Habakkuk 1:5 Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told. -LORD God
Netanyahu to postpone his judicial coup; in exchange he’ll establish new police force under Kahanist Ben Gvir’s direct command. Imagine if pro-democracy protestors pushed back against convicted terrorist Gvir leading armed private militia with one aim: terrorizing Palestinians. pic.twitter.com/aEIW6QybXX
As we have discussed in the past, Jordan will likely become cozy with Ezekiel’s gang and allow Russia and friends into the country to ultimately invade Israel. Are we watching the first steps of Jordan’s turn toward prophecy?
Revelation 16:12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east.
Granted the above verse is from later in the tribulation and the bowl judgments. But, we are trending toward a date with destiny. Make way for the kings of the east. China is asserting itself big time in the Middle East! China is brokering “peace” between ancient rivals like Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Iran. China is ditching the US Dollar and utilizing their currency, the yuan.
Over The Last 2 Weeks:
1. Saudi Arabia considers accepting Chinese Yuan for oil sales
2. China and France complete first LNG trade using Yuan
3. Russia considers using Chinese Yuan as reserve currency
4. Saudi Arabia partners with China to build refinery for 83.7 billion…
Hosea 4:1-3 Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the people of the land: “There is no truth, no loving devotion, and no knowledge of God in the land! Cursing and lying, murder and stealing, and adultery are rampant; one act of bloodshed follows another. Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it will waste away with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air; even the fish of the sea disappear.
Millions of dead and rotting fish have clogged a vast stretch of Australia's second-longest river. This is the third mass fish die-off in the area since 2018. pic.twitter.com/ZgFP5Uvxje
Luke 11:17 But He knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against itself falls. -Jesus
“I call on all the demonstrators in Jerusalem, from the right and from the left, to behave responsibly and not to act violently. We are brothers.” -Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
The issue of Judicial Reform is coming to a head in Israel. At the heart of the matter, does the Supreme Court of Israel have too much power? Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and some his supporters on the right say yes. There appears to be fractures on the right.
The opposition on the left says leave the status quo alone, no change. Reforms would damage democracy in Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided, this evening, to dismiss Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Sunday, March 26, 2023: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fires fellow Likud Party member and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. This happened one day after Gallant called for a pause in the judicial reform legislation.
“I see the source of our strength eroding. The growing rift in our society is penetrating the IDF and security agencies. This poses a clear, immediate, and tangible threat to the security of the state. I will not lend my hand to this. For the sake of Israel’s security, for the sake of our sons and daughters, the legislative process should be stopped now, to enable the nation of Israel to celebrate Passover and Independence Day together, and to mourn together on Memorial Day and Holocaust Remembrance Day.” -Yoav Gallant
Monday, March 27, 2023: The following is from CNN Jerusalem. Israel’s largest trade union announced a strike closing transportation, universities, restaurants and retailers.
Israeli diplomats in embassies from Washington DC, London and Paris joined the strike as well.
As of this afternoon, Netanyahu agreed to stop reforms for now as protests continued in the hundreds of thousands across Israel. The judicial reform plan for this session of parliament has been postponed. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Prime Minister Netanyahu agreed to table the issue.
“There is one other thing that characterizes the judiciary in Israel and that is that the judges veto the appointment of judges, they effectively select themselves and that doesn’t exist in any democracy. The reform that we’re dealing with right now corrects that.” -Prime Minister Netanyahu, Piers Morgan Uncensored
Israel's main labor union, the Histadrut, ends its strike after Netanyahu announces the postponement of legislation on controversial judicial reform @natasharaquel_ reports as Ben Gurion airport reopens: pic.twitter.com/C8KQ7dtRtQ
Israel is ripe for a political leader who will bring unity and healing.
1 John 2:18 Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour.
Daniel 8:23-25 “In the latter period of their rule, when the transgressors have run their course, a king will arise, insolent and skilled in intrigue. His power will be mighty, but not by his own power, and he will destroy to an extraordinary degree and prosper and perform his will; he will destroy mighty men and the holy people. And through his shrewdness he will cause deceit to succeed by his influence; and he will magnify himself in his heart, and he will destroy many while they are at ease. He will even oppose the Prince of princes, but he will be broken without human agency”.
IF time is winding down and IF we are on the verge of His (Jesus) arrival, he (antichrist) is watching and he is scheming.
Esther 9:20-22 Then Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, obliging them to celebrate the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same month, annually, because on those days the Jews rid themselves of their enemies, and it was a month which was turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and rejoicing and sending portions of food to one another and gifts to the poor.
The celebration is to take place in the Hebrew month of Adar on the 14th and 15th day. In the Gregorian year of 2023, the event starts on sundown Monday, March 6th and ends the next day on Tuesday, March 7th. Scripture tells us the holiday is to be celebrated annually.
Esther is a unique book in the Bible in that God’s name is not written or used. Even though God’s name is not seen, it is obvious Who is in control of the events of the narrative.
The spirit of Haman is alive and well in the ancient land the Bible calls Persia. We call it modern day Iran.
Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl made news with a comment regarding Iran. He was speaking to a Congressional Committee. Kahl is the third ranking Defense Department official.
“Because Iran’s nuclear progress since we left the JCPOA has been remarkable. Back in 2018, when the previous administration decided to leave the JCPOA it would have taken Iran about 12 months to produce one bomb’s worth of fissile material. Now it would take about 12 days.“
Iran is becoming more than a regional threat. The Pentagon sees Iran as a global threat. The reason, Iran’s relationship with Russia.
“We are now at a point where Iranian threats are no longer specific to the Middle East, but a global challenge,” Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Dana Stroul.
“It is reasonable to expect that the tactics, techniques and procedures that the Iranians are learning and perfecting in Ukraine will one day come back to our partners in the Middle East, which is why we are increasing cooperation now, intelligence sharing, understanding these networks and increasing our collective defensive capabilities so that we are prepared to counter these threats in the region.“
“We know that the Iranians have already provided hundreds or armed drones to the Russians. We know that they’ve provided ammunition for artillery and for tanks, as well,” William Burns, Director, CIA.
As a pattern of history, things did not work out well for Haman and those hostile to God’s chosen people. And things will not work out well for modern day Iran and friends and their hostility towards Israel.
Isaiah 54:17 “No weapon that is formed against you will succeed; and you will condemn every tongue that accuses you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their vindication is from Me,” declares the LORD.
Isaiah 40:15-17 Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, and are counted as the small dust on the scales; look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing. And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering. All nations before Him are as nothing, and they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless.
Ezekiel 38:13b “…have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army to take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder?”
Luke 21:11 There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.
February 20, 2023: Another 6.4 significant earthquake has struck Turkey. This time the location was Antakya, Turkey which is close to the border with Lebanon and west of Aleppo, Syria. The city is located north of Latakia, Syria which is home to a Russian Naval Base and troops.
Tsunami warnings were issued in the Mediterranean. Tidal wave damage was not reported.
WATCH: Emergency teams are on alert and responding to reports of casualties under the rubble of destroyed buildings in Antakya after a magnitude 6.4 earthquake hit the border region between Turkey and Syria. pic.twitter.com/DTW4MjNX8A
According to multiple news outlets, over 47,000 people in Turkey and Syria have died from the series of earthquakes in the region.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) quietly called an emergency meeting regarding an outbreak of Marburg Virus in Equatorial Guinea. Concern is the virus has spread to Ghana.
Marburg is a hemorrhagic virus that is similar to Ebola. Approximately 90% of people who contract Marburg die within 8 days of illness onset.
The search for alleged UFO debris has been called off. Here is the official tweet. And yes, it appears Northern Command had not saved and/or edited their official document. Nothing but the best from our government…
Zechariah 11:1 Open your doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour your cedars!
Despite government intervention to strengthen the Lebanese currency, the Lira continues to crash. The Lira continued to decline against the dollar. One dollar is worth roughly 80,000 Lira. Hyperinflation continues to climb.
A new law was passed and banks have been closed until further notice. People are unable to get their money and they are setting banks on fire.
Ezekiel 38:1-2 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him…
Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a big speech this week marking the one year anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine.
Problem… Hackers disrupted the televised event and the public had blank TV screens across Russia’s 11 time zones.
We will not be providing a recap of the speech. This event was an eternity close to 2 hours. For those who are interested in reading the details, click on the link below.
Of note, Putin indicated Russia will no longer participate in the START Nuclear Treaty.
“They want to inflict a strategic defeat on us and claim our nuclear facilities. In this regard, I am forced to state that Russia is suspending its participation in the strategic offensive arms treaty,” Vladimir Putin.
CNN is reporting Russia had a failed missile test while U.S. President Joe Biden was in Ukraine. The SARMAT or Satan II missile has the ability to deliver multiple nuclear weapons. The missile has a range of 6,835 miles with a 100 ton weapon(s).
Test results have offered mixed reviews, allegedly. Sometimes it works and sometimes it does not.
Mark 16:15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation…”
Lots of talk about a “Revival” taking place in pockets of the United States. Is it real? Time will tell. God knows this world needs it!
What started in a Methodist Church in Wilmore, Kentucky is spreading around to Cedarville University in Ohio, Lee University in Tennessee, Samford University in Alabama, Baylor University, Texas A&M…
The movement appears to be spreading across university campi in the United States. There were even people carrying signs for Jesus on Santa Monica Beach, California.
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.
On This Week in Prophecy: Over the weekend, Iran has been under a coordinated attack. According to various outlets, Israel and the United States are suspected.
To sum up an eventful evening in #Iran, some mysterious incidents at: 1⃣ Esfahan in a MODAFL facility (confirmed) 2⃣ Azarshahr in East Azerbaijan Province (massive fire) 3⃣ Karaj and Tehran (footage circulating, unclear) 4⃣ Hamedan & Dezful (unconfirmed)https://t.co/GuNvd0gk5p
According to some reports, the air defenses of Iran's traditional army and the IRGC have been put on high alert amid a horrible fire in a factory near Tabriz (the video below) and unconfirmed reports of explosions and fires in Karaj, Tehran and Hamadan.https://t.co/WxKcN5ZtnApic.twitter.com/GSHmTkcKqS
NEW: The strike on Iran's MoD facility in Isfahan was “specific, surgical & successful”, sources with direct knowledge told me. They added the facility was connected to Iran’s missile program: “4 different areas in the building were accurately targeted & the goal was achieved"
NEW: Israeli aircraft have attacked a convoy of 25 trucks that crossed the border from Iraq to Syria through a crossing controlled by Hezbollah, according to Saudi media reports
Russia is likely to turn to Turkey for drones as their supply from Iran appears to be interrupted. These events appear to only harden the relationship between Russia and Israel.
Quakes in various places… Amidst the back drop of the explosions across Iran, a large earthquake in northwest Iran caused significant damage in both Iran and Turkey.
Iran and Russia strengthen economic ties by connecting their electronic banking systems. Both countries are looking to bypass western economic sanctions.
Putin’s navy frigate armed with hypersonic missiles ‘sailed towards US in the Atlantic in a show of strength’ after passing Britain, Russian telegram channel claims
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken is visiting the Middle East and Israel this week. Tensions are running high between the Israelis and the Palestinians as deaths are occurring on both sides in recent violence.
Welcome to The Watchmen, just a couple of dudes sitting on the wall watching the world go by.
On this edition of the Watchmen…
Cardinal George Pell has been identified as the author of a document critical of Pope Francis. Was Cardinal Pell treated fairly by the Roman Catholic Church? Cardinal Pell was a central figure in a child sex abuse case. This is sensitive and messy. Do your own homework.
Almost one year after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian ruble is stronger. Commodity and energy exports are going east to India and China instead of Europe. How is the Russian government budgeting moving forward? Is the Russian economy positioned for success into the future?
Republican and Democratic Senators are travelling together to the Middle East. This is a bipartisan trip in support of the Abraham Accords.
The following Senators will be going to the Middle East: Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), and Ted Budd (R-NC).
Countries included in the visit include: Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco.
Who else might they see? Will there be countries added to the Abraham Accords? Lots of chatter about the Saudis…
2 Thessalonians 2:7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is removed.
Lawlessness is a hallmark of the times leading up to the return of Jesus Christ. Lawlessness is global and increasing. Let’s take a look at Brazil and the response to recent election results.
Exodus 30:13-16 This is what everyone who is numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as a contribution to the Lord. Everyone who is numbered, from twenty years old and over, shall give the contribution to the Lord. The rich shall not pay more and the poor shall not pay less than the half shekel, when you give the contribution to the Lord to make atonement for yourselves. You shall take the atonement money from the sons of Israel and shall give it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may be a memorial for the sons of Israel before the Lord, to make atonement for yourselves.”
December, 2022, Jerusalem, Ophel Excavations: A half shekel coin from 66 -70 AD has been found.
Click on the YouTube link below for news, analysis, and commentary.
Ezekiel 38:10-12 “Thus says the Lord GOD: On that day, thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil scheme and say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will fall upon the quiet people who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having no bars or gates,’ to seize spoil and carry off plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places that are now inhabited, and the people who were gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell at the center of the earth.
Will Israel expand its drilling program in the Mediterranean Sea? Europe is starving for a new source of natural gas. Israel continues to search for more energy resources in the Mediterranean. The Knesset Research Center believes Israel could provide 900 billion cubic meters of gas per year.
Genesis 1:28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
This is the first commandment given to humanity. Have sex and produce children, lots of ’em! Three times!
Be fruitful
Multiply
Fill the earth
World Economic Forum depopulation agenda …
“ all problems would go away if population went back to where it was 500 years ago”… for reference, population then was 460 million…
The real problem is low birth rates and population collapse coming …
The World Economic Forum is recommending approximately a 95% reduction of the population. This is not a conspiracy theory. These are public statements and open forums. Listen to their words. This recommendation is not in line with God’s mandate to Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. This agenda is evil.
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Luke 21:11b …and in various places famines and pestilences. -Jesus
Dr. Eric Ding is sounding the alarm. A new COVID variant is emerging, XBB 1.5 or #XBB15 on Twitter. Dr. Ding is an epidemiologist & health economist. He spent 16 years at Harvard.
The following is from Wikipedia.
Eric Liang Feigl-Ding (born March 28, 1983) is an American public health scientist who is currently an epidemiologist and Chief of COVID Task Force at the New England Complex Systems Institute. He was formerly a faculty member and researcher at Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He is also the Chief Health Economist for Microclinic International, and co-founder of the World Health Network.
Dr. Ding is calling out the CDC for being asleep at the wheel with the latest COVID variant.
⚠️NEXT BIG ONE—CDC has royally screwed up—unreleased data shows #XBB15, a super variant, surged to 40% US (CDC unreported for weeks!) & now causing hospitalization surges in NY/NE.➡️XBB15–a new recombinant strain—is both more immune evasive & better at infecting than #BQ & XBB.🧵 pic.twitter.com/xP2ESdnouc
Separate from what is emerging in the United States and England, China is getting hammered by a significant COVID outbreak. Experts estimate up to 9,000 deaths per day with infections up to an estimated 18,600,000 people.
Airfinity is a United Kingdom health data firm.
Airfinity expects China’s Covid infections to reach their first peak on 13 January with 3.7m cases a day.Airfinity expects deaths to peak on 23 January with about 25,000 a day, with cumulative deaths reaching 584,000 since December.
In today’s vernacular, loosely, a covenant is a contract, agreement or a treaty. It depends on the context. It is an agreement that one person agrees to do something, usually if some other person fulfills a condition.
This is the Old Testament word berith: a covenant, treaty, alliance, or league. Simply put, it is an agreement. From God’s perspective, a divine constitution or ordinance with signs or pledges.
As people, humanity struggles as covenant keepers. We are broken sinners.
The covenants that God made with Israel differed than the agreement described above. God made promises to Israel that were not dependent on anything that Israel did. God takes the initiative. He draws up the terms and defines the terms. God guarantees their keeping. Israel does nothing. God swears by His own Word.
Key Theme: The Power of the Blood of Christ
The New Covenant is found in Jeremiah 31:31-34. This everlasting covenant is made with nation Israel. God is the initiator and He is the one to will it to happen. A regenerated heart and mind and forgiveness of sin are promised as part of the agreement.
Jeremiah 31:31-34 “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
So how does this covenant with nation Israel affect us in the Church Age? The Church and Israel are separate. Nation Israel has yet to receive the benefit of the New Covenant. It is yet future in the Millennial Kingdom. How can this arrangement apply to us? The answer is in the blood of Christ.
Jesus’ death on the cross ushers in and ratifies the New Covenant (Matthew 26:28, Mark 14:24, Luke 22:20, 1 Corinthians 11:25).
It is His blood that is the covenant. The shedding of innocent blood allows for the forgiveness of sin. This is acceptable to God (Hebrews 9:14). According to the Law, all things are cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of innocent blood there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:16). Christ’s blood is the bleach that removes the stain of sin. As believers, we get the spiritual benefits of the agreement when we believe that Jesus died as payment for sin. As believers, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 2:12-16 instructs us that we were separate from Christ and excluded from nation Israel. Translation, we were not a benefactor of the New Covenant. The text teaches us that we were without hope. Thankfully, we were brought near by the blood of Christ. It is the blood of Christ that unifies the two groups (Jew and Gentile) into one group.
Ephesians 2:12-16 …that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.
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Romans 11:17 indicates that Gentiles were grafted into the root of the olive tree. We, Gentiles, were grafted because other original branches, Israel, were broken off. Gentiles get the full benefit of the root.
As we take communion and we hear the words, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” These words are a reminder that we, believers, have the spiritual benefits of the New Covenant: teaching of the Holy Spirit and forgiveness of sin. Communion is in memory of the work of Christ. He died once and for all to bear the sins of many (Hebrews 9:28). It is to be taken seriously (1 Corinthians 11:25-29).
Key Theme: A positive mental attitude towards God results in obedience and responsive action to God’s word. In return, God responds to obedience to His Word.
Asa was a good king of the southern kingdom, Judah. His mental attitude and actions towards God dictated God’s response to Judah and King Asa both positively and negatively. Asa’s mental attitude resulted in physical action and deeds. Ultimately, there are consequences to our obedience of God’s Word.
Asa’s actions were the result of his attitude. His attitude is expressed in…
1 Kings 15:11 Asa did what was right in the sight of the Lord.
1 Kings 15:14b- nevertheless the heart of Asa was wholly devoted to the Lord all his days.
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Because of this mental attitude, Asa was obedient to the Lord in regard to His commandments.
Societal reforms were made by Asa according to God’s Commandments. Asa called on Judah to worship the one true God in 2 Chronicles 15:10-15. As a result, the Lord gave them rest on every side.
Asa called for the removal of male cult prostitution and idolatry in the land in 1 Kings 15:12.
Asa sacrificed precious metals and dedicated family items to the Lord in 1 Kings 15:15. This resulted in peace and prosperity with fortified cities.
Military and political decisions were driven by Asa’s attitude toward God. A result of Asa’s convictions was that citizens from Israel defected to him when they saw that the Lord was with Asa (2 Chronicles 15:9).
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In military affairs, there are two examples of Asa’s mental attitude. One is positive towards God and the other is negative.
When confronted with the Ethiopians, Asa turned to God. Asa called on the Lord in battle. God responded and the Lord routed Ethiopia. The dread of the Lord had fallen on the Ethiopians. Judah enjoyed the spoils of victory with plunder and livestock (2 Chronicles 14).
The second example involves Asa against the Kingdom of Israel. Instead of trusting in the Lord, Asa turned to the king of Aram in Damascus. Asa requested a treaty for safety with the King of Aram and gave him silver and gold. There were consequences for trusting in the King of Aram instead of God. Hanani the prophet indicated that the army of the King of Aram had escaped from his hand and that there would be wars in Asa’s land (2 Chronicles 16:1-8).
When Asa turned from God, his kingdom began to suffer. He imprisoned the prophet out of anger. Asa turned on his people and oppressed them. Ultimately, he became sick with diseased feet. Instead of turning to the Lord, he turned and trusted physicians. Asa died two years later (2 Chronicles 16:9-13).
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Asa trusted in the Lord for the first 35 years of his reign. Judah benefited during this time with peace and prosperity. In the last six years of Asa’s reign, he turned away from God. The kingdom declined, war returned, and the people were oppressed. Asa was obedient to God in his early years, but failed late in life in regards to his mental attitude.
God makes it clear that He wishes for obedience. There are consequences for our choice of mental attitude towards God. The prophet Azariah indicated to Asa:
2 Chronicles 15:2bthe Lord is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.
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God indicates that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.
2 Chronicles 16:9For the eyes of the LORD roam throughout the earth, so that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will have wars.
Israel’s collective heart was not devoted to the Lord God. As a result…
2 Chronicles 15:6bWhen there was absence of God in Israel, God troubled them with every kind of distress.
But God is true to His Word, 2 Chronicles 15:7“but you, be strong and do not lose courage, for there is reward for your work…”.
Be sure, that your work is born out of your heart and obedience to God’s Word.
