Tuesday, February 28, 2023
Joshua 24:15
Tuesday, February 28, 2023 |
But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
For further study – Joshua 24:15-31
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.
Monday, February 27, 2023
Joshua 14:14
Monday, February 27, 2023 |
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.
For further study - Joshua 14:1-15
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.
Sunday, February 26, 2023
Joshua 6:2 and 21
Sunday, February 26, 2023 |
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.
For further study - Joshua 6:1-27
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.
Saturday, February 25, 2023
Joshua 5:10
Saturday, February 25, 2023 |
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.
For further reading - Joshua 5:6-15
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.
Friday, February 24, 2023
Joshua 4:18
Friday, February 24, 2023 |
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.
For further study - Joshua 4:1-24
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.
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.
Thursday, February 23, 2023
Joshua 1:5
Thursday, February 23, 2023 |
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.
For further study - Joshua1:1-9
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.
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”.
Wednesday, February 22, 2023
Numbers 21:8
Wednesday, February 22, 2023 |
And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
For further study - Numbers 21:1-35
I have just realized that more and more I am giving you a whole chapter in a book to read for our extended devotional. I hope that you agree, it should not hinder us in our devotional time to spend a bit more time in the "Book".
I will point out several tidbits in this chapter for today, but first to our key verse. Let me give you the background for our reading today. Moses was leading the children of Israel towards the Promised Land and at this time they had been wandering for almost forty years.
The Israelites were very discouraged at not being able to get to the Promised Land; howbeit, it was their own fault because of their disobedience and unbelief.
Verse 4 tells us that they were not able to continue along the "Kings Highway", 20:17, because the Edomites refused to allow them to pass that way. Therefore they had to travel by way of the Red Sea, towards Arabia, around Petra and Edom and then into Ammon before they would cross over the Jordan River into the Promised Land.
At this point God told Moses to make a replica of the "fiery serpent" and put it atop a pole that was to stand up in the wilderness. God then said that if the Jewish people would look up to the "fiery serpent", they would live. This "look and live" action was a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ on His cross.
The people of Israel would continue along the "Kings Highway" and be confronted by Sihon the King of the Amorites in the area of "Heshbon". If you've ever traveled on a tour with me through the Land of the Bible and into Jordan, you have seen "Heshbon".
It was at "Heshbon" where God allowed the Israelites to defeat the Amorites. It was after that victory that the Lord told Moses to send a group up into Bashan to defeat Og, the King of Bashan. The children of Israel defeated the people of Bashan and later Joshua gave Bashan to the half tribe of Manasseh, even though it was on the eastern shore of the Jordan River.
By the way, Bashan is the name also known in the Bible, and today, as the "Golan," the Golan Heights. This event took place 3,500 years ago. That's how long ago that God gave the Golan Heights to the Jewish people.
One has to wonder why the Syrians lay claim to the Golan Heights. Even in recent days the leaders of Syria have said that they will take the Golan Heights back diplomatically or by force, militarily. This potential military action between Israel and Syria is very viable today.
The truth of the matter is, the enemies of Israel, the Jewish state today, don't want Jews anywhere in the Middle East. This “satanic influence” which directs the ways of the enemies of Israel today is setting the stage for the prophetic scenario found in Bible prophecy to be fulfilled seemingly in the near future.
How up-to-date our devotional readings are each and every day. We must realize that God’s plan for the end times will be played out. As we watch from the sidelines we have to understand that His shout for us to join Him in the air is about to be heard, maybe even today.
PRAYER THOUGHT: Thank you Lord for being lifted up on the cross like the "fiery serpent" on the pole in the wilderness so that I could "look and live".
Tuesday, February 21, 2023
Numbers 20:21
Tuesday, February 21, 2023 |
Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border: wherefore Israel turned away from him.
For further study - Numbers 20:14-29
The account we read for our devotional today, these 16 verses, record the travels of the children of Israel, led by Moses, toward the Promised Land. You will notice that they travel along the "King's Highway" which was the road of the merchants from Africa through Egypt along the lower section of Israel near the Red Sea and then into southern Jordan going north.
I have traveled many times along the King's Highway as was the case for the thousands of Jews near the end of their 40 years of wandering in the "wilderness" because of unbelief. They did not believe Joshua and Caleb who gave the positive report of the "Promised Land" after their "spy mission" into the land almost 40 years earlier.
What we read in our devotional today is the account of what happened right after Moses had been disobedient to the Lord when the Lord told the leader of the Jewish people to "speak" to the "rock" and instead, Moses "smote" the rock, Numbers 20:7-13. The Lord told Moses and Aaron that because of their lack of obedience they would not be allowed to enter the Promised Land, verse 12.
The last seven verses of our reading for today record the death of Aaron, the brother of Moses and the High Priest. The record shows that Aaron died atop Mount Hor that is near the headquarters of the Edomites, the descendants of Esau, a place called Petra. As I have visited Petra many times, I have often thought about the disobedience of Aaron and Moses and the penalty they both had to pay for not following the instructions that God gave them.
In verses 14-22, we see that the Edomites would not allow the children of Israel, their "brothers," verse 14, to travel along the King's Highway but instead they had to travel farther east towards Saudi Arabia and go around the land of Edom, Numbers 21:4.
You might remember the account of the Lord sending Esau and his family to Mount Seir, which is the same location of the Edomites in this passage. When Esau arrived in Petra the Lord changed the land area, so that it would be known as Edom, after the name that God had given Esau, Genesis 36:1.
Space will not allow for me to trace from Esau in Petra, the land of Edom, to the modern-day Palestinian people (see my audio series Esau and the Palestinians.)
Verse 18 reveals that Edom would not allow the children of Israel to travel the King's Highway towards the Promised Land even though Moses said he would pay for any damages made by his people and their animals, verse 17. This account is simply one chapter in the life and struggle of two brothers, Jacob and Esau.
Their mother was told by the Lord that these two boys struggling within her womb would become two nations - two manner of people, Genesis 25:23. The Scriptures tell us that they would continue this struggle until Jesus Christ returns to the earth to settle the battle between these two brothers, Obadiah 17 and 18.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict of today is evidence of the truth of God's word and the prophecy that will be fulfilled in the end times.
PRAYER THOUGHT: Help me, Lord, to obey You and follow Your instructions.
Monday, February 20, 2023
Numbers 19:1-3
Monday, February 20, 2023 |
And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke: And ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest, that he may bring her forth without the camp, and one shall slay her before his face.
For further study - Numbers 19:1-21
Before we come to our devotional reading for today I want to take a quick look at the preceding five chapters in Numbers and have you notice several verses of interest for extra reading. This reading of these chapters will fill in the narrative of the “wanderings in the wilderness” of the Jewish people under the leadership of Moses.
Chapter 14 is revealing the “unbelief” of the Jews at that time in history, as evidenced in verses 11 and 24. Numbers 15 to 18 is an account of some of the “years of wandering”. You may want to study Numbers 17, the account of “Aaron’s rod that budded”.
As we come to our devotional for today, Numbers 19, we will read about the giving of the “ordinance of the red heifer”. This has an absolute relationship to the end times and the building of the next Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. More on that later in this devotional.
The ordinance of the "Red Heifer" was given to the Jewish people, from God, through Moses. This ordinance was for the “cleansing of those desecrated”, desecrated by coming in contact with “death”. Any such contact would make that Jewish person “un-pure” and with the need of “purification”.
The “ordinance of the Red Heifer” was given after the “Ten Commandments”, to Moses as the spokesman for God, to the Jewish people. It is a “prophecy”, in symbolic form, which was fulfilled by Jesus Christ.
As you can see by reading our devotional passage for today, the “red heifer” was to have never worn a “yoke” and was to be without a blemish of any type, verse 2. The “red” color of the young cow must also be without any other spot of any other color.
As you can see by reading our devotional passage for today, the “red heifer” was to have never worn a “yoke” and was to be without a blemish of any type, verse 2. The “red” color of the young cow must also be without any other spot of any other color.
The priest was to lead the red heifer to an “alter without the gate”, meaning 3,000 feet away from the Tabernacle or Temple, and “before his face”, verse 3, meaning to the “east” of the Tabernacle or Temple. “His face” is referring to the “Glory of the Lord” that hovered over the “Ark of the Covenant”.
After the priest “ceremonially killed” the red heifer it was placed on a “fire” of cedar wood and reduced to ashes. While that was happening the priest added a “scarlet ribbon” and some “hyssop”, a sponge-like plant, and the ashes of these ingredients were then added to a “stone jar” with “living water”, running water or "rain water", Then this “ashen-water” was sprinkled on that or those desecrated.
This ordinance will be reinstated during the Tribulation Period but is only a prototype of the “purification by the blood of Jesus Christ”, to cleanse each of us from our personal desecration, the result of sin. By the way, there is now a report that a Red Heifer is ready to be used during the Tribulation Period, that yet future time of Judgment on the Earth.
The Talmud, extra-Biblical Jewish writing, says when a “tenth” Red Heifer shows up to be used in this God-given ordinance, it is the “time of the coming of the Messiah”. That “tenth” Red Heifer is now ready to be used by the Jewish people.
It is truly amazing to think of how close we are to the Rapture - which must happen before the “Red Heifer ordinance” is restored during the Tribulation Period. In fact, we are so near that it could be today that the Rapture happens. Are you prepared for that event to happen?
PRAYER THOUGHT: Help me Lord to be ready for the “any- moment” Rapture to take place and use me to tell others of how close we are to the call, by You, to join You in the heavenlies.
PRAYER THOUGHT: Help me Lord to be ready for the “any- moment” Rapture to take place and use me to tell others of how close we are to the call, by You, to join You in the heavenlies.
Sunday, February 19, 2023
Numbers 13:30
Sunday, February 19, 2023 |
And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
As we come to our devotions for today I am going to go back over some of what we discussed last time. In Numbers there is a passage of scripture that has an interesting connection to the fate of the Jewish people of today. We’ll look at that in a moment.
Our selected reading for today is the story of Moses dispatching the twelve spies, one from each of the tribes of Israel, to enter the Promised Land to determine if all of the Israelites could enter the land at that time. I’m sure from our study last time that you already know the results of the mission by these twelve leaders of the tribes of Israel.
Ten came back and said the land was filled with giants who would destroy the invading Jewish nation. In fact, in the eyes of these ten spies, they perceive themselves to be "grasshoppers" as compared to the inhabitants of the land that God has promised the Jewish people.
However, there were two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, who came back with a great report. Moses had told all the spies to scout out the lay of the land and be sure to bring some fruit back from their mission, verse 20. At least two of the spies, Caleb and Joshua, had gone over to Hebron, the oldest Jewish community in the history of the world - a Jewish town established by Abraham when he was promised all of the land, some 4,000 years ago.
There, near a brook, the brook of Eshcol, they cut down a bunch of grapes that took two men together to bear the grapes out of the land and bring them back to Moses. This is evidence of how God would provide for His people and that the land was indeed as the two spies reported, a “land of milk and honey”, verse 27.
The other ten spies reported that the enemy would kill the Jewish people if they went into the land. The Israelites believed the ten spies and as a result wandered in the wilderness for the next 39 years.
Remember, Hebron, was the burial place for the patriarchs of Israel, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the second most sacred piece of real estate for the Jewish people. Today it is a very controversial location - a place of violence between the Jews and the Palestinians.
This entire event speaks volumes about the lack of belief among the Jewish people. As the Lord gave them the land 3,500 years ago, and at that time they failed to take it, so today His promise of returning the people to the land is not truly believed by many of the Jewish people.
God's promises to the Jewish people are true and forever. However, these promises must be accepted by faith. One day, seemingly some day soon, God will fulfill His promises to the Jewish people including giving them all of the land He has promised them.
However, what is so amazing to me is that there have been over six million Jews that have believed God and have made their way into the “promised land” in at least a partial fulfillment of Bible Prophecy.
The greatest “sign” that the Lord is in the process of fulfilling all of His promises to the Jews, and in fact to all of us, is the presence of Jews in the land of Israel today. As was the case in the first “return” to the land by the Jewish people, Numbers 11 and other passages, the “final” return is in operation today.
The only thing that must happen before all of these prophecies are fulfilled is the Rapture of the Church, born-again, Bible-believing Christians will be called up into the heavens to be with Jesus forever. That could happen today.
PRAYER THOUGHT: Help me, dear Lord, to believe Your promises for me as I move towards Your return to gather me to be with you, forever.
For further study - Numbers 13:17-33
As we come to our devotions for today I am going to go back over some of what we discussed last time. In Numbers there is a passage of scripture that has an interesting connection to the fate of the Jewish people of today. We’ll look at that in a moment.
Our selected reading for today is the story of Moses dispatching the twelve spies, one from each of the tribes of Israel, to enter the Promised Land to determine if all of the Israelites could enter the land at that time. I’m sure from our study last time that you already know the results of the mission by these twelve leaders of the tribes of Israel.
Ten came back and said the land was filled with giants who would destroy the invading Jewish nation. In fact, in the eyes of these ten spies, they perceive themselves to be "grasshoppers" as compared to the inhabitants of the land that God has promised the Jewish people.
However, there were two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, who came back with a great report. Moses had told all the spies to scout out the lay of the land and be sure to bring some fruit back from their mission, verse 20. At least two of the spies, Caleb and Joshua, had gone over to Hebron, the oldest Jewish community in the history of the world - a Jewish town established by Abraham when he was promised all of the land, some 4,000 years ago.
There, near a brook, the brook of Eshcol, they cut down a bunch of grapes that took two men together to bear the grapes out of the land and bring them back to Moses. This is evidence of how God would provide for His people and that the land was indeed as the two spies reported, a “land of milk and honey”, verse 27.
The other ten spies reported that the enemy would kill the Jewish people if they went into the land. The Israelites believed the ten spies and as a result wandered in the wilderness for the next 39 years.
Remember, Hebron, was the burial place for the patriarchs of Israel, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the second most sacred piece of real estate for the Jewish people. Today it is a very controversial location - a place of violence between the Jews and the Palestinians.
This entire event speaks volumes about the lack of belief among the Jewish people. As the Lord gave them the land 3,500 years ago, and at that time they failed to take it, so today His promise of returning the people to the land is not truly believed by many of the Jewish people.
God's promises to the Jewish people are true and forever. However, these promises must be accepted by faith. One day, seemingly some day soon, God will fulfill His promises to the Jewish people including giving them all of the land He has promised them.
However, what is so amazing to me is that there have been over six million Jews that have believed God and have made their way into the “promised land” in at least a partial fulfillment of Bible Prophecy.
The greatest “sign” that the Lord is in the process of fulfilling all of His promises to the Jews, and in fact to all of us, is the presence of Jews in the land of Israel today. As was the case in the first “return” to the land by the Jewish people, Numbers 11 and other passages, the “final” return is in operation today.
The only thing that must happen before all of these prophecies are fulfilled is the Rapture of the Church, born-again, Bible-believing Christians will be called up into the heavens to be with Jesus forever. That could happen today.
PRAYER THOUGHT: Help me, dear Lord, to believe Your promises for me as I move towards Your return to gather me to be with you, forever.
Saturday, February 18, 2023
Numbers 11:29
Saturday, February 18, 2023 |
And Moses said, would God that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put His spirit upon them.
The leader of the children of Israel in the wilderness wanderings, Moses, made a very profound statement to Joshua and expressed his desire for all the Jewish people. He wanted them all to have the “power of the Lord” on each one of them so that they also would be “mighty preachers” for the Lord.
The word “prophets” used in our key verse for the devotional today is the office of one that would “foretell” the future and in his ministry would be the “spokesman” for God to the people of the world to understand the plan of God for them in the days ahead.
In addition to a “prophet” foretelling the future, his office was to be one of a “mighty preacher” who would evangelize, exhort and encourage the people as well. This desire of Moses for all the people was a Godly ambition.
Earlier in chapter eleven we read of the selection of “seventy” wise Jewish men, seventy men of the “elders” of Israel. These men would be given the responsibility of helping Moses to make decisions for the Jewish people.
The Lord said that He would put His “spirit”, His power on these seventy, verse 17. Verse 25 reveals that when the “spirit of the Lord” came upon them they “prophesied”, continually. God would set these seventy men, and those who would replace them in the future as the “ruling body” of the Jewish people.
In the days of Jesus they were known as the “Sanhedrin” and had the responsibility of managing the activities of the Temple. It was also the Sanhedrin that would judge Jesus in the trials leading up to His crucifixion.
1,400 years ago the Sanhedrin disappeared and only recently have they resurfaced. The Sanhedrin has re-formed and is now in operation in the Jerusalem area where they have been recognized by the Judicial system of Israel as a “court” in the Jewish state.
These seventy wise Jewish scholars today are playing a major role in the preparations to rebuild the Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Keep a close eye on these men as they increase their activity in anticipation of the coming of the Messiah.
Please also notice Numbers 13 and the verses in our “For further reading” section of our devotionals, verses 17 to 30. This is the record of Moses sending the twelve spies into the “promised land” to spy it out and give him a report as to whether the time was right for the Jews to enter the land.
Notice that they went to the area of Hebron and there they found a “land of milk and honey”, verse 27. The two spies, Caleb and Joshua, came back with a positive report that they should at that time enter the land that God had given them.
The other ten spies said that it was not the time to take the land because of the “giants” in the land. Having read the last chapter of this episode I know that the ten were incorrect in their evaluation of the situation.
What a lesson for the Jews today, those who fear their purpose that God has given them, to return to the land of their forefathers. In fact, the Lord told the Jews through the Prophet Ezekiel that this time when they return to the land, “it will be better than at your beginnings”, Ezekiel 36:11.
Remember, I told you that the book of Numbers was a “manual” for the Jews to travel to the “promised land”, 3500 years ago, and in truth it is a “manual” today for the Jews making their third, and final, return to the land the Lord has given them.
There is information for Christians in the book of Numbers as it relates to the end times, the Sanhedrin, but also the land that God will give the Jews in the last days. However, there are “spiritual truths” that can be applied to our daily living as well in these passages for our devotional today.
Please read these principles and apply them as we await the Lord’s shout to join Him in the heavens at the Rapture, which could happen today.
PRAYER THOUGHT: Thank you Lord for the record of the beginnings of the elements that will be included in the last days. Help me to realize the nearness of the Rapture in the future as I better understand the past and live in light of this knowledge.
Friday, February 17, 2023
Numbers 10:2
Friday, February 17, 2023 |
Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps.
The Lord gave instruction through Moses to the Jewish people on how to worship and how to provide a covering for their sins. These instructions are found in the "Torah", the Law, contained in the first five books in the Old Testament.
Here in Numbers 10, the Lord instructs Moses to make two "trumpets" of pure silver that were to be used for calling the Israelites to a “solemn assembly” and for direction for their "journey to the Promised Land".
There were additional times the trumpets were to be blown. They were to be blown for “days of gladness”. They were blown to call attention to “special solemn assemblies”. They were to be sounded on the “first day of each month”. Also the trumpets were to be sounded during “certain sacrifices”.
God told Moses also to have the trumpets sounded as an “alarm” when an enemy was approaching, and when the Children of Israel would go to “war” against the enemy, verse 9.
The prophet Joel, many years after Moses, wrote of using the trumpet to warn of the coming enemy that will appear in the Last Days. Joel told the Jews to “blow the trumpet in Zion”, Jerusalem, and “sound the alarm” in the Lord's holy mountain, the Temple Mount, Joel 2:1.
The trumpet sound of Joel's prophecy was to warn Jews of the “judgment coming at the end of time”. A close look at Joel's prophecy and the other Jewish prophets will reveal that the time for Joel's trumpet to be sounded in Jerusalem is quickly approaching.
I must remind you that before Joel's trumpet is sounded, another trumpet will be heard and it will call all Christians into the heavenlies at the Rapture of the Church, that's found in I Thessalonians 4:16 and I Corinthians 15:52.
After the Rapture trumpet sounds, according to the book of Revelation 4 to 19, the seven-year Tribulation Period follows. Revelation reveals a description of the “terrible time of judgment”. In Revelation 8,9 and 11:15-19, John writes of seven judgments that intensify in severity as the seven angels blow the seven trumpets of judgment.
There is yet another trumpet that will be sounded. That trumpet will be blown by order of Jesus Christ when He returns to the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, Matthew 24:31. The Lord will tell the angel to “sound the trumpet to gather the Jews from all of Creation to Jerusalem”.
The blast of the trumpet on the day that Jesus comes back to Earth is actually on the Jewish feast day, the “Feast of Trumpets”. The Feast of Trumpets is fulfilled at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ - not the Rapture of the Church. The sound of the trumpet at the Rapture takes place at least seven years earlier. The truth be known, that trumpet sound may be heard today. Keep looking up as you listen for that next "trumpet sound".
PRAYER THOUGHT: Help me be prepared, pure, and productive until I hear the "sound of the trumpet" for the Rapture.
For further reading - Numbers 10:1-10
The Lord gave instruction through Moses to the Jewish people on how to worship and how to provide a covering for their sins. These instructions are found in the "Torah", the Law, contained in the first five books in the Old Testament.
Here in Numbers 10, the Lord instructs Moses to make two "trumpets" of pure silver that were to be used for calling the Israelites to a “solemn assembly” and for direction for their "journey to the Promised Land".
There were additional times the trumpets were to be blown. They were to be blown for “days of gladness”. They were blown to call attention to “special solemn assemblies”. They were to be sounded on the “first day of each month”. Also the trumpets were to be sounded during “certain sacrifices”.
God told Moses also to have the trumpets sounded as an “alarm” when an enemy was approaching, and when the Children of Israel would go to “war” against the enemy, verse 9.
The prophet Joel, many years after Moses, wrote of using the trumpet to warn of the coming enemy that will appear in the Last Days. Joel told the Jews to “blow the trumpet in Zion”, Jerusalem, and “sound the alarm” in the Lord's holy mountain, the Temple Mount, Joel 2:1.
The trumpet sound of Joel's prophecy was to warn Jews of the “judgment coming at the end of time”. A close look at Joel's prophecy and the other Jewish prophets will reveal that the time for Joel's trumpet to be sounded in Jerusalem is quickly approaching.
I must remind you that before Joel's trumpet is sounded, another trumpet will be heard and it will call all Christians into the heavenlies at the Rapture of the Church, that's found in I Thessalonians 4:16 and I Corinthians 15:52.
After the Rapture trumpet sounds, according to the book of Revelation 4 to 19, the seven-year Tribulation Period follows. Revelation reveals a description of the “terrible time of judgment”. In Revelation 8,9 and 11:15-19, John writes of seven judgments that intensify in severity as the seven angels blow the seven trumpets of judgment.
There is yet another trumpet that will be sounded. That trumpet will be blown by order of Jesus Christ when He returns to the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, Matthew 24:31. The Lord will tell the angel to “sound the trumpet to gather the Jews from all of Creation to Jerusalem”.
The blast of the trumpet on the day that Jesus comes back to Earth is actually on the Jewish feast day, the “Feast of Trumpets”. The Feast of Trumpets is fulfilled at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ - not the Rapture of the Church. The sound of the trumpet at the Rapture takes place at least seven years earlier. The truth be known, that trumpet sound may be heard today. Keep looking up as you listen for that next "trumpet sound".
PRAYER THOUGHT: Help me be prepared, pure, and productive until I hear the "sound of the trumpet" for the Rapture.
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