Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem(2/28/19)[Prayer]

The Holy Scriptures | 2/28/19 | left that other site

[left that other site]

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem

(Old Testament)

1 Samuel 6

The Ark Returned to Israel

6 When the ark of the Lord had been in Philistine territory seven months, 2 the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us how we should send it back to its place.”

3 They answered, “If you return the ark of the god of Israel, do not send it back to him without a gift; by all means send a guilt offering to him. Then you will be healed, and you will know why his hand has not been lifted from you.”

4 The Philistines asked, “What guilt offering should we send to him?”

They replied, “Five gold tumors and five gold rats, according to the number of the Philistine rulers, because the same plague has struck both you and your rulers. 5 Make models of the tumors and of the rats that are destroying the country, and give glory to Israel’s god. Perhaps he will lift his hand from you and your gods and your land. 6 Why do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh did? When Israel’s god dealt harshly with them, did they not send the Israelites out so they could go on their way?

7 “Now then, get a new cart ready, with two cows that have calved and have never been yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up. 8 Take the ark of the Lord and put it on the cart, and in a chest beside it put the gold objects you are sending back to him as a guilt offering. Send it on its way, 9 but keep watching it. If it goes up to its own territory, toward Beth Shemesh, then the Lord has brought this great disaster on us. But if it does not, then we will know that it was not his hand that struck us but that it happened to us by chance.”

10 So they did this. They took two such cows and hitched them to the cart and penned up their calves. 11 They placed the ark of the Lord on the cart and along with it the chest containing the gold rats and the models of the tumors. 12 Then the cows went straight up toward Beth Shemesh, keeping on the road and lowing all the way; they did not turn to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed them as far as the border of Beth Shemesh.

13 Now the people of Beth Shemesh were harvesting their wheat in the valley, and when they looked up and saw the ark, they rejoiced at the sight. 14 The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and there it stopped beside a large rock. The people chopped up the wood of the cart and sacrificed the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. 15 The Levites took down the ark of the Lord, together with the chest containing the gold objects, and placed them on the large rock. On that day the people of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the Lord. 16 The five rulers of the Philistines saw all this and then returned that same day to Ekron.

17 These are the gold tumors the Philistines sent as a guilt offering to the Lord—one each for Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron. 18 And the number of the gold rats was according to the number of Philistine towns belonging to the five rulers—the fortified towns with their country villages. The large rock on which the Levites set the ark of the Lord is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh.

19 But God struck down some of the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh, putting seventy[a] of them to death because they looked into the ark of the Lord. The people mourned because of the heavy blow the Lord had dealt them. 20 And the people of Beth Shemesh asked, “Who can stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God? To whom will the ark go up from here?”

21 Then they sent messengers to the people of Kiriath Jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down and take it up to your town.”

Footnotes:

1. 1 Samuel 6:19 A few Hebrew manuscripts; most Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint 50,070

(End of Scripture Passage)



Here we see the pagan practice of "Votive Offerings" created to appease an angry god. This practice, which goes back to Prehistoric Cave Paintings, consists of making a REPLICA of the item that is being prayed about and presenting it as a gift. Now, the word "votive" has a different meaning, as we now know it to be a little 2" x 1" diameter candle that makes the house smell nice.

New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Religion Forum threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind.

[left that other site]

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem

Our Father,

Who Art in Heaven,

How Wonderful and Magnificent is Your Most Holy Name!

For You Alone Are Worthy,

You Alone Are Holy,

You Alone Are The Most High!

Omnipotent,

Omniscient,

And Omnipresent,

You Know The End from the Beginning

and the Beginning from the End.

We Bless Your Name and Thank You,

Most Gracious and Hallowed LORD,

For Your Holy Word,

While Sometimes Puzzling,

Is Always True and Mighty,

and Cuts to the Heart of Things like a Two Edged Sword!



We Pray For The Leaders of Our Nation,
May They Be Inspired and Led By You,
And Please Guide Them in All Things.

We Pray for The Peace of Jerusalem, and For Revival in Our Own Land.

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.



Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[ConorMacNessa]

PRAYERS ASCENDING ON HIGH FOR
THE PEACE OF JERUSALEM!
And for the Preservation of the Valiant
Israeli Nation!

"The Return Of The Ark To Beth-Shamesh"
Gustave Doré

_

ND the ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months. 2 And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the LORD? tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place.

3 And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty; but in any wise return him a trespass offering: then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you.

4 Then said they, What shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him? They answered, Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on your lords.

5 Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel: peradventure he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land.

6 Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed?

7 Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them:

8 And take the ark of the LORD, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which ye return him for a trespass offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, that it may go.

9 And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Bethshemesh, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that smote us: it was a chance that happened to us.

10 And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home:

11 And they laid the ark of the LORD upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their emerods.

12 And the kine took the straight way to the way of Bethshemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Bethshemesh.

13 And they of Bethshemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley: and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.

14 And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Bethshemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt offering unto the LORD.

15 And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD, and the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone: and the men of Bethshemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the LORD.

16 And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.

17 And these are the golden emerods which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering unto the LORD; for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one;

18 And the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fenced cities, and of country villages, even unto the great stone of Abel, whereon they set down the ark of the LORD: which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua, the Bethshemite.

19 And he smote the men of Bethshemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the LORD had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter.

20 And the men of Bethshemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God? and to whom shall he go up from us?

21 And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjathjearim, saying, The Philistines have brought again the ark of the LORD; come ye down, and fetch it up to you.

_______________________________________________ 1 Samuel 6 (KJV)

PRAYERS ASCENDING ON HIGH For ML In This Time Of Tribulation.

PRAYERS ASCENDING ON HIGH For the Repose of the Soul of ML's Mom.

PRAYERS ASCENDING ON HIGH For A Rapid Recovery For Our Own Yorkie.

PRAYERS ASCENDING ON HIGH For A Rapid Recovery For Our FRiend Uri'el2012.

PRAYERS ASCENDING ON HIGH For The Safety Of Our Gallant Troops And For The Success Of Their Vital Mission.

PRAYERS ASCENDING ON HIGH For The Repose Of The Souls Of Our Embassy Staff In Libya Who Were Assassinated 11 September 2012.

PRAYERS ASCENDING ON HIGH For The Deliverance Of Our Beloved Nation From The Lion’s Mouth.

PRAYERS ASCENDING ON HIGH For Our Brethren Of All Faiths Throughout The World Suffering Persecution.

We pray in particular on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Libya and throughout the Mideast. The members of the oldest of our Christian Communities, some of which date from the days of the Apostles, suffer under cruel, merciless and unrelenting persecution. They are Orthodox and Catholic, Protestant and Evangelical, Coptic, Pentecostal, and Baptist. To the persecutors, we are all "Nazarenes."

[left that other site]

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem

As some of you may know, I am part Mi'Q-Maq Indian on my Dad's side of the family. His family migrated from Canada three generations ago to Gloucester, MA and were fishermen. The were totally assimilated, changed their last name to English from French, and kept it a secret that they were "Indians". We kids did not even know about this until the big genealogy craze in the 1980's, when we found out that Dad's grandfather was a chief of a Mi'Q-Maq clan and was married to a full-blood Inuit Princess named Salome. My cousins in Oklahoma are Choctaw and Cherokee(of course!) and actually are members of those tribes. Let it be known. I have NEVER checked the box on a job application that I am "Native American", mostly because I didn't know, but also because I have always wanted to succeed on my own, without handouts from the "gub'mint".

My sister and her husband moved to Northern Maine, where they are involved in ministering the Gospel to what Canada calls "First Nations People". Meanwhile, I despise Winter, even on the South Shore of Massachusetts, and would rather live on a Caribbean Island. But. I digress!

Let me tell you about how this really fits in with Today's Reading!

After years of persecution, suddenly it's cool to be an Indian. As my cousin said, "Suddenly, we're IN STYLE! HA HA" At Inter-tribal Pow-Wows, there are dozens of booths manned by non-native craftspeople, selling items that LOOK "Indian" but were probably MADE IN CHINA. Essential oils, incense, sage bundles, herbal teas, blankets, paintings, medicine wheels, and, of course, the ubiquitous Dream-Catcher. The dream-catcher, which was once a little custom among the Ojibwa Tribe has become as common as dirt, large, small, jewelry, wall hangings, and made of everything from traditional rawhide and feathers to neon plastic that glows in the dark. Every Dream-Catcher seems to come with a little card explaining the legend and proper use of the item. What started out as a little Ojibwa legend has become a whole "religion", but most Tribal people had never heard of it until the late Twentieth Century. The same goes for the incense, sage, smudging, herbal teas and other trappings of "Native American Spirituality".

It's all made up! Most First-Nation People that I know are either Catholic or Pentecostal Christian. While they may have Native Art in their homes, they do not subscribe to the New Age mumbo-jumbo that has grown up around it. The New-Agers have made up their own religion, using Native American Legends and artifacts as props. The art itself has no power (evil or good), but, like the Internet, has the capacity to be used for either.

Now, let's look at how the Philistines have dealt with the Ark of the Covenant.

1. The Thought that The Ark Itself was a "god". This is the same mistake the Nazi Characters in "Raiders of the Lost Ark" made. They thought that mere possession of the Ark would make them invincible. So they stole it.

2. They Installed The Ark as just another "god" in their Pantheon This was a HUGE mistake. We call this heresy "syncretism" and it involves mixing The One True God in with other traditions to form a mixture. We see this even today as some preachers stretch the virtue of "tolerance" to actually form a new religion, such as "Chrislam". New Age Philiosophy masquerading as Native American Spirituality actually has elements of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity mixed in. But it's not just old hippies that engage in syncretism!

3. They Make Stuff Up. I can just hear the priests and diviners of Dagon saying:

"Hey! Let's try this! We'll make five gold rats and five gold tumors (yuck), one for each afflicted city, (VOTIVES!) and put them on a cart drawn by cows that have never calved (sexual cultic thinking) and send the thing BACK to the Israelites! Yeah. That will work! OK let's try it.

Would it ever have occurred to them to think:

"Wow. That God of Israel is really powerful. Look what He did to us when we showed disrespect. Maybe He's the REAL THING. Maybe He is The One True God. Maybe we should repent of our evil ways and fall down before Him and beg for mercy!

But no.

We may think that these were primitive, pagan, ignorant people who didn't know any better. But, in our "enlightened" scientific, educated, and advanced culture, we have more syncretism than ever before. We have Chrislam, fake Dream-Catchers, Global-Warming-Gaia-Worship, sexual confusion resulting in self-mutilation, lesbian-Passover-seder-services, and liberal churches that claim to embrace ALL belief systems even when they contradict each other.

Our culture seems no more enlightened than the priests and diviners of Dagon.

Come and Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.8 Love never fails. ..1 Corinthians 13(NIV)

God Bless America!

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.



This Symbol Represents Christians in The Middle East, who desperately need our Prayers.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[left that other site]

Gustav Dore and james Tissot are my FAVORITE Bible Illustrators.

Oh, and of course, Rembrandt! :-)

[left that other site]

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, ConorMacNessa, For Your Prayers and Beautiful Graphics For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.8 Love never fails. ..1 Corinthians 13(NIV)

God Bless America!

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.



This Symbol Represents Christians in The Middle East, who desperately need our Prayers.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[Jeanbl]

. . . when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:8 ~ LORD, hear our prayers: For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world; and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” —1 John 5:4. Praying for Truth and Faith to be born in the hearts of all we are praying for this day. Thank you ML.

[etabeta]

Prayers always for the Peace of Jerusalem and the world. God bless.

[left that other site]

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, Jeanbl, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.8 Love never fails. ..1 Corinthians 13(NIV)

God Bless America!

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.



This Symbol Represents Christians in The Middle East, who desperately need our Prayers.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[left that other site]

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, Etabeta, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.8 Love never fails. ..1 Corinthians 13(NIV)

God Bless America!

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.



This Symbol Represents Christians in The Middle East, who desperately need our Prayers.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[Louis Foxwell]

Amen Sister. Animists today are less woke than their predecessors 10,000 years ago.As technology has increased spiritual awareness has diminished. Those who consider
themselves sophisticated spiritualists are actually unenlightened primitives. They dismiss Judeo/Christian faith as foolishness. They are the foolish ones, believing fantastical druggy dreams and denying the wisdom of the ages.

[left that other site]

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, Louis Foxwell, For Your Prayers and Interesting Comment For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.8 Love never fails. ..1 Corinthians 13(NIV)

God Bless America!

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.



This Symbol Represents Christians in The Middle East, who desperately need our Prayers.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[NEWwoman]

You have such a fascinating family history, left that other site.

Joining in prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem—lifting up our petitions to the real God, Savior of the World.

[left that other site]

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, NEWwoman, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.8 Love never fails. ..1 Corinthians 13(NIV)

God Bless America!

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.



This Symbol Represents Christians in The Middle East, who desperately need our Prayers.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[Silentgypsy]

Amen and thank you.

[left that other site]

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem

Scene from "Raiders of the lost Ark"

Thank You, Silentgypsy, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.8 Love never fails. ..1 Corinthians 13(NIV)

God Bless America!

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.



This Symbol Represents Christians in The Middle East, who desperately need our Prayers.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[Maudeen]

Amen . . .great post!

[left that other site]

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, Maudeen, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8 NIV)

God Bless America!

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.



This Symbol Represents Christians in The Middle East, who desperately need our Prayers.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS