Sabbath Delight

Jeremiah 9

1 Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!
2 Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.
3 And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD.
4 Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour will walk with slanders.
5 And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity.
6 Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the LORD.
7 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how shall I do for the daughter of my people?
8 Their tongue is as an arrow shot out; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in heart he layeth his wait.
9 Shall I not visit them for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
10 For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none can pass through them; neither can men hear the voice of the cattle; both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are fled; they are gone.
11 And I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a den of dragons; and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.
12 Who is the wise man, that may understand this? and who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD hath spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land perisheth and is burned up like a wilderness, that none passeth through?
13 And the LORD saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein;
14 But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them:
15 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.
16 I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a sword after them, till I have consumed them.
17 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for cunning women, that they may come:
18 And let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters.
19 For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we spoiled! we are greatly confounded, because we have forsaken the land, because our dwellings have cast us out.
20 Yet hear the word of the LORD, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth, and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbour lamentation.
21 For death is come up into our windows, and is entered into our palaces, to cut off the children from without, and the young men from the streets.
22 Speak, Thus saith the LORD, Even the carcases of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the harvestman, and none shall gather them.
23 Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:
24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.
25 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will punish all them which are circumcised with the uncircumcised;
26 Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that dwell in the wilderness: for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.

Chapter 13 “Days of Preparation.”

This chapter is based on Acts 9:19-30.

After his baptism, Paul broke his fast and remained “certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus. And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.” Boldly he declared Jesus of Nazareth to be the long-looked-for Messiah, who “died for our sins according to the Scriptures; … was buried, and … rose again the third day,” after which He was seen by the Twelve and by others. “And last of all,” Paul added, “He was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.” 1 Corinthians 15:3,4,8. His arguments from prophecy were so conclusive, and his efforts were so manifestly attended by the power of God, that the Jews were confounded and unable to answer him. {AA 123.1; HAp.101.1}

The news of Paul’s conversion had come to the Jews as a great surprise. He who had journeyed to Damascus “with authority and commission from the chief priests” ( Acts 26:12) to apprehend and persecute the believers was now preaching the gospel of a crucified and risen Saviour, strengthening the hands of those who were already its disciples, and continually bringing in new converts to the faith he had once so bitterly opposed. {AA 123.2; HAp.101.2}

Paul had formerly been known as a zealous defender of the Jewish religion and an untiring persecutor of the followers of Jesus. Courageous, independent, persevering, his talents and training would have enabled him to serve in almost any capacity. He could reason with extraordinary clearness, and by his withering sarcasm could place an opponent in no enviable light. And now the Jews saw this young man of unusual promise united with those whom he formerly persecuted, and fearlessly preaching in the name of Jesus. {AA 124.1; HAp.101.3}

A general slain in battle is lost to his army, but his death gives no additional strength to the enemy. But when a man of prominence joins the opposing force, not only are his services lost, but those to whom he joins himself gain a decided advantage. Saul of Tarsus, on his way to Damascus, might easily have been struck dead by the Lord, and much strength would have been withdrawn from the persecuting power. But God in His providence not only spared Saul’s life, but converted him, thus transferring a champion from the side of the enemy to the side of Christ. An eloquent speaker and a severe critic, Paul, with his stern purpose and undaunted courage, possessed the very qualifications needed in the early church. {AA 124.2; HAp.102.1}

As Paul preached Christ in Damascus, all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests?” Paul declared that his change of faith had not been prompted by impulse or fanaticism, but had been brought about by overwhelming evidence. In his presentation of the gospel he sought to make plain the prophecies relating to the first advent of Christ. He showed conclusively that these prophecies had been literally fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth. The foundation of his faith was the sure word of prophecy. {AA 124.3; HAp.102.2}

As Paul continued to appeal to his astonished hearers to “repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance” (Acts 26:20), he “increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ.” But many hardened their hearts, refusing to respond to his message, and soon their astonishment at his conversion was changed into intense hatred like that which they had shown toward Jesus. {AA 125.1; HAp.102.3}

The opposition grew so fierce that Paul was not allowed to continue his labors at Damascus. A messenger from heaven bade him leave for a time, and he “went into Arabia” (Galatians 1:17), where he found a safe retreat. {AA 125.2; HAp.103.1}

Here, in the solitude of the desert, Paul had ample opportunity for quiet study and meditation. He calmly reviewed his past experience and made sure work of repentance. He sought God with all his heart, resting not until he knew for a certainty that his repentance was accepted and his sin pardoned. He longed for the assurance that Jesus would be with him in his coming ministry. He emptied his soul of the prejudices and traditions that had hitherto shaped his life, and received instruction from the Source of truth. Jesus communed with him and established him in the faith, bestowing upon him a rich measure of wisdom and grace. {AA 125.3; HAp.103.2}

When the mind of man is brought into communion with the mind of God, the finite with the Infinite, the effect on body and mind and soul is beyond estimate. In such communion is found the highest education. It is God’s own method of development. “Acquaint now thyself with Him” (Job 22:21), is His message to mankind. {AA 126.1; HAp.103.3}

The solemn charge that had been given Paul on the occasion of his interview with Ananias, rested with increasing weight upon his heart. When, in response to the word, “Brother Saul, receive thy sight,” Paul had for the first time looked upon the face of this devout man, Ananias under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit said to him: “The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know His will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of His mouth. For thou shalt be His witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” Acts 22:13-16. {AA 126.2; HAp.103.4}

These words were in harmony with the words of Jesus Himself, who, when He arrested Saul on the journey to Damascus, declared: “I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in Me.” Acts 26:16-18. {AA 126.3; HAp.103.5}

As he pondered these things in his heart, Paul understood more and more clearly the meaning of his call “to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:1. His call had come, “not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father.” Galatians 1:1. The greatness of the work before him led him to give much study to the Holy Scriptures, in order that he might preach the gospel “not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect,” “but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,” that the faith of all who heard “should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:17; 2:4,5. {AA 127.1; HAp.104.1}

As Paul searched the Scriptures, he learned that throughout the ages “not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: that no flesh should glory in His presence.” 1 Corinthians 1:26-29. And so, viewing the wisdom of the world in the light of the cross, Paul “determined not to know anything,… save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” 1 Corinthians 2:2. {AA 127.2; HAp.104.2}

Throughout his later ministry, Paul never lost sight of the Source of his wisdom and strength. Hear him, years afterward, still declaring, “For to me to live is Christ.” Philippians 1:21. And again: “I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, … that I may win Christ, and be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings.” Philippians 3:8-10. {AA 128.1; HAp.104.3}

From Arabia Paul “returned again unto Damascus” (Galatians 1:17), and “preached boldly … in the name of Jesus.” Unable to withstand the wisdom of his arguments, “the Jews took counsel to kill him.” The gates of the city were diligently guarded day and night to cut off his escape. This crisis led the disciples to seek God earnestly, and finally they “took him by night, and let him down through the wall, lowering him in a basket.” Acts 9:25, R.V. {AA 128.2; HAp.105.1}

After his escape from Damascus, Paul went to Jerusalem, about three years having passed since his conversion. His chief object in making this visit, as he himself declared afterward, was “to see Peter.” Galatians 1:18. Upon arriving in the city where he had once been well known as “Saul the persecutor,” “he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple.” It was difficult for them to believe that so bigoted a Pharisee, and one who had done so much to destroy the church, could become a sincere follower of Jesus. “But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.” {AA 128.3; HAp.105.2}

Upon hearing this, the disciples received him as one of their number. Soon they had abundant evidence as to the genuineness of his Christian experience. The future apostle to the Gentiles was now in the city where many of his former associates lived, and to these Jewish leaders he longed to make plain the prophecies concerning the Messiah, which had been fulfilled by the advent of the Saviour. Paul felt sure that these teachers in Israel, with whom he had once been so well acquainted, were as sincere and honest as he had been. But he had miscalculated the spirit of his Jewish brethren, and in the hope of their speedy conversion he was doomed to bitter disappointment. Although “he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians,” those who stood at the head of the Jewish church refused to believe, but “went about to slay him.” Sorrow filled his heart. He would willingly have yielded up his life if by that means he might bring some to a knowledge of the truth. With shame he thought of the active part he had taken in the martyrdom of Stephen, and now in his anxiety to wipe out the stain resting upon one so falsely accused, he sought to vindicate the truth for which Stephen had given his life. {AA 129.1; HAp.105.3}

Burdened in behalf of those who refused to believe, Paul was praying in the temple, as he himself afterward testified, when he fell into a trance; whereupon a heavenly messenger appeared before him and said, “Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning Me.” Acts 22:18. {AA 130.1; HAp.106.1}

Paul was inclined to remain at Jerusalem, where he could face the opposition. To him it seemed an act of cowardice to flee, if by remaining he might be able to convince some of the obstinate Jews of the truth of the gospel message, even if to remain should cost him his life. And so he answered, “Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on Thee: and when the blood of Thy martyr Stephen was shed, I was also standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him.” But it was not in harmony with the purpose of God that His servant should needlessly expose his life; and the heavenly messenger replied, “Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.” Acts 22:19-21. {AA 130.2; HAp.106.2}

Upon learning of this vision, the brethren hastened Paul’s secret escape from Jerusalem, for fear of his assassination. “They brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus.” The departure of Paul suspended for a time the violent opposition of the Jews, and the church had a period of rest, in which many were added to the number of believers. {AA 130.3; HAp.106.3}

Beloved, February 22, 2020, at 4 in the afternoon while I was studying the word of the Lord, the Lord called my attention to the personage of Moses. This man, how God cared for him from his beginning, how he became the liberator, but He also called my attention to Ramses; Pharaoh back then when Moses came as the deliverer of God’s people in Egypt. {Daisy Escalante: 02-22-2020 , en.p1}

This is what the Lord let me know: “born of different mothers, of different nations, one a slave and the other free; Heaven ruled their futures, one under the decree of death of children, the other free from the decree; they came by heavenly destiny to live together, and to be raised as well as brothers and grandchildren of Pharaoh; educated differently in their early years, one in paganism and the other in the only God.” {Daisy Escalante: 02-22-2020 , en.p2}

“Together, after their early years, they were educated in pagan sciences and philosophies; in luxuries and abundance, both; in arts of war was their discipline, ignoring forced labor, and living in the greatest abundance of that moment; These two young men were seen, they were seen by others as the future pharaoh and ruler of Egypt; but heaven quietly ruled the individual future of each one of these young men.” {Daisy Escalante: 02-22-2020 , en.p3}

“The love between them was very great because they were raised together; heaven followed this sequence closely because these two young men were destined for a future that heaven ruled, despite what the human being dictated; Heaven dictated the day, hour, month and year of the separation of these two young men, and so it was. A murder separated these two young men, fruit of the seed that had been implanted in the tender years of one of them, for wanting to help the helpless; use of the force and this blind the existence of one, of those who accepted him in the kingdom where he enjoyed great gifts.” {Daisy Escalante: 02-22-2020 , en.p4}

“Suffering from this separation, one stayed at home and the other fled aimlessly; The one who was left with all the gifts of the kingdom became Pharaoh of Egypt, the one who fled aimlessly became a shepherd of sheep; one served by servants, other being a servant; one was softened by the power of God, the other was hardened by the power of God; one was chosen as an oppressor, other was chosen as a liberator; one certainly ruled a topographical place, other ruled a nation through many topographical places; one ended his life under the Red Sea, with his army; other crossed, with a nation, in the dry in the Red Sea; one died destined for perdition, another died and was resurrected and lives eternally with his creator and redeemer; two births, two young men, two roads, two destinations.” {Daisy Escalante: 02-22-2020 , en.p5}

Each one of us must decide, could it be that love for your neighbor will exempt you from disobedience to God, and thus achieve salvation?”

“Listen and learn from Me that I rule heaven, says the Lord; the earth, the sea and everything that is in them; and that I do not change for love of you, because one is My kingdom and it is implanted to last forever; and that each mortal exists and subsists by My word, and there is no evil in My thought for any of them; but they build for themselves on the sand and collect water in broken cisterns.” {Daisy Escalante: 02-22-2020 , en.p6}

“You live in appearances, speaking flattering words, but I tell you that no one will inherit eternal life because the double minded will not live in the world to come; So you do wrong to ingratiate yourself with one another, because one is the one who saves, namely Me, and I test hearts to choose with great scrutiny the subjects of My kingdom; Pray then that your understanding may be opened and you will not be taken by surprise, for there on that day one will be taken and the other will be left.” {Daisy Escalante: 02-22-2020 , en.p7}

“Soon the expected will come, and My people will be tested in an extreme way, and only those who look at Me and follow in My footsteps will overcome; bear fruits therefore worthy of repentance and you will find rest for your souls.” {Daisy Escalante: 02-22-2020 , en.p8}

Faithful and true words of the Lord that I leave with each one of you. May the Lord bless you. {Daisy Escalante: 02-22-2020 , en.p9}

February 6, 2021. In dreams, I was made to know that I was to witness something. To let me go see and pay close attention. He told me: “observe.”

I saw several known and unknown families, and they all lived in different kinds of chaos. I saw them tormented, some; and others, with great concern; and others, with great anger, offended many. Their life had been thrown into this chaos, I was told, by their poor decisions. But, without admitting it, they attributed their misfortunes to everything, and everyone, except themselves. Each thing that they did not recognize, of the cause of their misfortune, increased more the chaos in their lives. They lived life without thinking that the Eternal was taking review of their actions, and now —unprotected, to their fate—, they did not lament, but instead grumbled of their great misfortune. I saw some people try to make them understand their real situation, but they became more violent. I saw that the people who tried to help them turned away from them, because they could not make them enter in reason. These people who lived this chaos, it was terrible to be close to them! Because everyone who came near them and followed them [in] their way of life was infected by their chaos. That’s how I saw them, to their fate. {Daisy Escalante: 02-06-2021 , en.p1}

The scene changed and I saw a great depravity at city level, each time it became [more] horrible. I was told that a masterful hand is following his plan outlined for this hour, and that no attempt will stop him, because there is still a deadline for this. {Daisy Escalante: 02-06-2021 , en.p2}

At that moment, beloved, there I woke up. May God grant that we can understand all these things. God grant that we not be rebellious to the Word of the Eternal, because certainly submission to the Word of the Lord is the only thing that will guarantee us eternal life. And not because of our merits, because we know we have none, but because of the merits of Christ Jesus. {Daisy Escalante: 02-06-2021 , en.p3}

Let the Holy Spirit flood our lives, to search the recesses of our mind, our heart, our being, and let us see. Let that be our prayer, that it let us see our real condition so that we can go to the teacher’s feet with a contrite and humbled heart. And we can, there, implore His forgiveness, reconcile with the Beloved while He is still, still, practicing as a lawyer. And, there, let’s get right with Him because that is certainly going to be the cause for us to have a great victory in Christ Jesus. If not, otherwise, beloved brothers, we will perish because by ourselves we will be able to do nothing. May God grant that we can understand and that we be doers of the Word of Truth! May the Lord bless us! {Daisy Escalante: 02-06-2021 , en.p4}

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