Tues.’s Devo - A Nation of Prayer

Read: Leviticus 27:14-Numbers 1:54; Mark 11:1-26; Psalm 46:1-11; Proverbs 10:23
Dedicating a “house” to the Lord in the Old Testament is the same as someone dedicating himself to be of the “household” to the Lord in the New. It can all be summed up in what it says in verses 28-29. That is that anything specially set apart for the Lord must never be sold or bought back. Once you have decided to follow Jesus, you must never look back.
It goes on to say that no person specially set apart for destruction may be bought back. That person must be put to death. In other words, no person who is of the seed of Satan can be redeemed. In Romans 9:21-22 God calls them vessels of honor and vessels of wrath. It is God’s choosing.
To buy back anything that has been dedicated to the Lord is to your destruction. Jesus said in Luke 9:62, “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and lookin back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
God called Moses to count all the men who were 20 years or older and were fit to go to war, except those from the tribe of Levi. The Levites were in charge of the Tabernacle and were to camp around the Tabernacle to protect the community of Israel from the Lord’s anger. The Levites stood for the set apart ones. They stood for Christians of the New Testament. They were responsible for how their nation went. Our nation is in the trouble it is in because we as God’s people let evil slip in because we were not guarding God’s presence. God holds his people responsible for the sins of their nation. Thankfully, we are learning our lesson and are praying and are now taking responsibility. The challenge is going to be whether we can stay in God’s presence when we are living in prosperity. Let’s not forget the hard times when we are living in ease.
In Mark, Jesus lived a very strategic life and his last days were no different. He rode a donkey into Jerusalem to fulfill scripture (Zechariah 9:9). He rode this donkey up toward Jerusalem from the south while the temple lamb was being paraded to Jerusalem from the north. The people celebrated both with palm leaves and praises of Hosanna. People were descending upon Jerusalem from all over the land for the feast of Passover. Both lambs were brought into the temple.
Jesus cursed the fig tree because it, like Israel was not ready to receive him. It could not bear fruit out of season. Jesus was out of their box and they couldn’t make the change just like the fig tree could not break tradition and bear fruit out of its season.
Jesus returned to the temple and cleansed the temple. In the Old Testament the priests would cleanse all the furniture and vessels of the Tabernacle with the blood of the lamb. Jesus as the lamb cleansed the temple of its sin and hypocrisy (Isaiah 56:7). He proclaimed it to be a house of prayer.
He taught his disciples that the key to getting what you pray for is first forgiving others, then receiving your own forgiveness.
Lord, may we walk in forgiveness, repentance and prayer for ourselves and our nation. May we become of nation of prayer.