Today's reading begins with "Woe to those who make unjust laws, (or don't uphold the just ones) to those who issue oppressive decrees..."   Connections to governments today?

Isaiah tells us that when God brings down His hand of discipline, a remnant will be saved.  Repeatedly God speaks about a remnant, those who stand steadfast, loyal, and obedient to Him.  Ultimately, most people have turned or will turn away from God.  Narrow is the gate that leads to life and few will find it.  Are we as Believers the steadfast, loyal, and obedient remnant?

Isaiah 11:1-9 tells us about the shoot (Jesus) who will come up from the stump of Jesse.  Judaism

as a religion is only a stump.  Jesus is the shoot that comes from that root making the Branch (capital B) that bears fruit.  Jesus tells us that we, as Believers in Him, are the branches (lower case b) that grow to bear fruit for the kingdom.

 

Isaiah 11:9a
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

Can our imaginations be that big? Can we even begin to wrap our minds around the earth being full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea?

 

How can we have that knowledge? He’s pretty clear in His Word.

Prov 2:1-6
My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

But acquiring His knowledge is proactive! We must do something! Accept Him, store up His commands, turn our ear, apply our heart, call out, cry aloud, look for it and search for it! That’s how we get His knowledge. Do you think if everyone on earth followed this passage of Scripture, the earth would be full of the knowledge of the Lord? How could it not???

"With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation."   
Jesus is the "living water" and only through Him do we have salvation, but we must draw the water, we must seek Him.  Yesterday, we were reminded that we must "Seek him and live" 

Isa 7:9b
If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.'"
How very true! If we have no foundation (Jesus), how can we possibly stand at all?

Interesting in Isaiah 7 how they calculate the passage of time…according to when children are weaned or are able to speak names.   Isaiah 7 also predicts the birth of Immanuel.  "He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right".  This lets us know that Jesus, the human, had to grow into the knowledge of right and wrong, which is about the time of weaning or about two to three years of age.  Isaiah uses this calculation to prophecy the time frame when the land will be laid waste.
 

In Isaiah 8:19-22 Isaiah warns about people who consult mediums and spiritists.  Those who don't consult God, will be distressed and hungry and famished and then will curse God.  These people blame God for their own self-induced problems.
 

Isaiah 9 is a prophecy for the coming of Jesus as a baby in Bethlehem and also a prophecy of the final coming of Jesus. What a great way to announce Jesus - “a light has dawned”.
Immanuel means "God is with us."

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given..."
A child was born to Mary.  A son is given to Joseph.

Isaiah 9 also warns about false teachers, spiritual leaders and prophets. And equally important in Isaiah 9:10 is a judgment for, not only the people and nation of Israel, but the people and nation of America as well.

Isaiah continually warns, "his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised".  
"But the people have not returned to him who struck them, nor have they sought the LORD Almighty."

God tells us to seek Him and live (eternally).  The opposite is also true.  If we don't seek Him, we will die (eternally).   But also if we as Believers seek Him we will live abundantly.  If we as Believers do not seek Him, we will not enjoy the abundant life He wants to give us here on earth.

Why would people NOT want to seek Him and live abundantly here on earth and also live eternally???  For us as Believers we need to stand firm in our faith.  If we don't have Jesus, we cannot stand at all.

The leaders of families in the half-tribe of Manasseh were brave warriors and famous men. They had the opportunity and the power to influence and to lead people in the right way but instead were unfaithful to God. It reminds us of the many famous people today, politicians, sports figures, actors, etc. who have great opportunity and power to influence and lead people in the right way. But how many of them do?

The word "prostituted" is used in today's reading. One of the definitions for the word prostitute is "one who sells one's abilities, talent, or name for an unworthy purpose".
This is exactly what these leaders of the families from the tribe of Manasseh did. The unworthy purpose was to the gods of the people of the land. In addition, spiritual prostitution means being unfaithful to God for the purpose of enriching oneself for the praise, position, prestige, possessions, power, etc. (the "Poisonous Ps of Pride").  Remember, we as Believers enjoy a spiritual marriage relationship as the Bride of Christ.  We can commit spiritual adultery or spiritual prostitution or we can honor our covenant with Him by living a faithful life.

King Ahaz of Judah "…sacrificed his sons in the fire following the detestable ways of the nations…"and "…offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places…"
He sacrificed his sons in the Valley of Hinnon, south of Jerusalem. The Valley of Hinnon was a place of idolatrous sacrifices, including the sacrifice of humans. In order to put an end to these pagan abominations, King Josiah in later years polluted it with human bones and other corruptions. This valley came to be used then as the city garbage dump and also know as gehenna (often translated hell).

Notice we are continually warned about the "high places". If it sounds repetitious…it is. When God repeats something…that usually means PAY ATTENTION!

Micah tells us to "Heed the rod and the One who appointed it." 
We should accept the discipline and learn from it. 

"You will store up but save nothing, because what you save I will give to the sword."
Wow!  Think about the message of The Harbinger.  Money has been pulled out of the national treasury to provide security, all because of 9/11. 

Micah warns about traditions. Interesting how this admonition follows the above Scripture. All the references to tradition or traditions in Scripture have negative implications. (Matthew 15, Mark 7, Galatians 1) 

Col 2:8
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

"...the powerful dictate what they desire - they all conspire together."
In light of recent news concerning decisions that violate the Constitution, the lack of protection for the 10th Amendment, these words certainly ring true!

"Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light."
Even though in this world darkness is all around us, praise God, we have that hope!
"Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives transgression of the remnant of his inheritance?"

Micah 3
This passage lists something unthinkable – cannibalism, which normal people do not do. We can equate another thing that is unthinkable – spiritual leaders who are doing abominable things.  This would be spiritual cannibalism - quenching the Spirit's fire.  God’s Word is very clear about what He considers abominable.

The prophets of Micah’s day were leading the people astray. God says He will take away their prophetic abilities. 

Micah 3 describes the “falling away” of the apostate church. Rulers and leaders, prostituting themselves as they accept money and bribes, are telling the people things the people want to hear. I think we've been warned about that, haven't we???

Some great words are written concerning the COMING OF MESSIAH in Micah 4 in the last days, a reference to the millennium with the temple in Jerusalem and the restoration of Israel.

In Micah 4 are these words.
All the nations may walk in the name of their gods; we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever.
As Believers in Jesus we must stand firm in our faith and walk in His name, no matter that other people all around us are bowing to other "gods".

And another passage refers to the birth of Messiah in Bethlehem. His “origins are from of old from ancient times.” gives us the message that God the Son was with God the Father from the beginning. Pretty clear!

"And he will be their peace." 
Jesus IS the peace!

Interesting words in the commentary for today's reading.  He says that the prophet Micah wrote that God "desires righteous thoughts and deeds and not just a show of traditional formal worship."

It seems pretty clear from the writings of the prophet Micah how God feels about “high places”.   High places were associated with pagan practices where the people offered sacrifices and burned incense to pagan gods.  However, sometimes the people listened to the prophets, came to their senses and did the right thing, what naturally followed was a return to the God-ordained holy days.

II Ki 23:21

The king gave this order to all the people: "Celebrate the Passover to the LORD your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant."

“…disgrace will not overtake us.” is an example of the sin of rationalization. It could be a substitute for “There’s nothing wrong with abortion.” Or “Homosexual marriages are okay, they’re not really hurting anyone. Or “An affair isn’t so bad. We’re consenting adults. Everybody does it.” We could fill in the blank with a multitude of sins in our world, our church, our lives.

"If a liar and deceiver comes and says, "I will prophecy for you plenty of wine and beer,' he would be just the prophet for this people."
In other words, the people didn't mind hearing prophecy as long as it was something they wanted to hear and just an example of cotton candy teaching and preaching.

A foreshadowing of the ultimate restoration and deliverance is found here:
Micah 2:13
One who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the gate and go out. Their king will pass through before them, the LORD at their head."

Who is it that opens the way? What is the way? What does it mean to break through the gate? Do you think it has anything to do with Jesus?

Jesus’ followers were called Followers of the Way.

Isaiah writes in similar vein as Joel did concerning the wrath of God. Compare Isaiah Chapters 5, 1, and 2 with Joel (especially Joel 2).

"Therefore the Lord's anger burns against his people."

There are consequences for God's people rejecting His command and His Word.  Notice it says, HIS people.  What were the people doing to cause God's anger to burn against them?  Isaiah tells us in chapter 2 verses 19-21.  They were worshiping their silver and gold, just as we today, worship our "gods" of money, possessions, etc.
 

What did God say would happen to the people of Israel?

"...the LORD Almighty is about to take from Jerusalem and Judah both supply and support; all supplies of food and all supplies of water."
 

God did that to Israel. Nebuchadnezzar cut off supplies of food and water from the people who had taken refuge in the city of Jerusalem.  He will do that to us if we continue in our wicked ways.  This can happen if an EMP hits America today.  Time is short and getting shorter. 
 

"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD.

Indeed, let us reason together.  He tells us in His Word to follow His commands and to turn away from other "gods" and back to Him. Repent, so that times of refreshing may come.  We can read about times of refreshing in Isaiah 4 and Isaiah 2. This is what things will look like in the Millennial Kingdom. 

"Come, O house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the LORD."

Come, O believers in Jesus, let us walk in His light."

Oh, what an unbelievably compelling ending to today’s reading. The imagery is incredible! Isaiah was allowed to see the throne of the Lord in the heavenly temple. Isaiah knew he was in the presence of the Lord and he knew he was unworthy. He lamented, “Woe to me!” and “…my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

He no doubt was very familiar with this Scripture:
Exodus 33:20
But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”

Isaiah knew he would not be able to look upon the face of God and live. But he wasn’t looking upon the face of God, the Father. John identified the glory that Isaiah saw. He saw God, the Son!

John 12:41
Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him.

I (Patti) have always been drawn to the verse, “Here am I. Send me!” As a teen-age Christian I thought God was speaking to me about being a missionary. Some 40 years later I have come to understand just what being a missionary really means.

Contrast Isaiah's response to God's question to Moses' response to a similar question.  Isaiah responded immediately with the answer God wanted to hear.  Moses tossed out excuses.

 

Did you attach yourselves to the oxygen tank as we have been deep-sea diving in Isaiah?

One final note on today’s reading.
2 Chr 27:6
Jotham grew powerful because he walked steadfastly before the LORD his God.

Jotham lined up his will with God’s will. Pretty good advice for us today!

Did we say that we were going deep-sea diving? Oh, so much to say! 

There are so many connections literally to our world today and so many connections spiritually in many of the religious establishments today.

While Isaiah condemned Judaism in his day, he also condemns the apostate church today. Yet, in keeping with the message of the prophets, Isaiah too tells us to repent, be renewed and rejoice that we’ve been redeemed.  The Savior has come and He's coming again.

Isaiah gives a very descriptive image in the PARABLE OF THE VINEYARD. As the church we are responsible for bearing a crop of good fruit. God has given us everything we need to produce this good crop, and yet too often bad fruit is the result. Meaningless rituals, empty offerings are wearisome to the Lord. Look what God says that He will do

Isa 5:5-6
Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled. I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it."

Sounds like Hosea who spoke of “…like poisonous weeds in a plowed field,” and “Thorns and thistles will grow up and cover their altars.”

And who does He call to account for the ruin of His vineyard? It tells us in Isaiah 3. It is the guides, elders and leaders of the people.  The leaders have ruined the vineyard.  They plunder, crush, and grind the people.  Sounds a bit like bad shepherds or hired hands.  In Isaiah 5 "the great houses will become desolate". Europe has many great cathedrals that sit empty.

 

The people do not escape His accounting either. God calls the people to account for their sins of idolatry, pride, greed, revelry, arrogance, rationalization, drunkenness and injustice.  

In SIN OF RELIGIOUS FORMALISM Isaiah mentions "...your appointed feasts, my soul hates..."  These would be the feasts and festivals that were not God-ordained but pagan.  God warns that if the people continue in this sin, "When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen."

Very sobering words for us today.   If my people... We must humble ourselves, repent, turn, and seek His face, and pray.  Only then will He listen and hear our prayers.

Isaiah points out that the faithful city (Jerusalem) had become a harlot where once righteousness dwelt. Interestingly, Melchizedek was called King of Righteousness and He dwelt in Jerusalem.  Sounds like He no longer dwells there.
 

Isaiah gives a descriptive depiction of the false church in Isaiah 3:16-26.

The promise of restoration for Judah, for the church today, for us as individuals is found in the following:
Isa 1:26b
Afterward you will be called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City."

We have the responsibility as the Christian church and as Believers in Jesus Christ to be a fruitful vineyard, producing good and abundant fruit. He has given us everything we need. What good fruit are we as Believers producing?

Too bad the leaders and the people in Israel did not respond to Amos the way Nineveh did to the preaching of Jonah. Amaziah, the priest displays his true character when he orders Amos to leave the area as Amaziah claims the sanctuary for the king. The Hebrew word for sanctuary is the same word used to describe the sanctuary of the Lord. So it seems that Amaziah, the priest was claiming for the king (or himself) what belonged to the Lord.

 

As the book of Amos comes to a close, he ends with one last prophecy concerning the exile of Israel.

Amazing how God used the prophet Amos, a shepherd on the lowest rung of the social ladder, to speak to kings. Do you think Amos left the area feeling defeated that the leaders and the people didn’t listen to him? Or did he leave the area confident in the knowledge that he had done what the Lord called him to do - no matter what the outcome? 

 

King Uzziah’s pride…oh, what an ugly thing! Leprosy…what an ugly thing… an outward manifestation of an inward sin.

 

What courageous priests! They were not afraid to confront the king because he was doing wrong. Only the priests were to burn incense in the sanctuary. God is very strict in His commandments concerning worship. It’s all right there in THE BOOK for us to read.

Are we as courageous as the priests? Are we unafraid to confront our leaders? Or do we cower down, shrink back, and look the other way?

Better take a deep breath, tomorrow we go deep-sea diving in the words of Isaiah!

Seek me and live…” Almost as simple as John 3:16, isn’t it? But how often do we instead “seek Bethel” or “go to Gilgal” or “journey to Beersheba” instead of seeking the Lord?  Only God offers us an abundant life here and an abundant everlasting life later. The ways of the world only offer the temporary and the illusion of abundant. Sin seeks to destroy but hope is found only in God.
 

Amos mentions a couple of constellations. As we learned in another study, Deep Sea Diving into Genesis 1, the consistency and orderliness of the heavens and all their host challenges us to look beyond them to our Creator.

You "...despise him who tells the truth."  Many times we want to turn a deaf ear to the truth and want only lies that make us feel good.  But, of course that is not what God wants of us.  That's why He sends us prophets.  They may be telling things the people don't want to hear but they are bringing warnings from God.  "Cotton candy" preaching and teaching may taste good momentarily but it is not nourishment and leaves people feeling unsatisfied.

DAY OF THE LORD asks the question, "Why do you long for the day of the Lord? That day will be darkness, not light." It seems to be a contradiction. Shouldn't we as Believers long for the day of the Lord and the return of Jesus? This verse is for the non-believers. We have no fear of that day that brings darkness because we are children of the light.

EMPTINESS OF RITUAL asks the question, “What is the attitude of our heart in worship?” The religious feasts that are being spoken of are those that are not God-ordained, but "traditions of men", most often tied to pagan festivals. Do we have any of those in our churches today?  God says, "I hate, I despise your religious feasts."  Does that mean that God hates our man-made holidays that take the place of His God-ordained Holy Days?

Amos rebukes the people for their pride and complacency. "Woe to you who are complacent..."  Are we as believers complacent or apathetic concerning God's warnings to us as individuals, to us as the established church, to us as a nation?  

The people had built luxurious homes to flaunt their achievements. Sound like today? It's not wrong to live in comfortable houses, but not as a source of pride and self-glorification.

“Look, I am setting up a plumb line among my people…”
What a great visual He has given us. His Word is our plumb line that helps us to be aware of our sin. It shows us how far off we are.

In the visions of Amos, God illustrates the figurative and symbolic with the literal.  There was great hope in some of the visions, when Amos interceded on behalf of the people God relented and did not send the disasters. Does that mean there is hope for us?

UNETHICAL RELIGION lays out a description of what happens with the people once their man-made holidays are over.  They continue in their dishonest ways.

Very sad words, “…a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.”
Sad words, but so true for today. We are experiencing a “falling away” as we head toward these last days. But there is hope. If we witness to our circle of influence, if we encourage our acquaintances, friends and family to read and study God’s Word, if we share with them what we understand, then we will be doing our part to give them “food for thought” and end the famine of hearing the words of the Lord.

One thing comes through loud and clear in the prophecies of Amos. No one can escape God's judgment. Good news for the faithful. Bad news for the unfaithful.

Today’s reading ends with a very positive note. No matter how far away we stray we have the hope of restoration. Praise God!

What must Amos have thought? Here he was just an ordinary shepherd minding his flocks in the rugged sheep country in Judah. And God calls him to prophesy against the nations. What do they think of him when he rebukes Israel and Judah for the meaninglessness of their worship? He is, after all, just a lowly shepherd. What does he know about worship?

Isn’t that just like God, He calls ordinary people to do extraordinary things!

There are many connection today with the prophecies against the nations, including many current events that have taken place recently.  The selfish religious establishment had led the people into an institutionalized and meaningless form of religion. (from the commentary)  Any connections with the religious establishment today?

“Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.”
God doesn’t pull a “sneak attack” if people are watching and listening.  He tells us in His word what His plans are.  "The Sovereign Lord has spoken - who can but prophesy?"

In the books of the prophets, there is most often a literal prophecy and a figurative prophecy, sometimes of things yet to come in our future. Even though they warn of future doom they were constantly reminding the people of all the good things that God had done for them. And yet no matter how God warned the people they still ignored Him. Often the people returned to God during the low points, however during the time of Amos they did not.

In today's reading, God warns the people about bringing offerings to the altar and then bragging about it. The people then were wealthy, powerful, greedy, and unjust. They only pretended to be religious.

Amos delivers a prophecy against the Ammonites and the Moabites both descendants from Lot and his daughters. (see Genesis 19)

It seems as if the prophecy against Judah is a warning of an adulterous relationship, while the prophecy against Israel is a warning against prostitution.

At the end of each warning of impending disaster, the people are given opportunities to repent and return to Him and yet each time they refused.  If they had repented and returned to Him, He would have relented.

Amos was just an ordinary person until God called him. Since God calls us ordinary people to do extraordinary things, what things has He asked each of us to do?

Hosea predicts captivity for Israel because the more prosperous they became the more love they lavished on "idols".   How about us today?  Any connections with our prosperity and our turning away from God?

“…like poisonous weeds in a plowed field.”

Hosea uses illustrations of fields and crops.

“…break up the ground.”
Plowed fields are ready to receive seed. They are like circumcised hearts. They are no longer stony and hard, but are prepared and available.  We break up our own unplowed ground by acknowledging our sins and receive God's forgiveness and restoration. For the spiritual leader, plowed ground is ready to receive the word of God, ready to receive seeds of righteousness. Are spiritual leaders planting those seeds of righteousness and preaching and teaching the truth of God’s Word? Or are many of them like the poisonous weeds in a plowed field? If the truth of God’s Word is not taught and compromises are made, “Thorns and thistles will grow up and cover their altars.”

Sounds a bit like the apostate church in THESE LAST DAYS.

“They will twist and distort God’s word. Many innocents will believe this distortion and be led astray by the errors of false teaching. Some people within the church will be lulled into a feeling of contentment as they listen to false teaching because that is what they want to hear. It will seem right to them because they have not been taught about the monument of truth, God’s word. They will not recognize any talk about sin and the consequences of sin. They will not understand the need for repentance. The leaders will not have taught the people the difference between good and evil. The leaders of the apostate church will place value only on feeling good about themselves as they occupy their time with worldly involvement and not about a relationship with God.”
Quote from the book THESE LAST DAYS
(Reference these verses: Matthew 24:5, Matthew 24:11, Matthew 24:24, Matthew 7:15, Jeremiah 23:25-26, I John 2:18, Hebrews 3:12, II Peter 2:1-3, II Timothy 4:3-4, I Timothy 4:1, Galatians 1:6-8, II Peter 3:17).

"But you have planted wickedness, you have reaped evil, you have eaten the fruit of deception."
Again, this sounds like an apostate church.  People feed on the fruit of deception and false teaching instead of the fruit of righteousness.
 

"Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God.  Your sins have been your downfall."  

We can substitute "church" for Israel (not that the church has replaced Israel - just that we can add church into the passage) and we can put our own names in place of Israel.  We are told to "return".  We can't return to something unless we've been there before.  We as a church and as individual believers in Jesus need to return to the Ways of the Way, return to the ways of the early believers in Jesus. When we return to Him, we come with these words, "Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously that we may offer the fruit of our lips."  

Heb 13:15  

By Him, then, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, confessing His name.
While we can't demand that God will forgive our sins, we can be confident that He will!

There are many thorns, thistles and poisonous weeds in our lives and in the church today.

So what can we as believers do? According to Hosea, once we turn from our sinful ways and back to Him, we can, “…blossom like a lily, send down roots, flourish like the grain, blossom like a vine…”

We can do all this in the midst of thorns and thistles. Why? Because… “The ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them.”

Wouldn't it be better to walk in the ways of the Lord than to stumble in the ways of the world?

Hosea certainly delivered a stinging message from God to the priests of the day. Spiritual leadership is a serious responsibility. No wonder the priests relished the sins of the people. The more the people sinned, the more sin offerings were brought to the priests. The priests were getting “fat” off the sins of the people.

“…my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.”
“…a people without understanding will come to ruin!”
If spiritual leaders don’t speak against a sin, the people think its okay. And then what happens?

“A spirit of prostitution…” – selling out to the ways of the world.  Also a spirit of defiance - taking the selfish way and not listening to God.

"They are unfaithful to the Lord; they give birth to illegitimate children."  The illegitimate children can be likened to false doctrine and perverted religion. 

"Ephrain turned to Assyria"  The Assyrians were their enemies.  We, as a church and nation, turn to our enemies for help when we turn to the secular instead of the spiritual.

"Then I will go back to my place until they admit their guilt."   

How prophetic is that for us today?  God will remove His hand of protection unless we repent as a nation, as a church, and as individuals. 

And we have yet another example of His mercy, grace and love.
“I long to redeem them…”

How He longs to redeem us! He longs so much that He sent His Son. In these last days, are there people to whom we should witness? Do we feel an evangelistic urgency to “snatch others from the fire” (Jude 1:23a).

Hos 9:5  

What will you do on the day of your appointed feasts, on the festival days of the LORD?  

Indeed, what will we do on God's Holy Days?  Will we honor and remember Jesus' fulfillment of them?  Or will we continue in the pagan practices that have infiltrated our churches and replaced the God-ordained Holy Days?  

Hosea 4 mentions the Israelites being stubborn like a stubborn heifer. And then we have this contrast with lambs in a meadow. Are we any different now? Don't we want to go our own way like a stubborn heifer? Shouldn't we be more like the lambs in a meadow and follow the shepherd?

God has asked His prophets to do some really strange things in order to get the people’s attention. Hosea is no exception. The people of Hosea’s day had sinned against God as an adulterous woman sins against her husband. How many husbands or wives would be consistently willing to forgive their spouse's unfaithfulness?  Any yet, our ever faithful God does that for each of us!

Hosea’s experience is a great object lesson illustrating God’s covenant relationship with His people. Once we become a Believer we enter into the betrothal commitment with Him. Temptations of the world can be very seductive. When we compromise our faith by being lured into the seductive temptations of the world, we are unfaithful to God. 

The book of Hosea portrays God's constant and persistent love to His people, then and now.

The first child born to Gomer was Hosea's son.  For the other two children, it is uncertain, since Scripture says Gomer conceived and gave birth, with no mention of Hosea.

Quite frequently in our Chronological Bible are penciled in questions in the margin. Sometimes there is a date and sometimes not. While reading the book of Hosea, we asked the question in 2004, “Why does Hosea have to buy Gomer back?”
Could it be to illustrate what Jesus did on the cross?

1 Cor 6:19-20
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

Read Hosea chapter 2 and substitute the word, "believer" or the word, "church" when there is reference to wife and make it personal.

Throughout the first three chapters of Hosea is kind of a bleak commentary, but yet there is this hope in the last verse.
“They will come trembling to the Lord and to his blessing in the last days.”Why wait? Why not come trembling to the Lord now? Why not claim His blessings today???

Nineveh was "sin city" if there ever was one.   No one deserved God's favor less than Nineveh.  Yet Jonah was told to go to this sinful city and preach repentance to them.

According to our four-year old granddaughter, Jonah told God “No” and you shouldn’t ever tell God, “No”. What wisdom!

Applications for us as believers? When God gives clear direction, do we obey or run like Jonah did?

Jonah didn’t seem too concerned about his disobedience. He went below deck on the ship and fell into a deep sleep.  Another application to make - no one is beyond God's redemption.

While Jonah was in the belly of the fish, he spoke these words.
"Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs."

Oh, how very true today!  Why would anyone want to cling to idols?  Grace is there for the asking.
 

Extremely significant piece of Scripture found in Jonah. So significant that Jesus uses the sign of Jonah to prove that He was the Messiah.

Matt 12:39-40
He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Jonah 1:17
But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.

A couple of other significant things to consider. Since Jesus made the connection between Himself and Jonah, what other connections can we make? Look specifically at the prayer Jonah prayed while in the belly of the fish. Any connections with Jesus?

Jonah knew that God could save the people of Nineveh, but Jonah wanted vengeance from God for them, not mercy. In fact, he was angry with God for saving them. But the Lord replied, "Have you any right to be angry?"God is speaking to us as well as Jonah. Even though we may want vengeance for our enemies, we have no right to be angry with God when He saves them on the basis of a deathbed confession.

Jonah only understood forgiveness through blood sacrifice.  The people of Nineveh didn't offer any sacrifices and yet God had mercy on them.  Jonah didn't understand that.  All this is a foreshadow of post-Jesus forgiveness.

It is easy for us to make comparisons to Nineveh and our world today. The good news is, if we repent and give up our evil ways, God may have compassion on us and save us just as He did Nineveh. Remember the verse, "if my people..."

Amaziah hired fighting men from Israel to help him in battle. But…”Even if you go out and fight courageously in battle, God will overthrow you before the enemy, for God has the power to help or to overthrow.”

When Amaziah sent the mercenaries home, they were furious, even though they went home with the promised money.  Why?  Could it be because they wanted the plunder as well as the money? Later on they raided many Judean towns, killed three thousand people and carried off great quantities of plunder.  

Amaziah tried to fight his battles on his own or by enlisting the help of others when it was promised…“The Lord can give you much more than that.”

 
How often do God’s people turn to something or someone other than God for help to fight their battles?  Many people, including the people of God, are near collapse carrying an oppressive burden of emotional problems and addictions. We often seek psychological and medicinal “band aid” treatments for these problems and addictions when a Biblical cure is what is needed. Instead of seeking temporary worldly solutions we should allow Scripture to surgically and permanently remove them.  

Heb 4:12
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Ezek 11:19-20
I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

It means facing our emotional problems and addictions and allowing the removal of our heart of stone that frees us to follow in obedience to Him. 

Amaziah discovered he would not be successful on his own or even if he enlisted the help of others. We need to learn that lesson as well …“The Lord can give you much more than that.” The Lord offers us so much more than the world can. In fact He offers us "immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine".

Eph 3:20-21
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Jehoiada the priest chose two wives for King Joash. Why two? Isn’t God’s plan to have one wife?

2 Kings 10:32a In those days the LORD began to reduce the size of Israel.

The Lord reduced the size of Israel by letting them suffer the consequences of their sin. How does that relate to us individually as Believers? Does it mean that our blessings are reduced, our rewards are lessened, our testimony is compromised as a result of our sins?

2 Chron. 24:20
Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood before the people and said, “This is what God says: ‘Why do you disobey the LORD’s commands? You will not prosper. Because you have forsaken the LORD, he has forsaken you.’”

This verse in 2 Chronicles is a witness verse to the previous one in 2 Kings. When we disobey His commands we will not prosper (in blessings, rewards, and testimony). When we forsake Him, He will forsake us. How do we reconcile that verse with the ones that say He will never leave us or forsake us???

Joash decided to restore the temple and told the priests to go into the land and collect money. The Levites didn’t act at once. Why? Was it that the priests were supposed to use a portion of the money for repairs on the temple but instead kept the money for themselves? Is that why the temple was in such bad shape and had to be restored?

 

When the proclamation was issued, the people brought their contributions gladly and there was no need for an accounting of the money because the workers restoring the temple acted with complete honesty. Seems as if there is a sharp contrast here between the honest workers and the priests.

As long as Joash was under the influence of the priest Jehoiada he did okay. After Jehoiada died, Joash accepted paganism. Then when Zechariah, Jehoiada’s son spoke up, Joash had him stoned. Guess he was saying things Joash didn’t want to hear.  Interestingly, as he lay dying, Zechariah spoke these words, "May the Lord see this and call you to account."
Contrast this statement to the statement of Stephen as he was being stoned in Jerusalem. 
Acts 7:60
Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”
Quite a contrast.  Zechariah was pre-Jesus. Stephen was post-Jesus.  Forgiveness is directly related to the blood sacrifice. Zechariah's forgiveness required an animal blood sacrifice.  Stephen had the power to forgive sins committed against him. Jesus had already taken care of the required blood sacrifice. 

With no spiritual leadership the people "snapped like a rubber band" back into their sinful ways.

After the death of Jehoiada, the officials of Judah convinced Joash to abandon the Lord and worship Asherah, goddess of sex and fertility.
 

Concerning the temple, those in charge didn't repair little things. Then when those little things became big things, there was a need to restore and not just repair.

What lesson can we learn from the temple repair? Maybe that we should constantly check our lives for little sins (in order to repair) before they become disastrous sins (and we have to restore).

On his deathbed Elisha gives King Jehoash a stinging prophecy. Jehoash struck the ground three times. He stopped before Elisha told him to stop and because of that, the defeat of the enemy would not be complete. Lesson for us? When God tells us to do something, we should continue until He tells us to stop. Otherwise we miss all the blessings He wants to give.

The prophet Joel uses the physical and literal to illustrate the figurative and the spiritual.  He uses locusts as a foretaste of God’s judgment to come. Joel looks back on what the locusts have done and looks forward to what the consuming fire will do during the wrath of God on the Day of the Lord. The book of Joel is a perfect example of foreshadowing and also a perfect example of the use of both figurative and literal…literal – the actual locust infestation and figurative – the fire and the wrath of God that will come and consume as the locusts had done. The analogy of the locusts and the wrath of God is spelled out in Joel 2:25.

Joel says that the locusts "have laid waste my vines and ruined my fig trees".  Most certainly, locusts did destroy the crops but spiritually speaking, locusts can be symbolic of anything that devours and destroys.  As an example, false teaching will destroy the fruitfulness of God's people.  This passage could be used as a "wake-up call" for the churches today.

Joel 1:12
Surely the joy of mankind is withered away.
During this time, the locusts had destroyed the crops that the people took to the temple for offerings.  Because of this their joy was withered away.  This is an example of the physical affecting the spiritual.  Application for today - joy is diminished because the truth is not preached.  False teaching destroys the joy and fruitfulness of God's people.

Joel calls for the elders in the land to declare a holy fast and cry out to the Lord.  These are God's people he's speaking to, not government officials.

Joel 2:13
Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.

The word "rend" means "to revile" or "enlarge the eyes".  Joel reports that the Lord says not to pretend repentance (rend your garments) but to actually repent (rend your heart).  In other words, He is telling the people to open their eyes to all the evil and actually repent from that evil - don't just give it lip-service.

 

The next few verses of Joel 2 show a progression they must do in order to receive God's blessings.

1. Repent (rend your heart)

2. Return (to the Lord and His ways, commandments, etc.)

3. Plead (beg His forgiveness)

The great message for us is that no matter what we have done in the past, if we repent, return, and plead, He will relent.

God promises to repay them for the years the locusts have eaten. Again, the same thing applies to all of us today.  He has promised to restore us to a right relationship with Him.  The choice is ours.

"And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
This is a message of hope from the beginning to the end of time.  Those who acknowledge Him as Lord of their lives will have salvation and eternal life with Him.  Again, the choice is ours.
 

Note the similarities in the following passage in Joel and the passage in Revelation. They both speak of the wrath of God on the Day of the Lord.
Joel 3:13
Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow-- so great is their wickedness!'

Rev 14:15
Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, "Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe."

"Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision."
We live in the valley of decision.  We must make decisions every day. 
 

Joel also tells us that the day of the Lord is near, as do so many of the prophecies concerning the last days, which is why we named the book THESE Last Days. 

Joel also tells of Armageddon, the gathering of the nations, their restoration and the beginning of the millennium. 

Read the section labeled Day of the Lord (Ch. 2) as if it were the army of the Lord.

 

Joel 2:32a
And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved;

Our ever loving God offers chance after chance after chance for salvation, even on the Day of the Lord He still holds out His hand, waiting for people to acknowledge Him as Savior and Lord. What patience! What grace! What love!

In Judah, we see the generational demons at work as recorded in 2 Chronicles 22.  Jezebel certainly would have been pleased with her daughter Athaliah.  Athaliah usurped the throne after the death of her son Ahaziah by destroying the remaining family members, except for little Joash.  Athaliah's daughter hid him for six years.

Meanwhile, back in Israel:
"But Jehu was acting deceptively in order to destroy the ministers of Baal.”
He destroyed Baal worship, which was a good thing. “Yet Jehu was not careful to keep the law of the Lord, the God of Israel with all his heart.”
In reality, Jehu just traded Baal worship for the worship of golden calves (like trading the worship of Buddah for the worship of Allah). He obeyed a “little bit”. Incomplete obedience is still disobedience.

How often do we do that? We only keep the commandments we like or read the Scriptures that say what we want to hear, or simply ignore parts of the Bible. Ouch!

Jehoiada, the priest, put the Levites in the proper places in the temple to protect the boy king Joash. “Joash was seven years old when he began to reign”. Can’t imagine our seven year old grandson leaving his Lego blocks long enough to rule a nation.

Once Joash was in place, Jehoiada placed the priests, the Levites in the temple to do what God had ordained them to do. Notice “Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the years Jehoiada, the priest instructed him”.

We need Godly spiritual advisers to counsel our leaders in the governments of both church and nation. 

The people then got rid of Baal worship. However, like Jehu in Israel, their obedience was only partial. They still continued to offer sacrifices in the high places. There was a remnant of pagan worship.  Not too different from many churches today that still cling to celebrations that are not God-ordained, in effect “burning incense” to pagan rituals. 

So what’s the application from today’s reading for us as individuals? It’s pretty simple. Is the church doing what God’s Word says or is the church doing what the world says?

Jer 5:31
The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end?

Ultimately it comes down to the individual. What will we do in the end? Will we worship God in their way or in God’s way? (Deut 12:4 You must not worship the LORD your God in their way.)

Jehoram's death was a fulfillment of prophecy.  And what a sad epitaph for Jehoram, "He passed away, to no one's regret…"

Ahaziah, his son succeeded him as king and had much to overcome. His father Jehoram had been a poor excuse for a king to say the least. His grandfather was King Ahab. And to top it off…
"…his mother encouraged him in doing wrong."

Ben-Hadad, king of Aram sent a gift to Elisha. What a gift! Forty camel-loads of all the finest wares of Damascus. What did he think Elisha would do with such a "gift"?

In the exchange between Jehu and Joram in 2 Kings, Jehu poses this essential question, "How can there be peace as long as idolatry and witchcraft abound?"  Indeed how can there be peace in anyone's life as long as idolatry runs rampant?

Jezebel's demise was exactly what was prophesied. However...the spirit of Jezebel lives on in the form of generational demons.
Rev 2:20
Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.
And this was in a church! Any connections for today's church? Are there pagan teachings in our churches today that lead people into sexual immorality?  Do church leaders hide behind a facade of political correctness and claim that social issues are "political" instead of Biblical?  Are these the leaders that Jesus calls hypocrites?  "How horrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. You don't enter it yourselves, and you don't permit others to enter when they try. Mat 23:13

The good news is…someday the spirit of Jezebel will be destroyed just as was Jezebel herself.

Have you ever heard us say. "Today’s reading is rich!" ??? Well, today is no exception! 

Elisha prayed that his servant be allowed to see into the spirit realm and God opened the servant’s eyes. The heavenly defenders were already there surrounding them. God allowed the servant to see them. Obviously Elisha already knew they were there.

Heavenly defenders surround us always. It’s just that most people don’t see them except by special permission from God. It’s like listening to the radio. We may be listening to our AM radio but it doesn’t mean that FM signals aren’t there as well. We’re just not tuned in to hearing them. In our heart of hearts we KNOW that there is a spiritual battle raging all around. We just don’t always see it. (“We live by faith, not by sight.”)

Sometimes, however we are allowed to see the heavenly defenders. Just as a four year old child was allowed to see his guardian angel outside the dining room window at his grandparent’s house. 

What great faith displayed by the servant girl in this story of Elisha! God placed her there for a purpose. She was an humble servant of her master. Has God placed you in a position to spread His word? A person doesn’t have to be a certified seminary graduate to speak the word of God. A person just needs to be an humble servant of THE MASTER. 

When Naaman went to the king of Israel with the letter in hand from the king of Aram, the king reacted in a negative way. Elisha then responded with these words. “Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.”

Naaman was to be healed so that everyone would know. Then when Elisha told Naaman to wash in the Jordan to be cured of leprosy, Naaman questioned why he needed to go there instead of going to closer waters. Isn’t that just like us today, we don’t want to go to God and do what He says? We want to do something more convenient. We “dig our own cisterns” so to speak instead of going to the “well of living water”.

Gehazi was doing so well until he took that first step on the slippery slope of self-indulgence and deceit. Sin has consequences. The leprosy with which he was afflicted as a consequence of his sin didn’t start out as just a spot as it did with Naaman. His leprosy was full blown, not only for him but for his descendants.

The Aramean army heard the sound of chariots and horses and a great army and they fled. Were they allowed to hear the same thing that Elisha’s servant was allowed to see?

Maybe if we were alert, listening and watching, we might be able to see and hear our heavenly defenders all around us! Why not listen a little closer today???

Oh my, Obadiah! How rich and prophetic are your words! It’s a little book (the shortest book in the Old Testament) but the message is larger than our imagination can possibly comprehend. 

Obadiah mentions the wise men of Edom.  They were wise in the ways of the world but foolish because they ignored God.

Obadiah warns the enemies of Israel, "nor rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their destruction , nor boast so much in the day of their trouble."   Interestingly, even today, the enemies of Israel rejoice over any military action against them.

Obad 1:15a
"The day of the LORD is near for all nations.

Obadiah wrote that the Day of the Lord is near. Echoing throughout Scripture in both Old and New Testaments is an urgency concerning the impending Day of the Lord.

Rev 1:1
The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place.

"This was written about 96 AD, yet God said that this plan “must soon take place”. There is an element of urgency in this Scripture as there are elements of urgency in much of Scripture concerning the coming Kingdom and these last days."
(quote from the book THESE LAST DAYS by Phil and Patti Moore)

While there is much doom and gloom attached to these last days, there is also this great promise from the little book of Obadiah.

Obad 1:21b
And the kingdom will be the LORD's.

HALLELUJAH!

In the commentary on today's reading is this statement. "And an entire army flees at the sound of chariots which never existed."  Just because the chariots were not seen does not mean they didn't exist.  There is a spiritual realm that we cannot see (unless God allows it) but it is there none the less and just as real whether or not we can see it. 

There is an amazing story in the third chapter of 2 Kings - a miracle of a story in fact. It is a story that is seldom mentioned in sermons, teachings, or writings. Three kings were at their wit's end. They had been traveling together for days on their way to fight the king of Moab. They ran out of water for themselves and their horses.

They inquired of the Lord through the prophet Elisha as to what to do. The Lord responded by telling them to make a valley full of ditches, that He would fill with water so that they and their horses could drink. God also promised that He would also hand over the Moabite army to them. God did exactly as He promised.

II Ki 3:18
This is an easy thing in the eyes of the LORD; he will also hand Moab over to you.
What a great verse for us to ponder. If only we could see through the eyes of the Lord!

Again in today's reading we are shown the character of King Jehoram and also the character of God.  Jehoram built high places (altars of pagan worship) and caused the people of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves and led the people astray.  This prostitution is spiritual in nature. Since we enjoy a marriage relationship with Him, whenever we as God's people worship other "gods" we commit adultery.  When we worship other "gods" with the purpose of gaining something for ourselves it is spiritual prostitution.  And yet with the spiritual prostitution going on with King Jehoram, our ever faithful God was not willing to destroy the house of David because He promised to maintain a lamp for him and his descendants forever.  Are we always faithful in our promises to God?

What's up with this mysterious letter from Elijah???  Is this evidence that Elijah was taken up and deposited somewhere else?  In this letter Elijah warned Jehoram of the consequences of his sins - very specific consequences.  This prophecy was fulfilled to the letter.  Prophecies WILL be fulfilled - some are yet to be fulfilled in our lifetime.  All the more reason to be watchful!

Elisha was really determined to be with Elijah on the day Elijah was to be taken up in a whirlwind. The word for whirlwind means a storm, a tempest, or hurricane. So whatever it was it was BIG.

Elisha asked for a double portion of Elijah's spirit.  He was asking for the customary inheritance of the first born son, in this case, Elisha was asking for the inheritance as Elijah's spiritual son or son in the faith. Elijah himself didn't have the power to do that.

What is a chariot of fire and horses of fire? There are a couple of references containing those words. They are found in 2 Kings 6. Kind of a strange conveyance wasn’t it? But not as strange as the wheel intersecting a wheel in Ezekiel chapters 1 and 10.

The company of prophets suggested that Elijah may have been taken up into the sky only to be deposited somewhere else.  A similar thing took place with the apostle Philip after he baptized the eunuch.  Philip appeared many miles away after the Spirit took him.

Acts 8:39-40
When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

Since some youths were making fun of Elisha calling him "baldhead" guess that means that he was bald?  After being mauled by the bears, they learned a lesson - don't curse God's prophets.

The woman who, with her sons, gathered the jars…what was the significance of the number of jars gathered?  Was the number of jars gathered an indication of their faith.  Would the Lord have filled all the jars, no matter how many were collected?

Can we make a connection today? How about if we go to the Lord completely open and empty will He fill us completely every time we go to Him that way?  Reminds us of the song, Fill My Cup Lord.

Why did the Shunammite woman tell Gehazi that everything was all right? Her son had just died.

Not sure if we completely understand the significance of Elisha purifying the stew and making the axhead float, except that it was just to show that Elisha had the power through the Holy Spirit to perform such a miracle. Or maybe that God cares about even seemingly insignificant things if they are important to us. Hmmm…

Follow the Leader – a game probably all of us have played as children. There are so many instances in Scripture concerning leaders and the people they lead. God calls into judgment the leaders for the sins of the people.  However, His people are still held to account as well.

How about today? Are the spiritual leaders of today following the clear teachings set forth in Scripture? Do they even bother to study Scripture deeply enough to find out what those teachings are? Most people just follow the leaders and accept their teachings without really studying Scripture for themselves. 

When Jehoshaphat set in place the justice system for Judah, he gave them orders among them is this order.
2 Chr 19:10b
you are to warn them not to sin against the LORD; otherwise his wrath will come on you and your brothers. Look at the first four commandments.(Exodus 20)  These are sins against the Lord. The people were warned then as we are warned now.  Consequences ensue when we don't obey His commandments.

Part of Jehoshaphat's prayer is this.
2 Chr 20:12b
For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you."
We as humans don't have the power to face our spiritual enemy so our eyes must be on Him!

When the army of the Moabites came to make war, Jehoshaphat didn’t rely on himself or even his advisers. He inquired of the Lord. And look what the Lord did for him.

2 Chr 20:17
You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.'"

Wow! They didn’t even have to fight the battle. They had faith in what the Lord promised them. And notice they began to worship, sing and praise God even before He began to work. They trusted Him. Do we trust Him to keep His promises to us?

1 Cor 16:13
Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.

Eph 6:11-13
Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

As believers in Jesus Christ we need to stand firm in our faith. We need to be on our guard against Satan’s schemes. When we play the game Follow the Leader we need to be cautious about the leaders or teachers we follow. We need to study Scripture for ourselves led by the greatest teacher of them all...the Holy Spirit.

John 14:26
But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

In the commentary for today are these words, "God demands strict obedience even when certain acts seem entirely appropriate - perhaps even righteous - according to human notions."
Even though God demands strict obedience, we are human and are not perfect (YET) but we must strive for strict obedience as if we can obey it. There are many acts that we do as Believers that seem appropriate according to human notions, but our allegiance is to Him and Him alone even if it is contrary to the ways of the world or even the ways of the established church.

Ahab and Jezebel, what a pair – especially Jezebel - such a well-known name. The name is often synonymous with ungodly activities. The church in Thyatira was admonished because they tolerated the spirit of Jezebel.
Rev 2:20
Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.

It's very clear what happens to those who continue in the spirit of Jezebel.
Rev 2:21-22
I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways.

Elijah tells of the punishment of Ahab and Jezebel on page 713.  His prophecy came true in exact detail.  Check out pages 715 and 737 for the painful details. 

 

A perfect example of how God works is found in today’s reading. God uses His people to discipline other people. God also uses other people to discipline His people. God uses the host of heaven to bring about His plan.

IKing 22:19-22
Micaiah continued, "Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne with all the host of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left. And the LORD said, 'Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?' "One suggested this, and another that. Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the LORD and said, 'I will entice him.' " 'By what means?' the LORD asked. " 'I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,' he said. " 'You will succeed in enticing him,' said the LORD. 'Go and do it.'

While we may not understand His ways, we must remember is that God has the perfect plan. He is in control. He has the final word!

The prophet Elijah was given extraordinary power from the Lord, so much so that he was able to raise a young boy from the dead. When reading the story of Elijah bringing the widow’s son back to life, our little grandson, Nicholas (4 years old at the time) said “Elijah prayed him well.”

Indeed he did!

After the raising of her son from the dead, the widow remarked that now she knows that Elijah is a man of God.  Wasn't the miracle of the flour and oil enough for her?  What miracles is God doing in our lives today?  If we paid attention, we might just see His miracles every day.

What astounding events happened on Mount Carmel! And how sad are these words of the people in response to Elijah’s question, “How long will you waver between two opinions?” “But the people said nothing.”

Elijah was asking them to take a stand.  Many of them knew the Lord was God but enjoyed the sinful pleasures and other benefits that came from following Ahab's idols.  The people then didn’t take a stand. How is it with us? Do we take a stand for the Lord in the midst of idol worship, in the midst of the ways of the world?  Idols are anything that cause us to depend on something other than God.

Notice that when Elijah asked God to send down fire from heaven on the altar, God went above and beyond what Elijah asked for.  Not only did He send down fire from heaven, He burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and even the soil...oh, and the fire also licked up the water in the trench.  Never underestimate the power of God!

Eph 3:20
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,

This miracle on the mountaintop caused the people to believe. As a reminder, sometimes God answers our prayers quickly as in the fire on the altar and sometimes He answers slowly as in the coming of the rain (the servant saw the small cloud in the distance after checking seven times).

Elijah took a stand when the prophets of Baal were defeated. A lesson for us today would be that

Whatever God commands us to do,

He’ll provide what we need to carry it through.

After Elijah saw God’s vast power in the fire on Mount Carmel, he was afraid of Jezebel and ran away. Did he feel alone because he thought he was the only prophet of God left? Ever feel that way? Ever feel as if you are all alone taking a stand for the Lord? If so, learn this next lesson from Elijah.

Elijah waited in the cave for God to speak to him. He must have expected some grand and glorious manifestation (like what God had done on the mountain) but instead, God came to him in a gentle whisper. Sometimes we need to stop in the midst of all the hustle and bustle, shake the dust of our daily activities and get quiet before the Lord. 

Among the things God told Elijah was that there were 7,000 people in reserve who had not succumbed to idol worship.

So if you think you’re all alone, take a lesson from Elijah – there are others out there who are also willing to take a stand.

Today’s reading speaks volumes about trusting in the Lord. Asa trusted the Lord (at least for a while).  "Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord". The kingdom was at peace.  Among the things that Asa did was to remove the foreign altars, high places, smashed the sacred stones, and cut down the Asherah poles.  These were pagan idols.  Are there any things in our lives or our churches that could be considered pagan? 

Often we are told in Scripture that the kings did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord and caused the nation to sin.  The people followed the example of their leader.  Leaders in our nation and leaders in our churches can lead the people astray. 

It was the Lord who struck down the Cushites. Asa and his army just chased them. As spoken through the prophet Azariah, “The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.”

Why would anyone want to be forsaken by the Lord? Why not seek Him? Things are so much easier that way!

When Asa heard these words from the Lord, he took courage and began to remove all the detestable idols from the land again and he repaired the altar at the temple. However, he didn’t remove the high places in Israel.

Asa did well in the beginning but he sure took a tumble at the end. Instead of trusting in the Lord as had done earlier, he relied on his own human power and strength. As a result his nation was at war again. Even concerning his own physical health, Asa relied on his physicians alone instead of seeking help from the Lord. Can we learn any lessons from this?

Jehoshaphat ruled after his father Asa, but he did not remove the high places (sites of pagan rituals) and "the people still had not set their hearts on the God of their fathers".  

We can't set our hearts on seeking God until we remove our "high places".

2 Chr 16:9a
For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.

1 Pet 3:12a
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer,

Are our hearts fully committed to Him? If so He strengths us and listens to our prayers. What a great comfort!

Even though Jeroboam was warned by the man of God to stop the pagan practices at the altar in Bethel, he still persisted in his evil ways. This led to his downfall and to his destruction.

Ahijah the prophet at Shiloh also gave some dire predictions warning Jeroboam that God would uproot Israel from the land and scatter them beyond the River because they provoked the Lord to anger by making Asherah poles.  Asherah was a pagan goddess of sex and fertility.  By erecting a statue to her, Jeroboam was paying homage to forbidden sexual activities. 

2 Chr 12:14
He did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the LORD.

What a potent and applicable verse for us today! If we as Believers do not set our heart on seeking the Lord, we are inclined to do evil. How do we seek the Lord?  The word "seek" in both Greek and Hebrew means "to search out, to look for", etc. but it has a more detailed specific meaning "to crave", specifically in regards to worshiping God.  So, we are to crave Him to worship Him.  WOW!

Shemaiah explained to the leaders of Judah the reason for the invasion from Egypt was that it was discipline from God. They had to learn the difference between serving God and serving the world.
How about us as Believers, can’t we just learn the difference and not have to go through the discipline?  Life would be so much simpler that way.

2 Chr 13:18
The men of Israel were subdued on that occasion, and the men of Judah were victorious because they relied on the LORD, the God of their fathers.
Very important to rely on the Lord and not our own strength! We fall miserably short!

I King 15:3
He committed all the sins his father had done before him; his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been.

Abijah followed in the footsteps of Solomon who allowed his wives to entice him to turn his heart after other gods. (IKing 11:4)

What does it mean to have our hearts fully devoted to the Lord? What kind of witness would we be to unbelievers if our hearts were fully devoted to the Lord?  If we were craving Him to worship Him?  We might just stand out from the crowd.

Solomon's death, after a forty year reign, ends an era of peace and prosperity for all Israel.  As a direct result of heavy taxation on the people, the kingdom is split into the kingdoms of Israel and Judah.  From this point forward in the records, the tribes are divided.  The only times the nations of Israel and Judah are united was during the reigns of Kings David and Solomon.

We can draw some conclusions about Solomon's son Rehoboam based on his actions shortly after the death of his father.  Quite possibly he grew up as heir-apparent to the throne because of how united the people were in making him king.  He lived in the palace of perhaps the richest and wisest man on earth. He may have enjoyed an overindulgent lifestyle.  Chances are the peers he grew up with enjoyed a similar luxuriant life. Overindulgent people tend to get what they want in life regardless as to whether it's right or wrong.

IKing 12:8
But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him.
This Scripture certainly expresses the importance of carefully selecting others for advice. Rehoboam and many others will suffer because of his decision.
While fellow believers can help us in daily living, it is the Word of God that never fails and should be relied on as our primary source.

IKing 12:15
So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from the LORD, to fulfill the word the LORD had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.Even today, when nations turn away from God, He will allow disaster to happen.

Rehoboam made some bad choices in seeking advice, but it was nothing compared to what his counterpart Jeroboam did in Israel. 

Oh there is so much to write about concerning the altars at Dan and Bethel. On our trip to Israel in 2005 we were able to see the place in Dan where the golden calves were placed. Interestingly right behind the high place of the altar two golden colored cows were grazing in the grass. Quite ironic wouldn’t you say? We even videotaped the occasion. 

Jeroboam appointed priests from all sorts of people. He instituted festivals according to God’s command but unfortunately he sacrificed to the calves he had made instead of to God. He in effect blasphemed the feast days that God established by having the people worship a golden calf. Then to add insult to injury he instituted his own festival, one not ordained by God.

What connections can we make to today’s church? How many "festivals" do we honor in our churches that have not been ordained by God? For more on this subject, copy and paste this website address http://www.philandpatti.com/chronologicalchroniclesii then go to the writing titled Convenience.

 

Fascinating story about the man of God and the old prophet. The man of God had direct word from God. The old prophet claimed he had heard from God so the man of God discounted what God had said to him and listened to the old prophet. Lesson to be learned – don’t take someone else’s opinion of God’s Word over God’s Word.