Ezekiel 35:14-15

Judgement belongs to God alone. 

He will right every wrong and dry every tear shed by His children. He causes His goodness to reign on the righteous and the unrighteous now but it will not always be so.

Edom may have thought so highly of herself (see Obad. 3) that she believed she could assume the place of privilege her father Esau had lost, once Judah was destroyed. NKJ Bible.

Ezekiel 35:14–15 (NKJV)

¹⁴ ‘Thus says the Lord God: “The whole earth will rejoice when I make you desolate. ¹⁵ As you rejoiced because the inheritance of the house of Israel was desolate, so I will do to you; you shall be desolate, O Mount Seir, as well as all of Edom—all of it! Then they shall know that I am the Lord.” ’

Lamentations 4:21 (NKJV)

²¹ Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom,

You who dwell in the land of Uz!

The cup shall also pass over to you

And you shall become drunk and make yourself naked.

Mount Seir (Hebrew: הַר-שֵׂעִיר; Har Se'ir) also known as Jibāl ash Sharāh, was a mountainous region stretching between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba, demarcating the southeastern border of Edom with Judah. It may also have marked the older historical limit of Egypt in Canaan.

Mount Seir was named for Seir the Horite, whose offspring had previously inhabited the area (Genesis 14:6, 36:20). The children of Esau (the Edomites) battled against the Horites and destroyed them (Deuteronomy 2:4-5, 12, 22). It is specifically noted as the place where Esau made his home (Genesis 32:3; 33:14, 16; 36:8; Joshua 24:4).

The prophet Balaam, predicting Israelite victories over the Trans-Jordanian nations at the end of their Exodus from Egypt, stated "Edom shall be a possession; Seir also, his enemies, shall be a possession”.^[3]

Mount Seir is also given as the location where the remnants "of the Amalekites that had escaped" were annihilated by five hundred Simeonites (I Chronicles 4:42-43). In 2 Chronicles 20:22-23, the "inhabitants of Mt Seir", i.e. the Edomites, came along with the Ammonites and Moabites against Jehoshaphat of Judah, however "Yahweh set ambushments" against them, causing their forces to annihilate one another. Mount Seir is also referenced in the prophetic books as a term for Edom, as in Isaiah 21:11, Ezekiel 25:8, 35:10.

Zephaniah 1:2-3

God is all merciful and full of grace not wanting even one person to perish…but He is also the One who’s right it is to judge...we are HIS creation. There will come a day of reckoning… 1.2.3.

There will be a complete destruction of all who do not worship Yahweh. Faithlife Bible.

The message of Zephaniah begins with a pronouncement of universal judgment. These words not only introduce the particular judgment that would be pronounced upon Judah, but they also speak of the final judgment that will usher in the kingdom of God on earth. There is nothing in the universe that really may be compared to the Creator, God abhors all forms of idolatry. NKJ Bible.

Zephaniah 1:2–3 (NKJV)

² “I will utterly consume everything

From the face of the land,”

Says the Lord;

³ “I will consume man and beast;

I will consume the birds of the heavens,

The fish of the sea,

And the stumbling blocks along with the wicked.

I will cut off man from the face of the land,”

Says the Lord.

Hosea 4:3 (NKJV)

³ Therefore the land will mourn;

And everyone who dwells there will waste away

With the beasts of the field

And the birds of the air;

Even the fish of the sea will be taken away.

Matthew 18:32-35

Withholding forgiveness  is never an option for Christ followers. We have been given the very life of Jesus for our sins and everything else is just peanuts.

Be fair to all people

Forgive without procrastination

and be very, very humble for the gift of eternal life that you have been given!!

Micah 6:8

Since God has lavishly forgiven Jesus’ disciples, they should continuously extend that same forgiveness. Faithlife Bible.

If our forgiveness should be in direct proportion to the incredible amount that we have been forgiven (v. 22), then we must always be willing to forgive. NKJ Bible.

Matthew 18:32–35 (NKJV)

³² Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. ³³ Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ ³⁴ And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.

³⁵ “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”

Leviticus 25:39 (NKJV) The Law Concerning Slavery

³⁹ ‘And if one of your brethren who dwells by you becomes poor, and sells himself to you, you shall not compel him to serve as a slave.

Nehemiah 5:8 (NKJV)

⁸ And I said to them, “According to our ability we have redeemed our Jewish brethren who were sold to the nations. Now indeed, will you even sell your brethren? Or should they be sold to us?”

Then they were silenced and found nothing to say.

Lamentations 5:2-3

We, as professing Christians, should be a source of knowledge concerning the things of the Body of Christ. When we fail to shine the light of God’s Love for mankind  we are no longer helpful to His Kingdom. Hold firmly to the Holy Spirit who will guide us and teach us the Word of God made flesh...Jesus Christ.

We are the hands and feet of Christ.

Widows and orphans were among the most vulnerable groups in ancient Near Eastern society. Biblical law made special allowances for their care (Deut 24:19–21), and their oppression was symptomatic of a society that had lost sight of God’s ethical ideals (Isa 1:23). The losses inflicted on Judah through destruction and exile has reduced the people to a vulnerable state. Faith life Bible.

The Promised Land had been a gift from the Lord to Abraham. This inheritance was a kind of “down payment” on the future reign of God that would include the restoration of His people to that land. God demonstrated that He owned all nations and that Israel was to be His instrument for blessing all the nations on the earth. Yet in their present condition, the people of Israel seemed to be the most helpless of all people. NKJ Bible.

Lamentations 5:2-3

Our inheritance has been turned over to aliens, And our houses to foreigners.We have become orphans and waifs,Our mothers are like widows

Mark 3:23-26

United in the power of the Holy Spirit we, collectively and individually, are able to stand. Without Him we can accomplish nothing. Pray for unity!

Jesus’ parables contained truths about the kingdom of God.

Jesus confronts the religious leaders with the possibility that, by opposing Him, they might be aligning themselves with evil powers. The defining mark of a disciple of God’s kingdom is allegiance to Jesus and His teaching. Faithlife Bible.

Jesus’ reply in parables was actually a threefold message that contrasted unity and disunity. Nothing—including Satan’s kingdom—can stand if it is divided. NKJ Bible.

Mark 3:23–26 (NKJV)

²³ So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: “How can Satan cast out Satan? ²⁴ If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ²⁵ And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. ²⁶ And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.

Matthew 12:25 (NKJV)

²⁵ But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.

Luke 17:3-4

Withholding forgiveness holds us captive to sin….forgiveness gives us the freedom to let God move in our lives and theirs. Uphold the teachings of Christ but….hate the sin not the sinner! Always remembering that the measure that we forgive we will be forgiven. 

All of mankind falls short of the glory of God.

Forgiving someone who repents is not just an option; it is commanded by Jesus. He advocates for forgiving as a response to divine forgiveness. Faithlife Bible.

Luke 17:3–4 (NKJV)

³ Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. ⁴ And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

Matthew 18:15 (NKJV)

¹⁵ “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.

2 Timothy 4:2 (NKJV)

² Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.

Habakkuk 3:17-19

Joy in YOU is our only true source of strength and hope. Your WORD is real food for the restoration of our souls. You are the LORD of lords and KING of kings. With  You, CHRIST within, we are safe and protected.

Through the good and the bad I trust in You alone!

In this verse, figs, grapes, and olives represent the entire agricultural system of Israel. Olive trees are slow-growing evergreens that produce an oil-bearing fruit. Olive trees are ubiquitous in Israel, and the fruit or its oil is consumed at virtually every meal. Faithlife Bible.

Here the divine name Yahweh is tied to the term Adonai, which means “Lord.”

God will strengthen those who trust in Him. He will give those who live by faith the same confidence that a surefooted deer has in climbing mountains. Like a victorious army, the righteous with God’s strength will occupy the high hills. NKJ Bible.

Habakkuk 3:17–19 (NKJV)

¹⁷ Though the fig tree may not blossom,

Nor fruit be on the vines;

Though the labor of the olive may fail,

And the fields yield no food;

Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,

And there be no herd in the stalls—

¹⁸ Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,

I will joy in the God of my salvation.

¹⁹ The Lord God is my strength;

He will make my feet like deer’s feet,

And He will make me walk on my high hills.

Mark 3:13

The very faith we have is a GIFT OF GOD so that no one can boast! We are called with a purpose... all for the good of the BODY OF CHRIST. 

We are to extend God’s invitation to the supper of the Lamb to everyone we meet because He loves them!

boast ¹ |bōst|

verb

1 [reporting verb] talk with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about one's achievements, possessions, or abilities.

Jesus had a large group of followers later Jesus sent out an additional 70 disciples.

Mark 3:13 (NKJV)

¹³ And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him.

Luke 6:12–16

¹³ And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him.

Acts 21:27-29

Even within the BODY OF CHRIST there can be those who doubt your Christian beliefs…no matter! There is only One who knows your spirit and He is the SPIRIT that lives within you. Follow Him alone and you will fulfill GODS’ will for your life.

The Jews from this province—which is roughly equivalent to modern Turkey and northern Greece—recognize Paul from his missionary journeys. They stir up the crowd to oppose him. Faithlife Bible.

The temple in NT times was surrounded by three courts. The innermost court was the Court of Israel where Jewish men could offer their sacrifices. Only consecrated priests actually entered the temple building itself, and only the high priest could enter the inner sanctuary of the Most Holy Place—once a year on the Day of Atonement. The second court was the Court of the Women where Jewish families could gather for prayer and worship. The outer court was the Court of the Gentiles, open to all who would worship God. If any Gentile went beyond the barrier into the second court, he or she would be liable to the death penalty. The Roman authorities, out of respect for the Jewish religion, authorized the death sentence for this trespass even for their own Roman citizens. NKJ Bible.

Acts 21:27–29 (NKJV)

²⁷ Now when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, ²⁸ crying out, “Men of Israel, help! and furthermore he also brought Greeks into the temple This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, the law, and this place; and has defiled this holy place.” ²⁹ (For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)

Ephesians 2:8-10

Faith is a gift of the Father…salvation is a choice.

People cannot accomplish salvation through their own effort.

Works, the Greek word, ergon, may refer to the Jewish law or to specific components of the law that are related to Jewish ethnic identity (i.e., circumcision, food laws, Sabbath observance). The idea of works also might include any actions motivated by a desire to earn favor or right standing with God. Faithlife Bible.

The grace of God is the source of salvation; faith is the channel, not the cause. God alone saves. Salvation never originates in the efforts of people; it always arises out of the lovingkindness of God. Truly, “salvation is of the Lord”. The past tense of the verb saved in this passage indicates that the believer’s salvation has already occurred in the past, at the Cross. We cannot do anything to earn our salvation. Some suggest that the gift of God modifies the word faith in this verse. Thus Paul is saying that even our belief in God does not originate in ourselves. This too is a gift. NKJ Bible.

Ephesians 2:8–10 (NKJV)

⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast. ¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Hosea 12:5-6

Only in God’s mercy and great love are we able to stand. Only by the atonement of Jesus Christ are we allowed near the mercy seat. Thank you Father that you so loved Your creation that you provided the precious Blood of the Lamb to save us from ourselves. May we always share this agape love with others.

Hosea continues to emphasize Israel’s religious and political failings, using traditions about the patriarch Jacob to parallel Israel’s wanderings. The comparison with Jacob emphasizes his reputation for deceit and desire for personal gain. Faithlife Bible.

Just as Jacob had come to his senses and recognized his dependence on God, so Israel was to repent (return), reestablish justice in society, and depend (wait) on the Lord. NKJ Bible.

Hosea 12:5–6 (NKJV)

⁵ That is, the Lord God of hosts.

The Lord is His memorable name.

⁶ So you, by the help of your God, return;

Observe mercy and justice,

And wait on your God continually.

Family matters…The family that the Father chose for us and His family that He adopted us into! The person who does not take care of his family? He is worse than an unbeliever.

infidel |ˈinfədlˈinfəˌdel|

a person who does not believe in religion or who adheres to a religion other than one's own.

Matthew records Jesus’ calling of two sets of brothers. Three of the four—Peter, James, and John—became the inner circle of His disciples and rose to greater positions of leadership among the apostles and the early church. Faithlife Bible.

Matthew 4:18–22 (NKJV) Mark 1:16–20

¹⁸ And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. ¹⁹ Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” ²⁰ They immediately left their nets and followed Him.

²¹ Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, ²² and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

Acts 21:17-25

Jews, Catholics and Protestants were all created to worship GOD. It was too small a thing that JESUS die only for the Jews. Although Simon Peter founded the Apostolic Catholic Church and the Church still adheres to many Jewish customs and traditions of  men… all men who believe in the salvation GOD provided in the birth, death and resurrection of JESUS the CHRIST, by the power of the HOLY SPIRIT, will be saved. Paul respected his culture but placed his salvation on Jesus!

Faith alone pleases the Father.

James was the brother of Jesus and leader of the church in Jerusalem. Some Jewish people in Jerusalem believed incorrectly that Paul was discouraging Jews from keeping the law. This was not true, since Paul himself continued to observe Jewish customs. A Nazirite vow was connected with becoming pure or holy before Yahweh for a set period of time.By doing this, Paul will show that he is still sensitive to Jewish culture, which James believes will overturn their fellow Jews’ concerns about Paul. This action demonstrates that Paul is not encouraging Jews to abandon their traditions, cultural identity, or religious identity. Faithlife Bible.

Seven years had passed since the Jerusalem council meeting. At that time, the apostles and the leaders of the church had gathered to settle the question of whether Gentiles had to become Jews before becoming Christians. That question was settled in the negative; the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit both taught that the gospel was for all people. Apparently the apostles left Jerusalem after that conference to carry out Jesus’ commission to be witnesses to the “end of the earth”.

Reports were circulating that Paul had been urging Jews to abandon Mosaic traditions. However, Paul never derided his Jewish heritage nor demanded that Jewish Christians renounce the Law of Moses. He only made it clear to everyone that the law could not function as a means of salvation. There is evidence that Paul was continuing to keep the Law when he stood before Felix. The fact that he was coming to Jerusalem to worship was evidence of this. What Paul did resist was any attempt to force Gentiles to become Jews. Salvation was through faith alone. Relying on adherence to the Jewish law was repudiation of the gospel message that salvation proceeds from faith in Christ and that alone. NKJ Bible.

Acts 21:17–25 (NKJV)

¹⁷ And when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. ¹⁸ On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. ¹⁹ When he had greeted them, he told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. ²⁰ And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law; ²¹ but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs. ²² What then? The assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that you have come. ²³ Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have taken a vow. ²⁴ Take them and be purified with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads, and that all may know that those things of which they were informed concerning you are nothing, but that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the law. ²⁵ But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written and decided that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality.”

Isiah 7:10-17

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to die for all who would accept  Him. Jesus give His life in exchange for ours…no greater love than this exists. He is, and always has been, in total control!

Isaiah 7:10–17 (NKJV)

¹⁰ Moreover the Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying, ¹¹ “Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God; ask it either in the depth or in the height above.”

¹² But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord!”

¹³ Then he said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? ¹⁴ Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. ¹⁵ Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. ¹⁶ For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings. ¹⁷ The Lord will bring the king of Assyria upon you and your people and your father’s house—days that have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah.”

Ahaz’s refusal to ask for a sign is rebellious, not pious. The sign for Ahaz is meant to indicate that the threat from Aram (Syria) and Ephraim is short term and will pass within a few years. By the time the boy has been born—but before he knows right from wrong—Aram and Ephraim will be out of the picture. Faithlife Bible.

Isaiah is speaking to the entire royal line of David. God responded to Ahaz in indignation. This petty and arrogant king dared to refuse the Lord; he would not trust in God even when his enemies surrounded him. Isaiah turns from the king whom he has dismissed in judgment and addresses all who are present. The sign is for many. The word Lord speaks of the sovereignty of God, of His great control over all His creation. The pronoun Himself adds an absolute certainty to the impending sign. The Hebrew word rendered virgin means “a young woman of marriageable age.” But the word also connotes the idea of virginity, for the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible made in the second century b.c., translates the Hebrew word with a Greek word that specifically means “virgin.” Curds and honey contrast with “bread and wine” from cultivated lands and symbolically represent the Judean’s simple diet after the Assyrian invasion. Thus the Child, similar to Isaiah’s son Shear-Jashub, would be identified with the remnant. Similar prophecies were spoken of the Child’s birth and Isaiah’s other son Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.Israel and Syria would be destroyed before this child and Isaiah’s son would reach maturity. Syria is referred to as Damascus and Israel as Samaria. NKJ Bible.

Immanuel “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” During the Christmas season, this verse becomes a part of our common vocabulary. Most Christmas pageants recite the verse, and pastors explain the meaning of Immanuel, “God with Us.” How the prophecy was fulfilled in the birth of Christ is recorded in the Gospel of Matthew. But there are still questions that surround this prophecy. For instance, how could the birth of Jesus be a sign to Ahaz?

Sometimes unraveling biblical prophecy can be difficult. This is one of those cases; Christians have interpreted this prophecy in several different ways. Some have thought the anonymous “virgin” may refer to a royal mother—more specifically Ahaz’s wife. Thus the child would be Hezekiah, Ahaz’s successor. Hezekiah would be a sign to Ahaz that God was in control: The Lord was with Ahaz; He would save Judah from the enemies that surrounded Ahaz, enabling his son to inherit the throne. Yet the reference to the child eating “curds and honey” was a prediction of Assyria’s eventual domination of Judah.

Others have identified Isaiah’s wife, “the prophetess” of 8:3, as the “virgin.” She was a young woman of marriageable age, another meaning of the Hebrew word translated virgin. The child in this case would be Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. According to this view, the child’s two names, Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz meaning “Speed the Spoil, Hasten the Booty,” and Immanuel meaning “God with Us,” symbolize judgment and salvation. In fact, Isaiah himself described his children as “signs” to the nation, and he delivered a similar prophecy for this son

.

Some cite the parallel between the prophecy that a “virgin shall conceive” and Jesus’ miraculous birth as evidence that this prophecy was fulfilled only in Jesus. Mary was the virgin mother; and the birth of Jesus was the sign of God’s salvation. His name would be Immanuel, “God with Us,” because Jesus was the Son of God and He lived among us. According to this view, Isaiah’s prophecy had no fulfillment prior to Jesus’ birth. It is not uncommon for biblical prophecies to have one level of fulfillment in the immediate future, and a final fulfillment many years later in the person and work of the Savior, Jesus. Thus the pregnancy of Isaiah’s new wife and the birth of her son could have been a sign to King Ahaz. However, this would have been a fulfillment, not the fulfillment. The prophecy was completely fulfilled in the coming of God’s only Son to the earth. He is the only Child who can truly be called Wonderful, Counselor, and Prince of Peace. NKJ Bible.