Christina – Page 1084 – I'm Following Jesus

King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34

Date: Thursday, April 29, 2021
Chapters: I Chronicles 7-9
Message: For A Purpose

Hello My Friend,

My heart is heavy this morning, I have been up since 3:30, praying and pouring my heart out to God, I told Him that what I am dealing with is too hard for me to deal with and I want out. Do you know what He said to me? Pray for them. That is when this passage came to my mind, [Matthew 5:43-45 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.]

I tell you what, God really does not want to see one soul end up in hell, I believe He would even save Satan if he would just let go of his pride. Did you know that there are people so desperate to have God’s Word with them that they only have one page from the Bible? I often think about that when I read through the beginning of I Chronicles and all the names. They have their one page, and are so thankfully to have it in their possession they read those names joyfully. The closer we get to Christ returning the more I understand just how precious His Word is, and I am talking about the King James, not those watered down versions. It makes me appreciate the fact that I have it in my possession and that God trusts me enough to not only have the entire book, but teach it. As we go back to I Chronicles Chapter 7, it lists the lineages of Issachar, Benjamin, Naphtali, and Manasseh.

[I Chronicles 7:1,4-7,12-14 Now the sons of Issachar were, Tola, and Puah, Jashub, and Shimron, four. 4 And with them, by their generations, after the house of their fathers, were bands of soldiers for war, six and thirty thousand men: for they had many wives and sons. 5 And their brethren among all the families of Issachar were valiant men of might, reckoned in all by their genealogies fourscore and seven thousand. 6 The sons of Benjamin; Bela, and Becher, and Jediael, three. 7 And the sons of Bela; Ezbon, and Uzzi, and Uzziel, and Jerimoth, and Iri, five; heads of the house of their fathers, mighty men of valour; and were reckoned by their genealogies twenty and two thousand and thirty and four. 12 Shuppim also, and Huppim, the children of Ir, and Hushim, the sons of Aher. 13 The sons of Naphtali; Jahziel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shallum, the sons of Bilhah. 14 The sons of Manasseh; Ashriel, whom she bare: (but his concubine the Aramitess bare Machir the father of Gilead:]

[The sons of Benjamin;] There are only a few mentioned here, but since this is the lineage from which Saul came, it gets detailed more in the next chapter. Also listed are the tribes of Ephraim, and Asher, which was not given much recognition. There is no account given to Zebulun or Dan, Zebulun may have been omitted because they would not drive the Canaanites out, [Judges 1] Dan, this is where idolatry began in that colony when an idol was made in Laish, and called it Dan, [Judges 18].

[I Chronicles 7:20,22-29 And the sons of Ephraim; Shuthelah, and Bered his son, and Tahath his son, and Eladah his son, and Tahath his son, 22 And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brethren came to comfort him. 23 And when he went in to his wife, she conceived, and bare a son, and he called his name Beriah, because it went evil with his house. 24 (And his daughter was Sherah, who built Bethhoron the nether, and the upper, and Uzzensherah.) 25 And Rephah was his son, also Resheph, and Telah his son, and Tahan his son, 26 Laadan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son, 27 Non his son, Jehoshua his son. 28 And their possessions and habitations were, Bethel and the towns thereof, and eastward Naaran, and westward Gezer, with the towns thereof; Shechem also and the towns thereof, unto Gaza and the towns thereof: 29 And by the borders of the children of Manasseh, Bethshean and her towns, Taanach and her towns, Megiddo and her towns, Dor and her towns. In these dwelt the children of Joseph the son of Israel.]

[Beriah, because it went evil with his house.] [Beriah; in fellowship; in envy] Beriah was born during a time of great sorrow for the tribe of Ephraim, the men of Gath, attacked and killed many of them in a battle to take their cattle. The name was given to the child as a reminder of the gift of life that came from their sorrow. We cannot always control the circumstances we face, we could get angry, bitter, and forsake God, but think about this. God knew that what we are facing would come to pass, and how we would react to it, yet, He still had enough faith in us that he made a way for us to not only go through it, but endure it. Everything, the good and the evil, has a purpose, and will work together for good, [Romans 8:28-30 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.]

Yes, God knew the exact time and place we would be when we would accept His Son as our Saviour, He knew the struggles we would face for our faith, the temptations that we would both escape and fall into, and yet that never stopped Him from using every circumstance to not only His advantage, but our own. [Non his son, Jehoshua his son.] Manasseh and Ephraim were both children of Joseph by an Egyptian woman, it was told to Joseph by Jacob (Israel) as he blessed them before his death, that Ephraim, would be a greater influence than Manasseh, but both would still be as his very own sons [Genesis 48]. Joshua, being of the sons of Ephraim, born over four hundred years later, became Moses’ successor, and after Moses died, he led Israel into the promised land. Now, further account is given of the lineage of Benjamin.

[I Chronicles 8:1-2,28-35 Now Benjamin begat Bela his firstborn, Ashbel the second, and Aharah the third, 2 Nohah the fourth, and Rapha the fifth. 28 These were heads of the fathers, by their generations, chief men. These dwelt in Jerusalem. 29 And at Gibeon dwelt the father of Gibeon; whose wife’s name was Maachah: 30 And his firstborn son Abdon, and Zur, and Kish, and Baal, and Nadab, 31 And Gedor, and Ahio, and Zacher. 32 And Mikloth begat Shimeah. And these also dwelt with their brethren in Jerusalem, over against them. 33 And Ner begat Kish, and Kish begat Saul, and Saul begat Jonathan, and Malchishua, and Abinadab, and Eshbaal. 34 And the son of Jonathan was Meribbaal; and Meribbaal begat Micah. 35 And the sons of Micah were, Pithon, and Melech, and Tarea, and Ahaz.]

[And the son of Jonathan was Meribbaal; and Meribbaal begat Micah.] Meribbaal, is Mephibosheth, he would become a prominent figure in David’s life, giving him a place to dine at the kings table, which was a very big honor. Mephibosheth, was crippled due to an accident, but that did not hold David back from blessing him and his family, [II Samuel 9]. God allows infirmities for a reason also, infirmities do not make us incompetent or unable to do anything, they are used for the purpose of God standing out through them, [John 9:2-5 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? 3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. 4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.]

Now, as we finally come to the close of all the names of all the Jews accounted for we are given an explanation as to why they were written in here to begin with, they were returning from Babylon after seventy years. What seems kind of strange to us in that after this chapter we will start back up with David becoming king. This is Judah’s history book, how God dealt with this tribe through their faithfulness as well as their unfaithfulness. Why them? Well, this tribe is where Jesus would descend from.

[I Chronicles 9:1,19-23 So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies; and, behold, they were written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah, who were carried away to Babylon for their transgression. 19 And Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his brethren, of the house of his father, the Korahites, were over the work of the service, keepers of the gates of the tabernacle: and their fathers, being over the host of the LORD, were keepers of the entry. 20 And Phinehas the son of Eleazar was the ruler over them in time past, and the LORD was with him. 21 And Zechariah the son of Meshelemiah was porter of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 22 All these which were chosen to be porters in the gates were two hundred and twelve. These were reckoned by their genealogy in their villages, whom David and Samuel the seer did ordain in their set office. 23 So they and their children had the oversight of the gates of the house of the LORD, namely, the house of the tabernacle, by wards.]

[So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies;] All of this took place centuries after David and Samuel ordained those who would serve in the duties of the tabernacle/temple. Did you know that Jesus ordained you to serve Him well before you were even born? Yes, He chose you first, He knew your faith, and actually prepared you for the day that you would accept Him and serve Him. Jesus, who is the Word made flesh, knew us even before conception, who we would be, what we would believe, and become. To Him we are precious, no matter our infirmities, in fact, they are what define us and develop us into the very people that He created us to be. We are so precious to Him that He gave us His Word that we might know Him and how to have eternal life with Him, [John 3:16-19 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.]

Jesus Christ Magnified: [I Chronicles 9:19 And Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his brethren, of the house of his father, the Korahites, were over the work of the service, keepers of the gates of the tabernacle: and their fathers, being over the host of the LORD, were keepers of the entry.]

Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for giving us a way to escape the dreaded judgment placed upon every soul in this world. We do not have to be good to be saved, we just have to believe that Your sinless Son saved us on the cross, and we are saved by grace though our faith alone in Him. It is so amazing and simple that all we need to do is receive Christ, yet so many people are still trying to work their way to heaven. Thank You Jesus! Lord, Thank You for your mercy, for it is in Your mercy that I am not given the punishment I deserve, and there is nothing I can do that will change that. But I do not want to just get by in this life and do whatever because I know I am saved, I want to do what You want me to do. Lead me and guide me, give me Your power and wisdom to know Your will. Keep me in Your Word, learning, standing by it, and obeying it. Cover me with Your mercy and grace to follow through until the day You bring me home. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

Are You 100% Sure You Are Going To Heaven?: http://readytofollow.com/
Receive The KJB Daily Devotions In Your Email: http://eepurl.com/2WMzT
Missed A Message: http://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/
Visit I’m Following Jesus Missions: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/welcome/
I’m Following Jesus On Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/readytofollowJesus/
I’m Following Jesus On Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/imfollowingjesus