JUDGES 2
1 And an angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.
2 And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?
IT DIDN'T TAKE LONG
All through their wilderness wanderings, the children Of Israel had been warned that they must not associate with the people of the land.
In Chapter 24 of Joshua, they had pledged to serve God and him alone and here barely two chapters into Judges, we have the angel of the Lord asking why they had broken their covenant with God.
The problem started in Chapter 1, so many of the children did not conquer the land they were given. They compromised with the people of the land. They were to destroy the people of the land, but instead they compromised with them.
The book of Judges shows what happens when a child of God compromises with the world, it is a book of missed opportunities. It is a book of broken promises.. broken covenants.
So how does this apply to us. Well we make promises every sunday, we re-dedicate our lives on sunday and are compromising in Monday.. amen.
We are like the Children of Israel. Let me explain.
Your pastor is like Joshua in Chapter 24 of his book, he is saying.. Who will serve the Lord?. we all stand andsay Oh We will we will. Maybe we will set up a memorial like the children of Israel did, maybe we will write down the date of that commitment.
How often are we like the children of Israel?
We forget our commitment that we made very quickly, just like the children of Israel did. God never breaks his covenant with us, so how can we so easily break our covenant with Him.
Why don't we follow through with our commitment, simply said it's because we refuse to throw down our idols. So many times, the kings of Israel put away their idols, but when that Good king died, they were brought out again, it's like us, we just move our idol like our TV to another room. Maybe we should be like Josiah who ground the idols to dust.
God wants to ask you the question at the end of verse 2
why have ye done this?
Basically, why have you broken my covenant?
Why have you not obeyed me?
Why haven't you broken down your idols?
Why have you compromised with the world?
It's time to keep your covenant with God.. He's keep his with you
God bless you
Keith
JUDGES 16
16 And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death;
17 That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.
18 And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand.
19 And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.
20 And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him.
21 But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.
LUST, LIES AND LOSS
The story of Samson is probably one if the saddest in the whole bible。 Samson had awesome strength, but he also had a fatal flaw and that was his lust for women.
So here was Samson with his latest love, a women who totally in awe of Him. Where do you get your awesome strength Samson?. She pestered Samson constantly. Every day she was asking Him, he was driven to distraction, he had tried to put her off by telling lies to her and she had followed her instructions, and then his lies were exposed. You see Samson was driven by lust, he lusted after this women and it led him to tell a whole web of lies.
So it is with us, we lust after something or somebody and it leads us into either telling lies or living a lie. There is no other road for the person who follows his/her lust. Finally, we couldn't stand it any longer and he told her all her heart. Believer Samson is such a warning to us. You don't need to tell your heart or to confide in your unbelieving friends, because they will just betray you, just like Delilah did. She was driven not by concern or love for Samson for for the love of money.
Look at the end of verse 19, she started to laugh at him. The world and the devil lures the believer and then when it has lured him/her, it just laughs at them and tosses them on the scrapheap. Do not be lured believer by the sweet talk of the world believer.
Verse 20 is one of the saddest verses in the whole bible. Samson must of known his hair was not there, as his hair was quite long, but he was totally oblivious that his hair had been cut off. This is a picture of the Christian losing the power of God in his/her life. You know we go out every morning without prayer, and we wonder why we struggle. We think we can live on past glories, you know the Lord never leaves us, but his power can and sometimes does. We must constantly seek God.. every moment.
If we lose God's power, then we lose our spiritual sight and we end up in the prison house. Literally, we lose our spiritual focus and we end up under the yoke of the evil one.
We see that our lust, leads to a life of lies and to the loss of our spiritual power.
Samson is strong, but he lost his spiritual eyesight.
Have you lost your spiritual eyesight, because of some sin in your life?
If you have you will end up grinding in the prison house.. defeated and depressed. The only way to stop that is to constantly pray and seek God, every moment of every day.
God bless you
Keith
Who am I?
I am an ordinary Christian just like you and me, I love to study the scriptures and share what God shows me. I am from the UK, and at present live in Nanjing China. I am an English teacher. I have been saved from my teenage years, am now eligible for Pension.
I believe the whole of the bible, especially love the five Solas of the reformation.
I am saved by GRACE alone by FAITH alone in CHRIST alone through the WORD OF GOD alone for the GLORY OF GOD alone.
1 And an angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.
2 And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?
IT DIDN'T TAKE LONG
All through their wilderness wanderings, the children Of Israel had been warned that they must not associate with the people of the land.
In Chapter 24 of Joshua, they had pledged to serve God and him alone and here barely two chapters into Judges, we have the angel of the Lord asking why they had broken their covenant with God.
The problem started in Chapter 1, so many of the children did not conquer the land they were given. They compromised with the people of the land. They were to destroy the people of the land, but instead they compromised with them.
The book of Judges shows what happens when a child of God compromises with the world, it is a book of missed opportunities. It is a book of broken promises.. broken covenants.
So how does this apply to us. Well we make promises every sunday, we re-dedicate our lives on sunday and are compromising in Monday.. amen.
We are like the Children of Israel. Let me explain.
Your pastor is like Joshua in Chapter 24 of his book, he is saying.. Who will serve the Lord?. we all stand andsay Oh We will we will. Maybe we will set up a memorial like the children of Israel did, maybe we will write down the date of that commitment.
How often are we like the children of Israel?
We forget our commitment that we made very quickly, just like the children of Israel did. God never breaks his covenant with us, so how can we so easily break our covenant with Him.
Why don't we follow through with our commitment, simply said it's because we refuse to throw down our idols. So many times, the kings of Israel put away their idols, but when that Good king died, they were brought out again, it's like us, we just move our idol like our TV to another room. Maybe we should be like Josiah who ground the idols to dust.
God wants to ask you the question at the end of verse 2
why have ye done this?
Basically, why have you broken my covenant?
Why have you not obeyed me?
Why haven't you broken down your idols?
Why have you compromised with the world?
It's time to keep your covenant with God.. He's keep his with you
God bless you
Keith
JUDGES 16
16 And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death;
17 That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.
18 And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand.
19 And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.
20 And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him.
21 But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.
LUST, LIES AND LOSS
The story of Samson is probably one if the saddest in the whole bible。 Samson had awesome strength, but he also had a fatal flaw and that was his lust for women.
So here was Samson with his latest love, a women who totally in awe of Him. Where do you get your awesome strength Samson?. She pestered Samson constantly. Every day she was asking Him, he was driven to distraction, he had tried to put her off by telling lies to her and she had followed her instructions, and then his lies were exposed. You see Samson was driven by lust, he lusted after this women and it led him to tell a whole web of lies.
So it is with us, we lust after something or somebody and it leads us into either telling lies or living a lie. There is no other road for the person who follows his/her lust. Finally, we couldn't stand it any longer and he told her all her heart. Believer Samson is such a warning to us. You don't need to tell your heart or to confide in your unbelieving friends, because they will just betray you, just like Delilah did. She was driven not by concern or love for Samson for for the love of money.
Look at the end of verse 19, she started to laugh at him. The world and the devil lures the believer and then when it has lured him/her, it just laughs at them and tosses them on the scrapheap. Do not be lured believer by the sweet talk of the world believer.
Verse 20 is one of the saddest verses in the whole bible. Samson must of known his hair was not there, as his hair was quite long, but he was totally oblivious that his hair had been cut off. This is a picture of the Christian losing the power of God in his/her life. You know we go out every morning without prayer, and we wonder why we struggle. We think we can live on past glories, you know the Lord never leaves us, but his power can and sometimes does. We must constantly seek God.. every moment.
If we lose God's power, then we lose our spiritual sight and we end up in the prison house. Literally, we lose our spiritual focus and we end up under the yoke of the evil one.
We see that our lust, leads to a life of lies and to the loss of our spiritual power.
Samson is strong, but he lost his spiritual eyesight.
Have you lost your spiritual eyesight, because of some sin in your life?
If you have you will end up grinding in the prison house.. defeated and depressed. The only way to stop that is to constantly pray and seek God, every moment of every day.
God bless you
Keith
Who am I?
I am an ordinary Christian just like you and me, I love to study the scriptures and share what God shows me. I am from the UK, and at present live in Nanjing China. I am an English teacher. I have been saved from my teenage years, am now eligible for Pension.
I believe the whole of the bible, especially love the five Solas of the reformation.
I am saved by GRACE alone by FAITH alone in CHRIST alone through the WORD OF GOD alone for the GLORY OF GOD alone.
