January 7, 2015: Today my devotional, 31 Keys to Possessing Your Promise, is being offered for free Kindle download. In light of that I am sharing one of the daily keys from that book for todays daily dose. Key 26 – Do Not Follow the Crowd (Megiddo) Next up we find Israel defeating the king of Megiddo. Once again, however, we see that they did not completely drive out the inhabitants of the land. We find this occurring often. I find it tempting to question or speak against this decision, but then I wonder how many times I have done similar things in my own life. How many times have I allowed things to remain that God said to destroy or remove? It can be a sobering thought. And throughout this study we have seen evidence of the danger of not completely destroying what God said to destroy. Megiddo means “place of the crowds,” and as a city it holds a strategic and important place historically, geographically and theologically. Megiddo is another tel, which as we considered in Key 23 (Shimron) is the building of mounds over the top of existing places, creating a tall or ongoing hill. Excavation history tells us that twenty-six layers of ruins have been unearthed at Megiddo indicating the long history and significance of this area. As the place of the crowds, throughout history it has drawn many people for many reasons. A common happening at Megiddo involving crowds is that of war. From an ancient Biblical standpoint the battles were numerous and fierce. We also have historical evidence of significant wars at Megiddo. Wikipedia outlines that famous battles fought here include: - Battle of Megiddo (15th century BC): fought between the armies of the Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose III and a large Canaanite coalition led by the rulers of Megiddo and Kadesh. - Battle of Megiddo (609 BC): fought between Egypt and the Kingdom of Judah, in which King Josiah fell. - Battle of Megiddo (1918): fought during World War I between Allied troops, led by General Edmund Allenby, and the defending Ottoman army. Megiddo has lived up to its name. It has often embodied a crowd coming together for war, rioting, death, and that which is opposite of life. What I want us to understand from today’s key is that following the crowd is not always going to take us to the places we want or expect to go. In fact, following the crowd can sometimes take us to a place of destruction. How many times have we heard the saying, “everyone else is doing it?” I remember a poster hanging in the youth room of a church that read: “What is popular is not always right and what is right is not always popular.” That stuck with me then and continues to stick with me today. God responds to those who take a stand for Him. Listen to the instruction given to the church in Corinth and to us as well. Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” And, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 God is looking for those who will separate from the world and unto Him, and He will be their Father and reveal Himself to them. It can be so easy to get caught up in the crowds and lose sight of who we are and all that God has available for us. Let us keep our eyes focused on Jesus and not get swept away with the crowd. Everywhere Christ was found when He walked the earth a crowd was found with Him. Yet there was never a question as to which one among the crowd was different. He did not isolate Himself, but He stood out from the crowd. His call to us is the same. I will leave you with this thought. Megiddo in the Greek is translated as Armageddon, which will be the site of one final crowd being brought together for war. If you or I get caught up following the wrong crowd in our lives today, we will find ourselves on the wrong side of that battle. I do not want to be one who follows the crowd into a life of sin and find myself on the opposite side of Christ in the final war. I want to live my life separated from the crowds and devoted unto Jesus. Is that your desire today?
Posted on: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 14:00:05 +0000
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