“Glory to the Precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ”

Isaiah 54: 7 “For a mere moment I have forsaken you, but with great mercies I will gather you.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen

Hallelujah 

God will always gather the bride, the church towards him.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in the portion of the Bible that we meditated upon in the past days, we meditated that we, the bride, the church should be careful so that we are not being made captive by the spirit of harlotry.

Next, what we are meditating is that Judges 19: 1 – 4 And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite staying in the remote mountains of Ephraim. He took for himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. 

But his concubine played the harlot against him, and went away from him to her father’s house at Bethlehem in Judah, and was there four whole months. 

Then her husband arose and went after her, to speak kindly to her and bring her back, having his servant and a couple of donkeys with him. So she brought him into her father’s house; and when the father of the young woman saw him, he was glad to meet him. 

Now his father-in-law, the young woman’s father, detained him; and he stayed with him three days. So they ate and drank and lodged there.

According to the above-mentioned verses, in the days where there was no king of Israel in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite staying in the remote mountains of Ephraim. He took for himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. But his concubine played the harlot against him, and went away from him to her father’s house at Bethlehem in Judah, and was there four whole months. Then her husband arose and went after her, to speak kindly to her and bring her back, having his servant and a couple of donkeys with him. So she brought him into her father’s house; and when the father of the young woman saw him, he was glad to meet him. Now his father-in-law, the young woman’s father, detained him; and he stayed with him three days. So they ate and drank and lodged there.

The fact regarding the above-mentioned words is that Jeremiah 2: 31 – 37 “O generation, see the word of the Lord! Have I been a wilderness to Israel, or a land of darkness? Why do My people say, ‘We are lords; We will come no more to You’?

Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet My people have forgotten Me days without number.

“Why do you beautify your way to seek love? Therefore you have also taught the wicked women your ways.

Also on your skirts is found the blood of the lives of the poor innocents. I have not found it by secret search, but plainly on all these things.

Yet you say, ‘Because I am innocent, surely His anger shall turn from me.’ Behold, I will plead My case against you, because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’

Why do you gad about so much to change your way? Also you shall be ashamed of Egypt as you were ashamed of Assyria.

Indeed you will go forth from him with your hands on your head; For the Lord has rejected your trusted allies, and you will not prosper by them.

But that woman left the husband and played the harlot and went to her father’s house means that after knowing God, joining in our old traditional life and it shows us doing evil to God. Due to that God is telling that have I been a wilderness to Israel, or a land of darkness? Why do My people say, ‘We are lords; We will come no more to You’? In this manner, even the people change their ways God is telling that Jeremiah 3: 1 “They say, ‘If a man divorces his wife, and she goes from him and becomes another man’s, may he return to her again?’ Would not that land be greatly polluted? But you have played the harlot with many lovers; Yet return to Me,” says the Lord.

In this manner, even if we walk against God, our God is the one who always gathers us together and as a pattern for this is only the Levite staying in the remote mountains of Ephraim. That is why God has written about that Levite as stranger. That stranger means that his soul has not inherited salvation. Also, his wife, the bride means that because his soul is stuck in traditional infatuations, traditions, worship and in many other things God is showing this as a pattern and his wife has played the harlot and then went away to her father’s house at Bethlehem in Judah and was there four whole months. Then her husband went after her, to speak kindly to her and bring her back, having his servant and a couple of donkeys with him. So she brought him into her father’s house; and when the father of the young woman saw him, he was glad to meet him and he stayed with him three days. So they ate and drank and lodged there.

In this manner, even though we go far away from God, our God will always gather us in his church. In this manner if any of our hearts are far away from him, our Lord will always gather us towards him. In this manner let us submit ourselves.

Let us pray. May the Lord bless you all abundantly. 

- To be continued