Stepping in the Light

“And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along. And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host. And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the LORD hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.” Judges 7:13-15

Gideon was less than confident about his ability to lead and his chances of victory in the battle against the Midianites. He asked the angel that appeared to him for a sign that their conversation was real. He put out a fleece two nights in a row asking for a sign from God that they would win. The Lord had Gideon send most of the people home after the test of how they drank from the brook. God knew that Gideon was afraid to lead the remaining 300 men against such a vast army, so He sent him down to spy on the host of the Midianites during the night. While Gideon was there, he overheard a conversation that completely convinced him that God had sent him and that they would ultimately prevail. God is never uncertain when it comes to accomplishing His will and He is totally capable of helping us see the direction that He desires for us to take.

“And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? Will ye save him? He that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar. Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar.” Judges 6:31-32

An angel appeared to Gideon and told him that he was chosen to lead his people against the Midianites who had invaded their land and greatly oppressed them. Gideon lacked confidence, but he reluctantly agreed to organize the resistance against the enemy forces. The Lord spoke to Gideon that night and told him to tear down the altar of Baal and cut down the grove that was by it. Gideon took some of his father’s servants and did exactly as God had told him. He then built an altar to the Lord and made a sacrifice on it. In the morning, when the men of the city had seen what had been done to the place where they worshipped their false gods, they demanded that Gideon be put to death. But Gideon’s father, Joash, came to his defense with this argument: if Baal is really a god, let him defend himself.  The reason the people were being oppressed by the Midianites was that they had turned to false gods. When Gideon took a stand for the Lord, he caused quite a stir amongst those who worshipped Baal. Our desire to avoid hurting people’s feelings is understandable, but you cannot stand for God without standing against the devil.

“And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim: And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger. And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.” Judges 2:10-13

God chose the people of Israel. He promised Abraham that He would make a great nation of him and that through this nation all the people of the world would be blessed. God’s hand is clearly seen as the history of Israel unfolds. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob wandered as strangers in a land that was not their own. God used Joseph to spare his family during the famine, but they remained in slavery in Egypt until the Lord sent Moses to lead them out. The Israelites saw the plagues in Egypt, walked through the Red Sea on dry ground, and ate manna from heaven every day. They crossed the Jordan River and conquered the land of Canaan under the leadership of Joshua. But soon after the people who experienced all of these things firsthand were gone, the Israelites quickly turned to other gods and began to worship them. The lesson here is that we need to constantly remind ourselves and the people around us of the goodness of God and the great things that He has done.

“Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.” Luke 3:21-22

The baptism of Jesus is significant for several reasons. Jesus submitted Himself to baptism as an example to all of us (Matthew 3:15). Baptism pictures the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ (Romans 6:1-5). It demonstrates a desire to follow a new path (Acts 8:36-38). Perhaps more importantly, we are given a clear glimpse of the Trinity. After Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in a bodily shape like a dove, and the voice of God the Father was heard from heaven. The people who were present saw Jesus (God the Son), they saw the shape of the dove (the Holy Spirit), and they heard the voice of God the Father all at the same time. The voice they heard said, “Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.” Our Heavenly Father wanted us to know Who Jesus was and that He was pleased with what Jesus was getting ready to do. Over the next three-and-a-half years, Jesus travelled about preaching to the multitudes, teaching His disciples, and healing the sick. All the while, Christ was preparing for the completion of His mission here on earth to die for the sins of the world. God the Father was perfectly pleased with the work of His Son and our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

“And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.” Luke 2:52

I am amazed when I stop to ponder the life that our Lord lived here on earth and how different it must have been from His experience in eternity past. According to John chapter one, Jesus Christ was the active member of the Godhead in creation. “All things were made by Him,” (John 1:3). He had all power, He was perfect, and He knew everything; yet He chose to come to this earth as a baby Who would have to learn how to walk and talk like everyone else does. He became hungry; He grew weary. The text above tells us that Jesus grew in four specific areas: wisdom, stature, favor with God, and favor with man. Jesus’ body grew each day at the rate of any normal human being. As that was happening, He was also learning. He chose to limit Himself to the mind in the human body that He possessed, so He needed to learn to read and write like any other young child. He also increased in favor with man. He learned how to interact with others and became an increasingly likable person. The more Jesus grew, the more He pleased God the Father because it was exactly what He needed to do to fulfill His mission on earth.

It is difficult to understand how the Son of God could experience personal growth, but this truth is an excellent example for all of us as Christians. If we want to please our Heavenly Father, we need to grow in the same way that He did.

“And the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there. And the land was subdued before them.” Joshua 18:1

In Exodus 23:29-30, God had promised to drive the Canaanites out before the Israelites gradually. Before the entire land was conquered, the entire nation of Israel gathered together in a place called Shiloh to set up the tabernacle. They had built the tabernacle in the wilderness under the direction of Moses. For forty years, they had moved with the tabernacle when they travelled and encamped around it when they stopped. In the time since they crossed the Jordan River, the tabernacle had not been set up. Once the place where the tabernacle would rest was chosen and conquered, Joshua placed a priority on setting up the tabernacle and implementing the required functions of sacrifice and worship that God had prescribed. For New Testament Christians, the Bible says that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. It is true that we are commanded in the book of Hebrews not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together, so church attendance is very important. However, the continual daily worship that took place at the tabernacle is a type of what should be happening in our spiritual lives each day. How is your personal “conquest of Canaan” going? Have you taken time to choose your “Shiloh”? Is your personal worship of the Lord a priority?

“And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Luke 1:76-79

Zacharias was an elderly priest who had served the Lord faithfully all his life. God sent an angel to tell Zacharias that he and his wife were going to have a son who would go before the promised Messiah to prepare the hearts of the people. Zacharias asked for a sign that this was really going to come to pass and the angel told him that he would be unable to speak until the child was born. Undoubtedly, the next nine months were difficult for Zacharias, but when their son was born, God gave Zacharias the ability to speak again. Zacharias began to prophesy about the amazing things that God was doing. The people had waited so long for the Messiah. They had focused so much on the prophecies about Christ’s millennial kingdom that they were only looking for someone who would be a great military leader. However, at the end of Zacharias’ prophecy, he said that the Christ would “guide our feet into the way of peace.” Jesus came so that we could experience peace with God. He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” The only way that we can ever know the way of peace is through the Lord Jesus Christ.

“For with God nothing shall be impossible.” Luke 1:37

When we say that something is impossible, we mean that it cannot be done. The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary with the message that she would be the one to bear the promised Messiah. Mary was willing to do what God wanted her to do, but she wondered how it could be true. She said to the angel, “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” Humanly speaking, what the angel said was impossible. Gabriel told Mary that her cousin Elisabeth who had been barren was now expecting a child in her old age. Then the angel said, “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” Gabriel was explaining to Mary that God was already doing things that no one thought possible, and that she needed to believe that He would do as promised. He is the God of the impossible.

We have to believe that God can do the impossible in order to be saved. We are sinners with no hope of ever ridding ourselves of our sin; but Jesus did the impossible by coming to this earth, living a sinless life, dying on the cross to pay for our sins, and rising again from the grave to show that He had the power to free us from our sins. It requires faith to believe that God can do the impossible.

God not only wants us to understand that He can do anything, He wants us to believe that He will do exactly as He has promised in His Word.

“And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho. And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day. And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.” Joshua 5:10-12

The people of Israel had been eating the manna that fell from heaven every day for forty years. After they crossed the Jordan River, they celebrated the Passover and began preparing themselves for battle against the inhabitants of the land. Canaan was described as a land “flowing with milk and honey.” When they had wandered in the wilderness, there was no natural source of food. Now they found themselves moving into a land of plenty, and they no longer needed the manna from heaven. It is interesting to note that the very next day the manna ceased.

God knows exactly what we need, and He knows how long we need it. God did not send the manna for the Israelites to make their lives easy; He sent the manna because the only way they could be sustained was by miraculous means. Sometimes we want manna when there is a harvest to reap. We must not expect miraculous provision when God has work for us to do.

“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” Joshua 1:8

This passage of scripture is used often because of the promise of success that God gave to Joshua at the end of the verse. We all want to be prosperous; we all have the desire to be successful. God told Joshua that he would experience success in leading the people if he would do three things with the book of the law: talk about it, think about it, and act upon it. Joshua would never have been able to do these three things if he did not read God’s law. He had to become familiar with it and understand it before he could completely obey it and effectively share it with others.

How well do we know the Bible? Have we read it enough to become familiar with it? Is our desire to understand it great enough that it causes us to think about it often? As we learn more about what the Bible says and we begin to understand its meanings more clearly, we will be more likely to talk to other people about what we have learned. When was the last time you had a conversation with someone about the Bible? Talking about the Bible sharpens our minds and strengthens our testimonies. The more we talk about the Bible, the more we will be encouraged to obey it.