OUR FATHER WHO REIGNS IN ZION

Luke chapter 9 verse 5 says this;

If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”

Leading up this verse, the Lord Jesus had given the disciples power and authority to drive out demons and heal diseases and He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God.

The Lord gave them instructions to follow in case either of two scenarios occured;

If they were welcomed by a town, they were to reside at the first house that offered hospitality for the duration of their stay there and they were not to move from house to house.

The reason for this was that if they stayed overnight a one person's house and then during the day, cast out demons and healed the sick, a hospitality war would erupt as people vied to get the disciples to stay at their houses the following nights to gain proximity to the miraculous power.

Jesus' instruction ensured that the first people who showed hospitality to the disciples prior to miracles manifesting in the town would have the honor of hosting them for their whole stay and the town would avoid the upheaval and hurt feelings that would occur if the disciples moved from home to home when competing offers for lodging were made.

On the other hand, if a town did not welcome them, the Lord instructed the disciples to leave the town and as they left, they were to shake the dust off their feet.

Had the town welcomed them, they would have washed the dust off their feet as Jesus had done for His disciples at the last supper. In the case of the towns that rejected the message of the kingdom of God, the disciples shook the dust of the town from their feet as a way to say that they would  have no part of them in the same way that Jesus said to Peter that he could have no part of Him if he did not let Jesus wash his feet.

The willful rejection of the messengers of God such that they had to shake the dust off their own feet would be used by the prosecutor in the court of judgment against the people of that town because they would have altogether missed the words of the prophet in Isaiah chapter 52 verse 7;

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO OVERRUNS THE ENEMY

The psalmist starts the 9th psalm with grateful praise unto the Lord and then records this verse as the first item that he offers as to why he is giving thanks;

My enemies turn back; they stumble and perish before you -  ( Psalm 9 verse 3 )

Those who have arrayed themselves to attack the people of God to destroy them are forced to turn back by the power of the Lord.

Their carefully laid plans to conquer God's people fail and as they retreat before the presence of God, they fall into chaos as they stumble and perish before the Lord.

This the great blessing of being under  the Lord's covering and protection is that even with great odds against us, the Lord will defeat any enemy.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHOSE FAVOR RESTS ON US

From Psalm 90

A thousand years in Your sight

 Are like a passing  day

For us, our best years quickly fade

 They end  we fly away

Teach us to number our days,

 That we may gain wisdom in our hearts

From everlasting you are our God.

May Your favor rest on us

YOU ARE MY ONLY LIGHT

In the darkness I was lost You were my only light

You are the only one who speaks the words of life

Jesus Jesus there is none like you

You are the faithful one

Whose steadfast love is true

OUR FATHER WHO SET APART THOSE WHO SERVE IN HIS TABERNACLE

Numbers chapter 3 verses 11 - 12 says this;

The Lord also said to Moses,  “I have taken the Levites from among the Israelites in place of the first male offspring of every Israelite woman. The Levites are mine, 

This passage describes a role substitution that was instructed by the Lord. Verse 13 continues like this;

for all the firstborn are mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set apart for myself every firstborn in Israel, whether human or animal. They are to be mine. I am the Lord.”

In this passage, the Lord reminds us of how He struck down the firstborn sons of  Egypt and when He did so, He also claimed for Himself every firstborn son among the Israelites.

The Lord, when He set apart a people to serve as a priestly tribe for the service of the tabernacle,  substituted the firstborn sons of the whole of the nation of Israel with all the sons of the tribe of Levi.

All the firstborn sons of  Isreal at that time added up to 22,273. All the sons of Levi added up to 22,000.

To make up for the difference of 273, Israel had to collect 5 santuary shekels to give to the house of Aaron to redeem each additional son according to the word of the Lord to Moses for the additional service that the Levites would have to perform while shorthanded.

The Lord had designated the firstborn sons of all Israel as His own but substituted them with all the sons of the tribe of Levi so that a specific tribe could have its role tailored for priesthood and for which they all could be raised from childhood to specialize in. 

This would be more streamlined than having firstborn sons from each tribe leaving their families to serve in the tabernacle and being surrounded by the people in their own families who were not dedicated to the tabernacle and its care.

Furthermore, the tribe of Levi were assigned to live in the areas directly adjacent to the tabernacle and so the whole tribe, involved in the work of the tabernacle, could be close to it and be able to regulate the space surrounding it.

This reflects the priesthood under the new covenant which is a people called apart from the rest of the people as described by the apostle Peter in his first epistle chapter 2 verse 9;

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO IS OUR FORTRESS

Leviticus chapter 11 verse 5 says this;

The hyrax, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you.

In prescribing allowable land animals usable for food, chapter 11 of Leviticus gives a general rule that segments the clean animals as the ones that ruminate ( or  chew the cud ) and that also have hooves split in two.

If these traits are not both present in an animal such as the animals that chew the cud but do not have split hooves, they are defined as being unclean and not suitable to be eaten.

Leviticus chapter 11 verse 5 ( and Deutronomy chapter 14 verse 7 ) specifies the hyrax as an animal that chews the cud but does not have split hooves and therefore not suitable for human food.

The hyrax, is disqualified from human consumption under the law of Moses because even though it appears to chew the cud (though it doesn't actually ruminate), it does not have divided hooves and is therefore unclean.

In Proverbs chapter 30 verse 26, the hyrax is in included on a list of four animals are classified as small yet extremely wise.

hyraxes are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in the crags;

The hyrax is also mentioned in Psalm 104 where the mountain crags are a refuge for them.

The wisdom of hyraxes is that they instinctively dwells among the mountain crags that are a refuge from predators.

They serve as a lesson for believers in Christ who, though they may be weak in the face of enemies, should wisely dwell in the cleft of the Rock who is their refuge and their fortress.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO ADVISES US TO LAY UP OUR TREASURES IN HEAVEN

Ecclesiastes chapter 4 verses 7 - 8 says this;

There was a certain man without a dependent, having neither a son nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor. 

Indeed, his eyes were not satisfied with riches and he never asked, “And for whom am I laboring and depriving myself of pleasure?”

This too is vanity and it is a grievous task.

The author, in this passage, looked at a particularly aggriegeous example of  meaninglessness in how some people live their lives.

A man, having  accumulated wealth, continued to work even when he didn't need to because he was not able to feel contentment.

This man, ceaselessly toiling, never took the time away from work to ask himself whom he was doing it for and why he had swamped himself with labours instead of enjoying other experiences in life.

The author concluded that unending labour and accumulating wealth when there was no heir added up to a pointless  and miserable existence.

In Mathew chapter 6 verses 19 - 21, the Lord Jesus gave counsel on these circumstances where He advised those inclined to accumulate wealth to do so in heaven rather than on earth where it would just rust away, be devoured by vermin or fall into the hands of other people;

 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

How does one accumulate wealth in heaven rather than on earth?

Firstly,  secretly give to the needy.

Mathew chapter 6 verses 3 -4 ; But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,  so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Proverbs chapter 19 verse 17;  Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward them for what they have done.

Secondly,  join the work  of the Kingdom of God

Mathew chapter 5 verses 11 - 12; “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Amen

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OUR FATHER WHO MEASURED A STRIP OF TIME OUT OF ETERNITY WITHIN WHICH THERE IS A TIME FOR EVERTHING

The book of Ecclesiastes chapter 3 begins with the axiom that reads this way;

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:

Out of the fabric of eternity, God measured out a length of time and programmed this timeline to run under the heavens which is our world of three dimensional space and time. 

All the events that would constitute the times of mankind would occur sequentially along this timeline and the writer, in Ecclesiates chapter 3 verse 7, specifies some examples of activities that occur in their own time;

...a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,

Along the timeline alloted to mankind, there is a time to tear and a time to mend.

One day, the Lord Jesus was teaching the people while aboard a boat on Lake Genasseret. When He was done, He asked His disciples to drop their nets in deeper water. Even though they had tried many times before and caught nothing, they tried again when asked by Jesus and  immediately, their nets were so full of fish that the nets tore.

Luke chapter 5 verse 6 says it this way in the NASB version;

 And when they had done this, they caught a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to tear; 

Here, in a time of harvest by miraculous intervention, overstretching and straining to the point of breaking was the order of the day and thus is an appointed time to tear.

At other times, we find the disciples mending nets when things are quiet and there is a time for repairs and reconstruction to prepare for future seasons of harvests as Zebedee and his sons, James and John were doing as described in Mathew chapter 4 verse 21;

And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them.

Along the timeline of human activities, there is also a time to be silent and a time to speak.

There are times that require that we judge when words should be reserved and when words should be spoken.

When the Lord Jesus was brought before king Herod and questioned, Jesus remained completely silent.

Luke chapter 23 verse 9 says it this way;

So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer.

Here, Jesus, in His silence, was fulfilling the prophecy found in Isaiah chapter 53 verse 7;

He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

At other times, like when there are great dispensational changes and confusion abounds, words need to be spoken and such a time was when  the astonishing events of pentecost had occured and believers were speaking all manner of languages and the people who witnessed what was going on were perplexed as Acts chapter 2 verse 12 says;

 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

The apostle Peter arose and spoke the words that elucidated the times;

 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say.

Peter went on to explain the events that were unfolding before their eyes and showed the observers how these things fit into the prophetic timeline that was written of by the prophets.

As we see from examples across the scriptures, there is a time for tearing and for mending and a time to be silent and a time to speak. 

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:

Amen

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