But if you will not obey these words, I swear by Myself, “declares the Lord, ‘that this house will become a place of ruins.”’ Jeremiah 22:5 NASB Place of ruins – We examined the contingent prophecy of verse 3. God asked those in authority to reverse their course, to embrace the social responsibilities of Torah, and to fulfill their ultimate…
Why do You make me see disaster, and make me look at destitution? Yes, devastation and violence are before me; strife exists and contention arises. Habakkuk 1:3 NASB Devastation and violence – Maybe you just need to turn off the news. It seems that all the news is bad news. Violence. Destruction. Animosity. Hatred. A constant stream of human contention. Is there no relief? Do we just have to pretend not…
“Who is the wise man who would understand this, what the mouth of the LORD spoke to him, that he might tell it? Why is the land destroyed, laid waste like the wilderness with none passing through? And the LORD said, “Because they forsook My teachings that I set before them and did not heed…
I was mute and silent, I refrained even from good, and my sorrow grew worse. My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned; Psalm 39:2-3a NASB Refrained– A short while ago we examined these verses. We concluded that David’s experience of deliberate silence caused emotional and physical separation from others and from himself. Based on the…
Through God we shall do valiantly, and it is He who will tread down our adversaries. Psalm 60:12 NASB Tread down – Only alignment with the purposes of the Lord assures the final victory. We all know this, but far too often it doesn’t actually affect our commonplace decisions. We forget the eternal and focus…
Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by. Psalm 57:1 ESV (57:2 in Hebrew text) Destruction – Now, if I were rabbinic, I might say, “Don’t read this word…
It is for your destruction, O Israel, that you are against Me, against your help. Hosea 13:9 NASB Help – Hosea is a prophet of puns. His message is filled with word plays, allusions and odd constructions. In some cases, no scholar today can definitively determine the meaning of Hosea’s words. This verse is one…
“Without such utterness for God, nothing can be achieved, for without it we make even God powerless against his enemy”. Watchman Nee, Love Not The World, p. 109. It’s all about Leviticus 27:28-29. Oswald Chambers calls it “abandonment to God”. It’s the hallmark of Moses and David, in spite of their failures. Peter and Paul…
