Category Archives: Through Prophets

Compassionate, Consequences of Sin, Discipline / Guidance From God, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Fear / Reverence for God, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Justice / Judgment, Learning To Pray Effectively, Loving / Kind, Obeying God, Rebuke Wrong Behavior, Repenting from Sin, Seeking God, Study the Word, Submitted / Servant, Teachable, Through Prophets, Unteachable / Foolish, Wickedness / Evil, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

Repent and Turn Your Ways to the LORD

Yahweh is timeless. As such, He views world events from a different perspective than we do. In 2 Kings 22, we see how a loving Father at the same time holds out punishment for His people for their sin and rebellion, and yet may delay it because of the tender heart of the king. What seems difficult to get my mind around at first, from my limited perspective, is why let those who were rebelling escape punishment for decades and then punish the people in the next generation?

2 Kings 22:14-20

Huldah Predicts

      14So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter); and they spoke to her. 15She said to them, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘Tell the man who sent you to me, 16thus says the LORD, “Behold, I bring evil on this place and on its inhabitants, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read. 17“Because they have forsaken Me and have burned incense to other gods that they might provoke Me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore My wrath burns against this place, and it shall not be quenched.”’ 18“But to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the LORD thus shall you say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel, “Regarding the words which you have heard, 19because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you,” declares the LORD. 20“Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes will not see all the evil which I will bring on this place.”’” So they brought back word to the king.

To the extent we focus on the fact that Father views things differently than we do, let us not take to the folly of dwelling on why we think He is wrong. Rather, with humility and appreciation for the greatness of our Father, let us consider how we should adapt our way of thinking to line up with His.

Besides, it is not hard to glean from this scripture that we should all seek to genuinely walk in the Father’s ways and remain set apart and holy, not mixing and mingling with other pagan beliefs. Stick to the ways of God and not of man. Repent and admit with sorrow when we as a nation are lost and far from the LORD.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, please help me to focus on Your ways. Let me walk in Your ways. Let me hunger to know Your ways. Let me not be content for the ways of man because they are commonly accepted or have been in place for generations within family and culture. Help us see and know Your word clearly as individuals and as a people. Please have mercy on us and hold back Your wrath. Restore righteousness to our nation through the people and through the leaders. Defeat and displace the wicked who deny You with their actions, regardless of what they claim with their lips. Amen.

Shalom.

Devotion by John in service to Christ

—-

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Humility, Money / Finances / Wealth, Prophecy, Repenting from Sin, Submitted / Servant, Through Prophets, Wise

Be Wise, Humble, and Discreet with Your Finances

For context, we must remember that Hezekiah was a righteous king, who walked in the ways of Yahweh (2 Kings 18). Hezekiah had many successes and relied on the LORD consistently. He was bold. He had already once faced siege on his land. He should not be a novice when it comes to the threat of foreign powers.

That said, he makes a fairly significant mistake in 2 Kings 20 and it will impact his people in a negative way.

2 Kings 20:12-21

Hezekiah Shows Babylon His Treasures

      12At that time Berodach-baladan a son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick. 13Hezekiah listened to them, and showed them all his treasure house, the silver and the gold and the spices and the precious oil and the house of his armor and all that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his house nor in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them. 14Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where have they come to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They have come from a far country, from Babylon.” 15He said, “What have they seen in your house?” So Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasuries that I have not shown them.”

      16Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD. 17‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and all that your fathers have laid up in store to this day will be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the LORD. 18‘Some of your sons who shall issue from you, whom you will beget, will be taken away; and they will become officials in the palace of the king of Babylon.’” 19Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD which you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “Is it not so, if there will be peace and truth in my days?”

      20Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and all his might, and how he made the pool and the conduit and brought water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 21So Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and Manasseh his son became king in his place.

I am not sure what the reasons were that Hezekiah thought it was a good idea to show a foreign emissary all his treasures and wealth. Such an act is not typically productive. What good could have come of it? I am not sure if he was prideful or if he was just joyful in celebrating his recovery and all that God blessed Him with, but it was a mistake regardless of intent. Because of his lack of indiscretion, Babylon would take interest in Judah and one day come to cart off its treasures and even its people.

God seems to spare Hezekiah because of his righteousness in living God’s ways and having a good relationship with God, but the impact will be felt by those who come after Hezekiah. Hezekiah seemed to accept the word of the LORD without apparent regret, because he would still have peace. He was grateful the LORD would protect him. However, would it not have been good to repent and ask forgiveness and ask help from God to spare his people from this in the future? Hezekiah appears at this time to be focused on himself.

I think there are lessons we can learn from this as well and apply in our lives today.  Let us be humble and discreet when discussing our personal finances with others, in particular others who do not have a “need to know”. We do not need to show off everything we have or put it on display. It can create an atmosphere of greed or coveting. What good can come from it? I do not mean that we can not enjoy what the LORD has provided, but let’s not be prideful or boastful about it. What Hezekiah did was not like showing someone around the public areas of his house, but also showing him where he stored money under the mattress and then sharing the balances in his bank and investment accounts. It was an unintentional invitation for someone to consider robbing him.

Secondly, when we do make a mistake, admit it before the LORD and ask forgiveness and mercy. Ask for help to make it right. There are no guarantees that the LORD will shelter us from every consequence of our mistakes, but it makes sense to throw yourself on His mercy and repent.  Try to think of the impact your mistakes have on others as well. Do not simply think that it will not impact you and be content that it may impact your children.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, thank You for providing for me and my family. Help us to be humble and discreet with our finances. Let us not be boastful or prideful. Help me to be wise and have discernment in regards to managing my finances and in regards to whom I trust with important details or information. Help me focus not only on the impacts for me, but also those around me. Please show me my mistakes and help me repent and seek forgiveness. Amen. 

Shalom.

Devotion by John in service to Christ

—-

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Courage / Fear, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Faith / Trusting God, Fear / Reverence for God, Grace / Forgiveness, Justice / Judgment, Obeying God, Righteous, Through Prophets, Wickedness / Evil

Obey the LORD, Remove Unrighteousness Even When It Is Hard

The LORD does not approve of unrighteousness. He tolerates it for a time. Ahab was wicked, and Jezebel seemingly more so. The LORD had previously declared judgment would fall on them from His hand. In 2 Kings 10, we see that He chooses Jehu to take the action to bring judgment on the house of Ahab. It is brutal. It is hard for us to contemplate today, killing the whole family and any who were aligned and close to Ahab. It was done at the instruction of the LORD. We should not use that as an excuse to try to redefine Yahweh to a more comfortable image that we can deal with given all the modern day church teaching about Him, which often portrays Him as one who accepts almost anything, desperate to have people come follow Him as they are and never repent or change.

Instead, let this challenge us to validate or inform our understanding of our heavenly Father. He hates injustice and unrighteousness. He hates idolatry. He is not ok with being one of many gods in our lives. Keep in mind, as a loving Father, He knows that the unrighteousness of Ahab impacted a lot of His people to be drawn away from right relationship with Him. It needed to be addressed for the good of His people.

2 Kings 10

Judgment upon Ahab’s House

      1Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, to the rulers of Jezreel, the elders, and to the guardians of the children of Ahab, saying, 2“Now, when this letter comes to you, since your master’s sons are with you, as well as the chariots and horses and a fortified city and the weapons, 3select the best and fittest of your master’s sons, and set him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house.” 4But they feared greatly and said, “Behold, the two kings did not stand before him; how then can we stand?” 5And the one who was over the household, and he who was over the city, the elders, and the guardians of the children, sent word to Jehu, saying, “We are your servants, all that you say to us we will do, we will not make any man king; do what is good in your sight.” 6Then he wrote a letter to them a second time saying, “If you are on my side, and you will listen to my voice, take the heads of the men, your master’s sons, and come to me at Jezreel tomorrow about this time.” Now the king’s sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who were rearing them. 7When the letter came to them, they took the king’s sons and slaughtered them, seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to him at Jezreel. 8When the messenger came and told him, saying, “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons,” he said, “Put them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until morning.” 9Now in the morning he went out and stood and said to all the people, “You are innocent; behold, I conspired against my master and killed him, but who killed all these? 10“Know then that there shall fall to the earth nothing of the word of the LORD, which the LORD spoke concerning the house of Ahab, for the LORD has done what He spoke through His servant Elijah.” 11So Jehu killed all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men and his acquaintances and his priests, until he left him without a survivor.

      12Then he arose and departed and went to Samaria. On the way while he was at Beth-eked of the shepherds, 13Jehu met the relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah and said, “Who are you?” And they answered, “We are the relatives of Ahaziah; and we have come down to greet the sons of the king and the sons of the queen mother.” 14He said, “Take them alive.” So they took them alive and killed them at the pit of Beth-eked, forty-two men; and he left none of them.

      15Now when he had departed from there, he met Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him; and he greeted him and said to him, “Is your heart right, as my heart is with your heart?” And Jehonadab answered, “It is.” Jehu said, “If it is, give me your hand.” And he gave him his hand, and he took him up to him into the chariot. 16He said, “Come with me and see my zeal for the LORD.” So he made him ride in his chariot. 17When he came to Samaria, he killed all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, until he had destroyed him, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke to Elijah.

Jehu Destroys Baal Worshipers

      18Then Jehu gathered all the people and said to them, “Ahab served Baal a little; Jehu will serve him much. 19“Now, summon all the prophets of Baal, all his worshipers and all his priests; let no one be missing, for I have a great sacrifice for Baal; whoever is missing shall not live.” But Jehu did it in cunning, so that he might destroy the worshipers of Baal. 20And Jehu said, “Sanctify a solemn assembly for Baal.” And they proclaimed it. 21Then Jehu sent throughout Israel and all the worshipers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left who did not come. And when they went into the house of Baal, the house of Baal was filled from one end to the other. 22He said to the one who was in charge of the wardrobe, “Bring out garments for all the worshipers of Baal.” So he brought out garments for them. 23Jehu went into the house of Baal with Jehonadab the son of Rechab; and he said to the worshipers of Baal, “Search and see that there is here with you none of the servants of the LORD, but only the worshipers of Baal.” 24Then they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings.
Now Jehu had stationed for himself eighty men outside, and he had said, “The one who permits any of the men whom I bring into your hands to escape shall give up his life in exchange.”

      25Then it came about, as soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the royal officers, “Go in, kill them; let none come out.” And they killed them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the royal officers threw them out, and went to the inner room of the house of Baal. 26They brought out the sacred pillars of the house of Baal and burned them. 27They also broke down the sacred pillar of Baal and broke down the house of Baal, and made it a latrine to this day.

      28Thus Jehu eradicated Baal out of Israel. 29However, as for the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin, from these Jehu did not depart, even the golden calves that were at Bethel and that were at Dan. 30The LORD said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in executing what is right in My eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in My heart, your sons of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.” 31But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, which he made Israel sin.

      32In those days the LORD began to cut off portions from Israel; and Hazael defeated them throughout the territory of Israel: 33from the Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites and the Reubenites and the Manassites, from Aroer, which is by the valley of the Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan.

Jehoahaz Succeeds Jehu

      34Now the rest of the acts of Jehu and all that he did and all his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 35And Jehu slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son became king in his place. 36Now the time which Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.

Jehu was zealous for Yahweh. He did none of this for his own gain or by his own desire or plans. When called upon by the LORD to do a difficult thing, He went “all in” for Yahweh. Without getting focused on the specific example of killing Ahab’s family, we should ask ourselves if we are prepared to put our whole heart in to zealously do as the LORD calls us to do, even if it puts us at personal risk?

Given his zealous nature to Yahweh, and yet his failure to walk in the ways of Yahweh and failure to turn from the sins of Jeroboam, I think it is reasonable to conclude that Jehu did not recognize the wickedness and sin in this area or was not strong enough to purge it since he did not get a direct order from the LORD. We can see the impact even on those whom the LORD calls when they are raised in a mixed and mingled environment of godly and profane. It becomes very hard to separate the right path from the wrong one as they are so tangled together in the culture which surrounds you, in which you were raised.

This is very much like Christmas and Easter and other traditions and lifestyle choices that Christians make such as disregarding the law of God as if it is out of date. Now we see many Christians taught that homosexuality is acceptable. There is much corruption. It is very hard to separate it. Each of us should take it as a personal mission from our Father to test everything in our lives against the biblical record and reject what is bad and hold on to what is good. Really study the Hebrew roots of our faith. Understand what we have turned from and go back to the LORD’s ways. Study and understand the true ungodly origins of many Christmas and Easter traditions or other holidays. We can also find joyful celebration in learning about how we can still celebrate the LORD’s appointed times! (To learn more, scroll through our “Traditions / Holidays” category of articles.)

Prayerfully ask yourself if you are really walking in the ways of the LORD according to the Bible, and not based on what your parents did or your church does or your family does. Ask Yahweh to show you and put real time into it to pursue truth.

Are you really too busy to learn and test if you are walking in the ways of the LORD? What is more important?

Before we wrap up, I do want to point out an aspect that gives me personal hope and should encourage you also. The LORD was pleased with Jehu even though Jehu did not overcome all the evil and wicked ways that had been entangled in his culture and life. The LORD knows we will not be perfect. Some things we may just not recognize. But, let not the LORD’s grace be an excuse to be passive and accept what is unrighteous around us. Be zealous like Jehu in pursuing the ways of the LORD even when making changes will be very hard personally.

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

—-

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

 

Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Miracles, Study the Word, Submitted / Servant, Through Prophets

Seek Righteousness and Obey His Instructions

The Bible is anything but boring. Chapter after chapter, king after king, the adventure of the historical record takes some surprising turns.

2 Kings 3 shows some interesting aspects. There is an Israelite king who has turned from Yahweh and does things in the way of his parents instead. There is a more righteous king, working alongside the first that sets the example of seeking out the prophet of Yahweh. There is an uprising, or rebellion, and a war. There is a miracle to provide water. And at the end there is a bit of mystery about exactly why the attacking armies decided to call off the siege after the Moabite king sacrificed his own son on the wall of a besieged city.

2 Kings 3

Jehoram Meets Moab Rebellion

      1Now Jehoram the son of Ahab became king over Israel at Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years. 2He did evil in the sight of the LORD, though not like his father and his mother; for he put away the sacred pillar of Baal which his father had made. 3Nevertheless, he clung to the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin; he did not depart from them.

      4Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and used to pay the king of Israel 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams. 5But when Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. 6And King Jehoram went out of Samaria at that time and mustered all Israel. 7Then he went and sent word to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?” And he said, “I will go up; I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.” 8He said, “Which way shall we go up?” And he answered, “The way of the wilderness of Edom.”

      9So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom; and they made a circuit of seven days’ journey, and there was no water for the army or for the cattle that followed them. 10Then the king of Israel said, “Alas! For the LORD has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab.” 11But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not a prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of the LORD by him?” And one of the king of Israel’s servants answered and said, “Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who used to pour water on the hands of Elijah.” 12Jehoshaphat said, “The word of the LORD is with him.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.

      13Now Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What do I have to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother.” And the king of Israel said to him, “No, for the LORD has called these three kings together to give them into the hand of Moab.” 14Elisha said, “As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look at you nor see you. 15“But now bring me a minstrel.” And it came about, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him. 16He said, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Make this valley full of trenches.’ 17“For thus says the LORD, ‘You shall not see wind nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you shall drink, both you and your cattle and your beasts. 18‘This is but a slight thing in the sight of the LORD; He will also give the Moabites into your hand. 19‘Then you shall strike every fortified city and every choice city, and fell every good tree and stop all springs of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones.’” 20It happened in the morning about the time of offering the sacrifice, that behold, water came by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water.

      21Now all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them. And all who were able to put on armor and older were summoned and stood on the border. 22They rose early in the morning, and the sun shone on the water, and the Moabites saw the water opposite them as red as blood. 23Then they said, “This is blood; the kings have surely fought together, and they have slain one another. Now therefore, Moab, to the spoil!” 24But when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites arose and struck the Moabites, so that they fled before them; and they went forward into the land, slaughtering the Moabites. 25Thus they destroyed the cities; and each one threw a stone on every piece of good land and filled it. So they stopped all the springs of water and felled all the good trees, until in Kir-hareseth only they left its stones; however, the slingers went about it and struck it. 26When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took with him 700 men who drew swords, to break through to the king of Edom; but they could not. 27Then he took his oldest son who was to reign in his place, and offered him as a burnt offering on the wall. And there came great wrath against Israel, and they departed from him and returned to their own land.

If I am to highlight one or two things for consideration, there are many, I suggest we look at the response of Elisha when the kings ask of him about the battle. Elisha  basically says to the king who was leading people in sin and doing things in the way of his parents (somewhat) rather than Yah’s way that he would not even talk to him if it were not for the righteous king with him.  It is good for us to be around righteous people to be sure. It is better for us to learn and adapt our lives to follow in their righteous example. Do not expect Yahweh to just fix your problems when you call on Him if you insist on living according to your own path rather than His.

I also see this as a good example to demonstrate some online tools for additional study. Consider verse 27 where it says after a sacrifice to a false god, “there came a great wrath against Israel” that leads to the attacking armies leaving. I include a link to a parallel commentary view which you can review in BibleHub.com (and other great websites have similar resources).

One final thought… to experience the miracle of water, the armies had to obey the instructions of the prophet, even though they may have seemed strange. The same trenches used to catch water, was used to lead the Moabites into a trap by the LORD. Obedience, even when it does not make sense, is key to experiencing all that Yahweh has for you.

Seek righteousness, seek relationship with the LORD and obey His instructions and things will go well with you.

Shalom (“peace” in Hebrew)

—-

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Blessed, Consequences of Sin, Curse, Miracles, Miracles, Obeying God, Submitted / Servant, Through Prophets, Unteachable / Foolish, Wickedness / Evil, Worldliness

Do You Want a Blessing or a Curse?

Yahweh’s prophets are not to be taken lightly. The seem to be given significant power and authority in and of themselves without having to go ask Yahweh first in every case. There is no indication that Elisha went to God to ask for a response to the mockers or the stream. He spoke on the LORD’s behalf and had authority to curse or bless on His behalf.

At some level, 2 Kings 2 reflects the overall choice we have in serving God and being blessed, or rejecting Him and being cursed. We should take it seriously, though clearly our culture at large does not.

Deuteronomy 11:26-28

    26“See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: 27the blessing, if you listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, which I am commanding you today; 28and the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside from the way which I am commanding you today, by following other gods which you have not known.

2 Kings 2:15-25

Elisha Succeeds Elijah

      15Now when the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho opposite him saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him and bowed themselves to the ground before him. 16They said to him, “Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men, please let them go and search for your master; perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and cast him on some mountain or into some valley.” And he said, “You shall not send.” 17But when they urged him until he was ashamed, he said, “Send.” They sent therefore fifty men; and they searched three days but did not find him. 18They returned to him while he was staying at Jericho; and he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?”

      19Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold now, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad and the land is unfruitful.” 20He said, “Bring me a new jar, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him. 21He went out to the spring of water and threw salt in it and said, “Thus says the LORD, ‘I have purified these waters; there shall not be from there death or unfruitfulness any longer.’” 22So the waters have been purified to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke.

      23Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up by the way, young lads came out from the city and mocked him and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead; go up, you baldhead!” 24When he looked behind him and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two lads of their number. 25He went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.

Ask me if I want a blessing or a curse? Blessing, of course. But if we truly want that then we need to seek and submit to Yahweh through Yeshua. We build relationship and we will want to live according to His ways to be pleasing to Him. He cares how we live.

Ask most folks if they want a blessing or a curse, and they will say blessing. Look at how they live their lives, and in many cases you will see they are selecting the opposite answer and may not even realize it.

Prayerfully reflect on this before Yahweh. Ask Him to help you see any gaps in your relationship with Him, any areas where you are not choosing Him and His ways. Then change in those areas.  Pray for others as well.

—-

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Arrogance, Consequences of Sin, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Humility, Protector / Deliverer, Through Prophets, Unteachable / Foolish, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

Humble Yourself to Hear What Yahweh Has to Say

Yahweh responds favorably to those who humble themselves before Him. He does not respond favorably to those who reject Him in favor of false gods or who are arrogant in standing against Him and His messengers. Let us listen to His message, even when it convicts us in our sin. Let us repent rather than get angry at the messenger or the one who sends them.

2 Kings 1

Ahaziah’s Messengers Meet Elijah

1Now Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. 2And Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber which was in Samaria, and became ill. So he sent messengers and said to them, “Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this sickness.” 3But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?’ 4“Now therefore thus says the LORD, ‘You shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” Then Elijah departed.

5When the messengers returned to him he said to them, “Why have you returned?” 6They said to him, “A man came up to meet us and said to us, ‘Go, return to the king who sent you and say to him, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but shall surely die.’”’” 7He said to them, “What kind of man was he who came up to meet you and spoke these words to you?” 8They answered him, “He was a hairy man with a leather girdle bound about his loins.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”

9Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him, and behold, he was sitting on the top of the hill. And he said to him, “O man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’” 10Elijah replied to the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

11So he again sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he said to him, “O man of God, thus says the king, ‘Come down quickly.’” 12Elijah replied to them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

13So he again sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. When the third captain of fifty went up, he came and bowed down on his knees before Elijah, and begged him and said to him, “O man of God, please let my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight. 14“Behold fire came down from heaven and consumed the first two captains of fifty with their fifties; but now let my life be precious in your sight.” 15The angel of the LORD said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.” So he arose and went down with him to the king. 16Then he said to him, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron—is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word?—therefore you shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but shall surely die.’”

Jehoram Reigns over Israel

17So Ahaziah died according to the word of the LORD which Elijah had spoken. And because he had no son, Jehoram became king in his place in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. 18Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

Take note  that He demonstrates power against His people who stand against Him in 2 Kings 1, rather than pagans or gentiles. While He will not always act as clearly in our eyes as He did here through Elijah, the principal remains the same.

Ahaziah seems to suffer from a similar problem as Ahab before him. He does not listen to the message from Yahweh. Instead he gets angry at the messenger. He misses the whole point and chooses not to repent in this situation. We should take care to listen to the message of Yahweh’s word, even when it stands in judgment against our mistakes. Repent and get right with our Father rather than hate and abuse the messenger.

—-

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Consequences of Sin, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, False Prophets / Teachers, Is the Old Testament Relevant Today?, Justice / Judgment, Repenting from Sin, Submitted / Servant, Through Prophets, Wickedness / Evil, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

The Lord Sent Forth a Deceiving Spirit

1 Kings 22 will stretch you a bit if you really read and think about it. Do not allow yourself to come in constrained by what you already think God will or will not do. Instead, read it for what it says and really reflect on it. After you read today’s scripture we have some points to reflect on identified below in this article.

1 Kings 22:1-40

Ahab’s Third Campaign against Aram

      1Three years passed without war between Aram and Israel. 2In the third year Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel. 3Now the king of Israel said to his servants, “Do you know that Ramoth-gilead belongs to us, and we are still doing nothing to take it out of the hand of the king of Aram?” 4And he said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to battle at Ramoth-gilead?” And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.”

      5Moreover, Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please inquire first for the word of the LORD.” 6Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall I go against Ramoth-gilead to battle or shall I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.” 7But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not yet a prophet of the LORD here that we may inquire of him?” 8The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD, but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.” But Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.” 9Then the king of Israel called an officer and said, “Bring quickly Micaiah son of Imlah.” 10Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting each on his throne, arrayed in their robes, at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets were prophesying before them. 11Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made horns of iron for himself and said, “Thus says the LORD, ‘With these you will gore the Arameans until they are consumed.’” 12All the prophets were prophesying thus, saying, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and prosper, for the LORD will give it into the hand of the king.”

Micaiah Predicts Defeat

      13Then the messenger who went to summon Micaiah spoke to him saying, “Behold now, the words of the prophets are uniformly favorable to the king. Please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.” 14But Micaiah said, “As the LORD lives, what the LORD says to me, that I shall speak.”

      15When he came to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we refrain?” And he answered him, “Go up and succeed, and the LORD will give it into the hand of the king.” 16Then the king said to him, “How many times must I adjure you to speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?”

17So he said,
“I saw all Israel
Scattered on the mountains,
Like sheep which have no shepherd.
And the LORD said, ‘These have no master.
Let each of them return to his house in peace.’”

18Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?”

      19Micaiah said, “Therefore, hear the word of the LORD. I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left. 20“The LORD said, ‘Who will entice Ahab to go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said this while another said that. 21“Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD and said, ‘I will entice him.’ 22“The LORD said to him, ‘How?’ And he said, ‘I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ Then He said, ‘You are to entice him and also prevail. Go and do so.’ 23“Now therefore, behold, the LORD has put a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; and the LORD has proclaimed disaster against you.”

      24Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, “How did the Spirit of the LORD pass from me to speak to you?” 25Micaiah said, “Behold, you shall see on that day when you enter an inner room to hide yourself.” 26Then the king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son; 27and say, ‘Thus says the king, “Put this man in prison and feed him sparingly with bread and water until I return safely.”’” 28Micaiah said, “If you indeed return safely the LORD has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Listen, all you people.”

Defeat and Death of Ahab

      29So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up against Ramoth-gilead. 30The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into the battle, but you put on your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into the battle. 31Now the king of Aram had commanded the thirty-two captains of his chariots, saying, “Do not fight with small or great, but with the king of Israel alone.” 32So when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “Surely it is the king of Israel,” and they turned aside to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat cried out. 33When the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.

      34Now a certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel in a joint of the armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and take me out of the fight; for I am severely wounded.” 35The battle raged that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot in front of the Arameans, and died at evening, and the blood from the wound ran into the bottom of the chariot. 36Then a cry passed throughout the army close to sunset, saying, “Every man to his city and every man to his country.”

      37So the king died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria. 38They washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood (now the harlots bathed themselves there), according to the word of the LORD which He spoke. 39Now the rest of the acts of Ahab and all that he did and the ivory house which he built and all the cities which he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 40So Ahab slept with his fathers, and Ahaziah his son became king in his place.

I am not going to be able to develop all the interesting themes inside this scripture. Instead, I am going to highlight what I hope are some thought provoking things to consider and prayerfully reflect on for each of you.

  • Ahab, king of Israel, is upset because Ramoth-gilead is controlled by Aram. Back in 1 Kings 20, Yahweh gave victory to Ahab over Aram. However, instead of seizing full victory, Ahab instead made a deal with the king of Aram.  It is Ahab’s own fault, but we never hear Ahab internalize that and accept responsibility for his actions and their repercussions.
  • Despite the previous experience relying on the 450 prophets of Baal, which Elijah confronted on Mount Carmel in 1 Kings 18, Ahab has once again surrounded himself with false prophets who will tell him whatever he wants to hear. They even try to pull Micaiah in on it. Ahab strongly resists hearing from a true prophet of the LORD, because he blames them for bringing bad news. Once again, Ahab avoids connecting his wicked actions with the consequences he does not like. He blames the true messenger from Yahweh instead. This is the same reaction we see from Ahab throughout his story in 1 Kings with Elijah as well. He has learned nothing.
  • Micaiah delivered a message at first that was what Ahab wanted to hear, but it was deceptive and intended to bring him to defeat. There are a number of things about this part which are intriguing.
    1. Did Micaiah lie about what the LORD told him to say? or did the LORD tell His prophet to deceive King Ahab?
    2. It appears from what Micaiah says that the LORD was intentionally deceiving Ahab to lead him to defeat in battle. He sent a deceiving spirit to convince Ahab’s prophets to lead him to defeat by telling him what he wanted to hear.
    3. Ahab was so used to hearing “bad news” from the LORD’s prophets, he knew that what he heard from Micaiah at first was not right.  (As an interesting side note, there was no way for Micaiah to win with Ahab, even when he tells him what he wants to hear.)
  • Do not overlook point 2, above. We often disregard the thought that the LORD would deceive someone, but he clearly does in this situation. It reminds me of when the LORD sent an evil spirit to harass Saul (1 Samuel 16:14). It is just something most of us as Christians don’t think the LORD would do, but it is there in scripture. We need to seek to understand who He is fully and take care not to define Him in our own minds as to what He will or will not do.  For some additional thoughts about the LORD using a deceiving spirit, consider Why did God use a lying spirit to deceive Ahab_ _ GotQuestions.org. 
  • Ahab puts Micaiah in prison as if to punish him or make him somehow change his mind to make Ahab win instead of lose. Once again, Ahab misses the point. Micaiah has no authority to change what the LORD has chosen.  He is only a messenger. Micaiah tries to make that point by emphasizing that if Ahab returns, then the LORD has not spoken through him.
  • We are probably all tempted to say that Micaiah was treated unfairly and why would Yahweh allow it? None the less, that is what happened. There is no guarantee that we get “fair” treatment from the wicked when we serve the LORD or we always get God’s protection to keep us from persecution. We are to serve Him anyway.

If I had to summarize to a key point for today’s scripture, I would probably highlight the failures of Ahab and warn each of us to take heed not to fall in that trap. Do not blame God’s messengers for bad things that happen to us. Instead, seek to repent and humble ourselves before God. God showed even Ahab mercy when he did so in 1 Kings 21:27-29. Seek godly advice, even when it may not be what we want to hear. Do not seek a bunch of people who simply tell you what you want to hear. Take accountability for our actions and the implications that has on our own lives.

—-

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Forgive Others / Seek Forgiveness, Grace / Forgiveness, Is the Old Testament Relevant Today?, Justice / Judgment, Merciful, Murder, Repenting from Sin, Stealing / Theft, Through Prophets, Wickedness / Evil, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

Ahab and a Vineyard: From Coveting to Mercy and a Lot to Learn Along the Way

Whoever thinks the Bible is boring or out of date is not really paying attention to what it says and how it relates today. 1 Kings 21 records an action packed, and historically accurate, record of our LORD interacting with His people. We can at once be drawn in by exciting stories and also learn about our Creator and how to have relationship with Him.

In today’s scripture, we see clear example of how coveting leads us further and further in to sin. We see the LORD hates sin and does not just hold us accountable to wickedness as defined by what we ourselves do, but also what we accept and allow others around us or under our authority to do.  We see that even someone who has been very wicked, when they repent, can find mercy from our LORD with genuine repentance.  Finally, the scripture shows us that our sin can affect our family including future generations.

1 Kings 21

Ahab Covets Naboth’s Vineyard

      1Now it came about after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel beside the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden because it is close beside my house, and I will give you a better vineyard than it in its place; if you like, I will give you the price of it in money.” 3But Naboth said to Ahab, “The LORD forbid me that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.” 4So Ahab came into his house sullen and vexed because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And he lay down on his bed and turned away his face and ate no food.

      5But Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him, “How is it that your spirit is so sullen that you are not eating food?” 6So he said to her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if it pleases you, I will give you a vineyard in its place.’ But he said, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’” 7Jezebel his wife said to him, “Do you now reign over Israel? Arise, eat bread, and let your heart be joyful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

      8So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal, and sent letters to the elders and to the nobles who were living with Naboth in his city. 9Now she wrote in the letters, saying, “Proclaim a fast and seat Naboth at the head of the people; 10and seat two worthless men before him, and let them testify against him, saying, ‘You cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”

Jezebel’s Plot

      11So the men of his city, the elders and the nobles who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them, just as it was written in the letters which she had sent them. 12They proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth at the head of the people. 13Then the two worthless men came in and sat before him; and the worthless men testified against him, even against Naboth, before the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death with stones. 14Then they sent word to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned and is dead.”

      15When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab, “Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth, the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead.” 16When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab arose to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.

      17Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 18“Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who is in Samaria; behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth where he has gone down to take possession of it. 19“You shall speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Have you murdered and also taken possession?”’ And you shall speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD, “In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth the dogs will lick up your blood, even yours.”’”

      20Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?” And he answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the LORD. 21“Behold, I will bring evil upon you, and will utterly sweep you away, and will cut off from Ahab every male, both bond and free in Israel; 22and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, because of the provocation with which you have provoked Me to anger, and because you have made Israel sin. 23“Of Jezebel also has the LORD spoken, saying, ‘The dogs will eat Jezebel in the district of Jezreel.’ 24“The one belonging to Ahab, who dies in the city, the dogs will eat, and the one who dies in the field the birds of heaven will eat.”

      25Surely there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the LORD, because Jezebel his wife incited him. 26He acted very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites had done, whom the LORD cast out before the sons of Israel.

      27It came about when Ahab heard these words, that he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and fasted, and he lay in sackcloth and went about despondently. 28Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 29“Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the evil in his days, but I will bring the evil upon his house in his son’s days.”

Reflect prayerfully on all this scripture has to offer us in understanding how to live our lives submitted to our LORD. Apply it to your life specifically. What are you doing well? What should you change?

—-

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Arrogance, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Prophecy, Submitted / Servant, Teachable, Through Prophets, Unteachable / Foolish, Wise, Worldliness

God’s Messengers Often Look Different Than We Expect

Sometimes the ones that Yahweh uses are not exactly what we expect. We must take care to judge not based on our own eyes, but on what our Father values.

John the Baptist is an excellent example, but even today, we need to be careful in what bias we may have in deciding who is or is not serving the LORD. There are many in fancy suits and big churches who serve only themselves and claim the name of Yahweh. There are many others who meet in homes and do not lead large congregations that are truly serving the LORD.

Matthew 11:7-19

Jesus’ Tribute to John

      7As these men were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8“But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ palaces! 9“But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet.

10“This is the one about whom it is written,
‘BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER AHEAD OF YOU,
WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY BEFORE YOU.’

11“Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12“From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force. 13“For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14“And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come. 15“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

      16“But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places, who call out to the other children, 17and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ 18“For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ 19“The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

There is, of course, much that could be unpacked and considered in this scripture, but what strikes me the most is how it highlights that we should take great care in how we evaluate and accept messengers of the Father. They are not always packaged as we might expect. In fact, it is often the opposite. We must look past our own bias and expectations from perspective of man and seek to see through the perspective of the Father.

It also highlights how human nature has not changed. Some people will find excuses to dismiss God and His messengers regardless of how they come. Some rejected John because he did not drink. Others mocked Jesus because He did. We should avoid be arrogant and thinking “this will never happen to me”. Instead, find humility and pray for the LORD to open our eyes to see as He does.

—-

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Prophecy, Study the Word, Through Prophets

Did Jesus Really Claim to be God?

Most of us who accept Yeshua as Messiah already know the answer. He claimed to be Messiah, God in the flesh. Some who deny Christ as Messiah can not deny that He existed and walked on this earth. The evidence is too overwhelming. So instead, they claim that Yeshua was only a good teacher or a prophet. This can not be so, however, because Yeshua claimed to be Messiah.

If someone claims to be Messiah, there are three options…  he is crazy, he is a liar, or he is Messiah. Good teacher and prophet are not rational choices as they would not claim to be Messiah.

As a result of that logic, some then say that Yeshua never claimed to be Messiah. The truth is that there are many examples where He did so. In fact it is so obvious, that we could simply point out that this is fundamentally why the Pharisees wanted to kill Him. They understood who He claimed to be very clearly.

Matthew 11 provides one example where Yeshua claimed to be Messiah, in response to John’s (the Baptist) inquiry. These examples are good to understand so we can defend the truth of the gospel against common arguments that people use to draw people away from following Yeshua.

Matthew 11:1-6

John’s Questions

      1When Jesus had finished giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He departed from there to teach and preach in their cities.

      2Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3and said to Him, “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?” 4Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM. 6“And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”

Rather than me building out the background context and details myself, I will quote from a section or Barnes commentary, available at BibleHub.com. It is not that Barnes commentary is authoritative, but in this case it is well laid out and documented.

Excerpt from Barnes commentary on Matthew 11:

Matthew 11:3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?

Art thou he that should come? – That is, Art thou the Messiah, or the Christ? The Jews expected a Saviour. His coming had been long foretold, Genesis 49:10; Isaiah 9:1-6; Isaiah 11:1-5; Isaiah 35:4-6; Isaiah 53:1-12; Daniel 9:24-27. See also John 6:14. Compare Deuteronomy 18:18-19. In common language, therefore, he was familiarly described as “he that was to come.” Luke adds here Luke 7:21, that at the time when the messengers came to him, Jesus “cured many of their infirmities, and plagues, and of evil spirits.” An answer was therefore ready to the inquiries of John.

Matthew 11:4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:
Go and show John again … – Jesus referred them for an answer to these miracles. They were proof that he was the Messiah. Prophets had indeed performed miracles, but no prophet had performed so many, or any so important. Jesus, moreover, performed them “in his own name” and by his own power. Prophets had done it by the power of God. Jesus, therefore, performed the works which none but the Messiah could do, and John might easily infer that he was the Christ.

The poor have the gospel preached to them – It was predicted of the Messiah that he would preach good tidings to the meek Isaiah 61:1; or, as it is rendered in the New Testament, “He hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor,” Luke 4:18. By this, therefore, also, John might infer that he was truly the Messiah. It adds to the force of this testimony that the “poor” have always been overlooked by Pharisees and philosophers. No sect of philosophers had condescended to notice them before Christ, and no system of religion had attempted to instruct them before the Christian religion. In all other schemes the poor have been passed by as unworthy of notice.

Matthew 11:6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.

And blessed is he … – The word “offence” means a “stumbling-block.” See the notes at Matthew 5:29. This verse might be rendered, “Happy is he to whom I shall not prove a stumbling-block.” That is, happy is he who shall not take offence at my poverty and lowliness of life, so as to reject me and my doctrine. Happy is the one who can, notwithstanding that poverty and obscurity, see the evidence that I am the Messiah, and follow me. It is not improbable that John wished Jesus publicly to proclaim himself as the Christ, instead of seeking retirement. Jesus replied that he gave sufficient evidence of that by his works; that a man might discover it if he chose; and that he was blessed or happy who should appreciate that evidence and embrace him as the Christ, in spite of his humble manner of life.

Clearly, Yeshua claimed to be Messiah, and He referred to the Torah and writings of the prophets to convey that message.

—-

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.