The Mark

The Mark

The mark cannot be easily defined. Its use ranges from a fine line made by a pen to the mark of the beast and beyond. A mark can be a name, a number, a brand or a bar code. A mark can define a trail, birth deformity or a selected indicator of things pending alteration or annihilation. Whatever a mark is placed upon or into it sets aside its bearer as special; good or bad. In God’s Word, we discover the mark beginning in Genesis and reaching Revelation. Each of us, to some extent, displays the mark of our parents. Christians wear the mark of our heavenly Father. Let us consider some biblical uses of marking:

Genesis 4:15 “...the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.” Exodus 12:7 “And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.

Exodus 32:16 “And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.”

1 Samuel 20:20 “And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof, as though I shot at a mark.”

Esther 3:12 “...in the name of king Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king's ring.”

Job 7:20 “... why hast thou set me as a mark against thee,?...”

Psalms 37:37 “Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.

Lamentations 3:12 “He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow.”

Ezekiel 9:4 “And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.“

Daniel 5:25 “And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.”

Acts 12:25 “And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.”

Romans 16:17 “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.”

Philippians 3:14 “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

John 19:19 “And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS. “

Revelation 13:16 “And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: “

Revelation 13:17 “And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

Just as Paul set a mark for his high calling, so must we. Know God, know peace. Amen 06-12-20 BLL