The Jackal and the Ostrich

 

 

Good day! I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word:

 

Alas, the poor jackal. Just a wild dog that has always had a bad rap. They are the low life of the animal kingdom.

 

The ostrich: Well, let Job tell you about the ostrich

Job 39:13 "The wings of the ostrich wave proudly, But are her wings and pinions like the kindly stork's? 14 For she leaves her eggs on the ground, And warms them in the dust; 15 She forgets that a foot may crush them, Or that a wild beast may break them. 16 She treats her young harshly, as though they were not hers; Her labor is in vain, without concern, 17 Because God deprived her of wisdom, And did not endow her with understanding.

So why do I bring up the jackal and the ostrich in Today’s Living Word? It’s because I was reading in the Book of Lamentations this morning and came across this verse: La 4:3 Even the jackals present their breasts To nurse their young; But the daughter of my people is cruel, Like ostriches in the wilderness.

Even the low-life jackal has concern for their young, but not so the daughters of God’s people. They have become like the ostrich in the book of Job.

 

They squawk, “My body, my choice” and allow their fertilized eggs to be crushed by the fool, wild beast, abortionist! She treats her young harshly as “though they were not hers!”

 

She does this because she lacks God-given wisdom and understanding.

Women! Men! Get your ostrich head out of the stand and understand that God is the author of life. It is He who knits us together in the womb! The Psalmist says: Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. (Ps 100:3)

 

Abortion is a sin against God, even the jackal has enough sense to cherish the fruit of the womb!

 

Look, there is a God who loves you so much that He sent His only Son to die on the cross to pay for your sins….even the sin of abortion. Turn to the Lord, repent of your sins, receive His forgiveness and be set free from your guilt.

The cross is ever set before you. God continually invites you to repent and be forgiven, but you won’t see the cross if you keep your head in the sand.

 

I’m Duane Matz, and that’s Today’s Living Word.

Pay Attention To These Things

 

 

Good day! I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word:

 

Isa 19:5 The waters will fail from the sea, And the river will be wasted and dried up. 6 The rivers will turn foul; The brooks of defense will be emptied and dried up; The reeds and rushes will wither. 7 The papyrus reeds by the River, by the mouth of the River, And everything sown by the River, Will wither, be driven away, and be no more. 8 The fishermen also will mourn; All those will lament who cast hooks into the River, And they will languish who spread nets on the waters. 9 Moreover those who work in fine flax And those who weave fine fabric will be ashamed; 10 And its foundations will be broken. All who make wages will be troubled of soul.

The judgement against Egypt continues, and I think it would be wise for us to pay attention to how God dealt with these idol worshipping, God-forsaking Egyptians. This was an economic judgement of huge proportions.

 

A God sent famine in the land would greatly affect the water supply so necessary for the economic well-being of Egypt. The fresh waters of the Nile would dry up and become foul. With no annual flooding of the Nile with its fertile silt the agricultural industry, will go under. “everything sown by the river will wither and be no more.”

 

The paper industry also hit hard by this drought as the papyrus reeds dry up for lack of water.

The fishing industry is also decimated and those “Egyptian” fish that the Israelites longed for would be few and far between. Nu 11:5 "We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic;

The once flourishing textile industry and tapestries that Solomon splurged on would be no more! Pr 7:16 I have spread my bed with tapestry, Colored coverings of Egyptian linen.

This economic downturn is nothing short of a great economic depression! All who make wages will be troubled of soul.

 

 

In the midst of a drought and depression, farmers and ranchers are forced to sell their land to opportunists, as we read of in Eze 30:12 I will make the rivers dry, And sell the land into the hand of the wicked; I will make the land waste, and all that is in it, By the hand of aliens. I, the LORD, have spoken."

 

This is a judgement of God that was levied against the idol worshipping God -rejecting Egyptians, and the world would do well to [pay attention, because there are signs that A similar judgement of God is being leveled against our own God-rejecting, idol worshipping world today!

 

Again, no one wants to talk about God and judgement, but I say let’s get our heads out of the sand, and acknowledge these things, and having acknowledged them implement the cure. Repentance! Godly sorrow over our sins and a turning to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of our lives.

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word.

The Devils Hackey Sack

 

 

Good day! I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word:

 

Isa 19:2 "I will set Egyptians against Egyptians; Everyone will fight against his brother, And everyone against his neighbor, City against city, kingdom against kingdom.  3 The spirit of Egypt will fail in its midst; I will destroy their counsel, And they will consult the idols and the charmers, The mediums and the sorcerers. 4 And the Egyptians I will give Into the hand of a cruel master, And a fierce king will rule over them," Says the Lord, the LORD of hosts.

Civil war! Never pretty but something God allows as a judgement against nations that have turned their backs on Him! It is a “giving over” to the dark side as the devil turns a nation into his own personal “hackey sack, of mayhem, cruelty, hatred, and violence.

If we would pay attention to what’s going on in our nation these days you can see this judgment developing. The overturning of the Roe V Wade decision, is just another episode in the drawing of a line that pits “everyone against his neighbor,”

Add to that the recent political upheaval in our country, the handling of the Covid crisis, and you can see the sharpening of the line that pits “city versus city, kingdom against kingdom, brother against brother.”

 

 The fury, and venom being spewed forth is frightening to say the least, and further evidence of the involvement of the devil in this confrontation. He is the “cruel master and fierce king” that God is using to carry out His judgement.

 

Something we all should consider during these times of unrest is the very name of the devil. In the Greek devil is diabolos, and it means to cast asunder or divide. Do you understand the significance of this? The devil is his name and division is his game. And he is gleefully having at it right now in our country.

 

What are we to do? Continue to stand on the truth of God’s Word And remember this is a spiritual battle. We are not wrestling against flesh and blood.

 

This battle can only be won by God, so take the advice found in Eph 6:11-18, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints--

ThHis is God’s prescription for fighting spiritual battles such as we are facing in the land today. By His grace we will follow it and by His power, the ultimate victory is His!

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word.

Great Was Its Fall

 

Good day! I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word:

 

Isa 19:1 The burden against Egypt. Behold, the LORD rides on a swift cloud, And will come into Egypt; The idols of Egypt will totter at His presence, And the heart of Egypt will melt in its midst

What do you think of when you read of Egypt in the Bible? I immediately think of Joseph and how he rose to be second in command, and with his leadership, his brothers and his father were delivered from the sure death of a severe famine.

I think of another Joseph and his bride Mary fleeing to Egypt with their infant Son, Jesus, to escape the sure death at the hands of Herod. Jesus survived and now, by faith in Him,  we have been delivered from hell and

So one thing I think about when I hear the word Egypt is deliverance, from sin.

 

 

Also, when I think of Egypt, I think of the Israelites in their wilderness wanderings (before they entered the promised land) and how often they longed to go back to the delicacies of Egypt. They were willing to trade their freedom, for the bondage of sin, just to enjoy the goodies of the world.” So I think of our tendency to backslide.

 

One more thing that comes to mind when I read of Egypt. And this is closely related to the judgment pronounced here against Egypt by Isaiah. During the threatening’s of conquest by the Assyrians and others, the Israelites often sought aid from the Egyptians rather than trusting in God.

 

God always sought to warn the Israelites to not trust in the power of Egypt to save them, and here in Isaiah the Lord reminds us of how quickly His judgment can come (a swift cloud) and when it does idols of the world (Egypt) will do no good at all, (They will totter and fall)

 

Look around at our world today. Pestilence, the sword, and famine are on the rise, and note how quickly these changes have come upon us, but no one seems interested in linking these outbreaks to the judgement of God.

 

The world has this spirit of Babel which says, “we’ll figure this out without God.” No one seems to be interested in the only true solution….. repentance and a return to trust in the one true God!

 

Tottering idols will eventually fall, they are like the house built on sand that Jesus talked about in Mt 7:26,27 "But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 "and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."

Great was its fall

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word.

The Only Hope For the Hamites

 

 

Good day! I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word:

 

Isa 18:4 For so the LORD said to me, "I will take My rest, And I will look from My dwelling place Like clear heat in sunshine, Like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest." 5 For before the harvest, when the bud is perfect And the sour grape is ripening in the flower, He will both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks And take away and cut down the branches. 6 They will be left together for the mountain birds of prey And for the beasts of the earth; The birds of prey will summer on them, And all the beasts of the earth will winter on them. 7 In that time a present will be brought to the LORD of hosts From a people tall and smooth of skin, And from a people terrible from their beginning onward, A nation powerful and treading down, Whose land the rivers divide-To the place of the name of the LORD of hosts, To Mount Zion.

Under the premise that this judgement against Ethiopia is a picture of the judgement against the rebellious offspring of Ham (Noah’s son), we see  here a hopeful sign, and a challenge.

God sends His messengers (the Great Commission)  to the people who are “tall and smooth of skin,” as it says in  Isa 18:2b, “Go, swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth of skin, To a people terrible from their beginning onward.”

These nations have been ravaged by their sin and ignorance concerning God and the gift of His Son Jesus Christ from the days of Babel. And now God is sending His church (His messengers)  to the uttermost parts of the earth with the gospel message to bring the Hamites back into the fold.

Some will receive the gospel message and be saved, this is the “present brought to the Lord of hosts” mentioned in v7.

If we get one thing out of this portion of Scripture, let it be  a sense of urgency to send forth missionaries with the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the only hope for the Ethiopians ( not the literal Ethiopians, although they are certainly included her, but it is the only hope for all the rebellious children of Ham, before the Lord returns.

 

 I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word.

A Land Shadowed By Buzzing Wings

 

 

Good day! I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word:

 

Isa 18:1 Woe to the land shadowed with buzzing wings, Which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, 2 Which sends ambassadors by sea, Even in vessels of reed on the waters, saying, "Go, swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth of skin, To a people terrible from their beginning onward, A nation powerful and treading down, Whose land the rivers divide." 3 All inhabitants of the world and dwellers on the earth: When he lifts up a banner on the mountains, you see it; And when he blows a trumpet, you hear it

This chapter in Isaiah is one that biblical commentators have struggled to interpret for years. Personally, I think the problem arises with the identification of Ethiopia.

We know Ethiopia today as an East African nation south of Egypt and Sudan. But let’s not relegate the Ethiopia here in Isaiah to a mere geographical place.

 

The word “Ethiopia,” means “Cush.” Cush was the first born son of Ham (One of Noah’s sons) and the names that show up in Ham’s genealogy and  Cush’s genealogy are eye opening.

If you read Genesis 10:6-20 you will see some names that are associated with rebellion against God! Here’s a few: Babel, Assyria, Ninevah, Canaan, Sodom, Gomorrah, the Philistines, the Jebusites, and the Hivites.

Ethiopians, Cushites, descendants of Ham, whatever you want to call them have plagued the children of God from the get-go. They are the land that has been shadowed (darkened) by “buzzing wings.” (demonic influences)

 

They travel the world over, with their destructive doctrines of evil, raising the banner of visual seduction and sounding the trumpet of tickling ear theology! Their wooing of the masses away from the one true God has always been their calling card.

But as it says here in Isaiah,,,,their day of woe is coming.

 

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word.