The Days of the Judges

… The book of Judges is a very sad book in many respects. It opens on a very high note, two tribes dependent upon the Lord and concerned about acquiring the territory that belonged to them in the purpose of God, a very noble ideal, clearly people operating in the mind of the Lord. When we come to the end of the book, we find a very, very sad condition. There was no king in Israel in those days, and every man did that which was right in his own eyes. No direction, no order, no law, independency, lawlessness. What a sad end to a promising start. Now this book rises to quite high heights of faith and courage, and sinks to abysmal depths of sin and lawlessness and wickedness. And I believe in many ways it represents the day in which we find ourselves. The people of God, many of them concerned about things in the sight of God and seeking help from the Lord to do what is right. Unfortunately, many others professing the name of Christ, not concerned about his glory or about his truth. It occupies a very interesting place in the history of God's dealings with his people Israel. On the one hand, there is the glorious dual leadership of Moses and Joshua. Moses, the great deliverer out of Egypt, the lawgiver, the leader through the wilderness, great man of God, a man who spoke to God face to face, a man who was indeed for God in every sense of the word. Joshua, his successor, leading the nation into the land, possessing much of the territory, setting a personal example to the nation, exhorting them not to serve other gods, and that he himself and his house, in spite of all that was against them, would serve the Lord. On the other hand, we find the great recovery beginning with the Amorabitess maiden, Ruth, and the recovery of Naomi, paving the way for the introduction of Hannah and Samuel and David and Solomon, the great heights to which Israel rose under the power and the might of God. And here, in these two great peaks of glory and blessing, we find this valley of darkness, this valley of failure, this valley of departure from God. Thank God there are those who shine brightly in it, men and women, inspired with a desire to be true to God, a desire to be faithful in a day when many were being unfaithful. I think we can view the great leadership of our Lord Jesus Christ and all that he accomplished on Calvary's cross in the beginning of the church period. What a triumph! What glory was there, beloved brethren! Thank God what began then still exists. Oh, what a wonderful day that was! Power of the Spirit of God, souls being converted, assembly set up, the testimony of God circulating throughout the world, a time of unparalleled blessing and spiritual prosperity. It was not very long before that came to an end—divisions, troubles, sin, strife. After the death of the apostles, there was scarcely anything that was recognizable to what began at Pentecost. So much evil had crept in, so much false doctrine. But God, in his mercy, granted recovery, and down through the history of the church we find men and women of God rising above the prevailing conditions. Faith in God, dependence in God, refusing to acquiesce in the conditions, concerned to overcome for the pleasure and for the glory of God. And the history of the church is bright with those names—names that are revered amongst us—men and women who fought valiantly for the truth down through the ages. And we wouldn't be here this evening if it hadn't been for their faithfulness. Unfortunately, many of those great movements declined. After the leaders died, after the fresh exercise of those men and women of God declined, there came deadness and failure and departure. And this has marked every movement of God right up to the present moment. But again I say, thank God, in spite of all the departure, there have always been those who desired, in the fear of God and in the power of the Spirit of God, to be true to him. And I challenge your heart as well as my own. Will this be our attitude to the prevailing declension that we find in our own day? Will the book of Judges provide for us help, stimulation that we might desire above all else to be here for God in spite of all that is around? Now let us say at the very beginning that this that we find at the beginning of the chapter is something that's extremely encouraging. Two tribes desirous of obtaining their inheritance. And they exhibited two features that we might well covet today. First of all, dependence upon God. They asked the Lord what they were to do. And secondly, fellowship in attaining what they desired. Notice in verse one, the children of Israel asked the Lord, saying, who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first to fight against them? Now there is the secret of true prosperity before God. There was dependence upon God. The great leader had gone. Joshua had departed. They might well have thrown up their hands in despair and said, there's no one to lead us. There's no one to guide us. There's no one to help us. But they didn't. They turned to God. It is quite startling that all through the Bible, whenever a leader dies, there seems to be failure following. This was true in the apostolic day. Didn't Paul warn the Ephesian elders in Acts chapter 20, when he says, after my departure, evil men shall spring up amongst you and shall lead the way disciples after themselves. False prophets after my departure. You see the power, the strength, the direction of the apostles leadership was sufficient to keep at bay those evil things. But when he died, it seemed there was a great barrier removed and evil men began to work. Now this has always been true. But oh, there's this wonder in Christianity that no matter how great the leader is, he pales into insignificance in relation to our great leader, our Lord Jesus Christ. The saints of God are never without a leader. They always have a leader. They always have one to whom they can turn, the Lord Jesus Christ, the captain of our salvation. He is always and always will be the head of the body. No one can take this glory from him. He is the great high priest. He is the son over God's house. He is the one who is always available for his people. And it has been well said that God buries his servants and carries on his work. The servants may be great, but they're not indispensable. The Lord Jesus Christ is always with his own so we can take courage. We are sad that there are more men of God amongst us compared with days that have gone by. More men able to expound the scriptures, able to show us the way to live and to understand the truth. We would value their help today, but they aren't here. But we must go on. And the Lord Jesus has vouchsafed his presence to us to encourage us and help us in spite of all the difficulty. And I suggest to you, dear brethren, that from this passage there is the greatest possible encouragement. Dependence upon the Lord in prayer, whether individually or collectively, and practical fellowship with each other are means that we can well use at all times to combat the evil tendencies of the day. Now, when the Lord saw this active amongst his people, this dependency and this fellowship, the Lord delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand. You see, the Lord was with them. It wasn't now Joshua. He wasn't in the forefront fighting the battles, directing the battle. The Lord was with them. After all, it was the Lord who delivered when Joshua was leading. Joshua might be in the forefront. He might be the spokesman. He might be the man whom God was using, but it was still the Lord who was winning the battles. It was the Lord who helped Moses. It was the Lord who helped David. It was the Lord who helped every servant of God down through the ages. But there was no outstanding man here. At least it doesn't appear to be so. They were men who were dependent, men who were willing to help each other. And the Lord delivered their enemies into their hands. Dear brethren, I'm not suggesting that we'll do miraculous things, sensational things, but I do take courage from this portion that where we exercise dependence upon the Lord and where we seek to help each other, something really worthwhile can be secured in the inheritance that belongs to us. We hold on to it in a practical way. We enjoy it in a deeper fashion. If this dual thing is in evidence, prayer and fellowship with each other, never alone. Those with whom we can walk, those with whom we can worship, those with whom we can face the problems of the day and find courage and find strength. So, dear brethren, keep praying and keep assembling together and find our joy in each other's company. We know that the inheritance that belonged to Israel was an earthly one. They failed to secure it because of their unfaithfulness and their disobedience. We know that we have an inheritance. We have it in Christ. There is a future inheritance that we shall share. Thank God for that. We shall share it with him. But we have a wide range of eternal blessings, a wide range of spiritual blessings, which are secure and centered in Christ. And each one of us is responsible to God and privileged of God to enter into these things and to enjoy them. I believe that we don't enter into them simply by having them on our bookshelves or even just having them in our minds as certain truths to be known and to be enjoyed in that fashion, but truths that are to take hold of our lives and govern us in our lives so that all can see that these things are paramount in our lives. These are the things that really matter. These are our inheritance. This is what we really believe. This is what we seek to lay hold of. This is what we seek to maintain. We never can unless we express this dependence on God and also in practical fellowship with each other. We find in this man, Othniel, one of the bright lights of the book of Joshua. His name means Lion of God or Force of God. Different people give different interpretations to his name. But whichever interpretation we like, we can see that it means there is power with this man. There is strength with this man. As we examine his life in the few details that we have of it, this name that he bears is amply borne out. First of all, what a favored young man he was. He belonged to the royal tribe Judah, that tribe from which our Lord Jesus Christ came, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. He was one who set forth features that eventually were expressed in perfection in the Lord Jesus Christ himself. He was a man who was prepared to fight to overcome the enemy. He was a man who fought to secure for himself a wife. He was a man who was governed by the Spirit of God and was used of God to secure great things for himself and for his people. I mean for God and for his people. These features that came to light in Othniel were seen in perfection in the great Lion of the tribe of Judah, our Lord Jesus Christ. He answered to the challenge. Oh, what a challenge it was. Satan faced him with this challenge. Immediately he set out in his public pathway. The temptations that we read in the scriptures. What a challenge. But he met that challenge and he overcame it. He overcame the great enemy of the people of God. He too loved the church and gave himself for it. He loved it that he might secure it for himself, that he might have it for his own heart's desire and blessing. He too was governed by the Spirit of God. I use that word in a cautious sense. I do not mean that there was any possibility in the life of Jesus that he would in any way rebel against God or that he required to be controlled by the Spirit. I mean that in the gospels we find every step of the pathway of Jesus was in the power of the Spirit. And in the power of that Spirit he offered himself up to God without spot on the cross at Calvary. But we don't want to speak about the Lord tonight, precious as that is. It would be better if we spoke about him in one sense. But here is a portion of the word that speaks about one who had features that were like the Lord Jesus, Othniel, this courageous man. I think we could divide his life into two portions. First of all, the challenge that came to him and secondly, the committal that was given to him. He came from this royal tribe, a favored tribe that was a good position to be in. But not only was he in a good position, he expressed in his life that he was a real man of God. He was a real son of Judah, if you like. Judah was the tribe that was to reign. This is so we find in Moses' blessing of the tribes in Deuteronomy 33. The scepter shall not depart from Judah. Now here was one who was imbued by that Spirit. Here was one who says, right, I'm prepared to fight in order to secure this territory. It belongs to us and I'm going to fight to secure it. It was Caleb who gave the challenge and he gave a wonderful promise too that for anyone who was prepared to overcome the city, there would be his daughter as a wife. Now Othniel, he answered to this challenge and he fought against the city Kirjath-sever. We understand that the name of this city means city of a book. I should say the meaning of its name is this, the city of the book. Now without being imaginative, I believe that we could suggest that this represents all the accumulated wisdom and knowledge that man has acquired down through all the ages of his culture, all the things that he boasts in, all the things that he has accumulated in opposition to God. My, the libraries are full of that, aren't they? And there's nothing to help the soul. There's nothing to lead us to God. Indeed, it would all take us away from God. And we are reminded in the second chapter of first Corinthians that man by wisdom knew not God. And the princes of this world, they did not know the wisdom of God. If they had known it, they wouldn't have crucified the Lord of glory. And that skull, the place of a skull, really set forth the features of man's empty knowledge. No eyes to see God, no ears to hear anything about God, no tongues to speak for God, nothing in the mind to be held for God. The skull, an empty thing, man's wisdom. Now, this was the kind of thing that Caleb overthrew. He answered to the challenge. We might almost say, he said, there's only one thing that I'm concerned about is doing God's will in overthrowing all this that man boasts in and securing the city for God. There was certainly going to be blessing for him. This was, we might say, a secondary thing in one sense. The first thing was acquiring the territory that really belonged to God and his people. When the ark of the covenant went over the river Jordan, the name of the ark was the ark of the Lord of all the earth. And because the ark went over and the nation behind it, the nation was to secure the land for God, that it might be for his pleasure and his people in it. But conflict had to be waged in order to make this a reality. And so Caleb says, if anyone's prepared to fight and overcome Kirjatsipha, I'll give him Ahsa, my daughter, for a wife. Well, not only was Othniel a member of a favored tribe, he had a very famous uncle, Caleb, a man who wholly followed the Lord. What a man Caleb was, faithful man, devoted man. And we read in the book of Joshua that there came the moment when he said, now he says, I'm as strong today as I was when I set out on the wilderness journey. And he was well over 80 when he said that. And for 40 years, he had gone through the desert with Israel. And in his heart, there was the faith that lay hold of the land. He was prepared to share all the vicissitudes of the wilderness. He was prepared to accept the government of God because of the failure of the others. But always in his heart was the desire of the land. I had the faith to go in and take it, but others wouldn't help me. And the time came when he had the opportunity and he proved that he had the faith and he had the strength and he overcame the territory that was rightly his and he acquired it. Now here is Othniel, the nephew of this great man. Now he showed the same characteristics. Wouldn't it have been a wonderful thing if all the nephews and sons of the men of God were still following in the pathway of faith? But they haven't. Unfortunately, many of them have given up. Many of them have no interest in divine things. But here was a true follower of his uncle. Here was one who exhibited exactly the same features, courage, determination, faith, in order to do the things that were pleasing to God. And he overcame the city. It's a great thing when men are prepared to turn aside from man's knowledge with all its boasted heights and accept God's will and God's direction. I remember a young man who at one time was a very bright young Christian. He was a very intellectual young man, but there came a moment in his life when he didn't want to be connected with the few despised Christians in the university city where he was. When he occupied a chair in that university city, he said that his students wouldn't think very highly of him if he identified himself with the few Christians who were meeting there gathered to the Lord's name. He despised them. There may come the day when his students will despise him. He made a choice for this world's wisdom, this world's position, and he refused the company of the few despised ones who sought to be true to the Lord according to the truth. And many others have failed in exactly the same way. This world's knowledge, with all its charm and with all the preeminence that it gives to people, seems to be too great an obstacle for young people to overcome. And they get carried away with it, and they would rather have that than the truth of God. But Othniel, he overcame. He wasn't going to be overcome by man's boasted knowledge, however great it was. He overcame, and in overcoming, he got a wonderful blessing. Marvelous thing to have a good wife, a wife with spiritual desires, and that's what Othniel found. A woman who was urgent in desiring blessing, she asks Othniel to ask her father a blessing, and we get the impression that perhaps Othniel was a little slow. So she jumps down herself, and she goes to her father, and she asks this blessing. Give me a blessing, she says. Give me the upper and the nether springs. What a wonderful woman to have as a companion, one who was urgent in desire, one who knew what to ask for, something worthwhile. Now, I'm not going to attempt to spiritualize these two wells or two springs, the upper and nether springs, except to say that above all things, it represents real life and refreshment. Those who have been in the Middle East know something about the scarcity of good, clean, fresh water. What a boon it is, very, very scarce in many parts, something to be desired. Oh, for a spring of cold, clear, fresh water. It means life. It means refreshment. It means health. It means wealth, too, for cattle and for produce. And this was one of the things that was promised by God in the book of Deuteronomy, a land flowing with brooks, with springs of water, an abundant supply of water. And here is this dear woman, she's asking for these two springs. She wants refreshment in her life. She wants life there, real life that she can depend upon. Now, we may make a reservoir, we may do all sorts of things in relation to water, but a spring is something that sovereignly comes from God, is it not? It's something that is there, something that he has provided. It's something that springs up with life and vitality, and it's fresh and pure and clean. We read in the days of Genesis about the conflict that went on in relation to springs of water, and when they were filled up with earth, they had to be re-dug so that the springs would come forth with all the refreshing vigor. Now, here was a woman who says, I want two springs of water, and her father gave them to her. That was his present to her, and she was his present to Othniel. So he was wonderfully blessed. And this is the whole point of this story, dear brethren, that conflict is worthwhile. It's easy to give up, isn't it? Some particular problem in your life, some particular spiritual matter that requires to be entered into with God in conflict, and perhaps we're not finding the blessing, we're not finding the victory, and it's so easy to say, well, what's the use? I'm not going to worry anymore. I'm not going to seek that victory that I was so concerned about. I'm going to give up. Now, Othniel says, I'm going to win. I'm determined to win. And he did, and what a wonderful recompense he got. Now, I don't think for one moment that we should approach the difficulties of our spiritual lives just simply for having the joy of saying, I've won. That's surely a very low standard of spiritual desire. It's surely that we might be better equipped to represent God, that there might be more testimony in our lives, that there may be something worthwhile in our lives of a permanent character. After the battle was waged, and Othniel and Achsa went about arm in arm, people would say, there's the fruit of a man's courage. There is to be seen the value of a man who was prepared to fight for something, and look what he's obtained. There would be a witness, a continual witness of his courage, and of his faith, and of his sterling worth. There was the evidence of victory secure. Didn't Paul say to Timothy that he was to apply himself diligently to the things of the Lord, that his profiting might appear unto all? There would be the evidence in Timothy's life of a life devoted to God in earnest spiritual conflict, and that not only would be of personal profit to him, but would be of benefit to the saints of God also. And that is the real secret of conflict in connection with the things of the Lord. I don't think there is any Christian here who is without conflict. We cannot be Christians without some sense of conflict. Satan attacks us every day of our lives, would overthrow us in our testimony if he could. Thank God for spiritual conflict and determination to overcome. Now in the second portion that I read, it's just reiterating what I've said already, that when the leader of the people of God dies, a very serious condition can afterwards prevail. And this is what happened. Verse 10, a generation arose which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done Those who have read Mr. Darby's letters will remember that he often wrote that he and his companions had to endure in great conflict in order to secure the truths that God had so graciously given to them. They sacrificed a lot, but they did not give up. They did not give up what was graciously given to them. They sacrificed a lot. They endured a great deal of reproach, but they did secure a large part of the inheritance. What he feared was people coming into the enjoyment of these things or into the position where they were known without sufficient spiritual exercise to maintain those truths in power and testimony. And I think perhaps that's one of the reasons of the consequent declension of brethren testimony. People taking a position, occupying a position, without the exercise that belonged to it. Here was a generation. They arose. They didn't know the Lord. They didn't know his works. That seems strange. In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses instructed the fathers and mothers of Israel and said, now when your child asks, what do these things mean? Well, you explain them to the children, he says, and you explain all the history connected with those different occasions of coming together and the different events connected with the history of Israel. Here we find the responsibility of conveying the truth of the Lord lies very definitely upon the shoulders of the fathers and mothers, that the children were to be taught the great events connected with the history of Israel and the Lord's blessing to them. Now, if a generation arose that knew not the Lord or knew not his works, does it not infer that there was a lapse in the teaching of the fathers and mothers? Does it not infer that here was a generation that was untaught in relation to the Lord and his works? And because they didn't know the Lord and because they didn't know his works, it was so easy to give up. They had nothing to hold on to. They were in a position with no living exercise connected with it, and it's so easy to give up something that you're not concerned about. So they forsook the Lord and they worshipped idols. Very, very sad condition. But you see, you can't do that in your life and get away with it. It's not just so easy as that. You can't profess to be a Christian and follow after idols and expect everything in the garden to be lovely. It wasn't so in Israel's case, and it won't be in our case. There won't be any spiritual joy. There won't be any life and power in our lives. If all that we are concerned about is idols and for ourselves, it means pleasing ourselves and following the bent of our natural desires. Now, there's no joy towards God in Christ or any power and testimony in such a life. And that is why we are so thankful to turn to a man like Othniel, who seeks in the power of the Spirit of God to retrieve some of the fallen fortunes of Israel. And so in the chapter that we read, chapter three, it says when the children of Israel were given over into the hands of their enemies, they cried aloud to the Lord. They felt the burden of this government that was upon them because of their unfaithfulness, and they cried to the Lord. Verse nine, and when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel, the son of Cain, Caleb's younger brother. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel and went out to war. I think the inference is that he judged Israel for 40 years, and as long as he judged Israel, there was blessing amongst them. Here is the committal that comes so soon after the challenge was met and secured. This is the kind of person that God desires to use. God delights to use a man who has proved himself in personal conflict in relation to the things of God—an overcomer. This is the kind of person that the Spirit of God will use for blessing amongst the Saints. But I think it is good to see that the children of Israel felt their position. Brethren, do we really feel our weakness and poverty at the present moment? Are we really concerned about it before God? Can we look down with vision, if the Lord does not come, as to what the outcome will be in a few years? Those who are able to teach, can we make it a matter of real concern before God that the present generation is taught adequately and correctly in view of the years that are ahead if the Lord does not come? That responsibility rests upon those who are older to make sure that the younger generation are correctly taught in view of the continuance of the testimony, as we know it, through grace. These people felt very keenly the prevailing conditions, and they cried to the Lord. Brethren, let us cry to the Lord that he will raise up those who are able to help us in our present weakness, that there might be blessing and encouragement and food amongst the Saints of God in these last days until the Lord comes. The Lord heard the cry. He always hears genuine cries for help, not selfish cries or the pitiful breathings of casualness, but the real cryings, the concerns of the people of God in relation to need. He cried, and where did he turn to? To a proved man, a man who was reliable. He raised up Othniel, and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him. Othniel wrought mightily, as he had done before at Kirjathsever, not to secure something for himself now, but for the people of God, for God's interests. This wasn't a personal matter. This was a matter of concern with God himself and his beloved people. All personal interests were at a side. He was prepared to accept this committal that had been given to him, a deliverer raised up by God. Now, I don't think we should look upon ourselves as deliverers and think upon ourselves as some official person to be recognized amongst the Saints of God. I'm not thinking about that for a moment, but each one in our own lives, overcoming and providing in the power of the Spirit something of benefit for the people of God. In the Bible readings, in the ministry meetings, in our personal contact with the Saints, in opportunities of visitations, in any way in which we can help the present prevailing conditions. Othniel was used of God. After eighty years, this testimony was raised up. Othniel hadn't lost any of his exercise or any of his strength in the intervening period. Then, for forty years, he judged Israel. There was a time of apparent prosperity and blessing. Unfortunately, we know that they weren't consolidating the time of blessing that they had secured. It was apparent strength, but it was only revealed as weakness after Othniel died. Oh, dear brethren, the moments that we have that are available for us to consolidate what we have are valuable moments. It's not for us to turn to the Lord for strength when we wasted the intervening moments when we could have been enjoying something of the things that God has given to us. We are required to be gathering up strength to consolidate what God has given us so that when the time of pressure and trial comes, we are able to stand. Othniel was faithful in the personal challenge. He was faithful in the committal that God gave to him. May we, in our day, be found in the same way, overcoming in our individual lives, ready to help as governed by the Spirit of God. We should say in closing that there is this vast difference between the Spirit's power and activity in the Old Testament and that in the New. The Spirit of the Lord came upon Othniel and as long as he required his power, it was there for him. Until the day he died, I believe he knew something of the power of the Spirit of the Lord upon him. But like David, the Spirit might be taken from him, or should I say Saul? The Spirit of the Lord was taken from Saul. Now, that could never happen at the present moment. We are sealed with the Spirit of God until the day of redemption. The Spirit of God indwells our hearts, our bodies until the day the Lord comes for us or until the day we die. If we are unfaithful, that's a very sad thing, but we won't lose the Spirit of God. He's always with us. The Lord promised that he would be with us forever. Isn't it sad then that in a day that is marked by glory and blessing and wonderful opportunity, we might fail to take advantage of the power and blessing that is there for us? May the Lord help us to be stimulated by the example of such a man as Othniel. One thing that I ought to have said at the beginning, and I'll say it now, we find exactly the same story in the book of Joshua. It is repeated here in the book of Judges, exactly the same word for word. Is it something that has just slipped in? No, dear brethren. It means that Othniel, in a day of blessing and prosperity and power, is portrayed as a man of courage and faith and a man who works for God. The same story is brought in in a book that tells us of great weakness, great difficulty, great departure, and the moral is obvious that in days of prosperity and in days of weakness, the same opportunity is open to all to be faithful to the Lord. The Lord helps those who are thoroughly committed to his interests and who take up the challenge to be an overcomer. Thank God for those who overcame in days of prosperity. Thank God for those who overcome in days of weakness. May it be our portion for his namesake. …

… That when leaders in Israel fell, or when they died, the people lost heart, they disobeyed, they followed after other gods, and they incurred the wrath of God against them. God in his mercy raised up deliverers to be a help to the nation. We saw last night that Othniel was the first savior, or judge, or deliverer whom God raised up for the benefit of his people. And after he died, the same thing happened as before. After Joshua died, the people went into disobedience and followed after other gods. After Othniel died, the same thing happened. And now we find in the portion that we've read together, the nation is under bondage to the king of Moab, and under bondage for a period of 18 years. Now this wasn't directly because the king of Moab was a courageous man and vanquished the nation of Israel. The real cause was the failure and disobedience of the people. No nation would have been able to stand against Israel if Israel had remained faithful to the word of God. But because Israel was unfaithful, because Israel disobeyed, then they came under bondage in different ways. Now we should say in attempting to apply these Old Testament scriptures to ourselves today, that there is a vast difference between the blessing that the people had in that day and the blessing that we have today. That is, we're not under law. We don't attempt to keep the law in order to get blessing from God. We are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ on the ground of sovereign mercy. Our blessings are eternal, secured in Christ. They will never be taken from us. But the blessings in Israel's day were consequent upon their believing God and being obedient to his law. And, of course, when they failed in that, they forfeited their blessings. But we ought to say this, that in the Old Testament and in the New Testament there are similar features. Obedience is one of them. The nation of Israel was responsible to be obedient. Nations are responsible to be obedient. There is the government of God consequent upon failure, equally true in that day, equally true in this day. So there are various other things that we will take account of that are common to the days in which we live and the days of Israel. Blessings that are consequent upon obedience and government that is consequent upon disobedience. So if we keep these things in mind, I think we'll understand the simple application. Now first of all, the king of Moab. We learn from many passages who Moab was and his descendants. And first of all, he had a very sad beginning. Moab, the son of Lot, was the result of a sinful act. And all down through his history, the people who followed him, called Moabites, exhibited the same kind of features, evil features, in opposition to God. Let me quote some of them. You remember in Numbers 22, Balak, the king of Moab, hired Balaam, the false prophet, to curse the people of God. There, Balak is being true to his parentage. He's being true to that evil beginning. He's exhibiting those evil features of opposition to God and to God's people. When we come to Numbers 25, we find the daughters of Moab were a snare to the sons of Israel. And through fornication and idolatry, they brought terrible sin and its evil consequences into the nation. They too were true to their parentage. We find that God gave a very definite commandment against Moab. In Deuteronomy, he says, a Moabite and an Ammonite are not to come into the congregation of the Lord forever. There was God's command against a Moabite. In the book of Isaiah, chapter 16, we find God describing the characteristics of Moab that merited judgment. And he said, Moab is arrogant and proud and wrathful. There were three evil features connected with the Moabite—arrogant, proud, and full of wrath. Now, the king of Moab, I believe, in this section that we've read, represents all those evil features, and it would seem to me that in our application of them to ourselves, it would mean that if we as Christians become disobedient to God's word, there is a danger that we'll be overcome by those features that are set forth in the king of Moab. We'll become arrogant, proud, wrathful, evil, independent of God, and morally we'll lose our place amongst the people of God for any effective testimony. This then is how we're seeking to apply what the king of Moab stands for. Moab could quite easily have claimed kinship with Israel. Abraham and Lot were relatives. Abraham, you remember, saved Lot out of his position in Sodom and Gomorrah. But there the likeness ceased. All the sons of Abraham, or should I say, on the line of faith, beginning with Isaac, miraculously born to him, all those who followed in that line were men of faith and power for God. Lot's posterity, Moab, Ammon, the inveterate enemies of Israel, and they proved it at every moment in Israel's testimony. All was against the people of God. Now, Moab could quite easily have said, now, we're relatives of yours. We have the same ties. We're in the same position in a certain sense. We ought to be together and help each other. And that, of course, has been a plea down through the ages and right up till the present moment. But we shall see that there is a very great divergence between those who are truly of Abraham, children of faith, and those who are of Moab, the enemies of God's interests. Look at the companions that Moab had, Ammon, another enemy of Israel, and Ammon, another enemy of Israel. There are no friends in Moab's company, friends of Israel, they're all enemies. God, as we have said already, they were not to remain in the Lord forever, and Ammon said, go back, there is to be war forever. No let up in the war against Amalek. They are against the throne of God, they are arrogant, they are possessive, and God says there's to be war against them right to the end. Now, here's this confederacy, a very formidable one, against the nation of Israel, Ammon, Moab, and Amalek. How is this going to be met? It doesn't appear that any of them are very greatly concerned, but during the 18 years it doesn't appear that anyone attempted to relieve this bondage. No one had the resourcefulness. Robert of Mersey was able to do something about this bondage, and now Ehud is a different kind of man, as we shall see. But I wonder, he represents a man who is perfectly satisfied with his surroundings, what he is natural, what is pleasing, what is advantageous to him. He's a very fat man, the scripture says, and this has to be recognized in various other parts of scripture as representing a serious condition before God, a condition that usually ends in independence and failure. We can look at it naturally, he wasn't a man who was given to physical exercise, he wasn't a man who was full of energy and vitality, he was rather a man who was enjoying all that was there available for him, and consequently he was in this bloated condition that indicated a physical condition that wasn't very good. Now that's the natural picture, but it has a spiritual import. In Deuteronomy 32, God said, when Jeshurun, the name means the righteous people, when the righteous people waxed fat, they kicked, they forsook God, and they lightly esteemed the rock of their salvation. Now what it means simply is, once the nation got all the blessings that God gave to them, once they entered into the land, the vineyards, the cornfields, the minerals, the supplies of water, after they had everything that God gave them in his sovereign grace and mercy, they forgot God. They forgot the one who had given them all these blessings, and they lightly esteemed the God of their salvation. Was it possible, dear brethren, that they could ever forget the bondage of Egypt? Could they ever forget the miracle of the Red Sea? Could they ever forget the wonder of crossing the Jordan, the destruction of Jericho, and all the other blessings? Could they forget these things? Indeed they did. They forgot God, and they lightly esteemed the rock of their salvation. Now this is the kind of condition that Eglin represents in his bloated condition before God. Is there a New Testament parallel to this? I believe there is. When the Lord wrote to the church of Laodicea, he indicated a similar condition of things. The Lord condemned Laodicea, and he said of them, you're rich, you're increased with goods, you have need of nothing. This at least was what they said, and the Lord was passing judgment on them. This was their condition, independent, self-satisfied, enjoying all that they had, a people gathered out to the name of the Lord, the assembly at Laodicea, gathered out to the name of the Lord. What does it say? The Lord is outside. He's not in their thoughts. They've forgotten all the wondrous things that God did for them. They've forgotten all the blessings that they had received. What a condition, what an indictment against any company of Christians. I believe this condition of Eglin represents that kind of thing. But he was a tyrant, he was an enemy of the nation of Israel, and he had to be dealt with if the nation was to get liberty. So the Lord, in his sovereign mercy, raised up Ehud. Now we want to speak about him. I know it's very dangerous to give the meanings of names because different expositors suggest different names, but one that has been suggested, connected with Ehud, is confessor. That's the meaning of his name, confessor. Now if you have another name, well, we're not going to quarrel about it, but for the purpose of our meeting tonight, we'll take this meaning, that Ehud means confessor. Now I understand that confession in the New Testament, the meaning of the word means this, a person with an inward conviction. It's not simply saying, I give my mental assent to a thing, I agree with it, without giving any thought to it, without any concern of the mind about it. Yes, oh yes, I agree with that, yes, that's all right, and never really giving any serious thought to the matter, whatever it might be. Ehud was a confessor, he was a man with an inward conviction, and of course we have the slightest doubt that when the Lord raised this man up, he didn't only say to him, well, I'm going to give you immense power to deal with this enemy, I believe it meant that he worked in Ehud's heart and conscience and produced in Ehud a conviction that he was going to lead the people of God, and it was just and righteous cause, so that Ehud was not only leading the people because of the position that God gave to him, but he was doing it because he believed in it. Oh, what a wonderful thing this is when we come to the New Testament. Didn't Luke in his gospel write to people, and when he wrote he said, things that are most surely believed amongst us. Now there's the evidence of inward conviction. It's not that we've read the matter up well and we know it in all its terms, there's an inward conviction of conscience and heart that tells us these things are true and they're worth fighting for and they're worth holding on to. We are inwardly convicted that these things are right. Didn't Paul write to Timothy and remind him of the things that he was fully persuaded of? The things that he really knew and was persuaded were true. Now isn't that a very wonderful position to be in? The battle's lost if you feel in your mind that the things you're fighting for are not worth fighting for. There's no conviction, consequently it's easy to give up, but people who have inward conviction about certain matters will hold on to these things and you'll fight for them and you'll maintain them. I believe this is something that we do need in a very, very real way. That the way we meet together as believers, for instance, has it just happened by accident? Is it casual? Is it the result of our forebears adopting this position and we've just fallen into their way of acting and meeting? Is this how we view our coming together in the way we do? If it is, sooner or later we'll give it up. But if we're inwardly convicted and persuaded that what we do, however weak and feeble it might be, we are convinced that it's right according to the word of God, then we're going to hold on to it at all costs and we're not going to allow anyone to steal it from us or persuade us to give it up. We are convicted inwardly that it's right. Now this matter of confession can be examined in 1 Timothy chapter 6 where Paul exhorts Timothy to the good confession that first of all perfectly had been demonstrated in the Lord Jesus himself. The Lord Jesus who witnessed a good confession before Pontius Pilate. What an exhibition of dignity, dear brethren, in the presence of his enemies, the Lord Jesus humble subject man that he was in the presence of his enemies and what grace and dignified demeanor he expressed. Now this is the kind of thing that Paul desired for Timothy. Now he says, you follow that example. You be like the Lord and of course no one could say about the Lord that he wasn't convinced that what he was doing was right. He knew that he was testifying to the will of God. He knew that he was doing the will of God and nothing would turn him aside. Now says Paul to Timothy, you have that kind of conviction and you have that kind of life. You witness a good confession too. Now that's the first thing about Ehud. He was a man of conviction. Now secondly, he was a Benjaminite. Now you say, what does that represent? Well the first thing is that it represents a pure line of descent. He was a son of Jacob. He wasn't of the line of Lot, Moab, or Ammon. He was connected with the line of faith and the line of God's purpose. He could trace his descent backwards right to Benjamin, the son of Jacob, a member of that favored family. Now that was a very wonderful thing to be able to do that and of course was a great source of power to him. Now there are two things I want to say about Benjamin, the name Benjamin. You remember when he was born, his mother gave him his name Benoni, son of my sorrow. But Jacob said no, I'm going to change his name and he called him Benjamin, son of my right hand. He changed his name. In Psalm 68, I think it is, we find that the spirit of the Lord refers to Benjamin as little Benjamin. I suppose this was because he was the smallest tribe, but he uses the name little Benjamin. Now keep these two things in mind. Son of my right hand, the place of power. Little Benjamin, the place of weakness. How can we bring these two opposites together? Place of power, place of weakness, I believe they're absolutely essential for any servant of the Lord, for any Christian who wants to be faithful in his testimony, a sense of one's own weakness and a sense of the power of God that can operate in that weakness. I can illustrate this from the life of Saul, the first king of Israel. You remember the prophet said to him, when thou wast little in thine own eyes. You remember he said that to Saul and he indicated that when Saul was in this state of mind, he did valiant things for the Lord. He was a mighty warrior and he did many courageous things and then he got proud and then he disobeyed and he lost his strength and he lost his courage. When he was little, he experienced the power of God operating through him. Now we come to another Benjaminite, another Saul, the New Testament Saul. I know how these two things are brought together. Didn't he say, I'm less than the least of all saints? Wasn't he always prepared to take a low place? Didn't he say when I'm weak, then I'm strong? Wasn't there mighty acts of the power of the Spirit done through this man in his humility, in his lowliness of mind, in his willingness to take a low place? Oh, how humble the apostle was. How like his master, how rid entirely of the proud and arrogant features that belonged to Moab. He was true, a little Benjaminite. He was one who exhibited the features that are so pleasing to the Lord, not by might, not by strength, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord. And we find this all through the Bible. You'll find it in Gideon, in the place that he takes if we come to speak about him. The low place of humility and a sense of one's own weakness and inability is the real secret of the power of the Lord operating for God's glory. So Ehud was a real Benjaminite, one who knew something about being weak and unable, and yet also, as we shall see, he experienced something of the power of the Lord. Now, he made himself a dagger or a two-edged sword. We might feel as we read this narrative, what a deceitful thing to do. What a cruel, violent thing to do. Is this the kind of thing that God commends, that a man should make himself a violent weapon of this kind and use it against this man, seemingly a defenseless man? Is this the kind of thing that God approves of? But the first thing we have to remember is, what kind of man was he? He was the enemy of God, a determined enemy of God. He was subjugating the people of God. There was no worship. There was no response to God as long as this man was in control. And he had to be dealt with, and dealt with in a very definite way. Oh, you say, that's not the spirit of Christianity. Just be careful before you say that. Listen to the words of the Lord Jesus, I hate the doctrine of the Nicoletans. Is that not the language of Christianity? Unless a man hate his father and mother and all the other things, and himself also, he's not fit to be my disciple. Mortify, kill the deeds of the flesh. This of course is in an application to us personally. I know it's not violent dealing with people. I know it's not killing people. But you see the principle of ruthlessness in relation to that which is against God. There's no love to be shown to more, not the slightest. God has declared him to be an enemy, and an enemy must be dealt with, with the utmost ruthlessness. And so it is with we who are Christians. Paul says that he wished that those who were opposing the Galatians were accursed. Oh, you say, that's not the spirit of Christianity. That's what Paul said, and I believe Paul was the greatest exponent of Christianity. And he states very definitely that those who oppose the truth and lead the people of God astray, he wished they were accursed. The end of 1 Corinthians. Those who love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let them be accursed until the Lord come. Ruthless language. Very stern language. Now I know that along with that, there goes the grace and kindness and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to those who are in need. Those who require help and sympathy, the Christians should always be ready to show it. But there should also be this determination to oppose anything that is contrary to the claims of Christ. And this, of course, is seen for us in John's epistle when he says to the elder lady, now don't bid anyone into your home, don't show them common courtesy, don't show them hospitality. If they don't bring the doctrine of Christ, if they don't come with the truth, if they come with another gospel, a perversion of the truth, don't show them the slightest courtesy, don't let them come into your home, don't even bid them Godspeed, or you will become a partaker of their evil deeds. You see, these are very stern words, they're not my words, they're the words of Scripture. And all through the New Testament, we will find this very stern and ruthless teaching in relation to evil in ourselves or in other people or wherever it is found. And remember, it says this of the Lord Jesus, that he loved righteousness and he hated iniquity. It's very difficult for us to hate as Christians and hate in a righteous spiritual manner. The Lord could hate as perfectly as he loved. He loved with perfection, I believe he hated with perfection. It's very difficult for us to do that because we might find ourselves hating because of some personal matter involved. And this arouses our hatred and our anger. But the Lord Jesus hated because the things that he hated were in opposition to his God. And we also have to have those features. In the book of Proverbs, there are seven things that the Lord hates. I cannot enumerate them all. He that sows discord amongst brethren, a lying tongue, a haughty eye. These are some of the things that the Lord hates. I believe he expects his people to hate them too, and to make sure that first of all, they're eradicated from our own lives, and to make sure we don't give any permissiveness in relation to them in others. So Ehud had a two-edged sword. Now we turn to the New Testament for the interpretation of this, and we don't go very far before we find what it represents. First of all, in relation to the Lord Jesus in Revelation chapter one, in relation to his place amongst the assemblies, it says, out of his mouth goes a sharp two-edged sword. This, the application of the word of God in exposing and condemning, and also encouraging, the things that he finds amongst his people. Revelation 19, out of his mouth goes forth a sharp two-edged sword. With it, he'll smite the Gentile nations and the opposers of Israel at the end of the time of tribulation. We turn to Hebrews chapter four, and we find that the word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword. We find in Ephesians chapter six that we are to take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Now for Ehud, it meant literally using this violent weapon to overcome this enemy of Israel. For us, it means the application of the word of God to everything that we know is opposing God. Dear brethren, it's the best weapon we have. We can use all sorts of considerations in dealing with those who oppose God, but the best thing to do is to quote the word of God. The appropriate part of the word of God that deals with the matter in question. You'll find that this is always the means that God uses to overcome the enemies of the truth. Martin Luther, John Wesley, William Tyndale, Wycliffe, and many others, they used the word of God effectively to deal with the problems of their day. Now it's been well said that in using this two-edged sword, begin by using one edge against yourself, start with yourself, and then you can use the other edge against other persons or other principles. That's a very, very good advice. If we can overcome evil in ourselves, we have every right to attempt to overcome it in others. But if we haven't begun to deal with the problems that are in our own lives, we have no moral authority in trying to deal with it in others or elsewhere. So I believe the application of the word of God to ourselves is an extremely important matter. Paul, of course, used it to great effect. The Lord himself did in dealing with Satan. It is written. Paul used it in his arguments. It is written. Apollos used it, mighty in the scriptures, and he reasoned that Jesus was the Christ. And down through the ages in the Christian testimony, again and again it has been the same, the effectiveness of one's testimony in dealing with that which opposes God is to be found in the ability to handle the word of God correctly. And so in 2 Timothy times, when there is so much opposition against God, we are reminded that every word of God is inspired and is profitable for the man of God for all things. So dear brethren, here was another thing that Ehud had that has some meaning for us today. First of all, he was a confessor. Secondly, he was a member of a famous tribe and showed the proper features connected with it. Thirdly, he had a sword and he used it effectively. And after he dealt with this enemy, he blows a trumpet. He gives a clear note. This is what Paul says in the Corinthians. If the trumpet doesn't give a clear note, how can the people prepare themselves for battle? And this is what Ehud did. He blew the trumpet. He assembled the people. He asked them to follow him, which they did, and a great victory was secured. I believe there is a crying need for this kind of ministry today, a ministry which strikes a clear note as to certain conditions that prevail. Paul didn't beat about the bush, did he? He didn't say ambiguous things that might be interpreted according to the wish of the people. If there were things that were wrong, he spoke out clearly and distinctly. He named the things so that people could take account of them and adjust themselves in the light of God. We read the epistle to the Corinthians. Again and again, Paul says the things that were wrong. He didn't make any statements that might have been misunderstood. He said plainly what he understood was wrong. And of course, as the people applied themselves to that, they adjusted themselves in the sight of God and triumph, blessing was secured. So Ehud, he blows this trumpet, he assembles the people, and he says, follow me. What right had he to say that? Follow me. Did he have any right? I think morally he had, because he himself had shown courage in entering into the very presence of the leader of the bondage. And he, by his personal courage and energy, killed the king. And now he was asking the people to follow him. Had Paul any right to say to the people, follow me? He had, because he went on to say, as I also follow Christ. He had the moral right to say to the people of God, follow me. And only in the measure that we ourselves have been successful in combating evil, will we be able to induce others to follow us. Oh, how we would desire to be like Ehud in this respect, to be able to encourage the people of God to walk in this pathway of overcoming. And it was very, very successful. The Lord had delivered your enemies, the Moabites, into your hand. Now the end of the chapter tells us that for 80 years the nation had rest. What a wonderful blessing. It didn't begin very auspiciously. One man being raised up, but there because of his courage, because of his ability, because his energy and initiative, the victory was secured and the people of Israel had rest for 80 years. Now briefly, I want to refer you to Shamgar. If you read the book of Judges carefully, you'll find that those who fought for God used many unorthodox methods. I wrote a list out, but I've forgotten it. I'll perhaps bring it another night, and it's very interesting. But here Shamgar is fighting with an ox-goat. Ehud, he was left-handed. I ought to have said that that was a characteristic of the tribe of Benjamin. Later on in the book, we find hundreds of men of the tribe of Benjamin who are described as being left-handed. An unusual thing. I think it's right to say that there are more right-handed people than left-handed people. We're not going to talk about their accomplishments or their abilities or so on. The fact is that Ehud was out of the ordinary, and being left-handed, he wasn't like the right-handed people. He was abnormal in a sense. So we find Shamgar. He's going to fight with an ox-goat, and he's going to kill 600 Philistines. Well, that's quite an achievement, and I believe it has a meaning for us. The Philistines never showed any kindness to the people of God. You'll find this when you read the book of Samuel and how David overcame them eventually, overcoming Goliath and then the nation itself. Another man who had the moral right to lead the people of God because of his success with Goliath. But the Philistines, they occupied territory that they had no right to. It belonged to Israel, but they had wandered into the territory. They had acquired it, and of course, they wanted to hold on to it. Now I believe the Philistines represent people who make a profession of Christianity, just like perhaps the Moabites in their kinship with Israel, but have no living link with God. Professors, indeed, like those whom the gospel describes, Lord, Lord, open unto us. The Lord has to say, depart from me. I know ye not, ye workers of iniquity. That will never happen to any true believer in Christ. If they're sheltered with his precious blood, then they're safe for time and for eternity. There will be no refusal for those who have accepted Christ as Savior and Lord. But what an awful position for the professor, without any life, without any cleansing from guilt, to take the position of a Christian, to be baptized, to have the place in testimony as a Christian, and to have no life, to have no knowledge of salvation. I believe the Philistines represent this kind of person in a position without the possession of life and blessing from God. So Shamgar, he dealt with them. Now how do you deal with this? Again in our day, with the word of God. Is there anything in the New Testament to show that this is what it means? And I believe there is. You remember when Saul of Tarsus was arrested on the Damascus Road? The Lord said to him, Saul, it's hard for thee to kick against the pricks. Now what the Lord was saying to him was, Saul, the word of God has continually been brought to bear on your conscience, and you've rejected it. It's like a prick, a goad, a knop's goad if you like, continually pricking into your side, reminding you that you're not right with God, and you're refusing those directions. And it's hard because you're not coming into blessing, and you haven't got liberty, and you haven't got joy, simply because you're not being obedient. And Saul of Tarsus bowed that day and said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And he followed the Lord ever after. Now I remember when we were in Israel some years ago, we saw an Arab ploughing with an ox and an ass, an unequal yoke. We saw the evidence of it before us. Now the Arab had a long pole in his hand, I would think it would be about eight or nine feet long, and on the end was a sharp piece of metal. Now I didn't see the animals moving out of the strait in a narrow way, but I suppose if they had, they would have received a prod in their side with the sharp instrument that would have been extremely sore and would have reminded them, now you're not doing what the ploughman wants you to do, get into the strait way, do what he wants you to do. And of course the more they sought their own will, the more prods they got with the goad, with the prick. And the more they wanted their own way, the more painful the process. Now I believe this is the illustration that the Lord was using with Saul of Tarsus. Thank God he bowed and no more had he those painful pricks. We come to Acts 2 and there were many, many people there who believed the word that was preached. They received the forgiveness of their sins and they were brought into joy and peace and liberty. But there were many more who refused, and in a sense they were slain by the word of God. If they didn't eventually trust Christ, they would die and the day would come when they would be judged because of their refusal to accept Christ as Savior. We find in Acts 7 again a company of people who are presented with the word of God and they refused it. And because they refused it, they lost the opportunity of blessing. And all through the Acts of the Apostles, the same story is told of people who heard the word, who believed it and received blessing, and people who refused the word, and if you like, were slain. Not actually slain, but brought under judgment because of their refusal to bow to the word of God. To see the truth, it either brings repentance or resentment. And those who resent the truth of the word of God being brought to bear upon their conscience and answering to it, then those people are morally slain before God. They have missed their opportunity and they are judged because of that word that they have refused. As for us, if when we hear the word of God pricking our conscience, we obey. We don't kick. We accept what God has to say to us and we openly accept God's word for us, whether we be unconverted or converted, and get the blessing that the word of God brings. So I believe Ehud with his sword and Shamgar with his ox goad would represent for us the same principles, the application of the word of God against everything that is contrary to his mind. If that was true in those days, and it was true, how much more in our day when in a spiritual sense we need to wield the word of God as a sword, we need to use the word of God to reach people's consciences, and if we do this effectively, we'll acquire power, we'll do something worthwhile for God in testimony for his pleasure and glory. Let us remember that the demeanor of the Lord Jesus Christ in the midst of his enemies and his power and ability in using the word of God is the perfect example for us in our day that we might be like him, hate as he hated, love as he loved, and be like him in all our ways. May it be so, for his name's sake. …

… Once again we are confronted with something that's unusual. Previous to this record, we found that the Lord raised up men to lead and guide and fight for Israel in their need. But here we find a woman, a prophetess, Deborah, sitting under her palm tree and judging the nation of Israel. Very, very unusual condition of things. It indicated that men were somewhat wanting in leadership, in courage, and in direction from the Lord. An old brother in Port Seton often taught us that man always represents position in scripture, but woman often indicates condition. And he often quoted Mary of Magdala at the sepulchre of the Lord on the morning of the resurrection. The disciples were found wanting. They were his servants. He had chosen them. But they weren't at the sepulchre. They didn't anticipate the resurrection. Neither had they that intense love that Mary of Magdala had for the Lord. But she was found there because she was in a right condition. She loved the Lord. And she was found there and she received that wonderful message from the Lord to tell the brethren, go tell my brethren that I ascend unto my father and your father to my God and your God. You see, the Lord didn't say to Mary, now you go and get one of my disciples. They'll go and carry this message. She was available. She loved the Lord. And she received this commission. Her condition was right. Now, similarly here in the days of Deborah, you will notice we read a verse where it speaks about 40,000. Just let me get my finger on the verse. It doesn't matter. There's a verse in the song that refers to, was there a spear among 40,000 of Israel? And the inference is that in 40,000 men of war, there wasn't one who was prepared to stand up and represent the Lord and his interests in that evil day. Until I, a mother in Israel arose, a woman with the interests of the Lord at heart. And she was prepared to take the stand. Now, perhaps in the previous two addresses, in connection with Othniel and Jehud and Shamgah, maybe a great deal of encouragement for the brothers. But I would think that in connection with Deborah, there's a great deal of encouragement for the sisters that they too can stand up and be faithful for the Lord and do something for the Lord, for his interests. Now, when we read about Deborah, she is described to us as a prophetess. It's quite an interesting study in the Old Testament and the New Testament, the study of prophetesses. We haven't time tonight, but we'll just mention them. You will remember them. In Exodus 15, when Moses sang his song of exultation and joy, we find it said that Miriam, the prophetess, she took her musical instrument and she praised the Lord too. She took her timbre and she praised the Lord. Miriam, the prophetess, she sang. Then there was a woman called Huldah and Hezekiah. He wanted to know the mind of the Lord and they went to Huldah, the prophetess, and she very definitely gave the mind of the Lord. It wasn't a particularly encouraging prophecy because it indicated that the Lord was angry with those who were refusing to obey his word. But there was some encouragement for Hezekiah that although judgment was coming, he personally would be spared. Huldah, the prophetess. Then we find in Isaiah chapter 8 that the prophetess, the wife of the prophet, she bared two sons whose names represented different phases in the history of Israel. Then we connect Deborah, the prophetess, and I think these are the four in the Old Testament who indicate the prophetess character. There is another one, Noah-Diah, in the book of Nehemiah. She's linked with the enemies of the truth of God. She's linked with Tobiah and the other one, I just forget his name at the moment, and she's linked with them in their opposition to the man of God and his work. Now when we come to the New Testament, we find that Anna is described as a prophetess in Luke chapter 2. She prayed, she fasted, she sang praises, and she spake of the Lord. Quite a remarkable woman, and she wasn't a young woman, not by any means, a very old woman, but we're impressed by the energy and the spiritual vitality and life that she had. She prayed, she fasted, she sang praises, and she spake of the Lord to all those who waited for redemption in Israel. Quite a wonderful woman in her old age. Then we find in the Acts of the Apostles that Philip, the evangelist, had four daughters who prophesied. I would think that they prophesied at home because the scriptures tell us so plainly that women are to keep silent in the assemblies. So if they exercise their prophetic character, then it must have been at home or in some private capacity by which they were able to convey the mind of the Lord to those who required it at any given moment. I think that these six women would cover their teaching concerning prophetesses in scripture. Very interesting study, and I commend it to you. We have to ask, what is prophecy? I suppose most people would say, oh, it's the foretelling of future events, things that God has made plain in his word. And we would need to say, yes, that is one character of prophecy, but it's not the only character because a prophet is a man or a woman who gives God's word for the moment. They're able to bring the word of God forward in such a way as to help the people of God in any particular condition. Now, that's a very wonderful service to render. It's not merely quoting a verse out of the Bible. That's always very precious. We would not seek in any way to underestimate the value of that. Nor is it giving a word on many things that we've heard over and over again, and there's certainly nothing wrong with that. Peter says, I'm stirring up your pure mind by way of remembrance. But there is such a character of ministry that deals with relevant problems, problems that are particularly connected with the people of God at any given moment. And of course, the Bible is a very large book. And if a man is guided by the spirit of God, or a woman, guided by the spirit of God to give an appropriate word bearing upon the condition of the saints at any given time, then they're prophesying. They're given a word of prophecy to meet particular need. One would think that when we come together on special occasions like meetings for ministry, open meetings as we call them, meetings when the Lord guides his servants to give a word of ministry, we should expect ministry of such a character that would help us in our particular needs of the day. I think it would be very wrong for a brother to prepare a certain message prior to coming to the meeting and feel, well, I'm going to give this prepared message. Is it not rather that we come together, waiting humbly on the Lord that he may guide us to the appropriate word that is necessary for us at that time, so that these meetings have a special character? It's not simply the unfolding of truth, although it is that in a sense. It's not only that. It's a specific word to meet a specific need. That being so, how much we need to be cast upon the Lord and to have that waiting, not rushing, not making sure that I'm going to speak, but waiting humbly before the Lord to get the Lord's mind to give him, we say it reverently, the opportunity to speak. He himself, and he speaks through his servants. Now, if we can only sit by quietly and humbly and having much prayer and exercise prior to those meetings, then I think we would find that the Lord would give us the ministry that is necessary for us. This, I believe, is New Testament prophecy according to its present usage. Strictly speaking, I believe the time of prophets is past. The time for prophetic ministry is not past. The assembly was built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Now, you don't lay a foundation twice. If the foundation is laid, it's laid proper, it's laid deep, it's laid strong, and upon the foundation is reared the building. Now, the apostolic apostles and prophets, their ministry was the foundation of the church, the assembly. We must remember that in those early days, they had the New Testament in their hands as we have it. Many of the Christians were illiterate. They were slaves. They couldn't read, they couldn't write, but they certainly could listen. This is why Paul says to Timothy, give attention to reading. That is, Paul's letters were read by Timothy to those who couldn't read. He made them aware of the mind of the Lord. Now, the New Testament apostles, the New Testament prophets, guided by the Spirit, speak the word of the Lord as it was necessary. Now, we have the revealed mind of the Lord in our hands in the New Testament. It has all been revealed to us, inspired by the Spirit, and in that sense, any prophecy that is given today is not of an inspired character, but really comes within the scope of what has already been revealed. But then, of course, the Holy Spirit can take from that inspired portion and press it upon our hearts and consciences and bring a blessing to our hearts. Now, having said that, Deborah was a prophetess. She was able to convey the mind of the Lord to the people as they required it. I ought to say, I ought to have said that in 1 Corinthians chapter 14, we read that prophecy is for three things. It's for edification. That means for building the saints up, building them up in their affections towards God, in their knowledge of the truth, in their responsibilities, in their privileges. Prophecy edifies. It builds up. And then, it encourages or, they authorize, says, exhorts. It stirs up. It engages the affections and desires and exercises of the people of God. The word of God brought to bear upon them exhorts them or encourages them to further activity, further devotion, and increased activity in the things of the Lord. Then it says it consoles. Consolation. Prophecy consoles. Well, that's a very comforting word, isn't it? And it has been said it builds up and it stirs up and it binds up. Sometimes the saints need encouragement. They need help. They need comfort. And the word of prophecy is able to bring that to the saints. Now, if ever the people of God required all this, it was at the time of Deborah. Here was this mighty king of the Canaanites, Jabin, and for 20 years he had held the nation of Israel in bondage. Now, the name, the meaning of the name Canaan is merchant. And all through the Bible we find people who make a trade of things, whether it is the people of God or the truth of God or any other kind of thing, are generally found in a very bad character. The worst of all, of course, was Judas, who was prepared to trade his master for 30 pieces of silver. Surely the most outstanding incident and illustration of this kind of thing. When we come to the book of Revelation, we find that great Babylon that is judged and the smoke of its torment goes up into heaven. We find that all the traders of the world, they've done business with her. All the different trades and all the different materials and all the things of value have all been connected with this great evil system that is against God. You know that the book of Revelation presents two cities, Babylon, New Jerusalem. And the question for us is, which city are we seeking to promote? For what are we building? We either promote the one or the other. And of course, if we are not those who make a trade of the word of God, that is, we're using it for our own benefit. We are trading for Christ. We're working for him. We're sacrificing. We're working. We're doing the things that are pleasing in his sight. We are not marked by the spirit of the Canaanite, personal gain, selfishness, aggrandizement, not that kind of spirit, but rather sacrificing and seeking to promote the things of the Lord. This, of course, is the spirit of the Lord himself. In the words of the parable, he sold all that he had in order to gain the treasure that was in the field and to obtain the peril for himself. The Lord Jesus Christ, who was so rich and yet became so poor in order to enrich others, that's contrary to the Canaanite. The Canaanite is prepared to get more and more and more. Suppose he makes others poor. That doesn't matter. As long as he makes a gain, that's all that matters. Now, this is the kind of spirit that was holding the nation of Israel in bondage, and nobody seemed to care. 40,000 spears in Israel and not one lifted up in defense of God and his interests until this woman arose, Deborah the prophetess. Now it says that she's dwelling under her palm tree, the palm tree of Deborah. Now, we've learned that when the spirit of God writes things in the scriptures inspired by him, there's a particular reason for it. It could have been an oak tree, could have been any other kind of tree, but the spirit of God has indicated to us there's something special about this tree. It's not just a palm tree, it's the palm tree of Deborah. There's a particular reference to it. She sat there and she judged Israel. They came to her with their problems and she helped them. Now we have to examine in the scriptures, what does palm trees indicate in scripture? What does the palm tree represent? I think the first reference to it, I'm not quite sure on this mind, you better check it, but I would think that the first reference is in Exodus chapter 15, where you remember they came to the wells of water and the 70 palm trees. Now as far as Israel was concerned, that was a tremendous blessing. There they were, thirsty, parched, hungry perhaps, traveling through the wilderness and they come to this place of refreshment and fruitfulness, a place of shade, a place of rest. When Solomon built the temple for God, the palm tree was very, very prominent in the decoration, the palm tree. When we turn over to the New Testament, we begin to get some insight as to what this means. You remember when Jesus was entering into the city of Jerusalem, they cut down palm leaves and they strewed them in the way. I suppose that's where we get the reference to Palm Sunday. The children, they strewed the palm leaves in his way as he entered the victorious Messiah into his city, the city of Jerusalem. But there's another reference which I think finalizes this thought in our mind, the idea of victory. And in Revelation 7, John the prophet is given a vision into the future of a vast company of people who are saved out of the tribulation. They are martyred in the tribulation, but they belong to the Lord and they're standing before the throne and they're singing the praises of the Lord and they all have palm leaves or palm branches in their hands. Victory has been secured. The battle has been won. They're through all the difficulty and trial. They've remained faithful and there they are in their hands is the emblem of victory. We believe this is what the palm tree represents above all else, victory. Now, if we think of that in our minds, here is a woman who has the spirit of victory in her heart. She's sitting under her own palm tree and she's judging Israel. It's most remarkable that in the Bible we find many servants of the Lord, they exult in triumph before ever a shot has been fired. I know that's a mixed metaphor according to the age, but nevertheless, this is the kind of spirit that marked them. We think of Jehoshaphat when he saw the tremendous army that was against Israel and he prayed to the Lord and the Lord guaranteed him that there would be a victory. And before ever they began to fight, Jehoshaphat got all the army into position and he set the singers in front and they began to praise the Lord for the victory and they haven't even started. Now that's faith. The apostle Paul, although he passed through tremendous exercises and problems, could rejoice. Think of him in the prison. Think of him in the middle of the prison in Rome and writing to the Philippians and he's telling them to rejoice. Why, Paul? You're a prisoner. The enemy has overcome you. You're no longer the servant of the Lord. Why do you exalt the people in this way? Why, he says, I'm still serving the Lord. I'm writing to the Philippians. I don't know if that dear man could look down the ages and anticipate the millions of Christians who would derive comfort from his letter written from a prison. But there he was rejoicing in spirit. No thought of defeat. Not a bit of it. Why, he goes on to say in that epistle, the time's coming when the Lord will change our bodies, the bodies of humiliation, and he'll fashion them like unto his own body of glory according to the power that he has to subdue all things unto himself. The Nero's of the future, the tyrants of the future, they'll all bow before the power of this glorious man who is at the right hand of God. Paul was not imbued in any way with the spirit of defeat, rather the opposite, more than conquerors through him who loves us. And so Deborah, here she is under her palm tree, spirit of victory in her heart, and she calls for Barak. And she says a very significant thing to Barak. I want you to look at it in verse six. And she sent and called Barak, the son of Abinoam, out of Kedesh Naphtali and said unto him, hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded saying, go and draw toward Mount Tabor and take with thee 10,000 men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun. And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon, the captain of Jabin's army with his chariots and his multitude, and I will deliver him into thine hand. Now there's not a single evidence of doubt, uncertainty, hesitancy in this message from Deborah. It's as clear and as distinct as it's possible to be. She says the Lord has commanded you, Barak, to go to those two tribes, Zebulun and Naphtali. He's even indicated the precise number who have to be called out of those tribes, and you have to go and fight, and the battle's won. The Lord will deliver him into thine hand. Now that's a very wonderful message for anyone to receive. She was a prophetess. She had received it from the Lord, and now she was directing a man, and he had the right to be there. This is where a man should have been in the leadership, directing affairs, and it really was an indictment against the manhood of Israel that a woman was giving this message. Well, what kind of man was he? Well, he says, if you go with me, I'll go, but if you're not going, I'm not going. Well, what a pathetic kind of man. How he failed to appreciate the message that had been delivered to him. The message was one of certainty, of power. It had nothing to do with Deborah. It's all about the Lord, what the Lord would do, and if only Barak had received the message in the way it was delivered, why, what an opportunity he had to shine in his leadership. Instead of that, God's government comes in, and the prophetess gives another word. All right, she says, Barak, I'll go, but you've missed your opportunity. Now, God will deliver into the hands of a woman the captain of Jabin's army, and that's the story as we take it down to the end of the chapter. All that Deborah said came to pass. She gave the message of the Lord. It came to pass as she said it would. The army was defeated. The captain of the army was killed by a woman, and the Lord subdued Israel at that time. It's quite interesting that when we turn to the 11th chapter of Hebrews, it's Barak who is commended for his faith. Well, we cannot question the inspired word of God. Perhaps if we had written it, we would have said Deborah was entitled to this commendation for faith, but I suppose Barak too is credited with it because in chapter five, when the song is sung, Deborah and Barak are both together. Perhaps we say mistakenly that this is Deborah's song because it says, then sang Deborah and Barak, the son of Abinom on that day. They're joined together now. They were joined together in the action that overcame the Lord's enemies. Deborah directed, Barak followed, the battle was won, the enemies were destroyed, and that was a time for celebration. You remember that exalted song in Exodus 15? One would say much more exalted than this song. Wonderful song of praise and worship to God because victory had been accomplished. It's interesting to know that this is the only song, as far as I am aware, in the book of Judges to tell the truth. After the death of Samson, there isn't much to sing about. There's much to be sad about. Many grievous things are done in the nation of Israel, but it's always true that in the Bible, when victory is achieved, then singing begins. It's been true down through the history of the testimony. There are many hymn books in use today amongst Christians. Most of the hymns that are sung are the product of revivals of one kind and another. Whenever there's a real revival amongst the people of God, the power of the Spirit in activity amongst them, blessing for the unconverted, blessing for the saints of God, we find that there's a rich addition of hymns to the Lord and to God our Father because of what has been achieved. If you search this out, you would find that this is very true. Take, for instance, the marvelous enrichment to hymology in the Methodist revival through the hymns of Charles and John Wesley, hymns that are still being sung today with fervor and feeling and value. The Brethren revival, too, has contributed many rich hymns of worth and depth and value. Many other revivals have contributed in the same way, hymns of worth, the product of conflict and victory. We would trust that there will yet be a revival of interest amongst the people of God. There will yet be a time of blessing in answer to the end of revelation for the unconverted. Let him that is a thirst come. We would desire to see this before the coming of the Lord. If it were so, then I think we could anticipate many compositions, spiritual compositions of worth and depth and feeling. So Deborah and Berak, they sang, praise ye the Lord for the avenging of Israel when the people willingly offered themselves. Now, I don't know anything at all about textual criticism and the ancient languages of Hebrew and Greek, and I find it very difficult to understand how the authorize says, praise ye the Lord for the avenging of Israel, and Mr. Darby's translation says, praise ye the Lord for the time when leaders led. Anyway, I for the moment would like to use what Mr. Darby rendered, that leaders led, and when the leaders led, the people willingly offered themselves. Now, this is always true. It's true in secular history, isn't it? That when a man of courage arises, whether it be in Scotland or England or any other place, when men of courage arise, you always find that there are people who are willing to be led. Prior to the leadership, there seems to be an acquiescence in the conditions that prevail. But whenever a man of courage rises up and say, now look, this is what we ought to do. We're not going to accept these conditions of tyranny and bondage. I'm prepared to do something for it. Who's going to follow me? And we do find in secular history that this was often the beginning of freedom from bondage. Now, this is so. This is exactly the principle in Deborah's song. Deborah arose, Barak arose under her direction, and the people, especially Naphtali and Zebulun, they willingly offered themselves and something was achieved for the Lord. Now, leadership, I believe, is seen for us in the New Testament, most definitely in apostolic authority and in the ministry that they provided for us. Paul, James, Peter, John, their ministry, and of course the others who weren't disciples, but were inspired of the Lord to give us the New Testament books. Now there we have, first of all, the authoritative leadership inspired by the Holy Spirit. In a lesser sense, we have those who are called leaders, rulers, elders, pastors, overseers, people who are concerned about leading, directing, caring for the people of God. Now, when this is done in a proper and spiritual manner, that is leading people to Christ, this is the great thing. I don't mean in conversion, that's the office of the evangelist. What I'm referring to, leaders, elders, rulers, pastors, overseers, these people are leading the saints of God to Christ. They are directing them to his glories, his power, his offices, that they might get the gain of all that is in Christ for their testimony and for their privileges. What a responsible position to be in. This is the place for mature, experienced Christians, and this is their responsibility in relation to the flock of God. Not their flock, the flock of God. And so, when this is done in a spiritual, humble manner, subject to the leading of the Spirit and the direction of the Lord, the people will willingly offer themselves. Or will they? They didn't all willingly offer themselves here, as we shall see in a few moments. But thank God there will always be those who will respond to true ministry that finds its center in Christ. If it doesn't find its center in Christ, eventually it will be doomed to failure. It might be a very good idea. It might be a very reasonable idea. But if it isn't centered in Christ, it will be bound to fail. And so we find that all those persons mentioned in the New Testament who have responsibility in relation to helping the saints of God, this is their object, to lead people to Christ. In the 13th chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews, the saints were exhorted to obey your leaders and follow their conversation, says Paul. Imitate them. And what was the source or the substance of their conversation? Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever. Follow their example, says Paul. These are the men who are seeking to lead you, not leading you astray like false shepherds, but leading you to the Lord and into the fullness of his thoughts. Now she goes on to say in verse 8, they chose new gods. Then was war in the gates. This is the verse I was looking for. Was there a shield or spear seen among 40,000 in Israel? This is in contrast to verse 7. I, Deborah, arose. That I arose a mother in Israel. What a contrast. Poor, weak woman. The weaker vessel that Paul speaks about. What an indictment against the 40,000. She arose. They didn't. Now, in the end of verse 11, then shall the people of the Lord go down to the gates. Now, here are two references to gates. And we have to ask, what does this mean? Now, if you read the book of Ruth, you will remember there came the time when Boaz wanted to have Ruth for his wife. But there was another man who had a prior claim, according to kinship, and this matter had to be gone into. So they went down to the gate. Now, the gate in the Old Testament represented the place of administration. I think that in the Middle East, in many of the Arab countries, this kind of thing still exists. This is where the elders of the village meet to discuss problems. I suppose very like the local council in our own towns and cities, where they come together to discuss matters of policy and matters that require attention. So it was in Old Testament times. The gates, those were the places where they met together to discuss matters and to regulate them according to the mind of the Lord. Now, what does this mean for us today? It means that we don't let things slide along in a haphazard fashion in connection with any company of Christians, and hope that everything will work out all right in the end. Ah, yes, the Lord will look after everything. He's capable of doing this. Of course, he is quite capable. But he expects us to do what we can in relation to his interests in any place where we are set. And when the saints come together to discuss his affairs, they ought to be conducted with due reverence to the kind of business that we are conducting. It's not an opportunity to express our opinion in a democratic or communistic fashion. We are there to discuss the things that relate to the Lord. It's his business, I say so reverently. They are his affairs, and they have to be studied, they have to be considered, they have to be arranged and settled in a manner that's consistent with his holy name. We gather to his name, and so the gates, I believe, would be the considered attention that we give to the interests of the Lord. Now, we come down to a few people who are mentioned here. Verse 15. For the divisions of Reuben, there were great thoughts of heart. Why abodest thou among the sheepfolds, to hear the bleatings of the flock? For the divisions of Reuben, there were great searchings of heart. Gilead abode beyond Jordan. You remember in the history of Israel, that when they came to the river Jordan, there were nine and a half tribes that definitely settled for going over the Jordan to take possession of their inheritance. But there was Reuben and Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh who said, why the grass is beautiful in this side of the Jordan? This is ideal for our flocks. Let us settle here. Now, says Moses, if you settle here, it means that you're not going to go over Jordan to possess the land that God in his sovereignty has given to you. You're not going to answer to the mind of God for you. Now, if you do this, you'll need to answer to your obligations. I'll need to accede to your request, but there are responsibilities that belong to you. First of all, you'll go over and help your brethren to fight to obtain the land. And when you've done that, then you can come here and dwell in Gilead. Now, he says, if you don't do that, be sure that your sin will find you out. And here is Reuben and Gad and a half tribe of Manasseh being found out. They abode in Gilead. Great, great resolves of heart on the part of Reuben. I suppose you could imagine the elders of the tribe of Reuben saying, oh, we must do something about this. Oh, we must go over and help our brethren. Oh, remember we made a promise to Moses that we would do this kind of thing. Yes, we'll need to gather our army together, get the spears ready, get the swords ready. And they never moved an inch. Great resolves of heart to do something. And that's as far as it went. They never did a thing to help Barak and Deborah in this fight against the enemy. Well, this kind of thing can happen as Christians. How often has the Lord laid an exercise upon our hearts, perhaps to visit someone, perhaps to help someone, perhaps to give some tracks away, perhaps to do some form of service for him. And we've had great resolves of heart. It seems so great to do the service for the Lord, but somehow or other it's never done. And the Bible says the sluggard desires and has nothing but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat. You see, when Deborah gave directions to Barak, she says, up, it's time to do something, time to do this for the Lord. And here was Reuben, great resolves, great ideas, great ideals, and nothing accomplished. What a sad thing, if that is to be true of us in our Christian experience. Then it says, why did Dan remain in ships? Why did Dan remain in ships? I suppose because he was too busy, too busy looking after his fishing or perhaps his trading. Well, I'm too busy to be occupied with this battle. Let them get on with it. Zebulun and Naphtali are quite able to look after this affair. I've got to carry on my business. I've got to look after my affairs. This is righteousness, does say that we're to be diligent in our business. So you to go to scripture when it suits us. Here was a man who had the opportunity to serve the Lord, a tribe rather, and they lost the opportunity. They abode in their ships. They looked after their own personal interests. And then Asher continued on the seashore and abode in his beaches. One gets the impression, well, I'm sticking here. I couldn't care less. I'm not really interested. I'm abiding here. This is my place, my circle, my affair, and I'm not interested in what's going on in this in this battle against Jabin and against Sisa. You see, when the time of commendation came, those who were really active were the persons who were really worthy of commendation. And so we find Zebulun and Naphtali were a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field. It's very interesting. Naphtali means wrestling. I forget what Zebulun means, but we can certainly concentrate on that. And wrestling simply means concern. That trite word exercise, I don't know a better. Exercise means energy expended. And here was Naphtali, a tribe who was true to its name. They were concerned. They were exercised. For us today, it means we pray and we do what we can. We're concerned as to how we can promote the Lord's interests, how we can make the local company better by our own personal exercise. We're always greatly concerned that somebody else might make it better. Brother so-and-so, sister so-and-so, they don't show much interest. We're always greatly concerned about them, perhaps rightly so, and how right it is to be deeply concerned oneself and to make sure that we contribute in spiritual power and exercise in relation to the Lord's interests. So Zebulun and Naphtali were worthy of commendation. In the 16th of Romans, what a wonderful commendation Paul gives there to men and women who really were concerned about the work of the Lord. They labored much in the Lord. They labored in the Lord, men and women who did much for the Lord's interests. Now lastly, my time is gone, but there's a very important word. They fought from heaven, or from heaven was the fight. Now if we had been left to our own resources here as Christians, the testimony of Christianity would have failed long ago. Thank God there are resources that come to us from heaven where Christ is. My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. I can do all things through Christ who gives me power. There is strength and resource coming from heaven to help every Christian, whoever they might be, to do something for the Lord, for the maintenance of his interests, to fight against the enemy, the enemy that would seek to overcome. From heaven is the fight. And now lastly, so let all thine enemies perish. We would all say amen to that. Thank God when all the antichrists are gone, their power is overcome. Thank God when Christ rules in the world, supreme in the place that is rightly his, when all enemies shall be under his feet. O Lord, but let them that love him be as the sun when he goes forth in his might. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of his father. How wonderful to look forward to that day, dear brethren. There is a time of victory, there is a time of reward, of commendation, and it will be when our glorious head, when our Lord Jesus Christ, our savior, is supreme, the man who will occupy the throne, the one who once occupied the cross. Amen. …

… In these meetings that we've had concerning the Book of Judges, we have seen again and again Israel getting into difficulty because of their disobedience to the Lord. Here again we find the same story. Terrible condition, real trouble, because they had disobeyed the Lord. Their condition was extremely serious. Normal life was disrupted. They were living in caves and dens and strongholds. Food supply was very, very scarce. The Midianites, they destroyed all that was sown. They took all they could get for themselves and Israel was impoverished. The Midianites were a very strong and resourceful enemy. The name Midian means strife or contention. I don't think I need to say much more in this connection. How often we have seen amongst the people of God normal conditions in assembly life being absolutely disrupted because of strife and contention. People seeking their own way, strong-willed people demanding certain things, strife and contention arising over things that ought never to be considered amongst the people of God. Personal animosities, family animosities, parties and cliques arising, and strife and contention existing amongst the saints of God. Whenever that comes in, well, normal assembly life is disrupted. There's very little in the way of worship to the Father or the Son. There's very little in the way of testimony to the Lord or testimony to the unconverted, and there certainly is precious little in the way of food supply. What the saints are asked to feed upon is strife and sorrow and backbiting and misrepresentation and cruelties of different kinds, and you can't grow spiritually on that kind of food. Now I believe this was the kind of condition that Israel was in actually. No family life, all the business life of the nation disrupted, and food supply at a very low end. Now in such a condition we find the people very much distressed, and it's a very good thing when the people do get distressed and cry aloud to God for some blessing and some help and some direction as to how to get out of this awful condition. So it's something when the people become very distressed and concerned about the conditions that prevail. We've seen this over and over again in these addresses on the book of Judges. Well, God is a faithful God, and he sends a nameless prophet, and the prophet, he tells the people the reason why they're in that condition. As we've said once before, it wasn't because the Midianites were more powerful than the children of Israel. Perhaps they were numerically, but when the children of Israel had God in their midst and God fighting for them, then it didn't matter how great the enemy was the battle was a foregone conclusion. God was with his people, helping his people, and as so often we find in the Old Testament, the word was, the battle is the Lord's. And when the battle is the Lord's, there's no enemy powerful enough to deal with the nation of Israel. The reason for their condition was their own unfaithfulness, their own disobedience to God's plain and distinct word to have nothing to do with idolatry, but to have himself enshrined in their affections. We were saying somewhere recently that the last word of John's first epistle, little children, keep yourselves from idols, is not a negative statement, it's a very positive statement. It simply means I want the affections of my people for myself. I don't want any interference from any other source. We can prove this from the Old Testament. In the book of Deuteronomy, there are three distinct occasions when God describes himself as a jealous God, and the context in which he describes himself in this way is connected with a warning to the people not to have anything to do with idols. In other words, God was jealous over the affections of his people. And when John, inspired by the Spirit, said to the saints, little children, keep yourselves from idols, John is saying to them, the Father, the Son, they want your love for themselves. And in the view of all the wonderful truths that have been revealed, what a sad thing it is that the affections of the saints should go astray after other things, and prevent their enjoyment of these precious things, and prevent a response to the Father and to the Son. So here the nameless prophet is telling the nation very plainly that the reason for their condition is their disobedience. Now it would be very, very difficult for anyone to say today that there is one particular reason for failure amongst the people of God, wherever they are found. And I am very much aware that we are not the only Christian company that is experiencing difficulty. I've read in magazines, and I've heard from other sources, that all companies of Christians are experiencing the difficulty and declension that is marking this favored land of ours. There may be isolated places where the Lord is blessing, and thank God for that. But generally speaking, we are all knowing something about the low condition of things that is prevailing. I think it would be right to say that in whatever way the declension is marked, and it may be different in various localities, I think we can all trace it to this one word, disobedience. In some way or another, we have failed in relation to the Word of God, either individually or collectively. If that is so, we must expect the corresponding failure in testimony and in worship. It's inevitable. Things just don't work automatically in divine things. If there is failure in disobedience, then there must be failure in response. Now you might say, well that's a very despondent kind of message. Well, this nameless prophet didn't come along and say, well, God's prepared to show you grace and love. God's a gracious God. He didn't come along to boost up their feelings and make everything nice when everything wasn't nice. The nameless prophet told the truth, and if we're told the truth, we are well on the way to getting something done to repair the difficulties. And, thank God, there was one man at least who was doing something to make the conditions better. It would seem that synchronizing with the prophet's message, there was this man, Gideon, extremely active in the secrecy of his father's home. He's threshing wheat in a wine press. You might say, well, that's a very odd kind of place to be threshing wheat. He ought to be on the threshing floor. Yes, that's the normal place that then Gideon was living in abnormal times. And we've seen in this book that very many abnormal things are done. And when we come to the story of Samson, we see that Samson did many abnormal things. Tying torches on jackals' tails, killing people with the jawbone of an ass, that kind of thing is something that's abnormal. And so here is Gideon, and he's threshing wheat in the wine press. I believe there's one obvious reason. There was no one to gather in the harvest of the olives for the simple reason it didn't exist. The Midianites had destroyed it. There were no olives to press in order to get the oil, no olives to be gathered in to be used for other purposes. The Midianites had destroyed all that was available. But there was some wheat, and Gideon had it, and he was threshing it in order to hide it, that the Midianites might not obtain it. Now this man was very, very much concerned about some food being available for the people of God. A very useful kind of man to have in our companies today. A man who's concerned to provide real nourishing food for the people of God. I believe Paul was that kind of man, and he was a man of very great discernment. If the people of God required milk because of their spiritual condition, he fed them with milk. If they were capable of partaking of strong food, strong meat, then he fed them with strong meat. In spiritual wisdom and discernment, he fed them with the food that was convenient for them. You remember the Lord asked the disciples at one juncture if they had any food, and they hadn't any. And he said, there's a little boy here, and he has some loaves and some fishes, but what are they among so many? Well it certainly was more than they had, and they were the great disciples who had been so blessed by the Lord, they hadn't anything to give, but the little boy had something. And when the Lord took it into his hands, he expanded it, he enlarged it, so that a vast multitude was fed. As one has so aptly said, little is much if the Lord is in it. And so here we find this man, he's threshing wheat, he's concerned about food being supplied. Dear brethren, are we concerned about providing something that is nourishing, something that is helpful for the Saints? In the Bible readings, in the ministry meetings, in dresses, if we have the opportunity to address the Saints of God, are we concerned that they might have some real good food? The best food of all, of course, without question, is our Lord Jesus Christ. And if we can minister him to the hearts of the Saints and build up their affections and their desires, then we are doing a good work. He's the bread from heaven, the bread of God. And if we want to have the enjoyment of eternal life, as presented in John chapter 6, it means that we feed upon him. We eat his flesh and we drink his blood. We are reminded, too, that we are to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. I believe this involves feeding upon him, his glories, his person, his work, all connected with him. This is real food that builds up the affections of the Saints. We want to be aware of the kind of food that the sons of the prophets provided. It might have seemed a very nourishing meal when it was cooking, might have been a very large meal, too, but it was a large meal sprinkled with some very, very serious, poisonous goods. And the man of God detected it. There was death in the pot, and he was the man who could rectify matters by casting in the handful of meal, and what was poisonous was made nourishing. And today we have to be aware of many sanctimonious statements that are made, liberally sprinkled with quotations from the Scriptures, and yet there's death in the pot. It's not the truth. It can't stand the light of Scripture. It's poisonous, it's evil, and it won't nourish the people of God. Gideon, he's a man who is active, energetic, and he's providing something worthwhile for the Saints of God. It's to that kind of man that the angel of the Lord appears and addresses him in such a remarkable way. He says, The angel of the Lord appeared unto him and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor. Had he done anything outstanding to warrant such a description? A mighty man of valor? All that we know of him is that he was threshing wheat in this winepress. Was that a courageous, valiant thing to do? In the sight of God, it was. It's so easy for us to look back and say, Oh, that servant of the Lord made a mistake. He ought to have been more intelligent. That servant of the Lord ought to have gone a little further. He didn't really know the full scope of the truth. It's all right saying that when you don't know the circumstances in which the servant was operating. It's all right saying that when you're not aware of the awful conditions that prevailed at his time. And it was a courageous, valiant thing to take a step out of the confusion and say something for the Lord. I know we often say that the Reformation didn't go far enough. That he ought to have gone two or three steps further and got rid of many of the other things that were untrue. But how valiant those men were. How courageous. They risked their lives. They risked their all in fighting for what they knew to be the truth at that time. And let's think of what we might have done if we had been in their position. Would we have risked our lives, our property, our loved ones by standing up for the truth in that day? I don't know if we would. We have to wait before we're in the circumstances before we can make positive statements as to how we react in them. So Gideon was working in a very difficult time. The enemies were out to destroy everything and he says I'm not going to let them. And I'm going to risk all that belongs to me in order to provide this. And I believe this is why the Lord said he was a mighty man of valor. He said something else. The Lord is with thee. If you have the time and you can go through a good concordance and find all the persons who were addressed in this way, the Lord is with thee, or those of whom it could be said the Lord was with them, you'll find it an extremely interesting study. And of course preeminently this was so in connection with the Lord Jesus himself. You remember when Peter was preaching in Cornelius's home in Acts 10, it says he went about doing good for the Lord was with him, for God was with him. And what a wonderful thing that is when God is with anyone. He can be sure of support and power and blessing and fruitfulness. This always follows in the life of the servants of whom it can be said the Lord was with them. Well Gideon's immediate reaction to this is, if the Lord is with us, mind the angel didn't say that the Lord was with them, he said the Lord was with Gideon, not with the nation. But Gideon took it up as if it were the nation that was being referred to, and he says, if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened? Why our fathers have told us of wonderful times, and now we are in very, very bad conditions, why has this befallen us? The Lord said to him, go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel. What was Gideon's might? The conscious sense that things weren't right, that they weren't what they ought to be, that things were different from what they used to be, and a desire in his heart to do something to rectify them. You see dear brethren, if we are conscious that in our own lives, and in the collective testimony, things are not just as good as they used to be, it will make us inquire why. And once we get to know, we'll be very much concerned in prayer and energy to do something to make things better. But if we go along quite complacent and say, oh well everything's all right, and not much concerned, I don't think things will get better. But when we act like a man like Gideon, then things are going to be better, because the Lord is going to link up with us in our exercises. This is the kind of thing that he delights to see. And so Gideon is credited with having strength and power, because he actually felt in a God-like way the conditions that prevail. Well he said, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. The Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee. Here was the proper condition for every saint of God at any time, whether the conditions are good or bad. Here is the proper condition for any saint of God, the condition of humility before the Lord. Now it's easy to say that, but we have a nature in us that can feed on pride and prominence and preeminence and anything but humility. But all the men of God who have really done anything for the Lord have been men who have been marked by the spirit of humility, none more than the Lord himself. That passage in Philippians 2, that we so often read at the breaking of bread to describe the Lord coming down, was written by Paul under the guidance of the Spirit to show the saints of God that they should be as he was when he was here in this world. And the two great features that come out in that passage are humility and obedience. He humbled himself, he came down, made himself of no reputation, took upon him the form of a servant, and then became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Now the Apostle prefaced what he said by, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. We have to be humble, we have to be obedient, and this is the pathway, this is the characteristics for every Christian who wants to be for God. Humility and obedience. Arrogance and pride and forcefulness, the assertion of our natures, have no place whatsoever in the testimony of any who want to be for the Lord. And so Gideon is described here in this very, very commendable way. A valiant man, the Lord is with him, and he's marked by humility. Now after his experience with the angel of the Lord in verse 24, we read it together, Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord and called it Jehovah Shalom. He knew something about peace in his heart. Certain things that hadn't been plain to him before were now very plain. Also this commission that the Lord had given to him, and the fact that the Lord had promised to be with him, produced peace in his heart. And there was this wonderful response, before ever he was engaged in conflict with the enemy, he raises an altar to the Lord and he worships. Now that's a very important part, isn't it, in Christian life, worship. It's not all conflict, it's not all engaging the enemy, it's not always engaging with the difficulties and problems that beset us. There's something to be done by each of us, either individually or collectively, a responsive heart to the Lord who cares for us and the Lord who has blessed us in such a wonderful way. I think it's a remarkable thing that in the midst of a nation that had given itself up to idolatry, here was one man who was immediately responding to the message he had received and he was worshiping the Lord. Well, the altar of Baal cannot stand any longer. If I'm going to worship the Lord, I must get rid of everything that's offensive to the Lord. And Gideon had been instructed that this was the real canker that was in the heart of the nation. This was the real cause of all the trouble, this altar that was reared to Baal. And it was there, right in his father's house. He knew about it only too well. And so at night he knocked it down. He destroyed it. And of course there was great consternation in the morning. Who's done this awful thing? Knocked down the altar of Baal? Who's done this thing? Whoever it is will need to be punished. But as ever, whenever a man takes a stand for the truth, there's always someone who will come to support him. You'll always have fellowship. And this encouragement came from the right quarter. Gideon's father, he supported him. There's no one going to be killed here, he said. Is it right or is it wrong that this altar should be thrown down? It's indisputable that it's an evil thing in our midst and my son has done right in throwing down this altar. Dear brethren, it's not enough just to do one thing and to be expert in what is right and proper before the Lord. It's also right to get rid of the offending things that God might not be offended. And this is exactly what Gideon did. He did what was right before the Lord in worshiping and he did what was right before the Lord in removing the rival to the Lord's affections. He destroyed the altar of Baal. You see, there are certain things that you cannot possibly have any tolerance with. Indeed, to have tolerance with this kind of thing is tantamount to treason to the Lord. You can't trifle with Baal. He's in opposition to God. You can't do anything with him with grace and love. It's impossible. He'll never change. The Midianites, the Amorites, the Moabites, all those enemies of the Lord, they never change. They never get better. They're fixed in their determination to oppose the things of God. And showing grace and love never alters them. They have to be ruthlessly dealt with and removed. And this is what Gideon did. He threw down the altar of Baal and he raised up a standard for the Lord. And so in verse 34 that we read, the spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon. It's quite interesting that in this book of Judges that deals with so much that is of a dark character, there are more references to the spirit of the Lord in it than in any other book in the Old Testament. Samson, and here we find Gideon, Othniel, and others, the spirit of the Lord actively engaged in times of difficulty. Oh dear brethren, how thankful we are for the wonderful truth that we possess, that the spirit of the Lord indwells us individually and is with us collectively. And he'll never be taken from us. He's with us to the end. The Lord's promise is he shall abide with you forever, right to the end of the Christian testimony. And this is the real resource of the people of God at all times to deal with all that's offensive to God. He's the spirit of truth. He and his divine power and greatness and glory can detect error when we can be hoodwinked. He can reveal to us what is really wrong and specious in teachings that are offensive to God and to Christ. And he is the power that enables us to stand for him in an evil day when false doctrines are increasing on every hand. And so how thankful we are for this statement that the spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon and he blew a trumpet and Abba Ezer was gathered after him. Here are people in his own vicinity. They are gathering to his standard. He sounds the note, the clear distinct note. You remember Paul said if the trumpet doesn't give a distinct sound, how can men prepare themselves for battle? Well this is what Gideon's doing. He's blowing a trumpet. He's giving a signal to all concerned that there is something being done. Now not only a food supply being provided, thank God for that, but now a very determined effort to get rid of the bondage of the Midianites. I think it's the 31st chapter of Numbers, you can look it up, your leisure, where we find God saying that he will have vengeance on Midian. Now this is what God says. God is determined that Midian shall have no part with the people of God and he's determined that they won't interrupt the blessings of the people. And so just as he said against Amalek and against Moab and Ammon, God declares his hatred of all that belongs to the Midianites. And so here the standard is being raised but it goes a bit further. In verse 35, Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, Naphtali, they gather to the standard too. We are very glad to see our friends Zebulun and Naphtali here again. They were prominent in the revival in Deborah's day and Barak's day. They jeopardied their lives in the high places, prepared to lay down their lives to defend what belonged to God. And here they're in the forefront again. That's a very fine thing to see, consistency in a desire to maintain what belongs to the Lord. Now it came to this army that was going to meet the Midianites, 32,000. Quite a useful army to have, Gideon. But Gideon had a few lessons to learn yet. And one of them was that God doesn't necessarily work by large numbers, neither is he committed to work with large numbers. Not by might, nor by strength, but by my power, saith the Lord. God can save by few as well as by many. We are reminded of Paul's statement in 1 Corinthians 1, God has chosen the weak things of this world to confound the things that are mighty. And the many other statements that Paul made in that connection, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us, in 2 Corinthians chapter 4. There we find this wonderful history portrayed for us. In 1 Corinthians 1, in 2 Corinthians 4, it fits exactly to the story of Gideon and his army. 32,000. How are you going to use them, Gideon? How will you deploy your troops in order to meet this great army? Well, God says, Gideon, you speak to them and tell them, those who are a bit timid and fearful, to go home. Because such people aren't much use when it comes the day of battle. They turn back. The book of Proverbs tells us that. So Gideon tells them what God has said to him. And 22,000 turned back and went away home. Well, that's considerably reduced the army from 32,000 to 10,000. That's a very great reduction. Never mind, we might be able to do something, says Gideon. And God says, Gideon, take them down to the river and just see how they drink and I'll tell you the ones that you have to keep. And then the army was drastically reduced to 300. 300 out of 32,000. Ah, but the God, the Lord had said, I'll be with thee. The enemy will be destroyed. And when God starts to work, it doesn't matter. Suppose there are only 300 against a vast army, the battles won. And this was the lesson that Gideon had to learn. But it's not necessarily large numbers that indicate the power of God. Oh, how unfortunately people have been governed by this kind of thing in our meetings. Two dozen, 30, 40 are too small for some people. We want hundreds, thousands. And so they leave the little companies. Principle doesn't matter. As long as there are numbers, as long as there is plenty of movement and activity and plenty of brightness, principles don't matter. And so they leave and away they go. But the Lord is quite happy if there are twos and threes who go on with the truth. Mind, I'm not putting any premium on the fact of small numbers. We do need adequate numbers to carry on an adequate testimony. And there's no particular virtue in that we're only two or three. It might be our own folly. It might be our own weakness that numbers are reduced to such small quantities. We can be sure of this, that if there are two or three or two dozen or 30 or 40 who very humbly and very genuinely are maintaining the truth as it is revealed to them in the scriptures, they'll know in a very real way the presence of the Lord. They'll know his power and they'll know his blessing. And I believe this is the lesson that Gideon had to learn. It wasn't in his power. It wasn't in the largeness of the army. It was in the power of the Lord. It was in his ability to guide, to direct, to control, and to win the victory. Gideon was a man who always wanted to be sure. And we have four occasions where he asked the Lord for guidance. And the Lord showed to him that everything was all right. And the Gideon's two signs in connection with the fleece, and then his desire to the angel to be, to have it revealed to him who it was who was speaking to him. And then lastly, the Lord directed him to go down into the camp of Midian. And there he heard of the dream of one of the men. And the dream was of a little barley cake rolled into the camp, overturned the tents, and awakened up. And they said, this is nothing else but the sword of the Lord and Gideon. At battle's loss, we have defeated. Now a little barley cake isn't a very strong-looking thing, is it? Humble instrument. And I believe the Lord was just indicating to Gideon how small he was personally. A little barley cake. That was God's way of showing Gideon how small and how weak he was. But it was the Lord who was doing the wonderful battle. He was fighting it. And the victory was a foregone conclusion. Now very briefly, Gideon takes his three companies and he provides them with their equipment for fighting this battle. A vast army in front of him. And then he gives them what they require for fighting. And it's a peculiar arrangement. He puts into their hands a trumpet and a pitcher, a clay pitcher, and inside the pitcher, a lighted torch. What a queer arrangement to fight a battle with. But this is God's arrangement. And Gideon, he does it. So he divides his 300 into three companies. Now he says, whenever I give the signal, you do what I do. You follow me. Now there's the language of a man who is leading the saints of God in a positive way. He's sure of his ground. He knows what he's going to do. And he directs the people to do as he is doing. So the appropriate moment came. The trumpet was sounded. The 300 created quite a noise. 300 trumpets blaring at the one time. The pitchers are smashed. The torches shone forth. And the Midianites, they flew for their lives. The battle was won. It was a great slaughter. Princes were killed. God had fulfilled his word. The enemy was overthrown. Well, we turn to 2nd Corinthians 4 and we get the explanation of all this. Paul says, we have this treasure in earthen vessels. The earthen vessels are the pitchers, those weak bodies of ours, in which indwells all the precious things that God has placed there in view of testimony for himself. This is the testimony, the trumpet, trumpet sound, the testimony that is to go forth, contained in poor weak vessels. But when they're broken, that is, when they're humbled under the hand of the Lord and kept there, there is an adequate testimony to meet all the power of Satan and to defeat his armies. Dear brethren, that's those of us who are here this evening. We're all poor, weak creatures in ourselves, are we not? But as under the hand of the Lord, if we keep humble and allow him to work with us, then an adequate testimony will be rendered for his pleasure and for his glory. Now, as always, there are always grumblers and we find that after the battle was won, there were some who came to Gideon and they complained to him, why didn't you come for us? Well, the trumpet had been blown. They would have had it. I don't think there was any question about that, but they didn't come when the trumpet was blown. So Gideon and those whom God chose for him, they carried on and the victory was theirs. It was all right to come in at the end and make complaints, but Gideon wasn't a man of forceful spirit and he's a beautiful example of a soft answer turning away wrath. And instead of causing frustration amongst his brethren or causing them to be in animosity towards him, he won them for his cause. I read the last portion because I think it's a very sad thing when a man of God goes astray. What a terrible thing. This man of God, who broke down the altar of Baal in his own home and who was used of God in such a marvelous way, and then he's led to make an effort and all the nation went a-whoring after it and it was a snare unto the children of Israel. Very, very sad. Does it not remind us, dear brethren, that we need to be kept every inch of the way, right to the very end. There's not a moment when we can afford to lack in vigilance. There's not a moment when we can say, well, we're all right, nothing will go wrong, we're standing, we're strong. When a man thinks he's standing, he's to take heed lest he fall. George Muller, wonderful man of faith in Bristol, he prayed right till the day he died, Lord, preserve me from being a wicked old man. He knew the propensities of the flesh. He had known what it was in his unconverted days to be led by Satan, and he didn't want to return to that. So his continual prayer was that he might be kept. So the fact that we've been successful at any moment in our lives from the Lord doesn't mean that we'll be immune from temptation or failure. We need to be kept right to the end. And I believe that sweet word in Peter is something that we can lay hold of if we're humble and we leave ourselves in the Lord's hand, kept by the power of God. How wonderful it is to look back over our lives and trace all the keeping to the Lord himself, and certainly not to ourselves. But may these few remarks from the life of this man of God be an encouragement for us in our day that we might go on, provide food for the saints, make sure we provide plenty for ourselves first, build up our own souls, and so be a help to others for his name's sake. …