It was hard for Gods people to sing the songs of Zion by the rivers of Babylon. But after years of captivity in a strange land, God encourages them that they would soon return to their beloved Jerusalem.  The prophet brought them hope from heaven in the midst of their trials. “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction” (Isaiah 48:10).

They were selected and chosen in their troubles. Their new destiny was to be established though the fire - it always is.  God’s people are prepared and refined in the furnace. After the dross was removed, they returned to Jerusalem with Ezra.

Years later, three Hebrew boys told the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, they would not bow down and worship his image.  A one hundred percent gold statement, but it was the furnace that proved their words to be genuine and their faith to be truly golden. The king rejected them and the furnace raged, but the Forth Man was attracted to their faith. Through the fiery trial, God was testing heart attitudes, and bringing about their destiny. He always is.

We only have the character that we demonstrate under pressure.  We all make declarations in a time of peace that must be tested in a time of war. We declare allegiance but it is only displayed in crisis.  We only truly have the faith and the love that we hold through the fire.  

Friend, you too are chosen to become a vessel of honor and glory to Him, in these days.  But golden vessels in His temple, in which He can see His reflection, are not common nor easily made.  Hold on to Him in the midst of your furnace of affliction, for God is beginning to see His reflection in the gold!

After my Mum and Dad died they left me an inheritance which was enough to put down a deposit on a new house. The deposit wasn’t the full price of the house but it did mean that we could move in begin to live in it. God gave Adam an inheritance in the garden before he sinned; a commission to bring the earth under the rule of God.  He made man in His image and told him to be fruitful and take dominion. But when Adam forsook his calling he also lost his relationship as a be­loved son and the beauty of being in God's image. He lost his inheritance, his divine covering and his destiny in God's purpose. For a while.

Now as returning prodigals we are given it all back.  Relationship, acceptance, life from dead, clothes of righteousness, a ring of authority and shoes for inheriting what God has provided. It’s fantastic but no matter how great this life is on the earth now, the greater inheritance is still to come, when the meek shall inherit the earth. Our experience of the Holy Spirit now is only a deposit. It is the first investment God makes into your life and soul, but it is only a guarantee of the full inheritance he has for us, at the redemption of our bodies when Jesus come back.

Friend, when we get to live literally in His presence, we won’t be walking by faith, we’ll be seeing Him face to face.   No more through a glass darkly but we will be perfectly known by him. In eternity, He will show us the full inheritance of His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Adam and Eve had two boys. They grew up in a relatively pristine and beautiful world together but there was something ugly in someone’s heart. Cain rose up and killed his brother Able and Abel’s’ blood cried out from the ground. Gen 4:7  If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it."... And it happened when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. And Jehovah said unto Cain, Where is your brother Abel? And he said, I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper? Dumb question. Sin makes you stupid! And He said, What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries to Me from the ground. And now you are cursed more than the ground which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. God said to Cain your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.  (Thankfully Jesus blood speaks better things. It wasn’t blood spilt by the brother but it was blood spilt for the brothers.) This is the first mention of brother in the Bible and also the first mention of sin, which was revealed as an attitude toward a brother. Of course the whole Bible teaches that our love for our brothers is the gauge of our actual love for God. 1 John 4.20.

God spoke. “When you till the ground, it will not again give its strength to you. And you shall be a vagabond and a fugitive in the earth.  And Cain said to Jehovah, My punishment is greater than I can bear.  Behold! You have driven me out from the face of the earth today, and I shall be hidden from Your face. Gen 4:8 -14.

The Lord told Cain that because the ground was polluted with his brother’s blood, it would no longer produce the fruit he expected.  The way we treat your brother will determine the fruit of our field. God said you will be driven from the face of the ground and from the face of God. This is also the first mention of the face of God. The way you treat your brother determines the availability and vision of God’s face. This idea of brotherly responsibility is right through the Bible. As the people approached the Promised Land, the Reubenites and Gadites wanted to stay on the far side of the Jordan where there was less fighting to be done.  But God said you will go over with your brothers and ensure they enter their inheritance before you can settle down to enjoy yours. God’s requirement is no one can inherit their land unless all the brothers inherit their land. Jos 1:14-16.  Like the three Musketeers: one for all and all for one   That’s brotherhood.  God withholds our full inheritance until we have helped our brothers into theirs.  This is reflected in Hebrews “let us go on to perfection”- no one goes on to maturity alone. Many years earlier, Joseph had been sold to the Egyptians by his brothers.  Eventually he was promoted to the ruler of the land at the same time a famine came upon Israel. His brothers were sent to find bread from the Egyptian ruler and when they arrive Joseph asks his unsuspecting brothers “Do you have a father or a brother?  And we said to my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one. And his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loves him. And you said to your servants, Bring him down to me, and let me see him. And we said to my lord, The boy cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, he would die. And you said to your servants, Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall see my face no more. Gen 44:19 -23. Joseph is a type of Christ. He is the beloved son rejected by his brothers, falsely accused, sentenced with two offenders but is finally exalted to rule. Joseph had bread for his brothers and he is most interested to meet the need of all his brothers.  When asked if they had other brothers, they told him they had one at home with their father and Joseph said you will not see my face until your brother be with you. Jesus our brother also has bread for His brothers; food which can keep us alive and bring us into our destiny, but it seems that Jesus attitude is like that of josephs - something of His face and glory will not be seen till we bring our brothers with us.

Friends, we can seek His favour and His face but he says “bring your brother.” We can seek fruitfulness in the field but He says “Where is your brother?” We can seek bread; He says “bring your brother with you.”  It seems we cannot completely have our inheritance until our brother has his. Are our relationships with our fellow church leaders or members suitably unselfish and inclusive?  Is there a brother or sister that you need to go and bring? He asks us this question “Where is your brother?” because the brother left behind was the brother that the father loved.