I have no idea what lead my daughter Jordan to read Judges 19 but a few nights ago, in her quiet time up in her room, that is exactly what she did.

 

Sharing with her sister and her mom—-she was a little upset by the reading.

 

Not being familiar with the passage by memory, I opened the Word to read it myself before advising her……and understood why she might be upset.

 

Some passages in the Old Testament could be described as:

  • Brutal
  • Unforgiving
  • Disgusting

 

And this passage met exactly those qualifications.  In the one chapter, by my assessment, we have:

  • Rape
  • Murder
  • Child Abuse
  • Sexual Perversion
  • Sexual Slavery
  • Child Trafficking
  • Mutilation

It is a disturbing portrait of not only who they were back then…but who we are today.

 

What can we say?  What can I say to my daughter who went in to read her Bible and came away deeply disturbed….

 

I can say to her what God says to us:  The Truth.

 

Sooner or later we must all face it.  And, personally, I want her to hear it from me.

 

Hey I get it…..sometimes the truth hurts.  But, as we know, the truth can set us free.  Actually, I should say:  The TRUTH can set us free.

 

And so here it is:  

Without God, we are Brutal, Unforgiving, and Disgusting.

 

This word today is not about the Old Testament.  It is about how the Old Testament shows us who we truly are without Jesus.

 

Now I know that there is more to Judges 19 than what I am touching on here, but what I am touching on here is simply to say that we must know who we truly are.

 

We are backsliding, disloyal, duplicit, perverted, murderous, slanderous, unreliable, detestable, and every other thing we can describe because we belong to the world.

 

Sin is our natural action.

Satan is in charge.

Death is our future.

 

We are no different than the men described in that chapter….although we sometimes find the sins that we do not struggle with and condemn those actions while reading over or denying the things that we do own.

 

Is it any wonder we have so many problems in the world today?

 

It is a simple matter that we were born into it.

 

When my children were younger, I used to ask them:

Where did you learn that?

 

Something in me wanted to know who taught them some of the things that they did ……. But the reality is that most of us find it on our own or in our own heart ….. OR …. They learned it from me.

 

I think I have made my point.

 

So today, let’s see what the prophet Isaiah had to say about all of this:

 

 

Isaiah 53  6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

 

So if you need a good story about man’s failure, God’s patience, and our incredible need for Jesus, read Judges 19.  And if you want to see these things acted out in 2017—-go and look in the mirror.

 

But don’t stay there long and condemn yourself….just stay there long enough to ask:  who would I be today if Jesus hadn’t gotten a hold of me yesterday?

 

And when you see that great need for Him…grab onto it and don’t let go.  Raise your hands to heaven and give Him His place on the throne of your life….and give it to Him with gratitude, with love, and with adoration.

 

Then go out and give that love that He has given you to someone else….they need Him just as bad as you do!

 

 

In The Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

 

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Coach J