5 And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.
Jonah 3:10
When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.
The Scripture Reading from the Liturgy is pleasing today!
We had been doing Posts on National Prayer being answered. And King Hezekiah of Judea, having God plan his life, before Hezekiah's birth and reign, to have help when the Assyrians, who formed from Nineveh, to have their alliance, allegiance and sympathy. And Hezekiah's father, King Ahaz, had been trying to teach his son Hezekiah, to tear up the Temple and give the gold to the Assyrian Empire, to allow Hezekiah to live, to be a puppet king, to have peace - to wait to break free another day. Fight again another day from faux peace.
God planned both a way, a narrow path to real freedom.
And a huge highway of capitulation, Hezekiah's father prepared Hezekiah for. Hezekiah decided, seeing the Nation of Israel wiped out, he would take the narrow path to real freedom. And exactly as the people of Nineveh could suddenly grasp the narrow path of salvation - the offhand, unlikely idea, the people would understand.
The people of Nineveh could have said, build a gold calf and pray to it for comfort and protection. They did not.
The people of Hezekiah could have said, this is hopeless, build a gold calf and worship it. Have a party, get wasted and act badly.
And just as the people of Hezekiah turned themselves inside out to build fortification, Hezekiah and the Nation of Judea, underground passages, underground aqueducts for water during siege. And overwhelmingly give tithes to the Temple of the Lord in glad adoration for their physical, mental and spiritual salvation.
Then the people of Nineveh understood the magnitude and majesty of the Lord. Their inner being had been called to Salvation, just as The Acts of the Disciples suddenly filled the entire Temple in Jerusalem, when the Nation could have been home, hiding as the Disciples did after Good Friday. An Act of God, The Almighty. Light of mankind. Light of Nations. And the people of Nineveh, turned, and believed the Lord God Almighty.
Jonah 3:10
When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.
And God Himself, relented. He spoke into the Book of Life and with His mercy and compassion, He helped His people. He helped Hezekiah as He helped Nineveh.
Isaiah 38:1-20
In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you shall die, you shall not recover.” 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 and said, “Please, O Lord, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
4 Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: 5 “Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and will defend this city.
7 “This shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that he has promised: 8 Behold, I will make the shadow cast by the declining sun on the dial of Ahaz turn back ten steps.” So the sun turned back on the dial the ten steps by which it had declined.
The Lord was kind, we hear directly from Hezekiah, today,
what Hezekiah lived and thought:
9 A writing of Hezekiah
king of Judah, after he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness:
10 I said, In the middle of my days
I must depart;
I am consigned to the gates of Sheol
for the rest of my years.
11 I said, I shall not see the Lord,
the Lord in the land of the living;
I shall look on man no more
among the inhabitants of the world.
12 My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me
like a shepherd's tent;
like a weaver I have rolled up my life;
he cuts me off from the loom;
from day to night you bring me to an end;
13 I calmed myself until morning;
like a lion he breaks all my bones;
from day to night you bring me to an end.
14 Like a swallow or a crane I chirp;
I moan like a dove.
My eyes are weary with looking upward.
O Lord, I am oppressed; be my pledge of safety!
15 What shall I say?
For he has spoken to me,
and he himself has done it.
I walk slowly all my years
because of the bitterness of my soul.
16 O Lord, by these things men live,
and in all these is the life of my spirit.
Oh restore me to health and make me live!
17 Behold, it was for my welfare
that I had great bitterness;
but in love you have delivered my life
from the pit of destruction,
for you have cast all my sins
behind Your back.
18 For Sheol does not thank you;
death does not praise you;
those who go down to the pit do not hope
for your faithfulness.
19 The living, the living, he thanks you,
as I do this day;
the father makes known to the children
Your faithfulness.
20 The Lord will save me,
and
we will play my music on stringed instruments
all the days of our lives,
at the House of the Lord.
Hebrews 1:3
The Son is the radiance of God's glory
and the exact representation of His Being,
sustaining
all
things by His Powerful Word.
The Scriptures repeat and repeat to tell His Story. Hezekiah had a huge city to protect. So did Nineveh. Both Hezekiah and Nineveh were going to have to pray and act differently than the wide highway laid down for them. Both would have to find the narrow path of faith. And had a different journey than they planned.
Nineveh and Hezekiah and their people understood God's Powerful Word and did not turn away.
And in their faithfulness, God modified His Plans and found His Love and Mercy would carry them through.
So unlikely, and yet, God's Wonders Never Cease. He is still working and His Son, Only Son, Jesus Christ is Lord and working with Him.
Psalm 19
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.
2 Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
4 Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
5 which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
7 The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple;
8 the precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever;
the rules of the Lord are true,
and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
and drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
We can point to Hezekiah's people's underground aqueducts and artifacts found from their prosperity in Egypt and surrounding nations.
And then we can trace the works of Cyrus
Cyrus the Great was the founder of the Achaemenian Empire in the 2nd Exile to Babylon, his human compassion to those powerless back to the kindness of Nebuchadnezzar II and the Babylonian Chaldean Assyrian Empire.
Nebuchadnezzar II was trying to be a benevolent ruler to his interest in the God of the Jews. Raided Judah 3 times trying to get the new nation to be obedient and instead ran into the uncle of the late king giving up his King Nephew to be enslaved. We can read this in the perfect cuneiform of Babylon in the British Museum. Nebuchadnezzar II did the unheard of, housing of the Rabbi, freedom to worship for the slaves, calling them exiles instead of slaves and trying to incorporate them into his worldwide collective of the Best of the Best.
Nebuchadnezzar had a Chaldean wife, whom he greatly loved and left papyrus of his love for her. His father was the beginning of the Babylonian Empire, his father had begun in the Assyrian Empire. The Assyrian Empire had sprung from the city state of Nineveh.
We see the works of Hezekiah's faith, we can reach out and touch today. We have the Bible. The Cuneiform. And of Jonah? We have the love the people of Nineveh have for God worshiped in Jerusalem. The Light of The Holy Spirit of God the Almighty. And we can see the Light shine from the brief working of Jonah opening the heart of the people to God. The Light shines in the darkness, the Gospel of John declares, and the darkness has not overcome it!
Matthew 9:36
When He saw the crowds, He had compassion for them,
because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Hebrews 7
24 But because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood.
25Therefore He is able to save
completely
those who draw near to God through Him,
since He always lives to intercede for them.
As we start to pray, I'd like to tell you about what I will be grateful for and filled with Thanksgiving for the Love God has. As Edward was literally bleeding out, nude, in the ER surrounded by 3 nurses, I was afraid, but for the other 3 days, I felt Edward would be healed and not suffer.
Then 3,4 days after leaving the Hospital, Edward had Covid. Edward called me checking out at the grocery store, I was masked, and his fever suddenly shot up to 103'. I was concerned, but still felt the Lord telling me he would be ok. And before I could get home, Edward had a 99' fever and felt better. Then on day 4, Edward was back up to 101' and refusing all the food I brought, which the Doctor's office had recommended. Not eating. I was now quite concerned and it had been a terrible day.
Our Neighbors began the block wide texting because several had seen a pair of Coyotes. And I told them about all of Edward's sudden and fairly traumatic health concerns. And they texted they would pray for him. Within the next hour, Edward's 101' fever had become normal. Edward began to eat after his fever was normal. Prayers were definitely answered and the next morning, I asked if anyone had prayer requests, definitely the waters were stirred.
I am so grateful for your prayers and our neighbors. Edward has been tired for a day, but is doing very well.
Thank You, Father. Thank You, Jesus. Thank You, Holy Spirit. And I have not had Covid, we pray!!!
Abba, Father,
Father, please dwell in me.
Please, Father, dwell in those I love.
Help us to seek You first.
And in Jesus Christ, we will finish well.
Help us to see more Heaven on earth
be more Heaven on earth
and find more Heaven on earth
by being faithfully living daily to You.
Father, we hope for Your grace and favor in Your sight,
Bless us when we carry and proclaim
the Light of Jesus in all mankind,
we are pleasing to You.
We believe You are the Living God.
We believe, no good thing do You withhold from those who walk uprightly.
We believe daily in the Glory of Your Word
and Will.
We will long for Your counsel and Your Will,
to have those we love - praise Your Glory!
We believe, Your Word of Truth,
We are sealed with the Promises of the Holy Spirit.
With Your Help, we will believe, daily keeping Your Light in us.
With Your Help, we will rejoice in the Light of Life.
Psalm 19
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.
2 Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
4 Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them He has set a tent for the sun
Luke 1
Because of the tender mercy of our God,
whereby the sunrise shall visit us
from on high
to give light
to those who sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet
into the way of peace
With Your Help,
we will look to the Windows of Heaven in our life
and see a blessing overflow
believing all things work together
for those who Love You.
With Your Help for ourselves and the ones we love,
our prayer concerns.
We will act justly
and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with You, our God.
You are our guarantee.
For ourselves and the ones we Love.
In the Highest Name of Jesus, we are covered.
Amen to Your Glory!
Our God is working. His Son,
Jesus is working.
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