Israel

The Gospel Is For All the World

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Gentiles Receive the Gospel

Book of Acts Chapters 10 and 11

We know that it was the Apostle Paul who was the Apostle to the Gentile world but before Paul, it was the Apostle Peter who first took the “Gospel” to the Gentiles.

God knew that Peter would have to be convinced that the Gospel was also written to the Gentiles, which means to all the world and not just to the Jews.

The Jews would have kept the Word of God to themselves if they could have.

This is known as discrimination. Everywhere we go we find that people are different.

People differ in beliefs, religion, speech, looks, color, behavior, status, and many other ways.

This has been true since the time of Cain and Abel.

In our nation today all these things are brought together in one word, racism.

There is only “one race”, and it is the “human race” and we are all full of flaws.

In our lesson today we find that God treats everyone the same and He encourages the Church to treat everyone the same.

We all stand on level ground at the foot of the cross!

The Jews had their own laws and customs and they looked upon Gentiles with suspicion.

We should keep in mind that the Jewish people have always been mistreated, enslaved, and persecuted more than any other people upon this earth.

They had been conquered by army, after army, after army and by the millions they had been removed from their nation and scattered all over the world.

Their religion is what has kept them together all these years and their belief in the One true God.

They opposed anyone who threatened or attempted to break their laws of religion or the laws of their nation.

Instead of proclaiming God to the world, the Jews claimed God was the God of the Jews and to no one else.

All gentiles were called dogs.

A gentile could have no dealings with the Jews until they were ritually cleansed.

They would never help a Gentile to give birth for the fear that another Gentile would be born into this world.

The Jews were too stubborn to change their ways, but God was not going to allow Christianity to follow that same path.

If God could convince Peter, then all the Apostles could be convinced of this truth.

God will not allow prejudice any room in Christianity!

God had convinced Peter of all these things the day before Peter had gone to visit Cornelius, a Roman Centurion.

*Act 10:34 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
Act 10:35 But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

It was the Apostle Peter who first preached to the Gentiles the means of salvation to all people.

God does not show partiality or favoritism to any person because of looks, position, or circumstances.

God has no favorites in the Church! We may think so, but the fact is God looks upon all His saved children exactly the same!

God will never discriminate between His children!

Appearance, or position, abilities, works, health, or stature do not make any person acceptable to God!

God has always said these things even throughout the Old Testament but hardly anyone paid attention to Him.

Deu 10:17 For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:
Deu 10:18 He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.

2Ch 19:7 Wherefore now let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts.

And God does not ever change in the New Testament:

Rom 2:11 For there is no respect of persons with God.

God simply does not play favorites!

God’s love is in equal portions to all!

Joh 3:16 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.

There are two things that grab God’s attention:

1) Fearing God.

This fearing of God is a reverent fear of God along with an absolute fear of God.

Heb 12:28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
Heb 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.

2) Working righteousness according to the Word of God. (To be right and to do right).

Mat 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

We cannot just stress righteousness but we must also do righteousness.

We cannot just believe but we must be a doer of the Word.

We must walk the talk as some would say.

There are so many who claim to know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and acceptable to God, but they neglect obeying God and serving Him.

Loose living allows one to go out and do pretty much as he desires. He may feel secure and comfortable in his faith. He knows that what he does may affect his fellowship with God, but he also does not think it affects his salvation.

In reality this is false righteousness! It is self-righteousness or legalism.

There is no such thing as righteousness without living righteously!

We must obey the law of love and acceptance! God loves us and accepts us not because we do good but because we love and trusts the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

We have no righteousness in ourselves.

There are no laws that can keep us righteous and we certainly cannot judge the actions of others to try to be as righteous as they are.

Our goal is to be like the Lord Jesus Christ!

We cannot be acceptable to God without being made righteous in the Lord Jesus Christ!

2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

*Act 10:36 The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)
Act 10:37 That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached;

It is true that God sent His Word through Israel.

The Word of God is very clear that a Savor, the Messiah would arise out of the Jewish nation and from that point the knowledge of Christ the Savior should spread to all nations under Heaven.

Joh 4:21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
Joh 4:22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
Joh 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Joh 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Israel was the first nation to receive the Word of God:

The Apostle Paul wrote:

Rom 9:3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:
Rom 9:4 Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;
Rom 9:5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

None of these things can be denied.

God sent the New Testament by the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s very own Son.

These things being true, the Word of God was not meant for Israel alone.

The Lord Jesus Christ did not come just for Israel’s salvation!

God is no respecter of persons.

God accepts people from every nation.

The Lord Jesus Christ is Lord of all!

1Co 8:6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

There is almost no one today who can truthfully say they have never heard some part of the Word of God!

The world still pays no attention to what God says.

Today people will tell you that the Word of God is not relevant to the world of today.

In America many say the same thing about our Constitution and the Word of God is much more important than our Constitution.

The “Gospel” of Jesus Christ has been published around the world today, it is just ignored by most of the world.

Jesus began preaching the Word of God in Galilee just after John was imprisoned.

Mar 1:14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
Mar 1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Jesus then preached the Word of God in every city and village.

Luk 8:1 And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him,

There are no excuses for rejecting the “Gospel” of Jesus Christ!

There is no excuse for ending up in Hell at your death.

The ignorance of the Lord Jesus Christ will put you in Hell!

*Act 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.
Act 10:39 And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree:

Jesus Christ is the Anointed One of God, the Messiah, God’s Anointed Savior!

The word Christ in Greek and the Hebrew Messiah denote the Lord Jesus as the “Anointed One” of God.

Jesus was anointed with God the Holy Spirit but he was anointed in a way that no other person has ever been anointed.

The Holy Spirit was given without measure to the Lord Jesus Christ!

Joh 3:33 He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.
Joh 3:34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.
Joh 3:35 The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.

What did Jesus say?

Luk 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
Luk 4:19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit so that He could go about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the Devil.

What are some the things the Devil will oppress us with?

Evil spirits and demons, lying and deception, bitterness and hatred, killings and wars, selfishness and greed, immorality and lust, power over death and many other things.

When we receive the Holy Spirit, the devil will have lost any and all power over us!

Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

This part of the “Good News” we can witness to others about.

There is proof that the Lord Jesus did all these things.

The disciples were with the Lord for about three years and were eyewitnesses of all these things.

The Lord Jesus did not come to debate the Word of God!

The Word of God stands as the absolute truth for this world!

The Lord Jesus may no longer be upon this earth in body, but He is still working in lives today. Still delivering from the oppression of the Devil.

The Scripture speaks of at least four anointings:

1) The anointing of respect or of hospitality.

Mar 16:1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.

2) The anointing for service:

Exo 28:41 And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office.

3) The anointing for medical purposes.

Luk 10:34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

4) The anointing of God’s Son. (Our Scripture)

Act 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

Many of the disciples of Jesus Christ were also witnesses to His death!

Act 2:23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
Act 2:24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.

Act 3:13 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.
Act 3:14 But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;
Act 3:15 And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.

But God raised Him up from the dead.

*Act 10:40 Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly;
Act 10:41 Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead.

There was no doubt that the resurrection of Jesus Christ was done in such a way that showed He had victory over Death, over Hell, and over the Grave.

The Lord Jesus appeared to a selected group of witnesses.

1) God showed Jesus openly. He was visibly, openly, and publicly seen as the Risen Lord.

2) The Lord Jesus appeared to chosen witnesses who were chosen for a reason.

3) Certain witnesses did eat and drink with Him after He arose from the dead.

Peter tried to stress that the person we know as Jesus, did die, and did raise from the dead and did have fellowship with His disciples.

Peter tried to emphasize that he and the other disciples, men and women were as closely associated with Jesus as people can be. These were all true, verifiable witnesses.

Peter emphasized that the Lord Jesus Christ actually died and actually rose from the dead and he was certain of it!

The person that rose from the dead was the same person that died. He was the same Jesus that they knew before He died!

His body was a real body, not as a ghost, but a body that could only be described as “glorified”.

He was real. He could eat, drink, speak, and do all things that people do, but He could do all sort of Heavenly things also.

The same body that was buried was the same body that was resurrected!

This same Lord Jesus who they had traveled with also repeated some the same commands He had already given to them.

*Act 10:42 And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.

Peter said we had all get it very clear, the Lord Jesus Christ is the only Judge of the living and the dead of all nations and all peoples.

He will judge the Jew and the Greek and all other nationalities and He is no respecter of persons!

He is ordained of the same God that the Jews had worshiped all these years beginning with Abraham.

Jesus Christ is the One and Only Judge of all people no matter who they are or where they are, alive or dead.

He and He alone will judge all their works from the day they were born to the day they die within His creation.

Act 17:31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

All the prophets of the Old Testament when they spoke of the Messiah, they were speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ.

*Act 10:43 To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.

The Bible from the Book of Genesis to the Book of Revelation tells the story of God’s Messiah, our Savior.

Peter had been convincing of this truth.

Mat 16:15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
Mat 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

It is the believing in all these truths that He allows the forgiveness of sins.

There is no other way to be forgiven by our Heavenly Father!

So, what are the results when people hear and understand the truth of God?

*Act 10:44 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.
Act 10:45 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Without the Holy Ghost we cannot be “Born Again”.

Without the Holy Spirit we will have no power against the Devil.

Without the truth of the Word of God we will remain lost in a dying world.

1Th 2:13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

While Peter was still preaching, faith entered into these Gentiles and they were gloriously saved.

Hearing the Word of God is a requirement before the Holy Spirit will enter into the soul of any human.

Our “Faith” must be based upon the truth. Not just any truth but the truth of God!

Jehovah God caused the Holy Spirit to fall upon these Gentiles because they had become believers.

No man not even Peter had anything to do with God pouring out His Spirit upon these believers.

The gift of the Holy Spirit is an act of God!

They received the Holy Spirit because they received the truth of Jesus Christ and believed.

The Jewish believers who were present with Peter were astonished. They had been taught since childhood that the Holy Spirit was available to only the Jews.

They in their teachings had developed a hatred for the Gentiles.

The signs they saw were identical to what the Jews had seen on that day of Pentecost and could not be denied.

We know that speaking tongues was them speaking in a language they could not have known, probably the Jewish language as these were Greek speaking Gentiles with some knowing Latin.

This called the “baptizing of the Holy Spirit.

Note: Even today the Jews are always seeking some sign that what God does is true. Their faith has always been lacking.

*Act 10:46 For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter,

Tongues is simply another word for languages.

The words of Jesus:

Mar 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Mar 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
Mar 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
Mar 16:18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

*Act 10:47 Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?
Act 10:48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.

Peter then challenged those Jewish believers to see if they would deny water baptism.

There could be no question that these Gentiles were just as saved as those Jewish believers.

God will never teach a lie!

The door to the Gentile world was now opened.

It seems it was the Jewish believers who baptized these Gentile believers.

They all believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, and they all became part of the Church, the Bride of Christ.

They were all baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Father God said:

Isa 45:22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.

God the Son said:

Mat 22:9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.

The Holy Spirit directed all these things to be written down so we would all have the truth!

Amen

God’s Plan is Always Moving Forward

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Joshua Israel’s New Leader

Book of Joshua Chapter 1

Who is this, Joshua?

The name “Joshua” as written can mean “Jehovah is his help” but it can also mean “Jehovah the Savior”.

Joshua is sometimes written Jehoshua, and Jehoshuah but in the New Testament we see it written as Jesus.

Act 7:45 Which also our fathers that came after brought in with “Jesus” into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David;
Act 7:46 Who found favour before God, and desired to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob.

We should not be confused by these things and if we study the context of the Scripture we will not be.

We see the same thing happen in the Book of Hebrews:

Heb 4:8 For if “Jesus” had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.
Heb 4:9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.

Joshua did not have it in his power to give rest to the people of God, only the Lord Jesus Christ has this power!

Again look at the context of this Scripture.

This Joshua is the son Nun to distinguish him from any other man name Joshua and there were others.

Joshua as a child was born into the slavery of Egypt and reached the age for military as he traveled to freedom with Moses and all of Israel.

No doubt as a young man He worked in the brick fields of Egypt.

We can believe all these things because it is Joshua, led by the Holy Spirit who has written all these things for us.

It is Joshua who also wrote the final words of the Book of Deuteronomy after the death of Moses again led by the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit does not make mistakes, so there are no mistakes in the “Received Text”!

We can say the Book of Joshua was written to the Israelites to teach them their great history and the mistakes they had made.

We also know that All Scripture is written for the Church!

2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

The Book of Joshua shows us how Israel conquered and divided up the land promised to these descendants of Abraham by Isaac and Jacob.

The Book of Joshua shows all readers that God is faithful to keep His promises.

The main purpose to the Book of Joshua is to teach the Doctrines of God to the Israelites and to all readers of this precious book of the Old Testament, which means the New Testament Church.

Some of those Doctrines are:

The Doctrine of Faith.
The Doctrine of the Holiness of God.
The Doctrine of Sin. God will not tolerate evil and wickedness, not forever.
The Doctrine of “Mercy and Grace”. Yes, we can see the “Grace” of God in the Old Testament and His “Mercy”!
The Doctrine of the “All Powerful” God of Creation.
The Doctrine of the “All Knowing” God of knowledge.
The Doctrine of the Sovereign Ruler of all Creation.
The Doctrine that states that God places people in certain locations for His Own Purposes!

*Jos 1:1 Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying,
Jos 1:2 Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.

Moses at the age of 120 years old had now been taken out of the picture by God Himself, his purpose complete and God told Joshua to fill in the gap that Moses left behind.

It is our duty to answer the call of God!

Moses was a mighty man of God. How could anyone fill in for him?

Moses had already selected Joshua by the word of God and had already begun his training.

Deu 31:14 And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thy days approach that thou must die: call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tabernacle of the congregation, that I may give him a charge. And Moses and Joshua went, and presented themselves in the tabernacle of the congregation.

Deu 31:23 And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them: and I will be with thee.

It was Moses that had established Israel as a nation through the guidance of Jehovah making him the father of the nation of Israel.

A band of Egyptian slaves had become the nation that had set back Egypt for many years which they have never really overcome.

It was time for Israel to leave off mourning for what was, and accept what God had planned for the destruction of the sinful nations of Canaan Land

Gen_15:16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

On a much smaller scale than the worldwide flood, Israel was the hand of God for the destruction of the sin full people of Canaan Land.

They needed a strong leader and God gave them Joshua.

Joshua was now the Commander-in-Chief of the new nation of Israel.

We should understand Moses was a great man of God, but his death did not affect the plan of God.

God simply selects some other human to keep the plan of God moving forward at all times!

If Joshua for some reason rejected the call of God, God would simply have chosen someone else.

When God plan is in action, He will then provide all the tools and materials necessary to keep moving forward in the work God has given all the Church to accomplish.

The “providence” of God is always in His hands, and it does not depend upon any one upon this earth, or anywhere else humans are seeking to run and hide.

*Jos 1:3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.

It was the death of Moses that opened the door for Joshua, so we see that it is God who is the giver of life and only He can take a life.

Satan may have had the power of death before the work of the Lord Jesus was completed, but he could not cause death at his will, he needed the permission of God, and he still does today.

Satan answers to God, Jehovah God and he is also condemned to Hell which is why the world is moving so fast toward wicked, immoral corrupted, iniquity.

Some of the promises God made to Abraham were becoming reality.

The walk of Abraham had defined the boundaries of the nation of Israel more than four hundred years prior to the day of Joshua.

Moses had led the children of Israel right up to the shores of the River Jordan, right at the most awkward time of the rainy season, but God had a reason even for this.

It would be Joshua that led the crossing of Jordan!

What were the boundaries that God set aside for the nation of Israel?

*Jos 1:4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.

South: the desert of Negev.
North: Lebanon. Mount Lebanon the tallest mountain of Syria.
East: the Euphrates River.
West the Mediterranean Sea.

To this day, Israel has never possessed all this land and will not until the return of Christ Jesus.

Why? Many of them became cowards.

Many of them refused to obey the Word of God.

The closest that Israel ever came to control of all this land was in the days of King David and King Solomon.

It is at the death of King Solomon when Israel became a divided nation and disappeared from History for a time.

A divided nation cannot stand in this world of sin!

America is more divided today than it has ever been in our brief history and America could disappear from history and it is because of our corrupt, and wicked, and immoral government!

Why is this so true? Because America has booted God out!

Why did Israel begin to show dominance for many years? It was because God was with them until they demanded God to leave.

What was God’s promise to Israel?

*Jos 1:5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

What wonderful words given to a new leader.

God promised Joshua that no nation would be able to stand against him.

To us this means as a believer, we will have a full life, a victorious life, if we continue to serve the Lord with all our heart!

We know that as this new nation of Israel moved forward, they would face many obstacles.

We can also say the same thing about them today as much of the world hates them without a reason.

This tiny nation of Israel has met many a foe on the battlefield, all of them trying to erase them as a nation, but God has not allowed this to happen, and the Bible says He will not allow it to happen.

God promises those who love Him a full and victorious life, but we must also move forward claiming victory over the obstacles we face.

We can do this because we are never alone!

With the power of God there is no obstacle that we cannot overcome!

It begins with obedience!

1Jn 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
1Jn 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
1Jn 5:5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

We have the promise of our Savior that He will never forsake us.

Even on those days we may not feel our Lord God, we have the assurance that He is with us.

Our life is not about feelings, our life is about the promises of God!

This is one of the greatest promises God has given to us, that He will never forsake us!

No matter what trouble, no matter what difficulty, no matter what problem we face, God will never leave us and He will walk with us through these things!

*Jos 1:6 Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.

Joshua had been an eyewitness, as these people had rebelled against Moses many times.

The challenge of Israel was very great to be a conqueror of the many nations of Canaan Land.

They needed a leader who was equipped to manage these times and it was Joshua.

Joshua was God’s man!

What was Joshua first task? He was to trust God! He was to be strong and very courageous!

When God calls us, He knows that our task will not be easy. If it was easy, then anyone could do it without God!

The army of God must be strong and courageous.

When we put on the armor of God we are not dressing for peace, we are dressing for war!

We are to be obedient to the Word of God.
We are to never stop sharing the Word of God.
We are to meditate on God’s Word day and night!

The result of obedience to God will always be prosperity and success! This does not mean riches.

It means all that we put our hands to, that is in the will of God, will prosper!

Again, it takes strength in the Lord and obedience to overcome discouragement!

*Jos 1:7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.

God did not place Joshua in this position of leadership to be lord over this people!

They would follow Joshua if he continued to follow the Lord.

Until till the last days of Joshua’s life, every day brought a new enemy to defeat.

Every year brought a new enemy.

Every day he had to send the young people of Israel into battle, and he would witness the blood shed of many of them.

These things are hard on any commander. Joshua would need much courage and strength.

No matter where we are on the battlefield of the Lord, we must know that we cannot do these things in our own strength so our relationship with the Lord must be steady and enduring.

We must follow the Word of God not veering to the left or to the right.

The pathway to Heaven remains a narrow path and few will ever find it.

Mat_7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

God will reveal to us the obstacles we will face by teaching us the deep things of God!

1Co 2:10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
1Co 2:11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
1Co 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
1Co 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

The key to our prosperity in this world is obedience to all the Word of God!

Again this does not mean riches!

How are we to study the Word of God?

*Jos 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

In order for Joshua to succeed as the Commander-in-Chief of Israel, he was to know and obey all the Word of God. (Which is a type of Christ)

This has not changed for every national leader today! They have the same instructions, no matter who they are or where they are located!

We must never turn our backs to the Word of God as we see this world do so today.

If there is a godly leader in this world today, they are noticeably quiet and ashamed of the Word of God, because they are too silent!

God will give us purpose, a sense of achievement and a fulfillment throughout our Christian Life, but only if we obey God by meditating in His Word day and night, throughout our lifetime.

In other words, we should always be doing what God says to do!

Deu 5:29 O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!

This is the key to our success in the plan of God!

Again, we must be strong and courageous in the things of God!

*Jos 1:9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

If God says a thing one time, then it is enough, but when God says things three times then He knows how easy it will be for us to get discouraged when we see what is going on in our world.

We must never let these things keep us from serving the Lord!

We must be strong and courageous as we walk through our Christian Life.

We must know that when God gave these lands to Abraham, all Abraham had was his faith and he had enough faith that he could trust the Word of God is true.

Abraham trusted in the promises of God, and it is no different for us here today.

Now in this day of Joshua more than four hundred years later, Joshua is in position to begin fulfilling some of God’s promises to Abraham.

We should know that the land promised to Abraham was indeed the land called Palestine. Palestine is an area and not the name of some country.

We should also know that the land promised to Abraham also refers to the New Heaven.

Canaan Land is just a symbol of God’s Promise.

Rom 4:13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

The inheritance that Abraham had so much faith in, refers to the entire world, the New Universe which God is going to recreate in the very end.

It is not this world we live in now that is so full of sin, immorality, and wicked corruptness!

This world that is wasting away, deteriorating, running down, that our world calls “Climate Change”. They have seen nothing yet!

2Pe 3:4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
2Pe 3:5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
2Pe 3:6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
2Pe 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
2Pe 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

The promise to Abraham refers to the New Heaven and the New Jerusalem, our Heavenly Home!

Rev 21:10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

All these things Abraham knew and, on this day, Joshua would begin that journey with Israel as they would cross the River Jordan.

This is where Joshua would derive his courage and his strength!

It was the promises made to Abraham that drove Joshua to be the great man of God that he was, and we should be encouraged just as Joshua was encouraged.

Gen 12:1 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:
Gen 12:2 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:
Gen 12:3 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.

Joshua told this new nation of Israel, “let us go an obtain the promises of God”.

This is exactly what the Church is doing today!

*Jos 1:10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying,
Jos 1:11 Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the LORD your God giveth you to possess it.

After forty years the long-awaited command came. “prepare the people for we are going to cross the River Jordan”.

We should remember that this people of Israel would have been several million people.

There is not an army on the face of the earth that can go from rest to moving forward for war in three days, which shows us how Moses had prepared this army.

This was not just the army but also all their families and livestock.

We should also think about those three days!

Three days to our Lord Jesus was the time of His death to His resurrection.

In three days, this rag tag bunch of slaves would resurrect as the nation of Israel.

We should be able to see the typology of all these things.

What do we know? We know that God had spoken to Joshua and the crossing of the Jordan was to be done at once.

As Israel had been at camp until this command came, they had certainly seen that the River Jordan was running out of its banks at this time of the year.

In our service to the Lord, we had better understand that the natural things must be exhausted before the supernatural is brought in.

At this time we believe the “manna” had ceased and the word “victuals” would mean the food that was natural to their surroundings.

Jos 5:12 And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.

We also believe that before this command was given, that Joshua had already sent out those spies to Jericho, and they had returned.

On this side of this flooded river was Israel ready for war and on the other side stood the walled city of Jericho, which had to fall for Israel to be successful.

Jericho had already heard of the wars Israel had already fought, and won, and the city was afraid of Israel.

Between them lay a vast expanse of rushing water.

Joshua commanded this people of God “to prepare”, then “passover” and then “to possess”.

We must understand as a soldier in God’s Army, we must always be prepared, and we have that “Heavenly Manna” with us at all times if we are carrying the Word of God.

We must feed on the Lord Jesus Christ; He is our Passover!

No doubt that many of these people had the fear of death for war brings death!

But to the child of God, death has but one meaning and that meaning is New Life.

There would be no possessing of that land until they crossed over the flood waters of the River Jordan.

As Christians we have nothing on this side of Jordan, but the New Heaven, the New Jerusalem lie on the other side.

What lies on the other side will be the treasures of God!

A share of the inheritance of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Still that raging river seemed unsurpassable.

But the Lord will always say:

Jos 3:5 And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the LORD will do wonders among you.

When the flood waters of this world are raging, then this is when we need to trust the Lord the most!

Mar_6:50 For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.

We must never forget that as we travel in this life, the Lord Jesus Christ will walk before us showing us the way!

We know that God would stop the flow of the River Jordan and several million Israelites would cross the River Jordan on dry land!

Amen

Moses Was Not Aborted

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Moses and Israel

Book of Deuteronomy Chapters 31 33 and 34

Most people do not realize that the life of Moses began when His mother chose to not allow the government to abort her child.

It is the same abortion process that is allowed in some states today.

The government ordered all the male babies of Israel to be destroyed and the female babies allowed to live to become sex slaves.

Abortion after nine months is nothing but murder, in fact abortion at any stage of a baby’s development is nothing but murder!

Abortion needs to be outlawed completely.

Moses grew up to be a great man and a great leader of Israel.

What is greatness?

Greatness as far as humanity can be said to be a high rank, a placed of elevation, a place of high dignity, a place of much power, a place with command of others, a place of swelling pride.

Guess what, almost every human being goes through a period in their lives when they want to feel that they are great.

That they are far above other people.

That they are important in this world and more important than most others.

We see rulers and presidents who have this feeling of greatness.

We see governments that claim greatness because of certain laws.

Today we see politicians who think they know more of what of what people need than the people do, especially parents.

This is called indoctrination, but this is for another lesson.

It is not wealth, nor influence, nor fame that gets the attention of God. It is humility!

Humility can be described as a state of mind that is well-pleasing to God!

It is humility that preserves the soul:

Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom 12:2 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.

1Pe 3:4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.

The Lord Jesus Christ is our example of humility as He is our example in all things.

Php 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
Php 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
Php 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

God greatest promises are to those who are humble in spirit!

Isa 57:15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

Those who are contrite are all those are all those who are broken hearted because they have sinned against our Holy God.

We should all be ashamed that we were such sinners!

Moses was God’s man and the mediator between all of Israel and the Almighty God.

Moses was now 120 years old. His life was spent in 40-year increments.

Forty years as the grandson of Pharaoh.
Forty years as a lowly shepherd.
Forty years leading the Israelites to a promised land that he would not get to see with his own eyes.

*Deu 31:1 And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel.
Deu 31:2 And he said unto them, I am an hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: also the LORD hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan.
Deu 31:3 The LORD thy God, he will go over before thee, and he will destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt possess them: and Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as the LORD hath said.

It was finally time for these children of Israel to enter the promised land, but Moses was forbidden by God to do so.

His days had ended.

Moses said to these people that his days as a leader had ended because his death was approaching.

One of the greatest types in all the Bible was about to take place.

Joshua, Hoshea, Yehoshua in Hebrew would lead the children of Israel into the Promised Land just as Yeshua, Jesus will lead the Church into the New Heaven, the true Promised Land.

Even in his humility, Moses was a great prophet of Jehovah.

He was the Lawgiver to the Jews.

In fact, even at the time of Jesus, Moses was known as the Law Giver.

Notice that Moses had been prepared and then performed the work of God for 120 years.

Reminds us of Noah who built the Ark and preached to unrepentant sinners for 120 years.

Moses had known that he would not enter Canaan Land.

Deu 32:48 And the LORD spake unto Moses that selfsame day, saying,
Deu 32:49 Get thee up into this mountain Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession:
Deu 32:50 And die in the mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people:
Deu 32:51 Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel.
Deu 32:52 Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel.

We must not think that Moses was on his death bed for he was not.

Deu 34:7 And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.

He could not go in and out. He could not perform the day-by-day function of leader to this people.

Nothing could be done to change this fact that Moses would not lead these people into the promised land, so Moses began to encourage them.

Great Spiritual leaders may come and go, but the message of God and the truths of God do not ever change!

As Christians it is our job to encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ!

As we go through these days we call life, we find that we need strong encouragement most of the time, but the fact remains that sometimes we need a strong warning, as it is today as we see the end of the Church Age approaching.

The Church needs to wake up to these facts!

We need to understand the consequences of the decisions we make in this life!

We must understand that it is our faith that will provided that encouragement and it is our faith that we need to grow!

Though Moses would no longer be the leader of this new nation of Israel, he promised them that God would still with them.

The Lord will always fulfill the promises He makes, no matter what is going on in the world.

Joshua had proven himself to Moses and to God, and Joshua would lead this people into the Promised Land just as the Lord Jesus will lead the Church into the true Promised Land the New Heaven.

Before Joshua would take over in place of Moses, Moses had to complete that first copy of all the Law he had received from Jehovah and the people would first hear the first five Books of the Bible from Moses himself.

We sometimes forget that Moses was one of the greatest men that had ever lived.

We know that Moses was one of the two men that appeared at the time of the transfiguration of the Lord Jesus Christ, Elijah being the other man.

God thought an awful lot of Moses and these Jews would do so also.

If anyone could offer encouragement to these people, it would be Moses.

Remember they had witnessed all their elders die in the wilderness because of their refusal to be obedient to God.

Another thing we should understand when serving the Lord is, that He will never send us into any place that He has not gone on before us to begin His work.

We see this today in places where God has called missionaries to specific places because the Holy Spirit has already been at work there.

Joshua had been prepared all his life to take the reins from Moses and he had never faltered.

These people had to realize that their strength did not come from the size of their army nor from their own abilities.

Their strength could come only from the LORD!

This is the same lesson the Church must learn and each of us that believe!

Our strength comes only from the Lord Jesus!

It should be the goal of every individual to want victory in this life and that victory can come only by the Lord Jesus Christ!

Joh 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
Joh 16:14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
Joh 16:15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

It is the Lord Jesus Christ who is our refuge at all times and under all circumstances!

*Deu 33:26 There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky.
Deu 33:27 The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.

That name Jeshurun could be said to be God’s “pet name” or “nick name” for Israel.

It could be phrased “the righteous little people” or “the dear upright people” for we know that Israel was a small nation at this time, but they were the people of God.

They were a people without a country!

The thing this world had better keep in mind is, that true Israel will be preserved to serve God during the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ and there is nothing that this world can do about it and before this, the Lord will have removed His Church.

It does not matter that the world does not believe this!

Anyone with plans to attack Israel had best be aware God will always be on their side!

Remember from last week, God will rejoice in the destruction of all those who try to destroy Israel!

There is nothing in this world that you could compare to the power of God!

Jehovah will always be the Eternal Refuge of Israel!
Jehovah will always be the Saving Help of these, His people!

There is none like unto Jehovah God!
There is none that can compare to Jehovah God!

It was time for Israel to realize this truth and to be honest, it is past time for the world of today to know this truth.

Why does the world keep falling into the traps of evolution?

Why does the world keep believing it can control the outcome of sin?

Sin comes by the hand of Satan and is intended to destroy us all!

Tax revenues made from sin, would not be that important if governments were better stewards of its national resources!

God is the Dwelling-place and the Refuge of His people, and this includes the Church!

It is God the LORD who is our Protector from the storms of life!

If God sends us into the storm, then He will go with us and He is never far from us!

We are always trying to figure out what God is going to do, or to allow to happen in this world, but all the major things are written down for in the Word of God!

What we know is, that Heaven is a busy place as the Lord Jesus is preparing a place for all His children.

We need to keep the Lord Jesus Christ busy building mansions!

For Jesus is truly our refuge in times of trouble!

Not for those who reject the Word of God, but only for those who are obedient to all the Word of God and who diligently seek Him!

Jehovah is glorious in His majesty.
Jehovah has absolute sovereignty over ALL His creation.
Jehovah has power infinitely beyond comprehension or even resistance.
Jehovah is Divine in His character!

Isa 40:18 To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
Isa 40:19 The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.
Isa 40:20 He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.
Isa 40:21 Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?
Isa 40:22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
Isa 40:23 That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.

This truth is so obvious today, but the truth of God is still rejected so people can believe lies!

It does not matter what the world believes, Israel dwells in the safety of Jehovah God every day as does the Church!

Israel’s God and God’s Israel.

*Deu 33:28 Israel then shall dwell in safety alone: the fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine; also his heavens shall drop down dew.
Deu 33:29 Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the LORD, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency! and thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and thou shalt tread upon their high places.

Egypt had so many gods that some people would say they grew them in their own gardens.

This could be said of this world we live in today!

This could be said of the USA today, as America looks more like the world every day now.

I have this question that haunts me: “Why do we even want to be like the world especially the European Union”?

We had a war to be free from the Europeans to get our nation started.

Why do we want to be like them now? They have not changed for the better!

If America is Sodom, then Europe is Gomorrah!

We should want to be more like the vision of those who came to America to serve the Lord Jesus Christ!

If America would just repent, we would see so many good changes come in the form of God’s love!

2Ch 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

There is coming a day when all of Israel’s enemies will be found to be liars.

In fact there is coming a day when all God’s enemies will be found to be liars.

They are liars because they follow their true god, Satan the father of all liars!

The Lord Jesus had these words to say:

Joh 8:43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
Joh 8:45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.

There are many nations today that are becoming friends of Israel and they had better be truthful and for those who swear to destroy Israel they will certainly be found liars!

It was time for Moses to disappear off the scene and Joshua to take the reins of Israel, but before this happened the Holy Spirit still had some things to say about Moses.

As we study the Scriptures, we will find that there has not been another prophet as was Moses who did speak to Jehovah face to face.

Moses has now been buried in a place no one but God knows.

Deu 34:5 So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD.
Deu 34:6 And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.

*Deu 34:10 And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,
Deu 34:11 In all the signs and the wonders, which the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land,
Deu 34:12 And in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses shewed in the sight of all Israel.

Another thing we see is that when our own work is done, God will call on someone else to continue that work.

The work for Jesus Christ will not be complete until He returns to take His Church home to the New Heaven!

To be honest there were many great prophets to accept the cause of God after the death of Moses, but God spoke to them in a different way.

Moses was a type of Christ, and this could not be said of all the prophets that followed even though they too were great men of God.

They were to be more like the preachers and Pastors of today, but they did many times show the power of God.

As it did to Moses, death will sometimes reveal to us all the missed opportunities where we made the wrong choices in this thing called life.

These things may cause us sadness, but the main thing today in the Church Age is, “to get your name written down in the Lambs Book of Life”.

Moses is in Heaven because he had the “faith” of Abraham!

We can only get to Heaven if we have the “faith” of Abraham in the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

Abraham believed God!

Moses had requested to see the glory of God and because he was a sinner, he could not, but he has now seen all the glory of the Lord.

Death is that place where the man of God steps into the glory world just as Moses did.

Israel was now prepared to enter into the Promised Land.

All that old bunch of naysayers had died and gone on to the grave to await their future in a burning Hell, but Moses had taken that young nation of Israel and with the help of God formed them into a mighty army.

We should understand this is the job of national leaders to prepare our nation to moved forward in a productive manner and not be brainwashed into something that suits them.

God does not want an indoctrinated youth!

Communism exist today because the youth of those nations were indoctrinated and it is happening in America today.

God wants a youth brought up having been influenced by the Word of God.

Moses drew closer to God as he had gotten older.

Moses was a liberator.
Moses was a prophet.
Moses a lawgiver.
Moses was the father of Israel.

Moses had done all these things because He had believed God and followed all the Word of God.

Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Moses had made a record of all the things God had done to make Israel a great nation.

All these things were done to Israel so that one day not too far into our own future and of Israel, there would be a King again to sit upon the throne of Israel and the promises God had made would be fulfilled.

Moses longed to know the Lord personally and intimately, and this was the driving force in his fellowship with God and is our example of how we can do the same.

Jesus Christ said:

Joh 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

All the Word of God is true, and we had better know that it is!

Amen

God’s Wonderful Promises

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Promises For the Future

Book of Genesis Chapters 48 through 50

One of the greatest things we have learned from the Book of Genesis, the Book of the Beginnings is, that God has a plan for this world.

God’s plan is to bless those who love Him and who are in His will, and the greatest blessing is for those who love Him to spend eternity with Him.

God had promised Abram a promised land, but though Canaan Land is that “promised land” to the Jews, for many of us, it is not the place God was talking about.

Our “Promised Land” is Heaven itself!

The Hebrew people were a small people that needed to multiply until they became a great nation.

God used this time in Egypt to make this happen.

God had placed Joseph in Egypt to prepare for and then care for his family.

They were given the best land with one job and that job was to take care of Pharaoh’s herd.

Remember there were only 70 of Jacob’s family and Pharaoh had a large herd.

Joseph provided all their needs while the Egyptians paid dearly, some all they owned, to receive the food that they could eat until this famine was over.

The land then belonged to Pharaoh and they became tenants on the land they had at one time owned.

The children of Israel had prospered during all this time.

It was reaching the end of Jacob’s time and he knew it, and there were some things he had not accomplished before he died.

He had not yet placed the blessing of Abraham on one of his children and he had not yet chosen the blessed son.

He had, but he had not formally told this to his children.

Joseph had always been the son the Jacob loved the most, but he was now Governor of Egypt.

So Jacob puts his plan together and he begins to explain these things to Joseph.

We must realize that El Shaddai had spoken to Jacob many times in visions and dreams, so Jacob (Israel) was also a prophet, at least to his family.

Jacob began recalling the experiences of his early days.

*Gen 48:3 And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,
Gen 48:4 And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.

Remember to Jacob, Luz was “Bethel”, even though it had not been named that at this time. Bethel meaning the “House of God”.

Gen 28:16 And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not.
Gen 28:17 And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.

To the Church, the House of God is truly the gateway to Heaven but by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Without the Lord Jesus there is no “House of God”!

The promise of Abram had been passed down to Israel, but it would not be passed to Joseph who was the first born of Rachel but not the firstborn son of Jacob.

The birthright claim would be given to Joseph but only through his two sons. Jacob (Israel) would adopt those two sons and make them his own.

But the genealogy that came by Abram, through Isaac, and to Jacob, would be passed down to Judah.

1Ch 5:1 Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright.
1Ch 5:2 For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Joseph’s:)

We should understand that these things were against the future Jewish laws.

Deu 21:17 But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.
Deu 21:18 If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them:
Deu 21:19 Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place;
Deu 21:20 And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.

We must understand that El Shaddai does not limit Himself to man’s laws!

Rom 9:6 Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:

We should understand, though it would seem the King David would be that chief ruler to come from Judah, and he was that earthly ruler for a time, but the true chief ruler is the Lord Jesus Christ, who came by the tribe of Judah.

King Jesus, the Messiah, has not yet come to rule this earth for 1000 years.

We know this is true but at first Shiloh(The Messiah) will come, Jesus the Messiah who came to save!

Joseph would receive the birthright, but not in the normal fashion.

*Gen 48:5 And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.

Jacob had been deprived of spending 20 good years with Joseph his beloved son.

Jacob could not give Joseph and inheritance in Egypt because Pharaoh had already done this.

Jacob could adopt those two boys and by doing so, he would be giving a double portion of inheritance to Joseph.

They would be treated as the sons of Jacob and therefore the sons of Israel and they would receive equal portions according to their numbers, in the division of the land of Canaan.

Reuben, the firstborn son, would not receive the double portion because of his incest with Jacob’s concubine.

Gen 35:22 And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine: and Israel heard it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:

1Ch 5:1 Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright.

When we get to the Book of Revelation, we will see where the name Ephraim is replaced by Joseph though Manasseh remains.

Rev 7:8 Of the tribe of Zabulonn were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.

We are not required to understand these things, but the Holy Ghost did require that these words be written for us to learn from.

It was Jacob’s last moments in his flesh, and he had more things to say to all his children.

We can understand these things as prophecy just as these twelve men should have.

*Gen 49:1 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.

Now Jacob becomes a prophet to his own sons.

We should understand that we will reap what we sow in this life.

If we are good, we will reap good but if we bad, we will reap bad!

We can see that many seem to do good in a life of sin and never seem to suffer for it, but we must also remember that they will spend eternity in Hell suffering greatly.

God will have a true “judgment” no one will be judged for things they did not do!

Jacob had been ill most of his last years and on this day, we could say the family was called into the bedside of Jacob.

On this day, all twelve sons of Jacob were together with him in one room and not one would be quarreling with the other.

They knew their father was about to die and they wanted to hear what he had to say.

Since the time of Adam, God had dealt with the individual but after the time of Jacob, we will see the birth of the nation of Israel and we see God begins to deal with nations, especially the nation of Israel.

The time of the patriarchs comes to an end and in a short while the time of the Law will begin!

Much time will pass until the Birth of Jesus Christ and God will begin to deal with the Church.

In reality, God will go silent while Israel grows into a nation and this will last just over 400 years, when God will hear their cries because of a wicked and evil Pharaoh and God will send them a deliverer by the name of Moses and the period of the Law will begin.

Jacob gave each of his sons a prophetic warning and then he blessed each one of them and Jacob then made them promise not to bury his body in Egypt.

A brief look at these things will be something like this!

Reuben the firstborn son of Jacob should have received the birthright(the double portion) but he had proven to be weak and unstable and the tribe of Reuben would be the same. Reuben did not possess the discipline to control himself.

Simeon and Levi, the sin of these two brothers was anger, cruelty, and vengeance. Their behavior was inexcusable.

They would be divided and scattered throughout the “promised land”. They would never again be able to band together in an evil plot of anger and cruelty.

We know how the tribe of Levi was used of God and Simeon was given land in the midst of Judah.

Judah. We know that Abraham and Isaac had passed the birthright of the first born and that of the “Promised Seed’ both to the same son but in Jacob’s case, it would be Judah that Jacob passed the genealogy of the “Promised Seed” and it would be Joseph who would get the birthright of the firstborn son.

We could see how the life of Judah was being transformed into a leader and a spiritual leader.

Judah was a picture of the Christian growing spiritually.

To Judah was the blessing of Shiloh.

We also see as we study the Scriptures that once King David had the leadership of Israel it stayed in the family.

The scepter never departed from Judah.

Zebulun was to dwell toward the sea but not on the sea as Asher would dwell on the sea.

Issachar was to be like an animal of strong strength. The tribe of Issachar was a strong and sturdy people who were on occasion complacent.

In fact they could become so complacent in their comforts they were willing to be enslaved rather than lose their comforts.

Sounds a lot like the America of today!

Dan. The tribe of Dan would produce capable rulers and the most well-known was Samson. What a story he had.

Dan also could be like a snake a deadly opponent for his enemies.

Dan had to always be on guard against treachery, double dealing, and dishonesty.

Dan was the first to take up idol worship.

Not many realize it, but Jacob actually used for salvation, the word (Yeshuah) the Hebrew name for Jesus.

Gen 49:18 I have waited for thy salvation(Yeshuah), O LORD.

Jacob may could not have known about the Lord Jesus Christ, but he did know where his salvation came from!

Gad would be successful in struggling with his enemies.

1Ch 12:8 And of the Gadites there separated themselves unto David into the hold to the wilderness men of might, and men of war fit for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as the roes upon the mountains;

Asher was the tribe that sat along the seacoast. Asher gave into luxury and wealth and never really helped the other tribes.

They loved worldly pleasures.

We are warned against worldliness in the New Testament!

Naphtali was known for their swiftness in combat.

Notice also they were known for speaking and singing songs of beauty and in the time of Jesus, He spent a great deal of time in this area.

The most beautiful words ever spoken are the “Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ”.

Joseph was awarded the family birthright through his two sons.

This tribe produced Joshua, Gibeon, Abimelech, Jair, Jephthah, and Samuel came from the heritage of Joseph through his two sons.

Benjamin was the tribe to be like a ravenous wolf. The tribe of Benjamin was courageous and bold. At times, these same traits were used for evil.

Jacob told his sons to be on guard for the bad traits and try to excel in the good traits and then he gave up the ghost.

*Gen 49:28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.
Gen 49:29 And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
Gen 49:30 In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace.

Jacob remembered his forefathers Abraham and Isaac and at his death he wanted his body to be laid with their bodies.

Many today have similar wishes.

Sons want to be buried next to their father, wives next to their husbands, husbands next to their wives but we see today these things changing as the families are not as close as they once were.

Abraham had bought a cave with a piece of property in the field of Ephron from the Hittites.

He was buried there along with Sarah and Isaac and Rebekah and Leah was also buried there.

This where Jacob wanted to be buried and later, we will see where the preserved body of Joseph would also be buried.

Of course when we say buried, we know that in a cave a spot would be carved in the sides of the wall and the body would be laid there much like the burial of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This place is called Machpelah.

Through the years an ancient Christian Church was located at this place but sadly this church has been converted into a Mohammedan Mosque but a sacred enclosure at the entrance of this cave it is still looked upon as a relic of Jewish architecture thought to be built in the time of David and Solomon.

*Gen 49:33 And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.

After all these things on the mind of Jacob he died. The phrase “gathered up his feet” indicates the Jacob was dead.

This phrase gathered has another meaning.

We know that God had said He is not the God of the Dead but the God of the Living, therefore the Hebrew people felt that their Patriarchs were therefore still living in another form, so Jacob was gathered together with them.

We know that as the “Born Again” children of God we will certainly be gathered together with all our brothers and sisters in Christ because the Christian will never die though this body goes back to the dust it was made from.

1Th 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
1Th 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
1Th 4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
1Th 4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

This is the difference that comes by the “Grace” of God only to those that love Him!

*Gen 50:7 And Joseph went up to bury his father: and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt,
Gen 50:8 And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father’s house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen.
Gen 50:9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company.

We read this and then pass right on by it, but this funeral procession had to travel more than 250 miles one way and it could have been 500 miles depending on which way they traveled.

The Patriarchs of Israel would have had the same standing as a Pharaoh of Egypt or any other national ruler even before Israel became a nation.

We might understand that God was much closer to Jacob than we understand by the Scriptures.

Jacob the last of the Patriarchs and the father of the nation of Israel.

Jacob had always thought he would die without his children, but now all his sons and so many more, accompanied his body to be buried with his own fathers.

We should remember the Egyptians had no love for the Hebrews, in fact much hatred even at this time, the main reason the family of Jacob was kept separated from the Egyptians and most of that hatred was over a cow because the Egyptians worshipped the cow.

In many ways Jacob had prepared his own funeral and had given specific instructions for his burial.

This was a great procession with all the sons of Jacob all Jacob’s house except the small children but all the elders of Egypt, including the council to Pharaoh.

We can be sure there was a great military presence also with chariots and Calvary.

This thing did not even begin until after 72 days of mourning were over. This thing was treated as a royal funeral.

Much different from the three-hour rush to get the Lord Jesus Christ, the true King, into His grave, but He did not need it but for three days and the bones of Jacob are still in his grave.

The body of Jacob was embalmed so he could make this trip as was Joseph’s.

Jacob was buried with his fathers because they all had the same hope of the “Resurrection”!

Gen 50:13 For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a buryingplace of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.

And Joseph and his family returned to Egypt.

Gen 50:14 And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his brethren, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father.

The brothers of Joseph did not know what would happen to them after the death of their father, so they confronted Joseph on this issue.

*Gen 50:18 And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.
Gen 50:19 And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?

In these last few lessons we have followed the life of Joseph and it can be said the Joseph had integrity.

Integrity can be said to possess a sound mind, moral soundness, purity, in-corruptness, uprightness, and of sound moral character.

We can see that God knows those who will stick by Him no matter what happens in their personal life.

Joseph was bold when he said he belonged to God and he was just a man as they were.

As Christians we can say we belong to God and any goodness others see in us, is because we belong to God.

Joseph was not in the place of God nor did he mean it this way as he tells them.

*Gen 50:20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
Gen 50:21 Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.

Joseph said do not brag on me but brag on our Lord and Savior.

Psa 105:17 He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant:
Psa 105:18 Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron:
Psa 105:19 Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him.
Psa 105:20 The king sent and loosed him; even the ruler of the people, and let him go free.
Psa 105:21 He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his substance:
Psa 105:22 To bind his princes at his pleasure; and teach his senators wisdom.

We, as Christians, are not better than any other human being, but by the “Grace of God”.

Act 3:26 Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.

We are still dirty rotten sinners saved by God’s “Grace” and only then because we have accepted the work of the Lord Jesus Christ toward our salvation.

We are nothing without Jesus!

Joh_15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Joseph felt exactly the same because he knew this truth. He was nothing with the Lord!

What are our instructions?

1Th 5:15 See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.
1Th 5:16 Rejoice evermore.
1Th 5:17 Pray without ceasing.
1Th 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
1Th 5:19 Quench not the Spirit.
1Th 5:20 Despise not prophesyings.
1Th 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
1Th 5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.
1Th 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Lord makes it simple for us, when He says, His disciples obey His commandments!

Joh_8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

Again Jesus Keeps it very simple!

Joh_13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

What is wrong with us today? We need more Jesus!

Amen

God’s People Will Be Blessed

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

God’s Nation Is Physically Blessed

Book of Ezekiel Chapter 36 Verses 5-11, 17-19, 22-28

Early in this Chapter of the Book of Ezekiel we see where the Babylonians had destroyed the lands of Israel as they marched toward Jerusalem.

We see that others from the adjacent lands, the enemies of these Jews, had helped these Babylonians to destroy the land of Israel and Judea.

We see that war destroys not only people, but also the land those people live on and depend upon.

Had by chance the Jews defeated Babylon, they could not have even recovered from such devastation.

Reminds us of Japan and World War 2, how the lands were devasted by just two nuclear bombs and Japan would never have recovered without the help of the United States.

In fact many nations would have had great trouble without the help of the USA, but these things are now forgotten by most.

The truth of Israel, and Judea, and Jerusalem:

*Eze 36:5 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen, and against all Idumea, which have appointed “my land” into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey.
Eze 36:6 Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne the shame of the heathen:
Eze 36:7 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I have lifted up mine hand, Surely the heathen that are about you, they shall bear their shame.
Eze 36:8 But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come.

It seems that the governments of this world just do not realize just how much Jehovah God loves the Holy Land of Israel and the people He placed there so many years ago!

Zep 1:18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD’S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

Notice how God, who promised land, which many now call Palestine, had already given this to Israel, but He still says it is His land!

Idumea is the name given by the descendants of Esau, and they have been the enemies of the Jews then and are still now.

They hate the Jews, all the descendants of Jacob who was the twin brother of Esau!

These heathen, are to be considered, all the unbelieving people of the world, as compared to the Jews who are believers, and who are God’s people set aside for His use.

Jehovah said to Ezekiel, be sure to write these things down for all the world to know, that this promised land is very special to our Holy God.

The land that is the “promised land” belongs to Jehovah God, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit(Ghost)!

We speak of God’s wrath, that we will miss out on, but God is giving us a small view of what His wrath looks like.

Jehovah will not allow His land to suffer because of the “heathen”!

Those who put shame and reproach upon God’s people, though God may have made it serve a purpose to His end, will sooner or later have it turned upon themselves.

We should understand that few lands have been attacked and ravaged more than the Holy Land given to the Jews.

Each time God has given this land back to the Jews! This is why to them it is still the “Promised Land”!

It’s time for the world to recognize this fact!

Zep 2:1 Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired;
Zep 2:2 Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD’S anger come upon you.
Zep 2:3 Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’S anger.

As Israel has borne the shame of reproaches and taunts of the heathen for so many years, so they when God’s wrath comes, will still bear the shame of God’s wrath upon His enemies!

Israel will bare that shame because none of these things would have ever happened, had the children of Israel remained faithful to Jehovah God all these years that have passed since the time of Abraham.

This world would have been an entirely different place, had the Jews remained faithful all these years!

We have seen the land of the Jews blossom from desert to a place of beauty, but this will be nothing compared to how all the world will blossom, when the Lord Jesus Christ will sit upon His throne in Jerusalem.

At this time in history, the 70 years of captivity was coming to an end, and Ezekiel is warning all those who claimed Judah that the Jews were soon coming home as prophesied by Jeremiah.

What happens when the Jews are on the promised land? These desert lands will be tilled and sown.

*Eze 36:9 For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown:

As we have seen since 1948, the land of Israel has become a garden and now the world sees the value of this land, when it was nothing more than a desert waste land that no one upon this earth wanted, because it had no value.

But even greater things are in the future for those who turn to the Lord!

Zec 8:12 For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.
Zec 8:13 And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong.

This is the truth of the land when the land is not occupied by the people of God.

This is also the truth of that lost soul!

The lost soul is but a waste land if it is left alone without our Savior!

A creature that lives without his Creator will die a horrible death!

God looks upon the heart of man as a field in need of plowing and sowing, so it can blossom and produce fruit.

The heart that is not plowed or sown, will produce something, but it will resemble weeds that must be removed by the root and burned that they are destroyed.

Rom 14:7 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
Rom 14:8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.
Rom 14:9 For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.
Rom 14:10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

If we cannot allow the Lord to come into our heart, then we will become a waste land!

If we can ask the Lord to come into our heart by our faith, then we can produce the fruit of life!

*Eze 36:10 And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded:

What we see is, when the Lord is living within us, we will produce life.

Notice here again, God knows where all the tribes of Israel are located.

At the time of Ezekiel we know that it was just the house of Judah and Benjamin that returned only to a small portion of the promised land.

Most all the other tribes were scattered too far, or they were too poor, or they were slaves with human masters unwilling to let them go.

When Israel became a nation again, there was an open invitation for all the tribes of Israel to return home.

Until the return of Christ to His throne in Jerusalem, this prophesy will not see its ultimate fulfillment!

All the house of Israel even all of it, the Holy Spirit says will one day go home!

The cities will be bustling with people, all the waste places will be built upon, and the land will produce enough food for them all!

But only if they will call upon the LORD. His name is Jehovah!

Isa 58:12 And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
Isa 58:13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
Isa 58:14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

We know this has not taken place, yet it is still in the future.

Only those who call upon the Lord God Jehovah, can see these wonders of the rebuilt earth!

Isa 64:4 For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.

Only those who call upon the Lord will be able to see the ever greater, glories of the New Jerusalem!

Col 1:26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
Col 1:28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
Col 1:29 Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.

This time has not yet come, but we can see just a taste of it in the revival of Israel today!

*Eze 36:11 And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

From a meager beginning in 1948, Israel now has a population of nearly 9 million people and growing about 10,000 people each year. There are more than twice as many births as there are deaths in Israel.

God is still multiplying the people of Israel, but keep in mind that there were estimates of at least a million Jews who left Egypt in the time of Moses and God later scattered them all around the world.

What we see is, that with all the things that happened to this tiny nation, there is still a great future that awaits them!

We also see even in adverse conditions these people continue to multiply.

This land will be more prosperous than it has ever been before, because Jehovah has chosen this land for His own!

From previous lessons we know that Jehovah is able to do everything He says He will do!

From the time of Noah we know that this land has been defiled.

Defiled meaning polluted, corrupted, violated.

We can just imagine that this is what the Lord thinks of all our lands today, and He will cleanse all the lands of this earth one day and that one day may be soon coming!

*Eze 36:17 Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman.

It’s a sad thing when we pollute the lands we live upon, but the Lord is not talking about this type of pollution.

It is the worship of pagan gods whose human sacrifices are an abomination to Him!

It is the worship of all false deities!

It is the massive killing of unborn children.

It is all those still running in Sodom and Gomorrah.

I can just imagine how the Lord feels about the abortion of so many babies throughout the world today, which is nothing but a mockery to the laws of God.

The Lord God Jehovah is even more tied to the land promised to Israel, but remember, all that we see and all that we cannot see, are God’s creation!

Uncleanness is best described as filthiness and we live in a world that parades its filthiness before God’s people every day!

In fact uncleanness describes sin!

Isa_64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

What is the difference of those who walk with the Lord from those who do not?

Eph 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

What does God think about uncleanness? Look at the example given to us of Israel.

*Eze 36:18 Wherefore I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it:
Eze 36:19 And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them.

The question we should ask ourselves is, since God will punish people, then what makes the world think God has changed in His ways?

What had these people done that God would do such a thing?

They lived unclean lives in the filthiness of sin.
They committed violence in the promised land.
They polluted the promised land with idolatry.

Remember Jehovah God said this was His land!

The world should be very careful with the decisions they make about God’s land. All creation belongs to our Holy God, but this land given to Abraham, every place he placed his feet, God has chosen for Himself!

God may be slow to punish, but we can be sure God will punish all those who make a mockery of His Words!

Rom_12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

We should also understand that the stroke of judgment from the Lord is like a lightening flash, it is irresistible, it is fatal, and it kills in the twinkling of an eye.

Eze_33:11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

The “judgment” and the “chastisement” of the Lord will be according to the doings of that guilty person or that guilty nation!

The truth is, when God punishes you, it is because you are guilty. Jehovah has never made a mistake and He never will!

Since Israel wanted to be like the heathen nations, then Jehovah scattered them among the heathen nations to live, and He scattered them well!

This punishment was to help them see the error of their ways!

This punishment was to rid the promised land of idolatry and corruptness!

*Eze 36:22 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went.

Jehovah did also show the world that He will not tolerate sin from His chosen people!

What is the truth?

From the time of Abraham, the Israelites had professed to know the only “Living God”.

When their land was destroyed and they were exiled, the world mocked their claim, and this is still the truth of today!

The world is still mocking Jehovah God!

In 1948 the nation of Israel was “Born Again” according to prophesy.

Isa_66:8 Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.

The true Israelites are now returning to the “Promised Land”!

This one prophesy opened the eyes of the world and the world seeks to defy Jehovah as if He does not exist, but this time the tiny nation of Israel will be protected by the “right arm of God” the arm of power, until the Lord returns to set things in order.

Mic 4:5 For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever.
Mic 4:6 In that day, saith the LORD, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted;
Mic 4:7 And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever.

The world may still be mocking Jehovah, but many see the fulfillment of God’s promises are in the making!

*Eze 36:23 And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.

Israel is being restored not because they have ended all their sinful ways because they have not completely given themselves to Jehovah, because they still reject the Son of God.

Israel is being restored because Jehovah does exactly what He says and no power on earth can stop Him!

Israel is being restored to show the world that Jehovah is a Holy God and that He alone is the Lord of this world!

We see all those who hate Him raise up their voices, but God has always had this one saying for the world.

Gen_12:3 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.

We are more in this period now than we have ever been!

The nations who are against the Lord are gathering together and the nations that help Israel are also assembling and this taking place today.

As the Church we must know that the Lord will take us home before these things reach fulfillment!

What does Israel lack?

2Ch 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

This healing has not happened as of yet, because Israel has not yet humbled themselves before the God they used to claim!

*Eze 36:24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
Eze 36:25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.

After many years, the Jews are still returning to God’s land some 10,000 each year.

To be a true resident of Israel, then they must be a child of a mother who is in the bloodline of a Jew, just as it was with Sarah and Abraham.

Gen_21:12 And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.

Gen 17:18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!
Gen 17:19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.
Gen 17:20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.
Gen 17:21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.

The Muslim may claim Abraham and they should, but they cannot claim the covenant God made with the descendants of Sarah and her son Isaac unless they also claim the Lord Jesus Christ is God in the flesh and the true Messiah!

They, just like all others, can be a part of the covenant with Isaac if they accept the Lord Jesus Christ as the true Son of God, and therefore much more than a prophet and a good man, but Jehovah God in the flesh!

Notice how all that are not part of the scattered tribes of Israel, are called heathen!

Notice also how God’s land is now called the land of the Jews (their own land)!

How will God cleanse these people?

No one can come to God until they are cleansed from sin!

It is sin that clogs the heart and keeps out the ‘Love of God”!

You see Jehovah will give them a new nature.

Eze 11:19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:
Eze 11:20 That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

They will meet the Savior!

1Jn 5:5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
1Jn 5:6 This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.
1Jn 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
1Jn 5:8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.

There is no other way to be cleansed from sin, and without this cleansing there will be no new heart, only with a new heart will God’s blessing bear fruit!

*Eze 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
Eze 36:27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
Eze 36:28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.

As we can see, Jehovah makes things so simple.

According to the Bible, the heart is the center of all spiritual activity and all the operations of human life.

The heart is the home of the personal life!

Mat 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

Psa 24:3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?
Psa 24:4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.

The heart is the seat of our conscience!

Rom 2:14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
Rom 2:15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)
Rom 2:16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

When we were living among the lost souls of this world, how could we describe our hearts?

Jer_17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

So the salvation process must begin with the heart!

It is called faith that brings repentance with it!

A new frame of our soul.
A mind changed from sinful to holy, from carnal to spiritual.
A heart that can have the law of Jehovah written upon it.

Our own spirit will not ever be suitable, so we must have the Spirit of Jesus!

Php_1:19 For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,

Which is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, the Holy Ghost!

The Spirit of God will come to live in every believer! He will never live in a filthy heart!

It is only these things that will cause a disposition of holiness!

We will be willing:
We will be able:
We will walk:
We will keep the judgments of Jehovah and walk in the statutes of Jehovah and we will live in holiness because these are the ways of Jesus Christ!

For Israel they will live freely in their land for 1000 years with King Jesus upon His throne in Jerusalem, as promised by Jehovah.

Then we all will live in the New Jerusalem throughout eternity.

Amen

Let’s Pray

Two Groups of People

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Judah Deported

Book of Jeremiah Chapter 24

To understand this lesson, we need to understand the sacrifice of the “first fruits”.

These first fruits were to be the choicest of the first harvest of the crops.

The nation of Israel was known as God’s “first fruits”.

Jer 2:3 Israel was holiness unto the LORD, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the LORD.

Here “holiness” means a people dedicated to God.

All those of Israel who were offended by the ways of God would be punished. It is the same today!

Today “first fruits can be used as all those who are first saved in a new area and led to the Lord.

Rom 16:5 Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my wellbeloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.

So, we see that Israel were to be the first fruits of In God’s increase!

Let’s see as the Lord shows Jeremiah a new vision so he also could understand what God was doing.

*****Jer 24:1 The LORD shewed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the LORD, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.
Jer 24:2 One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad.

We know that figs are small sweet pear-shaped fruits and they grow on small trees.

We should remember that Adam and Eve made the very first camouflage clothing line from the leaves of the fig tree when they knew they had sinned and were trying to hide from God.

Gen 3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Gen 3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

So, we know there were many fig trees around from day 1 and not some cross bred tree like so many are today.

This lesson was intended for Jeremiah, but it is also intended for us here today!

There are only two groups of people in the world. Those who follow in the will of God and those who are not in the will of God!

One of the biggest problems we face in this world today is that people do not want to hear the truth, especially when it affects their lifestyle!

1Ti 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
***1Ti 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
1Ti 2:6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

In our lesson today, the good figs will represent the Jews who were carried away into captivity, the bad figs were those left behind who would reject the Word of God given to the prophet Jeremiah.

This is the great hope of all those who have come to know the Lord in a personal relationship and one day soon the Lord will carry us away to be with Him while those who reject the Word of God will be left behind!

The bad figs represent all those who are left behind in Judah at this time and all those who have rejected the Lord when He returns.

Just so we know for more than 200 years God had sent His prophets to warn Israel of sin.

During the time of Jeremiah, God had intensified His warnings.

During the time of Jeremiah, God had reached a point where He would no longer forgive His people of their sin. Not because God became unforgiving but because He knew that this generation of Jews simply would not repent.

We know that God never changes so it is very true that the Holy Spirit will not always strive with individuals even in our time.

It is also in the time of Jeremiah that God would deal with the wrongs of His people and execute justice upon them!

Today we have been given the truth by the Apostles of Jesus Christ:

Eph 6:5 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, “as unto Christ”;
Eph 6:6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, “doing the will of God from the heart”;
Eph 6:7 With good will “doing service, as to the Lord”, and not to men:
Eph 6:8 “Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord”, whether he be bond or free.

If we cannot understand these things, then we need to take the time to get it right.

God can see into the heart, and He knows if we are the real thing or not!

God knew these same things about Judah!

You want to begin to destroy a nation, remove all the people of knowledge and skills who can build a nation but most important remove all those who love the Lord.

It is this time when Daniel and his three friends, and Ezekiel and many others such as Mordecai and Esther would be in this group, with Nehemiah and Ezra.

We can see that these were certainly the good figs who would keep the Word of God on trac to reach the day of Jesus Christ!

Those that were left behind who had rejected the law of God were indeed the bad figs.

Certainly, there were also some others left behind that knew the Lord because God always has His remnant. These would probably be those who were the poorest in the nation who all the politicians had forgotten from both sides and considered useless.

Remember this is a vision that only Jeremiah sees at this time.

*****Jer 24:3 Then said the LORD unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.

The very good figs represented the true believers among the Jews that were carried off into captivity.

We will see that no one can out think the Lord. It would be captivity that would protect the true believers while those who worship idols would die off leaving a people of believers.

God would use captivity to save His children.

We should know by now that the Lord has many ways to deal with nations, but He does this by dealing with the individuals in any nation.

Many times, the true villains will remain unknown until it is time for God to expose them.

Immorality will ruin any nation but crimes against those who do live a moral life will also ruin a nation.

The Lord is the giver of life and when He departs, a body soon decays into nothingness and vanity!

Jeremiah would not only see many of these things with his own eyes, the Lord would also show him in visions things that would become the truth.

In fact the greatest Prophet of them all is Jehovah God, The Lord of all the Ages!

We may not see the visions that Jeremiah saw but we can certainly see our own nation fall into the trap of immorality.

Even history proves these things will cripple any nation that partakes in such things.

Who are God’s heroes? Those that know the Word of God and take a stand on its truths!

The kingdom of Satan is just as active as the Kingdom of Christ if not more so today, to the shame of those who profess to be Christians.

The differences in the good figs and the bad figs are the differences between Heaven and Hell!

What did Jesus say?

Mat 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
Mat 25:32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
Mat 25:33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Mat 25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

Mat 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

Mat 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

*****Jer 24:4 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Jer 24:5 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.

When we see how the Lord deals with His children, it should teach us that the actions of love in our own heart cannot come close to the action of love from the Lord.

We must understand that sometimes that hard and distressing position, is the best for us.

God will humble us sometimes just, so He can make us to be stronger and more useful.

How could we have the wonderful words of the Holy Spirit through Daniel and Ezekiel if the Jews had remained in Judah?

Their removal to Babylon saved them from the awful things that faced those who were left behind!

It is no wonder that Jeremiah was treated so badly when he preached these things to the people of Judah.

We may not always understand the ways of God but then, this is why we must have “faith”!

God’s plan goes far beyond our own imaginations!

2Ti 2:19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

The truth is when are made to see how the enemy lives, most everyone of us will agree that the truth of God is where we need to be!

God had told these people that in order to be saved they must surrender to the enemy.

It may have been to Nebuchadnezzar this time, but this is the main theme of our salvation.

To be saved we must surrender to the truth of God!

There is another principle of salvation that plays out in our next Scripture.

*****Jer 24:6 For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up.

Paul wrote: Rom_11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

This is the same thing God told Jeremiah and we know that this time is still in the future.

The Church will already be the Lord when this takes place!

The Lord has already said He will set His eyes upon them for good and this is part of the good God was talking about!

Job 34:21 For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings.

2Ch 16:9 For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.

Isa 54:8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.

Jehovah God, The Lord Jesus Christ just loves to save but He also requires obedience!

Heb 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

All these things require a “new heart”!

*****Jer 24:7 And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.

The truth of this new heart is that we will all know our Savior!
All those with a heart to know our Savior will know Him because the Holy Spirit moves in to illuminate our minds to know our Savior.

1Co_2:16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

We must not just know the Lord.
We must have that personal knowledge within ourselves, our entire being.
We must speak to Him while He reads the intent of our new heart!

To know the Lord is to love the Lord!

Some say Jerusalem is the center of the universe.
Some same the Sun is the center of the universe.
Some say our galaxy is the center of the universe.
Some say other things are the center of the universe.

The truth is, it is the Lord Jesus Christ who is the center of our universe, spiritually and in reality!

When we truly love the Lord then we cannot stand idols or false gods!

When we truly love the Lord then our “Faith” will be set in the right place!

Psa 9:10 And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.

What would God do for the exiles? God would build them up and make them secure!

The truth is the Lord will always sustain His children and give us His assurance that things are much better when our “faith” is real and our love for Him is true!

Pro 3:24 When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.

Sometimes things just look so bad around us that we do not know what to believe!

When we remember that things are just like the Lord told us, we will realize that our Lord always tells us the truth!

Our relationship with the Lord will be at its best when we commit to the Word of God and apply it to our lives!

Act 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

And the rotten figs:

*****Jer 24:8 And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith the LORD, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt:
Jer 24:9 And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them.

Judgment is real!

Zedekiah was left behind as a puppet king for Babylon along with those in charge of the government whose main goal was to gather taxes to pay to Babylon, yet they clung to their pride and refused to repent.

Zedekiah was named Mattaniah by his father King Josiah, but it was the king of Babylon who had changed his name to Zedekiah.

2Ki 24:17 And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his father’s brother king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
2Ki 24:18 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.
2Ki 24:19 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.

Zedekiah had no intention of being a puppet king to anyone but thought that as king he could do something himself.

God had already pronounced His judgment and unless there was repentance His judgment would stand.

Jeremiah was his councilor, but the Word of God was ignored, and he entered into an alliance with Hophra king of Egypt.

God had already informed him that even those who fled to Egypt would not miss out on His judgment!

The armies of Nebuchadnezzar would return and this time they would destroy Jerusalem.

What had been God’s promise by the words of Moses?

Deu 28:37 And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee.

If we do not learn anything else, we need to learn that it is simply foolish to go against the Word of God anytime!

Even today in many nations the Jews are still an object of scorn and they will remain this way until they repent and return to the Lord!

In Jeremiah’s time it was the Babylonian exile of 586 BC and after the Lord had returned to Heaven it was the Roman exile of 70 AD.

Israel was conquered and remained that way until May 14, 1948.

God used war as a means to execute judgment on these people and certain nations of today believe God is still against this people.

*****Jer 24:10 And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.

The result of sin is still judgment, and this will not ever change!

As long as those who are represented by the evil figs still dwell in the land of Israel, there will be Jews living in disgrace in foreign lands.

2Ch_7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

We are fools to believe that the Lord ever forgets the things He says!

The difference between “Good Figs” and “Bad Figs” are morals.

Both of these tend to grow to the extreme.

The Good Figs were very good! The Bad Figs were very bad!

Those who are moral obey the Word of God.

Those who are immoral reject the Word of God.

It is the morals of every nation that stick out and show what that nation is made of!

The example in our lesson today is that the “Good Figs” seemed to have suffered to most and were taken from their homes.

The “Bad Figs” remained in their homes and seemed to escape the Judgment of God but that was not the end of the story for them!

Heb_12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

These words will also always be true!

We must also remember God’s promise to the true Jews.

Zec 8:13 And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong.

Amen

Let’s Pray

The Fame And The Shame Of King Solomon

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Solomon, His Fame And His Shame

1 Kings 10-11

“Fame” can be said to possess a good reputation versus a “rumor” which can only be a good or a bad report.

There are many people that the Bible mentions of having great fame.

Joshua, Mordecai, Joseph are just a few but the Bible also says that God has fame as did the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus became so famous that even kings and rulers had heard about Him!

Mat 14:1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the “fame” of Jesus,

Solomon also became very famous throughout the world of that day because God had given to Solomon the gift of “Wisdom”!

In the time of Solomon, fame and shame became the marks of mankind and of nations and it is even more prevalent today.

Today all our leaders seek a legacy hoping that their good outweighs their bad and it would if they would just refuse to do bad things!

As wise as and as rich as Solomon was, he is remembered as much for his shame as he is for his fame if not more so!

No matter what people think of our existing president, he will be remembered for the fact that while he has been in office, he has done nothing improve the conditions of his own race nor of America!

He has even divided America more then any other president that came before him!

God placed these scriptures in the Bible for us to learn more from Solomon’s mistakes and not so much to learn of Solomon’s accomplishments!

To honor someone is to recognize their value to society.

This time next year we will be asked to vote for our next president.

From now until then, many men and women will present their fame.

But because of the way our world works, many news sources and many others will point out to us the shame of all these individuals and not so much their accomplishments.

To shame someone is to challenge their reputation!

In many cases the one with the less shame will get elected but people are so fickle that today many who should withdraw because of their shame actually take advantage of that shame showing they have exalted them selves above the ordinary people!

We must rely on the facts and the proved record of these people in order to determine who will be our next leaders and not so much on what they say, for what they say does not usually match their actions!

Pro 5:9 Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:

If we show a lack of concern for matters of honor and shame we will then become shameless ourselves and deny the truth and we will suffer for our own poor judgment!

Adam and Eve were not ashamed to be in the presence of God until sin came into their lives.

Gen 2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Once sin entered into their lives they became ashamed to be in the presence of God!

Gen 3:10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

Anyone who is ashamed to be in the presence of God does not need to hold public office!

Today sin has progressed to a point where mankind has no shame in their sin because they have rejected to Word of God.

SO, Let’s see how Solomon reached this point in his own life even though he was the wisest man to have ever lived.

*****1Ki 10:1 And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions.

Let’s first see Solomon’s glory and his fame.

Though some may disagree Sheba was the country of the Sabeans.

Sheba was a prosperous nation in southern Arabia.

Scholars believe that this long 1500 mile journey was taken by this queen to establish a commercial treaty with Solomon but we already know that many kings and monarchy traveled to visit King Solomon to seek his wisdom to help them in their own nations and this queen was no different.

We can trust the Biblical account of these things!

We will also see that this queen wanted to know more about the God of Israel, who we know is the true God of all creation!

The nation of Sheba was formed by the descendants of Cush, a son of Ham who was the son of Noah.

Today this area of Sheba is known to us as Yemen.

Yemen was a rich merchant nation for 1000 years or more until it became dominated by Muslim cultures and Yemen is now in political turmoil.

Nations such as Sheba were expected to bring gifts signifying royalty.

Psa 72:10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
Psa 72:11 Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him.

This in typology, this represents the time when all nations will worship the true King of Kings and come to Jerusalem once again seeking wisdom, but this is still in the future.

Isa 60:3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

1Ti 6:14 That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:
1Ti 6:15 Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;

The Lord Jesus Christ also used this historical truth of the Queen of Sheba, in His rebuke of the Pharisees.

Mat 12:42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

Jesus was saying, that even this great queen was wise enough to seek the wisdom and the knowledge of the God of Israel and came to Solomon, yet these Pharisees, who already had the Word of God, were not wise enough to seek the kingdom of God even though the Lord Jesus was much wiser than Solomon and was in their presence that very day.

God says we must first seek the kingdom of God, before we can truly see the benefits in this life we have now.

Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Mat 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

These Sabeans were indeed traveling merchants and if they were to ever go further north to sell their wares they would have had to go through the area of land that was ruled by King Solomon.

*****1Ki 10:2 And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.

In many ways Solomon was a type of Christ in typology and that being the case, the Queen of Sheba would then be a type of the Church!

We all know that as we are lead by the Holy Spirit, and we will also sometimes have hard questions of spiritual things in our daily walk with the Lord.

This queen was also well aware as she traveled through Israel, how Solomon was well prepared to defend all of Israel.

We should remember it was some of these Sabeans who had also destroyed Job’s flocks because Job was also a merchant with many things to sell.

Job 1:15 And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

These Sabeans were willing to destroy the competition if it were possible.

We can be sure that this was no ordinary merchant caravan.

This queen would not have traveled without her military escort!

This queen had many reasons to visit Solomon and during her visit she found that the rumors she had heard of King Solomon would prove to only tell half the truth of his might and of his fame.

*****1Ki 10:6 And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom.
1Ki 10:7 Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, “the half was not told me”: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard.

This queen had seen the splendor of the palace of Solomon.

This queen had seen royalty like she had never observed before.

This queen had seen the construction projects as she had passed many of them along her route to Jerusalem.

This queen had seen the Temple that was prepared to worship the God of Israel.

2Ch 9:3 And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built,
2Ch 9:4 And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel; his cupbearers also, and their apparel; and his ascent by which he went up into the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her.

And it is written that she had no more spirit in her from the sight of all these things!

This queen was overwhelmed by what she had seen and what she had heard!

This queen then had a great desire for a new spirit!

Psa 119:81 My soul fainteth for thy salvation: but I hope in thy word.

What does God say to the Church?

Isa 64:4 For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.

1Co 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

What did the Apostle John do when he saw the glory of Heaven?

Rev 1:17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:

We can be sure that as wonderful as we believe Heaven to be, we do not have a clue to the real glory and the real splendor of our Heavenly home.

We do not even know half the truth of the glory of Heaven!

Words by them selves cannot explain the glory of Heaven and it is only when we are like Christ that we can know these things.

This should be our main reason to keep steady in our walk with the Lord!

Our goal must be to tell as many as we can about the Lord Jesus Christ, so they can seek His wisdom for themselves just as this queen had done from Solomon.

*****1Ki 10:23 So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom.
1Ki 10:24 And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.

During this period of King Solomon, the Phoenicians were the dominant sea power, Assyria and Egypt were also great military powers but it was Israel that was the dominant nation of that day and also the richest of all nations.

King Solomon financed the Phoenician sea going operations and King Hiram shared his sea going knowledge with King Solomon but he also paid a considerable tribute to Israel.

We can see that even Egypt sought peace with Israel as Egypt’s Pharaoh gave Solomon his daughter for a wife.

Assyria was not near strong enough to challenge Israel at this time.

All the known powers of that day sought out King Solomon to hear his wisdom.

All the known powers of that day paid tribute to Israel and to King Solomon and he and Israel became very rich.

Many other nations followed after Pharaoh and offered their daughters as wives in order to have peace with Israel.

We can see that it takes a strong military presence to insure peace, a weak military is a sure sign you will be attacked even by those that say they are friendly.

These are all facts because it was God who places fear in man!

Psa 102:15 So the heathen shall fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth thy glory.

We know that at the return of Jesus Christ all nations will again have this fear of the Lord!

Rev 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

But, Solomon began to use all these things to his advantage to control the economies of the world.

*****1Ki 10:25 And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and armour, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.
1Ki 10:26 And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he bestowed in the cities for chariots, and with the king at Jerusalem.
1Ki 10:27 And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycomore trees that are in the vale, for abundance.
1Ki 10:28 And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king’s merchants received the linen yarn at a price.

Solomon used his riches to build a great military machine and placed them strategically through his realm.

Silver had no more value than ordinary stones.

Precious timber had no more value than cheap lumber.

Solomon controlled the price of durable goods and the breeding of pure blood animals.

Solomon’s annual intake of gold was 25 tons.

In today’s market one ton goes for about 32 million dollars.

That would easily be 8 billion dollars today of tribute paid per year to King Solomon and Solomon reigned for 40 years.

The glory of Solomon was open and visible to the entire world, but inside of Solomon, this outer glory began to influence his inner person!

Solomon fell into great sin!

Nehemiah challenged all of Israel with this truth in a great sermon.

Neh 13:26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did outlandish women cause to sin.

Solomon was beloved of God but even in all his wisdom, given to him from God, Solomon fell into the snares of the devil.

The downfall of Solomon began when he began trying to please his many wives!

*****1Ki 11:1 But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites;
1Ki 11:2 Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love.

Let’s listen as Solomon describes his own downfall.

Ecc 4:13 Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished.

Solomon became so rich and powerful that no one would tell him that what he was doing was wrong because they feared for their own lives!

Again Solomon wrote of his own downfall.

Ecc 11:8 But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.
Ecc 11:9 Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.

Solomon realized that though no one else had the power to judge his actions, there was One who would judge him and judge him harshly!

Ecc 12:8 Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.

Solomon realized that he had spent to much of his life in vain!

The immediate occasion of the fall of Solomon was the influence of his foreign idolatrous wives!

Solomon did not just have one wife of paganism, Solomon had way too many wives!

*****1Ki 11:3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.
1Ki 11:4 For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.

1) Not only did these wives sap Solomon’s physical strength, they blunted his perception and dulled his morals.

2) They had worshiped false gods all their days and they convinced Solomon to provide them temples so they could worship the idols of their own nations.

3) To make it convenient for them, they insisted that these places of worship be located adjacent to the House of God.

4) They then convinced Solomon to worship with them.

Solomon’s 700 wives were mostly from kings who paid tribute and who sought peace with Israel.

Solomon’s 300 concubines were considered secondary wives and this seemed to never cause jealousy among the true wives.

But many of Solomon’s wives were never truly treated as wives as Solomon says himself.

Son 6:8 There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and “virgins without number”.

This would be 60 queens, 80 concubines, and an untold amount of virgins.

The nation of Israel may have been at peace at this time, but Solomon was not at peace with himself!

Solomon sinned grievously against Jehovah who had set him on his throne and had given him such wonderful gifts.

Solomon had violated the kingdom charter given to Moses by God Himself!

Deu 17:14 When thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me;
Deu 17:15 Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother.
Deu 17:16 But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.
Deu 17:17 Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
Deu 17:18 And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites:
Deu 17:19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them:
Deu 17:20 That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.

Solomon had openly violated the Mosaic Law of marriage and he knew it!

Ecc 9:9 Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.

And Solomon fell even deeper into sin!

*****1Ki 11:5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
1Ki 11:6 And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father.

Ashtoreth was the moon goddess of the Phoenicians and she was associated with Baal the sun god.

She was also known as Ishtar, Astarte, and Diana and open sexual behavior was used in this worship of her.

Milcom or Moloch or Chemosh, were considered as fire gods and were worshiped with human sacrifices and mutilation but there were also some who made vows of celibacy and virginity in worship of them, which is still seen in some religions of today.

A place for Milcom was even built on the Mount of Olives.

2Ki 23:13 And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile.

*****1Ki 11:7 Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon.
1Ki 11:8 And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods.

And Solomon did these same things for all his wives.

1) Solomon openly violated the first and second commandments of the Laws of Moses.

Exo 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Exo 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Exo 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
Exo 20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

2) Solomon openly defied God.

1Ki 9:3 And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.
1Ki 9:4 And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments:
1Ki 9:5 Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel.
1Ki 9:6 But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them:
1Ki 9:7 Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people:
1Ki 9:8 And at this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and to this house?
1Ki 9:9 And they shall answer, Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil.

3) By placing places of idol worship adjacent to the Temple, Solomon was flaunting an insult directly in the face of God.

4) It is a terrible sin for Solomon to abuse the wisdom that was a gift from God by trying to add religion and philosophy to God given knowledge!

5) It is a terrible sin to place God in competition to false deities!

America is not the nation it once was, because our leaders have allowed paganism to take a foothold in America and the Church has also compromised the Word of God in the name of peace with these false things.

And God became angry with Solomon.

*****1Ki 11:9 And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice,
1Ki 11:10 And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded.

God had personally blessed Solomon at Gibeon but God had also warned Solomon.

1Ki 3:14 And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.

God had personally blessed Solomon at Jerusalem but God had warned Solomon here also.

1Ki 9:4 And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments:
1Ki 9:5 Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel.

Solomon had also been given many instructions by his father David.

Solomon had been taught the Word of God by God’s prophet Nathan.

Solomon therefore had no excuses for his actions in turning away from God!

We should never doubt the Word of God!

God means what He says and God says what He means!

The Lord Jesus told a great parable to the disciples about the faithful steward and near the end of that parable Jesus had these words!

Luk 12:47 And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
Luk 12:48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required”: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.
Luk 12:49 I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?
Luk 12:50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!

Solomon had been given much by the Lord and Solomon was given a great opportunity to spread the Word of God around the known world of that time period but Solomon failed in these things.

Solomon fell at the stumbling block of Satan!

1Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
1Jn 2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

As Solomon fell from the “Grace” of God, so did the nation of Israel, and Israel has not recovered since that day.

1) Israel would soon become a divided nation.

We can also see that America is more divided than at any time in our own history.

2) The division of Israel resulted in the destruction of ten of the twelve tribes of Israel.

Today the people of God are being destroyed all over the world and the world does not seem to care especially our own leaders.

3) Idolatry became the religion of Israel.

Idolatry now rules in America, as wants and desires outweigh the Word of God!

4) Division made Israel a weak nation in the presence of her enemies.

America is now seen as a weak nation in the presence of all our enemies.

5) The destruction of the ten tribes of Israel brought about the Samaritans who were a mixed people who built there own temple and compromised the Word of God.

In America the Word of God is being modernized so much, till it is not even the truth anymore.

6) In Israel philosophy and religion and atheism began to dominate the people.

We can see this same thing happening to America today!

Solomon had allowed God to be just a small part of his life and he had began to rely on his own wisdom to rule in his life.

So therefore God said:

1Ki 11:11 Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant.

What is the truth?

When rulers live in the splendor of high office and in luxury, they become irresponsible to the moral laws of God!

They will try their best to maintain costly establishments and the people will find that taxation and servant-hood are the dominant themes of these rulers, our own president included.

What does God say?

Rom 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

What is the truth of God?

1Co 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
1Co 1:19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

So, how does God continue to do His work?

1Co 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1Co 1:28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
1Co 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.

God’s will, will be done no matter what the leaders of our world try to do in their own wisdom!

Questions?

Let’s Pray!