Get ready to start a journey…a journey through the pages of the Bible and the pages of your life.
He said it was going to happen…700 years before it did! The Old Testament prophet Isaiah described the coming of the Messiah using four names to explain his character. The first name Isaiah revealed is Wonderful Counselor.
Are you in a battle today? Call upon Yahweh Tsebaoth.
Strong fortified walls from fifteen to twenty-five feet thick and twenty feet high surrounded ancient cities. Built into these walls were towers at each corner and at other places in the wall where an enemy might attack. Each tower had its own entrance, a staircase to the top, and a stash of weapons. Towers were the place to run to when the enemy was attacking. These towers were called migdal-oz in Hebrew. The same word is also translated as “stronghold.”
Do you ever wonder why the person who cuts corners gets the promotion? Why one with no scruples lands the deal? Why do the promiscuous ones get the engagement ring? Why do the wicked ones prosper? The psalmist wondered the same thing.
Joey Odom and Health Wilson allowed digital devices to disrupt family time and interaction with their children. They decided to make radical changes before it was too late. They are now on mission to help other families cut down on screen time and enjoy meaningful family interaction.
Ancient armies had two types of shields. A large shield was carried in one hand for full body protection. An army could huddle together and raise these shields over their heads as a defensive barrier when fiery arrows were falling from the sky. The shield carried in the other hand was smaller and used for hand-to-hand combat or personal safety when rocks were hurled from the top of city walls. For the believer, God is our shield.
Fortresses were not built in the middle of the plains. Rather, they were built in high places, on top of or into the side of a mountain. So, with that background, check out today’s passage.
Sooner or later, everyone needs a safe place, a protected place—cover from a blasting storm. When the sleet of illness pelts your life, when the downpour of grief drenches your heart, when the winds of anxiety threaten to knock you down, you need a secret place, a hiding place to escape from those things threatening to knock the props from your life. You need the shelter of the Most High!
The Israelites believed that Yahweh was their king-–in Hebrew, Melek. He was the ultimate authority over Israel and every nation on earth. He reigned in power and majesty. They believed the temple in Jerusalem was the earthly symbol of God’s heavenly throne. God was their Melek; they were his servants.
David spent much of his youth in the fields taking care of sheep. He led them through mountain valleys to find luscious green pastures. He made sure they had plenty of water. He protected them from wild animals. When a sheep strayed, he found it and brought it back to the safety of the flock. David knew what it meant to be a shepherd. Later in his life, when he became king of Israel, he reflected on the living God and wrote this psalm.
The king of Assyria was furious. Hezekiah, Judah’s king, had rebelled against him. The Assyrian king sent a messenger with a to-the-point memo, “Say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: On what do you rest this trust of yours? Do you think that mere words are strategy and power for war? In whom do you now trust, that you have rebelled against me’” (2 Kings 18:19-20)?
King Hezekiah received troubling news. He learned that the king of Assyria was on his way to capture Hezekiah’s kingdom. When Hezekiah heard the report, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went to the temple to pray. God heard Hezekiah’s prayer and delivered Judah from the powerful Assyrian army. Today’s passage is Hezekiah’s response.