MARCH 26

OUR PERSONAL PROMISE

Hebrews 6:19

“This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil,”

2 Corinthians 4:17

“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,”

1Peter 2:24

“who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.”

Zechariah 10:4

“From Him comes the cornerstone,  from Him the tent peg,   from Him the battle bow, from Him every ruler together”

Matthew 7:24

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:”

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Our book for this month  is called “100 NAMES OF GOD”  written by Christopher D. Hudson.  Each day we’ll take one Hebrew name for God as given in the Bible to study and relate to.

YATED AMAN  MAQOM

NAIL IN A FIRM PLACE

“I will drive him like a peg into a firm place; he will become a seat of honor for the house of his father.”

Hanging a picture is more complicated than it looks – especially if the picture you want to hang is in a large or heavy frame.  You need a nail of adequate length and strength.  You need to pound that nail into something substantial enough to bear the weight of the frame.  In short, what you need is a strong nail in a firm place.

Anything less than that, and the best you can hope for is a frame that hangs crooked.  At worst, your frame will succumb to gravity and shatter on the floor – and quite possibly, it will pull the nail out of the wall and take a chunk of drywall with it, leaving an unsightly hole instead of the pretty picture!

Isaiah prophesied at a time when the people of Israel had hung their hopes on the nail of their nationality, their religious heritage, and their human leaders rather than on the person and promises of God.  A man named Shebna ambitiously climbed to power, and some viewed him as a nail in a sure place, but they were wrong.

God, in His grace, raised up a leader named Eliakim to replace Shebna.  God drove Eliakim “into a firm place” of power so that everything could hang off him.  But Eliakim’s position was only temporary.  Today many Bible teachers and scholars see Eliakim as a TYPE of Christ, meaning his life foreshadowed a greater nail still to come.  After all, only Jesus truly fulfills the ultimate description of a “peg” or nail in a “firm place.”

Forgiveness, salvation, new life, right standing with God –it all hangs on Christ.  We will one day enjoy the eternal weight of glory  because Christ bore the awful weight of our sins on the cross.

We can pin our hopes to many things –financial assets, good looks, membership in the right clubs, and career accomplishments.  But none of those things are strong enough to hold us forever.  Only Jesus is the nail in a firm place.

Your regrets and failures, your hopes and dreams –you can hang it all, good and bad, on Christ.  He will never let you fall

Where do you tend to hang your hopes?

PRAYER

God, my Nail in a  Firm Place, please help me to never hang my hopes on man-made wisdom or worldly notions.  You are the only “nail” who will keep me secure.  Amen.

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