Judges 21 Bible Study (Wives Provided for the Tribe of Benjamin) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

I don't know when the next time you're gonna hear these words coming out of my mouth is gonna be, but turn with me to the book of Judges chapter 21 as we now come to the end of our bible study in this book. And I praise God already for his providence because of that last song that we sang. It is no accident because the springboard for this bible study is actually going to be the last verse of this chapter. Look at it quickly with me in Judges 21 verse 25. In those days, there was no king in Israel.

Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Now before we get there though, we have to honor the text. That's what this whole bible study is about. We are going through every chapter, every verse to see exactly what God has to say in every section of this holy book. And if you've been with us for the past two weeks, you know that what was about to happen here is just a continuation of what we studied.

And that is a civil war that broke out in Israel, that started with an atrocious act committed by men of a certain tribe in Israel against a Levite and his concubine. A civil war breaks out and all the tribes of Israel come against the tribe of Benjamin and bring them down to 600 men. We're talking about near extinction here. We're talking about the close elimination of a tribe that God promised would be preserved until the end. This is a scary moment for this nation.

This is a terrifying scene and it's only gonna get worse. We would hope that the end of a book would be something bright and hopeful and exciting and unfortunately that's not what Judges is about. And I'm sure that's why in part why you're kind of excited for this study to end, because it's just been a long dark tunnel. But it's scripture nonetheless, and it's a reflection of humanity's heart. And you're gonna see that even more here as we now begin in verse one.

After the tribes of Israel conquer the tribe of Benjamin and 600 men run into some kind of hill and hide themselves for a few months, we read here in verse one. Now the men of Israel had sworn at Mizpah, none no one of us shall give his daughter in marriage to Benjamin. Verse one of chapter 21 is a flashback. It's a flashback to Judges chapter 20, the last chapter, where the entire nation, when they received that news that this crime was committed, congregated to Mizpah to discuss what are we going to do about these men from Gibeah, from the tribe of Benjamin. But we are not told in 20, what we are told in 21 verse one, that in that meeting, there was a vow made with all the tribes and this was the vow.

Not one of our daughters are going to be given over to any man from the tribe of Benjamin. And the rest of this chapter is just going to unfold the consequences of such a rash vow as this. And so what do we read here? We read here, and the people came to Bethel. So we're we're out of the flashback now and we're coming to present time.

The people came to Bethel and sat there till evening before God and they lifted up their voices and wept bitterly. In previous moments when there was warfare in the book of Judges, it was often followed by a song of victory. They praised God. They honored God. They they gave thanks to God, but there is no song here.

There's only weeping. There's regret. There's perhaps embarrassment, heaviness. Because what was supposed to be done to the enemies was done to their own. Their own had been consumed by the sword and brought almost to nothing.

But you read this and you think to yourself, did this need to happen? Did they need to make such a vow? Because we're gonna realize that this vow is gonna cost them a lot. Because now they're gonna plan, how are we going to preserve this tribe? They're gonna realize we've made a grave mistake, so how are we gonna preserve our brothers?

And they realize we made we made a vow and we can't break it. And the answer is no. They didn't need to make this vow, but this word, this promise made was done in the heat of blinding rage. These men were drunk with vengeance and we know that because they didn't need to bring them down to 600 men. There was just a few that were guilty.

Yes, there was a war that broke out, but you didn't need to burn down cities. You didn't need to kill woman and child. And so these people here are crying out to God not realizing that they're the contributors to their own pain. And so we see here, in a practical way, that the regret, the tears in part stems from a decision that they have made with their own words. And would you know it, that that is often the source of many of our regrets as well.

Things that we have said in the past and is broader than just vows. Things that we've uttered with these lips, that have even haunted people for years and decades. Things that have been said to us that we realize the weight of it, even in this moment perhaps. And sometimes we realize only when we see the lasting consequences of our words, but I want you to realize that we have hope in the new covenant. See these men spewed something in the heat of emotion and they're going to see the repercussions of it.

What do we do as Christians? Because the Bible talks a lot about this muscle in between these lips called the tongue. It's a dangerous weapon. We've experienced the lashes of it and you and I have lashed others with it. But I read this and I thought to myself, this is just one of hundreds of examples of how a word was spewed only for it to be something that they would regret.

Jesus is our example. And and you know what's amazing? Peter says something very specific to Christians and it's in first Peter chapter two verse 20. He says, for this you have been called because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you may follow his steps. I hope you know this today that Jesus' life is not just to be admired.

It's not just to be something that we worship. It's not just something that we even just trust in, though it includes all those things. The life of the Christ is a model for everyday living. The life of the king is an example for the citizens of that kingdom. And Peter here tells us that your example in life, born again Christian, is the master.

And you are called to follow his steps. Many people come to the scriptures to try to find arguments, to try to find things to debate about, to try to to try to even conquer other systems of belief based on the validity of the Word of God. But very few people come to the scriptures to look at the life of Christ to see example. Because we think that he he's God and and he's obviously operating in a different source of power than we have and the Bible is clear. Jesus didn't just say, believe in me.

He said what? Follow me. And he is not a cruel master. He does not give you a standard in which he does not empower you for. So what an incredible mark that we are all called to strive for.

We are called to follow in his steps and it's not just a general thing, because Peter gets specific in verse 22. He committed no sin. What does it mean to follow in the steps of Jesus? That he committed no sin. You know what that means?

It doesn't mean that we believe in sinless perfectionism, where if you're a believer, sin should not even be a thought that you entertain or a temptation you experience. No. No. No. No.

But it does mean that we strive daily to conquer sin and illuminate righteousness. That's what it means to follow in his steps. You know, you have many people of different denominations that would say, this means that we are to be miracle workers like Jesus. Oh really? That's not what Peter said.

He committed no sin. And so we also, according to first John, do not make a practice of sinning. But then Peter gets even more specific than that. He committed no sin. Remember the context says, we are following in his steps.

He committed no sin neither was deceit found in his mouth. The way Jesus spoke is my example. The way Jesus spoke is the standard in my life. When he said what he needed to say, when he didn't say what he could have said, and I read a verse like that and if you're a person that's concerned about your spiritual state and your example and your testimony before men, that should not overwhelm you. That should excite you.

Do you know why? Let me reiterate. Because if he set the standard, he also provides the power. That's the encouragement. Every time you come to a command, no matter how high it seems, no matter how unreachable it may seem, this is where faith connects and you say, this is amazing.

This is incredible. I don't feel guilty when I come to a standard or a command like this. I'm excited, because Lord, you are not one to deceive me. You are not one to trick me. You are not a God who takes pleasure in my failure.

You've given me a standard. You will also give me the power. And I see here that it's possible for me to speak like Jesus. It's possible for you to speak like Jesus to your spouse, to your enemies, to those who don't know him. It's possible in those moments as unruly and as unpredictable as this mouth may be that Christ can rule it.

And things can happen where people are blessed by my words the same way people were blessed by the words of Christ. And so I take hope in that you should as well, but unfortunately here we see the consequences of words. And we see in part, perhaps their weeping was because we said something and we can't take it back. So we come to verse three of Judges 21, and they said, oh Lord, the God of Israel, why has this happened in Israel? That today there should be one tribe lacking in Israel.

Why are you crying? That's my first question. Obviously, there's some remorse here. Obviously, there's some grief because of the condition of this tribe, But they come before God and they inquire. They they want some clarification of what just took place.

Why God has this happened? And if I had the chance to answer them, I would say, just look down at your blood stained swords and realize that you're the reason why. God didn't ask you to slaughter Benjamin to near extinction. God didn't demand that from you. That was never God's mind or plan for for any of the tribes of his people.

But what's amazing here is that we see that though they are at fault, they they wanna bring blame to God, as though God was responsible. And you have people today that are doing the same. They see all the evil in their context, in the world, on the news, on their social media. And what do they do? Why God?

Why is this happening? Not realizing that if God wanted to deal with the evil in the world, he would wipe you and I out first. Do you know why? Because Jesus uttered the words that out of this heart, this heart is the sewage that pumps all the filth that you and I are complaining to God about. So I always answer that way when people say, why does God allow this and why does God allow that and why doesn't a good God clean up this mess?

And I say, well, buckle up. Because he'll clean you up and me first. Because we are the contributors to the brokenness that we see. But this question, why God, fill in the blank, is much more complex than us being the main contributors because evil is much more sophisticated than that. It is.

Because it's not necessarily true that everything that we see in the world is because of us, necessarily. That's a major part. But what about the evil that's done to us when we have not initiated evil? What about the disasters in the world and the afflictions of the body and the diseases that cripple and steal our family members away? What about that?

Why God there? And that is a sensitive subject, that is a deep subject, but consider at least this option that many people do not consider. What happened here with these tribes in response to the chaos and the carnage? Well, we're told here that they came before God. And pain is a wonderful tutor.

Suffering, tragedy, despair is a wonderful tutor to bring us to the feet of God. It's amazing how disappointment, even on an emotional level, can cause people who have even a little knowledge of God to look up. To look up. Now people look up for one of two reasons. They can look up for the reason that we see here with a clenched fist and saying, how dare you?

Or if you're really true, how can you? And then there are others who have enough sense and understanding of the revelation of the goodness of God, where they come before him realizing that he is the only one. He's the only refuge. He's the only one that won't crush me and disappoint me. He's the only one that can restore me and ultimately bring peace into my life.

And so I want you to realize that although this is a deep subject, we can do a separate bible study on this subject alone. Suffering is a wonderful evangelist. Suffering has brought many more people to the gospel than we might think. And so we have to understand that the why God has this happened sometimes brings people to God in the end. If there's anything to admire of this group, it's in verse six.

And the people of Israel had compassion for Benjamin, their brother, and said one tribe is cut off from Israel this day. They were sincerely broken at the fact that one part of the body was just hanging by a thread. I read that and I said, Lord, let me be just as broken when a brother or sister has fallen into sin. Let me be just as crushed when somebody has to be disciplined by the church. Let me be just as broken as these men were.

So what happens from this place? Well verse four tells us, and the next day the people rose early and built there an altar offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So now they're worshiping God and they're bringing before the required sacrifices and it seems as though they are getting ready to to inquire of God, because they're in a dilemma here and they want a solution. So they're doing the right thing. They're stepping before the Lord and and they're sacrificing.

But here's the issue, they sacrifice, but they don't inquire. Go back to Judges 20 and look at verse 27 when they were in a dilemma, when they went to war with Benjamin. It says here in verse 26, they sat there, the second part, before the Lord and fasted that day until evening and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. Same thing, but they did something additionally. Verse 27, and the people of Israel inquired of the Lord.

So they repented, they came broken in in humility and then they asked, God, what do we do here? What are we how are we supposed to navigate? This is something that we can't solve on our own. But when you come here, they just offer the sacrifices, but they don't they don't pray. They don't stop and ask.

They don't wait upon God. They quickly fell into ritualism. They quickly fell into this thing that they just perform some religious duty, but they already had a plan in mind. And what you and I are about to read now, are the consequences of one simple lack of discipline and that is waiting upon God. Knowing how to seek God and search for his counsel, and to bring all that you do before him.

And here's what happens. They don't wait upon God. They don't even ask God for his guidance. And here's a solution. We made a vow that none of our daughters should marry the men of Benjamin, but we also made another vow and we're told here what that vow was in verse five.

And the people of Israel said, which of all the tribes of Israel did not come up in the assembly to the Lord? For they had taken a great oath concerning him who did not come up to the Lord at Mispah to Mispah, saying, he shall surely be put to death. So now we discover at Mispah, in Judges chapter 20, they made another vow that we are discovering, and the vow was this. If anybody did not join us to come against Benjamin, they shall be destroyed. And here's their strategy now.

Okay. We made a vow that none of our daughters would marry the men of Benjamin, but if somebody did not come up, that means they weren't there to make that vow, meaning they might have some woman available to marry the remaining men of Benjamin. Sounds like a good plan. Right? Sounds very clever, very smart, until you read on to see what happens.

So we scroll down here in verse eight, And they said, what one is there of the tribes of Israel that did not come up to the Lord at Mizpah? And behold, no one had come up to the camp from Jabesh Gilead to the assembly. So then what did they do? Verse 10. So the congregation sent 12,000 of their bravest men there and commanded them, go and strike the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead with the edge of the sword, also the women and the little ones.

So another genocide is a solution here. Go and kill them because we have to honor the second vow, but the strategy is this, whoever has not lain with a man, virgins, those who are not married, keep them. Keep them to yourself and verse 12 tells us what happens. And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead 400 young virgins who had not known a man by lying with him, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan. Okay.

It could have ended there, could have been solved, it's over. Probably wasn't the best solution, but at least you you figured something out. But no. What's the problem? How many men of Benjamin were there?

Okay. And they have 400. It's simple math. There's still 200 men left without without a wife. So what happens here?

Well, they come up with another plan. You would think that at this point they would stop and say, okay. Maybe we should ask God what to do. Because God could have offered a solution. He's done it in chapter 20.

He could have done it again. But no. It's amazing how in one season we can trust God and the next season we don't. It's incredible how flip floppy we are when it comes to our prayer life, when it comes to our scenarios and our situations. In one moment, we think we can't do this without God.

And when it comes to another challenge, we go, thanks God. I think I can figure it out. When the scripture says, in all your ways, do what? Acknowledge him and he'll make you a straight path. In all your ways, not some of your ways, not in the things that are too complicated for you to figure out on your own.

No. In every way, even if you think you got it down, you invite him into it and he might give you something that's better than your plan. Unfortunately here they don't do that. So they come up with another idea and we're scrolling down here, because again remember we're spring boarding from the last verse as our Bible study, the main focus. Verse 19.

So this is their solution. So they said, behold there is the yearly feast of the Lord at Shiloh, which is North of Bethel, on the east of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem and South Of Labona. And they commanded the people of Benjamin saying, go and lie and ambush in the vineyards and watch. If the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come out of the vineyards and snatch each man his wife from the daughters of Shiloh and go to the land of Benjamin. This is not romantic.

This is a kidnapping plot. This is an this is an ambush to come in and to surround these young girls and to take them home without the permission of their fathers or anybody else in authority over them. And you know what's so disappointing about this is that they are doing this at a time when they are coming to celebrate God. At the yearly feast of the Lord, the the tabernacle was the target of this operation. So you and I get a a great impression that there is a lack of reverence and fear of God, where they had no hesitation to come into the house of God and to entertain their fleshly pursuits.

That's the problem with this story, is that again, verse 25. Everyone was doing what was right, 25 rather, in their own eyes. And so they come, and they do this. And then we're told why in verse 22, what's justifying this plot and here's what's justifying it. I'll summarize it.

If their fathers or their brothers would come up and say, you just stole my sister. Give her back. You just took my daughter. Give her back. This was the idea.

Number one, the tribes weren't committing this this this crime. The the people of Benjamin were. So they're they're not to blame here. Okay? Benjamin did it.

Secondly, since these men also made a vow, they made a vow along with other tribes that they would not give their daughters up, there was a leeway here. Why? Because they're not necessarily giving up their daughters, their daughters are being taken from them. And that would settle the matter. So what happens?

Well, they take the remaining woman for those 200 men and this is how the story ends in verse 24. And the people of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and family, and they went out from there, every man to his inheritance. This is the end of the book of Judges. Everybody just goes home. They clean their hands.

They kidnap their wives. They slaughter the fresh city, and they just go home like nothing happened. And then we are visited again with that common phrase that has been repeated in the end of the book of Judges on more than one occasion, in those days, there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. I don't have to repeat the practical implications of the second point when you have subjective reasoning and morality.

That's a we we've covered that. But notice what the author of the book of Judges is implying here. The first part, in those days there is no king in Israel. In other words, what he is saying is, this is what happens when Israel does not have a righteous savior. Israel is in need of a true and righteous and perfect king.

And here, you just read, as I was saying, you just read what happens when there is no king in Israel. And we are being prepared by the author for the book of first and second Samuel and first and second Kings, where we are now entering into that world where they do get a king. Have you read first and second Kings? It's very similar to the book of Judges. And so we know our Bibles and we understand here that the king that Israel needed was not a human king.

Because we see a highlight reel of what happens when the sons of Adam attempt authority and trying to implement righteousness and justice in the land. It doesn't work. And we have more than just first and second Kings, we have world history. We have American history. And we have a prophetic word from God showing us that it's not gonna get any better.

And so the king that Israel and we need is greater than David himself. He's the son of David. He's the root and the seed of David. He is Jesus Christ. And that is the point.

And here's what I want to hammer today, because the king that they needed was the the person that was willing to be their king from the beginning, and that's God himself. And that is certainly true today that we can experience the kingdom of God now as we are under his spiritual rule and we have his word now that would bring peace, that would bring righteousness in the land. But there is a day coming brothers and sisters, where Jesus Christ will be King whether people want him to be or not. There is a time, you know, we're getting we're getting into a study now of the end times. There is a time coming.

People have this misunderstanding that when Jesus returns, we're going to heaven, everybody else is going to hell and we're just gonna be in some golden city. No. There is a long period after the return of Christ between his return and the eternal age. It's called the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. Okay?

So I'm gonna speak slow as possible, because I tend to speak fast, because I want you to understand this. Okay? Let me give you a quick time line of what's going to happen. The next event that we are waiting for in the prophetic time table of God according to the word generally, is the return of Jesus Christ. That's what we're waiting on.

Now what happens when Jesus returns is where many people have misunderstandings. We have this idea again that Jesus would maybe snatch us away and then from heaven judge the world and we're safe and sound and then he's gonna clean everything up and then we can just just do what we do in heaven. But what we are told in the scriptures is that when Jesus comes, he's coming to plant his feet on this earth. And when he plants his feet, he's not just coming to have a final battle with Satan and all his minions. He will destroy, not just Satan, but even those, humanly speaking, that sided with him against the Christ.

And then once he deals with them, he's going to step foot into Jerusalem and set up his throne. And when he sets up a throne, it's a physical throne. It's going to be a physical kingdom, and for a thousand years, and some would say, well it's not literally a thousand. Okay. For a long period of time, Jesus is actually going to physically reign from Israel and the whole world would be under his subjection.

And here's what I want to tell you today. You and I have a glimpse from the Bible. We have little windows that we can peek through, to get an idea of what the world looks like when Jesus is king. Would you like to know it? Isaiah 11.

Let's go there together. Isaiah 11 is just one window to get an understanding of what happens when Jesus will be king. And I'm not talking about spiritual king, like he's just our king currently right now, and the kingdom of God is within us and it's in the midst and the church is the manifestation. No. No.

No. No. I'm talking about a real physical earthly kingdom. And what's amazing about the prophetic nature of biblical prophecy is that, and I believe God did this by divine design, it's sprinkled everywhere. You know, the Bible is not a systematic book in the sense that you have this this menu and you go to page 200 to see the nature of God and the trinities and page 400.

And if you want to understand the end times events, it's all lined up for you in page 800. No no no no no. It requires effort, study, hunger to dig it up and discover it for yourself and put the pieces together. That's what makes Bible study so exciting. And then on top of that, that's where you see the supernatural harmony of the scriptures, where God speaks in one way through one prophet in one era and then through another era he says the same thing and then it just all reconciles and you realize this book is supernatural.

Isaiah 11. Let's begin in verse three. If you want to know who he's talking about, well let's look at verse one. There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. Then it goes on in verse two to describe the anointing that Jesus had of the seven fold ministry of the Holy Spirit upon his life.

And then you see all of this in verse two manifested in his first coming and it will be also manifested in his second coming. Then you come into verse three and you realize what we see in verse three is not necessarily true in his first coming. So when is it gonna be made reality? Well, when he comes again. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.

He shall not judge by what his eyes see or decide disputes by what his ears hear. So what we understand from this is, when Jesus Christ will reign physically in the Middle East, he will be a real judge and cases will be brought before him. Just like in Solomon's day, when men and women came before him to to try to bring about some kind of resolution to their issues, Jesus Christ is the greater Solomon. And when people bring the cases before him, this is where it's amazing, he doesn't need evidence. He doesn't need to see any proof.

He doesn't need to hear from lawyers. He doesn't need a jury. He doesn't need any tapes. He doesn't need any photographs. He doesn't need anything.

And he doesn't need to hear from eyewitnesses, and he doesn't need to hear from videotapes, and he doesn't need to hear audio clippings. They just need to come he needs to just look at them and he'll figure it out. Why? Because his omniscience is in execution here. I'm gonna tell you something, you can't trick this judge.

And so when men will come before him and there will be sin in the millennial reign, there will be issues, Jesus Christ will know the inmost thoughts. He will know the motives. He will know what really happened, even if it happened days ago. And he'll be able to execute perfect judge judgment. Perfect judgment, every single time.

There will be no doubt. He will not need to ponder and think. He will not need to meditate. He will execute perfect justice. And we are told when he rules, he will know all things.

He will know all things. And so he who is right will have no need to fear for a misapplication. They don't need to worry that he will get it wrong. Those who are guilty have every worry to fear that they will be judged and those who are in the right will have every reason to have hope that they will be delivered. He'll be the perfect judge.

He will have supreme judgment over all men. He will be the ultimate supreme court of the world, never mind America. People will come to him and he will give them what they deserve perfectly. Justice will be satisfied. But he won't just have supreme judgment over all men.

He will have supreme authority over the wicked. Look at verse four. But with the righteous but with righteousness rather, verse four of Isaiah 11, he shall judge the poor and decide with equity for the meek of the earth. He shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth. And with the breath of his lips, he shall kill the wicked.

We have governments today that rightly implement threats and punishments to restrict and to restrain evil from vandalizing our societies. But Jesus Christ has no need to flex any muscle because he just needs to speak the word and the wicked will perish from the earth. All he has to do is whisper it. All he has to do is say what he needs to say and the very heartbeat of those who are in the wrong are at the mercy of his words. I want you to think about that.

This man, this God man, will be able to do so much by just a sentence. He will just need a command and it will come to pass. With his same breath that he killed the Antichrist with, he will be able to rid the earth under his reign from all those who imitate the Antichrist in any way. Anybody who stands in rebellion against him, anybody who breaks his laws, he will not do so without mercy. He will do so imperfect as we just heard righteousness.

But again, I want you to see the power of this king. He will not need chariots. He will not need swords or spears or arrows. He will not need high walls to protect himself or his people. He just needs to whisper.

And people will bow and not just bow, people would disappear by the mention of their name. The same king who spoke things into existence is the same one who will be able to obliterate men in his perfect execution of judgment. You wanna see how powerful his word is? Again, it's not just in Isaiah 11. Go to Zechariah.

This is really amazing. When you go to Zechariah 14, you get another window into the kingdom of Christ on the earth. If you wanna know the context of this, look at verse three. Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on the day of battle. On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount Of Olives.

Oh, God has feet. Did you know that? God has feet because the God that we're speaking about here is the God man. His feet shall stand on the Mount Of Olives. Okay.

So we're talking about the second coming of Jesus Christ. This verse is echoed in acts one when the angels looked at those disciples staring into the sky. Hey, The same way he went up. He's coming back down. And Zechariah promised the same.

And then once he deals with the Antichrist and all those who stood against him, he's gonna usher in his millennial reign and look what's gonna happen under his reign. You know, there's gonna be feasts that's gonna be celebrated. And look at verse 16. Then everyone who survives, of all the nations after that battle, the final battle in Revelation 19. All the nations that have come up against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths.

Now, to know why the Feast of Booths, out of all the several feasts, is another study on its own. But let's just stick with this. Okay? The Feast of Booths. Every year, whether you go up to Israel during the millennial reign or you stay in your location, every single citizen of earth is gonna celebrate this feast.

It's not, it's not just gonna be suggestion. It's not just gonna be optional. It's gonna be demanded, because God is worthy of that praise and recognition. And guess what? He created this world so he makes up the rules.

But look what happens when people choose not to do that. Because again, there's still gonna be free will and people are still gonna be able to choose right from wrong. Verse 17. If any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the king, the Lord of hosts, there will be no rain on them. There will be no rain on them.

And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them, there shall be no rain. Do you realize what's being said here? If any family in the millennial reign chooses not to go up to Israel to worship God or in their respective area, Jesus will just have to say the word and say, no rain on their area. No rain on their area. And it won't have to rain.

It can rain around the whole neighborhood and that one place will not be touched by anything that will provide material blessing as a source of discipline. And if that area doesn't need rain to flourish, look at verse 18. And the family of Egypt if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain. There shall be the plague with which the Lord afflicts the nations that do not go up and keep the feast of boots. I want you to see the power of this king.

All he has to do is command the word and a plague can break out for those who do not honor him and worship him as he deserves. This is the authority that he carries. This is the authority that he possesses and that we will see with our own eyes. And it gets even more specific than that because what we see here is all creation will be in subjection to the king. Not just men, but even nature itself.

And this world is not going to look like what we see on the nightly shows. You're it's not gonna be you're not gonna hear people taking God's name in vain very easily. You're not gonna see mockery of Christ in the church. No. In fact, you're going to be stunned to see how every little thing will actually be consecrated to the Lord.

Here's an example. Look at verse 20 of the same chapter of verse of chapter 14. And on that day, that day of the millennial reign of Christ, there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses holy to the Lord. Horses in the bible were usually used for one thing and that's warfare. But guess what's gonna happen with this king?

Not just in supreme power, but in supreme love and righteousness, there will be no wars. There will be no warfare. Do you realize that even in Micah and Isaiah, it says that the weapons that they've made, all the money that we've pumped into, defending our country and for overseas battles, all those things are gonna be useless. And in that state of uselessness, people are going to say, what are we going to do with this material? And they're going to they're going to burn the material and do different things and build farming equipment because there's going to be no war.

Not only that, the horses we are told, are going to be inscribed with holy to the Lord. They're not going out to war. They're gonna be used for worship. Old testament students, tell me another place where there was something inscribed with holy to the Lord in the Old testament. You got it.

The garments of the high priest, they'll be inscribed upon the garments of the high priest on a golden plate. Exodus 28 verse 36, I believe. Holy to the Lord. As a reminder to the people and to himself that he is set apart for a sacred service unto God. And guess what's gonna happen in the millennial reign?

It's not just gonna be for the priest, the horses. The horses are going to be consecrated unto God. Every little item, even if it has no relation to worship or service in the temple, will be dedicated to God. And these horses that would be adorned for battle will instead have bells with those things prescribed. And every time they gallop, guess what they're going to be doing?

Worshiping. As those bells tinkle, they're actually giving praise to God. Oh, you think that that's amazing? You think that it's that extreme? It gets even more extreme.

You don't think that every single thing is gonna be dedicated to the king? Come here and finish verse 20. And the pots in the house of the Lord shall be as the bowls before the altar. And every pot, not just the pots in the temple, every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the Lord of hosts. Even your cooking utensils will be dedicated to the glory of God.

Nothing in the millennial reign will not shine and reflect his majesty. So whether your car is gonna have holy to the Lord on it, or even your cooking instruments, it will all point to Jesus. Why? Why? Why?

Because he's worthy. That's why. That's exactly why. He's worthy. And it's a beautiful picture of what's intended in our lives today.

That everything that you have and possess should be for the glory of God. Everything that you own should be dedicated and set apart unto him and for his purpose. In your life, as a citizen of God's kingdom now, though not physically manifested, everything's holy to God. Everything's holy to God. Yes.

Your brand new car that you think has no relevance to God is holy to the Lord. When you cook in that moment, you are set apart for God. When you go out and fellowship and you do something fun with your friends, in that moment it is not less sacred than when you come here and worship God. Holy to the Lord. The millennial reign is the intention that God has for his people in some sense today.

And so we see here that everything is in subjection. Everything is set apart unto God. Every single thing. Yes. Your pot, that pot that's in there in the sink that you haven't washed yet, that's set apart to God according to his rule and reign.

He is worthy. He is worthy because he alone is a king that will be able to perform what no king has been able to perform in the past or in the future. He is a king that will be able to bring harmony and peace to a degree that can only measure up to imagination in our lifetime. You want to see it? Let's go back to Isaiah 11, and let's see what happens when Jesus Christ will be King.

Verse six of Isaiah 11. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat And the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together. And a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together. And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

Now look at this, the nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra. None of you would dare do that with your child. And the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. That's another word for a snake. Verse nine.

They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. I want you to see what's gonna happen, because so far you've been hearing about the authority of Christ, his judgment, the power of his word. Listen, it's not gonna be a cruel dictatorship. There is going to be a peace that this world has never seen. And the peace under the rule of the Prince of Peace will be so intense, so powerful that it will surge not just between humans, but even in the animal world.

Even animals themselves will not be able to operate in their nature as predators and as vicious beasts eating one another. Their diets are going to change and they're all going to become vegetarian. They're all going to become vegetarian. They're going to become friends and the most unlikely of beasts will be able to lie with one another and not just the relationship between humans and humans and animals and animals, but even humans with animals. And so you can have a child leading a wolf and laying beside a bear.

And now someone criticize what we're claiming here as literal because they would argue, God is not concerned about changing the nature of animals and creatures. He's concerned about changing one thing and that's the hearts of men. Sounds very noble. Sounds very honorable. But then you have to explain a lot of New Testament verses that tell us otherwise.

That tell us that even creation itself will groan. Let's just turn there, Romans eight, just to see it. Let's get our theology down for our end times beliefs. Romans eight twenty to 21. How do you explain this?

Let's go out of the Old Testament. Let's go into the New. If you don't believe that this is literal, then explain Romans eight twenty to 21. For the creation was subjected to futility. Not willingly, but because of him who subjected it in hope, scripture tells us, that the creation, we're not talking about men here, that's coming up at the end of the verse.

We're talking about the universe. We're talking about nature. We're talking about the material world. The creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom, here's the separate category now, of the glory of the children of God. In other words, creation as we know it is groaning and yearning and crying out for the day that which we are describing now to be made real, so that they can experience liberation.

So the trees and the mountains and the oceans and the bugs and the birds and the foxes, they can experience liberation. This is what Colossians one twenty tells us. Colossians one twenty is very clear that he will bring redemption universally. That all things will be reconciled to himself. All things will be reconciled to himself whether on earth or in heaven.

So it's more than just humans. Now, this verse is often used to try to promote universalism. That no matter what, no matter what you believe, no matter what, how you live, that doesn't matter. In the end of the day, everybody's gonna be saved because the blood of Jesus saves you whether you want to be saved or not. That's a nice thought as well, but it's damning.

That's not what this verse is teaching. This verse is just echoing what Paul said in Romans and what the old testament prophesies about, that God's redemptive plan goes beyond you and I, though we are the main objects of redemption. You know what God has in mind to redeem everything that's been infected by sin. Everything that the sin of Adam has corrupted, which is our world and the universe, Christ has in mind to redeem to boast in his redemption power. That's what he's gonna do.

So the sin that Christ wants to redeem humanity from is not just the sin in your heart, but the sin that has tainted everything else. So that in that millennial reign, the world will see that Christ is able to reconcile all things. That whatever man has corrupted, whatever devil has misused throughout world history, Christ will transform and restore to its original intent. And even creation itself will be healed and will be restored to its original purpose when Jesus Christ rules and reigns on this earth. And so even the animals will experience something of the presence and the power of Christ.

Even nature itself, geographically, if you study, you will see that even mountains will shift and move in order for where Christ dwells to be the most heightened place in all the earth. It's incredible. Well, let's summarize it back in Isaiah 11 and verse 10. In that day, the root of Jesse we're talking about Jesus here, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples. Of him shall the nations inquire and his resting place shall be glorious.

I love how the way the King James puts it, and his rest shall be glorious. You know what's gonna happen? It says here that when Jesus Christ physically rules and reigns, you're gonna have the nations flood to his throne and line up to inquire of him. Now, that is not the dispensation that you and I live in, Because in this dispensation of the church age, you know what's happening? The people of God are going to the nations and are proclaiming the gospel.

But there's a time coming when we won't do that anymore and the nations will now come to him and inquire of Christ themselves. And as they come to him, they will seek him as the pillar of justice and righteousness and wisdom and peace. They will want to know what he has to say and he will even expound the truths, divine truths himself. And what are we gonna be doing as Christians? Well Paul tells us, we're gonna be ruling and reigning with Christ.

We're gonna be administrating and executing his law in different parts of the world. I told myself jokingly, I would love to be as close to him as possible, but the 12 disciples already got the 12 thrones of Israel. So I'm like, Lord put me somewhere close if it's by your grace. I wanna be near you. And we're told here, if you have any hesitation that he's gonna be a good king, if you're intimidated by his power you should only be intimidated by his power if you're a sinner and you don't want Christ to rule over you.

His resting place shall be glorious. His rest shall be glorious. It's gonna be a peace that no stretch of time where there seems to be nothing going on in the world will even compare to. There'll be another dimension. Why?

Because when Christ rules and reigns on the earth, what's happening? The veil that separates our world with eternity is getting thinner and thinner. And what we're seeing is the Garden of Eden reversed. We are reversing back to what creation was before the fall. It's eerily similar with the animals, with man, with nature, with long life.

Isaiah tells us that men will be so healthy during the millennial reign of Christ that when somebody dies at a 100 years old, they'll be counted as cursed. Like wow, he died young. That's Isaiah 65. And it's going to be so similar. It's going to be so it's going to be just repeated because Revelation, everything ends in a garden as well.

Garden in the beginning, garden in the end. Do you want to see how similar it is? What happened in the garden for everything to fall apart? What happened? Who slithered his way in?

Satan. Satan came into that paradise and he tempted tempted man and man fell and everything was shattered and broken. You wanna see what's gonna happen at the end of the millennial reign of Christ? Go to Revelation 20. This is gonna blow your mind, I'm sure.

With everything that I just described, you would be stunned to realize what's gonna happen at the end of it. Look at verse seven of Revelation 20. And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison. So you know what's happening during that thousand years? When Jesus comes and rules and reign, Satan isn't destroyed yet.

He's bound in a pit for a thousand years. And that's why a great contribution to the peace will be experienced and the lack of of war is because Satan, the great deceiver of the world, will not be able to have freedom during the millennial reign of Christ. But at the end of it, because people will be born during the millennial reign of Christ, God will give man one more chance to make a choice. Do you want me to be the king over your life? And what will he do?

What he did in the beginning. He's gonna provide a different version of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And Satan will come up. And when Satan is released, he's gonna tempt man one more time before the eternal age is ushered in. And what's going to happen?

Verse eight, and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle. The number is like the sand of the sea. You're gonna have an army of humans that will side with Satan at the end of Christ's physical reign and say, we don't want you to be our king. It's hard to imagine, isn't it? Isn't it hard to fathom?

Well, you believe in the literal creation story, don't you? It happened. And I argue that if if God had created the world in the beginning with millions of people, you would have had more than just Adam and Eve turn their back on God. That's what we see in the second scene of paradise. Satan once more deceiving the nations and saying to these people, you don't want him to be king.

Look, he's holding you back from doing what you want to do. Just like what he said in the beginning. He's restricting something from you. And even with all the peace, and all the glory, and all the wars that are ceasing and all the joys that will be experienced, men will say, you're right. There must be something better than this.

Just like how Satan tempts you today. There's something better than how you're living for God right now. There's more joy. There's more thrill. There's more excitement.

You're bound up. He's holding something from you just like how he held it back from Adam and Eve. He doesn't want you to eat something so you can taste something and experience something and be like him. But we are told here back in verse 10 of Isaiah 11, his resting place shall be glorious. Here's how I wanna end.

Jesus Christ will one day be king of the world, but Jesus Christ calls us to make him king of our lives in this moment. Right here, right now, the physical dimensions of his kingdom are yet to come, but the spiritual realities can be known today. So let me take this verse and apply it to your life right now. If his glory will be known in the rest that is incomparable to this world when he comes, then you can know that rest right now. When you let Christ sit on the throne of your heart, you can know something of the Garden of Eden in your life today.

Maybe not with your senses physically, maybe not geographically, maybe not in society, but Christ calls all men to allow his rule in their lives today, where you make him the king over your existence. And then he makes you an ambassador. And I want to tell you something, with all the chaos in this world, Jesus promised that when you make him king, he will give you a peace that doesn't make sense. A peace that surpasses all understanding. A peace that is not bound to the peace in this world.

Jesus himself said, my peace I give to you and not the way the world gives peace. No. No. No. My peace do I give.

How do you have the peace of Christ in this world? Well you have to make him prince first. The prince of peace. Only when he becomes king, can you know his peace. And that's something that can change for you today.

That's something that you can experience in your heart now. That's something that you can be prepared for in this very moment. And I will tell you something, all it takes is for you to acknowledge him as king. All it takes for you is to say, Lord, I remove myself from the throne of my will and I invite you in all your majesty and authority to take that place and to dictate my life. And I'll tell you this, this world that tells you to make yourself the king and queen of your existence will not be able to offer what King Jesus does the moment you submit to his rule and his reign.

I can't wait for Jesus Christ to come and rule and establish himself in this place, but I'm not gonna wait till then. I'm not gonna wait. I want it now. And where does it begin? In our hearts.

And how do we experience something of his reign? As close as possible to that physical reality, well when a people come together in each of their hearts, Christ is king. And when we fellowship, we have something of that reality. And when we evangelize, we have something of that reality. And when we when we do life together, we have something of that reality.

So I look at this end times understanding, I don't say one day. Yes, in part. But I also say, Lord, as close as possible as I can get to that reality. Make it real in my life. Make it real in my life and he'll do it, because he promised he would.

My question for you at the end of this bible studying the book of Judges is, have you done it? Have you done it? If you want to know anything, do you do you want to know where your life could be headed? Do you want to know where society could be headed? Do you want to know where America is headed?

Read the book of Judges and realize the screenplay of what takes place when men choose to do what is right in their own eyes. Realize the chaos and the confusion. No matter how much prosperity we have as a nation, no matter how much weaponry and defense we might have, we will destroy ourselves. Israel ends with them destroying themselves. Judges doesn't end with a foreign nation coming in and ransacking them.

They imploded. They almost took out our own their own tribe. And what are we seeing in America? The very same thing. I believe the nations are laughing at us.

I believe our enemies are looking at us and they're just saying, hold back the nukes, guys. Let them just eat themselves. Because it is a general rule that when you choose not to fear God as a people, you inherit chaos. Because the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. If you don't fear God, you don't even have the beginning of wisdom.

And when you don't have wisdom, you now have the ability to navigate through life. And when you can't navigate through life, you have the mess that we have today. We don't even know reason. We don't know simple logic. God says, you want that mind?

Take that mind and watch how you will drive yourself into the grave as an act of my passive judgment. The solution is for Christ to be king. The solution is for Christ to occupy the Oval Office, not your favorite politician. And whether men wanna acknowledge that now or or not, they can put their hand on the Bible all they want. They can inscribe verses on the UN and all these all they want.

Christ has to become king. And that probably won't happen unless a move of God takes place. But guess what? Here's where I'm ending. I promise.

It's gonna happen. Whether America wants it or not. Listen, I say this in love. Whether you want it or not, you might think that what I just said was all fantasy and fairy tale and so unrealistic. Well, let me tell you this.

They were right about his first coming. Everything that the prophet said were right. You think they're gonna miss it with his second one? Nah, I don't think so. So I encourage you to bow the knee today to the lordship of Jesus Christ, so that you don't become stunned and stand on the wrong side when he does.

Let's pray. Father in Jesus name, we yearn with creation for the sons of God to be revealed, and for you to restore and renew all things. Lord, we believe not just in your first coming, but in your return. And we believe that you will be king of the earth. And we believe that everything that has been said of the prophets will come to pass.

And Lord, because we believe it, we yearn for it. We long for it. We crave it, oh God. We are unworthy, Lord, to be saved in the first place, but your word tells us that you're gonna take us even higher. Not just saved to be delivered from wrath, but even promoted.

Promoted in your kingdom to reign with Christ. And Lord, you will judge us. You will judge us based on how we lived our Christian lives to determine who will be rewarded with such positions. Thank you that our salvation is not based on our works, but our rewards are. And so Lord, we pray not for the sake of title or posture or anything else, but Lord for the sake of your honor.

For the sake of your honor in this world and the world to come, help us live for you. Help us live today as though you are king over our homes, over our churches, over our own lives. Lord, if it is your will as king that all things would be set apart as holy, may be so in our own existence. May everything be inscribed with holy to the Lord. Holy to the Lord.

Every relationship in this place, holy to the Lord. Every dollar and every bank account, holy to the Lord. Every future plan, everything that we do Lord, holy to your name. We ask that this would be true, so that you as the king of our lives would be pleased with your citizens. Lord, we worship you.

We worship you as the current king. We worship you as the king to come. And Lord, may our generation see what it's like. See the blessings. The glorious rest, when we make Christ the ultimate judge.

We honor you now in Jesus name. Amen and Amen.