The Wrath of Jehovah

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven..." (Romans 1:18; NKJV).

When Jehovah exercies His wrath, He abandons persistent, willful sinners to the consequences of their sins.

"Yet you have forsaken Me and served other gods. Therefore I will deliver you no more. Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them deliver you in your time of distress" (Judges 10:13-14; NKJV).

Jason Cicero

Jehovah Shall Rule Over You

But Gideon said to them, "I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; the LORD shall rule over you" (Judges 8:23; NKJV).

The Israelites never quite got it into their hearts that they had a king. Jehovah is an eternal King. He always ruled over them and everyone else. "The LORD is King forever and ever" (Psalm 10:16; NKJV).

They had a King that they couldn't see. So do we. "Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen" (1 Timothy 1:17; NASB).

Jason Cicero

Valor

And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, "The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!" (Judges 6:12; NKJV)

"Valor" has to do with strength, might, efficiency.

Jehovah knew that Gideon had it in him to do His work before Gideon did. Our strength, might and efficiency is of and through Him. As long as He is with us, we too can be men and women of "valor" (see 2 Corinthians 3:5 and Philippians 4:13).

Jason Cicero

Hidden in My Heart

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Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

For all that is in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life — is not of the Father but is of the world.

And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever." (1 John 2:15-17; NKJV)

Apostasy

"So the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord which He had done for Israel. Now Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died when he was one hundred and ten years old. And they buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath Heres, in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash. When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel." (Judges 2:7-10; NKJV)

Apostasy - a falling away, a withdrawal, a defection. Not found in the English Versions of the Bible, but used twice in the New Testament, in the Greek original (see Acts 21:21; 2 Thessalonians 2:2 - jhc), to express abandonment of the faith (from International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, Electronic Database Copyright © 1996, 2003, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

GOD'S people are always one generation away from apostasy.

Jason Cicero

Joseph's Bones

Joseph anticipated the fulfillment of the land promise to Abraham.

And Joseph said to his brethren, "I am dying; but God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land to the land of which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob." Then Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, "God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here." So Joseph died, being one hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt. (Genesis 50:24-26; NKJV)

Moses anticipated the fulfillment of the land promise to Abraham.

And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had placed the children of Israel under solemn oath, saying,"God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here with you." (Exodus 13:19; NKJV)

Joshua 24:32 communicates that the land promise was fulfilled.

"The bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel had brought up out of Egypt, they buried at Shechem, in the plot of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred pieces of silver, and which had become an inheritance of the children of Joseph." (Joshua 24:32; NKJV)

All of this came about because of GOD'S grace and their faith.

"By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones." (Hebrews 11:22; NKJV)

Jason Cicero

As For Me and My House

"And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:15; NKJV)

Joshua "wholly followed the LORD" from Egypt to the promised land (Numbers 32:12). After all they had seen with their own eyes from Egypt to the promised land, the Israelites continued to cling to their idols. Joshua challenges them to choose Jehovah once and for all.

The rest of the story is one of heartbreak for Jehovah. His people will continue to be plagued by idolatry until they return to the promised land from the Babylonian captivity. Joshua was correct when he said, "You cannot serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God" (Joshua 24:19; NKJV). No matter what others do, you and your family serve the LORD and the LORD only.

Jason Cicero