Judges 8:1-35; Isaiah 29:1-24; 1 Corinthians 8:1-13
I know thy … poverty. Revelation 2:9
Smyrna was one of the most prosperous cities in Asia Minor, so the poverty of the Christians was not typical. Like “the churches of Macedonia” (2 Cor. 8:1), their destitution was caused by faithfulness to Christ. The Greek noun translated “poverty” is applied in the New Testament only to these churches and, significantly, to the Lord Jesus: “…that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich” (2 Cor. 8:9). From anyone other than Christ, the words “I know” would have rung hollow. —Phil Coulson
He knows it all, and on His breast,
Thou mayest now repose;
Drop every care at His behest,
The Lord is near; He knows. —Emma G. Dietrick