God’s timing is often mystifying. From the vantage point of our limited mortal lives, His ways sometimes seem agonizingly slow. Does He not hear our heartfelt cries and prayers? Is He indifferent to our difficulties? The answer is found in these words: “God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant … God saw … and God took notice.”

The first thing we learn about Abigail is in verse 3 where we are told she is discerning and beautiful.  We then see her in action in verse 18, “Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves and two skins of wine and five sheep already prepared and five seahs of parched grain and a hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on donkeys.”

The danger of deception is especially punctuated in Revelation 16 because it is worldwide deception that gathers the nations for the final battle called Armageddon (Revelation 16:13-14). If deception is increased in those days, then it is imperative that vigilance also increase.

“Be skeptical of everyone, including the skeptics”. I don’t know where this quote or phrase came from, but I often find myself in that mindset. Why? Because of stories like this. There are those out there who would try to deceive and use this deception to take advantage of others. I used to get calls and emails all the time at the church from people who were looking for money to help with something. There was always a story about why they were in this tough situation. The second half of that quote also resonates because sometimes people just like the status quo or throw cold water on other people’s ideas.

Even in the eleventh hour of human history, as God’s great wrath is poured out prior to the return of Jesus, there is hope for deliverance. Whereas humans have been tasked with sharing this “eternal gospel” (Matthew 28:18-20), an angel is assigned to do so at this age’s end. This eternal gospel remains universal in scope - “to every nation and tribe and tongue and people.” It is for all people, in every nation, in every age.

Achan’s sin caused God to be furious, and he withheld his blessing and protection from Israel. Achan’s misappropriation of riches, which had nothing to do with the battle against the people at Ai, led to the loss of a battle. The sin affected all of Israel. In this case, Achan lost his life because of his sin.

The saying goes that hindsight is 20/20. As we reflect back on key moments in our lives, we see certain decisions with greater clarity. Had we known then what we know now we might have acted differently. But, what if God’s unseen hand guided in choices and decisions made?

Describing Rahab as a prostitute, something that she did in Jericho, does not do her justice. We are, after all, talking about King David’s great-great-great grandmother. She is not just a footnote in history; she is in the genealogy of the savior of the world (Matthew 1:5)! Rahab is, in her actions, a savior for the Israelites, especially the two spies who trusted her, and is an ancestor to Jesus, the most consequential figure in human history. The Son of Man, the Son of God, the anointed king of the coming Kingdom of God.

Our great hope is that this world’s kingdom will become the kingdom of God and Christ, that the dead will be raised, and the people of God rewarded. While this is our hope, it is not something we merely mark the passing of time with as we await its fulfillment. Hope matters today in that it is motivating. No passage describes it better than 1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”

Great songs come in many forms. There is much to be gleaned from a simple lyric – Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so; and there is much to contemplate from an imaginative and thoughtfully written gem that paints an image in the mind: “Could we with ink the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchment made; were every stalk on earth a quill, and everyone a scribe by trade; to write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry; nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky”.