Micah 2:13 The breaker goes up before them: they will break out, pass through the gate, and go out by it. So their king shall pass before them, with the LORD at their head.
An ancient Hebrew commentator wrote of this verse, "In the words of our teachers of blessed memory and in the Midrash [ancient Hebrew commentaries of the O.T.], it is taught that the 'breaker' is Elijah and 'their King' is the branch of the son of David."
As I read this commentary, I was blown away by the interpretation of this scripture by ancient Hebrew scholars! The Jewish people were clearly expecting a prophet like Elijah who would call the people back to repentance, and, afterward, the branch, the son of David, who would bring peace and freedom to his people. The fulfillment of these expectations began 2000 years ago with John the Baptist, whose prophetic ministry prepared the entire nation through repentance for the coming Messiah, Yeshua (Jesus), whose death and resurrection brought peace with God and freedom from sin, which laid the spiritual foundation for His coming Kingdom.
While the physical reign of the Messiah/King on Earth is yet future, and will begin when He returns, for the past 2000 years the Kingdom of heaven has been breaking forth in the hearts of men, and every true believer is breaking out with it. This wonderful message, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand", hasn't changed since the Lord first proclaimed it in Galilee [Mark 1:14]!
The word "repent", is "metanoia" in Greek, which means to "change one's mind for the better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one's past sins."
The message of repentance remains central to the breaking forth of God's Kingdom! Through it Yeshua brought peace and freedom – and without it there can be no true faith or spiritual life; so let's stay focused, always remembering that this gospel of the Kingdom always begins with repentance from sin, continues in faith toward God, and results in freedom and peace. With so many who have still not heard it, let's proclaim it because there's so much work to be done!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]Junk mail -- those annoying letters that fill your mail box. Along with the junk comes the delightful bills, and renewal notices. Of course the junk, we can just throw away, the bills, unfortunately can't be ignored, but the renewal notices, those we're thankful to see. Without them, we'd likely forget that we need to renew our licenses, our credit cards, membership cards, whatever else.
A story is told of Napoleon Bonaparte. As he was busy conquering Europe in the 1800's during one of his military campaigns, Napoleon accidentally let the bridle of his horse slip while he was looking through some papers. The horse reared itself and the Emperor lost his balance. One corporal quickly leaped forward and caught the bridle just in the nick of time, bringing the horse under control and saving Napoleon from what might have been serious injury or even death. Napoleon saluted the corporal and said, "Thank you, Captain!" "Of what company, Sire?" asked the corporal. "Of my guards," replied Napoleon.
It ought to be obvious to all of us believers that we are in a spiritual war that is taking place all over the earth -- and that we are called to fight in this battle. In the world's armies, soldiers are not sent into battle before receiving many months of serious training. They need to get physically in shape first and then to learn how to handle different wartime situations and tactics of the enemy.
Yeshua (Jesus) asked this man "Do you want to be made well?" Of course he did! Wouldn't you? Why did Jesus ask a question like this when its answer was so clearly obvious? It seems the Lord wanted to hear him verbalize his need.
When Elijah went up to to heaven, Elisha took up his mantle and walked in the power of Elijah. The Hebrew word for mantle is "aderet". It's root word is "adir", which means excellent, gallant, glorious, mighty, noble and worthy! Elijah was a man with these qualities. The mantle that Elisha received from Elijah meant a calling which was powerful. Elisha had earned it. When the two first met, Elisha had slaughtered the oxen he was plowing with, and burned them on the wood of their yoke as an offering. Then he followed and served the prophet until the day Elijah was taken miraculously to Heaven.
One of the paradoxes of our walk is that God’s gifts often require work on our part. After He delivered the Israelites from the Egyptians, the Lord led them to the Promised land and told them He was going to "give" it to them. It wasn't long before they realized, however, that they were going to have to fight battles and overcome fortified cities in order to inhabit the land. God did promise that they would not have to fight the battles on their own, but even with this divine advantage the Israelites themselves would be required to destroy their enemies – they would still need to fight.
A good pastor friend of ours told us that his congregation was experiencing some hardships and division. How often does this happen among us? It breaks my heart -- and I believe the Lord weeps over this too.