King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Saturday. March 30, 2024
Chapters: Judges Chapters 1-2
Message: Obtaining Mercy
Hello My Friend,
Yesterday I was working an area that is not mine, I was anxious because I had twenty-two stores to do and it was ninety minutes from home. I was angry because my supervisor told me that she was going to continue to use me to fill in where she needs me unless I wanted to be reduced to part-time. It is not the job, it is how they operate that angers me because one; she uses my personal needs to manipulate me and two; they manipulate the drive time and mileage so we do not get paid correctly. However, something happened that had me in tears because I knew that God was with me, I parked by a gas pump so that I could put gas in the car when I returned, I found out that someone paid for it. At first, I thought that someone had given the cashier the wrong pump number, looking around and expecting someone to come toward me. That was when God reminded me that He takes care of His people, even when we are less deserving of it, all He asks is that we stay faithful to Him.
[1 Timothy 1:12-16 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; 13 Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. 14 And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. 16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.]
Obtaining mercy is more than just our not getting what we deserve for our sins, it is the favor of God, it is the compassion that we receive where we had none, it is also the sparing of wicked evil. If not for God’s mercy I do not think that this planet will be still standing. And as I was reading the chapters for today this passage came to mind, [Revelation 21:6-8 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.]
I did not know where God was leading me this morning when He took me to this passage, but now it is coming to me. The Book of Judges contains twenty-one chapters, the author is Samuel and it was written to Israel. The timeline for these events took place approximately 1425 BC to 1120 BC. The purpose of the book was to record Israel’s behavior after the death of Joshua, their repeated sin, confessions, and the judges God sent to redeem them. What we are to learn from the book is that God’s chastisement gets us to turn away from sin and to the LORD, [Judges 10:15-16 And the children of Israel said unto the LORD, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day. 16 And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.]
While Joshua and Eleazar were around, the Israelites were strong in their faith in God and even though they did not drive out all the Canaanites as they were instructed, they were able to subdue them because God was with them. The Book of Judges starts were Joshua died, they immediately took the initiative and asked God who should go get the land that was inherited to them first.
[Judges 1:1-4 Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them? 2 And the LORD said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand. 3 And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot. So Simeon went with him. 4 And Judah went up; and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand: and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men.]
[behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.] So, God wanted the tribe of Judah to go up against the Canaanites first, since Judah and Simeon are actual brothers from the same father and mother and the first born, this sort of makes sense. As long as we have God’s favor He is going to give us the time, people, and abilities to obtain what He has promised us. Judah, was probably the most successful at driving out the Canaanites, an account is given again of Caleb’s territory and his daughter.
[Judges 1:8-13 Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it, and smitten it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire. 9 And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites, that dwelt in the mountain, and in the south, and in the valley. 10 And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron: (now the name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba:) and they slew Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai. 11 And from thence he went against the inhabitants of Debir: and the name of Debir before was Kirjathsepher: 12 And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjathsepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife. 13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.]
[and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.] I do not know if I could marry someone over a treaty, but then again maybe it is easier to grow up knowing that your plans are made out for you and you just have to prepare for it. It is also a bit exciting to have someone fight over you, so maybe it was a blessing, but nevertheless, Caleb’s daughter wen through with it with the promise that her father give her a blessing.
[Judges 1:15-19 And she said unto him, Give me a blessing: for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the nether springs. 16 And the children of the Kenite, Moses’ father in law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which lieth in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people. 17 And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. And the name of the city was called Hormah. 18 Also Judah took Gaza with the coast thereof, and Askelon with the coast thereof, and Ekron with the coast thereof. 19 And the LORD was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.]
[gave her the upper springs and the nether springs.] This reminds me of two things; One; we need to go to our Father God with our requests and Two; God, gives us more than we can ever ask for when we trust Him, [Ephesians 3:20-21 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.]
[but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley,] So, why was it that Judah could not drive out the Canaanites out of the valley? First of all, they were afraid of them because they had chariots of iron, but notice the key phrase in why they were able to drive them out of the mountain, [And the LORD was with Judah;]. Something must have happened that God was not with them at that time, but there is something to consider whenever God withholds His assistance, unbelief. Jesus, said this to the disciples when they could not help a boy who was possessed, [Matthew 17:20-21 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. 21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.]
While faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains, the key is having faith and sometimes spending just a little bit more time in prayer and fasting for God to increase our faith. I do not do this as often as I should, but I will ask God to help my unbelief, it is not that I do not believe God, but talk myself into believing that He will not do something for me. Of course, that is mainly the devil talking as he likes to get us to doubt God, but we start to see a pattern here as the rest of the tribes start to show some disbelief.
[Judges 1:21-22,24-26 And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day. 22 And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel: and the LORD was with them. 24 And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him, Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will shew thee mercy. 25 And when he shewed them the entrance into the city, they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let go the man and all his family. 26 And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called the name thereof Luz: which is the name thereof unto this day.]
[Shew us…the entrance…and we will shew thee mercy.] This reminds me of what we are to do as Christians, we are to show the lost how they can received the mercy of God and be saved from the fire. Jesus, will save the most vilest person of they only believe in and ask Him, but unless they know the truth, then there will be no mercy, [Romans 10:13-15 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!]
So, how does a nation go from being one under the protection and prosperity of God to one that does not? They start depending on their own strength. The stronger Israel got the less they relied on God, and instead of driving the Canaanites out they put them under tribute, meaning they spared their lives in exchange for money and of all things, slavery. The rest of the tribes are listed and shows how they allowed them to remain.
[Judges 1:28-31,33-35 And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out. 29 Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them. 30 Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became tributaries. 31 Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob: 33 Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Bethshemesh, nor the inhabitants of Bethanath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of Bethanath became tributaries unto them. 34 And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain: for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley: 35 But the Amorites would dwell in mount Heres in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim: yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so that they became tributaries.]
[the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain:] And here it begins, the weakest will always be the first to fall. This is one of those times when God sits back and watches what is going on, He allows some blessings, and for His people to do their own thing for a bit in an effort to get them to see that without Him they are powerless. God, watches as Israel started associating with those they failed to drive out, and was not happy.
[Judges 2:1-4 And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. 2 And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this? 3 Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you. 4 And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept.]
[ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?] How many times does God need to scream this out to us? We think that we can handle things on our own, but fail miserably, I know I do. Pride, is the number one reason why we disobey God. It really has nothing to do with giving into the lusts of our flesh or being rebellious to God, it is about our thinking that we can handle things in our own strength, [Proverbs 29:23 A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.]
We see the youth today and wonder what is wrong with them, well, they never were taught by their parents how to turn to God. The sad truth is that even among those who are saved, parents are guilty of not telling their children about the importance of repentance and how to endure those snares with Jesus. All it takes is one generation for God to be out of sight and out of mind, and this is exactly what happened with Israel.
[Judges 2:7,10-14 And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel. 10 And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. 11 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim: 12 And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger. 13 And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth. 14 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.]
[and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD,] Wow! Can you imagine an entire generation of people not being taught about God? This is how two things happen; One; People become reprobates and Two; Entire nations lose God’s protection. Things can turn around, but unless repentance comes into play, God, cannot and will not make one move, [Acts 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:]
We need to understand that these were not your normal every day sin, these were wicked evil sins like idolatry, sexual immorality, and human sacrifices. It really does take a lot to provoke God, so you can imagine how angered He must be when the very people that say that they love Him are living some wicked lives. There was one upside to all this, God, did protect those who were faithful, He also raised up some judges, faithful people who would stand up and lead the people back to God after they repented.
[Judges 2:16-19 Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. 17 And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; but they did not so. 18 And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them. 19 And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.]
[and corrupted themselves more than their fathers,] This reminds me of what Jesus said about those who receive Him in vain, [Matthew 12:43-45 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. 44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. 45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.]
Sin, is bad enough on its own without living the life of a Christian for a little while and not actually being saved. Once a person truly receives Christ as their Saviour nothing can separate Him from them, but that does not mean that one cannot get caught up in sin and making things much worse. Remember, Jesus healed many, but He also tells them to keep them to sin no more, [John 5:14 Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.]
Although God left Israel to fend for themselves when they were lost in their sin, He still had compassion on them if they repented. However, He would not longer drive anymore of the heathens out, it was time for them to prove to God that they were faithful to Him, [Judges 2:21-23 I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died: 22 That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not. 23 Therefore the LORD left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua.]
[That through them I may prove Israel,] [Snare; to bring into unexpected evil, perplexity or danger.] And this is why God allows those snares in our lives, we will either see His mercies and turn to Him in repentance or we will turn away in true rebellion, [2 Corinthians 7:10-11 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. 11 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.]
Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [Judges 2:1 And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.]
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, Thank You for Your mercy and grace to save a sinner like me. This life You have given me, it is not always easy, it comes with many tests, and yet it also comes with many joys as I watch Your purpose for them unfold. You promise the second we receive You as our Saviour that You will never leave nor forsake us, and we know that is a promise that You will never break. You only ask that we love You with all our heart, and when we do, You will always be there for us, even to help us overcome sin should we come to You in repentance. Lord, Lead us and guide us, prove us, open our hearts, and show us what we need to do to show the world that You are here. Give us Your power, Your strength, Your mercies, and Your grace to fight, put Your shield before us, and cover us from all evil. In ask this in Your name, Jesus, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
Are You 100% Sure You Are Going To Heaven?: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/ready-to-follow-jesus/
Receive The KJB Daily Devotions In Your Email: http://eepurl.com/2WMzT
Read Previous Devotions: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/
Read The Bible: http://kingjamesbible.imfollowingjesus.com/
Visit I’m Following Jesus: http://imfollowingjesus.com/index.html
Like I’m Following Jesus On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/byhisstrength
Copyright © 2024 I’m Following Jesus, All rights reserved.