2 Kings 23:16-17 And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchres that were there in the mount, and sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burned them upon the altar, and polluted it, according to the word of the LORD which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words. Then he said, What title is that that I see? And the men of the city told him, It is the sepulchre of the man of God, which came from Judah, and proclaimed these things that thou hast done against the altar of Bethel.
This is an interesting passage of Scripture that details how Josiah, a young and Godly king, went forth to cleanse the land, and in doing so, finds that he was fulfilling a prophecy given years before. Josiah went forth doing what was right — and in doing so, was walking out the works that God preordained for him — he was fulfilling the calling that God had set into motion years before!
Each of us is alive for such a time as this, living in this day and hour, and all around us prophecy is being fulfilled. Quite honestly, the prophecies of these last days seem to be being fulfilled faster than I anticipated — but nevertheless, we are witnessing the signs all around us, and they are not so comforting.
So what is our mandate, our calling, our destiny for these days? Will we walk as Josiah, steadfast after God? Because in our day as well, there is a prophecy spoken by Jesus himself concerning these last days in which we live: “because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” [Matthew 24:12] Josiah walked amidst incredible idolatry and sin in Israel, (just like we are now), but instead of catering or yielding to it, he used all the authority he had to tear it down. He was fearless in his hatred of sin because of his intense love for God. Jesus’ words imply a specific calling for us in these last days: Don’t allow your love to grow cold!
Sin abounds all around us, and maybe to some extent, IN us– but it’s already written that we can triumph over it if we will just keep our love for him HOT! On the cross he won an astounding victory which we can claim and walk in each and every day of our lives! If we walk in his victory, we too can fulfill the prophetic words of the greatest prophet, because he did not say “the love of ALL will grow cold”. So let us be those who fulfill this prophetic destiny the way King Josiah did. We CAN be the ones who keep that passion for God, even in these terrible times!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]There is an old Indian fable which tells of a mouse who was in constant distress because of its fear of cats. A magician took pity on it and turned it into a cat so it would have no more fear. Now, as a cat, it was in fear of dogs.
When Abraham is told by YHVH to offer up his son, Issac, the word “love” is spoken for the first time in the Bible. The Hebrew word for love is “ahavah”. This first mention of “ahavah”, which is the very nature of God [1 John 4:8] occurs in direct connection with sacrifice, the sacrifice of a most precious and beloved son. Abraham could not have known at that time that his obedient offering would foreshadow and typify the love of our Heavenly Father who offered up Yeshua, His only begotten Son 2000 years ago.
For those of you who don't know, Merv Griffin died on Sunday. Interestingly enough, today's devotion has to do with a show of his from way back when.
With rockets daily being hailed down from Gaza, this is yet another of Satan's many attempts to annihilate Israel and the Jewish people in any way he can. Satan is actively at work, trying to rob the world of its blessing.
The Lord (YHVH) commanded the grain offering on Shavuot, (known as Pentecost among Christians), to be made of the finest flour, baked with yeast, that is, leaven. Leaven, in the Bible, is almost universally, a symbol for “sin”, and in the OT is strictly forbidden on the altar of YHVH., yet here, in the Feast of Weeks it is commanded as part of the offering. Just six weeks prior to this festival, Israel had spent a week eating unleavened bread, a clear picture of the connection between the Passover Lamb and the removal of sin from our lives. Now the grain offering for Shavuot contains yeast; two loaves with it. Why? A common interpretation of this for NT believers is that the loaves represent Jews and Gentiles, the two types of redeemed people, who, of course, still contain sin in our lives.
We've just returned to Israel and the region seems to be nothing but a boiling cauldron ready to erupt. In just a few days, we will celebrate the Feast of Weeks, or Shavuot, in Hebrew. Most Christians recognize this holiday as the Feast of Pentecost -- the time when the Holy Spirit descended and empowered His saints to accomplish the mission of global witness to Yeshua (Jesus).
Three thousand years ago, when Solomon dedicated the Temple to God, the priests offered up thousands of sacrifices. After the sacrifices were offered up — then the glory of God fell! The glory of God was so thick and heavy that the priests could no longer minister! Do you see the connection? First the offerings — THEN the glory fell!