Author: David Short

Judith 9:11

“For Your might is not in numbers, nor Your power in men who are strong, but You are the God of the lowly; You are the helper of the oppressed, the defender of the weak, the protector of those who are forsaken, the savior of those without hope.”

Encouraging Words

Judith, a young widow, has just finished chastising the leaders, both religious and civic, of her community for devising a plan to test God in the midst of their trial. The trial is a pending attack by the ruthless commander of King Nebuchadnezzar’s army, Holofernes. Now she has devised a plan to rescue the people of Israel from this pending siege. But before she does anything, she prays to her God, the God of Israel, the God of all Christendom, and reminds all of us that all we need to deal with the trials and battles in our lives, is God. He is more powerful than any army or any nation. He is the helper of the oppressed, the defender of the weak, the protector of the forsaken, and the savior of those without hope. He is the one that we can claim as our Abba, our Father. Glory be to God!

Judith 8:24-25

“Now my brothers, let us set an example for our people, for their very lives depend upon us. Furthermore, the sanctuary, the temple, and the altar rest upon us. Besides all this, let us be thankful to the Lord our God, who is testing us just as He did our fathers.”

Personal Challenge

Judith finishes her chastisement of the rulers of Bethulia by encouraging them to be good examples before the members of their community. In all aspects of our lives, whether it be work, our church, our families, or any other group, if we are in positions of leadership and authority, then as Christians we must be leading as examples. We must lead in such a way that those who follow us see Christ in everything we say and do. This is how we can lead others through the tests of life that come our way. Glory be to God!

Judith 8:17

“Therefore, while we await His deliverance, let us call upon Him to help us, and if it pleases Him He will hear our voice.”

Personal Challenge

We are an impatient part of God’s creation. Maybe it is because we were given free will. I don’t know, but I have never met a fellow human being that can easily wait upon God to see how His timeline will unfold. Throughout the scriptures, we are reminded to wait upon God for He knows what is best for us. We are told to trust in Him for He will deliver upon His promises. We know that He is our God and yet we still try to take things into our own hands. No wonder we mess things up so much. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Judith 8:14

“You cannot plumb the depths of the heart of man, nor grasp the thoughts of his mind. How then do you expect to search out God, who made all these things, and come to understand His mind or comprehend His purpose? No, brothers! Do not provoke the Lord our God to anger.”

Personal Challenge

Judith continues to chastise the leaders of Bethulia for their attempt to test God in their dire situation. This is a great passage to remind us that we are finite in our understanding of the things going on around us, but that God is infinite in the depths of His understanding. We have the promise from our God that all things work for the good for those who love Him. If this is so in our lives, then why do we resist Him in virtually every situation, especially those that are challenging? God always knows more than we do and He always knows what is best for us. His desire for us is to trust Him, to submit to Him, and to trust that He will guide us through the storms of life. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Judith 8:11-13

They came to her, and she said to them, “Listen to me now, rulers of the people of Bethulia! Your words spoken today to the people are not right, nor is the oath you have sworn and pronounced between God and yourselves, promising to surrender the city to our adversaries unless the Lord turns and helps you in so many days.”

“Now who are you to have put God to the test this day, setting yourselves up as God’s equal among the sons of men? You are testing the Lord Almighty, but you will never come to know anything!”

Personal Challenge

Holofernes was one of the commanders in king Nebuchadnezzar’s army. He was ruthless in battle and had destroyed many adversaries. In this part of Judith, the Jews that live in Bethulia are about to be sieged by Holofernes and his mighty army. The leaders of the community are fearful that they will not be able to withstand the siege. Their leader, Uzziah, tells them to give God five more days to help them, and if He doesn’t, they can surrender and save their lives. In essence, he is putting God to the test. Oh, how often do we do this in our own lives? “God, I will do thus and so, if you will only do…” Judith, a recent widow, heard of this and challenged Uzziah, the leaders, and the entire community. She saw that what they were doing was testing God and not trusting Him. We cannot put God on our terms. We must live our lives according to His terms. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Judith 5:20-21

“Now my lord and master, if there is any sin of ignorance in this people and they sin against their God, then we will identify their offense and will go up to defeat them. But if there is no lawlessness in their nation, then let my lord leave them alone, lest their Lord shield them, and their God defend them, and we will become a reproach before the whole earth.”

Encouraging Words

Once again, we find the nation of Israel, God’s chosen people under attack by a foreign nation. The commander of the attacking army has sought out a prophet in the land who is familiar with the Israelites to tell him about them so that he can formulate his battle plan. The prophet, Achior, informs him of the God of the Israelites and that if the Israelites have been living godly lives, lives without lawlessness before their God, then there is no way that the attack will be successful. We need to remember this. If we are living for God then we are under this protection. Glory be to God!

Tobit 13:3-4

Give thanks to Him before the nations,
O children of Israel,
For He scattered us among them.
Make known His greatness there;
Exalt Him in the presence of all the living,
For He is our Lord and God;
He is our Father unto all the ages.

Personal Challenge

Just as God scattered the Israelites throughout the known world of their early days, so has He scattered His Church throughout the world today. Why has He done this? He has done this so that His message, His Good News, can be shared with every people group in the world. He is not ready to end this age until everyone has had the opportunity to hear of Him. This is where we come in. We are the ones that are to be giving thanks to Him before all the nations. We are the ones that are to be exalting Him in the presence of the living. He is our Lord and God, our Father onto all ages, and we are to be proclaiming Him everywhere. Glory be to God!

Tobit 12:8-9

Prayer is good with fasting, almsgiving, and righteousness. A few prayers with righteousness are better than many with wrongdoing. It is better to do almsgiving than to lay up gold. For almsgiving rescues one from death, and it will wash away every sin. Those who do almsgiving and are righteous will be full of life.

Personal Challenge

Living a godly and righteous life is not just about attending church services that make us feel good. If we desire to be godly and righteous before our Lord and show our appreciation for the redemption and salvation that He has bestowed upon us, then we will do those things that He asks us to do. Raphael instructs Tobit and Tobias that it is good to pray unto our God. However, he also teaches that our prayers must be accompanied by fasting, almsgiving, and righteousness. Yes, these are still acts of worship that we should be practicing today, for if we do them with the right motive in our hearts, they will draw us closer to our Lord. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Tobit 12:6-7

Then Raphael secretly called the two of them, and said to them, “Bless God and give Him thanks. Ascribe greatness to Him and give thanks in the presence of all the living for what He has done for you. It is good to bless God and to exalt His name. Make known the words of God’s works honorably and do not delay to give thanks to Him. It is noble to keep hidden the secret of a king, but glorious to unveil the works of God. Do good, and evil will not find you.”

Encouraging Words

Who is this Raphael guy that Tobit and Tobias were about to reward for the help that he had given to them? He was none other than Raphael, one of God’s archangels. He did so many miraculous things in the lives of Tobit, Tobias, and their loved ones that they were ready to give him half of their wealth. But he redirected them to focus their praise, thanks, and blessings onto God. It is God that deserves our praise. It is God that deserves our thanks. It is God that deserves our blessings, our all. Our doing good should be all wrapped up in blessing God, for He deserves it. Glory be to God!