In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, because Tyre said concerning Jerusalem, ‘Aha, the gate of the peoples is broken; it has swung open to me. I shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste,’ 3 therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves.4 They shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers, and I will scrape her soil from her and make her a bare rock. 5 She shall be in the midst of the sea a place for the spreading of nets, for I have spoken, declares the Lord God. And she shall become plunder for the nations, 6 and her daughters on the mainland shall be killed by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
7 “For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar[a] king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, and with horsemen and a host of many soldiers. 8 He will kill with the sword your daughters on the mainland. He will set up a siege wall against you and throw up a mound against you, and raise a roof of shields against you. 9 He will direct the shock of his battering rams against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers. 10 His horses will be so many that their dust will cover you. Your walls will shake at the noise of the horsemen and wagons and chariots, when he enters your gates as men enter a city that has been breached.11 With the hoofs of his horses he will trample all your streets. He will kill your people with the sword, and your mighty pillars will fall to the ground. 12 They will plunder your riches and loot your merchandise. They will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses. Your stones and timber and soil they will cast into the midst of the waters. 13 And I will stop the music of your songs, and the sound of your lyres shall be heard no more. 14 I will make you a bare rock. You shall be a place for the spreading of nets. You shall never be rebuilt, for I am the Lord; I have spoken, declares the Lord God.
15 “Thus says the Lord God to Tyre: Will not the coastlands shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan, when slaughter is made in your midst? 16 Then all the princes of the sea will step down from their thrones and remove their robes and strip off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the ground and tremble every moment and be appalled at you. 17 And they will raise a lamentation over you and say to you,
“‘How you have perished,
    you who were inhabited from the seas,
O city renowned,
    who was mighty on the sea;
she and her inhabitants imposed their terror
    on all her inhabitants!
18 Now the coastlands tremble
    on the day of your fall,
and the coastlands that are on the sea
    are dismayed at your passing.’
19 “For thus says the Lord God: When I make you a city laid waste, like the cities that are not inhabited, when I bring up the deep over you, and the great waters cover you, 20 then I will make you go down with those who go down to the pit, to the people of old, and I will make you to dwell in the world below, among ruins from of old, with those who go down to the pit, so that you will not be inhabited; but I will set beauty in the land of the living. 21 I will bring you to a dreadful end, and you shall be no more. Though you be sought for, you will never be found again, declares the Lord God.”
 
Meditation
God’s love is greater than geo-political competition and international economic wars. God’s love is shown in delivering people from surprising places, even His enemies who appear destined for judgment. God loved us when we were His enemies (Romans 5:8-10) and calls us to love others the same way.
 
Tyre was an enemy of Jerusalem, a region to the northwest of Israel. Historically Tyre was an economic ally of Jerusalem (1 Kings 5) but the tide had turned. The region finding riches from the wealth of a sea faring economy had become economic competitors of Jerusalem, “the gate of the nations” (2). Tyre’s response to the fall of Jerusalem was arrogant and opportunistic, interpreting Judah’s demise as personal “replenishment.” The pride of Tyre (1-5) led to their demise (7-17) and regional disruption (18-21).
 
Judgment is never the end of the story in Scripture, even with enemies of God. God offers salvation to all who put their faith in the atoning work of Jesus.
 
Jesus went to the region of Tyre, an unlikely place for God to go. Jesus gave deliverance to an unlikely person, a Syrophonecian woman (Mark 7:24-30).  The faith of the woman in Jesus gave deliverance from demonic possession. Faith in the death of Jesus for our sin leads to deliverance from the penalty of sin, forgiveness for all who believe, even enemies of God.
 
God’s love is greater than the international, political, and economic wars of our day, too. God wants to reveal His love to unlikely people in unlikely places.
 
Richly Dwelling
-Are you bothered that God loves your political, international, and economic competitors (enemies)? Why?
 
-Tyre deserved judgment, but so do we. How does the love of God in Christ deepen your secure identity in Him. While you were His enemy Christ died for you! Making you a child of God.
 
-Jesus moves towards His enemies and offers salvation. This is amazing love! Who are enemies in your life or our world who need to see this sacrificial and selfless love? How can you show it to them?
 
Key Verse
21 I will bring you to a dreadful end, and you shall be no more. Though you be sought for, you will never be found again, declares the Lord God.”

In the second year of Joash the son of Joahaz, king of Israel, Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, began to reign. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jehoaddin of Jerusalem. 3 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, yet not like David his father. He did in all things as Joash his father had done.4 But the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places. 5 And as soon as the royal power was firmly in his hand, he struck down his servants who had struck down the king his father.6 But he did not put to death the children of the murderers, according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, where the Lord commanded, “Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. But each one shall die for his own sin.”
7 He struck down ten thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt and took Sela by storm, and called it Joktheel, which is its name to this day.
8 Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us look one another in the face.” 9 And Jehoash king of Israel sent word to Amaziah king of Judah, “A thistle on Lebanon sent to a cedar on Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son for a wife,’ and a wild beast of Lebanon passed by and trampled down the thistle. 10 You have indeed struck down Edom, and your heart has lifted you up. Be content with your glory, and stay at home, for why should you provoke trouble so that you fall, you and Judah with you?”
11 But Amaziah would not listen. So Jehoash king of Israel went up, and he and Amaziah king of Judah faced one another in battle at Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah. 12 And Judah was defeated by Israel, and every man fled to his home. 13 And Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash, son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and came to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem for four hundred cubits,[b] from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate. 14 And he seized all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the king's house, also hostages, and he returned to Samaria.
15 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash that he did, and his might, and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 16 And Jehoash slept with his fathers and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel, and Jeroboam his son reigned in his place.
17 Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, lived fifteen years after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel. 18 Now the rest of the deeds of Amaziah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 19 And they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish. But they sent after him to Lachish and put him to death there. 20 And they brought him on horses; and he was buried in Jerusalem with his fathers in the city of David. 21 And all the people of Judah took Azariah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah. 22 He built Elath and restored it to Judah, after the king slept with his fathers.
Jeroboam II Reigns in Israel23 In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, began to reign in Samaria, and he reigned forty-one years. 24 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin. 25 He restored the border of Israel from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath-hepher. 26 For the Lord saw that the affliction of Israel was very bitter, for there was none left, bond or free, and there was none to help Israel. 27 But the Lord had not said that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, so he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash.
28 Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam and all that he did, and his might, how he fought, and how he restored Damascus and Hamath to Judah in Israel, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 29 And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, the kings of Israel, and Zechariah his son reigned in his place.
 
Meditation
God is our helper. God saves us when we need rescue, strengthens us when we are weak, protects us when we are vulnerable, and keeps us from evil.
 
God is gracious. God helps those who turn to Him because He is compassionate, abounding in steadfast love.
 
The downward spiral continued in the Holy Land. Amaziah took the throne in Judah (1-22) and, after an OK start, rejected God’s word and things got blown apart. Jeroboam II reigned in the Northern Kingdom (23-29) and for forty-one years his rebellion against God and His word led to ruin in Israel. Stated simply, the kings of Judah and Israel were horrible, yet God was still their helper.
 
God’s grace is still at the heart of the story. The Lord saw the struggle of His people, that “there was none to help Israel,” (26) so He saved them (27). They rejected God’s word, trusted human powers, and allowed temple treasure to be taken. God helped them. God saved them. This is amazing grace!
 
God’s sovereign grace planned to ruin King Jesus so rebels can be redeemed and restored. Jesus was a faithful King who died so God could forgive unfaithful people.
 
God helps those who turn to Him. There is no pre-requisite that we help our selves or that we perform in a way to earn God’s help. God is our Helper! God forgives and God saves- Blessed be the name of the Lord.
 
Richly Dwelling
-God helps based on His grace alone. Do you believe this?
 
-Where do you turn for help other than God? How do you resist God’s help through your own performance?
 
-Jesus secures God’s grace and gives ground for you to turn and trust the Lord alone for help. What are two areas you want to grow in responding to God’s grace through receiving God’s help?
 
Key Verse
26 For the Lord saw that the affliction of Israel was very bitter, for there was none left, bond or free, and there was none to help Israel. 27 … so he saved them

“If his offering is a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offers an animal from the herd, male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the Lord. 2 And he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering and kill it at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and Aaron's sons the priests shall throw the blood against the sides of the altar.3 And from the sacrifice of the peace offering, as a food offering to the Lord, he shall offer the fat covering the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, 4 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove with the kidneys.5 Then Aaron's sons shall burn it on the altar on top of the burnt offering, which is on the wood on the fire; it is a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
6 “If his offering for a sacrifice of peace offering to the Lord is an animal from the flock, male or female, he shall offer it without blemish. 7 If he offers a lamb for his offering, then he shall offer it before the Lord, 8 lay his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it in front of the tent of meeting; and Aaron's sons shall throw its blood against the sides of the altar. 9 Then from the sacrifice of the peace offering he shall offer as a food offering to the Lord its fat; he shall remove the whole fat tail, cut off close to the backbone, and the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails 10 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove with the kidneys. 11 And the priest shall burn it on the altar as a food offering to the Lord.
12 “If his offering is a goat, then he shall offer it before the Lord 13 and lay his hand on its head and kill it in front of the tent of meeting, and the sons of Aaron shall throw its blood against the sides of the altar. 14 Then he shall offer from it, as his offering for a food offering to the Lord, the fat covering the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails15 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove with the kidneys. 16 And the priest shall burn them on the altar as a food offering with a pleasing aroma. All fat is the Lord's. 17 It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, in all your dwelling places, that you eat neither fat nor blood.”

Meditation
God’s desire to dwell with His people is revealed in a fellowship meal. God’s Divine desire to fellowship with His people is the story of Scripture, from walking in the shade of the garden with Adam and Eve to the wedding supper of the Lamb in the New Heavens and New Earth (Revelation 19:1-6). For this reason at the Last Supper Jesus focused on the New Covenant sealed with His blood, Divine desire to dwell with disciples signified with a meal the night before Jesus’ death (Luke 22:20). A fellowship meal is where Jesus restored Peter (John 21) and the place where God reveals His desire for fellowship with you.
 
The fellowship offerings come from the herd (1-5) or the flock (6-16). The person making the offering needed to know what to eat (17), how to leave the best part of the “unblemished” sacrifice on the altar for the Lord (3-4). God wants the good stuff (16)!  
 
The fellowship offering accompanied the grain offering and celebrated peace between the Lord and His people (9). God redeemed His people for relationship with Him, former slaves who become sons through covenant relationship. Covenant fellowship over a meal is a means for God to dwell with His people.
 
Three parties feasted in fellowship- God, people making the offering, and the priest. Our great High Priest, Jesus Christ, puts all of this together by becoming the sacrifice so we can feast on Him for fellowship with God.  Jesus is knocking at the door of your heart and wants to feast with you (Revelation 3:20).
 
Richly Dwelling
-God wants to feast in fellowship with you! Do you believe this reality? How does it form you?
 
-Why do you reject the reality of God’s revelation, the intimate invitation for fellowship with Him? Where are you deciding to dine outside of eating with the Divine?
 
-Jesus has done everything necessary for you to feast on fellowship with God. He stands at the door of your heart and knocks, wanting to eat with you (Revelation 3:20). What specific ways can you honor this gracious invitation and open your heart to feast with the King?
 
Key Verse
16 … All fat is the Lord's.

Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. 2 I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those who seemed influential) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain. 3 But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. 4 Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery— 5 to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. 6 And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me. 7 On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised 8 (for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), 9 and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.10 Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.
Paul Opposes Peter11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. 13 And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”
Justified by Faith15 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
17 But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! 18 For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

​Meditation
God offers freedom through His astounding grace. There are many people who forfeit freedom by choosing to add to the gospel. They verbally say, “God’s grace is enough to forgive me!” but practically live as if what Christ has accomplished is not enough, performing for a pardon. Do you live in freedom or does your life “nullify the grace of God” (21)?
 
Paul opposed the apostle Peter “to his face” because “his conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel” (11-14). Peter feared the circumcision party and publicly supported a false gospel, faith in Christ + circumcision = forgiveness. Any gospel that includes human performance as a qualification for forgiveness is a false gospel.
 
Paul came to Jerusalem with Titus, an uncircumcised gentile, to have his call to take the gospel to Gentiles externally confirmed by church leaders (1-10). Paul proclaimed the gospel clearly; a person is forgiven (made right with God- Justified) by faith in Christ alone. To add a work of the law like circumcision (or any other work) is to rebuild what Christ tore down. We are forgiven to freely live with God (15-19).
 
We have been “crucified with Christ.” The penalty for our sin has been totally paid! Jesus loved us by “giving Himself for us” (20). Faith receives the gift of His grace.
 
The ground of grace compels us to walk in freedom- In Christ Jesus you are forgiven!
 
Richly Dwelling
-Does your life reflect a salvation by faith alone, that is you are fully forgiven through the work of Christ and free to walk in His love?
 
-What are specific ways you add to the gospel, forfeiting freedom by adding your effort to be made right with God?
 
-Christ has loved you and given Himself for you! How does the embrace of His grace grow a desire to walk in freedom? What can this look like for you today?
 
Key Verse
20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

​Blow a trumpet in Zion;
    sound an alarm on my holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
    for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near,
2 a day of darkness and gloom,
    a day of clouds and thick darkness!
Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains
    a great and powerful people;
their like has never been before,
    nor will be again after them
    through the years of all generations.
3 Fire devours before them,
    and behind them a flame burns.
The land is like the garden of Eden before them,
    but behind them a desolate wilderness,
    and nothing escapes them.
4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses,
    and like war horses they run.
5 As with the rumbling of chariots,
    they leap on the tops of the mountains,
like the crackling of a flame of fire
    devouring the stubble,
like a powerful army
    drawn up for battle.
6 Before them peoples are in anguish;
    all faces grow pale.
7 Like warriors they charge;
    like soldiers they scale the wall.
They march each on his way;
    they do not swerve from their paths.
8 They do not jostle one another;
    each marches in his path;
they burst through the weapons
    and are not halted.
9 They leap upon the city,
    they run upon the walls,
they climb up into the houses,
    they enter through the windows like a thief.
10 The earth quakes before them;
    the heavens tremble.
The sun and the moon are darkened,
    and the stars withdraw their shining.
11 The Lord utters his voice
    before his army,
for his camp is exceedingly great;
    he who executes his word is powerful.
For the day of the Lord is great and very awesome;
    who can endure it?
Return to the Lord
12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
    “return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
13     and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
Return to the Lord your God,
    for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
    and he relents over disaster.
14 Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,
    and leave a blessing behind him,
a grain offering and a drink offering
    for the Lord your God?
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion;
    consecrate a fast;
call a solemn assembly;
16     gather the people.
Consecrate the congregation;
    assemble the elders;
gather the children,
    even nursing infants.
Let the bridegroom leave his room,
    and the bride her chamber.
17 Between the vestibule and the altar
    let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep
and say, “Spare your people, O Lord,
    and make not your heritage a reproach,
    a byword among the nations.[a]
Why should they say among the peoples,
    ‘Where is their God?’”
The Lord Had Pity
18 Then the Lord became jealous for his land
    and had pity on his people.
19 The Lord answered and said to his people,
“Behold, I am sending to you
    grain, wine, and oil,
    and you will be satisfied;
and I will no more make you
    a reproach among the nations.
20 “I will remove the northerner far from you,
    and drive him into a parched and desolate land,
his vanguard[b] into the eastern sea,
    and his rear guard[c] into the western sea;
the stench and foul smell of him will rise,
    for he has done great things.
21 “Fear not, O land;
    be glad and rejoice,
    for the Lord has done great things!
22 Fear not, you beasts of the field,
    for the pastures of the wilderness are green;
the tree bears its fruit;
    the fig tree and vine give their full yield.
23 “Be glad, O children of Zion,
    and rejoice in the Lord your God,
for he has given the early rain for your vindication;
    he has poured down for you abundant rain,
    the early and the latter rain, as before.
24 “The threshing floors shall be full of grain;
    the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
25 I will restore[d] to you the years
    that the swarming locust has eaten,
the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,
    my great army, which I sent among you.
26 “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
    and praise the name of the Lord your God,
    who has dealt wondrously with you.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.
27 You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,
    and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.
The Lord Will Pour Out His Spirit
28  “And it shall come to pass afterward,
    that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
    your old men shall dream dreams,
    and your young men shall see visions.
29 Even on the male and female servants
    in those days I will pour out my Spirit.
30 “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 32 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.
 
Meditation
God promises redemption, restoration, and renewal when we return to Him.
 
The dark day of the Lord is described with impending judgment, destruction, and devastation (1-11). Hope dawns in the darkness with an invitation to return to the Lord “with all your heart,” giving God our whole hearts and not our habits, rituals, or religious ceremony. God is merciful and gracious, abounding in steadfast love. God wants to redeem, restore, and renew when we return to Him (12-14).
 
The Lord has pity to rescue His people so we can praise Him in restoration, “rejoicing in the Lord our God” (15-23). God promises to restore what has been emptied, replenish what has been eaten, satisfy what is left wanting, and to cover shame (24-27). The Lord will restore that which He redeems!
 
The Lord promises renewal by the power of His Spirit (29-32). The promise of the Spirit was filled at Pentecost, proclaimed by Peter in Acts 2. Paul proclaims the promise that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (32) in Romans 10:13.  Joel’s prophecy is dripping with anticipation, rich motivation to return to the Lord with all our hearts.
 
God’s promise of renewal has “come to pass forward” (28) and “come to pass” (32) in the person and work of Jesus. Jesus redeems from judgment. Jesus restores what is broken. Jesus renews what is worn out. Jesus revives what is dead!
 
God promises redemption, restoration, and renewal. Will you return to Him with all your heart?
 
Richly Dwelling
-The day of judgment is dark for those who do not believe. Will you return to the Lord with all your heart?
 
-Returning is based on God’s unchanging character. This means you can count on His promises when you return to Him! Do you trust God and His promises?
 
-Jesus and His Spirit are central to redemption, restoration, and renewal. Name the areas you know you need renewal and restoration. Take them to Jesus. Ask Jesus to give His Spirit freshly and formatively!
 
Key Verse
12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”
3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
    and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his pinions,
    and under his wings you will find refuge;
    his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
5 You will not fear the terror of the night,
    nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
    nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
 
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
    ten thousand at your right hand,
    but it will not come near you.
8 You will only look with your eyes
    and see the recompense of the wicked.
9 Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place--
    the Most High, who is my refuge--
10 no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
    no plague come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways.

12 On their hands they will bear you up,
    lest you strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the adder;
    the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.
14 “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
    I will protect him, because he knows my name.
15 When he calls to me, I will answer him;
    I will be with him in trouble;
    I will rescue him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
    and show him my salvation.”
 
Meditation
God invites you to experience the power, protection, and promise of His presence.  “Dwelling” and “abiding” with God (1) grows our faith to know Him as “our refuge and fortress” (2).
 
To abide in Him is to live in close proximity (9), close enough to be in His shadow (1) or like baby birds protected by God’s metaphorical wings and covered with His loving kindness (4). The presence of God is personal! And powerful. Look at the litany of promises for people who abide, or dwell with our Divine lover:
 
-I will deliver you (3).
-I will cover you (4).
-You will not fear (5).
-No evil will befall you and no plague will come near your tent (10).
-He will command His angels to protect you (11).
-You will trample the enemy (12).
-I will deliver you (14).
-I will protect you (14).
-I will answer you when you call (15).
-I will be with you in times of trouble (15).
-I will rescue and honor you (15).
-I will satisfy with long life and show salvation (15).
 
Jesus is the fullness of God’s presence and promises. He longs for His people to come dwell in His intimate presence, under the protection of His wings of grace (Matthew 23:37). Jesus invites us to abide in Him (John 15:1-10).
 
Richly Dwelling
-Where do you turn in times of trouble? Is the person of God the place of your refuge and strength?
 
-Which of the promises in this passage speak to you most personally? Why?
 
-Jesus is the fullness of the person and promises of God. How can your heart refocus hope in Him? What do you need to turn from to trust more fully in Him?
 
Key Verse
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”