Tag: nations

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Sermon: Standing In The Gap by Pastor Gary Ham

For those of you who thought the grass was greener on the other side and found that it was not, this message is for you. “The crisis you are facing is not one of money, is not a crisis of relationships, it is a crisis of faith. It is your faith. For with God all things shall be possible. Nothing shall be impossible. Will you open the door? Will you allow Him to come in. Will you allow Him to strengthen the relationship that’s He’s brought you into the world to have?” There have been strongholds that have held you back from stepping into what the Lord has for you. I say in the name of the Lord , those strongholds are broken. Today you are free!

Listen here: Standing In The Gap

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ACAD – Remnant: Exodus 10

The Eighth Plague: Locusts

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his officials, in order that I may show these signs of mine among them, and that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I have made fools of the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them—so that you may know that I am the Lord.”

So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh, and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, so that they may worship me. For if you refuse to let my people go, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country. They shall cover the surface of the land, so that no one will be able to see the land. They shall devour the last remnant left you after the hail, and they shall devour every tree of yours that grows in the field. They shall fill your houses, and the houses of all your officials and of all the Egyptians—something that neither your parents nor your grandparents have seen, from the day they came on earth to this day.’” Then he turned and went out from Pharaoh.

Pharaoh’s officials said to him, “How long shall this fellow be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the Lord their God; do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?” So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Go, worship the Lord your God! But which ones are to go?” Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old; we will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, because we have the Lord’s festival to celebrate.” He said to them, “The Lord indeed will be with you, if ever I let your little ones go with you! Plainly, you have some evil purpose in mind. No, never! Your men may go and worship the Lord, for that is what you are asking.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt, so that the locusts may come upon it and eat every plant in the land, all that the hail has left.” So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day and all that night; when morning came, the east wind had brought the locusts. The locusts came upon all the land of Egypt and settled on the whole country of Egypt, such a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before, nor ever shall be again. They covered the surface of the whole land, so that the land was black; and they ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left; nothing green was left, no tree, no plant in the field, in all the land of Egypt. Pharaoh hurriedly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. Do forgive my sin just this once, and pray to the Lord your God that at the least he remove this deadly thing from me.” So he went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. The Lord changed the wind into a very strong west wind, which lifted the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea; not a single locust was left in all the country of Egypt. But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go.

The Ninth Plague: Darkness

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven so that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness that can be felt.” So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was dense darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days. People could not see one another, and for three days they could not move from where they were; but all the Israelites had light where they lived. Then Pharaoh summoned Moses, and said, “Go, worship the Lord. Only your flocks and your herds shall remain behind. Even your children may go with you.” But Moses said, “You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings to sacrifice to the Lord our God. Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must choose some of them for the worship of the Lord our God, and we will not know what to use to worship the Lord until we arrive there.” But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was unwilling to let them go. Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me! Take care that you do not see my face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die.” Moses said, “Just as you say! I will never see your face again.”

Exodus 10:1-29 NRSV – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Exodus%2010:1-29&version=NRSV

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ACAD – Accepted: Isaiah 60

The Ingathering of the Dispersed

Arise, shine; for your light has come,
    and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
For darkness shall cover the earth,
    and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
    and his glory will appear over you.
Nations shall come to your light,
    and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

Lift up your eyes and look around;
    they all gather together, they come to you;
your sons shall come from far away,
    and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms.
Then you shall see and be radiant;
    your heart shall thrill and rejoice,[a]
because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you,
    the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
A multitude of camels shall cover you,
    the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
    all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense,
    and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.
All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered to you,
    the rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you;
they shall be acceptable on my altar,
    and I will glorify my glorious house.

Who are these that fly like a cloud,
    and like doves to their windows?
For the coastlands shall wait for me,
    the ships of Tarshish first,
to bring your children from far away,
    their silver and gold with them,
for the name of the Lord your God,
    and for the Holy One of Israel,
    because he has glorified you.
Foreigners shall build up your walls,
    and their kings shall minister to you;
for in my wrath I struck you down,
    but in my favor I have had mercy on you.
Your gates shall always be open;
    day and night they shall not be shut,
so that nations shall bring you their wealth,
    with their kings led in procession.
For the nation and kingdom
    that will not serve you shall perish;
    those nations shall be utterly laid waste.
The glory of Lebanon shall come to you,
    the cypress, the plane, and the pine,
to beautify the place of my sanctuary;
    and I will glorify where my feet rest.
The descendants of those who oppressed you
    shall come bending low to you,
and all who despised you
    shall bow down at your feet;
they shall call you the City of the Lord,
    the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
Whereas you have been forsaken and hated,
    with no one passing through,
I will make you majestic forever,
    a joy from age to age.
You shall suck the milk of nations,
    you shall suck the breasts of kings;
and you shall know that I, the Lord, am your Savior
    and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

Instead of bronze I will bring gold,
    instead of iron I will bring silver;
instead of wood, bronze,
    instead of stones, iron.
I will appoint Peace as your overseer
    and Righteousness as your taskmaster.
Violence shall no more be heard in your land,
    devastation or destruction within your borders;
you shall call your walls Salvation,
    and your gates Praise.

God the Glory of Zion

The sun shall no longer be
    your light by day,
nor for brightness shall the moon
    give light to you by night;[b]
but the Lord will be your everlasting light,
    and your God will be your glory.
Your sun shall no more go down,
    or your moon withdraw itself;
for the Lord will be your everlasting light,
    and your days of mourning shall be ended.
Your people shall all be righteous;
    they shall possess the land forever.
They are the shoot that I planted, the work of my hands,
    so that I might be glorified.
 The least of them shall become a clan,
    and the smallest one a mighty nation;
I am the Lord;
    in its time I will accomplish it quickly.

Footnotes:

  1. Isaiah 60:5 Heb be enlarged
  2. Isaiah 60:19 Q Ms Gk Old Latin Tg: MT lacksby night

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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ACAD – Nations: Genesis 18

The Three Visitors

Later, the Lord again appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre. Abraham was sitting at the entrance of his tent during the hottest part of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When Abraham saw them, he ran from his tent to meet them. He bowed facedown on the ground before them and said, “Sir, if you think well of me, please stay awhile with me, your servant.  I will bring some water so all of you can wash your feet. You may rest under the tree, and I will get some bread for you so you can regain your strength. Then you may continue your journey.”

The three men said, “That is fine. Do as you said.”

Abraham hurried to the tent where Sarah was and said to her, “Hurry, prepare twenty quarts of fine flour, and make it into loaves of bread.” Then Abraham ran to his herd and took one of his best calves. He gave it to a servant, who hurried to kill it and to prepare it for food. Abraham gave the three men the calf that had been cooked and milk curds and milk. While they ate, he stood under the tree near them.

The men asked Abraham, “Where is your wife Sarah?”

“There, in the tent,” said Abraham.

Then the Lord said, “I will certainly return to you about this time a year from now. At that time your wife Sarah will have a son.”

Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent which was behind him. Abraham and Sarah were very old. Since Sarah was past the age when women normally have children, she laughed to herself, “My husband and I are too old to have a baby.”

Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘I am too old to have a baby’? Is anything too hard for the Lord? No! I will return to you at the right time a year from now, and Sarah will have a son.”

Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I didn’t laugh.”

But the Lord said, “No. You did laugh.”

Then the men got up to leave and started out toward Sodom. Abraham walked along with them a short time to send them on their way.

Abraham’s Bargain with God

The Lord said, “Should I tell Abraham what I am going to do now? Abraham’s children will certainly become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.  I have chosen him so he would command his children and his descendants to live the way the Lord wants them to, to live right and be fair. Then I, the Lord, will give Abraham what I promised him.”

Then the Lord said, “I have heard many complaints against the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. They are very evil.  I will go down and see if they are as bad as I have heard. If not, I will know.”

So the men turned and went toward Sodom, but Abraham stood there before the Lord. Then Abraham approached him and asked, “Do you plan to destroy the good people along with the evil ones? What if there are fifty good people in that city? Will you still destroy it? Surely you will save the city for the fifty good people living there. Surely you will not destroy the good people along with the evil ones; then they would be treated the same. You are the judge of all the earth. Won’t you do what is right?”

The Lord said, “If I find fifty good people in the city of Sodom, I will save the whole city because of them.”

Then Abraham said, “Though I am only dust and ashes, I have been brave to speak to the Lord. What if there are only forty-five good people in the city? Will you destroy the whole city for the lack of five good people?”

The Lord said, “If I find forty-five there, I will not destroy the city.”

Again Abraham said to him, “If you find only forty good people there, will you destroy the city?”

The Lord said, “If I find forty, I will not destroy it.”

Then Abraham said, “Lord, please don’t be angry with me, but let me ask you this. If you find only thirty good people in the city, will you destroy it?”

He said, “If I find thirty good people there, I will not destroy the city.”

Then Abraham said, “I have been brave to speak to the Lord. But what if there are twenty good people in the city?”

He answered, “If I find twenty there, I will not destroy the city.”

Then Abraham said, “Lord, please don’t be angry with me, but let me bother you this one last time. What if you find ten there?”

He said, “If I find ten there, I will not destroy it.”

When the Lord finished speaking to Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.

New Century Version (NCV)

The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

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ACAD – Nations: Genesis 17

Proof of the Agreement

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty. Obey me and do what is right. I will make an agreement between us, and I will make you the ancestor of many people.”

Then Abram bowed facedown on the ground. God said to him, “I am making my agreement with you: I will make you the father of many nations. I am changing your name from Abram[a] to Abraham[b] because I am making you a father of many nations. I will give you many descendants. New nations will be born from you, and kings will come from you. And I will make an agreement between me and you and all your descendants from now on: I will be your God and the God of all your descendants. You live in the land of Canaan now as a stranger, but I will give you and your descendants all this land forever. And I will be the God of your descendants.”

Then God said to Abraham, “You and your descendants must keep this agreement from now on. This is my agreement with you and all your descendants, which you must obey: Every male among you must be circumcised. Cut away your foreskin to show that you are prepared to follow the agreement between me and you. From now on when a baby boy is eight days old, you will circumcise him. This includes any boy born among your people or any who is your slave, who is not one of your descendants. Circumcise every baby boy whether he is born in your family or bought as a slave. Your bodies will be marked to show that you are part of my agreement that lasts forever. Any male who is not circumcised will be cut off from his people, because he has broken my agreement.”

Isaac—the Promised Son

God said to Abraham, “I will change the name of Sarai,[c] your wife, to Sarah.[d] I will bless her and give her a son, and you will be the father. She will be the mother of many nations. Kings of nations will come from her.”

Abraham bowed facedown on the ground and laughed. He said to himself, “Can a man have a child when he is a hundred years old? Can Sarah give birth to a child when she is ninety?” Then Abraham said to God, “Please let Ishmael be the son you promised.”

God said, “No, Sarah your wife will have a son, and you will name him Isaac.[e] I will make my agreement with him to be an agreement that continues forever with all his descendants.

“As for Ishmael, I have heard you. I will bless him and give him many descendants. And I will cause their numbers to grow greatly. He will be the father of twelve great leaders, and I will make him into a great nation. But I will make my agreement with Isaac, the son whom Sarah will have at this same time next year.” After God finished talking with Abraham, God rose and left him.

Then Abraham gathered Ishmael, all the males born in his camp, and the slaves he had bought. So that day Abraham circumcised every man and boy in his camp as God had told him to do. Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised.  And Ishmael, his son, was thirteen years old when he was circumcised. Abraham and his son were circumcised on the same day. Also on that day all the men in Abraham’s camp were circumcised, including all those born in his camp and all the slaves he had bought from other nations.

Footnotes:

  1. 17:5 Abram This name means “honored father.”
  2. 17:5 Abraham The end of the Hebrew word for “Abraham” sounds like the beginning of the Hebrew word for “many.”
  3. 17:15 Sarai An Aramaic name meaning “princess.”
  4. 17:15 Sarah A Hebrew name meaning “princess.”
  5. 17:19 Isaac The Hebrew words for “he laughed” (v. 17) and “Isaac” sound the same.

New Century Version (NCV)

The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

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ACAD – Nations: Genesis 10

Nations Grow and Spread

This is the family history of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah. After the flood these three men had sons.

Japheth’s Sons

The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.

The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.

The sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim,[a] and Rodanim. Those who lived in the lands around the Mediterranean Sea came from these sons of Japheth. All the families grew and became different nations, each nation with its own land and its own language.

Ham’s Sons

The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim,[b] Put, and Canaan.

The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca.

The sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan.

Cush also had a descendant named Nimrod, who became a very powerful man on earth. He was a great hunter before the Lord, which is why people say someone is “like Nimrod, a great hunter before the Lord.” At first Nimrod’s kingdom covered Babylon, Erech, Akkad, and Calneh in the land of Babylonia. From there he went to Assyria, where he built the cities of Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, and Calah. 12 He also built Resen, the great city between Nineveh and Calah.

Mizraim was the father of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, Pathrusites, Casluhites, and the people of Crete. (The Philistines came from the Casluhites.)

Canaan was the father of Sidon, his first son, and of Heth. He was also the father of the Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, Arvadites, Zemarites, and Hamathites. The families of the Canaanites scattered. Their land reached from Sidon to Gerar as far as Gaza, and then to Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.

All these people were the sons of Ham, and all these families had their own languages, their own lands, and their own nations.

Shem’s Sons

Shem, Japheth’s older brother, also had sons. One of his descendants was the father of all the sons of Eber.

The sons of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.

The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Meshech.

Arphaxad was the father of Shelah, who was the father of Eber. 25 Eber was the father of two sons—one named Peleg,[c] because the earth was divided during his life, and the other was named Joktan.

Joktan was the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, Obal, Abimael, Sheba, Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these people were the sons of Joktan. They lived in the area between Mesha and Sephar in the hill country in the East.

These are the people from the family of Shem, arranged by families, languages, countries, and nations.

This is the list of the families from the sons of Noah, arranged according to their nations. From these families came all the nations who spread across the earth after the flood.

Footnotes:

  1. 10:4 Kittim His descendants were the people of Cyprus.
  2. 10:6 Mizraim This is another name for Egypt.
  3. 10:25 Peleg This name sounds like the Hebrew word for “divided.”

New Century Version (NCV)

The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

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ACAD – Nations: Psalm 2

The Reign of the Lord‘s Anointed

Why do the nations rage[a]
    and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
    and the rulers take counsel together,
    against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,
“Let us burst their bonds apart
    and cast away their cords from us.”

He who sits in the heavens laughs;
    the Lord holds them in derision.
Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
    and terrify them in his fury, saying,
“As for me, I have set my King
    on Zion, my holy hill.”

I will tell of the decree:
The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;
    today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
    and the ends of the earth your possession.
You shall break[b] them with a rod of iron
    and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
    be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear,
    and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son,
    lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
    for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 2:1 Or nations noisily assemble
  2. Psalm 2:9 Revocalization yields (compare Septuagint) You shall rule
English Standard Version (ESV)The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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ACAD – Injustice: Hosea 10

Israel Will Pay for Sin

Israel is like a large vine
    that produced plenty of fruit.
As the people became richer,
    they built more altars for idols.
As their land became better,
    they put up better stone pillars to honor gods.
Their heart was false,
    and now they must pay for their guilt.
The Lord will break down their altars;
    he will destroy their holy stone pillars.

Then they will say, “We have no king,
    because we didn’t honor the Lord.
As for the king,
    he couldn’t do anything for us.”
They make many false promises
    and agreements which they don’t keep.
So people sue each other in court;
    they are like poisonous weeds growing in a plowed field.
The people from Israel are worried about
    the calf-shaped idol at Beth Aven.
The people will cry about it,
    and the priests will cry about it.
    They used to shout for joy about its glory,
but it will be carried off to Assyria
    as a gift to the great king.
Israel will be disgraced,
    and the people will be ashamed for not obeying.
Israel will be destroyed;
    its king will be like a chip of wood floating on the water.
The places of false worship will be destroyed,
    the places where Israel sins.
Thorns and weeds will grow up
    and cover their altars.
Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”
    and to the hills, “Fall on us!”

“Israel, you have sinned since the time of Gibeah,[a]
    and the people there have continued sinning.
But war will surely overwhelm them in Gibeah,
    because of the evil they have done there.
When I am ready,
    I will come to punish them.
Nations will come together against them,
    and they will be punished for their double sins.
Israel is like a well-trained young cow
    that likes to thresh grain.
I will put a yoke on her neck
    and make her work hard in the field.
Israel will plow,
    and Judah will break up the ground.
I said, ‘Plant goodness,
    harvest the fruit of loyalty,
    plow the new ground of knowledge.
Look for the Lord until he comes
    and pours goodness on you like water.’
But you have plowed evil [iniquity]
    and harvested trouble [reaped injustice];
    you have eaten the fruit of your lies.
Because you have trusted in your own power
    and your many soldiers,
your people will hear the noise of battle,
    and all your strong, walled cities will be destroyed.
It will be like the time King Shalman
    destroyed Beth Arbel in battle,
    when mothers and their children were bashed to death.
The same will happen to you, people of Bethel,
    because you did so much evil.
When the sun comes up,
    the king of Israel will die.

Footnotes:

  1. a. 10:9 Gibeah The sins of the people of Gibeah caused a civil war. See Judges 19–21.

New Century Version (NCV)The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

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ACAD – Injustice: Zephaniah 3

Judgment on Jerusalem and the Nations

How terrible for the wicked, stubborn city of Jerusalem,
    which hurts its own people.
It obeys no voice;
    it can’t be taught to do right.
It doesn’t trust the Lord;
    it doesn’t worship its God.
Its officers are like roaring lions.
    Its rulers are like hungry wolves that attack in the evening,
    and in the morning nothing is left of those they attacked.
Its prophets are proud;
    they are people who cannot be trusted.
Its priests don’t respect holy things;
    they break God’s teachings.
But the Lord is good, and he is there in that city.
    He does no wrong.
Every morning he governs the people fairly;
    every day he can be trusted.
    But evil people are not ashamed of what they do.

“I have destroyed nations;
    their towers were ruined.
I made their streets empty
    so no one goes there anymore.
Their cities are ruined;
    no one lives there at all.
I said, ‘Surely now Jerusalem will respect me
    and will accept my teaching.’
Then the place where they lived would not be destroyed,
    and I would not have to punish them.
But they were still eager
    to do evil in everything they did.
Just wait,” says the Lord.
    “Someday I will stand up as a witness.
I have decided that I will gather nations
    and assemble kingdoms.
I will pour out my anger on them,
    all my strong anger.
My anger will be like fire
    that will burn up the whole world.

A New Day for God’s People

“Then I will give the people of all nations pure speech
    so that all of them will speak the name of the Lord
    and worship me together.
People will come from where the Nile River begins;
    my scattered people will come with gifts for me.
Then Jerusalem will not be ashamed
    of the wrongs done against me,
because I will remove from this city
    those who like to brag;
there will never be any more proud people
    on my holy mountain in Jerusalem.
But I will leave in the city
    the humble and those who are not proud,
    and they will trust in the Lord.
Those who are left alive in Israel won’t do wrong or tell lies;
    they won’t trick people with their words.
They will eat and lie down
    with no one to make them afraid.”

A Happy Song

Sing, Jerusalem.
    Israel, shout for joy!
Jerusalem, be happy
    and rejoice with all your heart.
The Lord has stopped punishing you;
    he has sent your enemies away.
The King of Israel, the Lord, is with you;
    you will never again be afraid of being harmed.
On that day Jerusalem will be told,
    “Don’t be afraid, city of Jerusalem.
    Don’t give up.
The Lord your God is with you;
    the mighty One will save you.
He will rejoice over you.
    You will rest in his love;
    he will sing and be joyful about you.”

“I will take away the sadness planned for you,
    which would have made you very ashamed.
At that time I will punish
    all those who harmed you.
I will save my people who cannot walk
    and gather my people who have been thrown out.
I will give them praise and honor
    in every place where they were shamed.
At that time I will gather you;
    at that time I will bring you back home.
I will give you honor and praise
    from people everywhere
when I make things go well again for you,
    as you will see with your own eyes,” says the Lord.

New Century Version (NCV)The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.