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: Wednesday, April 03, 2024
Chapters: Judges Chapters 10-12
Message: Just The Truth Saves
Hello My Friend,
Last night I watched the worse rendition of Noah’s Ark that I have ever seen, they combined stories of Lot’s life with Noah’s life, which were two different timelines. Then they had them drifting on the water while fighting with those who somehow managed to survive until they were defeated and died off. I know that movie makers try to dramatize things in order to make the movies more appealing, but they obviously have never picked up a Bible and have no idea how much harm they are causing by misinterpreting it.
[Genesis 7:13-16 In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark; 14 They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort. 15 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life. 16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.]
God, Himself shut them in the ark until the waters abated, [Genesis 8:1,3-4 And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged; 3 And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated. 4 And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.]
The entire account of Noah and the Ark was a picture of Christ and how He saves the souls of those whom God remembers. I bring this up because we need to understand how important it is for those who want to know God to hear the truth, not some nonsense to try and win people over. God, has not changed His mind of what sin is.
[Romans 3:10-12,21-24 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:]
When you stop to think about it, there really is none that go out of their way to seek God, I will admit that I did not seek God until I had no idea where my life was going. I sought God when my sin was so far out of control that He was the only one to turn to, and that is when I found out the truth about Jesus and how much I need Him. This is actually why God allows the evils in our lives, they always point us to our Saviour, [1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.]
When we are reading through Judges we have seen God’s judgments upon Israel for the nine and a half tribes that lived on the land that God had given them, but we do not hear much about the other two and a half across the Jordan. As we continue in the reading of Judges, we learn of two more judges that protected and led Israel in their walk with God, and seemed to be doing well for about forty-five years. That was all about to change as we learn that Israel not only forsook God for one false god, but several.
[Judges 10:1-6 And after Abimelech there arose to defend Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in mount Ephraim. 2 And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir. 3 And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty and two years. 4 And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called Havothjair unto this day, which are in the land of Gilead. 5 And Jair died, and was buried in Camon. 6 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the LORD, and served not him.]
[and forsook the LORD, and served not him.] Things were so bad that God sold them into the hands of the Philistines and Ammonites, who had oppressed them on both sides of the Jordan for eighteen years. Of course, they cried out to God once again, but this time God had a message for them that they did not expect.
[Judges 10:8-14 And that year they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel: eighteen years, all the children of Israel that were on the other side Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead. 9 Moreover the children of Ammon passed over Jordan to fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore distressed. 10 And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, saying, We have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our God, and also served Baalim. 11 And the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines? 12 The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, did oppress you; and ye cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand. 13 Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more. 14 Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.]
[Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen;] God, will forgive us of our sins ten times over and even help us out of any situation that we have gotten into, but if we are not sincere we can forget about it. However, if we come to Him in complete humility and repentance, He will hear us once again, and that is exactly what they did.
[Judges 10:16-18 And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel. 17 Then the children of Ammon were gathered together, and encamped in Gilead. And the children of Israel assembled themselves together, and encamped in Mizpeh. 18 And the people and princes of Gilead said one to another, What man is he that will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? he shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.]
[What man is he that will begin to fight] Do you see how God grieves for our misery when we come to Him with sincere confession and repentance? Well, God, sent a God fearing man named Jephthah to judge, but the people frowned upon him, and rejected him. Why? His mother was a prostitute.
[Judges 11:1-2,5-6 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah. 2 And Gilead’s wife bare him sons; and his wife’s sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father’s house; for thou art the son of a strange woman. 5 And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob: 6 And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon.]
[thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father’s house;] How awesome is it that God does not discriminate against us by who our biological parents are? In fact, since He is our creator, I am pretty sure that He has a purpose for it. The people soon found out that they needed Jephthah too, only he was not so eager to help them.
[Judges 11:7-11 And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and expel me out of my father’s house? and why are ye come unto me now when ye are in distress? 8 And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore we turn again to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead. 9 And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, If ye bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon, and the LORD deliver them before me, shall I be your head? 10 And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The LORD be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words. 11 Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and captain over them: and Jephthah uttered all his words before the LORD in Mizpeh.]
[why are ye come unto me now] The sad truth is that we do not know how much we need Jesus until we have tried every other option there is, even those who grew up in the Church need to come to this conclusion as well. Until we see ourselves as; One; sinners, Two; unable to save ourselves, and Three; Jesus can save us, that is when we will find Him, [Matthew 7:7-8 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.]
We need to be careful of how we treat people, we do not know their situation, and we do not know how they live their lives. Making assumptions based on ones appearance, background, or past only makes us look like fools, as none of us are without sin. God, was about to use this man to show Israel that He accepts all who come to Him regardless of who their parents are. Jephthah, agreed to help them. First, Jephthah, tried to reason with the Ammonites, who claimed that they were just taking back land that belonged to them which was taken by Israel all the way back to their days in the wilderness.
[Judges 11:13,26-27 And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land, when they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and unto Jordan: now therefore restore those lands again peaceably. 26 While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her towns, and in Aroer and her towns, and in all the cities that be along by the coasts of Arnon, three hundred years? why therefore did ye not recover them within that time? 27 Wherefore I have not sinned against thee, but thou doest me wrong to war against me: the LORD the Judge be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon.]
[why therefore did ye not recover them within that time?] He does have a point, and can you believe that it was three hundred years since the Israelites took out the Ammonites? This is the same as these fools who are now trying to get restitution for the Indians and the slaves that were here hundreds of years ago. There is no wrong here, God is the judge, and He knows what He is doing when He takes from one and gives it to another, [Romans 9:19-20 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? 20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?]
We have no idea what purpose God has for the lives of those He brings into the world through some ungodly or unorthodox way, but all we need to understand is that God knows what He is doing. God, had a purpose for Jephthah, being full of the Holy Spirit he makes this unorthodox vow to offer whatever walked through his door as a sacrifice.
[Judges 11:30-32,34-35 And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, 31 Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering. 32 So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands. 34 And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter. 35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back.]
[thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me:] First of all, this brought Jephthah great confusion as God knew that his only daughter, the love of his life, whom he cherished dearly, would be the first person to walk through that door. Second; she would now become the sole property of God, never to marry, and to be used at the Lord’s pleasure however He felt the need. And three; God, would have never allowed her to be offered up as a human sacrifice, since Jephthah had no idea who or what could have walked though his door, the only logical solution was to follow through with the vow and he did.
[Judges 11:38-40 And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. 39 And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel, 40 That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.]
[who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed:] This was not like one of those vows that you say to God like, “I vow to read my Bible every day”, this was her saying, “God, has been good to us, if I never get married, then so be it, the most important thing is that God delivered us from the Ammonites.”. I will tell you this, the most honorable thing that we can ever do after we get saved is give our lives as a living sacrifice, [Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.]
After Jephthah led the people of Gilead to victory over Ammon here comes Ephraim again arguing that they were excluded from the battle. This time there was no reasoning with them, and a civil war broke out, and forty-two thousand Ephraimites needlessly lost their lives because of this.
[Judges 12:1-4 And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and went northward, and said unto Jephthah, Wherefore passedst thou over to fight against the children of Ammon, and didst not call us to go with thee? we will burn thine house upon thee with fire. 2 And Jephthah said unto them, I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon; and when I called you, ye delivered me not out of their hands. 3 And when I saw that ye delivered me not, I put my life in my hands, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and the LORD delivered them into my hand: wherefore then are ye come up unto me this day, to fight against me? 4 Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim: and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, Ye Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites, and among the Manassites.]
[I put my life in my hands…and the LORD delivered them into my hand:] Instead of passing judgment and attacking each other, we ought to be lifting up and encouraging each other, especially now. So many Christians are guilty of passing judgment on those who’s sins are prominent, rarely disregarding the fact that because their sins are not exposed, they too have some sin to overcome. Instead of fighting with them and demanding they stop, guide and nurture them in the way that God would have them go, not you, but God. Besides, not everything we see as sin is sin, God, knows exactly what is going on with all of His people,
[Romans 14:19-22 Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. 20 For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence. 21 It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak. 22 Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.]
Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [Judges 11:27 Wherefore I have not sinned against thee, but thou doest me wrong to war against me: the LORD the Judge be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon.]
Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You, for giving us a choice, we do not have to worship You, but if are going to say that we choose you, then all You ask is that we do so by first believing in and accepting Your Son as our Saviour. Now, we whom have received Christ as our Saviour have the joy of knowing that one day we will struggle no more, and enjoy eternal life with You. Until then, all You ask that we do is worship only You and as You have outline here in Your Word. It truly is a sword to those who take is seriously and accept the fact that we must worship you as it is written. So many people truly do want to worship You, they are just blind to the truth, open their eyes to see what we see. Give us Your power, mercy, and grace to become living sacrifices that enable us to reach the lost with the Gospel as a testimony that You have truly delivered us from Satan, the second death, and hell. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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