Hosea 9:1-2 – “Do not rejoice, O Israel; do not be jubilant like the other nations. For you have been unfaithful to your God; you love the wages of a prostitute at every threshing floor.  Threshing floors and winepresses will not feed the people; the new wine will fail them.”

“Do not rejoice, O Israel…” True rejoicing is appropriate for those who are actually right with God, those who are walking in faithfulness.  This is the case in Philippians 4:4, where Paul tells us tells to “Rejoice in the Lord always,” referring to people whose mature Christian character is “evident to all” (Philippians 4:5).  In contrast, Hosea 9 (like James 4:8-10) addresses hypocritical believers, backsliders, and religious phonies.  They need to repent, to get right with God, to yield completely to Him and start walking in faithfulness and obedience.

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Joshua 14:4 – “…The Levites received no share of the land but only towns to live in, with pasturelands for their flocks and herds…”

The tribe of Levi received no allotment of land when Joshua and Eleazer the priest assigned the tribal inheritances after conquering the Promised Land. The other tribes all received a region of the Promised Land that they would pass to their descendants for generations. There were four reasons for this special treatment of the Levites, each of which teaches a valuable spiritual lesson.

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Here we summarize seven points that we have found most important for having the Holy Spirit work more freely – and more powerfully – in our midst. These are the seven concepts we most want to share with others, the points that we believe will make the most difference in your church or group.

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Exodus 16:31 - “The people of Israel called the bread manna.  It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey.”  

The Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt with many signs and wonders.  Even so, the Hebrews rebelled against the Lord and complained that they had no food to eat.  The Lord had a plan to provide for His people.  Each morning when the dew on the ground dried, thin white flakes appeared on the ground.  God commanded them to gather manna each morning but only as much as they needed for that day.  He provided this food for them for forty years as they followed Him in the desert.   continue

INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS:  Most of the book of Revelation is a prophecy about the Last Days, far into the future from the New Testament era.  It does not reveal the future events in chronological order.  Instead, the events predicted in one chapter can occur simultaneously with events in previous chapters.  This “cyclical” style of writing was very common in ancient Israel – the Book of Hebrews follows a similar structure.  This is why we see in Revelation some overlap with the seals, bowls, and trumpets – they are describing the events occurring at the same time in the Last Days. continue

Exodus 17:9 - Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites.  Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.”

Moses once again was holding the staff of God in his hand.  This is the same staff that the Lord used to give Moses a sign when he first encountered the Lord (see Ex. 4:2-20), and that God had used in bringing plagues on Egypt (Exodus 9:23; 10:13), and for parting the Red Sea (see Exodus 14:16; 17:5).   continue

1 Samuel 14:24 – “Now the men of Israel were in distress that day, because Saul had bound the people under an oath, saying, “Cursed be any man who eats food before evening comes, before I have avenged myself on my enemies!” So none of the troops tasted food…” 

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John 5:39 - “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me…”

Genesis 37:3 - “Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made a richly ornamented robe for him.”

The Scriptures teach us that Jesus is “the Word.”  He is the Word of God; the entire Bible points us to Jesus, even the Old Testament.  Jesus challenged the religious leaders of his day for their mistaken emphasis on the letter of the Scripture, from which they would try to extract principles and precepts for life. 

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“As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them.”  - Genesis 37:13

Jacob sent all of Joseph’s brothers to Shechem to pasture his flock.  Shechem was a city in the hill country of Ephraim where Jacob’s sheep would be well-nourished and cared-for.  This is the place where Jacob wanted them.

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Genesis 39:5-6 - From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. So he left in Joseph’s care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.

We see here two important lessons about the Lord Jesus.  First, the Heavenly Father has put all things under his control and authority, entrusting to the Son the complete project of salvation.  Jesus is not just someone to worship or believe; we must understand that the many tasks of Father’s great plan have been put in his care, and Jesus is carrying out that work with diligence.  This is the Work in which we want to be included.

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