Judges // Week 3

These battles are horrendous. The destruction is almost unbearable to watch. What almost makes it worse is that, in a lot of ways, God’s people did this to themselves. By surrounding themselves with enemies of God, they allowed themselves to forget who they were: God’s chosen people.

Today, we are not fighting foreign people trying to conquer the promised land, but we are fighting a war against sin. Romans 6:12 says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” There is an enemy who hates you. Who prowls around like a lion waiting for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). Ehud made radical and violent efforts to free his people. When was the last time you took such serious measures to lay aside the sin that entangles you?

The enemies we face are just as real as Ehud’s, and we need God’s help if we are going to overcome the sin in our lives. Through Jesus' death on the cross, the gruesome debt we owe has been paid, and victory is ours. His help is the cause of each success, and His forgiveness is sufficient for each failure.

Would we not be like the Israelites, forgetting why we need a savior? But would we lay our hearts bare before the Lord as we ask Him to “reveal if there is any grievous way in us and lead us in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:24)?

As you process today’s reading, pray through and ask yourself these questions:

• When was the last time God showed me something wrong in my life, and I took immediate (and maybe painful) action to correct it?

• When was the last time I made a plan to obey God in some specific area of my life? Did I follow through with that plan?

• Is my life an example to others of what it looks like to live in obedience to God?