December 12 – Always A Remnant Will Be

“The surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward.” – 2 Kings 19:30 (NASB)

This is principle that God applies. His purpose and His promises will never go undone. The context of today’s verse is a message God sent to the people living in Jerusalem. Isaiah was charged to deliver this message. Hezekiah was King and he was anxious about what would happen to his kingdom. The Assyrians had conquered the Northern 10 tribes and deported most of the people exchanging them for people from non-Jewish cultures under their control. God’s warning for many years through Isaiah, Jeremiah and other prophets was that the same lay in store for the Southern Kingdom. This conqueror was promised to be Babylon. Before this happens Hezekiah is promised a reprieve from the threat enjoined by Assyria. In this promise is God’s plan to preserve a remnant of the house of Judah (from whom the Messiah will come). This remnant will be what regenerates their people.  From the remnant of survivors in Jerusalem would come the descendants who would cover the land once again. It would be many years but that promise is what happened and it is still happening today. God always preserves a remnant of the blessed to carry out fulfillments of His promises.

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July 23 – Even the Little Is Great

“Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you and you will be clean.”… – 2 Kings 5:10 (ESV)

In the time of ancient Israel, the prophet Elisha served as the voice of God to the people. In this historical account, Naaman, a man of high standing and commander of the army of the king of ancient Syria was a leper. Hearing of God’s prophet Elisha, Naaman seeks for him and for healing. Elisha does not even exit his house to speak with Naaman but sends a message that sounds absurd to Naaman. Pride stood in his way of obedience to what God had instructed through Elisha. At first offended, Naaman rejects the solution. It is beneath him to obey the instructions. But when convinced by his servants, Naaman gives it a try and dipping himself seven time in the Jordan River, he is healed instantly. God offers no insignificant promises of His grace – every promise from Him is significant and great. God instructs us now through His Word, the Bible and we face the same opportunity of blessings through obedience, or negative consequences through neglecting His promises. Naaman learned his lesson that God works through small promises as well as great promises. Every promise of God is a great promise for us.  

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