In Judges 7, Gideon engages in his first military battle against the Midianites.
At the time of Gideon’s appointment, Israel had been subject to Midian for seven years as a result of their disobedience (Jud. 6.1). Like their ancestors in Egypt, Israel cried out to God to save them from their Midianite oppressors. Though God initially rebuked them for failing to heed his voice, he ultimately promised deliverance by raising up a mighty warrior—Gideon (Jud. 6.7-17).
In so doing, God made it clear that the victory, the act of deliverance, was his. Not Gideon’s, not Israel’s...
Obedience is a learned behavior. It’s not innate. It’s something we practice. It’s a discipline that’s borne over time and circumstance.
Despite these assumptions, I often forget that God places us in situations in which to grow our obedience. I also forget that these situations tend to coincide with temptation, and that these temptations, these enticements to conduct ourselves according to worldly standards, aren’t a one-time item we cross off our spiritual to-do list once we’ve conquered them. They often reappear...
In Matthew, Jesus finds himself in two profoundly desolate places, both of which bookend the gospel—the wilderness and the cross.
Both are places of isolation. The wilderness is bleak, uninhabited, and the epitome of scarcity. The cross is unforgiving, alienating, and a place of abandonment...
