Week 18
Romans 10-16 and Judges 1-16
We’ve probably all heard of the Proverbs 31 Woman; I have the Proverbs 31 App and have done several Bible studies through the Proverbs 31 ministries. As I’m reading this week’s section, I can’t help but think sure I strive to be a Proverbs 31 woman, but really we should all be striving to be a Romans 12 person- do not think highly of yourselves, fulfill your purpose by using the unique gifts God gave you- don’t try to be anyone else or do anyone else’s job, love one another, be joyful, patient, and faithful; practice hospitality, live in harmony with one another, (why stop there chapters 13 & 14 also have some gems) submit to authority, don’t be judgmental, but also don’t cause your neighbor to stumble- eat what you feel is right for you, drink what you feel is right; I’m not your doctor, it’s not my place to tell you what you can and cannot eat or drink. Eat pork, have a beer, be a vegan- you do you, just do it faithfully and with loving care for others around you. I don’t think this necessarily means I can’t eat sugar if I’m in the presence of a diabetic just maybe don’t rub it in their face “nanana boo boo I get to eat this giant cupcake and you can’t”
So then we flip back to the Old Testament to read Judges- WHOA, not to be judgmental but these people seem like quite the exact opposite of a Romans 12 person! Starts out innocent enough- take over a city and don’t kill ALL of the people (even though that is exactly what God commanded them to do) and guess what?! Spoiler alert- God was right, the original inhabitants become a stumbling block for the Israelites. They intermarry, they accept the gods and idols, and they start losing battles and don’t have Gods full support anymore. So we see this continual flip flop of clinging to God and then getting comfortable and “not needing God”.
Conclusion - these are some SUPER dark “stories” and very much leave me ready to get back to the New Testament. I guess though it goes to show that not everything in Christianity is unicorns and rainbows- sometimes God let’s bad things happen to us to fulfill His will, helping us to grow and teaching us to cling to Him and Him alone. What about you- what were your takeaways?