September - Reading 11

8oD You both are Hot Today!!

 

Aaron -

LOL I think Abiyah is referring to the fact that I had already posted the Scriptures and then bumped up the poll with my comments on that thread!

 

No problems, Aaron. I had posted the Scriptures for the day three minutes before you had. We crossed paths in a cyber tunnel.

Good morning all -

A few quick notes as the hour is late.

In Isaiah we see another quote lifted by Christ in verse 29:13. He used a paraphrase of this when rebuking the Pharisees. Also in verse 16 a quote used by Paul in Romans describing the Sovereignty and Will of God in the matter of the elect (Romans 9:20-21).
For clarification, the use of the name "Rahab" in verse 30:7 does not refer to the prostitute in Joshua who hid and lied for the Israeli spies. The name refers to a mythical sea monster and means "storm" or "arrogance." http://www.bartleby.com/65/ra/Rahab.html
In 30:18 we see once again that God will restore Israel after the series of woes in the preceding verses.

What drew my attention in Luke tonight was that the servant of the high priest, named Malchus in John 18:10, is healed with no demonstration of faith. This healing was necessary to squelch any type of armed conflict between the mob and the disciples. These things are sometimes necessary to bring about God's Purpose.

May God bless you

- Clint

 

Proverbs 23:20-35

This Passage goes into quite a bit of detail about the dangers of alcohol abuse and other forms of hedonism. This Passage is reflected in Christ's warnings of the end times in Luke 21:34-36.

Albert Barnes did a fine job of commenting on these New Testament verses when he said:

And from this we may learn--what alas! we may from the lives of many professing Christians --that there is need of cautioning the disciples of Jesus now that they do not indulge in the festivities of this life, and forget that they are to die and come to judgment. How many, alas! who bear the Christian name, have forgotten this caution of the Saviour, and live as if their lives were secure; as if they feared not death; as if there were no heaven and no judgment! Christians should feel that they are soon to die, and that their portion is not in this life; and, feeling this, they should be looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God.

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Sunday School lesson 2/13/05 - continued

Luke 22:47-53 The Arrest of Jesus

Suddenly there appears a crowd led by Judas. Luke reminds us once again that he is one of the twelve. He alone knew where Jesus would be and in the poor lighting he alone could identify Him. For the Jewish religious leaders, the situation demanded that the arrest be made in secret so as to invoke as little trouble as possible. Mark tells us that the kiss was a prearranged signal. Luke does not have this but does add the comment made by Jesus to Judas. The act of betrayal is consummated with an act reserved for love. John tells us that the act was not necessary as Jesus identified Himself.

All four Gospels tell us that the high priest’s servants ear was cut off by one of the disciples as a knee jerk reaction to the situation. John tells us that his name was Malchus and that Peter wielded the sword. Only Luke tells us that Jesus repaired the damage. No faith was required on the part of Malchus. This healing was to stop the potential bloodshed of the disciples and was a demonstration of the goodness and mercy of the Lord even to His enemies.

Jesus points out the obvious subterfuge of the religious leaders in asking why they would come to arrest Him now with clubs and swords as though He were a robber when they had every opportunity to do so in the Temple as He had taught all week. Only under the cover of darkness did they dare to try this. Nonetheless, the statement “this is your hour” indicates that for the moment, the forces of darkness have the upper hand. It is, however, only temporary as Jesus will have the final victory.

 

Isaiah 30

Sunday School lesson 4/3/06 conclusion

Isaiah 30:8-18 A Written Testimony

Since the people were so stubborn as to not heed the spoken word of God as delivered by the prophet, Isaiah was to commit his message to writing. The written word was to serve as a witness of the stubborn, rebellious and disloyal people of Judah had sought to silence the prophets through intimidation and coercion. They had become particularly tired of hearing Isaiah refer to God as “the Holy One of Israel” as it only served to remind them of their own unrighteousness.

Isaiah would not be silenced, however. He describes the coming judgment in two metaphors familiar to his audience. In verse 13 it is described as the collapse of a high, bulging wall. Ancient cities were surrounded by walls for defense but they also acted as retaining walls. The backside would be supported by debris and dirt. Since the walls themselves were mortared with mud and clay, they were easily compromised by landslides and floods. If a wall were to start bulging it must repaired immediately or the defense of the city would be compromised and the houses built atop them would suffer destruction (Matthew 7:26-27).

The second metaphor used by the prophet was the familiar figure of a potter’s jar smashed so thoroughly that the remaining fragments could not even be used for taking coal from a fire of holding water. Both metaphors stress the complete nature of the coming devastation. Verses 15-17 return to the theme of false and true security for the nation.

Verse 15 is an oft quoted Passage declaring that Judah’s true security lies in repentance and trusting in God. Judah’s efforts at securing her own safety flew in the promises made by God to protect her. Had they remained in faith, she would have been at peace in the secure knowledge that God’s hand sheltered them.

Now that they had taken the other course, her fate was sealed. By trusting in pure militarism they had built a house of straw. The horses they had acquired, possibly from Egypt, would not serve them in battle, but would be used as vehicles on which to flee. Even then, this would only prolong the inevitable. Their pursuers would overtake them. The morale of the Judean army would become so crippled that a single Assyrian soldier would cause a thousand of the Hebrews to flee and five Assyrians would cause the entire nation to be put to flight.

When the dust settled from the upcoming battle, Judah would stand like a flagpole on a mountain or a signpost on a hill. History showed that all her allies did fall and Jerusalem alone escaped total destruction during Senacherib’s campaign.

In verse 18, the tone abruptly changes from judgment to reconciliation. If the people repented and began trusting in the Lord, He would show mercy. The reluctance of God to deliver the Judeans did not show a reluctance to bless them. To the contrary, He was waiting to be gracious. God was yearning for the people to once again return to a true faith in the security He could provide.

 

Hebrews

Hebrews 7:1-3 Melchizedek

Jesus was God’s final word. But make no mistake about it, He had spoken before and for the Jews, He spoke loudest in the Law. Perhaps the most enduring and visible manifestations of the Law was the Levitcal priesthood, the priesthood of Aaron established by Moses.

So the preacher now thrusts upon his audience the story of Melchizedek from Genesis 14. Abraham was the most favored man in all of history. God had found him righteous at a time before righteousness had been defined. Paul tells us it began with his faith.

Abraham’s nephew, Lot, had been taken captive by four ancient kings who had formed a coalition against Abraham. Against these seemingly impossible odds, Abraham mounted a rescue culminating in a battle which he won. At the conclusion of this battle, Melchizedek went out to meet Abraham. He is described as a priest and a king and that is where the description ends. But, the city of which he was king was Salem which would centuries later be captured by David and become none other than Jerusalem! As a high priest of God, and the king of what would be Jerusalem, and with no lineage described in a Book full of lineages, the preacher sees Melchizedek as a prefigured Christ.

Abraham, the most highly favored man in Jewish history, recognizes the authority of Melchizedek and gives him a tenth of all his spoils after the king blesses him. The blessing and the tithe are fully explained in the next Passages.

Hebrews 7:4-10 The Superiority of Melchizedek

The argument in this Passage is that when Abraham gave tithes to Melchizedek, Levi was also giving tithes as Abraham was his ancestor. Though the argument may seem a bit stretched to the modern mind, it would have made complete sense to the Semitic minds of the preacher’s audience.

The priest is considered superior to the common man. He is the one who is ritually pure and worthy of approaching God. In the story of Melchizedek, we see Abraham being blessed by and giving tithes to one who was not of the priesthood established by the Law. Abraham was the father of those who would be delivered by God, become His peculiar people, establish a Holy Nation. Yet here, he is playing the subordinate role to this man with no lineage. The argument is impossible to dismiss. Melchizedek is shown as superior to the Levitical priests.

 

Our Scriptures for 9/12 are:

Luke 22:54-62

Hebrews 7:11-28

Proverbs 24:1-22

Isaiah 31-33

 

Our Scriptures for 9/12 are:

Luke 22:54-62

Hebrews 7:11-28

Proverbs 24:1-22

Isaiah 31-33

 

Our Scriptures for 9/12 are:

Luke 22:54-62

Hebrews 7:11-28

Proverbs 24:1-22

Isaiah 31-33

 

Our Scriptures for 9/12 are:

Luke 22:54-62

Hebrews 7:11-28

Proverbs 24:1-22

Isaiah 31-33

 

Our Scriptures for 9/12 are:

Luke 22:54-62

Hebrews 7:11-28

Proverbs 24:1-22

Isaiah 31-33