Isaiah 62: 5
... As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.
The Church is called the Bride of Christ. The Lord God called Israel His wife.
God loves us passionately, as a newlywed bridegroom is enamoured with his new bride. And His passion will never wane, will never grow cold.
Jesus wants us to also be as enraptured with intimacy with Him as He is with each of us.
He knows us intimately, every molecule of every cell of every organ of our body; and every mote of spiritual substance of our life, our soul and our mind. He knows that we are but dust, and our spiritual parts are corrupted, but He loves us anyway. We are His by creation and by purchase.
And those He has called to faith in His Death in their place are His by Redemption. We are His property, we are His family, we are His bride.
That's how much He loves us. And He never changes, He will always love us more than we can imagine. There's nothing we can do to make Him love us less, there is nothing we can do to make Him love us more. He is Love. Period.
That's why the Father sent the Son to be our Savior, and the Son sent the Spirit to live in each of us He has Redeemed, as the down payment guaranteeing that the work He began in us will be finished, and we will be made suitable to live in His Holy Presence forever.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Monday, July 30, 2018
Sunday, July 29, 2018
Good Plans
Jeremiah 29: 11
I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope.
God is love (I John 4:16), and He loves us. Each one of us.
God has made each of us for His purposes. He has gifted each of us with different talents, desires, bents, so that everything will get done (I Corinthians 12:4-11). I may be good at one talent, you are good at another, and someone else is good at something else. So we are to help one another to accomplish what is good for all of us (12:7).
God has planned out all of Time, from the beginning to the end. And He has told us about it in His Word. It amazes me that He told Daniel the course of the Nations of the World from his own time all the way to the End of Time (Daniel 11 and 12).
And He has included in His Grand Plan of the Ages all the individual plans for our lives, each one of us. What He has planned for us is good, and will bring peace and hope to each of us.
It's when people don't follow His plan for them that sorrows and troubles and disasters defeat them.
When we know God and His ways, and are following them in our lives, and experience sorrows and troubles, and turn to Him; then He shows us the way out of these disasters, and we need not worry or be afraid because we trust Him (I Corinthians 10:13 says there will be "a way to escape").
When His Love lives in us, we will not need to be afraid of anything, because His Love is perfect, and perfect Love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and God put all the punishment we each deserve on Jesus. So the person who lives in fear doesn't have God's perfect Love, because they don't know Him (I John 4:18).
We can love Him because He has loved us first (I John 4:19). When we accept His Love by letting Jesus take our death on the Cross, then we will love others with this unconditional Love that He loves us with, and we will accept other people. If you think that you love God, but you discriminate against someone else, then you are living a lie--you can't reject someone He loves, who you can see, and at the same time love Him Who you can't see (4:20). That shows that you really don't know Him.
God is not willing that anyone should perish, but that all of us would come to repentance (II Peter 3:9), to turn around our thinking patterns to realize we deserve death, and let Jesus take our place, as a Substitute, as the Lamb of God. Jesus fulfilled that first Sacrifice God wanted the Levites to teach the people, in the First Chapter of Leviticus, the personal sacrifice.
Each individual was to bring his own personal animal to the priest, put his hand on its head identifying with it, and let the priest slaughter it, dying in the person's place. Then it was sacrificed on the altar and its blood sprinkled on the sides of the altar to cover the person's sins (Leviticus 1).
Jesus, as the Lamb of God, is our Personal Sacrifice, that we would admit that we deserve death and let Jesus die for us. Then His blood sprinkled on the sides of His altar, the Cross, doesn't just cover, but washes away all our sinfulness.
He died individually for each one of us to save us.
So if you have never done this, if you haven't come to the conclusion that you deserve death, then ask God for saving faith.
Jesus said that no one could come to Him unless God the Father draws them to Him (John 6:44). So if you ask the Father for this saving faith to believe that Jesus died in your place, He will answer that prayer.
Then He will pour His unconditional Love upon and into You, giving you His own Holy Spirit to make your human spirit alive, giving you a whole new life.
I had thought that I was one of many that Jesus died for, until He showed me Jesus on the Cross, and I knew He took my place there, because I deserved it. And His Love overwhelmed me that day, and I've never been the same.
And I have been able to see that the Plan He has for me is good, and I have great hope for my future here, as well as my Eternal future. And His peace fills my mind and heart, even in the midst of troubles and sorrows, because I trust Him to be God and to do everything He has said He would do in my life and in this World.
And when Jesus returns, I look forward to seeing Him face-to-face because I will be resurrected like Him, and He will reward me for doing the things He did through me.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope.
God is love (I John 4:16), and He loves us. Each one of us.
God has made each of us for His purposes. He has gifted each of us with different talents, desires, bents, so that everything will get done (I Corinthians 12:4-11). I may be good at one talent, you are good at another, and someone else is good at something else. So we are to help one another to accomplish what is good for all of us (12:7).
God has planned out all of Time, from the beginning to the end. And He has told us about it in His Word. It amazes me that He told Daniel the course of the Nations of the World from his own time all the way to the End of Time (Daniel 11 and 12).
And He has included in His Grand Plan of the Ages all the individual plans for our lives, each one of us. What He has planned for us is good, and will bring peace and hope to each of us.
It's when people don't follow His plan for them that sorrows and troubles and disasters defeat them.
When we know God and His ways, and are following them in our lives, and experience sorrows and troubles, and turn to Him; then He shows us the way out of these disasters, and we need not worry or be afraid because we trust Him (I Corinthians 10:13 says there will be "a way to escape").
When His Love lives in us, we will not need to be afraid of anything, because His Love is perfect, and perfect Love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and God put all the punishment we each deserve on Jesus. So the person who lives in fear doesn't have God's perfect Love, because they don't know Him (I John 4:18).
We can love Him because He has loved us first (I John 4:19). When we accept His Love by letting Jesus take our death on the Cross, then we will love others with this unconditional Love that He loves us with, and we will accept other people. If you think that you love God, but you discriminate against someone else, then you are living a lie--you can't reject someone He loves, who you can see, and at the same time love Him Who you can't see (4:20). That shows that you really don't know Him.
God is not willing that anyone should perish, but that all of us would come to repentance (II Peter 3:9), to turn around our thinking patterns to realize we deserve death, and let Jesus take our place, as a Substitute, as the Lamb of God. Jesus fulfilled that first Sacrifice God wanted the Levites to teach the people, in the First Chapter of Leviticus, the personal sacrifice.
Each individual was to bring his own personal animal to the priest, put his hand on its head identifying with it, and let the priest slaughter it, dying in the person's place. Then it was sacrificed on the altar and its blood sprinkled on the sides of the altar to cover the person's sins (Leviticus 1).
Jesus, as the Lamb of God, is our Personal Sacrifice, that we would admit that we deserve death and let Jesus die for us. Then His blood sprinkled on the sides of His altar, the Cross, doesn't just cover, but washes away all our sinfulness.
He died individually for each one of us to save us.
So if you have never done this, if you haven't come to the conclusion that you deserve death, then ask God for saving faith.
Jesus said that no one could come to Him unless God the Father draws them to Him (John 6:44). So if you ask the Father for this saving faith to believe that Jesus died in your place, He will answer that prayer.
Then He will pour His unconditional Love upon and into You, giving you His own Holy Spirit to make your human spirit alive, giving you a whole new life.
I had thought that I was one of many that Jesus died for, until He showed me Jesus on the Cross, and I knew He took my place there, because I deserved it. And His Love overwhelmed me that day, and I've never been the same.
And I have been able to see that the Plan He has for me is good, and I have great hope for my future here, as well as my Eternal future. And His peace fills my mind and heart, even in the midst of troubles and sorrows, because I trust Him to be God and to do everything He has said He would do in my life and in this World.
And when Jesus returns, I look forward to seeing Him face-to-face because I will be resurrected like Him, and He will reward me for doing the things He did through me.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, July 28, 2018
Job's Wisdom And Understanding
Job 28: 23-28
God understands the way to [wisdom]. He knows where it lives
because He can see to the ends of the Earth and observe everything under Heaven.
When He gave the wind its force and measured the water [in the sea],
when He made rules for the rain and set paths for the thunderstorms,
then He saw it and announced it. He confirmed it and examined it.
So He told humans, "The fear of the Lord is wisdom! To stay away from evil is understanding."
Job is telling us what God is teaching him, that He is Creator and Designer of all that exists, and designed the geography and weather, laying down rules for them to follow.
Nature follows God's rules, and never disobeys.
God is a God of order; so the Earth, Sun, Moon, Stars, all the Universe obey the laws He set for them; and because of that our Science can study them and find out the Natural Laws.
But God has given Mankind a free will to choose whether we will obey the rules He set for us. And because we as a race have disobeyed Him, deciding that we "know better," we find chaos in our lives, our relationships, our governments.
God has given us His written Word to read about the ways He wants us to live, with examples of people who did or didn't obey Him, and the results.
I find the book of Judges is a good textbook to see how, when His people respected Him and obeyed His rules, they experienced prosperity and peace with their surrounding peoples. But when they got self-satisfied and "forgot" the Lord, that's when they were vulnerable to believing all the deceptions being promoted among and around them, and lost their way and their prosperity, even to being conquered by the other Nations around them.
Then they would remember the Lord, cry out to Him, and He would raise up a "judge," a military leader who would deliver them out from under the domination of the other Nation; and they would obey His rules again and regain the peace and prosperity. Until the cycle repeated.
This book teaches me that when I obey the rules He set for me, in loving Him above all and loving my neighbor as myself, then my life flows much more smoothly and I experience peace of mind and heart even in the middle of problems and troubles.
And when governments rule over their people with the good of the people in view (loving their neighbor) instead of their own advancement and finances, then the population is free to pursue their own happiness, bringing prosperity to everyone.
The "fear of the Lord" is the reverential respect due to the One Who has total authority over us, and is the Source of everything we need or want. And when we give Him this first place in our attitudes and life, then we can make our decisions in a wise manner.
When we forget that He is to have pre-eminence in our thinking and turn to some other spiritual being for help, or depend on ourselves or other people to meet our needs; that is going against His ways, which He calls "evil," because it robs us of the order that brings goodness to us, leaving chaos.
Job got it right. Staying away from evil shows that we understand this process, and honoring God as God is the way to think straight and do right.
O my Father, thank You for Your Word. Thank You for Your provision of everything I need or want. Thank You for loving me so much that You even gave up Your most precious, Your only Son, to be the Sacrifice for my sins as the Lamb of God. Thank You that He was willing to go through this Death, that I deserve, as my substitute, so that I could have Your life, Your Holy Spirit living in my spirit, making it alive.
Thank You that Your Spirit is the Seal that I belong to You, and to be my Teacher, as the Spirit of Truth, to open my mind and heart to the Truth of Your Word in my life.
Thank You for Your promises, that I can seek You and You will answer me. That You will always care for me, and lead me, and show me great and mighty things in Your Word. And that I can trust You to always keep Your Word. And that Jesus is returning soon.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
God understands the way to [wisdom]. He knows where it lives
because He can see to the ends of the Earth and observe everything under Heaven.
When He gave the wind its force and measured the water [in the sea],
when He made rules for the rain and set paths for the thunderstorms,
then He saw it and announced it. He confirmed it and examined it.
So He told humans, "The fear of the Lord is wisdom! To stay away from evil is understanding."
Job is telling us what God is teaching him, that He is Creator and Designer of all that exists, and designed the geography and weather, laying down rules for them to follow.
Nature follows God's rules, and never disobeys.
God is a God of order; so the Earth, Sun, Moon, Stars, all the Universe obey the laws He set for them; and because of that our Science can study them and find out the Natural Laws.
But God has given Mankind a free will to choose whether we will obey the rules He set for us. And because we as a race have disobeyed Him, deciding that we "know better," we find chaos in our lives, our relationships, our governments.
God has given us His written Word to read about the ways He wants us to live, with examples of people who did or didn't obey Him, and the results.
I find the book of Judges is a good textbook to see how, when His people respected Him and obeyed His rules, they experienced prosperity and peace with their surrounding peoples. But when they got self-satisfied and "forgot" the Lord, that's when they were vulnerable to believing all the deceptions being promoted among and around them, and lost their way and their prosperity, even to being conquered by the other Nations around them.
Then they would remember the Lord, cry out to Him, and He would raise up a "judge," a military leader who would deliver them out from under the domination of the other Nation; and they would obey His rules again and regain the peace and prosperity. Until the cycle repeated.
This book teaches me that when I obey the rules He set for me, in loving Him above all and loving my neighbor as myself, then my life flows much more smoothly and I experience peace of mind and heart even in the middle of problems and troubles.
And when governments rule over their people with the good of the people in view (loving their neighbor) instead of their own advancement and finances, then the population is free to pursue their own happiness, bringing prosperity to everyone.
The "fear of the Lord" is the reverential respect due to the One Who has total authority over us, and is the Source of everything we need or want. And when we give Him this first place in our attitudes and life, then we can make our decisions in a wise manner.
When we forget that He is to have pre-eminence in our thinking and turn to some other spiritual being for help, or depend on ourselves or other people to meet our needs; that is going against His ways, which He calls "evil," because it robs us of the order that brings goodness to us, leaving chaos.
Job got it right. Staying away from evil shows that we understand this process, and honoring God as God is the way to think straight and do right.
O my Father, thank You for Your Word. Thank You for Your provision of everything I need or want. Thank You for loving me so much that You even gave up Your most precious, Your only Son, to be the Sacrifice for my sins as the Lamb of God. Thank You that He was willing to go through this Death, that I deserve, as my substitute, so that I could have Your life, Your Holy Spirit living in my spirit, making it alive.
Thank You that Your Spirit is the Seal that I belong to You, and to be my Teacher, as the Spirit of Truth, to open my mind and heart to the Truth of Your Word in my life.
Thank You for Your promises, that I can seek You and You will answer me. That You will always care for me, and lead me, and show me great and mighty things in Your Word. And that I can trust You to always keep Your Word. And that Jesus is returning soon.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, July 27, 2018
Know The Lord
Jeremiah 31: 34
No longer will each person teach his neighbors or his relatives by saying, "Know the Lord." All of them, from the least important to the most important, will know Me, declares the Lord.
There will come a time when evangelism will be obsolete, because everyone alive will know that their King is Jesus, the Lord over the whole Earth. They will all know not only Who He is, but will all individually be acquainted personally with Him. He will not be aloof from the people, He will walk among them, getting to know each of them, to meet every ligitimate need they have.
This will be after Jesus returns, after He does away with all the wicked people who have fought against Him at the Battle of Armegeddon (Revelation 16:16; 9:19-21), has Satan bound for that thousand years (Revelation 20:1-3), and has set up His government (throne) in Jerusalem to rule the World (Revelation 20:4-4, 6).
And we who are His Bride and have been Resurrected by being Raptured are helping Him run the Family Business, as His kings and queens governing the Nations under His authority (Revelation 1:6; 5:10; 21:2, 9).
And His government will be in righteousness and perfect justice and fairness. And everyone will be prosperous, in having everything they need all the time (Psalm 67:4-5).
This will be Mankind's Golden Age. Every infraction will be immediately dealt with, so everyone will live in safety and security. We won't need locks on our doors, or protection services like ADT. We won't need to buy insurance, because this Earth will work the way it was designed, with no "acts of God" disasters.
All the people who have entered into this Kingdom in their mortal bodies will be repopulating the world, and living long, healthy, productive lives.
O may that wonderful Day come.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
No longer will each person teach his neighbors or his relatives by saying, "Know the Lord." All of them, from the least important to the most important, will know Me, declares the Lord.
There will come a time when evangelism will be obsolete, because everyone alive will know that their King is Jesus, the Lord over the whole Earth. They will all know not only Who He is, but will all individually be acquainted personally with Him. He will not be aloof from the people, He will walk among them, getting to know each of them, to meet every ligitimate need they have.
This will be after Jesus returns, after He does away with all the wicked people who have fought against Him at the Battle of Armegeddon (Revelation 16:16; 9:19-21), has Satan bound for that thousand years (Revelation 20:1-3), and has set up His government (throne) in Jerusalem to rule the World (Revelation 20:4-4, 6).
And we who are His Bride and have been Resurrected by being Raptured are helping Him run the Family Business, as His kings and queens governing the Nations under His authority (Revelation 1:6; 5:10; 21:2, 9).
And His government will be in righteousness and perfect justice and fairness. And everyone will be prosperous, in having everything they need all the time (Psalm 67:4-5).
This will be Mankind's Golden Age. Every infraction will be immediately dealt with, so everyone will live in safety and security. We won't need locks on our doors, or protection services like ADT. We won't need to buy insurance, because this Earth will work the way it was designed, with no "acts of God" disasters.
All the people who have entered into this Kingdom in their mortal bodies will be repopulating the world, and living long, healthy, productive lives.
O may that wonderful Day come.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, July 26, 2018
God's Original Intention
Jeremiah 33: 6, 9
Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them an abundance of peace and Truth.
And it shall be to Me a name of joy, praise, and glory before all the Nations of the Earth, which shall hear of all the good that I do for them, and they shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the peace that I make for it.
This will all happen when He returns again, as the King of the World. Israel will be the Head of the Nations, and all the promises God made to them will come true. And all the other Nations will see.
This has always been God's plan from the beginning, why He chose this one Nation to give His Law to so their obedience would bring the great prosperity all the other Nations would want to emulate.
To draw them all to Himself, to know that He is God, not any of their idols; and as Creator and Designer, following His rules brings all kinds of good: in our relationships, in our physical health, in our thinking processes and mental health, in our finances, in our politics, and our foreign policies, in every realm of living. His ways are the Manufacturer's Instructions.
Because He loves us, He has given us freely all the rules and precepts and commandments to obey and follow so we will be able to access the great abundance He has put into this Earth for us.
God wants us to enjoy Him in this life, as well as in the next. He wants us to understand how much He loves us, and has already provided everything we will ever need.
First, to take care of the sin problem that separates us from Him through sending His Son to fulfill the Law and wash away all that stands between us.
Then to help us to mature as His children, understanding how everything fits together, to prepare us to spend Eternity with Him, helping Him rule over it.
While we're here now, we are to live our lives in such a transparent way that others who see us will ask why we can live in such a way, triumphing over all the trials and sorrows and evil of this world. And we are to be prepared to give them the answer, based on God's Word, that has given us this life.
We will gain every victory through the Blood of the Lamb (Salvation) and the word of our testamony (our witness) (Revelation 12:11).
I have learned to know what I believe, why I believe it, and to support it with Scripture. And I try to live it in such a transparent way that people would see the character of Christ in me, instead of me. To draw them toward the right, the moral, the God Who is the standard for how we measure right, and beauty, and justice, and Love.
In the Old Testament times, Israel was supposed to be that magnet. Now the church has been given that role. But the enemy has infiltrated the churches, so they will be unsuccessful, having lost the Truth.
So the job falls to God's individual children who are still faithful, and firm in our confidence in God. I want to be one of those.
I want to do whatever I can do, however small, to do my part as His child, to show others Who my Father is. Then when Jesus returns, I will not need to be ashamed before my Judge: I want to hear Him say, "Well done, My good and faithful servant (Matthew 25:23).
He is coming soon.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them an abundance of peace and Truth.
And it shall be to Me a name of joy, praise, and glory before all the Nations of the Earth, which shall hear of all the good that I do for them, and they shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the peace that I make for it.
This will all happen when He returns again, as the King of the World. Israel will be the Head of the Nations, and all the promises God made to them will come true. And all the other Nations will see.
This has always been God's plan from the beginning, why He chose this one Nation to give His Law to so their obedience would bring the great prosperity all the other Nations would want to emulate.
To draw them all to Himself, to know that He is God, not any of their idols; and as Creator and Designer, following His rules brings all kinds of good: in our relationships, in our physical health, in our thinking processes and mental health, in our finances, in our politics, and our foreign policies, in every realm of living. His ways are the Manufacturer's Instructions.
Because He loves us, He has given us freely all the rules and precepts and commandments to obey and follow so we will be able to access the great abundance He has put into this Earth for us.
God wants us to enjoy Him in this life, as well as in the next. He wants us to understand how much He loves us, and has already provided everything we will ever need.
First, to take care of the sin problem that separates us from Him through sending His Son to fulfill the Law and wash away all that stands between us.
Then to help us to mature as His children, understanding how everything fits together, to prepare us to spend Eternity with Him, helping Him rule over it.
While we're here now, we are to live our lives in such a transparent way that others who see us will ask why we can live in such a way, triumphing over all the trials and sorrows and evil of this world. And we are to be prepared to give them the answer, based on God's Word, that has given us this life.
We will gain every victory through the Blood of the Lamb (Salvation) and the word of our testamony (our witness) (Revelation 12:11).
I have learned to know what I believe, why I believe it, and to support it with Scripture. And I try to live it in such a transparent way that people would see the character of Christ in me, instead of me. To draw them toward the right, the moral, the God Who is the standard for how we measure right, and beauty, and justice, and Love.
In the Old Testament times, Israel was supposed to be that magnet. Now the church has been given that role. But the enemy has infiltrated the churches, so they will be unsuccessful, having lost the Truth.
So the job falls to God's individual children who are still faithful, and firm in our confidence in God. I want to be one of those.
I want to do whatever I can do, however small, to do my part as His child, to show others Who my Father is. Then when Jesus returns, I will not need to be ashamed before my Judge: I want to hear Him say, "Well done, My good and faithful servant (Matthew 25:23).
He is coming soon.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, July 25, 2018
Call - And I Will
Jeremiah 33:3
Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.
After my husband died and I felt overwhelmed with all the responsibilities I was left with, when I came to the end of my rope, this was the knot I tied into it to hang on. God showed me this verse, and I believed Him to do just that. I trusted Him.
Since that day, so many years ago, God has taught me so many wonderful things in His Word, truely great and mighty things.
And He is still teaching me. I expect that He will continue to grow me in grace and knowledge, as long as I live, and as long as I still seek Him and His ways.
God always keeps His promises, always.
Whenever you come to a promise He has made, you can trust Him to keep that promise. Many of His promises are conditional: if you will--then I will. But some are totally unconditional. Some are for individuals in Scripture, like to Abraham to give him a son by Sarah. Most are for all of us, as the promise at the top of this page.
This is conditional: I must call to Him, I must be open to accept what He says, and seek His will. Then He will show me, teach me, tell me stuff that is meaningful to me in my life right now. Interesting things, obscure connections that I would have never dreamed had anything to do with anything else, but it all makes sense.
I've been able to connect a lot of dots to see a much bigger picture. I understand now that our Bible gives us the whole history of our Earth, the Age of Man, from before its beginning to beyond its end.
And I believe (with Paul) that Jesus will return in my lifetime.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.
After my husband died and I felt overwhelmed with all the responsibilities I was left with, when I came to the end of my rope, this was the knot I tied into it to hang on. God showed me this verse, and I believed Him to do just that. I trusted Him.
Since that day, so many years ago, God has taught me so many wonderful things in His Word, truely great and mighty things.
And He is still teaching me. I expect that He will continue to grow me in grace and knowledge, as long as I live, and as long as I still seek Him and His ways.
God always keeps His promises, always.
Whenever you come to a promise He has made, you can trust Him to keep that promise. Many of His promises are conditional: if you will--then I will. But some are totally unconditional. Some are for individuals in Scripture, like to Abraham to give him a son by Sarah. Most are for all of us, as the promise at the top of this page.
This is conditional: I must call to Him, I must be open to accept what He says, and seek His will. Then He will show me, teach me, tell me stuff that is meaningful to me in my life right now. Interesting things, obscure connections that I would have never dreamed had anything to do with anything else, but it all makes sense.
I've been able to connect a lot of dots to see a much bigger picture. I understand now that our Bible gives us the whole history of our Earth, the Age of Man, from before its beginning to beyond its end.
And I believe (with Paul) that Jesus will return in my lifetime.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, July 24, 2018
Total Destruction
Jeremiah 52
Vs. 3ff The Lord became angry with Jerusalem and Judah and threw the people out of His sight. King Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. On the tenth day of the tenth month of the ninth year of King Zedekiah's reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked Jerusalem with his entire army.
Then we read about how he and his Captain of the Guard destroyed everything, and deported a total of 4,600 people to Babylon, leaving only a few poor people "to work in the vineyards and on the farms," burning every important building, tearing down the Temple and the wall, and carrying everything of value to Babylon.
II Kings 24-25
Basically tells the same story, mentioning that King Nebuchadnezzar captured all Jerusalem, all the generals, all the soldiers (10,00 prisoners), and all the craftsmen and smiths (24:14). And he brought all 7,000 of the prominent landowners, 1,000 craftsmen and smiths, and all the men who could fight in war as captives to Babylon (24:16).
And he set up a puppet government in Jerusalem to maintain order (25:22).
These two passages both describe in detail the same account of the fulfillment of prophesy for the total destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple and the walls of the city that were all broken down.
God is always true to His Word. When Israel had obeyed God's rules, they experienced prosperity and peaceful relations with other Nations. But that didn't last very long.
When they turned away from the Lord, He sent prophets to bring them back, but they were enticed and deceived by all the other gods among them, the ideas and attitudes of the World around them.
So they persisted in their rebellion, and were destroyed, just as God said would happen. But that destruction was not permanent. Everything that happens on this Earth always "comes to pass," never to stay.
So God will bring His people Israel back to return to the Land, as they did under Persian King Xerxes and King Artaxerxes; and as we see has happened again today (after 2,000 years!). And He will build them up again if they obey His commandments. The cycle continues 'round and 'round.
God is still God, and His rules are still in effect on this Earth. Now we see the fulfillment of Jeremiah 31:33-34, that says that I will put My Law within them, and on their heart I will write it, instead of on tablets or parchment. Jesus fulfilled all those laws, and today we have the Principle of Love in our hearts, that underlies all the Law, as Jesus said in Matthew 22:37-40.
But He hasn't forgotten His people Israel. He will always do as He said He would. Not always the way we expect, or even desire, but just exactly as He said He would.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Vs. 3ff The Lord became angry with Jerusalem and Judah and threw the people out of His sight. King Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. On the tenth day of the tenth month of the ninth year of King Zedekiah's reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked Jerusalem with his entire army.
Then we read about how he and his Captain of the Guard destroyed everything, and deported a total of 4,600 people to Babylon, leaving only a few poor people "to work in the vineyards and on the farms," burning every important building, tearing down the Temple and the wall, and carrying everything of value to Babylon.
II Kings 24-25
Basically tells the same story, mentioning that King Nebuchadnezzar captured all Jerusalem, all the generals, all the soldiers (10,00 prisoners), and all the craftsmen and smiths (24:14). And he brought all 7,000 of the prominent landowners, 1,000 craftsmen and smiths, and all the men who could fight in war as captives to Babylon (24:16).
And he set up a puppet government in Jerusalem to maintain order (25:22).
These two passages both describe in detail the same account of the fulfillment of prophesy for the total destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple and the walls of the city that were all broken down.
God is always true to His Word. When Israel had obeyed God's rules, they experienced prosperity and peaceful relations with other Nations. But that didn't last very long.
When they turned away from the Lord, He sent prophets to bring them back, but they were enticed and deceived by all the other gods among them, the ideas and attitudes of the World around them.
So they persisted in their rebellion, and were destroyed, just as God said would happen. But that destruction was not permanent. Everything that happens on this Earth always "comes to pass," never to stay.
So God will bring His people Israel back to return to the Land, as they did under Persian King Xerxes and King Artaxerxes; and as we see has happened again today (after 2,000 years!). And He will build them up again if they obey His commandments. The cycle continues 'round and 'round.
God is still God, and His rules are still in effect on this Earth. Now we see the fulfillment of Jeremiah 31:33-34, that says that I will put My Law within them, and on their heart I will write it, instead of on tablets or parchment. Jesus fulfilled all those laws, and today we have the Principle of Love in our hearts, that underlies all the Law, as Jesus said in Matthew 22:37-40.
But He hasn't forgotten His people Israel. He will always do as He said He would. Not always the way we expect, or even desire, but just exactly as He said He would.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
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