Remember, Remember the Jordan River?

Do you have a nerdy tradition? A thing that you do each year that is centered around a certain time of year, but focused on nerdy content/context. Our family has a couple of these nerdy traditions.  Every April we watch the Lord of the Rings (due to our annual Walk to Mordor Fundraiser), in May we try to watch through the Star Wars Saga (the main nine + Rogue One), and in November we watch V for Vendetta. Why V for Vendetta? Well it all comes from the little poem that film/comic is in reference to. "Remember, remember the fifth of November. The gun powder, treason, and plot. I know of no reason why the gun powder treason should ever be forgot." In the movie, the character "V" is attempting to wake up Britain from it's own subjugation to parliament overreach and bring back freedom/choice.  He is doing this by destroying key historical structures and eventually blowing up parliament (just as Guy Fawkes attempted to do) all the while wearing the iconic Guy Fawkes mask (see picture for reference). To V, he was honouring Guy Fawkes and Nov. 5th (which is a V in roman numerals btw...) by making a stand against the government that he saw was oppressive and reminding the government who they should be taking directions from: their people.

Seems like an odd thought to sit on and make a connection to the Bible, but I was taken back by Ehud, a rescuer in Judges, and his response after passing by two stone idols. Judges 3:19 "But when Ehud reached the stone idols near Gilgal, he turned back...." Can you feel the tension...? Ok, let me give you some context here. Ehud is this guy that God had set up to the rescuer of Israel from an occupying nation (Moabites).  When he was walking back to Gilgal he was giving tribute (money) to the Big Baddy (King Eglon or Egghead as I like to call him) all the while having a foot long dagger at the ready; yet, he didn't take out this king. So what does that have to do with the stone idols? These idols were in Gilgal, which was a home base for the Israelites when they were first coming into the Promised Land under Joshua (you remember him from the last blog right!).  When they first came over and crossed the Jordan river there was a monument that was made to remember that God stopped the river, during flood season, so that all of the Israelites could cross over.  Some commentators think that these stone idols were made from the very stones that Joshua had put up in memory of the Jordan crossing, thus a huge insult to God. Now you might understand why he was turning back, I think he was ticked and ready to use his dagger. It's after this that Ehud heads back and says he has a "message from God" for King Egghead, to which the king tells everyone to peace out and what was a message was more like a special knife delivery to the kings stomach: he didn't see that one coming (inside joke for those who read the rest of the story). This action also resulted in Ehud liberating the Israelites from their oppression of the Amalekites and Ammonites and giving Israel peace for 80 years!!!

See what remembering something can do, what reflecting on something that had impact in your life and how it can propel you to take action! How are you setting up a memorial for the times God has showed up positively in your life? What in your life has been coming in and repurposing that memorial to focus on something other than God? How are you going to go V for Vendetta or Ehud on it and reprioritize God?

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