25 November 2025

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BELIEVE HIS PROPHETS
Daily Bible Reading

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Judges 12 – When Words Divide – and God Still Writes History
Jephthah’s final conflict and the quiet judges who followed

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Read online here

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Introduction

Judges 12 leads us into a scene filled with tension, misunderstandings, and hurt pride.
The people of Israel—meant to be one united nation—fall once again into internal conflict.
The dispute between Ephraim and Jephthah escalates—and ends tragically.

Afterward, we read of three judges whose ministries are described only briefly, yet these short accounts hold important spiritual lessons.

This chapter is a mirror of human weakness—and of God’s faithfulness that continues nonetheless.

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Commentary

The story begins with an unexpected confrontation:
The men of Ephraim march angrily northward. Their words are sharp, accusatory, and threatening:
“Why didn’t you call us? We will burn you and your house!”

It seems impulsive, thoughtless—perhaps an expression of wounded pride. Ephraim was a tribe that liked to see itself as a leading tribe.
Not being asked to join hurt their self-image.

Jephthah—himself a man with a painful past—answers openly:
He had called them.
No one came.
He had been abandoned when it mattered.
Between his words lie pain—but also honesty. He had fought because no one else would. God granted the victory.
Why the quarrel now?

But words alone cannot calm the situation.
The tension erupts.
The Gileadites defend themselves, and the Ephraimites provoke them.
Old contempt flares up again.
And escalation follows.

The narrative then presents one of the most striking scenes in the Bible: the “Shibboleth” test-word.
A simple word used to distinguish friend from enemy.
The Ephraimites could not pronounce the “sh” sound—and this small linguistic detail became a death sentence for thousands.

The number is shocking: 42,000 men died.
So much blood—among brothers.

After Jephthah’s death, the story seems to quiet down.
Three judges follow, their lives summarized in only a few verses:

• Ibzan, with his large household and many children.

• Elon, who judges for ten peaceful years.

• Abdon, whose sons and grandsons ride on seventy donkeys—a sign of stability and prosperity.

Their stories are brief, almost silent—standing in contrast to Jephthah’s dramatic life.
Perhaps they show that God also works through unspectacular years.
That stability can be holier than spectacle.
And that God does not abandon His people, despite all their conflicts.

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Summary

Judges 12 shows us:

• a destructive conflict between the tribes of Ephraim and Gilead, fueled by pride and misunderstanding;

• the tragic “Shibboleth” incident, where a single word determined life or death;

• the conclusion of Jephthah’s judgeship;

• three short judge biographies symbolizing peace and continuity.

It is a chapter full of human weakness—yet also a chapter where God continues His work despite it all.

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Message for Today

• Pride can destroy relationships. Ephraim’s wounded honor cost tens of thousands of lives.

• Unresolved conflicts escalate. What remains unhealed eventually breaks open.

• Words have power—to build or to destroy. “Shibboleth” became a dividing line; today, our words can also include or exclude.

• God works not only in dramatic times. The quiet judges show that peaceful years are also grace.

• God keeps writing the story. Despite human failure, God continues to lead His people.

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Thought Prompt

Where have I created “Shibboleths” in my life—words, expectations, or standards that exclude rather than invite?
And how can I seek peace today, before a small spark becomes a great fire?

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23 – 26 November 2025

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BELIEVE HIS PROPHETS
Weekly Reading – Spirit of Prophecy

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Ellen White | Patriarchs and Prophets – Chapter 43
The Death of Moses | Justice, grace, and hope beyond the grave

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Read online here

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BLOG 3 – The Great Vision

When Heaven Opened – Moses’ Final Revelation
God shows Moses more than just Canaan

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Introduction

On the summit of Nebo, Moses sees more than the land—he sees through time.
It is as if God Himself draws back the veil of history so that His old servant can behold what he lived for.

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Commentary

There, where the silence of heaven touches the earth, Moses stands—and suddenly the world begins to change.
The land before him becomes bright, not with sunlight, but with the light of God.
Mountains, valleys, olive groves, grain fields, lakes and cities shine like a painting of paradise.
It is not the Canaan of the present—it is Canaan under God’s blessing.

But the vision is not limited to the landscape.
It becomes a river of history:

He sees Israel dwelling in the land—its victories and its apostasies, its captivity, its return, its struggles.

Then another image rises—a stable in Bethlehem.
A child. A star. Angel choirs.
And Moses understands: This is the promised star out of Jacob.

He sees Jesus teaching, healing, weeping, loving—and suffering.
He sees Gethsemane; he hears the cry from the cross.
He sees the risen Christ ascending to heaven and recognizes: This is the heart of all the promises.

The vision continues to unfold:
The disciples go out; the gospel spreads; light enters the nations.
Moses sees centuries of faithfulness—and centuries of apostasy.
He sees God’s law cherished—and despised.
He sees the final struggles of the world, the great conflict over truth and loyalty.

Then a final image rises:
Christ coming in glory.
The righteous rising.
The earth made new.
And Moses feels his heart flooded with the radiance of that future.

When the vision ends, he stands again on the mountain.
But something in him has changed.
Heaven is no longer far—he has seen it.

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Summary

God gives Moses a tremendous vision: the land, the history of Israel, the life of Jesus, redemption, and the new earth.
His heart sees more than his eyes ever could.

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Message for Today

Sometimes God does not show us the next step but the greater view—so that we understand our life is part of a far larger story.

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Thought Prompt

What “greater perspective” might God show you today if you paused long enough to see it?

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LuxVerbi | The light of the Word. The clarity of faith.

Source: https://fulfilleddesire.net/25-11-2025-%e2%9a%96%ef%b8%8f-judges-chapter-12-when-words-divide-and-god-still-writes-history-%f0%9f%93%9c-believe-his-prophets/

November 25, 2025

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Joseph – Faith That Carries You Through
Devotions from the Life of a Dreamer with Character

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28. Not You Sent Me – But God
How God fulfills His plan beyond human guilt

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Daily Bible Verse

“Not you sent me here, but God.”
Genesis 45:8a

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Introduction

There are moments in life when we know exactly who hurt us.
We know the names, the words, the decisions that changed everything.
A dismissal that was unfair.
A betrayal of trust that cut deep.
A word that still follows us today.

Our heart quickly says: “Because of you, I stand where I am today.”

Joseph could have said the same.
He could have looked his brothers in the eyes and said:
“You are the reason I suffered for years.”

But when he met them again after many years, he said something completely different:

“Not you sent me — but God.”

This is not naive suppression.
It is a new perspective on an old story:
God’s plan is greater than human intention.

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Devotion

Joseph stood in a room that represented everything he could never have achieved by human effort: the palace of Egypt. Marble pillars, servants, signs of power everywhere. And in the middle of that splendor, he suddenly saw faces he had known since his youth: his brothers.

These were the same men who had once thrown him into a pit and sold him.
But they no longer looked the same. They were older, worn by hunger and years of responsibility. They did not know who stood before them. To them, Joseph was a powerful governor. To him, they were the reminder of the most painful break in his life.

Joseph had come a long way.
He remembered being seventeen, sharing his dreams, and receiving only mockery and rejection.
He remembered the moment when his own brothers ignored his cries for help and sold him anyway.
He remembered the chains of slavery in Egypt, the years in Potiphar’s house, the false accusations that led him to prison.
He remembered the night he could have despaired—and the many days when God seemed silent.

And yet he was here now.
Not as a victim, but as a man with responsibility.
Not on the margins, but in the center of authority.

When Joseph tested his brothers, he was not only testing them—his own heart was being tested.
Did he want revenge?
Did he want them to feel what it means to be powerless?
Did he want to let old pain set the measure?

He observed how they spoke with one another, how they talked about guilt, how they protected Benjamin. He saw they were no longer the same. The brutal young men had become men who repented, who took responsibility, who were willing to stand up for each other.

When Joseph finally recognized the change in them, he could no longer stay distant.
He had everyone else leave the room.
It was a moment not meant for an audience, but protected by intimacy.

Then it broke out of him.
Tears.
Not controlled, not measured—but loud and honest.

He said:
“I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.”

He spoke the truth.
He did not pretend nothing had happened.
He named the pain—and then he set something above it, something greater than everything they had done:

“Not you sent me here, but God.”

He did not declare the injustice good.
But he made something clear:
Your actions were not the final word.
God has the final word.

Joseph had learned to read his life story not only through the lens of people, but through the lens of God.
People had sold him—but God had sent him.
People had diminished him—but God had prepared him.
People had planned evil—but God had turned it into good.

Because Joseph recognized this, he could deal with his past differently.
He was no longer trapped in the question, “Why did they do this to me?”
Instead, he asked, “What has God done through all of this?”

This perspective made him free.
Free to forgive his brothers.
Free to provide for them.
Free to be an instrument of salvation rather than a judge of the past.

Joseph stayed realistic:
He knew what had happened.
But he didn’t stay stuck in it.
He placed his story within the framework of God’s plan—and exactly through that, the wound became a channel of blessing.

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Thoughts for Your Heart

• Your story is not written by people alone—God writes with you.
• What others intended for harm, God can transform into something good.
• You don’t have to deny your past in order to entrust it to God.
• Freedom begins where you see God’s hand over your story—even in the difficult chapters.

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What We Can Learn from Joseph

• You are not only a victim of circumstances—you can be an instrument of God.
• True forgiveness becomes possible when you recognize that God is greater than the injustice.
• God’s guidance does not stop when people act wrongly.
• Our life paths can serve others—even when they were shaped by pain.

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Practical Steps

• Take time to lay your story before God—honestly, without beautifying anything.
• Name the people or situations that hurt you—and deliberately say: “Lord, I leave the judgment to You.”
• Ask God to show you where He has been at work despite everything.
• Pray specifically: “Use my story, even the painful parts, to bless others.”
• If possible, begin serving someone instead of focusing only on your pain.

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Questions for Reflection

• Which person or situation do I still associate with pain and injustice?
• Where have I focused only on what people have done to me—and not on what God could make of it?
• What would it mean for me to be able to say: “Not you sent me—but God”?
• In what area of my life do I long for a new perspective from God today?

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Prayer

Dear Father in heaven,
you know the situations in my life in which people have hurt me.
You know the names, the memories, the wounds.

Sometimes I see only what people have done—
and it is hard to believe that You still have a plan.

I ask You:
Give me Your perspective on my story.
Help me recognize where You have led me, even when it was hard.
Remove bitterness from my heart
and replace it with trust in You.

Teach me to be able to say, like Joseph:
“Not you sent me—but God.”
Not because the injustice is small,
but because You are greater than any injustice.

Use my past
to bring hope to others.
Free me so that I can be a blessing.

Amen.

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Key Thought of the Day

People can influence your path—
but God determines your calling.

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Blessing to Close

The God who led Joseph through betrayal, loss, and foreign lands
bless you also in your story.

May He give you eyes to recognize His hand,
even in chapters you would never have chosen.

May He free you from bitterness
and fill your heart with renewed trust.

May He use your past
to give others a future.

May the God who not only knows you
but also sends you
go with you.

Amen.

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LumenCorde | Daily light for a living soul.

Source: https://fulfilleddesire.net/25-11-2025-%f0%9f%8c%bejoseph-faith-that-carries-you-through-28-not-you-sent-me-but-god-%e2%9a%93-heart-anchor-youth-devotional/