Let's remind our self that; this was the out ward physical condition they suffered with due to a sick spiritual heart condition. Therefore; let's remember that the Lord Judges by the intents and condition of our heart and this is what He comes to heal before we see physical results. Using the Hebrew words as a definition for this verse it reads like this.

"They were deeply affected and yearned for deliverance. What they really needed was to have the soil of their hearts re-harrowed so God could give them His wisdom so a new crop could be planted in them of His forgiving grace. This condition they had was due to them being angry because of their fear of loss and abandonment. If you know the story of the prodigal son in the New Testament and the condition he was in when trying to find his destiny for his life; he was in the pig pen eating the husks of the pigs which was him between two alternatives as he was going through a thinking process in trying to make a change for the better in his life. I have come to believe when I meet people who are angry over one thing or another that; the real issue going on inside them is a spirit of fear at work and they use their anger to smoother those fear emotions because; it is easier to deal with it that way.

9. They ravished the women in Zion, The maids in the cities of Judah.

There was a spirit at work to look down on woman hood and the giftings that God put in them to bring wholeness to the community. The word Zion represents the ultimate wisdom of God and the intensions he has for woman to play in His designs for them.

The word maids represents woman who are virgins and their chastity should be applauded and respected as being separated as unto the Lord until they are spouised to a man in marriage. As born again believers who want to stand in the gap for God; we must understand the devil's devices to under mind every way he can against the basic morality of Christian character and bring down a God called country to not be able to lift the banner of freedom to the world. Our freedom must be built on Christian values and God called anointed people who have power to change circumstances.

I live with a great concern over the lack of knowledge and wisdom of the scriptures that I have heard preached in many circles only because they are trying to change people by dealing with sinful behavior and not seeing the true conditions at work in the hearts of the people to mature and inform them of how to co-operate with the Holy Ghost to change their out ward condition. Let's continue and deal with some men issues.

10. Princes are hanged up by their hands; the faces of the elders were not honored.

The word Prince represents a man who God has called to have dominion over his circumstances as a co-ruler with Him. However; their reputation was under attack to expose them to ridicule or contempt, especially in popular publications. That was because; they had become burdened down with this pressure and had stopped lifting up holy hands unto the Lord in trust and petitioning Him as their source of strength and got caught up in their cares of life and had forsaken their heritage.

Because the older men (elders) who had been the Godly example had stopped being God faced focused in transparency before God in their relationship with Him; their lack of commitment in Godly example had caused the people who were watching them to doubt their sincerity and trust their values. We can see this today in different denominations with in the Catholic church on these sex scandals and with in the born again church in preachers who have defamed the image of Christ in their different ungodly life styles. From a secular view; we have people who were voted into office who are totally self centered and out for power and personal gain.

10. They took the young men to grind and the children fell under the wood.

The young men were the ones God has chosen in their dispensation of time who are in their prime season however; they got deceived and they became concubined with worldly pleasures and become a slave to carnal lust and in their desire for maturity; they aligned them self with the worldly mandates of what they thought success was all about.

These children were from the age of infancy to their teen age years. They had become feeble because they were not being brought up by their parents in the admonition of the Lord and their spiritual heritage was non existent to their understanding. They had no clue how loving God the Father wanted to be to them. Therefore; the wood they carried was just the opposite of God's rod and staff of strength and they lived under task master spirits being tossed by every wind and doctrine that changed daily in their attempt to survive rather then thriving in their relationship with God.

11. The elders have ceased gathering at the gate and the young men from their music.

The leaders (elders) who God has called to mature the saints have fallen asleep and live in lack because; where they have been called to be the servant or the door keeper of God's wisdom and be a under Shepherd to God's sheep; they have been led away into fables and have apostasied by being led away with seducing spirits and doctrines of devils.

The young men are the anointed youth who are gifted in music that God uses their gift to prepare the heart of the people to experience His forgiving grace and Godly wisdom.
David the King was raised up by God and his anointed music would calm Saul's tormenting spirit because of his disobedience in following the Lord's orders.

12. The joy of our heart has ceased; our dance has turned into mourning.

Scripture tells us that the "joy of the Lord is our strength." In order to experience the joy of the Lord; a child of God must have a hunger and thirst in their relationship with God and not have a work ethic of feeling obligated to seek God through ritualistic endeavors. Obligated rules of obedience ended the day we received God's spirit and we became His child with freedom of choices.

Joy is the very characteristic of God him self and we experience it when we let His forgiving grace flow freely with in our soul (mind, will and emotions with freedom. The joy of the Lord is always available and we can never lose it because; it remains constant in what ever trial or dilemma we may find our self in. When we can not tap into encouraging our self in the Lord and cast our burdens on Him; this mourning takes on a spirit of death and we can become helpless and fearful at these times.

Now there are degrees of this affliction and it is defined in this next verse as to the thinking process that we can get in our own mind's eye causing us to become depressed and confess a spirit of doom that worsens our situation. This is what happens when we wallow in the trough of despondency.

The rest of this chapter defines the conclusions these people came up with in their own mind and since human nature has not changed in these thousands of years when they do not let God be at the helm of their courses of action and since God is the same yesterday, today and forever; he knows how to deliver His people from abuse and condemnation that the devil wants to inflict on God's kids and deliver them from this sickening and debilitating condition.

13. The crown has fallen from our head. Woe to us, for we have sinned and because of this; our heart is faint and our eyes have grown dim.

This crown that they were aware of losing was the eternal security and surrounding protection of the love that God had for them. They had experienced it and knew they had back slid from their passionate relationship they ones had with the Lord and not sure if they could be forgiven and recover from this predicament.

I have said this many times in other news letters. In many circles with in the born again church; they are telling people that they can fall out of favor with God once they are born again and lose the Holy Ghost and God will send them to hell. This is one of the most cruel and demonic teachings by any of God's kids and they need a thorough Holy Ghost spanking so they can repent and change their mind on God's loving kindness. This head concept represents that; God's children are not to consider them self not to be the tail of anything but; they are called to be the head and the light and wisdom of God in the earth.

These people were crying out to God in recognition that they had broken their covenant relationship with Him that they once had and their heart where God wants to sit enthroned and where the issues of life are formed and acted on is described in the Hebrew Concordance that; they had become infirmed comparing it to a menstruation cycle that woman go through monthly. I never cease to be amazed how rich and real the scripture is and how it becomes alive to our understanding when we learn to walk in God's courts of learning and let the Holy Ghost be our Professor.

Now we need to realize that; for every physical disorder or blessing in our life it is dependent on the spiritual condition of the inner man of the heart and determined by him cooperating with God's forgiving love and grace relationship. A woman cycle that she has is a God ordained gift and; we must understand the process of a woman becoming pregnant.

From a physical view; pregnancy of new life is by a man's sperm entering the egg of the woman. The body prepares for this by a woman‘s body collecting blood in the lining of the uterus in preparation for possible fertilization. So the egg can burrow into it and become an embryo. If the egg does not become fertilized after 14 days the blood is discharged through the menstrual cycle.

Now in comparing this to our spiritual life and God's continual desire to plant His being with the new life of His grace and mercy in our understanding in the womb area where he wants to be welcomed; it can only happen as we hunger after His presence.

We have the story in the New Testament in Matthew 9 of a woman who had been having her period for twelve years. She came to recognize that if she reached out and touched the hem of Jesus garment; she would be made whole and when she need; she was healed instantly. If we are to truly mature and understand spiritual truth and the way the universe was made and held together by God's all around sovereignty; we must know how to put spiritual truth with spiritual truth and have a sure conviction with no doubt that the God we seek is alive and well and on our side and has a unending desire to make Him self known to us.

When a Christian's eyes become dim; their spiritual eyes of their understanding of the Holy Ghost's presence becomes distant because; they have been compromised by the distorted lies of the enemy due to them not having their mind renewed daily with the Holy Ghost's counseling.

Let me take a side bar before defining the conclusions these people came up with because; they had trained them self to lean towards their own understanding rather then; acknowledging God in all their ways. A person must know the process and have a goal on understanding how we are to acknowledge God in all our ways. Acknowledging God is a way of life and not an obligated chore. The bible defines acknowledgment in these five areas.

The first definition is "familiar friend."
Jesus must be a familiar friend and be well known to us by us having an intimate relationship with Him. We must think very highly of Him and apply ourselves to walk with Him.

The second definition is "advice."
We must seek His counsel and opinion on all of our decision-making and on our line of conduct in our relationships with each other.

The third definition is "diligent."
We must not become lazy in our daily walk with Him. It must not become an obligation or chore, but it must become a joyful and delightful experience with passion and excitement as he reveals to us what kingdom living is all about.

The forth definition is "discovery."
There is created in us a revelation of a person showing us a way of reasoning that supersedes our own human thoughts. We in turn become totally fixed on a hunger for something we cannot find in our everyday experiences of life,

The fifth definition is "endure with."
As this process takes place, we must allow ourselves to become pliable, teachable, and submitted to changing our thoughts to GOD'S thoughts. As we experience His grace, (unmerited favor) it will empower and allow this attitude in us to be the motivating force in our life. Cont. in p. 8