Heralds Digest

  “And so it was, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, that he worshiped. He returned to the camp of Israel, and said, “Arise, for the Lord has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand.”” Judges‬ ‭7‬:‭15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The battle for deliverance in life is usually very dreadful. Experienced soldiers are often prepared to submit to the possibility of casualties ahead of any combat. And for the inexperienced and combat-light Gideon, the stake of fear and defeat was high. Despite the divine preparation with evidence of divine support, Gideon needed to clearly hear the workings of God in the camp of the enemies before stepping into the battlefield. And it was a delightful feeling when Gideon finally heard the telling of the opposing camp’s dream with the interpretation that “ This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel! Into his hand God has delivered Midian and the whole camp” . Unfortunately, believers are more freely disp...

  “Also I said to you, “I am the Lord your God; do not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell” But you have not obeyed My voice’ ” Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?”” Judges‬ ‭6‬:‭10‬, ‭14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ If the fear of the Lord only is the beginning of wisdom, then the fear of anything or anyone that prevents the fear of the Lord is both foolishness to man and unfair to God. When the backslidden Israelites were delivered to the Midianites because of their fear of the gods of the Amorites, God revealed to them the cause as their sin of unfair fear when they cried unto Him. Unfortunately, unfair fear has always promoted the works of human beings, their achievements, and their creativities at the expense of obeying the words and revelations from the Lord. Whereas, the beginning of wisdom singled out Gideon in his generation as someone who truly understood the impor...

  “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 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!”” Judges‬ ‭4‬:‭6‬, ‭8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Good missions and outreaches in life do not have a clear identifiable ribbon. Therefore, good going is mostly a risk of association with good people. When Deborah told Barak “ Has not the Lord God of Israel commanded, ‘Go and deploy troops at Mount Tabor ’”, he preferred to test the conviction of Deborah by asking her to go with him. In other words, “ If you are sure, then let’s go together ”. Unfortunately, in most of life’s projects, there are more good guesses than good going…therefore, people will prefer to wait for our breakthrough and accomplishment before accepting our proposit...

  “When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel”Judges‬ ‭2‬:‭10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The historical records of the influence of generation gaps are daunting. Despite the great works and supernatural manifestation of the presence of God amidst the people of Israel, coupled with displacement of the nations met in the land of promise, the records declared “... another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel ”. Obviously, our present generations X (parents) and Z (children) can relate with the same influence of generation gaps. While the generation Z (gen Z) is influenced to worship his smart phones and all its sticky entertainment, the generation X (gen X) is influenced to worship gen Z. Presently, the Lord and the manifestation of His works are becoming strange to our generations. Whereas, the biblical principle of mitigat...

  “And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountains, for they would not allow them to come down to the valley; and the Amorites were determined to dwell in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim; yet when the strength of the house of Joseph became greater, they were put under tribute.” Judges‬ ‭1:34-35‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Superior strength has always been synonymous to the power of servitude. While Dan occasionally banked on the use of his personal superior strength over the Amorites, it is clear that this strategy is not sustainable. Likewise, the use of superior strength is always the source of many family, fellowship, and societal problems or instabilities. And when godly parties are motivated by superior strength in pursuits of financial autonomy, career prospects, and position of authority, they are ultimately distracted from the primary focus on the pursuit of the Will of God - the supreme source of strength and power. Little wonder, when man’s strength becomes greater, ...

  “When you have transgressed the covenant of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed down to them, then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and you shall perish quickly from the good land which He has given you.”” ‭‭Joshua‬ ‭23:16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Without the power to convict the hearts of sin and all forms of unrighteousness, God’s words will become mere history books and documentaries of historical perspectives. Unfortunately, the realities of the emptiness in all religious dogmas and practices are clear. People are quick to embrace the prosperity claims in God’s worthwhile word, but have failed to emphasize the perdition verdicts in His weighty witness. But unlike many eternal security preachers in our days, Joshua emphasized the weighty witness in God’s covenant with the inheritors of His promises as “ …the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and you shall perish quickly from the good land which He has given you ”. And li...

  “Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.” Joshua‬ ‭21:45‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The game of words is complex, but it is uncomplicated only to those who understand the supremacy of God’s word. Since the words of powerful men have succeeded in making or marring the prospects, careers, opportunities, and privileges of people, many fearful people are often tempted to substitute these mortal words as final authority, especially at the expense of God’s word. For example, God’s word and His promise of the land of Canaan for the generation of the Israelites who left Egypt were substituted by words of unfaithful spies and rebellious people in the wilderness. While these generations were wasted in the wilderness for following worthless words (except only Joshua and Caleb), the scriptures say “ Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass ”. Likewise, our present world and life’s affa...