Trim Your Lamp

This is just the first in my planned weekly entry on one thing I have learnt in the Come Follow Me programme (although I didn’t post this last week due to things I needed to do with my calling).

In the first week we had a look at the Parable of the Ten Virgins.

1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.

2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. (Matthew 25:1-2)

As a side note – I wondered if there was significance in the numbers, five wise and five foolish? We know that the kingdom of heaven on Earth is referring to the Lord’s Church. Does this indicate the proportion of the Lord’s kingdom who will be prepared for the Second Coming of the Lord? Maybe, maybe not – but it did cause me to consider about my standing if I would be ready.

Anyway – the main thing that caught my eye was found in this verses:

6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to
meet him.

7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. (Matthew 25:6-7)

I’ve skimmed over these verses in the past and just presumed it referred to ensuring we are ready for the Saviour. However, the phrase ‘trimmed their lamps’ did make me wonder what this actually meant and what could we learn from the analogy.

So, a Google Search was in order. From the search I gathered this information:
This care involved trimming the wick, which drew the oil up from the storage reservoir, so that the flame would be clean and bright. Lamp trimmers also refilled the reservoirs, which held enough oil for several hours of burning, but not enough to start a major fire if the lamp were to be knocked down or damaged somehow.
A poorly trimmed wick creates a flame which is dim and smoky. A properly trimmed wick should come to a rounded point, or should be wedge shaped. When lit, the wick should burn cleanly all the way up to the highest flame it can make. (Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamp_trimmer)

This explanation was illuminating! We know that there are reasons for why the Master Teacher would use certain analogies and whilst the Parable of the Ten Virgins is a lesson in preparing for the Second Coming, there is reference here to light and tending to that light in our own souls..

We tend to our own ‘lights’ by:

1. Trimming our lamps – in order to have the clearest light in our testimonies, we would need to work at ‘trimming’ our lamps. One way we do this may be ensuring we live worthy to have the presence of the Spirit in our hearts. We must ensure we are ready to receive the good things which light the candle of testimony in our hearts.
2. Pouring oil into the lamp – when we are ready to receive the fuel, we then study, pray, partake of the sacrament to fuel the flame of testimony in our hearts.

As I studied this analogy, I couldn’t help marveling at the layers that were there within it. We can then link this in with Christ being the Light of the World – but that can be one for a future post. I can’t wait to continue studying the New Testament this year in the Come Follow Me programme.

Filling Life with Light

As I was reading the Book of Mormon today there popped out a verse that seemed to have been put in there since I last read that section (that happens, right?)

It is found in Jacob 6:7 and it reads “For behold, after ye have been nourished by the good word of God all the day long, will ye bring forth evil fruit, that ye must be hewn down and cast into the fire?” This wonderful little verse identifies a key principle. As we go throughout life we have a days to live, hours to use the best we can. Life is a wonderful thing to live, however we need to make sure we use it wisely. How we fill our lives can have an impact on the decisions we make later on.

Elder Neil L. Andersen taught that “How we live our lives increases or diminishes our faith. Prayer, obedience, honesty, purity of thought and deed, and unselfishness increase faith. Without these, faith diminishes.” The more light we fill our lives with, the closer to the Saviour we will feel, the more we will feel of His Spirit and the more confident we will be when choices to sin arise to make the right choice. Not only this, but we will be able to avoid the cunning wiles of Satan, for they are not obvious or apparent at times. President Joseph Fielding Smith explained “Who is it that is deceived in this Church? Not the man who has been faithful in the discharge of duty; not the man who has made himself acquainted with the word of the Lord; not the man who has practiced the commandments given in these revelations; but the man who is not acquainted with the truth, the man who is in spiritual darkness, the man who does not comprehend and understand the principles of the Gospel.” We cannot allow ourselves to not study the word of the Lord for our lives will have an impact on it. It isn’t impossible but it is certainly more likely that we will try and do good around us if we study the words of the prophets – words that testify of Christ and His divine character; a character that we can try to pattern our lives after.

Very recently, President Thomas S. Monson, current President of the Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-day Saints gave a very simple but powerful promise. He said “If you are not reading the Book of Mormon each day, please do so. If you will read it prayerfully and with a sincere desire to know the truth, the Holy Ghost will manifest its truth to you…I implore each of us to prayerfully study and ponder the Book of Mormon each day.” The definition of the word ‘implore’ is “beg someone earnestly or desperately to do something” – the prophet of the Lord is begging us – all of us – to read the Book of Mormon everyday. There are many reasons for this but one of them is clear – to fill our life with more light. Please read the Book of Mormon for yourself everyday, it will fill your life with more light also.

Independent Spiritual Learning

Today in sacrament meeting there was a focus on self-reliance, particularly on spiritual self-reliance. A few thoughts came to mind as I listened to the various messages and principles.

This story was shared from the June 2017 Ensign about seagulls who became dependent on being provided with their nourishment. It says:

“Years ago the seagulls in St. Augustine, Florida, USA, were starving. For generations the gulls had learned to depend on the shrimp fleets to feed them scraps from their nets. The shrimpers eventually moved from the area. The seagulls had not learned how to fish for themselves; nor did they teach their young how to fish. Consequently, the big, beautiful birds were dying even while there was plenty of fish all around them in the water.²

We cannot afford to become like the seagulls; nor can we let our children go through life dependent on us, or others, for their knowledge of the Lord. “Our efforts,” said President Marion G. Romney (1897–1988), First Counselor in the First Presidency, “must always be directed toward making able-bodied people self-reliant.”³ When we become self-reliant gospel learners, we know how to feed ourselves spiritually and strengthen our relationship with God.”

We have to become self-reliant in developing our spiritual centre and also help our children and those we minister to become self-reliant in searching for their answers also. If the answers are always provided, or the things to study are only provided in a structured programme, then they will never learn to seek for answers and guidance to their own problems.

Spiritual self-reliance is something we can all aim for. It is a goal completely within our own choices and influence. Obviously it can be made more difficult from other factors but we have direct influence over whether we can strengthen our spiritual self-reliance or weaken it. It says in John 7:37-38 “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” We can come unto the Lord at any time to drink from living water through studying the scriptures, praying or many other ways – but the problem is that we need to do it as often as we can, rather than have ourselves thirst.

Of course, self-reliance doesn’t just include spiritual self-reliance, but other areas of our lives too. Elder L. Tom Perry gave an experience in the October 1991 of when he was younger and how his parents taught him a valuable lesson. Interestingly before he shared this experience he said this: “Never before in my life has the doctrine of self-reliance been more needed to be preached and encouraged for the benefit of the Saints. We live in a time of rapid change. Governments are rising and falling. Industries are blooming and then all too soon becoming obsolete. New discoveries in science are soon overshadowed by new findings. Unless we are continuously expanding our understanding and vision, we, too, will become out-of-date. Research tells us that individuals entering the labor market today will be forced to find three to five different career paths during their productive years.” This was 26 years ago! How much more relevant is this now! I heard a fact recently that of my generation (20-30 year olds), a third of us when we reach the age of 60 will still be renting accommodation rather than own our own home. Whilst this is not a direct indicator of “self-reliance”, it highlights the more and more challenging financial circumstances of the world we live in.

Anyway, Elder Perry shared this:

“My parents established a family tradition in our home which was fun for me in my early years and has become even more meaningful as I reflect back on it as the years have passed. On the first birthday of each child the family would gather in the living room. In the center of the living room floor, our parents would place articles for the one-year-old child to select. The selection to be made might indicate an interest the child would pursue in life. The articles were the Bible, a child’s bottle filled with milk, a toy, and a savings bank, filled with coins. The child was placed on one side of the room and the family on the other side. Family members would encourage the child to crawl toward the objects and make a selection. This was all in fun, of course…

Now I propose to you that in this entertaining family activity we can find the most fundamental principles of self-reliance. First, the scriptures represent our need for spiritual nourishment…

Second, the bottle filled with milk symbolizes the physical body’s need for nourishment…

Third, the toy I mentioned earlier represents the acquisition of things of the world…

Finally, the fourth item, the bank. It is a symbol of our financial well-being.”

As we consider how we can ensure we become more self-reliant, it is important that we think about these four areas. Are there any steps we can take to help us become more self-reliant in any of these areas? Some may be more challenging than others but we can make small steps in many ways.

The Hand of the Lord

In my studies recently I have been acting on an invitation from President Russell M Nelson to the Young Adults of the Church to go through the whole Standard Works and highlight things that Christ has DONE and SAID in those inspired works. This was given as an assignment from a prophet of the Lord. He said:

“I have an invitation for you that will help—it’s an assignment, actually—if you choose to accept it. Commence tonight to consecrate a portion of your time each week to studying everything Jesus said and did as recorded in the Old Testament, for He is the Jehovah of the Old Testament. Study His laws as recorded in the New Testament, for He is its Christ. Study His doctrine as recorded in the Book of Mormon, for there is no book of scripture in which His mission and His ministry are more clearly revealed. And study His words as recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants, for He continues to teach His people in this dispensation.”

I am up to about Genesis 44 (not quite as far as I would like to be) but already I have spotted some interesting patterns. As I have read the great accounts of the ancient prophets – Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and others – I have noticed that as these righteous covenant makers stayed true to the gospel they were taught, they were blessed. The impact of these blessings did not always come instantly. Examples were Joseph and being sold by his brothers to Egypt, Abraham and his struggles with family and being asked to sacrifice his son Isaac and also Jacob and his worry about his brother Esau seemingly advancing to exact vengeance.

The opposite is true of those who were not valiant in their testimonies or in their obedience to God’s commandments. Lot, Abraham’s nephew, was such an example. He took his family and pitched their tents towards Sodom and Gomorrah despite being warned. As a result they were forced to flee their residence (out of interest, which was now in Sodom itself so they had obviously accepted living within it’s boundaries later on) and lived in misery after losing loved ones.

The lesson? The hand of the Lord is evident in the lives of those who follow the Saviour. Of course, this does not guarantee that life will be perfect. We know the rain will fall on the just and the unjust. But, the Lord will bless those in relation with the obedience they have shown. As I continue with this assignment I know I will see more examples of this. President Nelson continued:

“This may seem like a large assignment, but I encourage you to accept it. If you proceed to learn all you can about Jesus Christ, I promise you that your love for Him, and for God’s laws, will grow beyond what you currently imagine. I promise you also that your ability to turn away from sin will increase. Your desire to keep the commandments will soar. You will find yourself better able to walk away from the entertainment and entanglements of those who mock the followers of Jesus Christ….”

I encourage you to take on this challenge, there will be great blessings from it.

Understanding Isaiah – 2 Nephi 19

Verse 2 – “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.” This is a nice verse which indicates how many before the coming of Christ will be in spiritual darkness. However, the light will shine on them – all of God’s children will have the light shine on them, it will be down to them whether they accept it or not.

Verse 6 – “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Couldn’t go through Chapter 19 of 2 Nephi and mention this well-known verse. This is Isaiah’s well-documented prophecy of the coming forth of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. When Isaiah speaks he often does so ‘Messianically’, meaning he is foreshadowing the coming of the Saviour, or signifying events that will come.

Verses 12-13 – “…For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the Lord of Hosts.” The concept of the Lord’s hand not being turned away, but always being outstretched is an interesting one. The general assumption is that this verse is referring to the infinite mercy of the Lord, that He is always there ready to help and support us (and this concept is indeed true). However, I have read a deeper meaning to this elsewhere. John Gee, a Latter-day Saint and professional Egyptologist, explained, “The English sentence is constructed to say that in spite of the punishments afflicted (‘for all this’), the punishments do not satisfy the Lord’s anger (‘his anger is not turned away’).” Gee continued, “In other words, to the contrary (‘but’), the hand of the Lord is still ‘stretched out.’” Gee thus concluded, “So a stretched out hand, by any careful reading of the English, is a hand administering punishment,”3 or, at least, threatening or beginning to do so.” This is certainly a more unsettling aspect of this verse, but also just as true a concept as the previously mentioned one.

Understanding Isaiah – 2 Nephi 18

Verse 1 – “Moreover, the word of the Lord said unto me: Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man’s pen, concerning Maher-shalal-hash-baz.” Again, this indicates the use of names and their meaning. The name used in this verse means ‘Quickened destruction’ which again links to a lot of the imagery and description in Isaiah’s verses.

Verse 12 – “Say ye not, A confederacy, to all to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.” Again, a verse that slightly confused me initially. However, this verse is basically stating that we need to always trust in God first, that He will support us in all things. The meaning is made clearer when linked with Isaiah 31:1 “Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the Lord!” The ‘confederacy’ that is mentioned by Isaiah is one that Israel wanted to make with other nations to protect themselves. Here, the Lord is inviting them to trust in Him instead and He will deliver them. For us in our lives, this can be evidenced when we trust in our own abilities or ‘in the arm of the flesh’ before the Lord.

Verse 14 – “And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling, and for a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” In the same way those who do not stumble over Christ and His teachings, those who are not offended will be blessed. Links to Luke 7:23 which reads “And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.”

Verse 19-20 – “And when they shall say unto you: Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep and mutter—should not a people seek unto their God for the living to hear from the dead? To the law and to the testimony; and if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Once again this is another reference to the Israelites needing to rely on the Lord. This chapter seems to have a very consistent theme!

Light the World – Christmas

A great blog post about light and a great insight into the Shepherds behaviour.

My Burden is Light – http://wp.me/p68HLM-28h

Understanding Isaiah – 2 Nephi 17

Verse 3 – “Then said the Lord unto Isaiah: Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou and Shearjashub thy son…” The name ‘Shearjashub’ means “remnant shall return”. This links well with Isaiah’s prophecies with the future of Israel.

Verse 7 – “Thus saith the Lord God: It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.” This highlights the finality of the word of the Lord. We must recognise that if we submit our will to His, He will bless us ultimately with what we need. In Proverbs 21:30 we read “There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord.” When we seek for answers to deep questions we have, we must remember the counsels and guidance of the Lord we have already received. This will help us.

Verse 14-15 – Therefore, the Lord himself shall give you a sign—Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and shall bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil and to choose the good.” This seems appropriate considering the time which I’m posting this. I was intrigued by the phrase here with the butter and honey. How does this relate? The butter and honey refers to the humble circumstances in which the Saviour would be born on the Earth. Because of this humble beginning and His mortal existence, our Lord and Saviour would know how to support us all in our trials and times of difficulty.

Verse 21 – “And it shall come to pass in that day, a man shall nourish a young cow and two sheep;” Once again, this has links with the Assyrian destruction of the land. As a result, there was less providers to sustain and support the land. This can relate to today in numerous ways, as again was the purpose of including these prophecies in the Book of Mormon, to liken the scriptures unto us. A spiritual battle wages around for example and some will fall away. We must try and support and sustain as many around us.

 

Understanding Isaiah – 2 Nephi 16

I’m quite enjoying recording the thoughts from my studies – it’s good to go back and review what I had found and try to pick out more insights.

Verse 2 – “Above it stood the seraphim; each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.” This was certainly one which was interesting to think about. I think the purpose of presenting the seraphim indicates the power and glory of God. In Mormon Doctrine, Elder Bruce R McConkie explained “Seraphs are angels who reside in the presence of God, giving continual glory, honor, and adoration to him. … In Hebrew the plural of seraph is seraphim. … The fact that these holy beings were shown to him as having wings was simply to symbolize their ‘power, to move, to act, etc.’ as was the case also in visions others had received.” Describing this from the vision, Isaiah draws a greater line under the omnipotence of His Supreme Creator, one who we can have great faith and trust in.

Verse 5 – “Then said I: Wo is unto me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips; and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts.” Notice the contrast between the great glory of the Lord and the great fear and trembling from Isaiah. We find many other examples of fear and trembling before the Lord in scripture – Lehi, the Brother of Jared and Moses to name a few. It is not surprising – I think if any of us were to experience that then I think we would react the same!

Verse 8 – “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said: Here am I; send me.” As mentioned before, one of the most incredible (and occasionally confusing) attributes of Isaiah’s writing is that often he writes things which refer to multiple events, individuals, time periods and groups. Here, Isaiah is referring to a very personal event where he accepts the call from the Lord to, effectively, be a prophet; to testify to the world of the Saviour and His principles. We see a similar scene take place when the Saviour himself is chosen to be our Redeemer. “And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first.” (Abraham 3:27) Of course, we all receive moments in our lives when the Lord reaches out to us and calls us to his work. Will we follow the example of the Saviour and Isaiah and accept the call?

Verse 10 – “Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes—lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted and be healed.” This was always a little confusing for me. From this verse it sounds that the Lord wants Isaiah to share the Gospel to the people to make it so they are more resistant. This will then avoid them understanding and being healed. Obviously more study was needed. I read in the Book of Mormon Institute Student Manual it said “He was advised that his preaching to a wayward people would generally not be received. Their hearts would “fatten” against the truth and their ears would be “heavy”…Isaiah was not commissioned to make the people resistant to the truth; rather, he was advised of the difficulty of the mission.” The Lord was warning that not many would hear. Not many would reflect a change in heart and try to understand as said in Proverbs 2:2 “So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;” If we have desire to learn, we can turn our hearts to the Spirit to help us gain that understanding.

Verse 13 – “But yet there shall be a tenth, and they shall return, and shall be eaten, as a teil tree, and as an oak whose substance is in them when they cast their leaves; so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.” This ‘holy seed’ is representative of the House of Israel. The tenth is the remnant cast away and the seed shows a regeneration of new life out of scattered Israel.

Understanding Isaiah – 2 Nephi 12

This is an attempt to record the prompts and study that I have made whilst studying the chapters of Isaiah, starting at 2 Nephi 12 onwards. There may well be things I miss or other opinions/suggestions about what is discussed in the chapter and I would love to hear them! I will not provide commentary on every verse as that would take a long time but mainly because I do not yet have comments on every single verse.

2 Nephi 12

Verse 2 – “And it shall come to pass in the last days, when the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it.” Here is a clear reference to what is referred often to in the scriptures as the House of the Lord, or a Temple. Temples will be established in the last days and, whilst some feel that this verse refers to a specific Temple that has been established, personally I feel it can apply to all temples dedicated to the Lord Himself.

Verse 3 – “And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” The underlined part, for me, refers to sacred temple covenants made in the House of the Lord. As we take upon ourselves sacred and eternal laws to govern our lives, we become ever closer to how the Lord lives. Whilst we will never achieve that standard in this life, it is important to remember that this life is only a temporary period in our eternal lives.

Verse 4 – “And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plow-shares, and their spears into pruning-hooks—nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” When the Saviour returns and there is millennial peace there will be no need for weapons of war. This phrase symbolises that instead of creating tools for battle, there will be tools for other things. What is interesting to me is what those ‘other things’ are. A plowshare and a pruning hook can be seen below:

 

As may have been noticed – these tools are used for planting and farming. Does this mean we will be focused on rearing crops and greenery. Probably not, this may well refer to tending the vineyard of the Lord (see Jacob 5).

Verse 6 – “Therefore, O Lord, thou hast forsaken thy people, the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and hearken unto soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers.” This is the first example I have of many where it is useful to study the 2 Nephi version of Isaiah with the Book of Isaiah. The corresponding verse in Isaiah 2:6 says “Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers.” This is a little confusing but a footnote in the Bible version explains this refers to ‘alien beliefs’. In other words, the Israelites had allowed unfamiliar beliefs to enter their traditions and this was having an impact.

Verse 9 – “And the mean man boweth not down, and the great man humbleth himself not, therefore, forgive him not.” This is another example where it is interesting to study the 2 Nephi version of Isaiah with the Book of Isaiah. Isaiah 2:9 reads “And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not.” Not only can we see the variation in the text but there are a footnote in the Bible version which explains what the ‘mean man’ is. It means ‘ordinary man’. So, we can read it as saying many ordinary men do not bow down and many great man do not humble themselves either before the Second Coming, thus, they will not be forgiven.

Verse 10 – “O ye wicked ones, enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for the fear of the Lord and the glory of his majesty shall smite thee.” This has a strong reminder of the sorrowful state of the unrepentant when they are resurrected before the Lord and are aware of all their transgressions we find described in Alma 12:14 – “For our words will condemn us, yea, all our works will condemn us; we shall not be found spotless; and our thoughts will also condemn us; and in this awful state we shall not dare to look up to our God; and we would fain be glad if we could command the rocks and the mountains to fall upon us to hide us from his presence.”

Verse 11-17 – “And it shall come to pass that the lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the Lord of Hosts soon cometh upon all nations, yea, upon every one; yea, upon the proud and lofty, and upon every one who is lifted up, and he shall be brought low. Yea, and the day of the Lord shall come upon all the cedars of Lebanon, for they are high and lifted up; and upon all the oaks of Bashan; And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills, and upon all the nations which are lifted up, and upon every people; And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall; And upon all the ships of the sea, and upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures. And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low; and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.” This passage describes what will happen to all those ‘proud’ people in the day of the Second Coming. One such metaphor used is the ‘cedars of Lebanon’. These tall trees can reach a height of 40m. Not only this, but their national significance can also link to how a ‘cedar of Lebanon’ or one who is built up like this tree may need to be brought low. The cedar is the national symbol of Lebanon and therefore regarded with high importance.

Verse 20 – “In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which he hath made for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;” The significance of this verse shows us that when the Lord returns to the Earth in His glory, all idols of gold and silver will be cast away, worthless before Him. Of course, we are to recognise that these ‘idols’ will not all be little ornate statues we may pray to in violation of the commandments of God. There are many other idols that all of us, even those who have made sacred covenants with the Lord, may put before the Lord. Do we value the pursuit of material items, sporting events or public recognition before the Saviour? How we use our time is a good indicator of this and something which will require all Saints to undertake some serious self-reflection to consider it.

Verse 22 – “Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils; for wherein is he to be accounted of?” And finally, just to hammer home the importance of putting the Lord before the arm of the flesh, we are given a timely reminder. Why cling to material or trivial things when the One who gave and continues to give all men breath is beckoning us to come unto Him? When you think about it, it should be a straightforward answer…

Ok – well as this is actually taking a lot more space, pondering and time than expected I will post chapter by chapter!