David Bahn – Reflections

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These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are 1 Samuel 2-4, Psalm 106.

1 Samuel 3:10-21

And the LORD came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.” ¹¹ Then the LORD said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. ¹² On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. ¹³ And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. ¹⁴ Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”

¹⁵ Samuel lay until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. ¹⁶ But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.” ¹⁷ And Eli said, “What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.” ¹⁸ So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, “It is the LORD. Let him do what seems good to him.”

¹⁹ And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. ²⁰ And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the LORD. ²¹ And the LORD appeared again at Shiloh, for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the LORD.

Hannah has given birth and sings a song of praise to God — the One who raises up the lowly and the weak. Mary echoes Hannah’s song when she meets her cousin Elizabeth, as both await the birth of their promised sons. Hannah’s song is not only from her heart, but a powerful witness to the true nature of God. Out of that conviction, she presents Samuel to Eli to serve the LORD in his house.

Samuel continues to grow in stature and in favor with the LORD and also with man – echoing the growth of the boy Jesus recorded in Luke 2 after he was found among the teachers in the temple at age twelve. Much of the truth of God’s ways is laid down here in these chapters.

As Samuel serves in the house of the LORD, he hears a voice in the night calling his name: “Samuel!” He answers, “Here I am,” and runs to Eli, thinking he had called him. This happens three times before Eli realizes that the LORD is speaking to the boy. He instructs Samuel, if the LORD calls again, to answer, “Speak, LORD, for your servant hears.”

And so it happens. The LORD calls, Samuel answers, and the LORD gives him a heavy word to deliver to Eli. His sons will be put to death. Eli had not restrained them in their blasphemous and immoral behavior, and his house would fall. A hard message for a young and newly called prophet to deliver. But deliver it he did – and it came true. In fact, “none of Samuel’s words fell to the ground,” a vivid way of expressing the complete reliability with which he spoke the word of the LORD.

Sometimes those called by God must speak hard words. I recall one such moment early in my ministry, when I confronted a man in the hospital about misplaced priorities. The message was difficult, but the result was gracious. That same day I was able to assure him of God’s grace, salvation, and steadfast love.

Seldom are we called to speak a word without hope. That is the gift of the New Covenant in which we live. God humbles, but he also lifts up. He calls to repentance, but he does not abandon the repentant. This is the song Hannah sang – and it is the greater song fulfilled in Jesus Christ. In him grace and truth are fully found, and hope is given to all who trust in him.

Click on the graphic below to watch the Bible Project video summary of the book of 1 Samuel.

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are Judges 21, Ruth 1-2, Psalm 104.

Ruth 4:13-17

So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. ¹⁴ Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! ¹⁵ He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” ¹⁶ Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. ¹⁷ And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

1 Samuel 1:9-11

Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. ¹⁰ [Hannah] was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. ¹¹ And she vowed a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.”

These chapters have been, for me, a welcome relief from the sad and discouraging accounts of the judges in Israel. Those were dark days, marked by repeated cycles of murder, retribution, deceit, and violence. One thing is clear: God’s word does not soften the reality of human sin. We see it plainly – even when we might prefer a more muted telling.

Then we have this breath of fresh air – light in the darkness – in the persons of Ruth, Naomi, Boaz, and Hannah. Each bring a different facet of faithfulness, trust, grace, humility, and godliness into focus.

Naomi describes herself as bitter after the loss of her husband and her two sons. It is not necessarily the kind of sinful bitterness warned against in Hebrews 12:15, but rather an honest expression of deep sorrow. Yet her grief does not turn her inward. She still seeks the good of her daughters-in-law, urging them to return to their homeland and families. Orpah returns, but Ruth does not.

Ruth’s response is striking – marked by trust, humility, faithfulness, and initiative. She goes to glean in the fields, providing for Naomi. She listens to Naomi’s guidance about a kinsman-redeemer – a custom foreign to her as a Moabite – yet she follows it in faith. She goes to the threshing floor, lays at the feet of Boaz, and asks him to redeem Naomi and her.

Boaz provides for Ruth and Naomi by instructing the workers to allow her to draw water along with them, even allowing her to glean from the stacked stalks in the field, and protecting her from being taken advantage of. When it comes time to act as kinsman redeemer he makes certain that the closer relative was given the opportunity first before exercising his duty and privilege. The happy result is that a child is born – from whose lineage will come King David, and our Savior, Jesus Christ, Son of David, Son of God.

Hannah prays for a son, and the Lord gives her Samuel. He will serve in the house of the Lord and, in time, anoint David as king of Israel. The narrative is beginning to turn. We are moving toward some of the most familiar and beloved stories of the Old Testament. Yet as engaging and enduring as they are, we remember that all of this is prelude – pointing ahead to the once-for-all deliverance God will accomplish through his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. So we watch for him, even now, as we see glimpses of his grace and truth reflected in these faithful lives – bright lights in the dark days of the Judges.

Click on the graphic below to watch the Bible Project video summary of the book of 1 Samuel.

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are Judges 21, Ruth 1-2, Psalm 104.

Judges 21:25

In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Ruth 1:1-18 (Narrative Summary)

In the days when the judges ruled, a famine came upon the land, and a man from Bethlehem in Judah went to live for a time in Moab with his wife Naomi and their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion. While there, Elimelech died, leaving Naomi with her sons. The sons took Moabite wives, Orpah and Ruth, but after about ten years both sons also died, and Naomi was left without her husband and her children.

Hearing that the Lord had provided food for his people, Naomi set out to return to Judah with her daughters-in-law. Along the way she urged them to go back to their mothers’ houses, praying that the Lord would deal kindly with them and grant them rest in new homes. They wept and said they would go with her, but Naomi insisted, reminding them that she had no future to offer them and describing her own bitterness under the Lord’s hand.

Again they wept. Orpah kissed Naomi and returned to her people and her gods, but Ruth clung to her. Naomi urged her to follow her sister-in-law, but Ruth refused, saying that where Naomi went she would go, where she lodged she would lodge, that Naomi’s people would be her people and Naomi’s God her God. She pledged to remain with her even unto death. Seeing her determination, Naomi said no more.

Israel nearly destroys the tribe of Benjamin in retribution of the terrible events recorded in Judges 19. But instead of keeping it local, and because the people of Gilbea refused to hand over the guilty men. Israel goes to war against Benjamin, and nearly annihilates them. Israel is unraveling morally – seeking revenge, piling sin upon sin, and caving in to the ways of the people around them. They have no leader and we read those terrible words at the end of the book: In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

We’ve already seen that the deeper issue in Israel is not merely that they lack a king, but that they are not living under the LORD God as their King. Their allegiance is not to the LORD, it is to the convenient gods of the surrounding peoples. I this landscape of disintegration we are introduced to Ruth, the widow daughter-in-law of Naomi. This Moabite woman’s faith, humility, and loyalty offer a striking contrast to the chaos that has come before.

As these first two chapters introduce us to Ruth, it is important to remember that these events occur during the time of the Judges. It is a reminder that the goodness of God and the influence of the Holy Spirit shines brightest in the darkness of sin and evil. This book will offer a counterpoint to the ugly events recorded in the book of Judges.

As these chapters end we are introduced to Boaz – a man of great integrity, generosity, and kindness. Naomi tells Ruth that Boaz is “one of our redeemers;” a near relative able to restore what has been lost. In the midst of her emptiness, it is a quiet sign that God has already placed redemption within reach.

Naomi is saying, in effect, “there is still hope for us.” Tragedy has struck. These two widows are vulnerable and empty. But God is providing a way forward for them. He is, in fact, providing a way forward for us as well, for Ruth is an ancestor of Jesus, listed in Matthew’s record of his genealogy. There is hope for us as God acts throughout history to save and redeem his people. Ruth gives us a glimpse of that hope.

Click on the graphic below to watch the Bible Project video summary of the book of Ruth.

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are Judges 18-20, Psalm 103.

Judges 20:18-26

The people of Israel arose and went up to Bethel and inquired of God, “Who shall go up first for us to fight against the people of Benjamin?” And the Lord said, “Judah shall go up first.”

¹⁹ Then the people of Israel rose in the morning and encamped against Gibeah. ²⁰ And the men of Israel went out to fight against Benjamin, and the men of Israel drew up the battle line against them at Gibeah. ²¹ The people of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and destroyed on that day 22,000 men of the Israelites. ²² But the people, the men of Israel, took courage, and again formed the battle line in the same place where they had formed it on the first day. ²³ And the people of Israel went up and wept before the Lord until the evening. And they inquired of the Lord, “Shall we again draw near to fight against our brothers, the people of Benjamin?” And the Lord said, “Go up against them.”

²⁴ So the people of Israel came near against the people of Benjamin the second day. ²⁵ And Benjamin went against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed 18,000 men of the people of Israel. All these were men who drew the sword. ²⁶ Then all the people of Israel, the whole army, went up and came to Bethel and wept. They sat there before the Lord and fasted that day until evening, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. 

Judges 18–20 lays bare the corruption of a kingless people. The people still speak the Lord’s name, yet live as though he were absent. Worship is reshaped to fit convenience and sullied by pagan gods. Morality collapses into brutality, and even the pursuit of justice leads to deeper destruction. Again and again they inquire of the Lord, yet their actions reveal hearts untethered from true faith and trustful obedience. What unfolds is not merely a series of tragic events, but a revealing portrait of human sinfulness – restless, self-directed, and unable to set itself right. And yet, in the midst of all this, the Lord remains – present, speaking, and unchanged – exposing both the depth of their need and the reality that their hope must come from beyond themselves.

Notice that the people do not abandon religion – they reshape it. They take what belongs to the Lord and bend it to their purposes, convincing themselves that God is with them even as they go their own way. They who were made in the image of God remake God into their own image: powerless, manipulative, unreliable and completely impotent.

And their sinful pride doesn’t stay contained. What begins as distorted worship spills into distorted living. The corruption deepens, relationships fracture, and violence multiplies. One tribe’s sin becomes the whole nation’s tragedy.

So they call out to God. Problem is, seeking God is not the same as submitting to him. They inquire of the Lord, and he answers – yet their hearts remain unchanged. They want direction without surrender, guidance without repentance – until the events in these verses. They realize how far they had wandered. The people of Israel went up and wept before the Lord until the evening.

Will it stick? Will they remain faithfully obedient? We know how this goes. But thankfully – and I mean that sincerely – thankfully, God remains present even in the face of the wavering faithfulness and untethered hearts. The Lord does not disappear. He is still there – hearing, speaking, and acting – not because his people are faithful, but because he is. God, alone, is the only constant. His ways are the only true way of life.

Their problem isn’t just that the people of Israel have no king… it’s that they have no true King. What Israel lacks is not merely leadership, but a heart rightly ruled. Their corruption exposes a deeper need – for a King who does not mirror their brokenness, but redeems it.

This is the cycle of Judges plays out: false worship leads to spreading corruption, which begets hollow seeking, played out in the shadow of God’s reliable faithfulness, pointing to our need for a true King. This cycle will repeat itself throughout the Old Testament – until the True King, our Lord Jesus comes to save us. We who are prone to wander, broken and evil (Jesus’ word to describe his own disciples) have a Savior who is faithful, broken in our place on the cross, and truly good. We have a true king! Thanks be to God!

Click on the graphic below to watch the Bible Project video summary of the book of Judges.

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are Judges 9-11, Psalm 100.

Judges 10:8-18

For eighteen years [the Philistines and Ammonites] oppressed all the people of Israel who were beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead. ⁹ And the Ammonites crossed the Jordan to fight also against Judah and against Benjamin and against the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was severely distressed.

¹⁰ And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, saying, “We have sinned against you, because we have forsaken our God and have served the Baals.” ¹¹ And the Lord said to the people of Israel, “Did I not save you from the Egyptians and from the Amorites, from the Ammonites and from the Philistines? ¹² The Sidonians also, and the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you, and you cried out to me, and I saved you out of their hand. ¹³ Yet you have forsaken me and served other gods; therefore I will save you no more. ¹⁴ Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.” ¹⁵ And the people of Israel said to the Lord, “We have sinned; do to us whatever seems good to you. Only please deliver us this day.” ¹⁶ So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the Lord, and he became impatient over the misery of Israel.

¹⁷ Then the Ammonites were called to arms, and they encamped in Gilead. And the people of Israel came together, and they encamped at Mizpah. ¹⁸ And the people, the leaders of Gilead, said one to another, “Who is the man who will begin to fight against the Ammonites? He shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”

Judges 9–11 traces Israel’s deepening faithlessness – from Abimelech’s violent, self-made rule to the nation’s return to idolatry and the oppression that follows. Leadership falters, the people wander, and the familiar cycle spirals downward. Yet when Israel cries out again, the response is not immediate rescue but a searching confrontation that exposes the emptiness of the gods they have chosen. It is here, in the tension between judgment and compassion, that the focus sharpens – leading into Judges 10:8–18, where repentance deepens and the heart of God toward his people is revealed.

In the face of these threats the people of Israel confessed: “We have sinned against you, because we have forsaken our God and have served the Baals.” It wasn’t just that they had done some bad things like stealing, adultery, or even murder. They sinned by forsaking God and looking to false gods, the Baals – man-made answers to fear, dressed up as divine power.

So God’s answer was not simply to forgive, “That’s OK, I forgive you.” This struck me strongly – as one who deals so consistently in God’s grace. In fact it struck me pretty hard to hear God say, “Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.” 

God wanted more than a contrition borne of desperation. He wanted – and always does want – true repentance. He desires not just empty words – especially those that sound sincere but are driven by sincere sadness of being in distress. God is always concerned with the heart. It’s like John the Baptist said to the people coming out to be baptized by him 1200 years later: “Bring forth the fruits of repentance.” In other words, sincere repentance isn’t just an Old Testament ideal. It’s the center of our relationship with God.

The people of Israel show true repentance by throwing away their idols and foreign gods. I noticed that God “became impatient over the misery of Israel.” And God acted in their behalf. Deliverance begins even before a deliver appears. Here we learn the danger of self-made salvation, the depth of Israel’s wandering, and the persistence of God’s mercy.

And so it is today. We might discover the same truth. Revival begins with repentance. It might be that God begins to act before we see the fruits of his deliverance. But it always starts with true repentance for sin isn’t just an act. It is a condition that can be overcome only by God’s grace and we discover that grace as we approach him in humility and contrition. Let not the persistence of God’s mercy ever lead us to abandon our faith in him and his ways.

Click on the graphic below to watch the Bible Project video summary of the book of Judges.

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are Judges 6-8, Psalm 99.

Judges 6:33-40

Now all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East came together, and they crossed the Jordan and encamped in the Valley of Jezreel. ³⁴ But the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon, and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him. ³⁵ And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, and they too were called out to follow him. And he sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they went up to meet them.

³⁶ Then Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, ³⁷ behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.” ³⁸ And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water. ³⁹ Then Gideon said to God, “Let not your anger burn against me; let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece. Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be dew.” ⁴⁰ And God did so that night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew.

Gideon faced a momentous decision. Was he really to save Israel from the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people of the East? Was he the one?

God had already spoken clearly:

“Go in this might of yours and save Israel… do not I send you?”
And he said, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? … I am the least…”
And the Lord said, “But I will be with you…” – Judges 6:14–16

Still, Gideon wanted a sign – something to confirm that this was truly God’s call. So he laid out a fleece. First, the fleece was wet and the ground dry. Then the reverse. And so it was. Reassured, Gideon went forward – and God would later use just 300 men to deliver Israel.

There comes a moment when calling becomes reality – when faith meets risk. Gideon stood there. So have we.

Nearly 22 years ago, I faced a far smaller but still significant decision. I received a call to serve as senior pastor at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. I loved where I was serving. Holy Cross in Arlington was a great fit. We had built a strong team, completed a building project, and the church was growing. I was ready to stay.

Then came the call to St. John.

After visiting, Diane and I wrestled with the decision. Stay or go?

I didn’t lay out fleeces, but I did write two letters – one declining the call, one accepting it. As I wrote, I sensed where my heart was leaning. When Diane read them, she confirmed it: “This one has passion and energy,” she said of the letter accepting the call.

And so it was.

Sometimes God’s signs are external, like Gideon’s fleece. More often, they come through prayer, conversation, and sanctified reason – shaped by God’s Word and guided by his Spirit.

Our best decisions are made not in certainty, but in trust – trusting that the Lord who calls also goes with us.

I’m thankful he led me to St. John – even if it took two letters to see it clearly.

Click on the graphic below to watch the Bible Project video summary of the book of Judges.

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are Judges 3-5, Psalm 98.

Psalm 98

Oh sing to the LORD a new song,
    for he has done marvelous things!
His right hand and his holy arm
    have worked salvation for him.
² The LORD has made known his salvation;
    he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.
³ He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
    to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
    the salvation of our God.

⁴ Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth;
    break forth into joyous song and sing praises!
⁵ Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre,
    with the lyre and the sound of melody!
⁶ With trumpets and the sound of the horn
    make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD!

⁷ Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
    the world and those who dwell in it!
⁸ Let the rivers clap their hands;
    let the hills sing for joy together
⁹ before the LORD, for he comes
    to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
    and the peoples with equity.

The familiar cycle continues to unfold in these chapters of Judges: God’s favor, Israel’s faithfulness, their turning away, the Lord’s judgment, their repentance, and once again his gracious deliverance. We are regaled with accounts of a two-edged sword plunged into the belly of a fat king, a tent peg driven through the temple of another enemy, Deborah’s spiritual and political leadership, and finally a song of praise celebrating Israel’s victories.

We know, however, that the cycle will continue. Soon we will read again, “the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.” In fact, that refrain appears only a couple more times in the remaining chapters of Judges. By the end, the pattern itself begins to unravel, and we are left with this sobering summary: “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25).

The psalm for today, Psalm 98, was not written for a single historical moment but for the ongoing worship of God’s people. It celebrates the Lord’s saving work – likely reflecting Israel’s experience of deliverance and restoration – and looks forward to the day when all nations and all creation will rejoice in his righteous reign.

The contrast with the time of the Judges is striking. There the nation staggers in immaturity and instability. Here, the horizon widens: God’s faithfulness, justice, holiness, majesty, and steadfast love come into clearer view, and the nations themselves are drawn into the song -“all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.”

Today, that salvation has been made fully known in Jesus Christ. What the psalm anticipates, we now see: God has revealed his righteousness to the nations in his Son. This is cause for the whole earth to rejoice. We look back to his death and resurrection, and forward to his coming again to judge the world in righteousness and vindicate those who trust in him.

And yet, like Israel, we know the pattern of wandering and return. But the Lord remains faithful. He works even through weakness and failure to accomplish his purposes. He is creating a people for his glory – and that glory is now revealed in Jesus, who in his grace calls us again and again to repentance and to a life of faith in him.

Click on the graphic below to watch the video.

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are Joshua 24, Judges 1-2, Psalm 97.

Joshua 24:14-18

“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. ¹⁵ And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

¹⁶ Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods, ¹⁷ for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed. ¹⁸ And the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”

Judges 2:16-23

Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. ¹⁷ Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord, and they did not do so. ¹⁸ Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. ¹⁹ But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. ²⁰ So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, ²¹ I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, ²² in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the Lord as their fathers did, or not.” ²³ So the Lord left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua.

The saga of God’s people will continue like this until the end of time. We receive God’s grace, recognize his great deliverance (think Easter), promise to follow him at all times and in every way. Then after only a little while we discover some distraction or another. The challenge of remaining faithful becomes more difficult. The enticement of other ways to happiness and success turns us away from his ways. We wander from the paths of righteousness. Trouble ensues.

We like to make the distinction between discipline and punishment. We like to say that God disciplines his people, but he does not punish them. We read Hebrews 12:11, “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” But we don’t like the idea of punishment. We would rather say, “God does not punish his children for their sins – Christ has borne that punishment. But he does discipline them in love, often through the consequences of sin and the hardships of life, in order to call them to repentance and strengthen their faith.

In the Old Testament – as in this passage from Judges – God’s dealings with his people could be described as punishment because they involved real temporal judgment under the covenant. Yet even then, for those who believed, these were not acts of final condemnation but of covenant discipline. With the coming of Christ, we now see clearly that all punishment for sin has been borne by him, and what remains for believers is the loving discipline of a Father.

But…sigh… How is it possible that we – just like the people of Joshua’s day – can be so hot and cold? One day we’re worshiping God in fervor and glorious celebration. The next day we’re falling off the path (that’s the meaning of trespassing, by the way).

Whether it’s the consequences of sin or the hardships of life in a fallen world, the attacks of Satan which God may allow (all within his boundaries!) or the visitation of fleshly thorns: God’s intent is always to bring us back to him. His desire always is to forgive, bless, nurture, guide, and save.

Rather than saying – almost bragging, “we will do everything you have commanded,” we should rejoice that Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” (Matthew 5:3) and live in daily repentance and faith in Christ’s kingdom of grace, truth, love, and life.

One final note: It will be very helpful to watch the Bible Project video summary of the book of Judges. We’re in for some disturbing, brutal, and sad tales in these 21 chapters. All this, remember, is prelude to the ultimate deliverance of God by his Own Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. We must keep this in mind always!

Click on the graphic to watch the video.

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are Joshua 21-23, Psalm 96.

Joshua 23:1-9

A long time afterward, when the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their surrounding enemies, and Joshua was old and well advanced in years, ² Joshua summoned all Israel, its elders and heads, its judges and officers, and said to them, “I am now old and well advanced in years. ³ And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake, for it is the Lord your God who has fought for you. ⁴ Behold, I have allotted to you as an inheritance for your tribes those nations that remain, along with all the nations that I have already cut off, from the Jordan to the Great Sea in the west. ⁵ The Lord your God will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight. And you shall possess their land, just as the Lord your God promised you. ⁶ Therefore, be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left, ⁷ that you may not mix with these nations remaining among you or make mention of the names of their gods or swear by them or serve them or bow down to them, ⁸ but you shall cling to the Lord your God just as you have done to this day. ⁹ For the Lord has driven out before you great and strong nations. And as for you, no man has been able to stand before you to this day. 

There are actually two dangers regarding staying true to God’s word. One is to abandon the truth or water it down so that the truth is no longer true. This is the grave warning Joshua is giving to the people as he nears the end of his life. Don’t turn to the right or the left. Keep on the straight and narrow. Don’t water down this religion you have been given. Don’t let the influences of the foreign nations turn you from the path that you have been given. It is a path centered in the grace of God and his deliverance from oppression and slavery. It is a path away from slavery. It is a path of victory and promise. It is a path of the God who has revealed himself to them as YAHW, LORD, The One Who is.

The distraction from this path would be to forget God’s deliverance. It would be to turn to strange gods who demand payment and appeasement in order to gain their favor. It is to trade the sovereign God for an idol who has no true power. It would be to turn aside from a path of blessing to a path of futility and folly.

Why would they do this? Sometimes we are tempted away from God’s ways because we are led to doubt his goodness and forget his grace. Sometimes God’s works seem so far in the past that we forget his past blessings. Sometimes the ways of the other gods can entice – though theirs is a fools gold.

Our faith is centered in God’s mighty deliverance from sin, death, and the devil by One even greater than Moses and Joshua. Jesus, God’s own Son has redeemed us, conquered death, and promises forgiveness, life and salvation. We just celebrated that deliverance yesterday on Resurrection Sunday. “Jesus Christ is risen,” we proclaimed. “He is risen indeed! Alleluia!” Through faith in him we have eternal life.

Sadly, however, there is another danger regarding purity that for some may sound even more compelling than simple faith in Jesus. The Pharisees had that down pat. They were devoted to religious rules that had the appearance of purity, but squeezed the grace out of God’s truth. There are also recognizable departures from the Christian faith, and we must be on guard against them. We must avoid any teaching that diminishes Jesus as God’s only Son, God in the flesh. So too, we turn away from false religions and ideologies—paganism, materialism, atheism, and Islam—which draw hearts away from the living God.

The danger is not only abandoning the truth, but replacing it with something that looks religious yet empties Christ of his grace. Stay on the path—fix your eyes on Jesus, who alone is our righteousness, our life, and our salvation.