OUR FATHER WHOSE JUDGEMENT WE SHOULD CRY OUT IN SACKCLOTH AND ASHES TO MITIGATE

The book of Isaiah chapter 22 verse 9 says this;

You saw that the walls of the City of David were broken through in many places; you stored up water in the Lower Pool.

This verse is an excerpt from a passage that condemns Judah for looking to their own strength and even seeking power from the enchanters of the forests when judgement was brought upon them.

When the people of Judah saw that the walls of Jerusalem were damaged, they rebuilt them using materials from houses they tore down within the city and they filled a reservoir of water in a pool to prepare for the siege.

Instead of crying out to the Lord in sackcloth and ashes to gain forgiveness and ask the Lord to relent from judgement, they worked to defend themselves against the Lord's destruction and they shored up their city against Him and they made merry and feasted on meat and wine as verse 13 says;

But see, there is joy and revelry, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine! “Let us eat and drink,” you say, “for tomorrow we die!”

As revealed to Isaiah, this cynical and fatalistic conduct by the people of Judah would not be atoned for until their dying day ( verse 14 );

 The Lord Almighty has revealed this in my hearing: “Till your dying day this sin will not be atoned for,” says the Lord, the Lord Almighty.

OUR FATHER WHOSE KINGDOM IS ESTABLISHED BY HIS OWN HANDS (May 23rd 2024)

The book of Joshua chapter 6 verses 4 - 5 says this;

Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. 

When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.”

The fortified city of Jericho was the first settlement that the children of Israel confronted when they crossed the Jordan river into the promised land.

The city was impenetrable by conventional means due to its thick and high walls and because of the threat of the approaching Israelites, the gates were securely barred.

The Lord instructed Joshua to have the armed men march around the city for six days accompanied by the ark of the covenant being carried by the priests with seven of the priests carrying rams horns.

Our passage instructs that on the seventh day, the army and the priests were to march around the city seven times with the horns being blown and when a long blast of the horns was heard, the army was to shout loudly.

This action would then cause the walls of Jericho to collapse.

Heeding the instructions of the Lord in the natural realm results in the machanisms of the spirit realm deploying weapons borne without hands and the victories of the kingdom of God are assured.

This action without human hands to defeat the enemies of the kingdom of God in a final confrontation is foretold in the book of Daniel chapter 2 verse 44 - 45 which says;

“In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. 

This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.

“The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.” 

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO MAKES THE WISE MEN FOOLISH (May 22nd 2024)

The book of Isaiah chapter 19 verse 11 says this;

The officials of Zoan are nothing but fools; the wise counselors of Pharaoh give senseless advice. How can you say to Pharaoh, “I am one of the wise men, a disciple of the ancient kings”?

This verse, within a chapter discussing the different  ways that the Lord handicaps the oppressors of His people, speaks of the method of rendering the officials of the country into fools and affecting the counselors of the leaders so that they can only offer senseless guidance.

The oppressive kings are led astray because those who give them advice represent themselves as 'wise men' who are guided by the ancient Kings but in this arrangement, their interactions are intercepted and their wisdom is replaced with nonsensical options.

These wise men, having been summoned to help the oppressors deal with the fall out of the plagues of judgement that they have already suffered, are deceived and the whole oppressive system they are trying to preserve continues to weaken under the pressure of God's judgement against them.

As Romans chapter 1 verse 22 says, 

Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO RESPONDS TO INTERCESSION (May 21st 2024)

The book of Amos chapter 7 verse 3 - 4  says this;

 So the Lord relented. “This will not happen,” the Lord said.

This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: The Sovereign Lord was calling for judgment by fire; it dried up the great deep and devoured the land.

This passage in an excerpt from an interaction that the prophet Amos is having with the Lord regarding the judgments that are to be brought against Israel for their pride as Amos chapter 6 verse 8 says;

The Sovereign Lord has sworn by himself—the Lord God Almighty declares:

“I abhor the pride of Jacob and detest his fortresses; I will deliver up the city and everything in it.”

The Lord had first shown Amos a vision of a pestilence of locusts being brought to Israel but Amos had implored the Lord not to bring that form of judgement considering how diminutive Israel was.

In response to Amos' plea on Israel's behalf, the Lord relented and the invasion of locusts was cancelled.

The next vision Amos saw was a judgement of fire that was capable of drying up the great deep as well as incinerating the land.

Responding to this vision, Amos implored the Lord to withhold that judgement and the Lord relented again.

Ironically, the political leaders of the time began to work against the prophet Amos by spreading false accusations against him to get him banished from the land but they did not know that it was Amos who was interceding on their behalf to get their judgements annulled.

Lord please give us wisdom not to undermine the very ones who are interceding to avert judgement against us.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO GIVES REST TO THOSE WHO ARE HIS (May 21st 2024)

The book of Hebrews chapter 4 verse 9 says this;

There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God;

The Lord, upon finishing the work of creation, rested on the seventh day and instituted a day of rest for humans to emulate and this actual day of rest was a metaphor for a day that God's people could rest from their work of trying to achieve righteousness through works of the flesh but rather could now rest in the righteousness provided by God.

When Moses led the children of Israel out of slavery and towards the promised land, they harboured unbelief in their hearts and rebelled against God. The Lord swore an oath that those who rebelled would never enter His rest and they perished in the wilderness never to enter the promised land.

However, much later after the rebellion, the Holy Spirit spoke through David in Psalm chapter 95 verse 8 of a present day (today) that is available to those who remain obedient that they might obtain the promise of rest;

Today, if only you would hear his voice, “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested me; they tried me, though they had seen what I did.

The promise of rest to those who steadfastly believe still stands and therefore let us remain believing as people of God so that we will rest from our works just as God did from His as Hebrews chapter 4 verses 10 - 11 says;

 for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.

Amen.

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From Psalm 6;

Turn, Lord, and deliver me

Because Your love remains forever

Lord hear my cry for mercy

By grace accept my humble prayer

Heal me Lord, I am in anguish

All night long I lay in tears

O Lord, my God, don't let me perish

That I may ever proclaim Your praise

OUR FATHER WHO REVEALS HIS INTENTIONS TO HIS PROPHETS

The book of Isaiah chapter 20 verse 4  (in purple text) says this;

Then the Lord said, “Just as my servant Isaiah has gone stripped and barefoot for three years, as a sign and portent against Egypt and Cush, so the king of Assyria will lead away stripped and barefoot the Egyptian captives and Cushite exiles, young and old, with buttocks bared—to Egypt’s shame. 

Continuing with the prophecies in chapter 19 about the subduing of the kingdom of Egypt, chapter 20 describes the final ruination of Egypt when they are all, young and old, herded together by the Assyrian Empire and marched barefoot and naked into captivity.

This prophecy was cemented by the dramatization that Isaiah the prophet was asked to perform by moving around stripped and barefoot for three years as a sign and portent against Egypt and Cush.

The enactment of Egypt's march into captivity by Isaiah was a warning to Egypt regarding their oppression of God's people and that it would result in their humiliation and exile from their land

This passage also shows Isaiah to be an international prophet where his utterances and enactments pertain not only to Israel but to the nations and empires around them.

Amen.

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