Hezekiah sends message to Isaiah the prophet          verse 1- 5

 And it came to pass – when king Hezekiah heard it – that he rent his clothes

and covered himself with sackcloth

and went into the house of the LORD

and he sent Eliakim – which was over the household

      and Shebna the scribe – and the elders of the priests

                  covered with sackcloth

                              to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz

And they said to him

Thus says Hezekiah

This day is a day of trouble – rebuke – blasphemy

for the children are come to the birth

and there is not strength to bring forth

It may be the LORD your God will hear all the words of Rab-shakeh

            whom the king of Assyria his master has sent to REPROACH

the living God – and will REPROACH the words

which the LORD your God has heard

                                                wherefore lift up your prayer for the

remnant that are left

So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah      

 Isaiah sends back message from the LORD                  verse 6- 7

 And Isaiah said to them

Thus shall you say to your master

Thus says the LORD

Be not afraid of the words which you have heard

                  with which the servants of the king of Assyria

have blasphemed ME

BEHOLD – I will send a blast upon him

and he shall hear a rumor

and shall return to his own land

And I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land

 

Assyria chief of staff returns to Assyria camp              verse 8 

So Rab-shakeh returned

and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah

for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish 

King of Assyria sends message to Hezekiah               verse 9- 13

 And when he heard say of Tirhkah king of Ethiopia

BEHOLD – he is come out to fight against you

      he sent messengers again to Hezekiah

saying

Thus shall you speak to Hezekiah king of Judah

saying

Let not your God in whom you trust deceive you

saying

Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria

BEHOLD- you has heard what the kings of Assyria

      have done to all lands – by destroying them

utterly and shall you be delivered?

            Have the gods of the nations delivered them

                        which my fathers have destroyed

as Gozan – Haran – Rezeph

and the children of Eden

which were in Thelasar?

            Where is the king of Hamath – and the king of Arpad

and the king of the city of Sepharvaim of

Hena and Ivah?          

 Hezekiah’s prayer to the LORD                                   verse 14- 19 

And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers

and read it

and Hezekiah went up into the house of the LORD

      and spread it before the LORD

And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD

and said

O LORD God of Israel

which dwell between the cherubim

YOU are the God

even YOU alone of all the kingdoms of the earth

      YOU have made heaven and earth

LORD – bow down YOUR ear – and hear – open – LORD

YOUR eyes and see – and hear the words of Sennacherib

      which has sent him to reproach the living God

Of a truth LORD – the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations

and their lands

And have cast their gods into the fire – for they were no gods

but the work of men’s hands wood and stone

      therefore they have destroyed them

Now therefore – O LORD our God – I beseech YOU

save YOU us out of his hand

that all the kingdoms of the earth

may know that YOU are the LORD God

even YOU only                                 

 Isaiah sends message of LORD to Hezekiah            verse 20- 28

 When Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah

saying

Thus says the LORD God of Israel

That which you have prayed to ME against Sennacherib

      king of Assyria – I have heard

This is the word that the LORD has spoken concerning him

The virgin the daughter of Zion has despised you

      and laughed you to scorn – the daughter of Jerusalem

has shaken her head at you

Whom have you reproached and blasphemed?

      and against whom have you exalted your voice

and lifted up your eyes on high?

                              even against the Holy One of Israel

By your messengers you have reproached the Lord

and have said

With the multitude of my chariots I am come up to the

      height of the mountains to the sides of Lebanon

                  and I will cut down the tall cedar trees thereof

                  and I will enter into the lodging of his borders

                  and into the forest of his Carmel

I have digged and drunk strange waters

      and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the

rivers of besieged places

Have you not heard long ago how I have done it

      and of ancient times that I have formed it?

                  now have I brought it to pass

                              that you should be to lay waste

fenced cities into ruinous heaps

Therefore their inhabitants were of small power

      they were dismayed and confounded

      they were as the grass of the field

and as the green herb

                              as the grass on the house tops

                  and as corn blasted before it

                              be grown up

BUT I know your abode – and your going out

and your coming in – and your rage against ME

BECAUSE your rage against ME and your tumult is come up

      into MINE ears

Therefore I will put MY hook in your nose

      and MY bridle in your lips

                  and I will turn you back by the way

                              by which you came 

Isaiah gives sign of truth of his message                 verse 29- 31

 And this shall be a SIGN to you

you shall eat this year such things as grow of themselves

and in the second year that which springs of the same

and the third year sow you – and reap

and plant vineyards

and eat the fruits thereof

                        and the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah

shall yet again take root downward

and bear fruit upward

            for out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant

                        and they that escape out of mount Zion

                                    the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this

 

Isaiah gives prophecy regarding king of Assyria    verse 32- 34

 THEREFORE thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria

            He shall not come into this city – nor shoot an arrow there

                        nor come before it with shield – nor cast a bank against it

            By the way that he came – by the same shall he return

                        and shall not come into this city – says the LORD

            For I will defend this city – to save it for MINE OWN sake

                        and for MY servant David’s sake 

Angel of the LORD kills Assyria army                       verse 35- 36

 And it came to pass that night

that the angel of the LORD went out

and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an

hundred fourscore and five thousand

            and when they arose early in the morning – BEHOLD

                        they were all dead corpses

So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed

and went and returned

                        and dwelt at Nineveh

 King of Assyria’s sons killed him                                  verse 37

 And it came to pass

as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god

that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons

smote him with the sword

and they escaped into

the land of Armenia

And Esar-haddon his son reigned in his stead 

COMMENTARY:           

DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers 

: 1        And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD. (8242 “sackcloth” [saq] means blanket, a coarse, dark-colored clothing probably made of the hair of goats, or other animals, typically indicative of mourning, the dress of mourners or dress of humiliation)

DEVOTION:  First things first when you have bad news come to your house. What is the first thing we should do with the new? It is taken it to the LORD in prayer. It should be the first thoughts that come to our head. We should not try to figure it out ourselves. We should turn it over to the LORD RIGHT AWAY.

Hezekiah was a good king. He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD. He wanted to know what to do and so he sent his elders to Isaiah for answers. Isaiah was the prophet at that time. He had the answer as soon as the men arrived with the question.

One of the signs that someone was humbling themselves before the LORD was to change their clothes or rip their clothes in grief. Then they were to put on clothes that were not comfortable and go to the LORD in prayer. In Hezekiah’s time he was to go to the LORD in the Temple. The Temple was the place where the LORD told the children of Israel HE would be if they humbled themselves before HIM.

Today we can go into our prayer closet at home or to our local church to pray for the LORD to give us guidance. We can encourage others to pray with us that we trust will be before the LORD and ask HIM to help us.

Prayer has to be an important part of our community group. Everyone needs a group of people who will come alongside when we are going through rough times. The LORD allows us to have trials to get our attention away from ourselves and our pleasure and place it on HIM and HIS pleasure for our lives.

We can lose our perspective many times when we forget to turn our challenges over to the LORD. It can be a simple test we might have to take in school or at work. It can be learning a new job. It can be getting along with our family. All these challenges today need prayer.

What are you praying about today? I am praying about my health and giving glory to the LORD throughout this time period. There are many who say it will not be an easy time but it is a time the LORD wants me to face and give HIM glory.

CHALLENGE: What is the LORD allowing in your life to draw you closer to HIM?

 

DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers 

: 10      Thus shall you speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. (5377 “deceive” means beguile, to cause someone to believe an untruth, to entertain false hopes, trick, delude, or cause someone to depart from correct behavior by craft and trickery)

DEVOTION:  Does the Creator of the Universe deceive those who believe in HIM? The world thinks this is true. They think that all believers are deceived into believing that they have power to overcome every trial and temptation because the LORD can give them this power.

We have the new group of atheists who are trying to have the parents of children who are believes have them taken away because they are training their children to trust in the LORD.

The Bible teaches and Godly parents teach that the LORD is going to deliver us from the arrows the enemy is sending our way if we put on the whole armor of God each day to fight off the attacks of the enemy. It is a daily duty to put on Jesus Christ. HE will protect us from our enemies. HE will give us victory over sin.

It seems at times that the work of the enemy is stronger than the work of the LORD. The army that was sitting outside Jerusalem looked unbeatable. However, one angel came and killed 185,000 soldiers in one night. It doesn’t seem possible but it is true.

So are battles might seems smaller than that number or at time larger than that number but numbers mean nothing to the LORD. When HE created the world HE was omnipotent and HE still is today.

HE never breaks a promise to HIS people. HE might not act in our timing but HE will act. HE might not do it the way we would like it done but HE will do it.

Our trust must come first if we are to see HIM work in our life. Never stop trusting the strength of the LORD to give victory over any enemy HE allows in our life.

CHALLENGE: The enemy might try to deceive us with words but the LORD will win with power. We have an Almighty God we serve.

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: 16      LORD, bow down your ear, and hear: open, LORD, your eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God. (2778 “reproach” [charaph] means to pull off, to expose, defame, blaspheme, defy, rail, or upbraid)

DEVOTION:  Hezekiah was challenged by the king of Assyria. The king of Assyria had sent a messenger stating that the God of Judah could not save them from his army. The messenger left a letter which Hezekiah took into the Temple to pray to the LORD concerning this issue. He also sent messengers to Isaiah the prophet to pray for the nations.

Here is a king doing the right thing. He asked the LORD for guidance and deliverance. He presented the facts to the LORD that this enemy had reproached HIS name. Also, that this enemy thought that the God of Judah was like the other gods of the other nations that were made of wood and stone.

One of the things that Hezekiah knew was that the letter was not written to him but to the LORD God of Israel. The king of Assyria felt that the LORD was not powerful enough to help Judah. He defied the living God of Judah. He knew that any army coming against the people of God were coming against the LORD. Israel was chosen as the people of God.

The ten tribes had gone into captivity because of their disobedience. Judah had some kings that did not love the LORD. There was judgment coming to Judah but not during the reign of Hezekiah because he was trying to serve the LORD.

When the letter came, he took it to the temple and placed it before the LORD. He wanted the LORD to handle the situation. He prayed to the LORD for help. He was in sackcloth. He was humbling himself before the LORD.

The LORD heard his prayer and answered. The army of the Assyrians was destroyed in one night. The number that died in one night was 185,000 soldiers of the enemy. The LORD protects HIS children. Not sure if the angel of the LORD that killed all the soldiers was a THEOPHANY OF Jesus Christ but it demonstrated that if Jesus had wanted an army of angels to come and defeat the Roman soldier, they could have done it easily.

There are times when the circumstances seem to indicate that the LORD is not around. That is NEVER TRUE. HE is always around HIS children. HE allows things in our lives to help us understand that we are dependent on him.

Are we aware of this dependence or are we trying to conquer our circumstances on our own? Are we bringing the letters of our enemies before the LORD? Are we bringing all our needs before the LORD? HE is the ONLY LIVING GOD!!!!

CHALLENGE: Be willing to go into the presence of the LORD when difficulties arise in your life. Show your dependence on the LORD alone and see what happens. Don’t be like many Christians that only go to the LORD as a last resort.

DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers

: 19      Now therefore, O LORD our God, I beseech YOU, save YOU us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that YOU are the LORD God, even YOU only. (905 “only” [bad] means solitude, apart from, separation, alone, by itself, without regard to, besides, or uniqueness)

DEVOTION:  We don’t worship many gods but only ONE true God. HE alone is the one you can help those who call upon HIM.

In the Old Testament we read about false gods that are in all the nations around Israel. At times we find that the children of Israel worshiping false gods because they want to be like the people around them.

The LORD wants HIS people to be unique. HE wants them to realize that there is only one true God and HE is the One. HE is not willing to share HIS glory with any other. HE wants all the nations around Israel to realize that HE is the one protecting them. Even when they have been disobedient, HE still woes them back to HIMSELF. HE wants them to be one nation that is willing to follow HIM no matter what.

It is easy to worship false gods because they appeal to our sin nature. The children of Israel would worship and practice what the heathen nations did but it would not make them happy, just like it didn’t make the other nations happy. They were always looking to add new false gods to their nation.

We have a choice today as well. The ONE true God has sent JESUS to this world to provide a SAVIOR. The Bible teaches ONE GOD in three persons. We don’t completely understand this fact but it is a fact.

CHALLENGE: We need to believe what the Bible teaches about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit being ONE GOD. Understanding this fact is not easy for us to understand but it is taught throughout the Word of God. It is a belief we take by FAITH.

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: 37      And it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech aand Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of Armenia. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead. (5221 “smote” [nakah] means slay, kill, smite, strike, beat, vicious blow, or slaughter)

DEVOTION:  We have a king that didn’t believe in the LORD or what HE had to say. The LORD predicted through HIS prophet Isaiah that the army of Assyria would not take Jerusalem. HE predicted that the LORD would give a great victory.

This king believed in his own power and worshiped a false god. He thought he could conquer the world but in reality he didn’t even conquer his own family. He had chosen his younger son to become his heir over his two older sons. This caused them to be jealous and angry. They took the occasion of their father worshiping his false god to go in and kill him. He was predicted to die by the prophet Isaiah through a revelation from the LORD. It happened.

Family is to be the first ones to defend their parents. The Hebrews were commanded to honor their parents as one of the commandments. This was part of the Ten Commandments the LORD gave to HIS people in the wilderness.

If a child didn’t honor his parents they were to be brought before the elders of the city and if the charges were true they were to be stoned as rebellious children.

 How many children today would be stoned? We find that even some of the teachers in our public schools are telling their student that they don’t have to listen to their parents. They are told to report their parent and even hire a lawyer to declare themselves free of the parent even though the parents have to support them until they are twenty-one years old in some states.

Rebellion really doesn’t have to be taught as it is part of the sin nation that is in all of us. We want to be free from anyone having any power over us including God.

These two sons did what they wanted when they wanted but they ran when it was done because they knew their younger brother would seek their lives. Rebellion has consequences.

CHALLENGE: Are you disobeying the LORD by rebelling against your parents? The LORD wants us to honor our parent but not to the point of sinning against HIM.

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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:

BODY 

Chastity (Purity in living)

Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)

Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)

Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)

Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone) 

SOUL 

Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)

Frugality (wise use of resources)

Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)

Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)

Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God) 

SPIRIT 

Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)

Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)

Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level) 

Hezekiah wanted Israel to pray for the remnant   verse 4

Hezekiah prayed to the LORD                                verse 15- 19

            Wanted LORD to bow down HIS ear

            Hear

            Open HIS eyes

            Hear the words of Sennacherib

            Sent a reproach

            Only true God is the LORD

LORD answered his prayer                                     verse 20- 34

            Laughed Assyria king to scorn

            Assyrian king had reproached and

                        Blasphemed the LORD

            Assyrian king had exalted his voice

                        above the LORD

            LORD put a hook in his nose

            LORD going to bridle his lips

            Promises to bless Judah

 

Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)

Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group) 

            House of the LORD                                                  verse 1, 14

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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:

Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible) 

God the Father (First person of the Godhead) 

LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal)   verse 1, 4,                                                                                         6,  14- 17, 19- 21,                                                                                        23,  31- 33, 35

House of the LORD                                                        verse 1, 14

God – Elohim (Creator)                                                verse 4, 10,                                                                                             15, 16, 19, 20

LORD thy God                                                                 verse 4

Living God                                                                        verse 4, 16

LORD causing fall of king of Assyria                       verse 7

LORD God of Israel                                                       verse 15, 20

Dwells between the cherubims                                 verse 15

Creator of heaven and earth                                   verse 15

Living God                                                                     verse 16

LORD our God                                                              verse 19

LORD God                                                                     verse 19

Only God                                                                       verse 19

Holy One of Israel                                                      verse 22

Lord – Adonai (Master, Owner)                             verse 23

Creator of the World                                                verse 25

Hooked the nose of heathen                                   verse 28

Bridle the lips of the heathen                                verse 28

Zeal of the LORD of hosts                                       verse 31

LORD will defend the city                                       verse 34 

God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)

God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)

Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)    

Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil) 

Cherubim in the house of the LORD                      verse 15

Angel of the LORD                                                       verse 35

            Killed 185,000 soldiers killed 

Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation) 

Words of Rabshakeh

            reports words of King of Assyria                verse 4, 8

King of Assyria: Sennacherib                                  verse 4, 6-                                                                                                      13,  16- 20,                                                                                                  32, 36, 37

            Prayed against by Isaiah and King

            Departed from Judah

            While in the temple of Nisroch – his god

                        Killed by Adrammelech

                                    and Sharzer his sons

Tirhakah- king of Ethiopia                                      verse 9

King of Hamath                                                          verse 13

King of Arpad                                                             verse 13

King of city of Sepharvaim                                     verse 13

Kings of Hena and Ivah                                           verse 13

Kingdoms of the earth                                             verse 15

Camp of the Assyria’s – 185,000 killed                 verse 35

Esarhaddon – son of Sennacherib reigned          verse 37

 

Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels) 

Blasphemy                                                                    verse 3, 6, 22

Reproach the living God                                           verse 4, 16,                                                                                                        22, 23

Deceive                                                                           verse 10

gods of the nations                                                     verse 12, 18,                                                                                                       37

Exalted voice against the LORD                             verse 22

Lift up eyes against the LORD                                verse 22

Worshiping in the house of false god                   verse 37

Murder of father                                                        verse 37 

Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins) 

Day of trouble                                                              verse 3

Rebuke                                                                           verse 3

Be not afraid                                                                verse 6

Trust                                                                              verse 10

Truth                                                                             verse 17

Save                                                                               verse 19, 34

Sign                                                                                verse 29

Deliverance                                                                verse 34

Servant                                                                        verse 34 

Israel (Old Testament people of God) 

Hezekiah – King of Judah                                       verse 1- 4, 9

            Rent his clothes

            Covered himself with sackcloth

            Went to the house of the LORD

            Sent Eliakim – over his household

            Sent Shebna – the scribe

            Sent Elders of the priests

            Day of trouble, rebuke, blasphemy

            Word from king of Assyria

            Received letter from king of Assyria

            Took letter to house of the LORD

                        Spread it before the LORD

Isaiah  – son of Amoz                                               verse 2, 5, 20

            Prophet

            Talks to servants of king

Servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah          verse 5

Hezekiah received a letter                                       verse 14

            Read it

            Went to the house of the LORD

            Prayed: hear and see

David                                                                              verse 34

Church (New Testament people of God)

Last Things (Future Events)

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QUOTES regarding passage

The second event the text mentions occurs ca. 681 b.c., long after the invasion. As Hubbard explains, “Apparently, Sennacherib had bypassed his older sons to designate his youngest son, Esarhaddon, as heir-apparent. Though details remain unclear, extrabiblical records suggest that those bypassed killed him in an attempted coup.”⁷⁵ Isaiah’s predictions have all come true now. Sennacherib has heard a rumor, has gone home, and has now been killed (cf. 2 Kgs 19:7). In other words, Isaiah’s predictions are not just short-term in nature, they also cover long-term events. Thus, God is in control of all occurrences. Nothing happens outside the Lord’s realm of authority, not even if it has no direct impact on Israel because contrary to Sennacherib’s words the Lord is not a local deity nor a mere idol. (House, P. R. (1995). 1, 2 Kings (Vol. 8, p. 372). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)

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19:37. Years later (in 681 b.c.) Sennacherib was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch. This Assyrian deity was represented as being part eagle and part human. The temple was probably in Nineveh, Assyria’s capital. There the king fell prey to the plot of assassins, two of his own sons. Ironically his god was not able to deliver him even in its temple. The murdering sons fled to the land of Ararat (Armenia), about 300 miles north of Nineveh. Armenia is now divided between Russia, Turkey, and Iran. Another son, Esarhaddon (681–669 b.c.), succeeded Sennacherib as king. Thus the word of the Lord (v. 7) came to pass. (Constable, T. L. (1985). 2 Kings. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 578). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)

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FROM MY READING: 

(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)

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THE OBITUARY OF MRS. PRAYER MEETING (Friday Church News Notes, December 8, 2017, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) – The following anonymous piece has appeared in various publications, and though written “tongue in cheek,” it accurately and frightfully describes the prayer ministry of too many supposedly Bible-believing churches: “Mrs. Prayer Meeting died recently at the First Neglected Church on Worldly Avenue. Born many years ago in the midst of great revivals, she was a strong, healthy child, fed largely on testimony and Bible study, soon grew into worldwide prominence, and was one of the most influential members of the famous church family. For the past several years, Mrs. Prayer Meeting has been failing in health, gradually wasting away until rendered helpless by stiffness of knees, coldness of heart, inactivity and weakness of purpose and will power. At the last she was but a shadow of her former happy self. Her last whispered words were inquiries concerning the strange absence of her loved ones now busy in the markets of trade and places of worldly amusements. Experts, including Dr. Works, Dr. Reform, and Dr. Joiner, disagreed as to the cause of her fatal illness. They had administered large doses of organizations, socials, contests and drives, but to no avail. A postmortem showed that a deficiency of spiritual food, coupled with a lack of faith, heartfelt religion, and general support, were contributing causes. Only a few were present at her death, sobbing over memories of her past beauty and power. In honor of her going, the church doors will be closed on Wednesday nights, except the third Wednesday night of each month when the Ladies Pink Lemonade Society serves refreshments to the Men’s Handball Team.” It has rightly been said that “a prayerful life is always a powerful life; and a prayerless life is always a powerless life.”

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Bank Breakers

Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share. 1 TIMOTHY 6:18

If you could leave each of your children one million dollars as an inheritance, would you?

I imagine that for most of us, our first response to this question would be favorable. After all, the Bible says, “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children” (Proverbs 13:22). But there’s more to blessing our kids than leaving behind large quantities of money for them. In fact, far too many adults who receive an inheritance windfall act like lottery winners, unable to handle the pressure and temptation of having too much all at once.

So perhaps this would be a good time to ensure that the financial priorities and perspectives you’re handing down to your children are anchored in a biblical foundation. Teach them:

1. God owns it all. Some in the Christian community have taught their children that the tithe (10 percent) is the Lord’s, but the other 90 percent is theirs to spend as they please. Our children need to learn that money is the EKG of our hearts—a track record of what we value.

2. Giving is the privilege and the responsibility for every follower of Christ. There’s more than one way to instruct your children to give. My dad used to sit down at our dinner table and make out his check for the church every Sunday. He never said a word to me about giving, but he modeled how to give. Our children need to see us setting aside portions of our income to help Kingdom causes and needy people. Allowing them to participate in these decisions offers them hands-on, generational training in how good it feels to give.

Leaving your children an inheritance is more than just giving them money.

Give and train them with the ultimate inheritance: God’s perspective on money. (Moments with You Couples Devotional by Dennis and Barbara Rainey)

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Given the global pandemic, this seems like a particularly bad time to run a survey on church membership. Nevertheless, Gallup recently released a poll suggesting that the number of Americans who belong to a church, synagogue, or mosque has fallen below 50 percent for the first time since 1937, when the organization began tracking those numbers.

In fact, more than half the respondents to this poll didn’t merely give up their church membership. They gave up their religion, and now identify as “none,” as in “no religious preference.”  Or, as my colleague Shane Morris put it in a recent podcast conversation with writer Samuel James, these folks haven’t just left the room of denominational preference, they’ve left the house of collective faith.

A number of separate but related cultural trends are at work. For example, an organization called The Witness, an online community of African-American Christians, recently launched the hashtag “#LeaveLoud.” Through podcast episodes and online articles, The Witness encourages black Christians to not only leave “predominantly white or multiethnic” churches if they’ve been dishonored, but to be vocal about it, inside and especially outside the church.

Of course, there are such things as abuse or crooked doctrine which warrant leaving a congregation. Specifically, plenty of our African-American brothers and sisters have been neglected or hurt by fellow Christians, either directly or indirectly. And, depending on the context, church leaders should be made aware of things that justify a departure.

Still, much of what we are seeing is part of an I’m-leaving-church-and-please-watch-me-leave movement. Being noisy about joining the “exvangelicalism” movement is not only a popular thing to do, it’s a way to be popular. In fact, after a few years of watching people “leave loud,” I see at least a few troubling themes emerge.

Almost without fail, a person leaving a church loud will cite bad or hurtful behavior by the people or leadership at the church. And of course, no one wants to stick around where they are mistreated. However, in a culture that has widely embraced moralistic therapeutic deism, many think that being morally challenged, or anything that falls short of all-out affirmation, counts as “personal harm.” (Break Point)

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Judges 7

God uses Gideon’s 300 men to rout the entire Midianite army.

INSIGHT

“Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit” is the work of the Lord accomplished (Zechariah 4:6). Few stories illustrate that principle more clearly than that of Gideon and his army of 300. God wants prepared men to fight His battles with His weapons in His way. His weapons are not earthly but spiritual. His ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. We want to offer God our strength and our weapons and our insight but He does not need them. We need Him. Rather than trying to get God to accept our plans, strategies, and goals, we ought to strive to understand His. His way is the way of victory.  (Quiet Walk)

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GOD’S REVELATION

…the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. 1 Corinthians 1:21
Salvation is something that comes altogether from God. And when we put it like that, do we not see very clearly why it is that so many people reject it? The natural man dislikes the whole idea of revelation. Why? Because he is wise and prudent, so full of his own intellect and understanding. He boasts, “I am not going to be treated like a child. I have it within me and in my own power to arrive at any knowledge that I may desire.” Revelation gives the lie to that.
But men and women do not like that, and Paul puts it like this in 1 Corinthians 1:21: When “the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.” Here is a great principle, and if we are wrong at this point, how can we be right anywhere else? The gospel starts by proclaiming that it is a way of salvation. Its message is not something that man has thought of or achieved, but something that comes out of the mind of God. It is something that God shows and gives, that He has revealed; it is altogether from His side, and man contributes nothing to it.
Why is God’s way of salvation a matter of revelation? One of the reasons why it must be revelation and not discovery is the greatness of God. “I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast…revealed….” Oh, how easy it is to talk cleverly about God and to understand the philosophy of God, to have our religious arguments and discussions. But isn’t half our trouble that we forget altogether who God is and what He is? From eternity to eternity, He is the Creator and sustainer of everything that is.
A Thought to Ponder: The gospel is altogether from God’s side, and man contributes nothing to it.   (from The Heart of the Gospel, p. 112, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

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Things Worth Knowing
“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2)
Although the book of 1 John is well known for its use of the word “love,” various words such as “know,” “perceive,” and “behold” occur almost as often.
Several of these words refer to the work of Christ in salvation. “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins” (1 John 3:5). “We know that we have passed from death unto life” (1 John 3:14), and “hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us” (1 John 3:16). This knowledge brings great comfort and assurance: “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life” (1 John 5:13).
This knowledge should bring us into a life of submission and service: “But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him” (1 John 2:5). Similarly, “he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us” (1 John 3:24; see also 1 John 4:13).
This gives us confidence in prayer: “And this is the confidence that we have in him,…if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us,…we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him” (1 John 5:14-15).
The culmination of a life marked by salvation, assurance, empowering, and victory will be that we will be with Him and be like Him. “Behold [same word as ‘know’], what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God” (1 John 3:1).  (JDM, The Institute for Creation Research)

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Listening to Wise Advice

The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.

Proverbs 12:15

During the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln once found himself wanting to please a politician, so he issued a command to transfer certain Union Army regiments. When the secretary of war, Edwin Stanton, received the order, he refused to carry it out. He said that the president was a fool. Lincoln was told what Stanton had said, and he replied: “If Stanton said I’m a fool, then I must be, for he is nearly always right. I’ll see for myself.” As the two men talked, the president quickly realized that his decision was a serious mistake, and without hesitation he withdrew it. Though Stanton had called Lincoln a fool, the president proved wise by not digging in his heels when Stanton disagreed with him. Instead, Lincoln listened to advice, considered it, and changed his mind.

Have you ever encountered someone who simply wouldn’t listen to wise advice? (See 1 Kings 12:1–11.) It can be infuriating, can’t it? Or, even more personal, have you ever refused to listen to advice? As Proverbs 12:15 says, “The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.” People may not always be right, but the same goes for us! Knowing that everyone makes mistakes, only fools assume they’re the exception. Instead, let’s exercise godly wisdom and listen to the wise advice of others—even if we initially disagree. Sometimes that’s exactly how God works for our good (v. 2).

              (By Con Campbell, Our Daily Bread Ministries)

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