Judges 10:1-6 Now
after Abimelech died, Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar,
arose to save Israel; and he lived in Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim. He
judged Israel twenty-three years. Then he died and was buried in Shamir. After
him, Jair the Gileadite arose and judged Israel twenty-two years. He had thirty
sons who rode on thirty donkeys, and they had thirty cities in the land of
Gilead that are called Havvoth-jair to this day. And Jair died and was buried
in Kamon. Then the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, served the Baals and the
Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of
the sons of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; thus they forsook the Lord and did not serve Him.
One more look at this passage before we move on. We looked at
the fact that there was no mention of repentance and cleansing from idols last
time. There is another silent truth communicated, and in this day and age it is
very important. Here in a record of the judges, where the works of each judge
is described in detail, there is almost no information about these men here…which
is a great lesson for us, because we live in a society where everyone wants
their 15 minutes in the spotlight.
I am a trained teacher of a seminar called “Cat
and Dog”
theology. The point of the seminar is to challenge Christians to evaluate how
they approach their relationship with God. The “cat” thinks: You feed me; you groom me; you
pet me; you love me = “I must be God!” The “dog” thinks: You feed me; you groom me; you
pet me; you love me = “You must be God!” We have far to many “cat”
believers out there! They think it’s all about them. So how does this passage
help us understand that? It makes us ask the question “could I be the judge
that is just mentioned, but not highlighted?” Another example is the Exodus:
Deuteronomy 24:18 “But
you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and that the Lord your God redeemed you from there;
therefore I am commanding you to do this thing.
If we were told that we had to be a slave in Egypt, we would
deal with it…because we know that Moses is coming and we will be delivered!
But wait! What if God chose to make you one of the slaves that were in the
previous NINE generations before the exodus? How would you feel about knowing
the will of God for your life was to be born a slave, live a slave and die a
slave? That does not resonate with the prosperity preachers of our day! Preaching
a message that makes it clear that what should really matter to every believer
is to be in God’s will…even if that means being a slave your whole life, will not fill
any football stadium churches! I admit I find it uncomfortable to imagine my
life that way. Yet, there were faithful, God loving and God honoring Jewish
slaves for NINE generations in Egypt!
If I am honest I must admit that I desire to be recognized,
feel important and remembered for contributing to something substantial. This
is a normal human desire. The question is – do I allow this to control me, or do I
yield to a greater Truth? Even as a slave in the 7th generation, if
I live my life for God, I will be recognized…by God! I am important…in
God’s
eyes, even if I, myself do not see it. In eternity I will be remembered by my
Lord as one that was faithful to Him…the pyramids will all be dust…but
I will be written in the book of my God as Faithful! Will anything this world
can offer now, matter then? Seek
His spotlight – His bulb NEVER burns out!
Meditation Questions: What do you feel when people do
not notice what you have done? Is it wrong to enjoy applause when you have done
something good? If so, why? If not, why? What’s the balance? What is the
difference in these thoughts: “You are given credit for what you did?” “You are
honored for how you lived?” “You get the glory?” What do you want to be
remembered for? What would your epitaph say?
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