II Kings 24
Sin the LORD would not pardon verse 1- 4
In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up
and Jehoiakim became his servant three years
then he turned and rebelled against him
And the LORD sent against him bands of the
Chaldees – Syrians – Moabites – Ammon
and sent them against Judah to destroy it
according to the word of the LORD
which HE spoke
by HIS servants the prophets
Surely at the commandment of the LORD came this on Judah
to remove them out of HIS sight
for the sins of Manasseh
according to all that he did
and also for the innocent blood that he shed
for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood
which the LORD would not pardon
Record of the reign of Jehoiakim verse 5- 6
Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim – and all that he did
Are they not written in
the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers
and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead
King of Babylon takes land from Nile to Euphrates verse 7
And the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land
for the king of Babylon had taken from the river of Egypt
unto the river Euphrates all that pertained
to the king of Egypt
Jehoiachin evil reign lasted eight months verse 8- 9
Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign
and he reigned in Jerusalem three months
and his mother’s name was Nehushta
the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem
and he did that which was EVIL in the sight of the LORD
according to all that his father had done
Nebuchadnezzar captures Jerusalem verse 10- 12
At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
came up against Jerusalem – and the city was besieged
and Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
came against the city
and his servants did besiege it
And Jehoiachin king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon
he – his mother – his servants – his princes – his officers
and the king of Babylon took him
in the eighth year of his reign
Nebuchadnezzar leaves only the poorest in land verse 13- 14
And he carried out thence all the treasures of the
house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house
and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold
which Solomon king of Israel
had made in the temple of the LORD
as the LORD had said
and he carried away all Jerusalem – and all the princes
and all the mighty men of valor
even ten thousand captives
and all the craftsmen and smiths
none remained save the poorest sort of the people
of the land
Zedekiah made king of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar verse 15- 17
And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon – and the king’s mother
and the king’s wives – and his officers
and the mighty of the land
those carried he into captivity
from Jerusalem to Babylon
and all the men of might – even seven thousand
and craftsmen and smiths a thousand
all that were strong and apt for war
even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon
And the king of Babylon
made Mattaniah his father’s brother king in his stead
and changed his name to Zedekiah
Zedekiah’s evil reign lasted eleven years verse 18- 20
Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to reign
and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem
and his mother’s name was Hamutal
the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah
and he did that which was EVIL in the sight of the LORD
according to all that Jehoiakim had done
For through the anger of the LORD
it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah
until HE had cast them out from HIS presence
that Zedekiah rebelled
against the king of Babylon
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 4 And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the LORD would not pardon. (5545 “pardon” [calach] means forgive, to be indulgent towards, to be merciful, practice forbearance, remove guilt, or spare)
DEVOTION: The LORD is willing to forgive all those who repent of their sins and turn toward HIM in obedience. The ones HE can’t forgive are those who chose to rebel against HIS love. These individuals don’t care to establish a working relationship with the LORD. They just continue to sin even after they are warned of God by the prophets.
Today we have many individuals who want nothing to do with the LORD. They have been told about HIS love for them through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. They have been told that there is only one way to heaven and that is through Jesus Christ but they don’t care.
The New Testament informs us that there is only one unpardonable sin and that is not accepting Jesus Christ as personal Savior. No one can stand before the LORD at the Great White Throne Judgment and say they never had a chance to become a follow of Jesus Christ. Everyone will have a chance or more than one chance to make that commitment.
So here we have the LORD not giving individuals forgiveness because they have shed innocent blood which was the kings killing all those who were trying to honor the LORD.
In many nations there is innocent blood shed because those who are killed will not change their faith to another. They take a stand for Jesus Christ in a nation that doesn’t love Jesus Christ and it cost them their life and sometimes even the lives of their families.
If we are challenged to convert to another faith or die, what would we do? How strong is our faith when it faces this type of challenge?
CHALLENGE: There may be a day coming when you will have to make this choice. What will your choice be: die or change?
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 13 And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had said.(1964 “temple” [heykal] means palace, a building considered as the house or dwelling place of a deity where the deity could be worshiped, a large and magnificent building, outer sanctuary, or hall)
DEVOTION: Here we have a foreign king coming into Jerusalem taking all the precious things that the LORD had given to HIS people in the past. HE had provided a land for them. HE had provided a leader or king for them. HE had provided precious things for HIS people.
Yet they thought that they could forget HIM and that everything would stay the same. That is not how it works with the LORD. HE wants HIS people to worship HIM in spirit and in truth. HE wants to be the one they focus on each day of their lives. This was not happening in Israel and Judah.
Israel or the ten tribes were taking into captivity already and now it was time for Judah to go into captivity because they had followed the example of the ten tribes in worshiping false gods. Solomon toward the end of his reign had started to move away from worshiping the LORD alone. He had married women from other nations that brought their false gods into Jerusalem and it continued from the point on.
This is true even today. We find that there are many false doctrines or beliefs that have entered the church and because of this people are thinking more of themselves and their possessions than of God
Preachers are preaching a health and wealth gospel instead of gospel that is taught in the Word of God. God wants to bless us but it is not always with health and wealth. Sometimes there is suffering associated with serving the LORD. Sometimes we only have enough bread for the next day. HE wants us to depend on HIM to provide our every need but that doesn’t always mean that we will have health and wealth every day of our life.
There is more to live than the possessions that we own. HE wants us to concentrate on HIM and HE promise to provide all we need NOT all that we want.
CHALLENGE: The children of Judah concentrated on health and wealth and worshiped them as false gods. Pray that those who worship the LORD don’t fall into the same pitfall.
___________________________________________________________
: 14 And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valor, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land. (1803 “poorest” [dallah] means the unimportant, people without possessions or wealth considered as a group, helpless people, lowest, or people of little resources and of a low social status)
DEVOTION: When a nation took over another nation, they wanted to make them as weak as they could, so that, they would not be able to rebel against their new captors. This is what Nebuchadnezzar did. Remember we will be studying the book of Daniel and it was during this time that Daniel was taken to Babylon to start his ministry for the LORD.
Only the poorest of people who had no skill were left behind because they would be of no profit for the nation of Babylon. They were left to take care of themselves and not to rebel.
These were the people that nobody wanted. There are many groups of people today that seem to be left behind as far as the church is concerned. We need to make sure that we minister to those who are poor. The LORD wants us to help the poor in their distress.
We need to help teach the poor how to take care of themselves. As the saying goes we need to teach them to fish instead of just giving them fish. We need to educate those who are willing to learn a skill. We need to work with them the best we can to make sure they know that the LORD loves them and wants to work in their life just as much as HE wants to work in the lives of those who are able to take care of themselves through work.
There should not be any poor people left behind because we have not taken the time to present the gospel to them of the gift the LORD Jesus has provided for all no matter what their income level.
Are you and your church working with a city mission that honors the LORD by reaching those who are poor?
CHALLENGE: When the best are gone we need to refocus our ministry on the ones who are available.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 16 And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths a thousand, all that were strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon. (4525 “smiths” [macger] means metalworker, someone who works metal, especially by hammering it when it is hot and malleable, locksmith, fitter, artisan, builder of bulwarks, or maker of dungeons)
There are people who are fit for war. They are the strong in any society. They are able to think and act on their skills for protecting themselves and the nation they live in.
Nebuchadnezzar knew that if he took all those who had an aptitude for leading a rebellion against him there would be no rebellion. So he took them to Babylon to serve him.
We are all soldiers of the cross of Jesus Christ. We have an aptitude because the Holy Spirit is in us to help us fight against the wiles of the devil on a daily basis. Even in a foreign land we can fight against those who would want to take our faith away from us.
Daniel was in the land and his faith was strong. He was fighting the false gods of Babylon. He was warring against changing his life to fit into the life of the nation of Babylon. He would not change to fit in but had them fit into his lifestyle.
We need to realize that there is a war going on and our enemy wants us to not fight him but to accept what he wants us to do in our society. This is not what the LORD wants. HE wants us to fight any teaching that would compromise our stand for HIM.
We are to be part of the valiant men of the nation. We have to continue to fight for the LORD whether we are here or put in a place where we are not allowed to worship as we see fit. The battle is real and we need to be willing to not give in to the society we are living in if it is not pleasing to the LORD. It might cost us our lives but faithfulness is honored by the LORD.
CHALLENGE: Are you willing to fight when it seems like the rest of the world is against us? The LORD gives HIS servants power to fight even when it seems impossible to win.
___________________________________________________
: 20 For through the anger of the LORD it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. (6440 “presence” [paneh] means the face, favor, forefront, or before)
DEVOTION: The children of Israel were in the face of God. A chosen nation of the LORD can only go so far and then the LORD will take away HIS blessing. The nation of Israel had fallen to Assyria because their iniquity was more than the iniquity of the Amorites that had been in the land before them. Now the nation of Judah had committed the iniquity that was beyond pardon because of Manasseh killing so many innocent people. The LORD will allow only so much sin in a nation before HE takes HIS approval or favor from the nation.
There is a difference between what the LORD will forgive in a person’s life and what HE will forgive in a nation. The divided kingdom had committed enough sin for HIS wrath. There is also a point of no return in individuals live which is stated in Romans chapter one. The LORD is said to “give them up” to their sin. Individuals make choices and nations make choices. There are consequences to wrong choices.The children of Israel were committing their sins in HIS face.
Most people like to hide when they sin. The children of Israel had gotten to the point where they thought that God didn’t see their sins. They thought they were getting away with their sins as long as they worshiped HIM along with their other gods. HE looked on Jerusalem as HIS city. HE looked on the children of Israel as HIS people.
The LORD has always stated in HIS word that those HE loves HE chastens. The people rebelled against HIM and HE sent them chastening in the form of heathen nations invading the land. Babylon was the key nation HE sent against them to take the land away from them and move them to a new land.
This land was considered to be out of HIS face or favor. We are not ever out of God’s sight. In the New Testament, God promised to remove the candlestick from churches that don’t honor HIM.
This is the same principle that we find in the Old Testament. Those in the church are HIS people. If churches decide to not honor the LORD with their worship, then HE will send chastening.
Is our church honoring the LORD or is HE going to have to come and remove the candlestick of his face from it? Are we staying true to the inerrant Scriptures? Are our practices Biblical? Are our programs Biblical? Are we making disciples of those who attend our churches? Are there people in our churches that have been there many years and still are not mature?
The LORD gave the children of Israel all the rules they needed to be in HIS face. The LORD has given us all HIS instructions to us to be in HIS face. Let’s get in HIS face daily!!!
Final question that needs to be asked is the nation of America killing innocent blood to the point that the LORD will not pardon our nation anymore.
As individual Christians we have choices to make. Our choices should be pleasing to the LORD, in order that, we might have the favor of the LORD on our life and ministry.
CHALLENGE: We need to get into our prayer closet and ask the LORD for Godly Wisdom for our church and our involvement in our nation.
_____________________________________________________________
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)
Book of the chronicles verse 5
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)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
___________________________________________________________
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Word of the LORD verse 2
Commandment verse 3
Solomon verse 13
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 2- 4, 9, 13, 19, 20
Word of the LORD verse 2
Commandment of the LORD verse 3
LORD would not pardon verse 4
Sight of the LORD verse 9, 19
House of the LORD verse 13
Temple of the LORD verse 13
Anger of the LORD verse 20
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
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Nebuchadnezzar – king of Babylon verse 1, 7, 10- 17
Besieged Jerusalem
Carried away the treasures of the house of the
LORD
Carried away best of the people of Jerusalem
Bands of Chaldees verse 2
Bands of Syrians verse 2
Bands of Moabites verse 2
Bands of Ammon verse 2
King of Egypt verse 7
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Sins of Manasseh verse 3
Shed innocent blood verse 4
Evil in the sight of the LORD verse 9, 19
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Servants the prophets verse 2
Pardon verse 4
Presence of the LORD verse 20
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Jehoiakim verse 1- 6, 19
Rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar
Did evil in the sight of the LORD
Acts written in the book of chronicles of
kings of Judah
Prophets verse 2
Jehoichin verse 6- 17
18 years old
Reigned three months
Did evil in sight of the LORD
Carried away to Babylon
Mattaniah verse 17
Changed name to Zedekiah
21 years old
Reigned 11 years
Did evil in sight of the LORD
Rebelled against the king of Babylon
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
___________________________________________________________
DONATIONS:
Remember that all donations to Small Church Ministries are greatly appreciated. The treasurer will send a receipt, at the end of the year unless otherwise requested. Please be sure to make check out to “Small Church Ministries.” The address for the treasurer is P.O. Box 604, East Amherst, New York 14051. A second way to give to the ministry is through PayPal on the website: www.smallchurchministries.org Also if you can support this ministry through your local church, please use that method. Thank you.
____________________________________________________________
QUOTES regarding passage
2 Kings 24:3, 4. אַךְ עַל־פִּי יי׳: “only according to the mouth (command) of Jehovah did this take place against Judah,” i.e., for no other reason than because the Lord had determined to put away Judah from before His face because of Manasseh’s sins (cf. 2 Kings 21:12–16, and 23:27). “And Jehovah would not forgive,” even if the greatest intercessors, Moses and Samuel, had come before Him (Jer. 15:1ff.), because the measure of the sins was full, so that God was obliged to punish according to His holy righteousness. We must repeat בְ from the preceding words before דַּם הַנָּקִי. (Keil, C. F., & Delitzsch, F. (1996). Commentary on the Old Testament (Vol. 3, p. 356). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson.)
_____________________________________________________________
24:1–4. Nebuchadnezzar had succeeded his father Nabopolassar as king of Babylon in 605 b.c. Earlier that year Nebuchadnezzar had led his father’s army against the Egyptians under Pharaoh Neco and had defeated them at Carchemish on the Euphrates River in northern Aramea. This battle established Babylonia as the strongest nation in the Near East. Egypt and its vassals, including Judah, passed under Babylonian control with this victory.
Nebuchadnezzar invaded the land of Judah later the same year (605 b.c.) in order to bring Judah securely under his rule. At that time he took some captives to Babylon including Daniel and others (cf. Dan. 1:1–3). Jehoiakim submitted to Nebuchadnezzar for three years, but then Jehoiakim revolted and unsuccessfully appealed to Egypt for help. He was eventually taken prisoner to Babylon (2 Chron. 36:6), but apparently was released or escaped because he died in Jerusalem (Jer. 22:19; cf. comments on 2 Kings 24:10–11). Judah was plagued by raiding bands from Babylonia, Aramea, Moab, and Ammon, who took advantage of Judah’s weakened condition later in Jehoiakim’s reign. God sent these enemies against Judah to punish her for her sins according to the words of the Prophets Isaiah, Micah, Jeremiah, Habakkuk, and others. God was removing the people from His presence (cf. 17:18, 20, 23; 23:27) because of the sins of Manasseh (cf. 21:1–16). (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. 585). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
_____________________________________________________________
2–7. I pray the Reader to observe the hand of God in all this. Evil men are but instruments for the accomplishment of the divine will. Judah must be removed, as Israel had been before. It is, for the most part, by sorrow and chastisement the stout hearts of obstinate sinners are brought low. (Hawker, R. (2013). Poor Man’s Old Testament Commentary: 1 Kings–Esther (Vol. 3, p. 293). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software)
______________________________________________________________
Ver. 4. And also for the innocent blood that he shed, for he filled Jeursalem with innocent blood, &c.] See ch. 21:16. which cruel usage of the prophets, and servants of the Lord, was still continued; see Jer. 26:21–24. which the Lord would not pardon; he pardoned the sins of Manasseh, who repented, but not the sins of those persons who imitated him, but repented not; or though he personally pardoned the sins of Manasseh, so that he was saved everlastingly, yet the temporal punishment of the nation for those sins, in which they were involved with him, was not averted. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 2, p. 842). London: Mathews and Leigh)
______________________________________________________________
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!!)
__________________________________________________________
The first biblical occurrence is in Moses’ prayer of intercession on behalf of the Israelites: “… It is a stiffnecked people; and [forgive] our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance” (Exod. 34:9). The basic meaning undergoes no change throughout the Old Testament. God is always the subject of “forgiveness.” No other Old Testament verb means “to forgive,” although several verbs include “forgiveness” in the range of meanings given a particular context (e.g., naca˓ and ˓awon in Exod. 32:32; kapar in Ezek. 16:63). The verb occurs throughout the Old Testament. Most occurrences of calach are in the sacrificial laws of Leviticus and Numbers. In the typology of the Old Testament, sacrifices foreshadowed the accomplished work of Jesus Christ, and the Old Testament believer was assured of “forgiveness” based on sacrifice: “And the priest shall make an atonement [for him in regard to his sin]” (Num. 15:25, 28), “And it shall be forgiven him” (Lev. 4:26; cf. vv. 20, 31, 35; 5:10, 13, 16, 18). The mediators of the atonement were the priests who offered the sacrifice. The sacrifice was ordained by God to promise ultimate “forgiveness” in God’s sacrifice of His own Son. Moreover, sacrifice was appropriately connected to atonement, as there is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood (Lev. 4:20; cf. Heb. 9:22).
Out of His grace, God alone “forgives” sin. The Israelites experienced God’s “forgiveness” in the wilderness and in the Promised Land. As long as the temple stood, sacrificial atonement continued and the Israelites were assured of God’s “forgiveness.” When the temple was destroyed and sacrifices ceased, God sent the prophetic word that He graciously would restore Israel out of exile and “forgive” its sins (Jer. 31:34).
The psalmist appealed to God’s great name in his request for “forgiveness”: “For thy name’s sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great” (Ps. 25:11). David praised God for the assurance of “forgiveness” of sins: “Bless the Lord, O my soul … , who forgiveth all thine iniquities …” (Ps. 103:2-3). The Old Testament saints, while involved in sacrificial rites, put their faith in God.
In the Septuagint, calach is most frequently translated by hileos einai (“to be gracious; be merciful”), hilaskesthai (“to propitiate, expiate”) and apievai (“to forgive, pardon, leave, cancel”). The translation “to forgive” is found in most English versions (kjv, rsv, nasb, niv), and at times also “to pardon” (kjv, rsv). (Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W., Jr. (1996). Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Nashville, TN: T. Nelson.)
_____________________________________________________________
In the second place, on the basis of Mosaic legislation, real atonement and forgiveness were available for all sins except those of the defiant and unrepentant sinner (Num 15:30–31) who “despised the word of the Lord.” The claim is made repeatedly (Lev 4:20, 26, 31, 35, 5:10, 13, 16, 18, 26; 19:22) that when atonement was made, the sinner’s sins were forgiven. For all such sins as lying, theft, perjury, fraud (Lev 6:1–7 [H 5:20–26]), or those “against any of the Commandments of the Lord” (Lev 4:2), it was possible to obtain divine pardon. Rather than being excluded, these sins were specifically included in God’s provision for the ot believer along with “sins of ignorance” (Num 15:25, 26, 28). As if to emphasize the point, it is stated repeatedly that on the Day of Atonement, “all the iniquities” and sins of Israel were atoned (Lev 16:21, 30, 32, 34). But the individual Israelites had to properly “humble themselves” in true confession (Lev 16:29, 31). This is the kind of forgiveness which Solomon prayed would be available to all as he led a prayer of dedication for the temple (I Kgs 8:30, 34, 39, 50, and its parallel in II Chr 6). Amos requested it for Judah (7:2) as did Daniel (9:19). However, at times Israel was not pardoned (Deut 29:19; Lam 3:42).
So exciting was the openness of this offer of forgiveness that Isaiah (55:7) featured it as the heart of his invitation to salvation. So ready was their Lord to forgive, that Isaiah’s listeners must forget all notions based on the reluctance of men to forgive each other.
The experience of forgiveness in the ot was personally efficacious, although objectively the basis and grounds of that forgiveness awaited the death of Christ. Other terms used for forgiveness stressed the ideas of wiping out or blotting out the memory of the sin (māḥâ), covering or concealing the record of the sin (kāsâ), lifting up and removal of sin (nāśāʾ), passing by of sin (ʿābar), and pardoning on the basis of a substitute (kāpar in the Piel q.v.).
Three texts in Jeremiah, 31:34; 33:8; 50:20, celebrate a future forgiveness of our Lord in connection with the New Covenant and ultimately his second coming. (Kaiser, W. C. (1999). 1505 סָלַח. (R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke, Eds.) Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Chicago: Moody Press.)
________________________________________________________
Seek Ye First
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33)
This has become a favorite memory verse for millions and has even been set to music by a number of artists. Indeed, its truth is of foundational importance. Let us look with care at what it says.
First, notice that the tense of the verb “seek” in Greek implies a command to establish an ongoing habit or lifestyle of “seeking” the things of the kingdom. We are commanded to put first things first on a continual basis and watch Him take care of the items of secondary interest.
We should strive to make His priorities our priorities—to so mold our thinking by the Word of God that we think as He does on every issue. Our lives should exhibit the purity and righteousness that He exhibited when on Earth. While it is true that we will never fully achieve such perfection this side of heaven, we should be striving, i.e., “seeking,” to do so by the power of His Spirit living in us.
The chapter surrounding today’s verse is permeated by the concept of proper priorities in relation to pride (vv. 5-8, 16-18), treasures on Earth (vv. 19-21), singleness of purpose (vv. 22-23), serving two masters (v. 24), or anxious thoughts about the future (vv. 25-32, 34). Remember, “your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things” (v. 32).
If we reverse the proper order, not only will we not attain kingdom priorities and His righteousness, but we will probably miss the secondary “things” as well. The word “added,” a mathematical word, implies the prior existence of something to which other things can be added.
Surely in our “seeking” we should also adopt the prayer Jesus taught His disciples: “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (v. 10). (JDM, Institute for Creation Research)
___________________________________________________
Ruth and Naomi return to Bethlehem in hopes of fostering a livelihood.
INSIGHT
When Boaz, a noble and godly man, hears of Ruth’s noble and godly actions, he is moved with appreciation for the kind of person she is.
When he finds her gleaning in his fields, he bestows kindnesses on her. Ruth asks why he should take notice of her since she is a foreigner. Boaz replies that it is because of all that she has done for Naomi. The way we live our everyday lives communicates a “life message” to others. When we live for the Lord, that message is a beacon of light to others. (Quiet Walk)
_________________________________________________________
GOD’S JUDGMENT
…should not perish… John 3:16
Jesus taught about God the Father by showing God’s wrath against sin. “But what about John 3:16?” asks someone.
Listen to John 3:16, my friend. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believeth in him should not perish,” but apart from Him they would have perished; that is the only way to avoid perishing. Indeed, we also find in John 3 a statement that if a man does not believe, “the wrath of God abideth on him” (verse 36).
Part of our Lord’s teaching about the Father is that the Father is absolutely holy, that He hates sin and had pledged to destroy it and punish it with everlasting destruction. “Blessed,” He said, “are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). No one else can see God because only the pure in heart could stand the sight of Him. To look at God is hell to a man unless he has been made pure in heart—“…holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). So, He revealed the character of the Father as a holy Father
But Christ also told us about the Father’s love and compassion. That is why, He tells us, He came into the world—it was because of the love of God. He shows us this same love and compassion in His life. That is why He worked His miracles, not simply to heal the people, but to reveal, to manifest, His glory and the love and compassion of God. He said in effect, “If you do not believe My words, then as I do these things, see the Father in Me.” For this holy God is a God of love and compassion. As our Lord went about healing the sick and doing good, He told us that God is like that.
A Thought to Ponder
The Lord Jesus Christ revealed the character of the Father as a holy Father
(From The Heart of the Gospel, pp. 128-129, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones).
________________________________________________________
Our Weekly Day of Rest and Worship
“And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.” (Deuteronomy 5:15)
It is significant that God’s Ten Commandments are found twice in the Bible (Exodus 20:3-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21). In fact, “Deuteronomy” means “the Second Law.” The two are worded identically, with a few exceptions.
The most significant of these changes is in connection with the reason given for obeying the Fourth Commandment, to “keep the sabbath day.” In Exodus, the reason given is “For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day” (Exodus 20:11). Here in “the second law,” the reason given is that God saved Israel out of bondage in Egypt and now was about to enter the Promised Land. In other words, when the Israelites observed each Sabbath day in rest and worship, they were acknowledging God as both their Creator and their Redeemer.
Christians also, as they devote every seventh day as a day of rest and worship, should be remembering God for His finished creation (“the heavens and the earth were finished,” Genesis 2:1) and His finished redemption (“It is finished” was Christ’s victory cry on the cross, John 19:30).
The word Sabbath means “rest,” of course—not “Friday” or “Saturday” or even “seventh” (the word for seventh in Hebrew is similar but distinctly different from that for sabbath). Most Christians now believe it is appropriate to honor the Lord Jesus (who is both their Creator and Redeemer) to take their seventh day of rest and worship on the first day of each week, thereby recognizing both His finished work of redemption and also His finished work of creation. (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
____________________________________________________________
Guilt and Forgiveness
They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts.
Romans 2:15
In his book Human Universals, anthropologist Donald Brown lists more than four hundred behaviors that he considers common across humanity. He includes such things as toys, jokes, dances, and proverbs, wariness of snakes, and tying things with string! Likewise, he believes all cultures have concepts of right and wrong, where generosity is praised, promises are valued, and things like meanness and murder understood to be wrong. We all have a sense of conscience, wherever we’re from.
The apostle Paul made a similar point many centuries ago. While God gave the Jewish people the Ten Commandments to clarify right from wrong, Paul noted that since gentiles could do right by obeying their conscience, God’s laws were evidently written on their hearts (Romans 2:14–15). But that didn’t mean people always did what was right. The gentiles rebelled against their conscience (1:32), the Jews broke the Law (2:17–24), leaving both guilty. But through faith in Jesus, God removes the death penalty from all our rule-breaking (3:23–26; 6:23).
Since God created all humans with a sense of right and wrong, each of us will likely feel some guilt over a bad thing we’ve done or a good thing we failed to do. When we confess those sins, God wipes away the guilt like a whiteboard wiped clean. All we have to do is ask Him—whoever we are, wherever we’re from.
By Sheridan Voysey (Our Daily Bread)
__________________________________________________________
We now have a Facebook page for Small Church Ministries – please invite others to join us on Facebook. Thank you. Look for the logo from the devotionals.