Foundation Baptist Church. Let's sing number 388. Speak my Lord number 388.
Hear the Lord of harvest sweetly calling. Who will go and work for me today?
Who will bring me to the lost and dying? Who will point them to the narrow way?
Speak my Lord. Speak my Lord. Can I be quick to answer thee?
Speak my Lord. My Lord will answer, "Lord send me."
A call of fire had touched the prophet, making him as pure as pure can be.
When the voice of God said, "Who'll go for us?" Then he answered, "Here I am, send me."
My Lord. Speak my Lord. Can I be quick to answer thee?
Speak my Lord. My Lord. Answer, "Lord send me."
Now when sin and shame are dying Listen to their sad and bitter cry
Haste and brother haste into the skew Quickly answer, "Master, here am I."
My Lord. My Lord. Can I be quick to answer thee?
Speak my Lord. My Lord. Answer, "Lord send me."
The time for reaping will be over Soon we'll gather for the harvest home
May the Lord of Harvest smile upon a blessed child well done
My Lord. My Lord. Speak and I'll be quick to answer thee
My Lord. My Lord. Send me.
Should all the shame and the love The reproach of the Savior
Write books and laugh at the cause This blood-painting pain
My man change and admit This blood-painting pain
One who is lost ever beg him This blood-painting pain
My the man never mind Possessions men crave
The Savior bring soul to hand joy This blood-painting pain
Saying this time of evangelist death and John will give the announcements
Welcome back to True Foundation Baptist Church once in nice service
Let's go over the verse the weekly in chapter 6 verse 1 the bible says
Brethren if a man be overtaken in a faulty which are spiritual restore such
And one in the spirit of meekness considering thyself
Lest thou also be tempted a very practical verse here
Look at the inside page we have service on the morning at the 11th
Sunday afternoon service at four and Wednesday night Bible study at 7 p.m.
Tonight we'll be starting a new book we'll be preaching through the book of
Judges one chapter a week so and looking forward to this
study also uh for the zoning time Saturday morning at 10 30
locally and then Sunday afternoon someone at 1 30
p.m we'll have a last Notre Dame Sony marathon this coming
Saturday check out the social media for more detail if you have plenty on coming
and then we have a Gary Sony marathon not this Saturday but next Saturday
we'll meet at 12 30 at the address on on the bulletin we'll have a
afternoon session a late lunch and then maybe a shorter session to finish that
up so if you have plenty on coming please let me know we'll still have a
local time on that Saturday as well and then pie and
pray service will take place on November 23rd during the Sunday
afternoon service it will be a special modified service
and then we'll partake pie and drinks afterwards
non-alcoholic drinks afterwards and then Christmas service will take place
December 21st during the morning service we'll have a potluck right after the
morning service i will have sunup sheet in the in the
near future please invite family and friends and then we'll have a regular
someone in time and then the afternoon service
for that day Christmas Eve service will be on Wednesday December 24th
so if you don't normally come on Wednesday that that will be a good
service for you to show up and I think that's it if you flip on
the back side for the landing is having his birthday um Saturday
something like that so uh please wish him a happy birthday
so yep that's all the announcement let's sing one more song and then we'll take
up the offering sing number 70 will Jesus find us
watching number 70 when Jesus comes to reward his servants
whether it be noon or not our eighth wall to him will he find us
watching with our lamps so trimmed and
bro can we say we are ready brother ready for the soul's bright
home say will he find you and me still
watching waiting waiting when the lord shall come
if at the dawn of the early morning he shall call us one by one
when to the lord we restore our talents will he answer the well done can we say
we are ready ready for the soul's bright home
say will he find you and me watching waiting in the lord shall be true to the
trust he left us do we seek to do and men's
are read the soul and said are those whom the lord finds watching his glory they
shall share shall come at the dawn just watching
for the soul time the ushers can come forward for the offering
pray for the offering heavenly father thank you for state you've given us lord
i pray that you use your offering lord and bless it
and bless those that are faithful in their tithes and offerings lord we love
you and in jesus name we pray amen okay we'll be starting a new book and
it'll be the book of judges we'll be in judges one this evening
need a bible where's your hand i'll show we'll give one to you judges chapter
chapter one the bible reads now after the death of joshua
it came to pass that children of israel asked the lord
saying who shall go up for us against the canaanites
first to fight against them and the lord said judas shall go up behold
i've delivered the land into his hand and judas said unto
simian his brother come up with me into my lot
that we might may fight against the canaanites and i likewise will go with
thee into my lot so simian went with them and juda went up and the lord
delivered the canaanites and the parasites into their hands
and slew them and besech 10 000 men and they found
adonai besech and besech and they fought against him
and they slew the canaanites and the parasites adonai besech
fled and they pursued after him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and
his gray toes and ananon besech said three scorn ten
canes having their thumbs and their gray toes cut off
gathered their meat under my table as i have done so god hath required me
and they brought him to jerusalem and there he died now the children of juda
had fought against against jerusalem and had taken it
and smitten it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire
and afterward the children of juda went down to fight against the canaanites
that dwell in the mountain and in the south and in the valley and juda went
against the canaanites that dwelt in hebron now in the name of hebron
was kirjath arba and they slew chishai and hamen and talmai and from thence he
went against the inhabitants of the bear and the
name of the bear before was kirjath sefer and kaleb said
he that smideth kirjath sefer and taketh it
to him will i give akash my daughter to wife and off niel the son of canaz
kaleb's younger brother took it and he gave him
a akash his daughter to wife and it came to pass when she came to him
that she moved him to ask of her father afield
and she lighted from uh from off her ass and kaleb said unto her what wilt thou
and she said unto him give me a blessing for thou has given me a south land
give me also springs of water and kaleb gave her the upper springs
and the nether springs and the children of the keenite moses
father moses's father went up out of the city of palm trees
with the children of judah into the wilderness of judah which lieth
in the south of erad and they went and dwelt among the people
and judah went with simi and his brother and they slew the keenites
that inhabited zefat and utterly destroyed it
in the name of the city was hormah and judah took gaza
with the coaster of nashkalon with the coaster of an ekron with the coaster of
and the lord was with judah and he drove out the inhabitants
of the mountain but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley because
they had chariots of iron and they gave hebron unto kaleb
as moses said and he expelled fence the three sons of an ak
and the children of benjamin did not drive out the jebusites
that inhabited jerusalem but the jebusites dwell
with the children of benjamin in jerusalem until this day
in house of joseph they also went up against
bethel and the lord was with them and house of joseph
sent to describe bethel now the name of the city before was was
and the spies saw a man come forth out of the city and they said unto him
show us we pray thee the entrance into the city and we will show thee mercy
and when he showed them the entrance into the city they smote the city with
the edge of the sword but they let go the man and all his
family and the man went into the land of the
hittites and built a city and called his name
thereof was which is the name thereof unto this day
neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of
Bethshean in her towns and Tanakh in her towns nor the
inhabitants of Dor in her towns nor the inhabitants of Ibliam in her
towns nor the inhabitants of Megadal in her
towns but the Canaanites would dwell in that land and it came to
pass when Israel was strong that they put the Canaanites to
tribute and did not utterly drive them out
neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites
that dwell in Gezer but the Canaanites dwelt
and Gezer among them neither did Zebulun drive out the
inhabitants of Chitron nor the inhabitants of Nihalol
but the Canaanites dwell among them and became tributaries
neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Aqal
nor the inhabitants of Ziodon nor of Alab
nor of Aqsib nor of Helba nor of Afik nor of Rehob
but the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites
the inhabitants of the land for they did not drive them out
neither did Naftali drive out the inhabitants of Beth-Shemesh
nor the inhabitants of Beth-Anath but he dwelt among the Canaanites the
inhabitants of the land nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth-Shemesh
and of Beth-Anath became tributaries unto them
and the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain
for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley
but the Amorites would dwell in Mount Horez in
Ajalon and in Shalabim and yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed
so that they became tributaries and the coast of the Amorites
was from the going up to Akrabin from the rock and upward tell me father
thank you lord for this church just pray god to be with brother Justin as he
preaches a sermon and we have receptive hearts we receive the message amen
amen all right we are starting a new book the book of judges it's part of the
historical book section we will try to preach through this one
chapter a week if it's possible and uh title and the title of the
sermon this morning you know tonight is called almost obedient
almost obedient now the book of judges took place after the death of
joshua and uh throw the sermon keep your place in the book of judges we'll leave
it and come back to you but look at judge chapter one verse number one the
bible says now after the death of joshua it came to
pass so the general stories of of this book took place after joshua
died okay now turn the bible to joshua chapter number 11 go to joshua chapter
number 11 joshua took over moses after moses died
and joshua led the children of israel and won many well-known battles such as
the battle of jericho the battle of ai the battle of gibyan against the five
amorite kings in the in the book of judges and you
know during joshua's time joshua took over the whole
promised land in principle joshua chapter 11 look at verse 21
joshua 11 verse 21 the bible says and at that time came joshua and cut off
the anakims from the mountains from hebron from debor from
from anab and from all the mountains of juda and from all the mountains of
israel juda uh joshua destroyed them utterly with their cities
there was none of the anakims left in the land of the children of israel only
in gaza in gath and in ashdod there remained so joshua took the whole land
according to all that the lord said unto moses
and joshua gave it for an inheritance onto israel according to their divisions
by their tribes and the land rested from the war
so during joshua's time they actually took over the whole promised land
in principle however the whole possession wasn't completed yet okay so
even though they took over the whole land
in principle they still have a lot of individual tribes left off
for them to clean up okay now go to joshua 24
joshua chapter 24 and the book of judges pick up where joshua left off
many you know individual tribes did not finish driving out the
inhabitants of the land from their assigned territories
so even though they you know in principle have taken over the whole
promised land but you know judges will show you
they still need to wipe off certain pockets
uh you know of the areas within the promised land
joshua 24 look at verse 29 and joshua 24 verse 29 the bible says
and it came to pass after these things that joshua the son of nun
the servant of the lord died being 110 years old
and they buried him in the border of his inheritance
in timnet sira which is in mount ephraim on the north side
of the hill of gayash and domestes israel served the lord all the days of
joshua and all the days of the elders that out
that overlived joshua and which had known all the works of the lord
that he had done for israel now this passage
implied to us that israel did not follow god
after joshua and after the elders who outlived joshua which have seen
all the works okay and that's the theme of the book of
judges people forgot the works of the lord people forgot about
god and that's why we need to remember the battles that we have fought
the battles that we have won and then the battles that god has helped us
alongside to fight with us and tell them to our
children so they will know the works of the lord right so that
they will not be apart from the works of the lord
and the book of judges again begins after the death of joshua
and then we have the generations that new joshua
is gone and then we have a new generation that rises up and they must
continue conquering the land to you know clean off
all these other tribes and the book of judges shows us
a cycle we have sin we have servitude we have supplication and then we have
salvation right people go into sin and then they are and then they are
sold into bondage they are serving those hidden nations sin servitude
and then they call out unto god we have supplication
and then god you know brings forth the deliverance god brings forth the
salvation so we have a cycle throughout the book of
judges we have sin servitude supplication as well as salvation and
we see the cycle over and over again turn the bible back to
judges chapter number one judges chapter number one
now in chapter one to chapter three the bible talk about the children of
israel's they fail to subdue all the land and
then chapter four and on introduce different judges okay we
have famous you know we have we have some famous judges such
as you know samson gideon you know these are
introduced from chapter four and on so chapter one mainly it gives us three
different sections so section number one i want to talk
about the inquiry as well as the initiative okay verse number one again
the bible says now after the death of joshua it came to pass
that the children of israel asked the lord saying who shall go up
for us against against the canaanites first
to fight against them now i think the children of israel they had a good start
why because they did not jump right into the battle what did they do
they asked the lord first right before they start you know fighting against the
canaanite they asked the lord and that's what prayer is
right what pray means to ask okay before they
you know begin their conquest begin this inquiry to
uh fight against the canaanites they besieged the lord they asked
the lord who shall go up which tribe should go up first to fight them
and you know in our christian life we need to seek
god in every single decision in our life
okay because the bible says in all thy ways acknowledge him
not in some ways many christians they only ask god they only pray to god for
some big things for some big choices for some
for some huge battles but the bible says in all thy ways
acknowledge him right so that's the mindset that we should have in our
christian life okay verse number two the bible says
and the lord said judah shall go up behold i have delivered the land into
his hand here's one benefit of prayer because if god is fighting with you and
for you the battle is already won because the
bible does not say you know god did not say i will deliver the land into
into his hand notice the bible says i have delivered the land into his hand
the bible use a past perfect tense right so you know if god is fighting with you
and for you the battle is already won right all we have to do is simply to
take it okay you know i think the wording is pretty
fascinating i have delivered the land into his hand
although that has not happened yet but god gives uh
you know juda a a promise and one thing that is lack that is lacking in many
christian in their christian life is a good prayer life
maybe that's why most christians they don't have victories in their lives
because they lack prayer right because if we
acknowledge god in all our ways in all our choices
and god will fight the battle with us and for us
and the battle is as good as it was already won
look at verse number three and juda said unto simian
his brother come up with me into thy lot into my lot
that we may fight against the canaanites and i likewise will go with
thee into thy lot so simian went with him so verse one
two teaches us the principle of a christian's
prayer life but verse three gives us a good application that
christianity is a team sport think about the fact that jesus christ sent for the
apostles by two and two right because you know christianity
is not a bull hog religion you know we need
others we need other people here juda you know asked simian his
brother to fight with him to conquer the land with him now keep
a place in this book going forward to ecclesiastes chapter number four
ecclesiastes chapter number four look at verse number nine
ecclesiastes chapter number four verse number nine the bible says
two are better than one because they have a good reward for their labor
so so so by having two people is better than having one person here's the
reason they have a good reward for their labor
here's my you know interpretation on that
because uh with two people you can do more than with one person
right thinking about going soul winning you know
usually when you go by two and two when you go by pairs you tend to get more
people saved somehow it works you know even though
you are talking the same amount of time you know
but if you follow god's way hey you know more things can be done right
think about 60 people hundred people on a soul winning trip on a mission trip
more people get saved okay so accuracy by volume
okay so i'm not saying spray and pray you know like
that's how that's how some people shoot you know but we need to
but you know in christian life in soul winning you know accuracy by
volume is true right the more soul winners we have more people get saved
work out verse number 10 for if they fall the one will lift up
his fellow but woe to him that is alone when he
falleth for he had not another to help him up
again if two lie together then they have heat but how can one be warm alone
and if one prevail against him to shall withstand him and the threefold
cord is not greatly broken so i talk about this
in uh in the book of a disaster is that you know it's not just enough to have
a team to have quantity but we also need to have
god within us have god among us right because when you have two people plus
god and a threefold cord is not quickly
broken and you know having a good partner having a good
support group can you know help you in time of need they can give you stuff
they can give you money if you need money they can give you clothing
then give you support and give you the encouragement
so the lesson is don't live your christian life in isolation
be faithful to church right that's how you you know get the fellowship
that that's how you make godly friends talk to people
and also notice that you know juda asked simian and simian went with him
that's why if someone asks you to be his soulmate partner
if you don't hate that person then go with him okay although you know we
we are like intentionally pairing people pairing different
people together so do not fight us when we try to pair up with like different
people but if just in you know in general if
if your fellow brothers and sisters ask you
for you know help for partnership you know just you know go with him
encouraging him right you know if someone asks you for you know advice
counsel talk to him be friendly turn back to Judges Chapter 1
Judges Chapter 1 look at verse number 4 Judges Chapter 1 verse 4
the Bible says and Judah went up and the Lord delivered the Canaanites
and the parasites parasites parasites into their hand and they slew of them in
Bezak 10,000 men and they found Adonai Bezak
in Bezak and they fought against him and they slew the Canaanites and the
parasites but Adonai Bezak fled and they pursued
after him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and his great toes okay
by the way if you disagree with me on how I pronounce those names don't worry
about it it's not Demel Heresy so but verse four through six tells us
the story that you know Judah and Simeon they finished their jobs
they did not let the enemies flee they pursued after Adonai Bezak
and caught him and maimed him as well okay they finished the job
okay so I think there are many pictures that you can
you know pull from you know from this whole chapter but
I think Adonai Bezak represents sin and the strongholds in your life
because the enemies will try to escape and
regroup okay and sin if left unchecked will come back sin if left unchecked
will return to your life and Judah and Simeon
did not just scare him off they chased him down
right they are on a mission to destroy sin
destroy their flesh they made sure that you know
sin or in or in this case Adonai Bezek
will not rise in strength ever again right because cutting off the thumbs
and toes you know was not just punishment it was
permanent disarmament okay think about it that way
okay go now uh keep replacing judges go with
what you Matthew chapter five Matthew chapter five
and we need to disarm the possibilities of
sin or to sin in our life because because Judah and Simeon they
did not just you know uh uh pursue uh or trying to uh
hunt down sin but they maimed it they stopped the possibility
of it so we can draw the application that you know if you struggle at
looking at things that you're not supposed to
on your phone maybe you should throw throw your phone away
cut off the internet or or put on some strict
accountability filters do something to maim sin to make it impossible okay
Matthew chapter 5 look at verse 29 Matthew 5 verse 29 the Bible says
and if thy eye and if thy right eye offend thee plug it out and cast it
from thee for it is profitable for thee that one of
thy members should perish and and not that thy whole body should be
cast into hell and if thy right hand offend thee cut it
off and cast it from thee for it is profitable for thee
that one of thy members should perish and not that thy whole body should be
cast into hell the bible is not talking about self
mutilation the context is you know going to hell it's talking about eternal
judgment but the principle is we should you know
put our flesh to death symbolically speaking
okay so if certain music drags you back to sin delete that playlist
burn that cds you know if you still use cds or just cut off the streaming
services completely don't just skip the bad songs
cut off the playlist completely right maim the same make it impossible
to sin and if bad friendships keep pulling you down
you know stop spending time with them don't just hand out less
okay separate from them completely if that's necessary
Proverbs Proverbs 13 verse 20 says this he that walketh with wise men shall be
wise but a companion of fools shall be destroyed
go to Colossians chapter three Colossians chapter number three if social
media wastes your time or stores envy delete the apps okay
delete the account don't just limit your time
you know disarm the possibility to sin if you're tempted to drink alcohol or
like any vices don't even walk down the alcohol aisle
at uh at a store don't just keep just one for cooking in your fridge okay
remove every trace of it from your house if laziness keeps you from prayer and
bible reading then set alarms put your bible on the table right next
to your bed all right force yourself into a structure
kill the excuses not just try harder right
be intentional to walk with god to serve god to stop
to stop sinning don't co-exist with sin don't tolerate it okay don't let it flee
and regroup and come back at you pursue sin
catch it and cripple it okay clausen clausen chapter 3 look at verse number
5 clausen 3 verse 5 the bible says mortify
that means put to death you know put them to death
talking about your body parts okay uh mortify therefore your members
which are upon the earth fornication and cleanness
inordinate affection evil concupiscence and covetousness which is idolatry for
which things say the wrath of god cometh on the
children of disobedience in the which ye also walked some
when ye lived in them so i was saying that don't do those things that you were
doing when you are when you are unsaved okay verse number
eight but now you also put off all these anger
wrath malice blasphemy filthy communication out of your mouth
lie not one to another seeing that you have put off the old man with his deeds
and have put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of
him that created him okay so this proves you know
number one that you know putting on a new man living a holy life is not
automatic you have to want it right you have to put on the new man
don't do these things that the unsaved people do okay
you know actually turn turn over to a new leaf after you are saved
and you know actually walking the spirit by
you know not tolerating sin by not co-existing with sin
but you know pursue it catch it creep away and put them to death
okay okay i'm not i'm not talking about sin okay put them put them to death
so go back to judges chapter one judges chapter one
now some people would think that judah and simian they were too cruel
for like cutting off the thumbs and toes of adonai besech
but you know first of all we just make an application about sin right how to
cripple sin and how to make it impossible for you to
sin but look at verse number seven judges chapter one verse number seven
the bible says here and adonai besech said three score and ten kings
having their thumbs and their great toes cut off gathered
their meat under my table as i have done so god had required required me
and they brought him to jerusalem and there he died
so so i don't think it it was cruel for them to cut off his thumbs and toes
because he did the same thing to 70 other kings
right so here we have another we have another lesson of sowing
and reaping if you sow certain things you know these things may come back at
you right if you are plotting evil the same
evil may become to you and you can make and you know you can also
make an application on how sins can destroy you
and maim you spiritually and because because because Adonai Bezak has maimed
other people right and and you know since he
pictures sin that also pictures that sin will cripple you
and maim you so that you will not serve god
effectively right because here we have Adonai Bezak here
he has crippled he has crippled 70 other kings
and sin will cripple multiple people sin will cripple
you as well just like those kings that you know that were crippled by
Adonai Bezak you know they got their thumbs and toes cut off
they they could no longer fight right they you know
they could no longer walk and you know in the same way sin can take away your
the ability to fight a good fight of faith just like those
those those kings could not walk normally because because they got their
toes cut off sin will also make your walk with God
and stable and steady and stumbling okay and the kings notice also they ate
crumbs under another man's table they gather their meat
under under the table of Adonai Bezak sin will rob you of your joy boldness
effectiveness in serving God leaving you spiritually impoverished
so you and you know leave you you know begging for scraps
just like those kings that you know Adonai Bezak maimed
okay so so the lesson is don't play with sin because sin will maim you
sin will make you immobile sin will make you less effective in serving God
sin will make you not be able to walk with God effectively
and sin will make you spiritually impoverished and begging for scraps
okay but also what's the end of sin the Bible says at the end of verse number
seven and they brought him to Jerusalem and
there he died Adonai Bezak died in Jerusalem after being maimed
because sin always leads to death okay and sin when it is finished
bringing forth death okay so that's why we should not be playing with sin we
should not even have the possibility to sin
remove the possibility in your life so sin will not cripple you
so I said point number one the the inquiry
and then we have section number two is the conquest of Judah
now the timeline in chapter one can be a little bit
confusing because verse one and seven talks about what happens after Joshua
but then verses eight through 16 recount the story in Joshua chapter 15
now I will prove that to you as we go through these verses but look at verse number eight
Joshua chapter one verse eight the bible says now the children of Judah have fought against
Jerusalem and had taken it and smitten it with the edge of the sword and set a city on fire
and afterward the the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanite
that dwelt in the mountain and in the south and in the valley and Judah went against the Canaanites
that dwelt in Hebron. Now the name of Hebron before was Kajathaba and they slew Shishai and
Hymen and Talmiah and from this he went against the inhabitants of Dibur and the name of Dibur
before was Pijeth-Sefer. Now this story I believe was a flashback of the story in Joshua. Now go to
Joshua chapter 15. Joshua chapter 15. Look at verse number 13. Joshua 15 verse 13. Joshua 15
verse 13. The Bible says this, "And unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh, he gave a part among the
children of Judah, according to the commandment of the Lord to Joshua, even the city of Arba,
the father of Anak, which city is Hebron. And Caleb drove thence the three sons of Anak,
Domestes, Shishai, and Haman, and Telmei, the children of Anak. And he went up thence to the
inhabitants of Deber. And the name of Deber before was Churjas Sefer." Notice, same places,
same events. So that's why I believe Joshua 1 verse 8 through 16 recounts the story in Joshua
chapter number 15, because they are dealing with the same people group. They are dealing with the
Canaanites. They are dealing with Shishai, Haman, and Telmei. Now go back to Judges chapter 1,
Judges chapter 1, verse number 12. The Bible says, "And Caleb said, 'He that smiteeth Churjas
Seifer, and taketh it, to him will I give Aksa, my daughter, to wife.'" That's a pretty hefty
dowry. You basically have to slew this whole people group to get a wife. But look at verse 13,
the Bible says, "And Othniel," who was later becoming the first judge, "and Othniel, the son
of Kenas, Caleb's younger brother, took it, and he," Caleb, "gave him Aksa, his daughter, to wife."
Okay, so basically, Othniel eventually married Caleb's daughter, Aksa. Okay, so one thing to
point out is Aksa, no, Othniel did not commit incest by marrying Aksa. Here's the reason why.
Othniel was not Caleb's younger brother, but Kenas was. Okay, notice the wording. "And Othniel,
the son of Kenas, Caleb's younger brother." So who is Caleb's younger brother? Kenas.
And Othniel was the son of Kenas, so Othniel will be Caleb's nephew, not his brother.
Some of you are confused, but let me prove that to you. You know, the Bible actually teaches that
cousin marriages were not directly forbidden under the Mosaic law, because if we read
Leviticus 18, actually turn to Leviticus 18. Leviticus 18 forbids marrying the near of kings
with parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, as well as in-laws. Nothing about cousins.
Okay, let me show that to you, because Othniel was Caleb's nephew, not his brother.
So, Leviticus 18, look at verse number six. Leviticus 18 verse number six, the Bible says,
"None of you shall approach to any that is near of king to him to uncover their nakedness. I am the
Lord. The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shall thou not uncover. She is thy
mother, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness." So, don't go in onto your parents, okay? That's
pretty obvious. Verse number eight, "The nakedness of thy father's wife." Now, this is assuming
that, you know, she is his stepmother, right? Because the verse before tells you about
his mother. And verse number eight, "The nakedness of thy father's wife shall thou not uncover it.
It is thy father's nakedness. The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father,
or daughter of thy mother, whether she be born at home or born abroad, even their nakedness shall
thou not uncover. The nakedness of thy son's daughter," basically that's your granddaughter,
"or of thy daughter's daughter, even their nakedness thou shall not uncover, for theirs
is an own nakedness. The nakedness of thy father's wife's daughter," that's your step-siblings, okay?
"begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shall not uncover her nakedness. Thou shall
not uncover the nakedness of thy father's sister," that's your aunt, "she is thy father's near
king's woman. Thou shall not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister, for she is thy mother's
near king's woman. Thou shall not uncover the nakedness of thy father's brother," that's your
uncle, "Thou shall not approach to his wife, she is thine aunt. Thou shall not uncover the nakedness
of thy daughter-in-law, she is thy son's wife. Thou shall not uncover her nakedness. Thou shall
not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife. It is thy brother's nakedness." Okay, so notice
this list. Cousins were not considered, the cousins, I believe they were considered the
extended families, but not near of king. Now, I do want to caveat that, you know, first cousin
marriage can, you know, slightly increase the risk of recessive genetic disorders, right? But then,
but then the risk is relatively small comparing to, you know, direct, direct incest, if that
makes sense. You know, many modern medical profession, modern medical professionals would,
you know, advise genetic counseling if you are to marry your cousin, especially if you are
marrying your cousin, and that's spreading over generations. That can definitely produce problems,
right? Because, you know, because in general, medically speaking, the farther you mix,
the better it is, okay? So personally, I do not believe Othniel committed incest for marrying
Exa, because, because Kenas, Kenas, Othniel's father, was Caleb's younger brother, that makes, that makes Othniel
Caleb's nephew, okay? So that's why I believe, not to say I like recommend it now, but, you know,
I don't believe they had committed incest, because, you know, they were cousins, they were not,
you know, near of king, as defined in Leviticus chapter, chapter number 18. Now turn back to
Judges chapter 1. Judges chapter number 1. Look at verse number 14. Judges chapter 1 verse 14.
The Bible says, "And it came to pass when she came to him, Caleb, that she moved him to ask
of her father a field, and she lighted from off her ass, and Caleb said unto her, What wilt thou?"
What do you want? Okay, so first thing I want to point out is, what does it mean when the Bible
says she lighted from off her ass, okay? The Bible is not saying she set the ass on fire,
okay? There's an English word called, you know, a light, the word a light, a-l-i-g-h-t means to
come down from something or dismount, okay? So when the Bible says she lighted from off her ass,
the Bible is simply saying that she came down from the donkey, she came down from the ass.
Let me read to you Genesis 24 verse 64, the Bible says, "And Rebecca lifted up her eyes,
and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel." First Samuel 25 verse 23, "And when Abigail saw
David, she hasted and lighted off the ass." You know, the word lighted come from, you know,
the old word alight means to come down, means to dismount, okay? So basically she came down
from, off from her ass, from her donkey. So look at verse number 15, the Bible says,
"And she said unto him, Give me a blessing, for thou hast given me a south land, gave me also
springs of water, and Caleb gave her the upper springs and the nether springs." Now here we have
another quick lesson of prayer, because Aksa was not afraid of asking her father boldly about the
things that she wanted, okay? She was asking some big things, the springs and, you know, it's just
like all these things, and Caleb, his father, her father gave her exactly what she asked for,
you know? That's what the Bible says, "For everyone that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth;
and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened." And God will, you know, God says that he is able
to give us exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, okay? So don't be afraid of asking
God the Father boldly big things about what you want. Look at verse number 16. The Bible says,
"And the children of the Kenites, Moses' father-in-law, went up out of the city of palm trees
with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which lieth in the south of Arad, and they
went and dwelt among the people." So here we have a people group, the Kenite, and the children of
the Kenite was, you know, that's the people group that Moses' father-in-law came from, okay? Now turn
Bible to Exodus chapter number two. Go to Exodus chapter number two. Remember the people group
that the Moses' father-in-law came from was the Kenites, okay? So Exodus chapter two, look at verse
number 15. Exodus chapter two, verse number 15. The Bible says, "Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he
sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of, don't miss
this, Midian. And he sat down by a well. Now the priest of Midian," notice this title, "the priest
of Midian, had seven daughters and they came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their
father's flock. And the shepherds came and drove them away. But Moses stood up and helped them
and water their flock. And when they came to you," here we have a person named Ruh, or you know,
however you pronounce it, "they came to Ruh their father. He said, 'How is it that ye are come
so soon today?'" So here we have the priest of Midian and his name is what? Ruh, right?
So now jump down to verse 21. The Bible says, "And Moses was content to dwell with the man,
and he," talking about this priest of Midian, "and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter,
and she bared him a son, and he called his name Gershom, for he said, 'I have been a stranger in
a strange land.'" So what's the name of Moses' father-in-law? Ruh, right? Or Ruh, or you know,
whatever. Now go to chapter number three. Exodus chapter number three. Okay, verse number one.
The Bible says, "Now Moses kept the flock of," notice this, "Jethro, his father-in-law, the
priest of Midian." Same person. "And he led the flock to the back side of the desert and came to
the mountain of God, even to Horeb." So Moses' father-in-law's name was Ruh, or Jethro, who was
the priest of Midian. Now either Ruh or Jethro could be a family name, but you know the Bible
does use those two names to describe Moses' father-in-law, who was a priest of Midian, okay?
Keep following that thought. Now go to Numbers chapter 10. Go to Numbers chapter 10. Numbers
chapter 10. I will show you what I'm trying to get at in a moment, but Numbers chapter 10. Look at
verse 29. Numbers chapter 10. Look at verse 29. That thought is pretty interesting. If you think
it's boring, then you may be boring, but Numbers chapter 10. Look at verse 29. The Bible says,
"And Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Raghu, the Midianites, Moses' father-in-law,
'We are adjourning unto the place of which the Lord said, 'I will give it you. Come thou with us,
and we will do thee good, for the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel.'"
So in Numbers 10 verse 29, Moses was saying to Hobab, "Hobab was the son of Raghu, the Midianites,
who is also Moses' father-in-law." Notice here we have a slightly different spelling, right?
Raghu, rule, right? So it's the same person. And then Hobab was the son of Moses' father-in-law,
right? Hobab was the son of Moses' father-in-law, but Moses' father-in-law, this priest of Midian,
his name is Raghu, rule, different spelling, and Jethro, okay? I hope you are following.
Now go to Judges chapter 4. Go to Judges chapter number 4. Judges chapter number 4.
Look at verse number 11. Judges chapter 4, verse number 11. The Bible says this, "Now Heber,
the Kenite," so here we have, "the Kenite, which was of the children of Hobab, the father-in-law of
Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent on the plain of Zaynim,
which is by Kedesh." Okay, so here from, you know, previous verses, we know from Numbers that Hobab
was Rul or Jethro's son. So why did it say Hobab, the father-in-law of Moses? So I think
a common explanation is that Hobab might be a family name. Okay, so because in Numbers, Hobab
was Moses' father-in-law's son, but here the Bible does say Hobab is the father-in-law of Moses, so
it's very likely that Hobab might be a family name. Okay, but then, you know, Moses' father-in-law's
name is Rul, Ragul, different spelling, or Jethro. That's the common name we use. Okay, so
the reason I'm showing you all that is, is Moses' father-in-law a Kenite or a Midianite,
because he was the priest of Midian, right? But then the Bible also describes him, their people,
as Kenites. Okay, so Moses' father-in-law, he was a Kenite and a priest of Midian. Okay,
so here's my reasoning, you know, I think the Kenites were possibly a tribe in the region of
Midian. Okay, now turn the Bible to Genesis 25. Genesis 25. We will do some Bible study here.
Genesis 25. Genesis 25. Now, if the Kenites were part of the Midianites, then it's possible that
Moses' father-in-law was related to Abraham. Let me show you. Genesis 25, look at verse number one.
Genesis 25, look at verse number one. The Bible says, "Now again, Abraham took a wife, and her
name was Keturah, and she bore him Zimran, and Jocshun, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbeg, and
Shua." Okay, so again, here's a caveat. Because the Kenites, they may be a tribe or a clan that
dwelt in Midian. They may not be Midianites themselves. So if that's the case, then Jethro
was not related to Abraham. But if they are indeed part of this Midianites nation, if you will,
then he could possibly be related to Abraham. Again, I hope you are following. Okay, now
go to Numbers 25. Go back to Numbers 25. Numbers 25. So I think the Kenites, they were a tribe
or a clan within Midian, but not necessarily the same as the Midianites. You know, the Kenites,
as a family group, as a clan, they could be dwelling in the land of Midian. They might not
be Midianites. And the reason I lean on that, again I'm not conclusive, is Numbers 25, look at
verse number 16. The Bible says, Numbers 25, verse number 16, the Bible says, "And the Lord
spake unto Moses, saying, 'Vex the Midianites, and smite them, for they vex you with their wiles,
wherewith they have begot you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cospi, the daughter
of the prince of Midian, their sister, which was slain in the day of the plague for Peor's sake."
So God told them to vex Midian because they had been deceiving the children of Israel.
Go to Numbers 31, Numbers 31. Okay, verse number one, Numbers 31, verse number one.
The Bible says, "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 'Avenge the children of Israel of the
Midianites; afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people.' And Moses spake unto the people,
saying, 'Arm some of yourself unto the war, and let them go against the Midianites, and avenge
the Lord of Midian.' So God told them to smite to, you know, wipe off the Midianites. Now,
now turning the Bible to 1 Samuel chapter 15, 1 Samuel chapter 15. So the Bible seems to indicate
that the Kenites, they were, they were part of it. They might be dwell with them, but they are not
really of them. I hope you, you know, get what I'm trying to say here. 1 Samuel chapter 15,
look at verse number six. 1 Samuel 15, verse number six. Hey, Zayden, can you be quiet and
flip in the Bible, please? 1 Samuel chapter 15, look at verse number six. The Bible says,
"And Saul sat down to," notice, "the Kenites go depart, get you down from among the Amalekites,
lest I destroy you with them. For ye showed kindness," talking about the Kenites, "for ye
showed kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites
departed from among the Amalekites." So here we have the Kenites. They have been showing
kindness to the children of Israel. That's why it's my speculation that the Kenites,
they may be dwelling in Midian, but they are not really the Midianites, because God told
the children of Israel to vex the Midianites, but then God seems to be keeping the Kenites
with them. And in the book of Judges, we see that the Kenites seem to dwell peaceably
with the children of Israel in the land. Go back to Judges chapter 1. Any other theorists,
let me know, but I'm trying to reconcile because Jethro, he is a Kenite, but he is also the
priest of Midian, but God told them to vex the Midianites, but then in 1 Samuel, the
Bible does say that the Kenites have been showing the children of Israel kindness. And
then in Judges, we can clearly see that the Kenites, they are coexisting with the children
of Israel. Look at Judges 1, verse 17. The Bible says, "And Judah went with Simeon his
brother, and they slew the Canaanites that inhabited Ziphath, and utterly destroyed it.
The name of the city was called Hormah. Also Judah took Gaza with the coast thereof, and
Ascalon with the coast thereof, and Akron with the coast thereof. And the Lord was with
Judah, and he drove out the inhabitants of the mountain, but could not drive out the
inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron." So here we have Judah
was doing pretty well, but one thing that they could not do was to drive out the iron
chariots in the valley. Now personally, I think they let their fear get in the way.
I believe if they fully trusted in God, they would have driven them out. Here's my reasoning.
Because in verse number two, God gave them the answer. The Bible says, "Judah shall
go up, behold, I have delivered the land into his hand." So God promised them victory,
but then they could not drive out them that dwell in the valley because they had fancy
weapons, they have iron chariot. So I think it's possible that they let their fear get
in the way. So I believe the lesson we can learn is don't settle for partial victories.
Don't pull back because you have won a small battle. Keep pressing on. Just because God
has answered your prayer, just because God has helped you fought a battle, hey, don't
quit. Keep fighting. Keep walking. Keep serving God. Because many people, they will fast, they
will pray because they have some kind of sickness, because they are trying to accomplish some
big things. They will spend hours every day to pray and to read their Bible. But then
the moment that God answers their prayer, they just stop praying. They stop reading
their Bible. They stop serving God. The lesson is don't settle for partial victories. Keep
serving God all day every day. Don't only pray. Don't only serve God when you need something.
And when God does help you win some battles, keep pressing on. And here Judah, this whole
tribe set a bad example because the other tribes also left a remnant as we shall see
later in the chapter. So section number one is the inquiry and the initiatives. Section
two is the conquest of Judah. Section number three, we see the failure of other tribes.
Look at verse 20. In Genesis chapter one verse 20 the Bible says, "And they gave Hebron
unto Caleb, as Moses said, and he expelled then the three sons of Anak. And the children
of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem. And the Jebusites
drove away the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day." Verse 22, "And the house
of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel, and the Lord was with them." Okay, so here
we have the Benjamin. They failed, and they did not drive everyone out. Again, Judah set
a bad example. Look at verse 23. The Bible says, "And the house of Joseph sent to describe,"
the word describe means to search or to spy. "They sent to describe Bethel, now the name
of the city before was lost. And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and
they said unto him, Show us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will show
thee mercy. And when he showed them the entrance into the city, they smote the city with the
edge of the sword, but they let go the man and all his family." Now verse 23 to verse
25 kind of sounds like the story of Rahab, right? Basically, you know, the spy kind of
called this man who dwells in the land, and then the spies asked this man to show them
the entrance of the city so they can take the city and just conquer it, and they promised
him to show him mercy, so when they take over the city, they let this man and all his family
go free, kind of similar to the story of Rahab. So this man, although unnamed, helped the
house of Benjamin to, you know, take over the city, and his life was spared for siding
with God's people. Now, I'll actually talk more about whether that's right or wrong later,
but look at what he did next. Okay, verse 26, Judges chapter 1, verse 26, the Bible
says, "And the man went into the land of the Hittite, and built a city, and called a name
thereof, Luz, which is the name thereof unto this day." Okay, so notice this Luz was different
from the Luz, which is later called Bethel in verse 23, because this Luz that this man
went to build was in the land of the Hittite. So it's a different Luz. Make sense? Different
Luz from the Luz in verse 23, which was later named Bethel. Okay, so basically after this
man received mercy from the house of Joseph, he went to the land of the Hittites. I think
he should have stayed with them like Rahab did, right? Rahab stayed with the children
of Israel, you know, because she truly believed in the God of the Bible. And then we have
this man, he built a city called Luz, which is a heathen city in a heathen nation. Okay,
so here's, so here's my application on this. Maybe the house of Joseph, maybe they were
not supposed to spare this man. Here's my reasoning because God told them to utterly
wipe out the inhabitants of the land, going forward to Deuteronomy chapter seven, Deuteronomy
chapter number seven. I think even though, you know, I think it's possible that they
were right for sparing that man. But you know, I think there's an application here to, to
learn from it. Deuteronomy chapter number seven, look at verse number one. Deuteronomy
chapter number seven, verse number one. The Bible says, "When the Lord thy God shall
bring thee into the land, whither thou goest to possess it, and hast cast out many nations
before thee, Domestis, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites,
and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier
than thou. And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee, thou shall smite
them, and utterly destroy them. Thou shalt make no covenant with them, don't miss this,
nor show mercy unto them." What did the spies tell that man? "We pray thee, show us the
entrance into the city, and we will show thee mercy." So what did the house of Joseph did?
They made a covenant with this man, and spared his life, and showed him mercy. Look at verse
number three. "Neither shalt thou make marriages with them, thy daughter, thou shalt not give
unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son, for they will turn away
thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods. So will the anger of the Lord
be kindled against you, and destroy thee utterly." Okay, so I think one application we can take
away from this story is, if we don't spare sins in our life, our sins, you know, if we
spare sins in our life, our sins will continue hindering the works of God. In this case,
a pagan city was built, okay? Because they are showing a little mercy to sin, and then
we ended up having a hidden city, a pagan city being built. So this man probably helped
the house of Joseph, but not by faith. Why did they spare Rahab? Why were they justified
for sparing Rahab? Because Rahab repented, Rahab continued with them, Rahab believed
on the God of the Bible, but here we have this Hittite man, this man who went to Hittite.
He did not join God's people. I believe he was simply escaping judgment, right? Because
after they showed him mercy, he went through the Hittites, right? So I think the spies
may have felt justified, but true mercy aligns with God's commands and not human sentiment.
Because God's command trumped our emotions. So again, I'm not saying they are really wrong
for sparing him. I'm just drawing the application because from what I'm seeing, this man did
not join them like Rahab did. So this man may simply be joining them, the city, out
of fear just so he can escape judgment and then he ends up going to Hittite and build
a hidden city. We enjoy the application that if we spare sins in our life, our sins will
continue hindering the work of God. We end up having more cities, more stronghold for
us to conquer. Go back to Judges chapter 1. Keep a place in Deuteronomy, go to Judges
chapter 1. And the sin spared is a sin reborn elsewhere. And if we spare sin just this one
time, just this once, it will rebuild elsewhere in your life. Just like this man, right? You
spare him, you show sin a little bit of mercy and he went to rebuild and so you have to
conquer more sin in your life. And now we will see more partial obedience from the other
tribes. Look at verse 27. Judges chapter 1 verse 27. The Bible says, "Neither did
Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Bethshen and her towns, nor Tanakh and her towns, nor
the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Iblim and her towns, nor
the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns, but the Canaanites would dwell in that land."
And Manasseh failed as well, verse 28, "And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that
they put the Canaanites to tribute and did not utterly drive them out."
So here we have a reason here.
Why did not Israel utterly drive out the inhabitants of Lent?
Because they are strong, right?
And people tend to fall into sin when they are strong and rich and full.
People tend to lift up with pride and just forget about God.
Because here, the reasoning is very clear because they were strong.
Now, go back to Deuteronomy, go to chapter number 8, Deuteronomy chapter number 8, look
at verse number 10.
Deuteronomy chapter number 8, look at verse number 10, the Bible says this, "Now when
thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land
which he hath given thee."
When God has blessed us with riches and food and clothing and stuff, our response is blessing
the Lord.
Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God in not keeping his commandments and his judgments
and his statutes, which I command thee this day.
When you are rich and full, when you are strong, you don't want to forget the Lord, but you
want to bless the Lord.
Here's the reason.
Because if you don't, the Bible says, "Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget
the Lord thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt from the house of
bondage."
The Bible says, "And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand have gotten
me this wealth.
But also remember the Lord thy God, for it is he that giveth thee power to give wealth,
that he may establish his covenant, which he swear unto thy fathers as it is this day."
So God already warned the children of Israel, when you are full, when you are strong, you
should bless God.
You should realize that it is God that has given you the power to even gain riches, to
be strong, instead their heart was lifted up.
They are thinking their power, hey, you know, it's all about me, right?
That's why they are getting destroyed.
Same principle, you know, same kind of story that we see with King Uzziah, right?
The Bible says in 2 Chronicles 26, verse number 16, "But when he, when King Uzziah
was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction, for he transgressed against the
Lord his God."
Nebuchadnezzar was saying that I had built for the house of the kingdom by the might
of my power and for the honor of my majesty.
So Nebuchadnezzar was boasting that everything was because of his own might, his own power.
Hosea 13, verse 5 says, "I did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of great drought.
According to their pastures, so were they filled, they were filled, and their heart
was exalted. Therefore have they forgotten me." Talking about the nation of Israel. They
are full, they are wealthy, but then their heart was lifted up and they forgot the works
of the Lord. Go back to Judges chapter 1. Because people tend to fall into sin when
they are strong and rich and full. And when you are strong and rich and full, bless God.
Because God has blessed you. God has given you the job. God has given you the strength
and the skill. Do not think you did all that. Because when you start doing that, you will
forget about the works of the Lord. You will let sin enter into your life. And pride tends
to cloud our judgment and turn us away from obeying the commandments of the Lord. But
notice the problem is not only about pride. The problem is also about the love of money.
Look at verse 28 again. Genesis chapter 1, look at verse 28. The Bible says, "And it
came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites," don't miss this,
"to tribute and did not utterly dry the mouth." What is a tribute? Tribute is an annual or
just stated sum of money or other valuable things, right? So they were keeping the Canaanites
to tribute in order to get money. Notice they spared them so that they can get money. Instead,
they should obey God and wipe them all out, right? And when Israel became strong, when
Israel became wealthy, they decided to profit from the very people God told them to destroy.
And people do the same things in their life. We do the same things in our Christian life.
People would disobey God and work on Sundays for extra money, right? Same idea. Because
your boss will tell you, "Hey, maybe just work this one Sunday." But the moment you
said yes, you have destroyed your testimony. And that would not be the only time, okay?
Just this one Sunday, you know, don't say yes, okay? God says, "Be ye separate." Yeah,
Christians keep ungodly friends or habits because they bring convenience and comfort.
Same idea. They are letting sin to become their tributaries. God says, you know, "Seek
ye first the kingdom of God." But we chase money first and then we try to fit God later,
okay? Same idea. Because we think we are strong, you know, we think we did all that, we think
we know better than God, you know, and God destroyed them and God used those leftover
tribes as thorns in their eyes. And true strength is not the ability to make money. True strength
is the courage to obey God even when it costs you money, right? Because, you know, we should
not let the love of money and pride get in the way of us serving God. Look at verse 29.
Judges have to 1 verse 29. The Bible says, "Neither did Ephraim drive out the Cainites that dwell in
Giza, but the Cainites dwell in Giza among them. Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of
Chitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalo, but the Cainites dwelt among them and became tributaries."
Again, the love of money. "Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Akko, nor the inhabitants of
Zaidan, nor of Aulab, nor of Akzib, nor of Helva, nor of Asak, nor of Rehob, but the Asherites
dwelt among the Cainites. Now they are living among them, the inhabitants of the land, for they did
not drive them out." Verse 33, "Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Beth-Shemesh,
nor the inhabitants of Beth-Nath, for he dwelt among the Cainites, the inhabitants of the land.
Nevertheless, the inhabitants of Beth-Shemesh and of Beth-Nath became tributaries unto them.
And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountains, for they would not suffer
them to come down to the valley. But the Amorites would dwell in Mount Heres, in Eidolon, and in
Shelbin. Yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so that they became tributaries.
And the coast of the Amorites was from the going up of Acrebin, from the rock and upward."
What's the lesson here? Partial obedience is disobedience. All these tribes just settled
for coexistence with sin, instead of conquering sin. Because of the partial obedience of the
children of Israel, those heathen tribes became thorns on their sides, as we will see throughout
the book of Judges. And the worst thing we can do in our Christian life is being half
in and half out. Because the world will look at you and call you hypocrites. One lie can
destroy your testimony. If you just work one Sunday, your testimony will be destroyed.
Double standards will make you look like hypocrites. So this whole chapter is a chapter of separation.
Obedience must be complete. Half obedience is disobedience. That's why I titled this
sermon Almost Obedient. That means they are disobedient, right? And worldly tolerance
leads to spiritual defeat, right? In our life, we should name sins, stop the possibility
to sin, and let's kill sins and strongholds in our life so that they will not have dominion
over us. Let's close in with a prayer. Thank you all for this first chapter of the Book
of Judges. I pray that you'll keep teaching us more things from this book. I pray that
we'll conquer our flesh and live in the fullness of the Spirit and do great works for you.
And I pray this in Jesus' name, Amen.
Keep evangelist Justin John.
Let's sing number 133. "Safe Wherever I Go." We'll sing it through twice. "Safe Wherever
I Go." Number 133.
Safe wherever I go. Peace the world cannot know.
Sins all forgiven and heaven my home. I'm safe wherever I go.
Safe wherever I go. Peace the world cannot know.
Sins all forgiven and heaven my home. I'm safe wherever I go.
Brother Rashid in close order prayer.