I'm Following Jesus – Page 1480 – Mark 8:34 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.

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: Monday, April 06, 2020
Chapters: Judges 19-21
Message: Jehovah Says It All

Hello My Friend,

I have a confession to make, as long as I have been reading and studying God’s Word, I never took the time to learn what Jehovah means. I will be honest and say that the reason had to do with the Jehovah’s Witness using His name. After studying what Jehovah means, I realize that they, just like the Church of Christ, have hijacked God’s names to imply that they are a true religion. I am sorry, but they are far from it, and these are just two examples of what Jesus calls as false prophets. All man made religion is Satan led, yes, it is the devil who leads them, and sadly, many follow. They are blind leaders leading the blind, and Jesus tells us what to do with them. “Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.” – Matthew 15:14.

So, what does Jehovah mean? Jehovah; Supreme Being; Permanent Being, to be fixed, to stand, to remain or abide. God’s name, Jehovah, is the eternal Spirit of God, the unchangeable God, who describes Himself as, I Am That I Am. This infallible, mysterious name belongs to each glorious person of the GODHEAD, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Jehovah, is every perfection of the divine nature of God Himself, eternity, immensity, sovereignty, omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscient, and the invisibility of the Lord. I AM THAT I AM, is all knowing, all seeing, and in control of all things. There is nothing that goes on in the world that Jehovah has not seen or does not know. There are far too many people, and these false religions prove it, doing what is right in their own eyes instead of actually doing what God says. They are blind to the truth, and have no reason to find it out either. As we finish up the Book of Judges, we learn of the tragic death of a woman whom a Levite married. The woman was known as his concubine, which means she was not a Levite or a Jew for that matter, she had no inheritance or significance. She cheated on him, and went to her father’s house, the Levite came for her.

“And his concubine played the whore against him, and went away from him unto her father’s house to Bethlehemjudah, and was there four whole months. And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak friendly unto her, and to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of asses: and she brought him into her father’s house: and when the father of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him. And when the man rose up to depart, he, and his concubine, and his servant, his father in law, the damsel’s father, said unto him, Behold, now the day draweth toward evening, I pray you tarry all night: behold, the day groweth to an end, lodge here, that thine heart may be merry; and to morrow get you early on your way, that thou mayest go home. But the man would not tarry that night, but he rose up and departed, and came over against Jebus, which is Jerusalem; and there were with him two asses saddled, his concubine also was with him. And when they were by Jebus, the day was far spent; and the servant said unto his master, Come, I pray thee, and let us turn in into this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it. And his master said unto him, We will not turn aside hither into the city of a stranger, that is not of the children of Israel; we will pass over to Gibeah.” – Judges 19:2-3,9-12.

“we will pass over to Gibeah.” This man will discover the hard way that one, he should not have left so late in the day, and two, he should have listened to the servant. There were men of Gibeah, who were of the children of Benjamin, who were pure evil, literally known as the sons of Belial, or the devil. They were sodomites, after getting completely wasted, these wicked men went to the house that the Levite and his wife were staying in.

“Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, and beat at the door, and spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thine house, that we may know him. And the man, the master of the house, went out unto them, and said unto them, Nay, my brethren, nay, I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into mine house, do not this folly. Behold, here is my daughter a maiden, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do not so vile a thing. But the men would not hearken to him: so the man took his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go. Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her lord was, till it was light. And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way: and, behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, and her hands were upon the threshold.” – Judges 19:22-27.

“that we may know him.” These men actually wanted to rape the man, instead her own husband handed her over to them “the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house,” To me this is one of the saddest, most tragic stories in God’s Word. It tears me up everytime I read it. No one deserves to be treated this way. So many tragic things happen to women, children, and even men because of someone else who had no concern for their lives. When things like this happen, we do question God, and why He allowed it, we must understand that this was not from God, He would never allow or condone this behavior at all. This is all the devil, and her husbands fault. While we all have freewill, there will always be some that abuse freewill, and take it upon themselves to cause harm on others. I will never forget the words of a pastor who said, “Everyone has freewill, but I will not allow someone’s freewill to abuse my daughter.” We must do whatever we can to not only protect ourselves from evil, but our loved ones as well. And when something as tragic as this happens, we can find blessings, comfort, peace, and even forgiveness when we trust God and seek His help.

“Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in 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. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.” – II Corinthians 1:3-5.

Remember, God will not only love and care for His own, He will get the vengeance on those who hurt His own. After all this took place, the entire congregation of Israel wanted vengeance on Gibeah now because their own lives were in danger. The Benjamites, however, were not going down without a fight, and a civil war broke out, Israel even went as far as going to God and asking Him what they needed to do to defeat the Benjamites, but it did not go as expected. “Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was gathered together as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba, with the land of Gilead, unto the LORD in Mizpeh. And the chief of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword. But the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities unto Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel. And the children of Israel arose, and went up to the house of God, and asked counsel of God, and said, Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin? And the LORD said, Judah shall go up first. And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites that day twenty and two thousand men.” – Judges 20:1-2,14,18,21.

“and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites that day twenty and two thousand men.” Why did God tell them to go up against them, only to lose all these lives? Well, the answer is in the Scripture, twice they went to God and lost men, but on the third try, they did it a little differently. “Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD. And the children of Israel enquired of the LORD, (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days,) saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease? And the LORD said, Go up; for to morrow I will deliver them into thine hand.” – Judges 20:26-28.

“for to morrow I will deliver them into thine hand.” Do you see what they did? They all humbled themselves before God, praying, fasting, seeking forgiveness of their sin, and reconciliation with Him. This is what all we Christians need to be doing right now to get rid of this virus. “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.” – James 4:8-11.

Does God want to see so many people suffer and die in hell? No! That is a choice every individual has to make. Why do you think He sent Jesus? He does not want one soul in hell. God’s people may get afflicted, some may even die, but there are two things we need to remember, God never leaves nor forsakes one soul who puts their faith and trust in His Son. And two, God gets the vengeance on those who hurt His people. God knew exactly what happened in Gibeah, and He was not going to let them get away with it. God did deliver Israel, and literally destroyed, all but four hundred Benjamite men, who had nothing at all to say to God. After the war came peace, but there was still a problem, there were four hundred men left of Benjamin, and no women, the tribes vowed to not to give their daughters to these men, instead they came up with a plan to keep the tribe. Even better, they asked God what they needed to do.

“Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife. And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore; And said, O LORD God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to day one tribe lacking in Israel? And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. And they found among the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any male: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan. And the whole congregation sent some to speak to the children of Benjamin that were in the rock Rimmon, and to call peaceably unto them. And Benjamin came again at that time; and they gave them wives which they had saved alive of the women of Jabeshgilead: and yet so they sufficed them not.” – Judges 21:1-4,12-14.

“and yet so they sufficed them not.” God never leaves one of His behind, He made a promise that every tribe would be saved from extinction, and He makes the same promise to every person who receives Christ as their Saviour. If we are saved, we are all part of the tribe of Christ. And yes, we are going to suffer affliction for sin, and we are going to face tribulation for making wrong decisions, but we must remember, we belong to Jehovah, and Jehovah belongs to us. “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.” – Isaiah 12:2.

Today’s Prayer: God, You truly are Jehovah in the highest, and I thank You for showing me the truth and setting me free from false religion. As one of Yours I know the importance of seeking You for help, and You proved that many times. There have been times when I have made decisions out of ignorance or even lust, and was chastened until I repented, then there are times when I suffer because I was around others whom have sinned. While I do not always understand the affliction I face, I do understand that every thing I go through will have a blessing behind it. As long as I seek Your counsel with a pure heart, and listen to Your decision, I know I will get the victory. Lord, Lead me and guide me in this life that You have given me, by faith and obedience to Your Word, keep my eyes on You so that I am prepared to handle the affliction that comes, and let me not do what is right in my own eyes, but Yours. Keep me humble, always coming to You in prayer and fasting. Show me the way to endure all the suffering I face so that others will see Your Son. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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