The Sign to Ahaz This happened in the days of Ahaz, son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah. Rezin, king of Aram, and Pekah, son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem for warfare against it, but he was not able to fight against it. 2 When it was reported to the house of David, saying “Aram stands by Ephraim,” his heart and the heart of his people shook like the shaking of the trees of the forest because of the wind…
+ DAILY PRAYER +
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my pleas for mercy!
In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!
Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan,
and he hears my voice.
Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you;
He will never permit the righteous to be moved.
Psalm 55:16-23
Psa 55:16 But I call to God, and the LORD will save me.
Psa 55:17 Evening and morning and at noon
I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice.
Psa 55:18 He redeems my soul in safety from the battle
that I wage, for many are arrayed against me.
Psa 55:19 God will give ear and humble them,
he who is enthroned from of old, Selah
because they do not change and do not fear God.
Psa 55:20 My companion stretched out his hand
against his friends; he violated his covenant.
Psa 55:21 His speech was smooth as butter,
yet war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil,
yet they were drawn swords.
Psa 55:22 Cast your burden on the LORD,
and he will sustain you;
he will never permit the righteous to be moved.
Psa 55:23 But you, O God, will cast them down
into the pit of destruction; men of blood and treachery
shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in you.
Reading for Wednesday December 3rd Isaiah 7:1-16
The Sign to Ahaz
7 This happened in the days of Ahaz, son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah. Rezin, king of Aram, and Pekah, son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem for warfare against it, but he was not able to fight against it. 2 When it was reported to the house of David, saying “Aram stands by Ephraim,” his heart and the heart of his people shook like the shaking of the trees of the forest because of the wind.
3 Then Yahweh said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-Jashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway of the washer’s field. 4 And you must say to him, ‘Take heed and be quiet! You must not fear, and your heart must not be faint because of these two stumps of smoldering firebrands, ?because of the fierce anger of? Rezin and Aram and the son of Remaliah. 5 Because Aram has plotted evil against you with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, saying, 6 “Let us go up against Judah and let us tear her apart, ?and let us lay it open and so bring it unto ourselves?, and let us install the son of Tabeel as king in her midst.” 7 Thus says the Lord Yahweh, “It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass. 8 For the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin, and in sixty-five years from now Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people. 9 And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you do not believe then you will not endure.” ’ ”
10 And Yahweh continued to speak to Ahaz, saying, 11 “Ask for a sign for yourself from Yahweh God; make it deep as Sheol or make it high as above.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put Yahweh to the test.”
13 Then he said, “Hear, house of David! Is it too little for you to make men weary, that you should also make my God weary? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look! the virgin is with child and she is about to give birth to a son, and she shall call his name ‘God with us.’ 15 He shall eat curds and honey until he knows to reject the evil and to choose the good. 16 For before the boy knows to reject the evil and to choose the good, ?the land whose two kings you dread will be abandoned.
Lord’s Prayer
Daily Prayer
Almighty and eternal God, Your Son, Jesus triumphed over the prince of demons and freed us from bondage to sin. Help us to stand firm against every assault of Satan, and enable us always to do Your will; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Concluding Prayer
Heavenly Father, send Your Holy Spirit into our hearts to direct and rule us to do Your will, to comfort us in all our afflictions, to defend us from all error, and to lead us into all truth; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
