(Judges 7)

(Judges 7:2-3) 2 And the Lord said to Gideon, "The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, 'My own hand has saved me.' 3 Now therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, 'Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.' " And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained

God called his worker Gideon, told him to lead the Israel people to defeat the Midianites, facing 135000 armies from Midianites. The gap is huge, but God’s work is not to increase troops but to disarm. In the end, they were only 300 Midianites army left. God clearly stated the intention so that the Israelites would not exaggerate to God and give glory to themselves, and God wanted the people to know that the victory over the Midianites was solely dependent on God's power.

According to Moses’s law, if they were scared, they can go back (Deuteronomy 20:8). Because fear can be contagious, affect morale, have fatal consequences. Faced with difficult battles, God will need to use someone who had a lot of faith. God also uses these people's faith in God to demonstrate his power. Even if there are only a few people, but if everyone has a strong faith in God, God can be glorified from it.

From church’s experience, the most obvious spiritual battle is the work of expelling demons. The work of expelling demons requires many people to pray and have great faith to cast out demons. If anyone is afraid, the demons will stay because it will affect the expulsion.   Demons expel is based on people’s faith, it does not depend on number of  people.

(Judges7:5-6) 5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the Lord said to Gideon, "Everyone who laps from the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set apart by himself; likewise everyone who gets down on his knees to drink." 6 And the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men; but all the rest of the people got down on their knees to drink water.

Anyone who licks water with their tongues, like a dog, does not have a cautious heart. People who hold the water in their hands are alert and cautious at all times to guard against sneak attacks by the enemy. Fear, great confidence, and more need to have a cautious heart. They were afraid that a momentary relaxation will give the enemy a chance to attack. This is also a key to God’s choice of workers. Facing powerful spiritual enemies, we need to have these even more. "Elite", confident, fearless, cautious, and alert.

Faced with such a large gap in the number of people, Gideon can only rely on God, not on tactics, weapons, or strategies. Sometimes people are always weak. When the church's ministry is prosperous, they will boast of their abilities and give glory to themselves. If they don’t realize it, it will become obstruct in the ministry, then they will hinder the development of the holy work. It is worth for our readers to remind each other to humble under the power of God and to rely on God with all our hearts.

(Zechariah 4:6) 6 So he answered and said to me: "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' Says the Lord of hosts.

Translated by 余姿瑩

God Calling Gideon (Judges 6)

 (Judges 6:13) 3 Gideon said to Him, "O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, 'Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?' But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites."

Gideon was the son of Joash which belonged to the tribe Abiezrite. Abiezrite was the descendent of Manasseh. In the bible it was also called Jeezerites (Numbers 26:30). At that period, the people of Israel did evil in the eyes of God. Therefore, God put them into the hand of Midianites for seven years. Midianites were Abraham and Keturah’s fourth child’s descendants (Genesis 25:2). They lived in the wilderness east of the Jordan river, near Canaan where the Israel people lived. In these seven years, Midianites united with other enemies to destroy the food of the Israelis, and also taken the cows, sheep, donkeys, and other animals that they depended on for their livelihoods. It can be imagined that their situation must be very miserable. In these troubles, God chose Gideon to lead the Israel people out of the hand of Midianites. From the reply of Gideon to God’s messenger, we can see that he hears God’s miracles on his ancestors.

(Judges 6:14-16) 14 Then the Lord turned to him and said, "Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?" 15 So he said to Him, "O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house." 16 And the Lord said to him, "Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man."

Compared with the situation of the Israelites, they were also under the oppression of powerful enemies, so they were eagerly looking forward to God's salvation. When Gideon was called, he replied: "His family is the poorest in the tribe of Manasseh. I am the smallest in my father's house." At the moment, Gideon does not think he can respond to God's called, but he did not choose to escape. Instead, he asked God to give him evidence to strengthen his confidence and let him know that the message he received came from Jehovah; God agreed to his request, and Gideon also took practical actions to respond to God's call, to concentrate on relying on God for things that God sends.

(Hebrews 4:14-16) 14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

In our life, we might just be normal people with no fame and distinguished background. When God called us, are we willing to use our faith and action to reply to God’s call? This is like when we do holy work, we often think that we do not have enough ability but by prayer and asking, God will grant relevant capability to his worker. The final result will normally be better than what we expected.

Gideon did not rely on his strategy or experience in the things that God directed, but he sought God's will before acting. In our religion, family, and life we need to readjust our footsteps and examine whether we are being led by the norms of the world or focus our eyes on the present suffering and forget God’s salvation. May we allow the Holy Spirit to renew from time to time and make our behaviour and life closer to God's will.

(Romans 12:2) 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

 

The Female Judge, Deborah (Judges 4)

(Judges 4:4-5)
4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, was judging Israel at that time.
5 And she would sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the mountains of Ephraim. And the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.

Judges were rises up to save the people of Israel. They are said as hero that help God’s chosen people to win their enemy. Different judges were there for the different plans from God. Some judges had courage; some judge had wisdom. This demonstrates the people that God uses have different abilities. And we can see from Judge that these things are from God’s mercy.

 

God’s chosen a lot of men to be the judge but they were one woman that became a judge. Deborah was the only judge that was a woman, she was both judge and prophet. This demonstrates that God chooses both women and men to do work for him. Most judges that were being called by God dare to lead the people to fight the enemy. Deborah also means God’s words; she has a revelation from God. Therefore, she can tell Barak to fight Jabin’s army Sisera. She got wisdom given by God so no matter where the Israel people go they will listen to her judge. This demonstrates that Deborah was a smart judge that act impartially. People who God uses, regardless of gender.

 Bible specifically recorded: "It's Rabido's wife."  She was married but her husband remained silent, she still has loyalty for her husband. She did not neglect to take care of the family, and the housework did not hinder her ministry. This was her wisdom.

(Genesis 5:21-22) 21 Enoch lived sixty-five years and begot Methuselah. 22 After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters.

Bible mentioned a man called Enoch. He changed his lifestyle when he was 65 years old. He followed God for 300 years; God has taken him to heaven which makes him skip the part of death. Enviable, this is the point in time each of us should figure out in the world. The human’s ultimate goal is to walk with God because of endless happiness. Enoch didn’t give up his family to follow God but bring his family to follow God which accompany with glamorous.

In our life, we have neglected to take care of our family because of the pursuit of our careers. Or because we need to pursue our careers or take care of our family and miss the chance to serve God. Deborah put God as the pivot of her life.  God’s words often come to her, and she can also give people directions through God’s words. But she didn’t give up her family, this is religious life that Deborah put God as the center. Hope all of us can follow Deborah's example of faith and restore God's deeds in this dark age with great confidence!

(Matthew 6:24) 24 "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
(Matthew 6:33) 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Translated by 余姿瑩

Judges 3

 (Judges 3:1-2)1 Now these are the nations which the Lord left, that He might test Israel by them, that is, all who had not known any of the wars in Canaan 2 (this was only so that the generations of the children of Israel might be taught to know war, at least those who had not formerly known it,

The record here seems to be that God "actively" left these tribes to hone their war skills. In reality, it was the tragic result of the Israelis’ unwillingness to completely drive out the seven Canaanite tribes. Judge is a book that records the vicious circle between strength and weakness in the people of God that has been inevitable for the ages: The most common content in testimony is often the testimony of "being disciplined by God," but after each discipline, can we escape this history completely? The lesson of history is that mankind often does not remember the lesson. The loving Lord Jesus knew our weakness and sent the Comforter Holy Spirit to help us out of this vicious circle.

(Matthew 14:25-26) 25 Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear.

It is said that for those who have received the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit will teach us everything, that is, before the wrong thing is about to be done, the Holy Spirit will remind us. So, the apostle Paul appeared to say this:

(Romans 7: 24-25) 24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

He is telling us here: It is impossible to be sanctified on your own! But after he had received the Holy Spirit, he discovered that people can only rely on the Holy Spirit to overcome.

Today, many brothers and sisters in the Lord have already received the Holy Spirit in the True Jesus Church, but they are still weak. What is the reason? Let the author tell a story:

The human heart is like a villa with twelve rooms. We are the masters inside.

A man was sitting in the living room on the first floor and admiring it leisurely after he had arranged his house as he pleased. At this time, there was a knock on the door outside. He asked, "Who is it!", the knocker did not respond. He asked again but still did not respond. So curiously, he secretly opened a crack in the door to see what happened. Unexpectedly, it was a black devil. With great strength, he pushed the door and rushed in, messing up the twelve-room villa and destroying everything that should be broken. When the devil is satisfied, he will go away!

The master had no choice but to tidy up. When the cleaning was almost done, knocked on the door again. The master didn't doubt that the devil came again, so he looked again to see who was knocking on the door. He didn't expect that it was the devil again because it had a sense of taste and brought companions this time. As you can imagine, the result was even more miserable than last time!

The owner was exhausted, and finally managed to a little decent. Unexpectedly, there was another knock on the door. Unlike the past, this voice is gentle and slow, not as rushing and rough as before. He asked, "Who? I won't open the door if you don't speak!" "I am Jesus! Would you like to open the door for me?" It turned out to be Jesus, who asked politely.

The master almost cried when he heard that Jesus was coming! Open the door quickly. Jesus entered his heart politely! Jesus asked, "Then, can I live here?" "Of course!" The master couldn't wait to respond. Jesus asked, "Where can I live?" "Ah! Lord Jesus, come! I will give you the biggest and best room here!" Jesus smiled, nodded, and followed upstairs to the biggest and best room in this villa.

The host felt relieved and said, "Jesus lives with me, I am not afraid of anything!"

"Knocking!" There was another hurried knock on the door, thinking, Jesus is here, what can you do about me? He  opened up the door. Unexpectedly, these demons seemed to enter the uninhabited state and destroy them arbitrarily! At this time, the master panicked and cried, "Lord! Save me!" Before he finished shouting, Jesus had already appeared before his eyes! When the demons saw Jesus here, they ran away in fright.

The master was injured and asked with tears, "Lord Jesus! Why can the devil come to tease me when you are with me?" Jesus said, "As long as you call me, I will help you! But I am not in your heart. I cannot help you make your own opinion without asking politely.

The owner asked, "Then what should I do?" Jesus said, "If you want, you can let me be the owner of this house." "What should I do?" The host continued. Jesus said, "Open up all the twelve rooms of your heart. Would you like it?"

This is embarrassing for this master because there is a room that he chooses to lock forever. After all, it is filthy, fornication, resentment towards someone, dissatisfaction with the church... After a lot of thought and struggle, he said, "Okay! Lord Jesus, I am willing to give you all, and even open that dirty room! But please strengthen me and help me clean it.

Jesus got "keys” to all the rooms," so he sat down on the first floor.

At this time, the knocking on the door became fiercer, and it seemed that more than one devil was about to make trouble. The owner was terrified when he heard such a rapid and rough knock on the door, and thought: "What should I do?" Unexpectedly, Jesus slowly stood up, patted the owner on the shoulder, and motioned for him to continue sitting. God said," I am the master and I am in charge!" Since then, the devil dared not come again!

At this point in the story, we discovered that Jesus is in our heart, and Jesus is our king, but they are two different things. No wonder Jesus reminded and revealed the "Equation of Life Happiness":

 (Matthew 6:31-34) 31 Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its things. Sufficient for the day is its trouble.

Among them, you must first seek his kingdom and his righteousness, and these things will be added to you. It is the equation of happiness in life. As long as the Holy Spirit fills us, the Lord Jesus is our king, and our hearts become the "kingdom of God" in which God reigns, the vicious tour in the book of Judges is over!

Translated by 余姿瑩

Judges 2

 (Judges 2:1)
 Then the Angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said: "I led you up from Egypt and brought you to the land of which I swore to your fathers; and I said, 'I will never break My covenant with you.

From the beginning of Judges chapter 2, God’s messenger came to Poking to remind the Israelis. God leaded the Israelis to get out of Egypt to go to the promise land and not abolish the covenant made with the Israelites. Regrettably, the Israelites deserted God, and the repeated belief cycle model was staged in the era of the judges. When the Judge were alive the Israelites will serve God but once Judge died Gentiles arose, and the Israelites abandoned the Lord who brought them out of Egypt and did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord. Instead, they served the Baals, worshiped other gods, and aroused God's anger. In the end, the angry God handed them to the enemy, and the extremely painful Israelites cried out to God because of being oppressed. God raised up judges to save them from the enemy's hand. And after they were comfortable, they abandon God again.

The Israelites experienced seven rises and falls during the time of the judges. "Stubborn and rebellious" should be enough to describe the Israelis at that time. In contrast, today, in such apocalyptic generations, has there ever been such a vicious circle in your daily life? There are too many temptations and temptations to induce us to sin. This reminds me of the prayer at the end of the meeting. Sometimes preacher led the congregation to recite the Lord’s Prayer together. It turns out that in the Lord’s Prayer, it is so important to pray to God, "Do not let us meet temptations, and save us from evil."

The words in the Bible let us understand God's commandments and let us remember the lessons of the past. As a believer, you must not follow the example of the Israelites: other generations that arise, do not know the Lord, and do what is evil in the eyes of the Lord to serve the Baals. We have the responsibility of educating the next generation to know God, love God, and obey God. It is only after becoming a mother that I understand the difficulties of parents. I hope that what I can leave to my children is the beautiful faith that can accompany them in their long lives, and I also hope that they can hold on to the hand of God.

 (Deuteronomy 28:1-8) 1 "Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God: 3 Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. 4 Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. 5 Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 6 Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. 7 "The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. 8 The Lord will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

How can such a beautiful and good promise and agreement not be left to the next generation!

Translated by 余姿瑩

Judges 1

(Judges 1:1) 1 Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass that the children of Israel asked the Lord, saying, "Who shall be first to go up for us against the Canaanites to fight against them?"

After Joshua’s death, Israel people still ask for God and God replied to those people’s question. In the end of Joshua, it talked about that the Israel people made an agreement to serve God only. When Joshua and elders who know God were still alive, the Israel serve God (Joshua 24:31). Israel people are ready to receive the promise of land’s grace. However, after they live in the Cannan. Their sprit life disappears and were no longer devoted to faith. After Joshua and elders died, the Israel leadership was in a vacuum and plunged into anarchy. Israel people cannot enjoy a free and prosperous life, but enter the dark age of national history.

(Judges 1:21) But the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem; so the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

(Judges 1:27) However, Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages; for the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land.

(Judges 1:29) Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer; so the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.

(Judges 1:30) Nor did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron or the inhabitants of Nahalol; so the Canaanites dwelt among them, and were put under tribute.

(Judges 1:31) Nor did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Acco or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob.

(Judges 1:33) Nor did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh or the inhabitants of Beth Anath; but they dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath were put under tribute to them.

In the next few short verses, the conversation began to change, describing that most of the tribes did not implement Joshua’s will which is to drive out the residents of that place (Joshua 23:5). Incomplete removal of evil often leads to tragic endings. We must be careful not to compromise with evil.  Judges talked about the crimes committed by the people of Israel, and the consequences of their crimes. No matter how light the crime is, it will affect everyone. Starting from Achan’s love for fine clothes and gold and silver and now they have not driven out the local residents. All fell into sin; simply put, the reason for the rapid decline in the spirituality of the Israelites was sin---the sin of the individual, the sin of the nation. Unwilling to completely obey God, unwilling to annihilate the local enemies, and later even intermarried with the locals and worshipped idols, each did whatever they wanted.

Soon after, the people of Israel oppressed by enemy. They seek God in pain. Because of compassion and love for the people, judges were raised to save them, and the Israelites enjoyed peace. But they healed their scars and forgot to hurt them, disobeyed God, and started another cycle. Reading the Judges, in addition to understanding the heroic deeds of the judges, we should also pay attention to their process of relying on God and their obedience to God's commands.

(Joshua 3:6) Then Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, "Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over before the people." So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.

Translated by 余姿瑩

 

As for Me and My Family, We will Serve God (Joshua 24)

 (Joshua 24:15) And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Religion can be said as something that will become a lifestyle for you after you believe in God. Everyone starts seeking the real God at different times. Some people start to find God when their lives become desperate. Some people know God because their parents tell them about this true God, and pass this faith to them. This is to tell us that God's divinity and eternal power are knowable. Everyone should take the chance to know this true God in heaven.

God chosen Joshua to be a spiritual leader, when his life came to the last part, he told God's chosen people” I am going the way of all the earth (Joshua 23:14). Joshua encouraged people that they must follow true God. Look back at how God led them out of the Gentile land from the Pola River, help them to get away from not believing the one true God. Now they enter Canaan, this is God's grace. Joshua not only encouraged the people but lead as an example telling people that he and his family will believe in Jesus the true God. Telling his whole life's religion and show that his expectation on his descendant, that they only believe in this true God.

(Acts 16:29-30)
29 Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

There was a jailer who was mentioned in the Bible. He was once desperate because there was an earthquake which cause all the jail doors opened. All the prisoner's chains were opened. The jailer woke up and saw all the doors were opened. He thought that all prisoners escaped. He was about to kill himself but God's grace appeared to him. Those prisoners did not escape. God arranged two of his workers Paul and Silas to sing in jail. They did not escape. Seeing them like that makes him realize that this is grace from God. He humbly asked how to be saved. This grace also appeared to his family. His whole family accepted the baptism of forgiveness and became very joyful.

This precious faith cannot be only for oneself. We need to pass it from generation to generation. We need to use "home" as the unit. The whole family believes in God. People who are reading this article. We sincerely invite you, grasp the time to accept the baptism of the blood of the Lord Jesus, serve and worship the only true God. To our church members. The whole family belief in the Lord is our goal. The whole family believing God, worshiping God is our life benchmark. The book Joshua is a chapter talking about the passing of religion. Now we have finished this book, hoping that all of our readers will keep this precious faith, follow God's way. Hope that all of our readers can be like Joshua: As for me and my family, we will serve God.

(Psalm 71:17-18) 17 O God, You have taught me from my youth; And to this day I declare Your wondrous works. 18 Now also when I am old and gray-headed, O God, do not forsake me, Until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come.

Translated by 余姿瑩