Key Verses: Jeremiah 49:16a, 22
Your fierceness has deceived you,
The pride of your heart,
O you who dwell in the clefts of the rock,
Who hold the height of the hill!
…Behold He [The Lord] shall come up and fly like the eagle,
And spread His wings over Bozrah;
The heart of the mighty men of Edom in that day shall be
Like the heart of a woman in birth pangs.
To a young bird, a shadow cast by approaching wings can mean two completely different things. One shadow, which baby birds know well, means that their mother or father is returning to the nest with food and protection. But another shadow, which may look exactly the same to an untrained human eye, signals danger, the attack of a predator, and the chicks cower in fear.
Throughout the Bible, the image of “the wings of God” frequently appears. People welcome God as Provider and Protector or in the opposite way, as Someone who brings fear and judgment. In today’s reading, judgment is pronounced on Rabbah (present day Amman in Jordan). The people of Edom are reminded of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:24-29). Damascus, Syria, is in a time of destruction again today. Kedar (Saudi Arabia, and the other Arab states) was also devastated by the marauding armies of Egypt and Babylon. In spite of all this, chapter 49 ends with “hope,” as did chapter 48. As believers in the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we need not fear. Yes we have reverence and awe, but never terror! Under His wings there is safety, nourishment, and all we need to grow into all that God has planned for each one of us. Amen!!! (Read Psalm 63:1-7). “In the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.”
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord God, I take refuge 24/7 as Psalm 91:4 says, under the covering of Your “feathers,” and under Your “wings.” I pray that I will never separate myself from Your presence by allowing unconfessed sin to remain. I pray daily the sinner’s prayer, “Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner” (Luke 18:13-14). Lord Jesus, You said that the man who prayed that prayer most sincerely was justified before God. Thank You, Lord, for Your deliverance from sin, Your protection, Your provision, and for my very life! Amen!!!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
For some reason my son David Reynold typed in the word, “Djinn” in his caption to his photograph. “Djinn” are mentioned in the Koran. They are depicted as beings with godlike powers. They were said to feed on fear. I have “NO FEAR!” Why? Because of the guaranteed protection of Almighty God through His Son and my Saviour, Jesus Christ (Messiah). In contrast to this fear-producing figment of a fevered imagination, the “Djinn,” when God or one of His angels (ministering spirits to God’s children – Hebrews 1:13-14) shows up, their first words are usually, “FEAR NOT!!!” I have not made this count myself, but those who have tell me that there are 365 repetitions of “FEAR NOT” in the Bible, one for every day of the year! How’s that for producing a sense of well being in all of us who believe. Evil systems of human government feed on fear. When Karl Wojtowa, Pope John Paul II, returned home to his native Poland, ruled by atheistic communism, he said to his people, “Do not fear!” Not long after this, the totalitarian communist government fell and was replaced by a freely elected government.
Yours with total confidence in the God Who declares to us with no uncertainty whatsoever, “FEAR NOT!”,
David
Up Next in Year 2 | February
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100 Words - YR2 February 17 - Sheep a...
Key Verses: Jeremiah 50:6
My people have been lost sheep.
Their shepherds have led them astray;
They have turned them away on the mountains.
They have gone from mountain to hill;
They have forgotten their resting place.
Chapters 50 (today) and 51 (tomorrow) are the longest pronouncements of ju...
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100 Words - YR2 February 18 - Dull he...
Key Verses: Jeremiah 51:17a
“Everyone is dull-hearted, without knowledge.”
It’s apparent that Jeremiah is trying to get God’s message through, not only to his own people, but to the Babylonians also. Jeremiah is doing his best to awaken the “dull hearted” and to impart knowledge, so he writes ...
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100 Words - YR2 February 19 - All Our...
Key Verses: Jeremiah 52:33
So Jehoiachin changed from his prison garments, and he ate bread regularly before the king all the days of his life.Jehoiachin was made King of Judah when he was just 18 (read 2 Kings 24:6-15). Eight years later he was taken captive to Babylon in the first defeat o...