Clean Transcript

Easily Enslaved

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• Exodus chapter 1, we're going to be reading verses 7 through 14. The title of the message is "Easily Enslaved." Exodus chapter 1, beginning there with verse 7: "And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them."

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• "Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land."

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• "Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Rameses. But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel. And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour." Easily enslaved.

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• Slavery has existed in all ages. And every race has been enslaved at one time or another. If you listen to the leftists and liberals today, the only slavery you will hear about is black slavery. And they always bring that up in order to produce guilt, and then to harp on what they call white privilege. The truth of the matter is, a multitude of white people have been enslaved just like other races. In fact, there is an entire book out, the title is, "They Were White and They Were Slaves." But the truth is, not only white people have been enslaved, so have Indians and every other race. Black sociologist, author, and columnist Thomas Sowell said this—listen carefully—he said, "Blacks were not enslaved because they were black, but because they were available. Slavery has existed in the world for thousands of years. Whites enslaved other whites in Europe, and for centuries before the first black was brought into the Western Hemisphere. Asians also enslaved Europeans. Asians enslaved other Asians. Africans enslaved other Africans, and indeed, even today in North Africa, blacks continue to enslave blacks."

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• Well, it is not my intent in this message to deal with the fact or the reality of slavery, nor am I interested in putting forth a history of slavery, as I have done before in other messages. But the thought came to me as I was reading through the book of Exodus recently, how easily the Israelites were enslaved, and how easily a people may be enslaved. Israel was enslaved by the Egyptians. And apparently, from reading Exodus chapter 1, it was very easily accomplished. So the question that really hit my mind was this: How could they be so easily enslaved? In like manner, we could also ask, what has happened in America? Why is it that we as a people are so subservient and so unwilling to stand up for our rights, our liberty, and our freedom?

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• And how is it that even Christians have reached the point where they are afraid to speak the truth because they might offend someone? And the truth of the matter is, the Word of God already offends. Truth offends. In fact, the Apostle Paul said it like this in Galatians 5 and verse 11, then he said, "And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased." So there is an offence in the Gospel. There is an offence in preaching and teaching the truth. In fact, in 1 Peter 2 and verse 8, the Bible tells us that to unbelievers, Jesus Christ is "a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient." In fact, I want you to hold Exodus chapter 1, but go in your Bibles to 1 Peter chapter 2, just so I can show you a division based upon the person and work of Jesus Christ. So if you will look in 1 Peter chapter 2, we will begin reading there with verse 6.

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• The Bible says, "Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded." Of course, verse 6 refers to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the chief corner stone. He is the elect Messiah. He is precious. Now look at verse 7: "Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed."

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• So here is a division, plain and simple. To those who believe, Jesus Christ is precious. The Word of God is precious. The Gospel is precious. But to those who are disobedient, who do not believe, Jesus Christ is a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence. So why in the world would Christians be afraid of offending someone when the truth is already offensive? And when Jesus Christ is preached, He is presented clearly in the Scripture, it is indeed offensive to those who disbelieve. So obviously, we are, in one sense of the word, almost in the same position the Israelites were in Egypt. So you would have to ask this question: Why are Americans today like they are, or why are professing Christians like they are? And the answer is because we are just like the Israelites were in Egypt.

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• Now I want you to go back to Exodus chapter 1, and let's look at verses 7 through 14 again. I am going to emphasize certain things with my voice, and then I am going to come back and explain them. But look in verse 7: "And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them."

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• "Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land."

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• "Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Rameses. But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel." Now here is what we need to ponder: If the Israelites had multiplied and waxed exceeding mighty, and according to Pharaoh's own testimony they were more and mightier than his people,

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• how could they be so easily enslaved? Why would they have submitted to slavery? Why would they not have fought and resisted? How in the world could a people like this be overcome so easily? Well, let's go back and let me explain some things before I answer those questions. If you will look in the book of Genesis chapter 15 at verses 13 and 14, you will see that God told Abram that his posterity is going to be a stranger in a strange land for 400 years, and they are going to be afflicted. Notice if you would, Genesis 15 verse 13: "And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;"

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• "And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance." Now although Abraham here is told that his seed is going to be a stranger in a strange land, and they are going to serve this strange land, he is not told the circumstances under which his posterity would be dominated and enslaved. I want you to understand that there are always cause and effect relationships.

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• It is true that God appointed and ordained that the Israelites be in Egypt for 400 years. But there are cause and effect relationships. Let me give you an illustration before I explain this. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 4. Because everyone understands that Jesus Christ was foreordained, predetermined, premeditated by God, and predestinated to die as the sacrifice, as the substitute, and as the surety for His people. So if you look in Acts chapter 4, beginning there with verse 26, look what the Bible says: "The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done." Now, there was not one thing done to Jesus Christ that was not already ordained to be done by God the Father.

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• Everything about Jesus Christ was predestined and predetermined and foreordained before the world began. But I want you to note how God used means, or what you and I would call secondary causes. For instance, He says in verse 26, "The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ." And if you look in verse 27, He talks about Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, being gathered together.

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• Now if you will turn right back to Acts chapter 2. Acts chapter 2, and notice if you would please, beginning there in verse 23. Here is what Peter said when he is preaching on the day of Pentecost. He said, "Him," that is Jesus Christ, "being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain." Now, here's my question. Was Jesus Christ foreordained to suffer and die?

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• And the answer is yes. But notice if you would, God used the wicked people to accomplish His will. Those people who crucified Jesus Christ, those Jews did not say, "Wow, I think I'm going to fulfill God's eternal decree. I'm going to crucify His Son." No. The reason they crucified Jesus Christ was they hated Him. They despised Him. They refused Him. In fact, the Bible says in John 19, Pilate knew that for envy they had delivered Him. So what God did was, of course, foreordain Jesus Christ to be crucified, and then He used the means—that is, He used the wickedness and the sins of the people to accomplish His purpose.

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• So now you see, just the same way, God has also foreordained that Israel be in Egypt for 400 years, but there are causes and effects, and we have to look at those. The very first thing I want to point out is verse 8. Look at verse 8: "Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph." Wow! How in the world could anyone forget Joseph? Joseph saved the Egyptians. He also saved a lot of people. And certainly the legacy of Joseph even continues today, and not just with those who believe the Bible. There are monuments and there are inscriptions that bear his name even today in the land of Egypt. But notice the Bible says, "Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph." Albert Barnes in his commentary says this—listen carefully—"A new king" is a phrase not found elsewhere.

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• "It is understood by most commentators to imply that he did not succeed his predecessor in the natural order of descent and inheritance. He arose up over Egypt, occupying the land, as it would seem, on different terms from the king whose place he took, either by usurpation or conquest." So when you see verse 8, "there arose up a new king over Egypt," now we are talking about someone who is probably not an Egyptian, but he has control over Egypt. If you will look in your Bibles to Acts chapter 7, Acts chapter 7, you will see how this is borne out in the New Testament. In Acts chapter 7, notice if you would please, verses 17 and 18. Acts chapter 7, 17: "But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt, Till another king arose, which knew not Joseph." Now the interesting word here is the word "another." There are two Greek words that are translated in our Bibles as "another."

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• The very first one is the little Greek word allos, A-L-L-O-S is how we would spell it. And allos simply means "another of the same kind." The second Greek word is heteros, which means "another of a different kind." We talk about a heterosexual marriage, that is a marriage between a man and a woman, two different kinds, okay. So here is the word heteros. So notice he said, "Till another king arose," that is, another of a different kind, "which knew not Joseph."

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• So it was not necessarily an Egyptian who was on the throne at this particular time. It was inevitably and undoubtedly someone who came to the throne by conquest. If you would turn in your Bibles to the book of Isaiah chapter 52, look at verse 4. Isaiah 52 and verse 4. Here is an interesting passage: "For thus saith the Lord GOD, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause." They went down to sojourn in Egypt, and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause. Wow! Egypt undoubtedly had been conquered by an outsider. And of course we know that Egypt had been defeated in a multitude of battles. But let me just point something out: when he talks about "the Assyrian oppressed them without cause."

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• Do you realize that the Babylonians, the Assyrians, and the Persians all had the same empire and all ruled from the same region? For instance, in 2 Kings 23 and verse 29, the king of Babylon is called the king of Assyria because the Babylonian Empire had conquered. And here is what the Scripture says: "In his days Pharaoh-nechoh king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates: and king Josiah went against him; and he slew him at Megiddo, when he had seen him." So Pharaoh-nechoh of Egypt, who was fighting against the king of Assyria, slew Josiah who was the king of Judah, who by the way, Josiah was a good king as well. But like Assyria, in Ezra 6 and verse 22, "And kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy: for the LORD had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel." And we know it was Darius and Cyrus who did this, and they were Persians, but they were called the king of Assyria because they had conquered that territory.

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• So here you have a new king that arose, who knew not Joseph. Undoubtedly he was either an Assyrian, a Babylonian, or a Persian. Now I want you to watch this. Look, if you would please, at verse 9, understanding that a new king has arisen now who knew not Joseph—that is, he didn't recognize him, didn't appreciate him, could care less about him. Watch verse 9: "And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we."

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• Now let me just stop there just for a moment. Look at that verse again: "And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we." Now we know at the exodus the children of Israel amounted to about 2 million people. In fact, 600,000 men who were capable of fighting—the Bible numbers that—600,000 besides the women and the children. So there were about 2 million Israelites who left Egypt at the Exodus. Now when he said, "And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we"—really? Stop and think about this. How many people lived in Egypt? Far more than two million. And here is a man who is speaking to his people.

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• In other words, it is evidently someone different than the Egyptians. Look in verse 10, look what he says: "Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land." So he is talking to his people, and he talks about "our enemies." So stop and think about this: if there were 600,000 men who were of fighting age, if they merely joined with the Egyptians, there would certainly have been a tremendous revolt that would be sure. But if an outside nation came and they joined with the outside nation, then that outside nation would have an inside base because the children of Israel were already in the land of Egypt there to begin with.

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• So in all probability, this king that knew not Joseph was not an Egyptian. He ruled over Egypt, and Egypt had been conquered by him, but he did not know Joseph.

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• Now let's see. Here's a people that were easily enslaved. So the question is, how could they be so easily enslaved? Well, look if you would please at verse 10 again: "Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply." In other words, the new Pharaoh did not want any more Israelites. He's going to stop them from multiplying. How do you stop a people from multiplying? Well, today we've got a lot of different ways—abortion, vaccination, birth control, just all kinds of things. But back then, probably did not have necessarily the vaccination and the birth control. But look in verse 11, this will explain how they were going to make them cease multiplying.

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• "Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens." So I'm going to tell you two words that will explain the first scheme of easily enslaving any people, just like the Israelites were easily enslaved. Here are the two words: extreme taxation. Extreme taxation. Now, if you will look again at verse 11, "Therefore they did set over them taskmasters." You know, one of the problems that we have when we read Scripture, and we read something, we impose upon that Scripture our concept or our understanding rather than searching out to see what it really means.

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• When you and I think of a taskmaster, we think of someone standing over you with a whip or with a gun saying, "You do this or else." Well, the interesting thing is, if you look up the word for "taskmasters," it literally means "masters of tribute." The taskmasters were men of rank. They were governmental officials and not common overseers. These taskmasters were individuals who laid taxes and tribute upon the people and demanded and saw that it was paid. In fact, the taskmasters had officers that worked under them. If you will look in Exodus chapter 5 and verse 10, Exodus 5 verse 10, notice if you would what the Bible says: "And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spake to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw." So here were the taskmasters. These taskmasters were men who said, "You will pay this much in taxes, or you will give this tribute, or else." And so what is going to happen is it is going to exhaust their money, and when they have no money to pay, then they are going to have to labor to work out this debt that they owe in tribute.

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• So the system in Egypt was so rigged that they could never get out of debt, and they could never pay off all the taxes and tribute, much like it is today. In fact, let me show you how easily enslaved these people were. Look in Exodus chapter 5 and verse 12. Exodus 5 verse 12. In fact, let's go back and read verses 10 through 12: "And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spake to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw. Go ye, get you straw where ye can find it: yet not ought of your work shall be diminished. So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw." Now I've got a question. When I read that, I would think, "Oh, wait a minute. If I am scattered throughout the land of Egypt searching for straw, why could I not just keep walking? Why could I not have my family and say, 'Hey, we're going to look for straw,' and just get out of the land?" You know, the Bible doesn't say that any of them did it. All they were interested in doing was trying to pay their taxes and their tribute. Wow. Thought about maybe

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• leaving the land, just getting out. Here is what Matthew Poole the commentator said—listen carefully—he said, "...taskmasters, masters of tribute, who were to exact from them the tribute required, which was both money and labor."

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• Now listen: "...that their purses might be exhausted by the one, and their strength by the other, and their spirits by both." Thus the object therefore was to afflict and oppress and humble these people by taking everything that they had and forcing them to work, not necessarily with someone there with a whip standing over them, but if they did not, then of course they might lose their lives or who knows, they might be thrown into a dungeon.

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• But the whole emphasis was, you will spend your time working. You will spend your time paying your taxes and paying your tribute, and you won't have time to think about how to escape or how to alleviate your situation, and you certainly will not have time to procreate because we will keep you busy. Now John Gill, the great Baptist commentator, said it like this—he said, "This was the first scheme proposed and agreed on, and was to appoint taskmasters over them, or princes, or masters of tribute, commissioners of taxes, who had the power to lay heavy taxes upon them, and obliged them to pay them, which were very burdensome, and so afflictive to their minds, and tended to diminish their wealth and riches, and obliged them to harder labor in order to pay them, and so every way controlled." Now that certainly is a scheme, and undoubtedly this scheme has been used through the ages because it is still being used today to enslave people.

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• Now just stop for a moment and think about your parents and think about your grandparents. When I was a boy, my father worked and my mother stayed home and kept house and raised the children. My grandmothers did the same thing. What about today? Today there is such excessive taxation and the hidden tax inflation that now requires both husband and wife to work just to eke out an existence. Not to have a lot, but just simply to exist.

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• In fact, I have heard it stated to me a number of times. The attitude of the average American, and sadly, the attitude of the average Christian is, "We can't afford to have any more children." And you stop and think about that. And when you study all the taxes that the American people pay, you now have to work through July before you can begin working for yourself, because the first six months of the year are basically given to paying all the taxes that are heaped upon us. The American people, like the Israelites, don't have time to think. Don't have time to read. Don't have time to take care of the children they have.

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• They're just so stressed and so distressed, and that's exactly the way it goes. Now, we too have taskmasters. We have supervisors and agents and auditors and assessors and collectors to make sure that we work hard enough to build a new governmental school building, or a new stadium, or even a new courthouse. This was the first scheme, but thankfully in the providence of God it did not work.

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• Look in verse 12: "But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel." So the first method to easily enslave people is just simply extreme taxation. I don't know if you remember the message I preached years ago on biblical money and inflation. But if you took the money from 1900 and compared it, say, to 1960, and then after 1964, when the silver and gold are no more, and bring it up today—if you had $1,000 in 1900, you would need something like today $100,000 to buy the same amount that $1,000 would buy back in those days. When you stop and think that the average new house was $2,000, and you could buy a brand new car for $600. So I'm just simply saying, extreme and excessive taxation.

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• The second cause of enslavement here is what I'm going to call abundant prosperity. Let me explain that. If you will turn in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 46—no, Genesis 47. Genesis 47, here is where Jacob and his children come into the land. And I want you to see what happens when they get into the land. Genesis 47, and look if you would please at verse 6. Pharaoh spake to Joseph in verse 5, and he says, "Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee." Now watch what he says in verse 6: "The land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell."

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• "And if thou knowest any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle." Now watch this: "in the best of the land," "in the land of Goshen," that is where you are going to dwell. And He said, "any of your brethren that are men of activity, make them rulers over my cattle." In other words, supervisors. Not necessarily going to be looking after the cattle themselves, but they are going to be over those who are looking after the cattle. So just how they come into the land, now they've got a position of importance and probably well paid as well. Look in verse 11: "And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded." And then skip down to verse 27: "And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly."

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• So initially there was prosperity. Now you have to understand something about prosperity. Prosperity may be a blessing, but it also may be a curse. One of the problems we have with prosperity is very simple. Once we become prosperous, we begin to think that we have it made. Then we tend to think that we will always be prosperous and that we will never suffer and we will never do without.

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• David undoubtedly thought the same thing. You remember he was just a sheep master caring for his father's sheep. And then he got into the palace and he got promoted. He was head of all the soldiers. And David said in Psalm 30 verse 6, "And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved." But yet he was moved, and Saul chased him as a flea and as a partridge in the wilderness, and he had to suffer and do without.

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• He was in the cold and in the heat. The tendency in prosperity is to think and act improperly, and to think and act poorly. Proverbs 1 in verse 32, the Bible says, "For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them." The prosperity of fools shall destroy them. I know of an individual who received a million-dollar settlement, and one year later, he was broke. Lost everything he had. Went through a million bucks in a year. The prosperity of fools shall slay them. Moreover, when we are prosperous, there's a tendency to be independent of God and refuse to listen to Him. We tend to think that we do not need Him, or we tend to ignore Him, refuse to hear Him.

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• If you will turn in your Bibles—hold Exodus 1—but look in Jeremiah chapter 22 and verse 21. There is an interesting verse there where our Lord is complaining about the prosperity of His people. And look what He said, Jeremiah 22 and verse 21: "I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou obeyedst not my voice." What did God say? "I have spoken to you in your prosperity." But what did you say? You said, "I will not hear."

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• You know, the American people, and unhappily most Christian people, are like these Israelites who somehow tend to think that we are always going to be prosperous and we will never be in adversity and we will never suffer. We may be prosperous one year, not the next. We may be prosperous for one decade, but not the next decade. Ask yourself, where are the companies like Pan Am Airways, Radio Shack, E.F. Hutton, Kodak, and a multitude of other companies that when we were young were multi-million dollar companies?

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• Now they're not even in existence. Let me give you a scripture, Ecclesiastes 7 and verse 14. Here is what God says through Solomon the wise man: "In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him." So he said, if you've got a day of prosperity, fine, be joyful, but you better know there is a day of adversity coming because God is setting them against each other so that you will know it's not in you, it's all in Him. Do you realize it is possible to be so far removed from prosperity to even forget what it was like?

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• When I say that, Jeremiah had that lamentation. Jeremiah watched Jerusalem destroyed. He watched his people slaughtered and enslaved, the walls torn down, the temple destroyed. And he said in Lamentations 3 and verse 17, "And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I forgat prosperity." He said, I could not even imagine it anymore. You see, here is the truth. The truth is, prosperity tends to soften us.

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• If we're prosperous, we don't do the work. We hire it done. And when we're prosperous, we tend to lose our strength, our skills, and our knowledge. So here's my question. How many of you could do what our pioneer forefathers did? How many of you could do what your grandparents did? Living without electricity, without air conditioning, sometimes in a one-room or two-room house, going to the spring, bringing up water. Just stop and think.

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• We have had it made in this country for years. When the day of prosperity is over and the day of adversity is here, we are going to find out that prosperity sometimes was not our friend if we did not act wisely during the time of prosperity. There is a third reason why Israel was so easily enslaved, not only because of excessive taxation, but they were prosperous and did not act wisely. But the third reason was they simply had lost their fighting spirit.

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• They did not have the ability or the desire to resist. They had given in, they had given up, and they had given out.

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• Now I want you to consider the Scriptures in light of Israel of old and where we are today. If you look back in your Bibles to the book of Exodus, I want you to go to Exodus chapter 13 and see what God says concerning the children of Israel. In Exodus 13, God is bringing them out of the land. And here is what the Bible says, Exodus chapter 13 verse 17: "And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt: But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt."

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• Now there was a short route to Canaan through the Philistines. But God did not take them the short way, "lest they see war, and they return to Egypt." Isn't that amazing? But notice if you would, the Bible said God brought them up "harnessed" out of the land. The word "harnessed" is a military term. It literally means "in ranks of five." He let them march out in a military manner, slowly trying to teach them.

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• But these people did not have a fighting spirit at all. Now I want you to go to the book of Numbers, Numbers chapter 13, because God now has brought them to the land of Canaan. And I want you to note that Moses has sent out 12 spies to spy out the land, only two of course bring back a good report. But I want you to pay close attention to what happens. Numbers 13 verse 27, so they are coming back and reporting what they found. "And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great."

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• "And moreover we saw the children of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan. And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants."

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• "And we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight." I want you to note: 12 men were sent out. Two, Joshua and Caleb, came back with a good report and were ready to fight. The 10 out of the 12 were not ready to fight. They did not have a fighting spirit. Ah, to show you the attitude of the people. Skip down to chapter 14, beginning with verse 1: "And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night."

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• "And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness! And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt? And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt."

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• Here were a people that were so afraid to fight, and had lost such a fighting spirit, they were willing to go back and be enslaved just to keep from fighting. If you are unwilling to fight for liberty and freedom, you will surely be enslaved. If you do not know how to fight, you will surely be enslaved. If you do not have the weapons to fight with, you will surely be enslaved.

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• You will look in your Bibles to 1 Samuel chapter 13. 1 Samuel chapter 13, and let's begin reading there with verse 19, to show you how the Philistines had so conquered and so dominated the Israelites. It's unbelievable. Notice in 1 Samuel chapter 13, beginning there with verse 19: "Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel: for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears: But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his share, and his coulter, and his axe, and his mattock."

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• "Yet they had a file for the mattocks, and for the coulters, and for the forks, and for the axes, and to sharpen the goads. So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found." Note if you would, Saul and Jonathan, the king and the prince, were the only ones in the whole Hebrew army that had a spear and a sword.

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• Once you give up your weapons, you are—it's just that simple. If you don't have a fighting spirit, you will be enslaved. If you do not know how to fight, you will be enslaved. If you think that a fighting spirit is not necessary, and if you think it is undesirable, then you must ask the question, why did God leave some of His enemies in the land of Canaan?

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• If you will turn in your Bibles to the book of Judges, Judges chapter 3, you will find the answer. Judges chapter 3, and let's begin reading there with verse 1. Judges 3 verse 1: "Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan." So there were some now that did not fight. They were born after the conquest of Canaan.

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• They didn't know anything about fighting. "Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof." So God left some enemies in the land so the people would know how to fight, to teach them war. So here's a simple truth. If we really and truly desire liberty and freedom, we must cherish a fighting spirit and be ready and able to fight.

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• Now the same is true in the spiritual realm. A Christian should know how to fight against sin. He should know how to fight against Satan. He should know how to fight against the world. He should know how to fight against fleshly lusts, lest he be ensnared and overcome. The Bible says in Romans 6 and verse 16, "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?" To whomever you yield yourself, you're his servant. And Peter said it like this in 2 Peter 2 verse 19: "For of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage." Of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought into bondage.

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• We do not understand or comprehend real liberty and freedom because we do not understand real bondage and servitude. If you had ever been in real bondage and servitude, or if you ever figured out that you were in real bondage and servitude, you might learn and you might figure out what real liberty and freedom is. It's kind of like the saying, "A war is when your government tells you who your enemies are. A revolution is when you figure it out for yourself."

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• Well, if you do not cherish a fighting spirit, you are going to be enslaved. And the best slaves are those who think they are free when they are not. You ask the average American today, "Are you free?" And the answer will be yes. And then you begin to list all the taxes, all the licenses, all the regulations, everything that you need just to exist? No. If we want to be free, we must understand that the government is a plantation on which we all live, and we must make preparations to be free of its doles and its wiles.

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• I tell people, when the war of northern aggression ended in 1865, slavery was not abolished. They just merely enlarged the plantation, and now we're all slaves. If we want to be free, we have to understand excessive taxation is a means of enslavement. We also, if we're going to be free, need to be wary of prosperity and use prosperity wisely without being overcome by it and ensnared by it.

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• And we must always cherish a fighting spirit, one that is biblical, one that is godly. What did Paul tell Timothy? "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life." And what did Paul say when he was about ready to die in 2 Timothy chapter 4? He said, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course." So he said, I fought to the end. If we do not cherish a fighting spirit, a biblical, godly fighting spirit, we'll always be enslaved. How easily the Israelites were enslaved. Just think how easily Americans are enslaved. How easily all these other countries are enslaved. Little by little, until you're hooked and you never, ever think about wandering off the plantation because you think you're in charge when you're not.

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• Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee this day. We thank You for Your Word, for Your truth. We pray that You would teach us, that You would build us up in the most holy faith. Help us to live for Thee. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T13:26:50Z