February 28: Morning
"My expectation is from him." - Psalm 62:5
It is the believer's privilege to use this language. If he is looking for aught from the world, it is a poor "expectation" indeed. But if he looks to God for the supply of his wants, whether in temporal or spiritual blessings, his "expectation" will not be a vain one. Constantly he may draw from the bank of faith, and get his need supplied out of the riches of God's lovingkindness. This I know, I had rather have God for my banker than all the Rothschilds. My Lord never fails to honour his promises; and when we bring them to his throne, he never sends them back unanswered. Therefore I will wait only at his door, for he ever opens it with the hand of munificent grace. At this hour I will try him anew. But we have "expectations" beyond this life. We shall die soon; and then our "expectation is from him." Do we not expect that when we lie upon the bed of sickness he will send angels to carry us to his bosom? We believe that when the pulse is faint, and the heart heaves heavily, some angelic messenger shall stand and look with loving eyes upon us, and whisper, "Sister spirit, come away!" As we approach the heavenly gate, we expect to hear the welcome invitation, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." We are expecting harps of gold and crowns of glory; we are hoping soon to be amongst the multitude of shining ones before the throne; we are looking forward and longing for the time when we shall be like our glorious Lord--for "We shall see him as he is." Then if these be thine "expectations," O my soul, live for God; live with the desire and resolve to glorify him from whom cometh all thy supplies, and of whose grace in thy election, redemption, and calling, it is that thou hast any "expectation" of coming glory.
Evening
"The barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah." -1 Kings 17:16
See the faithfulness of divine love. You observe that this woman had daily necessities. She had herself and her son to feed in a time of famine; and now, in addition, the prophet Elijah was to be fed too. But though the need was threefold, yet the supply of meal wasted not, for she had a constant supply. Each day she made calls upon the barrel, but yet each day it remained the same. You, dear reader, have daily necessities, and because they come so frequently, you are apt to fear that the barrel of meal will one day be empty, and the cruse of oil will fail you. Rest assured that, according to the Word of God, this shall not be the case. Each day, though it bring its trouble, shall bring its help; and though you should live to outnumber the years of Methuselah, and though your needs should be as many as the sands of the seashore, yet shall God's grace and mercy last through all your necessities, and you shall never know a real lack. For three long years, in this widow's days, the heavens never saw a cloud, and the stars never wept a holy tear of dew upon the wicked earth: famine, and desolation, and death, made the land a howling wilderness, but this woman never was hungry, but always joyful in abundance. So shall it be with you. You shall see the sinner's hope perish, for he trusts his native strength; you shall see the proud Pharisee's confidence totter, for he builds his hope upon the sand; you shall see even your own schemes blasted and withered, but you yourself shall find that your place of defence shall be the munition of rocks: "Your bread shall be given you, and your water shall be sure." Better have God for your guardian, than the Bank of England for your possession. You might spend the wealth of the Indies, but the infinite riches of God you can never exhaust.
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Shemaiah
[Shĕma ī'ah] - jehovah is fame, jehovah has heard or obeys the lord.
Evidently this popular name was shared by many Bible men, and at times two of the following may be the same individual. It is not an easy matter to identify them exactly.
1. A prophet sent by God to prevent Rehoboam from warring against the house of Israel. His part in the revolution and history are clearly defined (1 Kings 12:22; 2 Chron. 11:2; 12:5, 7, 15).
2. Son of Shechaniah and father of Hattush, descendant of Zerubbabel (1 Chron. 3:22).
3. Father of Shimri, perhaps Shimei, and head of a family of Simeon (1 Chron. 4:37). See verses twenty-six and twenty-seven.
4. A son of Joel, perhaps Shema of 1 Chronicles 5:8, and head of a family of Reuben (1 Chron. 5:4).
5. A Merarite Levite dwelling in Jerusalem (1 Chron. 9:14; Neh. 11:15).
6. A Levite, father of Obadiah (1 Chron. 9:16). Called Shammua in Nehemiah 11:17.
7. Head of the Levitical Kohath clan who assisted in bringing the Ark from the house of Obed-edom (1 Chron. 15:8, 11).
8. The son of Nathaneel, a Levite, who recorded the priestly office in David's time (1 Chron. 24:6).
9. Oldest son of Obed-edom, a Korhite Levite and a gatekeeper of the Tabernacle in David's reign (1 Chron. 26:4, 6, 7).
10. A Levite, commissioned by Jehoshaphat, to teach the people in Judah (2 Chron. 17:8).
11. A son of Jeduthun who helped in the purification of the Temple under Hezekiah (2 Chron. 29:14).
12. A Levite in Hezekiah's time who was over the freewill offerings of God (2 Chron. 31:15).
13. A chief Levite in the days of Josiah (2 Chron. 35:9).
14. A son of Adonikam who returned with Ezra from exile (Ezra 8:13).
15. A chief man under Ezra sent to Iddo to ask for ministers. (Ezra 8:16).
16. A priest of the family of Harim who married a foreign wife (Ezra 10:21).
17. A person who helped to repair the wall (Neh. 3:29).
18. A son of Delaiah hired by Sanballat and Tobiah to intimidate Nehemiah (Neh. 6:10).
19. A priest, one of the twenty-four courses of priests that with Nehemiah sealed the covenant (Neh. 10:8; 12:6, 18, 34, 35).
20. A singer who took part in the dedication of the wall (Neh. 12:36).
21. Another, or perhaps the same person as the previous one, who gave thanks at the dedication (Neh. 12:42).
22. The father of Urijah the prophet who was slain by Jehoiakim for prophesying against Jerusalem and Judah (Jer. 26:20).
23. A prophet called "the Nehelamite" who in captivity was actively engaged in reproving or opposing Jeremiah (Jer. 29:24-32).
24. The father of Delaiah, a prince of the Jews to whom Baruch read the roll he had written under Jeremiah's direction (Jer. 36:12).
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Hodesh
Scripture Reference: 1 Chronicles 8:8-9
Name Meaning: New moon
This is the name of one of the wives of Shaharaim. The other wife of the Benjamite was Hushim. It will be noticed that in the pedigree of the family of Benjamin the wives of Shaharaim are said to have been Hushim and Baara; but, when the children of each of his wives are enumerated, the name of Hodesh appears instead of that of Baara. The explanation of these two names on the one person is given thus by Wilkinson-"The word Baara is derivable from baar, 'to burn,' and may thus mean 'a burning,' 'a kindling,' which is the sense of beera in Exodus 22:6; whence some suppose that it designates the same person called Hodesh, by allusion to the kindling of fires as beacons, by which it was customary among the Israelites in very ancient times, to announce the appearance of the new moon."
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Today's reading: Numbers 17-19, Mark 6:30-56 (NIV)
View today's reading on Bible GatewayToday's Old Testament reading: Numbers 17-19
The Budding of Aaron's Staff
1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 "Speak to the Israelites and get twelve staffs from them, one from the leader of each of their ancestral tribes. Write the name of each man on his staff.3 On the staff of Levi write Aaron's name, for there must be one staff for the head of each ancestral tribe. 4 Place them in the tent of meeting in front of the ark of the covenant law, where I meet with you. 5 The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid myself of this constant grumbling against you by the Israelites...."
...read the rest on Bible Gateway
Today's New Testament reading: Mark 6:30-56
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."
32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things....
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