Made Alive in Christ
Judges
I will never break my covenant with you.
p 2
The Angel of the Lord came
and said to the people of Israel,
I brought you out of Egypt,
and into the land I promised, and I said,
I will never break my covenant with you.
Make no covenants with the people of this land
(they lead to eternal death in the lake of fire)
Why haven’t you obeyed My voice?
Judges 2:2
p 3
The next generation didn’t know the Lord
and hadn’t seen all His wonders.
When they bowed down to a false god
the Lord was against them,
and they were greatly distressed.
So, in His great love,
the Lord raised up a judge to deliver them.
The Lord was with the judge,
and delivered them from of their enemies
all the days of that judge.
Judges 2:15-18
p 4
But He left some nations
to refine and train Israel into listening to Him.
Judges 3:4
At a time when Deborah was judging Israel
the nation was captive under king Jabin.
He had 900 iron chariots.
The people groaned under his hard rule for 20 years.
And cried out to the Lord.
p 5
Deborah sent word to commander Barak,
The Lord says, Go to mount Tabor, with 10,000 men.
For I have delivered your oppressors into your hand.
The Lord won a mighty victory for them,
but the glory went to a woman, Jael,
because the commander refused to go to the battle
without Deborah.
Judges 4:6
They chose new gods;
then was war in the gates.'
Judges 5:8
p 6
'Have no other gods but me.'
Exodus 20:3
'For all the gods of the nations are idols:
but the Lord made the heavens.'
Psalm 96:5
Deborah sang, Curse those who refused
to help the Lord against the mighty.
Judges 5:23
p 7
When the children of Israel again did evil,
the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian 7 years,
who ate all their crops and left no food.
When His people cried to Him, He said,
I delivered you from Egypt and all that oppressed you,
and gave you this land.
I am the LORD your God;
don’t fear these other gods that can’t talk or walk or see.
p 8
The Angel of the LORD came and sat under an oak
where Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress,
to hide it from the Midianites.
The Angel said, The Lord is with you,
O mighty man of valor. Go in your Strength,
and you will save Israel from the Midianites:
haven’t I sent you?
Gideon said, Oh my Lord, how can I save Israel?
My family is the least in Manasseh,
and I’m the least in my father's house.
p 9
And the Lord said, Surely I will be with you,
and you will strike the Midianites
as if they were just one man.
Judges 6:9-16
Gideon brought an offering to the Angel
who said to him, Put it on the rock.
Then the Angel touched the offering
with the end of His staff
and fire rose out of the rock
and consumed the offering.
Then the angel of the LORD departed out of his sight.
Judges 6:21
p 10
And when Gideon perceived
that He was the Angel of the LORD,
Gideon said, O Lord God!
I have seen the Lord face to face.
The Lord said to him, Peace to you;
don’t be afraid: you won’t die.
Judges 6:20-23
(‘I come that you might have life
and have it more abundantly.’) John 10:10
p 11
The Spirit of the Lord came on Gideon,
and he blew a trumpet. The army gathered to him,
but the Lord said, ‘These are too many.
Send away all but 300 so Israel will know
it was I who saved them.’
The Lord told Gideon, Surround this vast army at night,
each man with a trumpet in one hand
and a torch in a pitcher in the other.
p 12
At the signal all 300 blew their trumpets
and then broke the pitchers so the light blazed.
The army woke up terrified and killed one another.
They were annihilated without Israel lifting a sword.
After several victories
the people tried to crown Gideon their king.
He said, ‘I will not rule over you, or my son.
The LORD rules over you.’
Judges 8:23
p 13
When they turned from their idols and served the Lord
His soul was grieved for their misery.’
Judges 10:14
Another time,
when Israel had been under the Philistines for 40 years,
they cried to the Lord.
(Oppression opens the ears to hear the One
who is Eternal Life. Job 36:15)
p 14
The wife of Manoah was barren.
She was sitting out in the field
when the awesome Angel of the Lord appeared
saying, ‘You will have a son,
No razor is to come on his head
and he is not to drink alcohol
for he will be set apart to the Lord from birth
and he will begin to deliver Israel.
Judges 13:6
They brought the Angel an offering
and set it on a rock.
The Angel brought flame from the rock
consuming the offering
and the angel of the LORD ascended to heaven in the flame.
p 15
The woman bore a son, Samson:
the child grew, and the LORD blessed him.
And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him.
He married a Philistine woman,
and on the way to visit her
he killed a lion with his bare hands.
The Philistines tricked him
and burned her and her family.
He put torches on foxes tails
and burned up their fields of grain,
vineyards olive groves.
Another time he killed 1,000 men
with the jawbone of a donkey.
p 16
He loved a woman, Delilah,
and five leaders each promised her
1,100 pieces of silver for his capture.
She plagued him repeatedly
until he told her the secret of His great strength,
his hair had never been cut.
While sleeping with his head on her lap
they cut his hair, captured him, put out his eyes,
and set him to the grinding in the prison.
His hair began to grow.
p 17
The Philistines gathered to celebrate Samson’s capture.
They brought him out to entertain them.
He prayed, Strengthen me once more, O God,
that I may be avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.
He took hold of the two middle pillars
that held up the temple and prayed,
Let me die with the Philistines.
He bowed himself with all his might
and the house fell on the lords,
and the 3,000 people there.
More died at his death than he killed in his life.
(their evil stopped).
p 18
(‘as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all will be made alive.)
1 Corinthians 15:22
In those days there was no king in Israel:
every man did what was right in his own eyes.
Judges 21:25
(‘Trust in the Lord with all you heart
and don’t lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him
and He will direct your paths.’) Proverbs 3:5, 6
p 19
The time of the judges lasted 450 years.
Under their rule, a few did right, and lots did evil,
causing much suffering.
(‘He that rules over men must be just,
ruling in the fear of God.’)
2 Samuel 23:3
(Of a priest in Malachi, the Lord said,
‘The law of truth was in his mouth,
and iniquity was not found in his lips:
he walked with Me in peace and equity
and turned many away from iniquity.’)
Malachi 2:6
p 20
(‘A king will reign in righteousness
and princes will rule with justice.’) Isaiah 32:1
(‘For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:
the government will be on his shoulder:
His name is Wonderful, Counsellor,
The mighty God, The everlasting Father,
The Prince of Peace.
'Of His government there will be no end.
His throne and his kingdom will be established
with justice from now on forever.')
Isaiah 9:6, 7
('Grace and peace to you from Jesus Christ,
who is the faithful witness,
and the first born from the dead,
and the prince over the kings of the earth.
To Him that loved us,
and washed us from our sins in His own blood,
And has made us kings and priests to God His Father;
to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever.')
Revelation 1:5, 6
Nothing is too hard for Him
The Glory of God in Ruth, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther
(from the book of Ruth)
During the days when the judges ruled
there was a famine in Israel.
Elimelech took his wife and sons to live in the country of Moab.
Elimelech and his two sons died
leaving his wife, Naomi, and 2 daughters-in-law.
Naomi heard the Lord had given His people food
so prepared to return to Bethlehem,
saying to her 2 daughters, Go back to your families
and the Lord deal graciously with you,
as you have been gracious with the dead, and with me.’
p 4
‘The Lord grant you rest in the house of her husband.’
One daughter returned,
but Ruth said, ‘Don’t ask me to leave you.
Where you go, I will go; and where you stay, I will stay:
your people will be my people,
and your God my God.’
When they came to Bethlehem,
for food, Ruth gleaned after the barley harvesters
in the field of their relative, Boaz,
a wealthy, respected man
who had the right to redeem their fields
and to marry and raise up an heir for the family line.
p 5
He, like the Lord with us,
took her under his wing, protected her,
married her, provided for her and Naomi.
‘and raised up the heir’ who became
the great, great, great grandfather of king David
and eventually, generations later,
the ancestor our eternal Redeemer,
the Lord Jesus Christ.
He that overcomes will inherit all things;
and I will be his God,
and he will be My son.
Revelation 21:7
‘This is the victory that overcomes, our faith.'
1 John 5:4
p6
(from Ezra)
In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia,
The Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia,
who said, The Lord God of heaven
has given me all the kingdoms of the earth;
and He has charged me to build Him a house at Jerusalem.
Who among all His people?
His God be with him, go and build it.
(He is the God.)
42,360 Israelites went back to Jerusalem
carrying the treasures
and gold and silver utensils that were taken
when the city was captured.
In the 7th month they built an altar
and began worship there
with morning and evening sacrifices
which showed His great promise of eternal salvation.
Ezra 3:3
p 7
When the foundation was completed,
they sang together
praising and giving thanks to the Lord;
‘because He is good,
for His faithful love endures forever.’
And all the people shouted
with great shouts of joy, praising the Lord.
Ezra 3:11
Enemies delayed the work
by writing to king Darius saying
these people were rebellions against the king
and wouldn’t pay taxes.
p 8
The king wrote back, Let the work alone;
I decree that you fully finance this
from my treasuries there
and provide all priests require,
without fail, day by day,
for sweet sacrifices to the God of heaven,
and pray for the king, and his sons.
And God destroy any that harm this house of God;
let it be done with speed.
Later, in his reign, Artaxerxes also sent more Israelites
and support to further the nation of Israel,
authorizing God’s laws and rulers be set over the land.
The people rejoiced,
‘our God hasn't forsaken us in our bondage,
but gave us mercy in the sight of the kings of Persia,’
Ezra 9:9
p 9
(from Nehemiah)
Nehemiah heard
that the Israelites who’d returned
to build the temple at Jerusalem
were in great trouble with the wall broken down
and the gates burned.
He wept and prayed, O LORD God of heaven,
the great and awesome God,
that keeps covenant and mercy for those that love Him.
We have dealt very corruptly against you,
but you promised, ‘If you return to me,
and keep My ways,'
You would gather us from farthest part of heaven.
‘These are Your people,
You redeemed by Your great power.
Grant me favor with the king.’
For I was the king's cupbearer.
p 10
The king gave letters of passage,
timber to make beams for the gates of the palace
and for the wall of the city,
and a military escort
‘according to the good hand of my God upon me’
for ‘what God had put in my heart
to do at Jerusalem.’
Nehemiah 2:12
When enemies came and ridiculed,
I said to them, 'The God of heaven,
He will prosper us.'
Then they plotted an attack,
so we posted lookouts in the high places
and armed everyone for battle.
When they heard God had brought their counsel to nothing.
we returned all to building.
From then on half the people worked
and half stood guard at each site
with spears, shields, and bows, saying,
‘our God will fight for us.’
p 11
Israel’s leaders were charging their own people such high taxes
that the people were selling their fields
and even their children into slavery.
Nehemiah was now governor, and stopped it all,
and had them give back the children, lands,
and excess money that had been taken.
The surrounding enemies plotted
to lure Nehemiah away and kill him.
Nehemiah prayed,
‘O God strengthen my hands.’
Nehemiah 6:9
The wall was finished in 52 days
and the enemies were downcast,
‘for they perceived that this work was done by our God.’
Nehemiah 9:17
('I am the vine and you are the branches.
Without Me you can do nothing.')
John 15:5
p 12
All the people gathered as one man
in the street before the water gate;
and they asked Ezra the scribe
to bring the book of the law of Moses,
which the Lord had commanded to Israel.
When they heard, they wept.
Nehemiah said,
‘This day is holy to the Lord your God;
Don’t mourn or weep
for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’
Stand up and bless the LORD your God forever:
blessed be Your glorious name,
which is exalted above all blessing and praise.
p 13
You are Lord alone;
You made heaven and the heaven of heavens
with all their armies,
the earth, and all things in it,
the seas and all that is in it.
And You preserve them all;
and the armies of heaven worship You.
You have done everything You said
because You are righteous.
You showed signs and wonders on Pharaoh,
and all the people of his land:
for You knew they acted proudly against Your people.
You divided the sea for them,
so they went through on dry ground.
p 14
‘You gave them bread from heaven to eat
and brought water out of the rock for their thirst,
and took them into the land You promised,
but they weren’t mindful of your wonders and rebelled.
But you are a God ready to pardon,
gracious and merciful, slow to anger,
and of great kindness, and didn’t forsake them:
You gave them kingdoms and nations
and multiplied them as the stars of heaven.
You are just in all that is brought on us;
You have done right, but we have done wickedly.’
Nehemiah 9:6-33
At the dedication of the wall,
great sacrifices were offered to the Lord,
and ‘God made them rejoice with great joy.’
p 15
(from Esther)
In the days of Ahasuerus,
who reigned from India to Ethiopia, 127 provinces:
The king made a lavish feast
for all,
in the king’s palace garden,
giving them royal wine in gold goblets.
His queen refused His summons
to come show off her beauty
wearing her royal crown;
This greatly angered the king. He deposed her,
and beautiful young virgins were brought
from all over the land to select another queen.
The king loved Esther above all
so that he set the royal crown on her head
and made her his queen.
Her cousin, Mordecai, who had raised her,
charged her not to reveal she was an Israelite.
p 16
Mordecai reported a plot to kill the king.
Enraged because Mordecai refused to bow to him,
one of the king’s trusted advisors
plotted to kill all Israelites in the nation saying,
‘they don't obey the king’s laws.’
The execution day was set,
having the king's irreversible seal.
Esther 1-3
That night the king read
that Mordecai had saved his life
and in the morning asked his advisor, who was plotting,
What has been done to honor Mordecai?
What should be done for the man
the king delight to honor?
The enemy said, Put on him your royal robes
and lead him through the city calling out,
‘This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!’
The king said, Hurry! Do that for Mordecai.
p 17
Mordecai brought Esther
a copy of the execution decree
and she risked her life to enter the king’s court.
He extended to her his golden sceptre.
She invited him to bring the enemy with him
to a banquet she prepared,
and there revealed the plot to kill ‘her people.’
The king was enraged
and went to cool his anger in the garden.
When he returned the enemy was
pleading with Esther for his life,
but it appeared like he was assaulting her.
The guards covered his face
and hanged him on the gallows he had built for Mordecai.
All his estate was given to Esther,
and the edict was amended
to allow the Israelites to defend themselves.
p 18
(‘Let the wicked fall into their own traps
while I completely escape.’) Psalm 141:10
('The Lord will return the wickedness
of the wicked on their own head.') 1 Kings 2:44
(‘The kingdom is the Lord's:
and He is the governor among the nations.’)
Psalm 22:28
p 19
‘Ah Lord God!
You made heaven and earth by Your great power;
nothing too hard for You:
You show lovingkindness to thousands
and repay iniquity:
Your eyes are on all the ways
of the sons of men:
to give everyone
according to the fruit of his doings.’)
Jeremiah 32:17-19
The Battle is the Lord's
1 Samuel
‘Ask and it will be given, seek and you will find,’ Matthew 7:7
p 2
Hannah was barren and asked God for a son,
promising,
I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life.
p 3
The Lord gave her conception,
and she had a son and named him Samuel saying,
Because I asked him of the Lord.
He also gave her 3 more sons and 2 daughters.
(‘And I will make your seed to multiply as the stars of heaven.’)
The Lord had promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Genesis 26:4
p 4
She declared, My heart rejoices in the Lord.
None are as holy as the Lord: there is none beside You:
let no arrogance come out of your mouth:
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
and by Him actions are weighed.
The Lord kills and makes alive:
The Lord makes poor, and makes rich:
He raises the poor out of the dust to set them among princes,
and to make them inherit the throne of glory:
p 6
‘For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s;
He has set the world upon them.
He will guard the feet of His saints;
His enemies will be broken to pieces.
Out of heaven He will thunder on them:
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;
and He will exalt and give strength to His King.
Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him,
and made everything he said happen.
p 7
After 20 years of oppression,
the people longed for the Lord.
Samuel told them,
If you return to the LORD with all your hearts,
put away the foreign gods,
and set your hearts to worship only Him,
He will deliver you from the Philistines.
During the following battle,
the Lord thundered great thunder on the Philistines,
and defeated them.
When Samuel was old,
he made his sons judges over Israel.
But they perverted justice for bribes,
so the people demanded a king like other nations.
This grieved Samuel, but the Lord told him,
They haven’t rejected you; they have rejected me.’
p 8
The Lord said, Give them a king
but tell them the rights of a king:
‘He will take your sons, for himself,
for his chariots and his cavalry,
and to plant and harvest his crops.
He will take your daughters for perfumers and bakers.
He will take a tenth of everything that is yours
and you will be his slaves.
The Lord had told Samuel,
Tomorrow I will send you a man
out of the land of Benjamin
to anoint him as captain over My people.
Through signs, the Lord brought Saul to Samuel,
and Samuel anointed him king.
Samuel told the people, Today you have rejected your God,
who saved you from all your enemies and your troubles.
p 9
He said to all the people,
See the one the Lord has chosen.
Saul was a head and shoulders taller than all.
The people cheered and shouted, ‘God save the king.’
The Ammonites camped against Jabeshgilead
and the leaders there said, Make a covenant with us,
and we will serve you.
The Ammonites said, Only if we gouge out your right eyes.
Israel asked for 7 days delay
to see if someone would come save them.
As Saul was bringing oxen from the field,
he saw the people weeping,
and when he heard the reason,
the Spirit of God came on Saul
and his anger blazed.
He mobilized the people under severe threat,
and they attacked and defeated the ammonites.
p 10
Years later, Samuel said to the people,
I have walked before you all my life.
Have I oppressed or defrauded any of you?
They answered, No.
Samuel said, The LORD is witness against you,
and his Anointed is witness this day,
I have done you no wrong.
And they answered, The Lord is witness.
If you will fear the Lord, hear His voice,
and not rebel, you will continue in His blessing.
But if you will not hear the voice of the Lord,
but rebel against the commandment of the Lord,
the Lord will be against you.
p 11
See this great thing, the Lord will do before your eyes.
Isn’t today the wheat harvest?
He will send thunder and rain;
that you may see that your wickedness is great
in asking for a king.
The Lord sent thunder and rain that day:
and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.
The people said, Pray that we not die:
for we have added to our sins this evil, to ask for a king.
Samuel said, Don’t fear,
just don’t go after empty things
that can’t profit or deliver; for they are nothing.
p 12
It pleased the Lord to make you His people.
Think about all the great things He has done for you.
But if you still do wickedly,
you will be consumed, both you and your king.
Saul’s son Jonathan and his armor bearer
attacked a Philistine garrison.
Then the Philistines came against them
with 30,000 chariots and 60,000 cavalry
and infantry as sand on the seashore.
Israel hid in rocks, caves, and pits.
Saul waited for Samuel 7 days
and when the time passed, he offered burnt offerings.
p 13
Right after he finished, Samuel arrived and said,
What have you done?
Saul said, The people were scattering
and you didn’t come.
Samuel said, You have done foolishly.
now your kingdom won’t continue.
The Lord has sought a man after His own heart
to be captain over His people,
because you have not kept His word.
Raiders came against Israel from 3 directions
and the people had no weapons
for the Philistines wouldn’t allow it.
p14
Jonathan and his armor bearer
attacked the Philistines, killing 20,
and the earth quaked, a very great trembling.
Every man’s sword was against his brother,
a very great slaughter.
‘The Lord saved Israel that day.’
Then Lord sent Israel to totally annihilate
and destroy everything that belonged to the Amalakites
because they attacked the stragglers as Israel left Egypt.
But Saul kept some of the best stuff.
Samuel said, Why haven’t you obeyed?
‘Rebellion is like witchcraft,
and stubbornness is iniquity and idolatry.
The Lord has torn the kingdom from you
and given it to one better than you.
‘The Strength of Israel is not a man
that He will lie or change His mind:
for He is not like man who changes his mind.
p 15
The Lord sent Samuel to Bethlehem
to anoint David as king.
The Lord told Samuel, ‘Man looks at the outward appearance,
but the Lord looks at the heart.’
Then the Philistine army came to fight against Israel.
They camped opposite Israel
with a valley between
and a Philistine champion named Goliath,
who was 9 ½ feet tall,
challenged Israel morning and evening for 40 days,
saying, Send out a man to fight me.
If he wins, we will be your slaves:
but if I win you will serve us.
p 16
David told Saul, Who is this uncircumcised Philistine
to defy the armies of the Living God?
I killed a lion and a bear.
This uncircumcised Philistine will be as one of them.
David told Goliath, ‘You come to me with a sword, a spear,
but I come to you in the name of the Lord
whom you have defied.
I will take your head
and feed the carcasses of your army to the birds,
that all the earth may know God.
And all people will know
that the Lord doesn’t save with sword and spear:
for the battle is the Lord’s.
p 17
David hurled a stone at Goliath
and it sunk into his forehead.
Israel wiped out their army that day.
David was so successful in everything,
that Saul envied him
and tried many times to kill him.
But the Lord guided and protected David at every turn.
Several times David had Saul at his mercy
but refused to kill him
David said, The Lord judge between me and you,
and the Lord avenge me of you:
but my hand won’t touch you.
p 18
When raiders attacked the city where David dwelt
taking everything including women and children,
David asked the Lord, Shall I pursue after this troop?
Will I overtake them?
The Lord said, Pursue!
You will overtake them and recover all.
Today our enemies are ‘the rulers of darkness of this world
and spiritual wickedness in high places.’
Ephesians 6:12
p 19
God has given us Himself as our full armor.
‘I will be a wall of fire around you
and glory in your midst.’
Zechariah 2:5
Made in His Image
2 Samuel
‘God said, Let us make man in our image,
after our likeness:
and let them ruled over the fish of the sea,
and over the fowl of the air,
and over the animals,
and over all the earth.'
Genesis 1:26
p 2
God said to me, 'He that rules over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.'
2 Samuel 23:3
p 3
When David heard that king Saul was dead,
he asked the Lord, Shall I go up to Judah?
And the Lord said, Go to Hebron (communion).
David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah for 7 1/2 years.
Saul’s son was king over the rest of the Israel.
There was long war between the house of Saul
and the house of David:
but David grew stronger and stronger,
and the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.
('Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.’)
Ephesians 6:10
p 4
All the tribes of Israel came to David saying,
Behold, we are your bone and your flesh.
When Saul was king, the Lord said to you,
You will be captain over Israel.
So David was anointed king over all the nation.
David became greater,
and the Lord God was with him.
When the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king
they assembled against Israel in the valley of Rephaim.
(Our enemies are ‘rulers of the darkness of this world
and spiritual wickedness in high places.’)
Ephesians 6:12
p 5
David asked of the Lord,
Shall I go fight the Philistines?
The Lord said to David, Go,
for I will certainly deliver the Philistines into your hand.
David conquered many nations over the years
and set up God’s rightful rule over them.
When the Lord gave him rest from wars
he said to Nathan the prophet,
I dwell in a house of cedar,
but the ark of God dwells in a tent.
The Lord sent word to David,
'It’s good that you had this in your heart
to build me a house.'
p 6
(‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that you could build me?
Where is the place of my rest?’
The Lord your God in the midst of you is mighty;
He will save,
He will rejoice over you with joy;
He will rest in His love,
He will joy over you with singing.’
Zephaniah 3:17
He rests in His love for us.)
The Lord told David, ‘Your throne will be established forever.
But your son will build a house for My name.’
p 7
(‘You are great, O Lord God: there is none like You,
there is no God but you.
You do great and awesome things for us.’)
David executed judgment and justice to all his people.
The Lord sought 'one after My own heart
who will do all my will,’
I Samuel 13:14
p 8
However, when David used his power as king
to take another man’s wife
and had the man killed and covered it up,
the Lord disciplined severely
but forgave him and cleansed him.
Just correction came from the Lord
that mirrored what he’d done
for all history to see
‘whom the Lord loves He corrects
as a father the son in whom He delights.’
Proverbs 3:12
p 9
‘I will call on the Lord,
who is worthy to be praised:
so shall I be saved from my enemies.
He bowed the heavens and came down.
He rode on a cherub and flew,
and He was seen on the wings of the wind.
He sent from above, He took me,
He drew me out of many waters.
He delivered me from my strong enemy,
and from those that hated me:
for they were too strong for me.
p 10
He brought me out into a large place:
He delivered me because He delighted in me.
I have kept the ways of the Lord
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
As for God, his way is perfect;
the word of the Lord is tried:
He is a shield to all that trust in him.
God is my strength and power:
and He makes my way perfect.
p 11
The Lord lives; and is exalted.
It is God that avenges me,
He that rules over men must be just,
ruling in the fear of God.
He will be as the light of the morning
when the sun rises.
The Lord has made with me an everlasting covenant
(to always have a son to rule on His throne.)
p 12
Again, the anger of the Lord blazed
against Israel (for idolatry),
and He moved David against them to say,
Go, count the warriors in Israel and Judah.
David said to the Lord, I have sinned greatly.
Please take away the iniquity of your servant;
for I have done very foolishly.
The Lord said, Do you want 7 years of famine
to come on your land?
or defeat before your enemies for 3 months?
or 3 days' disease spreading in your land?
p 13
David said, Let us fall into the hand of the Lord;
for His mercies are great:
don’t let us fall into the hand of man.
So, the Lord sent a pestilence on Israel
from the morning to the time appointed:
70,000 men died (who were following evil
and bringing much suffering on the people.)
Idolatry leads to eternal death in the lake of fire.
p 14
But the Lord has given promises of great hope:
‘There is a God in heaven that reveals secrets,
and makes known what will come in the latter days.’
He showed Daniel the whole history
of world rulers ending with:
‘In the days of these kings the God of heaven
will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed.’
p 15
This kingdom will not be left to other people,
but it will break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms,
and it will stand forever.’
Daniel 2:4
The king answered Daniel, ‘It’s true that your God
is a God of gods,
and a Lord of kings,
and a revealer of secrets.’
p 16
‘Behold, a king will reign in righteousness,
and princes will rule in justice.’ Isaiah 32:1
‘The Spirit will be poured on us from on high,
and the wilderness be a fruitful field.
‘The work of righteousness will be peace;
and the effect of righteousness
quietness and safety forever.’
Isaiah 32:17
p 17
'For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:
and the government will be on His shoulder:
and His name will be called Wonderful,
Counsellor, The mighty God,
The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.’
Of the increase of His government and peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David, and on His kingdom,
to order it, and to establish it
with judgment and justice now on even forever.’
Isaiah 9:6, 7
p 18
'Grace and peace from Jesus Christ,
the faithful witness,
and the firstborn from the dead,
and the prince of the kings of the earth.
Him that loved us,
and washed us from our sins in His own blood,
And has made us kings and priests
to God His Father;
to Him be glory and dominion
forever and ever. Amen.'
Revelation 1:5, 6
The Lord is Wonderful to Us
1 Kings
Walk in God's ways so you will prosper
p 2
‘Many, O Lord my God,
are Your wonderful works that You have done for us,
and Your thoughts that are toward us:
they are too many to count.’ Psalm 40:5
p 3
When king David was old, he couldn’t get warm,
so a contest was held in the kingdom
and a beautiful young virgin was found
to lay beside him to keep him warm,
(but not be intimate with him.)
He told Solomon, ‘Keep the charge of the Lord your God,
walk in His ways,
follow all He has written
so that you will prosper in all you do.’
‘Man doesn’t live by bread alone
but by every word from the mouth of God.’
Matthew 4:4
p 4
Solomon ruled on the throne of David his father;
The Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night:
and said, Ask what I will give you.
Solomon said, I am but a little child:
Your people are a great people, too many to count.
Give me an understanding heart to judge your people,
to discern between good and evil.
His words pleased the Lord and God said,
‘I have given you a wise heart like no other.
And also I have given you riches and honor like no other.’
God gave him wisdom and largeness of heart
as the sand that is on the seashore.
All the kings of the earth came to hear his wisdom.
p 5
480 years after the children of Israel came out of Egypt,
Solomon began to build the house of the Lord.
He overlaid the whole house with gold
and set 15 ft. tall Cherubim of gold
in the holy of holies
overshadowing the Ark of the Covenant,
God’s throne on earth.
When the priests came out of the holy place,
after offerings,
the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.’
('May you know ‘the riches of the Glory
of His inheritance in the saints,
the fulness of Him that fills all in all.’)
Ephesians 1:23
p 6
‘Solomon said, Lord God, there is no God like You,
in heaven above, or on earth beneath,
who guards covenant and faithful love
with those that walk before You.
Will God truly dwell on the earth?
Behold, heaven and heaven above the heavens
cannot contain You.
Not one word has failed of all you promised.
‘Set our hearts
to walk in all Your ways
that all the people of the earth may know
that the Lord is God, and that there is no other.’
1 Kings 8:58
p 7
The Lord answered,
‘I have hallowed this house,
My eyes and My heart will be there always.
(Since the cross: ‘Christ dwells in our hearts
by faith; being rooted and grounded in love,
to comprehend the breadth, and length,
and depth, and height (of His majestic being).
That we might be filled with all the fulness of God.’)
Ephesians 3:17-19
p 8
Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines,
and they turned his heart from the Lord.
So the Lord ‘stirred up’ enemies against him.
(‘When a man's ways please the Lord,
He makes even his enemies
to be at peace with him.’) Proverbs 16:7
Down through Israel’s history
each king was measured by the standard of David,
the man ‘after God’s own heart
who would do all His will.’
If they did right,
their reign was long and prosperous,
if not, for the good of everyone,
it was cut short, stopping the evil.
p 9
Elijah, God’s prophet, said to king Ahab,
‘As the Lord God of Israel lives,
before whom I stand,
there will be no dew or rain these years,
unless I say.’
Then the Lord told Elijah,
‘Go east and hide by the brook Cherith,
that is before Jordan.
Drink from the brook;
I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.’
‘The ravens brought him bread and meat
morning and evening;
and he drank of the brook.’ 1 Kings 17:1-6
p 10
When the brook dried up
the Lord sent Elijah to a widow in Zarepath.
All she had was a bit of flour and a cruse of oil.
The Lord promised, The barrel of meal will not empty,
or the oil be gone,
until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth.’
When her son fell sick and died,
Elijah prayed, Let this child's soul come into him again,
and he revived.
The widow said, 'Now I know
the word of the Lord in you is truth.'
1 Kings 17
p 11
Nearly 3 years later the Lord sent Elijah to king Ahab.
When Ahab saw Elijah, He said, You troubler of Israel!
Elijah said, Not me, it’s you.
You have forsaken the Lord and followed evil.
Go gather all Israel to mount Carmel.
When all the people were there they made two altars.
‘The one who answers by fire, He is God.’
Ahab’s prophets called all day to their gods but got no answer.
Then Elijah said, let it be known today
that You are God in Israel.
p 12
Then the fire of the Lord fell,
and consumed the burnt sacrifice, the wood,
the stones, the dust,
and licked up the water in the trench.
When all the people saw it,
they fell on their faces: and they said,
The Lord, He is the God;
the Lord, He is the God.
Then the queen sent a death threat to Elijah
and he ran into the wilderness
and sat down under a juniper tree:
an angel of the Lord fed him there.
Then he went on the 40 day journey
to the mount of God
in the strength of that food.
p 13
The Lord asked,
What are you doing here Elijah?
Go stand on the mountain.
And the Lord passed by,
and a great and strong wind tore the mountains;
but the Lord was not in the wind:
and after the wind an earthquake;
but the Lord was not in the earthquake.
And after the earthquake a fire;
but the Lord was not in the fire:
and after the fire a still small voice.
Hear the word of the Lord:
I saw the Lord sitting on His throne,
and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His left
and on His right.
p 14
The king of Syria gathered all his army:
and 32 kings came with him,
and horses, and chariots;
and he went up against Israel.
The Lord said to king Jehoshaphat,
Have you seen all this great multitude?
behold, I will deliver it into your hand today;
and you will know that I am the Lord.
There was a great victory that day,
and not one of Israel’s soldiers was missing.
p 15
(When they chose false God’s
war was in the gates.)
Judges 5:8
But ‘he that dwells in the secret place
of the Most High
will abide under the shadow of the Almighty.’
‘I will say of the Lord,
He is my refuge and my fortress:
my God; in him will I trust.’
p 16
‘He will cover you with His feathers,
and under His wings you will trust:
His truth will be your shield.
1,000 will fall at your side,
and 10,000 at your right hand;
but it won’t come near you.’
‘Because you made the Lord,
the Most High,
your dwelling place
no evil will come near you or your dwelling.’
‘For He will give his angels charge over you,
to guard you in all your ways.’
p 17
‘Because he has set his love on me,
I will deliver him:
I will set him on high, because he knows Me.’
‘He will call on me, and I will answer him:
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him.’
‘With long life will I satisfy him
and show him My salvation.’
Psalm 91
p 18
‘Surely goodness and mercy will follow me
all the days of my life
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.’
Psalm 23:6
www.truthofhim.com
www.teddybearspicnic.net
King of Kings
2 Kings
The Lord God removes kings and sets up kings
p 2
‘Blessed be the name of God forever and ever:
for wisdom and might are His.
He changes the times and the seasons.
He removes kings and sets up kings:
He gives wisdom to the wise,
and knowledge to those that know understanding.
He reveals the deep and secret things.’
Daniel 2:21
p 3
In 852 BC King Ahaziah fell through the roof
and sent messengers
to ask his false god if he would recover.
The Lord sent Elijah to intercept and say,
Isn’t there a God in Israel, why do you send to this other one?
For doing this, you won’t recover.
The king sent 50 men to arrest Elijah
who was sitting on top of a hill.
They said, O man of God, come down.
He said, If I am a man of God,
let fire come down and consume you.
Fire came from heaven and consumed them.
Another 50 men were sent and the same thing happened,
and on the 3rd time the captain knelt and begged,
Please spare our lives.
2 Kings 1
p 4
(‘I come that they might have life
and have it more abundantly.’) John 10:10
Then when the Lord was going to take Elijah up
into heaven by a whirlwind,
Elijah tried to separate from Elisha, his aide, who said,
‘As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I won’t leave you.’
(‘I will never leave your or forsake you,’ said Jesus.)
Hebrews 13:5
p 5
At the river Jordan river
Elijah struck the water with his mantle.
The waters parted and they crossed on dry ground.
He asked Elisha, What do you request as I leave?
Elisha said, I want a double portion of your Spirit on me.
Elijah said, That’s hard,
but if you see me when I go, it will be granted.
As they walked on, talking,
a chariot of fire, and horses of fire
came from heaven and parted them;
and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
(Elisha did twice as many miracles as Elijah.)
2 Kings 2
p 6
When Moab came against Israel,
3 armies went to fight them and after 7 days they had no water.
They asked of the Lord who said,
Make this valley full of ditches.
‘You won’t see wind, or rain;
but this valley will be filled with water,’
for you and your animals.
And the Lord will defeat the Moabites for you.
Early in the morning water flowed in.
And when the sun shone on the water, it looked like blood.
The Moabites thought the 3 armies had killed each other
and charged in for plunder.
Israel defeated them so badly they never returned.
p 7
Miracles Elisha did:
He kept a widow from losing her sons to slavery
by multiplying a small jar of oil
into a room full of large pots filled with oil
that she sold to pay her debt and ‘lived well on the rest’.
He brought back to life an only son.
During a famine, he removed poison
from a pot of food (with a handful of flour).
and multiplied 20 loaves of barley
into enough to feed 100,
with some left over.
He cured a foreign general of his leprosy,
who from then on only worshipped the one true God.
p 8
When Syria warred against Israel,
Elisha warned them where the enemy was,
so they escaped traps repeatedly.
The king of Syria sent spies everywhere
and then surrounded Dothan where Elisha was.
In the morning
when they saw the city was surrounded,
his servant said, What can we do?
Elisha said, Don’t be afraid.
There are more with us than with them.
p 9
Then Elisha prayed
and the Lord opened the eyes of the young man;
he saw the mountain was full of horses
and chariots of fire around him and Elisha.
During a severe famine when the city was under siege,
The Lord had made the army of the Syrians
hear a noise of chariots, and horses, and a great army:
they ran for their lives and left behind great plunder.
(Jesus said, I am the bread of life:
he that come to me will never hunger;
and he that believes on me will never thirst.)
John 6:35
p 10
The Lord made Jehu king
and he went throughout Israel
destroying the idols and their worshippers.
The Lord told him,
‘Because you have done what is right in my eyes,
all that was in My heart,
your children to the 4th generation
will sit on the throne of Israel.
2 Kings 10
(Jesus said, He that overcomes
will sit with Me on My throne.) Revelation 3:21
(And this is the victory that overcomes,
even our faith.) 1 John 5:4
p 11
Elisha died and they buried him.
Bands of the Moabites invaded the land
at the coming in of the year.
And as a family was burying a man
they saw a band of raiders,
and they threw the corpse into the Elisha’s tomb:
and when the man was let down,
and touched the bones of Elisha,
he revived, and stood up on his feet.
2 Kings 13:21
p 12
(‘The hour is coming, and now is,
when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God:
and those that hear will live.’) John 5:25
Like waves on the shore is the ebb and flow
of history and of kings,
all under the eyes of the Lord
who is working ‘all things for good to those that love Him,
who are the called according to His purpose.’
Romans 8:28
‘The love of God be shed abroad in our hearts.’
Romans 5:5
p 13
(Promotion doesn’t come from the east,
or from the west, or from the south.
But God is the judge:
He puts down one and sets up another.’
Psalm 75:6, 7
‘God that made the world and all things in it,
seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth,
doesn’t dwell in temples made with hands.
p 14
He isn’t worshipped with men's hands,
as though He needed anything,
seeing He gives to all life, and breath, and all things.'
Acts 17:24-
(‘I am the way, the truth, and the life,
no one comes to the Father except through Me.’)
John 14:6
And has made of one blood all nations of men
to dwell on all the face of the earth,
and has set the times before appointed,
and the boundaries of their nations,
p 15
‘That they should seek the Lord,
if perhaps they might feel after him,
and find him, though He isn't far from every one of us:
For in him we live, and move, and have our being.’
Since we are the offspring of God,
we shouldn’t to think He looks like statues
carved by men’s imaginings.
p 16
In the past God winked at this ignorance
but now commands all men everywhere
to turn to Him
because He has set a day
when He will judge the world rightly
by that Man He ordained,
and gave assurance of this to all men,
in that He raised Him from the dead.’
Acts 17:24-31
'Ah Lord God! behold, You made the heaven and the earth
by Your great power; nothing is too hard for You.'
Jeremiah 32:17
p 17
Great in counsel, and mighty in work,
You see all the ways of men
and give every one according to the fruit of his doings.’
Jeremiah 32:19
‘And I saw heaven opened
and behold, a white horse;
and He that sat on him was called Faithful and True
and in righteousness He judges and makes war.
His eyes were as a flame of fire,
and on His head are many crowns.
And He is clothed with a garment dipped in blood.
And His name is called The Word of God.
p 18
And He has on His garment
and on His thigh a name written,
King of Kings, And Lord of Lords.'
Revelation 19:16
Created for His Glory
1 Chronicles
‘I have created you for My glory.’
Isaiah 43:7
p 2
‘Who has worked and done it,
calling the generations from the beginning?
I, the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am He.’
Isaiah 41:4
p 3
Saul died for his transgression he committed
against the Lord,
against the word of the Lord,
which he didn’t keep,
and for asking counsel of an evil spirit, instead of the Lord:
And the Lord turned the kingdom to David.
Our Eternal King:
‘His name will be called Wonderful,
Counsellor, The mighty God,
The everlasting Father,
The Prince of Peace.’
Isaiah 9:6
p 4
'David grew greater and greater:
for the Lord of hosts (armies of all the angels in heaven)
was with him.'
1 Chronicles 11:9
(‘Let your way of life be without covetousness;
and be content with what you have:
for He has said, I will never leave you, or forsake you.’)
Hebrews 13:5
The Spirit came on Amasai,
who was chief of the captains,
and he said, We are yours, David:
Peace, peace be to you, and peace to your helpers;
for your God helps you.
p 5
David gathered all Israel
‘to bring the ark of our God to us:’
And it was right to the people
to seek guidance from God the Lord,
that dwells between the cherubim.
Philistines invaded and David consulted God,
who told him,
‘Go up; for I will deliver them into your hand.
The enemy was defeated and left their gods there
and Israel burned them.
Next time Philistines invaded the Lord told David,
Go behind them and attack
when you hear the sound of marching
in the tops of the mulberry trees;
for God has gone out before you to strike the Philistines.
p 6
The fame of David went out into all lands;
and the Lord brought the fear of him on all nations.
David brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord
back to the center of life in Israel with joy.
‘Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name,
make known His deeds among the people.
Sing to Him, talk of all His wondrous works.
Glory in His holy name:
let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord.
p 7
Seek the Lord and His strength,
seek His face continually.
Remember His marvelous works that He has done,
His wonders, and His judgments.
You are His chosen ones. He is the Lord our God;
His judgments are in all the earth.
Always be mindful of His covenant;
(salvation from the effects of the fall by faith)
the word He commanded to 1,000 generations.
p 8
He allowed no one to do His people wrong:
Yes, He rebuked kings for their sakes, saying,
‘Don’t touch My anointed,
and do my prophets no harm.’
‘Sing to the Lord, all the earth;
show His salvation from day to day.
Declare His glory among the heathen
(those worshipping idols)
His marvelous works among all nations.
For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised:
He is to be feared above all gods.
p 9
For all the gods of the people are idols:
but the Lord made the heavens.
Glory and honor are in His presence;
strength and joy are in His place.
Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice:
and let men say among the nations,
The Lord reigns
p 10
Let the sea roar, and its fulness:
let the fields rejoice, and all that is in them.
All the trees of the wood sing out at the presence of the Lord
because he comes to judge the earth.
Give thanks to the Lord; for He is good;
for His faithful love endures forever.
Deliver us. We give thanks to Your holy name,
and glory in Your praise.
p 11
The Lord told David,
I took you from following the sheep,
to rule over my people:
And I have been with you
and cut off all your enemies
and have made your name famous.
Also, I will set a place for my people Israel,
and will plant them,
and they will not be moved;
nor will the children of wickedness plunder them anymore.
I will subdue your enemies
and build you a dynasty and establish your kingdom.
p 12
When your days end,
I will set up your son and establish his kingdom.
He will build Me a house,
and I will establish his throne forever.
I will settle him in My house;
and I will be a father to him.
‘You bless, O Lord, and it is blessed forever.’
(He that overcomes will inherit all things
and I will be his God and he will be My Son.)
Revelation 21:7
When evil came David said,
Let me only fall into the hand of the Lord;
His mercies are very great:
don’t let me fall into the hand of man.
p 13
David saw the angel of the Lord
stand between earth and heaven,
having a drawn sword in his hand.
David and the elders fell on their faces, praying,
and the Lord said to the angel,
Halt! It is enough.
David told Solomon,
The Lord give you wisdom and understanding,
to keep the law of the Lord.
Then you will prosper.
Be strong and courageous. Don’t be upset or fear.
Seek and keep all the commandments of the Lord
that you may possess this good land
and leave it for an everlasting inheritance for your children.
p 14
Serve Him with a perfect heart and a willing mind:
for the Lord searches all hearts
and understands all the imaginations of the thoughts:
If You seek him, He will be found.
David told the people, Solomon my son,
whom alone God has chosen,
is still young and tender,
And building the Lord’s temple is great:
the palace is not for man,
but for the Lord God.
‘Yours, O Lord, is the greatness,
the power, the glory, the victory,
and the majesty:
for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Yours;
Yours is the kingdom, O Lord,
and You are exalted as head above all.
p 15
Riches and honor come from You,
and You reign over all;
and in Your hand is power and might;
and in Your hand it is to make great,
and to give strength to all.
Now therefore, our God, we thank You,
and praise Your glorious name.
I know, my God, that You refine the heart,
and have pleasure in uprightness.
The Lord magnified Solomon exceedingly
in the sight of all Israel
and gave him such royal majesty
as had not been on any king before him in Israel.
p 16
‘Blessed be the name of God forever and ever:
for wisdom and might are His:
And He changes the times and the seasons:
He removes kings and sets up kings:
He gives wisdom to the wise,
and knowledge to those that know understanding.
He reveals the deep and secret things:
He knows what is in the darkness,
and the light dwells with Him.
Daniel 2:20-22
p 17
God that made the world and all things in it,
seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth,
doesn’t dwell in temples made with hands.
He isn’t worshipped with men's hands,
as though He needed anything,
seeing He gives to all life, and breath, and all things:
And made of one blood all nations of men
to dwell on all the face of the earth
and set their appointed times so they would seek Him.
p 18
For He is not far from every one of us,
for in Him we live, and move, and have our being,
and now calls all men everywhere
to turn back to Him,
because He has appointed a day,
in the which He will judge the world in righteousness
by that Man whom He ordained,
And has given assurance if this to all men,
in that He raised him from the dead.
Acts 17:24-31
Our Heart His Home
2 Chronicles
‘He that rules over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.’
2 Samuel 23:3
p 2
Jesus, The Prince of the kings of the earth,
He that loved us,
And washed us from our sins in His own blood,
‘has made us kings and priests
to God His Father;
to Him be glory
and dominion forever and ever.
p 3
The Lord God Almighty was with Solomon
and magnified him exceedingly.
Solomon went to the tabernacle to worship
and God appeared to Solomon that night saying,
‘Ask what I shall give you.’
And Solomon said to God,
You showed great mercy to David my father,
and have made me reign in his place.
You made me king over a people
as many as the dust of the earth.
Give me wisdom and knowledge,
for who can judge a people so great as Your people.
God said, Because this was in your heart,
I will give it and will give you
what you didn’t ask:
riches and honor
as no other before you or after you.
p 4
God made gold and silver
as plentiful as stones in his kingdom.
Solomon had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 cavalry.
In the 4th year of his reign,
he began to build the temple for the Lord.
‘The house must be great
for great is our God above all gods.’
But who is able to build Him a house,
seeing the heaven and heaven above the heavens
cannot contain Him?
p 5
The temple was built in 7 years
and Solomon overlaid the house with fine gold
and adorned it with precious stones for beauty;
in the holy of holies stood 2 cherubim
15 feet tall overlaid with gold.
Solomon assembled everyone
to bring the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord
into the holy of holies where the cherubim stood
with their wings spread
over the throne God on earth.
Then the people praised the Lord,
‘For He is good;
for His steadfast love endures forever;’
And the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.
p 6
Solomon prayed, O Lord God,
there is none like You in heaven or earth
Who guards covenant
and shows unfailing love to Your servants.
Hear all prayers toward this temple
from Your dwelling place,
from heaven;
and forgive,
that all people of the earth
may know You, and fear You.
When Solomon finished praying,
the glory of the Lord filled the temple.
p 7
The Lord said,
My eyes and ears will be open
to hear prayer made in this place;
but if you turn away and worship other gods,
then I will pluck you off
the good land I have given.
Solomon reigned over all Israel 40 years
then slept with his fathers,
and Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.
The kingdom became divided then
between the northern and southern kingdoms.
When the people rebelled
because he wouldn’t lighten the heavy taxation
and harsh ruling,
Rehoboam gathered 180,000 warriors
to fight to reclaim the northern kingdom.
p 8
But the Lord sent a prophet to tell Rehoboam,
Don’t fight against your brothers.
Everyone go home for this division is from Me.
Then when the nation turned away from the Lord,
(He is our life)
He sent an enemy.
The princes and the king humbled themselves;
and they said, The Lord is righteous.
When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves,
He granted them some deliverance,
but He left them under their enemies rule
so that they could compare life under other kingdoms
with life under His rule.
p 9
‘My yoke is easy, My load is light.’
Matthew 11:28-29
The 2 kingdoms were often fighting.
The northern kingdom was worshipping 2 golden calves.
Abijah was king over Judah and he said,
‘The Lord is our God.
We have not forsaken Him;
God Himself is with us for our captain.
O children, don’t fight against the Lord God
for you won’t prosper.
p 10
Years later king Asa cried to the Lord
when an immeasurable army came against them, saying,
It is nothing with you to help,
whether with many, or those with no power:
Help us, O Lord for we rest on You,
and in Your name we go against this multitude.
O Lord, You are our God;
no one prevails against you.
The Lord struck the army of enemies before Asa
and they fled.
p 11
The Spirit of God came on Azariah
the son of Oded, and he went out to meet Asa,
and said to him, The Lord is with you
while you are with Him;
and if you seek Him,
He will be found by you;
but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.
In their trouble they turned to the Lord,
and sought Him,
and He was found by them.
They all promised to worship only Him
and rejoiced at the oath:
for they had sworn with all their heart,
and He was found by them
and gave them rest on every side.
p 12
The eyes of the Lord run throughout the whole earth,
to show Himself strong
on the behalf of those whose heart
is complete toward him.
King Jehoshaphat’s heart was exalted
in the ways of the Lord.
He taught the people from the Word of God.
And the fear of the Lord fell
on all the kingdoms of the lands surrounding them
so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat.
p 13
O Lord God, aren’t You God in heaven?
and don’t you rule over all the kingdoms of the nations?
And in Your hand isn’t there power and might,
so that none is able to withstand You?
(Throughout the ages, like the tides,
nations ebb and flow in God’s blessing
or correction
depending on the choices of the people.
p 14
He rules in holy justice and infinite love
with precisely correct precision,
revealing His incomparable glory to seeking hearts
and guiding them
to an eternity of endless wonder with Him.
Enoch walked with God.
Noah walked with God.
‘Can two walk together unless they agree?’
Amos 3:3
If we disagree with our glorious Maker,
who's wrong?
p 15
‘Man doesn’t live by bread alone
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’
Matthew 4:4
‘The words I speak to you,
they are Spirit and they are life,’ said Jesus.
John 6:63
'My words are life to all who find them
and health to all their flesh.’
Proverbs 4:20-22
p 16
‘Heaven and earth will pass away
but My words will not pass away,’
Matthew 24:35
For those going their own way,
after much long suffering,
the Lord allow the fruits of their doings
to come back on them,
in hopes that they might turn back
to the One who made them from His love
and poured out His very life to secure their pardon.
p 17
After 70 years exile for their unfaithfulness to the Lord,
Cyrus king of Persia said,
All the kingdoms of the earth
the God of heaven has given to me;
and He has charged me
to build Him a house in Jerusalem.
‘Who is willing? Go up and build.’
Since creation the Lord desires to live in our hearts
more than a jewel encrusted house of gold.
The Holy Sovereign of the universe died,
‘that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith,
being rooted and grounded in love
that we know the love of Christ,
which is far above knowledge,
that you be filled with all the fulness of God.’
Ephesians 3:17-19
p 19
When goals are met, desires achieved,
don’t we look beyond to what’s next?
Aren’t we always looking for more?
That’s because we were made by the infinite One,
for Himself,
our heart to be His home
for ages without end.