Good day, everyone. Let's delve into the twelfth chapter of the Book of Judges. After reading it, you'll find it's quite a muddled affair, leaving you wondering what it's all about. It's essentially a confusing historical account. But don't dismiss it as mere confusion. Consider the lives of those involved – a complete mess. And where does this mess originate? I ask you, many among us face deception, illness, strife, and misfortune. Why can't one simply live well?

So, Judges chapter twelve, like the entire Book of Judges, is a rather melodramatic saga, a real soap opera. Where does this soap opera begin? The theme of Judges chapter twelve is "The Cost of Doing as One Pleases." In other words, the Book of Judges illustrates how each person doing as they see fit results in a dramatic mess.

If we carefully observe this generation, it's quite similar. One moment, a president is impeached; the next, another is arrested. My goodness, it's all about doing as one pleases. While they may think they're being shrewd, it's still doing as one pleases. So, what exactly does it mean to do as one pleases? It means not acting according to God's Word. These people are calculating, but in the end, they calculate themselves into trouble. In one instance, forty-two thousand people die, leaving behind forty-two thousand widows and fatherless children.

I. Judges Who Do as They Please and People Who Do as They Please

You must understand that the theme of the Book of Judges is "everyone did what was right in their own eyes." That's the crux of it. I suspect some of you are asking: God, why don't you intervene? Shifting the blame onto God. Can He intervene? Moses' words were clearly written, but no one followed them. Neither the judges nor the people followed them. Was the Book of Joshua available? Yes. Was Genesis available? Yes. Was Exodus available? Yes. Was Deuteronomy available? Yes. Was Numbers available? Yes. But the problem was, no one read them. People thought: Can reading those things put food on the table?

So, when it comes to following God's Word, people ask: Is it feasible? It's not practical; following God's Word is disadvantageous. We face real challenges in pastoral care. Why? Because we see people in trouble and feel anxious, watching them do as they please. When people do as they please and face misfortune, they ask: God, why is this happening? God might well be surprised: I was going to ask you, why is this happening? Why are you asking me?

You must understand, it's not that God doesn't care. He has already taught you the path to life. Even today, many among us do as they please, not diligently reading God's Word, but believing blindly, messing around, and asking aimless questions. God's Word has already made it clear: doing this will bring this curse, doing that will bring that curse; doing this will lead to death, doing that will lead to death.

As a result, in the Book of Judges, from Moses to Joshua, and later to Othniel, God continually lowered the standard. God was forced to do so. Where did this standard drop to? From Othniel all the way down to Jephthah, and after that, things only got worse. Next, we'll begin discussing Samson, which is a complete mess. No one reads the Bible, no one knows about the curses; they just keep having seventy sons, then dozens of sons, creating a chaotic situation.

Now that we are establishing God's church in this generation, I must tell you, we are very serious about God's Word. I wouldn't dare say we possess the truth, but we are constantly exploring it. I believe that when God sees our earnest exploration, He will reveal His truth to us.

No one believes; everyone follows their own desires. Don't assume that Israelites are simply descendants of Israel. Those who crucified Jesus, who did Jesus say they were? He said they were not descendants of Abraham, but descendants of the devil. Are Christians descendants of Abraham? No, they are descendants of the devil. Only those who do God's will are descendants of Abraham. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. If you possess Jacob's Mingding Destiny, Abraham's seeking, and Isaac's faith, you become a true Israelite.

Our brothers and sisters must ask themselves: What am I believing in? Or am I doing as I please? I tell you, many of our brothers and sisters do as they please. My goodness, the stubborn, the deceived, those who believe lies – one is worth two, but even two can't overcome the devil's schemes. Do you feel moved? I am truly moved. I really want to tell my brothers and sisters that the path of curses is not easy, the path of misfortune is not easy.

I ministered to a sister, saying: You must come out of this curse. The sister asked: What should I do? Oh my goodness, what should I do? I said: First, change these things. As the sister spoke, she felt it wasn't her problem, but someone else's. How can she be blessed? She does as she pleases, suffers the consequences, and then asks: Why is this happening? I think: Why wouldn't it be happening? It's bound to happen.

My brothers and sisters, I tell you, either you drive out the demons, or you will be taken away by them. I long for people to walk this path of Mingding Destiny with me. In good conscience, I have never harmed anyone. You might think I kicked someone out, but no, they left on their own. Oh, I am so moved! People doing as they please is a huge corruption. How many are willing to do according to God's Word? How many act according to their own desires? One word is offensive. Then, a small lie leads to the death of forty-two thousand people, going happily to their deaths.

II. The Ephraimites Who Do as They Please

I tell you, from beginning to end, do you think Gideon walked in God's will? I don't know. Gideon had seventy sons, and then another son named Abimelech. In the end, seventy sons were killed – a whole bunch of rotten things. People still wonder why God didn't stop it. You sin, you are punished, and you blame God? The cost of doing as one pleases is great.

You know, the Ammonites oppressed the Israelites for eighteen years. Did the Ephraimites come out? When the Ammonites came, the Ephraimites slipped away. Jephthah defeated the Ammonites, and then the Ephraimites came to argue. I wonder, what were they thinking? The Ephraimites said: Why didn't you call us? Jephthah said: Last time I came, you didn't come; the time before that, I called you, and you still didn't come. The time before that, I said: Ephraimites, come and save me! But you still didn't come. Now that I've defeated the Ammonites, you come and want to burn down my house.

I tell you, building a church is interesting. I've found that many church members don't cast out demons, because they cast out pastors. There's another interesting phenomenon: those who serve in the church don't have a say, but those who don't serve do. Those who cast out demons are eventually cast out. I tell you, it's dangerous to promote casting out demons in a church. If you are a pastor of a church, and you hear me say this, and you say: I will do as Chinese Mingding Destiny Theology teaches. Then you need to be careful. Before you even start casting out demons, you will be cast out by the members.

So, the Ephraimites never came, only after the victory did they come. They have no ability to cast out demons, no ability to fight the Ammonites, but they are very good at casting out pastors, very good at dealing with Jephthah. I wonder, what are they thinking? A group of Ephraimites doing as they please. You know why the Ephraimites came?

I tell you, what I'm telling you is the unofficial history of the Bible, which I made up myself. Ephraimite A said to Ephraimite B: Hey, this Jephthah really defeated the Ammonites. Do you know how much money he divided? Ephraimite B said: Oh, he divided a lot. All the money brought by the Ammonites was taken by Jephthah. Ephraimite A said: Yes, he didn't give us any. Ephraimite B said: What should we do? Ephraimite A said: We have to get our share back. Pretty bad, right? When there was a war, you didn't come, and you say you didn't know? How is that possible? The Ephraimites said: Why didn't you tell us? We are going to burn down your house. Isn't that asking for trouble? My goodness, this time it's serious. Jephthah said: If you want money, we can discuss it in the house, and dividing it with you will be the end of it. That's really what it was about.

I tell you, no matter what, those who are incompetent outside are competent at home. You have to know that those who are bullied outside are kings at home, very powerful. Those who are competent outside are weak at home. Then Ephraimite C said to Ephraimite D: This Jephthah looks down on us Ephraimites. We are great Ephraim, great Ephesus, our brand has been smashed by him. Who are we Ephraim? Ephraim is the largest tribe in Israel! Jephthah, this stinky kid, we have to deal with him. How could he be our judge? That's how it is. Is it reasonable? No. But they think it's a matter of course, a bunch of hooligans. How important is face?

As the Ephraimites spoke, they held a meeting. All the leaders of Ephraim gathered together. You said a word, I said a word. The leader stood up and said: Those who want to seek justice from Jephthah, follow me. The leader of Ephraim shouted: We are great Ephraim, our reputation cannot be trampled on by Jephthah. This is a story I made up, but it would probably be like this. The Bible is just too lazy to record them. Who is willing to follow me? The groundwork has been laid. After we go, all the spoils of war from the Ammonites must be taken back. That's all for great Ephraim. Which part of this is according to God's Word? None of it is according to God's Word, just a bunch of hooligans.

I tell you, I can hardly imagine why God created such a group of hooligans among the Israelites in the Book of Judges. God, you brought them out of Egypt, what were you going to do? Bring out such a group of hooligans to create a hooligan history. This is simply a soap opera, hooligan judges, hooligan Israelite people, where is the image of God? You can't see it in them, you can't see the image of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, or Joseph, all are the image of hooligans. As a result, my goodness, the entire people were excited and held a conference to seek justice, going happily to their deaths.

Who is Jephthah? The Spirit of God came upon Jephthah, and God wanted to use Jephthah to save the Israelites. You come to fight Jephthah, what is that like? It's a bit like Korah in the Bible, do you remember? Korah, who rebelled against Moses in Exodus, had great personal gain. This group of Ephraimites is just like Korah, wanting to rebel. I ask you, can rebellion have a good end? Korah, Dathan, and Abiram did it because of money and face.

The Ephraimites mobilized forty-two thousand people, which is equivalent to almost all the able-bodied men among the Ephraimites going out. I can tell you, those forty-two thousand people died without a burial place. Were there any smart ones? Yes, there were. An Ephraimite said: Brother, I'm going to seek justice from this Jephthah, do you want to go? This brother said: My wife is about to give birth, you go. As a result, he went and never came back. There were other smart people who made up stories and excuses, saying: Oh, my mother is sick, my father just passed away, I have to observe mourning. These are the smart ones. They thought: You go yourselves. I tell you, this is not a joke, isn't this rebellion? Isn't this opposing God?

The smart ones thought: Jephthah led the people, led the Gileadites, and defeated the Ammonites, but you Ephraimites are coming. What were you doing when the Ammonites came last time? Aren't you all a bunch of weaklings? You go, I won't go. But you can't say that, or the Ephraimites from top to bottom won't fix you? Hold a criticism meeting or something. As a result, they don't fix Jephthah, they fix you.

The smart ones said: Oh, I can't get away, I really want to go with you. As a result, they didn't die. So the Ephraimites from top to bottom are a bunch of hooligans, writing a hooligan history. A group of people doing as they please, not acting according to God's Word. Don't assume that the Ephraimites are just Joseph's son Ephraim, prospering in the place of suffering. When they were suffering and being bullied, they were depressed. But when Jephthah won the victory, they came alive, just like that. Oh, everyone did as they pleased, forty-two thousand people died unnatural deaths, without any image of Joseph, without any image of Jacob, without any image of Abraham or Isaac, all a group of people doing as they pleased.

Our brothers and sisters, listen to my advice, be sure to understand what God's Word says, be sure to have a dream in God's kingdom, not doing as you please. Tell yourself: Even if following God's Word is hard, difficult, and painful, I will do it, not doing as I please, because that is the path to destruction. I am working hard to bring everyone to blessing, but the path to blessing cannot be heard, it doesn't sound like the path to blessing. The path of curses, selfishness, self-centeredness, and doing as one pleases sounds like taking advantage, but that is the path to destruction. People cannot oppose God. Jephthah struck down all the Ephraimites at the Jordan River to the east.

III. Jephthah, the Judge Who Did as He Pleased

This Jephthah and this Gileadite, they had quite the temper, you see? Because the Ephraimites, they just lifted a little finger and said, "You Gileadites are just Ephraimite runaways, dwelling among Ephraim and Manasseh." Ayoh, that riled up these Gileadites, and that riled up this Jephthah. From the time Jephthah made his debut, and he wasn't just debuting as a judge today, he was quite the figure in the underworld, not to be trifled with. Jephthah had never taken such guff.

I reckon Jephthah had read a bit of the Bible, but not quite understood it. He wasn't too clear on what Abraham was about, what Isaac was about, what Jacob was about, what Joseph was about. Jephthah was thinking, "I'm the judge of Israel, and you come to rebel, even threatening to burn down my house? Come and have a go!" As a result, forty-two thousand Ephraimites engaged in a major battle with Jephthah and his Gileadites.

Do you all know what kind of people the Gileadites were? The Gileadites were actually half the tribe of Manasseh, plus Reuben, and another tribe. It's not important, just the two and a half tribes that stayed east of the Jordan River, they were called Gileadites. These Gileadites, they had quite the temper, and these two and a half tribes of Gileadites, they started fighting with the Ephraimites. How formidable was Jephthah? He could defeat the Ammonites. The Ammonites could defeat the Ephraimites. The Ephraimites, in front of the Ammonites, wouldn't dare to utter a peep. But when they came before Jephthah, they became formidable. I find it quite interesting. In the end, they were soundly defeated by Jephthah. The Ephraimites lived west of the Jordan, but they ran over to the east side.

These Gileadites blocked all the fords. When they saw someone coming, they would ask, "Are you an Ephraimite?" If the person said, "No, I'm not," the Gileadites would say, "Then say 'Shibboleth'." But they would say "Sibboleth." A person's accent is hard to change. There's no time to change the accent. In places like Wuhan and Sichuan, they often mix up "n" and "l." "Grandma" is pronounced "leilei." Ayoh, I tell you, that's how it was with the Ephraimites. As a result, they were stopped, and their heads were removed. Quite interesting, isn't it?

Jephthah and the Gileadites killed forty-two thousand men. Not one of these forty-two thousand returned. Immediately, there were forty-two thousand widows, forty-two thousand fatherless children. I ask you, what will happen? Immediately, there will be forty-two thousand terrorist families seeking revenge! What will happen on the Ephraimite side? They won't say they did something foolish. What will they say? They will say they want revenge. Isn't this killing their parents?

If Jephthah had Gideon's wisdom, would he have done this? He wouldn't have. Jephthah was from the underworld, not much education, and that's deadly. Why kill so many people? Give them classes, educate them well, and send them back. At least as a judge in Israel, you would earn a good name. You created forty-two thousand families, and as a result, you became their father's killer, or their brother's killer, or their son was killed by you. Can these forty-two thousand families let you off? No, they cannot.

Brothers and sisters, we must know that a person cannot do things this way. This is called doing as one pleases. Did Jephthah seek God? No. Did he do according to God's will? No. He wasn't like Moses. Moses did everything by seeking God. It was God who destroyed the Korah rebellion. Moses didn't seek vengeance for himself. Jephthah killed forty-two thousand people. How much blood was on his hands? As a result, he was a judge for six years. The Bible doesn't write about how he died.

Think about it. Jephthah was skilled in combat, physically strong. I ask you, his daughter, let's say she was twenty years old. How old was Jephthah? Forty-something. Six years later, he might be fifty, just over fifty, in his prime, and he died. We don't know how he died. Maybe it was a car accident, maybe he was bitten by a poisonous snake, we just don't know.

I ask you, how should the writer of Judges write about this? There's no way to write it. In the end, don't make him look too bad. He died, that's it, he passed away. What are you going to do? It's hard to write. Jephthah was poisoned, shot by a hidden arrow, stabbed by an assassin. Ayoh, I tell you, after saying all that, it's not very meaningful. You might say, "Why didn't God protect him?" Hey, you killed so many people, how can God protect you? He didn't change his underworld habits. He still ran forward according to his own bloodlust. Fortunately, he only had one daughter, and in the end, he offered her to God. So, ignorance and doing as one pleases will lead to destruction!

After reading the history of the Israelites, after reading these melodramas, can we wake up a little? Don't be willful, don't do as you please, start acting according to God's word. If Judges said Jephthah was formidable, he should have started organizing the Israelites to read God's word, from Genesis to Deuteronomy. Start restoring a God-centered life, start requiring the people of Israel to restore sacrifices, restore worshiping God, wouldn't that be good?

Why do I say Jephthah was ignorant? Because he also developed a habit of making vows. What kind of vows are those? In the end, he offered his own daughter as a burnt offering. It's really troubling. So, ignorance can bring many serious problems. Therefore, a judge doing as he pleases is also a path to destruction.

IV. Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon, Who Did as They Pleased

The following passage says that Ibzan had thirty sons and thirty daughters. The daughters were all married off, and he found wives for his sons. He was a judge for seven years. I think the person writing Judges is quite interesting. "Ayah, I'm writing about Ibzan. What am I writing about? Ayah, all he did in his life was get married." Fortunately, we don't know if Ibzan took any concubines. Ibzan had so many children, he was like a breeding pig, having children all day long. How busy was he? That must have been exhausting. He was a judge for seven years and then he was done.

Before Ibzan, he probably had quite a few children. Ibzan was a judge for seven years. The author writes very sarcastically. He had thirty sons, thirty daughters, the daughters were all married off, and the sons all got married, they all took wives. Ayoh, my goodness! I ask you, sixty weddings in seven years. Let's calculate. How many months are there in seven years? There are about eighty-four months in seven years. He held sixty weddings for his children, he was just busy with that. That means he held a wedding every month and a half. Ayoh, I tell you, Ibzan was a judge, his sons got married, his daughters got married. Do you think he received a lot of gifts? Of course, he did. Did he have time to read God's word? Did he have time to properly judge the cases of Israel? He didn't care.

The author writes very sarcastically. He recorded what the judges of Israel did. All he could remember was holding weddings. When people mention Ibzan, it's just weddings. There's nothing to write about. Really, there's nothing to write about. Ayah, people find it troubling. You say the judges of Israel were glorious, either marrying wives or marrying off daughters every day, without the word of God. Would you say that's doing as one pleases?

Elon is even more interesting. He was a judge for ten years, and then he died. I tell you, the author is quite interesting. "Elon, what should I write about? Ibzan, the wedding king." Ayah, what did Elon do? Hard to write, hard to write. Maybe he did some foot massages. Ayah, let's not talk about it. When the author wrote about Elon, he almost wrote about Elon committing incest. Anyway, he did as he pleased, he did whatever he wanted. I was also thinking, "God, how did you raise up these things? What are these things?" Ayah, I'm afraid God will get angry. There's really no one. You can't find anything good no matter how hard you look. How tragic.

When it came to Abdon, the author didn't know what to write either. If someone were to write about you, what could they write? Let's think about it. Abdon had forty sons, thirty grandsons, seventy donkey foals. Do you know there's a car brand called "Bao Lv" (Precious Donkey)? He gave each child a "Bao Lv" car. Quite interesting. That's the greatest thing he did. He was a judge for eight years. The author wrote it quite interestingly, didn't he? What did Abdon do? He didn't do anything. If he had even a little bit of an attitude of serving God, it wouldn't have been written so shamefully.

So, if you have children, don't name them Ibzan, and definitely don't name them Elon, and don't name them Abdon. Why? These are all very shameful names. I lament, one day, when our lives come to an end, and someone writes about us, "So-and-so, Elon, was a pastor, was a pastor for ten years, and then he died." What did he do? He didn't do anything. Ayah, the things he did can't be written. What do you think? Shameful. The things he did can't be written.

So, brothers and sisters, often write about yourselves. What have I done? Don't wait for others to write about you. Ask yourself, "What have I done?" Write about what you have done. Ayah, I was thinking, when people come before God, what can they offer to God? When they come before God and say, "God, I'm here," God says, "Who are you? What did you come for?" I don't know you. The person says, "Hey, how can you not know me?" God says, "I don't know you." Wouldn't that be believing in the Lord in vain?

So, there's a saying in the Bible, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength." Live out God's glory in this world. How good is that? Live out God's glory. At that time, bring a thick stack of achievements before God and say, "God, I participated in building your glorious church in this world. I have finished the race, I have fought the good fight, I have kept the faith. I come before you to receive your reward." God will say, "Come in, enjoy the glory that God has prepared for you." Actually, this sentence often encourages me, allowing me to live out God's likeness in this life of vanity.

Don't let others write about you, ayah, writing a lot of biographies that are a bit troubling to read. Someone said, "Teacher, what happens after people die?" We haven't experienced it, but based on my observations, I tell you, after people die, they can see everything on earth, they can see the things in heaven and the things in hell. At that time, people will gnash their teeth. It's not a movie, they're just watching, and then someone will tell your story to others.

I think everyone should remember the four words "doing as one pleases" in our minds. If you're going to act, act according to God's will, and don't pay the price for doing as you please. If people do as they please, according to their own will, they will definitely be finished. Even if they are judges, they are not very good judges. If there is no mighty one to save us, we cannot save ourselves.

May God bless everyone!