Bible Reading: Judges 12:1-7
Key Verse: Verse 6 – “Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand.”
Key Words: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand
Jephthal’s victory over the Ammonites was followed by a quarrel with the Ephraimites who challenged his right to go to war without their consent (which he did not need). A battle ensued between Jephthah and his army and the Ephraimites. Jephthah and his army slayed forty-two thousand from the tribe of Ephraim. That’s quite a huge price to pay because of their pride.
A pastor friend said to me on one occasion, “You know, I preached this terrific message one Sunday, and afterward, boy, the comments were terrific. There was one great comment after another. I was so glad to see the people realized it was an outstanding message.”
Then he went home. His wife was busy trying to get lunch on the table and the five kids seemed to be everywhere at once. Rather than “Welcome home, O great orator (or whatever else she might want to say),” he heard from the kitchen, “Honey, the baby’s dirty. Would you change him?” That’s the first comment he got when he got home. So he thought, “That’s an awfully lowly task for someone who just preached such a fantastic message.” But he got the baby cleaned up. Then she said, “The garbage needs to be dumped too. It’s been here for a couple of days.” He thought, “This is terrible.” But he did it.
Finally lunch was ready and they came to the table, and sat down, ready to eat. He said, “Well, what did you think of the message?” He was all ready for her to just go wild over it. She said, “Honey, I heard them at the door today and they said enough to last for two weeks.”
Sometime when you’re feeling important,
Sometime when your ego’s way up;
Sometime when you take it for granted
That you are the prize-winning “pup;”
Sometime when you feel that your absence
Would leave an unfillable hole,
Just follow these simple instructions,
And see how it humbles you soul.
Take a bucket and fill it with water,
Put your hand in it up to your wrist.
Now pull it out fast and the hole that remains
Is the measure of how you’ll be missed.
You may splash all you please as you enter,
And stir up the water galore,
But STOP and you’ll find in a minute,
It’s back where it was before.
What to do:
✞ Remember that pride does come before destruction. Really, it does!!
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