Were the people in the
Bible any different to us today?
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Or ordinary
people like you and me?
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What can we find out
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from their lives
that will help us?
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Find out with
Pastor Geoff Youlden
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and Rosemary Malkiewycz
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here on People Just Like Us.
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There are leaders and
then there are leaders.
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Some are of good influence
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and laid to
blessing and prosperity
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while others are not.
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And take people down the
road to immorality, bondage,
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materialism, and
all manner of evil.
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Today, Pastor Geoff is
going to talk about a leader
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who is different to all others.
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And who is directed by God
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to bring His people out
of hardship and domination.
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Welcome, Pastor Geoff.
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Thank you very much, Rosemary.
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Today, I wanna talk about
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one of the most
amazing women in the Bible.
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Not a well-known
woman, by the way.
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As far as women are concerned,
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there are other
women in Bible history
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that would be
much more well-known.
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But I'm talking about Deborah.
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Deborah, yes.
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She is probably the only
woman in the entire Bible
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who was an absolute
leader of God's people
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and God appointed.
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He certainly did
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'cause she was a
prophet or prophetess.
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So God must have laid her.
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Yes, well, as we
study this story today,
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I think we're gonna
see some wonderful things.
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You know, someone has said
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there are only three
types of people in the world.
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Those who watch
what is happening,
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those who make things happen,
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and those who
scratch their heads and ask,
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"Hey! What is happening?"
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The ability to
make things happen
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is really a gift of leadership.
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It was Arnold Toynbee,
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who once observed that
the rise and fall of societies
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has a one-to-one correlation
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with the quality
of its leadership,
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which I think,
Rosemary, is hardly encouraging
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for our western
society today, is it?
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No, because there
aren't a lot of good leaders.
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That's why we're in
the mess that we're in.
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And it seems that
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our leadership as such
is in decline everywhere,
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including even in the church.
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We seem to be drifting.
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And when the church
has a leader with vision
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and is able to
articulate those goals
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and lead the
church, it will always grow.
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And the same is
true in our homes.
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Too many homes
are simply drifting
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and no one is
giving a decisive lead.
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I mean, parents abdicate
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their
responsibility of leadership.
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Disaster always
takes over in our homes.
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There are so many homes today
where the father has abdicated
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his leadership role
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and he's the one who
is supposed to do that,
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father is not even there.
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Yes.
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Or he just
doesn't do the leading
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and the mother has to do it.
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Yes.
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And so their homes
become dysfunctional
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and that leads to a
dysfunctional society.
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Well, that wasn't the way
God made, intended it to be.
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No, it isn't.
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Adam was to be
the head of the home.
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And when that is the case today,
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the man is in charge then
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I think the home is better.
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Now that's doesn't mean to say
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that the women doesn't play
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a very, very,
very important role.
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But her role is not to be...
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A father.
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The father, that's right.
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That's a good way of
putting it, Rosemary.
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I like it.
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Well, today, we're
looking at Deborah,
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God's exceptional leader.
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And she is the only
woman in biblical history
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who has a major
God-given leadership role.
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And so that immediately
marks her out as a very,
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very exceptional
woman, a gifted individual,
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and a leader of distinction.
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Now we catch up
with her in Judges 4.
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And if you have your
Bible as you're listening,
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then I'd like to
encourage you to turn it up.
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If you haven't,
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then we are going to
put the words on the screen.
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This is where it says in
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Judges 4:1.
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"When Ehud was dead,
the children of Israel
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again did evil in
the sight of the Lord."
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You know, Rosemary, as
you read the Book of Judges,
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that is a recurring
thing that goes over
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and over and over again.
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Yes.
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"The children of Israel did evil
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in the sight of the Lord."
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They would be good for a while
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and then they would turn to evil
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because we are like sheep
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and we follow whoever
is around at the time.
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I mean, Othniel dies
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and then they all
start doing badly.
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When Joshua was alive,
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they were all following God
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and as soon as
Joshua and the judges
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that were there
with him or the elders,
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the people turned away
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and went into idolatry,
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and so God had to
keep sending a leader back
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to try and bring them
back to following Him.
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Well, that's really the
story of judges, isn't it?
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Leader after leader.
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But this too goes on to say,
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"So the Lord sold them
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into the hand of
Jabin king of Canaan..."
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Now, this is what we
read over and over again.
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They did evil in
the sight of the Lord.
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So therefore, as
a result of the Lord
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allowed them to
go into captivity
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or needed to be put under...
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Rulership by another...
Rulership by a foreign power...
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Who oppressed them.
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Absolutely.
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"And this is
certainly true of Jabin,
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king of Canaan,
who reigned in Hazor.
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The commander of
his army was Sisera,
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who dwelt in Harosheth Hagoyim.
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And the children of
Israel cried out to the Lord,
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for Jabin had nine
hundred chariots of iron,
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and for twenty years
he had harshly oppressed
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the children of Israel."
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So there it is in this story...
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over and over again.
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And... Twenty years.
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It's a long time. Definitely.
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And you would think
that they would learn
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the lesson, wouldn't you?
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Oh, well,
they've been through it
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a couple of times
before with Othniel and Ehud.
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Well, as you read
the biblical history,
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it's just a tragic story.
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It reminds of that statement
over here in the Gospel of John
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where Jesus made a statement
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in John Chapter 8:34.
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And I'm sure you
know this statement
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very well, Rosemary.
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"Jesus answered them,
'Most assuredly, I say to you,
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whoever commits sin
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is a slave of sin.'"
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Mm-hmm.
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In other words,
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the world says and
the devil says, "Look...
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follow me and it's liberating.
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You'll have the
time of your life."
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But an actual
fact that Jesus said
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sin seems to be all right
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to begin with
but it always bites
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like an adder.
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And the children of Israel
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found this over and over again.
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And you know, the devil says
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that this idea of
old-fashioned morality,
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it's out of diagonal.
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Yes, you want freedom. Freedom.
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Yeah, that's the cry of today.
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Another thing in
the Book of Judges
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is that the people...
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It describes the people.
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It says, "Every person did that
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which was right
in their own eye.
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Not what was right as
far as God is concerned,
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but in their own eyes."
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And when you do that,
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you're always
going to run into trouble
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because the Bible also says that
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the heart is
deceitful above all things.
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That's right.
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So the story starts off here
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in Judges in the fourth chapter
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by illustrating that
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if you follow and disobey God,
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follow Baal in
this particular case
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and disobey God,
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then judgment will always come.
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And it came pretty heavily
on the children of Israel
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here because the Bible says
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they were
oppressed for 20 years.
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And by the way,
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this oppression,
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if you have a look at this 13,
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this is Chapter 4
of Judges and verse 13,
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it says, "So Sisera
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gathered
together all his chariots,
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nine hundred chariots of iron."
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Now that I guess
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doesn't seem a lot as
far as our world is concerned
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when it comes to...
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Weapons? The weapons?
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No, but back in those days,
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they were the only ones
who had these chariots of iron.
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Could you imagine 900 chariots
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and horses and
riders coming for you?
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When all the people
have was swords and so forth.
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And some of them
didn't even have that.
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It would be a bit like America
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taking one of the
small Pacific islands.
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I mean,
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they just didn't have a show.
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And Israel
didn't have a show here
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against these
900 chariots of iron.
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And in 5:8,
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Deborah makes the statement.
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She says, "They chose new gods,
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then there was
war in the gates..."
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You know, they chose to follow
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the gates of the gods of Canaan.
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"There was war
then in the gates,
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not a shield or spear
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was seen among
forty thousand in Israel."
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So you can imagine
how helpless they were
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against these 900 iron chariots.
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And...
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They didn't have a shield
or spear among 40,000 people.
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Yes.
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I mean, that's warriors.
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That's not just
the women and children.
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Well, so they were helpless.
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And really the problem
here, as we read the story,
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is not really a
military problem.
00:10:00.50\00:10:02.30
It was a spiritual problem
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with the children of Israel
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because
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they didn't
need an iron smelter.
00:10:08.64\00:10:10.47
What they needed
was trust in God.
00:10:10.51\00:10:12.41
That's right.
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And this is the story of judges.
00:10:13.81\00:10:15.88
When the people trusted
in God, God fought them in.
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There are so many
illustrations in the Bible
00:10:18.58\00:10:20.18
like the story of Jericho.
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Mm-hmm.
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The children of
Israel didn't have to fight
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the people of Jericho, did they?
00:10:27.76\00:10:29.62
No, they didn't.
00:10:29.66\00:10:30.99
They just
marched around the city.
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They just did what God
said. Yes, marched around.
00:10:32.39\00:10:33.90
And the walls
came tumbling down.
00:10:33.93\00:10:36.43
And so it is that when we allow
00:10:36.46\00:10:40.00
the Lord to lead us,
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we can trust Him and
the children of Israel
00:10:41.44\00:10:43.34
at this stage had little trust.
00:10:43.37\00:10:45.77
No faith in God whatsoever.
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I think of Hezekiah,
00:10:48.78\00:10:52.01
when he was being attacked
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and he had
letter from his enemies,
00:10:53.52\00:10:55.28
he just placed it before God.
00:10:55.32\00:10:57.09
He actually put it on the ground
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in the temple and said,
00:10:58.55\00:11:00.96
"Lord, look at this."
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And God fought for them
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and then when Jehoshaphat
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was being
surrounded and threatened,
00:11:05.39\00:11:08.40
he went to God and God told him,
00:11:08.43\00:11:10.60
"Don't worry.
I'll take care of you."
00:11:10.63\00:11:11.97
So when he went out to war,
00:11:12.00\00:11:13.34
he actually put the
singers in the front
00:11:13.37\00:11:14.84
singing praise hymns to God.
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And God wiped out the enemies
00:11:17.61\00:11:19.14
and Jehoshaphat
never had to fight.
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It's a strange war
00:11:21.64\00:11:22.98
when you have
the choir out front.
00:11:23.01\00:11:24.35
By putting God first,
00:11:24.38\00:11:26.11
their enemies
were defeated by God.
00:11:26.15\00:11:27.75
That's right. Correct.
00:11:27.78\00:11:29.22
Well, this is the lesson
00:11:29.25\00:11:30.59
that so far the
children of Israel
00:11:30.62\00:11:31.95
haven't learned in Judges.
00:11:31.99\00:11:34.02
And then God did
an amazing thing.
00:11:34.06\00:11:35.86
An incredible thing, actually.
00:11:35.89\00:11:38.53
He didn't choose a man
00:11:38.56\00:11:40.20
like He did later by the
name of Samson or Gideon.
00:11:40.23\00:11:45.13
When you read about
these men's characters,
00:11:45.17\00:11:47.37
and we may talk about
them a little bit later
00:11:47.40\00:11:49.27
in our program.
00:11:49.30\00:11:50.87
He didn't choose a man.
00:11:50.91\00:11:52.24
This time He did something
00:11:52.27\00:11:53.71
right out of left field,
00:11:53.74\00:11:55.64
and He chose a woman.
00:11:55.68\00:11:57.81
And Deborah became
the leader in Israel.
00:11:57.85\00:12:02.28
She was the charge.
00:12:02.32\00:12:03.65
She was the one in charge. Yes.
00:12:03.69\00:12:05.02
In fact, if you have a look at
00:12:05.05\00:12:06.39
Chapter 4 of Judges.
00:12:06.42\00:12:11.16
And if we have a look
00:12:11.19\00:12:12.53
at verses 4
onwards here, `it says,
00:12:12.56\00:12:16.33
"Now Deborah, a prophetess,
the wife of Lapidoth,
00:12:16.36\00:12:20.37
was judging
Israel at that time."
00:12:20.40\00:12:22.57
So she was a prophetess
00:12:22.60\00:12:24.87
and she was judging Israel, yes.
00:12:24.91\00:12:27.28
"And she would sit
under the palm tree of Deborah
00:12:27.31\00:12:30.21
between Ramah and Bethel
in the mountains of Ephraim.
00:12:30.25\00:12:34.42
And the children of Israel
came up to her for judgment.
00:12:34.45\00:12:37.39
Then she sent
and called for Barak,
00:12:37.42\00:12:39.15
the son of Abinoam
from Kedesh in Naphtali,
00:12:39.19\00:12:43.53
and said to him,
00:12:43.56\00:12:44.89
'Has not the Lord
God of Israel commanded,
00:12:44.93\00:12:47.30
'Go and deploy
troops at Mount Tabor,
00:12:47.33\00:12:50.10
take with you ten thousand men
00:12:50.13\00:12:51.83
of the sons of Naphtali
and of the sons of Zebulun,
00:12:51.87\00:12:55.37
and against you I
will deploy Sisera,
00:12:55.40\00:12:58.07
the commander of
Jabin's army, with his chariots,
00:12:58.11\00:13:01.04
that is these 900 iron chariots,
00:13:01.08\00:13:04.25
and his multitude
at the River Kishon,
00:13:04.28\00:13:06.95
and I will deliver
him into your hand?'"
00:13:06.98\00:13:08.78
There's the promise.
00:13:08.82\00:13:10.15
God says, "So I'm gonna
deliver him into your hand."
00:13:10.19\00:13:13.15
And Barak said to her,
"If you will go with me,
00:13:13.19\00:13:16.26
then I will go.
00:13:16.29\00:13:18.09
But if you will not go
with me, I will not go."
00:13:18.13\00:13:22.53
It's like he didn't really trust
00:13:22.56\00:13:24.40
what Deborah was saying to him.
00:13:24.43\00:13:27.04
I mean God said,
00:13:27.07\00:13:28.64
"You go, and he'll have
00:13:28.67\00:13:30.24
all these chariots and multitude
00:13:30.27\00:13:32.87
and I will deliver
him into your hand."
00:13:32.91\00:13:34.74
And Barak says,
00:13:34.78\00:13:36.11
"Well, Deborah, I'm
not going if you don't go."
00:13:36.14\00:13:37.88
I mean he was a little
bit frightened, wasn't he?
00:13:37.91\00:13:41.18
But God called him...
00:13:41.22\00:13:42.55
He was a bit of
scaredy-cat at this stage.
00:13:42.58\00:13:43.92
But God called him to a work.
00:13:43.95\00:13:46.22
Yeah, and verse 9
says, "So she said,
00:13:46.25\00:13:48.62
'I will surely go with you,
00:13:48.66\00:13:51.43
nevertheless there
will be no glory for you
00:13:51.46\00:13:54.20
in the journey you are taking,
00:13:54.23\00:13:55.90
for the Lord will sell Sisera
into the hand of a woman.'
00:13:55.93\00:14:00.74
Then Deborah arose and
went with Barak to Kedesh."
00:14:00.77\00:14:04.54
Now we've got to understand
00:14:04.57\00:14:05.91
how that would
be a real put down
00:14:05.94\00:14:07.74
for that man.
00:14:07.78\00:14:09.84
For the Lord is
gonna deliver a woman.
00:14:09.88\00:14:13.05
Because...
00:14:13.08\00:14:14.42
And we got to
understand the times.
00:14:14.45\00:14:16.22
It's not that
God depreciated women
00:14:16.25\00:14:18.15
and we're not, certainly
not depreciating women,
00:14:18.19\00:14:20.06
but we got to
understand the times.
00:14:20.09\00:14:22.46
The Bible was
written in a history,
00:14:22.49\00:14:24.09
in a capsule of time.
00:14:24.13\00:14:26.33
And women back in those days
00:14:26.36\00:14:28.20
were never looked
upon as being the leaders.
00:14:28.23\00:14:31.70
Which is amazing
that Deborah was.
00:14:31.73\00:14:33.37
Yes, and God selected her.
00:14:33.40\00:14:35.24
But for women to actually
be prophesied is the one
00:14:35.27\00:14:38.64
who is going to deliver Israel
00:14:38.67\00:14:43.58
was quite amazing.
00:14:43.61\00:14:45.78
Yes, well, as we read here,
00:14:45.81\00:14:48.55
Rosemary, the first thing
that she was a prophetess,
00:14:48.58\00:14:52.72
which means
00:14:52.75\00:14:54.69
that she foretold the future.
00:14:54.72\00:14:56.83
She was a
preacher of encouragement
00:14:56.86\00:15:00.00
as a prophet does.
00:15:00.03\00:15:01.70
And she was a very,
very good prophetess.
00:15:01.73\00:15:05.53
And she received
these revelations from God.
00:15:05.57\00:15:08.34
Actually there
were only three people,
00:15:08.37\00:15:10.64
three women in the Old Testament
00:15:10.67\00:15:12.41
who were prophetesses.
00:15:12.44\00:15:15.18
There was Miriam, wasn't,
00:15:15.21\00:15:17.25
Miriam in the time of Moses,
00:15:17.28\00:15:19.71
sister of Moses.
00:15:19.75\00:15:21.28
And then there was Huldah
00:15:21.32\00:15:22.95
in the time of
Josiah, wasn't it?
00:15:22.98\00:15:25.55
And then, of course,
00:15:25.59\00:15:27.06
Deborah in the time of judges.
00:15:27.09\00:15:30.39
But there were
lots of prophets though.
00:15:30.43\00:15:32.33
Lot of prophets, yes.
00:15:32.36\00:15:33.70
So... Sometimes,
they're not even named.
00:15:33.73\00:15:35.16
It just says a prophet of God.
00:15:35.20\00:15:36.90
Yes, and in the New Testament,
00:15:36.93\00:15:40.74
there's only really
a very few exceptions.
00:15:40.77\00:15:44.34
There's first of all, Anna.
00:15:44.37\00:15:45.71
Seven daughters were
prophets, prophetesses.
00:15:45.74\00:15:48.38
Remember Anna was
at the birth of Jesus
00:15:48.41\00:15:50.55
and prophesied about His...
00:15:50.58\00:15:53.08
The baby, Jesus.
00:15:53.11\00:15:54.45
Well, she was in the temple.
00:15:54.48\00:15:56.58
And then, of
course, as you said,
00:15:56.62\00:15:58.09
there were the
daughters of Philip.
00:15:58.12\00:16:00.82
Once again, exceptions.
00:16:00.86\00:16:03.53
It seems to me that
00:16:03.56\00:16:05.49
when men don't
rise to the occasion,
00:16:05.53\00:16:07.53
God has selected women.
00:16:07.56\00:16:10.17
And it is being the
exception, but nevertheless,
00:16:10.20\00:16:13.37
it has been the truth,
00:16:13.40\00:16:14.74
down truth through the years.
00:16:14.77\00:16:16.37
It has happened. Yes.
00:16:16.40\00:16:17.74
And it's interesting
that in the last days,
00:16:17.77\00:16:20.31
I was just
reading Peter's sermon
00:16:20.34\00:16:23.14
on the day of Pentecost
00:16:23.18\00:16:24.51
in the Acts Chapter 2.
00:16:24.55\00:16:27.28
When he talks
about in the last days
00:16:27.32\00:16:29.58
there's going to be
the gift of prophecy.
00:16:29.62\00:16:31.89
He's going to be
part of a church too.
00:16:31.92\00:16:35.32
Let me just read it to you.
00:16:35.36\00:16:36.69
Here in Acts Chapter 2,
00:16:36.73\00:16:39.69
and we'll pick
it up in verse 17.
00:16:39.73\00:16:42.20
It says, "It
shall come to pass..."
00:16:42.23\00:16:44.37
Of course, Peter
here is quoting Joel.
00:16:44.40\00:16:47.77
"And it shall come to
pass in the last days,
00:16:47.80\00:16:50.34
says God,
00:16:50.37\00:16:52.81
that I will pour out
of My Spirit on all flesh
00:16:52.84\00:16:55.41
and your sons and your daughters
00:16:55.44\00:16:58.48
shall prophesy."
00:16:58.51\00:17:00.32
So it's not unusual for a woman
to have the gift of prophecy.
00:17:00.35\00:17:04.19
And particularly
in the last days,
00:17:04.22\00:17:06.76
here the Bible predicted that
00:17:06.79\00:17:08.76
that gift was going
to be given to a woman.
00:17:08.79\00:17:14.40
"Your young men
shall see visions,
00:17:14.43\00:17:16.03
your old men shall dream dreams.
00:17:16.06\00:17:18.47
And on My menservants
and on My maidservants
00:17:18.50\00:17:22.77
I will pour out My
Spirit in those days,
00:17:22.80\00:17:25.54
and they shall prophesy."
00:17:25.57\00:17:28.58
So once again,
00:17:28.61\00:17:29.94
we see very clearly
that in the last days,
00:17:29.98\00:17:32.31
this gift is going
to be restored again
00:17:32.35\00:17:36.35
and with women...
00:17:36.38\00:17:37.92
That's right.
00:17:37.95\00:17:39.29
Which is very interesting.
00:17:39.32\00:17:40.82
And then back in
Judges as we read before,
00:17:40.86\00:17:43.93
she was also a judge,
00:17:43.96\00:17:46.03
which mean that
she was the center
00:17:46.06\00:17:47.80
of the political arrangements
00:17:47.83\00:17:50.13
in Israel at the time.
00:17:50.17\00:17:52.00
And the people came to her
00:17:52.03\00:17:53.80
to receive judgment
on different matters.
00:17:53.84\00:17:55.90
Yes, yes.
00:17:55.94\00:17:57.27
And so it's wonderful
00:17:57.31\00:18:00.31
that this woman led
out in such amazing faith.
00:18:00.34\00:18:03.95
And you can see
why God selected her
00:18:03.98\00:18:05.81
because she was a woman of faith
00:18:05.85\00:18:07.22
and confidence and trust in God.
00:18:07.25\00:18:09.42
Well, she had to be
because she did go with Barak.
00:18:09.45\00:18:12.89
Yes, yes.
00:18:12.92\00:18:14.26
She didn't say,
"Oh, no, no, no."
00:18:14.29\00:18:16.09
She said, "Okay."
00:18:16.12\00:18:18.56
Look, I picked up...
00:18:18.59\00:18:20.26
I don't often read paraphrases
00:18:20.30\00:18:22.20
because a paraphrase
00:18:22.23\00:18:23.77
is not always a 100%
accurate translation,
00:18:23.80\00:18:27.37
but I picked up this clear wood.
00:18:27.40\00:18:30.64
And Deborah wrote a song
00:18:30.67\00:18:35.78
and it's recorded
in the fifth chapter
00:18:35.81\00:18:37.98
of Judges and it says,
00:18:38.01\00:18:40.25
"That was the day that
Deborah, the prophetess,
00:18:40.28\00:18:43.05
and Barak, the son of Abinoam,
00:18:43.08\00:18:45.39
praised the Lord and sang
this song: 'Praise the Lord!
00:18:45.42\00:18:48.26
She says.
00:18:48.29\00:18:49.62
When the leaders in
Israel took the initiative
00:18:49.66\00:18:51.66
and the Lord blessed them
and they gladly volunteered."
00:18:51.69\00:18:54.50
In other words,
00:18:54.53\00:18:57.03
when they took the initiative
00:18:57.07\00:18:59.27
and were strong in the Lord.
00:18:59.30\00:19:00.64
"Listen all you kings!
00:19:00.67\00:19:02.00
Give us your
attention all you rulers!
00:19:02.04\00:19:03.77
We will sing to the Lord.
00:19:03.81\00:19:05.41
We will play music
to the God of Israel.
00:19:05.44\00:19:07.94
The Lord went before us
00:19:07.98\00:19:09.38
as He did in the
mountainous region of Sinai
00:19:09.41\00:19:11.91
when our fathers
came up out of Egypt.
00:19:11.95\00:19:13.82
He marched ahead of us
00:19:13.85\00:19:15.18
as He did when we came
into the region of Edom.
00:19:15.22\00:19:17.69
This time He shook Mount Tabor.
00:19:17.72\00:19:20.09
He sent mighty
rains from heaven.
00:19:20.12\00:19:22.79
Just as the mountains
shook before the Lord at Sinai,
00:19:22.82\00:19:26.96
so the earth shook
00:19:27.00\00:19:28.33
at the presence
of the God of Israel
00:19:28.36\00:19:29.83
against Sisera."
00:19:29.86\00:19:31.20
You can see what
she's doing here.
00:19:31.23\00:19:32.57
She is recounting how
when we trust the Lord,
00:19:32.60\00:19:35.10
how the Lord has
worked on our behalf.
00:19:35.14\00:19:37.41
And she is going
through this wonderful song.
00:19:37.44\00:19:41.54
And she says in verse 8,
00:19:41.58\00:19:43.91
"War had come to the land
00:19:43.95\00:19:45.71
because Israel had
gone after other gods.
00:19:45.75\00:19:48.58
Cities came under siege
00:19:48.62\00:19:50.29
and there was
fighting in the gates.
00:19:50.32\00:19:52.12
Not a spear or
a shield was found
00:19:52.15\00:19:54.12
among forty
thousand men of Israel.
00:19:54.16\00:19:56.66
They were forbidden
to make weapons of war.
00:19:56.69\00:19:59.53
Our hearts go out
to leaders like Barak
00:19:59.56\00:20:01.76
and to the
volunteers who followed him.
00:20:01.80\00:20:03.97
Praise the Lord
00:20:04.00\00:20:05.33
for their faith and courage!"
00:20:05.37\00:20:07.04
Isn't that good?
00:20:07.07\00:20:08.40
And you can see why
the Lord selected her.
00:20:08.44\00:20:11.54
And verse 11 says here,
00:20:11.57\00:20:14.08
"They tell each other
about the victories of the Lord
00:20:14.11\00:20:17.85
and the courage of
their men in battle."
00:20:17.88\00:20:20.68
So there's another important
00:20:20.72\00:20:22.72
that we ought to be
reciting to one another,
00:20:22.75\00:20:25.02
how the Lord has blessed
00:20:25.05\00:20:26.39
and has worked on our behalf
00:20:26.42\00:20:27.76
because that encourages others.
00:20:27.79\00:20:29.19
That's right.
00:20:29.22\00:20:30.56
When we remember
00:20:30.59\00:20:31.93
things that God has
done in the past for us,
00:20:31.96\00:20:34.10
it encourages us to go
through the things in the future
00:20:34.13\00:20:36.56
even the things
that are happening now.
00:20:36.60\00:20:38.53
And then finally
in verse 31, it says,
00:20:38.57\00:20:40.24
"Lord, may all your
enemies perish like Sisera.
00:20:40.27\00:20:43.54
But may those who love
you shine as the rising sun.
00:20:43.57\00:20:47.58
So there was peace in Israel
00:20:47.61\00:20:49.31
for the next forty years."
00:20:49.34\00:20:50.95
Good. So see what happens.
00:20:50.98\00:20:52.35
When a person
obeys and follows God,
00:20:52.38\00:20:55.02
then God blesses them
00:20:55.05\00:20:56.95
and they had peace in
Israel for the next 40 years.
00:20:56.99\00:21:00.16
And God wants to
bless us with peace.
00:21:00.19\00:21:02.49
He wants to bless
us with prosperity
00:21:02.52\00:21:05.13
not necessarily
in financial terms
00:21:05.16\00:21:07.73
but in our lives
of having a good life,
00:21:07.76\00:21:11.37
having a peaceful life,
00:21:11.40\00:21:12.83
having our children
have peace in their lives.
00:21:12.87\00:21:16.60
Yes.
00:21:16.64\00:21:17.97
A lot of it depends
00:21:18.01\00:21:19.34
on whether or not
we're going to follow God
00:21:19.37\00:21:21.38
or we're gonna turn against Him.
00:21:21.41\00:21:22.91
Rosemary, I guess that's
the really the story of judges.
00:21:22.94\00:21:26.55
And I'd like to
encourage all our viewers
00:21:26.58\00:21:28.82
to pick the
little Book of Judges up
00:21:28.85\00:21:30.89
and read it through.
00:21:30.92\00:21:32.25
There's so much
wonderful material
00:21:32.29\00:21:35.02
of how if we trust in the Lord
00:21:35.06\00:21:37.23
and have faith in Him,
00:21:37.26\00:21:38.76
even when our backs
are against the wall
00:21:38.79\00:21:41.10
as often that was
the case with Israel,
00:21:41.13\00:21:43.83
God still
intervened. That's right.
00:21:43.87\00:21:45.83
And I guess the issue is,
00:21:45.87\00:21:48.17
are we going to
learn that trust.
00:21:48.20\00:21:50.91
We need it today.
00:21:50.94\00:21:52.27
Well, it's the
most difficult thing
00:21:52.31\00:21:53.64
for us to learn.
00:21:53.68\00:21:55.78
You know faith is
easy to talk about
00:21:55.81\00:21:59.85
but it's very, very
difficult to practice
00:21:59.88\00:22:01.98
when the issue is really hot.
00:22:02.02\00:22:05.22
Yes, like with Barak.
00:22:05.25\00:22:06.59
He had to learn to trust.
00:22:06.62\00:22:07.96
Yes.
00:22:07.99\00:22:09.86
Then God
intervened in a marvelous way.
00:22:09.89\00:22:12.93
Sisera was actually
running away from God's people
00:22:12.96\00:22:16.67
and he stumbled into a
tent of a non-Israelite
00:22:16.70\00:22:19.60
named Jael
00:22:19.63\00:22:21.27
where he
expected to find safety.
00:22:21.30\00:22:23.54
Now, we're not told
why she acted the way
00:22:23.57\00:22:26.47
she did as the
Bible gives us no reason.
00:22:26.51\00:22:30.35
But it's very ironic
00:22:30.38\00:22:31.78
I think that it wasn't
valiant soldier like Barak
00:22:31.81\00:22:35.08
who conquered the
great general, Sisera.
00:22:35.12\00:22:37.62
It was a pagan woman
00:22:37.65\00:22:38.99
who killed him while he slept.
00:22:39.02\00:22:41.02
And I can't
believe that she did that
00:22:41.06\00:22:43.56
because as a woman
00:22:43.59\00:22:45.16
I couldn't do it.
00:22:45.19\00:22:46.70
I mean, the Bible says that...
00:22:46.73\00:22:50.17
Well, first of
all, he asked for water
00:22:50.20\00:22:52.30
and she gave him milk.
00:22:52.33\00:22:54.17
Milk wouldn't quench his
thirst as much as water would,
00:22:54.20\00:22:57.31
but milk would help
him to sleep better.
00:22:57.34\00:22:59.94
So...
00:22:59.97\00:23:01.31
Probably it's a good
observation, Rosemary.
00:23:01.34\00:23:02.84
So I would say she
probably gave him the milk
00:23:02.88\00:23:05.01
to get him to sleep
00:23:05.05\00:23:06.95
'cause he would
have been exhausted.
00:23:06.98\00:23:09.15
But the milk would have
helped him in a deeper sleep
00:23:09.18\00:23:11.95
because she had
an ulterior motive.
00:23:11.99\00:23:13.36
Yes.
00:23:13.39\00:23:14.72
But then it says
that she came in softly
00:23:14.76\00:23:17.29
with a tent peg and a hammer
00:23:17.33\00:23:20.03
and drove the tent peg
00:23:20.06\00:23:23.00
into his temple
00:23:23.03\00:23:24.60
and it went down into the ground
00:23:24.63\00:23:26.87
and she fastened
him to the ground
00:23:26.90\00:23:29.34
with this tent peg
through his temple.
00:23:29.37\00:23:32.31
Oh, I just...
00:23:32.34\00:23:33.68
To me I just
couldn't even begin to imagine
00:23:33.71\00:23:36.64
doing something like that.
00:23:36.68\00:23:38.28
Even to an enemy,
00:23:38.31\00:23:40.15
I'd be too frightened.
00:23:40.18\00:23:41.52
I mean, what if
he had it waken up,
00:23:41.55\00:23:43.52
if he wasn't in a
deep enough sleep.
00:23:43.55\00:23:46.19
She would've been killed.
00:23:46.22\00:23:48.12
I guess that she made sure
the first hit was considerable.
00:23:48.16\00:23:53.29
She must have.
00:23:53.33\00:23:54.66
It's just beyond me
00:23:54.70\00:23:56.03
that a woman could
actually do something like that.
00:23:56.06\00:23:58.47
Yeah.
00:23:58.50\00:23:59.83
I guess also that he would have
thought that the milk was...
00:23:59.87\00:24:02.04
I mean that would have
been expensive for her to supply
00:24:02.07\00:24:04.84
because that would be from
00:24:04.87\00:24:06.64
one of the animals
or sheep or something.
00:24:06.68\00:24:08.71
And he would have thought
that that was really been,
00:24:08.74\00:24:11.55
honoring him.
00:24:11.58\00:24:12.91
Yes, indeed.
00:24:12.95\00:24:14.28
Yes, but I think she was
trying to make sure he's asleep.
00:24:14.32\00:24:18.69
Well, once again,
it's the story of judges
00:24:18.72\00:24:21.79
how that every time
00:24:21.82\00:24:24.79
the people trusted in God,
00:24:24.83\00:24:26.29
God delivered them
00:24:26.33\00:24:27.66
and here in this particular case
00:24:27.70\00:24:29.53
in a most unusual way.
00:24:29.56\00:24:31.77
God used a
foreign woman... Correct.
00:24:31.80\00:24:34.30
And as Deborah had said,
00:24:34.34\00:24:36.94
Barak didn't receive the glory
00:24:36.97\00:24:39.47
for the death of Sisera.
00:24:39.51\00:24:41.68
Yes.
00:24:41.71\00:24:43.04
It was this woman
who actually was married
00:24:43.08\00:24:45.15
to a relative of Moses.
00:24:45.18\00:24:48.82
Yes.
00:24:48.85\00:24:50.19
When you read these stories,
00:24:50.22\00:24:51.99
because sometimes
people have difficulty
00:24:52.02\00:24:54.72
with some of the stories
00:24:54.76\00:24:56.09
like the one
we're accounting now.
00:24:56.12\00:24:58.46
But we've got to remember
00:24:58.49\00:25:00.26
that God had His hand in things.
00:25:00.30\00:25:04.03
While God didn't do it,
00:25:04.07\00:25:06.37
God allowed the
circumstances to arise
00:25:06.40\00:25:09.94
because that was
the culture of the day.
00:25:09.97\00:25:11.67
There was nothing
unusual about that
00:25:11.71\00:25:13.64
with the culture of the day.
00:25:13.68\00:25:15.01
And we've got to remember
00:25:15.04\00:25:16.38
that the Bible was
written in a certain culture.
00:25:16.41\00:25:18.85
A certain history
00:25:18.88\00:25:21.28
that people acted like that.
00:25:21.32\00:25:25.32
It's not always nice
and it's not always good.
00:25:25.35\00:25:28.36
And it's not always God's way,
00:25:28.39\00:25:30.99
but nevertheless God allows
00:25:31.03\00:25:33.16
these things to happen
00:25:33.19\00:25:34.76
so that His
people can be delivered.
00:25:34.80\00:25:36.77
And there are so many stories,
we mentioned Jericho before.
00:25:36.80\00:25:39.53
I mean, it was
never God's intention
00:25:39.57\00:25:41.60
that Israel
fights the Canaanites.
00:25:41.64\00:25:44.61
God was going to do all of that.
00:25:44.64\00:25:46.54
Bible never says that
they were to go out and fight.
00:25:46.57\00:25:49.74
But when they
didn't trust in God,
00:25:49.78\00:25:53.18
then they were put to the sword.
00:25:53.21\00:25:55.48
And in the
stories here over and over
00:25:55.52\00:25:57.55
and over and over again
00:25:57.59\00:25:59.02
we read how they were
00:25:59.05\00:26:02.86
beaten into submission
00:26:02.89\00:26:04.36
over that long period of time.
00:26:04.39\00:26:06.19
So what's the
message for us, Rosemary?
00:26:06.23\00:26:10.83
That God has His leaders
00:26:10.87\00:26:12.73
and the world has leaders,
00:26:12.77\00:26:14.77
and God's leaders
will lead us the right way
00:26:14.80\00:26:16.64
and the worldly ones will not.
00:26:16.67\00:26:19.07
Yes, and the personal message
is that I've got to learn
00:26:19.11\00:26:21.41
to trust in God
00:26:21.44\00:26:24.01
when things are difficult.
00:26:24.05\00:26:25.48
All very well, first to sit here
00:26:25.51\00:26:27.25
and talk about trusting in God.
00:26:27.28\00:26:28.78
That's easy.
00:26:28.82\00:26:30.29
But when the
difficult time comes,
00:26:30.32\00:26:32.12
that's when it's
very, very difficult.
00:26:32.15\00:26:34.42
That's right.
00:26:34.46\00:26:35.79
And in those times,
00:26:35.82\00:26:37.29
during the easy times,
00:26:37.33\00:26:38.96
we have to learn to trust God
00:26:38.99\00:26:40.50
so that we will be able
to go through the hard times.
00:26:40.53\00:26:42.83
That's where recounting
as they did in this song
00:26:42.86\00:26:46.37
after the deliverance.
00:26:46.40\00:26:48.17
They talked about the things
00:26:48.20\00:26:49.57
that happened before their time
00:26:49.60\00:26:51.07
as well as in their time
00:26:51.11\00:26:53.07
recounting the things
00:26:53.11\00:26:54.84
that God had done for His people
00:26:54.88\00:26:56.85
and how He had delivered them
00:26:56.88\00:26:58.48
so they could remember.
00:26:58.51\00:27:00.58
So that when difficulties come,
00:27:00.62\00:27:02.78
they have something an anchor.
00:27:02.82\00:27:05.69
And we have to do the
same in our own lines.
00:27:05.72\00:27:08.66
What I will be like
when the big issues come
00:27:08.69\00:27:12.49
is really being
determined by what I am now
00:27:12.53\00:27:15.06
in the little things.
00:27:15.10\00:27:16.56
Even Jesus said,
00:27:16.60\00:27:17.93
"He that's faithful
in the little things
00:27:17.97\00:27:19.43
or the least things
00:27:19.47\00:27:20.80
will be faithful
in the bigger things."
00:27:20.84\00:27:22.70
And so, these little tests
00:27:22.74\00:27:24.77
that come along to us day-by-day
00:27:24.81\00:27:27.34
ought to be illustrations to us
00:27:27.38\00:27:30.35
of where we stand
spiritually ourselves.
00:27:30.38\00:27:32.31
That's right.
00:27:32.35\00:27:33.68
We're looking at Deborah today.
00:27:33.72\00:27:35.62
And Deborah trusted God.
00:27:35.65\00:27:37.85
Deborah was a prophet of God.
00:27:37.89\00:27:40.66
Let's decide that
we're gonna trust God
00:27:40.69\00:27:42.86
and not be wandering like Barak.
00:27:42.89\00:27:45.76
But to put our
trust fully into God now,
00:27:45.79\00:27:48.16
so in the bad times
we will still follow Him.
00:27:48.20\00:27:50.83
God bless you.
00:27:50.87\00:27:52.20