II Chronicles 30
Hezekiah invites all to celebrate Passoververses 1-3
And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah
and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh
that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem
to keep the Passover to the LORD God of Israel
For the king had taken counsel – and his princes
and all the congregation in Jerusalem
to keep the Passover in the second month
For they could not keep it at that time
BECAUSE the priests
had not sanctified themselves sufficiently
neither had the people gathered themselves
together to Jerusalem
Passover had not been celebratedverses 4-5
And the thing pleased the king and all the congregation
so they established a decree to make proclamation
throughout all Israel from Beer-sheba even to Dan
that they should come to keep the Passover to
the LORD God of Israel at Jerusalem
for they had not done it of a long time
in such sort as it was written
Content of the letter from Hezekiahverses 6-9
So the posts went with the letters from the king and his princes
throughout all Israel and Judah – and according to the
commandment of the king
saying
You children of Israel – turn again to the LORD God of
Abraham – Isaac – Israel – and HE will return
to the remnant of you that are escaped out of the
hand of the kings of Assyria
Be not you like your fathers – and like your brethren
which trespassed against the LORD God of their fathers
WHO therefore gave them up to desolation
as you see
Now be you not stiffnecked – as your fathers were
but yield yourselves to the LORD – and enter into
HIS sanctuary – which HE has sanctified for ever
and serve the LORD your God
that the fierceness of HIS wrath may
turn away from you
For if you turn again to the LORD – your brethren and your children
shall find compassion – before them that lead them captive
so that they shall come again into this land
for the LORD your God is gracious – merciful
and will not turn away HIS face from you
IF you return unto HIM
Some Israelites laughed at the invitationverses 10-11
So the posts passed from city to city
through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh even to Zebulun
BUT they laughed them to scorn – and mocked them
NEVERTHELESS – divers of Asher and Manasseh and of Zebulun
humbled themselves – and came to Jerusalem
One heartverse 12
Also in Judah the hand of God was to give them ONE HEART
to do the commandment of the king and of the princes
by the word of the LORD
People of Judah cleanse Jerusalemverses 13-14
And there assembled at Jerusalem much people
to keep the feast of unleavened bread in the second month
a very great congregation
And they arose and took away the altars that were in Jerusalem
and all the altars for incense took they away
and cast them into the brook Kidron
One month late the Passover was celebratedverses 15-16
Then they killed the Passover
on the fourteenth day of the second month
and the priests and the Levites were ashamed
and sanctified themselves
And brought in the burnt offerings into the house of the LORD
and they stood in their place after their manner
according to the law of Moses – the man of God
the priests sprinkled the blood which they
received of the hand of the Levites
Hezekiah prays for unprepared individualsverses 17-20
FOR there were many in the congregation
that were not sanctified
THEREFORE the Levites had the charge of the killing of the Passovers
for every one that was not clean
to sanctify them to the LORD
FOR a multitude of the people
even many of Ephraim – Manasseh – Issachar – Zebulun
had not cleansed themselves
yet did they eat the Passover
otherwise than it was then it was written
BUT Hezekiah PRAYED for them
saying
The good LORD pardon every one that prepared his heart to seek God
the LORD God of his fathers – though he be not cleansed
according to the purification of the sanctuary
And the LORD hearkened to Hezekiah – and healed the people
Celebration contented singing and thanksgivingverses 21-22
And the children of Israel that were present at Jerusalem
kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days
with great gladness
and the Levite and the priests praised the LORD day by day
singing with loud instruments unto the LORD
And Hezekiah spoke comfortably unto all the Levites
that TAUGHT the good knowledge of the LORD
and they did eat throughout the feast seven days
offering peace offerings
and making confession to the
LORD God of their fathers
Another week of celebrationverses 23-24
And the whole assembly took counsel to keep other seven days
and they kept other seven days with gladness
For Hezekiah king of Judah did give to the congregation
a thousand bullocks and seven thousand sheep
And the princes gave to the congregation
a thousand bullocks and ten thousand sheep
and a great number of priests sanctified themselves
Priests and Levites blessed the peopleverses 25-27
And all the congregation of Judah – with the priests and the Levites
and all the congregation that came out of Israel
and the strangers that came out of the land of Israel
So there was great joy in Jerusalem
for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel
there was not the like in Jerusalem
Then the priests the Levites arose and blessed the people
and their voice was heard – and their prayer came up to
HIS holy dwelling place even to heaven
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 5 So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beer-sheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the Passover to the LORD God of Israel at Jerusalem: for they had not done it of a long time in such sort as it was written. (1697 “decree” [dabar] means word, a communication that is most often spoken, discourse, happening, chronicles, utterance, or matter)
DEVOTION: Hezekiah did something that was not done for over two hundred years. He was trying to have a celebration of the Passover for the entire nation. The division of the tribes after the reign of Solomon had caused the ten tribes to establish their own false religion. They were not worshiping Jehovah anymore but false gods that they made to replace HIM.
Even the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin didn’t celebrate the Passover often during the reigns of some of their kings. The priests were not doing their responsibilities in preparing the people to celebrate what was commanded of the LORD. Disobedience to the LORD and HIS commands was common during this time period.
Now, we have a king sending word to the entire nation of Israel, to come together to celebrate a national holiday to remove the sins from the nation. He wanted the entire nation to come together. He sent invitations to all the corners of the nation that the LORD established under David.
This would be pleasing to the LORD if the entire nation came together to ask for national forgiveness. HE wants each nation even today to honor HIM through HIS servants. We don’t have a chosen nation today because the children of Israel have been set aside for a time period while individuals make a commitment to the LORD to worship HIM in every nation.
The disciples went to every nation preaching the message of salvation through Christ alone. No works were going to earn forgiveness of sin except the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.
We can’t do anything that pleases the LORD except first to receive HIS Son, Jesus Christ, as our personal sacrifice for our sins and then follow HIM properly. There is no national forgiveness but there is individual forgiven in a nation and if the people of that nation come together to worship HIM HE can bless that nation.
CHALLENGE: Our responsibility is to spread the message of salvation throughout our world with the prayer that individuals will see the LORD in our life and want to follow HIM too.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 7 And be not you like your fathers, and like your brethren, which trespassed against the LORD God of their fathers, who therefore gave them up to desolation, as you see. (8047 “desolation” [shammah] means horror, atrocious event, something that inspires strong dislike or horror, astonishment, frightful, or atrocious)
DEVOTION: Here is a new beginning with a new king in Judah. He wanted to gather all twelve tribes together to worship the LORD in the Temple. He called for a great time of worship by all who were descendants of Israel.
The twelve tribes coming together would be something to behold as it hadn’t happened in many years. There should always be a desire for believers to be able to come together to worship the LORD.
Too often we look at differences rather than what we have in common. I don’t mean that fundamental believers should get together with liberals and see if there can be compromises in the time of worship.
This is not what is being proposed by Hezekiah. He wanted to be a genuine righteous gathering of genuine believers to worship the LORD in spirit and in truth. There had to be time of cleansing from sin. There had to be a time of repentance. There had to be a genuine love for each other.
God wants us to genuinely worship HIM in spirit and in truth and this can only come when we repent of our sins and turn from our wicked ways and walk in a way that is pleasing to HIM.
It can even happen now in our churches in America and around the world if there is genuine repentance and a return to a Biblical worship of the LORD. Too much “worship” is pleasing to men and not to God today.
Our worship should be one where people come together to repent of their sins and worship together in a attitude of genuine repentance.
God knows if we are repentant or if we are just faking it. Too many people don’t even understand what it means to be genuine with each other as it seems we can think we are better than others rather than remembering that we are sinners together who have been saved by GRACE.
CHALLENGE: We need genuine worship today in our churches. Our nations need this worship. Genuine worship brings repentance of sin and a willingness to work together to bring others to Christ.
: 10 So the posts passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh even to Zebulun: but they laughed them to scorn, and mocked them. (1905 “laughed” means to joke, to jest, to sport, or provide amusement,)
DEVOTION: The normal reaction to the invitation to come to worship the LORD in spirit and in truth was for people to laugh at the messengers of Hezekiah. He was inviting two nations to come together to worship together. They received only the laughter of the people of the ten tribes that were not willing to worship the LORD because they didn’t think it was important.
Can you imagine being one of those messengers that were sent by Hezekiah and having people laugh in your face? Can you imagine how discouraging it could be to them? Have you ever shared the message of salvation today with individuals who just laughed in your face?
This is what can happen but the messengers still delivered the message the King wanted them to deliver. This is our assignment today. We are to deliver a message to those who are in our world of the truth that the LORD wants us to come together and worship HIM through the blood of HIS Son Jesus Christ.
HE wants us to listen to those who truly preach the Word of God as people gather to truly worship the LORD. There was a group from each nation that came together and worshiped the LORD like they had done during the time period of Solomon.
The message is the same today that the disciples shared with the people on the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem. The message is that we can only be a true follower of God through the ministry of Jesus Christ on the cross for our sins. We can do nothing to earn our salvation.
CHALLENGE: It is a gift from God to those who chose to follow HIM through HIS Son Jesus Christ.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 22 And Hezekiah spoke comfortably unto all the Levites that taught the good knowledge of the LORD: and they did eat throughout the feast seven days, offering peace offerings, and making confession to the LORD God of their fathers. (7919 “taught” [sakal] means to be circumspect, intelligent, consider, expert, instruct, have good success, teach, make to understand, wisdom, or guide wittingly)
DEVOTION: The LORD had commanded Moses to inform the people that there were three feasts that had to be celebrated each year with the men present. One of the feast included the Passover celebration.
Remember that the Passover began when the children of Israel left Egypt. The firstborn of every household that didn’t sacrifice a lamb and sprinkle the blood on the doorpost was killed. Only those who had the blood on the doorpost found their firstborn alive in the morning. Even the household of the Pharaoh lost their firstborn.
Pharaoh allowed the children of Israel to leave Egypt to have their time in the wilderness. Now the children of Israel had been in the land for a long time. It was enough time for them to stop celebrating the Passover. They were not thanking the LORD for anything HE was doing.
Hezekiah wanted that to change. He sent a letter throughout the land of Israel to the people who were left behind from the Assyrian captivity and to those in Judah. He wanted them to sanctify themselves. He wanted the priests and Levites to cleanse or sanctify themselves. These were the leaders of the religious community in Israel. They were not even keeping themselves ceremonial clean for service to the LORD.
However, Hezekiah’s letter met with laughter and scorn from those in the land of Israel. Judah had one heart and that was to serve the LORD by celebrating the Passover.
The Levites are more faithful than the priests. Many didn’t sanctify themselves until they saw that the LORD was working in the nation. So much of the sacrifices were done by the Levites instead of the priests.
Some of the people from Israel finally came but they have not sanctified themselves and the LORD. This could cause the LORD to send judgment. Hezekiah prayed for these people and the LORD answered positively. HE healed them.
In the midst of it all, the Levites, try to make the people understand the meaning of the Passover. They were traveling throughout the land instruction the people on the proper celebration of the feasts of the LORD, especially the Passover.
Confession is part of the worship of the LORD. What lessons can we learn from this occasion? One lesson that we can learn is that in order for people to understand how to worship the LORD there needs to be instruction. Today in our world there are many people who do not know how to worship the LORD. They may go to church but they are not there to worship the LORD.
True worship is done in spirit and in truth. This means that there has to be preparation before attending a worship service. There needs to be a time of cleansing through the Word of God and repentance.
Are we worshiping in spirit and in truth when we enter the church? Do we know that the Holy Spirit will work in our church? Should we know that the Holy Spirit will work in our church each Sunday? Why is HE not working in our church? Are we in tune with HIM before we enter the church?
CHALLENGE: Too often we are like Israel and don’t sanctify ourselves before we come to worship. Let us change that behavior!!! Prepare to meet the LORD each Sunday!!!!
: 27 Then the priests the Levites arose and blessed the people; and their voice was heard, and their prayer came up to his holy dwelling place, even unto heaven. (8605 “prayer” [taphillah] means entreaty, supplication, plea, request, petition, or action of speaking or making requests of God)
DEVOTION: This is the first celebration of the Passover since the time of Solomon. It was over two hundred years that the nation didn’t celebrate this important event that the LORD assigned the people of Israel to celebrate to remember the fact that HE forgives sin both individual and national.
Here the Levitical priests offered a sacrifice to the LORD that was acceptable in HIS sight. Here we have the Levitical priests blessing the people with proper worship of the LORD. Here we have them stating what they want from the LORD as they confess their national sin against HIM. Here we have them in the right place a month late worshiping the LORD in spirit and in truth. Here we have the LORD hearing the prayer in heaven.
So often it seems that when we pray that the plea only goes as far as the ceiling of the house or church and that is as far as it will go because of the sin of the people who are not willing to confess but only to ask God for things they want instead of asking God what HE wants of those who are asking for a blessing from HIM.
God accepted this petition because of the actions of the king and priests. They had sanctified themselves. They had set themselves apart but seeking to be clean before they went out to ask for cleansing for the nation.
We need to be clean before we ask the LORD to bless our nation with HIS answers to our prayers. Our cleansing can only come because we claim the blood of Jesus Christ. Our cleansing can only come when we confess our sins and then ask for what the LORD wants us to have in our service to HIM.
The LORD is still in heaven waiting to hear from us in a proper manner with proper requests that bring glory to HIS name and not things that will just please us.
CHALLENGE: Did you request something from the LORD that would bring glory to HIS name today?
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)
Letters went out to all Israel and Judahverse 6
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)
Hezekiah prayed for those not sanctified at Passover celebrationverses 18-20
LORD hearkened and healed
Prayers went to heavenverse 27
HIS holy dwelling
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship(Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
House of the LORDverses 1, 15
Passoververses 1, 15
Priestsverse 3
Not sanctified themselves
Sanctuaryverse 8
Feast of Unleavened Breadverse 13
Priestsverses 15, 16, 21, 24, 25, 27
Sanctified themselves
Sprinkled the blood
Praised the LORD
Singing with loud instruments
Great number sanctified themselves
Blessed the people
Levitesverses 15-17, 21, 22, 25, 27
Sanctified themselves
Praised the LORD
Singing with loud instruments
Taught good knowledge of the LORD
Blessed the people
Burnt offeringsverse 15
Feast of Unleavened Breadverse 21
Peace offeringsverse 22
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Abrahamverse 6
Isaacverse 6
Israelverse 6
Word of the LORDverse 12
Law of Mosesverse 16
Moses – man of Godverse 16
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal)verses 1, 5-9, 12, 15, 17-22
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign)verses 1, 5-9, 12, 16, 19,
LORD God of Israelverses 1, 5
LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israelverse 6
LORD God of their fathersverse 7
Gave Israel up to desolationverse 7
LORD your Godverses 8, 9
Gracious
Merciful
Not turn away HIS face
Fierceness of HIS wrathverse 8
Hand of Godverse 12
Word of the LORDverse 12
House of the LORDverse 15
Man of God – Mosesverse 16
LORD God of his fathersverses 19, 22
LORD healed the peopleverse 20
Good knowledge of the LORDverse 22
HIS holy dwelling placeverse 27
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)
King of Assyriaverse 6
Strangersverse 25
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Not kept the Passover verse 5
Trespassedverse 7
Stiffneckedverse 8
Laugh at obedience to the LORDverse 10
False worship stoppedverse 14
Altars to false gods taken away
Altars of incense cast into brook Kidron
Not sanctified verse 17
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Sanctifyverses 3, 8, 15, 17, 18, 24
Turn again [Repent]verses 6, 9
Yield to the LORDverse 8
Serve the LORDverse 8
Compassionverse 9
Graceverse 9
Mercyverse 9
Humbledverse 11
One heartverse 12
Ashamedverse 15
Pardonverse 18
Prepared his heart to seek Godverse 19
Gladnessverses 21, 23
Praiseverses 21, 25, 26
Teachingverse 22
Confessionverse 22
Rejoicedverse 25
Joyverse 26
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Hezekiahverse 1
Sent to Israel and Judah to come to House of the LORD
Proclamation throughout Israel
Prayed for those who had not cleansed themselves
Good LORD pardon everyone
LORD hearkened to him
Spoke comfortably to Levites
Gave congregation
1,000 bullocks
10,000 sheep
Children of Israelverses 6, 21, 23
Kept the feast of unleavened bread
Whole assembly took counsel to keep another seven days
Posts passed from city to city
Ephram and Manasseh to Zebulunverse 10
Laughed to scorn
Mocked
Divers of Asher, Manasseh and Zebulun
Humbled themselvesverses 11, 18
Not cleansed themselves
Jerusalemverses 11, 26
Judah – hand of Godverse 12
Gave them one heart
Solomonverse 26
David verse 26
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
The priestly blessing of the people goes back to Num 6:22–27. The request for a divine response comes often in Solomon’s prayer of dedication in 2 Chronicles 6 (cf. vv. 19–40), and God assured him that he heard (7:12). God also is described as one who hears in 1 Chr 28:8; 2 Chr 30:20; 34:27. (Thompson, J. A. (1994). 1, 2 Chronicles (Vol. 9, p. 356). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
ii. Continuing the blessing (30:23–31:1). The ceremony was so successful that it was extended for a second week, as at the temple dedication (v. 23; cf. 2 Chr. 7:9–10). The second week continues in the same vein as the first, though with two variations. The large numbers are applied to the amount of offerings rather than to the size of the crowd (v. 24; cf. 29:32–35), and the note of joy is accentuated (vv. 23, 25, 26). The reason for this deeper joy is that the people had become more aware of their togetherness (v. 25) and of being part of God’s long-term purposes (v. 26). To be in God’s will always ends in joy, as Jesus himself confirmed (John 15:9–11; Heb. 12:2).
The sense of common purpose is particularly striking, with the whole assembly deciding to continue (v. 23). A unique insight into the make-up of the assembly is given in verse 25, which mentions four constituent parts, viz. separate assemblies for Judah and for Israel (for the latter, cf. 28:14), for priests and Levites and for ‘resident aliens’ (reb, neb). The latter could be either the foreigners resettled in Israel by the Assyrians (cf. gnb) or an early version of proselytes (Ackroyd). The former is a particularly attractive interpretation, adding an interesting evangelistic dimension to the Passover, but in any case, the presence of foreigners is another example of a return to the spirit of the Mosaic law (cf. Num. 9:14). This is also one of the most comprehensive examples in the Old Testament of the inclusion of non-worshippers of Yahweh among God’s people, for neither the northerners nor the resident aliens would have had much accurate knowledge of the ways of the Lord. It is noteworthy too that they seem to be included in Israel’s worship before becoming incorporated into its political structures.
The end of the festival saw two further consequences. First, the people were blessed by the ‘Levitical priests’ (v. 27, jb).112 The blessing was a prayer which God heard (cf. v. 20), confirming the temple as a genuine house of prayer. It also illustrates again Israel’s return to the principles of the Pentateuch (cf. Num. 6:22–27) and of Solomon (cf. 2 Chr. 6:21, 30, 33). Secondly, the people spontaneously destroyed centres of pagan worship in the former northern kingdom (Ephraim and Manasseh) as well as Judah (Judah and Benjamin). Hezekiah’s previous emphasis on removing the paraphernalia of idol worship (cf. 29:15–19; 30:14; also 2 Kgs 18:22) now became a popular movement. While 31:1 is loosely based on 2 Kings 18:4, the Israelites rather than Hezekiah have become the subject of the verbs. The same democratic interest was noted in Chronicles’ version of David (cf. 1 Chr. 13:1–4; 15:25–28), and is probably intended in both cases to encourage the people of the Chronicler’s day to restore faithful patterns of worship for themselves. (Selman, M. J. (1994). 2 Chronicles: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 11, pp. 520–522). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
30:1–27 Hezekiah reached back to restore the Passover (Ex 12:1–20; Lv 23:1–8) which apparently had not been properly and regularly observed in some time, perhaps since the division of the kingdom 215 years earlier (v. 5). The Passover would later be revived again by Josiah (2Ch 35:1–9) and Zerubbabel (Ezr 6:19–22). It celebrated God’s forgiveness and redemption of His believing people. (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (2 Ch 30:1–27). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
Hezekiah (chaps. 29–32).
He was one of Judah’s greatest kings and most devoted spiritual leaders. He repaired the temple and restored the true worship of Jehovah on a scale not seen before. He called the whole nation—Israel and Judah—to observe the Passover together, and he cleansed the land of idols. You would think that such devotion to the Lord would have kept him from problems, but not so. Second Chronicles 32:1 reads, “After all that Hezekiah had so faithfully done, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah” (NIV). Obedience sometimes leads to greater testing, for our good and the glory of God. See the notes on 2 Kings 18–20, and read Isa. 37–39. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1993). Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the Old Testament (2 Ch 13–36). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
Most often both the verb and the noun refer to intercessory prayer. This is best illustrated in Solomon’s prayer for the people at the dedication of the temple (I Kgs 8 and its parallel II Chr 6) where the root occurs 30 times in these chapters alone. The first reference there, I Kgs 8:28, reads, “listen to the prayer (tĕ pillat) of your servant and to his entreaty (tĕḥinnātô) … listen to the cry (rinnâ) and the prayer (tĕ pillâa) your servant makes to you today (mitpallēl). (Hamilton, V. P. (1999). 1776 פָּלַל. (R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke, Eds.) Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Chicago: Moody Press.)
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!!)
Wayne Speed Quotes (NY): In my opinion, the greatest sin in the church of Jesus Christ in this generation is ignorance of the Word of God. Many times I have heard a church officer say, “Well I don’t know much about the Bible, but…” and then he gives his opinion, which often actually contradicts the Word of God! Why doesn’t he know much about the Bible? These things were written aforetime for our learning. God wants you to know His Word. –J. Vernon McGee
The following is excerpted from John Phillips’ commentary on Philippians 2:
When God said, “Let us make man,” He added, “in our image, after our likeness” (Genesis 1:26). Man was created to be as much like God as a creature could be. God endowed man with intellect, emotions, and will; He gave him a body so that he could see, smell, taste, hear, and feel. Man’s physical life was to be under the control of his mental, emotional, and volitional powers. Then God gave him something that set him apart from the animal creation: He gave him a spirit.
Man’s body made him world-conscious and enabled him to live in a physical environment. His soul made him self-conscious – aware that he was a distinct individual with attributes, nature, personality, potential responsibilities, and accountability. His spirit made him God-conscious – aware that he existed to worship and serve his creator. Moreover the Holy Spirit indwelt his human spirit; he was a creature inhabited by God.
When God created the animals He gave each species its own particular behavior mechanism, rigidly controlled by what we call instinct. An animal does what it does because it is what it is. Dogs, eagles, salmon, bees, and all other creatures behave in certain ways because they are locked into those ways of behaving by instinctive inner drives.
God did not create man to be controlled by instinct; He created man to be inhabited by God. Indwelling the human spirit, the Holy Spirit supplied man’s code of behavior. In man the human spirit, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, energized the intellect, emotions, and will, and monitored and controlled the senses. Thus man lived and moved and had his being in God (Acts 17:28). Man behaved as God would behave. Man existed to demonstrate what God is like.
When Adam sinned, the Holy Spirit vacated the human spirit and man was left with a sin principle in control of his behavior. His body became subject to disease and death; his senses were marred by imperfection and were subject to lust; his intellect, emotions, and will were impaired and became easy prey to evil and wrong; his spirit became the plaything of sinister spirits and the victim of false religion. Man in sin was not what God had in mind when He said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” Man in sin is a distortion of man in the image of God.
No wonder Jesus said to Nicodemus, ’Ye must be born again” (John 3:7). We are born of the flesh, born in sin, shapen in iniquity, spiritually dead. True, man in sin can be very clever. Evidences of his genius are everywhere. He can put men on the moon, but he cannot solve the problem of sinful behavior. Man in sin is capable of deep emotion; he can make great sacrifices, hold his lusts at bay, and impose incredible degrees of self-discipline; but he cannot cleanse himself of lust and sin and guilt. Man in sin can invent systems of religion, persuade millions to join a cause, and win countless converts to a creed, but he cannot win the approval of God. His sin still separates him from God. He needs to be born again.
“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, “Jesus told Nicodemus,” and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6). When a person comes to Christ and accepts Him as Savior, the blood of Christ cleanses him from all sin. The Holy Spirit comes back into his human spirit and regenerates it. “As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22). In Christ man is again man as God intended man to be: man inhabited by God. (O Timothy Magazine)
Esther 3
Haman deceives the king into signing an edict that would kill all the Jews.
INSIGHT
Man’s inhumanity to man over the ages has been astounding. Some of the acts of violence and degradation have defied comprehension. In this vein, Haman hatches a savage and inhumane plot against the Jews to have them annihilated–men, women, and children. King Ahasuerus also has a monstrous mind, willing to sanction such savagery without question. When sin progresses to such extremes, we see just how repulsive it is.
(Quiet Walk)
POWER
For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. 1 Corinthians 4:20
The apostle Paul tells us that whatever the kingdom of God may be, it is a power. Let us be clear about this. The Christian message is the proclamation of, and a history of, the greatest power that has ever entered into this world. There has been nothing that has so changed and affected the course of history and the lives of individuals as much as this message.
That is why we must always be careful to emphasize the fact that we are not concerned here primarily with a philosophy, but with a history. Jesus Christ dominates history; even the numbering of our years is acknowledged by His birth. He is, indeed, the biggest factor and the biggest power that history has ever known. The cross of Christ “towers o’er the wrecks of time.”
There is no doubt but that Christianity is the most powerful influence that has ever entered into the life of the whole world. It has changed communities as well as changing men and women. How easy it would be to recount the story of some of the great revivals that have taken place in the history of the Christian church. The great historian Lecky did not hesitate to say that what saved Britain from what was experienced by France at the time of the French Revolution was the evangelical or the so-called Methodist Revival of the eighteenth century. The effect of that revival is incalculable. It not only changed individuals but also whole communities. It gave people an interest in education, and schools came into being. It produced Sunday schools; it gave a stimulus to hospitals and medical care; it led to the reform of the “poor law.” All these things came out of that mighty visitation of the Spirit of God. Christianity is a power.
A Thought to Ponder: Whatever the kingdom of God may be, it is a power.
(From The Kingdom of God, pp. 109-111, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
Almighty God
“And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.” (Genesis 17:1)
This is the first of 48 occurrences of the designation of God by the term “Almighty” in the Old Testament. There are also nine times in the New Testament where God is called “Almighty,” plus once where He is called “omnipotent.” The last time it occurs is very near the end of the Bible, telling us that there is no special temple in the holy city, “for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it” (Revelation 21:22).
Thus, in the first and last books of the Bible, and often in between, we are reminded that our God is an omnipotent God. As Jeremiah prayed; “Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee” (Jeremiah 32:17).
Sarah “laughed” when God said that she would bear a son in her old age, but God responded: “Is any thing too hard for the LORD?” (Genesis 18:14). Many years later, the angel told the Virgin Mary that she would have a son, and she said: “How shall this be?” (Luke 1:34.) The angel replied: “With God nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:37).
Some things God cannot do, of course, for “God cannot be tempted with evil” (James 1:13) and He “cannot lie” (Titus 1:2), so whatever He does is right and whatever He says is true. We may not always understand just why He does or says something, but in eternity we shall learn that He was indeed able to do what He says. He is omnipotent!
God did create the cosmos in all its macroscopic complexity and all the living kinds with their microscopic complexity. “I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32:27). (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
Confident Prayer
Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Luke 11:11
Having tried for years to have a child, Richard and Susan were elated when Susan became pregnant. Her health problems, however, posed a risk to the baby, and so Richard lay awake each night praying for his wife and child. One night, Richard sensed he didn’t need to pray so hard, that God had promised to take care of things. But a week later Susan miscarried. Richard was devastated. He wondered, Had they lost the baby because he hadn’t prayed hard enough?
On first reading, we might think today’s parable suggests so. In the story, a neighbor (sometimes thought to represent God) only gets out of bed to help the friend because of the friend’s annoying persistence (Luke 11:5–8). Read this way, the parable suggests that God will give us what we need only if we badger Him. And if we don’t pray hard enough, maybe God won’t help us.
But biblical commentators like Klyne Snodgrass believe this misunderstands the parable—its real point being that if neighbors might help us for selfish reasons, how much more will our unselfish Father. We can therefore ask confidently (vv. 9–10), knowing that God is greater than flawed human beings (vv. 11–13). He isn’t the neighbor in the parable, but the opposite of him.
“I don’t know why you lost your baby,” I told Richard, “but I know it wasn’t because you didn’t pray ‘hard’ enough. God isn’t like that.” (By Sheridan Voysey) Our Daily Bread
Up Close and Personal Each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself. Ephesians 5:33
Someone has said, “Love is blind, but marriage is a real eye-opener.” How true. You start marriage from a distance. Your honeymoon view is soft and fuzzy, filtered through a fine mist of warm feelings. Goose bumps. Everything appears to be perfectly put together. But the closer you get to one another, the more flaws you see.
If you were looking at me from across the room, there are some things you couldn’t tell about me from that vantage point. You wouldn’t be able to see that a childhood case of chicken pox left a noticeable scar on my forehead. You wouldn’t notice the little nick I got right above my eyebrow from sledding into a fence when I was five years old.
Marriage is much like that, isn’t it? The longer you are together, the more things you learn about this man or woman—this person you once kissed at a candlelit altar—that are not very pleasant, not too pretty. Marriage truly is the process of two selfish people learning to love one another in the midst of their imperfections.
For some, that’s where divorce is born . . . if not actual legal divorce, then emotional divorce. But for you, it can be where love and commitment grow, as you draw closer and closer without rejecting the other or fearing rejection yourself.
That’s what Jesus did when He saw you. Love motivated Him to move toward people who were unlovable. And in the ongoing experience of marriage, He gives you the opportunity to embody His kind of love each day, getting up close and personal, forgiving, persevering, growing in Christ by refusing to grow apart. In marriage, life is lived in very close proximity. You need Christ to love your spouse through you, despite your spouse’s flaws, disappointments and weaknesses. (Moments with You Couples Devotional by Dennis and Barbara Rainey)
THE HOLY SPIRIT GIVES US HIS POWER
My speech and my preaching were not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. 1 Corinthians 2:4
The Holy Spirit gives us His power, and, thank God, He not only gave it to the first apostles, He has also given it to quite unknown people throughout the centuries. He has enabled some simple people to speak just the right word at the right moment. John Bunyan tells us in his autobiography, Grace Abounding, that one of the greatest blessings and helps he ever had was one afternoon listening to three uneducated women who were doing some knitting together in the sunshine, outside a house, talking about the Lord Jesus Christ. He got more from them than from anybody else. And you find that is what happens. God gives this power to the simplest, humblest Christian to testify to the Lord Jesus Christ, sharing what He has done and the difference He has made to human life. This is how the Holy Spirit glorifies the Son. When He works in us, what He does is to make us glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. The man in whom the Spirit dwells does not talk about himself; whether he is a preacher or whatever he may be, you do not come away talking about him.
You and I have the inestimable privilege of being men and women who in this life and in our daily work and vocation can be glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, God grant that we all may be filled with this Spirit, the Holy Spirit, of God, that we may “know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death” (Philippians 3:10); that we may know what He has done for us; that we may know we are the children of God and joint heirs with Christ; that we may have glimpses of the glory that awaits us and that we may find our lives transformed and filled with His power, so that we may say with Paul, “I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me”(Galatians 2:20).
A Thought to Ponder
You and I have the inestimable privilege of being men and women who in our daily work can glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. (From Saved in Eternity, p. 94, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
NOW SHE IS A TEACHER!!!
In September of 2005, on the first day of school, Martha Cothren, a History teacher at Robinson High School in Little Rock, did something not to be forgotten. On the first day of school, with the permission of the school superintendent, the principal and the building supervisor, she removed all of the desks in her classroom. When the first period kids entered the room they discovered that there were no desks.
‘Ms. Cothren, where are our desks?’
She replied, ‘You can’t have a desk until you tell me how you earn the right to sit at a desk.’ They thought, ‘Well, maybe it’s our grades.’ ‘No,’ she said. ‘Maybe it’s our behavior.’ She told them, ‘No, it’s not even your behavior.’
And so, they came and went, the first period, second period, third period. Still no desks in the classroom. Kids called their parents to tell them what was happening and by early afternoon television news crews had started gathering at the school to report about this crazy teacher who had taken all the desks out of her room.
The final period of the day came and as the puzzled students found seats on the floor of the desk-less classroom. Martha Cothren said, ‘Throughout the day no one has been able to tell me just what he or she has done to earn the right to sit at the desks that are ordinarily found in this classroom. Now I am going to tell you.’
At this point, Martha Cothren went over to the door of her classroom and opened it. Twenty-seven (27) U.S. Veterans, all in uniform, walked into that classroom, each one carrying a school desk. The Vets began placing the school desks in rows, and then they would walk over and stand alongside the wall. By the time the last soldier had set the final desk in place those kids started to understand, perhaps for the first time in their lives, just how the right to sit at those desks had been earned.
Martha said, ‘You didn’t earn the right to sit at these desks. These heroes did it for you. They placed the desks here for you. They went halfway around the world, giving up their education and interrupting their careers and families so you could have the freedom you have. Now, it’s up to you to sit in them. It is your responsibility to learn, to be good students, to be good citizens. They paid the price so that you could have the freedom to get an education. Don’t ever forget it.’
By the way, this is a true story. And this teacher was awarded the Veterans of Foreign Wars Teacher of the Year for the State of Arkansas in 2006. She is the daughter of a WWII POW.
Do you think this email is worth passing along so others won’t forget either, that the freedoms we have in this great country were earned by our U.S. Veterans? ………………. I did.
Let us always remember the men and women of our military and the rights they have won for us.
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