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4/15/2023     Yesterday     Tomorrow


1 Kings  8 - 9



1 Kings 8

The Ark Brought into the Temple

1 Kings 8:1     Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ houses of the people of Israel, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion. 2 And all the men of Israel assembled to King Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. 3 And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark. 4 And they brought up the ark of the LORD, the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up. 5 And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. 6 Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the Most Holy Place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. 7 For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles. 8 And the poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the Holy Place before the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there to this day. 9 There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone that Moses put there at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. 10 And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the LORD, 11 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.

Solomon Blesses the LORD

12 Then Solomon said, “The LORD has said that he would dwell in thick darkness. 13 I have indeed built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever.” 14 Then the king turned around and blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel stood. 15 And he said, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who with his hand has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to David my father, saying, 16 ‘Since the day that I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house, that my name might be there. But I chose David to be over my people Israel.’ 17 Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. 18 But the LORD said to David my father, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart. 19 Nevertheless, you shall not build the house, but your son who shall be born to you shall build the house for my name.’ 20 Now the LORD has fulfilled his promise that he made. For I have risen in the place of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and I have built the house for the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. 21 And there I have provided a place for the ark, in which is the covenant of the LORD that he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.”

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication

22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven, 23 and said, “O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart; 24 you have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day. 25 Now therefore, O LORD, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you have promised him, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel,  if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.’ 26 Now therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David my father.

27 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! 28 Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O LORD my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, 29 that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. 30 And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.

31 “If a man sins against his neighbor and is made to take an oath and comes and swears his oath before your altar in this house, 32 then hear in heaven and act and judge your servants, condemning the guilty by bringing his conduct on his own head, and vindicating the righteous by rewarding him according to his righteousness.

33 “When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy because they have sinned against you, and if they turn again to you and acknowledge your name and pray and plead with you in this house, 34 then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them again to the land that you gave to their fathers.

35 “When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, if they pray toward this place and acknowledge your name and turn from their sin, when you afflict them, 36 then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk, and grant rain upon your land, which you have given to your people as an inheritance.

37 “If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence or blight or mildew or locust or caterpillar, if their enemy besieges them in the land at their gates, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is, 38 whatever prayer, whatever plea is made by any man or by all your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart and stretching out his hands toward this house, 39 then hear in heaven your dwelling place and forgive and act and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways (for you, you only, know the hearts of all the children of mankind), 40 that they may fear you all the days that they live in the land that you gave to our fathers.

41 “Likewise, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for your name’s sake 42 (for they shall hear of your great name and your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house, 43 hear in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have built is called by your name.

44 “If your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way you shall send them, and they pray to the LORD toward the city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name, 45 then hear in heaven their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause.

46 “If they sin against you — for there is no one who does not sin — Romans 3:10 (ESV) as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near, 47 yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors, saying, ‘We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,’ 48 if they repent with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to you toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen, and the house that I have built for your name, 49 then hear in heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause 50 and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions that they have committed against you, and grant them compassion in the sight of those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them 51 (for they are your people, and your heritage, which you brought out of Egypt, from the midst of the iron furnace). 52 Let your eyes be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people Israel, giving ear to them whenever they call to you. 53 For you separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be your heritage, as you declared through Moses your servant, when you brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord GOD.”

Solomon’s Benediction

54 Now as Solomon finished offering all this prayer and plea to the LORD, he arose from before the altar of the LORD, where he had knelt with hands outstretched toward heaven. 55 And he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, 56 “Blessed be the LORD who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. Not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses his servant. 57 The LORD our God be with us, as he was with our fathers. May he not leave us or forsake us, 58 that he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules, which he commanded our fathers. 59 Let these words of mine, with which I have pleaded before the LORD, be near to the LORD our God day and night, and may he maintain the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel, as each day requires, 60 that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God; there is no other. 61 Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the LORD our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.”

Solomon’s Sacrifices

62 Then the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the LORD. 63 Solomon offered as peace offerings to the LORD 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people of Israel dedicated the house of the LORD. 64 The same day the king consecrated the middle of the court that was before the house of the LORD, for there he offered the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat pieces of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar that was before the LORD was too small to receive the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat pieces of the peace offerings.

65 So Solomon held the feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly, from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of Egypt, before the LORD our God, seven days. 66 On the eighth day he sent the people away, and they blessed the king and went to their homes joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the LORD had shown to David his servant and to Israel his people.

1 Kings 9

The LORD Appears to Solomon

1 Kings 9:1     As soon as Solomon had finished building the house of the LORD and the king’s house and all that Solomon desired to build, 2 the LORD appeared to Solomon a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. 3 And the LORD said to him, “I have heard your prayer and your plea, which you have made before me. I have consecrated this house that you have built, by putting my name there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time. 4 And as for you, if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping my statutes and my rules, 5 then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’ 6 But if you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes that I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, 7 then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, and the house that I have consecrated for my name I will cast out of my sight, and Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples. 8 And this house will become a heap of ruins. Everyone passing by it will be astonished and will hiss, and they will say, ‘Why has the LORD done thus to this land and to this house?’ 9 Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the LORD their God who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore the LORD has brought all this disaster on them.’”      Read Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad to get a taste of the results of disobeying God.

Solomon’s Other Acts

10 At the end of twenty years, in which Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the LORD and the king’s house, 11 and Hiram king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with cedar and cypress timber and gold, as much as he desired, King Solomon gave to Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. 12 But when Hiram came from Tyre to see the cities that Solomon had given him, they did not please him. 13 Therefore he said, “What kind of cities are these that you have given me, my brother?” So they are called the land of Cabul to this day. 14 Hiram had sent to the king 120 talents of gold.

9:10–14 Further dealings with Hiram. Just as the account of the building of the temple begins with Solomon’s relations with Hiram of Tyre (ch. 5), so it is rounded off with a further note of their dealings. This time, however, the tone is not so positive, and this is not merely because it records a souring of the relationship between the two kings. Solomon’s transfer of twenty cities in Galilee to Hiram (in exchange for a vast quantity of gold, 14) implies that Solomon’s dues could no longer be raised by taxation. Had his building projects become too lavish? Furthermore, the cities given to Hiram did not meet with his approval and he called the district ‘the land of good-for-nothing’ (NIV mg.). The implication is that the immense prosperity enjoyed in Jerusalem did not extend to the northern parts of the kingdom.     New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition, ed. D. A. Carson et al., 4th ed. (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), 349.
15 And this is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon drafted to build the house of the LORD and his own house and the Millo and the wall of Jerusalem and Hazor and Megiddo and Gezer 16 (Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and captured Gezer and burned it with fire, and had killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and had given it as dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife; 17 so Solomon rebuilt Gezer) and Lower Beth-horon 18 and Baalath and Tamar in the wilderness, in the land of Judah, 19 and all the store cities that Solomon had, and the cities for his chariots, and the cities for his horsemen, and whatever Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. 20 All the people who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of the people of Israel— 21 their descendants who were left after them in the land, whom the people of Israel were unable to devote to destruction—these Solomon drafted to be slaves, and so they are to this day. 22 But of the people of Israel Solomon made no slaves. They were the soldiers, they were his officials, his commanders, his captains, his chariot commanders and his horsemen.

23 These were the chief officers who were over Solomon’s work: 550 who had charge of the people who carried on the work.

24 But Pharaoh’s daughter went up from the city of David to her own house that Solomon had built for her. Then he built the Millo.

25 Three times a year Solomon used to offer up burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar that he built to the LORD, making offerings with it before the LORD. So he finished the house.

26 King Solomon built a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. 27 And Hiram sent with the fleet his servants, seamen who were familiar with the sea, together with the servants of Solomon. 28 And they went to Ophir and brought from there gold, 420 talents, and they brought it to King Solomon.

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Patience, Now

By R.C. Sproul Jr. 9/1/2004

     The devil, if we are paying attention, presents us with something of a paradox. On the one hand, when he is introduced to us we are told, “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made” (Gen. 3:1). On the other hand, he is likewise the biggest fool to ever walk the planet. If insanity is rightly defined as the propensity to try the same thing over and over again, all the while expecting different results, then our nemesis is certifiable. He has been on a losing streak since day one, and it will go on forever. That he fights is foolish. How he fights is crafty.

     Satan, despite the interesting parallels in how we spell their names, is not some sort of bad Santa, carrying around a sack full of illicit goodies by which he seeks to tempt us away from our calling. It is decidedly less than crafty, then, to take such a straightforward approach. We would, of course, be on our guard were he so crass. Instead, the devil delights to work in the background, and to work on the background. That is, he likes to lay low while laying the foundations for our thinking.

     Consider for a moment (but only for a moment, for I know how busy you must be) the biblical virtue of patience, that fruit of the Holy Spirit that seems always to be just outside our reach. What would you do if you, like the devil, wanted to squash this fruit of the Spirit, to turn it into a bruised mess fit only for the dumpster? Surely you would see that it would do you precious little good to try to create a crusade in favor of impatience. You would have to look long and hard to find a political action committee or a secular advocacy group that seeks to promote the virtue of impatience. You’d be more likely to find a brigade of zealots in favor of tooth decay. The devil is smarter than that. He does not preach the virtues of impatience. He just puts us in a world where it doesn’t make sense.

     Sociologists often speak of what they like to call “plausibility structures.” These are not particular ideas that are self-consciously being promoted by advocates. Instead they are systems, so to speak, that encourage a particular way of looking at the world. The pro-abortion lobby has glommed onto this idea in how it sells its morbid view of the world. We are pro-life, but they do not present themselves as pro-death. Rather, they describe themselves as “pro-choice.” During the first decade of the pro-life movement we spent our time trying to make the case that unborn children were just that, unborn children. Surely once they see what they are doing, this would all stop. Except we won that debate, and blood still runs in our streets. It does so because “choice” resonates with Americans. And it resonates with Americans not because of careful, thoughtful reasoning among Americans, but because of toothpaste. “Choice” makes sense to us because we live in a world of choice, where we choose not only among forty different brands of toothpaste, but among ten different sizes. This creates a “plausibility” structure, a world in which choice just makes sense to us.

     What has this to do with patience? Be patient — we’re getting there. “Choice” is not the only unspoken assumption that so often directs our conclusions. We live in a world not only where you can choose among so many toothpastes, but a world in which you can get that toothpaste whenever you want. You can get instant cash, and use it to buy instant coffee, all within the confines of your car. And lest that car should trouble you, you can get your oil changed, and be on your way in ten minutes or less. If that doesn’t help, you can get instant approval on a loan for a new car.

     Instant service in many ways is a great blessing. But it can encourage us to be impatient, even about the good things. If I can be an instant winner with the lottery, why can’t I be an instant winner in my race toward sanctification? Why is God taking so long in teaching me patience? Perhaps because He delights to do so. Perhaps because you not only can’t hurry love, but you can’t hurry joy, peace, and patience, or any of the fruits of the Spirit. Virtues are things we are called to cultivate, not order online. They don’t come with the option of overnight shipping for a mere twenty dollars more.

     If we would cultivate these virtues, however, we must eradicate the weeds that choke it out. It isn’t enough to try to bootstrap our way to more patience. We have to dig deep into these plausibility structures, and see where they are leading us. In short, we need to live in light of the culture to which we have been called, not in the dark of the one from which we have come. We must not have our minds conformed to this world. Instead, they must be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

     Such wisdom doesn’t come from an instant cash machine. You won’t cook it up in a microwave. There is but one source, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him” (James 1:5). If we ask Him for wisdom, He will give it to us. If we receive wisdom, He will give us patience. But it may take a while. Such is the wisdom of God, and such is His patience with us.

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     R.C. Sproul Jr. has served previously as a pastor, professor, and teacher. He is author of numerous books. Some are listed below.

     R.C. Sproul Jr. Books |  Go to Books Page

Telling The Truth | 2 Timothy 4:2–3

By Alistair Begg

     A second lesson from the dungeon is the importance of telling the truth without ambiguity, whether it’s good news or bad news.

     As soon as Pharaoh’s cupbearer told Joseph his dream, Joseph came back with the interpretation (Genesis 40:12–13). By telling the man that the three branches he saw were three days, after which he would be restored to his position, Joseph was putting his truthfulness on the line. It would have been the height of foolishness for him to make such a prediction without the authority of God behind him. But that’s what Joseph had.

     He also told the truth to Pharaoh’s baker without stuttering when the baker came to Joseph hoping for the same good news the cupbearer had heard (v. 16).

     The baker had seen the change in the cupbearer’s countenance and had come to Joseph. “Hey, that was a nice thing you said to the cupbearer. I liked that. Three days and then back on the job. Well, I had a dream as well. Let me tell you what I dreamed, so you can give me a good interpretation too.” But Joseph’s interpretation was a prediction of the baker’s death (Genesis 40:18–19).

     Maybe the baker thought that since he and the other man were in the same circumstances, he could expect the same outcome as his neighbor.

     But here’s a lesson within a lesson. George Lawson points out, “Let us remember that divine providence is under no obligation to be equally kind to us all. And that prosperity and adversity, life and death, are distributed to men by One who has a right to do what He will with His own.” In other words, God is God, and He can do what He likes.

     Now it would have been easy for Joseph to soothe this man and tell him some sweet little lies. After all, in three days he would be dead, so there would be nothing to answer for in Joseph’s case if he lied to him.

     There are plenty of people in the pulpits of our churches who are willing to soothe the feelings of spiritually dying men and women, to assure them they are all right. But when you’re dealing with matters of eternity, do you really want to go someplace where someone will tell you lies?

     The lesson from the dungeon is that if you are going to be the servant of God, you’re going to have to tell the truth—the good, the bad, and the ugly—no matter what. And you’re going to have to live with the blast furnace of criticism and opposition.

     Witness the integrity of Joseph in this matter. Some people must have looked at him years later and said, “He became the prime minister of Egypt overnight.”

     No, he didn’t. God was fashioning Joseph for leadership in the crucible of suffering, hammering out his convictions on the anvil of life. And one thing God was teaching Joseph was this: “Joseph, tell the truth. Do what is right, because it is always right to do right.” Joseph learned the lesson, and he stood out in the midst of the malaise around him.

     Just before his death, Paul told his spiritual son and disciple, Timothy, “Preach the Word …. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear” (2 Timothy 4:2–3). Calvin says, “All love to be flattered. Hence the majority of teachers, in desiring to yield to the corrupt wishes of the world, adulterate the Word of God.”

     Joseph told the truth in the dungeon even when it was hard. What a shame that our nation is led for the most part not by people of this commitment, but by politicians who wait to see what popular sentiment is at the moment, and then follow it.

     Somebody has to stand up and tell the truth. If God’s people will not be strong and do exploits, then who shall?


     Dr. Alistair Begg | (Trent University; London School of Theology; Westminster Seminary) was born in Scotland and spent the first 30 years of life in the United Kingdom. Since September of 1983, he has been the senior pastor at Parkside Church in suburban Cleveland, Ohio. He is the daily speaker on the national radio program Truth For Life which stems from his weekly Bible teaching at Parkside. He and his wife, Susan, have three grown children.

     Alistair Begg Books |  Go to Books Page

Beacon of Holiness

By Alistair Begg 10/1/2004

     “If the Word does not dwell with power in us,” wrote Puritan John Owen, “it will not pass with power from us” (The Works of John Owen (16 Volume Set), vol. 16, p. 76.). This godly minister personified this truth in his personal life and public ministry more than three centuries ago. For years he carried the message of Jesus Christ into the trenches of a culture as chaotic as our own while simultaneously dealing with the death of his wife and all eleven of his children. John Owen was no ivory tower theologian, but rather a zealous pastor who worked to the brink of exhaustion to further the work of the Reformers. He is remembered for shining gospel light into the spiritually dark arenas of politics and academia. And his love of Scripture was clearly and forcefully articulated from the variety of pulpits into which God called him.

     Yet what gave John Owen success in ministry was not so much his oratory skill, nor his evangelistic zeal, nor even his love for the people he shepherded. John Owen was used mightily by God in all these ways because he was a man characterized by personal holiness. And in an age when the church is emulating the world, where it is no longer distinguishable from our pleasure-oriented culture, the example of John Owen shines like a beacon on a stormy night.

     Let’s consider whether we have allowed contemporary culture to infiltrate our minds and hearts. Have we inverted Christ’s desire that the church be in the world by bringing the world into the church instead? If we take an honest look, perhaps we’ll discover that we are contributing to this trend. Rather than relying solely on the sufficiency of God’s Word, are we employing counselors in our churches who apply worldly methods of psychological analysis to address felt needs? Have we adopted worldly means to reach the seekers who sit skeptically in the back pews rather than offering them the truths of the Gospel and the Christian life? Faithful teaching of God’s Word is vanishing. Are we among the number that have replaced preaching with elaborate drama productions aimed at entertaining? In terms of covenantal relationships, the rate of divorce and remarriage reflects societal statistics. Where do we stand on this issue? The church has become tolerant of all kinds of biblical compromise, casting aside principles that Owen and his contemporaries would have given their lives to protect and defend.

     Unlike Owen, we are in danger of falling prey to the belief that without entertainment and other-worldly concessions, no one will want what Jesus offers. Let’s not forget the exchange, in the nineteenth chapter of Matthew’s gospel, between Jesus and the rich young ruler when Jesus told the man the realities of true discipleship. As the rich man realized that personal sacrifice is required to live in God’s kingdom, he walked away. What did Jesus do? He did not do what many churches do today: run after the man in an effort to make the Gospel more appealing. No, Jesus let him go, because the only terms on which anyone can truly follow Christ are God’s terms.

     Owen engaged the culture without capitulating to it because his chief desire was to reflect God’s purity in his life and ministry. He remained faithful in his preaching to the truths of Scripture — even in the face of life-threatening persecution — because of his commitment to holiness. People flocked to hear Owen preach because he reflected God’s character. Owen wrote, as noted in Peter Toon’s book God's Statesman: The Life and Work of John Owen: “I hope I may own in sincerity that my heart’s desire unto God, and the chief design of my life … are, that mortification and universal holiness may be promoted in my own life and in the hearts and ways of others, to the glory of God, so that the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ may be adorned in all things” (p. 56).

     I fear that personal holiness is not a priority within the church — even among its leaders — as it was in the days of the Puritans. Many ministers are often nowadays more concerned with visual growth and success than with cultivating personal purity. That was certainly not the case with John Owen. Rather than devoting much time to developing innovative amusements for the worship hour, Owen made private communion with God a top priority. He understood why the apostle Paul wrote: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Rom. 12:2). The Word of God is the means employed by the Holy Spirit to transform us into the image of Christ, so if preaching and evangelism are to be effective, private communion with God in His Word must be more important than discovering the latest ministry technique. Owen wrote that “whatever else be done in churches, if the pastors of them, or those who are so esteemed, are not exemplary in gospel obedience and holiness, religion will not be carried on and improved among the people” (Works, vol. 16, p. 88).

     Yet holiness isn’t just a necessity for ministers. If the church is to recover its distinctiveness, holiness is a requirement for each individual member. Hebrews 12:14 says, “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” Unless we recover this emphasis on holiness, how will the world look in and be able to see the Jesus we profess? Evangelistic efforts will ring hollow if such efforts are not accompanied by personal purity.

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     Dr. Alistair Begg | (Trent University; London School of Theology; Westminster Seminary) was born in Scotland and spent the first 30 years of life in the United Kingdom. Since September of 1983, he has been the senior pastor at Parkside Church in suburban Cleveland, Ohio. He is the daily speaker on the national radio program Truth For Life which stems from his weekly Bible teaching at Parkside. He and his wife, Susan, have three grown children.

     Alistair Begg Books |  Go to Books Page

The Death of Pride

By R.C. Sproul Jr. 10/1/2004

     I once had a girlfriend who was a classic liberal. Don’t misunderstand. She wasn’t a classical liberal, that is, one with a profound desire for liberty, one who was skeptical about the role of the state. No, strangely enough, this particular young lady was the prototype of a modern liberal. She never met a social cause she didn’t like. She was so far off center that she was the left wing-tip. She was a graduate of the mecca of liberals, the University of California at Berkeley. Her error motivated me not to end the relationship, but to try to put an end to her liberalism. I became, however briefly, an evangelist for limited government, for the free market. I started out by explaining that even Marx himself recognized that a free economy created a great deal of stuff. Productivity wasn’t the problem, according to Marx, in the capitalist economy. Instead, the problem was the distribution of the wealth that was created. So far, because I was in agreement with Marx, I was in agreement with her. Then I used one of my favorite analogies, “So you see,” I said, “capitalism provides, I confess, different sized portions of the donut. Socialism, I’m sorry to say, provides equal portions of the hole.”

     The trouble was, she didn’t see the trouble. Trying to help her see the point I asked her this: “Would you rather live in a world where everyone makes $5000 a year, or would you rather live in a world where the poorest people earn $100,000 a year, but the wealthiest earn $10,000,000 a year? She didn’t hesitate for a moment in making her choice. Better everyone at the same spot well under the poverty line, than for some to have more than others.

     Egalitarianism runs deep in our culture. We have taken the wise notion of our fathers, that all men are created equal and twisted it beyond recognition. They, in so claiming, were arguing that the law was to be blind to issues of background and wealth, that justice was indeed for all. The camel nudged its nose into the tent when we began to clamor instead for “equal opportunity.” Now society would be structured such that everyone would have to start the race at the same place. When this didn’t achieve the results desired we slipped to handicapping the race such that everyone will finish the same. Now we want an equal ending.

     Which may explain why it is that American Christians seem to have such a difficult time with the doctrine of election, especially as it is expressed in the doctrine of limited atonement. Our sense of fairness is not built around a concept of equity or fairness, but is built around a concept of equality, which is often rather unfair. We Americans tend to treat the grace of God the way our school teachers used to treat our treats — we were only allowed to eat them if we had enough for everyone. If God should show kindness toward one human, we reason, He is duty bound to do the same for everyone. Praise God that our king transcends these cultural quirks. Praise God He is not subject to the folly of His subjects.

     John Owen, in what is perhaps his greatest work, The Death of Death in the Death of Christ: A Treatise in Which the Whole Controversy about Universal Redemption is Fully Discussed, goes to great pains to help us see the fulfillment of God’s divine prerogative, that He will have mercy on whom He will have mercy. Because we are all sinners, God owes us all only His just condemnation. But God, who is rich in mercy, has condescended to shower His mercy upon those whom He has chosen, for His good pleasure. To some He shows this mercy; to others He manifests justice.

     It is not, however, simply the American spirit of egalitarianism that gets in our way. We are a strange bunch, who want at the same time to live in that place where we all receive blue ribbons, but we also want to earn what we have. We are at the same time a bootstrap people. You don’t conquer a continent, after all, by sitting around waiting for your fair share of the donut hole. This pushes us to sundry forms of Pelagian theology wherein we claw our own way to heaven. These paradoxes are reconciled then when we see that we want God to treat us all the same not because that is our only chance, but so that when we do win the race, we can brag that we did it on our own. It is not ultimately a desire to make God look good in the eyes of socialists that makes us push Him to treat us all the same. Instead it is a desire to make ourselves look good. We want the credit.

     While The Death of Death in the Death of Christ: A Treatise in Which the Whole Controversy about Universal Redemption is Fully Discussed dealt a death blow to the notion that God treats us all exactly the same, it is the death of Christ that puts to death any notion that we can do it on our own. The death of Christ does not make it possible for all of us to be saved, but certain for none of us. His death doesn’t move us closer to the finish line, and those who are good will finish. No, He died because we are dead in ourselves. Put a dead man just one inch from the finish line, and he will never finish. Instead, by His death we were made alive. As one wise wag put it, man doesn’t bring the final push to salvation. He doesn’t bring self-generated faith to the party. He doesn’t add his paltry works to the equation. No, what man contributes to his salvation is the need for salvation. We bring the sin that needs to be covered. Let, therefore, no man boast.

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     R.C. Sproul Jr. has served previously as a pastor, professor, and teacher. He is author of numerous books. Some are listed below.

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A Loving Provision

By R.C. Sproul 11/1/2004

     In recent years, we have been treated to the invention of a word previously unknown, or at least not used. That word that has entered into the general vocabulary of our time is the word oxymoron. A typical example of an oxymoron might be the phrase “jumbo shrimp.” The words that are used to describe a particular thing seem to be self-contradictory, or at least standing in an antithetical relationship. From this perspective, one might say that in theology the phrase “common grace” is such an oxymoron. I say this for this reason: God’s grace can never be reduced to the level of experience that may be deemed “common.” Though God’s grace in one sense is commonplace, it is always and everywhere an expression of something that He gives that is undeserved by the creature. That God bestows any grace at all upon fallen creatures is indeed an uncommon manifestation of His sovereign generosity. We neither merit nor deserve such benefits.

     Having said this, however, we need to look at the specific intent of the use of the term common with respect to grace. Common grace is distinguished not so much from what we might call uncommon grace, but rather from what we call “special grace.” Common grace refers to several concepts or experiences that we observe as Christians. On the one hand, we realize that in God’s divine providence He pours out benefits that are enjoyed not simply by believers, but by believers and non-believers alike. With respect to such benefits and such activities, the common grace of God is linked closely to two distinct aspects of the love of God. As I explained in my article from the May 2004 issue of Tabletalk, we distinguish among three distinct types of the love of God, two of which involve common grace.

     The first of these aspects is God’s love of benevolence. The term benevolence means simply “good will.” And God’s love for the human race may be defined in terms of His having a generally kind disposition to all of His creatures, fallen as they may be. This, of course, does not negate God’s stance of wrath and anger towards those who continue in disobedience and in resisting the proper worship and gratitude the creature owes to God. But God’s love of benevolence reflects His good will towards all creatures.

     This disposition, or kindness, that God displays towards all creatures indiscriminately is linked to the second type of love that we use to define God’s character. That is His love of beneficence. Where benevolence has to do with God’s will, beneficence has to do with God’s actions as they pertain to His activity on behalf of the whole created realm. We see that He not only has a divine kindness towards His creatures, He acts with a loving provision for the whole human race.

     Jesus said that rain falls upon the just as well as the unjust. If we have two farmers living side by side, laboring each day to bring forth produce from the soil, we know that both farmers require the light of the sun, as well as a sufficient amount of rain to bring forth a healthy crop. If the two farmers are distinguished in terms of faith, one being a regenerate believer and the other an unregenerate non-believer, we don’t expect the sun simply to shine on the believer’s fields and the rain simply to moisten his crop, while at the same time God withholds the gifts of rain and sunshine from the unregenerate. On the contrary, both farmers reap the benefits of the grace of God. He owes neither farmer the gifts of rain and sunshine, as both of those come from His sovereign bounty. Nevertheless, He pours out these gifts to both believer and unbeliever, commonly. So, in this respect, when we speak of the love of God in His beneficence, His beneficence is common, that is, the whole world benefits from God’s grace to a certain degree.

     We look also to the gifts that God gives and provides for people. We can go to unbelieving medical doctors who practice their trade perhaps with a superior skill than believers. It is not simply the believer who is a gifted physician, a gifted musician, or a gifted accountant. God blesses all sorts of people with gifts and talents, and these gifts all flow from His grace. They are not restricted simply to believers.

     In like manner, God’s law is given to benefit the whole of mankind. God established government initially with an angel guarding the entrance to Paradise. Such government involves a restraint of evil. When God gives such restraints to evil, that restraining power gives benefit to the whole world. As fallen as the world is, and as many atrocities that are committed by wicked individuals or corrupt governments, the world would manifest much greater depravity and decadence if not for the restraint of evil by God’s common grace. We see that God, in His common grace, restrains evil from going unchecked, even among the most wicked people and nations.

     Finally, those endeavors to which we as Christians give our attention that have salutary benefits for the whole are acts of common grace. For example, we march with the atheist and those of other religions to combat common evils such as abortion and human rights violations. These issues are not issues reserved for Christians but for the welfare of the entire human community. Common grace matters call the Christian often to work in arenas where there is a mixture of wheat and tares growing together.

     In the final analysis, the grace that is most significant for our concern is that special grace of regeneration, or that special love of God called His love of complacency, the benefits of which are directed solely to His elect. Only the elect receive that grace, and that’s what distinguishes the elect from the non-elect. We must not think of common grace as a saving grace given indiscriminately or provided indiscriminately by God’s intent to the whole human race. That would be to step into a semi-Pelagian or Arminian understanding of common grace. Common grace does not include within it the divine and sovereign selective grace that is reserved for His elect.

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Robert Charles Sproul, 2/13/1939 – 12/14/2017 was an American theologian, author, and ordained pastor in the Presbyterian Church in America. Dr. R.C. Sproul was founder and chairman of Ligonier Ministries, an international Christian education and discipleship organization located near Orlando, Fla. He was also copastor of Saint Andrew’s Chapel in Sanford, Fla., chancellor of Reformation Bible College, and executive editor of Tabletalk magazine. Dr. Sproul has contributed dozens of articles to national evangelical publications, has spoken at conferences, churches, and schools around the world, and has written more than one hundred books. He also served as general editor of the Reformation Study Bible.

     R.C. Sproul Books |  Go to Books Page

The Institutes of the Christian Religion

Translated by Henry Beveridge

     6. This is the reason why the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews ascribes to faith all the good works which the holy patriarchs are said to have performed, and estimates them merely by faith (Heb. 11:2). In regard to this liberty there is a remarkable passage in the Epistle to the Romans, where Paul argues, "Sin shall not have dominion over you; for ye are not under the law, but under grace," (Rom. 6:14). For after he had exhorted believers, "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof: Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin; but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God;" they might have objected that they still bore about with them a body full of lust, that sin still dwelt in them. He therefore comforts them by adding, that they are freed from the law; as if he had said, Although you feel that sin is not yet extinguished, and that righteousness does not plainly live in you, you have no cause for fear and dejection, as if God were always offended because of the remains of sin, since by grace you are freed from the law, and your works are not tried by its standard. Let those, however who infer that they may sin because they are not under the law, understand that they have no right to this liberty, the end of which is to encourage us in well-doing.

7. The third part of this liberty is that we are not bound before God to any observance of external things which are in themselves indifferent (adia'phora), but that we are now at full liberty either to use or omit them. The knowledge of this liberty is very necessary to us; where it is wanting our consciences will have no rest, there will be no end of superstition. In the present day many think us absurd in raising a question as to the free eating of flesh, the free use of dress and holidays, and similar frivolous trifles, as they think them; but they are of more importance than is commonly supposed. For when once the conscience is entangled in the net, it enters a long and inextricable labyrinth, from which it is afterwards most difficult to escape. When a man begins to doubt whether it is lawful for him to use linen for sheets, shirts, napkins, and handkerchiefs, he will not long be secure as to hemp, and will at last have doubts as to tow; for he will revolve in his mind whether he cannot sup without napkins, or dispense with handkerchiefs. Should he deem a daintier food unlawful, he will afterwards feel uneasy for using loafbread and common eatables, because he will think that his body might possibly be supported on a still meaner food. If he hesitates as to a more genial wine, he will scarcely drink the worst with a good conscience; at last he will not dare to touch water if more than usually sweet and pure. In fine, he will come to this, that he will deem it criminal to trample on a straw lying in his way. For it is no trivial dispute that is here commenced, the point in debate being, whether the use of this thing or that is in accordance with the divine will, which ought to take precedence of all our acts and counsels. Here some must by despair be hurried into an abyss, while others, despising God and casting off his fear, will not be able to make a way for themselves without ruin. When men are involved in such doubts whatever be the direction in which they turn, every thing they see must offend their conscience.

8. "I know," says Paul, "that there is nothing unclean of itself," (by unclean meaning unholy); "but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean," (Rom. 14:14). By these words he makes all external things subject to our liberty, provided the nature of that liberty approves itself to our minds as before God. But if any superstitious idea suggests scruples, those things which in their own nature were pure are to us contaminated. Wherefore the apostle adds, "Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that which he alloweth. And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin," (Rom. 14:22, 23). When men, amid such difficulties, proceed with greater confidence, securely doing whatever pleases them, do they not in so far revolt from God? Those who are thoroughly impressed with some fear of God, if forced to do many things repugnant to their consciences are discouraged and filled with dread. All such persons receive none of the gifts of God with thanksgiving, by which alone Paul declares that all things are sanctified for our use (1 Tim. 4:5). By thanksgiving I understand that which proceeds from a mind recognizing the kindness and goodness of God in his gifts. For many, indeed, understand that the blessings which they enjoy are the gifts of God, and praise God in their words; but not being persuaded shalt these have been given to them, how can they give thanks to God as the giver? In one word, we see whither this liberty tends--viz. that we are to use the gifts of God without any scruple of conscience, without any perturbation of mind, for the purpose for which he gave them: in this way our souls may both have peace with him, and recognize his liberality towards us. For here are comprehended all ceremonies of free observance, so that while our consciences are not to be laid under the necessity of observing them, we are also to remember that, by the kindness of God, the use of them is made subservient to edification.

9. It is, however, to be carefully observed, that Christian liberty is in all its parts a spiritual matter, the whole force of which consists in giving peace to trembling consciences, whether they are anxious and disquieted as to the forgiveness of sins, or as to whether their imperfect works, polluted by the infirmities of the flesh, are pleasing to God, or are perplexed as to the use of things indifferent. It is, therefore, perversely interpreted by those who use it as a cloak for their lusts, that they may licentiously abuse the good gifts of God, or who think there is no liberty unless it is used in the presence of men, and, accordingly, in using it pay no regard to their weak brethren. Under this head, the sins of the present age are more numerous. For there is scarcely any one whose means allow him to live sumptuously, who does not delight in feasting, and dress, and the luxurious grandeur of his house, who wishes not to surpass his neighbor in every kind of delicacy, and does not plume himself amazingly on his splendor. And all these things are defended under the pretext of Christian liberty. They say they are things indifferent: I admit it, provided they are used indifferently. But when they are too eagerly longed for, when they are proudly boasted of, when they are indulged in luxurious profusion, things which otherwise were in themselves lawful are certainly defiled by these vices. Paul makes an admirable distinction in regard to things indifferent: "Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled" (Tit. 1:15). For why is a woe pronounced upon the rich who have received their consolation? (Luke 6:24), who are full, who laugh now, who "lie upon beds of ivory and stretch themselves upon their couches;" "join house to house," and "lay field to field;" "and the harp and the viol, the tablet and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts," (Amos 6:6; Isa. 5:8, 10). Certainly ivory and gold, and riches, are the good creatures of God, permitted, nay destined, by divine providence for the use of man; nor was it ever forbidden to laugh, or to be full, or to add new to old and hereditary possessions, or to be delighted with music, or to drink wine. This is true, but when the means are supplied to roll and wallow in luxury, to intoxicate the mind and soul with present and be always hunting after new pleasures, is very far from a legitimate use of the gifts of God. Let them, therefore, suppress immoderate desire, immoderate profusion, vanity, and arrogance, that they may use the gifts of God purely with a pure conscience. When their mind is brought to this state of soberness, they will be able to regulate the legitimate use. On the other hand, when this moderation is wanting, even plebeian and ordinary delicacies are excessive. For it is a true saying, that a haughty mind often dwells in a coarse and homely garb, while true humility lurks under fine linen and purple. Let every one then live in his own station, poorly or moderately, or in splendor; but let all remember that the nourishment which God gives is for life, not luxury, and let them regard it as the law of Christian liberty, to learn with Paul in whatever state they are, "therewith to be content," to know "both how to be abased," and "how to abound," "to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need," (Phil. 4:11).

10. Very many also err in this: as if their liberty were not safe and entire, without having men to witness it, they use it indiscriminately and imprudently, and in this way often give offense to weak brethren. You may see some in the present day who cannot think they possess their liberty unless they come into possession of it by eating flesh on Friday. Their eating I blame not, but this false notion must be driven from their minds: for they ought to think that their liberty gains nothing new by the sight of men, but is to be enjoyed before God, and consists as much in abstaining as in using. If they understand that it is of no consequence in the sight of God whether they eat flesh or eggs, whether they are clothed in red or in black, this is amply sufficient. The conscience to which the benefit of this liberty was due is loosed. Therefore, though they should afterwards, during their whole life, abstain from flesh, and constantly wear one color, they are not less free. Nay, just because they are free, they abstain with a free conscience. But they err most egregiously in paying no regard to the infirmity of their brethren, with which it becomes us to bear, so as not rashly to give them offense. But [458] it is sometimes also of consequence that we should assert our liberty before men. This I admit: yet must we use great caution in the mode, lest we should cast off the care of the weak whom God has specially committed to us.

11. I will here make some observations on offenses, what distinctions are to be made between them, what kind are to be avoided and what disregarded. This will afterwards enable us to determine what scope there is for our liberty among men. We are pleased with the common division into offense given and offense taken, since it has the plain sanction of Scripture, and not improperly expresses what is meant. If from unseasonable levity or wantonness, or rashness, you do any thing out of order or not in its own place, by which the weak or unskillful are offended, it may be said that offense has been given by you, since the ground of offense is owing to your fault. And in general, offense is said to be given in any matter where the person from whom it has proceeded is in fault. Offense is said to be taken when a thing otherwise done, not wickedly or unseasonably, is made an occasion of offense from malevolence or some sinister feeling. For here offense was not given, but sinister interpreters ceaselessly take offense. By the former kind, the weak only, by the latter, the ill-tempered and Pharisaical are offended. Wherefore, we shall call the one the offense of the weak, the other the offense of Pharisees, and we will so temper the use of our liberty as to make it yield to the ignorance of weak brethren, but not to the austerity of Pharisees. What is due to infirmity is fully shown by Paul in many passages. "Him that is weak in the faith receive ye." Again, "Let us not judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling-block, or an occasion to fall, in his brother's way;" and many others to the same effect in the same place, to which, instead of quoting them here, we refer the reader. The sum is, "We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbor for his good to edification." elsewhere he says, "Take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling-block to them that are weak." Again "Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, that eat, asking no question for conscience sake." "Conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other." Finally, "Give none offense, neither to the Jews nor to the Gentiles nor to the Church of God." Also in another passage, "Brethren, ye have been called into liberty, only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another." [459] Thus, indeed, it is: our liberty was not given us against our weak neighbors, whom charity enjoins us to serve in all things, but rather that, having peace with God in our minds, we should live peaceably among men. What value is to be set upon the offense of the Pharisees we learn from the words of our Lord, in which he says, "Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind," (Mt. 15:14). The disciples had intimated that the Pharisees were offended at his words. He answers that they are to be let alone that their offense is not to be regarded.

     Christian Classics Ethereal Library / Public Domain

     Institutes of the Christian Religion

Read The Psalms In "1" Year

Psalm 39

What is the measure of my days?
39 To The Choirmaster - To Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

1 I said, “I will guard my ways,
that I may not sin with my tongue;
I will guard my mouth with a muzzle,
so long as the wicked are in my presence.”
2 I was mute and silent;
I held my peace to no avail,
and my distress grew worse.
3 My heart became hot within me.
As I mused, the fire burned;
then I spoke with my tongue:

ESV Study Bible

By Gleason Archer Jr.

1 and  2 Kings

     As has already been indicated, these two books were originally counted as one in the Hebrew canon. The title is altogether appropriate in view of the subject matter, for the books contain a record of the careers of the kings of Israel and Judah from the time of Solomon to the downfall of the Jewish monarchy before the armies of Nebuchadnezzar in 587 B.C. As pointed out before, the Septuagint reckons these two books as 3 and 4 Kingdoms (Basileiōn).

      The theme of these two books was to demonstrate on the basis of Israel’s history that the welfare of the nation ultimately depended upon the sincerity of its faithfulness to the covenant with Yahweh, and that the success of any ruler was to be measured by the degree of his adherence to the Mosaic constitution and his maintenance of a pure and God-honoring testimony before the heathen.  The purpose of this record was to set forth those events which were important from the standpoint of God and His program of redemption. The author had no intention of glorifying Israel’s heroes out of nationalistic motives; hence he omitted even those passing achievements which would have assumed great importance in the eyes of a secular historian. His prime concern was to show how each successive ruler dealt with God in his covenant responsibilities.

Outline of 1 and 2 Kings

I. The reign of Solomon,  1 Kings 1:1–11:43

     A. David’s final arrangements and the suppression of Adonijah,  1:1–2:11
     B. The beginning of Solomon’s reign,  2:12–46
     C. Solomon’s prayer for wisdom after his marriage to Pharaoh’s daughter,  3:1–28
     D. Solomon’s administration of the kingdom,  4:1–34
     E. Solomon’s erection of the temple,  5:1–7:51
     F. Dedication of temple and bestowal of God’s promise,  8:1–66
     G. Solomon’s wealth and glory; the Queen of Sheba,  9:1–10:29
     H. Solomon’s apostasy, decline and death,  11:1–43

II. Early kings of the Divided Monarchy,  12:1–16:28

     A. Rehoboam’s folly; the revolt under Jeroboam,  12:1–14:31
     B. Abijah and Asa of Judah,  15:1–24
     C. Nadab, Baashah, and Elah of Israel,  15:25–16:14
     D. Zimri and Omri of Israel,  16:15–28

III. Period of alliance between Judah and Israel,  16:29–2 Kings 9:37

     A. Ahab and Elijah, in the test on Mount Carmel,  16:29–18:46
     B. Ahab and Elijah until Ahab’s death at Ramoth-Gilead,  19:1–22:53
     C. Ahaziah of Israel,  2 Kings 1:1–18
     D. The anointing of Elisha and death of Elijah,  2:1–25
     E. Jehoram and Jehoshaphat against the Moabites,  3:1–27
     F. Miracles of Elisha; the cleansing of Naaman,  4:1–5:27
     G. Wars with Ben-Hadad and the deliverance of Samaria,  6:1–7:20
     H. Edom revolts from Joram of Judah, who is defeated by Hazael of Damascus ( 8:20–29)
     I. Elisha’s mission to Hazael and Jehu; the death of Jezebel,  9:1–9:37

IV. Decline and fall of Israel,  2 Kings 10:1–17:41

     A. Jehu’s extermination of the house of Omri and the worshipers of Baal,  10:1–36
     B. Athaliah succeeded by Joash of Judah,  11:1–12:21
     C. Jehoahaz and Jehoash of Israel,  13:1–25
     D. Amaziah and Azariah (Uzziah) of Judah,  14:1–22; 15:1–7
     E. Jeroboam II,  14:23–29
     F. Last kings of Israel: Zechariah, Shallum, Menahem, Pekahiah, Pekah, Hoshea,  15:8–31
     G. Jotham and Ahaz of Judah,  15:32–16:20
     H. Fall of Samaria; its resettlement by semiconverted pagans,  17:1–41

V. Jewish monarchy after the fall of Samaria,  18:1–25:30

     A. Hezekiah and Sennacherib,  18:1–19:37
     B. Hezekiah’s illness; his display of wealth to the Chaldean envoys,  20:1–21
     C. Wicked King Manasseh; his son Amon,  21:1–26
     D. Reforms of Josiah,  22:1–23:30
     E. Final kings and the fall of Jerusalem,  23:31–25:21
     F. Assassination of Gedaliah; favor shown to Jehoiachin,  25:22–30


Kings: Date of Composition

     As to the sources of this work, it is obvious that the prophetic author has drawn even more largely upon prior written documents than did the author of  Judges or  Samuel. Three such documents are actually named: (1) The Book of the Acts of Solomon ( 1 Kings 11:41 ); (2) The Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah (passim); (3) The Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel (passim). It may fairly be inferred that these three works largely consisted in the notations of the official court chronicler or recorder, the mazkɩ̂r mentioned in  2 Sam. 8:16. Also not cited but obviously borrowed is a fourth source,  Isaiah 36–39, large sections of which have been taken over almost verbatim in  2 Kings 18–20. (Since the author of  2 Kings carries the narrative of Hebrew history to the fall of Jerusalem and thereafter, it is obvious that he borrowed from  Isaiah rather than the other way around. Some critics have argued that the  Isaiah chapters were copied from  Kings, but the evidence on which they have relied can just as well be interpreted to favor the opposite conclusion.

     As to the date of the composition, it is obvious from the foregoing that prior written sources were relied upon, coming from as early a period as the reign of Solomon. Final composition is to be dated after the fall of Jerusalem, probably in the early exile; yet it is possible that only the final chapter comes from exilic times, inasmuch as the frequently recurring phrase “unto this day” throughout the book indicates unmistakably a pre-exilic perspective,  1 Kings 8:61; 9:13, 21; 10:12; 12:7; 22:19; 2 Kings 7:9; 17:34 (8x).

     Talmudic tradition asserts that Jeremiah was the author of  Kings (Baba Bathra, 15a), a suggestion which commends itself to Steinmueller. Since the author speaks from a consistently prophetic standpoint and is a man of great literary ability, it is possible that  Jeremiah may have composed everything except the final chapter. One very strong consideration in favor of this conjecture is that there is no mention whatever of  Jeremiah himself in the chapters dealing with Josiah and his successors. Apart from modesty on the part of the author, it is hard to account for the failure to mention so important a factor in Judah’s history as was the ministry of Jeremiah, her last great prophet. As for the final chapter, it seems to have been written by someone dwelling in Babylon, rather than in Egypt, where Jeremiah met his death.

     Liberal criticism regards the books of  Kings as composed of two main strata, one a pre-exilic source which knows nothing of the fall of Jerusalem and regards worship on the high places outside Jerusalem as perfectly legitimate; the second stratum comes from the work of the Deuteronomic school which flourished about 550 B.C., (according to the theory), which looks back upon the fall of Jerusalem and the judgment of exile as already accomplished facts, and explains them as the result of failing to limit the worship of Jehovah to the temple at Jerusalem. This school of thought allegedly reinterpreted Israelite history so as to imply condemnation even for King Solomon for sacrificing at Gibeah prior to the erection of his temple. It goes without saying that the theory of a Deuteronomic school depends upon the Josianic dating of the book of  Deuteronomy, the evidence for which is being increasingly recognized as too slender for successful defense. That the attitude of  Deuteronomy frequently emerges in the moral judgments of  1 and  2 Kings may be freely admitted, but this is admirably accounted for by the Mosaic authorship of that book. (The same is true of the Deuteronomic influences which have been noted in the books of  Samuel and  Judges. ) Obviously the authors of these earlier works were familiar with  Deuteronomy as well as the rest of the Torah, and considered it to be authoritative as being authored by Moses himself.

     A Survey of Old Testament Introduction

The Coming Prince

By Sir Robert Anderson 1841-1918

Chapter 15 The Coming Prince

     Through the gradual unfolding, it may be, of influences even now in operation; or far more probably as the outcome of some great European crisis in the future, this confederation of nations [27] shall be developed, and thus the stage will be prepared on which shall appear that awful Being, the great leader of men in the eventful days which are to close the era of Gentile supremacy.

[27] I say nations, not kingdoms, advisedly, for though they will ultimately be kingdoms, i. e., under monarchical government, yet before the advent of the Kaiser such may not be the case. That this division of the Roman earth will take place before his appearance is expressly stated; but whether a year, a decade, or a century before, we are not informed.
     If we are to understand aright the predicted course of the Antichrist's career, certain points connected with it must be clearly kept in view. The first is that up to a certain epoch he will be, notwithstanding his pre-eminence, no more than human. And here we must judge of the future by the past. At two-and-twenty years of age, Alexander crossed the Hellespont, the prince of a petty Grecian state. Four years later he had founded an Empire and given a new direction to the history of the world.

     In the career of Napoleon Bonaparte, modern history affords a parallel still more striking and complete. When, now just a hundred years ago, he entered the French military school at Brienne, he was an unknown lad, without even the advantages which rank and wealth afford. So utterly obscure was his position that, not only did he owe his admission to the school to the influence of the Governor of Corsica, but calumny has found it possible to use that trifling act of friendly patronage to the disparagement of his mother's name. If then such a man, by the gigantic force of his personal qualities, combined with the accident of favoring circumstances, could attain the place which history has assigned to him, the fact affords the fullest answer to every objection which can be urged against the credibility of the predicted career of the man of prophecy.

     Nor will it avail to urge that the last fifty years have so developed the mental activity of civilized races, and have produced such a spirit of independence, that the suggestion of a career like Napoleon's being repeated in days to come involves an anachronism. "In proportion as the general standard of mental cultivation is raised, and man made equal with man, the ordinary power of genius is diminished, but its extraordinary power is increased, its reach deepened, its hold rendered more firm. As men become familiar with the achievements and the exercise of talent, they learn to despise and disregard its daily examples, and to be more independent of mere men of ability; but they only become more completely in the power of gigantic intellect, and the slaves of pre-eminent and unapproachable talent." [28]


[28] Alford, Gr. Test. Proleg. 2 Thessalonians, § 36.
     By the sheer force of transcendent genius the man of prophecy will gain a place of undisputed pre-eminence in the world; but if the facts of his after career are to be understood, considerations of a wholly different kind must be taken into account. A strange crisis marks his course. At first the patron of religion, a true "eldest son of the church," he becomes a relentless and profane persecutor. At first no more than a king of men, commanding the allegiance of the Roman earth, he afterwards claims to be divine, and demands the worship of Christendom.

     And we have seen how this extraordinary change in his career takes place at that epoch of tremendous import in the history of the future, the beginning of the 1, 260 days of the latter half of Daniel's seventieth week. Then it is that that mysterious event takes place, described as "war in heaven" between the Archangel and the Dragon. As the result of that amazing struggle, Satan and his angels are "cast out into the earth," and the Seer bewails mankind because the devil is come down into their midst, "having great wrath because he knoweth that he hath but a short time" (Revelation 12:7, 12).

     The next feature in the vision is the rise of the ten-horned Beast. (Revelation 13:1) This is not the event described in the seventh of Daniel. The Beast, doubtless, is the same both in Daniel and the Apocalypse, representing the last great empire upon earth; but in the Apocalypse it appears at a later stage of its development. Three periods of its history are marked in Daniel. In the first it has ten horns. In the second it has eleven, for the little horn comes up among the ten. In the third, it has but eight, for the eleventh has grown in power, and three of the ten have been torn away by it. Up to this point Daniel's vision represents the Beast merely as "the fourth kingdom upon earth," the Roman empire as revived in future times, and here the vision turns away from the history of the Beast to describe the action of the little horn as a blasphemer and persecutor. [29]


[29] The passage (Daniel 7:2-14) is quoted in full ante. The distinctions above noticed clear up the seeming inconsistency between Daniel's visions and the Revelation alluded to ante.
Daniel 7:2-14 2 Daniel declared, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. 3 And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. 4 The first was like a lion and had eagles’ wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it. 5 And behold, another beast, a second one, like a bear. It was raised up on one side. It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told, ‘Arise, devour much flesh.’ 6 After this I looked, and behold, another, like a leopard, with four wings of a bird on its back. And the beast had four heads, and dominion was given to it. 7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. 8 I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.

9 “As I looked,

thrones were placed,
and the Ancient of Days took his seat;
his clothing was white as snow,
and the hair of his head like pure wool;
his throne was fiery flames;
its wheels were burning fire.
10 A stream of fire issued
and came out from before him;
a thousand thousands served him,
and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him;
the court sat in judgment,
and the books were opened.

11 “I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was killed, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. 12 As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.

13 “I saw in the night visions,

and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
14 And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.

     It is at this epoch that Revelation 13 opens. The three first stages of the history of the empire are past, and a fourth has been developed. It is no longer a confederacy of nations bound together by treaty, with a Napoleon rising up in the midst of them and struggling for supremacy; but a confederacy of kings who are the lieutenants of one great Kaiser, a man whose transcendent greatness has secured to him an undisputed pre-eminence. And this is the man whom the Dragon will single out to administer his awful power on earth in days to come. And from the hour in which he sells himself to Satan he will be so energized by Satan, that "ALL power and signs and lying wonders" shall characterize his after course. [30]

[30] ho anomos … ou estin ha parousia kat energeian tou Satana en pasa dunamei, kai sameiois, kai tepasi pseudous (2 Thessalonians 2:8-9).
Thessalonians 2:8-9 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders,   ESV

     There is a danger lest in dwelling on these visions as though they were enigmas to be solved, we should forget how appalling are the events of which they speak, and how tremendous the forces which will be in exercise at the time of their accomplishment. During this age of grace Satan's power on earth is so restrained that men forget his very existence. This, indeed, will be the secret of his future triumphs. And yet how unspeakably terrible must be the dragon's power, witness the temptation of our Lord! It is written, "The devil, taking Him up into an high mountain, showed unto Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time; and the devil said unto Him, All this power will I give Thee, and the glory of them, for that is delivered unto me, and to whomsoever I will I give it. If Thou, therefore, wilt worship me, all shall be Thine." (Luke 4:5-7)

Luke 4:5-7 4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” 5 And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”   ESV

     It is this same awful being who shall give to the Beast his throne, his power, and great authority, (Revelation 8:2) — all that Christ refused in the days of His humiliation. The mind that has realized this stupendous fact will not be slow to accept what follows:

     "And power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations; and all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb" (Revelation 13:7-8).

     Of the events which afterwards must follow upon earth, it behooves us to speak with deep solemnity and studied reserve. The phenomenon of sudden and absolute darkness is inconceivably terrible, even when eagerly looked for with full intelligence of the causes which produce it. [31] How unspeakable then would be its awfulness, if unexpected, unaccounted for, and prolonged, it may be for days together. And such shall be the sign which Holy Writ declares shall mark the advent of earth's last great woe. [32] The signs and wonders of Satanic power shall still command the homage of mankind, while the thunders of a heaven no longer silent will break forth upon the apostate race. Then will be the time of "the seven last plagues," wherein "is filled up the wrath of God," — the time when "the vials of the wrath of God" shall be poured out upon the earth. (Revelation 15:1; 16:1.) And if in this day of grace the heights and depths of God's longsuffering mercy transcend all human thoughts, His WRATH will be no less Divine. "The day of vengeance of our God," "the great and the terrible day of the Lord," — such are the names divinely given to describe that time of unexampled horror.


[31] The Astronomer Royal (Sir G. B. Airy) used these words in a lecture delivered at the Royal Institution, 4th July, 1853, upon the total solar eclipses of 1842 and 1851: "The phenomenon, in fact, is one of the most terrible that man can witness, and no degree of partial eclipses gives any idea of its horror."

[32] "The sun shall be turned into darkness... before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come" (Joel 2:31).
     And yet when in the midnight darkness of the last apostasy, Divine longsuffering will only serve to blind and harden, mercy itself shall welcome the awful breaking of the day of vengeance, for blessing lies beyond it. Another day is still to follow. Earth's history, as unfolded in the Scriptures, reaches; on to a Sabbatic age of blessedness and peace; an age when heaven shall rule upon the earth, when, "the Lord shall rejoice in all His works," (Psalm 104:31) and prove Himself to be the God of every creature He has made (Psalm 145:9-16).

     Further still, the veil is raised, and a brief glimpse afforded us of a glorious eternity beyond, when every trace of sin shall have been wiped out for ever, when heaven will join with earth, and "the tabernacle of God" — the dwelling place of the Almighty — shall be with men, "and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God" [33]


[33] Revelation 21:3. The order of these events is noticed, ante.
     It was a calamity for the Church of God when the light of prophecy became dimmed in fruitless controversy, and the study of these visions, vouchsafed by God to warn, and guide, and cheer His saints in evil days, was dismissed as utterly unprofitable. They abound in promises which God designed to feed His people's faith and fire their zeal, and a special blessing rests on those who read, and hear, and cherish them. (Revelation 1:3) One of the most hopeful features of the present hour is the increasing interest they everywhere excite; and if these pages should avail to deepen or direct the enthusiasm even of a few in the study of a theme which is inexhaustible, the labor they have cost will be abundantly rewarded.

The Coming Prince

and also at this website. https://www.whatsaiththescripture.com/Voice/The.Coming.Prince.html#1-2

The Continual Burnt Offering

By H.A. Ironside - 1941

April 15

Ecclesiastes 10:15  The toil of a fool wearies him,
for he does not know the way to the city.
  ESV


     All through the Word of God one glorious city is before the eyes of His saints. It is the city for which Abraham looked, which has foundations, whose Builder and Maker is God. We see it pictured in all its magnificence in the closing chapters of the book of Revelation. The way to that city is Christ Himself. He says so plainly, “I am the way….No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Yet men labor on in their folly, seeking another way because they will not heed the plain message of the gospel. We are warned that, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 14:12). Not a way, but  the Way  will bring us safely home.

O God, through Christ the living Way,
My Father and my God,—
So near, and I so far astray,
Brought nigh Thee by His blood.

And now by love’s own power led on,
I reach the inmost rest—
The nameless rapture of a son
Upon the Father’s breast.
--- C. T. S.

The Continual Burnt Offering: Daily Meditations on the Word of God

By James Orr 1907


Indexes | I | Books And Editions Chiefly Referred to (Continued)


 (Unless where otherwise specified, references are to the editions here noted. Where English translations of foreign books exist, references are usually to these.)

EBERS, G. M.:—
     Aegypten und die Bücher Moses, vol. i. 1868.
     Art. “Joseph” in Smith’s Dict. of Bible (2nd edit.).
EWALD, G. H. A.:—
     History of Israel, 3rd edit. E.T., 8 vols. vol. i. 1867.
     Prophets of the Old Testament, 2nd edit. E.T., 5 vols. vol. i. 1875.

FRIPP, E. T.:—
     The Composition of the Book of Genesis, with English Text and Analysis, 1892.

GIESEBRECHT, F.:—
     Die Berufsgabung der Alttestamentlichen Propheten, 1897.
GRAF, K. H.:—
     Die Geschichtlichen Bücher des Alten Testaments, 1866.
GRAY, G. B.:—
     Numbers, in “Inter. Crit. Com.,” 1903.
     The Divine Discipline of Israel, 1900.
     Other works, and arts. in Expositor, etc.
GREEN, W. H.:—
     Moses and the Prophets, 1883.
     The Hebrew Feasts, 1886.
     The Higher Criticism of the Pentateuch, 1895.
     The Unity of the Book of Genesis, 1895.
GUNKEL, H.:—
     Schöpfung und Chaos in Urzeit und Endzeit, 1895.
     Genesis, übersetzt und erklärt, in “Handkommentar,” 1901.
     The Introduction to this work published separately under the title, Die Sagen der Genesis.
     Israel und Babylonien, 1903.
     Zum Religionsgeschichtlichen Verständniss des Neuen Testaments, 1903.

HENGSTENBERG, E. W.:—
     Dissertations on the Genuineness of the Pentateuch, E.T., 2 vols. 1847.
HILPRECHT, H. V.:—
     Explorations in Bible Lands during the Nineteenth Century, 1903.
HOMMEL, F.:—
     The Ancient Hebrew Tradition as illustrated by the Monuments, E.T., 1897.
     Arts. “Babylonia,” etc., in Dict. of Bible; arts. in Expository Times, etc.
VAN HOONACKER, A.:—
     Le Lieu du Culte dans la Législation rituelle des Hébreux, 1894.
     Le Sacerdoce Lévitique dans la Loi et dans l’Histoire des Hébreux, 1899.

JEREMIAS, A.:—
     Das Alte Testament im Lichte des alten Orients, 1904.
JOHNS, C. H. W.:—
     The Oldest Code of Laws in the World; the Code of Laws promulgated by Hammurabi, King of Babylon, 2285–2242 B.C., 1903.
     Assyrian Deeds and Documents, 3 vols. (1898, 1901).
     Art. “Code of Hammurabi” in Dict. of Bible (Extra Vol.), etc.

KAUTZSCH, E.:—
     An Outline of the History of the Literature of the Old Testament, E.T., 1898.
     Die Bleibende Bedeutung des Alten Testaments, 1903.
     Die Genesis mit Äusserer Unterscheidung der Quellenschriften (by Kautzsch and Socin), 1888.
     Art. “Religion of Israel” in Dict. of Bible (Extra Vol.).
KING, L. W.:—
     Babylonian Religion, in “Books on Egypt and Chaldæa,” 1899.
KIRKPATRICK, A. F.:—
     The Books of Samuel, in “Cambridge Bible” Series, 2 vols., 1880–82.
     The Book of Psalms, with Introduction and Notes, in do., 1902.
     The Divine Library of the Old Testament, 1896.
     Other works.
KITTEL, R.:—
     A History of the Hebrews, 2 vols., 1888, 1892; E.T. 1895.
     The Babylonian Excavations and Early Bible History, E.T. 1903.
KLOSTERMANN, A.:—
     Der Pentateuch, 1893.
     Geschichte des Volkes Israel, 1896.
     Arts. in Neue Kirchliche Zeitschrift (1897), and art. “Chronik” in Hauck’s Realencyc. (iv.).
KÖHLER, A.:—
     Lehrbuch der Biblischen Geschichte Alten Testaments, vol. i. 1875; vol. ii. 1884; vol. iii. 1892.
     Art. “Abraham” in Hauck’s Realencyc. (i.), etc.
KÖNIG, E.:—
     Einleitung in das Alte Testament, 1893.
     Die Hauptprobleme der altisraelitischen Religionsgeschichte, 1884.
     Neueste Prinzipien der alttestamentlichen Kritik, 1902.
     Bibel und Babel, 1902.
     Art. “Judges” in Dict. of Bible, etc.
KUENEN, A.:—
     The Prophets and Prophecy in Israel, E.T., 1877.
     The Religion of Israel to the Fall of the Jewish State, E.T., 3 vols. 1882–83.
     National Religions and Universal Religions (Hibbert Lectures), 1882.
     The Origin and Composition of the Hexateuch, E.T., 1886.

LADD, G. T.:—
     The Doctrine of Sacred Scripture, 2 vols. 1883.

MCFADYEN, J. E.:—
     The Messages of the Prophetic and Priestly Historians, 1901.
MOORE, G. F.:—
     Judges, in “Inter. Crit. Com.,” 1895.
MOZLEY, J. B.:—
     Ruling Ideas in Early Ages, 1877.

OEHLER, G. F.:—
     Theology of the Old Testament, E.T., 2 vols. 1874.
OETTLI, S.:—
     Das Deuteronomium und die Bücher Josua und Richter, in Strack and Zöckler’s “Kurzgefasster Kommentar,” 1893.
     Der Kampf um Bibel und Babel, 1903.

VON ORELLI, C.:—
     The Old Testament Prophecy of the Consummation of God’s Kingdom, E.T., 1885.
     The Twelve Minor Prophets, E.T., 1893.
     Commentaries on Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc.

OTTLEY, R. L.:—
     Aspects of the Old Testament (Bampton Lectures), 1897.
     A Short History of the Hebrews, 1901.
OXFORD “HEXATEUCH”:—
     The Hexateuch according to the Revised Version, arranged in its Constituent Documents by Members of the Society of Historical Theology, Oxford. Edited, with Introduction, etc., by J. Estlin Carpenter, M.A., and G. Harford-Battersby, M.A. (Mr. Carpenter writes the Introduction), 1900.

PEROWNE, J. J. S.:—
     The Book of Psalms, 2 vols., 2nd edit. 1870.
PETERS, J. P.:—
     Nippur, 2 vols. 1897.
PETRIE, W. M. FLINDERS:—
     A History of Egypt, vol. i. 1894; vol. ii. 1896.
     Ten Years’ Digging in Egypt, 1893.
     Other works, reports, and articles.
PINCHES, TH. C.:—
     The Old Testament in the Light of the Historical Records and Legends of Assyria and Babylonia, 1902.
PUSEY, E. B.:—
     Daniel the Prophet, 2nd edit. 1868.

REUSS, E.:—
     Geschichte der heiligen Schriften Alten Testaments, 2nd edit. 1890.
     L’Histoire sainte et la Loi, 1879.
RIEHM, D. E.:—
     Einleitung in das Alte Testament, 2 vols. 1889–90.
     Messianic Prophecy, E.T., 1876.
ROBERTSON, J.:—
     The Early Religion of Israel (Baird Lecture), 1892.
     The Poetry and the Religion of the Psalms (Croall Lectures), 1898.
RYLE, H. E.:—
     The Canon of the Old Testament, 1892.
     Other works; arts. in Dict. of Bible.

SAYCE, A. H.:—
     Fresh Light from the Ancient Monuments.
     The “Higher Criticism” and the Verdict of the Monuments, 1894.
     Early Israel and the Surrounding Nations, 1899.
     Monument Facts and Higher Critical Fancies, 1904.
     Numerous other works and articles.
SCHRADER, E.:—
     The Cuneiform Inscriptions and the Old Testament, 2nd edit. E.T., 2 vols., 1885, 1888.
SCHULTZ, H.:—
     Old Testament Theology, 4th edit. E.T., 2 vols. 1892.
SMEND, R.:—
     Lehrbuch der Alttestamentlichen Religionsgeschichte, 1893.
     Earlier works and articles.
SMITH, W. R.:—
     The Old Testament in the Jewish Church, 2nd edit. 1892 (1st edit. 1881).
     The Prophets of Israel, 2nd edit. 1895 (1st edit. 1882).
     The Religion of the Semites, 1889.
     Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia, 1885.
     Other works and articles.
SMITH, H. P.:—
     The Books of Samuel, in “Inter. Crit. Com.,” 1899.
     Old Testament History, in “Inter. Theol. Lib.,” 1903.
SMITH, G. A.:—
     Modern Criticism and the Preaching of the Old Testament (Yale Lectures), 1901.
STADE, B.:—
     Geschichte des Volkes Israel, vol. i. 1887 (1st ed. 1881).
STRACK, H. L.:—
     Die Bücher Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, und Numeri, in “Kurtzgefasster Kommentar,” 1892.
     Einleitung in das Alte Testament, 1898.

THATCHER, G. W.:—
     Judges and Ruth, in “Century Bible.”
TOMKINS, H. G.:—
     Abraham and his Age, 1897.
     The Life and Times of Joseph, 2nd edit. 1893.
WELLHAUSEN, J.:—
     Prolegomena to the History of Israel, with reprint of article “Israel” from Ency. Brit. (cited Hist. of Israel), 1885.
     Israelitische und Jüdische Geschichte, 3rd edit. 1897.
     Die Composition des Hexateuch, 3rd edit. 1899.
WESTCOTT, B. F.:—
     The Bible in the Church, 4th edit. 1875.
WESTPHAL, A.:—
     Les Sources du Pentateuque, vol. i. 1888; vol. ii. 1892.
WINCKLER, H.:—
     The Tell-el-Amarna-Letters, 1896.
     Die Babylonische Kultur in ihren Bezichungen zur unsrigen, 1902.


     The Problem of the Old Testament


  • The Technicolor
    Truth
  • The Parable of
    The Sower 1
  • The Parable of
    The Sower 2

#1 Feb 24, 2013 | Jack Hibbs

 

#2 Feb 24, 2013 | Jack Hibbs

 

#3 Feb 24, 2013 | Jack Hibbs

 


     Devotionals, notes, poetry and more

coram Deo
     6/1/2008    Don’t Be So Open-minded

     Our enemy’s supreme deception is in his attempt to convince us that he doesn’t exist. Toward that end, he has launched his assault against us with every weapon in his carefully fashioned arsenal. Perhaps his greatest success is in persuading us that being open-minded is a good thing. For it is precisely when we accept the notion that open-mindedness is a Christian virtue that we fall into the same devilish trap by which our first parents were ensnared.

     Once our minds are open to open-mindedness, all ideas, no matter how absurd, can come and go as they please — with our sanction. We thus become headless and brainless philosophers who just want to get along. One such philosopher and self-proclaimed theologian has written: “So I believe we have radically to rethink our understanding of the place of Christianity in the global religious picture. And we have to face the fact that it is one path amongst others, and then reform our belief-system to be compatible with this. This is the big new challenge that theologians and church leaders have yet to face. We have to become consciously what are called religious pluralists.” This is the mantra of religious pluralists: Liberate your mind, lose your faith, and feel the love.

     Although many professed evangelicals have become precarious evanjellyfish, I would like to think that most have not yet succumbed to the most blatant sort of religious pluralism. Nevertheless, being the narrow-minded biblical fundamentalist that I am, I am decidedly closed-minded to anything that is not biblical, and I concur with John Calvin: “Wherefore all theology, when separated from Christ, is not only vain and confused, but is also mad, deceitful, and spurious; for, though the philosophers sometimes utter excellent sayings, yet they have nothing but what is short-lived, and even mixed up with wicked and erroneous sentiments.” As the closed-minded, Christ-minded faithful we must join arms against the satanic pluralism of our day, whether it is decreed from the Vatican or broadcast from Mecca. We live and breathe for Christ alone and proclaim that there is only one way to God. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).

     click here for article source

     Dr. Burk Parsons (@BurkParsons) is editor of Tabletalk magazine, senior pastor of Saint Andrew’s Chapel in Sanford, Fla., a visiting lecturer at Reformed Theological Seminary, and a Ligonier Ministries teaching fellow. He is editor of John Calvin: A Heart for Devotion, Doctrine, and Doxology.

Ligonier     coram Deo (definition)

American Minute
     by Bill Federer

     April 15, the day income taxes are due to the IRS, is the day the Titanic sank in the North Atlantic in the year 1912. It had struck an iceberg the night before, just five days after departing from England on its maiden voyage. Over 1500 lost their lives. President Abraham Lincoln died this day in 1865. He had been shot the night before in Ford’s Theater by John Wilkes Booth, just five days after the Civil War ended. Over a half a million lost their lives. Lincoln stated: “I made a solemn vow before God, that if General Lee were driven back from Pennsylvania, I would crown the result by the declaration of freedom to the slaves.”

American Minute

Lean Into God
     Compiled by Richard S. Adams


It is a fact of Christian experience that life is a series of troughs and peaks. In his efforts to get permanent possession of a soul, God relies on the troughs more than the peaks. And some of his special favourites have gone through longer and deeper troughs than anyone else.
--- Peter Marshall
20th Century Thoughts That Shaped the Church


Our tendency is to run away from the painful realities or to try to change them as soon as possible. But cure without care makes us into rulers, controllers, manipulators, and prevents a real community from taking shape. Cure without care makes us preoccupied with quick changes, impatient and unwilling to share each other's burden. And so cure can often become offending instead of liberating.
--- Henri J. M. Nouwen
A Letter of Consolation

The truest help we can render an afflicted man is not to take his burden from him, but to call out his best energy, that he may be able to bear the burden.
--- Phillips Brooks
Forty Thousand Sublime and Beautiful Thoughts Vol I and Vol II

Become the change you seek in the world.
--- Mohandas Gandhi
Venture Philanthropy Strategies to Support Translational Research: Workshop Summary

... from here, there and everywhere

Journal of John Woolman 4/15
     University of Virginia Libray 1994

     Thirtieth of eighth month. -- This morning I wrote a letter in substance as follows: --

     BELOVED FRIEND, -- My mind is often affected as I pass along under a sense of the state of many poor people who sit under that sort of ministry which requires much outward labor to support it; and the loving-kindness of our Heavenly Father in opening a pure gospel ministry in this nation hath often raised thankfulness in my heart to him. I often remember the conflicts of the faithful under persecution, and now look at the free exercise of the pure gift uninterrupted by outward laws, as a trust committed to us, which requires our deepest gratitude and most careful attention. I feel a tender concern that the work of reformation so prosperously carried on in this land within a few ages past may go forward and spread among the nations, and may not go backward through dust gathering on our garments, who have been called to a work so great and so precious.

     Last evening during thy absence I had a little opportunity with some of thy family, in which I rejoiced, and feeling a sweetness on my mind towards thee, I now endeavor to open a little of the feeling I had there.

     I have heard that you in these parts have at certain seasons Meetings of Conference in relation to Friends living up to our principles, in which several meetings unite in one. With this I feel unity, having in some measure felt truth lead that way among Friends in America, and I have found, my dear friend, that in these labors all superfluities in our own living are against us. I feel that pure love towards thee in which there is freedom.

     I look at that precious gift bestowed on thee with awfulness before Him who gave it, and feel a desire that we may be so separated to the gospel of Christ, that those things which proceed from the spirit of this world may have no place among us.

     Thy friend,
     JOHN WOOLMAN.

John Woolman's Journal

The Imitation Of Christ
     Thomas A Kempis

     Book Three - Internal Consolation

     The Thirty-Seventh Chapter / Pure And Entire Resignation Of Self To Obtain Freedom Of Heart

     THE VOICE OF CHRIST

     MY CHILD, renounce self and you shall find Me. Give up your own self-will, your possessions, and you shall always gain. For once you resign yourself irrevocably, greater grace will be given you.

     The Disciple

     How often, Lord, shall I resign myself? And in what shall I forsake myself?

     THE VOICE OF CHRIST

     Always, at every hour, in small matters as well as great—I except nothing. In all things I wish you to be stripped of self. How otherwise can you be mine or I yours unless you be despoiled of your own will both inwardly and outwardly? The sooner you do this the better it will be for you, and the more fully and sincerely you do it the more you will please Me and the greater gain you will merit.

     Some there are who resign themselves, but with certain reservation; they do not trust fully in God and therefore they try to provide for themselves. Others, again, at first offer all, but afterward are assailed by temptation and return to what they have renounced, thereby making no progress in virtue. These will not reach the true liberty of a pure heart nor the grace of happy friendship with Me unless they first make a full resignation and a daily sacrifice of themselves. Without this no fruitful union lasts nor will last.

     I have said to you very often, and now I say again: forsake yourself, renounce yourself and you shall enjoy great inward peace. Give all for all. Ask nothing, demand nothing in return. Trust purely and without hesitation in Me, and you shall possess Me. You will be free of heart and darkness will not overwhelm you.

     Strive for this, pray for this, desire this—to be stripped of all selfishness and naked to follow the naked Jesus, to die to self and live forever for Me. Then all vain imaginations, all wicked disturbances and superfluous cares will vanish. Then also immoderate fear will leave you and inordinate love will die.

The Imitation Of Christ

Andrew Murray's Absolute Surrender
     Practical religion. The Christian life

     God Can

     Now comes the second lesson. "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."

     I said a little while ago that there is many a man who has learned the lesson, It is impossible with men, and then he gives up in helpless despair, and lives a wretched Christian life, without joy, or strength, or victory. And why? Because he does not humble himself to learn that other lesson: With God all things are possible.

     Your religious life is every day to be a proof that God works impossibilities; your religious life is to be a series of impossibilities made possible and actual by God's almighty power. That is what the Christian needs. He has an almighty God that he worships, and he must learn to understand that he does not need a little of God's power, but he needs--with reverence be it said--the whole of God's omnipotence to keep him right, and to live like a Christian.

     The whole of Christianity is a work of God's omnipotence. Look at the birth of Christ Jesus. That was a miracle of divine power, and it was said to Mary: "With God nothing shall be impossible." It was the omnipotence of God. Look at Christ's resurrection. We are taught that it was according to the exceeding greatness of His mighty power that God raised Christ from the dead.

     Every tree must grow on the root from which it springs. An oak tree three hundred years old grows all the time on the one root from which it had its beginning. Christianity had its beginning in the omnipotence of God, and in every soul it must have its continuance in that omnipotence. All the possibilities of the higher Christian life have their origin in a new apprehension of Christ's power to work all God's will in us.

     I want to call upon you now to come and worship an almighty God. Have you learned to do it? Have you learned to deal so closely with an almighty God that you know omnipotence is working in you? In outward appearance there is often so little sign of it. The apostle Paul said: "I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and . .. my preaching was . . . in demonstration of the Spirit and of power." From the human side there was feebleness, from the divine side there was divine omnipotence. And that is true of every godly life; and if we would only learn that lesson better, and give a wholehearted, undivided surrender to it, we should learn what blessedness there is in dwelling every hour and every moment with an almighty God. Have you ever studied in the Bible the attribute of God's omnipotence? You know that it was God's omnipotence that created the world, and created light out of darkness, and created man. But have you studied God's omnipotence in the works of redemption?

Absolute Surrender (The Colportage Library)

Proverbs 14:32-33
     by D.H. Stern

32     The wicked are brought down by their wrongdoing,
but the righteous can be confident even at death.

33     Wisdom is at rest in a person with discernment,
but in fools it has to call attention to itself.


Complete Jewish Bible : An English Version of the Tanakh (Old Testament) and B'Rit Hadashah (New Testament)
The Great Divorce - A Dream
     C.S. Lewis

          12

     ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘It is like when you throw a stone into a pool, and the concentric waves spread out further and further. Who knows where it will end? Redeemed humanity is still young, it has hardly come to its full strength. But already there is joy enough in the little finger of a great saint such as yonder lady to waken all the dead things of the universe into life.’

     While we spoke the Lady was steadily advancing towards us, but it was not at us she looked. Following the direction of her eyes, I turned and saw an oddly-shaped phantom approaching. Or rather two phantoms: a great tall Ghost, horribly thin and shaky, who seemed to be leading on a chain another Ghost no bigger than an organ-grinder’s monkey. The taller Ghost wore a soft black hat, and he reminded me of something that my memory could not quite recover. Then, when he had come within a few feet of the Lady he spread out his lean, shaky hand flat on his chest with the fingers wide apart, and exclaimed in a hollow voice, ‘At last!’ All at once I realised what it was that he had put me in mind of. He was like a seedy actor of the old school.

     ‘Darling! At last!’ said the Lady. ‘Good Heavens!’ thought I. ‘Surely she can’t—’, and then I noticed two things. In the first place, I noticed that the little Ghost was not being led by the big one. It was the dwarfish figure that held the chain in its hand and the theatrical figure that wore the collar round its neck. In the second place, I noticed that the Lady was looking solely at the dwarf Ghost. She seemed to think it was the Dwarf who had addressed her, or else she was deliberately ignoring the other. On the poor dwarf she turned her eyes. Love shone not from her face only, but from all her limbs, as if it were some liquid in which she had just been bathing. Then, to my dismay, she came nearer. She stooped down and kissed the Dwarf. It made one shudder to see her in such close contact with that cold, damp, shrunken thing. But she did not shudder.

     ‘Frank,’ she said, ‘before anything else, forgive me. For all I ever did wrong and for all I did not do right since the first day we met, I ask your pardon.’

     I looked properly at the Dwarf for the first time now: or perhaps, when he received her kiss he became a little more visible. One could just make out the sort of face he must have had when he was a man: a little, oval, freckled face with a weak chin and a tiny wisp of unsuccessful moustache. He gave her a glance, not a full look. He was watching the Tragedian out of the corner of his eyes. Then he gave a jerk to the chain: and it was the Tragedian, not he, who answered the Lady.

     ‘There, there,’ said the Tragedian. ‘We’ll say no more about it. We all make mistakes.’ With the words there came over his features a ghastly contortion which, I think, was meant for an indulgently playful smile. ‘We’ll say no more,’ he continued. ‘It’s not myself I’m thinking about. It is you. That is what has been continually on my mind—all these years. The thought of you—you here alone, breaking your heart about me.’

     ‘But now,’ said the Lady to the Dwarf, ‘you can set all that aside. Never think like that again. It is all over.’

     Her beauty brightened so that I could hardly see anything else, and under that sweet compulsion the Dwarf really looked at her for the first time. For a second I thought he was growing more like a man. He opened his mouth. He himself was going to speak this time. But oh, the disappointment when the words came!

     ‘You missed me?’ he croaked in a small, bleating voice.

     Yet even then she was not taken aback. Still the love and courtesy flowed from her.

     ‘Dear, you will understand about that very soon,’ she said. ‘But to-day—.’

     What happened next gave me a shock. The Dwarf and Tragedian spoke in unison, not to her but to one another. ‘You’ll notice,’ they warned one another, ‘she hasn’t answered our question.’ I realised then that they were one person, or rather that both were the remains of what had once been a person. The Dwarf again rattled the chain.

     ‘You missed me?’ said the Tragedian to the Lady, throwing a dreadful theatrical tremor into his voice.

     ‘Dear friend,’ said the Lady, still attending exclusively to the Dwarf, ‘you may be happy about that and about everything else. Forget all about it for ever.’

     And really, for a moment, I thought the Dwarf was going to obey: partly because the outlines of his face became a little clearer, and partly because the invitation to all joy, singing out of her whole being like a bird’s song on an April evening, seemed to me such that no creature could resist it. Then he hesitated. And then—once more he and his accomplice spoke in unison.

     ‘Of course it would be rather fine and magnanimous not to press the point,’ they said to one another. ‘But can we be sure she’d notice? We’ve done these sort of things before. There was the time we let her have the last stamp in the house to write to her mother and said nothing although she had known we wanted to write a letter ourself. We’d thought she’d remember and see how unselfish we’d been. But she never did. And there was the time … oh, lots and lots of times!’ So the Dwarf gave a shake to the chain and—

     ‘I can’t forget it,’ cried the Tragedian. ‘And I won’t forget it, either. I could forgive them all they’ve done to me. But for your miseries—.’

     ‘Oh, don’t you understand?’ said the Lady. ‘There are no miseries here.’

     ‘Do you mean to say,’ answered the Dwarf, as if this new idea had made him quite forget the Tragedian for a moment, ‘do you mean to say you’ve been happy?’

     ‘Didn’t you want me to be? But no matter. Want it now. Or don’t think about it at all.’

     The Dwarf blinked at her. One could see an unheard-of idea trying to enter his little mind: one could see even that there was for him some sweetness in it. For a second he had almost let the chain go: then, as if it were his lifeline, he clutched it once more.

     ‘Look here,’ said the Tragedian. ‘We’ve got to face this.’ He was using his ‘manly’ bullying tone this time: the one for bringing women to their senses.

     ‘Darling,’ said the Lady to the Dwarf, ‘there’s nothing to face. You don’t want me to have been miserable for misery’s sake. You only think I must have been if I loved you. But if you’ll only wait you’ll see that isn’t so.’

The Great Divorce

My Utmost For The Highest
     A Daily Devotional by Oswald Chambers

                The relapse of concentration

     But the high places were not taken away out of Israel; nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days. --- 2 Chron. 15:17.

     Asa was incomplete in his external obedience, he was right in the main but not entirely right. Beware of the thing of which you say—‘Oh, that does not matter much.’ The fact that it does not matter much to you may mean that it matters a very great deal to God. Nothing is a light matter with a child of God. How much longer are some of us going to keep God trying to teach us one thing? He never loses patience. You say—‘I know I am right with God’; but still the “high places” remain, there is something over which you have not obeyed. Are you protesting that your heart is right with God, and yet is there something in your life about which He has caused you to doubt? Whenever there is doubt, quit immediately, no matter what it is. Nothing is a mere detail.

     Are there some things in connection with your bodily life, your intellectual life, upon which you are not concentrating at all? You are all right in the main, but you are slipshod; there is a relapse on the line of concentration. You no more need a holiday from spiritual concentration than your heart needs a holiday from beating. You cannot have a moral holiday and remain moral, nor can you have a spiritual holiday and remain spiritual. God wants you to be entirely his, and this means that you have to watch to keep yourself fit. It takes a tremendous amount of time. Some of us expect to “clear the numberless ascensions” in about two minutes.

My Utmost for His Highest

Welsh Landscape
     the Poetry of R.S. Thomas

           Welsh Landscape

To live in Wales is to be conscious
At dusk of the spilled blood
That went into the making of the wild sky,
Dyeing the immaculate rivers
In all their courses.
It is to be aware,
Above the noisy tractor
And hum of the machine
Of strife in the strung woods,
Vibrant with sped arrows.
You cannot live in the present,
At least not in Wales.
There is the language for instance,
The soft consonants
Strange to the ear.
There are cries in the dark at night
As owls answer the moon,
And thick ambush of shadows,
Hushed at the fields' corners.
There is no present in Wales,
And no future;
There is only the past,
Brittle with relics,
Wind-bitten towers and castles
With sham ghosts;
Mouldering quarries and mines;
And an impotent people,
Sick with inbreeding,
Worrying the carcase of an old song.

Selected poems, 1946-1968

Teacher's Commentary
     Only Believe / Luke 17 ...

     Some object to the Gospel’s offer of forgiveness on the grounds that it is too easy. “Only believe?” a Navy buddy once objected. “Why, then you could go out and rob or rape or do anything you wanted to do!”

     I tried to explain that a person who trusts Jesus as Saviour doesn’t “want to” sin. That faith makes us different inside, and love for God, not fear of Him, motivates holiness. But somehow he just couldn’t see it.

     We Christians sometimes have just as much trouble seeing that “faith” as belief is not enough. Those who truly believe are called on to put faith into practice, and obey the One they have acknowledged as Lord.

     In the words and incidents that Luke reports in these crucial chapters of his book, we Christians are helped to see discipleship’s link between true faith, and necessary obedience.

     Faith and Works. Christians have often debated the relationship. But we can agree on certain basic statements. Salvation comes through faith and faith alone, for the death of Jesus purchased our forgiveness and new life. When a person has new life from God, that life will be expressed. Just as a living infant cries and moves, so a person with new life from Christ will express that life—in works. It is not that works bring life, but that those who are alive in Christ will work.

     We’ve all seen a child seated in complete concentration, taking apart a new toy. Somehow it seems so important to find out just how something new works.

     We may feel the same way about “faith.” What does it mean to “believe”? Does it mean sitting back and waiting for God to do something? Or does it mean acting? And how can I tell if my actions are just selfeffort, that activism which is to have no role in discipleship?

     Questions like these plague many Christians, and many who set out to be disciples hesitate at times, uncertain how to proceed.

     Jesus’ first disciples were uncertain too. Then the Lord taught them the functions of faith. Just as God teaches us the functions of faith through these vital chapters of Luke’s Gospel.

     Discipleship and Obedience: Luke 17:1–10 / One day the question of faith crept unexpectedly into a conversation between Jesus and the Twelve. Christ was speaking a word of woe about those who put temptation to sin in another’s way, to cause him to stumble (Luke 17:1-2). This was not a word for outsiders only: it was a word needed by disciples. Too often our ways of living with others harm rather than help!

     Jesus then became very specific. “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him” (Luke 17:3). This is doubly hard. It’s much easier to keep still when someone sins against us, and to try to hide the pain. We sometimes even think we’re being “spiritual” by trying to ignore the wrong. But failure to be honest, trying to give the “outward show” of nothing wrong when there is something wrong, isn’t God’s way. “[Speak] the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15). Real love speaks out to remove the barrier that even inadvertent sins erect.

     The loving thing to do is to rebuke the person who sins against you, for he needs the cleansing that forgiveness can bring as much as you need the barrier of hurt removed. So Jesus said, “Rebuke him.”

     And if he repents? Forgive! And this is difficult too. For our old self dwells on slights and hurts and takes a perverse pleasure in self-pity and in “righteous indignation.”

     But then Jesus made it even more difficult. “If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.” The disciples were upset at this. “Lord,” they cried, “increase our faith!”
(Luke 17:5)

     I can understand their feelings. When we were first married my wife and I lived in a house trailer 35¬ by 8¬. Our living room was only about 6 feet wide. And I had a problem. Ever since my teen years, I’ve been driven up the wall by mouth noises—especially gum, chewed with open-mouthed vigor. And my wife was a gum chewer! As I’d sit at the table, way across our 6-foot living room, I’d become aware of a growing, echoing sound: ker-chump, ker-chump, KER-chump, KER-CHUMP!

     Finally, in desperation, I’d mention the gum noise, and be given a quick, fullhearted apology. And there’d be silence, as gum and mouth were clamped carefully shut. For a while. But soon, engrossed in reading, she’d forget. And then the sound would reach me again. And grow. Until I just couldn’t stand it any longer, and in desperation would speak again. She was always quick to say, “I’m sorry.” But after several recurrences, I’d begin to wonder, and to feel upset. “She couldn’t care! Not and do it again!”

     No wonder the disciples cried out to Jesus. “Help! If we have to live like that with people, then, Lord, increase our faith!”

     But how can we understand Jesus’ answer? He hardly seemed to sympathize. Instead of promising needed faith, He seems to dismiss their concern. “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you”

(Luke 17:6). Now, the important thing to note here is that Jesus was not speaking to Pharisees, who had no faith. He was speaking to the Twelve, who did believe in Him, and who did have faith!

The Teacher's Commentary

Teacher's Commentary
     Only Believe / Luke 17 ...Pt. 2

     Jesus’ next words explain His reaction. Jesus asked them about a servant—literally, a bond slave. Doesn’t his master have him work and do the tasks assigned? Don’t both master and slave expect the servant to put his master’s needs before his own? (Luke 17:8) And, when the servant has done what he has been commanded, does he deserve any special commendation? Obviously not. A servant’s role is to obey his master: obedience is nothing out of the ordinary for a slave.

     And so Jesus applied the analogy. “So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty’ ” (Luke 17:10).

     What did Jesus mean? Simply this. Jesus had given His disciples a command. When a person sins, he is to be rebuked and forgiven. This is no optional activity, just for persons with exceptional faith! This is the way every disciple is to live with others—this is a matter of obedience to the Lord the disciple has determined to follow! In essence, Jesus said, “Faith is fine for moving mulberry trees, but faith has nothing to do with this!” When it comes to living by Jesus’ commands, the issue is not one of faith but of obedience!

     How this strikes at our excuses! We’re so prone to complain, “Oh, if only I were a better Christian,” or, “If I only had more, then, then I would do this, or that. Then I’d reach out to love, or pray for my enemy.” To such thinking, Jesus has once and for all cried, STOP! You don’t need extra faith to obey! What you need to do is to remember that Jesus is Lord, and we who are Jesus’ servants are called to do as He commands!

     This incident revealed the disciple’s confusion about the function of faith in the life of a follower of Jesus. It is a confusion that many believers share today. While this incident does not give direct teaching about the nature of faith, Jesus does settle one thing. We can never draw back from doing God’s revealed will because we feel we have inadequate faith. Or for any other reason. As servants of Jesus Christ, we are to obey when He speaks.

     But then Luke showed how Jesus moved on to illustrate and to teach about the role of faith in the disciples’ lives.

     The Functions of Faith: Luke 17:11–18:17 / Faith stimulates obedience (Luke 17:11–19). Jesus heard 10 lepers calling to Him from a hill some distance from the road. They stood away, as society decreed they must. Still, they cried out for mercy (Luke 17:13). In response Jesus told them to “go, show yourselves to the priests.” The implication was clear to the lepers. A person who had been healed of an infectious skin disease was told in the Law to show himself to a priest so that he might be certified well. He was then to offer the prescribed offering to God (Leviticus 13:2). They hurried away to do just this, and Luke says that “as they went, they were cleansed” (Luke 17:14). Because they trusted Jesus, they had not waited for the overt evidence of the disease to disappear. They went, confident that their need had been met, and that healing was theirs.

     Faith is like this. It impels us to obey before we see the full evidence of God’s work within us. Do you feel inadequate to rebuke, or even to forgive? Then remember who it is that spoke to you. Remember Jesus’ power and His love. Let that confidence encourage you to act, and as you obey His victory will come.

     Only 1 of the 10, when he saw that his healing was a reality, paused. He turned back, praising God in loud shouts, and thanked Jesus. Only 1 found time to return. And he was a foreigner
(Luke 17:16).

     Do we take time to thank Jesus for our salvation, and our new life? Do we praise God that we have been healed within?

     No, our salvation does not depend on gratitude. Jesus said to the leper as He sent him on his way again, “Your faith has made you well”

     (Luke 17:19). Our salvation does not depend on what we do after Christ has spoken forgiveness to us. But how appropriate it is to come back joyfully to Him, with thanks and praise, to offer our whole selves as His willing disciples
(cf. Romans 12:1–2).

The Teacher's Commentary

Swimming In The Sea of Talmud
     Ḥagigah 15b

     D’RASH

     What do you do when following the rules and doing the right thing gets you nowhere?

     A student in school studies hard and does her homework every night. She then watches as half the class uses stolen answers to take the course final. She scores a B, while the cheaters “ace” the exam.

     A storekeeper tries to maintain his business by offering quality items and friendly service to his customers. The competition down the street seems intent on doing everything, legal or otherwise, to capture the entire market and drive him out of business. Despite the inferior quality of its product and its reputation for not caring about its customers, it seems to be succeeding.

     A family is very involved in their synagogue and extremely generous to numerous charities. Despite devoting themselves religiously to God and to their fellow human beings, they suffer one tragedy after another.

     Many of us expect that good people will be rewarded for their goodness, and bad people will be punished for their evil. We would anticipate that religious teachers would reinforce that expectation and exhort us, accordingly, to be good. Experience shows us that life is often not as it should be or as we might expect it to be. Rava, in our section, has the courage to admit that there is a wide gap between what should be and what is.

     There is an unasked question that is at the center of Rava’s admission: If being good is no guarantee that good things will happen to you—as was the case with Rabbah—then why bother being good? What is the point? Whether you are rich or poor, live long or die young, celebrate many weddings or attend too many funerals is all a matter of luck, says Rava. Why should anyone care about following the rules or doing the right thing?

     Perhaps one response to this question is to be found in what we learn from Rabbah’s own life. We are told that, in times of drought, he would pray to God for rain, just like Rav Ḥisda, and he would be answered. We have to imagine that the same Rabbah who turned to God when his people were in trouble also turned to God when he and his family were in difficult straits. Yet God apparently answered only this righteous man’s communal prayers, not his personal ones. If there is any logic here, it is beyond our comprehension. What is instructive is that Rabbah continued to turn to God, using his powers to help whomever he could. The negative answer to his personal prayers did not prevent him from turning to God to seek help for others. Perhaps, then, it is not simply luck that determines what happens to us. It is the presence of good, decent people like Rabbah who help to make the lives of others better, richer, and happier. Their prayers and their good deeds benefit us even if they are incapable of doing the same for themselves. So it is not just luck that affects life, children, and food, but people who are willing to give of themselves, not because they will be rewarded for it, but because it is the right thing to do.

     He found a pomegranate: The inside he ate; its peel he threw away.

     Text / Rava explained: “What was the meaning of the verse: ‘I went down to the nut grove to see the budding of the vale’ [Song of Songs 6:11]? Why are scholars compared to a nut? To tell you that just as the nut is dirtied by mud and filth yet its contents are not spoiled, so too scholars—even though they have sinned—their Torah remains unspoiled.”

     Rabbah bar Shela met Elijah. He said to him: “What is the Holy One, blessed be He, doing?” He said: “He is uttering traditions in the name of all the Rabbis, but traditions in the name of Rabbi Meir He is not uttering.” He said: “Why not?” “Because he learned the tradition from Aḥer.” He [Rabbah] said: “Why not? Rabbi Meir found a pomegranate: The inside he ate; its peel he threw away.”

     Context / Aḥer [Rabbi Elisha ben Avuyah]—what happened to him? There are those who say he saw the tongue of Ḥutzpit the translator being dragged by a pig. He said: “The mouth that uttered pearls now licks the dirt.” He went out and sinned. (Kiddushin 39b)

     He went out and found a prostitute. He propositioned her. She said: “Are you not Elisha ben Avuyah?” He pulled a radish out of the ground on Shabbat and gave it to her. She said: “He is Aḥer [someone else].” (Hagigah 15a)

     Elisha ben Avuyah was a contemporary of Rabbi Akiva and a teacher of Rabbi Meir. Some time during the second century, he became a heretic and turned his back on the Jewish people. There are several stories that try to explain this radical change: Some say he was attracted to the ideas of other religions or philosophies; others show how he was deeply troubled by the seeming lack of justice in a world in which righteous individuals suffered terribly. He is referred to in the Talmud by the name Aḥer, meaning “someone else” or “the other one.” While most of the Jewish world turned against him, his student Rabbi Meir remained committed to bringing his teacher back into the fold.

     Rava begins the discussion by interpreting a verse from the Song of Songs to mean that even though teachers may sin, what they taught us still remains valid. As if to refute this, at least with respect to Elisha ben Avuyah, we are told that another Rabbi, Rabbah bar Shela, once happened upon Elijah the prophet. (According to tradition, Elijah never died. He often appeared to the Rabbis as a person with knowledge of what God in Heaven was thinking or doing.) Elijah tells Rabbah that Rabbi Meir is not held in esteem by God because he learned his teachings from Aḥer. Rabbah comes to Rabbi Meir’s defense by saying that Meir took only the valid teachings from Elisha ben Avuyah; the heretical beliefs and views he discarded like the bitter peel of a sweet pomegranate.

Swimming in the Sea of Talmud: Lessons for Everyday Living

Luke 15 / HOMILETICS
     Pulpit Commentary

     Vers. 11–32.—The parable of the prodigal son. This parable is at once a history, a poem, and a prophecy. A history of man in innocence, in sin, in redemption, in glory. A poem—the song of salvation, whose refrain, “My son was dead, and is alive again, was lost, and is found,” is ringing through the courts of the Zion of God. A prophecy, speaking most directly and solemnly, in warning and meditation, emphasis of reproof or of encouragement, to each of us. It is beyond the reach of the scalpel of criticism. Its thoughts, its very words, have enriched every speech and language in which its voice has been heard. It stands before us “the pearl of parables,” “the gospel in the gospel” of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It is the last of three stories, illustrative of Divine grace, which were spoken especially to the Pharisees, and to them with reference to their cavil as expressed in ver.

     2
. Without minutely analyzing the three, the progress of the teaching may be indicated. Bengel has, with his usual felicitousness of touch, indicated this progress. The silly sheep represents the sinner in his foolishness. The sinner lying in the dust, yet still with the stamp of Divinity on him, is figured by the piece of money. Finally, the younger of the two sons is the representation of the sinner left to the freedom of his own will, and falling into an estate of sin and misery. We can trace, too, a progress in the setting forth of the Divine love. The journey of the shepherd into the far wilderness speaks to us of the infinite compassion of highest God; for the sheep’s own sake he goes after it until he finds it; and the recovery is the occasion of the joy of heaven. The aspect specially illustrated by the search for the piece of silver is the infinite value to God of every soul. Not one will he lose; for his righteousness’ sake he will seek until he finds. The last of the parables combines the two former, with a glory superadded: Infinite Compassion recognizing the infinite preciousness of the human life, but this, now, in the higher region of Fatherhood and sonship. Let us discard all stiffening exposition of Christ’s words; e.g. that which takes as its key-thought that the younger son is the Gentile world, the elder son the Jewish Church. Let us regard it in the width of its generosity, as the picture of him whose love is reflected in the “Man who receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.” The two words of the parable are “lost” and “found.” Let us try to open up the wealth of meaning in them.

     I. LOST. 1. Whence? There is a glimpse into the sweet home-life—the father with the two sons. The joy of the father’s home is the communion of his children. It was what he saw in the Father which moved the prayer of Jesus,
“That they whom thou gavest me may be with me where I am.” The joy of the child’s home is the communion of the Father, and is realized when the Father’s life—not the Father’s living—is the desire, and the word of the Psalm is fulfilled, “In thy presence is fulness of joy, and in thy right hand are pleasures for evermore.” So we think of the days speeding on—musical, blessed days, such as we recollect, perhaps, in the home of our childhood, when, as we look back, the sun seemed to shine far more brightly than now, and the day was longer, and all was peace. Parents and children together! For it is man’s home to abide with God as Father. By-and-by there comes the far country, because there is no Father.

     2. How? The younger son demands the portion of goods that falleth to him. Mark how the tone has lowered, how the eye has drooped. “Father, give me!” is the cry of the filial heart. “Give me my daily bread!” is a true prayer, because it waits on God; it sees the living in the life which he gives. But “my portion of goods” is the voice of a sinful independence. It separates “what is mine” from what is “my Father’s;” it conceives of his as being, by some right or title, mine. Himself, as the good, is no longer the all. This is the serpent’s life. “Ye shall not surely die, for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Such was the seductive whisper in the beginning. As if (1) God was keeping to himself a God-dom, in jealousy preventing the enjoyment of a blessedness which was the man’s right. And as if (2) the way to know good is through the experience of evil—good discerned as the opposite of that which we have tasted, instead of evil being felt only as the darkness seeking to overtake the light in which we are abiding. The serpent’s lie repeats itself in many forms, not the least familiar that which insinuates, “Let the young man sow his wild oats; the good oats will come afterwards. Let him take his fill of enjoyment; there will come the sober days and the quiet time.” It works in us all; it is the tendency of the sinful mind to withdraw from the authority of Heaven, from the rule of duteous love, to appropriate for self, and in mere self-will, the living of God. The father does not deny the son. He respects the sovereignty in the son which is derived from himself. “He who suffers us to go our way takes care indeed that it be hedged with thorns.” But a son cannot be forced as a slave. If go he will, go he must. The father divides the living.

     3. Whither? Not at once, possibly, does the separation in will show itself. It is not always easy to trace the first moment of the apostasy. Many a one continues, for a time, in the semblance of piety, even after he has ceased to desire spiritual things. But “not many days after” the rift in the lute appears. “He gathers all together.” Now the purpose of the will is active; no advice will stand in the man’s path. The father’s tear, the father’s smile, avails not, not the sight of the old roof-tree, or the remembrance of the sweet life that lies behind. There is an eager “farewell;” he rushes forward—Whither? “To a far country.” Yes; yield to appetite, to fleshly lust, it will take the soul on and on, away from the fences of religion, away to the far-off Nod, bidding it, as Cain did, build there the city of habitation, yet bidding only to mock, since he who would put miles between him and the face of his Father in heaven must be a sorry fugitive and vagabond. “A far country!” That is wherever God is forgotten, is dishonoured as the Father. No ship is needed to bear one to the uttermost parts of the earth; the distance is measured not by oceans or continents, but by tracts of affection and sympathy. “Alienated from the life of God”—this is the far country. Observe the two stages of the existence in the far country—the fulness and the famine. (1) There is fulness—a season of apparently inexhaustible happiness: “riotous living.” The life of the youth is like a mountain-torrent that has been pent up and bursts forth. The Greek word has the force of “prodigally.” And prodigal the wanderer is in the earlier period. Fill high the bowl; loud let the revel swell; eat, drink; there is more to follow, there is more behind.

  “Such is the world’s gay garish feast
  In her first charming bowl,
  Infusing all that fires the breast,
  And cheats th’ unstable soul.”

     But—what? “The substance is wasting;” literally, is “scattering abroad;” for so it is. As has well been said, “All creaturely possession consumes itself in the using; all wealth must turn itself into poverty, either by its actual dissipation or in consequence of the folly of covetousness, which the more mammon increases is the less satisfied by it. Thus man, in his sin, consumes first of all his earthly goods, so that he can no more find comfort or satisfaction in them; and then, alas! the true and real possessions which his heavenly Father communicated to him are also consumed.” What a description of substance scattered
(
Prov. 5:7–14)! (2) Then comes in the second stage. All which had been gathered together spent; then arises the famine. For one who has nothing there is always a famine in that land. The world will give you so long as you have to give it; when you can bring nothing, when you are used up; ah, the fields which seemed golden become the bleakest of moors. There is no sight more pitiful than a worn-out, used-up worldling.

  “The fire that on my bosom preys
  Is lone as some volcanic isle;
  No torch is kindled at its blaze—
  A funeral pile!”

     Alas! the pleasure has died out; the soul, the immortal self, not yet dead, is in want in a famine-stricken land. How is this want to be met?

     4. Wherein? It is an evil and bitter things to forsake the Lord. The son’s own wickedness is correcting him, and his backslidings are reproving him. In want, but not yet in poverty blessed with desire. Here is the witness. Hitherto the son has been the son, wicked, reckless, but still not naturalized in that far country. The day of this separation has passed; and, oh! the double degradation! “He joins himself”—“pins himself” is the word—becomes wholly, abjectly dependent on, “a citizen of that country.” He began by being his own master; he ends by being the slave of the citizen. The world uses for its pleasure the one who uses the world for his pleasure. A man’s passion is his minister for a time; by-and-by it becomes his tyrant. A very hard tyrant! The devil has no respect for the freedom of the will: “I was your companion, your Mephistopheles, your slave. Now I have you, you are mine; get out and feed these swine.” It was an employment which conveyed the idea of utter wretchedness to a Jew. Strong, thickly laid, is the colouring; it is not one whit too strong or too thickly laid for fact. How do we behold this prince, this son of the Father? Toiling in the fields, with no shelter except the rude but which he makes, and his only companions—the herd of swine! And all the while the hunger gnawing! Were not these swine, wallowing in the mire, picking the carobs, eating the scanty grass, happy as compared with him? They got what they wanted; he provided their food for them, but there is none to give him. He had rejected his father’s hand, and there is no hand in all the world outstretched to him. In Oriental lands there grows a tree whose fruit is like the bean-pod, though larger than it, with a dull, sweet taste; the swine would take of it; and the longing eye of the swineherd is cast on it. It is all he can get, for there is no food in that far country suited to him. The soul starves, whether in riotous living or in want, until it looks upwards and learns the old home-cry, “Father, give me!”

     II. FOUND. Consider the return, the welcome, the supper. “It is meet,” says the father, “that we should make merry and be glad.” 1. Mark the steps of the return. The hopeful feature about the poor swineherd is that, although pinned to the citizen of the country, he is yet a person distinct. He has sold himself; but himself is more than, other than, the citizen. There is an inalienable nobility which even “riotous living” cannot stamp out. There are “obstinate questionings,” “blank misgivings,” “fugitive recollections of the imperial palace whence he came.” Ponder the record of the finding of the conscience, and the Litany first, and the Jubilate afterwards, which followed the finding. “He comes to himself.” He has never been the right true self from the moment when he demanded the portion. The right self is sonship. This wallowing in the sty with swine, this bound-overness to tyrant appetite and earthliness ah! as one awaking from a horrid dream he recognizes the reality. And wherein does the conscience, now awakened, become articulate? (1) There is the sense of an awful discord and wrong. The menial of that citizen left to starve. How different are the menials in his father’s house! They have bread enough and to spare. “Whatever is orderly is blest. I, the disorderly, the one out of place, out of my right mind, am the unblest, the one perishing with hunger.” It was this feeling which came over the wild student when, in the solemn sweet moonlight, he gazed from the height on one of the fairest scenes of nature. And the cry was evoked, “All lovely, all peaceful, except myself!”—a cry that bade him back to another and nobler life. Who is there that in calmer moments does not understand the inward glance of the vision—the peaceful father’s house, and the misrule, unrule, of the self-willed and undutiful? (2) There succeeds a higher thought: “The menial in that house, and I, the son!” Gradually there emerges the feeling of the heaven—the authority from which the soul has broken, the order it has contravened, and more still, “against heaven, and before thee.” The recollection of the father rushes in, bringing tides of holy ardour. His eye, the son feels, has been following him in the journey, in the wasting of the substance; it has been all “before him.” “O my father, my father! to have grieved and wounded thee! I will weep no longer. I will arise and go. I will throw myself on thee. I will ask for a place anywhere, if only it is near thee; if I may be again in thy sight, and no longer the sinner!” It is a repentance not to be repented of. The matter of it is not, “I have played the fool exceedingly;” it is ever and throughout “I have sinned.” What causes the will to arise is the longing to be again with the father, to pour out the broken and contrite spirit on his bosom. And he arises and goes. “The best and most blessed said and done” that can be in heaven or on earth.

     2. And now for the welcome. The love that descends is always greater than the love that ascends. The love of the child is only a response to the love of the parent. And as to this father! Most touchingly explicit is the word of Jesus.
“When yet a great way off, the father saw him.” A very great way off! Even in the far country he had been near. The seeing expresses the knowing all about the misery, and the earnestness of the return—a seeing that is a drawing also, a drawing through the need, and all along the journey forming an atmosphere of love that compassed him about. To come to the love of God is to realize that he was first; it is to find that which found us when yet a great way apart. What more? A reproach? A reproof? The arms are at once thrown around the neck, and the kiss of reconciling fatherliness is printed on the cheek. The forgiveness, observe, comes before all confession. In confessing the sin we meet the blessing that has already covered us. But there is a confession. “The truest and best repentance,” as it has been said, “follows, and does not precede, the sense of forgiveness; and thus too, repentance will be a thing of the whole life long, for every new insight into that forgiving love is as a new reason why the sinner should mourn that he ever sinned against it.” Only, note, beneath the pressure of that fatherly heart there is no mention of the hired servant’s place. The “Father, I have sinned,” is sobbed forth on the father’s heart, and the son leaves himself to the father’s will. And how the expression of the welcome rises! The best robe is ordered out; a sonship higher than that of mere birth. “The adoption of children by Jesus Christ to the Father—” is the best robe. And the ring is to be put on the hand—the ring with the seal of the spirit of adoption. And shoes are provided for the torn and weary feet, that henceforth they may walk up and down in the Name of the Lord. And hasten, complete the tokens of the rejoicing—make ready the supper in which the father can rejoice over his child with joy, and rest in his love.

     3. The fulfilment of the welcome is the supper, with the slain fatted calf, and the dancing and music. It denotes the free festal joy of God, of heaven, in the found, repenting sinner. It denotes also the festal blessedness of the sinner himself when the great Object of all need and longing is found, when he is at home with his God. There is a representation of the supper in
Rom. 5. We hear the music and dancing in Rom. 8. They express the truth of the new existence. There had been, in the past, a living, but not a fellowship, with the Father; henceforth it is fellowship; God is the soul’s Good, and the life is lived in and out of him. Oh the swellings of harmony, of poetic triumphant raptures, now! “My son was dead; and is alive again; was lost, and is found.” So much for the younger son and the father. But we must not overlook the elder son. And we must not misjudge him. He was not bad; he is not a mere churl. He is faithful, if he is not free; he is just, if he is not generous. He had never transgressed a command; if his life had no heights, it had no depths; it had been even and calm. And he had been blessed, for he had been ever with the father, and all that was the father’s had been his. We need not fix on any particular representation of the elder son. The Pharisee-heart is, no doubt, castigated in the picture. But it touches many who would resent being associated with the Pharisee. Krummacher was once asked his opinion of the elder son. He quietly said, “I well know now, for I learned it only yesterday.” Being asked further, he laconically remarked, “Myself,” and confessed that yesterday he had fretted his heart to find that a very ill-conditioned person had suddenly been enriched with a remarkable visitation of grace. The sketch supplies the foil to the love of God. It brings out, also, his patience and gentleness in the dealing with the elder son. How the father bears even with the foolish wrath! How he reasons and expostulates, and invites to a share in the joy! “Meet that we should make merry, and be glad—I over my son, thou over thy brother.” Two things notice. 1. The one as bearing on the elder son. He comes out of the fields, punctual and orderly in all his ways. He cannot understand the merry-making; he never had received a kid. That son’s life had been a wholesome one. The prodigal had his ecstasies; but the elder son had had his lifetime. He is the man of habit—habit which is to us better than instinct. The danger to the man of habit is that he becomes mechanical, doing his part steadily, but without the oil of gladness. 2. The other as bearing on the younger son. Let not Christ’s teaching be misapplied. Do not think that it is a higher thing to be first irreligious and then religious; to spend the best part of the life in self-gratification, and give God only the remnants. Ah! years of godlessness leave their record. They write their impression on brain and heart; and, free and full as is God’s forgiveness, the impression cannot be obliterated. What a man sows, he reaps.

The Pulpit Commentary (23 Volume Set)

Law and the Kingdom of God
     Values and Jesus’ authority

     This brief interlude is among the more perplexing passages in the book of Luke. It comes between two passages that are clearly about wealth and possessions. Luke introduces it by noting that the Pharisees scoffed at Jesus’ teaching because they loved money. Yet though Jesus proceeds to rebuke the Pharisees, he does not mention money directly at all. On the surface the unit is so disjunctive that many interpreters despair of trying to ascertain where it fits in the chapter’s literary argument.

     But one approach is likely to explain the connection. The issue Jesus raises in this middle section has to do with values and Jesus’ authority. Coming under the authority of God’s kingdom influences disciples’ values. Kingdom causes call us to renounce divided loyalties (vv. 10–13), to have idolatries revealed, since God hates them (vv. 14–15) and to raise standards of obedience to reflect total integrity (v. 18). Verses 16–17 make up the hinge, suggesting that the kingdom’s arrival means that Jesus’ preaching comes with authority. His way will fulfill what the law and the promise anticipated. The passage ends up being yet another rebuke of the Pharisees. Their way is not the way to God. It is kingdom preaching that transforms people, not the way of these leaders.

     So the Pharisees are sneering at Jesus’ call to be generous and responsible stewards of the resources God gives. The Greek word for sneer, is particularly graphic. It means “to turn one’s nose up” at someone. They thoroughly reject Jesus’ teaching. The Pharisee’s consistent attitude toward Jesus’ teaching reveals hard hearts dead set against him. There is no attempt to hear him; there is only contempt.

     The official approach does not impress Jesus. They seek to justify themselves in the eyes of men. But God knows their hearts. It is what God thinks that counts. Accountability before the divine is more important than the world’s opinion. What human beings value is an abomination before God. The term “abomination” is strong. An abomination is the opposite of an acceptable offering before God. In other words, their values stink and are rejected as repugnant by God. The NIV rendering is detestable in God’s sight is on the mark. God hates their loving attitude toward money. Similar complaints from Jesus are recorded in 11:39–41 and 18:9–14.

     Jesus turns his attention to getting the right perspective on these events. The new era means that the Pharisees do not have an exclusive claim on God’s will: The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached. Here are the two basic eras as far as Luke is concerned. There is the era of promise and the era of preaching of the good news of fulfillment. The dividing line is John. He prepared a people (1:15–17), and now the new era is being preached. Jesus’ arrival means the new era’s arrival. The way of God is found in his kingdom preaching. Thus it is not the Pharisees’ scoffing that carries authority, but Jesus’ exhortations about how to walk with God.

Luke (The IVP New Testament Commentary Series)

Jewish History from Alexander to Hadrian
     CHRIS SEEMAN / Before Alexander

     Before the conquests of Alexander, all Jews (so far as we are aware) resided within the confines of the Persian Empire. Stretching from Anatolia in the west to Afghanistan in the east and from the Caspian steppe in the north to Upper Egypt in the south, the multiethnic domain of the Achaemenid dynasty sustained numerous Jewish communities. Most of these are known to us only through indirect or retrospective testimony. Thus, our present understanding of Jewish life on the eve of Alexander’s conquests is imperfect, especially outside of Palestine.

     An obscure biblical allusion and a stray Aramaic inscription may attest to a Jewish presence in Asia Minor before Alexander, but their interpretation and dating are contested. In the absence of stronger evidence, it is more defensible to treat the Jewish settlement of western Anatolia as a Hellenistic development.

     The Babylonian Diaspora is a major focus of the prophetic corpus of the Hebrew Bible. The later flowering of talmudic culture in that region spawned a wealth of traditions concerning the Jews of Mesopotamia. But the historicity of the latter is often suspect, and the former deals mostly with the Neo-Babylonian period. This gap in reliable testimony is partly remedied by economic documents that locate individual Jews (as well as at least one predominantly Jewish town) in the Babylon-Borsippa and Nippur regions. As yet, there is no cuneiform evidence for a Jewish presence in the city of Babylon itself during Achaemenid times.

     Less certain still is the extent of pre-Hellenistic Jewish penetration of lands of the Zagros arc—Armenia, Adiabene, Media, Elam—or the vast Iranian plateau beyond. Late antique sources attest to an Achaemenid deportation of Jews to distant Hyrcania around 340 B.C.E., and the subsequent appearance of “Hyrcanus” as a Jewish name has been cited as corroboration for this tradition. It is possible, however, that the alleged deportation has been chronologically misplaced and that it actually happened six centuries later.

     The geopolitical situation of Palestine has traditionally linked it with Egypt. The Bible is rife with references to pro-Egyptian factions collaborating with allies on the Nile. Such interstate cooperation appears to have supplied the occasion for the emergence of a Jewish military colony at Elephantine (Yeb) in Upper Egypt. Although there were certainly other Jewish settlements in Egypt, the Elephantine garrison is the only one whose persistence into Achaemenid times has been verified by papyri. Unfortunately, this documentation peters out by the end of the fifth century B.C.E. One Hellenistic text, the largely fictional Letter of Aristeas, claims additional colonists settled in Egypt with the advent of Persian rule, but no precise chronology is offered. Still, it is a reasonable inference that there were Jews living in Egypt at the time of Alexander’s capture of that country in 332 B.C.E. The pattern of military settlement certainly continued under Macedonian rule.

     We are better informed about Palestinian Jewry than any other, though the picture remains woefully incomplete. Survey archaeology has revealed a gradual demographic expansion during late Achaemenid times, as well as significant commercial involvement with the Greek world via the Phoenician coast. Recent excavations on Mt. Gerizim have firmly dated the construction of a Samaritan temple there to the mid-fifth century, though it remains unclear whether or to what extent this event reflects the developed Jewish-Samaritan rivalry of the Hellenistic period.

     The wars of Alexander and his successors undoubtedly disrupted Jewish life in the late fourth century, but the core areas of Jewish settlement persisted and, in time, expanded. By the time of Pompey, Jews could be found not only within the lands of the former Persian Empire, but also in the Aegean, the Greek mainland, North Africa, even the city of Rome. The consolidation of the Hasmonean state in the late second and early first centuries extended Jewish settlement (or at least control) over much of Palestine, transforming Judea from a minute, land-locked, temple community into a major regional power. In Achaemenid times, many Jews—perhaps a majority—inhabited the hinterlands of the great urban centers of the Near East. This was to change during the age of Alexander. In the course of the Hellenistic period, many Jews would be drawn to the Greek polis and would absorb and appropriate its culture (selectively) as their own. This development, more than any other, propelled the creative genius of early Judaism.

The Eerdmans Dictionary of Early Judaism

Take Heart
     April 15

     And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast. --- Revelation 15:2.

     If you keep seeking the truth, then somewhere, here or in some better world, the truth will come to you, and when it comes, the peace and the serenity of it will be made vital with the energy of your long search. ( Classic Sermons on Suffering (Kregel Classic Sermons Series) )

     Simon Peter is forgiven, becomes the preacher of the first sermon, the converter of the first Gentiles, the champion of faith. But he is always the same Simon Peter who denied his Master and struggled with himself on the crucifixion night. Paul mounts to the third heaven, hears wonderful voices, sees unutterable things, but he never ceases to be the Paul who stood by at the stoning of Stephen. You and I come by Christ’s grace into communion with God, but does the power of our conversion ever leave us?

     Aren’t we prodigals still, with the best robe and the ring and the fatted calf before us in our father’s house, conscious that our filial love is full of the repentance that first made us turn homeward from among the swine? The saved world never can forget that it was once the lost world.

     [And] isn’t a “sea of glass mixed with fire” a graphic picture of rest pervaded with activity—of contemplation pervaded and kept alive by work and service? Heaven will not be idleness, not any mere dreaming over the spiritual repose that has been forever won, but active, tireless, earnest work—fresh, lively enthusiasm for the high labors that eternity will offer. These inspirations will play through our repose and make it more mighty in the service of God.

     That life which we dream of in ourselves, we see in Jesus. Where was there ever gentleness so full of energy? What life so still [yet] so pervaded with untiring and restless power? Who ever knew the purposes for which he worked to be so sure, yet so labored for them as if they were uncertain?

     As more and more we get the victory over the beast, we too, are lifted up to walk where he walked. For this, all trial, all suffering, and all struggle are sent. May God grant us all much of that grace through which we can be more than conquerors through him who loved us and so begin now to walk with him in white on the sea of glass mixed with fire.
--- Phillips Brooks

Take Heart: Daily Devotions with the Church's Great Preachers

On This Day
     Jerome of Prague  April 15

     Jerome loved travel, college life, and the Bible. He was born in Prague and excelled at the university there. Following graduation he traveled to England to study at Oxford, where he ran across the teachings of John Wycliffe, the “Morning Star of the Reformation.” The more he read, the more thrilled he became, and he returned to Prague with a heart full of new ideas. His zeal soon took him to other cities. He traveled to Jerusalem in 1403, Paris in 1404, Heidelberg in 1405, and Cologne in 1406. He visited the universities of Europe, sharing the Good News of justification by faith. He met King Sigismund of Hungary in 1410, discussing the vices of the clergy, trying to interest him in pre-Reformation ideas. He was in Moravia in 1412, then back in Prague. He traveled to Russia in 1413, and to Lithuania. Then in 1415 he came to the aid of his friend, John Hus.

     Hus, another pre-reformer, had been hauled before the Council of Constance and condemned for his faith. Hus warned Jerome to stay away, but Jerome traveled to Constance anyway. He was seized on April 15, 1415, put in chains, and imprisoned. Hus, meanwhile, was burned at the stake.

     Under great pressure Jerome temporarily wavered, reading a document on September 11, 1415 accepting the authority of the pope. Hoping to gain as much publicity as possible, the church placed him on trial at the Cathedral of Constance. They wanted all Bohemia to hear his recantation. Jerome, however, recomposed himself and defended his views with powerful eloquence. He renounced his recantation and proclaimed the innocence of Hus and his own adherence to the teachings of Wycliffe.

     The enraged authorities proclaimed him a “cast off and withered branch.” They stuffed a paper cap, painted with red devils, on his head and led him to the very spot where Hus had been burned. A cheerful expression flooded Jerome’s face and he sang Easter hymns as the wood was piled around him. The fire consumed him slowly, and his ashes were tossed into the Rhine.

     Be ready to give an answer when someone asks you about your hope. Give a kind and respectful answer and keep your conscience clear. This way you will make people ashamed for saying bad things about your good conduct as a follower of Christ. You are better off to obey God and suffer for doing right than to suffer for doing wrong.
--- 1 Peter 3:15b-17.

On This Day 365 Amazing And Inspiring Stories About Saints, Martyrs And Heroes

Morning and Evening
     Daily Readings / CHARLES H. SPURGEON

          Morning - April 15

     "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
--- Psalm 22:1.

     We here behold the Saviour in the depth of his sorrows. No other place so well shows the griefs of Christ as Calvary, and no other moment at Calvary is so full of agony as that in which his cry rends the air—“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” At this moment physical weakness was united with acute mental torture from the shame and ignominy through which he had to pass; and to make his grief culminate with emphasis, he suffered spiritual agony surpassing all expression, resulting from the departure of his Father’s presence. This was the black midnight of his horror; then it was that he descended the abyss of suffering. No man can enter into the full meaning of these words. Some of us think at times that we could cry, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” There are seasons when the brightness of our Father’s smile is eclipsed by clouds and darkness; but let us remember that God never does really forsake us. It is only a seeming forsaking with us, but in Christ’s case it was a real forsaking. We grieve at a little withdrawal of our Father’s love; but the real turning away of God’s face from his Son, who shall calculate how deep the agony which it caused him?

     In our case, our cry is often dictated by unbelief: in his case, it was the utterance of a dreadful fact, for God had really turned away from him for a season. O thou poor, distressed soul, who once lived in the sunshine of God’s face, but art now in darkness, remember that he has not really forsaken thee. God in the clouds is as much our God as when he shines forth in all the lustre of his grace; but since even the thought that he has forsaken us gives us agony, what must the woe of the Saviour have been when he exclaimed, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

          Evening - April 15

     "Lift them up for ever." Psalm 28:9.

     God’s people need lifting up. They are very heavy by nature. They have no wings, or, if they have, they are like the dove of old which lay among the pots; and they need divine grace to make them mount on wings covered with silver, and with feathers of yellow gold. By nature sparks fly upward, but the sinful souls of men fall downward. O Lord, “lift them up for ever!” David himself said, “Unto thee, O God, do I lift up my soul,” and he here feels the necessity that other men’s souls should be lifted up as well as his own. When you ask this blessing for yourself, forget not to seek it for others also. There are three ways in which God’s people require to be lifted up. They require to be elevated in character. Lift them up, O Lord; do not suffer thy people to be like the world’s people! The world lieth in the wicked one; lift them out of it! The world’s people are looking after silver and gold, seeking their own pleasures, and the gratification of their lusts; but, Lord, lift thy people up above all this; keep them from being “muck-rakers,” as John Bunyan calls the man who was always scraping after gold! Set thou their hearts upon their risen Lord and the heavenly heritage! Moreover, believers need to be prospered in conflict. In the battle, if they seem to fall, O Lord, be pleased to give them the victory. If the foot of the foe be upon their necks for a moment, help them to grasp the sword of the Spirit, and eventually to win the battle. Lord, lift up thy children’s spirits in the day of conflict; let them not sit in the dust, mourning for ever. Suffer not the adversary to vex them sore, and make them fret; but if they have been, like Hannah, persecuted, let them sing of the mercy of a delivering God.

     We may also ask our Lord to lift them up at the last! Lift them up by taking them home, lift their bodies from the tomb, and raise their souls to thine eternal kingdom in glory.

Morning and Evening

Amazing Grace
     April 15

          IN THE CROSS OF CHRIST I GLORY

     John Bowring, 1792–1872

     May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Galatians 6:14)

     The cross has been the most significant symbol of the Christian faith throughout church history. It is said that as many as 400 different forms or designs of it have been used—among them the usual Latin Cross, the Greek Cross, the Budded Cross. Regardless of design, the symbol of the cross should always remind us of the price that was paid by the eternal God for man’s redemption. “In the Cross of Christ I Glory” is generally considered one of the finest hymns on this subject. It was written by John Bowring, one of the most remarkable men of his day as well as one of the greatest linguists who ever lived. It is said that he could converse in over 100 different languages before his death.

     Some writers claim that John Bowring had visited Macao, on the South Chinese Coast, and was much impressed by the sight of a bronze cross towering on the summit of the massive wall of what had formerly been a great cathedral. This cathedral, originally built by the early Portuguese colonists, overlooked the harbor and had been destroyed by a typhoon. Only one wall, which was topped by the huge metal cross, remained. This scene is said to have so impressed Bowring that it eventually served as the inspiration for this hymn text.

     The writing of the tune for this hymn is also most interesting. It was composed 24 years after Bowring’s text by an American organist and choir leader of the Central Baptist Church of Norwich, Connecticut. The composer, Ithamar Conkey, was sorely disappointed at one Sunday morning service when only one choir member appeared, a faithful soprano by the name of Mrs. Beriah Rathbun. Before the evening service Conkey composed a new tune for this text and named it after his one faithful choir member.

     The preaching of the cross may be a foolish message to many “but unto us who are saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18 KJV).

     In the cross of Christ I glory, tow’ring o’er the wrecks of time;
     all the light of sacred story gathers round its head sublime.
     When the woes of life o’er take me, hopes deceive and fears annoy,
     never shall the cross forsake me: Lo! it glows with peace and joy.
     When the sun of bliss is beaming light and love upon my way,
     from the cross the radiance streaming adds more luster to the day.
     Bane and blessing, pain and pleasure, by the cross are sanctified;
     peace is there that knows no measure, joys that thru all time abide.


     For Today: John 19; Romans 5:6–11; 1 Corinthians 1:17–19; Ephesians 2:16.

     Determine to allow the glory of Christ’s cross to be evident in all that you do. Sing this musical testimony as you go realizing that ---

Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions

A Guide to Fervent Prayer
     A.W. Pink | (1886-1952)


          Chapter 13 Revelation 1:5, 6 – Part 1

     The prayer now before us really forms the closing part of the salutation and benediction of verses 4 and 5 of Revelation 1, in which “grace and peace” are sought from the triune God in His distinct persons: (1) “from him which is, and which was, and which is to come,” that is, from Jehovah as the self-existing and immutable One—He is addressed by the equivalent of His memorial name (Ex. 3:13-17) by which His eternal being and covenant-keeping faithfulness were to be remembered (Ex. 6:2-5; “the LORD” equals “Jehovah” throughout the Old Testament); (2) “from the seven Spirits which are before his throne,” that is, from the Holy Spirit in the fullness of His power and diversity of His operations (Isa. 11:1, 2); and (3) “from Jesus Christ,” who is mentioned last as the connecting Link between God and His people. A threefold appellation is here accorded the Savior: (1) “the faithful witness,” which contemplates and covers the whole of His virtuous life from the manger to the cross; (2) “the first begotten [better, “Firstborn”] of the dead,” (brackets mine) which celebrates His victory over the tomb—this is a title of dignity (Gen. 49:3), and signifies priority of rank rather than time; and (3) “and the prince of the kings of the earth,” which announces His regal majesty and dominion. This third title views the Conqueror as exalted “Far above all principality, and power” (Eph. 1:21), as the One upon whose shoulder the government of the universe has been laid (Isa. 9:6), who is even now “upholding all things by the word of his power” (Heb. 1:3), and before whom every knee shall yet bow (Phil. 2:10).

          An Analytical Synopsis of the Prayer

     The preceding recital of the Redeemer's perfections and dignities evoked from the mouth of the Apostle John this adoring exclamation: “Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” Thus the nature of our prayer is again a doxology. Its Object is the Son of God incarnate in His mediatorial character and office. Its adorers are those of “us” who are the beneficiaries of His mediation. Its inciting reasons are our apprehensions of His unfathomable love, the cleansing efficacy of His precious blood, and the wondrous dignities that He has conferred upon His redeemed. Its ascription is “to him be glory and dominion,” not merely for a thousand years, but “for ever and ever,” which closes with the assuring affirmation, “Amen”—it shall be so. For the benefit of young preachers I shall add a few more remarks on doxologies in general.

          The Doxologies Are Needed to Enlarge Our Conceptions of the Persons of the Godhead

     The doxologies of Scripture reveal our need to form more exalted conceptions of the Divine Persons. In order to do so, we must engage in more frequent and devout meditations on their ineffable attributes. How little do our thoughts dwell upon the display of them in the material creation. Divinity is “clearly seen” in the things that God has made, and even the heathen are charged with inexcusable guilt because of their failure to glorify God for His handiwork (Rom. 1:19-21). Not only should our senses be regaled by the lovely colors of the trees and perfumes of the flowers, but our minds ought to dwell upon the motions and instincts of animals, admiring the Divine hand that so equipped them. How little do we reflect on the marvels of our own bodies, the structure, convenience, and perfect adaptedness of each member. How few unite with the Psalmist in exclaiming, “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well” (Ps. 139:14). How much more wonderful are the faculties of our inner man, raising us high above all irrational creatures. How better can our reason be employed than in extolling the One who has so richly endowed us? Yet how little grateful acknowledgment is made to the beneficent Fashioner and Donor of our beings.

     How little do we consider the wisdom and power of God as manifested in the government of the world. Let us take, for example, the balance preserved between the sexes in the relative number of births and deaths, so that the population of the earth is maintained from generation to generation without any human contriving. Or let us take into account the various temperaments and talents given to men, so that some are wise for counsel, administration and management, some are better qualified for hard manual labor, and others to serve in clerical functions. Or consider how His government curbs the baser passions of men, so that such a measure of law and order obtains generally in society that the weak are not destroyed by the strong nor the good unable to live in a world that wholly “lieth in wickedness” (1 John 5:19). Or think how God sets bounds to the success of rapacious dictators, so that when it appears they are on the very point of carrying all before them, they are suddenly stopped by the One who has decreed that they shall go “no farther.” Or ponder how, in His application of the law of retribution, individuals and nations are made to reap what they sow, whether it be good or evil. It is because we pay so little attention to these and a hundred other similar phenomena that we are so rarely moved to cry, “Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth” (Rev. 19:6).

          Doxologies Are Wholly Devoted to the Praises of Deity, Particularly to the Works of Divine Grace

     But it is the wondrous works of God in the realm of grace, rather than in creation and providence, that are most calculated to draw out the hearts of God's people in adoring homage. More particularly, those works wherein the Darling of His own heart was and is engaged on our behalf draw forth our admiration and praise. Thus it is in the verses we are now pondering. No sooner was the peerless Person and perfections of the eternal Lover of his soul set before the mind and heart of the Apostle John than that he cried exultantly, “To Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever.” And thus it is with all of God's true saints. Such a cry is the spontaneous response and outgoing of their souls to Him. That leads me to point out the one thing that is common to all doxologies: in them praise is always offered exclusively to Deity, and never to any mere human agency or accomplishment. Self-occupation and self-gratulation have no place whatever in them. Different far is that from the low level of spirituality generally prevailing in the churches today. This writer was once present at a service where a hymn was sung, the chorus of which ran, “Oh, how I love Jesus.” But I could not conscientiously join in singing it. None in heaven are guilty of lauding themselves or magnifying their graces, nor should any Christians do so here upon earth.

          The Particular Object of this Doxology

     The Object of this adoration and thanksgiving is that Blessed One who undertook, with the Father and the Spirit, to save His people from all their sins and miseries by the price of His blood and the arm of His power. In His essential Person, God the Son is co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Spirit “who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen” (Rom. 9:5). He is the uncreated Sun of righteousness (Ps. 84:11; Mal. 4:2). In Him all the glory of the Godhead shines forth, and by Him all the perfections of Deity have been manifested. In response to this very homage, He declares, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty” (Rev. 1:8). Before the worlds were made He entered into covenant engagement to become incarnate, to be made in the likeness of sinful flesh (Rom. 8:3) to serve as the Surety of His people, to be the Bridegroom of His Church—its complete and all-sufficient Savior. As such He is the Man of God's right hand, the Fellow of the Lord of hosts, the King of glory. His work is honorable, His fullness infinite, His power omnipotent. His throne is for ever and ever. His name is above every name. His glory is above the heavens. It is impossible to extol Him too highly, for His glorious name “is exalted above all blessing and praise” (Neh. 9:5, ital. mine).

     In the immediate context this adorable One is viewed in His theanthropic person, as incarnate, as the God-man Mediator. He is set forth in His threefold office as Prophet, Priest, and Potentate. His prophetical office is clearly denoted in the title “the faithful Witness,” for in Old Testament prophecy the Father announced, “I have given him for a witness to the people” (Isa. 55:4). Christ Himself declared to Pilate, “To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth” (John 18:37). As such He proclaimed the Gospel to the poor and confirmed it by mighty miracles. His sacerdotal office is necessarily implied in the expression “first begotten of the dead,” for in death He offered Himself as a sacrifice to God to make satisfaction for the transgressions of His people. He then rose again that He might continue to exercise His priesthood by His constant intercession for them. His regal office appears plainly in the designation “prince of the kings of the earth,” for He has absolute dominion over them. By Him they reign (Prov. 8:15), and to Him they are commanded to render allegiance (Ps. 2:10-12). To Him we are to hearken, in Him we are to believe, and to Him we are to be subject. Singly and collectively these titles announce that He is to be greatly respected and revered.

          Angels Are Filled with Wonder over the Redeeming Love of Christ for His Church

     While an exile on the isle of Patmos, John was engaged in contemplating Immanuel in the excellencies of His Person, offices, and work. As he did so his heart was enraptured, and he exclaimed, “Unto him that loved us.” The love of Christ is here expressed by the Apostle John in the past tense, not because it is inoperative in the present but to focus our attention upon its earlier exercises. The love of Christ is the grandest fact and mystery revealed in Holy Writ. That love originated in His heart and was in operation for all eternity, for before the mountains were formed His “delights were with the sons of men” (Prov. 8:31). That wonderful love was put forth by Christ in connection with the everlasting covenant, wherein He agreed to serve as the Sponsor of His people and to discharge all their obligations. That He should take complacence in creatures of the dust is the marvel of heaven (Eph. 3:8-10; 1 Peter 1:12). That He should set His heart upon them while viewed in their fallen estate is incomprehensible. That love was expressed openly in His incarnation, humiliation, obedience, sufferings, and death.

     Holy Scripture declares that “the love of Christ passeth knowledge” (Eph. 3:19). It is entirely beyond finite computation or comprehension. That the Son of God should ever deign to notice finite creatures was an act of great condescension on His part (Ps. 13:6). That he should go so far as to pity them is yet more wonderful. That He should love us in our pollution entirely transcends our understanding. That the outgoings of His heart toward the Church moved Him to lay aside the glory that He had with the Father before the world was (John 17:5), to take upon Him the form of a servant, and to become “obedient unto death” for their sakes, “even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:7, 8), surmounts all thought and is beyond all praise. That the Holy One should be willing to be made sin for His people (2 Cor. 5:2 1) and to endure the curse that endless blessing should be their portion (Gal. 3:13, 14) is altogether inconceivable. As S. E. Pierce so ably expressed it,

     “His love is one perfect and continued act from everlasting to everlasting. It knows no abatement or decay. It is eternal and immutable love. It exceeds all conception and surpasses all expression. To give the utmost proof of it, ‘Christ died for the ungodly’ (Rom. 5:6). In His life He fully displayed His love. In His sufferings and death He stamped it with an everlasting emphasis.”

          Christ's Love Is Completely Impartial, Not Evoked by Any Merit in Its Objects

     The love of Christ was an entirely disinterested love, for it was uninfluenced by anything in its objects or any other considerations external to Himself. There was nothing whatever in His people, either actual or foreseen, to call His love into exercise: nothing actual, for they had rebelled against God and had deliberately chosen as their exemplar and master one who was a liar and murderer from the beginning; nothing foreseen, for no excellence could they bear but that which His own gracious hand wrought in them. The love of Christ infinitely excelled in purity, in intensity, in its disinterestedness, any that ever moved in a human breast. It was altogether free and spontaneous. He loved us when we were loveless and unlovely. We were entirely unable to render Him any proper compensation or return. His own essential blessedness and glory could neither be diminished by our damnation nor increased by our salvation. His love was uninvited, unattracted, altogether self-caused and self-motivated. It was His love that stirred every other attribute—His wisdom, power, holiness, and so forth—to activity. The words of David, “he delivered me, because he delighted in me” (Ps. 18:19, ital. mine), provide the Divine explanation of my redemption.

     The love of Christ was a discriminating one. “The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works” (Ps. 145:9). He is benevolent toward all His creatures, making His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sending rain on the just and on the unjust (Matthew 5:45). “He is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil” (Luke 6:3 5, ital. mine). But Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for it with a love such as He does not bear toward all mankind. The Church is the one special and peculiar object of His affections. For her He reserves and entertains a unique love and devotion that makes her shine among all the created works of His hands with the unmistakable radiance of a favorite. Husbands are bidden to love their wives “even as Christ also loved the church” (Eph. 5:25). The love of a husband toward his wife is a special and exclusive one; so Christ cherishes for His Church a particular affection. It is set upon His Bride rather than upon the human race at large. She is His peculiar treasure. “Having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end” (John 13:1, ital. mine). Instead of caviling at this truth, let us enjoy its preciousness. Christ's love is also a constant and durable one, exercised upon its objects “unto the end”; and, as we shall now see, it is a sacrificial and enriching love.

A Guide to Fervent Prayer

A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23
     W. Phillip Keller | (1920-1997)


          2 I Shall Not Be In Want

     To grasp the inner significance of this simple statement it is necessary to understand the difference between belonging to one master or another—to the Good Shepherd or to an imposter. Jesus Himself took great pains to point out to anyone who contemplated following Him that it was quite impossible to serve two masters. One belonged either to Him or to another.

     When all is said and done, the welfare of any flock is entirely dependent upon the management afforded them by their owner.

     The tenant sheepman on the farm next to my first ranch was the most indifferent manager I had ever met. He was not concerned about the condition of his sheep. His land was neglected. He gave little or no time to his flock, letting them pretty well forage for themselves as best they could, both summer and winter. They fell prey to dogs, cougars, and rustlers.

     Every year these poor creatures were forced to gnaw away at bare brown fields and impoverished pastures. Every winter there was a shortage of nourishing hay and wholesome grain to feed the hungry ewes. Shelter to safeguard and protect the suffering sheep from storms and blizzards was scanty and inadequate.

     They had only polluted, muddy water to drink. There had been a lack of salt and other trace minerals needed to offset their sickly pastures. In their thin, weak, and diseased condition these poor sheep were a pathetic sight.

     In my mind’s eye I can still see them standing at the fence, huddled sadly in little knots, staring wistfully through the wires at the rich pastures on the other side.

     To all their distress, the heartless, selfish owner seemed utterly callous and indifferent. He simply did not care. What if his sheep did want green grass, fresh water, shade, safety, or shelter from the storms? What if they did want relief from wounds, bruises, disease, and parasites?

     He ignored their needs—he couldn’t care less. Why should he: They were just sheep—fit only for the slaughterhouse.

     I never looked at those poor sheep without an acute awareness that this was a precise picture of those wretched old taskmasters, sin and Satan, on their derelict ranch—scoffing at the plight of those within their power.

     As I have moved among men and women from all strata of society as both a lay pastor and as a scientist, I have become increasingly aware of one thing: It is the boss or the manager or the Master in people’s lives who makes the difference in their destiny.

A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23

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     Jon Courson (2013)


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