He Should Have Quit While He Was Ahead
Today’s Reading – 2 Kings 20 – 22 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers Read – Luke 21 – 22; Psalms 11 – 15; Proverbs 3)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Joshua 1:8
Read the “0503 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Read a previous post from this passage – “Have You Found the Book“
“In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.” (2 Kings 20:1)
1 Kings 20 tells us a very interesting story of the prophet Isaiah coming to King Hezekiah and announcing to him that he was about to die. Hezekiah is naturally distraught when he hears the news that his sickness will lead to his death. After all, he was only 39 years old. Who wants to die at 39? He then goes to the Lord and asks him to spare his life, and the Lord graciously adds to him another fifteen years; but I am not sure whether it was good for Hezekiah to spend that additional time on the earth. It may have been better for him, and for the nation had he gone home to Heaven when the Lord first called for him.
Consider three events that happened in the last fifteen years of Hezekiah’s life that would have not happened had he died at 39:
1 He had a son, named Manasseh, in the last 15 years of his life that turned out to be the most wicked king in Judah’s history.
“Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem: But did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, like unto the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel. … So Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen, whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel.” (2 Chronicles 33:1-2, 9)
2 He allowed the ambassadors from Babylon to come into Jerusalem, and he showed them all of the kingdom. Babylon would be the nation that would destroy Jerusalem later on, and they would take everything.
3 His heart became lifted up with pride:
“But Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him; for his heart was lifted up: therefore there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem.” (2 Chronicles 32:25)
To be fair, I must point out that the Bible tells us that Hezekiah did humble himself after this, which would postpone the wrath that God had promised, but even though the judgment was postponed, it would still come, but not until after Hezekiah’s death.
Hezekiah was one of the greatest kings that Israel had in all of the history, but he would have been the greatest by far had his life ended at 39. The kingdom went downhill in the last 15 years.
I do not know how many years I have left, but I pray that I will be yielded to the will of the Lord for the remainder of my life. I want to finish my course by keeping the faith. I am not in a hurry to leave this earth, but when He calls for me, I want to be willing to go. I don’t want to go out fighting his will.
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Now You’ve Crossed the Line
Today’s Reading – 2 Kings 18 – 19
(Second Milers Read – Luke 19 – 20; Psalms 6 – 10; Proverbs 2)
“Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. … Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?” (2 Kings 18:30, 33 KJV)
“It may be the LORD thy God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God; and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that are left. … Because thy rage against me and thy tumult is come up into mine ears, therefore I will put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.” (2 Kings 19:4, 28)
In chapters 18 and 19 of 2 Kings we see the city of Judah surrounded by the powerful army of Assyria, not just once, but twice. The first time they came up against Hezekiah and the city of Jerusalem, God caused the Assyrians to become distracted by news of an attack on them in another area, which forced them to temporarily pack up and leave. They soon returned, and once again promised to utterly destroy the city if the people did not surrender to them.
In a previous post on this passage, I focused on the fact that Hezekiah depended completely on the Lord for deliverance from this impossible situation, which God did. This morning, however, I wanted to consider another reason that God delivered the people of Jerusalem, and destroyed the army of Assyria. The Assyrian leader did not merely speak against the people of Jerusalem, he spake against the Lord. Rabshakeh basically said that his army was more powerful than Israel’s God. That’s where he crossed the line. Had he left God out of it, who knows what may have happened, but when Rabshakeh’s “rage” against the God of Israel was announced, God quickly moved in and destroyed him.
God destroyed the Assyrians, not only because of His love for His people, but also because of His own glory. God will not share His glory with anyone, and when the little men of the earth attempt to elevate and exalt themselves above God, He will put them in their place. Isn’t that what happened to Goliath (1 Samuel 17). He “cursed David by his gods”, and he challenged the God of Israel. God took out that giant with a boy and his slingshot. God does not like it when you mess with His children, but God will really get angry when you attack His glory.
“For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.” (Isaiah 48:11)
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I Warned You!
Today’s Passage – 2 Kings 16 – 17
(Second Milers Read – Luke 17 – 18; Psalms 1 – 5; Proverbs 1)
“Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. For so it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods,” (2 Kings 17:5-7)
In 2 Kings 17, we see the destruction of the city of Samaria along with the rest of the northern kingdom of Israel, and the carrying away of God’s people into the land of Assyria. God had warned the people literally for centuries that if they continued to reject Him and His Word, judgment would come. In this chapter we see that God’s patience with these northern tribes had finally come to an end. The warnings were over, and the punishment had finally come.
The passage goes on to explain the sins of the nation. So, God warned them many times not to do these things, and when they didn’t listen, God admonished them to stop and turn back to Him (v 13), but they did not listen (v 14), and then finally He punishes them through the nation of Assyria; and now, to be crystal clear, He explains why He was forced to punish them.
What were they guilty of?
1 They feared other gods (v7) – God was clear that the people were to put no other gods before Him (Exodus 20:3), but Israel had tolerated and even encouraged the worship of many false gods. Along with this are many of the other sins listed in this passage including idol / image worship; burning incense in the high places; etc.
2 They walked in the statues of the heathen. (v 8 ) God had given them moral, ceremonial, and civil statutes (laws) to follow, but instead they followed the laws of the heathen nations around them. Israel was set up as a theocracy – a nation governed by the laws of God, but they had thrown God off of the throne, and they were now governing themselves. The immoral customs of the heathen nations became the accepted practice of the day.
3 They sacrificed their own children. Children have a very special place in God’s heart, and when the nation began to promote the sacrifice of children (v 17), God became very angry with them (v 18).
The nation of Israel had everything they needed to live a blessed, prosperous existence in the land that God provided for them, but instead “they sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord” (v 17).
I wonder what God will do to America. We were a nation tremendously blessed of God, but we too have forsaken Him. We have thrown Him out of our schools and our government, and we have allowed all kinds of immoral filth to permeate our society. We have also promoted and tolerated the sacrificing of our own children. Over one million babies are sacrificed every year through the abominable practice of expedient abortions. God is warning our nation to repent, but His warnings are falling on deaf ears. I fear His patience is running out on us just as it ran out on Israel. Wake up America!
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JUST FOR LADIES – BY CAMILLE STAHL
BONDWOMAN BORN AFTER THE FLESH OR FREE WOMAN BORN AFTER THE SPIRIT?
Today’s Passage – 2 Kings 13 – 15 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers Read – Luke 15 – 16; Proverbs 30 – 31; Psalm 146 – 150)
Scripture Memorization for March – John 1:1 – 18
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – 1 John 3:1
Read a great article by Pastor Pastor Paul Chappell – “How to Develop Friendships with Co-Laborers in the Ministry“
Read the “0430 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Read a previous post from today’s Bible reading passage – “He Gave Them A Saviour“
A Study Of Women In The Bible
“For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.” (Galatians 4:22-23)
“Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.” (Galatians 4:31-31)
When looking at being free or bound, we can compare it to being saved or lost. We can also look at it as being saved, but following in the steps of a free or bound women. In today’s blog, we’re going to look at it both ways, so let’s recap some of the past blogs.
Anna: Freewoman and stayed free. She stayed devoted to God even when life turned wrong.
Athaliah: Bondwoman and stayed bond. She encouraged her son Ahaziah, to do wrong and later wanted to kill her grandchildren.
Delilah: Bondwoman and stayed bond. She deliberately betrayed her husband.
Miriam: Freewoman turned bondwoman. She was greatly used of God but then overstepped her boundaries by trying to usurp her authority over Moses.
Sarah: Freewoman turned bondwoman. She walked ahead of God and made the wrong decision. She also lied for her husband, laughed at God heartless to her husband’s other son, Isaac.
Rahab: Bondwoman turned free. She was a woman with a questionable profession to having her name mentioned in Hebrews 11 “Heroes of the Faith”.
Ruth: Bondwoman turned free. She was a Moabite born out of incest who later followed the God of Naomi.
When taking a closer look at the women in the Bible, we can only come to the conclusion, that being, or following, the steps of a free woman is always a better choice. It’s the one that pleases the Lord. Which are you? If you haven’t accepted the Lord Jesus as your Saviour, you are a bondwoman. Or you could be a bondwoman because your not wholly following Him. Both make you in bondage to sin. Satan wants us in bondage and he wants us to stay there. I urge you bondwoman, accept Jesus as your Saviour. He will free you from sin. He paid the price. Only through Jesus Christ can you be free. Our church’s website will guide you in the way you need to go to be truly free. If your saved and struggling with something, seek the Lord. He has the answer. Turn from going in the wrong direction. It will only turn to destruction, not only in your life, but also in the life of others. Confess your wrong and seek Godly counsel. God will forgive you.
“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalms 103:12)
And for you ladies who are free and remaining free, beware. Satan is watching and waiting for you. Put on your armour everyday.
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11)
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” (1Peter 5:8)
Thank You
1 John 5:13
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Windows of Heaven
Today’s Passage – 2 Kings 7 – 9 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Luke 11 – 12; Proverbs 28; Psalms 136 – 140
Scripture Memorization for March – John 1:1 – 18
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Ephesians 4:32
Read a great article by Pastor Pastor Paul Chappell – “How to Develop Friendships with Co-Laborers in the Ministry“
Read the “0428 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon
“Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.” (2 Kings 7:2)
In today’s passage we see the the city of Samaria surrounded by an overwhelming army of the Syrians. This massive host from Syria had the city surrounded for some time, which caused the Israelites to run completely out of food on the inside of the city; with no way to get out to get more food. Things got so bad the people were actually buying and selling dove’s dung to eat. Some had even killed and ate children. Pretty hopeless situation.
Along comes the man of God and tells them that at the same time the next day the situation would be reversed, so much so that food that was very expensive the previous day would be sold for next to nothing on the next day. But one of the lords (princes) of Israel doubted the Word of God through the mouth of the prophet, and stated basically that this is impossible, even if God were to open the windows of heaven.
You can read the story for yourself; but God did exactly what he said he would do. The Syrians heard the sound of chariots, and assumed that their enemies from Egypt or maybe the Hittites were coming to help Israel by attacking them. They flee, leaving all of their food and goods behind. Israel discovers that the Syrians have left, and they come out of the city and spoil the camp of the Syrians.
It looks like God truly opened up the windows of heaven. We have a promise from the word of God regarding those same windows in heaven:
“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” (Malachi 3:10)
God has promised us that if we will keep him first in our lives that he will keep those windows open. He doesn’t promise that we will all live in mansions on this earth and eat caviar; but praise the Lord, we won’t have to eat dove’s dung either.
Posted in Thoughts from 2 Kings by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.
It’s A Gift – The Saturday Morning Post by Pastor Ted Stahl
Today’s Passage –2 Kings 4 – 6 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Luke 9 – 10; Proverbs 27; Psalms 131 – 135
Scripture Memorization for March – John 1:1 – 18
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Matthew 6:33
Read a great article by Pastor Cary Schmidt – “10 Stretching Experiences of a New Pastor“
Read the “0427 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Read a previous post from this passage -”God Will Take Care of You“
Congratulations! You have won a FREE trip to Bermuda! Wow, a free cruise? A gift for me? Well not exactly. First you need to drive to King-Of-Prussia, PA to pick up your tickets. Then you need to spend several hours with a high pressure salesman as he explains that the product produced by the company who is giving you the FREE trip is something you just can’t live without. The price for this product that you can’t live without (even though the world has done without it for 6000 years) is more than you can afford. But it is cheaper than your FREE (?) cruise to Bermuda. So you sign the contract, get your tickets, and your off to Bermuda… next week, after you drive to Florida, where the ship is leaving from. And to top everything off, your ship sails right through the Bermuda Triangle, you disappear forever, and you never get to see Bermuda, or enjoy whatever it is you signed the contract to buy.
Nothing is free, it always costs somebody something. Well we still live in a free country. Then how come I have to pay taxes? You have freedom of speech. Then why is it considered a hate crime when I quote God as saying homosexuality is an abomination? Even the freedom that we have was not free. Others died for those freedoms that are being tossed aside by the Liberal-Nazi-Commi-Socialist government we have in office. Nothing is free. Except…
In Matthew chapter 10, Jesus is about to send His disciples to the people of Israel. “These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:5-8)
Jesus told them they received the power to heal the sick, cleanse lepers, raise the dead, and cast out devils freely. They should use this power freely to help others.
In 2Kings 5, we have the story of Naaman the leper. God used Elisha the prophet to heal Naaman of his leprosy. Naaman tried to give gold, silver, and clothing to Elisha to say thank you. Elisha would not accept these. Freely he received, so freely he gave. So Naaman started on his journey back to Syria. But Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, did not understand. Gehazi ran after Naaman, and lied to get two talents of silver, and two changes of garments. After Gehazi received the items and returned home…
“But he went in, and stood before his master. And Elisha said unto him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went no whither. And he said unto him, Went not mine heart with thee, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants? The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.” (2Kings 5:25-27)
God’s gift of salvation is the only thing that is truly free to us, yet millions refuse to believe this. Ephesians 2:8-9 tell us, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
Salvation is a free gift: you cannot work for it, you cannot buy it. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
Salvation: God gave it; Jesus paid for it, and now offers it freely to you.
Peace! (John 10:7-18)
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Shouldn’t We Be Different?
Today’s Passage –1 Kings 22
(Second Milers also read – Luke 5 – 6; Proverbs 25; Psalms 121 – 125
“And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with me to battle to Ramothgilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses.” (1 Kings 22:4)
“Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,” (2 Corinthians 6:17)
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (1 John 2:15)
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12:2)
In this passage of Scripture we can see a picture of one of the big problems afflicting so many Christians today – we are as they are. In our text today we find King Jehoshaphat of Judah in fellowship and solidarity with King Ahab of Israel. The trouble with this was that Ahab was a very worldly and wicked king. Jehoshaphat was a good man who loved the Lord, and he had no business fellowshipping with Ahab, let alone yoking up with him to do battle against another nation:
“And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” (Ephesians 5:11)
“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14)
Christians today have the same problem. We are just like the world around us. We are no different – we are as they are. Shouldn’t there be a difference between us and the lost people that surround us, and shouldn’t that difference be clearly visible in our actions and appearance? Please don’t misunderstand. I am not suggesting that we should be unfriendly, and I am not a proponent of isolation. On the contrary, I believe that we should be “in the world”, but just not “of the world”. We have to rub shoulders with the world in order to shine our light before them and communicate the gospel to them, but we do not have to become like them in order to reach them. As the children’s song says, “If you’re saved and you know it, then your life should surely show it”. Your life, your words, your relationships; everything about you should reveal that you are not like you used to be before you trusted Christ, and you are not like the rest of the world.
Posted in Thoughts from 1 Kings by Phil Erickson with 1 comment.
Humble Yourself
Today’s Passage – 1 Kings 20 – 21 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Luke 3 – 4; Proverbs 24; Psalms 116 – 120
Scripture Memorization for March – John 1:1 – 18
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Isaiah 40:31
Read a great article by Pastor Cary Schmidt – “What If“
Read the “0424 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon
“And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house.” – (1 Kings 21:27-29)
Ahab was probably the worst king in Israel’s history. He tolerated all kinds of immorality and idolatry in his kingdom and even promoted it. He married Jezebel, a woman whose name has become synonomous with wickedness. Together, Ahab and Jezebel were responsible for the slaughter of many of the prophets of the Lord in Israel. These were bad people. Ahab was a bad man and an even worse king.
Notice, however, in the last part of chapter 21. Ahab humbled himself before the Lord. Now don’t misunderstand, this was not a complete turnaround. He didn’t surrender to go to the mission field or anything like that; but he did humble himself before the Lord; and as a result, God spared him some of the judgment that he had planned for him. Apparently, a little humility went a long way for Ahab.
I don’t think there are too many people reading this that are as wicked as old King Ahab; but it would do us well to follow his example in just this one instance. Let’s kill some of the pride in our lives and humble ourselves before the Lord. Let’s surrender to Him and submit ourselves to His will for our lives. Let’s allow him to correct us when necessary. It may just be that a little humility before the Lord will go a long way in our lives as well.
“Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.” (1 Peter 5:5)
“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” (James 4:10)
Posted in Thoughts from 1 Kings by Phil Erickson with 1 comment.
Just for Ladies – by Camille Stahl
Today’s Passage – 1 Kings 18 – 19 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Luke 1 – 2; Proverbs 23; Psalms 111 – 115
Scripture Memorization for March – John 1:1 – 18
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Proverbs 27:15
Read a great article by Pastor Cary Schmidt – “What If“
Read the “0423 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Read a post from this morning’s Bible reading passage – “Don’t Shoot the Messenger“
The Study of Women in the Bible
This week: Sarah
Good morning and welcome once again to Women in the Bible. This week we will be looking at Sarah and how she walked ahead of God.
“Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” (Genesis 12:1 – 3)
“After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.” (Genesis 15:1 – 5)
“Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. And Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived:” (Genesis 16:1 – 4)
Abraham and Sarah lived a secure life in Ur, with friends and family. One day God appeared to Abraham and told him to leave his land and go to a place, which He would point out to him. Most women would find it hard to leave their home to face an unknown future, but Sarah got on board and stood behind her husband, obeyed God and went willingly. After moving over 600 miles away, God told Abraham to move again. All the while Sarah was waiting for the promise of God to bear a child.
Abraham and Sarah continued moving around, and because of a famine, they decided to move to Egypt. For the first time, Sarah saw Abraham not take counsel from God. She must have really questioned her husband when he asked her to tell the people that she was his sister. Here was a man who had walked beside God, now running ahead. Sarah honored her husband, and God honored Sarah by protecting her in Egypt. Sarah knew from experience that to live a life of faith she would need to be patient. Faith and patience go together. You can’t buy them, you have to experience them; but Sarah was growing older and now past her days of child bearing. She suggested to Abraham that he take Hagar as his concubine. Although these things happened frequently back then, it was still wrong, because of her lack of faith.
A year after God appeared to them again, Sarah conceived and bore a child. Finally, receiving the promise from God.
Today we have two nations from the loins of Abraham: the Arabs, the descendants of Ishmael; and the Jews, the descendants of Isaac. They are still at war with each other, all because Sarah ran ahead of God.
We too must follow by God’s side; never running ahead or dragging behind. We should follow closely by God’s side because His timing is the perfect timing. Moving only when God moves us, and waiting when He is working. Psalm 119:105 says, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” If you ever walked in the woods at night with a flashlight, you know you must walk next to the one holding the light. Too far behind or ahead, and you are in darkness. You might go down the wrong path, stumble, or fall. So let’s take the Saviour’s hand and walk together by His side.
In conclusion, I do not want to leave Sarah on a sour note. Sarah’s life had experienced many sacrifices. Her faith grew after the birth of her son, Isaac. She experienced hardships and disappointments, all without complaint. She was flexible with the changes that were made in her life. By her obedience to Abraham, she allowed him to obey God. In Hebrews 11, she was honored for the faith she had, without having her failures pointed out.
Have patience, have patience, Don’t be in such a hurry.
Have patience, have patience, You’ll only start to worry.
Remember, Remember, that God is patient too!
Just think of all the times that others had to wait for you!
Thank You
1 John 5:13
Posted in Just for Ladies by Phil Erickson with 3 comments.
Be Careful Who You Trust
Today’s Passage – 1 Kings 12 – 14 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Mark 13 – 14; Proverbs 21; Psalms 101 – 105
Scripture Memorization for March – John 1:1 – 18
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 121
Read a great article by Pastor Paul Chappell – “Five Musts of Christ“
Read the “0421 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon
My attention this morning is drawn to chapter thirteen and the account of the prophet that was sent from the southern kingdom of Judah with a message for Jeroboam, the king of the northern kingdom, Israel. He was sent with a message of judgment to Jeroboam:
“And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee. And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.” (1 Kings 13:2 & 3)
At the end of this unpleasant meeting with Jeroboam, this un-named prophet is asked to go back with Jeroboam to get something to eat and to receive a reward. The prophet flatly refuses to go with Jeroboam because he was given strict instructions by God not to eat in Israel. On the way home, however, another man claiming to be a prophet asks him to go with him and get something to eat. This man lies to him and tells him that God told him that it was OK. As a result, the prophet from Judah goes with him; but soon discovers that he was tricked into disobeying the clear commandment of God; and it cost him his life.
Christian, you and I need to be careful who we listen to. Sometimes people pretending to represent God will come to us and try to get us to do things that are clearly against the plain teaching of the Word of God. We are to trust the Bible, and we can trust the men and women that preach and teach the Bible correctly; but the Bible itself is always the final authority. Be careful who you trust.
By the way, we also saw in chapter twelve that Reheboam listened to the counsel of the young men, rather than the counsel of the old men. The result was that the kingdom of Israel was split into two kingdoms. Again, we see here that you have to be very careful about who you listen to. I am not saying that it is always unwise to listen to young men, but we should always include in our cabinet of counselors some older men (and ladies) who have demonstrated that they have godly wisdom.
Posted in Thoughts from 1 Kings by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.