Coming Peace and Prosperity

Transcript

GR 1013
6/19/1977
Coming Peace and Prosperity
Zechariah 8
Gil Rugh

Zechariah chapter 8 in your bibles. Zechariah and the 8th chapter. Last week we looked at the entire 7th chapter and this evening we are going to look at the entire 8th chapter. There are twenty-three verses in the 8th chapter, but I think the message is rather simple. We will look at all twenty-three verses together as sort of an overview. I think that it will tie together rather simply for us.

If you have your outline you’ll note, and I just remind you that chapters 7 and 8 go together as a unit. The question of fasting is the issue around which both chapters revolve, and the connection is external religious activity and true spiritual reality. Israel had moved away from true spiritual reality and as they did this they really increased the externals. It’s amazing how that pattern continues. The further we move away from biblical reality the more religious externals we try to add on. That’s true today and it was true in Israel. What they had done is they added additional fasts, additional religious holidays, days of mourning because of God’s judgment and so on. That’s all they had, externals.

Chapter 7 as you’ll note in the outline is the negative reply to the question that comes up, should they continue their fasts. The fasts that commemorated events surrounding the Babylonian captivity. Is it necessary to continue this now. It had become a burden. From this God gives a negative reply and really He rebukes them for their sin, and they concentrated on the judgments rather than on the reason for the judgment. They had a fast, commemorating God’s judgment but they had remained totally ignorant and unconcerned about what caused that judgment. So, they were in danger of going around the cycle again, repeating the same activity that necessitated judgment in the first place which would mean they have to have more fasts to remember more judgments. Obviously they are on a downhill slide. There is a warning given in verses 12 and 13 where Israel made their hearts like flint. They couldn’t hear God’s word any longer. “And it came about that just as He called then they would not listen so they called, and I would not listen.” They didn’t want to hear when God sent the message through the prophets. When God sent the judgment then Israel began to cry out, but God wasn’t listening. It was too late to call on Him then. Judgment was already set in motion. We ended on a negative note in verse 14 where “I scattered them with a storm wind among all the the nations whom they have not known. Thus, the land is desolated behind them so that no one went back and forth, for they made the pleasant land desolate.” That is exactly what happened when Nebuchadnezzar came in and his series of returns to Palestine, he just destroyed the land. The only ones left were the poorest, most insignificant. Everything of significance had been destroyed. The valuable articles had been carried to Babylon. It was a desolate place.

Now we end on that negative note, and you couldn’t have any sharper contrast as you come to chapter 8 because what you have in chapter 8 is the positive emphasis. God is going to restore Israel and God is going to bless Israel. You see the marked contrasts. It goes through Israel’s history. Chapter 8 carries us to millennial time when God will fully bless Israel, amazing and important. I’ve mentioned before most Christians today are probably what we call amillennial. They do not believe there is any particular future for Israel. That leaves them in a very awkward position because what happens is chapter 7 becomes literal, but chapter 8 becomes a figure, it is spiritualized away, and the Church has inherited all the blessings. Now that’s a nice position. Israel got all the judgment, and we’ll get all the blessings. But that’s not the way God promises it. As we go through chapter 8 I think that if you try to think of this now as a Jew in Zechariah’s day you’d get the idea that God was promising something that was going to happen to you as a Jew, to Israel as a nation. A couple of things stand out in this chapter. Probably above all is the emphasis on God and what He’s going to do. I went through, this afternoon, and just underlined “thus saith the Lord,” or “the Lord of hosts.” That expression, “the Lord of hosts” I believe occurs some fourteen times in these twenty-three verses. The full expression, “thus says the Lord of hosts” occurs at least ten times. The name of the Lord, Yahweh, occurs over twenty times. These verses are saturated with God declaring what He’s going to do and that’s important because what He says is so overwhelming that He wants it understood that it’s based upon His character and His promises. That’s what makes it sure and firm. Nothing dependent upon Israel as far as their blessings but it depends upon the solemn word of “the Lord of hosts,” the Lord of armies, Jehovah-Sabbath, one of the names of God.

The chapter opens, “Then the word of the Lord of hosts came saying,” next verse, “Thus says the Lord of hosts.” You’ll note it starts right out with the stress on “the Lord of hosts.” That will run down, interesting for you this week, just go through and underline “the Lord of hosts” as it appears throughout here to see the emphasis on Him as the one who is going to do it. “I am exceedingly jealous for Zion, yes with great wrath I am jealous for her.” We think of jealously in a bad sense as we use it and it’s a fearful thing when it’s used of God. Those characteristics that we do not like in human beings and have no place, jealousy, wrath, and so on, when they are mentioned of God they become very awesome and fear inspiring. Here God says, “I am exceedingly jealous, yes with great wrath I am jealous.” Strong expression, “I am exceedingly jealous.” It means to glow and here you have a picture of God so jealous that He’s just glowing. You know, the picture we’d say, “he’s red as a beet.” You just can see he’s giving off heat. Here God says, “I am glowing.” “With a great wrath I am jealous.” Isn’t it amazing after what has been said in chapter 7 God turns around and says I am very jealous. I am very jealous for Jerusalem. I am very jealous for Israel. We ought never to lose sight of the fact that even though Israel has been the unfaithful wife of Jehovah, He has never ceased to love her. He has never ceased to be jealous for her and is anger toward those who have abused her is always overwhelming. Amazing.

You read chapter 7 and then you read chapter 8. I read chapter 7 and I’d end with verse 14 and write Israel off, desolate, done. God opens up in chapter 8 and says “I’m burning with jealousy for the nation Israel” “Thus says the Lord” and you note that we have hardly said anything yet and he said, “the word of the Lord of hosts,” “thus says the Lord, I will return to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, then Jerusalem will be called the city of truth, the mountain of the Lord of hosts, will be called the holy mountain.” So here you see the restoration of the nation of Israel promised. “The mountain of the Lord of hosts will be called the holy mountain,” probably refers to Mount Moriah on which Jerusalem is built where we have the temple and so on. That mountain will be called the “city of truth, the mountain of the Lord of hosts,” “a holy mountain.” “

Thus says the Lord of hosts, old men and old women will again sit in the streets of Jerusalem. Each man with his staff in his hand because of age and the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in the streets.” What this is a picture of is prosperity and blessing. You have the aged dwelling there. You have the children playing. A picture of peace and security, prosperity and blessing. Not true in Israel’s condition as Zechariah wrote, as Israel’s condition leading up to the captivity. The desolation that was there. The old people had been destroyed. In the sieges they had been unable to endure the famines and so on that they caused then the judgments and so on. The children have been carted off to slavery. We see that with Daniel and his friends carted off to Babylon to be slaves and so on. Now here we are told there is coming the day when Jerusalem will be blessed with young and old alike. Another way of saying Israel and Jerusalem will prosper and the people there will be blessed. Now that’s remarkable.

So, verse 6 starts out “Thus says the Lord of hosts, “if it is too difficult in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days will it be too difficult in my sight, declares the Lord of hosts?” In other words, you think this is overwhelming. You look at a desolated people, a destroyed city, and you say, “can God do anything with this?” It may be too difficult in your sight; you think it would be too in My sight? You note how that verse begins and ends with the declaration of the Lord of hosts. “Thus says the Lord of hosts,” and it ends, “declares the Lord of hosts.” Guarantee that that will happen is God has said it. He doesn’t give any other evidence, any other proof. He just wants to drive home the point that this is what I am saying and since He’s saying it, that’s the way it’s got to be.

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, “behold I am going to save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west and I will bring them back and they will live in the midst of Jerusalem. They will be My people and I will be their God in truth and in righteousness.” So, Israel will be regathered into the land of Palestine. Interesting it says from the east and the west. The Babylonians had carted them off to the east, but the bulk of Jews today live to the west of Palestine and in the time of the millennium God will gather the Jews from wherever they are, back into the land. That’s why so much significance is placed upon Israel becoming a nation and then on the war in 1967 when Israel acquired for the first time in literally thousands of years the area of Jerusalem which would encompass the Temple and so on. Now that didn’t fulfill this prophecy as some preachers preach but nonetheless it’s interesting that God says that’s going to happen and all Israel will be regathered back to this point.

Look back in Isaiah. We’re not going to look at many parallel passages because of the length of chapter 8 but just Isaiah 65 where this emphasis on the blessings of the Jews in the millennial time, old age and prosperity. Isaiah 65, verse 19 of Isaiah 65, “I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people and there will no longer be heard in her the voice of weeping and sound of crying. There will no longer be an infant who lives but a few days or an old man who does not live out his days for the youth will die at the age of one hundred. And one who does not reach the age of one hundred will be thought to be accursed.” You will note, if you die at one hundred, you’ll just be a kid. You’ll be thought to have died a premature death, there will be a curse on you otherwise why would anybody die at one hundred in the millennium? They shall build houses and inhabit them. Plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build, and another inhabit. They shall not plant, and another eat. For as the lifetime of a tree so shall the days of My people be and My chosen ones shall wear out the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity for they are the offspring of those blessed by the Lord and their descendants with them.” Let me finish the chapter. “It shall also come to pass that before they call I will answer. While they are still speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall graze together. The lion shall eat straw like the ox. The dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall do no evil or harm on all My holy mountain, says the Lord.” I take it that’s clear. God promises it. If you were a Jew, hearing this from Isaiah or Zechariah, how would you interpret it? In any other way than God on the basis of His word and His promise was guaranteeing that Israel would experience all these blessings. How can you write them off and say well, there’s no future for Israel when God puts His very word at stake and says, “this is what I’m going to do.” Those who want to spiritualize it away have a real problem with the wolf and the lamb and the serpent and the lion eating straw like an ox. What’s going to happen in the millennium is that the animals will be vegetarian again and they’ll be none of the gruesome killings like in the animal world either.

Back to Zechariah chapter 8. Verse 8, “They will be My people and I will be their God in truth and in righteousness.” Therefore now, in light of what God is going to do, prophecy always has direct application. Some people don’t like to study prophecy because they say I want to do something that’s pertinent now, but God never does irrelevant stuff. The very fact that He puts it here makes it relevant. We get so spiritual that we think we’re too spiritual to study prophecy because it’s not practical. Well, that shows how unspiritual we are or else we would see how practical prophecy is. So, what does God do?

Verse 9, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Let your hands be strong, you who are listening in these days to these words from the mouth of the prophets. Those who spoke in the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, to the end that the temple might be built.” So, in other words I’m telling You what I’m going to do in the future. That ought to be a motivation for you to act right now. I take it that the better you understand the prophetic teaching of the Bible the more motivated you will be in your present activity. It’s not just studying some pie in the sky teaching, but God gives it to us now because it’s pertinent to our conduct now. Not just because it would be interesting to know what God is going to do in the future but so it will make a difference in the way we live right now.

So those who are listening now, who are involved when the foundation of the house of the Lord is being laid, it’s an encouragement in the construction of the temple. We go back to Zechariah and what is going on in Zechariah’s ministry in encouraging the building of the temple. Haggai’s ministry connected with this, and this is to encourage them. God is going to bless them. Now the temple they built wasn’t the temple that’s going to occupy the millennium. Realizing God has a plan and a future for them they ought to set about doing what God wants done and that involved the work and labor of the temple.

Verse 10, “Before those days there was no wage for any man or any wage for animal; for him who went out or who came in there was no peace because of his enemies, and I set all men against one another.” Talking about the time before captivity and then the captivity and the destruction that it brought and the inequities that were true of those days. ““But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,” declares the Lord of hosts. For there will be peace for the seed; the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce, and the heavens will give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all things. And it will come about that just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you that you may become a blessing. Do not fear; let your hands be strong.”” Now you note how he carries all the way to the millennium and yet He backs right up in the same sentence and encourages them to be strong. Not to be afraid. You understand God’s purposes for God’s people and that should do away with fear. It’s the same for you and I. You know Jesus said the same thing when He said, “don’t fear those who kill the body, but are not able to destroy the soul.” When you and I as believers are exhorted to live in light of what God has prepared for us which we’ve been talking about on Sunday mornings. Why should we fear? Now Israel said the same thing. Now get about what God wants done here in the construction of the temple because God has a future for you. Don’t be afraid. You can’t be annihilated. You can’t be destroyed. So, understanding the purposes and destiny God has for His people ought to motivate His people in their daily conduct. So, Israel was not to be afraid, was not to be fearful as they went about the construction of the temple. Why? They knew that God had a purpose for them. Now we want to say why should they go to all the trouble to build the temple? When the Messiah comes that will all be taken care of. Because God said to do it. He’s telling them what He’s going to do to encourage them. Prophecy ought always to do that.

“For thus says the Lord of hosts,” verse 14, “just as I purposed to do harm to you when your fathers provoked Me to wrath,” says the Lord of hosts, “and I have not relented.” You can’t argue that. All you’ve got to do is read the history of Israel and you understand God purposed to judge them and He didn’t change His mind. That purpose is continued. “So,” verse 15, “just as sure, I have again purposed in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah, do not fear.” God’s going to bless Israel. He's going to bless them in the days of Zechariah with the building of the temple. That will be accomplished. This temple will be rebuilt. They will function again as a people, even in Zechariah’s day. Not with the fulness of blessing that they will in the millennium, but they will function with God’s blessing. Now you note, important, “Just as I purposed to pour out wrath, so I purposed to pour out blessing.” You cannot say God purposed to pour out wrath, but He changed His mind about the blessing. That’s not an option. God can’t change His mind when He’s given His word. You can’t have a God who is an “Indian-giver” as we would say. Now you know, that would be great. If He did that with Israel you and I are in trouble because you know I may get to the end of the road and He’ll say, Gil, I was going to take you to heaven, but you know what? You were such a bum, you blew it so many times, that I changed My mind. Now that’s in effect, what we’re saying about Israel’s promises. We’re saying that God’s promises to Israel, but Israel blew it so many times that God finally said, “I changed My mind” and I’m going to give it to the Church. Now wait a minute. No! That’s no more a possibility than you and I getting down there and saying, “I changed my mind, I’m not going to give it to the church. I’m going to give it to the angels.” God can’t change His mind when He’s given His word so Israel has a future just as sure and just as real as you and I do. Because if God’s word to Israel doesn’t mean anything, God’s word to you and I doesn’t mean anything. If God’s word doesn’t mean anything, then of course His character comes into question.

So “I purposed to do good.” What does verse 15 end with? “Do not fear.” What did verse 13 end with? “Do not fear; let your hands be strong.” “These are the things what you should do; speak the truth to one another; judge with truth and judgment for peace in your gates. Also let none of you devise evil in your heart against one another, and do not love perjury; for all these are what I hate declares the Lord.” Now you can see the similarity? The parallel between how God dealt with Israel and how God deals with the church? You would expect a similarity because God has not changed. And Israel were the people that God was dealing with in the Old Testament. The Church is the people that God is dealing with in the New Testament, and He’s not changed.

So, He tells His people what their destiny is and now He says live in light of it. What has He done for you and I? What have we been talking about? About having our eyes fixed upon the glory, the glory that will be ours. Therefore, live in light of it. What’s He tell Israel? These are the purposes and plans I have for you. This is the glorious future that I hold out for you. Now live in light of it. Don’t do those things that I hate because that wouldn’t be consistent with those who are called by My name who are going to be the recipients of My blessings. It’s interesting as we mentioned last week in chapter 7 that the relationships among God’s people are always an indicator of the spiritual condition of God’s people. How we treat one another is an indication of our true spiritual condition. You note what He says here instructs them has to do with their relationships to one another. “Speak the truth to one another,” in verse 15. “Judge with truth and judgment for peace in your gates.” A “gate” or a place right beside the gate of the city was the place where judgment was carried out, the decisions were made.

“Also, let none of you devise evil in your heart against another. Do not love perjury,” false oaths, “for all these are what I hate.” You note where God puts the emphasis. On how they have been relating to one another as those who are His people. The same things we talked about last week that Jesus said. “By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love for” Me. No. “If you have love for one another,” because the evidence that we have love for Him is that we have love for one another. That’s the tragedy of believers not functioning as God intended within the body today. That was the tragedy of believers not functioning as God intended within the nation of Israel in the Old Testament. It indicated a deteriorated spiritual condition. So, it’s much more tangible. My spiritual condition is pretty open. All you’ve got to do is see how I function with other believers. That tells you worlds about the spiritual depth I really have or don’t have. I like to make it, well you know, I’m super-spiritual. I don’t get along with the rest of Christians because they’re obviously not as spiritual as me. God says no, the real problem is you’re not spiritual. You’re not where you ought to be in relationship to Me. So, in light of understanding where I’m going, what God plans, that will affect my conduct. So, I have responsibilities to you as a believer and functioning within this body of believers, not because of any other reason except the destiny that I have as His child and thus the responsibility in light of being His child, the recipient of His blessing.

Thus, verse 18. “Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me saying, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the fast of the fourth, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh, the fast of the tenth months will become joy, gladness, and cheerful fasts for the house of Judah; so love truth and peace.”” Remember we mentioned these fasts last week. We won’t go through them again. Two reasons, one for time and the other, I forgot to bring it with me so we couldn’t. These fasts that were referred to over in the chapter 7 which initiated the question that Israel had started the fasts to commemorate the burning of the temple, to commemorate the execution of Gedaliah, to commemorate when the Babylonians broke through the walls. You know what God says. They wanted to know, shall we continue these fasts, they’re really a burden, they are getting on my nerves. God says I’m going to turn those into feasts rather than being burdens. They’ll be blessings because when God turns them into feasts they’ll be rejoicing as they remember how God judged them for their good and they’ll be rejoicing at the privilege of remembering that as they experience all of His blessings in the millennial times.

So, what’s He say? How does He conclude that? “Love truth and peace.” “Thus says the Lord of hosts, “it will yet be that peoples will come, even the inhabitants of many cities, and the inhabitants of one will go to another saying, “let us go at once to entreat the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts. I will also go.” One of the great millennial statements here is that Jerusalem will be the capital of the world during the earthly millennium and all the inhabitants of the world in other cities will be seeking to go and entreat the favor of the Lord. Now keep in mind the order. There will be people of other nations in the millennium. In the seven years tribulation, after the rapture, there will be peoples from all nations who come to believe in Jesus Christ. Many of these will be martyred as the book of Revelation makes clear but some of these will survive to the second coming of Christ to earth. Those who have believed in Jesus Christ during the seven years tribulation and survive until His second coming will go into the millennium in physical bodies. They will have the responsibility to have children, to marry, to repopulate the earth in the millennium. So, there will be people from all tribes, all nations. We talk about the Egyptians; we’ll see this when we get over in later chapters in Zechariah.

So that’s the people we are talking about here. They’ll be coming up to “entreat the favor of the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts.” Verse 22, “mighty nations will come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the Lord.” Has that ever happened yet? When all the nations of the earth have been sending people to Jerusalem, to seek the favor of the Messiah, Jesus Christ? That has not happened. So, how can we say there’s not going to be any earthly kingdom? There’s not going to be a time when Jesus Christ himself, will personally reign? After God has put His name of the line, over 20 times in this chapter. As the foundation for such promises. Then I have the audacity and the gall to say, well there’s really not going to be any such time. You know, “Thus says the Lord”, but I want you to hear what Gil says. Which is really what I’m saying, when I say that God says what’s going to happen, but I want you to understand, but that’s not really what’s going to happen. Sometimes, I think we as believers, without meaning to manifest less respect for the word, than would be expected.

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, in those days, ten men from the nation of every language will grasp the garment of a Jew saying, let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” Now, that’s got to be a different picture than I ever remember reading or studying about. That 10, and that number is used representatively of an indefinite number. Ten-to-one, they’re going to latch onto the Jews and say, let me go with you, because you’re a Jew. Because keep in mind, the millennium is a Jewish time. The Jews will be “the” people of the earth. Jerusalem will be the capital of the world. The Messiah, a Jewish king, will rule the world. These other Gentiles will be flocking after the Jews saying, let me go to Jerusalem with you. Because I want to be identified with you and the blessings that are coming through you. Because I want the blessings coming through you to be experienced for us as well. That’s going to happen in the millennium. “Ten men from every nation, every language [grasping] the garments of a Jew, let us go with you.” We have heard that God is with you. That’s going to happen in the millennium, when the Jews are the people of the world. They’ve got a glorious destiny. They’ve got a tremendous future. There’s nothing so inconsistent as antisemitism among Christians. How can a Christian be anti-Jewish, when I understand something of a glorious future of the Jews? Now, be careful, that’s not to say that the Jews today, occupy the privileged position. Romans 9, 10 and 11 make clear that they don’t. A Jew who becomes a believer today, isn’t any more important than a Gentile who becomes a believer, he simply becomes part of the body of Christ. That’s glorious enough. But Israel has a glorious future. God is going to deal with them. You and I ought to love them, when we understand God’s purpose for them. Paul uses this as an argument in Romans 11. We ought to have special appreciation. You know where we are? We’ve been grafted in. You know what? We’ve been grafted in, we’re where Israel, really ought to be. We’re in the place of favor and blessing right now. But don’t get cocky and proud. Romans 11 says, or else I’ll cut you off. There’s coming a time when God is going to put Israel back into the position of favor. He’ll have already removed the church at the rapture. Then Israel, will again occupy the position of favor. They’ll go through the refinement of the tribulation. Then they go into the millennium. Jesus Christ, the Jewish Messiah, will rule and reign on the earth. All the nations of the world will stream to Jerusalem. Because that will be the capital of the world. That will be where the favor of God, is being dispensed, so to speak. The Jews, there won’t be people looking down on the Jews. There won’t be people looking down on them saying, oh, and making the snide remarks, and so on. There will be people saying, “I hope a Jew moves next door.” “Boy this person who moved in down here, they’re Jewish, let’s see if we can have them over for dinner.” “Let’s get to know them better.” “And maybe they’ll take us to Jerusalem with them,” exciting.

Now, you and I will be there in glorified bodies. So, we’ll be functioning a little differently. We’ll be helping to rule and reign and administer this period of time. So, it’s important for us as well, finding out what’s going to happen to the Jews. But it’s important, because you know what’s going? When all the nations of the earth are streaming up to Jerusalem, you know who one of the governors or mayors or city councilmen or something is going to be? It’s going to be me. Ha, Ha. Ah, I don’t know what it’s going to be yet, but it’s going to be something, and you know? That’s going to be true for every believer. We’re going to rule and reign with Him, during this time. So, that’s exciting! I read about how this is going to be for the Israelite’s, ‘I say, praise the Lord!’ Because I’m going to be there. I’m going to be there as part of those who are helping in the oversite.

We ought to praise the Lord for the promises to Israel and take courage. Just as sure as the promises to Israel are, so the promises of God are to me. The promises to Israel aren’t to me, they are to Israel. The promises to me, are to me not to Israel. Praise the Lord, the promises God has given to me, are just as sure as the promises to Israel, and vice-versa. In his dealing with Israel are an indication.

One other thing, people like to condition the blessings of God on Israel, upon their faithfulness. You know, chapter 8 didn’t say anything about that. Chapter 8 didn’t say anything about, ‘I’ll do this, if you’re faithful.’ You know what chapter 8 did say? I’m going to do this, so be faithful. But He didn’t say, I’ll do this, if you’re faithful. He said, “I’ll do this, so be faithful.” The same thing He says to us. He doesn’t say, ‘Gil, I’ll take you to be with Myself, if you’re faithful.’ He says, ‘Gil, since you believed in Jesus Christ, I’m going to take you to be with Myself, so be faithful.’ We always want to turn it around. God’s promises to Israel don’t depend on Israel’s faithfulness, or they wouldn’t have anything. But that’s true of us, if God’s promises to us depended upon our faithfulness, what would we have? Most of us haven’t made it through the day, where we could really say, “I’ve been faithful.” We’re constantly blowing it. Praise the Lord, for His faithfulness. He’s going to do it, because He said He’s going to do it. He’s going to do it with us in spite of the imperfections.

Let’s pray together. Father, again, we praise You for Your goodness and graciousness. Lord, as we even consider something of the glorious future that You’ve set before Israel. Lord, we praise You for the mercy that You’ve manifested to them. Lord, that You’ve dealt with them, not according to their sin, but according to Your mercy. According to Your word. According to Your promises. Father, that’s a great encouragement and a great blessing to us. Because we’re mindful that You’ve dealt with us in the very same way. Not according to our sins, but according to Your mercy and grace. Father, we’re thankful that we too have the promises of Your word, of the glorious destiny. Pray Lord, that just as You exhorted Israel, but since they have such a destiny, based upon Your promises, they ought to live as a people of God. Pray Lord, that that might be true of us as well. The people who have such a glorious destiny, as the children of God, as Your heirs, ought certainly be manifesting that in every area of their conduct. Pray especially, for our relationship with one another, as believers. That that might indeed manifest that we belong to You. That we would deal with one another in love. The desire to build one another up, so that we’d be very clear, that we indeed, are disciples of Jesus Christ, manifesting His love in our relationships with one another. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen