Judges and Redemption

by Surath Fernando

"In those days there was no king in Israel, and every man did as he pleased".

And so finishes the Book of Judges. For me this is a book that raised mixed emotions. Over and over again, do we see Israel's deliverance, followed by a return to sin, compromises made at the expense of The Lord, followed by acts of extreme violence and retribution.

I know we have questioned the level of violence in this forum before, but perhaps this violence is not because of God, but rather driven by Israel's constant betrayal of the commandments. With each act of violence reflecting the greater fall into sin.

We have also discussed the story of Samson. About his rise, demise, and redemption. We have discussed his rise and fall, with prior posts relating to his inability to resist Delilah, to disastrous effect. How poetic is it that his lack of insight costs him his eyes!

But poetry aside, I would like to discuss the last point. Samson's redemption. Here was a man who had lost his defining feature, his mythical strength, and thereby his identity. Admittedly this is due to his own shortcomings for which he pays the price of servitude and slavery. But in the face of this, he still has the grace to surrender to The Lord, beg forgiveness, and seek redemption. This one act constitutes his redemption and he is granted what many a soldier craves - an honourable death.

It shows us just how close and yet so far we all are from our own redemption. For I suspect Samson must have cried to the Lord for redemption many a time whilst in prison. Indeed I would do the same if I were in his position. But The Lord acted at the opportune time. Not sooner and not later.

We in our modern day world may never be placed in Samson's position, but we each face trials and tribulations that test our personal identity.

Consider the loyal company man with 20 years of service facing retrenchment. Consider the beautiful woman who is told she will lose her hair as she undergoes chemotherapy. Consider the tenured professor who is facing Alzheimer's disease and the prospect of losing his cultivated mind.

The one thing that joins these individuals is impending loss. They are about to lose something that defines them. The worker his job, the woman her beauty, and the professor his mind. Whilst we may be worlds apart, this is no less different to Samson and his lost strength.

And what do we do in the face of such uncertainty?

We fear.

And in the face of fear, uncertainty and loss of identity perhaps we too can learn from Samson's story.

Because I have no doubt that whilst Samson was in that prison he would have regretted his past and been constantly in fear of the future. And I have no doubt he cried out to The Lord for deliverance day in and day out.

And most importantly, on the day that mattered, the day of his deliverance, he continued to surrender and cry out to the Lord. And on that day, the Lord answered. By his faith, Samson was granted deliverance.

And so it goes that the Lord grants us all the strength to reclaim our identities in the face of loss, uncertainty, and fear. All we need to do is have faith and surrender. Day in and day out. And deliverance may come to us when we least expect it!

P.S.

I should mention that whilst I write this, I too struggle with this point on surrender!

Firebrandz Worship Night - Forgiving Oneself

August 27, 2014
Speaker: Sharon Arasu

It was such a grace-filled evening, from the Praise and Worship led by Sharon and her group, and especially as she shared her testimony and wisdom on Forgiving Oneself.

In forgiving oneself, the problem lies not in our inability to forgive ourselves, but in our inability to accept our Father's forgiveness. God has already forgiven us the minute we walk out of the confessional. It is our shame of admitting the sin and our feeling of unworthiness of the Father's perfect love that we refuse to accept His forgiveness.

The Good News is our Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ, gave up His life for each and every one of us and for all of our sins because we are indeed worthy of His love.

On the Book of Joshua

by Surath Fernando

As I see it, the book of Joshua is one of war and conquest. God uses His faithful servant Joshua to instigate a holy war and deliver Israel the promised land.  In return, He asks for absolute faith and adherence to the commandments.  If anyone falls out of line, carnage ensues in the form of mass killings within and without Israel.

These acts are barbaric and brutal. Indeed, few would disagree that mass killings are anything otherwise. However, to my mind, these are tactics of war which we are seeing even today, 3000 years after Joshua's death.

Strategically speaking, as a war leader you need complete obedience from your troops.  Disobedience undermines the authority of the leader and endangers the entire war effort.

Two easy and effective options for maintaining discipline in the face of disobedience are either a gracious show of mercy or a swift death.

The latter is what happened to the clan of Zerah and the peoples of Ai and Jericho.  Specifically, the clan of Zerah act against the will of God and were punished with death.

The massacres of Ai and Jericho are the ultimate end to a holy war.  The Israelites are conquering the land. The land is inhabited by foreigners with different cultures and foreign gods.  Now I don't agree with this next point personally, it is my rational mind trying to make sense of the situation.  But perhaps Joshua believes that to let these people live would be to allow their religion to continue and be a possible threat.

To brutally wipe out the population, makes a statement about the power and willingness of these new kids on the block, the Israelites and their God, whilst also achieving a clean slate. The reason I state the last point is because we have seen this aspect of human behaviour repeatedly through history.  Think Hitler's holocaust against the Jews, the Christian crusades against Islam, and today's persecution of Christians in Muslim countries.

But to end on a more positive note, Joshua the man, does show what can be accomplished when you have a strong belief in yourself and in God. He went from being an Egyptian slave to Moses' right hand man and eventually the war leader of the Israelites. And he (almost) always exhibited faith in his dealings, consulting God with the main decisions in life. Through his faith and the power of God, he brought down the impassable walls of Jericho. He reminds us that sometimes in life, faith and faith alone is what we need to conquer our personal walls.

90-Day Bible Challenge: Reflections from Conquest and Judges (Joshua & Judges)

On the Wall of Jericho (Joshua 6)

One of my favourite parts in the whole bible was the fall of the walls of Jericho. When Joshua and the Israelites were faced with this massive wall that seemed unsurmountable, he only did two things: he obeyed and worshipped - and the wall of Jericho came tumbling down. This story impacted me so much. It reminds me that whenever I am faced with something that is a seemingly hopeless situation, all I need to do is to obey and worship God, especially when it comes to the point that even worshipping Him is difficult for me. And with that, I need to have faith that He is tumbling down the unsurmountable walls in my life.

-        Pat P

When you thank God, He listens to you, when you praise God, He is present, and when you worship God, He takes over.

-        Jess T

Unforgiving and Violent God? (Joshua 7-8)

I'm just reading how God becomes angry and punishes His people (like with Achan on Joshua 7) and it really bugs me. If our God is the same God in the past, present, and future, if our God is constant, then why was He like an angry, punishing, and unforgiving God in what we have read in the Old Testament so far, while He is forgiving and loving in the New Testament?

I guess I’m referring more to Joshua and the Israelites stoning Achan and his entire family to death because he has sinned (Joshua 7) in contrast to what Jesus said to the Pharisees when they were about to stone the woman who committed adultery.

-        Pat P

God never changes, but humans changed.

-        Mario WP

Firstly you must understand that's the misconception about God in the Old Testament, He was actually so forgiving and so loving and gave so many chances. You can witness that when Moses asked God to spare the people and God truly listened. It was just the people at that time was so stubborn. But all God asked them was “do you trust me?” That's all God wanted the people to do - just to trust Him. It's just that at that time, humans were just so stubborn and never listen to God. But God was actually extremely patient with all of them.

-        Jess T

The book of Joshua bugs me. It's like it's okay to "slaughter" all these other people because it is what God told them (like what He ordered Joshua to do with the people of Jericho and Ai). Where's the peaceful God in all that? They slaughtered 12,000 men and women in Ai alone!

-        Pat P

That's the thing. We have to remember here, Jesus wasn't there yet at that time. The people didn't have the solid foundation yet about what God wants, about what love truly is. These are the people who think that the king is to be served and not to serve, to die for and not die for them. They couldn't understand why they should love their enemies and who their enemies really are. That's why Christ really needed to come down to the world, so people can begin to understand. And that's why Jesus said John the Baptist was the greatest prophet ever born and even he was still less than the least in the kingdom of heaven. That's just how different the world before and after Christ came to the world.

Go back to what father Theo said in his homily, sometimes you just have to accept that people are not perfect and the best way to deal with them is to accept them as they are and let them be. And I think that's what God did, because He knew forcing the people of Israel to behave like Christ since the beginning is too much and just going to make things worse. Just like trying to reason with babies when they can't even talk. God had to be patient so that nothing was messed up. Be patient until Jesus came. That patience that could endure like so many years is what makes God as God, for it's impossible for humans. And of course killing is wrong. God said it so many times already.

-        Mario WP

For the Lord Hardened their Hearts (Joshua 11:20)

Does the Lord intentionally harden my heart that's why I couldn’t completely surrender even when I wanted to?

-        Pat P

We all have free will, so I think it's us who intentionally (or unintentionally) harden our hearts. When I look back at my life, the times I have hardened my heart to Him, it appeared as if everything was fine on the outside. But the reality was that somewhere deep down, I had dug a hole. And every time I kept hardening my heart, that hole grew bigger. Maybe it's my selfish human nature that kicked in, but I had to turn to Him, because He was the only one who could fill that hole. So in summary, I don't think the Lord intentionally hardens our hearts. But when this happens, our souls are out of balance and He is the only one who can correct the scales.

Actually, I had another thought. Maybe there are times it is inbuilt into our nature to harden or hearts. In which case, perhaps it's the Lord who is working through us? Either way, I stand behind that second point about how this is not necessarily a bad thing because if we turn to Him, this will only bring us closer to God.

-        Surath F

The Judges Cycle (Judges)

In Joshua, God already led them to the land He promised to them. All they were left to do was to drive out the Canaanites out of their land. But instead of obeying God, they have forsaken Him and intermarried and didn’t drive out those people.

And so they fall into this cycle of sin, servitude, supplication, salvation, and silence. In the stage of sin, they failed to drive out the pagans, falls under their influence, and become like them. Then comes servitude, wherein they become defeated by their enemies. They cry out for help (supplication) and God sends them the judges to deliver them (salvation). Then there comes the momentary experience of peace (silence), until they fall into sin again.

This is not a far cry to the cycle I fall into. When I fail to keep my eyes on God, I become a slave to my own worries, fears, and anxieties. I feel defeated and lost. Then there are these moments when things become so painful and unbearable that I just cry out to God for help. Salvation then comes, which may be through the reminders/advices of people around me (which happens most of the time), homilies, or through books/passages that the Evangelists, the saints, or other authors have written. And then there comes this period of peace wherein God is placed again at the centre, until I take my eyes off Him again and stray away.

-        Pat P

Samson and Delilah (Judges 16)

Samson was so blinded by this Delilah woman to the point of stupidity! After all she did, he still didn’t have a clue that she obviously tries to get him killed. Samson let his secret out because he got so tired of the woman nagging him day after day.

-        Pat P

Of all his physical strength that was his ultimate weakness.

-        Terence W

The story of Samson and Delilah spoke to me as God's way of telling humans blatantly that what they're doing is an example of what everyone would agree to be stupid. Samson knows that his partner's demand will cost him his life, yet he gave in in the end because of his partner's constant nagging, which resulted in death, separation from God. For example, some women give in to their partner's demand to give up their chastity because of their partner's constant nagging, and some men treat their parents badly because of the wives' naggings. Different case, different background, but if we think of how it's about a person who gives up to the partner's constant nagging and end up breaking the covenant with God, resulting in the separation from God, it's the same story actually.

-        Mario WP

Judges 19

What's up with Judges 19? Especially 19:22-30? Is the concubine like Israel, who was unfaithful to her master? Her master still went and tried to bring her back home but she prostituted so she was divided into pieces? But what's up with Judges 19:24-26? That is just so wrong! I just felt really offended by how they treated their women. I think there’s a small part of me that somehow believes that the Old Testament is anti-women.

-        Pat P

Chapter 19 is about the great sin of the people of Gibeah, which led to war between Israel and Benjaminites. I think the part where he cut the woman's body into 12 is a bit gross, but I guess by that time the woman was already dead.

But it's not something new that the women were not treated properly during those times. Same things happened in Abraham case and in Lot's case as well.

I guess we also have to remember that God never said He agrees with the way the women were treated in Old Testament. It's mainly telling us how the society was during that period, and as father Theo said in his homily, sometimes God prefers not to make drastic changes so as not to mess up the whole thing. And the way I see the Old Testament is more like God's preparation before sending Jesus to the world, meaning that whatever God said in Old Testament was always in parts/incomplete, and only through Jesus was made perfect.

-        Mario WP