Enduring With God

King James Daily Bible Study Devotional
Message Title: Enduring With God
Date: Monday April 23, 2012Today's Chapters: 2 Kings 18-19

Hello My Friend,

As Christians you are going to face a lot of temptation to go against or compromise your beliefs in order to keep the peace, but those who endure and remain true to God will not only see peace, they will see people saved as well. “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.” - James 5:7,8,11,15,20.

For the first time since King David passed we learn of Hezekiah, the one and only king after David that walked in all the ways of the Lord as David did. Hezekiah destroyed all the images that people were bowing down to and worshiping, he even destroyed the statute Moses made because they turned it into an idol and were worshiping it. “Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Abi, the daughter of Zachariah. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did. He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan. He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him. For he clave to the LORD, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses.” - 2 Kings 18:2-6.

Still today, there are many, many images and statues meant to remind us of God's power and miracles, but people are worshiping them and not God. These too need to be broken down and destroyed, I love the statute of Mary, but every time I see it I know it is used as an idol and how many people actually bow down to her as if she were a god. Mary was just like you and I, she was not without sin, she just found God's favor through her faithfulness and obedience to Him. “And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:” - Luke 1:30-32.

Hezekiah trusted in God with every thing, but was put to the test and failed when he was confronted by Sennacherib, the king of Assyria. There was an agreement that was made by his father, king Ahaz, to pay him silver and gold, in exchange for their freedom. Hezekiah refused to submit to this, but after Sennacherib threatened Hezekiah he gave in to his demands and gave all the treasures in the House of the Lord to Sennacherib to keep him from attacking Jerusalem. “And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, I have offended; return from me: that which thou puttest on me will I bear. And the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king's house. At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the LORD, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria.” - 2 Kings 18:14-16.

Hezekiah's mistake, no communication with God, he did not seek Him for advice on how to handle the situation. Unless we communicate with God and seek His advice on how to handle the situation we are in we leave ourselves to our own reasoning, which quite often is filled with fear and emotions that keep us from making the right decisions. Hezekiah let his fear of Sennacherib give into his demands, we need to be in constant communication with God to avoid situations like these. “Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.” - Proverbs 3:3-7. 

We soon learn that giving into demands to keep the peace brings more problems, once Hezekiah came to his senses he went into the House of the Lord and prayed. While he was in the temple praying the people of Assyria were conspiring against him to get the people of Judah to go against the king. “Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? have they delivered Samaria out of mine hand? Who are they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of mine hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of mine hand? But the people held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king's commandment was, saying, Answer him not.” - 2 Kings 18:33-36.
Rabshakeh did not realize that all those nations that were destroyed upon putting their faith in their false gods were destroyed because they were trusting in a dead god. There is only one God, one living God and only He can deliver a country out of the hands of the enemy. Our nations better wise up and seek counsel from the living God because if they keep serving false gods we are all going to be in the middle of a huge battle. Praise God for those who are saved and only have to mend some surface wounds. “So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,” - 2 Thessalonians 1:4-7. 

God did answer Hezekiah's prayer and spared Jerusalem at least during the rest of Hezekiah's reign. “And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said, O LORD God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard. Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it.By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD. For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.” - 2 Kings 19:15,20,32-34.
They can mock you, ignore, deny, or curse God, but none of that will ever change the fact that you are one of God's, you are His very own and because you are His own there is nothing He will not do for you. We might have to ensure some wrongful persecution at times, but everything will work out in the end. God will never leave nor forsake us. “As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” - Romans 8:36-39.
Today's Psalm: 138:8 - “The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.”

Today's Proverb: 14:12 - “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

Today's Prayer: (taken from Psalm 23) God, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Enjoy the rest of your day/night. God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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