one of the most dangerous words ever....

I have been doing some thinking as of late; which is good for writing, but have been delinquent in writing my thoughts down, which is bad for writing. but, alas, I am writing, today at least. 

IMHO, one of the worst words in the english language is “Tomorrow”. Let me see if I can explain with a story. 

It comes from the Old Testament book of Exodus Chapter 8.

Let me set up the story just a bit. Moses and his brother Aaron had gone to Pharaoh and demanded that he let the Israelites go. Pharaoh said no, so Moses had to go. (Sorry, that rhyme was a crime)

Moses went to God and told him that Pharaoh wasn’t going to let the people go, so God sent several plagues on Pharaoh and his people…This Plague was the 2nd one.. and its a doozy. 

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go back to Pharaoh and announce to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so they can worship me. 2 If you refuse to let them go, I will send a plague of frogs across your entire land. 3 The Nile River will swarm with frogs. They will come up out of the river and into your palace, even into your bedroom and onto your bed! They will enter the houses of your officials and your people. They will even jump into your ovens and your kneading bowls. 4 Frogs will jump on you, your people, and all your officials.’”

5 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Raise the staff in your hand over all the rivers, canals, and ponds of Egypt, and bring up frogs over all the land.’” 6 So Aaron raised his hand over the waters of Egypt, and frogs came up and covered the whole land! 7 But the magicians were able to do the same thing with their magic. They, too, caused frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.

8 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and begged, “Plead with the Lord to take the frogs away from me and my people. I will let your people go, so they can offer sacrifices to the Lord.”

9 “You set the time!” Moses replied. “Tell me when you want me to pray for you, your officials, and your people. Then you and your houses will be rid of the frogs. They will remain only in the Nile River.”

10 “Do it tomorrow,” Pharaoh said.

“All right,” Moses replied, “it will be as you have said. Then you will know that there is no one like the Lord our God. 11 The frogs will leave you and your houses, your officials, and your people. They will remain only in the Nile River.”

12 So Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh’s palace, and Moses cried out to the Lord about the frogs he had inflicted on Pharaoh. 13 And the Lord did just what Moses had predicted. The frogs in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields all died. 14 The Egyptians piled them into great heaps, and a terrible stench filled the land. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that relief had come, he became stubborn. He refused to listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had predicted.” (Ex. 8:1-15, NLt2)

Did you notice the word? Before you answer, let me paint a picture of what is going on here. Pharaoh had refused to let the Israelites go, and because of this, God had sent frogs to try to convince Pharaoh to let God’s people go. 

Now, this just wasn’t a few frogs. There always had been frogs in the Nile; but this plague of frogs was just that. Plague of frogs. Everywhere people would turn, frogs. If you went to the grocery store: frogs. If you went to the bathroom: Frogs. If Pharaoh went to his bed, Frogs. If you opened the stove in your house: Frogs. There were literally frogs everywhere. (To add insult to injury, Pharaoh’s  goons also added to the frogs, so there were frogs on top of frogs…)

Frogs here, frogs there, frogs everywhere. They are slimily little suckers, and not overly attractive.  

(I remember finding a frog in our yard once, the girls found it… that was one; I couldn’t imagine what it would have been like to have frogs literally everywhere. )

The frogs everywhere bother Pharaoh, so he asked Moses to take all the frogs away, all Moses need was just the date and time of the great frog removal. 

Insead of demanding the Frogs be gone immediately, Pharaoh asks for them to be gone….. “Tomorrow” (10)

Apparently Pharaoh liked frogs more than he originally thought. Instead of demanding they be gone immediately, he let them stay around an extra day… (maybe Mrs. Pharaoh didn’t pester him enough… maybe she did, but he ignored her… who knows?!) 

All we know is that Pharaoh was content to sleep with the frogs. 

We can be guilty of sleeping with the frogs, too. Sometimes when we think of something to do, we leave put it off until tomorrow. 

Sometimes when there is someone we should have a conversation with we put it off until tomorrow. 

Sometimes when there is something God is asking is to give up, we put it off until tomorrow. 

When tomorrow arrives, we often dont get to that coversation, that thing that needs done, or even what God has asked us to do. 

Pharaoh certainly didn't. When “tomorrow” came for Pharaoh, the frogs left, and all piled up in one place and left an awful stench, but when the stench of the frogs was gone, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened again and he refused to let the people go. 

Same can happen with us. If we don’t pay attention to what God might be asking us to do, we may miss the opportunity. (oh, there might be another one, but we should aim to be obedient the first time around.)

This, is why, I think, the Psalmist wrote this (and the writer of Hebrews picked up the same thought…Ps 95:6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; 7 for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts…” (NIV)

It is possible for us as followers of Jesus to have heard hearts, to tune His voice out… just as Pharaoh did. 

So, you’ve heard the saying don’t put off today what you can do tomorrow. I say don’t put off tomorrow what can and must be done today! 

Barak

So, in the last post I wrote about Jephthah, and talked a little bit about why he was mentioned in the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11:32. Today, I want to examine the other name that is talked about even less, Barak. 

His Life’s story is told for us in Judges 4-5. 

Israel had been under siege by a man names Sisera, who had 900 iron chariots. (Think modern day Hummer or some other super awesome military vehicle.) 

Because Sisera had these chariots, he had been cruel to the people for Israel for 20 years.  

Deborah, who was a judge at this time, was in a meeting and was hearing cases of matters that were important to the people. Apparently, Sisera’s less than stellar treatment of Isreal came to her attention, because she sent for Barak and told him to take 10,000 men and go to a specific location, and she would lure Sisera and his iron chariots in place and Barak would jump all over them. 

The next two verses are interesting: Barak said to her, "If you go with me, I will go; but if you don't go with me, I won't go.” 9 "Very well," Deborah said, "I will go with you. But because of the way you are going about this, the honor will not be yours, for the LORD will hand Sisera over to a woman." So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh,…” (Judges 4:8-9, NIV)

Why did he say this? 

Well, Deborah was the Lord’s appointed person for that time, and as such, the Lord would have been with Deborah, and Barak wanted to be sure that the victory would have been had, so he asked Debrah to come… but there would be a condition placed on her coming; the victory would go to a woman. 

Barak was ok with this… because we are told that they met up at the right spot and then this happened:

“Go! This is the day the LORD has given Sisera into your hands. Has not the LORD gone ahead of you?" So Barak went down Mount Tabor, followed by ten thousand men.

15 At Barak's advance, the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and army by the sword, and Sisera abandoned his chariot and fled on foot.

16 But Barak pursued the chariots and army as far as Harosheth Haggoyim. All the troops of Sisera fell by the sword; not a man was left.

17 Sisera, however, fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there were friendly relations between Jabin king of Hazor and the clan of Heber the Kenite.

18 Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, "Come, my lord, come right in. Don't be afraid." So he entered her tent, and she put a covering over him.

19 "I'm thirsty," he said. "Please give me some water." She opened a skin of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him up.

20 "Stand in the doorway of the tent," he told her. "If someone comes by and asks you, 'Is anyone here?' say 'No.'"

21 But Jael, Heber's wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died.

22 Barak came by in pursuit of Sisera, and Jael went out to meet him. "Come," she said, "I will show you the man you're looking for." So he went in with her, and there lay Sisera with the tent peg through his temple-- dead.

23 On that day God subdued Jabin, the Canaanite king, before the Israelites.

 24 And the hand of the Israelites grew stronger and stronger against Jabin, the Canaanite king, until they destroyed him.(NIV)

Israel stood virtually no chance against the Iron chariots of Sisera, but thanks to God, he caused a giant thunderstorm

to come and be the downfall of this army that was so vexing to His people. 

It seems Deborah was correct, for when Barak went to find Sisera, he had already been killed; by a woman (Jael)/

So why, then, is Barak among the names listed in Hebrews 11:32? Well, I think it’s because he had faith— faith his leaders; who trusted in God.  Because they trusted in God, and because Barak trusted his leaders, he had faith that God would win the battle. 

The take-away: have faith in God, He will lead you into— and out of— the battle.

The life and times of Jephthah

So this morning in my quiet time with the Lord, I was reading from Hebrews 11:24 to the end of the chapter. this chapter is often referred to as the “Hall of Faith.” There are numerous heroes of the faith recorded in this chapter.

When I came to verse 32, I scratched my head for a second. 

Here is the verse: “And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets….” (NIV84)

the head scratcher part of this verse are the names Jephthah and Barak….. who are they and why are they in the Hall of Faith?

Well, look no more, I’m here to tell you why they are here….. Well, Jephthah for now, and Barak for another time.

so the Story of Jephthah is an interesting one and it serves as a reminder that God will use anyone to accomplish His purposes and plans. His life story can be found in Judges 11-12:7:

“Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute.

 2 Gilead's wife also bore him sons, and when they were grown up, they drove Jephthah away. "You are not going to get any inheritance in our family," they said, "because you are the son of another woman."

 3 So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where a group of adventurers gathered around him and followed him.” (NIV84)

So, lets catch up. Jep’s father was his real father, but his mother was a hooker. Yup, you read that right a hooker. 

Jep’s father also had more children with another woman, and when his kids grew up, the kids picked on Jep. So much so, that they drove him right out of town… they didn’t want him to share in the family inheritance 

So, Jep picked up his things and off he went and landed in the Land of Tob, where we read that he became a leader of “a band of worthless rebels” (11:3,NLT2)

Soon after this—, were told that the Ammonites began to attack Israel,— and Get this— they actually had the audacity to send an email to Jep. asking him to come back and fight for them! The nerve!

HIs response in verse 7 is pretty good…”Aren’t you the ones who hated me and drove me from my father’s house? Why do you come to me now when you’re in trouble?” (NLT2) Nice guy.. he’s kinda right though, they kicked him out of town but when things got a little hot, they wanted him back… Why? 

Verse 8 says: “Because we need you…”(NLT2)

Now they need me! Jep said… ok, I imagine he said that….. let’s dive in to the rest of the story:

““If you lead us in battle against the Ammonites, we will make you ruler over all the people of Gilead.”

9 Jephthah said to the elders, “Let me get this straight. If I come with you and if the Lord gives me victory over the Ammonites, will you really make me ruler over all the people?”

10 “The Lord is our witness,” the elders replied. “We promise to do whatever you say.”

11 So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him their ruler and commander of the army. At Mizpah, in the presence of the Lord, Jephthah repeated what he had said to the elders.” (NLt2)

With their newly installed leader, Jep decided to take the diplomatic approach to see if that would work in this battle with the Ammonites. (You can read that in verses 15-28)

When that didn’t work, Jep made a vow to God, and then he begins to trash the Ammonites. 

“So Jephthah led his army against the Ammonites, and the Lord gave him victory. 33 He crushed the Ammonites, devastating about twenty towns from Aroer to an area near Minnith and as far away as Abel-keramim. In this way Israel defeated the Ammonites.” 

(32-33, NLT2)

This story is fantastic! A complete cast off sent off by his very own family comes back to said family had bailed them out of big time trouble. 

(You can, and should read the rest of Jep’s story including how he fulfilled his vow to God and about his other military exploits. It all came down to one word as to whether people would live or die)

So, why Jep. included in the hall of faith in Hebrews 11? I think its because he trusted in God. He didn’t let the bad that happened to him effect the rest of his life, and when he was called back to his hometown to fight, he took up the call to fight— and he obeyed God the whole time. 

Same for you. No matter where you are, You can and should trust that God will work out His purpose and plan for your life. It all starts by trusting him, even if you have been cast out and cast off. 

Ps 37:5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: 6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.” (NIV84)