Day 90
There is a lot to unpack in today’s reading.
Record of the first left-handed man in the Bible — Ehud 3:15. I mused over the fact that there is a reason this detail is mentioned. I researched. 🙂 Apparently, being left-handed gives you a tactical advantage in war because most people are right-handed. I have also included a screenshot of an article I read.
For me, the learning here is that we need to pay attention to the details in our lives. Those little things that seem not to matter may be that unique thing God has given us, or in answer to that enormous challenge we may have. It also shows that God can use someone who is different from ‘normal’.
God used several judges to help the Israelites. Each time a judge died, the people turned away from God. God’s nature is further revealed to us each time. Despite the many times the Israelites turned away, God accepted and gave them a deliverer once they returned to Him. We often think God won’t accept us once we have fallen short. But this isn’t what we see here. It is the enemy guilt-tripping us.
Another lesson here for me is the importance of leadership. A judge died, the Israelites fell. There is always a need to have someone to steer the ship. And any endeavour is as good as its leaders. Not perfect, because no one is, but a leader can make or mar its people. And this is irrespective of whether an endeavour is a success or not. For example, Moses may have failed to get to the promised land, but he led his people out of slavery. The fact that the former wasn’t achieved in his time doesn’t make him a bad leader
And to another part I love — the use of these two great women by God- Deborah and Jael. I wondered why Jael killed Sisera, although the bible tells us that the Kenites had an alliance with the Canaanites 4: 17. Why did she also give him milk instead of water? We often talk about Deborah’s leadership. In fact, 5:6–7 talks about where no one dared to go until Deborah’s time. But there are so many lessons we can learn from Jael. I came across this article, and it was so good in addressing my thoughts.
