Highly Favored

“In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David.  The virgin's name was Mary.  The angel went to her and said, ‘Greetings, you who are highly favored!  The Lord is with you.’

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.  But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.  You will be with child and give birth to a son.’ ”  

Luke 1:26-31a

God Himself sent Gabriel to Nazareth to a virgin pledged to be married.  He summoned His angel Gabriel who stood in His presence to approach His throne.  In the holy place where lightning flashes, seraphs continuously give Him praise, and colors unparalleled to this world dazzle and dance, He imparted to Gabriel another message to be delivered.  So Gabriel torn back the veil once again between the spiritual realm to the natural realm.

Previously, Gabriel was sent to the temple where Zechariah was serving or to Daniel, who was a ruler over an entire province of Babylon (Daniel 2:48).  They were both men in high positions.  Now, Gabriel was being sent to a young teenage girl in a small village in the hill country.  This common girl received the most majestic message from the holy throne room of God.

The Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth is a modern Catholic church built over the remains of Byzantine and Crusader churches.  It incorporates the cave where the Catholic Church believes that the Virgin Mary received the news from Gabriel that she would give birth to Jesus.  However, we are not certain of the true location.  Was she in this cave?  Was it her home?  Was she cooking dinner?  Was she sweeping the floors?  Or was she still in bed and in her night clothes?  Or was she outside getting water from the well or some other chore.

Likewise, we could think of many questions about her reaction to the angel Gabriel’s appearance.  It is doubtful that she was giddy and ecstatic, wondering what an angel looked like.  She was not thinking about how she couldn’t wait to tell all of her friends.  She probably was not relaxed and welcoming the angel because she was not expecting his visit.   She knew about the angel’s news to Zechariah and how Elizabeth’s barren womb was open with the child who would “go on before the Lord” (Luke 1:17).  However, she could not have guessed that Elizabeth’s baby would go on before the Son of God who had come as the Son of Man born from her womb.

Mary was bestowed with the highest honor among women.  We know that God esteemed her because Gabriel said that she was highly favored in verse 28, and then, he said it again in verse 30.  God was pleased with her.  Then, the angel goes on to say, “The Lord is with you.”  Oh, what words of comfort!  When God assigns someone a mission in the Bible like Moses or Joshua, He also assured them with these precious words, “I am with you.”  Remember He is Immanuel, the with-us God.  The angel had not told her yet her assignment.  He first told her that she was able to do what God had called her to do.  Then he told her what was going to happen.

In a matter of moments on an ordinary day, the entire direction of this teenager’s life had changed.  The angel told this young girl that she would be responsible for the precious Son of God.  He told her to accept this unprecedented miracle.  He told her to embrace motherhood, which was not the life stage for which she was preparing.  He told her to endure scandal.  The community would know that this baby was not Joseph’s child.  She would have to endure their cupped whispers in their friends’ ears as she passed them on the roads.  She would have to tell Joseph, and yes, she would have to tell her parents!

But God gave her two encouragements so she would know that even though she was called to a hard road, all would be alright for she had won the favor of God!  Even though she was not perfect and made some mistakes, she knew that she was living right and that her heart was for the Lord.  Secondly, she had the promise that the Lord was with her.  With God on her side, she could endure whatever the neighbors said and find the wisdom needed to raise the Son of the Most High.

Precious one, with God on our side, we also can endure whatever He has called us.  If we set ourselves apart for Him, then we are also highly favored and have placed ourselves in a position for Him to work in our lives.  Our Lord will be with us through whatever life throws at us.  He will never leave us nor forsake us.  Others may forsake us, but He won’t!  O, how we praise You, LORD!

Pray with me:  Father God, what an amazing story!  You sent Your messenger with a divine message that had waited throughout all time to be uttered.  The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary on such an ordinary day.  We also desire to be highly favored by You, too.  Teach us how to be favored by You.  Convict us in areas that do not please You.  We never want to go anywhere without You.  We want every path of our lives to be marked by “The LORD was with us.”  Show us Your way.  It’s in Your precious Son’s Name, Yeshua’s Name, we pray.  Amen.

The Time of Jacob’s Trouble

The Time of Jacob’s Trouble
By Shirley Mitchell

“How awful that day will be! None will be like it. It will be a time of trouble for Jacob, but he will be saved out of it.”
Jeremiah 30:7

While Daniel was studying the Scriptures written by Jeremiah, he realized that the Babylonian captivity would last 70 years. Jeremiah 29:10 says, “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place.” Knowing the end of the 70 years was near, Daniel cried out to God and confessed his sin and the sin of his people of Israel. While he was still praying, God sent the angel Gabriel to give Daniel revelation about another set of 70 years. Seven sets to be exact.

I don’t believe Daniel stopped reading at Jeremiah 29. Although they didn’t have chapter breaks like we do, I believe Daniel kept right on reading what we call Jeremiah 30. God freshly poured into him the words given to the prophet Jeremiah about the restoration of Israel through the time known as the time of Jacob’s trouble. It is referred to as Jacob’s trouble because when Jacob wrestled all night with the angel, God renamed him Israel (Genesis 32). It is the time of Israel’s trouble. It is the time when God deals with the nation of Israel.

So when the angel Gabriel appeared to Daniel, he unveiled more about God’s calendar, His plans for Israel, and this time of trouble. Gabriel said in Daniel 9:24, “Seventy 'sevens' are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy.” In this context, sevens is measuring seven years. These 70 sevens are equivalent to 490 years.

This Daniel 9 prophecy goes on to say the Messiah would be cut off after 69 weeks of years, which was fulfilled exactly at the time of Jesus’ death. Then, God’s calendar switched to the times of the Gentiles. It left one final week, the 70th week of Daniel, the final 7 years, to be fulfilled. This 70th week is known as the time of Jacob’s trouble. We Christians call this period the tribulation.

Gabriel said to Daniel that "seventy sevens" or 490 years were decreed upon his people and upon the holy city of Jerusalem so that six things might be accomplished: to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy.

God will discipline Israel for committing spiritual adultery. He singled out this nation from the other nations on earth. He gave her the Law. He spared her from destruction time after time. He gave her the Messiah through whom all nations on earth would be blessed. He longs to remove the names of false gods from her lips. He desires to lure her back to Him. He longs to end all sin, bring in everlasting righteousness, and set up His Son’s reign.

The time of Jacob’s trouble will be an awful time. There will be no other days like it. The false prophets will spread their lies. The earth will cry out for the return of its Creator and Healer in the form of famines and earthquakes. Much blood will be shed in wars. Christians and Jews will be persecuted. In fact, no one can buy or trade goods unless they have the mark of the beast, the Antichrist.

The Antichrist will be a ruler who rises to power. He will deceive Israel into cutting covenant which marks the beginning of this 70th set of 7 years. His lying tongue will promise peace. The third temple of Ezekiel 40-48 will be built on Mount Moriah, the site of the first two temples and the site of the Dome of the Rock, the Muslim mosques. (Gosh, I wonder how God is going to do this one!) The Jews will restore worship and animal sacrifices. However, it won’t happen for long. Daniel 9 says after 3 ½ years he will come and destroy the city and the sanctuary. He will set up an abomination that causes desolation (v.26-27).

Jeremiah 30 also goes on to say that God will bring Israel wealth. God will heal their severe wounds and incurable injuries. He will care for the outcast Israel. He will restore the land. He will fill Jacob’s tents with fortunes. Then, at the end of Jeremiah 30, the Lord proclaims through His prophet in verse 22, “So you will be my people, and I will be your God.”

We can know the time of Jacob’s trouble is near by looking at Israel herself. Jesus says in the Olivet Discourse, where He prophesied about the end times to His disciples, that we will know the time is near when the fig tree is in season (Matthew 24:32-34). The fig tree is Israel. Israel’s rebirth as a nation in 1948 for the first time in almost 2,000 years and the regathering of the Jewish people who were scattered across the earth demonstrate to us that this sign is being fulfilled.

Oh, precious one, are you gaining in knowledge of the days to come? God’s Word is being fulfilled. You and I must remain in Him to receive His peace when the world around troubles us.

Pray with me: Oh, Lord, we cry out like Daniel did for our sins and for the sins of Israel. We are so sorry for turning to other gods. We repent for our sins. We ask that You give us Your peace for the troubling days ahead.

We know that the time of Jacob’s trouble is near. The signs are being fulfilled before our eyes. We ask for You to continue bringing the Jews back to Israel for this time. We ask for more and more to believe that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah. May they realize that You, Jesus, fulfilled it all! It’s in Your Name, Yeshua’s Name, we pray. Amen.

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