Reading for Today:

Judges 3:1 Chapter 3 1 Now these are the nations which Jehovah left, to prove Israel by them, even as many `of Israel' as had not known all the wars of Canaan; –4:24 Psalms 48:9-14 9 We have thought on thy lovingkindness, O God, In the midst of thy temple. 10 As is thy name, O God, So is thy praise unto the ends of the earth: Thy right hand is full of righteousness. 11 Let mount Zion be glad, Let the daughters of Judah rejoice, Because of thy judgments. 12 Walk about Zion, and go round about her; Number the towers thereof; 13 Mark ye well her bulwarks; Consider her palaces: That ye may tell it to the generation following. 14 For this God is our God for ever and ever: He will be our guide `even' unto death. Psalm 49 For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. Proverbs 14:18-19 18 The simple inherit folly; But the prudent are crowned with knowledge. 19 The evil bow down before the good; And the wicked, at the gates of the righteous. Luke 14:25-35 25 Now there went with him great multitudes: and he turned, and said unto them, 26 If any man cometh unto me, and hateth not his own father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whosoever doth not bear his own cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, doth not first sit down and count the cost, whether he have `wherewith' to complete it? 29 Lest haply, when he hath laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all that behold begin to mock him, 30 saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. 31 Or what king, as he goeth to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and asketh conditions of peace. 33 So therefore whosoever he be of you that renounceth not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. 34 Salt therefore is good: but if even the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be seasoned? 35 It is fit neither for the land nor for the dunghill: `men' cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Notes:

Judges 3:1 Chapter 3 1 Now these are the nations which Jehovah left, to prove Israel by them, even as many `of Israel' as had not known all the wars of Canaan; 0 The Spirit of the LORD came. Certain judges were expressly said to have the Spirit of the Lord come upon them (6:34; 11:29; 13:25; 14:6, 19; 15:14); others apparently also had this experience. This is a common Old Testament expression signifying a unique act of God which conferred power and wisdom for victory. But this did not guarantee that the will of God would be done in absolutely all details, as is apparent in Gideon (8:24–27, 30), Jephthah (11:34–40), and Samson (16:1).

Judges 3:20 20 And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting by himself alone in the cool upper room. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee. And he arose out of his seat. “I have a message from God for you.” Ehud claimed he came to do God’s will in answer to prayer (v. 15). Calmly and confidently, Ehud acted and later credited the defeat of the wicked king to God (v. 28; see Ps. 75:6, 7, 10; Dan. 4:25), though it was by means of Ehud, as Jael used her way (4:21) and Israel’s armies used the sword (4:16). By God’s power, Ehud’s army would slay a greater number (v. 29). Men’s evil provokes God’s judgment (Lev. 18:25).

Judges 3:31 Shamgar. His extraordinary exploit causes one to think of Samson (15:16). an ox goad. This was a stout stick about 8 to 10 feet long and 6 inches around, with a sharp metal tip to prod or turn oxen. The other end was a flat, curved blade for cleaning a plow.

Judges 4:4 Deborah, a prophetess. She was an unusual woman of wisdom and influence who did the tasks of a judge, except for military leadership. God can use women mightily for civil, religious, or other tasks, e.g., Huldah the prophetess (2 Kin. 22:14), Philip’s daughters in prophesying ( Acts 21:8 8 And on the morrow we departed, and came unto Caesarea: and entering into the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, we abode with him. , 9), and Phoebe a deaconess (Rom. 16:1). Deborah’s rise to such a role is the exception in the book because of Barak’s failure to show the courage to lead courageously (vv. 8, 14). God rebuked his cowardice by the pledge that a woman would slay Sisera (v. 9).

Proverbs 14:19 19 The evil bow down before the good; And the wicked, at the gates of the righteous. evil will bow. The ancient custom was for the inferior to prostrate himself before the superior or wait humbly before the great one’s gate seeking favor. Good will humble evil.

DAY 19: How deep of a commitment does Christ ask of His followers?

From the teaching in Luke 14:25 25 Now there went with him great multitudes: and he turned, and said unto them, –35, it is clear that Christ’s aim was not to gather appreciative crowds, but to make true disciples. He never adapted His message to majority preferences, but always plainly declared the high cost of discipleship. Here He made several bold demands that would discourage the halfhearted.

“Hate”(v. 26). A similar statement in Matthew 10:37 37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. is the key to understanding this difficult command. The “hatred” called for here is actually a lesser love. Jesus was calling His disciples to cultivate such a devotion to Him that their attachment to everything else—including their own lives—would seem like hatred by comparison. See 16:13; Genesis 29:30 30 And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years. , 31 for similar usages of the word “hate.”

“Bear his cross” (v. 27). I.e., willingly. This parallels the idea of hating one’s own life in v. 26. “Count the cost” (v. 28). The multitudes were positive but uncommitted. Far from making it easy for them to respond positively, He set the cost of discipleship as high as possible and encouraged them to do a careful inventory before declaring their willingness to follow.

“Forsake all” (v. 33). Only those willing to carefully assess the cost and invest all they had in His kingdom were worthy to enter. This speaks of something far more than mere abandonment of one’s material possessions. It is an absolute, unconditional surrender. His disciples were permitted to retain no privileges and make no demands. They were to safeguard no cherished sins, treasure no earthly possessions, and cling to no secret self-indulgences. Their commitment to Him must be without reservation.

From The MacArthur Daily Bible Copyright © 2003. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson Bibles, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc, Nashville, TN 37214, www.thomasnelson.com.

• Download our app The Study Bible!
• John MacArthur’s complete sermon archive
• The MacArthur Study Bible
• The complete MacArthur New Testament Commentary series