Genesis 38. Judah and Tamar


Horace Vernet - Judah and Tamar - WGA24755

Horace Vernet – Judah and Tamar – WGA24755 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Genesis 38. Judah and Tamar

 

1 And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. 2 And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah; and he took her, and went in unto her. 3 And she conceived, and bare a son; and he called his name Er. 4 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and she called his name Onan. 5 And she yet again conceived, and bare a son; and called his name Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bare him. 6 And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar. 7 And Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him. 8 And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother’s wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother. 9 And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother’s wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother. 10 And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also. 11 Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at thy father’s house, till Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his brethren did. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house.

12 And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah’s wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 13 And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father in law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep. 14 And she put her widow’s garments off from her, and covered her with a veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife. 15 When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face. 16 And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee; (for he knew not that she was his daughter in law.) And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me? 17 And he said, I will send thee a kid from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it? 18 And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is in thine hand. And he gave it her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him. 19 And she arose, and went away, and laid by her veil from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood. 20 And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman’s hand: but he found her not. 21 Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot, that was openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this place. 22 And he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot find her; and also the men of the place said, that there was no harlot in this place. 23 And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her.

24 And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt. 25 When she was brought forth, she sent to her father in law, saying, By the man, whose these are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff. 26 And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more. 27 And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb. 28 And it came to pass, when she travailed, that the one put out his hand: and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first. 29 And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said, How hast thou broken forth? this breach be upon thee: therefore his name was called Pharez. 30 And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand: and his name was called Zarah.

May GOD bless Nigeria, America and Israel and take care of us; May GOD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the LORD lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

Joel 3. God will judge the nations. God Blesses His People


English: Children in Jerusalem.

English: Children in Jerusalem. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Joel 3. God will judge the nations. God Blesses His People

1 For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, 2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. 3 And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink. 4 Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompense? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompense upon your own head; 5 Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things: 6 The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border. 7 Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompense upon your own head: 8 And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off: for the LORD hath spoken it.

9 Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: 10 Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. 11 Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD. 12 Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. 13 Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the vats overflow; for their wickedness is great. 14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. 15 The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. 16 The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. 17 So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.

18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim. 19 Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. 20 But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. 21 For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the LORD dwelleth in Zion.

May GOD bless Nigeria, America and Israel and take care of us; May GOD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the LORD lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

Isaiah 11. The Righteous Reign of the Messiah. The Peaceful Kingdom. Our LORD Jesus Christ. God’s people will come back home. Peace at last


Česky: Kříže - symbol utrpení Ježíše Krista a ...

Isaiah 11. The Righteous Reign of the Messiah. The Peaceful Kingdom. Our LORD Jesus Christ. God’s people will come back home. Peace at last

1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: 2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; 3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: 4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. 5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. 6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. 7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. 9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. 11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. 12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. 13 The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. 14 But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them. 15 And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod. 16 And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.

 

 

May GOD bless Nigeria, America and Israel and take care of us; May GOD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the LORD lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

 

Isaiah 3. Chaos in Jerusalem. Judgment in Judah. The LORD Judges His people. A warning to the women of Jerusalem


English: Jerusalem Municipality, Kikar Safra.

Isaiah 3. Chaos in Jerusalem. Judgment in Judah. The LORD Judges His people. A warning to the women of Jerusalem

1 For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water. 2 The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient, 3 The captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator. 4 And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them. 5 And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable. 6 When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father, saying, Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand: 7 In that day shall he swear, saying, I will not be an healer; for in my house is neither bread nor clothing: make me not a ruler of the people. 8 For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the LORD, to provoke the eyes of his glory.

9 The show of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves. 10 Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. 11 Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him. 12 As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths. 13 The LORD standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people. 14 The LORD will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof: for ye have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses. 15 What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

16 Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet: 17 Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will discover their secret parts. 18 In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon, 19 The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers, 20 The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings, 21 The rings, and nose jewels, 22 The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins, 23 The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the veils. 24 And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty. 25 Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war. 26 And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground.

May GOD bless Nigeria, America and Israel and take care of us; May GOD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the LORD lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

Trusting God in times of darkness. God always has a rainbow planned for those who turn their lives over to Him


Judah and Suga

Image by protoflux via Flickr

Trusting God in times of darkness.  God always has a rainbow planned for those who turn their lives over to Him.

The people of Judah were on their way into captivity, and Habakkuk was just one of the prophets that God used to deliver His message of judgment and repentance. Judah’s sin and disobedience had grown to such a proportion that God knew He had to do something to stop their downward spiral. The nation needed to turn back to the Lord and begin to worship Him as their only God. Therefore, He allowed them to face captivity in a foreign land. As promised, Judah was invaded, and most of the people were deported to Babylon. It was there that King Nebuchadnezzar ruled over them.

Like many of us, Habakkuk felt the weight of what was about to come, and he was not settled with the matter at all. In fact, he became anxious and cried out, “How long, O LORD, will I call for help, and You will not hear?” (1:2) As long as life runs along well, we rarely feel the need to ask God for help. However, the moment the skies of our lives turn dark and stormy, we immediately cry out to Him.

You may be a Christian who has worshipped the Lord most of your life. In fact, you consistently take time to be with Him in prayer and praise. However, difficulty has come, and you wonder what you will do. Not all suffering is the result of sin. It is true that Judah needed a course correction or they would have totally abandoned their faith. This was not God’s desire for the nation He loved. Nor was it on track with His promise to Abraham and David.

Other times, suffering comes in order to prepare us for an even greater blessing. While the storms of life may descend on us without warning, God always has a rainbow planned for those who turn their lives over to Him and trust Him even in the most difficult circumstances.

May Our God The Almighty prosper Nigeria and Israel and defend us from all our enemies in Jesus Christ Name, Amen!

overcoming spiritual dryness


A study Bible.

Image via Wikipedia

Sin is another reason we feel dry and distant from God. The nation of Judah struggled with both of these problems. They were too busy, and they began to worship pagan gods – knowing all along that the Lord had told them, “You shall have no other gods before Me.” (Deuteronomy 5:7) Yet they ignored His command and suffered for it.

Yielding to sin and being too busy to worship God quickly leads to a divided mind and heart. If we continue along this track, we will begin to spend more and more time doing other things and less time in prayer with the One who loves us the most and died for our sins. Before we know it, we will feel tired, drained of energy, and just plain worn out. This is when Satan’s forces begin to tempt us with sin.

Even in a world of turmoil, God wants to spend time with you. Relationship is at the core of His very being, and He desires your fellowship. How long has it been since someone has told you that he or she wants to be with you – just to talk and listen to what you have to say? God wants to do this for you.

Like our nation today, the nation of Judah was in desperate need of a revival. However, in order for this to happen, the people must express their need for God and, most of all, their desire to know Him in a personal way.

Do you feel spiritually dry? Maybe you have tried unsuccessfully to revive yourself through a home Bible study or an occasional visit to church. Or perhaps you go to church every Sunday, yet you feel dry inside. If this is the case, know that you can experience a personal revival the moment you confess your need to the Lord. His care for you is unconditional. The instant you do this, He will turn on heaven’s shower of refreshment and breathe new life into your heart and soul.

Today’s Scripture Reading
Ezekiel 37:3

How angels fight our battles for us.


Judah, Evan & Stella

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How angels fight our battles for us

2 Chronicles 20:22

Jehoshaphat was stunned. He had just received word that three well-trained armies were coming against him and the nation of Judah. These were Judah’s neighbours—people they had allowed to live near them in peace.

Fear immediately gripped the hearts of the people of Judah. However, they refused to panic. Instead, the king turned to God through prayer. In fact, the entire nation prayed and fasted, and God responded with a powerful message. In 2 Chronicles 20:12, the king cried out to God, “We are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You.”

Can you imagine the blessing that God received from the proclamation of His people’s total dependence on Him? “All Judah was standing before the Lord, with their infants, their wives and their children” (v. 13). In other words, they were waiting expectantly for God to answer. Their backs were against the wall. The way before them was shut off. There was no hope outside of the hope they had in God.

Have you ever felt this way? If you have, read on. God did not keep His people waiting. He spoke to them through a young prophet. “Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s” (v. 15). Then He told them what to do, but the solution required lots of faith. They were to march into battle—but not with their warriors leading the way. Instead, they were to be led into battle by their choir!

The Devil hates praise, and he despises worship given to God. Judah’s enemies heard them coming and were thrown into confusion. When Judah showed up on the scene the battle already had been fought and won by God. Any time God instructs you to wait, sing, trust Him, or be still before Him, you can believe that He has a fleet of angels ready on your behalf. This is what He did for Judah, and He will do the same for you.

May God Almighty prosper Nigeria and Israel and defend us from all our enemies in Jesus Christ Name, Amen!