Judges 11:15-22 - A defence of Israel

11:15-18

Jephthah gives the Ammonite king a history lesson. He recounts events which were recorded in Deuteronomy 2:9 and 2:19 in particular. Israel had not been on a war footing. They had not taken the land of Moab nor of the Ammonites. Even when Edom refused them safe passage they did not attack, but took a different route (Num 20). Instead they skirted the lands of Edom and Moab, not entering them. It is useful to know one's history. This is still true today. There is a lot of nonsense talked about Israel, there is also a lack of knowledge with regard to the worldwide history of slavery and colonisation.

11:19-22

Having dealt with cases where Israel accepted the refusal to allow them through their country, Jephthah now turns to cases where Israel did engage in battle. In these cases the recalcitrant nation started the war. Israel won the war, and took the land from the Amorites, so it was not taken from the Ammonites. 

Acts 16:13-15 - Lydia was a worshipper of God

16:13

The Jewish population of Philippi was very small, hence no preaching in a synagogue. Instead they looked for a “place of prayer” by the river on the Sabbath. So Paul was still expecting to meet some Jews and God-fearers. Paul’s tactics are interesting. The Gentiles in general were an unlikely audience for the gospel (as indeed were the Jews, as events demonstrated!). However, within that, Paul started by going to the places where he was most likely to get a hearing. It is noteworthy that Paul goes to speak to the women. Were there more women than men? Were they more likely to be receptive?

16:14,15

We are now introduced to Lydia, who becomes a leading woman in Acts, having considerable faith and influence. She is described as a “dealer in purple cloth” and a worshipper of God. Being a “dealer in purple cloth” means she would be quite wealthy. The gospel is for all, rich and poor, slave and free. But there is no bias against the rich per se. It is the love of money that is the problem. Lydia believes, and this is clearly presented as the work of the Lord. 

She and her household were baptised. The household would include servants as well as family members. She invited Paul and his co-workers to stay at her house.

Judges 11:12-14 - What do you have against me

11:12,13

Jephthah does not start by making an attack on the Ammonite, instead he begins by taking a diplomatic approach by sending messengers to the Ammonite king and asking why they are attacking Israel. The Ammonite king replies by saying that Israel had stolen the land after they came out of Egypt, and demanded that they give it back.

11:14

Jephthah then gives a lengthy response countering what the Ammonite king has claimed. There is a superficial plausibility to the king’s claim. Just as there is a superficial plausibility to the claims of Palestinians that Israel has no right to exist. WIth regard to the latter, Israel was established by the UN, so even if all we look at is recent history their claims are dodgy, but history goes much further back than that.

Acts 16:8-12 - Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia

16:8-10

Troas was the main Asian port for boats headed for Macedonia. Previously the Holy Spirit had guided Paul by stopping him from going in various directions. Paul now receives a vision giving him positive direction. The vision is of a man of Macedonia begging Paul and his companions to come over and help them. Paul concluded that it was God calling them to Macedonia, the two negative directions would help them reach this conclusion. So they set off for Macedonia. I read a book once (on covenantal apologetics) which was a very good book, yet said that God never uses visions or dreams to direct people now. This is nonsense. Now it is wrong to be expecting visions at every turn. The basis for our direction in life should be consistent study and meditation on the word of God, but there may be times when God sends a vision, a dream or an angel to give specific guidance. The Bible contains many such instances, and gives no indication that God has given up on the practice.

16:10 says “we”, and this is the first of the “we” passages. This is taken to indicate that Luke had now joined the party and so was a direct witness of some of the events he recounts. He would also be able to get information on earlier events.

16:11,12

Samothrace was the port of the inland city of Philippi. Hence their travelling there from the port. Philippi was an important city, and they stayed there for several days.

Judges 11:4-11 - Come and be our leader

11:4-6

As usual, things were not going well for Israel, with the Ammonites fighting against them. While Jephthah’s family didn’t seem to think much of him, the elders of Gilead had a better impression of him. So they went to Tob and pleaded with him to come and lead them. Other judges were “raised up” by God, there is no reference to this here. However, the rest of the text does indicate that Jephthah had God’s approval (11:29).

11:7

It seems that the elders may have been participants in driving Jephthah away. If this is so, then they acted out of pure short-term self-interest. Driving him away when his brothers were all against him, but changing their minds now that things were going badly for them. They had no faith in God (James 1:6). Jephthah does not trust them and asks why they have suddenly changed their tune.

11:8-11

The elders seem to admit their double mindedness, but say they are now very much on Jephthah’s side. Jephthah is far from convinced and wants further assurances. In response the elders swear by the name of the Lord, and this seemed to satisfy Jephthah. Jephthah then made a declaration before the Lord.

Acts 16:4-7 - So the churches were strengthened

16:4,5

Part of the purpose of their journey was to transmit the decision reached in Jerusalem regarding the requirements on Gentile believers, namely that they were not required to follow the Law. The result was that the “churches were strengthened in the faith” and “grew daily in numbers”. Sadly, it is highly unlikely that the decisions made by the CofE and CofS, and others, will result in churches being strengthened or growing in numbers.

16:6,7

A feature of Acts is the work of the Holy Spirit, not just in the miracles, but in leading the church. So far this has all been positive, but here we see two examples of the Spirit stopping them from going to two places. First, the Holy Spirit stopped them from “preaching the word in the province of Asia”. Then the “Spirit of Jesus” would not allow them to enter Bithynia. The Spirit of Jesus and the Holy Spirit are one and the same. We are not given any reason here why He stopped them. However, given what comes up in the next few verses, it is likely that this would have distracted them from the work in Macedonia that He had for them. God had different plans. Sometimes the question “why are you not allowing me to do this” has the answer “because I have something different/better for you to do”.

Judges 11:1-3 - Jephthah was a mighty warrior

11:1

We now get to the meat of the matter. As we read through this chapter I cannot help seeing some parallels with the current Israel-Palestine situation. There are arguments over who has a right to the land, with some of the arguments being based on incomplete information. With the whole Judges situation there are parallels as well. Israel at the time was thoroughly apostate, yet God still intervened to help them at various times.He tried to teach them a lesson, but they were very stiff-necked. Modern Israel is a very atheistic/secular nation, with much outsight disobedience to God, as well as the refusal to recognise Jesus as their Messiah. Yet God still has a care for the nation. Obviously one must be careful in reading too much into this, but the parallels seem interesting.

11:1-3

Jephthah was described as a “mighty warrior” from the beginning, and seems to see himself as such, unlike Gideon. Like Abimelek, he had a dubious ancestry. His mother was a prostitute. The “real” sons of Gilead considered themselves better than Jephthah and drove him away, not wanting him to have any share in their inheritance. Jephthah fled to Tob, and gathered a bunch of scoundrels around himself. This reminds me of David gathering various malcontents around himself (1 Sam 22:2).

Acts 16:1-3 - The believers spoke well of him

16:1

From now on Acts is almost entirely about Paul and his mission work. Derbe and Lystra were the first two places that he visited, and in this chapter we are introduced to various characters, coming from very different backgrounds. The first of these is TImothy. Timothy was more than a co-worker with Paul, he was more of a spiritual son, as shown by the two pastoral letters bearing his name. 2 Tim 1:5 tells us that his mother was Eunice, and his grandmother Lois. His mother was Jewish, but he came from a mixed marriage, his father being Greek.

16:2,3

Timothy had already garnered a good reputation, with other believers speaking well of him. Paul saw the potential in Timothy and decided to take him along on his missionary journey. We then get a rather surprising item. Paul had him circumcised, indeed Paul himself circumcised him. Now given the council in Jerusalem which we read about in the previous chapter, and especially Paul’s writings in Galatians this seems at odds with all that. However, Paul’s contention was that circumcision had nothing to do with salvation. As a Jew he should have been circumcised on the eighth day, but it seems that his father had not allowed that to happen. So Paul was making sure that Timothy could not be accused of being a “failed Jew”.

Judges 10:15-18 - We have sinned

10:15,16

Israel replies by once again confessing their sin. They also entrust themselves to God’s judgement, if only he will rescue them from their present trouble. This reminds me of 2 Samuel 24:14 where David chooses to fall into the hands of the Lord after his sin of counting the fighting men. Israel then takes action in line with repentance. They got rid of all their idols (indicating how endemic idol worship had become) and served the Lord instead. “And He could bear Israel’s misery no longer”. Throughout the Old Testament we find two rhythms. One is God’s hatred of sin, and anger against the people who sin, the other is His love and compassion for Israel. If we want to understand the Bible, to understand God, we must give full weight to both of these. If we favour one against the other then we will go astray. It is only in the cross and resurrection that the apparent paradox is resolved. The cross is both a judgement on our sin and the source of our forgiveness.

10:17,18

So the scene is set for a battle. The Ammonites were amassed in Gilead, and the Israelites at Mizpah. Israel still had a problem.Who would lead them? We can see parallels here with the cry that there is no one, not even one who is righteous (Rom 3:10). Notice that the scene is set by portraying the moral state of the nation, and the scene is set for rescue when the people have confessed their sin, and have taken action in keeping with repentance (Matt 3:8). The same lesson applies to our own country. 

Acts 15:36-41 - They had such a sharp disagreement

15:36

After the harmony achieved over the circumcision issue, we now come to disharmony. The harmony had been achieved by debate and discussion. The disharmony we see at the end of the chapter is not resolved at this point, except by Paul and Barnabas going their separate ways. Though it would be resolved later on. Paul wanted to go back to visit the believers in all the places they had previously visited.

15:37-41

Barnabas wanted to take John Mark. This was the John Mark  who had left them in Perga (Acts 13:13). Paul considered this a serious matter, which Luke seems to agree with as he uses the word “deserted”, which isn’t quite the word used in Acts 13. Barnabas did not hold anything against John Mark. There was a sharp disagreement between Paul and Barnabas, and one that was not resolved, but ended in them going their separate ways. Barnabas took Mark and went off to Cyprus. Paul took Silas. It says that Paul and Silas were commended by the church, but makes no such comment about Barnabas. Acts, along with the rest of the Bible, is very honest about human frailties. 

Judges 10:8-14 - The Israelites cried out to the Lord

10:8-10

The Ammonites and Canaanites crushed Israel. As noted above, the emphasis in this account is on the Ammonites, and they oppressed the Israelites on the east side of the Jordan for eighteen years. In addition, they crossed the Jordan and fought against Judah, Benjamin and Ephraim. Only after all this did Israel cry out to the Lord. “We have sinned against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals.”  This is the first time in Judges that there has been a hint of repentance. Previously they have just been crying out because of their oppression. Here there is a recognition of the root cause of the problem, forsaking God and worshipping idols.

10:11-14

God replies to them, but it is not with soft words, but with a further condemnation of the people. Israel had been oppressed by various people, but God had rescued them from them all. But they still persisted in forgetting God and serving false gods. Therefore God declares that He will no longer save them. Instead He mocks them, telling them to cry out to the gods they have chosen to worship and see what happens.

Acts 15:30-35 - They were sent off with a blessing

15:30-32

So the letter was delivered, and its contents were very well received. Judas and Silas were prophets, and they “said much to encourage the believers”. One of the frustrating things about the New Testament is that there is very limited information on what the prophets actually did. I.e. Here we are not told how they encouraged the church, and how it differed from preaching or teaching.

15:33-35

Judas and Silas spent some time in Antioch, and then returned to Jerusalem. They were sent off by the believers with blessings, indicating that harmony existed between the Gentile and Jewish believers. Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord. There were many others who did this too. We may sometimes wonder what is the difference between preaching and teaching. Preaching is more a declaration of the word, and is also perhaps aimed more at unbelievers. Some manuscripts have a verse 15:34 saying "But Silas decided to remain there", this was added to explain how Paul managed to take Silas (v40).

Judges 10:6,7 - He became angry with them

10:6

We now come to Jephthah. He is a major figure in Judges, receiving three chapters worth of attention. However, he is not well known. While almost every Christian has heard of Gideon and Samson, and many of Deborah, far fewer are aware of Jephthah. 

The section starts with the oft repeated refrain “the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord”. Sin was the biggest problem that Israel had. This is also true for every human being, and every nation on earth, and the Bible is an account of the problem and of how God addresses the problem through Jesus Christ. The Israelites served the gods of the various nations around them. They would serve any god except the one True God. At this time there was no one dominant power, such as there would be in later years, such as Assyria, Babylon, Persia.

10:7

“He became angry with them” because they no longer served the Lord. And so they were “sold into the hands of the Philistines and Ammonites”. The use of the term “sold” is interesting, and is perhaps relevant in terms of “ransom” terminology sometimes being used in terms of salvation. The narrative of Jephthah is concerned almost entirely with the Ammonites, whereas the Samson story concerns the Philistines. 

Acts 15:23-29 - You will do well to avoid these things

15:23,24

So a letter was put together, it was addressed specifically to the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia. The letter begins by stressing that the people who had come up from Jerusalem insisting that they needed to be circumcised did not have any authorisation from the Jerusalem church, and they recognised that these people had “disturbed” the Gentile believers.

15:25-27

The two men sent up with Paul and Barnabas did have the authority of the Jerusalem church, so the message they brought was “official”. The letter stresses the credentials of Silas and Judas, they had risked their lives for the sake of Christ. So they weren’t in it just for their own egos! There was a genuine cost involved. Silas and Judas could confirm the contents of the letter and, presumably, answer any questions that the Gentile believers might have.

15:28,29

The letter also claims that they were following the leading of the Holy Spirit. They would not “burden” the church beyond the requirements specifically mentioned in the letter. These were, as noted earlier, “to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality”. They are strongly encouraged to keep to these rules. It is noteworthy that abstaining from sexual immorality is the only one that is an absolute. In Rom 14 and 1 Cor 8 a slightly different line on food offered idols is taken.

Judges 10:1-5 - He had thirty sons

10:1,2

The chapter begins with two minor judges, of whom very little is said. The opening line that this happened after the time of Abimelek shows that the whole account was intended to be in chronological order. Despite very little being said about Tola, he is the only one whose father and grandfather’s names are given. It may be that this was done because Tola and Puah were names of Issachar’s sons, and so referred to clans within the tribe (Evans), so the writer was stressing that he was referring to a particular individual called Tola.

Tola “rose to save Israel”. We are not told that Israel “did evil in the eyes of the Lord”, though it is a fair bet that they did, as that was their custom. Also, the time of Abimelek could be seen as a time of “doing evil”. Nor are we told who was oppressing them. Again, it could be that we are meant to see Tola delivering them from the chaos of the Abimelek years. Anyway, Tola led Israel for twenty three years, then he died. Often the period given for a judge is forty or eighty years, which may be a rounded number. In this case the figure is not rounded, and may indicate that it is a precise figure.

10:3-5

Tola was followed by Jair, and he led (or judged) for twenty two years. Jair came from the transJordan tribes, following the wide spread of the origin of the judges. We are not given any information on his parents, only that he had thirty sons who rode thirty donkeys. This is indicative of his wealth and influence. These sons controlled the thirty towns of Gilead. Jair comes straight after Tola, and again there is no mention of Israel “doing evil”, nor of their being oppressed. Nor are there any details of what Jair did. It is possible that the time of Tola and Jair were a time of relative peace and even obedience to God, or at least not outright idolatry, though given the history of the book the latter seems a little unlikely.

Acts 15:19-22 - We should not make it difficult for the Gentiles

15:19

James therefore recommends that they do not pout any extra burdens on the Gentiles. As churches there are two things we must do. We must hold to clear Biblical standards, but we must not put unnecessary burdens on people, which serve only to make it more difficult for people to come to Christ.

15:20,21

At the same time, James was mindful of the Jewish churches in Israel, and the Jewish believers across Europe and Asia Minor. So they would write to the Gentile churches “telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, and from meat of strangled animals and from blood”. The Law of Moses would be read in every synagogue, and it was important that this was not seen to be put into disrepute. The issue of eating food offered to idols comes up again in Paul’s letters to the Romans and Corinthians. 

15:22

The apostles and elders decided to send two highly respected men, Judas Barsabbas and Silas, to go with Paul and Barnabbas. This would demonstrate that the decision reached had the full support of the Jerusalem church. Silas would become a vital co-worker with Paul. 

Judges 9:46-57 - God repaid the wickedness

9:46-49

From the previous few verses one might conclude that the whole city and its inhabitants had been destroyed. The next few verses make it clear that this was not the case. This is a further warning that we need to be careful how we take verses apparently saying there has been complete destruction. So citizens in the tower of Shechem went into the stronghold of the temple of El-Berith. In response, Abimelek and his men collected lots of branches and then set fire to the stronghold. So the people in the tower also died.

9:50-57

Abimelek was now on a roll, so he went on to attack Thebez, besieged and captured it. This city also had a stronghold to which the people had fled. Abimelek went to attack the tower, but a woman dropped a millstone on Abimelek which cracked his skull. The last thing he wanted was the humiliation of being killed by a woman, so he got his armour-bearer to kill him with his sword. On his death the people of Israel all went home. 

The sorry chapter comes to an end with an interpretation of what had happened. God had repaid the wickedness of Abimelek and of the people of Shechem.

Acts 15:12-18 - The whole assemble became silent

15:12

Paul and Barnabas then recount their experiences from the missionary journey, especially the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles. Again, note the importance of experience and signs in the argument here. We tend to go to extremes. Some reject almost all signs and experience as a valid argument, others focus almost entirely on testimonies. Both extremes are unbiblical, for it is not what we find in Scripture.

15:13-18

James, who was the brother of Jesus and was now a prominent leader in the Jerusalem church, and he supported what Peter had said. He then related these to the words of the prophet Amos 9:11,12. He quotes from the Septuagint version, the Greek version of the Old Testament, or LXX. This was the most commonly used version. The words in the Hebrew version are subtly different in 9:12, where the Hebrew version says:

so that they may possess the remnant of Edom

    and all the nations that bear my name,”

declares the Lord, who will do these things.

The NT use of the Septuagint is an interesting topic, but one I don’t have the knowledge to go into.  The Hebrew version does recognise that many nations bear God’s name, in the LXX the emphasis is on the nations seeking the Lord.

Judges 9:34-45 - You mistake the shadows

9:34-38

Abimelek followed Zebul’s advice. Gaal saw the men in the morning. He thought Zebul was on his side, not knowing that the opposite was true. Zebul told Gaal that he was imagining things. Zebul then revealed where he stood, mocking Gaal, for his apparent bravado was proving to have no substance to it. Zebul goaded Gaal into going out to fight.

9:39-45

So Gaal went out to fight, but things did not go well for him, and Zebul then drove Gaal and his clan out of Shechem. The people had turned from being for Abimelek to being against him. Abimelek now turned against the people of Shechem. So he attacked the people of Shechem, captured it and killed its people. He destroyed the city and scattered salt on it, this was symbolic of the city now being a barren land.

Acts 15:3-5 - This news made all the believers glad

15:3,4

The church sent them on their way. Paul and Barnabas and the others made the most of the journey, telling the believers that they met about how God was working amongst the Gentiles. Their news was well received. When they arrived at Jerusalem they were warmly welcomed, and they reported all that “God had done through them”.

15:5

A number of the Pharisees, who were perhaps the most vociferous opponents of Jesus, had become  believers. However, as Pharisees they were steeped in the Law, it was the whole raison d’etre for their being. There were still vestiges of this, even though they now believed in Jesus. Now the gospel did not say the Law was wrong, but that the Law was fulfilled in Christ, and salvation is by faith alone. However, these Pharisees argued that all believers needed to be circumcised and be required to keep the Law of Moses.

Judges 9:27-33 - Who is Abimelek

9:27-29

Gaal and the people of Shechem seem to adopt a rather infantile approach. They held a festival to some false god or other and then cursed Abimelek.  Originally they had supported Abimelek because he was “one of their own'', now Gaal refers to him as “Jerub-Baal’s son” and calls on them to “serve the family of Hamor, Shechem’s father”. Gaal then claims that if only he was in charge everything would be sorted. This is the claim of dictators and politicians the world over.

9:30-33

We are used to hearing tales of political intrigue in our own times, things were little different in the past. Here we find another player in the game, Zebul the governor of the city. He was on Abimelek’s side, so he  sent messages to him about Gaal’s machinations. He also advises Abimelek on the best approach to counter what was going on.

Acts 15:1,2 - Unless you are circumcised

15:1

Thus far there has been great progress, and the gospel is now clearly breaking out into the Gentile world. This began with Peter and Cornelius, but has gathered pace with Paul and Barnabas’s missionary trip, and the church at Antioch is revelling in the new growth. However, virtually all the initial members of the church, which started in Jerusalem, were Jewish, and some of them were Pharisees. These people had a deep attachment to the Law, and thought that the Gentile believers should be circumcised in order to satisfy the Lord and become “full” members of God’s kingdom. So a group of these “Judaisers'' came down to Antioch from Judea.. They taught that the Gentile believers needed to be circumcised in order to be saved.

15:2

Paul and Barnabas were in sharp disagreement with this false teaching, and debated with the Judaisers. The leadership in Antioch seems to have taken a sensible approach, by sending Paul and Barnabas, along with some other believers, to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders in Jerusalem about the matter. 

Judges 9:22-26 - God stirred up animosity

9:22,23

A regime founded on disorder and sinfulness will soon find itself devoured by the same forces it used to gain power. So after Abimelek had ruled Israel for three years God stirred up animosity between Abimelek and the people of Shechem. Remember these were the same people who were instrumental in bringing Abimelek to power in the first place. We maybe see the same process at work in the so-called “sexual revolution”. Stonewall was once seen as a paragon of virtue (in the world’s terms, not in God’s terms!) with its advocacy of gay rights, but now there is animosity between parts of the “gay community” and Stonewall for its extreme advocacy of transgenderism. 

9:24-26

The reason God acted was to avenge the blood of Gideon’s seventy sons. It says that vengeance belongs to the Lord, and this is true. The men of Shechem set up ambushments on the hilltops. So we see that one form of lawlessness seeks to replace another form of lawlessness. Now that Abimelek was out of favour in Shechem, Gaal son of Ebed sought to make a move, and was supported by the people of Shechem. The people of Shechem are a fickle lot, they are like “sheep without a shepherd”. 

Acts 14:21-28 - They preached the gospel in that city

14:21,22

Having arrived in Derbe they preached the gospel. It is the duty and purpose of the church to preach the gospel. There may be many other things that we do, but preaching the gospel must be foremost. They then returned to Iconium, via Lystra and Iconium.  So they revisited some of the places they had already been to, and strengthened and encouraged the disciples there. They urged them to remain “true to the faith. Becoming a disciple of Jesus was not an easy option, they would face much opposition, as do Christians today in many countries. Even in the West it is becoming harder to be a Christian, though not yet to anything like the extent that it is in some places. They told them “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God”, they did not preach a “prosperity gospel”.

14:23-25

Paul and Barnabas appointed elders. Some form of church organisation was established at a fairly early stage. There was not a rigid structure, but the concept of elders was there more or less from the beginning. They were appointed with “prayer and fasting”, and were committed to the Lord. Paul and Barnabas continued on their way, and continued preaching the word.

14:26-28

They then sailed back to Antioch from Attalia. The church there was already showing some maturity in praying for Paul and Barnabas and committing them “to the grace of God”.  Paul and Barnabas then gave a full report to the church in Antioch, telling about all that God had done and how “a door of faith” had been opened to the Gentiles. They then remained with the disciples in Antioch for a long time.

Judges 9:7-21 - Have you been fair to Jerub-Baal

9:7-15

Jotham sought to make the people of Shechem aware of what the consequences would be. People get fooled. So Jotham told them a parable. The olive tree, the fig tree and the vine were noble trees, i.e. they were worth something. They refused to become king. Remember that Gideon himself had refused to rule over them (Judges 8:23). Finally the thornbush was asked to become king, and he accepted.  They ended up with the worst possible ruler, as had the people of Shechem.

9:16-21

Jotham then confronts the people directly with the choice they have made. He also accuses them of mistreating the memory of Gideon and his family. For all Gideon’s faults, he is still given a degree of honour and respect by the Bible. Jotham reminds them that Gideon led them to victory over the Midianites. They killed Gideon’s sons, in favour of the son of a slave girl. They did so for base reasons, Abimelek was one of their own. There are hints of the Barabas-Jesus situation here. Jotham concludes by warning that destruction for all concerned will be the outcome. At the end of it Jotham fled out of fear of his brother.

Acts 14:16-20 - They stoned Paul

14:16-18

Paul’s message raised the question of why it was only now that they were hearing this. Why had God let them go their own way for so long. God did let people go their own way, but even so He had left a witness, a testimony. He provided rain for the crops, and supplied them with food. The whole issue of creation is a witness to God. Despite their protestations, the crown still wanted to sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas.

14:19,20

Some Jews seemed to have followed Paul and Barnabas in order to cause trouble. They won the crowd over. How could this be when there was the clear evidence of the miracle? It was because of the offence caused by the message, which I referred to above.  So they stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city. We need to be aware of the fickleness of crowds (John 2:24). The disciples gathered around Paul, presumably to protect him, and they then went back into the city. Paul and Barnabas then left for Derbe.

Judges 9:1-6 - I am your flesh and blood

9:1,2

Some treat Abimelek (or Abimelech) as a separate section, but in reality it is a continuation of the Gideon section. He was one of Gideon’s many sons, and he did not set Israel free from any oppression. Nor is there any “Israel did evil ....” introduction to the section. Abimelek had ambitions! He went to his mother’s brothers in Shechem and suggested it was better for them to have a single ruler, namely himself, rather than all seventy of Gideon’s sons ruling over them. Moreover Abimelek was a man of Shechem, so their ruler would be one of their own.

9:3-6 

The suggestion went down well with the people of Shechem. Then “reckless scoundrels” were hired to become his followers. This was followed by the murder of all the seventy brothers, bar one. Jotham, the youngest, managed to escape. Abimelek was then crowned king. This reads like a third world coup d’etat. It reflects badly on Abimelek himself, but is also a commentary on the state of society. It is often said that we get the rulers we deserve, and this is an example of that.

Acts 14:11-15 - The gods have come down to us

14:11-13

The people were amazed, and they thought that the “gods have come down to us in human form”. In that region there was a belief that Zeus and Hermes had once visited the area, but had received no hospitality except from one couple (Bruce).  This is why they called Barnabas and Paul Zeus and Hermes. They didn’t want to make the same mistake as during the first visit (mythical) of Zeus and Hermes, so they wanted to make sacrifices to them.

14:14,15

Paul and Barnabas initially did not understand what was going on, for the people were speaking in the local dialect. When they did realise what was happening they were horrified. They told the people that they were not gods, but men, and that they were bringing good news. The people should turn from their worthless gods and turn to the living God. We should realise how offensive this would be to the people. They thought they were doing a good thing in offering the sacrifices, and their lives involved worshipping these gods. They were now told that their gods were worthless, and that they had been acting wrongly. Even though the message involved the promise of new life, one can understand why they would be offended. A similar dynamic occurs today when we confront the “woke” culture.

Judges 8:22-35 - Rule over us

8:22

While they had had a number of victories, there was no change of heart in the people. So the Israelites wanted Gideon and his family to rule over them for generations to come. They saw Gideon, rather than God, as having saved them from the Midianites. This tendency to see a man or woman as being the key element, rather than God, is still alive in churches today.

8:23-27

Initially Gideon seems to respond well, declaring that the Lord will rule over them. However, he then immediately goes wrong, asking the people all to donate an earring from the plunder. This was then used by Gideon to make an ephod. There was indeed one ephod commanded by the Law (Ex 28:15-30), but this ephod became a snake to Gideon and his family. Israel worshipped the ephod, rather than worshipping the Lord Himself. We still need to beware of this tendency today.

8:28-35

Despite Israel and Gideon’s severe failings, they had peace for forty years, i.e. during Gideon’s lifetime. Perhaps it is significant that Gideon is referred to as “Jerub-Baal” in v29. Anyway, he went back home, and had many wives and concubines, in contravention of the Law. We will read of Abimelek (NIV) or Abimelech (ESV and others). Gideon died at a good old age. However, as soon as he had died, the Israelites prostituted themselves to the Baals.The Lord was forgotten, along with His actions, nor did they show any respect to Gideon’s family.

Acts 14:5-10 - Stand up on your feet

14:5-7

The opposition was organised, and there was a plot among both Jews and Gentiles to “mistreat and stone them”. The gospel brings a threat to our way of living, for we are not living according to God’s ways.. We can react by repenting and believing, or by hardening our hearts all the more. 

Paul and Barnabas learnt of the plot and so fled to Lystra and Derbe. So we see in this section two reactions to opposition. In the first instance they “doubled down” and preached all the more. The second they fled. There is a time to stand firm, and a time to flee. While fleeing, they continued to preach the gospel, they did not stop preaching.

14:8-10

They arrived at Lystra and the account begins with a miracle. Just as Jesus did many more miracles than those recorded in the gospels, so did the apostles. 14:3 just says they did signs and wonders. Here we are given details. The reason for the detailed account is that it is essential for understanding the events that followed. They encountered a man who had been lame from birth and had never walked. So the subsequent healing was all the more amazing, and could only have been a miracle. The man listened to Paul, at some point Paul looked directly at the man. Paul “saw that he had faith to be healed”. Now, does this mean that he had faith specifically for healing, or that he had faith in the gospel so that he could be healed? Probably the former, but maybe not.  Whatever the case, Paul commanded him to stand on his feet, which the man did, jumping up and beginning to walk. The gospel sets us free from all sorts of things.

Judges 8:10-21 - When I return in triumph

8:10-12

FInally Gideon catches up with Zebah and Zalmunna. They had a force of fifteen thousand men, having started out with one hundred and twenty thousand. It isn’t that clear whether Gideon still has only three hundred (8:4) or has a somewhat larger force (7:23,24). Anyway, he routs the enemy. The two kings flee, but are captured.

8:13-21

Gideon then carries out his threats to the men of Sukkoth, punishing them with desert thorns and briars. He also carried out vengeance against the men of Peniel. Finally, the two Midianite kings, Zebah and Zalmunna, are killed. Initially Gideon wanted his son to kill them, but he refused, being only a boy, and being afraid. The two Midianite kings taunted Gideon, so Gideon carried out the deed. So at this point one could either say Gideon is becoming bolder, or that he is becoming full of himself, becoming rather proud. Given the events that will follow, the latter explanation seems the more likely.

Acts 14:1-4 - A great number of Jews and Gentiles believed

14:1,2

Paul and Barnabas now move onto Iconium. Following their normal custom, they went to the Jewish synagogue. The reason for doing this, apart from “to Israel first”, was that it was guaranteed to give them a platform from which to present the message. “They spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed”. The gospel is for all peoples.  However, this also stirred up opposition. There were Jews who “refused to believe”. While the Bible is clear on the sovereignty of God, it is also clear on human responsibility. Sometimes people argue that it isn’t fair on those who don’t believe because it’s not their fault. This is not so, we are responsible, and the JEws who did not believe actively refused to believe. Instead, they stirred up trouble, trying to poison the minds of the Gentiles against Paul and Barnabas.

14:3,4

“So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there”. I love this. In the face of opposition they put all the more effort into preaching the gospel. They also performed “signs and wonders”. They spoke the message boldly. Our response to opposition should normally be to present the word of God all the more boldly. And God confirmed their message with signs and wonders. The gospel brought division between those who believed and those who did not, see Luke 12:51. Both Paul and Barnabas are referred to as “apostles” here, also in 14:14. We see the twofold use of the term “apostle”. Paul was an apostle in that he was chosen directly by Jesus. Barnabas was an apostle in the sense that he was “one who was sent”. This latter use also, of course, applies to Paul.