Isaiah Lesson 35

The Lord’s Coming Judgment and the Discipline of Hebrews 12

We're going to be in Hebrews, Isaiah 27. So welcome everybody here in the building, those that are gonna be joining us online. In this particular psalm, we're gonna see three different times the phrase, in that day, the Lord, in that day, in that day.

Again, completing another section, we're gonna be going into some woes, if you would, as we move forward. But we're looking at a picture here in Isaiah 27 of God, God's plan, how he is restoring, how he returns the nation of Israel to his very, very presence.

I was thinking of looking at Hebrews 12, one to six. Sandy, I'm gonna ask if you would open up Hebrews 12, one to six. We're not gonna spend a ton of time in this, because I know that sometime by the year 2022, Jeff will have completed Hebrews 11, and we'll be ready to do Hebrews 12.

There's an emphasis at the end of it in verse six that I wanted to get to, but Sandy, if you would read verses one to six, Hebrews 12, please.

Therefore, since we have no great, so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us. Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and protector, protector of faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

For consider him who has endured such hostility by sinners against himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin, and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sung.

My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are recruited by him. For those whom the Lord loves, he disciplines, and he scourges every son whom he receives.

I wanted to emphasize that last phrase, whom the Lord loves, he chastises or chastens. This chapter is gonna start out in that day, the Lord, and it's gonna talk about the Lord dealing with the finality, dealing with evil.

It's going to use something called the Leviathan, and we'll get into that. And then as we get to the end of the chapter, in that day, a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and driven out to the land of Egypt will come and worship on the holy mountain of Jerusalem.

What's in between, however, isn't just a nice brochure from a travel agency that says God loves you, and God has not forsaken you, and God is faithful, and he is calling you back, and God is dealing once and for all with wickedness, and now has put together this all-inclusive trip on a luxury, no, what's going to be in the middle of this book is gonna be some difficulties in this chapter.

It's gonna be some difficulties, which made me just go to that Hebrews 12, six. Whom the Lord loves, he chastens. That passage Sandy read includes things like fix your eyes on Jesus, consider him the author and perfecter, and there are exhortations with eventually this promise, whom the Lord loves, he also chastens, and he does that because he loves us.

And again, you can quickly go off onto a realization that as a parent dealing with difficulties with the child, being stern when stern is required, or being corrective when it's for their own good, and here we have God, who is the author and perfecter.

There are five of the characteristics of God that I think play into this chapter. So I'm going to throw this out as we look at them and ask you to give me your impression of what these characteristics might be.

I'm gonna read them real quickly, and then I'm gonna ask Pastor Jeff to open us in prayer. The holiness of God, the justice of God, the omnipotence of God, the righteousness of God, and the faithfulness of God.

I know there are a lot of others, but I just wanted to highlight those. Pastor, would you open us in a prayer?

So Father, as we think about your attributes, we're turning our hearts and our minds to you. We want to be God-centered in how we think. We want to know you as you are, as you reveal yourself to be, not as anybody would imagine you to be.

So Lord, we pray that you would open our eyes to see you, to behold wonderful things in your word. Help us now as we study in Jesus' name. Amen.

Holiness of God, what does that mean to you? Set apart as special. I like that. Set apart from what? Anything else. And that's probably the best answer, from anything else, because anything else that isn't God is not God.

And by definition, it's not gonna be his perfect, and that's not good. That's not good. Justice, the justice of God.

That has to do with keeping, being through a court kind of system where you are just, you're declared to be legally righteous.

Okay, that's really, that's a good approach to it.

Yeah. Seeing things wholly right and sticking to it.

Seeing things wholly right and sticking to it, then that's powerful too, because our God, because of his love, could just overlook our foibles, but he's a just God. And because he's a just God, he cannot deal outside of, outside of dimnipitance of God.

And it's because of God, my capability and how vast is his knowledge and his ability. And I sort of think of our computer systems and how the server does this, and it can be tuned to do this, and tuned to do that, and tuned to do that.

But God is way even above the capabilities that we can see a little bit of the amazing things that technology has done for us in the last several years. But God is way vaster than any of that, because he can, I'll tell ya, he just surprises me sometimes, because I'll say, I really need help with this.

And like, ooh, the phone rings, or the doorbell rings, or something happens, or he turns me to a scripture, and the answer is there. And I'm saying, he knows me.

Yeah, yeah, and that's the scariest part of it, for me, that's the scariest part of it, is that the omnipotence of God says he knows me. And those things that I do that I think are excusable, well, he's a just God.

He's a holy God. He said, but he is omnipotent, he knows me. There are those times in the Psalms where it says, test me and try me and know my ways. That's a scary prayer.

It's scary, but it's joyous at the same time. He knows me, he knows all my faults,.

But he loves me. Thank you. That is so, I'm glad you said that, because even with his omnipotence, there is mercy, even with his omnipotence, there is this provision, okay? The righteousness of God.

Is not omnipotence power-related, omniscience? I meant omniscience. You are so good. I meant to say omniscience.

And you are omniscient, because you knew that I got it wrong. Omnipotence is all-powerful. Omniscience means he's all-knowing.

Good catch. And omnitemporal, he's at all places at all times.

There are a lot of things, and there are a lot of places we can go, but I meant to be talking about omniscience. Thank you. And as we get into understanding the nation of Israel, and God saying, I'm here, that day has come, and I'm gonna deal with Leviathan at the end of it.

He says, I'm calling you all back. He is still an omniscient God, and he knows that there are things that are gonna have to be dealt with as he brings them in with him. The righteousness of God, there is no deviation to truth with God.

What is truth? Yeah. Not only is there no deviation, but he defines it. Thank you.

He defines it. And because he is defining it, everything about it is going to be his, based on his, and then the faithfulness of God. Because he knows, because he's holy, because he's righteous and just and everything else, there's every reason and every expectation to say, I got no right to even be there, except God is faithful to his promises.

God is faithful to his promises. We're gonna look at Isaiah. We're gonna start out in just the first verse first. Hebrews 4, Bob Ellis, I'm gonna ask if you would have that ready. Revelation 1, Bob Zellum, have that ready.

Job 41, Nevah, there's different verses there. And Barb, Revelation 12, there's a bunch of little verses there. And Revelation 20, Christina, if you would have that ready when we get there. Give me verse one, please.

In that day, the Lord with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan, the fleeing serpent, Leviathan, the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.

The Defeat of Leviathan and the Power of God’s Word

Okay, in that day, we're coming out of chapter 26, verse 21. Behold, the Lord is coming out from his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The earth will disclose the blood shed on it and will no more cover its slain.

And Pastor Jeff took us through this last week, the very iniquity of people and its impact even on creation, the blood being shed on the earth. The Lord is coming out of his holy place. He's coming out of his dwelling with an intent to punish the iniquity of the earth.

That answers the question, why is the Lord coming? In that verse, it's to punish the iniquity of the inhabitants of the earth. And so now he gets a little bit more specific. If you're talking about the iniquity of the inhabitants of the earth, what is the cause?

Okay, the flesh, yes. But what was the force that was used that took advantage of the flesh? Satan, okay, and we've already studied that earlier in Isaiah, how the morning sun, how he came down and we looked at the passages.

In this particular case, he's talking about, again, that day and he's gonna come and there is a foe that he's gonna address and it's Leviathan, but what is he using as he approaches and as he deals with Leviathan?

A severe sword. It says here, a swift sword, a hard, a great, a strong sword. Hebrews 4, Bob?

Yeah, in fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, I'm sorry, that's five. The word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It penetrates even a dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow, it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom he must give account.

And then Revelation 1, 16. Oh, 16?

I apologize, that's not what I said. I may be wrong. Okay. In his right hand, he held seven stars. Out of his mouth went a sharp, double-edged sword and his face was like the sun, shining in full strength.

Scripture is going to use this imagery of a sword. It's his word, it is the absolute power of just his spoken word as a two-edged sword. And it says that that day the Lord with his heart great and strong sword, read that to be his very word, his very truth, which executes the judgment, which executes his execution on what is wrong.

That's what we're looking at here. It's this two-edged sword that Bob read about. Bob read it actually comes out of the mouth of the Lord. The protection against the word of God and the judgment of the word of God does not exist.

The power of the word is clearly evidenced in Psalm 33, 6, which says, by the word of the Lord, the heavens were made.

By the word of the Lord, the heavens. In the beginning was the word and the word was with God. And the word was God. Okay, so the existence and the power and the unstoppableness of God is on display. It's really intriguing too, in that it's a threefold adjective, hard, great and strong.

And in scripture, often when you get this threefold adjective it is a point of emphasis. It's one of these things, stop and pay attention. It's not, with his powerful word he did this. Well, it's his powerful and his great and his strong word.

When you've got this threefold adjective emphasizing just the essence of what his word is, just stop and look at it. That's all he needs to effect what he needs to accomplish is his strong and great and hard word, the sword that comes out.

Leviathan, who and what is Leviathan? I'm sorry? Extinct. Extinct, okay. I'm going to, and I hear what you're saying. That's a joke. At this point in time, Leviathan is describing. So whatever it is that he's describing is still here and there's a point in time.

But what is Leviathan?

Does he represent Satan? Okay, yeah, Bob, yes. In some of the studies that I've been exposed to, the deep sea was referred to as the gate to hell and the Jews dreaded the sea because they thought that was the gate to hell and that comes a little bit from Philippians.

But we know that the devil lives in hell and it could be that that's what he's referring to is that out of the deep sea, this dragon, which we know is coming, is coming out of the sea.

There is going to be a couple of ways to look at this. All right? There are those who will look at this picture of Leviathan and go into Canaanite mythology where there is a seven-headed beast. Hold on to that thought, that's what they call, the word Leviathan comes from this mythological beast that was there.

Sounds like Herculaneum from Hades. Well, we can go there too. There's another way to look at it that says that it is just a creature of the deep. It is a, because the Leviathan is, it's not used very often in scripture, but it refers to, well, okay, a sea-bearing creature.

There are those who think that it reflects to a dinosaur. Yes, there is that. But then there are those who will take it in kind of a representative and that the dinosaur that is fleeting represents Assyria because the Tigris River is a strong flowing river and that the Leviathan that is twisting represents Babylon because of the Euphrates River, which is very twisty and turny.

And then there are those who will take you to Ezekiel 29, verses three to five, where Leviathan is equated to Egypt. And then there are those who will take you to these three empires who were enemies of Israel and how there's a representative of worldly powers and worldly empires.

Then there are those who will just call it a great sea creature of creation. And then there are those who will equate it to Satan and then perhaps the seven-headed beast, if you would.

Right in Revelation 13, right at the beginning, the beast with seven heads.

What we have here is a picture of something and the Lord coming with his spoken word, which is hard and great and strong, the triple emphasis on the unstoppable power of God. Job 41, give me verses one and two just, and then I'll speak to it.

Can you draw out Leviathan with a fish hook or press down his tongue with a cord? Can you put a rope in his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook?

What's gonna go on in Job and you're gonna see in verses 10 to 22, you're gonna see pictures of the total futility of human endeavors of taming Leviathan. It doesn't happen, okay? There's only one way for a Leviathan to be tamed and as we get in here, it's God and it's his spoken word.

Revelation 12, Barb.

Then another sign appeared in heaven, an enormous red dragon with seven heads and 10 horns and seven crowns on his heads.

So, okay, we'll leave it go there and I'll speak to these others. In Revelation 12, we've got this beast with seven heads. Oh, by the way, go back to the Canaanite seven-headed dragon and perhaps there's some influence in the pictures that are drawn here, but we have this seven-headed beast that comes out and we know that there is a war in heaven between the angels and the beast and we know that eventually he's thrown down and eventually, I mean, he just gets enraged and he creates havoc.

He knows his time is short. He knows his time is short. The picture there is clearly pointing towards Satan and his return. In Revelations 12, he knows that his time is short and so he's gonna be doing what he had.

Revelation 20.

21 and two. 21 and two. Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years and threw him into the pit and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might deceive the nations.

I'm sorry, he may not deceive the nations any longer until the thousand years were ended and after that, he must be released for a little while.

Okay, so the imagery in the picture here, although the word Leviathan is not used there in Revelation, the imagery draws itself together, that we're not talking about the defeat of empires. We're not talking about the overpowering of a creature, of creation, if you would, but we are talking about the picture of Satan and what his influence, what his impact and what his power.

What Christine wrote, read for us, talks about Satan being bound for a thousand years, eventually coming out, and we go to the end of that chapter, we know that he is thrown into the lake of fire and ultimately defeated.

What we have here right now, in that day, the Lord, with his hard, great and strong sword, his actual word that comes from his mouth, he will punish Leviathan. Read in that case here, Satan. That fleeing serpent, Leviathan, the twisting serpent, he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.

This is the defeat. This is the ultimate defeat of evil, as God ordains it. Jeff, you're gonna give me, if you would please,.

The Restored Vineyard and the Purging of Idolatry

Verses two through six. Okay. In that day, a pleasant vineyard, sing of it. I, the Lord, am its keeper every moment I water it, lest anyone punish it. I keep it night and day. I have no wrath. Would that I had thorns and briars to battle.

I would march against them. I would burn them up together, or let them lay hold of my protection. Let them make peace with me. Let them make peace with me. In days to come, Jacob shall take root. Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots and fill the whole world with fruit.

Carol, I'm gonna ask if you would get Isaiah five. You're gonna start out, it'll be verses one to seven. I'll let you start and rudely interrupt you when I think it's time. Oh, okay. This is the second of the songs of the vineyard that are recorded in Isaiah.

And in this case, we're seeing a beautiful picture of the vineyard being restored to health and to prosperity. And it's a picture of God's restoration of it. The first one is in Isaiah five. Go ahead and start there, verse one.

Now I will sing a song for the one I love about his vineyard. My beloved has a vineyard on a rich and fertile hill. He plowed the land, cleared its stones, and planted it with choice vines. In the middle, he built a watchtower and carved a winepress in the nearby rocks.

Then he waited for a harvest of sweet grapes, but the grapes that grew were wild and sour.

I need you to read that phrase again. He's waited for a harvest.

Okay. He plowed the land, cleared its stones, planted it with choice vines. In the middle, he built a watchtower and carved a winepress in the nearby rocks. He then waited for a harvest of sweet grapes, but the grapes that grew were wild and sour.

He is going to then, as that passage goes on, allow that vineyard to become a wasteland because of their disobedience. That's the first song of the vineyard. It's a picture of the result of disobedience.

It's a picture of God's righteousness and his justice in dealing with his people. But now we get into this second one. In that day, a pleasant vineyard. Sing of it. I, the Lord and the keeper, every moment I water it, lest anyone punish it.

I keep it night and day. I have no wrath. But then there's this in the middle here, this thing he's talking about, thorns. Would that I had thorns and briars to battle, I would march against them. I would burn them up to gather.

There is still going to be a cleansing that has to occur. The thorns and the inappropriate stuff are still going to be there, but he is going to deal with them. In that day is in verse six, to come. Jacob shall take root.

And this compares with the end of the first song of the vineyard, where the vineyard becomes a wasteland. In the days to come, Jacob shall take root. Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots and fill the whole world with fruit.

There is this restoration that is to come. It's guaranteed by God. Having just dealt with Leviathan, in remembrance of the first song of the vineyard, where their disobedience has caused judgment, and now we come to the realization that God will be restoring them.

But there still is a problem that has to be dealt with. Give me verses seven through 11. And while we get there, Jean, I'm going to ask if you would get Deuteronomy 28 ready. And then Ezekiel five, who's next to Christine?

That's Karen. Karen, if you could get Ezekiel five ready, I will speak to the others when we get there. Give me seven through 11, please.

Has he struck them as he struck those who struck them? Or have they been slain as their slayers were slain? Measure by measure, by exile you contended with them. He removed them with his fierce breath in the day of the east wind.

Therefore, by this, the guilt of Jacob will be atoned for, and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin. When he makes all the stones of the altars like chalk stones crushed to pieces, no asherim or incense altars will remain standing.

For the fortified city is solitary, a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness. There the calf grazes. There it lies down and strips its branches. When its bows are dry, they are broken. Women come and make a fire of them.

For this is a people without discernment. Therefore, he who made them will not have compassion on them. He who formed them will show them no favor.

There is judgment, and in the midst of this promise of God's ultimately defeating Leviathan, in the midst of this promise that the vineyard is going to be restored is the realization that God has to deal with the judgment that is there because of the sins of the people.

Deuteronomy 28, who did I give that to? Jean, if you would read, please.

If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law, which are written in this book, and do not rehearse this work, revere, I'm so sorry, revere this glorious God, this glorious and awesome name, the Lord your God, the Lord will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants.

Okay, we'll let it go at that because it's gonna go on with much of the same. The Deuteronomy, it's the blessings and the cursings, and it's interesting, if you were to go into the book of Joshua, they're in Shittim, they're getting ready to go, they have the spies in Jericho, they come in, they have the battle of Jericho, the God's victory, they go into a camp, and they're looking at Ai, and they try to do it their own way, Achan has taken the booty, which he wasn't supposed to do, they lose, they repent, they turn back to God, God gives them the marching orders, they defeat Ai, and what they're gonna do now that Jerusalem and Ai are out of the way, they're gonna march north to these two mountains, and the people are gonna be on one and the other mountain, and between them will be the Ark of the Covenant, and they antiphonally were gonna repeat the blessings and the cursings.

This is ingrained in these people's hearts, the blessings and the cursings, the blessings and the cursing. The cursings are if you do not obey, then, if you do not obey, then. Ezekiel 5, do you have that, Carol?

Karen.

Karen. Yes, yet in her witness, she has rebelled against my laws and decrees more than the nations and countries around her. She has rejected my laws and has not followed my decrees. Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says, you have been more unruly than the nations around you and have not followed my decrees or kept my laws.

You have not even conformed to the standards of the nations around you. Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says, I myself am against you, Jerusalem, and I will inflict punishment on you and the sight of the nations.

While Isaiah is prophesying, Jerusalem still stands. There are gonna be attacks. There are going to be opportunities for the nation to see God protect them. Eventually, what's gonna happen is the people are gonna desecrate the temple.

The Shekinah glory is going to leave. The city will be unprotected. There will be a siege and there will be defeat and in 586, Jerusalem is destroyed. That is yet to come. And the people who are hearing this message that are coming from Isaiah talking about in that day, the Lord is gonna defeat Leviathan, in that day, the vineyard will be restored to its full glory and its full plenty.

Mark my word, Jerusalem, because of your sin, the decrees of Deuteronomy 28 still hold. When you choose not to obey, there will be consequences. And then as Ezekiel says, because in fact, you were worse than all of the other nations.

That blows your mind. That really blows your mind because you're talking about some pretty bad dudes out there. You're talking about the Babylonians, the Assyrians. You're talking about some pretty bad dudes.

God says you were worse than all of them. It's not necessarily saying that the murder, the unwanted murder that was performed by Assyria, by Babylon, as they conquered. It's not necessarily saying that you did deeds that were so heinous.

What made them worse was they should have known better. They had the word of God and they turned their hearts away from God. And in God's eyes, they were worse than everybody else because they had the opportunity.

It seems like they represented God worse than the nations did.

And because it says, it said to the promise that was given to Abram, through you, all the nations will be blessed. Not the way they are now. Through you, all the nations will be blessed and they behave so horribly that God then says, you are worse than all of those nations.

And so therefore, Jerusalem, and in here he says that he will be exiled by exile, you will contend with them. He will remove them with fierce breath in the day of the east wind. Therefore, by this guilt of Jacob, there must be, there must be justice.

Going back to those characteristics of God, he knows who they are. He's omniscient. He is omnipotent, but he's also omniscient. He knows who they are. They had to be dealt with. And so what's gonna happen now is the guilt of Jacob will be atoned for.

What does it mean for the guilt of Jacob to be atoned for?

What does atoned mean, Pastor? It means that God has made a sacrifice that pays the price of that. That's right.

That's right. The people needed the atoning, cleansing sacrifice that was going to have to happen. Leviticus 16 is the chapter, if you wanna understand and read about this concept of atonement and the atoning blood, go to Leviticus 16.

We're talking about the lambs and we're talking about the scapegoat. We're talking about the blood being shed with the sacrifice of atonement. There's always the shedding of blood. There's always the shedding of blood for the atonement.

The guilt of Jacob needs to be atoned for and it's not gonna be accomplished by Jacob becoming better people. It's gotta come through the atoning blood. The nation eventually, as we get into the book of Revelation, it actually identifies the entire nation by tribe, by name, coming back.

144 ,000, 12 ,000 from each of the 12 tribes. That is really amazing when you consider at this point in time, we have something called the lost 10 tribes. Out of the Northern kingdom, they go into exile and we've lost track of them.

They're not recorded in scripture, but out of the Southern kingdom, they go into captivity and they return under Ezra. They return under Nehemiah, but the lost 10 tribes are returned in the book of Revelation by name.

Every family is named by name. They come back. Their sin eventually being atoned for and God cleansing them and restoring and returning them for it. It says here that there is some evidence of their cleansing and it talks about the altars being crushed and the asherim not standing.

What we have a picture here is an exer, a removal of idolatry, a removal of hearts that have been turned away from pure worship and submission to God. God is righteous. One of his attributes is he is righteous.

He defines truth. He doesn't deviate from truth. And for the people to be prepared, to be able to experience the blessings, there has to be this cleansing from idolatry right out of their hearts. And it says, by this will be, by this will the fruit of the removal of his sin when he makes the stones of the altars like chalk stones and when the asherim and incense altars no longer remain.

That is a picture of taking out all of the idolatry and all of the practices that turn away from God. It talks about the care that God has. He is going to judge and then he's going to purify. And these people will then be ready.

The Gleaning of Israel and the Final Trumpet

Give me verses 12 and 13. Judges 6, 11. Ralph, I'm gonna ask if you would get that ready. And Ruth 2, 12. Rich, if you would have that ready. Give me verses 12 and 13.

In that day, from the river Euphrates to the brook of Egypt, the Lord will thresh out the grain and you will be gleaned one by one, O people of Israel. And in that day, a great trumpet will be blown and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain at Jerusalem.

Okay, there are two emphases in here. In one of them, verse 12, it's one by one, one by one. And then in verse 13, it's the whole people. But one by one, one by one, something's gonna happen. And he talks about the Lord will thresh out the grain and you will be gleaned one by one.

This concept of threshing out the grain and the fact that he puts this into the individual context is gonna speak to what's got to happen individually within every person who's going to experience these blessings.

This idea of threshing, Judges 6, 11.

The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Okra that belonged to Joash the Abyssinian where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in the wine grass, excuse me, to keep it from the Midianites.

Threshing doesn't show up a whole lot of times in the Old Testament, but what threshing really means is separating the grain from the stalks. It's taking the meaningful fruit and separating it from that which is meaningless.

So in that case, Gideon, he's working in a wine press. That's a whole nother imagery why, but what we're talking about in this passage here, he will thresh out the grain. He will take and identify that which is right and that which is presentable, well, that which belongs with him, and he will thresh it out and the chaff will be burned and the grain will be held together.

The picture there is that the individuals are at this time still integrated within those who don't belong. So he will identify the grain from the chaff. The wheat and the tares. The wheat, well, the wheat and the tares, but that which is holy, that which is to be restored will be grabbed, and then it says he will be gleaned.

Ruth 2 .17?

Did you say 2 .17 or 12, 2 .12? You said 12, but I think you meant 17. I did mean 17, thank you. So you meant 17, okay. So she, talking about Ruth, she gleaned in the field until evening and beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephod of barley.

I love this picture, now drawing it into here. What is Ruth doing there? She has been in Moab, where her family was from. She had married one of the sons of, I don't remember who it was. Anyway, she had married, her husband died, her husband's brother had died, the father had died, and all that was left was the mother.

And two daughters in law. And the mother is going back to her land, and Ruth says, I want to come with you. She says, I got nothing for you. What, am I going to have another child? I got nothing for you.

And she says, your people are my people. Your God is my God. The sister goes back, but Ruth goes into the land, and she goes into the field, and she gleans, and she's taking off the ground that which is right.

This is what God is doing. He's going through the land, and he's threshed it, and now he's grabbing, and he's taking that which is right for him. That's his children, and he's finding them, and he's taking them, because they belong now with him.