Judges 4:17

Judges 4:17 says, Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite: for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.  Sisera fled to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber, because there was peace between Jabin and Heber.  His chariot did him no good, and weapons will ultimately do the enemies of God today or at anytime no good.  Verse eighteen adds, And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle.  Jael invited Sisera to come into her tent and covered him with a mantle.  She was seemingly being kind to him.  Verse nineteen continues, And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him.  Sisera asked her for a little water, and she gave him a bottle of milk instead, then she covered him up again.  He had run away from the fight, and now he was hiding under the covers of a woman, who he probably still felt superior to.  Some people who are afraid to fight against their enemies today still feel superior to many people, especially those they feel are of a lesser status, as women were viewed at that time.  Verse twenty states, Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and inquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No.  Sisera told Jael to stand watch at the door and if anyone asked if there was a man there to say no.  He didn't ask as he did for the water, but told her what to do this time.  If we help someone today, they may become more demanding if they need more help.  Verse twenty-one adds, Then Jael Heber’s wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.  As Sisera was sleeping, Jael took a nail and hammered it through his head, fastening him to the ground.  He may have felt safe because Jael seemed to be helping him, but he was in more danger than he had been in when he left the chariot and ran away.  He was trying to escape God's chosen people after he tried to kill them, but he could not escape God's judgment.  No matter how safe they may feel at the moment, no enemy of God today will ever escape His judgment either.  Verse twenty-two continues, And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples.  When Barack came in pursuit of Sisera, Jael went out and told him that she would show him the man he sought.  When Barack entered her tent he saw Sisera dead with a nail in his head.  Jael had chosen to be on the side of the people of Israel, even though her husband was at peace with Jaban.  Ultimately, every person has to decide whether they want to be friends with God's people or their enemies.  I don't believe we can really do both.  Verse twenty-three declares, So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel. We are then told that God secured Jaban before the people of Israel, and not that Barack and the army of Israel did.  What we need to realize as followers of Christ is that He gives us victory over our enemies, and that we don't gain victory by our own power.  Verse twenty four adds, And the hand of the children of Israel prospered, and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.  Then, we are told that the children of Israel prospered in their battle against Jaban and destroyed him.  As Christians, God has already secured the victory over all our sins for us if we live by faith in Jesus Christ, and we should prosper spiritually because of His victory,  and we should never take credit personally for what God does for us.

Judges 4:11

Judges 4:11 says, Now Heber the Kenite, which was of the children of Hobab the father in law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent unto the plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh.  Heber, from the Kinites, the descendents of Moses's father-in-law, in the south, had moved to the north.  Verse twelve adds, And they shewed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to mount Tabor.  They, which could mean the Kinites, showed Sisera where Barak was.  Matthew Henry says that if it were the Kenites that they might have thought this to be a kindness since there was peace between Jabin and that family at this time.  Whatever the reason, it brought to fulfillment Deborah's promise that the LORD would bring Sisera to Barak.  We as followers of Christ today may innocently do something that brings trouble to others, but we should never do so deliberately.  Verse thirteen continues, And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river of Kishon.  Having heard this news, Sisera gathered all his chariots to go to war with Barak.  We can be certain today that Satan has gathered all his forces to go to war with Christians throughout the world.  If we as followers of Christ are living by God's standards, Satan should always know where to find us.  Verse fourteen states, And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the LORD gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.  Deborah told Barak it was time to get up and go meet Sisera, because the LORD had gone before him and delivered Sisera into his hand.  What we can be certain of today as Christians is that no matter what happens in this world, Jesus Christ has gone before us to ensure our everlasting victory.  Verse fifteen adds, And the LORD discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his feet.  God caused Sisera to be so uncomfortable that he left his chariot and fled the area.  This was even before Barak and his army got there.  We do not have to depend on vast armies to defeat evil in this world today as Christians, because God goes before us and defeats them for us as long as we remain faithful to Christ.  Verse sixteen continues, But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and there was not a man left.  Though Sisera had fled his chariots, evidently the others in the chariots fled in their chariots, but it did them no good.  All of Sisera's army fell before the sword.  We need to always acknowledge that no matter how powerful our enemies may seem today  that God has already secured our victory over them, so we simply need to claim that victory. 

 

Judges 4:1

Judges 4:1 says, And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, when Ehud was dead.  After Ehud died, the people of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD.  Verse two adds, And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.  This time, God allowed them to be defeated by Jabin, king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor.  Joshua had defeated a king by that name in a city by that name, so this was probably an ancestor, after the city had been rebuilt.  We often face the same sin once again, even when we think we have totally destroyed it from our life.  Verse three continues, And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.  The people of Isreal once again cried out to God, because Jabin had nine hundred iron chariots and he mightily oppressed them.  He oppressed them for twenty years. There are many countries with a lot of powerful armies today, some of which are oppressing and killing Christians, but we need to make sure that God isn't allowing it because of our sinfulness as professed followers of Christ.  Verse four states, And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.  Deborah who was called a prophetess, was the judge of Israel at this time.  She was intimately acquainted with God and inspired by the Holy Spirit.  I believe that God still works through both men and women to reach the world with His gospel, and all Christians are indwelled by the Holy Spirit and are empowered by Him if they are obedient to God's word.  Verse five adds, And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.  Deborah lived under the palm tree that would become known by her name.  Matthew Henry says she either had a house under the palm tree, or it was a seat of judgment for her.  Either way, the people of Israel came to her for direction, not because she was the head of the government, but because she was directed by the Spirit of God. We need to not look for the government to solve all our problems, but we need to look to God and His leadership through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Verse six says, And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedeshnaphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of  Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?  Deborah called Barak and asked him had not God called on him to take ten thousand men of the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun and go toward Mount Tabor.  Evidently he had, but hadn't acted on it.  When God calls on us to do something for Him today, we need to act and not wait for someone else to point out what we need to be doing.  Verse seven adds, And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand.  Deborah continued by asking Barak if God had not promised to draw Sisera, the head of the army of Jabin to him with his chariots and to deliver him into Barak's hand.  We as followers of Christ have already been given the power to defeat all our enemies spiritually, yet we often fail to live as though we believe this.  Verse eight states, And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go.  Barak said if Deborah would go with him he would go, but if she wouldn't, he wouldn't.  We need to follow God's direction even if we go alone into the battle against evil in the world today.  Verse nine adds, And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.  Deborah said that she would go with him, but that when she did, Barak would receive no honor, but people would say that Sisera was delivered into the hand of a woman, and she went with him.  We need to go and do what God calls us to do without demanding that someone else goes with us.  Verse ten continues, And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him.  Barak called the army as God had commanded, and Deborah went with him.  Since we as followers of Christ are all a part of God's army, we need to obediently go where He sends us.  

Judges 3:24

Judges 3:24 says, When he was gone out, his servants came; and when they saw that, behold, the doors of the parlour were locked, they said, Surely he covereth his feet in his summer chamber.  After Ehud left, Eglon's servants noticed that his door was locked.  They thought he was sleeping  and didn't want to disturb him.  Verse twenty five adds, And they tarried till they were ashamed: and, behold, he opened not the doors of the parlour; therefore they took a key, and opened them: and, behold, their lord was fallen down dead on the earth.  Eventually, they were ashamed of their inaction in not checking on Eglon, so they opened the door and found him fallen down dead.  We can assume they didn't immediately see the knife, because it was hidden in his fat.  Verse twenty-six continues, And Ehud escaped while they tarried, and passed beyond the quarries, and escaped unto Seirath.  While the servants waited to check on Eglon, Ehud escaped.  We could say he was fortunate in being able to dispose of the king and escape, but I would say that God was with him in both cases.  We may sometimes tend to write things off to fate or good fortune when we should be praising God for blessing us.  Verse twenty-seven states, And it came to pass, when he was come, that he blew a trumpet in the mountain of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the mount, and he before them.  After Ehud escaped, he blew the trumpet to call the people of Israel to him, and they came.  One day, the trumpet of the Lord is going to sound to call all His people, not to war, but to everlasting victory.  Verse twenty-eight adds, And he said unto them, Follow after me: for the LORD hath delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. And they went down after him, and took the fords of Jordan toward Moab, and suffered not a man to pass over.  Ehud called on them to follow him, because the LORD had delvered their enemies the Moabites into ther hands.  Today, we are to call people to follow Jesus Christ, because He has given us everlasting victory over all our enemies.  Of course, the people of Israel had to put their faith in Ehud's declaration, just as people today have to put their faith in our declaration of the gospel.  Verse twenty-nine continues, And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, all lusty, and all men of valour; and there escaped not a man.  The Israelites killed ten thousand men at that time, all who were fit and ready for war.  No matter how strong our enemies may be today, as long as we are faithful to Jesus Christ, He has already given us the victory.  Verse thirty says, So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest fourscore years.  The Moabites were subdued that day, and Israel was at peace for eighty years.  God has subdued all our enemies spiritually if we are followers of Christ, and we have not eighty years but everlasting peace through our faith in Him.  Verse thirty-one adds, And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Israel.  After Ehud, Shamgar was the judge of Israel.  Matthew says that Shamgar acted in a different part of Israel to deliver them from the Philistines.  We can accurately say that God always has someone ready to do His work, as long as that person is willing to follow Him by faith. 

Judges 3:12

Judges 3:12 says, And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD.  This is the pattern we will find throughout the book of Judges.  The people of Israel will do evil against God, He will allow them to be conquered because of their sin, they will eventually cry out to Him, He will raise up a Judge to deliver them, then they will soon fail back in to sin again,and the cycle repeats.  Verse thirteen adds, And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees.  This time, God allowerd Eglon, the king of Moab to defeat them   Eglon allied with the people of Ammon and Amalek, and they defeated the people of Israel.  Today, people who may not even particularly like each other will often unite against Christians, but hopefully it won't be because we have turned against God.  Verse fourteen continues, So the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.  The people of Israel were under the rule of Eglon for eighteen years.  Until we call on God for deliverance, we will remain under the power of sin if we have turned away from Him.  Verse fifteen states, But when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab.  After eighteen years, the people of Israel cried out to God, and He raised up another deliverer, or Judge, a Benjamite named Ehud, who was left-handed.  Then, God always raised up the right man at the right time to deliver the people of Israel, but also at the right time He later sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to deliver us from the power of sin once and for all.  Verse sixteen adds, But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh.  Ehud was clever in his approach to defeat Eglon.  He made a dagger which he strapped to his right thigh under his clothes.  Verse seventeen continues, And he brought the present unto Eglon king of Moab: and Eglon was a very fat man.  Ehud brought a present to Eglon, who we are told was a very fat man.  Many people today have grown materially fat by abusing those who follow Christ.  Verse eighteen says, And when he had made an end to offer the present, he sent away the people that bare the present.  After Ehud presented the present, the people who carried the present in were sent away by Ehud.  Verse nineteen adds, But he himself turned again from the quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand unto thee, O king: who said, Keep silence. And all that stood by him went out from him.  Ehud returned and told Eglon he had a secret errand for him, and asked Eglon to keep it a secret, so he sent away the others who were there.  Ehud was now alone with Eglon.  We often have to simply get alone with our sins and confront them head on in order to overcome them.  Ultimately, it is always up to us to acknowledge our sins, as the people of Israel were acknowledging theirs, and ask for forgiveness through our Deliverer, Jesus Christ.  Verse twenty continues, And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting in a summer parlour, which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee. And he arose out of his seat.  When they were alone in the summer palace, Ehud told Eglon that he had a message from God for him.  We today have a message from God for the lost people of the world, even our enemies, and that is that Jesus Christ died for their sins, and that they can have everlasting life through putting their faith in Him as their Savior and Lord.  Verse twenty-one states, And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly:  Ehud retrieved the dagger with his left hand and thrust it into Eglon's belly.  Verse twenty-two adds, And the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly; and the dirt came out.  Eglon was so fat that he could not pull the dagger out, because fat closed over the dagger.  Verse twenty-three continues, Then Ehud went forth through the porch, and shut the doors of the parlour upon him, and locked them.  Ehud left Eglon alone and locked him in the summer palace to die.  Now, we as Christians are not called on to kill our enemies, but we are called on to kill any sin that enslaves us through the power of the Holy Spirit, and we alone can do that.

Judges 3:1

Judges 3:1 says, Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan;  God had told the people of Israel to drive out all the people that they found in the Promised Land, but they didn't obey Him and do so.  God could have removed them Himself, but He left them instead to prove the faithfulness of Israel.  God could remove all sin from our lives today as Christians, but He doesn't, leaving it up to us to be faithful in the face of temptation.  Verse two adds, Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof;  God left these nations so that the new generation of Israel might know about war, when they had not before.  We cannot know how to defeat sin by faith in Jesus Christ if we never face the temptation to sin.  Verse three continues, Namely, five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount Baalhermon unto the entering in of Hamath.  Then, we are given a list of all the enemies of the people of Israel that remained.  We may not be able to list all of our spiritual enemies in the world today, but we do know that they are numerous.  If we live by faith in Jesus Christ though, He gives us the power to defeat them all.  Verse four concludes, And they were to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would hearken unto the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.  We are told that these enemies were left to prove Israel's faith.  We will never know if we will be faithful to God if we never face temptation.   God tells us that we are to go into all the world sharing the gospel, and we will certainly face many enemies and temptations when we do.  Still, God gives us the power to overcome them all by faith.  Verse five states, And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites:  Verse six adds, And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.  Not only did the people of Israel not drive out all their enemies, they intermingled with them by marriage.  We may not have all our enemies driven out today, but we should never intermingle with them by marriage.   Though we are commanded to go into the world, we are not commanded to allow ourselves to become the same as they are.  As followers of Christ, we are to be a people set apart from the world spiritually.  Verse seven declares, And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgat the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves.  When the people of Israel began to intermingle physically with other people around them, they soon forgot God and began to worship the false gods they worshipped.  We cannot follow God by faith and allow any false gods to begin to control us.  Verse eight adds, Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia: and the children of Israel served Chushanrishathaim eight years.  Because of their disobedience, God allowed the people to Israel to be defeated by the king of Mesopotamia, and they served him for eight years.   If we allow other gods into our lives today, we will be under their power until we turn to God and ask for His forgiveness.  Verse nine says, And when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother.  After they were once again enslaved, the people of Israel cried out to God for deliverance, and He raised up a deliverer.  If we are under the power of sin today as Christians, we simply need to cry out to God, because He has already provided the only deliverer we will ever need, and that is Jesus Christ.  Verse ten adds, And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel, and went out to war: and the LORD delivered Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed against Chushanrishathaim.  Othniel, Caleb’s younger brother, was the deliverer that God raised up, and he through the power of God defeated Chushanrishathaim.  God sent Jesus Christ to deliver us from all our sins, and as long as we are faithful to Him, they will never again have power over us.  Verse eleven, And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.  Under the leadership of Othniel, the people of Israel lived at peace for forty years, then he died.  Of course, this peace came from faithfulness to God, and if we want to be at peace today, we must be faithful to God and follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit, Who will never die, nor forsake us, as long as we are obedient to His leadership. 

Judges 2:19

Judges 2:19 says, And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.  After the judge that God had placed over Israel died, the people got even worse than they had been before.  People today who have been following a particular religious leader, but who haven't really put their faith in Christ, often become worse than they were before if he dies.  Like the people of Israel, they may see him as the authority instead of seeing Gad as the authority.  We need to make sure that our faith is in Christ alone.  Verse twenty adds, And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and he said, Because that this people hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my voice;  Once again, God's anger was hot against the actions of the people of Israel, because they had transgressed His covenant.  I believe that it was their actions, and not the people themselves, that God's anger was directed at.  God hates the sin, but loves the sinner.  Verse twenty-one states, I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died:  God said He was no longer going to help them defeat the nations that had not been defeated when Joshua was alive.  We cannot fail to keep our covenant with God established when we accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord and still expect Him to give us victory over all our problems in life, but we often do expect Hin to and grumble when He doesn't.  Verse twenty-two adds, That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not.  God said He would use these other nations to see if the people of Israel would walk by faith in Him or not, as their fathers had done. When trials and tribulations come into our life as Christians, God may be allowing them to see if we are in a real covenant relationship with Him or not.  If we are, then these trials and tribulations will only strengthen our faith.  Verse twenty-three continues, Therefore the LORD left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua.  God left those nations that had not been defeated by Joshua and did not drive them out of the Promised Land.  God has not driven all sin out of the world today for those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ, but He has given us victory over all sin if we put our faith in Him. 

Judges 2:11

Judges 2:11 says, And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:  The people of Israel, God's chosen people, did evil in His sight, and served Baalim, a false god.  God chose them, but they did not choose Him.  If we are God's people, we should not do evil in His sight, and we can certainly never follow other gods and be a part of His chosen people.  Verse twelve adds, And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.  Those who were called God's people forsook Him and worshipped other Gods.  This provoked God's anger.  If we who are called Christians today are following other gods, we really are not His people and we will earn His wrath.  Verse thirteen continues, And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.  I don't think we can ever forsake our salvation if we are truly saved, but some people who profess to be saved instead follow other gods.  Verse fourteen states, And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.  God,who had delivered the people of Israel from Egypt by His power, now removed His protective hand from them, and they were defeated by other nations.  They could not stand by their own power, and neither can we in the world today.  Verse fifteen adds, Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed.  When the hand of God was against them, they were under the power of evil.  I don't believe God sends evil our way when we refuse to accept Him as our one and only God, but He does allow evil to have power over us.  Of course, like Sodom and Gomorrah, if we reach the point where there is no hope of redemption, God may utterly destroy us, but this is not the same as sending evil on us.  Verse sixteen declares, Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.  Things were not forever hopeless, because in time God raised up judges to deliver the people of Israel from their oppressors.  When the time was right, God sent Jesus Christ to deliver anyone who will put their faith in Him as their personal Savior and Lord from the oppression of sin and the death penaty it brings.  Verse seventeen adds,  And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; but they did not so.  Though God raised up judges, the people of Israel wouldn't listen to them and  continued to chase after other gods.  Though the gospel is preached today, many people will not listen to it and continue to chase after all sorts of other gods.  Verse eighteen continues, And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them. God was with the judges and delivered them from the hands of all their enemies.   God is still with Christians today, especially preachers, and will deliver them spiritually from all their enemies, no matter what happens in this lifetime. 

Judges 2:1

 Judges 2:1 says, And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.  The people of Israel had Moses and prophets speak God's word to them, and they often did not obey.  Now, God sent an angel from heaven to speak to them.  The angel, speaking for God, reminded them that God had brought them out of Egypt, gave them the Promised Land, and never failed to keep His part of the covenant He made with them.  We as followers of Christ enter into a covenant relationship with Him and He will never fail to keep His part of the covenant.  Verse two adds, And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?  The angel then said that their part of the covenant was to make no leagues with the inhabitants of the land and to tear down their idols, but that they had not done this.  He then asked them why.  As Christians, we are to make no compromises with the world and are to tear down all the idols in our life, but too often God has to ask us why we haven't done this.  Verse three continues, Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.  The angel then told them that because of their disobedience, God was not going to drive the people of the land out, but was going to leave them as thorns in their sides.  God does not drive out all the idols in the world once we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, but they are there for us to choose whether or not we will allow them to become a temptation.  Verse four states, And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept.  We are told that when the angel spoke these words that the people lifted up their voices and wept.  We have One greater than an angel, the Holy Spirit, to point out our sins when we allow them back into our lives, but instead of lifting up our voices in repentance and weeping, we often just ignore Him.  Verse five adds, And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there unto the LORD.  They called the place Bochim, which Matthew Henry says means Weepers, and they sacrificed to God there.  We need to come to God weeping and offering ourselves as sacrifices when we know that we have been unfaithful to Him.  Verse six says, And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land.  After Joshua, who was still alive to lead them when this happened, let the people go and they returned to claim their inheritance.  We need to repent when we sin today, and then go out and follow Christ once more.  We cannot allow the sin to go unchecked, nor can we allow it to keep us from going out and declaring God's word once we do overcome it.  Verse seven adds, And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel.  We are then told that the people served God as long as Joshua and the elders who had seen the great works that God did in deliver them from Egypt lived.  We have no living witnesses to the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ today, but we must accept it by faith and then allow the Holy Spirit to guide our life.  Verse eight states, And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old.  Verse nine continues, And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash.  Joshua died and was buried.  Now,both Moses and his successor were dead.  We may have been led to Christ by a particular person today, and they may die, but the Lord of our salvation never will.  Verse ten continues, And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.  After the generation that had witnessed God's deliverance of them from Egypt died, a new generation arose that did not know God.  The people of Israel who had witnessed it must not have effectively taught the next generation about God and all that He had done.  As Christians today, we cannot afford to do the same thing.  We must reach the next generation, or they will grow up not knowing about Jesus Christ, the Savior and the only way to salvation. 

Judges 1:27

Judges 1:27 says, Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Bethshean and her towns, nor Taanach and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns: but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.  Next, we are told that the tribe of Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of many towns, which was not what God had told them to do.  Today, as followers of Christ, God tells us to drive sin out of our lives, but we too often want to just coexist with it.  Verse twenty-eight adds, And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out.  Even as Israel became stronger, they did not drive the Canaanites out, but had them pay tribute to Israel.  Maybe sometimes we don't drive all the sin out of our lives because we are profiting from it materially.  Of course, God was just as strong at the beginning as He was later on, and He was the One Who empowered the people of Israel.  We may think that when we become stronger Christians we will deal with certain issues in our life that may be contrary to God's word, but it is by faith that we are successful, and not by our own strength,  Verse twenty-nine continues, Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.  The tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim, Joseph's descendants, did not drive the Canaanites out.  Joseph may have been devoted to following God's will, but his descendants weren't so much so.  As Christians, our descendants may not follow God's will, because they lack a personal relationship with Him or a total commitment to that relationship.  Verse thirty states, Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became tributaries.  It seems that many tribes failed to do as God instructed them to do, even though they were His chosen people and He had already shown them His power.  We as followers, of Christ do not need to be the same way today.  Verse thirty-one adds, Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob:  Verse thirty-two continues, But the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: for they did not drive them out.  We are told the tribe of Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of many cities, and it seems that the Canaanites might have been more in power than the Asherites.  We as Christians should never leave the power of sin more in control in our lives than the Holy Spirit is.  Verse thirty-three says, Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Bethshemesh, nor the inhabitants of Bethanath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of Bethanath became tributaries unto them.  The tribe of Naphtali did not drive all the inhabitants of two cities out, but they did become tributaries of the people of Naphtali.   Verse thirty-four states, And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain: for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley:  Verse thirty-five adds, But the Amorites would dwell in mount Heres in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim: yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so that they became tributaries.  The tribe of Dan not only failed to drive out the people in their land, but they were forced to live in the mountains and concede the plains. Matthew Henry points out that in Jacob's blessing of them, Judah was compared to a lion and Dan was compared to a serpent, and now Judah with their strength was victorious and Dan with their subtlety was not.  We cannot be victorious as Christians if we do not live by the power and direction of God instead of attempting to compromise with the world.  Verse thirty-six continues, And the coast of the Amorites was from the going up to Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward.  Though the people of the tribe of Ephraim helped the people of Dan by putting some of the Amorites under tribute,  the Amorites continued to control a lot of the land.  Though our fellow Christians may help us at times, it is ultimately up to us to drive all sin out of our life.  We cannot be content to compromise. 

Judges 1:17

 Judges 1:17 says, And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. And the name of the city was called Hormah.  Together, the people of the tribes of Judah and Simeon killed the people of Canaan in Zephath and utterly destroyed it.  This was Simeon's land that the were working together to capture, just as the people of Judah had promised.  We as followers of Christ need to keep our promises to others, and we need to help one another defeat sin in the world.  Verse eighteen adds, Also Judah took Gaza with the coasts thereof, and Askelon with the coasts thereof,  and Ekron with the coasts thereof,   We are then told that Judah took Gaza, Askelon, and Ekron with their coasts.  These were cities of the Philistines, not the Canaanites, and all the inhabitants were not destroyed.  We cannot allow any sin, which is our true enemy today, to continue live in our lives as Christians.  Verse nineteen  continues,  And the LORD was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.  We are told that God was with Judah and that they were successful in driving the people out of the mountains, but not from the valley, because the people there had chariots.  This was due to a lack of faith on the part of the people of Judah, because if they put their faith in God, chariots wouldn't have mattered.  If we are faithfully following God, we don't have to worry about what weapons our enemies may have, because nothing is more powerful than God.  Verse twenty states, And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, as Moses said: and he expelled thence the three sons of Anak. Caleb was given the land of Hebron to conquer as Moses had promised, and he drove out three sons of Anak who lived there.  Though he was now old, he was still faithful to God and successful because of his faith.  No matter how old we may be as Christians, as long as we are faithful to God, He will continue to give us success as we undertake doing what He calls us to do.  Verse twenty-one says, And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day.  The tribe of Benjamin did not drive the Jebusites out of Jerusalem, as God had commanded.  We as followers of Christ cannot compromise our faith and be totally devoted to God and allow sin to continue to live in our life.  Verse twenty-two states, And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel: and the LORD was with them.  The people of the tribe of Joseph, through Ephraim his son, went up against Bethel, and the LORD was with them.  Verse twenty-three adds, And the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.)  Verse twenty-four continues, And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him, Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will shew thee mercy.  While the people of the house  of Joseph were on their way to Bethel, which had been called Luz, they had sent spies to find the best way into the city.  They met a man coming out of the city, and told him that if he would show them the way in that they would let him live.  Verse twenty-five states, And when he shewed them the entrance into the city, they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let go the man and all his family.  The man showed them the entrance and the people of the tribe of Joseph killed the people there.  Matthew Henry says the man who showed them the way in was not looked down on for compromising his people.  If a non Christian helps us today, even at the cost of other non Christians, we should not look down on him for his actions.  Verse twenty-six adds, And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called the name thereof Luz: which is the name thereof unto this day.  Though he could have, the man chose not to stay with the people of Joseph, but went into the land of the Hittites to live, where he built a city and called it Luz.  He may have helped the people of Joseph, but he didn't want to become a part of them.  Non Christians may help us today and yet still not want to be a part if God's family. 

Judges 1:9

Judges 1:9 says, And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites, that dwelt in the mountain, and in the south, and in the valley.  The people of Judah continued in their fight against the Canaanites even after defeating many and capturing Adonibezek.  We may reach some sinners with the gospel, but there will always be others, so we can never be satisfied with reaching just somewith the gospel.  Verse ten adds, And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron: (now the name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba:) and they slew Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.  The tribe of Judah next fought the Canaanites that lived in Hebron, and killed Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.  They did not quit after their early success, but continued toward their goal.  We cannot let early success stop us from reaching out to others with the gospel of Christ.  Verse eleven states, And from thence he went against the inhabitants of Debir: and the name of Debir before was Kirjathsepher:  They next went to fight the people of Debir.  Verse twelve adds, And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjathsepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife.  Caleb, the only remaining one of the twelve spies, and one of the two faithful ones, promised his daughter as a wife to the man who defeated Debir, which he called by its original name, Kirjathsepher.  Verse thirteen continues, And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.  Caleb’s nephew took Debir, and Caleb gave him his daughter Achsah as his wife.  We as followers of Christ should fulfill our promises to others so that God might be magnified, without concern for material blessings.  Verse fourteen says, And it came to pass, when she came to him, that she moved him to ask of her father a field: and she lighted from off her ass; and Caleb said unto her, What wilt thou?  We are told that when Achsah came to Othniel that she moved him to ask Caleb for a field, but then she did so herself.  This is also referred to in Joshua 15:16-19,  When Achsah got off her donkey before Caleb, he asked her what she wanted.  Even though he had given her to Othniel in marriage, he was still interested in what she wanted.  When our children are grown and on their own, we need to continue to be concerned for them.  Verse fifteen adds, And she said unto him, Give me a blessing: for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the nether springs.  Achsah asked Caleb to give her a blessing by giving her some springs of water to go along with the south land that he had given her, and he gave her two springs.  We as Christians inherit everlasting life when we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, and He makes the Living Water available to us to help sustain us at that time.  Verse sixteen continues, And the children of the Kenite, Moses’ father in law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which lieth in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people.  The children of Kenite, Moses's father-in-law went with Othniel and Achsah and possessed the city of palm trees in the wilderness of Judah along with the people of Judah.  We as Christians may not all be of the same family by birth, but we are of the same family spiritually and we should all be willing to live together in peace.

Judges 1:1

Judges 1:1 says, Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?  After  Joshua, the leader of the people of Israel after Moses, died, they asked the LORD who was going to lead them now in their war against the Canaanites.  They had only known two leaders, and the first, Moses, had appointed the second, Joshua, before he died.  Even if we don't know who he is immediately, God will never leave His groups of believers, the local church, without a leader.  We just need to look to Him for guidance in finding that person.  Verse two adds, And the LORD said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.  God said the tribe of Judah would would go up against the Canaanites, and that He had delivered the land into his hands.  If we are appointed by God, He will always be with us to give us success if we put our faith in Him.  This doesn't mean that we will physically defeat every foe we encounter, but will have everlasting spiritual victory.  Verse three continues, And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot. So Simeon went with him.  The people of Judah asked the people of the tribe of Simeon to go with them into the battle, and promised that they would assist the people of Simeon in their battle when they went to war.  Judah was the largest tribe, but they had no problem asking for help from and promising help to others.  We should never believe that we are so strong that we cannot use the help of fellow Christians nor that we are above offering help to others.  Verse four states, And Judah went up; and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand: and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men.  When the people of Judah did as God directed them to do, God delivered their enemy into their hands and they killed ten thousand men of the Canaanites and Perizzites.  God has already defeated our enemies forever by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, so we can go forth boldly and proclaim the gospel to the world.  Verse five adds, And they found Adonibezek in Bezek: and they fought against him, and they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites. They came up against Adonibezek in Berek.  Verse six adds, But Adonibezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.  Adonibezek fled from them, but they caught him and did not kill him, but instead cut off his thumbs and big toes.  This made him unable to fight, and was also a witness to his followers who may have been left to his weakness.  God has effectively eliminated the power of the people of the world to have the ability to defeat us spiritually today.   This does not mean that we, like Paul and so many early Christians will never suffer a physical defeat though.  Verse seven continues, And Adonibezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table: as I have done, so God hath requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.  Adonibezek said that he had cut off the thumbs and big toes of ten kings who ate under his table, and that now God had done this to him.  No matter how powerful our enemies may be today, they have already been defeated by God from a spiritual, everlasting view.  Verse nine concludes, Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it, and smitten it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.  The people of Judah had taken Jerusalem and set it on fire.  God has already given us victory over all our enemies, but our reward will be in heaven. 

Colossians Review

 Colossians was written by Paul as a letter of encouragement and instruction to the Christians at Colosse while he was imprisoned in Rome.  He did not write to complain about his situation, but out of concern for them.  Evan if we are in a bad situation ourselves as followers of Christ, we should be concerned about others and point them to Christ and obedience to Him instead of concentrating on our own situation.  Paul then gives a summary of Christian doctrine concerning the Holy Spirit, the person of the Redeemer, Jesus Christ, the work of redemption and the preaching of the gospel.  Once we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we have everlasting salvation provided for us by His death, burial and resurrection, and we are immediately indwelled by the Holy Spirit.  This should lead us feel compelled to share the gospel, the Good News, with others and to have compassion for our fellow Christians, even when we ourselves may be suffering.  Paul shared what he had heard about the faith of the Christians at Colosse, and we should encourage other Christians when we hear about good things that they are doing for Christ.  Paul was not jealous, but he was uplifted for their faith.  We never need to be jealous of the good things that other Christians do for Christ, but need to be an encouragement to them instead.  Reaching the lost is not a competition, but a joint effort for us as followers of Christ.  Paul then shares some concerns that he has for the church at Colosse, warning them against false teachings.  Though he had heard good things about them, he had also heard some things that concerned him.  Even if churches are doing good works for Christ today, there is always a danger that they can allow false teachings to enter into their beliefs if they are not careful.  This is why we must study and teach the Bible and lift one another up in prayer.  Paul exhorted them to set their heart on Christ, and so must we.  He did not call on them to set their heart on Paul himself, but on Christ.  We cannot set our heart on a particular preacher today, but must set our heart on Christ alone.  Paul warned them against sexual sins, and so must we warn the world today, no matter what the world may say about it.  Paul then shared how families should work under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  This still has not changed.  Paul closed by sharing about the work of some other Christians there.  We need to realize that we are not alone in working for Christ, if we are, and be willing to give praise to the work other Christians are doing to spread the gospel and teach God's word.  Next, we will look at the book of Judges.

Colossians 4:10

Colossians 4:10 says, Aristarchus my fellow prisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister’s son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;)  After telling the church at Colosse who he was sending to them, Paul continued to tell them about others who were with him, starting with Aristarchus and Mark, his  fellow prisoners.  We don't know much about Aristarchus, but Mark, Barnabas's nephew, had once started on a missionary journey with Paul and Barnabas and had turned back.  This led to a split between them, but now Paul was speaking well of Mark, who also would write the book of Mark.  Just because we may at one point disagree with another Christian doesn't mean that we should let that disagreement rule the way the treat them forever.  Verse eleven adds, And Jesus, which is called Justus, who are of the circumcision. These only are my fellowworkers unto the kingdom of God, which have been a comfort unto me.  Paul then concluded by naming Jesus, who was called Justis, who was a Jew, as a fellow laborer, and said those mentioned were his only fellowworkers for the kingdom of God.  Though they were very different in the eyes of the world, they were all joined together by faith in Jesus Christ.  We may all be different in the view of the world, but as followers of Christ we are all united by our faith in Him.  Verse twelve states, Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.  Paul then mentioned Epaphras, who was from Colosse, as saluting them and said that he was always laboring fervently for them in prayer.  We may not thank of prayer as laboring for others, but if we are fervent in our prayers, it should be.  Verse thirteen adds, For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis.  Paul said that he would vouch for the faithfulness of Epaphras in praying not only for the church at Colosse, but for the church at Laodicea and Hierapolis as well.  We should never limit our prayers to our home church, but should be fervently in prayer for others as well.  Verse fourteen says, Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.  Paul said that Luke, who was a physician and who would write both the book of Luke and the book of Acts, greeted them.  He did not hold himself to be above them, but considered himself to be a fellow laborer for Christ.  No matter what we may do in the world, we as Christians should always know that with God we are all equal.  Verse fifteen says, Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house.  Paul then asked them to salute the brethren at Laodicea and Nymphas, whose home the church at Colosse met in.  Verse sixteen adds, And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.  Paul asked that they read his epistle, or letter at the church at Laodicea, and that they also read the letter written to Laodicea.  This implies that Paul had also written a letter to the church at Laodicea, but if he did, we do not have it.  Verse seventeen continues, And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it.  Paul also asked that they ask Archippus to take heed to the ministry that he had received from the Lord and to be faithful in it.  We need to always encourage and support preachers today to be faithful in their calling from God.  Verse eighteen concludes, The salutation by the hand of me Paul. Remember my bonds. Grace be with you. Amen. Written from Rome to the Colossians by Tychicus and Onesimus.  Paul concluded the letter by asking them to remember him in his bonds and asked that the grace of God be with them.  We need to ask that other Christians pray that we might continue to be faithful to God today, no matter what our status in the world may be.  

Colossians 4:7

Colossians 4:7 says, All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellowservant in the Lord:  Paul said Tychicus was going to come the the church at Colosse and tell them personally how Paul was doing instead of writing it down.  Paul called him aa beloved brother.  He wanted the Christians at Colosse to have a personal account of how he was doing, and since he couldn't go himself, he sent someone that he considered a beloved brother.  No matter how important we may be viewed as by other Christians, we ourselves like Paul must simply consider ourselves brothers and sisters in Christ.  Verse eight adds, Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that he might know your estate, and comfort your hearts;  Paul said he was also sending Tychicus so that he could see for himself how they were doing and bring comfort to their hearts.  We should always have concern about our fellow Christians and check on them when possible to help bring comfort to their hearts.  Verse nine continues, With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto you all things which are done here.  Paul said he was sending Onesimus, whom he also called a faithful and beloved brother, with Tychicus so that together they might make known to them all the things which were being done there.  Onesimus was a runaway slave that Paul had converted to Christianity and Paul said that he was one of them.  As a runaway slave, it might have been dangerous for Onesimus to go to Colosse, but he was going by faith.  We cannot allow what others once were determine how we view them now if they have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord, nor can we allow fear of what may happen to us if we go into the world to share the gospel and support other Christians keep us from going.  Like Paul, we must understand that all those who believe in Christ are our brothers and sisters in Christ, and we are neither better nor worse than they are.

Colossians 4:1

Colossians 4:1 says, Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.  Paul had just told servants to be obedient to their masters, and now he told masters to treat their servants fairly and justly.  They were to do this because they themselves had a Master in heaven, especially if they were Christians.  Today,  I believe this applies to employers who are Christians.  They should never deal unfairly with their employees.  Verse two states, Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;  Paul called on them to continue in prayer with thanksgiving.  No matter what is going on in life, we should be praying and thanking God for the blessings He sends our way, especially the gift and blessing of salvation.  Verse three adds, Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:  Paul then asked that the believers at Colosse pray for him that he might have doors opened, not to be set free, but to share the gospel.  Our prayer today should likewise not be for personal things, but should first be for doors to be opened for us to share the gospel.  Verse four continues, That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.  Paul said they should pray that he would be able to make manifest, or clear, the word of God as he should speak it.  We also need to be in prayer for preachers and teachers today that they might make the gospel of Christ clear enough so that others might understand it.  Verse five declares, Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Paul called on the Christians at Colosse to walk in wisdom before the lost, those who had not accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, so that they might redeem the time that they were here on earth.  They would thereby give the lost no reason to speak against them.  We cannot sound like the lost when we speak to them today and be a good witness for Jesus Christ.  Verse six adds, Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.  Paul called on them to always let their speech be with grace, seasoned with salt.  Matthew Henry says that grace is the salt that seasons our conversation so that it might be savory and preservative to those that we are speaking to.  This applies to all our speech, and not just to when we are speaking with other Christians.  As followers of Christ, all our speech to or about others should be filtered by the gospel of Christ.  We will never reach the lost people of the world if we always speak to them with anger and condemnation. 

Colossians 3:18

Colossians 3:18 says, Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.  This is a simple statement that creates a lot of controversy today.  It is more easily understood when we read the next verse.  Verse nineteen adds, Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.  Husbands are called on to love their wives and not to be bitter toward them.  If a Christian husband and wife love each other, they will both be under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, and should want what is best for each other.  The husband is given the responsibility for ensuring that the wife, and the children, are following God's direction.  Verse twenty states, Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. Children were told to obey their parents in all things.  We talk a lot today about how they no longer do so, but this has been a problem throughout history.  This was written to the children of the followers of Christ at Colosse, so it is when the children of those who are His followers today do not obey this instruction that we should really be concerned. Verse twenty-one adds, Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.  The instruction for children to obey their parents was followed by an instruction to fathers to not provoke their children to wrath, or I believe to not act like a tyrant with them.  As with the husband and wife, all is to be done by both the children and the parents, the father in particular as the ultimate one responsible to God for the spiritual welfare of the family, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and for the glory of God.  Verse twenty-two says, Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:  Servants were called on to obey their masters, not just by appearing to do so when their master was there, but wholeheartedly.  Though we may not be servants today, we are often employees and we are to do our jobs wholeheartedly, because we represent God as Christians.  Too often we complain and want to do as little as possible when we are at work, and this does not reflect well on God.  We need to be different than the rest of the world at work because we are under the leadership of the Holy Spirit as Christians.  Verse twenty-three adds, And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;  As just discussed,  we as followers of Christ are to do our job heartily as though we are doing it for the Lord.  We are representatives of God no matter if we are gathered to worship Him or if we are out in the community, and we are to live to bring honor and glory to Him.  Verse twenty-four continues, Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.  Paul then said that they were to do this because they would receive the reward of their inheritance from God.  Though we may be paid for working at our jobs, as Christians we are working first for the glory of God and to be a witness for Him to the world, and our ultimate reward will come from God.  Verse twenty-five declares, But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.  Paul said that anyone who did wrong would be accountable for the wrong that he or she did.  We need to think about this as husbands, wives, children and employees.  We are to live under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and I believe that although we have everlasting life if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ, we are still accountable to God for our actions.  Paul then concluded by stating that there is to be no respect of persons, or discrimination against anyone.  As long as we view certain groups of people as less worthy, then we are guilty of discriminating against them.

Colossians 3;12

Colossians 3:12 says, Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;  Paul began to list some of the characteristics of Christians, who are referred to as the elect of God.  They were not the elect of God because of who they were intrinsically, but because they had put their faith in Jesus Christ.  They were holy for the same reason.  As such, they were to be merciful, kind, humble, meek, and long suffering.  As followers of Christ today, we are the elect of God and are to be holy, guided by the Holy Spirit.  Once we are, we should display these same characteristics.  Verse thirteen adds, Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.  Paul continued by saying that they were to forbear, or be tolerant of one another and forgiving of one another if they had a quarrel against one another.  Of course we cannot control how the other person will react, but we are to forgive them no matter if they forgive us or not.  We are to forgive as Jesus Christ forgives us.  He forgives us freely and completely, even though we have nothing to forgive Him for.  His forgiveness is not a tradeoff, and neither should ours be.  Also, when Jesus Christ forgives us, He forgets what He has forgiven us for.  We may not be able to completely remove the memory of what we forgive someone of from our mind, but we should never bring it up again or let it influence how we see the person we have forgiven.  Just imagine how it would be if Jesus still saw us as the sinner that we were before we accepted Him as our personal Savior and Lord, and every time we failed again, He brought up all our past sins that we have already been forgiven of.  Yet, this is how we often react to others, even when we say we have forgiven them.  Verse fourteen continues, And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.  Paul said above all these other characteristics, we are to put on charity, or love, for others.  If we love them with a Christ like love, then all these other things will be a natural outcome.  It all begins with being filled with this Christ like love.  Verse fifteen states, And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.  Paul said that they were to let the peace of God rule their heart.  We cannot truly be ruled by the peace of God if we continue to be at war with our fellow man, especially other Christians.  As Christians, Paul said that we are called to be one body and that we are to be thankful to God for that calling. Verse sixteen adds, Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.  Paul said they were to let the word of Christ dwell in them richly in all wisdom.  For this to happen, we must study God's word, which is the only way to gain wisdom, since wisdom comes from God.  Paul also said that they were to do this with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing with the grace that is in our hearts to the Lord.  If we sing with the grace of God in our heart, we should sing joyously.  Verse seventeen adds, And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.  Paul told the believers at Colosse that they were to do everything, from what they spoke to what they actually did, in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks God the Father through Jesus Christ.  This still applies to us today.  If we do all for the glory of God because we have accepted salvation by our faith in Jesus Christ, then we will have no room for looking down on others nor for not forgiving them if they have harmed us in some way.  

Colossians 3:5

Colossians 3:5 says, Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:  Paul called on the people at Colosse to be mortified by sinful actions, such as fornication,  uncleanness,  inordinate affection, concupiscence, which is strong sexual desire, and covetousness, which were idolatry.  These things were putting earthly desires ahead of God's will, and therefore became idols to a person.  We need to not only avoid these things today, but to be mortified at even the thought of doing them.  Verse six adds, For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:  Paul said these things brought on the wrath of God, because those who did them were disobedient children.  We cannot downplay how much God hates these things today and attempt to excuse or justify them.  Verse seven continues, In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.  Paul then told the Christians at Colosse that they had at one time also walked and lived in these things themselves, but that they no longer were to do so.  We cannot change our past actions, but we can certainly change our current and future ones by the power of the Holy Spirit if we are followers of Christ.  Verse eight states, But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.  Paul then called on the believers at Colosse to put off, or to quit doing several things, including being angry and wanting wrath or malice to come on others, being guilty of blasphemy, which is attributing what God does to someone or something else, and filthy communication coming out of their mouth.  We can easily allow these things back into our life if we aren't careful.  Too often if someone does harm to us, we start to wish that God would punish them or if something good happens, we give credit to our own abilities or to good fortune instead of to God.  Verse nine adds, Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;  Paul told them that they were not to lie to one another, since they had put off the old man, or their sinful nature.  As followers of Christ today, we are to be truthful in all that we say and do.  We are no longer to be guided by our old sinful nature.  Verse ten adds, And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:  Paul said that the Christians at Colosse had put on the new man.  They had been born again and were now to live in a renewed knowledge of what it meant to be created in God's image.  As believers today, we are born again, and once more are to live knowing that we are created in God's image and are to live by His guidance.  Verse eleven concludes, Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.  Paul told them that there was no longer any separation of people by race for those who believed in Jesus Christ.  All were the same by their faith in Jesus Christ.  We are still guilty too often as Christians of making distinctions about people based on race todsy I believe. 

Colossians 3:1

Colossians 3:1 says, If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.  Paul told the believers in Colosse that if they were risen with Christ, or had put their faith in Him for salvation, that they were to seek those things above, the things of God.  Paul said that this was where the risen  Christ sits on the right hand of God the Father.  As Christians, we should still have our focus on things above, the things of God.  Verse two adds, Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.  As Paul told them, we are to set our affection, or love, on the things above, not on the things of this earth.  We are not called to seek earthly riches, but to seek heavenly rewards.  Verse three continues, For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.  Paul told them that they were dead to the things of this world and that their life was hidden in Christ.  I believe that too often we as Christians seek the things of this world as proof of Jesus Christ's love for us instead of seeking the things of God as proof of our love for Him.  If we still put a greater value on material things than we do on faithfulness to God no matter what, then we cannot faithfully follow Christ.  We are to be dead to the things of this world because one day, either when we die or when Jesus Christ returns, they will all be left behind.  Verse four concludes, When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.  We are to set our sight on things above because when Christ returns, we will appear with Him in glory.  As Christians, Jesus Christ is the One Who gives us everlasting life with God, and we are called on to live by faith in Him, because we have been redeemed by Him.  We are to be dead to the desires of the flesh and alive to spiritual things. 

Colossians 2:8

Colossians 2:8 says, Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.  Paul gave them a warning to not be led astray by the teachings of man nor by philosophy or vain deceit based on the teachings of the world and not on the teachings of Christ.  We can sometimes let traditions become more important than what the Bible says if we are not careful.  Verse nine adds, For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.  Paul said that they were to put their faith in Jesus Christ because He was the fulness of the Godhead in human form.  Jesus Christ was fully God and fully human.  When we say that we are only human as an excuse for failing to do something, I don't believe this is really true.  At that point, we fail to be what a human being is supposed to be.  Jesus Christ is the example of what a human being is supposed to be.  Verse ten continues, And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:  Paul said that the people at Colosse were complete in Jesus Christ if they put their faith in Him, because He has power over everything.  Jesus did for us what we are unable to do for ourself, and that is to live without sin.  Verse eleven states, In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:  Paul said that we are circumcised, the sign of being a part of the Israelites, not physically but by the circumcision of Christ, or declaring our faith in Him.  Verse twelve adds, Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.  Paul said that in baptism we are symbolically buried to sin in our life and raised to everlasting life by professing our faith in Jesus Christ.  Baptism is not necessary for salvation, but it is expected for those who put their faith in Jesus Christ to be baptized to show the world that they have accepted His sacrifice for their sins.  Verse eighteen continues, And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;  Paul said that before they accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord that they were dead in their sins and uncircumcision, but through faith in Him they were made spiritually alive by the forgiveness of all their trespasses.  Verse fourteen declares, Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;  Paul said that Jesus took the law, which was against us because we ailed to live up to it at all times, and nailed it to the cross.   He did not do away with God's law, but by faithfully keeping it at all times He made it possible for us to have everlasting life by accepting what He did for us on the cross.  He died for our sins so that we might have everlasting life.  Verse fifteen adds, And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.  Paul said that Jesus Christ spoiled, or defeated, all the power of the principalities and powers of the world, openingly triumphing over them.  He did this not by military might or worldly power but by willingly dying on the cross to defeat them.  We need to look to God for victory over the world today, and not to governments or military might.  We achieve this by putting our faith in Jesus Christ and living by the direction of the Holy Spirit. 

Colossians 2:16

Colossians 2:16 says, Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:  Paul told the people at Colosse to not allow people to judge them by their observance of religious rituals.  For the Jewish people, what they ate or drank and observing Holy days was was very important to their being seen as being part of God's people.  There are still some Christians today who judge others by how faithfully they follow religious customs.  Verse seventeen adds, Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.  Paul said these religious customs or laws were but a shadow of the things to come.  They were given by God to point people to the coming Messiah and showed them their own inability to save themselves.  Paul then said the body of believers, the church, was of Christ.  We can never be a part of the body of believers if we do not put our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Verse eighteen eighteen continues, Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,  Paul warned them not to be enticed by anyone to start worshipping angels and believe that they must go through them to speak to God.  Paul said that those who did so were puffed up in their fleshly mind.  We cannot allow anything, even the angels, to come between God and us.  Verse nineteen concludes, And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.  Paul said that if they did start to worship angels that they were no longer directed by Jesus Christ, the Head of the body of believers.  There is a lot of emphasis on angels today, but we must never put them between God and us.  Verse twenty states, Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,  Paul asked them if they were dead in Christ,  why did they live as though they were subject to ordinances in order to be a part of God's people.  I don't believe that Paul was saying that we shouldn't obey God's ordinances, or laws, but that we cannot look to them as a way to salvation.  Faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation.  Verse twenty-one adds, (Touch not; taste not; handle not;  Verse twenty-two continues, Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? Paul said that those who claimed that people had to observe all the law as well as have faith in Jesus Christ were wrong, and asked why Christians would think they had to do this.   When we accept Jesus Christ we are saved by grace and dead to salvation by anything other than faith in Him.  Verse twenty-three concludes, Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.  Paul said the observance of these things as being necessary for having a personal relationship with God were all for show, and did not honor Jesus Christ Who satisfied the law for all time.  Though we are to follow God's laws as Christians, we can never attempt to make the keeping of the law of God a requirement for salvation, and we should never follow any who makes this a requirement. 

Colossians 2:1

Colossians 2:1 says, For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh;  Paul said that he was in conflict over the believers in Colosse and those at Laodicea.  He had heard of their faith, but he had not yet visited them.  Paul was just as concerned for them as he was for churches that he had started, and he was concerned that they were truly founded on the gospel of Christ.  We need to be concerned and in prayer for churches today, even if we have no personal contact with them.  Verse two adds, That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;  Paul said that it was his desire that their hearts be comforted by being knit together in love for God and each other, by their knowledge of the mystery of God the Father and Jesus Christ.  We still do not totally understand the relationship of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, but know that They are One God.  Verse three continues, In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.  Paul said that wisdom and knowledge were hidden in God.  We may know a lot about the world today from a worldly point of view, but until we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we will never have true knowledge and understanding.  Truth can only be found in God's word.  Verse four states, And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words.  Paul said that they needed to be grounded in the knowledge of God so that they would not be beguiled by enticing words.  We can hear many things today that sound tempting, but if they are in conflict with God's word, we need to not give in to the temptation to believe them.  In order for this to happen, we must know what God's word says, and in order to do this, we must study His word.  I believe we should do this daily as individuals and together with other Christians frequently.  Verse five adds, For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ.  Paul said that even though he wasn't able to be with them physically that he was with them in the spirit.  We will never be able to be physically present in all the churches around the world today, but we need to be joined with them in the Spirit.  We should do this with prayer and concern that they are founded on faith in Jesus Christ.  Paul said he had heard of their stedfastness in their faith in Christ, and this should be what we want people to hear about churches today.  We don't really need to be concerned about their denomination, but only about their faithfulness to Jesus Christ.  It also does not matter how large or small they may be.  Verse six continues, As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:  Paul said that since they had received Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord that they were to walk by faith in Him.  I believe we too often look at the problems in our life instead of looking to God in faith.  This causes us to worry and doubt God too often.  We must walk by faith in Jesus Christ, as Paul said those many years ago.  Verse seven concludes, Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Paul said that the Christians at Colosse needed to be rooted in and building on their faith in Christ, and so should we today.  He said that they should be established in faith.  Everything that we as followers of Christ do today should be done because our life is established by faith in Christ.  This is what we should teach in the church today, just as Paul told the Christians at Colosse then, and if we do, we should abound in thanksgiving to God.   We as Christians, when we are established in our faith in Jesus Christ should always be giving praise and thanksgiving to God.

Colossians 1:21

Colossians 1:21 says, And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled.  Paul said that by their wicked works, or sin, that the people of Colosse, who were Gentiles, had been alienated from God, but now through Jesus Christ's sacrifice for their sins on the cross, and by putting their faith in Him, they could be reconciled to God.  Until we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we are alienated from God by our wicked ways, but once we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we are reconciled to God.  Verse twenty-two adds, In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:  Paul said that through His life here on earth, including His death on the cross and resurrection from the dead that Jesus Christ made it possible for anyone to be presented to the heavenly Father as unblameable and unreproveable if they put their faith in Him.  This is still the only way to be reconciled to God, and Jesus Christ has already made the sacrifice for everyone so all anyone has to do to be reconciled is put their faith in Him.  Verse twenty-three continues, If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;  Paul told them that they could have this reconciliation to God if they put their faith in Jesus Christ and were unmoveable in that faith.  Once we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we should be unmoveable in our faith, but if we do falter at times, we are forever a part of the family of God.  God Himself seals us as His and nothing can ever take us away from Him.  Paul said he was a minister of the gospel,  which came by his calling from God.  As followers of Christ, we are all called to proclaim the gospel to those around us, even if we are not called to preach.  Verse twenty-four states, Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:  Paul said that he rejoiced in his sufferings for the sake of the gospel for the glory of Jesus Christ and the benefit of the church.  We as Christians should have the same attitude today, but too often we are ready to give up on witnessing for God at the least little inconvenience in life.  Verse twenty-five adds, Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;  Paul again said that he was made a minister of the gospel by the dispensation, or calling, of God.  If someone is truly a minister today, it has to be by the calling of God and then they must allow the Holy Spirit to speak through them.  Verse twenty-six continues, Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:  Paul said that the mystery of the gospel had been hidden for ages, but now had been made known to the saints, those who accepted Jesus Christ as the only way to salvation.  For too many people today, the truth of the gospel of Christ is still hidden, because they are still ruled by the things of this world.  Verse twenty-seven declares, To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:  Paul said it was God Who made known the gospel of Christ and the riches of glory that this mystery made known to the Gentiles.  Paul did not just decide on his own to go and share the gospel with the Gentiles, but he was sent by God.  We as followers of Christ are commissioned by God to go into all the world and share the gospel, even to those who we may not like.  Verse twenty-eight adds, Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:  Paul said that he preached the gospel of Christ so that everyone who accepted it could be presented perfect before God by their faith in Jesus Christ.  This should still be our desire today.  Verse twenty-nine continues, Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.  Paul said that he continued to strive to present the gospel to everyone he met because this desire worked mightily in him.  We need to have this same desire today if we are to be effective in reaching the world for Jesus Christ.