Chapter
8
God's Directives, Commandments and Exhortations:
"I
looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand
before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have
to destroy it, but I found none." Ezekiel 23:30
"
When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, "The
Lord is with you mighty warrior." But sir, Gideon replied,
"If the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?
Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when
they said, ' Did not the Lord bring us out of Egypt?' But now
the Lord has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian."
Now the Lord turned to him and said, "Go in the strength
you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending
you? "But Lord, "Gideon asked, "how can I save
Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least
in my family?"
The Lord answered, "I will be with you, and you will strike
down all the Midianites together." Judges 6:11-16
After
the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua
son of Nun, Moses' aid: 'Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you
and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into
the land I am about to give to them- to the Israelites. I will
give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses….As
I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you
or forsake you. Be strong and very courageous, because you will
lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers
to give them." Joshua 1:1-3; 6-7
Now
Elijah…said to Ahab, "As the Lord, the God of Israel,
lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the
next few years except at my word." Three and a half years
passed without rain "and Elijah said to Ahab, "Go eat
and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.." So Ahab
went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel,
bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees. "Go
and look toward the sea," he told his servant. And he went
up and looked. "There is nothing there," he said. Seven
times Elijah said, ":Go back." The seventh time the
servant reported, " A cloud as small as a man's hand is rising
from the sea." So Elijah said "Go and tell Ahab 'Hitch
up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you." Meanwhile,
the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain came
on and Ahab rod off to Jezreel. The power of the Lord came upon
Elijah…" 1 Kings 17:1;18:41-46
Do
not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows."
Galatians 6:7
"Do
not forget this one thing, dear friends: with the Lord a day is
like a thousand years, and a thousand years like a day. The Lord
is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness.
He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone
to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like
a thief…" 2 Peter 3:8-10
"The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run
to it and are safe." Proverbs 18:10
"Then
I said to you, "Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of
them. The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for
you, as He did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in
the desert. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as
a father carries a son, all the way you went until you reached
this place." Deuteronomy 1:29-31
"As
Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the
Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried
out to the Lord…Moses answered the people. 'Do not be afraid.
Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring
you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.
The Lord will fight for you." Exodus 14:10; 13-14
The
Lord said to Moses, "Send some men to explore the land of
Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. ..They came back
to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh
in the Desert of Paran…They gave Moses this account: 'We
went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with
milk and honey!…But the people who live there are powerful,
and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendents
of Anak there…Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses
and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land,
for we can certainly do it." Numbers 13::1-2;26-30
"Not
one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed
in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me
ten times- not one of them will ever see the land I promised on
oath to their forefathers. No one who has treated me with contempt
will ever see it. But because my servant Caleb has a different
spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the
land he went to, and his descendents will inherit it. Numbers
14:22-23
"Not
one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make
your home, except Caleb …and Joshua. ..Your children will
be shepherds here for forty years, suffering from your unfaithfulness…When
Moses reported this to all the Israelites, they mourned bitterly.
Early the next morning they went up toward the high hill country.
"We have sinned," they said. "We will go up to
the place the Lord promised" Numbers 14:30;33;39-40
"
Do not be terrified by them, for the Lord your God, who is among
you, is a great and awesome God. The Lord your God will drive
out those nations before you, little by little. I will make all
your enemies turn their backs and run. I will send the hornet
ahead of you to drive out the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hittites
out of you way. But I will not drive them out in a single year,
because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too
numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before
you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the
land. Exodus 23:27-30
"Ah,
Sovereign Lord, " I said, "I do not know how to speak;
I am only a child." But the Lord said to me, "Do not
say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to
and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for
I am with you and will rescue you, "declares the Lord…Get
yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you.
Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them.
Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze
wall to stand against the whole land…They will fight against
you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue
you," declares the Lord." Jeremiah 1:6-8;17-19.
"For
the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth,
to show Himself strong on the behalf of them whose heart is perfect
toward Him." 2 Chronicles 16:9
"The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears
open to their cry." Psalm 34:15
"I
tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed,
you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it
will move. Nothing will be impossible to you." Matthew 17:20-21
"People
were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them,
but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, He was indignant.
He said to them, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not
hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."
Mark 10:13-14
"This
is what the Lord Almighty says: 'In a little while I will once
more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.
I will shake the nations, and the desired of all nations will
come., and I will fill this house with glory,' says the Lord Almighty.
..the glory of this present house will be greater than the glory
of the former house,' says the Lord Almighty. And in this place
I will grant peace,' declares the lord Almighty. Haggai 2:6-7;9
"The
Lord will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as
he delighted in your forefathers, if you obey the Lord your God
and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book
of the Law and turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and
with all your soul. Now what I am commanding you today is not
too difficult for you or beyond your reach…No, the word is
very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may
obey it….For I command you today to love the Lord your God,
to walk in His ways, and to keep His commands, laws, and decrees;
then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless
you in the land you are entering to possess. But if your hearts
turn away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away
to bow down to other gods and worship them, I declare to you this
day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long
in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.
Deuteronomy 30: 9-18.
"David
said to the Philistines, 'You come against me with sword and spear
and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty,
the God of the enemies of Israel, who you have defiled. This day
the Lord will hand you over to me…' 1 Samuel 17:45-46
"If
my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and
pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I
will hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land.
Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers
offered in this place." 2 Chronicles 7:14
"Remember
the instructions you gave your servant Moses, saying, "If
you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, but
if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled
people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there
and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my
Name." Nehemiah 1:8-9
"Then
I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem
lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come,
let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be
in disgrace...They replied, "Let us start rebuilding."
So they began this good work.. But when Sanballat the Horonite,
Tobiah the Ammonite official and Gesham the Arab heard about it,
they mocked and ridiculed us. "What is this you are doing?"
they asked. "Are you rebelling against the king?" I
answered him by saying, "The God of heaven will give us success.
We His servants will start rebuilding. But as for you, you have
no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it."
Nehemiah 2:19-20
So
the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two
days. When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding
nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they
realized that this work had been done with the help of our God."
Nehemiah 6:15-16
"Then
the Lord said to Joshua, "See, I have delivered Jericho into
your hands, along with its king and its fighting men…The
seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast,
Joshua commanded the people, "Shout! For the Lord has given
us the city! The city and all that is in it are to be devoted
to the Lord…When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted,
and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout,
the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and took
the city. They devoted the city to the Lord…" Joshua
6:2;16;20-21
'You
must not worship the Lord your God in their way, because in worshiping
their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the Lord hates…The
Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him
with all your heart and all your soul. It is the Lord your God
you must follow, and Him you must revere. Keep his commands and
obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. Deuteronomy 12:31; 13:3-4
"In
the future, when your son asks you, "What is the meaning
of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded
you? The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear
the Lord our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept
alive as is the case today. .And if we are careful to obey all
this law before the Lord our God, as He has commanded us, that
will be our righteousness….Make no treaty with them…Do
not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their
sons or take their daughters for your sons, for they will turn
your sons away from following me to serve other gods, and the
Lord's anger will burn against you…The Lord did not set His
affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous
…, for you were the fewest of people. But it was because
the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers
that He brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from
the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; He is the faithful
God, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generations of
those who love Him and keep His commands. ..If you pay attention
to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the Lord your
God will keep His covenant of love with you, as He swore to your
forefathers. He will love you and bless you and increase your
numbers. He will bless the fruit of your womb, the crops of your
land- your grain, new wine and oil- the calves of your herds and
the lambs of your flocks in the land that He swore to your forefathers
to give you. You will be blessed more than any other people. Deuteronomy
6:20-21;7:2-4; 7-9;12-14
God
gave us in the Bible examples of what to expect, both as blessings
and as cursings with the histories of the nations, when we obey
or disobey Him. Over the last 50 years we have seen a gradual
but accelerating deterioration of the values and blessings of
our great nation. Please join us in making a commitment to assist
our blessed nation in making a stand for the values and principals
on which this nation was founded and that were given us by our
Lord and Savior. You will make a difference!
…Let
us make a commitment together to return our great and blessed
nation to its national vision and heritage…
"If we will do the possible, God will do the impossible!"
America…Our
Christian Heritage,