Shalom,


Proverbs 9:7-9:


7 He who rebukes a scorner heaps upon himself abuse, and he who reproves a wicked man gets for himself bruises. 8 Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you. 9 Give instruction to a wise man and he will be yet wiser; teach a righteous man (one upright and in right standing with God) and he will increase in learning.


There are very many good reasons why God said to be "swift to hear, slow to speak and slow to wrath" (James 1:19) and I believe that this could be one of them! Don't be so quick to unload everything you've got on someone to try and get them to see the Word of God. Don't get angry or impatient or unkind! If someone does not want to hear the Word of God, then find someone who DOES and leave the other to the LORD! 1 Corinthians 14:38 says that if someone chooses ignorance, then we are to let them be ignorant! You cannot change a person's mind, they have to want to change it!


Revelation 15:1:


1 THEN I saw another wonder (sign, token, symbol) in heaven, great and marvelous [warning of events of ominous significance]: There were seven angels bringing seven plagues (afflictions, calamities), which are the last, for with them God's wrath (indignation) is completely expressed [reaches its climax and is ended].


This will be the the final judgment of the Tribulation as the wrath of God is poured out on the earth and those who have rejected Him. Those who were victorious over the temptations of the antichrist to take the mark of the beast and deny the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible, are now singing songs of victory! They are singing the song of Moses that the Israelites sang when they were safely on the other side of the Red Sea by the grace and glory of God, and also the song of the Lamb! Old Covenant and New Covenant together and fulfilled! Verses 3-4:


3 And they sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb, saying, Mighty and marvelous are Your works, O LORD God the Omnipotent! Righteous (just) and true are Your ways, O Sovereign of the ages (King of the nations)! 4 Who shall not reverence and glorify Your Name, O LORD [giving You honor and praise in worship]? For You only are holy. All the nations shall come and pay homage and adoration to You, for Your just judgments (Your righteous sentences and deeds) have been made known and displayed.


We are to sing songs of victory NOW, in this life, because He has already won the victory over the devil and all the forces of hell! Thank, praise and worship Him every day for all that He has done and for all that He IS! AMEN! Remember that He LIVES IN those praises (Psalm 22:3)! And where God lives, God is active and powerful! AMEN!


Ezra 3 begins with the returned Israelites building the altar of the God of Israel and renewing the instructed Feasts. They begin the rebuilding of the Temple by laying again the foundation. This Temple would not be as beautiful and magnificent as Solomon's Temple, but the people were in one accord about being obedient to the LORD this time! Verse 1:


1 WHEN THE seventh month came and the Israelites were in the towns, the people gathered together as one man to Jerusalem.


Verse 9 shows that the workers were in unity. The people sang to the LORD in unity in verse 11:


11 They sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD, saying, For He is good, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid!


There was a break in the  unity when the old men were crying because they remembered the grandeur of the original Temple and the younger people were rejoicing because THEY remembered the captivity and this was wonderful to them! If the generation of the older men had rejoiced for what they had and obeyed the Word of God, they would never have been taken into captivity in the first place! They SHOULD be rejoicing over the grace and mercy of Almighty God for bringing them home!


Chapter 4 shows the jealous Samaritans trying to stop the rebuilding. They succeed for a time, but the Temple WILL be rebuilt. We will see that as we continue in the Old Testament!


Shalom in Him!