["Pomp and Circumstance"]
Thank you very much.
Alright, everybody. Welcome to Shirk Foundation Baptist Church.
You can find your seats and grab your blue song books and turn to page number 303.
We're going to be singing Stepping in the Light.
Welcome to Shirk Foundation Baptist Church.
You can find your seat and grab your blue song books and turn to page number 303.
We're going to be singing Stepping in the Light.
Song number 303, Stepping in the Light. Let's sing it out on the first.
Trying to walk in the steps of the Savior, trying to follow our Savior and King,
shaping our lives by His blessed example. Happy, how happy the songs that we bring.
How beautiful to walk in the steps of the Savior, stepping in the light, stepping in the light.
How beautiful to walk in the steps of the Savior, led in paths of light.
Now, song number 303, Stepping in the Light. Let's sing it out like you mean it this morning on the second.
Pressing more closely to Him who is leading when we are tempted to turn from the way.
Trusting the arm that is strong to defend us. Happy, how happy our praises each day.
How beautiful to walk in the steps of the Savior, stepping in the light, stepping in the light.
How beautiful to walk in the steps of the Savior, led in paths of light.
It was a little bit better, but I think you guys could do better than that. Let's sing it out a little more on the third.
Walking in footsteps of gentle forbearance, footsteps of faithfulness, mercy, and love.
Looking to Him for the grace freely promised. Happy, how happy our journey above.
How beautiful to walk in the steps of the Savior, stepping in the light, stepping in the light.
How beautiful to walk in the steps of the Savior, led in paths of light.
Trying to walk in the steps of the Savior, upward, still upward we'll follow our guide.
When we shall see Him, the King in His beauty. Happy, how happy our place at His side.
How beautiful to walk in the steps of the Savior, stepping in the light, stepping in the light.
How beautiful to walk in the steps of the Savior, led in paths of light.
Amen. Brother Anthony, could you option a word of prayer?
Amen. Our second song is going to be song number 17, Since the Savior Found Me.
Song number 17 in your blue hymn book, Since the Savior Found Me.
Song number 17, let's see it on the first.
Since the Savior found me, pardon all my shame. I have had the joy and living hope within.
Gone is all the shame and sorrow of the past. There underneath the precious God of Christ at last.
Safe, safe, saved, I'm happy on the way. Safe, safe, saved, I love Him more each day.
I know He's mine each hour. He saves and keeps and sanctifies me by His cloud.
Since the Savior found me, all to Him I owe.
For His precious blood has washed me white as snow. Now no condemnation, happy as can be.
I'm glad that Jesus justifies and sets me free.
Safe, safe, saved, I'm happy on the way. Safe, safe, saved, I love Him more each day.
Safe, safe, saved, I know He's mine each hour. He saves and keeps and sanctifies me by His cloud.
Since the Savior found me, I have perfect rest. Living in the realms of joy and happiness.
Waning on my Savior, looking for that day. When He shall come to catch His waiting right away.
Safe, safe, saved, I'm happy on the way. I love Him more each day.
Safe, safe, saved, I know He's mine each hour. He saves and keeps and sanctifies me by His cloud.
A moment in His favor is life. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
Psalm chapter 30 verse 5. It's a great verse there of comfort.
And our service times are Sunday morning at 10 30 a.m. for our preaching service.
Sunday evening service is 3 30 p.m. And then Thursday Bible study is on Thursday.
And that's at 6 30 p.m. We're going to be going through a new book.
But you have to be here to know what it is. And we'll both be surprised together at which one it is.
So anyway, so we just finished 2 Corinthians and our Bible study, excuse me, last Thursday.
So we preach in a brand new book this week. And we got a lot going on for the rest of this week.
At least I do. And anyway, we'll get to that in a minute.
So many times are listed below. We do have sowing today at 1 p.m.
If you've never been sowing, it's when we go out and actually knock on people's doors and try to confront them with the gospel.
So we invite people to church. But then we want people to be saved.
So we ask them if they're 100 percent sure if they know they're going to heaven.
And then we try to get into a conversation. We're not like confronting as if, you know, we're trying to force them to get saved, obviously.
The confronting is just asking them the questions. And then we try to take the Bible and show them what the Bible says it takes to be saved.
Excuse me. And so if you're interested in doing that, if you've never gone before, we have various times throughout the week that you can go.
And today is at 1 p.m. So you probably meet here or if you're in our WhatsApp group, then brother Sean Conlon usually posts the maps inside that group.
So it's a nice day out today. So probably a good day just catching people on the street.
And finally, the weather started to change for us. So that's a good thing.
Our praise report, you can see the salvation baptisms and attendance for last week and then our upcoming events.
This Friday is the Sony Marathon in Bellingham, Washington, and brother Robert's heading that up.
I have jury duty, so hopefully I can get out of it, but I just don't know for sure.
But I'm definitely have to report tomorrow for that.
So maybe I'll just show up in this suit and then they'll ask me like some questions that make me get out of it.
But I mean, I don't mind doing my civic duty, obviously, but it's just a bad week for it.
So anyway, so brother Robert is heading that up and I think he's leaving here Thursday night.
If you need a hotel, you want to go, but you're like, I don't know if I can afford to go or not.
Just come see me and we'll figure out a hotel for you.
Some people are going to go up Thursday so they can go solely on Friday.
The hotel we stayed out last time was pretty nice at a pool and everything.
So you might be able to get a chance to go swimming or something.
And then Friday, Saturday is going to be the preaching and fellowship at the border at Blaine, Washington.
So if you haven't gone up and you're planning on going up this time, please see that video on our YouTube page.
It explains the directions very well.
So if you go past exit 274, if you go past exit 274, you're going into Canada and they're vaccinating you and probably arresting you for being a Baptist.
No, I'm just kidding. But it is a hassle.
So you'll have to wait in line. Then they'll say, what are you doing?
And like I took a wrong turn at Albuquerque and then they'll probably search your car.
Well, I don't know. They're not always nice up there.
So they call it our friendly neighbors to the north, but sometimes they're not so friendly at the border.
Anyway, as far as the Sony marathon, that's going to start at what is it, nine o'clock, brother Robert.
And so if you're going and you don't know any of the other details that I put in that video, watch the video or see brother Robert.
He'll give you the details, but he's had not up.
And so it'll be coffee and donuts, I think, for breakfast and then some type of delicious lunch.
So anyway, that's the details for that.
And then, of course, the preaching at the border is going to be with our church in Canada.
They're all meeting us there like they did last time.
It is a Memorial Day weekend, so I know maybe some people have different plans,
but if you just want to go get some some soul in a fairly receptive place and enjoy some preaching
and get to know some of our neighbors to the north at our church in Surrey, B.C.,
then just come see me after the service or come see brother Robert.
We'll make sure we get a hotel and all that good stuff for you.
So anyway, that's it for that.
And then June 1st through 4th is not this week, but next week.
And that is our camp trip.
So I need you to let me know that if you need a cabin and plan on going and how many people are in your group.
I don't think as many people are going this year as normal.
So I think there's there's still cabins that are available.
So see me about that if you want to sign up or I just need to know on paper somehow.
So if you just email me, you know, who's going or just put it in the group, the WhatsApp group and let me know.
And we'll we'll try to figure it out as far as what cabin you're in and all that stuff.
I'll be posting stuff about the schedule and where the cabins are and the directions,
because that place, if you follow the GPS, then it's going to take you out the middle of nowhere,
which is still close to the camp because the camp is in the middle of nowhere, pretty much.
But there's actually specific written instructions that you have to follow if you're coming from wherever the location you're coming from.
If you're coming from the south or coming from the north, there's different directions.
So anyway, it's a nice camp and it's it's it's it's designed to be a family camp.
I mean, not a family camp, but like a junior camp. But the family camp, you know, we're just putting families in cabins.
And so everything's absolutely free except for the gas, which could be a pretty penny.
But other than that, it's all free. So we're buying food and we'll have a menu for each day.
We do need some help with that. Do we do we need to still need volunteers for cleaning and serving?
OK, so anyway, the cleaning and serving, if you haven't signed up to do something like that, it's not that bad.
So the dishwasher is like one of those industrial dishwashers.
You're not going to be scrubbing pans with SOS pads or something.
You just well, I mean, maybe will. But the trays and everything, it's like a school lunch place.
The kitchen's really nice. The dining room's really nice. And but we do need help.
We can't do it all of ourselves. So if you could volunteer to do this, one of those times and families can do it.
You know, it doesn't have to be you alone. You know, so and obviously we'll we'll try to get you some help if if you just want to sign up solo.
We'll definitely nobody can do it solo. There's just no way. So anyway, that is coming up June 1st through 4th, which is Wednesday.
We can arrive Wednesday. We can arrive, I think, at noon is what our what time our arrival time is.
So you can get there earlier, too, if you want. It doesn't really matter.
So but not the day before. So Pastor Pizarnsky is going to be preaching for us at that camp Friday night and Saturday morning.
And so we're looking forward to that. If you need any more information about the camp.
Some stuff's going to be forthcoming, like the schedule and stuff like that.
But as far as if you need a cabin, just I need to know so that I can reserve those cabins for you.
There's also tent camping and RV camping. If you have an RV or something like that, they have full hookups.
Well, if some people just like to take camp. So I forgot who it was that came to me and said they were going to just take camp.
I was like, OK, that's fine for you. I've done a lot of tent camping in my life and I'm I'm retired from that.
So the older you get, the worse it gets. Right. Anyway, so then June 10th, I'll be flying to New Jersey, probably the ninth, actually.
And I'll be preaching in New Jersey with Pastor Jimenez at a conference, Northeast New IFB conference.
That's going to be at 6 p.m. And if you need details about that or what time, what channel we're going to be streaming it from, just let me know.
I'll try to get that information to you. Service begins at seven. I'll be preaching. Then Pastor Jimenez will be preaching.
There'll be baptisms if people need to be baptized. And the soul winning marathon is going to be the next day, that Saturday.
So me and Pastor Jimenez and his whole family is going to be there. So be a great trip.
June 14th is the home school field trip to Oaks Park. Again, that's free to home school families.
And so I think Miss Rachel bought a whole bunch of bracelets already.
But is there a deadline or something that you need to know the rest of it or.
We'll let you know. Well, you know, in the evening service, but I think, you know, depends on how many people go.
So if we have as good of a turnout as we did at the zoo, then we'll probably definitely need to buy more bracelets.
Yes. Okay. So that's June 14th. June 18th is a men's shooting event in Stevenson, Washington.
June 19th is Father's Day. We'll have a gift for every dad in attendance.
And then, of course, the F.W.B.C. mega conference.
Pastor Anderson is going to be going to different various churches and his location stop here for our church.
It's going to be Vancouver. It's going to be in Vancouver on June 23rd, which is a Thursday night.
And then Spokane is going to be June 26. And that will be both services he's preaching at.
I'll be preaching at his church on the same day. But anyway, that's the schedule for us as far as the conference goes.
And then the Red Hot Preaching Conference is June, July 14th through 17th.
And we are a family integrated church. That means the children and infants are welcome during the church services.
We have available for your family, mother, baby rooms and a dad, baby room for your convenience during all the services.
And so those rooms are located back. The dad room is located back there. The mom baby room is back there.
And so please utilize those rooms and please make sure you're following the rules.
So if you don't know the rules, just ask somebody.
And then, of course, the gliding chairs or rockers are for pregnant and nursing families or mothers only and elders.
And let's see if you're a first time visitor here.
We're very happy that you're here and we know that there's other options for you to go to now, finally, after the whole covid thing has gone away.
But we do have a gift basket. There's like a gift bag for each first time visitor.
And they're located on the other side of this partition type wall over here.
So if you're a first time visitor, just grab one of these on your way out.
What we have in here is we put a film in there for you and some other information about our church, a nice pen.
And then this DVD, which I don't know how many people have DVD players anymore, but we might be past our times.
But this film, you can actually find it online on our website, too. It's called Being Baptist.
And it's just basically teaches what Baptist believe, why we're Baptist and the basic fundamentals of the faith.
So we're not a denomination here. We're an independent Baptist church.
And so we don't we don't have some headquarters that tells us what we have to do and all that kind of stuff.
So anyway, please take one of those as a token of our appreciation for you being a first time guest.
And all the other information, let's see the offerings that have come in so far.
And please make sure you're silencing your cell phones or putting them on silent.
And the birthdays, we got Eli Woods.
His birthday is going to be tomorrow, right? How old are you going to be, Eli?
Seven. Wow. I wish I was seven again.
And Coral is going to be 17. Is that right? All right.
Well, happy birthday to both of you. So they both share a birthday. So they're both equally bratty.
Just kidding. Anyway, happy birthday. Let's sing happy birthday to them.
Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday, God bless you. Happy birthday to you.
All right. I think that's all I have for announcements to sing another song and then we'll receive the offering.
All right, our next song will be song number three hundred and eleven.
In your blue hymn books, Just a Closer Walk with Thee.
Song number three hundred and eleven, Just a Closer Walk with Thee.
Song three hundred and eleven, Just a Closer Walk with Thee. Let's sing it on the first.
I am weak, but thou art strong. Jesus, keep me from all wrong.
I'll be satisfied as long as I walk. Let me walk close to Thee.
Just a closer walk with Thee. Granted, Jesus is my plea.
Daily walking close to Thee. Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.
Through this world of toil and snares. If I falter, Lord, who cares?
Who with me my burden shares? None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.
Just a closer walk with Thee. Granted, Jesus is my plea.
Daily walking close to Thee. Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.
When my feeble life is o'er, Time for me will be no more.
Guide me gently, safely o'er, To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore.
Just a closer walk with Thee. Granted, Jesus is my plea.
Daily walking close to Thee. Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.
Amen. Good seeing you, Brother Ramon. Could you bless the offering for us?
I would like to thank you for another great day to be at Church, Lord.
I just pray you bless everything that we do here in your house.
Bless this offering. I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Thank you, Lord.
All right, go ahead and turn in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 49.
Genesis chapter number 49. If you don't have a Bible, raise your hand and one of the ushers will bring you one.
Genesis 49.
Genesis 49, the Bible reads, And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shalt befall you in the last days.
Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob, and hearken unto Israel your father.
Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power.
Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel, because thou winnest up to thy father's bed.
Then defiledest thou it, he went up to my couch.
Simeon and Levi are both our brethren. Instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.
O my soul, come not thou into their secret, unto their assembly, mine honor, be not thou united.
For in their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will they digged down a wall.
Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce, and their wrath, for it was cruel.
I would divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise, thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies.
Thy father's children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion's whelp.
From the prey, my son, thou art gone up. He stooped down, he couched as a lion.
And as an old lion, who shall rouse him up? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come.
And unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass his colt unto the choice vine, he washed his garment in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes.
His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea, and he shall be for a haven of ships, and his border shall be unto Sidon.
Issachar is a strong ass, couching down between two burdens, and he saw the rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant, and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.
Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, and adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.
I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD. Gad a troop shall overcome him, but he shall overcome at the last.
Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.
Naphtali is a hind let loose, he giveth goodly words. Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well, whose branches run over the wall.
The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him, but his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob.
From thence is the shepherd the stone of Israel, even by the God thy father who shall help thee, and by the Almighty who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breast and of the womb.
The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the uttermost bound of the everlasting hills.
They shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
Benjamin shall raven as a wolf, in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.
All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is it, that their father spake unto them, and blessed them, every one according to his blessing he blessed them.
And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people, bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham brought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession, for a burying place.
There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah.
The perch of the field, and of the cave that is therein, was from the children of Heth.
And when Jacob had made the ending of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.
Brother Robert will you pray for us?
Amen.
Well normally I preach in Genesis on Sunday nights, excuse me, but when I realized there was going to have to be two sermons out of it,
I just decided to preach both sermons out of the chapter today.
And it is kind of Bible study-ish, but at the same time there will be some preaching in there, so don't worry if you just came to hear preaching today,
there's going to be a little bit of both, preaching and teaching, so I hope that's okay with you.
And so I basically, in these two chapters, you have Jacob who's about to die, he's very old at this time,
and he has enough energy and strength left in him to make sure that he blesses his sons, and tells them what's going to happen to them in the last days.
You'll notice that some of the things that were said were not exactly blessings, but Jacob is a prophet, and he's telling his sons what shall follow their lineage basically.
So it's not just talking about the sons themselves, but what their tribes are going to do later on, and how they're going to excel or not excel.
And it kind of gives some cryptic language in some of it, it's a lot to cover, so that's why I decided to do it in two sermons.
And we're only going to be covering the tribes of Reuben to Judah this morning, so the other guys we'll have to talk about in the next sermon.
But anyway, so it's been said before, I've heard people say this, that people know more about their favorite baseball team or football team than they do about the 12 apostles,
or they know more about the 12's in Seattle than they do about the 12's in Seattle.
I think it's important for us to know who the key players are in the kind of the Bible, unless you actually read it.
Once you've read the Bible cover to cover a few times, you'll start to understand where everything is in the timeline from the beginning until where we're at now.
So, but I wanted to...
You're dead to me, Rylan.
Is the mic not working, though?
Okay.
Alright, well I guess I'll have to use the mic.
So anyway, the 12 tribes of Israel is basically what we're going to learn about today.
And we should know from reading our Bibles the timeline, like I said, but Genesis is the beginning book of the Bible.
A lot of the first mentions are in the book of Genesis, and we're near the end.
Next Sunday I'm going to be preaching the last chapter in Genesis, chapter 50.
But I wanted to get some teaching in about the 12 tribes of Israel and kind of where their lives go, where their tribes go, and kind of how they end up.
Because I think a lot of people maybe think that the 12 tribes were still going on at the time of Jesus, and maybe there was some remnants,
but in reality, most of the tribes, 10 of the tribes were kind of lost in the mix at that point.
So there might have been people from certain tribes that were mentioned in the New Testament,
but for the most part, they'd all gathered themselves into one nation, which was called Judah.
So, and many, many years before, they were assimilated into the Assyrians and other empires as they were scattered throughout the world.
The genealogies are lost today.
People might say, hey, I'm from this tribe, I'm from Benjamin, I'm from this or that, but they really don't know
because once all the Jews were dispersed in 70 AD, then all that genealogy was lost.
Now, I'm sure God knows who those people are, but we don't.
And so there's no way to really understand or know what tribe you're from, so to speak, unless you are God.
So they don't know who the Levites are.
So when you think about it, when this new temple is going to get built, and they're always constantly talking about it,
and that they're cutting the foundation stones.
I heard that last week, that they're trying to cut the foundation stones for the temple,
and they have to have, under that religion, they're going to have to have Levites,
so how are they going to know who the Levites are?
Well, you know, the Bible says who's a liar, but he denies that Jesus is the Christ, he's anti-Christ.
So a person, the Jewish religion, they are basically, they don't believe Jesus is the Christ,
they believe there's still a Messiah to come, and so would it surprise you that they lied?
If they lied about Jesus and had him crucified, do you think that they would lie about what priestly tribes they're from?
I think that they would.
So anyway, let's start with Genesis 49, verse 1.
The Bible says, And Jacob called unto his sons and said, Gather yourselves together,
that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.
Now, I kind of want to explain this also, because the Bible says when Jesus came, that those were the last days.
So you're like, well, that was 2,000 years ago.
Well, yeah, but in comparison to how old the world is, then it is the latter part of the days that we are living in is the last days.
So even though it's been the last days for a while, but Jacob is telling them what's going to happen to them in the last days.
He's going to give prophecies about each tribe, about each son that he had,
and remember that these children that he had were with four different women.
So he had children with Rachel, he had children with Leah, he had children with the two handmaids.
I forgot what their names are right off the top of my head, but I'll cover that too.
But anyway, he's got sons from different women.
He was married to four different wives.
So his life, their life's been kind of a train wreck in some aspects,
but obviously Jacob was a great man of God, and some of his sons were great men also.
But we are in the last days right now, but we're not in the last of the last.
So the last of the last is going to be the 70th week of Daniel, which is a seven-year period, but that has not started yet.
I know there's a lot of stuff on the internet saying,
well, this is the last days that the vaccination's the mark of the beast and all this other stuff.
That's just not true.
There's no evidence that that's happening.
And honestly, there's probably going to be a world war before that starts.
But anyway, we're not talking about end times Bible prophecy,
but I just wanted to kind of help you understand that even though it says it's in the last,
he's going to say what befalls them in the last days,
that could be future for the book of Revelation,
because there is a future for some of the 12 tribes of Israel in the book of Revelation,
but also kind of what happens to their tribe, where they go.
Because you understand that Moses, he wasn't able to lead the children of Israel into the Promised Land,
and Joshua was the one that led them into the Promised Land,
and then they divided Canaan land up into the different who inherited from those different tribes,
and those tribes have become very big,
and there's millions of people that they divided the land amongst,
and some people got bigger portions than others,
and basically the children of Israel failed on multiple occasions to keep the commandments of God,
and they basically got to the point where God finally just destroyed most of them,
and they're scattered in Israel like you'll see in the first son here,
so are the second and third sons that it talks about.
So look at verse number two, it says,
Gather yourselves together and hear ye sons of Jacob and hearken unto Israel your father.
It's like you need to listen to what I'm about to tell you because this concerns you.
And so the first son we're going to look at this morning is Reuben.
So Reuben is the firstborn son of Jacob,
and it says in verse three,
Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength,
the excellency of dignity and the excellency of power.
Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel,
because thou wentest up to thy father's bed,
then defiledest thou it, he went up to my couch.
So Jacob, you know, he kind of lets him know,
I don't know if he said something to him before,
but Jacob knew this for many years,
that he had, Reuben had committed adultery with his concubine,
and that's why it's saying that he went up to his father's bed and defiled it.
So, and when it says that, it's talking about the marriage bed,
and it's talking about him defiling it,
so he committed adultery with Jacob's wife,
which is sick, it's weird, and it's wrong to do that.
So basically, when you get married, you're one flesh with your spouse,
and so if you're one flesh with your spouse,
then that's why it's saying you went up to your father's bed.
So it's gross, in the law of Moses, it's actually forbidden,
and you're not supposed to marry your father's wife or your close relatives,
and even though he wasn't related to her directly,
it was still his father's wife, and so it was wrong,
and that caused problems for Reuben.
And the Bible says in Hebrews 13, 4, it says,
Marriage is honorable in all and the bed undefiled,
but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.
And so Reuben got judged.
This scripture is true.
It's honorable to be married, it's honorable to get married,
but it says in the bed undefiled.
So I think this is a direct link to what it's talking about here,
but whoremongers, those are men that are just seeking prostitutes
and just sleep around all the time, and adulterers, God will judge.
So adulterer is someone that sleeps with someone,
that's married that sleeps with someone outside their marriage bed, right?
And it's wicked and wrong.
Turn to Genesis chapter 29 verse 32.
Genesis chapter 29 verse 32.
So I'll kind of walk through some of the things about Reuben.
So, I mean, first off, he doesn't really get a blessing here, does he?
He's kind of getting cursed, isn't he?
He's saying what's going to befall him in the latter days
is saying that he's unstable as water.
And so water, obviously,
unless you put it in some kind of a container,
and even in the container it's able to spill,
so water is not stable,
and that's a perfect picture of what he's talking about.
So Jacob just knows that his son is not stable,
and it says, Thou shalt not excel.
When you're unstable in your ways,
when you're unstable in your life,
when you're unstable with your routine,
with your work, with your church life,
that's unstable.
You're not going to excel in any part of your life
if you just can't get stable and get fixed
and get rooted and get grounded in the truth.
Obviously, what he did is being judged by God through the prophet,
which is his own dad, Jacob, or Israel,
as his name was changed to.
But you're in Genesis 29, verse 32, it says,
And Leah conceived and bare his son,
and she called his name Reuben.
For she said, Surely the Lord hath looked upon my affliction.
Now, therefore, my husband will love me.
So we see that Reuben is the son of Leah.
So Leah was Jacob's first wife,
and he was tricked into marrying her.
He thought it was Rachel.
And so Jacob was known as, you know, he was a trickster.
He fooled people and lied to his dad,
lied about and stole the blessing away from his brother.
And so when you reap things, you're going to sow them back.
And so he was tricked into marrying Leah,
and then he was trying to serve for Rachel for seven years,
and then behold, he woke up in the morning and it was Leah.
So then he served seven more years for Rachel,
which is his second wife.
But so anyway, I'm just showing you that Leah is his mother.
And then turn to Genesis 30, verse 14,
Genesis chapter 30, verse number 14,
we're talking about Reuben here, the firstborn son of Jacob.
It says, And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest
and found mandrakes in the field
and brought them unto his mother Leah.
Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray,
thee of thy son's mandrakes.
So the reason why I'm showing you this is because
really Reuben doesn't have a lot of great things that he does,
but it starts off pretty bad,
and it doesn't seem to me like Jacob is just letting that pass
as far as he's just calling out his character.
He's unstable. He does some good things,
but he also does some things that are not so great.
And then of course when it's talking about the scope
of the children of Reuben,
ultimately they're not going to excel.
That tribe will not excel.
And so look at Genesis 30, verse 35, verse 22,
Genesis 35, verse 22.
So, I mean, that last one is like he found mandrakes in the field.
Like, woo!
I mean, he's just really doing a lot of great things, isn't he?
And really there's a lot of drama going on in the family.
I've already preached about that before, so I won't get into it.
But anyway, Genesis 35, verse 22 says,
And it came to pass when Israel dwelt in that land,
that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine.
And Israel heard it, now the sons of Jacob were twelve.
So he, right here in the Bible, earlier on in the text,
it tells us in chapter 35 that he lay with Bilhah his father's concubine.
And I've already explained this before,
but his wife basically didn't have a choice to get married.
You know, that's kind of what I believe a concubine is.
It's not as, you know, they don't have the same rights that a wife,
just a regular wife would have, because she was the handmaid,
I believe, of Leah or Rachel, one of the two, anyway.
But, so the concubine, you know, a lot of people say,
well, it's the live-in girlfriend, but, you know,
that would make him an adulterer.
That would make him a fornicator.
And so I don't think that Jacob was a fornicator.
So obviously a concubine means something
other than just a live-in girlfriend.
So anyway, and then he wouldn't be able to say anything
if, you know, Reuben, you know, slept with someone
that was just his girlfriend.
I mean, it's not just a girlfriend.
It's a type of a wife, though it's not on the same level.
So anyway, it says the sons of Leah, Reuben,
Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah,
and Issachar, and Zebulun.
So Leah's sons were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah,
Issachar, and Zebulun.
And even though Rachel was the favored wife,
and even though Jacob, I mean, Joseph, and Benjamin
were born from Leah, I mean from Rachel,
Leah's children were more substantial
and did greater things than the rest of the children.
So obviously that would be Levi and Judah
being the number ones there.
So and Judah's were, you know, Christ,
the tribe that Christ was born out of.
Now let's look at Genesis 37 verse 21,
Genesis 37 verse 21.
So just kind of walking you through some of the things
that Reuben did.
So it's really wicked what he did
concerning his father's concubine.
And here we see him kind of do something good here.
So it says, And Reuben heard it,
talking about the other sons were going to kill Joseph,
the favored son of Jacob.
And he said, And Reuben heard it,
and he delivered him out of their hands and said,
Let us not kill him.
So that's a good brownie point there for Reuben.
Let's, you know, he's saying, Hey, don't kill him.
You know, even though the other sons hated him,
they all kind of hated Joseph
because he would dream these dreams
and say one day you're going to bow down to me
and my mom and dad are going to bow down to me,
showing that he was going to be the ruler
in Egypt at some point,
the second in command only behind Pharaoh.
So he does a good thing here.
He's trying to tell his brethren not to kill Joseph.
And it says, And Reuben said unto them,
Shed no blood, but cast him
into this pit in the wilderness
and lay no hand upon him
that he might rid him out of their hands
to deliver him to his father again.
So what's he trying to do?
He's trying to talk them out of killing Joseph
so that he can deliver Joseph to Jacob again.
So they want to kill him.
Reuben says, No, let's not do that.
He's the firstborn.
And so they kind of listen to him a little bit.
And Judas says, Let's sell him.
And so that's what ends up happening.
So Reuben leaves for whatever reason
and then when he comes back to the pit,
in verse 29 it says,
And Reuben returned unto the pit
and behold, Joseph was not in the pit
and he rent his clothes.
So you can see that Reuben did,
he was upset about this.
He didn't want Joseph to be killed.
And you think, well, you know, I mean,
he wasn't so bad.
Well, everybody's bad.
Everybody does wrong things, obviously.
But doing what he did with his father's concubine
is a really wicked sin.
And it's something that God just was not going to overlook.
And I'm not saying he wasn't saved or anything like that.
I'm just saying that even if you're saved
and you do something really wicked,
God's going to judge you for those things.
He'll judge you here on this earth.
He'll punish you here on this earth,
but he's not going to punish you in hell
for even one second.
So we don't believe that you can lose your salvation
at this church.
And I don't know for sure if Reuben was saved.
I kind of assume he was.
I kind of assume that all of them were.
And it just goes to show with some of the things
that you'll see that these guys do,
they do some pretty wicked things and still be saved.
Now, I'm not excusing what they did,
but it's just the Bible says
that we're forgiven for all of our sins,
not just the ones that you don't commit.
Right?
So he rents his clothes.
He's very upset about it.
But do you see the part where
he goes and tells his dad what they did?
No.
So basically, these brothers have all formed this pact
and said, hey, this is our story
and we're going to stick to it.
So even though Reuben didn't want them to kill him,
and they didn't kill him,
but they sold him,
which basically he probably thought
he's just as good as dead.
But he doesn't go back
and tell his dad the truth.
So even though he felt bad,
even though he rent his clothes,
even though he put his voice against his brothers
and said, do not kill him,
he didn't fully do the right thing, did he?
You know why?
Because he's unstable as water.
He's wishy-washy.
He can be really good at one point
and then do some really stupid, wicked things
after that.
So Jacob ultimately
doesn't allow him
to be son number one.
And I'll get to that here in a minute,
but skip down to verse...
Do I have you in...
Let's see.
Let's go to Genesis 42, verse 22.
I probably won't go as in-depth
with some of the other sons
in the second sermon as I did with Reuben,
but he's the firstborn, and I just thought it would be...
We should know why
things are the way they are
when it comes to the tribes of Israel.
So in verse 22 it says,
And Reuben answered them, saying,
Spake I not unto you, saying,
Do not sin against the child,
and he would not hear. Therefore, behold,
also his blood is required.
So when Joseph...
Once they come to Egypt,
is Joseph and he's
basically kind of tormenting them a little bit
and trying to
put the fire
to their feet on a lot of things
and all these things are happening
to them and he basically
equates that to we're reaping
what we've sown because we allow Joseph
to be sold off. And as far as they know
he's probably dead. Probably worked
to death in some mine or something like that.
So he believes
he's dead. You can see that he believes he's dead.
He says therefore also his blood
is required.
And also if you kidnap somebody
you know, it used to be that
kidnappers would be put to death, even in this
country.
Who's the airplane
pilot that got his son kidnapped?
It was Charles Lindbergh.
And that was like a huge case
in the earlier
part of the 1900s
but maybe
I can't remember what
the years were but anyway his son
was kidnapped and murdered
by people and they were trying
to get a ransom from him but they got the
ransom but I think that they still killed
the baby anyway. It was a really big
story.
But I think that they ended up
catching the people that did it and I think they put
them to death.
But the Bible says if you kidnap
if you steal people
whatever you're going to do to them
that your blood is required
for that. Kidnapping is a death
penalty situation because
you know if someone kidnaps somebody they're not trying to do
something good for them.
Now obviously you have custody
battles where a dad will take
off with a child or a mom will take
off with a child. I don't
necessarily think that that kind of equates.
But like I mean you think about the slavery
in this country and in other
countries around the world, what
do they do? They go and capture people against their
will and make them work. That's
a wicked sin. They deserve to die for
that.
But I don't deserve to die for something that my
great great great great great grandfather did.
Which is another
sermon in itself but
that's kind of the way
the world looks at it but
not kill you
but just take all your stuff and give it to somebody else.
Anyway I'm not preaching
about that this morning but let's look at verse 37.
It says, And Reuben
spake unto his father saying, Slay my
two sons if I bring
him not to thee, talking about Benjamin,
deliver him out of
my hand, and I will bring
him to thee again.
This is when
Simeon's been taken captive
and they're trying to get Jacob
to let Benjamin go which is his second
son from Rachel.
And Jacob's like, no, I don't want
any mischief to follow like
basically alluding to what happened
with Joseph when he sent Joseph to go
see what his brothers were up to
then they captured him, threw him in this pit
and then he became
what he became as the second command
of Egypt but he didn't start out that way.
He started out afflicted, he went to
prison and then
finally God allowed him to
interpret the dream of Pharaoh
which saved the whole nation which basically saved the whole
world because the whole world was in a great dirt.
So this is all stuff I've covered before
I'm just trying to give you a little bit of background if
you weren't here for those sermons but anyway
so Ruben
comes up with this plan and says, hey
let me take Benjamin
back to Egypt and
if I don't bring him back to you, you can
kill my two sons.
So here's just another
stupid thing he says
it seems like a noble thing
that he's doing, here you can just kill
my sons if I don't bring them back.
And it seems like that would be a noble thing, the world
would probably think that's a noble thing
but it's like what did his sons have to do
with it, you know what I mean?
So like why would you allow someone to kill
your sons when
you know
as a ransom for not bringing back
his, I don't know, it's just a weird thing to say
and you should say
what you mean and mean what you say
and I don't know that he
really meant it, maybe he did
maybe he felt bad for what he did, I'm sure he did
because what they did to Joseph was
really messed up, they did him dirty
they messed him
over but
God was obviously working all this stuff
out for good, for the
good of the world, for the good of Jacob
for the good of the children of Israel
they just didn't realize it
but he just kind of makes
this dumb promise that he can't
it's ridiculous
and think about this, he already
knows that Reuben has gone
onto his concubine, he already
knows this, it says in
chapter 35 that Jacob
heard it, he heard about
what happened and so if
Reuben's coming up two years later and saying
hey you can kill my sons, let me
take Benjamin, he's like
yeah right, I'm supposed to put my
trust in you after what you did
to me, he obviously doesn't say that
but if you know someone's
unstable as water, if you know
someone is not going to
do what they say that they're going to
do or they're not going to act
the way they're supposed to act in
certain situations, one minute
they're righteous, one minute they're doing
wicked, you can't put your trust in
someone like that, if they're so unstable
that they're unstable like water
that means they're not going to excel
it's like sending a lazy person
to do something
that you're, you know, it's the
same type of situation, you don't want to
send some sluggard or sloth to do
something because the Bible
talks about it being smoked to the person's
eyes and vinegar
to the teeth when you send a
sluggard to do something because
you know it's probably A, not going to get done
or if it does get done it's going to take a long time
right, so you know
it's a one day project that ends up taking three weeks
or something, so let's look at
Numbers chapter 16 verse number 1
it says, Now Korah
the son of Ishar, the son
of Kohath, the son of Levi
and Dathan and Abiram and the sons
of Eliab and On, the
son of Peleth, sons
of who?
Reuben took men, so
the rebellion of Korah
is, you know, the sons of
Reuben are directly involved
with the rebellion at Korah, so
I mean, you know, there's certain
points, it's like he is unstable as water
you'll see, you know, and I'm talking about
as in the whole tribe
you know, you'll see where Reuben
himself will make a good decision
but not really the full
right decision or you'll see him make a
stupid and really wicked mistake
but you know, it travels on through
his family because
he's on the wrong side of a rebellion
where, you know
Moses ends up, you know
God ends up, you know, splitting
hell wide open and letting them all drop
into hell, so Reuben's
part of this rebellion, it's not just
Korah that rebels
it's a whole bunch of different people and
Reuben's, some of the sons
of Reuben, they took men and
went against Moses and Aaron and went against
the leadership, so again
he's doing something that's not right
he's, you know, and obviously it's not
Reuben himself but people of his
lineage, right? So
the notable men of
Reuben, the tribe of
Reuben
there isn't really any notable men
like when you look through the Bible
you know, and maybe you're going to
find an obscure passage of one but
I mean, I did a pretty
diligent look through, as diligent
as I could, as far as
Reuben and the Reubenites
there's not really a notable man
amongst them, so
and then, but you'll notice
that sometimes they do the right
thing, so Reuben
you know, when they went to take the
the promised land
they were still with Moses, they got
before Jordan
and they, Reuben
and the half-tribe of Anasa
and Gad wanted to
inherit on the other side of Jordan
they liked the area, they liked the land
and so they were like, well hey, let us
inherit here, and then they're like
no, you need to still fight with us
and so they built fence cities and let
their children and their animals stay there
but then they still went forth and
fought for the promised land
and so that's a good thing that they did
at least they kept their word and did
what they said they were going to do, but they
inherited on the other side of Jordan
right, as you come into the land, that's where they
wanted to be, so
but
the end of Reuben and the end of
Gad and the end of the half-tribe of Anasa
is not very
favorable, so let's look
at 1 Chronicles chapter 5 verse 1
and this will cover some of the
tribes of kind of how they ended
and really most
of the tribes ended this way, because
here's something else I need to explain, so once
Solomon sinned, so David was the
first, was the second king of Israel
Saul was the first king, David
was the second king, and then the third
king was Solomon and everything was going
great with Solomon until he did what?
He started marrying
a bunch of different wives and got a whole bunch
of girlfriends and they turned his heart
against the Lord
Solomon, the wisest man on the face of the
earth, God gave him wisdom
above everybody else, he was literally
the smartest and wisest man on the planet
Kings from other places
came to hear his wisdoms, queens
came and
asked him hard questions
he was a great man until
he got mixed up with the wrong women
and so, you know
bad women can bring a good man down
and, you know, vice versa
but what happened
with Solomon is that
because of what Solomon did in building
these high places for his wives and
basically worshipping other gods
then God
stripped the kingdom away from him
except for two tribes
so all the other
tribes, all the other ten tribes went
to
what was called the nation
of Israel basically and then
Judah and then split
and then Judah was one of those
tribes obviously because Solomon was from Judah
but all the other ten tribes
for the most part were
separated and so it was like a split
in the kingdom where Jeroboam
the son of Nebat
went and he secured
them and then he made this false
altar and started bringing priests
up, a different type of priesthood
that's another story but I just wanted to explain
that to you because when the other ten
tribes went into
captivity
it was pretty early on in
the book of 1 Chronicles
so 1 Chronicles chapter 5 it explains
to us what happened
to Reuben and it will tell us a couple
of other tribes here too but
it says in 1 Chronicles chapter 5
verse 1 it says, and the sons of Reuben
the firstborn of Israel
for he was the firstborn
for as much as he defiled
his father's bed, see it even follows him into
1 Chronicles, his birthright was
given to the sons of Joseph
the son of Israel
so Joseph usurped
the number one
son basically
from him because of what he did
isn't that what the Bible says?
So because of that sin that he committed
he did not inherit
his birthright like he was supposed to
and it says in the genealogy
is not to be reckoned after the birthright
so even though he was the firstborn
after the birthright
it's not reckoned that way
because
Jacob told him he was not
going to excel
and he was stripped of the number one
son as far as the firstborn son
the things that they get was more of a
bigger portion of inheritance
and things like that
so I mean look what it says in verse
number 3
actually look at verse 2
it says, for Judah prevailed above his brethren
and of him came the chief ruler
but the birthright was Joseph's
the sons I say of Reuben
the firstborn of Israel were Henoch
and Palu and Hezron
and Carmi
the sons of Joel Shemaiah
his son Gog
there's a baby name if you're looking for a male child's baby name
Gog
the son Shimei
his son Micah his son
Reiah his son
and then here's one
Baal his son
so basically I mean look at how far
I mean obviously Baal means Lord
I understand that but when you're talking about Baal
you know that's
where you get the word Baal's above
you know he is the devil
and so when you're naming
you know if that's what he did
and they were into Baal worship at this time
so it wouldn't surprise me that one of his descendants
would name his son Baal
but it sounds like his son
was named Baal, right?
His son Ambira
his son whom
Tilgath-Pilesner
king of Assyria carried away captive
he was prince of the Reubenites
so basically
you know they get to this point where
the king of Assyria
goes in and he takes captive the Reubenites
skip down to verse 10
and it says in the days of Saul
they made war with the Hagarites
who fell by their hand and they dwelt
in the tents throughout all the
east land of Gilead
verse number 26 skip down to verse 26
and the God of Israel
stirred up the spirit of Pol
king of Assyria and the spirit of
Tilgath-Pilesner
king of Assyria and he
carried them away even the
Reubenites and the Gadites
and the half tribe of Manasseh
and brought them unto Helah
and Hebor and Hera
and to the river Gozan unto this day
so what ended up happening
to Reuben?
they wanted to inherit
before Jordan and with
the Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh
wouldn't it make sense that the Assyrians
would go to the first place where they
wanted to inherit and they took them
and took them away
and so basically Reuben did not excel
did he? the tribe of Reuben did not
excel the Gadites obviously
don't excel and the half
tribe of Manasseh which is one of the sons of
Joseph he was actually the first
born of Joseph but
he also Jacob
in the last chapter that we went through
you know he knew that Manasseh
was the first born but still blessed Ephraim
above Manasseh and which really
upset Joseph
so and then Revelation
chapter 7 verse number 5
I'll just read it for you
it says of the tribe of Judah were sealed
12,000 so this is
you know way later this is still
yet future events it says
of the tribe of Reuben were sealed
12,000 and of the tribe of Gad
were sealed 12,000 so
obviously there's some saved people in Reuben
so that's good
but overall as a tribe
as a people Reuben did not excel
they were unstable as water I mean they
got mixed up with Korah's bunch
you know they allowed
he himself you know slept with his
father's concubine
carnally and
you know he had a chance to tell
his dad the truth but didn't you know he was
upset he did put his voice against
the murder of Joseph which they
didn't do and so he was
good in that area but overall
Jacob's you
know prophecy comes to pass doesn't it
it says he's unstable as water
and he will not excel
so but
in the end you see that there's 12,000
virgin men
of Israel of
the tribe of Reuben that are
sealed in their foreheads so I mean
that's good right
that's good to be on that list because
there's some people that are in the 12 tribes of
Israel that are not on this list because
they didn't have 12,000 virgin
you know
saved people to be able to
be part of this 144,000
so the 144,000
isn't the only people that are going to heaven folks
I know the Jehovah's false witnesses
want to say that that's true but it's not
true so these 144,000
are the 12 tribes of Israel
and you know that's another sermon
obviously but I do I want to
say this that the tribe of Reuben does have some
saved people in their tribe so
that's good but
you know what would what would you say
your tribe is like who you
came from we probably I mean we don't
know who we came from really
but how how bad is God cursed
our ancestors for the things that we've done
probably pretty bad you
know so so much that I don't I don't know who my
genealogy is do you
but the good thing about God is that despite
the how we were born what
family were born to that God
offers salvation freely to all
tribes of the earth and all
tribes of the earth will be represented in heaven
not everybody
is saved but there will be people from every tribe
every tongue every nation
that will be saved and
Reuben has I mean it says that they're
virgins in the book of Revelation if you do a study
on this that they're actually these people
that are sealed in their foreheads these
are virgins and
so if there's 12,000 virgins
in Reuben then there's obviously probably
you know a multitude of men
and women that were
saved in that tribe so what's the
application well you know there's some
sins that you can commit in your life
that follow you and your
family name perhaps for
generations one
wicked sin you know like
what Reuben did to his father
outed him as son number one right
he didn't get to enjoy
the the you know
being that number one son
and as a matter of fact he shamed his father
he defiled his bed he
did committed a very wicked sin I know
in 2022 it's not really
super wicked for people to commit adultery
it's just par for the course in a
lot of people's families but it is a big
deal to God and know this
that God will judge adultery he will
judge fornication and uncleanness
that's what the Bible says
so I mean
so to apply it to ourselves hey
be careful of the things that you do
because that sin can follow you around
just like in first chronicles chapter
five you know what's the first you know
this person's writing down the chronicles
of these different tribes and what's
the first thing he says about Reuben
that he defiled his father's bed right
and that and then
it gives the genealogy and then
what's the end they're dragged
away and
assimilated into the Assyrian empire
and so what's the end of them
well they they're
they're scattered they're they're nothing
there is no tribe of Reuben anymore
that we know of so
being called unstable as
water is not saying something
good about you it's saying something bad about you
and you know again one
moment of
wickedness you know
your righteousness
isn't going to make up for it so even though Reuben
was capable of doing good things he did
make some good decisions
you know does that make up for what he did
it doesn't look as Christians
we don't believe that you
living a good life makes up
for the wicked things that you do in your
off time okay so
you're going to be judged by the sins
that you do on this earth if
you're saved and you
doing a bunch of good works isn't going to cover
up the fact that you sinned it's still
going to follow you around
now obviously God forgives of all of our
sins but
on this earth that's where we get
punished you know if God is your father
he's going to punish you like he would a child
when you do something wrong just like
we would punish our children when they do something
wrong on this earth
and if you don't punish your children then you're
not doing them a very good service because
most of the children that don't get spanked in this world
number one they usually
don't end up believing in God
and you know
number two you know they don't
number one they don't end up believing in God
and then number two it's really hard to get them
saved because they can't understand the
concept of punishment
see and I'm not saying that
you know children and
parent relationship it's all about punishment
it's not but you do have to have a balance
in your life as a parent
you can't it can't just always
be good times
and pictures at the beach and going
boating and all and barbecues and all this
stuff it's not always
you know it's not always a rosy
day when you're raising children
but here's the difference between
parents that don't spank and parents
the parents that do the parents that spank usually
their children will end up in
a good place now obviously if you're
spanking just for the fact that spanking people
you don't have a purpose for doing it
kids can resent that
but if you have a balance in your life as a parent
then your children can turn out right
and we don't want to be off
balance in that way
number two and three are Simeon and Levi
Simeon and Levi just put them together
because they're kind of
added together
in here and then separated by Jacob himself
look at Genesis 49 verse 5
back in our text it says
Simeon and Levi are brethren
instruments of cruelty
are in their habitations
so Levites
became the tribe of the priest
if you understand the Bible
so the Levites are
the priestly tribe ultimately
but at this time there was no such
thing and you know no
doubt they had great people
in the
line of Levi including Moses
and Aaron you know Moses and Aaron were great men
of God and there's a lot of other great men
of God that are in this tribe
but
it's not looking good
for their ultimate outcome
as far as Jacob's concerned
because you know to
start off with saying hey they're brethren
instruments of cruelty
are in their habitations I mean that's not
really something I want set up my eulogy
you know he was a really cruel man
you know
he's capable of doing lots of
cruel things I mean that's not what I want
to be said about how I'm going to
you know how my lineage
is going you know he's they're cruel
their family's cruel
but I mean if you think about the Levites
were pretty cruel to Jesus weren't they
because they're ultimately the ones
that put them on the cross they're the ones
that turned the people's hearts against him
and lied about him and said he was Beelzebub
and you know
they were what they did was cruel
the cruelty of how they treated
our Lord Jesus Christ is
ultimately their end right
because in 70 A.D.
you know the whole temple was destroyed
all the Levites were scattered
and so but that's what Jacob
said is going to happen look at verse number six
oh my soul come not
into their secret unto their
assembly mine
honor be not
thou united for in
their anger they slew a man
and in their self will they
dig down a wall well
it says cursed be their anger
for it was fierce and their
wrath for it was cruel I will
divide them in Jacob and scatter
them in Israel so here's
number two and three sons
and they're not really being given a very
good prophecy about them either you know
they're being called cruel it
says don't go into their assembly
and I would say that that might
represent maybe how
you know Judaism kind of
took over and they
stopped believing the Bible
and so you don't want to be part of that
assembly the assembly of the wicked
which is modern day
Israel but even in Jesus
Day they'd already turned away from the truth
and they were believing in a workspace
salvation and they were racist
just flat out racist and guess
what they still are today even though
the Jews aren't really a race anymore
now again God might
know who has Jewish
you know as far as
being related to Israel
and Abraham and Isaac God knows who
those people are and
what their lineage is but nobody else does
so they're
scattered just like Jacob said
they're scattered in Israel
look what it says
again in verse number seven cursed
be their anger so he curses the fact that
they were angry he cursed them for
being fierce and for their
wrath and the fact that they were cruel
you know and what's it talking about let's talk
about in Genesis chapter 34 what
they do to Shechem
so their ultimate
you know prophecy is that they're
going to be scattered in Israel
so these are two other tribes Simeon
and Levi and they are
to be scattered in Israel so
you know now
the Jews are scattered in all of them are
scattered in Israel but
this priesthood dies out
and it's taken over by the Lord Jesus Christ
he becomes the high priest
and he's the one that intercedes for us
and the Levites did that for a time
but that's been done away in Christ
so any animal sacrifices
any types of sacrifices that are being
done are not being done
you know
the way that they're supposed to be because there's only
one sacrifice that is needed
and that's when Christ died for our sins
he was a sacrifice
there's no more need for an altar
we don't have to you know an altar
is some place where you burn animals
you cut them up and you
burn them as an offering
but you have all these churches out here
that have altar calls
that's like come up to
the altar and get barbecued
I don't know why they do
that that's just something that's kind of crept
in in the 19th century
or the 20th century
where they just it used to be called
a crier's bench
they'd say hey who's feeling convicted out here
who's feeling bad about what they've done
and then they would bring them up
and then the pastor would just preach against them
right there it's like
I'm sure after a while people stop
raising their hands you know
but then it became this
show where people
are coming up to an altar and praying
how many have ever been in a Baptist church or just any
other kind of church where they do altar calls
and they're like we'll sing one more
stanza and then you come up
to the old fashioned altar and pray and then
like basically the pastor judges
his own sermon by how many people came
up to the altar and felt bad about what
they've done or whatever but the Bible
doesn't teach to do that so
you know that's just a freebie I just wanted to throw in there real
quick but
there's no more need for a Levitical
priesthood and so they are literally scattered
in Israel and we don't know who
the priesthood is so
look at verse
Genesis chapter 34 verse 25
the Bible says
and it came to pass on the
third day when they were sore
that two of the sons of Jacob Simeon
and Levi Dinah's brethren
took each man his sword and came
upon the city boldly and
slew all the males so this is what
Jacob is talking about he's referring to the time
when Dinah their daughter
Jacob's daughter went out to see
the daughters of the people of the land
which is always a bad idea
okay and then some guy gets
a hold of her and he
lies with her you know
without being married to her and then so the
brothers are so mad about this
that they defile their sister Dinah
that they tricked them into all
getting circumcised and that all
their families would be combined but really
they're just tricking them so
they could come and kill them you know
without having them put up any fight
because that process
hurts a lot for babies but it also
hurts a lot more probably when you're older
you know and so they
waited until they were sore
to the point where they couldn't even move
and then they just came boldly
with their swords and just started killing
everybody it says they killed all the males
it says and they slew
Hamor and Shechem his son
with the edge of the sword and took Dinah out of
Shechem's house and went out
and no doubt what they did was wrong
but the Bible does not
put the death penalty on fornication
now God will kill
people for fornication
he will judge them for fornication
but as far as it being the death penalty
in the Bible it's not the death penalty
but it is when you're married
okay it says
they slew Hamor and Shechem the son
with the edge of the sword
took out Dinah so basically
Jacob's given this prophecy
about how cruel what they did was
let's read further on and see just how cruel it was
it says in verse 27
the sons of Jacob came upon the slain
and spoiled the city because
they had defiled their sister
they took their sheep and their oxen
and their asses and that which was
in the city and that which was in
the field and all their wealth
and all their little ones
and their wives took they
captive and spoiled even all
that was in the house
what they did was extremely
first of all over the top
and second of all very wicked
I mean yeah
get upset about that I understand
that they defiled that he defiled her sister
but it doesn't seem like she was you know
forced into the situation seems like
maybe she was uh
okay with what was going on
but again what they did was wrong
and hey you know if you if your
culture is like that then don't be surprised
if God does smite your culture
for the wickedness that they do
but what they did Jacob's
saying it was wrong
that they were over the top they were
cruel and so they
even you know they killed all the men
all the husbands or
whatever and then took all their children
and their wives captive
so what they they basically made them
slaves right and spoiled
even all that was in the house they took
everything they took all their stuff
they took all their cattle it says
and Jacob said to Simeon and Levi you have
troubled me to make me stink
among the inhabitants of the land
among the Canaanites and the Perizzites
and I being few in number they shall gather
themselves together against me and slay me
and I shall be destroyed
I and my house
so Jacob's not happy about this situation
he's actually worried that they're gonna come
and rise up and try to kill his whole
family but God obviously protected him
from that but that saying
that you have troubled me to stink among the
inhabitants and we don't want to
make God or God's
people stink in front of the inhabitants
of the land so obviously
you know what they did was cruel
and and
one notable thing that happened with Levi
was that he got no inheritance
he got no inheritance
why because he was put into the tribe
and they got cities that they were able to go into
but they didn't have an inheritance among
the children of Israel
so and you know some notable
people that were Levites
well Moses is one of them he was one of the
greatest men in the whole Bible
but even Moses I mean think about
how much longer it is where Moses
comes along when Moses comes
along what is an attribute of Moses
that you think of obviously he was a very
meek man the meekest man on the face of the
earth but what else was he known
for he
was he killed an Egyptian
he killed him and buried him in the sand
but he also he just had a
bad temper like there's multiple
times you know
I feel you I feel you
Moses because sometimes I can get
pretty heated about stuff but
you know he got angry to the point
where God didn't allow him to go into
the promised land right so obviously
what his anger surpassed
what God what was righteous
anger because there's nothing wrong with being
angry as long as you don't sin
in that anger and what did he do he
was supposed to talk to the rock
and he smote the rock right and
so he changed the picture
of Christ you know
he didn't do what God
commanded him to do and because he was
angry because the people were
whining like usual
you know they were
all upset about something like usual
but Moses had
you know pretty much restrained himself to the point
where he's not going to get so mad
you know but I mean even with
even with the whole rebellion of Korah
you know he was
angry then he was upset then
but he didn't go past the point you know sometimes
you know people act like anger
is just like this bad
this bad thing it's only bad
when you do bad things when you
are angry okay when you sin
when you're angry that's what God has
a problem with so God
gets angry doesn't he
God gets the Bible says he
you know he has wrath
when he's angry sometimes
God destroys things when
he's upset he sends the
whirlwinds he sends these
acts of nature that happen people
act like science has that figured
out now that's why this is why this happens
you know what God is the one that sends the
lightnings God is the one that sends
the thunder God can send forest
fires I mean if you
just read the Bible you can see that
God did these things
but my point is is that
if we're made in the image of God
and we're like him in a lot of different ways
anger is one
of the things that God is an attribute of God isn't it
he gets angry sometimes
and he only starts to smoke
he starts to get mad
but he doesn't obviously God is
incapable of sin so anything that God
deals out as a punishment is not sinful
but Moses
you know he what is
one of the attributes that Jacob says
you know that they're that they're angry
they're wrathful they're cruel
and so you know
does it would it surprise you that
Moses got angry and it cost
him the promised land it doesn't surprise me at all
because you know he he kind of has these
same attributes of his
great great great great whatever
grandfather and
where he got so mad that they went and
slaughtered all the men of a city
took all their all their wives and their children
captive and stole all their stuff
but again that's how
that's how the Levites
were in the New Testament right they wanted
to steal God's kingdom away
for themselves you know I haven't talked
really much about Simeon here's Simeon's
notable things that he did
there was seven thousand mighty men of
valor
talks about it being and
wow I mean seven thousand
mighty men of valor what does it really say about Simeon
how much do you know about Simeon you know
why you don't know a lot about Simeon because he didn't do much
and he was also but he was
scattered in Judah
so he they kind of just got assimilated into
Judah because why well because in Joshua
nineteen nine go ahead and turn to Joshua
nineteen nine
that
in Joshua nineteen nine it tells kind of
what their portion is what's the
bible say what's Jacob say is going to happen
to them they're going to be scattered in
Israel right and
Joshua nineteen nine says out of the portion
of the children of Judah was the inheritance
of the children of Simeon so
they didn't even really they didn't even
really get their own inheritance
they had to inherit within
where Judah's inheritance was it says
for the part of the children of Judah was too
much for them therefore the children of
Simeon and had their inheritance
within the inheritance of
them so then ultimately
like I said they got scattered
in and assimilated in
with Judah and so
basically Jacob's right again
both of these tribes end up being
scattered and so
what's the application
for this well remember not to let
your anger get the best of you
remember not to let your anger get
the best of you and you
sin because of it if you have
a bad temper which some of
us do some of us get hot and
are we wax hot and get mad
probably say things we wish we hadn't
said do things we wish we hadn't
done but if you have a bad temper
that's something you should work on because
your temper can get you to the point where
it causes you maybe to get in trouble
with the law it can cause you
to get in trouble with your marriage it can
cause you children to get
in trouble with God because
of how you're talking to your parents
you should obey your parents
but the
application is also don't
be cruel have a heart
think about other people and
their plights as opposed to just yours
only I mean they
were so mad that they didn't think about
what devastation was going
to happen to these
people over one person's
sin did all those people deserve
to get killed and taken captive
no did they deserve
to have their whole town destroyed they didn't
and so Jacob
you know he never forgot that and he
held you know he held it
up to him and we should love our enemies
as ourselves we should love our neighbor
as ourself and we should do
unto others as they would have
as we would have them do unto us
so they messed up
in a lot of these areas and because
of that God ultimately through
Jacob's prophecy judged them
right Judah is number
four it's the last one here I got for this
morning turn to Genesis chapter 49
verse 8 the Bible says
Judah thou art he
whom thy brethren shall praise
thy hand shall be in the neck
of thine enemies thy father's
children shall bow down before
thee so here we got the first actual
good prophecy
towards one of the sons and it's son number four
Judah
and that's kind of the way
you see God's pattern in the Bible
is a lot of times he'll bless
the older one
I mean the younger one instead of the older
it's just kind of a theme in the Bible but
Judah is the one that God
really
where he actually chose
the Lord Jesus Christ to come from this tribe
the tribe of Judah
and the tribe of Judah was blessed
Judah had many great kings
and great men of God that came forth
and sprang forth out of Judah
and you think well you know what did
Judah do that was so great
isn't he the one that sold
Joseph into slavery he did
and notice that the name
Judas was the one
the name Judas the person
named Judas is the one that sold
Jesus Christ to
the Pharisees and Sadducees
and so you have that
part of Judah but he also
he also didn't do well towards
his son's
wife who he was supposed to give
Sheila his son
to wife and didn't do that then he
ended up having a child with her because she
tricked him I mean it's like the Jerry Springer
show basically kind of stuff going on
here but you know he
he also
in the end though when Ruben said hey
just kill my two sons
what did Judah say he said let the blame
if I don't bring Benjamin back let the blame
be on me forever
and so really Judah had that heart
of hey I'm willing to sacrifice
myself for the rest
of our people
and so I mean I believe that maybe
that's why God chose Judah I don't know
but here's the thing you're
like well Judah wasn't that great of a guy he went into
what he thought he went to see Harlots
he went into
his
son's
wife unwittingly
unknowingly
but you know
and then he didn't do a lot of great things
he sold his brother into slavery
he was wanting to kill him
first but
ultimately it's just kind of a picture
of the fact that
you know none of us really
deserves to be saved
you know when you got called to be
saved were you like a really good person or something
did you do a whole bunch of great things
and that's why God's like hey I choose Alex
because he's such a great guy
no the
gifts of calling are without repentance
and basically
God calls everyone to be saved
right God's not willing that any should
perish but that all should come to
repentance and what I mean by
repentance is not repenting
of your sins what I mean is
that you believe you change your mind
that's what it means change your mind
and stop believing what's sending you to hell
and you believe and put your faith in Christ
so
I mean why choose Judah well
why not
he chose you
you dirty heathens he chose you
to be saved didn't he so
why would it surprise you that you know he chose
an imperfect people because everybody's sinners
so he had to choose somebody
why not choose Judah why not
well because God sees the future
he doesn't choose necessarily
everything that you do he's not like some
kind of you know puppet
master like the Calvinists believe that
he's just up there and everything glorifies
God no child molestation
does not glorify God that's
sick that's not something that God
comes into God's mind or anything that
he wants to have happen murder
all these different wicked things that happen
in our world God doesn't choose that to
happen man chooses that to happen
the devil influences people
to do stuff like that but anyway I got to hurry up
here so
the first off he says you know Judah's
the one who the brethren are going to praise
and his hand shall be upon
the neck of his enemies so didn't
Christ destroy the
ultimate enemy the ultimate boss
he did he destroyed
now the devil still has
kind of his free reign but Christ defeated
the devil when he died on the cross of Calvary
and he
defeated what death because
he rose from the dead he was resurrected
and so
he did put his foot in the neck
of his enemies because
he conquered death
and death is the ultimate thing
that everybody's trying to escape right
and it says thy father's
children shall bow down before
thee and when you're bowing
down before someone this is saying
you're going to bow you know the Bible actually
says that every knee shall bow
and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord
look at verse 9 Judah
is a lion's whelp
from the prey my son
thou art gone up he stood down
he crouched as a lion
and as an old lion who shall
rouse him up this is a really interesting
verse I don't know that I can fully
explain it but
you know I mean if you think about
it says
from the prey my son obviously Jesus
Christ is the son of God I guess
I see that and the fact that he's
a lion's whelp well the
Bible tells us who this
lion's whelp is in Revelation 5
turn to Revelation 5 verse number
1 Revelation 5 verse number 1
the Bible
says I'm just going to keep reading because I got
to hurry up here it says and I saw in the
right hand of him that sat
on the throne a book written within
and on the backside sealed
with seven seals and I saw a
strong angel proclaiming with a
loud voice who is worthy to open the book and to lose
the seals thereof and no man in heaven
nor in earth neither under the earth was
able to open the book neither
to look thereon and I
wept much because no man was found worthy
to open and read the book
neither to look thereon
notice it says no man is worthy
nobody is none
of us are worthy enough to be saved on our own
merits but there is one
it says in verse 5 and one of the elders
said unto me weep not behold
the lion of the tribe of Judah
the root of David
hath prevailed to open the book
and to lose the seals thereof
see he is worthy
he was sinless
he has the honor of being able to
open up those seals where nobody
else can but notice it says
the lion of the tribe of Judah so this is a
direct correlation with this scripture
that we're looking at in Genesis chapter
49 Judah is a lion's
whelp from the parade
my son thou art gone up and stooped
up he crouched as a lion and as an
old lion who shall rouse him up
so first he says he's a lion's whelp
he's like the young son
you know it's like a young son of a lion
but then it says he's as an old lion
well what does that mean exactly how is he both
well the Bible
says that he's from old from everlasting
Jesus Christ when he was
born on this earth he existed before he was
born on this earth he is God
okay so that's how he
can be you know the son
you know he's the son of God he's the
lion's whelp but at the same time he's
also God he's God manifest
in the flesh when he was born here on this earth
look at verse number 10 back in our
text it says and the scepter shall not
the scepter shall not depart from Judah
nor a lawgiver from between his feet until
Shiloh come and
unto him shall the gathering shall the
gathering of the people be
so this is talking about Judah being the law
giver this is where the lion of kings
actually comes from
and they're going to be the ones that rule
over all the other tribes
now so it says
until Shiloh come and that word
Shiloh I'll get to that
in just a second actually but it says
unto him shall the gathering of the people be
now I mean so
there's a little bit to break down in this in this
verse here so a scepter is like
basically something a king would use to
to you know make judgment
or whatever it's like a
some kind of a metal usually a
metal thing that they hold and
whatever but a scepter is basically to show
that they're the ones that are ruling
so he's the ruler or the king
the tribe of Judah is the ruling tribe
and of course we had
King David, King Solomon
you know the lineage of the kings
and of course Lord Jesus Christ
who's the king of kings and Lord
of lords Shiloh is
it means a place of rest
so
and so it says until Shiloh
comes there was a place named Shiloh
in the Bible where the tabernacle dwelt for a
long time but then it moved to
Jerusalem but uh
it's the place where the ark rested for a while
the tabernacle of God rested at
Shiloh but it is a reference to
the Messiah and so even
the Jews will admit that this is a reference
to the Messiah and so
Jesus Christ will lead
his people to what? Rest
in Christ right he does all the
work so that we can rest
that's what the Sabbath pictures the fact that we
rest from our works and
God rested you know God the Father rested
from his works on the seventh day
and that we
um get to rest
and we're saved without works
so anybody that thinks that they're saved
by their works they're not saved
but the people that are saved by the works
of Christ those are the ones that are saved
and so there will be
a place of rest for us one day
and uh so that's
I think that's kind of a you know the reference
of Christ there and then the
gathering of the people could refer
to his first coming because a lot of people
were gathered around him and thronging him right
but then eventually they
turned their backs on him and betrayed him
but the second coming
is also a gathering isn't it
when Christ comes back he's going to gather
all those that are dead in Christ will
rise first and then they
they're alive and remain shall be caught up
to meet the Lord and so shall they ever
be with the Lord
and so the gathering of the people
obviously I believe is
probably referring to the rapture
or the second coming
and so I gotta
really be fast here so I'm going to skip a couple
verses where the Bible talks about him being from
old and from everlasting but that's Micah 5
2 Habakkuk 1 12
Genesis 49 verse 11 says
bringing his foal to the vine and his ass
his colt to the choice vine he washed
his garments and wine and his
clothes and the blood of
grapes and so we know
that his first coming was
he was he came as peaceful
wanting people to be saved
and then
when he comes back what's he going to
be like he's going to be different isn't he
I mean not different as in God's
different or he's a different person
but he's going to come back with a different mission
and his mission is going to be
to gather his people together
and then to pour out the
wrath of God upon mankind
and when he appears he's not going to be
dressed in a white robe
he's not going to be dressed in white
he's going to be dressed in
clothes that are dyed
with the blood
his clothes are going to be like blood
but tonight
I'll venture more into that as we go into
the second sermon but I'm going to close
with a word of prayer here so I'm going to
finish off talking about this
because there's some verses that I just don't have time to get to
but so we'll pick it back
up at the end of the tribe of Judah
and we'll move forward so let's go ahead and have a word of prayer
Heavenly Father we thank you Lord so much for the scriptures
and pray that you'd help us Lord
to be a people that's hungry for the word of God
that we want to learn things about the word of God
Lord not everything
might not pique our interest but
Lord all these things are important
and they're in there for a reason
I pray that you'd help us to have a heart
to want to search the scriptures daily
and see whether these things are so
and in Jesus' name we pray, Amen
Alright our last song is going to be song number 316
Channels only in your blue hymn books
Song number 316 channels only
Song number 316 in your blue hymn books
Let's sing it on the first
How I praise thee precious Savior
That thy love laid hold of me
Thou hast saved and cleansed and filled me
That I might thy channel be
Channels only blessed Master
But with all thy wondrous power
Flowing through us thou canst use us
Every day and every hour
Empty that thou shouldst fill me
A clean vessel in my hand
With no power but has thou givest
Graciously with each command
Channels only blessed Master
But with all thy wondrous power
Flowing through us thou canst use us
Every day and every hour
Witnessing thy power to save me
Setting free from self and sin
Thou who bought is to possess me
In thy fold this Lord come in
Channels only blessed Master
But with all thy wondrous power
Flowing through us thou canst use us
Every day and every hour
Jesus fill now with thy spirit
Hearts that full surrender know
That the streams of living water
From our inner man may flow
Channels only blessed Master
But with all thy wondrous power
Flowing through us thou canst use us
Every day and every hour
Thanks for watching!