the watcher

Judges 6:8-10 the Lord sent a prophet to the Israelites. He said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of slavery in Egypt. I rescued you from the Egyptians and from all who oppressed you. I drove out your enemies and gave you their land. I told you, ‘I am the Lord your God. You must not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you now live.’ But you have not listened to me.” There must be systems in place to make us keep our children and the generation after us in remembrance of God's faithfulness in our lives. Greater than wealth and any other legacy we want to leave for our children, the most important thing is to bring them up in the way of the Lord. I wonder how this happened? Judges 2: 10-13 After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel. The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight and served the images of Baal. They abandoned the Lor

Judges 5:1-3,31 On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song: “Israel’s leaders took charge, and the people gladly followed.  Praise the Lord! “Listen, you kings! Pay attention, you mighty rulers!  For I will sing to the Lord. I will make music to the Lord, the God of Israel. “Lord, may all your enemies die like Sisera!  But may those who love you rise like the sun in all its power!” Then there was peace in the land for forty years. The song of victory should be in the mouth of all who expect a victory, for soon they would have course to sing it. Deborah was judge in Israel at the time when they were under oppression. Remember that this oppression was allowed because of their disobedience: Judges 4:1-4 After Ehud’s death, the Israelites again did evil in the lord’s sight. So the Lord turned them over to King Jabin of Hazor, a Canaanite king. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-haggoyim. Sisera, who had 900 iron chariots, ruthlessly oppressed the

Judges 4:7 And I will call out Sisera, commander of Jabin’s army, along with his chariots and warriors, to the Kishon River. There I will give you victory over him.” One thing you will understand about victory, if you have been going through the six first books of the bible and now in the seventh book, is that it is by obedience to instructions. From Noah to Abraham, Jacob to Moses and to the children of Israel, they had their victory by following instructions. Therefore we can say that to be victorious in this life, you must be disciplined to follow instructions. Look at it, when Christ was finally leaving the earth He instructed His disciples: Acts 1:3-5 During the forty days after he suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God. Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he pr

Judges 3:1-6 These are the nations that the Lord left in the land to test those Israelites who had not experienced the wars of Canaan. He did this to teach warfare to generations of Israelites who had no experience in battle. These are the nations: the Philistines (those living under the five Philistine rulers), all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the mountains of Lebanon from Mount Baal-hermon to Lebo-hamath. These people were left to test the Israelites—to see whether they would obey the commands the Lord had given to their ancestors through Moses. So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and they intermarried with them. Israelite sons married their daughters, and Israelite daughters were given in marriage to their sons. And the Israelites served their gods. It is one one thing to say who you are, it is another to prove it. I can say "I love you", but how do I prove it? By m

Judges 2: 10-14 After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel. The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight and served the images of Baal. They abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They went after other gods, worshiping the gods of the people around them. And they angered the Lord. They abandoned the Lord to serve Baal and the images of Ashtoreth. This made the Lord burn with anger against Israel, so he handed them over to raiders who stole their possessions. He turned them over to their enemies all around, and they were no longer able to resist them. Why will you refuse to be faithful, and yet expect the Lord to be faithful to you? Who are you? Why do we trade the wrong things and acquire the things that put us in disadvantage? Judges 2:1-2 The angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said to the Israelites, “I brought you out o

Psalms 37: 23-24 The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand. Going through the book of Judges, we will see the life and experiences of the children of Israel after Joshua and the elders have left the scene. We will look at the generation that came after them and how they fared. Things are made easy and clearer when we leave them in the hands of the creator. He is all powerful and all knowing, therefore nothing can be a challenge to Him. The first temptation a believer experiences has to do with submitting to God's leading and direction. Even Christ was tempted in like manner. The way to overcome the enemy is to resist him and you can only accomplish this when you submit to God. James 4:7 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Remember that the devil and all the fallen angels are creations of God, they do not compar

Judges 1:27,29,31,33 The tribe of Manasseh failed to drive out the people living in Beth-shan, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo, and all their surrounding settlements, because the Canaanites were determined to stay in that region. The tribe of Ephraim failed to drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer, so the Canaanites continued to live there among them. The tribe of Asher failed to drive out the residents of Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Aczib, Helbah, Aphik, and Rehob. Likewise, the tribe of Naphtali failed to drive out the residents of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath. Instead, they moved in among the Canaanites, who controlled the land. Nevertheless, the people of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath were forced to work as slaves for the people of Naphtali. There is nothing like a complete victory, half victories are dangerous in that you live to fight again. I believe these cities would have been completely taken if they people had enough faith. Recall this discussion with Joshua: Joshua 17:16,18

Joshua 24:31 The people of Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him—those who had personally experienced all that the Lord had done for Israel. What a good testimony! When they had finally settled in the land God gave them, Joshua took some drastic steps: Joshua 24:1, 13-15 Then Joshua summoned all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, including their elders, leaders, judges, and officers. So they came and presented themselves to God. I gave you land you had not worked on, and I gave you towns you did not build—the towns where you are now living. I gave you vineyards and olive groves for food, though you did not plant them. “So fear the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord alone. But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the

Joshua 23:3,8,11, 14-16 You have seen everything the Lord your God has done for you during my lifetime. The Lord your God has fought for you against your enemies. Rather, cling tightly to the Lord your God as you have done until now. So be very careful to love the lord your God. “Soon I will die, going the way of everything on earth. Deep in your hearts you know that every promise of the Lord your God has come true. Not a single one has failed! But as surely as the Lord your God has given you the good things he promised, he will also bring disaster on you if you disobey him. He will completely destroy you from this good land he has given you. If you break the covenant of the Lord your God by worshiping and serving other gods, his anger will burn against you, and you will quickly vanish from the good land he has given you.” There is always the two sides of everything: * good and bad * light and darkness * life and death The mystery of it is that the absence of one brings the

Joshua 22: 30-31 , 33-34 When Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the community—the heads of the clans of Israel—heard this from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, they were satisfied. Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, replied to them, “Today we know the Lord is among us because you have not committed this treachery against the Lord as we thought. Instead, you have rescued Israel from being destroyed by the hand of the lord.” And all the Israelites were satisfied and praised God and spoke no more of war against Reuben and Gad. The people of Reuben and Gad named the altar “Witness,” for they said, “It is a witness between us and them that the Lord is our God, too.” Reading through Joshua 22 (read through the chapter), we have a record of war about to begin among the children of Israel. It all came from a rumour: Joshua 22: 10-12 But while they were still in Canaan, and when they came to a place called Geliloth near the Jordan River, the men of Reuben

Joshua 21: 43-45 So the Lord gave to Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. And the Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had solemnly promised their ancestors. None of their enemies could stand against them, for the Lord helped them conquer all their enemies. Not a single one of all the good promises the Lord had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true. If the Lord promised it be rest assured that He will bring it to pass. The One He gave the promise to believed it whole heatedly and proved it by His obedience. The same with his son and further on to his grandson. Hebrews 11:8-9 It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreig

Joshua 20:9 These cities were set apart for all the Israelites as well as the foreigners living among them. Anyone who accidentally killed another person could take refuge in one of these cities. In this way, they could escape being killed in revenge prior to standing trial before the local assembly. In settling in the land of promise, we read through so many instructions concerning the way of life of the Jew and what was expected of them. Here we read of the city of refuge, do we call it a prison city or more clearly, an asylum, for those who commit fatal offences. When we go back to the book of Numbers we see where the instruction was given, and it was stated that there should be a minimum of two witnesses to prove the case against the offender, before capital punishment can be given. Numbers 35:30 “All murderers must be put to death, but only if evidence is presented by more than one witness. No one may be put to death on the testimony of only one witness. We must be cautious about

Joshua 19: 49-51 After all the land was divided among the tribes, the Israelites gave a piece of land to Joshua as his allocation. For the Lord had said he could have any town he wanted. He chose Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim. He rebuilt the town and lived there. These are the territories that Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the tribal leaders allocated as grants of land to the tribes of Israel by casting sacred lots in the presence of the lord at the entrance of the Tabernacle at Shiloh. So the division of the land was completed. Would we be in a state of agitation all our lives? Will we keep on fighting all our days here on earth? Surely there will be a time of rest, a SETTLED period when we get to rest from all our works and battles. I do not know if these questions have gone through your mind? Your present age could be a contributing factor to the possibility of you thinking in this direction. They are actually valid and important questions. As we le

Joshua 19:9 Their allocation of land came from part of what had been given to Judah because Judah’s territory was too large for them. So the tribe of Simeon received an allocation within the territory of Judah. When the Lord brings to pass His promises they come in an overflow, for think of it, there is nothing that we can ever desire that the Lord cannot take care of. Jeremiah 32:27 “I am the Lord, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me? See how God looks at us, before man was created, all he needed to have a good life was provided for Him, even companionship was taken care of. It is God's pleasure for us to have peace and be full of joy. The problem came when man disobeyed. The focus is shifted, because true love is to save man's soul! Jesus said: Mark 8:36 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? For man died because of sin. Therefore, the most important thing is to get life back before anything else matters. T

Joshua 18:2-3 But there remained seven tribes who had not yet been allotted their grants of land. Then Joshua asked them, “How long are you going to wait before taking possession of the remaining land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given to you? It is one thing to receive the promise, it is another to hear instructions concerning the promise and yet another to TAKE ACTION. Taking action is where most people fail. You have prayed long, studied the word to get full clarification, however, unless you take action nothing happens. Imagine Noah receiving the instructions concerning the ark and did not start building. What of Abraham receiving the instruction concerning relocating, what if he did not not take action? Moses received instructions, he took action for all his excuses were dispelled by God, for God had taken care of it. It got to a time God had to command him to move. Exodus 14:15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving!

Joshua 17: 14-18 The descendants of Joseph came to Joshua and asked, “Why have you given us only one portion of land as our homeland when the lord has blessed us with so many people?” Joshua replied, “If there are so many of you, and if the hill country of Ephraim is not large enough for you, clear out land for yourselves in the forest where the Perizzites and Rephaites live.” The descendants of Joseph responded, “It’s true that the hill country is not large enough for us. But all the Canaanites in the lowlands have iron chariots, both those in Beth-shan and its surrounding settlements and those in the valley of Jezreel. They are too strong for us.” Then Joshua said to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, the descendants of Joseph, “Since you are so large and strong, you will be given more than one portion. The forests of the hill country will be yours as well. Clear as much of the land as you wish, and take possession of its farthest corners. And you will drive out the Canaanites

Joshua 16:4-5,10 This was the homeland allocated to the families of Joseph’s sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. The following territory was given to the clans of the tribe of Ephraim.The boundary of their homeland began at Ataroth-addar in the east. From there it ran to Upper Beth-horon, They did not drive the Canaanites out of Gezer, however, so the people of Gezer live as slaves among the people of Ephraim to this day. The Israelites continued to the take over the territories of the promised land. Anyone who stood in their way was wiped out while others who were wise to surrender became like slaves. The beauty of it all was that they had God on their side, it was His will being fulfilled. No matter what argument anyone puts forward, we must always remember that: Psalms 24:1-2 The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.  The world and all its people belong to him. For he laid the earth’s foundation on the seas and built it on the ocean depths. That the Lord seems to be quiet in some thing

Joshua 15:20,41,54,57,59-60,62 This was the homeland allocated to the clans of the tribe of Judah. Gederoth, Beth-dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah—sixteen towns with their surrounding villages. Humtah, Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), and Zior—nine towns with their surrounding villages. Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah—ten towns with their surrounding villages. Maarath, Beth-anoth, and Eltekon—six towns with their surrounding villages. There were also Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim) and Rabbah—two towns with their surrounding villages. Nibshan, the City of Salt, and En-gedi—six towns with their surrounding villages. It was a total of 38 towns, initially allocated to the tribe of Judah. So much an inheritance in the promise land. We saw yesterday the victory of the faithful, how we reap the fruit of plenty when we remain faithful. As believers we talk of territories not only as land area occupation but more importantly as territories won for the Lord. The fulfilment of the prophesy: Habakkuk 2

Joshua 15:13-15 The Lord commanded Joshua to assign some of Judah’s territory to Caleb son of Jephunneh. So Caleb was given the town of Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), which had been named after Anak’s ancestor. Caleb drove out the three groups of Anakites—the descendants of Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, the sons of Anak. From there he went to fight against the people living in the town of Debir (formerly called Kiriath-sepher). I used to say that God is always faithful, it is we humans that fault in faithfulness. Listen, even a prophet of the world testified concerning God: Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, so he does not lie.  He is not human, so he does not change his mind.  Has he ever spoken and failed to act?  Has he ever promised and not carried it through? It has always been man that has messed things up. Though the philosophers most times try to put the blame on God. We understand that the power of choice yet resides with us, so we are accountable. Caleb was all about dedication

Joshua 15:1-2,12 The allotment for the clans of the tribe of Judah reached southward to the border of Edom, as far south as the wilderness of Zin. The southern boundary began at the south bay of the Dead Sea, The western boundary was the shoreline of the Mediterranean Sea.These are the boundaries for the clans of the tribe of Judah. Reading through the first twelve verses of this chapter, it seems that there was no message or revelation in this record. However, it reminds us of the final allocation when our time here is over. Revelation 3:21 Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne. Yesterday we looked at reward, we understood that our labour of love is never in vain. This same way Christ kept talking about allocation when He lived physically with us on earth. John 14:2-3 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? W