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The door is propped open. It is your time to show you are exactly the person they need. Be truthful; don't gush.
Jesus is knocking on doors (hearts). Either we are going to open and invite him in: or we will refuse, or say comeback next week.
But next week never comes.
Abram lied to pharaoh about Sarai being his sister and God sent a plague on pharoah"s land was this acceptable by God that he lied? He did'nt lie. Sarah was his sister. Half sister. Read again. The plague had nothing to do with Abrams none lie.
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In like manner, Judah had committed harlotry with God by departing from Him & serving idols & doing wickedly. They carried the image of a "whore's forehead" (a whore) who pranced about unashamedly & as if nothing was wrong. For this behaviour, God had withheld rain from them & punished them in other ways.
Earlier, cousin Elizabeth, had exclaimed other words/prophecies about Jesus ( Luke 1:44-55). It may well be that Mary & Joseph 'marvelled' (wondered) at Simeon's words, since he wasn't related to them & these things were now being revealed to him. Or, that from his utterances, their own understanding of this Divine Birth was made more clear. And then the prophetess, Anna, also made spectacular utterances (2:36-38). All of these encounters caused them to marvel at the Hand of God upon them, their Child & the nation.
"The beginning of this chapter gives us a brief sketch of the history of two judges in Israel-Tola and Jair-both eminent men. The first was renowned for his descent, his ancestors being mentioned in Genesis amongst the sons of Israel who went down into Egypt-namely, Tola and Puah among the sons of Issachar ( Gen. 46:13; 1 Chron. 8:1). The second was conspicuous for his wealth, the number of his sons, his prosperity (c. f. chap. 5:10), and his cities. But, strange to say; nothing else is added.
Their rule continued for nearly the same length of time. God made use of them, qualifying even Tola " to save Israel" by (Rev. Ver.), but He did not glorify Himself by them in any special way. This reminds us of 1 Cor. 1:26-29; "Not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God bath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things, which are not, to bring to naught things that are; that no flesh should glory in His presence."
God uses, in preference, weak vessels, and that is the reason why so many of the judges bear, in one way or another, the stamp of weakness. On the other hand, all the value of God's instruments consists in presenting the character of Christ. How difficult it would be for a man who was powerful, noble or rich, to reflect the traits of Him who, when here below, was found in the place of weakness, humiliation and poverty, that He might bring the grace of God to us. The judges who preceded them, being neither Tolas nor Jairs, were examples of humility, of forgetfulness of self, esteeming others better than themselves; and who, having nothing to lose, gave proof of spiritual energy which nothing could arrest and whose very weakness achieved a victory."
And when Israel stopped to rest & set up camp, that cloud from God went behind them & near the pursuing Egyptians, so that Israel had light, while this great cloud covered the sun & gave darkness to the pursuing Egyptians, so that they too had to stop since they couldn't see where they were going: Exodus 14:19,20. In this way, God maintained a separation between Israel & her enemies, thus keeping her safe.
So the point that Paul was making here, was that how wonderfully God had taken care of His people during those difficult days (40 years) of trekking through the desert because of their murmuring & disobedience to God, so the Corinthians also should use that event as an example for their own lives. God had dealt severely with Israel for their sins & so we too should be careful in our Christian walk & live carefully before God, lest He discipline us according to our waywardness & sins. The Corinthian Christians were living amongst an idolatrous people & were being tempted to live by their standards (even as it is today with us), but Paul's warning to them was to beware of living like this & learn from the serious example that the Israelites in their wanderings, had set for them.
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