I believe we are still living in the day of the “superstar.” We have been for some time now. The larger the splash you can make in this world, the more important, impressive, and irreplaceable you are thought to be. I believe that attitude exists among many preachers as well as often among people in general, and (I’ll say it) among many church members in particular. Some enjoy having a “big name” and “being out front.” I believe that attitude even exists among some preachers in our associated work. There is only one way I have found to be “big” in the ministry, and that is to eat a little bit of everything (especially desserts) that our ladies bring to a fellowship. In our text verses Paul is talking about the kind of people God uses. Look again at vv. 27-28: “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; (28) And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are . . . ” That is not very complimentary is it? It certainly isn’t to this modern generation. "Foolish" means dull, slow, silly, absurd, moronic. Those who will put Christ first in their lives and serve Him first are seen as foolish, even moronic by the world. Look at what Paul said in I Corinthians 4:10: “We are fools for Christ’s sake . . . ” He did not say we act foolish (like some do today), but we are considered fools by the world “for Christ’s sake.” "Weak" means without strength, strengthless, feeble, needing power. Even in the eyes of the “religious” world we may be considered weak. These very Corinthians considered Paul to be weak. Again, in I Corinthians 4:10 he says, “. . . we are weak, but ye are strong . . . ” "Base" literally means to be without kin; of no family reputation; low-born; vile. And Despised refers to being set at nought; treated as contemptible; to make utterly nothing of. These two words describe how this world and this world’s system think of those who follow Christ. Here is how Paul put it in I Corinthians 4:10, “. . . ye are honourable, but we are despised.” (Many of the believers in Corinth had figured out how to be acceptable to the world.) And why does God use the foolish, the weak, the base, and the despised? I Corinthians 1:29: “That no flesh should glory in his (God’s) presence.” God has to bring us to the point that we realize that we have nothing to offer Him before He can really use us. Now, let’s turn to I Kings 17. We are going to go back and look at a man we looked at a few years ago. He is one of my favorite personalities in the Old Testament. He is a man of whom I have said I would like to be. His name is Elijah. It has been suggested that Elijah had an ego, and maybe he did. Look at what he said to Ahab in vs. 1: “As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.” He even felt like he was the only one standing for God. In I Kings 19:14, he told God “. . . I, even I only, am left . . . ” He was saying, “I am the only one that cares about standing for You, Lord!” Before Elijah could be used greatly of God in the chapters that follow, he is going to have to learn some hard lessons. He had to attend God’s seminary, and God is about to teach him the following three, that he is a . . .

I. A DRY DITCH - I KINGS 17:1-7. (SPEAKS OF OUR PREPARATION) (LESSON #1)

II. AN EMPTY BARREL - I KINGS 17:8-16. (SPEAKS OF GOD’S PROVISION) (LESSON #2)

III. A DEAD BODY - I KINGS 17:17-24. (SPEAKS OF GOD’S POWER) (LESSON #3)

We are well aware that God has created and ordained only two institutions upon this earth - the family, or home, and the church. We can read about God’s establishing the first family in the book of Genesis (and we will do that in a few minutes). The family is the first and oldest of the two organizations that God has established. Description: A “family” refers to a household consisting of a father, a mother, and their children dwelling together. The family is the most basic social unit of an organized and ordered society. Sadly, though, many families, many homes are in disarray today because they are not following God's design. First Corinthians 11:3 gives us God’s design for order in the home: “But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.” The Head of the home is not the man, but it is to be Christ (for He is the head of every man). And, the head of the woman is to be the man, the husband. This DOES NOT imply that there is some inferiority in women. I believe I Timothy 2:13-14 clearly give us the reasons for this domestic order: “For Adam was first formed, then Eve. (14) And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.” (Now, if you have a problem with that order, discuss it with God. He set it!) The husband/father is to be the leader, and especially the spiritual leader, in the home. Our text that we just read tells us essentially the same thing. If our homes are not what they should be for God, we husbands and fathers will be called upon by God to give answer for it. But what we are seeing today is that the “home,” especially the kind of home we read about in the Bible is rapidly disappearing from the landscape. Christ is no longer at the center of the home. Television is, or some hobby or recreation is, or some sport is. Children’s sports on a Wednesday or Sunday were once taboo, but today they seem to be all the rage. I can almost hear Satan laughing and saying, “Mamas and daddies, keep on showing your children that serving God and church are not as important as these other things. According to NCAA statistics, only a minuscule percentage of high school athletes go all the way to play professionally. Only 1 in 610 (.16%) will ever get drafted by a Major League Baseball team. Only 1 in 3,960 (.025%) will get picked by an NFL team. But I can guarantee you that 1 out of every 1 (100%) will eventually die, and if they die without Jesus Christ as Savior, 1 out of every 1 (100%) will go to Hell when they die. Many fathers are not interested in being the spiritual leader in the home (it’s not MACHO) and quite often the home is left leaderless. By the way, I thank God for good, godly, Christian mothers who, when dads won’t be the men they should be for the Lord, will take upon themselves (with all their other duties) the job that is supposed to be dad’s! (We will look at those duties in a moment.) And many homes are not united in a commitment to the Lord. Christ does not have first place. They are unlike Joshua in Joshua 24:15. Add to these things all that the world, the flesh, and the devil parade before families today - FORNICATION, LIVING TOGETHER WITHOUT BEING MARRIED, HOMOSEXUALITY, TRANSGENDERISM, UNGODLY SITCOMS ON TELEVISION, A SEX-CRAZED WORLD, THE PLAYBOY MENTALITY, DIVORCE, ETC. - and you can easily see why so many homes - even so-called “Christian” homes are breaking down today. Remember, the home is the basic unit of an ordered and orderly society. When our homes - especially God-fearing homes - are destroyed, we will be done as a nation! That is why Satan is working so hard today. He is:

I. CREATING CONFUSION ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF THE HOME.

II. CAUSING CONFUSION ABOUT THE ORDER OF THE HOME.

III. CAUSING CONFUSION (CONFLICT) ABOUT THE OPERATION OF THE HOME.

Someone has said that, in reality, every individual is actually 3 people, 3 persons. There is the person we are. There is the person we could be for evil. There is the person we could be for God. Dr. Vance Havner used to say, “God is using you all He can . . . but not all He could." If we would just “let go and let God" have His way in our lives, if we would just trust Him in a greater way in our lives, there would be no limit to how He could use us. The Bible has many examples of those who “sold out” to God, and He use them in a great way. There is PAUL who asked, “What wilt thou have me to do, Lord?” There is MOSES who chose “to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season . . . ” (Hebrews 11:25). There is DANIEL who defied the command of the king and prayed to God “in public” (with his bedchamber widows open, not worried about who heard him). There is JOSHUA who was a great leader of Israel and said, “ . . . as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). In modern day life there have been those like Dwight L. Moody who said: “The world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully consecrated to him. By God’s help, I aim to be that man.” None of these were “super saints.” They were simply ordinary individuals who trusted God and made Him the priority of their lives. They were men of great faith in the Lord. So, what is the problem? Why do we not live up to our potential for God? We are most often like those disciples who said in Luke 17:5, “Lord, increase our faith.” And Jesus said to them in vs. 6: “If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.” The tribe of Manasseh in our text is a picture of those who fail to maximize their lives for God, and it reveals at least 3 reasons we fail.

I. OUR SETTLING FOR “INCOMPLETE POSSESSIONS” -- VS. 12.

II. THE SIN OF IMMOBILIZING PRIDE -- VS. 14.

III. THE SETTING OF INVERTED PRIORITIES -- VV. 15-18.

America is a nation of many gods today. What is a god? It is any entity (whether being or spirit) that is worshipped as having power over people or nature; any person or thing that has the power to direct our lives. In America some of the gods that are worshipped are: money, power, fame, pleasure, sex, possessions, sports, even people. False religion and a variety of cults that exist today (Scientology, New Age, occult activities, etc.) have made gods out of men - Jim Jones, David Koresh, and others. Not only do false religion and cults appear to be growing in our world, and especially in America, but there is a general agnostic or atheistic spirit that exists. Even some who profess to be saved exhibit a “practical atheism” or a “practical agnosticism” in their lives. They live as if it doesn’t matter to God how they live. They don’t pray. They don’t read, much less, study their Bibles. They don’t attend worship, etc. How do we, as believers, deal with a world that knows or cares little about the truth of and a relationship with Jesus Christ? We are to take Him to them. Paul gave us an example of how to do that when he visited the world center of pagan philosophy and religion - Athens, Greece. As we look at these verses, we will examine what Paul saw, what Paul said, and how the people (pagans, lost men) reacted to his message.

I. THE ARRIVAL OF PAUL (IN ATHENS) -- VV. 16-17.

II. THE APPEAL OF (THE) PAGANS -- VV. 18-21.

III. THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE PREACHER -- VV. 22-34.

One of our favorite songs to sing this time of year is “Christ Arose.” It begins: “Low in the grave He lay, Jesus my Savior, waiting the coming day, Jesus, my Lord.” I once had a friend ask me what Jesus was doing during those three days and three nights that His body was in the tomb. They asked, “He wasn’t just waiting for those three days and three nights to be over so He could come out of the tomb, was He?” On several occasions I have suggested an answer to this question. So, when I was asked the question again I began a deeper study and began writing an answer to it. That is what I want to share with you today. I call this “What Was Jesus Doing?” What was He doing during those three days and three nights that He was in the tomb? There is no single verse of Scripture that tells us what Jesus was doing between the time that He was crucified and dismissed His spirit from His body to and including the time that He came out of the tomb. However, several verses, when considered together, give us an insight into what was taking place during this time. Though I do not know, nor do I believe any man can know, ALL that took place during the time our Lord was in the tomb, I believe Scripture reveals at least two activities that occurred. We will consider both of them in order of what I believe is their importance.

I. FIRST IS THE ACT OF JESUS PRESENTING THE SACRIFICE OF HIMSELF BEFORE GOD.

II. THE OTHER ACTIVITY OF JESUS BETWEEN HIS CRUCIFIXION AND RESURRECTED IS FOUND IN FIRST PETER 3:18-20.

When you were a child did you ever question your parents’ love for you? Maybe When you were disciplined? Or, when you wanted something and didn’t get it? Or, you wanted to go somewhere and didn’t get to go? Or, when you didn’t get your way? But, when you grew up and matured, you saw how silly you were, right? Malachi is going to deal with some very immature people who who have decided to question the great love that God has for them. Satan wants people, especially those of us who are saved, to question God’s love, and it is entirely possible that at one time or another we might be tempted to do so. Maybe because of difficulties we may face, or failing to get our way, or failing to receive the things for which we may pray. Malachi lived in a day much like ours. It was at the end of an age. (For 400 years after Malachi spoke there would be no word from Heaven, now word from God.) It was a time when God’s people were indifferent, insensitive, and insolent toward Him. About one hundred years had passed between the return of the exiles from Babylon and the prophecy of Malachi. The people had gotten “settled down” in the land. Their apathy caused the prophet Haggai to say (Haggai 1:2-4): “Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the Lord's house should be built. (3) Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying, (4) Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste? (5) Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.” They were saying, “We’re too busy to worry about God’s house. We need to work on our own houses.” Have you ever noticed how the fervor and excitement of something new can fade? A church gets a new pastor, but the excitement of it eventually wears off after he has been there a while. People look back to the “good old days” when the building was filled, and people were being brought to the Lord and wonder, “Why can’t we have services like that today?” God has not changed! (We’re going to see that in the book of Malachi.) God’s Word has not changed! The Holy Spirit has not gone into retirement or gone out of business. What is left? God’s people have changed! We often no longer have the zeal that our forefathers had. Like the church at Ephesus (Revelation 2), we have “left our first love,” lost our fervor and excitement for Christ. These even came to the point that they questioned God’s love for them. In vs. 2 God says, “I have loved you.” But they replied, “Oh really? Wherein have You loved us?” They were actually saying, “If You really loved us we would not have all this trouble?” This is the first of 7 sarcastic questions the people of God ask Him in Malachi. So God answers them with 4 statements about His mighty love. We need to hear these statements because it is possible that we might today, especially if we’re not getting our way, do like these and question God’s love for us.

I. GOD SAYS HE LOVES WITH A SOVEREIGN LOVE -- VV. 2-3.

II. GOD LOVES WITH A STRONG LOVE -- VS. 3.

III. GOD LOVES WITH A STEADFAST LOVE -- VS. 4.

IV. GOD LOVES WITH A SEEKING LOVE -- VS. 5.

As I look at our world I see that our homes are in trouble. Not only are they in trouble, but they are troubled. We have families fighting against each other -- husbands against wives, wives against husbands, children against parents, and children against each other. It appears, as though everybody is just angry with everybody. What happened to the good times? What happened to the days when families used to sit down and eat together, laugh together, cry together, and share the Word of God together? I will tell you what happened. Prayer time has been replaced by Showtime . . . and HBO, and by X Box XS, and Play Station 5, by Nintendo Switch, and all sorts of video games like Call of Duty: Warzone and Minecraft, etc. Facebook and all kinds of social media have replaced the spirituality in our lives. Texting has taken the place of conversation. We allowed them to take prayer out of our schools. We have allowed them to take our rights to chasten our children. We stopped attending Bible classes, and “Mid-week services” have replaced “old fashioned” prayer meetings. (Probably none of us really know how to conduct a real prayer meeting today.) And if you think I am wrong, just check Sunday night and Wednesday attendance figures. In some churches attendance at those times is so low that they have just decided to do away with them and only offer Sunday morning worship - services just one day a week! People, God’s people, are not taking the time to learn the Word of God anymore, and these days we have to beg people to come and worship God (which they should want to do out of hearts of love and appreciation of what He has done for us). There is no way that you can say that you truly love and appreciate God when you can’t even even spend two days a week with him. There are a few things we note right off as we examine what Joshua said. First, when Joshua declared faithfulness to the Lord, he did so for HIS WHOLE FAMILY! He didn’t call the family together and take a vote. He didn’t ask Ms. Joshua and all the little Joshuas what they wanted to do in this matter. He recognized his responsibility as the spiritual leader of his family and said, “Family, here is what we are going to do.” I believe in this present day the one thing that is missing the most in the Lord’s churches is the willingness of husbands and fathers to seriously take on the role of spiritual leader in their homes. Many men have fallen victim to the Hollywood stereotypical idea of a man as being Mr. Macho, of being so “Ramboish” and so tough that he has no need of an Almighty God. Some have never accepted Christ as Savior and therefore cannot truly be a proper spiritual leader in the home. Others, for whatever reason, just do not desire that role and so pass it on to their wives. (I am thankful for mothers who will faithfully accept that role when dads refuse to obey God.) Churches today need MEN TO BE REAL MEN, men who will tell their families, “This is what we are going to do” . . . men who will take a stand for the Lord like Joshua did and stand up, stand up for Jesus! We need men who will say, 1) “We are going to go to church as a family.” “We are going to serve and worship God in our homes as well as in church.” “We are going to put away those things that are not pleasing to God.” “We are going to be a truly Christian family.” Next, when Joshua declared faithfulness to the Lord he set an example for all those around him. He said, “. . . choose you this day whom ye will serve . . . but as for me and my house . . . ” He didn’t say, “We’re going to take a poll and see what is popular among all of you and then do it.” He didn’t say, “We’re going to check for the least offensive way to serve the Lord and do that.” He didn’t choose to hide his candle under a bushel and only serve God at home and at church but not out in public. He said, “This is what we are going to do regardless of what you decide.” Our text is a charge and a challenge that is needed by God’s people today. And, lest we think we can get too old (or too old in the Lord) to be encouraged to faithfulness, be reminded that Joshua was about 110 years old at this time. We never get too old to declare our devotion to the Lord. And, we never get too old to faithfully serve the Lord. Joshua declared his devotion to the Lord and encouraged the people to do the same. We cannot possibly repay God for all His blessings, but I believe we owe Him a debt of gratitude for all He has done for us. There are a few other things I would like for us to notice from these verses.

We live in a day when things are changing on almost a daily basis. We have seen changes in technology. We have gone from rotary dial phones, to touch tone, to cell phones, to Apple watches. We have gone from 4 and 8-track tapes, to cassettes, to CD’s, to digital. We have gone from dial-up internet to today’s fiber optic service, and more. We have seen changes socially. Today, a person’s word is rarely their bond. Marital problems seem to be the norm rather than the exception to the rule. We see young children and teens who interact more with video games than they do with their parents and who, in fact, seem to have little to no regard for those parents. And we have seen parents who feel no parental duty to care for and discipline their children. Some don’t even want their children and forsake them through adoption or abortion. We have seen changes politically. Nationalism is declining, and globalism is growing in our world and in our nation (setting the stage for the one-world leader, the Antichrist). In the U.S., many would love to see us move from a democratic republic to socialism. And we have seen changes religiously. Many churches have moved from, “Preach the word” to social and “feel good” messages and tickling the ears of their hearers. Yet, in this time when more change takes place in a year than have taken place over the past hundreds of years, we serve a God who does not change! He is the faithful and true God. In Malachi 3:6 He said to Israel, “For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” Human nature cannot be relied upon, but we can trust in the God Whose faithfulness upholds the world at this very moment. Vs. 9 of our text says that God “is the faithful God.” The Hebrew word that is translated "faithful" means "to support, bear; to be firm, faithful; here, to be trusty." The Greek word means "trusty, trustworthy, worthy of confidence; of persons, one on whom we may rely; dependable."

I. FIRST, GOD IS FAITHFUL IN HIS PERSON -- VS. 9a.

II. GOD IS FAITHFUL IN HIS PROVISION -- VS. 8.

III. GOD IS FAITHFUL IN HIS PROMISES -- VV. 9-10.

Paul is writing to Titus about the duties of a pastor. Titus was led to the Lord by Paul (1:4) and labored with him. He had been left in Crete by Paul to “set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city . . . ” In this letter he is giving instruction to Titus how to carry out the things he was instructed to do and to faithfully serve God. By the way, good instruction for preachers is good instruction for the congregation. In Titus 2:1-10 Paul tells Titus to speak “the things which become (are becoming to) sound doctrine . . . ” and then he names some of those things. Just “holding” sound doctrine is not enough. We must live it as well, thus adding a reality and a beauty to those things we preach. In our text Paul states that God’s grace teaches us these things and how to live them daily. In short we can go to the school of God’s grace. The grace of God cannot be easily defined. II Corinthians 8:9 gives us one of the best illustrations of grace I can think of: “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” And Philippians 2:5-8 describes this grace in action: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: (6) Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: (7) But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: (8) And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Grace is the wonderful, unmerited favor of God. Someone came up with this acrostic: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. The word that is translated “grace” is “charis,” or a gift. In that day it implied a favor freely done without claim or expectation of return. It finds its motive in the bounty and free-heartedness of the giver. In the New Testament it refers to an act that is beyond what might ordinarily be expected. Grace is getting what we do not deserve. (Mercy is not getting what we do deserve.) But does all this actually and accurately define God’s grace? I believe one of the reasons it is so easy to take God’s grace for granted is that we truly cannot fathom the great degree of grace that has been shown us “while we were yet sinners.” When we see ourselves as we once were -- lost, doomed, condemned sinful beings, destined to hell and helpless to save ourselves -- we begin to get a picture of our need -- Ephesians 2:1-5: “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; (2) Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: (3) Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others." But now grace enters: (4) But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, (5) Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) . . . ” When we see the Lord Jesus willingly stoop down, lift the cross, and begin to carry it to Calvary, and there submit to crucifixion, the cruelest death Rome could imagine, and do it in our stead, maybe we will begin to get a picture of God’s great grace. (“Wonderful Grace Of Jesus”) It was grace that caused Him to offer Himself. It was grace that caused Him to die for us -- that caused Him to remain on the cross. According to vv. 11-12 God’s grace that brings salvation also teaches us some things.

I. GRACE TEACHES US TO LIVE CONSECRATED LIVES - VS. 12.

II. GRACE TEACHES US TO LIVE CIRCUMSPECTLY - VS. 12.

III. GRACE TEACHES US TO LIVE CONFIDENTLY (LOOKING FOR CHRIST’S RETURN) - VS. 13.

I believe the worst thing that can happen to any people, or to any church, short of denying the faith, is to become content and complacent - to be “at ease.” This is the warning God gave to Israel in our text - “Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!” "At ease" speaks of being recklessly, carelessly at ease. Even though they had quit serving Him, God’s people felt secure in their walled cities. Vv. 3-6 describe their attitude: “Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near; (4) That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall; (5) That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of musick, like David; (6) That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.” I can think of at least 2 examples of churches that were “at ease” in the New Testament. In the book of Revelation we see the church at Sardis. Revelation 3:1 tells us about that church: “Thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.” "Name" refers to reputation; that by which one is known. Here was a church that was living on past reputation. To the world they appeared to be flourishing. There may have been much activity go on. They had a “form of godliness” . . . but they no longer operated with godly power. We must be careful not to confuse activity with service and spirituality. They appeared to be doing all the right things, but in reality they were empty, vain. There was deadness: 1) In their souls; 2) In their services; 3) In the spirit of their pastor. (Nothing will sap a preacher’s strength faster than a dead church holding dead services.) There was deadness in the preaching because of this. Because there was deadness in the preaching, there was deadness, in their hearing, and in their praying. To the outside observer, all seemed well, but to the One who knows the hearts and deep secrets of men they were dead. The church at Laodicea is the other example. Revelation 3:17 tells us that this church also held a high opinion of themselves. Jesus said to this church, “Because thou sayest . . . and knowest not.” Their assessment of themselves was quite different from that of the Lord. They were comfortable. They saw themselves as doing O.K. They had a good bank account. They were increased with goods (had the latest and best stuff). They thought they were in need of nothing. They were self-sufficient. But the Lord saw them differently. He said they were wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked . . . and they had put Him on the outside. Many of the Lord’s churches in these last days seem to have adopted the attitudes of Laodicea, Sardis, and even these Israelites. It is a condition that refers to an indifference toward that which is most important in God’s eyes. Yet, in that condition we expect God to bless us and to act for us in difficulties and afflictions. So here is God’s warning - “Your condition has separated you from Me so that I cannot bless.” Isaiah 59:1-2 says, “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: (2) But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” We need to let the things God said to Israel (and Judah) be a warning to us so that we do not fall into the same condition as them. Four words describe and warn us of this condition.

I. ISRAEL WAS COMFORTABLE -- VS. 1.

II. ISRAEL WAS CONTENT -- VS. 1.

III. ISRAEL BECAME CALLOUSED -- VS. 3.

IV. ISRAEL COMPROMISING -- VV. 4-6.