I asked Father where I should read this morning, this is where he directed me, book and chapter.
I am sharing what is on ‘his’ heart and mind this morning, and he said ‘it is here, in Judges 2.’
Judges 2
“And an angel of the Lord (messenger) came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said…
‘I made you go up (to) “and” out of Egypt, and I have brought you to the land which I swore to your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.”
This is Lord God almighty’s WORDS –spoken through his messenger, listen to the first person tense spoken.
2 “You shall MAKE ‘NO’ LEAGUE with the INHABITANTS of this land;
YOU shall THROW DOWN their altars:
but…
You –HAVE NOT OBEYED-- ‘my’ voice:
WHY HAVE YOU DONE THIS??’”
3 “Wherefore I also said…
‘I will not drive them out from before you; they shall be as thorns in your sides, their gods –shall be a snare to you.’
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
So, we have, in the first 3 verses of this chapter a statement from the Lord right away, that God led them ‘into’ Egypt –and he led them out, the LAND HE PROMISED to their ancestors (fathers), and he also ASSURES US –he WILL NOT ABANDON HIS COVENANT with us.
Then, he states the ‘stipulations’ of –YOU WILL NOT ‘assimilate’ *ANY of their ‘ways’ or ‘stuff–’
WE WILL BE *SEPARATE and we will MAKE NO LEAGUE with –them (no friendship or bond); and WE WILL –THROW DOWN their ‘demonic/wicked/heathen’ ALTARS– idols, false gods and ‘ways of them.’
BUT…
He said, ’YOU HAVE DISOBEY ME IN THIS COMMAND
–OH ‘why’ HAVE YOU DONE THIS TO ME?!’
Why would he say this??
Because ‘NOW,’ due to the ‘disobedience,’ he NOW MUST BRING IN THEIR ‘gavel judgment’ CHOICE, their ‘will’ of decision they made in disobedience to his ‘word’ and ‘way,’ his ‘voice of leading:’
REAPING of that which one –CHOSE (sowed)
The DISOBEDIENT –enact the ‘justice’ and ‘judgment’ of God, when choosing the option of ‘disobedience;’
It is our CHOICE to make decisions, but we WILL FACE THE ‘fruits of’ those choices of free will.
God is upset –because he must bring them what they ‘sowed,’ for that is ‘just,’ it is ‘fair,’ for they CHOSE IT –he will deliver them to –their choice.
‘I will not drive them out from before you; they shall be as thorns in your sides, their gods –shall be a snare to you.’
From here, he is now stating, because you DID NOT –overthrow their ALTARS, but instead, you BEGAN TO WORSHIP ‘at them–’ *WITH THEM unto their ‘false gods–’
THEY –THE WICKED HEATHEN– SHALL BE ‘thorns’ IN YOUR ‘flesh/sides,’ their ‘gods’ SHALL BE a ‘trap’ TO YOUR LIVES.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
4 “And it came to pass, when the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the children of Israel –that the people lifted up their voice, and wept.”
5 “And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there unto the Lord.”
Bochim –(also spelled Bokim) is a place mentioned in the biblical Book of Judges –situated west of the River Jordan.
Its name means– 'weepers'.
6 “When Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel, EVERY MAN went into his inheritance –to possess the land.”
7 “And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua …
AND –all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord that he did for Israel.”
Proverbs 29:2 2 "When the righteous are in authority --the people rejoice: but when the wicked bears rule, the people mourn."
That he did all– ‘FOR HIS FAMILY of God.’
What a day it must have been to be ‘with Joshua,’ in ‘God’s way–ABROAD AMONG THE PEOPLE!’
8 “And Joshua (the son of Nun,) the servant of (to) the Lord, died –being one hundred and ten years old.”
9 “And they buried him at the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim –on the north side of the hill Gaash.”
10 “And also, all that generation were gathered unto their fathers:
but…
there arose ‘ANOTHER GENERATION’ after them –which knew not the Lord, nor the works he had done for Israel.”
++++++++++++++++++++++
This is what happens to people when the previous generation –does not instill the discipline of character and reverence unto God almighty –unto their children following them, of the IMPORTANCE of ‘knowing’ and of ‘SERVING GOD ALMIGHTY, HOLY and TRUE,’ in their CHARACTER and CONDUCT
–and ALL THE REASONS ‘why' WE DO!
Essentially, the kids didn't ‘go through’ what the adults did…
in relational development, individually –with God OR with Godly men and women SOLD OUT UNTO GOD:
PARTNERSHIP with God, going ‘God’s way–’ not their *own;
these –*OWN THEMSELVES, and THEIR OWN WAY– God does not.
But…
WHY did they NOT HAVE godly men and women INSTRUCTING THEM, ADMONISHING DISOBEDIENT BEHAVIOR??
Did they become ‘comfortable’ in their BLESSED STATE, and ‘drop the ball’ on ‘raising the understanding and reverence of the Lord --to their kids?’
And ‘if so,’ then DID THEY NOT ‘see the signs’ of this DISOBEDIENCE??
If we are ‘complacent’ with EVIL –DESTRUCTION COMES.
They did not ‘learn their lessons’ for themselves –forging a relationship with God in their own lives, and instead they ‘–coasted’ off of the BLESSINGS AND the LIFESTYLE of their ‘forefathers–’ their parents' –holy living: NOT THEIR OWN.
11 “And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord –and served Baalim:”
They chose to SERVE BAAL; ‘let us see a bit what Baal is ‘about,’ from a simple search online,’ God said.
Baal –a Semitic common noun baal (Hebrew baʿal) means “owner” or “lord.” —Britannica
The word Baal, LITERALLY MEANS –another ‘god’ is OWNER OF ME, CONTROLLER and LEADER of: ‘*MY WAY.’
Baal –fertility deity = sexual leader.
Which means –PERVERSIONS OF GOD’S WAY of ‘physical intimacy’ WILL BE TWISTED FROM IT’S ‘original form’ and will WORSHIP ‘sex’ in MANY OTHER FORMS
–whilst REVILING God’s ‘way’ --that he designed.
“Baal –designated the universal god of fertility, in that capacity, his title was –Prince, Lord of the Earth.” –Britannica
Isn’t that what God said-- ‘prince of the air’ down here, and ‘god of this world??’
“Baal’s epithet as –the storm god –He Who Rides on the Clouds.”
(or wind/air)
“Around Northern Syria, Canaanites mostly worshiped this ‘god.’
Baal –Fertility was envisaged in terms of seven-year cycles.” –Britannica
(Like Harvest seasons)
This would make him the ‘god of the poopy seven year harvest,’ because when you follow him –that’s what your SOWED and REAPED Harvest will be: TERRIBLE and DESTRUCTIVE, and the ONLY THING it will be ‘reproducing,’ IS THAT!
“The worship of Baal was popular in Egypt from the later New Kingdom in about 1400 BCE to its end (1075 BCE).
Through the influence of the Aramaeans, who borrowed the Babylonian pronunciation Bel, the god ultimately became known as the Greek Belos –identified with Zeus.
The Hebrew scriptures speak frequently of the Baal of a given place, or refers to Baalim –in the plural, suggesting the evidence of local deities, or “lords,” of various locales.
What made the very name 'Baal anathema' --to the Israelites, was the program of Jezebel, in the 9th century BCE, to introduce into Israel her Phoenician cult of Baal in opposition to the official worship of Yahweh
(I Kings 18).” -Britannica
Anathema – anath·e·ma
\ ə-ˈna-thə-mə \
noun
: someone or something intensely disliked or loathed —usually used as a predicate nominativei
: one that is cursed by 'ecclesiastical authority' (that's Gods' Governors)
: a ban or curse solemnly pronounced by 'ecclesiastical authority' and accompanied by excommunication.
12 “They forsook the Lord God of their fathers –which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods…
‘the gods of– the people’ –that were round about them, and they bowed themselves (down in worship) to them, and provoked the Lord to anger.’
Current Day –BABYLON.
13 “They forsook the Lord –and served Baal and Ashtaroth.”
Just like current modern day, man has GONE AFTER THE 'god' of THIS ‘Age–’
they CHOSE to ‘go back INTO EGYPT’ ...
JOIN THE CULTURE and ‘assimilated’ INTO THAT ‘spirit.’
14 “And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, he delivered them into the hands of spoilers (Spoilers– pillage and plunderers overtook them) –spoiled them…
and he sold them into the hands of their enemies –roundabout…
So THEY COULD NO LONGER STAND –before their enemies.”
This is –SERIOUS ‘harvest;’ they SOWED ‘discord’ and ‘estrangement’ –from God and his ‘way;’
So…
they REAPED –THE gavel JUDGMENT that comes with ‘hearing the case’ they brought before God…
that was signifying legally –that they CHOSE NOT GOD, NOR HIS WAY, and are INDEED...
REPROBATE...
and...
–against ALL THAT STANDS with and for God– and are ‘against the Lord,’ and WITH satan.
15 “Wherever they went –the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had said (they would be), as the Lord had sworn to them: and they were greatly distressed.”
Current Day –folks are ‘in distress,’ but know not the ‘reason’ why
–REJECTION of God and his ‘way of holiness–’ through discipled character –HIS Character.
16 “Nevertheless –the Lord raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.”
Okay, so NOW, we are seeing that this ungodly living generation of God’s people…
have in disobedience to God and his way, with zero reverence unto God…
REAPED what they SOWED,
but NOW…
God is SENDING THEM ‘Judges,’ to HELP THEM out of continuously being PILLAGED and PLUNDERED: ‘Judges.’
There are always ‘reasons WHY’ he SENDS ‘Judges’ to get his people out of a mess of DISOBEDIENT IRREVERENCE unto God.
17 “AND YET –they would not hearken (LISTEN) to their judges…
They WENT WHORING AFTER –other gods, and bowed themselves to them:
(this means they REALLY LIKED their 'ways;' it was DESIROUS TO THEIR FLESH CARNALITY.)
They turned, quickly– out of *the way --which their fathers walked in…
(who) obeyed the commandments of the Lord;
but (these) –they did not so.”
“If,” this is the SAME TODAY –we will NOT COME OUT OF THIS ‘state’ we are SPIRITUALLY and PHYSICALLY ‘going through,’ JUST…
LIKE…
THESE, without MASSIVE REFORM!
We MUST ‘change within,’ and WORSHIP THE LORD GOD, ALMIGHTY, HOLY and TRUE –and NO OTHER ‘gods with him;’
HE DOES NOT ‘accept’ MIXTURE.
MIXTURE is ‘insincerity–’ it is NONCOMMITTAL and NON-LOYAL: not PARTNERSHIP.
It’s –A ‘god’ or two, ‘ON THE SIDE,’ like ADULTERY IS!
18 “When the Lord raised them up judges –the Lord ‘was with’ the judge…
and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge:
for it repented the Lord (it touched him to change his course) because of their groanings –by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them.”
When the 'just judge' was alive and ruling there with these people, they were delivered of their enemies.
19 “And it came to pass, when the judge was dead –they returned, and corrupted themselves –MORE THAN THEIR FATHERS –in following other 'gods' –to serve them, and to bow down –to them;
They ceased not from their *own doings, nor –from their stubborn way.”
+++++++++++++++++++++++
I wasn’t sure why the Lord said ‘Judges 2,’ when I asked him to point me to what’s ‘on his mind and heart’ right now, not ours –his;
but right now,
given the ‘state of our nations,’ and the perspective of the people in them…
–I AM UNDERSTANDING HIS POINT/PREMISE.
IF WE DO NOT ‘do the opposite of this WICKED and ADULTEROUS, NONCOMMITTAL GENERATION’ –WE WILL PERISH IN ‘our *OWN way’ –too.
20 “And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel (his people); and he said…
‘Because this people has transgressed my covenant –which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my voice;”
21 “I also… will not, henceforth (from NOW ON), drive out any from before them –of the nations which Joshua left, when he died:”
He just said he is NOT GOING TO PROTECT ‘these people’ from ANYONE, ANYMORE –via their *own choosing: Sow and Reap.
22 “That –through them– I may prove Israel –whether they will keep the way of the Lord to walk therein –as their fathers did keep it –or NOT.”
Here we go; this is God’s PREMISE and POINT -- ‘right here.’
WILL WE ‘choose’ to SERVE GOD and FOLLOW HIS WAYS –or NOT???
23 “Therefore (so)…
The Lord left those nations –without driving them out hastily; neither (did) he deliver them into the hand of Joshua.”
So…
God ‘LEFT THESE PEOPLE–’ to their *OWN DEVICES and CHOICES, to FIGHT THE ‘oppressors’ THEMSELVES –since they ‘rejected’ God holy; as well, he DID NOT ‘deliver’ them –from ANY of it.
Folks, we CANNOT FOLLOW ‘these’ people's WICKED EXAMPLE; we are at a ‘precipice,’ and we are IN DANGER of ‘falling further,’ and it being UNRECOVERABLE –should we fail to DESIRE GOD, and HOLINESS.
He is ‘sending us a message’ here, LOUDLY and CLEARLY,
but…
ARE WE LISTENING??
I reckon we are fix’n to find out soon, what God’s ‘proclaimers’ are TRULY LIVING in (and with) ‘this nation’ (America), and all the other nations.
Other nations around the world are more aware of –how much America has been blessed by
‘The hand of the Lord,’ in generations passed...
–and yet–
They see HOW MUCH WE SQUANDERED our BLESSED RELATIONSHIP with God almighty, holy and true…
in our CONDUCT ‘becoming’ OF HIM.
And they are marveling at HOW FAR WE HAVE FALLEN: modern day –Babylon.
“Lord almighty, holy and true, may we ‘be’ A PEOPLE OF INTEGRITY OF CHARACTER and of HOLY REVERENCE unto you ONCE AGAIN SIR, thereby SENDING ‘the oppressors’ FLEEING SEVEN DIFFERENT WAYS SIR.
May we ‘recall’ EXACTLY WHAT YOU HAVE SAID IN YOUR WORD, and EXACTLY WHAT YOU ‘displayed’ of YOUR OWN PERSON and CHARACTER –whilst here, on this dirt planet.
May we HUMBLE OURSELVES BEFORE YOU AGAIN LORD, and ‘BE’ what we ‘CLAIM’ sir; may we ‘BE HOLY and TRUE with YOU,’ sweet God, Creator, Way Maker and HOLY REDEEMER.
May we ‘TURN’ and BURN AWAY FROM ‘OUR WICKED WAYS’ sir, with FULL REPENTANCE, bringing about ‘THE CHANGE’ we NEED
‘inside ourselves,’ INSIDE OUR NATIONS and INSIDE OUR RELATIONSHIP– PARTNERSHIP–with YOU:
Loyal and True, COMMITTED to YOU –WHOLE-HEARTED.
Amen.”
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