My prayer is that you read and study these devotionals with an earnest desire to seek the Lord
¨¨¨ These devotionals are much easier to read on-line ¨¨¨
THE THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Get wisdom → prepare for understanding → obtain knowledge/discernment → ask God for understanding
“1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; 2 So that thou (1) incline thine ear unto wisdom, and (2a) apply thine heart to understanding; 3 Yea, if thou (3) criest after knowledge, and (2b) liftest up thy voice for understanding.”
Proverbs 2:1-3 (KJV)
Genesis 23
A little history of the burial place of Hebron
[1] The Cave of Machpela has an ancient history dating back to the earliest man and woman in the Bible. Adam and Eve are said to be buried in the cave, the first of four couples to be buried there. The Cave of Machpela and the field around it were Abraham’s first acquisition in the Land that God promised to him and his descendants. Besides Adam and Eve, the three patriarchs and matriarchs of the Jewish people – Abraham and Sarah, Rebekah and Isaac, and Jacob and Leah – are buried there as well. These three holy couples gave birth to the Jewish people and brought the awareness of God to the world. Hebron was the capital of the tribe of Judah. King David began his kingship here. From Hebron, he was crowned King of Judah seven years before he was crowned king of Israel in Jerusalem.
Genesis 23:1-2 (KJV), “1 And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah. 2 And Sarah died in Kirjatharba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.”
Genesis 23:7-9 (KJV), “7 And Abraham stood up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth. 8 And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight; hear me, and intreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar, 9 That he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of his field; for as much money as it is worth he shall give it me for a possession of a burying place amongst you.”
Heth
Heth was the second son of Canaan, who was the son of Ham, who was the son of Noah
Ephron
Ephron was the son of Zohar and the brother of Lotan, Shobal, and Zibeon. He was the father of the four Hittite women who married into the family of Abraham
View from inside the cave of another cave within it
A lesson from Abraham not to be beholden to anyone
Genesis 23:9 (KJV), “9 That he [Abraham] may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of his field; for as much money as it is worth he shall give it me for a possession of a burying place amongst you.”
Genesis 23:13-16 (KJV), “13 And he [Abraham] spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me: I will give thee money for the field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there. 14 And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him, 15 My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead. 16 And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.”
Isaiah 10
GOD’S PUNISHMENT
God will punish those severely who set their ways to unrighteousness
Isaiah 10:1 (KJV), “Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed.”
Isaiah 10:3-4 (KJV), “3 And what will ye do in the day of visitation [punishment], and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory? 4 Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.”
Visitation
Websters 1828 – 4. In Scripture, and in a religious sense, the sending of afflictions and distresses on men to punish them for their sins, or to prove them. Hence afflictions, calamities and judgments are called visitations.
Brown-Driver-Briggs – a. = punishment.
GRAVEN IMAGES
God will not tolerate false gods or any signs of worshipping idols in any situation
Exodus 20:3-5 (KJV), “3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.”
In this context:
Isaiah 10:10-11 (KJV), “10 As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria; 11 Shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols?”
What is a graven image?
Strong’s Lexicon – pesel: Idol, graven image. Brown-Driver-Briggs – idol, image.
What it is not
Any ordinary figurine or object.
God won’t tolerate arrogance or narcissism
As, in this case, spoken by Sennacherib, the king of Assyria
Isaiah 10:13-14 (KJV), “13 For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man. 14 And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped.”
If it is easy for an unknowing instrument of God to become proud, it is also easy for a willing instrument of God to become proud. Jesus said we should have a different attitude
Luke 17:10(KJV), “So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.”
GOD’S TEACHING LESSON- 101
God deliberately puts obstacles in our paths, in the way of confusion, job loss, sickness, etc., to remind us to get back on track to totally depend on Him and Him alone
Isaiah 10:20 (KJV), “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.”
God does everything for a reason. It is up to us to figure out why and then allow the Glory of The Lord to shine through showing us the reason He puts us through it, for us to learn and grow
The obstacle
Isaiah 10:24 (KJV), “24 Therefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt. “
The lesson
Isaiah 10:25-27 (KJV), “257 For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction. 26 And the Lord of hosts shall stir up a scourge for him according to the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb: and as his rod was upon the sea, so shall he lift it up after the manner of Egypt. 27 And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.”
Psalms 10
True believers who that, day in and day out, can see the Glory of The Lord, have always wondered and will always continue to wonder why there are so many non-believers that do not believe in consequences
Psalm 10:11 (KJV), “He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it.”
Psalm 10:13 (KJV), “Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it. ”
Or put another way…
Psalm 10:13 (NASB1995), “13 Why has the wicked spurned God? He has said to himself, “You will not require it.”
Christians believe in the One True God
Psalm 10:14 (KJV), “mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou hou hast seen it; for thou beholdest art the helper of the fatherless.”
But, in the end, there will be a distinct separation from good and evil
Psalm 10:17-18 (KJV), “17 Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear. 18 To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress. ”
Proverbs 2 The Value of Wisdom
GOD’S LESSON ON ‘HOW TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS MEANT BY “THE FEAR OF THE LORD“‘
The order of full comprehension from God and understanding what is the meaning of, “The Fear of the Lord”
Proverbs 2:1-3 (KJV), “1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; 2 So that thou (1) incline thine ear unto wisdom, and (2a) apply thine heart to understanding; 3 Yea, if thou (3) criest after knowledge, and (2b) liftest up thy voice for understanding.”
Get wisdom → prepare for understanding → obtain knowledge/discernment → ask God for understanding
It takes full commitment, dedication, and isolation to God to be able to understand what is meant by ‘’The Fear of the Lord”
Start by…
Ephesians 6:11 (KJV), “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”
Proverbs 2:5 (KJV), “Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.”
With this full lifelong dedication to God, comes God’s personal commitment to guide you safely through life
Proverbs 2:7-9 (KJV), “7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. 8 He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. 9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.”
We MUST consistently ask God for His full armor of protection to guide us through any temptation this worldly life will throw our way
Proverbs 2:16-19 (KJV), “16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words; 17 Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God. 18 For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead. 19 None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.”
Grow in the Word of the Lord 