...................................................................LET US LEARN TOGETHER WHAT IS GOOD. Job 34:4b(NIV)................................................................Some people see the Bible as a long and boring book filled with incidents and events from the lives of ancient people who probably never existed. The biblical stories are seen as fables. Notably, Romans 15:4 reveals: For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.(KJV) In this blog, many of the situations and conversations found in the divinely inspired Scriptures of the Holy Bible have been placed in categories that correspond to expressive sayings and phrases. Reference information, background information and links connecting the people and places are given to help you find a place to begin reading the Bible for yourself.

Sunday, July 12, 2020

For One or More Reasons

A message the Lord God
revealed to Jeremiah the prophet:

Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour's service without wages, and giveth him not for his work; That saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is cieled with cedar, and painted with vermilion. Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him?
He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the LORD. But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it. Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his glory! He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem
.-Jeremiah 22:13-19***Jehoiakim (Eliakim) was born to King Josiah and Zebudah. Josiah was the 15th king to rule Judah, the southern nation in the Promised Land, and 1,400 years before Jehoiakim reigned, Jehoiakim's ancestors Abraham (Abram the Hebrew) and Sarah (Sarai) began living in Canaan. The Lord God promised to give Canaan to Abraham's descendants and to Abraham. Before the Lord God destroyed Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim, and the surrounding region, the Lord God knew that Abraham was a man who would command his children and household after him to keep the way of the Lord God, to do righteousness and judgment. Isaac was born to 100-year-old Abraham and 90-year-old Sarah. When Isaac was 40 years old, he was married to Rebekah, Abraham and Sarah's grandniece. Fraternal twin sons Esau (Edom) and Jacob (Israel) were born to 60-year-old Isaac and Rebekah. In Padan Aram, Haran, Jacob was married to Leah and Rachel, the daughters of Rebekah's brother Laban the Syrian (Aramean). Levi  was the 3rd son born to Jacob and Leah. Over 800 years after Judah was born to Jacob and Leah,
 David was born into the tribe of Judah. Over a decade after David was born, Samuel, the priest, prophet and judge from the tribe of Levi anointed David to reign as king, according to the command of the Lord God. When David was 30 years old, he began to reign only over the tribe of Judah. When David was 37 1/2 years old, he became the 2nd king to rule over all of the Israelites. The divinely inspired Scriptures of the Holy Bible reveal that David did righteousness and judgment for the Israelites. Before 70-year-old David died, Solomon, the 2nd child born to David and Bathsheba, became the 3rd king to rule over all of the Israelites. In the beginning portion of Solomon's 40-year reign, the Lord God told Solomon to make a request. Solomon told the Lord God to give him wisdom and knowledge and an understanding heart to judge the Israelites, enabling him to discern between good and evil. During a royal visit, the queen of Sheba proclaimed that the Lord God appointed Solomon king to do judgment and righteousness. Eventually, Solomon was married to 700 idol worshiping princesses from foreign empires and Solomon became an idolater. Rehoboam, the son born to Solomon and Naamah, was the 4th king to rule over all of the Israelites. After Rehoboam gave a specific answer, the Israelites split into 2 kingdoms, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of Solomon. Judah was the nation in the south, Jerusalem was the royal city, and Rehoboam was the 1st king to reign. Israel was the northern nation, Samaria  was the final royal city, and Jeroboam, the son born to Nebat and Zeruah, was the 1st king to reign. King Pekah was the 18th king to rule over all of the Israelites in the northern nation of Israel. During Pekah's 20-year reign, the Assyrians invaded the kingdom and King Tiglath-pileser, ruler of Assyria, began taking Israelites captive. During the 9th year of the reign of King Hoshea, the 19th king to rule the northern nation, the Assyrians conquered Samaria, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of the Israelites. Josiah was Rehoboam and Naamah's  great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson. Notably, Josiah was known for turning to the Lord God with all of his heart, soul and might. During Jehoiakim's 11-year reign, King Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of Babylon (Chaldea), invaded Judah and Jerusalem and began looting the temple of the Lord, and chained Jehoiakim to take him to Babylon. However, Jehoiakim was able to remain in Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet received revelations about Jehoiakim's death. Jehoiachin (Jeconiah/Coniah), the son born to Jehoiakim and Nehushta, was the 18th king to rule Judah. During Jehoiachin's 3-month reign, the Babylonians took more prominent Israelites, including Jehoiachin, his wives and mother, to Babylon. Zedekiah, the son born to Josiah and Hamutal, was the 19th king to rule Judah. During the 11th year of Zedekiah's reign, the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of the Israelites. A group of Israelite survivors took Jeremiah with them to Egypt. Over 500 years after Israelites began returning to Judah and Jerusalem, John the Baptist and Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, were born. John the Baptist was born into the tribe of Levi to Zechariah (Zacharias) the priest and his wife Elizabeth (Elisabeth). Jesus the Christ was conceived of the Holy Spirit in the womb of Elizabeth's relative Mary, a virgin, and Jesus was born into the tribe of Judah, the tribe of Judah's kings, to Mary and her husband Joseph when Mary was a virgin. Approximately 30 years after John the Baptist and Jesus the Christ were born, Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. Jesus having prayed, the heavens tearing open, the Holy Spirit descended as a dove and lit upon Jesus. The Lord God in heaven audibly acknowledged his Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert wilderness. Jesus fasted 40 days and nights and was tempted. Afterwards, Jesus was tended to by angels, and Jesus went to the area near John the Baptist, and John the Baptist proclaimed Jesus to be the Lamb of God taking away the sin of the world, and testified that Jesus is the Son of God. In Galilee, Jesus told specific Israelite men to follow him, and Jesus began to preach, teach and perform miracles among the Israelites, the treasured and chosen people of the Lord God. Jesus taught about a wise man who built his house upon a rock, and Jesus spoke of a rich man and his building project and the cost of following Jesus.-Genesis 11:26-50:26, Exodus, Numbers 20:1-29, 27:12-23, Deuteronomy 31:1-30, 32:44-52, 34:1-12, Joshua 1:1-4:24, 23:1-24:33, Judges 1:1-2:23, 1 Samuel 1:1-3:21, 8:1-31:13, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles 1:1-34, 2:1-17, 3:1-24, 10:1-29:30, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John Acts 1:1-26 

Reference Scriptures:
Therefore thus saith the LORD of Jehoiakim king of Judah; He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David: and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost.  And I will punish him and his seed and his servants for their iniquity; and I will bring upon them, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and upon the men of Judah, all the evil that I have pronounced against them; but they hearkened not.-Jeremiah 36:30-31

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