From the Bible: people, places, lessons, and stories described and put in categories.
Thursday, November 02, 2023
No One at All and None at All
Wednesday, November 01, 2023
Anyone, Anyone
O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips. Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hand, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.-Hosea 14:1-3
I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him. I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon. They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.-Hosea 14:4-5
Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found.-Hosea 14:8
Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD lord are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.-Hosea 14:9/the complete chapter
Thursday, October 26, 2023
Yet and Still
Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah: cry aloud at Bethaven, after thee, O Benjamin. Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be. The princes of Judah were like them that remove the bound: therefore I will pour out my wrath upon them like water. Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment, because he willingly walked after the commandment. Therefore will I be unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness. When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound. For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him. I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.-Hosea 5:8-15***Gibeah was the name of at least 2 cities in the Promised Land, and Ramah was the name of several cities in the Promised Land. Ramah of Benjamin, and Beth-haven, and Gibeah of Saul (Gibeah of Benjamin) were in the portion of the Promised Land allotted to the tribe of Benjamin. Ramah of Mount Ephraim was also known as Ramathaim-zophim. Most of Mount Ephraim was in the portion of the Promised Land allotted to the tribe of Ephraim. A city in the portion of the Promised Land allotted to the tribe of Judah was named Gibeah. The Israelites in the tribe of Judah descended from Abraham (Abram the Hebrew) and Sarah (Sarai), Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob (Israel) and Leah, and Jacob and Leah's 4th born son Judah. The divinely inspired Scriptures of the Holy Bible reveal that Jacob was married to Leah and her younger sister Rachel in Padan Aram, Haran. Judah, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, and daughter Dinah were born to Jacob and Leah. Dan and Naphtali were born to Jacob and Bilhah, Rachel's maidservant. Gad and Asher were born to Jacob and Zilpah, Leah's maidservant. Joseph was the 1st son born to Jacob and Rachel, and Rachel and Joseph were Jacob's favorites. During Jacob's 20th year in Haran, he began journeying home to Canaan with his family, servants, animals, and possessions. Near Bethlehem, Benjamin was born to Jacob and Rachel, and Rachel died. Joseph was 17 years old when his brothers sold him to merchants traveling to Egypt and led Jacob to believe that Joseph was killed by a wild beast, and Joseph was 30 years old when Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, proclaimed him second-in-command. Jacob was 130 years old when he moved with his family from Canaan to Egypt. In Egypt, Jacob proclaimed Manasseh and Ephraim, the sons born to Joseph and his wife Asenath, to be his own sons, and the tribe of Joseph became the tribe of Manasseh and the tribe of Ephraim. Sometime after 147-year-old Jacob died in Egypt, and Jacob's family buried his body in Canaan, and 110-year-old Joseph and his siblings were dead, their descendants the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt. Aaron and his younger brother Moses were from the tribe of Levi. Forty years after Moses and Aaron led the Israelites away from Egypt, across the divinely parted Red Sea, into the desert wilderness of Shur, and the desert wilderness of Sin, and the desert wilderness of Sinai, on a journey towards Canaan, the Promised Land, 123-year-old Aaron the high priest died upon Mount Hor, and Moses went upon Mount Nebo, according to the commands of the Lord God. The Lord God showed Moses the Promised Land, and 120-year-old Moses the prophet died, and was divinely buried. Joshua, Moses' aide and successor from the tribe of Ephraim, led the Israelites across the divinely parted Jordan River and onto the land that the Lord God promised to give to Abraham, and Isaac, and to Jacob, and their descendants. Over 300 years after 110-year-old Joshua died, and was buried in his tribe's portion of the Promised Land, Saul, from the tribe of Benjamin, became the 1st king to reign. David, from the tribe of Judah, was the 2nd king to rule over all of the Israelites. Solomon, a son born to David and Bathsheba, was the 3rd king. During the 4th year of his 40-year reign, Solomon began building the temple of the Lord, and in the 11th year, workers finished building the temple in Jerusalem. 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 and consisted of the tribe of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin. Jerusalem was the royal city and Rehoboam was the 1st king to reign. Israel was the northern nation and consisted of the other Israelite tribes. Samaria was the final royal city and Jeroboam, the son born to Nebat and Zeruah, was the 1st king to reign. The tribe of Ephraim was a large and prominent tribe full of warriors in the northern nation, and the northern nation of Israel was sometimes identified as Ephraim. King Jehoash (Joash) was the 12th king to rule over all of the Israelites in the northern nation of Israel, and Joash's son Jeroboam was the 13th king. Hosea the prophet proclaimed the words of the Lord God to the Israelites during Jeroboam's 41-year 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. Less than 125 years after Samaria was conquered, Rehoboam's great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson Jehoiakim (Eliakim) became the 17th king to rule Judah. During Jehoiakim's 11-year reign, the Babylonians (Chaldeans) invaded Judah and Jerusalem and King Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of Babylon, began looting the temple. 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. During the 11th year of the reign of Jehoiakim's brother Zedekiah (Mattaniah), the 19th king to rule Judah, the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of the Israelites. Over 500 years after Israelites began returning to Judah and Jerusalem, Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, was born. Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary, a virgin, and Jesus was born in Bethlehem into the tribe of Judah, the tribe of Judah's kings, to Mary and her husband Joseph when Mary was a virgin.-Genesis, Exodus, Numbers 13:1-14:45, 20:1-29, 26:1-27:23, Deuteronomy 31:1-34:12, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra 1:1-11, Hosea, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts 1:1-26
Reference ScripturesMonday, September 25, 2023
For Mine Own Sake, and for My Servant David's Sake
In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying, I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying, Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD. And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.-2 Kings 20:1-6
And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered. And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD the third day? And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou have of the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that he hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees? And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees. And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the LORD: and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz.-2 Kings 20:7-11***Isaiah the prophet and King Hezekiah were Israelites descended from Abraham (Abram the Hebrew) and Sarah (Sarai), Isaac and Rebekah, and Isaac and Rebekah's youngest fraternal twin son Jacob (Israel). Amram and Jochebed were Israelites from the tribe of Levi, descended from Jacob and his 1st wife Leah and their 3rd born son Levi. Miriam and her younger brothers Aaron and Moses were born in Egypt to Amram and Jochebed. Moses was 80 years old and Aaron was 83 when they led the Israelites away from Egypt, across the divinely parted Red Sea, into the desert wilderness of Shur, and the desert wilderness of Sin, and the desert wilderness of Sinai, according to the commands of the Lord God. During the 40-year journey to Canaan, the Promised Land, Miriam the prophetess died and was buried in Kadesh, in the desert wilderness of Zin. Upon Mount Hor, 123-year-old Aaron the high priest died. When Moses went upon Mount Nebo, the Lord God showed Moses the Promised Land, and 120-year-old Moses the prophet died, and was divinely buried. Joshua was Moses' aide and successor from the tribe of Ephraim, descended from Jacob and his 2nd wife Rachel, their firstborn son Joseph and his wife Asenath, and Joseph and Asenath's 2nd born son Ephraim, whom Jacob proclaimed to be his own son. The Lord God spoke to Joshua, and Joshua sent 2 spies to Canaan, and Rahab hid the spies, and the spies returned, and Joshua led the Israelites across the divinely parted Jordan River and onto the land that the Lord God promised to give to Abraham, and Isaac, and to Jacob, and their descendants. After 110-year-old Joshua died, and was buried in his tribe's portion of the Promised Land, the Israelites were led by elders, judges and their own minds. Samuel the priest, prophet and judge was born into the tribe of Levi to Elkanah and Hannah. When Samuel was elderly, and his sons Joel (Vashni) and Abiah (Abijah) were not obeying the commands of the Lord God, and King Nahash and his Ammonite army were preparing to attack, the Israelite elders demanded that Samuel appoint a king to lead them, and Samuel anointed Saul, from the tribe of Jacob and Rachel's 2nd and last son Benjamin, to reign, according to the command of the Lord God. Saul was at Gibeah of God (the hill of God) when the Spirit of God came upon him. At least twice, Saul did not obey the commands of the Lord God. Samuel told Saul that the Lord God rejected Saul from being king and had torn the kingdom from Saul. David was from the tribe of Jacob and Leah's 4th born son Judah, and lived in Bethlehem, and was a man after God's own heart. While Saul reigned, the Lord God sent Samuel to anoint David to reign as king, and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David and the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul. After Saul heard about David's skills, strength, appearance, and favor with the Lord God, he commanded that David's father Jesse send David to him, and David began serving as a musician and an armor-bearer for Saul. Amid the Valley of Elah, David killed and beheaded Goliath the gigantic Philistine. David and Jonathan, Saul's son, made a covenant. The Israelite women sang of David higher than they sang of Saul, and Saul was angry. Saul wanted to kill David, and became afraid of David, and sent David on missions to get killed, and commanded others, including Jonathan, to kill David. Saul's daughter Michal was married to David and helped David escape from their home. While on the run, David became the husband of Abigail and Ahinoam. Meanwhile, Michal became the wife of Palti (Phalti/Paltiel/Phatiel). After the Philistines killed Jonathan and his brothers Malchishua and Abinadad (Ishui?) and Saul's self-inflicted death on the same battlefield, men from the tribe of Judah anointed 30-year-old David, and David began to rule over all of the Israelites. While the army was away battling the Ammonites, David began an intimate relationship with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, a Hittite. After Nathan the prophet revealed the words of the Lord God to David, the Lord God struck the child, and the child became ill. David pleaded with the Lord God, and fasted and laid upon the ground. The child died, according to the will of the Lord God. Before 70-year-old David died, Solomon, another son born to David and Bathsheba, became the 3rd king to rule over all of the Israelites. During the 4th year of his 40-year reign, Solomon began building the temple of the Lord, and in the 11th year, workers finished building the temple in Jerusalem. Rehoboam, the son born to Solomon and Naamah, was the 4th king to rule over all of the Israelites. After Solomon 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. 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. Judah was the nation in the south, Jerusalem was the royal city and Rehoboam was the 1st king to reign. Rehoboam's great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson Uzziah (Azariah) was the 9th king to rule Judah. Jotham, the son born to Uzziah and Jerushah (Jerusha), was the 10th king. Jotham's son Ahaz was the 11th king, and Hezekiah, the son born to Ahaz and Abi (Abijah), was the 12th king. When Uzziah reigned, Isaiah began receiving revelations from the Lord God. The divinely inspired Scriptures of the Holy Bible reveal that among Judah's kings, Hezekiah's faith in the Lord God was unparalleled. Hezekiah was deathly ill when the Lord God gave Isaiah some messages to reveal to Hezekiah. Over 600 years after Manasseh, the son born to Hezekiah and Hephzibah, became the 13th king to rule Judah, Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, was born. Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary, a virgin, and Jesus was born in Bethlehem into the tribe of Judah, the tribe of Judah's kings, to Mary and her husband Joseph when Mary was a virgin.-Genesis, Exodus, Numbers 13:1-14:45, 20:1-29, 26:1-27:23, Deuteronomy 31:1-34:12, Joshua 1:1-4:24, 23:1-24:33, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra 1:1-11, Isaiah, Jeremiah 39:1-18, 52:1-34, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts 1:1-26
Reference Scriptures
Monday, March 07, 2022
For One or More Reasons
The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother: And they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity. And the names of them were Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister: and they were mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus were their names; Samaria is Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah.-Ezekiel 23:1-4
And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbours, Which were clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses. Thus she committed her whoredoms with them, with all them that were the chosen men of Assyria, and with all on whom she doted: with all their idols she defiled herself. Neither left she her whoredoms brought from Egypt: for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity, and poured their whoredom upon her. Wherefore I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted. These discovered her nakedness: they took her sons and her daughters, and slew her with the sword: and she became famous among women; for they had executed judgment upon her.-Ezekiel 23:5-10