The Ways of Visitation 3 Famines Long Ago and Not Far Away

The Ways of Visitation 3

Famines Long Ago and Not Far Away

Signs of the End of the Age

Your Word Is a Lamp to My Feet

Psa 119:169-176 KJV  TAU. Let my cry come near before thee, O LORD: give me understanding according to thy word.  (170)  Let my supplication come before thee: deliver me according to thy word.  (171)  My lips shall utter praise, when thou hast taught me thy statutes.  (172)  My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness.  (173)  Let thine hand help me; for I have chosen thy precepts.  (174)  I have longed for thy salvation, O LORD; and thy law is my delight.  (175)  Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee; and let thy judgments help me.  (176)  I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments.

Ecc 1:9-11 KJV  The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.  (10)  Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.  (11)  There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.

Ecc 3:14-15 KJV  I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.  (15)  That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.

Ecc 3:16 KJV  And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.

Luk 21:10-11 KJV  Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:  (11)  And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem

Luk 19:41-44 KJV  And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,  (42)  Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.  (43)  For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,  (44)  And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

Hello again friends. We are returning back to the subject of famines and scripture. We explored in our earlier journeys how not even the patriarchs were spared from the famine conditions in their respective ways. We will pick up the subject again in this journey. The last look at famine we explored concerned the times of David and Ahab. 

We explored how the things that took place during Elijah’s ministry on earth would have outcomes in the book of Revelation. We expect he will be 1 of the 2 witnesses found in Revelation 11. He will have power to cause famines and other things. 

The prophet who took over as Elijah’s successor was Elisha. In the book of 2nd Kings there was a famine during his ministry. Here is the account of the great famine in his time. 

Horses and Chariots of Fire

2Ki 6:8-14 KJV  Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp.  (9)  And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down.  (10)  And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice.  (11)  Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel?  (12)  And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.  (13)  And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.  (14)  Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about.

2Ki 6:15-18 KJV  And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?  (16)  And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.  (17)  And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.  (18)  And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.

2Ki 6:19-23 KJV  And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. But he led them to Samaria.  (20)  And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.  (21)  And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?  (22)  And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.  (23)  And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.

Deu 20:11-18 KJV  And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee.  (12)  And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it:  (13)  And when the LORD thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword:  (14)  But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which the LORD thy God hath given thee.  (15)  Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations.  (16)  But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth:  (17)  But thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee:  (18)  That they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so should ye sin against the LORD your God.

The passage of time brings upon the land a very severe famine. As we read through the passages, please take note of the descriptions the passage informs us of.

Ben-hadad's Siege of Samaria

2Ki 6:24-29 KJV  And it came to pass after this, that Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria.  (25)  And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove's dung for five pieces of silver.  (26)  And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, O king.  (27)  And he said, If the LORD do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? out of the barnfloor, or out of the winepress?  (28)  And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat him to day, and we will eat my son to morrow.  (29)  So we boiled my son, and did eat him: and I said unto her on the next day, Give thy son, that we may eat him: and she hath hid her son.

2Ki 6:30-33 KJV  And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent his clothes; and he passed by upon the wall, and the people looked, and, behold, he had sackcloth within upon his flesh.  (31)  Then he said, God do so and more also to me, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day.  (32)  But Elisha sat in his house, and the elders sat with him; and the king sent a man from before him: but ere the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, See ye how this son of a murderer hath sent to take away mine head? look, when the messenger cometh, shut the door, and hold him fast at the door: is not the sound of his master's feet behind him?  (33)  And while he yet talked with them, behold, the messenger came down unto him: and he said, Behold, this evil is of the LORD; what should I wait for the LORD any longer?

2Ki 6:25 KJV  And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove's dung for five pieces of silver.

Can you imagine eating the excrement of doves or pigeons as some commentaries point out. Even worse than that is the eating of a human child as the passage tells us people were doing. 

Now fast forward if you will and think about the inflation we are experiencing. The cost of food as well as the fuel needed to get there is soaring. Friends we already know that Lord Yeshua/Jesus has told us some major earthquakes are coming. As bad as these are and going to be are nothing compared to what we read in Revelation. Let’s pray that something like New Madrid fault line does not start shaking. 

Elisha Promises Food

2Ki 7:1-2 KJV  Then Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the LORD; Thus saith the LORD, To morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.  (2)  Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.

The Syrians Flee

2Ki 7:3-7 KJV  And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die?  (4)  If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.  (5)  And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians: and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there.  (6)  For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.  (7)  Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life.

2Ki 7:8-16 KJV  And when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it; and came again, and entered into another tent, and carried thence also, and went and hid it.  (9)  Then they said one to another, We do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king's household.  (10)  So they came and called unto the porter of the city: and they told them, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there was no man there, neither voice of man, but horses tied, and asses tied, and the tents as they were.  (11)  And he called the porters; and they told it to the king's house within.  (12)  And the king arose in the night, and said unto his servants, I will now shew you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we be hungry; therefore are they gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city.  (13)  And one of his servants answered and said, Let some take, I pray thee, five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city, (behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it: behold, I say, they are even as all the multitude of the Israelites that are consumed:) and let us send and see.  (14)  They took therefore two chariot horses; and the king sent after the host of the Syrians, saying, Go and see.  (15)  And they went after them unto Jordan: and, lo, all the way was full of garments and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their haste. And the messengers returned, and told the king.  (16)  And the people went out, and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD.

Although we will not develop the full history here it’s easy to see that once again the nation was spared of the famine. This is another example of ABBA Father supernaturally taking care of His own during the famine. 

As we will explore next this was not the only famine during the ministry of Elisha. There is another famine called for by ABBA Father. 

2Ki 8:1-6 KJV  Then spake Elisha unto the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying, Arise, and go thou and thine household, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst sojourn: for the LORD hath called for a famine; and it shall also come upon the land seven years.  (2)  And the woman arose, and did after the saying of the man of God: and she went with her household, and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years.  (3)  And it came to pass at the seven years' end, that the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines: and she went forth to cry unto the king for her house and for her land.  (4)  And the king talked with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath done.  (5)  And it came to pass, as he was telling the king how he had restored a dead body to life, that, behold, the woman, whose son he had restored to life, cried to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.  (6)  And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed unto her a certain officer, saying, Restore all that was hers, and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the land, even until now.

In our last get together we jumped a little history and explored the onset of the famine caused by the siege of Jerusalem. A couple of the famines we explored were caused by warfare and the choking off of supplies. Again much like we are seeing Russia do in the Ukraine right now. 

Ecc 1:9-11 KJV  The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.  (10)  Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.  (11)  There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.

Fall and Captivity of Judah

2Ki 25:1-7 KJV  And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts against it round about.  (2)  And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.  (3)  And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land.  (4)  And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king's garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about:) and the king went the way toward the plain.  (5)  And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho: and all his army were scattered from him.  (6)  So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him.  (7)  And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.

We explored how a famine came upon the nation of Israel because Saul violated a treaty of peace with the Gibeonites. Now with this we look back to the past at an incident that took place under the rule of king David. 

David's Census Brings Pestilence

1Ch 21:1-8 KJV  And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.  (2)  And David said to Joab and to the rulers of the people, Go, number Israel from Beersheba even to Dan; and bring the number of them to me, that I may know it.  (3)  And Joab answered, The LORD make his people an hundred times so many more as they be: but, my lord the king, are they not all my lord's servants? why then doth my lord require this thing? why will he be a cause of trespass to Israel?  (4)  Nevertheless the king's word prevailed against Joab. Wherefore Joab departed, and went throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem.  (5)  And Joab gave the sum of the number of the people unto David. And all they of Israel were a thousand thousand and an hundred thousand men that drew sword: and Judah was four hundred threescore and ten thousand men that drew sword.  (6)  But Levi and Benjamin counted he not among them: for the king's word was abominable to Joab.  (7)  And God was displeased with this thing; therefore he smote Israel.  (8)  And David said unto God, I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing: but now, I beseech thee, do away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.

1Ch 21:9-15 KJV  And the LORD spake unto Gad, David's seer, saying,  (10)  Go and tell David, saying, Thus saith the LORD, I offer thee three things: choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee.  (11)  So Gad came to David, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Choose thee  (12)  Either three years' famine; or three months to be destroyed before thy foes, while that the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee; or else three days the sword of the LORD, even the pestilence, in the land, and the angel of the LORD destroying throughout all the coasts of Israel. Now therefore advise thyself what word I shall bring again to him that sent me.  (13)  And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let me fall now into the hand of the LORD; for very great are his mercies: but let me not fall into the hand of man.  (14)  So the LORD sent pestilence upon Israel: and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men.  (15)  And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was destroying, the LORD beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough, stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD stood by the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.

1Ch 21:16-17 KJV  And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the LORD stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces.  (17)  And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but as for these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, O LORD my God, be on me, and on my father's house; but not on thy people, that they should be plagued.

The reason we included this passage was because in this instance ABBA Father gave choice to David concerning punishment. Although famine was not the method ABBA Father used in this case we also share a common interest in all this with pestilence. Just look at the world as it is right now. 

Many scholars have differing opinions regarding this incident. That is to say why David did what he did. Perhaps he was thinking about a taxation system for example. We will leave this up to your opinion. 

The next time frame we will explore is during the time of king Hezekiah. With the conquest of the northern kingdoms that ABBA Father permitted. So as with most men of conquest the Assyrian king comes toward Judah.

Sennacherib Invades Judah

2Ch 32:1-8 KJV  After these things, and the establishment thereof, Sennacherib king of Assyria came, and entered into Judah, and encamped against the fenced cities, and thought to win them for himself.  (2)  And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come, and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem,  (3)  He took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains which were without the city: and they did help him.  (4)  So there was gathered much people together, who stopped all the fountains, and the brook that ran through the midst of the land, saying, Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find much water?  (5)  Also he strengthened himself, and built up all the wall that was broken, and raised it up to the towers, and another wall without, and repaired Millo in the city of David, and made darts and shields in abundance.  (6)  And he set captains of war over the people, and gathered them together to him in the street of the gate of the city, and spake comfortably to them, saying,  (7)  Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him:  (8)  With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

Sennacherib Blasphemes

2Ch 32:9-14 KJV  After this did Sennacherib king of Assyria send his servants to Jerusalem, (but he himself laid siege against Lachish, and all his power with him,) unto Hezekiah king of Judah, and unto all Judah that were at Jerusalem, saying,  (10)  Thus saith Sennacherib king of Assyria, Whereon do ye trust, that ye abide in the siege in Jerusalem?  (11)  Doth not Hezekiah persuade you to give over yourselves to die by famine and by thirst, saying, The LORD our God shall deliver us out of the hand of the king of Assyria?  (12)  Hath not the same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall worship before one altar, and burn incense upon it?  (13)  Know ye not what I and my fathers have done unto all the people of other lands? were the gods of the nations of those lands any ways able to deliver their lands out of mine hand?  (14)  Who was there among all the gods of those nations that my fathers utterly destroyed, that could deliver his people out of mine hand, that your God should be able to deliver you out of mine hand?

Now let’s slow down for just 1 quick moment. Sennacherib comes against Judah and blasphemes ABBA Father. There is 1 big difference in the gods and “The God” ABBA Father. We do not want to overlook the fact that Sennacherib threatened a famine due to siege. As we mentioned though he (Sennacherib)was ignorant to the power of ABBA Father. He also was to naïve to understand that Hezekiah had a special relationship with ABBA Father and His prophet Isaiah. 

2Ch 32:15-19 KJV  Now therefore let not Hezekiah deceive you, nor persuade you on this manner, neither yet believe him: for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people out of mine hand, and out of the hand of my fathers: how much less shall your God deliver you out of mine hand?  (16)  And his servants spake yet more against the LORD God, and against his servant Hezekiah.  (17)  He wrote also letters to rail on the LORD God of Israel, and to speak against him, saying, As the gods of the nations of other lands have not delivered their people out of mine hand, so shall not the God of Hezekiah deliver his people out of mine hand.  (18)  Then they cried with a loud voice in the Jews' speech unto the people of Jerusalem that were on the wall, to affright them, and to trouble them; that they might take the city.  (19)  And they spake against the God of Jerusalem, as against the gods of the people of the earth, which were the work of the hands of man.

The Lord Delivers Jerusalem

2Ch 32:20-23 KJV  And for this cause Hezekiah the king, and the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz, prayed and cried to heaven.  (21)  And the LORD sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword.  (22)  Thus the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all other, and guided them on every side.  (23)  And many brought gifts unto the LORD to Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah king of Judah: so that he was magnified in the sight of all nations from thenceforth.

Friends notice the similarities in Sennacherib’s actions and the tactics of our enemy Satan. First the accusations which is what our enemy is. Then the taunting that comes regarding the power of false gods and ABBA Father. 

Rev 12:7-10 KJV  And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,  (8)  And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.  (9)  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.  (10)  And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

Rev 12:11-12 KJV  And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.  (12)  Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

Of course 1 thing to keep in mind is that not only the patriarchs of our faith and leaders of Israel experienced these famines. The nations around them experienced them as well. The only reason Egypt survived in the days of Joseph was because of their days with Joseph. 

Some times ABBA Father Himself prophesied against these other nations to include famine as we will read here. 

An Oracle Concerning Philistia

Isa 14:28-32 KJV  In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden.  (29)  Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.  (30)  And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety: and I will kill thy root with famine, and he shall slay thy remnant.  (31)  Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times.  (32)  What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation? That the LORD hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it.

This prophecy concerns the spiritual king of Babylon as well as the natural. ABBA Father is going to consume these folks by means of famine. Verifying the old phrase the quickest way to a man’s loyalty is through his stomach. We will be exploring this prophecy in the not so distant future ABBA Father willing as we continue in our looks into Isaiah. 

The Humiliation of Babylon

Isa 47:1-7 KJV  Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.  (2)  Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers.  (3)  Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man.  (4)  As for our redeemer, the LORD of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.  (5)  Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called, The lady of kingdoms.  (6)  I was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine inheritance, and given them into thine hand: thou didst shew them no mercy; upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke.  (7)  And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever: so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end of it.

Isa 47:8-11 KJV  Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children:  (9)  But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments.  (10)  For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me.  (11)  Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know.

The Lord's Comfort for Zion

Isa 51:1-7 KJV  Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.  (2)  Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.  (3)  For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.  (4)  Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people.  (5)  My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust.  (6)  Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.  (7)  Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.

Isa 51:8-15 KJV  For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation.  (9)  Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?  (10)  Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over?  (11)  Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.  (12)  I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass;  (13)  And forgettest the LORD thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor?  (14)  The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed, and that he should not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail.  (15)  But I am the LORD thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared: The LORD of hosts is his name.

Isa 51:16-23 KJV  And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people.  (17)  Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of his fury; thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out.  (18)  There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she hath brought forth; neither is there any that taketh her by the hand of all the sons that she hath brought up.  (19)  These two things are come unto thee; who shall be sorry for thee? desolation, and destruction, and the famine, and the sword: by whom shall I comfort thee?  (20)  Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, as a wild bull in a net: they are full of the fury of the LORD, the rebuke of thy God.  (21)  Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine:  (22)  Thus saith thy Lord the LORD, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again:  (23)  But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over: and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street, to them that went over.

Babylon’s humiliation is the ABBA Father’s comfort for Zion. 

This is a fulfillment of prophecy according to Deuteronomy. 

Repentance and Forgiveness

Deu 30:1-7 KJV  And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee,  (2)  And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul;  (3)  That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee.  (4)  If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:  (5)  And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.  (6)  And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.  (7)  And the LORD thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee.

The same punishments used to destroy the nation of Israel now placed upon their adversaries. This is the way it worked back and forth right up to the coming of Lord Yeshua/Jesus. 

As we start to close this journey out we will explore some of the things we learn as believers to let us know we are protected. 

Those Who Fear God Will Do Well

Ecc 8:10-13 KJV  And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is also vanity.  (11)  Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.  (12)  Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him:  (13)  But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.

Ecc 8:11 KJV  Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.

The child mentality if we got by with it once we can do it again or something even worse. People like Putin who has constantly used illegal tactics against civilians in the Ukraine. 

Here in America we are seeing crimes being committed by the masses. Mob like smash and grabs, carjacking and murders. They get by once they do it again. The key is not letting it get stared in the first place. 

Psa 33:18-19 KJV  Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;  (19)  To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.

He Will Not Forsake His Saints

Psa 37:16-20 KJV  A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.  (17)  For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous.  (18)  The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.  (19)  They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.  (20)  But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.

Job 5:17-20 KJV  Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:  (18)  For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole.  (19)  He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.  (20)  In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword.

The Great Commission

Mat 28:16-20 KJV  Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.  (17)  And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.  (18)  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.  (19)  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:  (20)  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

God's Everlasting Love

Rom 8:31-39 KJV  What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?  (32)  He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?  (33)  Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.  (34)  Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.  (35)  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  (36)  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.  (37)  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.  (38)  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,  (39)  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Rev 22:7 KJV  Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

Rev 22:12-13 KJV  And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.  (13)  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

Rev 22:20 KJV  He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Mic 7:7 KJV  Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.

As always thanks for sharing a word

God Bless