OUR FATHER WHO EXPLICITLY WARNS HIS PEOPLE OF COMING JUDGEMENT

Ezekiel chapter 4 verse 9 - 10 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. 

 Weigh out twenty shekels of food to eat each day and eat it at set times. 

In this excerpt, the prophet Ezekiel was instructed to gather a mixture of grains in a sealable storage jar. These grains were to be used to make bread while he was enacting a military seige that was soon to befall Jerusalem. .

This supply of grain was to be evenly rationed out for his daily food supply during the period  of 390 days that he was lying on the ground  bearing the sin of Jerusalem.

These enactments that were carried in a very public area outside the city of Jerusalem,  were to warning to the people that these things would being symbolized by Ezekiel would occur when the city was besieged and the people carried off into exile. Below, the details of Ezekiel's enactments from the excerpt are linked to what they symbolized;

• Ezekiel was to lie on the ground and not move
• The people would be involuntarily restrained i
• 
  
• Gathering and mixing different grains
• The people would be carried to a strange land
• 
  
• Each day, Ezekiel was to have tiny allocations of food
• Their food would be tighly rationed 
• 
  
• Each day, Ezekiel would eat at set times
• Their schedules would be tightly controlled

These actions carried out by Ezekiel were a stern warning to Jerusalem to induce them to repent and change their ways.

Amen.

4

OUR FATHER WHO DEFENDS HIS REMNANT

The book of Isaiah 10 verse 9 says this;

‘Has not Kalno fared like Carchemish?

Is not Hamath like Arpad, and Samaria like Damascus?

This verse, containing words spoken by the king of Assyria, is an analytical comparison between the territories that he was invading.

To him, there was no distinction in how the territories would be able to resist his conquests.

He looked at the kingdoms and saw them all as worshippers of idols and that they were defenceless against him.

As verses 10 and 11 say, the king of Assyria's evaluation was that other kingdoms he had conquered had superior systems of religious iconography than those of Samaria and Jerusalem and so it followed that conquering those territories would be easily achievable as well.

As my hand seized the kingdoms of the idols, kingdoms whose images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria—shall I not deal with Jerusalem and her images as I dealt with Samaria and her idols?’”

The king of Assyria left out an important factor when considering Jerusalem and that factor was that Jerusalem was under the Judgememt of God but there was still a remnant therein whose defender was the Lord and it was for their sake that the king of Assyria was going to be visited by the retribution of God as verses 24 and 25 say;

 Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says:

“My people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrians, who beat you with a rod and lift up a club against you, as Egypt did.

Very soon my anger against you will end and my wrath will be directed to their destruction.”

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHOSE GLORY WILL  BE A SHIELD OVER HIS PEOPLE

The book of Isaiah chapter 4 verse 5 says this;

Then the Lord will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over everything the glory will be a canopy.

The people who endure to the end and remain in Christ and whose names are recorded among the living (their names are found in the book of life), will  assemble on Mount Zion.

Here, the glory of God will manifest as a cloud by day and a flaming fire by night. This will form a shield over everything in Zion.

This the blessing upon God's people who emerge from the entrapment set by the kingdom of darkness and are assembled in Zion.

Amen.

2

OUR FATHER WHOSE NAME IS HIGHLY EXALTED

The book of Isaiah chapter 12 verse 4 says this;

In that day you will say: “Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted.

In the day that the root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the people and the kingdom of darkness will be brought down and its strongholds destroyed, in that day, chapter 12 tells us that the Lord's people will make known to the whole world what the Lord has done and that His name is exalted.

In that day when the Lord frees His people from the fowler's snare with which the kingdom of darkness had entrapped us, we will praise the Lord for if it were not for His intervention, we would have been hopelessly entangled.

Praise the Lord.

Amen.

Amen.

4

OUR FATHER WHO KNOWS THE HEARTS OF ALL BEINGS

Verse 3 in the book of Obadiah says this;

The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks and make your home on the heights, you who say to yourself, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’

This verse diagnoses the cause of the delusion that had misled Lucifer. 

Pride in his heart had given him a false sense of invulnerability and he had surveyed the inhabitants of heaven and decided that there was no one strong enough to dethrone him from the heights to which he planned to ascend.

He had moved his residence away from the areas relegated for him up to the mountain terrain high above the other residential areas of heaven and from this elevated location, he aspired to go even higher above the clouds of heaven.

Isaiah chapter 14 verses 13 and 14 reveals the progression of Lucider's ambitious plan this way;

You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God;

I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.

 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”

Lucifer had calculated that he could incrementally take higher and higher ground and ultimately end up at a level that was equivalent to where God was.

Unknown to Lucifer, the Lord knew what was in his heart and Lucifer was cast out of heaven.

4

OUR FATHER'S SALVATION COMES FROM ZION

Psalm 14

The LORD looks down from heaven
To see if any
Understand that their salvation
Comes from Zion


God is present with the righteous
Those who seek Him will find refuge
Let Jacob be glad and Israel rejoice

OUR FATHER WHO PUSHES BACK AGAINST THE OVEREACH OF THE POWERS OF DARKNESS

The book of Isaiah chapter 10 and verse 10,  quoting the Assyrian king plotting his scheme to  destroy the Lord's people in Jerusalem as he did to pagan Samaria,  says this;

As my hand seized the kingdoms of the idols, kingdoms whose images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria—

Verse 11 continues;

shall I not deal with Jerusalem and her images as I dealt with Samaria and her idols?’”

This overstep by the king of Assyria invoked the Lord's anger against him as verse 12 says;

When the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes.

Even more broadly viewed, the overreach of the Assyrian involved a global power grab that erased national identities and orchestrated massive wealth transfers from the nations to himself. This maneuver was done with such subtle deception that no one objected. Verses 13 and 14 puts it this way;

For he says: “‘By the strength of my hand I have done this, and by my wisdom, because I have understanding. I removed the boundaries of nations, I plundered their treasures; like a mighty one I subdued their kings.

As one reaches into a nest, so my hand reached for the wealth of the nations; as people gather abandoned eggs, so I gathered all the countries; not one flapped a wing, or opened its mouth to chirp.’”

However, in verse 15, the Lord rhetorically asks if a mere impliment can set the agenda of the user;

Does the ax raise itself above the person who swings it, or the saw boast against the one who uses it? As if a rod were to wield the person who lifts it up, or a club brandish the one who is not wood!

The Lord will respond to the king of Assyria's presumption with destruction by fire and the displays of splendor and power that the Assyrian sets up with be utterly ruined. Verses 16 and 17 sats it like this;

Therefore, the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will send a wasting disease upon his sturdy warriors; under his pomp a fire will be kindled like a blazing flame.

The Light of Israel will become a fire, their Holy One a flame; in a single day it will burn and consume his thorns and his briers.

Resources and administrative heirarchies erected by the Assyrian with be destroyed leaving a tiny remainder of his former reach and influence. Verses 18 and 19 renders it like this;

The splendor of his forests and fertile fields  it will completely destroy, as when a sick person wastes away.

And the remaining trees of his forests will be so few that a child could write them down.

Amen.

2

OUR FATHER DECLARES WOE UPON THOSE WHO INTEND ON DESTROYING HIS PEOPLE AND  THE NATION OF THE EARTH

The book of Isaiah 10 chapter verse 5 says this;

“Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger, in whose hand is the club of my wrath!

This verse reveals that the kingdom of darkness is an impliment that the Lord allows to run roughshod over the people of the earth whose conduct becomes unbearable ( including those who are His people ) and thus the Lord determines to release judgement over them.

However, the Lord declares woe upon the kingdom of darkness for their own evil conduct as well as the evil of  planning to overplay their hand in order to completely destroy as many nations as they can. Isaiah chapter 10 verses 6 - 7 says;

I send him against a godless nation, I dispatch him against a people who anger me, to seize loot and snatch plunder,  and to trample them down like mud in the streets. But this is not what he intends,  this is not what he has in mind; his purpose is to destroy, to put an end to many nations.

4

OUR FATHER REVEALS THE  ASPIRATIONS AND THE FALL OF LUCIFER

Obadiah verse 3 - 4 says this;

The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks and make your home on the heights, you who say to yourself, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’

Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down,” declares the Lord.

This passage, exerpted out of a book that is generally about the judgement that was to be brought against Edom for treacherous conduct, seems to veer out of a natural narrative and into a spiritual narrative.

Though the subject matter is Edom, the words echo the words of Isaiah chapter 14 which, in a similar way, is speaking of the king of Babylon before veering into a spiritual narrative.

In both cases, the hidden subject is the Lucifer who was deceived by pride, aspired to ascend to the high places and make a nest among the stars but He is identified and cast fown

Isaiah in chapter 14 verses 12 - 15, writes it this way;

How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn!

You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!

You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God;

I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.

I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”

But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit.

The two witnesses to this testimony describe the aspiration of Lucifer to ascend to the pinnacles of authority in heaven and to be like God.

They also describe how the power of God shall bring him down.

Whereas Obadiah emphasizes the pride in Lucifer's heart that made him feel invulnerable, Isaiah emphasizes the self-will that lead Lucifer to aspire to the ambitious ascendancy that caused him to fall.

Amen.

8 

OUR FATHER WHO WILL JUDGE THE UNJUST LEGISLATORS AND UNJUST EXECUTIVES AND UNJUST JUDGES OF ISRAEL

The book of Isaiah chapter 10 verse 1 says this;

Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees,

And Isaiah chapter 10 verse 2 continues this way;

to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless.

The preface to our verse of interest warns of disaster that will be aimed towards those in authority over jurisdictions who ;

• Fashion legislation that was unjust
• Crush people by issuing oppresive decrees

Our verse continues listing the activities that will draw calamities of judgement;

• Depriving the poor of their rights
• Withholding justice from God's people who are victimized
• Targeting widows for exploitation
• Robbing  the fatherless of their means

These details of the judgements that would fall on those making and enforcing unjust laws in Israel are the last of the four targeted judgements aimed at Israel.

Each if the four infractions and their judgements are anticeded by the phrase;

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised

The three preceding targets and their judgements are;

• Instigation:   Pride and willfulness 
• Judgement: Invasion by neighbours

• Instigation:   Deception and false doctrine
• Judgement: Removal of leadership

• Instigation :  Wicked conduct
• Judgement: Civil war and abject shortages

These are the systematically applied judgements that were aimed at purging Israel of ungodliness and in the end, as verse 21 says, a remnant will remain;

A remnant will return, a remnant of Jacob will return to the Mighty God.

Amen

7

OUR FATHER WHO IS OUR HELP AND SHIELD

Psalm 115 verse 9 says this;

All you Israelites, trust in the Lord

  —he is their help and shield.

House of Aaron, trust in the Lord

  —he is their help and shield.

You who fear him, trust in the Lord

  —he is their help and shield.

This passage is a section out of a larger poem (or song) extolling the glory of the Lord and contrasting Him who is present and active with the idols of all the other nations who are blind, deaf, mute, numb and motionless.

Starting with verse 9, the Israelites in general are encouraged to trust in God for He is their help and shield.

Verse 10 then narrows the intended listeners down to the House of Aaron which was the priestly house which served the Lord directly in His tabernacle and temple and encourages them to trust God who is their help and shield.

Verse 11 then narrows the target audience even further to those closest to God and they are described as those who fear the Lord. They are encouraged to trust in the Lord for He is their help and shield.

This progression from the general to the specific is echoed in verses 12 and 13 where the blessing of God is promised to the people of Israel and then to a narrower group which is the house of Aaron and then finally to a group whose credentials are measure within their hearts; those who fear the Lord. In their case, an added caveat indicates that those who fear the Lord will be blessed whether they are small or great.

The Lord remembers us and will bless us: He will bless his people Israel, he will bless the house of Aaron, he will bless those who fear the Lord— small and great alike.

Amen.

8

OUR FATHER WHO PRESERVES A REMNANT OF OVERCOMERS

The book of Isaiah chapter 4 verse 3 says this;

Those who are left in Zion, who remain in Jerusalem, will be called holy, all who are recorded among the living in Jerusalem. 

This verse, in the context of the aftermath of a great judgement that will bring disarray to Israel where the governance of the nation falls to children,  tell of the splendid and beautiful Branch of the Lord and the excellent fruit that will delight those who survive in Israel.

The ones who are a remnant in Zion, those who continue living in Jerusalem, will have the label of holy.

Those who persevere to the end and those who are the overcomers, will have the right to rule and reign with Christ on His throne as the book of Revelation chapter 3 verse 21 says;

To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.

Amen.

6

OUR FATHER WHO WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE BUT WILL JUDGE THEIR OPPRESSORS WHO OVERPLAY THEIR HANDS

The book of Isaiah chapter 10 verses 4 - 5 says this;

Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives or fall among the slain. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.

“Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger, in whose hand is the club of my wrath!

The context surrounding this passage is the judgement of the Lord falling upon all those who write unjust laws and run oppressive regimes.

Part of the judgement was conducted through the king of Assyria who was given the club of God's wrath to bring punishment upon the nations who were engaging in oppression.

However, the Assyrian ( standing in for the anti-Christ ), had loftier ambitions and  hautily took credit for the destruction he inflicted on the people of God. As verse 13 says;

For he says: "‘By the strength of my hand I have done this, and by my wisdom, because I have understanding. I removed the boundaries of nations, I plundered their treasures; like a mighty one I subdued their kings.

In this stance of pride, the Assyrian is slated for destruction.

The globalist agenda is described here in terms of national sovereignty being dissolved and the leaders being brought into subservience to the central power.

Amen.

4

OUR FATHER WHO RESERVES A REMNANT FOR HIMSELF

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.

Revisiting this verse, we consider the context of the diminishing glory of Israel in a day to come.

Assyria, the great power of the time, overruns Aram ( syria) and destroys the capital city Damascus.

This then exposes Israel to direct proximity with the Assyrian empire.

Israel,  under pressure, is compelled to continue affairs in a much more reserved manner.

National expenditure is routed away from luxuries and grand projects and towards defence spending and military buildup.

The nation transitions to a leaner frame in the face of the existential threat. The remnant in Israel becomes more observant and turns away from the idolatrous practices that had crept into the culture.

As verse 7 - 8 says; 

In that day man will have regard for his Maker, And his eyes will regard the Holy One of Israel [with awe-inspired reverence].

And he will not have regard for the [idolatrous] altars, the work of his hands, Nor will he look to that which his fingers have made, Neither the Asherim (symbols of the goddess Asherah) nor the incense altars.

Amen.

4 

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.

4

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.

4

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.

4

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.

2

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.

1

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.

1

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.

1

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.

OUR FATHER'S KINGDOM WILL DISPLACE THE KINGDOM OF DARKNESS AND USHER IN JUSTICE AND RIGHTEOUSNESS.

The book of Isaiah chapter 16 verses 4- 5  says this;

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. 

In love a throne will be established; in faithfulness a man will sit on it—one from the house of David—one who in judging seeks justice and speeds the cause of righteousness.

This prophecy recorded by the prophet Isaiah foretells the pivot point of history where the kingdom of darkness will be rapidly dislodged from the the earth and all the strongholds that the powers of darkness held over the territories on earth and in the hearts of men will be brought down.

All the infrastructure of oppression, destruction and aggression will vaporize in the face of the incoming throne of love that will be established for a man from the house of David.

This new kingdom will be one of justice and righteousness.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO WILL BRING DOWN THE ENEMIES OF HIS PEOPLE FROM THEIR LOFTY PLACE

The book of Obadiah chapter 1 verse 4 says this;

Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down,” declares the Lord.

This verse parralells Isaiah chapter 14  verses 14 - 15 where the king of Tyre is brought down into the pit from where he had perched himself above the clouds;

I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit.

Obadiah's account describes the conquering and the takeover of the territory of Edom ( the kingdom the oppressors of God's people ) and the chapter culminates in verse 21 saying this;

Deliverers will go up on Mount Zion to govern the mountains of Esau. And the kingdom will be the Lord’s.

 Amen.

4

OUR FATHER WHO SHOWS HIS POWER TO HIS PEOPLE 

The book of Psalms 111 verse 11 6 says this;

He has shown his people the power of his works, giving them the lands of other nations.

This verse, embedded in a Psalm that extols and praises God for his awesome works and great majesty, reveals one of the ways that God shows His great power to His people.

He gives the land held by other nations into the hands of His people. Territories held under the sovereign jurisdiction of other people are brought into the subjection of the Lord's own people by His great power.

Other ways that Psalm 111 reveals how the Lord makes His power known are;

• Providing food for His people
• Providing redemption for His people
• Providing wisdom for His people
• Providing understanding for His people

Bless the Lord.

Amen.

9

OUR FATHER WHO IS HUMBLE AND RELATES TO THE HUMBLE WHO TREMBLE AT HIS WORD

The book of Isaiah chapter 66 verses 1 - 2 says this;

 This is what the Lord says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.

Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be?

Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?” declares the Lord.

“These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.

This passage declares the sovereign supremacy  of God over the heavens and the earth.

As the ultimate creator of all things, He is not dependent on anyone or anything anywhere in the realms of heaven and earth.

From among all the people who He has made, the ones on whom God's favour will be shown are those who walk in humility and whose spirits are contrite and who tremble at the word of God.

The alignment being described here is one where those who voluntarily choose to be humble and contrite before God and heed His word with fear, will not be cowering before a tyranicle power but rather humbly relating to a great one who is lowly of heart Himself. As Zacharia chapter 9 verse 9 says;

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!

Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.

And again in Mathew chapter 11 verse 29;

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Amen.

OUR FATHER PRESCRIBES OUR RESPONSE TO THOSE AFFLICTED BY JUDGEMENT

The book of Isaiah chapter 21 verse 13 says this;

 (Verse 13) A prophecy against Arabia: You caravans of Dedanites, who camp in the thickets of Arabia, (verses 14 - 15) bring water for the thirsty; you who live in Tema, bring food for the fugitives. They flee from the sword, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow and from the heat of battle.

This passage, titled by the prophet Isaiah as 'A prophecy against Arabia' starts with a call to the nomadic people who camp in the remote brush lands of present day North West Saudi Arabia, to provide water and food to those who are fleeing through the desert to get away from the regime that had declared open war on them with their swords drawn.

Following onto verse 16 and 17, the splendor of Kedar, which is in western Saudi Arabia potentially in the region of the cities of Mecca and Medina, will diminish and after a year, will have completely dissipated.

This is what the Lord says to me: “Within one year, as a servant bound by contract would count it, all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end. The survivors of the archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be few.” The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.

As people flee north during the pitched battle in the center of Arabia, they run into the inhabitants of the north western parts of the country who are urged to provide food and water to the escapees.

Amen

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 OUR FATHER WHO MADE ALL THING CAN BLESS HIS PEOPLE BEYOND WHAT THEY CAN IMAGINE.

Psalm 115 verses 4 - 5 says this;

May you be blessed by the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO SENDS HERALDS TO COUNCIL HIS PEOPLE TO RETURN TO RIGHTEOUSNESS

The book of Amos chapter 2 verse 11 says this;

“I also raised up prophets from among your children and Nazirites from among your youths.

Is this not true, people of Israel?” declares the Lord.

The people of God had become morally lax and instead of exhibiting the honor of God, they dishonored Him by treating people poorly and conducted their lives is disgraceful ways.

To help them out of this morass,  the Lord their God sent them prophets and Nazirites to assert the high standard to which they should have been holding.

 Instead of heeding those who came with the charge from heaven to straighten out, they induced the Nazirites to break their vows by drinking wine and they forbid the prophets from prophesying.

Verse 12 says it this way;

“But you made the Nazirites drink wine and commanded the prophets not to prophesy.

Because of their rejection of God's efforts to rehabilitate them, the judgement of God will befall them and they will have no defense against it and no means of escape.

As verse 13 -16 says;

“Now then, I will crush you as a cart crushes when loaded with grain.

The swift will not escape, the strong will not muster their strength, and the warrior will not save his life.

The archer will not stand his ground, the fleet-footed soldier will not get away, and the horseman will not save his life.

Even the bravest warriors will flee naked on that day,” declares the Lord.

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OUR FATHER WHO FREES HIS PEOPLE FROM BONDAGE

The book of Isaiah 14 verse 3 says this;

On the day the Lord gives you relief from your suffering and turmoil and from the harsh labor forced on you, 

Verse 4 continues this way;

you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: 

How the oppressor has come to an end!

How his fury has ended!

This pivot point marks the day that the people of God are freed from their oppressors.

The king of Babylon, who had imposed suffering and turmoil and unrelenting harsh labor on God's people, is suddenly dispossed of his position and cast down and God's people will exclaim in triumph that the time of hateful  oppression has ended.

The king of Babylon is defanged and the power he held is stripped away from him leaving him weak and helpless.

The Lord, on the strength of His righteousness and justice, is victorious over the powers of darkness and His faithful ones are vindicated.

Amen.

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