Upon returning from my trip last week, I found myself to be unusually tired. I had lost enough sleep and stayed on the go so much that I felt worn out. Biblically speaking, I was weary. Even the young men will become weary at times (Isaiah 40:30). I find it comforting to know that even Jesus was "wearied with his journey" (John 4:6). To be weary means to need rest and refreshment (Isaiah 28:12). Weariness is often connected to fainting; that is, to falling out of the race. There is where the real danger comes. I thank the Lord that He gave me a good night's rest last night and I am beginning to feel refreshed again. Isaiah 40:31 truly says, "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."
Isaiah 14:23 states, "I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts." What is a besom? It is only mentioned in this one place in the Bible and it is a broom. This is clear in the context because it is used for sweeping. Would 'broom' then be a better rendering for modern English? Not at all. A brief study of the besom shows why it is used here. Originally, a besom was a bundle of rods or twigs used as an instrument of punishment. The word is used in English in this context as early as 893. Later (by 1000), it was used to refer to a tool for sweeping: a bundle of straw, heather, twigs, etc., bound to the end of a handle; that is, a broom. By the fourteenth century, it was used figuratively of any agent that cleanses, purifies, or sweeps away unwanted things. All three of these meanings come together in the besom of Isaiah 14:23. No other English word (including 'broom') could say it better. [historical information from Oxford English Dictionary]
According to an article in today's "Wall Street Journal," physicists are still struggling to understand the basic proton. In the 1960's, they determined that the proton was made up up three particles they called quarks. Unfortunately for them, the quarks only account for 1.5% of the mass of the proton, 20% to 30% of the proton's spin, and one-third of the proton's magnetism. The physicists have therefore added gluons (to keep the quarks together) and virtual quarks (quarks that pop into and out of existence) to their theory. Yet, these additional particles do not solve the problems in the least. Ultimately, the physicists do not know why the proton is a proton. God is still the God which "doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number" (Job 5:9). If some day they figure out what makes up the proton, they can then begin their search to understand what makes up a quark. [information taken from "Scientists Try to Put Right Spin on Quarks to Understand Matter" in WSJ, May19, 2006]
According to newly released statistics, the jail and prison population in America is growing at a rate of 1,000 inmates each week. The inmate population of America is presently 2.2 million, or, one out of every 136 U.S. residents. One of the fastest growing segments is among women who now make up 7% of the prison population. Does your church have a jail or prison ministry? Perhaps this would be a good time to consider starting one. Christ came for "the opening of the prison to them that are bound" (Isaiah 61:1). We thank the Lord that two men called on the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour in our own prison ministry just last week. Please pray for these men and the workers who take the gospel to them.
There are five major offerings described in the Old Testament (Leviticus 1-5): burnt, meat, peace, sin, and trespass. One them, the meat offering, does not use an animal sacrifice. The other four do. However, the offerings differ in whether the animals are to be male or female. Here is how they are specified. The burnt offering is to be a male (Leviticus 1:3, 10). The peace offering can be either male or female (Leviticus 3:1, 6). The sin offering is to be male when offered for "a ruler" of the people (Leviticus 4:22-23) but a female when offered for "one of the common people" (Leviticus 4:27-28). Finally, the trespass offering is to be a female (Leviticus 5:6). The question is why.
