Readings:
Romans 1, Hosea 3, Judges 17, 18 & 19
Introduction
Events in the land of Israel are constantly in the news: and most students of Bible prophecy are interested in what is happening there. The Scriptures are packed with historical events that took place in ancient Israel. In the Bible Israel is referred to as the ‘chosen race.’| Deuteronomy 14: | 2: “For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.” |
This Sabbath we are going to look at a little-known prophecy
which tells us that Israel would, for many years, be:
- Without a King.
- Without a Priesthood.
- And then in the latter days (the last days) Israel would return to the Promised Land.
- Then there would be a great revival in that land: and the people of Israel would once again worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and accept the Messiah, who would sit on the throne of king David and rule the nations.
1. No King in Israel
Ancient kings had total power over their subjects. At a word they could raise one person to high rank or put another to death. No one dared oppose his will or dispute his judgement. Unfortunately many of the kings of ancient Israel were evil men. They misused their power and greatly oppressed their people, often leading them away from the paths of righteousness. National sin attracted the wrath of Jehovah the God of Abraham who eventually dispersed His chosen people Israel to the four corners of the earth. Nevertheless, the Almighty predicted through the prophet Hosea that Israel would have a change of heart in the last days and worship their King who would be a descendant of king David of old. Bear in mind that this prophecy is to be fulfilled in the latter days! Here is the prophecy:| Hosea 3: | 4: “For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim. 5: Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.” |
2. No Priesthood
Being ‘without an ephod’ meant no Temple and no divinely appointed priesthood. This sentence upon Israel was to continue till ‘the latter days.’ in other words - till the last days. Ancient Israel, as most Bible students know, was initially a deeply religious nation. All life centred on the Temple in Jerusalem where the ephod-robed priesthood officiated. Keep in mind that the prophecy says Israel was to be “without an ephod” for many days.| Hosea 3: | 4: “For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and ... without an ephod, ...” |
The phrase ‘'without a king’ is easy to understand; but what ‘is an ephod?’ The
answer is: an ephod is a garment worn by those officiating as priests. The Westminster Dictionary of the Bible, article
‘Ephod’ says this:
| Quote: | “An upper garment worn by the High Priest. it was one of six sacred garments which he was required to put on when about to conduct the worship of God (Exodus 21: 4), and was of gold, blue, purple, scarlet and fine twined linen. The ephod was closely bound round the body: it was supported by two straps, which passed over the shoulders and were attached in front and behind to its top edges (v 6 & 7) There was a hole in the top, doubtless for the head, with a woven border of the same materials around to render the cloth less likely to tear (v 8; v 32 cf. v.32). On top of each of the shoulder straps was an onyx stone, enclosed in a filigree setting of gold and engraved with the names of 6 tribes of Israel.” (chapters 28: 25,27,28; 39: 19-21) |
Lesser Priests also wore the Ephod.
| Exodus 28: | 4: “And these are the garments which they shall make;
a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre,
and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office. 5: And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen. 6: And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cunning work ... 8: And the curious girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to the work thereof; even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.” |
No one will doubt the prophecy that Israel would continue
‘many days without a king and without a
priesthood’ has been fulfilled to the letter.
Some 2000 years have come and gone and the nation has been
without a king, without a temple and without
a priesthood. Shortly after the prophecy was given,
the people of Israel were deported from the Promised Land
and scattered to the far corners of the earth. Even to this
day, Israel has no king and no priesthood.
The prophecy, however, didn't end on that sad note. The
Almighty determined to restore His chosen people to the
Promised Land. There He would initiate a great revival.
The nation would ‘seek the Lord their God and
David their king.’ This reference to king David
is a clear pointer to Israel's Messiah YESHUA, the Son
of David, Jesus Christ, the KING OF KINGS.
Here is the prophecy again.
| Hosea 3: | 4: “For the children of Israel shall abide many days
without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and
without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim. 5: Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.” |
3. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes
When people have no divinely authorized king or priesthood to guide them in the path of law and order, they inevitably choose their own leaders and priests and, more or less, do as they please: often engaging in acts too despicable to mention. That is what happened in ancient Israel when ‘every man did that which was right in his own eyes.’ Chaos followed. Here are two examples of what happened when Israel pleased itself.
Example 1:
| Judges 17: | 6: “In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” |
If you were to read Judges chapters 17 & 18 through
you will see how that blatant sin, rape, violence and
bloodshed followed. Why? The answer is simply because
every man was doing that which was right in his own
eyes. God's law was set aside. Each man thought he
knew better than his neighbour and even better than God as
to how the human race should live. As we would say today:
People did their own thing.
Example 2: (Judges Chapters 19 to 21)
These three chapters tell of one of the worst crimes ever committed in the annals of human history: of homosexuality, rape and bloodshed as bad, and probably worse, than that which was practised in Sodom and Gomorrah. Bear in mind that all this happened ‘when there was no king in Israel.’
These three chapters tell of one of the worst crimes ever committed in the annals of human history: of homosexuality, rape and bloodshed as bad, and probably worse, than that which was practised in Sodom and Gomorrah. Bear in mind that all this happened ‘when there was no king in Israel.’
| Judges 21: | 25: “In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes” |
If you study Judges chapters 17 to 21 you will see just
where a total disregard for divine authority led.
- Homosexuality
- Gang Rape
- War: Some 40,000 Israelites and over 25,000 warriors from the tribe of Benjamin died; not to mention those who were slaughtered in the destruction of the cities of Benjamin.
4. The Children of Belial
Who were the main instigators of the violence, riot, rape and carnage? The answer is: the ‘children of Belial’ were responsible. The term Belial is synonymous with worthlessness, wickedness and ungodliness. The phrase ‘children of Belial’ is an expression describing extremely vile and vicious scoundrels and ungodly people. In other words, the ‘children of Belial’ are deep-dyed sinners. They are people who have absolutely no regard for the law of God and they are to be found in every community and in every country. The accounts recorded in Judges chapters 17 to 21 begin and end with the telling words:
“In those days there was no king in Israel:
every man did that which was right in his own eyes”
(Chapters 19: 1 & 21: 25)
In the account of Judges 19 we see that it was the sons of
Belial who instigated the gang rape of an innocent girl; an
act which resulted in the death of some 65,000 people! The
sons of Belial, and we can see their numbers increasing
in modern society, are a powerful and influential force; but
they will meet their end. We cannot imagine what punishment
Jehovah, the Almighty God of Israel, has in store for them on
the soon-coming
Day of Judgment,
but it will be severe.
| Judges 19: | 22: “Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, and beat at the door, and spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thine house, that we may know him.” |
| Judges 20: | 21: And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites that day twenty and two thousand men … 25: And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the children of Israel again eighteen thousand men; all these drew the sword… 35: And the LORD smote Benjamin before Israel: and the children of Israel destroyed of the Benjamites that day twenty and five thousand and an hundred men: all these drew the sword.” |
Try, dear reader, to grasp the lesson of that sickening
story. Some 65,000 people died - all as a result
of the wicked deeds of the sons of Belial who came
to the fore when there was no king in Israel. Do we
have any children of Belial in this country? The answer
is yes we do. Every nation on earth has its contingent
of the children of Belial: lawless men and women who
oppose everything holy and good.
In the Churches
Strange as it may sound, the sons of Belial are also entrenched in the Christian churches. They are the ones who teach falsehood and direct people away from the law of God. They are a law unto themselves. They too do ‘what is right in their own eyes,’ instead of learning, obeying and teaching the Almighty's commandments. Here is a Bible passage which identifies false religious teachers as the ‘children of Belial.’
Strange as it may sound, the sons of Belial are also entrenched in the Christian churches. They are the ones who teach falsehood and direct people away from the law of God. They are a law unto themselves. They too do ‘what is right in their own eyes,’ instead of learning, obeying and teaching the Almighty's commandments. Here is a Bible passage which identifies false religious teachers as the ‘children of Belial.’
| Deuteronomy 13: | 12: “If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities, which the LORD thy God hath given thee to dwell there, saying, 13: Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known …” |
Can you begin to imagine what chaos faces our world in
which there are tens of thousands of religious leaders:
priests, prophets, preachers and pastors who blatantly sin -
and teach others to sin - as did those ancient sons of Belial?
The Apostle Paul warns us that Christians should have no accord
with blatant sinners, the sons of Belial.
| 2 Corinthians 6: | 15: “And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?” |
When the Almighty's law is ignored by a church or society,
when His commandments are set aside as being irrelevant
and out-dated, when His only begotten Son Yeshua,
His divinely appointed King of Kings and the High Priest
of the Melchisedec Priesthood is not worshipped,
then there is no depth of sin to which people cannot sink.
Violence, greed, witchcraft, whoredom, rape, homosexuality,
child-abuse and bloodshed are sure to follow. Make no mistake,
this is the inevitable dead-end every nation will arrive at
if its religious leaders and citizens ignore the law of the
Almighty God and do what is right in their own eyes.
Yes , the sickening fact is: there are sons of Belial
in the Christian church. They are the unconverted church
leaders who commit spiritual adultery by mixing
truth with error. As were the sons of Eli a high priest in ancient
Israel, these church leaders are spiritual adulterers
who know not the Lord. Their end will be dreadful.
| 1 Samuel 2: | 12: “Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD.” |
Persecutors:
Sons of Belial can be recognized by their hatred of true believers. They oppose the Son of God, the Word of God, the Law of God and the People of God. Though sometimes professing to be Christians, they are like the ancient Benjamite Sheba (2 Samuel 20) a son of Belial who thought nothing of slaughtering the true servants and priests of the Most High. You may be sure that religious persecution is an unmistakable sign that the sons of Belial are at work. When in power the sons of Belial do not hesitate to torture and kill - all in the name of Christ! Is it any wonder that millions of ordinary people are disgusted with the Christian church? Its record of persecution - against genuine believers in its own ranks - is without parallel in human history. Alas! more blood has been shed in the name of Christ than people remotely imagine. We are happy to report, however, that the sons of Belial will one day be set alight: burned to ashes in hell.
Sons of Belial can be recognized by their hatred of true believers. They oppose the Son of God, the Word of God, the Law of God and the People of God. Though sometimes professing to be Christians, they are like the ancient Benjamite Sheba (2 Samuel 20) a son of Belial who thought nothing of slaughtering the true servants and priests of the Most High. You may be sure that religious persecution is an unmistakable sign that the sons of Belial are at work. When in power the sons of Belial do not hesitate to torture and kill - all in the name of Christ! Is it any wonder that millions of ordinary people are disgusted with the Christian church? Its record of persecution - against genuine believers in its own ranks - is without parallel in human history. Alas! more blood has been shed in the name of Christ than people remotely imagine. We are happy to report, however, that the sons of Belial will one day be set alight: burned to ashes in hell.
| 1 Samuel 2: | 12: “Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD.” |
| 2 Samuel 23: | 6: “But the sons of Belial shall be all of them as thorns thrust away …” |
| Matthew 23: | 29: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres
of the righteous, 30: And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. 31: Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. 32: Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. 33: Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?” |
In their tens of thousands, the sons of Belial
have, infiltrated the Christian churches, where they
practice vice under the cloak of religion. Never a month
passes without the media exposing the scandals of priests,
parsons and other church leaders being involved in child
abuse, sodomy, adultery, theft or murder. Oh how
terrible will be the fate of the sons of Belial on the
Day of Judgment! Because, make no mistake, the sons
of Belial cannot deceive the Almighty God. Every motive,
thought and act of theirs is well known to Him.
5. The True King of Israel
Modern Israel, as we all know, is a parliamentary democracy; governed in the same way as most western nations. But, surprising as it may sound, the nation of Israel does have a King. To be sure he hasn't taken up his earthly throne yet: but he is about to do so in the near future. When Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) came to earth the first time, it was to sacrifice his life as the Lamb of God and pay the price for man's redemption. The majority of ancient Israelites rejected him: though there were some, mostly the common people, who recognized him as the King of Israel.| John 1: | 49: “Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.” |
| John 12: | 13: (The people) “Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.” |
But the Saviour, the King of Israel, is scheduled
to return to earth and take up the throne of David. Then
will come to pass the prayer recorded in (Matthew 6: 10).
“Thy kingdom come.”
Currently mankind may be divided into two classes of people.
- True Believers:
- These are people who believe in God and endeavour to obey
His commandments. In the book of Revelation they are
described as follows:
Revelation 14: 12: “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”
- These are people who believe in God and endeavour to obey
His commandments. In the book of Revelation they are
described as follows:
- Unbelievers:
- These are people who quite openly reject the Bible as the Word of God, or even that God created the universe in the first place. Their number includes many millions of sincere folk. But, sad to say, they do not believe in God, His Holy Word or His law: and that is a grievous sin. Amongst them are also found the sons of Belial, who not only reject the Scriptures, but blatantly break the Almighty's commandments.
6. New GovernmentA
One day soon, Yeshua the Messiah, the King of Israel is due to arrive. He will then appoint rulers over every city on earth. He will also appoint priests after the Order of Melchisedec. They will shoulder the responsibilities and duties symbolized by the ephod. They will instruct people in the law of God and never again will it be said that there was no king in Israel and no ephod.
Under the King of Kings these lesser kings and
priests will rule the entire world. The children of
Belial will soon realize how powerless they really are:
because blatant sin will be broken with a force described
in the Scriptures as ‘a rod of iron.’
7. And what of Today?
Today we are awaiting the return of the King of Israel, YESHUA the Messiah, Jesus Christ. How are you living? Are you amongst those who do as you please because the King in Israel is not here yet? Are you behaving like a son of Belial, blatantly breaking the holy commandments of the Almighty God? Or are you diligently using your talents and resources as you should?| Luke 19: | 11: “And as they heard these things, he added and
spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they
thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. 12: He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. 13: And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. 14: But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. 15: And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. 16: Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. 17: And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. 18: And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. 19: And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities. 20: And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: 21: For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. 22: And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: 23: Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury? 24: And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. 25: (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.) 26: For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him. 27: But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.“ |
Whilst we wait for the King of Israel to return,
let us bear in mind these telling words in the Scriptures.
| Deuteronomy 12: | 8: “Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes. 9: For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the LORD your God giveth you. 10: But when ye go over Jordan, and dwell in the land which the LORD your God giveth you to inherit, and when he giveth you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in safety;” |
| Proverbs 12: | 15: “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.” |
Summary
- HISTORICAL PARABLES: The Bible records much of Israel's history. The stories and accounts found therein contain invaluable lessons for believers living in these last days.
- PROPHECY ABOUT ISRAEL: In this prophecy we learn that Israel was to remain without a king and priesthood for many years - till the latter days.
- NO KING IN ISRAEL: When no divinely appointed king reigned in Israel, every man did that which was right in his own eyes. In other words, everyone became a law unto themselves.
- NO EPHOD/PRIESTHOOD: When no divinely appointed Priesthood is present, people have no spiritual standards to go by. Divine law is ignored and every man does that which is right in his own eyes.
- CHILDREN OF BELIAL: These individuals come to the fore when law and order break down. They are citizens who practice evil on a massive scale: murder, rape, homosexuality and violence. The sons of Belial can be found in every nation on earth. Sad to say, they have even infiltrated the Christian church and, like the sons of Eli, they occupy positions of high rank.
- ISRAEL BACK IN THE PROMISED LAND: 'Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.' News from Jerusalem indicates that a mighty revival has begun in Israel. See Sermon Note 43 for more detail on Israel in Bible prophecy.
- ISRAEL'S TRUE KING: The divinely appointed King and High Priest of Israel is Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ). He is about to return and take up the throne of David in Jerusalem.
- WORLD GOVERNMENT: Then - and only then - will there be peace on earth!
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