GREAT
I CALL UPON YOU LORD MY HEART IS HUMBLE
WHEN I THINK OF ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU'VE DONE
ALL THINGS THAT ARE CAME FROM YOU JESUS
AND FOR YOU ALL THINGS WERE BEGUN
GREAT, GREAT IS YOUR POWER
GREAT, GREAT IS YOUR HONOR
GREAT, GREAT IS YOUR RIGHTEOUS NAME
BRIGHT, BRIGHT IS YOUR GLORY
BRIGHT, BRIGHT AND SO HOLY
BRIGHT, BRIGHT AS A BURNING FLAME
OUR FATHER WHO HAS MEANS BEYOND OUR IMAGINATION
John chapter 6 verse 9 says this;
“Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
As Jesus moved around the countryside, the sick and injured were being miraculously healed and people were amazed at the signs and wonders they were witnessing.
Crowds began searching for Him because the people wanted to be near where the power of God was flowing.
One afternoon, the crowd found where Jesus and his disciples were and began moving towards them.
Jesus asked the disciple Philip where they were going to get the food to feed the huge crowd that was approaching them.
Philip felt that feeding the multitude was too big of an undertaking because of the high cost. He calculated that it would take half a years' wages just to give each person one bite of food.
Another disciple named Andrew, found a boy in the crowd who had five loaves of barley bread and two small fish. The boy was probably a street hawker trying to sell the food to the crowd.
He brought the boy to Jesus saying that he had five loaves and two fishes but he asked the question; "...how far will they go among so many?”
This is the question where most of us stop in our tracks pertaining the things of the kingdom of God.
-How far will they go among so many?
-How could I possibly make a difference when I have so little?
-How can I encourage people when I have so little courage myself?
-How can I pray for the sick when I barely can muster enough faith for my own healing?
-How can the Lord use me in His kingdom when I am so awkward and insignificant?
Between Philip's economic limitation and Andrew's quantitative limitation, there was no way to give the crowd anything to eat but Jesus instructed His disciples to get everyone to sit down on the grass.
He lifted the loaves and fishes up in thanksgiving and began distributing the food among the people and as they passed the bread and fish around, it multiplied over and over till all the people had eaten their fill and there were twelve baskets of food left over.
When dealing with matters of the kingdom of God, if we find limiting questions in our minds, we should deliberately put them aside and prepare to follow the Lord's instructions with the understanding that nothing is impossible with God and He has means of achieving things that are beyond our own considerations and understanding.
Bless the Lord whose power can supply all our needs and all the requirements for the work of the kingdom.
Amen.
OUR FATHER WHOSE JUDGEMENT IS INESCAPABLE FOR THE PROUD
Isaiah chapter 23 verses 4 - 6 says this;
Be ashamed, O Sidon [mother-city of Tyre, now like a widow bereaved of her children];
For the sea speaks, the stronghold of the sea, saying, “I have neither labored nor given birth [to children]; I have neither brought up young men nor reared virgins.”
When the report reaches Egypt, They will be in agony at the report about Tyre.
Cross over to Tarshish [to seek safety as exiles]; Wail, O inhabitants of the coastland [of Tyre].
A settlement dating back to antiquity, Tyre was a dynamic port city on the Mediteranian coast with far-reaching influence over distant lands.
She was an international grain market for the agricultural output of the Nile region giving her statesmen and merchants a great deal of political and economic heft all around the Mediteranian.
Suddenly, judgment befell Tyre and her collapse sent shockwaves reverberating through every corner of the known world.
Egypt, who depended on Tyre to market their grain, is described as being in agony when they learn that Tyre has been utterly destroyed.
The ships of Tarshish who used Tyre as a major anchoring and loading port are distraught when they hear of the loss of the city.
As the calamities crash over her, refugees are advised to flee to the island of Cyprus for safety but even there, trouble would follow them.
Sidon, the mother-city of Tyre, faced with the destruction of the city, lamented the loss of her children who have fallen to judgment.
The 'stronghold of the sea' spoke of regret that she had never laboured nor given birth to children and had never undertaken to raise young men or women and as such, had no one to fill her streets and when her day of reckoning came, she was no more.
Such is the judgement of the Lord upon the once jubilant city that was prideful in her beauty and had revelled in the honour of men.
James chapter 4 verse 6 says;
But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.
Amen.
OUR FATHER MOVES QUIETLY TO ACHIEVE HIS PURPOSE
John chapter 7 verses 9 - 10 (Amp. Ver.) says this;
Having said these things to them, He stayed behind in Galilee.
But [afterward], when His brothers had gone up to the feast, He went up too, not publicly [with a caravan], but quietly [because He did not want to be noticed].
The Lord Jesus was facing threats against His life from the authorities in Jerusalem and so he moved from place to place in the Galilee area and stayed away from the areas around Jerusalem.
The Feast of Tabernacles was approaching when the people of Israel traditionally travelled down to gather in Jerusalem to participate in the festivities.
Jesus' brothers tried to provoke Him to go to Jerusalem to demonstrate His powers and learning in the prominent city so as to gain the fame that would establish Him as a public figure in the nation.
Jesus explained to His brothers that His time had not yet come meaning that going into Jerusalem would trigger an untimely arrest that was not propitious to the purposes of God.
However, after staying in Galilee till His brothers left for Jerusalem, Jesus, eschewing the main caravan of travelers, moved incognito southwards and quietly slipped into Jerusalem so that the authorities who were threatening His life would not have advanced notice of His arrival or know His whereabouts.
The leaders in Jerusalem who sought to kill Him, searched but could not find Him and were only able to locate Him after He had taken a position in the temple and had begun teaching the crowd of people about the kingdom of God.
The leaders could do nothing to Him because the multitudes of people He was teaching were enthralled by Him.
The Lord boldly walked into the lion's den and the lion's mouths were stopped.
Amen.
OUR FATHER WHOSE JUDGMENT IS DIRE
Isaiah chapter 21 verses 3 - 5 says;
At this my body is racked with pain, pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor; I am staggered by what I hear, I am bewildered by what I see.
My heart falters, fear makes me tremble; the twilight I longed for has become a horror to me.
They set the tables, they spread the rugs, they eat, they drink! Get up, you officers, oil the shields.
Isaiah the prophet is shown a dire vision of the impending judgement upon Babylon.
The scene is so terrifying that Isaiah's body is swept by wave after wave of pain like the birth pangs of a woman in labour.
What Isaiah hears and sees causes him to reel in shock by the frightening and bewildering events unfolding in the vision.
His heart goes into arrythmia and his limbs tremble.
After witnessing the horror of the judgement on Babylon, Isaiah becomes deathly afraid of the twilight gloom that he used to cherish.
During the vision, Isaiah looks towards the defenders of Babylon but they, instead of taking action against the invaders, seem to be unaware of the imminent doom and are pre-occupied with setting up tables and laying down rugs for a meal.
Isaiah, in a panic, shouts to warn the officers like an entranced person yelling at a movie screen, "Get up you officers, oil the shields".
The effort is to no avail and Babylon succumbs to its destroyers.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Amen.
OUR FATHER WHO DEFEATS THE OPPRESSOR
Isaiah chapter 19 verse 3 says this;
The Egyptians will lose heart, and I will bring their plans to nothing; they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead, the mediums and the spiritists.
The Egyptians, who unjustly enslaved the children of Israel in the land of Egypt, were a foreshadowing and a type of oppressor of the people of God in a time to come.
The children of Israel, who through Joseph brought blessing and prestige to Egypt, found themselves being oppressed and tormented by the Egyptians.
The Lord, hearing the outcry of His people, called Moses to come to Egypt and liberate the children of Israel from bondage by visiting calamity after calamity upon Egypt until they lost heart and released their grip on the children of Israel.
Likewise, the kings and princes of this world will cooperate with the gods of this world to establish their rulership over the whole earth and to bring oppression and torment to the people of God.
However, the Lord himself will suddenly appear riding on a swift cloud to the realm of Egypt and He will visit calamity upon calamity upon the oppresive Egyptian regime.
He will cause them to fight among themselves, their resources will dry up, their economic clout will be erased and their leaders and strategists will speak only foolishness and lead the whole kingdom into disaster.
The Egyptians will thus lose heart and be totally discouraged as the Lord brings their plans to nothing.
In their desperation, the Egyptians will consult with mediums and spiritists trying to get ahead of the supernatural forces that they know are bringing down the kingdom of darkness around them.
This will have no effect as Egypt descends into abject failure and its people are gripped with dibilitating fear.
Just as some Egyptians followed the children of Israel out of Egypt when they were freed, some people associated with the global kingdom of Egypt that tried to usurp the whole earth for darkness will repent and return to the Lord and the Lord will restore them to himself.
As it says in Isaiah chapter 19 verse 25;
The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.”
Amen.
OUR FATHER WHO REQUIRES A SINCERE HEART
Ezekiel chapter 14 verses 7 - 9 says this;
“‘When any of the Israelites or any foreigner residing in Israel separate themselves from me and set up idols in their hearts and put a wicked stumbling block before their faces and then go to a prophet to inquire of me, I the Lord will answer them myself. I will set my face against them and make them an example and a byword. I will remove them from my people. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
“‘And if the prophet is enticed to utter a prophecy, I the Lord have enticed that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and destroy him from among my people Israel.
This passage records the Lord's response when the elders of Israel came to the prophet Ezekiel to inquire of the Lord.
When the elders arrived, the Lord gave Ezekiel a word of knowledge regarding the things that were in their hearts.
They were harbouring idolatry and wicked stumbling blocks were before their faces and as such, the Lord instituted a principal regarding those who inquire of God through His prophets.
If any Israelite or foreigner dwelling in the country, separated themselves from the Lord and regarded idols and wicked stumbling blocks and then came in that condition to ask for the Lord's council on a matter, the Lord would reject them and remove them from among His people as an example and a warning to others.
Further to that, if any prophet who was inquired of by such people was induced to utter a prophecy, they would themselves incur the judgement of destruction from among the Lord's people.
We must always approach the Lord with sincere and humble hearts that are repentant of sin and have no regard for idols.
As Psalm 51 verse 17 says; The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
Amen.
OUR FATHER WHO RESTORES THE CONTRITE
Isaiah chapter 57 verse 3 says this;
“But you—come here, you children of a sorceress, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes!
The prophet Isaiah records the words of the Lord about a generation of the people of Israel who had strayed from adhering to their God and had gone after other gods.
Their parents had also gone astray into the worship of foreign gods and had descended into adultery and prostitution and now this generation had devolved further into mocking of the things of God.
They now practiced unbridled lust as well as child sacrifices and they worshiped idols made of stone that they had collected from ravines.
They marked their homes with symbols of loyalty to pagan gods and sacrificed to them.
Still, Lord will restore the those who are contrite before the Lord. As Isaiah, in chapter 57 verse 15 wrote;
For this is what the high and exalted One says— he who lives forever, whose name is holy:
“I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.
However, for the ones who pridefully refuse to abandon wickedness, Isaiah writes in chapter 57 verse 21;
“There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”
Amen.
OUR LORD WHO HEARS THE HUMBLE
Isaiah chapter 15 verse 4 says this;
Heshbon and Elealeh also cry out, Their voice is heard all the way to Jahaz; Therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; His soul trembles within him.
This verse records a detail of the judgement that befell Moab.
The towns of Heshbon and Elealeh, when struck by attackers, responded with cries that could be heard all the way to an area called Jahaz.
In response to the terrifying shouts coming from the towns, the soldiers of Moab themselves cried out in fear and their souls trembled.
All their training and defence plans were rendered obsolete in the face of the scale of destruction that came upon their country.
The strength of the once proud and arrogant Moab faded away and was brought to nothing. As Isaiah chapter 16 verse 14 says;
But now the LORD speaks, saying, "Within three years, as a hired man would count them, the glory of Moab will be degraded along with all his great population, and his remnant will be very small and impotent."
Such will be the fate of the proud nations upon whom the judgement of the Lord falls.
Let us humble ourselves before the Lord and pray so that the Lord may hear from heaven and forgive our sin and heal our broken land.
Amen.
OUR FATHER WHO UNDERTAKES TO FREE HIS PEOPLE
Isaiah chapter 52 verses 4 - 5 says this;
For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “At first my people went down to Egypt to live; lately, Assyria has oppressed them.
“And now what do I have here?” declares the Lord. “For my people have been taken away for nothing, and those who rule them mock, ” declares the Lord.
“And all day long my name is constantly blasphemed.
In this passage, the Lord recounts the oppression that His people suffered at the hands of the Egyptians and then at the hands of the Assyrians.
Then the Lord asks, "And now what do I have here?"
His people have been displaced for no reason and they are subjugated and mocked. Their God is constantly being blasphemed.
In their state of weakness while under the foot of the oppressor, the Lord intervenes to redeem His people.
Isaiah writes in verse 1, "Awake, awake, Zion, clothe yourself with strength! Put on your garments of splendor, Jerusalem, the holy city."
He cajoles the people of Zion to rise in strength and in the splendor of the One who has saved them.
As he declares the coming salvation, Isaiah writes about how welcome the news of this gift of God's salvation shall be to those who receive it in 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!"
Isaiah, in verse 14, foresees that the high cost of our salvation will be paid for by a person who will be disfigured and marred beyond recognition. The verse says it this way;
Just as there were many who were appalled at him -- his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness-
Because so many were appalled at Him, the saviour earned the right bring his influence to bear on many nations and lead His people out of darkness and into His marvelous light.
Amen.
OUR FATHER WHOSE GREAT POWER OVERSHADOWS THE WORK OF THE OPPRESSOR
Isaiah chapter 51 verse 13 compares the limitations of men in verse 12 with the overwhelming power of God.
The verse asks, is the feeble power of men so intimidating;
that you forget the Lord your Maker, who stretches out the heavens and who lays the foundations of the earth, that you live in constant terror every day because of the wrath of the oppressor, who is bent on destruction?
For where is the wrath of the oppressor?
When faced with the present and overt power of our human oppressors, who are but grass after all as verse 12 says, our perception of the Lord's power is sometimes skewed and we forget that everything that exists came from Him.
The vastness of space and the structures of mass and gravity are His handiwork.
We understand that the Lord is great in power but still we live in fear of what mere men can do to us if they turn against us.
Isaiah chapter 51 verses 14 -15 assures us that the prisons of men cannot hold us nor can their restrictions cause us to lack bread.
The cowering prisoners will soon be set free; they will not die in their dungeon, nor will they lack bread. For I am the Lord your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the Lord Almighty is his name.
Amen.
OUR FATHER WHO GAVE HIS ONLY SON
Isaiah chapter 50 verse 7 says this;
Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.
John chapter 3 verse 1 says this;
Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council.
Nicodemus, was a pharisee and a teacher of Israel and a member of a secretive conclave within the ruling council that was curious about the teachings of Jesus.
This group within the council had reasoned that Jesus must have been sent from God because He would not have been able perform such astounding miracles otherwise and so they were not willing to disregard Jesus as the rest of the ruling council had.
The conclave sent Nicodemus to ask questions of the Lord about what He was teaching.
Jesus anticipated the question that was coming and immediately cut to the chase saying;
“Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
The un-asked question to Jesus was this: "The kingdom that you say that you are representing, how can we verify it so we can incorporate it in our teaching?"
Jesus' response was simply this: "The kingdom of God is beyond the reach of any person who is not born again."
Nicodemus was flustered. "How can a person be born again?", he asked.
Jesus told him not to think in terms of the physical realm but rather in terms of the spiritual realm.
Being born again, Jesus told him, was not a repetition of emerging from a mother's womb but rather, having ones' spirit, that was dead in sin, come to life.
Jesus, in explaining to Nicodemus how one could be born again, spoke these famous words;
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
The Son of God was given by God as a sacrifice whose death on a cross would be the payment for our sins and the ransom to free us from the kingdom of darkness and death.
This payment to cover sin could be appropriated by any person by simply believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. Once our sins were covered, our spirits would come to life and we would be born again.
Once born again, the kingdom of God would be become perceptible and could then be verified in experience and in scripture and one could thus incorporate such teachings in theology.
Up to that point in time, the price had not been paid for the sins of mankind. The Lord Jesus was still going from place to place teaching the good news of the kingdom of God and healing the sick.
Jesus was soon going to undertake the journey to the cross and Isaiah the prophet wrote the Lord's inner monologue as He braced Himself for the horrific experience of paying the penalty for all the sins of the human race by dying on the cross.
Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.
Amen.
OUR FATHER WHO RESTORES HIS PEOPLE
Isaiah chapter 49 verse 17 says this;
Your children hasten back, and those who laid you waste depart from you.
In this verse, the Lord is speaking to His people telling them that he will restore them after a time of affliction and destruction.
Even though His people of Zion will think that the Lord has forsaken them, saying in verse 14;
“The Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.”;
The Lord cannot forget His people. He has engraved them on the palms of His hands.
Isaiah chapter 49 verse 18 fills in the details of the beginning of the return of God's people;
Lift up your eyes and look around; all your children gather and come to you. As surely as I live,” declares the Lord, “you will wear them all as ornaments; you will put them on, like a bride.
The Lord's church will see all her children returning to her whom she thought were lost and they shall be her adornment as that of a bride.
Those who devastated and left her in ruins, will depart and be far away from her.
This is the restoration of the Lord's people for which a rapturous celebration will break out as foretold in Isaiah 49 verse 13;
Shout for joy, you heavens; rejoice, you earth; burst into song, you mountains!
Amen.
OUR FATHER WHOSE SALVATION IS PROVIDED ONLY THROUGH THE POWER OF THE CROSS
The Apostle Paul, writing in 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 17, says this;
For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
Paul had become aware that believers in the Corinthian church were being divided by claims of following one leader in the church over the next. Some were saying that they followed Apollos and others were saying they followed Christ and others yet, said they followed Cephas while others claimed to follow Paul.
In refuting the validity of these divisive arguments, Paul asked the Corinthians if Christ was divided or if Paul died for them. He pressed them further by asking if any of them were baptized into his name.
Paul wrote that he was grateful that he did not baptize many people because if people were adopting positions of loyalty based on who baptized them, he would have had many people wrongly claiming to be baptized in the name of Paul.
He then said that he was not sent by the Lord to baptize but instead, to preach the gospel. And in preaching the gospel, he said he did not come with wisdom and eloquence but rather with simplicity of speech so that the message of the cross was not emptied of its power.
As Paul explained in the next verse down, verse 18;
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
The gospel, unadorned by the wisdom and the eloquence of men, carries its own power of God unto salvation.
It was for this reason that Paul, in 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 2 says;
For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
In his service to the Lord Jesus among the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul, inspite of knowing a great many things about Christ and His Kingdom, resolved to know only the Lord Jesus and the message of the cross so that the people of Corinth would benefit from the undiluted power of the gospel.
Amen.
OUR FATHER WHO TEACHES AND DISCIPLINES US
Proverbs chapter 13 verse 1 says this;
A wise son heeds his father’s instruction, but a mocker does not respond to rebukes.
The Lord Jesus was the quintessential example of a wise son who heeded His Father's instruction. As Jesus Himself explained in John chapter 5 verse 19;
“I assure you and most solemnly say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself [of His own accord], unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever things the Father does, the Son [in His turn] also does in the same way.
Jesus heeded His Father's instructions so that all things that people saw him do were the things that He saw His father doing.
This fidelity to His Father also applied to the things Jesus said as it says in John chapter 12 verse 49;
For I did not speak from Myself, but the Father Himself, having sent Me, gave Me a commandment, what I should say and what I should speak.
The wisdom of listening to the instructions of one's father is contrasted with the inability to heed correction.
Whereas a wise son will carefully follow the instructions of his father, an unwise son not only does not listen to his father's instruction but when he acts on his own and does what is wrong, he refuses to respond to reprimands.
Such a one is labeled a mocker whose end is destruction.
Psalm chapter 1 verses 20 - 27 says this as a caution to heed wisdom and respond to rebukes lest we mock wisdom, and we are overrun by calamity and become laughingstocks ourselves.
Out in the open wisdom calls aloud, she raises her voice in the public square; on top of the wall she cries out, at the city gate she makes her speech:
“How long will you who are simple love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge?
Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings.
But since you refuse to listen when I call and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand, since you disregard all my advice and do not accept my rebuke, I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you; I will mock when calamity overtakes you—when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you.
Amen.
OUR FATHER WHOSE GREAT AND TERRIBLE DAY DRAWS NEAR
Joel chapter 2 verse 11 says this;
The Lord thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number, and mighty is the army that obeys his command.
The day of the Lord is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it?
The spiritual forces of the Lord are being prepared and they will be mustered as the time approaches.
It will be a massive army that obeys the thunderous commands of the Lord; A mighty force indeed.
The great and terrible day of the Lord approaches and His army will be deployed at the sound of the trumpet in Zion.
Who will be able to endure it?
Amen.
OUR FATHER WHO PAID DEARLY TO ACQUIRE OUR SALVATION
John chapter 3 verse 14 says this;
Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,
This verse is an excerpt from an inscrutable teaching that Jesus was giving to a visiting pharisee named Nicodemus.
Jesus had just told Nicodemus that a person could never see or experience the kingdom of God unless they were born again.
This perplexed Nicodemus. He asked how a person who was already old, could be born again from his mother's womb.
Jesus explained to him that he was thinking in fleshly terms while Jesus was speaking to him in spiritual terms. To be born again meant that one had to be born of the Spirit.
The flabberghasted Nicodemus exclaimed, "How can these things be?"
Jesus responded to Nicodemus' incomprehension by asking him in verse 12, "I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?"
The Lord then came to the centerpiece of His explanation by referencing Moses in the book of Numbers chapter 21.
When the people of Israel were in the desert, they complained bitterly about the conditions they were enduring. The judgement for complaining against God was that their camp was invaded by poisonous snakes which bit the people and many of those who were bitten, died.
In response, the children of Israel repented for their complaining ways to God and to Moses and God relented and provided reprieve for the snake bites.
Moses was told by God to lift a bronze serpent up on a pole so that those who had been bitten by snakes could look up at the bronze serpent and they would be healed from the venom.
The children of Israel, having complained against God, were judged and they encountered serpents which bit them and caused many of them to die.
This harkened back to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden who encountered the serpent and by heeding the words of the serpent, ingested the serpent's venom of rebellion against God and they fell from God's grace and died spiritually.
For the children of Israel to survive the serpent bites, they needed to look to the bronze serpent that Moses lifted up in sight of the whole camp.
Jesus then gave the meaning of that historical metaphor. He said that He Himself, the Son of Man, would be lifted up in the sight of the whole world and we, the human race, all of whom have the venom of rebellion we received through Adam and Eve, could look to the One who was crucified and made sin for us and we would be healed from spiritual death by being born again in the Spirit.
The hope of all the ages was sitting with Nicodemus patiently explaining to him how the salvation of mankind from death was going to be obtained by His own crucifixion and each person who turned to Him, would not perish but gain everlasting life.
Amen.
OUR FATHER WHO WORKS ALL THINGS FOR OUR GOOD
Genesis chapter 42 verses 3 - 5 reads this way;
Then ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with the others, because he was afraid that harm might come to him. So Israel’s sons were among those who went to buy grain, for there was famine in the land of Canaan also.
This passage captures a detail within the broader story of Jacob's sons and their journey to Egypt to buy food when a great famine swept through the region.
When it became known that Egypt had food for sale, Jacob sent his sons there but he did not send Benjamin with them but held him back because he was afraid harm would come to him.
The thought of losing Benjamin was too much for Jacob to bear so he resisted sending him off with the rest of his sons.
Jacob had two sons by his wife Rachel whom he loved; Joseph and then Benjamin.
After the loss of Rachel while she was giving birth to Benjamin and the loss of Joseph while he was running a routine errand, Jacob must have felt that there was a vulnerability to danger on that side of his family and thus he feared that Benjamin would be singled out for harm while he harboured no such fear for the rest of his other sons.
He protected his son Benjamin as best he could but there were unknown forces in the wings that would wrest Benjamin from his arms and expose Jacob to his worst fear and then to a surprise for the ages.
Let us always bless the Lord who causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8 verse 28).
Amen.
OUR FATHER FROM WHOM OUR INHERITANCE IS GAINED
Joshua chapter 19 verse 13, referring to the border that was drawn around the land given to the tribe of Zebulun, says this;
Then it continued eastward to Gath Hepher and Eth Kazin; it came out at Rimmon and turned toward Neah.
This verse is part of the point-to-point de-lineation of the allocation for Jacob's tenth son, Zebulun. This land was in the area south-west of the Sea of Galilee but inland from the Mediteranian Sea.
Thus far, the tribes of Judah, Joseph, Gad and Reuben had already been assigned their territories because Moses had allocated it to them for their service to the Lord.
The tribe of Levi, having been given the priesthood as their inheritance, were not assigned land but were given 48 towns in which to live and maintain their livestock. These towns were from among the towns that had already been given to the other tribes of Israel
The remaining tribes cast lots to determine the order of assignment of land and Benjamin, the last born son of Jacob, was picked first, Simeon was second and Zebulun was third.
Zebulun's inheritance included twelve towns and their villages.
Of these twelve towns, four of them were assigned to the priestly clan called the Merarites who descended from the Levitic priests.
Bless the Lord who allots us all a portion to inherit.
Amen.
OUR FATHER WHOSE GREAT DAY OF RECKONING APPROACHES
Genesis chapter 43 verses 9 - 12 starts with Judah speaking to his father Jacob. The passage reads this way;
I myself will guarantee his safety; you can hold me personally responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life. As it is, if we had not delayed, we could have gone and returned twice.”
Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your bags and take them down to the man as a gift—a little balm and a little honey, some spices and myrrh, some pistachio nuts and almonds. Take double the amount of silver with you, for you must return the silver that was put back into the mouths of your sacks. Perhaps it was a mistake.
As Pharoah's dream had foreseen many years before, a severe famine gripped Egypt and all the surrounding countries.
It became known that Egypt had grain for sale so Jacob sent his sons to Egypt to bring back some food. Jacob kept his youngest son, Benjamin, at home with him.
The brothers arrived in Egypt and were serepticiously recognized by Joseph their brother. Joseph pretended to believe they were spys and he questioned them about their family.
To verify that their account of their family was true, he ordered them to leave one of the brothers with him, go back home and return with the youngest brother.
The brothers got back home and when the food they had purchased ran out, they needed to return to Egypt. They had to persuade Jacob to let them take Benjamin with them in order to get Simeon released as well as be able to get more food.
Jacob, still grieving the painful loss of his son Joseph, was very reluctant to release his youngest son.
Judah, one of the older brothers, spoke up and guaranteed Benjamin's safety by taking full responsibility for his life.
Jacob resigned himself to grief and released Benjamin to go with the others back to Egypt and he supervised the collection of gifts to take back to Egypt; Balm, honey, spices, myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds.
He also instructed his sons to take back double the amount of silver that had been secretly put in their bags when they left in case it had been a mistake that the silver was there.
These were carefully considered gestures of goodwill to the man who had so many questions about his family. Jacob called upon his own deep understanding of how to appease people to prepare a gift for the Egyptian stranger that would yield the best chance of bringing his family home safely.
What was still unspoken up to this point was that the brothers were responsible for the loss of Joseph in the first place.
They had left the deception of the sale of Joseph to slave traders intact unaware that the God of heaven and earth knows all things and that the long strands of history were being entwined so that everything would be revealed.
Psalm 14 verse 1 says;
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.
The brothers seem to have held the belief that there was no God and that the erasure of a person from their family could be swept under the rug indefinitely.
Our own godlessness can lead us to be corrupted by doing vile deeds and having no good deeds registered in our lives.
A great day of reckoning approaches when all the unspoken things lingering in our lives will be spoken and revealed.
Lord have mercy on us all.
Amen.
OUR FATHER WHO EXPECTS US TO OCCUPY WHAT HAS BEEN ASSIGNED TO US
Joshua chapter 19 verse 3 lists 3 towns as part of the overall list of 17 towns that were encompassed by the land that was allotted to the tribe of Simeon.
Hazar Shual, Balah, Ezem,
The land allotted to Simeon was entirely within the area allotted to Judah.
The inheritance of the tribe of Simeon was etched out of the inheritance of Judah because Judah could not fully occupy the land they had been given and these three town along with the 14 other towns and their surrounding villages were towns that belonged to the tribe of Judah but now fell to Simeon.
We must always strive to occupy the territory alloted to us so that it is not inherited by others who are more willing to utilize the area than we are.
Amen.
OUR FATHER WHOSE GREAT SALVATION IS THE SON OF DAVID WHO IS ENTHRONED IN ZION
Isaiah chapter 16 verse 3 ( Amplified ) says this;
[Say to the ruler] “Give us advice, make a decision [for Moab, king of Judah]; Cast your shadow [over us] like night in the midst of noon; Hide the outcasts, do not betray the fugitive [to his pursuer].
This passage captures a desperate plea from the Moabites to the King of Judah.
Moab was undergoing a period of severe judgement that had caused their society to break apart and the Moabites were fleeing as refugees into foreign territories to escape the terror in their own country.
Women fleeing north from Moab had come to the Arnon river and were trying to cross it but were like fluttering or wandering birds unable to go forward or return.
The Moabites needed to be allowed to cross into Judah's lands where they could be hidden so that they could escape the destroyer. They requested that they be given refuge in Judah until the oppression ended and the destruction ceased and the aggressor vanished from the land.
In the midst of the record of Moab's panicked call to the king of Judah for salvation, Isaiah prophesied the Mesianic throne in verse 5;
A throne will be established in lovingkindness, And One will sit on it in faithfulness in the tent (dynasty, family) of David; Judging and seeking justice And being prompt to do righteousness.
Even as Moab, in their time of distress, appealed to the throne in Jerusalem, Isaiah projects forward into the future and prophesied of when the whole world will appeal to the throne in Zion upon which the Son of David will sit.
Whereas Moab could only be partially helped by the king of Judah, the Lord Jesus, the Son of David, on the throne of Zion is the great salvation of all who call upon His name.
Amen.
OUR FATHER WHO RESPONDS TO OUR FAITH
The book of Mark Chapter 6 verses 1 - 2 says this;
Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.
Jesus had been at Capernaum where some momentous events had occured. The man with a withered arm had been healed; the woman with the issue of blood touched the hem of Jesus' cloak and was healed; Jairus' twelve year old daughter had been raised from the dead.
Jesus had even gone on a side-mission to Genasseret to cast many evil spirits out of a demon-possessed man.
Now, Jesus returned to His home town with His disciples and on the Sabath, taught at the synagogue.
The people were amazed and they began to question where He got His wisdom and ability to do His astonishing miracles.
They remembered Jesus, the son of Mary, working as a carpenter among them and they knew His brothers and sisters. They became offended at him as Mark chapter 6 verse 3 says;
Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
After that, not many miracles could be done in the town and Jesus was Himself amazed at the lack of faith.
Mark chapter 6 verses 4 - 6 reads this way;
Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them.
May we always honor the Lord and may our faith be ever growing in expectation at the amazing power of God so that His miracles flourish in our midst.
Amen.
OUR FATHER WHO PROVIDES FOR US.
1 Corinthians chapter 9 verse 13 - 14 say this;
Don’t you know that those who serve in the temple get their food from the temple, and that those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.
The Apostle Paul, in this passage, demonstrates that the scriptures show that the ministers of the gospel of the Lord should earn a living preaching the gospel in the same way that temple priests in the old covenant earned a share of what was offered that the temple.
Even though Paul was indicating that it was good and proper for ministers to receive a living for their work, he himself exempted himself from this right so that he could preach the gospel at no cost to the hearers and the gospel was in no way hindered.
He supported himself by the work of his own hands and to him, it was his boast that he was not supported in his ministry by others but rather that he supported himself for the work of the ministry.
Bless the Lord for the leeway he gives us serve in His kingdom as full-time ministers or as working servants of the Lord who provide for their own living.
Amen.
OUR FATHER WHO LIFTS US OUT OF DESPAIR AND ONTO SOLID GROUND
Genesis chapter 41 verse 30 says this;
but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land.
This verse records the words of Joseph that he spoke to Pharaoh to explain the meanings of Pharaoh's two dreams.
Pharaoh described his first dream as seven fat cows grazing by the river Nile then 7 scrawny cows emerged and ate the fat ones.
The second dream was that a stalk with seven healthy heads of grain was devoured by a stalk with seven thin and scorched heads of grain.
Joseph, having been given insight by the Lord, revealed that the two dreams were pointing to the same thing. Seven good years of agricultural production were going to begin and then they would be followed by seven years of severe famine.
Interestingly, Joseph also revealed in verse 32, that the fact that there were two forms of the same revelation meant that God had firmly decided on this course of history and that it would begin very soon.
Joseph laid out a plan for Egypt to survive the severe famine by using the seven good years to store up the food required for the seven bad years.
Pharoah, when looking for the person he could put in charge of implementing the survival plan, quickly realised that Joseph, the one who revealed the meaning of the dream and the plan of mitigating its effects, was the correct person to place in charge of the resources of Egypt .
It was this that took Joseph from a prison cell to the highest administrative office in Egypt under Pharaoh himself.
As Psalm 40 verse 2 says;
He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.
Amen.
OUR FATHER WHO PROVIDES A WAY OF ESCAPE
James chapter 1 verses 13 - 15 says this;
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
This passage is a sobering expression of what happens when we let our evil desires entice us away from the path of righteousness.
We are subjected to temptation so that a desire is conceived in our hearts. The result of this conception in our hearts is that sin is birthed in our body and if that sin is let to grow to maturity, it will give birth to death.
We always need the help of the Lord to resist temptation for even when the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak. He always provides a way of escape as it says 1 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 13;
And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
Thus we must call upon the Lord for His provision of help so that we may remain on the narrow path that leads to life.
Amen.
OUR FATHER WHO GRANTS US FAVOUR WITH GOD AND WITH MEN EVEN IN THE MIDST OF TRIALS
Genesis chapter 39 verses 1 - 4 says this;
Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.
The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.
We leave Canaan behind to continue with the story of Joseph who was sold by his brothers to passing traders on their way to Egypt.
Joseph arrived in Egypt with his feet bruised by shackles and his neck in irons which is described in Psalm 105 verse 18.
He was sold to an Egyptian official named Potiphar who was the captain of the guard to Pharaoh.
Joseph was blessed by the Lord in all that he did in Potiphar's house and Potiphar, seeing that the Lord was with Joseph, made him his attendant and put everything in his household under his care. He entrusted him with everything he owned.
The Lord, with Joseph's destiny in mind, let Joseph undergo the trial of slavery and then used that venue to incrementally increase his responsibilities until he was administrating Potiphar's entire household.
Joseph was severely tested when he was falsely accused of assaulting his master's wife and was thrown in prison but the Lord, having tested and prepared Joseph, put him on a path that would take him from his prison cell to the head administrator of all of Egypt.
The Lord gave Joseph favor so that even in slavery and imprisonment, he still rose to fulfil his destiny that was set for him.
Bless the Lord who grants us favor with God and with men.
Amen.
OUR FATHER WHO ASSIGNS TO US SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS AND INHERITANCES
Joshua chapter 19 verses 3 - 4 lists 6 towns as some of the areas that were allotted to the tribe of Simeon.
Hazar Shual, Balah, Ezem, Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah,
In total, Simeon was allotted 17 towns along with their villages. In the case of Simeon, all of the territory allotted to them lay entirely within the territory that had already been allotted to the tribe of Judah.
It was determined that Judah had been assigned more territory than they were able to use and thus the territory sectioned off for the tribe of Simeon's inheritance was taken out of Judah's portion.
Upon receiving spiritual allotments, we must seek to occupy them fully and leverage them to gain strength in the spirit through sowing into them and reaping harvests of righteousness from them.
If left to lie fallow, these allotments may be assigned to others and the inheritances may fall to those to whom they are re-assigned to.
Amen.
OUR FATHER WHO GUIDES US IN PATHS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS FOR HIS NAME'S SAKE.
Joshua chapter 15 verse 9 says this;
From the hilltop the boundary headed toward the spring of the waters of Nephtoah, came out at the towns of Mount Ephron and went down toward Baalah (that is, Kiriath Jearim).
This verse captures a detail of the survey notes that describe part of the northern boundary of the land of Judah.
The southern border began at the southern tip of the Dead Sea and wound its way westward to the Mediterranean Sea.
The western boundary of Judah was the Mediteranian Sea itself.
The Dead Sea was the eastern boundary of Judah.
The northern border of Judah was a complex and precise allocation that started at the mouth of the Jordan River where it empties into the Dead Sea.
The boundary wound it's way westward via Gigal, Jerusalem, the hilltop west of the Hinnom valley, the springs of the waters of Nephtoah and turned to the towns at Mount Ephron and then to Mount Seir.
The border then went across to Timnah, crossed to Jebneel then ended at the Mediteranian Sea.
These were the limits of the kingdom of Judah.
These demarcations defined the area that the people of Judah were given to conquer. The territory they were able to take back from the inhabitants of the land that they were alloted, was the inheritance that they gained.
In the case of Judah, they were unable to dislodge the Jebusites from the area of Jerusalem and so that territory never became exclusively theirs and remained shared land.
Such is the striving of a believer in the areas of our lives from where we are unable to drive away our enemies. These territories become jointly owned with the powers of darkness and they hold sway over how those parts of our lives operate.
Let us bless the Lord who is our shepherd and who leads us in paths of righteousness for His names sake.
Amen.