OUR FATHER WHO HEARS OUR CRY
From Psalm 10
Lord Arise Lord Arise and hear our cry
In our time of trouble don't pass us by
Lord Arise Lord Arise and lift Your hand
Lord Arise and have mercy on our land
Lord see the grief of the afflicted
Protect them from the wicked
Lord listen to our humble prayer
We trust in You our God and helper
Lord You are King forever
Lord take us all into Your faithful care
OUR FATHER WHO JUDGES HIS PEOPLE FIRST AND THEN JUDGES THOSE WHO EXPLOITED THEM DURING THEIR DAY OF JUDGEMENT Part 2
The book of Obadiah chapter 1 verses 20 - 25 21 says this;
This company of Israelite exiles who are in Canaan will possess the land as far as Zarephath; the exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sepharad will possess the towns of the Negev.
Deliverers will go up on Mount Zion to govern the mountains of Esau.
And the kingdom will be the Lord’s.
When the judgement of Israel comes to an end, they will be reinstated as possessors of the land.
Those who were exiled will be returned to occupy the territory.
The deliverers, who are those commissioned by Mount Zion to restore the kingdom, will establish the governance of God to the whole territory including what was formerly Esau's kingdom.
The final result is that the whole area will be under the dominion of the kingdom of God.
Amen.
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OUR FATHER WHO JUDGES HIS PEOPLE FIRST AND THEN JUDGES THOSE WHO EXPLOITED THEM DURING THEIR DAY OF JUDGEMENT
The book of Obadiah chapter 1 verse 11 - 19 says this;
On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them.
You should not gloat over your brother in the day of his misfortune, nor rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their destruction, nor boast so much in the day of their trouble.
You should not march through the gates of my people in the day of their disaster, nor gloat over them in their calamity in the day of their disaster, nor seize their wealth in the day of their disaster.
You should not wait at the crossroads to cut down their fugitives, nor hand over their survivors in the day of their trouble.
“The day of the Lord is near for all nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head.
Just as you drank on my holy hill, so all the nations will drink continually; they will drink and drink and be as if they had never been.
But on Mount Zion will be deliverance; it will be holy, and Jacob will possess his inheritance.
Jacob will be a fire and Joseph a flame; Esau will be stubble, and they will set him on fire and destroy him. There will be no survivors from Esau.” The Lord has spoken.
People from the Negev will occupy the mountains of Esau, and people from the foothills will possess the land of the Philistines.
They will occupy the fields of Ephraim and Samaria, and Benjamin will possess Gilead.
This passage describes the error of the kingdom of Essau and judgement which was brought down on them as a result.
The wrongdoing of Esau;
The judgement brought upon Esau;
OUR FATHER WHO JUDGES THOSE WHO ATTACK HIS PEOPLE
The book of Amos chapter 1 verse 5 says this;
I will break down the gate of Damascus; I will destroy the king who is in the Valley of Aven and the one who holds the scepter in Beth Eden.
The people of Aram will go into exile to Kir", says the Lord.
Because of the ruthless attacks on Gilead by Damascus, the judgements against the kingdom was determined to be these;
OUR FATHER WHO CASTS DOWN THE REBEL Part 2
The book of Isaiah chapter 14 verses 9 - 10 says this;
The realm of the dead below is all astir to meet you at your coming; it rouses the spirits of the departed to greet you—all those who were leaders in the world; it makes them rise from their thrones—all those who were kings over the nations.
They will all respond, they will say to you, “You also have become weak, as we are; you have become like us.”
Examining this passage again, it is notable the realm of the dead is described as "below".
As well, the realm of the dead is described as having agency so that it is responsive to changes of conditions and is able to stir spirits or to make kings rise from their thrones.
Also, it is notable that at the time that the king of Babylon arrives, the realm of the dead has to rouse spirits and has to make kings rise which implies that the inhabitants of the realm of the dead are in a sleeping state or in repose and have to stirred into wakefulness or attentiveness.
It is also notable that the inhabitants of the realm of the dead are weak or powerless. They are animated at the will of the realm of the dead and they describe themselves as "weak".
Those who go down to inhabit the realm of the dead are subject to the administration of the realm itself. They are powerless and they languish in a sleep state or inert state even though they have self-awareness and their faculties of thought with them.
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OUR FATHER WHOSE PEOPLE ARE TO BE A PLACE OF REFUGE FOR THE OPPRESSED
The book of Isaiah chapter 16 verses 2 - 3 says this;
Like fluttering birds pushed from the nest, so are the women of Moab at the fords of the Arnon.
“Make up your mind,” Moab says. “Render a decision.
Make your shadow like night—at high noon.
Hide the fugitives, do not betray the refugees.
The kingdom of Moab, whose territory was adjacent to the east side of the Dead Sea, was judged severely and widespread destruction swept across the land.
Their cities were violently ruined overnight and suddenly, the people of Moab were displaced from their homes and convoys of refugees were moving along the roadways seeking shelter.
The Arnon river which flows into the Dead Sea, forms a barrier to north/south travel and our passage captures the desperate scene when the fleeing women of Moab reach the river and try to cross it.
Like panicky birds prematurely pushed from their nests, the women of Moab, completely out of their element, scramble to get across the river to find a place of safety.
Moab sent envoys to the kingdom of Israel pressing them to make a decision to grant emergency asylum for their people. They ask Israel to conceal the Moabites from the destroyer who is seeking them. As verse 4 says;
Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you; be their shelter from the destroyer.”
The oppressor will come to an end, and destruction will cease; the aggressor will vanish from the land.
The envoys assure Israel that the refugees will return home when the season of destruction is brought to a close.
Amen.
OUR FATHER WHO CASTS DOWN THE REBEL
The book of Isaiah chapter 14 verses 9 - 10 says this;
The realm of the dead below is all astir to meet you at your coming; it rouses the spirits of the departed to greet you—all those who were leaders in the world; it makes them rise from their thrones—all those who were kings over the nations.
They will all respond, they will say to you, “You also have become weak, as we are; you have become like us.”
The people who were under the oppression of the king of Babylon, finding that they have been released from their chains, take up a taunt against him as his kingdom collapses into the realm of the dead.
They see how the realm of the dead is riled up to watch the arrival of the one who was once so powerful.
The spirits the dead are recruited to form a welcoming parade and the spirits of the former leaders of the world are compelled to rise from their thrones to honor the one who has been cast down to join them.
The taunters note that those in the realm of the dead, having seen the state of the king of Babylon will be disillusioned for he will not be like what they expected.
He will have all his power stripped from him and his weakness will be obvious to all who see him and he will be like the ones who inhabit the realm of the dead.
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