myself, and focus on my calling to plant churches until I finish the fight that you have given me.
I pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.