Offering – Praying Pint

52.a. Wilderness – 16.g. “Therefore be imitators of God”

Deu 24:17-22  “You shall not pervert the justice due to the sojourner or to the fatherless, or take a widow’s garment in pledge, but you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this. “When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this.

Psalms 94:3-6    O LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?  They pour out their arrogant words; all the evildoers boast.  They crush your people, O LORD, and afflict your heritage.  They kill the widow and the sojourner, and murder the fatherless;

Psalms 94:20-21    Can wicked rulers be allied with you, those who frame injustice by statute?  They band together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.

Jeremiah 22:3    Thus says the LORD: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place.

Ezekiel 22:7     Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the sojourner suffers extortion in your midst; the fatherless and the widow are wronged in you.

Ephesians 5:1-2   Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.  And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Isaiah 51:1     “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the LORD: look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug.

It is not hard to prove that purity, piety, justice, mercy, fair conduct, kindness to the poor and destitute, consideration for them, and generosity of spirit, are pleasing to God, and becoming in his redeemed people. The difficulty is to attend to them in our daily walk and conversation. (Henry)

It is hard for us to understand this while we live our separate lives in our ice little realm of society. We are unaffected by the homeless, fatherless, and widows. Yet, they are there if our eyes are opened and our ears listen. Our culture and society claim the unborn fatherless child as nothing more than an unwanted mass or tumor. Laws are made that give strength to this abomination. The arguments made rely on tolerance and personal rights. They will proclaim to those who do not buy into these lies as enemies of liberty and freedom and haters of others. They are very good at this.

God’s Word is clear as the noonday sun. It is wrong to treat those in need with contempt. It is wrong to turn our eyes and ears away from them. It is wrong to be silent.

Standing firm in the love of Jesus Christ. Do not be swayed by empty words spewed out by those who proclaim unrighteous acts of disobedience. Walk in the love of God, filled with the Holy Spirit, and with ears trained and seeking to know the will of God for whatever might come each day.

51.l. Wilderness – 15.r. “But as for you, the LORD your God has not allowed you to do this”

Deu 18:9-14 “When you come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD. And because of these abominations the LORD your God is driving them out before you. You shall be blameless before the LORD your God, for these nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the LORD your God has not allowed you to do this.

(Guzik)

a. You shall not learn: God knows that many people have a natural curiosity regarding the occult, and that curiosity often leads them to gain knowledge God commands them to leave alone.

b. Anyone who makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire: This refers to the debased worship of the Canaanite god Molech, to whom children were sacrificed by burning.

c. Or one who practices witchcraft: The word witchcraft here seems to be a broad word, describing a variety of occult activities. Basically, anything that makes contact with the demonic or dark spiritual world.

i. Thompson on practices witchcraft: “A variety of devices were in use in various lands, but all were designed to discern the will of the gods. The same word in Ezekiel 21:21 refers to the practice of whirling arrows in a quiver and deciding the answer to the question by the first arrow thrown out.”

ii. There is a modern revival of witchcraft, or Wicca, and many people claim that “white” witchcraft (as opposed to “black” witchcraft) is a use of spiritual powers for good, as well as being a more feminist, ecology-friendly understanding of god and spirituality. But whether a witch claims to be “white” or “black,” they are still using occultic powers.

iii. Some claim that white, or “right hand path” witches are in the majority today. They worship elements and nature deities, the “Mother Goddess,” Gaia, Ashtarte, Isis, Osiris, and a host of other names for the Goddess. Characteristically they are active in “Saving the earth” activities, due to the fact that they are pantheists (those who believe the divine life force is in everything: ever see the bumper sticker picturing a globe bearing the legend “Love Your Mother”?). They deny the existence of Satan, calling him an invention of the Christian Church. They claim to use their powers (and they do have powers) for good: sending healing energies to the sick, affirmations which bring prosperity, and loudly proclaiming their creed, “As it harm none, do as thou wilt.” It’s ironic how their creed sounds so similar to that of a man who referred to himself as “The Beast, 666” – Satanist Aleister Crowley, who wrote, “Do as thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.”

iv. Of course, there are black, or “left hand path,” witches. These are witches who originally were into white witchcraft and got hungry for more power. As their teachers noticed this power lust, they were taken aside and told, “You are now ready to go after the higher power, and there is only one way to achieve this power. Satan is its source.” Thus, comes the white witch’s abrupt surprise: either give up your witchly ambitions, or go for the higher power. The bottom line is that the power behind all kinds of witchcraft is Satan. He is the author of all deception, and all rebellion. To practice or approve of witchcraft is to serve Satan.

v. And this Satanic power kills. Ronald Baker was a 21-year-old student at UCLA, and was found stabbed to death at the mouth of a railroad tunnel in the rocky hills above Chatsworth Park. Police first thought the mangled body was of a transient hit by a train; but they then found an occult connection in Baker’s death. The killing took place on the night of the summer solstice, and the tunnel near the park is known to police as a gathering place for devotees of the occult. Baker was involved with Wicca (described as “benevolent witchcraft”), often wore a pentagram pendant, and belonged to a UCLA metaphysical group known as Mystic Circle (from a July 1990 news article).

vi. Some who call themselves Christians are buying into this deception. Take the case of a woman who calls herself Starhawk, who is a practitioner of Wicca – a witch. She first learned about Wicca at an anthropology course at UCLA when she was 17, and she took the name Starhawk in 1975 when it came to her in a dream. After a master’s degree in psychology, she began teaching at universities. She is a licensed minister of the Covenant of the Goddess and performs marriages and other ceremonies. She views the earth as a sensitive, living organism which she calls “the Goddess.” Mary Elizabeth Moore of the Claremont School of Theology said of Starhawk: “Many Christians, especially women and others who are trying to reclaim creation-centered theology, find her work to be compatible with, or at least adaptable to, Christian teaching.” Starhawk was scheduled to speak at the First Christian Church in Santa Monica on a Friday evening (from a June, 1993 news article).

d. Or a soothsayer: This has reference to astrological-type divination, predicting the future or seeking guidance through the stars, planets, clouds, or weather.

i. Kalland says that the soothsayer: “Is… predicting the future by means of physical signs (astrology).” Thompson points out “it seems to refer to divination by reading clouds, or from a root which occurs in Arabic meaning ‘to make unusual noises’, ‘croon’, ‘hum’, in which case it may refer to some kind of incantation.”

ii. Even though Astrology is unscientific – it is based on the supposition that the sun circles the earth, and the positions of the planets and stars have shifted, and are never consistently uniform; therefore, the houses of the Zodiac have shifted – despite all that, thirty-two million Americans believe in Astrology! There are 10,000 full time and 200,000 part time astrologers in America. Three out of four American newspapers carry a horoscope column.

iii. So where does the real “power” of astrology come from? From what most astrologers call “intuition” – but is really psychic knowledge and ability. Astrology is idolatry and stems from the demonic. It leads people away from trusting in God and encourages them to put trust in what God created. And isn’t that Satan’s goal: To replace confidence in God with a dependence on anything else?

iv. Therefore, the Bible clearly forbids us to participate in astrology, which includes reading your horoscope, studying your sign, and computing a natal chart. It is an occult art, meaning that it involves “knowledge of hidden things”, seeking spiritual knowledge apart from God’s revelation. It is a foundational art, which means it is the building block for all occultists. It is studied by witches and magicians alike. Every Christian should renounce any involvement they have ever had with astrology!

e. Or one who interprets omens: The word comes from the root “to hiss” or “to whisper” and refers to psychics and fortune-tellers who use “aids” other than naturally created things to gain knowledge, tell the future, and cast spells.

i. Today, these people are the tarot card readers, crystal ball seers, tea-leaf readers, palm readers, Ouija board users, and the like. A Christian has no business participating or approving of any of these practices, because either they are money-grubbing frauds (at best!), or worse, they gain their knowledge from satanic, demonic, spiritual sources.

ii. This is why it is dangerous for people – especially kids – to break out the Ouija board, or do a little séance, or little “dark” magic tricks. They are tapping into a source of spiritual power that is real – yet evil, and unspeakably dangerous. Many, many people have been ruined on the rocks of “innocent” occult or fortune telling games, and the fact that there is a real power behind those things should make us all the more concerned.

iii. There is a demand for this kind of thing; why else would a homeless man in New York be arrested for stealing skulls from a Brooklyn cemetery and selling them for use in occult ceremonies? A skull can bring as much as $4,000 (from an August, 1991 news article).

iv. It is worth noting that Satan or his demons cannot absolutely know the future; but they can reasonably predict the future based on their superior knowledge of people and circumstances or predict events that they can have a hand in shaping through their own demonic influence.

f. Or a sorcerer: This has reference to those who use drugs or potions to cast spells, gain spiritual knowledge, or enter into altered states of consciousness. Modern drug abuse easily falls into this category, and the use of drugs has a definite occult connection that the drug taker may not want but is exposed to nonetheless.

i. Clarke says of sorcerer: “Those who by means of drugs, herbs, perfumes, and so forth, pretended to bring certain celestial influences to their aid.” Thompson adds, “derived from the root… ‘to cut up’, may denote one who cuts up herbs and brews them for magical purposes (cf. LXX pharmaka, drug). The term is used in Micah 5:12 for some such material as drugs or herbs used superstitiously to produce magical effects.”

g. Or one who conjures up spells: This is literally, “A charmer of charms” and refers to those who cast spells or charms for good or evil upon others with spiritual powers apart from God.

i. It is a glorious thing to bless another in the name of the LORD; or even to pray to God against the evil of another person. But it is always and forever wrong to use demonic, dark, pagan, or occult powers to cast spells or charms.

h. Or a medium: The idea is of someone who “stands between” the physical world and the psychic world; they channel knowledge from the psychic world into the physical world.

i. Thompson notes that the medium: “Spoke from within a person (Leviticus 20:27) with a twittering voice (Isaiah 29:4). Those who practiced this art called up the departed from the realm of the dead, or rather, professed to do so.”

ii. Those who practice such powers are really among us. In May of 1990, after a man died in the City of Industry, his corpse remained at the home of a spirit medium that had convinced his family that he could revive the man. Friday, LA County coroner’s investigators picked up the decomposing body at the home of the family. The unidentified medium apparently gave the corpse back after being unable to revive the deceased.

i. Or a spiritist: Literally, this word refers to the “knowing ones” – those who claim unique occult or psychic knowledge and powers – such as those on the many psychic hotlines that one can pay to call. Again, a Christian has no business participating or approving of any of these practices, because either they are money-grubbing frauds (at best!), or worse, they gain their knowledge from satanic, demonic, spiritual sources.

j. Or one who calls up the dead: This refers to the practice of necromancy, which is the conjuring up or the contacting of the dead.

i. This refers to “One who investigates, looks into, and seeks information from the dead.” (Kalland) This is much on the increase in our culture; “The proportion of adults who say they have been in touch with the dead has risen from 27% to 42% during the past 11 years. Close to 20 million Americans now report mystical experiences.” (McDowell, 1989)

Predicting the future is foolishness. Knowing the future apart from God and what God has said in His Word through the Holy Spirit is foolishness – there is no truth in it. There are certain absolute promises from God and apart from believing and relying upon them – there is foolishness. Maybe I should use the word abomination instead. God despises all forms of worshiping or seeking after that which He alone holds in His hands. He is the alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. His promises are true. Our hope, trust, faith, and reliance on Him alone will never be wasted or disappointing. It gives peace, joy, hope, love, and a reason and purpose to our lives.

“Speak to the people of Israel”

Lev 4:2  “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If anyone sins unintentionally in any of the LORD’s commandments about things not to be done, and does any one of them,

Lev 4:13  “If the whole congregation of Israel sins unintentionally and the thing is hidden from the eyes of the assembly, and they do any one of the things that by the LORD’s commandments ought not to be done, and they realize their guilt, when the sin which they have committed becomes known, the assembly shall offer a bull from the herd for a sin offering and bring it in front of the tent of meeting.

Lev 4:22  “When a leader sins, doing unintentionally any one of all the things that by the commandments of the LORD his God ought not to be done, and realizes his guilt, or the sin which he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring as his offering a goat, a male without blemish

Lev 4:27  “If anyone of the common people sins unintentionally in doing any one of the things that by the LORD’s commandments ought not to be done, and realizes his guilt, or the sin which he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring for his offering a goat, a female without blemish, for his sin which he has committed.

And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying. Continued to speak to him, or, after some pause made, proceeded to speak to him, and give things in commandment concerning the sin offering, what it should be, and for whom. (Gill)

Unintentional “Sins” of ignorance –

Unknowingly – being unaware – unconscious – blind to sin – deaf to sin – insensitive to sin – uninformed – unsuspecting – oblivious – and not being perceptive to committing sin can or do manifest in the lives of Christians. As a person grows and matures in the knowledge and understanding of God and things of God they will become more sensitive to God’s Word, His holiness, their thoughts, words, and actions, and the quiet whispers of the Holy Spirit’s conviction and leading them to repentance. The problem so often is that the “Christian” is content, neglectful, complacent, and luke warm towards their growth and maturity in the Word of God and things of God. They become stagnate and continue to eat baby food. There is no maturing in their lives. The heart deep desire to know God’s Word and things of God is not there. Their lives have become a blend of mostly worldly thoughts and minimal God honoring and glorifying actions. Their lives are full of unconscious sin and oblivious to it. Though they are content with their spiritual life they are unsatisfied, anxious, worrying, and never finding deep down peace, joy, and rest in their soul.

How many people are living shallowly committed to growth and maturity in God’s Word and things of God? How many weeks go by where thoughts of honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ don’t even register in their minds? How many weeks go by with no desire to be led by the Holy Spirit? How many weeks go by without wanting to be made aware of the unknowing sin in their lives? Far too many I fear.

David put it this way: O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

3.t. To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great

Ezra 8:24 Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests: Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their kinsmen with them. And I weighed out to them the silver and the gold and the vessels, the offering for the house of our God that the king and his counselors and his lords and all Israel there present had offered. I weighed out into their hand 650 talents of silver, and silver vessels worth 200 talents, and 100 talents of gold, 20 bowls of gold worth 1,000 darics, and two vessels of fine bright bronze as precious as gold. And I said to them, “You are holy to the Lord, and the vessels are holy, and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the Lord, the God of your fathers. Guard them and keep them until you weigh them before the chief priests and the Levites and the heads of fathers’ houses in Israel at Jerusalem, within the chambers of the house of the Lord.” So the priests and the Levites took over the weight of the silver and the gold and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem, to the house of our God.

Then we departed from the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes by the way. We came to Jerusalem, and there we remained three days. On the fourth day, within the house of our God, the silver and the gold and the vessels were weighed into the hands of Meremoth the priest, son of Uriah, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas, and with them were the Levites, Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui. The whole was counted and weighed, and the weight of everything was recorded.

Job 5:19-24    He will deliver you from six troubles; in seven no evil shall touch you.  In famine he will redeem you from death, and in war from the power of the sword.  You shall be hidden from the lash of the tongue, and shall not fear destruction when it comes.  At destruction and famine you shall laugh, and shall not fear the beasts of the earth.  For you shall be in league with the stones of the field, and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you.  You shall know that your tent is at peace, and you shall inspect your fold and miss nothing.

Acts 26:22   To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great,

Isaiah 41:10-14    fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.  Behold, all who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded; those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish.  You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them; those who war against you shall be as nothing at all.  For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”  Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I am the one who helps you, declares the LORD; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

Psalms 91:9-14    Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place— the Most High, who is my refuge—  no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent.  For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.  On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.  You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.  “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name.

Do you ever think about the hand of God being on you? Do you know when you have been delivered from a potential attack of sickness, financial, physical, or relational harm? Do you know it was by the hand of God? How can you know? Being aware of obvious, in your face, confrontation is one thing but how about those times when there are no attacks, physical or emotional, in your life? Do you immediately think about God’s hand being on and over you? Do you realize this at all?

Being aware of God’s hand should be the first thing on our mind but all too often the busyness of life and our lack of commitment result in our thinking that either we are very lucky or that of pride in thinking that in our own great wisdom and knowledge we were able to affect the outcomes in our lives in ways only the hand of God could produce. You see when our time in His word is limited so is our thoughts on it and on Him. When our time in His word is neglected so is our mind’s eye being able to see and reflect on the awesome steadfast love, power, and blessings from God. When our time in His word is more of a burden than living water then our eyes become blind to see the hand of God at work in our lives.

The lukewarm, neglectful, complacent, and self-satisfied will never see the hand of God at work in their lives. They will not know how to humbly serve, honor, glorify, worship, praise, follow, trust, and obey Him. This can only happen when our whole heart, mind, and soul are turned to and committed to and rely on, cling to, and trust in Him. This is not a part-time commitment. It is every day, every moment intentional choice. Make this commitment, be in His word continually and meditate on it and have it open the eyes to your heart and mind to see the awesome steadfast love and mighty hand of God in your life.

160. The LORD answered him with fire from heaven

1 Kings 18:22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men. Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it. And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.” Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it.” And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.

Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down. Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, “Israel shall be your name,” and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. And he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two seahs of seed. And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” And he said, “Do it a second time.” And they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a third time.” And they did it a third time. And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water.

And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.” And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape.” And they seized them. And Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and slaughtered them there.

Judges 6:21    Then the angel of the LORD reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes. And fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight.

1 Chronicles 21:26  And David built there an altar to the LORD and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings and called on the LORD, and the LORD answered him with fire from heaven upon the altar of burnt offering.

2 Chronicles 7:1     As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.

2 Chronicles 7:3     When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the LORD on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”

We see that “Fire From Heaven” or at and Angels hand was demonstrated to Elijah and all the prophets of Baal and all of Israel, David at the threshing floor of Ornan, Solomon at the dedication of the house of the Lord upon completion of building the Temple, and Gideon at his house at the hand of an Angel of God. Sometimes I think we read over these and other acts of the wonders and awesome power of God demonstrates without giving them much thought. Why is it that we seem to have lost the ability to stand in awe at what was recorded of what God had done in the presence of many. Why do we just limp through scripture without seeing the wonder and power of God.

Here are a few thoughts from something I was reading on the time period between the old and new testaments. “When the prophet Malachi stepped off the earthly stage around 450 B.C., no genuine prophetic voice was heard again for about 500 years. We know this period as the gap between dispensations in the Old and New Testaments. Without a prophet, people in the land began to divide into parties and groups, each claiming the right to interpret the scriptures and lead the people. The true understanding of God diminished among these groups. A long night of confusion followed, which ended when God sent a new prophet, John the Baptist, to begin a new dispensation. But even with John the Baptist and the Savior teaching the people, many were unable to overcome the traditions and beliefs that had developed and intensified during this period. As we understand these 500 years and the confusion that accompanied them,”

“After Malachi, as the prophet Amos had prophesied, the Lord sent a “famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord” (Amos 8:11). This pivotal change had major consequences as people attempted to understand and live the law without a prophet of God’s authoritative teachings and interpretations.”

“As an effect of this apostasy, the people divided into groups with varied political, religious, and social agendas. They also differed in their beliefs and traditions about the Messiah. The religious groups tried to live the law of Moses as they understood it, but each group interpreted the scriptures from such varied perspectives that Jewish society became more and more divided. As a result, the true understanding of who the Savior would be became confused.

“Other religious groups also emerged during this period, each claiming the exclusive right to interpret the scriptures. Each of these religious groups preserved traditions and doctrines that they believed were essential to lives of devotion. But because they lacked the guidance of a true prophet, they were left to their own interpretations.”

Confusion of scripture will always occur when there is no influence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of those who search. Likewise confusion and lack of understanding will occur when there is no desire to come close to God, seek God, and wanting to honor and glorify Him. It is when we choose to come close to God and desire to honor Him that we begin see His awesome power revealed in scripture. Scripture will never be understood by human understanding. It will only be understood when the Holy Spirit opens our eyes and ears and heart and mind and soul to the wonders and depth of God’s awesomeness.

When we choose to open our heart, mind and soul to God with an unending and unwavering commitment, it is then we will begin to see and hear and touch the truths of God and who He is. Without this intentional choice and desire we too will have emptiness in our heart and soul for the things of God. We will miss having the Holy Spirit open our eyes to see and our mind to begin to understand God’s awesomeness. Scripture will remain void, empty words of history and have no place in our heart and mind.

Intentionally commit, intentionally desire, intentionally choose, and be intentionally disciplined in living to serve, honor, follow, obey, trust, and glorify God.

95. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge

1 Samuel 2:12 Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the Lord. The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come, while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand, and he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot. All that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they did at Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. Moreover, before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give meat for the priest to roast, for he will not accept boiled meat from you but only raw.” And if the man said to him, “Let them burn the fat first, and then take as much as you wish,” he would say, “No, you must give it now, and if not, I will take it by force.” Thus the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the Lord, for the men treated the offering of the Lord with contempt.

Hosea 4:6-9     My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.  The more they increased, the more they sinned against me; I will change their glory into shame.  They feed on the sin of my people; they are greedy for their iniquity.  And it shall be like people, like priest; I will punish them for their ways and repay them for their deeds.

Romans 1:21    For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Romans 1:28-30    And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.  They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,  slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,

R.C. Sproul You see the crisis in both the church and the world. Our leaders lack a moral compass. A new barbarism ricochets through pop culture. An entrenched post-Christian secularism and statism dominate Europe where the Reformation once reigned. People around the world have forgotten who God is, so they’ve forgotten who they are and how they must live.

People look for solutions in a crisis. They turn to politics, programs, or gimmicks. They may retreat, or, crumbling before the challenge, they live compromised lives. Such is the way of the world we live in and should not be the way of those who believe.

s it possible that our seeking, desiring, and wanting to humbly honor and serve God has stopped? Is it possible that we have become seekers of self-interests, self-satisfaction, self-sufficiency, self-helped, self-loved, self-made, and self-serving? As Christians is it possible to stop seeking God and have growth in our life? Is it possible that in our seeking and receiving forgiveness, new birth in Jesus Christ, finding peace and rest for our soul we have come to a place in our life where seeking to know Jesus more has stopped other than to find resolve to some trial or trouble facing us?

Life will always offer something to fill our lives apart from giving our whole heart, mind, and soul to honoring, serving, following, and obeying Jesus. Stay in His word. Desire His word. Seek to know and serve Him each minute of each day.

You have not withheld your son from me

Genesis 22:1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.

When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

We never are secure from trials. In Hebrew, to tempt, and to try, or to prove, are expressed by the same word. Every trial is indeed a test and tends to show the dispositions of the heart, whether it is God honoring focused or worldly addressed. Strong faith is often exercised with strong trials. The command to offer up his son, is given in such language as makes the trial more grievous.

Never was any gold tried in so hot a fire. Who but Abraham would not have argued with God? Such would have been the thought of a weak heart. Faith had taught him not to argue, but to obey. He is sure that what God commands is good; that what he promises cannot be broken. In matters of God, whoever consults with flesh and blood, will never offer up his Isaac to God.

Here is an act of faith and obedience, which deserves to be an example to us. God, by his providence, calls us to part with an Isaac sometimes, and we must do it with cheerful submission to his holy will.

Those that are willing to part with any thing for God, will have more satisfaction from what God supplies in a single blessings than what the world could offer in 1,000 life times.

Let his love lead and train us to not live to self, but to Him who died for us, and rose again. Let us purpose our all our service to Him who gave his life for our salvation.

Whatever is dearest to us upon earth is our Isaac. And the only way for us to find comfort in an earthly thing is to give it, by faith, into the hands of God.

Establish the work of our hands

“so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever.”

Psalms 102:28 The children of your servants shall dwell secure; their offspring shall be established before you.

Psalms 22:30-31 Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.

Psalms 45:16-17 In place of your fathers shall be your sons; you will make them princes in all the earth. I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations; therefore nations will praise you forever and ever.

Psalms 69:35-36 For God will save Zion and build up the cities of Judah, and people shall dwell there and possess it; the offspring of his servants shall inherit it, and those who love his name shall dwell in it.

Isaiah 53:10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

Isaiah 59:20-21 “And a Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,” declares the LORD “And as for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the LORD: “My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children’s offspring,” says the LORD, “from this time forth and forevermore.”

Isaiah 65:22 They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

Psalms 90:16-17 Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!

“Establish the work of our hands” I think much of the time we think about this and only apply it to our jobs. We ask God to bless us in what we do. We try to find meaning and purpose in what we do. There will be no blessing from God if we are pursing our own path in life. We should not take a job anywhere if we are not confident this is where God wants us. We will find no purpose in life if we go our own way, seeking what ever it is to please us. Purpose in life and blessings in life come from being in God’s will and seeking to honor and glorify Him. Seeking to hear His quiet small voice leading you in family and work will light your path and allow you to see blessing and give you purpose. How can we expect to give our offspring and generations to come anything to hang on to if we are not clinging to, relying on, and trusting in, and proclaiming the mighty glorious power, love, grace, and mercy of God. We don’t have to look very deep into our society / culture to see that our lack of commitment and complacency toward humbly serving, honoring, following and obeying God has terrible results upon our children and the next generation. Our life can be one filled with purpose and blessing if we would seek Him alone with our heart, mind and soul.

Psalm 96

Psalms 96:1 Oh sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth! Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength! Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts! Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth! Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.” Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the LORD, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness.

Steven Cole commented on this Psalm: John Piper, who begins Let the Nations be Glad! ([Baker Academic], 2nd ed., p. 17) by saying, “Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man.” He adds (ibid.), “The goal of missions is the gladness of the peoples in the greatness of God.”

He is right that worship is the goal of missions. But it’s also true that worship is the basis for missions. If we are not fervent worshipers of God, we have nothing to tell the nations. If we do not exude joy in God and His wonderful salvation, why should lost people be interested in what we have to say? So worship is both the goal of missions and the foundation for missions. If we’re not worshipers, we will be lousy witnesses.

Psalm 96 is a call to tell the nations about God’s glory and His great salvation. It follows on Psalm 95, which describes the stubborn hard-heartedness of Israel in the wilderness, in spite of God’s goodness towards them (C. H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David [Eerdmans], 4:336). It was the same hardhearted nation that later rejected her Messiah, leading to the gospel going out to the Gentiles (Matt. 21:43; Acts 13:46). So Psalms 95 & 96 form a pair, showing Israel’s rejection of the gospel and the subsequent missionary task of proclaiming the gospel to the Gentiles.

Obedience to the Truth

“The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness”

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

John 15:11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

Isaiah 53:11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.

Jeremiah 33:9 And this city shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth who shall hear of all the good that I do for them. They shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the prosperity I provide for it.

1 John 1:4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

1 Peter 1:8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,

Romans 12:10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

Ephesians 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

1 Peter 1:22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,

1 Peter 3:8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.

“But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”

Obedience to the truth is fundamental for us to continue on a path that honors God. Where do we find truth and once you find it what good is it? Jesus Christ is truth – “I am the way, the truth, and the life”. “No one comes to the Father except through me.” Through Christ we are saved and not of our own works but by His grace, mercy and love. When this truth is believed redemption, salvation and new life are born. – “you are a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself ” – “He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age.” – “he will guide them to springs of living water and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” – “my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation” – “You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word. … You are my shelter and my shield” – “I will be glad in the Lord, my joy will be in the God of my salvation” – “And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” spend time in His word and learn of His love, purpose and plan for your life. Humbly serve, honor, glorify, rely on, cling to, trust in, follow and obey.