23. Letters from God (fictional letters based on people in the Bible) Dear Hannah

Dear Hannah,

     You are a faithful and devoted woman. You are properly named for you are favored. I love you, and love that you never gave up. You wanted so much to have a child. You did not give up, your prayers never ceased. You prayed when others ridiculed you, and when some even said that you were drunk. You believed in Me, and you knew in your heart that I would answer you. You told me that if I gave you a child that you would give the child back to Me and that this child would live to serve Me.

      I have answered your prayers and you have been blessed with a son. You have named him Samuel, and you did as you said you would. You gave him back to Me. He was raised to serve Me and not in your home. You kept your word to Me and I know it was hard to give up a child that you had wanted for so very long. Your song of praise to Me I hold dear in My heart.

     Samuel is your blessing and he will do great things. Your heart of obedience is within him and he will serve with honor. I have a purpose for his life that will bless many. He will glorify Me with His life, and his service to the kingdom of Heaven.

     You are a very special woman and you are always in My heart. Your trust and faith in Me has brought Me great joy, and I love you.

Love,

Your Abba Father

Read

1 Samuel chapters 1-3

13.Letters from God (fictional letters based on people in the Bible) Dear Judah

Dear Judah,

     I need to talk to you about how you mistreated Tamar your daughter in-law. She married your oldest son Er. He was struck down by God. She was not to blame; it was his actions that caused his death. Yet she had not had a child by him when he died. By Levite law she was to marry his brother so that Er would still have a child through her. Yet Onan married her but refuse her the child that was her right to have. So then he lost his life.

      Out of fear you sent her away to her family, with a promise that when your youngest son came of age they would marry. Yet you did not keep to your word. This was wrong. Three times she was kept from the blessing promised to her. When your wife died and you went to Timnah, to be with the sheep shearers. You met a woman there that you thought to be a temple prostitute. You went to bed with her and she conceived a child. You had left her with your ring, cord and staff with a promise to send her payment. She was not there when you did try to fulfill the promise. So you kept this to yourself, so that no one would know of what you had done.

     When Tamar was found being pregnant you sentenced her to death. Yet the child she carried is yours. When she produced your belongings, you realized the wrong you had done to her. She never should have had to seek after you for the blessing that was rightfully hers. Even though you had tried, you did not keep the blessing from her because she went after it. What you had refused to give her I gave to her and I blessed her. You know her to be a righteous woman. So you made this right and acknowledged the wrong done to her and found her innocent. Do not again keep a blessing from her or anyone else, if it is a blessing that is to come through you, then give it. Do not think of the cost on your part. Think only of the joy your obedience will bring. Then you too will be blessed.

Love,

Your Lord and Almighty God

 

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Genesis chapter 38

Vows and Promises (keeping your word) Deuteronomy 23:21-23

We need to take care what we speak. Especially when we make a vow. When promising anything to God or in His name we have made a covenant which we should take care to never break. In society today people enter into marriage making vows they do not expect to keep. They even sign Prenuptial Agreements before saying there ‘I do’s’ meaning that they are really saying I don’t. What they are really saying is, ‘I promise to be with you as long as I feel like you are doing what I want you to do, but the second you make one mistake I am out of here.’  People are known not to keep their word. They may think they mean what they say at the time they say they will do something, but the moment an excuse comes they use that excuse to get out of what they said. Justifying to themselves a reason to break their word, without feeling accountable for breaking their promise. Unfortunately people tend to do the same thing with their relationship with Jesus. They make a commitment to Him and then break it when things get too hard. Then we say I believe in God, but then we do not obey His word. (James 2:19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! / Mark 1:23-24 While Jesus was in the synagogue, a man was there that had an evil spirit {from the devil} inside him. The man shouted, “Jesus of Nazareth! What do you want with us? Did you come to destroy us? I know who you are—God’s Holy One!” (ERV)) Our word becomes empty without worth when we can not be trusted to keep our word.

Deuteronomy 23:21-23  “When you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay to pay it, for it would be sin in you, and the LORD your God will surely require it of you. “However, if you refrain from vowing, it would not be sin in you. “You shall be careful to perform what goes out from your lips, just as you have voluntarily vowed to the LORD your God, what you have promised.

Thankfully God is not like man. When God makes a promise He keeps it! You can trust God will do what He says He will do.

Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? 

God is faithful and His word is truth. People will fail you. They will lie to you. They will walk out on you. This list goes on, but trust in God and he will never leave or forsake you. He is always with you if you let Him in to your heart and to your life. That is why marriage is so important to Him. He calls the church His Bride. We are His church not a building, but you and me became His Bride the moment we confessed Jesus as our Savior and repented of our sins. He is the faithful husband. Unfortunately even when we accept Jesus into our lives we become unfaithful like Hosea’s wife Gomer. We look at the world and get distracted. Then once we are distracted we get off course and walk away from the One who is faithful to the one who deceives. Thankfully God is faithful and forgiving. He shows us mercy and love no matter how many times we break His heart. (‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.’ John 3:16)

So be careful about making promises or vows. This is not only for marriage vows, but if you say you are going to do something do it. Don’t make excuses when you don’t, but be accountable when you do break your word. Maybe if we dealt more with the consequence of our broken word, we would be less likely to make promises we don’t intend to keep.