The Intrinsic Significance of the Book of Judges

“…After the death of Joshua, the children of Israel inquired of Jehovah, saying, Who will go up for us first against the Canaanites, in order to fight against them? And Jehovah said, Judah shall go up. I have now given the land into his hand.” (Judg. 1:1-2)

After the death of Joshua, the children of Israel inquired of Jehovah concerning who would go up for them first against the Canaanites in order to fight against them. Jehovah gave His answer and promise, saying, “Judah shall go up. I have now given the land into his hand.” This marvelous picture of oneness with the Lord, of the organic union of God with His people, is a continuation of the oneness in the book of Joshua when the people of Israel first entered into the good land.

If we read the Old Testament according to the full scope of the Scriptures, we will realize that at Mount Sinai God married Israel. In His concept and desire, He wanted to be to Israel as a husband to a wife, and He expected Israel to act as a wife toward Him. [However,] for some reason, she did not have a heart to be the wife of Jehovah. As a wife, she forgot her Husband, left her Husband, and acted according to her own desires. After the story of Judah and Caleb in 1:1-20, Israel’s history as recorded in Judges was full of the rottenness and corruption of a harlot. This is the intrinsic significance of the book of Judges. (Life-study of Judges, pp. 1-5)

As the church, may we declare: Lord, we love You! Lord, we need You! You are our Husband and we are Your wife. Lord, keep us in the organic union with You!

Being Revived Persons for the Gospel

To visit people for the preaching of the gospel, we must be revived persons. We must be stirred up in our spirit. We must be praying persons who pray ourselves into our spirit. Then when we are in the light, we can make a thorough confession of all our sinfulness, defects, and failures. For the entire day we have to walk in the spirit, and we have to live Christ. We also must learn to speak Christ all day long to anybody. Then this will qualify us to be the right persons to go out not merely with a doctrinal gospel but with the living person of Christ. (Elders’ Training, Book 9: The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (1), ch. 3)

Please pray for all the saints to be personally revived every morning by calling on the Lord, turning to His Word to enjoy Him, confessing their sins, consecrating themselves, and speaking Christ to others.

High School Conference Follow-up

Thank you all for your prayers for the recent Fall 2021 California-wide High School Conference. A total of 43 young people from LA attended, along with 16 serving ones. Young people from across LA participated in virtual meetings, group times, and corporate overflow.

Please continue to pray that the word released on “Patterns in the Books of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth” would take root in our young people, and that the relationships built during the conference would continue to be fostered for the going on of the next generation.

International Blending Conference Baarlo

This year, the annual blending conference that is normally held in Baarlo, Netherlands will be held online from October 29 to 31. We hope this will allow many saints from all over Europe to be able to gather together. The general subject is “Living in the Reality of the Kingdom of God.” Please pray for the churches and saints in Europe and for the blending into the reality of the one Body through the Lord’s up-to-date speaking. May the Lord bless this time richly!

Germany

This month, along with the support of visitors from other cities in Germany, the saints in Tübingen have been distributing Bibles. They have handed out 18 Bibles in the city and 125 Bibles on the university campus. A local believer was deeply touched by the saints’ being out there and standing for the truth. Several students, including a theology student interested in the writings of Watchman Nee, made appointments for further fellowship or to visit one of the group meetings.

Please pray for these recipients to follow through on these appointments, and for those who noted our contact information to reach out to us. Pray for remaining fruit and for the continued harmonious coordination among the saints in and around Tübingen in their labor as one corporate priesthood.

Kenya

There are currently around 200 saints in Kenya meeting in 4 localities. To perfect the new ones, we started a three-month pursuit and perfecting program at the beginning of August with 10 local saints. By enjoying the rich supply of the ministry, living a corporate life, and going out to contact people, they were deeply touched by the Lord. They were then divided into two groups: one to Bahati for the increase and the other to Subukia for the establishment of the lampstand.

Please pray for the Lord to continue to perfect the saints in the pursuit program for His move in Kenya; to gain more increase in Bahati, especially among the children and families; and to strengthen the newly established church in Subukia.

To read more and see photos, download the October 2021 newsletter of the Lord’s Move to Africa in English or Chinese at http://www.lmafrica.org.

Announcements

  1. Morning Revival: Week 6 of Crystallization-study of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth, vol. 1.

  2. Bibles for America’s latest blog post is called “What Does It Mean to Pure in Heart?” based on Matthew 5:8. Read and share it at http://blog.biblesforamerica.org/what-does-it-mean-to-be-pure-in-heart.

  3. Wednesday Night Ministry Meeting: Live broadcast this Wednesday beginning at 7:25 pm at http://lsm.org/live in English, Spanish, Chinese, and Korean. Outlines will be posted on the same site.

  4. Semiannual Training: In preparation for the upcoming semiannual training (December 20 to 25), saints may want to read the text and the foot­notes of 1 & 2 Samuel. The current issue of LSM’s newsletter at also highlights a number of helpful resources at http://newsletters.lsm.org/having-this-ministry.

  5. Ways to Give: Information about the church’s online giving platform, Subsplash, and where to mail checks, are at http://www.churchinlosangeles.org/members/offerings.