Feb
2
Written by:
Route 365
2/2/2010 5:00 AM
by Jason Knapp
Biography
Hi, my name is Jason Knapp. My wife, Amanda, and I have been attending Browncroft since 2000, and I’ve been involved with leading community groups since we came here. We have two children, Emma (8) and Owen (2).
Reflection
Procrastination is a way of life for many people. I, too, suffer from this malady. There are so many good things to do and so few hours in the day that some things that should be done just keep getting put off. Sometimes I can get reprioritized quickly enough and get back on task in time to make sure there’s still a good outcome. Other times I rush to get something done on time, and the results are less than satisfactory.
What would have been different if the Levite in our story today had left his father-in-law’s house on the day and at the time he had planned? It was great that he had gone to reconcile himself with his estranged wife. Too often in our day, marriages end in divorce, leaving families and individuals broken. This Levite was decisive enough to travel to see his wife again and to try to get her to return home with him. However, when it came time to leave, his better judgment abandoned him.
What is God’s time? When we pray for something and it doesn’t come, it seems easy to say that it’s just not quite God’s time yet. But how do we know when it is God’s time? It’s a shame that God doesn’t just plug into our daily planners and leave us notes letting us know when His time for something has arrived. Instead He leaves it to us to listen for His voice, to wait on Him. It’s a reminder to me to be in constant prayer, so when God’s time comes, I’m listening and will know.
A fellow traveler,
Jason
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3 comment(s) so far...
Re: Judges 19 : God’s Time
It's really amazing how far God's people have turned from the laws He gave. Gibeah wasn't some random Canaanite city, it was a Benjamite city. A place of safety in the mind of the Levite. How wrong he was. But when you think it could get no worse, the Levite commits his own sins by cutting up his wife and sending her to the tribes of Israel. Maybe he forgot about the laws regarding a proper human burial?
The writers of Judges do a good job getting you ready for what's in store for each chatper. Whenever you see the phrase "in those days Israel had no king", it's clear that something terrible is going to happen. Without the central authority, the people did what they wanted - and we clearly see what the results of that are.
By Chris Neitz on
2/2/2010 3:16 PM
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Re: Judges 19 : God’s Time
Today I read Jason's post before I read Judges 19. When I finished reading I had to go back and re-read Jason's post because I completely forgot how they were related! Its hard to focus on the first half of the reading after the abomination of the second...
Chris makes a good observation regarding the absence of a king. Unfortunately it is also easy to map that to today's world...
By Don Schaefer on
2/2/2010 7:51 PM
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Re: Judges 19 : God’s Time
I found myself struck by the similarity of this passage to the mess in Sodom and Gomorrah that led to their destruction (Genesis 19). I'd almost be willing to bet that it was intentional -- the language is identical in several places (e.g., compare vv. 22-23 here to Gen. 19.5-7). It makes me wonder if the writer's dirge that Chris pointed out ("in those days Israel had no king") is really intended to be read two ways: one, they had no literal king, and--more importantly--two, they had forsaken their God, who was really supposed to be Israel's King anyway (as we'll see in 1 Sam. ch. 8). I guess in that light--if it really is what the writer is after--the point of this story is that Israel has sunk to a place where they really were no different than the enemies of God judged in the Sodom & Gomorrah episode.
This story is really grisly. I'm finding myself tempted to put it out of mind because it's so gruesome, honestly. But I guess the point hits home for me, too... if I'm honest with myself, when I behave as if God isn't King, my life is no better than the wreckage I see in the people on TV or hear about at work or meet at the mall.
I only wish it weren't so hard to remember that in the moment of choosing between faithfulness and stupidity!
By Jeremy Wolcott on
2/2/2010 10:57 PM
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