Author: John Tillman

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Underdogs Gone Wrong

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Judges 8 Listen: (5:08) Read: Titus 3 Listen: (2:05)

Links for this weekend’s readings:

Read: Judges 9 Listen: (8:22) Read: 1 Peter 1 Listen: (3:53)
Read: Judges 10-11.11 Listen: (7:11) Read: 1 Peter 2 Listen: (3:48)

Scripture Focus: Judges 8.27-31

27 Gideon made the gold into an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family.

28 Thus Midian was subdued before the Israelites and did not raise its head again. During Gideon’s lifetime, the land had peace forty years. 29 Jerub-Baal son of Joash went back home to live. 30 He had seventy sons of his own, for he had many wives. 31 His concubine, who lived in Shechem, also bore him a son, whom he named Abimelek.

Reflection: Underdogs Gone Wrong

By John Tillman

Leaders called and used by God often “go wrong,” yet biblical authors rarely feel obligated to point it out. They expect us to notice.

Gideon started as a relatable, reluctant, outcast with “underdog vibes.” By the end, Gideon acts like a tyrant, even though he refuses to be crowned king. Let’s compare Gideon’s beginnings to his later actions.

Gideon’s nickname, “Jerub-Baal,” described his opposition to the community’s idolatry. But soon Gideon used plunder to create a golden ephod, leading his family and Israel to sinful worship.

Gideon hesitated to go to war without God’s double-confirmation. But after tasting a little victory, he obsessively tracked down two kings to take revenge for his brothers’ deaths and took revenge on anyone who hesitated to help him.

Gideon hiding in the winepress didn’t seem “mighty” or “valorous.” (Judges 6.11-12 NKJV) By the end, violent warlords recognized Gideon as their kind of “prince” and his vengeful bloodlust frightened his son.

At the end of the story, Gideon, the likeable underdog has become a vicious, lustful, revenge-obsessed wolf. Gideon, the opponent of idols, led Israel right back to idolatry instead of the God who saved them. Gideon is so likable in the beginning, it’s easy to miss when the lines are crossed from victim to anti-hero to villain.

At what point did Gideon “go wrong?”

God disappears from the story after confusing the armies, causing them to kill each other. Following this, Gideon doesn’t consult God and neither God nor the narrator gives approval or disapproval to Gideon’s actions. This could be the moment Gideon starts to go wrong, but I wouldn’t be dogmatic about it.

Gideon’s darkest moments were driven by the pain and anger of losing his brothers. His tainted legacy was set in motion by his lust for women and power.

Pinpointing Gideon’s errors might be an interesting intellectual exercise, but we need to turn our attention to ourselves. Like Gideon, lusts, pain, anger, and bitterness can be the undoing of our own lives or the lives of our leaders and peers.

It is extraordinarily difficult to notice someone you love and respect is “going wrong” and speak up to correct them. The only thing harder might be to notice when we, ourselves, are going wrong. We need the Holy Spirit to aid us.

It’s okay to be an underdog, but don’t let bitterness transform you to a wolf.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Morning Psalm

Can a corrupt tribunal have any part with you, one which frames evil into law?
They conspire against the life of the just and condemn the innocent to death.
But the Lord has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my trust.
He will turn their wickedness back upon them and destroy them in their own malice; the Lord our God will destroy them. — Psalm 94.20-23

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summer
by Phyllis Tickle

Read more: Embracing Uncertainty

Gideon cannot escape his insecurity…Our repetitive pleas to God to help our uncertainty is not a sign of diminishing faith.

Embracing Uncertainty
Read more: The King We Want

We want a king, we say
A conqueror, triumphant
Crush our enemies who slight us
Crush the governments above us

The King We Want
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Swords for the Lord?

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Judges 7 Listen: (4:39) Read: Titus 2 Listen: (2:01)

Scripture Focus: Judges 7.19-22

19 Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands. 20 The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” 21 While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled. 22 When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the Lord caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords.

Reflection: Swords for the Lord?

By John Tillman

The Spartans had 300 defenders. The Alamo had less than 300. Gideon had 300 fighters. The similarities, however, end there. The differences are very important.

“This is Sparta!” became a catchphrase and meme following the film 300. The film depicted the Spartan’s battle at Thermopylae as a catalytic event inspiring Greece to resist the Persian invasion.

“Remember the Alamo!” echoes in Texans’ hearts. Depictions include the 1960 film starring John Wayne and 2004’s starring Dennis Quaid and Billy Bob Thornton. The Alamo is portrayed as a heroic battle that delayed and significantly reduced Santa Anna’s forces, contributing to his defeat.

The glory of Sparta and the Alamo goes to the defenders for being so few and so brave and for sacrificing so much. Now…just imagine if they had won! We already have films and songs celebrating them. If they’d won, they’d be practically godlike.

God had no intention of making Gideon or his fighters into glorious heroes. He had the exact opposite purpose. God sent home 31,700 fighters so that it would be impossible for 300 to claim victory by their own strength.

Israel’s war cry was “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon,” however, Gideon’s fighters weren’t holding swords when they said it. Each had a trumpet in one hand and a torch in the other. The people holding swords were the enemy. The Midianites had just changed guards, so two shifts of sword-wielding soldiers saw the torches and heard the trumpets and shouts.

The “swords for the Lord” that routed the Midianites were the ones in their own hands. God threw them into confusion so that they fought and killed each other while Gideon and his men watched and chased down those who fled.

There are many times when believers are called to bravery in the face of violence. We are often called to take our stand against innumerable or unconquerable foes saying, “We must obey God rather than human beings!” (Acts 5.29) But, like Gideon’s forces, we rarely (if ever) draw the sword. The sword is for the Lord, not for us.

Christians win battles by shining the light of truth, sounding the trumpet of the gospel, and praising the God who calls all to his mercy and grace.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting

You, O Lord, shall give strength to your people; the Lord shall give his people that blessing of peace. — Psalm 29.11

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summer
by Phyllis Tickle

Read more: In the Face of the Impossible

Every hero and heroine of the Bible does more than he would have thought it possible to do, from Gideon, to Esther, to Mary.”

In the Face of the Impossible
Read more: Of Pride and The Sword

In scripture the sword is not inanimate. The sword is hungry, with an appetite to devour individuals, races, nations, kings, and empires.

Of Pride and The Sword
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Victorious Remnant Songs

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Judges 5 Listen: (4:36) Read: 1 Timothy 6 Listen: (3:16)

Scripture Focus: Judges 5.1-3, 12-13

1 On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song:
2 “When the princes in Israel take the lead,
when the people willingly offer themselves—
praise the Lord!
3 “Hear this, you kings! Listen, you rulers!
I, even I, will sing to the Lord;
I will praise the Lord, the God of Israel, in song…
12 ‘Wake up, wake up, Deborah!
Wake up, wake up, break out in song!
Arise, Barak!
Take captive your captives, son of Abinoam.’
13 “The remnant of the nobles came down;
the people of the Lord came down to me against the mighty.

Reflection: Victorious Remnant Songs

By John Tillman

Deborah confidently led Israel out of a time of decline, crime, oppression, and spiritual torpor. Then she sang about it.

The three sections of Deborah’s song each have three phrases of three lines. The song also mentions three women, Deborah, Jael, and Sisera’s mother.

The first section (v 3-11) compares the victories God brought in the past to the one he will bring in Deborah’s day.

The second section (v. 13-21) is a wake up call to battle. It describes those who gathered for battle or hesitated to join. It describes Sisera’s army being swept away in a river, echoing Egypt’s army drowned in the Red Sea.

The third section (22-31) zooms in on Jael and Sisera’s mother. Jael kills Sisera, echoing the promise of Eve’s seed crushing the head of the snake. (Genesis 3.15) Sisera’s mother waits impatiently for financial benefits from the battle, unaware that loss is coming instead.

There are several notable themes in Deborah’s song.

Divine iteration is a biblical pattern. To paraphrase Mark Twain, God’s salvific acts don’t repeat, but they rhyme. God acts in ways similar to, yet distinct from, his previous actions. We can miss what God is doing if we expect the exact same deliverance as before. There will always be a twist of something new. (Isaiah 43.19)

Not everyone will wake up. Not everyone needs to. Despite Deborah’s call to wake up, much of Israel stayed asleep. Only a remnant responded, but it was enough. The recovery of spiritual vigor, justice, and freedom is possible because God works through remnants rather than regiments.

The lowly will overcome the mighty. Jael was not a prophet, warrior, or leader, like Deborah. She was the wife of a nomadic relative of Moses’ father-in-law. However, it was “at her feet he sank” (v. 27) not at the feet of a warrior. Sisera’s mother represents those who benefit financially from oppression, even if they don’t directly participate in it. God uses the lowly and few to bring down the mighty and many, emphasizing that his hand acts to strike down evil, repaying suffering and loss to those responsible for it.

Celebrate ahead of time what Deborah wrote about, for it will happen again. Sing victorious remnant songs. God will save in ways familiar, yet new. Don’t be discouraged. We need only a remnant of the faithful to change the fate of many. The mighty will not prevail over the lowly who trust in God.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting

My mouth shall recount your mighty acts and saving deeds all day long; though I cannot know the number of them. — Psalm 71.15

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summer
by Phyllis Tickle

Read more: No Asterisks

Deborah’s judgeship doesn’t deserve an asterisk…The biblical writers make no apologies or explanations for Deborah.

No Asterisks — Readers’ Choice
Read more: Prayer For Faithful Shepherds

God describes to Ezekiel what he will be like when he comes as a shepherd…a promise fulfilled by Jesus’ earthly ministry.

Prayer For Faithful Shepherds
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Nuance, Judgment, and Hope

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Judges 4 Listen: (3:57) Read: 1 Timothy 5 Listen: (3:22)

Scripture Focus: 1 Timothy 5.24-25

24 The sins of some are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them. 25 In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not obvious cannot remain hidden forever.

Reflection: Nuance, Judgment, and Hope

By John Tillman

Some sins are obvious. Some aren’t. Some show up early. Some arrive late.

Paul used an analogy of sins arriving either before a person or after them. Obvious sins are the ones we see as the person approaches. Hidden sins we don’t notice until after they arrive.

Paul warned Timothy about being too quick to select leaders and elders. He implied that “laying hands” on them hastily might mean sharing “in the sins of others.” (v. 22) Paul implied that Timothy’s personal purity, and that of the church, could be stained by the sins of someone the church or Timothy endorsed.

If one has been a Christian long enough, one has seen leaders who seemed holy at first, turn hellish when hidden sins were exposed. The long history of fallen moral leaders might make us hesitate to “lay hands” on anyone, but Paul’s analogy called for discernment and patience, not doubt and paralysis. When we rush to judgment, we rush toward error, but patience and wisdom can discover those ready for leadership. Sin will come out.

As a young pastor, Timothy navigated many complex problems. Both of Paul’s letters to Timothy are devoted to the wisdom he needed. The topics Paul discussed required nuance, judgment, tact, and balance. They involved not just selecting leaders but granting them appropriate respect, (v. 1) correcting them with gentleness and purity, (v. 1-2) and holding them accountable publicly. (v. 20) Paul also described efficiently using limited resources to do the most good for those who most needed it. (v. 16)

This wisdom is not just for pastors. All believers need godly wisdom to live with nuance, judgment, and hope. We must be careful “laying hands” of approval on any leader, whether spiritual or political. Leaders we hastily endorse (or refuse to correct) can leave stains on the church that last for generations.

But there is a more encouraging part of Paul’s analogy. Good, not just evil, can surprise us. There is good that is obvious and that is not obvious. There is good blooming instantly and good that blooms long after seeds are planted.

Perhaps you aren’t seeing blossoms of good right now. But there are seeds planted long ago awaiting God’s timing. Good that is now hidden one day will bloom.

Hate what is evil whether it surprises you or not. And cling to, plant, and pray for good that will surprise us all.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence

Let them know that this is your hand, that you, O Lord, have done it. — Psalm 109.26

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summer
by Phyllis Tickle

Read more: What If I Don’t Have an Ox?

Paul made an amazing claim…when Moses wrote this down, God was concerned about wisdom for his people, not grain for oxen.

What If I Don’t Have an Ox?
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De-Thumbing Tyrants?

Links for today’s readings:

 Read: Judges 1 Listen: (5:08) Read: 1 Timothy 2 Listen: (1:38)

Links for this weekend’s readings:

Read: Judges 2 Listen: (3:19) Read: 1 Timothy 3 Listen: (2:10)
Read: Judges 3 Listen: (4:30) Read: 1 Timothy 4 Listen: (2:05)

Scripture Focus: Judges 1.5-7

5 It was there that they found Adoni-Bezek and fought against him, putting to rout the Canaanites and Perizzites. 6 Adoni-Bezek fled, but they chased him and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes. 7 Then Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have picked up scraps under my table. Now God has paid me back for what I did to them.” They brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.

Reflection: De-Thumbing Tyrants?

By John Tillman

People often do to fallen tyrants as those tyrants have done countless times to others.

The reverse golden rule of retribution says that when one is generous in pain and oppression, it will be measured back, pressed down, shaken together, running over. (Luke 6.38b)

We rarely get details of the wickedness of the Canaanite kings and city-states. However, the glimpse we get from the confession of Adoni-Bezek is a gruesome hint at the type of societies Israel displaced.

Adoni-Bezek had cut off the thumbs and big toes of seventy kings, forcing them to scramble for food at his table. If this is how kings were treated, imagine how he treated the poor.

Mutilations of ancient captives were common. Captives were made eunuchs, branded on the soles of their feet, or mutilated in other ways.

Some mutilations were practical. Making eunuchs prevented future dynastic threats. Branded feet made slaves unlikely to escape. Toeless and thumbless warrior kings would struggle to rise to their feet and never wield a weapon. Resistance, rebellion, and revenge were cut off.

However, the primary purpose of mutilation was humiliation and dominance. Adoni-Bezek’s victims were not only defeated, they were made dependent on him, scrambling for scraps, like beggars. It was unusual for Israel to use mutilation. Those who defeated Adoni-Bezek must have witnessed his crimes and made an exception in his case.

But what about our case? What about the tyrants of today?

We must remember that the Canaanite conquest was not a blueprint for anyone to follow, especially the church. The Canaanite conquest shows us more failure than success. Israel wins battles but their heart is all wrong. They defeat humans but remain enslaved to sin. The entirety of the Old Testament demonstrates that violence fails to establish righteousness and political change fails to bring spiritual change.

It is not wrong for us to long for tyrants to be paid back or to celebrate when God brings the mighty down. (Luke 1.52) But that is not the church’s role. When God sends retribution, he typically chooses locusts, gnats, snakes, and other plagues. He whistles for wicked empires. (Isaiah 5.26-27; 7.18-20)

Retribution is not the church’s calling—spiritual change is. That doesn’t mean politics is unimportant, but spiritual change is the key to every other kind of change our world needs. Instead of looking for tyrants to de-thumb (even some who deserve it) we should be looking for hearts responsive to the gospel.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

Who is like the Lord our God, who sits enthroned on high, but stoops to behold the heavens and the earth? — Psalm 113.5

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summer
by Phyllis Tickle

Read more: Dethroning Kings and Powers

The destruction of Canaanite city states made theological statements, disarming the gods of Canaan’s kings.

Dethroning Kings and Powers
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