I Kings 21 & 22
Chapter 21 tells us about King Ahab wanting to own a vineyard that was next door to his palace where he lived. This vineyard happened to belong to a man named Naboth, who lived there in Jezreel. So Ahab asked Naboth if he could buy his vineyard, since it was next to his house, as he wanted to make it into a garden. But Naboth knew that God had apportioned all the land to each family, and he wouldn't allow his allotment from God to be divided up or this plot to be separated from the rest of the land his family owned.
So Ahab went to his room to sulk! He was a weak man, and wouldn't even try to think up any other way to get what he wanted. That's why he was dominated by his wife.
So Jezebel took matters into her own hands, and just had Naboth killed, so he couldn't defend himself from her taking his field, and she gave it to Ahab.
Then God sent Elijah to Ahab, to denounce him for murdering the man and stealing his land. He told him that, in the place that the dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick your blood, even yours (21:19). This was fulfilled in 22:38, when he died in battle and they washed his blood from his chariot and armor in the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood. We get an interesting peek here at the workings in the Spiritual realm that affect this physical plane where we live in 22:19-23. God sees to His Plan being worked out by our choices.
And Elijah also denounced Jezebel, predicting that, dogs would eat her by the wall of Jezreel (21:23); which came to pass in II Kings 9:35-37. It's grisly. It's exactly what God had said would happen to her.
O my Father, some of Your stories are not pretty, because the evil of this World isn't pretty. It's ugly and disgusting and sickening.
But one Day You will do away with all the evil and wrong, and Your beauty will shine out on all You have made. And we also will shine with Your glory, Father, and the last enemy, death, will be destroyed, to no more have dominion in all Your realms.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, March 25, 2018
Saturday, March 24, 2018
Elijah And Jezebel
I Kings 18 & 19
This passage records Elijah's challenge to the priests of Baal and his running from Jezebel.
18: 24
Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the Name of the Lord, and the God Who answers by fire, He is God.
And all the people answered and said [essentially], That's a good idea.
Baal was considered to be a god of fire, so this made sense to them. They thought, surely, this "god of fire" could answer with fire. Elijah said that they had been "hopping between two forks," "hesitating between two opinions" (18:21). So they tried all morning to get Baal's attention, to no avail.
Then Elijah made the offering to the Lord impossible to burn, drenching it thoroughly with water, and calmly called on the Lord. Who then answered with so much "fire" that not only was the animal consumed, but the very rocks of the altar were melted away, and all the water was sucked up.
So he had all 450 prophets of Baal executed on the spot for blasphemy and lying about God.
When Jezebel heard how Elijah had killed all her prophets, she threatened to kill him, too. He was so exhausted from the emotional high of God's consuming Fire and running the 17 miles to Jezreel, "and he was afraid and arose and ran for his life" (19:3).
I need to pay attention to my own state. If I allow myself to be hungry or overly tired, that will make me vulnerable.
Then Elijah needed a nap!
19: 5-8
As he slept under a juniper tree, an Angel came with bread and water, and woke him up twice with this Heavenly fare, to strengthen him supernaturally, "because the journey is too great for you." He was to go to Horeb, the Mountain of God, another name for Sinai, in the South-West part of the Sinai Peninsula. There God spoke to Elijah.
He just wanted to give up and die, but God had more He wanted him to do. Here we learn that, "the Lord was not in the wind (storm), ... the Lord was not in the earthquake, ... and the Lord was not in the fire."
His voice was in "a sound of a gentle blowing;" literally, "the sound of a gentle stillness." God's voice is a very quiet, gentle "knowing" deep in our spirit.
Have you ever heard His voice? I know I need to be in a quiet place to hear Him, so He won't get drowned out by all the noise the World puts around us constantly.
19: 15-17
God had Elijah begin to destroy Baal worship in Israel, and now He wanted him to anoint some people: Hazael as king of Aram (Syria), Jehu as king over Israel (the Northern Kingdom); and Elisha, to mentor him to take his own place as Prophet! V. 17 says, It shall come to pass that he who escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall slay; and whoever escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall slay. Possibly, to wipe out Baal worship in the Land.
God does everything to destroy lies, deception, and cruelty. But Mankind will always go back to these atrocities. That explains the persecution of Christians today.
O my Father, You are God, You can do whatever You want! You can destroy all the lies and deception and cruelty in the World--but to do that, You would have to take away the "free will" that You have given us, and make us robots. You don't want robots or puppets, You want us to freely choose to love You, because You have loved us first.
I don't know why anyone would not want to get to know You, Father, You are so good and compassionate and wise. But our enemy is still telling people the same idea he deceived Eve with: that we're smart & can make our own decisions, so we don't need God, we can be our own god. We know better.
Then we wonder why life doesn't go the way we want it to, and we experience disappointments and pain and sorrow. And even when we do know You, and You consider us worthy to go through disappointment and pain and sorrow, and still trust You in it and through it; that is how we grow in Your grace and mercy.
Help us to learn the lessons You were teaching these ancient peoples. Every generation is made up of new people, who need to be taught Who You are and what You have already done for us. Many generations have come and gone since these people who lived in these olden times, but we are all still human beings, with the same make-up and proclivities of all of Mankind in every age.
I pray for those people I know, who I love, who are my family, my friends, my acquaintances; and also those who are strangers to me who are reading this blog every day. Please, Father, may my words tell Your Truth accurately, and that they all would understand how wonderful You are in doing everything possible (and even impossible) to show us Who You are, and how righteous your Love is in this Universe, in this Earth, this World, and to every person who lives.
You are not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance and accept Your provision of the Sacrificial Lamb to take our place in the death each of us deserves; so You can wash away the stain of every sin, making us pure and capable of being with You where You are. This is why You sent Your own Son, our Lord Jesus.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
This passage records Elijah's challenge to the priests of Baal and his running from Jezebel.
18: 24
Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the Name of the Lord, and the God Who answers by fire, He is God.
And all the people answered and said [essentially], That's a good idea.
Baal was considered to be a god of fire, so this made sense to them. They thought, surely, this "god of fire" could answer with fire. Elijah said that they had been "hopping between two forks," "hesitating between two opinions" (18:21). So they tried all morning to get Baal's attention, to no avail.
Then Elijah made the offering to the Lord impossible to burn, drenching it thoroughly with water, and calmly called on the Lord. Who then answered with so much "fire" that not only was the animal consumed, but the very rocks of the altar were melted away, and all the water was sucked up.
So he had all 450 prophets of Baal executed on the spot for blasphemy and lying about God.
When Jezebel heard how Elijah had killed all her prophets, she threatened to kill him, too. He was so exhausted from the emotional high of God's consuming Fire and running the 17 miles to Jezreel, "and he was afraid and arose and ran for his life" (19:3).
I need to pay attention to my own state. If I allow myself to be hungry or overly tired, that will make me vulnerable.
Then Elijah needed a nap!
19: 5-8
As he slept under a juniper tree, an Angel came with bread and water, and woke him up twice with this Heavenly fare, to strengthen him supernaturally, "because the journey is too great for you." He was to go to Horeb, the Mountain of God, another name for Sinai, in the South-West part of the Sinai Peninsula. There God spoke to Elijah.
He just wanted to give up and die, but God had more He wanted him to do. Here we learn that, "the Lord was not in the wind (storm), ... the Lord was not in the earthquake, ... and the Lord was not in the fire."
His voice was in "a sound of a gentle blowing;" literally, "the sound of a gentle stillness." God's voice is a very quiet, gentle "knowing" deep in our spirit.
Have you ever heard His voice? I know I need to be in a quiet place to hear Him, so He won't get drowned out by all the noise the World puts around us constantly.
19: 15-17
God had Elijah begin to destroy Baal worship in Israel, and now He wanted him to anoint some people: Hazael as king of Aram (Syria), Jehu as king over Israel (the Northern Kingdom); and Elisha, to mentor him to take his own place as Prophet! V. 17 says, It shall come to pass that he who escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall slay; and whoever escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall slay. Possibly, to wipe out Baal worship in the Land.
God does everything to destroy lies, deception, and cruelty. But Mankind will always go back to these atrocities. That explains the persecution of Christians today.
O my Father, You are God, You can do whatever You want! You can destroy all the lies and deception and cruelty in the World--but to do that, You would have to take away the "free will" that You have given us, and make us robots. You don't want robots or puppets, You want us to freely choose to love You, because You have loved us first.
I don't know why anyone would not want to get to know You, Father, You are so good and compassionate and wise. But our enemy is still telling people the same idea he deceived Eve with: that we're smart & can make our own decisions, so we don't need God, we can be our own god. We know better.
Then we wonder why life doesn't go the way we want it to, and we experience disappointments and pain and sorrow. And even when we do know You, and You consider us worthy to go through disappointment and pain and sorrow, and still trust You in it and through it; that is how we grow in Your grace and mercy.
Help us to learn the lessons You were teaching these ancient peoples. Every generation is made up of new people, who need to be taught Who You are and what You have already done for us. Many generations have come and gone since these people who lived in these olden times, but we are all still human beings, with the same make-up and proclivities of all of Mankind in every age.
I pray for those people I know, who I love, who are my family, my friends, my acquaintances; and also those who are strangers to me who are reading this blog every day. Please, Father, may my words tell Your Truth accurately, and that they all would understand how wonderful You are in doing everything possible (and even impossible) to show us Who You are, and how righteous your Love is in this Universe, in this Earth, this World, and to every person who lives.
You are not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance and accept Your provision of the Sacrificial Lamb to take our place in the death each of us deserves; so You can wash away the stain of every sin, making us pure and capable of being with You where You are. This is why You sent Your own Son, our Lord Jesus.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, March 23, 2018
Faithful To Do
I Kings 16: 34
In [Ahab's] days, Heil the Bethelite built Jericho; he laid its foundations with the loss of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates with the loss of his youngest son Segub, according to the Word of the Lord, which He spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.
Joshua 6:26
At that time [when the walls came a-tumblin' down] Joshua, pronounced this solemn oath: Cursed before the Lord is the man who undertakes to rebuild this city Jericho: At the cost of his firstborn son will he lay its foundations; at the cost of his youngest will he set up its gates.
This happened exactly as Joshua said it would. God is always faithful to carry out what He said would happen. This man Heil defied the Lord in rebuilding this city. And he paid with the deaths of his sons to do it. He must not have believed that God really meant what He said.
This gives me confidence in God doing everything He said He would do, even the things that haven't happened yet.
This is a detail that reinforces the truth of God's Word. It was a tragic sorrow for this man Heil to accomplish this. We're not told why he wanted to rebuild this city, just that he did. And God fulfilled His Word spoken by Joshua.
He will always do whatever He has said He would do. Many of these "promises" are conditional on, if we do this, then He will do that. If the consequences are negative, then we need to know what not to do. But if the results are positive, then that's what we need to know how to do.
I want to pay attention to everything God has told us. Every book, every chapter of every book, in the whole Bible, has value. God has given us every word in His Word to teach us who He is, who we are, and how to live here where He's put us with the people He has put with us. And how to relate to Him.
People who don't want to know Him, He will not force Himself on. But everyone who seeks Him will find Him, if we seek Him seriously, with our whole heart (Jeremiah 29:13). This is His promise. It's our choice.
God is not willing that anybody would lose out on Life, but wants for everyone to come to repentance, turn around, and admit they deserve death, and let Jesus take their place on the Cross (II Peter 3:9). Then He will forgive their sin, grant His own Holy Spirit to live in their human spirit, and be alive spiritually, as His child. His prince or princess, to grow up when He glorifies us, to reign with Him on His Throne in His Kingdom. That is God's goal for us (John 17:24).
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
In [Ahab's] days, Heil the Bethelite built Jericho; he laid its foundations with the loss of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates with the loss of his youngest son Segub, according to the Word of the Lord, which He spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.
Joshua 6:26
At that time [when the walls came a-tumblin' down] Joshua, pronounced this solemn oath: Cursed before the Lord is the man who undertakes to rebuild this city Jericho: At the cost of his firstborn son will he lay its foundations; at the cost of his youngest will he set up its gates.
This happened exactly as Joshua said it would. God is always faithful to carry out what He said would happen. This man Heil defied the Lord in rebuilding this city. And he paid with the deaths of his sons to do it. He must not have believed that God really meant what He said.
This gives me confidence in God doing everything He said He would do, even the things that haven't happened yet.
This is a detail that reinforces the truth of God's Word. It was a tragic sorrow for this man Heil to accomplish this. We're not told why he wanted to rebuild this city, just that he did. And God fulfilled His Word spoken by Joshua.
He will always do whatever He has said He would do. Many of these "promises" are conditional on, if we do this, then He will do that. If the consequences are negative, then we need to know what not to do. But if the results are positive, then that's what we need to know how to do.
I want to pay attention to everything God has told us. Every book, every chapter of every book, in the whole Bible, has value. God has given us every word in His Word to teach us who He is, who we are, and how to live here where He's put us with the people He has put with us. And how to relate to Him.
People who don't want to know Him, He will not force Himself on. But everyone who seeks Him will find Him, if we seek Him seriously, with our whole heart (Jeremiah 29:13). This is His promise. It's our choice.
God is not willing that anybody would lose out on Life, but wants for everyone to come to repentance, turn around, and admit they deserve death, and let Jesus take their place on the Cross (II Peter 3:9). Then He will forgive their sin, grant His own Holy Spirit to live in their human spirit, and be alive spiritually, as His child. His prince or princess, to grow up when He glorifies us, to reign with Him on His Throne in His Kingdom. That is God's goal for us (John 17:24).
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, March 22, 2018
Faith Beyond Sense
I Kings 17
Elijah prophesied in the Northern Kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Ahab. This man was very wicked and he married Jezebel, the daughter of the king of the Sidonians and built her a temple to her god Baal, and also made the Asherah. So Elijah was on the run from this evil pair.
Elijah obeyed God even when it really didn't make sense.
When he predicted that it wouldn't rain for a few years, God told him to hide in the Cherith Ravine and drink from the brook there. And the ravens dropped meat and bread for him every morning and evening. So where would these birds get meat and bread? But they did.
Then when the brook dried up, God told him to go to Zerephath in Sidon, for a widow to take care of him. But she was poor and didn't have the food to share with him. So he pronounced a miracle to her, so she fed him. And the miracle happened: her flour jar didn't run out, nor did her oil jar run dry, but kept giving forth for their bread every day!
I wonder, would I trust God enough to act on what I believe He will do for me, like Elijah did? If I really do believe, then I would hope I would do whatever it is, even it it doesn't make sense in the normal scheme of things. O that my faith would be that strong!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Elijah prophesied in the Northern Kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Ahab. This man was very wicked and he married Jezebel, the daughter of the king of the Sidonians and built her a temple to her god Baal, and also made the Asherah. So Elijah was on the run from this evil pair.
Elijah obeyed God even when it really didn't make sense.
When he predicted that it wouldn't rain for a few years, God told him to hide in the Cherith Ravine and drink from the brook there. And the ravens dropped meat and bread for him every morning and evening. So where would these birds get meat and bread? But they did.
Then when the brook dried up, God told him to go to Zerephath in Sidon, for a widow to take care of him. But she was poor and didn't have the food to share with him. So he pronounced a miracle to her, so she fed him. And the miracle happened: her flour jar didn't run out, nor did her oil jar run dry, but kept giving forth for their bread every day!
I wonder, would I trust God enough to act on what I believe He will do for me, like Elijah did? If I really do believe, then I would hope I would do whatever it is, even it it doesn't make sense in the normal scheme of things. O that my faith would be that strong!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
A Light In The Window
Proverbs 31: 18
... Her lamp does not go out at night.
Most of this chapter of Proverbs lays out all the reasons why a "virtuous woman" is a good wife. This one detail is what I'd like to focus on right now.
It says that, her lamp does not go out at night. I don't think this means that she works all night after working all day. Especially because it also says that, she rises also while it is still night (v. 15), she gets up before the sun rises. She needed to sleep, or she wouldn't have the energy and stamina to do all that she does.
It was the custom for compassionate people to welcome strangers into their homes as they traveled through the towns. If a traveler happened into their town at night needing a place to sleep, it could be dangerous to sleep in the street, so they would look for a house with a light in the window. This woman made sure that the light in her window had enough oil to stay lit all night, to welcome any traveler who needed lodging. This showed her compassion on strangers. She also is concerned for the poor and needy (v. 20).
May I be one who can display the qualities of a "virtuous woman" in my living every day, doing what I do, sharing with whoever needs what I have to give.
Father, open my eyes to see the needs around me, that You have enabled me to meet, on behalf of any whose path crosses mine.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
... Her lamp does not go out at night.
Most of this chapter of Proverbs lays out all the reasons why a "virtuous woman" is a good wife. This one detail is what I'd like to focus on right now.
It says that, her lamp does not go out at night. I don't think this means that she works all night after working all day. Especially because it also says that, she rises also while it is still night (v. 15), she gets up before the sun rises. She needed to sleep, or she wouldn't have the energy and stamina to do all that she does.
It was the custom for compassionate people to welcome strangers into their homes as they traveled through the towns. If a traveler happened into their town at night needing a place to sleep, it could be dangerous to sleep in the street, so they would look for a house with a light in the window. This woman made sure that the light in her window had enough oil to stay lit all night, to welcome any traveler who needed lodging. This showed her compassion on strangers. She also is concerned for the poor and needy (v. 20).
May I be one who can display the qualities of a "virtuous woman" in my living every day, doing what I do, sharing with whoever needs what I have to give.
Father, open my eyes to see the needs around me, that You have enabled me to meet, on behalf of any whose path crosses mine.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
Open Your Mouth
Proverbs 31: 8-9
Open your mouth for the dumb [those who cannot speak for themselves], for the rights of all the unfortunate [all the unlucky ones who find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time]. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and defend the rights of the afflicted and needy [those who have no standing].
I suppose there have been those in every age who have no standing before the authorities who rule over them, and have no voice to demand justice in the face of those who do not recognize their humanity.
In today's world, I would think of all the babies who haven't been born yet, but are judged "inconvenient" in some way, and so are robbed of their humanity and their right to live the life they've begun. People talk about "choice," and we do have a choice over what we do in our lives. But my rights end where your rights begin, and a mother's right of choice ends with the beginning of another person who depends on her.
This moral territory has been hijacked into the political realm, and those who recognize the humanity of our next generation are being accused of not having compassion for the mother. But it's our enemy, Satan, who comes to kill, steal, and destroy, and he hates us because God loves us.
So let us use our voices to speak out for those who have no voice or standing. Let us recognize what God's commands based on Love demand of us in all the political and moral and spiritual issues we face in our societies in our own day, today.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Monday, March 19, 2018
Prone To Wander
I Kings 11: 1-9
This tells us that Solomon, in his old age, loved and married women from all the Nations they were to have destroyed in taking their territory, Nations God had told them to not to associate with.
And these women turned Solomon's heart away from fully following the Lord. He built these wives shrines and altars to their detestable gods Chemosh and Molech and Ashtoreth, these demon-backed deities who demanded disgusting things of their worshipers. He did this even though God had appeared to him twice (v. 9).
Vs. 11-13
So God told Solomon that He would tear Israel from him, but not in his days, because of his father David, but from his son, the next king, Rehoboam.
Ch. 12
Then Rehoboam was crowned king, and he answered the people harshly, so he lost the majority of the kingdom.
But Jereboam, who became king over the Northern Kingdom, Israel, was fearful that if the people went to Jerusalem three times a year, that they would return to David's dynasty and he would lose the kingdom (vs. 26-27).
Even though God had told Jereboam that He would make his dynasty as great as He will make David's if he followed the Lord (11:38), his faith in God failed him, and he set up golden calves for the people to worship instead of the Lord (v. 28).
So his dynasty ended, and Israel had a whole litany of different kings, and they all fell into this idolatry. The Northern Kingdom of Israel never did have a "good" king.
Even the Southern Kingdom of Judah had very few kings who worshiped the Lord with their whole heart.
It is so hard for human beings to remain faithful, we are "prone to wander," even when God reveals Himself to us in so many ways.
So God has now given us His own Spirit to live inside our human spirits, so He is always there to strengthen us and remind us of who we are in Christ. Even then, some have wandered away; but God won't let them wander for long, He will draw them back into fellowship with Him again.
O my Father, thank You for Your Spirit. Thank You that You always do everything to guarantee our permanence in Your Family. Thank You that You don't depend on us for anything concerning our relationship with You, and our future with You. You have done everything we need: to draw us, to let us know that Your Son paid the eternal debt we owe for our sin, so that we could be washed white as snow in Your sight; and to lead us and guide us in obeying all Your Law of Love; then grant us such a wonderful future, which is certain, because it's already past to You.
Jesus came to be with us where we are, so that He could fit us to be able to be with Him where He lives. Where He lives with You, Father. And Heaven will come down to the New Earth, and we will all live together as one, big, happy Family forever! And who can say what wonders and experiences and purposes and joys await us there!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
This tells us that Solomon, in his old age, loved and married women from all the Nations they were to have destroyed in taking their territory, Nations God had told them to not to associate with.
And these women turned Solomon's heart away from fully following the Lord. He built these wives shrines and altars to their detestable gods Chemosh and Molech and Ashtoreth, these demon-backed deities who demanded disgusting things of their worshipers. He did this even though God had appeared to him twice (v. 9).
Vs. 11-13
So God told Solomon that He would tear Israel from him, but not in his days, because of his father David, but from his son, the next king, Rehoboam.
Ch. 12
Then Rehoboam was crowned king, and he answered the people harshly, so he lost the majority of the kingdom.
But Jereboam, who became king over the Northern Kingdom, Israel, was fearful that if the people went to Jerusalem three times a year, that they would return to David's dynasty and he would lose the kingdom (vs. 26-27).
Even though God had told Jereboam that He would make his dynasty as great as He will make David's if he followed the Lord (11:38), his faith in God failed him, and he set up golden calves for the people to worship instead of the Lord (v. 28).
So his dynasty ended, and Israel had a whole litany of different kings, and they all fell into this idolatry. The Northern Kingdom of Israel never did have a "good" king.
Even the Southern Kingdom of Judah had very few kings who worshiped the Lord with their whole heart.
It is so hard for human beings to remain faithful, we are "prone to wander," even when God reveals Himself to us in so many ways.
So God has now given us His own Spirit to live inside our human spirits, so He is always there to strengthen us and remind us of who we are in Christ. Even then, some have wandered away; but God won't let them wander for long, He will draw them back into fellowship with Him again.
O my Father, thank You for Your Spirit. Thank You that You always do everything to guarantee our permanence in Your Family. Thank You that You don't depend on us for anything concerning our relationship with You, and our future with You. You have done everything we need: to draw us, to let us know that Your Son paid the eternal debt we owe for our sin, so that we could be washed white as snow in Your sight; and to lead us and guide us in obeying all Your Law of Love; then grant us such a wonderful future, which is certain, because it's already past to You.
Jesus came to be with us where we are, so that He could fit us to be able to be with Him where He lives. Where He lives with You, Father. And Heaven will come down to the New Earth, and we will all live together as one, big, happy Family forever! And who can say what wonders and experiences and purposes and joys await us there!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
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