How many hairs do you think are on your head? Well, if you have red hair, you have about 90,000. If you have black hair, there are about 103,000. On the other hand, if you have brown hair, there are more than 109,000 hairs on your head. If you are a blond, you probably have 140,000 hairs.
Each of you has many, many hairs on your head, and I am sure that if you started to count them you would tire very quickly. But do you know that God knows how many hairs are on your head? Listen to this verse:
Matthew 10:30 “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.”
This verse shows us the loving care of God, who numbered all the hairs of our heads. If God knows how many hairs are on your head, don’t you think He also knows every detail in your life? There’s no problem in your life that He cannot solve, and there’s no need that He cannot meet. He certainly knows when you need strength to overcome temptation, or when you need help in telling someone else about the Lord Jesus.
Remember this little lesson, boys and girls. Every time you comb your hair, for instance, remember just how much your heavenly Father cares for you. But also remember that this is true only if you have believed in the Lord Jesus.
Object Lesson provided by Charles Ryrie, Easy Object Lessons, p.64.
Key Theme: God protects His people.
God’s provision and protection are indicated from the outset of time. God chose the family line of Abram to demonstrate His protection. These are the people of promise.
Genesis 12:2-3 “And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great, And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse you. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
God states that Israel is “the apple of His eye.” The “apple” of the eye is the pupil. It is the part of the eye that regulates light and the part we instinctively protect. God protects His people like we instinctively protect our eyes. God means business when He states that He will protect Israel.
Zechariah 2:8 For thus says the Lord of hosts, “After glory He has sent me against the nations which plunder you, for he who touches you, touches the apple of His eye.”
There are multiple occasions throughout history where God protects His people. The two stories being studied are examples. Paul is protected in his travels on the sea.
Judgment was brought against Egypt with the plague of hail. Israel was in exile in Egypt during this hail storm yet they were spared.
Exodus 9:26 “Only in the land of Goshen, where the sons of Israel were, there was no hail.”
Although God is never directly mentioned in the Book of Esther, His hand of protection is noted throughout the book. The Jewish people are protected from the plots of Haman’s evil intentions. It was Haman’s intent to exterminate the Jews. As the story goes, Persian King Ahasuerus chooses a Jewish girl, Esther, to be his queen. Mordecai, Esther’s uncle, works behind the scenes to protect his people. In the final analysis, Haman’s plot is foiled and he ends up dead. The Jewish people are spared from extinction.
In the future, Jesus will “snatch” His bride the church from a troubled world. That event is the rapture of the church.
1 Thessalonians 5:9 “For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The church will be spared from the coming judgment against the world in the seven year tribulation. Again, God will protect His people.
Of particular note was the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. This was the RS-28 Sarmat nuclear missile. It is also known as the Satan 2 missile. Russia claims the Satan 2 missile can carry 12 nuclear warheads. It can travel at least 3,600 miles. The Defense Ministry states the Satan 2 can destroy entire countries the size of Great Britain and Texas. The ICBM can deliver 40 megatons of nuclear explosives. That would be 2,000 times stronger than the atomic bombs released on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II.
Is Vladimir Putin the leader “Gog”? That remains to be seen. The news item of note is the personal involvement of President Putin. This aspect of Putin’s character is consistent with Ezekiel’s Gog.
