Archives
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2021
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January
(24)
- I Chronicles 23:25
- I Chronicles 21:24
- I Chronicles 17:9
- I Chronicles 12:32
- I Chronicles 1:1-4, 34 and 2:1-2
- II Kings 19:34
- II Kings 18:3
- II Kings 17:23
- II Kings 9:36
- II Kings 2:11
- I Kings 18:36
- I Kings 11:11
- I Kings 9:3
- I Kings 8:11
- I Kings 2:12
- I Kings 1:39
- II Samuel 24:18
- II Samuel 12:13
- II Samuel 7:24
- II Samuel 7:16 - 17
- II Samuel 6:17
- II Samuel 5:12
- I Samuel 28:17-18
- I Samuel 17:46
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January
(24)


I Chronicles 23:25
For David said, The LORD God of Israel hath given rest unto his people, that they may dwell in Jerusalem forever
I Chronicles 23, the record of what happens at the end of King David's life and at the time he anoints his son Solomon to become King over Israel. You might remember that even though David wanted to build the Temple as a permanent worship center for the Jewish people, God had not allowed him to do so because of disobedience.
David would also gather the Levites together to set them in "order" so that they might serve in the Temple at an allotted time of the year, as well as the times of the Jewish Feast Days. I Chronicles 24 is the schedule for the priest to serve in the Temple as set forth by King David.
In our extended reading we find some very significant information on the service at the Temple. Verse 3 states that the priests who serve at the Temple begin their "priesthood" at the age of thirty, having studied for twenty-eight years the priestly duties and responsibilities.
As you read through the entire 23rd chapter of I Chronicles, you'll notice that in verses 7-23 King David sets certain families aside for service in the Temple. This is similar to the divisions of the sons of Aaron into the twenty-four orders to serve at the Temple, as found in I Chronicles 24.
From verses 24-32, David gives further instructions for service at the Temple. Please notice King David's statement in verse 25, it is very prophetic. Because of the Davidic Covenant, the promise from the Lord to David, the aged King of Israel, was that the Jewish people would dwell in Jerusalem, forever.
By the way, the word "forever" means forever, even into eternity future. There, in fact, will be a temple in Jerusalem, forever, Ezekiel 37:26 & 28.
One final word about what King David did to prepare for the first temple, Solomon's Temple. David selected the priest, set the number needed in place and even the four thousand to play the harps.
Today in Jerusalem there are men studying the "priestly duties" so that they can operate the next Temple. Even the harps have been made to use in the next Temple.
The next Temple could be built very soon. The only thing that must happen before the building of the Temple is the Rapture of the Church, and that could happen today.
PRAYER THOUGHT: Help me Lord, to live today as if this is the day that the Rapture will happen.
I Chronicles 21:24
And King David said to Ornan, Nay; but I will verily buy it for the full price: for I will not take that which is thine for the LORD, nor offer burnt offerings without cost.
Our extended devotional reading for today is the account of King David purchasing the "threshing floor" from the Jebusite, to be used as a place for an "altar" upon which David could offer sacrifice.
You might recall that King David had conquered the Jebusite's stronghold known as "Jerusalem" and made it the "political capital" of the Jewish people, II Samuel 5.
In II Samuel 6, David brought the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem and then made Jerusalem the "spiritual capital" of the Jewish people. Jerusalem would be the location where David's son would build the first temple.
The threshing floor that Ornan, the Jebusite, owned was the location that King David wanted as a place of "sacrifice" and the King of Israel was willing to pay "cash money" for that piece of real estate.
You'll notice in our extended reading that the Jebusite, Ornan, wanted to give King David this exact location for the place of this altar that the Jewish King wanted for offering sacrifices. When Ornan offered to give the land to King David, the king refused saying that he would not offer sacrifice unless he paid for this sacrificial site.
Let the record show that King David paid cash money for Ornan's threshing floor, 600 shekels of gold, approximately $222,000 in the present day price for gold. It is important to see that King David did not take this site as a gift but instead paid cash money for the location, which was on the peak of Mount Moriah.
Remember, Mount Moriah is the spot where Abraham offered his son Isaac to the Lord, Genesis 22:2. Mount Moriah is also the location where King Solomon built the first temple, II Chronicles 3:1.
This location, Mount Moriah, the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, is where the next temple will be built during the Tribulation Period, Daniel 9:27; Matthew 24:15; II Thessalonians 2:4; and Revelation 11:2.
This sacred spot where the first and second temples stood and where the next two temples will also stand is the piece of real estate that a Jewish King purchased for "cash money".
That should settle the question of ownership of the Temple Mount, but it doesn’t. The Temple Mount will be the "center of controversy" until the Antichrist has a temple built on the spot where Jesus Christ will one day build his millennial Temple prior to the 1,000 year Kingdom.
The only problem for building a Jewish temple today up on the Temple Mount is a gold-domed building, a Muslim religious center; however, the Jewish temple will be built there one day, not too far into the future. That Dome of the Rock must be taken down, and it will be taken down during one of the military attacks on Israel in the Tribulation Period.
All preparations have been made for the next Temple, the "Tribulation Temple". This next Temple will be built after the Rapture takes Christians up into heaven to be with Jesus Christ. That Rapture can happen at any moment, even today.
PRAYER THOUGHT: Help me Lord to recognize the times in which we are living and to look for Your soon return.
I Chronicles 17:9
Also I will ordain a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, and they shall dwell in their place, and shall be moved no more; neither shall the children of wickedness waste them any more, as at the beginning
A look at I Chronicles 13-16 gives one the record of King David in two attempts at bringing the "ark of the covenant" up to Jerusalem. The first time doing the "right thing in the wrong way", chapter 13; and then doing the "right thing in the right way", chapter 15.
As we continue our devotional readings today in I Chronicles, I must mention that in the original Hebrew Canon, First and Second Chronicles were one scroll. In Hebrew, the title of that scroll means, "the words concerning the days".
Jewish tradition says that Ezra was the author of the two books. However, scholarship believes that Ezra may have been the writer but the author is actually unknown and referred to as the "Chronicler".
The two books of history start with Adam, I Chronicles 1:1, and conclude with the "carrying away" of the Jewish people into the Babylonian captivity by King Nebuchadnezzar in II Chronicles 36.
As we come in our reading today to I Chronicles 17, we see the record of David's desire to build the Lord a "permanent place of worship" instead of the "transportable worship center" known as the "Tabernacle".
David had brought the Ark of the Covenant up to Jerusalem and rested it in a tabernacle, I Chronicles 16, and now David approaches the Lord about building the temple. The Lord responded with the Davidic Covenant, which promises that there will be a temple built by David's son, Solomon, as recorded in I Kings.
The record of David's response is worship and prayer, verses 16-27 . David's past sins have been forgiven and the Lord now tells David of the future of his family and house. It is an account worth reading and meditating on as you read it.
God makes the promise, in fact, He ordains a place for His "people Israel" to dwell. It will be a place where they will live forever. They will not be removed from this "place" or "wiped off the map", as threatened by the Iranian president Ahmadinejad, and the leadership of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic terrorist organization.
God's promise of a land for the Jewish people is in the process of being totally fulfilled. A Temple in that land with a king, King Jesus, on the throne in that Temple, will be fulfilled and seemingly in the near future.
PRAYER THOUGHT: Thank you, Lord, for being a "promise-keeping" Lord.
I Chronicles 12:32
And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment.
PRAYER THOUGHT: Thank you Lord for your prophetic Word that helps us to know, and understand, the times and thus know what we must be doing as we await Your return.
I Chronicles 1:1-4, 34 and 2:1-2
Adam, Sheth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalaleel, Jered, Henoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth... And Abraham begat Isaac. The sons of Isaac; Esau and Israel... These are the sons of Israel; Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun, Dan, Joseph, and Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
Verse 10 tells us that Cush begat Nimrod who became "mighty on the earth". Genesis 10:10 reveals to us that Nimrod had a "kingdom" in Babel, Biblical "Babylon", which is modern day Iraq.
II Kings 19:34
For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.
II Kings 18:3
And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did.
II Kings 17:23
Until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.
II Kings 9:36
Wherefore they came again, and told him. And he said, This is the word of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel
There are some very interesting characters in this Biblical narrative that reveal a very important principle of Bible prophecy or should I say several principles of Bible prophecy. I'll get to those principles in a moment, but first, the narrative.
That is the narrative, and now the "principles" of Bible prophecy. Elijah had prophesied that dogs would eat the flesh of Jezebel in Jezreel. If it is indeed a prophecy from God through one of His prophets, it will happen just like it was prophesied - word for word, Deuteronomy 18:20-22. That is what happened here.
The second principle of Bible prophecy is that when one of God's prophecies is fulfilled that is assurance additional prophecies from God will also be fulfilled. There are countless records of that principle applied throughout the Bible. We will look at them as we continue our journey through the Bible with "prophetic prospectives" on our daily devotional.
PRAYER THOUGHT: Help me, dear Lord, in my study of prophecy to better understand the times we live in and the nearness of His coming.
II Kings 2:11
And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
I Kings 18:36
Let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.
I Kings 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.
The fulfillment of this prophecy is recorded in I Kings 12:16-24. The dividing of the Kingdom of Solomon - 10 tribes under Jeroboam known as "Israel" and two tribes under Rehoboam known as "Judah".
However, the ancient Jewish prophet Ezekiel reveals another division among the Jewish people will take place during the last days leading up to and during the seven year Tribulation Period.
Ezekiel 37:15-23 is prophecy that is yet to come to pass. There will be two Jewish states at that time known as "Israel" and "Judah" (see my study on Ezekiel 37 on my CD "Ezekiel, Retribution and Restoration') .
PRAYER THOUGHT: Dear Lord, as I watch the preparations for the fulfillment of Bible Prophecy help me to allow my understanding of future events to cause me to live in light of your Word, a life expecting You to call me to be with You at any moment.
I Kings 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.
In fulfillment of God's promise to David, II Samuel 7, King David's son Solomon did build the temple, the first permanent dwelling place for the worship of the Jewish people in Jerusalem.
These worldly people would ask why Israel was not in the land and why was the Temple destroyed. The Lord answers that question in advance, "because the people of Israel forsook the Lord their God", verse 9.
Then, because of additional disobedience, the Lord followed through on His promise again and had the Roman Army destroy the Second Temple and disbursed the Jews out of their land. When God makes a promise, He keeps that promise.
PRAYER THOUGHT: Help me Lord, to walk before You daily and do that which You direct me to do as I await Your return.