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 SEARCHED FOR US

I SING TO THANK YOU LORD

WHOM I HAVE ADORED

FOR YOU MADE A WAY FOR ME

I STUMBLED IN THE NIGHT

THEN I SAW YOUR LIGHT

YOU, O LORD, CAME BACK FOR ME (X 2)

YOU ARE THE GOOD SHEPHERD

YOU KNOW ME BY NAME 

YOU SEARCHED TILL YOU FOUND ME

WHEN I WAS LOST AND AFRAID (X 2)

 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.

OUR FATHER WHOSE GREAT PLAN FOR THE REDEMPTION OF MANKIND PROGRESSED TO EGYPT ON THE SHOULDERS OF A YOUNG SLAVE

Genesis chapter 37 verses 2 - 3 reads thusly;

This is the account of Jacob’s family line.

Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.

Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him.

This was when the trouble started. Joseph, the second to last born in Israel's family, was out with the rest of his brothers tending the flock.

The older boys probably began speaking and acting leacherously while they were away from their father's homestead and upon returning home, Joseph reported to Israel what his older brothers were doing.

Israel, a seasoned manager of men, probably lined up his sons and excoriated them for displaying conduct unbecoming of the family name.

The brothers deduced that it was Joseph who had ratted them out and from that time on, they found every excuse to hate him more and more.

Their father plainly loved Joseph more than he did his other sons even going so far as to make an ornate robe exclusively for him which added fuel to the burning hatred his brothers had for him.

After Joseph announced to his family that he dreamt that they would all bow down to him, a murderous rage settled in the minds of his brothers.

Later, Israel sent his son Joseph out to the fields to see how his brothers were doing. He was probably interested in whether the older sons were behaving better after being disciplined.

When Joseph's brothers saw him coming, they plotted to kill him as described in Genesis 37 verse 14;

“Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other. “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”

They debated among themselves on what to do with Joseph and ultimately decided to sell him as a slave to some passing traders who were on their way to Egypt.

The brothers took a story of Joseph's death back to their father and produced his ornate coat dipped in the blood of a sheep as evidence of his demise.

Israel was heart-broken. He likely blamed himself for the death of his son Joseph because it was he who had sent him out to keep an eye on his brothers. He refused to be comforted and the family absorbed a very heavy psychological blow because of the disappearance of Joseph and the deception that surrounded it. 

Grief settled over their household and became the prevailing tone for most of the rest of Israel's life.

Unbeknownst to any of them, the young slave Joseph was in the hands of the Lord and he was set on a course that would change the fate of nations.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHOSE GREAT POWER MAKES A WAY FOR US

Joshua chapter 4 verses 11 - 12 says this;

The people hurried over, and as soon as all of them had crossed, the ark of the Lord and the priests came to the other side while the people watched. The men of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over, ready for battle, in front of the Israelites, as Moses had directed them.

This passage captures the moment when the nation of Israel finished crossing the Jordan River into the promised land. The first across were the men of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe  of Manasseh who were armed and ready for battle. The rest of Israel hurriedly crossed and finally,  the priests who had been been standing in the middle of the river holding the ark of the Lord, crossed as well.

While the priests were still standing in the Jordan, the Lord commanded Joshua to select a  man from each of the 12 tribes  and direct them to go to the middle of the river bed and pick up a stone and carry it on their shoulder back to their camp as a memorial of when the Lord, in His great power, dried up the Jordan river for the children of Israel to cross.

As Joshau said in the book of Joshua chapter 4 verses 24 - 25;

For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHOSE PROPHETS SPEAK TRUTH EVEN AT THE RISK OF THEIR LIVES

Mathew chapter 14 verses 5 - 7 says this;

Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered John a prophet.

On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for the guests and pleased Herod so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. 

King Herod, the tetrarch of Judea, had been warned by John the Baptist that his marriage to his brother Phillip's wife named Herodias, was unlawful.

Both Herod and his wife Herodias harboured animosity towards John for this indictment against them and Herod had John arrested and imprisoned but dared not kill him because the people sensed that John was a genuine prophet and harming him would have been a political risk for Herod.

As it happens, it was Herod's birthday and  Herod's step-daughter danced for the guests and Herod was so pleased that, before all the guests,  he recklessly promised to give her anything she asked for.

Herod's wife quickly siezed the opportunity to force Herod's hand and she prompted her daughter to respond to his promise by  asking for the head of John the Baptist on a platter.

He was distressed but because of his oath and his guests, he ordered that John the Baptist be executed and his head brought to the girl.

A reckless off-hand promise compelled Herod to do something dreadful that endangered his political career as well as his soul for killing a prophet of God.

This passage highlights two thing; Firstly, that our Father's prophets speak His truth even when it endanger's their lives. 

Also, may our Father teach us to avoid  making careless oaths that so easily entrap us.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHOSE GUIDANCE GIVES US THE STRATEGY TO AVOID CALAMITY

Genesis chapter 35 verse 4 says this;

So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem.

Jacob, asked all the people in his household to surrender their house idols and earrings to him and he buried them under an oak tree.

This action was predicated by a command that Jacob received from the Lord to go and settle in Bethel and build an altar to God there. The preparations to do so included the gathering and burying of all foreign idols and earings that members of Jacob's family possessed.

The result of doing this purge of foreign gods was that, as Jacob and his people travelled, a dread of God filled the towns all around them and no one dared to pursue them.

The reason that they were likely to be pursued was  that Jacob's sons had retaliated against the Hivites who had  defiled their sister and they killed every male of that group.

When Jacob heard of this, he was afraid that the people in whose land they sojoured would unite against him and destroy him.

He was then led to carry out a spiritual exercise where he cleared his whole household  of idols and earrings  and buried them. This brought an atmosphere of dread in all the towns around them and Jacob's family and the people with him were able to travel to Bethel without being attacked.

The leading of the Lord provides the means of avoiding catastrophe when danger looms over us.

Amen.

 OUR FATHER WHOSE CLEANSES US BY HIS WORD

John chapter 13 verses 9 - 10 reads like this;

 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.”

During the last supper before the crucifixion,  the Lord Jesus got up, wrapped a towel around His waist, took a basin of water and began to wash the feet of His disciples.

When He got to the apostle Peter, Peter objected saying that he would never let his Lord wash his feet. 

Jesus told Peter  that if he did not participate in the object lesson, he could not be a part of Jesus.

In response to this, Peter said to Jesus that it should not be just his feet that He washed but his hands and head as well. Peter reasoned that if foot washing gave him a part of Jesus, then having his whole body washed would give him even more of Jesus.

The Lord replied that those who had taken a bath were clean all over and thus only needed to have their feet washed.

Jesus then said that His disciples were clean (though not all).

This is clarified  in John chapter 15 verse 3 which says;

You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 

The disciples of Jesus were cleansed by His words and thus only needed their feet cleaned to remove the residue of the road.

Let us bless the Lord who words cleanse us and  make us part of Him.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO PREPARES GREAT THINGS FOR US WHO LOVE HIM

1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 9 says this;

However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”—the things God has prepared for those who love him—

This verse in 1 Corinthians mirrors what is found in Isaiah chapter 64 verse 4 and it alludes to the idea that our mental faculties and physical senses have never been exposed to the things that God has laid out for us who love  Him.

It is when we start to walk by the Spirit of God that we are given the capacity to begin to perceive these things that were hidden as it says in 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 10;

these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.

We live with the limitations of this world and as the apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians chapter 13;

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

We will first perceive things  that God has prepared for us dimly but they will absolutely boggle our minds when we see them in full.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO JUDGES THE VIOLENT 

Joel chapter 3 verse 19 says this;

But Egypt will be desolate, Edom a desert waste, because of violence done to the people of Judah, in whose land they shed innocent blood.

This verse contrasts the fate of the nations that committed  violence and murder on the people of Israel with the fate of Israel herself.

Whereas Israel is blessed abundantly and populated forever, the nations that plundered Israel are left  as desolate ruins and as uninhabited desert wastelands.

Israel will have rivers from the very temple of God flowing through the nation watering it plains and trees while the violent nations will be left arid and parched.

The price that these nations pay for shedding the  innocent blood of the people of God is the erasure of their destiny and termination of their inheritance.

Such is the judgement on those who were prepared to kill the innocent to gain economic and political advantage.

Bless the Lord who categorically prohibits the taking of innocent life and will inescapably  judge those who practice it.

Amen. 

OUR FATHER WHO ESTABLISHES JERUSALEM

Joel chapter 3 verse 17 says this;

“Then you will know that I, the Lord your God, dwell in Zion, my holy hill. Jerusalem will be holy; never again will foreigners invade her.

This verse describes the state of the kingdom of God after the judgement that is visited on the nations.

The people of God, having seen the actions of the Lord will understand that His kingdom is centered in Zion and that the Lord dwells there on His holy hill.

The city of Jerusalem will be the earthly locus of Zion and it will be sacred and will never again be invaded or defiled by foreigners.

The whole of the land of Israel will be abundantly blessed when Zion is established in Jerusalem and the Lord dwells in Zion.

Amen.