Mon.’s Devo - The Prayer of Jabez

Read: 1 Chronicles 4:5-5:17; Acts 25:1-27;Psalm 5:1-12; Proverbs 18:19 We are still reading about the line of Judah. In the midst of all the names and descendants we are given the prayer of Jabez who was of the lineage of Caleb in the tribe of Judah. Jabez was head of his family and lived near Jerusalem. His name means “sorrow” because he was born with much pain and sorrow. It is said that he was more honorable than his brothers. He prayed for a blessing from God that He would expand his territory and keep him from evil. And the good news is that God granted his request. We can pray that same prayer and God will grant it for us too. *** Shelah was Judah’s third son who was not killed by God and was supposed to be given to Tamar to marry but was not. His descendants became the linen workers and pottery makers who worked for the king. *** Simeon was Israel’s second son. He had 16 sons and 6 daughters. His territory was in the midst of Judah’s like an island. They were farmers. *** Israel’s oldest son was Rueben. He lost his position as the first born when he went in with his father’s concubine. His birthright was given to Joseph (Manasseh and Ephraim). Rueben is not mentioned in the genealogy as the first born. The Ruebenites had opted not to go over the Jordan and receive their inheritance in the promised land but stayed east of the Jordan. *** Also the tribe of Gad stayed east of the Jordan with Rueben. They stayed in the land they took from Og the king of Bashan. *** In Acts, the new Festus arrived in Jerusalem on his way to Caesarea. He was met by the Jewish leaders who gave him all the reasons they thought Paul was guilty and should be brought back to Jerusalem for trial. They planned to kill him on the way. Festus disagreed and told them they could accompany him to Caesarea and he would listen to them there. *** In the trial in Caesarea, the Jewish leaders gave their false accusations about Paul and he denied them all. Felix asked Paul if he wanted to go to Jerusalem to be tried and he said, No. He appealed to Caesar instead. This was a relief for Felix because he was in a hard place. He wanted to please the Jews and be on their side, but Paul was a Roman citizen and he had to do what was right there also. Sending him to Rome was a great ‘out’ for him. Now, he had to come up with a reason for sending Paul to Caesar. He asked King Agrippa and his wife Bernice to help him write his letter to Caesar. *** It amazes me how much power the Jews really had. The Roman leaders wanted their favor. I think this is true about Christians. We do not realize how afraid Satan’s kingdom is of us because we do not fully realize the power of God in us. When we do, we will be unstoppable. *** Lord, may we become aware of your greatness and use the power we have been given to combat evil in our society. Help us to get that we are the light of the world. We are to bring God’s kingdom to earth.

Sun.’s Devo - The Tribe of Judah

Read: 1 Chronicles 2:18-4:4; Acts 24:1-27; Psalm 4:1-8; Provers 18:16-18 In the chronicles we are still reading about Judah’s line. Judah’s first two sons were killed by God because they were so wicked. He had twins, Perez and Zerah through his daughter-in-law Tamar. It was through the twins that Judah grew so large. And it was through Perez that David and Jesus came. *** David’s descendants came from the town of Hebron which means “communion.” Communion describes David’s relationship with God well. David reigned for seven and a half years in Hebron having six sons there. Then he moved to Jerusalem where he had 13 sons and ruled for another 33 years. *** David’s son, Solomon succeeded him and from him came all the kings of Israel. *** In Acts, Paul was waiting for his accusers to arrive from Jerusalem. Five days later they came: Ananias, the high priest, some of the Jewish elders and Tertullus, their lawyer. *** Tertullus spoke first and praised the governor for his reforms he had made then he gave their accusations about Paul. He called him a troublemaker who was constantly stirring up riots all over the world. He accused him of being the leader of the a Nazarene cult who was trying to desecrate the Temple when they arrested him. The other elders agreed with his testimony. *** Next, it was Paul’s turn to defend himself. He claimed to have arrived in Jerusalem and peacefully gone to the Temple to worship the Lord. He never stirred up a riot or did any of the things he was being accused of. He did admit to follow the Way which worships the God of his ancestors and follows the law given by Moses. He had come to Jerusalem with money to help his fellow believers in Jerusalem and to worship the Lord in the Temple. There was no rioting, the only things he shouted was “I am on trial before you today because I believe in the resurrection of the dead!” *** Felix was familiar with the Way and adjourned and told them they would wait until Lysias, the commander who arrested Paul arrived. Paul was kept in custody but allowed to have visitors. *** Felix and his wife had many meetings with Paul to discuss his beliefs. Paul stayed in prison for two years and Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus who kept Paul in prison to win the favor of the Jews. In prison, Paul was kept safe and was able to write much of our New Testament. He was fed and allowed to have visitors. There, the Jews couldn’t cause him any problems or harm him. *** Because we are in Christ, we are protected in the same way. We are free to move about this world but are totally protected and safe. We have nothing to fear. Our days are numbered in God’s book. Thank you, Lord.

Sat.’s Devo - The Chronicles

Read: 1 Chronicles 1:1-2:17; Acts 23:11-35; Psalm 3:1-8; Proverbs 18:14-15 We begin the Chronicles today which were written by the priests and highlight the kings of Judah. The Kings were written by the prophets and highlighted the kings of Israel. *** The scribes kept the records of genealogy, land ownership and all other records in the Temple. So they start their book with the geneologies from Adam on. Notice that they don’t even mention Cain because he was not a descendant of Adam but of Satan. Able is not mentioned either because he had no descendants. Seth which means “appointed” was the one appointed to carry on the human line. *** Noah was the only one left after the flood so his line kept humanity alive. From his sons Japheth, Ham and Shem, we all originated. *** It is interesting to note that the Ashkenazi’s came from Japheth. We have heard a lot about them lately as they are the one’s that have pretty much ruled our world in evil and slavery. They are the ones God is bringing justice. *** In Ham’s line it is interesting to note that from him came all the “ites” who were the enemies of God when Joshua entered the promised land of Israel. *** Abraham’s line came from Shem. God singled them out to put his name and favor on. Most of the Old Testament centers around their lineage. *** The line of Edom (verse 43) came from Esau who was Jacob’s brother who despised his birthright and sold it for a bowl of soup. He was also tricked out of his blessing as the first born by Jacob, his twin. *** Next, we have the sons of Jacob or Israel. Even though Judah was the fourth son, the scribes begin with his geneology probably because he was the kingly tribe. From the tribe of Judah we have David and most of the kings of Judah and eventually Jesus came from his tribe. *** In Acts, Paul was in prison which was the safest place for him at the time. The Lord appeared to him and told him to be encouraged because he would be his witness there in Jerusalem and in Rome also. Paul never forgot this commission even when so many tried to pursued him not to go to Rome. *** There was a plot to kill Paul on his way to his trial but Paul’s nephew found out about the plot and warned Paul. Paul sent him to tell the commander the plan of the Jews. The commander snuck Paul out in the cover of darkness with 200 soldiers, 200 spearmen and 70 mounted troops to get Paul safely to Governor Felix in Caesarea. He sent him with a letter explaining all he knew about Paul. There he was kept in prison until his accusers could arrive. Then Felix would hear his case. *** Amazing what God will do to protect his own. He gave Paul 470 armed men to get him safely where God wanted him. *** Lord, you are more powerful than any man or power of earth. When you call us to do something you see us through till the end. We put all our trust in you.

Fri.’s Devo - The Fall of Jerusalem

Read: 2 Kings 23:31-25:30; Acts 22:17-23:10; Psalm 2:1-12; Proverbs 18:13 After Josiah was killed by Pharaoh Neco of Egypt, Josiah’s son, Jehoahaz became the king. He only ruled for three months when he was imprisoned in Egypt. Neco installed Eliakim as the king who was another of Josiah’s sons. He required that they pay enormous amounts of gold and silver. He also changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. *** Jehoiakim ruled for 11 years. During his reign Nebuchadnezzar from Babylon invaded Judah and they had to pay him tribute also. They rebelled after three years and refused to pay it so God sent raiders from four nations to raid them. This was all happening because of the sins of Manasseh and all the innocent blood he shed. Jehoiachin was the next king who only reigned three months. He was besieged by King Nebuchadnezzar. He finally surrendered to the king of Babylon and was taken prisoner. The fittest in Judah were taken prisoner to Babylon. Those left were ruled by Zedekiah. He ruled in Jerusalem for 11 years. When he rebelled against Babylon, they came and besieged the city of Jerusalem. The famine became so severe that the king and some of his people tried to escape through the cracks in the wall. They were chased down by the Babylonian troops and Zedekiah was captured. He was made to watch his sons all killed, then his eyes were gouged out. He was led in chains to Babylon. Jerusalem was burned and its walls torn down by the Babylonians. Most of the people were taken into exile, but a few were left to tend the vineyards and fields. Everything of value from the Temple was taken. The priests were all taken as well as the officers and put to death in Babylon. *** Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah as the governor of those left behind in Judah. All the men left in the army of Judah came to meet with Gedliah at Mizpah. Ishmael was one of them. *** Gedaliah tried to broker peace between them and the Babylonian officers left to take care of them. Later that year Ishmael came to Mizpah and killed Gedaliah and the Babylonians that were there with him. All the people from Judah fled in panic thinking they were going to be in great trouble when Babylon found out. *** Meanwhile, in Babylon, an new king, Evil-merodach was crowned. Jehoiachin found favor in his eyes and was released from prison. He was given great privileges and clothes of honor and allowed to eat at the king’s table as long as he lived. *** In Acts, Paul was still giving his testimony to the Jews when he got to the part where God told him to go to the Gentiles and share with them the Good News of the gospel. The crowd went wild and shouted for his death. The commander had him whipped with lashes to make him confess to his crime. When he had finished whipping him, Paul asked if it was legal to whip a Roman citizen. When Paul explained that he was born a Roman citizen, the guards were afraid. The next day Paul was released to stand trial before the Jewish high council. *** In the trial, Paul noticed that some of the council was Pharisees and some were Sadducees. Knowing their disagreement about resurrection, he used that as his argument. This divided the council and the discussion became so violent they had to rescue Paul and take him back to the fortress. *** Jesus had told them not to worry about what to say when they were brought to trial because the Holy Spirit would tell them what to say. We see that happening for Paul over and over. He will do the same for us. *** Lord, may we trust in you for every answer we give for your name’s sake. Thank you for your Holy Spirit that leads and guides us every day.

Thurs.’s Devo - Josiah

Read: 2 Kings 22:3-23-30; Acts 21:37-22:16; Psalm 1:1-6; Proverbs 18:11-12 When Josiah was 26 years old, he commanded the priests to use the money in the Temple treasury to restore the Temple of the Lord. As they were working they came upon a copy of the law. When Josiah read it, he tore his clothes in despair. He must have read the blessings and the curses and they definitely fell into the column of the curses. *** Josiah went about the greatest reform in history. He got rid of every trace of idol worship throughout the land of Judah. The way they desecrated the pagan temples was to scatter them with human bones. When he came to the graves buried around the altar in Bethel, he saw a monument built to a prophet. He asked who it was and found out it was the prophet who named him by name saying he would do this very thing. He had lived 200 years ago. Josiah allowed his grave and Isaiah’s to go untouched. *** Josiah reinstitute the Passover and had a celebration like never before. Even though Josiah led the people to give up their pagan practices, God was still angry over all the years the people of Judah had rejected him. He spoke through Huldah, a prophetess that all the words written in the law against Jerusalem would happen, but they would not happen until Josiah had died. *** God kept his promise. Josiah was killed by King Neco of Egypt. The king of Egypt and the king of Assyria had conspired together against Judah. Josiah was killed at Megiddo. His son, Jehoahaz was anointed to be the next king. *** In Acts, Paul had been arrested because the Jews in the city accused him of bringing a Gentile into the Temple. They were mainly upset that he was teaching the resurrection of Jesus as the Messiah. 
 *** Paul asked to speak to the commander who thought he was a revolutionary from Egypt who was over 400 assassins. Paul explained he was not that man but a Jew from Tarsus. He asked for permission to speak to the people. He let Paul down from their shoulders and he was able to speak to the people from the stairs. He spoke their language of Arabic. *** When they heard their own language, they were silent. He introduced himself and gave his background and his testimony to a rapt crowd. *** I think of the scripture that says, “And they overcame by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of their testimony and that they loved not their lives unto death.” This describes Paul to a tee. We all have a testimony that no-one else has. We are to share our testimony boldly. Lord, may we be faithful to share what you have done for us with those we meet and let our light shine.

Wed.’s Devo - Our Future is in God’s Hands

Read: 2 Kings 20:1-22:2; Acts 21:18-36; Psalm 150:1-6; Proverbs 18:9-10 Hezekiah became ill so Isaiah came to see him. He told him to set his affairs in order, because he was going to die. Hezekiah reminded the Lord how he lived his life to please him. Before Isaiah could get out of the palace, the Lord told him to go back and tell Hezekiah that God heard his prayer and would extend his life 15 more years. He showed Isaiah how to heal the boil that was causing his sickness. Hezekiah asked for a sign to prove he would be healed in three days. Hezekiah was given the choice of making the shadow on the sundial go forward ten steps or backward ten steps. He was actually given the ability to go back in time or forward in time. He chose to go back in time since he thought that would be the hardest. *** The king of Babylon was Merodach-baladan which means “rebellion: Baal is lord.” He sent gifts to Hezekiah because he had heard he was sick. Hezekiah received his gifts and showed his ambassadors everything in his kingdom. By doing this, he set his future for the next generation. *** Isaiah told him that since he showed them all he had, then all he had would one day be theirs. Since he said it would not happen in his lifetime, Hezekiah was relieved. *** Hezekiah lived his 15 more years and died. In his last 15 years, he had a son named Manasseh. Hezekiah had the privilege of knowing his expiration date so you would think he would take the time to teach his son how to rule the kingdom like he had. Manasseh was only 13 when he came to rule, but he did the opposite of his father. He welcomed the gods of Babylon and all the other pagan gods. He set up a carved image of Asherah in the Temple of the Lord. He caused the people to do more evil than even the pagan nations did. He murdered many innocent people. *** God said through the prophets that He would do to Jerusalem what he did to Samaria. Manasseh reigned 55 years and when he died his son, Amon became the king. He followed after the sins of his father and was assassinated by his own officials. The people of the land killed his assassins and made his son, Josiah the next king. Josiah was only 8 but he did what was pleasing to the Lord. *** In Acts, Paul went to meet with Luke and all the church at Jerusalem. Paul’s group shared all God had done in their trip and the people rejoiced. Luke shared with Paul that there was a group in the city who heard Paul was teaching the Jews not to circumcise their children and to disobey the laws of Moses. They wanted to know what to do. Paul suggested they sent four of the men who were with Paul to the temple so they could see how they had followed the law of Moses to a tee. They had vowed a vow to the Lord and wanted to do the purification ceremony. Those men who heard the rumors about Paul could observe how they follow the law and that would help squelch the rumor. *** Before they could do the purification ceremony, a mob met Paul in the Temple and accused Paul of preaching against the Jews and the Temple by bringing Gentiles into the Temple. Paul had been seen with a Gentile that day and they assumed he had taken him into the Temple. A riot followed. *** Paul was arrested and bound with chains. When the commander asked the crowd what Paul had done, it was so chaotic he couldn’t get the truth so he ordered that Paul be taken to the fortress. The crowd was so violent, the soldiers had to lift Paul up on their shoulders to protect him. *** Jesus had warned them that if they killed the shepherd they would surely kill the sheep. Paul was fellowshipping with the Lord in his sufferings. *** Lord, may we learn to fellowship with You in our sufferings and in our blessings. No matter what we face may it all be to your glory.

Tue.’s Devo - Deliverance

Read: 2 Kings 18:13-19:37; Acts 21:1-17; Psalm 149:1-9; Proverbs 18:8 Hezekiah had stopped paying his tribute to Assyria so they came to attack Jerusalem. Hezekiah asked what he could pay to make it right with them. They demanded more than 11 tons of silver ad one ton of gold. Hezekiah had to strip the gold from the doors of the Temple and give all the silver they had. Still the army wanted to meet with Hezekiah. *** Hezekiah sent his three top men to meet with the army commander of Assyria. He told then to tell Hezekiah that nothing they could trust in could save then from their army. He wanted them to surrender and let him take them captive like they had done to Israel. *** The army captain made sure he was speaking in Hebrew so all the men in the army could hear his threats. They said nothing because Hezekiah had told them not to talk to the Assyrians. *** When Hezekiah heard his threat, he and his officials tore their clothes and put on burlap. Hezekiah went into the Temple of the Lord. He sent his three officials to go tell Isaiah what was happening. Isaiah sent back word that Hezekiah shouldn’t be upset by his enemy’s words. God was going to move against him and he was going to receive an order to go back home. There, he will be killed by the sword. *** The Assyrians left Jersalem to consult with the king of Assyria. The king received word that the king of Ethiopia was coming to attack him so he had army return home and help them. Before he left, he sent a message to Hezekiah saying that he would return and not to let his God who he trusted deceive him. None of the gods of other nations could save them so why should they be any different. They just didn’t know Judah’s God! *** Hezekiah took this letter to the Temple and spread it out so he could talk to God about it. He explained to the Lord that part of the letter was true, no other god had been able to save their nation from the Assyrians. *** Isaiah sent Hezekiah the answer to his prayer. God says that he despises the king of Assyria and laughs at his threats. All his conquests were not because his might, but God’s plan. God used them to conquer these nations. God has heard all his blasphemy against him and would drag him back with a hook in his nose to his own land. *** To prove what he said is true, Judah would eat what grows by itself for the next two hears, then the third year, they would plant and harvest and eat the fruit from their own gardens. Those who have made it through the siege will put roots down in their own nation and will grow. *** The king of Assyria would not come back to Jerusalem. God would defend and protect Jerusalem. *** That night the angel of the Lord killed 185,000 of the Assyrian soldiers. The king took the survivors home to Nineveh. Two of his own sons killed him while he was worshipping in the temple of Nisroch. They fled to Ararat while another son, Esarhaddon became the next king. *** In Acts, Paul was making his way back to Jerusalem. All the way they stopped at places they had established groups of believers. Those who could see into the future begged Paul not to go to Jerusalem where they only saw chains and prison for him. Paul was not afraid of any of that. He had experienced that his whole life. He knew this was his destiny. So, with tears, they let Paul go. Some of the believers from Caesarea went with them. When they arrived in Jerusalem the believers welcomed them. *** Paul was ready to lay down his life for the Gospel. Lord, may we have that same mindset. May we lay down our lives daily as we choose to follow you even if it messes up our plans or disrupts our schedules. Thank you that you are delivering our nation just like you did for Judah. We pray for the peace of Jerusalem.