(Through the Bible) Judges 1-7 — Chuck Smith

The Historical Setting of Judges

The book of Judges through Moses the children of Israel were led out of Egypt and God began to form a National kind of a identity and Began to forge the beginnings of a nation. At the death of Moses Joshua who was the servant of Moses took over and Continued to lead the people now into the land that God had promised to their father Abraham that should be theirs that they should inhabit and Thus God keeping his covenant in his word to Abraham.

Now the book of Judges takes up the next period in their history. There were some 13 judges over Israel. They became sort of quasi leaders of Israel. They would judge in the matters of the people. They were leaders but never fully empowered.

By the people as as rulers they were in an interim period between Joshua and the establishing of a-monarchy. At which time Saul became the first king? over Israel. So this book of Judges covers this period of time between the death of Joshua and the coming in of Samuel who was the final Judge over Israel and who Anointed Saul to be the first king over Israel where their form of government was changed from a Theocracy God ruling over the people to a monarchy.

The Recurring Cycle of Apostasy and Deliverance

Now the theocracy Was not successful simply because the people would not submit to the rule of God. In the book of Judges we find a pattern that emerges a Very tragic pattern and that is during the time when they were blessed at ease without war.

They would turn to other gods and begin to worship Baal and Ashtoreth and the various gods of the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Hittites and the Jebusites. The people in the land in which they were dwelling and because of their apostasy God would give them over into the hand of their enemies and they would be oppressed by their enemies and Being oppressed by their enemies they would cry out unto the Lord and the Lord would raise up a judge to be a deliverer and they would be delivered from the oppression of their enemies and they would have a period of prosperity.

The judge would die and back into the same old pattern of Turning their backs on God and beginning again to worship Baal and the other gods in the groves and all and it's just a sad tragic story of failure the failure of consistency in The worship of God and in the honoring of God so As we enter into the book of Judges we enter The scene at the death of Joshua there in verse 1 now after the death of Joshua It came to pass that the children of Israel asked the Lord saying who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first To fight against them now.

You remember the book of Joshua closed with the people were in the land, but there was yet much of the land that was not yet Conquered. They had not Completely driven out the enemies. They had not yet taken all of the territories that God had promised unto them.

So when Joshua died they inquired and they said who shall go up first to take? The land that God has given and so the Lord spoke and said Judah shall go first. Now you remember that Judah? Was given that land south of Jerusalem and so Judah said to Simeon whose Lot was the extreme south even south of Judah down towards their Sheba and all Said to Simeon you go up and help us take our portion and then we'll help you to take your portion and so Judah began to Attack the cities and take the cities and possess the cities that God had apportioned unto Judah and they came to Bezek and there they killed 10 ,000 men of Bezek and took the city and Adonai Bezek now Adonai means Lord so he was the Lord of Bezek or the king of Bezek they Captured him and they cut off his thumbs and his great toes and Adonai Bezek said There have been 60 or 70 Kings That have gathered their meat under my table without their thumbs and toes as I have done.

So hath God Requited me so it was a Practice I guess of this particular King the Lord of Bezek to when he would conquer a king to cut off his great toes and his thumbs and He would actually be there at the king's table 70 Kings He had conquered this way and he said as I have done now God has requitted unto me.

There's a very interesting scripture it declares as a man soweth so shall he also reap and So many times the person can say as I have done So has God requitted unto me for in the same manner in which he judged Ye shall be judged in whatever measure you meet.

It shall be meted out to you as I have done so has God requitted me and They fought with the Against Jerusalem and they had taken it. They'd smitten it with the edge of the sword then they went down to fight against the Canaanites that dwelled in the mountain in the south and in the valley and they went against the Canaanites in Hebron and There Caleb said the one who takes Kierjeth Zephyr, I will give him Aksa my daughter as a wife and so Othniel who was the nephew of Caleb or the cousin of Aksa went up and took the city and So Caleb gave her to him for a wife and So she then came to her dad and asked for spring.

And the story is told there in chapter 1 of how he gave her the upper and the lower Springs for that area then We have the tragic story in verse 21. The children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabit Jerusalem.

But the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day. The house of Joseph went up against Bethel the Lord was with them. They found a man and they said tell us where the Secret entrance to Bethel is and we will spare you.

So the man showed them the entrance to the city of Bethel. They went in and destroyed it. But they saved the man in his house alive. Who went out and established another city named it after the original name of Bethel, which is Luz but then Manasseh in Verse -27 did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth Sheen and her towns or Tanak and her towns.

Nor the other cities including here is Megiddo. Any of you that have been in drew in Israel have seen the ruins of Megiddo. They came to pass when Israel was strong that they put the Canaanites to tribute and did not utterly Drive them out.

Neither did he from drive out the Canaanites. Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kidron and several cities. Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Akko or of Sidon and So the story is is that of an incomplete victory?

Now God had told them when you come into the land you're to utterly drive out the inhabitants thereof. You're not to make any covenant of peace with them. You're not to dwell together and try to coexist with them in peaceful terms.

Utterly drive them out was the command of God, but here is a failure on their part. To obey the voice of God now there was no doubt a rationale in their minds. They no doubt thought well if we allow these people to stay here.

Actually, they want to be on friendly terms. They'll be strengthened by us. We can be strengthened by them being here and we ought to be able to live peaceably with them coexist together and They can be our servants.

They can cut our wood for us and gather. You know our crops and they can build our buildings and we'll just use them. Whatever the rationale is it is wrong if it is opposed to what God has ordered. Now many times in our own minds What God is required or what God has commanded of us doesn't seem to be for our best interest it so often seems that we can figure out a better plan than God did and we are often guilty as were the children of Israel of Not completely obeying the command of the Lord because we don't understand Why God commanded it doesn't make sense to us but God has a reason for everything that he commands and Whether it makes sense to me or not.

It is important that I obey the commandment of God. Because you'll always find out That God always knew what he was talking about and There was a reason behind the command. Now the command to utterly exterminate the people seems to be harsh.

It seems to be cruel To utterly drive them out from their land. That seems to be a very cruel command and It may be that the people just felt well, that's too harsh. That's too cruel. We don't want to do that and thus in disobeying God it brought ultimate problems To their children to their descendants.

It became a perennial problem afterwards. Because they failed to completely obey the voice of the Lord so in chapter 2 we read and The angel the Lord came from Gilgal to Bochim and Said I made you to go up out of Egypt and brought you into the land which I swear to your fathers and I said I will never break my covenant with you and Ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of the land.

Ye shall throw down their alders, but you have not obeyed my voice. Why have you done this? Wherefore, I also said I will not drive them out from before you. But they shall be as thorns in your sides and their God shall be a snare unto you.

And it shall come to pass when the angel of the Lord speak these words to all the children of Israel. The people lifted up their voices and wept and they called the name of the place Bochim. Which means weepers and they sacrificed unto the Lord so The angel the Lord came and said you failed.

God said he would never break his covenant with you. But they broke the covenant. God is always faithful to his side of the covenant. It is man who breaks the covenant with God not God who breaks the covenant with man.

No, man can ever say God broke his covenant with me. Not so. Man is guilty of breaking his covenant with God. His part of the covenant with God, but God doesn't break his covenant with man. And so the angel said you've broken the covenant you've made the league you made the treaties you've left their places of worship their altars their idols and Now they're going to be like traps snares to you and the people wept.

They sacrificed in God, but they didn't change. Now that that is so typical of so many people today. God lays a heavy trip on them. Oh I'm so sorry God. I'm so sorry and they weep, but they don't change.

So there's very little value to the repentance. There seems to be a vast difference between sorrow and true repentance. Many people out of sorrow weep truly weep because of sorrow. But it doesn't really indicate always that there is repentance.

Just because you're weeping. I don't suppose there is a single man in the county jail. That isn't sorry For the crime that got him there, but not necessarily sorry that he did it. But sorry for the mistake that got him caught so you weep over your Apprehension.

You weep over the fact that I've been Apprehended but you don't really have a true repentance for the things that you were doing. They're released they go back out and do the things again. So often Means there is no repentance.

The children of Israel. They wept. Looking as they all my is that wonderful they're weeping. God's got to them. No, he didn't. It's just a surface emotional experience. They're gonna wail and weep for a while and go right back out and do the same thing over again.

They're still not going to drive out the enemy. They're still not going to obey the voice of God. They're gonna continue in their same path and so there is a form of religion a Form of godliness, but no true repentance and and that same condition continues to exist to the present day now these people.

That they left in the land did become a snare the gods that they did not destroy became as thorns and Soon we find them worshiping these gods that they left in the land and it was the constant problem through their history is their worship of the gods of the land and the leaving of the true and the Living God and worshiping these other gods so that Jeremiah cried out unto the people.

Have you ever seen anything like this in the history of mankind? Where a people will turn from their God Even which are not gods to worship another God and yet God cried my people Have forsaken me the fountain of living water and have hewn out for themselves cisterns cisterns that can hold no water the lament of God over Israel and It was it was Their failure in the beginning had these Forefathers been obedient to God they could have spared the nation countless misery countless woes.

But their disobedience only opened the door for a future of Calamity and so the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua who had seen all of the great works of the Lord which he did in Israel.

But Joshua the son of Nun the servant of the Lord died at a hundred and ten years of age and they buried him there in the Mount of Ephraim on the north side of the hill of Gash and There arose another generation after them that is after Joshua's generation which knew not the Lord nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.

And the Children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served Balaam and they forsook the Lord God of their fathers which brought them out of the land of Egypt and they followed other gods of the gods of the people that were round about them and they bowed themselves unto them and provoked the Lord to anger and they forsook the Lord and served Bel and Ashtorette the goddess of heaven or the Ashtar to the Greeks or Isis the female deity of ancient history.

Now it is tragic that Somehow the parents failed to communicate unto their children the power and the work of God. The generation died off there arose another generation it declares After them which did not know Jehovah nor yet the works that he had done.

For their fathers in Egypt now the purpose of the Passover Was to yearly Open the door of Of Opportunity for them to relate to the children of Israel God's great deliverance out of the hand of the Egyptians.

In fact, there were Questions designed in the Passover service that the children would ask. That would give the parents the opportunity to rehearse God's great power what makes this night different from all other nights in the year and They were able to rehearse to their children, but evidently they had ceased even observing the Passover.

They had ceased during, you know keeping the various feasts to the Lord and Where the Lord said tell your children that they may tell you their children that they may tell their children it broke down and the parents Were not faithful in imparting the truths of God to their children.

Passing Faith to the Next Generation

It is so tragic that rarely Does a powerful work of God continue into a second generation? Someone has aptly said God has no grandchildren. You can't have that kind of a distant relationship with God each one must have his own personal relationship with God and The relationship that my parents had is not sufficient for me.

And the relationship that I have isn't sufficient for my children. It is important that I relate to my children the power of God and the works of God In order that they might develop their own relationship with God so that after I am gone they will understand and know God and continue in their relationship with God and They to their children growing up in the Depression years Was not easy we were deprived a lot of things and it is interesting how that we don't want our children to have to learn the same deprivations that we had.

But the tragic thing is our children growing in this affluent society. Never know the joy and the blessing of having to trust God for the evening meal. Having to pray for a pair of shoes having to believe God for the rent because we don't want them to have to experience those same hardships that we experienced and Yet there was tremendous value in those experiences because it was there that we learned the faithfulness of God.

We learned that God would provide as parents we are responsible to lay a foundation With our children so that they have a thorough understanding of God the works of God the power of God. For there are powerful forces that are vying for their attention For their love for their worship, and if we do not lay a solid foundation within their hearts.

They are apt as the children of Israel did To turn away from God and begin to worship Balaam Ashtoreth. And some of the other gods of the world. They forsook the Lord and served Balaam and Ashtoreth. What a tragedy.

And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel. He delivered them into the hands of the spoilers that spoiled them. He sold them to the hand of their enemies around about them So that they could not any longer Stand before their enemies and wherever they went out the hand of the Lord was against them for evil as he had said.

And as the Lord had sworn unto them and they were greatly distressed God said even as my hand will be upon you for good if you turn against me and worship other gods. So while my hand be upon you for evil God kept his word.

Now I'm glad that God keeps his word sometimes. Other times it isn't so good for me that God keeps his word. It is always good for me that he does because it brings me back to him but The faithfulness of God to keep his word is something that we want to remember because even as God has promised blessings He has also promised curses.

Blessings upon those that will obey curses upon them who will forsake him and so verse 16 Establishes this era of judges. Nevertheless the Lord raised up judges which delivered them out of the hands of those that spoiled them and Yet they would not always hearken to the judges but they went a whoring after other gods and bowed themselves to them and Turned quickly out of the way of which their fathers walked in obeying the commandments of the Lord.

But they did not so. So when the Lord raised them up Judges the Lord was with the judge and he delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge for it repented the Lord because of their groanings by reason of the Oppressors that vexed them and they came to pass when the judge was dead.

They returned and corrupted themselves more than their forefathers in following other gods to serve them and bow down to them. They ceased not from their own doings nor from their stubborn ways. Now. This is just a brief sort of a Summary of the book of Judges.

God raised up judges. During the period of the judges, they would be delivered from the oppression of the enemy. But then they would turn away from God and go right back to their evil ways the worshiping of the false gods and all and They would go into oppression again and God would raise up another judge and the story is repeated Over and over and over through the book of Judges, when will people learn?

You know you look at this sad Situation and you wonder what's wrong with you people. Why can't you see it and yet it is a tragic pattern that they followed over and over again. So the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel.

He said because the people have transgressed my covenant Which I commanded their fathers. They have not hearken to my voice. I will not henceforth drive out Any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died that through them I may prove Israel.

Well, whether they will keep the way of the Lord or not. Therefore the Lord left those nations without driving them out. Now these are the nations which the Lord left to prove Israel there were the Philistines the Canaanites the Hivites and the Hittites and The Jebusites and the Perizzites and the Amorites that God left six nations and verse six.

The children of Israel took their daughters that is of the Canaanites the Hittites the Amorites Perizzites Hivites and Jebusites they took their daughters to be their wives and they gave their daughters to their sons and they served their gods and The children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and they forgot Jehovah their God and they served Balaam in the groves.

Now the groves were the places of worship and usually extremely licentious type of worship. Therefore the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel. He sold him into the hand of Kushan Rish Hathim the king of Mesopotamia and They served him for eight years and when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord The Lord raised up to deliver to the children of Israel who delivered them even Othniel the son of Canaan's Caleb's younger brother.

So Othniel was the fellow who married Caleb's daughter. Remember he took the city Kirjath there near Hebron and so Othniel became the first judge over Israel and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him and he judged Israel went out to war and the Lord delivered this Mesopotamian king into his hand and his hand prevailed against him and the land had rest for 40 years.

Now 40 years is probably sort of a rounded off kind of a figure. It is used over and over again. It would appear that. Well, actually though 40 years you got a generation as long as the guy was alive that generation.

When he died you get a new generation and back to the old apostasy see again, it just didn't carry over into the second generation and So here you have the 40 years appearing over and over again. Which is just about that time of a generation and the failure to go on into the next generation.

Othniel, Ehud, and the Continuing Pattern

So during the years of Othniel They had rest and the children of Israel verse 12 did evil again in the sight of the Lord. You know, it's you'd like to take him and just bump their heads together or something it just is so upsetting and The Lord strengthened egg lawn the king of Moab against Israel because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord and He gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek and they went and smote Israel and possessed the city of the palm trees.

So the children of Israel served egg lawn the king of Moab for 18 years. But when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord the Lord raised up a deliverer. The son of Gera a Benjamite a man who was left-handed and by him the children of Israel sent a President to egg lawn the king of Moab.

But he hood made himself a dagger Sharpened both sides. Made it about 18 inches long. Put it under his robe on his left side and he went in to the king of Moab. Old egg. Let's see now we got a hood and egg lawn egg lawns the king.

So he came into egg lawn with a present and then he said I have a secret message for you and So egg lawn the king of Moab sent out all the servants and he said I have a message From the Lord for you, and he drew out the dike the dagger and the Oh egg lawn was a really fat guy he Put the dagger in and the fat clothes around and he couldn't pull it out.

So he left it in haft and all and When he went out of the room he closed the door and locked it. And he told the servants the king is taking a nap and so he took off running. So that they waited outside and waited outside until they got embarrassed they were waiting there so long.

He said well, we better go in and check on the king. So they got the key unlocked the door when they got in they found the king was dead and it had given he hood time to escape and so he called together an army and they came against the Moabites and God delivered them out of the hand of Moab they killed that time about 10 ,000 men of Moab who tried to escape out of Israel back into the land and the land had rest for 80 years, so here's twice 40 and After him was Shamgar the son of Anath.

He was the third judge, and we really don't know much about Shamgar except. He must have been a tough cookie. Because he killed six hundred Philistines with an ox goad now just the stick that they used when they were plowing with an ox they'd have a go to stick that they'd kick in the flanks with to keep him going and Evidently he was maybe farming and and you know plowing with and keeping either with his oxen and here came a Company of Philistines over the hill so he goes after him with his ox goad 600 men with an ox goad so He was the third judge of Israel.

That's about all we know of Shamgar like to know more about that character. Verse 4 or chapter 4 verse 1 the same old story and the children of Israel Again did evil in the sight of the Lord when Ehud was dead.

Deborah, Barak, and Jael

The Lord sold him into the hand of Jabin the king of Canaan that reigned in Hazor the captain of whose host was Cesareh which dwelt in Herosheth of the Gentiles and The children of Israel cried unto the Lord for he had 900 chariots of iron and For 20 years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.

So this is up now Hazor is Up about 15 miles north of the Sea of Galilee and in the area above Galilee actually and Jabin the king dwelt there. Hazor was a fortified city a Very large city the ruins are quite large Encompass a very large area.

But he had a powerful army 900 chariots of iron The Canaanite army and he oppressed the children of Israel for 20 years now no doubt those that were in the upper area the tribe of Naphtali and The tribe of Zebulun were most oppressed by him in that upper area of Galilee.

Naphtali was all around Galilee and Zebulun was just south of Galilee in the area that is now sort of bordered by Mount Gilboa and Nazareth and Megiddo the plains through there was the territory of Zebulun so Barak There was well, we first of all introduced to Deborah verse 6 and Deborah was a prophetess and She judged Israel at that time.

So here is a woman Who is judging Israel at this particular time? Who also was a prophetess? There are some men today that would exclude women from any kind of service unto God. But certainly God does not exclude them at all even from important positions such as judging over Israel and she was gifted as a prophetess and She dwelt between Rama and Bethel which is just north of Jerusalem five miles or so and And she sent and called Barak the son of Ben Olam of Kadish Naphtali so of the Area of Naphtali the area around Galilee.

She said unto him hath not Jehovah 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 of Kishon Sisera the captain of Jabin's army with his chariots and his multitude and I will deliver him into your hand.

Barak said unto her if you will go with me Then I will go but if you won't go with me Then I will not go and she said I will surely go with thee notwithstanding the journey that you take shall not be for your honor.

For the Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. So no wonder God had a woman as a judge and that you had those kind of men in the land That won't do anything unless a woman goes with them you really don't have real men and so It was a tragic condition that the land was in when Barak says well, I won't go if you don't go with me and and So she said okay, I'll go but God's going to give the glory to this whole thing not to you but to a woman.

It'll come to a woman. God will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman. So Barak called Zebulun the tribe people of Zebulun and Naphtali to Kadesh the city that he lived in and He went up with 10 ,000 men at his feet and Deborah went up with him now Heber the Kenite which was of the children of Hobab Who was the father-in-law of Moses had severed himself from the Kenites and had pitched his tent in the plain of Zanam Which is by Kadesh now Moses father-in-law his family sort of came with the children of Israel.

But here this guy's sort of a traitor. He in he was a narc actually informed on the fact that Sisera was There in Mount Tabor with this army. He he let them know and so Sisera came down with his army the nine hundred chariots and the whole thing and so Sisera gathered together against them and at the river Kaysha Kishon and Deborah said unto Barak up for this day.

This is the day in which the Lord has delivered Sisera into your hand is not the Lord gone out from before thee. So Barak went down from Mount Tabor and 10 ,000 men after him and the Lord Discomfited Sisera and all of his chariots and all of the hosts for the edge of the sword before Barak so that Sisera Got off of his chariot and fled away on his feet but Barak pursued after the chariots and after the host and to Herosheth of The Gentiles and all the host of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword and there was not a man left I'll be at.

Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of jail the wife of Heber of the Kenite. For there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite now the house of Heber was the family of Moses father-in-law so jail went out because there was peace between Jabin the Canaanite King and the house of Heber.

Jail went out to the tent door and Sisera came running up and so Jail said we'll come on into the tent and I will take care of you and so She covered him with a mantle and he said give me a drink of water.

So she fixed she opened the bottle and gave him some milk, and I thought that's an interesting Scripture think of how long ago they have bottles of milk. I was really fascinated by that now She gave him a drink and covered him.

She gave him a drink of milk and covered him and of course Milk. Good warm milk is sort of a neat thing to drink and go to sleep by and so He said endure now stand in the door and if any man comes by and says have you seen anybody tell him no so jail Heber's wife took a tent stake and a hammer and She came up quietly and She drove the stake through his temples.

And she was a tough cookie too. Because she also then cut off his head so that when Barak Came up pursuing Cesara Jail came out to meet him and said come and I'll show you the man you're pursuing and So he came into the tent and there was Cesara With a nail driven through his temple so God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan.

And the children of Israel and the hand of the children of Israel prospered and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan until they destroyed Jabin the king of Canaan and then sang Deborah and Barak the song of Abinom on that day saying or Barak the son of Abinom.

So this is the song of Deborah and Barak. Hallelujah. Praise ye the Lord for the avenging of Israel when the people willingly offered themselves. Here O Kings give ear O princes. I even I will sing unto the Lord.

I'll sing praise to the Lord God of Israel. Lord when you went out of seer. When you marched out of the field of Edom the earth trembled the heavens dropped the clouds also dropped water the mountains melded from before the Lord and Mount Sinai the Lord God of Israel in the days of Shamgar.

Now, here's the next mention of Shamgar and It jumps all the way from Mount Sinai to Shamgar. It's interesting that not more is written of him in the text. The son of Anath in the days of jail the highways were unoccupied and the travelers walked by the byways.

Now It is speaking really of the fear in which the people lived in these days. They were oppressed by their enemies so bad that they wouldn't take the main roads when they wanted to go someplace. They'd always go by the back roads.

Because their enemies were possessing the land if they would take the main roads that they'd be ripped off by their enemies. So in getting from one place to another so much fear that they would always go by way of the back roads to get to from one place to another.

The inhabitants of the villages ceased they ceased in Israel until that I Deborah arose I Rose a mother in Israel and They chose new gods. Then was war in the gates and there was a shield or a spear seen among 40 ,000.

Israel actually there was. Was there a shield or spirit. Actually they were just disarmed. They had nothing. My heart is toward the governors of Israel that offered themselves willingly among the people.

Bless you the Lord. They that are delivered from the noise of the archers. They that are delivered from the noise of the archers in the places of drawing water. Actually, they were so oppressed by their enemies That their enemies would would go to the springs and to the places where there were water and they would just sit in the bushes.

With their bows and arrows people come they just take target practice at the people. I mean they really were living a very tough life. They had forsaken God God had forsaken them and There shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the Lord even the righteous acts towards the inhabitants of the villages in Israel.

Then shall the people of the Lord go down to the gates awake awake Deborah Awake awake utter a song rise Barak and lead the captivity captive thou son of Abanon. And he made him that remaineth have dominion over the nobles and so forth.

And so it's the song of victory and how God Delivered and and the question why didn't other of the tribes come to help but Zebulun and Naphtali were a people that Jeopardy their lives unto death in the high places of the field the Kings came and fought.

Then fought the kings of Canaan and tech and Tanak by the waters of Megiddo. They took no gain of money. They fought from heaven the stars in their courses fought against Caesarea. The River of Kishon swept them away that ancient River the River Kishon.

Oh my soul thou has trodden down strength. Then were their horse hosts broken by the means of the prancing's and the prancing's of the mighty one. So God fought with them a rain a flood that took away their chariots and Destroyed them there in the valley of Megiddo or they got bogged their chariots became bogged in the mud.

You have come to and then the curse of Mero's curse ye Mero's said the angel of the Lord Kershi bitterly the inhabitants thereof because they came not to the help of the Lord to the help of the Lord. Against the mighty the curse of Mero's was the curse of not doing anything.

Serving Together in God's Work

Trying to take a neutral position. Standing back and not offering to help in the work of God. It is tragic that many people today are guilty of this same thing not involvement standing back. God is wanting to do a work in this world today.

God has chosen to use people to do his work and when a call comes out from God it is our responsibility to respond to that call of God and If we don't respond to the call of God to help the Lord to do his work.

You say well God doesn't need my help. That is so true but he's chosen to use your help and if God chooses to use your help, then you better help and if you do not help when God has chosen you to use Your help then you rest under the curse.

God will do his thing. God will do his work even as Mordecai assured Esther if you fail. Then their deliverance will arise from another quarter, but you're going to be cut off. You're going to be slain.