God is a Mighty Fortress
Greetings in the Lord!
Today's word comes from Ezekiel 37-39 and Psalm 68. The theme--God routs the united enemies of Israel and shows Himself mighty!
So, to begin today's word, we start at the end of Ezekiel 37, where God promises to unite Israel's two nations, which at that time were, simply put, the northern kingdom called Ephraim, and the southern kingdom of Judah. God promised to restore them into one country again and bless them, and "then the nations will know that I the Lord make Israel holy, when My sanctuary is among them forever." Well, needless to say, this promise was fulfilled with the founding of the modern nation-state of Israel in 1948. Nearly a two thousand year old prophecy fulfilled!
As we continue reading in Ezekiel 38, we see that just as Israel is to be united, so the enemies of Israel will come together to make an alliance against Israel. Well, that is obviously the time period we are in today. More specifically, in today's word I discern that the coalition of jihadists currently fighting within the nation of Syria will begin to focus their attention on attacking Israel, as well as continue to solidify their presence in Syria. You see, their goal was not necessarily to topple Assad anyway, but to get closer to annihilating Israel. But that will never happen! Interestingly, Ezekiel 38 spends some time identifying these old people groups allied against Israel: Magog and Gog, Persia, Cush and Put, Gomer, Meshech and Tubal, Sheba and Dedan, and Tarshish. In the coalition of jihadists in Syria, these would be people from Saudi Arabia, Chechnya and the Caucasus, Turkey, Iraq, Pakistan, Libya, Egypt, and other Africa nations, which are all represented there.
But to understand the situation correctly, one has to know that chapters 38-39 of Ezekiel and Psalm 68 are all about God promising to save Israel, for His own glory. The Most High God allows the arrogance of Israel's enemies to increase so that they begin to unite in their envy and hatred of Israel from across the mountains. They think to themselves, "We are so close to them--we could easily move in and take back the cities in the heights." They greedily daydream about taking Israel's wealth and the sanctuary of Mt. Zion. It is all about hate and greed and rebelling against the Most High God, but God is all-powerful and will scatter His enemies "as smoke is blown away by the wind."
"The mountains of Bashan are majestic mountains; rugged are the mountains of Bashan. Why gaze in envy, O rugged mountains, at the mountain where God chooses to reign, where the Lord Himself will rule forever? The chariots of God are tens of thousands and thousands of thousands; the Lord has come from Sinai into His sanctuary....Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death. Surely God will crush the heads of His enemies, the hairy crowns of those who go on in their sins....Summon Your power, O God; show us Your strength, O God, as You have done before. Because of Your temple at Jerusalem kings will bring You gifts. Rebuke the beast among the reeds, the herd of bulls among the calves of the nations. Humbled, may it bring bars of silver. Scatter the nations who delight in war." Psalm 68:15-17, 20-21, 28-30.
So, today I lift up this prayer: O Lord, protect Your people, the ones who call upon Your name in times of distress and praise and thank You in times of joy. May You show Yourself mighty and powerful, O Lord, that Your enemies will see and acknowledge Your Sovereignty in all the earth. Open the eyes of their hearts to see You, O God; to have the desire of their hearts changed from war and violence to seeking Your face and goodness, even as they humble themselves before You. Let all the earth praise You, mighty God. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
~Be blessed and be a blessing.
Today's word comes from Ezekiel 37-39 and Psalm 68. The theme--God routs the united enemies of Israel and shows Himself mighty!
So, to begin today's word, we start at the end of Ezekiel 37, where God promises to unite Israel's two nations, which at that time were, simply put, the northern kingdom called Ephraim, and the southern kingdom of Judah. God promised to restore them into one country again and bless them, and "then the nations will know that I the Lord make Israel holy, when My sanctuary is among them forever." Well, needless to say, this promise was fulfilled with the founding of the modern nation-state of Israel in 1948. Nearly a two thousand year old prophecy fulfilled!
As we continue reading in Ezekiel 38, we see that just as Israel is to be united, so the enemies of Israel will come together to make an alliance against Israel. Well, that is obviously the time period we are in today. More specifically, in today's word I discern that the coalition of jihadists currently fighting within the nation of Syria will begin to focus their attention on attacking Israel, as well as continue to solidify their presence in Syria. You see, their goal was not necessarily to topple Assad anyway, but to get closer to annihilating Israel. But that will never happen! Interestingly, Ezekiel 38 spends some time identifying these old people groups allied against Israel: Magog and Gog, Persia, Cush and Put, Gomer, Meshech and Tubal, Sheba and Dedan, and Tarshish. In the coalition of jihadists in Syria, these would be people from Saudi Arabia, Chechnya and the Caucasus, Turkey, Iraq, Pakistan, Libya, Egypt, and other Africa nations, which are all represented there.
But to understand the situation correctly, one has to know that chapters 38-39 of Ezekiel and Psalm 68 are all about God promising to save Israel, for His own glory. The Most High God allows the arrogance of Israel's enemies to increase so that they begin to unite in their envy and hatred of Israel from across the mountains. They think to themselves, "We are so close to them--we could easily move in and take back the cities in the heights." They greedily daydream about taking Israel's wealth and the sanctuary of Mt. Zion. It is all about hate and greed and rebelling against the Most High God, but God is all-powerful and will scatter His enemies "as smoke is blown away by the wind."
"The mountains of Bashan are majestic mountains; rugged are the mountains of Bashan. Why gaze in envy, O rugged mountains, at the mountain where God chooses to reign, where the Lord Himself will rule forever? The chariots of God are tens of thousands and thousands of thousands; the Lord has come from Sinai into His sanctuary....Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death. Surely God will crush the heads of His enemies, the hairy crowns of those who go on in their sins....Summon Your power, O God; show us Your strength, O God, as You have done before. Because of Your temple at Jerusalem kings will bring You gifts. Rebuke the beast among the reeds, the herd of bulls among the calves of the nations. Humbled, may it bring bars of silver. Scatter the nations who delight in war." Psalm 68:15-17, 20-21, 28-30.
So, today I lift up this prayer: O Lord, protect Your people, the ones who call upon Your name in times of distress and praise and thank You in times of joy. May You show Yourself mighty and powerful, O Lord, that Your enemies will see and acknowledge Your Sovereignty in all the earth. Open the eyes of their hearts to see You, O God; to have the desire of their hearts changed from war and violence to seeking Your face and goodness, even as they humble themselves before You. Let all the earth praise You, mighty God. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
~Be blessed and be a blessing.
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