Tag: Zion

9.q. “You will be visited by the LORD of hosts with thunder and with earthquake and great noise”

Amos 1:1   The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. And he said: “The Lord roars from Zion and utters his voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the top of Carmel withers.”

Zechariah 14:5    And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.

Isaiah 29:6   you will be visited by the LORD of hosts with thunder and with earthquake and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire.

Amos speaks of a pending earthquake that affects the region.  When looking at archeological findings from 1955 through the present day, many confirm a massive earthquake that took place during this time.  Warnings were given to the people of God.  Prophets were sent to proclaim the coming of God’s judgment because of their wayward living and neglect of following and obeying Him.  You have to wonder how many people listened and changed their lives because of the prophet’s warning.  At the same time, you have to wonder how many did not.   After all the times were good and prosperous.  Does a man ever change?  Does a man ever listen?  Are we seeking and desiring God to speak into our lives?  Are we any different than those who did not listen?  God’s Word is full of promises of both blessings and warnings of judgment.  We do well to spend time in His Word with a desire to have Him speak into our heart and soul and lead us on paths that honor and glorify Him.  Do not rest in prosperity and ease of life as time passes by.  We never know the time in which God will call people and nations into account of their complacency and neglect.

9.o. “Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak.”

Joel 3:17  “So you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain. And Jerusalem shall be holy, and strangers shall never again pass through it. “And in that day the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the streambeds of Judah shall flow with water; and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord and water the Valley of Shittim. “Egypt shall become a desolation and Edom a desolate wilderness, for the violence done to the people of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. But Judah shall be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem to all generations. I will avenge their blood, blood I have not avenged, for the Lord dwells in Zion.”

Zephaniah 3:14-16     Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!  The LORD has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil.  On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak.

We live in a time when it is hard to see God’s hand at work in our world.  But if this pandemic is not from the hand of God then what are we thinking it can be from.  God is sovereign and has plans and purposes far above our understanding.  Do we think He needs to explain what He is doing for our approval?  The fact that we do not know should not lead us away from God.  Whatever His plans, whatever His purpose, we can rejoice in the fact that He is our God.  He loves us.  He sent His Son to redeem us.  He called us unto Himself.  He has promised eternal life.  He has promised us refuge, hope, peace, rest, love, power, and courage through faith in Him alone no matter what the circumstance.  We are to rejoice in Him.  In times of trials, our voices of praise and worship of God should grow louder, not weaker.  Our trust and faith are more strong. Our resolve to trust Him more, more firm.  Our home is not here.  Our home and destination is in heaven with Jesus Christ.  I wonder if we too often consider this our home and lose focus and vision of our eternal home.

No matter what comes our way we can be assured God is in control and His plans and purposes will be accomplished.  We can be assured of this.

9.m. “For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.”

Joel 3:9  Proclaim this among the nations: Consecrate for war; stir up the mighty men. Let all the men of war draw near; let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, “I am a warrior.” Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves there. Bring down your warriors, O Lord. Let the nations stir themselves up and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Go in, tread, for the winepress is full. The vats overflow, for their evil is great. Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. The Lord roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth quake.  But the Lord is a refuge to his people, a stronghold to the people of Israel.

The valley of decision grabbed ahold of my attention. It is not as though these people are making a decision to seek God, repent, and turn to Him.  They have made their decision to reject Jesus Christ.  they have made their decision to do battle against Jesus Christ.  Their decision is what warrants God’s decision of judgment, wrath, and anger.  It is their decision just like it is for each of us.  We can come to Him but have we made a decision with all of our hearts, mind, soul, and strength to rely upon, trust, honor, follow, and obey Him?  Have we made a decision to listen to Him through how the Holy Spirit speaks to us through His Word?  Have we made a decision to deny self and self-reliance?  Have we made a decision to be humble?  Have w made a decision to seek how we might honor Him in all we say, think, and do?  This is a bit out of context but, it is time for us to come up out of the valley of decision and clearly put this behind us by making the decision for how we serve, honor, trust, obey and follow Jesus Christ.

9.j. “Fear not, O land;  be glad and rejoice, for the Lord has done great things!

Joel 2:18  Then the Lord became jealous for his land and had pity on his people. The Lord answered and said to his people, “Behold, I am sending to you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations.

Joel 2:21  “Fear not, O land;  be glad and rejoice, for the Lord has done great things!

Joel 2:23  “Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given the early rain for your vindication;

Joel 2:26 “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied , and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame. You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame.

I am sure we have not seen the full impact of Covid-19 in the US.  Listening to people and their anger, fear, and worry seems to be placed on the measures put in place to slow the spread of the impact, how it has impacted their lives, hoarding that makes it hard to get supplies and their employment.  I heard someone say if he looked at this within his own family is seems almost unfair but that we are all in this together and what impacts him impacts others as well.  I think he had the right mind for the situation we are all in.

God is in control and His plans are never wrong.  I don’t understand what the world is going through but I wondered if this could be a call or final calling to all the people of the world to return to Him, seek Him, and trust in Him.  We seek and want to believe this is a “one-off” thing in nature but this is nothing of the sort.  If it is God’s final call for people to turn to Him, know that the return of Christ is very near.  The day of tribulation is very near.  Think about the measures that are in place across the globe.  Would you ever think the nations of the world could agree on anything, but here we are.  All doing virtually the same thing to try to stop spread of this disease.  How long will it be is yet to be determined, no one knows but God.  Yet outside of Christian circles there is no sounding of the trumpet calling people to gather and seek God with repentant hearts.  How bad does it have to get before our eyes look to heaven?  It is only when we do that we will be glad and rejoice for the Lord’s removal of this disease among us.

So while we await the hand of God to do wondrous works over this situation we can still rejoice in Him, we can be kind to one another, we can do acts of kindness, and we can spread hope through Jesus Christ.

9.i. ‘Where is their God?’”

Joel 2:15  Blow the trumpet in Zion; consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly; gather the people. Consecrate the congregation; assemble the elders; gather the children, even nursing infants. Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her chamber. Between the vestibule and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep and say, “Spare your people, O Lord, and make not your heritage a reproach, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’”

The trumpet horn was used to awaken the people as well, to arouse them to get moving.  Many places we hear of the trumpet being used to signal the armies into battle.  The sound of the trumpet meant; “now we start”, “now we begin”, and for every man to fight with all their strength for their lives and the lives of their families.  All of the Jewish people knew that at the sound of the trumpet they all started as one unified unit.  Everyone knew their place and what they had to attack or defend.  Here we see Joel using the “Trumpet” as a call to urgently gather as one before God and seek His forgiveness and withdrawal of His judgment upon them.  The urgency in his prophecy is fully evident.  Elders, children, nursing infants, bridegroom, and bride are all to listen and urgently and humbly come before God with pleas of healing their land.  Joel had previously called the people to return to God and repent of their disobedience.  This call to sound the trumpet seals the call to return and repent with humble repentant hearts.  The trumpet call does no good to those who will not react to its sound.  It does no good to those who reject the thought of humbly coming before God.  It does no good to those who reject the thought of God being in control and can reverse the course of their trials and troubles.  But to those who hear the sound and humbly come before God with repentant hearts, they will see His mighty hand at work with renewed hope and trust.

9.f.  For the day of the LORD is near upon all the nations.

Joel 2:1   Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near

Isaiah 2:12    For the LORD of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low;

Ezekiel 7:5-7    “Thus says the Lord GOD: Disaster after disaster! Behold, it comes.  An end has come; the end has come; it has awakened against you. Behold, it comes.  Your doom has come to you, O inhabitant of the land. The time has come; the day is near, a day of tumult, and not of joyful shouting on the mountains.

Ezekiel 7:10     “Behold, the day! Behold, it comes! Your doom has come; the rod has blossomed; pride has budded.

Ezekiel 7:12     The time has come; the day has arrived. Let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn, for wrath is upon all their multitude.

Obadiah 1:15    For the day of the LORD is near upon all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head.

Malachi 4:1      “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.

1 Thessalonians 5:2     For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night

James 5:8     You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

1 Peter 4:7     The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.

Ezekiel 12:23     Tell them therefore, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: I will put an end to this proverb, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel.’ But say to them, The days are near, and the fulfillment of every vision.

There is a difference between “Day of the Lord” and “Coming of the Lord”.  “The Coming of the Lord” is the day the Lord comes back like a thief in the night.  He is not a thief to those who are expecting His return.  He is a thief to those who remain.  He comes to take His bride out of the coming of the “Day of the Lord”.  We know this as the rapture of all believers, dead or alive, to be changed and bodily be in His presence forever more.  These believers are those who came to an understanding of the gospel, their sin and separation from God, confessing and repenting of their sin, repenting and turning away from their  sinful nature, and expectantly looking too, trusting in, and relying on salvation through Jesus Christ.  This is not just words on their lips but deep in their heart, soul, and mind.  They are changed from the inside and live to humbly serve, honor, follow, trust, obey, and look for the “Coming of the Lord”.

There are those who reject their sin, sinful nature, and the need for redemption through Jesus Christ.  They find all they want in this world and do not look for the coming of the Lord.  They do not live to honor Him.  They live self-centered, self-reliant, and self-satisfying lives.  It is hard for them to see any need of Jesus Christ for their eyes are fixed on what this world offers and makes them happy.  Day after day they chase after that which can never satisfy their soul and they jump from one thing to another in hopes of finding inner peace, rest, and joy.  Their heart is hard to things of God, His Word, and the need for Jesus Christ.  There is no looking for the “Coming of the Lord”.  For them is reserved the “Day of the Lord”.  This is not going to be a time anyone would want to go through.  War, famine, disease, plagues, fires, earthquakes, floods, and the wrath and anger of Jesus Christ.  The “Day of the Lord” will surely come and will follow the “Coming of the Lord”.

Now is the time of Lord, the time of grace, mercy, hope, peace, rest, and a life with assurance of eternity in heaven.

6.g. People who have not soiled their garments,

Revelation 3:4   Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Isaiah 52:1    Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; for there shall no more come into you the uncircumcised and the unclean.

Isaiah 59:6   Their webs will not serve as clothing; men will not cover themselves with what they make. Their works are works of iniquity, and deeds of violence are in their hands.

Isaiah 61:10   I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Isaiah 64:6     We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

Jude 1:23    save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.

Luke 21:36    But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

We read of those who have not soiled their garments.  They walk in a way worthy of Jesus Christ and what He has done and is doing.  They conquered any fleshly desire to follow others in false teaching.  Do you ever wonder if your garments (your works, faith, thoughts, and words) are soiled?  Do you wonder if you have adopted what is culturally acceptable and are living in filthy garments before the Lord?  Do you think about what is clean and acceptable?  Do you think about doing what is worthy of the price that was paid for your sins?

Soft living, comfortable living, self-centered self-reliant living, and neglecting God’s Word are no help in keeping your garments unsoiled.  We would do well to be less influenced by the world and what it has to offer and be ever seeking and desiring to walk worthy of Jesus Christ.  Who would want your bride to come to the wedding in a dirty and messed up wedding dress?  The church (each of us) is the bride and we should want our garments to reflect our love and devotion to Jesus Christ the groom.

3. And all the people joined in the covenant.

2 Chronicles 29:1  Hezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abijah the daughter of Zechariah. And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.  In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. He brought in the priests and the Levites and assembled them in the square on the east and said to them, “Hear me, Levites! Now consecrate yourselves, and consecrate the house of the Lord, the God of your fathers, and carry out the filth from the Holy Place. For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done what was evil in the sight of the Lord our God. They have forsaken him and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord and turned their backs. They also shut the doors of the vestibule and put out the lamps and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the Holy Place to the God of Israel. Therefore the wrath of the Lord came on Judah and Jerusalem, and he has made them an object of horror, of astonishment, and of hissing, as you see with your own eyes. For behold, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, in order that his fierce anger may turn away from us. My sons, do not now be negligent, for the Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence, to minister to him and to be his ministers and make offerings to him.”

Ezra 10:3     Therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God, and let it be done according to the Law.

Nehemiah 9:38    “Because of all this we make a firm covenant in writing

Jeremiah 34:15   You recently repented and did what was right in my eyes by proclaiming liberty, each to his neighbor, and you made a covenant before me in the house that is called by my name,

Jeremiah 50:5    They shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, saying, ‘Come, let us join ourselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.’

2 Kings 23:3    And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant.

2 Chronicles 6:8    But the LORD said to David my father, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart.

Fathers do not determine the walk of their children when they are grown.  Fathers can do everything right and their child, when an adult, can take paths in their life that totally contrary to God and how they were raised.  Likewise, the fatter can do absolutely everything wrong and their child, when an adult, can take paths totally in line with God and now how they were raised.  Of course, the child can follow in their father’s footsteps as well for good or evil.

We see this over and over again throughout scripture.  We wonder why or how this happens.  We don’t have to look far to see it all around us and in our family or the family of friends.  Individually we make an intentional choice to honor, serve, follow, glorify, trust and obey Jesus Christ or we make an intentional choice not too.  We choose to seek God and His word or not.  We choose to deny self or not.  We choose to grow and mature in the gospel of Jesus Christ or not.  We choose how much activity we allow into our life that may interfere with our walk with Jesus Christ.  We choose how generous we will be.  We choose if we will allow ourself to be wronged and if we will forgive, and if we will be united with our body of believers.  We choose how we will spend our time.  We choose what we allow ourselves to think about.  We choose what we will say and how we will say it.  We choose every moment of every day whom we will follow.

We read scripture today on those who chose and committed to desire, seek and follow after God.  Be one who intentionally chooses to place God first and subject everything else to that commitment.

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.

Psalm 99

Psalms 99:1  The LORD reigns; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake! The LORD is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the peoples.  Let them praise your great and awesome name! Holy is he! The King in his might loves justice. You have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.   Exalt the LORD our God; worship at his footstool! Holy is he!  Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel also was among those who called upon his name. They called to the LORD, and he answered them. In the pillar of the cloud he spoke to them; they kept his testimonies and the statute that he gave them.  O LORD our God, you answered them; you were a forgiving God to them, but an avenger of their wrongdoings.  Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the LORD our God is holy!

Matthew Henry Commentary:

Still we are celebrating the glories of the kingdom of God among men, and are called upon to praise him, as in the foregoing psalms; but those psalms looked forward to the times of the gospel, and prophesied of the graces and comforts of those times; this psalm seems to dwell more upon the Old-Testament dispensation and the manifestation of God’s glory and grace in that. The Jews were not, in expectation of the Messiah’s kingdom and the evangelical worship, to neglect the divine regimen they were then under, and the ordinances that were then given them, but in them to see God reigning, and to worship before him according to the law of Moses. Prophecies of good things to come must not lessen our esteem of good things present.

I like how Matthew ends this commentary with the statement of good things to come and good things present.  Sometimes we get overwhelmed with the present and which, somehow, we were ushered into the presence of Jesus, leaving this world behind.  Our God reigns and we are not to forget that even in the present and what overwhelms us, we are to turns our eyes to Him alone.  He has said to lay our burdens on Him, we are to trust Him.