II Kings 19
Hezekiah sends message to Isaiah the prophetverses 1-5
And it came to pass – when king Hezekiah heard it – that he rent his clothes
and covered himself with sackcloth
and went into the house of the LORD
and he sent Eliakim – which was over the household
and Shebna the scribe – and the elders of the priests
covered with sackcloth
to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz
And they said to him
Thus says Hezekiah
This day is a day of trouble – rebuke – blasphemy
for the children are come to the birth
and there is not strength to bring forth
It may be the LORD your God will hear all the words of Rab-shakeh
whom the king of Assyria his master has sent to REPROACH
the living God – and will REPROACH the words
which the LORD your God has heard
wherefore lift up your prayer for the
remnant that are left
So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah
Isaiah sends back message from the LORDverses 6-7
And Isaiah said to them
Thus shall you say to your master
Thus says the LORD
Be not afraid of the words which you have heard
with which the servants of the king of Assyria
have blasphemed ME
BEHOLD – I will send a blast upon him
and he shall hear a rumor
and shall return to his own land
And I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land
Assyria chief of staff returns to Assyria campverse 8
So Rab-shakeh returned
and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah
for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish
King of Assyria sends message to Hezekiahverses 9-13
And when he heard say of Tirhkah king of Ethiopia
BEHOLD – he is come out to fight against you
he sent messengers again to Hezekiah
saying
Thus shall you speak to Hezekiah king of Judah
saying
Let not your God in whom you trust deceive you
saying
Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria
BEHOLD- you has heard what the kings of Assyria
have done to all lands – by destroying them
utterly and shall you be delivered?
Have the gods of the nations delivered them
which my fathers have destroyed
as Gozan – Haran – Rezeph
and the children of Eden
which were in Thelasar?
Where is the king of Hamath – and the king of Arpad
and the king of the city of Sepharvaim of
Hena and Ivah?
Hezekiah’s prayer to the LORDverses 14-19
And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers
and read it
and Hezekiah went up into the house of the LORD
and spread it before the LORD
And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD
and said
O LORD God of Israel
which dwell between the cherubim
YOU are the God
even YOU alone of all the kingdoms of the earth
YOU have made heaven and earth
LORD – bow down YOUR ear – and hear – open – LORD
YOUR eyes and see – and hear the words of Sennacherib
which has sent him to reproach the living God
Of a truth LORD – the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations
and their lands
And have cast their gods into the fire – for they were no gods
but the work of men’s hands wood and stone
therefore they have destroyed them
Now therefore – O LORD our God – I beseech YOU
save YOU us out of his hand
that all the kingdoms of the earth
may know that YOU are the LORD God
even YOU only
Isaiah sends message of LORD to Hezekiahverses 20-28
When Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah
saying
Thus says the LORD God of Israel
That which you have prayed to ME against Sennacherib
king of Assyria – I have heard
This is the word that the LORD has spoken concerning him
The virgin the daughter of Zion has despised you
and laughed you to scorn – the daughter of Jerusalem
has shaken her head at you
Whom have you reproached and blasphemed?
and against whom have you exalted your voice
and lifted up your eyes on high?
even against the Holy One of Israel
By your messengers you have reproached the Lord
and have said
With the multitude of my chariots I am come up to the
height of the mountains to the sides of Lebanon
and I will cut down the tall cedar trees thereof
and I will enter into the lodging of his borders
and into the forest of his Carmel
I have digged and drunk strange waters
and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the
rivers of besieged places
Have you not heard long ago how I have done it
and of ancient times that I have formed it?
now have I brought it to pass
that you should be to lay waste
fenced cities into ruinous heaps
Therefore their inhabitants were of small power
they were dismayed and confounded
they were as the grass of the field
and as the green herb
as the grass on the house tops
and as corn blasted before it
be grown up
BUT I know your abode – and your going out
and your coming in – and your rage against ME
BECAUSE your rage against ME and your tumult is come up
into MINE ears
Therefore I will put MY hook in your nose
and MY bridle in your lips
and I will turn you back by the way
by which you came
Isaiah gives sign of truth of his messageverses 29-31
And this shall be a SIGN to you
you shall eat this year such things as grow of themselves
and in the second year that which springs of the same
and the third year sow you – and reap
and plant vineyards
and eat the fruits thereof
and the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah
shall yet again take root downward
and bear fruit upward
for out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant
and they that escape out of mount Zion
the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this
Isaiah gives prophecy regarding king of Assyriaverses 32-34
THEREFORE thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria
He shall not come into this city – nor shoot an arrow there
nor come before it with shield – nor cast a bank against it
By the way that he came – by the same shall he return
and shall not come into this city – says the LORD
For I will defend this city – to save it for MINE OWN sake
and for MY servant David’s sake
Angel of the LORD kills Assyria armyverses 35-36
And it came to pass that night
that the angel of the LORD went out
and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an
hundred fourscore and five thousand
and when they arose early in the morning – BEHOLD
they were all dead corpses
So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed
and went and returned
and dwelt at Nineveh
King of Assyria’s sons killed himverse 37
And it came to pass
as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god
that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons
smote him with the sword
and they escaped into
the land of Armenia
And Esar-haddon his son reigned in his stead
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 1 And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD. (8242 “sackcloth” [saq] means blanket, a coarse, dark-colored clothing probably made of the hair of goats, or other animals, typically indicative of mourning, the dress of mourners or dress of humiliation)
DEVOTION: First things first when you have bad news come to your house. What is the first thing we should do with the new? It is taken it to the LORD in prayer. It should be the first thoughts that come to our head. We should not try to figure it out ourselves. We should turn it over to the LORD RIGHT AWAY.
Hezekiah was a good king. He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD. He wanted to know what to do and so he sent his elders to Isaiah for answers. Isaiah was the prophet at that time. He had the answer as soon as the men arrived with the question.
One of the signs that someone was humbling themselves before the LORD was to change their clothes or rip their clothes in grief. Then they were to put on clothes that were not comfortable and go to the LORD in prayer. In Hezekiah’s time he was to go to the LORD in the Temple. The Temple was the place where the LORD told the children of Israel HE would be if they humbled themselves before HIM.
Today we can go into our prayer closet at home or to our local church to pray for the LORD to give us guidance. We can encourage others to pray with us that we trust will be before the LORD and ask HIM to help us.
Prayer has to be an important part of our community group. Everyone needs a group of people who will come alongside when we are going through rough times. The LORD allows us to have trials to get our attention away from ourselves and our pleasure and place it on HIM and HIS pleasure for our lives.
We can lose our perspective many times when we forget to turn our challenges over to the LORD. It can be a simple test we might have to take in school or at work. It can be learning a new job. It can be getting along with our family. All these challenges today need prayer.
What are you praying about today? I am praying about my health and giving glory to the LORD throughout this time period. There are many who say it will not be an easy time but it is a time the LORD wants me to face and give HIM glory.
CHALLENGE: What is the LORD allowing in your life to draw you closer to HIM?
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 10 Thus shall you speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. (5377 “deceive” means beguile, to cause someone to believe an untruth, to entertain false hopes, trick, delude, or cause someone to depart from correct behavior by craft and trickery)
DEVOTION: Does the Creator of the Universe deceive those who believe in HIM? The world thinks this is true. They think that all believers are deceived into believing that they have power to overcome every trial and temptation because the LORD can give them this power.
We have the new group of atheists who are trying to have the parents of children who are believes have them taken away because they are training their children to trust in the LORD.
The Bible teaches and Godly parents teach that the LORD is going to deliver us from the arrows the enemy is sending our way if we put on the whole armor of God each day to fight off the attacks of the enemy. It is a daily duty to put on Jesus Christ. HE will protect us from our enemies. HE will give us victory over sin.
It seems at times that the work of the enemy is stronger than the work of the LORD. The army that was sitting outside Jerusalem looked unbeatable. However, one angel came and killed 185,000 soldiers in one night. It doesn’t seem possible but it is true.
So are battles might seems smaller than that number or at time larger than that number but numbers mean nothing to the LORD. When HE created the world HE was omnipotent and HE still is today.
HE never breaks a promise to HIS people. HE might not act in our timing but HE will act. HE might not do it the way we would like it done but HE will do it.
Our trust must come first if we are to see HIM work in our life. Never stop trusting the strength of the LORD to give victory over any enemy HE allows in our life.
CHALLENGE: The enemy might try to deceive us with words but the LORD will win with power. We have an Almighty God we serve.
: 16 LORD, bow down your ear, and hear: open, LORD, your eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God. (2778 “reproach” [charaph] means to pull off, to expose, defame, blaspheme, defy, rail, or upbraid)
DEVOTION: Hezekiah was challenged by the king of Assyria. The king of Assyria had sent a messenger stating that the God of Judah could not save them from his army. The messenger left a letter which Hezekiah took into the Temple to pray to the LORD concerning this issue. He also sent messengers to Isaiah the prophet to pray for the nations.
Here is a king doing the right thing. He asked the LORD for guidance and deliverance. He presented the facts to the LORD that this enemy had reproached HIS name. Also, that this enemy thought that the God of Judah was like the other gods of the other nations that were made of wood and stone.
One of the things that Hezekiah knew was that the letter was not written to him but to the LORD God of Israel. The king of Assyria felt that the LORD was not powerful enough to help Judah. He defied the living God of Judah. He knew that any army coming against the people of God were coming against the LORD. Israel was chosen as the people of God.
The ten tribes had gone into captivity because of their disobedience. Judah had some kings that did not love the LORD. There was judgment coming to Judah but not during the reign of Hezekiah because he was trying to serve the LORD.
When the letter came, he took it to the temple and placed it before the LORD. He wanted the LORD to handle the situation. He prayed to the LORD for help. He was in sackcloth. He was humbling himself before the LORD.
The LORD heard his prayer and answered. The army of the Assyrians was destroyed in one night. The number that died in one night was 185,000 soldiers of the enemy. The LORD protects HIS children. Not sure if the angel of the LORD that killed all the soldiers was a THEOPHANY OF Jesus Christ but it demonstrated that if Jesus had wanted an army of angels to come and defeat the Roman soldier, they could have done it easily.
There are times when the circumstances seem to indicate that the LORD is not around. That is NEVER TRUE. HE is always around HIS children. HE allows things in our lives to help us understand that we are dependent on him.
Are we aware of this dependence or are we trying to conquer our circumstances on our own? Are we bringing the letters of our enemies before the LORD? Are we bringing all our needs before the LORD? HE is the ONLY LIVING GOD!!!!
CHALLENGE: Be willing to go into the presence of the LORD when difficulties arise in your life. Show your dependence on the LORD alone and see what happens. Don’t be like many Christians that only go to the LORD as a last resort.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 19 Now therefore, O LORD our God, I beseech YOU, save YOU us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that YOU are the LORD God, even YOU only. (905 “only” [bad] means solitude, apart from, separation, alone, by itself, without regard to, besides, or uniqueness)
DEVOTION: We don’t worship many gods but only ONE true God. HE alone is the one you can help those who call upon HIM.
In the Old Testament we read about false gods that are in all the nations around Israel. At times we find that the children of Israel worshiping false gods because they want to be like the people around them.
The LORD wants HIS people to be unique. HE wants them to realize that there is only one true God and HE is the One. HE is not willing to share HIS glory with any other. HE wants all the nations around Israel to realize that HE is the one protecting them. Even when they have been disobedient, HE still woes them back to HIMSELF. HE wants them to be one nation that is willing to follow HIM no matter what.
It is easy to worship false gods because they appeal to our sin nature. The children of Israel would worship and practice what the heathen nations did but it would not make them happy, just like it didn’t make the other nations happy. They were always looking to add new false gods to their nation.
We have a choice today as well. The ONE true God has sent JESUS to this world to provide a SAVIOR. The Bible teaches ONE GOD in three persons. We don’t completely understand this fact but it is a fact.
CHALLENGE: We need to believe what the Bible teaches about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit being ONE GOD. Understanding this fact is not easy for us to understand but it is taught throughout the Word of God. It is a belief we take by FAITH.
: 37 And it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of Armenia. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead. (5221 “smote” [nakah] means slay, kill, smite, strike, beat, vicious blow, or slaughter)
DEVOTION: We have a king that didn’t believe in the LORD or what HE had to say. The LORD predicted through HIS prophet Isaiah that the army of Assyria would not take Jerusalem. HE predicted that the LORD would give a great victory.
This king believed in his own power and worshiped a false god. He thought he could conquer the world but in reality he didn’t even conquer his own family. He had chosen his younger son to become his heir over his two older sons. This caused them to be jealous and angry. They took the occasion of their father worshiping his false god to go in and kill him. He was predicted to die by the prophet Isaiah through a revelation from the LORD. It happened.
Family is to be the first ones to defend their parents. The Hebrews were commanded to honor their parents as one of the commandments. This was part of the Ten Commandments the LORD gave to HIS people in the wilderness.
If a child didn’t honor his parents they were to be brought before the elders of the city and if the charges were true they were to be stoned as rebellious children.
How many children today would be stoned? We find that even some of the teachers in our public schools are telling their student that they don’t have to listen to their parents. They are told to report their parent and even hire a lawyer to declare themselves free of the parent even though the parents have to support them until they are twenty-one years old in some states.
Rebellion really doesn’t have to be taught as it is part of the sin nation that is in all of us. We want to be free from anyone having any power over us including God.
These two sons did what they wanted when they wanted but they ran when it was done because they knew their younger brother would seek their lives. Rebellion has consequences.
CHALLENGE: Are you disobeying the LORD by rebelling against your parents? The LORD wants us to honor our parent but not to the point of sinning against HIM.
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Hezekiah wanted Israel to pray for the remnantverse 4
Hezekiah prayed to the LORDverses 15-19
Wanted LORD to bow down HIS ear
Hear
Open HIS eyes
Hear the words of Sennacherib
Sent a reproach
Only true God is the LORD
LORD answered his prayerverses 20-34
Laughed Assyria king to scorn
Assyrian king had reproached and blasphemed the LORD
Assyrian king had exalted his voice above the LORD
LORD put a hook in his nose
LORD going to bridle his lips
Promises to bless Judah
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
House of the LORDverses 1, 14
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal)verses 1, 4, 6, 14-17, 19-21, 23, 31-33, 35
House of the LORDverses 1, 14
God – Elohim (Creator)verses 4, 10, 15, 16, 19, 20
LORD thy Godverse 4
Living Godverses 4, 16
LORD causing fall of king of Assyriaverse 7
LORD God of Israelverses 15, 20
Dwells between the cherubimsverse 15
Creator of heaven and earthverse 15
Living Godverse 16
LORD our Godverse 19
LORD Godverse 19
Only Godverse 19
Holy One of Israelverse 22
Lord – Adonai (Master, Owner)verse 23
Creator of the Worldverse 25
Hooked the nose of heathenverse 28
Bridle the lips of the heathenverse 28
Zeal of the LORD of hostsverse 31
LORD will defend the cityverse 34
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Cherubim in the house of the LORDverse 15
Angel of the LORDverse 35
Killed 185,000 soldiers killed
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Words of Rabshakeh reports words of King of Assyriaverses 4, 8
King of Assyria: Sennacheribverses 4, 6-13, 16-20, 32, 36, 37
Prayed against by Isaiah and King
Departed from Judah
While in the temple of Nisroch – his god
Killed by Adrammelech
and Sharzer his sons
Tirhakah- king of Ethiopiaverse 9
King of Hamathverse 13
King of Arpadverse 13
King of city of Sepharvaimverse 13
Kings of Hena and Ivahverse 13
Kingdoms of the earthverse 15
Camp of the Assyria’s – 185,000 killedverse 35
Esarhaddon – son of Sennacherib reignedverse 37
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Blasphemyverses 3, 6, 22
Reproach the living Godverses 4, 16, 22, 23
Deceiveverse 10
gods of the nationsverses 12, 18, 37
Exalted voice against the LORDverse 22
Lift up eyes against the LORDverse 22
Worshiping in the house of false godverse 37
Murder of fatherverse 37
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Day of troubleverse 3
Rebukeverse 3
Be not afraidverse 6
Trustverse 10
Truthverse 17
Saveverses 19, 34
Signverse 29
Deliveranceverse 34
Servantverse 34
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Hezekiah – King of Judahverses 1-4, 9
Rent his clothes
Covered himself with sackcloth
Went to the house of the LORD
Sent Eliakim – over his household
Sent Shebna – the scribe
Sent Elders of the priests
Day of trouble, rebuke, blasphemy
Word from king of Assyria
Received letter from king of Assyria
Took letter to house of the LORD
Spread it before the LORD
Isaiah – son of Amozverses 2, 5, 20
Prophet
Talks to servants of king
Servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiahverse 5
Hezekiah received a letterverse 14
Read it
Went to the house of the LORD
Prayed: hear and see
Davidverse 34
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
The second event the text mentions occurs ca. 681 b.c., long after the invasion. As Hubbard explains, “Apparently, Sennacherib had bypassed his older sons to designate his youngest son, Esarhaddon, as heir-apparent. Though details remain unclear, extrabiblical records suggest that those bypassed killed him in an attempted coup.”75 Isaiah’s predictions have all come true now. Sennacherib has heard a rumor, has gone home, and has now been killed (cf. 2 Kgs 19:7). In other words, Isaiah’s predictions are not just short-term in nature, they also cover long-term events. Thus, God is in control of all occurrences. Nothing happens outside the Lord’s realm of authority, not even if it has no direct impact on Israel because contrary to Sennacherib’s words the Lord is not a local deity nor a mere idol. (House, P. R. (1995). 1, 2 Kings (Vol. 8, p. 372). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
19:37. Years later (in 681 b.c.) Sennacherib was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch. This Assyrian deity was represented as being part eagle and part human. The temple was probably in Nineveh, Assyria’s capital. There the king fell prey to the plot of assassins, two of his own sons. Ironically his god was not able to deliver him even in its temple. The murdering sons fled to the land of Ararat (Armenia), about 300 miles north of Nineveh. Armenia is now divided between Russia, Turkey, and Iran. Another son, Esarhaddon (681–669 b.c.), succeeded Sennacherib as king. Thus the word of the Lord (v. 7) came to pass. (Constable, T. L. (1985). 2 Kings. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 578). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
Bank Breakers
Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share. 1 TIMOTHY 6:18
If you could leave each of your children one million dollars as an inheritance, would you?
I imagine that for most of us, our first response to this question would be favorable. After all, the Bible says, “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children” (Proverbs 13:22). But there’s more to blessing our kids than leaving behind large quantities of money for them. In fact, far too many adults who receive an inheritance windfall act like lottery winners, unable to handle the pressure and temptation of having too much all at once.
So perhaps this would be a good time to ensure that the financial priorities and perspectives you’re handing down to your children are anchored in a biblical foundation. Teach them:
1. God owns it all. Some in the Christian community have taught their children that the tithe (10 percent) is the Lord’s, but the other 90 percent is theirs to spend as they please. Our children need to learn that money is the EKG of our hearts—a track record of what we value.
2. Giving is the privilege and the responsibility for every follower of Christ. There’s more than one way to instruct your children to give. My dad used to sit down at our dinner table and make out his check for the church every Sunday. He never said a word to me about giving, but he modeled how to give. Our children need to see us setting aside portions of our income to help Kingdom causes and needy people. Allowing them to participate in these decisions offers them hands-on, generational training in how good it feels to give.
Leaving your children an inheritance is more than just giving them money.
Give and train them with the ultimate inheritance: God’s perspective on money. (Moments with You Couples Devotional by Dennis and Barbara Rainey)
God uses Gideon’s 300 men to rout the entire Midianite army.
INSIGHT
“Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit” is the work of the Lord accomplished (Zechariah 4:6). Few stories illustrate that principle more clearly than that of Gideon and his army of 300. God wants prepared men to fight His battles with His weapons in His way. His weapons are not earthly but spiritual. His ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. We want to offer God our strength and our weapons and our insight but He does not need them. We need Him. Rather than trying to get God to accept our plans, strategies, and goals, we ought to strive to understand His. His way is the way of victory. (Quiet Walk)
GOD’S REVELATION
…the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. 1 Corinthians 1:21
Salvation is something that comes altogether from God. And when we put it like that, do we not see very clearly why it is that so many people reject it? The natural man dislikes the whole idea of revelation. Why? Because he is wise and prudent, so full of his own intellect and understanding. He boasts, “I am not going to be treated like a child. I have it within me and in my own power to arrive at any knowledge that I may desire.” Revelation gives the lie to that.
But men and women do not like that, and Paul puts it like this in 1 Corinthians 1:21: When “the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.” Here is a great principle, and if we are wrong at this point, how can we be right anywhere else? The gospel starts by proclaiming that it is a way of salvation. Its message is not something that man has thought of or achieved, but something that comes out of the mind of God. It is something that God shows and gives, that He has revealed; it is altogether from His side, and man contributes nothing to it.
Why is God’s way of salvation a matter of revelation? One of the reasons why it must be revelation and not discovery is the greatness of God. “I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast…revealed….” Oh, how easy it is to talk cleverly about God and to understand the philosophy of God, to have our religious arguments and discussions. But isn’t half our trouble that we forget altogether who God is and what He is? From eternity to eternity, He is the Creator and sustainer of everything that is.
A Thought to Ponder: The gospel is altogether from God’s side, and man contributes nothing to it. (from The Heart of the Gospel, p. 112, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
Things Worth Knowing
“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2)
Although the book of 1 John is well known for its use of the word “love,” various words such as “know,” “perceive,” and “behold” occur almost as often.
Several of these words refer to the work of Christ in salvation. “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins” (1 John 3:5). “We know that we have passed from death unto life” (1 John 3:14), and “hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us” (1 John 3:16). This knowledge brings great comfort and assurance: “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life” (1 John 5:13).
This knowledge should bring us into a life of submission and service: “But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him” (1 John 2:5). Similarly, “he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us” (1 John 3:24; see also 1 John 4:13).
This gives us confidence in prayer: “And this is the confidence that we have in him,…if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us,…we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him” (1 John 5:14-15).
The culmination of a life marked by salvation, assurance, empowering, and victory will be that we will be with Him and be like Him. “Behold [same word as ‘know’], what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God” (1 John 3:1). (JDM, The Institute for Creation Research)
Listening to Wise Advice
The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.
Proverbs 12:15
During the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln once found himself wanting to please a politician, so he issued a command to transfer certain Union Army regiments. When the secretary of war, Edwin Stanton, received the order, he refused to carry it out. He said that the president was a fool. Lincoln was told what Stanton had said, and he replied: “If Stanton said I’m a fool, then I must be, for he is nearly always right. I’ll see for myself.” As the two men talked, the president quickly realized that his decision was a serious mistake, and without hesitation he withdrew it. Though Stanton had called Lincoln a fool, the president proved wise by not digging in his heels when Stanton disagreed with him. Instead, Lincoln listened to advice, considered it, and changed his mind.
Have you ever encountered someone who simply wouldn’t listen to wise advice? (See 1 Kings 12:1–11.) It can be infuriating, can’t it? Or, even more personal, have you ever refused to listen to advice? As Proverbs 12:15 says, “The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.” People may not always be right, but the same goes for us! Knowing that everyone makes mistakes, only fools assume they’re the exception. Instead, let’s exercise godly wisdom and listen to the wise advice of others—even if we initially disagree. Sometimes that’s exactly how God works for our good (v. 2).
(By Con Campbell, Our Daily Bread Ministries)
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