November 13 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

The command sounds: "Wait!"

Before the devastating winds are permitted to damage the world, the servants of God must be sealed.

A seal is a mark of ownership. Archeologists have dug up many ancient jars and vessels that still bear the seal of the owner, an impression in clay that shows to whom the pottery belonged. What we read about here is not the sealing of things but the sealing of people. God seals people by writing his name on them.

In our passage, twelve times twelve thousand people are sealed. Before the great disasters come, God says: "This one is mine; that one may not be harmed because he belongs to me; and she must go safely through the fire of the world because I love her." God's name is written on them. They are sealed in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. They have been set apart. They are in God's hand, and nothing—not even God's own judgment—can do them any harm.

These words of comfort are addressed to the same people for whom the whole book of Revelation is written. They are the church members who were hearing this scroll read in their assembly—the ones whom God calls blessed because they hear and keep his Word (Rev. 1:3). The angel who seals God's elect calls them "the servants of our God," which is the name for those who hear and keep the prophecy of this book (22:6-7). They are the ones who are being sealed here as the true Israel (3:9, 12), the faithful followers of the Lamb.

Twelve times twelve times one thousand stands for the complete number of all of God's people. The total number and every name is known to God. God knows his own. And God will not allow them to perish in the hour of trial.

We have no certainty of salvation in ourselves. We are not sure that we can stand up in the storm. But God has chosen us; God has called us. God has adopted us to be his children, and his everlasting arms will carry us through. Hallelujah!

REFLECTIONS

When have you had a strong sense of the "everlasting arms of God" carrying you through?

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.