To Make Himself an Everlasting Name

Today I woke up in a warm state of peacefulness, I was thankful to be alive, thankful that God was my Lord and my Friend. Life was great. By mid afternoon, things had changed.

So quickly I took my eyes off the One from whom all blessings flow and turned instead to the waves around me.

Like so many times before, I tried in vain to fight off the fear of failure....only to finally remember that I am powerless without Him. This is the verse that I found today, may you also share comfort this verse gave me. [And its also a really cool verse in its own right, I'd never seen it before, so its new to me, I like it :) I'll only write the part that jumped out at me, but the surrounding verses are nice too]

"That led them...with his glorious arm,

dividing the water before them,

to make Himself an everlasting name..." Isaiah 63:12

The Oak at Shechem

The first time Shechem appears in the Bible: Jacob leaves Laban, arrives in Shechem, buys some land, and settles. Thats in Genesis 33. Then in Genesis 34, a horrible sequence of events unfold, and I will leave it at that. But it holds some awful memories.

Then in Genesis 35, God calls Jacob, "Arise go up to Beth-el." Arise and go to the House of God.

Bethel translated = House of God.

Jacob arises, gathers his house and begins the journey --the journey back to the House of God.

But before they leave the area entirely, they stop at the Oak.

Jacob hides, or some suggest buries, two things under the oak: the idols and the earrings. They leave never to return.

But the Oak at Shechem isn't forgotten.

In Joshua 26, Joshua addresses Israel in --Shechem (verse 1.) Then in verse 24 , we see the Oak.

Joshua writes the law of the Lord, he also writes a covenant, and he sets a great stone under the oak as a memorial. What was the covenant that he wrote?

"The LORD our God will we serve,

and his voice will we obey. "

I find it interesting that both times we read of the Oak at Shechem, the emphasis is servinging the Lord and him only.

The first time, God asks of Jacob "Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there:"

Jacob's response: "Put away the strange gods that are among you,

and be clean, and change your garments:...all the strange gods...and all their earrings which were in their ears...Jacob hid them under the oak..." Gen 35:1-4

The second time Joshua asks Israel "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD,

choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

Israel's response: "The LORD our God will we serve, and his voice will we

obey...So Joshua...set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem...and took a great stone, and set it up there under

an oak... And Joshua said...Behold, this stone shall be a

witness...lest ye deny your God."

As I thought on this, for I've always loved the imagery of "the Oak at Shechem", I realized what a lesson it is.

I thought of it this way....

Shechem means "Ridge" in Hebrew. It linked in my mind to mount --"a mount called Mt. Calvary." The oak--tree, the cross...

Shechem = the place where I recognized that I needed a Saviour

The Oak = the cross, where God coverd my sins and saved me

The former Idolatry = our sin, in bondage to the god of this world

There should be a "spot" in our lives where we decide to follow the Lord and serve Him (our salvation).

And when we first come to that spot we hide the things that are not of God, (or rather God hides them for us, covered by the blood of Jesus Christ.)

But when ever we are tempted to return to those things, the things of the world, our sinful habits, ultimately our idolatry, we should visit the oak a second time to set up a memorial of the convenant that God has made with us, lest we forget.

"For ye are bought with a price:

therefore glorify God in your body,

and in your spirit, which are God's. "

1 Cor. 6:20

In God's Time

He hath made every thing beautiful in his time:

I know that, whatsoever God doeth,

it shall be for ever:

Nothing can be put to it,

Nor any thing taken from it:

Ecc. 3:11, 14

I Rich Man Am I

I loved this song as a kid....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNRyRD2TD5U

Forever, O Lord

Our sense of time seems so solidified and somewhat daunting, as if tomorrow were a persistent creature always about to pounce yet never appearing. So often we see 10 years as a long inconceivable time frame, casting a huge shadow, because 10 leads to 20, 20 to 50, 50 to 100.

And then time ends.....or so we think, and act, always rushing.

I love how God doesn't view time how we do.

God sees a day and the length of that unit is irrelevant, it might have been a 1,000 years.

God sees a 1,000 years, and it might have been only a day.

I wonder what God sees when He looks at a week, or an hour, or even a minuet. Yet, however small, He sees ever last second.

Because of this God can promise forever.

"I know that, whatsoever God doeth,

it shall be for ever:

nothing can be put to it,

nor any thing taken from it:"Ecc 3:14

~World Without End~

"...ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end." Isaiah 45:17

"...unto Him be glory...by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen."Ephesians 3:21

Twice in the KJV, the phrase "world without end" appears. In Ephesians, it is the Greek word αἰών repeated twice, the double use of this word occurs 21 other times in the New Testament, mainly translated as "ever and ever". (Usually used with the preposition for and in reference to God's glory.)

Our English word "eon" or properly "aeon" comes from a direct transliteration of Greek word, and is translated "age".

[English Context Help:]

(As used in context: "I waited ages and ages" ; not used in context "What age are you?")

"Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen."

God Keepeth Covenant

Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God,

which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments

to a thousand generations. Deuteronomy 7:9

"To a thousand generations..." the lengeth of His covenant is unmeasurable.

God will keep His covenant....God will keep His Promise.

Set Apart

But know that the LORD hath set apart

him that is godly for himself:

the LORD will hear when I call unto him.

Stand in awe, and sin not:

commune with your own heart upon your bed,

and be still. Selah.

Psalms 4:3,4

Early Morning

So often I am stuck by the realization that being comfortable causes me to forget.

I am not speaking of carelessness, losing keys or such, but of the tendency to forget how God has lead me.

Like God's people in the Bible, I need the constant reminder...

"Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently,

lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen,

and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life:

but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons;"

Deuteronomy 4:9

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog, Entrance of Thy Words. As an avid etymologist, I am constantly curious of the nature and origin of words --and of course of the power. Words are one of the few things in this world that are common to all peoples, yet are unique to all.

"The entrance of Thy words giveth light;

it giveth understanding unto the simple."

Psalms 119:130