December 30, 2008 8:43 AM
Sam wrote:
Whew...what a long chapter (relatively)! Did you read all of it? There are so many things to talk about in this chapter, it would take all day to do it properly. Topics such as seeking God's advice first; and relying on men of God rather than advice of friends and associates; a bunch of pride; greed was present (concerning Ramoth Gilead); and a host of others. Mine, today, is centered aroundverse 47: There was no king of Edom, a deputy ruled. This is odd it would be mentioned here, and no further reference to Edom is found. To do a complete study on Edom, and WHY it was ruled by a deputy, could take days...so I'll just conjecture a bit.
No king....was he killed? Probably--that's how things were done back then. Why was not king immediately put in place? Probably (here is where my conjecture comes in) because no one wanted to be king as several other powerful kings (like Jehosophat and Ahab) were killing off all the others in the area. Hence, a second-in-command (deputy) was put in charge. I wonder what Edom was like without a king. Were people living in fear, or were they being ruled rightly? WAS there rule, or was there chaos? Sometimes a deputy simply doesn't have the experience to rule as a king might...but then, they might have been even better. Maybe as we read more, we will find out more about Edom at this time...something I will be keeping my eye out for...maybe you can as well.
BEAUTIFUL falling snow right now (Tuesday morning)...probably about 3 new inches fell last night. This is pretty (but cold) country. Hope you are all enjoying the warm weather as we marvel at God's work up here in the cold. Reply to this
December 30, 2008 1:17 PM
Johnbob wrote:
Interesting question about Edom. Apparently, Edom is another name for Esau, who of course was Jacob/Israel's brother. Even though Jacob and Esau reconciled, their descendants never got along. When Moses wanted passage through Edom with all the Israelites, Edom would not allow it. They should have been subject to the Isrealites once the promised land was conquered if I understand things correctly. However, Saul attacked Edom. David, through Joab, killed all the men of Edom - about 12,000. Hadad, who was a kid at the time and survived the attack, was apparently a thorn in Solomon's side. So you might be right about them not having a king, so as not to appear a threat. The bottom line is that Edom did not get along with his 'brother Jacob' - not ever, apparently - apparently in Isaiah 63, the word Edom is used to mean 'an enemy of Zion'.
Obadiah had a very strong condemnation of Edom: Obadiah 1:10-14 10 Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame; you will be destroyed forever.
11 On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them.
12 You should not look down on your brother in the day of his misfortune, nor rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their destruction, nor boast so much in the day of their trouble.
13 You should not march through the gates of my people in the day of their disaster, nor look down on them in their calamity in the day of their disaster, nor seize their wealth in the day of their disaster.
14 You should not wait at the crossroads to cut down their fugitives, nor hand over their survivors in the day of their trouble.
V. 11 is especially convicting to me - how they stood aloof while Jerasulem was being destroyed. We cannot be aloof while those around us are 'destroyed' - either by alcohol, drugs, factions, depression, prejudice or any number of things. Reply to this
December 30, 2008 1:30 PM
Rich wrote:
400 prophets and not one of them was "from the Lord." They acted like they were from the Lord. They claimed to speak for the Lord, but in fact, they did not and in fact apparently people knew they spoke falsely. There was only one prophet in ALL of Israel who was known as a prophet of the Lord (I wonder what set him apart from all of the others). That is a scary thought. This nation was the chosen nation of God. Think of all that he had done for them. And only ONE prophet to be found. I wonder if there are any parallels to today. A headline in the USA today is entitled: "The decline in believers." Compared to 5 years ago, fewer Americans believe in God, heaven, the devil and hell. There is about a 10% decline in each category. For example, in 2003, 90% believed that there is a God; today, only 80% believe in God. Think about how "religious" our nation was after 9/11. Now a full 20% (that is 1 in every 5 people) do not even believe in God at all! And we are thought of as the "Christian" nation. I wonder how many "prophets of the Lord" exist in our nation today. Who would you seek out as a "prophet of the Lord" if you needed spiritual advice? Reply to this
December 30, 2008 1:46 PM
Sam wrote:
Good last question. Don't know. I, of course, seek out advice from all reading this blog, but other than that (or maybe Jr Miller), I really don't know many I would seek out. Maybe Ben Barnett, or Steve Sapp or Anthony Sisco...but my list of 'men of God' is very short. As far as them/you being Prophets of God, that is another topic to discuss sometime. Are they/you? What IS a prophet? Is it someone who simply tells others about God truthfully? Probably? Is it someone who 'predicts the future'? Maybe. But then, YOU can predict OUR future as you KNOW Jesus will return someday and beat Satan and save His people and bring them with Him to Heaven.
Yup. Not many 'prophets from the Lord' are truly known. Your statistics are amazing...shows how ignorant and or selfish people can be. How can one NOT believe in a God? JEEZ WHIZ...just watch a snow storm and you gotta believe there is one. Everything is so perfect with God...but then, people are swayed by false prophets all the time. Too bad Satan seems to be gaining on Jesus as far as followers here on earth. Reply to this
Whew...what a long chapter (relatively)! Did you read all of it? There are so many things to talk about in this chapter, it would take all day to do it properly. Topics such as seeking God's advice first; and relying on men of God rather than advice of friends and associates; a bunch of pride; greed was present (concerning Ramoth Gilead); and a host of others. Mine, today, is centered aroundverse 47: There was no king of Edom, a deputy ruled. This is odd it would be mentioned here, and no further reference to Edom is found. To do a complete study on Edom, and WHY it was ruled by a deputy, could take days...so I'll just conjecture a bit.
No king....was he killed? Probably--that's how things were done back then. Why was not king immediately put in place? Probably (here is where my conjecture comes in) because no one wanted to be king as several other powerful kings (like Jehosophat and Ahab) were killing off all the others in the area. Hence, a second-in-command (deputy) was put in charge. I wonder what Edom was like without a king. Were people living in fear, or were they being ruled rightly? WAS there rule, or was there chaos? Sometimes a deputy simply doesn't have the experience to rule as a king might...but then, they might have been even better. Maybe as we read more, we will find out more about Edom at this time...something I will be keeping my eye out for...maybe you can as well.
BEAUTIFUL falling snow right now (Tuesday morning)...probably about 3 new inches fell last night. This is pretty (but cold) country. Hope you are all enjoying the warm weather as we marvel at God's work up here in the cold.
Reply to this
Interesting question about Edom. Apparently, Edom is another name for Esau, who of course was Jacob/Israel's brother. Even though Jacob and Esau reconciled, their descendants never got along. When Moses wanted passage through Edom with all the Israelites, Edom would not allow it. They should have been subject to the Isrealites once the promised land was conquered if I understand things correctly. However, Saul attacked Edom. David, through Joab, killed all the men of Edom - about 12,000. Hadad, who was a kid at the time and survived the attack, was apparently a thorn in Solomon's side. So you might be right about them not having a king, so as not to appear a threat. The bottom line is that Edom did not get along with his 'brother Jacob' - not ever, apparently - apparently in Isaiah 63, the word Edom is used to mean 'an enemy of Zion'.
Obadiah had a very strong condemnation of Edom: Obadiah 1:10-14
10 Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame; you will be destroyed forever.
11 On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them.
12 You should not look down on your brother in the day of his misfortune, nor rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their destruction, nor boast so much in the day of their trouble.
13 You should not march through the gates of my people in the day of their disaster, nor look down on them in their calamity in the day of their disaster, nor seize their wealth in the day of their disaster.
14 You should not wait at the crossroads to cut down their fugitives, nor hand over their survivors in the day of their trouble.
V. 11 is especially convicting to me - how they stood aloof while Jerasulem was being destroyed. We cannot be aloof while those around us are 'destroyed' - either by alcohol, drugs, factions, depression, prejudice or any number of things.
Reply to this
400 prophets and not one of them was "from the Lord." They acted like they were from the Lord. They claimed to speak for the Lord, but in fact, they did not and in fact apparently people knew they spoke falsely. There was only one prophet in ALL of Israel who was known as a prophet of the Lord (I wonder what set him apart from all of the others). That is a scary thought. This nation was the chosen nation of God. Think of all that he had done for them. And only ONE prophet to be found. I wonder if there are any parallels to today. A headline in the USA today is entitled: "The decline in believers." Compared to 5 years ago, fewer Americans believe in God, heaven, the devil and hell. There is about a 10% decline in each category. For example, in 2003, 90% believed that there is a God; today, only 80% believe in God. Think about how "religious" our nation was after 9/11. Now a full 20% (that is 1 in every 5 people) do not even believe in God at all! And we are thought of as the "Christian" nation. I wonder how many "prophets of the Lord" exist in our nation today. Who would you seek out as a "prophet of the Lord" if you needed spiritual advice?
Reply to this
Good last question. Don't know. I, of course, seek out advice from all reading this blog, but other than that (or maybe Jr Miller), I really don't know many I would seek out. Maybe Ben Barnett, or Steve Sapp or Anthony Sisco...but my list of 'men of God' is very short. As far as them/you being Prophets of God, that is another topic to discuss sometime. Are they/you? What IS a prophet? Is it someone who simply tells others about God truthfully? Probably? Is it someone who 'predicts the future'? Maybe. But then, YOU can predict OUR future as you KNOW Jesus will return someday and beat Satan and save His people and bring them with Him to Heaven.
Yup. Not many 'prophets from the Lord' are truly known. Your statistics are amazing...shows how ignorant and or selfish people can be. How can one NOT believe in a God? JEEZ WHIZ...just watch a snow storm and you gotta believe there is one. Everything is so perfect with God...but then, people are swayed by false prophets all the time. Too bad Satan seems to be gaining on Jesus as far as followers here on earth.
Reply to this