Good morning!

            When nation Israel reached the promised land, each tribe received a portion of the land as their inheritance except for the Levitical Priests (Inheritance verse). The Priests inherited the mission of serving the Lord, care of the Ark of the Covenant, sacrificing the offerings, and cleanliness of the Temple (Priesthood verse). From the time Israel entered Canaan until the death of King Josiah, the nation followed the letter of the law but not necessarily the Spirit. The Lord’s desire was the nation would be a kingdom of Priests (Exodus 19:4-6) but sin and fear upended the Lord’s plan (Exodus 32:4-10). On three or four occasions the nation’s leaders would reaffirm their commitment to the Lord of their ancestors but would then go back to living in sin (Joshua 24:15-20, Nehemiah 10).

            Israel had everything going for her, felt the power of the Lord upon her, the covenant with Abram, Isaa, and Jacob, and had the greatest Kings and Prophets of the age (Romans 9:1-5); yet, it was not enough to keep the nation from following the ways of world because the citizens followed the leader. In America a generation ago, families went to church whether it be Catholic Protestant but when the kids got older, many left the church to follow the world. So, choosing to serve the Lord is a personal choice and it does not matter if you are Islamic, Judaist, and/or Christian. My encouragement for you today is, “Search your heart and ask yourself, ‘Is having the Lord in your life enough’”. If you do not know the Lord and have never given your life over to him, reach out to me through the comments section and I will help you.

I.H.S.

MK