Genesis 26:1-2 Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar to Abimelech king of the Philistines. And the LORD appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you.
Genesis 26:12 And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The LORD blessed him, Gen 26:13 and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy.
Genesis 26:19 But when Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water,
As we’ve been speaking a word of revival across the United States, a primary purpose is to re-dig the wells for a great harvest in the midst of such darkness. While many would say “there is no revival coming”, we simply refer to Matthew 13:24-30 which describes a two-fold harvest. First, the WHEAT is ripening for harvest, while second, TARES are growing up along with it.
Even as we see evil and chaos and spiritual darkness rising up, God is also preparing the greatest harvest the world has ever seen as the end of this age draws near; and this is verified by simple mathematics. In the late 1800s the population of the world finally reached one billion people. By the 1930s, a second billion was added. As the multiplication became exponential in the 20th century, up to today, we are now nearly eight billion people in the world. And a remnant, or fraction of eight billion who will come to faith, will eclipse every remnant of every single generation before us! It’s simple math.
So our first meeting on this journey was in Florida, which was discovered on Palm Sunday, March 20, 1513, by Ponce DeLeon and so named by the explorer to commemorate the triumphal entry of the Lord. (Pasqua Florida, or “Flowering Easter”). So, it was a fitting place to begin re-digging the spiritual wells of the nation, which despite what revisionist historians suggest, was established to spread the gospel and to be a “city on a hill.”
The spiritual foundations of America, in their various locations throughout the colonies established by faithful pioneering Christians, over the years have been eroded, and their “wells” have been stopped up … and blocked. Part of our assignment for this season is simply to re-dig the wells.
In Issac’s time, a famine in the land became so severe that he considered going to Egypt. But the Lord intervened and said to him, “Stay here in the midst of the famine, and believe my Word,” … and when he did so, Isaac was blessed 100-fold in the midst of a famine.
According to God’s word, we’re expecting to see Him move powerfully as His glory rises up even in the darkness.
Isaiah 60:1-3 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
The glory of the Lord will shine, through our faith, our repentance, our obedience; and re-digging our own wells, each individually, allowing God to search us and know us, removing the obstacles in our lives that prevent the wellsprings of living water to flow, the harvest will be great!
Be blessed today, you’re alive for a purpose … to be part of the greatest harvest the world has ever known. In the midst of manifold troubles and problems, be part of the solution. Millions are now perplexed, afflicted, and terrified, and their only comfort, their most needed provision is to drink from the wells of salvation. Dig with us, in prayer and every spiritual work, for the sake of this massive generation. Our God will have a HARVEST!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]Over the past few weeks, we’ve begun a series of devotions based on the Exodus wanderings of the Children of Israel, and their tragic mistakes which we can learn from and avoid. One powerful influence common to their failures was fear.
For the past two weeks we have examined lessons from the OT account of Israel’s Exodus from Egypt in hope of avoiding the errors and attitudes of the children of Israel. This week we will draw connections between the Exodus and the prophecies in the book of Revelation.
For the past two weeks we’ve been building life lessons derived from the Exodus wanderings and from Paul’s exhortations to the church in Corinth. Notice carefully that Paul says, “these were written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the ages have come”…
…that is, written for us today! – admonitions from Paul to learn lessons from the history of the children of Israel.
Paul exhorts the church at Corinth about grumbling and complaining. He reminds the believers of the judgments that befell the 10 spies who brought a bad report of the land – and were struck down by a plague, and terrible fate of Korah and those aligned with him that came against Moses and Aaron and were swallowed up by the ground under them.
Here we have a stark word. Here we see the Lord testing Israel: “He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you.” [Deuteronomy 8:16]. Yet Paul says that they put Him to the test. A great irony occurs when God is testing us, and we despise His discipline, thereby testing Him.
The Apostle Paul continues his warning to the Corinthians against idolatry by referring to Israel’s celebration/worship of the golden calf. Aaron’s proclamation, “These are your gods (plural) O Israel” could be one of the earliest declarations mixing the worship of the true and living God, YHVH, with idols. This is called “syncretism”. Dictionary.com defines it: ” the attempted reconciliation or union of different or opposing principles, practices, or parties, as in philosophy or religion.”
The Apostle Paul’s admonition in 1 Corinthians 10:6 against desiring evil as they did, would seem to point to the obvious sins – lying, stealing, adultery, fornication, etc. – and following their deliverance from slavery, many of the children of Israel were certainly guilty of some of these. But this passage in Numbers describes a type of sin we don’t normally consider: it was simply their desire for the foods they ate in Egypt.