Prophetic Prospective Daily Devotional

And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:

The book of Ruth is one of the greatest love stories ever written. It is also the story of the "Kinsman Redeemer" which is a type of Christ, as it relates to our salvation. We'll have more on that subject in another devotional.

With these two themes there is also the record of Gentiles and Jews both in the line to the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. This is a key component in our “journey through the Bible”, especially as it relates to Bible prophecy.

The Lord will use the love that Ruth had for her mother-in-law and the love that Boaz, the Kinsman, would develop for Ruth to teach us some very important concepts. The integration of Jews and Gentiles in the genealogy to Jesus is one. The other is how two peoples will become one people, through the person Jesus Christ.

I need to develop these thoughts for you by looking at the story line here in the first chapter of Ruth. The scene is a time of famine in Israel about 1,300 years before the birth of Jesus. The location is the little town of Bethlehem and the scene, a Jewish family that included two boys.

Elimelech, because of the famine, took his wife Naomi and their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion across the Jordan River, to the east, into the country of Moab, a Gentile nation. This Jewish family was assimilated into the Gentile culture as the two boys would fall in love with, and marry Gentile girls, Orpah and Ruth.

With the death of Naomi's husband and their two sons, there is a situation that Naomi must deal with as it relates to her daughter’s-in-law. Naomi offers them their freedom to return to their own families in Moab, the Gentile world from which they had come.

The one daughter-in-law, Orpah, did depart to return home but Ruth told Naomi, "where thou goest I will go; and where thou lodgest I will lodge."

Ruth then made a statement that has great prophetic significance. "Thy people shall be my people and thy God my God." The prophetic impact is two-fold.

The ancestral line from Abraham through Isaac and Jacob, which also includes King David is set in place and it includes a Gentile woman, Ruth. Ruth is the great grandmother of King David, Ruth 4:13-22, and in the genealogy to Jesus Christ, Matthew 1:5.

We also see how God will take two people who were at enmity with each other with a "wall of partition" between them and make "one". Out of these two people, being Gentile and Jew, God would make one “new man”, a Christian, out of this union, Ephesians 2:11-18.

The Bible teaches that God has a plan in the future for each of the three members of the human family, Gentile, Jew, and Christian. God has dealt in the past with these three, is dealing with them today and will deal with all three in the future.

The prophetic plan for each family member is now being played out, as foretold in Daniel, for the Gentile; in Ezekiel, for the Jews; and in Revelation, for the Christian. As we watch that plan unfold, we can recognize where we are in God's timeline for the End Times.

PRAYER THOUGHT: Help me to see my part in God's plans for the future even as Ruth did.

In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

Though this verse describes the days of the Judges, it sounds like a description of the Jews in the state of Israel today. In fact, the phrase "every man did that which was right in his own eyes" is used twice in the book of Judges, Judges 17:6 & 21:25.

There is another similar phrase used several times in Judges, "Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord." Both of these statements come from the fact that Israel had no king then and has no king - no Messiah - no Saviour today.

Therefore, God raised up judges - men like Gideon and Samson - to deliver the Israelites. A complete study of the book of Judges will be a blessing to the student as it will help the reader to understand not only the Jewish people of today, but the life that many are living today.

Many people believe that because Israel is in what is referred to as the “land of the Bible” or the “holy land” that the modern-day state of Israel is as it was in the times of the Bible. They think that the land is filled with a people, the Jewish people, who are the “people of God”.

Remember, God brought the Jewish people, His “chosen people” into the world as the people that would be the example God wants as an “object lesson” to all of humankind. This was the case during the times of the Bible, as recorded in the Holy Bible.

In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

Please notice in our devotional reading for today our key verse is in Judges 17 and the extended reading in Judges 16. I do this to reveal that during this time in history, recorded in the book of Judges, the children of Israel were without a king. As our key verse tells us, the Israelites simply did that which "was right in their own eyes."

A thorough reading of Judges will reveal that the actions of the Jews during that time were not in concert with what God wanted for His chosen people, more on that in a moment.

The book of Judges is the record of a number of Judges that the Lord brought to power to rule over His people. Samson was one of those “judges”, in fact, the thirteenth of the “judges”. You can read the account of his life and ministry, and failures, in Judges 14, 15 and 16.

In our extended reading we see the account of the death of Samson. Having been imprisoned, Samson would go to his death victorious. As a Nazarite, Judges 13:5, this judge constantly defiled his “vow of separation” through "fleshly appetites." However, Samson had a mighty faith in the Lord in a time of apostasy, a faith which God honored, Hebrews 11:32.

The story of Samson's death reminds us of his mighty work for the Lord as he gave his own life to defeat the enemies of God. The truth is that Samson actually slew more of God's enemies in his death than he did in his life, Judges 16:30.

We all are human, like Samson, all with fleshly appetites. But the Lord would have us overcome these appetites with our faith and our close walk with Him each day.

Please notice once again our key verse, Judges 17:6, and the thought that since Israel had no king, “they did that which they thought was right, in their own sight”. We will see in the next couple of books in the Old Testament that God will give the Jews a “king”.

The Jews are today living in a way that they see "as right in their own eyes." There is no “king” for the Jews today. You must remember that the Jewish people came on the world scene in a “theocracy” with God as their “king”. There will be another Jewish King, in the future.

King Jesus is coming and with the conditions of our world today, it seems that it will be very soon. All of us must be ready because before Jesus returns to the Earth Jesus comes in the “sky” to call all Christians to be with Him at the Rapture, and event that can happen at any moment, even today.

PRAYER THOUGHT: Help me, dear Lord, not to yield to my fleshly appetites, even as I look for You to come and gather me up to be with You forever more.

And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place.

As we read of the victory over Jericho under the leadership of Joshua in our devotional, from the book of Joshua, I was amazed at how the Lord accomplished His promise to Israel and did so in His way. Now in Judges we see an account of God's direction and provision in what seems to be a foolish strategy.

The phrase, "the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord" is used a number of times in Judges to describe the spiritual condition of the Jewish people in the days of the Judges. Because of this, they became vulnerable to the attack of their enemies.

In our reading for today, we see that Israel is being threatened by the Midianites, a very strong enemy who wanted to destroy the Jewish nation. God knew that if He allowed the entire military might of Israel to fight this battle they would become very proud and believe that they had won the victory, not the Lord winning the victory for them, verse 2.

As we read through our extended portion of the text, we see how the Lord trimmed down the Israeli army to a mere 300 men. This process brought Gideon and his entire military force a victory that only the Lord could have given the children of Israel. This is another illustration of how the Lord will preserve His people for His purpose. The Lord has done so now for almost 4000 years.

I have read the last chapter and I know our Lord will continue to do so until He has completed His plan for the Jews. The Scriptures tell us that these truths and record of history, even recent history, gives us proof of His word.

On June 7th every year the people of Israel celebrate the anniversary of the “reunification” of Jerusalem. This reunification of Jerusalem was the result of the Israeli Defense Force capturing the Old City of Jerusalem including the Temple Mount after some 2,000 years.

This victory took place at the end of a "six-day war" with Israel under attack on three sides. Syria from the north, Jordan from the east and Egypt from the south were all defeated in six days, which also included the victory in Jerusalem. This victory for Israel against all odds, militarily, was somewhat like the days of Gideon.

The future will reveal God's provision and protection, as well, because He has a plan for His people, yet to be fulfilled. Bible prophecy will be fulfilled.

PRAYER THOUGHT: Thank you Lord for your provision and protection for me as a Christian, which I know will come about because of Your provision and protection for Your people, the Jewish people.

That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not.

Today we come to the book of Judges for our devotions. This is a record of God appointing a number of Judges that He would use to discipline His “chosen people” and at the same time to protect them from the surrounding enemies.

Though He would protect the children of Israel from their enemies, He would use these same enemies to bring His people closer to Him. There are a number of times in the Bible that we can read of where the Lord would use the enemies of the Jews to discipline His people.

The “judges” were actually tribal leaders of the twelve tribes upon whom the Lord laid the burden of “apostate Israel”. These were men and women who represented the Lord God. They were the spiritual ancestors of the ancient Jewish prophets.

The truth be known, these judges were responsible for implementing the needed chastisement on the Jews to produce loyalty and obedience, which would result in security and prosperity, all needed for the survival of the children of Israel.

When God selected the children of Jacob and his twelve sons to be His chosen people, He knew they would not always be obedient and loving as a people. He knew they would sometimes be a stiff-necked, hard-hearted, and hard-headed people.

In fact, that is the way the Israelites were acting at this time in history, as recorded in Judges 2:11. This passage reveals to us that they were actually doing “evil” in His sight and were "whoring" after other gods, verse 17.

If you spend time studying the 4,000 year history of the Jews you will see the “Judges scenario” is repeated over and over again and again. This will also be the case in the last days.

There will be a time during the end times when the Lord allows for seven years of judgment to come upon the Jews for the purpose of turning these rebellious Jews to Jesus Christ as their Messiah and thus their Lord and Savior.

Biblical prophecy reveals to us today the events that will unfold just before the soon appearing of the "Time of Jacob's Trouble", Jeremiah 30:7, preceding the Second Coming of Jesus. Those prophecies, in the scriptures written years ago, are nearing fulfillment.

The Jews must be in the land, in unbelief, before the Lord will bring salvation to them as a nation. That, He has promised to them, in Zechariah 3:9. Salvation for the Jews will come in “a day".

The stage is set for that prophetic drama to begin its final act. Bible prophecy will be fulfilled and seemingly very soon. Keep looking up, and listening for His shout to have us join Him in the heavens.

PRAYER THOUGHT: Help me to live in purity for you and thus eliminate Your chastisement.

But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

As I have already mentioned, the book of Joshua is the history of the children of Israel, under the leadership of Joshua, as they come into the "promised land". It is also the story of conflicts that followed as the Jews conquered the land.

It is a record of one victory after another as the Lord gives the children of Israel the land that He promised to them as their possession, forever. In the book, this record of God’s faithfulness to keep His promises, we have seen many of the names of “hot spots” today in the land of the Jewish people.

The charge that Joshua gave to the children of Israel 3,500 years ago seems so appropriate for the Jewish people of today. That “charge” from Joshua is found in Joshua 23 and 24. It would be great for you to take the time to read both chapters to realize the work of the Lord in the past and His work in the future are the same.

In chapter 23 the phrase “Lord your God” is used 13 times. Joshua wants the Jews to know that the “Lord” is their “God”. It was then, and is today, good for the Jews to know “the Lord your God” is still in charge and fighting for the Jewish people, Joshua 23:3.

As you read Joshua 23 notice the rest of the passage around the phrase “the Lord your God”, it will be a blessing to you. At the same time realize that these promises are to the Jews then, and today.

Joshua 24:15b, our key verse in today’s devotional, is the “heart” of the man Joshua, the leader of the Jews at that time in history, as it should be today. Sadly, that is not the case for the present-day Israeli leaders.

However, there is coming a day when the leader of the Jewish people, Jesus Christ, the Messiah, will set in place the chosen people, the Jewish people, the people who will be the people of God.

These people will then realize once again the “Lord your God” is the one that does the fighting for His people. The charge of Joshua then is still good for today, the Jews must believe that in order for His plan to be worked out in their lives.

There are many similarities between the return to the land 3,500 years ago and the Jewish people returning today. The only difference is that it is the “final return” today, an indication that Jesus is getting ready to return to Earth to fulfill His last promises to the Jewish people.

Just this reminder, seven years before He returns He will shout and have all Christians to join Him in the heavens at the Rapture. The Rapture could happen at any moment, even today.

PRAYER THOUGHT: Help me Lord, and my family to serve you until you do shout for us to join you in the heavens.

Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite unto this day, because that he wholly followed the LORD God of Israel.

The book of Joshua is the history of the children of Israel, under the leadership of Joshua, as they come into the "promised land". It is also the story of conflicts that followed as the Jews conquered the land. It is a record of one victory after another as the Lord gives the children of Israel what He told them He would give them 40 years before they arrive to claim His promise.

There is a great lesson in that thought. Sometimes, we ignore God's directives which brings upon us sorrow, heartache and distress. I do not understand why I do not learn His way, His way is the best way.

Our last devotional was from Joshua 6 and it detailed the first victory for the Jewish people as they moved forward to take the land that God had given them. Jericho, as I said, was only the first installment of God’s promise.

Before we come to our reading for today I want to give you several passages that are a record of God’s faithfulness. As you survey the entire book of Joshua please notice that the Lord was giving the Jews the locations that would be considered the “heritage sites” for the Jews of today.

The first mention of the city of Jerusalem, by name, is in Joshua 10:1. “Jerusalem” is mentioned 764 times in the Bible and this city plays a key role in the life of the Jewish people through out history and into the future, even “eternity future”.

Notice, the Lord had directed Joshua to give to the half tribe of Manasseh the location of “Bashan”, Joshua 13:29 to 31. You may not recognize that name but it is the area of what is today the “Golan Heights”. That means that God gave the Jewish people the Golan Heights 3,500 years ago. That should settle the debate between Israel and Syria over the Golan, but it hasn’t.

Our reading for today is a perfect example of my point. When Moses sent out the spies, Joshua and Caleb were the only two to return from their sojourn inside the “promised land” with a positive report.

Because the majority of the spies gave a negative, fearful report of the land and due to their unbelief, the children of Israel wandered around in the wilderness for 40 years before claiming their promise.

However, the Lord did not forget the faithfulness of the spy named Caleb. God instructed Joshua, the leader responsible for dividing the "promised land", to give Caleb the piece of real estate he wanted, the area around Hebron. Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb because this spy had "wholly followed the Lord God of Israel", verse 14.

This whole account is a great spiritual lesson for me and for you also. In our daily lives, we must do all that the Lord directs us to do, "wholly following the Lord."

Before I finish, let me remind you that this land and city that God gave Caleb 3,500 years ago is a center of controversy today. Hebron is the oldest Jewish community in the world founded by Abraham some 4,000 years ago, Genesis 13:18.

Today, there are around 1,000 Jews living in Hebron with 150,000 Palestinians surrounding them and many of those Palestinians are self-proclaimed Islamic terrorists.

Hebron is the second most sacred piece of real estate in the world for the Jewish people. It was purchased by Abraham as a burial site, Genesis 23, and paid for in cash.

There is a great Jewish heritage in Hebron from the past, but the present situation is very controversial and will continue to be so until the Messiah, Jesus Christ, returns to deal with the enemies of the Jewish people.

The little prophetic book of Obadiah reveals the victory given to the Jews over the Palestinians, descendants of Esau, and that happens at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, the Jewish Messiah. The stage is being set for that prophecy to be fulfilled.

It is good to reflect on the past as we look to the future, all under the watchful eye of our Lord. He is still in charge.

PRAYER THOUGHT: Help me this day Lord, to wholly follow You in all that I do, as You lead.

And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour. And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword.

It is worth the time you will spend to read our extended reading for today, which is the complete account of the conquering of Jericho. God told Joshua that as He had been with Moses He would be with the new leader of the Jewish people as they would enter the “promise land”.

This portion of God's word is the record of God's beginning phase of the fulfillment of His promises to Joshua. This is an amazing victory over the awesome enemy standing at the entrance of the conquest of the “promise land” for the children of Israel.

Any true military strategist would have warned Joshua against the plan given to him by God. It would have been considered a suicide mission by any evaluation to simply have your religious leaders lead your people in a walk around this well fortified city.

It would have been ridiculous to walk around the city for one day but to do so for seven days and then to shout and think that the walls would come down would be out of the question for any logical leader.

However, God did not set Joshua in place as the leader of the children of Israel to lead the conquest of the land He had promised them because he was a logical thinker but because Joshua was obedient to his Lord.

The rest of the book of Joshua, which records the leadership of God's man for this mission, is a record of obedience and victory. It is the evidence that we must look at and consider, even as we in our own journey through life follow His direction for all the conquests that are promised for each of us as we do follow His direction.

It is interesting that as the children of Israel entered the promise land, it is "Jericho first" on the agenda for God's plan for taking the land. I used that phrase "Jericho first" because this is the phrase used in 1993 when the Oslo Accords were signed on the lawn at the White House in Washington.

The peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinian people would give to the Palestinians, "Jericho first." For this last 25 years we have seen how that peace treaty has been negated and the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people is deteriorating on a daily basis.

What got my attention is the fact that God gave “Jericho first” to the children of Israel and 3,500 years later the Jews gave “Jericho first” to their enemies. This scenario is in perfect alignment with Bible prophecy for these two peoples, the Jews and the Palestinians. (See my study on Esau and the Palestinians)

All the actors are in place and the curtain is about to go up on the final drama as described in Bible prophecy. Keep looking up. Jesus is coming and it could be today.

PRAYER THOUGHT: Help me to realize the time of Your return is drawing closer as the current events unfold that are in line with the end time scenario found in Bible prophecy.

And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho.

Today we read the account of the first several days of the children of Israel in the Promised Land. Joshua had been installed as leader after the death of Moses and given the responsibilities of leading the Israelites across the Jordan River and into the area just to the east of Jericho, out in the valley halfway between Jericho and the Jordan River and just north of the Dead Sea to a place that He would name Gilgal.

Even the name of the location where the children of Israel would first encamp, Gilgal, which in Hebrew means "rolling," was significant. It was here that God told Joshua He had rolled away the reproach of the Egyptian bondage, verse 9.

The first act that Joshua led the Jewish people into, once inside the Promised Land, was the “circumcision” of each of the males. The fact is that none of the men who entered the land God had given them had been circumcised, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb. The oldest of all the men would have been 39 years of age and none of them had ever been given the mark of God's promise to the Jews, circumcision.

The next item on God's agenda, even before He would lead them to conquer the land, was to begin the “cycle of Jewish feast” that He had given Moses for His chosen people. The Lord had commanded that once they entered the land they were to start with the Passover, the first of the seven Jewish feasts, and complete the entire cycle on a yearly basis.

Through the Jewish feast God was giving the Jewish people a glimpse into the future. The seven feasts all have a historic significance and an agricultural factor to them as well as the prophetic aspect to each of the Jewish feasts.

You remember that in the gospel records of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the events actually took place on the Jewish feast days. Jesus Christ was crucified on Passover, John 13:1, was buried on Unleavened Bread, John 19:31 and 42, and resurrected on Sunday, the day the Jews celebrate the Feast of First Fruits, John 20:1 and Leviticus 23:10-13.

Interestingly, Jesus, as He fulfilled the first three Jewish feast days in the proper day sequence, so also He will fulfill the last three Jewish feast days in the proper day sequence as well (See my study "The Feasts of God").

Year after year for the last 3,500 years, the Jews have been observing these Jewish feast days, a constant reminder of what the Lord has done, is doing, and will do for them in the future.

Remember, these feast days are given to the Jewish people. We as Christians can study these Jewish “holy days”, but they are to be observed by the Jews. Those three fall feast days, Trumpets, Day of Atonement and Tabernacles will be fulfilled by Jesus Christ, as were the three spring feast days almost 2,000 years ago.

But let me remind you that before the Lord does fulfill those feast days the Rapture takes place and it could happen any day now, maybe even today. Keep looking up!

PRAYER THOUGHT: Thank you Lord for being a consistent, faithful God who always keeps His promises.

And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD were come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all his banks, as they did before.

Before we come to our devotional reading for today I want us to glance at Joshua 2 and 3. In chapter 2 we find the record of the sending of the “spies” into Jericho to meet with Rahab and to determine their “plan of attack” as the Israelites enter the “promised land”.

Joshua 3 is the actual account of Joshua and the children of Israel making ready to walk through the Jordan River on “dry ground”. The details are here for you to study and to see how God would provide this entrance into the “land” even though it seemed impossible.

Joshua 4 is the record of the miraculous entry into the Promised Land by the Israelites, under the leadership of Joshua. Those who were entering the "land", were those Jewish people who had not seen the parting of the Red Sea, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb, the others had died during the forty years of wandering in the wilderness.

All that would enter into the land that God had promised them had been born during the forty years of unbelief. The reason, of course, for the two exceptions, Joshua and Caleb, was that they, as spies, had reported back to Moses that the "land" was great and that they could enter in right away.

Joshua and Caleb believed God and thus they were given the privilege of entering into God's Promised Land.

Let me remind you that the time of the year when the Jordan River was parted was in the spring, the harvest time, Joshua 3:15-16. The waters of the Jordan River were overflowing their banks, more so than during the rest of the year.

God had directed Joshua to have the priest to bare the "ark of the covenant" to the western shore of the Jordan River and when the waters divided all of the children of Israel followed the priest with the "ark" as they crossed over into Israel on dry ground.

Joshua also had one man from each of the twelve tribes bare a stone from the center of the Jordan River, now dry, and take it to the place where they would "lodge that night", verse 3, and lay all twelve of these stones at Gilgal, verse 19.

You'll remember Gilgal, located about two miles from the Jordan River, is the place where the Jews celebrated their first "Passover" in the Promised Land, Joshua 5:10.

Verse 6 of our extended reading says that the taking of the stones from the Jordan River would be a "sign" for the Israelites, an object lesson for the Jews so that they could tell their children of God's love, provision and protection for them.

However, it would not be done for the sake of only telling the children, verses 19-23, but it would be somewhat of a monument to have so that "all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty, that they might fear the Lord our God forever", verse 24.

Indeed, there are not many people on the earth that don't know the story of God's fulfilled promises to the Jews and His provision of the land as He had promised. Of course, the parting of the Jordan River, like the parting of the Red Sea, displayed the mighty hand of God.

3,500 years ago God took care of His chosen people, He is still doing so today, and will do so into the future, as He said He would. Praise His name!

PRAYER THOUGHT: Thank you Lord for Your love, provision and protection for me as it has been for Your people, the Jewish people, over the last 4,000 years.

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.

Our devotional reading for today is the record of the Lord giving a command for Joshua to take the children of Israel into the “promised land”. This is the land that He had prepared for the Israelites. Joshua was now the leader of the Jewish people and would lead them during the first return by the Jewish people to the "promised land".

As the Israelites would enter the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua, the Lord would promise Joshua that the Jewish people would receive all the land promised to Moses and his descendants, the land that would extend even to the River Euphrates, verse 4.

On this return to the land, the first of three returns after the Jewish nation would leave the land God had given the Jews, they would receive only a portion of the land that God promised. The complete fulfillment of the "land prophecy", Deuteronomy 30, will take place during the future 1000 year Kingdom period.

The scriptures give us the details on the total amount of land that God has promised His “chosen people”, the Jewish people. One day the Jewish people will receive 10 times the amount of land they have today, that happens at His Second Coming.

Our passage for today’s reading is one of thirty-eight Biblical references that detail all the land promised, which is much of what we know as the Middle East today. This helps us to understand why the Arab world is concerned about what happens to the Jewish State of Israel.

The Lord also assures Joshua of “good success”, verse 8, and that He would be with this one who replaced Moses, the great Jewish prophet and leader. God told Joshua that as He was with Moses, He would be with young Joshua.

That success would come from daily meditation in the Word of God, verse 8, and obedience to the Word. These are the promises that the Lord gives a young Jewish leader at the exact time that he needed to have this encouragement and direction.

This first, of three returns to the “Promised Land” by the Jews, is evidence that the Lord will be faithful to His promise of a “land” for a “people”, His chosen people, as a “nation”, a land that He gives them, forever. This land will be given at the Lord’s return to earth.

But until that time, God will be with His people, the Jewish people, verse 5. God's promise to Joshua is that He will give them good success, verse 8. The success for the Jews and for us as well is dependent on each of us allowing His word to direct our every step.

This “mode of operation” for the Christian today, in the days leading up to the terrible time of trouble followed by the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, is essential as we await not only His return but the next event, the Rapture. The Rapture could happen at any moment, even today.

PRAYER THOUGHT: Thank you Lord for being a “promise-keeping” God, not only for success but for Your promise of a return to the “land” to set up Your “Kingdom”.

And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face.

Deuteronomy 34, the last chapter of the fifth book of the Torah, the last book written by Moses, is the record of this great Jewish prophets death. In fact, our key verse states that there was never a greater prophet in all of Israel than Moses, verse 10.

Moses had a face-to-face conversation, not with God since no one can see God face-to-face and live, John 1:18 and Exodus 33:20-23. Moses stood face-to-face with Jesus Christ, actually a “pre-incarnate” appearance of Jesus.

God had chosen Moses to lead the children of Israel from the Egyptian bondage into the Promised Land. Deuteronomy 34 has Moses in the plains of Moab, atop Mt Nebo. This was a great vantage point for Moses to be able to see into the "Promised Land".

Mt Nebo was due east of Jericho, which was in the "Promised Land". The Lord showed Moses all the land that He was going to give the Jewish people, forever. The Lord allowed Moses to see the land, verse 4b, but would not allow him to go into the "Promised Land",Deuteronomy 32:48-52.

It is so interesting to me that even though Moses was 120 years old, his eyes were "not dim",verse 7. However, Moses would die there near Mt Nebo and he is buried in the valley in Moab, where no one has ever found his burial site, verse 6.

Moses was a great man, an excellent leader and a prophet like none other in Israel's history but because he took the “glory” from the Lord, the Lord punished him. No one of us is out of reach of the Lord when He determines to punish us no matter how important we may think we are in service to the Lord.

Tucked within this passage is a great prophetic truth, once again stated, about the land that God promised the Jewish people. Verse 4 records God's promise of the land to the Jewish people.

He promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that the land would be theirs forever. It would be theirs and their descendants forever. In our devotional passage there is only a portion of all the land, verses 1-2, that God has promised.

A compilation of all the passages on the borders of Israel includes what God will give the Jewish people, some ten times what they have today. The enemies of the Jewish people and their modern-day State will try to take the land that God has given them, away from them. This will be done through terrorism and all out war.

However this all plays out one thing is for sure, Bible prophecy will be fulfilled. God will give the land to the Jews. He promised to do so and He keeps all of His promises.

PRAYER THOUGHT: Thank you Lord for being a “promise keeping” God not only to the Jews but to me as well as it relates to my salvation and eternal existence with you.

When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.

Our reading today is the first portion of a song that the Lord directed Moses to write and then teach the children of Israel, Deuteronomy 31:19 and 21. The fact that God directs Moses to write a song, which we will discuss in a moment, is evidence that the Lord will and does use music to teach His way to His people. I have long said that music is so much more than entertainment. It is for edification and exhortation, for the people of God.

Part of the heritage of Christianity is the music it has produced over the centuries. I am thinking especially of the time of the Reformation when the reformers would use music to teach the body of Christ those truths that came out of the Reformation. Men like Luther, Knox, the Wesley brothers, John and Charles, and many others.

These men would write songs containing doctrine, and then teach the people to sing these "truths" as the Reformers would travel to another location to teach. The Lord, of course, was the originator of this concept, using music to teach the children of Israel great truths, knowing that Moses would soon depart from this world.

This brings to our attention how important music is in our Christian experience. It is essential that we use and listen to music that has the right doctrine and to make sure that the "medium carrying the message" is consistent with the message and the Master who sent the message.

Now to the song's content – this is the message that the Lord wanted the Israelites to have before He would bring them into the “promised land”. There is so much in this song we will have to visit it again in a future devotional but let's look at one phrase found in verse 8.

The Lord is teaching the Jewish people of the importance He places on these people that He chose to be a “special people” unto Himself, a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation”. He tells Israel that when He divided the peoples of the world into nations, Genesis 10 and 11, He set the bounds, the borders of the nations, according to the number of the children of Israel.

Ezekiel, an ancient Jewish prophet, reveals the centrality of Jerusalem, Ezekiel 5:5. The Lord placed Jerusalem in the center of the earth with all the nations around the “holy city”.

Notice that God did this according to the number of Jews there would be in the future because when God divided the peoples of the earth into nations there were no “children of Israel”. Based upon His foreknowledge, God set the bounds for the nations.

God had a plan for the Jewish people. He has a plan today for His chosen people. But most important, He has a plan for the children of Israel in the future that will be played out.

The plan the Lord has for the Jewish people is found in the prophetic passages of the Bible. In the last days God will deal with these Jews that have been scattered around the world for 2,000 years.

He will “re-gather” the Jews and bring them into the land of their forefathers. They will be “restored” as a nation among the nations of the world. Then there will be a “terrible time of testing” for the Jews, the Tribulation, before Jesus, the Jewish Messiah”, returns to Earth and to lead His “chosen people”.

If you want to know where God is in His plan for the end times, you focus on the Jewish people. This is such an easy formula for all to live by in the last days. We simply must know God’s plan for the Jews, stay abreast of what is happening with them and compare current events with Biblical prophecy to recognize where we are on His “time line” for the end of days.

PRAYER THOUGHT: Help me, Lord, to see Your plan for this world unfolding as I watch Your “chosen people” today.

And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.

The passage chosen for our devotional reading today is what is referred to as the "Land Covenant". Maybe in the margin of your Bible or possibly above the first verse of our reading you find, as I do in my King James Scofield Reference Bible, the title of the covenant to be the "Palestinian Covenant".

That is not the title of the covenant, the word "Palestinian" is a man-made word that is a negative word introduced to the Jewish and Christian world in the second century by a Roman Emperor who named the land of Israel, "Palestine".

The Bible never calls the land that God gave to the Jewish people, "Palestine". The land is called "Israel". There has never been a land that God called "Palestine", the Lord calls the land "Israel", Matthew 2:20-21. Please do not refer to the land of Israel as "Palestine" but by it's true Biblical name, "Israel".

By the way, there was never an Arab state of "Palestine" that must be returned to the Palestinian people. From around 1500 AD until 1917 AD the Ottoman Empire, the empire of the nation of Turkey, controlled what is today, the land of Israel. The Turks ruled this land for over 400 years.

Then, until the United Nations gave the Jews this land in 1948, as a nation called Israel, the land was under the sovereignty of the British Empire. There has never been a state, an official government, for the state of "Palestine".

The truth is our devotional reading for today promises to give the "land" to the Jewish people. This "land covenant" includes all of the land that God has promised to the Jewish people, some ten times the amount of land that the Jews now control.

The total amount of land that the Jews will receive according to this covenant will be given to the Jews during the Kingdom period when the Messiah, Jesus Christ, is ruling and reigning from his Temple in Jerusalem.

There will also be a time when the Jews will be brought back into the land of their forefathers, verse 5. The Jews will love the Lord with all of their heart, verse 6, at that time in history. This period of time in the future will be when the Lord Jesus Christ has returned to the Earth to set up His Kingdom.

Until the return of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, to the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, the conflict over the ownership of the land will continue and intensify. Though God has promised the Land to the Jewish people they will return to the land of their forefathers only to be almost destroyed by their enemies. This persecution will be used by the Lord to turn the Jews to their Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Remember, seven years at least before Jesus comes back to give His Chosen people, the Jewish people, their land, our Lord will shout and call all Christians up to join Him in the heavenlies at the time of the Rapture, which could happen today.

PRAYER THOUGHT: Thank you Lord for keeping your promises to the Jews and to me as a Christian, especially your promise to call us up to be with you forever more.

And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone.

This portion of Scripture is a message that Moses gave to the Jewish people while traveling towards the “promised land”, however, it has a prophetic significance that would be played out during two different unique periods of history.

The passage follows the message that Moses had given explaining the “curses” and the “blessings” in the previous chapter, Deuteronomy 27. Chapter 28 includes the conditions for receiving “blessings”, verses 1-14, when they come into the land God was to give them.

This chapter also lays out the conditions, which would bring chastisement after they arrive in the land, verses 15-62, and the world-wide dispersion, punishment for continued disobedience, verses 63-68.

Now God’s man to lead the Children of Israel to the land He had promised them, Moses, is given the responsibility to “warn” the Jews that they would face “tough times” ahead if they were disobedient to His directives.

Moses wrote of a “world-wide dispersion” for disobedience that would include a “terrible time” of loneliness as the Lord would withdraw His hand of protection from His “chosen people” because they refused to do as He told them. They had been set apart for a purpose and they rejected His plan for them.

This prophecy was actually fulfilled in 70 AD when General Titus, leader of the Roman army, destroyed the Jewish Temple, devastated the city of Jerusalem and dispersed the Jews to the four corners of the earth, verse 64.

In fact, the “Arch of Titus”, located in Rome, Italy, is a monument to this fulfilled prophecy. Remember, fulfilled prophecy is a reason to believe that all other prophecies yet to be fulfilled, will be fulfilled.

The fulfillment of this prophecy in Deuteronomy was fulfilled by the last departure of the Jews, as foretold in the Bible, when they were put out of the land of Israel in 70 AD. A close study of the “life of the Jewish people” over the almost 2,000 years of their dispersion, was described in our devotional reading for today also.

The promise of the return –the very last return spoken of in the Bible - is now under way and has been so for a number of years. It will culminate with the return of Jesus Christ to the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, Zechariah 14:4.

Preceding our Lord's Second Coming by seven years will be the Lord's shout for us to join Him in the air at the Rapture of the Church, which could be today. Keep looking up.

PRAYER THOUGHT: Dear Lord, thank you for the reminder that there is a price to pay for disobedience. Help me to be obedient as I await Your return to gather me up to be with You, forever.