PART 1
Life is full of judging, we pass and receive it. It’s how justice is served (and oftentimes isn’t). But what I’ve found is that when you move closer to God judgement is completely flipped on its head. It now becomes a sort of malpractice and we let go of what we thought we knew and offer up the responsibility of being the know-all and be-all of our spheres of life to a source other than ourselves. In this post, I will also talk about the elect, and certain positions we take and give, in life within and outside the body of Christ. It's been truly saddening to witness so many of us feeling dejected over roles we were not designed for, adjoining us to ridiculous wealth and lifestyles we do not need. I want to discuss the collective power of all roles, big and small, the strength in unity and there being a space for every single person to bring something to the table. This will be a dual post (hopefully the first of many at LFTT) because I believe this to be a message central to the way we see ourselves, one another and the One who made us, and it cannot be half-baked.
I.I THE UNIT
We all have jobs. We all have a role to play. God wouldn’t have created you if He didn’t have a role with you in mind, that’s just the truth. He doesn’t create for fun but for purpose. And in knowing and thus stepping into your purpose, I can honestly tell you that life becomes extremely fun! When He made us in His image (Genesis 1:26-27), notice how a role was immediately placed on our hands. The Lord isn’t a slothful being and if something is to represent Him, rest assured it is going to be characterised accordingly.
The scripture reading for this Bible Bonk is the book of Judges (NKJV). Various ‘judges’ were raised by God to deliver the Israelites out of the hands of their enemies and themselves from their own perverse ways. 12 are given specific mention; Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, Deborah, Gideon, Tola, Jair, Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, Abdon, and Samson. For the duration of the life of these judges, Chapter 3 (9-11) tells us that
‘When the children of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the children of Israel, who delivered them: Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the Lord delivered Cushan-Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed over Cushan-Rishathaim. So the land had rest for forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.’
But after each one died, the bible repeatedly tells us that ‘the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord’ (4:1). God was relentless in raising people to return His people back to Him, back to the right path. He didn’t stop then and He sure hasn’t stopped now. We also shouldn’t ever think these judges came in their own power or held down their own might. They were vessels, and in their time useful ones at that.
I.II WHAT MAKES A JUDGE
These judges which God rose were not cut from any different cloth, I want to make that super clear. There was nothing strangely mysterious, nor overtly divine about them. God used them to do His works, to do His will and to show His perfect and protected way. We often conjure up in our heads a look which those called by God are to adhere to, but 9 times out of 10, that is never the case.
Let’s briefly observe a few (Chapters 3-6): Othniel- much more commandeering; a war soldier; Ehud- he was left handed, went through the extremist route of killing king Eglon; Deborah- a prophetess, a wife, spoke words of affirmation and positivity to the children of Israel at crucial times; Gideon- a man of primarily little faith and confidence who God used to do great things, a hidden testament to demonstrate how God takes the little that we have to do great things and that when we go in His name we can do all things, with exactly who we are. The only thing required of the role is for one to do the work in a space where others clearly are not. This is simply what sets the ‘judges’ apart. In doing so, albeit for a short while, the Israelites were prompted to also do the work necessary and thus be pushed back into the light of God.
It is absolutely crucial we understand that judges are first and foremost a reminder of God’s goodness and promise. I am going to zoom in on Deborah in Judges 4. Verses 6-9 tells us
‘Then she sent and called for Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, “Has not the Lord God of Israel commanded, ‘Go and deploy troops at Mount Tabor; take with you ten thousand men of the sons of Naphtali and of the sons of Zebulun; and against you I will deploy Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude at the River Kishon; and I will deliver him into your hand’?”’
Deborah, a prophetess, reminds Barak of God’s message at a time when the Israelites had forgotten the covenant and were diminishing God’s might. Further along,
‘And Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go!” So she said, “I will surely go with you; nevertheless there will be no glory for you in the journey you are taking, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.”’
Judges provide moral and physical support where and when they can. All the while keeping bound tight to the truth and therefore not letting you be dejected or disappointed with your relationship with God. And as a sidenote, their encouragements/messages/prophesies are surely testified by the people of God, which later on in the passage, Deborah’s did.
I.III WHO ARE THE JUDGES
Family is a tricky subject to treat but what I want to do is use it as a framework to try and explicitly explain what I mean by judges and the elect. I always like to think of family as a group of assigned persons on earth knitted together for their survival and improvement (after all, it takes a village to raise a child). *A deep dive into family will be a future post as I truly have so much to say on its stance and there, as with anything, also lies the good and the bad.* In the meantime, I find it useful to touch on to explain the wider framework of individual functioning in a collective space for the greater good.
The family, to me, is a unit of individuals which coincide to provide holistic reasoning and thinking. In other words, family keep you in line. In Ephesians 4:13-14, we are told that we come together so that ‘we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting.’ Now, despite Paul talking about the body of Christ here, in Him we are brothers and sisters (Mark 3:35) and therefore the same can be applied to the familial unit. And in such a unit, there is protection from confusion and mis-happenings.
Undeniably, in a family you grow, whether from your mother’s nurturing and father’s teaching or siblinghood emotional support. Reverting back to how the book of Judges explain to us the various roles we have all been assigned, notice how the family structure has specific positions put in place to ensure the best outcome for all. Further up Ephesians 4, verse 7 says ‘But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gifts.’. Verse 11-12 stresses further, ‘And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.’. Every person in a family brings something which the other cannot. I have a sibling that provides comfort which the other cannot, another sibling which provides a laughter that another cannot and a father which provides a provision and realist outlook which my mother cannot. Does that somehow equate to my other siblings or my mother being unimportant or less than? No, but to the human eye and the oftentimes divisive flesh it can. One of the 10 commandments purposefully instructs us that ‘You shall not covet your neighbour’s house’ (Exodus 20:17), their spouse nor their possessions and, although it isn’t explicit, character. Do not envy character! When I envy my siblings for whatever reason and in whatever way, I am offering up the joy of what it is to be me and the hidden grace of not being in their shoes. What I am indirectly telling God is that He hasn’t done a good job. The family unit should be complimentary, not competitive. There is a bit of you in everyone within your kinship and you in them and that is how we grow and prosper. Through collaboration.
I.IIII THE OUTCOME
Different Christians are called to do different things. Some take a more public approach, evangelising to the masses, others being the light or voice of truth in much smaller places. Nevertheless, both make immense impact in God’s point of view. We just cannot see it yet.
Remember, Jesus never saw every single person. Neither did we see Him nor His miraculous acts. But the good He did all those years ago caused His disciples to go out and do the work we hear and see and receive today. God being FAITHFUL (Psalm 37:25) is all what judges do and should tell us. It has nothing to do with them. All we must concern ourselves with, those of us raised as judges or those of us looking to the judges, is to carry on the good work.
TBC, Sarah J.