Introduction to the Pentateuch

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The bibliography for the Introduction to the Pentateuch, as well as for Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy is presented at the end of this article.

The Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible

The first five books of the Bible (both Hebrew and Christian) are foundational to all of Scripture and rank as one of the most important portions of the Word of God (Wolf 1991:17). This is so because its theological and historical revelations are necessary for an understanding of the rest of the Old Testament and the New Testament as well. These five books contain, for example, God's revelation about the origin of the world with its emphasis on the creation of man made in the image of God, how sin entered human history and the judgment that followed, and the origin of the nation of Israel and its covenant–relationship to Yahweh.

For the Jew, these five books contained an authority that the rest of (their) Scripture—the prophets and the writings—did not seem to match. This is evident in that when the Jews were driven into exile, it was the books of Moses that were read most frequently in the synagogues. The first five books of the Bible have from the earliest of time been taken by the Jews to constitute a unity known to them as the Torah or Law. To the Jews, the word Torah best described this part of Scripture as this biblical Hebrew term means not only the "law" but also "teaching" or "instruction" which more completely characterizes God’s communication to the Israelites through Moses (Wolf:1991:18).

The first five books of the Bible have commonly come to be referred to as the Pentateuch, a word derived from the Greek penta, meaning, "five," and teuchos, originally meaning “a case for carrying papyrus rolls” but in later usage, meaning the "scroll" itself. The division of these writings into five separate books may owe its origin to a practical consideration as one scroll containing all the words would be unwieldy, whereas five scrolls could be handled quite easily (Wolf 1991:17-18).

Before developing a synthesis of the individual books of the Pentateuch, it is helpful to consider issues pertaining to its authorship, author, chronology of events and dating of composition, theological emphases, and covenant forms which dominate the compositional structure of the text from Exodus through Deuteronomy.

Much has been written on an introduction to the Pentateuch, and the topics considered here are discussed in detail in other works, some of which are cited in the text and referenced in the bibliography. The intent here is to deal with these issues only to the extent necessary to carry out the goal of this work which is to develop a synthesis of each book of the Pentateuch. Some of these topics have a direct bearing on developing such a synthesis, while others provide a framework within which to better understand the Pentateuch.

Authorship of the Pentateuch

Wolf (1991:51) has noted that few subjects in Old Testament studies have generated more discussion and more disagreement than the question of who wrote the Pentateuch. Opinions range widely with some arguing that every word was written by Moses, while others insist that Moses had nothing whatever to do with the writing of the Pentateuch. Instead it is claimed that certain ancient sources, labeled J, E, P, and D, were the original documents from which the Pentateuch was formed, and that the writers of these alleged documents, the so-called Yahwist, Elohist, Priestly Code writer, and the Deuteronomist, are regarded as the true authors of the Pentateuch. (See, Archer 1985:83-108, and Wolf 1991:62-70, for a detailed discussion of the documentary hypothesis of the Pentateuch.)

While the issue of authorship is minimally important in the process of understanding the Pentateuch, the issue of the text’s unity of composition is important in order to develop a synthesis of the text. It is important, therefore for this study to establish authorship of the Pentateuch.

Conservative biblical scholarship, while acknowledging problems associated with Mosaic authorship, generally adheres to the traditional Jewish and Christian position, while liberal biblical scholarship tends to reject Mosaic authorship in support of the documentary hypothesis. This development of a synthesis of the Pentateuch is in agreement with the traditional Jewish and Christian position and assumes Mosaic authorship and, therefore, a unity of composition of the text. To argue in favor of Mosaic authorship would be extensive and not the purpose of this study. Nevertheless it is helpful to present in brief a case for Mosaic authorship.

The case for Mosaic authorship

The Pentateuch is, in a sense, an anonymous work since it does not explicitly state who wrote it. The question of authorship for the Pentateuch is complex. For example, in considering the authorship of Genesis it is evident that it deals with a vast period of time, none of which took place in Moses' lifetime.

A reading of the Old Testament, however, gives the impression that the Pentateuch was written by Moses. Add to this the testimony of the New Testament, and considerations of the Pentateuch's unity of composition, a case can be made for Mosaic authorship of the first five books of the Old Testament.

More specifically, a case for Mosaic authorship can be argued on the basis of,

1. statements concerning the writing activity of Moses as found in the Pentateuch itself, as found in the rest of the OT, and as found in the NT;

2. the theological and compositional unity of the complex text of the Pentateuch which tends to support the position of a single author/unity of authorship;

3. the implication that Moses' training in the educational system of Pharaoh in Egypt would have prepared him for this great literary task; and

4. the fact that the involvement of Moses as the principle human protagonist in the record of Israel’s deliverance, desert experiences, and its birth as a nation in covenant–relationship with Yahweh, makes him the logical choice for not only the recording of those events, but, more importantly, as the author of the theological message forged from those events.

Points 3 and 4 require no supportive argument; they are reasonable logical assumptions.

In what follows, consideration is given to explicit statements in the whole of Scripture which support Mosaic authorship, and, to reasons for assuming unity, both literarily and theologically, for the Pentateuch.

Explicit biblical statements in support of Mosaic authorship

Statements found in the Pentateuch

Wolf (1991:53) has observed that a number of passages in the Pentateuch assert that Moses wrote at least part of it. In Exodus 17:14, for example, the Lord told Moses to write an account of the battle with the Amalekites. Then also, as recorded in Exodus 24:4, Moses, at Mount Sinai, wrote down all the words and laws spoken by the Lord and repeated to the people. Numbers 33:1-2 says that at the Lord’s command, Moses recorded the stages of the Israelites’ journey from the time they came out of Egypt. In Deuteronomy 31:9 the text says that Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests and commanded them to read this law in front of all Israel in their hearing at the end of every seven years when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord. The literal understanding of this text requires that a written copy of the Law must have been in existence. The most comprehensive statement of Mosaic authorship in the Pentateuch is found in Deuteronomy 31:24, where it states that after Moses finished writing in a book the words of this law from beginning to end he commanded the Levites to “Take this Book of the Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord.”

Statements found in the rest of the Old Testament

The Pentateuch is not the only portion of the Old Testament which associates these five books with Moses (Wolf 1991:54). For example, after Moses' death, God instructed Joshua to obey all the law given by Moses and to meditate upon the "Book of the Law" day and night (Josh 1:7-8). Again, at the covenant renewal ceremony at Mount Ebal Joshua built an altar of uncut stones following instructions written in the Book of the Law of Moses (Josh 8:31). The specifications for this altar are given in Exodus 20:25. Additionally, Joshua 8:34-35 emphasizes that all the words of the law were read to the people. Furthermore, in his farewell address to the nation, Joshua urges the people to be faithful to God by obeying "all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses" (Josh 23:6).

Joshua was not the only one to make this association, for it is recorded in 1 Kings 2:3 that just before he died David challenged Solomon to keep the decrees and commandments written in "the Law of Moses.” Also, 2 Kings 14:5-6 says of Amaziah that when he became king he killed his servants who had slain the king his father, but he did not put to death the sons of the slayers according to what is written in "the Book of the Law of Moses." And 2 Kings 18:6; 23:2 says that Josiah served the Lord with all his heart and soul "in accordance with all the law of Moses."

Biblical scholars, at least conservative scholars, are agreed that by the time of Ezra and Nehemiah in the fifth century B.C. the Pentateuch was attributed to Moses (Wolf:1991:54). This is supported by the phrase the "Book of Moses" which appears in Ezra 6:18 and Nehemiah 13:1 as well as in 2 Chronicles 25:4.

Statements found in the New Testament

The authorship connection between Moses and the Pentateuch is even more direct in the New Testament (Wolf 1991:55) where there are numerous references to the "Law of Moses" or the "Book of Moses" (Mark 12:26), or just simply to "Moses" as in, “Moses and the prophets” (Luke 16:29, 31; 24:27; Acts 26:22). While the gospels contain many references to Moses and his writings, the most important ones are found in the gospel of John. In John 1:17 the gospel writer states that "the law was given through Moses." And in 1:45 he reports that Philip told Nathaniel he had “found the one Moses wrote about in the Law." In John 5:46-47, Jesus Himself declares that Moses wrote about Him, but the Jews did not believe that He was the Christ because they did not believe what Moses wrote. As His dispute with the Jews heated up, Jesus noted that Moses had indeed given them the Law but none of them kept it (John 7:19). In the ensuing dispute with the Jews, Jesus attributes the giving of circumcision to Moses. But John notes here that it actually did not come from Moses but from the Patriarchs. John’s clarification of this point supports the claim for Mosaic authorship. The institution of circumcision came through Abraham (Gen 17) as the sign of the covenant God made with him, yet it comes down to the Jews through the Law of Moses (John 7:22-23). Significantly, the reference to Moses' giving the Jews circumcision implicitly attributes the authorship of Genesis to Moses. Genesis is the most difficult of the five books to link to Moses, thus if some connection can be made between Moses and the Book of Genesis a case can be made for Mosaic authorship of the entire Pentateuch.

The Pauline epistles use "Moses" in a similar manner as, for example, in Romans 10:5 where Paul says that "Moses describes . . . the righteousness that is by the law," and then goes on to quote Leviticus 18:5. In 2 Corinthians 3:15 Paul refers to the veil that covers the hearts of the Jews "when Moses is read." It would seem, that in these contexts "Moses" denotes the "Books of Moses," and thus the Pentateuch. Nowhere in the New Testament is there any hint that some individual authored the Pentateuch other than Moses.

Unity of composition in support of unity of authorship

Demonstrating the literary unity of the Pentateuch does not prove Mosaic authorship. However if such unity can be shown for major portions of the Pentateuch an argument can be made for unity of authorship which can be used to support a claim for Mosaic authorship. Unity of composition for the Pentateuch is not argued for in detail here but only broadly from the perspective of continuity in the overall story, narrative structure, and grammatical features.

Continuity/unity of narrative story

The five books of the Pentateuch present a coherent picture of the origins of mankind, its fall into a state of sin, and the result of that fall. It also presents a coherent picture of the birth and development of Israel as a nation in covenant–relationship with Yahweh (Wolf 1991:18-19). Furthermore, except for Genesis, these books focus on the life and ministry of Moses whom God raised up to lead the sons of Israel out of bondage in Egypt and into that covenant-relationship with Himself, and to, but not into, the Land of Promise as a fulfillment of His promise to Abraham. The continuing role of Moses as the protagonist in Exodus through Deuteronomy, and the central focus of Yahweh's developing covenant–relationship with Israel, in accordance with the promises He made to Abraham, serve to unify the books of the Pentateuch.

Continuity/unity in narrative structure

The main narrative sections of the Pentateuch are concluded by poetic material sometimes followed by an epilogue (see, for example, Sailhamer 1990:7-8). For example, at the close of the patriarchal narratives stands the blessings of Jacob which are written in poetic form in Genesis 49 and an epilogue in chapter 50. The Exodus narratives are concluded by the song of Moses (Exodus 15) written in poetic form, and the wilderness wanderings are followed by Balaam's oracles (Num 23-24) written in poetic form. And at the end of the Pentateuch there is a double poetic section containing Moses' song of witness and blessing on the twelve tribes (Deut 32-33), followed by an epilogue (Deut 34).

Continuity/unity in grammatical features

Along with the overall continuity in the narrative, there are also certain grammatical features that underscore the unity of the Pentateuch. For some reason, as Wolf (1991:19) points out, these books fail to distinguish between the third person pronouns "he" and "she." Instead of making this distinction like the rest of the OT, the Pentateuch uses only the masculine form.

Conclusion on Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch

While it is possible to conclude as some have that the witness of the Pentateuch itself to Mosaic authorship can be understood as confirming only that certain portions of the text were written by Moses, there is nevertheless other credible biblical evidence to support his writing of the text. And while it would seem that certain portions of the Pentateuch were additions from later periods of Israel's history (see, Wolf 1991:58-60), it does not invalidate that Moses could have written the majority of the text. For example, the declaration of the humility of Moses (Num 12:3) would hardly be convincing if it came from Moses' own judgment. Equally difficult to determine in the Book of Numbers is the origin of the Balaam story (Num 22-24). Since Moses was not a participant in these events, or even an observer of them, their origin as Scripture is somewhat problematic. These and other examples suggest later additions to the text of the writings. Nevertheless, there is reasonable evidence to support Mosaic authorship, and it is reasonable, therefore, to conclude along with both Jewish and Christian tradition, that authorship of the majority and essential content of the Pentateuch is to be ascribed to Moses.

The person of Moses

From a Jewish perspective, the dominant figure of the Pentateuch and, to a certain extent, of the entire OT is Moses. Abraham plays a key role in Genesis, but his stature and accomplishments do not match those of Moses. Although Abraham was the founding father of Israel, Moses was the one who organized the nation, promulgated their laws, and, under God, led them for forty years through the wilderness. Throughout this time he was a prophet, a priest, and, in effect, a king/ruler as he directed every facet of Israel's national life. The NT highly praises both Abraham and Moses, but it was Moses who appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration, along with Elijah, to talk with Jesus (Matt 17:3-8).

Though he was born into a Jewish household as a member of the tribe of Levi, he was raised an Egyptian by Pharaoh's daughter and given an education befitting a prince of the royal household. Moses' concern for his people in later life led directly to his self-imposed exile from Egypt. His calling by God after forty years in the desert of Midian set him aside as a prophet, one who would speak the word of God to the sons of Israel and to Pharaoh. In his role as a prophet, Moses was unique. When Aaron and Miriam claimed that God spoke through them as well as through Moses, God replied that he spoke with Moses face to face, not through dreams and visions (Num 12:6-8). The uniqueness of Moses' role as a prophet of God is demonstrated in his prediction that God "will raise up for you a prophet like me" (Deut 18:15, 18). After many centuries of prophets coming and going, Israel was, at the time of Christ's appearance, yet looking for the prophet of whom Moses spoke (John 1:21). According to Acts 3:21-23 this was fulfilled in Christ.

Closely associated with Moses' prophetic role were the "miraculous signs and wonders" that Yahweh performed through him, first in Egypt, and then in the wilderness (Deut 34:10-11). A prophet was also a man of prayer interceding on behalf of others (see for example, Gen 20:7). Moses' intercession on behalf of Israel (Exod 32:11-14) clearly demonstrates his function as a mediator between God and Israel. The year that Israel spent at Mount Sinai was a significant time for Moses, for it was then that he served as lawgiver and became mediator of the covenant Yahweh entered into with the sons of Israel. The people were afraid to listen to the powerful voice of God, so God spoke to Moses and Moses gave them the laws and statutes (Exod 20:18-19). Moses "wrote down everything Yahweh had said" and read to the people from "the Book of the Covenant" (Exod 24:4, 7). Moses' role as lawgiver is clearly connected with the writing of the Pentateuch since all five books are referred to as "the Law."

At Mount Sinai Moses also directed the establishment of national worship under the leadership of the priests and Levites. Moses officiated at the ordination of the priests, offering the prescribed sacrifices and applying the blood required by the Levitical law (Lev 8). Thus, before Aaron was installed as high priest, Moses was Israel's priest. It is evident from this that in order for Moses to officiate at the inauguration of the Aaronic priesthood he necessarily must have been sanctified. Since there is no record of this happening, it is clear that God Himself must have sanctified Moses, likely at the burning bush incident when he was told by God to take off his sandals because he was on holy ground (Exodus 3:1-6; compare this with Isa 6:1-7). And it was Moses who received from Yahweh the plans for the construction of the Tabernacle and the regulations for the various offerings (Exod 25:9; Lev 7:37-38). Significantly, Moses remained the spiritual leader of Israel even after the priests and Levites were carrying out their responsibilities.

Dating and chronology of the Pentateuch

The importance of chronology in establishing a history of a nation has been underscored by Thiele (1983:33):

CHRONOLOGY IS THE BACKBONE of history. Absolute chronology is the fixed central core around which the events of the nation must be correctly grouped before they may assume their exact position in history and before their mutual relationships may be properly understood. Without exact chronology there can be no exact history. Until a correct chronology of a nation has been established, the events of that nation cannot be correctly integrated with the events of neighboring states. If history is to be a true and exact science, then it is of fundamental importance to construct a sound chronological framework about which may be fitted the events of states and the international world.

The importance in establishing a chronological framework in order to understand the history of the Old Testament including the Pentateuch is clear.

Establishing a chronological framework of the Old Testament in general, and of the Pentateuch in particular, is problematic, however, because biblical data, the primary source for establishing a chronology, is generally with respect to some person, such as a king (see for example Jeremiah 1:2-3 and Daniel 1:1), or event, such as an earthquake (see for example Amos 1:1) and results, therefore, in a relative rather than “absolute” dating of events and persons. It is beyond the intent of this brief section to discuss what is meant by an absolute chronological framework. Suffice it to say that such a framework can be established for examining the history of a nation in relationship to other nations based on historical records of that nation.

In order to establish an absolute chronology some chronological reference point needs to be established or identified. The Western world choose the birth of Christ as that reference point. Given that point (see Hoehner 1977:11-27 for a detailed determination of the date of the birth of Christ), a chronology can be derived backwards and forwards in time. This does not solve all the problems associated with establishing a robust chronological framework, one that will allow for the study of all nations. It is critical that there be points of intersection between nations, societies, cultures (see Daniel 1:1 as an instance of intersection between Israel and Babylonia).

In establishing a chronological framework for the Old Testament including the Pentateuch, often times more data than the biblical record is needed. The primary sources for developing an Old Testament chronology include, but are not necessarily limited to, biblical data, archaeological data, and astronomical data.

Sources of chronological data

Biblical sources

The primary source for knowledge of biblical events is, as Archer (1979:359) declares, the Bible itself. The frequent references to individual life spans and to regnal years of kings, as well as such chronological data as the interval between the Exodus and the building of the Temple of Solomon (1 Kings 6:1), and the length of the Egyptian sojourn (Exod 12:40, 41), serve to establish major chronological data points of OT Hebrew history.

Chart 1 summarizes biblical chronological data important for establishing a chronology of the Pentateuch. It is important to observe from this summary that much of this data provides chronological reference for the events relative to the Exodus. Thus establishing an absolute date for the Exodus is important for establishing a chronology of the Pentateuch. This is done in a subsequent section.

Chart 1 Summary of Biblical Chronological Data

Biblical Source	Chronological Data
Genesis 15:13	Israel to be enslaved and oppressed 400 years in a foreign country;
Exodus 12:2, 18	The Exodus from Egypt takes place on the 15^th day, of the 1^st month, of the 1^st year (Note: from this point on, time in the Pentateuch; is referenced with respect to the date of the Exodus)
Exodus 12:40, 41	Israel lived in Egypt 430 years to the day; (Note: this is referenced back in time from the Exodus)
Exodus 19:1	Israel arrived at Mount Sinai on the 15^th day, of the 3^rd month, of the 1^st year after the Exodus;
Exodus 40:2	Erection of the Tabernacle on the 1^st day of the 1^st month (of the 2^nd year) after the Exodus;
Numbers 1:1	Taking of the first census commanded at Sinai on the 1st day, of the 2^nd month, of the 2^nd year from the Exodus;
Numbers 10:11	Israel's departure from Sinai occurred on the 20^th day, of the 2^nd month, of the 2^nd year after the Exodus;
Numbers 20:1	Israel arrives at Kadesh Barnea in the 1^st month (of the 40^th year?)
Numbers 20:22	Israel set out from Kadesh and came to Mount Hor;
Numbers 22:1	Israel traveled to the plains of Moab and camped along the Jordan across from Jericho (in the 40^th year);
Numbers 33:1	Israel set out from Rameses on the 15^th day of the 1^st month (of the 1^st year) the day after the Passover (see also, Exod 12:2);
Numbers 33:38, 22:24	Aaron died on Mount Hor on the 1^st day, 5^th month, of the 40^th year after the Exodus;
Deuteronomy 1:1	It takes 11 days to go from Horeb (Mount Sinai) to Kadesh Barnea;
Deuteronomy 1:1-3	Moses spoke to Israel on the East bank of the Jordan (the plains of Moab) on the 1^st day of the 11^th month of the 40^th year after the Exodus;
Deuteronomy 2:7	Israel spent 40 years in the wilderness;
Deuteronomy 2:14	Israel wandered in the wilderness for 38 years from the time they left Kadesh Barnea until the Exodus generation died off and Israel arrived at the plains of Moab;
Deuteronomy 34:7	Moses died on the Plains of Moab when he was 120 years old (therefore Exodus 2:1 to Deuteronomy 34:7 spans 120 years);
Joshua 4:19	Israel entered the Land on the 10th day, of the 1st month, (of the 41st year) after the Exodus;
Joshua 5:6	Israel moved about in the desert forty years from the time they had left Egypt until the time they entered the land of Canaan;
Joshua 14:7	Caleb was 40 years old when he spied out the land of Canaan (Num 13:1-16);
Joshua 14:10	Caleb was 85 years old at the time of the division of the Land (45 years from the time Moses spoke to him about his inheritance);
Joshua 24:29	Joshua was 110 years old when he died;
Judges 11:26	Israel had lived in the Land 300 years when Jephthah was judging;
1 Kings 6:1	Construction of Solomon's Temple began exactly 480 years after Israel came out of Egypt, in the 4^th year of Solomon’s reign, the 2^nd month;
1 Kings 6:38	The Temple was completed in the 8^th month of the 11^th year of Solomon’s reign;
Galatians 3:17	The Law came 430 years after the giving of the promise to Abraham;

Archaeological sources

Archaeological artifacts are important in establishing a chronological framework for the Pentateuch and the rest of the Old Testament because they can be used to determine the time period of successive layers of ancient Near Eastern archaeological sites. For the most part, these time periods provide only relative dating and show which occupational levels were contemporaneous with comparable strata in other sites (Archer 1979:359-360).

Livingston(1974:4-9) has noted that Palestinian archaeologists have discovered that the most reliable means to establish relative dating sequences is to carefully observe and record layers of soil through which they dig. For in these layers they have discovered that particular types of pottery are repeatedly found in particular layers that have the same sequence. Study of this archaeological condition has revealed that both soil layer and its matching type of pottery were tied with a specific people and their culture. Pottery chronology has, Livingston observes, been refined to the extent that archaeologists can, for the most part come within about fifty years of dating the beginning and end of any occupation site. Other artifacts found by archaeologists that aid in identifying people and dating events include such things as buildings, home utensils, implements used for farming, hunting, and manufacturing, weapons of war, art objects, tombs, bones, weights, coins, and, most importantly, inscriptions.

Helpful for deriving absolute dating during the era of Israel’s kings was Assyria's practice of dating years by the name of an official known as the limmu, who normally held office for only one year. Incomplete limmu lists, recovered from archaeological artifacts, go back prior to 1200 B.C. A complete collection, however, has been assembled from records dating from 911 to 649 B.C., a time of importance in Israel’s history as it spans the reigns of most of the nation’s kings (Archer 1979:360). Thiele (1983) has dealt at length with the issue of dating the Hebrew kings in detail and has established a complete list.

Astronomical Sources

As Livingston (1974:2) points out the king lists permit a largely relative chronology within Egyptian history, providing us with the knowledge that a certain king and the events of his reign preceded or followed some other king. What is not known from this information, however, is when these things occurred with respect to an absolute reference point, which for the West is the birth of Christ. Help in such cases can come from astronomical data.

Livingston (1974:1-2) provides a good example of the importance of astronomical data in helping to establish an absolute chronological framework from a stream of historical data that provides only a relative chronology. Writing on the Egyptian dynasties as reference points, he notes that the Sothic cycle makes it possible to assign an absolute date to the major dynasties and to many individual kings in Egyptian history. From the king lists a fairly complete relative chronology may be determined. However, it is not known from this data when these things occurred with respect to the absolute reference which the West has accepted, namely, the birth of Christ. However, given the event which marked the beginning of the solar year for the Egyptians, namely, the rising of the Dog Star, Sothis, it is possible to correlate the relative chronology of the Egyptian king lists with the absolute chronological framework accepted in the West. Livingston records that on good evidence the rising of Sothis occurred in A.D. 139, and the previous occurrence would have been in 1317 B.C. and the one prior to that in 2773 B.C. With this information, it has been possible to take the three instances of when Sothis is reported to have risen on a certain calendrical day in a certain royal year and, ascertaining where the calendar was in its cycle, assign and absolute date to the royal year. The earliest of these, he says, is 1872 B.C. Having determined this chronological framework, it is possible, Livingston argues, to establish a fixed checkpoint for another culture whenever that culture intersects with that of Egypt. Then given that point of intersection in the established chronological framework that culture’s chronological information can be assessed and arranged.

Also referencing the Sothic cycle, Archer (1979:360) observes that it is possible to establish that the ninth year of Amenhotep I was 1545 B.C. In the ninth year of Amenhotep I, a heliacal rise of Sothis was observed on the ninth day of the third month of summer. Modern astronomers have calculated that, if the observation was made from Memphis or Heliopolis, such an observation could only have been made on that day in 1537 BC. If the observation was made in Thebes, however, it could only have taken place in 1517. The latter choice is usually accepted as correct since Thebes was the capital of early 18th dynasty Egypt; hence, Amenhotep I is given an accession date in 1526 BC, although the possibility of 1546 BC is not entirely dismissed. This is significant from a biblical perspective because if, as argued for below, the Exodus took place in 1446 BC (the early date) then it took place in the reign of the Egyptian Pharaoh Amenhotep II (1450-1425) who followed Amenhotep I.

Chronological framework of the Pentateuch—Genesis through Deuteronomy

In establishing a chronology for the Pentateuch two broad time periods are considered; the time period for Genesis, and the time period for Exodus through Deuteronomy. For Genesis, there are two chronological frameworks to be considered; that which is prior to the Patriarchs, and that which is for the Patriarchs. In the case of Exodus through Deuteronomy, the prominent chronological factor which establishes the chronological framework is the date of the Exodus.

Chronological framework prior to the Patriarchs (Genesis 1-11)

In constructing a chronology for the Pentateuch is important to understand that for the time period before the Patriarchs (Gen 1-11), OT data are very limited and concise and there exists the possibility of gaps in the genealogical biblical records recorded in Genesis 5 and 11 (Archer 1979:361-365) as such genealogies were not intended to serve a narrow chronological purpose as is the case in the modern sense. Rather, like those in Matthew 1 or Luke 3, their main purpose was theological (see Kitchen 1966:37-38; and Archer 1979:361).

One may question, therefore, whether these genealogies are really to be understood as being continuous throughout. There are indications which suggest that this is not the case. One such indication is found in the phrase "A begat B" which does not always imply direct parenthood. This is shown by its use in Matthew 1 in cases where links are known from the OT to have been omitted. Terms like "son" and "father" can mean not only '(grand)son' and '(grand)father' but also 'descendant' and 'ancestor' respectively. Thus, in Genesis 5 and 11, 'A begat B' may often mean simply that 'A begat the line culminating in B.' In such cases, one cannot use these genealogies to fix the date of the Flood or of the earliest man, Adam (Kitchen 1966:37-38; see also, Archer 1979:361).

In addition, there are some problems associated with the biblical data and external evidence as well. For example, Kitchen (1966:36) has observed that the time covered by the genealogies from Adam to Abraham, if taken to be continuous, is not nearly long enough when compared with external data. If the birth of Abraham is taken to be about 2000 B.C., as is generally argued for, then on the basis of the biblical chronological data the Flood would have occurred some 290 years earlier, at about 2300 B.C. However, on the basis of Mesopotamian evidence this date is excluded because it would fall some 300 or 400 years after the period of the Gilgamesh of Uruk for whom (in both Epic and Sumerian King List) the Flood was already an event of distant past.

All of this, however, does not necessarily mean the genealogical data recorded in Genesis 5 and 11 are without any factual basis. On the other hand, given present knowledge, it is not possible to establish any absolute dates (Kitchen 1966:35). It is not even possible to establish a relative chronology from Adam to Terah with reasonable certainty owing to the possibility of gaps in the genealogical biblical record (Archer 1979:361-365).

Chronological framework of the Patriarchs (Genesis 12-50)

Biblical scholars are not all agreed on the date of the Patriarchal age (Kitchen 1966:41). There are three independent 'main lines' of approach, Kitchen (1966:42-43) argues, that can be taken to establish a chronological framework for this important period of Israel's history. One approach seeks to determine if any major events in the Patriarchal narratives can be linked with external history. Another approach seeks evidence of chronological data preserved in the details of the narratives, such as personal names, legal usages, etc., which can be correlated with possible use in the Near Eastern context recorded in other documents. A third approach gives consideration to possible chronological links between the Patriarchal era and later epochs.

Major events and external history

According to Kitchen (1966:43-47), the main event of this kind is the raid of the four Eastern kings of Genesis 14. Archaeological data in the Transjordan suggests a date of ca. 1800 B.C., while the names of the four Eastern kings fit the period ca. 2000-1700 B.C. Additionally, the system of power-alliances (four kings against five) is typical of Mesopotamian politics within the period ca. 2000-1750 B.C. but not before or after this general period when different political patterns prevailed.

Chronological data preserved in narrative details

Again according to Kitchen (1966:47-53), the personal names of the Patriarchs and their families can be directly compared with identical or similarly formed names in Mesopotamian and Egyptian documents of the 20^th to 18^th centuries B.C. and occasionally later. Further, seasonal occupation of the Negev region on the southwest border of Palestine is archaeologically attested for the 21^st to 19^th centuries B.C., but not for a 1000 years earlier or for 800 years afterwards. It is known from Genesis 20:1; 24:62, that Abraham and Isaac spent time in this area, and from Genesis 26:12; 37:7 that they were keepers of flocks and herds and occasionally grew crops of grain. This activity would best fit the period of ca. 2100-1800 B.C. Additionally, Patriarchal customs of inheritance find close parallels in the Mesopotamian culture of ca. 1500 B.C., and in the Old Babylonian culture in Ur ca. 19^th to 18^th centuries B.C. And lastly, the price of twenty shekels of silver paid for Joseph in Genesis 37:28 is the price that would have been paid for a slave in about the 18^th century B.C. Earlier than this, slaves were cheaper, with an average price of ten to fifteen shekels, while later they became steadily more expensive.

Links with later periods

Kitchen (1966:53-56) has observed that certain passages and genealogies in the Pentateuch link the Patriarchs to the period of the Exodus. One such link is found in Genesis 15:13, where Abraham was informed that his descendants would dwell in a foreign land where they would be oppressed as slaves for 400 years, and in Exodus 12:40-41, which records that the people of Israel had lived in Egypt for precisely 430 years. The discrepancy in these time periods can be accounted for, Kitchen suggests, by understanding the 400 years as a round figure in prospect, while the 430 years should be understood as more precise in retrospect.

An additional link between the Patriarchal period and the time of Moses is found in Galatians 3:17 where Paul, in speaking of the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant, mentions that the Law came 430 years after the promises were given. Several explanations have been set forth concerning the 430 years noted by Paul (see Kitchen 1966:53). Some have suggested that it began with Abraham, in which case the 430 years included Israel's time of about 200 years in Canaan and about 200 years in Egypt. The Septuagint supports this view, but this conflicts with the clear statement in Exodus 12:40, 41 that the Egyptian sojourn was 430 years exactly. Another suggestion is that the period began with the confirming of the Abrahamic Covenant with Jacob (Gen 35:9-12). A third and perhaps best view is that the period began with the final confirmation of the Covenant to Jacob just prior to his moving to Egypt (Gen 46:1-4). According to this last view, the period of time noted in Galatians 3:17 corresponds to the period of the sojourn in Egypt and correlates exactly with Exodus 12:40.

Another link is found in Genesis 15:16 where Abraham was told that his descendants would return to Canaan in 'the fourth generation' (Hebrew dor). The simplest explanation is that the four dor correspond to the 400 years, not to 'generations' in the modern sense. This, Kitchen says, is suggested by clear evidence from Ugaritic and early Assyrian sources which indicate that dor or daru can mean a 'span' or 'cycle of time' of eighty years or more.

Yet another link is found in the genealogies. Some scholars, Kitchen says, dismiss the figure of four centuries between the Patriarchs and the Exodus by appealing to Exodus 6:16-20, a 'genealogy of Moses and Aaron, which they interpret as four literal generations lasting in total only a century or more. But in doing so they overlook the following facts:

1. Exodus 6:16-20 is not a full genealogy, but only gives the tribe (Levi), clan (Kohath), and family-group (Amram by Jochebed) to which Moses and Aaron belonged, and not their actual parents. Evidence for this is found in the fact at the time of the Exodus the Amramites were numerous, and so Amram must be considered as having lived much earlier.

2. Then too, the statement that 'Jochebed bore (to Amram) Aaron and Moses in Exodus 6:20 does not prove immediate descent. Evidence here is found in, for example, Genesis 46:16-18 which indicates that the children that Zilpah 'bore' to Jacob include great-grandsons.

3. Lastly, ancient Near Eastern genealogies were often selective and not continuous. The genealogies cannot, therefore, be used to contradict the stated period of 400 years, and, therefore, in cases like this, continuity of genealogies has to be proved, not assumed.

Based on all these considerations, Kitchen (1966:56) concludes that the total evidence accords well with a chronological framework for the Patriarchs between the 20^th to 18^th centuries B.C.

Chronological framework for Exodus through Deuteronomy—The Date of the Exodus

The major event which occurred during the time period which is recorded in Exodus through Deuteronomy was, as noted above, the Exodus. The date which this event took place is critical for establishing a chronological framework as all other events after it are keyed to it. It is important, therefore, to establish this date in an absolute chronological framework (i.e., the Western calendrical system) so that correlation can be made with other nations with which Israel’s history intersected.

The date of the Exodus is much debated. Two principal views exist concerning this date: the early date view (ca. 1446-1440 B.C.) during the reign of the Egyptian Pharaoh Amenhotep II (1450-1425), and the late date view (ca. 1299-1232 B.C.) during the reign of Rameses II. Support for the early date comes from the biblical record and archeological data while support for the late date comes primarily from archaeological data (Hannah 1985 104-105). Much has been written on this issue. What follows is a very brief argument in favor of the early date.

Arguments for the early (15^th century) date

The traditional date of ca. 1446 B.C. is based on 1 Kings 6:1, which specifies very definitively that the fourth year of Solomon's reign was the four hundred and eightieth year after the Exodus (see Hannah 1985:104). It is has been established that the fourth year of Solomon's reign was ca. 966 B.C. (see Thiele 1983:67-78 for the establishment of an absolute date in Hebrew chronology). This would establish the date of the Exodus at 1446 B.C. These figures seem to be corroborated by evidence found in Judges 11:26 where it is recorded that Jephthah said that Israel had possessed the land of Canaan for 300 years. The time of Jephthah’s statement has been established at approximately 1106 B.C (see, for example, Merrill 1987:148-149). If the 300 years spoken of in Judges 11:26 refers back to the time when the Conquest proper began, then adding 40 years from the Exodus to the beginning of the Conquest, a date of 1446 B.C is obtained for the Exodus. On the other hand, if the 300 years spoken of in Judges 11:26 refers back to the time when the Conquest proper ended, then adding another six or seven years for the conquest of the land results in a date of 1452 or 1453 B.C. for the Exodus. While this evidence is approximate, it clearly supports the early date as opposed to the late date (see, Kaiser 1990:290).

Second, as Hannah (1985:104) points out, archeological evidence from Egypt during this period corresponds with the biblical account of the Exodus (see Unger 1954:140-145; and Archer 1964: 215-216), particularly with respect to Amenhotep II.

Third, events in the region of Canaan about 1400 B.C. correspond with the Conquest under Joshua (Hannah 1985:104). In particular, archaeological evidence found at Jericho, Ai, and Hazor suggest that they were destroyed about 1400 B.C. Waltke (1972:47) has noted that all the accredited Palestinian artifactual evidence supports the literary account that the Conquest occurred at the time specifically dated by the biblical text.

Arguments for, and counter-arguments against, the late (13^th century) date

While the argument advanced by proponents of the early date is straightforward and based on biblical evidence, proponents of the late dating of the Exodus, such as Kitchen (1966 57-75), argue the following points which are first stated and then argued against (see, for example, Hannah 1985:104-105):

1. Argument

The Exodus could not have take place until after 1300 B.C. because while the Israelites were in Egypt, they built the city of Rameses (Exod 1:11). If this city were named for the Pharaoh, Rameses II (1299-1232 B.C.), it is argued that the Exodus could not have occurred prior to 1290 B.C.

Counter argument

This point is discredited on the basis of historical considerations. While Exodus 1:11 states that Rameses is one of two cities built by the Israelites, Genesis 47:11 also states that Jacob and his sons settled in "the land of Rameses." Whereas it is true that Rameses II was a prodigious builder, it is not at all certain that the city mentioned in Exodus 1:11 bore his name at first. It appears from Exodus 1 and 2 that Moses had not been born until after Rameses was built, and yet he was 80 years old at the time of the Exodus. The same problem exists with the appearance of the name "Rameses" in Genesis 47:11, hundreds of years before the reign of Rameses II. A likely explanation is that in both cases earlier names were updated by a later editor who used the more recent name. Support for this explanation is found with regards to Genesis 14:14 where Abraham pursued the captors of Lot as far as Dan. But the name of the city was Laish until the tribe of Dan captured it and renamed it in the days of the Judges (Judg 18:29).

Another argument against the identification of Rameses as the pharaoh of the Exodus is the length of the reign of the king who preceded him. Rameses predecessor, Set I, reigned for only twelve years, clearly not long enough to account for the time Moses spent in Midian. On the other hand, Thutmose III, the pharaoh of the oppression according to early date view, ruled from about 1495-1450 B.C. This time span allows sufficient time for Moses to have taken refuge in Midian for 40 years (Acts 7:30) and then have been told at the burning bush that "all the men who wanted to kill you are dead" (Exod 4:19).

2. Argument

The 480 years of 1 Kings 6:1 is an approximate figure representing twelve generations. Since twenty-five years more nearly corresponds to a generation, the twelve generations (implied by 1 Kings 6:1) would be only about 300 years. Thus the Exodus would have occurred around 1260 B.C. and the Conquest about 1220 B.C.

Counter argument

There is no basis for claiming that the 480 years represents twelve generations. The text of 1 Kings 6:1 is very explicit in reporting the year and month that construction on the Temple began. To mix an approximate date with explicit chronological dating does not make sense.

3. Argument

Archaeological data (accumulated in the late 1930's) suggests that the presence of strong opposition to the Israelites from the Edomites (Num 20:20-21) was impossible before 1300 B.C. because the region of the southern Transjordan was unoccupied from 1900-1300 B.C.

Counter argument

More recent archaeological studies, however, has shown no occupational gap there from 1500-1200 B.C.

4. Argument

Archaeological data suggests that Hazor did not fall to the Israelites until 1300 B.C.

Counter argument

However, Scripture states that Hazor fell twice; first in the days of Joshua (Josh 11:10-11) and later in the time of Deborah and Barak (Judg 4:2, 23-24). Further, there is evidence in one area of the excavated city of a destruction around 1400 B.C.

5. Argument

Archaeological evidence at the ancient sites of Lachish and Debir have uncovered a pattern of destruction which indicates that these cities were destroyed by fire in the 13th century B.C.

Counter argument

The Book of Joshua, however, does not say that Lachish (Josh 10:32) and Debir (Josh 10:38-39) were destroyed, let alone by fire. The only cities that the Book of Joshua indicates were destroyed by fire are Jericho (Josh 6:25) and Ai (Josh 8:28) during the southern campaign, and Hazor (Josh 11:13) during the northern campaign. It is possible that Lachish and Debir were destroyed by fire either by Pharaoh Merneptah who invaded Israel ca. 1230 B.C., or by the Sea Peoples who invaded the land about 1200 B.C.

There appears to be no valid reason for rejecting the biblical data. Consequently, the date of the Exodus is taken as 1446 B.C. on the basis of 1 Kings 6:1, with supporting evidence in Judges 11:26, and on the date of 966 B.C. as the fourth year of Solomon's reign.

Summary on a chronological framework for the Pentateuch

Based on the date of 1446 B.C. as the date for the Exodus, and using biblical data summarized in Chart 1.1, as well as extra-biblical data about the kings, nations, and people, interacting with Israel, and certain astronomical data, a chronological framework keyed to modern reckoning, can be established for the Pentateuch (see, for example, Archer 1979:364-368; Merrill 1987:31). Chart 2 presents a broad chronology of the Patriarchs and Israel’s sojourn in Egypt.

Date of composition

Assuming Mosaic authorship, then the Pentateuch would have to have been written some time between the time of the Exodus and the death of Moses, namely, between 1446 and 1406 B.C. Given this, it is possible that Genesis, Exodus and Leviticus were composed during the one year Israel was encamped at Mount Sinai (1446-1445 B.C.). The books of Numbers and Deuteronomy would have to have been completed in the final year of Israel's forty years of wandering in the wilderness (1407-1406 B.C.).

The Recipients

The recipients of the Pentateuch are clearly the Israelites, redeemed and delivered from bondage in Egypt, separated to Yahweh, and then brought into covenant-relationship with Him at Sinai. It would seem that the books of the Pentateuch were directed to every generation of Israel because the covenant entered into at Sinai and renewed on the Plains of Moab was cut with every generation and not just the one ratifying it as recorded in Deuteronomy 29:14-15. However, having said that it is clear that the immediate recipients of the books of Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus would likely have been the Exodus generation, while the immediate recipients of the books of Numbers and Deuteronomy would have been the second generation from the Exodus, or the soon-to-be "Conquest" generation. The relationship between geography, time, and major events in the Books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, may be summarized as Chart 3 shows.

Editor's Note: Numbers 1:11 in this graphic should probably read Numbers 1:18, and the reference to Numbers 25:18 is uncertain. Perhaps it refers to Numbers 33:38?

Lastly, it is helpful to see in graphic form, as shown in Chart 4, the chronological relationship of the Pentateuch with the rest of Israel's OT history.

Theological types of Christ appearing in the Pentateuch

Identifying major theological themes and emphases is an important aspect of correctly understanding a book of the Bible. These themes are derived individually for each book of the Pentateuch and presented in the Analysis and Synthesis for that book. There is, however, one aspect of these themes which runs throughout the Pentateuch and it is appropriate to discuss it here in the introduction. That theme is theological types of Christ.

Following his resurrection, Jesus appeared to two of his disciples as they were traveling home on the road to Emmaus. Not recognizing him, they engaged him in conversation which led to his chiding them for not understanding that the Christ was to have suffered before entering into his glory. Then beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself (Luke 24:13-27). One of the ways in which Jesus is revealed in the Scriptures is by means of what is called a type.

A biblical type may be defined as a historical person, object, institution, or event that has, in addition to its historical significance, a divinely intended future significance. In this function, it foreshadows a corresponding person, object, institution, or event, known as an antitype. Types are limited to only two categories, and any supposed type that does not fit one of these two categories is not legitimate. A type can be substantiated when the NT designates it as one. A second category allows for types that are not explicitly designated as such but are strongly implied by the meaning expressed in the text. In this later case, there is a correspondence between type and antitype.

The following is a summary of the types of Christ revealed in the Pentateuch.

Adam as a type of Christ

Adam is recognized as a type of Christ in as much as the NT explicitly designates him as such; “. . . as did Adam, who was a pattern (type/typos) of the one to come” (Rom 5:14). Both entered the world through a special act of God as sinless men. Adam is the head of the old creation; Christ is the Head of the new creation. Through Adam's one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men; through Christ's one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all who believe in Him (Rom 5:15-19).

Melchizedek as a type of Christ

Melchizedek (righteous king of Salem) is declared a type of Christ in Hebrews 7. Speaking of him, the writer of Hebrews declares that without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, he, like the Son of God remains a priest forever (Heb 7:3). Thus Melchizedek typifies Christ as high priest. For as David declares of Christ in Psalm 110:4, “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

Isaac as a type of Christ

In Genesis 22 it is recorded that Abraham was called upon by God to offer up his son Isaac as a sacrifice, a burnt offering (Gen 22:2). The similarity between this and what is implied by John 3:14-16, strongly suggests a typical relationship between Isaac and Christ through a correspondence of circumstances. This is strengthened when it is taken into consideration that Isaac was born of miraculous circumstances, and was the heir to all the promises of God. Furthermore, as Christ willingly gave himself up to be the “lamb of God,” so too it would seem that Isaac gave himself in obedience to his father even unto death.

Joseph as a type of Christ

Joseph typifies Christ in some ways with respect to His first and second advents. Joseph, like Christ at His first advent, was rejected by his brothers and sold into slavery for a price. Like Christ, Joseph suffered persecution and hardship before being exalted. Like Christ, Joseph endured several levels of humiliation going from favorite son, to servant, and then slave before being exalted as ruler of the land (see Phil 2). Like Christ, Joseph was maltreated by his brothers who intended it for evil but God effected it for good. In this regard Joseph was sent before his brothers to prepare the way for their deliverance in the time of great famine (Gen 45:4-8; 47:23-25; 50:20-21). In this way Joseph was used to effect blessing upon the elect seed and other families of the earth in a typical fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant, even as Christ will do at His second coming. Further, Joseph typifies Christ at His second coming in that he tested his brothers to see if they had truly repented even as Christ will purify his brothers during the Tribulation and lead them to repentance. In summary, Joseph and Christ are both objects of special love by their fathers; both are hated by their brethren; both are rejected as rulers over their brethren; both are conspired against and sold for silver; both are condemned though innocent; and both are raised from humiliation to positions of exaltation by the power of God to be agents of blessing. Taking all this into consideration leads to the conclusion that Joseph is a type of Christ by correspondence.

Judah as a type of Christ

Judah, the elect line through whom the ruler would come (Gen 49:10), is a type of Christ at His first coming by correspondence in the willing offer of himself as a substitute for his brother. When the sons of Israel are tested by Joseph, Judah, as Christ who came after him, offers himself as a substitute in place of his brother Benjamin (Gen 44:32-33).

Moses as a type of Christ

Moses is a type of Christ by correspondence in a number of ways. Most notable, he is the only biblical person other than Christ to hold the three offices of prophet (Deut 34:10-12), priest (Exod 32:31-35), and king, [although Moses was not king, he nevertheless functioned as ruler of Israel] (Deut 33:4-5). As a prophet, Christ was the prophet like Moses of whom Moses spoke (Deut 18:15; John 1:45; Acts 7:37). Further, both were endangered in infancy, both renounced power and wealth, both were rejected by their brethren, both were deliverers, lawgivers, and mediators. Additionally, Moses, like Christ, offered himself as a substitute for the nation after the people sinned by worshiping the golden calf at Sinai. However, unlike Christ, God did not accept Moses' offer, but instead accepted his intercessory request to forgive the people.

Passover lamb as a type of Christ

The Passover lamb is a type of Christ with respect to the sacrificial offering of himself. By correspondence, the lamb, like Christ, was without blemish and was sacrificed as a substitute with the blood being applied to effect atonement for sin. In this same way, every animal sacrifice offered to effect atonement for sin is a type of Christ. Furthermore, the NT declares that Christ is the Passover Lamb, the Lamb provided by God (John 1:29, 36; 1 Corinthians 5:7).

The Rock as a type of Christ

The rock from which water sprung in the wilderness is a type of Christ, for 1 Corinthians 10:4 declares that "they drank of the spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.”

The bronze serpent as a type of Christ

The bronze serpent on the stake (Num 21:4-9) is a type of Christ as Jesus Himself declares in John 3:14, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” Both the serpent and Christ are lifted up. Faith is involved in both cases. Those who looked on the serpent were delivered and received, or did not loose, their physical life, while all who “look” on Christ lifted up on the cross by faith receive eternal life.

The sacrifices and feasts of Israel as types of Christ

The typological significance of the sacrifices and feasts of Israel is discussed in the Analysis and Synthesis of the Book of Leviticus presented in Chapter 4.

Covenants of the Pentateuch

Three covenants are recorded in the Pentateuch; the Noahic, the Abrahamic, and the Mosaic. From the perspective of biblical history, the Abrahamic Covenant and the Mosaic Covenant are of primary importance in that they play a major role in the developing relationship between Yahweh and Israel. In the following, each covenant is briefly discussed in terms of its nature, function, and form.

The nature and function of the covenants of the Pentateuch

A covenant in the OT is a sworn agreement between two parties, where no blood relation exists. The Pentateuch contains examples of covenants between individuals, nations, and between God and man. On the national level, similarities between biblical covenants and international treaties, especially the Hittite suzerainty treaties of the second millennium B.C., have been recognized. The basic structure of these treaties has been compared at length with the covenant entered into by Yahweh and Israel at Mount Sinai. This comparison has led to the conclusion that there is a strong possibility that God relates to Israel as a suzerain relates to a vassal, and that Yahweh required the same allegiance demanded by the Hittite king. (See Mendenhall 1955 & 1962, and, Kline 1963, who deal with the issue of covenant in Israel in detail; see also Livingston 1974:153-157.)

Noahic Covenant

The Noahic Covenant was an everlasting covenant made with Noah and his descendants—all of humanity from that point on in time—in which God promised unconditionally that never again would He destroy the earth and all the flesh on it with a flood (Gen 9:8-11). As a sign of the covenant, God designated the rainbow as a reminder (to mankind) of His binding promise. While this covenant is important because it reveals that God would never again bring a flood judgment on mankind, it provides no revelation concerning His relationship with Israel or the nations as do the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants.

Abrahamic Covenant

God's covenant with Abraham marks the theological high point of Genesis and perhaps of the entire Pentateuch. (See Mitchell 1970 for a consideration of Abram’s understanding of the covenant.) First expressed in Genesis 12:1-3 in the form of a promise, it is then formally encoded and instituted as a covenant in Genesis 15:9-21 with the sign of the covenant specified in Genesis 17, and then sealed with an oath in Genesis 22:15-18. Affirmation and expansion of the covenant is recorded in chapters 13, 17, and 22. Isaac and Jacob, the elect seed of Abraham, receive confirmation of the covenant in Genesis 26:2-5 and 35:11-12, respectively. In summary, God promises to bless Abraham, to make him into a great nation, to give him and his descendants the land of Canaan as an inheritance, and to bless all the nations of the earth through him. Like the Noahic Covenant, the Abrahamic Covenant is everlasting (Gen 17:7, 13, 19), and it is unconditional. The only stipulation was that Abraham leave family and home and travel to an unknown land that God would reveal to him (Gen 12:1). In the ceremony ratifying the covenant, God alone took an oath passing between the pieces of the slaughtered animals (Gen 15:17). Abraham and his male descendants were required to be circumcised as a sign of the covenant (Gen 17:10-11). Galatians 3:17-18 emphasizes the promissory nature of the Abrahamic Covenant and affirms that the giving of the Mosaic Law did not set aside the former covenant which came 430 years later. After the passing of several centuries, God proved His faithfulness by remembering His covenant with Abraham and effected Israel's redemption from Egypt in order to bring the now great number of descendants of Abraham into relationship with Himself and give them the land of Canaan even as He had promised Abraham (Exod 2:24; 6:5).

Mosaic Covenant

In leading the sons of Israel out of Egypt God was separating them to himself, and in this process he proposed, at Mount Sinai, to make a covenant with them (Exod 19:1-5). The heart of the Mosaic Covenant is the Ten Commandments. The first of these commandments is foundational to the whole covenant-relationship forbidding Israel to have any other God but Yahweh––"you shall have no other gods before Me" (Exod 20:3). Significantly, this is the stipulation that Israel continuously violated from the very beginning until they were expelled out of the Land of Promise and driven into Babylonian exile.

The Mosaic Covenant differs from the Abrahamic Covenant in that it is not called an everlasting covenant. Yet certain aspects of the covenant are referred to as "lasting" or "permanent." For example Israel was to observe the Sabbath "as a lasting covenant." Observing the Sabbath was the sign of the Mosaic Covenant, corresponding to circumcision as the sign of the Abrahamic Covenant. Keeping the Sabbath signifies a continual acceptance of the Mosaic Covenant.

After forty years of wandering in the wilderness, the Mosaic Covenant was renewed by the new generation as they were poised to enter into and take possession of the Land of Promise. This was necessitated by the fact that the Exodus generation had effectively broken the covenant by their defiant refusal to obey Yahweh and enter and take possession of the land of Canaan. Such treaty renewal was apparently common among the Hittites when one of their vassal kingdoms had had a change in rulership. At the time of Israel's covenant renewal, the stipulations were brought up to date in light of Israel's changing conditions of going from a nomadic to a sedentary lifestyle. According to Deuteronomy 29:1, the covenant made with the new generation on the Plains of Moab contained some additional stipulations, but was still built on the foundation of the original covenant. Thus, this covenant renewal should not be viewed as a new, or even an additional covenant, but an update to the original in view of Israel's changing situation. This is indicated by the repetition of the Ten Commandments recorded in Deuteronomy 5.

The form of the Pentateuch covenants

The royal, or land grant covenant form of the Abrahamic covenant

Though Abraham's opportunity to participate in the covenant privileges was obviously conditioned on his leaving Ur and his family and journeying to Canaan, the subsequent covenant was unconditional. As many scholars now recognize, the covenant and its circumstances were in the form of a royal (land) grant, a legal arrangement well attested in the ancient Near East. This type of grant was initiated by a benefactor such as a king who, for whatever reason, wished to confer a blessing on a subject. It was often construed as a reward for some service rendered by the subject, but many times there was no expressed rationale. The grant was a boon explicable by nothing other than the sovereign pleasure of the benefactor. And just as its bestowal was unconditional so was its maintenance. The covenant could stand regardless of the behavior of its recipient. Thus the Abrahamic Covenant should be viewed as an unconditional grant made by Yahweh to His servant Abraham, a grant that was to serve a specific and irrevocable function. (See Weinfeld 1970 for a detailed discussion of the covenant of grant in the OT and the ancient Near East.)

The suzerainty-vassal covenant form

It has been observed (see Mendenhall 1955 & 1962, and Kline 1963) that in the Hittite international treaty texts there are nearly always found six elements which constitute the treaty between suzerain and vassals, but the order is not fixed. Rather, there is considerable variation in the order of the elements as well as the wording. Occasionally, one element or another may be lacking. These elements include a preamble, historical prologue, stipulations, provision for the preservation of the treaty, invocation to the gods, specification of curses and blessings, and a ratification ceremony.

Preamble

The preamble identifies the suzerain, or "great king," who is the author of the covenant and the one giving it to his vassals. The emphasis is upon the majesty and power of the king.

Historical prologue

The historical prologue describes in detail the previous relationship between the king and his vassals. In particular, great emphasis is placed on the deeds which the king has performed for the benefit of the vassals. What this description amounts to is that the vassal is obligated to perpetual gratitude toward the great king because of the benevolence, consideration, and favor which he has already received. Immediately following this, the devotion of the vassal to the great king is expressed as a logical consequence. The vassal, therefore, is exchanging future obedience to specific commands for past benefits which he received without any real right.

Stipulations

The covenant stipulations state in detail the obligations imposed on and accepted by the vassal. They include typically:

1. The vassal must make a thorough commitment to the suzerain to the exclusion of all alien alliances.

2. The vassal agrees to a prohibition of any enmity against anything under the sovereignty of the great king. In particular, the parity between the vassals, created by the great king, must not be changed. One vassal cannot be a slave or dependent of another vassal. Every hostile action against a co-vassal is hostility against the king himself, and the king promises to take the part of the oppressed.

3. The vassal must answer the call to arms sent him by the king. To fail to respond is a breach of the covenant.

4. The vassal must hold lasting and unlimited trust in the king. The vassal must not permit any evil words against the king, for this is the beginning of rebellion.

5. The vassal must not give asylum to refugees from any source.

6. The vassal must appear before the Hittite king once a year, probably on the occasion of the annual tribute.

7. Controversies between vassals are unconditionally to be submitted to the king for judgment.

Provision for deposit in the temple and periodic public reading

Since the treaty was under the protection of the deity, one copy of the treaty was deposited in a sanctuary of the vassal and another in the sanctuary of the suzerain. At periodic intervals the treaty was to be read publicly.

Invocation of the gods as witnesses to the covenant

Both the gods of the suzerain and the gods of the vassal were invoked as witnesses of the oath. Most interesting is the inclusion of the mountains, rivers, springs, sea, heaven and earth, the winds and the clouds, to witness the making of the treaty.

Curses and blessings formula

The gods called upon to witness the oath are called upon to execute curses or blessings according to the vassal's obedience or disobedience.

Ratification ceremony/formal oath

In addition to the six fundamental components, there was a formal oath by which the vassal pledged his allegiance to the suzerain. Accompanying the oath was a solemn ceremony which constituted a procedure for ratifying the treaty.

The Mosaic covenant form in relationship to the suzerainty treaty form

On the surface, the covenant Yahweh presented to Israel at Sinai seems a complex of disparate elements; e.g., the Ten Commandments, the Book of the Covenant, the priestly instructions, the enumeration of curses and blessings, etc. While the exact relationship of all these parts is not particularly clear from the perspective of a modern reader, it seems appropriate to define Israel's constitution in terms of a suzerain-vassal relationship because there is a remarkable resemblance, as Mendenhall (1955 & 1962) and Kline (1963) have observed, between Yahweh's covenant with Israel and the suzerainty-vassal type of international treaty found in the Ancient Near East. This is demonstrated in the following summary correlation.

Preamble

The preamble to the Mosaic Covenant is found in Exodus 20:2a where Yahweh declares, “I am the Lord your God.” Yahweh, who is the great king, is the author of the covenant and the one presenting it to His vassals, the Israelites, the descendants of Abraham. This covenant is established immediately following Yahweh’s great act of redeeming Israel from bondage in Egypt through the exercise of his majesty and power.

Historical prologue

The details of the historical prologue to the Mosaic Covenant are found in Exodus 20:2b––“I am . . . who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery,” and in Exodus 19:4-5––“You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all the nations you will be my treasured possession.” This historical prologue does not relate back to Abraham, although that is clearly in view from Genesis, but rather back to the immediate past to which all of Israel could relate in as much as they had lived through it. A much more complete historical prologue is recorded in Deuteronomy 29 when Moses, at the end of his life, led Israel in a covenant renewal on the Plains of Moab, and again in Joshua 24:1-27 when Joshua, nearing the end of his life, led the Israelites through a covenant renewal at Shechem.

Stipulations

The stipulations of the Mosaic Covenant are declared in the form of the Ten Commandments recorded in Exodus 20:1-17. The first five of these commandments specify the fundamental framework within which Israel is to relate to Yahweh as their God and King. Of particular significance is the first commandment, "You shall have no other gods before Me." This is the first and most important obligation of the covenant because it required Israel to stop all forms of idol worship and accept Yahweh as their one and only God and King. The remaining commandments specify the fundamental framework within which the people of Israel are to relate to one another. Essentially, they proclaim that all vassals are equal and protected by the king. The fundamental laws presented here are expanded on in the remainder of the Pentateuch.

Provisions for deposit in the Temple and periodic public readings

Provisions for the deposit of the covenant in the ark are found in Exodus 25:16, 21; 40:20, and Deuteronomy 10:2-5, which require Israel to place the two tablets of the covenant in the ark of the covenant. Provision for the public reading of the covenant is specified in Deuteronomy 31:9-13 where Moses commanded Israel to read the Law at the end of every seven years.

The invocation of the gods as witnesses

Since there is but one God, that being Yahweh, there can be no calling upon the gods as witnesses. However, when Moses is leading the new generation of Israel through a covenant renewal on the Plains of Moab prior to their entering the Land, he calls on heaven and earth as witnesses (Deut 30:19).

The curses and blessings formula

There is no explicit section of blessings and curses in the formulation of the covenant given in Exodus; there is only the promise of God that Israel would be his treasured possession if the people obeyed him (Exod 19:5). However, with the giving of the Levitical law for priests and worshippers there is in Leviticus 26 a detailed specification of blessings in response to obedience to the covenant stipulations and curses as a result of disobedience. Further, at the time of the renewal of the covenant through Moses, a very distinct and comprehensive list of blessings and curses is added to the covenant in Deuteronomy 28:1-14 and Deuteronomy 28:15-68, respectively.

Ratification of the covenant

The initial ratification of the covenant is recorded in Exodus 24. But ratification of the covenant was not restricted to this one event, but rather was necessarily repeated with each renewal of the covenant as is recorded in Deuteronomy 29 when Moses led Israel in a covenant renewal on the Plains of Moab, and in Joshua 24 when Joshua led Israel in covenant renewal at Shechem.

Summary of Mosaic Covenant in terms of Suzerainty Treaty Components

Further identification of the Mosaic Covenant components with the suzerainty treaty components is primarily based on a summary by Hannah (1985:137) as:

Mosaic Covenant Compared with Suzerainty Treaties

Bibliography

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Related Topics: Introductions, Arguments, Outlines

44. 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, Habakkuk, Jeremiah, Lamentations (Consequences of Rebellion)

A Chronological Daily Bible Study of the Old Testament
7-Day Sections with a Summary-Commentary, Discussion Questions, and a Practical Daily Application

Week 44

Sunday (2 Kings 24-25)

24:1 During Jehoiakim’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked. Jehoiakim was his subject for three years, but then he rebelled against him. 24:2 The Lord sent against him Babylonian, Syrian, Moabite, and Ammonite raiding bands; he sent them to destroy Judah, as he had warned he would do through his servants the prophets. 24:3 Just as the Lord had announced, he rejected Judah because of all the sins which Manasseh had committed. 24:4 Because he killed innocent people and stained Jerusalem with their blood, the Lord was unwilling to forgive them.

24:5 The rest of the events of Jehoiakim’s reign and all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 24:6 He passed away and his son Jehoiachin replaced him as king. 24:7 The king of Egypt did not march out from his land again, for the king of Babylon conquered all the territory that the king of Egypt had formerly controlled between the Brook of Egypt and the Euphrates River.

Jehoiachin’s Reign over Judah

24:8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan, from Jerusalem. 24:9 He did evil in the sight of the Lord as his ancestors had done.

24:10 At that time the generals of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon marched to Jerusalem and besieged the city. 24:11 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to the city while his generals were besieging it. 24:12 King Jehoiachin of Judah, along with his mother, his servants, his officials, and his eunuchs surrendered to the king of Babylon. The king of Babylon, in the eighth year of his reign, took Jehoiachin prisoner. 24:13 Nebuchadnezzar took from there all the riches in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of the royal palace. He removed all the gold items which King Solomon of Israel had made for the Lord’s temple, just as the Lord had warned. 24:14 He deported all the residents of Jerusalem, including all the officials and all the soldiers (10,000 people in all). This included all the craftsmen and those who worked with metal. No one was left except for the poorest among the people of the land. 24:15 He deported Jehoiachin from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with the king’s mother and wives, his eunuchs, and the high-ranking officials of the land. 24:16 The king of Babylon deported to Babylon all the soldiers (there were 7,000), as well as 1,000 craftsmen and metal workers. This included all the best warriors. 24:17 The king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in Jehoiachin’s place. He renamed him Zedekiah.

Zedekiah’s Reign over Judah

24:18 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he ruled for eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah, from Libnah. 24:19 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, as Jehoiakim had done.

24:20 What follows is a record of what happened to Jerusalem and Judah because of the Lord’s anger; he finally threw them out of his presence. Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

25:1 So King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came against Jerusalem with his whole army and set up camp outside it. They built siege ramps all around it. He arrived on the tenth day of the tenth month in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign. 25:2 The city remained under siege until King Zedekiah’s eleventh year. 25:3 By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city was so severe the residents had no food. 25:4 The enemy broke through the city walls, and all the soldiers tried to escape. They left the city during the night. They went through the gate between the two walls that is near the king’s garden. (The Babylonians were all around the city.) Then they headed for the Jordan Valley. 25:5 But the Babylonian army chased after the king. They caught up with him in the plains of Jericho, and his entire army deserted him. 25:6 They captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where he passed sentence on him. 25:7 Zedekiah’s sons were executed while Zedekiah was forced to watch. The king of Babylon then had Zedekiah’s eyes put out, bound him in bronze chains, and carried him off to Babylon.

Nebuchadnezzar Destroys Jerusalem

25:8 On the seventh day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard who served the king of Babylon, arrived in Jerusalem. 25:9 He burned down the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and all the houses in Jerusalem, including every large house. 25:10 The whole Babylonian army that came with the captain of the royal guard tore down the walls that surrounded Jerusalem. 25:11 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, deported the rest of the people who were left in the city, those who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen. 25:12 But he left behind some of the poor of the land and gave them fields and vineyards.

25:13 The Babylonians broke the two bronze pillars in the Lord’s temple, as well as the movable stands and the big bronze basin called the “The Sea.” They took the bronze to Babylon. 25:14 They also took the pots, shovels, trimming shears, pans, and all the bronze utensils used by the priests. 25:15 The captain of the royal guard took the golden and silver censers and basins. 25:16 The bronze of the items that King Solomon made for the Lord’s temple – including the two pillars, the big bronze basin called “The Sea,” the twelve bronze bulls under “The Sea,” and the movable stands – was too heavy to be weighed. 25:17 Each of the pillars was about twenty-seven feet high. The bronze top of one pillar was about four and a half feet high and had bronze latticework and pomegranate shaped ornaments all around it. The second pillar with its latticework was like it.

25:18 The captain of the royal guard took Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah, the priest who was second in rank, and the three doorkeepers. 25:19 From the city he took a eunuch who was in charge of the soldiers, five of the king’s advisers who were discovered in the city, an official army secretary who drafted citizens for military service, and sixty citizens from the people of the land who were discovered in the city. 25:20 Nebuzaradan, captain of the royal guard, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 25:21 The king of Babylon ordered them to be executed at Riblah in the territory of Hamath. So Judah was deported from its land.

Gedaliah Appointed Governor

25:22 Now King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, as governor over the people whom he allowed to remain in the land of Judah. 25:23 All of the officers of the Judahite army and their troops heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah to govern. So they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah. The officers who came were Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of the Maacathite. 25:24 Gedaliah took an oath so as to give them and their troops some assurance of safety. He said, “You don’t need to be afraid to submit to the Babylonian officials. Settle down in the land and submit to the king of Babylon. Then things will go well for you.” 25:25 But in the seventh month Ishmael son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family, came with ten of his men and murdered Gedaliah, as well as the Judeans and Babylonians who were with him at Mizpah. 25:26 Then all the people, from the youngest to the oldest, as well as the army officers, left for Egypt, because they were afraid of what the Babylonians might do.

Jehoiachin in Babylon

25:27 In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah, on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month, King Evil-Merodach of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, pardoned King Jehoiachin of Judah and released him from prison. 25:28 He spoke kindly to him and gave him a more prestigious position than the other kings who were with him in Babylon. 25:29 Jehoiachin took off his prison clothes and ate daily in the king’s presence for the rest of his life. 25:30 He was given daily provisions by the king for the rest of his life until the day he died.

Prayer

Lord, You place boundaries on Your patience, rebellion is not tolerated endlessly. May I remember to not presume upon Your patience with repeated sin. Your sovereign will is sometimes administered by non-believers who are unaware that they serve Your purpose. May I be watchful for Your action in this world, always remembering that your means to an end are always the most-perfect possible.

Scripture In Perspective

Jehoahaz was king for three months and did evil – so Pharoah Necho imprisoned him, levied a heavy tribute on the people, and installed Josiah’s son Eliakim king in Josiah’s place, and changed his name to Jehoiakim – he ruled for eleven years.

King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked and made Jehoiakim his subject for three years.

Jehoiakim rebelled, so the Lord sent Babylonian, Syrian, Moabite, and Ammonite raiding bands to destroy Judah for generations of rebellion - highlighted by Manassah's extreme evil.

Jehoiachin ruled for three months and did evil.

The Lord God allowed King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon to besiege the city and take the king and his royal court and ten thousand people prisoner, installing Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place. He stripped the palace and temple of valuables and renamed Mattaniah to Zedekiah.

Zedekiah ruled for eleven years when, following his rebellion against them, the Babylonians breached the city walls and destroyed the siege-impoverished city. They killed Zedekiah's sons as he watched, gouged-out his eyes, then took him away in chains.

Nebuchadnezzar sent his forces to destroy everything of significance in Jerusalem, including the temple, the royal palace, all of the larger houses, and the protective city walls. The remaining members of the kings court were found and executed and everyone but the poor were deported.

Gedaliah was appointed governor of the remaining people and invited the remnant military in hiding to join him now that things were safe and to submit to the Babylonians. A few months later they returned and killed him, then the remaining people fled to Egypt for fear of the Babylonian's revenge.

King Evil-Merodach of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, pardoned King Jehoiachin of Judah and allowed him to join with him at the royal table for the remainder of his life.

Interact with the text

Consider

Each of the kings who followed Hezekiah and Manassah had the choice as to which they would copy, all but Josiah followed Manassah's evil pattern – leading their people into disaster. Nebuchadnezzar wanted to remove any remaining national symbols from Judah.

Discuss

Knowing the trouble that flowed from Hezekiah's late-in-life foolishness, followed by the curse that flowed from Manassah's evil, why would other kings follow the worst of the kings rather than Josiah and Hezekiah – the best of them? Might it have been the Lord God Who had some mercy on Jehoiachin and prompted the king of Babylon to be kind to him?

Reflect

As Judah followed Israel into oblivion, because of their rebellion against the Lord God, nations all around them rose and fell – Egypt, then Assyria, and then Babylon. Gedaliah misjudged the remnant military when he thought they'd willingly accept the dominance of Babylon and serve them.

When have you experienced or observed someone in leadership choosing to follow the path of a failed leader, despite the obvious high-probability that they also would fail? When have you experienced or observed unexpected kindness from an enemy toward a weaker person?

Faith In Action

Pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you something that you are copying from a parent or other source of influence that is destructive and reveal to you someone over whom you have power and to whom you may offer a small measure of grace.

Act

Today I will ask at least one fellow believer to be my accountability and prayer partner as I turn away from that which the Holy Spirit has shown me is destructive in my life. I will be an agent of the Lord God's grace and do an unexpected kindness in His name to someone who least expects it.

Be Specific ________________________________________________

Monday (2 Chronicles 36:1-21)

Jehoahaz’s Reign

36:1 The people of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah and made him king in his father’s place in Jerusalem. 36:2 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. 36:3 The king of Egypt prevented him from ruling in Jerusalem and imposed on the land a special tax of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 36:4 The king of Egypt made Jehoahaz’s brother Eliakim king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. Necho seized his brother Jehoahaz and took him to Egypt.

Jehoiakim’s Reign

36:5 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. He did evil in the sight of the Lord his God. 36:6 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked him, bound him with bronze chains, and carried him away to Babylon. 36:7 Nebuchadnezzar took some of the items in the Lord’s temple to Babylon and put them in his palace there.

36:8 The rest of the events of Jehoiakim’s reign, including the horrible sins he committed and his shortcomings, are recorded in the Scroll of the Kings of Israel and Judah. His son Jehoiachin replaced him as king.

Jehoiachin’s Reign

36:9 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did evil in the sight of the Lord. 36:10 At the beginning of the year King Nebuchadnezzar ordered him to be brought to Babylon, along with the valuable items in the Lord’s temple. In his place he made his relative Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.

Zedekiah’s Reign

36:11 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he ruled for eleven years in Jerusalem. 36:12 He did evil in the sight of the Lord his God. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, the Lord’s spokesman. 36:13 He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him vow allegiance in the name of God. He was stubborn and obstinate, and refused to return to the Lord God of Israel. 36:14 All the leaders of the priests and people became more unfaithful and committed the same horrible sins practiced by the nations. They defiled the Lord’s temple which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.

The Babylonians Destroy Jerusalem

36:15 The Lord God of their ancestors continually warned them through his messengers, for he felt compassion for his people and his dwelling place. 36:16 But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his warnings, and ridiculed his prophets. Finally the Lord got very angry at his people and there was no one who could prevent his judgment. 36:17 He brought against them the king of the Babylonians, who slaughtered their young men in their temple. He did not spare young men or women, or even the old and aging. God handed everyone over to him. 36:18 He carried away to Babylon all the items in God’s temple, whether large or small, as well as what was in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the king and his officials. 36:19 They burned down the Lord’s temple and tore down the wall of Jerusalem. They burned all its fortified buildings and destroyed all its valuable items. 36:20 He deported to Babylon all who escaped the sword. They served him and his sons until the Persian kingdom rose to power. 36:21 This took place to fulfill the Lord’s message delivered through Jeremiah. The land experienced its sabbatical years; it remained desolate for seventy years, as prophesied.

Prayer

Lord, You have been perfectly consistent in fulfilling your prophesies, blessings for obedience and troubles for rebellion. You have used both the faithful and the pagans as instruments of Your sovereign plan. May I never forget that everything belongs to You, that You permit humankind great liberty to make choices, but in the great scheme of things Your sovereign will shall be done – with or without my agreement or my willing participation – but may I be inclined to make myself Your instrument of blessing.

Scripture In Perspective

Jehoahaz son of Josiah became king but only for a few months “... the king of Egypt prevented him from ruling in Jerusalem.”

The king of Egypt then made his brother Eliakim king instead and changed his name to Jehoiakim. King Necho took Jehoahaz away to Egypt

Jehoiakim was king for eleven years but was evil before the Lord so Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, took him captive along with some of the items from the temple.

His son Jehoiachin was king for three months and four days, he was also evil, and Nebuchadnezzar took him and more items from the temple to Babylon.

Zedekiah was king for eleven years during which even the priests did evil, defiling the temple, Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem and the temple – taking the remaining treasures and those who were not killed as servants in Babylon – fulfilling the prophesy given through the prophet Jeremiah.

Interact with the text

Consider

The foolish experiment with human kings, which the people of Israel had demanded of the Lord God, began and ended badly – just as He had warned.

Discuss

Why would Jehoiakim act in rebellion against the Lord God knowing the likely consequences?

Reflect

The Persian people are Elamites, descendants of Elam, the first born son of Shem, one of the sons of Noah.

When have you experienced or observed someone entrusted with spiritual leadership choosing to do evil?

Faith In Action

Pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a place where you have struggled to hear from and/or to obey the Lord God – and that you may find encouragement and a role model in an unexpected place.

Act

Today I will humbly accept the chastising and teaching of the Holy Spirit and I will repent of my failure to listen and/or my failure to obey. I will gratefully receive the direct or indirect mentoring of a person or perhaps a 'publication' (electronic or print) which comes from an unexpected source as it faithfully leads me to truth (without presuming that anything else from that same source is necessarily correct).

Be Specific _____________________________________________

Tuesday (Habakkuk 1–3)

Habakkuk Complains to the Lord

1:1 The following is the message which God revealed to Habakkuk the prophet:

1:2 How long, Lord, must I cry for help? But you do not listen! I call out to you, “Violence!” But you do not intervene!

1:3 Why do you force me to witness injustice? Why do you put up with wrongdoing? Destruction and violence confront me; conflict is present and one must endure strife.

1:4 For this reason the law lacks power, and justice is never carried out. Indeed, the wicked intimidate the innocent. For this reason justice is perverted.

The Lord Reveals Some Startling News

1:5 “Look at the nations and pay attention! You will be shocked and amazed! For I will do something in your lifetime that you will not believe even though you are forewarned.

1:6 Look, I am about to empower the Babylonians, that ruthless and greedy nation. They sweep across the surface of the earth, seizing dwelling places that do not belong to them.

1:7 They are frightening and terrifying; they decide for themselves what is right.

1:8 Their horses are faster than leopards and more alert than wolves in the desert. Their horses gallop, their horses come a great distance; like a vulture they swoop down quickly to devour their prey.

1:9 All of them intend to do violence; every face is determined. They take prisoners as easily as one scoops up sand.

1:10 They mock kings and laugh at rulers. They laugh at every fortified city; they build siege ramps and capture them.

1:11 They sweep by like the wind and pass on. But the one who considers himself a god will be held guilty.”

Habakkuk Voices Some Concerns

1:12 Lord, you have been active from ancient times; my sovereign God, you are immortal. Lord, you have made them your instrument of judgment. Protector, you have appointed them as your instrument of punishment.

1:13 You are too just to tolerate evil; you are unable to condone wrongdoing. So why do you put up with such treacherous people? Why do you say nothing when the wicked devour those more righteous than they are?

1:14 You made people like fish in the sea, like animals in the sea that have no ruler.

1:15 The Babylonian tyrant pulls them all up with a fishhook; he hauls them in with his throw net. When he catches them in his dragnet, he is very happy.

1:16 Because of his success he offers sacrifices to his throw net and burns incense to his dragnet; for because of them he has plenty of food, and more than enough to eat.

1:17 Will he then continue to fill and empty his throw net? Will he always destroy nations and spare none?

2:1 I will stand at my watch post; I will remain stationed on the city wall. I will keep watching, so I can see what he says to me and can know how I should answer when he counters my argument.

The Lord Assures Habakkuk

2:2 The Lord responded: “Write down this message! Record it legibly on tablets, so the one who announces it may read it easily.

2:3 For the message is a witness to what is decreed; it gives reliable testimony about how matters will turn out. Even if the message is not fulfilled right away, wait patiently; for it will certainly come to pass – it will not arrive late.

2:4 Look, the one whose desires are not upright will faint from exhaustion, but the person of integrity will live because of his faithfulness.

2:5 Indeed, wine will betray the proud, restless man! His appetite is as big as Sheol’s; like death, he is never satisfied. He gathers all the nations; he seizes all peoples.

The Proud Babylonians are as Good as Dead

2:6 “But all these nations will someday taunt him and ridicule him with proverbial sayings: ‘The one who accumulates what does not belong to him is as good as dead (How long will this go on?) – he who gets rich by extortion!’

2:7 Your creditors will suddenly attack; those who terrify you will spring into action, and they will rob you.

2:8 Because you robbed many countries, all who are left among the nations will rob you. You have shed human blood and committed violent acts against lands, cities, and those who live in them.

2:9 The one who builds his house by unjust gain is as good as dead. He does this so he can build his nest way up high and escape the clutches of disaster.

2:10 Your schemes will bring shame to your house. Because you destroyed many nations, you will self-destruct.

2:11 For the stones in the walls will cry out, and the wooden rafters will answer back.

2:12 The one who builds a city by bloodshed is as good as dead – he who starts a town by unjust deeds.

2:13 Be sure of this! The Lord who commands armies has decreed: The nations’ efforts will go up in smoke; their exhausting work will be for nothing.

2:14 For recognition of the Lord’s sovereign majesty will fill the earth just as the waters fill up the sea.

2:15 “You who force your neighbor to drink wine are as good as dead – you who make others intoxicated by forcing them to drink from the bowl of your furious anger, so you can look at their genitals.

2:16 But you will become drunk with shame, not majesty. Now it is your turn to drink and expose your uncircumcised foreskin! The cup of wine in the Lord’s right hand is coming to you, and disgrace will replace your majestic glory!

2:17 For you will pay in full for your violent acts against Lebanon; terrifying judgment will come upon you because of the way you destroyed the wild animals living there. You have shed human blood and committed violent acts against lands, cities, and those who live in them.

2:18 What good is an idol? Why would a craftsman make it? What good is a metal image that gives misleading oracles? Why would its creator place his trust in it and make such mute, worthless things?

2:19 The one who says to wood, ‘Wake up!’ is as good as dead – he who says to speechless stone, ‘Awake!’ Can it give reliable guidance? It is overlaid with gold and silver; it has no life’s breath inside it.

2:20 But the Lord is in his majestic palace. The whole earth is speechless in his presence!”

Habakkuk’s Vision of the Divine Warrior

3:1 This is a prayer of Habakkuk the prophet:

3:2 Lord, I have heard the report of what you did; I am awed, Lord, by what you accomplished. In our time repeat those deeds; in our time reveal them again. But when you cause turmoil, remember to show us mercy!

3:3 God comes from Teman, the sovereign one from Mount Paran. Selah. His splendor covers the skies, his glory fills the earth.

3:4 He is as bright as lightning; a two-pronged lightning bolt flashes from his hand. This is the outward display of his power.

3:5 Plague goes before him; pestilence marches right behind him.

3:6 He takes his battle position and shakes the earth; with a mere look he frightens the nations. The ancient mountains disintegrate; the primeval hills are flattened. He travels on the ancient roads.

3:7 I see the tents of Cushan overwhelmed by trouble; the tent curtains of the land of Midian are shaking.

3:8 Is the Lord mad at the rivers? Are you angry with the rivers? Are you enraged at the sea? Is this why you climb into your horse-drawn chariots, your victorious chariots?

3:9 Your bow is ready for action; you commission your arrows. Selah. You cause flash floods on the earth’s surface.

3:10 When the mountains see you, they shake. The torrential downpour sweeps through. The great deep shouts out; it lifts its hands high.

3:11 The sun and moon stand still in their courses; the flash of your arrows drives them away, the bright light of your lightning-quick spear.

3:12 You furiously stomp on the earth, you angrily trample down the nations.

3:13 You march out to deliver your people, to deliver your special servant. You strike the leader of the wicked nation, laying him open from the lower body to the neck. Selah.

3:14 You pierce the heads of his warriors with a spear. They storm forward to scatter us; they shout with joy as if they were plundering the poor with no opposition.

3:15 But you trample on the sea with your horses, on the surging, raging waters.

Habakkuk Declares His Confidence

3:16 I listened and my stomach churned; the sound made my lips quiver. My frame went limp, as if my bones were decaying, and I shook as I tried to walk. I long for the day of distress to come upon the people who attack us.

3:17 When the fig tree does not bud, and there are no grapes on the vines; when the olive trees do not produce, and the fields yield no crops; when the sheep disappear from the pen, and there are no cattle in the stalls,

3:18 I will rejoice because of the Lord; I will be happy because of the God who delivers me!

3:19 The sovereign Lord is my source of strength. He gives me the agility of a deer; he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain. (This prayer is for the song leader. It is to be accompanied by stringed instruments.)

Prayer

Lord, You punish the wicked, chastise the sinner, but “... the person of integrity will live because of his faithfulness.” May I grow to become more and more a person of integrity so that I may be one of Your instruments of redemption in this world.

Scripture In Perspective

Habakkuk is estimated to have been written variously around 600 to 650 BC. He prophesied the destruction of the Chaldeans just prior to the fall of Jerusalem.

He pleaded with the Lord God to explain why the law was not causing sin to end. He would allow the Babylonians to His instrument of punishment but then they, because they would imagine themselves to be gods, would also be punished.

Habakkuk was given a word of hope “Look, the one whose desires are not upright will faint from exhaustion, but the person of integrity will live because of his faithfulness.”

Habakkuk reviewed recent events in history and the Lord God's promises, followed by an instruction to a song leader to accompany the prayer with stringed instruments, with these his final recorded words “I will rejoice because of the Lord; I will be happy because of the God who delivers me! The sovereign Lord is my source of strength. He gives me the agility of a deer; he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain.”

Interact With The Text

Consider

Habakkuk was frustrated and offended by the unrepentant sin of his people and of the nations around him.

Discuss

Why would Habakkuk have failed to understand that the purpose of the law was to convict and not to make-perfect?

Reflect

Habakkuk trusted the Lord God to protect and to guide him.

When have you been frustrated with sin and cried-out to the Lord God?

Faith In Action

Pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a place in your life where the Lord God is applying the law to show you where and how you need Him.

Act

Today I will humbly submit to the teaching of the Lord, repent of my sin, request and receive His forgiveness, then step out in greater faith to serve Him.

Be Specific _________________________________________________

Wednesday (Jeremiah 41-46)

41:1 But in the seventh month Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah and grandson of Elishama who was a member of the royal family and had been one of Zedekiah’s chief officers, came with ten of his men to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah. While they were eating a meal together with him there at Mizpah, 41:2 Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him stood up, pulled out their swords, and killed Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan. Thus Ishmael killed the man that the king of Babylon had appointed to govern the country. 41:3 Ishmael also killed all the Judeans who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah and the Babylonian soldiers who happened to be there.

41:4 On the day after Gedaliah had been murdered, before anyone even knew about it, 41:5 eighty men arrived from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria. They had shaved off their beards, torn their clothes, and cut themselves to show they were mourning. They were carrying grain offerings and incense to present at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. 41:6 Ishmael son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them. He was pretending to cry as he walked along. When he met them, he said to them, “Come with me to meet Gedaliah son of Ahikam.” 41:7 But as soon as they were inside the city, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the men who were with him slaughtered them and threw their bodies in a cistern. 41:8 But there were ten men among them who said to Ishmael, “Do not kill us. For we will give you the stores of wheat, barley, olive oil, and honey we have hidden in a field. So he spared their lives and did not kill them along with the rest. 41:9 Now the cistern where Ishmael threw all the dead bodies of those he had killed was a large one that King Asa had constructed as part of his defenses against King Baasha of Israel. Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled it with dead bodies. 41:10 Then Ishmael took captive all the people who were still left alive in Mizpah. This included the royal princesses and all the rest of the people in Mizpah that Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, had put under the authority of Gedaliah son of Ahikam. Ishmael son of Nethaniah took all these people captive and set out to cross over to the Ammonites.

Johanan Rescues the People Ishmael Had Carried Off

41:11 Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers who were with him heard about all the atrocities that Ishmael son of Nethaniah had committed. 41:12 So they took all their troops and went to fight against Ishmael son of Nethaniah. They caught up with him near the large pool at Gibeon. 41:13 When all the people that Ishmael had taken captive saw Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers with him, they were glad. 41:14 All those people that Ishmael had taken captive from Mizpah turned and went over to Johanan son of Kareah. 41:15 But Ishmael son of Nethaniah managed to escape from Johanan along with eight of his men, and he went on over to Ammon.

41:16 Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers who were with him led off all the people who had been left alive at Mizpah. They had rescued them from Ishmael son of Nethaniah after he killed Gedaliah son of Ahikam. They led off the men, women, children, soldiers, and court officials whom they had brought away from Gibeon. 41:17 They set out to go to Egypt to get away from the Babylonians, but stopped at Geruth Kimham near Bethlehem. 41:18 They were afraid of what the Babylonians might do because Ishmael son of Nethaniah had killed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed to govern the country.

The Survivors Ask the Lord for Advice but Refuse to Follow It

42:1 Then all the army officers, including Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah and all the people of every class, went to the prophet Jeremiah. 42:2 They said to him, “Please grant our request and pray to the Lord your God for all those of us who are still left alive here. For, as you yourself can see, there are only a few of us left out of the many there were before. 42:3 Pray that the Lord your God will tell us where we should go and what we should do.” 42:4 The prophet Jeremiah answered them, “Agreed! I will indeed pray to the Lord your God as you have asked. I will tell you everything the Lord replies in response to you. I will not keep anything back from you.” 42:5 They answered Jeremiah, “May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not do just as the Lord sends you to tell us to do. 42:6 We will obey what the Lord our God to whom we are sending you tells us to do. It does not matter whether we like what he tells us or not. We will obey what he tells us to do so that things will go well for us.”

42:7 Ten days later the Lord spoke to Jeremiah. 42:8 So Jeremiah summoned Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers who were with him and all the people of every class. 42:9 Then Jeremiah said to them, “You sent me to the Lord God of Israel to make your request known to him. Here is what he says to you: 42:10 ‘If you will just stay in this land, I will build you up. I will not tear you down. I will firmly plant you. I will not uproot you. For I am filled with sorrow because of the disaster that I have brought on you. 42:11 Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon whom you now fear. Do not be afraid of him because I will be with you to save you and to rescue you from his power. I, the Lord, affirm it! 42:12 I will have compassion on you so that he in turn will have mercy on you and allow you to return to your land.’

42:13 “You must not disobey the Lord your God by saying, ‘We will not stay in this land.’ 42:14 You must not say, ‘No, we will not stay. Instead we will go and live in the land of Egypt where we will not face war, or hear the enemy’s trumpet calls, or starve for lack of food.’ 42:15 If you people who remain in Judah do that, then listen to what the Lord says. The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, ‘If you are so determined to go to Egypt that you go and settle there, 42:16 the wars you fear will catch up with you there in the land of Egypt. The starvation you are worried about will follow you there to Egypt. You will die there. 42:17 All the people who are determined to go and settle in Egypt will die from war, starvation, or disease. No one will survive or escape the disaster I will bring on them.’ 42:18 For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, ‘If you go to Egypt, I will pour out my wrath on you just as I poured out my anger and wrath on the citizens of Jerusalem. You will become an object of horror and ridicule, an example of those who have been cursed and that people use in pronouncing a curse. You will never see this place again.’

42:19 “The Lord has told you people who remain in Judah, ‘Do not go to Egypt.’ Be very sure of this: I warn you here and now. 42:20 You are making a fatal mistake. For you sent me to the Lord your God and asked me, ‘Pray to the Lord our God for us. Tell us what the Lord our God says and we will do it.’ 42:21 This day I have told you what he said. But you do not want to obey the Lord by doing what he sent me to tell you. 42:22 So now be very sure of this: You will die from war, starvation, or disease in the place where you want to go and live.”

43:1 Jeremiah finished telling all the people all these things the Lord their God had sent him to tell them. 43:2 Then Azariah son of Hoshaiah, Johanan son of Kareah, and other arrogant men said to Jeremiah, “You are telling a lie! The Lord our God did not send you to tell us, ‘You must not go to Egypt and settle there.’ 43:3 But Baruch son of Neriah is stirring you up against us. He wants to hand us over to the Babylonians so that they will kill us or carry us off into exile in Babylon.” 43:4 So Johanan son of Kareah, all the army officers, and all the rest of the people did not obey the Lord’s command to stay in the land. 43:5 Instead Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers led off all the Judean remnant who had come back to live in the land of Judah from all the nations where they had been scattered. 43:6 They also led off all the men, women, children, and royal princesses that Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, had left with Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan. This included the prophet Jeremiah and Baruch son of Neriah. 43:7 They went on to Egypt because they refused to obey the Lord, and came to Tahpanhes.

Jeremiah Predicts that Nebuchadnezzar Will Plunder Egypt and Its Gods

43:8 At Tahpanhes the Lord spoke to Jeremiah. 43:9 “Take some large stones and bury them in the mortar of the clay pavement at the entrance of Pharaoh’s residence here in Tahpanhes. Do it while the people of Judah present there are watching. 43:10 Then tell them, ‘The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, “I will bring my servant King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I will set his throne over these stones which I have buried. He will pitch his royal tent over them. 43:11 He will come and attack Egypt. Those who are destined to die of disease will die of disease. Those who are destined to be carried off into exile will be carried off into exile. Those who are destined to die in war will die in war. 43:12 He will set fire to the temples of the gods of Egypt. He will burn their gods or carry them off as captives. He will pick Egypt clean like a shepherd picks the lice from his clothing. He will leave there unharmed. 43:13 He will demolish the sacred pillars in the temple of the sun in Egypt and will burn down the temples of the gods of Egypt.”’”

The Lord Will Punish the Judean Exiles in Egypt for Their Idolatry

44:1 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah concerning all the Judeans who were living in the land of Egypt, those in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and in the region of southern Egypt. 44:2 “The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, ‘You have seen all the disaster I brought on Jerusalem and all the towns of Judah. Indeed, they now lie in ruins and are deserted. 44:3 This happened because of the wickedness the people living there did. They made me angry by worshiping and offering sacrifice to other gods whom neither they nor you nor your ancestors previously knew. 44:4 I sent my servants the prophets to you people over and over again warning you not to do this disgusting thing I hate. 44:5 But the people of Jerusalem and Judah would not listen or pay any attention. They would not stop the wickedness they were doing nor quit sacrificing to other gods. 44:6 So my anger and my wrath were poured out and burned like a fire through the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. That is why they have become the desolate ruins that they are today.’

44:7 “So now the Lord, the God who rules over all, the God of Israel, asks, ‘Why will you do such great harm to yourselves? Why should every man, woman, child, and baby of yours be destroyed from the midst of Judah? Why should you leave yourselves without a remnant? 44:8 That is what will result from your making me angry by what you are doing. You are making me angry by sacrificing to other gods here in the land of Egypt where you live. You will be destroyed for doing that! You will become an example used in curses and an object of ridicule among all the nations of the earth. 44:9 Have you forgotten all the wicked things that have been done in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem by your ancestors, by the kings of Judah and their wives, by you and your wives? 44:10 To this day your people have shown no contrition! They have not revered me nor followed the laws and statutes I commanded you and your ancestors.’

44:11 “Because of this, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, ‘I am determined to bring disaster on you, even to the point of destroying all the Judeans here. 44:12 I will see to it that all the Judean remnant that was determined to go and live in the land of Egypt will be destroyed. Here in the land of Egypt they will fall in battle or perish from starvation. People of every class will die in war or from starvation. They will become an object of horror and ridicule, an example of those who have been cursed and that people use in pronouncing a curse. 44:13 I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt with war, starvation, and disease just as I punished Jerusalem. 44:14 None of the Judean remnant who have come to live in the land of Egypt will escape or survive to return to the land of Judah. Though they long to return and live there, none of them shall return except a few fugitives.’”

44:15 Then all the men who were aware that their wives were sacrificing to other gods, as well as all their wives, answered Jeremiah. There was a great crowd of them representing all the people who lived in northern and southern Egypt. They answered, 44:16 “We will not listen to what you claim the Lord has spoken to us! 44:17 Instead we will do everything we vowed we would do. We will sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the goddess called the Queen of Heaven just as we and our ancestors, our kings, and our leaders previously did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, were well-off, and had no troubles. 44:18 But ever since we stopped sacrificing and pouring out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven, we have been in great need. Our people have died in wars or of starvation.” 44:19 The women added, “We did indeed sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven. But it was with the full knowledge and approval of our husbands that we made cakes in her image and poured out drink offerings to her.”

44:20 Then Jeremiah replied to all the people, both men and women, who responded to him in this way. 44:21 “The Lord did indeed remember and call to mind what you did! He remembered the sacrifices you and your ancestors, your kings, your leaders, and all the rest of the people of the land offered to other gods in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. 44:22 Finally the Lord could no longer endure your wicked deeds and the disgusting things you did. That is why your land has become the desolate, uninhabited ruin that it is today. That is why it has become a proverbial example used in curses. 44:23 You have sacrificed to other gods! You have sinned against the Lord! You have not obeyed the Lord! You have not followed his laws, his statutes, and his decrees! That is why this disaster that is evident to this day has happened to you.”

44:24 Then Jeremiah spoke to all the people, particularly to all the women. “Listen to what the Lord has to say all you people of Judah who are in Egypt. 44:25 The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, ‘You women have confirmed by your actions what you vowed with your lips! You said, “We will certainly carry out our vows to sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven.” Well, then fulfill your vows! Carry them out!’ 44:26 But listen to what the Lord has to say, all you people of Judah who are living in the land of Egypt. The Lord says, ‘I hereby swear by my own great name that none of the people of Judah who are living anywhere in Egypt will ever again invoke my name in their oaths! Never again will any of them use it in an oath saying, “As surely as the Lord God lives….” 44:27 I will indeed see to it that disaster, not prosperity, happens to them. All the people of Judah who are in the land of Egypt will die in war or from starvation until not one of them is left. 44:28 Some who survive in battle will return to the land of Judah from the land of Egypt. But they will be very few indeed! Then the Judean remnant who have come to live in the land of Egypt will know whose word proves true, mine or theirs.’ 44:29 Moreover the Lord says, ‘I will make something happen to prove that I will punish you in this place. I will do it so that you will know that my threats to bring disaster on you will prove true. 44:30 I, the Lord, promise that I will hand Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt over to his enemies who are seeking to kill him. I will do that just as surely as I handed King Zedekiah of Judah over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, his enemy who was seeking to kill him.’”

Baruch is Rebuked but also Comforted

45:1 The prophet Jeremiah spoke to Baruch son of Neriah while he was writing down in a scroll the words that Jeremiah spoke to him. This happened in the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was ruling over Judah. 45:2 “The Lord God of Israel has a message for you, Baruch. 45:3 ‘You have said, “I feel so hopeless! For the Lord has added sorrow to my suffering. I am worn out from groaning. I can’t find any rest.”’”

45:4 The Lord told Jeremiah, “Tell Baruch, ‘The Lord says, “I am about to tear down what I have built and to uproot what I have planted. I will do this throughout the whole earth. 45:5 Are you looking for great things for yourself? Do not look for such things. For I, the Lord, affirm that I am about to bring disaster on all humanity. But I will allow you to escape with your life wherever you go.”’”

Prophecies Against Foreign Nations

46:1 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah about the nations.

The Prophecy about Egypt’s Defeat at Carchemish

46:2 He spoke about Egypt and the army of Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt which was encamped along the Euphrates River at Carchemish. Now this was the army that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon defeated in the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was ruling over Judah.

46:3 “Fall into ranks with your shields ready! Prepare to march into battle!

46:4 Harness the horses to the chariots! Mount your horses! Put on your helmets and take your positions! Sharpen you spears! Put on your armor!

46:5 What do I see?” says the Lord. “The soldiers are terrified. They are retreating. They have been defeated. They are overcome with terror; they desert quickly without looking back.

46:6 But even the swiftest cannot get away. Even the strongest cannot escape. There in the north by the Euphrates River they stumble and fall in defeat.

46:7 “Who is this that rises like the Nile, like its streams turbulent at flood stage?

46:8 Egypt rises like the Nile, like its streams turbulent at flood stage. Egypt says, ‘I will arise and cover the earth. I will destroy cities and the people who inhabit them.’

46:9 Go ahead and charge into battle, you horsemen! Drive furiously, you charioteers! Let the soldiers march out into battle, those from Ethiopia and Libya who carry shields, and those from Lydia who are armed with the bow.

46:10 But that day belongs to the Lord God who rules over all. It is the day when he will pay back his enemies. His sword will devour them until its appetite is satisfied! It will drink their blood until it is full! For the Lord God who rules over all will offer them up as a sacrifice in the land of the north by the Euphrates River.

46:11 Go up to Gilead and get medicinal ointment, you dear poor people of Egypt. But it will prove useless no matter how much medicine you use; there will be no healing for you.

46:12 The nations will hear of your devastating defeat. your cries of distress will echo throughout the earth. In the panic of their flight one soldier will trip over another and both of them will fall down defeated.”

The Lord Predicts that Nebuchadnezzar Will Attack and Plunder Egypt

46:13 The Lord spoke to the prophet Jeremiah about Nebuchadnezzar coming to attack the land of Egypt.

46:14 “Make an announcement throughout Egypt. Proclaim it in Migdol, Memphis, and Tahpanhes. ‘Take your positions and prepare to do battle. For the enemy army is destroying all the nations around you.’

46:15 Why will your soldiers be defeated? They will not stand because I, the Lord, will thrust them down.

46:16 I will make many stumble. They will fall over one another in their hurry to flee. They will say, ‘Get up! Let’s go back to our own people. Let’s go back to our homelands because the enemy is coming to destroy us.’

46:17 There at home they will say, ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is just a big noise! He has let the most opportune moment pass by.’

46:18 I the King, whose name is the Lord who rules over all, swear this: I swear as surely as I live that a conqueror is coming. He will be as imposing as Mount Tabor is among the mountains, as Mount Carmel is against the backdrop of the sea.

46:19 Pack your bags for exile, you inhabitants of poor dear Egypt. For Memphis will be laid waste. It will lie in ruins and be uninhabited.

46:20 Egypt is like a beautiful young cow. But northern armies will attack her like swarms of stinging flies.

46:21 Even her mercenaries will prove to be like pampered, well-fed calves. For they too will turn and run away. They will not stand their ground when the time for them to be destroyed comes, the time for them to be punished.

46:22 Egypt will run away, hissing like a snake, as the enemy comes marching up in force. They will come against her with axes as if they were woodsmen chopping down trees.

46:23 The population of Egypt is like a vast, impenetrable forest. But I, the Lord, affirm that the enemy will cut them down. For those who chop them down will be more numerous than locusts. They will be too numerous to count.

46:24 Poor dear Egypt will be put to shame. She will be handed over to the people from the north.”

46:25 The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, “I will punish Amon, the god of Thebes. I will punish Egypt, its gods, and its kings. I will punish Pharaoh and all who trust in him. 46:26 I will hand them over to Nebuchadnezzar and his troops, who want to kill them. But later on, people will live in Egypt again as they did in former times. I, the Lord, affirm it!”

A Promise of Hope for Israel

46:27 “You descendants of Jacob, my servants, do not be afraid; do not be terrified, people of Israel. For I will rescue you and your descendants from the faraway lands where you are captives. The descendants of Jacob will return to their land and enjoy peace. They will be secure and no one will terrify them.

46:28 I, the Lord, tell you not to be afraid, you descendants of Jacob, my servant, for I am with you. Though I completely destroy all the nations where I scatter you, I will not completely destroy you. I will indeed discipline you but only in due measure. I will not allow you to go entirely unpunished.”

Prayer

Lord, the persistent arrogance and rebellion of the people angered You, yet you retained a remnant so that You could keep Your covenant with Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. May I rest in the certainty that Your every sovereign promise will always be kept.

Scripture In Perspective

Just as Jeremiah had warned, the failure of the king to surrender to the Babylonians resulted in terrible consequences; no only was Jerusalem destroyed and the people taken away to Babylon “There at Riblah the king of Babylon had Zedekiah’s sons put to death while Zedekiah was forced to watch. The king of Babylon also had all the nobles of Judah put to death. 39:7 Then he had Zedekiah’s eyes put out and had him bound in chains to be led off to Babylon.”

Jeremiah was protected by the orders of the Babylonian king and allowed to remain among the people. Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian was also protected for acting from faith in rescuing Jeremiah.

Gedaliah was appointed by the Babylonians to oversee the remnant people and a community rose at Mizpah. Some soldiers who had been hiding, as well as civilians who also managed to hide from the Babylonian army, joined them. “Thus they harvested a large amount of wine and dates and figs.”

Ishmael (son of Nethaniah) and his small army murdered Gedaliah and many others and then took the rest of these people captive then marched them away to the Ammonites. Johanan son of Kareah and his small army heard what had happened and rescued the people, but Ishmael escaped with a few men to the Ammonites.

Johanan wanted to go to Egypt but feared the Babylonians would catch them so they asked Jeremiah to consult the Lord God. He prophesied that they should stay and not flee to Egypt but arrogant members of leadership called him a liar and insisted that they flee to Egypt, despite the warning from the Lord that they would be worse off there.

Jeremiah was taken to Egypt with the people and there prophesied doom for Egypt, and the rebels from Judah, at the hands of the Babylonians who would destroy Egypt.

Baruch, Jeremiah's scribe, was having a pity-party for himself and the Lord said to him “I am about to tear down what I have built and to uproot what I have planted. I will do this throughout the whole earth. 45:5 Are you looking for great things for yourself? Do not look for such things. For I, the Lord, affirm that I am about to bring disaster on all humanity. But I will allow you to escape with your life wherever you go.”

Jeremiah's prophesy concluded with immediate disaster for Egypt and eventually for Babylon and that a remnant would be preserved even as those nations were destroyed around them.

Interact With The Text

Consider

The Lord God kept providing opportunities for the people to choose faithful-obedience to Him and they persisted in rebellion.

Discuss

Isn't it amazing that the Lord God caused the king of Babylon to preserve Jeremiah and the Ethiopian in the midst of the battle and the deportations?

Reflect

Even in the sad times following the destruction of Jerusalem and the deportation of the people Ishmael attacked and tried to force the remnant into slavery under the Ammonites.

When have you had your own pity-party because things were going badly all around you?

Faith In Action

Pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a place where you are too obsessed with your own stuff to notice what the Lord is doing al around you.

Act

Today I will confess and repent, seek and receive the Lord's forgiveness, and intentionally begin looking at the world through His eyes.

Be Specific ________________________________________________

Thursday (Jeremiah 47-51)

Judgment on the Philistine Cities

47:1 The Lord spoke to the prophet Jeremiah about the Philistines before Pharaoh attacked Gaza.

47:2 “Look! Enemies are gathering in the north like water rising in a river. They will be like an overflowing stream. They will overwhelm the whole country and everything in it like a flood. They will overwhelm the cities and their inhabitants. People will cry out in alarm. Everyone living in the country will cry out in pain.

47:3 Fathers will hear the hoofbeats of the enemies’ horses, the clatter of their chariots and the rumbling of their wheels. They will not turn back to save their children because they will be paralyzed with fear.

47:4 For the time has come to destroy all the Philistines. The time has come to destroy all the help that remains for Tyre and Sidon. For I, the Lord, will destroy the Philistines, that remnant that came from the island of Crete.

47:5 The people of Gaza will shave their heads in mourning. The people of Ashkelon will be struck dumb. How long will you gash yourselves to show your sorrow, you who remain of Philistia’s power?

47:6 How long will you cry out, ‘Oh, sword of the Lord, how long will it be before you stop killing? Go back into your sheath! Stay there and rest!’

47:7 But how can it rest when I, the Lord, have given it orders? I have ordered it to attack the people of Ashkelon and the seacoast.

Judgment Against Moab

48:1 The Lord God of Israel who rules over all spoke about Moab. “Sure to be judged is Nebo! Indeed, it will be destroyed! Kiriathaim will suffer disgrace. It will be captured! Its fortress will suffer disgrace. It will be torn down!

48:2 People will not praise Moab any more. The enemy will capture Heshbon and plot how to destroy Moab, saying, ‘Come, let’s put an end to that nation!’ City of Madmen, you will also be destroyed. A destructive army will march against you.

48:3 Cries of anguish will arise in Horonaim, ‘Oh, the ruin and great destruction!’

48:4 “Moab will be crushed. Her children will cry out in distress.

48:5 Indeed they will climb the slopes of Luhith, weeping continually as they go. For on the road down to Horonaim they will hear the cries of distress over the destruction.

48:6 They will hear, ‘Run! Save yourselves! Even if you must be like a lonely shrub in the desert!’

48:7 “Moab, you trust in the things you do and in your riches. So you too will be conquered. Your god Chemosh will go into exile along with his priests and his officials.

48:8 The destroyer will come against every town. Not one town will escape. The towns in the valley will be destroyed. The cities on the high plain will be laid waste. I, the Lord, have spoken!

48:9 Set up a gravestone for Moab, for it will certainly be laid in ruins! Its cities will be laid waste and become uninhabited.”

48:10 A curse on anyone who is lax in doing the Lord’s work! A curse on anyone who keeps from carrying out his destruction!

48:11 “From its earliest days Moab has lived undisturbed. It has never been taken into exile. Its people are like wine allowed to settle undisturbed on its dregs, never poured out from one jar to another. They are like wine which tastes like it always did, whose aroma has remained unchanged.

48:12 But the time is coming when I will send men against Moab who will empty it out. They will empty the towns of their people, then will lay those towns in ruins. I, the Lord, affirm it!

48:13 The people of Moab will be disappointed by their god Chemosh. They will be as disappointed as the people of Israel were when they put their trust in the calf god at Bethel.

48:14 How can you men of Moab say, ‘We are heroes, men who are mighty in battle?’

48:15 Moab will be destroyed. Its towns will be invaded. Its finest young men will be slaughtered. I, the King, the Lord who rules over all, affirm it!

48:16 Moab’s destruction is at hand. Disaster will come on it quickly.

48:17 Mourn for that nation, all you nations living around it, all of you nations that know of its fame. Mourn and say, ‘Alas, its powerful influence has been broken! Its glory and power have been done away!’

48:18 Come down from your place of honor; sit on the dry ground, you who live in Dibon. For the one who will destroy Moab will attack you; he will destroy your fortifications.

48:19 You who live in Aroer, stand by the road and watch. Question the man who is fleeing and the woman who is escaping. Ask them, ‘What has happened?’

48:20 They will answer, ‘Moab is disgraced, for it has fallen! Wail and cry out in mourning! Announce along the Arnon River that Moab has been destroyed.’

48:21 “Judgment will come on the cities on the high plain: on Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath, 48:22 on Dibon, Nebo, and Beth Diblathaim, 48:23 on Kiriathaim, Beth Gamul, and Beth Meon, 48:24 on Kerioth and Bozrah. It will come on all the towns of Moab, both far and near. 48:25 Moab’s might will be crushed. Its power will be broken. I, the Lord, affirm it!

48:26 “Moab has vaunted itself against me. So make him drunk with the wine of my wrath until he splashes around in his own vomit, until others treat him as a laughingstock.

48:27 For did not you people of Moab laugh at the people of Israel? Did you think that they were nothing but thieves, that you shook your head in contempt every time you talked about them?

48:28 Leave your towns, you inhabitants of Moab. Go and live in the cliffs. Be like a dove that makes its nest high on the sides of a ravine.

48:29 I have heard how proud the people of Moab are, I know how haughty they are. I have heard how arrogant, proud, and haughty they are, what a high opinion they have of themselves.

48:30 I, the Lord, affirm that I know how arrogant they are. But their pride is ill-founded. Their boastings will prove to be false.

48:31 So I will weep with sorrow for Moab. I will cry out in sadness for all of Moab. I will moan for the people of Kir Heres.

48:32 I will weep for the grapevines of Sibmah just like the town of Jazer weeps over them. Their branches once spread as far as the Dead Sea. They reached as far as the town of Jazer. The destroyer will ravage her fig, date, and grape crops.

48:33 Joy and gladness will disappear from the fruitful land of Moab. I will stop the flow of wine from the winepresses. No one will stomp on the grapes there and shout for joy. The shouts there will be shouts of soldiers, not the shouts of those making wine.

48:34 Cries of anguish raised from Heshbon and Elealeh will be sounded as far as Jahaz. They will be sounded from Zoar as far as Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah. For even the waters of Nimrim will be dried up.

48:35 I will put an end in Moab to those who make offerings at her places of worship. I will put an end to those who sacrifice to other gods. I, the Lord, affirm it!

48:36 So my heart moans for Moab like a flute playing a funeral song. Yes, like a flute playing a funeral song, my heart moans for the people of Kir Heres. For the wealth they have gained will perish.

48:37 For all of them will shave their heads in mourning. They will all cut off their beards to show their sorrow. They will all make gashes in their hands. They will all put on sackcloth.

48:38 On all the housetops in Moab and in all its public squares there will be nothing but mourning. For I will break Moab like an unwanted jar. I, the Lord, affirm it!

48:39 Oh, how shattered Moab will be! Oh, how her people will wail! Oh, how she will turn away in shame! Moab will become an object of ridicule, a terrifying sight to all the nations that surround her.”

48:40 For the Lord says, “Look! Like an eagle with outspread wings a nation will swoop down on Moab.

48:41 Her towns will be captured. Her fortresses will be taken. At that time the soldiers of Moab will be frightened like a woman in labor.

48:42 Moab will be destroyed and no longer be a nation, because she has vaunted herself against the Lord.

48:43 Terror, pits, and traps are in store for the people who live in Moab. I, the Lord, affirm it!

48:44 Anyone who flees at the sound of terror will fall into a pit. Anyone who climbs out of the pit will be caught in a trap. For the time is coming when I will punish the people of Moab. I, the Lord, affirm it!

48:45 In the shadows of the walls of Heshbon those trying to escape will stand helpless. For a fire will burst forth from Heshbon. Flames will shoot out from the former territory of Sihon. They will burn the foreheads of the people of Moab, the skulls of those war-loving people.

48:46 Moab, you are doomed! You people who worship Chemosh will be destroyed. Your sons will be taken away captive. Your daughters will be carried away into exile.

48:47 Yet in days to come I will reverse Moab’s ill fortune.” says the Lord. The judgment against Moab ends here.

Judgment Against Ammon

49:1 The Lord spoke about the Ammonites. “Do you think there are not any people of the nation of Israel remaining? Do you think there are not any of them remaining to reinherit their land? Is that why you people who worship the god Milcom have taken possession of the territory of Gad and live in his cities?

49:2 Because you did that, I, the Lord, affirm that a time is coming when I will make Rabbah, the capital city of Ammon, hear the sound of the battle cry. It will become a mound covered with ruins. Its villages will be burned to the ground. Then Israel will take back its land from those who took their land from them. I, the Lord, affirm it!

49:3 Wail, you people in Heshbon, because Ai in Ammon is destroyed. Cry out in anguish, you people in the villages surrounding Rabbah. Put on sackcloth and cry out in mourning. Run about covered with gashes. For your god Milcom will go into exile along with his priests and officials.

49:4 Why do you brag about your great power? Your power is ebbing away, you rebellious people of Ammon, who trust in your riches and say, ‘Who would dare to attack us?’

49:5 I will bring terror on you from every side,” says the Lord God who rules over all. “You will be scattered in every direction. No one will gather the fugitives back together.

49:6 Yet in days to come I will reverse Ammon’s ill fortune.” says the Lord.

Judgment Against Edom

49:7 The Lord who rules over all spoke about Edom. “Is wisdom no longer to be found in Teman? Can Edom’s counselors not give her any good advice? Has all of their wisdom turned bad? 49:8 Turn and flee! Take up refuge in remote places, you people who live in Dedan. For I will bring disaster on the descendants of Esau. I have decided it is time for me to punish them.

49:9 If grape pickers came to pick your grapes, would they not leave a few grapes behind? If robbers came at night, would they not pillage only what they needed?

49:10 But I will strip everything away from Esau’s descendants. I will uncover their hiding places so they cannot hide. Their children, relatives, and neighbors will all be destroyed. Not one of them will be left!

49:11 Leave your orphans behind and I will keep them alive. Your widows too can depend on me.”

49:12 For the Lord says, “If even those who did not deserve to drink from the cup of my wrath must drink from it, do you think you will go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, but must certainly drink from the cup of my wrath. 49:13 For I solemnly swear,” says the Lord, “that Bozrah will become a pile of ruins. It will become an object of horror and ridicule, an example to be used in curses. All the towns around it will lie in ruins forever.”

49:14 I said, “I have heard a message from the Lord. A messenger has been sent among the nations to say, ‘Gather your armies and march out against her! Prepare to do battle with her!’”

49:15 The Lord says to Edom, “I will certainly make you small among nations. I will make you despised by all humankind.

49:16 The terror you inspire in others and the arrogance of your heart have deceived you. You may make your home in the clefts of the rocks; you may occupy the highest places in the hills. But even if you made your home where the eagles nest, I would bring you down from there,” says the Lord.

49:17 “Edom will become an object of horror. All who pass by it will be filled with horror; they will hiss out their scorn because of all the disasters that have happened to it.

49:18 Edom will be destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah and the towns that were around them. No one will live there. No human being will settle in it,” says the Lord.

49:19 “A lion coming up from the thick undergrowth along the Jordan scatters the sheep in the pastureland around it. So too I will chase the Edomites off their land. Then I will appoint over it whomever I choose. For there is no one like me, and there is no one who can call me to account. There is no ruler who can stand up against me.

49:20 So listen to what I, the Lord, have planned against Edom, what I intend to do to the people who live in Teman. Their little ones will be dragged off. I will completely destroy their land because of what they have done.

49:21 The people of the earth will quake when they hear of their downfall. Their cries of anguish will be heard all the way to the Gulf of Aqaba.

49:22 Look! Like an eagle with outspread wings, a nation will soar up and swoop down on Bozrah. At that time the soldiers of Edom will be as fearful as a woman in labor.”

Judgment Against Damascus

49:23 The Lord spoke about Damascus. “The people of Hamath and Arpad will be dismayed because they have heard bad news. Their courage will melt away because of worry. Their hearts will not be able to rest.

49:24 The people of Damascus will lose heart and turn to flee. Panic will grip them. Pain and anguish will seize them like a woman in labor.

49:25 How deserted will that once-famous city be, that city that was once filled with joy!

49:26 For her young men will fall in her city squares. All her soldiers will be destroyed at that time,” says the Lord who rules over all.

49:27 “I will set fire to the walls of Damascus; it will burn up the palaces of Ben Hadad.”

Judgment Against Kedar and Hazor

49:28 The Lord spoke about Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon conquered. “Army of Babylon, go and attack Kedar. Lay waste those who live in the eastern desert.

49:29 Their tents and their flocks will be taken away. Their tent curtains, equipment, and camels will be carried off. People will shout to them, ‘Terror is all around you!’”

49:30 The Lord says, “Flee quickly, you who live in Hazor. Take up refuge in remote places. For King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has laid out plans to attack you. He has formed his strategy on how to defeat you.”

49:31 The Lord says, “Army of Babylon, go and attack a nation that lives in peace and security. They have no gates or walls to protect them. They live all alone.

49:32 Their camels will be taken as plunder. Their vast herds will be taken as spoil. I will scatter to the four winds those desert peoples who cut their hair short at the temples. I will bring disaster against them from every direction,” says the Lord.

49:33 “Hazor will become a permanent wasteland, a place where only jackals live. No one will live there. No human being will settle in it.”

Judgment Against Elam

49:34 Early in the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah, the Lord spoke to the prophet Jeremiah about Elam.

49:35 The Lord who rules over all said, “I will kill all the archers of Elam, who are the chief source of her military might.

49:36 I will cause enemies to blow through Elam from every direction like the winds blowing in from the four quarters of heaven. I will scatter the people of Elam to the four winds. There will not be any nation where the refugees of Elam will not go.

49:37 I will make the people of Elam terrified of their enemies, who are seeking to kill them. I will vent my fierce anger and bring disaster upon them,” says the Lord. “I will send armies chasing after them until I have completely destroyed them.

49:38 I will establish my sovereignty over Elam. I will destroy their king and their leaders,” says the Lord.

49:39 “Yet in days to come I will reverse Elam’s ill fortune.” says the Lord.

Judgment Against Babylon

50:1 The Lord spoke concerning Babylon and the land of Babylonia through the prophet Jeremiah.

50:2 “Announce the news among the nations! Proclaim it! Signal for people to pay attention! Declare the news! Do not hide it! Say: ‘Babylon will be captured. Bel will be put to shame. Marduk will be dismayed. Babylon’s idols will be put to shame. Her disgusting images will be dismayed.

50:3 For a nation from the north will attack Babylon. It will lay her land waste. People and animals will flee out of it. No one will inhabit it.’

50:4 “When that time comes,” says the Lord, “the people of Israel and Judah will return to the land together. They will come back with tears of repentance as they seek the Lord their God.

50:5 They will ask the way to Zion; they will turn their faces toward it. They will come and bind themselves to the Lord in a lasting covenant that will never be forgotten.

50:6 “My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have allow them to go astray. They have wandered around in the mountains. They have roamed from one mountain and hill to another. They have forgotten their resting place.

50:7 All who encountered them devoured them. Their enemies who did this said, ‘We are not liable for punishment! For those people have sinned against the Lord, their true pasture. They have sinned against the Lord in whom their ancestors trusted.’

50:8 “People of Judah, get out of Babylon quickly! Leave the land of Babylonia! Be the first to depart! Be like the male goats that lead the herd.

50:9 For I will rouse into action and bring against Babylon a host of mighty nations from the land of the north. They will set up their battle lines against her. They will come from the north and capture her. Their arrows will be like a skilled soldier who does not return from the battle empty-handed.

50:10 Babylonia will be plundered. Those who plunder it will take all they want,” says the Lord.

50:11 “People of Babylonia, you plundered my people. That made you happy and glad. You frolic about like calves in a pasture. Your joyous sounds are like the neighs of a stallion.

50:12 But Babylonia will be put to great shame. The land where you were born will be disgraced. Indeed, Babylonia will become the least important of all nations. It will become a dry and barren desert.

50:13 After I vent my wrath on it Babylon will be uninhabited. It will be totally desolate. All who pass by will be filled with horror and will hiss out their scorn because of all the disasters that have happened to it.

50:14 “Take up your battle positions all around Babylon, all you soldiers who are armed with bows. Shoot all your arrows at her! Do not hold any back! For she has sinned against the Lord.

50:15 Shout the battle cry from all around the city. She will throw up her hands in surrender. Her towers will fall. Her walls will be torn down. Because I, the Lord, am wreaking revenge, take out your vengeance on her! Do to her as she has done!

50:16 Kill all the farmers who sow the seed in the land of Babylon. Kill all those who wield the sickle at harvest time. Let all the foreigners return to their own people. Let them hurry back to their own lands to escape destruction by that enemy army.

50:17 “The people of Israel are like scattered sheep which lions have chased away. First the king of Assyria devoured them. Now last of all King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has gnawed their bones.

50:18 So I, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all, say: ‘I will punish the king of Babylon and his land just as I punished the king of Assyria.

50:19 But I will restore the flock of Israel to their own pasture. They will graze on Mount Carmel and the land of Bashan. They will eat until they are full on the hills of Ephraim and the land of Gilead.

50:20 When that time comes, no guilt will be found in Israel. No sin will be found in Judah. For I will forgive those of them I have allowed to survive. I, the Lord, affirm it!’”

50:21 The Lord says, “Attack the land of Merathaim and the people who live in Pekod! Pursue, kill, and completely destroy them! Do just as I have commanded you!

50:22 The noise of battle can be heard in the land of Babylonia. There is the sound of great destruction.

50:23 Babylon hammered the whole world to pieces. But see how that ‘hammer’ has been broken and shattered! See what an object of horror Babylon has become among the nations!

50:24 I set a trap for you, Babylon; you were caught before you knew it. You fought against me. So you were found and captured.

50:25 I have opened up the place where my weapons are stored. I have brought out the weapons for carrying out my wrath. For I, the Lord God who rules over all, have work to carry out in the land of Babylonia.

50:26 Come from far away and attack Babylonia! Open up the places where she stores her grain! Pile her up in ruins! Destroy her completely! Do not leave anyone alive!

50:27 Kill all her soldiers! Let them be slaughtered! They are doomed, for their day of reckoning has come, the time for them to be punished.”

50:28 Listen! Fugitives and refugees are coming from the land of Babylon. They are coming to Zion to declare there how the Lord our God is getting revenge, getting revenge for what they have done to his temple.

50:29 “Call for archers to come against Babylon! Summon against her all who draw the bow! Set up camp all around the city! Do not allow anyone to escape! Pay her back for what she has done. Do to her what she has done to others. For she has proudly defied me, the Holy One of Israel.

50:30 So her young men will fall in her city squares. All her soldiers will be destroyed at that time,” says the Lord.

50:31 “Listen! I am opposed to you, you proud city,” says the Lord God who rules over all. “Indeed, your day of reckoning has come, the time when I will punish you.

50:32 You will stumble and fall, you proud city; no one will help you get up. I will set fire to your towns; it will burn up everything that surrounds you.”

50:33 The Lord who rules over all says, “The people of Israel are oppressed. So too are the people of Judah. All those who took them captive are holding them prisoners. They refuse to set them free.

50:34 But the one who will rescue them is strong. He is known as the Lord who rules over all. He will strongly champion their cause. As a result he will bring peace and rest to the earth, but trouble and turmoil to the people who inhabit Babylonia.

50:35 “Destructive forces will come against the Babylonians,” says the Lord. “They will come against the people who inhabit Babylonia, against her leaders and her men of wisdom.

50:36 Destructive forces will come against her false prophets; they will be shown to be fools! Destructive forces will come against her soldiers; they will be filled with terror!

50:37 Destructive forces will come against her horses and her chariots. Destructive forces will come against all the foreign troops within her; they will be as frightened as women! Destructive forces will come against her treasures; they will be taken away as plunder!

50:38 A drought will come upon her land; her rivers and canals will be dried up. All of this will happen because her land is filled with idols. Her people act like madmen because of those idols they fear.

50:39 Therefore desert creatures and jackals will live there. Ostriches will dwell in it too. But no people will ever live there again. No one will dwell there for all time to come.

50:40 I will destroy Babylonia just like I did Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring towns. No one will live there. No human being will settle in it,” says the Lord.

50:41 “Look! An army is about to come from the north. A mighty nation and many kings are stirring into action in faraway parts of the earth.

50:42 Its soldiers are armed with bows and spears. They are cruel and show no mercy. They sound like the roaring sea as they ride forth on their horses. Lined up in formation like men going into battle, they are coming against you, fair Babylon!

50:43 The king of Babylon will become paralyzed with fear when he hears news of their coming. Anguish will grip him, agony like that of a woman giving birth to a baby.

50:44 “A lion coming up from the thick undergrowth along the Jordan scatters the sheep in the pastureland around it. So too I will chase the Babylonians off of their land. Then I will appoint over it whomever I choose. For there is no one like me. There is no one who can call me to account. There is no ruler that can stand up against me.

50:45 So listen to what I, the Lord, have planned against Babylon, what I intend to do to the people who inhabit the land of Babylonia. Their little ones will be dragged off. I will completely destroy their land because of what they have done.

50:46 The people of the earth will quake when they hear Babylon has been captured. Her cries of anguish will be heard by the other nations.”

51:1 The Lord says, “I will cause a destructive wind to blow against Babylon and the people who inhabit Babylonia.

51:2 I will send people to winnow Babylonia like a wind blowing away chaff. They will winnow her and strip her land bare. This will happen when they come against her from every direction, when it is time to destroy her.

51:3 Do not give her archers time to string their bows or to put on their coats of armor. Do not spare any of her young men. Completely destroy her whole army.

51:4 Let them fall slain in the land of Babylonia, mortally wounded in the streets of her cities.

51:5 “For Israel and Judah will not be forsaken by their God, the Lord who rules over all. For the land of Babylonia is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel.

51:6 Get out of Babylonia quickly, you foreign people. Flee to save your lives. Do not let yourselves be killed because of her sins. For it is time for the Lord to wreak his revenge. He will pay Babylonia back for what she has done.

51:7 Babylonia had been a gold cup in the Lord’s hand. She had made the whole world drunk. The nations had drunk from the wine of her wrath. So they have all gone mad.

51:8 But suddenly Babylonia will fall and be destroyed. Cry out in mourning over it! Get medicine for her wounds! Perhaps she can be healed!

51:9 Foreigners living there will say, ‘We tried to heal her, but she could not be healed. Let’s leave Babylonia and each go back to his own country. For judgment on her will be vast in its proportions. It will be like it is piled up to heaven, stacked up into the clouds.’

51:10 The exiles from Judah will say, ‘The Lord has brought about a great deliverance for us! Come on, let’s go and proclaim in Zion what the Lord our God has done!’

51:11 “Sharpen your arrows! Fill your quivers! The Lord will arouse a spirit of hostility in the kings of Media. For he intends to destroy Babylonia. For that is how the Lord will get his revenge – how he will get his revenge for the Babylonians’ destruction of his temple.

51:12 Give the signal to attack Babylon’s wall! Bring more guards! Post them all around the city! Put men in ambush! For the Lord will do what he has planned. He will do what he said he would do to the people of Babylon.

51:13 “You who live along the rivers of Babylon, the time of your end has come. You who are rich in plundered treasure, it is time for your lives to be cut off.

51:14 The Lord who rules over all has solemnly sworn, ‘I will fill your land with enemy soldiers. They will swarm over it like locusts. They will raise up shouts of victory over it.’

51:15 He is the one who by his power made the earth. He is the one who by his wisdom fixed the world in place, by his understanding he spread out the heavens.

51:16 When his voice thunders, the waters in the heavens roar. He makes the clouds rise from the far-off horizons. He makes the lightning flash out in the midst of the rain. He unleashes the wind from the places where he stores it.

51:17 All idolaters will prove to be stupid and ignorant. Every goldsmith will be disgraced by the idol he made.

For the image he forges is merely a sham. There is no breath in any of those idols.

51:18 They are worthless, objects to be ridiculed. When the time comes to punish them, they will be destroyed.

51:19 The Lord, who is the portion of the descendants of Jacob, is not like them. For he is the one who created everything, including the people of Israel whom he claims as his own. He is known as the Lord who rules over all.

51:20 “Babylon, you are my war club, my weapon for battle. I used you to smash nations. I used you to destroy kingdoms.

51:21 I used you to smash horses and their riders. I used you to smash chariots and their drivers.

51:22 I used you to smash men and women. I used you to smash old men and young men. I used you to smash young men and young women.

51:23 I used you to smash shepherds and their flocks. I used you to smash farmers and their teams of oxen. I used you to smash governors and leaders.”

51:24 “But I will repay Babylon and all who live in Babylonia for all the wicked things they did in Zion right before the eyes of you Judeans,” says the Lord.

51:25 The Lord says, “Beware! I am opposed to you, Babylon! You are like a destructive mountain that destroys all the earth. I will unleash my power against you; I will roll you off the cliffs and make you like a burned-out mountain.

51:26 No one will use any of your stones as a cornerstone. No one will use any of them in the foundation of his house. For you will lie desolate forever,” says the Lord.

51:27 “Raise up battle flags throughout the lands. Sound the trumpets calling the nations to do battle. Prepare the nations to do battle against Babylonia. Call for these kingdoms to attack her: Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Appoint a commander to lead the attack. Send horses against her like a swarm of locusts.

51:28 Prepare the nations to do battle against her. Prepare the kings of the Medes. Prepare their governors and all their leaders. Prepare all the countries they rule to do battle against her.

51:29 The earth will tremble and writhe in agony. For the Lord will carry out his plan. He plans to make the land of Babylonia a wasteland where no one lives.

51:30 The soldiers of Babylonia will stop fighting. They will remain in their fortified cities. They will lose their strength to do battle. They will be as frightened as women. The houses in her cities will be set on fire. The gates of her cities will be broken down.

51:31 One runner after another will come to the king of Babylon. One messenger after another will come bringing news. They will bring news to the king of Babylon that his whole city has been captured.

51:32 They will report that the fords have been captured, the reed marshes have been burned, the soldiers are terrified.

51:33 For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, ‘Fair Babylon will be like a threshing floor which has been trampled flat for harvest. The time for her to be cut down and harvested will come very soon.’

51:34 “King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon devoured me and drove my people out. Like a monster from the deep he swallowed me. He filled his belly with my riches. He made me an empty dish. He completely cleaned me out.”

51:35 The person who lives in Zion says, “May Babylon pay for the violence done to me and to my relatives.”

Jerusalem says, “May those living in Babylonia pay for the bloodshed of my people.”

51:36 Therefore the Lord says, “I will stand up for your cause. I will pay the Babylonians back for what they have done to you. I will dry up their sea. I will make their springs run dry.

51:37 Babylon will become a heap of ruins. Jackals will make their home there. It will become an object of horror and of hissing scorn, a place where no one lives.

51:38 The Babylonians are all like lions roaring for prey. They are like lion cubs growling for something to eat.

51:39 When their appetites are all stirred up, I will set out a banquet for them. I will make them drunk so that they will pass out, they will fall asleep forever, they will never wake up,” says the Lord.

51:40 “I will lead them off to be slaughtered like lambs, rams, and male goats.”

51:41 “See how Babylon has been captured! See how the pride of the whole earth has been taken! See what an object of horror Babylon has become among the nations!

51:42 The sea has swept over Babylon. She has been covered by a multitude of its waves.

51:43 The towns of Babylonia have become heaps of ruins. She has become a dry and barren desert. No one lives in those towns any more. No one even passes through them.

51:44 I will punish the god Bel in Babylon. I will make him spit out what he has swallowed. The nations will not come streaming to him any longer. Indeed, the walls of Babylon will fall.”

51:45 “Get out of Babylon, my people! Flee to save your lives from the fierce anger of the Lord!

51:46 Do not lose your courage or become afraid because of the reports that are heard in the land. For a report will come in one year. Another report will follow it in the next. There will be violence in the land with ruler fighting against ruler.”

51:47 “So the time will certainly come when I will punish the idols of Babylon. Her whole land will be put to shame. All her mortally wounded will collapse in her midst.

51:48 Then heaven and earth and all that is in them will sing for joy over Babylon. For destroyers from the north will attack it,” says the Lord.

51:49 “Babylon must fall because of the Israelites she has killed, just as the earth’s mortally wounded fell because of Babylon.

51:50 You who have escaped the sword, go, do not delay. Remember the Lord in a faraway land. Think about Jerusalem.

51:51 ‘We are ashamed because we have been insulted. Our faces show our disgrace. For foreigners have invaded the holy rooms in the Lord’s temple.’

51:52 Yes, but the time will certainly come,” says the Lord, “when I will punish her idols. Throughout her land the mortally wounded will groan.

51:53 Even if Babylon climbs high into the sky and fortifies her elevated stronghold, I will send destroyers against her,” says the Lord.

51:54 Cries of anguish will come from Babylon, the sound of great destruction from the land of the Babylonians.

51:55 For the Lord is ready to destroy Babylon, and put an end to her loud noise. Their waves will roar like turbulent waters. They will make a deafening noise.

51:56 For a destroyer is attacking Babylon. Her warriors will be captured; their bows will be broken. For the Lord is a God who punishes; he pays back in full.

51:57 “I will make her officials and wise men drunk, along with her governors, leaders, and warriors. They will fall asleep forever and never wake up,” says the King whose name is the Lord who rules over all.

51:58 This is what the Lord who rules over all says, “Babylon’s thick wall will be completely demolished. Her high gates will be set on fire. The peoples strive for what does not satisfy. The nations grow weary trying to get what will be destroyed.”

51:59 This is the order Jeremiah the prophet gave to Seraiah son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, when he went to King Zedekiah of Judah in Babylon during the fourth year of his reign. (Seraiah was a quartermaster.) 51:60 Jeremiah recorded on one scroll all the judgments that would come upon Babylon – all these prophecies written about Babylon. 51:61 Then Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “When you arrive in Babylon, make sure you read aloud all these prophecies. 51:62 Then say, ‘O Lord, you have announced that you will destroy this place so that no people or animals live in it any longer. Certainly it will lie desolate forever!’ 51:63 When you finish reading this scroll aloud, tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates River. 51:64 Then say, ‘In the same way Babylon will sink and never rise again because of the judgments I am ready to bring upon her; they will grow faint.’”

The prophecies of Jeremiah end here.

Prayer

Lord, You allowed evil nations to serve as Your tools of discipline, but they were not allowed to prosper endlessly. May I trust that Your perfect justice will come to those who mistreat Christians and Jews today.

Scripture In Perspective

Jeremiah pronounced the Lord God's prophesy against the foreign nations; Philistia “For the time has come to destroy all the Philistines.” and Moab was to be punished terribly as well, but Moab had hope “Yet in days to come I will reverse Moab’s ill fortune.” says the Lord. The judgment against Moab ends here.”

He prophesied for Amnon “You will be scattered in every direction. No one will gather the fugitives back together. Yet in days to come I will reverse Amnon’s ill fortune.” says the Lord.” and for Edom “I will completely destroy their land because of what they have done.”

Jeremiah prophesied for Damascus ““I will set fire to the walls of Damascus; it will burn up the palaces of Ben Hadad.”

He spoke judgment against Kedar “Lay waste those who live in the eastern desert.” and Hazor “Hazor will become a permanent wasteland, a place where only jackals live. No one will live there. No human being will settle in it.”

Jeremiah's prophesy against Elam was “I will establish my sovereignty over Elam. I will destroy their king and their leaders, Yet in days to come I will reverse Elam’s ill fortune.” says the Lord.

He declared a lengthy prophesy against Babylon, also the nation had been useful as the Lord's ”war club” it remained loyal to a false god and indulged in brutality as well as living in comfort from stolen goods “Babylon’s idols will be put to shame. Her disgusting images will be dismayed. For a nation from the north will attack Babylon. It will lay her land waste. People and animals will flee out of it. No one will inhabit it.’ “When that time comes,” says the Lord, “the people of Israel and Judah will return to the land together. They will come back with tears of repentance as they seek the Lord their God.”

Interact With The Text

Consider

Those who worshiped false gods and who hated God's people eventually suffered for both.

Discuss

Why might the Lord God have promised to “reverse the fortunes” of the Philistines and the Elamites after punishing them?

Reflect

Babylon went from the greatest power on earth to nothing.

When have you experienced or observed someone or some organization which appeared to be overwhelmingly power suddenly fall from power?

Faith In Action

Pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to remind you of a time in your life where a time of trouble, which seemed endless, came to an end due to an external intervention.

Act

I will give thanks to the Lord for sending help to rescue me from trouble.

Be Specific _____________________________________________

Friday (Jeremiah 52)

The Fall of Jerusalem

52:1 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah, from Libnah. 52:2 He did what displeased the Lord just as Jehoiakim had done.

52:3 What follows is a record of what happened to Jerusalem and Judah because of the Lord’s anger when he drove them out of his sight. Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. 52:4 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came against Jerusalem with his whole army and set up camp outside it. They built siege ramps all around it. He arrived on the tenth day of the tenth month in the ninth year that Zedekiah ruled over Judah. 52:5 The city remained under siege until Zedekiah’s eleventh year. 52:6 By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city was so severe the residents had no food. 52:7 They broke through the city walls, and all the soldiers tried to escape. They left the city during the night. They went through the gate between the two walls that is near the king’s garden. (The Babylonians had the city surrounded.) Then they headed for the Jordan Valley. 52:8 But the Babylonian army chased after the king. They caught up with Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and his entire army deserted him. 52:9 They captured him and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the territory of Hamath and he passed sentence on him there. 52:10 The king of Babylon had Zedekiah’s sons put to death while Zedekiah was forced to watch. He also had all the nobles of Judah put to death there at Riblah. 52:11 He had Zedekiah’s eyes put out and had him bound in chains. Then the king of Babylon had him led off to Babylon and he was imprisoned there until the day he died.

52:12 On the tenth day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard who served the king of Babylon, arrived in Jerusalem. 52:13 He burned down the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and all the houses in Jerusalem, including every large house. 52:14 The whole Babylonian army that came with the captain of the royal guard tore down the walls that surrounded Jerusalem. 52:15 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, took into exile some of the poor, the rest of the people who remained in the city, those who had deserted to him, and the rest of the craftsmen. 52:16 But he left behind some of the poor and gave them fields and vineyards.

52:17 The Babylonians broke the two bronze pillars in the temple of the Lord, as well as the movable stands and the large bronze basin called the “The Sea.” They took all the bronze to Babylon. 52:18 They also took the pots, shovels, trimming shears, basins, pans, and all the bronze utensils used by the priests. 52:19 The captain of the royal guard took the gold and silver bowls, censers, basins, pots, lampstands, pans, and vessels. 52:20 The bronze of the items that King Solomon made for the Lord’s temple (including the two pillars, the large bronze basin called “The Sea,” the twelve bronze bulls under “The Sea,” and the movable stands) was too heavy to be weighed. 52:21 Each of the pillars was about 27 feet high, about 18 feet in circumference, three inches thick, and hollow. 52:22 The bronze top of one pillar was about seven and one-half feet high and had bronze latticework and pomegranate-shaped ornaments all around it. The second pillar with its pomegranate-shaped ornaments was like it. 52:23 There were ninety-six pomegranate-shaped ornaments on the sides; in all there were one hundred pomegranate-shaped ornaments over the latticework that went around it.

52:24 The captain of the royal guard took Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest who was second in rank, and the three doorkeepers. 52:25 From the city he took an official who was in charge of the soldiers, seven of the king’s advisers who were discovered in the city, an official army secretary who drafted citizens for military service, and sixty citizens who were discovered in the middle of the city. 52:26 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 52:27 The king of Babylon ordered them to be executed at Riblah in the territory of Hamath.

So Judah was taken into exile away from its land. 52:28 Here is the official record of the number of people Nebuchadnezzar carried into exile: In the seventh year, 3,023 Jews; 52:29 in Nebuchadnezzar’s eighteenth year, 832 people from Jerusalem; 52:30 in Nebuchadnezzar’s twenty-third year, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, carried into exile 745 Judeans. In all 4,600 people went into exile.

Jehoiachin in Exile

52:31 In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah, on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month, Evil-Merodach, in the first year of his reign, pardoned King Jehoiachin of Judah and released him from prison. 52:32 He spoke kindly to him and gave him a more prestigious position than the other kings who were with him in Babylon. 52:33 Jehoiachin took off his prison clothes and ate daily in the king’s presence for the rest of his life. 52:34 He was given daily provisions by the king of Babylon for the rest of his life until the day he died.

Prayer

Lord, You warned Your people many more times than any mere humans would have warned them, yet they continued to rebel and finally You allowed Jerusalem to fall.

Scripture In Perspective

The previously-studied text of 2 Corinthians 36:9=10 taught that “Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did evil in the sight of the Lord. At the beginning of the year King Nebuchadnezzar ordered him to be brought to Babylon, along with the valuable items in the Lord’s temple. In his place he made his relative Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.”

Under Zedekiah the rebellion of the people of Judah, first against the Lord God and then against Babylon, led to the utter destruction of Jerusalem, the execution of most of the leaders, and the eventual deportation of 4,600.

Jeremiah reported that former king Jehoiachin was later pardoned by Nebuchadnezzar's successor, and for the rest of his life was given daily provisions at the king's table, while the blinded Zedekiah remained in prison.

Interact With The Text

Consider

Jehoiachin served only three months as king when he was removed to Babylon. While he offended the Lord God during that time there is no record of rebellion against Babylon, thus no cause given for his deportation and replacement.

Discuss

Why would Zedekiah have chosen rebellion against Babylon given the impossible odds and his poor relationship with the Lord God?

Reflect

The Lord God took treasures from the pagans around them and used them in His Temple and elsewhere but then allowed them to be removed by the Babylonians since rebellious Judah had mocked their holy purpose.

When have you observed the blessings of freedom, health, and/or resources removed from a group, nation, or a person as a result of their rebellion?

Faith In Action

Pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a choice or choices that you are making which place you in opposition to the will of the Lord and which may lead to unhappy consequences.

Act

Today I will confess and repent, seek and receive the forgiveness of the Lord, then act to remove the offensive things from my life.

Be Specific _____________________________________________

Saturday (Lamentations)

The Prophet Speaks:

1:1 א (Alef)

Alas! The city once full of people now sits all alone! The prominent lady among the nations has become a widow! The princess who once ruled the provinces has become a forced laborer!

1:2 ב (Bet)

She weeps bitterly at night; tears stream down her cheeks. She has no one to comfort her among all her lovers. All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies.

1:3 ג (Gimel)

Judah has departed into exile under affliction and harsh oppression. She lives among the nations; she has found no resting place. All who pursued her overtook her in narrow straits.

1:4 ד (Dalet)

The roads to Zion mourn because no one travels to the festivals. All her city gates are deserted; her priests groan. Her virgins grieve; she is in bitter anguish!

1:5 ה (He)

Her foes subjugated her; her enemies are at ease. For the Lord afflicted her because of her many acts of rebellion. Her children went away captive before the enemy.

1:6 ו (Vav)

All of Daughter Zion’s splendor has departed. Her leaders became like deer; they found no pasture, so they were too exhausted to escape from the hunter.

1:7 ז (Zayin)

Jerusalem remembers, when she became a poor homeless person, all her treasures that she owned in days of old. When her people fell into an enemy’s grip, none of her allies came to her rescue. Her enemies gloated over her; they sneered at her downfall.

1:8 ח (Khet)

Jerusalem committed terrible sin; therefore she became an object of scorn. All who admired her have despised her because they have seen her nakedness. She groans aloud and turns away in shame.

1:9 ט (Tet)

Her menstrual flow has soiled her clothing; she did not consider the consequences of her sin. Her demise was astonishing, and there was no one to comfort her. She cried, “Look, O Lord, on my affliction because my enemy boasts!”

1:10 י (Yod)

An enemy grabbed all her valuables. Indeed she watched in horror as Gentiles invaded her holy temple – those whom you had commanded: “They must not enter your assembly place.”

1:11 כ (Kaf)

All her people groaned as they searched for a morsel of bread. They exchanged their valuables for just enough food to stay alive.

Jerusalem Speaks:

“Look, O Lord! Consider that I have become worthless!”

1:12 ל (Lamed)

Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by on the road? Look and see! Is there any pain like mine? The Lord has afflicted me, he has inflicted it on me when he burned with anger.

1:13 מ (Mem)

He sent down fire into my bones, and it overcame them. He spread out a trapper’s net for my feet; he made me turn back. He has made me desolate; I am faint all day long.

1:14 נ (Nun)

My sins are bound around my neck like a yoke; they are fastened together by his hand. He has placed his yoke on my neck; he has sapped my strength. The Lord has handed me over to those whom I cannot resist.

1:15 ס (Samek)

He rounded up all my mighty ones; The Lord did this in my midst. He summoned an assembly against me to shatter my young men. The Lord has stomped like grapes the virgin daughter, Judah.

1:16 ע (Ayin)

I weep because of these things; my eyes flow with tears. For there is no one in sight who can comfort me or encourage me. My children are desolated because an enemy has prevailed.

The Prophet Speaks:

1:17 פ (Pe)

Zion spread out her hands, but there is no one to comfort her. The Lord has issued a decree against Jacob; his neighbors have become his enemies. Jerusalem has become like filthy garbage in their midst.

Jerusalem Speaks:

1:18 צ (Tsade)

The Lord is right to judge me! Yes, I rebelled against his commands. Please listen, all you nations, and look at my suffering! My young women and men have gone into exile.

1:19 ק (Qof)

I called for my lovers, but they had deceived me. My priests and my elders perished in the city. Truly they had searched for food to keep themselves alive.

1:20 ר (Resh)

Look, O Lord! I am distressed; my stomach is in knots! My heart is pounding inside me. Yes, I was terribly rebellious! Out in the street the sword bereaves a mother of her children; Inside the house death is present.

1:21 ש (Sin/Shin)

They have heard that I groan, yet there is no one to comfort me. All my enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad that you have brought it about. Bring about the day of judgment that you promised so that they may end up like me!

1:22 ת (Tav)

Let all their wickedness come before you; afflict them just as you have afflicted me because of all my acts of rebellion. For my groans are many, and my heart is sick with sorrow.

The Prophet Speaks:

2:1 א (Alef)

Alas! The Lord has covered Daughter Zion with his anger. He has thrown down the splendor of Israel from heaven to earth; he did not protect his temple when he displayed his anger.

2:2 ב (Bet)

The Lord destroyed mercilessly all the homes of Jacob’s descendants. In his anger he tore down the fortified cities of Daughter Judah. He knocked to the ground and humiliated the kingdom and its rulers.

2:3 ג (Gimel)

In fierce anger he destroyed the whole army of Israel. He withdrew his right hand as the enemy attacked. He was like a raging fire in the land of Jacob; it consumed everything around it.

2:4 ד (Dalet)

He prepared his bow like an enemy; his right hand was ready to shoot. Like a foe he killed everyone, even our strong young men; he has poured out his anger like fire on the tent of Daughter Zion.

2:5 ה (He)

The Lord, like an enemy, destroyed Israel. He destroyed all her palaces; he ruined her fortified cities. He made everyone in Daughter Judah mourn and lament.

2:6 ו (Vav)

He destroyed his temple as if it were a vineyard; he destroyed his appointed meeting place. The Lord has made those in Zion forget both the festivals and the Sabbaths. In his fierce anger he has spurned both king and priest.

2:7 ז (Zayin)

The Lord rejected his altar and abhorred his temple. He handed over to the enemy her palace walls; the enemy shouted in the Lord’s temple as if it were a feast day.

2:8 ח (Khet)

The Lord was determined to tear down Daughter Zion’s wall. He prepared to knock it down; he did not withdraw his hand from destroying. He made the ramparts and fortified walls lament; together they mourned their ruin.

2:9 ט (Tet)

Her city gates have fallen to the ground; he smashed to bits the bars that lock her gates. Her king and princes were taken into exile; there is no more guidance available. As for her prophets, they no longer receive a vision from the Lord.

2:10 י (Yod)

The elders of Daughter Zion sit on the ground in silence. They have thrown dirt on their heads; They have dressed in sackcloth. Jerusalem’s young women stare down at the ground.

2:11 כ (Kaf)

My eyes are worn out from weeping; my stomach is in knots. My heart is poured out on the ground due to the destruction of my helpless people; children and infants faint in the town squares.

2:12 ל (Lamed)

Children say to their mothers, “Where are food and drink?” They faint like a wounded warrior in the city squares. They die slowly in their mothers’ arms.

2:13 מ (Mem)

With what can I equate you? To what can I compare you, O Daughter Jerusalem? To what can I liken you so that I might comfort you, O Virgin Daughter Zion? Your wound is as deep as the sea. Who can heal you?

2:14 נ (Nun)

Your prophets saw visions for you that were worthless lies. They failed to expose your sin so as to restore your fortunes. They saw oracles for you that were worthless lies.

2:15 ס (Samek)

All who passed by on the road clapped their hands to mock you. They sneered and shook their heads at Daughter Jerusalem. “Ha! Is this the city they called ‘The perfection of beauty, the source of joy of the whole earth!’?”

2:16 פ (Pe)

All your enemies gloated over you. They sneered and gnashed their teeth; they said, “We have destroyed her! Ha! We have waited a long time for this day. We have lived to see it!”

2:17 ע (Ayin)

The Lord has done what he planned; he has fulfilled his promise that he threatened long ago: He has overthrown you without mercy and has enabled the enemy to gloat over you; he has exalted your adversaries’ power.

2:18 צ (Tsade)

Cry out from your heart to the Lord, O wall of Daughter Zion! Make your tears flow like a river all day and all night long! Do not rest; do not let your tears stop!

2:19 ק (Qof)

Get up! Cry out in the night when the night watches start! Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord! Lift up your hands to him for your children’s lives; they are fainting at every street corner.

Jerusalem Speaks:

2:20 ר (Resh)

Look, O Lord! Consider! Whom have you ever afflicted like this? Should women eat their offspring, their healthy infants? Should priest and prophet be killed in the Lord’s sanctuary?

2:21 ש (Sin/Shin)

The young boys and old men lie dead on the ground in the streets. My young women and my young men have fallen by the sword. You killed them when you were angry; you slaughtered them without mercy.

2:22 ת (Tav)

As if it were a feast day, you call enemies to terrify me on every side. On the day of the Lord’s anger no one escaped or survived. My enemy has finished off those healthy infants whom I bore and raised.

The Prophet Speaks:

3:1 א (Alef)

I am the man who has experienced affliction from the rod of his wrath.

3:2 He drove me into captivity and made me walk in darkness and not light.

3:3 He repeatedly attacks me, he turns his hand against me all day long.

3:4 ב (Bet)

He has made my mortal skin waste away; he has broken my bones.

3:5 He has besieged and surrounded me with bitter hardship.

3:6 He has made me reside in deepest darkness like those who died long ago.

3:7 ג (Gimel)

He has walled me in so that I cannot get out; he has weighted me down with heavy prison chains.

3:8 Also, when I cry out desperately for help, he has shut out my prayer.

3:9 He has blocked every road I take with a wall of hewn stones; he has made every path impassable.

3:10 ד (Dalet)

To me he is like a bear lying in ambush, like a hidden lion stalking its prey.

3:11 He has obstructed my paths and torn me to pieces; he has made me desolate.

3:12 He drew his bow and made me the target for his arrow.

3:13 ה (He)

He shot his arrows into my heart.

3:14 I have become the laughingstock of all people, their mocking song all day long.

3:15 He has given me my fill of bitter herbs and made me drunk with bitterness.

3:16 ו (Vav)

He ground my teeth in gravel; he trampled me in the dust.

3:17 I am deprived of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is.

3:18 So I said, “My endurance has expired; I have lost all hope of deliverance from the Lord.”

3:19 ז (Zayin)

Remember my impoverished and homeless condition, which is a bitter poison.

3:20 I continually think about this, and I am depressed.

3:21 But this I call to mind; therefore I have hope:

3:22 ח (Khet)

The Lord’s loyal kindness never ceases; his compassions never end.

3:23 They are fresh every morning; your faithfulness is abundant!

3:24 “My portion is the Lord,” I have said to myself, so I will put my hope in him.

3:25 ט (Tet)

The Lord is good to those who trust in him, to the one who seeks him.

3:26 It is good to wait patiently for deliverance from the Lord.

3:27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young.

3:28 י (Yod)

Let a person sit alone in silence, when the Lord is disciplining him.

3:29 Let him bury his face in the dust; perhaps there is hope.

3:30 Let him offer his cheek to the one who hits him; let him have his fill of insults.

3:31 כ (Kaf)

For the Lord will not reject us forever.

3:32 Though he causes us grief, he then has compassion on us according to the abundance of his loyal kindness.

3:33 For he is not predisposed to afflict or to grieve people.

3:34 ל (Lamed)

To crush underfoot all the earth’s prisoners,

3:35 to deprive a person of his rights in the presence of the Most High,

3:36 to defraud a person in a lawsuit – the Lord does not approve of such things!

3:37 מ (Mem)

Whose command was ever fulfilled unless the Lord decreed it?

3:38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that everything comes – both calamity and blessing?

3:39 Why should any living person complain when punished for his sins?

3:40 נ (Nun)

Let us carefully examine our ways, and let us return to the Lord.

3:41 Let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven:

3:42 “We have blatantly rebelled; you have not forgiven.”

3:43 ס (Samek)

You shrouded yourself with anger and then pursued us; you killed without mercy.

3:44 You shrouded yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can get through.

3:45 You make us like filthy scum in the estimation of the nations.

3:46 פ (Pe)

All our enemies have gloated over us;

3:47 Panic and pitfall have come upon us, devastation and destruction.

3:48 Streams of tears flow from my eyes because my people are destroyed.

3:49 ע (Ayin)

Tears flow from my eyes and will not stop; there will be no break

3:50 until the Lord looks down from heaven and sees what has happened.

3:51 What my eyes see grieves me – all the suffering of the daughters in my city.

3:52 צ (Tsade)

For no good reason my enemies hunted me down like a bird.

3:53 They shut me up in a pit and threw stones at me.

3:54 The waters closed over my head; I thought I was about to die.

3:55 ק (Qof)

I have called on your name, O Lord, from the deepest pit.

3:56 You heard my plea: “Do not close your ears to my cry for relief!”

3:57 You came near on the day I called to you; you said, “Do not fear!”

3:58 ר (Resh)

O Lord, you championed my cause, you redeemed my life.

3:59 You have seen the wrong done to me, O Lord; pronounce judgment on my behalf!

3:60 You have seen all their vengeance, all their plots against me.

3:61 ש (Sin/Shin)

You have heard their taunts, O Lord, all their plots against me.

3:62 My assailants revile and conspire against me all day long.

3:63 Watch them from morning to evening; I am the object of their mocking songs.

3:64 ת (Tav)

Pay them back what they deserve, O Lord, according to what they have done.

3:65 Give them a distraught heart; may your curse be on them!

3:66 Pursue them in anger and eradicate them from under the Lord’s heaven.

The Prophet Speaks:

4:1 א (Alef)

Alas! Gold has lost its luster; pure gold loses value. Jewels are scattered on every street corner.

4:2 ב (Bet)

The precious sons of Zion were worth their weight in gold – Alas! – but now they are treated like broken clay pots, made by a potter.

4:3 ג (Gimel)

Even the jackals nurse their young at their breast, but my people are cruel, like ostriches in the desert.

4:4 ד (Dalet)

The infant’s tongue sticks to the roof of its mouth due to thirst; little children beg for bread, but no one gives them even a morsel.

4:5 ה (He)

Those who once feasted on delicacies are now starving to death in the streets. Those who grew up wearing expensive clothes are now dying amid garbage.

4:6 ו (Vav)

The punishment of my people exceeded that of of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment with no one to help her.

4:7 ז (Zayin)

Her consecrated ones were brighter than snow, whiter than milk; their bodies more ruddy than corals, their hair like lapis lazuli.

4:8 ח (Khet)

Now their appearance is darker than soot; they are not recognized in the streets. Their skin has shriveled on their bones; it is dried up, like tree bark.

4:9 ט (Tet)

Those who died by the sword are better off than those who die of hunger, those who waste away, struck down from lack of food.

4:10 י (Yod)

The hands of tenderhearted women cooked their own children, who became their food, when my people were destroyed.

4:11 כ (Kaf)

The Lord fully vented his wrath; he poured out his fierce anger. He started a fire in Zion; it consumed her foundations.

4:12 ל (Lamed)

Neither the kings of the earth nor the people of the lands ever thought that enemy or foe would enter the gates of Jerusalem.

4:13 מ (Mem)

But it happened due to the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who poured out in her midst the blood of the righteous.

4:14 נ (Nun)

They wander blindly through the streets, defiled by the blood they shed, while no one dares to touch their garments.

4:15 ס (Samek)

People cry to them, “Turn away! You are unclean! Turn away! Turn away! Don’t touch us!” So they have fled and wander about; but the nations say, “They may not stay here any longer.”

4:16 פ (Pe)

The Lord himself has scattered them; he no longer watches over them. They did not honor the priests; they did not show favor to the elders.

The People of Jerusalem Lament:

4:17 ע (Ayin)

Our eyes continually failed us as we looked in vain for help. From our watchtowers we watched for a nation that could not rescue us.

4:18 צ (Tsade)

Our enemies hunted us down at every step so that we could not walk about in our streets. Our end drew near, our days were numbered, for our end had come!

4:19 ק (Qof)

Those who pursued us were swifter than eagles in the sky. They chased us over the mountains; they ambushed us in the wilderness.

4:20 ר (Resh)

Our very life breath – the Lord’s anointed king – was caught in their traps, of whom we thought, “Under his protection we will survive among the nations.”

The Prophet Speaks:

4:21 ש (Sin/Shin)

Rejoice and be glad for now, O people of Edom, who reside in the land of Uz. But the cup of judgment will pass to you also; you will get drunk and take off your clothes.

4:22 ת (Tav)

O people of Zion, your punishment will come to an end; he will not prolong your exile. But, O people of Edom, he will punish your sin and reveal your offenses!

The People of Jerusalem Pray:

5:1 O Lord, reflect on what has happened to us; consider and look at our disgrace.

5:2 Our inheritance is turned over to strangers; foreigners now occupy our homes.

5:3 We have become fatherless orphans; our mothers have become widows.

5:4 We must pay money for our own water; we must buy our own wood at a steep price.

5:5 We are pursued – they are breathing down our necks; we are weary and have no rest.

5:6 We have submitted to Egypt and Assyria in order to buy food to eat.

5:7 Our forefathers sinned and are dead, but we suffer their punishment.

5:8 Slaves rule over us; there is no one to rescue us from their power.

5:9 At the risk of our lives we get our food because robbers lurk in the countryside.

5:10 Our skin is hot as an oven due to a fever from hunger.

5:11 They raped women in Zion, virgins in the towns of Judah.

5:12 Princes were hung by their hands; elders were mistreated.

5:13 The young men perform menial labor; boys stagger from their labor.

5:14 The elders are gone from the city gate; the young men have stopped playing their music.

5:15 Our hearts no longer have any joy; our dancing is turned to mourning.

5:16 The crown has fallen from our head; woe to us, for we have sinned!

5:17 Because of this, our hearts are sick; because of these things, we can hardly see through our tears.

5:18 For wild animals are prowling over Mount Zion, which lies desolate.

5:19 But you, O Lord, reign forever; your throne endures from generation to generation.

5:20 Why do you keep on forgetting us? Why do you forsake us so long?

5:21 Bring us back to yourself, O Lord, so that we may return to you; renew our life as in days before,

5:22 unless you have utterly rejected us and are angry with us beyond measure.

Prayer

Lord, after the fact Your people lament but while You called them to faithfulness they could only disrespect and rebel. May I choose faithful-obedience so that I am not left with endless laments later.

Scripture In Perspective

Jeremiah used a rhetorical conversation between himself “The Prophet Speaks” as he described the circumstances and the response of the people “Jerusalem Speaks” as in “Look, O Lord! Consider that I have become worthless!”

The NET translator's notes explain that he used a pattern which utilized an acrostic of the Hebrew alphabet across chapters 1, 2, and 4 then in chapter 3 he used all 66 letters by themselves. In chapter 5 he did not use the acrostic.

Jeremiah, in chapter 5, switched to “The People of Jerusalem Pray:” where they appeal to the Lord God for rescue “Bring us back to yourself, O Lord, so that we may return to you; renew our life as in days before, unless you have utterly rejected us and are angry with us beyond measure.”

Interact With The Text

Consider

Jeremiah was heartsick over what has happened.

Discuss

The Lord God told the people they would be in exile for 70 years, so why would they be whining and asking why He was taking so long to rescue them?

Reflect

Jeremiah suffered alongside of his people, even though he had delivered the Lord God's repeated warnings and had pleaded with them to repent.

When have you received punishment which you knew that you deserved and you knew was coming, and still cried-out for a short-cut out of it?

Faith In Action

Pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to remind you of a place in your life where you have not been fully-faithful and obedient and from which bad consequences may come to you if you don't repent.

Act

Today I will confess and repent, request and receive forgiveness from the Lord God, and then get right with Him in the area(s) which He has brought to my awareness.

Be Specific _________________________________________________

All Bible text is from the NET unless otherwise indicated - http://bible.org

Note 1: These Studies often rely upon the guidance of the NET Translators from their associated notes. Careful attention has been given to cite that source where it has been quoted directly or closely paraphrased. Feedback is encouraged where credit has not been sufficiently assigned.

Note 2: When NET text is quoted in commentary and discussion all pronouns referring to God are capitalized, though they are lower-case in the original NET text.

Commentary text is from David M. Colburn, D.Min. unless otherwise noted.

Copyright © 2012 by David M. Colburn. This is a BibleSeven Study –“Genesis 3. Prepared by David M. Colburn and edited for bible.org in August of 2012. This text may be used for non-profit educational purposes only, with credit; all other usage requires prior written consent of the author.

1. Wisdom in Trials: James 1

Related Media

This is part 1 in a 7-part series on the book of James. Below is a modified transcript of the audio lesson.

We are starting today a study on the book of James. I usually start talking on this and I forget to tell you some important things. We have study guides and they are called, Living What You Believe: Wisdom from the Book of James by Kenneth Boa and William Kruidneir. It’s a NavPress book and those of you that would like to follow along with us this is the book I’ll be using. Now I know I am not good at following a study guide because of course I’ve done many of these before and I often get e-mails from people saying, ”Just exactly where are we? I don’t recognize anything!” But so far I want to tell you I only changed around one thing. I really like the way this book is laid out. It’s got a lot of additional information. It’s really good and I like it. If you would like to do a study along with us this would be a great one to do. It’s basically broken down into five lessons written as a spiritual journey. I don’t know why they didn’t call it Journey With James. That is what I would call it!

The book of James is just rich. There are five lessons but whatever made me think I could get through one of these lessons in one day. It reminded me of when I was in Fort Lauderdale and the pastor preached on the book of James for three years! Now I’m not kidding! Three years! When he said,” This is the last sermon”, I’m not kidding, the entire choir jumped up and sang the alleluiah chorus, not as loud as I wanted to sing it though!

It is written as a trip, a journey to a destination where we want to get somewhere and what is going to take us there. We’ll be looking at the theme of the book and where we want to go with all that.

It has just made me think of summer vacations. Did you go on vacations when you were kids? I’m sure you did and you’ve tried to take your kids on vacations. Is there anything more difficult than a family vacation? It’s supposed to promote family unity and love and you nearly end up killing each other when you’re in the car! I took vacations when I was younger but I really started remembering them when I was 13 or 14 years old. That year we were going to Washington D.C. and our family car was a mint green Rambler station wagon. It was horrible. I remember hearing my parents saying we were going to go to Washington D.C. to show you all that and meet my grandparents up there. I heard one thing and one thing only. We were going to ride there in the mint green Rambler! This was mortifying to me. I remember asking my mother if we could get a new car before the vacation. It was so embarrassing to go in the Rambler. Well, I should’ve known that was a mistake. My father was what I would call the total opposite of a snob. In other words if he knew you didn’t want to ride in the green Rambler because it was embarrassing then it was his greatest joy to make you ride in it. He was very mischievous that way. He had that sense of humor. I tried never to let him know what was not in because he would think it was so hilarious and wonderful to be different and wear something or drive something that was not in to prove my individuality. That of course is a teenager’s worst nightmare. So we went to Washington D.C. in the green Rambler station wagon. That’s all I remember about that trip, being so mortified and being so glad no one I knew would be see me in the mint green Rambler station wagon! The next year I was more prepared when my parents announced we were going to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We had a new car and I was thrilled. But the problem was I didn’t want to be with my family all that time. My best friend Becky said I couldn’t be gone. I had my social life to think of, I couldn’t be gone for two weeks! It would not be possible! So Becky and I started cooking up this idea. How could I stay with her and not go on this summer vacation. My kids did that to me constantly when they were teenagers and of course it didn’t get very far! But I do remember that as mad as I was even though we had a new car, once we got to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, being so stunned by the scenery that I forgot about myself. That was pretty amazing for me to do at age 15! So part of the adventure with a family or trip that you go on is getting there. Sometimes you don’t even remember the trip but the adventure and fun in getting there.

Well, we do have a destination with the book of James but before we really get started I’d like to go over how to study passages and books in the bible. Always, before you begin to dig into the passages to see what it says and what it means to you, is to look at the author who wrote it. Look at the people to whom he wrote it or why did he write it. In this case it’s a letter so who is the audience? You look at the culture of the day and the time. Something that I’ve learned about hermeneutics is the art of interpretation. There are hermeneutical principles when you study the bible and here’s one of them that we are going to be using in this study. When you really want to get the meat or greatest meaning out of a passage go back and see how the original hearers heard it. What did the person who was writing this say originally to those people at that time? That is the deepest and richest meaning you can get. You cannot, it is against the rules, to come up with a meaning in 2004 of a passage that meant something else totally different back in A.D. 60. That doesn’t work. They may say the same thing but you’re going to get a lot more light and understanding of a passage or verse if you understand the context of it’s time. Who wrote it, what they were saying and your understanding will increase.

First of all the author of this book is understood to be the half brother of Jesus named the name of James. Now there are three men named James that are frequently mentioned in the New Testament. One James was the son of Zebedee, the brother of John, you know Peter , James and John, one of the inner three. He was the first apostolic martyr killed by King Herod. That’s in the book of Acts. Secondly there was James the son of Alpheus. He’s mentioned toward the end of the disciples. We don’t know anything about him except that he was a disciple. Then there is James who is the half brother of Jesus. Scholars really don’t have a lot of argument on this. People believe that he was the author of this book.

Now let’s talk about him for a minute this James. We don’t know a lot about him. First of all we do know that Jesus’ brothers originally were non-believers. We talked about this before in previous studies about the account in John 7:5 where Jesus’ brothers and mother come to see Him. I think they were coming to do an intervention! They were worried about Him! It says that His brothers did not believe in Him. That’s how we know. We also know they were not at the cross. At least we have no record of them being present in any part of His ministry in those three years at all. But in I Corinthians 15 as Paul is writing he’s talking about the resurrected Christ, the risen Christ, how He appeared to over 500 people before He had ascended into heaven and he says specifically that He appeared to His brother James. So we can put together an understanding here that James was obviously not a believer, the risen Christ appeared to him and he became a believer. He quickly became a leader in the Jerusalem church and it is generally understood that he was probably one of the main pastors or leaders of the Jerusalem church.

There are a lot of metaphors in this book that you would expect from somebody who was raised in a rural environment. Now Jesus’ family was from Nazareth, a small town in the hills of Galilee, northern Israel. James was raised in a small rural town and not a big city. James uses so many metaphors from nature, the sea, the flower, the grass, the sun, the moon, storms and boats. He uses a lot of metaphorical language to illustrate his spiritual truth. Which is something else you would expect from someone raised in that environment. He probably wrote this book around 50A.D. One of the first New Testament books written. But what is interesting to me about all of this is the way he introduces himself in verse one: This letter is from James, a slave of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Now really, if you were the half brother of Jesus would you have put in parenthesis and by the way I’m connected to the family or I’m the half brother of Jesus! That in itself is a clue is it not, to the character of this man. He doesn’t introduce himself in this way but as a slave to God.

I’d read something that was really interesting to me. It said that the word slave in our culture does not have a good connotation. Obviously no one would want to describe them selves in that way but so often Paul and other writers refer to themselves as the slave of Christ. In that day they were illustrating a point that He owned them. They belonged to Him. It wasn’t necessarily in the way that we think of suffering and being the slave of someone against your will. But that He owned them. He is saying I am God’s. I am a part of His household. It was a way of speaking in a very not self- depreciating way but a very humble way. I am no better than a slave in the house of God. You may see this term several times in the New Testament and it had a little bit of a different connotation back then as it does now.

He says that this is written to Jewish Christians scattered among the nations. I’m reading from the Living Bible translation. If you read from the New International Version or the New King James version or something it will say to the twelve tribes scattered abroad. James was writing this letter to Jewish Christians who had scattered out of Jerusalem away from the center of persecution at that time. Because of the persecution of Christians you see a lot of talk in James about endurance, patience, wisdom and all of these things. He encourages them to persevere because of the great, great persecution they were in. You see this in many books such as Hebrews where they are written to people who have scattered because of persecution. That’s why you see so many verses such as don’t quit and keep on. We can only imagine what their lives were like; loss of family, loss of jobs, loss of income, physical illness, physical persecution and all of that. It is difficult for us to relate to but that is whom he was writing to. He is explaining to them what it really means to follow Christ.

Now the theme of this book is simply this, genuine faith will result or manifest itself in righteous living. If you’re truly a follower of Christ, true faith will show itself in righteous living.

Now this is the one reason why of course that this book is so timely. We live in a day and time where people say they believe one thing but act another way. If most Christians put their lives in a chart showing what they value or what they say they believe and compare it to here’s what I’ve done. Well, do we not know how that would look? It would often not be related whatsoever because we know we live in a time where most statistics of the world whether it’s from divorce or child abuse to alcoholism would look the same as the church, meaning in Christian’s lives. That’s why this is so challenging and he’s saying that genuine faith will show itself in righteous living.

We could almost look at his little segments in this book as sermons. They are all making the same point. He addresses different subjects but he is making the same point. He talks about the tongue. I am going to try to put that lesson off as long as possible!

Today we are going to talk about trials. He talks about having wisdom, how you’re going to get through trials, tribulations and temptations through godly wisdom. Oh, he talks a lot about the tongue, rumors and gossip. He talks about developing patience, endurance and humility. He has some strong words about favoritism and prejudice that are really, really very potent.

His famous statement in the book of James is faith without works is dead. What he is saying is that if your faith is real it will show itself through your works. Now there are a lot of people who think it says something different than we’re saved by faith. I remember our preacher mentioned that he was going to preach the book of James and this woman came up to him after and said ”Oh, preacher I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” It doesn’t say that if you read it in the correct light. He is simply saying faith without works – how do you even know it is faith? It’s going to show itself as being real through your works and righteous acts. In fact Martin Luther called this book an epistle of straw. He didn’t think it should be in the New Testament canon because there was so much emphasis on works. But here again take the context of time- what was Martin Luther’s message- justification through faith. His whole focus of life in the reformation was against the Catholic Church which he felt and which obviously had done this had made works the way of salvation. His point was “sola scriptura” by grace you are saved through faith. Scripture is the only thing that we need and faith is the only thing we need for salvation. So you could understand how he might not quite understand the message of James as well as someone else. I think he eventually changed his attitude but that was his mission. A lot of people have felt that way. But honest and truly, if you look at the book in it’s context, understand what it is saying and you do not emphasize one part over another you find that James has a very pointed message here to those of us who are believers. That we can all go around talking about how much we love Jesus. That is fine on Sunday but does it not come down to Monday morning when you walk in that office? Yes it does. Or when you walk into a difficult situation or you go through a trial. That’s when you find out what your faith is really made of. True faith will result in outward behavior consistent with scripture.

The theme of James is that genuine faith will always show itself through righteous living. Two passages that we’ll probably talk about next week are that your speech and your actions reflect your faith and that’s what he talks about- being a doer of the word. That is something we’ll hear over and over- being a doer of the word and not just a hearer and then of course faith without works is dead.

Let me start with James 1:2 and 4. Dear brothers and sisters whenever trouble comes your way let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow. For when your endurance or your patience is fully developed you will be strong in character and ready for anything. And in verse five –If you need wisdom –if you want to know what God wants you to do-ask Him and He will gladly tell you. We’ll go onto that in a minute.

Now it’s interesting if you just kind of stand back and look at the book. You see a couple of verses on trials and then he talks about wisdom which tells you how you’re going to get through those trials-with God’s wisdom. Then he spends a lot of time on temptation and this is classic- classic passage on temptation. It’s throughout the bible this whole pattern of temptation. That’s what we’ll talk about next week-what it is. It does not come from God. We are tempted by the evil one. He talks about withstanding temptation and about getting rid of the filth and bad attitudes in your life so that you can have a life of true wisdom and true godliness.

To start off with let’s look at joy in trials. This is a verse that I’m sure many of us have heard quoted many times- Whenever trials come your way my brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials and temptations. Now you know what I’m going to say. Joy? Now really. It’s joy when it’s over with right? Yes and sometimes it’s joy when it’s somebody else and it’s not you. That might be joyful. But I find it interesting that the first thing he addresses to these persecuted believers is don’t be surprised when you find yourself in trials. Suffering is the common thread that unites all of humanity. That’s why these verses that were written so long ago can still have meaning for us as it did for the original hearers. We all go through trials. That’s just a part of the fallen world we live in. We’ve talked about some of the trials that they were suffering. It’s interesting this word in the Greek is used many times in the gospels when it says that people were very sick and had various illnesses. That was used for trials and they would come to Jesus to be healed. Going through discouragement cans also be translated as a trial. The word translated in each particular passage is sometimes different. The context influences exactly how it is translated. So there’s a common theme through the bible that we are all going to suffer trials.

Now what is the joy about it? I for one am not good at suffering. Are you? That is not my best thing. Other things I can do but suffering? I am not good at that. I’m a wimp. But he tells us here we are to be joyful about it, why? Well let’s read the rest of the verse- because knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience or endurance. Now here’s the joy. When you know that the trial-this difficulty- that you are going through is not for nothing. That if you are following Christ and you really want to follow Him this trial and this tribulation is going to count for something. It’s as if God is giving you an opportunity to exercise your spiritual muscles. If you don’t go through trials you don’t know how to have faith do you? That’s when you learn to pray. That’s when you learn to trust God. He says it right here-the testing of your faith produces endurance, produces patience. It teaches us that God is faithful. It’s one thing to know it off the top of our head and it’s another thing to experience it. Would you not agree? Yes that is a completely different thing. As you go through a trial you find God’s provision and His comfort and His presence with you makes you stronger as a believer. It exercises your spiritual muscle and after you go through that you find you are stronger. You find that when you meet people and hear what they are going through you can minister to them. You know exactly what they are going through. It gives you an opportunity to reach out to the body of Christ-to other people- to encourage them. But you know, no matter how much we know something it’s not the same as experiencing it. I think of Ruth Ann over here who went through breast cancer in 2001. I’ve had several friends who have gone through that and have prayed with them and all that. It is one thing for me to know how hard that must be. It’s something else for Ruth Ann to know. She’s experienced it. Through that trial and experience God has developed her spiritual muscle and that of her family. She’s able to minister and be stronger as a woman of God. That’s just the way God arranged things to be. Trials are the method God uses to provide His provision and His care. Let me tell you something I’m convinced of too. Sometimes it amazes me. There are Christians and people who claim to be Christians who at the first time there are problems or trials they will be whining and crying. They can’t bear it. Why would God let this happen? I have a friend that did that. Her father got sick with cancer-my father hadn’t died too much further before that –and all she could say was this doesn’t happen to us, God wouldn’t do this. This must be a mistake. It was all I could do to say what makes you think you’re going to escape it and the rest of us have to go through it. Come on! Snap out of it! That’s what I wanted to do. On the other hand you have people like Ruth Ann and Dawn who are good examples. They have gone through very difficult circumstances and yet some how even though they get discouraged and they get weary and sometimes they get angry and question God, their spirit will not let them quit. We had dinner last night with a young man who has gone through extremely difficult circumstances in his marriage with five children. If ever there was a person who could’ve said I quit, I give up. God has failed me. Nothing has happened in my life as it should. But he sat there and told us however though everything in his life is a mess there’s something in him. He wants to obey God. He wants to be a godly man. He wants his children to know Christ. I just marvel at that. To me that is proof that someone is truly born again. Something in them will not let go and they will keep hanging on when they’re in a trial. If they will, it will produce great patience and endurance. So if you are in a trial right now and I’m sure every person in this room is in some kind of trial, please listen to the word of God. If you will not let yourself become angry or resentful or self-centered and you let God use that in your life you will bring forth great fruit, the fruit of righteousness. It will help you learn to trust God. It will produce endurance, patience and all those good qualities that we want. Let me tell you that we are not different as Christians as anybody else if you read about the great Christian women and men in history, the missionaries who endured unbelievable sufferings for the sake of the gospel. They were giants in faith because they allowed their suffering to produce this fruit-patience and endurance. God blessed them greatly for it. Trials create maturity and endurance. David said in Psalm 119:71, It is good for me that I have been afflicted. I have learned your word. Now isn’t that true. When I have a problem or something is really bothering me, that’s when I’m suddenly able to find all kinds of time for reading the bible. Are you like that? And prayer, oh yes, I have time for it then. On days that everything is OK I just can’t squeeze it in. There’s something about trials that drive us to the Lord. We’re all like that. It’s for our good and that is the joy in it. In Romans 8:28 it says that God will work it for our spiritual good if we will let Him do so and not become angry, resentful or bitter but let Him work in our life that way.

Now James goes on and says in verse 5 that if you need wisdom, if you want to know what God wants you to do, ask Him and He will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking but when you ask Him be sure that you really expect Him to answer for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. People like that should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. They can’t make up their minds. They waver back and forth in everything they do. Now here is what he is saying if you are going through a trial. How are you going to get through it, through wisdom. Godly wisdom will enable you to make the right choices to develop the skill in navigating through this trial by making wise choices and doing what you feel God wants you to do and learn through this trial. I’ve always loved this part of the verse that says He will not resent your asking. In the NKJV it says God gives liberally and without reproach when you need wisdom. I love that. He doesn’t say, “Well look who’s here.”

No, He doesn’t say that like an earthly parent might. No. I love it that He gives liberally. He just throws it out there and keeps throwing it out there on you and without reproach. He doesn’t say- well if you asked last time…. without reproach. When you want it He will give it to you. And yet James said but you have to ask in faith. You can’t ask and believe what this means is Lord, you tell me what you think I should do and then I’ll just kind of see. I’m not sure you know. I’ll just kind of decide then what I’m going to do. No, that’s a double minded person. It literally means a person with two minds. You have to ask in faith. You have to really want it.

Related Topics: Spiritual Life, Women's Articles

3. Being a Doer of the Word: James 1

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This is part 3 in a 7-part series on the book of James. Below is a modified transcript of the audio lesson.

There is so much in this book! We are still in Chapter1 in part three of this series. This is an excellent book on practical Christian living. I will review for just a minute. This book is particularly relevant for us today because it talks about living what you believe. This weekend the emphasis in the news was on our heroes, V-day, WWII heroes, president Reagan, and I thought about what a rich heritage we have due to our American heroes, men and women who have done courageous and tremendous things. It’s because they have principles and believe in acting on them. That’s what makes a true hero. That is what we are talking about in this book. We are taking a trip with James, excursions and stops along the way. Our destination is to understand where true righteous living and true righteousness is found. It is found in the word of God when it is planted in our heart and working out of us affecting our everyday life and decisions.

Back in the 1970’s, I can’t remember the year, there was a very popular book that came out titled, How to be a Christian Without Being Religious. Basically it was a little paperback book that differentiated between the idea of thinking you were a Christian through rituals or a so-called Christian way of life as opposed to being really, really born again and knowing Christ as your savior. I thought it was one of the best titles I’d ever seen. How to be a Christian Without Being Religious- there’s so much truth in that title. Oftentimes people are religious but not necessarily Christian. What I want to do in one sense, as we read this passage in James1, is to redefine the definition of religious. That little book implied that you could be religious and have a form of godliness, so to speak, like go to church and all those things and yet not really be a Christian.

For our purposes today, when James uses the word religion, He is using it in the sense of someone who is truly following Christ. They have given their heart and life to Christ and are doing everything they can to follow Him in obedience. That would be true of evangelicals from just about every denomination that believes it is a personal relationship with Christ that makes you a follower of Him. It’s not just a religion or empty rituals. James is talking about being a doer of the word.

There is an interesting debate going on in this political season because of the concept of being a doer of the word. Your attitudes and actions should reflect the fact that the word of God lives in you. It goes back to the saying of St. Francis of Assisi who said,” Preach the gospel at every opportunity and use words if you have to”. Your life, attitudes, decisions and the things you’re involved in should preach a sermon despite the words because doing and acting go beyond the words. There are some candidates who are privately pro life but publicly pro choice and are professing Catholics. You may have read that there are some Catholic priests who are refusing to give them the sacraments of the Lord’s Supper. The debate is if you’re a Catholic, in this particular case, if you don’t agree with the church’s teaching then you are denied the sacrament. In other words you are going to have to be a doer of the word. If you say you believe in pro life privately you are going to have to support that publicly also. This is a very valid debate for all of us. After I had read the last article in World Magazine, I thought we all certainly have inconsistencies, don’t we? We say we believe one thing and do something else.

James is writing in the culture of his day. He was writing to Christians who were highly persecuted though out the Roman Empire and most had spread out. They left Jerusalem and spread northward particularly to Antioch and up into Asia Minor. He was also speaking to the religious hypocrisy in the culture of his day. Jesus talked so much about that, in particular to the Pharisees. There are a lot of themes from Jesus’ teachings in that way similar in James’ book.

We are starting in chapter 1 verse 19 about listening and being a doer of the word. We’ll talk about three particular points and practical applications that help show us what that means. “Dear friends, be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Your anger can never make things right in God’s sight. So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the message God has planted in your hearts, for it is strong enough to save your souls. And remember, it is a message to obey, not just listen to. If you don’t obey, you are only fooling yourself. For if you just listen and don’t obey, it is like looking at your face in a mirror but doing nothing to improve your appearance. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you keep looking steadily into God’s perfect law-the law that sets you free- and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are just fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless (James 1:19-26).

I know you’re sorry you came today! I can already tell! Well, what if you had to teach it?

Pure and lasting religion in the sight of God our Father means that we must care for orphans and widows in their troubles, and refuse to let the world corrupt us (James 1:27).

Now this is a better verse!

There is a lot in that last phrase. The KJV says ”remain unstained by the world”. That is a bold statement. How are we going to do that?

There are three things we are going to talk about; our speech, controlling our tongue, obedience, ministry to the poor, and what it means to remain unstained from sin. These four components fo doing and being we find in this passage.

First of all, James 1:19 is a classic verse and if you don’t have it memorized you need to. Be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger.

Quite a few years ago our oldest daughter, Wendi, was in middle school. Do any of you have children that can just punch your button like that to make you angry? Oh yeah! She was always a very good girl but she could just make me crazy! I remember one morning she was leaving for school and being difficult. Not me of course! We had a semi-argument and it escalated. When it had ended I was speaking harshly and she left and slammed the door as her carpool ride had arrived. And me, like the biggest phony on the face of the earth, you know, like everything’s great, I leaned out the door and waved and said, “God bless you honey. Have a good day!” I closed the door and was really, really depressed. I was not getting anywhere with this child and by what I did and said I knew I had reacted wrongly. I was really down about that as I went to have my quiet time and I was reading through the book of James. I should’ve known I was in trouble! I opened up my bible as I sat on my couch with my huge cup of coffee with a headache already beginning. I said, “Lord, help me. I’ve got to get a handle on this. I am the adult. She is the child. It is my responsibility to get a handle on our disagreements and learn how to handle these situations because I seriously don’t believe that’s the last one”. The verse I began with was James 1:19. Dear friends, be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger. Well, that’s the only verse I read because I realized I had violated all three of those principles. I was not quick to hear. What does, quick to hear mean? The word literally means as soon as a sound is made you pick it up. Learning to listen and really hear is a skill that you develop. There is a phrase we use, I hear you, what does that mean? It means I not only hear what you’re saying but I know what you mean. I not only hear the words but also the meaning of what you are telling me underneath. That’s what I’m talking about when I say be quick to hear. Have you ever been troubled by something yourself and you see a friend and they ask you how you’re doing? Of course you say what everyone says and you answer, “Fine’. And they believe you! What’s wrong with them? They should’ve known something was wrong by the way I said fine or maybe I should’ve just come out and told them the truth! Sometimes only the Holy Spirit can give you that discernment. Be quick to hear and really listen. I learned that with my daughter Wendi. I needed to learn not to just listen to the surface things but have a deeper conversation with her that night and find out what was really going on in her life. I did that. I’m not saying it solved our problem but it seriously improved our communication and our understanding of one another.

That reminds me of the story in Luke of Mary of Bethany who was sitting at the feet of Jesus. Now one of my pet peeves is people who try to read things into the scriptures that are not there. You don’t have to do that. There’s so much there we can’t even understand it all. Now having said that, that’s what I’m going to do right now! As I’ve read over this passage many times I have thought of the picture this paints of Mary at Martha’s house. Martha is busy and beside herself over all these men who have just dropped in for dinner or lunch. Martha says to Jesus, why don’t you get her to help me? Jesus kindly rebukes her in a sense as He says, but Mary has done the most important thing and that is sitting at My feet. You know it wasn’t long after that in the gospels that Mary anointed the feet of Jesus. Jesus said she was anointing Me for the day of my burial. This happened immediately before the Passover and He would face death on the cross. I have wondered reading that in context of the entire story if Mary was the only one really listening to Jesus. The disciples even up until the last supper were arguing about who was going to be the greatest. I wonder if Jesus was telling Mary about why He was going to die and she was really listening. I don’t know that as a fact but I know this, I need to show that kind of listening and sensitivity to others. I especially need to hear God like that. I need to be quick to hear what He is saying to me as we all do.

Years ago I clipped out one of those pithy sayings they have in Reader’s Digest. They always have wonderful sayings and this one I clipped out and put it in the back of my bible. It says this, “His thoughts were slow. His words were few and never formed to glisten. But he was a joy to all his friends and you should have heard him listen”.

There is an element of discipline in listening and not talking. Most of us want to tell people what they need to do. That’s what I wanted to do with Wendi. I did it and she wouldn’t listen. She was not quick to listen! You cannot truly listen to someone including God if you’re doing all the talking. In the book of Proverbs there are quite a few verses on listening. Proverbs 18:13; He who answers before listening, it is a folly and a shame. If you answer before you have heard what someone has to say, it’s a folly, it’s silly, it may not be applicable to them at all. Proverbs 1:5; Let the wise listen and add to their learning. If you want to be wise and add to your learning then listen. Proverbs 12:15; A wise man listens to advice. John 10:27; My sheep hear my voice; I hear, they listen to my voice. That is why it is very important to control the tongue. My sheep listen. They hear My voice. We cannot do that if we are doing all the talking.

The second part of the verse says slow to speak. What does that mean? That simply means don’t say the first thing that comes into your mind. I’ve done that on many occasions and trust me. It doesn’t work! We are all familiar with the passage in Proverbs 15:1 that says a gentle answer turns away wrath. Haven’t you seen that in people before? They can be angry and upset and you give them a calm and gentle answer and it diffuses their anger. While I was sitting there I could reconstruct the whole scenario with Wendi in my mind. I knew when I should’ve given a gentle answer. It would’ve alleviated the pressure, anger and everything else. This is my personal belief. It is the enlightened person’s responsibility to do that. You can’t say well, they should know better and they should give the gentle answer. No, that’s not an excuse. It is our job to be the one to give the soft answer. There’s an old fashioned method that works for holding your tongue and controlling your temper. I think it’s good and it’s as simple as counting to ten!

The next part of our verse says slow to anger. Proverbs 29:11; A fool gives full vent to his anger. Proverbs 22:24; Keep away from angry, short-tempered people, or you will learn to be like them and endanger your soul. Proverbs 29:22; A hot- tempered person starts fights and gets into all kinds of sin. Hot tempers, anger and harsh words can stir up the pot and cause dissension. This last week I took a course at Southwestern Seminary on Feminist Theology. I feel like I’ve just been slimed! This kind of stuff is unbelievable! It’s just one of the best things I’ve ever taken. I thought about that verse because do you know how you create dissatisfaction in people? You start talking about how rotten life is, how bad people have been and in this example how men have sometimes treated women in the past. The feminist movement has used this method to try to raise women’s consciousness sometimes. I’m telling you, ten minutes of that stuff and I was ready to march! I was ready to go! It doesn’t take much for an angry person to be on the opposite side of where they really want to be. An angry person can stir up dissension. That’s why we’re warned against it.

James 1:20; The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. This is what I realized about Wendi. I could get angry at her all day. None of my anger would produce what I really want in her, the righteousness of God. Anger will not produce that. Anger directed against somebody else will not produce the righteousness of God. That verse is so helpful to me in any situation where I find anger or dissension. The other verse that sums it up is James 1:26; If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are just fooling yourself and your religion is worthless.

Now James 1:21; So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the message God has planted in your hearts, for it is strong enough to save your souls. Now I love that. It tells us the word of God, when implanted in our spirit, in our soul, that it will change us. You may say I want to be a doer of the word but I don’t know how to. Here’s how you do it. You put God’s word in you and then you obey it. It’s really pretty simple. It’s implanted in your soul. When you come to Christ, His spirit comes to live in you along with the word of God as you continue to feed your spiritual life. It becomes implanted in your soul.

Starting in James 1:22; And remember, it is a message to obey not just to listen to. If you don’t obey, it’s like looking in a mirror but doing nothing to improve your appearance. He’s saying if you come to the word of God and you read about life you need to do something with that. Let’s take for example the verse we read about being slow to speak. If you read that and think, hmm, that’s my verse for today and you just walk off and don’t think anything else about it or try to think how that would apply to you then it is like getting up in the morning looking in the mirror, thinking I’m fine and then just walk away. Do any of you think that in the morning? If you’re like me you’re thinking surely I couldn’t of aged that much in one night! It must be my mirror! When you see how you look in the mirror most people want to improve themselves. They want to do something about it. When we look into the mirror of God’s word it should make us want to improve ourselves in that way and go do something about it. The law of God shows us what we really are. It doesn’t show us what we think we are. That’s why we need to look to it.

There are so many verses that tell us how the word of God can change us. Isaiah 55:10; As the rain and snow come down from the heavens and do not return there without watering the earth and making the barren sprout and furnishing the seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so will My word be which goes forth from my mouth. It will not return to me empty without accomplishing what I desire and succeeding in the name of which I sent it. God’s word when it is sent out to a receptive heart, it will accomplish its purpose. My verse for this year has been in Colossians; Let the word of Christ dwell richly within you. I want the word of God to dwell richly and to overflow in my heart. That’s what James is talking about. You put God’s word into you and have it change you. Hebrews 4:12; For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Dr. David Allen was a professor at Criswell College and he did his dissertation on the book of Hebrews. He has written extensively on it. He says he believes Luke is the author of Hebrews. Luke was a physician. His picture here is that the word sword is better translated a small knife. The word picture is of a surgeon, not a sword slashing something in half, but a surgeon taking a tiny scalpel and piercing between the marrow and the bone and muscle. There are tiny cuts that pierce the two things apart. That’s how exact the word of God is. Even my example of that day with Wendi, it was like a little scalpel that God used to pierce my own heart and show me where I was wrong and what I needed to do. It’s an instrument of change when we let that happen. As stated in 2 Timothy 3:16; All Scripture is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. Learning to be doers of the word.

I don’t have time to read it this morning but if you like to read web blogs and comments of the day Al Mohler has the most interesting perspective on our culture. He is president of the Southern Seminary. His message to graduates this year was his first. Being doers of the word. When you act on God’s word it becomes even more implanted in your soul. It can be in your spirit and you know what to do but until you act on it, it doesn’t ever really take root. There’s something about obedience and acting on God’s word that makes it become more real.

We as Christian women have an amazing heritage. Women have done phenomenal things because they believed in the word of God. Not just because they wanted to be socially active or had some agenda but they had a deep walk with Christ and worked out their own salvation. There are so many examples I couldn’t even begin to tell you how many. The early century mystics such as Teresa of Avila or Katherine of Sienna would go into these contemplative states. They loved the word of God. You’d think they just would’ve sat in caves all day but they carried on unbelievable ministries caring for the sick and poor. They’d work with people with horrid diseases, changing the bandages on their wounds, loving them, praying with them and staying up all night with them. Women had no political power in the 14^th century but socially they had a tremendous impact. They were doers of the word. Jesus said to take care of the poor and they said hmm we’d better go. All throughout the history of the church there have been women who were grounded in the word of God and believed in Christ and the miraculous nature of the gospel. They believed Christ could change someone’s heart. Katherine Booth of the Salvation Army in London was one of these women. She would lead other women into the hellholes where people lived with rampant alcoholism, wife beating, child abuse and abject poverty. They would take the gospel and start bible studies and along with that they would clothe, feed and love them. God blessed this work greatly. Francis Willard was the leader in the temperance movement. All of the social movements that women led of the 19^th and 20^th centuries can be traced back to their faith in Christ. That’s why so many women became involved in the suffrage movement. They felt the only way laws concerning alcohol were ever going to change was if the women were allowed to vote. The whole Sunday school movement began with two women. They prayed and felt God wanted them to go into the worst slums of London and begin bible classes for these little children. It grew and grew. When two women from America came and saw it, they brought it back home with them. Today every denomination has Sunday school or some form of childhood education. They took to heart Jesus’ teaching about whatever you have done to the least of my brethren, you have done unto Me. They were doers of the word.

Related Topics: Spiritual Life, Women's Articles

Bahasa Indonesia

Q. How Does 1 Kings 15:33 And 2 Chronicles 16:1 Fit Together With The Inerrancy Of The Word Of God?

Dear brother Bob,

1 Kings 15:33 records that Baasha, king of Israel began his reign in the third year of King Asa of Judah. The verse also records that Baasha reigned for twenty-four years. Which means, Baasha died in the 27th year of Asa's reign. Yet, 2 Chronicles 16:1 records that Baasha went up against Judah in the thirty-sixth year of Asa's reign; that's a good 9 years after Baasha's death!

I believe in the inerrancy of the Word of God and yet I am not able to resolve this. Please help me understand when you find the time.

Warm regards,

*****

Answer

In the third year of Asa's reign over Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah became king over all Israel in Tirzah; he ruled for twenty-four years. (1 Ki. 15:33 NET)

In the thirty-sixth year of Asa's reign, King Baasha of Israel attacked Judah, and he established Ramah as a military outpost to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the land of King Asa of Judah. (2 Chr. 16:1 NET)

Brother *****,

The apparent contradiction you call attention to has been noted by many trustworthy Bible students (as well as some not so trustworthy, who are looking for an excuse to disregard the Scriptures). I’ll give you several links to see their responses:

What is important to keep in mind is that a copyist’s error is not proof that the Bible is therefore untrustworthy. The doctrine of inerrancy is that in the original manuscripts the Bible was without error. We don’t have the original manuscripts, and in the process of being hand copied, errors did take place. Many of these errors are obvious and explainable. Some are not. This is what the process of textual criticism is all about—seeking to discern, if possible, what the reading of the original manuscript was. No two hand written manuscripts are identical with each other. The belief that the Bible is inspired and inerrant in the original manuscripts is what encourages us to study textual variations in an effort to discern what the reading of the original text is. The fact that copyists made a few mistakes should not shake our faith in the inerrancy of the original texts.

In this particular case you brought up, one explanation does not see this as a copyists error, but as a failure to discern what the beginnings of the kingdom referred to (when the united kingdom was divided).

For me, it is important (vital) to believe in the inerrancy of the original manuscripts, but it is not essential to have a perfect original copy in my hands in order to discern the meaning and application of the text.

And, by the way, my interpretations of Bible texts are not infallible. I have to trust that the Spirit of God will reinforce those things which are true, and expose those things which are not.

I hope this helps,

Bob

Related Topics: Bibliology (The Written Word), Inerrancy

The Making of a Christian Marriage

Q. Can You Give Me Some Biblical Teaching on Christian Marriage?

Question

I just want to ask you if you have any collections of teachings on biblical marriage dynamics - especially wife’s submitting to the husband and the husband submitting to the LORD.

Answer

Dear Friend,

Let me begin by saying several things about this subject.

First, there have been too many abuses of the teaching of Scripture by those (men/husbands) who would use God’s Word and its teachings wrongly to justify domineering and dictatorial leadership. This is wrong!

Second, our culture is vehemently opposed to what the Scriptures do teach (and they often refer to abuses of this teaching to justify their rejection of God’s Word). Many are “rethinking” their understanding of Scripture on this matter because they will be branded as radical or out of touch for holding to biblical teaching and practice.

Third, I am one of those who has been branded as harsh and out of touch on this matter because I do hold to what the Scriptures clearly teach.

Fourth, those who seek to set aside the teaching of the Bible must go to great efforts in an attempt to prove that what the Bible clearly teaches is not what it clearly means.

Fifth, there are boundaries or limits to what submission requires, as we can see in the story of Abigail, Nabal, and David in 1 Samuel 25: https://bible.org/seriespage/22-dear-abby-1-samuel-251-44

Sixth, I do not believe that a husband’s authority gives him the right to require his wife to violate her legitimate convictions (Romans 14).

Having said this, here are some resources that are found on bible.org for this subject:

https://bible.org/series/can-we-serve-church-cafeteria-style (This is a series I have done, and lessons 7-12 are a fairly extensive study on church leadership, which does closely relate to God’s teaching about leadership in the home. Having said this, Ephesians chapter 5 is no doubt the primary text on this specific point, so I will give links to messages on this matter below).

An excellent series on Christian Marriage by Dr. Bill McRae:

https://bible.org/series/making-christian-marriage

Teaching by Steve Cole:

Teaching by Ken Boa:

https://bible.org/seriespage/ephesians-50

Teaching I have done on Ephesians 5:

Q. What Should The "Tamars" (2 Samuel 13) Do?

Question

Hi,

It was great having someone explain 2 Samuel 13. Thank you.

I was wondering if you could help me. Revenge, betrayal, lust, forgiveness, and sins of our fathers are the themes of this chapter. It is absolute tragedy, and I cringe for Tamar. What do “Tamar’s” of this world do? How are they to forgive? How are they to stop the continued “curse” (for lack of a better word)? We don’t have to be desolate in our day in age, but we are on the inside. How does one overcome this to be all that God intends?

Answer

Dear *******,

First of all, it appears to me that Tamar was a true victim. I don’t see anything she did to encourage or provoke this evil deed, nor did she in any way contribute to this great sin. Indeed, she pled with Amnon not to sin in this way. Having said this, I do see folly and sin on the part of Amnon, his “friend” Jonadab, and even David, who foolishly creates a situation where Amnon could sin as he did. And then, David did not do anything to deal with this sin. Absalom did not deal with it rightly, either. All of this is a way of saying that Tamar was the only innocent person involved.

There is absolutely no way to justify what took place on this occasion. It certainly reveals the sinfulness of man, and it does give us essential background regarding the ultimate rebellion of Absalom in seeking to take the kingdom from his father.

But what we should also keep in mind is that God has a special concern for the oppressed and the abused:

Judges 2:18
1 Samuel 1:15ff.
Psalm 9:9; 10:17-18; 103:6; 146:5-10
Isaiah 10:1-2

Thus, God would have a heart of compassion toward Tamar. While this is not the focus of the text, it is still true. I believe that this woman’s suffering may have been the very thing which caused Tamar to turn her eyes to God. Thus, I believe that she would agree with the psalmist:

Before I was afflicted I used to stray off,
but now I keep your instructions (Psalm 119:67, NET).

I know, LORD, that your regulations are just.
You disciplined me because of your faithful devotion to me (Psalm 119:75).

If I had not found encouragement in your law,
I would have died in my sorrow.
93 I will never forget your precepts,
for by them you have revived me.
94 I belong to you. Deliver me!
For I seek your precepts.
95 The wicked prepare to kill me,
yet I concentrate on your rules (Psalm 119:92-95).

The spirit of the sovereign LORD is upon me, because the LORD has chosen me. He has commissioned me to encourage the poor, to help the brokenhearted, to decree the release of captives, and the freeing of prisoners (Isaiah 61:1).

As I look at the “counsel” of Job’s friends, and at the assumption of the disciples that someone related to the man born blind (John 9) must have sinned. Jesus says otherwise:

Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but he was born blind so that the acts of God may be revealed through what happens to him (John 9:3).

Beyond this, our Lord Jesus suffered greater abuse than any man or woman on earth, and this in order to bring about the salvation of lost and unworthy sinners. This puts our suffering in perspective:

Slaves, be subject to your masters with all reverence, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are perverse. 19 For this finds God’s favor, if because of conscience toward God someone endures hardships in suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is it if you sin and are mistreated and endure it? But if you do good and suffer and so endure, this finds favor with God. 21 For to this you were called, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving an example for you to follow in his steps. 22 He committed no sin nor was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was maligned, he did not answer back; when he suffered, he threatened no retaliation, but committed himself to God who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we may cease from sinning and live for righteousness. By his wounds you were healed. 25 For you were going astray like sheep but now you have turned back to the shepherd and guardian of your souls (1 Peter 2:18-25).

Peter, Paul, and the apostles therefore found it possible to rejoice in suffering:

Dear friends, do not be astonished that a trial by fire is occurring among you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice in the degree that you have shared in the sufferings of Christ, so that when his glory is revealed you may also rejoice and be glad. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory, who is the Spirit of God, rests on you. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer or thief or criminal or as a troublemaker. 16 But if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but glorify God that you bear such a name (1 Peter 4:12-16).

More than that, I now regard all things as liabilities compared to the far greater value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things– indeed, I regard them as dung!– that I may gain Christ, 9 and be found in him, not because I have my own righteousness derived from the law, but because I have the righteousness that comes by way of Christ’s faithfulness– a righteousness from God that is in fact based on Christ’s faithfulness. 10 My aim is to know him, to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings, and to be like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead (Philippians 3:8-11).

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my physical body– for the sake of his body, the church– what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ (Colossians 1:24).

When they were released, Peter and John went to their fellow believers and reported everything the high priests and the elders had said to them. 24 When they heard this, they raised their voices to God with one mind and said, “Master of all, you who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them, 25 who said by the Holy Spirit through your servant David our forefather, ‘Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot foolish things? 26 The kings of the earth stood together, and the rulers assembled together, against the Lord and against his Christ.’ 27 “For indeed both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, assembled together in this city against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, 28 to do as much as your power and your plan had decided beforehand would happen. 29 And now, Lord, pay attention to their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your message with great courage, 30 while you extend your hand to heal, and to bring about miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God courageously (Acts 4:23-31).

Finally, we know that God will deal appropriately with those who abuse His saints:

We ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith flourishes more and more and the love of each one of you all for one another is ever greater. 4 As a result we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and afflictions you are enduring. 5 This is evidence of God’s righteous judgment, to make you worthy of the kingdom of God, for which in fact you are suffering. 6 For it is right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to you who are being afflicted to give rest together with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. 8 With flaming fire he will mete out punishment on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will undergo the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his strength, 10 when he comes to be glorified among his saints and admired on that day among all who have believed– and you did in fact believe our testimony (2 Thessalonians 1:3-10).

Now when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been violently killed because of the word of God and because of the testimony they had given. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Master, holy and true, before you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?” 11 Each of them was given a long white robe and they were told to rest for a little longer, until the full number was reached of both their fellow servants and their brothers who were going to be killed just as they had been (Revelation 6:9-11).

Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and the springs of water, and they turned into blood. 5 Now I heard the angel of the waters saying: “You are just– the one who is and who was, the Holy One– because you have passed these judgments, 6 because they poured out the blood of your saints and prophets, so you have given them blood to drink. They got what they deserved!” (Revelation 16:4-6).

In conclusion, I’m reminded of Abraham’s words in Genesis 18:25:

Far be it from you to do such a thing– to kill the godly with the wicked, treating the godly and the wicked alike! Far be it from you! Will not the judge of the whole earth do what is right?” (Genesis 18:25)

Also, Jacob’s words come to mind, when he wrongly supposed that all his circumstances were somehow against him:

Their father Jacob said to them, “You are making me childless! Joseph is gone. Simeon is gone. And now you want to take Benjamin! Everything is against me” (Genesis 42:36).

After Jesus cured the deaf men, those who witnessed this miracle came to the right conclusion:

“He has done everything well” (Mark 7:37).

My wife and I lost our son Timmy to crib death early in our marriage. I remember well the comfort we had at that time, based on the character of God. The God who is all knowing, all powerful, and who loves to forgive sinners is the God who purposed to use the suffering of Tamar to His glory (and, for her good – Romans 8:28). Like Jacob, it may appear to us at the moment that our circumstances are against us, if we are trusting in Jesus, nothing can separate us from His love and gracious care.

What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 Indeed, he who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all– how will he not also, along with him, freely give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is the one who will condemn? Christ is the one who died (and more than that, he was raised), who is at the right hand of God, and who also is interceding for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will trouble, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we encounter death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we have complete victory through him who loved us! 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:31-39).

Finally, I re-read your email, and I think one important question remains somewhat unanswered. If I understood you correctly you were asking something like this: “How can the Tamar’s of today deal with the injustices and abuses they experience?” I think there are several lines of biblical truth which can and should be pursued here.

First, the Sermon on the Mount, along with Matthew 11:28-30 seems to be addressed to those who are in some way oppressed:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them. 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. 7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God. 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things about you falsely on account of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad because your reward is great in heaven, for they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way (Matthew 5:3-12).

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry” (Matthew 11:28-30).

The point of this is not for our Lord to promise those who are suffering and oppressed that their troubles in this life will surely pass (which the “health and wealth gospel” seems to promise), but that heaven awaits those who suffer in this life, and particularly those godly saints who suffer on account of their faith.

Paul says something similar in 2 Corinthians chapter 4:

But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that the extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. 8 We are experiencing trouble on every side, but are not crushed; we are perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 we are persecuted, but not abandoned; we are knocked down, but not destroyed, 10 always carrying around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our body. 11 For we who are alive are constantly being handed over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our mortal body. 12 As a result, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. 13 But since we have the same spirit of faith as that shown in what has been written, “I believed; therefore I spoke,” we also believe, therefore we also speak. 14 We do so because we know that the one who raised up Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus and will bring us with you into his presence. 15 For all these things are for your sake, so that the grace that is including more and more people may cause thanksgiving to increase to the glory of God. 16 Therefore we do not despair, but even if our physical body is wearing away, our inner person is being renewed day by day. 17 For our momentary, light suffering is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison 18 because we are not looking at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen. For what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal (2 Corinthians 4:7-18).

Second, closely related to Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 4 are his words in chapter 1, in which he states that the comfort which God gives us in our trials and tribulations are the very comforts which we can now share with those who suffer in a similar way:

Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles so that we may be able to comfort those experiencing any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

Third, faithfully enduring the abuse of those who falsely accuse and persecute believers will ultimately be the basis for our enemies giving glory to God when He comes to earth again:

Dear friends, I urge you as foreigners and exiles to keep away from fleshly desires that do battle against the soul, 12 and maintain good conduct among the non-Christians, so that though they now malign you as wrongdoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God when he appears (1 Peter 2:11-12).

Fourth Hannah’s prayer in 1 Samuel chapter 2 testifies to the fact that God hears the cries of the oppressed (see 2:1-10).

Finally, it is beneficial to reflect on the words of Paul and Peter on the subject of abuse:

Nevertheless, as the Lord has assigned to each one, as God has called each person, so must he live. I give this sort of direction in all the churches. 18 Was anyone called after he had been circumcised? He should not try to undo his circumcision. Was anyone called who is uncircumcised? He should not get circumcised. 19 Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Instead, keeping God’s commandments is what counts. 20 Let each one remain in that situation in life in which he was called. 21 Were you called as a slave? Do not worry about it. But if indeed you are able to be free, make the most of the opportunity. 22 For the one who was called in the Lord as a slave is the Lord’s freedman. In the same way, the one who was called as a free person is Christ’s slave. 23 You were bought with a price. Do not become slaves of men. 24 In whatever situation someone was called, brothers and sisters, let him remain in it with God. (1 Corinthians 7:17-24).

Paul told slaves that if they could change their status, that was fine. But if this was not possible, they were to live out the life of a slave in a manner that would bring glory to God, and would beautify the gospel. Throughout the centuries humble, powerless (humanly speaking) saints have endured their afflictions in a way that glorified God. In some instances God delivered them from their earthly afflictions, but ultimately all who suffer for the sake of Christ have an eternity of eternal bliss awaiting them.

Blessings,

Bob Deffinbaugh

1. An Introduction To Ephesians (Ephesians 1:1-3)

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A number of years ago, a madman, called Saddam Hussein, invaded Kuwait, bringing death and destruction. Knowing it would be next on Saddam’s hit list, Saudi Arabia called Washington and asked for help. On that occasion, President Bush was at his best. He picked up the phone and called England, Canada, Spain, France, Italy, Turkey, and many other countries and built the famed coalition.

Men and women from different backgrounds, races, classes, cultures, and personalities all gathered in the Gulf with one focused agenda – to serve notice on this madman, demanding that he not take more territory and that he relinquish the territory already taken. The coalition was to inform him his days of rule in the Gulf were over.

Another mad person in history is called the Devil, against whom God, too, has built a coalition to wage war – it’s called the church. If we’re going to be a vibrant, successful force for God in the world, and if we’re going to have victory over the prince of the power of the air, then the church is going to have to function as an allied coalition.

When there is a common goal based on a common authority to set forth a common agenda, then we can have a common success. God has created one body made up of different persons, all of whom have received a common call from God in Christ.¹

This is what the epistle to the Ephesians is all about - the unity of the church, a coalition of people with different religious, racial, and social backgrounds into one body to live as a powerful force for God in the world.

Paul calls the church a “mystery” (1:9; 3:3, 4, 9; 5:32; 6:19). That’s why we have titled this series, “United We Stand: The Mystery of the Church.” The church was a mystery because it could not be conceived how God, in and through Christ Jesus, could create one body, the church, to form a new people of God in which both Jews and Gentiles stand united.

For Paul, the “mystery” of the church is breathtaking. He is rejoicing as he tries to express the mysterious unity that God has effected in the church through Christ and the spiritual blessings that are ours as a result - Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (1:3).

Notice that our spiritual blessings have their source in God the Father and flow down to us through the Lord Jesus Christ ² As we study this epistle together, you will see repeatedly its thoroughly trinitarian structure.

Paul is bursting with adoration to God for our spiritual blessings, so much so that he writes the entire first section (1:3-14) in one unstructured sentence which “rolls on like a snowball tumbling down the hill, picking up volume as it descends.” ³ Wave after wave of praise comes crashing onto the shore of his heart. You can hear the crack of gun fire as volley after volley reaches its target.

Christians are prone to talk about their differences. This series in Ephesians will talk about what we have in common. The church is a united community. Together we have:

I. A United Position in Christ (1:3-3:21)

1. Our United Blessings in Christ (1:4-14)

a) The blessing of our election (1:4)

b) The blessing of our predestination (1:5-6)

c) The blessing of our redemption (1:7-10)

d) The blessing of our inheritance (1:11-14)

e) Prayer #1: Prayer for spiritual enlightenment (1:15-23)

2. Our United Transformation in Christ (2:1-10)

a) Before we knew Christ, we were condemned to spiritual death (2:1-3)

b) When we know Christ, we are transformed to spiritual life (2:4-10)

3. Our United Relationship in Christ (2:11-3:21)

a) The mystery of our united relationship has been accomplished (2:11-22)

A distant relationship is made near (2:11-13)
A hostile relationship is made peaceful (2:14-18)
A foreign relationship is made familiar (2:19-22)

b) The mystery of our united relationship has been revealed (3:1-13)

The revelation of the mystery of Christ (3:1-6)
The declaration of the mystery of Christ (3:7-13)

c) Prayer #2: Prayer for spiritual empowerment (3:14-21)

II. A United Practice in Christ (4:1-6:24)

1. Walking Together In Unity (4:1-6)

a) It’s demanded by our common calling (4:1)

b) It’s displayed in our common character (4:2-3)

c) It’s driven by our common confession (4:4-6)

2. Growing Together In Maturity (4:7-16)

a) Growing together in maturity through Christ’s servants (4:7-11)

b) Growing together in maturity for Christ’s service (4:12)

c) Growing together in maturity in Christ’s likeness (4:13-16)

3. Pursuing Purity Together (4:17-5:21)

a) Contrasting principles of living (4:17-24)

Don’t live like the ungodly in corruption that stems from deceit (4:17-19)
Live like Jesus in purity that stems from the truth (4:20-24)

b) Contrasting practices of living (4:25-32)

Speaking truth not lies (4:25)
Exercising self-control not anger (4:26-27)
Working not stealing (4:28)
Speaking constructively not destructively (4:29-30)
Showing kindness not animosity (4:31-32)

c) Contrasting programs for living (5:1-21)

Live a God-centred life not a self-centred life (5:1-7)
Live as light not darkness (5:8-14)
Live carefully not recklessly (5:15-21)

4. Living Together In Harmony (5:22-6:9)

a) Harmony of husbands and wives (5:22-33)

b) Harmony of children and parents (6:1-4)

c) Harmony of servants and masters (6:5-9)

5. Standing Together In Victory (6:10-20)

a) The power and provision for spiritual battles (6:10-13)

b) Preparation for spiritual battles (6:14-17)

c) Perseverance in spiritual battles (6:18-20)

God has effected all of this “in Christ.” In Him, we are chosen (4), redeemed (7), made heirs (11), brought to faith (13a), and sealed (13-14). And all of this flows from God's eternal will (5,11), the riches of his grace (7), and his good pleasure (9). It is God’s will to form a new people in Christ into one body, the church. What once would have been considered impossible (hence, a “mystery”), God has done in Christ. He has united together in one body all the people of faith, both Jew and Gentile.

The epistle begins with this magnificent statement of our blessings:

1. The source of our blessings is “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (3a)

2. The scope of our blessings is “every spiritual blessing” (3b)

3. The sphere of our blessings is the “heavenly places in Christ” (3c)

Our spiritual blessings originate in heavenly places (1:3), that place where Christ sits at God’s right hand; that place of eternal relationship between believers and Christ (2:6). And these spiritual blessings come down to us on earth (See 4:8; Phil. 3:20; Col. 3:1). They are in Christ (a phrase that Paul’s uses 10 times in this paragraph) in that we receive the benefit of them because of our position in him.

My proposition to you is that “Our only appropriate response to God for his blessings is to praise him with all our hearts for what we have in common in Christ.”

¹ Tony Evans, Preaching Today, Tape 189.

² Cf. William Hendriksen, The Epistle to the Ephesians, New Testament Commentaries (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1979), 73.

³ Hendriksen, 72.

2. Our United Position: Blessed Together in Christ (Eph. 1:4-14)

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Introduction

In this article we are examining the first three foundational blessings that unite us in our common position in Christ:

1. The past blessings of our election and predestination (1:4 and 5-6)

2. The present blessing of our redemption (1:7-10)

3. The future blessing of our inheritance (1:11-14)

These blessings comprise our common spiritual “roots”. An aunt of mine in England traced our family roots. She found that we came from a line of Spanish Jews who came to England during the Spanish Armada. That’s my family’s “roots” according to her research. The family of God has its roots – our blessings “in Christ”.

The first foundational blessing, then, that we share as believers, and for which we praise God, is…

I. The Blessing Of Our Election (1:4)

He (God) chose (elected) us in Him (Christ) (4a).

When political elections are planned, nobody knows what the outcome will be until all the votes are in. In a past eternity God called an “election” and he knew exactly what the outcome would be. In fact, he guaranteed it because...

1. The Nature Of Election Is… God’s Sovereign Choice

God chose us. He selected us, picked us out for himself. That’s the nature of God’s election – it is his sovereign choice. There were no other voters; God was the only “voter”. It was his election. Nobody forced him to make the choice; he made it freely, sovereignly.

Do you remember when you used to pick sides at school to play a game? It always seemed cruel to me that the best players were picked first and as the choices got fewer and fewer it was obvious and embarrassing that nobody wanted the poor players. But God chose us without reference to our inadequacies and he made no distinction between us - we are all equally precious to him.

So, the nature of election is God’s sovereign choice, and…

2. The Subjects Of Election Are… God’s Special People

God chose us, not anybody or everybody but us, the “saints” (1) - those who have been set apart by God to glorify him; those who have embraced him by faith. Out of all the people of all history, God chose us to be his sanctified people, to live to his glory, to be his special people, his united coalition, his church.

How we should praise God that, of all the people, he chose us! C.H. Spurgeon said that this “ought to make us on our very dullest moments sing for joy.”¹

3. The Foundation Of Election Is… God’s Beloved Son

God chose us in him, in Christ. Jesus Christ is the foundation of our election. Just as God has “blessed us” in Christ (3), so “he has elected (chosen) us” in Christ (4a).

Why and how did God choose us in Christ? What does this mean? It means that he didn’t choose us because of anything in us but because of everything we would have and be in our position in Christ. In ourselves, we were enemies of God by wicked works (wandering away from God; separated from him), but in Christ we are brought near to God, made acceptable to him.

Our election in Christ is founded on what God saw in a past eternity. He saw the work of Christ as complete and he saw us as righteous in Him. He saw Christ take our place, fulfilling the righteous claims of God against us. And it was on that basis that he could and did choose us.

To be in Christ means that God sees him as our surety. We are safe in him. Just as we might keep valuable documents in a safety deposit box which is all locked up and kept secure in the vault of a bank, so we are in Christ, our “safety deposit box.” We are inside him, safe and secure.

But there’s more about election in which we can and should rejoice…

4. The Time Of Election Was… God’s Past Eternity

God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world (4b). Our election wasn’t an afterthought. It wasn’t something God decided to do when he saw what we were like. Nor is it a question of God foreseeing the spiritual choice we would make. Rather, our election was before the foundation of the world - when the plan of atonement was conceived in the chambers of eternity; when Christ said, “Here am I; send me” (Isa. 6:8; Heb. 10:7), and God declared, “I have found a ransom” (Job 23:34).

As one commentator has said: “If already before the foundation of the world those destined for everlasting life were elected…then all the glory for their salvation belongs to God and to him alone.”²

5. The Purpose Of Election Is… Our Present Holiness

… that we should be holy and without blame before him (4b). God did not simply choose us for salvation but to change us so that we could live in holiness before him. God did not choose us because we were already holy, but in order that we should be and could be holy. Holiness and blamelessness are the fruits of our election to salvation.

The immediate purpose of election is that we should be holy and that we should be blameless. To be holy means to be separated, morally and spiritually, to God; consecrated wholly to God. To be blameless means to be without blemish in character and conduct.

The measure of this holiness is not man’s, but God’s, to be examined by God and be found faultless before him. As Christians, we must give evidence of our spiritual standing before God. Because we have been saved doesn’t mean that we can live any way we want. There are ethical implications to the Gospel, you know.

Let me ask you, how do you measure up to God’s standard? Are you living before God in submission to him, allowing him to conform you to his Son, transforming you “from one degree of glory to another” (2 Cor. 3:18)?

So, the first foundational blessing is that of our election. Closely associated with election is…

II. The Blessing Of Our Predestination (1:5-6)

As John Phillips explains it, “Election has to do with the past and predestination has to do with the future.” ³ God chose us for a purpose – that’s predestination.

1. We Were Predestined For A New Relationship (5)

… having in love predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ for himself (4b-5a). We were elected (chosen) for salvation and on that basis we were predestined for sonship. In his unfathomable love toward us, God predestined us to a new relationship with him, the relationship of “adopted” children. He chose us for himself, to be in his family because of what Christ has done, a place to which we had no right or title (cf. Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:5).

Some families have both biological and adopted children. Sometimes, someone might ask, “Which one is adopted?” They make a distinction between the biological child and the adopted child. But God makes no such distinction. When God adopts us into his family, he treats us as his very own with no regard for the past.

Though we were born in sin and “were by nature children of wrath” (2:3), yet God takes us into his family and wipes out the past (Jer. 31:34). And further, he does something that no earthly adoptive parent can do - He gives us his own nature and character.

Thus, this new relationship is one which carries the dignity of sons and daughters. It imputes to us a new identification, a new status, a new family, a new appearance (Rom. 8:29; 2 Cor. 3:18), a new nature, a new character, and a new inheritance. That’s what it is to be adopted into God’s family. We have a new relationship with God and God’s people.

So, how does this adoption take place? It’s by Jesus Christ for himself (5a). Through Christ we are reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:18, 20; Col. 1:21) and made part of his family, not because of any goodness on our part nor because of any obligation on God’s part, but because God predestined us to this relationship solely according to the good pleasure of his will (5b). It was a matter of God’s will and pleasure. God did what he wanted and delighted to do in us.

So, the question is: Is your behaviour consistent with your new relationship? Do you act like God’s adopted child? All parents want their children to exemplify their values and attitudes. Any child who does not do this misrepresents their parents and brings dishonour on the family. Let me challenge you to examine your lifestyle, your behaviour, your attitudes, your values and priorities in the light of your adoption into God’s family and in the light of your position of dignity as a son or daughter of God.

We were predestined for a new relationship and…

2. We Were Predestined For A New Occupation (6)

… to the praise of his glorious grace (6a). Our election by God coupled with his predestination of us to adoption is a summons to the praise of his glorious grace.

Surely, that should be our spontaneous response to God for his unmerited favour to us who are so undeserving. The final goal to which all of redemptive history points and to which we are predestined is the praise his glorious grace. This is the ultimate goal for which God has chosen us - to praise God for the excellence of his matchless grace by which he made us accepted in the Beloved (6b). Only by the glorious grace of God do we find favour before God and by which we are accepted in the Beloved. Our eternal standing before God is founded in his beloved Son, the one in whom the Father finds all his delight (cf. Matt. 3:17; Jn. 1:29; Matt. 17:5; 2 Pet. 1:17, 18).

III. The Blessing Of Our Redemption (1:7-10)

The first thing we notice is…

1. The Source Of Our Redemption Is… God’s Dear Son

In him (the Beloved) we have redemption (7a). Just as our election is in Christ, so our redemption is in him. He is the source and means of our redemption - it is in him. Because of what he has done and the relationship into which he has called us we have redemption in him. Redemption cannot be found in anyone else, “for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved”(Acts 4:12). Neither charitable deeds nor good living can earn your redemption. It has its sole source in the person and work of Christ - it is in him. And because our redemption is in him, no one can take it away.

We “have” redemption. It’s our present possession. If you have trusted Christ as your Saviour, you have redemption now – the present possession of eternal life. It isn’t future (not something we’re working for or hoping for) but something we now possess.

We didn’t and couldn’t do anything for it. It’s not “by works of righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy he saves us”(Tit. 3:5). We couldn’t pay for it nor earn it. God has freely provided it for us in Christ, who “gave himself a ransom for many”(Matt. 20:28). Redemption is the freedom obtained by payment of a ransom. It’s a term that was used primarily for the release of slaves. In spiritual terms, redemption refers to our ransom from the curse of sin, from sin’s power and penalty (cf. Jn. 8:34; Rom. 7:14; 1 Cor. 7:23; Gal. 3:13).

The object of our redemption was to buy us back from sin’s slavery, to redeem us from Satan’s control and deception. The result of our redemption is our liberation. We’ve been emancipated - the price has been paid. We’ve been ransomed, and, as a result, set free from the bondage of sin - released from the tyranny of the law.

So, the source of our redemption is God’s dear Son…

2. The Means Of Our Redemption Is… Christ’s Blood

… we have redemption through his blood (7b). Christ has ransomed us from the slave market of sin. He paid the price to set us free by giving his life for us, by dying the death we deserved. And the evidence of the payment of that debt was the shedding of his precious blood. That was the mighty ransom price – his life, his blood. That was the utmost price that could be paid. It wasn’t the blood of a sacrificial animal as in the O. T. sacrifices (Lev. 17:11; Heb. 9:22). It was his blood, “the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Pet. 1:19).

Dr. Paul Brand in his book, “God’s Forever Feast,” writes: “I used to think it strange that the Bible keeps talking about the cleansing power of the blood. It seemed to me that blood was messy stuff. I needed to wash my white lab coats if they became stained with blood. Today, I love the analogy; it is so true of the body. The blood is constantly cleansing every cell and washing away all the debris that accumulates all the time.”

No animal’s blood could ever cleanse us from sin. Only Christ’s blood was sufficient to remit our sins. “Not by means of the blood of goats and calves, but by means of His own blood, thus securing eternal redemption” (Heb. 9:12).

Have you ever thought about what this means, that God’s own Son shed his blood for your redemption, that he was willing to die to cleanse you from sin? “Scarcely for a righteous man will one die…yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates his love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:7-8).

How often do you thank God for your redemption? This will be our wonderful theme in heaven, when we will say: “You are worthy…for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation” (Rev. 5:9-10). It is the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses us from all our sins (1 Jn. 1:7).

The means of our redemption is his blood and…

3. The Result Of Our Redemption Is… Our Forgiveness

Redemption would not be complete without forgiveness. The grand object of redemption is our freedom and the key to freedom is forgiveness. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our sins (7c).

Forgiveness is the complete removal (remission) of our sins (Isa. 44:22; Jer. 3:34; 1 Jn. 1:9). Through faith in Christ, we are forgiven (cf. Col. 1:14). Once we were bound by sin. We were held hostage by it, completely absorbed by it, unable to help ourselves because of it. Such was the power of sin over us that we were its prisoner, incarcerated in trespasses and sins. But through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, we are set free because our sins are forgiven.

We know the source of redemption, the means, and the result, but what was the reason? Why did God redeem us?….

4. The Motivation For Our Redemption Is… God’s Grace

… according to the riches of his grace (7d). Forgiveness and grace go together. Forgiveness is only offered to us by God because of his grace. Notice that it does not say that forgiveness was given to us “out of” the riches of his grace, but according to (in the measure of) the riches of his grace. Something can be given “out of” someone’s riches, but it may not be necessarily lavish because they may have limited riches, or because they may hold some back. But God has provided our redemption to the full extent of the riches of his grace - he has held nothing back.

Our forgiveness is according to the riches of God’s grace of which there is no end. The enormity of what he has done is reflected in the fullness of our forgiveness and the inexhaustible supply of his grace.

The motivation for our redemption is God’s grace, which he lavished upon us (8a). His grace is no mere trickle, no puny supply. Rather, he lavished his grace upon us. This is extravagant grace, outrageous grace, exorbitant grace, superabundant grace from God’s inexhaustible riches.

How is this abundance of God’s grace made manifest to us? … in all wisdom and insight (8b). In his matchless unbounded grace, God ransoms us from our sin. That in itself would surely be enough, but no, there’s more. He pours into our souls wisdom and insight. Why does he give us wisdom and insight? So that we can understand what he has done for us in Christ and so that we can live in the good of it. He has redeemed us and forgiven our sins, and now he floods our souls with the wisdom and understanding that go along with our new position in Christ.

So, the sequence of thought here is this…

1. The source of our redemption is God’s dear Son.

2. The means of our redemption is Christ’s blood.

3. The result of our redemption is our forgiveness.

4. The motivation for our redemption is God’s grace.

And finally…

5. The Consummation Of Redemption Is… Christ’s Headship

… making known to us the mystery of his will (9a). In God’s grace he has revealed the mystery of His will (which we can understand through the wisdom and insight he has given to us), that the consummation of redemption will be the universal and glorious headship of Christ.

What was formerly a mystery he has made known to us and he has given us the ability to understand it and appreciate it. That’s his grace!

God wasn’t forced to unveil this secret. He freely revealed it according to his good pleasure, which he set forth in Christ (9b). Just as it was the Father’s pleasure to predestine us to adoption in Christ (5), so it was his good pleasure to make known to us his eternal purpose (i.e. “the mystery of his will”) concerning the eschatological headship of Christ.

So, what is “the mystery of his will”? … that in the administration of the fullness of the times, he might unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth (10). This is the consummation of God’s plan of redemption. The redemption that Christ effected on the cross will culminate in his universal headship over all creation. God’s plan of redemption had in view our salvation and Christ’s ultimate headship over all things.

The fullness of time began “when God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law so that we might receive the adoption as sons” (Gal. 4:4). That’s when the fullness of time began and it will end with Christ’s return in power and glory and judgment. And God’s purpose in all of this mystery which he has revealed to us is to unite all things in / under Christ (Col. 1:20; Phil. 2:9-11).

Everything centers on Christ so that everything in heaven and earth will ultimately be brought under His headship (See Rev. 20:4-5). This is the consummation of redemption. This is the event to and for which all redemptive history points and waits - the universal headship of Christ, when “every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” (Phil. 2:10-11).

IV. The Blessing Of Our Inheritance (1:11-14)

Paul continues to be overwhelmed by the wonder of God’s plan to unite both Jews and Gentiles into one people of God through the redemptive work of Christ. He continues to praise God for uniting us in Christ – a united position that is founded on our united blessings in Christ (the blessings of our election, predestination, and redemption), and now he turns to the blessing of our inheritance.

During the 1996 Major League Baseball season, Chad Kruder, a reserve catcher for the Chicago White Sox severely dislocated and fractured his left shoulder at a play at plate. After undergoing surgery, the White Sox placed him on the 60 day disabled list. That’s the kind of thing that makes a back-up player feel even less like part of the team. But quite the opposite happened.

Apparently, Chad’s team mates had a strong liking for him because each player put Chad’s # 12 on his baseball cap to show support for him. Chad was a member of the team whether he played or not. As you can imagine that meant a lot to Chad.

Later in the season, when he was able to suit up again, Chad showed his appreciation by putting the numbers of each of his team mates on his ball cap.

Unity is a beautiful thing on any team, especially the church team. That’s what Ephesians is all about – the unity of the church, that mysterious union that God has brought about, a union that is composed of some very different people.

The difference between “we” (11-12) and “you” (13) is a very important change in pronoun. Up to this point in the epistle, “we” has embraced all Christians. But now the “we” of v.11 are the Jewish Christians – those “who first trusted Christ” (12) – and the “you” of v.13 are the Gentile Christians who “also trusted” Christ.” Finally, v.14 embraces all Christians again, both Jew and Gentile.

This is the prelude to the elaboration in chapter 2, which shows how two entirely different, even adversarial people could be brought together as one body in Christ, into a “United Position in Christ” – one body (2:16), one family of God (2:19), one building of God (2:20). That such people can unite under one banner is nothing less than the work of God – hence the title of this series of articles: “United We Stand: The Mystery of the Church.”

Our “United Position in Christ” is based on “Our United Blessings in Christ”: The blessings of our election (3-4), our predestination (5-6), our redemption (7-10), and now the blessing of our inheritance (1:11-14).

Not only do we have spiritual blessings in Christ in the past (our election and predestination which God decreed in a past eternity), and in the present (our redemption which God effected in the present day of his grace), but also in the future (our inheritance which God has promised).

1. Our Inheritance Is Assigned To Us…By God’s Sovereign Plan (11)

After choosing us, God predestined us to adoption into his family and having been predestined, in him also we have obtained an inheritance according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will (11).

In him also we have obtained an inheritance (11a). An inheritance refers to the rights and privileges passed on to heirs. An heir is one who by virtue of his family status stands to inherit the rights and privileges related to that family by being named an heir. We are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17). In him we have obtained an inheritance. Our position in Christ is the basis of our inheritance, just as it is the basis of our election and our redemption. Based on our predestined position in Christ, God laid up an inheritance for us as members of his family, before we ever existed.

Our inheritance is all part of God’s sovereign, eternal plan, just like our election and redemption. He made the plan and by his sovereign power he also carries it out. What God has planned, he has the power also to carry out and complete. He works out all things according to his own eternal purposes and will, according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will. Our inheritance is all of God, not of us. There is nothing that God has ordained that will not come to pass. He is not only the architect, he is also the builder, and nothing will delay, change, or stop his plans because he is all-powerful.

It would be one thing to know that we have all these spiritual blessings, but what good would they be if they don’t come to fruition? Sometimes people invest in schemes that never come to pass such as the scandal of “Greater Ministries Int’l Church”. This organization promised to double its donors’ investments in 17 months from profits in gold and diamond mines in Liberia and international trading in precious metals. The amazing thing is not that they made the promise but that people actually believed them! At least $100 million was reportedly invested in the scheme by over 15,000 Christians.

Sometimes people put deposits on things that they never receive. Either the company went out of business or they were “fly-by-nighters” who had no intention of delivering the goods. Older people are often ripped off by con artists masquerading as legitimate business people. Sometimes people lose money by investing in schemes that are fraudulent to start with. Other times the opportunity was genuine and the intentions were good but the other party just could not deliver on those good intentions.

But God will deliver our inheritance according to his purpose and will. Though my wife and I have taken great care to spell out clearly in our wills what is to happen to our assets, such as they are, in the event of our death, we cannot guarantee that our wishes will be carried out. Things may change between now and then; other people to whom we entrust the settling of our affairs may not act honourably; or, they may misunderstand what we want. But God himself settles his own affairs. He does not assign that responsibility to others.

Do you have implicit trust in God’s sovereign will? Do you believe that what God has promised he is able also to do? If you don’t trust God for the future, can you trust him for the past? Faith in the sovereign will and power of God is mandatory if you want to enter into the good of God’s promises and blessings now.

Our inheritance is assigned to us by God's sovereign plan…and…

2. Our Inheritance Is Secured To Us…With All God’s Chosen People (12-14)

The first persons whom God chose to trust in Christ were Jewish believers, we who first trusted in Christ (12a), that is, before the Gentiles trusted in Christ. “We,” Paul says (including himself) “have obtained an inheritance to which God has predestined us, not because of our national heritage, ancestry, or personal merit but because of his sovereign will.”

He says, “By God’s sovereign choice, he chose us, Jewish believers, as his very own people to live before him in holiness and blamelessness, and, in love, he predestined us to the relationship of adopted sons and daughters. As his children, we are his heirs with a glorious inheritance ahead of us. And the purpose of having been predestined to this inheritance,” he says, “is that we might be to the praise of his glory (12b). God’s purpose for our redeemed lives is to be living praises of his glory in our thoughts, words, desires, and actions. Just as predestination to adoption summons the praises of his people (5), so their predestined inheritance calls forth his glorious praise. It is part of God’s all-embracing, eternal, sovereign plan that his people should praise him.

But is this inheritance, then, only for Jewish believers? No! God’s chosen people also includes the Gentile believers. The Jewish believers were the first in order of time to trust in Christ (12a) – to have hope in Christ - and then the Gentiles were brought into the church (Rom. 1:16). In whom you (the Gentile believers in Ephesus) also trusted (13a). The Greek doesn’t finish the sentence here – “you also” what? Some think it is “in him you also obtained an inheritance.” Others think it is “in him you also trusted” (NKJV). Or, it could be “in him you also were sealed by the Holy Spirit” (ESV). Grammatically, any of these options are possible but “in whom you also trusted (or, hoped),” referring back to v. 12, seems to make the most sense.

On what basis were the Gentiles brought into the church? On the same basis as the Jewish believers, who first trusted in Christ. We have the same salvation and inheritance on the same basis as they do. What is that? Trusting Christ by hearing the word of truth, believing it, and being sealed with the Holy Spirit.

These Ephesian believers heard the word of truth (13a) from Paul. He visited them on his second missionary journey (Acts 19:1-10), only to find that they were still O. T. believers, who only knew John the Baptist’s baptism. They didn’t know that the One to whom John pointed had come and in whose name they ought to be baptized. As soon as Paul explained this to them, they were baptized “in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 19:5) and became Christians, as evidenced by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This was when they first heard the word of truth.

Like them, we also have “heard the word of truth” which is the gospel of your salvation. There are many false gospels in the world. The true gospel is the word of truth, not the word of error (1 Jn. 4:6). There are many voices in the world (1 Cor.14:10) all clamouring for our attention, all trying to convince us that they are telling the truth. The word of truth is the gospel - the gospel that reveals the truth about the human condition, that proclaims the consequences of rejecting Christ, that promises the only way of escape from judgement, that urges sinners to avail themselves of salvation now. It’s the gospel that Christ died for our sins, rose again the third day, and is coming back again.

The word of truth is the gospel of your salvation, “the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes (Rom. 1:16). Hearing the word of truth is not enough. They also believed in Him (13b). Hearing the gospel precedes faith in the gospel (Col. 1:5; Rom. 10:14, 17). If, after hearing, you believe the message of the gospel and place your trust for eternity in the person and work of Christ, then you are saved and brought into the church!

Some people hear in faith; others hear in unbelief. It is our responsibility to believe. God doesn’t do that for us. God sovereignly chooses some for salvation because if he did not choose some, no one would be saved, for “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23. “No one is righteous, no not one”(Rom. 3:10). For that reason, God exercises his sovereignty and chooses some to be saved.

But, there is another side to the equation – human responsibility. God has provided the means by which you may be saved – i.e. the atoning, substitutionary death of Christ. And God has appointed the means by which you can know this salvation in Christ – through the preaching of “the word of truth,” for “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17). When you hear the word of truth, the gospel of salvation, you are responsible for how you respond to it. God isn’t responsible for that – you are. So, if you reject the gospel of salvation and, by doing so, reject Christ, you will be held responsible for that on the day of judgment. And Christ, who has been ordained to judge the world (Acts 17:31), will righteously condemn you to hell for your decision.

Some of you today might have become immune to the truth. You’ve heard the Gospel so many times that it’s just an old wives fable to you. Your conscience has been “seared with a hot iron” (1 Tim. 4:2). You are totally insensitive to the truth of the Gospel. You have no spiritual feeling.

Jesus said: “He who has ears to hear let him hear” (Matt. 11:15). Jesus’ message of the gospel of salvation is to those who hear in faith and believe: “Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (Jn. 5:24).

Have you heard the truth of the Gospel and believed? Is you ear open today to the truth of God’s word? Are you ready to receive Christ? Don’t turn away today without trusting Christ. It is all rooted in him and his finished work at Calvary. It isn’t a matter of head knowledge - that won’t suffice on its own. It’s a matter of faith. Do you have faith in him? Have you trusted Christ? Have you taken what you have heard and made it the object of your faith? Have you recognized that you cannot save yourself and that Jesus Christ is the only One who could pay the debt of sin for you? Have you trusted him by receiving him as your Saviour?

Well, when we hear the word of truth and trust Christ for salvation, God in turn secures us for eternity. We are secured by the sealing of the Spirit: …“having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise (13c). Our salvation is based on Christ’s finished work of atonement and secured by the indwelling (sealing) of the Holy Spirit. This is an allusion to the ancient practice of sealing documents to identify them, to secure them, and to authenticate them.

Sealing is similar to branding or engraving today which identifies the owner. Legal documents and ancient letters used to be sealed by impressing a symbol or name into hot wax, usually with a ring. Today, documents are sealed by embossing a corporation’s or individual’s name on the paper with a die-cut seal. Personal possession may be engraved with some sort of identification in case they are stolen or lost.

Sealing declares the document as valid, authorized and original. It ensures that only the person to whom it is addressed opens it. If the seal is broken an unauthorized person has opened it. Today shipments of cargo are sometimes sealed with a special tag. Only the customs inspector is authorized to break the seal. This ensures that the cargo is not tampered with while in transit. Animals sometimes have seals put in their ears or around their legs as a mark of identification.

Sealing, then, is a mark of identification, authority, and security. The Holy Spirit seals Christians. God the Holy Spirit himself indwells us to form a seal that cannot be broken. Sealing takes place when you believe: Having believed you were sealed. At the moment of genuine faith, the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus promised (cf. Jn. 14:16, 17; 15:26), takes up residence in us and seals us.

The Holy Spirit is the seal that identifies us as God’s people, as genuine believers, authorizes us to speak God’s word, assures us of our salvation through His inner witness (Rom. 8:16), and secures for us our salvation for eternity by indwelling us (1 Jn. 3:24).

The Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our inheritance (14a). He guarantees (insures) our inheritance in Christ. God has “given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee” (2 Cor. 1:22). He is the down payment guaranteeing our inheritance. He is the first installment, the security deposit, of what’s to come. A security deposit, or pledge, makes an agreement valid and obligates the purchaser to complete his commitments.

The Holy Spirit is God’s “security deposit,” a sign of his pledge, his surety that he will keep his promise and deliver our inheritance (2 Cor. 5:5). What a God we have that he would give us such a guarantee!

When I worked in business most of the transactions I did, totaling large sums of money, were verbal. We accepted our customers’ word as true and that they would do what they said. Only in some instances did we require a deposit to guarantee that they would complete the transaction. God could have just given us his word and that would have been enough. But the One who cannot lie (Heb. 6:18) not only gave us his word, He also gave us his Spirit as the demonstration of his good and reliable intentions toward us.

Furthermore, God’s guarantee is unconditional. His guarantee is good until our redemption is complete: …until the redemption of God’s purchased possession (14b). Sometimes a down payment is conditional - if the conditions are not met the deposit is returned and the deal is off. Sometimes new products come with a guarantee. But they are usually conditional. For example, a new car guarantee is limited to a certain mileage or a length of time and usually excludes defects related to normal wear and tear. But God’s guarantee is not limited to time or conditions. It’s good until our redemption is complete at the coming of Jesus Christ.

Not only are we a marked people (marked by the Holy Spirit’s seal), but we are a redeemed people (1 Cor. 3:23; Rom. 14:8; 1 Pet. 2:9), redeemed with the precious blood of Christ (1 Cor. 6:20; 1 Pet. 1:18-19). But our redemption is not yet complete. We are still waiting for our bodies to be changed, to be glorified, to be redeemed body, soul, and spirit, to be translated into his presence, to be perfectly like Him. While we are waiting the Holy Spirit bridges the gap. He bridges the gap between what we already have in Christ (new life; spiritual blessings) and what we still anticipate (the fulfillment of all these blessings at Christ’s second coming).

So, the sealing of the Holy Spirit points to that future day (Eph. 4:30; Rom. 8:23) when faith will be replaced by sight, when our bodies will be transformed, when we will be freed not only from the power and penalty of sin but also from the presence of sin, and when we will express our gratitude to the praise of his glory (14c).

God’s ultimate purpose is wrapped up in this phrase, the praise of his glory” (or, his glorious praise). We were chosen in Christ “to the praise of his glorious grace” (6). We trusted Christ “to the praise of his glory” (12). And we are sealed by the Holy Spirit for the day of redemption to the praise of his glory (14).

Conclusions

Thus, the apex of Paul’s introductory doxology is reached. God has blessed us in the past, the present, and the future. In a past eternity God sovereignly decreed the election of his own special people. Down through the ages, he has been calling them to himself. Now he has chosen and called you and me through faith in Christ. Having chosen us, God also predestined us to adoption as his children.

In the present era of his grace, God put into effect his great plan of redemption through Christ’s work on the cross. And he has made known to us “the mystery of his will”, that at end, the consummation of the age, he will unite all things under Christ’s headship.

Finally, and most importantly, in the future, God will bring us into our eternal inheritance, the realization of all his promises and blessings, having been kept by the Holy Spirit for this very thing, even the eternal praise of God.

And those whom he has chosen and called he has unified into one body, the church. We are a part of his holy coalition that has been called out to worship him and that has been marshalled to serve him.

Let us never lose sight of what God has done for us in Christ. In Christ He has chosen us and predestined us to be his children. In Christ He has redeemed us, forgiven our sins. In Christ He has predestined us to an eternal inheritance. In Christ He has sealed us by the Holy Spirit until the completion of our redemption.

These are our common blessings in Christ which we enjoy together. How appropriate, then, that we should express our gratitude that, of all the people of the world, he chose us to salvation and adoption, to be part of his special people, the church; that in order to make this choice possible his Son had to die; and that all of this marvelous plan was conceived in eternity. May this challenge us to live “holy and blameless lives before him”, living as children of our heavenly Father ought to live, praising him for his “glorious grace”.

Don’t you find God’s grace amazing? That God would care about us? That he would plan for our salvation in a past eternity? That he would choose us to be the beneficiaries of his redemption. And that now he has given us the ability to understand the grand scheme of things, the grand finale to which history is headed and for which everything was planned, namely, the pre-eminence of his beloved Son. No wonder Paul started this doxology by blessing “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ.”

What is your response today? Out of a heart that has been touched by his grace, will you respond with a burst of praise for his glorious grace which he has made known to us in the Lord Jesus Christ? Together let us say with Paul: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (3). Together we must respond to the praise of his glory for he is worthy.

¹ C. H. Spurgeon, Quoting Spurgeon, ed. Raspantini, 45.

² William Hendriksen, Exposition of Ephesians, New Testament Commentary, (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1979), 77.

³ John Phillips, Exploring Ephesians, An Expository Commentary (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1995), 33-34.

Related Topics: Ecclesiology (The Church)

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From the series: Pentateuch, an Analysis and Synthesis PREVIOUS PAGE | NEXT PAGE

Introduction to the Pentateuch

The Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible

Authorship of the Pentateuch

The case for Mosaic authorship

Explicit biblical statements in support of Mosaic authorship

Statements found in the Pentateuch

Statements found in the rest of the Old Testament

Statements found in the New Testament

Unity of composition in support of unity of authorship

Continuity/unity of narrative story

Continuity/unity in narrative structure

Continuity/unity in grammatical features

Conclusion on Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch

The person of Moses

Dating and chronology of the Pentateuch

Sources of chronological data

Biblical sources

Archaeological sources

Astronomical Sources

Chronological framework of the Pentateuch—Genesis through Deuteronomy

Chronological framework prior to the Patriarchs (Genesis 1-11)

Chronological framework of the Patriarchs (Genesis 12-50)

Major events and external history

Chronological data preserved in narrative details

Links with later periods

Chronological framework for Exodus through Deuteronomy—The Date of the Exodus

Arguments for the early (15th century) date

Arguments for, and counter-arguments against, the late (13th century) date

Date of composition

The Recipients

Theological types of Christ appearing in the Pentateuch

Adam as a type of Christ

Melchizedek as a type of Christ

Isaac as a type of Christ

Joseph as a type of Christ

Judah as a type of Christ

Moses as a type of Christ

Passover lamb as a type of Christ

The Rock as a type of Christ

The bronze serpent as a type of Christ

The sacrifices and feasts of Israel as types of Christ

Covenants of the Pentateuch

The nature and function of the covenants of the Pentateuch

Noahic Covenant

Abrahamic Covenant

Mosaic Covenant

The form of the Pentateuch covenants

The royal, or land grant covenant form of the Abrahamic covenant

The suzerainty-vassal covenant form

Preamble

Historical prologue

Stipulations

Provision for deposit in the temple and periodic public reading

Invocation of the gods as witnesses to the covenant

Curses and blessings formula

Ratification ceremony/formal oath

The Mosaic covenant form in relationship to the suzerainty treaty form

Preamble

Historical prologue

Stipulations

Provisions for deposit in the Temple and periodic public readings

The invocation of the gods as witnesses

The curses and blessings formula

Ratification of the covenant

Summary of Mosaic Covenant in terms of Suzerainty Treaty Components

Bibliography

From the series: Pentateuch, an Analysis and Synthesis PREVIOUS PAGE | NEXT PAGE

From the series: The Old Testament (Chronological, 52 week) PREVIOUS PAGE | NEXT PAGE

44. 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, Habakkuk, Jeremiah, Lamentations (Consequences of Rebellion)

Sunday (2 Kings 24-25)

Prayer

Scripture In Perspective

Interact with the text

Consider

Discuss

Reflect

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Faith In Action

Arguments for the early (15^th century) date

Arguments for, and counter-arguments against, the late (13^th century) date