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Tag: saul

  • Israel’s First King

    Israel’s First King

    Israel. Let us first recall that Israel is a person, a people and a place. A nation with the promise of God bears that name and witness of the LORD’s covenant with Abraham and the generations. Israel is the LORD’s name for Jacob, son of Issac, son of Abraham; not any other of the forefathers of history.

    Genesis 32:28 Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.”

    The generations of Esau are not included. Nations and tribes beyond the LORD’s covenant are not included. Israel is a people given God’s promise and Israel is a people who have broken their covenant with the LORD. Yet God is a God of mercy.

    Numbers 35:34 You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell, for I the LORD dwell in the midst of the people of Israel.”

    Numbers 36:7 The inheritance of the people of Israel shall not be transferred from one tribe to another, for every one of the people of Israel shall hold on to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.

    The LORD intended for the generations of Israel to remain separate close families – sons and daughters close to the LORD.

    Deuteronomy 3:18 “And I commanded you at that time, saying, ‘The LORD your God has given you this land to possess. All your men of valor shall cross over armed before your brothers, the people of Israel.

    Deuteronomy 10:12-14 “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good?

    Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it.

    The Hebrew slaves who the LORD rescued from the harsh hand of Pharaoh were given the Law through Moses and led into the Promised Land under Joshua. They had NO King. Israel had no Judges even in that time, but only the rule of the LORD and those consecrated to serve the LORD.

    The LORD is One King above all earthly kings, One Commander over all armies of earth and heaven, and one God above every High Priest anointed to serve the LORD in the wilderness or in the Promised Land.

    Deuteronomy 10:20-21 You shall fear the LORD your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him, and by his name you shall swear. He is your praise. He is your God, who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen.

    Therefore, centuries later during the time of Saul, the King of Israel is not like any other King, but a man anointed to serve the LORD.

    We are probably most familiar with David, a man after God’s own heart who succeeded Saul as king. We associate the (first) Temple to Solomon, son of David and Bathsheba, Israel’s most successful, rich and victorious king.

    The history of the Kings of Israel after Solomon is sorted, divided and spans several centuries until the fall of the northern kingdom (Israel) and later the southern kingdom (Judah). Most Kings of Israel after Solomon are best described by the oft repeated synopsis of scripture, “And [he, King] ___ did what was evil in the sight of the LORD.”

    The King and rulers of the land are ultimately accountable to the LORD God.

    Followers of military generals, whether Joshua, Saul, David or another appointed by the King, are ultimately accountable to a man anointed by God.

    The lessons of King Saul are best heeded in the reasons for his failings. The warnings of history might be that we would not elevate such a man to leadership who will not be accountable to God.

    Let’s fast forward to the death of King Saul and accept the reproof of scripture for our own caution.

    1 Chronicles 10

    6 Thus Saul died; he and his three sons and all his house died together. 7 And when all the men of Israel who were in the valley saw that the army had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled, and the Philistines came and lived in them.

    8 The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.

    Israel of the JudgesIsrael had won their land from Canaan; however like most countries other lands bordered theirs. Philistia bordered Israel to the west along the coast of the Great Sea (Mediterranean). East of the Jordan Ammon bordered Israel. The Moabites and Amalakites bordered Israel to the South. And the Canaanites lived among the Hebrew people in certain areas and retained some towns of their own.

    Now an enemy has defeated the people of God and now mocks their King before their own idols. (Imagine your enemies doing this with the leader of your country.)

    9 And they stripped him and took his head and his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to carry the good news to their idols and to the people. 10 And they put his armor in the temple of their gods and fastened his head in the temple of Dagon.

    11 But when all Jabesh-gilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all the valiant men arose and took away the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh. And they buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh and fasted seven days.

    Jabesh-gilead attacks the Philistines to recover the head of Saul
    Jabesh-gilead attacks the Philistines to recover the head of Saul

    It is a skirmish after the loss to recover some of their lost dignity of Israel and to prevent God from being mocked in the temple of idols.

    13 So Saul died for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the Lord in that he did not keep the command of the Lord, and also consulted a medium, seeking guidance.

    14 He did not seek guidance from the Lord. Therefore the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.

    How would you like to have that obituary?

    King Saul was NOT faithful to God.

    Hebrews 10:30 For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.”

    And again, “The Lord will judge his people.”

    To be continued …

  • Running from God – 5 – God pursues

    Running from God – 5 – God pursues

    Are you running from God?

    Here we have Elijah sulking in victory and awaiting defeat under the shade of a broom tree.

    We have heard the same Peter who would glorify Jesus and Moses and Elijah with a shrine, deny knowing Jesus when he risked imprisonment or execution for his confession of Christ.

    We have even seen Moses, God’s hand-picked leader of Israel to lead them to the Promised Land, weary of the weight of leadership.

    Yet God pursues victory beyond the focus of our vision and glory higher than the imagination of our defeat.

    1 Kings 19

    The Lord Speaks to Elijah

    9 There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him,

    “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

    10 He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.”

    11 And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.”

    And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord,

    but the Lord was not in the wind.

    And after the wind an earthquake,

    but the Lord was not in the earthquake.

    12 And after the earthquake a fire,

    but the Lord was not in the fire.

    And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.

    13 And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said,

    “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

    14 He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.”

    15 And the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria.

    WAIT a minute! Elijah, Prophet of Israel who God has used to prove His Almighty Power over the false prophets and worshipers of Tyre and Sidon and places beyond Syria; Elijah, Prophet of Israel, who had thought his battle against Ahab and Jezebel was over (and that they would kill him); GOD commands Elijah to anoint a man Hazael as King of Syria!

    Syria! NOT Israel, NOT Judah. Almighty GOD is anointing a King of Syria; as before Moses, God had anointed a Prince of Egypt named Joseph.

    GOD is strategic beyond the best planning and foresight of man. As with Moses being succeeded by Joshua, God also appoints a powerful successor to the Prophet Elijah. And God also commands the defeated Elijah under the broom tree waiting to die to anoint the next King of Israel to replace his pursuer Ahab. (The fate of Jezebel she has prophesied on herself.)

    [Previously, in 1 Kings 19:2 – “So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” ] Of course Jezebel’s gods are nothing more than stone and wood.

    GOD continues Elijah’s orders:

    16 And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place. 17 And the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death. 18 Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

    Elisha later witnesses the Prophet Elijah taken up into heaven! Seven centuries later Peter, James and John would witness Elijah standing with Moses and Jesus talking about that which is to come.

    And when Peter later denied knowing Jesus, God pursued him. Peter was witness to Jesus after the resurrection.

    NO broom tree to sit under or cave in which to hide – Jesus walked along the road to Emmaus: God pursued Peter.

    And providentially enough, not so much later, Jesus appeared alive once more to another Jew, an Apostle to the Gentiles. And where was it where GOD, in the risen Christ Jesus, pursued Saul, persecutor of Christians?

    GOD met Saul on the road to Damascus, Syria!

    Paul is witness to the risen Christ Jesus! A man from Tarsus (in Turkey) testifies JESUS IS LORD!

    GOD is not ONLY the God of the Jews; GOD is the ONE GOD, over all who believe in Christ Jesus our Lord; any who will listen to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit and return to the way of God’s will.

    Not my will, but thy will be done. – Luke 22:42

    Let us prepare for the return of Christ Jesus our Lord upon the clouds in victory.

    Amen.

     

  • Saints & Martyrs; Bishops & Pawns – 2

    Saints & Martyrs; Bishops & Pawns – 2

    1 Samuel 2:9 He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.

    Yet as the Lord lives, evil reigns in the dark places of the lands. No man: rich or poor, Arab or Jew, Westerner or Easterner, religious or godless – no man shall prevail. Only God Almighty!

    Attacks on God and godlessness will continue until Almighty God has prevailed, as I alluded to in part 1 of this post. Perpetrators of cowardly attacks on working civilians will continue for a time by pawns of misled leaders, frustrated religious zealots and enemies of God with hatred for their own enemies.

    Jesus Christ taught us to ‘love our enemies and pray for those who spitefully use you.” We had best remember this in these last days.

    How many of us remember (what we claimed we would always remember) the number of deaths on 9/11/2001?

    Deaths by Area of Attack Deaths
    World Trade Center 2,606
    Airlines 246
    Pentagon Building 125
    Hijackers 19
    Total number of people who died in the 9/11 attacks 2,996
    Casualties in the World Trade Center and Surrounding Area Deaths
    Firefighters 343
    Port Authority police officers 37
    Police officers 23
    Paramedics 2

    God testifies to the evil in the hearts of men.

    Genesis 6:5

    The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

    6 And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

    In the days of Noah  every man and woman on the earth was destroyed? The LORD prevailed with waters upon the earth for 150 days and all but Noah and seven others.

    Though we focus on the eight saved, let us not overlook the deaths of so many evil men and women, perhaps 5-17 billion people  (according to various estimates) on the earth at the time only Noah and his family obeyed Almighty God.

    world populationFor any who believe that God is not sovereign over the beginning and end of days, sovereign over the lives of men and woman, sovereign over life on earth itself; let us remember that God has promised a new heaven and a new earth for those who are victorious in Christ Jesus.

    As in the days of Noah, wars and the actions of evil men and evil women will prevail until that day. Countries and borders will be born and disappear. God will allow men temporary power over those who do not do what is evil in the eyes of the Lord.

    The Sovereign God Almighty will allow the deaths, destruction and desecration of all that is good and lawful as victims of evil and a refining of righteousness. Even now, we see and dare not ignore the signs.

    In Syria alone (separate of the deaths among refugees of the current conflict in Iraq and those fleeing Pakistan), around 5,000 to 6,000 people were being killed on a monthly basis. Latest figures put the death toll at more than 191,000 over the past three years. Men and boys account for the bulk of the deaths but nearly 18,000 women and more than 2,000 children under the age of nine are also among those killed, he said.

    [On 9/11, one day we recall as a tragic attack, 2,996 deaths.] Now, hundreds of thousands of deaths and the loss of many souls!

    Have you heard of it, or done anything to help, dear believer?

    How blind we remain to the violence of these evil men, who will stand before the Lord in judgement for their souls, rather than reap the reward of heavenly virgins. (For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. – Mark 12:25)

    Yet they would rape the women they capture on earth and hang or behead them for their witness to the Truth of Christ Jesus.

     1 Million + refugees, Muslims and Christians

    Dear believer (in God),

    Our marginal awareness of a far-distant conflict, we may believe has no affect on the body of Christ. Yet in these days of war between religions, hardly a Christian community survives openly in many areas from where refugees have fled.

    Do you not know that some will be converted by the love of Jesus Christ and the generosity of Christians in their time of need?

    The GOD of Abraham was not interested in saving the Jews from Roman occupation of Jerusalem. The Kingdom of Jesus is not of this earth, but a lasting Kingdom of eternal life for your soul.

    Since the beginning of the Church, God has accepted any who believe into our family of God, into the loving fellowship of all believers in Christ Jesus.

    The Gentiles, the Nations, sons of Esau, those who once persecuted the same Christians are welcomed (not forced) into the communion of the Blood of Christ and assurance of eternal life.

    One such former enemy of Christ was Saul of Tarsus (Turkey). He ordered the execution of Stephen, a saint and leader of the church. – Acts 7:58 

    Yet this same Saul, a Roman citizen as well, became an Apostle to the Gentiles. This former enemy of Jesus Christ witnessed to all of the mercy, love and grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ. – Acts 9

    Rest assured that many unbelievers throughout the world will come to God and Christ Jesus, our Lord. They see the love and forgiveness of Christ demonstrated through the hands of faithful Christians.

    These saints of the church, so concerned for the souls of others, bless friends and forgive foes by the grace of Jesus Christ. These saints of the 21st c. Church declare Christ’s love by our concern for others.

    Saint Paul and Saint Peter and Saint Stephen, along with the other martyrs, would never have had us worship them or any man of the early church above the example of Christ Jesus. Though the compassionate work of Teresa and Joan and Mary have been examples for women of faith, none would have had us revere them above the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus.

    The true saints of the church are not its Bishops or icons of the past.

    The widow’s mite and pauper’s pence have sustained the needy, while these true saints have withstood in long-suffering as pawns of the powers in true witness of the love of Christ Jesus.

    These, along with you, dear believer, are the saints of the church, equal in every way to those named and Saints unnamed.

    Christ Jesus is love, because God is love. In Him is no darkness at all, no hatred, no evil, no territory, no agenda. The mission of Christ is to save sinners – sinners like you and sinners like me; for His grace I am eternally grateful.

    We hardly remember the 3000 souls who perished on just one day: 9/11/2001; yet the war against Christ, the war against freedom continues.

    Pray for the persecuted. Open your eyes, your heart and your purse to those so in need.

    What’s happening in Iraq? What is hidden in Syria?

    Christians and Muslims and others are suffering terribly. Please READ more of this and do something, in the Name of Jesus Christ.

    Iraqi refugees tell their story

    Iraq (MNN) — ISIS continues its offensive across Syria and Iraq, leaving many victims in its wake. The stories of ISIS killing males above 10 years old, the systematic rape of women and girls, and the looting of personal possessions is shocking, even to many Muslims.

    (See the complete interview on the link above.)

    WIFE: The armed men passed by me and behind them were veiled women, wearing red clothes. And, they searched me, took my money and gold. They even searched my daughters. It was our lifesavings. They took all of it. The 450,000 dinars were in my husband’s pocket and they took it. There were six batches of money they took from me and all of the gold. My parents had sold their home. I had hidden THIS money in my house in Mosul. When we were going up from Mosul they threatened us. They took our stuff and detained us along the way, like a checkpoint.

    ANNOUNCER: So, they took all the savings and everything?

    WIFE: Believe me, they stole everything. They said, “Let your Bishops give you money.” They demanded our Bishops initiate a ransom for us. They didn’t let us pay the jizya tax. They threatened us. If you saw the situation of Christians at checkpoints, you would cry. They were bringing more armed men to add more pressure on us.

    MAKRAM: What happened is, we were leaving Mosul. All the Christians were leaving. We went to Hamdaneya, stayed about 13 days, then [we] went to Erbil. From Erbil, we came to the church here, because this is the only place with a Coptic Church. Not just because of the church, but it’s also safer here. It’s safe and the people are good here.

    ANNOUNCER: Isn’t Erbil safe, too?

    MAKRAM: Erbil is dangerous and it’s not like here.

    ANNOUNCER: There were Shiites in Mosul? And, ISIS was killing Shiites?

    MAKRAM: Yes, they knew the Shiites and were killing them, particularly the police. They turned on each other. They turned on Islam. The Muslims despise [the police].

    ANNOUNCER: So, ISIS started out against Shiites and now they’re against Christians and Yazidis?

    MARKAM: Yes, ISIS doesn’t accept equality. They despise them in Mosul.

     There is precedent for the Church in helping the saints (poor) so affected by these persecutions:

     It is in this case directed by the same Apostle to the Gentiles who had first persecuted the church.

    1 Corinthians 16 English Standard Version (ESV)

    The Collection for the Saints
    16 Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. 2 On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.

    Are you, dear believer, and your church willing to do something individually (and also corporately) now and consistently for those so in need?

    Please pray about this, my fellow saint.

    May we be the generous hands and open heart of our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus, to these, and to those who witness the love of Christ through us.

    Amen.