Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem(5/13/19)[Prayer]

The Holy Scriptures | 5/13/19 | left that other site

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Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem

(Old Testament)

2 Samuel 21

The Gibeonites Avenged

21 During the reign of David, there was a famine for three successive years; so David sought the face of the Lord. The Lord said, “It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained house; it is because he put the Gibeonites to death.”

2 The king summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not a part of Israel but were survivors of the Amorites; the Israelites had sworn to spare them, but Saul in his zeal for Israel and Judah had tried to annihilate them.) 3 David asked the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? How shall I make atonement so that you will bless the Lord’s inheritance?”

4 The Gibeonites answered him, “We have no right to demand silver or gold from Saul or his family, nor do we have the right to put anyone in Israel to death.”

“What do you want me to do for you?” David asked.

5 They answered the king, “As for the man who destroyed us and plotted against us so that we have been decimated and have no place anywhere in Israel, 6 let seven of his male descendants be given to us to be killed and their bodies exposed before the Lord at Gibeah of Saul—the Lord’s chosen one.”

So the king said, “I will give them to you.”

7 The king spared Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the oath before the Lord between David and Jonathan son of Saul. 8 But the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons of Aiah’s daughter Rizpah, whom she had borne to Saul, together with the five sons of Saul’s daughter Merab,[a] whom she had borne to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite. 9 He handed them over to the Gibeonites, who killed them and exposed their bodies on a hill before the Lord. All seven of them fell together; they were put to death during the first days of the harvest, just as the barley harvest was beginning.

10 Rizpah daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on a rock. From the beginning of the harvest till the rain poured down from the heavens on the bodies, she did not let the birds touch them by day or the wild animals by night. 11 When David was told what Aiah’s daughter Rizpah, Saul’s concubine, had done, 12 he went and took the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from the citizens of Jabesh Gilead. (They had stolen their bodies from the public square at Beth Shan, where the Philistines had hung them after they struck Saul down on Gilboa.) 13 David brought the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from there, and the bones of those who had been killed and exposed were gathered up.

14 They buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the tomb of Saul’s father Kish, at Zela in Benjamin, and did everything the king commanded. After that, God answered prayer in behalf of the land.

(End of Scripture Passage)



This incident goes completely against our sensibilities as Twentieth (and 21st!) Century Americans. But three thousand years of History and Civilization hasn't changed human nature all that much. Just look up the phrase "reprisals in recent wartime" and you will see this type of thing, happening even in our own "enlightened" century.

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.

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Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem

Oh LORD, Our God,
How Excellent is Your Name over all the Earth!
How Wonderful You Are;
How Magnificent, and How Glorious!
Magnified and Sanctified is Your Most Holy Name,
And from Generation to Generation,
Shall all People Call You Great and Wonderful!
For You Alone Are Worthy,
You Alone Are LORD,
You Alone Are The One True God Of Abraham!
The Heavens Declare your Glory,
And With Every New Bit Of Knowledge We Gain Of Nature and the Universe,
We Are Overwhelmed By The Awesomeness of You.
For You Created it All,
Your Imagination is Boundless,
Endless,
Eternal,
Limitless.
How can anyone presume to know Your Ways or to Speak For You?

And Yet,
Abba Father,
You have given us Permission to Call You "Father",
To Pray to You,
To Bare Our Souls To You,
and To Cry Out To You in Our Distress!
You Chasten Your Children because we need it to grow and learn and become better people.

We Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem,
According to Your Will and Promise.
We Pray For the People and Leaders of Israel,
that They Will Look to You for the Protection
and Prosperity of their Nation.
We Also Pray For Revival in our own Beloved USA.



We Pray For The Swift and Sure Coming of Messiah,
Blessed Be He,
To Establish His Kingdom,
and Make All Things Right.

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.



Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[etabeta]

Amen to your prayer. God bless.

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Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem

It is Springtime in New England, and YARD SALE Season, so my sister, B-I-L and I all piled into my car for the "Hunt". It is easier these days than it used to be, because the local FB pages announce the Yard Sales, and GPS sends us directly to the address. It does, however, take away some of the "thrill of the hunt".

Sis's first target was an Estate Sale in Cohasset which is an extremely wealthy community. This looked like it was going to be a good one. But, even with two GPS units going full blast, we never did find the house. We went around in circles, through narrow seaside streets that were choked with tourists and bicyclists who were also enjoying the beautiful weather.

"OK...scratch that one! What's next?"

FB had a an announcement of another "Estate Sale", this one in Hull. We entered the address into our GPS, and headed out to the tiny spit of land that extends into the outer harbor, navigating the spring awakening of Nantasket Beach, only to find that the "Estate Sale" was nothing but a run-down THRIFT SHOP that had used FB for deceptive advertising. Needless to say, we were annoyed. However, it was a beautiful day, we were in a beach-side community, and we were with each other, so we kept driving around the narrow "cottagy" streets.

Then I saw it! A hand-written "YARD SALE sign that we almost missed. I "Banged a Yuwie" in typical Boston-Driver style, "pahked the cah, and we went into the yahd."

Mostly it was overpriced kitschy junk, but there on the table was a HUGE NIV LARGE-PRINT STUDY BIBLE WITH EXTENDED NOTES, MAPS, DICTIONARY, CONCORDANCE, Bound in L "Genuine Bonded Leather". It looked as though it had never been used.

"How much?"

"Ten."

"I'll give you eight."

OK...I don't even know what it is."

"I do."

Well, I brought it home and transferred all my bookmarks, and this morning began to study today's rather disturbing Passage in my new Bible.

Unlike my old NIV, with very few footnotes and even fewer cross-references, the big Study Bible referred me back to Joshua 9 to explain why Saul had brought such a curse upon Israel that resulted in famine and drought.

In the early days after the Exodus and the Death of Moses, Joshua had become the new Leader of the Hebrews. Their success in battle was a real concern to some of the smaller tribes in the area. One of the small tribes was the Gibeonites, so they cooked up a plan to keep the Hebrews from annihilating them. Packing up some moldy bread and wearing their worst worn-out clothes, they pretended to be a distant tribe of no interest to the Hebrews. Then, by deceit, they were able to extract an Eternal Oath to God from Joshua that the Hebrews would never cause them harm. Joshua was furious when he discovered the ruse, but, an oath is an oath and he was stuck with it.

The Gibeonites had used "false advertising", like that Thrift Store in Hull. Anyway, the incident with the Gibeonites was long past by the time of King Saul, and, although the actual incident is not recorded elsewhere in Scripture, it would seem that Saul disregarded Joshua's Oath, and killed a bunch of Gibeonites. Saul didn't remember the Oath, but God DID. Hence the drought and famine. Now David is dealing with the evils perpetrated by Saul, and the Gibeonites are seeking "reparations". David will not put any members of Saul's family to death, but he does turn seven relatives of Saul to the Gibeonites, knowing full well what is going to happen to them. The death of these unfortunate individuals accomplishes several things:

1. The breaking of Joshua's Oath has been atoned for, blood for blood.

2. The Gibeonites are satisfied, and thus a war is averted.

3. The last of Saul's family and possible pretenders to the throne are eliminated.

4. God sends the rain, thus ending the drought.

In the center of this whole tragedy is the mother of those who were slain, mourning her loss in the rain. And David, perhaps out of love and respect for Jonathan and Saul, gives them all a proper burial.

So, to the guy in Hull who knew not what he had in his Yard Sale, THANK YOU!

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

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV)

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

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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.

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV)

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

[Hiskid]

Amen.

We ALL benefited from that yard sale! Thank you, LTOS.

[Silentgypsy]

Amen and thank you.

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Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem

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

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV)

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]

Whoa! Large print with maps!!! Thank you, Lord!

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Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem

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

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV)

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]

And I’ll bet it is genuine rich, luxurious, CORINTHIAN Bonded Leather! LOL!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_HMIN0nGl0

And you KNOW how much I love those maps. :-)

[NEWwoman]

The part about the grieving mother was heart-breaking.

Joining in prayer, left that other site, for the Peace of Jerusalem.

[Jeanbl]

Joining in prayer

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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.

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV)

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]

“The part about the grieving mother was heart-breaking.”

Yes. She actually echoed an experience of Abraham, chasing away predators from the dead.

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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.

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV)

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