Oppression – An Outcome of Uncontrolled Lust – Ecclesiastes 4

I must admit that until I studied deeply about the word oppression, I used to think it meant the same as depression. For most, oppression leads to having depression. All that studying and reading some of my old books caused this blog to be over a week late. Forgive me. Ha! Ha! Let’s get to it!

Oppression– n- unjust or cruel exercise of authority or power; being pushed or pressed down by society

Origin of Oppress: 1300-50; Middle English oppressen < Middle French oppresser < Medieval Latin oppressāre, derivative of Latin oppressus past participle of opprimere to squeeze, suffocate, equivalent to op- op- + -primere (combining form of premere) to press

Lust-n- pleasure, delight: personal inclination; intense desire or need; a passionate or overmastering desire or craving

Spirit Food for Thought– For instance, I learned that oppression is a civil liberties issue. What are civil liberties? They are the rights guaranteed to citizens or residents of a country or territory as a matter of fundamental law. Rights that a government is contractually obligated to protect. Most of us are aware that there is a slight difference between civil liberties and human rights.

Human rights are universal rights to which all humans are entitled, regardless of where they live.  Rights that are implied by one’s status as a person, whether the government has agreed to protect them or not. 

Let’s go deeper… if a human being lives under a bridge, in a homeless shelter, in prison, on deaths’ bed, unemployed, suffers from mental issues, or have disabilities-all human beings are entitled to human rights. People that live in their comfy homes, castles & mansions, employed, owners of a business, and those that practice various religions and sexual preferences, also have human rights. It is clear that ALL children, men, and women have human rights. However civil liberties seem to be an iffy situation. even when most consider it to be “natural liberty itself.” That’s deep.    

When Solomon wrote about oppression in this chapter I noticed that he does not label oppression as being “meaningless.”  He does not state that he is oppressed, but does state that he “saw .” Hmm?

“I saw the tears of the oppressed—     and they have no comforter; power was on the side of their oppressors—     and they have no comforter.”

Through the eyes of many, there has never been a truer statement made about the human life… ONE exception. We have a Comforter which is the Holy Spirit. (John 14:26 & John 15:26) Praise and thank Jesus for sending Him our way.

Solomon did not know there was a comforter according to John 7:39 – (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet [given]; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

I have three questions for you to ponder:

1. What rights did God give to the human race?
2. Are you an oppressor?
3. Are you the oppressed?

I want to share with you a good read titled Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire. I think that it is most used by teachers and students. It can be found at your local library, bookstore, or online. I read it in 1980’s as a sociology requirement and  pulled it out to read again with this study. In the book, Paulo said “the teacher confuses the authority of knowledge with his or her own professional authority, which she and he sets in opposition to the freedom of the students; the teacher is the Subject of the learning process, while the pupils are mere objects.”  

Isn’t this the way that most who are in authority think? Many governments run in this way which leaves many in an oppressed state. The government rulers are the subjects and we are the objects. This is one reason as voters that we should all study and shew thyself approved before casting our votes… but mainly “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth through learning.” (2 Timothy 2:15)

The state of the matter is that oppression is an issue with a big I and an issue for those less knowledgeable about humanity’s history. What was Solomon’s I ? Read Deut. 17:16-20. Because he broke these commands that God had given for kings, he became an oppressor. His skedaddle over to uncontrollable lusts set in motion the oppression of Israel while under his rule. Solomon’s oppressive actions caused the Kingdom of Israel to divide from Judah after his death.  His rules were still in place during his son Rehoboam’s rule, and God’s people wanted change. God warned Solomon not to oppress His people when Solomon prayed to Him, did He not? (I Kings 9:4-9) It’s there in the Word.

Read 1 Kings 11-12; 1 Chronicles 1-10(Tribal Genealogy to understanding the division between Israel and Judah…you’ll know who went where); 1 Chronicles 22; 1 Chronicles 28:4-10

Oh my Lord! –1 Kings 11: 9-13– The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord’s command. So the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son. Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one tribe for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”

AND

1 Kings 12:1-4-Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone there to make him king. When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), he returned from[a] Egypt. So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him: “Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.” Reho did not lighten the yoke and division came as God said it would.

The same stuff happens today when a new person is elected or re-elected to run their country. People try to get something to change during the changing of the guards, ask for it- denied, or fight for it- still denied and whoop there it is…same ol same ol “heavy yoke”…oppression and division continue to run its course within the human race. Who dat say “there is nothing new under the sun?” We have all experienced uncontrolled lust in some form.  We have been both the oppressed and the oppressor. That is why it is necessary for us as children of God; we are to be on our best heart behavior with all. Someone said “check yourself before you wreck yourself.” I’ve had to do it quite often.

Now we come to my last thought about lust. It is my humble opinion that uncontrolled lust period is the main reason that oppression exist. Wouldn’t you like to go inside my mind to see what those loose-spirited screws look like?  😛 I’ll keep it simple – Most of us have a very intense desire or need to rule over and/or micro-manage others while at the same time oppressing them. It is definitely an I issue. (TYHS)

For more comfort against the beast of oppression read Matthew 6. (TYHS) Be very attentive to verses 33-34 and yell B-I-N-G-O! The Lord, our God does not like for His people to be oppressed. Remember what happened to Pharaoh when he oppressed God’s people?

 

 

Plumb-Line- Are You All Measured Up for God? – Amos 7

Amos 7:7-9 This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in his hand. And the Lord asked me, “What do you see, Amos?” “A plumb line,” I replied. Then the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.

Plumb-line – A cord weighted with lead that is used in building to check that vertical structures are true. It is used symbolically to refer to the divine standard against which God, the builder of his people, tests and judges them. It also symbolises the standards by which God will rebuild his people.

A plumb line marks a vertical reference line in construction work. From the Latin “plumbum,” meaning “lead”, a plumb line is made of thin cord or string suspending a heavy plumb bob, or plummet. The force of gravity causes the string to trace an exactly vertical line, ensuring that things measured are vertical or “plumb” with respect to gravity. Plumbers, masons, surveyors, carpenters and landscapers all use plumb lines to build things that must be vertical in order to function or simply look right. A plumb line is a line that is perfectly vertical. Builders need to find a plumb line when they build so that they can be sure that nothing is leaning to one side or another. (http://www.ehow.com)

hundred and eighty degree turn –noun 1. a reversal of direction. 2. a complete reversal in thinking or behavior.

 

Knowledge Moment 180 degree rule   The 180° rule is a basic film editing guideline that states that two characters (or other elements) in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship to each other. If the camera passes over the imaginary axis connecting the two subjects, it is called crossing the line. The new shot, from the opposite side, is known as a reverse angle.

 

In Amos 7, Amos is given three visions from God. My lesson learned placed a focus on the third vision in verses 7-9, as I was taking a look at my life through Jesus’ eyes, ears, and heart. God does not always extend mercy to those with a hardened heart. Now before you disagree with me and go jump off a bridge hanging yourself. Hear this. Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, was it not? Did God extend mercy to spare Pharaoh’s son? Did God not destroy Sodom and Gomorrah? Who are those that will be thrown into the lake of fire per Rev 21:18, refusing to change because of a hardened heart?

Once the Lord sets the plumb line, He will spare us no longer as well if we don’t make a 180 Grad drehen; if we lean to one side or the other, i.e. lukewarm; and if we’re not too high to get over,(like the high places of Isaac…vs.9) too low to get under(like the sanctuaries of Israel, vs 9), you’re stuck in the middle (like Israel going into exile..vs17) and the pain is thunder,( “with My sword…”vs 9) you’re a vegetable (like Israel, “Your land will be measured and divided up, and you yourself will die in a pagan country”… vs 17) like MJ’s song “Wanna Be Startin’ Something.”

There are too many examples in the Holy Bible that gives us a picturesque Kodak moment of how the Lord works. The Good News is that we don’t have to be stuck. Amen. If you “wanna be startin’ something”, start making a 180 degree turn in your life if you’re not measuring up for God. Avoid the devil’s force of gravity.

 

To personally answer the question- No, I am not. Even though I thought so before starting my Lent walk with Jesus, I was shown during the walk that I really did not measure up for God. Now I KNOW. I know that I am currently in the process of measuring up for God. I KNOW there is definitely a right way to walk in the His ways. I know that it is not an overnight process. I know that it is a 180 Grad drehen in a 360 degree realm. If one makes a 360, they are right back where they started from. NO 360 turn folks.  

Allow me to share some verses I received (TYHS) with you in line with being measured up for God. According to many bible verses, the plumb-line represents justice and righteousness, i.e. uprightness with the Lord. A line is set to make sure that your works meet the measurements set by God w/o crossing the line.

 

Lamentations 2- Kodak moment of what happens when you’re not measured up Ezekiel 40-44 – (Focus on 44:9) & Acts 7 -Those who have an uncircumcised heart, and those that choose to continue to swim in the filthiness of the flesh Ezekiel 16– A google street view of crossing the plumb-line 1 Corinthians 3(Focus on vs 6-18) & Ephesians 3– God’s eye view of worldliness lines concerning the Body of Christ and its leaders

“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”(Ephesians 3:4-6) It is His plumb line that does ALL the measuring. There is no reason not to measure up because we will find in Romans 1: 18-20:

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

If the Lord were to set a plumb-line today, will you or your church measure up? Are you following the 180° rule? If not, what is your excuse?

Smile and Walk Upright…You’re on Gods’ Candid Camera.

An Act of Foolishness Made Out of Fear and Lost Faith

This morning I was reading about Asa in 2 Chronicles:14-16 and in 1 Kings:15. Brief mentions of him can be found in 1 Chronicles 3:10, Jeremiah 41:9; and Matthew 1:7-8. As always, I love to share with you what lesson I learn or am reminded of from these great stories in the bible.  However, your perception and lesson may be of a different meaning to you.

From The Comprehensive Analysis Of The Bible, Montgomery F. Essig, 1922

Asa – a form of Hebrew word meaning “a physician” or “healing”.  The name of the third king of Judah, who reigned forty-one years from 955-914 B.C. He was noted as a very good monarch. He rooted out the various idolatries and placed his kingdom on a first-class military basis.  He waged many successful wars and won the love of his people.  Toward the latter of his reign he met with some reverses.

 

Allow me to share the lineage of Asa beginning in order left to right. Interesting fact, this is also the lineage of which our Messiah came.  Asa is also the great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather of King Hezekiah of whom my other learning  from others post was about.

Abraham	Isaac	Jacob
Judah	Perez	Hezron
Ram	Amminadab	Nahshon
Salmon	Boaz	Obed
Jesse	King David	King Solomon
Rehoboam	Abijah	Asa

As you read about Asa in those books, you will find that he did good and right in the eyes of God. He removed all the idols. He booted his own mother Maachah from her throne. Maachah, however, practiced paganism. How many of us would boot our mother from a high position in any aspect of our lives, regardless of what she practices? How many of us would tear down or get rid of things our father or forefathers constructed in the name of other gods or anything? We are a people who like to keep things in remembrance of others regardless of its meaning to others. For most, historic family items are of great importance to us. Who knows, sometimes we keep things, regardless of what it represents, just waiting on a moment to sell to some antique collector. We believe in keepsakes and have a habit of holding on to THINGS.

Something that I was reminded of in this study, is that, no one, not even family should come before God. Another thing I am reminded of is that you must do both good and right in the eyes of the Lord when it comes to making decisions and have faith in the Lord. Sometimes we work on doing something good, but it’s not always the right thing to do. Sometimes we act out of fear to do what seems right to us, but it’s not always a good thing to do. Have I confused you? Ruminate on it. I am going to start checking myself before taking action by asking myself 3 questions:  Is it good?  Is it right?  Did I consult with the Lord in faith? If one or either of the answers is no, I will pray to let all answers be a true yes.

We as Christians need to rely on God at ALL times, even during periods of rest from our problems. Our friends, our family, our church members, and even our enemies cannot be relied on at ALL times. Now we all know or should know that Satan can NEVER be relied on to do what is right or good in the eyes of God.

Forty one years? Too reign that long of a period and to rely on God during that reign, surely one had enough time, experience, faith, and knowledge to know what is good and works right to please God? How could one go wrong?  Well folks, we’re about to see how an ACT of FOOLISHNESS MADE OUT OF FEAR and LOST FAITH can take precedence in our lives.

For about a period of ten years there was peace in the land during the beginning of Asa’s reign due to his father’s victories. For a period of fifteen years Asa was the king operating in both a good and right way. The bible tells us in verse 6 – And he built fortified cities in Judah for the land had rest; he had no war in those years, because the Lord had given him rest.

Fortified cities? Gated communities are what we call them now. Wow a fort! He built walls around these cities with towers, gates, and bars and prospered because in his mind he was able to do so for one simple reason in verse 7 –“because we have sought the Lord our God; we have sought Him and He has given us rest on every side.”

Asa’s army consisted of “mighty men of valor” from two tribes; 300,000 from Judah and 280,000 from Benjamin. Math time coming up! For some odd reason Zerah the Ethiopian came up against them with a million man army along with 300 chariots in the Valley of Zaphathah. How many more men did Zerah have than Asa? How many more mighty men of valor did Asa have? As we know Asa won the battle for one reason and one reason only. Let’s read.

2 Chronicles 14:11

And Asa cried out to the Lord his God, and said, “Lord, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O Lord, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You!”

I love that, let’s say it together “Lord, it is NOTHING(with emphasis and a smile) for You to help.”  🙂

I gather, after that battle that the Lord felt Asa needed a bit of reforming, so His Spirit was sent to Azariah to give a message to Asa as a reminder. Fighting any battle can take a lot out of you. When you find rest, you just swim in it and forget about the battles. I love it when the Lord sends another in His name to tell you something face to face.  You know that second set of ears, that second pair of lips, and that second set of eyes. He still does that to us today. Amen. Azariah tells Asa  “But you, be strong and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded.”  During the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign, he and his people entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and soul;  and whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel was to be put to death, whether great or small, whether man or woman-(2Chr 15:12-13) Read 2 Chr 15 for more detail to this great story.  So far, Asa still has faith.

Moving on…..In Chronicles 16, we read about Asa’s thirty-sixth year and issues with King Baasha of Israel. Please read your bible for the full story in case I left out something or am in error. As you read this, do you see the first mistake Asa makes after making the covenant years earlier with the Lord slap you dead on the lips with a gasp? First mistake…..He seems to have forgotten about what the Lord had done.  Asa, out of fear from resting too long(my opinion)seeing King Baasha building up around his fort, takes it upon himself to consult and buys protection assistance from Ben-Hadad(his act of foolishness- bribery), King of Syria, who may I add worshipped a false god. He had to have lost faith, why else would he make a pact(place faith) with one who he knows worships a false god?

Sooooooooooooo….Asa had given Ben-Hadad items he had previously dedicated to the house of God as a sign of a treaty between the two for Ben-Hadad to cut off his alliance with King Baasha. Isn’t this the way the world operates today amongst nations? I do this, you do that, you break this treaty, sign this deal and I’ll give you this. Hit a nail?  In reading this, I believe King Baasha was really not that big of a deal to Asa as the Ethiopian army was.  Baasha was just trying to control who got into Judah and how they got there.  The Ethiopian Army was much larger and was trying to completely eliminate and take rule, if I’m not mistaken. 

Now after seeing this lack of faith, again the Lord sends another prophet to rebuke Asa. His name was Hanani. Let’s have a little fun with name game here.  Can you say hanani, nani, fo fani, fee fi fo fani, HANANI!

 

Hanani On The Soapbox

The main points (some improvised) I want to pull out of this chapter is the conversation between Hanani and Asa are:

• Because you have relied on another and not God, you will lose
• When you relied on the Lord, He delivered
• The Lord show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are loyal to Him, did your heart rest too long in peace?
• Bribing another man for protection is an act of foolishness which causes downfalls. What were you thinking taking things you dedicated to the Lord and giving it to man? Man don’t you know the law of giving of your first fruits to God and what happens to those who take from the house of God?
• Regardless of the problem, if you see the problem being a smaller one than before, you still need to consult the Lord. God does not fret at the size of your problem, big or small.
• Did you forget that you cried out to the Lord before and you told Him “Lord it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power……”
• Asa, why have you behaved foolishly and where was your faith?

Why I ask….did he not consult with the Lord as he had done on previous occasions? Same reason we do at times, we try to handle what we perceive as small problems on our own and we forget what He has done for us in the past. I’ve realized for a while that no matter what the problem may be to us or how different it appears to us than before, God is bigger and better and can handle any problem.

This lesson on Asa was a reminder to me of what I realized in the past because of things He has brought me and mine through. We tend to have a mindset of forgetting what and WHO got us through and over the problem. We have to program in or hearts, pray(consult with the Lord) and have faith when something just pops up or we see or feel trouble coming. Speaking from experience I know that the Lord will send you a reminder via a messenger of where your faith was before and where it needs to be.

Psychosomatically to us, no matter what a problem is, when it comes in a different format or the same as before, we have a weak predisposition of failing to recall how we overcame, we FORGET WHO and what steps it took to overcome. Proof of this evidence- The Israelites and The hamster with its wheel. Need I say more? Yep.  🙂

 We also have the mentality of reacting hastily to a small problem, setting off that alarming need to rely on self or another person. Some of us even pray to God about it, and still try to control the issue.

The other lesson to learn for us all is that no matter what your position is on this earth, be it, a president, a preacher, a deacon, a leader, teacher, just being you, or a follower. If your claim is that you are a Christian, and you hold one of these positions, regardless of what you think, God ALWAYS sends or puts someone in your presence to give you a message, now whether or not you heed it, is up to you. The Lord also gives you the power of discernment, so you will know that it is indeed a message from Him. Not to mention, less we forget it too, we now have the Holy Spirit as a guide and comforter.

You can become angry like Asa when hearing the truth of how you should handle a situation, or ignore the person giving you instruction, and be miserable the rest of your days due to being unrepentant and operate out of fear until you go to your grave. You know this is a bad habit of ours. We hate receiving instruction from others, especially when we see ourselves as overseers of others.

Let’s come back down to planet Humble from behind the pulpit, out from our castles and gated communities, and out of human appointed positions. The holiest and/or the most righteous of the human race among us have/had imperfections…BUT GOD’S GRACE. Not only do we see this in our day to day lives; the stories in the bible give us various examples of the imperfections of the human race, even when one “did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord.” Look at Asa’s story.

The saddest thing I read in this story is that when Asa became ill, it tells us that “yet in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians….and he died in the forty-first year of his reign.” It leaves me to tears knowing the ways and thoughts of men who do/did “good and right in the eyes of the Lord” that relied on and relies on the Lord today can lose faith, act out of fear and behave foolishly. I suppose if one is of this world, no matter what, one has the mindset to act in a foolish worldly manner. We cannot bribe or make others do right in the name of protection of self and others. It’s not in our control as much as we’d like to believe so.

My papa told me more than once while growing up when I think he felt my raging temper was afloat, “young child in Christ, sometimes a 1 minute action can take a lifetime to correct if you don’t ask God to take care of it before acting. You can’t make people do what is right or what you think is right.” My response to papa was that “God will be alive to correct it when I’m old then and you will be too old to remember what I did.”   🙂   As I have aged, I understand clearly what he meant and I am so grateful to the Lord for my papa’s odd ways of teaching me about the Lord as a child.

Be Blessed and a Blessing to Many Beloved Ones!

Love Covers A Multitude of Sins

I Love You

 

If You Knew-My Thoughts On Learning From Others In The Bible

Good Great Saturday Morning/Afternoon to you beloved.  I’ve been in deep study and thought again with the OT(Old Testament), which was one of my resolutions for this New Year, to complete a book for my grandkids about what grandma thinks and believes about God, as my papaw did for I without him knowing it. I inherited a lot of his books and writings after his death.  I hope to share with you a series about people of the OT and lessons I learned from their behavioral actions. I hope you enjoy it, and as I always say, you may not agree,and that is fine. I just ask that you keep in mind that these are my thoughts revealed to me by none other than the Holy Spirit, Himself, for my understanding of the Lord. Thank you Jesus!

If You Knew

If you knew the exact time you were going to die, what would you change in your life during that additional period(s) guaranteed to you? This is something I was thinking about concerning wasted time that we have all experienced and thoughts of how to somewhat correct past behaviors, thoughts, and actions thereof. I have learned these past three weeks and know from my experience that “silence is golden” when you put yourself in the Lord’s presence and see yourself through His eyes. Just sit quietly to self and He will reveal. There are some things you may not like or can’t believe about self.  Unveiling is a powerful thing!

So anywho! I was reading in the OT again searching for something really deep about being given a 2^nd chance to live life differently up to a certain day of guaranteed death told to you.  Here is where the remembrance of King Hezekiah kicked in.  After reading about him again, I also pondered, why was it that Adam was not given another chance to live perfectly again? That’s another blog and thought I suppose.

First I’ll share what I took from my Comprehensive Analysis of the Bible by Montgomery F. Essig, 1922 Edition about Hezekiah. Lord, I wish this edition was online so I could have just copied and pasted. Here we go!

Hezekiah – a form of a Hebrew word meaning “strength of Jehovah.”  Hezekiah was the twelfth king of Judah and one of the best of Judah’s kingly line, although he was the son of the idolater Ahaz.  He was born about 726 B.C., ascended the throne when about twenty-five years old, and reigned twenty-nine years.  One of the first acts of his reign was to do away with the idol-worship that had grown under his father and restore the true faith. He then turned his attention to win back the cities captured by the Philistines.  His success in these military operations led him to refuse tribute to Assyria, which nation had already destroyed the kingdom of Israel and led away the ten tribes captive.  This act brought to his doors an Assyrian army, and Hezekiah was forced to make terms by despoiling the Temple of gold to give to the Assyrians, who promptly broke faith, and were just as promptly punished by God, who in a night destroyed 180,000 of them by plague.  Hezekiah fell ill, and, after earnest prayer, was told by the prophet Isaiah that God would spare his life for fifteen years.  The remainder of his reign appears to have been peaceful and prosperous. References 2 Kings 16;18;19;20.

I shall add a bit more here about Hezekiah.  His mother, Abijah, was the daughter of King Zechariah. You do know that King David was Hezekiah’s grandfather, right?  And that because of Ahaz’s reign of not doing right in the eyes of the Lord, Israel was once again exiled because of Sin to Assyria?  In 2 Kings 17:18-19 the bible tells us that –So the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them from His presence. Only the tribe of Judah was left, and even Judah did not keep the commands of the Lord their God. They followed the practices Israel has introduced. 

His wife’s name was Hephzibah of which Manasseh was seeded.  It occurred to me that during the reign of kings throughout the families, that one generation would do good; then the next generation would do bad in the eyes of the Lord, and so on and so on. In other words, it seemed generations took turns between doing good and bad in the eyes of the Lord. I see that happening in my family and many others of which I am aware of their family history. There appears to be some type of skip a generational curse existing thingy. (Read the books of Judges – 2 Chronicles for specifics)

In 2 Kings 18:5-8, it tells us that- Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses.  And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.  From watchtower to fortified city, he defeated the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its territory.

Did you know that it was Hezekiah who broke “into pieces” the bronze snake Moses made that was used to cure the Israelites from snake bites back in Moses’ day? Here’s the story about Moses’ snake.

Numbers 21:4-9 (NIV) The Bronze Snake

 They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way;they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”  Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died.  The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.”  So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.

So now back to Hezekiah….please open your bible or do a net search and read 2 Kings 20. It is a powerful chapter and a lesson in there to be learned for all. I am to close this out some time soon.

If the Lord sent a messenger, or told you Himself, “Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.”…. I ask again….If you knew….what would you change in your life? At that given moment Hezekiah only had a moment’s notice.  To most, if given that message, there would be nothing they could think of to do, but to lie there and die, call an ambulance, or try to write out a quick will via a phone call to a lawyer.  😛   But ah ha! here lies the strongest link in a weakest moment encountered….Watch out! Here it comes! When Hezekiah was told this, he did WHAT?  He prayed to the Lord, and this my loves, is how the 15 years was added to his life. Ask Him in faith and ye shall receive according to His will, huh? I think he was about 54 or close to it when he died.

Hezekiah really did prove to those of us, me included, in reading this; that the verses above (2 Kings 18:5-8) were kept until his death. Not only that, whatever the Lord said to Hezekiah, he accepted, whether good or bad. It made me think again about the simplicity of trusting in the Lord. We don’t have a quarter of the incidents happen in our lives that Hez had and most can’t find it in ourselves to put and keep that trust in to him until our death. We surely don’t want bad news from the Lord and we would not be as accepting of it as Hezekiah was. It is hard for us to come to grips with accepting our fate. Right? What I find even more amazing is that the bible tells us there was never another king like Hezekiah, neither before him nor after him. Thank you Holy Spirit! Brain power kick……There was never one like Jesus before Him or after Him either, nor to come.

What lesson(s) did you learn from reading about Hezekiah?

More on Hezekiah can be found in the Books of 2 Chronicles 29-32 and Isaiah 36-39. Another thing I found powerful in reading about Hezekiah is that he “thought” that……. “There will be peace and security in my lifetime.”  Is that a thought of yours? If you were seconds away from your death, would you be able to utter those words?

2 Kings 20:7-11 (NIV)

Then Isaiah said, “Prepare a poultice of figs.” They did so and applied it to the boil, and he recovered.  Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the temple of the Lord on the third day from now?”  Isaiah answered, “This is the Lord’s sign to you that the Lord will do what he has promised: Shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or shall it go back ten steps?”  “It is a simple matter for the shadow to go forward ten steps,” said Hezekiah. “Rather, have it go back ten steps.”  Then the prophet Isaiah called on the Lord, and the Lord made the shadow go back the ten steps it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.

My prayer and wish for you and self….Proverbs 3:5-6 – Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him,and he will make your paths straight.

I LOVE YOU

LOVE COVERS A MULTITUDE OF SINS

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• The God Of Hezekiah (savedbygraceblogdotcom.wordpress.com)
• Isaiah 39. Babylonian captivity of Judah foretold. Messengers from Babylonia (KJV) (bummyla.wordpress.com)