Isaiah 8:23
But darkness will not reign forever On the earth where there is now distress: If the times past have covered with reproach The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, The times to come will cover with glory The land by the sea , beyond the Jordan, the territory of the Gentiles.
Isaiah 9:1
The people who walked in darkness See a great light; On those who dwell in the land of the shadow of death A light shines.
Darkness will not "Reign" forever
TO REIGN:
(What does Reign mean?
DEFINITION AND SYNONYMS
1)Manage
2)Driver
3)Frame
4)Direct
5)Orient
6)Guide
7)Animate
8) Surround,
9)Dominate
10)Control
11)Lead to
12)Exploit
13)Govern
14)Supervises
15)Works
16)Order
17)Administer
18) Accompany
19) Take power
20)Give orders
21)Make it work
The Bible speaks of the word reign, this means that the author of this writing refers to a royal power, governed by a sovereign or a king. Which means that the darkness which covers the earth and reigns over the nations is imposed by the evil and satanic powers that dominate our planet.
Those who are at the top of this satanic governance, the Bible calls them the principalities and the authorities also at the top of the summits and we see the prince of this world the devil who also presents himself as the king of demons.
IT IS WRITTEN: EPHESIANS 6:11-13
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the wiles of the devil. 12For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against authorities, against the princes of this world of darkness, against spirits of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and to stand firm when you have overcome all.
This word first exhorts us to wear the spiritual armor which is the weapon of God and the author of this writing clearly shows us the reason why we must wear this armor. Cautioning us that the battles we engage in are not physical but rather spiritual, which is why we must be careful to wear the armor of God each day to continue to resist these forces of evil that fight us daily. And the author brings us back to understanding Even after a great victory, we must remain vigilant and continue to resist the works of evil.
Second, the author of this writing describes to us the types of minds that we deal with on a daily basis. And at the top of this list we see: the principalities, the dominions, the princes of this dark world and the wicked spirits in the heavenly places.
And according to our basic scripture (Isaiah 9:1-2), we understand that darkness reigns over the earth and over the nations, and that the devil is working to bring the whole earth to be dominated and covered by darkness to impose the anxieties and disgrace to people who do not have Jesus Christ in their lives.
When your life is dominated by darkness, you will live in
anxieties, fears, worries, heartaches, stress, shame, rejection from people and no one will even want to be your friend. And the land of Zebulun and Naphtali was accustomed to these things because it was dominated by darkness.
And God who sees everything, saw their anguish and their shame and sent his prophet to prophesy on these lands, telling them that: “darkness will not always reign” Because there is a time for everything.
The prophet adds to tell them that if the past times were covered with reproach or shame in the land of Zebulun and Naphtali, the times to come will be covered with glory. Moreover, if in the past you were covered in darkness, in the coming year you will be covered with light, brightness, peace and joy.
IT IS WRITTEN: Ecclesiastes 3:1-4
There is a season for everything, a season for everything under heaven:
2 a time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what has been planted; 3 a time to kill and a time to heal; a time to demolish and a time to build; 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to lament and a time to dance.
2024 IS: “A YEAR TO SHINE”
ZABULON AND NEPHTHALI (HISTORY)
(Why did Jesus choose Zebulun and Naphtali to begin his ministry?)
The land of Zebulun is part of the province of Galilee, more precisely lower Galilee. Zebulun and Naphtali were the dwelling place of Jesus; is this where he began his ministry.
According to the story, Jesus was born in Bethlem, he grew up in Nazareth and when he wanted to begin his ministry, he left Nazareth and settled in Capernaum, a city located on the Sea of Galilee, in the territories of Zebulun and Naphtali. It was so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah would be fulfilled.
IT IS WRITTEN: Matthew 4:12-17
Jesus, having learned that John had been betrayed, withdrew into Galilee. 13He left Nazareth and came to dwell in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet:
15The people of Zebulun and Naphtali, of the region by the sea, of the land beyond the Jordan, and of the Galilee of the Gentiles, 16This people, sitting in darkness, has seen a great light; And upon those who sat in the region and the shadow of death Light arose. 17And from that time Jesus began to preach, saying, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
In Jesus' time, the reputation of Zebulun and Naphtali was so disastrous that their region was nicknamed "the crossroads of the pagans, the land of scoundrels where darkness reigns."
What shamed these two tribes of Israel was that they did not manage to conquer their territories and impose themselves against the local pagans who were there, even if their courage was great they were annexed in -732, then deported by the king. from Syria. Then the Roman army of Celtius destroyed their city during the Jewish war against the Roman Empire.
As a result, Zebulun and Naphtali were despised by the other tribes of Israel who found them weak and worthless. So it was not a compliment to say that someone came from Galilee, or worse, that they lived there in Galilee, it was rather an insult. And Jesus. By establishing himself in Galilee, more precisely in Capernaum, he agreed to mingle with these weak, abandoned Jews, without reputation and exposed to all the winds of paganism to finally bring value and light to their territory.
According to Genesis 30:20, “Leah the wife of Jacob said, God has given me a good gift this time, that my husband should live with me, for I have borne him six sons. And she called his name Zebulun.” When Leah said: “Jacob will live with me and the child will be called Zebulun”, And in the announcement of the Nativity of Jesus Christ the prophet says: “we will call him Emmanuel, God with us” (Mt 1, 23). Which makes us think of the two first names of the messiah “God saves” (Yeshoua, Jesus) and “God with us” (Emmanuel):
Thus the choice of Jesus to come and live among these two tributes was not only the fulfillment of the prophecy given by the prophet Isaiah but also in reference to his two messiah names we understand that the savior agrees to live among his people to take away from them the shame imposed by their enemies.
The presence of Jesus in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali confirmed that these two territories were divine provisions. Prophetically they were therefore presented as future leader and visionary territory, the guarantor of the salvation of Israel, because as the prophet of God prophesied it will be on his territory God will reside among his people and this God will take human form to save his people.
But despite his powerful prophecies about Zebulun and Naphtali, the people of his lands lived in disaster and covered with shame, sorrow and darkness, but now he will be covered with glory.
According to Isaiah 83. the announcement of Jesus, originally from a family from Nazareth, later settled in Capernaum in Galilee. The latest archaeological excavations seem to attest that Nazareth was a simple agricultural town of around ten families.
It was an insignificant village in the time of Jesus. Although it was historically documented, established and later recognised in the years 600 to 900 BCE, it was too small to be included in the list of dwelling places of the tribe of Zebulun.
(Josh 19.10-16), which mentions 12 cities and 6 villages. and as a surprise, Nazareth is also not mentioned among the 45 cities of Galilee mentioned by the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, and its name is absent from the 63 cities of Galilee mentioned in the Jewish Talmud.
It seems that the words of Nathanael of Cana: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” » (Jn 1:47), well characterise the insignificant presence of this site. Of course, many people in Judea had never heard of Nazareth because it was unknown to many Jews in Jesus' day.
To say that Jesus lived in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali is like telling a Parisian that salvation comes from the bottom of the village. And Pilate's inscription on the cross is ironic: "Jesus of Nazareth, king of the Jews", a king from nowhere. For the Galileans, Nazareth is a village that almost does not exist. For non-Galilean Jews, it is even worse: Nazareth means absolutely nothing to them, and it has no meaning to them.
So what an irony that the universal Saviour comes from a lost country, that of an almost forgotten tribe! What a shame to come from an abandoned city like Nazareth where there is nothing to expect, as Nathanael reminds us! What a strange love for dirty, impure and disreputable people. Jesus agrees to mingle and live in Capernaum! What madness to go and settle in Galilee.
IN CONCLUSION:
Even today, God can raise up great leaders among abandoned populations, or spiritual guides among little-regarded nations. By living in a despised Galilee, Jesus teaches us through this act that we can live in socially deprived neighborhoods, but with many of God's promises and this will not stop God from fulfilling His purpose for us.
“Can anything good come out of Nazareth? »: the sound of Nathanael (Jn 1:46) should alert us that the new Moses, the new Jesus will be born where we least expect him and above all he will appear in unknown places.
IT IS WRITTEN: PSALM 117
“The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone: it is the work of the Lord, the marvel before our eyes.
Zebulun and Naphtali were not very successful in Jesus' day. But it was there that he chose to settle and begin his ministry, Nazareth, this remote city unknown to everyone. This is precisely where he chose to grow up, in Capernaum, too impure where pagans and peoples mix. It is there that he travels the roads alongside prostitute dealers and people of all categories to save him.
I predict these things will happen to you this year, you are going to move from:
FROM HATE TO LOVE
FROM SHAME TO GLORY
FROM SINGLE TO MARRIED
FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT
FROM POVERTY TO WEALTH
FROM SUFFERING TO PEACE
FROM NOTHING TO SUCCESS
FROM NOTHING TO PROMOTION
FROM SLAVERY TO CORONATION
FROM ILLNESS TO GOOD HEALTH
FROM POSSESSION TO DELIVERANCE
FROM REJECTION TO CONSIDERATION
FROM UNEMPLOYED TO BEING EMPLOYED
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