DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR WEDNESDAY AUGUST 19:
WORD OF WISDOM
Just wondering? Can you still get "regular sick" or is EVERYTHING Corona?
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DAILY DEVOTION
Stick Together
Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is
faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto
love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together,
as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more,
as ye see the day approaching.
Hebrews 10:23-25
If you have ever seen a video of lions hunting their prey in the wild, you
have seen that while they may chase a herd of animals, they focus their
attention on stragglers and strays-those who have gotten separated from the
herd. These are the ones who are taken in the hunt. Any individual animal in
the group is no match for a lion, but it finds that there is safety in
numbers.
God never intended for His children to be isolated and alone. When Jesus
sent the disciples out to begin preaching on their own, He sent them in
pairs. When Elijah was depressed and discouraged, God gave him Elisha to
join him in the ministry. When God commanded the early church to send out
missionaries, they sent Paul and Barnabas together. There is enormous safety
and encouragement in knowing that we are not alone.
We live in a culture that glorifies individualism. One of the most popular
songs of the last century is called "I Did it My Way." Satan is delighted
when he can convince us to strike out on our own, leaving behind our
spiritual family in the church. He knows that an isolated Christian is an
easy target. There is truly safety in numbers. The giant redwood trees of
California soar hundreds of feet into the air, but their roots are strong.
The strength of a redwood's roots is found in other redwoods. Instead of
going deep underground, they spread sideways and entwine with the roots of
other redwood trees so that they hold each other up. That is God's pattern
for us.
Be regular in your attendance in church and in fellowship with God's
people-it guards you from all kinds of trouble.
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DAILY BIBLE READING
2 Kings 24-25 & 2 Chronicles 36
2 Kings 24-25 New King James Version (NKJV)
Judah Overrun by Enemies
24 In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became
his vassal for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him. 2 And
the Lord sent against him raiding [a]bands of Chaldeans, bands of Syrians,
bands of Moabites, and bands of the people of Ammon; He sent them against
Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord which He had spoken
by His servants the prophets. 3 Surely at the commandment of the Lord this
came upon Judah, to remove them from His sight because of the sins of
Manasseh, according to all that he had done, 4 and also because of the
innocent blood that he had shed; for he had filled Jerusalem with innocent
blood, which the Lord would not pardon.
5 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not
written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 6 So Jehoiakim
rested with his fathers. Then Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.
7 And the king of Egypt did not come out of his land anymore, for the king
of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the Brook
of Egypt to the River Euphrates.
The Reign and Captivity of Jehoiachin
8 Jehoiachin[b] was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned
in Jerusalem three months. His mother's name was Nehushta the daughter of
Elnathan of Jerusalem. 9 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, according
to all that his father had done.
10 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up
against Jerusalem, and the city [c]was besieged. 11 And Nebuchadnezzar king
of Babylon came against the city, as his servants were besieging it. 12 Then
Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his princes, and his
officers went out to the king of Babylon; and the king of Babylon, in the
eighth year of his reign, took him prisoner.
The Captivity of Jerusalem
13 And he carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the Lord
and the treasures of the king's house, and he cut in pieces all the articles
of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lord, as
the Lord had said. 14 Also he carried into captivity all Jerusalem: all the
captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the
craftsmen and smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land.
15 And he carried Jehoiachin captive to Babylon. The king's mother, the
king's wives, his officers, and the mighty of the land he carried into
captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. 16 All the valiant men, seven thousand,
and craftsmen and smiths, one thousand, all who were strong and fit for war,
these the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.
Zedekiah Reigns in Judah
17 Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin's[d] uncle, king in
his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
18 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned
eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of
Jeremiah of Libnah. 19 He also did evil in the sight of the Lord, according
to all that Jehoiakim had done. 20 For because of the anger of the Lord this
happened in Jerusalem and Judah, that He finally cast them out from His
presence. Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
The Fall and Captivity of Judah
25 Now it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month,
on the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all
his army came against Jerusalem and encamped against it; and they built a
siege wall against it all around. 2 So the city was besieged until the
eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 3 By the ninth day of the fourth month the
famine had become so severe in the city that there was no food for the
people of the land.
4 Then the city wall was broken through, and all the men of war fled at
night by way of the gate between two walls, which was by the king's garden,
even though the Chaldeans were still encamped all around against the city.
And the king[e] went by way of the [f]plain. 5 But the army of the Chaldeans
pursued the king, and they overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his
army was scattered from him. 6 So they took the king and brought him up to
the king of Babylon at Riblah, and they pronounced judgment on him. 7 Then
they killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, put[g] out the eyes of
Zedekiah, bound him with bronze fetters, and took him to Babylon.
8 And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month (which was the
nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), Nebuzaradan the
captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 9
He burned the house of the Lord and the king's house; all the houses of
Jerusalem, that is, all the houses of the great, he burned with fire. 10 And
all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke
down the walls of Jerusalem all around.
11 Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive the rest
of the people who remained in the city and the defectors who had deserted to
the king of Babylon, with the rest of the multitude. 12 But the captain of
the guard left some of the poor of the land as vinedressers and farmers. 13
The bronze pillars that were in the house of the Lord, and the carts and the
bronze Sea that were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in
pieces, and carried their bronze to Babylon. 14 They also took away the
pots, the shovels, the trimmers, the spoons, and all the bronze utensils
with which the priests ministered. 15 The firepans and the basins, the
things of solid gold and solid silver, the captain of the guard took away.
16 The two pillars, one Sea, and the carts, which Solomon had made for the
house of the Lord, the bronze of all these articles was beyond measure. 17
The height of one pillar was [h]eighteen cubits, and the capital on it was
of bronze. The height of the capital was three cubits, and the network and
pomegranates all around the capital were all of bronze. The second pillar
was the same, with a network.
18 And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the
second priest, and the three doorkeepers. 19 He also took out of the city an
officer who had charge of the men of war, five men of [i]the king's close
associates who were found in the city, the chief recruiting officer of the
army, who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of
the land who were found in the city. 20 So Nebuzaradan, captain of the
guard, took these and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 21 Then
the king of Babylon struck them and put them to death at Riblah in the land
of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive from its own land.
Gedaliah Made Governor of Judah
22 Then he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, governor
over the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king
of Babylon had left. 23 Now when all the captains of the armies, they and
their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, they
came to Gedaliah at Mizpah-Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan the son of
Careah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and [j]Jaazaniah the
son of a Maachathite, they and their men. 24 And Gedaliah took an oath
before them and their men, and said to them, "Do not be afraid of the
servants of the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon,
and it shall be well with you."
25 But it happened in the seventh month that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah,
the son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men and struck and
killed Gedaliah, the Jews, as well as the Chaldeans who were with him at
Mizpah. 26 And all the people, small and great, and the captains of the
armies, arose and went to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.
Jehoiachin Released from Prison
27 Now it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of
Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of
the month, that [k]Evil-Merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began
to reign, released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. 28 He spoke kindly
to him, and gave him a more prominent seat than those of the kings who were
with him in Babylon. 29 So Jehoiachin changed from his prison garments, and
he ate [l]bread regularly before the king all the days of his life. 30 And
as for his [m]provisions, there was a [n]regular ration given him by the
king, a portion for each day, all the days of his life.i
2 Chronicles 36 New King James Version (NKJV)
The Reign and Captivity of Jehoahaz
36 Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him
king in his father's place in Jerusalem. 2 [a]Jehoahaz was twenty-three
years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. 3
Now the king of Egypt deposed him at Jerusalem; and he imposed on the land a
tribute of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 4 Then the
king of Egypt made [b]Jehoahaz's brother Eliakim king over Judah and
Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. And Necho took [c]Jehoahaz his
brother and carried him off to Egypt.
The Reign and Captivity of Jehoiakim
5 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned
eleven years in Jerusalem. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord his God.
6 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against him, and bound him in
[d]bronze fetters to carry him off to Babylon. 7 Nebuchadnezzar also carried
off some of the articles from the house of the Lord to Babylon, and put them
in his temple at Babylon. 8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, the
abominations which he did, and what was found against him, indeed they are
written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. Then [e]Jehoiachin his
son reigned in his place.
The Reign and Captivity of Jehoiachin
9 Jehoiachin was [f]eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in
Jerusalem three months and ten days. And he did evil in the sight of the
Lord. 10 At the turn of the year King Nebuchadnezzar summoned him and took
him to Babylon, with the costly articles from the house of the Lord, and
made Zedekiah,[g] [h]Jehoiakim's brother, king over Judah and Jerusalem.
Zedekiah Reigns in Judah
11 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned
eleven years in Jerusalem. 12 He did evil in the sight of the Lord his God,
and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the
mouth of the Lord. 13 And he also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who
had made him swear an oath by God; but he stiffened his neck and hardened
his heart against turning to the Lord God of Israel. 14 Moreover all the
leaders of the priests and the people transgressed more and more, according
to all the abominations of the nations, and defiled the house of the Lord
which He had consecrated in Jerusalem.
The Fall of Jerusalem
15 And the Lord God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His
messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on
His people and on His dwelling place. 16 But they mocked the messengers of
God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the
Lord arose against His people, till there was no remedy.
17 Therefore He brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed
their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no
compassion on young man or virgin, on the aged or the weak; He gave them all
into his hand. 18 And all the articles from the house of God, great and
small, the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king
and of his leaders, all these he took to Babylon. 19 Then they burned the
house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with
fire, and destroyed all its precious possessions. 20 And those who escaped
from the sword he carried away to Babylon, where they became servants to him
and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, 21 to fulfill the word
of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her
Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy
years.
The Proclamation of Cyrus
22 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord
by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit
of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his
kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying,
23 Thus says Cyrus king of Persia:
All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord God of heaven has given me. And He
has commanded me to build Him a [i]house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. Who
is among you of all His people? May the Lord his God be with him, and let
him go up!
