Judges 8; Psalm 61; 1 Corinthians 15

Judges 8
1-21 Gideon's Triumph and Vengeance

• Ephraimites angry at Gideon because he didn't call them at the beginning of the battle with Midian
• Gideon reminds them they were responsible for the deaths of Oreb and Zeeb -- more consequential than what he has done, and it appeases them
• Gideon and his army cross the Jordan in pursuit of Midianites, exhausted and hungry, and ask for help from people of Succoth, then Penuel, both of whom refuse, because Gideon hasn't yet captured Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.
• He catches up with the kings, and the 15,000 remaining in the Midianite army, surprises them, and captures the kings.
• On his way back to Succoth, he finds out from a young man of Succoth who the 77 leaders of Succoth are.
  
• With kings in tow, he takes them into Succoth, confronts the leaders, and "tramples" the people of Succoth with thorns and briers, as he had threatened to do. I'm not sure what this means. Commentators say in some way he tore their flesh with the thorns from the area, maybe even throwing them into a pit with the thorns and literally trampling them with his (or their) feet or driving over them with farming implements.
  
• He also broke down the tower in Penuel and killed their men, as he had threatened to do.
  
• In vengeance for the deaths of his brothers, Gideon orders his son to kill Zebah amd Zalmunna, but he is young, and can't bring himself to do it. So Gideon does it himself, taking the crescents from the necks of their camels.

22-28 Gideon's Idolatry

• Israelites ask that Gideon and his family rule over them.
• Gideon's reply: Not me but the LORD.
• Then he asks them for their gold booty, totaling 1700 shekels of gold, and builds an ephod which he erects in Ophrah, his hometown.
• "And all Israel prostituted themselves to it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family." This is surprising, seeing that at the beginning Gideon tore down an altar to an idol, and he wouldn't accept a special position himself. This shows, I think, that it's just as dangerous to worship a "thing" that represents the true God as it is to worship a "thing" that represents a false god.
• After the conquest of Midian, Israel has rest for 40 years.

29-35 Death of Gideon (Jerubbaal)

• Gideon goes back home, has 70 sons by the time he dies, because he also has many wives and a concubine in Shechem who bears him a son named Abimelech.
• At his death, Israel goes back to worshiping Baal, forgetting the LORD and "all the good that [Gideon] had done in Israel."

Psalm 61 - Of David
Familiar phrases:
2 - "...Lead me to the rock that is higher than I." (Stronger, higher, giving shade and shelter)
4 - "Let me...find refuge under the shelter of your wings."
An example of what "forever" means in Old Testament writings:
6-7 - "Prolong the life of the king...May he be enthroned forever before God."

1 Corinthians 15
1-11 The Resurrection of Christ

• Back to Basics: "Let me remind you...of the good news":
• that I proclaimed to you
• which you in turn received
• in which you stand
• through which you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the word Another indication that our salvation, though a gift, still has conditions of faithfulness.
  
• The good news?
• Christ died for our sins, was buried, and was raised on the third day
• He appeared to Cephas and the 12, then to 500 disciples, to James, and lastly, to me
• I am the least of the apostles, but through the grace of God, I work harder than any of them
• But no matter, we all preach the same thing

12-34 The Resurrection of the Dead

• If there is no resurrection from the dead
• Then Christ was not raised, and your faith is meaningless, and you are still in your sins
  
• We have misrepresented God
• We hope in Christ only in this life, and we are to be pitied. This goes against what I have believed and said, that even if the Christian story were untrue, the Christian life would be the best way to live. This points, I'm sure, to the easy life I live as a Christian, free from persecution. Maybe life is too easy....
• But Christ has been raised.
• Death came through a man (Adam), and life came through a man (Christ)
• Christ was the first fruits -- the first to emerge from the ground in resurrection
• He is reigning now, ruling until the end, when he will hand his kingdom over to his Father.
• God has given Christ authority over everything. At the end, Christ will again be subject to God. So one member of the Godhead is subject to another? Since Christ is the eternal logos (Word), is this something like our words being subject to our brains? And therefore, it is like the Word is reigning now -- it is the Word that will overcome death?
• And a passage that puzzles everyone I know of: What will happen to the people who baptize on behalf of the dead, if the dead are not raised?
• Going back to the misery of Christianity: I'm in danger everyday, so what's the point, if Christ has not been raised from the dead?
• "Come to a sober and right mind and sin no more; for some people have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame." A lack of knowledge of God is the cause for their troubles. This is reminiscent of Hosea 4:6 - "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge."

35-58 The Resurrection Body

• Typically, the Corinthians want the details: Exactly how does all this resurrection happen?
• Paul: You fools -- look at nature. Does the plant resemble the seed?
• All through God's creation, bodies look different.
• So it is with earthly (physical) and heavenly (spiritual) bodies. Spiritual bodies are made for heavenly places.
• The joyous reality of resurrection: Death loses its power over us, and we become victorious over it. Christ overcame it for himself; he will conquer it for us as well.
• Therefore: "be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord."