July 8 - Evening
"Do not say,
'I’ll pay you back for this wrong!'
Wait for the Lord, and he will avenge you."
- Proverbs 20:22
'I’ll pay you back for this wrong!'
Wait for the Lord, and he will avenge you."
- Proverbs 20:22
Vengeance is Not for Man
Knowledge that the Lord is the righteous judge relieves the pressure we feel to get revenge, get even or take unjust action in an attempt to pay people back for their offenses.
Examples of believers looking to God to avenge the wrongs done to them, instead of striking back themselves can be found in these verses:
Psalm 25:3
Psalm 27:14
Psalm 37:34
Psalm 39:7-8
Psalm 62:5-6
Matthew 5:38-48
Luke 18:7-8
1 Peter 2:23
1 Peter 4:19
Vengeance belongs to the Lord, not to the one who suffered the wrong according to these verses:
Proverbs16:7
Deuteronomy 32:35
Deuteronomy 32:43
2 Samuel 3:39
Romans 12:17-21 - "Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone."
1 Thessalonians 5:15 - "Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else."
Hebrews 10:30 - "For we know him who said, 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' and again, 'The Lord will judge his people.' ”
A man who strikes back in revenge will not be able to even-the-score with perfect justice. Man cannot act with an omniscient view. A man seeking revenge may instead set himself up to be struck by God’s judgment himself since a man’s revenge may include unjust opinions, jealousy or prejudice.
Hegoumenos (Gr) – leader (Eng) – the Greek word hegoumenos comes from the Greek word hegeomai which means “leader”, “guide,” and “commander.” Hegoumenos is used in Acts 7:10 to identify Joseph when he was the vizier of Egypt. Mathew quotes Micah 5:2 in Matthew 2:6 and identifies the Messiah as the “hegoumenos who will shepherd my sheep.”
In the first century hegoumenos is used in the papyri to identify the person in charge of certain area of expertise such as:
- Hegoumenos of the weavers
- Hegoumenos of the town assembly
- Hegoumenos of a religious body.
In the first century hegoumenos is used in the papyri to identify the person in charge of certain area of expertise such as:
- Hegoumenos of the weavers
- Hegoumenos of the town assembly
- Hegoumenos of a religious body.
I will not strike back, but will give room for God to judge.
The Lord will always even-the-score in his perfect justice.
The Lord will always even-the-score in his perfect justice.
Bible Reading Descriptions Here
Personal
Guidance and direction in the roles you have in life
Church
Fruit and production
Nation
Jobs
World
Indonesia
Someone to Quote
"Faith will lead you. Experience will teach you. Scripture will train you."
- Clement of Alexandria, 195 AD
- Clement of Alexandria, 195 AD
Something to Ponder
Nestorianism was a Christological heresy from 400-550 AD. The Logos is said to have indwelt the human man Jesus, which made Jesus a God-bearing man. In this view Jesus had two distinct natures that were completely separate. Jesus was God and Jesus was man, but as two separate persons. There are still Nestorian churches in Iran and Iraq.
Here’s a Fact
(PART FOUR OF FOUR)
Leen Ritmeyer has possibly identified the location of the temple, the Most Holy Place and the place in the bedrock on Mount Moriah where the Ark of the Covenant was set. The foundation bedrock that protrudes out of Mount Moriah that is today under the Dome of the Rock has been examined by Leen Ritmeyer. Ritmeyer’s research has made four conclusions:
#4 of 4) Exactly in the center of this 20 cubit by 20 cubit area (with foundation markings preserved for the south, the north and the west walls) of the Holy of Holies, Ritmeyer identified a rectangular depression in the center of this 20x20 cubit area. If this area was the Holy of Holies then the Ark of the Covenant would have set in the center of this area. Ritmeyer found a leveled rectangular depression that was 2.25 feet x 3.75 feet (1.5 cubits x 2.5 cubits). Exodus 25:10 describes the Ark of the Covenant as being 1.5 cubits x 2.5 cubits.
1 Kings 6:19-21 says Solomon placed this Ark in the Holy of Holies in a place he had prepared for the Ark. In 1 Kings 8:6-8 and 6:20-21 the text says,
“There I have set (sim in Hebrew) a place for the Ark of the Covenant.”
The Hebrew word sim translated “set” also means “put a place” or “made a place.” In other words, Solomon had a level 1.5x2.5 cubit rectangular spot or place made in the bedrock of Mount Moriah which was surrounded by the walls of the Holy of Holies cut in the bedrock to set the Ark on a level spot so it would be setting stable. This spot is visible today. (Diagram by Ritmeyer 1, 2.
#4 of 4) Exactly in the center of this 20 cubit by 20 cubit area (with foundation markings preserved for the south, the north and the west walls) of the Holy of Holies, Ritmeyer identified a rectangular depression in the center of this 20x20 cubit area. If this area was the Holy of Holies then the Ark of the Covenant would have set in the center of this area. Ritmeyer found a leveled rectangular depression that was 2.25 feet x 3.75 feet (1.5 cubits x 2.5 cubits). Exodus 25:10 describes the Ark of the Covenant as being 1.5 cubits x 2.5 cubits.
1 Kings 6:19-21 says Solomon placed this Ark in the Holy of Holies in a place he had prepared for the Ark. In 1 Kings 8:6-8 and 6:20-21 the text says,
“There I have set (sim in Hebrew) a place for the Ark of the Covenant.”
The Hebrew word sim translated “set” also means “put a place” or “made a place.” In other words, Solomon had a level 1.5x2.5 cubit rectangular spot or place made in the bedrock of Mount Moriah which was surrounded by the walls of the Holy of Holies cut in the bedrock to set the Ark on a level spot so it would be setting stable. This spot is visible today. (Diagram by Ritmeyer 1, 2.
Proverb
"I (wisdom) walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice, bestowing wealth on those who love me and making their treasuries full."
- Proverbs 8:20-21
- Proverbs 8:20-21
Coach’s Corner
The greatest miracle is salvation. The godliest spiritual manifestation is the transformed soul.
Jeremiah 23
New International Version (NIV)
The Righteous Branch
23 “Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. 2 Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,” declares the Lord. 3 “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. 4 I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the Lord.
5
“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.
6
In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior.
7 “So then, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when people will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’ 8 but they will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ Then they will live in their own land.”
Lying Prophets
9 Concerning the prophets:
My heart is broken within me; all my bones tremble. I am like a drunken man, like a strong man overcome by wine, because of the Lord and his holy words.
10
The land is full of adulterers; because of the curse the land lies parched and the pastures in the wilderness are withered. The prophets follow an evil course and use their power unjustly.
11
“Both prophet and priest are godless; even in my temple I find their wickedness,” declares the Lord.
12
“Therefore their path will become slippery; they will be banished to darkness and there they will fall. I will bring disaster on them in the year they are punished,” declares the Lord.
13
“Among the prophets of Samaria I saw this repulsive thing: They prophesied by Baal and led my people Israel astray.
14
And among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen something horrible: They commit adultery and live a lie. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that not one of them turns from their wickedness. They are all like Sodom to me; the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”
15 Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says concerning the prophets:
“I will make them eat bitter food and drink poisoned water, because from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has spread throughout the land.”
16 This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord.
17
They keep saying to those who despise me, ‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’ And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts they say, ‘No harm will come to you.’
18
But which of them has stood in the council of the Lord to see or to hear his word? Who has listened and heard his word?
19
See, the storm of the Lord will burst out in wrath, a whirlwind swirling down on the heads of the wicked.
20
The anger of the Lord will not turn back until he fully accomplishes the purposes of his heart. In days to come you will understand it clearly.
21
I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied.
22
But if they had stood in my council, they would have proclaimed my words to my people and would have turned them from their evil ways and from their evil deeds.
23
“Am I only a God nearby,” declares the Lord, “and not a God far away?
24
Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?” declares the Lord. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the Lord.
25 “I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’ 26 How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions of their own minds? 27 They think the dreams they tell one another will make my people forget my name, just as their ancestors forgot my name through Baal worship. 28 Let the prophet who has a dream recount the dream, but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?” declares the Lord. 29 “Is not my word like fire,” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?
30 “Therefore,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who steal from one another words supposedly from me. 31 Yes,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, ‘The Lord declares.’ 32 Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,” declares the Lord. “They tell them and lead my people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They do not benefit these people in the least,” declares the Lord.
False Prophecy
33 “When these people, or a prophet or a priest, ask you, ‘What is the message from the Lord?’ say to them, ‘What message? I will forsake you, declares the Lord.’ 34 If a prophet or a priest or anyone else claims, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ I will punish them and their household. 35 This is what each of you keeps saying to your friends and other Israelites: ‘What is the Lord’s answer?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 36 But you must not mention ‘a message from the Lord’ again, because each one’s word becomes their own message. So you distort the words of the living God, the Lord Almighty, our God. 37 This is what you keep saying to a prophet: ‘What is the Lord’s answer to you?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 38 Although you claim, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ this is what the Lord says: You used the words, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ even though I told you that you must not claim, ‘This is a message from the Lord.’ 39 Therefore, I will surely forget you and cast you out of my presence along with the city I gave to you and your ancestors. 40 I will bring on you everlasting disgrace—everlasting shame that will not be forgotten.”
New International Version (NIV)
The Righteous Branch
23 “Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. 2 Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,” declares the Lord. 3 “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. 4 I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the Lord.
5
“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.
6
In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior.
7 “So then, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when people will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’ 8 but they will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ Then they will live in their own land.”
Lying Prophets
9 Concerning the prophets:
My heart is broken within me; all my bones tremble. I am like a drunken man, like a strong man overcome by wine, because of the Lord and his holy words.
10
The land is full of adulterers; because of the curse the land lies parched and the pastures in the wilderness are withered. The prophets follow an evil course and use their power unjustly.
11
“Both prophet and priest are godless; even in my temple I find their wickedness,” declares the Lord.
12
“Therefore their path will become slippery; they will be banished to darkness and there they will fall. I will bring disaster on them in the year they are punished,” declares the Lord.
13
“Among the prophets of Samaria I saw this repulsive thing: They prophesied by Baal and led my people Israel astray.
14
And among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen something horrible: They commit adultery and live a lie. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that not one of them turns from their wickedness. They are all like Sodom to me; the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”
15 Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says concerning the prophets:
“I will make them eat bitter food and drink poisoned water, because from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has spread throughout the land.”
16 This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord.
17
They keep saying to those who despise me, ‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’ And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts they say, ‘No harm will come to you.’
18
But which of them has stood in the council of the Lord to see or to hear his word? Who has listened and heard his word?
19
See, the storm of the Lord will burst out in wrath, a whirlwind swirling down on the heads of the wicked.
20
The anger of the Lord will not turn back until he fully accomplishes the purposes of his heart. In days to come you will understand it clearly.
21
I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied.
22
But if they had stood in my council, they would have proclaimed my words to my people and would have turned them from their evil ways and from their evil deeds.
23
“Am I only a God nearby,” declares the Lord, “and not a God far away?
24
Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?” declares the Lord. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the Lord.
25 “I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’ 26 How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions of their own minds? 27 They think the dreams they tell one another will make my people forget my name, just as their ancestors forgot my name through Baal worship. 28 Let the prophet who has a dream recount the dream, but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?” declares the Lord. 29 “Is not my word like fire,” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?
30 “Therefore,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who steal from one another words supposedly from me. 31 Yes,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, ‘The Lord declares.’ 32 Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,” declares the Lord. “They tell them and lead my people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They do not benefit these people in the least,” declares the Lord.
False Prophecy
33 “When these people, or a prophet or a priest, ask you, ‘What is the message from the Lord?’ say to them, ‘What message? I will forsake you, declares the Lord.’ 34 If a prophet or a priest or anyone else claims, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ I will punish them and their household. 35 This is what each of you keeps saying to your friends and other Israelites: ‘What is the Lord’s answer?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 36 But you must not mention ‘a message from the Lord’ again, because each one’s word becomes their own message. So you distort the words of the living God, the Lord Almighty, our God. 37 This is what you keep saying to a prophet: ‘What is the Lord’s answer to you?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 38 Although you claim, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ this is what the Lord says: You used the words, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ even though I told you that you must not claim, ‘This is a message from the Lord.’ 39 Therefore, I will surely forget you and cast you out of my presence along with the city I gave to you and your ancestors. 40 I will bring on you everlasting disgrace—everlasting shame that will not be forgotten.”
2 Chronicles 26
New International Version (NIV)
Uzziah King of Judah
26 Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah. 2 He was the one who rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah after Amaziah rested with his ancestors.
3 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother’s name was Jekoliah; she was from Jerusalem. 4 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done. 5 He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success.
6 He went to war against the Philistines and broke down the walls of Gath, Jabneh and Ashdod. He then rebuilt towns near Ashdod and elsewhere among the Philistines. 7 God helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabs who lived in Gur Baal and against the Meunites. 8 The Ammonites brought tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread as far as the border of Egypt, because he had become very powerful.
9 Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate and at the angle of the wall, and he fortified them. 10 He also built towers in the wilderness and dug many cisterns, because he had much livestock in the foothills and in the plain. He had people working his fields and vineyards in the hills and in the fertile lands, for he loved the soil.
11 Uzziah had a well-trained army, ready to go out by divisions according to their numbers as mustered by Jeiel the secretary and Maaseiah the officer under the direction of Hananiah, one of the royal officials. 12 The total number of family leaders over the fighting men was 2,600. 13 Under their command was an army of 307,500 men trained for war, a powerful force to support the king against his enemies. 14 Uzziah provided shields, spears, helmets, coats of armor, bows and slingstones for the entire army. 15 In Jerusalem he made devices invented for use on the towers and on the corner defenses so that soldiers could shoot arrows and hurl large stones from the walls. His fame spread far and wide, for he was greatly helped until he became powerful.
16 But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. 17 Azariah the priest with eighty other courageous priests of the Lord followed him in. 18 They confronted King Uzziah and said, “It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the Lord God.”
19 Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the Lord’s temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead. 20 When Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the Lord had afflicted him.
21 King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house—leprous, and banned from the temple of the Lord. Jotham his son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land.
22 The other events of Uzziah’s reign, from beginning to end, are recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 23 Uzziah rested with his ancestors and was buried near them in a cemetery that belonged to the kings, for people said, “He had leprosy.” And Jotham his son succeeded him as king.
New International Version (NIV)
Uzziah King of Judah
26 Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah. 2 He was the one who rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah after Amaziah rested with his ancestors.
3 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother’s name was Jekoliah; she was from Jerusalem. 4 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done. 5 He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success.
6 He went to war against the Philistines and broke down the walls of Gath, Jabneh and Ashdod. He then rebuilt towns near Ashdod and elsewhere among the Philistines. 7 God helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabs who lived in Gur Baal and against the Meunites. 8 The Ammonites brought tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread as far as the border of Egypt, because he had become very powerful.
9 Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate and at the angle of the wall, and he fortified them. 10 He also built towers in the wilderness and dug many cisterns, because he had much livestock in the foothills and in the plain. He had people working his fields and vineyards in the hills and in the fertile lands, for he loved the soil.
11 Uzziah had a well-trained army, ready to go out by divisions according to their numbers as mustered by Jeiel the secretary and Maaseiah the officer under the direction of Hananiah, one of the royal officials. 12 The total number of family leaders over the fighting men was 2,600. 13 Under their command was an army of 307,500 men trained for war, a powerful force to support the king against his enemies. 14 Uzziah provided shields, spears, helmets, coats of armor, bows and slingstones for the entire army. 15 In Jerusalem he made devices invented for use on the towers and on the corner defenses so that soldiers could shoot arrows and hurl large stones from the walls. His fame spread far and wide, for he was greatly helped until he became powerful.
16 But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. 17 Azariah the priest with eighty other courageous priests of the Lord followed him in. 18 They confronted King Uzziah and said, “It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the Lord God.”
19 Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the Lord’s temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead. 20 When Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the Lord had afflicted him.
21 King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house—leprous, and banned from the temple of the Lord. Jotham his son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land.
22 The other events of Uzziah’s reign, from beginning to end, are recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 23 Uzziah rested with his ancestors and was buried near them in a cemetery that belonged to the kings, for people said, “He had leprosy.” And Jotham his son succeeded him as king.