Angry Words Can Knock You Down

O. T. #554  "Angry Words Can Knock You Down"
July 9, 2015
Judges 21
And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore;  Judges 21:2

LET IT GLOW

In anger, those words come barreling out of your mouth hitting another like bullets straight in the heart. They can knock you down, bleed your hopes out, steal your joy, zap the life out of you, until you are crawling around in the dirt. Then you have to pull yourself up by the boot strap, stand tall on faith, let Jesus put His spiritual armor on you again, and prepare to get into the spiritual battle once again.

Israel had fought one of their tribal brothers, leaving 600 men to survive. Almost in danger of becoming extinct, the tribe of Benjamin remained with no wives and no children. Apparently, the rest of Israel had vowed never to give their daughters in marriage to them. This serious situation caused the people to go before the Lord loudly weeping. When the angry battle was over, Israel realized what they had done. They were supposed to be the people of God, yet they digressed spiritually and were in danger of annihilating one another.
On the other hand, the tribe of Benjamin had spiritually degenerated down so far that they would not admit their sexual sins and refused to turn over those men responsible for the death of the Levite's concubine.

All of this mess resulted in Israel returning to the Lord. Verse 4 says they rose up early and built an altar to the Lord, then offered burnt and peace offerings thereon.
Sounds like repentance.
Are we sorry for the words spoken in anger and/or the actions which may result from such?
Be careful when we make vows while angry.

LET IT GROW

What happened next?

•  It was discovered that the city of Jabesh Gilead did not join them, so they were to be put to death.
• Instead of receiving their punishment, their 400 young women of the Benjaminites who had never slept with a man were taken to Shiloh, then given as wives to the 600 Benjaminite men. Yet they lacked in number. Not all men received a wife.
• So this tribe and Israel would have heirs, other women would need to be given to this tribe of Ben. The rest of the tribes could not supply the need due to their oath to the Lord.
• The plan devised was this: When the gals were dancing during the annual festival in Shiloah, the 200 men were to pick out a wife and take one of these gals back home.
• The Benjaminite men did so, then built the towns and settled in them.
• Keep in mind, when there was no judge or king, everyone did what was right in their own eyes.

Israel put tribal loyalties above God's commands, and they justified wrong actions to correct past mistakes. It is the ultimate heroic act to submit all our plans, desires, and motive to God. To be heroic, we must go into battle each day in our home, job, church, and society to make God's kingdom a reality. Our weapons are the standards, morals, truths, and convictions we receive from God's Word. We will lose the battle if we gather the spoils of earthly treasures rather than seeking the treasures of heaven. (Life Application Study Bible)

Due to Israel's disobedience, they did not enjoy the abundant blessings of God until the time of King David.

Do we wiggly around the ways of God set before us? (Isn't a white lie still a lie?)

LET IT GO

Be ready to go to battle when the Lord sends us.

Stand up for His Word and ways.

Keep compassionate toward others.