The Book of Judges - Weeds & Enemies

Recently I finished reading through the book of Joshua and how the Lord God gave the promised land into the hands of the Israelites. Yet as we come to the end of this amazing book and how God worked for the people, when arriving at Judges we still find the enemy scattered throughout the land and as we read on discover how Israel must continue to fight to secure their inheritance.

As we read the first few chapters of Judges, we discover that though it was the Israelites who neglected to rout out the enemy that it was fact God who allowed them to be there. And as we see in chapter two, the enemy was there as a reminder to the Israelites of what they needed to do and why they needed to do it.

Below is picture displaying Gideon & his 300 men who rout out the enemy!



Paul the apostles speaks about his "thorn in the flesh" as seen in 2 Corinthians 12:7-9, yet God's response to Paul when asked to have this removed was "my grace is sufficient for you". I see in this scripture a parallel to Israel needing to continually fight to rout out the enemy. In this verse God is saying to Paul, my favour is enough for you meaning simply that despite what you are experiencing or feeling about your circumstances, what I have done for you and given you is fully enough so that you may overcome. The Lord also states that in Paul's weakness God is strong!

In the same way, the Israelites need to continually rout out their enemies caused them to remember their need to rely on God and not in their own strength or abilities. Paul's thorn in his flesh and therefore the enemies in the land of Israel reminds God's people to rely on him.

Paul's Thorn in the flesh?


A friend of my recently came by and told me of a book he had been reading about weeds and how important weeds are to the greater environment. When first hearing this I was a little shocked, as for two years after purchasing land in the Blue Mountains where we lived we had spent pulling and eradicating weeds. He explained how weeds keep the native trees and plants in check causing them to grow stronger to defeat the weeds.

See below the type of plant that I removed from our land, 10 tonne in total...considered to be a pest here in the Blue Mountains.


Weeds therefore can be seen as a blessing to the land as it keeps the native flora strong! In the same way, obstacles or hindrances can be a way in which we stay sharp in our faith and not complacent. Which I believe is what James 1:2 says Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,  because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

So our heavenly Father as scripture says "knows the beginning from the end" and even when it seems the heavens are as brass, God is at work producing the kind of faith and perseverance we need to be the overcomers he originally made us to be.

God Bless