September 2 - Evening
"My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children."
- Hosea 4:6
Corrupt Clergy, Ignorant People and National Destruction
One of the primary responsibilities of the priests in Israel was to teach the people God’s Word so the people could apply that knowledge to their lifestyles, values, worship and civil responsibilities. In Hosea’s day (around 740 BC) Israel’s clergy, the Levitical priesthood who were the custodians of the Law of God and teachers of God’s Word, had “rejected knowledge” of God and his Truth as revealed in the Law and Prophets. The priests had replaced Gods’ Word with local idols and foreign Baals which brought corrupt morals, false realities and twisted political alignments. God says he has “rejected” these priests because they have “rejected” knowledge. And, because the priests had “ignored” (Hb. sakah, “forgotten”) God’s law, God would likewise “ignore” (sakah, “forget”) the “children” of the priest. The national leadership of the priesthood could be considered the “mother,” which means her “children” would refer to the citizens of the nation. The reference to “children” refers to the people of Israel and probably does not refer directly to the next generation of the priests or the community in this case, although the next generation would also suffer from being indoctrinated with the deception and ignorance of the priesthood. Not only would the corrupt priest be rejected and ignored, but the people they ministered to still remained in ignorance. This lack of “knowledge” (Hb. hadda’ath “the knowledge” with the definite article connects it to da’ath elohim “knowledge of God” in 4:1) among the common man in Israel would naturally result in destruction. The people who had listened to the corrupt clergy in Israel in 740 BC would be “destroyed” (Hb. damah “ruined”) in 723-721 BC by the Assyrian invasion and deportation. Isaiah states the same principle in Isaiah 5:13, “my people will go into exile for lack of understanding.”
allelouia (Gr) – Hallelujah (Eng) – a transliteration of 2 Hebrew words “helal” (“to praise”) and “Yeh” (“Yahweh”) meaning “praise Yahweh” or “praise the Lord”
Do I understand that my possession of correct information, both natural and spiritual, is one of the most important keys to success?
I will seek to obtain more information, better information and correct information.
Bible Reading Descriptions Here
Personal
For my property and possessions
Church
Proclamation of God's Truth
Nation
Judiciary
World
Moldova - need leadership training; Christian radio TWR
Fort Antonia was at the northwest corner of the Temple Mount. This picture is taken from inside on the Temple Mount looking north and shows the bedrock that the fort would have been built on. A few of the Herodian ashlars that were part of this south wall of Fort Antonia can still be seen, but not in this photo.
(click on image for larger size)
(click on image for larger size)
Someone to Quote
“God doesn’t just give us grace, He gives us Jesus, the Lord of grace.” – Joni Eareckson Tada
Something to Ponder
The number of Christians and percentage of population:
1. USA – 224 million, 85%
2. Brazil -139 million, 93%
3. Mexico-86 million, 99%
4. Russia-80 million, 60%
5. China-70 million, 6%
6. Germany- 67 million, 83%
7. Philippines-63 million,93%
1. USA – 224 million, 85%
2. Brazil -139 million, 93%
3. Mexico-86 million, 99%
4. Russia-80 million, 60%
5. China-70 million, 6%
6. Germany- 67 million, 83%
7. Philippines-63 million,93%
Here’s a Fact
A skeleton of a 24-28 year old crucified man was found in a limestone ossuary (stone box) inside a cave tomb on the Mount of Olives. His name, Jehohanan, was carved on the ossuary. His arms hard been nailed through the forearms and a spike had worn a groove in his right radial (leg) bone.
Proverb
"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate!"
Proverbs 31:31
Proverbs 31:31
Coach’s Corner
Ultimately, we know God and God knows everything. And, we trust the God who controls everything.
Malachi 1
New International Version (NIV)
1 A prophecy: The word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi.[a]
Israel Doubts God’s Love
2 “I have loved you,” says the Lord.
“But you ask, ‘How have you loved us?’
“Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob, 3 but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his hill country into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.”
4 Edom may say, “Though we have been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins.”
But this is what the Lord Almighty says: “They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Wicked Land, a people always under the wrath of the Lord. 5 You will see it with your own eyes and say, ‘Great is the Lord—even beyond the borders of Israel!’
Breaking Covenant Through Blemished Sacrifices
6 “A son honors his father, and a slave his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the Lord Almighty.
“It is you priests who show contempt for my name.
“But you ask, ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’
7 “By offering defiled food on my altar.
“But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you?’
“By saying that the Lord’s table is contemptible. 8 When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the Lord Almighty.
9 “Now plead with God to be gracious to us. With such offerings from your hands, will he accept you?”—says the Lord Almighty.
10 “Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord Almighty, “and I will accept no offering from your hands. 11 My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to me, because my name will be great among the nations,” says the Lord Almighty.
12 “But you profane it by saying, ‘The Lord’s table is defiled,’ and, ‘Its food is contemptible.’ 13 And you say, ‘What a burden!’ and you sniff at it contemptuously,” says the Lord Almighty.
“When you bring injured, lame or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?” says the Lord. 14 “Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king,” says the Lord Almighty, “and my name is to be feared among the nations.
Footnotes:
New International Version (NIV)
1 A prophecy: The word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi.[a]
Israel Doubts God’s Love
2 “I have loved you,” says the Lord.
“But you ask, ‘How have you loved us?’
“Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob, 3 but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his hill country into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.”
4 Edom may say, “Though we have been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins.”
But this is what the Lord Almighty says: “They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Wicked Land, a people always under the wrath of the Lord. 5 You will see it with your own eyes and say, ‘Great is the Lord—even beyond the borders of Israel!’
Breaking Covenant Through Blemished Sacrifices
6 “A son honors his father, and a slave his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the Lord Almighty.
“It is you priests who show contempt for my name.
“But you ask, ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’
7 “By offering defiled food on my altar.
“But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you?’
“By saying that the Lord’s table is contemptible. 8 When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the Lord Almighty.
9 “Now plead with God to be gracious to us. With such offerings from your hands, will he accept you?”—says the Lord Almighty.
10 “Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord Almighty, “and I will accept no offering from your hands. 11 My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to me, because my name will be great among the nations,” says the Lord Almighty.
12 “But you profane it by saying, ‘The Lord’s table is defiled,’ and, ‘Its food is contemptible.’ 13 And you say, ‘What a burden!’ and you sniff at it contemptuously,” says the Lord Almighty.
“When you bring injured, lame or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?” says the Lord. 14 “Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king,” says the Lord Almighty, “and my name is to be feared among the nations.
Footnotes:
- Malachi 1:1 Malachi means my messenger.
Ezekiel 21
New International Version (NIV)
Babylon as God’s Sword of Judgment
21 [a]The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face against Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuary. Prophesy against the land of Israel 3 and say to her: ‘This is what the Lord says: I am against you. I will draw my sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked. 4 Because I am going to cut off the righteous and the wicked, my sword will be unsheathed against everyone from south to north. 5 Then all people will know that I the Lord have drawn my sword from its sheath; it will not return again.’
6 “Therefore groan, son of man! Groan before them with broken heart and bitter grief. 7 And when they ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt with fear and every hand go limp; every spirit will become faint and every leg will be wet with urine.’ It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
8 The word of the Lord came to me: 9 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord says:
“‘A sword, a sword, sharpened and polished—
10
sharpened for the slaughter, polished to flash like lightning!
“‘Shall we rejoice in the scepter of my royal son? The sword despises every such stick.
11
“‘The sword is appointed to be polished, to be grasped with the hand; it is sharpened and polished, made ready for the hand of the slayer.
12
Cry out and wail, son of man, for it is against my people; it is against all the princes of Israel. They are thrown to the sword along with my people. Therefore beat your breast.
13 “‘Testing will surely come. And what if even the scepter, which the sword despises, does not continue? declares the Sovereign Lord.’
14
“So then, son of man, prophesy and strike your hands together. Let the sword strike twice, even three times. It is a sword for slaughter— a sword for great slaughter, closing in on them from every side.
15
So that hearts may melt with fear and the fallen be many, I have stationed the sword for slaughter[b] at all their gates. Look! It is forged to strike like lightning, it is grasped for slaughter.
16
Slash to the right, you sword, then to the left, wherever your blade is turned.
17
I too will strike my hands together, and my wrath will subside. I the Lord have spoken.”
18 The word of the Lord came to me: 19 “Son of man, mark out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to take, both starting from the same country. Make a signpost where the road branches off to the city. 20 Mark out one road for the sword to come against Rabbah of the Ammonites and another against Judah and fortified Jerusalem. 21 For the king of Babylon will stop at the fork in the road, at the junction of the two roads, to seek an omen: He will cast lots with arrows, he will consult his idols, he will examine the liver. 22 Into his right hand will come the lot for Jerusalem, where he is to set up battering rams, to give the command to slaughter, to sound the battle cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to build a ramp and to erect siege works. 23 It will seem like a false omen to those who have sworn allegiance to him, but he will remind them of their guilt and take them captive.
24 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because you people have brought to mind your guilt by your open rebellion, revealing your sins in all that you do—because you have done this, you will be taken captive.
25 “‘You profane and wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come, whose time of punishment has reached its climax, 26 this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Take off the turban, remove the crown. It will not be as it was: The lowly will be exalted and the exalted will be brought low. 27 A ruin! A ruin! I will make it a ruin! The crown will not be restored until he to whom it rightfully belongs shall come; to him I will give it.’
28 “And you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says about the Ammonites and their insults:
“‘A sword, a sword, drawn for the slaughter, polished to consume and to flash like lightning!
29
Despite false visions concerning you and lying divinations about you, it will be laid on the necks of the wicked who are to be slain, whose day has come, whose time of punishment has reached its climax.
30
“‘Let the sword return to its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your ancestry, I will judge you.
31
I will pour out my wrath on you and breathe out my fiery anger against you; I will deliver you into the hands of brutal men, men skilled in destruction.
32
You will be fuel for the fire, your blood will be shed in your land, you will be remembered no more; for I the Lord have spoken.’”
Footnotes:
New International Version (NIV)
Babylon as God’s Sword of Judgment
21 [a]The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face against Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuary. Prophesy against the land of Israel 3 and say to her: ‘This is what the Lord says: I am against you. I will draw my sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked. 4 Because I am going to cut off the righteous and the wicked, my sword will be unsheathed against everyone from south to north. 5 Then all people will know that I the Lord have drawn my sword from its sheath; it will not return again.’
6 “Therefore groan, son of man! Groan before them with broken heart and bitter grief. 7 And when they ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt with fear and every hand go limp; every spirit will become faint and every leg will be wet with urine.’ It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
8 The word of the Lord came to me: 9 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord says:
“‘A sword, a sword, sharpened and polished—
10
sharpened for the slaughter, polished to flash like lightning!
“‘Shall we rejoice in the scepter of my royal son? The sword despises every such stick.
11
“‘The sword is appointed to be polished, to be grasped with the hand; it is sharpened and polished, made ready for the hand of the slayer.
12
Cry out and wail, son of man, for it is against my people; it is against all the princes of Israel. They are thrown to the sword along with my people. Therefore beat your breast.
13 “‘Testing will surely come. And what if even the scepter, which the sword despises, does not continue? declares the Sovereign Lord.’
14
“So then, son of man, prophesy and strike your hands together. Let the sword strike twice, even three times. It is a sword for slaughter— a sword for great slaughter, closing in on them from every side.
15
So that hearts may melt with fear and the fallen be many, I have stationed the sword for slaughter[b] at all their gates. Look! It is forged to strike like lightning, it is grasped for slaughter.
16
Slash to the right, you sword, then to the left, wherever your blade is turned.
17
I too will strike my hands together, and my wrath will subside. I the Lord have spoken.”
18 The word of the Lord came to me: 19 “Son of man, mark out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to take, both starting from the same country. Make a signpost where the road branches off to the city. 20 Mark out one road for the sword to come against Rabbah of the Ammonites and another against Judah and fortified Jerusalem. 21 For the king of Babylon will stop at the fork in the road, at the junction of the two roads, to seek an omen: He will cast lots with arrows, he will consult his idols, he will examine the liver. 22 Into his right hand will come the lot for Jerusalem, where he is to set up battering rams, to give the command to slaughter, to sound the battle cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to build a ramp and to erect siege works. 23 It will seem like a false omen to those who have sworn allegiance to him, but he will remind them of their guilt and take them captive.
24 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because you people have brought to mind your guilt by your open rebellion, revealing your sins in all that you do—because you have done this, you will be taken captive.
25 “‘You profane and wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come, whose time of punishment has reached its climax, 26 this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Take off the turban, remove the crown. It will not be as it was: The lowly will be exalted and the exalted will be brought low. 27 A ruin! A ruin! I will make it a ruin! The crown will not be restored until he to whom it rightfully belongs shall come; to him I will give it.’
28 “And you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says about the Ammonites and their insults:
“‘A sword, a sword, drawn for the slaughter, polished to consume and to flash like lightning!
29
Despite false visions concerning you and lying divinations about you, it will be laid on the necks of the wicked who are to be slain, whose day has come, whose time of punishment has reached its climax.
30
“‘Let the sword return to its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your ancestry, I will judge you.
31
I will pour out my wrath on you and breathe out my fiery anger against you; I will deliver you into the hands of brutal men, men skilled in destruction.
32
You will be fuel for the fire, your blood will be shed in your land, you will be remembered no more; for I the Lord have spoken.’”
Footnotes:
- Ezekiel 21:1 In Hebrew texts 21:1-32 is numbered 21:6-37.
- Ezekiel 21:15 Septuagint; the meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
2 Chronicles 32:1-5
New International Version (NIV)
Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem
32 After all that Hezekiah had so faithfully done, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities, thinking to conquer them for himself. 2 When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that he intended to wage war against Jerusalem, 3 he consulted with his officials and military staff about blocking off the water from the springs outside the city, and they helped him. 4 They gathered a large group of people who blocked all the springs and the stream that flowed through the land. “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find plenty of water?” they said. 5 Then he worked hard repairing all the broken sections of the wall and building towers on it. He built another wall outside that one and reinforced the terraces of the City of David. He also made large numbers of weapons and shields.
2 Chronicles 32:30
New International Version (NIV)
30 It was Hezekiah who blocked the upper outlet of the Gihon spring and channeled the water down to the west side of the City of David. He succeeded in everything he undertook.
New International Version (NIV)
Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem
32 After all that Hezekiah had so faithfully done, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities, thinking to conquer them for himself. 2 When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that he intended to wage war against Jerusalem, 3 he consulted with his officials and military staff about blocking off the water from the springs outside the city, and they helped him. 4 They gathered a large group of people who blocked all the springs and the stream that flowed through the land. “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find plenty of water?” they said. 5 Then he worked hard repairing all the broken sections of the wall and building towers on it. He built another wall outside that one and reinforced the terraces of the City of David. He also made large numbers of weapons and shields.
2 Chronicles 32:30
New International Version (NIV)
30 It was Hezekiah who blocked the upper outlet of the Gihon spring and channeled the water down to the west side of the City of David. He succeeded in everything he undertook.