"For
from the rising of the sun even to its setting, My name will be great
among the nations, and in every place incense is going to be offered to My
name, and a grain offering that is pure; for My name will be great
among the nations," says the LORD of hosts.
Insights: Today’s verse starts an inclusio passage. I have often described an inclusio passage like a sandwich. The bread is one subject, then you have some
meat, and the other piece of bread is the same subject that the first piece of
bread was. This week’s passage is like
this description. Let’s jump into
today’s verse. The verse has its heart
in the foundations of the nation of Israel.
In Genesis 12:2-3 God informed Abraham that he was going to be a
blessing to the nations through his offspring.
At the actual forming of the nation during Moses’ leadership they were
told they were to be a kingdom of priests to the nations (Ex. 19:6). Here in this verse two times God repeated the
phrase, “My name will be great among the nations.” Israel was supposed to be a nation that told
the world about the amazing God they served.
They were to be a beacon of light to a lost world, but they said, “NO!” The particular generation with which this
verse is written about had stopped loving, honoring and respecting God. As a result, they gave Him defiled
worship. Beloved, I tell you, if we stop
praising God, we will stop proclaiming Him to a lost world. A second thought needs to be interjected here
regarding praise. Notice the first phrase
of this verse: From the rising of the sun even to its setting. There are two implications from that
phrase. The first is our personal
worship is supposed to be all day long.
From the moment we open our eyes to the moment we close them at night,
we ought to have a heart of praise to God.
The second implication fits with the theme of the verse, God’s greatness
among the nations. In other words, as
the earth travels around the sun our earthly perspective is the sun rising and
traversing our sky and setting at the end of the day. As the earth moves through space, every
nation is going to experience the sun at different times. So, praise should be given to the Lord always
from every nation throughout the day.
The only way for such praise to be given is for the world to know the
gospel. We must proclaim Jesus to the
nations!
Questions:
- Can your life be characterized as one which is defined
by worship all day long?
- What are you doing to make God’s name known among the
nations?
Prayer: Father, help my
heart to think of You throughout the day today.
I want this day to be a day of praise.
Receive my life as a sacrifice to You today. Amen
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