Thoughts on the Bible Readings (Judges 10, 11, Isaiah 36, 1 Peter 2) for June 12th

The next 2 judges are named at the start of chapter 10 - Tola of whom we know only the territory of his judgeship, the place of his death and the time during which he judged Israel (23 years ); and Jair, who judged in Gilead, was known by his prolific offspring, his establishment of fiefdoms for his sons.Next follows The sin, suffering, duplicating cycle of 18 years of Ammonite oppression; until the illegitimate Jephthah is raised up to deliver Israel. Jephthah despite the despising of him due to the nature of his birth is nonetheless described as a known warrior from the land of Tob. Jephthah extracted an agreement from his fellow Gileadites and made a vow to Yahweh at Mizpah. In the message sent to the misinformed Ammonite king Jephthah proves himself to be an avid student of his people's history, as recorded in God's Word. Jephthah makes a vow, which was kept at great personal cost to himself. It meant the extinction of his name through the failure to have a continuing name. But as Isaiah 53 would indicate, as well as chapter 56, Acts 8 and Hebrews 11:32-33; God has preserved for Jephthah an everlasting name of faithfulness. Jephthah contrasts with Tola and Jair whose noteworthy characteristics are only their territories and their offspring: see Psalm 17 verses 14-15. Isaiah 36 outlines the magnitude of the immense disaster which appeared to have overtaken hapless Judah and God's people. The Assyrians poured into Judah like an overflowing flood. This was foretold in the Immanuel prophecies: Isaiah 8:7-10. The only course was to trust in the Living God. While the Assyrian king Sennacherib was besieging Lachish in the north he sent one of his generals to conquer Jerusalem. Rabshakeh came with a mighty army numbering more than 185,000 men. In verses 4-10 we hear Rabshakeh's boasting and calling for Hezekiah and Jerusalem to surrender. He claims that Egypt would prove a useless ally. Rabshakeh further asserts to have Yahweh's support. Rabshakeh's words were in Aramaic and designed to terrorise and demoralise Judah. Verses 11-12 tell us that three of Judah's nobles ask Rabshakeh speak to them in Chaldean as they spoke it. The proud Assyrian general scores these nobles and continues his verbal assault in Aramaic saying that trust in Hezekiah, or in the LORD, will be useless as the gods of all of the nations have proven incapable of delivering their people from the Assyrians. Verses 21-22 say that the three Judean nobles remain silent as Hezekiah has commanded them. Peter in his second chapter exhorts his listeners to crave God's word just as newborns cry incessantly for their mother's milk. He encourages us to become' living stones' founded upon the Lord Jesus Christ, the only true foundation laid in Zion (Isaiah 28:16). We must be built up into a holy temple in the Lord. We, like the hearers of the first century, must submit to authority and demonstrate through holy lives that we are of the same faithfulness as our shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ. We shall faithfully adhere to our Father's requirements as we await the time of blessed release, which will come with the coming of our Saviour: Christ our Lord. Peter continues the theme that closed chapter 1 ie human flesh is temporary and worthless and the hope of eternal life is that the Word of God can develop within us a character that our Father will choose to perpetuate. Verses 1-10 describe the building of an edifice to the Almighty God from stones He has chosen and enlivened by His satisfying Word which when consumed produces an intense thirst and desire. The foundation stone on which the house is built is our Lord Jesus Christ - Paul elaborates on this same theme in 1 Corinthians 3verses 10-17 (note the similar introduction of Paul to Peter's thoughts ie compare the beginning verses of 1 Corinthians 3 and 1 Peter 2) and Ephesians 2verses 19-22. Peter shows that the Father's purpose in making faith in His Son our Lord Jesus Christ was always the LORD's plane by citing Isaiah 8 verses 14-18; and Isaiah 28:16. Our Lord Jesus Christ also quoted these words to prove that believe in him would be the basis of salvation, whereas rejecting Jesus as God's appointed means of saving can only lead to certain and total destruction. In verses 9-10 the Apostle Peter expresses his confidence that his readers have been chosen to show the praise of their Father. In verses 11-12 the Apostle urges his readers to live lives consistent with their profession of faith. From verse 13 to the end of chapter 2 Peter expresses God's requirement for believers to endure persecution for Christ's sake following his example of submission to rulers who cruelly took his life. The argument in verses 13-14 is that the authorities are in power because the Almighty has allowed this - compare Romans 13verses 1-7. Peter's readers would find submission difficult as Rome was persecuting believers. In verses 17-20 the Apostle says that exemplary and faithful obedience even in the face of testing circumstances would demonstrate that believers were truly God's children. History tells us that such behaviour led to the acceptance of the truth by many of the pagans of that era. God will reward faithfulness which showed believers knew and understood the example that the Lord Jesus Christ had shown them in the laying down of his life for his saints - verses 21-25. Peter quotes Isaiah 53 which illustrates that our Lord was silent in his suffering that he might bring us to God. Now our Lord Jesus is overseeing and shepherding us as we walk in trust towards our Father's kingdom. Penned by Warwick Rosser and his team, produced by Christadelphianvideo.org See more Thoughts from the Christadelphian Dialy Bible Reading Planner (By R.Roberts) here... https://christadelphianvideo.org/thoughts-on-the-bible-readings-judges-10-11-isaiah-36-1-peter-2-for-june-12th/?feed_id=93639&_unique_id=684930eb3e061