You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth.
11 Ye made
[`asah] also a ditch [miqvah]
between the two walls [chowmah] for the water [mayim] of the old [yashan] pool [barekah]: but ye have not looked [nabat] unto the maker [`asah]
thereof, neither had respect [ra'ah] unto him
that fashioned [yatsar] it long ago [rachowq]. KJV-Interlinear
11 You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the
old pool. But you did not look to him who did it, or see him who planned it
long ago. ESV
As we saw in the prior study, this water and reservoir originated from a spring that was in place since before the original Jerusalem, then known as Salem, was established. We were introduced to Salem when it was mentioned as the residence of Melchizedek, its king-priest, in Gen. 14, after Abraham had returned from his battle victory.
So, if God is wise enough to put in place a spring, that would be the source of water for Jerusalem for several thousands of years, then would it not be unreasonable for those using that spring water, to recognize the original maker and provider? They certainly know of its history and origin.
And yet they did not give God even a second thought.
They put all of their thoughts and efforts into building walls and defenses, and even into the provision of water that would keep them alive.
Not that their efforts were wrong, because that is what you do in the heat of battle. You use all of your resources to defend yourself and hopefully to defeat the enemy or at least survive until help arrives. But these thoughts were not in their minds.
Normal people would build walls and pray at the same time. Normal people would shoot and pray that their bullet will find its target. Normal people will praise the Lord and pass the amo. The military profession is one of the most noble of professions, because it is the tool for purchasing or maintaining freedom.
Throughout history, freedom has been courtesy of military victory.
But the thoughts of the defenders of Jerusalem, are not of God, or of some miraculous rescue. Their thoughts were consumed with only their material defenses.
Now think logically about this situation for a bit.
These people are defending Jerusalem, so they are alive. This means that they were alive during the Rapture, but being unbelievers, they remained behind to live through the Tribulation. They will have, in seven years, seen the most horrible and continuous series of events in all of human history. They will have witnessed the death of nearly the entire population of the world. They are surrounded with enemies that come from every corner of the world. There is no one on their side and no one coming to rescue them.
A small defensive army of hundreds or even perhaps a few thousand people are faced with literally millions and millions of the enemy. So, logically they would have to defeat the entire world in order to survive. And since their efforts are on preserving water, then their ammunition and resources are likely running low. Not to mention that the bombardment against them is likely to be unrelenting and around the clock.
So, the reasonable thing to do would be to pray, right? And yet their thoughts are not focused much beyond the next minute or the next drink of water. While time is really and literally running out.
To receive notice of each days Bible Study, please go to my twitter page and sign up.
