Posts
God’s message to me: God’s plan is to have all the world turn to Him in love, worship, thanksgiving and to fulfill their needs. This has been His plan from the beginning. For this cause He did great works that the entire world would know Him and His Power and recognize that He is God.
Promises: God hears our prayers and responds. He is not contained so that he can dwell in a building. He is Omniscient, Omnipresent, and Omnipotent. He knows all, can do all and is everywhere at the same time. He may take actions to make his presence known in one particular place but He is everywhere, always listening and waiting for our prayer.
Commands: Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem. This is not in the text you read today but it is a clear command repeated in the bible. This is the City in which God placed His name and in which he set the throne of His Kingdom and that of Israel. Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem and understand that true peace can only come when it once again belongs completely to Israel and is the Capital of that nation. Until the Jews can enter the Temple Mount without fear of reprisal there will not be true peace in Jerusalem.
Timeless principles: Jehovah is not the God of any one people. He is King of kings, Lord of lords, Alpha and Omega, I AM, The Uncaused Cause, He is the one true God and Creator of the Universe. He placed his name in Jerusalem because it was there that He established the Throne of His Kingdom and the Seat of His Rulership over the earth. Even Solomon, at a time when few outside of Israel recognized The Lord, knew that He was the God of everything and that anyone in all the earth who turned to Him deserved His reply. Solomon knew that God had done all He had done in Israel in order that the world would know He Is Lord. He knew that all the great miracles and acts of God leading up to that day and beyond would be known, not only in the surrounding countries, as it already was, but throughout the world. That Gentiles of all nations would turn their hearts to the One True God.
How can I apply what I’ve learned: First, God is God to all people in all lands and desires that all come to him. It is true that many will never turn to Him and will be lost in their sin. This does not change that fact that God loved the world so much that He sent His only Son to die for our sins. God did this so that all who Believe in Jesus and accept His gift of Salvation can be saved and come to Jehovah as their own God.
Second, Jerusalem is the place where God placed His name. It is the place He chose to be the Capital of Israel and, when He returns, the capital of his Earthly kingdom. Jerusalem should not be divided. Jerusalem should be the capital of Israel. Jerusalem does belong to the Jews. The temple mount is the place where God put his name and it is the rightful place of the Temple of God built first by Solomon, and rebuilt several times since and will be built again. The Dome of the Rock has no place there. The Al Aqusa Mosque is in Mecca, you need only look at maps of that region, ask those who have been there or ask someone there if you visit and they can show you to and into the Al Aqusa Mosque. The Dome of the Rock is not the true Al Aqusa Mosque and no one ever tried to claim it was until Israel became a nation and they needed an excuse to try and remove God’s chosen people from the City of Jerusalem which they always knew was the Capital of the Jews and the place where God placed his name.
more to learn for in-depth study: As with the Tabernacle of Meeting the sign that the Temple of God was accepted by God was His presence. As soon as the Ark of the Covenant was placed in the Holy of Holies The cloud, which had led the Israelites through the wilderness, filled the temple and it shown with the Glory of God so that the Priests could not minister inside the temple. This had been the way that God would dwell in the Tabernacle of Meeting as the Israelites traveled to the Promised land. When He entered the Tabernacle in this way Moses could go to the door of the Tabernacle to speak with Him.
tomorrow: First Kings 9-11
Showing posts with label Tabernacle of Meeting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tabernacle of Meeting. Show all posts
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Second Samuel 4-7
God’s message to me: God blessed Israel and promised to make them His people forever. Replacement theology ignores this oath which was established as a blood oath to Abraham and repeated throughout the generations.
Promises: God fulfills his promises. It doesn’t take our action to make it happen. God promised to make David king of all Israel. While forced to fight Abner and his army because the general kept starting fights, David never attempted to use force to bring the kingdom together. When god’s timing was ready David was made king over the entire nation at the age of 30 and ruled for 40 years including the 7 and a half years he ruled in Hebron over the part of the kingdom that accepted him first.
Commands: Keep your promises. But be careful about what you promise. Mephibosheth was Jonathan's son. As David Promised to watch over Jonathan’s household as his own, he took in Miphibosheth to honor his friend and fulfill his promise. David did a lot of nice things to those who were his enemies or would become his enemies. While it’s good to be a nice guy, his actions and promises served to ensure he spent his entire life fighting and running.
God’s commands are not optional. The ark was not to be touched. Even when carried it was designed to be carried on poles and not touched. Uzzah only sought to keep the ark from falling when the Oxen stumbled but was killed instantly for touching the ark.
Because of Uzzah’s death David feared to take the ark further and left it in the house of Abed Edom. When he heard the household had been blessed for having the ark he thought it might be safe to continue. When the men bearing the ark made it six steps without incident David celebrated and sacrificed to the Lord. then brought the ark to Jerusalem.
Timeless principles: murder is not the way to reward. When Ishbosheth’s general was murdered his captains sought to get on David’s good side by murdering Ishbosheth and bringing his head to the king. Ishbosheth may have been a puppet but he had done nothing wrong and the captains were more guilty of murder than the Amalakite who claimed credit for Saul’s death. At least Saul had died in battle.
How can I apply what I’ve learned: Learn to listen to God’s command. The Philistines came against Israel in the valley of the Rephaim giants. David asked God if he should go against them and God said yes. Israel won the battle. When the Philistines came back to the same spot for another fight God told David not to go directly against them but to circle around and come at them from the forest when he heard marching in the tops of the trees. He did so and the Lord went out before him to attack the Philistines and they drove them out of the land from Geba(Gibeon) to Gezer.
Dignity is not required when worshiping the Lord. David’s wife, Michal, felt it was undignified for him to dance around so wildly before the Lord. David responded by saying he was happy to be undignified for God and to be humbled while God was exalted.
more to learn for in-depth study: David was the one who finally lead Israel in capturing Jerusalem. The mountain of Zion and the City of David which was to be the capital of Israel had been left since the Israelites entered the promised land because the people lacked the will to take it. David led the army to take it from the Jebusites who believed themselves superior to Israel, their king and God.
tomorrow: Second Samuel 8-11
Promises: God fulfills his promises. It doesn’t take our action to make it happen. God promised to make David king of all Israel. While forced to fight Abner and his army because the general kept starting fights, David never attempted to use force to bring the kingdom together. When god’s timing was ready David was made king over the entire nation at the age of 30 and ruled for 40 years including the 7 and a half years he ruled in Hebron over the part of the kingdom that accepted him first.
Commands: Keep your promises. But be careful about what you promise. Mephibosheth was Jonathan's son. As David Promised to watch over Jonathan’s household as his own, he took in Miphibosheth to honor his friend and fulfill his promise. David did a lot of nice things to those who were his enemies or would become his enemies. While it’s good to be a nice guy, his actions and promises served to ensure he spent his entire life fighting and running.
God’s commands are not optional. The ark was not to be touched. Even when carried it was designed to be carried on poles and not touched. Uzzah only sought to keep the ark from falling when the Oxen stumbled but was killed instantly for touching the ark.
Because of Uzzah’s death David feared to take the ark further and left it in the house of Abed Edom. When he heard the household had been blessed for having the ark he thought it might be safe to continue. When the men bearing the ark made it six steps without incident David celebrated and sacrificed to the Lord. then brought the ark to Jerusalem.
Timeless principles: murder is not the way to reward. When Ishbosheth’s general was murdered his captains sought to get on David’s good side by murdering Ishbosheth and bringing his head to the king. Ishbosheth may have been a puppet but he had done nothing wrong and the captains were more guilty of murder than the Amalakite who claimed credit for Saul’s death. At least Saul had died in battle.
How can I apply what I’ve learned: Learn to listen to God’s command. The Philistines came against Israel in the valley of the Rephaim giants. David asked God if he should go against them and God said yes. Israel won the battle. When the Philistines came back to the same spot for another fight God told David not to go directly against them but to circle around and come at them from the forest when he heard marching in the tops of the trees. He did so and the Lord went out before him to attack the Philistines and they drove them out of the land from Geba(Gibeon) to Gezer.
Dignity is not required when worshiping the Lord. David’s wife, Michal, felt it was undignified for him to dance around so wildly before the Lord. David responded by saying he was happy to be undignified for God and to be humbled while God was exalted.
more to learn for in-depth study: David was the one who finally lead Israel in capturing Jerusalem. The mountain of Zion and the City of David which was to be the capital of Israel had been left since the Israelites entered the promised land because the people lacked the will to take it. David led the army to take it from the Jebusites who believed themselves superior to Israel, their king and God.
tomorrow: Second Samuel 8-11
Saturday, March 21, 2009
First Samuel 1-3
God’s message to me: Listen for the voice of the Lord. Most of what God has to say to us can be found in the pages of the bible. Most, but not all. God did not tell us how to recognize profits and how to test spirits to know if they speak the truth just so we could decide neither existed anymore and we didn’t have to listen. God still speaks to us and, through the Holy Spirit, is more direct with Christians than He was with His people in the Old Testament. Learning to listen for His instruction and understanding how to recognize it is an important step of growth in our Christian life. I’ll add a supplemental entry on some basic principles.
Promises: God lifts up the lowly who look to Him for help. He strikes down the haughty who afflict others without cause and defy His commands.
Commands: Do not cause others to stumble and to sin by your actions.
Timeless principles: God can chose people from the most unlikely places. Samuel was not of the tribe of Levi and he wasn’t a descendant of Aaron. He was given to the high priest by a family from one of the sons of Joseph as an adopted son to serve the Lord. God raised him up to take the place of the priestly line which had become to corrupt to serve.
How can I apply what I’ve learned: Look carefully for where God is working. You may find His handiwork in the most unlikely places. I heard people on the radio complain about the TV series KINGS. They think it’s propaganda leading to a one world government, a dictatorship, or something similar. They don’t see that, like Touched by an Angel, Promised Land, Second Noah and others, it is an attempt to tell the truths of the bible through entertainment. Whether it can stay on track or even on the air is questionable. Many shows based in Christian values are run off the air despite good ratings and others are corrupted to teach false doctrine.
Even something like Star Wars can teach lessons we should know. George Lucas was said to be quite upset when Ronald Reagan pointed out that his movie had created the environment the president used to overcome communism. It was a reminder that evil exists and must be overcome. It was a hopeful message of the ability of good to triumph.
more to learn for in-depth study: Samuel was an Ephraimite. His tribe was one of the sons of Joseph. He was not bound by law to be in service because the Tribe of Levi had been dedicated to serve the Lord in place of the first born. His mother vowed to make him a Nazirite in service to God for his entire life if she could have a child. His name means Heard by God. Notice also that a basic principle of prayer is demonstrated. The chief priest blessed Hannah and said, “may God grant your request.” Christ also mentioned agreement in prayer. Two or more agreeing before God for a prayer request will cause the request to be granted. Prayer is not meant to be solitary. Often it becomes a solo practice but whenever possible you should share the request and pray with someone.
The sons of Eli were abusive and unruly, ignoring the Law of God and causing people to hate going to the temple because of their abuse. The Evil they did was beyond contempt and would turn the stomachs of many who read of it. Samuel ministered as a priest from childhood and did so in accordance with the law as a priest should. God swore to kill both Eli’s sons in one day and raise up a faithful priest to lead so that the Israelites would not be driven to sin by the evil they encountered at the tabernacle.
Eli had not restrained his sons. He did not prevent them from interfering in the sacrifice. Because he treated them better than the sacrifice and showed more honor to them than to God, his house was cursed. He was still the high priest and so he was able to perceive the Lord was calling to Samuel in the night.
Eli knew the Lord wouldn’t call the boy in vain and asked him the next day to reveal what the Lord had said. Samuel knew it was a curse against the old man and didn’t want to tell him for fear of hurting him but, Eli insisted and Samuel told all. Eli replied by saying, “He is the Lord, let Him do what seems good to Him.” It was a wise and true saying worthy of the high priest. It also showed Eli understood his mistakes.
tomorrow: First Samuel 4-7
Promises: God lifts up the lowly who look to Him for help. He strikes down the haughty who afflict others without cause and defy His commands.
Commands: Do not cause others to stumble and to sin by your actions.
Timeless principles: God can chose people from the most unlikely places. Samuel was not of the tribe of Levi and he wasn’t a descendant of Aaron. He was given to the high priest by a family from one of the sons of Joseph as an adopted son to serve the Lord. God raised him up to take the place of the priestly line which had become to corrupt to serve.
How can I apply what I’ve learned: Look carefully for where God is working. You may find His handiwork in the most unlikely places. I heard people on the radio complain about the TV series KINGS. They think it’s propaganda leading to a one world government, a dictatorship, or something similar. They don’t see that, like Touched by an Angel, Promised Land, Second Noah and others, it is an attempt to tell the truths of the bible through entertainment. Whether it can stay on track or even on the air is questionable. Many shows based in Christian values are run off the air despite good ratings and others are corrupted to teach false doctrine.
Even something like Star Wars can teach lessons we should know. George Lucas was said to be quite upset when Ronald Reagan pointed out that his movie had created the environment the president used to overcome communism. It was a reminder that evil exists and must be overcome. It was a hopeful message of the ability of good to triumph.
more to learn for in-depth study: Samuel was an Ephraimite. His tribe was one of the sons of Joseph. He was not bound by law to be in service because the Tribe of Levi had been dedicated to serve the Lord in place of the first born. His mother vowed to make him a Nazirite in service to God for his entire life if she could have a child. His name means Heard by God. Notice also that a basic principle of prayer is demonstrated. The chief priest blessed Hannah and said, “may God grant your request.” Christ also mentioned agreement in prayer. Two or more agreeing before God for a prayer request will cause the request to be granted. Prayer is not meant to be solitary. Often it becomes a solo practice but whenever possible you should share the request and pray with someone.
The sons of Eli were abusive and unruly, ignoring the Law of God and causing people to hate going to the temple because of their abuse. The Evil they did was beyond contempt and would turn the stomachs of many who read of it. Samuel ministered as a priest from childhood and did so in accordance with the law as a priest should. God swore to kill both Eli’s sons in one day and raise up a faithful priest to lead so that the Israelites would not be driven to sin by the evil they encountered at the tabernacle.
Eli had not restrained his sons. He did not prevent them from interfering in the sacrifice. Because he treated them better than the sacrifice and showed more honor to them than to God, his house was cursed. He was still the high priest and so he was able to perceive the Lord was calling to Samuel in the night.
Eli knew the Lord wouldn’t call the boy in vain and asked him the next day to reveal what the Lord had said. Samuel knew it was a curse against the old man and didn’t want to tell him for fear of hurting him but, Eli insisted and Samuel told all. Eli replied by saying, “He is the Lord, let Him do what seems good to Him.” It was a wise and true saying worthy of the high priest. It also showed Eli understood his mistakes.
tomorrow: First Samuel 4-7
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)