Podcasts about chaldeans

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE:    GENESIS 11:26-32 - 26 When Terah had lived 70 years, he fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran. 27 Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot. 28 Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his kindred, in Ur of the Chaldeans. 29 And Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and Iscah. 30 Now Sarai was barren; she had no child. 31 Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there. 32 The days of Terah were 205 years, and Terah died in Haran. MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE: Submit a prayer request or praise: https://MorningMindestMedia.com/prayer  ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

5 Lent First Psalm: Psalms 120–123 Psalms 120–123 (Listen) Deliver Me, O Lord A Song of Ascents. 120   In my distress I called to the LORD,    and he answered me.2   Deliver me, O LORD,    from lying lips,    from a deceitful tongue. 3   What shall be given to you,    and what more shall be done to you,    you deceitful tongue?4   A warrior's sharp arrows,    with glowing coals of the broom tree! 5   Woe to me, that I sojourn in Meshech,    that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!6   Too long have I had my dwelling    among those who hate peace.7   I am for peace,    but when I speak, they are for war! My Help Comes from the Lord A Song of Ascents. 121   I lift up my eyes to the hills.    From where does my help come?2   My help comes from the LORD,    who made heaven and earth. 3   He will not let your foot be moved;    he who keeps you will not slumber.4   Behold, he who keeps Israel    will neither slumber nor sleep. 5   The LORD is your keeper;    the LORD is your shade on your right hand.6   The sun shall not strike you by day,    nor the moon by night. 7   The LORD will keep you from all evil;    he will keep your life.8   The LORD will keep    your going out and your coming in    from this time forth and forevermore. Let Us Go to the House of the Lord A Song of Ascents. Of David. 122   I was glad when they said to me,    “Let us go to the house of the LORD!”2   Our feet have been standing    within your gates, O Jerusalem! 3   Jerusalem—built as a city    that is bound firmly together,4   to which the tribes go up,    the tribes of the LORD,  as was decreed for1 Israel,    to give thanks to the name of the LORD.5   There thrones for judgment were set,    the thrones of the house of David. 6   Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!    “May they be secure who love you!7   Peace be within your walls    and security within your towers!”8   For my brothers and companions' sake    I will say, “Peace be within you!”9   For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,    I will seek your good. Our Eyes Look to the Lord Our God A Song of Ascents. 123   To you I lift up my eyes,    O you who are enthroned in the heavens!2   Behold, as the eyes of servants    look to the hand of their master,  as the eyes of a maidservant    to the hand of her mistress,  so our eyes look to the LORD our God,    till he has mercy upon us. 3   Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us,    for we have had more than enough of contempt.4   Our soul has had more than enough    of the scorn of those who are at ease,    of the contempt of the proud. Footnotes [1] 122:4 Or as a testimony for (ESV) Second Psalm: Psalms 124–127 Psalms 124–127 (Listen) Our Help Is in the Name of the Lord A Song of Ascents. Of David. 124   If it had not been the LORD who was on our side—    let Israel now say—2   if it had not been the LORD who was on our side    when people rose up against us,3   then they would have swallowed us up alive,    when their anger was kindled against us;4   then the flood would have swept us away,    the torrent would have gone over us;5   then over us would have gone    the raging waters. 6   Blessed be the LORD,    who has not given us    as prey to their teeth!7   We have escaped like a bird    from the snare of the fowlers;  the snare is broken,    and we have escaped! 8   Our help is in the name of the LORD,    who made heaven and earth. The Lord Surrounds His People A Song of Ascents. 125   Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion,    which cannot be moved, but abides forever.2   As the mountains surround Jerusalem,    so the LORD surrounds his people,    from this time forth and forevermore.3   For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest    on the land allotted to the righteous,  lest the righteous stretch out    their hands to do wrong.4   Do good, O LORD, to those who are good,    and to those who are upright in their hearts!5   But those who turn aside to their crooked ways    the LORD will lead away with evildoers!    Peace be upon Israel! Restore Our Fortunes, O Lord A Song of Ascents. 126   When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion,    we were like those who dream.2   Then our mouth was filled with laughter,    and our tongue with shouts of joy;  then they said among the nations,    “The LORD has done great things for them.”3   The LORD has done great things for us;    we are glad. 4   Restore our fortunes, O LORD,    like streams in the Negeb!5   Those who sow in tears    shall reap with shouts of joy!6   He who goes out weeping,    bearing the seed for sowing,  shall come home with shouts of joy,    bringing his sheaves with him. Unless the Lord Builds the House A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon. 127   Unless the LORD builds the house,    those who build it labor in vain.  Unless the LORD watches over the city,    the watchman stays awake in vain.2   It is in vain that you rise up early    and go late to rest,  eating the bread of anxious toil;    for he gives to his beloved sleep. 3   Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,    the fruit of the womb a reward.4   Like arrows in the hand of a warrior    are the children1 of one's youth.5   Blessed is the man    who fills his quiver with them!  He shall not be put to shame    when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.2 Footnotes [1] 127:4 Or sons [2] 127:5 Or They shall not be put to shame when they speak with their enemies in the gate (ESV) Old Testament: Jeremiah 25:8–17 Jeremiah 25:8–17 (Listen) 8 “Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: Because you have not obeyed my words, 9 behold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, declares the LORD, and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I will devote them to destruction, and make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting desolation. 10 Moreover, I will banish from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the grinding of the millstones and the light of the lamp. 11 This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. 12 Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, declares the LORD, making the land an everlasting waste. 13 I will bring upon that land all the words that I have uttered against it, everything written in this book, which Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations. 14 For many nations and great kings shall make slaves even of them, and I will recompense them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.” The Cup of the Lord's Wrath 15 Thus the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. 16 They shall drink and stagger and be crazed because of the sword that I am sending among them.” 17 So I took the cup from the LORD's hand, and made all the nations to whom the LORD sent me drink it: (ESV) New Testament: Romans 10:1–13 Romans 10:1–13 (Listen) 10 Brothers,1 my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.2 The Message of Salvation to All 5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. 6 But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?'” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?'” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Footnotes [1] 10:1 Or Brothers and sisters [2] 10:4 Or end of the law, that everyone who believes may be justified (ESV) Gospel: John 9:18–41 John 9:18–41 (Listen) 18 The Jews1 did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight 19 and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” 20 His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 21 But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” 22 (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus2 to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.) 23 Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.” 24 So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” 25 He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” 26 They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27 He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” 28 And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” 30 The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. 32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” 34 They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out. 35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”3 36 He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” 38 He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” 40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt;4 but now that you say, ‘We see,' your guilt remains. Footnotes [1] 9:18 Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time; also verse 22 [2] 9:22 Greek him [3] 9:35 Some manuscripts the Son of God [4] 9:41 Greek you would not have sin (ESV)

5 Lent First Psalm: Psalm 31 Psalm 31 (Listen) Into Your Hand I Commit My Spirit To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. 31   In you, O LORD, do I take refuge;    let me never be put to shame;    in your righteousness deliver me!2   Incline your ear to me;    rescue me speedily!  Be a rock of refuge for me,    a strong fortress to save me! 3   For you are my rock and my fortress;    and for your name's sake you lead me and guide me;4   you take me out of the net they have hidden for me,    for you are my refuge.5   Into your hand I commit my spirit;    you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God. 6   I hate1 those who pay regard to worthless idols,    but I trust in the LORD.7   I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love,    because you have seen my affliction;    you have known the distress of my soul,8   and you have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy;    you have set my feet in a broad place. 9   Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress;    my eye is wasted from grief;    my soul and my body also.10   For my life is spent with sorrow,    and my years with sighing;  my strength fails because of my iniquity,    and my bones waste away. 11   Because of all my adversaries I have become a reproach,    especially to my neighbors,  and an object of dread to my acquaintances;    those who see me in the street flee from me.12   I have been forgotten like one who is dead;    I have become like a broken vessel.13   For I hear the whispering of many—    terror on every side!—  as they scheme together against me,    as they plot to take my life. 14   But I trust in you, O LORD;    I say, “You are my God.”15   My times are in your hand;    rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors!16   Make your face shine on your servant;    save me in your steadfast love!17   O LORD, let me not be put to shame,    for I call upon you;  let the wicked be put to shame;    let them go silently to Sheol.18   Let the lying lips be mute,    which speak insolently against the righteous    in pride and contempt. 19   Oh, how abundant is your goodness,    which you have stored up for those who fear you  and worked for those who take refuge in you,    in the sight of the children of mankind!20   In the cover of your presence you hide them    from the plots of men;  you store them in your shelter    from the strife of tongues. 21   Blessed be the LORD,    for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me    when I was in a besieged city.22   I had said in my alarm,2    “I am cut off from your sight.”  But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy    when I cried to you for help. 23   Love the LORD, all you his saints!    The LORD preserves the faithful    but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride.24   Be strong, and let your heart take courage,    all you who wait for the LORD! Footnotes [1] 31:6 Masoretic Text; one Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint, Syriac, Jerome You hate [2] 31:22 Or in my haste (ESV) Second Psalm: Psalm 35 Psalm 35 (Listen) Great Is the Lord Of David. 35   Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me;    fight against those who fight against me!2   Take hold of shield and buckler    and rise for my help!3   Draw the spear and javelin1    against my pursuers!  Say to my soul,    “I am your salvation!” 4   Let them be put to shame and dishonor    who seek after my life!  Let them be turned back and disappointed    who devise evil against me!5   Let them be like chaff before the wind,    with the angel of the LORD driving them away!6   Let their way be dark and slippery,    with the angel of the LORD pursuing them! 7   For without cause they hid their net for me;    without cause they dug a pit for my life.28   Let destruction come upon him when he does not know it!  And let the net that he hid ensnare him;    let him fall into it—to his destruction! 9   Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD,    exulting in his salvation.10   All my bones shall say,    “O LORD, who is like you,  delivering the poor    from him who is too strong for him,    the poor and needy from him who robs him?” 11   Malicious3 witnesses rise up;    they ask me of things that I do not know.12   They repay me evil for good;    my soul is bereft.413   But I, when they were sick—    I wore sackcloth;    I afflicted myself with fasting;  I prayed with head bowed5 on my chest.14     I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother;  as one who laments his mother,    I bowed down in mourning. 15   But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered;    they gathered together against me;  wretches whom I did not know    tore at me without ceasing;16   like profane mockers at a feast,6    they gnash at me with their teeth. 17   How long, O Lord, will you look on?    Rescue me from their destruction,    my precious life from the lions!18   I will thank you in the great congregation;    in the mighty throng I will praise you. 19   Let not those rejoice over me    who are wrongfully my foes,  and let not those wink the eye    who hate me without cause.20   For they do not speak peace,    but against those who are quiet in the land    they devise words of deceit.21   They open wide their mouths against me;    they say, “Aha, Aha!    Our eyes have seen it!” 22   You have seen, O LORD; be not silent!    O Lord, be not far from me!23   Awake and rouse yourself for my vindication,    for my cause, my God and my Lord!24   Vindicate me, O LORD, my God,    according to your righteousness,    and let them not rejoice over me!25   Let them not say in their hearts,    “Aha, our heart's desire!”  Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up.” 26   Let them be put to shame and disappointed altogether    who rejoice at my calamity!  Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor    who magnify themselves against me! 27   Let those who delight in my righteousness    shout for joy and be glad    and say evermore,  “Great is the LORD,    who delights in the welfare of his servant!”28   Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness    and of your praise all the day long. Footnotes [1] 35:3 Or and close the way [2] 35:7 The word pit is transposed from the preceding line; Hebrew For without cause they hid the pit of their net for me; without cause they dug for my life [3] 35:11 Or Violent [4] 35:12 Hebrew it is bereavement to my soul [5] 35:13 Or my prayer shall turn back [6] 35:16 The meaning of the Hebrew phrase is uncertain (ESV) Old Testament: Jeremiah 24 Jeremiah 24 (Listen) The Good Figs and the Bad Figs 24 After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken into exile from Jerusalem Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, together with the officials of Judah, the craftsmen, and the metal workers, and had brought them to Babylon, the LORD showed me this vision: behold, two baskets of figs placed before the temple of the LORD. 2 One basket had very good figs, like first-ripe figs, but the other basket had very bad figs, so bad that they could not be eaten. 3 And the LORD said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I said, “Figs, the good figs very good, and the bad figs very bad, so bad that they cannot be eaten.” 4 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 5 “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I have sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. 6 I will set my eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up, and not tear them down; I will plant them, and not pluck them up. 7 I will give them a heart to know that I am the LORD, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart. 8 “But thus says the LORD: Like the bad figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten, so will I treat Zedekiah the king of Judah, his officials, the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who dwell in the land of Egypt. 9 I will make them a horror1 to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a reproach, a byword, a taunt, and a curse in all the places where I shall drive them. 10 And I will send sword, famine, and pestilence upon them, until they shall be utterly destroyed from the land that I gave to them and their fathers.” Footnotes [1] 24:9 Compare Septuagint; Hebrew horror for evil (ESV) New Testament: Romans 9:19–33 Romans 9:19–33 (Listen) 19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” 20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? 22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25 As indeed he says in Hosea,   “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,'    and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.'”26   “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,'    there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.'” 27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel1 be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, 28 for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.” 29 And as Isaiah predicted,   “If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring,    we would have been like Sodom    and become like Gomorrah.” Israel's Unbelief 30 What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness2 did not succeed in reaching that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 as it is written,   “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense;    and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” Footnotes [1] 9:27 Or children of Israel [2] 9:31 Greek a law of righteousness (ESV) Gospel: John 9:1–17 John 9:1–17 (Listen) Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind 9 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud 7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. 8 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” 10 So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” 11 He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.' So I went and washed and received my sight.” 12 They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.” 13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. 14 Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15 So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” 16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them. 17 So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.” (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 83 Psalm 83 (Listen) O God, Do Not Keep Silence A Song. A Psalm of Asaph. 83   O God, do not keep silence;    do not hold your peace or be still, O God!2   For behold, your enemies make an uproar;    those who hate you have raised their heads.3   They lay crafty plans against your people;    they consult together against your treasured ones.4   They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;    let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”5   For they conspire with one accord;    against you they make a covenant—6   the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,    Moab and the Hagrites,7   Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,    Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;8   Asshur also has joined them;    they are the strong arm of the children of Lot. Selah 9   Do to them as you did to Midian,    as to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon,10   who were destroyed at En-dor,    who became dung for the ground.11   Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,    all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,12   who said, “Let us take possession for ourselves    of the pastures of God.” 13   O my God, make them like whirling dust,1    like chaff before the wind.14   As fire consumes the forest,    as the flame sets the mountains ablaze,15   so may you pursue them with your tempest    and terrify them with your hurricane!16   Fill their faces with shame,    that they may seek your name, O LORD.17   Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever;    let them perish in disgrace,18   that they may know that you alone,    whose name is the LORD,    are the Most High over all the earth. Footnotes [1] 83:13 Or like a tumbleweed (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Exodus 27:20–28:43 Exodus 27:20–28:43 (Listen) Oil for the Lamp 20 “You shall command the people of Israel that they bring to you pure beaten olive oil for the light, that a lamp may regularly be set up to burn. 21 In the tent of meeting, outside the veil that is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening to morning before the LORD. It shall be a statute forever to be observed throughout their generations by the people of Israel. The Priests' Garments 28 “Then bring near to you Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the people of Israel, to serve me as priests—Aaron and Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 2 And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. 3 You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill, that they make Aaron's garments to consecrate him for my priesthood. 4 These are the garments that they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a coat of checker work, a turban, and a sash. They shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons to serve me as priests. 5 They shall receive gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen. 6 “And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and of fine twined linen, skillfully worked. 7 It shall have two shoulder pieces attached to its two edges, so that it may be joined together. 8 And the skillfully woven band on it shall be made like it and be of one piece with it, of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen. 9 You shall take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel, 10 six of their names on the one stone, and the names of the remaining six on the other stone, in the order of their birth. 11 As a jeweler engraves signets, so shall you engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel. You shall enclose them in settings of gold filigree. 12 And you shall set the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel. And Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD on his two shoulders for remembrance. 13 You shall make settings of gold filigree, 14 and two chains of pure gold, twisted like cords; and you shall attach the corded chains to the settings. 15 “You shall make a breastpiece of judgment, in skilled work. In the style of the ephod you shall make it—of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen shall you make it. 16 It shall be square and doubled, a span1 its length and a span its breadth. 17 You shall set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius,2 topaz, and carbuncle shall be the first row; 18 and the second row an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; 19 and the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 20 and the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be set in gold filigree. 21 There shall be twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. They shall be like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes. 22 You shall make for the breastpiece twisted chains like cords, of pure gold. 23 And you shall make for the breastpiece two rings of gold, and put the two rings on the two edges of the breastpiece. 24 And you shall put the two cords of gold in the two rings at the edges of the breastpiece. 25 The two ends of the two cords you shall attach to the two settings of filigree, and so attach it in front to the shoulder pieces of the ephod. 26 You shall make two rings of gold, and put them at the two ends of the breastpiece, on its inside edge next to the ephod. 27 And you shall make two rings of gold, and attach them in front to the lower part of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, at its seam above the skillfully woven band of the ephod. 28 And they shall bind the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, so that it may lie on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, so that the breastpiece shall not come loose from the ephod. 29 So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment on his heart, when he goes into the Holy Place, to bring them to regular remembrance before the LORD. 30 And in the breastpiece of judgment you shall put the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be on Aaron's heart, when he goes in before the LORD. Thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of the people of Israel on his heart before the LORD regularly. 31 “You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue. 32 It shall have an opening for the head in the middle of it, with a woven binding around the opening, like the opening in a garment,3 so that it may not tear. 33 On its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, around its hem, with bells of gold between them, 34 a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, around the hem of the robe. 35 And it shall be on Aaron when he ministers, and its sound shall be heard when he goes into the Holy Place before the LORD, and when he comes out, so that he does not die. 36 “You shall make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet, ‘Holy to the LORD.' 37 And you shall fasten it on the turban by a cord of blue. It shall be on the front of the turban. 38 It shall be on Aaron's forehead, and Aaron shall bear any guilt from the holy things that the people of Israel consecrate as their holy gifts. It shall regularly be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD. 39 “You shall weave the coat in checker work of fine linen, and you shall make a turban of fine linen, and you shall make a sash embroidered with needlework. 40 “For Aaron's sons you shall make coats and sashes and caps. You shall make them for glory and beauty. 41 And you shall put them on Aaron your brother, and on his sons with him, and shall anoint them and ordain them and consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. 42 You shall make for them linen undergarments to cover their naked flesh. They shall reach from the hips to the thighs; 43 and they shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they go into the tent of meeting or when they come near the altar to minister in the Holy Place, lest they bear guilt and die. This shall be a statute forever for him and for his offspring after him. Footnotes [1] 28:16 A span was about 9 inches or 22 centimeters [2] 28:17 The identity of some of these stones is uncertain [3] 28:32 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain; possibly coat of mail (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Nehemiah 9 Nehemiah 9 (Listen) The People of Israel Confess Their Sin 9 Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, and with earth on their heads. 2 And the Israelites1 separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. 3 And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for a quarter of the day; for another quarter of it they made confession and worshiped the LORD their God. 4 On the stairs of the Levites stood Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani; and they cried with a loud voice to the LORD their God. 5 Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, “Stand up and bless the LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. 2 6 “You are the LORD, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you. 7 You are the LORD, the God who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham. 8 You found his heart faithful before you, and made with him the covenant to give to his offspring the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite. And you have kept your promise, for you are righteous. 9 “And you saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and heard their cry at the Red Sea, 10 and performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people of his land, for you knew that they acted arrogantly against our fathers. And you made a name for yourself, as it is to this day. 11 And you divided the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on dry land, and you cast their pursuers into the depths, as a stone into mighty waters. 12 By a pillar of cloud you led them in the day, and by a pillar of fire in the night to light for them the way in which they should go. 13 You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven and gave them right rules and true laws, good statutes and commandments, 14 and you made known to them your holy Sabbath and commanded them commandments and statutes and a law by Moses your servant. 15 You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger and brought water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and you told them to go in to possess the land that you had sworn to give them. 16 “But they and our fathers acted presumptuously and stiffened their neck and did not obey your commandments. 17 They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt.3 But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them. 18 Even when they had made for themselves a golden4 calf and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,' and had committed great blasphemies, 19 you in your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud to lead them in the way did not depart from them by day, nor the pillar of fire by night to light for them the way by which they should go. 20 You gave your good Spirit to instruct them and did not withhold your manna from their mouth and gave them water for their thirst. 21 Forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell. 22 “And you gave them kingdoms and peoples and allotted to them every corner. So they took possession of the land of Sihon king of Heshbon and the land of Og king of Bashan. 23 You multiplied their children as the stars of heaven, and you brought them into the land that you had told their fathers to enter and possess. 24 So the descendants went in and possessed the land, and you subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hand, with their kings and the peoples of the land, that they might do with them as they would. 25 And they captured fortified cities and a rich land, and took possession of houses full of all good things, cisterns already hewn, vineyards, olive orchards and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled and became fat and delighted themselves in your great goodness. 26 “Nevertheless, they were disobedient and rebelled against you and cast your law behind their back and killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you, and they committed great blasphemies. 27 Therefore you gave them into the hand of their enemies, who made them suffer. And in the time of their suffering they cried out to you and you heard them from heaven, and according to your great mercies you gave them saviors who saved them from the hand of their enemies. 28 But after they had rest they did evil again before you, and you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies, so that they had dominion over them. Yet when they turned and cried to you, you heard from heaven, and many times you delivered them according to your mercies. 29 And you warned them in order to turn them back to your law. Yet they acted presumptuously and did not obey your commandments, but sinned against your rules, which if a person does them, he shall live by them, and they turned a stubborn shoulder and stiffened their neck and would not obey. 30 Many years you bore with them and warned them by your Spirit through your prophets. Yet they would not give ear. Therefore you gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands. 31 Nevertheless, in your great mercies you did not make an end of them or forsake them, for you are a gracious and merciful God. 32 “Now, therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love, let not all the hardship seem little to you that has come upon us, upon our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and all your people, since the time of the kings of Assyria until this day. 33 Yet you have been righteous in all that has come upon us, for you have dealt faithfully and we have acted wickedly. 34 Our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers have not kept your law or paid attention to your commandments and your warnings that you gave them. 35 Even in their own kingdom, and amid your great goodness that you gave them, and in the large and rich land that you set before them, they did not serve you or turn from their wicked works. 36 Behold, we are slaves this day; in the land that you gave to our fathers to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts, behold, we are slaves. 37 And its rich yield goes to the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins. They rule over our bodies and over our livestock as they please, and we are in great distress. 5 38 “Because of all this we make a firm covenant in writing; on the sealed document are the names of6 our princes, our Levites, and our priests. Footnotes [1] 9:2 Hebrew the offspring of Israel [2] 9:5 Septuagint adds And Ezra said [3] 9:17 Some Hebrew manuscripts; many Hebrew manuscripts and in their rebellion appointed a leader to return to their slavery [4] 9:18 Hebrew metal [5] 9:37 Ch 10:1 in Hebrew [6] 9:38 Hebrew lacks the names of (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: 1 Corinthians 1:18–31 1 Corinthians 1:18–31 (Listen) Christ the Wisdom and Power of God 18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written,   “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,    and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” 20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach1 to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards,2 not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being3 might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him4 you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” Footnotes [1] 1:21 Or the folly of preaching [2] 1:26 Greek according to the flesh [3] 1:29 Greek no flesh [4] 1:30 Greek And from him (ESV)

Friday, 17 March 2023   ‘After this I will return And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up; Acts 15:16   James just noted that the words of the prophets agree with the idea that God first visited to take out of nations a people for His name. With that, he now cites Amos 9:11 & 12 to confirm this. As is often the case in the New Testament, the quote is from the Greek text, not the Hebrew. Further, there is even a bit of deviation from the Greek in verse 15:16.   That verse begins with, “After this I will return.” Rather, the word translated as “this” is a plural demonstrative pronoun. It reads, “After these things I will return.” The reference is to what is said in the earlier verses of Amos 9. They speak of Israel's destruction and exile. In those verses, the Lord says –   “‘Are you not like the people of Ethiopia to Me, O children of Israel?' says the Lord. ‘Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt, The Philistines from Caphtor, And the Syrians from Kir?'” Amos 9:7   In essence, the Lord is saying to Israel, “You are just like any other people. Other than your relationship with Me, you are just people.” To show them this, He was going to take a different direction, working among the Gentiles of whom they thought they were better. Because of their sinful state, rejecting the Lord, they would enter a time of punishment, being scattered among the nations. It is “After these things” that the Lord will return.   The meaning of that is that He will revisit Israel. It is as if he had departed from them and was now returned to them. His attention was on their destruction, but it would be changed to their re-establishment and prosperity. It is at this prophesied time that it next says, “And will rebuild the tabernacle of David.”   The tabernacle is a booth or temporary shelter used during the Feast of Tabernacles. This was a feast where the people gathered in Jerusalem, meeting to acknowledge that the Lord was Israel's protector. They had been brought out of Egypt, having been rescued from their bondage. They were wholly dependent on the Lord and were living in close and intimate contact with Him.   The “tabernacle of David” is specifically speaking of the royal house of David. Despite being the king, he too would have participated in the annual festival, dwelling in a tabernacle in this intimate fellowship with the Lord. What is being conveyed is that the rule and authority of Israel under the House of David would be restored to Israel, but it would be in a way that resembled the tabernacle, or booth.   Thus, it refers to the Person of Jesus, the Messiah who is the Greater David. For example, the verb form of the word is used when speaking of Christ in John 1 –   “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14   The noun form is used when referring to the intimate dwelling together of God and man in Revelation 21 –   “And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.'” Revelation 21:3   It is the intimate fellowship between the House of David and the Lord that would be rebuilt. Understanding this, the next words read, “which has fallen down.”   The Davidic line of kings ceased at the time of the Babylonian exile. From that time on there was no Israelite king over David, in the sense of leading the nation. The line of kingship in the house of David was prophesied to end by Jeremiah –    “‘As I live,' says the Lord, ‘though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, were the signet on My right hand, yet I would pluck you off; 25 and I will give you into the hand of those who seek your life, and into the hand of those whose face you fear—the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the hand of the Chaldeans.'” Jeremiah 22:24, 25   However, the line of David itself was not cut off. After the exile, it continued on as is testified to in Haggai –   And again the word of the Lord came to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month, saying, 21 “Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying: ‘I will shake heaven and earth. 22 I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms; I will destroy the strength of the Gentile kingdoms. I will overthrow the chariots And those who ride in them; The horses and their riders shall come down, Every one by the sword of his brother. 23 ‘In that day,' says the Lord of hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel My servant, the son of Shealtiel,' says the Lord, ‘and will make you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you,' says the Lord of hosts.” Haggai 2:20-23   The royal line was cut off in Coniah, but it was re-established after the exile to Babylon in Zerubbabel. It is Zerubbabel who is listed in Jesus' genealogy in Luke 3:27, continuing this royal line leading to Israel's Messiah.   This does not mean, however, that Zerubbabel was the rebuilt tabernacle signifying the rule of the House of David. Israel had no Davidic king again. Rather, they were ruled by other nations. Even when Herod ruled over Israel this is true. He was neither of the line of David nor was he the final authority over Israel. His rule fell under the jurisdiction of Rome.   With this understood, the words of the prophet being cited by James continue with, “I will rebuild its ruins.” Again, it is referring to the tabernacle of David, meaning the intimate fellowship with the Lord of the kingship of Israel over the people. The wording is speaking of a time when Davidic rule would again be realized in the land. This has never occurred since the time of Coniah whom Jeremiah referred to.   Of these words, Albert Barnes rightly states, “The ruins thereof - Heb. ‘close up the breaches thereof.' That is, it would be restored to its former prosperity and magnificence; an emblem of the favor of God, and of the spiritual blessings that would in future times descend on the Jewish people.” This is what James is saying would occur. With that, the words of this verse end with, “And I will set it up.”   As with the previous clause, it is still referring to the tabernacle of David. There is a time prophesied that will come when the Davidic rule will again be established over Israel. It must be remembered that the words “After these things” set the tone for what is being debated in the council. It is based on these words of the prophet now being cited by James. That is based on the words of verse 15:14 that God first visited to take out of nations a people for His name.   In other words, the things being cited from Amos are not referring to the time leading up to the coming of Jesus and His spiritual rule over the church at this time, but to the second coming of Jesus and a literal rule over Israel. This is important to understand. Equating these words with the church is a completely false notion that is not supported by the words of Amos nor by the rest of Scripture. This will be seen more clearly with the evaluation of the next verse.   Life application: It is true that much of the church rejects a literal re-establishment of Israel and a millennial reign of Christ. These things are spiritualized forming the doctrine of replacement theology which says the church has replaced Israel and that everything spoken of in the past was referring not to Israel's future, but to the current state of the world where Christ rules the church.   This cannot be. The surrounding words of Amos do not support this, nor do the rest of the words of Moses and the prophets. Even the New Testament cannot be seen to agree with this. If God has rejected Israel as a nation, it means the words of the covenant made between the Lord and Israel cannot be trusted. If that is true, then the words of the New Covenant cannot be trusted either. The same Lord who established the Mosaic Covenant is the Lord who has established the New Covenant.   Have faith that despite Israel's failings, the Lord will never reject them as His people. Likewise, despite your failings, the Lord will never reject you because of what He has done through Christ Jesus. When the terms of the covenant are met, the deal is done. If you have believed the gospel, you have been saved, once and for all time.   Lord God, thank You for the lesson of Israel. Despite their continued unfaithfulness, You have remained faithful to them. We can learn from this that despite our unfaithfulness, You will always remain faithful to us. Thank You for this assurance in our hope of eternal life. Thank You! Amen.  

I thought we'd begin this week with a bit of Trivia. You want to know what this is? This is considered the oldest known complaint in the world. It's 4000 year old Akkadian cuneiform tablet written by a man named Nanni who complains about a substandard ingot of copper he received by the hand of his servant and in the letter he demands a refund. Complaining, as it turns out, is one of the oldest art forms in history. We can complain about anything from copper ingots to cold weather to people cutting in line, to poor customer service, our unreasonable boss to a boring movie to an overpopulated city and its traffic, and the worst of all, not being able to connect to Wi-Fi. But sometimes our complaints center on things that are much less trivial. Sometimes our complaints arise out of deep suffering. When we are pinned down in an uncomfortable situation, we complain by demanding an answer to the why question? Why am I suffering? Why this betrayal? Why this death? Why this injustice? Why this financial hardship? Why my marriage? Why are my children like this? Why am I here? Lord, why don't you change things? Last week James gave us three commands on how to be righteous in the face of suffering and not complain. Be patient, trust God and don't complain. Now this week James is going to work that out through EXAMPLES. Examples are helpful because examples are simply commands applied in real life situations. He says, let me point you to some biblical examples of people who did a good job of being patient, trusting God and not complaining in their impossibly hard situations. So James give us the prophets and God's servant, Job. So let's start with the prophets. Now the prophets are amazing. The prophets have been given the most unrewarding of all possible jobs. Let's first consider Isaiah. Isaiah When we open up the book of Isaiah we see God's assessment of the nation of Israel. God says, my people have not heeded any of my warnings. They don't even know me. And for the rest of chapter 1 and into the next chapters he outlines the many ways in which Israel has turned away. Now in Isaiah 6, the prophet Isaiah has a vision of God and it's breathtaking. It really just knocks Isaiah on the carpet. And the Lord says, Isaiah, will you go to my people and preach who I am? Will you preach what you just saw? And he said by all means. Yes, I'll go! Send me! But here's where it gets interesting. Isaiah, I'm not sure you're going to like your mission. I'm going to send you to preach the gospel to my people for the next 20 or 30 years and no one will listen, believe or respect you in any way. Ever. You will never see fruit in your ministry your entire life. You will live your entire life without witnessing a shred of evidence that anything you ever said or did mattered. I'm letting you know in advance that they will never respond no matter how much you beg and plead. They will persecute you, marginalize you and basically make your life miserable until you die. - In fact your job is to harden hearts by speaking truth and being rejected. - The more you try to show them truth the blinder they will become. - The more you try to get their attention the heavier their eyes will become until they just fall asleep. - The more you talk the more plugged up with wax their ears will become. Look at Isaiah 6:9 And Isaiah responded, "Well that doesn't sound like much fun? How long do I have to do that Lord?" Preach the truth until everyone is judged. Preach until a foreign nation obliterates them and they are utterly destroyed. Okay, now get going. That's hard. God, why? Why would you want me to do that? Why do you want me to beat my head against the wall with ZERO results? You want to talk about a job that might require a little patience? You want to talk about a situation in which you might be tempted to complain? Isaiah can relate. James says look at the prophets. What do you think was motivating Isaiah? What caused him to go year after year after year, watching the horrible hard-heartedness that led to destruction? What enabled him to keep going? What enabled him to keep preaching to this stiff-necked rebellious people? What made him able to not complain and to be patient? Think about it. CAN YOU GUESS WHAT IT IS? Jeremiah Consider Jeremiah. Jeremiah preaches during the Babylonian invasion of Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar is steaming forward. Jeremiah, go tell Jehoiakim that I'm going to use Nebuchadnezzar as a rod to discipline the nation of Israel. You have disobeyed me; therefore you will be destroyed by him. - Jehoiakim sees Babylon assembling for battle and they are scurrying about like ants trying to prepare for battle and God says, "Jeremiah, Go up to the king and here's what I want you to tell him to his face. Prophesy over him and tell him that he is going to lose this battle." - Tell Jehoiakim, "The right thing to do is to surrender to Nebuchadnezzar and to submit to him." Okay, that's your job. Now go. Jeremiah argued to God. God I'm only a child; I don't know how to speak to kings. But God says, "That excuse doesn't work. I'll give you the words. Get yourself ready!" Jeremiah says, "Are you kidding me? Everybody is going to think I'm a traitor! You really think he's going to listen to this message: Hey, Jehoiakim, you know that pagan overlord, Nebuchadnezzar? Yeah, well, God wants you to give up and let him take you into captivity. They're going to think I'm a traitor." And that's exactly what happened. They did think he was a traitor. In Jeremiah 11 we read of all the friends in his hometown (these are his elementary school classmates, those who grew up together), they all assemble and say, we have to kill this guy. He's spreading the language of sedition. We read of the temple prophets conspiring to kill him. Jeremiah discovers the plot to kill him and he complains to the Lord about his persecution and the Lord responds by telling him. "Oh, don't worry, it's going to get way worse." And sure enough. Jeremiah is beaten and put in stocks. He is thrown into a cistern where he starts sinking in mud. They are starving him. We call Jeremiah the weeping prophet. He writes a book in our Bible called Lamentations. But he can't stop speaking. He just keeps speaking. You want to talk about a job where you might be tempted to complain? How about Jeremiah? God why? James says, look at the prophets. What do you think was motivating Jeremiah? What caused him to sit in that muddy pit and trust God? What do you think motivated him to keep on speaking despite the terrible suffering and persecution? Think about it. CAN YOU GUESS WHAT IT IS? Hosea Then you have Hosea. God comes to Hosea, and he says, "Hosea, you're never going to be any kind of prophet until you understand what the betrayal of the nation of Israel feels like to the heart of God. So here's what I want you to do. I want you to marry a prostitute. I want you to marry a woman who will never be faithful to you. I've given her a fitting name, Gomer. You're going to marry Gomer, and she's going to continually be unfaithful to you." God says, "She's going to continually commit adultery. It's going to just absolutely gut you. You are going to love her to death and she's going to have affair after affair after affair. You're going to have to continually forgive her and go get her and buy her back and carry her back to your home. And you are going to love her again even though she hurt you so badly. And you are going to have to go through that difficult process of rebuilding trust. That's the training routine you are going to need to suffer in order to be a usable prophet in my hands. So I just want you to live that life on repeat for the next 30-40 years. Cool? You good with that? You want to talk about a job where you might be tempted to complain. I think Hosea can relate. God why? James says, look at the prophets. What do you think was motivating Hosea? What caused him to go year after year after year, watching the unfaithfulness of his wife. What enabled him to forgive time after time after time? I mean can you imagine the sorrow? Just horrible sorrow all the time. God says to all these prophets, "Get going." Hosea. Get going. Jeremiah. Get going. Get going, Isaiah. Their lives were suffering. They never had answers. Nothing ever went right for them. God says, "I want you to obey me. Be patient and don't complain." What do you think caused the prophets to be so patient? What do you think motivated them to keep serving the Lord despite terrible suffering and persecution? Think about it. CAN YOU GUESS WHAT IT IS? I'm baiting you aren't I? You want to know. Be patient. I'm helping you practice patience. We are supposed to look at the prophets. The prophets are given as an example. But we are also supposed to look at Job. Job Let's think about the patience of Job. Man, this is so good. Now to understand the lesson of Job you have to understand the structure of the book and the structure of the book of Job is a little odd. The story is found at the beginning and the end. In the middle you have these long speeches. When we open the book we read of the integrity and character of the man Job. - He was a man who feared God and turned away from evil. - He was an upright man. - He was blameless in all his ways. - He was a devout man, and he also was an extremely wealthy man. Now Satan comes and says, "I see this servant of yours, Job. I see how he's kind of your poster child. He's pretty hot stuff." Well, he's amazing for a reason. The dude's filthy rich. Job has learned not to bite the hand that feeds him. He's wise. Does Job serve you for nothing? The only reason he's serving you is because you've blessed him. In other words he doesn't love you. He loves your blessing. Take away his cash and he'll curse you. You can prove where his devotion lies by taking away his assets. So God allowed it. One day Job was standing in his home, and a messenger comes up and says, - "I was herding your donkeys and plowing with your oxen, and plunderers, those wretched Sabeans, well they came and attacked and took them all and killed the servants, and I alone have escaped to tell you. " Well there goes his food supply. - And while the words were still in his mouth a second servant comes running up, and he says, "I was with your sheep, and lightning came down from the sky and destroyed all the sheep and all the servants, and I alone have escaped to tell you." - And while the words were still in his mouth another comes and says the Chaldeans came and formed three bands and took all your camels and killed all your servants. This is basically the equivalent of saying your entire retirement portfolio has been wiped out. Your stocks gone. Your houses burned down and insurance won't pay and even your bars of gold you buried in the ground were dug up and robbed. All of his earthy capital is gone. He's financially ruined. He's now poor. That's a lot to absorb. - And while the words were still in his mouth another servant came up and said, "I was in the home where all of your grown children were feasting and drinking wine together, and a wind came out of the wilderness and the house collapsed, and all of your children are dead, all ten, seven sons and three daughters, and I alone have escaped to tell you these things." Now after the first stroke from Satan, we are told that Job howls in sorrow. He rips his clothes, shaves his head, falls to the ground in ashes and says, "Naked I came into the world, and naked I will return. The Lord gives. The Lord takes. Blessed be the name of the Lord." In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrongdoing. That is pretty stinking impressive. Now that introduction and the initial commentary has caused many people to misunderstand the book. Some people use this as the interpretive key for the book. Okay, Job was a righteous man, blameless. Satan attacked him and he didn't crack. So they read everything through that lens. True enough. Job was righteous. Job was blameless. There was not a better man on the earth. He was the top tier. He was the upper crust. But the story of the book of Job is that trials crush even the righteous. Trials wear you down. Trials cause even the finest poster children to crack. Trials are too much for all of us. All of us will crack eventually. There's a saying in the Navy Seals about fear of water. "All men panic. It's just a matter of when." And so it is with trials. All men eventually doubt God. All men eventually sin. All men crack. It's just a matter of when. Show me one who does not? At the first stroke, his self-control holds. Job hasn't cracked, yet. So the pressure turns up. There was a second stroke of Satan. Now Satan attacks his health. We're told he was afflicted with these running sores. He sat on an ash heap, and he scraped himself with pieces of pottery, scouring the pus off. It says he was afflicted with these sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. I mean that has got to just be terrible misery. I've run into poison ivy several times in my life and I just absolutely hate that stuff. It's just so itchy. The sores just run for weeks. It's so gross. From the top of the head to the sole of the foot. Head to toe. Can you imagine? Some people after funerals get consolation cards, meals cooked for them, phone calls. Job buries his 10 kids and loses his entire retirement portfolio and to boost his spirits he's given head to toe bleeding sores. Now that's bad. That's really bad. But I think the absolute worst comes next. I think what made him crack was not: - The loss of money. - Not the loss of children. - Not the loss of health. - It was the loss of being believed by his closest friends. Along come four terrible counselors. The first was Job's wife. She's a piece of work. Here Job is suffering. He's covered in sores and she looks at him and says, "Curse God and die!" Obviously this is an indication of where she's at. She's mad at God. She's lost all her kids. She's convinced God is evil. She's cursing at God. And she wants her husband to do the same. She's trying to drag him down with her. Look at his response. It's remarkable. You see he is still barely holding on, but he is still holding on by the tips of his fingers. He says, "You are talking like a foolish woman." He doesn't say, "You are a foolish woman." He says, "We've been around foolish women. You and I have both agreed what foolish behavior looks like. What you're saying feels awfully similar to that." It's a very kind response to someone who says to you, "Curse God and die!" Next up were Job's three friends: Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. Now Job's friends come along and take a totally different approach. They say, "No, God's not the problem. God can't be the problem. God is perfect. God is holy." And that is like a breath of fresh air to Job. "Yes, I was just trying to tell my wife that. That's so comforting to hear. Thank you for saying that. I agree, God can never be wrong. He is all wise! He's always good." But what comes next is like a baseball bat to the knees. Job's friends say, "So if God is good. If God is not to blame, the only one left is you. Job, you're the problem." They say, "I've never seen an innocent man perish like you. Obviously, you're to blame. God doesn't judge the righteous." Oh man, that hurts. That's deep. He cries out. He yells. He screams. So Job's wife says: "God's the problem. God is to blame." Job's friends says: "You're the problem." And I think he cracks. Right there. And in his agony for 35 chapters he basically asks two questions: - Why didn't I die at birth? - Why is God not answering me? He says, I am an innocent sufferer. I am righteous. I have done nothing to deserve this. This is senseless suffering. Why? Why won't God talk to me? Why are the heavens as bronze? Why? In Job 23 he says, "If only I knew where to find him; if only I could go to his dwelling! I would state my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments. I would find out the reasons, and consider what he would say." You see, Job is just like us. He's asking, "Why?" And what's the answer? Silence. Be patient. He gets nothing. He gets silence as a response. Why are you allowing this to happen? It would be one thing if I could see a reason. If it was because I had sinned, that would make sense. Okay, this is punishment for my sin. Or there was some greater purpose. I could handle that. It would be one thing if I could discern a reason. This trial will accomplish this purpose. Okay, now I have a reason to suffer. But I am innocent and you are silent. Why? Why am I suffering? To be patient and not complain and live in great suffering is among the hardest places in the world to be. Wait. Trust me. Now, here's what I want to point out. By the time we get to chapter 38, Job has officially cracked. Here the most righteous man on the face of the earth has cracked under suffering. He's cracked. He's doubting God. He's angry. He's questioning God. Everyone cracks. Listen, the prophets cracked too. - You don't think Isaiah cracked when he watched innocent children being slaughtered because of the hard-heartedness of Israel? Of course he did! - You don't think Hosea cracked when he got the news that his wife was sleeping with another man? Of course he did! - You don't think Jeremiah cracked while his feet were sinking in the mud? Read Lamentations. That's a poem written by a broken heart. Of course he did! - And here is Job. Cracked! And yet James says, "Consider the prophets. Consider Job." What does that mean? The lesson to learn from the prophets and Job is NOT how NOT to crack. It's what to do when you do. Or even more accurately, the lesson is what God will do for you when you crack. We looked at Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea and asked what do you think motivated them to keep on serving God in their terrible suffering and persecution? What did they do? CAN YOU GUESS WHAT THEY DID? Here's the answer: They did nothing. God did something. In all these cases, what happens is that his beloved children crack and God shows up and puts them back together. And how he shows up to do that is shocking. The Rebuke Since we are in Job, let's just keep going here. In Job chapter 38, near the end, God shows up. Job is not doing well. And God appears in this great storm and whirlwind. Job has been asking the why question for 35+ chapters. And finally God shows up and here's how he answers. There are two things here that are just absolutely astonishing to me. First, God doesn't give Job a reason. He doesn't tell him why? We might have ideas as to what God is up to but he doesn't say one thing about it to Job. Job has been asking for chapters and chapters why, and God says not a thing about it. He gives no explanation. So first, He doesn't tell him why, but secondly, he doesn't give him any comfort. We don't read God saying, "Job, I'm so sorry for your loss. I'm so sorry that you lost your wealth and your children and I see those terrible painful sores. It must have been so terrible to go so long and not understand. I am so, so sorry." We get none of that. The absence of that language is so shocking to me that it almost makes me want to throw away the book. How cold can you be? It's like God just has ice in his veins. Are you kidding? Not only does he not give Job comfort, he goes on the offensive. He goes on the attack. Over and over God says, "Who are you? Who do you think you are?" I mean the language is so harsh, I just shrink back. God says to Job, “Surely, you know Job, Surely, you were there. You're talking like you are so old. You're talking like you are so wise.” So surely, the lightning bolts report to you. They come to you and say, "Here we are. Which way would you like us to go, Job?" They do that for me, so surely they do that for you too, since you seem to have so much knowledge of the way things ought to be? Surely you understand how to make stars. That's easy, right? Like billions of them, right? Surely, since you know so much about how your life should go and how it fits into my great plan of redemption, surely you know about these petty small little details. Right? Oh you don't know? You don't have understanding about these things? Well, then maybe you should trust me. That feels like the opposite of compassion. And we think, God, what are you doing to this broken man? We feel like God is making a mistake here. But let's not commit the same sin that Job just committed telling God how he should instruct his children. God you don't know how to discipline your children. You're too harsh. You haven't read the positive affirmation books at Barnes and Noble. What God says totally works. Look what comes out of Job's mouth. Job stammers out a first response. You know what comes out? Repentance. The great theme of the book of James. Repentance. Job was written NOT to tell you how to NOT crack. It was written to tell you what to do when you do crack. In fact, it was written to crack you and then put you back together. And how does Job help put us back together? Through the beautiful, wonderful work of repentance. What a gift. What a healing balm. To just repent. To just say, "I thought I knew what was best. What a fool, to ever question you. I repent, Lord." Listen to Job's repentance. And you think, man, okay, Job really learned his lesson. Okay God you can be done. Do you know what God says? "I'm not finished. I'll tell you when I'm done." "Job, you think I am unjust? Must I be condemned that you be justified? Is that how this should be? It doesn't make sense to me, so I should be the one who is repenting to you? Does that make sense, Job? Either I am competent to judge God or God is competent to judge me. Which is it? Job, you're suffering is 1000 times worse simply because you assume you can understand all these things. How could that be? Were you there when I invented the molecular structure of the universe? Were you there when I invented snow? Were you there when I laid the foundations of the earth? Were you there when I said to trillions of stars, come forth? Job, you weren't. How could YOU know? Who do you think you are to question me? Either I'm God or you are. Either I'm right or you are. Either I know what's going on or you do. I'm appealing to you. Think. It's not possible, Job, that you are wiser than me. You want justice, Job? You think this is unfair. Try your own hand at justice, Job. Look at every proud man and bring him low. Crush the wicked where they stand. Bury them in the dust, and then I will concede that you are in a position to be the determiner of justice." Now all of this is too much for Job. Think about the phrase, don't obscure my counsel without knowledge. When you throw up complaints against God, you want to know what that does? It obscures God's wisdom. All of a sudden something that should never be questioned, comes into question. It's like a thick fog descends and now all of a sudden that mountain range in the distance is no longer visible. I'm confused which way is north. You know this is no different than Isaiah. What happened to Isaiah? He's brought into the throne room of the Lord of Hosts. And he sees the Lord high and lifted up and the cherubim on the throne screaming Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty. The whole earth is filled with his Glory. And Isaiah smashes his face into the dirt and says, woe is me for I am ruined. I am a man of unclean lips. How dare I ever question the Lord? Who do I think I am? That turbulence inside Isaiah is put to rest when he sees God. The turbulence inside of Job is put to rest when he sees God. The anger goes away. That pride evaporates. They are changed men. They don't have all the answers, but they have what they need to be content. To trust. To not complain or grumble. The thing that so upset me is it seemed like God came and did all the wrong things to Job, and yet, look. Sometimes God asks for trust without a reason. God asks for trust without compassion. Why? Because now the trust is complete. It's the highest form. It's the most complete form of love. Is that hard? Yeah, of course, it's hard. When you have cancer or your spouse just left you or you lost everything, or whatever, we are just bawling our eyes out. We are cracked. We are laying on the ground, cracked in a million pieces. Can you listen to God in that moment? God is no more distant from you than he was from Job. God is no more distant from you than he was from Jesus when he cried out, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" Even Jesus asked the why question. Conclusion Remember, Job and the prophets are not here to tell you how not to crack. They tell you what to do when you do. And what should you do? Run to Christ. That's what Job did. At the very end of the book of Job, God commends Job. He says, "My servant Job did the right thing." Job had some pretty low days. He had some pretty ugly moments. He cursed the day he was born. He accused God of injustice. He ranted and raved. He was filled with self-pity. It was terrible. He cracked. But what did he do right? He repented of thinking he knew better than God. He went looking for the WHY. He never found it. But you want to know what he did find? He found the who. He found the who and that was enough. He was satisfied. He found someone he could trust with the why. Remember the cross. Those in Jesus day said, "THIS MAKES ZERO SENSE." Why God? Why would you allow this? God what are you doing? I'm guessing many lost their faith when they watched Jesus hang on the cross. They said, "How in the world could this be?" And yet God turned that into the greatest act of mercy in the world. Can you trust him with the unknowns in your life knowing he has done that?

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 64 Psalm 64 (Listen) Hide Me from the Wicked To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. 64   Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;    preserve my life from dread of the enemy.2   Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,    from the throng of evildoers,3   who whet their tongues like swords,    who aim bitter words like arrows,4   shooting from ambush at the blameless,    shooting at him suddenly and without fear.5   They hold fast to their evil purpose;    they talk of laying snares secretly,  thinking, “Who can see them?”6     They search out injustice,  saying, “We have accomplished a diligent search.”    For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep. 7   But God shoots his arrow at them;    they are wounded suddenly.8   They are brought to ruin, with their own tongues turned against them;    all who see them will wag their heads.9   Then all mankind fears;    they tell what God has brought about    and ponder what he has done. 10   Let the righteous one rejoice in the LORD    and take refuge in him!  Let all the upright in heart exult! (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Exodus 8:20–9:12 Exodus 8:20–9:12 (Listen) The Fourth Plague: Flies 20 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh, as he goes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. 21 Or else, if you will not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants and your people, and into your houses. And the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand. 22 But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth.1 23 Thus I will put a division2 between my people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall happen.”'” 24 And the LORD did so. There came great swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and into his servants' houses. Throughout all the land of Egypt the land was ruined by the swarms of flies. 25 Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.” 26 But Moses said, “It would not be right to do so, for the offerings we shall sacrifice to the LORD our God are an abomination to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice offerings abominable to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us? 27 We must go three days' journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God as he tells us.” 28 So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you must not go very far away. Plead for me.” 29 Then Moses said, “Behold, I am going out from you and I will plead with the LORD that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, tomorrow. Only let not Pharaoh cheat again by not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD.” 30 So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD. 31 And the LORD did as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained. 32 But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and did not let the people go. The Fifth Plague: Egyptian Livestock Die 9 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. 2 For if you refuse to let them go and still hold them, 3 behold, the hand of the LORD will fall with a very severe plague upon your livestock that are in the field, the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the flocks. 4 But the LORD will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that belongs to the people of Israel shall die.”'” 5 And the LORD set a time, saying, “Tomorrow the LORD will do this thing in the land.” 6 And the next day the LORD did this thing. All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one of the livestock of the people of Israel died. 7 And Pharaoh sent, and behold, not one of the livestock of Israel was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go. The Sixth Plague: Boils 8 And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from the kiln, and let Moses throw them in the air in the sight of Pharaoh. 9 It shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and become boils breaking out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.” 10 So they took soot from the kiln and stood before Pharaoh. And Moses threw it in the air, and it became boils breaking out in sores on man and beast. 11 And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils came upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians. 12 But the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them, as the LORD had spoken to Moses. Footnotes [1] 8:22 Or that I the Lord am in the land [2] 8:23 Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew set redemption (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: 2 Chronicles 36 2 Chronicles 36 (Listen) Judah's Decline 36 The people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah and made him king in his father's place in Jerusalem. 2 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. 3 Then the king of Egypt deposed him in Jerusalem and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent1 of gold. 4 And the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Jehoahaz his brother and carried him to Egypt. 5 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD his God. 6 Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and bound him in chains to take him to Babylon. 7 Nebuchadnezzar also carried part of the vessels of the house of the LORD to Babylon and put them in his palace in Babylon. 8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and the abominations that he did, and what was found against him, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. And Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place. 9 Jehoiachin was eighteen2 years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. 10 In the spring of the year King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylon, with the precious vessels of the house of the LORD, and made his brother Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem. 11 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. 12 He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD his God. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the LORD. 13 He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God. He stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD, the God of Israel. 14 All the officers of the priests and the people likewise were exceedingly unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations. And they polluted the house of the LORD that he had made holy in Jerusalem. 15 The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. 16 But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD rose against his people, until there was no remedy. Jerusalem Captured and Burned 17 Therefore he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or aged. He gave them all into his hand. 18 And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon. 19 And they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem and burned all its palaces with fire and destroyed all its precious vessels. 20 He took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia, 21 to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years. The Proclamation of Cyrus 22 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: 23 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the LORD his God be with him. Let him go up.'” Footnotes [1] 36:3 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms [2] 36:9 Septuagint (compare 2 Kings 24:8); most Hebrew manuscripts eight (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Romans 3:9–20 Romans 3:9–20 (Listen) No One Is Righteous 9 What then? Are we Jews1 any better off?2 No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10 as it is written:   “None is righteous, no, not one;11     no one understands;    no one seeks for God.12   All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;    no one does good,    not even one.”13   “Their throat is an open grave;    they use their tongues to deceive.”  “The venom of asps is under their lips.”14     “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”15   “Their feet are swift to shed blood;16     in their paths are ruin and misery,17   and the way of peace they have not known.”18     “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” 19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For by works of the law no human being3 will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. Footnotes [1] 3:9 Greek Are we [2] 3:9 Or at any disadvantage? [3] 3:20 Greek flesh (ESV)

It's Time to Gather into the Ark It's Time to Gather into the Ark (Part 1) Eve Brast - 06/22/2014 (David's notes in red) Father gave me this dream and also gave a confirmation dream to my son Noah on the same night. I had a dream inside a dream. {Gen.41:32} And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh, it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. In this dream, my son Noah and I were standing in front of a large doorway that looked like a drawbridge for a castle. (Jesus is the doorway into the kingdom of Heaven. {Joh.10:9} I am the door; by me (or through the Word) if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and go out, and shall find pasture. {Jer.30:21} And their prince shall be of themselves, and their ruler shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is he that hath had boldness to approach unto me? saith Jehovah. {Joh.6:44} No man can come to me, except the Father that sent me draw him: and I will raise him up in the last day. (We enter into the ark of safety by abiding in Christ.) The drawbridge was the entrance into a huge ark that had several levels and many rooms or cubicles in it. Noah was standing on my right. (In real life, Noah is 17 years old, which is the number of preservation in time of judgment [like Joseph was when his brothers sold him into bondage]). {Mat.24:37} ... As [were] the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man. This ark had been prepared by God Himself for many, many years. It looked very old and rugged on the outside. (Because it represents abiding in the ancient Word of God, Jesus.) (The works of man had nothing to do with this ark.) {1Ki.6:7} And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready at the quarry; and there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building. {Ecc.1:9} That which hath been is that which shall be; and that which hath been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. I heard the voice of the Lord behind us say, "I want you and Noah to call all the members of your family and tell them it is time to gather into the ark. For in seven days, I will send such a rain as has never been seen before upon men. The time has come when no man can work". (The arm of the flesh won't save during the tribulation.) {Act.3:25} Ye are the sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. (After the seven days of the tribulation, a flood will destroy those who persecuted God's people during the trib.) {Gen.7:4} For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth.... (10) And it came to pass after the seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth. {Joh.9:4} We must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. In this dream, it had not rained in so long that all the people on earth did not even know what rain was anymore. {Hos.5:15} I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me earnestly. {6:3} I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me earnestly. {Jer.5:24} Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear Jehovah our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in its season; that preserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest. So I asked the Lord, "What will be the sign of these things? What sign will You give me? I fear many won't listen to me or believe Your Words. They don't believe in rain anymore". He said, "Tomorrow I will send a rain that they will believe that I sent you and they will believe your words". (Notice the Lord said that He said He would send "a rain" which would cause them to believe the warnings of a coming flood. This first rain will be the outpouring of the Spirit and revival. Those that receive this will believe that the great flood of judgment will come after seven years/days. The Exodus 4 text gives an example of God dealing with His people in this way:) {Exo.4:1-9} Then Moses said, "What if they will not believe me or listen to what I say? For they may say, 'The LORD has not appeared to you'. The LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?" And he said, "A staff". Then He said, "Throw it on the ground". So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. But the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand and grasp it by its tail" - so he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand "that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you". The LORD furthermore said to him, "Now put your hand into your bosom". So he put his hand into his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow. Then He said, "Put your hand into your bosom again". So he put his hand into his bosom again, and when he took it out of his bosom, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh. "If they will not believe you or heed the witness of the first sign, they may believe the witness of the last sign. "But if they will not believe even these two signs or heed what you say, then you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground; and the water which you take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground". (I noticed that the last sign was water poured out on the ground that turned to blood. This is the sign that the unbelieving wicked received in the flood waters of judgment, death.) {8:23} And I will put a division between my people and thy people: by to-morrow shall this sign be. After this, I woke up from the dream inside the dream and found that Noah and I were again standing in front of the drawbridge-like door in front of the ark. I told Noah, "The Lord has commanded us to gather our family members, for the time has come to enter into His ark. (According to type, there were eight saved -- the number of Jesus -- the family of God.) The time has come when no man can work. He is sending a terrible rain upon men, such as has never been seen before". (After the family is gathered into the ark during the trib, the flood will come upon the persecutors of God's people. A lesser flood is about to come upon these people now at the beginning of the trib and a revival will begin.) {Isa.34:8} For Jehovah hath a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion. {9} And the streams of [Edom] shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch. If you would like to understand the relationship of the Day of the Lord to the Tribulation, read Hidden Manna for the End Times.) Noah asked me, "How will they believe us? It hasn't rained for thousands of years". (Meaning the sign that would cause them to believe hasn't happened in about 2000 years. This represents the former rain of the Holy Spirit anointing which fell upon those in the upper room at Pentecost.) I said, "Tomorrow God will send a rain so that they will believe our words". (This rain will begin with the anointing of the first-fruits Man-child.) (The timing of this dream is signified by the word "Tomorrow", meaning this dream's fulfillment will start the day before the outpouring and trib, which is when they began to enter the ark for the seven days.) So we went and called all our family members by just calling out to the world because our family members were all over the world. (The called are among all the peoples of the world.) A small handful of people gathered with us in front of the ark, maybe six or seven. (This could represent the seven others of Noah's family or the seven churches in Revelation.) Each one was of a different nationality. The ones I remember and were focused on were three different young people. The first one was a young African woman about 19 years old, the second was a Middle Eastern girl about 10 and then a young Asian boy about five. (Could this be a sequence of revivals from oldest to youngest?) The African girl was dressed in a sheer, light-colored dress, the Middle Eastern girl was dressed in some type of woven loose robe and she had a turban-like headdress. The Asian boy seemed to be wearing light simple clothing, like a tunic. The others were kind of fuzzy in the background. Our family members then said, "You said the Lord would send us a rain as a sign". I replied, "Yes, the Lord told me, 'Tomorrow I will send a rain so they will believe your words'". Immediately after I spoke, it began to rain upon us (it was a small, short rain); after this, we all entered the ark. (The revival will be just enough to bring the first fruits into the ark.) Once we got inside the ark, it was all see-through. We could see through the floor and the ceilings into all the different levels, and we could see through the walls to the outside, too. (Because the ark is spiritual and not physical.) We could see all the people outside who weren't a part of our family. (The Holy Spirit brings discernment of who is in the Kingdom, regardless of what men claim.) They were angry and unbelieving of the message we had announced while calling out to all our family members, to gather into the ark because God made sure that everybody heard the message. (The angry and critical Edomites, though they are fleshly sons of Abraham, will not be of the chosen seed because they have sold their birthright through a root of bitterness, according to Hebrews 12:14-17) But only our family obeyed and gathered to enter into the ark with us. {1Th.5:9} God appointed us not unto wrath, but unto the obtaining of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. We stood inside the center of the ark watching all the people outside going about their business and murmuring and grumbling. (The murmurers died in the wilderness tribulation and did not enter into the promised land.) They were saying, "What rain? There's no such thing as rain! They're crazy!" {2Th.2:10-12} because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God sendeth them a working of error, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. Apparently, only myself and my family had experienced the rain that the Lord had promised. The other people were shaking their heads and waving us off with their arms. {Luk.10:21} I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise and understanding, and didst reveal them unto babes. We watched as the people outside the ark pushed old, wooden wheelbarrows around that were full of mud bricks and they were dragging around stubborn mules with ropes that were loaded down with heavy burdens of straw. (Like stubborn mules, they served the old man of Egypt, the flesh, and refused the baptism of his death in the Red Sea.) The people were all skinny and covered with dirt and sweat and wearing mud-stained, sleeveless, tattered tunics or just loin cloths. (They are consumed with the works of the flesh.) Their skin was wrinkled and scorched brown from the sun and lack of rain. (Living under the curse, rather than the Holy Spirit.) They looked all dry and shriveled, like people who were dehydrated. (Not filled with life-giving water.) The earth also was dusty and dry. {Isa.24:6} Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are found guilty: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left. During the seven days that we were observing what was going on outside the ark, there was a third group of people who were hazy-looking. It seemed that they alternated between a solid form and a hazy cloudy appearance. (They would fade in and out between faith and double-mindedness.) They would appear clear to me when they had faith and believed our message because they would face the same direction as we were, but then when doubt and unbelief would come, they would turn back toward the door leading back outside and they would fade to a cloudy haze and I couldn't make out the details of their form anymore. (Fading in and out speaks of them being unstable. {Jas.1:6} But let him ask in faith, nothing doubting: for he that doubteth is like the surge of the sea driven by the wind and tossed. {7} For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord; {8} a doubleminded man, unstable in all his ways. These people would come into the ark but then start questioning the rain or doubting their beliefs and they would leave the ark (where the flood of judgment will destroy them). Ultimately, some stayed but others left and were unable to come back in. (Heb.6:4) For as touching those who were once enlightened and tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, (5) and tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come, (6) and [then] fell away, it is impossible to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. (7) For the land which hath drunk the rain (of the Word) that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them for whose sake it is also tilled, receiveth blessing from God: (8) but if it beareth thorns and thistles, it is rejected (Greek: "reprobated") and nigh unto a curse; whose end is to be burned. The young African woman asked me during this time, "Are you sure about this great rain?" And Noah and I both replied, "Yes. Just be patient". And this satisfied her. {Joh.6:39} And this is the will of him that sent me, that of all that which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. (40) For this is the will of my Father, that every one that beholdeth the Son, and believeth on him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. (44) No man can come to me, except the Father that sent me draw him: and I will raise him up in the last day. Then, suddenly, no one could come in or go out anymore. (The Lord had closed the door and those who were in stayed in and those that were outside could not come back. {1Co.9:24} Know ye not that they that run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? Even so run; that ye may attain. {25} And every man that striveth in the games exerciseth self-control in all things. Now they [do it] to receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. {26} I therefore so run, as not uncertainly; so fight I, as not beating the air: {27} but I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected [reprobated]. This all happened behind us because the door was behind us. This could mean that it has already closed for the first fruits since the door was behind us. I only saw and sensed these things in the Spirit and in visions while observing the things that were going on with the slaves outside the walls of the ark in front of us. Noah and I and our family members never looked back.) {Luk.9:62} But Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. Then the sky started to become very dark with rain clouds. Great fear fell on all the slaves outside. They dropped their wheelbarrows and let go of the ropes of their mules and started running around because of the storm clouds that were gathering over their heads. I could hear screams of terror and the cries of the people. Once the clouds reached their darkest point, water poured from the sky in such volume that we had never seen before, so much so that all we could see were sheets of water flowing down the outside walls of the ark. (The water represents the greatest judgment of catastrophes poured out since the flood.) {1Co.15:22} For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. (23) But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits; then they that are Christ's, at his coming. (24) Then [cometh] the end, when he shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power. (25) For he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under his feet. (26) The last enemy that shall be abolished is death. I then had an open vision at this point in the dream, of windy, storm-tossed waters with people drowning and few remaining survivors climbing onto rocks, exhausted by the water, with their forearms up, trying to block the pelting water from their faces. They knew they were all going to die. {Act.3:20} And that he may send the Christ who hath been appointed for you, [even] Jesus: (21) whom the heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all (of God's elect). {Isa.34:8} For the Lord hath a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion. {2Pe.3:10} But the day of the Lord will come as a thief; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up. (The great and terrible day/year of the Lord.) {Isa.63:4} For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. (6) And I trod down the peoples in mine anger, and made them drunk in my wrath, and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth. The end. I was awakened out of this dream (in real life) by my son Noah, who came over to our bedroom and laid down in my husband's spot in our king-sized bed that God recently provided for us to replace our old, queen-sized bed, which we in turn handed down to Elijah and Josiah. (This represents promotion for the first-fruits company.) Noah told me, "Mom, it's raining outside and we won't be able to work at the outdoor flea market today. It's supposed to rain until 1:00". (Father had told me in the dream that "the time has come when no man can work".) I was amazed at this real-life confirmation after my dream. The Lord had told me in the dream that He would send a rain tomorrow so my family members would believe His Word. There was only 10% chance of rain today and it was very unexpected. My son Noah rarely ever comes over to wake me up. (A symbol of the confirmation to come of the outpouring that will convince many of the coming judgment on the wicked.) I later told Noah that I had an awesome dream last night and before I could tell it to him, he said, "Wait! I also had an awesome dream last night!" I said, "Okay, you tell me yours first". (This is only the second time Noah has been given a dream from the Lord, so far.)     Noah's Dream 6/22/14 (Eve's notes in green) I dreamed I was small, about my youngest brother Josiah's age. (8 years. This represents Christ in the Man-child [who is small because this is a small number of people].) I was playing in the woods. {Psa.104:16} The trees of Jehovah are filled with moisture , The cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted; I met a little girl with shoulder-length blonde hair. (The Bride.) We grew up together and then were married. (God raised them up to be the first fruits of His inheritance, His first fruits harvest.) Then I went to visit my real dad, Robert (Man-child caught up to the throne) ("Robert" means "bright shining fame") who had a big beautiful mansion by the beach. {Gen.22:17} that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is upon the seashore. And thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies. My dad told me that he and his wife were moving and that I could have the mansion. (The Bride and Man-child will inherit the Father's mansion prepared for them from the foundation of the world.) In the dream, I was very wealthy because I had received a very large inheritance from somewhere. (Through the faith of the Holy Spirit outpouring: {Mar.11:24} Therefore I say unto you, All things whatsoever [what an inheritance] ye pray and ask for, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.) So I bought the mansion and we moved into it. (The blood of Christ and His atonement for us, as well as abiding in Him makes us entitled to all His benefits [including the life and ministry of Jesus]. This is our wealthy inheritance.) After this, my wife and I adopted two children. (The born-again Jews and the Gentiles who make up the true Church in these days. Also, the two witnesses of the end-time tribulation who are the spiritual children of the Man-child and Bride companies.) Then the scene changed. I was riding my mountain bike down the street where I currently live on Callender Road and I looked back and knew somehow that my mom and stepdad (Representing those caught up in the mother church and false prophet leadership?) had lost their property because they were financially broke and had no money, and the mobile homes weren't there anymore. Then I told them they could all come to live with me in the mansion, if they paid for the water and electricity. Then they moved in with me. (If the apostates repent and wash their minds with the water of the Word, then they can receive the power of Christ to inherit all His promises. Inheriting the promises comes with a price of death to self.) Then the scene changed and I was back in the mansion. My mom's uncle Mark (meaning "war-like") and an old man (the old man of the flesh who is always at war with our spirit man) were sitting in a room next to the dining room. I turned and looked out the window and saw what seemed to be my stepdad down on all fours with his head buried in the sand. (False shepherds who are not truly anointed to lead God's people and are beastly in their nature and blind because their head is buried in the sand. The false shepherds only have eyes of lust for the seed of Abraham, who are not theirs; they are thieves and robbers, as Jesus said.) Then I turned to the old man who had a lottery ticket in his hand. (Those who walk in the flesh are great at taking chances with their lives and others) He scratched it off in front of me but he didn't win. He then explained to me how he had been trying to win the lottery his whole life, but had been unsuccessful. (By their own works they attempt to win the inheritance, but it is reserved for those who have given up their old life.) (Our old man is always trying to illegally possess and inherit the land but praise God he will not win, if we hold fast our confession that it waiver not.) {Gal.5:16-21} But I say, walk by the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are contrary the one to the other; that ye may not do the things that ye would. But if ye are led by the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these : fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, parties, envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of which I forewarn you, even as I did forewarn you, that they who practise such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. End. (I feel this dream confirms the dream that Father gave me above. Our Father will preserve us and cause us to inherit all His blessings [all His promises] for the coming time of tribulation and economic uncertainty.) (Eve received a text we have received many times about the children of Judah and Israel returning to Zion's authority.) {Jer.31} At that time, saith Jehovah, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people. (God will restore all of spiritual Israel to spiritual Judah and together they will serve the Lord.) Thus saith Jehovah, The people that were left of the sword found favor in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest. Jehovah appeared of old unto me,'saying , Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. Again will I build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: again shalt thou be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry. Again shalt thou plant vineyards upon the mountains of Samaria; the planters shall plant, and shall enjoy the fruit thereof. For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the hills of Ephraim (they who had rebelled from the house of David and Zion) shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto Jehovah our God. For thus saith Jehovah, Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout for the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O Jehovah, save thy people, the remnant of Israel. Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the uttermost parts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall they return hither. They shall come with weeping; and with supplications (repentance) will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by rivers of waters, in a straight way wherein they shall not stumble; for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born. (The second born son of the Church which has received what the first born Israel rejected.) Hear the word of Jehovah, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off; and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as shepherd doth his flock. For Jehovah hath ransomed Jacob, and redeemed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he. And they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow unto the goodness of Jehovah, to the grain, and to the new wine, and to the oil, and to the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all. Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old together; for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow. And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith Jehovah. Thus saith Jehovah: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children; she refuseth to be comforted for her children, because they are not. (In Matthew, these children were killed when the Dragon leadership sought to devour the Man-child, Jesus, but failed.) Thus saith Jehovah: Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears; for thy work shall be rewarded, saith Jehovah; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope for thy latter end, saith Jehovah; and thy children shall come again to their own border. I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus, Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a calf unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art Jehovah my God. Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth. Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a darling child? for as often as I speak against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my heart yearneth for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith Jehovah. Set thee up waymarks, make thee guide-posts; set thy heart toward the highway, even the way by which thou wentest: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities. How long wilt thou go hither and thither, O thou backsliding daughter? for Jehovah hath created a new thing in the earth: a woman shall encompass a man. (They will gather around the Man-child ministry of Jesus.) Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Yet again shall they use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity: Jehovah bless thee, O habitation of righteousness, O mountain of holiness. And Judah and all the cities thereof shall dwell therein together, the husbandmen, and they that go about with flocks. For I have satiated the weary soul, and every sorrowful (repented) soul have I replenished. Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me. Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast. (The fallen understanding of men and the Beast.) And it shall come to pass that, like as I have watched over them to pluck up and to break down and to overthrow and to destroy and to afflict, so will I watch over them to build and to plant, saith Jehovah. (The chosen among them will bear fruit.) In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge. But everyone shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge. Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was a husband unto them, saith Jehovah. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith Jehovah: I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people: and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know Jehovah; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith Jehovah: for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more. Thus saith Jehovah, who giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, who stirreth up the sea, so that the waves thereof roar; Jehovah of hosts is his name: If these ordinances depart from before me, saith Jehovah, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. Thus saith Jehovah: If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, then will I also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith Jehovah. Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that the city shall be built to Jehovah from the tower of Hananel unto the gate of the corner. And the measuring line shall go out further straight onward unto the hill Gareb, and shall turn about unto Goah. And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto Jehovah; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more forever. Another text we have received many times emphasizes that it is the chosen who return: {Jer.24:1} Jehovah showed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs set before the temple of Jehovah, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the craftsmen and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon. {2} One basket had very good figs, like the figs that are first-ripe; and the other basket had very bad figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad. {3} Then said Jehovah unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, that cannot be eaten, they are so bad. {4} And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, {5} Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: Like these good figs, so will I regard the captives of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans, for good. {6} For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up. {7} And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am Jehovah: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God; for they shall return unto me with their whole heart. {8} And as the bad figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so bad, surely thus saith Jehovah, So will I give up Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes (the false leadership), and the residue of (apostate) Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt, {9} I will even give them up to be tossed to and fro among all the kingdoms of the earth for evil; to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them. {10} And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers. The Tribulation Is at the Door It's Time to Gather into the Ark (Part 2) Eve Brast - 06/27/2014 (David's notes in red) This dream is a confirmation to the previous dream called It's Time to Gather into the Ark (Part 1). (The command, "It's time to gather into the ark", Eve, a type of the Bride of the last Adam, received as a type of Noah and his family. Notice the command was given at the beginning of the seven days which represent the 70th week of Daniel, the seven years of tribulation. It will take the seven day/years to get everyone into the ark. {Gen.7:1} And Jehovah said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. {2} Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee seven and seven, the male and his female; and of the beasts that are not clean two, the male and his female: {3} of the birds also of the heavens, seven and seven, male and female, to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. {4} For yet seven days [Notice that Noah didn't know when the beginning of the seven days was until the beginning and we will not know the day nor the hour until then], and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living thing that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the ground. [Notice after the seven day/years the flood of wrath came upon the wicked that was far greater than the tribulation.] {5} And Noah did according unto all that Jehovah commanded him.) He also carried over into this dream below the 10-year-old Israeli girl with the turbine headdress that was one of my family members in the ark dream. This connects the two dreams. {Jer.30:1-11} The word that came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying, Thus speaketh Jehovah, the God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book. For, lo, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will turn again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith Jehovah; and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it. And these are the words that Jehovah spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah. For thus saith Jehovah: We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child: wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail (bearing the fruit of "Christ in you the hope of glory"), and all faces are turned into paleness? Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it. (Jacob was Israel and represents the Church in tribulation.) And it shall come to pass in that day, saith Jehovah of hosts, that I will break his (the Beast) yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds; and strangers shall no more make him their bondman (they will no longer be ruled over by apostate leaders); but they shall serve Jehovah their God, and David their king (a reformer ministry is coming, Jesus manifested in the David Man-child ministry), whom I will raise up unto them. Therefore fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith Jehovah; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity (to the beastly world); and Jacob shall return, and shall be quiet and at ease, and none shall make him afraid. For I am with thee, saith Jehovah, to save thee: for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have scattered thee, but I will not make a full end of thee; but I will correct thee in measure, and will in no wise leave thee unpunished. I dreamed that I was standing in the living room of my father's old mobile home where we currently live. (This represents standing in faith in our mobile tabernacle in the wilderness tribulation.) (We will dwell in the temporary mobile temple or tabernacle of this body for seven more days.) {Lev.23:39-44} Howbeit on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruits of the land, ye shall keep the feast of Jehovah seven days: on the first day shall be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day shall be a solemn rest. And ye shall take you on the first day the fruit of goodly trees, branches of palm-trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before Jehovah your God seven days. And ye shall keep it a feast unto Jehovah seven days in the year: it is a statute for ever throughout your generations; ye shall keep it in the seventh month. Ye shall dwell in booths (tabernacles) seven days (the 70th week of Daniel/seven years); all that are home-born in Israel shall dwell in booths; that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt (and into the wilderness tribulation of seven day/years): I am Jehovah your God. And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the set feasts of Jehovah. (On the eighth day they tore down the temporary tabernacle and went to their permanent house or body in Heaven.) I was facing east toward the front room of the mobile home. (This represents having our eyes on the coming of Jesus the Son of God who is the light of the world. Having our eyes continually on His coming in us enables us to come into His likeness so that we can abide in the ark of safety and rest. (The Lord is coming in those who believe the gospel. The epiphaneia comes before the parousia. The first-fruits of which will be the Man-child ministry to lead God's people into the wilderness tribulation. {2Co.3:18} But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit.) {Eze.43:1-9} Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east. And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shined with his glory. And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city; and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face. And the glory of Jehovah came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east. And the Spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of Jehovah filled the house. And I heard one speaking unto me out of the house; and a man stood by me. And he said unto me, Son of man, this is the place of my throne (the sanctified body of Christ and individual believer), and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever. And the house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, and by the dead bodies of their kings in their high places (Denominational idolatry with their perceived founders. They claim Wesley, Moody, Luther, etc.); in their setting of their threshold by my threshold, and their door-post beside my door-post (their religious leaders are not God), and there was but the wall between me and them; and they have defiled my holy name by their abominations which they have committed: wherefore I have consumed them in mine anger. Now let them put away their whoredom, and the dead bodies of their kings, far from me; and I will dwell in the midst of them forever. The sun (representing the Son) was shining through a light-colored thick woven curtain that was hanging from the north-facing living room window to my left. (The sun shines on this curtain in the temporary dwelling place in which we abide.) Suddenly, I was aware of a rumbling sound. (This sounded like an earthquake, not a tornado.) (Just before the tribulation will come a swarm of earthquakes as a sign of the coming of the Lord in His Man-child ministry of Revelation 12. {Rev.8:5} And the angel taketh the censer; and he filled it with the fire of the altar, and cast it upon the earth: and there followed thunders, and voices, and lightnings, and an earthquake. {6} And the seven angels that had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. {7} And the first (trump of tribulation) sounded.. A spiritual worldwide battle against spiritual Jerusalem, as the Dragon sought to devour the Man-child and take the Bride of Jerusalem, will be thwarted. {Isa.29:6} She shall be visited of Jehovah of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire. {7} And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against her and her stronghold, and that distress her, shall be as a dream, a vision of the night. {8} And it shall be as when a hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty (the Dragon failed to devour the Man-child and take the Bride): or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion.) But I also looked in the direction toward that window and saw the shadows of the leaves of a very large tree blowing around in the turbulence of great winds. (Earthquake judgment on America.) I thought in the dream, "Nebuchadnezzar's tree!" (This is the tree in Nebuchadnezzar's dream that Daniel gave the interpretation to. [It represented him and his kingdom of Babylon.]) Then the shadows of the leaves of this tree were replaced by the shadow of a large, very tall, tornado pillar that was right outside the window. (The tribulation is at the door!) I went over and pulled the curtain back and everything outside was gray with storm clouds. The tree had disappeared and this thick, very dark, tornado pillar from the north was spinning in its place right outside the window. (Father is sending judgment to Babylon and it will start very soon. This tornado represents the first year of the tribulation.) {Dan.4:10-18} Thus were the visions of my head upon my bed: I saw, and, behold, a tree in the midst of the earth; and the height thereof was great. The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth. The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was food for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the birds of the heavens dwelt in the branches thereof, and all flesh was fed from it. I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and a holy one came down from heaven. He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off its branches, shake off its leaves, and scatter its fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from its branches. Nevertheless leave the stump of its roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven: and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth: let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him. (A time is a year; hence, seven years of madness for the leader of Babylonish America.) The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones; to the intent that the living may know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the lowest of men. This dream I, king Nebuchadnezzar, have seen; and thou, O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation, forasmuch as all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the interpretation; but thou art able; for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee. (It went on to say that he ate the grass of the field for the seven times which is the flesh of God's people, for Peter said, "All flesh is as grass".) I then hurried to the east-facing window in the forward-most room of the mobile home. I pulled the string to the evergreen-colored blinds that were on the east window. (This room, in real life, is our study and where I listen to the UBM Bible studies. The desk and computer set under this window and also cause me to face east when sitting at the desk. {2Ti.2:15} Study to show yourself approved to God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. {1Th.4:11} and that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your hands, even as we charged you; (We momentarily jump ahead in time to the end of the tribulation.) What is interesting about this window is that my husband, Eddie, boarded over it with a large cork board that he uses to tack up important messages and papers on. (This is as the Eastern Gate of Jerusalem, a type of the Bride, is closed up until the coming of the Messiah after the tribulation.) {Eze.46:1-10} Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days (of man's works); but on the sabbath day (when they enter into rest from their works of flesh) it shall be opened, and on the day of the new moon it shall be opened. And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of the gate without (i.e. the Messiah shall come when they enter the rest by faith in the promises, as in Hebrews 4:3,10), and shall stand by the post of the gate; and the priests shall prepare his burnt-offering and his peace-offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate: then he shall go forth; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening (the end of the seven days/years). And the people of the land shall worship at the door of that gate before Jehovah on the sabbaths and on the new moons. And the burnt-offering that the prince shall offer unto Jehovah shall be on the sabbath day six lambs without blemish and a ram without blemish; and the meal-offering shall be an ephah for the ram, and the meal-offering for the lambs as he is able to give, and a hin of oil to an ephah. And on the day of the new moon it shall be a young bullock without blemish, and six lambs, and a ram; they shall be without blemish: and he shall prepare a meal-offering, an ephah for the bullock, and an ephah for the ram, and for the lambs according as he is able, and a hin of oil to an ephah. (Could this offering of beastly flesh be the Armageddon war?) And when the prince shall enter, he shall go in by the way of the porch of the gate, and he shall go forth by the way thereof. But when the people of the land shall come before Jehovah in the appointed feasts, he that entereth by the way of the north gate to worship shall go forth by the way of the south gate; and he that entereth by the way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate: he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go forth straight before him. (Those who enter will not leave as they came because of the sacrifice of their flesh.) And the prince, when they go in, shall go in the midst of them; and when they go forth, they shall go forth together. (The Bride and Groom will go to the Marriage Supper, which is in the Groom's home after the seven days of the Marriage Feast or tribulation.) As I pulled the string to the evergreen-colored blinds that were on the east window and saw six more very tall tornado pillars, each a little further in the distance than the one before it. (The seven tornados representing the seven years of tribulation.) They were staggered in a zigzag pattern, so that I could see each one clearly. They were very tall and thin-like pillars and reached up into the heavens as far as I could see. {Mat.24:22} ... And unless those days had been shortened, no flesh should be saved: but for the sake of the elect those days shall be shortened.. (For the elect's sake, the ark will lift off but the rest of the world will feel the wrath of God in the year-long Great and Terrible Day of the Lord, which comes after the seven years, "as were the days of Noah". {Isa.34:8} For Jehovah hath a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.) (These tornados represent the other six years in succession of tribulation judgment to follow the first. They will progressively destroy worldwide Babylon.) The desk and computer in the study were transparent in the dream and the cork board was not over the window (The Bride will be able to see into the future, symbolized by the transparency of the physical, to the time of the coming of the Lord.), so I was able to easily go to the window to look out because I could walk right through the desk and computer. {Eze.46:1-10} Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath day it shall be opened, and on the day of the new moon it shall be opened. And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of the gate without, and shall stand by the post of the gate; (Those who study to show themselves approved will have eyes to see and ears to hear and will clearly see what is coming ahead because they partake of the spiritual food which is the word of God.) (Now, "no man knoweth the day or hour" of the coming of the Lord now.. But when the trib starts at the first tornado we will be able to count the days until Jesus' coming, for they are counted in Noah's days and Daniel's days and they are the same number. This can be clearly seen in our book, Hidden Manna for the End Times.) The sky also was filled with very dark storm clouds. The tornado pillars were tearing up a huge metropolis of tall buildings and skyscrapers that our mobile home was floating above. (This represents living above the curse, abiding in heavenly places in the ark of Christ. Also, the towers and skyscrapers represent worldwide Babylon.) I looked down toward the base of all these skyscrapers and saw all the people running around down on the streets of the metropolis in confusion and fear. (Confusion is the meaning of Babylon. God will once again confound the language of the world in order to destroy their one world Babylonish order. Not understanding one another, there will be world war. "The things that have been are the things that shall be".) {Gen.11:1-9} And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. And they said one to another, Come, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. And they said, Come, let us build us a city, and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven, and let us make us a name; lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. And Jehovah came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And Jehovah said, Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is what they begin to do: and now nothing will be withholden from them, which they purpose to do. Come, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So Jehovah scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off building the city. Therefore was the name of it called Babel; because Jehovah did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did Jehovah scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. After I had looked out both these windows, my family members, who were children living in the mobile home with me, were alerted and aware that something bad was happening outside (the ark). "The 10-year old Israeli girl with the turbine headdress" (from my previous dream, It's Time to Gather into the Ark [Part 1]) who had been standing in the living room with me asked, "What's happening?" I said, "Nothing. It has begun. Just pray. I must go pray and intercede". (I said "nothing" because I didn't want to cast down the child's faith and also to encourage her that we were all perfectly safe.) {Heb.10:19-25} Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by the way which he dedicated for us, a new and living way, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having a great priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in fulness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience: and having our body washed with pure water, let us hold fast the confession of our hope that it waver not; for he is faithful that promised: and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works; not forsaking our own assembling together, as the custom of some is, but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as ye see the day drawing nigh. I then went back to the very back room of the mobile home where my son Noah sleeps. (This represents the least who becomes the greatest.) {Eph.3:8} Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach unto the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.... There was nothing in his room except his bed in the middle of the room. (The first fruits have learned to rest and abide in Christ through their own wilderness experience before the tribulation begins.) I saw Noah standing at the head of the bed with a game controller in his hand and he was also facing eastward. (Noah represents the Man-child ministers who will be anointed soon with the latter rain anointing. (To rule in the earth and lead the family into the ark of Jesus, the Word.) They will have control and command, just as Jesus the first Man-child had during his ministry. (And Abraham, Moses, Joseph, Daniel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, etc.) He turned and looked at me and grinned. He seemed totally at peace, relaxed and in control. (It seemed to me in the dream that Noah's controller was directing the tornado pillars. Noah's controller is the power of Christ in him as his head.) {Rev.5:9} And they sing a new song, saying, Worthy art thou to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou was slain, and didst purchase unto God with thy blood [men] of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, {10} and madest them [to be] unto our God a kingdom and priests; and they reign upon earth. Who is learning this "new song" who reigns on the earth? The 144,000 Man-child ministry typed here as Noah in control in the tribulation. {14:1} And I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on the mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty and four thousand, having his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads. (The Greek for "name" means "nature, character and authority". "On their foreheads" means in their renewed minds.) {2} And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and the voice which I heard [was] as [the voice] of harpers harping with their harps: {3} and they sing as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four living creatures and the elders: and no man could learn the song save the hundred and forty and four thousand, [even] they that had been purchased out of the earth.) I went and curled up in a loose fetal position on my right side and began to pray and intercede for all those outside. (God's power is made perfect in weakness and the salvation of Christ is all-encompassing and is able to meet all our needs when we become as a little child.) {2Co.12:9} And he hath said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my power is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. {13:4} for he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth through the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him through the power of God toward you. I had my eyes closed as I was interceding and had a vision of the first tornado (first year of tribulation) as it passed through the living room from north to south. {Jer.4:6} Set up a standard toward Zion: flee for safety, stay not; for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction. But, the tornado became transparent as it touched the mobile home and passed through, causing no damage and without even shaking the mobile home. (The ark of safety, abiding in Jesus, the Word, the secret place of the most High, Psalm 91, preserves the faithful even while it was still on the earth.) I was amazed that I could hear its intensity but could feel none of its physical effects. {Psa.46:5} God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her at the dawn of the morning. (Those who abide in Christ will not be shaken.) End. {Pro.11:4} Riches profit not in the day of wrath (nothing physical can save in tribulation); But righteousness delivereth from death. {5} The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way; But the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness. {6} The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them; But the treacherous shall be taken in their own iniquity. {Rom.2:5} but after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up for thyself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; {6} who will render to every man according to his works: {7} to them that by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and incorruption, eternal life: {8} but unto them that are factious, and obey not the truth, but obey unrighteousness, [shall be] wrath and indignation, {9} tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that worketh evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Greek. This morning when I opened my Bible it opened to Hosea and my eyes fell on chapter 12 :1, as I began to read I heard the Spirit say, "This is for your dream". I am including chapter 11 also. {Hos.11} When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt. The more the prophets called them, the more they went from them: they sacrificed unto the Baalim (another Elohim/Jesus), and burned incense to graven images. Yet I taught Ephraim to walk; I took them on my arms; but they knew not that I healed them. I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love; and I was to them as they that lift up the yoke on their jaws; and I laid food before them. They shall not return into the land of Egypt; but the Assyrian shall be their king, because they refused to return to me. And the sword shall fall upon their cities, and shall consume their bars, and devour them, because of their own counsels. And my people are bent on backsliding from me: though they call them to him that is on high, none at all will exalt him. How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how'shall I cast thee off, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how'shall I set thee as Zeboiim? my heart is turned within me, my compassions are kindled together. I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee; and I will not come in wrath. They shall walk after Jehovah, who will roar like a lion; for he will roar, and the children shall come trembling from the west. They shall come trembling as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria; and I will make them to dwell in their houses, saith Jehovah. Ephraim compasseth me about with falsehood, and the house of Israel with deceit; but Judah yet ruleth with God, and is faithful with the Holy One. {Hos.12} Ephraim (second-born son of Joseph, a type of Jesus) feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind: he continually multiplieth lies and desolation; and they make a covenant with Assyria, and oil is carried into Egypt. Jehovah hath also a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him. In the womb he took his brother by the heel; and in his manhood he had power with God: yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed; he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him at Beth-el, and there he spake with us, even Jehovah, the God of hosts; Jehovah is his memorial name . Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep kindness and justice, and wait for thy God continually. He is a trafficker, the balances of deceit are in his hand: he loveth to oppress. And Ephraim said, Surely I am become rich, I have found me wealth: in all my labors they shall find in me no iniquity that were sin. But I am Jehovah thy God from the land of Egypt; I will yet again make thee to dwell in tents, as in the days of the solemn feast. I have also spoken unto the prophets, and I have multiplied visions; and by the ministry of the prophets have I used similitudes (or parables Ezekiel 17:2). Is Gilead iniquity? they are altogether false; in Gilgal they sacrifice bullocks; yea, their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the field. And Jacob fled into the field of Aram, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep . And by a prophet Jehovah brought Israel up out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved. Ephraim hath provoked to anger most bitterly: therefore shall his blood be left upon him, and his reproach shall his Lord return unto him. {Eze.17:2} Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel....   SERVICES Ubbs Outreach Friday Night Worship CONTACT Share Your Testimony Request Prayer Technical Support Questions   SUPPORT US We are a non-profit organisation based in United States. Our goal is to empower and equip people to discover more about Christianity and point them to a life of happiness, peace and purpose. Donate

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 39 Psalm 39 (Listen) What Is the Measure of My Days? To the choirmaster: to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. 39   I said, “I will guard my ways,    that I may not sin with my tongue;  I will guard my mouth with a muzzle,    so long as the wicked are in my presence.”2   I was mute and silent;    I held my peace to no avail,  and my distress grew worse.3     My heart became hot within me.  As I mused, the fire burned;    then I spoke with my tongue: 4   “O LORD, make me know my end    and what is the measure of my days;    let me know how fleeting I am!5   Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,    and my lifetime is as nothing before you.  Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah6     Surely a man goes about as a shadow!  Surely for nothing1 they are in turmoil;    man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather! 7   “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?    My hope is in you.8   Deliver me from all my transgressions.    Do not make me the scorn of the fool!9   I am mute; I do not open my mouth,    for it is you who have done it.10   Remove your stroke from me;    I am spent by the hostility of your hand.11   When you discipline a man    with rebukes for sin,  you consume like a moth what is dear to him;    surely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah 12   “Hear my prayer, O LORD,    and give ear to my cry;    hold not your peace at my tears!  For I am a sojourner with you,    a guest, like all my fathers.13   Look away from me, that I may smile again,    before I depart and am no more!” Footnotes [1] 39:6 Hebrew Surely as a breath (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Genesis 36 Genesis 36 (Listen) Esau's Descendants 36 These are the generations of Esau (that is, Edom). 2 Esau took his wives from the Canaanites: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter1 of Zibeon the Hivite, 3 and Basemath, Ishmael's daughter, the sister of Nebaioth. 4 And Adah bore to Esau, Eliphaz; Basemath bore Reuel; 5 and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan. 6 Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, his livestock, all his beasts, and all his property that he had acquired in the land of Canaan. He went into a land away from his brother Jacob. 7 For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together. The land of their sojournings could not support them because of their livestock. 8 So Esau settled in the hill country of Seir. (Esau is Edom.) 9 These are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir. 10 These are the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Basemath the wife of Esau. 11 The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. 12 (Timna was a concubine of Eliphaz, Esau's son; she bore Amalek to Eliphaz.) These are the sons of Adah, Esau's wife. 13 These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the sons of Basemath, Esau's wife. 14 These are the sons of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon, Esau's wife: she bore to Esau Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. 15 These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: the chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, 16 Korah, Gatam, and Amalek; these are the chiefs of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Adah. 17 These are the sons of Reuel, Esau's son: the chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah; these are the chiefs of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Basemath, Esau's wife. 18 These are the sons of Oholibamah, Esau's wife: the chiefs Jeush, Jalam, and Korah; these are the chiefs born of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau's wife. 19 These are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these are their chiefs. 20 These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the chiefs of the Horites, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom. 22 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan's sister was Timna. 23 These are the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. 24 These are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah; he is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness, as he pastured the donkeys of Zibeon his father. 25 These are the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah. 26 These are the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. 27 These are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. 28 These are the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran. 29 These are the chiefs of the Horites: the chiefs Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 30 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the chiefs of the Horites, chief by chief in the land of Seir. 31 These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the Israelites. 32 Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom, the name of his city being Dinhabah. 33 Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his place. 34 Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place. 35 Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, reigned in his place, the name of his city being Avith. 36 Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place. 37 Samlah died, and Shaul of Rehoboth on the Euphrates2 reigned in his place. 38 Shaul died, and Baal-hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place. 39 Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his place, the name of his city being Pau; his wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezahab. 40 These are the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their clans and their dwelling places, by their names: the chiefs Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, 41 Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, 42 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 43 Magdiel, and Iram; these are the chiefs of Edom (that is, Esau, the father of Edom), according to their dwelling places in the land of their possession. Footnotes [1] 36:2 Hebrew; Samaritan, Septuagint, Syriac son; also verse 14 [2] 36:37 Hebrew the River (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: 2 Chronicles 13 2 Chronicles 13 (Listen) Abijah Reigns in Judah 13 In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah began to reign over Judah. 2 He reigned for three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Micaiah1 the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. Now there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. 3 Abijah went out to battle, having an army of valiant men of war, 400,000 chosen men. And Jeroboam drew up his line of battle against him with 800,000 chosen mighty warriors. 4 Then Abijah stood up on Mount Zemaraim that is in the hill country of Ephraim and said, “Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel! 5 Ought you not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingship over Israel forever to David and his sons by a covenant of salt? 6 Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and rebelled against his lord, 7 and certain worthless scoundrels2 gathered about him and defied Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and irresolute3 and could not withstand them. 8 “And now you think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David, because you are a great multitude and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made you for gods. 9 Have you not driven out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made priests for yourselves like the peoples of other lands? Whoever comes for ordination4 with a young bull or seven rams becomes a priest of what are not gods. 10 But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him. We have priests ministering to the LORD who are sons of Aaron, and Levites for their service. 11 They offer to the LORD every morning and every evening burnt offerings and incense of sweet spices, set out the showbread on the table of pure gold, and care for the golden lampstand that its lamps may burn every evening. For we keep the charge of the LORD our God, but you have forsaken him. 12 Behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests with their battle trumpets to sound the call to battle against you. O sons of Israel, do not fight against the LORD, the God of your fathers, for you cannot succeed.” 13 Jeroboam had sent an ambush around to come upon them from behind. Thus his troops5 were in front of Judah, and the ambush was behind them. 14 And when Judah looked, behold, the battle was in front of and behind them. And they cried to the LORD, and the priests blew the trumpets. 15 Then the men of Judah raised the battle shout. And when the men of Judah shouted, God defeated Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. 16 The men of Israel fled before Judah, and God gave them into their hand. 17 Abijah and his people struck them with great force, so there fell slain of Israel 500,000 chosen men. 18 Thus the men of Israel were subdued at that time, and the men of Judah prevailed, because they relied on the LORD, the God of their fathers. 19 And Abijah pursued Jeroboam and took cities from him, Bethel with its villages and Jeshanah with its villages and Ephron6 with its villages. 20 Jeroboam did not recover his power in the days of Abijah. And the LORD struck him down, and he died. 21 But Abijah grew mighty. And he took fourteen wives and had twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. 22 The rest of the acts of Abijah, his ways and his sayings, are written in the story of the prophet Iddo. Footnotes [1] 13:2 Spelled Maacah in 1 Kings 15:2 [2] 13:7 Hebrew worthless men, sons of Belial [3] 13:7 Hebrew soft of heart [4] 13:9 Hebrew to fill his hand [5] 13:13 Hebrew they [6] 13:19 Or Ephrain (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Acts 6:8–7:60 Acts 6:8–7:60 (Listen) Stephen Is Seized 8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. 10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. 11 Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12 And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, 13 and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, 14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.” 15 And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel. Stephen's Speech 7 And the high priest said, “Are these things so?” 2 And Stephen said: “Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3 and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.' 4 Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. 5 Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot's length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child. 6 And God spoke to this effect—that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them four hundred years. 7 ‘But I will judge the nation that they serve,' said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.' 8 And he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs. 9 “And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him 10 and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. 11 Now there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food. 12 But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit. 13 And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph's family became known to Pharaoh. 14 And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, seventy-five persons in all. 15 And Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died, he and our fathers, 16 and they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem. 17 “But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt 18 until there arose over Egypt another king who did not know Joseph. 19 He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, so that they would not be kept alive. 20 At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God's sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father's house, 21 and when he was exposed, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. 22 And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds. 23 “When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. 24 And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. 25 He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand. 26 And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?' 27 But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? 28 Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?' 29 At this retort Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons. 30 “Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: 32 ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.' And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. 33 Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.' 35 “This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?'—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years. 37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.' 38 This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. He received living oracles to give to us. 39 Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt, 40 saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.' 41 And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. 42 But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:   “‘Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices,    during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?43   You took up the tent of Moloch    and the star of your god Rephan,    the images that you made to worship;  and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.' 44 “Our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen. 45 Our fathers in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our fathers. So it was until the days of David, 46 who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.1 47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him. 48 Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says, 49   “‘Heaven is my throne,    and the earth is my footstool.  What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord,    or what is the place of my rest?50   Did not my hand make all these things?' 51 “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, 53 you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.” The Stoning of Stephen 54 Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. 55 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together2 at him. 58 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Footnotes [1] 7:46 Some manuscripts for the house of Jacob [2] 7:57 Or rushed with one mind (ESV)

With family: Genesis 34; Mark 5 Genesis 34 (Listen) The Defiling of Dinah 34 Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land. 2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he seized her and lay with her and humiliated her. 3 And his soul was drawn to Dinah the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. 4 So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this girl for my wife.” 5 Now Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah. But his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came. 6 And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. 7 The sons of Jacob had come in from the field as soon as they heard of it, and the men were indignant and very angry, because he had done an outrageous thing in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter, for such a thing must not be done. 8 But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your1 daughter. Please give her to him to be his wife. 9 Make marriages with us. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. 10 You shall dwell with us, and the land shall be open to you. Dwell and trade in it, and get property in it.” 11 Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give. 12 Ask me for as great a bride-price2 and gift as you will, and I will give whatever you say to me. Only give me the young woman to be my wife.” 13 The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah. 14 They said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us. 15 Only on this condition will we agree with you—that you will become as we are by every male among you being circumcised. 16 Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to ourselves, and we will dwell with you and become one people. 17 But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter, and we will be gone.” 18 Their words pleased Hamor and Hamor's son Shechem. 19 And the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob's daughter. Now he was the most honored of all his father's house. 20 So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, 21 “These men are at peace with us; let them dwell in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters as wives, and let us give them our daughters. 22 Only on this condition will the men agree to dwell with us to become one people—when every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. 23 Will not their livestock, their property and all their beasts be ours? Only let us agree with them, and they will dwell with us.” 24 And all who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city. 25 On the third day, when they were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords and came against the city while it felt secure and killed all the males. 26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem's house and went away. 27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister. 28 They took their flocks and their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field. 29 All their wealth, all their little ones and their wives, all that was in the houses, they captured and plundered. 30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me stink to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites. My numbers are few, and if they gather themselves against me and attack me, I shall be destroyed, both I and my household.” 31 But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?” Footnotes [1] 34:8 The Hebrew for your is plural here [2] 34:12 Or engagement present (ESV) Mark 5 (Listen) Jesus Heals a Man with a Demon 5 They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes.1 2 And when Jesus2 had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. 3 He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, 4 for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. 6 And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. 7 And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” 8 For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” 10 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 11 Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, 12 and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.” 13 So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea. 14 The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. 15 And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed3 man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 16 And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. 17 And they began to beg Jesus4 to depart from their region. 18 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. 19 And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled. Jesus Heals a Woman and Jairus's Daughter 21 And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea. 22 Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet 23 and implored him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” 24 And he went with him. And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. 25 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, 26 and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. 27 She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. 28 For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” 29 And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30 And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” 31 And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?'” 32 And he looked around to see who had done it. 33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. 34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” 35 While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler's house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” 36 But overhearing5 what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” 37 And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. 38 They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus6 saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.” 40 And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. 41 Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” 42 And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. 43 And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat. Footnotes [1] 5:1 Some manuscripts Gergesenes; some Gadarenes [2] 5:2 Greek he; also verse 9 [3] 5:15 Greek daimonizomai (demonized); also verses 16, 18; elsewhere rendered oppressed by demons [4] 5:17 Greek him [5] 5:36 Or ignoring; some manuscripts hearing [6] 5:38 Greek he (ESV) In private: Job 1; Romans 5 Job 1 (Listen) Job's Character and Wealth 1 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. 2 There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. 3 He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. 4 His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed1 God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually. Satan Allowed to Test Job 6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan2 also came among them. 7 The LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 8 And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” 9 Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? 10 Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” 12 And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. Satan Takes Job's Property and Children 13 Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, 14 and there came a messenger to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, 15 and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants3 with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 16 While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 17 While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The Chaldeans formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 18 While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, 19 and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. 21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” 22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong. Footnotes [1] 1:5 The Hebrew word bless is used euphemistically for curse in 1:5, 11; 2:5, 9 [2] 1:6 Hebrew the Accuser or the Adversary; so throughout chapters 1–2 [3] 1:15 Hebrew the young men; also verses 16, 17 (ESV) Romans 5 (Listen) Peace with God Through Faith 5 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we1 have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith2 into this grace in which we stand, and we3 rejoice4 in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. 6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Death in Adam, Life in Christ 12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men5 because all sinned—13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. 15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. 16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. 17 For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. 18 Therefore, as one trespass6 led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness7 leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Footnotes [1] 5:1 Some manuscripts let us [2] 5:2 Some manuscripts omit by faith [3] 5:2 Or let us; also verse 3 [4] 5:2 Or boast; also verses 3, 11 [5] 5:12 The Greek word anthropoi refers here to both men and women; also twice in verse 18 [6] 5:18 Or the trespass of one [7] 5:18 Or the act of righteousness of one (ESV)

Why did the people who wrote in Greek, Latin, Arabic, Hebrew, or Aramaic in antiquity never find cause to write about the Sumerian Anunnaki gods as such? Gilgamesh was mentioned early on, the pre-flood Sumerian kings also, but not the Anunnaki, a name that was first offered up by academia and later made famous by Zechariah Sitchin. Why were the Anunnaki ignored by all until the rediscovery of the earliest written language, that of Mesopotamia, in the 19th century?In 1970, a reputed philologist, John Marco Allegro, made two highly unorthodox and controversial claims in his book, THE SACRED MUSHROOM AND THE CROSS. He asserted that the name of Jesus was taken from that of a mushroom with mind-altering properties, and that Sumerian was not only the source of the biblical name but more generally provided the missing link between later languages.Along with the academic translations, Sitchin and Allegro are the two main sources of all our Sumerian food for thought - until now. What might a fresh perspective on the Sumerian language tell us about the Anunnaki and those names that have come down to us through the myths of Ancient Greece and Egypt, the biblical texts or the history books? About Atlantis, about the Gnostics and the Pagans, Moses, Osiris, Jesus, Odysseus, Jonah and the Whale, Mesopotamia and Tammuz to name just a few?LOST STONES OF THE ANUNNAKI brings back to life the important words and meanings that have been glossed over, missed or misinterpreted in modern times. Following on from the retranslation of the earliest literary text dated to ca.2600 BC, known as THE INSTRUCTIONS OF SHURUPPAK and renamed THE STORY OF SUKURRU to better fit the narrative discovered there, this book makes use of lines from that text but also other referenced Sumerian writings.It peels back the layers from assumptions and falsehoods made in both ancient and modern times concerning the origins of certain important names - the Sabians, the Chaldeans, Harran, Abraham - and looks for the truth in far older documents.It digs into messages hidden in the many riddles found on tablets from the Old Babylonian period of ca.1900-1600 BC.It looks into the meanings behind the multi-syllabic names on the antediluvian SUMERIAN KING LIST, casts an inquisitive eye over an ancient name of the Great Sphinx at Giza in Egypt, and asks a few pertinent questions of the Gobekli Tepe stones in the original language of that place.Based in orthodox lexicons studied through a monosyllabic lens where every word retains its inherent meaning, the book is entirely grounded in evidence; no unsubstantiated conjecture about our past proclaimed as truth, no self-serving, superficial interpretations of someone else's words, and most of all no insults to the Sumerian authors. LOST STONES OF THE ANUNNAKI pays homage to the intelligence of the original scribes. It was time. The evidence for Sumerian being suffused with subjects of great profundity and of relevance to later civilisations is overwhelming. To those who are interested in moving forward and getting to the truth, whatever it might be: Hold on to your hats.About Madeleine DainesAfter completing studies in both art history and linguistics and a career involving translating, Madeleine chose to investigate the Sumerian language from an innovative angle, with an emphasis on the earliest pre-cuneiform pictographic forms. What she discovered in that process led her to question and finally to refute the orthodox translation of an important literary text from the 3rd millennium BC.

3 Epiphany First Psalm: Psalm 45 Psalm 45 (Listen) Your Throne, O God, Is Forever To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Maskil1 of the Sons of Korah; a love song. 45   My heart overflows with a pleasing theme;    I address my verses to the king;    my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe. 2   You are the most handsome of the sons of men;    grace is poured upon your lips;    therefore God has blessed you forever.3   Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one,    in your splendor and majesty! 4   In your majesty ride out victoriously    for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness;    let your right hand teach you awesome deeds!5   Your arrows are sharp    in the heart of the king's enemies;    the peoples fall under you. 6   Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.    The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;7     you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.  Therefore God, your God, has anointed you    with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;8     your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia.  From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad;9     daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor;    at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir. 10   Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear:    forget your people and your father's house,11     and the king will desire your beauty.  Since he is your lord, bow to him.12     The people2 of Tyre will seek your favor with gifts,    the richest of the people.3 13   All glorious is the princess in her chamber, with robes interwoven with gold.14     In many-colored robes she is led to the king,    with her virgin companions following behind her.15   With joy and gladness they are led along    as they enter the palace of the king. 16   In place of your fathers shall be your sons;    you will make them princes in all the earth.17   I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations;    therefore nations will praise you forever and ever. Footnotes [1] 45:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term [2] 45:12 Hebrew daughter [3] 45:12 Or The daughter of Tyre is here with gifts, the richest of people seek your favor (ESV) Second Psalm: Psalms 47–48 Psalms 47–48 (Listen) God Is King over All the Earth To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. 47   Clap your hands, all peoples!    Shout to God with loud songs of joy!2   For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared,    a great king over all the earth.3   He subdued peoples under us,    and nations under our feet.4   He chose our heritage for us,    the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah 5   God has gone up with a shout,    the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.6   Sing praises to God, sing praises!    Sing praises to our King, sing praises!7   For God is the King of all the earth;    sing praises with a psalm!1 8   God reigns over the nations;    God sits on his holy throne.9   The princes of the peoples gather    as the people of the God of Abraham.  For the shields of the earth belong to God;    he is highly exalted! Zion, the City of Our God A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. 48   Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised    in the city of our God!  His holy mountain, 2 beautiful in elevation,    is the joy of all the earth,  Mount Zion, in the far north,    the city of the great King.3   Within her citadels God    has made himself known as a fortress. 4   For behold, the kings assembled;    they came on together.5   As soon as they saw it, they were astounded;    they were in panic; they took to flight.6   Trembling took hold of them there,    anguish as of a woman in labor.7   By the east wind you shattered    the ships of Tarshish.8   As we have heard, so have we seen    in the city of the LORD of hosts,  in the city of our God,    which God will establish forever. Selah 9   We have thought on your steadfast love, O God,    in the midst of your temple.10   As your name, O God,    so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth.  Your right hand is filled with righteousness.11     Let Mount Zion be glad!  Let the daughters of Judah rejoice    because of your judgments! 12   Walk about Zion, go around her,    number her towers,13   consider well her ramparts,    go through her citadels,  that you may tell the next generation14     that this is God,  our God forever and ever.    He will guide us forever.2 Footnotes [1] 47:7 Hebrew maskil [2] 48:14 Septuagint; another reading is (compare Jerome, Syriac) He will guide us beyond death (ESV) Old Testament: Isaiah 48:12–21 Isaiah 48:12–21 (Listen) The Lord's Call to Israel 12   “Listen to me, O Jacob,    and Israel, whom I called!  I am he; I am the first,    and I am the last.13   My hand laid the foundation of the earth,    and my right hand spread out the heavens;  when I call to them,    they stand forth together. 14   “Assemble, all of you, and listen!    Who among them has declared these things?  The LORD loves him;    he shall perform his purpose on Babylon,    and his arm shall be against the Chaldeans.15   I, even I, have spoken and called him;    I have brought him, and he will prosper in his way.16   Draw near to me, hear this:    from the beginning I have not spoken in secret,    from the time it came to be I have been there.”  And now the Lord GOD has sent me, and his Spirit. 17   Thus says the LORD,    your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:  “I am the LORD your God,    who teaches you to profit,    who leads you in the way you should go.18   Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments!    Then your peace would have been like a river,    and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;19   your offspring would have been like the sand,    and your descendants like its grains;  their name would never be cut off    or destroyed from before me.” 20   Go out from Babylon, flee from Chaldea,    declare this with a shout of joy, proclaim it,  send it out to the end of the earth;    say, “The LORD has redeemed his servant Jacob!”21   They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts;    he made water flow for them from the rock;    he split the rock and the water gushed out. (ESV) New Testament: Galatians 1:18–2:10 Galatians 1:18–2:10 (Listen) 18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. 19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord's brother. 20 (In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!) 21 Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they glorified God because of me. Paul Accepted by the Apostles 2 Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. 2 I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those who seemed influential) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain. 3 But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. 4 Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery—5 to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. 6 And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me. 7 On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised 8 (for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), 9 and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do. (ESV) Gospel: Mark 6:1–13 Mark 6:1–13 (Listen) Jesus Rejected at Nazareth 6 He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. 2 And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. 4 And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” 5 And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went about among the villages teaching. Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles 7 And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts—9 but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics.1 10 And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. 11 And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” 12 So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them. Footnotes [1] 6:9 Greek chiton, a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin (ESV)

3 Epiphany First Psalm: Psalm 63; Psalm 98 Psalm 63 (Listen) My Soul Thirsts for You A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. 63   O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;    my soul thirsts for you;  my flesh faints for you,    as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.2   So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,    beholding your power and glory.3   Because your steadfast love is better than life,    my lips will praise you.4   So I will bless you as long as I live;    in your name I will lift up my hands. 5   My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,    and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,6   when I remember you upon my bed,    and meditate on you in the watches of the night;7   for you have been my help,    and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.8   My soul clings to you;    your right hand upholds me. 9   But those who seek to destroy my life    shall go down into the depths of the earth;10   they shall be given over to the power of the sword;    they shall be a portion for jackals.11   But the king shall rejoice in God;    all who swear by him shall exult,    for the mouths of liars will be stopped. (ESV) Psalm 98 (Listen) Make a Joyful Noise to the Lord A Psalm. 98   Oh sing to the LORD a new song,    for he has done marvelous things!  His right hand and his holy arm    have worked salvation for him.2   The LORD has made known his salvation;    he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.3   He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness    to the house of Israel.  All the ends of the earth have seen    the salvation of our God. 4   Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth;    break forth into joyous song and sing praises!5   Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre,    with the lyre and the sound of melody!6   With trumpets and the sound of the horn    make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD! 7   Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;    the world and those who dwell in it!8   Let the rivers clap their hands;    let the hills sing for joy together9   before the LORD, for he comes    to judge the earth.  He will judge the world with righteousness,    and the peoples with equity. (ESV) Second Psalm: Psalm 103 Psalm 103 (Listen) Bless the Lord, O My Soul Of David. 103   Bless the LORD, O my soul,    and all that is within me,    bless his holy name!2   Bless the LORD, O my soul,    and forget not all his benefits,3   who forgives all your iniquity,    who heals all your diseases,4   who redeems your life from the pit,    who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,5   who satisfies you with good    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. 6   The LORD works righteousness    and justice for all who are oppressed.7   He made known his ways to Moses,    his acts to the people of Israel.8   The LORD is merciful and gracious,    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.9   He will not always chide,    nor will he keep his anger forever.10   He does not deal with us according to our sins,    nor repay us according to our iniquities.11   For as high as the heavens are above the earth,    so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;12   as far as the east is from the west,    so far does he remove our transgressions from us.13   As a father shows compassion to his children,    so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.14   For he knows our frame;1    he remembers that we are dust. 15   As for man, his days are like grass;    he flourishes like a flower of the field;16   for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,    and its place knows it no more.17   But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,    and his righteousness to children's children,18   to those who keep his covenant    and remember to do his commandments.19   The LORD has established his throne in the heavens,    and his kingdom rules over all. 20   Bless the LORD, O you his angels,    you mighty ones who do his word,    obeying the voice of his word!21   Bless the LORD, all his hosts,    his ministers, who do his will!22   Bless the LORD, all his works,    in all places of his dominion.  Bless the LORD, O my soul! Footnotes [1] 103:14 Or knows how we are formed (ESV) Old Testament: Isaiah 47 Isaiah 47 (Listen) The Humiliation of Babylon 47   Come down and sit in the dust,    O virgin daughter of Babylon;  sit on the ground without a throne,    O daughter of the Chaldeans!  For you shall no more be called    tender and delicate.2   Take the millstones and grind flour,    put off your veil,  strip off your robe, uncover your legs,    pass through the rivers.3   Your nakedness shall be uncovered,    and your disgrace shall be seen.  I will take vengeance,    and I will spare no one.4   Our Redeemer—the LORD of hosts is his name—    is the Holy One of Israel. 5   Sit in silence, and go into darkness,    O daughter of the Chaldeans;  for you shall no more be called    the mistress of kingdoms.6   I was angry with my people;    I profaned my heritage;  I gave them into your hand;    you showed them no mercy;  on the aged you made your yoke exceedingly heavy.7   You said, “I shall be mistress forever,”    so that you did not lay these things to heart    or remember their end. 8   Now therefore hear this, you lover of pleasures,    who sit securely,  who say in your heart,    “I am, and there is no one besides me;  I shall not sit as a widow    or know the loss of children”:9   These two things shall come to you    in a moment, in one day;  the loss of children and widowhood    shall come upon you in full measure,  in spite of your many sorceries    and the great power of your enchantments. 10   You felt secure in your wickedness;    you said, “No one sees me”;  your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray,  and you said in your heart,    “I am, and there is no one besides me.”11   But evil shall come upon you,    which you will not know how to charm away;  disaster shall fall upon you,    for which you will not be able to atone;  and ruin shall come upon you suddenly,    of which you know nothing. 12   Stand fast in your enchantments    and your many sorceries,    with which you have labored from your youth;  perhaps you may be able to succeed;    perhaps you may inspire terror.13   You are wearied with your many counsels;    let them stand forth and save you,  those who divide the heavens,    who gaze at the stars,  who at the new moons make known    what shall come upon you. 14   Behold, they are like stubble;    the fire consumes them;  they cannot deliver themselves    from the power of the flame.  No coal for warming oneself is this,    no fire to sit before!15   Such to you are those with whom you have labored,    who have done business with you from your youth;  they wander about, each in his own direction;    there is no one to save you. (ESV) New Testament: Hebrews 10:19–31 Hebrews 10:19–31 (Listen) The Full Assurance of Faith 19 Therefore, brothers,1 since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. 26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Footnotes [1] 10:19 Or brothers and sisters (ESV) Gospel: John 5:2–18 John 5:2–18 (Listen) 2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic1 called Bethesda,2 which has five roofed colonnades. 3 In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed.3 5 One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” 9 And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath. 10 So the Jews4 said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” 11 But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.'” 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk'?” 13 Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. 14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” 15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. 16 And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” Jesus Is Equal with God 18 This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. Footnotes [1] 5:2 Or Hebrew [2] 5:2 Some manuscripts Bethsaida [3] 5:3 Some manuscripts insert, wholly or in part, waiting for the moving of the water; 4for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool, and stirred the water: whoever stepped in first after the stirring of the water was healed of whatever disease he had [4] 5:10 The Greek word Ioudaioi refers specifically here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, who opposed Jesus in that time; also verses 15, 16, 18 (ESV)

“For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwelling places that are not theirs.” Habakkuk 1:6 When did God call the clod busters on YOU?

Saturday, 21 January 2023   “Behold, you despisers, Marvel and perish! For I work a work in your days, A work which you will by no means believe, Though one were to declare it to you.” Acts 13:41   After giving his gospel presentation, Paul next provided words of warning to his hearers, saying, “Beware therefore, lest what has been spoken in the prophets come upon you.” With that, he now cites the substance of Habakkuk 1:5. His words follow that of the Greek translation. The Hebrew of this verse says –   “Look among the nations and watch— Be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days Which you would not believe, though it were told you.”   With that noted, the words of Paul as recorded by Luke begin with, “Behold, you despisers.” Of this, Barnes notes –   “The change from this expression to "ye despisers" was made by the Septuagint translators by a very slight alteration in the Hebrew word - probably from a variation in the copy which they used. It arose from reading בּוגדים bowgadiym instead of בגּוים bagowyim. The Syriac, the Arabic, as well as the Septuagint, follow this reading.”   Paul, using this commonly accepted translation now equates the words of Habakkuk concerning Israel's mindset at the time of the Babylonian invasion to that of the coming of Christ. The Lord told Israel that the Chaldeans would come upon Israel and prevail, but Habakkuk prophesied that they would never believe it. The Lord elsewhere in Scripture also prophesied of the coming of Christ. But in His coming, it was known the same disbelieving attitude would prevail. Paul is warning his hearers not to let that happen to them as well.   Next, he says, “Marvel and perish!” Rather, the Greek text reads, “And marvel, and perish.” The first word is common and signifies to wonder at, marvel, be amazed, etc. It has already been used four times in Acts at various key points. The second word, here translated as “perish,” signifies to vanish or be removed from sight. The sense is that in their disbelief, calamity would come upon them which would catch them completely off guard and result in their being reduced to nothing.   The Lord had told them in advance what was coming in the arrival of the Messiah. The prophecies were so exacting that all they needed to do was pay attention and accept what He told them at face value. But they wanted something different than what Jesus came to do. The result of their rejection of him would be like that of the destruction of Israel by the Chaldeans. That is understood from the substance of the next clauses. And so, Paul continues with, “For I work a work in your days.”   Israel, even to this modern day, fails to understand that their state in the world is completely directed by the hand of the Lord. A single read through the book of Jeremiah reveals this time and again. They are given the word of the Lord and they simply ignore it. And then, when the prophecies of destruction come about, they stand there gawking in amazement as if it was the most incredible thing they could imagine.   Israel during the Babylonian exile acted as if the exile was some type of accident that would be quickly corrected, but the Lord told them that it was His plan and to settle down and build houses where they were. They could not imagine that their situation was a result of their actions. But the Lord's guiding hand was over them and they remained in exile for the exact period that He spoke out to them. After that time, they were allowed to return according to the Lord's word working through king Cyrus.   Paul knew that the substance of the situation was so much the same as at the time of these prophets that he was able to cite Habakkuk as if it was written specifically for his time frame and the current state of Israel. As such, Habakkuk's warning to the people is now Paul's warning to them. It is, “A work which you will by no means believe.”   In failing to come to Jesus, it demonstrates a failure to believe in the word of the Lord. But that same word of the Lord promised the destruction of the temple, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the exile of the people from the land of Israel. It was prophesied in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, it was prophesied by Jesus in the synoptic gospels, such as in Luke 21:20-24, and now it is implicitly prophesied by Paul. And yet, even though such prophesies were made, when the events occurred, the people of Israel would not believe that it was the Lord who had done it. That is seen in the next words, “Though one were to declare it to you.”   The word translated as “declare” is first seen here. It will only be seen again in Acts 15:3. It means more than to simply declare but to declare completely. It is the clearest and most complete declaration that can be made. In other words, even if the most exacting details were put forth for the ears of Israel, they would not believe it. And this is just what happened. It had been declared to them and yet in its coming about, they stared at their situation and wondered what could possibly have caused it. At the same time, they completely rejected any notion that it was somehow their own fault.   This may sound incredible, but it is exactly what has taken place for the past two thousand years. Ask a Jew why they are not in their homeland and why they have been hated and persecuted and they will give one of a billion reasons for it. They may even, at times, say, “The Lord was angry with us for XX reason.” But they will never say, “It is because we rejected the Messiah, Jesus, at His coming. It is our fault and we have gotten exactly what we deserve.”   Only with the modern “Jews for Jesus” and other messianic movements have some of them started to come to Jesus and acknowledge that their woes have been self-inflicted wounds. The words of Paul firmly describe the situation that would come upon Israel, and Israel has exactingly fulfilled these words of the Lord as spoken out by Paul.   Life application: As noted above, on rare occasions Jews may say, “The Lord was angry with us and so we have been exiled and punished.” When this is admitted, the reason is not, “It is because we rejected Jesus our Messiah.” Rather, they will say something like, “It is because we did not properly observe the Sabbath,” or “It is because we did not faithfully perform the works of the Torah.”   In fact, one Jew in the recent past claimed that if every Jew on earth would properly perform the Sabbath observance, Messiah would come and would restore Israel to all its glory. In other words, anytime the Jewish people admit that their situation is their fault, they also claim that the resolution to their situation is up to them through their personal deeds. It is a self-based righteousness that they believe will heal them.   This then comes to the core of Paul's words throughout His epistles. Time and again, Paul warned against the doctrine of the Judaizers. In fact, the book of Galatians is almost entirely focused on this one issue. These people had come to Galatia and had introduced a false gospel, that of adherence to the law for righteousness. Why would they do this?   The reason is exactly what Paul is saying right now in Acts 13. They had rejected the Messiah and His full, finished, and forever work. They sought to obtain a righteousness of their own, apart from His work. Paul's citation of the prophetic words of Habakkuk wasn't just fulfilled in the destruction of the temple and the exile of the people. It was being fulfilled with each rejection of his words to the Jews and with each attempt of the Judaizers to subvert the gospel from within.   And it has continued to be the case both among Israel and within the church ever since. Anytime someone follows a path of attempting to merit righteousness before God by his own efforts instead of complete and total trust in the merits of Christ alone, they are a part of Paul's prophetic words. Be on guard! Watch out for those who would pull you away from the purity of the gospel. Read it again and see where you are included in the equation –   “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.” 1 Corinthians 15:3, 4   Where is your work included in this? Where are your deeds included in this? What boasting do you have in this? Rather, Paul says when speaking of this gospel message, “Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.” Oh! There you are! There is your part! As it says, “and so, you believed” (1 Corinthians 15:11). That is what God expects of you. He has done the work through Christ Jesus. For confirmation of that, take the time to go and read John 6:29. Believe and be saved. Anything else will only lead to a sad end.   Lord God, how grateful we are to know that You have done everything necessary for us to be restored to You. We are not included in what was needed to be done in order for us to be saved. That has been accomplished by Jesus. Now, we just need to believe this simple truth. Christ has done it all! He alone has secured salvation for His people. And we are His people if we simply believe. Thank You, O God, for the simplicity of the gospel. Amen.  

With family: Genesis 20; Matthew 19 Genesis 20 (Listen) Abraham and Abimelech 20 From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar. 2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife.” 4 Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, “Lord, will you kill an innocent people? 5 Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister'? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.' In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” 6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. 7 Now then, return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.” 8 So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all these things. And the men were very much afraid. 9 Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.” 10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you see, that you did this thing?” 11 Abraham said, “I did it because I thought, ‘There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.' 12 Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. 13 And when God caused me to wander from my father's house, I said to her, ‘This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, say of me, “He is my brother.”'” 14 Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelech said, “Behold, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” 16 To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all1 who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated.” 17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children. 18 For the LORD had closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham's wife. Footnotes [1] 20:16 Hebrew It is a covering of eyes for all (ESV) Matthew 19 (Listen) Teaching About Divorce 19 Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. 3 And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?” 4 He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” 7 They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” 8 He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”1 10 The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” 11 But he said to them, “Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. 12 For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.” Let the Children Come to Me 13 Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, 14 but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” 15 And he laid his hands on them and went away. The Rich Young Man 16 And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” 17 And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 23 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 27 Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world,2 when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold3 and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first. Footnotes [1] 19:9 Some manuscripts add and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery; other manuscripts except for sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery [2] 19:28 Greek in the regeneration [3] 19:29 Some manuscripts manifold (ESV) In private: Nehemiah 9; Acts 19 Nehemiah 9 (Listen) The People of Israel Confess Their Sin 9 Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, and with earth on their heads. 2 And the Israelites1 separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. 3 And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for a quarter of the day; for another quarter of it they made confession and worshiped the LORD their God. 4 On the stairs of the Levites stood Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani; and they cried with a loud voice to the LORD their God. 5 Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, “Stand up and bless the LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. 2 6 “You are the LORD, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you. 7 You are the LORD, the God who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham. 8 You found his heart faithful before you, and made with him the covenant to give to his offspring the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite. And you have kept your promise, for you are righteous. 9 “And you saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and heard their cry at the Red Sea, 10 and performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people of his land, for you knew that they acted arrogantly against our fathers. And you made a name for yourself, as it is to this day. 11 And you divided the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on dry land, and you cast their pursuers into the depths, as a stone into mighty waters. 12 By a pillar of cloud you led them in the day, and by a pillar of fire in the night to light for them the way in which they should go. 13 You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven and gave them right rules and true laws, good statutes and commandments, 14 and you made known to them your holy Sabbath and commanded them commandments and statutes and a law by Moses your servant. 15 You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger and brought water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and you told them to go in to possess the land that you had sworn to give them. 16 “But they and our fathers acted presumptuously and stiffened their neck and did not obey your commandments. 17 They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt.3 But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them. 18 Even when they had made for themselves a golden4 calf and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,' and had committed great blasphemies, 19 you in your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud to lead them in the way did not depart from them by day, nor the pillar of fire by night to light for them the way by which they should go. 20 You gave your good Spirit to instruct them and did not withhold your manna from their mouth and gave them water for their thirst. 21 Forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell. 22 “And you gave them kingdoms and peoples and allotted to them every corner. So they took possession of the land of Sihon king of Heshbon and the land of Og king of Bashan. 23 You multiplied their children as the stars of heaven, and you brought them into the land that you had told their fathers to enter and possess. 24 So the descendants went in and possessed the land, and you subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hand, with their kings and the peoples of the land, that they might do with them as they would. 25 And they captured fortified cities and a rich land, and took possession of houses full of all good things, cisterns already hewn, vineyards, olive orchards and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled and became fat and delighted themselves in your great goodness. 26 “Nevertheless, they were disobedient and rebelled against you and cast your law behind their back and killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you, and they committed great blasphemies. 27 Therefore you gave them into the hand of their enemies, who made them suffer. And in the time of their suffering they cried out to you and you heard them from heaven, and according to your great mercies you gave them saviors who saved them from the hand of their enemies. 28 But after they had rest they did evil again before you, and you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies, so that they had dominion over them. Yet when they turned and cried to you, you heard from heaven, and many times you delivered them according to your mercies. 29 And you warned them in order to turn them back to your law. Yet they acted presumptuously and did not obey your commandments, but sinned against your rules, which if a person does them, he shall live by them, and they turned a stubborn shoulder and stiffened their neck and would not obey. 30 Many years you bore with them and warned them by your Spirit through your prophets. Yet they would not give ear. Therefore you gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands. 31 Nevertheless, in your great mercies you did not make an end of them or forsake them, for you are a gracious and merciful God. 32 “Now, therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love, let not all the hardship seem little to you that has come upon us, upon our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and all your people, since the time of the kings of Assyria until this day. 33 Yet you have been righteous in all that has come upon us, for you have dealt faithfully and we have acted wickedly. 34 Our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers have not kept your law or paid attention to your commandments and your warnings that you gave them. 35 Even in their own kingdom, and amid your great goodness that you gave them, and in the large and rich land that you set before them, they did not serve you or turn from their wicked works. 36 Behold, we are slaves this day; in the land that you gave to our fathers to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts, behold, we are slaves. 37 And its rich yield goes to the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins. They rule over our bodies and over our livestock as they please, and we are in great distress. 5 38 “Because of all this we make a firm covenant in writing; on the sealed document are the names of6 our princes, our Levites, and our priests. Footnotes [1] 9:2 Hebrew the offspring of Israel [2] 9:5 Septuagint adds And Ezra said [3] 9:17 Some Hebrew manuscripts; many Hebrew manuscripts and in their rebellion appointed a leader to return to their slavery [4] 9:18 Hebrew metal [5] 9:37 Ch 10:1 in Hebrew [6] 9:38 Hebrew lacks the names of (ESV) Acts 19 (Listen) Paul in Ephesus 19 And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland1 country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. 2 And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John's baptism.” 4 And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in2 the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. 7 There were about twelve men in all. 8 And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. 9 But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus.3 10 This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. The Sons of Sceva 11 And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. 13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” 14 Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. 15 But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” 16 And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all4 of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17 And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled. 18 Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. 19 And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20 So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily. A Riot at Ephesus 21 Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” 22 And having sent into Macedonia two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while. 23 About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way. 24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen. 25 These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. 26 And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods. 27 And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.” 28 When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 So the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul's companions in travel. 30 But when Paul wished to go in among the crowd, the disciples would not let him. 31 And even some of the Asiarchs,5 who were friends of his, sent to him and were urging him not to venture into the theater. 32 Now some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. 33 Some of the crowd prompted Alexander, whom the Jews had put forward. And Alexander, motioning with his hand, wanted to make a defense to the crowd. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours they all cried out with one voice, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 35 And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone that fell from the sky?6 36 Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. 37 For you have brought these men here who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38 If therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. 39 But if you seek anything further,7 it shall be settled in the regular assembly. 40 For we really are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.” 41 And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly. Footnotes [1] 19:1 Greek upper (that is, highland) [2] 19:5 Or into [3] 19:9 Some manuscripts add from the fifth hour to the tenth (that is, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.) [4] 19:16 Or both [5] 19:31 That is, high-ranking officers of the province of Asia [6] 19:35 The meaning of the Greek is uncertain [7] 19:39 Some manuscripts seek about other matters (ESV)