Ten things I've learned
from the Old Testament
1. God did
it. It was God who made everything
and He made everything very good. Genesis 1:1,31 "In the beginning God
created the heaven and the earth. 31And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very
good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day."
2.
With God nothing is impossible. Genesis 21:1,2 "1And
the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had
spoken.2For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set
time of which God had spoken to him."
3.
God's brings good from evil
intent, for those who are faithful to Him.
Genesis 45:4-8 "4And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to
me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom
ye sold into Egypt. 5Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves,
that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. 6For
these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years,
in the which there shall neither be plowing nor harvest.7And God sent me before
you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great
deliverance. 8So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath
made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout
all the land of Egypt."
4.
We can't move forward unless we
all go together as one. Exodus
12:37,51 "37And the
children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred
thousand on foot that were men, beside children. 51And it came
to pass the selfsame day, that the Lord did bring the children of Israel out of
the land of Egypt by their armies." But we get to where they can enter the
promised land and some don't want too.
See Numbers 13:30,31 "30And Caleb stilled the people
before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well
able to overcome it.31But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to
go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. And Numbers 14:30-32
"30Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I swear to
make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of
Nun. 31But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring
in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised. 32But as for you, your
carcasses, they shall fall in this wilderness."
5. God
leads His people, giving them everything that they need. Exodus
13:21,22 "21And the Lord went before them by
day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of
fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: 22He took not away the pillar
of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.
Nehemiah 9:15 "15And gavest
them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them
out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to
possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them."
6.
God's promises are His enablings. Joshua 1:1-9 "1Now
after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord
spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, 2Moses my servant is
dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto
the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. 3Every place
that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I
said unto Moses. 4From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great
river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great
sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. 5There shall not any
man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses,
so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. 6Be strong and
of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance
the land, which I swear unto their fathers to give them. 7Only be thou strong
and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law,
which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to
the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. 8This book of the
law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and
night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein:
for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good
success. 9Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid,
neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou
goest."
7.
God builds up and takes down kings
and kingdoms, and even queens. Daniel 2:21,37-45 "21And he
changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he
giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:
37Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven
hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 38And wheresoever
the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven
hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art
this head of gold. 39And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to
thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the
earth. 40And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron
breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all
these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. 41And whereas thou sawest the feet
and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be
divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as
thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. 42And as the toes of the feet were
part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and
partly broken. 43And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall
mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to
another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. 44And in the days of these kings
shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and
the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and
consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. 45Forasmuch as thou
sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it
brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the
great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and
the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure." And
Esther 4:14 "For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then
shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place;
but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether
thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this."
8. God's
Word never fails. Joshua 21:45
"There
failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of
Israel; all came to pass."And we already looked at Genesis
21:1,2 "1And
the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had
spoken.2For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set
time of which God had spoken to him." Deuteronomy 31:8 "And
the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not
fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed. " Psalms 37:25 "25I have been young, and now am
old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread."
9. But
people do. Judges 10:6 "6And the
children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim,
and Ashtoreth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of
Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines,
and forsook the Lord, and served not him." Over and over we find this same scenario. Judges 10:13 "Yet ye have forsaken me, and
served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more. " Proverbs
1:28-32 "28Then shall they call upon me, but
I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: 29For
that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord: 30They
would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. 31Therefore shall they
eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. 32For
the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools
shall destroy them.
10. Frequently
in doing God's work our lives will be endangered, but God will see us through
it. 1 Kings 17:1-4 " 1And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of
the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth,
before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according
to my word. 2And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, 3Get thee hence,
and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before
Jordan. 4And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have
commanded the ravens to feed thee there. 1 Kings 19:1- " 1And
Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the
prophets with the sword. 2Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So
let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one
of them by tomorrow about this time. 3And when he saw that, he arose, and went
for his life, and came to Beer–Sheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his
servant there. 4But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and
came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he
might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not
better than my fathers. 5And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold,
then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. 6And he looked, and,
behold, there was a cake baking on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head.
And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again." Daniel 3:10-25 " 10Thou, O king, hast made a decree,
that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut,
psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the
golden image: 11And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should be
cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. 12There are certain Jews whom
thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abed–nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy
gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. 13Then
Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abed–nego. Then they brought these men before the king. 14Nebuchadnezzar spake
and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, do not ye
serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? 15Now if ye be
ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut,
psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the
image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same
hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall
deliver you out of my hands? 16Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, answered and
said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this
matter. 17If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the
burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. 18But
if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor
worship the golden image which thou hast set up. 19Then was Nebuchadnezzar full
of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abed–nego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace
one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. 20And he commanded the most
mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, and
to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21Then these men were bound in
their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were
cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 22Therefore because the
king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the
fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego. 23And these
three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, fell down bound into the midst of
the burning fiery furnace. 24Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and
rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counselors, Did not we cast
three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the
king, True, O king. 25He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking
in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is
like the Son of God." Daniel 6:18-22 " 16Then
the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of
lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest
continually, he will deliver thee. 17And a stone was brought, and laid upon the
mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the
signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel. 18Then
the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were
instruments of music brought before him: and his sleep went from him. 19Then
the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of
lions. 20And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto
Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living
God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the
lions? 21Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live forever. 22My God hath
sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me:
forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O
king, have I done no hurt.
In conclusion,
God did it. With God nothing is
impossible. God's brings good from evil intent,
for those who are faithful to Him.
We can't move forward unless we
all go together as one. God leads His people, giving them everything that
they need. God's
promises are His enablings. God builds up and takes down kings and kingdoms, and even
queens
God's Word never fails, but people do. Frequently in doing God's work our lives
will be endangered, but God will see us through it. The God who made everything, is capable of
anything and faithful in all of His promises even when we are not and He is
able to see us through whatever lies ahead.
Joshua 1:1-9
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| THOU | TREAD | WILDERNESS |
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