God's plan sweeps through time. See Israel thrive during the time they listened to God.
Isaiah 36:4-21
4 And the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: On what do you rest this trust of yours? 5 Do you think that mere words are strategy and power for war? In whom do you now trust, that you have rebelled against me? 6 Behold, you are trusting in Egypt, that broken reed of a staff, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him.
7 But if you say to me, “We trust in the Lord our God,” is it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, “You shall worship before this altar”? 8 Come now, make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them. 9 How then can you repulse a single captain among the least of my master's servants, when you trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? 10 Moreover, is it without the Lord that I have come up against this land to destroy it? The Lord said to me, Go up against this land and destroy it.’”
11 Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it. Do not speak to us in the language of Judah within the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 12 But the Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who are doomed with you to eat their own dung and drink their own urine?”
13 Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out in a loud voice in the language of Judah: “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! 14 Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you. 15 Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord by saying, “The Lord will surely deliver us. This city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” 16 Do not listen to Hezekiah. For thus says the king of Assyria: Make your peace with me[b] and come out to me. Then each one of you will eat of his own vine, and each one of his own fig tree, and each one of you will drink the water of his own cistern, 17 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 18 Beware lest Hezekiah mislead you by saying, “The Lord will deliver us.” Has any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? 20 Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their lands out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?’”
21 But they were silent and answered him not a word, for the king's command was, “Do not answer him.”
There is a famous quote in the Bible about the Father of Lies ~
Jude 1:9
But even Michael, one of the mightiest of the angels, did not dare accuse the devil of blasphemy, but simply said, "The Lord rebuke you!" (This took place when Michael was arguing with the devil about Moses' body.)
I got roped into a Ghost Tour of Charleston. Without much enthusiasm, I trailed our group and just as we started out, a group of local Churchmen were placing a well printed sign, "May We Pray With You?" The invitation was appealing!!! I was starting to have to put effort into keeping up and so I just gave them a broad smile and put my thumb up in the air. Christian Encouragement is a lovely thing and they waved and thumbed back. Okay!!! Prayed for.
So. It became night and got dark. We stood beside a Round Christian Church and the guide told us this was the most haunted site in Charleston. Because the round Christian Church was round, so the devil couldn't hide in the corners.
How much hooey tour I had been given, according to the internet - Quite a lot. People can take a round Church and make a square peg.
“We trust in the Lord our God,” is it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed
Hezekiah is amazing, saving the Temple from becoming a heap of gold offered to the Assyrians. Keeping precious what is Holy.
Solomon, our King noted for wisdom, heard right away from Father God and then began to go his own way, going to these high places - trying to get the LORD's attention as Solomon lived Solomon's own path.
The High Places - in Assyria, in Hebrew - bamof - are always places of worship. It has been surmised and so called because the places of worship were originally upon hilltops. Unfortunately,
without the Holy Spirit,
these high places lead to worship of sacred prostitution and of prosperity worship leading to child sacrifice and infant sacrifice. See the first chapter Paul wrote to the Romans.
Yet the LORD GOD, the ALMIGHTY had this to say about His own Temple.
Isaiah 66
Thus says the Lord:
“Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool;
what is the house that you would build for me,
and what is the place of my rest?
2 All these things my hand has made,
and so all these things came to be,
declares the Lord.
But this is the one to whom I will look:
he who is humble and contrite in spirit
and trembles at my word."
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork
And that same day, The LORD spoke again about His Temple.
Jesus had something to say about High Places - He traveled far and was tired. The Son of GOD went up to the mountainous region in the Southern Levant, called Samaria."Continuing that thought, Jesus was to give "the bottom line" to a Samaritan, a mere woman.
John 4:7-26
7 A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8 (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.[b] The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” 17 The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” 19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.
Jesus continued to celebrate High Places.
Matthew 17
After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
Should we? Oh... yes!
1 Corinthians 22:22-23
I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
Proclaim HIM with your mouth, Live HIM in your heart. Find Him by seeking Him diligently.
Matthew 17
6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” 8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.
Jeremiah 29:13
You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
Jesus, You go in all places where the soul is willing to find you. To You the dark, is not dark at all. Be with us, Father GOD, forever. In the name of Jesus Christ the LORD; Please let the Holy Spirit dwell within me, let me move and dwell and have my being with You. We are Your's, Father GOD. You bought us with a price. Help us to glorify God in our bodies. May the Words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be always acceptable to you my Rock and my Redeemer. Amen!
Don't forget our worship - learning and worshiping and praying together !!!
Mark 10:32
They were now on the way up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. The disciples were filled with awe
Acts 1
Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. 13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
The family of GOD, adopted, invited, loved, cherished, pull together and - worship HIM, together, giving HIM their love.
“The Lord will deliver us.”
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