People might be skeptical about Christianity when thinking about our world today. Perhaps the love of God simply sounds too idealistic to be put into practice. Jesus’ command to love our enemies and pray for those who seek to do us harm goes against human logic. On Sunday we talked about how God calls us to lay down our swords. But how on earth does God expect us to do something like that? Do we simply just trust in God’s justice, protection, and security?

Throughout the bible, however, God is clear that his kingdom is quite different from any that we’ve ever known. As we looked at on Sunday, instead of engaging in fighting with one another, Jesus commands us to put our swords away. This is at the heart of the gospel message–Jesus alone gives the world salvation, not our own efforts, fighting, or aggression.

This comes as a difficult commandment for us simply because we don’t see the world operate in this way. In our personal lives, we have the habitual mindset that we need to stick up for ourselves and prove others wrong. We look at our political landscape and find the same exact thing–televised debates between political candidates often digress into shouting matches and attempts to insult the other side. At our jobs, we often compete with coworkers to get noticed or gain the credit for a job well done. Our world operates on a zero-sum-game kind of mentality where there are clear winners and losers–and we are deceived into thinking that if we want to win, that has to come through fighting.

But Jesus had a radically different response to the world’s twisted games. Instead of wielding unlimited power and even destroying his foes, Jesus sought to love others, even if it meant going to the cross for them. Instead of demanding that others serve him (to which he was obviously entitled to do–being God himself and all!), Jesus decided to take on the form of a servant, even washing the feet of his disciples who would betray and deny him. Jesus even healed the ear of a guard who was about to arrest him.

God’s kingdom looks quite different from this world.

Romans 12:14-21 says it like this:

¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. ¹⁷ Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. ¹⁸ If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. ¹⁹ Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” ²⁰ No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

So yes, God calls us to trust him alone when it comes to justice in the world. God calls us to put those swords in our lives away. And ultimately, God calls us to follow the peaceful was of Jesus Christ.

The ending of any story matters a whole lot. We didn’t touch on this last Sunday, but the ending of the book of Judges also provides more insight into the grand narrative. Judges 21:25 says this:

In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes.

This haunting verse has a few points of significance as we look at Israel’s history.

This notion that every person did what was right in his or her own eyes can be contrasted with God’s ideal for humanity. We read in several places in the Old Testament that Israel rejected God and demanded to have a king like every other nation. But there were guidelines regarding kingship which God outlined for the people. What make as a king righteous? How should a leader be different from every other group, tribe, or nation?

We find out these requirements for a righteous king in Deuteronomy 17:14-20:

¹⁴ When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,” ¹⁵ you may indeed set over you a king whom the Lord your God will choose. One of your own community you may set as king over you; you are not permitted to put a foreigner over you, who is not of your own community. ¹⁶ Even so, he must not acquire many horses for himself, or return the people to Egypt in order to acquire more horses, since the Lord has said to you, “You must never return that way again.” ¹⁷ And he must not acquire many wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away; also silver and gold he must not acquire in great quantity for himself. ¹⁸ When he has taken the throne of his kingdom, he shall have a copy of this law written for him in the presence of the levitical priests. ¹⁹ It shall remain with him and he shall read in it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, diligently observing all the words of this law and these statutes, ²⁰ neither exalting himself above other members of the community nor turning aside from the commandment, either to the right or to the left, so that he and his descendants may reign long over his kingdom in Israel.

God essentially required three things for leading the people:

1. The king cannot build up an army (horses) or a treasury (great wealth through silver and gold).
2. The king must not forsake Israel’s religion (taking of foreign wives).
3. The king is to study the scriptures each and everyday.

In other words, Israel’s leader had to be the perfect priest. His main duty was to study the scriptures and passing this along to the people.

I believe Deuteronomy teaches us that God alone should be our source of power and identity. Kings are corrupted by wealth and compromise, but God endures for all time. Kings focus on a cult of personality and demand blind devotion through fear. On the other hand, God is a God of steadfast love and desires a relationship with creation. Leaders thrive on violence, but God works through peace.

The people of Israel forgot these core truths throughout the book of Judges–so much so that God is the forgotten character by the end of the story! Judges serves as a warning to us even to this day. Is God actively leading you and shaping you through the love of Jesus Christ? Or is it tempting to simply do what is right in your own eyes, without any moral direction?

When we read the bible, its tempting to just stick to familiar territory. We’re often well-acquainted with stories like Noah and the flood, Moses and the Exodus, David and Goliath, and Jesus feeding 5,000 people. But there are countless stories we might not read all that often. After all, the bible is quite a long book!

Considering the wide variety of material in scripture, it is obvious that there are some pretty strange stories! There are teachings, actions, and commands that may truly confuse us. Laws and practices in the Old Testament strike us as completely foreign and even backwards. We encounter episodes of grand miracles, great disasters, and downright odd happenings affecting God’s people in the ancient world. From bear attacks to brutal battles, our bible contains some of the strangest things!

Lately, I’ve been reflecting on the strangeness of scripture, and have found myself focusing on those little-known stories we might not always turn to. These stories can still provide great insight for our faith, too, in addition to the well-known ones with which we are familiar.

I’m very excited for the sermon series we have planned for June and July–“Bible Stories They Didn’t Teach You in VBS!” We will be looking at several little-known stories throughout scripture and examining what they can teach us for living today. Here’s a sneak peek of bible stories we’ll explore:

• Odd battle rituals during the time of David
• The prophet Elisha and a bear attack with two “she-bears”
• Jonah’s problem with prejudice against people who looked different than him
• A strange teaching of Jesus that appears to encourage dishonesty
• Death and lies in the early church

Join us during the months of June and July as we take a look at some of the strange stories found in our bible. It is my hope that we will all learn something important by examining bible stories they might not have taught you in Vacation Bible School!