God Knows Everything

 

 

He was called by his name

Long before he was born

And I can boldly say

He was not the only one.

 

His name was given

Fifty decades before his birth

And he became a great leader

In all the earth.

 

Although he was a pagan king

God used him mightily,

He was only twenty-five

When he won a great victory.

 

He became a world emperor

At the fall of Babylon,

What God says He will do

Must be counted as done.

 

 

He was anointed

By none other than by God

Go to Isaiah chapter 45

And read it in His Word.

 

He was a prototype

Of the Messiah that would come

And I am fairly sure you know

I mean Jesus, God’s Son.

 

God gave him much wealth

And many a conquest

And concerning His people Israel

In him did greatly invest.

 

Isaiah 44:28

 

Said God of this emperor

“He is my shepherd,”

And God Himself added,

“He shall perform all my pleasure.”

 

 

Even saying to Jerusalem

“Your walls shall be built;

And to the temple,

“Thy foundation shall be laid.”

 

 

A prophecy that came to pass

At the time prophesied,

That God knows all things

Cannot truly be denied.

 

God knew this emperor

Long before he was born

And he knows everything about us

Thus, we have been warned.

 

A particular king of Judah

Was named before he was born,

This one was Josiah;

Cyrus was the other one.

 

There were specific prophecies

Relating to their lives

And everyone was fulfilled

As in the biblical archives.

 

God is a promise keeper

And He knows everything,

He is able to declare

The end from the beginning.

 

Stewart Russell © July 2020

 

These Times

 

 

 

No need to understand the times

As the children of Issachar did

But to propagate the glorious Gospel

That was from them hid.

 

For the Gospel as we know it

Was not revealed to them

Even though they were a part of it

From way back then.

 

They were aware, however,

Regarding the changing of the guard

That David would replace Saul

And Saul would take this hard.

 

It should not surprise us

How this matter was processed

But rather, come to the conclusion

That God’s way is always best.

 

Out of the tribe of Judah

Shiloh the Messiah would come,

Judah was neither Jacob’s oldest

Nor his favourite son.

 

He wasn’t even the greatest

Given the huge missteps he made

But God does not choose anyone

Based on his passing grade.

 

I know that Messiah is coming

Said the lady at the well,

Jesus confirmed that indeed he was

As later she was heard to tell.

 

No need to understand the times

As the children of Issachar did

But to propagate the glorious Gospel

Across this global grid.

 

To every nook and cranny

From every mountain to every vale

Until every human being alive

Gets to hear that God is real.

 

It is not for us to know

When Messiah will come again

But to make known to all peoples

The Gospel simple and plain.

 

For his return is more certain

That any historic fact

And he is coming for the born-again,

It’s time we all know that.

 

Stewart Russell © May 2, 2022

 

More than A Collection of Books 5

Obadiah like Jude consists of a single chapter

That prophesies against the descendants of Esau,

They had rejoiced over the destruction of Jerusalem

And this disrespect for Israel seemed to be the last straw.

Jonah called of God to be a witness to the Gentiles

Was jealous that to Nineveh grace should be extended.

While fleeing to Tarshish he was swallowed by a fish

But God ordered it so that that was not where he ended.

Micah is quoted in the book of Saint Matthew

The Messiah would be born in Bethlehem Ephrathah

But against a dark and worldly background

He prophesied wrath against Israel and Judah.

Nahum prophesied against the great city of Nineveh

That the God of the nations the Assyrians disclaimed

Was the sovereign controller of all human destiny

And even the greatest world power must submit in shame.

Habakkuk, known for ”the just shall live by faith”

Is perplexed that Judah is not punished for her iniquity

The Lord uses the Babylonians to punish Judah

Whereupon Habakkuk questions God’s use of the enemy.

Zephaniah tells of God’s determination to execute judgment

On Judah and Jerusalem because of idolatry,

His message to Judah is a call to repentance

But woe is pronounced on Jerusalem for its treachery.

Haggai’s call was for the people to rebuild the temple

Instead they were taken up with their own affairs

Again he encouraged them giving assurance of God’s presence

The glory of the future temple will be greater he declared.

Zechariah using highly symbolic language in his visions

Predicted the overthrow of the Gentile world powers,

He speaks of Messiah’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem

And his return when he makes Mount Olive his tower.

Malachi like Nehemiah highlighted similar problems

Like withholding the Lord’s tithe and intermarrying,

He records Jehovah’s last pleading with His people

Then the prophetic is silent until the Baptist’s coming.

Stewart Russell © March 2017

More than A Collection of Books 2

Joshua continued where Moses had left off

And presided over the conquest of Jericho,

After a great defeat in the campaign at Ai

He conquered the lands where his feet did go.

Judges demonstrates God’s strength

Particularly in the light of human weakness

And each of these leaders that He used

Showed it was God who passed the test.

  

Ruth is the love story of a Gentile girl

Who was married to a prominent Hebrew man,

What is significant with this Old Testament book

Is Boaz and Ruth’s role in the redemptive plan.

1st Samuel chronicles the acts of two kings

King Saul is the first and king David’s the next,

It begins with Samuel’s birth and childhood

Then the acts of those kings both bad and good.

2^nd Samuel is dedicated to David the king,

Part one records his victories and conflicts,

Part two shows his defeats when out of God’s will

And his consequent punishment when he slipped.

1^st Kings tells of the close of king David’s stint

And of the golden reign of king Solomon,

The dividing of Israel into North and South

And of the successive kings of those kingdoms

2^nd Kings continues along this track

And shows the spiritual decline of the leaders,

It chronicles the miraculous ministry of Elisha

And the captivity of Israel and of Judah.

1Chronicles starts out with the genealogies

From Adam to Abraham and Abraham to Israel,

Its focus is spiritual rather than historical

While appearing to repeat 1^st and 2^nd Samuel.

2Chronicles continues from 1^st Chronicles

With a coverage similar to 1^st and 2^nd Kings,

Of Judah’s nineteen kings seven were good

None of Israel’s twenty rulers for God ever stood.

Stewart Russell © March 2017