Good morning People of God in Christ Jesus.
We give glory to God for the gift of seeing the last day in April, for the privilege of life and for God’s unending mercy and grace upon us always. Praise God!
The Book of Isaiah Chapter 33
Isaiah 33:1
[1]Woe to thee that spoilest, and thou wast not spoiled; and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! when thou shalt cease to spoil, thou shalt be spoiled; and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee.
The word “spoilest” in Hebrew transliteration is called “shâdad” and pronounced as: /shaw-dad/.
It means to plunder, rob, oppress, destroy or ravage.
The prophecy above was one of the political prophecies against the Assyrian Armies before they invaded Jerusalem in Judah.
Assyrians have proven to many nations their seamingly unbeatable power. They appeared so untouchable that when they plan to attack a nation, such nation would become jittery and he then conquered them.
Let’s read some contents of Assyrian’s CV below:
2 Kings 19:11-14
[11]Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly: and shalt thou be delivered?
[12]Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed; as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in Thelasar?
[13]Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivah?
[14]And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD.
So, King of Assyria was planning to repeat same thing in Judah not knowing King Hezekiah has gathered his people to pray for God’s intervention. Read 2Kings Chapter 19:1-2
Remember people of Judah had once forsaken God by seeking help from Egypt, which was what opened the door for enemy’s invasion.
Anytime anyone says there is no God or refuses to acknowledge the sovereignty of God, you are indirectly pitching your tent against Him and this always open door for the devil to take over such lives. There is no vacuum in anyone’s life. Something must occupy it, whether good or evil.
In response to Isaiah’s prayers, king of Assyria (Sennacherub) actually met his waterloo in 2Kings 19:35-37 and could no longer perform his enterprise.
That’s exactly what Prophet Isaiah foresaw and recorded in Isaiah 33:1. It means the table has turned against the Assyrian Armies and they could no longer plunder, rob and oppress people anymore.
Let’s see what Prophet Habakkuk has to say:
Habakkuk 2:8 KJV
Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men’s blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.
There is a big lesson here…
We must be careful of how we treat others, because the measurements we used for others has a way of coming back to us in many folds. Let’s be careful.
Our Lord Jesus Christ said something similar to that in relation to judging people…
Matthew 7:1-2
[1]Judge not, that ye be not judged.
[2]For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
The Greek transliteration for the word “judge” as used by Jesus above is called, “krinō”
Pronounced as: /kree’-no/
It has both psychological and legal meanings…
Psychological in the area of condemnation. That is to condemn someone.
And legal aspect means to sue someone to court, which may eventually also leads to condemnation.
However, many people have misunderstood and misinterpreted Jesus statement above to mean we should not speak against errors, especially when it involves highly placed individuals.
The answer is: Jesus didn’t say that. Let’s quickly look at the second usage of the word “judge” in the Bible.
From Apostle Paul 1Cor 2:15
[15]But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
The Greek transliteration for “judgeth” as used above is called “anakrinō“
Pronounced as: /an-ak-ree’-no/
It means to properly scrutinise, investigate, interrogate, ask questions, search, discern.
If you do any of these in some political and religious settings in Nigeria, Africa, and some parts of the world, they will come after you and label you as a rebel. In fact, they have a mantra they use: “touch not my anointed” forgetting that every believer is anointed. But because they have refused to search the Scriptures to understand the Truth, they lack knowledge and they keep on defending errors.
You can now all see why I keep saying to people that we should not always interpret the Bible with English Grammar. Now see how some translators have used a single word “judge” to confuse people. This is why the Bible must be properly studied for proper comprehension.
Now, the take home from today’s message is that we must be careful how we treat others, because what we do to others, whether good or bad has a way of coming back to us. Let’s learn from Assyrian Armies.
Again, I repeat, this does not mean we should keep quiet and not investigate the truth and speak against errors. You must speak up and ask questions when you notice something is not right with the Word of God around you. But must be done spiritually not in the flesh.
To be continued…Praise God.
Prayers:
👉In anyway someone on this platform has been lied against, the Lord God will vindicate you, in Jesus name.
👉What the devil has calculated and planned to bring you defeat and shame, will turn around and bring you glory and fame instead, in Jesus name.
👉Receive every support you need during this lockdown period. You will not be put to shame, in Jesus name.
Bible readings for today: Reflection time on all the Chapters you have read so far from the past six days and covering of missed Chapters.
I call you blessed now and always.
Thursday April 30, 2020 (DDMI)
