 Again, the title of our sermon this evening is the Workman's Hammer. We're in Judges chapter 4. And as we see in Judges chapter 4, as we've seen in other texts in Judges so far, our God is a merciful, gracious, and saving God. It has been a blessing to see various perspectives on that fact in this section of the book that records now the history of the judges. Each account, each account of the judges revealing for God's people some wondrous spectacular perspective on the saving work of God in redemptive history. And that account of God's saving work set against the bleak and the miserable backdrop of fallen man's desperate need for saving. Apart from the Lord Jesus Christ, we need a Savior, right? And it's most evident in examples like this that we see in Judges chapter 4. Tonight, we have the blessing of arriving in our study at chapter 4 and the amazing record of Deborah, Barak, and Jael, the Workman's Hammer. And so far we've seen the Lord in Judges chapter 3 and now into chapter 4, delivering his people in some unusual ways. And each of the unusual ways in which God delivers his people is communicating something, right? God's saving work, we look at the delivering judges that God raises up and the deliverance that God provides, we're to see something communicated to us about God's saving plans and purposes. In other words, each of these texts communicates something valuable to us. In particular, it's amazing to me how this historical record points forward to Christ. We see that in the saving work of God raising up judges pointing forward to the ultimate judge who will deliver his people, the Lord Jesus Christ. And we saw that beginning in chapter 3 with Othniel, right? Othniel was the standard bearer. He was the example, so to speak. He was the prototypical savior, the champion of the beer, the son-in-law of Caleb, a lion from the tribe of Judah. And Othniel goes out to war and delivers God's people from their oppression. We then get to Eud. Eud was a little more unusual, right? The left-handed assassin from the tribe of Benjamin or the sons of my right hand. And Eud outsmarts the dull-headed Moabites, delivering a very pointed message from God to the blubbery king, Eglon, and then gathering the people of God to the fight where the final victory is then won. After him, the one-verse wonder, Shamgar from chapter 3, verse 31, Shamgar quite likely a Gentile, an unusual background, an unusual weapon, an unusual result, one man takes on the enemy for all of God's people and delivers them. Through each of these accounts, we see two, among many, but two recurring themes. One theme is this, the sin and shame and desperate need of the people of Israel who simply cannot deliver themselves and they continue to rebel against the Lord. They continue to place themselves under judgment. They continue to place themselves under the curse of God for their disobedience, for their rebellion. It's a continuous refrain throughout the book of Judges. Secondly, we see the Lord. Lord faithful to His decreed purpose to deliver His people, steadfast to His promises, steadfast to His word, abounding in mercy, our God is a merciful, gracious, and saving God. Now, we see those very same themes repeated and now reinforced in the account that we find in Judges chapter 4. To Jewish sensibilities at the time, this deliverance, the Lord's deliverance in chapter 4 would have been even more unusual than the one that God provided through Ehud. And it would have been even more scandalous, more shameful to the Israelites than the deliverance that God provided through a Gentile. This deliverance came through the hand of a woman and we'll call her the workman's hammer. She was Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite. There's a lot of narrative material in this one account in chapter 4. We're going to work through that narrative material slowly, taking out, plumbing the depths of it, mining up gems as we go. We're going to work slowly through chapter 4 and I want to be able to manage the structure of the passage as we work through the text so that we pick up on all these things. And so I thought to consider our text in four sections. Chapter 4 essentially in four sections. Section 1, we'll see or look at, consider the need of the people in verses 1 through 3. We'll consider the need of the people. In section 2, we want to consider the command of the Lord in verses 4 through 10, the command of the Lord. Section 3 will consider the salvation of the Lord in verses 11 through 22. And lastly, we'll consider the conclusion of the matter in verses 23 and 24. So the need of the people, the command of the Lord, the salvation of the Lord, and then the conclusion of the matter. We see the account that's in chapter 4 repeated again in chapter 5 in the form of a song of celebration. So we'll get to chapter 5 after we finish chapter 4, obviously, and we'll consider the song of Deborah there that celebrates the victory that the Lord has won. First now, first as we come to chapter 4, I want us to consider together point number 1, the desperate need of the people in verses 1 through 3. And I want us to see how this need is revealed. I want us to see how this need is expressed in these verses, particularly verse 1. Read verse 1 with me. When Ehoed was dead, the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord. I think with me for a moment. The theme of the nation's sin, the theme of the nation's rebellion continues. The repeated refrain is repeated again. Once more, we see the sin of the nation, the rebellion of the nation. And there's much to consider in this as we think about the reality of that fact from verse 1. We see the 1 verse 1 through Shamgar in chapter 3 verse 31 was a brief parenthesis because chapter 4 verse 1 ties us right back to chapter 3 and the account of Ehoed where the Lord through Ehoed had given the people 80 years of peace. Do you see that there? Look at chapter 3 verse 30, Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel and the land had rest for 80 years. Now despite the hard one piece of Ehoed, if you remember what Ehoed did, right Ehoed secured victory over Edglon and then he gathered the children together for the fight. So the nation themselves were involved in the battle and won this piece that lasted for 80 years. However, despite that hard one piece, when Ehoed was dead, what did the children of Israel do? They again did evil in the sight of the Lord. As we consider verse 1 together, that word again should leap off the page at you. You've seen it before, haven't we? Chapter 3 verse 7, they did evil. That in chapter 3 verse 12, after Othniel died, they again did evil. Chapter 4 verse 1, after Ehoed died, they again did evil. Chapter 6 verse 1, when Barak died, they did evil. Chapter 8 verse 33, as soon as Gideon died, they again played the harlot with the bales. This pattern is repeated throughout the book of Judges. They again did evil in the sight of the Lord. This reminds us, doesn't it, of the Lord's words. The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continuously. The people go back to evil again and again and again and again. What are we to note and to learn and consider about that repeated refrain? Here we are again with the children of Israel rebelling against God doing evil in the sight of the Lord. What are we to note? What are we to consider? What are we to learn about that repeated refrain? We could just pass along by it, couldn't we? But that's a lot to consider in verse 1. It bears considering because the people, the nation of Israel continue to find themselves repeatedly under the judgment of God. We find that throughout the book of Judges. It's one of the reasons that the book of Judges is in the Bible. They've seen the judgments of God poured out on the ungodly wicked. They were witnesses, eyewitnesses of these things, right? They've seen the judgments of God poured out on their own nation. They themselves, the children of Israel, have experienced war. They've experienced oppression. They've experienced death. They've experienced poverty. They've experienced want. Not only that, not only that, they've been told repeatedly. They've been warned repeatedly that this would be the result. You will be sold into the hands of your enemies. You will face war and oppression and death and poverty and want. Judgment is coming for your disobedience. The Lord will not acquit the guilty. They simply have to go back to the law, don't they? Go back to Deuteronomy. Look at Deuteronomy chapter 27 and 28, blessings on obedience, cursings on disobedience. They put the Israelites on two mountains, right? Mount Ebel and Mount Garazim. And they have the Israelites in an object lesson about their own future, shout blessings for obedience and cursings for disobedience. They've been given the very oracles of God. They have the law. It's been told to them exactly what is going to happen. The rational person would say, wouldn't they stop? A rational person would stop and say, what the Lord says comes to pass. What the Lord warns will happen if I continue in my sin so I should turn for my sin and trust in Him. Any rational person would think that way. But this is irrational. It's like going to the doctor. It hurts when I do this and what does the doctor say? Stop doing that. Stop doing that. Any rational person would turn from their sin. They should think to themselves, right? Everyone around me is dying. I'm also going to die. Let me seek Him and live. However, man, apart from a supernatural work of God's spirit, is not rational. Man in sin is insane. It reminds me of the example of those men in Sodom when the angels of the Lord came to visit Lot. They were rescuing Lot and his family out of Sodom. And those men wanted to carnally know the angels that had come to rescue Lot. So what does the Lord do? He strikes them blind. What does the Bible say? They wearied themselves looking for the door. Sinful man is irrational. Man in sin is insane. Bear's repeating for us in our circumstance today, doesn't it? How irrational it is to continue in a pattern of destructive sin. You are headed down a path of cursing and judgment and woe when you continue in your sin. It is insane to spit, so to speak, into the face of Almighty God who has said to you, If you die in your sin, you will perish eternally in hell. Turn from sin. Trust God. Take Him at His word. Believe upon Him. Turn from your sin and be saved. Man in sin is insane. Man in sin is irrational. What we see in this repeated refrain, in this repeated cycle of rescue and relapse is a powerful testimony to the hardness of man's heart. How hard is man's stubborn heart? How stiff-necked are men apart from the Lord? It's a testimony to the extent of man's depravity. Someone may see the consequences of sin all around them. The Israelites grew up seeing the consequences of sin all around them. They may endure the consequences of sin all around them. They may endure the temporal judgments and the temporal cursing, so to speak, on their sin and rebellion in their own experience. They may feel that gutterly. They may bear the marks, so to speak, of their sin. Some people who grow up in sexual immorality and have a permanent, lasting, incurable disease as a result, right? There's someone who has made horrible, sinful, rebellious choices and they live with the consequences of those choices the rest of their life and yet continue to persist in the same destructive behaviors, the same destructive patterns. Someone may even expect, they may even expect the consequences of sin in their own actions and their own decisions. But unless their heart is transformed, unless the Spirit of God comes in power to create them anew again in Christ, they will continue hell-bent in their rebellion. The heart of man is hopelessly lost. Apart from a saving work of God in Christ, the heart of man is intent only to do evil continually. Solomon says, Ecclesiastes chapter 8 verse 11, it's because the sentence, you could say because the ultimate sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil, fully set in them to do evil. That is the nature of fallen man. That's your nature. Apart from a work of God's Spirit, it's my nature. Apart from the Spirit of God applying the blessings and benefits of the Lord Jesus Christ. So what do we see then in the repeated refrain of verse 1? We see the desperate need of the people for regeneration. Simply not going to change apart from a miraculous work of God, a desperate need of the people for regeneration. What else do we see in the repeated refrain of verse 1? We see the desperate need of the people for a life transforming work of God's Spirit, applying the blood-bought benefits of the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ through the new and better covenant. Through the new covenant, otherwise nothing is going to change. I think that is ultimately the message of verse 1 unless God sovereignly, graciously mercifully does something then nothing is going to change. Nothing is going to change. The pattern repeats ad nauseam. Why is that? What can we infer from their example in verse 1? I want to give you five observations. What can we infer from their example? The law of God will not produce internal change. The law of God will not produce heart transformation. The law of God will not do it. Notice from the pattern. As long as the Lord's judge governs the people, there's a restraint on their immorality. Do you see that? As long as the Lord's judge governs the people, there's a restraint on their immorality. There's a restraint on their actions, their behavior, their immorality so to speak is curbed but as soon as the judge dies, what happens? People revert back. The people revert back. There is a lingering, persistent and unresolved problem in the heart of this people. There may be restraints. You think about applying that in our circumstances. There may be restraints. There may be restraints in your life, my life. You may have grown up in a godly home. If you grew up in a godly home, praise God. That's a restraint. That's a curb on your immorality, isn't it? There's a restraint there in a godly home. You may have grown up with godly influences around you. Godly people who would have said to you, no, no, no, that's wicked. What are you doing? That's a restraint on your behavior. You may have godly influences around you. You may have grown up in a godly home. Used to be. Used to be. You go back a few generations. Society would have imposed a certain amount of shame on certain sinful behaviors. No more. No more. Now the very thing that society once called evil, they celebrate as good. That restraint is gone. And now society only shames those who think that immorality should be restrained. This is the pattern then. This is the disposition of those who are not changed by grace. Not changed by the Lord. Paul said in Romans chapter 8 verse 3. He said what the law, think of it this way from the judges, essentially that judge governing the people of Israel is enforcing law so to speak, God's law. And as long as there is the restraint of God's law imposed upon the people, their immorality is restrained. What does Paul say in Romans chapter 8 verse 3? He says what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh on account of sin. In other words, that law, that judge, that governor, that restraint could never have provided lasting transformation. The law couldn't do it because it was weak through the flesh. The flesh takes over when the law goes away so to speak. In the case of the judge, he says he condemned sin in the flesh. In order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in those of us who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. We need the spirit of God to do a work in our heart. The law of God will not produce internal change. The law of God will not produce heart transformation. Secondly, applying the law alone may actually make matters worse. Applying the law alone can actually make matters worse. Look at Judges chapter 2. Just go back a page and look at verse 19. Look at verse 19, and it came to pass. This is a summary of the actions or the repeated refrain of the children of Israel under the Judges. Look at verse 19. It came to pass that when the judge was dead, that they reverted. But they didn't just revert, right? They reverted and behaved more corruptly than their fathers by following other gods to serve them and bow down to them. They did not cease from their own doings nor from their stubborn way. In other words, it got worse when the judge was dead. It was like that man. The demon went out of his heart, so to speak. He swept his heart clean. Demon came back looking for a place to stay, found it swept clean, and what did he do? He brought seven of his buddies back to live, and the latter end for that man was worse than it was in the beginning, right? The law, applying the law alone, simple moral reformation can actually make matters worse. Under the law of God, the Israelites are actually getting worse. They are declining into more and more brazen idolatry and brazen rebellion. Listen to Paul explain this reality again in Romans chapter seven now, verse eight. When we apply law alone and not the gospel, listen to what Paul says in Romans chapter seven, verse eight, but sin, taking opportunity by the commandment produced in me all manner of evil desire. Now think about what Paul is saying, okay? Sin, taking opportunity under the law, my own sin, my own desires, right? My own sin, taking opportunity under the law, produced in me all manner of evil desire. Apart from the law, sin was dead. I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. And the commandment which was to bring life, I found to bring death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me and by it killed me, therefore the law is holy in the commandment, holy, just and good. In other words, being placed under the law does not change the heart. You can come to a church like this. You can put yourself under preaching. You can read your Bible. You can listen to sermons. You can put yourself under the law of God and say, God, I want to turn from these sins, but all you're doing is applying law. You're not trusting Christ. You're not applying gospel. That law, being placed under the law, does not change the heart. You need the balm of the gospel. You need the healing salve of the Lord Jesus Christ. You need the explosive power of a new affection. Their law increases, transgression increases, and we need then mercy. We need grace. When law is added, if you're trusting in that law, if you put your faith and trust in the fences that you build, you're going to find yourself in hot water real fast. Trusting in that, if trusting in that, sin increases. Think about it with me. Someone who's sitting at their computer and they're looking at things on the internet, no one should be looking at. If you think to yourself, I can't do this, I can't do this, I can't do this, I need to turn from this, I'm going to apply, like you apply law to yourself, right? You apply law to yourself and you think to yourself, the commands of God say, the law says I should not be participating in sexual immorality, right? You shall not commit adultery and the law says, and you're thinking law, law, law. You're trusting in your fences. I've got my block on the internet or I've got a brother who's going to call me and talk to me about my accountability, he cares about me, he's going to ask me what I've been doing. Got all these fences up and you're trusting in your fences. You're trusting in your fences, you're applying law and when you leave, you walk away from the computer, what often does that one who is a legalist or that one who is trusting in law, what do they leave there at the computer screen? What do they leave there sitting at the keyboard? They leave their heart there because as they walk away from that sin, what's left there is the desire to participate in that. You leave your heart back there at the computer screen. What do we need? We need affection for the Lord Jesus Christ. We need the gospel. We need to be thinking ourselves, look at what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for me in the gospel and we need to trust Him. My heart needs to be overflowing with love for the Lord Jesus Christ. My heart needs to be just full of the promises of God in Christ, rejoicing in the work of Christ, trusting in the work of Christ. I need to be overwhelmed with the explosive power of a new affection and walk away from the computer, not because I quote unquote have to, but because I want to. I don't want to dishonor the Lord in that way. I want to love the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to turn for my sin and I want to trust in Him alone. In other words, law, law, when you apply law, law will not, does not have the power to transform your heart. We need the work of God in Christ. We need the power of the Spirit of God working in us through the gospel and through the work of Christ through the promises of the gospel to change our heart, to change our mind, to change who we are. We need to love the Lord Jesus Christ, right? We need grace. We need mercy. We need to act in faith trusting Him that He's going to give us the power to turn from sin. We don't want to leave our heart there when we flee. Love God will not produce heart transformation. Applying the law alone can actually make matters worse. I'm not saying in that that you shouldn't put up fences. You absolutely should. What are the fences designed to do? The fences are designed to give you a little bit of breathing room between you and that temptation so that you can turn to Christ by faith and trust in Him, right? That you're not just battered, bloody, get a bloody nose, beat over the head and shoulders with this thing before you have an opportunity to think and to say, I love the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm grateful for the salvation I have in Christ. Lord, I'm trusting you. Help me as I turn from the sin, right? The fences are just a bit of breathing room, a bit of space between you and that temptation to help you in the battle to turn to Christ and trust Him alone. It's not that those fences are going to have victory for you. They're not going to. But you should have fences, but use them wisely. Use them rightly. Trust Christ. Applying the law alone can actually make matters worse. Third, prosperity or blessing or leisure or peace may only make matters worse. Prosperity may actually make things worse. We are a prosperous people, are we not? We are wealthy. Many think have need of nothing. The Israelites, the nation of Israel here under the judge, are not better for the prosperity and blessing, but they are worse for the prosperity and blessings. God pours out the blessing of victory and deliverance under the judge. As long as the judge lives, their immorality is restrained. What happens when the judge dies? Their ease, their prosperity did not prosper them, and they revert and do even more evil on the side of God. Notice that their adversity actually humbles them, right? The oppression, the adversity, the difficulty actually humbles them and they cry out to the Lord. But in liberty or in peace, in rest, in abundance, their heart is lifted up and they become prideful. What do we see as a testimony of that throughout the Scripture? The Israelites are doing that very thing. They live in paneled houses that they did not build. Their heart is lifted up in pride and what happens? Pride comes before a fall. They find themselves in sin, destructive patterns, the Lord judges them. Many today, we can fall into this trap of believing that we have need of nothing. We do not realize, we do not acknowledge that we are, apart from the Lord Jesus Christ, miserable, poor, blind and naked. It's not just with the wicked that that is an axiom, that it's axiomatic or that it's true, not just with the wicked, but Christians fall prey to the same wicked disposition in our fallen hearts when we become at ease, when we have, when we take our ease, when we have abundance, when we have prosperity, when things are good, we tend to become loose, we tend to become complacent. We become forgetful of the blessing that comes to us through God's blessings. We take for granted His Word. We take for granted a biblical church. We take for granted a loving people who care for us. We take for granted the people that God has placed in our lives to look out for us. We take for granted people who love you and care about you and who will preach the word of God to you. We take for granted a Sunday evening service. We take for granted teaching that takes place in groups during the week, right? We take for granted all these means of grace that the Lord has given us. We take for granted the teaching of the Bible and we're back into sin. David is a good example of that, isn't he? David took his ease. When the army went out to war, where was David? David was back home. David took his ease and David sinned with Bathsheba. Another example of that, you can look, we don't have time to look at it tonight, but the example of Jehoshaphat, 2nd Chronicles chapter 17, 2nd Chronicles chapter 18, Jehoshaphat started out great. The Lord gave him great abundance. Lord gave him peace from his enemies all around him and then 2nd Chronicles 18 in the midst of that peace and in the midst of that abundance, Jehoshaphat allies himself with the wicked king Ahab through marriage and then in treats and goes into war with the wicked king Ahab. Prosperity, blessing, leisure, peace may only make it worse. We can't get comfortable. We can't get comfortable. We'll talk about that in just a moment. The Lord gives us help in that condition. 4th, we have really short memories. We have really short memories. When the judge dies, they revert back doing more evil. They immediately forget the blessings of obedience, afforded them under the judge. They immediately forget the curse of judgment they endured for their disobedience and for their rebellion. And isn't it true, brothers, sisters, isn't it true, Christians, how soon we forget that the Lord has saved us from our sin, died for us at Calvary's cross and we are tempted to be drawn away forsaking our first love. Shameful, isn't it? Shameful how short and fleeting and vapid our memories are. Paul told the Galatians in chapter one, verse six. Paul says, I marvel that you are turning away so soon from him who called you in the grace of Christ and you're turning away to a different gospel. It's amazing, Paul marvels that they're turning away so soon. We can marvel, marvel that all of the blessings that God poured out for the nation of Israel that as soon as that judge dies, what do they do? They're right back in their idolatry. It's absolutely amazing how short our memories are, how quickly we find ourselves departing from the Lord that we love, right? How prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. How prone to leave the God I love. Four, we have really short memories. Five, ingratitude is a killer. Ingratitude is a killer. The Israelites under the judge prospered, their hearts were lifted up. They became prideful, they were not humble and all of these symptoms then contribute to ingratitude. In our peace, in our blessing, in our prosperity, we forget our lamentable state, right? We forget the Israelites in their prosperity under the judge forget the oppression that they were once under and so what does the Lord do? The Lord often allows us to suffer under the consequences of our negligence and unbelief and ingratitude that we might learn to depend only upon Him. We have to learn to depend upon Him. So often to use a colloquialism, the Lord gives us just enough rope to hang ourselves. We figure out in the soil of adversity in the soil of difficulty that we need the Lord that I need to trust Him and depend upon Him and cling to Him. What do we do in our peace and our blessing and our prosperity when things are going good, when things are going easy, we forget and that is ungrateful. It is ungrateful for the Israelites to have turned from trusting the Lord. When the judge dies for them to spurn the blessing of God in that peace that he afforded them for 80 years under his hood, to turn from that is ingratitude. Lord has blessed you. Let's say the Lord has blessed you with Godly parents. The Lord blesses you with Godly parents. And what do you do? You despise them and spurn them and turn from them. You're not just despising them, you're despising the Lord who blessed you with them. You turn from those blessings the Lord has given you. The Lord has given you blessing upon blessing upon blessing. And what do you do? We turn from those blessings, despising not just the blessing, despising the giver of that gift. It's ungrateful. In gratitude is a killer. And we see that in the experience here of the Israelites in the book of Judges. What does the Lord tell us to do? We said that in these circumstances, peace, the prosperity, the blessing that is afforded the people of Israel under the judge, what are we to do? We're wealthy. We're at peace. We have our ease. What is it that we are to do in our prosperity to keep our fallen natures at bay, so to speak? To keep us walking in the blessings of God, what does the Lord tell us to do? Well in 1 Timothy 6, the Lord tells the rich to become rich in good works, to become rich in good works. Listen to this text. 1 Timothy 6. I think this is a good application of this text. Listen. Paul says, now godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food, having clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and harmful lusts, which drown men in destruction and in perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But listen, you, verse 11, you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, pursue godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness, fight the good fight of faith. Lay hold on eternal life to which you are also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. We're called to action. We're called to action. We're not called to take our ease, we're called to fight, right? Fight the good fight of faith. Lay hold of eternal life to which you are called. I urge you, Paul says, in the sight of God, who gives life to all things and before Christ Jesus, who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep this commandment without spot blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ appearing, which he will manifest in his own time. He who is the blessed and only potentate, the king of kings and lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see to whom be honored in everlasting power, amen. He couldn't stop Paul for a moment from just worshiping and praising God. But then he goes back to exhorting the people. Right verse 17, listen, commanding those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, not to trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them, those who believe that they are wealthy and have need of nothing, those who otherwise would take their ease, listen, let them do good that they may be rich in good works ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come that they may lay hold on eternal life. That is, good biblical wise counsel for those stubborn, stiff-necked and wicked Israelites. And listen, brothers and sisters, that is good, solid biblical counsel for us who find ourselves often tempted by complacency in our ease, right? Be rich in good works ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come that they may lay hold on eternal life. Reminded of Proverbs chapter 30 verse 7, two things I request of you, Lord, deprive me not before I die. Remove falsehood and lies far from me. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Give me what the food allotted to me lest I be full and deny you and say who is the Lord, or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God. That's somebody who knows the propensities of their own heart. That's somebody who understands the proclivities of our fallen heart, praying that to God. Don't give me too much, Lord, and don't give me too little. You know, Lord, what I need. You know what I need. So the Lord's promised response then also continues to the children of Israel. They did evil in the sight of God. And so verse 2, the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin, king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Cicera, who dwelt in Harisheth, Hagoyim, and the children under this, under the iron fist of this wicked Canaanite ruler, the children of Israel. Once again, verse 3 cried out to the Lord because Jabin had a crushing hold on them. He had 900 chariots of iron and for 20 years he had harshly oppressed the children of Israel. Let me submit to you that your sin is a far more harsh taskmaster. You'll be far more harshly oppressed under the consequences of your sin. So we continue to see the Lord's retributive justice then poured out on the nation. We continue to see the nation wallowing in pagan idolatry and not just a consistent pattern of sin, but the pattern that shows a downward spiral. Things are getting worse. What do we see in the repeated pattern? What do we see in that repeated refrain? After their own devices, people do not improve. This is the way that sin and rebellion works. It's like a cancerous leaven. It must be cut out. Things are getting worse. They're not getting better. The Israelites, certainly aware from their circumstances that sin is going to lead to the judgment of God, will not turn from their idolatry. You see that sin is not just eleven, but that sin is also enslaving. You cannot escape. Next week then, we'll look at what the Lord God does, our saving, merciful, gracious God. God comes through with a merciful deliverance. All praise, honor, and glory to the one who saves to the uttermost. Amen. Amen. Let's pray. Father in heaven, Lord, we praise you and thank you that you are a great and gracious deliverer, that you are our Savior, that you've provided, made provision for our sin in the death, burial, the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we're grateful to you for this great salvation you've delivered us to. Grateful for his work. Lord, I pray that if there's anyone here who is not turned from their sin, they would see the utter folly of persisting in that destructive course. They would see the destitute nature of their own heart, the bankrupt nature of their own reason. They would turn from their sin to trust in Christ alone. You would save them. My brothers and sisters here, Lord, I pray that you would teach us, Lord, by your spirit, through your word to apply the balm of the gospel in our fight against sin that we would not grow complacent or weary in the battle with sin, that we would consider him who endured such hostility against himself at the hands of sinners, lest we ourselves become discouraged in the fight. Help us, Lord, to be faithful to you. Help us to trust in you. We know that faith, Lord, you've said, is the victory that has overcome the world. May you, the power of the Spirit through the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ have victory through our faith in our own lives, Lord, that we might follow you faithfully, that we might love you more fervently, that we might worship you in spirit and in truth and obey you more fully, more joyfully. For your glory, God, we pray these things. In Jesus' name, amen.