��������The Comfort of the Scriptures
Every time we pick up our newspapers, or listen to the radio and watch television, we hear of wars and rumors of wars.
Matthew 24:6‑8: �And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom....�
There is rioting in Africa, Asia, South America, France. Murder rape and violence of all kinds is rampant everywhere, even in our own country. After hearing the conditions of the world today, don�t you think that it would be comforting to hear what the scriptures have to say about all these things.
In Romans 15:4 we read;
�For whatsoever things were written afore time were written for our learning, that we through patience and the comfort of the scriptures might have hope.�
As one writer expressed it,
�For most of the time comfort is a soft, sleek, stroking word. But not always! Not always for the scriptures. Comfort is no softling. The word itself is like a strong armed man. Comfort, fort, fortify, fortitude.� In other words strength, nothing soft about that.
�Fortitude to see unflinchingly;
Strength to stand unwaveringly
Not a lullaby, but a trumpet call.�
The Moffat translation of the Bible, which will be quoted, translates Isaiah 44:8 as follows:
�Fear nothing; dread not in the days to come: Have not I foretold it and announced it long ago?�
Most of us have a deep sense of needing this prophetic comfort and fortitude today. We need to know what has been written about the days in which we live, so we have the patience and comfort that we need.
In purifying metals, they are melted at great heat. The impurities rise to the top and can be skimmed off, leaving the metals below, we find the same idea in Psalm 92:7;
�When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish it is that they shall be destroyed forever.�
The apparent triumph of wickedness is just the scum rising to the top to be skimmed off.
Nearly all of our major troubles today were caused by the mistakes of our nation leaders, who have helped our enemies into positions of power instead of restraining them while they were still weak. The Bible has a great deal to say about this. For example Isaiah 9:16 says;
�For the leaders of this people cause them to err, and they that are led of them are destroyed.�
Isaiah 3:12 tells us;
�YOUR LEADERS ARE MISLEADING YOU MY PEOPLE, they are effacing the true path for you.�
Micah 3:1 reads;
�Listen now, leaders of Jacob, judges over the house of Israel, you haters of right and lovers of wrong, is not a sense of justice due from you?�
Hosea 4:6 tells us:
�My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.�
The word used here for destroyed is damah (daw-maw), meaning to be brought to silence, or be undone. In other words, ineffective. There is no strong word to say, in the midst of confusion around them, they cannot dispel it, they can only share it.
Some of the ways we have been led astray are as follows. Often in the Bible Ephriam is mentioned when it means the ten tribes of Israel. In Hosea 7:8-9 we find this very interesting comment.
�Ephraim allows himself to be mixed up with foreigners, foreigners eat away his strength, unknown to him.�
We have been given plenty of warning not to help our enemies. For example;
�Give not thine honor to another, nor the things that are profitable unto thee to a strange nation.� (Baruch 4:3, Moffett Translation)
Strange here means foreign.
Baruch 4:3 and Ecclesiasticus 12:5 instructs us,
�Do well unto him that is lowly, BUT GIVE NOT TO THE UNGODLY: HOLD BACK THY BREAD, and give it not unto him, lest he overmaster thee thereby: Else thou shalt received as much evil for all the good thou shalt have done unto him.�
Deuteronomy 23:6 also tells us:
�Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity, all they days forever.�
Because we are giving to all our enemies all over the world, the prophet Haggai describes our condition perfectly. Haggai 1:6 records;
�He that earneth wages earneth wages for a bag with holes.�
You pay income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, and all of the hidden taxes. There are some 26 different taxes on just a single loaf of bread. After all these taxes, you probably feel as though you had put your wages into a bag with holes.
Some are concerned about the division among our people. Instead of fearing the division of our nation into opposing groups, divided on points of moral principles, recognize it as the hand of Yahweh separating His own from His enemies. It is recorded in Luke 12:51 what I�ve peace on earth? I tell you, nay, but rather DIVISION.�
Matthew 13:41-43 promises;
�The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ear to hear, let him hear.�
Psalm 37:34 continues;
�Wait on Yahweh and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: When the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.�
Isaiah 26:10 adds:
�But evil men who even in a good land will not learn to be good, they cease to be; the wicked shall be swept away, and the Eternal�s majesty they shall not see.�
Without fear, be ready to stand firmly for the right as Yahweh shows it to you, your prayers for His instructions will be answered. For example Psalm 25:12 reads:
�Whosoever reverences the Eternal, learns what is the right course to take.�
2 Esdras states;
�Be ye not afraid, neither doubt: for Yahweh is your guide.�
Psalm 32:6-8 continues;
�So let each loyal heart in trouble pray to thee: The floods may roar, but they will never reach him, for thou wilt be his shelter, safe guarding him in peril; surrounding him with aid. I will instruct you and teach you what is the road to take; I will give you counsel, O humble soul.�
�Psalm 94:12-13 adds;
�Happy is he who has thy discipline and thine instruction, training him calmly to wait on, in adversity, till a pit is dug for the ungodly.�
Danger? Of course there is, but when were we ever free from it? Yahweh promises His help will bring us safely through all these dangers. Isaiah 43:1-2 says;
�But now, the Eternal promises, he who created you, O Jacob, He who made you, O Israel, fear not for I WILL REDEEM YOU, I claim you, you are mine. I will be with you when you pass through waters, no river shall overflow you; when you pass through the fire, you shall not be scorched, no flame shall burn you.�
Psalm 118:6-7 tells us:
�The Eternal is upon my side; I have no fear. What can man do to me? I have the Eternal as my helper; so I shall feast mine eyes on my defeated foes.�
In Psalm 37:10-13, 18-19 we read;
�A little longer, and the godless will be gone; look in his haunts, and he is there no more! The land will be left to the humble, to enjoy plenteous prosperity. The godless man makes plots against the good, gnashing his teeth at them; but the Eternal laughs at him, knowing his doom is near. The fortunes of the upright are the Eternal�s care, and their possessions last forever; in a calamity they keep their share, in famine they have plenty.� (Moffett Translation)
When we look over the conditions in the world today, we see the wicked spring as the grass, foreigners steal our strength, and our wages go into a bag with holes. Our leaders are largely to blame for these conditions, but we must be fearless, for we know that evil men will be separated from the just and thrown into the fire, and we will be given instructions and kept safely through the troubles ahead. There are many more scriptures along this line to give us prophetic comfort and fortitude today.