OUR LORD WHO EXPECTS US TO RATIONALLY EVALUATE OUR ACTIONS

Isaiah chapter 44 verse 14 says this;

He cut down cedars, or perhaps took a cypress or oak. He let it grow among the trees of the forest, or planted a pine, and the rain made it grow.

The prophet Isaiah, writing the words of the Lord, records His assurances that He will save His people. He promised that he would pour out His Spirit on their offspring and blessings on their descendants.

However, the Lord mentioned that there were some people among them who were making idols out of wood and worshiping them.

The verse describes how the makers of idols would select a tree that had grown on its own in the forest or in some cases,  they would plant a pine tree and the rain fell on it and made it grow.

Once they had logged the tree, they used part of it for fuel to warm themselves and to cook food upon. With the rest of the log, they then carved an idol shaped like a human figure and they bowed down to worship the idol that they had just created.

The Lord asked this of the idol makers in verse 19;

No one stops to think, no one has the knowledge or understanding to say, “Half of it I used for fuel;  I even baked bread over its coals, I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”.

The Lord expects us to stop and think about the things we are doing to make sure that they are rational and worthwhile.

Amen.

OUR LORD WHO PROTECTED HIS SERVANT

One evening, Lot, Abraham's nephew, was sitting at the gates of the city of Sodom when two visitors arrived.

Lot, recognizing a certain quality in them, bowed before them and asked them to come to his house to refresh themselves and spend the night so that they could resume their journey the next day.

The visitors initially refused Lot's offer of hospitality saying that they would just spend the night in the town square but Lot must have known of the security hazards of his own city and he insisted very strongly that they stay with him. 

They ultimately relented and went with Lot to his house where he prepared a meal of bread without yeast for them as Genesis chapter 19 verse 3 reveals;

But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate.

By serving his guests bread without yeast, Lot was illustrating that he was trying to prevent them from coming into contact with the contagion of the uncontrolled laciviousness in the city where innocent travellers were seen as prey to be exploited.

The whole city had become a lair for predators and Lot knew that the only place the visitors would be safe was in his own household.

Lot's efforts were valiant but when the whole town came to his house to drag away his guests, he was powerless to save them. The travellers had to deploy supernatural power of their own to fend off the attacks of the men of Sodom by temporarily blinding them.

The visitors were then able to fulfill their mission of taking Lot and his family out of Sodom when the judgement from heaven befell the city.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO HOLDS US TO OUR VOWS

The city of Jerusalem was in a precarious state. She was surrounded by the armies of Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, was planning to invade the city and burn it to the ground.

Zedekiah, the king of Judah, was given a word from the Lord by the prophet, Jeremiah, declaring that Nebuchadnezzar was going to successfully take the city and burn it down and that Zedekiah would himself be captured and brought face to face with Nebuchadnezzar before he was taken off to Babylon.

Zedekiah along with other leaders in the city had made a covenant to release their Hebrew slaves so that they could go where they wished. Jeremiah chapter 34 verse 9 says it this way;

Everyone was to free their Hebrew slaves, both male and female; no one was to hold a fellow Hebrew in bondage.

However, after freeing their slaves, they changed their minds and re-enslaved the people they had just set free.

The Lord responded to the reversal in verse 18;

 “Therefore this is what the Lord says: You have not obeyed me; you have not proclaimed freedom to your own people. So I now proclaim ‘freedom’ for you, declares the Lord—‘freedom’ to fall by the sword, plague and famine. I will make you abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth

The violation of the covenant that the people of Judah had made before God regarding  the release of their slaves, brought down judgement upon judgement on them that amplified the misery of being successfully invaded by a foreign army.

Whereas prior to rescinding the freeing of their slaves, the king of Judah and the officials would have gone to Babylon and survived, now, they were condemned to be harshly treated by their conquerors and some would even die.

Such is the hazard of breaking formal covenants made before God.

May we always keep our vows.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WILL BE HIGHLY EXALTED

Isaiah chapter 33 verse 10 says this;

“Now will I arise,” says the Lord. “Now will I be exalted; now will I be lifted up.

This prophecy is of the Messiah who returns in power and authority. His spiritual army causes people to flee and when He arises, nations scatter.

In the passage, the Lord declares that the time has come for Him to arise. The time has come for Him to be exalted and elevated.

Those who fear Him will have access to the treasures of His salvation, wisdom and knowledge as verse 6 says;

He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.

The ones who defy Him will be helpless before Him as their brave men cry and the envoys weep.

Our mighty God will have full authority over the nations of the earth. As verse 22 says;

For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us.

Let us bless the Lord who will reign in righteousness.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHOSE REIGN BRINGS PEACE AND REST

Isaiah chapter 32 verse 1 says this;

Behold, a king will reign righteously, And officials will rule justly.

The hallmark of the reign of the Lord will be righteousness and his officials will be just in all their dealings.

They will be like shelter for the people against the storms and streams of water in a dry land.

Accurate perception anpob4dpd understanding will be widespread among the people because they are not deceived.

In this new atmosphere, Isaiah prophecies in verses 17 and 18 saying;

And the work of righteousness will be peace, And the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever.

Then my people will live in a peaceful settlement, In secure dwellings, and in undisturbed resting places;

Thus is result of the reign of our Lord.

Amen.

 OUR LORD IN WHOM WE MUST BELIEVE

Numbers chapter 14 verses 4 - 5 says this;

And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt." Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there.

As the children of Israel approached Canaan from Egypt, the Lord instructed Moses to send twelve men, one from each tribe, to explore the land.

When the men returned, they showed the people the extraordinary agricultural produce that came from the territory and Caleb, one of the expedition members, exorted Israel to go and capture the land because they could easily do it.

However, the rest of the men in the expedition party reported to the people that the land was full of giants who saw them as grasshoppers and that they couldn't attack the inhabitants of the land because, they said, "they are stronger than we are.”

 It was in response to this negative report that the children of Israel began talking about finding a leader to take them back to Egypt. 

When Moses and Aaron heard what the children of Israel were saying, they immediately fell facedown to the ground in front of everyone assembled there.

They must have know how displeasing such attitudes were to the Lord and they instinctively fell to the ground to intercede on behalf of the people before the Lord struck them and maybe even to avoid being struck themselves.

The Lord was angry with the people and asked Moses why they treated Him with such contempt that they would not believe in Him even after all they had seen Him do for them.

The Lord wanted to wipe them out and start again with Moses but Moses interceded and pleaded with God to spare the people and he pointed out to God that if Egypt and the surrounding nations heard that the Lord had slaughtered His people, they would say that the Lord was unable to successfully bring His people through the wilderness inspite of His oath.

The Lord listened to Moses and He relented and forgave the people but promised that not a single person who murmured against Him would see the promised land. Thus the tribe of Israel wandered in the wilderness for forty years until every last one of the grumblers who was over twenty years old at the time of the expedition, died off.

The Lord sees unbelief in Him as insulting and  contemptuous of Him. Trust in the Lord.

Amen.

OUR LORD WHOSE PROMISE TO ISRAEL AND JUDAH WILL BE FULFILLED

Jeremiah chapter 33 verses 14 - 15 says this;

“‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah.

“‘In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land.

The prophet Jeremiah wrote this Messianic passage fortelling the time when the Lord would fulfill the good promise that He made to the people of Israel and Judah.

From the line of David, the Lord would bring forth a righteous Branch who would do what was just and right in the land.

Verse 16 continues this way;

In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety . This is the name by which it  will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior.’

The prophetic word looked into the far future when the Branch from  David's line would be the  salvation  of Judah and the security of Jerusalem and who would eternally occupy the throne of David and would also eternally occupy the office of the Levitical priest standing before God continually.

Bless our Lord Jesus who first came as a suffering servant to save us and who now stands as our a righteous and eternal King and Priest and who will return to save Judah and secure Jerusalem.

Amen.