Wednesday, June 23, 2010

June Twenty Three


All comments welcome!! It is how I get my questions answered.

 
~Good Morning~
Today is a sad day. My father in law died at 9:30 this morning.
Was it God giving him the strength, on father's day, to be alert and reach for my hand to hold, and try to talk to us? To communicate being happy to see us through his raised eyebrows?
I did not get to go with J for the …final good bye this morning. I had to be home with my girls. I am happy. I had my last "earthly" moments with him looking better than he had in weeks and joy from him reaching to hold my hand.

 

  • They are talking about Jesus. Why is it that Jew's do not believe that Jesus is the Messiah when it clearly describes this?
(I wish my grandfather was still around. He died when I was in my selfish twenties. If he was still here I would pick his brain. I remember him being just a grouchy old Jew. "GGRRR GRRR here is a silver dollar. Save it GRR GRRR don't spend it GRR GRRR. " Then him trying to teach me Hebrew words. I have so many questions about my ancesters .)
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13 Then Isaiah said, "Listen well, you royal family of David! Isn't it enough to exhaust human patience? Must you exhaust the patience of my God as well? 14 All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means 'God is with us'). 15 By the time this child is old enough to choose what is right and reject what is wrong, he will be eating yogurt and honey. 16 For before the child is that old, the lands of the two kings you fear so much will both be deserted.
17 "Then the Lord will bring things on you, your nation, and your family unlike anything since Israel broke away from Judah. He will bring the king of Assyria upon you!"

 

 

 
Today's Scripture:
2 Kings 15:32-38
Jotham Rules in Judah
32 Jotham son of Uzziah began to rule over Judah in the second year of King Pekah's reign in Israel. 33 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. His mother was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok.
34 Jotham did what was pleasing in the Lord's sight. He did everything his father, Uzziah, had done. 35 But he did not destroy the pagan shrines, and the people still offered sacrifices and burned incense there. He rebuilt the upper gate of the Temple of the Lord.
36 The rest of the events in Jotham's reign and everything he did are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. 37 In those days the Lord began to send King Rezin of Aram and King Pekah of Israel to attack Judah. 38 When Jotham died, he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. And his son Ahaz became the next king.
2 Chronicles 27:1-9
2 Chronicles 27
Jotham Rules in Judah
Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. His mother was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok.
2 Jotham did what was pleasing in the Lord's sight. He did everything his father, Uzziah, had done, except that Jotham did not sin by entering the Temple of the Lord. But the people continued in their corrupt ways.
3 Jotham rebuilt the upper gate of the Temple of the Lord. He also did extensive rebuilding on the wall at the hill of Ophel. 4 He built towns in the hill country of Judah and constructed fortresses and towers in the wooded areas. 5 Jotham went to war against the Ammonites and conquered them. Over the next three years he received from them an annual tribute of 7,500 pounds of silver, 50,000 bushels of wheat, and 50,000 bushels of barley.
6 King Jotham became powerful because he was careful to live in obedience to the Lord his God.
7 The rest of the events of Jotham's reign, including all his wars and other activities, are recorded in The Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. 8 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. 9 When Jotham died, he was buried in the City of David. And his son Ahaz became the next king.
Micah 1:1-16
Micah 1
1 The Lord gave this message to Micah of Moresheth during the years when Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah. The visions he saw concerned both Samaria and Jerusalem.
Grief over Samaria and Jerusalem
2 Attention! Let all the people of the world listen!
      Let the earth and everything in it hear.
   The Sovereign Lord is making accusations against you;
      the Lord speaks from his holy Temple.
 3 Look! The Lord is coming!
      He leaves his throne in heaven
      and tramples the heights of the earth.
 4 The mountains melt beneath his feet
      and flow into the valleys
   like wax in a fire,
      like water pouring down a hill.
 5 And why is this happening?
      Because of the rebellion of Israel—
      yes, the sins of the whole nation.
   Who is to blame for Israel's rebellion?
      Samaria, its capital city!
   Where is the center of idolatry in Judah?
      In Jerusalem, its capital!
6 "So I, the Lord, will make the city of Samaria
      a heap of ruins.
   Her streets will be plowed up
      for planting vineyards.
   I will roll the stones of her walls into the valley below,
      exposing her foundations.
 7 All her carved images will be smashed.
      All her sacred treasures will be burned.
   These things were bought with the money
      earned by her prostitution,
   and they will now be carried away
      to pay prostitutes elsewhere."
8 Therefore, I will mourn and lament.
      I will walk around barefoot and naked.
   I will howl like a jackal
      and moan like an owl.
 9 For my people's wound
      is too deep to heal.
   It has reached into Judah,
      even to the gates of Jerusalem.
10 Don't tell our enemies in Gath;
      don't weep at all.
   You people in Beth-leaphrah,
      roll in the dust to show your despair.
 11 You people in Shaphir,
      go as captives into exile—naked and ashamed.
   The people of Zaanan
      dare not come outside their walls.
   The people of Beth-ezel mourn,
      for their house has no support.
 12 The people of Maroth anxiously wait for relief,
      but only bitterness awaits them
   as the Lord's judgment reaches
      even to the gates of Jerusalem.
13 Harness your chariot horses and flee,
      you people of Lachish.
   You were the first city in Judah
      to follow Israel in her rebellion,
      and you led Jerusalem into sin.
 14 Send farewell gifts to Moresheth-gath;
      there is no hope of saving it.
   The town of Aczib
      has deceived the kings of Israel.
 15 O people of Mareshah,
      I will bring a conqueror to capture your town.
   And the leaders of Israel
      will go to Adullam.
16 Oh, people of Judah, shave your heads in sorrow,
      for the children you love will be snatched away.
   Make yourselves as bald as a vulture,
      for your little ones will be exiled to distant lands.
2 Kings 16:1-9
2 Kings 16
Ahaz Rules in Judah
1 Ahaz son of Jotham began to rule over Judah in the seventeenth year of King Pekah's reign in Israel. 2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. He did not do what was pleasing in the sight of the Lord his God, as his ancestor David had done. 3 Instead, he followed the example of the kings of Israel, even sacrificing his own son in the fire. In this way, he followed the detestable practices of the pagan nations the Lord had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites. 4 He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the pagan shrines and on the hills and under every green tree.
5 Then King Rezin of Aram and King Pekah of Israel came up to attack Jerusalem. They besieged Ahaz but could not conquer him. 6 At that time the king of Edom recovered the town of Elath for Edom. He drove out the people of Judah and sent Edomites to live there, as they do to this day.
7 King Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria with this message: "I am your servant and your vassal. Come up and rescue me from the attacking armies of Aram and Israel." 8 Then Ahaz took the silver and gold from the Temple of the Lord and the palace treasury and sent it as a payment to the Assyrian king. 9 So the king of Assyria attacked the Aramean capital of Damascus and led its population away as captives, resettling them in Kir. He also killed King Rezin.
2 Chronicles 28:1-15
2 Chronicles 28
Ahaz Rules in Judah
1 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. He did not do what was pleasing in the sight of the Lord, as his ancestor David had done. 2 Instead, he followed the example of the kings of Israel. He cast metal images for the worship of Baal. 3 He offered sacrifices in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, even sacrificing his own sons in the fire. In this way, he followed the detestable practices of the pagan nations the Lord had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites. 4 He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the pagan shrines and on the hills and under every green tree.
5 Because of all this, the Lord his God allowed the king of Aram to defeat Ahaz and to exile large numbers of his people to Damascus. The armies of the king of Israel also defeated Ahaz and inflicted many casualties on his army. 6 In a single day Pekah son of Remaliah, Israel's king, killed 120,000 of Judah's troops, all of them experienced warriors, because they had abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors. 7 Then Zicri, a warrior from Ephraim, killed Maaseiah, the king's son; Azrikam, the king's palace commander; and Elkanah, the king's second-in-command. 8 The armies of Israel captured 200,000 women and children from Judah and seized tremendous amounts of plunder, which they took back to Samaria.
9 But a prophet of the Lord named Oded was there in Samaria when the army of Israel returned home. He went out to meet them and said, "The Lord, the God of your ancestors, was angry with Judah and let you defeat them. But you have gone too far, killing them without mercy, and all heaven is disturbed. 10 And now you are planning to make slaves of these people from Judah and Jerusalem. What about your own sins against the Lord your God? 11 Listen to me and return these prisoners you have taken, for they are your own relatives. Watch out, because now the Lord's fierce anger has been turned against you!"
12 Then some of the leaders of Israel—Azariah son of Jehohanan, Berekiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai—agreed with this and confronted the men returning from battle. 13 "You must not bring the prisoners here!" they declared. "We cannot afford to add to our sins and guilt. Our guilt is already great, and the Lord's fierce anger is already turned against Israel."
14 So the warriors released the prisoners and handed over the plunder in the sight of the leaders and all the people. 15 Then the four men just mentioned by name came forward and distributed clothes from the plunder to the prisoners who were naked. They provided clothing and sandals to wear, gave them enough food and drink, and dressed their wounds with olive oil. They put those who were weak on donkeys and took all the prisoners back to their own people in Jericho, the city of palms. Then they returned to Samaria.
Isaiah 7:1-25
Isaiah 7
A Message for Ahaz
1 When Ahaz, son of Jotham and grandson of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah, the king of Israel, set out to attack Jerusalem. However, they were unable to carry out their plan.
2 The news had come to the royal court of Judah: "Syria is allied with Israel against us!" So the hearts of the king and his people trembled with fear, like trees shaking in a storm.
3 Then the Lord said to Isaiah, "Take your son Shear-jashub and go out to meet King Ahaz. You will find him at the end of the aqueduct that feeds water into the upper pool, near the road leading to the field where cloth is washed. 4 Tell him to stop worrying. Tell him he doesn'need to fear the fierce anger of those two burned-out embers, King Rezin of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah. 5 Yes, the kings of Syria and Israel are plotting against him, saying, 6 'We will attack Judah and capture it for ourselves. Then we will install the son of Tabeel as Judah's king.' 7 But this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
"This invasion will never happen;
      it will never take place;
 8 for Syria is no stronger than its capital, Damascus,
      and Damascus is no stronger than its king, Rezin.
   As for Israel, within sixty-five years
      it will be crushed and completely destroyed.
 9 Israel is no stronger than its capital, Samaria,
      and Samaria is no stronger than its king, Pekah son of Remaliah.
   Unless your faith is firm,
      I cannot make you stand firm."
The Sign of Immanuel
10 Later, the Lord sent this message to King Ahaz: 11 "Ask the Lord your God for a sign of confirmation, Ahaz. Make it as difficult as you want—as high as heaven or as deep as the place of the dead."
12 But the king refused. "No," he said, "I will not test the Lord like that."
13 Then Isaiah said, "Listen well, you royal family of David! Isn't it enough to exhaust human patience? Must you exhaust the patience of my God as well? 14 All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means 'God is with us'). 15 By the time this child is old enough to choose what is right and reject what is wrong, he will be eating yogurt and honey. 16 For before the child is that old, the lands of the two kings you fear so much will both be deserted.
17 "Then the Lord will bring things on you, your nation, and your family unlike anything since Israel broke away from Judah. He will bring the king of Assyria upon you!"
18 In that day the Lord will whistle for the army of southern Egypt and for the army of Assyria. They will swarm around you like flies and bees. 19 They will come in vast hordes and settle in the fertile areas and also in the desolate valleys, caves, and thorny places. 20 In that day the Lord will hire a "razor" from beyond the Euphrates River—the king of Assyria—and use it to shave off everything: your land, your crops, and your people.
21 In that day a farmer will be fortunate to have a cow and two sheep or goats left. 22 Nevertheless, there will be enough milk for everyone because so few people will be left in the land. They will eat their fill of yogurt and honey. 23 In that day the lush vineyards, now worth 1,000 pieces of silver, will become patches of briers and thorns. 24 The entire land will become a vast expanse of briers and thorns, a hunting ground overrun by wildlife. 25 No one will go to the fertile hillsides where the gardens once grew, for briers and thorns will cover them. Cattle, sheep, and goats will graze there.

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