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

The book of Isaiah chapter 22 verse 9 says this;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Amen.

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

The book of Isaiah chapter 19 verse 11 says this;

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

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

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

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

As Romans chapter 1 verse 22 says, 

Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools

Amen.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Amen.

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

The book of Hebrews chapter 4 verse 9 says this;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Amen.

6

From Psalm 6;

Turn, Lord, and deliver me

Because Your love remains forever

Lord hear my cry for mercy

By grace accept my humble prayer

Heal me Lord, I am in anguish

All night long I lay in tears

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

That I may ever proclaim Your praise

OUR FATHER WHO REVEALS HIS INTENTIONS TO HIS PROPHETS

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

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

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

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

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

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

Amen.

1

OUR FATHER WHO SAVES HIS REMNANT FROM THEIR ENEMIES

The book of Isaiah chapter 17 verses 11 - 14 says this (in purple text);

You have forgotten God your Savior; you have not remembered the Rock, your fortress. Therefore, though you set out the finest plants and plant imported vines, though on the day you set them out, you make them grow, and on the morning when you plant them, you bring them to bud, yet the harvest will be as nothing in the day of disease and incurable pain.

Woe to the many nations that rage—they rage like the raging sea! Woe to the peoples who roar—they roar like the roaring of great waters!

Although the peoples roar like the roar of surging waters, when he rebukes them they flee far away, driven before the wind like chaff on the hills, like tumbleweed before a gale.

In the evening, sudden terror! Before the morning, they are gone! This is the portion of those who loot us, the lot of those who plunder us.

This passage, in the context of a series of prophecies against the cities in the area of Israel, Isaiah records that Damascus will face destruction as will Aroer. The fortified city of Ephraim will be destroyed but there will be a remnant left in Aram that will have the same level of glory that Israel did.

Israel herself will be weakened, emaciated  and ransacked and all her agricultural efforts will fail and they will be subjected to diseases and incurable pain.

However, there will be a remnant left there as well that will turn to their maker and not regard the idols that had been set up in their land.

The remnant of the land, being blessed by God, will be under pressure from those around them who will rage against them with the roar of mighty waters. Those faithful to the Lord will be subject to plundering and looting by those who did not.

The Lord will bring upon the enemies of His people a rapid judgement that will strike them in the evening with terror and by morning, they will be gone.

As verse 14 says;

In the evening, sudden terror! Before the morning, they are gone! This is the portion of those who loot us, the lot of those who plunder us.

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OUR FATHER WHOSE STANDARD IS JUSTICE AND RIGHTEOUSNESS

The book of Amos chapter 5 verses 6 - 7 says this;

Seek the Lord and live, or he will sweep through the tribes of Joseph like a fire; it will devour them, and Bethel will have no one to quench it.

There are those who turn justice into bitterness  and cast righteousness to the ground.

This passage, in the context of judgement being brought down on the people of Israel, counsels them to "Seek the Lord and live".

The Lord's kingdom is one of justice and righteousness and when justice is replaced with injustice and righteousness is repudiated, the judgement of an unquenchable fire will sweep through the land and will devour the civilization.

2

OUR FATHER WHO JUDGES HIS PEOPLES ENEMIES

The book of Obadiah chapter 1 verse 9 says this;

Your warriors, Teman, will be terrified, and everyone in Esau’s mountains will be cut down in the slaughter.

Because of the violence that Esau did to Jacob, Edom is brought under judgement and it is so unprecedented that the warriors become terrified.

The hill country territory occupied by Esau's descendants will be overrun and the inhabitants will all be cut down.

This prophecy could be interpreted to reveal the struggle between Essau and Jacob in terms of the internal struggle between the flesh and the spirit that all believers experience.

If we take Esau and Jacob to metaphorically represent the flesh and the spirit respectively, this prophecy in Obadiah explains Jacob's (the spirit's) the ultimate victory over Esau (the flesh).

As verse 10 says;

“Because of the violence you did against your brother Jacob, Shame shall cover you [completely], And you shall be cut off forever.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO REQUIRES JUSTICE

The book of Amos chapter 5 verse 3 - 4 says this;

This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Israel: “Your city that marches out a thousand strong will have only a hundred left; your town that marches out a hundred strong will have only ten left.”

This is what the Lord says to Israel: “Seek me and live;

This passage, in the words of the Lord Himself to Israel, foretells of a decimation of the people where cities of a thousand soldiers are reduced to a hundred and towns of a hundred a reduced to 10.

With these terrible fates awaiting them, Israel is councelled to seek the Lord so that they might live.

Israel, while saying that the Lord was with them, were contravening righteousness is these ways;

• Turning justice to bitterness
• Defaming righteous conduct
• Unfair taxes on the straw of the poor
• Unfair taxes on the grain of the poor
• Oppression of the innocent
• Corruption of bribery
• Unfairness towards the poor in courts
• Worshiping enshrined political leaders
• Lifting up idols on pedestals
• Worshiping false gods

With these things happening in Israel, the Lord gives advice to them in verse 14;

Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is.

Amen.

4

OUR FATHER WHO PROVIDES ASYLUM TO FLEEING REFUGEES

The book of Isaiah chapter 15 16 verses 11 - 14 2 - 5 says this;

Like fluttering birds pushed from the nest, so are the women of Moab at the fords of the Arnon.

“Make up your mind,” Moab says. “Render a decision. Make your shadow like night—at high noon.

Hide the fugitives, do not betray the refugees.

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.

Revisiting this passage where we looked at the Moabite women scrambling to cross the Arnon river and their desperate messages to Israel to grant asylum to the refugees from Moab, we expand the scope to include verse 5 which distinctly prophecies the emergence of the Messianic throne from the house of David and that it would be the throne that seeks justice and fasttracks  righteousness.

This throne would be established in love and faithfulness.

In the atmosphere of catastrophic ruin  and the frantic escape attempts described in the passage, the abrupt mention of the Messianic throne captures the context in which most people encounter the kingdom of God in their lives and formally place themselves under its dominion.

During a time of distress and displacement, we frantically seek salvation and it is in these times that the righteous throne of Christ reaches our attention and we  cry out for mercy to the One who represents life and hope when all seems lost.

Amen.

9

OUR FATHER WHO RENDERS HIS PEOPLE'S ENEMIES INOOPERATIVE

The book of Isaiah chapter 19 verse 14 says this;

The Lord has poured into them a spirit of dizziness; they make Egypt stagger in all that she does, as a drunkard staggers around in his vomit.

Among the methods used to subdue the oppressors of God's people, the one indicated here is the discombobulation of the senses where the functionaries of the oppresive regime are rendered ineffectual by disorientation and dizziness. 

The regime's hands are weakened when her representatives are unable to maintain balance and become nauseated as though seasick. They slip and stagger in their own vomit and cannot regain a clear mind or strength.

With this and other methods, the Lord is then able to extricate his people from under the control of an oppresive regime and free His people.

Amen.

4

OUR FATHER WHOSES JUDGEMENT CAN BE TARGETED TO EXEMPT THOSE HE FAVORS

The book of Amos chapter 4 verse 7 says this;

“I also withheld rain from you when the harvest was still three months away. I sent rain on one town, but withheld it from another.

One field had rain; another had none and dried up.

This verse, in the context of multiple attempts by the Lord to persuade the people of Israel to return to him, speaks of the imposition of the hardship of drought on the people of Israel so thatt their crops failed and they would turn to God.

After they had seeded their fields and the crops were partially grown, rain was withheld and the plants would dry up but Israel did not return to their God.

A point that can be derived from this particular verse is that the Lord has the power to create a differentiated season of judgement where some towns are struck with drought while others recieve rain and even more granularly, some people's fields are subject to the drought while others are exempt.

Whereas phenomena such as drought are understood to generally afflict everyone in a region, this verse depicts the ability of God, in a time of judgement, to single out some communities for judgement and even single out individuals for judgement while others around them are exempted.

Amen

4

OUR FATHER WHO REVEALS HIS PLANS TO HIS PROPHETS

The book of Amos chapter 3 verses 4 - 5 says this;

Does a lion roar in the thicket when it has no prey?

Does it growl in its den when it has caught nothing?

Does a bird swoop down to a trap on the ground when no bait is there?

Does a trap spring up from the ground if it has not caught anything?

This passage, as part of a declaration of judgement upon Israel, emphasises the concomitant results of particular circumstances;

•  A lion growls in its den when it has prey
• A bird is lured to a trap by bait
• A trap springs from the ground when tripped
• Hearts tremble when a trumpet sounds

These automatic associations are to be seen as parallels of the relationship between the Lord speaking and prophecies being uttered.

Whenever the Lord is about to undertake an action, the prophets are apprised of His plan and they harbour the witness of the Lord's intentions ahead of time.

As verse 7 says;

Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.

Amen

4

OUR FATHER WHO HEARS OUR CRY

From Psalm 10

Lord Arise Lord Arise and hear our cry

In our time of trouble don't pass us by 

Lord Arise Lord Arise and lift Your hand

Lord Arise and have mercy on our land 

Lord see the grief of the afflicted

Protect them from the wicked

Lord listen to our humble prayer

We trust in You our God and helper

Lord You are King forever 

Lord take us all into Your faithful care

OUR FATHER WHO JUDGES HIS PEOPLE FIRST AND THEN JUDGES THOSE WHO EXPLOITED THEM DURING THEIR DAY OF JUDGEMENT Part 2

The book of Obadiah chapter 1 verses 20 - 25  21 says this;

This company of Israelite exiles who are in Canaan will possess the land as far as Zarephath; the exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sepharad will possess the towns of the Negev.

Deliverers will go up on Mount Zion to govern the mountains of Esau.

And the kingdom will be the Lord’s.

When the judgement of Israel comes to an end, they will be reinstated as possessors of the land.

Those who were exiled will be returned to occupy the territory.

The deliverers, who are those commissioned by Mount Zion  to restore the kingdom, will establish the governance of God to the whole territory including what was formerly Esau's kingdom.

The final result is that the whole area will be under the dominion of the kingdom of God.

Amen.

1

OUR FATHER WHO JUDGES HIS PEOPLE FIRST AND THEN JUDGES THOSE WHO EXPLOITED THEM DURING THEIR DAY OF JUDGEMENT

The book of Obadiah chapter 1 verse 11 - 19 says this;

On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them.

You should not gloat over your brother in the day of his misfortune, nor rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their destruction, nor boast so much in the day of their trouble.

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.

You should not wait at the crossroads to cut down their fugitives, nor hand over their survivors in the day of their trouble.

“The day of the Lord is near for all nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head. 

Just as you drank on my holy hill, so all the nations will drink continually; they will drink and drink and be as if they had never been.

But on Mount Zion will be deliverance; it will be holy, and Jacob will possess his inheritance.

Jacob will be a fire and Joseph a flame; Esau will be stubble, and they will set him on fire and destroy him. There will be no survivors from Esau.” The Lord has spoken.

People from the Negev will occupy the mountains of Esau, and people from the foothills will possess the land of the Philistines.

They will occupy the fields of Ephraim and Samaria, and Benjamin will possess Gilead.

This passage describes the error of the kingdom of Essau and judgement which was brought down on them as a result.

The wrongdoing of Esau;

• Violence against Israel
• Indifference to Israel's suffering
• Looting Jerusalem with the invaders
• Gloating over Israel's misfortune
• Rejoicing over Israel's destruction
• Boasting over Israel's day of trouble
• Triumphantly entering Israel's gates 
• Gloating over Israel's calamity
• Siezing Israel's wealth during a disaster
• Ambushing Israel's fugitives as they flee
• Handing Israel's fugitives to their destroyers

The judgement brought upon Esau;

• Esau will be reduced to stubble
• Esau will be set on fire
• Esau will be destroyed
• Esau will be annihilated
• Esau's land will be occupied by Israel

Israel, having be judged, will be restored and those who took advantage of Israel's day of judgement to exploit her will  themselves suffer whatever evil they inflicted on God's people.

In that day of retribution, Jacob will be a fire and Joseph a flame as agents of God bringing judgement against Esau.

4

 OUR FATHER WHO JUDGES THOSE WHO ATTACK HIS PEOPLE

The book of Amos chapter 1 verse 5 says this;

I will break down the gate of Damascus; I will destroy the king who is in the Valley of Aven and the one who holds the scepter in Beth Eden.

The people of Aram will go into exile to Kir", says the Lord.

Because of the ruthless attacks on Gilead by Damascus, the judgements against the kingdom was determined to be these;

• Destruction of the gate of Damascus
• Ruin the king based in the valley of Aven
• Ruin the ruler based in Beth Eden

Destruction of a gate connotes the making of a populace vulnerable to attack and to displacement. The destruction of a scepter means that the leadership of the society is taken apart.

The result of the removal of defences and leadership of Damascus is that they are driven into exile.

4

OUR FATHER WHO CASTS DOWN THE REBEL Part 2

The book of Isaiah chapter 14 verses 9 - 10 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.

They will all respond, they will say to you, “You also have become weak, as we are; you have become like us.”

Examining this passage again, it is notable the realm of the dead is described as "below".

As well, the realm of the dead is described as having agency so that it is responsive to changes of conditions and is able to stir spirits or to make kings rise from their thrones.

Also, it is notable that at the time that the king of Babylon arrives, the realm of the dead has to rouse spirits and has to make kings rise which implies that the inhabitants of the realm of the dead are in a sleeping state or in repose and have to stirred into wakefulness or attentiveness.

It is also notable that the inhabitants of the realm of the dead are weak or powerless. They are animated at the will of the realm of the dead and they describe themselves as "weak".

Those who go down to inhabit the realm of the dead are subject to the administration of the realm itself. They are powerless and they languish in a sleep state or inert state even though they have self-awareness and their faculties of thought with them.

30

OUR FATHER WHOSE PEOPLE ARE TO BE A PLACE OF REFUGE FOR THE OPPRESSED

The book of Isaiah chapter 16 verses 2 - 3 says this;

Like fluttering birds pushed from the nest, so are the women of Moab at the fords of the Arnon.

“Make up your mind,” Moab says. “Render a decision.

Make your shadow like night—at high noon.

Hide the fugitives, do not betray the refugees.

The kingdom of Moab, whose territory was adjacent to the east side of the Dead Sea, was judged severely and widespread destruction swept across the land.

Their cities were violently ruined overnight and suddenly, the people of Moab were displaced from their homes and convoys of refugees were moving along the roadways seeking shelter.

The Arnon river which flows into the Dead Sea, forms a barrier to north/south travel and our passage captures the desperate scene when the fleeing women of Moab reach the river and try to cross it. 

Like panicky birds prematurely pushed from their nests, the women of Moab, completely out of their element, scramble to get across the river to find a place of safety.

Moab sent envoys to the kingdom of Israel pressing them to make a decision to grant emergency asylum for their people. They ask Israel to conceal the Moabites from the destroyer who is seeking them. As verse 4 says;

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.

The envoys assure Israel that the refugees will  return home when the season of destruction is brought to a close.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO CASTS DOWN THE REBEL

The book of Isaiah chapter 14 verses 9 - 10 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.

They will all respond, they will say to you, “You also have become weak, as we are; you have become like us.”

The people who were under the oppression of the king of Babylon, finding that they have been released from their chains, take up a taunt against him as his kingdom collapses into the realm of the dead.

They see how the realm of the dead is riled up to watch the arrival of the one who was once so powerful.

The spirits the dead are recruited to form a welcoming parade and the spirits of the former leaders of the world are compelled to rise from their thrones to honor the one who has been cast down to join them.

The taunters note that those in the realm of the dead, having seen the state of the king of Babylon will be disillusioned for he will not be like what they expected. 

He will have all his power stripped from him and his weakness will be obvious to all who see him and he will be like the ones who inhabit the realm of the dead.

4

OUR FATHER WHO NEUTRALIZES THE POWER OF THE ENEMY OF HIS PEOPLE

The book of Isaiah chapter 19 verses 4 - 7 says this;

I will hand the Egyptians over to the power of a cruel master, and a fierce king will rule over them,” declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.

The waters of the river will dry up, and the riverbed will be parched and dry. The canals will stink; the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up.

The reeds and rushes will wither, also the plants along the Nile, at the mouth of the river.

Every sown field along the Nile will become parched, will blow away and be no more.

This passage reveals a principle of intervention that the Lord applies to the oppressors of His people to weaken their grip and force the release of their captives.

First, the Lord reserves the right to topple kings and to raise up different ones as Daniel 2 verse 21 says;

He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.

He uses this authority to place the oppressors into the hands of a harsh and viscous leader and under this leader, they taste the cruelty and unfairness that they inflicted on God's people.

As they grapple with this reality, their resources are deplete and their access to sustenance is severely cutailed.

• Rivers (primary economic resources) dry up
• River beds (economic systems) are parched
• Canals (distribution systems) stagnate
• Streams (investments) evaporate
• Reeds and rushes (tertiary businesses) wilt
• Sown fields (agriculture) fail

The oppressors are subjected to the shortages and economic hardship that they subjected God's people to.

Their ability to continue to enslave others is weakened.

4

OUR FATHER WHO SACRIFICED HIS SON ONCE AND FOR ALL

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

It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 

This passage is a warning of the singularity of the  journey of repentance. 

After responding to the good news of salvation with repentance and belief in Jesus, the scriptures gives four categories of experience that, thereafter, a person's falling away from faith would have no remedy;

• Tasted the heavenly gift
• Shared in the Holy Spirit
• Tasted the goodness of the word of God
• Tasted of the powers of the coming age

The pathway to the ingnition of faith is passed through once. If that faith is snuffed out after having ascended into the spiritual realities of God, there is no mechanism by which re-hearing the gospel can lead a person back to repentance. Even the attempt to regain faith would be an exercise in re-crucifying Christ and subjecting Him to public shame all over again.

The passage, continuing in Hebrews chapter 6 verse 6, says it this way;

and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

Have mercy on us our God.

Amen.

12

OUR FATHER WHOSE JUDGEMENT WILL SURELY FALL ON THOSE WHO DO NOT RELENT FROM EVIL

The book of Amos chapter 1 verse 3 says this;

This is what the Lord says: “For three sins of Damascus, even for four, I will not relent.

Because she threshed Gilead with sledges having iron teeth,

This verse is the first of the judgements the Lord issues from Jerusalem. 

This judgement is against Damascus and is declared to be irrevocable because the multiple and continuous sins they committed.

Damascus would suffer destruction by fire and war. Their defensive gate would be broken and in their vulnerability, the people would then be exiled from their land.

The final straw against them was the fact that they had brought havoc on Gilead (their neighbour) using the technology of metalurgy.

Using iron spiked weapons, they brutalized the people in Gilead (the Amplified version includes the idea that these weapons crushed and shredded the people) and it was for this practice that Damascus was made to account for all their other sins and was struck with a judgement that forced them off their land and drove them into exile.

30

OUR FATHER WHO KNOWS THE THOUGHTS AND INTENTIONS OF THE HEARTS OF ALL BEINGS Part 4

The book of Isaiah chapter 14 verse 16 says this;

Those who see you stare at you, they ponder your fate: “Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble,

The fall of Lucifer is witnessed by people and as they stare, they recount the terror, tumult and ruination that he inflicted on the inhabitants of the earth and who intimidated the kingdoms.

As verse 17 says;

the man who made the world a wilderness, who overthrew its cities and would not let his captives go home?”

Observing the collapse of the standing of the king of Babylon, the witnesses wonder how one who held so much sway over the whole earth and who so brutally exercised power over the lives of men, could have been brought so low.

The power of the Most High God accomplished this.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO KNOWS THE THOUGHTS AND INTENTIONS OF THE HEARTS OF ALL BEINGS Part 3

Continuing from yesterday, having looked at the heights to which Lucifer's ambition had aimed and the methods by which he intended to achieve his plan, we come to the fulcrum of spiritual history in Isaiah chapter 14 verse 15 which says;

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

Lucifer began executing his plan and he attempted to ascend to the heights of clouds  of heaven having secured the  loyalty of a portion the angels.

Unknown to Lucifer, God, the creator of all things including Lucifer, was aware of the inner thoughts of Lucifer's heart and contingencies had been made for his usurpation plot.

He was cast down into the realm of the dead from the heights to which he had reached and descended to the deepest pit where he was among the  worms and maggots and buried under the bodies of the slain.

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OUR FATHER WHO KNOWS THE THOUGHTS AND INTENTIONS OF THE HEARTS OF ALL BEINGS Part 2

The book of Isaiah chapter 14 verse 14 says this;

NIV :

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

NKJV:

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’

This verse reveals the ultimate inner intention that Lucifer harboured as he formulated His ambitious plan to gain dominance over existence.

After taking control of the realms of the stars of God, Lucifer then planned to ascend (or climb) above the highest level of heaven which is characterized as the tops of the clouds.

It is when he got to these height that he either saw himself becoming like God or he believed he had that power to make himself like the Most High God.

As Lucifer stewed in the secret inner dialogue of his own heart, he did not know that there was a logged history of all His thoughts that was available to God and that this string of thoughts was going to be revealed in the text of scripture.

Lucifer's  scheme was unearthed but he was able to take a third of the angels into his rebellion as they were rounded up and thrown out of heaven.

This ratio is derived from the book of Revelation chapter12 verses 3 - 4;

Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. 

Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born.

This text is clearly an abridged allegory of pivotal historical  events through spiritual history and, although disputed by some, the event of stars being swept by the dragon out of the sky and flung to earth, represents how Lucifer's ambition played out after his thoughts and intentions turned into action and the war in heaven began.

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OUR FATHER WHOSE BRINGS FREEDOM TO HIS PEOPLE

The book of Isaiah chapter 14 verse 4 says this;

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

How the oppressor has come to an end! How his fury has ended!

After the Lord delivers His people from oppression and the dominion of darkness, He foretells that God's people will take up a taunt against their oppressor who is named the king of Babylon.

This taunt is an indicator that they have no fear any more and that they are confident that their oppressor has been  permanently removed from a position of power.

To take up a taunt in this case is an act of reproving the harshness that they had been subjected to and expressing their relief that their ordeal has come to an end.

Bless the Lord.

Amen

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Apple of Your Eye

Hear me Lord

Turn your ear to Me

And hear my prayer

Show me Lord

The wonders of

Your Love and faithful care (×2)(×1)

Keep me as the apple of your eye

And hide me in the shadow of your wings (x1)(×2)

OUR FATHER WHO RESTORES THE BRIDE OF CHRIST FROM RUIN

The book of Isaiah chapter 49 verse 13 says this;

Shout for joy, you heavens; rejoice, you earth; burst into song, you mountains!

For the Lord comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.

This verse prescribes the appropriate response to the compassion that the Lord has on His people who have been oppressed and harassed.

As the Lord restores His people, those in heaven should shout for joy and those on earth should revel in gladness and the spiritual kingdoms should burst into song.

In this moment, Zion, the people in the kingdom of God said this in verse 14;

But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.”

Zion had not yet realised that the time of her turmoil had come to an end.

She had been devastated by the destruction of brought against her and her territories by her enemies and was still reeling from the attacks.

However, the Lord had intervened to drive away her foes and return her people back into her fold and she was not set up to handle the huge revival that occured as verse 19 says;

“Though you were ruined and made desolate and your land laid waste, now you will be too small for your people, and those who devoured you will be far away.

The bride of Christ is stunned to find that even when she was in shambles from the onslaught of her enemies, people were still being saved and being added to her numbers such that as verse 21 says;

Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who bore me these?

I was bereaved and barren; I was exiled and rejected. Who brought these up?

I was left all alone, but these—where have they come from?’”

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON HIS PEOPLE

The book of Isaiah chapter 14 verses 1 - 2 says this;

The Lord will have compassion on Jacob; once again he will choose Israel and will settle them in their own land. Foreigners will join them and unite with the descendants of Jacob.

Nations will take them and bring them to their own place. And Israel will take possession of the nations and make them male and female servants in the Lord’s land.

They will make captives of their captors and rule over their oppressors.

This passage speaks of the great reversal of circumstance that will occur to the Lord's people when He sees them in their distress and has compassion on them. 

The Lord, in mercy for His people, chooses them for Himself anew and restores them to their own land.

Here, a great prophecy is revealed that declares that the foreigners ( or gentiles ) will join the descendants of Israel and become one with them.

In this united bond, the people of God will gain ownership over all the nations and put all the people of the  world into their employ. And those who held God's people in captivity, will themselves be ruled over and held in captivity 

Amen.

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