August - Reading 5

Good evening -

Today in Ezra we read of Ezra coming to Jerusalem. The time setting of this event as described in verse 7:9 is 458 BC. The journey took four moths beginning April 8 and ending August 4th (another near miss in our Bible reading schedule).As the crow flies this journey would have been about 500 miles but it is probable that the course the second wave of exiles took home was closer to 900 miles. I have tried in vain to find a map showing the return path of the Israelites. Their journey began in Susa, near the modern border of Iran and Iraq. It is likely that they went due west and then followed the Euphrates River northwest to the northern most tip of modern Saudi Arabia before cutting south again. The fact that there were children and elderly among them must have slowed them quite a bit. Verse 27 begins what is referred to as the "Ezra Memoirs which will continue through chapter 9.

In Luke we see another parable illustration of the refusal of the Jews to accept the offer of God to Covenant. The parable is very clear in its intent. If one is buying a field, they had already surveyed it and knew they would be making the purchase. If one is looking at oxen, they are not necessarily going to buy. The refusal of the invitation over such trivial matters was an insult to the host. There will come a time (and indeed came a time) when it was too late to get into the banquet.

Thanks for the link on 1Timothy, Aaron. I need to get around to those Greek classes some day.

May God bless you

- Clint

 

Thank you for doing this.

Please pray for me on Tuesday. I am going to
do something that is very difficult and that could
have some negative results, based upon what has
happened in the past.

Thank you.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Thank you for your prayers--I got throuugh it! 8o)

[ August 06, 2002, 01:01 PM: Message edited by: Abiyah ]

 

8o) Thanks!

 

Sunday School lecture - 1/11/04 Part II

Proverbs 5

Instructions About Sexual Behavior (Proverbs 5)

The student is now instructed about the dangers of illicit sexual affairs. This is a familiar theme in the Wisdom literature as the Israelites were concerned about the infiltration of their seed by foreign brides. The incentive given is the joy of sex with one's own wife and is based in the student's own self-interest.

Watch out for Strange Women (5:1-14)

In verses 1-6 we see the "loose woman" described. She is seductive, her lips drip honey, and even her strangeness and looseness add an appeal to her sexuality. The instructor is quite frank in that she is very sexually attractive.

However, the wisdom being imparted to the son dulls this erotic appeal. Yielding to the loose woman results in a very bad experience. The lips that are as sweet as honey turn out to be instead as "bitter as wormwood" and the softness of her mouth and speech turn as "sharp as a two-edged sword." The loose woman's supposed appeal is that she offers all the joy of sex without the responsibility of marriage. This, however, is a snare. The man becomes entangled with her whole way of life, which is characterized in every way by irresponsibility, including her dealings with men.

The prescribed remedy given by the father is found in verse 8 and is quite simple: stay away from her!

While the instructions of verses 9-14 are fairly self-explanatory, some ambiguity exists in the details. The loss of "honor" suffered by the son who gets too close to the loose woman is probably in reference to how the student will feel as he remembers with remorse the instructions given to him about the woman. The "strangers" in verse 10 probably refers to the loose woman and her associates who are alien either in nationality or at least in the respectable circles of the community. The "congregation and assembly" may refer to the religious body or to a legal hearing over the matter at which confiscation of property and/or excommunication would be at stake.

Love Your Own Wife (5:15-20)

The disastrous results of an affair with the loose woman is set in contrast with the rewards of a relationship with one's own wife. The exact meaning of verses 16-17 have been the subject of some debate but all are in agreement that the core idea is that one should not have sexual intercourse with strangers. A man's infatuation should be directed towards his own wife.

Remember That God Sees All (5:21-23)

The final motivation for avoiding the loose woman is reserved for the conclusion of the chapter: God sees all. Even if one is able to hide his immoral behavior from the eyes of men, God will see the man become ensnared in his own sin. The final result is his own death and his being lost. We will return to instructions concerning the loose woman at the end of chapter 6 and into chapter 7.

 

Sunday School lecture - 3/14/04 Part II

1Timothy 3

Paul's Reason for Writing - 1Timothy 3:14-16

Paul here reveals his reason for giving the preceding instructions and those to come in the Letter. While he hoped to see Timothy soon, he may not be able and he wanted people, leaders and laity, to know how they were to conduct themselves in the house of God.

While I am a huge proponent of using various translations, I must level some criticism at the HCSB and the NIV for their translations of verse 15. Where the KJV uses "ground" and the ESV uses "buttress", the NIV and HCSB use the word "foundation." This is theologically incorrect and Paul would have never used the term for anything other than Christ. 1Corinthians 3:11 The actual word in Koine Greek is "hedraioma (hed-rah'-yo-mah) which Strong's lexicon renders "a support, i.e. (figuratively) basis:--ground." The NIV and HCSB may have taken their cue from the Young's Literal Translation of 1862, though this is merely a guess.

Also, concerning other versions as well, the words "house," and "church" in verse 15 have no definite articles in the early manuscripts as opposed to Passages such as 1Corinthians 1:2 and 10:32 which do use the definite article. While Paul sometimes speaks of the Body of believers collectively as the so-called "church invisible," in this Passage he is addressing a single congregation. Each and every true church is a household of the Living God. Instead, Paul's metaphor is better visualized as many columns (churches) setting on the foundation (Christ) supporting the Truth. After all, one column on a foundation will not support very much and would have to perform a balancing act. How ironic that a Book with a primary theme of sound doctrine would require these expositions!

The chapter ends with a hymn fragment Paul mentions in reference to his allusion to the truth. A brief Christology, the hymn addresses the mystery of our religion, to whit:
1. The eternal Son of God, pure spirit, was made visible in his incarnation;
2. Christ's claims of divinity were vindicated by His miracles climaxing in His Resurrection;
3. He was attended by angels;
4. After His Ascension, His Message was proclaimed to the Gentiles;
5. As this was Message was carried, it was believed;
6. He Ascended to Glory.

 

Sunday School lesson – 12/5/04 - continued

Luke 14:15-24 The Great Banquet

The phrase "eat bread in the Kingdom of God" means to be among those who enjoy the benefits of the Messianic Kingdom. While the statement made by the man is certainly true, most interpreters read an air of smugness to the comment indicating that the man felt self-assured about his own position in the Kingdom. To this statement, Jesus reponds with another Parable.

In the Parable, a man plans a banquet and informs many of it. When the banquet is ready, he once again sends out his invitation only to be refused with varying excuses. Three excuses are given as examples. The first man refuses because he was preoccupied with a real estate investment: he had purchased a field and must go see it. The second man had bought five oxen and must now go examine them. The third man had just married and therefore refuses.

The host then instructs his servants to go out into the streets and find people who would accept his invitation. These included the poor, the blind, the maimed and the lame. Even after these came in there was still room so the host sends the servants out once again to invite those in a widening scope, those in the highways and hedges.

The analogy of the Parable is quite evident. God is the host and salvation is the feast to which the many of Israel had been invited. The Pharisees as the religiously pious were those who were first invited. However, their involvement in the affairs of this age had given them excuse to refuse the invitation He had offered. Instead, preoccupation with land, possessions and family had overshadowed the Covenant He had made with them and the banquet table sat empty. Therefore, the call went out to the rest of the Jews: the tax collectors, the sinners, the sick and destitute. Finally the invitation was sent out to the highway where it reached the Gentile world.

The invitation to the banquet is not enough. The guest must receive it and respond.

 

Our Scriptures for 8/ 6 will be

Luke 14:25-35

1 Timothy 4

Proverbs 6

Ezra 8

 

Our Scriptures for 8/ 6 will be

Luke 14:25-35

1 Timothy 4

Proverbs 6

Ezra 8

 

Our Scriptures for 8/ 6 will be

Luke 14:25-35

1 Timothy 4

Proverbs 6

Ezra 8

 

Our Scriptures for 8/ 6 will be

Luke 14:25-35

1 Timothy 4

Proverbs 6

Ezra 8

 

Our Scriptures for 8/ 6 will be

Luke 14:25-35

1 Timothy 4

Proverbs 6

Ezra 8