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![Sunrise on Temple Mount in Jerusalem; Back to Previous Devotion](../images/sunrise-previous.jpg)
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July 23 - Evening
"Now the house of David was told,
'Aram has allied itself with Ephraim!'
So the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.
Then the Lord said to Isaiah,
'Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub, to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field. Say to him,
"Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood — because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram
and of the son of Remaliah.
Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah’s son have plotted your ruin, saying,
'Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it.'
Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
"It will not take place, it will not happen, for the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is only Rezin. Within sixty-five years
Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people. The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah’s son.
If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.” '
Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz,
'Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.'
But Ahaz said,
'I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.'
Then Isaiah said,
'Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.' "
- Isaiah 7:2-14 |
![Sunset on the Sea of Galilee; Click to go to next devotion](../images/sunset-previous.jpg) |
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Trust the Lord, or Fail |
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About 733 BC, Ahaz, king of Judah, heard the news that the Arameans (a nation north of Israel
also called Syria) had made a treaty with the Ephraim (or, the nation of Israel, north of Judah).
The citizens of Judah along with King Ahaz and his governmental administration were shaken (Hebrew nua, same as 6:4).
The Lord sent his prophet Isaiah to the fearful King Ahaz with words of encouragement and prophecies of events to give the king confidence to stand firm in faith.
Isaiah is a young father at this time and is in about his seventh year of ministry (assuming Isaiah began in 740 BC the year Uzziah died.) Isaiah is told to go meet Ahaz in Jerusalem where the aqueduct feeds water into the Upper Pool. This is a reference to the water system of Jerusalem before the digging of Hezekiah’s Tunnel. Likely, this is water being fed into the city from the Gihon Springs and the reference to the Upper Pool could indicate there was a lower pool by the springs. (Another alternative is to locate this Upper Pool to the northwest of the city where the ancient water pool called Hezekiah’s Pool is located (See HERE and HERE). King Ahaz is apparently out inspecting the water supply for the city as he faces an attack from the two nations united against him, Aram and Israel.
The Lord tells Isaiah to take one of his young sons, whose name is important for this encounter with the king and the message of hope Isaiah is to give King Ahaz. The boy’s name is Shear-Jashub which means “a remnant will return.” The meaning of the name of Isaiah’s first son, Shear-Jashub, is clear, but the Lord’s intention for the name is difficult to unravel, which is in keeping with Isaiah’s ministry. Is it good news saying, “Be of good cheer, a remnant will return!” Or, is it bad news saying, “You will be defeated with a mere remnant returning from the battle!” The meaning is clear, but what is the intent?
The words that the prophet give King Ahaz seem to be clear. While holding his young son, Isaiah gives instructions to the king of Judah while the king is preparing for and invasion. The message is this:
- Don’t be afraid.
- Two smoldering stubs of firewood are King Rezin of Aram and Remaliah’s son
(King Pekah) of Israel
- This is their plan is to overthrow King Ahaz of Judah, divide his land between Aram and Israel and make Tabeel’s son, a man from Jerusalem, the new king of Judah.
After revealing the planned coup d'état to King Ahaz, the Lord tells Ahaz that this plan will not happen because behind these nations and plans are mere men. Instead, the Lord tells Ahaz what the Lord is planning over the next 65 years (733-668 BC). The Lord says Ephriam (northern Israel) will no longer be a nation 65 years from 733 BC!.
Historically, the Assyrians rose to power to defeat the Arameans (Syria). By 721 BC Assyria destroyed the northern nation of Israel. 65 years later in 669 BC the Assyrian Kings Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal would be making their final deportation of Israelites out of northern Israel (Ezra 4:2 and 4:10).
King Ahaz has a choice to make. He can trust YHWH, the sovereign Lord, who is controlling history or Ahaz can abandon his faith and live a shaky, unstable life while he tries to manipulate international affairs with dangerous covenants that are devised to undermine his independence. |
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![Christian Quote from Church History](../images/quote-box.jpg) |
"It is right to supply need, but it is not well to support laziness."
- Clement of Alexandria,
195 AD |
![Something to Ponder??](../images/ponder-box.jpg) |
New Testament words for sin:
1. Kakos – means bad as in morally bad
2. Poneros – means evil, usually moral evil. Often used to describe Satan and demons.
3. Asebes – means godless or ungodly
4. Enochos – means guilty, and when used in a legal context, it usually refers to being worthy of capital punishment.
5. Hamartis – means to miss the mark
6. Adikia – used to refer to any unrighteous conduct.
7. Anomos – means lawless and is translated “iniquity”
8. Parabates – means transgressor and refers to violations of the law |
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![Hebrew and Greek Word Study](../images/word-study-box-long.jpg) |
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![Facts and Information](../images/fact-box.jpg) |
Logos (Gr) – word (Eng) – the Greek word logos means more than just “a word.”
Logos means “the expression of a thought.”
It is not just the name of something in a word, but the embodiment of an idea.
Logos appears several times along with the ones listed here:
Luke 7:7
1 Corinthians 14:9
Romans 9:9
Ephesians 1:13 |
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Flood traditions from ancient cultures have some similarities with the firsthand account recorded by Noah in Genesis 6:
Native American tradition has 1, 3 or 8 people saved in a boat from water that covered the mountains.
Hindu tradition has says a man was warned, built a ship and survived.
Chinese tradition preserves the account of a man, his wife, 3 sons and 3 daughters who escaped the flood that was sent to destroy rebellious mankind.
Druid tradition says a righteous man was saved on a great ship from the flood sent to destroy wicked mankind.
Greek tradition says a man was warned, built an ark, landed on a mountain and sent out a dove 2x
Mexican tradition has a man, his wife and their children saved.
Polynesian tradition preserves the fact that eight people escaped the flood.
(Details HERE, HERE, HERE.) |
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![Confession to Action](../images/confession-box-long588.jpg) |
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![Facts and Information](../images/proverb-box.jpg) |
I will trust the Word of the Lord instead of trusting my ability to manipulate people and situations. |
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"Listen to your father,
who gave you life,
and do not despise your mother when she is old."
- Proverbs 23:22 |
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![Personal Prayer](../images/personal-prayer-box.jpg) |
![Church Prayer Item](../images/church-prayer-box.jpg) |
![National Prayer Concerns](../images/nation-prayer-box.jpg) |
![World Prayer Concerns](../images/world-prayer-box.jpg) |
Health |
Life application of Biblical Truth |
Education |
Italy |
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Reps & Sets is a daily Bible devotional for Christians from Generation Word Bible Teaching used each morning and evening. |
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