Air

 

    In the Bible air was one of the first creations that God made.  It is the unseen space between the earth and firmament.  It is what we breath.  It is felt in the wind.  It gives our spirit energy.  It is what allows birds to fly.  It is elusive, but everywhere.

    When you are running a race you need air to breathe.  In the race you have to push yourself beyond comfort to win because only one person wins.  Athletes are trained and understand self-discipline.  They push themselves to win.  When it comes to eternity, each step has purpose.  

    That is why Christians train in their faith.  They sacrifice certain things to be able to do more.  If you don't see the value of sacrifice to achieve what you really want, then no one can teach you.  Your life has purpose, but you have to work for that purpose.  Be incorruptible and breath or it is all for nothing.

    It takes air to speak.  If you can't breath, then you can't speak.  It is a gift to be able to communicate, so use your words carefully.  When you speak do so to be understood.  If you waste the air talking about things that you do not know or understand, then you are talking into the air to float away.  It has no meaning, purpose, or value.

    Air is required to live.  Life is a temporary gift.  Those who have died, then to join Jesus before those who are still alive.  Being with Jesus is the eternal gift.  Jesus will come down with a commanding shout, archangel will speak, and God will call like a trumpet.  All who are dead will leave their grave to join Him.  Then the followers of Jesus who are still alive will be caught up in Jesus' cloud to meet him in the air.  This will happen, so be encouraged.  This is when we will get our new and eternal bodies.

    This will happen at some point in the Revelations prophecy.  The seventh angel pours his bowl into the air and God shouts that "It is finished".  Thunder, lightning, and a great earthquake will occur.  It will be the worst storm and earthquake in all human history.  I believe that they will happen at the same time.  

    God will split the great nation into three parts to drink his great wrath.  Every mountain will become leveled.  There will be a great hailstorm where hail stones will weigh up to 75 pounds.  It will be a plague of hail.  God does not play when He delivers plagues, but this will be close to the end of time.  How much more do we have to push God for Him to start delivering this horrible end?

1 Corinthians 9:24-27, 14:9, 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17, & Revelations 16:17-21

Aijalon

 

    Aijalon in Hebrew is 'ayyālôn (אַיָּלוֹן).  It means "place of deer" or "gazelle".  Aijalon was city in the hill country of Judah in the Dan territory.  It was 14 miles NW of Jerusalem.  This city is remembered as the location where the sun stood still.  It had many different rulers over time.  Many battles were fought in it's valley including the crusades.

    Israel won the battle with the southern armies and Joshua prayed.  When we have victory in life, it is important to remember to thank God.  Don't pray a vague thank you for this, but choose your words to have meaning and show true gratitude like Joshua did.  He prayed publicly so his nation knew who the victory belonged.  

    Joshua's prayer made the sun stand still over Gibeon and the moon over the Valley of Aijalon.  This enabled the Israelites to have more than one victory, but they won the war too.  The sun did not set like a normal day and moon stayed still too.  There has never been another day like that day.  Jesus said that if you have the faith of a mustard, then you can move mountains.  Joshua's faithful prayer proves that it is true.

    Dan had the seventh lot to tell them of their territory.  It fell on several cities, but Aijalon was one of the cities.  Some of the land they still had to fight for, but they took their inheritance and renamed some of the cities.  It appears like they allowed Aijalon to keep it's name. 

    Each tribe was to give a portion of their land to the Levites to be homes for priest.  Aijalon was one of four cities given.  Aijalon was given for it's pasturelands,.  You see the violent history of the land and wonder if maybe God had assigned it to be prayed over long before the battles ever occurred.  That could be reaching too.

Joshua 10:12-15, 19:40-48, & 21:23-24

Ai

 

    Like the people, places are mentioned in the Bible for a purpose.  Ai is one of those places.  In Hebrew it is hāʿAy (הָעַי).  Ai is also spelled as Hai.  It means a heap of ruins.  Ai was a city in Canaan.  It was located in the central part of the nation near Jericho.  Israel destroyed the city as they progressed into their promised land.  It is believed that they ruins were discovered in modern Et-tell.  

    God appeared to Abram to show him the promised land for his descendants.  Abram saw and was thankful.  He built God an altar right there.  Then he got up and continued his travels south.  He set up camp with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east.  There he built another altar dedicated to God.  Then he continued on with his travels.  

    This is the first mention of Ai in the Bible.  It basically meant that it was included in the promised land for Israel.  It was included in the covenant of redemption between God and Abraham.  God's promises always happen, but when He includes people it becomes a covenant or promise between man and God.

    Israel did get that land eventually, but did not fully appreciate what God had given them.  They violated God's law of setting things and themselves apart from the rest of the world.  Joshua sent some of his men to Jericho to spy out the town of Ai.  They returned to tell Joshua that it would be an easy defeat.  With the guidance of the intel, Joshua sent 3,000 warriors expecting an easy win.  

    Instead Israel was soundly defeated by the men of Ai chasing them out of town.  Many Israelites were killed in their attempt to escape.  Their courage melted to fear.  This was confusing to Joshua, but he was not privy to all the information.  Some of his people had kept sacred pagan objects that God had ordered to be destroyed.  This was the whole nation being punished for a handful of people.

    Joshua discovered the truth and took care of the ugly mess.  When it was time to attack Ai again, the people were rattled and scared, so God reminded Joshua to not be afraid because this time they would win.  Once the sin had been removed, the nation had God's strength again.

    This time Joshua sent 30,000 men at night.  This time he had a strategy instead of a brutal battle.  This would show the people of the land that the Israelites were to be feared.  All the men of Ai and Bethel were killed.  Joshua's men quickly captured and burned Ai.  Anyone who fled was pursued.  Only the king survived to face Joshua.  The city became a permanent mound of ruins and desolation.  Then the king was impaled.  That evening he was thrown down at the town gate to be covered by the ruins.

    The point is if God is with you, no one can stop you.  If you try to deceive God, then nothing can save you.  

Genesis 12:7-9 & Joshua 7:1-5, 8:1-29

Amasa

 

    Amasa is pronounced A-mas-a.  In Hebrew (עֲמָשָׂא) it means burden or bears a burden.  Amasa was King David's Nephew.  His parents were Abigail and Jether.  It was a complicated family dynamic, but he played his part.

     Absalom was David's son fighting with his own army against his father.  He employed Amasa as the leader of his army.  Together they gather their army at the Jordan River and were crossing.  Amasa was replacing Joab who had been under David as the commander.  He was keeping the leadership in the family.  It was a political move more than choosing the best person for the job.  The more people Absalom had in the family meant the more people David was losing.

    David did not want to fight his son or anyone else in his family.  He reached out through his priest to help him unite Judah and Israel as a nation, as a family.  He had defeated his son and wanted the war to end.  He reached out to Amasa specially to make him the commander of his army.  David saw how he did a good job under his son and wanted to make sure he understood that there were not any hard feelings.  

    Amasa realized his uncle was not going to kill him, so he reached out to Judah to find a way to move forward.  They invited David to move back to Jerusalem.  Absalom had made him leave when he declared himself king.  David took the invitation for what it was.  It was the first step of forgivingness and peace.

    A real leader knows how to forgive and move forward.  They don't make everything perfect or ignore what cause the issues, but make efforts to move forward.  In the case of David and Amasa, David was true to his word.  He put his trust in his nephew, but Amasa took more time than what he had been assigned to get a task done.  

    David was forced to use a backup.  When Abishai, Joab, and Sheba met up with Amasa, Joab stabbed Amasa.  It could have been because he did not trust Amasa or maybe he didn't want to loose power again to someone he felt was unworthy or unappreciative.  Either way Joab killed David's nephew.  Joab and Amasa were cousins, but he left Amasa's body just laying there and continued on with his mission and the army followed him.  

2 Samuel 17:24-26 & 19:11-20:13

Ahijah

 

    When reading the Bible it is important to know how to follow the stories.  It is important to understand what you are reading and why it is still significant today.  Some people in the Bible have very small roles, but they were recorded by name for a reason.  

    Ahijah in Hebrew is אֲחִיָּה (ʾĂḥīyyā) .  It means "brother of Yah".  In Latin and Douay–Rheims it is Ahias.  Ahijah was serval people in the Bible, but only two that stood out.  They had small roles that contributed to a bigger picture.  The first Ahijah was as a priest in the time of King Saul.  The second Ahijah was a prophet to Jeroboam.  

    The Ahijah that was a priest under Saul's reign was with Saul and his 600 soldiers waiting for battle with the Philistines.  He wore his priestly attire as his armor.  He was the son of Ichabod and brother to Ahitub.  Basically he came from a long line of priest.

    Under their noses, Jonathan boldly snuck out to confront the Philistines in his own way.  The Philistines were not afraid.  That was the advantage point for Jonathan.  He was able to slay them because they did not see him as a threat when he was alone with only a armor bearer.  The two killed about 20 men over half an acre.  Suddenly there was panic in the Philistine camp because they did not know where the threat was.  

    Saul's army watched as the Philistines scattered thinking it looked odd.  Saul must have suspected something because he commanded a role call to see who was missing.  When he learned it was his son, he shouted to Ahijah to come.  Ahijah obeyed.  

    The two were talking when when the confusion in the Philistine camp was growing, so they decided to stop strategizing and act.  When they arrived the Philistines were killing each other in the confusion.  God saved Israel that day due to each person playing a small role.  Ahijah's role was the spiritual leader to stand fast, so the soldiers would not be afraid.

    Jeroboam was a rebel leader that fought against Solomon.  Solomon was rebuilding the City of David.  He saw how industrious Jeroboam was, so he put him in charge of the labor force.  Solomon was investing in the young man to help make him in life to achieve what he wanted.  

    The prophet Ahijah met Jeroboam.  When they met they were alone in a field.  Ahijah was dressed nicely in his new robe, but he took it off and tore it into 12 pieces.  He told Jeroboam to take 10 pieces to represent his prophecy.  God had told Ahijah that He was going to tear the nation apart and 10 tribes would go to Jeroboam.  Solomon would get one tribe because of David.  The Levites (priest) were the 12th tribe.  They belonged to God.

    Solomon was being punished for abandoning God to include the gods of his wives.  He stopped following God to go his own way.  As long as national leaders follow God, then they will have their hearts desires because He rules over them.  They will have a strong and thriving nation.  

    Solomon was wise, smart, a business man, and a good person by human standards, but that means nothing to God.  All he wants is your heart.  Solomon learned about Jeroboam's rebellion to become king and tried to kill Jeroboam, but God was protecting Jeroboam.  This is a majorly impactful story for a nation.  Ahijah's role was so small, but it was the key to understanding why the nation was divided the way it was.

1 Samuel 14:1-23 & 1 Kings 11:26-40

Ahaziah

 

     In Hebrew Ahaziah is אֲחַזְיָהוּ which means "God grasps (the hand)" or "held by Yah(-weh)".  It can also mean in "whom Jehovah upholds". In Greek Ahaziah is Ὀχοζίας.  It is a name that any king would like to have, but the Bible only tells of two kings with this name.  One was in Israel and one in Judah.  That could make some of the story lines confusing.

    Ahaziah of Israel was the eighth king in Israel.  He was Ahab and Jezebel's son who reigned in Samaria.  After he became king, he fell through the latticework on the upper room.  He was seriously injured, but did not die.  He sent for the Baal priest.  

    During this time, an angel went to Elijah to confront the king's messengers about going to Baal's priest instead of turning to God.  Because the king to the pagan instead of God, God instructed the messengers to return to let the king know that he would not recover from his injuries.  He saw what happened to his parents.  He had a chance to change.  He chose the same path as them.  That means that he would have to face God's judgment.  

    King Ahaziah did not see it that way.  He felt like Elijah was cursing him or bringing the problems to him.  His reaction was to send soldiers to capture Elijah.  However, Elijah was prepared and his faith was strong.  The soldiers were killed by God's power.  When Ahaziah sent more, they too were killed.  

    The third set had a smart leader who approached Elijah with humility instead of pride.  He was rewarded with Elijah complying to go with him.  Elijah did not need to be bound.  He went willingly to talk to the Ahaziah.  Elijah repeated the message that God gave him for Ahaziah.  Ahaziah indeed died in the bed that he had laid.  He did not have any children to succeed him, so his brother Joram became the ninth king of Judah.

    Ahaziah of Judah was the sixth king of Judah.  He was the son of son of Jehoram and Athaliah.  What makes him stand out is that he is the first Judahite king to be descended from both the House of David and the House of Omri.  He was 22 when he became king, but he only reigned one year.  He did evil by following the ways of Ahab's family.  The families got along because there was a marriage alliance.

    King Ahaziah of Judah did not deal with Elijah.  Instead he got Elisha.  Ahaziah was killed because he was visiting King Joram.  He got caught up in a mutiny battle.  Ahaziah and Joram rode out together to face Jehu.  Joram tried to run away calling out treason to Ahaziah, but was shot by an arrow in the back killing him.  

    King Ahaziah saw and then realized what was happening.  In his fear he fled on the road to Beth-haggan.  He had made his choice of people to align himself with which led to consequences.  Jehu's people pursued him.  He was shot with an arrow near Ibleam, but made it to Megiddo before he died.  His servant took him in his chariot to Jerusalem to be buried.  

    Both kings had chances to change their evil ways.  They chose to reject God.  Their choices led to their premature death.  They had wealth and prestige, but they only held poverty in their hearts and souls.  Following God does not make life easier, but it makes you rich in your heart and soul.  It normally leads to a long and fruitful life.

2 Kings 1 & 8:25-9:27

Ahaz

 

    Ahaz is Āḥāz (אָחָז) in Hebrew.  In Greek the name is  Ἄχαζ, Ἀχάζ Akhaz and in Latin it is Achaz.  It means "has held" or "he has possessed".  Ahaz was the 12th king of Judah.  His reign last 742–727 BC.  He succeeded his father King Jotham and left his dynasty to his son, Hezekiah.

    Ahaz was 20 when he became king over Judah.  He reigned in Jerusalem.  He was not a good king by God's standards.  He sacrificed his own son in fire displaying how he followed pagan traditions of other nations instead of staying true to God.  The consequences were that God was not with him when he went to battle.  He lost Edom to be taken over by Edomites.  His people were exiled to Damascus.  He was attacked by many nations.

    When things got bad Ahaz turned to Assyria instead of God for help.  It backfired and he had another nation attacking him.  He went so far as to take God's money from the church to pay Assyria, but it was for nothing.  He lost all that his ancestors had left him.  Even after that, he did not turn to God.  He destroyed God's things to replicate the idolatry.  

    The king led the nation to a dark place.  However, it was the priest that should have stood up to him.  They should have told him that what he was doing was not okay.  Instead they followed every order.  His reign was fairly short.  When you abandon God, you run into the arms of death.  His people paid the price, but he also had a short life.  He also left a huge mess for Hezekiah to deal with.

2 Kings 15:38-16:20, 2 Chronicles 28:1-27