Open—Robert Boulard
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Our comfort be number 166 of Brotherhood started.
Lord, thou has strong.
And that will be fine my friend who can shout come and go on 3rd game thyself.
Brethren, shall we also sing 100 and 97197?
Oh God, what pours up?
Like to read just a couple verses?
2nd Corinthians chapter one verse three, Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort, will comfort us, us and all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
Our loving God and Father, we thank you for thy wondrous love.
You my comfort course and the various needs that each one of us has and some were mentioned in the prayer meeting before. Now we're about ready to open Thy word and just praise our fetus with what we need, the word of comfort, word of exertation, word of encouragement. So we just ask thy help in the meeting before us. The name of the Lord Jesus we pray, Amen.
Amen. Amen.
Just like to turn to the Book of Judges. We'll read a few verses in the Book of Judges.
Have it on my heart just to speak a little bit of the conflict of faith and our brother yesterday brought before us the three enemies that we have. But I'd like to just concentrate on a passage of scripture, the really the 4th of judges, but we'll read in chapter 3 just as A to open up the stage of.
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How things were at that time in among the children of Israel.
So Judges chapter 3, verse five, the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites.
Hittites and Amorites and Parasites, and Hivites and Jebusites, and they first they took their daughters to their wives to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and serve their gods. The children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, forgot the Lord their God, and served Balaam in the Groves.
Therefore, the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel. Then let's turn to chapter.
Chapter 4, we'll just read a few verses here and a few verses there, and we don't have a lot of time to read the whole passage of Scripture, but I'd like to point out some of the things that could be an encouragement and help to us as we face the enemy in the last days of the day of grace. So chapter 4, the children of Israel.
Again, did evil in the sight of the Lord when Ehud was dead. Maybe we should read chapter 3 verse 30. So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel, and the land had rest 4 score years.
And after him was Shamgard, the son of Enath, which slew of the Philistines 600 men with an ox goad, and he also delivered Israel, and the children of Israel gained evil in the sight of the Lord when he hood was dead. Well, the first thing we want to notice is that the state of the people of God was such, you know, that they had.
Set aside the word of God. They had disobeyed, truly disobeyed, the word of God.
They had been told not to make mixed marriages and they had illicit intercourse with this world and it speaks to us of the day we live in. We all have the temptation to compromise with the world and to have illicit intercourse with this world.
To join up in some way and have.
A mixed testimony, you might say. It's, you know, we don't like to speak of.
Separation. But let's look at Two Corinthians chapter 6. We'll just read it just at the end of it.
God speaks of separation. He's not ashamed of that word.
It's for our strength, it's for our blessing to maintain separation.
And so it says in verse chapter 6, verse 14, Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers? For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?
Their rhetorical questions We know what the answer is. And what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that hath that believeth with an infidel? What agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God, as God hath said. I will dwell in them, and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Wherefore come out from among them, and be separate, saith the Lord.
And touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you, and will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Well, not an encouraging word to think of how the Lord delights in having us be in His presence and enjoy His fellowship, and to reveal Himself as the Father.
And you and I have a relationship with the Father. In Christianity, we know the Father, We know the Son.
Were brought into relationship with him. And so here he speaks in this little portion that we read of the children of Israel. And there was a change of administration, we might say. And so the older ones were passing off the scene. And we all of us know what it is to have those that are older pass off the scene. So there was restraint. There was some measure of deliverance from the enemy.
And you know every one of us.
Has to be engaged in the spiritual warfare. And as our brother pointed out yesterday, it's not with Spears and with swords that we have a battle. But in Ephesians chapter 6, it says that we have an enemy and that we're to put on. We're responsible to put on all of the armor of God. And so all seven pieces of armor ought to be put on.
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And we ought to in really responsibility to take up that that armament.
That will be preserved as we find ourselves in the enemy's land. Well, there was a change of administration.
And there was responsibility now passed on to the next generation. And so the older generation is seeking, I believe.
To pass on the truth in the same measure that they received it, in the same truth that they received as ministered by those that have passed on. Well, there was departure. They did evil in the sight of the Lord. So what you and I do is in the sight of the Lord. Make no mistake of it, you and I are doing what we do in the sight of the Lord. He sees it all.
Oh, what a blessed thing it is that he loves us. He loves us with unfailing love, her brother read this morning.
Having loved his own, He loved them unto the end. You know it has the sense, if you look in the Darby translation, the little note, that he says He loved them through it all. He loved them through everything. And you know, it says in the Hebrews chapter 13 that I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee, so that we may boldly say, what is man?
What shall man do unto me? I'm not quoting exactly right, but.
You know, it's just a comfort of the heart. The Lord is faithful and He loves you individually and as you have an exercise to walk in the fear of God and to engage in the spiritual conflict. We do have a conflict. We have an enemy. We have three enemies, as was pointed out, but here it says the Lord. The second thing that we want to notice is that the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin, the king of Canaan that reigned in Hazor, the captain of.
Host was Sizzra who dwelt in Hirosheth of the Gentiles. Well, if you look in Joshua, I think it's Chapter 11, the first few verses speak of this man Jake in Jay Ben, the king of Canaan, another king, and it speaks of the land of Canaan being this Canaanite king being destroyed, every last one of them, so to speak.
They were destroyed. The enemy was brought into subjection.
But now here it is, years later, and they've risen up again.
We have an enemy that will never give up.
And he will use the same tactics among the people of God to destroy and to weaken and to distract the Saints of God. And how we need to be watchful in our own hearts, in our own lives, and to rely upon the Lord for deliverance and for strength as we go through this scene. And so the enemy never gives up. He has a whole, He has a leader, the captain of the host, scissor and.
So we know we're going to read a little bit about Sizera, the children of Israel, verse 3.
They cried unto the Lord.
For he had 900 Chariots of iron, 20 years. He mightily oppressed the children of Israel. Well, you know, this fact that this man had 900 Chariots speaks of really a power that is insurmountable, a power, an imperial power and force that no one could overcome, no one could oppose. And you have an enemy that is strong, that says.
I think it's Luke's gospel chapter 14. He speaks there in connection with discipleship of taking note of the strength of the enemy. It says in chapter 14 of Luke verse 31 what king going to make war against another king sitteth not down 1St and consulteth whether he be able with 10,000 to meet him that cometh against him with 20,000.
Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, He senteth an ambassador, and desireth conditions of peace. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsake it not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
Well, we need to recognize the strength of the enemy.
None of us are suitable to face the enemy on our own strength, our own merits, our own intelligence. We need the Lord's help, and this, you know, the people of God. He had raised up his hand in discipline.
20 years it took to balcony. You know God is in the business of bending knees and he knows how to bend every knee.
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Thank God that many in this room have bent the knee to our Lord Jesus Christ. You know, I was in Ohio doing business and one time years ago and I went to a factory to see a fellow.
By the name of Jim Stingle, and he was. I was a little early for the appointment, came in and sat down.
At the in the front lobby, there was a young girl there at the computer.
She was perhaps 1617 years old. Her name was Jessica Blaine. And she had by her computer while she said to me, you know, just come in and sit here. Jim's not here. He'll be here shortly. And we can just visit while you're waiting. So she had on the wall a couple of photocopies of some verses of Scripture, and she had this little expression on the wall. She says, if you meet me.
Me who have lost nothing, but if you meet Jesus Christ and forget him.
You've lost everything. And she had a couple of verses of Scripture there.
And I think it was Revelation. I think it's Revelation 320 that she had on her on the. I'm just going to read it so that I don't misquote it.
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him, and will Sup with him, and he with me.
I said to Jessica. I said.
Do you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior?
She said this to me.
She says. I'm pleased to be numbered among those that have bowed the knee to our Lord Jesus Christ in this life.
She said every knee is going to bow.
I'm pleased to be numbered among those that have bowed the knee to our Lord Jesus Christ in this life.
Well, these dear Saints of God, children of Israel, crying unto the Lord, it took them 20 years of sorrow and oppression. And isn't it the kindness of the Lord to bring different circumstances into our lives, to humble us, and to recognize that we need Him for deliverance? And so they had an enemy that was powerful. You and I have an enemy that's powerful.
And we ought to be engaged spiritually in the battle, the conflict of faith.
While he mightily oppress the people of God, verse 4. This is another thing that we need to notice is that God has to deliver Deborah a prophetess.
The wife of Lapidus, she judged Israel at that time, and she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah, between Rama and Bethel and the Mount Ephraim, and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.
Well, it was a time of great weakness. And here's a woman, you'll notice that she was a prophetess. She was able to be used of God. She was a woman that walked in fellowship with the Lord.
She walked in humility and in communion with God, and make no mistake of it.
The sister that walks in fellowship with God, in communion with the Lord in a quiet way behind the scenes can be used of God. And this was a day of great failure, great weakness among the people of God and all how he delights to use those that will walk in fellowship with him. And so she was a spiritual woman, I believe.
But it mentions here that she was the wife of Lapidus. She knew.
What it was to be married. And she had, she was, she judged Israel at that time, but noticed this where she dwelt. She dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Rama and Bethel in the Mount Ephraim. And the children of Israel came up to her for judgment. So you remember Samuel he was, he dwelt at Rama, I believe, but he had a circuit. And so he went from place to place to place, and he judged Israel.
But she was a woman. She knew her place.
And she perhaps delighted in that place. She was in the home. And she was used of God in this way to comfort the Saints of God, to perhaps stir them up and to exhort them. And she was used of God in different ways. Perhaps we're not told, but she abode in the home by the palm tree, a place of.
Rest a place where the people of God could come, and if they wanted to have a word from the Lord.
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Why they would come to her and she had wisdom, discernment from the Lord. What was a day of great weakness?
But.
She went on in the capacity that she should have gone on in connection with her being a woman. Well the next thing we want to notice here is verse six. There was a cry to the Lord for deliverance and the Lord gave her a message. She sent and called Barrack the son of Abenuum of out of Kedish Naphtali and said unto him, hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded saying, go?
And draw toward Mount Tabor, and take with the 10,000 men of the children of Israel, of the of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun. And I will draw thee to the river Kai Shan Sizera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his Chariots and his multitude, and I will deliver him.
Into thine hand.
Well, isn't it nice that, you know, God had prepared a man who perhaps didn't know that he was being prepared for this work of deliverance? And you may be a younger brother, perhaps middle age and so on, and you've been reading the scriptures and studying the scriptures and you've been trying to walk in communion with the Lord. I hope that's the way it is. I hope you're studying the Word of God and reading written ministry, listening to audio ministry, perhaps in the cars you go to work, whatever it might be.
And God perhaps is preparing you, but you don't know.
And there will be a time, if you walk with God, that he may give a little call that.
To deliver His people in certain circumstances, certain issues that arise among the people of God, and He may use you to deliver in His love and His great love for His people.
He loves his people.
There's nothing on the planet that he has that is more.
Valuable to him than his beloved people. He bought the church with his own blood, bought every member of the body of Christ and loves them, desires that they would go on, and he wanted to deliver them here. So Barrack was raised up quietly somewhere and so.
Here it says we want to notice in verse seven that God has a battle plan all picked out and he's going to deliver his people. Isn't it nice to know what the battle plan is?
You read prophetic history. You read the prophetic scriptures, read the prophets.
Read Isaiah. Read the minor Prophets. You're going to find out what the battle plan is.
You're going to find out. Read The only prophetic book that's given to the church is the Book of Revelation.
Written to the church and for the church so that we would be intelligent as to what God is about to do.
And concerning the glories of his son.
He comes as the Ancient of Days. In chapter one, the judge is introduced and all of his judicial glories. That's wonderful.
To read that little passage in Revelation chapter one and the read of his glories in chapter 4.
Chapter 5 and then to see how he begins to do his work in Chapter 60, it's wonderful.
The battle plan is already written and we know what the end is, and it's nothing but delight for the Son of God and for those that belong to him. And so we don't need to be taken up with the affairs of this world where ambassadors for Christ. We ought to be taken up with the One, the Son of God, the Son of his love, and that one who is going to be.
So gloriously exalted in this scene, to whom every knee shall bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ.
Is the Son of God to the glory of God? Oh, he's going to be raised up in glory. So we have the battle plan. It's already recorded. Have you read about it? Oh, it's wonderful, exhilarating. It's heartwarming to read. We know there's sorrow, there's judgment. He's going to cleanse this world with judgment, So there is sorrow in connection with it. But in this little passage of Scripture, he gives him the battle plan. Isn't it wonderful to know that the Lord Jesus knows?
How to defeat the enemy. He knows how to defeat the enemy even the day that we live in. And he can give strength. And so he raises this man Barrack up. He tells him here's the battle plan.
Just as an aside, you know, I sometimes think, you know, Mr. Putin really should read Ezekiel 38 and 39. There's a battle plan, and he really should read that because there is a battle coming and he's really not going to win this battle. And so.
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The Christian can read those passages of Scripture and intelligence, recognize that he doesn't need to get all upset about what's going on in Ukraine and Russia, why the battle plan is already written, but it's going to be 7 years, really about seven years after the church has taken out. Well, let's read here. It says there was a response now to this instruction, this battle plan.
And this dear man perhaps didn't have the faith for the work that he was given to do.
The barracks said his response is this. He said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go.
But if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go.
I could use a little bottle of water.
Please.
Thank you.
What a response.
You know, I like looking at some of these little three word responses in Scripture. These little three word statements that the Lord Jesus makes in the Gospel of John and other passage of Scripture. He uses 3 words. Often times in the English language. I don't know what it is in the Greek, but here in the Hebrew this man gives a response.
I will go.
But he sets conditions on it.
We ought not to set conditions.
For whether we will obey or not based on certain conditions, He didn't appear to have the faith. You know this little word, There are others that used it, this little phrase. Let's look at Genesis chapter 24.
It says here in Genesis chapter 24.
Verse 58, just at the end, in connection with Rebecca, they called Rebecca and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? She said, I will go, oh, there's faith, I will go. I trust you have a submissive spirit to the direction of the Spirit of God, to the direction of the word of God and just submit.
And say, I will go, I will do it. It's what the Lord desires in our hearts. A positive response. You know, there's another one in Genesis. I'm not going to turn to all these ones that I've enjoyed, but it's.
Genesis chapter 45 in connection with Jacob. Jacob had a quite the history. It's worth tracing the the restoration, you might say, of Jacob and his.
Training and deliverance even to the land of Israel, to the land of Egypt, says in Genesis 45, the last verse, Israel said it is enough. Joseph, my son is yet alive. I will go.
And see him before I die Oh, I think those words are beautiful. I will go. Esther, you know, faced certain death if he has the earth even her husband didn't raise up the.
His.
Scepter to her in favor, but she says I will go. Oh May God give us the grace to go in the path of obedience, a devotion, affection for Christ as we engage in a spiritual conflict.
For his glory, Well, he said I will not go. The will was set. He said under these conditions, I need Avip to go with me, I need a prophetess, I need somebody. I can't go myself. And it's true you can't engage in the battle by yourself, but isn't it nice to have a sense of the presence of the Lord?
You know, I think of the Apostle Paul, how he says the Lord stood with me.
In the last chapter of Two Timothy, the Lord stood with me. Isn't that good enough for you to have a sense of the Lord's presence as you go through this scene? Always, always cultivate.
Communion with the Lord. Don't let anything come in that would break that communion and have a sense of the presence of the Lord.
The Lord stood with me.
Well, he says, I will not go, she said in verse nine. I will surely go with thee, notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour, for the Lord shall sell scissor into the hand of a woman. Deborah arose and went with Barrick to Kadesh.
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And Barrett called Zebulun and Nephili to Kedish. He went up with 10,000 men at his feet, and Deborah went up with him.
Well, you know this sister, if I could use New Testament language, his sister and the Lord.
A dear St. of God had divine life and.
She submitted to this suggestion that Barrick, she wanted to develop the deliverance of the people of God and if it necessitated her leaving her home to go with this man and 10,000 soldiers, that why she was willing to do it for the deliverance of God's people. So she stepped out of the role that God had given to her of quiet submission in the home and went with this man. Just think of it.
10,000 men, maybe 10,000 and one and one woman.
10,000 men and one woman.
Going to face the enemy that had depressed the people of God for 20 years mightily oppressed them.
Oh, it's a sign of weakness. It's just a symbol of the broken state of things in Israel at that time. And we face young people and older ones here, brethren, we face a time when things are broken. We know that the governmental systems are broken in this country, in the country, the South of us, all over the Western world, things are broken.
The assemblies, you might say, are broken. Things are breaking down. Morally, things are broken down.
But there is a path of faith. There is a path and the Lord delights to deliver his people. Well, it says that Deborah went up with him. Now the Spirit of God breaks in and says, now there's a little bit of a parenthesis here. I'm going to tell you about a man. His name is Heber in verse 11, the key knight, which was of the children of Hobab, the father-in-law of Moses.
Had severed himself from the Key Knights and pitched his tent unto the plain of Zenayam.
Which is by key dish.
You know, here's a man written in God's word and we don't know what the conflict was. He probably had a little falling out with some in the family or didn't really like to be at the center of the heat of the.
Persecution of these from Jabin, the king of Jabin, King Jabin of Canaan. And he thought, you know, well, I'll just leave and I'll go to the plane.
And he left all of his brethren and he pitched his tent. So his family, perhaps his wife, we know, I don't know, it doesn't mention his family. But he took his whole household out from among his brethren and in isolation there on the plane, that's where he was. Not a good place to be. All we need the fellowship of our brethren. We cannot be alone, it says in Acts 242.
Is very striking in the language of it. It says they continued steadfastly in the Apostles doctrine and fellowship.
Breaking of bread in prayers. Oh, I wonder if that's how do you have that desire to continue steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship. Breaking of bread and prayers. Oh, it's a wonderful path. It's a normal path for a Christian to go on in that way. Well, it says that a little bit later on that the Lord.
Delivered. Let's read verse 14. Deborah said unto Barrack.
This is the day in which the Lord hath delivered into thine hand. Is not the Lord gone out before thee? So Barrack went down from the Mount Tabor, and 10,000 men after him, And the Lord discomfited Sizera with all his cherries and all his hosts with the edge of the sword before Barrack, so that Scissor alighted down off his chariot and fled away on his feet. Now I just, I missed a little part that we really need to.
Look at it says in verse 12 or verse.
Let me see here.
They went up to yes, let's read verse 12. They showed Scissor that Barrack son of Ehinuam was gone up to Mount Tabor. Now the Lord had told him to go to Mount Tabor.
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And mount Tabor means I believe separated or separation.
So here he took these men, Barrack took these men, 10,000 men. They climb a mountain, Mount Tabor, not easy, but they're going against the flow of the common day, the day, the flow of apostasy, the flow of apathy and all those sorts of things. The little image, they go up into the mountain, really spend time in the presence of the Lord alone.
We're not told how long they were there.
Brethren, it's necessary to spend time individually and with the people of God.
In self judgment, and in fellowship together waiting. And so here these men were called. Barrack had made the call, and they came up to that mountain. They spent time on the mountain, and they waited for the Lord to give the direction as to when they would leave.
And so it's a good thing just to wait upon the Lord, and justice to wait.
In the presence of the Lord to enjoy his company, but to wait and to be exercised as to the matter. And so we can well imagine that these 10,000 men, Barrack included, and Deborah, there was deep exercise of soul.
They wondered what it would what would take place when they left that mountain, whether some of them would face the enemy and be killed physically.
Well, everyone of us, before we face the enemy, need to spend time in the presence of the Lord on the mountain with God.
The self judgment, just seeking his blessing, crying to him in our weakness to tell him how weak we are and how we cannot deliver ourselves. We cannot deliver the people of God. We absolutely need his presence. Oh, the Lord didn't disappoint them. It says, is not the Lord gone out before thee? There's a time to act, a time to be born, a time to die.
You know Ecclesiastes chapter 3 gives us.
The sense that there are there is a time, a proper time to go. And so God called them at a specific time. He knew when they were prepared. He knew when the work of self judgment was complete and he knew how to deliver his people. And so we can take courage, can't we? That God knows how to deliver his people and God will give the signal at the right time and they will be delivered.
And so the Lord discomfited in verse 15.
All his Chariots and all his hosts. So Sidra takes off.
He leaves his chariot, faces the heat. I can't imagine.
Leaving your chariot and deciding you better run for it. But you know God knows how to deliver the people of God, and it was an unnatural thing. But let's notice in verse 17. Howbeit, Scissor A fled away on his feet to the tent of jail, the wife of Eber the key knight. For there was peace between J Bin, the king of Hazar, and the House of Heber the key knight.
The.
You know the end of verse 16 says there was not a man left. God knows how to give complete deliverance.
Knit wonderful to have eternal security. There's complete deliverance.
You and I know what it is to have complete deliverance, but there's many Christians in this world that don't have a sense of eternal security. But you and I ought to have that. I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish. There's complete deliverance at the cross of Calvary. He died for our sins. Put them all away, they're gone.
Well, there was peace between Jabin, King of Hazor, and the House of Heber the Kenite. Just a little compromise. Let's not be so tight about this. We're living in the world and we don't. You don't have to go out and look for persecution. Let's just compromise just a little bit.
And this dear man.
Made an agreement, made peace with the enemy.
It's a solemn thing to make peace with the enemy and to say that I don't want to stand for the truth. It says earnestly contending for the faith once delivered to the Saints. I'm not saying that we need to get argumentative or to be belligerent, but isn't it wonderful just to stand firm for the Lord, for his person, for his glory?
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And to desire to defend that Blessed One and His glory in this world.
And to recognize that we live in the enemy's land and we cannot make peace with the world.
We cannot give an inch.
Or else it will be all over. Well, God mentions in his precious word this one man that made a compromise with the enemy, and God could not use this man for his work of deliverance. But you know where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. So we have here that in verse 21 jail Hebrews wife took the nail, a nail of the tent or a pin of the tent, took a hammer and her hand went softly onto him and smoked the nail into his temple's.
Fastened it into the ground so he was fast asleep and weary, so he died. You know this little story is mentioned in the Psalms.
And I believe it's mentioned in Hebrews Chapter 11.
Barracks mentioned God is gracious, but here's a woman and it doesn't appear that she agreed with her husband about peace with the world, peace with Jabin the king of Canaan. And how often we've heard of those that are husbands, those that ought to take the lead in their homes and to bring the things of God before their families, and they get irritated with their brethren and they run off and isolate themselves.
And their families and their sorrow.
There's disappointment, there's heartache, and perhaps the wife submits to that. And years go by and we know that there have been husbands that have gone to be with the Lord, and the next Lord's Day, the wife is at the Lord's table again. It touches the heart.
It doesn't appear that this woman, woman of faith, made the same agreement. And so, dear sisters, you have a real responsibility to maintain the truth of God and to really engage in the spiritual conflict as well. We're all to be engaged. Well, she had the privilege, you might say, of executing judgment on this man.
She had not made an agreement with the enemy.
Or if you don't make an agreement with the enemy, if you walk in communion with the Lord.
If you will walk in fellowship with that blessed man.
And don't be tainted in your fellowship, in your associations with this world. You don't know what God might use you for. He may call you, He may call upon you in some situation, in your home assembly, in some situation, perhaps in a brother or sister, in the camp, in in some situations, someone that you meet on the street.
You may, you may be used of God because you kept yourself pure.
He says in, I think it's in first Peter chapter one, be be pure even as he is pure. It's really a quotation from Leviticus. So this woman jail receives a blessing. If you permit me to just look at a couple of incidences of those that didn't go to the battle, those that were not engaged in the spiritual conflict.
There in chapter 5 it says in verse 14.
Of chapter 5 out of Ephraim. I'm going to read it as it is in the new translation. Out of Ephraim came those whose foot was in Amalek.
They were to destroy Amalek's, a type of the flesh. And so there was intermarriage between Amalek and the children of Israel. Ephraim verse was quoted in Hosea chapter six. I think it is that Ethermeth mixed himself. There's a hair, Gray hair here and there upon him. He knows it not, but there were those that had come from this intermarriage situation and they rose above it.
Perhaps judged it in the presence of God and they were used of God. They had heard the call of Jabin and they were a part of those 10,000 that went up and faced the enemy. The enemy had sought to destroy from association, marriage association. But they came up, they came up to the battle. And then it says after the Benjamin among thy people, Benjamin. I think it's in the 68th Psalm. It's called little Benjamin and we remember.
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There was immorality, there was wickedness in the tribe of Benjamin, and the whole tribe was almost wiped out. But you know, in the sovereign grace of God, there were two tribes that were preserved to the Lord, to David at the divine center, Jerusalem.
Judah and Benjamin, little Benjamin and you may be from a little family among the Saints of God, from a little family, from a little assembly, but you can be engaged in a spiritual battle too. You need to be exercised about that spiritual battle. You know, the Lord knows what it feels to be little and to feel like you don't belong. You'll forgive a personal.
Illustration of it when we were first came out of the McDonald Division.
In 1969, we didn't know anybody. We came out from a little group of brethren that had gone out in division. We came among the gathered Saints and we felt like nothing. Nobody knew us. We weren't related to anybody. Some were kind to us, and I remember to this day I can see their faces.
But Benjamin's just little, and so God delights in faithfulness and devotion to him, affection for him.
It doesn't matter how big you are.
And how grand the family is, it's not family first in the assembly. Well, it says make here out of make here came down governors. So here I think this make here is referring to the tribe of Manasseh, some of the half tribe of Manasseh. And they came out, they came down governors. So here's those I think they were.
I can't remember what the other translation calls them, but they were.
Those in governmental authority among the people of God and they came down to the battle. So they didn't say, well, you know, I'm the mayor or I've got, I've got responsibility. I can't be engaged in spiritual battle. I'll damage my reputation. No, they were engaged in a spiritual battle. They had a delight to help to deliver the people of God from the enemy and from the inroads of the enemy.
And then it speaks of the Zebulun.
They that handle a pen of a writer. So some of the scribes they, they came. So you think of a scribe, a writer, a book guy.
With a sword.
But, you know, they knew how to use the Word of God. It's illustrating to us, God's Old Testament is our picture book. It's a picture book of the new of the Scriptures. It gives us figures. And so even though we're just book people, why we can be engaged in a spiritual conflict. The spiritual conflict is for every one of us.
And we cannot plead ignorance. We cannot plead isolation. We cannot.
Plead neutrality. Everyone of us needs to be engaged spiritually with the Lord.
In connection with the enemy and to judge those things, that would be a hindrance. Well, it speaks of the Princess of Issachar with Deborah, even Issachar and also Barrick, he was sent on foot in the valley for divisions. Let me see, the Princess of Issachar, really, we just want to say that these were men that were really at the top and the top echelons.
And they they could have.
Pled that they weren't a part of the army and so on. It just shows that there's exercise of heart from those in Essecar, in Barrack and then the divisions. I'm going to read it somewhat of how the Darby translation goes. It says the divisions are the rivulets of Reuben. There were great thoughts of heart, great resolves of heart. Why abode us, thou among the sheepfolds, to hear the bleedings of the flocks for the divisions of Reuben.
Great. Or the rivets of Reuben. There were great searchings, deliberations of heart. So here it appears that those of Reuben heard of the battle. They heard that there was a spiritual, there was a conflict with the enemy, and they were down by the rivets, I believe would speak of the borders of their territory. And they were down there by the borders. They said, well, you know, yeah, there's a battle going on.
And we're going to, you know, scissor is.
The scissor, the army of scissor is there and the barracks down there with 10,000 men and boy, there's a real battle going. They had a lot of discussion about it, but they didn't get involved.
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So it's a shame to our shame if there's a lot of discussion about the spiritual conflict among the people of God, but not a searching out of the truth for ourselves and not a really a desire to be engaged ourselves in the spiritual conflict. You say, well, how can I be engaged?
Can you do what they did at the beginning of this, what we read, the children of Israel cried unto the Lord.
For he had 900 Chariots of iron and 20 years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel. You and I can be engaged in prayer and we can study the word of God, study the principles, and cry to the Lord for his blessing upon his people. And so he speaks of those that just deliberated. They didn't have the they didn't actually get up and go.
And then it says that Gilead abode beyond Jordan.
They just stayed home. Maybe they heard about it, but they did. There was number discussion or anything. They just stayed home. They said we're not going.
Oh, it's a work of the enemy to say, you know, I'm just a Christian, I'm saved and I don't need to be spiritually engaged in the conflict.
But you and I need to be engaged, and we need to put on that armor, the whole armor of God, to be engaged in the enemy's land, against the flesh, the world, the world system that is against Christ, and to be really to recognize the stratagems of the enemy. And so it says that Dan. Why did Dan remain in ships?
The tribe of Dan, they were more interested in business and the ship speaks of mercantile things.
Of this world, and so they were more interested in their mercantile activity than in the deliverance of the Saints engaged in to be engaged in the battle, in the spiritual battle. Asher continued on the seashore and abode it in his breeches or in the creeks. So they stayed.
By the beaches, they were by the beaches, and they just weren't interested. Let's just drop down to verse 23. Kerski Miraz said. The Angel of the Lord cursed ye bitterly, The inhabitants thereof, because they came not to the help of the Lord, to help the Lord against the mighty blessed above women shall jail the wife of Eber, the key knight, be blessed? Shall she be above women in the tent.
While there's a curse and there's a blessing.
Miraz really was a little place, a little city, I believe, right in the middle of the place where the battle took place. And I think Miraz means cedar palaces. And so they just, it was pretty comfortable at home and, you know.
The Angel of the Lord you'll notice in the new translation as capitalized capital A.
Angel of the Lord, Lord you know is Jehovah in the new translation and in the French translation it's L apostrophe eternal. Mr. Darby uses that in his French translation, doesn't use Jehovah, it's the eternal 1.
It was the Lord Jesus Himself.
That was there to deliver his people.
Well, I think this is blessed. Dear brethren, the Lord Jesus is in the midst.
It loves his people.
But these people in Miraz had an enemy of prosperity, cedar houses, and they weren't too interested in getting into the battle. And so he says Hershey bitterly, the inhabitants thereof, they came not to the help of the Lord. Let's help in the spiritual battle. None of us liveth unto himself. No man dieth unto himself. You have an influence on this company of believers on the whole Church of God.
The testimony, the Christian testimony that we live in. You know, Brother Bruce Anstey is writing a little exposition on Matthew's Gospel.
He's writing on Chapter 14 now. He's been writing for a year. Maybe not quite a year. Half a year.
And this pretty pathetic situation in connection with his health, but he's doing what he can do.
And you may not have a lot of strength, you may not have a lot of knowledge, but isn't it nice to have a sense of the Lord's presence?
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The Eternal 1.
The Eternal 1.
Once your fellowship in the conflict of faith.
Don't stay in a place of prosperity. Don't stay in a place where prosperity will hinder you from being engaged in the spiritual conflict. It's not worth it. Well, they didn't get a blessing, but jail got a blessing. Blessed above women. She was engaged in that spiritual conflict. Well, I trust that these words will encourage us. Beloved brethren, every.
To rise up in a day of great weakness and great breakdown in this world, and in the Christian testimony. To strengthen ourselves in the truth of the Word of God. To read the word of God, and to enjoy it. To be found steadfastly going on in the apostles, doctrine and fellowship, breaking of bread and prayers, and to be engaged to help.
The city in the testimony, in the whole of the Christian testimony. May God give us the grace and the strength to do it.