Psalm 68:7-10 When you, God, went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness, the earth shook, the heavens poured down rain, before God, the One of Sinai, before God, the God of Israel. You gave abundant showers, O God; you refreshed your weary inheritance. Your people settled in it, and from your bounty, God, you provided for the poor.
God gives the rain and sometimes God withholds the rain to make a point!
I just re-read about the widow who was kept OK in supplies, in flour and oil, so she could continue to make bread, life-sustaining bread during a long drought that God used to reach the people who didn’t believe in Him. The widow could make bread from near empty but never really empty jars. Bread for herself, her son, and prophet Elijah, who told her to “just do it”. It seems in this part of the story that she may have believed her good fortune was from God, but not believed, until the end when Elijah also resuscitated her son who suddenly took ill and passed away. Did she believe prophet Elijah was sent from God? Well, he was but maybe for her, the unending jars of flour and oil was seemingly not enough to convince her it was Elijah working for God. God resuscitated resurrected her son, and it was through Elijah’s prayers – then Elijah presented her son back alive. Then she said: Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth.” …
This sounds so much like Jesus with Lazarus – to rise him from the dead (a many days dead that Jesus knew about) – and rose him from the dead so that the people watching would believe. This sounds so much like Jesus Himself being rose from the dead – Jesus had to fulfil the prophecies – but as the added bonus – he was able to be the demonstration to actual people, one by one, that He was fulfilling the prophesies and that God sent Him – so that they would believe.
Elijah begged mercy, God delivered. Elijah said to God: ‘do You hear me now?’ And God says to all of us: “listen to the one I sent, and asks us: “Do you HEED ME now?”. Jesus begged God’s mercy to the ones who wouldn’t believe. Jesus could and can intercede with the Father – and we are the beneficiaries – now and forever.
We too must realize our jars are never really empty. And if we do run low, aren’t we best to dip into God’s reserves? If God brought us this far, He CAN take us Home.
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Elijah stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again. And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth. 1st Kings 17:21-24
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What is the number one wish, well one of the wishes, of Jesus as He walked the Earth? That all would BELIEVE – that it all would click in the beliefs and God would open their eyes – that the scriptures plus the situation plus the scenes of miracles would clue them in that there was now salvation security. Jesus simply asked for them and us to believe in and love the Father, and believe in the One He sent, Jesus.
Years later, Jesus allowed John to see Heaven’s Revelation and to write down much, with the intention of letting us all know that Heaven is not just a stopping place, but a time when we will see how Jesus will rend all evil to be put down completely. A long process and a longing process. Then we will be blessed to walk in and out of God’s City, New Jerusalem, and partake in the Tree of Life, and live Heavenly ever after. Never will God’s resources run dry.
Jesus says what Elijah also came to demonstrate: that you’ve got to believe in God and the One He sent. We are still being sent signs, we get to rise each day. We get to enjoy God’s gifts of food and shelter. We get to enjoy extra things in life too. And we get to see a cycle of life that doesn’t end with the grave, but continue in Heaven. Most importantly, by Jesus and the Spirit of Truth, we get the opportunity to believe and heed Him, without that we will be stuck outside His gates.
‘Will you heed Me now?’
One more thing: we are to believe Jesus is coming back too – SOON…
“All will heed Me then”
Amen
Revelation 22:7-17
“Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.” I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!” Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near. Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.”
Epilogue: Invitation and Warning: “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
“Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.
Psalm 69: 13-18
But I pray to you, Lord, in the time of your favor; in your great love, O God, answer me with your sure salvation.
Rescue me from the mire, do not let me sink; deliver me from those who hate me, from the deep waters. Do not let the floodwaters engulf me or the depths swallow me up or the pit close its mouth over me.
Answer me, Lord, out of the goodness of your love; in your great mercy turn to me. Do not hide your face from your servant; answer me quickly, for I am in trouble. Come near and rescue me; deliver me because of my foes.
Debbie Upper 