I Chronicles 2
Twelve children of Israelverses 1-2
These are the sons of Israel: Reuben – Simeon – Levi – Judah
Issachar – Zebulun – Dan – Joseph – Benjamin
Naphtali – Gad – Asher
Judah to Azariahverses 3-8
The sons of Judah = Er – Onan – Shelah
which three were born to him of the daughter of
Shua the Canaanitess
and Er – the firstborn of Judah
was evil in the sight of the LORD
and HE slew him
and Tamar his daughter-in-law bare him Pharez – Zerah
all the sons of Judah were five
The sons of Pharez = Hezron – Hamul
The sons of Zerah = Zimri – Ethan – Heman – Calcol – Dara
five of them in all
The sons of Carmi = Achar – the troubler of Israel
who transgressed in the thing accursed
The sons of Ethan = Azariah
Grandchildren of Judah to Davidverses 9-17
The sons also of Hezron – that were born to him
Jerahmeel – Ram – Chelubai
Ram begat Amminadab – Amminadab begat Nahshon
prince of the children of Judah
Nahshon begat Salma – Salma begat Boaz
Boaz begat Obed – Obed begat Jesse
Jesse begat his firstborn Eliab – Abinadab the second
Shimma the third – Nethaneel the fourth – Raddai the fifth
Ozem the sixth – David the seventh
whose sisters were Zerulah – Abigail
sons of Zeruiah
Abishai – Joab – Asahel three
and Abigail bare Amasa
and father of Amasa was Jether the Ishmaelite
Descendants of Hezronverses 18-24
And Caleb the son of Hezron begat children of Azubah his wife
and of Jerioth her sons are these = Jesher – Shobab – Ardon
And when Azubah was dead – Caleb took unto him Ephrath
which bare him Hur
and Hur begat Uri – and Uri begat Bezaleel
And afterward Hezron went in to the daughter of Machir
the father of Gilead whom he married
when he was threescore years old
and she bare him Segub – and Segub begat Jair
who had three and twenty cities in the land of Gilead
and he took Geshur – and Aram with the towns of Jair
from them with Kenath
and the towns thereof even threescore cities
All these belonged to the sons of Machir the father of Gilead
and after that Hezron was dead in Caleb-ephratah
then Abiah Hezron’s wife bare him Ashur
the father of Tekoa
Descendants of Jerahmeelverses 25-33
And the sons of Jerahmeel the firstborn of Hezron were
Ram the firstborn – Bunah – Oren – Ozem – Ahijah
Jerahmeel had also another wife whose name was Atarah
she was the mother of Onam
And the sons of Ram the firstborn of Jerahmeel
were = Maaz – Jamin – Eker
and the sons of Onam were = Shammai – Jada
and the sons of Shammai = Nadab – Abishur
and the name of the wife of Abishur
was Abihail
and she bare him Ahaban – Molid
and the sons of Nadab = Seled- Appaim
but Seled died without children
and the sons of Appaim = Ishi
and the sons of Ishi = Sheshan
and the children of Sheshan = Ahlai
and the sons of Jada
the brother of Shammai = Jether – Jonathan
and Jether died without children
and the sons of Jonathan = Peleth – Zaza
These are the sons of Jerahmeel
Descendants of Sheshanverses 34-41
Now Sheshan had no sons – but daughters
and Sheshan had a servant – an Egyptian
whose name was Jarha
and Sheshan gave his daughter to Jarha his servant to wife
and she bare him Attai – and Attai begat Nathan
And Nathan begat Zabad – and Zabad begat Ephial
and Ephial begat Obed and Obed begat Jehu
and Jehu begat Azariah – and Azariah begat Helez
and Helez begat Eleasah – and Eleasah begat Shallum
and Shallum begat Jekamiah
and Jekamiah begat Elishama
Descendants of Calebverses 42-49
Now the sons of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel were
Mesha his firstborn which was the father of Ziph
and the sons of Mareshah the father of Hebron
And the sons of Hebron = Korah – Tappuah – Rekem – Shema
and Shema begat Raham – the father of Jorkoam
and Rekem begat Shammai
and the son of Shammai was Maon
and Maon was the father of Beth-zur
and Ephah – Caleb’s concubine bare Haram
Moza – Gazez – and Haram begat Gazez
And the sons of Jahdai = Regem – Jotham – Gesham
Pelet – Ephah – Shaaph – Maachah
Caleb’s concubine bare – Sheber – Tirhanah
she bare also Shaaph the father of Madmannah
Sheva the father of Machbenah
and the father of Gibea
and the daughter of Caleb
was Achsa
History of Calebverses 50-55
These were the sons of Caleb the son of Hur
the firstborn of Ephratah
Shobal the father of Kirjath-jearim
Salma the father of Bethlehem
Hareph the father of Beth-gader
Shobal the father of Kirjath-jearim had sons
Haroeh and half of the Manahethites
And the families of Kirjath-jearim – the Ithrites – Puhites – Shumathites
Hishraites – of them came the Zareathites – and the Eshtaulites
And the sons of Salma – Bethlehem – and the Netophathites
Ataroth the house of Joab – and half of the Manahethites
the Zorites
And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez – the
Tirathites – Shimeathites – Suchathites
These are the Kenites that came of Hemath
the father of the house of Rechab
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 1-2 These are the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun, Dan, Joseph, and Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. (1121 “sons” [ben] means children, male human offspring, descendants, youth, or grandson)
DEVOTION: We need to understand how the children of Israel were divided when the kingdom was divided. It can cause confusion if this in not understood.
We need to remember that Levi was chosen to be the tribe to be set aside for service to the LORD. They were taken out of the list of tribes for an inheritance as the LORD was their inheritance along with some 48 cities of which six were cities of refuge.
So the list of twelve tribes sometimes doesn’t include them because of their status with the LORD. Then we have to realize that Joseph has two tribes listed with inheritances: Manasseh and Ephraim. They were large tribes that needed to be divided and Moses did it in honor of Joseph.
The ten tribes that made up the kingdom of Israel were Reuben, Simeon, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Manasseh and Ephraim.
When there is a list of the tribes involved in the kingdom of Judah, we find only Judah most of the time with the understood that Benjamin is included with this tribe. So there are two tribes in the kingdom of Judah.
This helps us understand what is going on in the future regarding the twelve tribes of Israel and Levi who is not included many times because it was a tribe given to the LORD to replace the need of giving the firstborn to the LORD. HE used this tribe to help Israel worship HIM alone. At time they were faithful but most of the time only a few remained faithful to the LORD.
This is happening today in the churches of the world. Some are them are remaining faithful when they were all supposed to be stay faithful. Make sure you are going to a church that is remaining faithful to the LORD. Also understand that God will discipline those who are not faithful in HIS timing.
CHALLENGE: We need to understand history to understand the working of the LORD and HIS process of choosing those who are faithful.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 3 The sons of Judah, Er, and Onan, and Shelah: which three were born to him of the daughter of Shua the Canaanitess. And Er, the firstborn of Judah, was evil in the sight of the LORD, and HE slew him. (7451 “evil” [ra‘] means reprobate, morally bad or wrong, wicked, noxious, hurtful, disagreeable, unwholesome, or corrupt)
DEVOTION: Remember that the LORD doesn’t hide the fact that HIS people sinned on a regular basis throughout the history of Israel. One of the key tribes was Judah who was a man with many temptations as all of us go through in life.
He had a son who was not willing to fulfill his eldest son duty to the wife of another son who died. The commandments of the LORD included the brother of someone who had died had to have a son by the widow of the dead brother to keep the seed and inheritance in the family. He didn’t want to do it and caused the seed to stop and the LORD judged him for it. His judgment was immediate death. So Judah lost a son through disobedience.
Judah was also guilty of sin when he went into someone he thought was a prostitute but was really the widow of his son who was to have seed by his family. He had two sons by Tamar.
Yet we find that the LORD forgave him and chose his family to be the one who would bring the Savior of the World into this world through Mary who was the future descendant of Judah.
The LORD forgives the sins of HIS people when they confess their sins and ask for it. Their salvation is forgiven when they commit their life to Jesus Christ which is their first prayer the LORD hears from Heaven. Once a child of God through this commitment there only needs to be confess to restore fellowship and blessings from the LORD. If we chose not to confess our sin HE will send warnings or chastening for us to restore our fellowship. Salvation and fellowship are two different relationships with the LORD.
Judah kept his salvation but needed to be chastened to restore his fellowship with the LORD. We need to keep a close relationship with the LORD daily to receive HIS blessings and not his chastening.
CHALLENGE: Remember HE does judge quickly some of the time and is longsuffering at other times. HE is in control of HIS relationship with us because HE knows best how to use blessings and chastening to cause to mature in our faith toward HIM.
: 7 And the sons of Carmi; Achar, the troubler of Israel, who transgressed in the things accursed. (5916 “troubler” [‘akar] means cause hardship and distress, disturb, afflict, stir up, and make someone taboo)
DEVOTION: There is history in each genealogy in the Bible. Each list gives us an idea of what happened in the nation of Israel. Each name has a special meaning. We learn from the past. The Bible continually informs us that there is nothing new under the sun. People all have a sin nature and it is manifested in history, even in a history of a group chosen by the God of the universe to represent HIM.
Here we meet Achan again. He was the one who took some things from Jericho. All the things in the city of Jericho were to be dedicated to the LORD. Instead, he took things and hid it in his tent. Because of his disobedience he and his whole family died. The children of Israel also paid a penalty for his sin. The lost their first battle against Ai.
Joshua went to the LORD and HE told him that there was sin in the camp. They cast lots to see who the sinner was. The LORD chose Achan and then he confessed. He didn’t confess until he was chosen. He allowed all the people to suffer for his sin.
There is another individual who was called a “troubler of Israel” and that was Elijah. He was a man who was serving the LORD faithfully but King Ahab didn’t like him because he spoke the TRUTH that the LORD gave him. He prayed for no rain and it didn’t rain. He had faith in answered prayer. Ahab didn’t like the famine and realized that Elijah was the cause, but in reality it was Ahab who caused the famine because of his unrepentant heart.
We don’t need people who stir up God against us in our churches. If a church is not honoring God there should be someone to stand up and make them follow the Word of God.
However, we have some who say they are the “devil’s advocate” in our church business meetings or other events in the Christian world. We don’t need these people. They are just individuals who want their own way and don’t care to see the church move forward for the LORD. They look for every negative thing they can say to keep the church in chaos.
God wants us to be an encourager of others, as well as, our churches. Let us not be the one who disturbs the LORD by our actions in the church. Let us not be individual who are always looking for something negative to say about what is going on in our world.
If we are going to be a “troubler” let it be for a positive reason. Keep an attitude of encouragement in the home, church and nation you are in.
CHALLENGE: Today we need to be encouraging the families that are around us who are going through difficult financial and spiritual battles. Be an encourager. Don’t hide your resources from the work of the LORD!!!!)
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 12 And Boaz begat Obed, and Obed begat Jesse. (3205 “begat” [yalad] means to give birth, to be born, to become the male agent responsible for the conception of a child, be bear, to create, or have a baby)
DEVOTION: What we find out in the book of Matthew in the New Testament is that there were five women mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus Christ through Mary. Tamar is the first. Ruth is the second. Rahab was the third. Bathsheba is the fourth. Finally, Mary is the fifth. Each of these women were unique. One acted as a prostitute to make her father-in-law do what was required by the commands of the LORD. The second was a foreign woman who married a rich man because of her faithfulness to her mother-in-law and the LORD. The third was a woman who kept the spies safe in Jericho and was promised her life for her service and she was blessed to be part of the family that brought the LORD into our world. The fourth was a woman who gave into a king that had her husband killed and finally married her and had Solomon who was the wisest king over Israel. Finally, we have Mary who was a virgin who like all women in Israel wanted to have a male child because of the promise of the Messiah coming through a woman in the Garden of Eden.
CHALLENGE: In God’s plan HE included women from different lands to be part of HIS plan to reach the world through HIS Son Jesus Christ. HE had a plan before the foundation of the world and HE is still working it today.
: 55 And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez; the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and Suchatthites. These are the Kenites that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab. (5608 “scribes” [caphar] means enumerator, muster-officer, secretary, to write, secretary of the king, or to recount.)
DEVOTION: We need individuals who can look at what is happening and write down the important events that happened in a certain time period. Here we find that there were families that had the responsibilities of writing down the history of the nation of Israel.
Sometimes we don’t think that history is important but it is if we are to have consistency in our life and in the life of the church at present.
The children of Israel had individuals who wrote the history of the nation. We have found reference to the Chronicles of Israel and Judah as we have read through chapters of the Bible in the past. All the kings are given in the history of Israel and Judah and we are informed as to whether they were good kings or bad kings.
Also we find that certain individuals had their history written because they were important to the nation of Israel or Judah or important to the times in which they were living.
Today we have church secretaries that record what is going on at business meetings and other meeting of the church to keep a history of what was happening from the time the church was formed until the present day.
One of the most important aspects of these histories is the doctrinal statements and if there was any changes to the doctrines of the church. If a church is to continue being one that honors the LORD there has to be a record of the beliefs of the church and how well they have been kept in the past and what was happening with them in the present.
If people want to change the beliefs or policies in a church there has to be a vote to change. So, a good record of what the standard was and what it should be needs to be known for people to understand where the church has been and where it is going.
CHALLENGE: What the history of your present church tells you about the church and its beliefs? Is the church changing in this area? If so, is it a Biblical change!
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal)verse 3
Sight of the LORDverse 3
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Egyptianverse 34
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Evilverse 3
Transgressedverse 7
Accursedverse 7
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Judgment of Godverse 3
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar,
Zebulun, Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad and Asher
Descendants of Judahverses 3-55
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
DONATIONS:
Remember that all donations to Small Church Ministries are greatly appreciated. The treasurer will send a receipt, at the end of the year unless otherwise requested. Please be sure to make check out to “Small Church Ministries.” The address for the treasurer is P.O. Box 604, East Amherst, New York 14051. A second way to give to the ministry is through PayPal on the website: www.smallchurchministries.org Also if you can support this ministry through your local church, please use that method. Thank you.
QUOTES regarding passage
55 The Kenites were originally a foreign people (Gen 15:19), some of whom, by marriage or by adoption, became incorporated into the tribe of Judah (cf. the instance of the family of Hobab, the brother-in-law of Moses, Num 10:29–32; Judg 1:16; 4:11). There is always room among the people of God for those who come to him by faith (Exod 12:38, 48; Eph 2:19).
The clan of Recab later included the reformer Jehonadab (2 Kings 10:15, 23), who preserved the purity of his descendants by retaining their primitive forms of nomadic life (Jer 35:6–10). (Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 336). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
2:42–55. The line of Caleb, Hezron’s third son (cf. v. 9), introduced briefly in verses 18–20, is expanded here. Many of these names appear elsewhere as place-names (e.g., Ziph, Josh. 15:24; Mareshah, Josh. 15:44; Hebron, Josh. 15:54; Tappuah, Josh. 15:34; Rekem, Josh. 18:27; Shema, Josh. 15:26; etc.). This does not prove a connection, but since most of these places lay in Judah they were probably founded by the various Calebites listed here.
Of particular interest are the references to Bethlehem (1 Chron. 2:51, 54), birthplace of both David and Jesus. The town was founded by or named after the great-grandson of Caleb through Caleb’s wife Ephrathah (v. 50, spelled Ephrath in v. 19). The combination of Bethlehem and Ephrathah appears also in the story of Rachel’s death in childbirth (Gen. 35:19), where it is used anachronistically; in Ruth 4:11 in reference to blessing on Ruth; and in Micah 5:2 with respect to the birth of the Messiah. (Merrill, E. H. (1985). 1 Chronicles. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 594). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
The striking fact about the next verses (2:42–55) is the growth in importance of the Calebites. Their influence extends even into non-Judean regions such as Zorah and Eshtaol (v. 53). This is probably because of the expanding political influence of the Calebite nobility.
If Shobal the son of Hur (v. 50) is the same person as the Shobal of 1 Chronicles 4:1, then both Hur and Shobal also represent the growing influence of the Calebites. A professional guild, a clan of scribes (v. 55), is reckoned among the Calebites. Their undefined ties with the Kenites indicate a possible foreign extraction for the Calebites. (Bowling, A. C. (1995). 1-2 Chronicles. In Evangelical Commentary on the Bible (Vol. 3, p. 267). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.)
Ver. 55. And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez, &c.] A city in Judah, the founder of which, perhaps, was Jabez, mentioned in ch. 4:9. in which learned men dwelt: the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and Suchathites; who sprung from men whose names were Tira, Shimea, and Sucha; and if they were not the posterity of Salma, yet dwelt among his, and so are reckoned with them; perhaps the latter might have their name from dwelling in tents; the former clause may be rendered, that dwelt with Jabez, who was their master, and they his scholars; in the Vulgate Latin version the words are rendered as appellatives, singing and resounding, and dwelling in tents: Conrad Pellican, on the place, goes a middle way, and interprets these families as dwelling with Jabez their master, and they his scholars, and that they were called by their progenitors Tirathites, because learned and ingenious, and præcentors of the divine oracles; Shimeathites, because they diligently hearkened to the sacred songs, and the doctrines of the law of God; and Suchathites, because they dwelt not in cities, but in tents, despisers of all worldly things, that they might freely attend to learn: these are the Kenites, that is, the Suchathites are the Kenites, who, it is well known, dwelt in tents, and not in cities; though Jarchi takes these Kenites to be the inhabitants of Cain, a city in the tribe of Judah, Josh. 15:57. but they seem rather to be the Kenites that sprung from Jethro, here made mention of, because some of them dwelt in the tribe of Judah, and among the posterity of Salma, see Judg. 1:16. that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab: the prince of that family, and who from Rechab were called Rechabites, Jer. 35:2. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 3, pp. 5–6). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
In the book River Out of Eden, Oxford biologist and atheist superstar Richard Dawkins famously wrote:
“The universe that we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but pitiless indifference.”
Dawkins and other “new atheists” have long insisted that science has excluded the possibility of a creator or has, at least, rendered it unnecessary. Turns out this belief may be scientifically out of date. According to a new book, the biggest discoveries of the last century challenged a materialistic worldview and call science back to its theistic roots.
Cambridge-educated philosopher of science Stephen Meyer wrote two books, Signature in the Cell and Darwin’s Doubt, that both argue against materialist accounts of biology. His latest book, The Return of the God Hypothesis, makes an even more ambitious claim.
Three key twentieth-century discoveries, argues Meyer, challenge materialist assumptions and point, not just to an intelligent designer, but to a transcendent God. He recently joined my colleague Shane Morris on the Upstream podcast to talk about the book.
Not only were most of the founders of modern science devout Christians, the scientific method itself emerged from assumptions found only in a Christian worldview, such as the intelligibility of nature and the need to constantly test our fallen intuitions against the facts. Tracing science from its theistic beginnings, Meyer shows how it gradually lost its way and became tethered to materialism.
Famed scientists like Laplace, Hume, and Darwin came to believe that the “God hypothesis” was no longer necessary to explain the natural world, that the universe required no cause beyond itself. Given the opportunity and enough time, living things could arise and evolve on their own. Since the conditions for life were simple and the universe had existed from eternity, here we are.
These assumptions went largely unchallenged until the twentieth century. However, breakthroughs in astronomy, physics, and biology began to undermine materialism. For example, telescopes began to challenge the proponents (Einstein being one) of a steady-state universe. More and more evidence mounted that the universe was, in fact, not eternal, as many scientists had long assumed. If instead, the universe came into being at some point in time, it must have had a cause outside of itself, To be clear, there must be a cause outside of space, time, matter, and energy. (Break Point)
God gives a child to Hannah and Elkanah, after Hannah’s years of praying for a son.
INSIGHT
The grief of being childless drives Hannah to God. In Him, she finds her only resource for consolation.
Even though children may cry when they are taken to a doctor by their parents, they still trust their parents in spite of fear and pain. Similarly, we must still trust and cling to the Lord even though we do not understand why He does not deliver us from our pain. Just as children will someday understand about the doctor, we will someday understand about the pain. (Quiet Walk)
UNRECOGNIZED
For had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
1 Corinthians 2:8
Why is it that people fail to recognize Christ? For the fact is that those who were around Him, His own contemporaries, did not recognize Him. They did not believe the claim, for had they done so, they would have submitted themselves to Him at once. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, the princes of this world did not know Him, “for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” They did not know Him. They heard the claim but said, “He is an impostor. Away with Him; crucify Him!”
Now I can understand someone saying, “If what you state is true, if this person is the Son of God, well, why is it that the whole world does not believe on Him and go after Him and submit to Him?” Our Lord answers that question. “No man,” He says, “knoweth the Son.” What does He mean? Let me explain. We are concerned with the mystery of the Incarnation, and it is that which causes men to stumble. Let no one imagine that this is something simple. There is a mystery in the Incarnation; there is a sense in which we can say quite honestly that had we been standing with the crowd when He was making this claim, we would have felt immediately and instinctively that there was something exaggerated. We would have felt that the claim that He was the one to whom all things had been committed, that He was the controller of the destinies of the universe, was impossible. There is this apparent contradiction. He was arrested in apparent weakness, and yet He said that all things were in His hands. That is why people found it difficult to believe His claim.
A Thought to Ponder; He was arrested in apparent weakness, and yet He said that all things were in His hands.
(From The Heart of the Gospel, pp. 136-137, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
Sowing and Sleeping
“So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption.” (1 Corinthians 15:42)
When a believer’s soul and spirit leave the body and return to the Lord, it is significant that the New Testament Scriptures speak of the body not as dead but as sleeping. For example, Jesus said, “Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep” (John 11:11). This state is not “soul sleep” as some teach, for “to be absent from the body, [is] to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). The body is sleeping—not the soul.
Similarly, when the believer’s body is laid in a grave, Paul speaks of this act not as a burial but as sowing! “But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body” (1 Corinthians 15:35-38).
Just as a buried grain of wheat brings forth a fruitful plant, so the old, sin-corrupted, aching body of human flesh, sown in the ground, will someday come forth “fashioned like unto his glorious body” (Philippians 3:21), in which “there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain” (Revelation 21:4).
“So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body” (1 Corinthians 15:42-44). When a believer’s body is sown in the ground, God will soon reap from it a body of glory that will last for eternity. (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
THE CERTAINTY OF EVERLASTING LIFE
These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
1 John 5:13
The knowledge that we have eternal life is something that is possible to us. That is something that needs to be emphasized. There are those who would tell us that eternal life is something to which we attain only when we come to die and leave this world and go into the next. They suggest that it is wrong for anyone to claim that he has eternal life. Such people dislike the doctrine of assurance. “We do not know,” they say, “and we must not seek to know. Faith means that you are always grasping at it, but it is something you cannot actually have while you are in this world.”
But that is a philosophical concept of faith that is not in accordance with what we have here. John says in essence, “My whole object in writing to you now is that you may know that you have eternal life and know it certainly. I want you to know that you possess it.”
You find the other apostles saying the same thing. What was more characteristic of the apostle Paul than this assurance? In Romans 8 he says, “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (verses 38-39). “I know whom I have believed,” he writes to Timothy (2 Timothy 1:12). “I know,” he says. There is no uncertainty about it.
So it seems to me that to interpret faith as a kind of constant uncertainty is to deny the teaching of the Word of God that we are His children.
A Thought to Ponder: The knowledge that we have eternal life is something that is possible to us.
From Life in God, pp. 92-93, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones.
On Being A PASTOR by Derek J. Prime & Alistair Begg
Goals and Priorities:
Shepherds and teachers are for churches, not churches for shepherds and teachers. Churches do not exist for our benefit or for our livelihood. We exist rather for their good. (p. 47)
Our purpose is to determine the goals God wants us to have, rather than those of our own imagining. A substantial amount of current writing on this subject owes more to business practice than to biblical precept. It is imperative that we take our direction from the Scriptures. (p. 48)
Every time we teach, it is appropriate to ask, “Am I providing good pasture for God’s flock? … A mark of good feeding is that it causes faith to grow. (p. 49)
Our task as friends of the heavenly Bridegroom is to bring before the members of His church, His bride, the wonder and benefits of her union with the Bridegroom and the absolute perfection of His character, so that they obey Him with every-increasing joy. (p. 49)
Visit our Facebook page for Small Church Ministries – please invite others to join us on Facebook. Thank you. Look for the logo from the devotionals.