Let's take our Bibles and turn
back to the book of Joshua. Joshua chapter 11. Joshua 11. I'd like to read the first six
verses of this, and I wanna say a few words on this subject,
the timing of the Lord, the timing. Joshua 11, verse 1, he came to
pass when Jabin, king of Hazar, had heard those things. And he
sent to Jobab, king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and
to the king of Akshaph, and to the kings that were on the road
of the mountains on the plain south of Shaniroth in the valley,
in the borders of Dor, on the west, and to the Canaanite on
the east and on the west, and to the Amorite and the Hittite,
the Perizzite, the Jebusite in the mountains, and to the Hivite
under Hermon in the land of Mizpah. They went out, and they, all
their host with them, much people, even as the sand that is upon
the seashore in multitude with horses and chariots, very many,
And when all these kings were met together, they came and pitched
together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel. And
the Lord said unto Joshua, be not afraid because of them, for
tomorrow, about this time, will I deliver them up all slain before
Israel. Thou shalt huff their horses
and burn their chariots with fire. Now the Lord had given Joshua
total victory over the enemies of Israel that had risen up first
time against Gibeon. And after the defeat of those
armies, the five kings who ruled over those armies, those kings
were taken, they were hung, thrown into the very caves, that they
thought would be their refuge. They were buried where they thought
that they'd find peace. Now here we see another uprising. It says that this Jabin in verse
one, king of Hazar, he had risen up to form a confederacy against
Israel. The first time it was in Gibeon,
Gibeon appealed to Joshua in Israel and Israel undertook for
him because Gibeon, the land of Gibeon, the men of Gibeon
had appealed to the mercy of Joshua, God's people. And so
Joshua helped them. But now, verse 5 says, when all
these kings were met together, they came up and pitched together
at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel. But you know, in this uprising,
I want us to notice something. The deadness of the natural man's
heart, the evidence, because of his blatant lack of respect,
and fear of God. Even as they witnessed the obvious
power of God, whenever those first kings, those five kings
that were taken, those five kings that were hung, their cities
were utterly destroyed, the Lord had sent down these great stones
from heaven with pinpoint accuracy against those that had fought
against Israel, and he caused the sun and the moon to stand
still for a whole day while Joshua led Israel in battle. It wasn't a secret that those
five kings in those cities were destroyed. It wasn't a secret.
God had given them magnificent a miraculous victory. I mean, he'd done things that
had never been done before. And in spite of that, verse one
said, and it came to pass when Jabin king of Hazar had heard
those things that he sent to Jobab and all those others, he reached out to others to fight
against Joshua. He heard these things. He heard
those things. He heard those things. Oh, I'm
telling you what a difference in the hearing. We just looked
at this passage a few minutes ago in Proverbs. A servant will
not be corrected by words. No, he hear and understand. He won't answer. These men heard
what God has done. One sinner hears that which God
has said, and by the grace of God, he bows. Another hears,
and his heart is hardened against what he hears. Again, as I said
in that first service, what makes the difference? Who causes these
to differ? Only by the grace of God. Got
to hear, you gotta hear. Faith cometh by hearing, hearing
by the word of God. But to hear with a hearing ear. God's gotta give that new ear.
God's gotta give a new eye. Hearing ear and the seeing eye,
even the Lord hath made even both of them. The carnal man
hears the good news of God's grace, hears it proclaimed with
no effect on him. You know, you'd naturally think,
if I had seen some of my friends fight against somebody else,
and there'd been a miraculous display from heaven, these stones
falling out, and it was only hitting those that were the enemies
of one of the groups there, you know, you might start thinking
about that. The cities that were fighting against them all got
burned up, and the mayors or whoever they were over those
cities, all of them were hung and stuff like that. You might
want to think about it. Not the carnal heart. Not when it comes
to the things of God. No, it has no effect. Again,
like we just said, I was just telling one, I said, this is
messy. I got it going over these notes. I'd prepared these notes a few
weeks ago. Reading them, re-reading them, re-re-reading them, rewrite
them. And I got the thing, I read them
this morning, how they just fit hand and glove, these two messages.
Here, there's a total disregard. Turn with me, hold your place
and turn to Matthew 13. Matthew 13. There's a total disregard
for what they hear. Matthew 13, verse 12 to 14. Matthew
13, verse 12. He said, For whosoever hath,
to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance. But
whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away, even that
he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables, because they
seeing see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the
prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and
shall not understand. and seeing you shall see and
shall not perceive. My friend, if we see anything
of our need of Christ, if we see anything of the glory of
God's mercy and compassion in the person of the Lord Jesus
Christ, if we see anything, it's because Almighty God's been pleased
to show mercy. Until the Lord works a work of
grace, The heart is hard against God. Jabin came to pass when
Jabin, king of Hazar, had heard these things that he sent to
Joab and all these others. He had heard that which the Lord
had done. Instead of trembling and crying out for mercy, harden
his heart. Man by nature rushes madly to
destruction. That's what the Lord Set forth,
deliver them from going down to the pit. Man by nature, he's
running just as fast as he can going to hell. If you think that's
not so, I'm sorry, because it is according to scripture. You
deliver them from going down to the pit. I found a ransom. He rushes madly. Now I want you
to notice with me who would rise up against Israel. I read the scripture, so I won't
read it again. But what we did was we read some specific names
of some specific kings in a specific place of a specific city, and
I read five verses, and it was talking about these who they
are. This is who they are. This is their names. This is
where they live. This is everything about them
that we needed to know. And there was a bunch of them out there.
Look at verse four. They went out, they and all their
host with them, much people, even as a sand that is upon the
seashore in multitude with horses, chariots, very many. That was
setting forth two things I saw when I read that. Not only setting
forth the magnitude of what Joshua and the people of Israel would
face, You know, I'm telling you, we're in this world, we've got
enemies in this world. Spiritual enemies. We may have
some physical enemies too, but I'm telling you, sin, this world,
the flesh, Satan, oh, I will tell you this, I'm my
own worst enemy. I got an old man that lives in
me, And I'm telling you, this old man, that is me. That is me. I'm not going to
try to separate me from it. That's what the Apostle Paul
said. I see in me. There dwelleth no good thing
in me. I'm telling you, there's an old man in me, and it's me
from the womb, from birth. That old man does not love God. That old man does not like the
new me either. He doesn't love me, he doesn't like the new me. There's nothing but war, war. Oh, the multitude of their enemies. I know that, that's the first
thing I know. The multitude of the enemies against God. I'll tell you another thing I
saw when I read all those names, those kings, where they were,
where their cities were, where they lived, the omniscience of
God. God knows. God knows. He knows all. There's no end,
there's no bounds of his knowledge, his wisdom, his past finding
out. He knows all men, he knows who
they are, he knows where they are, and I'll tell you this,
he's gonna deal with them. He's gonna deal with them. When Jabin
started contacting all these fellas, God knew. God knew. And he saw. And there's coming a day when
the books are gonna be open. The books are gonna be open.
And the book, and all that's not found written in the book
of life in Christ himself, what does scripture say? Books of
man's works, man's thoughts, man's rebellion, gonna be open.
And God's gonna deal with them out of the books, out of their
works, according to their works. And God knew. And what did they do? They met
together. Met together at the waters of Miron. Well calculated
assembly. Purposeful act of aggression
against the people of God. Oh, and chariots, that last fourth
verse, they went out, they and all their host with them, much
people, even as the sand is upon the seashore in multitude with
horses and chariots, very many. And now here's the setting. Israel
is now going to be confronting this mass army that's gonna stand
up against them. And here's Joshua that has seen
victory after victory after victory after victory. Like we have. We've seen it. God conquered me. Conquered you. That know Him, He conquered us.
He's kept us. What a victory. We're still here.
How long some of you been here? That's a kid. How long you been
here, Mike? Long time? What a victory. God kept you,
kept you, and kept you. But I want you to notice something.
What did the Lord say to Joshua that had seen victory after victory
after victory? Surely by now Joshua was not
going to doubt. And the Lord said unto Joshua,
be not afraid because of them. Tomorrow about this time will
I deliver them all up slain before Israel. Thou shalt huff their
horses. burn their chariots with fire. Oh, against such a mass of opposition,
do we not realize by the revelation of God's spirit and by experience,
I need some comfort again. I need some help again. Lord,
I'm so fearful. I get up in the mornings and
I get to thinking. I get to thinking about this
church here. I get to thinking about the responsibilities.
And the next thing I know, I'm fearful. I'm wondering. Then I'm apologizing. And I'm
asking the Lord to forgive me. And I'm thinking, why do I doubt
against all this opposition? Especially with these chariots.
It was amazing to me. It said in that verse four, last
part of verse four, many as the sand upon the seashore in multitude
with horses and chariots. Very many. I got to looking and
I looked over and I found, turn over to the next book, Judges. Judges four. There was something
I found out about those chariots. They were afraid of chariots.
Judges four, verses one to three, and the children of Israel again
did evil in the sight of the Lord. when Ehud was dead. And the Lord sold them into the
hand of Jabin, king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazar, the captain
of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Herothsheth of the Gentiles. And the children of Israel cried
unto the Lord, for he had 900 chariots of iron. 20 years he mightily oppressed
the children of Israel. Now, I did a little bit of reading
on that, that Jabin that we just read about in chapter four. But
Jabin in that particular city, Jabin king of Canaan, which reigned
in Hazar, found out that Jabin, either that was a title or if
it was his name, it was not the same Jabin that we're reading
about right now. And I'll tell you why. Back in
Joshua chapter 11, where we are, we're not gonna go all the way
to chapter 10, but look at this, in Joshua 11, verse 10, it says,
and Joshua at that time turned back and took Hazar and smote
the king thereof with the sword. For Hazar before time was the
head of all those kingdoms. So this one we're talking about
right here got killed. But there's another one. And
his name is Jabin also. And the city over which he ruled
evidently was destroyed. Well, it wasn't evidently. Look
at verse 13 of Joshua 11. But as the cities that stood
still in their strength, Israel burned none of them save Hazar
only. So he burnt this city. But the
writer said either it was built on the same foundation and called
the same city, but two different places. But the point I was wanting
to make was about the chariots. Back in Joshua, that last, that
fourth verse, they were going to deal with some people, bunches
of people, horses and chariots. The iron chariots I found out
were, and this is just from the historians that I read, that
those those chariots, that they were fearful. They had a lot
of chariots. They were iron chariots. We read
that. But most of them said that those
chariots were equipped with like a scythe or spikes or something
that stuck out on the wheels and they would drive through.
They had protection all around. They were iron chariots and these
things would cut you to pieces. When they'd drive through the
mass of the enemy, I mean, destroying, just devastating things. Those
chariots would be a terrible sight, but it's a picture of
the might, the might of our enemy. We don't war against enemies
that are weak, they're powerful, but our God is victorious. Whenever
Joshua and the children of Israel, back in Joshua 11, Went out and
they saw them. And that's when the Lord told
Joshua in chapter six, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid of
them. What did he say? He said, tomorrow,
tomorrow about this time will I deliver them all slain before
Israel. Thou shalt huff. I had looked
that word up. I've mentioned it three times.
I didn't know how to pronounce that. I had to look up. That's
the word, huff. They cut the tendons on the horses. cut the tendons so they couldn't
be used. To pull chariots, that's what it was. He said, you're
gonna take them and you're gonna huff their horses and you're
gonna burn their chariots with fire. Tomorrow, don't be afraid. The
size and the might of that assembly that opposes God, that may look
to be strong to you, but here's the word of the Lord. Here's
the assurance of the Lord. The Lord told him, verse six,
tomorrow, about that time, tomorrow. I thought about that. Joshua,
you're gonna get to go through tonight thinking about this,
and you're gonna have to walk by faith. You're gonna have to
believe me. I've said this before. Isn't
it, is it so with you, is it always worse at night? And I
tell you what, sometimes I don't wanna have to go through a night
thinking about something's coming up tomorrow. My mind just goes
and goes and goes, and it's never good, it's never comforting.
But tomorrow, tomorrow, oh, the just will walk by faith. Walk
by faith. Tomorrow, tomorrow, oh, they're
gonna be delivered. Tomorrow, they're gonna be slain.
Tomorrow you're gonna take those horses and you're gonna huff
those tendons, ligament. You're gonna cripple those horses.
They're not gonna be able to pull those chariots. And you're
gonna burn them with fire. You're gonna burn them. I thought about that. They were
metal. They were metal. Metal, God said
you're gonna burn them. Steel burns, you know? That's
what they told me in the Navy. We had to learn. Going through
boot camp, they'd, where are you? You had to jump off that.
There was a diving board and I looked down at that water and
it was a long way down there. They're gonna say, now you're
gonna know what it's like to have to jump off a ship because steel
burns. God told them, tomorrow you're
gonna take care of these people. I'm gonna take care of these
people. Fear not. I will deliver up the slain before
Israel. The Lord's timing is perfect. It was a divine reason that the
victory, turn with me to Isaiah 30. It was a divine reason that
the victory would be tomorrow. Isaiah 30, verse 18. Here's the divine reason, here
it is right here. Here's the reason, Isaiah 30
verse 18. Therefore will the Lord wait
that he may be gracious unto you and therefore will he be
exalted that he may have mercy upon you. For the Lord is a God
of judgment. Blessed are all they that wait
for him. You know, the Lord went to Calvary
right on time. He said, my time is at hand. Long time, his time was not at
hand. The Lord said he's coming back
right on time. That day and hour knoweth no
man, only the Father. He's coming back, it's gonna
be right on time. God calls his people unto him
on time. As Paul said, when he pleased
God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by
his grace, immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood. The eternal surety himself. He came into this world on time.
Turn to Galatians 4, I want you to see this Galatians chapter
4. He had been promised and promised
and promised. Galatians 4, 4. Fullness of the
time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made
under the law to redeem them that were under the law that
they might receive the adoption of sons. I think about the timing
of the Lord. To everything, Ecclesiastes said,
there's a season and a time to every purpose. Beloved, we're in this world
for just a little while. I saw a little picture the other
day and I thought that was so good. I kind of relate to this
a little bit more than I once could. It showed this little
girl, just a little girl, and she was looking in a mirror.
And there was a very, very aged lady, very elegant looking old
woman. And the old woman was saying
to the little girl that was looking, the little girl was looking at
herself, but she, it was this old lady. And the old lady said,
honey, enjoy it. It's just a short distance. Isn't
that the truth? Everything with this world is
just coming to an end. We're locked, just for a little
while. We're locked in this short season,
just a little space of time. But soon time is gonna be no
more. Lord Almighty, he's gonna do everything according to his
purpose, and he's gonna do it on time. I pray that the Lord,
during this time that we have right now, there's still time,
there's still time. And God's going to do that which
God's going to do. He's going to do it in His timing.
And I pray that if the Lord be pleased that this will be a time
that God might show mercy to one of His own for His glory
and our good.