Passion

Read Judges 1 – Judges 2:7

Judges

Israelites lose the Kingdom Vision

God allows enemies to oppress them

Israelites cry out to the Lord

God sends a judge get them back on

track

Judges 21:25 – In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.

Judges 18:1 – In those days Israel had no king.

Deborah

• Deborah, God’s spokesperson, tells Barak to go defeat Israel’s enemies.

• He agrees with qualifiers– What?!– You don’t tell Almighty God conditions of doing his will

• God allows this and uses it to bring Israel back

Gideon

• Israelites now hiding from their enemies.• God gives Gideon a direct command• Gideon “tests” God– We often commend Gideon for his discernment– This was direct disobedience– How many of us would allow our children to do

that?• Graciously God still uses Gideon to accomplish

his purposes

Samson• Samson was from the tribe of Dan• They were still cowering in the hills above

their inheritance 150 after Joshua• Shimshon – visible rays of light• Delilah – of the darkness• What do these have to do with each other?– Some big confrontation is coming– Who usually overcomes whom?

Hill where Samson lived

• Left side archeologists found evidence of a permanent tent city

• Judges 13:25 – Mahaneh Dan – “Camp of Dan”

Shephelah – what Samson saw

Beth Shemesh – a Levitical city

Delilah came from somewhere here

• Samson went down and “saw” a woman• Samson’s parents begged him to marry one

from his tribe• Why would he want to buy into a Kingdom

vision his parents didn’t have?• Tribe of Dan lost their passion

• Samson found himself alone in a cave– No support– His own people tried to turn him in– Scolded for trying to do what the Israelites should

be doing• Why would he want to be a part of that?!

Where is our Passion?• Do we act like the tribe of Dan?– Survival mode – act like God isn’t sovereign

• What message are we teaching our children?– There is a lot of passion in our children’s world– Do they see it coming from us on the things that

matter?• Are we like the men of Dan and Judah?– What kind of support system are we?

• Do our children catch the Kingdom vision?– Are we presenting it to them?

Next Week

• City Gates