DAY 19 MARCH 2014 Theme and Central Verses: O SWORD OF THE LORD, HOW LONG UNTIL YOU REST? PUT UP YOURSELF INTO YOUR SCABBARD, REST AND BE STILL. HOW CAN IT BE QUIET, SEEING THE LORD HAS GIVEN IT A CHARGE AGAINST ASHKELON AND AGAINST THE SEA SHORE? THERE HE HAS APPOINTED IT. [JEREMIAH 47:6-7 IKJV, DTB]. Text: JEREMIAH 47. The Word of God is the sword of the LORD, and it cannot put itself back [return] to its scabbard just yet! [MATTHEW 21:18-22. JOHN 8:10-11, 26; 12:47-48. HEBREWS 4:12-13. EPHESIANS 6:17. REVELATION 19:15]. But why? There is an eternal resourcefulness in the Word of God! Thats to mean that the messages Yahweh spoke to Abraham and the fathers in distant times past are just as fresh and portent for us their children [the believers] today, and all the more so now that all of His messages in the Law and the Prophets [the Scriptures] are correctly summed up in the life, teaching and ministry of Jesus on earth! [PSALM 119:89-91. ISAIAH 51:1-16. MATTHEW 5:17-20; 15:1-9; 19:3-8; 22:34-40; 24:35. LUKE 24:44-48. JOHN 1:45-46; 5:39-40; 6:41-48, 60-69; 15:7-10, 12-17. 1 JOHN 3:1, 22-23; 4:7-21]. Christ Himself is the Word of God and remains the same yesterday and today and forever. In Him, therefore, our faith and hope in Gods written and spoken Word are established forever. [PSALM 40:6-8. ISAIAH 50:4; 55:10-11. JOHN 1:1-14; 5:24-29, 39-40; 10:9-10, 17-18. 1 PETER 1:20-21, 23-25. 2 PETER 1:16-21. REVELATION 19:11-13. HEBREWS 13:8]. Because youre the next in line after Christ and Christ is with you finally, the Word of God has not returned to its scabbard just yet! That is why youve got to pay greater heed to the Word of God. So the next time Gods written or spoken Word comes to you, be all the more certain to find in it the resourcefulness it holds for your life and to apply yourself to it accordingly! But because the Word of God is a double-edged Sword, take care how you handle it, lest you attack yourself and lose your defence altogether. For theres no complete message of the gospel of Jesus that takes not the two central themes of Salvation and Judgement together, and we recognize Salvation itself to be an act [an accomplishment] with which Judgement would fully and finally take effect. [MARK 16:15-16. MATTHEW 24:14. JOHN 3:18-21; 9:39-41. ACTS 10:42-43; 13:26-41; 17:30-31. ROMANS 2:1-16. HEBREWS 10:11-13, 19-31; 12:18-29. 2 CORINTHIANS 2:17; 4:1-6; 5:9-10, 14-21; 6:1-2, 6-7. 2 TIMOTHY 2:8-15. JAMES 3:1-2. REVELATION 2:20-25; 22:12-21]. Yahweh asks you concerning His Sword, His Word, in todays passage, O Sword of the LORD, how long until you rest? Put up yourself into your scabbard, rest and be still. How can it be quiet, seeing the LORD has given it a charge against Ashkelon and against the sea shore? There He has appointed it. [JEREMIAH 47:6-7 IKJV, DTB]. You cant always cope conveniently if you ignore Yahwehs message and you cant afford to stop preaching it yourself, putting the sword in its scabbard just yet! You should be able to tell at least that the sword would turn on and on and get to work time after time, in the same place or elsewhere and with the same people [the same race, the same nation] or another! Beside that, and much more importantly, you dont have to keep a particular mindset and use Gods word to finetune or reinforce that mindset. In the presence of Yahweh, there always has to be an emptying of all human wisdom and thoughts to learn Gods divine [incarnate] wisdom and listen to His Word! [1 KINGS 3:4-9. ISAIAH 48:3-8. JEREMIAH 33:3. REVELATION 7:13-17. ACTS 8:30-35. JOHN 9:39-41. 1 CORINTHIANS 1:17-31; 2:1-16; 3:18-23]. If the sword of the Lord [the Word of God] in your mouth is already pointing towards some other nation or kingdom, why turn it [why twist it] to point towards the Holy Land [Israel]? Why turn it towards the Kingdom of God [Gods Sons and Daughters]? Why act as in the day Balaam came to Balak? In the day, Yahweh held tightly the tongue of Balaam [a gifted prophet with an evil mind] and would not loosen the Spirits power upon it, so that Balaam pronounced a Blessing instead of the Curse that Balak had impressed upon him to pronounce! [NUMBERS 31:16. DEUTERONOMY 23:3-5]. Why will you carry on as in the day the people of Israel went to war against their enemies of their own stubborn mind? As in that day, even pagan nations and enemy kingdoms [small or big] would defeat you in battle ten thousand times and again if you go to war against them when Yahweh has not given Word, when He has not pointed the Sword towards them! [NUMBERS 14:39-45. DEUTERONOMY 1:34-45]. Today, Yahwehs Sword is pointed towards the Philistines; Philistia is where Hes got work for it. There He has appointed it. [JEREMIAH 47:7]. Now, the Philistines are not so much a race domicilled in a particular territory as they are a People who are all the same in their thinking, speech and conduct! And Yahwehs Sword is turned against them!
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 23:05:23 +0000