spoil – Praying Pint

49.j. Wilderness – 13.p. “The LORD our God gave all into our hands.”

Deu 2:26-36 “So I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon the king of Heshbon, with words of peace, saying, ‘Let me pass through your land. I will go only by the road; I will turn aside neither to the right nor to the left. You shall sell me food for money, that I may eat, and give me water for money, that I may drink. Only let me pass through on foot, as the sons of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did for me, until I go over the Jordan into the land that the LORD our God is giving to us.’ But Sihon the king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him, for the LORD your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, that he might give him into your hand, as he is this day. And the LORD said to me, ‘Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land over to you. Begin to take possession, that you may occupy his land.’ Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Jahaz. And the LORD our God gave him over to us, and we defeated him and his sons and all his people. And we captured all his cities at that time and devoted to destruction every city, men, women, and children. We left no survivors. Only the livestock we took as spoil for ourselves, with the plunder of the cities that we captured. From Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and from the city that is in the valley, as far as Gilead, there was not a city too high for us. The LORD our God gave all into our hands.

Because of this refusal, Israel fought a battle recorded in Numbers 21. They simply asked for safe passage through the land of the Amorites, but they were refused. God worked behind the scenes in hardening the heart of Sihon, the King of the Amorites. It was right for God to do this because the Creator has the right to do whatever He pleases with His creatures. But it was also right because of the way God did it. God did not persuade a reluctant Sihon to act out against Israel; God simply let Sihon’s heart take the evil way it wanted to take. God did not change Sihon’s heart from good to bad but hardened it in its malice towards Israel. God hardened the heart of Sihon. God led Sihon into the destructive course that his heart desired so that the land of the Amorites became the possession and inheritance of Israel. The war against the Amorites was one of the unique wars of judgment God told Israel to fight. In it, Israel was not just to defeat the Amorites on the field of battle, but to bring judgment against their whole society. Thirty-eight years before, Israel refused to go into the Promised Land because they felt they were over-matched militarily. Here, when they began to enter the land by faith, God showed them how it could have been 38 years before – if they had only believed Him. “there was not one city too high for us.” The high walls of the Canaanite cities had intimidated Israel 38 years before (see Deuteronomy 1:28). But walking in faith, they were now nothing before the LORD. (Guzik)

40.c. “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf”

Genesis 49:27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning devouring the prey and at evening dividing the spoil.”

Deuteronomy 33:12    Of Benjamin he said, “The beloved of the LORD dwells in safety. The High God surrounds him all day long, and dwells between his shoulders.”

Judges 3:15-29     Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD, and the LORD raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man.

Jeremiah 5:6   Therefore a lion from the forest shall strike them down; a wolf from the desert shall devastate them. A leopard is watching their cities; everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces, because their transgressions are many, their apostasies are great.

It is plain Jacob was guided in what he said by a spirit of prophecy, and not by natural affection, else he would have spoken with more tenderness of his beloved son Benjamin, concerning whom he only foretels that his posterity should be a warlike tribe, strong and daring; and that they should enrich themselves with the spoil of their enemies; that they should be active in the world, and a tribe as much feared by their neighbours as any other. (Benson)

Benjamin is described as a wolf who is engaged morning and evening, that is, all day long, in hunting after prey. He was warlike by character and conduct Judges 20-21, and among his descendants are Ehud, Saul, and Jonathan. (Barnes)

we have an early instance of the valour and success of this tribe in a war waged with all the other tribes, and in two pitched battles, in one with 26,000 men it beat 400,000, Judges 20:15, and if this tribe is compared to a wolf for rapaciousness, this may be illustrated by the remainder of those, after the loss of a third battle, catching and carrying away the daughters of Shiloh, and making them their wives, Judges 21:23. Some apply this to particular persons of this tribe, as to Saul the first king of Israel, who was of Benjamin; and who as soon as he took the kingdom of Israel, in the morning, in the beginning of that state, fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, Ammon, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines, and the Amalekites, 1 Samuel 14:47 and to Mordecai and Esther, who were of the same tribe, who after the captivity, and in the evening of that state, divided the spoil of Haman, Esther 8:1 this is observed by Jarchi, Aben Ezra, and Ben Gersom. Some of the Christian fathers have applied the prophecy to the Apostle Paul, who was of the tribe of Benjamin; who in the morning of his youth was a fierce and ravenous persecutor, and made havoc of the church of God: and in the evening, or latter part of his life, spent his days in dividing the spoil of Satan among the Gentiles, taking the prey out of his hands, turning men from the power of Satan unto God, and distributed food to the souls of men. In a spiritual sense he was a warlike man, a good soldier of Christ, and accouted as such, had a warfare to accomplish, and enemies to fight with; and did fight the good fight of faith, conquered, and was more than a conqueror through Christ. (Gill)

“Benjamin – which tears in pieces; in the morning he devours prey, and in the evening he divides spoil.” Morning and evening together suggest the idea of incessant and victorious capture of booty (Del.). The warlike character which the patriarch here attributes to Benjamin, was manifested by that tribe, not only in the war which he waged with all the tribes on account of their wickedness in Gibeah (Judges 20) (Keil and Delitzsch)

16.y. “Who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness”

John 10:16 So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?” Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

Isaiah 53:10-12     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.  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.  Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

Philippians 2:6-8     who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,  but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Titus 2:14    who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

It is hard to imagine the grace, mercy, and love Jesus Christ willingly poured out on the world. The King of kings, Lord of Lords, Son of God, chose obedience to God the Father and willingly and with joy, went to the cross to bear our sins. Jesus had full authority to choose obedience to God’s will. He chose to give us life through His death and resurrection. It is good for us to remember the great price that was paid by the King of kings, Lord of Lords, Son of God. He did this for each individual person, yes YOU.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

Though the offer/gift of grace, mercy, love, forgiveness, redemption, and salvation is offered to everyone it is not accepted, received, or believed by everyone. Many reject and deny this gift. Condemnation and eternal punishment await everyone who rejects and denies the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. Today is the day of salvation. Trust in, cling to, and rely on Jesus Christ.

2.t. Yet he sent prophets among them to bring them back to the Lord. These testified against them, but they would not pay attention.

2 Chronicles 24:1 Joash was seven years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. And Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest. Jehoiada got for him two wives, and he had sons and daughters.

2 Chronicles 24:15 But Jehoiada grew old and full of days, and died. He was 130 years old at his death. And they buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, and toward God and his house. Now after the death of Jehoiada the princes of Judah came and paid homage to the king. Then the king listened to them. And they abandoned the house of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherim and the idols. And wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs. Yet he sent prophets among them to bring them back to the Lord. These testified against them, but they would not pay attention.

Then the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, and he stood above the people, and said to them, “Thus says God, Why do you break the commandments of the Lord, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the Lord, he has forsaken you.’” But they conspired against him, and by command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the Lord. Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness that Jehoiada, Zechariah’s father, had shown him, but killed his son. And when he was dying, he said, “May the Lord see and avenge!” At the end of the year the army of the Syrians came up against Joash. They came to Judah and Jerusalem and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people and sent all their spoil to the king of Damascus. Though the army of the Syrians had come with few men, the Lord delivered into their hand a very great army, because Judah had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers. Thus they executed judgment on Joash. When they had departed from him, leaving him severely wounded, his servants conspired against him because of the blood of the son of Jehoiada the priest, and killed him on his bed.

We can never underestimate the influence of those we allow ourselves to associate with. You would have thought Joash would have been firm in his walk with the Lord. He was led and counseled by the high priest Jehoiada from the time he was 7 yrs old and had become king. Joash did right in the eyes of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada. It is not as though Joash did not know what it meant to lead the people in full commitment to the Lord. He knew what was right yet still chose to listen to the princes of Judah and abandon the house of the Lord. They chose to worship idols and Joash followed along willingly. Even when Zechariah the son of Jehoiada, being led by the Spirit of God, called them out on their falling away, Joash chose to not listen and had Zechariah stoned.

Do you ever wonder how it is possible to have tasted the love, guidance, joy, peace, and blessings of God and people turn away from Him? So it is when we are living in prosperity and have been blessed by God with joy and peace. We so easily don’t see the need anymore for God in our lives, and if we do it is at arm’s length. It is almost as though we keep Him on speed dial in case we need His help but other than that there is no humble service, honor, reliance, or listening for His leading in our lives. We might not admit it but we intentionally choose to do this.

Think about a time when chaos, confusion, uncertainty, and trials hit you hard. Were you not calling out to God with all your heart, mind, and soul? Weren’t you relying on and trusting in Him? Weren’t you constantly seeking Him? Now compare this time of your life and the earnestness in which you sought and flowed after God to how you are in times of peace, prosperity, and blessings. Is there a difference? Do you seek to be in His presence with the same level of intensity? Do you seek to hear Him speak into your life? Do you hunger and thirst for Him in the same way? If not, then confess it and repent and turn away from this lukewarm commitment. Remember the price that was paid. Remember the love of Jesus Christ willingly given for the redemption of your sin. Remember this world is not our home, we are only passing through. Remember are a child of the King and ought to live to honor Him.

No one is immune to the attacks on our heart, mind, and soul from either self or Satan. We need to take inventory of our heart, mind, and soul. We need to take inventory of the time we spend in His Word, the time we spend in prayer, the time we spend in honoring, the time we spend in listening, and time we spend in thought and action. His word should be on our heart, in our mind, and flooding our soul. Our ears should desire to hear Him speak into our life. Our eyes should be seeking to see His handiwork.

In all things, at all times, in all words, and in all action our lives should serve, honor, worship, glorify, follow, obey, trust in and rely on Jesus Christ. Keep Him first. Choose to walk each moment of every day with Him for these purposes because He is worthy of all honor, glory, and praise.

2.b. The Lord is with you while you are with him. If you seek him,

2 Chronicles 15:1 The Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded, and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The Lord is with you while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. For a long time Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest and without law, but when in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found by them. In those times there was no peace to him who went out or to him who came in, for great disturbances afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands. They were broken in pieces. Nation was crushed by nation and city by city, for God troubled them with every sort of distress. But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded.”

As soon as Asa heard these words, the prophecy of Azariah the son of Oded, he took courage and put away the detestable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities that he had taken in the hill country of Ephraim, and he repaired the altar of the Lord that was in front of the vestibule of the house of the Lord. And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were residing with them, for great numbers had deserted to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. They were gathered at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. They sacrificed to the Lord on that day from the spoil that they had brought 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep. And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul, but that whoever would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman. They swore an oath to the Lord with a loud voice and with shouting and with trumpets and with horns. And all Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and had sought him with their whole desire, and he was found by them, and the Lord gave them rest all around.

Even Maacah, his mother, King Asa removed from being queen mother because she had made a detestable image for Asherah. Asa cut down her image, crushed it, and burned it at the brook Kidron. But the high places were not taken out of Israel. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was wholly true all his days. And he brought into the house of God the sacred gifts of his father and his own sacred gifts, silver, and gold, and vessels. And there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa.

Asa listened to the prophet. He had open ears and mind to hear because he sought God with all his heart. We can know what to do and how to respond to many things from God’s word. Asa took courage from God’s word and took action accordingly. When God’s word is received by a person who is seeking God with all their heart, mind, and soul, they are moved by the leading of the Holy Spirit into action that would not have happened otherwise. Their inner being is renewed, strengthened and that which was worrying them is now faced with courage.

Note how the people of Israel came to live under the rule of Asa because they saw the Lord God was with him. Note how they responded with sacrifices unto God and entered into a covenant to seek the Lord with all their heart and all their souls. Anyone who would not do so should be put to death. They rejoiced over the oath that was given with all their heart and how they sought the Lord with their whole desire and He was found by them. They were given rest from all around because the Lord gave it to them and His hand of protection was over them.

Asa removed his mother from being queen mother because she made a detestable image. Asa was wholly true all his days.

It is one thing to commit to the Lord Jesus Christ, to come that first time loaded with sin and guilt, to come with a need to be forgiven, to come trusting in and relying on redemption, mercy, and grace through Jesus Christ. It is another thing to be wholly true all your days. What does it take to be wholly true? First is a desire and seeking that comes from deep in your heart, mind, and soul for God. Second, there is a desire and seeking to hear Him speak into your life. Third, there is a willingness to follow and obey what He says or has said. Fourth there is a turning away from that which is not pleasing to God. Following God with our whole heart, mind, and soul is not like making a New Years resolution that slowly drifts away after a time. No, it is a commitment that is fueled by an absolute need and want to be in His presence and knowing Him and doing that which honors Him. This commitment is renewed with each breath and brought into focus with each blink of the eye. This commitment is both the bread of life and living water for the soul. This commitment gives life to the heart and should and without it, no purpose and satisfaction are found.

2.a. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Chronicles 14:9 Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and 300 chariots, and came as far as Mareshah. And Asa went out to meet him, and they drew up their lines of battle in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. And Asa cried to the Lord his God, “O Lord, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O Lord, you are our God; let not man prevail against you.” So the Lord defeated the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. Asa and the people who were with him pursued them as far as Gerar, and the Ethiopians fell until none remained alive, for they were broken before the Lord and his army. The men of Judah carried away very much spoil. And they attacked all the cities around Gerar, for the fear of the Lord was upon them. They plundered all the cities, for there was much plunder in them. And they struck down the tents of those who had livestock and carried away sheep in abundance and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

Isaiah 8:9-10    Be broken, you peoples, and be shattered; give ear, all you far countries; strap on your armor and be shattered; strap on your armor and be shattered.  Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing; speak a word, but it will not stand, for God is with us.

Deuteronomy 32:39    “‘See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.

Psalms 60:12   With God we shall do valiantly; it is he who will tread down our foes.

1 Corinthians 15:57     But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Facing more than a million warriors from Ethiopia, Asa went out to do battle. It appears the first act was to call on the Lord God but in reality, their first act was “in Your name we have come against this multitude” and the second act was trust and reliance and the third act was crying out to God. But we really can’t put them in an order like this, can we? Without trust, there is no reliance. Without trust and reliance and an active seeking and desiring the presence of God and a willingness to act there would be no crying out to God.

Asa led the people in active and intentional worship and God-honoring living. This active and intentional want to be in the presence of God with all their thoughts toward humbly serving, following, trusting, obeying, and honoring Him.

Big battles are won before they begin when all of our heart, mind, and soul is seeking, desiring, and focused on God.

There is a big problem right now within the church, within our Christian culture, maybe even within us. We seem to live our daily lives apart from God until there is a battle line in front of us. Then, we cry out but our cry is not made with trust and reliance but rather with a last-ditch effort. We cry out because we have no hope in ourselves any and in this very surrender to God you would think we would learn this is the very place every waking moment our heart and soul and mind should anchor its self too.

In our full surrender, we find peace, joy, strength, power, might, and hope. You would think we would want to stay in this place and bask in the glory and holiness of God. You would think in this place is where we are satisfied and made whole and no other place would we find this satisfaction and filling of our heart, mind, and soul. But sadly we come into God’s presence and leave and come and go, come and go, rather than staying in His presence. We find Him all in all and then we leave. We find Him all-powerful and then we leave. We find Him steadfast in His love for us and we leave. We find Him sending Jesus Christ to redeem us and we come and taste the holiness of salvation and forgiveness but we so easily leave like a leave being carried away by a soft breeze.

Choose this day whom you will serve and be active and intentional about every moment of that day. Be sure every moment of that day reflects an active and internal choice to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in every word, thought, and action.

1a. Send them out of my sight, and let them go!

2 Kings 24:3 Surely this came upon Judah at the command of the Lord, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, and also for the innocent blood that he had shed. For he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord would not pardon

Psalms 106:38    they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood.

Isaiah 10:5-6     Woe to Assyria, the rod of my anger; the staff in their hands is my fury!  Against a godless nation I send him, and against the people of my wrath I command him, to take spoil and seize plunder, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.

Isaiah 45:7    I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the LORD, who does all these things.

Exodus 20:5   You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,

Joshua 23:15     But just as all the good things that the LORD your God promised concerning you have been fulfilled for you, so the LORD will bring upon you all the evil things, until he has destroyed you from off this good land that the LORD your God has given you,

Jeremiah 15:1-4    Then the LORD said to me, “Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my heart would not turn toward this people. Send them out of my sight, and let them go!  And when they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD: “‘Those who are for pestilence, to pestilence, and those who are for the sword, to the sword; those who are for famine, to famine, and those who are for captivity, to captivity.’  I will appoint over them four kinds of destroyers, declares the LORD: the sword to kill, the dogs to tear, and the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy.  And I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem.

I wonder if we see the depth of the verses “for the innocent blood that he shed”, “they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters”. When you look at abortion, is it not innocent blood that is being sacrificed for whatever reason imaginable under the sun. There are roughly 650,000 abortions reported to the CDC each year in the United States. That is over 1800 living babies that are destroyed/killed/murdered each day of the year. Are we not guilty of spilling innocent blood for the sake of convenience? It is a sad day when we don’t speak out against this tragedy and allow it to continue. The watered-down cowardly way people say “I do not support abortion, but I do support your right to choose” is nothing more than closing your eyes to the unborn and giving your approval to murder them.

We are a free nation with laws that allow murdering unborn children. How long will it be before God brings judgment against us? We call pornography – adult entertainment, pedophile – minor-attracted person, abortion-free choice, God is watered down to – some other higher power, and things that ought not to be done are called – progressive or alternative lifestyles. This is nothing more than people doing all that their sinful nature wants them to do. When do we take a stand and speak truth from the word of God about such wayward living? When do we call on the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to heal our land and rid us of these self-centered desires that keep quiet in the midst of the tragedy all around us.

Give us ears to hear, eyes to see, courage to act, and strength to complete your purpose oh God.

200. I will devote them to destruction, and make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting desolation.

2 Kings 24:1 In his days, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him. And the Lord sent against him bands of the Chaldeans and bands of the Syrians and bands of the Moabites and bands of the Ammonites, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by his servants the prophets. Surely this came upon Judah at the command of the Lord, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, and also for the innocent blood that he had shed. For he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord would not pardon

2 Kings 20:17    Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the LORD.

2 Kings 21:12-14     therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such disaster that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle.  And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria, and the plumb line of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down.  And I will forsake the remnant of my heritage and give them into the hand of their enemies, and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies,

Jeremiah 25:9   behold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, declares the LORD, and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I will devote them to destruction, and make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting desolation.

Jeremiah 26:20     There was another man who prophesied in the name of the LORD, Uriah the son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim. He prophesied against this city and against this land in words like those of Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 32:28    Therefore, thus says the LORD: Behold, I am giving this city into the hands of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall capture it.

Micah 3:12    Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,

Deuteronomy 28:49-50   The LORD will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, swooping down like the eagle, a nation whose language you do not understand,  a hard-faced nation who shall not respect the old or show mercy to the young.

Isaiah 13:5     They come from a distant land, from the end of the heavens, the LORD and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.

Do you ever wonder how something like this could happen, how it could be foretold, how it could be proclaimed, and the people would not or did not believe it? Warnings were given by numerous prophets about the pending judgment that was coming and yet these warnings were not taken seriously. Why does God give warnings about pending judgment as a result of our actions that lead Him to wrath and anger, and we give no thought to it? Do we think the prophecies are just made up fairy tales, or that they do not pertain to us?

The actions of King Manasseh lead the people away from God, but the judgment cannot fall just on the king alone. The people willing followed after him down paths that disregarded God’s love and warnings. There are numerous warnings about pending judgment for all who do not confess sin, repent and turn away from their sinful nature, and trust in the redemption found in and through the sacrifice Jesus Christ made on the cross. There are warnings and pending judgment coming to those who follow God with their mouth but not in their heart and mind. There are warnings and pending judgment coming to those who do not love and follow Jesus Christ with their whole heart, mind, and soul.

God’s grace, mercy, and love were demonstrated in and through Jesus Christ. If we choose to live in such a way that does not honor, glorify, worship, serve, follow, trust, and obey Jesus Christ then judgment is our reward with no redemption of our soul. There is a way to know if your whole heart, mind, and soul are loving Jesus Christ. If you thirst for His word, desire to have it speak into your heart and mind, long for His presence in all that you do and you are ever mindful of what you think, say, and do so as to do that which honors and glorifies Him, you meditate on His word, and you keep His word in your heart and mind, then you will know that this never-ending growth of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding is because you love and humbly serve Him with your whole heart, mind, and soul.

191. “For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

2 Kings 21:10 And the Lord said by his servants the prophets, “Because Manasseh king of Judah has committed these abominations and has done things more evil than all that the Amorites did, who were before him, and has made Judah also to sin with his idols, therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such disaster that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria, and the plumb line of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. And I will forsake the remnant of my heritage and give them into the hand of their enemies, and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies, because they have done what is evil in my sight and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day.”

Moreover, Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides the sin that he made Judah to sin so that they did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.

Daniel 9:12    He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled us, by bringing upon us a great calamity. For under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what has been done against Jerusalem.

1 Samuel 3:11     Then the LORD said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.

Jeremiah 19:3    You shall say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing such disaster upon this place that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle.

Amos 3:2   “You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.

Revelation 6:15-17    Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains,  calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb,  for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

Stepping away from God, turning away from God, blinding your eyes to seeing Him, closing your ears to hear Him will always lead us down paths far from God and sooner or later coming to a place where we start replacing our love and devotion to Him with love and devotion to the world and what it has to offer. We fool ourselves into thinking that we will not have consequences for our slow decline away from God. First, we lose focus and with this, we lose an ear to hear the leading of the Holy Spirit and with this, we become neglectful and complacent with God’s word, and when this happens we have lost the ability to have its influence in our lives. So what fills this void? Things of this world fill the void. Busyness fills this void. Sports, Netflix, Google, G-mail, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, FaceBook, work, hobbies, all chasing after things that will never satisfy and wonder why we feel empty and void of the power, strength, courage, hope, and Love of God.

There is no replacing God’s word and time with Him from our daily walk but by which there will be a missed opportunity for growth, a missed opportunity to hear Him speak into your heart, a missed opportunity to speak with Him.

Don’t miss a day with Him and His word.

My soul keeps your precepts

Psalms 119:161 Princes persecute me without cause, but my heart stands in awe of your words. I rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil. I hate and abhor falsehood, but I love your law. Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous rules. Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble. I hope for your salvation, O LORD, and I do your commandments. My soul keeps your testimonies; I love them exceedingly. I keep your precepts and testimonies, for all my ways are before you.

Difficult trials – even persecution by those in authority – would not make the Psalmist lose his awe of God’s word. He did not have a conditional appreciation of the word of God; he loved it in good times and bad.

I will go the length of saying that unless we do have deep awe of the word we shall never have high joy over it. Our rejoicing will be measured by our reverencing.” (Spurgeon)

“Do we praise God seven times a day? Do we praise him once in seven days?” (Spurgeon)

Keep the word of God not only with outward actions, but also with you soul. Do not be superficia,l but rather deeply root love and conformity to the word of God. In God’s word we find promises we can hope in, trust in, and cling to.