Isaiah 18
African nation of Ethiopia described verse 1- 2
WOE to the land shadowing with wings
which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia
That send ambassadors by the sea
even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters
saying
Go – you swift messengers – to a nation scattered and peeled
to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto
A nation meted out and trodden down
whose land the rivers have spoiled
LORD is watching activity on earth verse 3- 4
All ye inhabitants of the world and dwellers on the earth
see you
when HE lifts up an ensign on the mountains
and when HE blows a trumpet
hear you
For so the LORD said to me
I will take MY rest
and I will consider in MY dwelling place
like a clear heat upon herbs
and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest
LORD going to intervene in battle verse 5- 6
For afore the harvest – when the bud is perfect
and the sour grape is ripening in the flower
HE shall both cut off the sprigs with pruninghooks
and take away and cut down the branches
They shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains
and to the beasts of the earth
and the fowls shall summer on them
and all the beasts of the earth shall winter on them
Ethiopians going to bring gifts to Jerusalem verse 7
IN THAT TIME shall the present be brought
to the LORD of hosts
of the people scattered and peeled
and from a people terrible
from their beginning hitherto
A nation meted out and trodden under foot
whose land the rivers have spoiled
To the place of the name of the LORD of hosts
the mount Zion
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 2 “Which sends ambassadors by sea, Even in vessels of reed on the waters, saying, “Go, swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth of skin, To a people terrible from their beginning onward, A nation powerful and treading down, Whose land the rivers divide.” The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982).
DEVOTION: God is a god of judgement and His decision as to when judgment will occur is often puzzling and hard to discern. In this chapter Isaiah is informing the Ethiopians that God would judge and in His timeframe. They could send messengers around the world and only when God said it was time for the overthrow of kingdoms would it occur.
We may attempt to overthrow difficulties in our life by sending memos to the senators or representatives, to judges or officials but God is ultimately in control. While expressing ourselves and speaking out against unjust activities is a freedom and privilege that we must exercise, do we just depend on that or upon God? As you speak or write in opposition to various issues take time to also pray and seek God’s time for the results. He does know the plans and times He has established.
CHALLENGE: Take time to pray for our Government officials and other individuals in decision making positions. God will move in the perfect time. (Dr. Brian Miller)
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 4 For so the LORD said unto me, I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwelling place like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest. (6703 “clear” [tsach] means radiant, beaming, dazzling, sunny, bright, white, or glowing.)
DEVOTION: Our God is omnipresent. Our God is omniscient. Our God is Almighty. That only begins to describe the God of the Bible. HE created the universe with just HIS Word. All three persons of the Godhead created the world.
Man is a created being that was created in the likeness of God. He is made up of three parts: body, soul and spirit. Mankind has the ability to think. Mankind has the ability to plan. Mankind is supposed to be dependent on the LORD for guidance but with the fall in the Garden of Eden that guidance requires personal choice. Most don’t want to follow the LORD. The LORD is observing what is happening on this earth. HE permits sin. HE never causes people to sin, they make that personal choice on their own.
Here we have a message to an African nation of ancient history. The LORD informs the messages from Cush or Ethiopia to return to their land. HE is in control of the situation. HE is going to defeat the Assyrians in HIS own time. God is in control of the weather. HE is in control of what happens to HIS people.
The middle verses of this chapter deal with the defeat of the Assyrians. HE wants the world to watch. HE will be quiet for a while but the harvest is coming. HE is watching from heaven.
God is silent like radiant heat on plants. God is silent like dew in the morning. Both are necessary for the harvest of a plant. The timing of the harvest has to be just right. Not too early and not too late.
Silence doesn’t mean inactivity. We are presently living in a time period before a harvest. There is a judgment come to this world. The Assyrians were defeated when 185,000 of them died in one night. God is still in control. HIS timing is always perfect even in judgment.
CHALLENGE: Study the attributes of God and get a greater understanding of HIS power. Then learn to turn to HIM alone for help.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 6 They shall be left together to the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth: and the fowls shall summer on them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter on them. (929 “beasts” [bahemah] means cattle, livestock, wild beasts, a kind of animal that lives on land from the size of a hare up to the size of an ox or hors or perhaps larger, often domesticated animals, such as livestock.)
DEVOTION: Nations came and went during this time period. We find that the Israelites were not faithful to the LORD and HE allowed them to be captured by the Assyrians for a while as part of HIS judgment on them for their disobedience to HIM. However, the nations that go against Israel will be judged by the LORD after a time period of their use to HIM regarding helping the Children of Israel to seek HIS help to deliver them from their oppression.
The LORD loves HIS chosen people but they continue to disobey HIM and HE has to send judgment with the promise of relief in the future. It is sad that we have to have HIS chastening before we realize all the blessing we have.
As with Israel, so with us, is the fact that we always want more from the LORD but HE knows if HE gives more than we as Israel will want more than again.
Contentment seems to be hard to find for even the people of God.
After judgment and repentance comes restoration of HIS people. HE continues to work with them and us, in spite of, the fact that we continually seem to be prone to wander from HIS blessings and challenges HE allows in our lives.
Judgment is never welcome to those nations that go against God’s people but also is not welcome by God’s people even when they know they have not been living as they should.
CHALLENGE: It would be nice if we could learn from the past and sin less, so that, we can enjoy the blessings of the LORD regularly. Repentance is a daily way of keeping short accounts with the LORD.
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: 7 In that time shall the present be bought unto the LORD of hosts of the people scattered and peeled, and from a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of the name of the LORD of hosts, the mount Zion. (4178 “peeled” [mowrat] means made smooth, bare, be burnished, or be smooth-skinned.)
DEVOTION: As we compare translations of this word, we find that most of the new translations use the word to mean smooth-skinned. This word is used twice in this chapter. It is found in verse two as well.
It is used to describe the people of Ethiopia. The country was much larger than the present day country. It is thought to have included the nations of Sudan and Somalia. The people of this land were considered to be taller than most. This word means that they were individuals who have very little body hair. So we have the impression that all the body hair looked like it was “peeled” off.
In the beginning of the chapter we find this nation to one that is going to help Israel defeat the Assyrians. Again, the LORD wanted them to call on HIM for their help. Looking to other nations was never to be their goal. Having the LORD on their side was always enough. The LORD wanted them to show faith toward HIM but they continued to try to handle their problems with other human beings instead of HIM.
As scholars study this final verse, they see something other than just the defeat of the Assyrian nation. They see a time period in the distant future where this nation will bring gifts to the LORD in the land of Israel. The LORD will be reigning on Mount Zion.
Most believe it is during the time period of the Millennium when this will take place. The LORD has shown throughout HIS Word that HE has a future plan for Israel that has never been accomplished so far in history. This book of Isaiah has many references to a future time period when the Messiah will reign in Jerusalem during a time period of peace and tranquility. Check out all the references to this time period as we continue to read through the book.
We need to realize that God is still in control in our world. There has never been a time period when HE wasn’t in control. Our confidence should always be with HIM. If we follow the example of Israel and look for help from other sources we will be defeated. Our only hope and strength come from the LORD.
CHALLENGE: Dig into what the Word of God says about God’s future plan and ask HIM for guidance in the right way to present it to those who are searching for truth.
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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)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 4, 7
I will take my rest verse 4
I will consider in MY dwelling place
like a clear heat upon herbs
like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest
LORD of hosts verse 7
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)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Ethiopia verse 1
Ambassadors verse 2
Nation that is scattered and peeled verse 2, 7
people terrible from their beginning
meted out and trodden down
whose land the rivers have spoiled
Inhabitants of the world verse 3
Dwellers on the earth verse 3
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Terrible verse 7
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Rest verse 4
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
People scattered and peeled verse 7
Mount Zion verse 7
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
In that time verse 7
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QUOTES regarding passage
4–6 Isaiah often urged his contemporaries to adopt an attitude of quiet faith in their God instead of trusting in alliances with other powers (e.g., 7:4; 30:15). Here it is God himself who is quiet, contemplating calmly the frenzied scene of diplomatic and military activity. When Isaiah commended quiet trust, therefore, he was really calling his hearers to view things from a divine viewpoint (cf. 2 Peter 1:4). As Clements (Isaiah 1–39, in loc.) puts it, “The imagery of a calm and pleasant summer evening sums up the serene indifference of Yahweh to the Ethiopian plan.” (Grogan, G. W. (1986). Isaiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 123). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
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Chapters 18–20 may have been conceived as a unity, for they all deal with Egypt and Cush, which were one at this time. The content of the passage hardly seems to warrant the use of the doom-exclamation with which it begins; for the doom is really pictured as falling on Assyria rather than on Cush, but it perhaps anticipates chapter 20. (Grogan, G. W. (1986). Isaiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 122). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
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In verse 6, Isaiah describes the feast that God spreads for the birds and beasts, the corpses of 185,000 Assyrian soldiers (37:36). See Revelation 14:14–20 and 19:17–21, where these same two images are used for end-time judgments. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Comforted (p. 51). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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Ver. 7. In that time shall the present be brought unto the Lord of hosts, &c.] Not exactly at the time when this destruction should be, but sometime after, even in Gospel times; for to them this part of the prophecy refers: of a people scattered and peeled; this explains what the present is, that shall be brought to the Lord; it is a people, and therefore not the spoils of Sennacherib’s army, as some interpret it; nor yet the people of the Jews, that shall be brought by the Gentiles out of all nations in the latter day, as an offering to the Lord, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi; see Isa. 11:11 and 66:20; but the Ethiopians or Egyptians, described ver. 2 as here, who, being converted, shall stretch out their hands to God, submit unto him, and present themselves soul and body as an acceptable sacrifice unto him; when these prophecies in Psal. 68:31; Zeph. 3:9, 10 shall be fulfilled, and which began to be in the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch, Acts 8:27 and of which there were other instances in the times of the apostles, and in following ages: and from a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; that is, some of the people, not all of them; the same people are designed as before, only this Hebraism is used, to shew a distinction among them: a nation meted out, and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled; these descriptive characters, with those in the preceding clauses, are retained, to shew that the same people are here meant as in ver. 2 and to magnify the riches of God’s grace, in the conversion of a people to whom such characters belonged; which shew that it was not owing to themselves, or any deserts of theirs, but to the free favour and good will of God: to the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, the mount Zion; hither the present was to be brought, and here the persons to present themselves to the Lord, even in the mount Zion, the church of God; where the name of the Lord is named and called upon, his word is preached, his ordinances are administered, and where he dwells, and grants his presence. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 5, pp. 105–106). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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Verse 7 speaks of the worldwide consummation. Time (‘ēt) is the ‘season’ appropriate for an event to happen. This picks up the idea of the quietly watching, waiting Lord (4) and the striking of his hour (5). Just as on the one hand (6) it will be exactly the right moment for universal judgment, the final collapse of human efforts to organize the world without God, so it will be exactly the right moment for the other sort of harvest: the Lord’s gathering in of a worldwide people. Gifts: specifically ‘homage gifts’ (Pss 68:29; 76:11). Far and wide: see verse 2. There will be those from earth’s remotest bounds who have been alerted and waiting for the banner to be raised (3) and now they become pilgrims to Zion. The promise of a Gentile remnant was authenticated by the Lord Almighty (17:3). The same promise, seen here in its visionary fulfilment, is authenticated by the same title. (Motyer, J. A. (1999). Isaiah: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 20, p. 154). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
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7 If the comment in the sentence above is correct, vv.6–7 provide an interesting anticipation of the judgment-salvation theme of chapter 19. The very people who, from their position of strength, had sent word to Judah to secure her cooperation in a military venture would come again with gifts for the true God in Zion. This picture (cf. 45:14 and also Pss 68:31; 87:4; Zeph 3:10) is a specific illustration of the general vision in passages like 2:1–4 and 60:1–14 of Zion as the religious center of the whole world. (Grogan, G. W. (1986). Isaiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 123). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
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18:7. After the Assyrian defeat, the Lord would cause the people of Cush (cf. vv. 1–2) to take gifts to the Lord at Mount Zion, where His name dwelt (see comments on Deut. 12:5). Whether this occurred after the fall of Assyria is not known. Possibly Isaiah was speaking of the millennial kingdom when peoples from around the world will worship the Lord (cf. Zech. 14:16) because of His gracious acts. (Martin, J. A. (1985). Isaiah. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 1065). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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The original text has “Cush,” a land that included modern Ethiopia, the Sudan, and Somalia. Isaiah called it “a land of whirring wings” (v. 1, NIV), not only because of the insects that infested the land, but also because of the frantic diplomatic activity going on as the nation sought alliances to protect them from Assyria. He pictures the ambassadors in their light, swift boats, going to the African nations for help. But God tells them to go back home (v. 2) because He would deal with Assyria Himself, apart from the help of any army.
In contrast to the frantic activity of men on earth is the calm patience of God in heaven (v. 4) as He awaits the right time to reap the harvest of judgment. Assyria is pictured as a ripening vine that will never survive, for God will cut it down (v. 5). In verse 6, Isaiah describes the feast that God spreads for the birds and beasts, the corpses of 185,000 Assyrian soldiers (37:36). See Revelation 14:14–20 and 19:17–21, where these same two images are used for end-time judgments.
Instead of rushing here and there with diplomatic plans, the Cushites will go to Jerusalem with gifts for the Lord and for the king of Judah (Isa. 17; 2 Chron. 32:20–23). When the messianic kingdom is established, the Gentile nations will go to Mt. Zion to worship the Lord and bring Him gifts (Isa. 60:1–7). (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Comforted (p. 50). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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18:7 place of the name of the Lord of hosts. Jerusalem was and remains the location on earth where the Lord has chosen to dwell (Dt 12:5). Isaiah’s prediction here extends to the future bringing of tribute to Jerusalem in the Messiah’s kingdom. (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Is 18:7). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
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This coincides with the actual return of the Lord when He will arise to deal in judgment with the enemies of Israel and will recognize the remnant as His people. The great trumpet will be blown, and the outcasts of Israel summoned to return from every land of earth to their ancient patrimony. Surely we may see in all that is going on at the present time in connection with Palestine and the new nation Israel now established there, how readily all these things will have their complete fulfillment as soon as the Church of God has been taken out of this scene and caught up to be with the Lord.
God’s heart is ever towards Israel and while He has permitted them to pass through such terrible sufferings throughout the long centuries of their dispersion because they knew not the time of their visitation, the day will surely come when, their transgressions forgiven and their hearts renewed, they will be restored to Himself and planted again in their own land—that land which so often the rivers have spoiled! This refers to a well-known symbol in the prophetic Scriptures. Invading armies are often pictured as overflowing, destructive rivers. Such “rivers” have passed and re-passed over the land of Palestine throughout the nearly two millennia since the rejection of Christ and the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple which followed some forty years later. In all these stresses, Palestine has been an almost continual battleground. Assyria, Babylonia, Persia, Greece, Egypt, Rome, and later the Turks and other powers have fought over this land, and whoever has won, the Jew has always been the loser until when, in God’s due time, General (later Lord) Allenby entered Jerusalem without firing a shot and the Turkish army fled beyond the borders of the land. God has been working providentially toward the fulfillment of His purpose for Israel. Their reliance has been, however, upon their own wisdom and might, assisted at times by the Gentiles, rather than upon God Himself, and so there have been many disappointments, and there will be more in the future before the promises of God have their complete fulfillment. (Ironside, H. A. (1952). Expository notes on the prophet Isaiah. (pp. 106–107). Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers.)
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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!!)
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I am convinced that in New Testament Christianity the object of the Holy Spirit is twofold. First, He wants to convince Christians that it is actually possible for us to know the beauty and perfection of Jesus Christ in our daily lives. Second, it is His desire to lead us forward into victory and blessing even as Joshua once led Israel into the Promised Land. (P85)
I well remember the caution of one of the old saints I have read who pointed out that “a persuaded mind and even a well-intentioned heart may be far from exact and faithful practice” and “nothing has been more common than to meet souls who are perfect and saintly in speculation. (p. 86)
Remember the darkness and remember the surrender of His spirit in death. This was the path that Jesus took to immortal triumph and everlasting glory, and as He is, so are we in this world. (I Talk Back to the Devil by A. W. Tozer)
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Fifty years ago today, on June 17, 1972, operatives from President Nixon’s re-election campaign broke into Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate Hotel. Were it not for a night guard who noticed that a door was taped open not once but twice, the most notorious political scandal in American history may not have been. But he did notice. Before it was over, an American president was forced to resign, and the standard was set by which all other scandals would henceforth be compared.
In “honor” of this dark anniversary, Starz TV has produced a miniseries recounting the events. There are many reasons I cannot recommend Gaslit, despite the fact that it has a first-rate cast, including Julia Roberts and Sean Penn as Martha and John Mitchell, and the unexpected choice of comedian Patton Oswalt as Chuck Colson. I must say Oswalt pulls off the look, especially the hair and glasses famously. What he doesn’t pull off is the voice or the order of events, and Chuck’s remarkable conversion is left completely left out.
Because of Watergate, the suffix -gate is now added to every government scandal, but that’s still the least of its legacies. The colorful cast of characters—the Mitchells, John Dean, G. Gordon Liddy (who is portrayed as an absolute crazy man in the Gaslit series), and others—were part of a story that marked the beginning of what is now a long history of growing institutional distrust in America. The timing and progression of the January 6 hearings is a case in point.
Even so, Watergate’s most important and enduring legacy, at least according to God’s economy, was one of redemption, not corruption. As Emily Colson, Chuck’s daughter and Colson Center board member, who experienced Watergate as a teenager forced to watch her father maligned, mocked, and sent to prison, recently wrote to me about the anniversary of Watergate:
“People have been asking if this is difficult for me. But it isn’t. The events 50 years ago feel more like a beginning than an end. It was the turning point that brought my dad to his knees. And in that, God has brought so much good.”
Chuck Colson certainly earned his early reputation as Nixon’s “hatchet man,” a tough, ruthless, and loyal operative. Even if you agreed with his politics, he wasn’t exactly known as a nice guy. Everything, however—and I mean everything—changed in the wake of Watergate.
As his career and reputation crashed around him, Colson came to his darkest hour. In August of 1973, friend and former client Tom Phillips led him to Christ. Though still today, some snidely suggest that Chuck’s conversion was a ploy to get out of prison, he gave his life to Christ even before he was considered a suspect in the Watergate investigation. And, of course, the conversion stuck throughout and after prison, and for decades of his life and ministry beyond.
The year after his release from prison, Chuck went back, and he kept going back, over and over and over, through the work of the ministry he founded to bring the Gospel to prisoners and their families. Today, Prison Fellowship operates in every state and many other nations besides, striving to rehabilitate the incarcerated, support their families, and bring about prison reform.
Later, Chuck would turn his attention, focusing on the calling of the Church to engage and restore culture, by embracing the fullness of a Christian worldview and courageously stand for truth. He founded Breakpoint, this commentary, to help Christians make sense of cultural events, and a program called Centurions—which has been renamed Colson Fellows—in order to equip Christians to go into their communities, stand for Christ, and bring about restoration. (BreakPoint)
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The Lord takes Elijah to heaven in a whirlwind.
INSIGHT
Miracles don’t permeate the entire Bible. They tend to be concentrated during the times of Moses, the prophets, and Jesus. They occur other times as well, but these are the times of greatest concentration; and Elijah and Elisha represent one of the strongest periods. In our lives today, God seems rather inactive in comparison. Yet that is not because He is unable to act-but rather because He has chosen not to act in the same way. The power is still there, and we can rest in the confidence that He still has all things under control. (Quiet WALK)
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DRAWING ASIDE
And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. Exodus 33:7
Moses set the Tabernacle up outside the camp—“afar off from the camp.” Now here is the point at which I am most liable to be misunderstood, but it is here, and it is part of the teaching. There is invariably, in the history of every revival, this drawing aside. Let us not forget that the camp of Israel was then the “church” of God. In the Old Testament the nation of Israel was the “church” in the wilderness. This is the church we are talking about, and yet you see what Moses did? He took this tabernacle from the midst of the “church,” as it were and put it up outside, “afar off from the camp.”
No revival that has ever been experienced in the long history of the church has ever been an official movement in the church. That is a strong statement, is it not? But I repeat it. No revival that the church has ever known has ever been an official movement. You read of the great precursors of the Protestant Reformation, people like Wycliffe, Jan Hus, and others. It was always unofficial, and the officials did not like it. It was the same with Martin Luther. Nothing happened in Rome. No, it happened just to this monk in his cell. And so it has continued to happen.
Even after the reformation of the Church of England, there were men who began to feel dissatisfied, and they began to follow this pattern and do the self-same thing. That is the origin of Puritanism. Then you are all probably familiar with the story of Methodism in its various branches. The two Wesley brothers and Whitefield and others were members of the Church of England. But they did not begin to do something in the Church of England but formed what they called their Holy Club, outside the camp.
A Thought to Ponder
No revival that has ever been experienced in the Church has ever been an official movement in the church. (From Revival, p. 166, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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Genesis 11
God responds to the construction of the Tower of Babel.
INSIGHT
To understand the Lord’s response to the people building the tower of Babel, consider the command God gave Noah and his descendants in Genesis 9:1: “So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.’ “
In apparent disobedience, the people stayed in one place and began to build a monument to themselves. In response, God confused their languages and scattered the people over the face of the earth.
God deals with disobedience in different ways. Sometimes He lets us go our own way and suffer the natural consequences of our sin. At other times the issue is a major part of His program, and it cannot be ignored.
Disobedience always has a price, and in the end God always has His way. Obedience, then, while not always easy, is always wise. God always acts for the ultimate benefit of His children. (Quiet Walk)
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The Power of Forgiveness
“. . . to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins.” (Acts 26:18)
There is a point in our lives where the forgiveness of Christ was granted—even though He was “slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8) and we were “predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Romans 8:29).
Christ has subdued, cleansed, and forgotten our sins.
The triune Godhead paid the price to “subdue our iniquities” and metaphorically throw our sins “into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19). The Scriptures clearly tell us God blots out and forgets our sins (Isaiah 43:25; 44:22; Acts 3:19). God’s forgiveness is an eternal act of forgetfulness as well as judicial payment and propitiation.
Christ has replaced our sins with His holiness.
A holy God cannot fellowship with an unholy being. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” We must “be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:17, 21) so that He “might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (Romans 3:26).
Christ has given us victory over sin.
Since all of the above is true and active in the life of every believer, there should be an obvious exhilaration that enables us to confidently stand against whatever “fiery darts” the Enemy may throw at us. “Sin shall not have dominion over you,” we are told in Romans 6:14. Since sin has been dealt with on the cross, we should “reign in life” through Jesus Christ (Romans 5:17).
Do you rejoice in your forgiveness and therefore reign over sin in your life? God has made this possible. (HMM III, The Institute for Creation Research)
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THE HOLY SPIRIT’S DIVINE DEEDS
The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life. Job 33:4
Certain things are done by the Spirit that we are told in the Scriptures can only be done by God. First of all, creation. In Genesis 1:2 we read, “The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” There it is at the very beginning. Job says it also: “The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.” This is the creative work of the Holy Spirit, again a proof of His deity. And we must remember also that His is the special operation that we describe as regeneration. John 3:7 establishes that once and forever: “Ye must be born again.” “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit…” (John 3:5). This is the action of the Spirit; He gives the rebirth. Original creation and the new creation are both the special work of the Spirit. “It is the spirit that quickened,” says our Lord again (John 6:63).
The work of inspiration is also the work of the Spirit. “No prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation,” says Peter; “…holy men of God spoke as they were moved”—carried along, driven; it does not matter which translation you use—“by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:20-21). All the Scriptures were written in that way: The Holy Spirit inspired and controlled the writers in an infallible manner. So we have our doctrine of the infallibility of the Scriptures, and it is proof positive to us that He is God. It is God alone who can give the truth and inspire men in their record of the truth.
The work of resurrection is also attributed to Him. Very often people are surprised by this. But it is to be found quite clearly in Romans 8:11: “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwells in you.” So we arrive at this—that the Holy Spirit is a person and a divine person.
A Thought to Ponder: The Holy Spirit is a person and a divine person. (From God the Holy Spirit, pp. 16-17, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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Why God Comes First
When I pondered to understand this, it was troublesome in my sight until I came into the sanctuary of God. PSALM 73:16-17
If you were asked to name three things that pose the gravest general threats to the health of today’s marriages—and to your marriage in particular—what would be on your list? When Barbara and I were asked the same question recently, here are the three we gravitated toward:
Threat number one is not really knowing who God is. In his book The Knowledge of the Holy, A. W. Tozer wrote, “The low view of God entertained almost universally among Christians is the cause of a hundred lesser evils among us.”
When we fail to attribute to God the majesty of His supreme position over us and all creation, we weaken our need to stay accountable to Him in our behaviors and attitudes toward each other. We also lower the healthy self-esteem that’s derived from measuring our value in the light of His love and grace. Tozer summed it up, “The most important thing you think is what you think about God.”
Threat number two is selfishness. This shows itself in numerous degrees, from not wanting to help fold socks . . . to not caring what our schedules are doing to our families . . . to outright adultery. But in reality, this second threat breeds on the first one. Lives that are being constantly molded and characterized by a fear of the Lord will move toward humility and self-denial rather than living to satisfy self.
Threat number three is lack of biblical skills in resolving conflict. Conflict happens in marriage. It is simply unavoidable. But many people are not fully aware of the wealth of scriptural truth on this subject. Just following the admonition of a verse like Ephesians 4:32—being “kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ has forgiven you”—will change your life. (Moments with You Couples Devotional by Dennis and Barbara Rainey)
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Jerry writes: A farmer named Clyde had a tractor accident. In court, the trucking company’s fancy hot shot lawyer, was questioning Clyde. “Didn’t you say, at the scene of the accident, ‘I’m fine,’?” asked the lawyer.
Clyde responded, “Well, I’ll tell you what happened. I had just loaded my favorite cow, Bessie, into the…”
“I didn’t ask for any details”, the lawyer interrupted. “Just answer the question, …please. Did you, or did you not say, at the scene of the accident, ‘I’m fine!’?”
Clyde said, “Well, I had just got Bessie into the trailer behind the tractor and I was driving down the road….”
The lawyer interrupted again and said, “Your Honor, I am trying to establish the fact that, at the scene of the accident, this man told the Highway Patrolman on the scene that he was just fine. Now several weeks after the accident he is trying to sue my client. I believe he is a fraud. Please tell him to simply answer the question.”
By this time, the Judge was fairly interested in Clyde’s answer and said to the lawyer, “I’d like to hear what he has to say about his favorite cow, Bessie”.
Clyde thanked the Judge and proceeded. “Well, as I was saying, I had just loaded Bessie, my favorite cow, into the trailer and was driving her down the highway when this huge semi-truck and trailer ran the stop sign and smacked my John Deer Tractor right in the side. I was thrown into one ditch and Bessie was thrown into the other. I was hurting, real bad and didn’t want to move. However, I could hear old Bessie moaning and groaning. I knew she was in terrible shape just by her groans.
Shortly after the accident a Highway Patrolman came on the scene. He could hear Bessie moaning and groaning, so he went over to her. After he looked at her, and saw her fatal condition, he took out his gun and shot her between the eyes. Then the Patrolman came across the road, gun still in hand, looked at me, and said, “How are you feeling?”
“Now tell me, what the heck would you say?”
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