Floodgates of Heaven Devotions: If this don't put you on "shoutin' ground", nothing will!!

Today’s Reading: 2 Sam. 14-15, Luke 17:1-19

Today’s Reflection: 2 Samuel 14:14 For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him.

According to Romans 6:23, the wages of sin is death. Romans 5:12 also says, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” Simply put, we ALL are going to die, because we ALL have sinned! That’s the New Testament rendition of this Old Testament verse.

We MUST needs die. We ARE as water spilt on the ground, which can’t be gathered up again! And because with God, there is no respect of persons, this means that there are no exceptions. HOWEVER, or as the Bible put it, YET!! Read it again, “…yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him.” I’m glad there’s a YET in this verse!! In other words, God made a way to bring us back into fellowship with Him. Although we were BANISHED from His presence, YET He makes a way to bring us back into His presence.

Looking at the original Hebrew word for what has been translated “banished” and “expelled” in our selected text, we find that both words came from the exact same Hebrew word nâdach, which means, among other things, to banish, cast out, push off, drive away, etc. It is very similar to the Hebrew word shâlach used in Genesis 3:23, when the Bible says of Adam that “…the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden…”

So we see here that our sin sends us forth, banishes us, casts us out, drives us away, or expels us from God’s presence, however you want to put it. And because our verse today has the Hebrew word used twice in the same sentence, it COULD be translated, “Yet doth he devise means, that his BANISHED be not BANISHED (instead of expelled) from him.” In other words, an exact reversal of this harsh judgement is made possible through a means that God Himself has devised.

How, you may ask? Look to none other than The Lord Jesus Christ! 2 Corinthians 5:21 says speaking of Jesus, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” In other words, since death MUST be paid for our sin without exception, Christ Himself paid for our sins, dying the ultimate death of the cross, and by the shedding of His blood, all who call upon Him in faith and repentance are thereby forgiven of their sins, and allowed back into God’s presence, because the sin debt has been paid in full!

Header Artwork courtesy of www.michellejohnsonfairchild.com

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Floodgates of Heaven
Volume 2
Entry 112 of 365

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