The Book of Judges, Community, & LRW

I found myself in the Book of Judges this morning.  Not gonna lie, every time I'm in the historical part of Scripture, I sometimes read it to just get through it.  There are heritage lines, battles, and a bunch of kings that fail, turn away from God, turn to idols, and pay for their sins.  It sometimes makes for a dense, intense, heavy read!

This morning, however, God wanted to teach me using such richness in history!  In Chapter 18, entitled, "Danites Take the Levite & the Idol", this story is about the religious corruption of a tribe, where a band of treacherous men from the tribe of Dan decide to ambush the country of Laish.  This is what happens:

"But the people of Dan took what Micah had made, & the priest who belonged to him, & they came to Laish, to a people quiet & unsuspecting, & struck them with the edge of the sword & burned the city with fire.  & there was no deliverer because it was far from Sidon, & they had no dealings with anyone." It was in the valley that belongs to Beth-rehob.  Then they rebuilt the city & lived in it. -Judges 18:27-28

Three things jumped out at me as I read:
1. The ambushed city of Laish were a people quiet & unsuspecting.
2. They had no deliverer because it was far.
3. They had no dealings with anyone.

These three things were their downfall.  It sounds like they were just carrying on everyday life in their normal routines.  They lived in a land spacious, "a place where there is no lack of anything that is in the earth" (v. 10).  They were comfortable, pursuing their own wealth, with their guard down.  They secluded themselves, shut themselves far away from others, neglecting trade & relations with anyone else.

Community is so important!  Without it, we'll be ambushed.  We are created to have fellowship with each other, it's an innate need.  We are to firstly have fellowship with our Maker, and secondly, fellowship with brothers & sisters.  WE NEED IT.  I need it.  I've had to break the yoke of pride I've been carrying to admit that, because I believed that through my own independent strength I could do everything on my own, without God and without others.  But, I need it.

"& let us consider how to stir up one another to love & good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, & all the more as you see the Day drawing near." -Heb 10:24 (ESV)

So, Living Room Worship.  It's a gathering of friends that meet in a Living Room, where we praise God all night with music, the Word, prayer for each other, and a collective act, like washing feet, breaking fasts, & encouraging each other.  It basically started with a bunch of us recognizing our need to be meeting together and building each other up.  There's one this Friday.  Please join.  You need it.  We would LOVE to have you.

& Strive:
1. To be ready!
2. To be near to God & others
3. To invest in time and space for God & others