My prayer is that you read and study these devotional passages with me in an earnest desire to seek the Lord (Phil)

¨¨¨ These devotionals are much easier to read on-line ¨¨¨

Put on the full armor of God

THE THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

No one alone and without Jesus is worthy of God’s acceptance

“They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”

Psalm 14:3 (KJV)

Genesis 27

Isaac wanted to make his oldest son Esau his heir before he died

Genesis 27:1-4 (KJV), “¹ And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I. ² And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death: ³ Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison; ⁴ And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.”

Perhaps Isaac was not aware of or he forgot in his old age the divine oracle concerning his two sons

Genesis 25:23 (KJV), “And the Lord said unto her [Rebekah], Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.” [return]

Rebekah is here contriving to procure for Jacob the blessing which was designed for Esau

This moment does not reflect well on Jacob; he’s entirely on board with the idea of using deception, and is only really concerned about being caught

Genesis 25:29-34 (KJV), “²⁹ And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: ³⁰ And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.  ³¹ And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.  ³² And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?  ³³ And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.  ³⁴ Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.”

Rebekah probably sees her actions as working toward the fulfillment of the prophecy given to her by the Lord when she was pregnant with the boys. At that time, God said the older one would serve the younger [Genesis 25:23]

She tried to assure Jacob that she would take on the curse of deceit

Genesis 27:13 (KJV), “And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them.”

Rebekah will pay a steep price for her sin.  Her son Jacob will have fled, returning only after her death

Genesis 27:43-44 (KJV), “⁴³ Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran; ⁴⁴ And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother’s fury turn away.”

Isaiah 18

Many commentators write that this chapter of Isaiah is the most obscure and out of place chapter of the entire 66 chapters

 “This is one of the most obscure prophecies in the whole Book of Isaiah” (Clarke)

“To us, this brief chapter is the most difficult one of all the sixty-six chapters of Isaiah” (Bultema)

This chapter of Isaiah could insinuate the alliance of Ethiopia with Judah against Assyria

Psalms 14

A word to atheists world-wide

Psalm 14:1 (KJV), “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.”

God looks upon every man, woman, and child world-wide

Psalm 14:2 (KJV), “The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.”

No one alone and without Jesus is worthy of God’s acceptance

Psalm 14:3 (KJV), “They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”

Proverbs 30

Proverbs 30:1 (KJV), “The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal.”

This proverb is a divine message given by The Holy Spirit to someone identified as Agur.  Nowhere in scripture is an Agur ever mentioned.

If The Holy Spirit is the teacher implied here, it would make sense that Ithiel and Ucal are the students.  The name Ithiel is derived from two Hebrew words: אֵת (eth, meaning “with”) and אֵל (El, meaning “God”).  The name Ithiel means “God is with me” or “God is with him.” It is used as a personal name in the Hebrew Bible, signifying a recognition of God’s presence and support.

Ithiel

Brown-Driver-Briggs – Proper name, masculine (probably with me is God: see Ol§ 82 c) usually taken as name of a son or pupil of Agur; but most moderns read O God, I have wearied myself, O God, and am consumed.

The likes of any of us not under the guidance of The Holy Spirit

Proverbs 30:2-3 (KJV), “² Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man.  ³ I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy.”

God warns us at least 3 times not to add to or take from His Word

1

• Deuteronomy 4:2 (KJV), “Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.”
• To the entire bible… yes, Moses was speaking of the “entire Bible” available at that time.  When Moses gave the instruction, Genesis through Deuteronomy were the entire Bible—that’s all the revelation God had given to that point.

2

• Proverbs 30:6 (KJV), “Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.”
• This particular verse refers to interpretation.  Often times we hear that God’s Word is open to interpretation.  Here, the students are being told not to interpret God’s Word to fit any or your specific needs.

3

• Revelation 22:18-19 (KJV), “¹⁸ For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: ¹⁹ And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”
• These verses refer to the bible in its entirety.  Anyone who adds to, takes away, or modifies the Word of God, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book and God shall take away his part out of the book of life

The words of repentance:  The student (us) to their master (God)

Proverbs 30:7-9 (KJV), “⁷ Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die: ⁸ Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: ⁹ Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.”

Verses 11 – 14 discusses four different generations or types.  In these instances, the word generation refers to classes of people.

Proverbs 30:11-14 (KJV), “¹¹ There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.  ¹² There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.  ¹³ There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up.  ¹⁴ There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.”

Brown-Driver-Briggs – I. period, Generation, dwelling; of different classes of wicked.

Though we tend to think the generations of people in the world seem to get worse and worse over time, the different class types of people we have today have always been around

Proverbs 30:11-14 (KJV), “¹¹ There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.”

“¹² There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.”

“¹³ There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up.”

“¹⁴ There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.”

The words of Solomon on how things are the same over time

Ecclesiastes 1:9 (KJV), “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.”

Ecclesiastes 3:15 (KJV), “That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.”