June Sunday School Overview

Rev. Adrian Grubbs

Editor's Note: We are deeply thankful for Rev Grubbs and his commitment to this column for the past 13 years. Rev Grubbs has rightfully decided to retire from writing this column and leave it in the hands of Cross & Crown to continue the column. Adrian ~ Thank you!

Faithful Witnesses Testify to God’s Promises

Being a faithful witness is more a way of life than it is learning the tricks of a secular salesman. As the old saying goes, “Seeing is believing.” To see Christ reflected in the daily life of another is more convincing than words. The summer quarter kicks off with four faithful witnesses in the Old Testament.

First up is Deborah from the time of judges – after Joshua had assigned territory to the twelve tribes and before the first king took to the throne (Judges 4). The Book of Judges follows a cycle – the people drift away and rebel against God; God withholds His blessing, leaving them exposed and vulnerable to their enemies; the people repent and cry out to God; the LORD calls out a leader to deliver Israel from their oppressors. (In Judges 2:16-19 these leaders are called judges, but in the stories most of them are referred to as “deliverers.”) Deborah is the fourth deliverer. She was a prophet – people came to her for the word of the LORD. She was a judge – people came to her to judge their disputes. And the LORD called her to be a deliverer. Israel had again wandered away from God; God withdrew His blessing; the Canaanite King Jabin oppressed the people; the people cried out to God; and the LORD sent Deborah to deliver His people. Deborah recruited Barak to lead the armies of Naphtali and Zebulun to stand against Jabin’s army led by Sisera. Another woman, Jael, also became a hero in this story by driving a tent peg through the temples of Sisera. One thing that sets Deborah apart from the other deliverers is that she does not claim all the attention and the glory, but enlists the aid of others.

Toward the end of the time of the judges, another woman, Hannah, stands out in her devotion and faithfulness to Yahweh (1 Samuel 1). Elkanah had two wives, which was not a common practice in the Old Testament but was not forbidden. One wife bore him children, but Hannah was baren. Each year Elkanah and his family made the annual pilgrimage to Shiloh to sacrifice to God. The shrine at Shiloh housed the ark of the covenant of Yahweh. On one of those trips Hannah asked the LORD for a son, promising to rear him as a Nazirite and to lend him back to God. The word for “ask” also means “borrow” – so Hannah “borrowed” from the LORD a son, then she “lent” him back to the LORD. When Samuel was weaned, Hannah kept her promise; she took him to Shiloh at the time of their pilgrimage, dedicated him to the LORD, and left him in the care of Eli the priest.

There was a special covenant-bond between Jonathan and David (1 Samuel 18). David had been anointed king to succeed Saul, had been recruited to provide music to sooth King Saul when he was visited by the evil spirit, and had stepped up in the name of Yahweh to slay Goliath. The two young men had spent much time together and formed a tight bond that they sealed with a covenant; and Jonathan gave to David his royal robe and armor. Even when Saul was trying to kill David, Jonathan remained a true friend. Eventually, King Saul and his sons were killed in battle. When David was secure on the throne, he honored his covenant with Jonathan by bringing Jonathan’s crippled son, Mephibosheth, into the king’s court.

Amos was the first prophet to leave a written record of his calling and ministry. He was a herdsman and dresser of sycamore trees (wild figs). Although Amos lived in the southern kingdom of Judah, Yahweh sent him to be a prophet to the northern kingdom of Israel. It was a unique time of peace and prosperity for Israel. The people of God appear to have a problem with faithfulness in times of peace and prosperity – they (we) become lax in devotion and commitment to God, become self-centered, abuse the poor, put faith in the military, and allow justice for those who can pay for it. God’s word from Amos did not sit well with the status quo. Amos was told by the authorities to preach to his own people and was banished from Israel. He returned to his home and prepared a written record of his ministry.