What strikes me every time I read this passage is the 3 year wait between Jotham's courageous declaration of a curse against Abimilech and God's execution of judgment.
Other times in the Bible God's judgment was both swift and severe. But this time it was 3 years in the making. And I'm sure they felt like 3 very long years to Jotham as he waited and waited for God to act. Did he doubt during the long wait? Or did his faith remain steadfast? The Bible doesn't say.
How do we act when we have to wait on God's timing instead of our own? Do we doubt God, or rail against Him, foolishly thinking we know better? If we're honest, we fall into all of those categories at some point. It is so hard to simply sit and wait for God to act. Wisdom is knowing when we are to sit and wait prayerfully, and when we are to go ahead and act on faith that God will provide.
In our NT passage we see Jesus and the Samaritan women having 2 different conversations at the same time. He's talking about living water, and she's just thirsty. Eventually she figures out what He's talking about and is so drawn to Jesus that she wants everyone around her to know the same good news.
When is the last time we've been that excited and determined to share the good news with those around us?
Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: Judges 11-12; John 4:31-54
3 comments:
Abimilech wanted something so bad, he cheated and went on a murder spree to get it. Do I wait for God and His timing, like Jotham did? Or do I do whatever I want in order to speed up the process, ignoring whether it's right or wrong?
It is not always easy to be patient.
"The people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. And they forsook the LORD and did not serve him."
Judges 10:6
Once again we read about the continual cycle of the Israelites turning from God and doing evil, then crying out in distress, and God's deliverance to His people. When I read about the Israelites during their cycle, I wonder why they keep doing that. Don't they see and remember all that God has done? Then I realize that I am no different. What would people be thinking of me reading about my life and the choices that I make?
It's so hard to be patient and wait on God's timing. It's often only in hindsight that we see that God's timing was much better than our own.
In the NT Jesus' interaction with the Samaritan women makes me think of how we are to treat people without regard to what is going on in their lives. The message of "living water" is for everyone. To shun them because of background or lifestyle choices we are denying them and leaving them thirsty.
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