(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

So we're continuing our study through the kings, but we're actually going to get to a queen, so to speak. And so there's going to be this six-year period, basically, where there's a gap between the kings and Athaliah is going to be queen over Judah. And so I wanted to do a whole sermon on Athaliah. There's not much said about her, but the principle of this queen ruling is something in the Bible that I wanted to touch on. So if you have your king list that we have here, basically, we had David, Solomon, and then the split in the kingdom. We had Rehoboam, then Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat, and all those were pretty good kings. But then we had Jehoram. Jehoram is the one that married Athaliah. And then Ahaziah, his son, Athaliah is his mother. So that's where we're at right here. So we're going to have a case where we have Athaliah who's going to reign for six years. Really why Joash is in hiding. Because Joash is like a baby when this happens, obviously. But the big thing with her is she kills all of the seed royal. All those except for Joash because she doesn't know about it. And so they're all slain. And that's where we get into this story right here. So in 2 Kings chapter 11 and verse 1 here, it says, And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal. And Jehoshaphat, the daughter of King Joaram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash, the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king's sons which were slain. And they hid him, even him and his nurse, in the bedchamber from Athaliah so that he was not slain. And he was with her hid in the house of the Lord six years and Athaliah did reign over the land. And so basically she went to go kill all the king's sons. And if you think about it, this is what really is going on here. She wanted power. And there's a lot of these, obviously these sons were not hers. They were with other women. So basically whoever got to be king after this, she wouldn't be queen anymore. So that's the whole mentality behind this is the fact that her son's dead. She still wants power. So she kills out all those that would have claim to the throne which means she'd still have her seat of authority. And we actually get a little more information. Go to 2 Chronicles chapter 22 about this Jehoshaphat. Or in this passage we're actually going to see Jehoshaphat, I guess it's just another way of saying the same name, about who she is. So this Jehoshaphat is daughter to King Joaram so it's Ahaziah's sister. So this is going to be Joash's aunt. Basically Joash is a baby at this point. And his aunt is the one that saves him from being destroyed and being killed. And she takes his nurse as well. So going on from that in verse 10 there, 2 Chronicles chapter 22 verse 10. Same story but we get a little more information about this woman that saves him. It says, But when Atheliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal of the house of Judah. But Jehoshaphat, the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him from among the king's sons that were slain and put him and his nurse in a bedchamber. So Jehoshaphat, the daughter of King Joaram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest. So we see a little bit, she's actually the wife of Jehoiada who's a very crucial character during Joash's reign. And this whole story with Jehoiada. And it says, For she was the sister of Ahaziah hid him from Atheliah so that she slew him not. And he was with them hid in the house of God six years and Atheliah reigned over the land. So this Jehoshaphat is actually the wife of Jehoiada the priest. So you can imagine, you know, this makes sense that they're hiding in the house of God because you have the priest Jehoiada. That's his uncle. And so Jehoiada is actually related to the king. And so by by marriage, obviously. But it's definitely interesting to see that connection there and that family tie, obviously, to the fact that, you know, saving this innocent child from being destroyed. And also, you can definitely see how the fact that David's line nearly got taken out right here. So if Joash would have been saved, there would have been no line of David here as far as the kingly line. I'm not saying there wouldn't be other lines there. But when it says that she destroyed the Sea of Royal, it doesn't necessarily mean it was just Ahaziah's kids. You know, I don't know how far that went. But that could have taken all the way to all of David's descendants. You know, I don't know, because you could definitely go back and say, well, you know, Nathan's kids and then going down the line and and, you know, all that stuff. But but definitely the kingly line would have been taken out here. So we know that Abijah already calls that out. You know, when he's going to war with Jeroboam and stuff like that. Where he's saying, listen, God promised that he wouldn't destroy or that upon the throne of David, Christ would sit. And so we know that that's not going to be taken out. But you can definitely see that it's been tried. It's been tried to squelch that. But we see that for six years he's hid and Athaliah reigned over the land. OK, so basically the true king was there. But during that time, there's this kind of hiding out and Athaliah is reigning during that time. Now, just to show you to just to prove to you that this is the same woman that that the Jeroboam is married to, go to Second Chronicles 21, verse four. Second Chronicles 21, verse four. Because the one thing I want to see here is that she's pretty much copying what her husband already did. With his brothers. OK, so she definitely has a past with Jezebel, you know, and Ahab's her father, right? Athaliah, you know, and, you know, basically sister of Jehoram and Ahaziah, those wicked kings. You know, they're all siblings. And then Ahab. And it doesn't say what her mother's name, you know, if her mother was Jezebel. But we don't see any other wife of Ahab besides Jezebel. So she's kind of following in the footsteps of that. But Jehoram of Judah. So this is Jehoshaphat's son. And Jehoshaphat was a good king. But notice what it says in verse four. It says, And when Jehoram was risen up to the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself and slew all his brethren with the sword and diverse also the princes of Israel. So notice, what's he doing? Destroying all the seed royal. He's taken out everybody that would ever have a chance or have a claim to the throne. Right. And notice what it says in verse five, it says, And Jehoram was 32 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, like as did the house of Ahab, for he had the daughter Ahab, the wife. And he wrought that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord. So she was married to him. I'm sure when this happened, because he's 32 years old when he begins to reign. And so I believe he's already married, you know, because he has children besides this. But then he had Athaliah, or I'm sorry, Ahaziah was his youngest. If you remember the story with Jehoram, he was his youngest. But that being said, he was 22 years old when he began to reign, Ahaziah. So if you do the math and everything, obviously he was already married to Ahaziah at this point. He only reigns eight years. So he didn't, at 32 years old, marry Ahaziah. And then that means he would only be eight years old at that point. Does that make sense? Ahaziah would have only been eight, okay? So obviously he's already married to Ahaziah when he kills all his brothers and all those that are at the princes. And so she's basically just taken right out of her husband, you know, what her husband did after her son dies. But also I want you to see here, you know, going back to 2 Kings chapter 8, that Ahaziah's mother, this is Ahaziah's mother, and we already saw that, you know, that basically it's calling Ahaziah her son. But here it says that she's the daughter of Omri, okay? And so I believe she's the granddaughter of Omri, okay? Because it clearly says that Jehoram married the daughter of Ahab, okay? And what this just really means is that she's the granddaughter. And this happens a lot where it says the son of, you know, thou son of David. It's like, well, that definitely comes down the line through a lot of grandfathers to get to that point. So there's nothing wrong with saying that. You know, like saying like your great, great, great, great, great grandfather is your father, right? That's true, right? And the same thing to say that, you know, I'm his son, you know, of such and such back all the way there. So, you know, Jesus is the son of Abraham, the son of David, okay? That's, you know, that's common vernacular in the Bible to do that type of thing. But in 2 Kings 8 and verse 26, it says this, Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem, and his mother's name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri, king of Israel. And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil on the side of the Lord, and as did the house of Ahab, for he was the son-in-law of the house of Ahab, okay? So honestly, you know, you can look at this one way. You can say, well, Jehoram kind of influenced Athaliah to be wicked, or you can look at it this way, that Athaliah is the one that influenced Jehoram to be wicked, and take out all his brothers. And then later on, she's just doing what she does, you know, being of the house of Ahab, okay? And you can imagine that if Jezebel's her mother, she has no problem taking out people that she doesn't like to get power. You know, you think about all those cases with Ahab, where you think of Naboth the Jezreelite, and she sends out these letters, gets some sons of Belial to lie about them, and then has them killed, you know, falsely, and all this stuff, just murders Naboth the Jezreelite. And so she has no problem doing that. She has no problem trying to go kill Elijah. And so the wickedness and whoredoms of Jezebel, okay? And at this point, Jezebel's been killed, right? So right before this, when Ahaziah dies, that's when Jezebel is thrown out of the window, right? And trodden underfoot and eaten of the dogs. So you can imagine, you know, Athaliah, her son was killed, right? And her mother. Ahab's already been dead. But, you know, basically, now it's her. And she's taking her mother's place, pretty much. But go to 2 Chronicles 24. 2 Chronicles 24, I just want you to see a place where it just literally calls Athaliah a wicked woman. You're saying, why are you doing a whole sermon about Athaliah, you know? Well, I have a point to this, because it comes down to this. Because it's Jehoram and Ahaziah, and they're doing wickedness in the sight of the Lord, they're going to have punishment for six years and having a woman reign over them. Now, this isn't going to be a popular sermon, because today, you know, it's all about equal rights for, you know, women being an authority and all that stuff. But I'm going to show you that, according to the Bible, it's actually judgment. It's oppression. If you have women ruling over you, it's oppression. And because it's not the place, it's not the proper place as far as where women are supposed to be. And, you know, I can just imagine people are just like, you're a bigot, you know, all this other stuff. And, you know, what about Deborah? You know, that's all Deborah goes through. It's like, well, Deborah in the Bible, you know? But I'm going to get into some verses on this and just talk about this. It's no doubt that Athaliah is a wicked woman, and it's an oppression for her to be reigning over there. But I'm just going to show you in general that that's not the way it should be, okay? And verse 7, so 2 Chronicles 24, verse 7, it says, For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, okay? So notice that it just puts, basically, Athaliah, that wicked woman. That's her moniker, is being that wicked woman. And it says, Had broken up the house of God, and also all the dedicated things of the house of the Lord, did they bestow upon Balaam. So, you know, and it says her sons, so did she have other sons besides Athaliah? Did she kill her own sons? It's possible. I'm just, you know, talking out loud here, but she killed all the seed royal. So if she had sons from Jehoram, you know, then, but what I believe it really comes down to is that I don't believe they would have been legitimate heirs, maybe. I don't know. But, you know, it says seed royal. It doesn't say the sons of Athaliah only. So maybe she killed her own sons just to have power. You never know. I wouldn't put it past her. But what it is stating here is that they broke up the house of God and set up, you know, these dedicated things for Balaam. Now, Balaam is a term meaning like gods, right? So Baal is a false god, but then Balaam is a plurality, right? So it's just false gods in general there. So, I mean, if you remember dealing with Ahab and all that stuff, they would, they would inquire of Baal's above, right? That's how Second Kings starts off. And so, so we see, you know, basically what's going on there. And you can see why there's going to be this judgment on Judah until they get it right. And that's where, honestly, Jehoiada is the hero here, not Joash. And I'm going to have a whole sermon about Joash next week, Lord willing, obviously, about his reign. But really, Jehoiada is the man that steps up in this case. But go to Isaiah chapter 3. Isaiah chapter 3. And I do want to show you that it's a punishment from God if women are bearing rule in the land. You say, well, you don't want a woman president? No, but it is what our country deserves. You know, when it comes to the wickedness of our country, if we have a woman president, all that is, is validating that our country is getting what it deserves. Okay? And so, and this isn't to say, you know, that, you know, I'm not, I don't have anything in here about the story of Deborah. But Deborah, you know, obviously was a judge during that time. And she was a mother to Israel, so to speak. And that's the song that they sing with Barak and all that stuff. But nowhere does it say that God, you know, wanted it to be that way. You know what it comes down to is that no man was stepping up to the plate and a woman stepped up. That's not the way it should have been, though. If you remember the story, Barak had to be coaxed into it. You know, she's like, what are you doing? You need to go out. God said to do this. Why aren't you doing it? It wasn't Deborah saying, hey, follow me. But then Barak said, I'll only go if you go with me. So you had Barak who basically had to have, you know, the backup of a woman to basically give him courage to go. So that was the state of men at that time. Okay? And you say, well, you know, that was, you know, how God delivered them. Yeah, they were in bondage for a reason. They were in captivity for a reason because they weren't following God. Okay? But that's another story for another day. You know, that's the one case where people are like, well, you know, what about Deborah and all this stuff? And what about Anna the prophetess? And it says Deborah the prophetess, too. Listen, there's nothing wrong with women prophesying, you know, giving the gospel and all that stuff. But when it comes down to preaching behind the pulpit and leading in the house of God, show me where God ever ordained a woman to be the head of the temple or the tabernacle back in the Old Testament. And in the New Testament, obviously, it's forbidden. And so it has to do with this leadership of usurping authority. Okay? And so Isaiah 3 and verse 1, notice what it says here. And this definitely isn't popular today in 2019, but I don't really care because this is what the Bible teaches. Okay? So Isaiah 3 and verse 1, it says, For behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, that take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread and the whole stay of water. Now, I believe the staff is actually referring to leaders, men leaders, basically, because it says the stay and the staff and it mentions what's the stay of bread and of water, talking about the food. But then it goes on to say, and I believe this is talking about the staff, the mighty man and the man of war, the judge, the prophet and the prudent and the ancient, the captain of 50 and the honorable man and the counselor and the cunning artificer and the elegant orator. So he's basically saying, I'm taking away the staff. I'm taking away all your men, all your valiant men, all your prudent men. Right? The prudent, basically wise, right? Notice verse 4, and I will give children to be their princes and babes shall rule over them. So he's basically saying, I'm taking away all that. I'm taking away your mighty men. I'm taking away your judges. I'm taking away your prophets. I'm taking away all those men that are supposed to be in those positions of authority. And I'm giving you children to rule over you. Now, going on from there, it says in verse 5, and the people shall be what? Oppressed. Everyone by another and everyone by his neighbor. The child shall behave himself proudly against the agent in the base against the honorable. When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father, saying, thou has clothing, be thou our ruler and let this ruin be under thy hand. And in that day shall he swear, saying, I will not be in healer, for in my house is neither bread nor clothing. Make me not a ruler of the people. For Jerusalem is ruined and Judah is fallen, because their tongue and their doings are against the Lord to provoke the eyes of his glory. The show of their countenance doth witness against them, and they declare their sin as Sodom. They hide it not, woe unto their soul, for they have rewarded evil unto themselves. Say ye to the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Woe unto the wicked, it shall be ill with him, for the reward of his hand shall be given him. As for my people, children are their oppressors, and what? Women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee, cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths. So they're getting judged right here, and God says I'm taking away your stay and I'm taking away your staff, I'm taking away your bread, your water, and I'm going to take away all those mighty, prudent men that are supposed to be ruling over you and leading you, I'm taking them away. And I'm going to let children and women rule over you. Now it's obvious that children shouldn't be ruling over us, right? Shouldn't that be obvious, you know, that we shouldn't be saying, hey children, you want to lead this thing off and see what we should be doing here? We'd be playing games all day long. We'd be eating candy every single day. You know, if I just let my children be the rulers in the house, that's just pretty foolish, right? But here's the key, is that with women, this is the case too. Not as bad as children, right? Obviously it's a little different than children. But it is telling us that they're oppressed and this is a judgment of God that there's actually women that are bearing rule at that time. And you say, well, how do you know that Judah's being judged here? Well, look at what happens during Jehoram and Ahaziah's reign with them breaking up the house of God and setting up these dedicated things to Balaam. So yes, they are being judged. And there's going to be a revival in that, meaning that Jehoiada is going to step up and set things straight. And then Joash is going to do good under his guidance. But go to the New Testament here. Go to 1 Timothy chapter 2. This is just a basic principle. It's in the Bible. That women are not supposed to be an authority over men. Now in the society we live in, we're living under that case, right? So, I mean, if you have to go up and you work for somebody that's a woman, I mean, you just got to deal with what you're going to do. You don't go up to them and be like, thus saith the Lord, this is oppression. And, you know, you're not supposed to be an authority over me. Listen, it is what it is. But it does prove to you that our society has gone away from God. It's just validation, okay? If we have a woman president, that's going to be our president. You know, if we have, you know, whatever the case may be, it's not the way God designed it. It shows that our country is not godly. But, you know, you got to do what you got to do, okay? So I'm not, so don't take this in the wrong way. Just start like, just yelling at people that are women in authority or something like that. But notice what it says in 1 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 11. It says, let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. Now, this is a hard pill to swallow these days to think that, hey, I need to be silent and not be in authority as a woman. Now, notice that it says an authority over men, right? It says, usurp authority over the man. Because obviously the woman has authority, you know, when it comes to the home. She's the keeper at home and she has the authority over her children, okay? So that authority is strong. But when it comes to the husband-wife relationship, the husband has authority over the wife. That's just the way it is, okay? Now, is that the way it is in most houses today, you know, when it comes to most marriages? No. Is that working out well? Let's look at the divorce rate today. See, that's working out really well to have this co-reigning, so to speak, co-ruling, 50-50, you know, leadership here. Now, that turns into a two-headed monster is what that turns into. And in some cases, the woman is just authority. She's wearing the pants in the family. And that is wrong, okay? But notice here, you know, why it says this, okay? Because I preached on this when it comes to being a pastor, being the leader of the church. But there's a reason why this is the case, okay? Meaning that there's a reason why women are not supposed to have authority over the man. And first of all, notice what it says in verse 13. So this is key because this comes before the fall, okay? It says, for Adam was first formed, then Eve, okay? So before the fall, before they even ate the fruit and they had the knowledge of good and evil, and they had the knowledge of good and evil, notice that Adam was first formed, then Eve, okay? And even if you go to 1 Corinthians 11, it says that, you know, that the woman was made for man and not man for the woman, okay? So there's an obvious progression here as far as the fact that man wasn't made out of the rib of the woman, but it was the other way around. That woman was made out of the rib of the man to be what? A help meet for him, okay? That's the way God created us, okay? So if you have a problem with that, take that up with God, okay? And listen, there's always pros and cons to everything when it comes to this, because, listen, you say, well, you know, why can't I be an authority? You know, I want to be, I'm a woman, but I want to be an authority. Listen, there's a lot of stuff that comes with that, though. Yeah, you get to call the shots and everything, but you also get to take all the responsibility. Be not wise over much. Don't be many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. You know, as the pastor of the church, guess what? Yeah, it's cool to get up here and preach. It's cool to basically call the shots, but I also have to take all the consequences for if anything goes wrong. It comes to me, because I'm the leader, okay? Same with your job. If you're in a position of authority in your job, guess what? Yeah, it's cool to manage everybody and everybody else kind of the grunt, but if something messes up, guess who it comes back to? You, okay? So that's where it comes into, there's a lot of pros and cons to that. And, you know, some people don't want to be in that position, because they'd rather just do their job and let someone else take all the, you know, all the hard questions and all the consequences and all that stuff. So the pro-women to not being an authority is you don't have to worry about that. You just do what you're supposed to do and, you know, you just relax and say, hey, it's not my call. That's what God said, my husband is in charge, and if something goes wrong, it's his fault, right? Now obviously you don't want to have that attitude and be like, it's your fault, you know, like everything messed up, it's all you, right? Obviously you need to be supporting your husband, trying to help, and there's nothing wrong too, ladies, to give advice. This doesn't mean you can't talk to your husband. This doesn't mean that you can't like give some friendly advice or talk about issues and stuff like that. But ultimately the husband is the one that's in authority that makes the final call, okay? But notice that, so that's just, before the fall of man, we see that Adam was first formed, then Eve. Then it goes on and says in verse 14, and Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. So, here's the key. Why should women not be in authority? Because they're more easily deceived. And I know this is hard to hear, but it's true. Women are going to be more easily deceived than men, in general, okay? Obviously there's some gullible guys out there that would believe anything you told them, okay? So don't just go find some guy out there that just believes everything you tell them, okay? But what I'm saying is that in general, men tend to not be as gullible or deceived by people as much as women are. Women tend to be a little more emotional, a little more understanding, and men seem to be a little more on the side of, you know, not taking that into account, okay? That's just the difference between men and women. I can just see people triggered right now, like not in our church necessarily, but I can just see like people online listening to this are just triggered, like I can't believe you'd say that. It's just facts, my friends, that when it comes to... When I was in school, it was very clear that most guys, in general, liked math, and most women liked English and different things like that. Why? Because English was more of a kind of an emotional type of thing, whereas math is more like straight up black and white, you know, statistical, like we like it to be just like matter of fact, right? And, you know, that's just the different ways that men and women are. So there's a difference, and praise God for that. You know, I didn't want to marry a man, right? I wanted to marry a woman. I want to marry a woman that's feminine, that's not masculine, right? I want that, you know, difference between each other, okay? So all I have to say is that it works perfectly if it's done right, okay? But this translates to society, okay? So this isn't just in the church. This isn't just in marriage. This should translate in society as well, that if you want a society that's a godly society, that's a society that is going to fit well and work well, is that men are in authority and women are in subjection by and large on the scales of all that stuff, right? And so, but go to 1 Corinthians chapter 14 because it talks about the same thing. And specifically in this passage it is dealing with church and preaching, okay? So the whole context is preaching in the church, prophesying in front of the church. So obviously this would mean women preachers are forbidden, you know, and that's not what God wants. But in verse 34, so 1 Corinthians chapter 14 verse 34, it says, Let your women keep silence in the churches, for it is not permitted unto them to speak, but they are commanded to be in obedience or under obedience, as also saith the law, okay? So, you know, the law, you say, well, what's the law say about women being in obedience? Well, you know, I'll get to that when we, I'm going to go to Genesis chapter 3. But sometimes in the Bible, you know, when it talks about, you know, even if it says, as it is written, stuff like that, sometimes it's the premise or the doctrine that's being said. So sometimes in the New Testament, it'll kind of say something. It's not exactly written exactly like that, but the premise is there, meaning that that's the teaching of the law. That's what it's, the sense of the law is that. But I'll show you what I believe, you know, if you really wanted a hardcore statement to say, and this also saith the law, but I also want to show you another place. So Revelation chapter 2, dealing with a woman that's a serpent authority over the man. I don't get, here's the thing, and I, you know, I didn't grow up in that realm, but I just don't get how a man could sit as a woman is preaching to him the Bible. I just don't get it. I don't get how that is comfortable, okay. And maybe it's just because I grew up in the realm of, like, the Baptist realm of, like, knowing that that's weird. But just the idea, and I don't know about you, but when you're in school, especially in high school, and you had a woman teacher telling you, like, sit down. Like, there's something about that that really gets under your skin, okay. When you're a child, it's different, okay. When you're a child, you're just like, you know, you're a child. It's different. But when you're, like, in high school, and you're, like, 17, 18 years old, and a woman is telling you to sit down and shut up, and you can't go to the bathroom unless she tells you to, there's something about that that gets under your skin as a man. And it's just inherent. It's just natural. It's just, by nature, you know that there's something wrong here that a woman is telling me that I can't do something, okay. But in Revelation chapter 2, this really is the application of 1 Timothy chapter 2. So 1 Timothy chapter 2 says, Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection, and I suffer not a woman to teach, nor assert authority over the man. And this is literally like reading that, suffer not a woman to teach, nor assert authority over the man. It's literally like that, only we have an actual person that's doing this in the church. So in Revelation 2 and verse 18, it says, And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write, These things set the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass. I know thy works in charity, in service and faith, in thy patience and thy works, and the last to be more than the first. Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which caused herself a prophetess, to teach, and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, to eat things sacrificed unto idols. Literally you can see 1 Timothy chapter 2 in there. Suffer not a woman to teach. What does it say here? Thou sufferest that woman Jezebel to teach. Right? And so, it's literally like that same thing that's being said in 1 Timothy chapter 2. And she's not only teaching, but she's seducing these servants to commit fornication, to eat things sacrificed unto idols. Now I believe, honestly, that this woman is saved. And the reason I say that is because she's being chastened of the Lord. And notice what it says in verse 21. It says, And I gave her space to repent of her fornication, and she repented not. Now let me ask you a question. Do you think God would be giving her a space to repent if she wasn't saved? Because it says, all those that I love, I rebuke in what? Jason. Repent, therefore. That's what it says at the end of all these letters in Revelation chapter 3. So I actually believe that this woman is saved, but she's obviously in major sin. But he gave her a space to repent. In verse 22 it says, Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts, and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, in which I have not known the depths of Satan as they speak, I will put upon you none of the burden. Now this church at Thyatira, he writes unto the angel of the church. The angel is not this woman, meaning that the pastor of the church is a legitimate guy, pastor, but he's allowing this to happen. Where this woman's teaching and doing these other things. And so I try to say, you know, it's better to be safe than sorry. If you were to say, well, you know, we could have a woman teaching a bunch of women. Yeah, I don't think that's necessarily wrong. You know, like if you said, hey, we're going to have a women's time where so and so is going to teach the women. But these things get out of hand. And you have these conferences, these women conferences, where women are up there preaching behind the pulpit and doing all this stuff. And so that's all, I guess, okay to a certain extent, because you're not asserting authority over the man. But who's keeping that in check? You know, is someone going to keep that in check? Is someone going to say, is some man going to be there and say, hey, this is right, what's going on here? So you've got to think about that, too, as far as you're just giving free rein to what's being said there. Okay, so you're not necessarily assorbing authority over there. But there's also the other thing, too, where it comes to that Eve was deceived. Okay, so should we be putting people in that authority and all that? And I'm just speaking out the cuff here because I've heard some really bad things about these women's conferences and what's being taught there. And it's not always sound doctrine. Okay, and sometimes it's bad stuff that's being taught there. Now, I haven't been the one, because that would be weird anyway. But I've heard women that have gone to these things and heard there was just smut being taught. Okay, and so you say, well, that's an outlier, it's out, okay. But all I'm saying is that I haven't really heard great things about these women conferences anyway. But to give someone a bone there, I mean, basically, if you are just teaching women, that's different than asserting authority over the man. But we see here that, obviously, there's other people in the church that aren't involved in this. But I don't believe it's just that she seduced men, but also that she was just teaching in general. Because the Bible is very clear that you're not the sub for a woman to teach. Never show up for authority. And honestly, I believe this is where this can go into. And this can cause problems and cause issues and all this stuff. But go to 1 Peter 3. And here's the thing, dealing with the women conferences and stuff like that, is that to get up and preach and do public speaking like that, you have to be very bold and vocal and kind of like an orator, so to speak. And you have to be, I don't know what the word is, but basically, a quiet woman is not going to be like that. Does that make sense? It's out of their comfort zone, if anything, to be in that position. So that's why I go to this, is that in general, what are wives supposed to be like? And what are women supposed to be like? And what's their manner supposed to be like? Because you can kind of think of men, we're kind of crass, we're loud. But when it comes to being loud, that's not a good thing when it comes to women. Think about the strange woman and stuff like that. She was loud and stubborn. It talks about just being obnoxious. I think of women that are obnoxious. They're just loud and kind of gross and disgusting, just the way they talk. And there's women out there, I'm like, that is completely unattractive. And there's people that are popular and that are like that. And it's a huge turn off. I always liked women that were discreet, that were basically very meek and just kind of like feminine. It's just not a feminine attribute to get up here and start ripping face. Even if you're talking to women. Like ripping face and just calling down the thunder. So it's just weird. Even if you were just talking to women, it's still a weird thing. So notice in 1 Peter 3 and verse 1. Likewise ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands, that if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives. While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. So notice this chaste conversation coupled with fear. Now obviously this is talking to women to your own husbands. This isn't like you have to obey every husband. That's weird. We're talking about to your own husband. So ladies here, if I'm not your husband, obey me as your pastor. But when it comes to things at the home, you need to go to your husband on that one. But it says, who's adorning? Let it not be the outward adorning of plating the hair and of wearing of gold and of putting on apparel. So basically, you could be a woman that kind of looks feminine and looks very girly and all that stuff on the outside. But that's not really where it counts as much. Does that make sense? It really matters on the inside what are you adorning yourself on the inside. And notice what it says in verse 4. But let it be the hidden man of the heart and that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a what? Meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God at great price. So according to God, what's great price is that you have a meek and quiet spirit. So this doesn't mean that you can't have fun. You can't laugh. And women are all different as far as some women, you can't understand a word they're saying because they're so quiet. I'm not saying you've got to be like a church mouse. But what I'm saying is that in general, you should be striving for this meek and quiet spirit, meaning that you're not like this person that's just like calling down the thunder. OK, and this kind of loud, obnoxious type of, you know, thing that's going on there. And listen, man, I don't think we should be obnoxious either. But what I'm saying is that in general, men are going to be more their voice is going to project, you know. And you remember I preached a sermon on tonality when it came to soul winning. But this really applies to men more than women when it comes to your tonality, meaning that, you know, when it comes to authority and someone respecting your authority, a lot of times it has to do with how you speak and how you fill the room with your voice. Right. And it's just this tonality. And it's this idea. Why do you think men generally have a deeper voice? Because it's going to have a more of a resident, a resonance with that tonality and speaking to a large group of people. OK, now going on from that, dealing with the meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God, a great price. Notice that it gives an example of Sarah and Abraham here who are husband and wife, obviously. But it also couples in all those women that did the same thing. OK, so this isn't just, well, that was Sarah and Abraham. They're a special case. Well, it says in first five there, it says, for after this manner in the old time, the holy women also who trusted in God adorned themselves being in subjection unto their own husbands. So notice that it's validating, saying that holy women of God back in the past did the same thing when they obeyed their husbands. And they had this meek and quiet spirit. Notice what it says in verse six. Even as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord. Now, if you know this story, she doesn't say this out loud. In the story, she says it in her heart. So this isn't just a show where she's just saying it just so that it's, you know, like you say, you know, can I have that, please, sir? And you say it out loud. She's saying it in her heart, meaning that it'd be kind of like if you said it in your heart, you're thinking about it and you're calling someone, sir, like you're not doing it just for to be respectful. You're doing it because you actually have that kind of respect for the person. OK, so she viewed Abraham as, you know, sir, Lord, you know, not the Lord, but, you know, kind of that that authority of you're the man. You know, you're the leader. And it says whose daughters you are. As long as you do well and not afraid of not afraid with any amazement. Likewise, your husbands dwell with them, according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife. Trigger warning as unto the weaker vessel. And as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers be not hindered. If you think about this, if you just took away all the facade that's out there in the world. OK, the facade of, you know, let's say, you know, the political correctness and all this stuff. Men are stronger than women. And if we wanted to, we could tell them all to sit down and shut up and they're not going to do anything about it. OK, if you just took out all the way and took all the politeness away. OK, let's just be honest. You took that all away. We would win, ladies, because we're stronger than you. If all the men just said, you know what? No, we're all going to bear a rule. It would be so. Women, you can't do that. It's just the way it's just because we're the stronger vessel, you're the weaker vessel. Now, that's just being kind of crass on how I'm saying that. But what I'm saying is that that's the true matter of things. And it really comes after this. Women are an authority because men let that happen. So I'm not here to say, well, women, you're the problem. No, men are the problem. Like I said, with great, you know, authority comes great responsibility. And the fact that the buck stops on us men, that it happened this way. Because women didn't, you know, win an arm wrestling match. And that's why they got into authority. They got into authority because we as men allowed it to happen. And that's the true case. And it really comes down to the fact that the stay of America is being taken away. Or the staff, I'm sorry. The staff of America is being taken away. And I blame the men. I blame the men for not being men. I blame the men for not being godly. Because here's the thing. You say, well, you know, you're just being mean. You're just being chauvinistic. I'm being biblical. Because what does the Bible say about this subject? That when women are bearing roll, that means we're under oppression. And the Bible says that women are not supposed to assert authority over the man. And that is, you know, in the Bible it says, Thus set the law to that they're supposed to keep silence and be a subjection unto their own husbands and all this stuff, right? That is what the Bible teaches, okay? Adam was first formed, then Eve. That's what the Bible teaches. Eve was deceived and not Adam. That's what the Bible teaches. And so you can come at it with Eve and say, well, you know, you're just some male chauvinistic pig, you know, and you're just saying, you know, well, we're stronger. That's just science. That's just, you know, anatomy when it comes to that. But that's what the Bible teaches. Does it not say that the wife is the weaker vessel? But here's the thing. When it comes down to this, don't you think God's right? Because you can say, well, I disagree with you. Do you disagree with the Bible, that that's the way God created us? So go to Genesis chapter 3, because like I said, you know, it says, also thus set the law dealing with this subject. Because like I said, with Athaliah you can say, well, she's a wicked woman. She came from Ahab and Jezebel. So obviously she's wicked, and that's oppression on Judah. It's very obvious. But I believe it's another level of oppression. Meaning not only are they being oppressed because of their sins, but it's another level to have a woman usurping authority over all the men of that nation. And you can go into Deborah's story and say, well, she was a good woman, and I would agree with you. But I believe she was basically doing what men wouldn't do. Does that make sense? Like, I don't look at Deborah and be like, she's a wicked character. I think she's a good character. But it really comes down to this, is that Deborah was the only one that would stand up and actually do something and have faith in God, and God used her. But it comes down to this. Where was the man? It's kind of like the story in Ezekiel where it says, I sought for a man to stand in the gap and make up the hedge before me. Before the land I should not destroy it, but I found none. And there came Deborah, you know? And then basically Barak said, hey, you know, I'm not gonna go unless you come with me, because I'm scared. He doesn't say it like that, okay? But you might as well just put that in there. I'm scared. Unless you go with me, I'm not gonna go. And she says, well, I'll go with you, but now it's gonna be a woman that's gonna have the victory, and that's where jail comes in, and actually a woman is the one that killed Sisera, you know, with the tent stake through the temples. So God can use women, but ultimately, do you think that was God's first plan that Deborah had to step up? Listen, Deborah was married. It actually says her husband's name, okay? Why didn't her husband step up? And you can't blame Deborah for actually doing something, okay? And so in some cases, I think that, you know, women stepping up into a role and doing what they, you know, almost what they have to do, what they shouldn't have to do, there's nothing wrong with a woman that's doing that, but is that the way God wants it to be? Is it the way it should have been, okay? And so in Genesis chapter three and verse 16, dealing with the fall of man, it says in verse 16, unto the woman, he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception, and sorrow thou shall bring four children, and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. So you say, well, you know, where does it say in the law that the women must keep silence, you know, and be subjection and all that stuff? Genesis 3, 16. Because doesn't it say in that same passage that they're supposed to go home to their husbands and ask them? Why? Because he's the one that's ruling over her, okay? And this isn't like taskmaster stuff, but here's the thing, here's the con to the men ruling over the women. Verse 17, and unto Adam he said, because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying thou shalt not eat of it, cursed is the ground for thy sake, and in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat the herb of the field, and in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground, for out of it was thou taken, for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. So what's the consequence for men? We have to work by the sweat of our face to provide for our families. That's not on women, okay? Women are supposed to be keepers at the home, but ultimately we are supposed to be the breadwinners, and we are the ones that are supposed to go out and work and provide for our families. Does that always happen? No. We live in an unperfect world, but here's what I'm talking about. What would be the preferred way? What would be God's way? God's way would be this, that there be a man of God in charge of the church as far as the leader of the church, not a woman, okay? That in the household of every husband, wife, and children that the man would be the leader, and he would be the one ruling the house. The buck would stop with him. And in society, it would be men that bear rule in the government setting when it came to judgments, laws, execution that should not be put on women. That's what the Bible teaches. And if it's otherwise than that, you know what that is? Oppression. And let's just look at all those different realms. You have children. Listen, the Chuck E. Cheese churches that are today, why are they that way? Because children are bearing rule. The decisions that are being made in the church are being made because of children. Well, how is your children's program? My children's program is that they're sitting in church listening to preaching. That's my children's program because I don't ask the children what they want in church. I'm going to tell them what they need, and they can like it or lump it. Okay? And you as parents are going to say the same thing to them, right? Do you ask them, hey, do you want to come to church today? Or do you say, get in the car, we're going to church. And so in today's society, it's the children that are dictating what the parents do. And you know what that's called? Oppression. But the same token goes into with a marriage where the wife is the breadwinner. The wife and the dad is the stay-at-home dad. And the wife is the one that's calling the shots. Backwards. It's not right. And if you have two loving people, but here's the thing, it's going to be weird, and the guy's going to be depressed. Any guy where the wife is the one that's winning the money and they're not the ones winning the money, they're not the ones that are the head of all that stuff, they're not going to be happy. Okay? And so that goes outside of that. It goes outside of that into the realm of the world. And here's the thing. When it comes down to this, you've got to control what you can control. Can we control the worldly sphere here as far as who's in office and all that stuff? Let's just be honest. Your vote means nothing today. They determine who's going to get into office and whoever wants to be in office. And it's a lot of times a bunch of puppets anyway. Okay? So all we can do is control what we can control. Now in Baptist Church, guess what? I can control who's going to be in the position of leadership and who's going to be in the position of preaching in front of everybody. I'm going to control that, and I'm going to do it according to what the Bible teaches. And then in my own house, I can control that. I can control who's going to be the breadwinner. I can control who's going to be the leadership of the home. And each one of you men that are married can control the same thing. I don't control that. Does that make sense? I don't control your houses. Okay? Let's be very clear on that. Women, you're not a subject unto me as a husband. Okay? So, so you can control that. And with that being said, if you had a whole bunch of families that said, you know what? We're going to follow the Bible and we're going to live our lives according to the Bible, that will reflect on society. But you can't, you're not going to be able to force society into that. You know, you got to make society godly in order to make the government godly. And our founding fathers knew that, that even with our republic, that it would only work with a godly people. You know, you can make the laws, but they can change them. So, you know, they had a good idea and they had checks and balances, but in the end, if you don't have a righteous nation, if you don't have a righteous people and a godly people, then that's all going to crumble anyway. Okay? So what you need to do is make this nation godly again. We need to win as many people to Christ as we can and we need to teach them to observe all things. We need to see what the Bible says, because a lot of people are just ignorant on this. And a lot of people don't think that it's actually true that you'll actually be happier in this case. Because people look at this and be like, oh, you're so oppressive to the women. Ask the ladies in here if they feel oppressed. I don't think I've ever had a woman come up to me and say, I just feel like I'm being, like, it's like I'm in hard rigor bondage. I feel like I'm in Egypt right now and I'm just, you know, getting lashes every day and all this stuff. I've never heard that. Okay? Actually, the ladies in our church seem pretty happy. Okay? And so if you're not, just keep the facade up. I just want to, no, I'm just kidding. But all I have to say is that in the end it is happier that way. And we as husbands aren't taskmasters. We're not just, like, cracking the whip. If you are cracking a whip, you should probably stop that. Okay? But, you know, just get a bullwhip out there, you know, just to get things going. But in all honesty, you know, it works better that way. And the people are happier. It's just a better, it's just the way God intended it to be. But Athaliah is going to come to her end. So that's kind of my little segue or my side note. When I read the story with Athaliah, immediately what I see is oppression because a woman is bearing rule. Now, she's obviously a very wicked woman on top of that. But I don't care if the woman was, you know, someone that was a godly woman. In the end, she shouldn't be in that position. And people always, like I said, want to go to Deborah. But if you look at that story, why weren't men standing up? It's not like men were trying to stand up and she's like, no, I'm going to do this myself. She was actually trying to get a man to just do what he's supposed to do. And, you know, I like Deborah. I think she's a good Bible character. And so I feel like Deborah and Mary end up getting a bad rap in the Baptist realm. Right? Because Mary is a great character in the Bible. Right? Mary, the mother of Jesus. But we're always constantly, like, dragging her down. She's a sinner, you know? She wasn't always a virgin, you know? Like, all this stuff. And we're just, like, putting her in the ground because we want to make sure that we don't think that she's, like, sinless and, like, all this other stuff. And you're trying to, like, make a point. But same thing with Deborah. You're like, Deborah was not supposed to be an authority. And you're like, you're just, like, bringing her down. It's like, Deborah's a good character. But the point is, is that people use those things. And they rip it out of context. And they use all these things to prop up false doctrine. Okay? So I don't want you to think that I'm just down on Deborah. I like Deborah. I think she's a good character. And I like Jael. Jael is one of my favorite characters in the Bible. You're like, you are that knee-hud, you know? The stories and judges are awesome stories, by the way. But that's one of my favorites. I love that story. I wish I could meet, I want to meet Jael. You know, when we get to heaven, I just want to be, like, you know, I don't want to mess with, well, obviously we don't need to worry about that. But I would not want to mess with that woman, you know, when it came to that. By going to 2 Kings chapter 11 there, going back to the story of Athaliah, because she's going to come to her end. So Athaliah, and I don't want to get into this whole thing with Jehoiada and Joash, because I'm going to get into that when we go through Joash. But basically what happens here is that Jehoiada is telling everybody, like, hey, we're going to make him king. So this is in the seventh year, okay? So basically she reigns for six years. And in the seventh year is when they're basically saying, all right, no, Joash is king. And, you know, that is what it is. He's the king, not Athaliah as being queen. But she hears all this stuff that's going on and all this commotion, all this rejoicing. And verse 13, it says, Now imagine, you know, this woman literally killed all the children, all the seed royal. And she's like calling out treason, you know, when she's the one that killed everybody. And so, but then it says in verse 15, this is, like I said, Jehoiada is really the leader here, the one that's taking, you know, the leadership position, because obviously Joash is just a child here. We'll see that he's seven years old at this point. So he's in no position to basically take the reigns here. He's just a child. But it says in verse 15, So notice that he's saying that if anybody follows her, kill with the sword. Meaning that if anybody's on her side, take them out. And it says in verse 16, So this wicked woman was taken out finally. And so, and Jehoiada planned all this. Basically, he knew this would happen. So he basically had all these men that were surrounding Joash to make sure they all had their swords drawn. Like they were ready to go. So as this trumpeting is going on, all this is going on, they're ready to fight, because they know this isn't going to be without a fight. There's going to be some kind of commotion that's going to happen here. But really, Jehoiada is the man that steps up here in Judah. And is really going to bring Judah back to God. Because during Jehoram and Ahaziah and Athaliah, there's a lot of Baal worship that's going on. Basically, Ahab, all the bad stuff from Ahab came down into Judah. They broke up the house of God. And actually, a lot of Joash's stuff is going to be repairing the house of God. That's some of the story with him. But notice what it says in verse 17 with Jehoiada. And remember, Jehoiada is Joash's uncle, right? Because, I'm going to pronounce her name, Jehoshaba, or Jehoshabeth, or however you say her name, is Ahaziah's sister, which would be Joash's aunt. So they're family, and they're protecting their nephew. And in verse 17 it says, And Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord and the king and the people. Notice what this covenant is. That they should be the Lord's people, between the king also and the people. So he's basically getting them all into a covenant saying, you need to be the Lord's people. And notice in verse 18, it says, And all the people of the land went into the house of Baal and break it down. And his altars and his images break they in pieces thoroughly. And slew Matan the priest of Baal before the altars, and the priest appointed officers over the house of the Lord. And he took the rulers over hundreds, and the captains of the guard, and all the people of the land, and they brought down the king from the house of the Lord, and came by the way of the gate of the guard to the king's house, and he sat on the throne of the kings. And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was in quiet, and they slew Athaliah with the sword beside the king's house. So Jehoiada is really the hero of this story. And his wife. So his wife is the one that got Joash and saved Joash from being killed six years prior to this. But then Jehoiada sets this whole thing up and basically, he doesn't wait until Joash is older either. That's what I love about this. He's just like, I've had enough of this reign of Athaliah. You know, Joash is still a child, so he knows that Joash isn't going to be the strong leader that's going to be able to take the reigns here. And what we'll see is that Joash actually basically reigns under the, being tutored by Jehoiada. And his reign is good while Jehoiada is alive. That's pretty much what it comes down to. But Jehoiada makes this covenant with the people and says, we're going to be followers of the Lord, we're going to be the Lord's people, and what do they do immediately? Get rid of Baal. So, notice how the oppression ceases right after that. You know, they get rid of Athaliah, and then all Baal is taken out. So this is truly where Ahab's house is completely taken out. Okay? Athaliah is taken out, and no more of that. And we'll see that Joash is not of Athaliah. Shocker, right? You know, she would know she had a son, right? You know, if this was the case. But she's killing all these people. Where's my baby at that I had? Because he reigns at seven years old, so he was obviously a baby when he was saved out of there. And so, but we'll see that her mother, or Joash's mother is a different woman. And so, you know, this story with Athaliah, it really just resonates with the time that we live in, and the fact that people are so happy about, wow, you know, wouldn't it be great to have a woman president? Like, no. No, it wouldn't. Well, what if she's really conservative? And she's like, you know, just this really conservative lady. Then she would have her husband be taking that place if she was really conservative. It's an oxymoron, my friends. They say, well, she's really conservative. She has Christian values that she wouldn't want that position. You know, same thing with woman. What if the woman preacher is just sound doctrine? She's not sound doctrine, then, because she doesn't believe 1 Corinthians 2, 3, and so forth when it comes to, like, the qualifications of a pastor or anything like that. So, it's always like, well, what if? No. There's no what if, okay? It's just not the way it should be. So, you know, like I said, you can have the good example of Deborah. You have the bad example of Athaliah, but in both cases, it shouldn't be that case as far as a woman bearing rule. And, you know, like I said, when it comes to, you know, the situations, a lot of people are in certain situations where they're like, well, this is the way it has to be, and, you know, there's no other way out. It's kind of like when you're stuck between a rock and a hard place. And you say, well, what are we supposed to do in this position? It's kind of like Jephthah. Jephthah makes a vow, and it's either break his vow or kill his daughter. And he does the latter, which is weird to me. I'm always still perplexed by that. I'm like, that would not be the decision I would make, okay? But all I have to say is that in that case, does he have any way out without sinning? And our country is getting into a position where there's no way out but to sin. And so you can say, well, what's the way out? And people are always talking about that when it comes to like these health net programs and all, you know, like where are you supposed to just cut off all this stuff? You're in a position where you're damned if you do, damned if you don't, right? You put yourself in a rock between a hard place, and there's really no good way out. But I'll say this. You need to just start getting back to, you know, sometimes it's better just to cut, you know, to rip that Band-Aid off and get it done, you know, whatever you got to do. And like I said, we're living in a society where women are in rule. And this is where it comes down to, you know, as much as life in us, let us live peaceably with all men. And you just got to deal with it. Okay? Control what you can control. You can't control who's in positions of authority here unless you vote or something like that. But in that case, good luck with that anyway because you got to be able to control the majority vote when it comes to that. And the only way to do that is to get people on God's side. So our job is to do what we're supposed to be doing at home. Worry about that because that's all you can worry about anyway. And then we'll just try to teach people the Bible as much as we can. That's all we can do. And, you know, let the chips fall where they may. But again, people are going to look at this sermon and be like, oh, you know, so chauvinistic and, you know, you're just a male chauvinistic bigot, you know, whatever. Whatever, misogynistic, you know, whatever other, you know, stupid thing you want to call me. But it really comes down to this, you know, what does the Bible teach? And God is smarter than us. Okay? So you may look at this and be like, well, I don't necessarily agree. I don't think that that would be the case. Well, you're wrong. Because God's always right. And you can look at that and there's many times I've looked at it and be like, is that really the way it should be? Should we do it this way? And I've always been proven to be wrong and God right. So the better thing to do is just say, that's what God says is the way it should be. That's the way it should be. And I know it would be better that way. Whether you think it's right or not. But Atholiah gets taken out. I love that story, honestly, you know. She's like, treason, treason. And be like, take her forth from the rages and have her slain. Make sure she's out of the house of God first. Then go take care of her. Okay? So it's just, you know, basically taken out. And that's what it really comes down to. And I know I'm getting off a tangent here. But if men stood up, listen, did she have any, could she stop that? What happened to her? No. She couldn't overpower any of those guys. So if men stood up and said, you know what, no, this is the way it's going to be. You wouldn't be able to get around it. Okay? And it's just the way it is. But let's end with a word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you for today. Thank you for the soul that was saved. And Lord, just pray that you be with us throughout this week. And Lord, be with us in our jobs. And Lord, help us to provide for our families. And Lord, we just thank you for your word. And just help us to always be trusting in what you believe and what you teach, Lord. As far as the commandments. And Lord, to help us not to question anything that you teach. But to just believe it because it's the way it is. And Lord, we know that it's always going to be the best way. And Lord, we just pray that you would help us to learn from these passages. And learn from these stories to apply them to our lives. And Lord, we love you. We pray all this in Jesus Christ's name. Amen. Amen.