God Will Deliver His Flock

Ezekiel 34:7-12

In A.D 70 the Roman armies overran and destroyed the city of Jerusalem, and the Jewish people were scattered throughout the world and were for some 1900 years. This prophecy addressed a real, physical scattering of God’s chosen. The fulfillment of this prophecy therefore had to include a real, physical gathering together again of God’s chosen. On May 14, 1948 a huge piece of many prophecies concerning the gathering of God’s chosen people was fulfilled when the nation of Israel was once again in existence on this Earth.

What does this mean to us today? It means, simply, that God’s promises never fail. While it may seem sometime as if God has forgotten us today, this is simply not true. The Jewish people waited almost 1900 hundred years for God to gather them back to The Promised land. During this time they endured affliction and persecution on a scale we will likely never see. The efforts to eradicate them have been relentless. In fact, the nation of Israel happened at the end of the greatest of them all, The Holocaust, in which some 6 million of God’s chosen people were murdered.

Friends, God never forgot those who were scattered in 70 A.D, and He will not forget you either. No matter what Satan and the world hurl at you, God has promised a better, glorious future for all who believe. Have heart, and believe that He is planning that for you also!

Dinah and the Shechemites, Genesis 34

It’s Friday night, and time for another installment of this study of Genesis by KD Manes. Blessings and enjoy!

Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and violated her. His heart was drawn to Dinah daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her. And Shechem said to his father Hamor, ‘Get me this girl as my wife.’” –Genesis 34:1-4

Shechem was not only the name of a place, but also the name of the man that Dinah encounters. Jacob probably didn’t foresee the immediate crisis looming. But the consequence of compromising God’s directive to go to Bethel (31:3, 13) would wreck havoc not only on his family, but also on the Shechemites.

You may read Genesis 34 here: Bible Gateway.

Dinah—Leah’s youngest child—must have been at least a teenager at this time. This suggests that Jacob and his family had been living in, or near, Shechem for several years.

Who could blame Dinah—living with 11 brothers—for wanting to get out and socialize with other girls her age? After all, a girl needs girlfriends!

Jacob, Leah, and Rachel must have been somewhat uncomfortable with their children living so close to pagan influence. Maybe they planned on moving to Bethel (as God had directed) in the near future to find mates for their growing kids. Maybe Jacob remained near Shechem in hopes of spreading a godly influence. Whatever their reasons, by-passing God’s command to return to Bethel put themselves in a tangled mess.

It wasn’t long before Shechem, the city’s chieftain, took notice of Dinah. This soon turned into an obsession. Beautiful Dinah, being of a different nationality, probably held a certain charm that the Canaanite girls lacked. For they were immersed in a culture of immorality and idol worship..…read the rest of the post here: Dinah and the Shechemites, Genesis 34

Sin in the Camp

Sometimes we are so worried about what the world around us is doing that we forget we need to clean our own house. If we want to see the culture and world around us change, it all has to start right in our own Church buildings. I thought this article about Achan really illustrated that point well.

Building My Faith

The walls of Jericho had fallen. The Children of Israel were celebrating the victory and anxious to move on to the next conquest in their return to the Promised Land after being slaves in Egypt for 430 years (Exodus 12:40). The Canaanite city of Ai was scouted out and it was determined a small band of two to three thousand men was all that would be needed to take it. The others could remain in the camp resting from their seven days of marching around Jericho prior to its destruction.

The day of battle came when the inhabitants of Ai defended themselves and sent the Israelites running from the battle back towards their encampment. Thirty-six men of Israel lost their lives that day. The victory celebration over Jericho became the lamentation of a lost battle. Joshua 7 tells us Joshua tore his clothes, fell to the earth with his face on the…

View original post 322 more words

The Prayer of Cain

As I write articles I also read many by other writers. Occasionally I read something really informative and useful. When I do I will repost it for your enjoyment and Christian growth. I hope you enjoy this great atticle!

Dr. Claude Mariottini - Professor of Old Testament

Image: Cain Slaying Abel (1609)

Painter: Peter Paul Rubens

The story of Cain is known to most people who go to church and read the Bible. What is not so familiar to most Christians is the prayer Cain prayed to God after the Lord confronted him with the killing of his brother.

The story of Cain is found in Genesis 4. According to the narrative in Genesis, Abel was a keeper of sheep and Cain a tiller of the ground (Genesis 4:2). The story of the struggle between the two brothers is placed in the context of the conflict between two occupations, the conflict between shepherds and farmers that was so common in antiquity.

In the course of time both brothers brought offerings to the Lord. The text does not explain how or when the brothers became aware they needed to bring an offering to God.

Since Cain was a…

View original post 1,547 more words