The Seven Streams Method

Jeremiah 31-32 We are in the Prophetic Stream - still sailing with Jeremiah. We are using the New Living Translation this week. 7streamsmethod.com | @7StreamsMethod | @serenatravis | #7Stream | Donate

Commentary by Dr. Drake Travis

Lord God, we pray that all are brought back to you. Thank you for this triumphant prophecy today.  Amen. 31 - The point here is that there will be restoration.  There is hope.  There is always hope.  The imminent captivity that must take place is no issue to God and His eternal plan to bring His people to Him and bless them with his love that never changes.  God will bless and give rest and supply even for those in Babylon.  They will be rebuilt.  They will dance. They will dine. They will not be in want.  They will worship. The return to the Promised Land will be the greatest of joys.  The bounty will be ecstatic!  It will be a party rooted in the goodness and the faithfulness of God.  There will be restoration and it will be astonishing -the joy of it all. The intrigue of the verse inserted about Rachel weeping for her children is prophetic as it refers to Herod frantically ordering all the 0-2 year old boys to be killed that were in Bethlehem almost 600 years later. He was doing a sweeping slaughter thinking that in the carnage he would obliterate the newborn king Jesus.  It didn't work. It did spread an horrendous grief through the region however from all the lost young ones. And the double meaning of children being redeemed/found again/returned again is a matter of intrigue. It's rather brilliant literature, looking at it in retrospect. It had to be awful and beyond to live through the loss before the restoration.  But be assured, restoration is coming.  A New Covenant is coming.  And there will be spiritual restoration as well.  We can be certain that God will do all He says and that He will protect His people; His land. This is also a double - focus passage about the end of captivity and the end of time when Christ reigns in the New Covenant. 32 - Jeremiah is told to buy property and do so publicly.  The deed is to be kept in a safe/safe place.  This is a statement that regardless of the 'storm clouds gathering', keep you hearts set on returning and tell your children to do the same.  Those who buy land have plans, big plans, long term plans that affect future generations. It's important that this was one short year before the final invasion of Babylon. The Babylonians were packing their torches and sharpening their swords while getting fitted for their battle gear; getting briefed for imminent departure to march and raze the last of Jerusalem to the ground!  It was 587 B.C.  So for Jeremiah - this was a faith move of huge proportions.  But he had to take the lead and execute these plans of buying property. The statement was that the land will be held, preserved, and cultivated again when the Hebrews return. Jeremiah's prayer while in custody after buying the property takes us right to his heart of prophecy, doesn't it!?  Jerusalem was under siege by now and the war drums and saber rattling was going on.  God's anger at centuries of their disobedience had lit the flames of war and there was no revoking the ugly battle that especially Manasseh; Judah's most wicked king had done. Judah had become deliberately pagan beyond imagination and it was over for them now.  But God reminds them yet again, that there would be a return to here/Jerusalem again.  Can you say "wow" to the ways of God?!

Psalms 86-89 We are in the Wisdom Stream reading from the New Living Translation this week. 7streamsmethod.com | @7StreamsMethod | @serenatravis | #7Stream | Donate

Commentary by Dr. Drake Travis

God, all we can say is that you are good and you are good all the time and that you are good to us.  Amen

86 - This is a Psalm from King David who had been through it all, seen it all, won it all, lost it all, enjoyed is all, suffered through it all and brought it all back home.  David's life models that we can take it all to God.  The worship in this Psalm is among the best.  The pleading, the longing, the exalting of God, the call for learning and cleansing and reassurance and favor.  David asked for it all from God and God showed Himself to be true.

87 - The glory of Jerusalem. Those who love God are drawn there.  People of other countries relish the place.  The Psalm can also be about the glory of the Church that was founded by Christ Jesus 900+ years after this Psalm was written.  And v. 6 can be symbolic of the Lamb's book of Life - in whose names are found the souls who are going to live eternally as citizens of Heaven. 88 - is the saddest of the Psalms.  There is no resolution.  There is no relief or let up from the suffering.  The suffering is prolonged and terrible. The loneliness of it could have even been the worst part. This soul feels like everyone is gone and that God has ditched him as well.  The reason this Psalm is part of the the Psalms is because even when you are feeling this way, God is there in the middle of it all too getting each of us through it. 89 - This is God's promise that David's throne will be an eternal throne.  The Psalm is written by Ethan the son of Kushaiah who is mentioned in I Chronicles 15:17.   This Psalm reads like a wonder of wonders in its gloriousness as we read of God's regal goodness and how he has expressed His love for all things good and right; ... and His love and commitment to David; the man He made king.  The Psalm reads along rather triumphantly and then it takes a turn downward.  God is punishing - though this does not change the fact of His love, His commitment and the truth of what He said from the beginning and what God says eternally whenever He makes any statement.  God did not change...He is acting accordingly toward a soul that has changed his commitment to dubious behavior.  It's like when my husband once said in a sermon that the Bible is not a contradictory book - it is a testimony that is written the way it is for it is trying to show love and God's goodness TO A CONTRADICTORY PEOPLE.  Do not assess that God is fickle and flighty just because one of His followers is behaving that way; - against how God has instructed all of us to behave.  God has made a promise in the Bible, it is mentioned in this Psalm and what God has said, and what is true does not change. And this ends the third book of Psalms; the third of five total.

I Kings 19-22 We are reading from The Nation Stream today as we finished the story of wicked King Ahab. We are reading from the New Living Translation this week. 7streamsmethod.com | @7StreamsMethod | @serenatravis | #7Stream | Donate

Leviticus 10-13 We are in The World Stream reading from the New Living Translation this week. 7streamsmethod.com | @7StreamsMethod | @serenatravis | #7Stream | Donate

Commentary by Dr. Drake Travis

God, you do care for us on every level. And we are grateful for that.  Thank you. and Amen.

10 - The swift and terrifying judgment for Nadab and Abihu hits hard like a gong or gunshot fired as a warning to all for all eternity.  And don't forget, thinking these two souls were fringe citizens that society could take or leave.  These were Aaron's sons that we are reading about. We are in The Tabernacle Era, walking through the desert enroute to Canaan; The Promised Land. If you were to count the important people in this era of history, N & A are easily "top ten" in terms of prominence -perhaps they are in the top five!  They were burned and gone instantly and Aaron was not allowed to pause even momentarily to mourn them being incinerated.  This is an extremely stiff penalty and it did not yield to privilege in any way.  Why? and why this here? Why now? The offerings were just spelled out in the prior chapters; 1-7, the consecration of the Priests took place in Lev. 8-9; N & A included!  Following this chapter is a myriad of details for cleansing, being clean, getting clean, purification, testing for diseases, being clean for entering into worship, being clean before God, etc. The swift judgment happening how and when it did sounded the alarm that the issue of getting things right in God's presence and doing things exactly how we are told is of greatest importance. The gravity cannot be overstated. Even today, how many people call themselves servants of the Lord - they do God's things "for God", yes, but they don't do them God's waaaaaay. Things need to be done God's way or they are not being done for God and it is hapless to lie to ourselves and say are serving God when we are just serving ourselves.  The priesthood was a life and death vital matter and this reminded all of that. The closing instructions in this chapter and the pathos involved in the narrative serve to deepen the point that the priests' need to serve God precisely as well as whole-heartedly.

11 - The laws for eating certain animals was laid out as comprehensively and exactly as possible.  They were not to eat animals that were more given to have 'the rancid' factor because they were animals that ate other animals, or were scavengers, or ate garbage or feces, or were "bottom feeders".  Basically they were to eat only animals that ate vegetation. The incidence of intestinal worms was then greatly diminished for the Israelites - this and many other benefits. Also any animal or bird or bug that was given to madness or chaos or scungy mannerisms/behavior was to be avoided. They were to have nothing to do with anything that was putrid in any way.  It is interesting that the populations of the world that adhere to this standard from Lev. 11 are far less prone to cancer, even today.  Some have determined that God is cutting in on our fun here. No, he is cutting down on our sickness. 12 - The purification and such matters around childbirth are a part of the culture wherein they are to keep a high reverence for the topic of blood.  Life is in the blood and this is to be a truth that God wanted as an ubiquitous theme in the culture.  God is not anti-woman as some whiners purport in hopes that getting God out of our minds is going to elevate women - along with many other silly themes that are observable in a culture that politicians hope to usher in toward a secular abyss.  The priestly involvement kept a God-mindset as a woman was brought back into society. 13 - This chapter and 14, [that we will read next week], tends to have us thinking we are in the laborious semesters of medical school studying dermatology.  This sentiment is perhaps true or just perceived to be. The skin is the largest organ of the body. The world of 1400 B.C.had little idea of what do about such matters, the "med" experiments we read about that were going on in Africa/Egypt/Greece/Asia at the time varied from sensible to creepy to revolting and we won't talk about it here.  The fact is that skin troubles can be haunting on many levels and even make life unbearable.  God didn't want that for his children.  So in reading 13, don't think that God is a persnickety school marm' nurse battle ax or something like that.  God is loving beyond loving and wants his children well. THAT is what's in play here.  This aspect of God needs to touch us in the heart and not have us rolling our eyes as we read through Leviticus. .

II Corinthians 5-8 We are in the Church Stream reading from the New King James Version this week. 7streamsmethod.com | @7StreamsMethod | @serenatravis | #7Stream | Donate

Commentary by Dr. Drake Travis

Lord, we rest all our hope AND build all our faith on your resurrection. We anticipate being raised up ourselves to be with you eternally. Until then we will be a giving people. You gave of yourself and may we be motivated to give - following your graciousness.  Amen

5 - The theme of the resurrection gets another strand of truth regarding our resurrection and our understanding of it. In I Cor. 15 and I Thess. 4 our resurrected bodies are a theme linked to the 2nd Coming of Christ. But here Paul teaches that there is a blessedness of being with Christ Jesus upon death and being immediately aware of where we are - with Christ!  There is more coming too following the final Resurrection.  And remember that ALL will face Christ  - [and though this is joy for Believers] --> this will be a terror for those who rejected Him.  This mindset of Resurrection is to overshadow all other thinking for us. People are either in Christ or not in Christ.  Christ makes all things new; he recreates His followers, renews them and transforms them into Ambassadors for Christ who live in His righteousness

6 - Paul relays the urgency of the gospel. It isn't something to fit in after we get something together; our thoughts, our lives, our "act" - that's never all together - so receive salvation in Jesus now (Paul urges). He gives a sobering list of what is involved for those in ministry; these difficulties along with the verifications of such ministry are all included for those who serve the Almighty.  And he closes out ch. 6 reminding us - imploring if your will - the Corinthians to be a holy people that have set themselves apart from a worldly culture so to ready themselves to walk with their holy God. 7 -  The back story of this chapter is that Paul had sent Timothy (mentioned twice in I Cor.) and then later sent Titus to Corinth to provide some discipline and leadership.  Timothy got the correction process started but Titus' follow up was needed. Titus is specifically referenced three times in ch. 7 for having done commendable teaching.  The Corinthian church had repented. The lecherous yet influential person in I Cor. 5 had been exhorted, been humbled, and the church as a whole was healthier.  This is the good report that Titus' presence had brought about.  It was good news, Paul was happy about it and God was blessed. 8 - Though ch. 8 finishes our reading today, ch's 8-9 [together] are the clearest teaching of Christian giving and generosity in the New Testament. Read them both before the day is out if you will... The incident at hand is that an offering is being gathered by Paul for the Church back at the starting point; the church in Judah, Israel. Offerings were being gathered for over a year and this development required instruction, administration, proper thinking plus hearts that were touched by Christ's sacrificial giving.  The teaching that Paul laid forth here still applies to church bodies and denominations today.  Giving should be voluntary (not coerced), proportionate; meaning based on percentage as well our grace found in Christ, and also, giving should be systematic.  [We insist that our pay at work be regular, yes?! - what are church staff workers to do when people give 2% v.s. 10% and they only give the weekend of Easter and Christmas, not weekly.  This teaching on giving continues next week. Come what may, we will be together again, tomorrow  :-) The theme that reoccurred this week distilled to be "you may not be ready for this, but it's going to happen, ready or not, good or bad, here it comes. Leviticus ended with all the sacrifices in place and GOD Himself BROUGHT FIRE. Millions of people shouted in exclamation, fell on their faces overwhelmed.  That was a sight! I Kings wraps up with Elijah also preparing a sacrifice and overly proving his point with extra water and white hot fire that left everyone in shock and awe fell from heaven. Even pagans praised God Psalm 84 hit like a fresh breeze -unexpectedly- after a few painful, desperate, exasperated Psalms were stacked together. It was good - and just as some may have been braced for more stinging verse - there we were taken into the wonder of the house of God In Jeremiah, tere were two unexpected jolts: Hananiah gets zapped for contradicting Jeremiah with his "positive" (all's fine) message. Then Jeremiah writes the Jews in Babylon telling them to settle in live [among the Babylonians?!?!].  Yes, it was strange times. The pompous ones in Samaria are getting a earful from Amos. They don't want to listen however. So God is going to "fish-hook" them together and march them to Assyria. So you're not ready for Amos' words? Are you going to be ready for that sadistic torture/treatment?!! Jesus has a faceoff with Satan in Luke's gospel. Would any of us been ready for that? yeesh. II Corinthians, in this portion, Paul is commenting (between the lines) that Timothy was not quite ready to deal with the Corinthians, so Titus was sent. And the reason Titus was sent was to doubly rebuff the ebullient sinner- he didn't expect that.  Then he repented. No one expected that, either. Hey, walk with God!  It's better and more exciting/surprising/jolting at times than anything any of us ever have planned.

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Luke 3:21-4:44 We are in the Christ Stream reading with the New King James Version this week. 7streamsmethod.com | @7StreamsMethod | @serenatravis | #7Stream | Donate

Commentary by Dr. Drake Travis

Thank you God for giving us Jesus. He is certainly fascinating to listen to, follow, be near, and be changed by -because He has touched our hearts.  Thank you.  Amen.

3 - Luke tells of Jesus being baptized, filled by the Holy Spirit, blessed of God, and then Luke lays out more credentials of Jesus: His lineage.  The distinction of this lineage as compared to the one in Matthew 1 is that Matthew starts with Abraham. To a Jewish mind, it all starts with Abraham so Jesus' direct link to Abraham is displayed. Matthew lists the son of dozens of times ... Jewish families are verified by having children, so Matthew lays it out, "and his son was, and his son was, and his son was...

Luke here goes the other direction. Since he is writing to Greeks, who are more concerned with, "well who's his dad? and who was HIS dad? and so forth. So Luke starts with Jesus ... "and his father was, and Joseph's father was ..., and his father was.  And Luke took the genealogy line clear back to Adam. The point is that Jesus is Adam's direct son and therefore related to all of us.  4 - Jesus' temptation by the devil is told by Mt, Mk, and Luke. Mark's is very brief; two verses, whereas Matthew and Luke tell the greater picture. Luke tells the longest version. Mt, and Luke say that the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert, where Mark says the Spirit drove him into the wilderness. This is in the Bible to demonstrate to us that the devil is going to offer us many things, it will always be appealing, and it will even appear to meet a need for us. It could be a need for physical satisfaction, a need for power, or a need for a wonderful sign. The Devil wants Jesus to make bread from stone. Would you have found that tempting? a steaming loaf after not eating for nearly six weeks?  Jesus is not against eating at the end of a fast. Jesus is going to eat again. He just won't do it at the Devil's prompting. Dumb dares don't work on Jesus. The Devil offers Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if he will worship him/Satan. Well Jesus is going to triumph through surrendering to God and going to the Cross. Satan is offering Him to skip the Cross and get it now.  Would you have found that tempting? To acquire and rule with no suffering involved?  The last was a flagrant temptation to make a show for the devil by throwing himself off a cliff. Research and such study reveals that it was about 150' ledge. Well high enough to be fatal! ...but the angels will catch you, right? yes? no? Jesus again answers with quoting the Bible and doesn't 'play jacks' with the devil... like we are to do.  quote the Bible and walk away from The Bum. -Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit. Luke is particular to quote this theme repeatedly in his gospel about Jesus having power. He wants the Greek world to be convinced that this Spirit that Jesus operates in -it actually embodies Him - it is real and it makes Him far beyond whatever they think of Zeus or Olympus, or Poseidon, or Nike, et al.  All those gods are nothing - so follow Jesus.  . -His time and teaching in Galilee is fruitful and well received except in Nazareth.  Prophetic people need to take note of this. Comforting and shepherding people are loved by their 'old-timers' .  Prophets; not so much.  Jesus read them some poignant scripture and had powerful and precise things to say.  They basically wanted Him dead - gone from there at the very least. So he left. -He went to Capernaum from Nazareth. This is about 40 miles by a number of routes, and he immediately engages in miraculous ministry as He casts out an evil spirit. Maybe we digress here but we always read from both a Major and a Minor Prophet the day before we read about Jesus from the gospels.  There certainly needed to be evil spirits expelled back in Jeremiah's and Amos' day, don't y'think?!  Then again would they have wanted Jesus to cast out these evil spirits?  Just thinking here, back to ...where were we?-  Yes, Jesus is in Capernaum and at Peter's house.  You can visit that very structure today, btw. Jesus heals Peter's mother-in-law, [meaning Peter had a wife].  Some branches of the faith are not at ease with this, but it's true: Peter was married.   Jesus then, as the sun is setting, he heals many many who were brought to him. He heals a myriad of issues both physical and spiritual.  Notice He lets the Sabbath come to a close and then does his numerous healings.  It was a glorious season for Jesus. He taught and touched lives and they didn't want Him to leave.  A bit different than Nazareth where he is run out 'on a rail' so to speak after a sharing a verse and making a comment.

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Amos 3-4 We are in the Exile Stream reading from the New King James Version this week. 7streamsmethod.com | @7StreamsMethod | @serenatravis | #7Stream | Donate

Commentary by Dr. Drake Travis

Lord God, we want to be people who hear and heed your warnings. We are reminded of the words in Proverbs, that "a word to the wise is sufficient." May we hear you in the Words you have spoken, the whispers you send, the promptings you put in our hearts. Teach us aright and renew a right spirit in us.  Amen.

3 - The words of God's prophet must be heard and heeded for they are undeniably true and right. The word Amos gave was accurate [but ignored by the people of the northern kingdom]. They were deep in sinful behavior, strangely they were also very religious also. It was religion their way. Therefore God was prepping to send a vicious army against them. And they were deaf to the warning, however, since they were prospering and living in impressive luxury.  The symbolism and the questions Amos asks in ch. 3 are astonishing --> for the fact that the people of Israel just did not listen!  Horrid things would befall them and soon. It would be less than 20 years until the meanest army on earth trounced through like wolves on the attack.

These palaces were the pride of the northern kingdom, but they were all going to come down for their terrible sins.  The Bethel that is mentioned is where one of the golden calves was set up in 930 B.C. thereabouts. The goal was to dis-tract people from God ... it worked. This altar in Bethel was especially slated to be taken down. 4 - The banquets in the Samarian palaces were quite something; events of wine and song and veal actually.  Amos talks of the palaces of Samaria.  They were beautiful, stocked with sumptuous food, leaders and ladies alighting around luxuriously. And the attitude of those in these palaces was heartless and callous to anyone outside and especially to those below them in status. These palace dwellers stole mercilessly, and they were violent to anyone who objected to the theft.  Be that as it may, the cows being readied for slaughter were as pampered as the women of these banquets.  This of course until it was time to serve up some tender beef when the cows were led out with hooks in their noses and killed for dinner.  Ironically when Amos talks of the "cows of Bashan" he isn't talking to cows - he's talking to the high falutin banqueters who are about to get the latter treatment that the cows get at banquet time. Assyrians would lead any survivors away by hooking people together like multiple fish displayed on a line after fishing all day. The hook was usually pierced through the lip. !--these are Assyrians doing this to Israeli humans--!  It could hardly get worse.  But God was at the end of His patience with a people who were religious in all their systems and schedules and also riotously sinful; like a weekend frat party gone wild that left nothing to the imagination in their lecherous quest for more and more double living.  God has warned them in smaller ways with various and usually localized famines, droughts, blight, plagues, attacks and losses in battles. Well, time's up for the Israelites and they best prepare to meet their God!

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Jeremiah 28-30 We are in the Prophetic Stream and Jeremiah is experiencing some run-ins with other "prophets." We are reading from the New King James Version this week. 7streamsmethod.com | @7StreamsMethod | @serenatravis | #7Stream | Donate

Commentary by Dr. Drake Travis

Lord, you intend to restore after you cleanse. Thank you for stating is here and for promising this for us as well.  Amen.

28 - The year is 597 B.C. The Babylonians have just hauled the first captives to Babylon to be slaves in a foreign land.  Judah has not been ransacked with finality yet. That would happen in 11 years. This stretch of time; 597-586 B.C. are the exact years of Zedekiah's reign in Judah. You remember Jeremiah being told to wear a yoke in ch. 27 and to prophesy in Jerusalem that "this yoke you see me wearing is what Babylon is going to do to all of you." remember?  A self-proclaimed prophet Hananiah, who was a huckster and a false prophet actually countered Jeremiah and declared that all would be restored and returned in a matter of weeks and that Jeremiah was wrong here.  Hananiah then brazenly broke the yoke off of Jeremiah declaring that Babylon was going to fall shortly [not Jerusalem].  For this, Hananiah was killed just two months later.  It's not too terribly smart to contradict a prophet of God in any sense, but to do so publicly is double-non-sense and reckless.

29 - Jeremiah then wrote a letter to the Exiles in Babylon.  Using some of today's wording as I explain this, --the Judeans are basically in "time out" for 70 years.  They had been disobedient and it was a punitive decision to send them to Babylon for a couple of generations. Jeremiah sends a rather pastoral letter in this chapter urging them to just settle in and live as normally as possible. Plant vineyards, set up your residences, marry, build lives and then God will come for them.  Jer. 29:11ff is a most encouraging passage reminding them [and all of us] that God has good plans and affection toward His own.  We all need reminding that "whipping the kids" is not God's idea of a good time.  He so would rather bless and build. And at the same time, when blessings are wasted and what we are building is warped and destined to topple, God takes the liberty to step in and knock it all down so we can join Him in rebuilding it rightly this time.  And yet there were false prophets even in Babylon, Jews who were denouncing Jeremiah. They would get their due for this and suffer greatly. These final 11 verses of ch. 29 were rather less comforting than the 29:11-14 passage we have all come to know and love so much. 30 - God commands that Jeremiah write down all that he has been told including and especially God's plan to restore Judah [and Israel].  God wanted a messianic message for the people to have so that when the restoration did happen they would realize that God did just what He said He would do.  He kept His Word last time. He kept it this time.  He will keep it next time.  He will keep it in the future many times again. He always will.  Israel AND Judah shall return and they shall be blessed of God in every way.  We just read all the numerous ways God is going to bless and it is marvelous. Some of this even speaks into the era of when Jesus walks the earth in the flesh.  The tribes, and each region will know they are living is wonderful days.  The joy shall return.  And remember they are told this while in Babylon. The return to the Promised Land that they had themselves expelled from several centuries after walking into in God's full blessing with Joshua - would be where they would return to.  It would have a tone or theme, if you will, of "ok, let's try this again, people!"  And God is joyful to bring them back.  He wants this all along.  Ephraim will be blessed again.<--- They had been such a center of wrongdoing.  Judah will be blessed again. There is talk of a new covenant coming and Judah will experience this. We know who brought the New Covenant in His own blood, don't we? That would be nearly 600 years coming. But time does not diminish nor weaken nor dilute what God has said.  God will do it.

Psalm 80-85 We are in the Wisdom Stream reading from the New King James Version this week. 7streamsmethod.com | @7StreamsMethod | @serenatravis | #7Stream | Donate Commentary by Dr. Drake Travis Thank you God for your great faithfulness. You truly are our heavenly Father. Your desire is for us to walk with you and for you to hear our grateful response to your love.  You are the God we Love. Amen

80 - This Psalms comes on the heels of a great disaster that was spelled out painfully in Psalm 79. It seems to give comment to a time when Israel as a nation (before being a kingdom divided) is attempting to recover.  The mood has a concession tone similar to, "God, you're right, we were wrong, we got punished, we deserved it, we are down, you've been angry with us, we are now wondering how long you are going to be 'cross' with us. We wish to be restored, please.  The shame of seeing your land and your people smashed is horrible to us too.  Revive us again so that we may call upon your Name. We wish to worship in your presence and be saved.

81 - God has been so true and supportive of His people.  His sustenance and protection have been unfailing,  He made the rules clear as the noonday sun - no idols and no foreign gods... and yet they wouldn't listen. They could have blessed God with their obedience and He would have satisfied them with the richest. But their hands were placed over their ears instead of raised in surrender to God who loved them. 82 - is another Psalm about Israel's wayward nature.  The focus here is pointed to unjust judges who are derelict in their duty.  The show partiality and favor the wicked for pay offs no doubt. They neglect the needy and oppressed.  Injustice seems to be upsetting the foundations of everything.  The writer; Asaph, who was David's worship director, is calling on God to come and judge the earth since the people are failing at it so badly. 83 - Asaph is calling out again and rousing God to action.  The enemies at the border [in all directions] are conspiring to remove Israel from the earth, off the map and out of memory. They are calling on God to act fast and decisively. Even Assyria has joined in the march to assist the perverted people of the earth to band together and destroy Israel.  The litany of Asaph saying, "God you did it before, do to these people like you did to all the others that you knocked flat.  Asaph wants to see them get what we might call a good old medieval country whooping ... and make it apocalyptic in nature while you're at it God! 84 - the prior Psalm ends with a pressing urge to know God   And it morphs beautifully into 84  one of the warmest devotional stretches of Scripture there is.  The craving is to be with God in His House.  All the punishment of the prior Psalms, the running from enemies, and battles.   Holy Moly, can we just get some blessed peace and come into the sanctuary and spend time reveling in the joy of God?  This Psalm reads like a passionate love note of two who cannot wait to be together again.  It's really all God wants from us... a heart longing to be with Him. 85 - This is a prayer that favor be restored to Israel, the children of Jacob who were brought back from captivity.  They are thankful, a trifle bewildered, in need of sustaining mercy, and surprisingly they are aware of their need for mercy.  This Psalm rings of faith, new resolve and willingness to listen and follow God's prompting.  They really want to hear Him now.  They believe good days are coming.

I Kings 15-18 New King James Version 7streamsmethod.com | @7StreamsMethod | @serenatravis | #7Stream | Donate Commentary by Dr. Drake Travis God, some of the things you need to do to clean up the world that man messes up is almost too much to bear.  But we want to be on your side of righteousness, on your side the law, and sided with you in all your grace.  Thank you for calling us as you called Elijah.  Amen.

15 - In case the memo missed anyone, the reading today opens in 915 B.C.   That is before most of us started kindergarten... really....! Abijah had a short reign of a couple years or so. He was mostly all-in for evil.  He fought with the northern king Jeroboam who started the rebellion against the south about 18 years prior. His mother was evil and apparently she mentored him so.  He did win back some cities from the north as the LORD stepped in for Judah; the southern kingdom.  Comparing Abijah's story here with the one in II Chron. 13 gives the fuller picture of Abijah.

Asa, his son reigned immediately following.  Asa sought the Lord wholeheartedly and his plan was to clean up Judah. He banished his twisted grandmother (Abijah's mother), he rid the lude idols and the Lord gave him reign for 41 years; a time span that covered 7 of Israel's kings in the north. II Chr. 14-16 has more of Asa's story. Notice that he turned to Syria [not the LORD] for military help,  He did the same in his old age regarding the problems with his feet and he suffered for his refusal to come to God in this matter.  Take note here, friends! I Kings 15-16, for the remainder of the run here, lists a string of kings that coincides with the reign of Asa.  It's a grisly, bloody, backstabbing, horrid time in Israel.  The kings are practically trying to outdo each other in an "ungodliness contest" wherein the thirst for darkness doesn't seem to be quenchable. They are then listed and described in succession; Baasha, Elah, Zimri, Omri, Ahab [Jezebel's wife] . None are people of character nor virtue. Their exploits are garish, huge and far reaching for the next 35 years or so. Keep in mind that "1 & 2 Kings" is much more of the northern perspective, while simultaneously, while 1 & 2 Chronicles is much more the southern perspective. Kings is a zany rendition of simply what happened as a nation frantically ran from God. Chronicles has a couple dozen reminders and anecdotes that are an attempt to see Judah return to following the Lord. 17 -  Enter Elijah, one of the most glorious and powerful characters in the whole Bible.  He is so etched in the "hall of heroes" among Judaism that the leaders in Jesus' day think that it is Elijah that Jesus is calling out to 800+years later as he is gasping to breath on the Cross.  Just in reading this part of the incidents in Elijah's life we see why he had Messianic level status as he did many miraculous deeds, multiplied food, raised the dead, won victories and so forth.  He first declares a drought and then is instructed to hide in a canyon by a brook west of the Jordan. He is miraculously fed there until God prompts him onward. He then is to go to a widow in duress who is out of food.  Elijah restores her food supply. Her son then dies and Elijah brings her son back to life.  He has quite a string of salient assignments and he follows God's prompting gloriously.  We can see why he is so highly revered in Judaism and later in Christianity. 18 - Elijah and Obadiah have an encounter, as they are both on the right side of faith and Elijah has Obadiah set up a meeting with Ahab.  Ahab was the most wicked king to date. His wife Jezebel even outdid Ahab for treachery, paganism, murder of God's people and diabolical deeds.  Elijah calls for a spiritual showdown on Mt. Carmel and wanted all of Ahab/Jezebels' prophets present and for Israel to watch this showdown.  They meet on Mt. Carmel and Elijah set the parameters.  Each side sacrificed and arranged a bull on their respective places and they were to call on their divine source for God/god/Baal to light the fire and burn the sacrifice.  The Baal worshipers commenced and called and danced and cut themselves as their false religion required of them. All the while Elijah jeered and cheered them on sarcastically as if they weren't trying hard enough.  Elijah then arranged his sacrifice and soaked it with a laborious amount of water to over prove his point. There well could have been ca. 300 gallons of water poured over the wood and bull and to fill the trench. Then God sent down fire as Elijah called for God to give this sign.  It was so hot that the entire altar burned up and vaporized with the bull and the wood.  Even the stones were burnt and gone!!  My husband looked this up for me and stones vaporize / "evaporate"  at +3450 degrees fahrenheit.  They turn white hot and then are gone.  Btw, the surface of the sun is calculated to be 10K degrees!  This was a demonstration of many things among them is that "our God is a consuming fire" / He is livid at Baal worship / He's all powerful / ...the list goes on. Israel was on their face in worship and confession.  Elijah orders that all the Baal prophets be executed.  The drought then ends in a wild display as Elijah orchestrated the exit from Carmel and ran ahead of, shall we call it --> "Ahab's parade".?  This would make quite a movie scene would it not?  It's a scene that is among the most wild-like nature miracles and savagely impressive in all the Bible.