[Ohio-Communities-of-Faith] DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR MONDAY APRIL 18

[Donnie Parrett]

DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR MONDAY APRIL 18

MEMORY SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK

Nehemiah 4:6
So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half
thereof: for the people had a mind to work.

___

WORD OF WISDOM

Never laugh at your spouse's choices; you are one of them.

___

DAILY DEVOTION

Where is God Calling You?

"Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief." 
(Isaiah 53:10a) 
 
  When Jesus Christ suffered as our substitute, He took the full force of
the Father's wrath. The fires of God's wrath burned themselves out on the
Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary. No one ever suffered like the Lord Jesus. He,
the Son of God, who had been in the bosom of the Father for all eternity,
was not only abandoned by the Father but also became the object of the
Father's loathing and wrath. All the sin of the world was distilled into
that cup He drank.
How could Jesus suffer an eternity of hell on the cross? The reason is this:
He, being infinite, suffered in a finite period what we, being finite, would
suffer in an infinite period. The eternities were compressed upon Jesus. The
sins of the world were distilled upon Jesus. We cannot begin to imagine the
emotional suffering of the Lord Jesus Christ. No wonder He lay there
prostrate on the ground with red blood and black dirt on His face, saying,
"Father, if there be some other way, please! Let this cup pass from Me." But
the silence from Heaven said, "There is no other way." So, the dear Savior
said, "Then not My will, but Thine be done."
What does it tell you of Jesus's love for you that He denied His own will to
rescue you?
Where is God calling you to follow His will instead of your own?
Consider where God is calling you to follow His will over your own and act
in accordance with that conviction today.

___

DAILY BIBLE READING

2 Kings 16-18 New King James Version
Ahaz Reigns in Judah
16 In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of
Jotham, king of Judah, began to reign. 2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he
became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do
what was right in the sight of the Lord his God, as his father David had
done. 3 But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel; indeed he made his
son pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom
the Lord had cast out from before the children of Israel. 4 And he
sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under
every green tree.

5 Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel,
came up to Jerusalem to make war; and they besieged Ahaz but could not
overcome him. 6 At that time Rezin king of Syria captured [a]Elath for
Syria, and drove the men of Judah from Elath. Then the [b]Edomites went to
Elath, and dwell there to this day.

7 So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-Pileser[c] king of Assyria, saying, "I
am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hand of the king
of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel, who rise up against me." 8
And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord,
and in the treasuries of the king's house, and sent it as a present to the
king of Assyria. 9 So the king of Assyria heeded him; for the king of
Assyria went up against Damascus and took it, carried its people captive to
Kir, and killed Rezin.

10 Now King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria,
and saw an altar that was at Damascus; and King Ahaz sent to Urijah the
priest the design of the altar and its pattern, according to all its
workmanship. 11 Then Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that
King Ahaz had sent from Damascus. So Urijah the priest made it before King
Ahaz came back from Damascus. 12 And when the king came back from Damascus,
the king saw the altar; and the king approached the altar and made offerings
on it. 13 So he burned his burnt offering and his grain offering; and he
poured his drink offering and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings on
the altar. 14 He also brought the bronze altar which was before the Lord,
from the front of the [d]temple-from between the new altar and the house of
the Lord-and put it on the north side of the new altar. 15 Then King Ahaz
commanded Urijah the priest, saying, "On the great new altar burn the
morning burnt offering, the evening grain offering, the king's burnt
sacrifice, and his grain offering, with the burnt offering of all the people
of the land, their grain offering, and their drink offerings; and sprinkle
on it all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of the
sacrifice. And the bronze altar shall be for me to inquire by." 16 Thus did
Urijah the priest, according to all that King Ahaz commanded.

17 And King Ahaz cut off the panels of the carts, and removed the lavers
from them; and he took down the Sea from the bronze oxen that were under it,
and put it on a pavement of stones. 18 Also he removed the Sabbath pavilion
which they had built in the temple, and he removed the king's outer entrance
from the house of the Lord, on account of the king of Assyria.

19 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, are they not written in
the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 20 So Ahaz rested with his
fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. Then Hezekiah
his son reigned in his place.

Hoshea Reigns in Israel
17 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea the son of Elah became
king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned nine years. 2 And he did evil in
the sight of the Lord, but not as the kings of Israel who were before him. 3
Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against him; and Hoshea became his
vassal, and paid him tribute money. 4 And the king of Assyria uncovered a
conspiracy by Hoshea; for he had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and
brought no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year.
Therefore the king of Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison.

Israel Carried Captive to Assyria
5 Now the king of Assyria went throughout all the land, and went up to
Samaria and besieged it for three years. 6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the
king of Assyria took Samaria and carried Israel away to Assyria, and placed
them in Halah and by the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the
Medes.

7 For so it was that the children of Israel had sinned against the Lord
their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the
hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and they had feared other gods, 8 and had
walked in the statutes of the nations whom the Lord had cast out from before
the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made. 9
Also the children of Israel secretly did against the Lord their God things
that were not right, and they built for themselves [e]high places in all
their cities, from watchtower to fortified city. 10 They set up for
themselves sacred pillars and wooden images[f] on every high hill and under
every green tree. 11 There they burned incense on all the high places, like
the nations whom the Lord had carried away before them; and they did wicked
things to provoke the Lord to anger, 12 for they served idols, of which the
Lord had said to them, "You shall not do this thing."

13 Yet the Lord testified against Israel and against Judah, by all of His
prophets, every seer, saying, "Turn from your evil ways, and keep My
commandments and My statutes, according to all the law which I commanded
your fathers, and which I sent to you by My servants the prophets." 14
Nevertheless they would not hear, but stiffened their necks, like the necks
of their fathers, who did not believe in the Lord their God. 15 And they
rejected His statutes and His covenant that He had made with their fathers,
and His testimonies which He had testified against them; they followed
idols, became idolaters, and went after the nations who were all around
them, concerning whom the Lord had charged them that they should not do like
them. 16 So they left all the commandments of the Lord their God, made for
themselves a molded image and two calves, made a wooden image and worshiped
all the host of heaven, and served Baal. 17 And they caused their sons and
daughters to pass through the fire, practiced witchcraft and soothsaying,
and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to
anger. 18 Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them
from His sight; there was none left but the tribe of Judah alone.

19 Also Judah did not keep the commandments of the Lord their God, but
walked in the statutes of Israel which they made. 20 And the Lord rejected
all the descendants of Israel, afflicted them, and delivered them into the
hand of plunderers, until He had cast them from His sight. 21 For He tore
Israel from the house of David, and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat
king. Then Jeroboam drove Israel from following the Lord, and made them
commit a great sin. 22 For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of
Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them, 23 until the Lord
removed Israel out of His sight, as He had said by all His servants the
prophets. So Israel was carried away from their own land to Assyria, as it
is to this day.

Assyria Resettles Samaria
24 Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava,
Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria
instead of the children of Israel; and they took possession of Samaria and
dwelt in its cities. 25 And it was so, at the beginning of their dwelling
there, that they did not fear the Lord; therefore the Lord sent lions among
them, which killed some of them. 26 So they spoke to the king of Assyria,
saying, "The nations whom you have removed and placed in the cities of
Samaria do not know the rituals of the God of the land; therefore He has
sent lions among them, and indeed, they are killing them because they do not
know the rituals of the God of the land." 27 Then the king of Assyria
commanded, saying, "Send there one of the priests whom you brought from
there; let him go and dwell there, and let him teach them the rituals of the
God of the land." 28 Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from
Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the
Lord.

29 However every nation continued to make gods of its own, and put them in
the shrines on the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation
in the cities where they dwelt. 30 The men of Babylon made Succoth Benoth,
the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, 31 and the
Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burned their children in
fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. 32 So they
feared the Lord, and from every class they appointed for themselves priests
of the [g]high places, who sacrificed for them in the shrines of the high
places. 33 They feared the Lord, yet served their own gods-according to the
rituals of the nations from among whom they were carried away.

34 To this day they continue practicing the former rituals; they do not fear
the Lord, nor do they follow their statutes or their ordinances, or the law
and commandment which the Lord had commanded the children of Jacob, whom He
named Israel, 35 with whom the Lord had made a covenant and charged them,
saying: "You shall not fear other gods, nor bow down to them nor serve them
nor sacrifice to them; 36 but the Lord, who brought you up from the land of
Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm, Him you shall fear, Him you
shall worship, and to Him you shall offer sacrifice. 37 And the statutes,
the ordinances, the law, and the commandment which He wrote for you, you
shall be careful to observe forever; you shall not fear other gods. 38 And
the covenant that I have made with you, you shall not forget, nor shall you
fear other gods. 39 But the Lord your God you shall fear; and He will
deliver you from the hand of all your enemies." 40 However they did not
obey, but they followed their former rituals. 41 So these nations feared the
Lord, yet served their carved images; also their children and their
children's children have continued doing as their fathers did, even to this
day.

Hezekiah Reigns in Judah
18 Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea the son of Elah, king of
Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign. 2 He
was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine
years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abi[h] the daughter of Zechariah.
3 And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that
his father David had done.

4 He removed the [i]high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the
[j]wooden image and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made;
for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it, and called
it [k]Nehushtan. 5 He trusted in the Lord God of Israel, so that after him
was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him. 6
For he held fast to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him, but kept
His commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses. 7 The Lord was with
him; he prospered wherever he went. And he rebelled against the king of
Assyria and did not serve him. 8 He [l]subdued the Philistines, as far as
Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city.

9 Now it came to pass in the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the
seventh year of Hoshea the son of Elah, king of Israel, that Shalmaneser
king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it. 10 And at the end
of three years they took it. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, that is, the
ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken. 11 Then the king of
Assyria carried Israel away captive to Assyria, and put them in Halah and by
the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, 12 because
they did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, but transgressed His
covenant and all that Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded; and they
would neither hear nor do them.

13 And in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria
came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. 14 Then
Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, "I
have done wrong; turn away from me; whatever you impose on me I will pay."
And the king of Assyria assessed Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred
talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. 15 So Hezekiah gave him all
the silver that was found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of
the king's house. 16 At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold from the doors
of the temple of the Lord, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah
had overlaid, and gave [m]it to the king of Assyria.

Sennacherib Boasts Against the Lord
17 Then the king of Assyria sent the [n]Tartan, the [o]Rabsaris, and the
[p]Rabshakeh from Lachish, with a great army against Jerusalem, to King
Hezekiah. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. When they had come up,
they went and stood by the aqueduct from the upper pool, which was on the
highway to the Fuller's Field. 18 And when they had called to the king,
Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the
[q]scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to them. 19
Then the Rabshakeh said to them, "Say now to Hezekiah, 'Thus says the great
king, the king of Assyria: "What confidence is this in which you trust? 20
You speak of having plans and power for war; but they are [r]mere words. And
in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me? 21 Now look! You are
trusting in the staff of this broken reed, Egypt, on which if a man leans,
it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all
who trust in him. 22 But if you say to me, 'We trust in the Lord our God,'
is it not He whose [s]high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away,
and said to Judah and Jerusalem, 'You shall worship before this altar in
Jerusalem'?" ' 23 Now therefore, I urge you, give a pledge to my master the
king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses-if you are able on
your part to put riders on them! 24 How then will you repel one captain of
the least of my master's servants, and put your trust in Egypt for chariots
and horsemen? 25 Have I now come up without the Lord against this place to
destroy it? The Lord said to me, 'Go up against this land, and destroy it.'
"

26 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh,
"Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it; and do not
speak to us in [t]Hebrew in the hearing of the people who are on the wall."

27 But the Rabshakeh said to them, "Has my master sent me to your master and
to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, who
will eat and drink their own waste with you?"

28 Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out with a loud voice in [u]Hebrew,
and spoke, saying, "Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! 29
Thus says the king: 'Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he shall not be
able to deliver you from his hand; 30 nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the
Lord, saying, "The Lord will surely deliver us; this city shall not be given
into the hand of the king of Assyria." ' 31 Do not listen to Hezekiah; for
thus says the king of Assyria: 'Make peace with me [v]by a present and come
out to me; and every one of you eat from his own vine and every one from his
own fig tree, and every one of you drink the waters of his own cistern; 32
until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain
and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive groves and
honey, that you may live and not die. But do not listen to Hezekiah, lest he
persuade you, saying, "The Lord will deliver us." 33 Has any of the gods of
the nations at all delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria?
34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim
and Hena and Ivah? Indeed, have they delivered Samaria from my hand? 35 Who
among all the gods of the lands have delivered their countries from my hand,
that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?' "

36 But the people held their peace and answered him not a word; for the
king's commandment was, "Do not answer him." 37 Then Eliakim the son of
Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of
Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him
the words of the Rabshakeh.

Footnotes
2 Kings 16:6 Lit. Large Tree; sing. of Eloth
2 Kings 16:6 A few ancient mss. Syrians
2 Kings 16:7 A later name of Pul, 2 Kin. 15:19
2 Kings 16:14 Lit. house
2 Kings 17:9 Places for pagan worship
2 Kings 17:10 Heb. Asherim, Canaanite deities
2 Kings 17:32 Places for pagan worship
2 Kings 18:2 Abijah, 2 Chr. 29:1ff.
2 Kings 18:4 Places for pagan worship
2 Kings 18:4 Heb. Asherah, a Canaanite goddess
2 Kings 18:4 Lit. Bronze Thing, also similar to Heb. nahash, serpent
2 Kings 18:8 Lit. struck
2 Kings 18:16 Lit. them
2 Kings 18:17 A title, probably Commander in Chief
2 Kings 18:17 A title, probably Chief Officer
2 Kings 18:17 A title, probably Chief of Staff or Governor
2 Kings 18:18 secretary
2 Kings 18:20 Lit. a word of the lips
2 Kings 18:22 Places for pagan worship
2 Kings 18:26 Lit. Judean
2 Kings 18:28 Lit. Judean
2 Kings 18:31 By paying tribute