November - Reading 8

Good evening -

Our Scriptures for today are:

John 9:1-12

1 John 1:1-4

Job 8

Ezekiel 22-23

May God bless the reading of His Word.

[ November 08, 2002, 09:27 PM: Message edited by: Clint Kritzer ]

 

Good afternoon –

In our reading of Ezekiel for the 8th we read the parable of the two adulteress sisters, Oholah and Oholibah. Immediately within the text the simile is explained that these two sisters are Samaria and Jerusalem. Chapter 23 uses rather graphic language to make its point. Both the prophet and God were disgusted with the behavior of Jerusalem’s kings and people. The questionable political alliances of the Israelites is here addressed as another form of idolatry, kind of a “lay down with dogs and get up with fleas” type statement.

In John we see the story of the man who was blind from birth being healed. This story goes well with our reading from Job. The Jews held to a belief that infirmities were caused by sin, a false notion that Christ dispels with His statement in verse 9:3. It is also worthy of note that in verse 4 He uses the word “we” to describe who would be doing the work of the Father, not just Himself.

1John

The Epistle of 1John has no signature as to its authorship but it is a relatively universal acknowledgment that the author was John, son of Zebedee, the Apostle. Early church fathers espoused this notion and the text itself lends credence to such a notion. The style of 1John and the Gospel of John are remarkably similar.
It is also hard to date the Letter but we can assume that John was advanced in years in that he refers to his readers as “children” in verse 2:1; 28; 3:7.
The primary focus of the Letter is to address the emerging philosophy of Gnosticism. This heretical teaching is characterized by the belief that the spirit is entirely “good” while the body (or things made of matter) is inherently “evil.” From this unbiblical concept several errors arose within the thinking of the Christian Body:
 Man’s body is evil
 Salvation would be attained by escape from the body, a feat not attained by faith but through special knowledge
 The body belonging to Christ was either (a) an illusion, a concept known as “Docetism” or (b) the Divine nature of Christ joined the body of Christ at the time of His baptism and departed from Him at the time of His death, a concept known as Cerinthianism.
 Since the body was evil, it was treated negatively
 Most importantly, because of this view, those who prescribed to Gnosticism felt that breaking the laws set forth by Christ were of no consequence, therefore giving in to the hedonistic desires of ther body had no effect on one's salvation

The Letter does not indicate any specific audience and it is believed that it was a general Letter meant for circulation among the churches.

May God bless you

- Clint

 

Job

Sunday School 6/11/06 (continued)

Job 8:1-7 Bildad

The second of the friends now speaks to Job’s protests. Bildad’s name may mean “beloved of the Lord.” He is from Shuah. There is a Shuah mentioned in Genesis 25:2 and 1Chronicles 1:32 who was a brother of Midian, a son of Abraham. Genesis 25:6 indicates that Shuah would have been “far to the east and scholars place the city as being in what was the Armenian land of the Euphrates. Bildad appears a scholar and his speeches are more vehement than those of Eliphaz.

Bildad begins with somewhat calming words. It is as if he is saying, “There, there, you don’t really mean that!” For Bildad, God and justice are completely inseparable and it is unthinkable that they are not synonymous. He fully expects agreement from Job when he asks his series of rhetorical questions.

He suggests that the issue of the children’s death must have arisen from their own sins. While this theology can be supported by some Scripture, the overall suggestion of the Old Testament is far more intricate than such a black and white picture. Even if his assertions are true, however, he has done nothing to alleviate Job’s suffering.

Bildad presupposes that since Job did not also die, he is not guilty and therefore need only complete the conditions of purity and uprightness to restore himself. He contends that God will answer his prayer with such reward that he will forget all about his current troubles.

 

Our Scriptures for 11/9 are:

John 9:13-25

1 John 1:5-10

Job 9:1-20

Ezekiel 24-26

 

Our Scriptures for 11/9 are:

John 9:13-25

1 John 1:5-10

Job 9:1-20

Ezekiel 24-26

 

Our Scriptures for 11/9 are:

John 9:13-25

1 John 1:5-10

Job 9:1-20

Ezekiel 24-26

 

Our Scriptures for 11/9 are:

John 9:13-25

1 John 1:5-10

Job 9:1-20

Ezekiel 24-26

 

Our Scriptures for 11/9 are:

John 9:13-25

1 John 1:5-10

Job 9:1-20

Ezekiel 24-26