Turn with me again tonight to
Judges chapter 12, if you would. Judges chapter 12. We're looking
at verses 7 through 12 this evening. Let's read these verses first. Verse 7, Judges 12, and Jephthah,
whom we looked at for a few weeks now, judged Israel six years,
then died at Jephthah, the Gileadite, and was buried in one of the
cities of Gilead. And after him, Ibsen of Bethlehem
judged Israel, and he had 30 sons and 30 daughters whom he
sent abroad and took in 30 daughters from abroad for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years. Then died Ibsen and was buried
at Bethlehem. And after him, Elon, a Zebulonite,
judged Israel, and he judged Israel 10 years. And Elon, the
Zebulonite, died and was buried in Ajelon in the country of Zebulon. Now we see from verse seven that
after Jephthah had ruled for six years, that he died. Then Ibsen ruled for seven years
and he died. And after him came Elon the Zebulonite
and he judged for 10 years and he died. And after Elon came
Abdon who judged for eight years and he died. All of God's judges
died because they were men. And we're all gonna die. It's
appointed unto men once to die. And after this, the judgment,
death is coming for every one of us. But we have a judge. We have a deliverer in the Lord
Jesus Christ that will never die. And Israel under these four
judges was at peace for 31 years. But when the judge died, you
know this story well, what did Israel do? Well, look at chapter
13, verse one. And the children of Israel did
evil again in the sight of the Lord. And the Lord delivered
them into the hand of the Philistines 40 years. You know, there's an
old saying, old habits are hard to break. Well, that's an understatement
when it comes to us and our sin. Sin is impossible to break and
so are we, but God is able to break both sin and the sinner.
And the child of God is thankful for that. Thankful for that. Israel did evil again. What proof
this is that sin is what we are? They did evil again in the sight
of the Lord. What proof that is that all our
sin is against God? That's what David said, against
thee and thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight.
David said there in Psalm 51, he said, I acknowledge my transgressions
and my sin is ever before me. And you know what? My sin is
ever before me and with me. David said, it's my sin. It's
my transgressions. It's our own personal sin that's
against God. God is right and God is innocent. If he condemned us, that's what
David said, you're right, you're justified if you condemn me. And He's right and innocent if
He condemn us, for our sin is against Him who is the right
and innocent one. And the Lord again delivered
them into bondage. Every son and daughter of Adam
will remain in sin unless and until the Lord Jesus determines
to deliver them from it. Eternal life, the everlasting
presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. Peace and rest is ours only by
believing and trusting in the finished work and accomplished
work of Christ for us. Did you know that it's finished?
It is. It's finished. Our Lord said
so. So friends, let us labor therefore to enter into that
rest that we read about a moment ago, lest any man fall after
the same example of Israel in unbelief. There's no creature
that's not manifest in his sight. God sees everything. We hide
things from one another, but God sees everything. All things
are naked and opened unto his eyes. Whose eyes? With the one,
whom we have to do. But we have a great high priest
that's passed into the heavens, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He's been touched with the feeling
of our infirmities and was in all points tempted as we are
yet without sin. Therefore, we can come boldly
into the throne of grace That we may obtain mercy. That's what
we need. That we might find grace. That's
what we need. In time of help. That's what
we need. We need help. Lord, help me. Lord, save me. We need mercy,
grace, and help all the time. So Christ is our subject again
tonight. He's always our subject. He's
our prophet, priest, and king. I like what Brother Gene said
Sunday about Christ and Him crucified. That's the only message of Scripture.
That's the message. Jesus Christ, who He is, and
what He's done. He died on Calvary's cross that
we might be redeemed. I pray that the Lord might be
pleased to show us tonight that in these three judges, before
us tonight that we might see the Lord Jesus once again. It's
in the same chapter, Hebrews 4, that we read a minute ago
that we're told the word of God is quick, it's lively, it's full
of life, and it's powerful, it's sovereign, it's effectual. Who
else could cause a dead sinner to have life? only a sovereign, powerful God. And His Word is sharper, it's
comprehensive, it's decisive than any two-edged sword. You
know, a sword that's sharpened on both edges is very decisive. You take it and you cut something
with it, it's pretty obvious that it cut if it's sharpened.
So much so is the Word of God that it pierces and divides asunder. It separates and distributes
the soul and the spirit, the joints and the marrow, and it's
a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. By the
means of God's Word, we're given the ability to discern, separate
what we think ourselves to be from what we really are. By the means of the Word of God,
we're enabled to see who God really is. Jesus Christ is our
prophet, priest, and king. And that's what we see in these
three judges tonight. Now, first, if you and I are
to be saved and reconciled to God, we've got to have a prophet. We've got to have someone to
tell us about God and His salvation. We've got to have one who reveals
to us the Word of God. Jesus Christ is the Word that
was made flesh, and He brings us the Word of salvation. Why,
He is the Word of salvation. Secondly, if you and I are to
be saved and reconciled to God, we've got to have a great high
priest. We can't approach the throne
of God apart from an advocate, One who offers up for us an offering
that's acceptable unto God. I heard people all my life say,
well, I offered up Jesus my heart. Well, that's not going to do
it. Not going to do it. It's deceitful above all things,
desperately wicked. Every thought and intent of it
is only evil continually. We need one who's established
a perfect righteousness for us, and Jesus Christ is our great
high priest. Thirdly, in order to be redeemed,
you and I have got to have a king. We must have one to reign over
us and rule over us. We must have one to restrain
us and subdue us. We must have one who makes us
subjects and citizens of his kingdom. We must have one who
sovereignly gives us the law and keeps it for us. Jesus Christ is the believer's
king. He's made to me all I need. We
sing in that little chorus, he's my prophet, he's my priest and
my king. He's made unto me wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification and redemption. Everything that God requires,
he's made unto me. May God enable us to see Christ
as our prophet, priest, and king. I pray the Lord would show us
that tonight in these judges. You know, Isaiah wrote in chapter
33, I've got a lot to cover, so I'm not gonna turn you to
these places, but in chapter 33 of Isaiah, verse 22, it says,
for the Lord is our judge. He makes judgment about truths. In other words, he's our prophet. The Old Testament prophets gave
witness to Christ, who is the truth. And this is how God spoke
to his people in the Old Testament, through the prophets. But in
these last days, and we're in the last day, he speaks unto
us by the prophet. The prophet, his son who's appointed
heir of all that's God. Jesus Christ is the prophet of
God. In these days in which we live,
this is how He speaks to us, through His Word. That's why
it's so important that we meet together. It's not a social club. We don't meet together to play
games, do we? No, we don't have bingo night
here. That's not what this is about. This is serious, serious
business. We're here to learn of Christ. Through his word, the word was
with God and the word was God. In him is life and light. Jesus
Christ is the gospel. Isaiah chapter 33 goes on to
say that the Lord is our lawgiver. The Lord gave the law and he
satisfied all its demands as the lawgiver and the law keeper. He's not just the law giver,
he's the law keeper. He's our high priest. And he
alone has the ear of God and makes intercession for us.
And God always hears him. God always hears him. And then
in that same verse, Isaiah wrote, the Lord is our king. And then
you know what he says? He will save us. Isn't that good
news? There's no doubt about it. If
we trust in Christ, He will save us. We don't walk around doubting
and downtrodden. What we do, we're looking within
and not to Him. But if we look to Christ, He
will save us. He will save His people from
their sin. Thou shalt call His name Jesus.
Why? For He shall save His people from their sin. He isn't trying
to save. He's not wanting to save. He
saves whom He wills. He's the King of Kings. Now here
in Judges chapter 12, these three judges, as you noticed, I'm sure,
when we read it, are mentioned by name, where they're from,
and how long they reigned. For the 25 years under their
reign, Israel, God's people, had peace and rest. That's why
I read the passage I did. That's why we sung the songs
that we sung tonight. Each one of these judges typifies
Christ as the judge and deliverer of his people. And other than
these facts, little is recorded in these verses. Well, nothing
about what they did. Not like Gideon and Jephthah,
and as we'll see in Samson. We're just told a little facts. But other than these, These facts,
little is recorded to them except that they judged Israel. And
we have a tendency by nature to believe that when little is
covered on the subject in the scripture, that it's a little
subject, not so. The Lord didn't go into detail
about Ibsen, who represents Christ, our prophet. He didn't tell us
a great deal about Elon, who represents Christ, our priest.
And he tells us very little about Abdon, who represents Christ,
our king. Regardless, they're recorded
on the pages of scripture, and we know that they were successful
judges because Israel was at peace and protected under their
rule. They picture the Lord Jesus Christ,
who's always effectual, always successful. For no weapon formed
against him or his people shall what? Prosper. Not with Christ
is there a prophet, priest, and king. And that's our hope, and
that's our comfort, and that's our rest. And we find much instruction
here revealed in their names and their lineage and location. And we must never forget that
in studying the Old Testament, that these things are written
that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that believing you might have life through His name. That's
why we study the Old Testament scriptures. Not just so we can
say we did. I've heard people say many times,
well, I've read through the whole Bible. And some of them said,
I've read through the whole Bible 10, 15, 20 times. Did you understand
any of it? Do you believe it? When the children of Israel was
without a king, without a judge, Judges chapter 17, verse six
says, in those days, there was no king in Israel, but every
man did what was right in his own eyes. And people that read
the Bible through and don't know Christ, that's what they do,
what's right in their own eyes. Solomon wrote in Proverbs chapter
12, verse 15, the way of a fool is right in his own eyes. but
he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise. Solomon added in Proverbs
21 verse two, the way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but
the Lord pondereth the hearts. Without a prophet, without a
priest, and without a king, we'll be left to our own devices. We
don't want that. We don't want that. Lord, deliver
me from myself. But with Christ as all three,
we'll be enabled to hearken unto his counsel. And when God searches
our hearts, we will not be found wanting. Scripture's clear. There's none righteous. There's
none right. That's what they mean. We're
not right. Lord, don't let me do what's right in my own eyes.
Now, this first judge, Ibsen, His name means whiteness. He's
from Bethlehem, and he judged for seven years. That's all that
we know. We know his name, where he's
from, and we know how long he reigned. Look at verse seven
again. And Jephthah judged Israel six
years, then died Zephthah the Gileadite, and was buried in
one of the cities of Gilead. And after him, Ibsen of Bethlehem
judged Israel, and he had 30 sons and 30 daughters whom he
sent abroad and took in 30 daughters or daughter-in-laws from abroad
for his sons, and he judged Israel seven years. Now, as I said,
Ibsen's name means whiteness, and this refers, no doubt, to
the holiness and the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well,
that's his essential attribute. Christ is our righteousness.
that is declared in Romans chapter 10 verse 4 to be the end of the
law. Christ is our righteousness.
He kept the law for us. He's the end of the law. His
righteousness. In the book of Revelations chapter
7, the saints of God are arrayed in robes made white in the blood
of the Lamb. Christ is our whiteness. Christ
is our righteousness. That name means splendid. His
name means splendid. It means magnificent. That's
why we call His name wonderful. The name Ibsen also means tin,
T-I-N. Tin can, you know what I'm talking
about. A silvery white metal tin is. It pictures in the scriptures
sin and dross made pure by heat. Smelting is the process of extracting
or melting the metal from tin by the process of heat. It purifies
it. The Lord extracted, the Lord
Jesus extracted our sin from us by the heat, the smelting
of God's wrath and judgment and punishment for sin in our room
instead, making us pure. In Isaiah, Chapter 1 verse 25. It says and I'll turn my hand
upon thee and purely purge away thy dross and take away all thy
tin. First time I read that I thought
well, that was a misspelling. Took away all my sin. No, he
took away all my tin, which is sin. Took away all my tin. This pictures the Lord putting
away, purging our sin by being made sin for us, making us white,
righteous in Him. Though our sins be as scarlet,
they shall be what? As white as snow. Though they
be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. The Lord through
Ezekiel speaking of us said, the house of Israel is to me
become dross. That word dross means worthless,
rubbish. All they are brass and tin and
iron and lead. And in the midst of the furnace,
they are even the dross of silver. But hear me when I say all that
are found in Christ are washed pure white in the blood of the
Lamb. God said, as they gather silver
and brass and iron and lead and tin into the midst of the furnace
to blow the fire upon it, to melt it, so will I gather you
in my anger and in my fury and I'll leave you there and melt
you. Ezekiel 22, 20. Now our sin and corruption have
made us like metal, but the gospel is this. God often cast his people
into the fire of affliction, righteously so, but they're not
destroyed, they're only purified and made the better and brighter
for their afflictions. It's God that sends the trouble.
And for that purpose, in Christ our dross is burned away that
the remnant of good might appear. We're being conformed to the
image of Christ, friends. In God's eyes, it's instantaneous,
but we gotta go through some things. It's through much tribulation
that we enter the kingdom of God. Much tribulation. Did you notice
that Ibsen was born in Bethlehem? Bethlehem means house of bread. Christ is the bread of heaven.
In most instances, bread in the scriptures is not referring to
loaves of bread like we're used to. The word bread actually means
food of all sorts. We have to have food to live
spiritually too. Christ is our bread. Christ is
our food, we feed on him. The Hebrew word Beth means house,
and then the rest of that Hebrew word means bread or food. Bethlehem,
house of food. Christ is the house of bread. He came from heaven's glory to
redeem us, and he declared, I am the bread of life, and he that
cometh to me shall never hunger. Ibsen served for seven years.
Seven is the number of rest. It's the number of completion.
Again, Christ has finished the work for our rest. Are you resting
in Christ? On the seventh day, God ended
his work, which he had made, and he rested on the seventh
day from all his work, which he had made. And the very next
verse there tells us, and God blessed the seventh day and sanctified
it. He made it holy because that
in it, he rested from all his work, which God created and made. Well, how does that pertain to
the child of God? How are we made holy and righteous
in Christ Jesus? Well, I go back to Hebrews 4,
won't turn you there, but verse one says, let us therefore fear
lest the promise of being left us of entering into his rest,
any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was
the gospel preached as well as unto them, those that didn't
believe. But the word preached did not profit them. But the
word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith
in them that heard it. For we which have believed do
enter into rest." We ought to underline that next time you're
in Hebrews 4, underline that. We do enter into rest, as he
said, as I have sworn in my wrath that they shall enter into my
rest, although the works were finished from the foundation
of the world. For he spake in a certain place of the seventh
day on this wise, and God did rest the seventh day from all
his work. God rested because his work was
finished, and we can rest because so is ours. You know, the Sabbath is not
a day, it's a person. The Lord Jesus said the Sabbath
was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath, therefore the
Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. Christ the Sabbath was given
for and to sinners. It's not about our doing, our
not doing. The Sabbath is about Christ and
His finished work. The Sabbath was given for us
to rest. Are you resting? Rest in His
finished work. You won't find any rest in yours.
Are we truly resting in Him? Now, one extra thing is given
to us here concerning Ibsen. He had 30 sons and 30 daughters. You know, I hope you have more
than $30. The number 30 in the scriptures
has some significance. The priest of God, well, they
must be at least 30 years old before they could serve in the
temple. John the Baptist began his ministry at 30, and as you
know, the Lord Jesus was 30 years old when he started his public
ministry. The number 30 gives us a picture
of the sacrificial blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was betrayed
by Judas for 30 pieces of silver. Ibsen sent his 30 sons abroad
to take wives, and God the Father sent his son abroad. to earth
to take a bride unto himself. Believers, it's the children
of God as witnesses unto Christ were sent to the uttermost parts
of the earth to do what? To betroth God's chosen people
to Christ, their heavenly husband. That's the great commission.
Go into all the world and preach the gospel. Call the bride of
Christ to come to their husband. Just like Abraham's servant did
when he searched for a bride of Isaac. How do we do that? Through the preaching of the
gospel. God in these last days speaks to us one way, just one
way only, by His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And you know what? All God's people will be taught
of God. Jesus Christ is God, and as our prophet, we learn
of Him. Verse 10, then died Ibsen and
was buried at Bethlehem. And as I said earlier, this is
the end of every judge, every deliverer, every prophet of old,
they died. But our great prophet, priest,
and king lives forever. He forever makes intercession
for us. What great hope we have of eternal
life. Then in verse 11, we have the
second of the three judges, and after him, Elon, a Zebulonite,
judged Israel, and he judged Israel 10 years. And again, we're
only told his name, where he's from, and how long he judged. And we'd have a tendency to just
read over these things. But Elon's name means mighty. I love to, the names, names in
scripture mean something. I love to see what they mean.
We can be taught a lot from these names and these words. That word
can also mean ram. In Elon, we see the Lord Jesus
Christ, our mighty and great high priest who offered himself
as a sacrifice unto God for our sin. I often think about up on Mount
Moriah, Isaac said, Dad, where's the sacrifice? And Abraham said,
God has provided for himself a sacrifice. And friends, God
provided himself as the sacrifice. What a mighty savior we have.
Wherefore he is able to save us to the uttermost that come
unto God by him. Why? Because he's mighty to save.
seeing that he ever liveth to make intercession for them. He
forever lives and we forever live in him. For such a high
priest became us, it says, who is holy and harmless and undefiled
and separate from sinners and made higher than the heavens.
He became what we are. He was made sin for us that we
might be made what? The righteousness of God in him.
Our high priest became us. And He's holy, and now we are.
And He's harmless, and now we are. And He's undefiled, and
now we are. Separated. Made higher than the
heavens. He's God Almighty. Not just mighty,
He's almighty. He is all might. He's mightier
than all. He's almighty. Elon pictures
this mighty Savior, and though we're not told all that He did,
we know what the one He pictures did. The Lord thy God in the
midst of thee is mighty. He will save. He will rejoice
over thee with joy. He will rest in His love. He will joy over thee with singing. Sethaniah 3.17, I love that verse. The thought that God Almighty
would rejoice over me with joy and rest in His love for me,
oh, that He would joy over me with singing. That's amazing
gospel, isn't it? It's an amazing God. We have
an amazing Savior. It's amazing grace. Our great
high priest needed not daily as those high priests of old
to offer up sacrifice for his own sins and then for the people's.
For this he, the Lord Jesus, did once when he offered up himself. Our almighty Savior trod the
winepress of the wrath of God alone and he said, it's finished. And God said, that's more than
enough. More than enough. It takes an
almighty Savior to save us and keep us. Only one who's mighty
can do that. Elon is from Zebulun. The Zebulunites
were seafarers. You remember when Jacob was dying,
he called his sons together, and Zebulun was one of his sons,
and listen to what Jacob says about him. Zebulun shall dwell
at the haven of the sea. That word haven means a covering.
And he shall be for a haven of ships and his border shall be
in the Zidon. You know what the word Zidon
means? A white ship. Here we see something of the
priestly function of the Lord Jesus Christ. The sea in the
scriptures represents separation. You know, we're separated afar
by the sea, by the waters. In Christ, there's no separation
from God. In Christ, we're reconciled to
God. In Revelation chapter 21, John wrote, and I saw a new heaven
and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth were
passed away and there was no more sea. No more separation. No more turbulence. You know,
the disciples were out on the sea, and there arose a great
tempest in the sea, insomuch, the Bible says, that the ship
was covered with waves. Where was the Lord Jesus? Asleep. He wasn't concerned with the
storm. You know why? He was the one that sent it.
It's the Lord that sends every storm. If you're going through
a storm right now, the Lord sent it. And if you're one of His,
He sent it for your good. And the disciples came to Him
and they woke Him up and they said, Lord save us, we perish. That's why the Lord sent the
storm, to try their faith. It's the same with us. God sends
trouble so that we'll trust in Him. They would not perish and they
wouldn't perish. They couldn't perish. And neither
can we. The mighty Lord's on the ship.
What a storm this must have been for experienced fishermen to
be fearful. You remember what the Lord said
to them? Why are you so fearful? Why are you so fearful? Oh, you
have little faith. Why are we so fearful? That's
why. We have little faith. Why are
we so fearful when the storms of life cover us? Lack of faith. Lack of faith in our great prophet,
priest, and king. But the scripture says, then
he arose and he rebuked the winds and the sea and there was a great
calm. Our great high priest, by the
sacrifice of himself, reconciles us to God, and there's no more
separation, no more turbulence, only a great calm. Our mighty
Savior rebukes the winds of turbulence for us, and the winds blow, and
they beat upon this house, but it shall not fall. Why? It's built upon a rock. Christ
is that rock. On Christ the solid rock I stand. All other ground sinking sand.
He is our firm foundation. And remember what the disciples
said after this. What manner of man is this that
even the winds in the sea obey him? He's the God man. We find peace with God through
our great high priest. We have an advocate with the
Father. Oh, I tell you, if you ever have to go to a court of
law, you better have an advocate. The one who represents himself's
a fool. We have a safe haven, a place
of safety and refuge. He's a shelter in time story.
Christ is our refuge. Elon ruled for 10 years, and
number 10 gives reference to the law of God, 10 commandments. As our great high priest, the
Lord Jesus kept the law for us, and God is satisfied. God is satisfied. Did you hear me? God is satisfied. What a high priest we have. Then
we have the last of the three judges, and his name is Abedin.
Look at verse 13. And after him, Abedin, the son
of Halo, that's how that's pronounced, I believe. I'm not sure about this next
one. He was a parathenite. judged Israel, and he had 40
sons and 30 nephews. I don't know why the King James
interpreted that word nephews. The word there actually means
sons, sons, grandchildren is what it means. He had 40 sons
and 30 grandchildren, or 30 grandsons. They rode on three score and
10 asscoats, and he judged Israel eight years. Well, my time's
about up, so I'll be brief, but abden means survive. Survive means showing an excess
willingness to serve others. Isn't that amazing? These three
judges show us so much without telling us a whole lot. The Lord
came in this world to serve God, His heavenly Father. God says,
behold, my servant, whom I uphold, mine elect, and whom my soul
delighteth. I put my spirit upon him, he
shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He's, friends,
the king of kings, became a servant. He's the servant of the Most
High. Abedin was the son of Hilo. Hilo means praising. He's the
son of praising. He's worthy of our praise. We
get the word hallelujah from that word. It's derived from
a word that means glory. God gets all the glory. It also
means shining. This all speaks of the deity
and the majesty of the Lord Jesus Christ as king. Christ is His
people's King. Pilate said, the Jews came to
Pilate and they said, don't write that up there on the cross, that
He's the King of the Jews. Write up there that He said He
was the King of the Jews. And Pilate said, I've written
what I've written. Because that's what God said. He's the King
of Kings. And look what you've done with
Him. He put a crown of thorns on his head and nailed him to
a pole. You want to see something about your sin? Look to the cross
of Calvary. You want to see something about
the seriousness of sin? Look to the cross of Calvary
and see God's own son who had our sin put upon him suffer the
just for the unjust. Abedin was from a place called
Parathion, I don't know, I apologize. That word, though, translated
means prince. Christ is the prince of life.
Christ is the prince of peace. He's king of all, the Lord of
the living and the dead. We need a king to reign over
us, don't we? Jesus Christ is that king. He's
a sovereign king, he saves whom he wills. He does what he wills
in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth.
Where's your God, Ed David? Our God's in the heavens and
he's done whatsoever he's pleased. He's doing whatever he pleases,
still is. We need a king, a sovereign king. Abdon served eight years. You
know, a Jewish male was circumcised on the eighth day. Circumcision
is a picture of the new birth. Circumcision is the cutting away
of our trust in our flesh. When you narrow it down, that's
what it is. You know, people used to take pride in circumcision. It's a picture of the new birth.
Eight people were saved on the Ark of Noah. Eight pictures of
the newness of life. The newness of life is in Christ
our King. We need a prophet. We need God's
Word. We need God's Word revealed to
us, and only the prophet can do that. We need a high priest. Intercessory. We need someone
to stand before God in our room instead and plead our cause.
Christ is that high priest. He's the only one who can. And
we need a king. We need a lawgiver. We need one
who keeps the law for us. We need Jesus Christ. The scriptures are they that
testify of him. That's what this book's about.
If God could give us eyes to see it, we'd see it in every
word. I think we've seen it in a few names and words tonight.