Judges Intro

The book of Judges.

Baba Bathra, which is a very fun thing to say,

! Baba Bathra, which is an ancient rabbinical text,

! holds the tradition that Samuel wrote it,

! But being uninspired, we can't be entirely sure that this is the case.

But the ancient rabbinical tradition, they thought that Samuel wrote the book.

But for this reason, if I refer to the author, I will simply say the author of Judges.

Now, second, as to its date and occasion,

we also are not given dates of authorship or stated occasion for the writing of this book.

It records the time following the conquest work that was led by Joshua.

It's a sequel to the preceding book of Joshua.

If you are familiar with the Exodus story,

you may recall that Moses led the people of Israel out of servitude in Egypt.

God destroyed the Egyptian army that pursued them after the Israelites safely crossed the parted Red Sea.

God brought them to encamp at the base of Mount Sinai, where he gave them the law.

And then, they were meant to go into Canaan and conquer it,

but because of their fear of the people and their faithlessness in God's promise,

the generation that followed Moses out of Egypt was required to wander in the wilderness for 40 years

and not enter into the land that had been promised to them.

So, Joshua was an assistant to Moses who was given leadership after the passing of that generation,

and he began the work of conquering the land that God had promised his people.

He led them across the Jordan, and they began that work.

You may remember the story of the city of Jericho,

but as we will see, that work was not completed, again, due to Israel's unfaithfulness.

They were told to drive the people out of the land.

It was their land, and they were meant to take it,

and they did it with varied success.

So, note with me the double introduction of Judges.

The first introduction begins in chapter 1 and verse 1

and goes through chapter 2 and verse 5,

and the second introduction begins in chapter 2 and verse 6

and goes through chapter 3 and verse 6.

It's a bit like the beginning of the book of Genesis,

twice told the way things start.

The beginning of each introduction mentions the death of Joshua,

which should get our attention and highlight this double introduction.

When you see something repeated, it's not that the writer lost his way.

He doesn't forgot where he was in the narrative.

There's something being emphasized, some reason we should go,

wait a second.

So, in Judges 1 and verse 1, the author writes,

after the death of Joshua.

The people of Israel inquired of the Lord,

who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites

to fight against them?

So, this first introduction tells of successful campaigns

led particularly by the tribe of Judah.

And there'll be a little bit more on this later.

That's on into chapter 1.

And then focuses its attention on the failure of the people

to obey God's commands conquering the land.

You can see one account of that in its entirety

in Judges 1, verse 27 and 28.

Judges 1:27

There the author records,

Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shion

and its villages, or Tanakh and its villages,

or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages,

or the inhabitants of Il-bi-om and its villages,

or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages,

for the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land.

When Israel grew strong,

they put the Canaanites to forced labor,

but did not drive them out completely.

So, they're commanded to do a thing

that they did not do.

And then we see this repeated stanza on beyond that

in chapter 1.

And Ephraim did not drive out.

Zebulun did not drive out.

Asher did not drive out.

Naphtali did not drive out.

So, a failure to do what they were commanded to do.

We also see in this initial introduction

that there's a leadership vacuum

that is yet to be filled.

This question is being asked in verse 1,

Who shall go up first for us

against the Canaanites

to fight against them?

The second introduction, as stated,

begins at chapter 2 and verse 6,

which we'll read in just a moment.

While the first introduction focuses on Israel's failure to obey,

the second sets up the pattern of the narrative

and focuses on God's faithfulness to his people.

You can see the unfaithfulness focus of the first introduction

and God's faithfulness focus in the second.

Judges altogether is not a happy book.

It is full of tragedy.

But the discerning reader will notice God still at work,

still being gracious and merciful,

still preserving people for his praise,

a people that very clearly do not deserve to be preserved.

You ought to conclude a reading of this book

with amazement that God persists to love such a stubborn people

and be encouraged that God persists with you.

Judges concludes its record,

setting the stage for the ministry of Samuel,

which leads to the establishment of the monarchy.

Perhaps that you forgot that we're still talking about the date

and the occasion of the book.

That's where it passes off into the ministry of Samuel,

which we see recorded in 1 and 2 Samuel.

I'll spare you the details,

but this time period recorded in the book of Judges

covers roughly 300 years.

So this is a significant account of a period of time

in Israel's history.

Now, I am going to read all of chapter 2 in a moment

and make some comments as we work through it.

But before I do,

I want you to have a couple of interpretive lenses

to peer through for this chapter and for the book in total.

Number one,

a judge should not be thought of merely as an arbiter of the law,

like today.

You don't want to picture some court TV picture of a judge,

but rather as a regional ruler.

As they've come into the land,

as was given to them,

they've been divided up amongst the land,

all the tribes.

And there's various battles.

There's various kings.

There's lots of commotion going on

across the promised land.

And these judges are raised up

over particular areas

at particular times.

Secondly,

Judges is not written chronologically.

You get very confused

if you try to read it chronologically.

In fact,

that 300-year timeline

gets all blown out of proportion

if you do.

It is a book of history.

So it's recording real events

that really happened,

but it is structured

to make a theological point.

It's very cool

the way that it's structured.

I mentioned that in chapter 1,

the first introduction,

we see that there is a leadership void

after the death of Joshua.

This is a theme developed

in a repeated phrase

toward the end of the book,

and that is that

Israel needs a king.

If you want to put a big,

large theme

over the entire book of Judges,

Israel needs a king.

So this repeated phrase,

we see it in Judges 21,

Judges 21:25

verse 25,

also in chapter 17,

and verse 6,

in the exact same words.

In those days,

there was no king in Israel.

Everyone did what was right

in his own eyes.

And the phrase,

in those days,

there was no king in Israel

is also found in chapter 18,

verse 1,

and in chapter 19,

verse 1.

There's no king,

so everyone did what was right

in his own eyes.

Now, you may say to me at this point,

I'm making the case, right?

Israel needs a king.

You may say,

but I thought

that their first king,

Saul,

was given to them

as a judgment.

That they shouldn't have

wanted a king.

God should have been their king.

They should not want a king.

And so,

they were given Saul

as a judgment.

And I agree

with that statement.

God gave Israel,

in Saul,

the king that they deserved.

They did not wait

for the king

that he had promised.

But in Saul,

he did not give them

the king that they needed.

The king that they needed,

temporally,

was David.

King David was the king

that they were meant

to wait for.

And David

was meant to point

their thinking

and ours

to the ultimate king,

the Lord Jesus Christ.

There are no

plan B's

in the Bible.

It's all plan A.

David always

was meant to be the king

and he was meant

to show us

something

of Christ.

Let me show you this

from the text.

Most of you

probably don't care,

but some of you

may be shaking your fist

at me right now.

In Genesis 49,

this is verses 8-10,

before Jacob's death,

he's blessing his sons

and he blesses Judah

in this way.

So now I'm not talking

about the tribe of Judah,

I'm talking about

the actual man Judah

from which the tribe

comes.

This is Genesis 49

beginning in verse 8

and following.

Judah,

your brother

shall praise you.

Your hand

shall be on the neck

of your enemies.

your father's son

shall bow down

before you.

Judah is a lion's cub.

From the prey,

my son,

you have gone up.

He stooped down,

he crouched as a lion

and as a lioness.

Who dares

rouse him?

The scepter

shall not depart

from Judah,

nor the ruler's staff

from between his feet

until tribute

comes to him

and to him

shall be the obedience

of the peoples.

This blessing

is fulfilled

again temporally

and typologically

in David

and then

fully and finally

in Jesus Christ.

So I'm arguing to you

that Israel

needs a king

and they should have been

looking for a king

like David

and then ultimately

a king

like the Lord Jesus Christ.

So I said

Judges is structured

to make that very

theological point.

And it's structured

by doing this.

The telling of the stories

move,

again,

not chronologically,

but they move

geographically

away

from Judah.

The further

the story gets

from Judah,

we see

the tribe of Judah's

success in chapter 1,

the further it gets,

the worse

off the people

are.

When you see

this structure,

it helps us anticipate

the king

that will come

from the tribe

of Judah.

It's very brilliantly

structured

in that way.

So,

Judges chapter 2

Judges 2 · chapter mention

with some comments.

I remind you

that the first

five verses

are the conclusion

of the first

introduction.

The chapter breaks

don't really serve us well

in this case.

This is the conclusion

of the first introduction.

Judges chapter 2

Judges 2 · chapter mention

beginning in verse 1.

Now the angel

of the Lord

went up

from Gilgal

to Bokim,

which means

weepers.

And he said,

I brought you up

from Egypt

and brought you

into the land

that I swore

to give to your fathers.

I said,

I will never

break my covenant

with you

and you shall

make no covenant

with the inhabitants

of this land.

You shall break

down their altars.

But you have

not obeyed

my voice.

What is this

you have done?

So now I say,

I will not drive

them out before you,

but they shall

become thorns

in your sides

and their gods

shall be a snare

to you.

As soon as

the angel of the Lord

spoke these words

to all the people

of Israel,

the people lifted up

their voices

and wept.

And they called

the name of that place

Bokim

and they sacrificed

there to the Lord.

Now I read

that part of it,

right?

We're going to see

some of that repetition

in the next part

of the second introduction,

but I wanted you

to see that transition

happen.

So we've already read

chapter 1 and verse 1.

Now chapter 2

and verse 6.

When Joshua dismissed

the people,

the people of Israel

went each to his inheritance

to take possession

of the land.

And the people served

the Lord all the days

of Joshua

and all the days

of the elders

who outlived Joshua,

who had seen

all the great work

that the Lord

had done

for Israel.

As long as those

who were alive

along with Joshua,

his generation,

they were faithful.

Verse 8.

And Joshua,

the son of Nun,

the servant of the Lord,

died at the age

of 110 years.

And they buried him

within the boundaries

of his inheritance

in Timnath-Hares,

in the hill country

of Ephraim,

north of the mountain

of Gash.

And all that generation

also were gathered

to their fathers

and there arose

another generation

after them

who did not know

the Lord

or the work

he had done

for Israel.

There's a whole new group now

and they had not

seen it happen

and oh,

you would hope

that it had been told

to them.

Speaking of the gospel,

theologian once said

one generation

believes the gospel,

the next generation

assumes the gospel,

and the next generation

forgets the gospel.

So there had been

some failure

it would seem

on their part

but nonetheless

we've got a new generation

now that has forgotten

how good God

had been

to them.

So,

verse 11,

and the people

of Israel

did what was evil

in the sight of the Lord

and served the,

and I think that this word

is properly pronounced

Baals,

but I'm going to say

Baals

because I think

it's simpler

for all of us.

And they abandoned

the Lord,

the God of their fathers

who had brought them

out of the land

of Egypt.

They went after

other gods

from among the gods

of the people

who were around them

and bowed down

to them

and they provoked

the Lord

to anger.

They abandoned

the Lord

and served

the Baals

and the Ashteroth

which is just

another pagan god.

So the anger

of the Lord

was kindled

against Israel

and he gave them

over to plunderers

who plundered them

and he sold them

into the hand

of their surrounding

enemies

so they could

no longer

withstand

their enemies.

Whenever they

marched out

the hand of the Lord

was against them

for harm

as the Lord

had warned

and as the Lord

had sworn to them

and they were

in terrible distress.

Then the Lord

raised up judges

who saved them

out of the hand

of those

who plundered them.

Yet they did not

listen to their judges

for they

whored after

other gods

and bowed

down to them.

They soon

turned aside

from the way

in which

their fathers

had walked

who had

obeyed

the commandments

of the Lord

and they did

not do so.

Whenever the Lord

raised up judges

for them

the Lord

was with the judge

and he saved

them from the hand

of their enemies

all the days

of the judge

for the Lord

was moved

to pity

by their groaning

because of those

who afflicted

and oppressed them.

But whenever

the judge died

they turned back

and were more

corrupt than their fathers

going after

other gods

serving them

and bowing

down to them.

They did not

drop any

of their practices

or their stubborn

ways.

So the anger

of the Lord

was kindled

against Israel

and he said

because this people

have transgressed

my covenant

that I have

commanded their

fathers

and have not

obeyed my voice

I will no longer

drive out before them

any of the nations

that Joshua left

when he died

in order to test

Israel by them

whether they will

take care

to walk

in the way

of the Lord

as their fathers

did or not.

So the Lord

left those nations

not driving

them out quickly.

I stated

that the second

introduction

sets up

the pattern

of the narrative

and focuses

on God's

faithfulness

to his people.

So here's that

pattern

I want you to

note it

and it repeats

again and again

as you see

these different

accounts

of the judges.

The first thing

that happens

is that the

people rebel.

They turn away

from God

and God's

ways.

They turn to

the idols

the gods

of the land.

So we see

in verse 13

of chapter 2

they abandon

the Lord

and they serve

the Baals

and the Ashtaroth.

Those things

that they could

see and

bow down

to.

And because

of this

God's

anger

is kindled

verse 14

tells us.

So the second

step in the

pattern is that

God hands

them over

to the people

of the land.

Verse 14

says that

he gave them

over to

plunders

and plunders

are going to

plunder.

So that's what

they do.

They plunder

them and he

sells them

into the

hand of

their surrounding

enemies so

they can no

longer withstand

their enemies.

And you see

this Exodus

pattern repeated

again and

again.

Right?

What's happening

to them here?

They're being

sold into

slavery.

Right?

And they're

going to be

set free

by a judge.

Moses

typologically

is like

the first

judge

in this

sense.

So the

people rebel.

God hands

them over

to the people

of the land.

But thirdly

God shows

them mercy

by raising

up a judge.

And we see

early in the

book the

people cry

out to

him.

They're

in distress.

Chapter 2

tells us he

has pity

on them

because of

their distress.

But as

the book

proceeds,

they stop

crying out.

Yet God

still shows

them mercy

and raises

up a judge

who delivers

them from

this oppression.

So the

first part of

16 says,

then the

Lord raised

up judges

who saved

them out of

the hands

of those

who plundered

them.

Fourthly,

the judge,

by God's

help,

delivers the

Israelites

and they

have rest.

The Lord

raised up

the judges

who saved

them out

of hand

of those

who plundered

them and

they rest.

And there's

these periods

of years

that go by

in the region

of Moab

that there's

rest for

the people

of Israel.

And then

we're going

to see

those time

periods get

shorter and

shorter as

the book

goes on.

So the

people repel,

God hands

them over

to the

people of

the land.

God shows

mercy by

raising up

a judge.

The judge

by God's

help delivers

them and

they have

rest.

There are a

total of

12 judges

recorded in

this book,

six major

and six

minor,

which simply

means that

there's more

significant time

given to

six of

them.

Very short

record of

some of

them.

That's the

same way we

treat the

prophets,

major and

minor.

The major

prophets are

Othniel,

Ehud,

Debrus,

Slashberic,

Gideon,

Jephthah,

and Samson.

The minor,

some of these

names you may

have never

heard before,

are Shamgar,

Tola,

Jair,

Ibzon,

Elon,

and Abdon.

If you

take the

time to

study all

of these

judges,

you will

notice that

these judges

are a

mixed bag

of faithfulness.

We have

very little

detail about

some of

them at

all.

Some of

them,

we have no

record of

their particular

faithfulness,

but you begin

to see this

kind of

devolving

weakness in

their faith

as the

narrative

progressives.

So,

as a

whole,

they leave

something

wanting in

a ruler,

a longing

for a

better

ruler

for the

land.

So,

that cycle,

people rebel,

God hands

them over

to the

people of

the land,

God shows

them mercy

by raising

up a

judge,

the judge

by God's

help delivers

the Israel,

and the

people return

to wickedness.

300 years,

cycle,

cycle,

cycle.

Verse 19,

chapter 2,

but whenever

the judge

died,

they turned

back and

were more

corrupt than

their fathers,

going after

other gods,

serving them

and bowing

down to

them.

They did

not drop

any of

their practices

or their

stubborn ways.

It just

seems to

spiral worse

and worse

and worse

as the

book goes

on.

So,

it's making

this theological

case.

Israel

needs a

righteous

ruler who

possesses the

power of

an indestructible

life.

The judges

die.

They die,

and then

everything

devolves

again.

Then one's

raised up,

sets free,

and then

they die

again and

again and

again.

Israel

needs a

righteous

ruler,

a perfect

ruler who

possesses the

power of

an indestructible

life.

And I'm not

saying that

that's King

David,

but King

David is

foreshadowing

for us the

Lord Jesus

Christ.

So,

the narrative

continues to

follow this

pattern,

right?

There's five

steps,

ever descending

spiral.

And so,

let's look

together at

two of the

judges in

brief.

And we're

just going to

read one

major,

I'll make

some comments,

and one

minor.

I just want

to kind of

juxtapose

those two

and show

you how

simple some

of those

minor records

can be.

And so,

I thought we

would look at

Judges chapter

three.

E,

this is the

major judge

Ehud,

or Ehud

if you prefer,

but I'm

going to

say Ehud.

I picked

this one,

not for grand

significance,

it's right

there,

it's close,

it's also

just a

fascinating

story.

This book

is full of

some very,

very interesting

stories.

Next week

I have a plan

for another

interesting story

to be sure.

So let's

look at,

see if we

can see

this pattern.

Judges

three,

beginning in

verse 12.

And the

people of

Israel,

again,

did with

evil in

the sight

of the

Lord.

And the

Lord

strengthened

Eglon,

the king

of Moab,

against Israel

because they

had done

what was

evil in

the sight

of the

Lord.

So God

raises up

a king,

regional,

think regional,

an Eglon,

who's going

to be a

judgment.

For the

people and

for their

disobedience.

Of interest,

his name

translated means

literally

little calf.

As we're

going to see

in just a

bit,

he's a

really large

man.

This could

be,

because he's

the king

of Moab,

this might

be the

king when

the famine

hits and

Naomi and

Ruth are

coming back

to Moab.

That's

happening.

Perhaps

because things

are going

well in

Moab,

this could

be that

king and

he's

receiving

tribute

from the

Israelites.

Possibly

this is

the guy.

So it's

a big

guy named

Tiny,

king of

Moab,

against

Israel because

they had

done what

was evil

in the

sight of

the Lord.

Verse 13,

he gathered

to himself

the Ammonites

and the

Amalekites

and went

and defeated

Israel and

they took

possession of

the city

of Palms.

And the

people of

Israel served

Eglon the

king of

Moab 18

years.

Then the

people of

Israel cried

out to the

Lord and

the Lord

raised up for

them a

deliverer,

Ehud,

the son of

Gerah the

Benjaminite,

a left-handed

man.

The people

of Israel

sent tribute

by him

to Eglon

the king

of Moab.

Now,

why is it

recorded that

Ehud was a

left-handed

man?

In a moment

we're going to

see that he

hides a

sword on

his right

side.

And I

think that

the reason

for this,

and I

don't think

this because

I'm brilliant,

but I read

other people

who think

this,

is the

point is to

say that

he's a

trained

warrior.

There's some

record of

whole

battalions

of soldiers

that were

all left-handed,

and what we

think that

means is they

could fight

with either

of their

hands.

So I'm

right-handed,

I'm extremely

right-hand

dominant.

If you

ask me to

throw a

ball with

my left

hand,

it's

laughable

what that

ball will

do.

I don't

have a

great right

arm either,

but I

can at

least get

it

somewhere.

I think

what they're

saying is

that this

guy could

fight with

either of

his hands.

Okay?

So,

verse 16,

and Ehud

made for

himself a

sword with

two edges,

a cubit in

length,

and he

bound it on

his right

thigh under

his clothes.

So,

now notice

there's likely

so much

oppression

here,

he can't

go and

buy a

weapon for

himself,

but he

has to

make one

for himself.

And we

see a lot

of the

judges

fighting with

abnormal

weapons.

Shamgar in

chapter 3

fights with

an ox

goad.

He kills

many people

with an

ox

goad.

Here,

Ehud

makes for

himself a

sword,

and he

puts it

on his

right thigh

under his

clothes.

And the

suggestion is

that in a

pat-down,

they would

have checked

his left

hand side

for a

sword to

be drawn

with the

right hand,

but perhaps

not the

other side.

Either way,

he sneaks

the sword in

to the presence

of the king

under his

clothing.

Verse 17,

and he

presented the

tribute to

Eglon,

king of

Moab.

Now,

Eglon was

a very

fat man.

And when

Ehud had

finished

presenting the

tribute,

he sent

away the

people who

carried the

tribute,

but he

himself turned

back at the

idols in

Ogirgal and

said,

I have a

secret message

for you,

O king.

And he

commanded

silence,

and all his

attendants went

out from his

presence.

And Ehud

came to him

as he was

sitting alone

in his

cool roof

chamber,

and Ehud

said,

I have a

message from

God for

you.

And he

arose from

his seat.

And Ehud

reached with

his left

hand,

took the

sword from

his right

thigh,

and thrust

it into

his belly.

So he

drives the

sword.

This is the

message from

God,

two-edged,

interestingly,

right,

into the

belly of

tiny calf.

And the

hilt also

went in

after the

blade,

and the

fat closed

over the

blade.

For he

did not

pull the

sword out

of his

belly,

so he

just plunges

it all

the way

in and

leaves it

behind.

And then

there's a

very interesting

word,

which we're

not totally

sure what it

means in

Hebrew,

but the

translators

say,

and the

dung

came out.

Perhaps

his

intestines,

there's some

contextual clues

as to why

they translated

it this

way.

So gross,

I know,

sorry,

but interesting,

all the

same.

So,

then

Ehud went

out into

the porch

and closed

the doors

of the

roof

chamber

behind him

and locked

them.

So he

locks

little calf

in the

room.

When he

had gone,

the servants

came,

and when they

saw that the

doors of the

roof chamber

were locked,

they thought,

surely he

was relieving

himself in

the closet

of the

cool chamber,

and they

waited till

they were

embarrassed.

But when he

still did not

open the doors

of the roof

chamber,

they took

the key

and opened

them,

and there

lay their

Lord,

dead on

the floor.

He had

escaped while

they delayed,

and he

passed beyond

the idols

and escaped

to Sarai.

When he

arrived,

he sounded

the trumpet

in the hill

country of

Ephraim,

so it's a

victory trumpet.

Then the

people of

Israel went

down with

him from

the hill

country,

and he

was their

leader.

And he

said to

them,

follow after

me,

for the

Lord has

given your

enemies,

the Moabites,

into your

hands.

So they

went down

after him

and seized

the fords

of the

Jordan

against

the

Moabites

and did

not allow

anyone

to pass

over.

And they

killed at

that time

about 10,000

of the

Moabites,

all strong,

able-bodied

men.

Not a

man escaped.

So Moab

was subdued

that day

under the

hand of

Israel,

and the

land had

rest for

80 years.

So there

you see

that pattern,

right?

The wickedness,

right?

They're given

to and

judgment to

the people

of the

land,

but God

and his

mercy

raises up

for them

a judge

who delivers

them and

gives them

rest.

And then the

narrative rolls

on,

and we're

going to

see

Ehud

passes from

the history,

and we see

once again

the Israelites

act wickedly.

Then you

can see a

minor,

Judges

Judges 10:1

chapter 10,

verse 1

and 2.

This is

Tola.

Now,

just because we

don't get all

the details,

I think we

should still

understand the

pattern to

hold.

So I

don't intend

to preach

any of the

minor judges,

but as you

perhaps are

reading through

this narrative,

you'll see it.

So here we

see,

after Abimelech

there arose

to save

Israel Tola,

the son of

Pua,

son of

Dodo,

a man of

Issachar,

and he lived

at Shemir

in the hill

country of

Ephraim.

And he

judged Israel

23 years.

Then he

died and

was buried

at Shemir.

That's all we

know about

Tola

altogether.

Yet, I

believe,

the pattern

is embedded

in there

because we've

seen the

pattern in

other places

and it's

explicitly laid

out for us

in chapter

2.

So this

book is

designed to

leave us

in great

anticipation

of a

savior

king.

Israel

needs a

righteous

king.

Notice that

pattern again

and again

and again.

What do

they do?

They devolve

into unrighteous.

They devolve

into idolatry.

Regardless of

how God

shows them

mercy,

they're still

yet not

able to

keep his

commandments

and to

please him.

They keep

falling apart

and we are

just like

them.

We so often

read them

so judgmentally.

How could

they possibly

have forgotten?

Think about

the things

they saw.

Think about

the things

that they

were delivered

from and

we are

just the

same.

So very

quick to

be forgetful,

to return to

the idols

of the

land and

so we

need the

righteousness

of Christ

imputed to

us, given

to us.

His robes

for mine,

him taking

on our

sin and

rightly

receiving the

punishment that

was due our

sin.

And we need

a ruler,

one who will

reign forever

on our

behalf,

that has

a power

over

death,

has an

incorruptible

life.

We as

the church

see the

full realization

of what

they should

have been

longing for

and I

fear sadly

weren't.

But as we

look at this

book together,

we get to

see it,

we get to

draw our

minds

forward,

through the

temporal reign

of David

to the

eternal reign

of the

Lord Jesus

Christ.

Let's pray

together.