April 22 - Morning
"Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab,
As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.'
Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah:
'Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.' "
- First Kings 17:1-4
As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.'
Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah:
'Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.' "
- First Kings 17:1-4
Elijah Appears
Under the influence of Queen Jezebel, Ahab and Israel began to serve and worship Baal. Ahab built a temple in the city of Samaria for Baal and set up an altar. Ahab also set up an Asherah pole. The worship of Baal was a Canaanite practice that followed the seasons and focused on productivity of crops and the fertility of the people.
Baal was the god of the storm. Since fresh rain water was a necessity for the success of agriculture and the survival of a community, Israel followed the Canaanites into Baal worship. According to Canaanite theology, Baal could be awakened and empowered in his struggle against the opposing forces through rituals which included sacred prostitution. The Israelites were swayed by the influence of Baal worshippers to minimize their Lord YHWH as the God of certain powers that might include things like war or the wilderness, and they could easily make room for the god such as Baal who could bring rain and productivity.
Asherah was the female consort of Baal. She was represented by a carved pole or tree trunk that was often draped with material and set up near the altar of Baal.
It is into this religious deterioration that God sent one of the most enigmatic prophets of history. Elijah left his village of Tishbe on the other side of the Jordan in the land of Gilead (Map), crossed into the land of Israel and proceeded into Ahab’s palace in Samaria and said:
“As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.” - 1 Kings 17:1
This, of course, seemed like a ridiculous statement to the faithful followers of Baal and it was dismissed as ludicrous. But, after three years of no rain, the Baal crowd was in a panic as the whole country searched for Elijah, and Ahab offered rewards for his capture.
Elijah eventually meets Ahab and all of his Baal prophets on Mt. Carmel (Map) for a dramatic showdown between the rain god, Baal, and the Lord God, YHWH. The prophets of Baal and Elijah each build an altar to their God with a large crowd of Israelites watching. After hours of crying out to Baal and attempting to get his attention through self-mutilation the prophets of Baal cannot physically continue. Elijah turns from mocking them to praying and asking the Lord to answer by sending fire to his altar. God responds with a glorious demonstration of power for the Baal infested audience. Elijah slays the prophets of Baal and then for good measure turns to pray for rain.
God answers by sending an enormous rain storm (1 Kings 18:16-19:13)
Rob (Hb) – Multitude (Eng) – rob is the Hebrew word that means “multitude,” “abundance,” “large,” “prestigious,” “powerful.” In Genesis 16:10 rob refers to the many descendants of Hagar’s son Ishmael. In Genesis 27:28 rob is used to refer to an “abundance” of grain and wine.
Overall rob is used 150x.
I will seek God in prayer and seek his wisdom for my basic needs.
I will not seek answers in pagan practices or solve problems by walking in ways of unrighteousness.
I will not seek answers in pagan practices or solve problems by walking in ways of unrighteousness.
Bible Reading Descriptions Here
Personal
Opportunity to lead someone to Christ
Church
Testimony to the Power of God
Nation
Children
World
China, Taiwan
Someone to Quote
“What I need first of all is not exhortation, but a gospel, not directions for saving myself but knowledge of how God has saved me. Have you any good news? That is the question that I ask of you. I know your exhortations will not help me. But if anything has been done to save me, will you not tell me the facts?” – J. Gresham Machen
Something to Ponder
Five Phases of Success/Failure:
1- Attitude (Jm.4:6;1 Pt.5:5)-Arrogance or Humility; Self-centered or Christ-centered.
2- Priorities (Mt.6:33; Tm.3:1-5) - Our value system; Eternal or Temporal.
3- Decisions (Js.24:15; Phil.3:7-14)- Our choices are spiritual or carnal; sacrificial or selfish.
4- Actions (Mt.12:33; Jm.2:1-12) - Decisions produce actions that reveal our hearts and motives. Actions are right or wrong.
5- Results (Gn.4:7; Gal.6:7-8) - Actions produce results that are blessings or curses.
If you want to change your life you have to go back and change your attitude.
1- Attitude (Jm.4:6;1 Pt.5:5)-Arrogance or Humility; Self-centered or Christ-centered.
2- Priorities (Mt.6:33; Tm.3:1-5) - Our value system; Eternal or Temporal.
3- Decisions (Js.24:15; Phil.3:7-14)- Our choices are spiritual or carnal; sacrificial or selfish.
4- Actions (Mt.12:33; Jm.2:1-12) - Decisions produce actions that reveal our hearts and motives. Actions are right or wrong.
5- Results (Gn.4:7; Gal.6:7-8) - Actions produce results that are blessings or curses.
If you want to change your life you have to go back and change your attitude.
Here’s a Fact
The Isaiah Scroll found with the Dead Sea Scrolls was copied in 100 BC by a scribe who did not believe there were two authors writing two separate parts of the book of Isaiah since there is no break made by the copyist in 100 BC at chapter 39 like many modern critics try to propose.
Proverb
"The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender."
- Proverbs 22:7
Coach’s Corner
Feeling discouraged and hopeless is not a sin, but if you do not offset these emotions with confidence and faith they can lead to sin.
1 Kings 18:16-19:13
New International Version (NIV)
Elijah on Mount Carmel
16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17 When he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”
18 “I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the Lord’s commands and have followed the Baals. 19 Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
20 So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”
But the people said nothing.
22 Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire—he is God.”
Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”
25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” 26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it.
Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.
27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed. 33 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”
34 “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.
“Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”
40 Then Elijah commanded them, “Seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let anyone get away!” They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.
41 And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.” 42 So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.
43 “Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked.
“There is nothing there,” he said.
Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”
44 The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.”
So Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’”
45 Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. 46 The power of the Lord came on Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
Elijah Flees to Horeb
19 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.”
3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” 5 Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.
All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” 6 He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.
7 The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” 8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. 9 There he went into a cave and spent the night.
The Lord Appears to Elijah
And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
New International Version (NIV)
Elijah on Mount Carmel
16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17 When he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”
18 “I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the Lord’s commands and have followed the Baals. 19 Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
20 So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”
But the people said nothing.
22 Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire—he is God.”
Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”
25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” 26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it.
Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.
27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed. 33 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”
34 “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.
“Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”
40 Then Elijah commanded them, “Seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let anyone get away!” They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.
41 And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.” 42 So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.
43 “Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked.
“There is nothing there,” he said.
Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”
44 The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.”
So Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’”
45 Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. 46 The power of the Lord came on Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
Elijah Flees to Horeb
19 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.”
3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” 5 Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.
All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” 6 He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.
7 The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” 8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. 9 There he went into a cave and spent the night.
The Lord Appears to Elijah
And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
Isaiah 18-21
New International Version (NIV)
A Prophecy Against Cush
18
Woe to the land of whirring wings along the rivers of Cush,
2
which sends envoys by sea in papyrus boats over the water.
Go, swift messengers, to a people tall and smooth-skinned, to a people feared far and wide, an aggressive nation of strange speech, whose land is divided by rivers.
3
All you people of the world, you who live on the earth, when a banner is raised on the mountains, you will see it, and when a trumpet sounds, you will hear it.
4
This is what the Lord says to me: “I will remain quiet and will look on from my dwelling place, like shimmering heat in the sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”
5
For, before the harvest, when the blossom is gone and the flower becomes a ripening grape, he will cut off the shoots with pruning knives, and cut down and take away the spreading branches.
6
They will all be left to the mountain birds of prey and to the wild animals; the birds will feed on them all summer, the wild animals all winter.
7 At that time gifts will be brought to the Lord Almighty
from a people tall and smooth-skinned, from a people feared far and wide, an aggressive nation of strange speech, whose land is divided by rivers—
the gifts will be brought to Mount Zion, the place of the Name of the Lord Almighty.
A Prophecy Against Egypt
19 A prophecy against Egypt:
See, the Lord rides on a swift cloud and is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt tremble before him, and the hearts of the Egyptians melt with fear.
2
“I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian— brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom.
3
The Egyptians will lose heart, and I will bring their plans to nothing; they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead, the mediums and the spiritists.
4
I will hand the Egyptians over to the power of a cruel master, and a fierce king will rule over them,” declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.
5
The waters of the river will dry up, and the riverbed will be parched and dry.
6
The canals will stink; the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up. The reeds and rushes will wither,
7
also the plants along the Nile, at the mouth of the river. Every sown field along the Nile will become parched, will blow away and be no more.
8
The fishermen will groan and lament, all who cast hooks into the Nile; those who throw nets on the water will pine away.
9
Those who work with combed flax will despair, the weavers of fine linen will lose hope.
10
The workers in cloth will be dejected, and all the wage earners will be sick at heart.
11
The officials of Zoan are nothing but fools; the wise counselors of Pharaoh give senseless advice. How can you say to Pharaoh, “I am one of the wise men, a disciple of the ancient kings”?
12
Where are your wise men now? Let them show you and make known what the Lord Almighty has planned against Egypt.
13
The officials of Zoan have become fools, the leaders of Memphis are deceived; the cornerstones of her peoples have led Egypt astray.
14
The Lord has poured into them a spirit of dizziness; they make Egypt stagger in all that she does, as a drunkard staggers around in his vomit.
15
There is nothing Egypt can do— head or tail, palm branch or reed.
16 In that day the Egyptians will become weaklings. They will shudder with fear at the uplifted hand that the Lord Almighty raises against them. 17 And the land of Judah will bring terror to the Egyptians; everyone to whom Judah is mentioned will be terrified, because of what the Lord Almighty is planning against them.
18 In that day five cities in Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord Almighty. One of them will be called the City of the Sun.
19 In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the Lord at its border. 20 It will be a sign and witness to the Lord Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and he will rescue them. 21 So the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledge the Lord. They will worship with sacrifices and grain offerings; they will make vows to the Lord and keep them. 22 The Lord will strike Egypt with a plague; he will strike them and heal them. They will turn to the Lord, and he will respond to their pleas and heal them.
23 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. 24 In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth. 25 The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.”
A Prophecy Against Egypt and Cush
20 In the year that the supreme commander, sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and attacked and captured it— 2 at that time the Lord spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz. He said to him, “Take off the sackcloth from your body and the sandals from your feet.” And he did so, going around stripped and barefoot.
3 Then the Lord said, “Just as my servant Isaiah has gone stripped and barefoot for three years, as a sign and portent against Egypt and Cush, 4 so the king of Assyria will lead away stripped and barefoot the Egyptian captives and Cushite exiles, young and old, with buttocks bared—to Egypt’s shame. 5 Those who trusted in Cush and boasted in Egypt will be dismayed and put to shame. 6 In that day the people who live on this coast will say, ‘See what has happened to those we relied on, those we fled to for help and deliverance from the king of Assyria! How then can we escape?’”
A Prophecy Against Babylon
21 A prophecy against the Desert by the Sea:
Like whirlwinds sweeping through the southland, an invader comes from the desert, from a land of terror.
2
A dire vision has been shown to me: The traitor betrays, the looter takes loot. Elam, attack! Media, lay siege! I will bring to an end all the groaning she caused.
3
At this my body is racked with pain, pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor; I am staggered by what I hear, I am bewildered by what I see.
4
My heart falters, fear makes me tremble; the twilight I longed for has become a horror to me.
5
They set the tables, they spread the rugs, they eat, they drink! Get up, you officers, oil the shields!
6 This is what the Lord says to me:
“Go, post a lookout and have him report what he sees.
7
When he sees chariots with teams of horses, riders on donkeys or riders on camels, let him be alert, fully alert.”
8 And the lookout shouted,
“Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower; every night I stay at my post.
9
Look, here comes a man in a chariot with a team of horses. And he gives back the answer: ‘Babylon has fallen, has fallen! All the images of its gods lie shattered on the ground!’”
10
My people who are crushed on the threshing floor, I tell you what I have heard from the Lord Almighty, from the God of Israel.
A Prophecy Against Edom
11 A prophecy against Dumah:
Someone calls to me from Seir, “Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?”
12
The watchman replies, “Morning is coming, but also the night. If you would ask, then ask; and come back yet again.”
A Prophecy Against Arabia
13 A prophecy against Arabia:
You caravans of Dedanites, who camp in the thickets of Arabia,
14
bring water for the thirsty; you who live in Tema, bring food for the fugitives.
15
They flee from the sword, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow and from the heat of battle.
16 This is what the Lord says to me: “Within one year, as a servant bound by contract would count it, all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end. 17 The survivors of the archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be few.” The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.
New International Version (NIV)
A Prophecy Against Cush
18
Woe to the land of whirring wings along the rivers of Cush,
2
which sends envoys by sea in papyrus boats over the water.
Go, swift messengers, to a people tall and smooth-skinned, to a people feared far and wide, an aggressive nation of strange speech, whose land is divided by rivers.
3
All you people of the world, you who live on the earth, when a banner is raised on the mountains, you will see it, and when a trumpet sounds, you will hear it.
4
This is what the Lord says to me: “I will remain quiet and will look on from my dwelling place, like shimmering heat in the sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”
5
For, before the harvest, when the blossom is gone and the flower becomes a ripening grape, he will cut off the shoots with pruning knives, and cut down and take away the spreading branches.
6
They will all be left to the mountain birds of prey and to the wild animals; the birds will feed on them all summer, the wild animals all winter.
7 At that time gifts will be brought to the Lord Almighty
from a people tall and smooth-skinned, from a people feared far and wide, an aggressive nation of strange speech, whose land is divided by rivers—
the gifts will be brought to Mount Zion, the place of the Name of the Lord Almighty.
A Prophecy Against Egypt
19 A prophecy against Egypt:
See, the Lord rides on a swift cloud and is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt tremble before him, and the hearts of the Egyptians melt with fear.
2
“I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian— brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom.
3
The Egyptians will lose heart, and I will bring their plans to nothing; they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead, the mediums and the spiritists.
4
I will hand the Egyptians over to the power of a cruel master, and a fierce king will rule over them,” declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.
5
The waters of the river will dry up, and the riverbed will be parched and dry.
6
The canals will stink; the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up. The reeds and rushes will wither,
7
also the plants along the Nile, at the mouth of the river. Every sown field along the Nile will become parched, will blow away and be no more.
8
The fishermen will groan and lament, all who cast hooks into the Nile; those who throw nets on the water will pine away.
9
Those who work with combed flax will despair, the weavers of fine linen will lose hope.
10
The workers in cloth will be dejected, and all the wage earners will be sick at heart.
11
The officials of Zoan are nothing but fools; the wise counselors of Pharaoh give senseless advice. How can you say to Pharaoh, “I am one of the wise men, a disciple of the ancient kings”?
12
Where are your wise men now? Let them show you and make known what the Lord Almighty has planned against Egypt.
13
The officials of Zoan have become fools, the leaders of Memphis are deceived; the cornerstones of her peoples have led Egypt astray.
14
The Lord has poured into them a spirit of dizziness; they make Egypt stagger in all that she does, as a drunkard staggers around in his vomit.
15
There is nothing Egypt can do— head or tail, palm branch or reed.
16 In that day the Egyptians will become weaklings. They will shudder with fear at the uplifted hand that the Lord Almighty raises against them. 17 And the land of Judah will bring terror to the Egyptians; everyone to whom Judah is mentioned will be terrified, because of what the Lord Almighty is planning against them.
18 In that day five cities in Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord Almighty. One of them will be called the City of the Sun.
19 In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the Lord at its border. 20 It will be a sign and witness to the Lord Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and he will rescue them. 21 So the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledge the Lord. They will worship with sacrifices and grain offerings; they will make vows to the Lord and keep them. 22 The Lord will strike Egypt with a plague; he will strike them and heal them. They will turn to the Lord, and he will respond to their pleas and heal them.
23 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. 24 In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth. 25 The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.”
A Prophecy Against Egypt and Cush
20 In the year that the supreme commander, sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and attacked and captured it— 2 at that time the Lord spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz. He said to him, “Take off the sackcloth from your body and the sandals from your feet.” And he did so, going around stripped and barefoot.
3 Then the Lord said, “Just as my servant Isaiah has gone stripped and barefoot for three years, as a sign and portent against Egypt and Cush, 4 so the king of Assyria will lead away stripped and barefoot the Egyptian captives and Cushite exiles, young and old, with buttocks bared—to Egypt’s shame. 5 Those who trusted in Cush and boasted in Egypt will be dismayed and put to shame. 6 In that day the people who live on this coast will say, ‘See what has happened to those we relied on, those we fled to for help and deliverance from the king of Assyria! How then can we escape?’”
A Prophecy Against Babylon
21 A prophecy against the Desert by the Sea:
Like whirlwinds sweeping through the southland, an invader comes from the desert, from a land of terror.
2
A dire vision has been shown to me: The traitor betrays, the looter takes loot. Elam, attack! Media, lay siege! I will bring to an end all the groaning she caused.
3
At this my body is racked with pain, pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor; I am staggered by what I hear, I am bewildered by what I see.
4
My heart falters, fear makes me tremble; the twilight I longed for has become a horror to me.
5
They set the tables, they spread the rugs, they eat, they drink! Get up, you officers, oil the shields!
6 This is what the Lord says to me:
“Go, post a lookout and have him report what he sees.
7
When he sees chariots with teams of horses, riders on donkeys or riders on camels, let him be alert, fully alert.”
8 And the lookout shouted,
“Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower; every night I stay at my post.
9
Look, here comes a man in a chariot with a team of horses. And he gives back the answer: ‘Babylon has fallen, has fallen! All the images of its gods lie shattered on the ground!’”
10
My people who are crushed on the threshing floor, I tell you what I have heard from the Lord Almighty, from the God of Israel.
A Prophecy Against Edom
11 A prophecy against Dumah:
Someone calls to me from Seir, “Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?”
12
The watchman replies, “Morning is coming, but also the night. If you would ask, then ask; and come back yet again.”
A Prophecy Against Arabia
13 A prophecy against Arabia:
You caravans of Dedanites, who camp in the thickets of Arabia,
14
bring water for the thirsty; you who live in Tema, bring food for the fugitives.
15
They flee from the sword, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow and from the heat of battle.
16 This is what the Lord says to me: “Within one year, as a servant bound by contract would count it, all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end. 17 The survivors of the archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be few.” The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.
Joshua 9
New International Version (NIV)
The Gibeonite Deception
9 Now when all the kings west of the Jordan heard about these things—the kings in the hill country, in the western foothills, and along the entire coast of the Mediterranean Sea as far as Lebanon (the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites)— 2 they came together to wage war against Joshua and Israel.
3 However, when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, 4 they resorted to a ruse: They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended. 5 They put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy. 6 Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the Israelites, “We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us.”
7 The Israelites said to the Hivites, “But perhaps you live near us, so how can we make a treaty with you?”
8 “We are your servants,” they said to Joshua.
But Joshua asked, “Who are you and where do you come from?”
9 They answered: “Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the Lord your God. For we have heard reports of him: all that he did in Egypt, 10 and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan—Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth. 11 And our elders and all those living in our country said to us, ‘Take provisions for your journey; go and meet them and say to them, “We are your servants; make a treaty with us.”’ 12 This bread of ours was warm when we packed it at home on the day we left to come to you. But now see how dry and moldy it is. 13 And these wineskins that we filled were new, but see how cracked they are. And our clothes and sandals are worn out by the very long journey.”
14 The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord. 15 Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath.
16 Three days after they made the treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites heard that they were neighbors, living near them. 17 So the Israelites set out and on the third day came to their cities: Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth and Kiriath Jearim. 18 But the Israelites did not attack them, because the leaders of the assembly had sworn an oath to them by the Lord, the God of Israel.
The whole assembly grumbled against the leaders, 19 but all the leaders answered, “We have given them our oath by the Lord, the God of Israel, and we cannot touch them now. 20 This is what we will do to them: We will let them live, so that God’s wrath will not fall on us for breaking the oath we swore to them.” 21 They continued, “Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers in the service of the whole assembly.” So the leaders’ promise to them was kept.
22 Then Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said, “Why did you deceive us by saying, ‘We live a long way from you,’ while actually you live near us? 23 You are now under a curse: You will never be released from service as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”
24 They answered Joshua, “Your servants were clearly told how the Lord your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you the whole land and to wipe out all its inhabitants from before you. So we feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we did this. 25 We are now in your hands. Do to us whatever seems good and right to you.”
26 So Joshua saved them from the Israelites, and they did not kill them. 27 That day he made the Gibeonites woodcutters and water carriers for the assembly, to provide for the needs of the altar of the Lord at the place the Lord would choose. And that is what they are to this day.
New International Version (NIV)
The Gibeonite Deception
9 Now when all the kings west of the Jordan heard about these things—the kings in the hill country, in the western foothills, and along the entire coast of the Mediterranean Sea as far as Lebanon (the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites)— 2 they came together to wage war against Joshua and Israel.
3 However, when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, 4 they resorted to a ruse: They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended. 5 They put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy. 6 Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the Israelites, “We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us.”
7 The Israelites said to the Hivites, “But perhaps you live near us, so how can we make a treaty with you?”
8 “We are your servants,” they said to Joshua.
But Joshua asked, “Who are you and where do you come from?”
9 They answered: “Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the Lord your God. For we have heard reports of him: all that he did in Egypt, 10 and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan—Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth. 11 And our elders and all those living in our country said to us, ‘Take provisions for your journey; go and meet them and say to them, “We are your servants; make a treaty with us.”’ 12 This bread of ours was warm when we packed it at home on the day we left to come to you. But now see how dry and moldy it is. 13 And these wineskins that we filled were new, but see how cracked they are. And our clothes and sandals are worn out by the very long journey.”
14 The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord. 15 Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath.
16 Three days after they made the treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites heard that they were neighbors, living near them. 17 So the Israelites set out and on the third day came to their cities: Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth and Kiriath Jearim. 18 But the Israelites did not attack them, because the leaders of the assembly had sworn an oath to them by the Lord, the God of Israel.
The whole assembly grumbled against the leaders, 19 but all the leaders answered, “We have given them our oath by the Lord, the God of Israel, and we cannot touch them now. 20 This is what we will do to them: We will let them live, so that God’s wrath will not fall on us for breaking the oath we swore to them.” 21 They continued, “Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers in the service of the whole assembly.” So the leaders’ promise to them was kept.
22 Then Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said, “Why did you deceive us by saying, ‘We live a long way from you,’ while actually you live near us? 23 You are now under a curse: You will never be released from service as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”
24 They answered Joshua, “Your servants were clearly told how the Lord your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you the whole land and to wipe out all its inhabitants from before you. So we feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we did this. 25 We are now in your hands. Do to us whatever seems good and right to you.”
26 So Joshua saved them from the Israelites, and they did not kill them. 27 That day he made the Gibeonites woodcutters and water carriers for the assembly, to provide for the needs of the altar of the Lord at the place the Lord would choose. And that is what they are to this day.
Psalm 63
New International Version (NIV)
Psalm 63
A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah.
1
You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.
2
I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.
3
Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.
4
I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.
5
I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
6
On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.
7
Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.
8
I cling to you; your right hand upholds me.
9
Those who want to kill me will be destroyed; they will go down to the depths of the earth.
10
They will be given over to the sword and become food for jackals.
11
But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by God will glory in him, while the mouths of liars will be silenced.
New International Version (NIV)
Psalm 63
A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah.
1
You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.
2
I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.
3
Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.
4
I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.
5
I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
6
On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.
7
Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.
8
I cling to you; your right hand upholds me.
9
Those who want to kill me will be destroyed; they will go down to the depths of the earth.
10
They will be given over to the sword and become food for jackals.
11
But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by God will glory in him, while the mouths of liars will be silenced.
Psalm 6
New International Version (NIV)
Psalm 6
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. According to sheminith. A psalm of David.
1
Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.
2
Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint; heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony.
3
My soul is in deep anguish. How long, Lord, how long?
4
Turn, Lord, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love.
5
Among the dead no one proclaims your name. Who praises you from the grave?
6
I am worn out from my groaning.
All night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.
7
My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes.
8
Away from me, all you who do evil, for the Lord has heard my weeping.
9
The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer.
10
All my enemies will be overwhelmed with shame and anguish; they will turn back and suddenly be put to shame.
____
Psalm 8-10
New International Version (NIV)
Psalm 8
For the director of music. According to gittith. A psalm of David.
1
Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory in the heavens.
2
Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.
3
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4
what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?
5
You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.
6
You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet:
7
all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild,
8
the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.
9
Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Psalm 9
For the director of music. To the tune of “The Death of the Son.” A psalm of David.
1
I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
2
I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.
3
My enemies turn back; they stumble and perish before you.
4
For you have upheld my right and my cause, sitting enthroned as the righteous judge.
5
You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked; you have blotted out their name for ever and ever.
6
Endless ruin has overtaken my enemies, you have uprooted their cities; even the memory of them has perished.
7
The Lord reigns forever; he has established his throne for judgment.
8
He rules the world in righteousness and judges the peoples with equity.
9
The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
10
Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.
11
Sing the praises of the Lord, enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations what he has done.
12
For he who avenges blood remembers; he does not ignore the cries of the afflicted.
13
Lord, see how my enemies persecute me! Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death,
14
that I may declare your praises in the gates of Daughter Zion, and there rejoice in your salvation.
15
The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug; their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.
16
The Lord is known by his acts of justice; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.
17
The wicked go down to the realm of the dead, all the nations that forget God.
18
But God will never forget the needy; the hope of the afflicted will never perish.
19
Arise, Lord, do not let mortals triumph; let the nations be judged in your presence.
20
Strike them with terror, Lord; let the nations know they are only mortal.
Psalm 10
1
Why, Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
2
In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises.
3
He boasts about the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.
4
In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
5
His ways are always prosperous; your laws are rejected by him; he sneers at all his enemies.
6
He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.” He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.”
7
His mouth is full of lies and threats; trouble and evil are under his tongue.
8
He lies in wait near the villages; from ambush he murders the innocent. His eyes watch in secret for his victims;
9
like a lion in cover he lies in wait. He lies in wait to catch the helpless; he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.
10
His victims are crushed, they collapse; they fall under his strength.
11
He says to himself, “God will never notice; he covers his face and never sees.”
12
Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless.
13
Why does the wicked man revile God? Why does he say to himself, “He won’t call me to account”?
14
But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; you consider their grief and take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to you; you are the helper of the fatherless.
15
Break the arm of the wicked man; call the evildoer to account for his wickedness that would not otherwise be found out.
16
The Lord is King for ever and ever; the nations will perish from his land.
17
You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
18
defending the fatherless and the oppressed, so that mere earthly mortals will never again strike terror.
New International Version (NIV)
Psalm 6
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. According to sheminith. A psalm of David.
1
Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.
2
Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint; heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony.
3
My soul is in deep anguish. How long, Lord, how long?
4
Turn, Lord, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love.
5
Among the dead no one proclaims your name. Who praises you from the grave?
6
I am worn out from my groaning.
All night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.
7
My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes.
8
Away from me, all you who do evil, for the Lord has heard my weeping.
9
The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer.
10
All my enemies will be overwhelmed with shame and anguish; they will turn back and suddenly be put to shame.
____
Psalm 8-10
New International Version (NIV)
Psalm 8
For the director of music. According to gittith. A psalm of David.
1
Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory in the heavens.
2
Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.
3
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4
what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?
5
You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.
6
You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet:
7
all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild,
8
the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.
9
Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Psalm 9
For the director of music. To the tune of “The Death of the Son.” A psalm of David.
1
I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
2
I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.
3
My enemies turn back; they stumble and perish before you.
4
For you have upheld my right and my cause, sitting enthroned as the righteous judge.
5
You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked; you have blotted out their name for ever and ever.
6
Endless ruin has overtaken my enemies, you have uprooted their cities; even the memory of them has perished.
7
The Lord reigns forever; he has established his throne for judgment.
8
He rules the world in righteousness and judges the peoples with equity.
9
The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
10
Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.
11
Sing the praises of the Lord, enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations what he has done.
12
For he who avenges blood remembers; he does not ignore the cries of the afflicted.
13
Lord, see how my enemies persecute me! Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death,
14
that I may declare your praises in the gates of Daughter Zion, and there rejoice in your salvation.
15
The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug; their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.
16
The Lord is known by his acts of justice; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.
17
The wicked go down to the realm of the dead, all the nations that forget God.
18
But God will never forget the needy; the hope of the afflicted will never perish.
19
Arise, Lord, do not let mortals triumph; let the nations be judged in your presence.
20
Strike them with terror, Lord; let the nations know they are only mortal.
Psalm 10
1
Why, Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
2
In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises.
3
He boasts about the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.
4
In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
5
His ways are always prosperous; your laws are rejected by him; he sneers at all his enemies.
6
He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.” He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.”
7
His mouth is full of lies and threats; trouble and evil are under his tongue.
8
He lies in wait near the villages; from ambush he murders the innocent. His eyes watch in secret for his victims;
9
like a lion in cover he lies in wait. He lies in wait to catch the helpless; he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.
10
His victims are crushed, they collapse; they fall under his strength.
11
He says to himself, “God will never notice; he covers his face and never sees.”
12
Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless.
13
Why does the wicked man revile God? Why does he say to himself, “He won’t call me to account”?
14
But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; you consider their grief and take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to you; you are the helper of the fatherless.
15
Break the arm of the wicked man; call the evildoer to account for his wickedness that would not otherwise be found out.
16
The Lord is King for ever and ever; the nations will perish from his land.
17
You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
18
defending the fatherless and the oppressed, so that mere earthly mortals will never again strike terror.