THE THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
When it comes down to it, do not trust your initial instinct, seek the Lord
“25 He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife: but he that putteth his trust in the Lord shall be made fat. 26 He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.”
Proverbs 28:25-26 (KJV)
Ecclesiastes 6
Solomon identifies his wayward path
All of us are filthy rags until we commit our lives unto the Lord
Ecclesiastes 6:1 (KJV), “There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men”
It appears that Solomon is identifying himself and realizing that he’s allowed foreign women to destroy what God had given him[Solomon]
Ecclesiastes 6:2a (KJV), “2 A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he [Solomon] wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth.”
- 1 Kings 2:2-3 (KJV), “2 I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man; 3 And keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself.”
Ecclesiastes 6:2b (KJV), “yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger [the foreign women God warned him about] eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.”
- 1 Kings 11:4 (KJV), “For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.”
There are many [Solomon and us] who seek riches and wealth but are never satisfied and become bitter
- Ecclesiastes 6:7-9 (KJV), “7 All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled. 8 For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living? 9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit.”
Joel 2
Be forewarned, Jesus is coming back and you better be prepared
Joel 2:1 (KJV), “Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand.”
The comparison of Joel’s prophecy to that of what John saw in his vision
(1)
- Joel 2:4-5 (KJV), “4 The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. 5 Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array.”
- Revelation 9:7-9 (KJV), “7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. 8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
- 9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.”
(2)
- Joel 2:10 (KJV), “The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.”
- Revelation 8:12 (KJV), “And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.”
(3)
- Joel 2:11 (KJV), “And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?”
- Revelation 18:8 (KJV), “Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.”
God is always gracious and forgiving, accepting our repentance
Joel 2:12-13 (KJV), “12 Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: 13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.”
In the final days of judgement
Joel 2:31-32 (KJV), “31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come. 32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.”
Jeremiah 49
Judgment on Ammon – continued to connect it with Moab and Edom
- In nearly every period of Israel’s history, the territory and people of Ammon play a role. Historians place the dissolution of the Ammonite kingdom soon after the Late Iron Age (which ended in approximately 586 BC); however, the Ammonites as a people group lasted until at least the Hellenistic period (roughly 300 BC to AD 300). Today is called Jordan and Syria.
Look at what is occurring today in Israel
Jeremiah 49:2 (KJV), “Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites [Jordan and Syria] ; and it shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel be heir unto them that were his heirs, saith the Lord.”
Judgment on Edom [Bozrah]
Jeremiah 49:12-13 (KJV), “12 For thus saith the Lord; Behold, they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunken; and art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink of it. 13 For I have sworn by myself, saith the Lord, that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes.”
Jeremiah 49:18 (KJV), “As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the Lord, no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it.”
Judgment on Damascus
Jeremiah 49:23 (KJV), “Concerning Damascus. Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea; it cannot be quiet.”
The Bible gives a stern warning against the peoples, rulers, and nations who would destroy Israel
- Psalm 2:10-12 (KJV), “10 Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. 11 Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.”
Judgment on Kedar and Hazor
Even the wandering tribes of the desert will suffer from the Babylonian invasions. The particular tribe that Jeremiah mentions is Kedar, which occupied a region known as Hazor.
Jeremiah 49:28 (KJV), “Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon shall smite, thus saith the Lord; Arise ye, go up to Kedar, and spoil the men of the east.”
Jeremiah 49:30 (KJV), “Flee, get you far off, dwell deep, O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith the Lord; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath taken counsel against you, and hath conceived a purpose against you.”
Judgment on Elam
Elam was one of Israel’s neighbors and also an instrument of judgment
Jeremiah 49:35-36 (KJV), “35 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might. 36 And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.”
It is important to remember concerning these prophetic books in the bible. They are not only just prophecies of what has occurred but also what will occur, end times
- 2 Peter 3:9 (KJV), “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
Proverbs 28
Only God can understand all things
Proverbs 28:5 (KJV), “Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the Lord understand all things.”
In this particular text, what does ‘all things’ apply to?
Strong’s Concordance (3605) – kol: the whole, all. Brown-Driver-Briggs – a. without the article, all things, all (mostly neuter, but sometimes masculine), the sense in which ‘all’ is to be taken being gathered from the context.
In other words, “but they that seek the Lord understand what the Lord is telling them”.
Those of us who support and feed the homeless are doing so because the dishonesty of those who seek, steel, and destroy do not leave enough for the poor
Proverbs 28:8 (KJV), “He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance [those who are dishonest and have riches], he shall gather it for him [those of us who assist with the homeless, widows, etc.] that will pity the poor.”
The superficial wealth of the rich believe they earned and achieved all they have on their own. But, even the poor in spirit, those righteous without worldly riches, continue to seek God’s wisdom.
Proverbs 28:11 (KJV), “The rich man is wise in his own conceit [or eyes] ; but the poor that hath [God’s] understanding searcheth him out.”
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, understanding, and happiness
Proverbs 28:14 (KJV), “Happy is the man that feareth always [or, is always reverent]: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.”
Ultimate destruction comes to all who run after the riches of this world
Proverbs 28:22 (KJV), “He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.”
Proverbs 21:15 (KJV), “It is joy to the just to do judgment: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.”
Ezekiel 47
What is the significance of En Gedi?
Ezekiel 47:9-10 (KJV), “9 And it shall come to pass, that everything that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and everything shall live whither the river cometh. 10 And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.”
In the [1]millennial kingdom, En Gedi will be transformed into a place that will have access to fish—a big change, given the fact that the Dead Sea is currently devoid of fish. Ezekiel prophesied that the Dead Sea would become a freshwater body, teeming with life. En Gedi was a place in the Bible known for beauty and refuge amid the surrounding wilderness.
Ezekiel’s vision of what God told him would be the Borders of the Land
Ezekiel 47:13-14 (KJV), “13 Thus saith the Lord God; This shall be the border, whereby ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions. 14 And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another: concerning the which I lifted up mine hand to give it unto your fathers: and this land shall fall unto you for inheritance.”
Ezekiel 47:21-23 (KJV), “21 So shall ye divide this land unto you according to the tribes of Israel. 22 And it shall come to pass, that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, which shall beget children among you: and they shall be unto you as born in the country among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. 23 And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give him his inheritance, saith the Lord God.”
[1] The millennial kingdom is the title given to the 1,000-year reign of Jesus Christ on the earth
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