To separate gender from sex or to define marriage as a union between two (or more) people of the same sex is not to expand the traditional definitions of these things; it is to abolish them in their entirety. And the most honest advocates of LGBTQ+ thought are very clear about this. Carl Trueman
Cold and overcast this morning, but no rain.
It is also clear that its drive to inclusion ironically involves significant elements of exclusion—for example, those who affirm the normative nature of heterosexuality and those feminists who consider the female body to be decisive for their identity. Carl Trueman
What nature has declared impossible—that two men or two women might conceive a child together—technology has made possible, and the sexual revolution has then made imperative. Carl Trueman
Scripture
Then all the Israelites were united as one man, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south.
Observation
The whole country is united against the terrible crime that has been committed. 100,000 warriors from all over Israel assemble at Mizpah.
The Levite explains what happened. In unity of purpose, the Israelites march on Gibeah. They demand that the townspeople hand over the troublemakers to be put to death.
The people of Benjamin refuse to listen. Instead, they assemble 26,000 of their Fighters.
In the first skirmish, 22,000 Israelites die. The next day, they ask the Lord if they should go out to fight. The Lord tells them to do so, but it is another defeat with 18,000 Israelites killed.
Application
While the Lord always blesses us when we dwell together in unity, there are times when unity is not enough.
The Israelites were one in heart and mind, but they suffered a terrible loss, even after they checked in with the Lord, and even though they were fighting for a righteous cause.
We need to be united in the purposes and methods of God. It is not always enough to be right, we must also be doing God’s will in God’s way.
There is no guarantee that we will not suffer for the Lord, even when fighting for Him. Victory might be assured, but there are times when it is costly.
I believe that the churches in an area should be of one heart and mind, with love and honour being exercised towards one another. But this kind of unity is not enough, in itself, to defeat the enemy. We need to ensure that we show love to the community and must always be preaching the Good News.
Prayer
Lord, I pray that you will increase the unity in your church. Make us a genuine community of faith, serving one Lord and aware that we are one body in you. Amen
If gender is a construct, then so are all those categories based on it—heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality. The world of psychological man is a world in which, to borrow Marx’s phrase, all that is solid is constantly in danger of melting into air—including our selves. Carl Trueman
Scripture
Everyone who saw it said, “Such a horrible crime has not been committed in all the time since Israel left Egypt.”
Observation
The Levite of the previous chapters takes a woman as his concubine. After a while, he returns to her father’s house in Bethlehem. Four months later, he goes back to Bethlehem to persuade her to come back with him.
Her father entertains the man with much feasting, but after five days the Levite, his concubine, and his servant leave to return home. They stop to spend the night in the town of Gibeah in the land of Benjamin. They are taken in by a man, but some troublemakers come and demand that the Levite come out so they can rape him. Eventually, to appease the mob, they push the concubine out through the door. The mob rape and abuse her all night. She collapses and dies. The husband takes her body home, and then cuts it into 12 pieces, sending one piece to each of the tribes.
Application
This event sounds very similar to the events of Genesis 19 which led to the destruction of Sodom.
This crime was so horrific that it demanded some sort of retribution to cleanse Israel of its stain.
Every now and again, a crime so horrific occurs that’s it gets the attention of a nation and leads to change.
As follower of Jesus, we need to take our own sin as seriously as the “mega sins” of others. We don’t need to point out the failings of other people, we just allow the Holy Spirit to deal with the depravity of our own heart.
Prayer
Lord, I confess that I so easily fall short of the standards you set for your people. Please forgive me and grant me victory to live a holy life. Amen
Shorter ride today because of other commitments. Apparently I took a nice photo of the ground in front of some ponies.
The erotic/pornographic has triumphed in our culture to the point that it is precisely the advocacy of traditional sexual mores that has come to be regarded at best as ridiculous, at worst as downright immoral and oppressive. Carl Trueman
