Podcasts about Philistia

Prophecies against Egypt, Philistia, and Moab. Egypt will recover. Moab, only in the latter days.

Welcome to Day 2878 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom. Day 2878 – Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 134:1-3 Daily Wisdom Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2878 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2878 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. The title for today's Wisdom-Trek is: The Song of Ascent – The Midnight Benediction of the Cosmic Mountain In our previous episode on this grand, generational expedition, we explored the fourteenth Song of Ascent, Psalm One Hundred Thirty-Three. We peered inside the seamless walls of Jerusalem to witness the radiant, supernatural atmosphere of the kingdom. We discovered that holy harmony among the family of God is an aggressive, defensive weapon that actively subverts the chaotic fragmentation of the Tower of Babel. We felt the fragrant, vertical cascade of Aaron's precious anointing oil, and we marveled at the cosmic inversion of the landscape, where the life-giving dew of Mount Hermon—the ancient, dark stronghold of the rebel gods—was hijacked, and redirected by Yahweh to refresh the holy mountain of Zion. We rested in the ultimate, sovereign decree of life everlasting. Today, my friends, we have reached the final step of this specific trail. We are standing at the absolute conclusion of the fifteen pilgrim psalms, exploring Psalm One Hundred Thirty-Four, verses one through three, in the New Living Translation. This final Song of Ascent is a short, dramatic, and intensely atmospheric liturgy. The great festival in Jerusalem has ended, the crowds are dispersing, and the pilgrims are preparing to descend the mountain under the cover of darkness, to return to their ordinary lives in a compromised world. But before they lose sight of the temple, they turn back one last time to exchange a beautiful, midnight blessing with the guardians of the sanctuary. Let us step onto the final ridge, look into the glowing courts of the Lord, and receive the parting benediction of the cosmos. The first segment is: The Midnight Vigil of the Royal Guardians Psalm One Hundred Thirty-Four: verses one and two. Oh, praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, you who serve at night in the house of the Lord. Lift your hands in holiness, and praise the Lord. The final psalm opens with a stirring, midnight call to worship, issued by the departing pilgrims to the staff of the temple. “Oh, praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, you who serve at night in the house of the Lord.” To fully appreciate the cinematic, mysterious beauty of this moment, we must paint the physical, and spiritual, picture. The annual feast is over. The campfires on the hillsides around Jerusalem are dying down, and the thousands of pilgrims are packing their bags to begin the long trek back to their distant homes. As they step out into the cold night air, leaving the safety of the inner courts, they look back at the dark, towering silhouette of the temple standing against the starlit sky. The city is quiet, but the temple is still alive with activity. They see the flickering orange glow of the altar fires, and they spot the shadows of the Levites and the priests moving through the corridors. The pilgrims shout out a final, parting charge to these nocturnal ministers: “Praise the Lord... you who serve at night.” In the ancient Hebrew framework, the night watch was a position of immense responsibility. While the rest of the nation slept, these specific servants were commanded to keep the sacred fires burning, to guard the thresholds, and to maintain a continuous, unceasing rhythm of prayer and vigilance within the courts of Yahweh. We must look at this nocturnal service through the profound lens of the Ancient Israelite divine council worldview, as masterfully taught by Doctor Michael S. Heiser. In the ancient Near Eastern mindset, the night was not just a time for rest; the night was the domain of chaos. The darkness was considered the primary operating hour for the rebel spiritual principalities—the fallen elohim who ruled over the disinherited nations. The pagan world lived in constant, paralyzing terror of the night, believing that evil spirits and demonic forces prowled the earth when the sun went down, seeking to undo the order of creation. But inside the house of the Lord, the darkness is completely neutralized. The temple watchmen are not cowering in fear; they are standing on duty as royal guardians of the cosmic gateway. The temple is the earthly embassy of the Supreme Commander of the heavenly armies. By keeping the lights burning and the praises rising through the midnight watches, these priests are actively enforcing the spiritual borders of God's domain. They are asserting Yahweh's absolute sovereignty over the night, demonstrating to the unseen, rebellious realm that the true King never slumbers, and His fortress is never undefended. The departing pilgrims instruct these guardians exactly how to execute their spiritual defense in verse two: “Lift your hands in holiness, and praise the Lord.” The lifting of the hands is the ancient, universal posture of complete surrender, intense appeal, and open-hearted adoration. The priests are told to lift their hands “in holiness”—or, as other translations render it, “toward the sanctuary.” They are aiming their worship directly at the Holy of Holies, where the Ark of the Covenant rests beneath the wings of the cherubim. By raising their hands in the dark, the watchmen are acting as human lightning rods, drawing the supernatural sanctity and the protective power of the heavenly throne room straight down into the earthly realm, creating a continuous barrier of holy light that keeps the forces of chaos at bay. The second segment is: The Return Blessing from the Creator of the Cosmos Psalm One Hundred Thirty-Four: verse three. May the Lord, who made heaven and earth, bless you from Zion. In the final sentence of the entire Songs of Ascents collection, the direction of the voice shifts. The temple watchmen, standing on the high, illuminated battlements of the sanctuary, hear the parting shout of the pilgrims. They look out into the darkness at the departing travelers, raise their own holy hands over the crowd, and speak a majestic, reciprocal blessing back down upon them: “May the Lord, who made heaven and earth, bless you from Zion.” This closing benediction is a masterpiece of covenant theology and cosmic polemics. Notice the specific, dual title given to Yahweh: “the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” In the Deuteronomy chapter thirty-two worldview, the surrounding pagan nations believed that the universe was carved up into separate, localized jurisdictions. The gods of Babylon claimed the rivers; the gods of Egypt claimed the Nile; and the gods of Philistia claimed the coastal plains. These rebel spirits asserted that their authority was absolute within their own geographic boundaries, and they demanded total compliance from any human who entered their territory. But the priests of Israel shatter that illusion with their final blessing. They remind the departing pilgrims that the God they serve is not a minor, regional spirit of the hills. He is not a localized deity trapped inside the stone walls of Jerusalem. He is the absolute, supreme Architect of the entire macrocosm. He spoke the heavens into existence, and He formed the earth from the void. Therefore, there is no place on the planet that is outside of His jurisdiction. When the pilgrims leave Jerusalem to return to their homes in the distant, compromised corners of the world, they are not leaving the territory of their God. They can walk confidently into any environment, knowing that every square inch of dirt they step upon belongs exclusively to the Maker of heaven and earth. And look at the launching pad of this blessing: “from Zion.” As we have learned on this fifteen-stop mountain climb, Mount Zion is the designated cosmic mountain, the official footprint of Yahweh's heavenly throne room in the human realm. The blessing that the priests pronounce is not a cheap, temporary wish for good luck. It is a massive, supernatural transmission of Shalom—complete, flourishing wholeness and divine favor—cascading down directly from the centralized command center of the universe. The pilgrims are told that this blessing from Zion will follow them down the mountain trail. It will go with them as they navigate the treacherous roads, as they return to their families, and as they face the daily, suffocating hostility of the pagan cultures. Zion's light will go with them into the darkness of their exile. The final step of the ascent is actually the beginning of the descent, where the travelers are sent back out into the world, transformed into living extensions of the cosmic mountain,...

Amalek: a nation of desert robbers who attacked the weakest of Israel's people as Moses led them across the desert, and against whom God made an especially severe judgment. That judgment was not carried out until the rule of Saul, some 400 years later, by which time Amalek had become even worse, destroying and depopulating whole towns in Judah and Philistia.So God commanded Saul, as the captain of his armies on earth, to carry out that terrible judgment, and Saul did it in part. That is, he did the part that he wanted to do. He did not hesitate to destroy what was weak and worthless, but he saved the best, and even Amalek's wicked and ruthless king, Agag. That was the reason why God finally made the firm and definite decision to reject Saul as king. It was also the reason why Amalek continued to trouble the southern part of Israel for long after.

'The Song of Redemption' | Exodus 15:1-21 | Covenant Baptist Church Covenant Baptist Church - Josh Pool Download Exodus 15:1-21Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying,“I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation;this is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him.The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is his name.“Pharaoh's chariots and his host he cast into the sea, and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea.The floods covered them; they went down into the depths like a stone.Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power, your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries; you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble.At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up; the floods stood up in a heap; the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them. I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.'You blew with your wind; the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty waters.“Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?You stretched out your right hand; the earth swallowed them.“You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.The peoples have heard; they tremble; pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia.Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed; trembling seizes the leaders of Moab; all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.Terror and dread fall upon them; because of the greatness of your arm, they are still as a stone,till your people, O Lord, pass by, till the people pass by whom you have purchased.You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain, the place, O Lord, which you have made for your abode, the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established.The Lord will reign forever and ever.”For when the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the people of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea. Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing. And Miriam sang to them:“Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.” English Standard Version (ESV)The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

A song taunting the arrogant king of Babylon and oracles against Assyria, Philistia, Moab and Cush, all laced with the hope that God will bring down the proud and protect His people.

Psalter selection 87B. Rev. Parnell, in Psalm 87, explains that the psalm reveals God's purpose to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth, beginning with His covenant love for the Jewish people, symbolized by His love for Jerusalem and His presence in the temple. God loves Zion because it is the city of His people, where He met with them and provided grace through the temple sacrifices, to which the people responded in worship ("all my springs are in you"). The middle verses were show that God's love also extends to non-Jewish peoples—including Israel's enemies such as Egypt (Rahab), Babylon, Philistia, Tyre, and Ethiopia—who are counted as "born" in Jerusalem among God's people. Rev. Parnell connects the census imagery to God recording and saving individuals by name, and points forward to Jesus Christ as the one who, through his sacrifice, brings people into the people of God. The meditation closes by referencing the Lamb's Book of Life as a final census still open to those who trust in Christ.

Psalter selection 87B. Rev. Parnell, in Psalm 87, explains that the psalm reveals God's purpose to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth, beginning with His covenant love for the Jewish people, symbolized by His love for Jerusalem and His presence in the temple. God loves Zion because it is the city of His people, where He met with them and provided grace through the temple sacrifices, to which the people responded in worship ("all my springs are in you"). The middle verses were show that God's love also extends to non-Jewish peoples—including Israel's enemies such as Egypt (Rahab), Babylon, Philistia, Tyre, and Ethiopia—who are counted as "born" in Jerusalem among God's people. Rev. Parnell connects the census imagery to God recording and saving individuals by name, and points forward to Jesus Christ as the one who, through his sacrifice, brings people into the people of God. The meditation closes by referencing the Lamb's Book of Life as a final census still open to those who trust in Christ.

In this video we continue our verse-by-verse study through the Book of Jeremiah, covering chapters 47–48:7. As God speaks to Philistia and Moab, we'll see the danger of misplaced trust, the false security that prosperity can create, and the certainty of God's Word when He brings nations to account. These chapters may describe ancient peoples and cities, but the spiritual issues they reveal are still very much alive today. Come study with us as we see what these prophecies reveal about the Lord, the nations, and our own hearts. Study Outline (PDF) Study Outline (Word)

In 701 BCE, Assyrian king Sennacherib launched his western campaign against Judah, bringing him into direct conflict with King Hezekiah and the political counsel of the prophet Isaiah. The decisive field battle of that year was not at Jerusalem, but at Eltekeh, where Assyrian troops defeated an Egyptian and Kushite force sent to support the rebellious Philistine city of Ekron.This episode reconstructs the full 701 campaign from Assyrian annals and biblical accounts, beginning with the minor 702 operations in the Zagros mountains against Zamua, Parsua, and Ellipi, then following Sennacherib to the Phoenician coast. We cover the flight of Luli, king of Tyre, to Cyprus, the installation of Itobaal at Sidon, and the submission of eight Levantine rulers from Ashdod, Byblos, Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Arwad.We then turn to Philistia: the internal coup at Ashkelon, the Ekronite revolt that handed King Padi over to Hezekiah, and Sennacherib's restoration of Padi after the victory at Eltekeh. The episode explains why Jerusalem faced only a blockade rather than a full siege, examines Isaiah's advice against an Egyptian alliance, and considers the logistical, political, and possible epidemiological reasons Sennacherib withdrew with massive tribute but without taking the city.Music from the show: oldeststories.net/music (or search "Oldest Stories Music")Support the show:Books: https://a.co/d/7Wn4jhSDonate: oldeststories.netPatreon / YouTube members get bonus episodes: patreon.com/JamesBleckleyNo-AI readings of ancient texts: youtube.com/@osnightreading

"But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality." - Revelation 2:14Solomon Friedman, a rabbi, owns Pornhub and a bunch of other porn sites.Leonid Radvinski owned OnlyFans and was largest donor to AIPACRabbi Shmuley in NYC sells sex toys with his daughter.Epstein's files revealed not one Jewish girl was trafficked. It was targeted at non-Jews.Sexual immorality (abortion, homosexuality, adultery, porn) brings divine judgement (Lev 18:27-28, 1 Cor 10:8, Jude 1:7), and the Edomites are encouraging it in order to bring judgement on the Christian West.Meanwhile, Israel--with a birth rate of 2.92--is the only Western country not facing a fertility crisis.The Great Replacement is Esau seeking to, as he always has, wipe out Jacob and steal back the birthright.They lay crafty plans against your people;they consult together against your treasured ones.They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”For they conspire with one accord;against you they make a covenant⁠—the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,Moab and the Hagrites,Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;Asshur also has joined them;they are the strong arm of the children of Lot. Selah— Psalm 83:3-8SUPPORT OUR MINISTRY:Text the word "Give" to 386-753-7337 or hit the "Thanks" button here on YouTube. Thank you so much for your generosity and for partnering in the Gospel of Jesus Christ with us!ORMOND CHURCHCome worship Jesus with us: https://ormondchurch.netMY INFO:Website: https://richtidwell.comLinktree: https://linktr.ee/richtidwellTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@richtidwellInstagram: http://bit.ly/GLoR5KTwitter: http://bit.ly/19bNH50Email: rich@richtidwell.com

Ebenezer, or the stone of help, marked Samuel's testimony: Hitherto hath the LORD helped us. That was the name of the memorial stone that Samuel set up to commemorate a truly great deliverance. Israel's people, weak from a day of fasting and repentance, subdued the powerful army of Philistia, which had ruled over them for the last 20 years.It us not a victory brought about by military might, but rather an answer to Samuel's prayer, and it commenced a period of peace in Israel, as Samuel the prophet became the national leader of his country.

In this episode of Arise+Abide, Curtis and Sally reflect on Isaiah 14, a chapter filled with powerful imagery of the fall of the proud and the certainty of God's justice. As Babylon, Assyria, and Philistia each receive words of judgment, the deeper theme emerges: every power that exalts itself against God will ultimately be humbled. Together, they explore the striking passage of the "morning star" cast down from heaven, considering its connection both to the king of Babylon and to the larger biblical picture of Satan's rebellion. The conversation turns inward as they reflect on how pride still tempts every human heart—the desire to choose our own way over God's will—and the call of discipleship to die to self, abide in Christ, and trust the Lord's ways above our own. The discussion also highlights the promises woven through the chapter: God will protect his people, bring justice to the oppressed, feed the needy, and establish peace for those who trust in him. Even in a chapter centered on judgment, the heartbeat of God's mercy and refuge shines through. This episode is a reminder that while human pride rises and falls, the plans of the Lord stand firm, and his peace remains available to those who abide in him.

The Philistines saw the ark of the covenant as their prize for success in battle. This gold-covered box was sacred to the God of Israel, and, defeating Israel, they believed that they had also defeated Israel's God. So, they offered the ark to their false god, called Dagon.But they had not even begun to know the power of the true God, firstly against their false gods, and then against their crops and against themselves. A terrible plague swept through Philistia, until the desperate cries of the people even reached to heaven.

This is a verse-by-verse episode of Joel 3:3-8, exploring the historical context, meaning, and faithful application of the passage within the Christian faith.What if the most powerful nations are headed for a courtroom they can't avoid? We continue in Joel chapter 3 and confront a bracing claim: God calls Israel His people, the land His land, and the city His city—and He gathers the nations to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, “Yahweh Judges,” to answer for what they've done. From the literary shock of locusts-as-armies to the concrete charges of human trafficking and temple plunder, the text refuses to stay abstract. It names Tyre, Sidon, and Philistia, and history records their fall. Justice is not a metaphor; it's a ledger that closes.We connect the dots from Pentecost's “this is that” back into Joel's vision, showing how the Spirit's outpouring and the promise of restoration feed into a larger arc of judgment and mercy. Along the way, we grapple with the temptation to smooth the rough edges—spiritualizing some verses and literalizing others—and instead take the passage on its own terms. God gathers. God judges. God restores. The moral charge is specific: societies that sell children for pleasure and turn worship into theft will face a reversal. What they measured out is measured back to them.If this conversation helps you see the prophets with fresh eyes, share it with a friend, subscribe for more verse-by-verse studies, and leave a review with your biggest insight or question.Support the showThank you for listening!!  Please give us a five-star rating to help your podcast provider's algorithm spread RTTB among their listeners. You can find free study and leader resources at the following link - Resource Page - Reasoning Through the BiblePlease prayerfully consider supporting RTTB to help us to continue providing content and free resources. You can do that at this link - Support RTTB - Reasoning Through the Bible May God Bless you!! - Glenn and Steve

In 2026, we are celebrating Big Belonging: that we belong to God, we are beloved by Him, and that He delights in us.Message by Doug Bunnell, recorded live March 15, 2026 at First Presbyterian Church of Bellingham. Scripture read by Brad Day.Singing VictoryGod is able to triumph gloriously even when all appears to be lost, put your trust in the God Waymaker.Why is singing an appropriate response to deliverance?What does calling the Lord “a warrior” (v.3) reveal about His character?How does this song connect God's past salvation to future promises?What does this passage teach about corporate (community) worship?What has God delivered you from that deserves praise?How can music or worship strengthen your faith?Exodus 15:1-2115 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:“I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.2 The Lord is my strength and my might, and he has become my salvation;this is my God, and I will praise him; my father's God, and I will exalt him.3 The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name.4 Pharaoh's chariots and his army he cast into the sea; his elite officers were sunk in the Red Sea.5 The floods covered them; they went down into the depths like a stone.6 Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power— your right hand, O Lord, shattered the enemy.7 In the greatness of your majesty you overthrew your adversaries; you sent out your fury; it consumed them like stubble.8 At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up; the floods stood up in a heap; the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.9 The enemy said, ‘I will pursue; I will overtake; I will divide the spoil; my desire shall have its fill of them. I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.'10 You blew with your wind; the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty waters.11 Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in splendor, doing wonders?12 You stretched out your right hand; the earth swallowed them.13 In your steadfast love you led the people whom you redeemed; you guided them by your strength to your holy abode.14 The peoples heard; they trembled; pangs seized the inhabitants of Philistia.15 Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed; trembling seized the leaders of Moab; all the inhabitants of Canaan melted away.16 Terror and dread fell upon them; by the might of your arm, they became still as a stoneuntil your people, O Lord, passed by, until the people whom you acquired passed by.17 You brought them in and planted them on the mountain of your own possession, the place, O Lord, that you made your abode, the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hands have established.18 The Lord will reign forever and ever.”19 When the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his chariot drivers went into the sea, the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.20 Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron's sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing. 21 And Miriam sang to them:“Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.”

Welcome to Day 2808 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom. Day 2808 – Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 117:1-2 – Daily Wisdom Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2808 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day two thousand eight hundred eight of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. The Title for Today's Wisdom-Trek is: The Shortest Song with the Largest Stage – Calling the Nations Home Today, we are undertaking a fascinating and entirely unique stage of our journey. We are stepping into the absolute center of the Bible to explore Psalm One Hundred Seventeen, covering its entirety—which is just verses one through two, in the New Living Translation. This is a milestone for a couple of reasons. First, Psalm One Hundred Seventeen holds the distinct title of being the shortest chapter in the entire Bible. It consists of only two verses and, in the original Hebrew, a mere seventeen words. Second, it is widely considered the middle chapter of the Protestant Bible. But do not let its brevity fool you. What this psalm lacks in word count, it makes up for in cosmic, earth-shaking theology. In our previous trek through Psalm One Hundred Sixteen, we listened to an intensely personal, intimate testimony. We heard the voice of a single, desperate individual who had been wrapped in the terrifying cords of death. We saw Yahweh, the Most High God, stoop down from heaven to listen to one man's whispered cry for help. It was a beautiful picture of individual salvation, ending with the psalmist paying his vows in the temple courts of Jerusalem. Today, the camera pans out. We move from the microscopic to the macroscopic. The single voice of the rescued individual in Psalm One Hundred Sixteen suddenly turns into a megaphone, broadcasting a summons to the entire planet. Psalm One Hundred Seventeen is still part of the "Egyptian Hallel," the songs sung during the Passover festival. But here, the focus breaks completely out of the borders of Israel. It is a trumpet blast directed at the pagan world. It is a declaration of cosmic warfare, and a radical invitation of grace. So, let us unpack these two massive, monumental verses together. The First Segment is: The Cosmic Summons: Reclaiming the Disinherited. Psalm One Hundred Seventeen: verse one. Praise the Lord, all you nations. Praise him, all you people of the earth. The psalm explodes right out of the gate with a command: "Praise the Lord, all you nations." To modern ears, this sounds like a standard, generic call to worship. But to the Ancient Israelite, singing this in the courts of the temple, this was a jaw-dropping, radical statement. It requires us to look through the lens of the Ancient Israelite Divine Council worldview, as taught by scholars like Dr. Michael S. Heiser. We must go all the way back to Genesis Chapter Eleven and the Tower of Babel. At Babel, humanity rebelled against Yahweh, refusing to spread out and fill the earth. In response, God judged the nations. But He didn't just confuse their languages; He disinherited them. According to Deuteronomy Chapter Thirty-two, verses eight through nine, God divided the nations and placed them under the authority of lesser spiritual beings—the "sons of God," or the divine council. Yahweh then stepped back and started over with one man, Abraham, to create His own special portion: Israel. From that moment on, the "nations" (the goyim) were viewed as foreign territory. They were under the jurisdiction of rebel gods, hostile principalities, and dark spiritual forces. They worshipped idols of wood and stone, which we saw mocked so thoroughly back in Psalm One Hundred Fifteen. So, when the psalmist stands up and shouts, "Praise Yahweh, all you nations!" he is doing something incredibly audacious. He is crossing enemy lines. He is essentially serving an eviction notice to the rebel gods. He is looking at the people of Egypt, Babylon, Philistia, and Assyria, and he is saying, "Your gods have failed you. They are dead. The time of your exile from the Creator is coming to an end. Yahweh is calling you back!" The parallel phrase, "Praise him, all you people of the earth," uses the Hebrew word ummim, which refers to tribes, clans, and people groups. The psalmist leaves no one out. The invitation is universal. God is not content to simply be the local deity of a small strip of land in the Middle East. He is the Maker of Heaven and Earth, and He demands, and invites, the adoration of every human being on the planet. This is why the Apostle Paul quotes this exact verse in Romans Chapter Fifteen, verse eleven. Paul uses Psalm One Hundred Seventeen to prove to the early church that the inclusion of the Gentiles—the non-Jewish people—was not a New Testament "Plan B." It was God's plan all along. The ultimate goal of choosing Israel was to create a beacon of light that would eventually draw all the disinherited nations back into the family of God. The Second Segment is: The Gravity of Grace: Why the Nations Should Sing. Psalm One Hundred Seventeen: verse two. For his unfailing love for us is powerful; the Lord's faithfulness endures forever. Praise the Lord! If verse one is the Command, verse two provides the Reason. Why should the pagan nations, who have spent centuries worshipping other gods, suddenly turn and praise Yahweh? The psalmist gives two reasons, rooted in two of the most important words in the Hebrew Bible: Unfailing Love (Hesed) and Faithfulness (Emet). Let us look closely at the first phrase: "For his unfailing love for us is powerful." Hesed is God's loyal, covenant-keeping, relentless love. But notice the direction of this love. The psalmist says His love for "us" is powerful. "Us" refers to Israel. This raises a fascinating question. Why should the nations praise God for the love He showed to Israel? If you are a Babylonian, why do you care that God loves the Jewish people? The answer lies in the promise given to Abraham in Genesis Chapter Twelve: "I will bless you... and all the families on earth will be blessed through you." Israel was never meant to be a reservoir of God's grace; they were meant to be a river. God's Hesed toward Israel—rescuing them from Egypt, giving them the law, protecting them from enemies, and bearing patiently with their constant rebellion—was the vehicle through which salvation would reach the rest of the world. When the nations look at how Yahweh treated Israel, they see a God who keeps His promises. They see a God who does not annihilate His people when they mess up. And they realize, "If this God is that intensely loyal and loving to Israel, maybe there is hope for us, too. Maybe we can be grafted into that same covenant." Furthermore, the word translated as "powerful" (gabar) is an incredibly muscular word. It means to prevail, to be mighty, or to overwhelm. It is the same word used in the story of Noah's Ark, when the floodwaters "prevailed" over the tops of the highest mountains. The psalmist is saying that God's unfailing love is a flood. It cannot be contained by the borders of Israel. It prevails over human sin. It prevails over the rebellious spiritual principalities of the Divine Council. It overtops the highest mountains of human resistance, and spills out to cover the entire globe. The Third Segment is: The Eternal Echo: Truth That Outlasts Time. The second half of the reason is just as anchoring: "...the Lord's faithfulness endures forever." The word for faithfulness is Emet, which means truth, reliability, and stability. In a world governed by chaotic pagan gods who were unpredictable, petty, and easily angered, the concept of a God whose truth "endures forever" was revolutionary. The gods of the nations rose and fell with their empires. Where is Marduk today? Where is Baal? They are buried in the dust of history, remembered only in museums and archaeological digs. But the faithfulness of Yahweh remains. His truth does not have an expiration date. Because His love is overwhelmingly powerful, and His truth is eternally stable, the nations have a solid rock upon which to stand. They are invited to leave the shifting sands of the world's chaos, and step into the eternal security of the Creator's household. The psalm concludes with the great bookend of the Hallel: "Praise the Lord!" Or, Hallelujah! When Jesus sang this psalm with His disciples on the night of the Last Supper, He knew exactly what He was about to do. He was about to walk to the cross to demonstrate the ultimate, prevailing power of God's Hesed. He was...

Group Guide Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week. TranscriptGood morning. Through snow and ice and disconnected H VAC units, we have finally gathered together, and we are getting ready to finally start Second Samuel. So if you're with us in the fall, we finished up First Samuel. We. We took a break with the Remember series and Give series, and now we get to start Second Samuel. We kind of jump into the middle of the story. First and Second Samuel actually were written as one book together. If you remember this when we first started, it's written as one book together because of how scrolls worked back in the day, they had to divide it in two separate scrolls. So it's one story. And we're jumping in the middle of a story at the beginning of 2 Samuel chapter 1. And we jump in the middle of a sad moment. And what we're going to see today is a lament that David has wrote for the people of God. And there are times where it's good to be sad. And when tragedy hits, when loss hits, there's something in us that aches for a response. I remember in 2001 when 911 happened, that as a nation, we were just collectively at a loss of words, and there was just a deep sadness for what many of us witnessed on TV and all the horror and the pain that came with that. And in November, two months after. I remember at the cmas, which is the Country Music Awards, Alan Jackson, he performed a song that he had written just a few weeks before. It's called Where Were youe In the World? Stop Turning. And the whole song is. It's a lament. It's country music, but it's a lament that captures how everyone felt in that moment as we witnessed all the pain and suffering at 9 11. And I just remember watching that with my parents and just being. Just felt it. You felt it in the room. And, you know, people outside of country music that don't even like country music, which is quite a few people, they actually, some of them very much appreciated the moment because what he was doing was capturing what we just felt. And that's what lament does. It captures this. This suffering, this. This loss, this pain that we feel. And it's good for. For us to sit in that. And poetic songs and poetic laments capture that. And that's what we get to see today as we jump into the middle of a story where we finish up in Second Samuel. We see the death of Saul and Jonathan and the defeat of Israel. We're going to walk through how David finds out about this. Then we're going to see how he laments and then as Christians, we're going to be able to sit in this and understand the importance of. Of what it means to be a people who lament. Well, so I'm going to pray for us, and then we'll walk through this together. Heavenly Father, I thank you for your word. It is precious, it is a gift, and it communicates wonderful, eternal truths that mold and shape us and conform us into your image in new and better ways. And I pray that you would do that to us this morning as we read and study and sit under the authority of your precious word. We ask this in Jesus name. Amen.Okay, so if you weren't here for First Samuel, let me just give a quick summary. If you were here and it's been months, let me just help us remember. In 1st Samuel, God calls the final judge and the period of the judges and prophet Samuel. Because first and Second Samuel in the Old Testament is the beginning of the age of the kings. So the people are longing for a king. They want a ruler. They had God as their ruler. They had God as their king. And God used judges to reign them in at times. But this moment, they want a king. They go to Samuel. Samuel listens to the Lord, gives them their first king, which is Saul. And at first it goes well. Saul fits the bill. He looks like a king. He's tall, he's handsome. He leads the people, and they beat, they defeat the Ammonites. They do all kinds of things like this. And it's wonderful. And then as you keep reading, you see that his heart actually isn't fully for the Lord, that he has moments of deep faithlessness. And in his faithlessness, God rejects him as king. He anoints David, who is the next king of Israel. If you're familiar with anything in first and Second Samuel, you're probably familiar with the story of David and Goliath. That is when David steps onto the national scene after he's anointed by Samuel and he becomes a hero. He defeats Goliath, and then Saul appreciates David for, like, 10 minutes. It seems it's not very long. He, like, invites him to marry his daughter. He marries into the family. Things are good for a moment. And then quickly, I think Saul realizes, oh, David is the next king, and he becomes a threat. And the whole rest of 1st Samuel is Saul trying to kill David over and over and over again until finally we get to chapter 31 of 1st Samuel, when finally God brings judgment upon Saul and his house, and they're defeated by the Philistines.In 1st Samuel 31 it says,> Then the battle went hard against Saul, and the archers hit him, and he was badly wounded by the archers.> Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, "Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through and mistreat me." But his armor-bearer would not, for he was very afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword and fell on it.> And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he likewise fell on his sword and died with him.> So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together.So that is the end of Saul and 1st Samuel, or 2 Samuel chapter 1 picks up right where that leaves off a few days later. Verse 1.> After the death of Saul, when David had returned from striking down the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag.> And on the third day behold, a man came from Saul's camp with his clothes torn and with dirt on his head. And when he came to David, he fell to the ground and paid homage.So while Saul was fighting the Philistines, David was facing off with a band of Amalekites who had kidnapped him and his men's families. So he goes, he defeats them, and this is them kind of resting after the battle. And then all of a sudden, verse two, it says, and on the third day, behold, a man came from Saul's camp with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. And when he came to David, he fell to the ground and paid homage. So clothes torn and dirt on your head. That was an immediate sign to David and his men that something bad has happened. That's a sign of lament. You're in your garments, you put dirt on your head. Something major has happened. Which David said to him, verse three, where do you come from? And he said to him, I have escaped from the camp of Israel. And David said to him, how did it go? Tell me. And he answered, the people fled from the battle. And also many of the people have fallen and are dead. And Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead. So this is the first that David hears of this, that Saul, Jonathan, his friend, they're gone.Now, put yourself back in when we finish this up in the fall, and remember all that David went through to get to this moment and understand the complexities of how he must have been feeling. Saul tried to kill him over and over and over and over again, hurling spears, chasing him in the wilderness, chasing him in and out of towns, and finally it's over. And David had opportunities. He had opportunities to kill him himself. He had two opportunities with his hand in his life, and he spared him because he would not raise his hand against the Lord's anointed. He said, God will bring judgment on Saul. I will not. And it's finally happened. So that's in the background. And then also, Jonathan was one of his closest friends. Jonathan was a dear friend to him. If you remember when we walked the story of David and Jonathan, we got to see Jonathan, who was the next in line to be the king. Saul's son was. He was beloved by the people. He was a mighty warrior. And when David steps on the scene, he yields. It's very clear that he trusts that God has anointed him to be the next king. And that doesn't happen in the Old Testament, that doesn't happen in history. People don't give up their right to the throne like that. But he's a faith filled man and he trusts the anointing that David has. And you see, even when they talk, he longs to be serving in David's court one day. And he also. We saw how much Jonathan honored his father. He called him out at times for how he was pursuing David, but he honored him and stood by him in this battle. And his friend Jonathan is dead. So there is a lot happening in the soul of David as he receives this.And then in verse five, it says,> And the young man who told him said, "I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and there was Saul leaning on his spear, and behold, the chariots and the horsemen were closing in on him.> And when he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me. And I answered, 'Here I am.'> And he said to me, 'Who are you?' And I answered him, 'I am an Amalekite.'> Then he said to me, 'Stand beside me and kill me, for anguish has seized me, and yet my life still lingers.'> So I stood beside him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen.> And I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet that was on his arm and brought them here to my lord."Okay, if you're reading first into second Samuel, just chapter 31, straight into this right here. That's quite jarring because those aren't the same stories. That is two different tellings of what happened. And I just want to show you the differences in this. I've got a chart up here. And first Samuel, chapter 31, the narrator tells us that archers surrounded Saul and badly wounded him. But when the Amalekite retells, he says, no chariots and horsemen were close upon him. And in 1st Samuel 31, the narrator tells us that Saul turns to his armor bearer and asks to kill him because he doesn't want to be mistreated. But Amalekite says no. He called out to me. He said, I'm. He said, ask me to kill him. In 1st Samuel 31, we see that the armor bearer refuses. So Saul kills himself, but the Amalekite says, no, I killed him. The only part where. Where it is similar and you can line them up in compatibility is when it says in 1st Samuel 31 that the Philistines recovered just the armor. And then we get in the Amalekite retelling that the crown and the armlet he had so that you can line up, but everything else is different. So when we come upon situations like this in the Bible where there's. There's two differences there, that's an opportunity to lean in and to ask why? Why are these accounts different? And if you are undiscerning and you hop on the Internet and you get into the deep pages of Reddit or Google or wherever you go, you might find the lazy approach that's like, aha. Contradictions. See, your Bible is not trustworthy. And that's an opportunity to just sit in it longer, to ask deeper questions, to be more thoughtful and discerning. And once you do that, it's very clear what's happening. The Amalekite is lying. He's a liar. He's an opportunistic liar. He stumbles upon the battle. He sees Saul. Everyone knows that if Saul's dead, David is the next king. This is an opportunity for him to be rewarded in his mind. Grabs the crown, he grabs the armlet, he makes up a story, he leaves. And then he comes and he tells David the story. So he tells him this. Now David begins to really lament.Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him.> Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and likewise all the men who were with him.> And they mourned and wept and fasted until the evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the LORD, and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.For Saul and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword, which is just a picture. When, when the leader mourns and laments, everyone does. They follow suit. They tear their clothes, they weep, they fast. Which just as a thing to think about, that's one of the reasons for fasting. Like we're in the south and when someone dies, we eat. Which I think can be fun, but also have a category for fasting is good for the people of God to actually to. To fast and to pray and depend upon the Lord. And that's what they do until evening.And David said to the young man who told him, where do you come from? And he answered, I am the son of a sojourner and Amalekite.> And David said to the young man who told him, "Where are you from?" And he answered, "I am the son of a sojourner, an Amalekite."David said to him, how is it you who. How is it you who were not afraid to put out your hand to destroy the Lord's anointed? So this is about the moment the Amalekite begins to realize that he has made a massive mistake. Because David had multiple opportunities to do just this. David could have ended Saul's reign, could have taken the throne, could have seized power. But he feared the Lord and he trusted the Lord. And he was not going to do and raise his hand against the Lord's anointing. He was going to trust the Lord when the Lord decided to bring judgment. So how in the world could this Amalekite, this person who belonged to a people who were enemies of God, think that he could raise his hand against the Lord's anointed and this would somehow be rewarded? This is not the case. And he realizes he has made a mistake, that condemnation is coming.Then David called out, called one of the young men and said, go execute him. And he struck him down so that he died. And David said to him, your blood be on your head for you, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, I have killed the Lord's anointed.> And David said to him, "How is it you were not afraid to lift your hand to destroy the LORD's anointed?"> Then David called one of the young men and said, "Go near and execute him." So the young man struck him down, and he died.> And David said to him, "Your blood is on your head; your own mouth has testified against you, saying, 'I have killed the LORD's anointed.'"So the Amalekite, his reward for opportunistic lying is execution. And that's is another example from the scriptures of the dangers of lying. You can do a whole sermon on that right there. But that's actually not the main point of this story. And we're going to move on to what is the main point, which is this moment of loss for David and the people. And David is going to enter into a lament that he has written. We get the setup for that in verse 17 when it says,> And David took up his lament over Saul and his son Jonathan, and he ordered that The Song of the Bow be taught to the people of Judah; behold, it is written in the Book of Jashar.So what we're about to read is a lamentation, a poetic sadness that the people of God are meant to read for centuries to come. And we also see that it's recorded in the book of Joshar, which. That is a Jewish history book that's referenced a few times in the Old Testament. It's lost to history. We don't have any more copies of it, but it was written in the Book of Joshar for the people, and it was recorded here in these scriptures for the people to remember and to lament together. So we're going to read this lament. But as we read this, I want us, as we catch this poetic capturing of the sadness of the people of God and David, we should remember the complexities of how David is feeling in this, of everything that's happened to him and everything that even Saul and his relationship and how complicated that was, that Saul was his enemy, that Saul wanted him dead, but Saul was also his father in law. Saul was also his king. Saul was also his commander. And now he's gone and so is his friend Jonathan. So there's a lot happening here. And we'll read this lament together. He said.> Your glory, O Israel, lies slain on your high places! How the mighty have fallen!> Tell it not in Gath; proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines be glad, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised rejoice.> O mountains of Gilboa, may you have neither dew nor rain, nor fields of offerings; for there the shield of the mighty was defiled, the shield of Saul, not anointed with oil.> From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan did not turn back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty.> Saul and Jonathan, beloved and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided; they were swifter than eagles; they were stronger than lions.> O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you with crimson in luxury, who put ornaments of gold on your apparel.> How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle! Jonathan lies slain on your high places.> I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; very pleasant have you been to me; your love to me was extraordinary, surpassing the love of women.> How the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war perished!If you have a title for this lament, it's how the mighty have Fallen, which I got curious and I was wondering, and as best I can tell, that is where we get the sarcastic play on Lament, oh, how the mighty have Fallen. So this is. It comes back to this. It's how the mighty have fallen. One of the things he laments in the loss of Saul and Jonathan and this army is that the daughters of the Philistines rejoice. And this is. This is a picture of the people in Gath and Ashkelon. These are cities in Philistia. They're all celebrating. So not only have they lost their leader, but also their enemies are rejoicing and they're sad.You mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew or rain upon you, nor fields of offerings. For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, the shield of Saul not anointed. With oil. Mount Gilboa is where this battle happened. It's where Saul died. And David curses it. He curses it. He wishes this place to be as desolate and devoid of the life that was taken there. Cursed be Mount Gilboa. Says, from the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back. And the sword of Saul returned not empty. Which, every now and then the ESV translations get a little clunky. I think it's helpful if you reverse this. The bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty from the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty. What that is saying is that they once were mighty warriors. They. They once fought for Israel, they slayed their enemies, and now they're gone and they're lamenting the loss of their mighty warriors. So Saul and Jonathan, beloved, beloved and lovely in life and death. They were not divided. They were swifter than eagles. They were stronger than lions. And we've seen this, we talked about this, that they, that. And through everything that was going on with Saul and David, Saul or Jonathan, honored both his friend and also his father. And they fought together, and they were mighty in battle. You read that in First Samuel. Together they were mighty warriors who defeated their enemies. They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.You, daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you luxuriously in scarlet, who put ornaments of gold on your apparel. Remember how when he reigned, how prosperous we were. How, how the daughters of Israel had scarlet and gold. He says, oh, how, he said, how, how the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle. And this refrain leads into David reflecting on his friendship with Jonathan. Jonathan lies slain on your high places. I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan. Very pleasant have you been to me. Your love to me was extraordinary, surpassing the love of women. So we catch this final glimpse of David's great love for his friend. And he describes this brotherly love that he had with Jonathan as surpassing the love of women, which we talked about this in the David and Jonathan sermon in First Samuel. If you weren't here, I'd encourage you to go back and listen to it. But just a moment to sit in that idea. It is good to have deep friendships like this. And more specifically, it is good for men to have deep friendships with other men. And a time where it is regularly written about that, that male. That male loneliness is a crisis. It's talked about as an epidemic, that men, especially young men, suicide rates are through the roof, substance abuse is through the roof. Drug overdoses has been through the roof. Sports gambling is an absolute disaster right now for young men. And on and on and on. It's just, it's regularly observed there's something wrong and that they're. There's a need for men to have deep friendships. And we aren't culturally set up well to do this. The men aren't culturally set up well to do this. In fact, it's very apparent that culturally we don't understand a depth of friendship like this. Because people read this and they, they, they jump to, oh, something, something sexual in nature must have been going on between those two. I mean, that is, that is, that is what some people will argue that this is evidence that something was happening between those two men. And it's like we've so misunderstood and are so underprepared to understand how important is to have deep relationships with other men that you can walk side by side and that you can see as brothers. So we, we need to, to grow in this. And especially if you're, if you're married. Let me just say this very clearly. If you're married and your wife is your only friend, nowhere in the Scriptures do I see that as wise. You should absolutely have friendship with your wife. Also, you should have depth of relationship with other men. She should not be your sole confidant. We have care nights where we separate the men and women. And one of the reasons we do that is so that men can grow in friendship and brotherhood and accountability and depth. And that matters. So you can go back, listen to that sermon. More was said there, but I'll move on. And he is just lamenting the loss of this great friend that he had. Verse 27. He ends, how the mighty have fallen and the weapons of war perished. So he ends that refrain, the reminder of what they lost in Jonathan, what they lost. And when you think about what David's doing on behalf of the people of God and personally, and thinking about this, it's very peculiar because you have to recognize that ultimately for David, this is a good thing for him. He's not going to have to look over his shoulder. He's not going to have to be on the run. He's not going to have the threat of death hanging over him over and over and over again. Saul for years has made his life miserable. And you can see this very clearly not just in First Samuel, but when you read the Psalms, particularly the Psalms that David wrote while he was on the run from Saul. You see this in Psalm 57. 4. It says, My soul is in the midst of lions. I lie down amid fiery beasts, the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp, sharp swords. I mean, you see the distress as. As Saul and his men, and all the lies and all the. All the slandering, all the. The threats. In Psalm142.3, another Psalm he wrote on the run from Saul, it says, when my spirit faints within me, you know my way in the path where I walk, they have hidden a trap for me under the threat of being captured continuously. Psalm 54, another Psalm that he wrote while on the wrong from Saul, he says, for strangers have risen against me. Ruthless men seek my life. They do not set God, God before themselves. They seek Saul and his ambition, but they don't consider the Lord. And you see the turmoil that David was in for years. So it's reasonable to assume this moment that he hears of Saul's death, that he's relieved. But that's found nowhere in this lament, not for a moment as you celebrate this, even though ultimately this is for David's good and he knows now I'm able to step into the throne that God has prepared for me, he still appropriately laments. He laments the loss of this nation's leader. He laments the loss of his king, he laments the loss of his friend. And he does this for himself and the people of God to remember. And I think David's response is exemplary. I think it's a very helpful example for us to have this category of lament, even though good things may await us, because I think as Christians, we are just in America. I think we're weaker here. And I see this in a few different ways. I see this in the way that some Christians approach funerals. And I'm not here to attack you. If you've said this or if you believe this, I do want to correct you. I've heard Christians say, well, this brother or sister died, and we're not having a funeral, we're having a party. We're having a celebration because we know where they are, and where they are is far better. So there will be no tears. We will celebrate. And I just go, where do you get that from the Scriptures? Where do we get that idea that we smile in the face of death? Where do you get the idea that we should just be happy? We know that good things just. David knew that good things awaited him. But in the moment of death, the appropriate response is lament. I see people when they lose a job, some Christians come alongside them and they're quick to just want to point out things and they'll say things like, yeah, you know, but it's an opportunity for you to trust the Lord. And it seems like you're really upset about losing this job. You might want to check your heart. It's possible that you have some idolatry for this job. It's possible that you have some control idolatry, that you're trying to control everything. And this is an exposure. God is working in this trial to teach you you should be joy filled. And it's like, whoa, he just lost his job. She just lost her job. There's a moment that it's appropriate to be sad. And certainly we can work through the other things later and count it joy for sufferings. But must we jump straight into the good things that might away? This happens with health trials, various members of our church going through all types of health trials and battles. And I appreciate some of the optimistic culture that surrounds all of that. You hear people say, you know, God's got this and, and, and we're, you know, just. And I appreciate aspects of that that rally in a way that's appropriate and good. But there also, there's a moment and there are days that it's just okay to be sad. It's just okay to lament the reality of suffering. And we should hold these together because human emotion is far more complex than this. We as Christians should be the best at this, y', all to have moments where we are just sad for the reality of death and loss and suffering, while also having our hope secured and tethered to the reality of the future promises that await God's people. We should be able to hold both intention together. And no one exemplifies this better than Jesus Christ.When you get to the Gospel of John in chapter 11 with the recounting of the story of the death of Lazarus and his resurrection, when you read that in verse 11, it says, after saying these things, he said to them, our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him. And that's important because Jesus absorbs the reality that his friend is dead, that Lazarus is dead, while also saying, I'm going to raise him. Jesus knows exactly what he's about to do. He's about to raise Lazarus from the dead because that resurrection is going to point forward to later, not far actually down the road where Jesus Christ will be resurrected, which again points to the future resurrection. So he's doing something bigger here. He knows what he's about to do. He knows the good things that are about to happen. And yet when he meets his friends Mary And Martha, verse 32, it says now, when Mary came to see to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews would come with her, also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, where have you laid him? They said to him, lord, come and see. Verse 35. Jesus wept. And I think that's important because I think if some American Christians would have written this story, they would have said, Jesus comes on the scene and he sees them weeping and he says, dry your tears because I'm about to do something big, I'm about to do something good. I'm going to do something glorious. But he doesn't. He sees his friends who are broken and in tears, and he's deeply moved in his spirit and he weeps. It doesn't say he cried a few tears, it says he weeps. What a wonderful example we have in our Savior. And seeing the need to lament, knowing that good things may await. But the reality is, is that death stings. Yes. Oh, death, where's your sting? That's future looking. But the sting is now. And there are moments where that recognizing that and living in that reality is beautiful and good for our souls. We should be a people who do this well. We should be a people who both hold the reality of death in front of us and cry. And also hold the reality of the future resurrection and new heavens and new earth, where there is no more death, where there is no more sting, where there is no more tears. And hold those both together. I mean, that's when Paul is writing to the Thessalonians. In 1st Thessalonians 4, he says, but we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others who do not have hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. And I think some people just jump to the we have hope. We have hope. And it's like. But it presupposes what he just told them. He says, may not grieve as others who do not have hope. But he doesn't say, don't grieve. He says, no, we're going to grieve, but we're going to do it as those who have hope. Those who are grounded in the hope of the future resurrection. And that's what we're called to do. That when someone dies, the appropriate response is, if they're a Christian, is not, let's have a party. It's like, no, no, Death is awful. Now, we had a funeral here three weeks ago for one of our members, Ms. Valerie. And she was 93 years old. And y', all, she suffered greatly in the last few years of her life. And I could hold the thought in my head that says, I'm so thankful for where she is now. But when I sat with her family, I said, y' all should feel this death stings and it's okay to be sad. And we could hold both of those thoughts together. That when you experience loss, when you lose something, that you can be sad while also having your faith anchored in the reality that one day there will be no more losing, there will only be gain. That we as Christians can have sufferings. And know what James 1 says, when it says, count it all joy. My brothers know what Romans 5 says, that suffering produces character, care produces endurance. Like we can have all these together while also being faith filled and sad and also putting our hope in what is to come and growing and maturing along the way that we should be able to hold these both together. Because we as Christians live between the already and the not yet. We live between the reality of present suffering and the future promises that await. And we should be a people who lament well personally, but also we should help others lament, brothers and sisters. Do not rob others of the opportunity to both grieve and be sad and let God meet them in their grief. Because I think sometimes because we're uncomfortable, because we don't like the silence, or because we lack the theological depth to understand how we should respond. And we'll just offer shallow truisms or Christian niceties. We need to grow in helping other brothers and sisters who are lamenting suffer well and lament well so that God can meet them in their grief and grow their faith in wonderful ways.I was on the Internet the other day and I saw one of my friends from college post this, one of the most moving things I've ever read on grief. And him and his wife had struggled with infertility for years. They six months ago had twin boys and were excited and did the gender reveal and all the things. And we're all very excited. And at 22 weeks, everything fell apart. They had emergency delivery and their boys lived for only a day. And then this past week, after six months of reflecting, he wrote this. And I Want to ask permission for me to read this because I found it to be very moving, very helpful. How God can meet us in our grief and our lament. And here's what he wrote. He said, grief is about allowing loss to enlarge my heart and increase my capacity to hold both joy and sorrow. Grief is teaching me that my boys live on in me and will always be a part of me. Grief is instructing me to cry out to God and complaint and lament long enough to hear him whisper, I know what it's like to lose a son. Grief is increasing my longing for heaven and the renewal of all things. Grief is daring me to believe that despite our loss, God is still writing a good story. Grief is consistently inviting me to choose life in the face of death. I'm a different person than I was six months ago. But as a friend who knows what it's like to lose a child, has told me I want my child back, but I don't want the old me back. I think I'm just starting to believe him. So it is through grief that I echo the words of Nicholas Wolterstaff in his book of Lament of a Son. I shall look at the world through tears. Perhaps I shall see things that dried eyed I could not see. I read that and I just was like, you don't arrive at that conclusion without having your faith so deeply anchored. The reality that one day he will make all things new, but he's sufficient to meet us in the moment of lament that comes through faith filled lament. You don't see God like this without him meeting us in our grief like this, knowing that God in our suffering gives us eyes to see, even if those eyes are stained with tears. You don't embrace this without faith filled lament. You don't refuse it. You lean into it. And that is something that we need to grow in as Christians. We need to grow in learning to lament well. We need to grow and having this trusting the Lord in the middle of the suffering and the loss.And one of the ways we get to do that is through taking the Lord's Supper and through singing, which we're going to do in a moment. We're going to take the Lord's Supper and we're going to sing a song of lament. As we come to the table as Christians, we're reminded of what Jesus instituted for us on the night that he was betrayed. He took bread and he broke it. He said, this is my body that was broken for you. And he took the cup of the new covenant. He said, this is my blood that was shed for you, that as often as you eat and drink this, you proclaim my death until I return. Jesus instructs his church to practice this practice, to remember that he secured salvation for us on the cross while also pointing forward to one day when the final feast happens. And that we as Christians live in the middle between both. So we don't come to the table all the time with just joy filled hearts. Sometimes we come with heavy hearts, and that's good. If you're a Christian, you get to consider your sin, you get to consider our sufferings, and we also get to consider our Savior who meets us in our sufferings. And in a moment you'll come to the table and I invite you to. If you're not a Christian, we don't want you to come to the table. We want you to come to our Savior. That walking through this life will be filled with suffering, it will be filled with trials, it will be filled with death. And I hope that reality is impressed upon your heart to see that there is someone who can meet you in that and can point you to the hope that we have that is secure. So don't come to the table, come to Jesus Christ in faith. But the band's going to come up now. They're going to take the Lord's Supper, and then we're going to sing a song of lament that is meant to help us learn how to grieve well, how to lament well. And we will sing this out together.

While evading Saul, David and his men lived by raiding. In this he spared Israelites and even offered them protection from rival tribes. This forms the background for his marriage to Abigail. When her husband, the fool, refused to let David and his men share in a feast, David vowed to kill him and his men to avenge the insult. Abigail's quick action forestalled that event and when Nabal died, David married her. After David again spared Saul, he had had enough dodging and moved his operations out of Judah and into Philistia.

Praise Series #29 The Song of MosesExodus 15:1 “Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord: “I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.”I thought this was a good verse to remind us that praise and worship is not just good when we are in need of God's help. It is also really important to praise and worship the Lord when He comes through and answers our prayers. Exodus 15:1-21 is all about Moses and the Israelites singing to the Lord for saving them from the Egyptians.In case you are unfamiliar with the story, God asked Moses to lead the Israelites out of captivity from Egypt, as they were slaves there. The pharaoh finally said they could go, and then, when they left, he changed his mind and set out after them. The Israelites got to the Red Sea and had nowhere to go as they could not cross it. God parted the Red Sea so that the Israelites could cross it on dry ground. As soon as they were through it, the Egyptian army started to cross it, and God released the water, and they all drowned.This is where Exodus 15 picks up. The beginning part is called “The Song of Moses.” Let's look at the words of the song.Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:“I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;     horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.
2 The Lord is my strength and my might,     and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,     my father's God, and I will exalt him.
3 The Lord is a warrior;     the Lord is his name.Let's pause and look at these few verses. They acknowledge what the Lord has done; He has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider, He has thrown into the sea. However, it then goes on to talk about God and how great He is. It says that the Lord is my strength and my might. He has become my salvation. These are all things that you can say when you are looking to praise the Lord. They are also great things to remember when you are struggling to think of reasons to be grateful. You can be grateful that God is your strength and your might. He is your salvation. You can trust Him to come through and help you every time. It goes on to say,4 “Pharaoh's chariots and his army he cast into the sea;     his picked officers were sunk in the Red Sea.
5 The floods covered them;     they went down into the depths like a stone.
6 Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power—     your right hand, O Lord, shattered the enemy.
7 In the greatness of your majesty, you overthrew your adversaries;     you sent out your fury, it consumed them like stubble.Again, these few verses are a mix of stating what the Lord did and praising Him for how amazing He is.  It says the Lord's right hand is glorious in power and that it shattered the enemy. Do you have enemies that need to be overthrown? The Israelites couldn't have seen this coming. I am sure that when they reached the Red Sea and saw how high and fast-moving the water was, they thought they would be captured. I am sure that not a single one of them could have predicted what God would do next. The same is true for your situation. Just because you can't see a way out doesn't mean there isn't one. Just because you feel as though your time has come doesn't mean it will. I have seen God deliver people I know and love from very difficult situations. Ones that seemed like there was no way out. Your situation is not hopeless. God is in it, and if He is not saving you from it, then He will help you through it.8 At the blast of your nostrils, the waters piled up,     the floods stood up in a heap;     the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.
9 The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake,     I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them.     I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.'
10 You blew with your wind, the sea covered them;     they sank like lead in the mighty waters.These verses are good because they show us that it does not matter what our enemies say. It doesn't matter how badly they threaten us. All we need to remember is how great our God is. These verses talk about how the enemy was saying things that were probably scary to hear. No one wants to hear that they will be overtaken and that the enemy will have their fill of our goods. However, the Israelites didn't have to worry because God took care of the enemy. He drowned every single one of them. It does not matter how great your enemy is; God is greater. It doesn't matter what your enemy is, either. It could be a physical illness, a mental illness, a financial problem, or a legal problem. Your enemy might be someone or something you can see, and it might be something you can't see, like an illness. Whatever your enemy is, trust me when I say that God can either save you from it or help you through it.11 “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?     Who is like you, majestic in holiness,     awesome in splendor, doing wonders?
12 You stretched out your right hand,     and the earth swallowed them.13 “In your steadfast love, you led the people whom you redeemed;     you guided them by your strength to your holy abode.These verses are great because they show the Lord that they know how amazing He is. They are showing the Lord that they know that there is none greater than the Lord. In the time they lived, there were other gods that people prayed to and worshiped, and so the Israelites were letting God know that they know He is the one true God. That no one and nothing compares to Him. I also love that the last verse in this section reminds us that God's love is a steadfast love. Steadfast means firmly loyal or constant; unswerving. That is God's love for you. His love is firmly loyal, constant, and unswerving. We might think when we do something wrong, God stops loving us, or that he loves us less than he did. This is not true. He may not like what you did, but His love for you is steadfast. It does not change. It is constant, even if you don't return His love. Even if you turn away from Him or reject Him. His love is still always right there. It doesn't go anywhere, and this verse is a good reminder of that.
14 The peoples heard, they trembled;     pangs seized the inhabitants of Philistia.
15 Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed;     trembling seized the leaders of Moab;     all the inhabitants of Canaan melted away.
16 Terror and dread fell upon them;     by the might of your arm, they became still as a stone
until your people, O Lord, passed by,     until the people whom you acquired passed by.These verses show us that when we allow God to save us. When we call out to the Lord, He saves us, and we tell people about it, they learn about the power of God as well. The Israelites had many enemies all throughout the ages. Had they been traveling from Egypt on their own, they may have been attacked by many other nations. However, all the land heard about their God and how he had parted the Red Sea so that they could pass by, and then had released the waters when their enemy tried to cross the waters on dry ground.Sometimes you will have enemies that know God is on your side, and they won't engage. They might try to hurt you in a roundabout way, but they won't come straight at you because they know how powerful God is. It says in these verses that their enemies trembled. They were dismayed, and terror and dread fell upon them. Isn't it amazing what God can do when we let Him?
17 You brought them in and planted them on the mountain of your own possession,     the place, O Lord, that you made your abode,     the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hands have established.
18 The Lord will reign forever and ever.”19 When the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his chariot drivers went into the sea, the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them; but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.It ends by restating what God did for them and to their enemies. It is proclaiming for all to hear that God is the reason they are alive. God is the one who brought them safely through the Red Sea. He allowed them to walk through on dry ground and yet brought back the waters of the sea upon the enemy.God can do this for you, too. Whatever your struggle is, turn it over to the Lord, and he will help you through it. While you are in it, praise the Lord. The more we praise the Lord, the more our lives will change. I know that may seem like a crazy statement. You may wonder how praise and worship can change your life. However, since we are almost to the end of our praise series, I pray that you don't wonder how your life will be changed. I pray that you have seen over the course of this series that praise and worship are capable of changing your life in the best kind of ways. I love you, and I am rooting for you!Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, I want to thank you for helping us through this praise series. I want to thank you for all the scriptures you have given me and for all the help you have given me in writing each devotional. Lord, we want to turn to you. Why is it so hard? We want to praise you in the good times and the bad. We just get distracted with all that is going on. We get overwhelmed, especially if we have been in this situation for a long time. Please help us avoid feeling overwhelmed. Help us to not feel hopeless in our situation. Remind us of your goodness and your steadfast love, Lord! We ask all of this in accordance of your will and in Jesus's holy name, Amen!Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to meeting you here again on Monday. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I!. God is on your side, and we are both rooting for you, always! Have a blessed day.Today's Word from the Lord was received in September 2025 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today's Word from the Lord is, “I know each struggle that you have, but remember, your struggles are the refiner's fire. Don't let those struggles drown you. They are a passageway to a better future. They are the path that I have laid before you. The path will always have obstacles, but don't let them take you down. Remember, I'm there. I lift you up. ” www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace

Welcome to Day 2785 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom. Day 2785 – Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 108:6-9 – Daily Wisdom Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2785 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day two thousand seven hundred eighty-five of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. The Title for Today's Wisdom-Trek is: The Divine Cartography – God Claims His Geography. Today, we are back on the trail, continuing our exploration of the "Warrior Poet's Remix," Psalm One Hundred Eight. We are trekking through the middle section, verses six through nine, in the New Living Translation. In our previous trek through the first five verses of this psalm, we heard the sound of a "fixed heart." We watched King David wake the dawn with his lyre and declare that God's love is higher than the heavens. We saw him take an old song of lament (from Psalm Fifty-seven) and remix it into a new anthem of confidence. He ended that section with a cosmic prayer: "Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May your glory shine over all the earth." Today, the scene shifts from the cosmic to the concrete. David moves from singing about the stars to looking at a map. He moves from the "heavens" to the dirt and rock of the Middle East. In verses six through nine, we hear God Himself speak. It is a divine oracle spoken from the Holy Sanctuary. In this oracle, Yahweh acts like a victorious General standing over a map of the ancient Near East. He points to specific territories—Shechem, Succoth, Gilead, Moab, Edom, Philistia—and claims them as His own. He essentially says, "This belongs to Me. And this belongs to Me. And that over there? That is just My washbasin." This is a powerful assertion of Divine Ownership. In the Ancient Israelite worldview, where nations were believed to be owned by their respective gods (Chemosh for Moab, Milcom for Ammon), Yahweh is declaring that He is the Landlord of everything. He is redrawing the borders and reclaiming the inheritance for His people. So, let us stand in the war room and listen to the strategy of the King. The first segment is: The Prayer for Rescue: The Right Hand of Power. Psalm One Hundred Eight: verse six. Now rescue your beloved people. Answer and save us by your power. Before the oracle begins, David offers a short, sharp prayer. This acts as the bridge between the praise of the first five verses and the prophecy that follows. "Now rescue your beloved people. Answer and save us by your power." The literal Hebrew here is quite evocative: "That Your beloved ones may be delivered; Save with Your right hand, and answer me!" First, notice the identity of the people. David calls them "Your beloved people" (yedid-echa). This comes from the same root as the name Jedidiah (which was Solomon's name given by God, meaning "Beloved of Yahweh"). This is crucial for our confidence in prayer. David doesn't appeal to God based on Israel's military strength or their moral perfection. He appeals to God's affection. "Lord, these are the ones You love. Therefore, rescue them." Second, notice the method...

1 Sam 27:1-12. During this extended time of trial and discouragement, rather than enquiring of the Lord, David made a naturally minded decision, void of faith. Subsequently, this wasn't the greatest chapter in David's life, where he finds himself now subservient to the enemy in Philistia! However, this chapter is deeply instructive for our own […]

Send us a textWinter brings more than candles and carols; it brings a question about light, place, and purpose. We walk the Feast of Dedication in John 10 where Jesus moves through Solomon's Porch, then follow that light into the contested ground of the Temple Mount, the timing of October 7, and the long memory of names that tried to erase Israel. Jonathan Cahn's teaching draws a straight line from Hanukkah's rededication to today's headlines, showing how desecration targets sacred time and space—and why that same struggle shows up in our own hearts.We explore why Hanukkah is eight days by returning to the Feast of Tabernacles, not the later oil legend, and how reclaiming a missed holy day became an act of resistance. We trace how “Palestine” emerged from Philistia after the Bar Kokhba revolt and how Hadrian's renaming of Jerusalem echoed the Greek desecration tied to Zeus. Along the way, we connect Al-Aqsa, Operation naming, and the Temple Mount to a much older conflict over worship and identity. The thread continues through Revelation 12, where the dragon aims to devour before the promise is born. That preemptive tactic explains both ancient persecutions and modern campaigns—and it explains why your calling faces its fiercest pushback just before fruit appears.The most personal turn arrives when we remember that we are now the temple. Rededication is not seasonal; it is daily. Clearing idols looks like silencing hurry, shedding religious busywork, and letting Jesus reign from the center. If you're following God and the pressure spikes, read it as a signal, not a sentence: the enemy does not waste ammunition on empty futures. Pray, return to the Word, and rekindle first love. Light spreads from the center out, and even in the darkest season, a dedicated heart shines.If this resonates, subscribe and share it with someone who needs fresh courage. Leave a review with one insight you're acting on this week—what will you rededicate today?Support the showThank you for listening! Please help us by sharing this podcast with your friends and telling someone about what Jesus has done for you. If you would like to share your story, visit our website https://thepromoter.org/

The ArK of the Covenant is captured by the Philistines at the battle of Aphek and the priests Hophni and Phinehas are killed. The Ark proves to be quite capable of taking care of itself and the Philistines hasten to send it back to Israel.

Study Passage: Exodus 15:1-21Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD, saying,“I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously;the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.2 The LORD is my strength and my song,and he has become my salvation;this is my God, and I will praise him,my father's God, and I will exalt him.3 The LORD is a man of war;the LORD is his name.4 “Pharaoh's chariots and his host he cast into the sea,and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea.5 The floods covered them;they went down into the depths like a stone.6 Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power,your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy.7 In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries;you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble.8 At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up;the floods stood up in a heap;the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.9 The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake,I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them.I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.'10 You blew with your wind; the sea covered them;they sank like lead in the mighty waters.11 “Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods?Who is like you, majestic in holiness,awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?12 You stretched out your right hand;the earth swallowed them.13 “You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed;you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.14 The peoples have heard; they tremble;pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia.15 Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed;trembling seizes the leaders of Moab;all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.16 Terror and dread fall upon them;because of the greatness of your arm, they are still as a stone,till your people, O LORD, pass by,till the people pass by whom you have purchased.17 You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain,the place, O LORD, which you have made for your abode,the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established.18 The LORD will reign forever and ever.”19 For when the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into thesea, the LORD brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the people of Israelwalked on dry ground in the midst of the sea. 20 Then Miriam the prophetess, the sisterof Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her withtambourines and dancing. 21 And Miriam sang to them:“Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously;the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.”

Ezekiel - Judgement on the gentile nations - Ammon. Moab. Edom. Philistia. Judgement on Tyre.

The final chapter of Joel's prophecy always intrigues us.  It's opening verse is plain – “For behold in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem.  I will …”  The fortunes of God's nation of Israel have been dramatically restored in the last 100 years.  How long, we ask ourselves, before “the LORD roars from Zion and utters his voice from Jerusalem and the heavens and the earth quake” [v.16]Very pertinent questions arise from God's words in v,12,13, “I will sit to judge the surrounding nations … for their evil is great.”   The next verse says, “multitudes” are involved – and yesterday's chapter indicated a particular “northerner” is involved who is destroyed after “he has done great things.” [2 v.20]In today's chapter the question is asked, “What are you to me O Tyre and Sidon?” [3 v,4] Today this is the nation of Lebanon, “the region of Philistia” is also involved, which is now known as ‘the Gaza strip.'   The answer of the question is clear – they are counted as nothing in God's eyes.A wider challenge is made; “Proclaim this among the nations: consecrate for war; stir up the mighty men. Let all the men of war draw near; let them come up … let the weak say, ‘I am a warrior.'” [v.9,10] All this has happened – is that happening complete?   Verse 16 & 17 indicate a final climax when “The Lord roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth quake.  But the LORD is a refuge to his people, a stronghold to the people of Israel. So you shall know that I am the LORD your God …”  The world at that time will know – but those who diligently read God's word should “know” now!What a blessing such knowledge will prove to be when the LORD “roars” and the nations are in great alarm.  Those who “know” will have a special ‘peace of mind' – and they should have it now – they need to have it now.   Look at the point Paul makes, that we also read today as he completed his 2nd letter to the Thessalonians, “Now may the God of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.” [v.16]  Are you feeling receptive to that peace?  You should be.

In this episode, from a chapel service held on Friday, 19 September 2025, Andrew Shead, Head of the Old Testament Department at Moore Theological College, speaks on Jeremiah 47:1-7 and 49:23-27, and Jeremiah's oracles to the nations of Philistia and Damascus.He reminds us that God takes an interest in all nations, not just that of Old Testament Israel. He has compassion on them, he rejoices in them, and he judges them and brings them to an end according to his divine purposes. However, the horrors of war and death are redeemed through Jesus, who brings resurrection hope to all nations.For more audio resources, visit the Moore College website. There, you can also make a donation to support the work of the College.Contact us and find us on socials.Support the work of translating the Preliminary Theological Certificate with the Centre for Global Mission.Please note: The episode transcript provided is AI-generated and has not been checked for accuracy. If quoting, please check against the audio.

Up next in the list of nations being rebuked by the Lord is the nation of Edom. Edom was on the short list of nations receiving prophetic rebuke along with Ammon, Moab, and Philistia when this section began back in chapter 25. Recall that the nation of Edom stems from Jacob's (aka Israel's) brother Esau, and they have been at odds more or less ever since the womb. Most recently, Edom participated in the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem during the Babylonian invasion. History reveals that in time the Edomites will be defeated by the Maccabees in 126 BC and incorporated into the Jewish state and would cease to exist by the year 6 AD. Later in our reading, Ezekiel promises restoration for Israel, bringing them back into their own land.Ezekiel 35 - 1:02 .Ezekiel 36 - 4:01 . :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.facebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

Theme: Restoration, Repentance, and Prophecy — God's Zeal for Zion and His Sovereign Plan Pastor Matthew continued the study in Zechariah chapters 8–9, emphasizing God's zealous love for Jerusalem, His plan to restore His people, and the prophetic revelation of Jesus' triumphal entry hundreds of years before it happened. The message blended historical restoration, end-time prophecy, and personal spiritual application about obedience, repentance, and loving truth. The Context of Zechariah's Message Zechariah ministered to the returning exiles who were rebuilding the temple and city after Babylonian captivity. His message: Repent and rebuild, learning from the failures of their fathers who disobeyed God. “The reason Jerusalem was run over and the walls were down was because their fathers decided not to obey God.” Pastor warned that disobedience in one generation damages the next, but also offered hope: “The Lord will restore everything the cankerworm has eaten… You can start over today because His mercies are new every morning.” God's Zealous Love and Protective Jealousy (Zechariah 8:1–3) God declares: “I am zealous for Zion with great zeal.” Pastor explained the difference between sinful jealousy (possessive, fearful) and God's holy jealousy (protective, loving). He illustrated this with a story of a discerning wife's protective instinct — likening God's jealousy to the kind that protects, not controls. Application: God's jealousy is a shield of love, not suspicion. He guards His people as a husband guards his bride. God's Promise of Restoration and Peace Zechariah's vision shows old men and women in the streets and children playing again — symbols of renewed peace. Pastor noted that this prophecy has a dual fulfillment: Immediate — Israel's physical return and rebuilding under Nehemiah and Zechariah. Future — The millennial kingdom, when Christ reigns and Jerusalem is finally at peace. “There's coming a day when Jerusalem will never be moved again. They'll suffer, but they're there to stay.” The Nations and Israel — God's Sovereign Control Pastor described how world events align with biblical prophecy: nations turning against Israel, yet unable to uproot her. He cautioned that the stage is being set for the end-times conflict when “all nations come against Jerusalem.” “They're not leaving. Russia's not pushing them out. Muslims aren't. America won't compromise them out. They belong to God.” He reminded the congregation that God owns every nation: “Israel belongs to God. So does Saudi Arabia, Iran, Russia, America, and China. The earth is the Lord's.” Key Point: The rise and fall of nations are under divine authority; human plans collapse, but God's purposes stand forever (Psalm 2). God's Call to Integrity and Truth (Zechariah 8:16–17) The Lord calls His people to: Speak truth to neighbors. Give just judgment. Avoid evil and deceit. Pastor explained that while we are no longer “under the law,” the Ten Commandments remain, summed up in Jesus' two greatest commandments: “Love the Lord your God… and love your neighbor as yourself.” He warned against loving lies and gossip, urging believers to love truth even when it hurts: “Love truth when it punches you in the face. It's your protector.” The Value of Correction and Loving Truth Pastor reminded that truth both encourages and rebukes: “One day truth pats you on the back, saying, ‘Keep going.' The next day it slaps you on the shoulder and says, ‘Stop being foolish.' We need both.” Truth guards against deception — echoing Paul's warning that in the last days, God will send strong delusion to those who reject truth (2 Thess. 2:11–12). Application: “Don't just love truth when it makes you feel good — love it when it corrects you. That's what keeps you safe.” Restoration of Joy and the Future Kingdom (Zechariah 8:19–23) God promised that Israel's fasts of mourning would become feasts of joy. People from many nations would say, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” Pastor noted this points to both: Israel's national revival, and The global acknowledgment of God's presence among His people. He reminded the church that God reveals Himself to all nations and that no one is beyond His reach, citing: “The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.” (Titus 2:11) God's Sovereignty in Judgment and Mercy (Zechariah 9) Pastor transitioned into Zechariah 9, noting it shifts from restoration to prophecy and divine judgment. The Lord declares He will judge the surrounding nations (Tyre, Sidon, Gaza, Ashkelon, Philistia), showing He alone controls history. “Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. If He tells you to store up, do it. If not, don't worry — just obey Him.” Prophecy of the Messiah — The Triumphal Entry (Zechariah 9:9–10) One of Scripture's clearest messianic prophecies: “Behold, your King is coming to you… lowly and riding on a donkey.” Pastor showed how this prophecy was fulfilled exactly in Luke 19:28–40, 500 years later, when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a colt. He explained Jesus' deity through this miracle: He knew where the donkey was before the disciples arrived. The unbroken colt didn't resist because its Creator was riding it. “You don't buck the one who made you.” Key Revelation: Even creation recognizes the Creator. When the Pharisees told Jesus to silence His followers, He replied, “If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” Closing Reflections — God's Ownership and Faithfulness Everything in creation belongs to God and returns to Him. All life flows from Him — human, animal, or natural — and He sustains it all. Pastor closed personally, thanking the congregation for prayers during his recovery from hip pain, testifying how God used the trial to draw him closer: “If you'll just talk to God and open your life to Him, He'll use it. He knows how to do things right.” He reflected on Jacob's limp and said, like the patriarch, “God weakened my strength in the way” to prepare him for the next phase of ministry. Core Message God's jealousy is protective — His love guards His people. Love truth, even when it hurts. Israel's restoration and Christ's reign are certain. God's Word is precise — prophecy always fulfills perfectly. Every trial, every delay, every pain can be used by God for transformation.  

What about the Philistines?

We're now in the section of Jeremiah that includes prophecies against individual nations. These prophecies were gathered over the course of Jeremiah's life and have been collected here at the end of his account. The overarching theme of these chapters is that the Lord sees the injustice and disgrace of the surrounding nations, and they will not escape his wrath and judgment. In some cases, the Lord says that he will restore the nation, but in other cases, the nation will become a perpetual ruin. In our last episode, Jeremiah prophesied against Egypt, Philistia, and Moab. Today we continue in the prophecy against Moab, and continue through prophesies against Ammon, Edom, Damascus, Kedar, Hazor, and Elam.Jeremiah 48:21 - 1:09 . Jeremiah 49 - 7:08 . Proverbs 16 - 17:05 .  :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.facebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

God's sovereignty extends far beyond individual salvation to encompass entire nations—a biblical truth often overlooked in contemporary teaching. This eye-opening episode delves into Ezekiel 25, where God pronounces judgment on Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia for their centuries of hostility toward Israel.What's remarkable is how God remembers national sins committed hundreds of years earlier. The Ammonites celebrated when Jerusalem fell. The Moabites claimed Judah was "like all other nations." The Edomites, despite being blood relatives through Esau, took vengeance against God's people. The Philistines maintained "everlasting enmity" toward Israel. For each, God pronounces specific judgments that were historically fulfilled through Babylon's conquests.Throughout Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, we see God actively raising up and tearing down nations, establishing their boundaries and appointed times. This isn't just Old Testament theology—Paul affirms it to the Athenians in Acts 17. Scripture presents three redemptive dimensions: individuals, creation, and nations.This perspective challenges our modern tendency to compartmentalize faith as purely personal. While individual salvation has always been by grace through faith, God simultaneously works out His purposes in the geopolitical sphere. The Bible's consistent pattern shows that how nations treat Israel matters to God—a principle with profound implications for our world today.As we reason through these challenging passages, we're reminded that only God can take righteous vengeance. Our ultimate comfort comes not from national identity but from personal salvation through Jesus Christ [the Messiah], who shields believers from the wrath these nations experienced. Join us next time as we explore God's judgment on Tyre and continue uncovering biblical truths that speak to every dimension of life.Support the showThank you for listening!! Please give us a five-star rating to help your podcast provider's algorithm spread RTTB among their listeners. You can find free study and leader resources at the following link - Resource Page - Reasoning Through the Bible Please prayerfully consider supporting RTTB to help us to continue providing content and free resources. You can do that at this link - Support RTTB - Reasoning Through the Bible May God Bless you!! - Glenn and Steve

5. Which three kings joined forces to fight against Moab?A) Israel, Judah, and EdomB) Israel, Syria, and EgyptC) Judah, Philistia, and MoabD) Israel, Judah, and Aram

Exodus 15:1-21Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:“I will sing to the Lord,  for he is highly exalted.Both horse and driver  he has hurled into the sea.   2 “The Lord is my strength and my defense;  he has become my salvation.He is my God, and I will praise him,  my father's God, and I will exalt him.   3 The Lord is a warrior;  the Lord is his name.   4 Pharaoh's chariots and his army  he has hurled into the sea.The best of Pharaoh's officers  are drowned in the Red Sea.   5 The deep waters have covered them;  they sank to the depths like a stone.   6 Your right hand, Lord,  was majestic in power.Your right hand, Lord,  shattered the enemy.   7 “In the greatness of your majesty  you threw down those who opposed you.You unleashed your burning anger;  it consumed them like stubble.   8 By the blast of your nostrils  the waters piled up.The surging waters stood up like a wall;  the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.   9 The enemy boasted,  ‘I will pursue, I will overtake them.I will divide the spoils;  I will gorge myself on them.I will draw my sword  and my hand will destroy them.'   10 But you blew with your breath,  and the sea covered them.They sank like lead  in the mighty waters.   11 Who among the gods  is like you, Lord?Who is like you—  majestic in holiness,awesome in glory,  working wonders?   12 “You stretch out your right hand,  and the earth swallows your enemies.   13 In your unfailing love you will lead  the people you have redeemed.In your strength you will guide them  to your holy dwelling.   14 The nations will hear and tremble;  anguish will grip the people of Philistia.   15 The chiefs of Edom will be terrified,  the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling,the people of Canaan will melt away;16  terror and dread will fall on them.By the power of your arm  they will be as still as a stone—until your people pass by, Lord,  until the people you bought pass by.17 You will bring them in and plant them  on the mountain of your inheritance—the place, Lord, you made for your dwelling,  the sanctuary, Lord, your hands established.18 “The Lord reigns  for ever and ever.”19 When Pharaoh's horses, chariots and horsemen went into the sea, the Lord brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground. 20 Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron's sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women followed her, with timbrels and dancing. 21 Miriam sang to them:“Sing to the Lord,  for he is highly exalted.Both horse and driver  he has hurled into the sea.”  

We are back in the book of Isaiah, and as you'll hear the prophet himself mention, we are in the time period surrounding the death of Ahaz, that wicked king of Judah who not only created an idolatrous altar and set it up adjacent to the altar of God, but who sacrificed his own children to the gods of foreign nations. We begin with a pronouncement against Babylon, which contains assertions that they are God's chosen weapon of wrath against his disobedient people, AND that they will become desolate for their actions. Israel will return to the land and the king of Babylon will fall. Pronouncements against Philistia, Moab, and Damascus follow, and we'll conclude with a prophecy of judgment against Israel. :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.facebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

On the holy mount stands the city he founded; 2     the Lord loves the gates of Zion     more than all the dwelling places of Jacob. 3 Glorious things of you are spoken,     O city of God.  4 Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon;     behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush—     “This one was born there,” they say. 5 And of Zion it shall be said,     “This one and that one were born in her”;     for the Most High himself will establish her. 6 The Lord records as he registers the peoples,     “This one was born there.”  7 Singers and dancers alike say,     “All my springs are in you.”1.     Which bothers you more, exclusivity or inclusivity?2.     God was exclusive in order to be inclusive. Does this make sense to you? Can you put that in your own words?3.     Who are your Philistines or Gazans? Who do you not want to be your neighbor?4.     How should new life in Jesus impact the way you treat and welcome others?5.     How can always re-focusing on Jesus reduce the barriers to entry in our community?

Jesus Delivers Us (10) (audio) David Eells -8/13/25 Saints, I'm going to continue our teaching how Jesus delivers us and our authority over the demons. I'm going to go over the last dream by SG I shared with you and give more of the interpretation. Let me make a point first. I was warned in a dream about a plot of the factious enemy. When the Lord told us that we would be able to cast it down, He made sure I found the dream that we shared last time, called “Getting Ready for the Storm.” It was given to me months prior on a piece of paper. I had shoved it in my Bible, and I became so busy that I forgot about it until the right time, when the Lord reminded me of it. He led me directly to it. You see, I had taken my Bible out of its holder, and I was fixing the loose binder. I had glued it and I was waiting for it to dry. I had many papers stuffed inside my Bible, not helping the binding, and I wanted to study because I had some things on my mind. I wanted to see what the Lord would say about them, but instead the Lord told me, “No, go through those papers and get them out of your Bible. Get the ones you don't need out.” As I was doing that, I ran across this revelation. It would have been lost forever if the Lord hadn't stopped me at just the right time to look at it. As soon as I started reading, I realized what I had. Let's examine it line by line to understand what God is revealing to us.   Getting Ready for the Storm by SG (David's notes in red) A few of us were outside a big house that was more than one-story high. (This represents God's house.) We were trying to get a platform or something apart before the storm was to come. (Before I found this dream, the Lord had given me a dream or vision in the middle of the night concerning my children, symbolizing UBM, who were with me. In this warning from the Lord, the wind started picking up. I looked around to see where the wind was coming from and noticed a great big tornado coming towards us. I told all the children to get in my car. This represents a place of safety, or the Man-child's way of rest and peace. With cars, you just start them up, push on the pedal, and they go. You don't have to pedal them. It's not man's works. So, all of them got in the car, except for one person. That person took off running towards the tornado. I realized that this represented the faction movement. This person was behaving like Judas did when he ran to the faction of the Sanhedrin to turn Jesus over to them. This revelation given to S.G. months before mine was all about getting ready for the storm. Also, the Lord showed S.G. that this rebellion was happening outside of the house. As I read her dream, Adonijah's faction rebellion to usurp David's throne came to me (1 Kings Chapters 1-2). This is where Adonijah was seeking a platform that was outside the house of God, and according to her dream, it needed to be taken down. This step comes before the storm of my dream arrives; otherwise, there will be trouble.) We needed to unscrew some bolts or something like that. (This represents taking down their strength through spiritual warfare. Bolts are the strength of holding things together.) We started to see wolves and dogs (symbolizing demons) trying to come against us. It was dark outside. There was thunder, lightning and blowing wind. All these represent the spiritual storm. We went inside the house. (Inside the house is a place of provision and safety, and it represents abiding in Jesus Christ, abiding in the temple of God, abiding in the house of the Lord. This usurpation was taking place outside the house of the Lord. The Church is going to go through a crucifixion at the hands of factious people. Factious people all believe that they are in the house of the Lord, but they're not, because they are in hatred, criticism, and rebellion.) We went inside the house. Many others from local UBM were in different rooms praying. Some were kneeling down, while some were standing and commanding the wolves and the dogs to go! It was all happening so fast. It was as if we were in the midst of a storm on a ship out to sea. Things were coming from all directions. We were just commanding those things to cease and go. (In this, we see that God is preparing us for tribulation. The Church will learn to do spiritual warfare. Isn't it wonderful that you can go through so much and yet be at peace? This is because you know from experience that you have authority over all the power of the enemy, and so the enemy has to obey your command. When Jesus sent out His disciples, they came back rejoicing because they had received the revelation that the demons were subject to them (Luke 10:17-20). Jesus said that He beheld Satan fallen from heaven (Luke 10:18). We see “Satan fallen from heaven” is a revelation that will be given to the “woman,” the Church, in the wilderness (Revelation 12:9), although this revelation is being given to the Bride and the Man-child now.) Things were coming from all directions. We were just commanding those things to cease and go. (This represents spiritual warfare training for the coming Passover and tribulation. We have a Passover coming, but we must not be in unforgiveness, criticism, anger, or judgment when that Passover comes. There's no sacrifice for willful disobedience (Hebrews 10:26) and you are going to reap what you sow if that happens (Galatians 6:7). During the Passover in Egypt, the Lord was in full control of the Destroyer. (Exo.12:23) For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side-posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. The Passover was performed for those who had eaten all of the lamb. (Exo.12:10) And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; but that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. God's people were delivered, even while Egypt was not. The world went under the curse, and the worldly do go under the curse, but God's people who had the blood on their doorposts were delivered.) At one point, it settled down a little. But then I was going outside and touching a gate that was open. It seemed like it shocked me. Then I couldn't speak, as if the enemy were trying to silence me. (Any open “door” will let the enemy in to hinder and sabotage God's work. If the saints are silenced, the enemy will win. We have to take authority over the enemy by the spoken word.) I was able to say, “No! In the Name of Jesus!” I said this as loudly as I could, and started to fight in the spirit. It started to get windy and rough again. (This is training and conditioning. We have to be conditioned like the military does with its people. We have to be conditioned to face the enemy fearlessly, having confidence that (Gal.2:20) … it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me… and being practiced in using our weapons (2 Corinthians 10:4; Ephesians 6:10-17).) I saw David and Michael, and other brothers and sisters praying and taking care of the little ones. (These “little ones” are those who are not yet practiced in spiritual warfare. They are not confident in their weapons. Even David didn't want to put on Saul's armor (1 Samuel 17:39). He said that he hadn't proven or tested it. He wasn't used to Saul's armor, but he was used to his sling, and it was all he needed to take out Goliath (1 Samuel 17:49).) It was so chaotic and noisy! But everyone was doing their part in the warfare. A few of us would go up and down stairs, helping each other to fight. (This represents helping people at different levels of maturity.) We were strong and didn't give up. No one was frightened. (That's how you get when you enter into the rest. You just know that God has heard your prayers, that you have authority over the enemy, and so on.) But we were more determined when we saw the enemy come against us. As far as I could tell, there were no casualties. (That's important because when there is faction, somebody is taken out. In my dream, it was the guy who was running towards the tornado. So we sought the Lord because we didn't want anybody to be taken out, and we also asked the Lord to have mercy and to spare anybody whom the devil planned to use in this regard. Father heard our prayers. He showed us that we had authority to cast down this faction attack, yet I didn't know this confirmation of not losing anyone to faction, “no casualties,” had been hidden in my Bible all along. Glory be to God!) And before I woke up, I heard myself say two or three times, “I have to wake up and write this down.” (And then I woke up. God has a sense of humor, doesn't He?) S.G.'s Notes: I sensed we had the victory, even though I had left the whole scene (without seeing the end) when I woke up. I felt good about the dream, sensing that we were all working together. Even though the enemy was trying to bring chaos, the fight was done with order. We all knew what we were to do, and we did it. (This expertise in warfare has come through years of practice in dealing with the factious. The Lord's Man-child and Bride are being put through this training in order to go forth and bring wisdom to God's people, just as when Jesus and His Bride were first anointed. You, who are hearing and reading this now, are also gaining this knowledge and wisdom.) I asked the Lord for a Word to correspond to this dream. My finger went down on “our captain.” (2Ch.13:12KJV) And, behold, God himself is with us for our captain, and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against the Lord God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper. This is the story of Jeroboam's faction against Israel. What were the chances of randomly landing on a faction verse? Jeroboam led Israel away in a faction from the house of David (2Ch.11:15) and he appointed him priests for the high places, and for the hegoats, and for the calves which he had made. He set up the false “Jesus” of the golden calves and, following the failed ambush he set up against Judah, he ultimately lost his kingdom and life to Abijah, the son of David. These misled people were all trusting in their golden calves, making priests who were not ordained of God, and following a leader who was a wicked, factious person, yet here they came to attack a people who still serve and sacrifice to the real, true God. The factious group attack a people who have the temple of God in their midst like Jerusalem and who are serving God. What is the chance of them winning? Zero! (2Ch.13:13) But Jeroboam caused an ambushment to come about behind them: so they were before Judah, and the ambushment was behind them. (The factious army was before Judah, and the ambushment was behind them.) (14) And when Judah looked back, behold, the battle was before and behind them; and they cried unto the Lord, and the priests sounded with the trumpets. (15) Then the men of Judah gave a shout: and as the men of Judah shouted, it came to pass, that God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah (He was a son of David.) and Judah (was the house of David) (16) And the children of Israel (the faction) fled before Judah; and God delivered them into their hand. (17) And Abijah and his people slew them with a great slaughter: so there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men. (In our literal war with the factious they are spiritually dead and many are physically dead.)(18) Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time, and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied upon the Lord, the God of their fathers. (19) And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam (the factious leadership), and took cities from him, Beth-el (“house of God.”) with the towns thereof, and Jeshanah with the towns thereof, and Ephron with the towns thereof. (20) Neither did Jeroboam recover strength again in the days of Abijah (The faction was over.): and the Lord smote him, and he died. S.G.'s Notes: Then, the Lord gave me the word “tumult” from H1993 “Strong's Concordance” which means “to make a loud sound, to be in great commotion, roar, be in an uproar, to rage, war, clamor.” I looked up a few verses with the word “tumult” in them. One of the Scriptures, Psalm 83:2, I received twice in twenty-four hours: (Psa.83:2) For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: And they that hate thee have lifted up the head. (What were the chances of her randomly landing on a paragraph the next morning containing the word “tumult”? Praise God for His divine direction! Amazingly, Psalm 83 details the total victory God's people experienced when all their enemies came together to ambush Judah. This event is like the Sennacherib scenario (2 Kings 19) or the northern army that was conquered by the visitation of the Lord when He brought revival and the latter rain (Joel 2). How wonderfully God puts things together!) Psalm 83 is about a faction against God's people. It is called “A Song, a Psalm of Asaph.” Let's read it in its entirety. (Psa.83:1) O God, keep not thou silence: Hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God. (2) For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult; And they that hate thee have lifted up the head. (3) They take crafty counsel against thy people, And consult together against thy hidden ones. (4) They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; That the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. (5) For they have consulted together with one consent; Against thee do they make a covenant (All the enemy came against them to take them out. Has that ever happened to natural Israel? Yes, and natural Israel is a parable for the Church.): (6) The tents of Edom (They were the sons of Abraham but they made themselves enemies to the chosen people of Israel. The Edomites persecuted their own brothers.) and the Ishmaelites (They did the same thing.); Moab, and the Hagarenes; (7) Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre: (8) Assyria also is joined with them; They have helped the children of Lot. (All these people fought against Israel. They made themselves the enemy of Israel, and all of them paid for it because they were all conquered.) Selah. (9) Do thou unto them as unto Midian, as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the river Kishon (Give these enemies total defeat, including the loss of their head.); (10) Who perished at Endor, Who became as dung for the earth. (11) Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb; Yea, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna; (12) Who said, Let us take to ourselves in possession The habitations of God. (There was no chance of this happening; their failed plan to usurp the House of God was completely cast down.) (13) O my God, make them like the whirling dust; As stubble before the wind. (14) As the fire that burneth the forest, And as the flame that setteth the mountains on fire, (15) So pursue them with thy tempest, And terrify them with thy storm. (16) Fill their faces with confusion, That they may seek thy name, O Lord. (17) Let them be put to shame and dismayed for ever… This is what the Lord is doing with the factious. They are meeting with failure because of their evil schemes, and they don't even know that they've been taken by the devil. They don't know they are a captive of his will. If they get the revelation of what they have done, as people do who are delivered from demons, they are going to be shamed. This is good because it will make them very strong, as it did the Apostle Paul. He was shamed and wanted to make up for his attacks against his chosen brethren in every way possible (Acts 8:3,9:21; Galatians 1:13,23). He was the strongest of all the apostles. (Psa.83:17) Let them be put to shame and dismayed for ever; Yea, let them be confounded and perish; (18) That they may know that thou alone, whose name is the Lord, Art the Most High over all the earth. God is so good! He has a plan, and He can certainly tell you what it is. He is an awesome Savior in all things. Praise be to God! If we're going to make war against demonic entities, we cannot be deceived as to the enemy's identity and how to conquer him. We cannot be “ignorant of his devices”, although there are some laughable things in this next dream I'm going to share with you. It's all about the devil's devices, and it fits together very well. God is so amazing when His gifts, such as dreams, come together through His people to edify them, and God has many of these gifts in reserve that He can release at any time. Well, for quite a while we've been calling these things that take over God's people in the faction “stupid” demons. Sometimes we just look at each other when we hear things the factious say. We shake our heads, thinking, “How is it possible that anybody could believe such a thing?” Factious demons make people so stupid that they don't even realize what they're doing. Factious people don't recognize how idiotic their excuses are for disobeying God's Word, and it's a shameful thing, but they will understand more and more as they come out from under their demon-induced stupor. We praise God for their elects coming release! We've been praying for it. These are our friends whom we love. We know that God will give us all the victory through our warfare. Now let's look at the dream and the interpretation so that we can better understand the warfare that's needed.)   The Invasion of the “Stupid” Demons – Part 1 by S.S. (David's notes in red) I am in a meadow praying for all of UBM. In this dream, I am only praying for what the Lord gives or leads me to pray for them. And I am weeping for them while praying. Then I am standing in a hall with four doorways. As I look at the first doorway, a man comes out and says in carnival talk, “Let me tell you something lady! If you really want to know how to pray and get all the distractions out of your life, this is how you do it.” (“Carnival talk” is “make-believe.” It's talk to satisfy the lusts of the speaker, who wants to get something over on you. They are known for being slick salesmen and luring in the gullible public to their sideshows. Deceiving spirits keep people from knowing the real power of prayer by substituting their silly notions, and by doing that, they also keep God's people from knowing or discovering the demon's power.) In the doorway was a chin-up bar. He begins to hang upside down from it, and he starts swinging by his legs. He says, “You see, this is how you get rid of the demons! They can't hang around because you are upside down.” I reply, “What? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.” (That's exactly what we're talking about with these “stupid” demons. This is deception. The demons try to foist their power, what they're able to do, upon the people of God. Some people are made useless because they listen to the devil, instead of God, about spiritual warfare.) And then, I look closely at him. He is a cartoon walrus. (This may sound silly on the surface, but a walrus represents one who is full of flesh. Walruses get up to four to five thousand pounds; they're just monstrous. Also, it's interesting that their tusks are enlarged canines, which they use to pull their body, their flesh out of the water. In other words, they use their mouth and their teeth to separate themselves from God's Word, the “water,” for the sake of their flesh. That's like this deceptive demon represented by the carnival barker. A carnival is a place where they take advantage of you and make money off of you.) Then I look at the second doorway. There I see one large rat, three medium rats, and one baby rat. (Rats are unclean beasts and bearers of disease. People generally like to get rid of them.) And the biggest one is saying, “Don't be a rat! Don't be a rat!” To “rat” is to tell on somebody, to betray them by revealing incriminating information. The three medium ones are saying, “Don't tell! Don't tell!” And the baby rat is sniffling and trying to hold up his pants at the waist, saying with a very small voice, “Don't tell the truth! Don't tell the truth!” (Jesus promised in (Joh.8:32) and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. You will not be in bondage with the truth. Truth and prayer reveal the works and the power of the enemy; they give you wisdom so that you can destroy the enemy even before he makes his attack. It will be like the Sennacherib scenario, where the enemy is destroyed before they are able to shoot a single arrow into Jerusalem (Isaiah 37:33-36). The enemy is prevented from shooting into the Bride because God is defending her.) In the third doorway, I could see a classroom holding small grade-school desks, the type with a place for books under the seat. And the teacher is showing them how to pray a mantra. There was one little girl who couldn't do it. She could not remember the prayer. (Much of immature Christianity prays like this, trying to call up the power of God without heart and without faith. The only thing that answers mantras is demons. The Lord Jesus told us, (Mat.6:7) And in praying use not vain repetitions, as the Gentiles do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. This reminds me of when the nuns taught us to pray the Rosary for whatever we needed from God. We were told that if we did enough of these prayers, the “Hail Mary's” and “Our Father's,” we might get an answer, but it was all just praying a repetitive prayer, a mantra. The Lord doesn't want prayers like that; He wants prayers from your heart. He wants to have personal communication with you. (Jas.5:16) … The supplication of a righteous man availeth much in its working. We know and understand what He wants, but some people do not, and their rote prayers are not the kind that God hears. Going on with the dream.) With his fingers, the teacher is thumping the girl's head saying, “You're not trying hard enough! You are not trying hard enough.” (Salvation in all of its forms is not by works of man or works of law, but through repentance and faith in God. (Eph.2:8) For by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, [it is] the gift of God; (9) not of works, that no man should glory. People who tell you that you are not trying hard enough and who don't direct you into faith towards God are just going to frustrate you. When this happens, you will never arrive at your “destination.” So, of course, demons try to get people caught up in this kind of legalism because the demons know their human victims are not going to get any answers that way. They know the people will end up in frustration, losing their faith, and falling away. The demons have been doing this for thousands of years.) Continuing, I had been looking at the girl from the side, but she suddenly turns and looks my way with a sideways, downcast glance as if to say, “Did I show you my true colors?” (Yes, those oppressed under the law are not justified; therefore, their prayers are hindered.) And then she turns into a cartoon wolf. All the rest of the class are wolves, also. (Anybody who is under the law like that will never come to maturity. The law cannot perfect (Romans 3:20; Galatians 2:16; Hebrews 7:19; etc.) Those who seek God only for “fire insurance” haven't been changed in heart, and they will be dangerous to the body when their true colors are ultimately seen. They are just tares amongst the wheat (Matthew 13:24-30) and therefore, the true Church is being sanctified from them. There is an ongoing separation of the tares from the wheat. The Lord Jesus said, (Mat.13:30) Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn. We all may have gone through a time of legalism, but then we learned what was wrong with it, and we didn't stay there. If somebody stays there until the end, they are not justified before God. They are not accounted righteous before God, and they will lose out. It makes no difference if they call themselves a “Christian.” It's dangerous to stay in legalism after we've been redeemed from it. (Gal.4:4) But when the fulness of time came, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, (5) that he might redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. Demons try to get people caught up in situations where they won't get answers from God. Demons fear our prayers of faith and justification, so they use every trick they have to get us off track one way or another. They're not stupid; they just make people act stupid. All of this is to hinder us from doing spiritual warfare.) Continuing: And I say, “Oh Lord! This dream is dumb! I don't even like cartoons!” Cartoons are not real. (In this case, they're deceptions, figments of imagination that are not from God.) Next, I'm looking at the fourth doorway where a group of people are getting ready to pray. Someone announces loudly, “We're getting ready to pray now. We're getting ready to pray now.” (We are not supposed to cease from praying. The Lord says we are to (1Th.5:17) Pray without ceasing. This even includes prayers coming from our thought life.) The next word spoken is, “Let everyone pray in tongues for a little bit.” And all the people change into cartoon characters. (There's nothing wrong with speaking in tongues; it's very good, but the way some people speak in tongues is not so good. Some are putting on a cartoon show. Also, If a person has not repented and is not walking by faith, what would the Holy Spirit pray through them? Well, since He's praying for their good, He may be speaking judgment to turn them around or turn them from their sins, but many times that's not the thought of some when they're praying. They're thinking that this is the way to peace and prosperity when, instead, the Holy Spirit says, (Isa.26:9) With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee earnestly: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. It's true that sometimes people don't get honest with God until they go through judgments. A sister, who had suffered for many years under these tormenting spirits of rejection, would get in bad shape, and each time we would pray for her. The Lord was faithful to heal her, but then she would get in bad shape all over again. My thoughts were, “Okay, something's wrong. There's a foundation that we're not discovering.” Many times I brought up the subject of unforgiveness to her, and many times she would tell me, “Oh no, David! I don't have any unforgiveness toward anybody,” but I knew what she really meant was, “No, I don't want to kill them right now!” It was obvious that she was holding on to unforgiveness. Anyway, her husband and I would pray for her and she would keep going through this cycle, until ultimately, she had a stroke and was sagging on one side. I don't know how near death she came, but it was during this time that she was forced into being very honest with God. And sure enough, she discovered that she had unforgiveness towards her ex-husband and some other people. The Lord had turned her over to these tormentors, just as He said He would do in His Word. When she repented of this unforgiveness, her husband and I got her up out of bed and started marching her down the hall, walking by faith, but one side was not cooperating. We marched her around the kitchen island a few times, when, lo and behold, the power of the Lord hit her! He straightened her right up from the effects of the stroke. She was healed, and this breakthrough happened because she finally came to the place of being honest. The Holy Spirit is saying, “Sometimes people won't repent without this trouble.” (Isa.26:10) Let favor be shown to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness will he deal wrongfully, and will not behold the majesty of the Lord. (11) Lord, thy hand is lifted up, yet they see not (The Lord is making war against their enemies, their flesh and the demons therein.): but they shall see [thy] zeal for the people, and be put to shame; yea, fire shall devour thine adversaries. If you really want everything that God has that will make you better, you're willing to go to your cross, and you may even be praying in the Spirit for yourself to go to your cross. A lot of prosperity-minded people think that praying in the Spirit is the fix-all. They think that praying in the Spirit is going to bring peace and prosperity, with their enemies conquered, and so on. Ultimately, this is very true, but only if they have repented and are walking towards the Lord, but many people are like this sister. They don't know what's been holding them back all this time, but the Lord can show them, just as the Holy Spirit did for this sister. And since the Holy Spirit knows that some people need chastening, it's a delusion to think that praying in the Spirit, real or supposed, will always bring peace and prosperity, but demons like to delude. Repentance and faith are the foundation for prayer. The Holy Spirit intercedes for us according to the Will of God, not our carnal will. We know His goodwill comes to those who love Him, and we know to love Him is to keep His commandments (John 14:15). Remember, the Bible says, (Rom.8:26) And in like manner the Spirit also helpeth our infirmity (We have problems sometimes. We don't see the things we need to see. We don't know ourselves as well as we think.): for we know not how to pray as we ought… It is so true! God gives us the gift of speaking in tongues because we don't know what we should pray, but the Spirit does know what to pray. (Rom.8:26) … but the Spirit himself maketh intercession for [us] with groanings which cannot be uttered; (27) and he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to [the will of] God. So once again, we gain wisdom concerning the work of the Holy Spirit in us in how to defeat the enemy, which sometimes entails bringing us through chastening. (Rom.8:28) And we know that to them that love God all things work together for good… What about those who don't prove their love for God by their obedience? What if it's more important to them to seek the world, cater to their flesh, and keep the old man alive? In such a case, what comes to them for good would be chastening. (Rom.8:28) … all things work together for good, [even] to them that are called according to [his] purpose. At the beginning of this revelation, S.S. said, “I am only praying for what the Lord gives me to pray, and the way the Lord leads me to pray for them.” That's good! That's very important! Going on with the dream. People began putting their thumbs on their temples and waving their hands like wings, making exaggerated thumb movements. Have you ever heard of people doing such things? (Mat.23:5) But all their works they do to be seen of men: for they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders [of their garments], (6) and love the chief place at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, (7) and the salutations in the marketplaces, and to be called of men, Rabbi.) Continuing: And their tongues were about twelve inches long, and their eyes were as big as saucers. (There are religious spirits that make God's people do silly things to impress the people around them, all the time thinking that they are being spiritual. People can become pretty stupid when they have those spirits.) I said, “Enough is enough! When are people going to behave themselves?” (The prayers some people pray are simply in vain. They're useless because the people haven't repented, yet they think they're going to receive. That's no better than repeating a monotonous mantra. The Holy Spirit, through Paul and Jude, called letting the Holy Spirit pray through us “praying in the Spirit.” (Eph.6:18) With all prayer and supplication praying at all seasons in the Spirit, and watching thereunto in all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. Good things come from praying in the Spirit. (Jud.1:20) But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, (21) keep yourselves in the love of God… Have you prayed to build yourself up in the faith? Praise be to God! It's the act of being a vessel through whom the Spirit of God will pray for God's Will. It's not a blank check for your will. It's necessary for those who are repentant and not afraid for the Will of God to be manifested. (1Co.14:14) For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prayeth (Notice that the Holy Spirit prays through our spirit.), but my understanding is unfruitful. (Your understanding is “unfruitful” because you don't know what you're saying.) (15) What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also… Are you that determined that you should pray in these ways? I hope so; it's very important, but it's also important to do it right and not care about what other people think. It's important to be at rest with the Spirit of God, allowing Him to speak through you. (15) … and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also. I do that and love it. I feel edified when I sing in the spirit. Paul told believers to be (Eph.6:18) With all prayer and supplication praying at all seasons in the Spirit… He also said, (1Co.14:18) I thank God, I speak with tongues more than you all. Praise God! Now, let me say that if we are addressing the assembly in the Spirit, that is, addressing the assembly in tongues, there should also be interpretation. If we're not standing up to address the assembly, it's permitted to speak in tongues in the assembly, and interpretation is not required. Paul said for us to be “With all prayer and supplication praying at all seasons in the Spirit,” but that we should be praying with the understanding, too. If we are simply addressing God in tongues, our understanding is not required; however, if we are speaking to a group, they need to understand it. It will do no good to speak to them in tongues unless there's an interpretation. Speaking in tongues is not necessarily the same as the gift of tongues. The gift of tongues and its companion gift of interpretation are for the purpose of standing up to address the assembly. These gifts are for the Body, and they're on an equal footing with prophecy. Any person who is baptized in the Holy Spirit can speak in tongues, and it's very good to speak in tongues because (1Co.14:4) He that speaketh in a tongue edifieth himself (He “builds” himself up. Some people think that's a negative statement, but it's positive because you're building yourself up in the Holy Spirit.); but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.  

THE SHORT BOOK of Obadiah prophesied judgment on the nation of Edom for its role in the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon in 586 BC. However, Obadiah also prophesied a future reversal of fortunes, when, on the Day of Yahweh, the people of Israel would possess the lands of their tormentors—which includes Philistia (the Gaza Strip) and Zarephath (southern Lebanon, recently occupied by the IDF as a buffer zone against Hezbollah). Sharon's niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah. Our new book The Gates of Hell is now available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible! Derek's new book Destination: Earth, co-authored with Donna Howell and Allie Anderson, is now available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible! If you are looking for a text of the Book of 1 Enoch to follow our monthly study, you can try these sources: Parallel translations by R. H. Charles (1917) and Richard Laurence (1821)Modern English translation by George W. E. Nickelsburg and James VanderKam (link to book at Amazon)Book of 1 Enoch - Standard English Version by Dr. Jay Winter (link opens free PDF)Book of 1 Enoch - R. H. Charles translation (link opens free PDF) The SkyWatchTV store has a special offer on Dr. Michael Heiser's two-volume set A Companion to the Book of Enoch. Get both books, the R. H. Charles translation of 1 Enoch, and a DVD interview with Mike and Steven Bancarz for a donation of $35 plus shipping and handling. Link: https://bit.ly/heiser-enoch Follow us!• X: @gilberthouse_tv | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert• Telegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunker• YouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelation• Facebook.com/GilbertHouseFellowship JOIN US AND SPECIAL GUEST CARL TEICHRIB IN ISRAEL! Our next tour of Israel is October 19–30, 2025. For more information and to reserve your place, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel. Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! We truly appreciate your support. If you are so led, you can help out at GilbertHouse.org/donate. Get our free app! It connects you to these studies plus our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker, and the podcast that started this journey in 2005, P.I.D. Radio. Best of all, it bypasses the gatekeepers of Big Tech! The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at www.gilberthouse.org/app/. Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site! Gilbert House T-shirts and mugs! New to our store is a line of GHTV and Redwing Saga merch! Check it out at GilbertHouse.org/store! Think better, feel better! Our partners at Simply Clean Foods offer freeze-dried, 100% GMO-free food and delicious, vacuum-packed fair trade coffee from Honduras. Find out more at GilbertHouse.org/store. Our favorite Bible study tools! Check the links in the right-hand column at www.GilbertHouse.org.

THE SHORT BOOK of Obadiah prophesied judgment on the nation of Edom for its role in the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon in 586 BC. However, Obadiah also prophesied a future reversal of fortunes, when, on the Day of Yahweh, the people of Israel would possess the lands of their tormentors—which includes Philistia (the Gaza Strip) and Zarephath (southern Lebanon, recently occupied by the IDF as a buffer zone against Hezbollah).

Christianity is not just a religion. Christianity is just a name for the plan that God has made to establish His Kingdom on Earth. If you are a follower of Christ you have been brought out of a kingdom of darkness and into the Kingdom He died and rose again to establish. God is raising up a people for His possession to be a part of His Kingdom and we get to play a part in this mission. Making disciples of Jesus is the greatest calling and pursuit in all of life! DNA Questions - Psalm 87DiscoverIs the Lord ultimately talking about a place or a people in the Psalm?What comes to your mind when you consider Rahab (Egypt), Babylon, and Philistia in the story of scripture?What does it mean that "the Lord records as He registers the peoples"? NurtureConsidering the ways in which we thought about Egypt, Babylon, and Philistia in what season of life do you perceive God has you?Do you reproduce disciples of Jesus? Why or why not?What does it mean and what does it look like that all your springs are in the Lord? ActWhat are some practical steps you could take towards the intentionality of making disciples of Jesus?What would it look like for your DNA group to move in a more discipleship oriented direction?

Christianity is not just a religion. Christianity is just a name for the plan that God has made to establish His Kingdom on Earth. If you are a follower of Christ you have been brought out of a kingdom of darkness and into the Kingdom He died and rose again to establish. God is raising up a people for His possession to be a part of His Kingdom and we get to play a part in this mission. Making disciples of Jesus is the greatest calling and pursuit in all of life! DNA Questions - Psalm 87DiscoverIs the Lord ultimately talking about a place or a people in the Psalm?What comes to your mind when you consider Rahab (Egypt), Babylon, and Philistia in the story of scripture?What does it mean that "the Lord records as He registers the peoples"? NurtureConsidering the ways in which we thought about Egypt, Babylon, and Philistia in what season of life do you perceive God has you?Do you reproduce disciples of Jesus? Why or why not?What does it mean and what does it look like that all your springs are in the Lord? ActWhat are some practical steps you could take towards the intentionality of making disciples of Jesus?What would it look like for your DNA group to move in a more discipleship oriented direction?

There are some people who really like to travel. There are others who really like the idea of traveling, and my wife and I belong to that latter camp. Because though we're certainly interested in other areas of the world — curious about the geography, architecture, and culture of other cities — we're far less interested in paying the cost and taking the time to go to any of them. And so, what we do instead is watch online travel videos.As you could guess, online travel videos often only ever highlight the most beautiful and the most impressive parts of the cities that they feature. And this is not by accident. They are, after all, often sponsored by travel agencies who want to convince you, the viewer, that you really ought to go there. In a way, Psalm 87 is not unlike our modern travel videos. This psalm gives us a look into one specific city. It features some of the rare beauties of that city. And, its purpose is, without a doubt, to convince us that we really ought to go there.And what we're going to do this morning is move through Psalm 87, and do so with the help of three main concepts: City, Citizens, and Celebration. Let's pray, and ask the Lord for his help.Father, you are the maker of heaven and earth. And you are the maker of this great city that we are about to read about. Open our eyes to the wonders that are there. Awaken us to the surpassing splendor of the city called by your name. Call us toward it, and do so through your Spirit to the honor of your Son. Amen.So, once again, Psalm 87 is a psalm about a city. And we're looking at it along the lines: City, Citizens, and Celebration. We begin with the city.CityVerse 1,“On the holy mount stands the city he founded;”Notice how, when read slowly, the sentence seems to pull us upward phrase by phrase. First, we've got a mountain: “On the holy mount.” And, of course, a mountain, by its very nature, requires that we raise our eyes upward to acknowledge it. The path through the mountain is a climb. The entrance in, requires ascension. You must rise in order to reach it. Mountains are not hidden objects, let alone insignificant ones. Mountains epitomize the land in which they reside, and demand their recognition to the north, south, east, and the west of them. You can miss a body of water. You can be blind to a valley or lowland. It is hard to ignore a mountain. And, as we can see, the mountain in Psalm 87 is no ordinary mountain. It is holy.“On the holy mount.”Holy means set apart from what is sinful, unclean and common. Set apart so as to make it fit to be in the presence of God. Holy things are blessed things because they get to be near God.And so Psalm 87 is about a mountain upon which God can rightfully dwell! A mountain upon which God “places his feet,” so-to-speak. A mountain upon which God built a city.Still, verse one, “On the holy mount | stands the city | he founded;” Can you imagine? A city whose designer and builder is God. Follow me on this: The Planning Director for the City of Saint Paul is named Nicolle Newton. And the Planning Director for the City of Minneapolis is named Meg McMahan. The Planning Director for the city is named: I AM, Yahweh, “I am Who I am.” The God who places his footstool upon the earth and sets his throne in heaven. Wouldn't you want to live in the city made by the very one who: “Forgives all your iniquity, heals all your diseases, and redeems your life from the pit,” and “crowns you with steadfast love, and satisfies you with good, and works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. Who is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.”If the God of the universe had a city, well then wouldn't you want to go there?And in verse two, we're told even more about this city. Namely that,“The LORD loves this city. The Lord loves the gates of Zion, more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.”Note that it's not saying, “God loves no other city but this one.” But it is saying that of all the places, and of all the cities God loves, there is none so loved by God as this one.And, we should ask, in the Bible, what does God typically do when he loves something? When he really loves something? Perhaps some of you might remember from Numbers and Aaron's blessing in Numbers 6:24-27. What does God typically do when he really loves something? He puts his name on it. God puts his name on what he most loves. Said another way, God puts his name where his heart is already.Hence, verse 3,“Glorious things of you are spoken, O city of God.”God loves this city. He, by putting his name upon it, has committed himself to its flourishing. The city that has God's name upon it is the city that should rest assured, “God is for us, therefore, what could be against us?” So, Psalm 87, is a psalm about a city. That's our first main concept — the city itself. Second, the citizens of the city. CitizensNow what actually sets us up for this next section is that little phrase we see there in verse three: “Glorious things of you are spoken.” It's clearly addressing the city, yes? “Glorious things of you are spoken, O city of God.” And, so, it begs the question: What are the glorious things being spoken of this city? And, honestly, this is where things get interesting. Remember back in our intro, we compared Psalm 87 to a modern travel video. We said, Psalm 87 is not unlike a travel video in the sense that it highlights the beauties of a city in order to convince people that they really ought to go to that city. Where Psalm 87 differs from a modern travel video however: The beauties it features are not towering buildings and impressive architecture. Not picturesque parkways and pleasant boardwalks. There's no mention of beaches, or blue skies, or even sunshine. Those are the beauties features in modern travel videos — the stuff. The featured beauties of the city in Psalm 87 are people — the city's citizens.Look with me at verse 4, as the psalmist himself takes a back seat, and God himself speaks. Verse 4: “Among those who know me” God is clarifying to whom he is about to speak. To those who know me. Which, in biblical language, means those who have a relationship with God. Those who love and are loved by me.It's to that group of people who know God that God now mentions, or proclaims:“Rahab and Babylon; behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush.”And you might think: “What about them? We've been talking about the city of God. The holy mountain. The city he made. The city he loves. Suddenly, God steps into view and says, “To my followers over here, let me tell you about Rahab and Babylon; Philistia, Tyre, and Cush.” What about them?I mean, if you have much familiarity with the Old Testament, then you likely don't need me to tell you that most of these nations were historical enemies to God's people. They had fought wars against God's people. They had lured God's people into idolatry, and many other forms of sin.I mean, you see Babylon in that list, right? Babylon was the nation that broke down the walls of God's city, Jerusalem. Babylon killed the Israelites king, the Israelites killed its high-priest, and exiled most of its people. Babylon even burned God's Holy Temple to the ground (2 kings 25).And Philistia. Philistia was constantly at war with God's people throughout the period of the judges and the kings. At one point, the Philistines even stole the Ark of the Covenant and set it up next to one of its false gods — as if to say that the God over Israel was on par with their god Dagon. And don't let that first one trip you up — you see Rahab? The Rahab here is not the Rahab who hid the Israelite slaves and defended God's people. That'd make for a positive character in this list. Instead, Rahab here actually refers to Egypt. And one way to know that is to simply turn over to Psalm 89, only two psalms after this one, where it says in verse 10: “You crushed Rahab like a carcass; You scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.” Rahab is an enemy. And Isaiah 30:7 makes it even clearer: “Egypt's help is futile and empty; therefore, I have called her Rahab Who Sits Still."And so, we've got Babylon (who destroyed God's Temple), Philistia (who stole God's Ark of the Covenant), and Egypt (who enslaved God's people and, plague after plague, resisted God's will to let his people go).So again, we ask, what about these nations? Why bring them up here in light of God's Holy Mountain and God's beloved city?Is it to clarify that these are the nations who are not welcome in God's city? That these are the peoples who dare not set foot upon God's mountain?Given the background, this is exactly what we'd expect God to say next. But he doesn't! He doesn't! In fact, as the ESV translates it, God doesn't even say anything at this point. Instead, it's the people, those who know him, who speak up. And here's what they say, verse 4,“This one was born there,” they say.”Born there. And again, more emphatically, verse 5,“And of Zion it shall be said, “This one and that one were born in her;”Babylon, born in the city of God. Philistia, born on God's holy mountain. Egypt, born within the gates of Zion. Do you see what its saying?These surrounding nations, most who've historically been enemies to God, and enemies to God's people, are not: Merely going to be visitors in God's city, though that alone would've been shocking enough. They're not going to be temporary residents of God's city. “Here's your pass, expires six months from now.” But they're going to be citizens. They're going to receive a declaration of citizenship so complete, so real, so permanent that it could rightly be said of them, “They were born in this city! Born within these walls.”There is no one — no human being, no political group — who could ever orchestrate such a grand transformation as this. But God could. And God does. Verse five, when read in full, says:“And of Zion it shall be said, ‘This one and that one were born in her;' for [or, because of the fact that] the Most High himself will establish her.”God's going to do it. He's going to make it happen. The God who founded this city is going to fill it with former enemies.And, in verse 6, we get to watch him do it. “The LORD records as he registers the peoples, ‘This one was born there.'” The language is that of a king taking a census. Much like what Caesar Augustus did in the gospels. He, too, declared a census — an official counting of the people. Which meant that all the people, Joseph and Mary included, had to go and be registered, each to his own town.Droves and droves of people flooded the major city-centers in that time. People lined the streets, filled the cities — it's no wonder Mary and Joseph could find no room in the inn. Well here in Psalm 87, God is taking his census. Which means his people are coming to his city, and in that long line of people, we find Babylonians, Philistines, Egyptians, and, I might add, Europeans, and North Americans, and people from every tribe, nation and tongue. They're standing in the line. They're heading toward the gates. And when they finally arrive at the entrance, God is there. Pen and paper in hand. Looks up at them, total foreigners, former enemies, and declares — Born here. Inscribes: Born in my city. It's an amazing story. And, if you are a Christian, it is your story. It is. If you are a lover of Jesus. A follower of Jesus, then God has written over your life — not enemy, not foreigner, not illegitimate, not insufficient, but born here.“Born here.”Hebrews 12:22-23 says, of Christians:“You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled [And where are they enrolled? Where's the true city?] in heaven.”“The assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven.”Do you see it? Psalm 87 foretells of the King of Heaven's great census, and, if you are a lover of Jesus, you're in it. And Ephesians 2 reasserts this marvelous reality:“At one time you were separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ… So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, (Eph. 2:12-13, 19).Do you see it? The story of Psalm 87 is your story. God has always had a city. You've not always been its citizen. But, now you are, thanks be to God — the one who fills his city with former enemies. And he calls that a good thing. Diverse peoples, varying cultural norms, a multiplicity of languages, wide-variety of skin tones and facial features. God loves it all. Do we?So, we've had City, and now Citizens. Last C – Celebration. CelebrationVerse 7,“Singers and dancers alike say, ‘All my springs are in you.'”What's the rightful response to God's great city? How should its newly welcomed citizens enter in? With Joy. With excitement. With leaping, dancing, music and song.These citizens of Psalm 87 are not walking into the city of God, and they're certainly not dragging their heels through its gates. And the reason they're not, is because they know the city's worth. They know they're bound for the city God loves! They think, “I'm a card-carrying citizen of God's holy mount.” And so, they're going to sing because of it. They're going to dance because of it. And they're not going to be the only ones. Everybody whose coming into this city is coming in with joy in their hearts and a song on their lips. Friends, if ever there was a thing worth celebrating, this is it.And now, hear the words that are echoing throughout the city: “All my springs are in you.”Springs. Think rivers. Fountains. Sources of clean, fresh, flowing water. In the Old Testament world, a spring meant life. You needed one to drink. To cook. To bathe. To farm. To keep your flocks and herds alive. No sinks in any of these houses. And so if you find a spring, man, you've found life. And the citizens of this city are saying, “Every spring of water. Every source of life, joy, and satisfaction. Every single one that has ever been found ultimately flows from here. Which means, what?You'd be a fool to search for springs elsewhere.Think about it friends. In Psalm 87, the peoples of Babylon, Philistia and so on — They're not saying “we found some springs back there, but there's ones here just a bit better. Just a bit more plentiful.” That's not what they are saying. And why? Because they had searched for water in Babylon. Had worked for water in Egypt. Had paid for it and dug for it in Philistia. Had even thought for a time that they'd found it. But it all proved empty.I mean, it's just simple logic: If they are saying, “All my springs are in you,” then how many other springs did they find outside God's city? Right? And so, given all that, how much sense does it make for a citizen of God's mountain to go trekking into Babylon in search of other springs? I mean, seriously, we've got to take people at their word when they say: “Look, I've been there, I've done the money thing, I've done the party thing, I've done the hook-up thing, I've done the self-worship and self-exaltation thing and, in the end, none of it made me to sing. None of it made me to dance. None of it made me to say, ‘life can be found here.'” I found no other springs, save the ones I found in God's holy city.”Brothers and sisters, aim all your life toward this city. You will find no other springs elsewhere. God owns all the springs.And so, Christian, what springs are you seeking to drink from, in this season, that do not ultimately find their source in God's city? What sources of joy and satisfaction are you seeking that do not ultimately flow from God's hand? The time has come to walk away from those things. The time has come to leave Babylon. Turn yourself, turn all that still remains to be turned. Turn it toward God's holy city, and sing, by faith: “All my springs are in you.”Lastly, non-Christian: the gates of God's city are currently open. Every day people, from diverse nations, and diverse situations, are saying — “I'm in. I want the springs. I want the city. God, I want to be a citizen.” You can become a citizen today. Like, right now. It can be said of you, in this moment, “Born here.” You can just pray, simply,God, I'm done with my sin.I'm done trying to find life in everything but you.I need your Son Jesus.I need the sacrifice he made for my sins.Receive Jesus. Receive entrance into the city. Now, what leads us to the table this morning is, just that, Jesus' sacrifice. He died for us. His body was bruised, his blood was shed for us. And this table commemorates his sacrificial death, and when we eat from this table, we do so in anticipation of Jesus coming again.Because this table represents Jesus' shed blood and broken body, I gladly invite those who are trusting in Jesus' death on their behalf, to take and eat this meal with us. If you've not put your trust in Jesus, we ask that you'd let the elements pass for now, but encourage you in this moment, turn to Jesus, see his glory, come to him by faith that you may have life.

April 25, 2025 - Equipped 2025 - Day 2 - 2:30PM Session   Caleb leads a bible study over Isaiah 13-23.   Isaiah 13-19 - Proclamation Against Babylon 13 The burden against Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw. 2 “Lift up a banner on the high mountain, Raise your voice to them; Wave your hand, that they may enter the gates of the nobles. 3 I have commanded My sanctified ones; I have also called My mighty ones for My anger— Those who rejoice in My exaltation.” 4 The noise of a multitude in the mountains, Like that of many people! A tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together! The Lord of hosts musters The army for battle. 5 They come from a far country, From the end of heaven— The Lord and His weapons of indignation, To destroy the whole land. 6 Wail, for the day of the Lord is at hand! It will come as destruction from the Almighty. 7 Therefore all hands will be limp, Every man's heart will melt, 8 And they will be afraid. Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them; They will be in pain as a woman in childbirth; They will be amazed at one another; Their faces will be like flames. 9 Behold, the day of the Lord comes, Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, To lay the land desolate; And He will destroy its sinners from it. 10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not give their light; The sun will be darkened in its going forth, And the moon will not cause its light to shine. 11 “I will punish the world for its evil, And the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. 12 I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold, A man more than the golden wedge of Ophir. 13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, And the earth will move out of her place, In the wrath of the Lord of hosts And in the day of His fierce anger. 14 It shall be as the hunted gazelle, And as a sheep that no man takes up; Every man will turn to his own people, And everyone will flee to his own land. 15 Everyone who is found will be thrust through, And everyone who is captured will fall by the sword. 16 Their children also will be dashed to pieces before their eyes; Their houses will be plundered And their wives ravished. 17 “Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, Who will not regard silver; And as for gold, they will not delight in it. 18 Also their bows will dash the young men to pieces, And they will have no pity on the fruit of the womb; Their eye will not spare children. 19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, The beauty of the Chaldeans' pride, Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. 20 It will never be inhabited, Nor will it be settled from generation to generation; Nor will the Arabian pitch tents there, Nor will the shepherds make their sheepfolds there. 21 But wild beasts of the desert will lie there, And their houses will be full of owls; Ostriches will dwell there, And wild goats will caper there. 22 The hyenas will howl in their citadels, And jackals in their pleasant palaces. Her time is near to come, And her days will not be prolonged.” Mercy on Jacob 14 For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will still choose Israel, and settle them in their own land. The strangers will be joined with them, and they will cling to the house of Jacob. 2 Then people will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them for servants and maids in the land of the Lord; they will take them captive whose captives they were, and rule over their oppressors. Fall of the King of Babylon 3 It shall come to pass in the day the Lord gives you rest from your sorrow, and from your fear and the hard bondage in which you were made to serve, 4 that you will take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say: “How the oppressor has ceased, The golden city ceased! 5 The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, The scepter of the rulers; 6 He who struck the people in wrath with a continual stroke, He who ruled the nations in anger, Is persecuted and no one hinders. 7 The whole earth is at rest and quiet; They break forth into singing. 8 Indeed the cypress trees rejoice over you, And the cedars of Lebanon, Saying, ‘Since you were cut down, No woodsman has come up against us.' 9 “Hell from beneath is excited about you, To meet you at your coming; It stirs up the dead for you, All the chief ones of the earth; It has raised up from their thrones All the kings of the nations. 10 They all shall speak and say to you: ‘Have you also become as weak as we? Have you become like us? 11 Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, And the sound of your stringed instruments; The maggot is spread under you, And worms cover you.' The Fall of Lucifer 12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! 13 For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.' 15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit. 16 “Those who see you will gaze at you, And consider you, saying: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms, 17 Who made the world as a wilderness And destroyed its cities, Who did not open the house of his prisoners?' 18 “All the kings of the nations, All of them, sleep in glory, Everyone in his own house; 19 But you are cast out of your grave Like an abominable branch, Like the garment of those who are slain, Thrust through with a sword, Who go down to the stones of the pit, Like a corpse trodden underfoot. 20 You will not be joined with them in burial, Because you have destroyed your land And slain your people. The brood of evildoers shall never be named. 21 Prepare slaughter for his children Because of the iniquity of their fathers, Lest they rise up and possess the land, And fill the face of the world with cities.” Babylon Destroyed 22 “For I will rise up against them,” says the Lord of hosts, “And cut off from Babylon the name and remnant, And offspring and posterity,” says the Lord. 23 “I will also make it a possession for the porcupine, And marshes of muddy water; I will sweep it with the broom of destruction,” says the Lord of hosts. Assyria Destroyed 24 The Lord of hosts has sworn, saying, “Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass, And as I have purposed, so it shall stand: 25 That I will break the Assyrian in My land, And on My mountains tread him underfoot. Then his yoke shall be removed from them, And his burden removed from their shoulders. 26 This is the purpose that is purposed against the whole earth, And this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations. 27 For the Lord of hosts has purposed, And who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, And who will turn it back?” Philistia Destroyed 28 This is the burden which came in the year that King Ahaz died. 29 “Do not rejoice, all you of Philistia, Because the rod that struck you is broken; For out of the serpent's roots will come forth a viper, And its offspring will be a fiery flying serpent. 30 The firstborn of the poor will feed, And the needy will lie down in safety; I will kill your roots with famine, And it will slay your remnant. 31 Wail, O gate! Cry, O city! All you of Philistia are dissolved; For smoke will come from the north, And no one will be alone in his appointed times.” 32 What will they answer the messengers of the nation? That the Lord has founded Zion, And the poor of His people shall take refuge in it. Proclamation Against Moab 15 The burden against Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste And destroyed, Because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste And destroyed, 2 He has gone up to the temple and Dibon, To the high places to weep. Moab will wail over Nebo and over Medeba; On all their heads will be baldness, And every beard cut off. 3 In their streets they will clothe themselves with sackcloth; On the tops of their houses And in their streets Everyone will wail, weeping bitterly. 4 Heshbon and Elealeh will cry out, Their voice shall be heard as far as Jahaz; Therefore the armed soldiers of Moab will cry out; His life will be burdensome to him. 5 “My heart will cry out for Moab; His fugitives shall flee to Zoar, Like a three-year-old heifer. For by the Ascent of Luhith They will go up with weeping; For in the way of Horonaim They will raise up a cry of destruction, 6 For the waters of Nimrim will be desolate, For the green grass has withered away; The grass fails, there is nothing green. 7 Therefore the abundance they have gained, And what they have laid up, They will carry away to the Brook of the Willows. 8 For the cry has gone all around the borders of Moab, Its wailing to Eglaim And its wailing to Beer Elim. 9 For the waters of Dimon will be full of blood; Because I will bring more upon Dimon, Lions upon him who escapes from Moab, And on the remnant of the land.” Moab Destroyed 16 Send the lamb to the ruler of the land, From Sela to the wilderness, To the mount of the daughter of Zion. 2 For it shall be as a wandering bird thrown out of the nest; So shall be the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon. 3 “Take counsel, execute judgment; Make your shadow like the night in the middle of the day; Hide the outcasts, Do not betray him who escapes. 4 Let My outcasts dwell with you, O Moab; Be a shelter to them from the face of the spoiler. For the extortioner is at an end, Devastation ceases, The oppressors are consumed out of the land. 5 In mercy the throne will be established; And One will sit on it in truth, in the tabernacle of David, Judging and seeking justice and hastening righteousness.” 6 We have heard of the pride of Moab— He is very proud— Of his haughtiness and his pride and his wrath; But his lies shall not be so. 7 Therefore Moab shall wail for Moab; Everyone shall wail. For the foundations of Kir Hareseth you shall mourn; Surely they are stricken. 8 For the fields of Heshbon languish, And the vine of Sibmah; The lords of the nations have broken down its choice plants, Which have reached to Jazer And wandered through the wilderness. Her branches are stretched out, They are gone over the sea. 9 Therefore I will bewail the vine of Sibmah, With the weeping of Jazer; I will drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh; For battle cries have fallen Over your summer fruits and your harvest. 10 Gladness is taken away, And joy from the plentiful field; In the vineyards there will be no singing, Nor will there be shouting; No treaders will tread out wine in the presses; I have made their shouting cease. 11 Therefore my heart shall resound like a harp for Moab, And my inner being for Kir Heres. 12 And it shall come to pass, When it is seen that Moab is weary on the high place, That he will come to his sanctuary to pray; But he will not prevail. 13 This is the word which the Lord has spoken concerning Moab since that time. 14 But now the Lord has spoken, saying, “Within three years, as the years of a hired man, the glory of Moab will be despised with all that great multitude, and the remnant will be very small and feeble.” Proclamation Against Syria and Israel 17 The burden against Damascus. “Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city, And it will be a ruinous heap. 2 The cities of Aroer are forsaken; They will be for flocks Which lie down, and no one will make them afraid. 3 The fortress also will cease from Ephraim, The kingdom from Damascus, And the remnant of Syria; They will be as the glory of the children of Israel,” Says the Lord of hosts. 4 “In that day it shall come to pass That the glory of Jacob will wane, And the fatness of his flesh grow lean. 5 It shall be as when the harvester gathers the grain, And reaps the heads with his arm; It shall be as he who gathers heads of grain In the Valley of Rephaim. 6 Yet gleaning grapes will be left in it, Like the shaking of an olive tree, Two or three olives at the top of the uppermost bough, Four or five in its most fruitful branches,” Says the Lord God of Israel. 7 In that day a man will look to his Maker, And his eyes will have respect for the Holy One of Israel. 8 He will not look to the altars, The work of his hands; He will not respect what his fingers have made, Nor the wooden images nor the incense altars. 9 In that day his strong cities will be as a forsaken bough And an uppermost branch, Which they left because of the children of Israel; And there will be desolation. 10 Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, And have not been mindful of the Rock of your stronghold, Therefore you will plant pleasant plants And set out foreign seedlings; 11 In the day you will make your plant to grow, And in the morning you will make your seed to flourish; But the harvest will be a heap of ruins In the day of grief and desperate sorrow. 12 Woe to the multitude of many people Who make a noise like the roar of the seas, And to the rushing of nations That make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters! 13 The nations will rush like the rushing of many waters; But God will rebuke them and they will flee far away, And be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, Like a rolling thing before the whirlwind. 14 Then behold, at eventide, trouble! And before the morning, he is no more. This is the portion of those who plunder us, And the lot of those who rob us. Proclamation Against Ethiopia 18 Woe to the land shadowed with buzzing wings, Which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, 2 Which sends ambassadors by sea, Even in vessels of reed on the waters, saying, “Go, swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth of skin, To a people terrible from their beginning onward, A nation powerful and treading down, Whose land the rivers divide.” 3 All inhabitants of the world and dwellers on the earth: When he lifts up a banner on the mountains, you see it; And when he blows a trumpet, you hear it. 4 For so the Lord said to me, “I will take My rest, And I will look from My dwelling place Like clear heat in sunshine, Like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.” 5 For before the harvest, when the bud is perfect And the sour grape is ripening in the flower, He will both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks And take away and cut down the branches. 6 They will be left together for the mountain birds of prey And for the beasts of the earth; The birds of prey will summer on them, And all the beasts of the earth will winter on them. 7 In that time a present will be brought to the Lord of hosts From a people tall and smooth of skin, And from a people terrible from their beginning onward, A nation powerful and treading down, Whose land the rivers divide— To the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, To Mount Zion. Proclamation Against Egypt 19 The burden against Egypt. Behold, the Lord rides on a swift cloud, And will come into Egypt; The idols of Egypt will totter at His presence, And the heart of Egypt will melt in its midst. 2 “I will set Egyptians against Egyptians; Everyone will fight against his brother, And everyone against his neighbor, City against city, kingdom against kingdom. 3 The spirit of Egypt will fail in its midst; I will destroy their counsel, And they will consult the idols and the charmers, The mediums and the sorcerers. 4 And the Egyptians I will give Into the hand of a cruel master, And a fierce king will rule over them,” Says the Lord, the Lord of hosts. 5 The waters will fail from the sea, And the river will be wasted and dried up. 6 The rivers will turn foul; The brooks of defense will be emptied and dried up; The reeds and rushes will wither. 7 The papyrus reeds by the River, by the mouth of the River, And everything sown by the River, Will wither, be driven away, and be no more. 8 The fishermen also will mourn; All those will lament who cast hooks into the River, And they will languish who spread nets on the waters. 9 Moreover those who work in fine flax And those who weave fine fabric will be ashamed; 10 And its foundations will be broken. All who make wages will be troubled of soul. 11 Surely the princes of Zoan are fools; Pharaoh's wise counselors give foolish counsel. How do you say to Pharaoh, “I am the son of the wise, The son of ancient kings?” 12 Where are they? Where are your wise men? Let them tell you now, And let them know what the Lord of hosts has purposed against Egypt. 13 The princes of Zoan have become fools; The princes of Noph are deceived; They have also deluded Egypt, Those who are the mainstay of its tribes. 14 The Lord has mingled a perverse spirit in her midst; And they have caused Egypt to err in all her work, As a drunken man staggers in his vomit. 15 Neither will there be any work for Egypt, Which the head or tail, Palm branch or bulrush, may do. 16 In that day Egypt will be like women, and will be afraid and fear because of the waving of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which He waves over it. 17 And the land of Judah will be a terror to Egypt; everyone who makes mention of it will be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the Lord of hosts which He has determined against it. Egypt, Assyria, and Israel Blessed 18 In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear by the Lord of hosts; one will be called the City of Destruction. 19 In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord at its border. 20 And it will be for a sign and for a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the Lord because of the oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Mighty One, and He will deliver them. 21 Then the Lord will be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the Lord in that day, and will make sacrifice and offering; yes, they will make a vow to the Lord and perform it. 22 And the Lord will strike Egypt, He will strike and heal it; they will return to the Lord, and He will be entreated by them and heal them. 23 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will serve with the Assyrians. 24 In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing in the midst of the land, 25 whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.”     Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJxCvbZt-v0   Duration 41:11

Joel 3:1-21 “For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, 2 I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my herit-age Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land, 3 and have cast lots for my people, and have traded a boy for a prostitute, and have sold a girl for wine and have drunk it. 4 “What are you to me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Are you pay-ing me back for something? If you are paying me back, I will return your payment on your own head swiftly and speedily. 5 For you have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried my rich treasures into your temples. 6 You have sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks in order to remove them far from their own border. 7 Behold, I will stir them up from the place to which you have sold them, and I will return your payment on your own head. 8 I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, to a nation far away, for the Lord has spoken.” 9 Proclaim this among the nations: Consecrate for war; stir up the mighty men. Let all the men of war draw near; let them come up. 10 Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, “I am a warrior.” 11 Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves there. Bring down your warriors, O Lord. 12 Let the nations stir themselves up and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. 13 Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Go in, tread, for the winepress is full. The vats overflow, for their evil is great. 14 Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. 15 The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. 16 The Lord roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth quake. But the Lord is a refuge to his people, a stronghold to the people of Israel. 17 “So you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain. And Jerusalem shall be holy, and strangers shall never again pass through it. 18 “And in that day the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the streambeds of Judah shall flow with water; and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord and water the Valley of Shittim. 19 “Egypt shall become a desolation and Edom a desolate wilderness, for the violence done to the people of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. 20 But Judah shall be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem to all generations. 21 I will avenge their blood, blood I have not avenged, for the Lord dwells in Zion.

Welcome to Day 2613 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom Day 2613 – Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 60:1-12 – Daily Wisdom Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2613 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2613 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. In today's Wisdom Nugget, I'll be your guide on this insightful journey through the timeless truths found in God's Word. Together, we'll explore the depths of Scripture to uncover wisdom for everyday life. It's a joy to have you join me again today as we continue our meaningful journey through the Psalms. Today's trek brings us to Psalm 60, a unique and powerful Psalm. Psalm 60 is intriguing because it addresses a time of national crisis in ancient Israel—a time when King David's military campaigns faced unexpected setbacks, leaving Israel feeling vulnerable and abandoned. Yet even amidst these disappointments, Psalm 60 shows how the Israelites wrestled with their circumstances, honestly lamented their confusion, and ultimately placed their hope in God alone. Let's journey together through Psalm 60:1-12 from the New Living Translation. Listen closely as we unpack its truths verse by verse: Psalm 60:1-12 (NLT) 1 You have rejected us, O God, and broken our defenses. You have been angry with us; now restore us to your favor. 2 You have shaken our land and split it open. Seal the cracks, for the land trembles. 3 You have been very hard on us, making us drink wine that sent us reeling. 4 But you have raised a banner for those who fear you— a rallying point in the face of attack. 5 Now rescue your beloved people. Answer and save us by your power. 6 God has promised this by his holiness: “I will divide up Shechem with joy. I will measure out the valley of Succoth. 7 Gilead is mine, and Manasseh, too. Ephraim, my helmet, will produce my warriors, and Judah, my scepter, will produce my kings. 8 But Moab, my washbasin, will become my servant, and I will wipe my feet on Edom and shout in triumph over Philistia.” 9 Who will bring me into the fortified city? Who will bring me victory over Edom? 10 Have you rejected us, O God? Will you no longer march with our armies? 11 Oh, please help us against our enemies, for all human help is useless. 12 With God's help we will do mighty things, for he will trample down our foes. A Heartfelt Lament: Feeling Abandoned (Verses 1-3) David opens Psalm 60 with raw honesty about Israel's crisis: “You have rejected us, O God, and broken our defenses. You have been angry with us; now restore us to your favor. You have shaken our land and split it open. Seal the cracks, for the land trembles. You have been very hard on us, making us drink wine that sent us reeling.” These words capture the Israelites' deep sense of abandonment and confusion. David and the nation experienced surprising military defeats—losses they never expected. Notice how directly David speaks to God—he does not soften his words or hide his pain. In the ancient Israelite worldview, national victories indicated God's favor, while defeats suggested divine displeasure. David understands clearly that God has allowed these difficulties, yet he boldly asks God to restore them,...

The message of God's judgment continues as Amos shares the charges against Philistia, Phoenicia, Edom, and Ammon.

Psalm 138A Psalm of David- Psalms 138-145 are listed as Psalms of David in the heading. “The Greek title places the psalm in the days of Haggai and Zechariah” Miller, 423. Is the I individual or collectively? “The individual who is offering thanks here appears to have been rescued from enemies who sought his undoing” Alter, 476. “Psalm 138 is the first of a collection of eight psalms (Pss. 138-145) in Book Five that are attributed, in their superscription to David” NICOT, 958. “Psalms 138 and 145 share no less than thirteen terms and verbal roots, forming an envelope structure around the collection: ‘give thanks' (138:1, 2, 4); ‘name' (138:2; 145:1-2, 21); ‘hesed' (138:2; 145:8, 10, 13, 17), ‘be faithful' (138:2; 145:13, 18), ‘be great' (138:2, 5; 145:3, 6, 8); ‘cry out' (138:3; 145:18); ‘hear' (138:4; 145:19); ‘glory' (138:5; 145:5, 11, 12); ‘exalt' (138:6; 145:1); ‘hand' (138:7, 8; 145:16); ‘for all time' (138:8; 145:1, 21); ‘deliver' (138:7; 145:19)'; ‘make, do' (138:8; 145:4, 9, 10, 13, 17)” NICOT, 958.“Maybe it all happened in II Sam. 5:17-25, when the Philistines challenged David's infant kingdom, and in answer to enquiring of the Lord, a signal victory was won and the ‘gods' of Philistia became the litter of battle” Motyer, 578. 138:1-3 His personal situation and his deliverance“In vv. 1-3, the singer speaks directly to God, using second person pronouns” NICOT, 960. 138:1 I will give You thanks with all my heart- Ps. 119:2, 10, 34, 58, 69, 145; Jer. 3:10; 24:7. “O Lord comes from the Greek; it is omitted in the Hebrew text” Miller, 424. It is added in the NIV following a number of mss., versions, and 11 QPs- VanGemeren, 834; NICOT, 958; Allen, 244. Giving thanks is mentioned in vs. 1, 2, 4. I will sing praises to You before the gods- Pss. 95:3; 96:4; 97:7; 135:5; 136:2-3 “gods (‘elohim) is translated ‘angels' in the Greek. However, there is little, if any, clear evidence in the OT for taking the word ‘elohim to mean angels. The Jewish translators of the OT into Greek were influenced by the Hellenistic concept of angels meditating to man the will of God so transcendently holy that he refused to communicate directly with sinful man” Miller, 424. See Allen, 244, for more on the LXX.  “The Aramaic Targum rendered it, not very convincingly, as ‘judges.' Following this line, Rashi and other medieval exegetes understood it as a reference to the Sanhedrin” Alter, 476. Some believe he refers to all heavenly beings and give Psalm 82 as a parallel. This psalm is “expressing God's sovereignty over any claimants to the appellation ‘god.'” NICOT, 959. The Psalm is “an implicit testimony to Yahweh's power not only to surrounding pagan nations but to their gods” Allen, 244. “The psalmist offers praise ‘in the face of the gods,' almost contemptuously denying them sovereignty (see Pss. 58:1-2; 82:1)” McCann, 1232. “He openly defies the gods of pagan nations, proud of this practical proof of the superiority of his own God” Laymen, 695. 138:2 I will bow down toward Your holy temple- Ps. 5:7; 11:4; 22:29; 28:2; 134:2; I Kings 8:29. “There is a fine blend of boldness and humility from the outset: boldness to confess the Lord before the gods, humility to bow down before Him” Kinder, 461. For more notes send me a private message on Facebook