OUR FATHER WHO PUNISHES HIS PEOPLE BUT DEFENDS THEM FROM OPPORTUNISTIC NEIGHBOURS

The book of Obadiah chapter 1 verse 13 says this;

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.

This verse, giving some reasons why Edom was suffering under the judgement of God, advises the neighbours of Judah not gloat over God's people as they were being struck by catastrophes of the judgement of God.

Taking advantage of the people of God while their Lord dealt with them to punish them, invites severe repercussions to anyone who would march triumphantly into their cities and ransack their wealth.

When the Lord punishes His people, it is not a license for neighboring societies to take advantage of the season of weakness in order to gain control over them and take what they have.

In the present milieu, even as the kingdom of darkness had sensed weakness in the people of God during a season where the Lord was straightening out His people, they plotted to opportunistically grab at the levers of global power but they miscalculated the nature of the lull in the influence of God's people and will now face spiritual consequences for their ill-advised power grab.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO RESERVES TO HIMSELF THE AUTHORITY TO LIFT UP KINGS AND TO BRING THEM DOWN

The book of Isaiah chapter 14 verse 9 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.

The king of Babylon, representing the anti-Christ in this passage, is brought down to the realm of the dead in judgement for his pride and  cruelty after a reign of terror over the inhabitants of the earth.

This gloomy domain is a personality that responds with anticipation as the anti-christ descends into its chambers. It stirs up the spirits of the dead to form a receiving line to welcome the arriving deposed monarch.

The leaders of the world who had feared and been subservient to the anti-christ and given him sovereign authority over their nations, were made to rise from their thrones in homage to the master they had served while they were alive.

From their thrones in the mock throne room, they gawk at the fallen king.

Verses 10 and 11 describe their response to the sight of their former ruler;

They will all respond, they will say to you, “You also have become weak, as we are; you have become like us.” All your pomp has been brought down to the grave, along with the noise of your harps; maggots are spread out beneath you and worms cover you.

The ambition to surpplant the Creator and ascend above the clouds of heaven ends in Lucifer's descent into the depths of the realm of the dead.

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OUR FATHER WHO SEEKS OUT A REMNANT 

The book of Isaiah chapter 17 verse 4 says this;

“In that day the glory of Jacob will fade; the fat of his body will waste away.

The day that the Lord's judgement against Damascus arrives, destruction is brought to Aram (Syria).

The kingdom of Assyria moves through the land and with the buffer of Aram removed, the kingdom of Judah is threatened.

In this unstable reality, Judah's glory fades and her prosperity ends as the economic climate darkens which is metaphorically represented as the fat of Jacob's wasting away and his body becoming lean.

In this severe environment, the remnant of Israel will turn away from the idolatrous altars and practices and will again have reverent regard for their maker.

When the judgement presses both Aram and Israel, they are brought into ruinous condition but suddenly, the destroyers are withdrawn and are no more. Verse 14 say it this way;

At evening time, now look, sudden terror! Before morning the Assyrians are no more.

This is the portion (fate) of those who plunder us, And the lot of those who pillage us.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO JUDGES HIS PEOPLE FIRST BUT THEN JUDGES THOSE WHO OPPRESS THEM

The book of Isaiah chapter 51 verses 22 - 23 says this;

This is what your Sovereign Lord says, your God, who defends his people: “See, I have taken out of your hand the cup that made you stagger; from that cup, the goblet of my wrath, you will never drink again. 

I will put it into the hands of your tormentors, who said to you, ‘Fall prostrate that we may walk on you.’ And you made your back like the ground, like a street to be walked on.”

The people of God were severely judged by God and they were made to drink the whole cup of judgement rendering them punch-drunk with the calamitous blows that rained down on them.

Having dispensed the full dose of judgement to His people, the Lord then defended his people.

He took the cup of the wrath of God out of their hands that had left them staggering and reeling and  He promised that they would never drink from that cup again.

The Lord took the cup of wrath from His people and placed it into the hands of those who had undertaken to torment the people of God with humiliation. They had commanded God's people to lie face down on the ground so that they could walk on their backs as though they were a street.

Instead, they received received a cup of wrath as retribution for their presumption to harras Gid's people.

The Lord defends His people from oppression.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO FOREWARNS US OF COMING JUDGEMENTS

The book of Ezekiel chapter 4 verse 9 says this;

“Take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; put them in a storage jar and use them to make bread for yourself. You are to eat it during the 390 days you lie on your side.

The prophet Ezekiel was instructed by God to enact a coming judgement of a siege on Jerusalem. He was to build a model of the city and construct model ramps and seigeworks against the model city.

He was then to lie down before the model of the besieged city for 390 days on one side to illustrate that he was carrying of the sins of Jerusalem. Each day that he lay there represented a year of sins committed by the city.

To prepare for this protracted illustration that would render Ezekiel immobile for more than a year, the Lord instructed Ezekiel to gather an array of grains and legumes and store them in a jar. For the duration of the object lesson, he was to draw from this reserve to make bread to eat.

The grains and legumes were;

• Wheat
• Barley
• Beans
• Lentils
• Millet
• Spelt

The wheat and barley are common grains used for making bread but the beans  and lentils added protein to the bread recipe and the millet and spelt added protein, fiber and anti-oxidants.

During the 390 days, Ezekiel was to measure out the quantity he would eat as a ration for each day along with a ration of water.

This was to represent the scarcity of food the inhabitants of Jerusalem would experience when they were carried off into captivity.

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OUR FATHER WHO COMMISSIONS HIS SERVANTS TO GO WITH HIS WORD

The book of Ezekiel chapter 2 verses 4 - 6 says this;

 The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’ And whether they listen or fail to listen—for they are a rebellious people—they will know that a prophet has been among them. 

And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or be terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people. 

The prophet Ezekiel, while witnessing a vision of  the glory of the Lord in heaven, was overwhelmed and he fell face down to the ground.

He was helped to stand up by the Spirit of God and he could hear the Lord speaking to him and he was told that he was being sent as a prophet to the rebelious people of Israel to bring the word of the Lord to them.

The Lord warned Ezekiel that the people to whom he was being sent were 'obstinate and stubborn'  but he was to present the counsel of God to them whether they listened or not.

The Lord's intention was that even the rebelious people of Israel would not be able to deny that a prophet of God had been sent among them.

As for Ezekiel, he was instructed by the Lord not to be afraid of their presence nor their words.

Their menacing posture and threatening utterances were to be ignored by Ezekiel and even though thorns and briers and scorpions surrounded him, he was not to be afraid.

The thorns and briers represent social and political barriers placed around him to invalidate and marginalized him to the people of Israel.

The scorpions represent the witchcraft that was going to invoked to harass him spiritually.

In all cases, Ezekiel was to remain fearless.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHOSE JUDGEMENT BRING HUMILITY

Isaiah chapter 16 verse 1 says this;

Send lambs as tribute to the ruler of the land, from Sela, across the desert, to the mount of Daughter Zion.

Refugees poured out of Moab as the destroyer came with an intense calamity that no one in moab could endure.

Even the strong warriors of Moab trembled and wailed as disaster overwhelmed them.

Moab, although once proud and self-assured, was now forced to attempt to get favour from the rulers of Israel, the daughter of Zion.

They gathered lambs to send to Jerusalem to get permission to enter Israel and escape the harsh judgement that had befallen their land.

From a state pride, they were now reduced to a state of humility.

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OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO SAVE US

The book of Isaiah chapter 11 verse 5 says this;

Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

This verse, speaking of the root of Jesse (Jessie being king David's father),  describes His modus operandi as righteous and faithful.

Amen.