SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/30/2015
My Worship Time Focus: A Promised
Conquest
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Micah
4:11-13
Message of
the verses: “11 “And now many nations have been assembled
against you Who say, ’Let her be polluted, And let our eyes gloat over Zion.’ 12
“But they do not know the
thoughts of the LORD, And
they do not understand His purpose; For He has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing
floor. 13 “Arise and thresh, daughter of Zion, For your horn I will make
iron And your hoofs I will make bronze, That you may pulverize many peoples, That you may
devote to the LORD their unjust gain And their wealth to the Lord of all the
earth.”
This section is speaking of the future of Israel
when there will be many nations that will come up against her and believe that
they will be able to defeat her, but as we see in these verses the Lord will
cause Israel to “pulverize many peoples.”
Think about all the nations today that have stated that their sole
purpose in life is to destroy Israel.
When Israel was declared to be a nation in May of 1948 the first thing
that they had to do was to defend her land, something that they had done
centuries before and they will have to continue to do this as we have seen in
the more recent past as Israel is surrounded by her enemies who want to destroy
her.
Zechariah12:1-9 says “1 The burden of the word of
the LORD concerning Israel.
Thus declares the LORD who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of
the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him, 2 "Behold, I am going to make
Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when
the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. 3 “It will come
about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples;
all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will
be gathered against it. 4 “In that day," declares the LORD, "I will
strike every horse with bewilderment and his rider with madness. But I will watch over the house
of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 “Then
the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ’A strong support for us are the
inhabitants of Jerusalem through the LORD of hosts, their God.’ 6 "In that day I will make
the clans of Judah like a firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch
among sheaves, so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the
surrounding peoples, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem again dwell on their
own sites in Jerusalem. 7 “The LORD also will save the tents of Judah first, so
that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of
Jerusalem will not be magnified above Judah. 8 “In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
and the one who is feeble among them in that day will be like David, and the
house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD before them. 9 "And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come
against Jerusalem.”
Zachariah has more to say in chapter 14 and verses
1-11: “1 Behold, a day is coming for the
LORD when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you. 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle,
and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and
half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from
the city. 3 Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as
when He fights on a day of battle. 4 In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is
in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its
middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain
will move toward the north and the other half toward the south. 5 You will flee
by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to
Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of
Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD, my God, will come, and all the holy ones
with Him! 6 In that day
there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle. 7 For it will be a unique day which is known to the
LORD, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at evening time
there will be light.
8 And in that day living waters
will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other
half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter. 9 And
the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His
name the only one. 10 All the land will be changed into a plain from Geba to
Rimmon south of Jerusalem; but Jerusalem will rise and remain on its site from
Benjamin’s Gate as far as the place of the First Gate to the Corner Gate, and
from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s wine presses. 11 People will live in
it, and there will no longer be a curse, for Jerusalem will dwell in security.”
Dr. Wiersbe writes that “the nations are sure of
victory because they ignore Scripture and don’t know God’s plans for His people
(Jeremiah 29:11).” “’For I know the plans
that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ’plans for welfare and not for
calamity to give you a future and a hope.”
Even though at this time the nations will look upon
Israel as weak and defenseless the Lord will give strength to do what He has planned
for them to accomplish. We can see in this section that God will give them
horns and hoofs which symbolize power and also the speed as they attack their
enemies. Dr. Wiersbe concludes “This
great battle is usually called ‘the Battle of Armageddon,’ although that phrase
is not found in Scripture (Rev. 16:16; 19:17-21). When the battle is over, the victorious
Jewish army will devote all the spoils to the service of the Lord.”
12/30/2015 1:14 AM
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