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, April 03, 2021
Chapters: Judges 10-12
Message: When It Comes To Pass
Hello My Friend,
I have to apologize, I completely forgot that yesterday was Good Friday, it was not until late last night that I realized it. No one fully comprehends what Christ did for us, even through we believe that He died on the cross for our sins and accept that He alone saves us from hell. And we know that we are saved by grace through our faith in Him alone, but we really cannot fathom the pain and humiliation that Jesus endured not only on the cross, but on those days prior to that. Even Jesus said to the disciples, [John 14:28-29 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.]
You see, we comprehend things through experience, until we are truly at the mercies of God, and are in so much pain that God is our only option, we cannot fathom the pain and humiliation that Jesus endured on the cross. Oppression and vexation, meaning distress, comes to all of us, sadly, most people never give God one thought, but there are a few who start to wonder if God is their answer. It actually does take someone who is faithful to God for us to have a curiosity about God. The judges that God used would keep Israel’s eyes on God, as soon as they died they quickly fell into the sins of the world, and forsook God. Up until now, we have seen what was going on on the land they inherited, now we see what is happening on the other side of the Jordan, in particular, Gilead. Some time had passed since Abimelech, the wayward son of Gideon made himself king and was overthrown and killed. Israel had some peace in the land as God used two more men to judge Israel, but once again we learn of their turning away from God and to false gods, this time God delivers them into the hands of the Philistines and Ammonites.
[Judges 10:6-9 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. 7 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon. 8 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.]
[so that Israel was sore distressed.] This is the land that the half tribe of Manasseh lived, they are now known as the Gileadites. For eighteen years they suffered, you have to wonder why people suffer so long before they come to Christ, but the truth is, until we are at our worst we cannot see the need for Christ. Most Christians even when they get saved at an early age cannot comprehend just was salvation is until they are in a situation that opens their eyes to truly understand the what Christ did for them. As usual, Israel cried out to God, but this time they got an answer that they did not expect.
[Judges 10:10-11,13-16 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? 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. 15 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.]
[wherefore I will deliver you no more.] Think about how merciful God is on those who practice false religion, or were saved in vain, there does come a time when those mercies run out and they either turn to Christ or end up in hell. [and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.] You see, it is only when we come to Christ, sincerely believing in who He is, repent of the false gods and religions and accept Him as our Saviour that God grieves our misery and saves us, [John 3:16-18 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.]
The world can quote John 3:16, but they will never quote John 3:18, they do not want to accept that hell is the only option for those who do not believe that Jesus, who was born of a virgin, died a sinless death on the cross for their sin, was buried, and arose to save only those who believe in Him. To the world and most religion, Jesus is some preacher man who became a martyr for his faith in God. At best, He is an outcast, and many reject Him as being the only begotten Son of God, which literally means that He is God in the flesh, and they know it. You know, Jesus is the outcast for a reason, as is all of us who truly believe and follow Christ. There was a man in the house of Gilead, his name was Jephthah, he was an outcast because his mother was a prostitute.
[Judges 11:1-7,10 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. 3 Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and went out with him. 4 And it came to pass in process of time, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel. 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. 7 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? 10 And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The LORD be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words.]
[and why are ye come unto me now when ye are in distress?] Do we always have to wait until we are in distress before we come to Jesus? As much as we live by faith in Him, we too are guilty of waiting until we are in distress before we cry out to Jesus. And it is not as though we are unfaithful to Him, we just get comfortable as He blesses us and start to get a little complacent. That is when God has to send some distress to remind us that He is among us, and we have not been noticing that, [II Corinthians 7:11 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.]
We need to be careful 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 and confronts the king on Ammon.
[Judges 11:13,15,20-21,26-27 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. 15 And said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah, Israel took not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon: 20 But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through his coast: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and pitched in Jahaz, and fought against Israel. 21 And the LORD God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they smote them: so Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country. 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.]
[three hundred years?] 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 when the settlers started taking over the land in the states. And by the way, they do get restitution already, there is quite a bit of land that the Indians own and make good money off the people of the land. 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 9:20-23 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? 21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? 22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,]
It is one thing for mature Christians to guide and teach the younger ones so that they can learn and grow in Christ, it is another to make someone be who you expect them to be, and then judge them because they are not following you. No one gets anywhere and succeeds unless it is in the 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 12:1-3,5-6 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? 5 And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites: and it was so, that when those Ephraimites which were escaped said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay; 6 Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand.]
[and when I called you, ye delivered me not out of their hands.] Instead of passing judgment and attacking each other, we ought to be lifting up and encouraging each other, especially now. There is a post that has been going around, something to the effect that if you drink, smoke, or commit fornication, go to church anyway. So many Christians are guilty of passing judgment on those who’s sins are prominent, but they do not know the situation, or the struggles they go through to overcome their sin, rarely regarding 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, [Galatians 5:14-16 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. 16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.]
Jesus Christ 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: Jesus, Thank You, for taking my place on the cross, for enduring the suffering and pain that You went through so that I might be able to spend eternity with You. Thank You for Your mercy and grace to save a sinner like me, I know there is nothing I need to do to repay You for my salvation, but I do not want to be someone that You just save, I want to be a witness and a testimony of your life in mine. Lord, Lead me and guide me, help me to walk the path You have given me, with the utmost faith, fill me with Your mercy and grace, show me how to give mercy and grace, and how to love as You love. Let me grow and become a reflection of You as I become completely dependent upon You, and trust the decisions that You have for me are for the best. Let me not be judgmental of others, rather teach righteous judgment, and have compassion on all sinners, just as You have compassion on me. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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