1 00:00:02,640 --> 00:00:06,840 First Samuel chapter 10, today's Old Testament lesson, we're 2 00:00:06,840 --> 00:00:10,200 we're going through First Samuel carefully and slowly, and 3 00:00:10,200 --> 00:00:14,280 today's lesson is about God's chosen king trampling the 4 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:18,600 serpent under his feet. God's chosen King tramples the 5 00:00:18,600 --> 00:00:21,560 serpent under his feet and it's a reminder of what Jesus Christ 6 00:00:21,560 --> 00:00:25,600 our King has done for us and the spiritual warfare that He calls 7 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:29,640 us to undertake in His name. So let's pray as we turn to His 8 00:00:29,640 --> 00:00:32,280 Word. We thank You, Almighty God, for 9 00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:36,600 the gift of Your Word, and you call us to to read it and to 10 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:40,360 listen and obey what You have for us. 11 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:44,720 We can't do this apart from Your grace and the power of Your 12 00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:47,640 Spirit. So pour out Your Spirit upon us 13 00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:51,000 that we would learn and understand and have the courage 14 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:56,240 to live faithfully according to what you teach us and bless us 15 00:00:56,640 --> 00:01:01,160 as we go out from this place, that we would live in accordance 16 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:05,680 with your word and these things we ask in Jesus name, Amen. 17 00:01:06,600 --> 00:01:11,360 So today's lesson from First Samuel chapter 10 and 11 is a 18 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:14,120 pivotal moment in the history of redemption. 19 00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:21,560 It describes how God chose Saul to be Israel's first king, and 20 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:27,400 then Saul united all 12 tribes of Israel to fight the Ammonites 21 00:01:27,640 --> 00:01:31,960 who had laid siege to God's people in the city of Jabish 22 00:01:31,960 --> 00:01:36,040 Gilead, which is on the eastern side of the Jordan River in 23 00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:39,880 modern day Jordan. The most important word in this 24 00:01:39,880 --> 00:01:43,840 story is a word unfortunately left untranslated in our English 25 00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:48,040 Bibles. It's the word Nakash Nakash, 26 00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:53,280 which means serpent, but is the name of the Ammonite king. 27 00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:58,840 It's the very same word that is used to describe the tempter in 28 00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:02,600 Genesis chapter 3. Let's think back to the 29 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:04,720 beginning of the Bible just for a moment. 30 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:09,440 In the beginning, God made Adam in his image to rule over his 31 00:02:09,440 --> 00:02:14,920 creation, to be king under God, his vice Regent, his under king. 32 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:24,480 But those whom God calls to to rule must be trained and tested 33 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:29,600 before they rule. And the most important lesson to 34 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:32,800 be learned is that you can never overrule God. 35 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:38,200 No matter how important your role, you always remain his vice 36 00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:41,240 Regent. You always remain his assistant 37 00:02:41,240 --> 00:02:44,040 in ruling. You never get out in front of 38 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:46,600 him. You always must obey His word. 39 00:02:46,920 --> 00:02:49,760 So God trained Adam for kingship. 40 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:54,240 He taught him how to guard and tend his garden sanctuary in 41 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:56,920 Eden. And God told Adam that all the 42 00:02:56,920 --> 00:03:00,440 fruiting trees were good for food, but one fruit was 43 00:03:00,440 --> 00:03:05,040 forbidden for a time until Adam grew to maturity before the 44 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:08,800 Lord. But Adam alone was insufficient 45 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:14,280 for this role to rule. And so God made Eve to partner 46 00:03:14,280 --> 00:03:17,440 with Adam in the work of multiplication and dominion. 47 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:21,600 And it was Adam's duty to train Eve for their royal duties, just 48 00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:25,640 as God had trained him. And then came the test. 49 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:32,760 Nakash the serpent, Genesis chapter 3 came to Eve and and 50 00:03:32,760 --> 00:03:38,040 asked, did God really say you shall not eat of any tree in the 51 00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:42,840 garden? Adam should have crushed Nakash 52 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:47,040 right then and there. He should have crushed him under 53 00:03:47,040 --> 00:03:49,200 his feet. Instead, Adam listened in 54 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:52,520 silence. And then when Eve picked the 55 00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:56,240 forbidden fruit, Adam should have rushed to her rescue. 56 00:03:56,840 --> 00:04:03,760 Instead he watched her eat it. And when Eve didn't die, Adam 57 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:11,120 thought I should do this too. God had called him and trained 58 00:04:11,120 --> 00:04:15,640 him for high office, but he buckled in the face of danger. 59 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:19,480 He disobeyed God's word, and he failed the serpent test. 60 00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:23,320 And that could have been the end of the whole story for us. 61 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:26,040 That could have been where humanity ended right then and 62 00:04:26,040 --> 00:04:28,320 there. But God and his great love chose 63 00:04:28,320 --> 00:04:33,520 to redeem us. He promised that someday a royal 64 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:39,360 descendant of Adam and Eve would come to defeat Nakash the 65 00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:44,760 Serpent. Nakash might bruise his foot, 66 00:04:45,280 --> 00:04:50,120 his heel, but this king would someday crush the Serpent's 67 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:52,680 head. And that's what makes today's 68 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:57,920 story so incredibly exciting. And we come to First Samuel 69 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:03,040 chapter 10 page 218 in the Church Bible, Nakash the serpent 70 00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:07,320 has has arrived in Israel and he has come and laid siege to 71 00:05:07,320 --> 00:05:11,160 Jabish Gilead on the eastern side of the Jordan. 72 00:05:11,160 --> 00:05:19,040 In modern day Jordan, the people now want a king to lead them 73 00:05:19,040 --> 00:05:23,840 into battle. For Samuel 1017, men from all 12 74 00:05:23,840 --> 00:05:27,480 tribes of Israel gather at Mitzvah the Watchtower, the 75 00:05:27,480 --> 00:05:30,360 place the central meeting area where all the tribes come 76 00:05:30,360 --> 00:05:35,040 together to prepare for war. And in verses 18 and 19, Samuel 77 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:39,840 reminds the soldiers who are gathered that God is their king. 78 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:43,680 He's the high king. He's the one who truly protects 79 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:45,800 them. He reminds them back about what 80 00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:50,320 happened back in Egypt when God was the one who delivered them 81 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:52,800 from Pharaoh. And God brought plagues upon the 82 00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:56,040 Egyptians and delivered them through the waters of the Red 83 00:05:56,040 --> 00:05:58,280 Sea. And, and they remember what's 84 00:05:58,280 --> 00:06:01,080 just happened in the story of First Samuel, that the 85 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:04,400 Philistines had come and defeated them and taken the ark 86 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:06,880 into captivity. But then it was God alone 87 00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:10,000 through the ark who brought plagues on the Philistines. 88 00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:13,440 And when the Philistines came to make war with them again, and 89 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:17,440 they were gathered in prayer, it was God who thundered and God 90 00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:21,080 who routed the Philistines. It is God who fights their 91 00:06:21,080 --> 00:06:25,160 battles. And Samuel reminds them that it 92 00:06:25,160 --> 00:06:29,280 is God who is their high king. He alone saves them from their 93 00:06:29,280 --> 00:06:31,600 trials and troubles. And then, having made this 94 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:35,240 point, look at verse 20. Samuel leads them in casting 95 00:06:35,240 --> 00:06:39,080 lots to choose their king. Now why would he do this, since 96 00:06:39,080 --> 00:06:42,720 we already know from earlier in the story that Samuel has 97 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:45,760 quietly anointed Saul to be the king? 98 00:06:47,480 --> 00:06:52,120 Because God's Word requires in all legal matters at least two 99 00:06:52,120 --> 00:06:54,880 witnesses to confirm what has been done. 100 00:06:56,080 --> 00:07:02,440 And so here God brings the whole Israelite army together to 101 00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:07,760 affirm together as witnesses what Samuel and Saul already 102 00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:12,440 knew, that Saul had been chosen. And so by Lot, by God directing 103 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:16,080 the Lots verse, the tribe of Benjamin is chosen, and then the 104 00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:20,920 clan of the Matrix and in the family of Kish, and then finally 105 00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:26,480 Saul is chosen by Lot to be the king over Israel. 106 00:07:26,560 --> 00:07:30,880 But where is Saul verse 22? He's hidden among the baggage. 107 00:07:30,880 --> 00:07:35,360 Unfortunately, translated and not, we're not giving his much 108 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:38,240 information as we need because this makes us all out to be a 109 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:42,720 coward when that's not the case. It's as if he's hiding in a 110 00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:45,560 duffel bag and that's not the case at all. 111 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:49,600 The the word translated baggage in Hebrew is a word that's often 112 00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:52,000 times used to describe military equipment. 113 00:07:52,400 --> 00:07:54,400 They've brought all of the military equipment to the 114 00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:56,320 watchtower and they've got it together. 115 00:07:56,600 --> 00:08:01,040 And Saul already knows that he has been anointed to be king. 116 00:08:01,040 --> 00:08:03,600 He already expects that this will be affirmed. 117 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:07,240 And he is down there amongst the baggage being proactive. 118 00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:11,000 He knows that war is at hand. He has been anointed to lead 119 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:13,040 them into it. And so he's with the baggage, 120 00:08:13,040 --> 00:08:16,280 the military equipment, and he's assessing their readiness to 121 00:08:16,280 --> 00:08:21,240 face off against Nakash. So they called Saul back to the 122 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:25,120 assembly. Verse 23, everyone shouted Long 123 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:29,600 live the king. And then verse 25, Samuel 124 00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:33,400 reminded the people of the duties of the king. 125 00:08:33,880 --> 00:08:36,520 Moses had done this previously in Deuteronomy. 126 00:08:37,159 --> 00:08:42,840 God had done it in Genesis 2, teaching before the testing. 127 00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:50,200 And in this time once again, God doesn't forbid monarchy. 128 00:08:50,640 --> 00:08:54,080 It's right in his plan to redeem the world. 129 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:59,640 But every king must conform to the word of God, to God's 130 00:08:59,640 --> 00:09:02,280 standards. And especially what's driven 131 00:09:02,280 --> 00:09:09,160 home in these passages is that they must copy and read and obey 132 00:09:09,160 --> 00:09:12,760 the word of God. That is a primary duty of the 133 00:09:12,760 --> 00:09:17,040 king, and you and I are called to this work also. 134 00:09:17,040 --> 00:09:21,440 Like Adam and Eve, like Saul, we too are called to be a vice, 135 00:09:21,440 --> 00:09:24,720 Regents, junior kings and Queens. 136 00:09:24,720 --> 00:09:26,280 Under God. We're called to reign as 137 00:09:26,280 --> 00:09:28,400 stewards over the world that God has made. 138 00:09:28,680 --> 00:09:34,240 He places us in some part of his creation and gives us rule under 139 00:09:34,240 --> 00:09:37,000 Him. And our success in this work 140 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:42,440 again, depends upon copying and reading and obeying the word of 141 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:49,080 God. That's our first job in all 142 00:09:49,080 --> 00:09:52,840 things. Verse 26, Saul went back to the 143 00:09:53,160 --> 00:09:56,080 to his home in the Benjamite city of Gibeah. 144 00:09:56,320 --> 00:09:59,360 Maybe this is 5 miles South of the Watchtower. 145 00:09:59,720 --> 00:10:02,920 And there's such a huge back story to what's happening here. 146 00:10:02,920 --> 00:10:05,560 I have to explain it. And it's a little complicated, 147 00:10:05,560 --> 00:10:10,120 so stick with me. He's he's leading a troop of 148 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:12,280 soldiers who are already loyal to him. 149 00:10:12,280 --> 00:10:15,480 God has touched their hearts. This is a pivotal moment in the 150 00:10:15,480 --> 00:10:19,360 story of redemption because just a few generations earlier, 151 00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:23,160 Gibeah had been a place, a very wicked city, a city that had 152 00:10:23,160 --> 00:10:28,120 become like another Sodom in Israel and where guests to the 153 00:10:28,120 --> 00:10:34,000 city had been surrounded by this band of rapists and a woman had 154 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:37,400 been brutally treated and murdered in the city. 155 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:42,920 And as a result of this, some who were loyal to the Lord had 156 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:47,400 done essentially what happened when Emmett Till was murdered in 157 00:10:47,680 --> 00:10:51,720 the civil rights era and his mom chose to have an open casket so 158 00:10:51,720 --> 00:10:54,320 that all the world can see what had happened. 159 00:10:54,720 --> 00:10:57,360 In this case. They took the woman's body and 160 00:10:57,360 --> 00:11:01,920 they divided it up and they sent it to all Israel and said this 161 00:11:01,920 --> 00:11:04,760 has happened, this wicked thing has happened in Gibeah. 162 00:11:05,360 --> 00:11:11,840 Everyone come together and come to Gibeah to to put this whole 163 00:11:11,840 --> 00:11:15,200 city under a ban to punish this city. 164 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:19,000 So this wickedness never happens again in Israel. 165 00:11:19,480 --> 00:11:24,800 And so that was how the 11 tribes, the other 11 tribes came 166 00:11:24,800 --> 00:11:28,240 together against the Benjaminites maybe just a couple 167 00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:32,240 of generations earlier in the city of Gibeah, and had pretty 168 00:11:32,240 --> 00:11:34,280 much destroyed it, devastated it. 169 00:11:34,560 --> 00:11:37,840 And almost all the Benjaminites have been wiped out. 170 00:11:39,520 --> 00:11:42,560 As it turned out, when all Israel came together, actually 171 00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:46,800 only one city had stayed home and not fought in that war. 172 00:11:47,400 --> 00:11:48,840 Can you guess what city that was? 173 00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:54,120 It was Jabesh Gilead on the eastern side of the Jordan in 174 00:11:54,120 --> 00:11:57,680 what is modern day Jordan. We've already heard about that 175 00:11:57,680 --> 00:12:00,600 city in today's reading. It's the story that's under 176 00:12:00,600 --> 00:12:03,680 attack by the serpent now by Nakash. 177 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:08,800 He's surrounded it and they're about to be put under the ban by 178 00:12:08,800 --> 00:12:12,840 their enemies a couple of generations earlier. 179 00:12:12,840 --> 00:12:17,720 When, when? When Gibia had been destroyed 180 00:12:17,720 --> 00:12:20,560 and almost all the Benjaminites had been wiped out, but Jabish 181 00:12:20,560 --> 00:12:24,320 Gilead had not come to be a part of that fight, All the army of 182 00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:29,360 Israel had gone over to Jordan and had surrounded Jabish Gilead 183 00:12:29,360 --> 00:12:33,320 and put that city to the ban. And as a result, this is a very 184 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:37,160 long story. Some of the surviving women from 185 00:12:37,160 --> 00:12:43,760 that town had come to Gibia and become the wives of the 186 00:12:43,760 --> 00:12:46,400 surviving men of the Benjaminites. 187 00:12:46,960 --> 00:12:52,720 And So what does this result in? Saul's parents, or maybe Saul's 188 00:12:52,720 --> 00:12:57,320 grandparents were very much a part of this story. 189 00:12:57,720 --> 00:13:04,200 Saul exists because of survivors of these two battles in these 190 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:06,280 two cities. And these two cities are very 191 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:11,120 much connected in Old Testament history, to make a very Long 192 00:13:11,120 --> 00:13:14,360 story short. So here's why all this matters. 193 00:13:14,360 --> 00:13:17,720 Saul was a Benjaminite. His father or his grandfather 194 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:21,880 was one of the few survivors. After all, Israel had attacked 195 00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:24,160 Gibeah. And then we can't know for sure. 196 00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:27,720 It's very likely that Saul's mother or grandmother was a 197 00:13:27,720 --> 00:13:30,600 survivor of what had happened to Jabesh Gilead. 198 00:13:30,600 --> 00:13:36,800 And now back to today's story. First Samuel 11 verse one, 199 00:13:37,040 --> 00:13:43,400 Nahash the serpent and the Ammonite army have laid siege to 200 00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:47,960 Jabesh Gilead. Verse 2 the men of Jabesh have 201 00:13:48,440 --> 00:13:53,160 offered surrender to them, and Nakash has agreed on the 202 00:13:53,160 --> 00:13:56,320 condition that he gouge out their right eyes, which would 203 00:13:56,320 --> 00:14:00,040 make them effectively unable to fight and would also bring 204 00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:05,920 humiliation on all of Israel. So verse 3 the elders of Jabesh 205 00:14:05,920 --> 00:14:10,800 send word to all Israel saying come and help us. 206 00:14:11,600 --> 00:14:15,840 And you can be sure that they remembered and profoundly 207 00:14:15,840 --> 00:14:19,880 regretted at this point what their grandparents had done when 208 00:14:19,880 --> 00:14:22,840 they had not gone to fight at Gibia. 209 00:14:24,040 --> 00:14:28,800 And they expected that turnabout would be fair play and no one 210 00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:34,640 would come to rescue them at this time. 1st For when the 211 00:14:34,640 --> 00:14:40,600 messengers arrived at Gibia, where the moms or the grandmas 212 00:14:41,400 --> 00:14:48,000 were deeply connected to Jabesh Gilead, they were deeply 213 00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:50,640 grieved. And when Saul verse 6 returned 214 00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:54,040 from plowing the field and he heard the news, the Holy Spirit 215 00:14:54,040 --> 00:14:57,200 rushed upon him, just as the Spirit had done in the book of 216 00:14:57,200 --> 00:15:02,400 Judges with Samson and had done with Gideon and with others. 217 00:15:02,640 --> 00:15:07,640 The Spirit rushes upon Saul and he cuts up his yoke of oxen, 218 00:15:07,640 --> 00:15:12,560 just as had been done a couple of generations earlier with a 219 00:15:12,560 --> 00:15:14,240 woman who had been brutally treated. 220 00:15:14,240 --> 00:15:17,200 He cuts up the yoke of oxen and he sends the pieces throughout 221 00:15:17,200 --> 00:15:20,120 all Israel. And he says, men of Israel, come 222 00:15:20,320 --> 00:15:22,840 and fight. If you don't come and fight, 223 00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:24,760 this same thing will be done to you. 224 00:15:26,680 --> 00:15:30,720 And it was also a call to renewal, not just a call to 225 00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:34,880 fight, because it's an invitation to graciously come to 226 00:15:34,880 --> 00:15:37,520 the rescue of their brothers who had sinned against them. 227 00:15:39,200 --> 00:15:42,120 So it's a national version, I think, of the grace that Joseph 228 00:15:42,120 --> 00:15:45,040 showed to his brothers in Egypt long before. 229 00:15:45,960 --> 00:15:47,840 And again, this is a pivotal moment in the history of 230 00:15:47,840 --> 00:15:49,880 redemption. For the very first time, Israel 231 00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:53,280 is united under a king. He is filled with the Holy 232 00:15:53,280 --> 00:15:57,040 Spirit, and Nahash the serpent has come into the garden, 233 00:15:57,040 --> 00:15:59,480 flowing with milk and honey, and he has come. 234 00:15:59,480 --> 00:16:01,520 Nahash has come to dismember them. 235 00:16:01,920 --> 00:16:06,320 And so King Saul calls all the men of Israel to unite as one 236 00:16:06,320 --> 00:16:09,840 man and fight against the serpent, lest they be 237 00:16:09,840 --> 00:16:13,080 dismembered themselves. And it works. 238 00:16:13,080 --> 00:16:15,240 The fear of the Lord falls upon them all. 239 00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:17,360 They meet together just West of the Jordan. 240 00:16:17,360 --> 00:16:23,880 There are 330,000 of them who gather just across the river 241 00:16:24,040 --> 00:16:29,920 from Jabesh. And so verse 10, the people of 242 00:16:29,920 --> 00:16:34,680 Jabesh tell Nakash that tomorrow we will come to you, and you 243 00:16:34,680 --> 00:16:36,720 will do what is good in your eyes. 244 00:16:36,720 --> 00:16:40,560 It's a double entendre and it it's very clever. 245 00:16:41,320 --> 00:16:45,000 They think that they're going to win, but the people of Jabesh 246 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:48,240 think that what will happen will be good in their eyes. 247 00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:52,840 The Lord will do a good thing, and God will crush the serpent 248 00:16:53,200 --> 00:16:55,320 under their feet. And early the next morning, 249 00:16:55,320 --> 00:16:57,920 Israel's army swarmed the Ammonites. 250 00:16:58,240 --> 00:16:59,880 Verse 11. They came into the midst of the 251 00:16:59,880 --> 00:17:02,800 camp in the morning watch. They struck down the Ammonites 252 00:17:02,800 --> 00:17:06,119 until the heat of the day. And those who survived were 253 00:17:06,119 --> 00:17:09,760 scattered so that no two of them were left together. 254 00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:14,960 Israel united under God's chosen king, crushed the serpent under 255 00:17:14,960 --> 00:17:16,880 their feet. Verse 12. 256 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:20,280 Some of Saul's loyal soldiers want to take vengeance on the 257 00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:23,920 naysayers, but Saul says, no, no, not a man shall be put to 258 00:17:23,920 --> 00:17:28,480 death this day for today. The Lord has worked, Yeshua has 259 00:17:28,480 --> 00:17:33,040 worked salvation upon Israel. And so basking in this 260 00:17:33,040 --> 00:17:35,760 salvation, verse 15, they go down to the Jordan River. 261 00:17:35,880 --> 00:17:38,880 They cross the Jordan River at the same place that Israel had 262 00:17:38,880 --> 00:17:43,720 entered into the Promised land centuries before under Joshua, 263 00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:47,640 that at that time, you know, they took 12 Stones from the 264 00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:49,320 river. They set them up as a pillar in 265 00:17:49,320 --> 00:17:52,280 that place and all the men were circumcised in a renewal 266 00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:54,760 ceremony. This time they pass through the 267 00:17:54,760 --> 00:17:59,080 waters as a kind of baptism, and on the West Bank they renew the 268 00:17:59,080 --> 00:18:02,600 Kingdom and worship together, feasting and celebrating and 269 00:18:02,600 --> 00:18:05,720 praising the Lord for the amazing things that he has done. 270 00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:10,480 And that brings us to the end of the story and brings us now to 271 00:18:10,480 --> 00:18:13,880 what does it mean for us? God made us to rule. 272 00:18:15,080 --> 00:18:20,360 God created us to be involved in multiplication and dominion 273 00:18:20,360 --> 00:18:26,720 under Him as His vice Regents in and through His Word. 274 00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:31,360 God teaches us how to do this. He teaches us how to tend and 275 00:18:31,360 --> 00:18:33,440 keep the garden wherever we're planted. 276 00:18:34,320 --> 00:18:36,520 And through the power of the Holy Spirit, He calls us to 277 00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:41,360 fight against Nahash the serpent and crush him under our feet. 278 00:18:41,680 --> 00:18:44,520 As it was for Adam and Eve, as it was for Saul. 279 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:50,200 Our success depends upon putting God first, trusting that He is 280 00:18:50,200 --> 00:18:56,880 the one who goes before us, and reading and obeying His Word. 281 00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:04,440 As we're going to see in the next several weeks, Saul does 282 00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:08,920 great in this battle, but it goes to his head and he puts 283 00:19:08,920 --> 00:19:13,920 himself over God, and his success does not last. 284 00:19:15,360 --> 00:19:18,800 He fails in the mission, He did not keep in step with God's 285 00:19:18,800 --> 00:19:23,680 Spirit, and he lost the Kingdom. But thanks be to God, because in 286 00:19:23,680 --> 00:19:28,840 the fullness of time God sent his Son into our world to be 287 00:19:28,840 --> 00:19:33,720 King. The angels promised Mary and 288 00:19:33,720 --> 00:19:39,080 confirmed this with the heavenly host and with the Magi in 289 00:19:39,080 --> 00:19:43,560 Bethlehem. But Jesus didn't become king in 290 00:19:43,560 --> 00:19:48,000 his infancy, did he? He had to learn obedience. 291 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:53,080 He had to be trained and tested before he ruled. 292 00:19:53,360 --> 00:19:56,840 He studied the Scriptures, and he increased in wisdom and 293 00:19:56,840 --> 00:20:00,000 stature and in favor before God and man. 294 00:20:00,560 --> 00:20:04,480 And then after his baptism, as we heard in the Gospel lesson, 295 00:20:04,480 --> 00:20:09,440 he was tested in the wilderness before he began his public 296 00:20:09,440 --> 00:20:13,400 ministry. Jesus expected the serpent. 297 00:20:14,840 --> 00:20:17,840 He knew what was coming. And he was ready. 298 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:20,600 He fought the serpent and did not sin. 299 00:20:20,600 --> 00:20:24,960 And ultimately, for our sakes, on Good Friday, he suffered the 300 00:20:24,960 --> 00:20:27,600 torture and humiliation of the cross. 301 00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:33,680 Nahash thought that he had had victory over God's chosen king. 302 00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:36,800 He thought he had given him a head wound. 303 00:20:37,200 --> 00:20:39,320 But on Easter he discovered his mistake. 304 00:20:39,320 --> 00:20:43,560 For Christ has died, Christ is risen, and Christ will come 305 00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:48,640 again, and Jesus is now the rightful King over all creation. 306 00:20:48,640 --> 00:20:51,160 And all of us who are baptized belong to him. 307 00:20:51,320 --> 00:20:54,840 We are his subjects. We are called to love and trust 308 00:20:54,840 --> 00:20:57,240 Him and to study and obey His Word. 309 00:20:57,240 --> 00:21:04,000 And all other alliances and allegiances and affiliations are 310 00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:07,800 downstream from our loyalty to King Jesus. 311 00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:13,920 All other kings and presidents and parties are downstream from 312 00:21:13,920 --> 00:21:18,760 our loyalty to King Jesus. All pastors and priests, bishops 313 00:21:18,800 --> 00:21:23,600 and archbishops are downstream from our loyalty to King Jesus. 314 00:21:23,840 --> 00:21:29,160 Every knee must bow to him. And again, we aren't simply 315 00:21:29,160 --> 00:21:32,400 called just to bend the knee before him, but also to rule 316 00:21:32,640 --> 00:21:37,560 under him as his vice Regents. He puts us in the ranks and He 317 00:21:37,560 --> 00:21:41,840 uses us to grow His Kingdom. And once we understand and agree 318 00:21:41,840 --> 00:21:44,640 to this, we should expect that God would order our lives in the 319 00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:48,360 same way that He would be teaching us, that He would be 320 00:21:48,360 --> 00:21:53,640 training us, and at times that we would be tested also. 321 00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:56,280 We have to learn how to discern right and wrong. 322 00:21:56,640 --> 00:21:59,440 We have to choose to do what is right, come what may, and we 323 00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:03,760 should expect the serpent. We should not be surprised when 324 00:22:03,760 --> 00:22:06,840 the serpent comes. This is a necessary part of our 325 00:22:06,840 --> 00:22:09,240 training. When he comes, we mustn't give 326 00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:12,080 ourselves to Him. He means to do us harm. 327 00:22:12,080 --> 00:22:15,800 He comes to kill and destroy. He prowls around like a roaring 328 00:22:15,800 --> 00:22:20,640 lion, seeking someone to devour. We must learn to join God in the 329 00:22:20,640 --> 00:22:25,360 fight that he has already won, and to trust that he will crush 330 00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:30,200 the serpent under our feet. We almost we must also learn to 331 00:22:30,200 --> 00:22:34,680 fight the serpent together rather than fighting one 332 00:22:34,680 --> 00:22:36,920 another. And when there are victories, we 333 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:40,360 must celebrate in worship, renewing our vows. 334 00:22:41,760 --> 00:22:47,160 And thankfully, when we fail, we must look to Jesus, who for the 335 00:22:47,160 --> 00:22:52,400 joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising its 336 00:22:52,400 --> 00:22:55,920 shame and is now seated at the right hand of God. 337 00:22:56,800 --> 00:23:01,760 By faith we await his death. Blow to the serpent. 338 00:23:02,600 --> 00:23:06,080 Let's pray. Thank you, Lord, that you are 339 00:23:06,080 --> 00:23:09,560 training us and preparing us, and you've called us to this 340 00:23:09,560 --> 00:23:15,920 work of ruling under you. And each person here I know has 341 00:23:15,920 --> 00:23:22,240 work to do this week that will be challenging and they need 342 00:23:22,240 --> 00:23:25,360 your help. And so we call upon you, Lord, 343 00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:29,320 to instruct them and prepare them and strengthen them, and 344 00:23:29,320 --> 00:23:34,360 then defend them from the enemy and give them success in this 345 00:23:34,360 --> 00:23:36,760 spiritual warfare that you've called us all to. 346 00:23:36,760 --> 00:23:40,000 And we pray this in the name of the Father and the Son and the 347 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:41,240 Holy Spirit, Amen.