20 Years

1. Introduction
20 Years Ago

I was in Saudi Arabia and Lucille was pregnant with Carissa. Islamic terrorists bombed the World Trade Centre by setting of explosives in the underground car park Waco tragedy Black Hawk Down Somalis kill US Army rangers in Mogadishu Technology o Cell phones were bulky o Computers were slow o Internet was still a novelty. World wide web was only a year old. Philippines o President: Fidel Ramos o Year they introduced cable TV o Leader of Red Scorpion Gang was shot dead Alfredo de Leon New Zealand o Governor-General: Dame Catherine Tizard o Prime Minister: Jim Bolger o A police helicopter and a traffic spotting plane collided in mid-air 20 years seems to be a lifetime away. Lots of changes between 1993 and 2013 specially in the area of technology In the Bible the number 20 signifies expectancy. If 21 is the threefold and signifies divine completion (3) as regards spiritual perfection, then 20 being one short of 21 signifies expectancy, of waiting, of patience. In the overall scheme of the Bible 20 years isnt much. o 40 years exile o 70 years captivity o 400 silent years What is it about 20 years that makes it relevant to WBC?

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God Used 20 Years to Purify Israel

Several passages in the Bible illustrate patience within a span of 20 years. Each situation marked a period of adversity, an unpleasant condition that theyd rather not be.
Crushed by the Canaanites (Judges 4:1 3)
And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD after Ehud died. 2 And theLORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Haroshethhagoyim. 3 Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORDfor help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years.

o The era of the Judges came after Joshuas death. Gods intention is to directly rule over Israel. It was supposed to be a period of theocracy. As Gods chosen people they were directly ruled by God through the judges. Does it mean that the Israelites lived up to this opportunity to be ruled directly by God? On the contrary they turned away from God and began to worship other Gods o By Judges 4, Israel has already had 2 Judges, God raised Othniel to deliver them from Cushanrishataim, the King of Mesopotamia. If you move forward the hands of time, modern day Israel will be ruled over by the Iraqis. o Then Ehud, the left-handed Benjamite was Gods deliverer from Eglon the king of Moab o After the death of Ehud, Israel did evil in the sight of God and they were made captive by Jabin, kind of Canaan. o The Canaanite occupation was harsh. In verse 3 we read that Sisera had 900 chariots in his arsenal he used this

weapons to oppress Israel. It was a military occupation. Movement was restricted and freedom was curtailed. o We can also read in verse 3 that Israel cried out to the Lord yet they were held captive for 20 years.
Pain under the Philistines (Judges 15:20, 16:31)
And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years. 31 Then his brothers and all his family came down and took him and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had judged Israel twenty years.

Samson the very name conjures up images of extraordinary strength, power and incredible feats At the time of his birth, Israel was ruled by the Philistines. (Judges 13:1 13 And the people of Israel

again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, so the LORD gave theminto the hand of the Philistines for forty years.)

The Philistines were a pagan sea-faring people who settled in SW Canaan. They were piratical and frequently raided the coastal towns. They were brutal. Samson was Israels judge in 20 of those 40 years and lets see why it took 20 years before Israel was delivered Samsons birth was extraordinary. His mission is foretold even before his conception. The barren wife of Manoah, a Hebrew man of Zorah, was mysteriously visited by the Messenger of Jehovah, who appeared to her in the form of a man. (Note: A compelling case can be made for the view that this Person was the preincarnate Christ. See Funderburk, 162-163.) The Messenger informed the dear woman that she would conceive a son. The child was to be raised a Nazirite (cf. Numbers 6), and his role would be to begin the deliverance of Israel from the oppressive Philistines, a pagan people who dwelt along the coastal region in SW Canaan (Judges 13:5-6). As a result of his

special dedication to the Lord, young Samson was endowed with incredible strength. Given the circumstances of his birth along with the training he received as a boy, one expects the life of this Hebrew leader to shine brilliantly as a thrilling example of fidelity before God. Instead, the student meets with considerable disappointment. Samsons life was highlighted with his infatuation with Philistine women. It is such a disappointment that he slept with the enemy. This infatuation did not go unpunished. Samson was not a model example of a man of God. His dalliance with Delilah led to his downfall. He revealed the source of his strength to this pagan woman who betrayed him. As a weakling he was held captive and his eyes gouged out. Samsons redemption and Israels deliverance came when he brought to the pagan temple as entertainment. There he sought Gods mercy and his strength came back. He killed more Philistines at this point than the entire 20 years he judged Israel. Israel had to wait for 20 years and suffer under the Philistines while their judge lived a life of arrogance without faith.

Absence of the Ark (1 Samuel 7:1 -2) And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the ark of the LORD and brought it to the house ofAbinadab on the hill. And they consecrated his son Eleazar to have charge of the ark of the LORD.2 From the day that the ark was lodged at Kiriath-jearim, a long time passed, some twenty years, and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD. The Ark of the Covenant is the original container for the Ten Commandments and the central symbol of Gods presence with the

people of Israel. Its absence was symbolic that God is not in their midst Guess who took the ark? Again the Philistines. God punished Israel because of the faithless superstition of the sons of Eli. They were abusive. They took advantage of the women serving the sanctuary of the temple . They took for themselves the prime cuts of meat sacrificed at the temple. In 1 Samuel 4, an account of Israels defeat at the hands of the Philistines. They took the Ark as a war booty. They thought that the Ark itself possessed supernatural powers that they can have once they get hold of the Ark. The True and Living God doesnt operate that way. The Philistines suffered from a series of God-inflicted plagues as we can read in 1 Samuel 5. The Ark was transported to Kireath-Jerim under the care of Abinadab where it remained fro 20 years. It was only moved out when David established his new capital and sanctuary in Jerusalem.

Application

Whats common pattern from the three events in the Old Testament. There is sin, then there is punishment. They have to do penance. There is repentance and turning away from sin There is purification and cleansing and healing. In the Bible a generation encompassed 40 years. 20 years is half a generation. To put matters in perspective, the Israelites roamed the wilderness for 40 years. It was Gods way of purifying the nation of Israel by getting rid of the generation liberated from Egypt. It was a sinful generation. They practiced idolatry. They were ungrateful and yearned the days of Egyptian slavery. 40 years for that generation to die away with the exception of Caleb and Joshua. 20 years is long enough for a generation to feel the full impact of Gods punishment, yet they are still alive to experience the next 20 years of living life in repentance. God gave them a chance as a nation to experience repentance and rewarded with restoration of fellowship with God.

3. God Used 20 Years to Prepare Israel

20 years is not only about purification and penance. It is also about preparation. It about being ready to take on the task. It is about maturity.
Mature for the Military (Numbers 1:3)
Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, by clans, by fathers' houses, according to the number of names, every male, head by head. 3 From twenty years old and upward, all in Israel who are able to go to war, you and Aaron shall list them, company by company.
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Israel was and still is a warrior nation. The book of Numbers is all about census. It is about the assessment of Israels capability as a nation and as most census go is intended to provide the leadership with the profile as to how to spread the resources amongst the people and how to utilise them. What then is the significance of the number 20 on Israels military service? Lets look at Deuteronomy 20 for the rules of military law in ancient Israel. o Just wars wars are fought only in defence of justice, suppression of evil and defence of the homeland against the enemy o Gods promise God promised to protect His warriors if they maintained their faith and obedience o Not all able bodied men were required to serve in any particular war o There were certain exemptions from military service: Those who had just built a new house and had not dedicated and enjoyed it Those who just planted a vineyard Newly-wed men Fearful and faint-hearted Levites o Prior to a declaration of war or an attack, a peace offer must be extended to the enemy o Some enemies were to be annihilated (Canaanites) o No scorched earth tactics were to be used Deuteronomy 20:19 o The laws of war plunder to provide reward to soldiers.

 Can you fight a just war if the troops were under-aged child soldiers? They do not have the maturity to handle the stress of warfare. They can go a rampage like undisciplined children. The military leaders wont be able to form a cohesive force to execute military plans with an undisciplined bunch of kids. Wars back then were fought man to man or mano-a-mano. Hand to hand combat is quite common as there were no firearms. They have to fight by sword, spears or bows and arrows. It takes the strength of mature men to handle these weapons. God used the number 20 to prepare physically and emotionally matured men to fight just wars of Israel. Primed for Priesthood (Leviticus 27:2-3)
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Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, If anyone makes a special vow to the LORD involving the valuation of persons, 3 then the valuation of a male from twenty years old up to sixty years old shall be fifty shekels[a] of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary.
In the Old Testament, all priests are Levites and not all Levites are priests. The priests represented the people before God and offered various sacrifices prescribed in the law. Very strict criteria for selecting priests other than the minimum age of 20 there are other criteria: o Must be male o Must be descendant of Aaron o Must be unblemished o Must have a proper marriage o Must have no uncleanness (e.g. leprosy) As in the military service, priesthood requires a certain level of maturity. Age 20 is when they will be considered for priesthood as they take vows. The priests live off the sacrifices and offerings of the people. We saw that this was abused during the time of Eli. Elis sons, Hpni and Phineas took advantage of their priestly possession. They took choice meat cuts and abused women working in the temple.

 Given the sensitive nature of their role in Israeli society the priests must uphold to high expectations. An out of control teenager will wreck havoc on the priestly institutions. It was already a damaged by the time Christ came to complete His earthly ministry. The greed and hypocrisy of the priesthood were exposed by Christ when they tried to eliminate Him. An immature priest could have been worse. Their immaturity could have added fuel to the priestly controversy challenged by Christ.

Family Frustrations (Genesis 31:38 - 41)

These twenty years I have been with you. Your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, and I have not eaten the rams of your flocks. 39 What was torn by wild beasts I did not bring to you. I bore the loss of it myself. From my hand you required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. 40 There I was: by day the heat consumed me, and the cold by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes.41 These twenty years I have been in your house. I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times

Bible commentators have called it as a great love story, Jacobs undying love of Rachel. The love was undiminished for twent years. It began in Genesis 29, when Jacob was in Haran and meets his cousin Rachel. Jacob was in Haran because of his brothers threat. He was meant to be there for a brief period of time to cool off Esaus anger. Haran is located in modern day Turkey and is about 800 kilometres away from Canaan. The love-struck Jacob agrees to work seven years for the hand of Rachel in marriage. On his wedding night Laban substituted the elder sister Leah in place of Rachel. Jacob is furious but agrees to work another seven years without pay. He married Rachel within a week. In the span of 20 year stay in Haran, Jacob fathered or sired the patriarchs of the 12 tribes of Israel with four different women. His two wives and two concubines. It was a very complicated family situation worthy of a soap opera. In the span of 20 years, Jacob amassed wealth. He was very capable and smart. After the second 7 year wait, Jacob wants
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to return home but is persuaded by Laban to stay awhile. Jacob agreed on the condition that he will keep on his own all the speckled goat and all the black sheep. After skilful agricultural practice and scheming Jacob ended up with a large flock. It was then he decided to return to Canaan in spite of Labans opposition. In twenty years, God used this period to raise the patriarchs of the 12 tribes of Israel. It provided continuity to the Abrahamic Covenant. With the riches he gained in Haran Jacob is assured that he can provide for the upkeep of the patriarchs of the 12 tribes. It ensured the survival and continuity Gods promise to Abraham that he will be the father of a great nation. Jacobs stay in Haran planted the seeds of this promise. In Haran he is isolated from the threat of the warring tribes in Canaan. There is the ever present threat from the Philistines who at one stage in Genesis 26, filled up Abrahams wells. He could not have raised these children if they were in the midst of turmoil. He could not have raised this children under the danger of Esaus threat.
Application

20 years is a prime period for preparation. 20 years follow the natural period of growth and maturity. God uses this natural period of growth and maturity to do His will. In His omniscience He mandated in the Mosaic the minimum age to be a soldier. In His all knowing wisdom He dictated the youngest age for priesthood. The best part is He used 20 years of Jacobs life to raise and nurture the patriarchs of the 12 tribes of Israel. God used several 20 year periods to ensure continuity and fulfilment of His covenant. 4. Conclusion If WBC is a person the past 20 years would have prepared it for the future

Weve seen how God used 20 years to purify and prepare. If WBC is a person it would have completed schooling and ready to launch his career. The past twenty years purified and prepared this church, this body of believers for the future. The future is to continue preaching and teaching Gods Word. Equip the body of believers with the knowledge of the Bible and teach how to apply it in our lives. The future is to spread the message of the Gospel, that Jesus Christ is the only Lord and Saviour. Reach out to the community and proclaim the message of the gospel. Reach out to our family and friends and tell them about the saving grace of personal faith in Jesus Christ The future is us. We are the church. We are the body of believers tasked to carry out the Great Commission. Will this church still be around for the next twenty years? Will this church grow, stagnate or simply disappear? It is up to us, it rests entirely on our commitment to continue Gods work. May we be unwavering and untiring in carrying out the Lords work May the Lord bless us for the next 20 years

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