My prayer is that you read and study these devotional passages with me in an earnest desire to seek the Lord (Phil)
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THE THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
The daily devotion
Never forget who got you out of more than one jam
“And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.”
Genesis 35:3 (KJV)
Genesis 35
When Jacob had the ladder dream and God spoke to Him, Jacob then called that place Bethel (earlier in chapter 28)
Genesis 28:18-22 (KJV), “18 And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. 19 And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first. 20 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, 21 So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God: 22 And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.”
Jacob’s return to Bethel, a reminder from God
Genesis 35:1 (KJV), “And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.”
Genesis 35:7 (KJV), “And he built there an altar, and called the place El bethel: because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother.”
There are a couple of theories as to why God changed Jacob’s name to Israel two different times in the bible
When Jacob wrestled with Theophany of God
Genesis 32:28 (KJV), “And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.”
When Jacob returned to Bethel as part of his vow to God
Genesis 35:10 (KJV), “And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel.”
Theory 1:
The renaming of Jacob in both Genesis 32 and 35 is a doublet; the editors of Genesis have preserved two versions of how Jacob received the name ‘Israel’. It has long been recognized that Genesis was comprised of multiple sources, sometimes including alternate traditions of the same stories.
Theory 2:
Some theologists believe in the first occurrence, Genesis 32:28 (wrestled with God), God changed Jacob’s name to Israel because, “…you have struggled and have prevailed”.
And with the second occurrence, Genesis 35:10 (Jacob’s fulfillment of his vow), God changed Jacob’s name to Israel because of the ‘nation’ God would give him.
Isaiah 30
The scriptures tell us that when we seek counsel, we are to seek godly counsel
Proverbs 1:5 (KJV), “A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels.”
Proverbs 24:6 (KJV), “For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.”
But woe to those who choose not to
Isaiah 30:1-2 (KJV), “1 Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin: 2 That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt!”
Remember what Solomon said about times and periods of time just repeating themselves?
Ecclesiastes 1:9-11 (KJV), “9 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. 10 Is there anything whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us. 11 There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.”
I hear folks saying all of the time how we have to be close to the ‘end times’ because the world gets worse and worse every day. These words and thoughts have been going on for thousands of years
Isaiah 30:9-11 (KJV), “9 That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord: 10 Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: 11 Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.”
God will always be with us to release us from the enemy
Isaiah 30:30-32 (KJV), “30 And the Lord shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall shew the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones. 31 For through the voice of the Lord shall the Assyrian be beaten down, which smote with a rod. 32 And in every place where the grounded staff shall pass, which the Lord shall lay upon him, it shall be with tabrets and harps: and in battles of shaking will he fight with it.”
Psalms 22 Messianic psalms
This Psalms reflects David’s reaching out to God for guidance and protection from persecution. This Psalms parallels Jesus’ cry out to His Father in the later hours prior to His crucifixion
David
Psalm 22:1 (KJV), “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?”
Jesus
Mark 15:34 (KJV), “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
David’s self-description as a “worm” symbolizes his deep sense of humiliation, degradation, and vulnerability. It conveys utter worthlessness and insignificance in the face of his enemies and his suffering. The imagery of the worm also foreshadows Christ’s own humiliation and suffering on the cross, as he took on the sins of humanity.
Psalm 22:6 (KJV), “But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.”
As in these verses, Jesus tells His disciples that He could call on His Father to intervene
Psalm 22:7-8 (KJV), “7 All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, 8 He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.”
Matthew 26:53 (KJV), “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more “than twelve legions of angels?”
Bulls of Bashan
“Bulls of Bashan” is a metaphor used to describe powerful and oppressive enemies or adversaries, likely referencing the strong and fierce cattle of the Bashan region. The phrase highlights the speaker’s feeling of being surrounded and overwhelmed by powerful forces that are likened to ferocious bulls.
Psalm 22:12 (KJV), “Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.”
Psalm 22:20 (KJV), “Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.”
The piercing of David’s hands and feet when he was surrounded
Psalm 22:16 (KJV), “For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.”
John 19:34 (KJV), “But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.”
The parting of garments and the casting of lots for David’s clothing
Psalm 22:17-18 (KJV), “17 I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me. 18 They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.”
Matthew 27:35 (KJV), “And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.”
Proverbs 8
To have true wisdom, Christians must understand who God is and develop a reverential fear of Him
Proverbs 9:10 (KJV), “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.”
Proverbs 8:1 (KJV), “Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice?”
From the onset of our youth, God’s wisdom cries out to us to listen and learn
Proverbs 8:6-7 (KJV), “6 Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things. 7 For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips.”
Nothing you can ever obtain in this world could ever compare to receiving God’s wisdom
Proverbs 8:11 (KJV), “For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.”
Proverbs 8:19 (KJV), “My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver.”
A number of the translations of Proverbs 8:21 say that God’s wisdom will lead to wealth or riches
Proverbs 8:21 (NASN1995), “To endow those who love me with wealth, That I may fill their treasuries.”
Proverbs 8:21 (NIV), “Bestowing a rich inheritance on those who love me and making their treasuries full.”
Proverbs 8:21 (NKJV), “That I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth, That I may fill their treasuries.”
Those are actually incorrect translations of the original meaning of this verse
Proverbs 8:21 (KJV), “That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.”
The original translation is ‘substance’
Strong’s Concordance (3426) – yesh: being, substance, existence, is. Brown-Driver-Briggs – 1. substance, only.
1828 Webster’s Dictionary – 1. In a general sense, being; something existing by itself; that which really is or exists; equally applicable to matter or spirit.
The wisdom of God established creation
Proverbs 8:22-30 (KJV), “22 The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. 23 I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. 24 When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. 25 Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth: 26 While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. 27 When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: 28 When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep: 29 When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth: 30 Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him.”
Grow in the Word of the Lord 