Sunday, October 7, 2018

Word, Again & Again 10/6-10/18

06-10 October 2018 - His Word, Again & Again – Manna by Dorothy & Tony
2 Chronicles 36:15 “The Lord . . . sent word to them . . . again and again, because He had pity on His people.” [NIV from Daily Bread]

I became interested in this verse from Daily Bread devotion so I did some research.  I see that the KJV were difficult to grasp its meaning, “… rising up betimes, and sending …” and AMP: “… sent to them persistently …” and NLT: “… repeatedly sent …”

NCV seems clear: “The Lord, the God of their ancestors, sent prophets again and again to warn His people, because He had pity on them and on His Temple.”  And another one:  New Int’l Reader Version (NIRV): “The Lord, God of Israel sent word to His people through His messengers. He sent it to them again and again.  He had pity on His people. He also took pity on the temple where He lived” (2 Chronicles 36:15).

Dorothy: What impressed me about 2 Chronicles 36:15? I was reading a devotion about a young girl who visited her great-grandmother and she had a farm that had electric fence to keep the cows from breaking through the fence to the green grass. The girl was warned not to touch the electric fence or she’ll get electric shock. 

Somehow she ignored the warning and her finger touched the electric fence and she got zapped with electrical current strong enough to teach a cow a lesson. Then she understood why her parents had warned her because they loved her and did not want her to get hurt.  [Part of the story from Jennifer Benson Schuldt, Daily Bread]

This story is a comparison of God toward His people. When God saw His people in Jerusalem making idols to worship them, He “sent His word to them . . . again and again, because He had pity of His people” (2 Chron. 36:15).  God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah, but the people wanted to do their own plans.  They ignored the prophet’s warning. So God allowed the King of Babylon to destroy Jerusalem and captured many people. And destroyed the Temple.

In Jerusalem, God had pity over His people and the temple because He knew that soon He would have to allow the other nations to punish His people for not listening to Jeremiah’s warning to stop worshiping idols and turn back to Him.  God knew that His people will suffer and God had mercy on them because He loved them.  He wanted them to realize that they had broken the commandment, not to make and worship idols.

This study shows me how much God cares and that He is pleased when we are reading, studying, searching God’s Word daily, and pray daily. It reminds me of a song.

Song: Wonderful Words of Life
(Lyrics: Philip Paul Bliss, Sing His Praise)
Sing them over again to me,
Wonderful words of life;
Let me more of their beauty see,
Wonderful words of life;
Words of life and beauty,
Teach me faith and duty;
Beautiful words, wonderful words,
Wonderful words of Life
Beautiful words, wonderful words,
Wonderful words of life.    

May the Lord bless you today!
Dorothy

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