Nehemiah 4
Sanballat angry with the Jewsverses 1-2
But it came to pass – that when Sanballat heard that we built the wall
he was wroth – took great indignation – mocked the Jews
and he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria
saying
What do these feeble Jews?
Will they fortify themselves?
Will they sacrifice?
Will they make an end in a day?
Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?
Tobiah mocked Jewsverse 3
Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him – and he said
Even that which they build
IF a fox go up he shall even break down their stone wall
Nehemiah prayedverses 4-5
HEAR – O our God
FOR we are despised and turn their reproach on their own head
and give them for a prey in the land of captivity
and cover not their iniquity
And let not their sin be blotted out from before YOU
for they have provoked YOU to anger before the builders
People had a mind to workverse 6
So built we the wall
and all the wall was joined together to the half thereof
FOR the people had a MIND TO WORK
Nehemiah prayed and set a watchverses 7-9
But it came to pass that when Sanballat – Tobiah – the Arabians
Ammonites – Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem
were made up and that the breaches began to be stopped
then they were very wroth and conspired
all of them together to come and to fight
against Jerusalem to hinder it
Nevertheless we made our PRAYER to our God
and set a watch against them day and night – because of them
Judah complainedverses 10-11
And Judah said
The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed
and there is much rubbish
so that we are not able to build the wall
And our adversaries
said
They shall not know – neither see
till we come in the midst among them – and slay them
and cause the work to cease
Nehemiah armed the peopleverses 12-13
And it came to pass – that when the Jews which dwelt by them came
they said to us TEN TIMES
From all places whence you shall return
to us they will be on you
THEREFORE set I in the lower places behind the wall
and on the higher places
I even set the people after their families
with their swords – spears – bows
Nehemiah encourages the peopleverse 14
I looked – and rose up
and said to the nobles – the rulers – the rest of the people
Be not you afraid of them – remember the Lord
which is great and terrible – and fight for your
brethren – sons – daughters – wives – houses
Nehemiah planned for attack of enemyverses 15-18
And it came to pass – when our enemies heard that it was known to us
and God had brought their counsel to nought
that we returned all of us to the wall
everyone to his work
And it came to pass from that time forth
that the half of my servants wrought in the work
and the other half of them held both the
spears – shields – bows – habergeons
and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah
They which built on the wall – they that bare burdens – with those that laded
every one with one of his hands wrought in the work
with the other hand held a weapon
For the builders – everyone had his sword girded by his side
and so built – and he that sounded the trumpet was by me
Nehemiah established a signal of warningverses 19-20
And I
said to the nobles – rulers – rest of the people
The work is great and large – and we separated on the wall
one far from another
In what place therefore you hear the sound of the trumpet
resort you thither to us – our God shall fight for us
Everyone was prepared for battle continuallyverses 21-23
So we labored in the work – and half of them held the spears
from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared
Likewise at the same time
said I to the people
Let every one with his servant lodge within Jerusalem
that in the night they may be a guard to us
and labor on the day
So neither I – nor my brethren – nor my servants
nor the men of the guard which followed me
none of us put off our clothes
saving that every one put them off for washing
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 1 But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we built the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews. (3932 “mocked” [la‘ag] means to treat with contempt, to deride, jeering, to speak barbarously, or ridicule.)
DEVOTION: Here are grown men mocking the work of God. They were angry that Nehemiah had organized the people to work around their homes to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. It was a simple plan, to have everyone understand, that when they were building part of the wall it was the part that was going to protect their family or business or place of worship.
This type of plan was good and Sanballat knew it but was angry that it was working. He and his friends didn’t want the Jewish people to establish a city that they couldn’t come and destroy at any time. They didn’t want the Jewish religion to be a force in the area again.
Now we have the same problem here as many times we will find people who will mock us when we give a testimony for Jesus Christ. They might laugh in our face or they might just call what we believe false.
We have to be prepared to have people make fun of us on a regular basis in our world but that should not stop us from witnessing for the LORD. We are responsible to build HIS church which HE promises the “gates of Hell” will not prevail against it.
Mocking is one of the ways the enemy wanted to stop the work in Jerusalem and it is true today of those who want to stop the work of the church. Our goal should be to reach everyone in our world with the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in spite of the mocking we will receive.
Are you willing to face those who will laugh at your message? Are you willing to face those who will try to defend their beliefs against the Word of God? We have to have a plan like Nehemiah to defend our beliefs with answers from the Word of God. We have to be prepared for the battle because we are on a battle ground even today.
CHALLENGE: We live in a angry world that doesn’t want to hear the message of Jesus Christ. They don’t want to change. We have a life changing message they need to hear!!!
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 4 Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach on their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity. (939 “despised” [buwzah] means something or someone who incites contempt or scorn in others, or a disrespect with an implicatin of verbal mockery.)
DEVOTION: Nehemiah had an answer to those who opposed the work of the LORD. He simply prayed and turned them over to the LORD. He knew the LORD was in control. He knew the LORD had sent him to Jerusalem to build the wall around the city. He knew that the LORD was able to handle the situation with HIS great power. So he did the simple thing and prayed and let the LORD deal with the problem. But he also planned for a attack at any time.
So we find that we also have to have a two-fold plan when we are threatened by an enemy. We have to ask the LORD to deal with the problem. Then we have to follow up with a plan we think the LORD would have us use in a given situation.
We are not going to take up weapons like the children of Israel had to put at their sides but we are going to let the LORD give us instructions as to what weapons we are going to use against the enemies of the message we are supposed to present to the people around us.
The Holy Spirit is going to give us the words we need to say to those who come up against our faith. We are going to be given the words necessary to defend our faith against all enemies. It is found in the Word of God.
Our part of the equation is to daily be in the Word of God to know what is stated in it to use for our personal growth regarding our relationship with Jesus Christ and also to be used to defend what we believe from Scripture.
We can’t just sit around and wait for the world to come to us but we have to enter the battle field to build HIS church. This takes action. This takes a knowledge of the Word of God. This takes the leading of the Holy Spirit in our life. All this comes from a personal working relationship with the LORD through our prayer life and devotional life.
Once we are armed we can go into the battle with confidence. We have to do as Nehemiah did and turn them over to the LORD and face them with the help of the LORD.
CHALLENGE: We can be confident that HE will never let us down.
: 8 And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it. (8442 “hinder” [tow‘ah] means confusion, disturbance, disorderly outburst, harm, calamity, chaos, perversion, trouble, uproar, or lie.)
DEVOTION: The goal of those who lived around Jerusalem was to cause confusion in Jerusalem. They would do this by spreading rumors of an attack against the city. They would cause it by spreading lies about the Jews. They would use any means they had at their disposal to trouble the Jews, so that they would stop building a wall of protection.
The leadership of Nehemiah kept them working. He had a plan and he was working his plan to keep the walls going up in spite of the threats of the enemy. He was not going to stop doing a good work for the LORD. He prayed and turned the enemies over to the LORD for HIM to deal with them and kept working.
We have many people today that want to harm the work of the LORD. They are found in our schools where the powers that be want to not have the mention of God in the schools at all and they wonder why the students are so rebellious and why there is so much violence in the lives of the students.
On the college campuses we find that the powers that be want to undermine any belief in God. The ridicule God in their lectures and will not usually allow the students to have a word about their belief in God. We have a current movie out called “God is not dead” where this issue is confronted and has a good outcome of a testimony for Jesus Christ on a college campus. This is not the norm in my places around the world.
There are political leaders in some cites who want to have pastors stop preaching against what the Bible calls sin and they threaten legal actions that could put the pastor in jail for time periods.
We live in a time when it seems that the powers that be want to see Christianity quietly go away, so that, life can be easier to live in sin. That is not God’s plan for HIS people.
HE wants us to be a witness no matter what group is against us. Nehemiah turned them over to the LORD and we need to do the same. HE is in control even though it seems that the powers to be are more powerful than we think we can go against. That is a lie from Satan. He wants us to quit fighting and the LORD says NO to that.
The battle is real but our LORD is stronger than any foe we can meet today as HE was in the days of Nehemiah. We have to be prepared for battle with our armor of God that we need to put on each morning. We have to be prepared by working together with other believers to see that the witness goes out in our neighborhoods.
CHALLENGE: There is a conspiracy going on today but the victory is going to be ours through the strength the LORD gives us to fight.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 14 And I looked, and rose up, and said to the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, “Be not you afraid of them: remember the LORD, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses”. (2142 “remember” [zakar] means recall, to keep in mind for attention or consideration, proclaim, mention, or be mindful.)
DEVOTION: It is good to have a memory. In this case Nehemiah told the people to be mindful of who they were serving and WHO was protecting them from their enemies.
Sometimes we forget that we are on the LORD’S side. If we are serving the LORD faithfully and asking HIM for guidance than we need to remember that HE is there by our side when we face our enemies.
Once the children of Israel moved back to Jerusalem, they were the enemy of the people who had lived in the land since they went into captivity. The LORD was giving them back the land but the people who had lived there for many years didn’t want to give up the land again.
God wanted HIS people back in the place that HE had promised them many years ago. HE wanted them there to fulfil the prophecies that had been made of a coming Messiah who would deliver the Jews and all other nations through HIS death on the cross for the sins of the world.
God had a plan and was working HIS plan but the enemy, the devil, didn’t want this to happen. He wanted the children of Israel to fail. He wanted them destroyed because they were the people of God.
We face the same enemy today. There are many with human faces but the one behind them is Satan. He doesn’t want Christians to bring people into a saving relationship with the LORD just like he didn’t want the Jews to be defeated by the people who lived in the land.
The battle is real. We need to be fighting with each other if those who are fighting are genuine believers. We have to have each other’s backs. We have to pray for and support fellow believers in their fight with the world, the flesh and the devil.
CHALLENGE: Are you encouraging fellow believers or are you just staying quiet when they need our support?
: 15 And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, everyone unto his work. (6098 “counsel” [‘etsah] means advice, or purpose.)
DEVOTION: Discouragement is real in the work of the LORD. The enemy is real. He wants to cause the work of the LORD to cease. He will use any means available.
Sometimes he works without the camp by using people who don’t like those who are followers of the LORD. Sometimes he will work within the camp by causing the people of God to be afraid all the time. This shows a lack of trust in the LORD.
Nehemiah understood both types of threats. He encouraged the people with the fact that the LORD was going to fight the battle for them. He also gave them weapons of war to defend their homes. He gave them a plan of attack when an enemy might come.
The enemy realized that the LORD was with the people and had revealed to them their plan of attack. They understood that the Jews were ready for them. This didn’t make them happy.
Once he knew their plans he went to the LORD in prayer. Then he planned for their attack by arming all the workers. Note that they first prayed. After prayer he told the workers not to worry. They had their weapons on them while they worked. Nehemiah told them that there would be a trumpet sound if they attacked. Once the trumpet was sounded the people were to gather at the sound of the trumpet. Nehemiah had a warning.
Nehemiah took the warning to the LORD first. Then he worked out a plan with the people. Our advice has to come from the LORD. The enemy receives his advice from the real enemy, Satan.
Our God can turn the advice of the enemy into nothing but we have to go to HIM in prayer. Are we depending on the LORD when faced with an enemy? Are we asking the LORD for advice before we make decisions regarding our future? Or are we asking the LORD to condone our decisions without consulting HIM?
CHALLENGE: Realize the enemy is real. The enemy never rests. The LORD never rests. HE is stronger than the enemy. Trust in the LORD!!! HE will win the battle for us.
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)
Nehemiah’s prayer regarding enemiesverses 4-5
we are despised
turn their reproach on their own heads
give them as plunder to a land of captivity
do not cover their iniquity
do not let their sin be blotted out from
before You
they have provoked You to anger before
the builders
Nehemiah’s prayer before setting a watch for enemiesverse 9
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Sacrificeverse 2
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign)verses 4, 9, 15, 20
Lord – Adonai (Master, Owner)verse 14
great and terrible
God brought counsel of enemy to noughtverse 15
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)
Sanballatverses 1, 2, 7
Wroth
Great indignation
Mocked the Jews
Spoke before army of Samaria
Army of Samariaverse 2
Tobiah the Ammoniteverses 3, 7
Arabiansverse 7
Ammonitesverse 7
Ashdoditesverse 7
Adversariesverse 11
Enemiesverse 15
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Anger over work of LORD moving forwardverses 1, 7
Mockedverse 1
Calling Jews feebleverse 2
Despised the Jewsverse 4
Iniquityverse 5
Sinverse 5
Provoke the LORDverse 5
Conspire against work of the LORDverse 8
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Prayerverses 4-5, 9
Mind to workverse 6
Not afraidverse 14
Encouragementverse 14
Prepared for battleverse 18
LORD fight for usverse 20
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Jewsverses 1, 12
Nehemiahverses 4-23
Wants the LORD to hear comments
by Tobiah
built the wall
Prayer to God
Set a guard post in lower places and higher places
People had a mind to workverse 6
Jerusalemverses 7, 8, 22
Walls were made up
Breaches began to be stopped
Enemy conspired to fight and hinder
Judahverses 10, 16
Strength of the bearers of burden is decayed – much rubbish
Noblesverses 14, 19
Rulersverses 14, 19
Told to fight for their brethren
Workersverses 16-18, 21
Half wrought the work
Half held spears, shields, bows, etc
Everyone listened for the sound of the trumpetverse 20
Clothes taken off just for washingverse 23
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
23. Nehemiah emerges here as a leader in the further sense that he set a strong example of what he had urged others to do (cf. the previous verse). He was not an egalitarian, but used his special resources to make his contribution the more effective. The next chapter will show other and more striking instances of this. (Kidner, D. (1979). Ezra and Nehemiah: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 12, p. 102). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
4:21–23. The people worked diligently, from early morning till nighttime. Those living outside the city did not even return to their homes. Venturing outside Jerusalem at night would have been a dangerous risk. Through each night some workers stood guard, knowing the city was vulnerable to attack even then. They did not even take off their clothes to clean up after work; they kept a diligent watch at all times. (Getz, G. A. (1985). Nehemiah. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 683). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
Again, Nehemiah spoke words of encouragement to the people (Neh. 4:19–20). He reminded them that they were involved in a great work. After all, they were serving a great God and rebuilding the walls of a great city. He also reminded them that they were not working alone, even though they couldn’t see all of their fellow workers on the wall. God was with all of them and would come to their defense.
No matter what the workers were doing, or where they labored on the wall, they all kept an ear open for the sound of the trumpet. What an example for us to follow as we await the return of the Lord! “For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God” (1 Thes. 4:16).
Nehemiah also instituted a “second shift” and required the workers from the other towns to stay in Jerusalem at night and help guard the city. It is often while we sleep that the enemy does his most insidious work (Matt. 13:25), and we must be on guard.
Nehemiah not only organized the workers and guards and encouraged them to trust the Lord, but he also set the right kind of example before them (Neh. 4:23). He was a leader who served and a servant who led. He stayed on the job and was alert at all times. He inspected the city’s defenses every night and made sure that the guards were on duty.
The late Dr. Alan Redpath explained why the Jews succeeded in getting their work done and keeping the enemy at bay: The people had a mind to work (v. 6), a heart to pray (v. 9), an eye to watch (v. 9), and an ear to hear (v. 20); and this gave them the victory (Victorious Christian Service, Revell, 1958; pp. 76–79).
They also had a godly leader with the faith to stand.
“Therefore … be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:58, NKJV). (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Determined (p. 58). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
Judea’s enemies realize that their plots have again been foiled, but Nehemiah takes no chances. He divides the work force, posting half of them at significant points, equipping them with spears, shields, bows, and armor, while the rest continue on with the work (4:15–23). Some even handle building materials with one hand and hold weapons in the other. Nehemiah takes command over the entire work force, and has a man with a trumpet beside him so that if the enemies should mount any opposing force, the trumpet will be blown and the fighting force readied for battle. (Goldberg, L. (1995). Nehemiah. In Evangelical Commentary on the Bible (Vol. 3, p. 316). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.)
Ver. 23. So neither I, nor my brethren, &c.] The nobles and rulers: nor my servants; his domestic servants that waited upon him: nor the men of the guard which followed me; his body-guard, which attended him as a commissioner of the king of Persia for state and grandeur: none of us put off our clothes; at night when they laid themselves down to sleep, but laid in them, that they might be ready upon an alarm made: saving that every one put them off for washing; not for common washing, because dirty, but for washing on account of ceremonial uncleanness, which required washing both of bodies and garments, see Lev. 15:5, 6, 7, 8, 10, &c. and the Vulgate Latin version expresses it by baptism, as the apostle calls such ceremonial ablutions in Heb. 6:2 and 9:10. It is in the margin of our Bibles, every one went with his weapon for water: when he went to Siloam, or any other place, for water, he took a weapon with him to defend himself upon occasion; which is no bad sense of the words. Noldius renders the words, every one with his weapon (and) water; both were at his bolster, ready, if wanted, see 1 Sam. 26:11, 12. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 3, p. 137). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
16–23. I hope the Reader will again and again, as he passeth through this whole chapter, carry his thoughts beyond the literal relation, to the contemplation of the church of God as represented in it. The Christian is both a warrior, and a builder: and sure he is, in every stage of his pursuit, in building the temple of the Lord, to meet with opposition. In all ages there have been Sanballats and Tobiahs. Like Nehemiah’s servants, God’s people must have the sword of the Spirit to oppose the adversary; and the whole armour of salvation, on the right hand, and on the left. It is on this account the apostle admonisheth the Ephesian Church to be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Ephes. 6:10, &c. (Hawker, R. (2013). Poor Man’s Old Testament Commentary: 1 Kings–Esther (Vol. 3, p. 646). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.)
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!!)
SPECIAL REVELATION
I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen. Exodus 33:23
We ask, Is there any hope for us? And the answer is to be found in the second type of revelation of which the Bible speaks, and that is what we call special revelation. And the special revelation that we find in the Bible has a very distinct and definite object, which is to reveal to us the character of God, the nature of God, and especially the character and nature of God as they are revealed in His saving grace.
Now the Bible makes a unique claim at this point: It claims that it and it alone gives us this special knowledge of God. The Bible claims for itself that it is the record of God”s special revelation of Himself and of all His gracious and saving purposes with respect to men and women. The great message of this book from beginning to end is God revealing Himself. It is not the great religious quest of mankind. No; it is the great eternal God drawing back the veil and giving an insight into and a knowledge of Himself and of His great and gracious purposes. That is the subject matter of the Bible.
God has been pleased to reveal Himself through what are called theophanies–manifestations of God, the various appearances of God. This happened to Moses: “And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: and I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen” (Exodus 33:22-23). God said in effect, “You cannot see Me face to face, for no man can see Me in that sense and live. Nevertheless, I will reveal My glory to you.” Moses saw the glory of God; he saw the back parts of God passing by.
A Thought to Ponder
The Bible claims for itself that it is the record of God”s special revelation of Himself.
(From God the Father, God the Son, pp. 15-16, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
The Infinite Wisdom and Knowledge of God
“In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Colossians 2:3)
One of the most amazing of the divine attributes is God’s omniscience. He not only understands all the complexities of relativistic science and higher mathematics, He ordained them in the first place! The same applies to every other discipline of study and activity.
And He knows all about each of us! “O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off” (Psalm 139:1-2).
As far as human knowledge is concerned, it is vital to know that “the fear of the LORD” is the very foundation of “knowledge” and of “wisdom” (Proverbs 1:7; 9:10). All the greatest scientists of the past acknowledged that they were seeking merely to “think God’s thoughts after Him.”
How foolish it is to ignore or to oppose God! There are only four places in the Bible that speak of God laughing (Psalm 2:4; 37:13; 59:8; Proverbs 1:26), and each of them describes His response to such folly.
Instead, we should marvel at all the wonders of His creation and providence. “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” (Romans 11:33).
Our text verse above (Colossians 2:3) is actually referring explicitly to the Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten and eternal Son of God. It is He who has given us access to the Creator God and therefore access to the divine knowledge and understanding. Part of the still-effective dominion mandate (Genesis 1:26, 28) is to learn what we can about God’s creation, always remembering that Jesus insisted that—no matter what unbelievers say—“the scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35).
(HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
Proverbs 2
Wisdom must be sought after with our entire being.
INSIGHT
Nothing of value is easily obtained. If it were, it would no longer be valuable. Inherent within the concept of value is the feature of scarcity. If all gravel were made of pure gold, then gold would not be valuable. The same is true with intangibles like wisdom. She is an exceedingly valuable life commodity, but she is not easy to come by. If we want wisdom, we must incline our ears, apply our hearts, cry for her, lift our voice for her, seek her as we would silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures (vv. 2-4). Then, and only then, will we understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God (v. 5).
Earlier this year, a prestigious Manhattan prep school fired its longtime director of health and wellness, Justine Fonte for teaching at another institution. It wasn’t that she taught somewhere else. It’s what she taught: “porn literacy” — to high schoolers.
Even more revealing than the course itself has been the ensuing debate about how best to help teenagers navigate the adult content found everywhere in online life. In a sympathetic writeup, the New York Times defended Fonte’s class for “teach(ing) students how to critically assess what they see on the screen…how to recognize what is realistic and what is not, how to deconstruct implicit gender roles, and how to identify what types of behavior could be a health or safety risk.”
In other words, Fonte’s class could help students consume online pornography ethically. As strange as that may sound, it’s an approach more common than you might think. Three years ago, Nadia Bolz-Weber, a popular progressive writer, endorsed the idea.
Still, as Samuel James put it in his article at First Things, “It is rather surprising that anyone who knows the name Harvey Weinstein could believe that progressive gender politics can infuse pornography with virtue.” This is especially true for the New York Times. After all, their own Nicholas Kristof, just last year, broke the story that one of the Internet’s largest porn sites featured videos depicting the exploitation of minors, sex trafficking, and even rape.
On that particular streaming platform, which received 115 million views per day in 2019, a significant portion of visitors consumed footage of actual violence and sexual abuse against children. The videos remained despite being openly advertised as such by the users who uploaded the videos. Since Kristof’s article, dozens of women have sued the website’s parent company for profiting from their exploitation. Millions of hours of content have now been deleted in an effort to purge illegal material.
Anyone with a smartphone can easily access this content, including students. Educating them about how to avoid the content, why to avoid the content, and the direct connection between pornography and exploitation would makes sense. Thinking that students can be trained to wade through this hellscape of exploitation to find “ethical” and politically correct content does not.
Writing at The Atlantic, Elizabeth Bruenig argues that “porn literacy” teachers have no idea how dark and exploitive modern pornography has become. The kids in Fonte’s class who spoke to the New York Times recalled being “annoyed and bored” by her presentation, not shocked. They’d already seen it all, exposed to this material that is not just “dirty” but in Bruenig’s words “brutal, cruel, vicious, and even genuinely criminal.”
In writing her article, Bruenig spoke with teenage girls who candidly told her that the boys they date expect them to participate in the violent, sadistic, and degrading acts they’ve seen online. “If anything,” she concludes, porn literacy classes “aren’t given nearly enough funding, time, or other resources to fully demonstrate just how onerous ethical porn use really is.” (Quiet Walk)
False Prophets and True
“And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.” (Matthew 24:11)
In the apostolic period, two main gifts of the Spirit were those of the apostle and prophet. In fact, the church itself was “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets” (Ephesians 2:20). One function of these men was to receive and transmit God’s revelation to His people—first verbally, then eventually written in permanent form in the New Testament. “Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit” (Ephesians 3:5).
The apostle Paul revealed also that such prophecies would cease once they were no longer needed. “When that which is perfect [or ‘complete’] is come, then that which is in part shall be done away” (1 Corinthians 13:9-10). Clearly in the context, this refers to the complete revelation of God. When the last book of the Bible was transmitted to the church by the last living apostle, the Lord warned us neither to “add unto” nor to “take away from the words of the book of this prophecy” (Revelation 22:18-19).
But many false prophets have indeed “gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1), just as Jesus warned, and they have “deceived many.” One of them, a self-asserted seventh-century “prophet” from Arabia, received certain “revelations” from a “god” that were vastly different from those of the God of the Bible, and his followers now number over a billion.
There have been others, before and since, and the Lord Jesus warned us always to “beware of false prophets” (Matthew 7:15). The basic criterion by which to test any alleged prophecy, ancient or modern, is whether or not it fully conforms to the written Word of God, the Bible. “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:20). (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
GOD’S SPECIAL PEOPLE
You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people.
1 Peter 2:9
The doctrine that Christians are God’s special people is given in a very remarkable way in John 17, but it is taught everywhere throughout the New Testament. It is found, for instance, in that mighty first chapter of the Epistle to the Ephesians, but especially in Paul’s prayer for the church at Ephesus. He prays that the eyes of their understanding may be enlightened. He wants them to grasp this truth with their minds and with their understanding because it is so vital. He prays that they may know what is the hope of their calling and then, second, what are ‘the riches of the glory of his inheritance” “God’s inheritance in the saints.” I want you to know, he says, and to see yourselves as God’s inheritance. I want you to grasp this idea of God’s special people. It is his prayer, above everything else, that these people might know this.
Consider, too, what he wrote to Timothy. Timothy was very troubled and worried about certain things that were happening in some of the churches for which he was responsible, and Paul in effect said, “Timothy, you need not be troubled, ‘The Lord knoweth them that are his.’” God knows His own people, and that means that He not only knows them, but He looks after them, He keeps His eye upon them. Then in Hebrews 2:13 these words are applied to the Lord: “Behold I and the children which God hath given me.” That is how the Lord Jesus Christ refers to Christians and to the members of His church. Peter also writes on the same theme in his epistle: “Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people” (1 Peter 2:9), which means a people for God’s special interest and possession. God has chosen and marked out and separated a people for Himself. A Thought to Ponder: Christians are a people for God’s special interest and possession. (From Safe in the World, pp. 34-36, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
Setting Up House
A man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife. GENESIS 2:24
On the morning of our oldest daughter’s wedding, I sat on a picnic table near our backyard fire pit and wept. This was the very place where we’d shared hundreds of family experiences together over the years, but I knew my relationship with Ashley, who I called “My Princess,” was about to change—forever.
Genesis 2:24 instructs newlyweds to “leave” their parents. This doesn’t mean cutting off your relationship with them but instead committing to place a higher priority and loyalty on your spouse. This was what Ashley was about to do. As you think about your parents, here are some healthy boundaries that will enable you to leave, cleave, and protect your marriage:
1. Never speak disrespectfully about your spouse to your parents. Early in our marriage, I shared one of Barbara’s weaknesses with my mother. I was astounded at how quickly Mom rushed to my side, like a mother hen coming to shelter her wounded chick. My mom never forgot that weakness. As a result, I promised Barbara I would never again discuss negative things about her with my mom.
2. Be deliberate in the way you plan your holidays. At some point, it will be time for you to start establishing your own traditions in your own family. And even when those traditions include visiting with parents and inlaws, keep your stay brief.
3. Don’t depend on your parents for finances. There may be a rare situation where their assistance may be appropriate, but if you depend on them habitually you can play to a weak spot in your parent’s lives where they create “emotional IOUs.” And if you’re the parent or in-law in this scenario and your children don’t build these hedges around their own marriage, be mature and loving enough to build them around yourselves. Encourage your children to leave, cleave and establish their loyalty to one another. (Moments with You Couples Devotional by Dennis and Barbara Rainey)
PROVIDENCE AND HISTORY
Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. Romans 1:21-22
You get the same type of revelation [as seen in creation and nature] in what is commonly called providence: the ordering of things in this world, their maintenance, their sustenance, and the fact that everything keeps on going and continues in life.
How is all this explained? Well, ultimately it is a question of providence. Through the ordering of providence, the seasons, the rain and the snow, and the fructification of crops are all manifestations of God.
The third aspect of general revelation is history. The whole history of the world, if we could but see it, is a revelation of God.
But now we have to say that in and of itself general revelation is not sufficient. It ought to be sufficient, but it is not. And that, it seems to me, is Paul’s argument in Romans 1:20, where he says, “They are without excuse.” The evidence is there, but that has not been enough. Why? Because of sin. If men and women were not sinners, by looking at the miracles and the works of God in creation, in providence and in history, they would be able to arrive, by a process of reasoning, at God. But because of their sin, they do not; they deliberately turn their backs upon doing so. That is the great argument in the remainder of Romans 1. Paul says, “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools” (verses 21-22). And he goes on to say that they began to worship the creature rather than the Creator.
A Thought to Ponder
The whole history of the world, if we could but see it, is a revelation of God.
(From God the Father, God the Son, pp. 14-15, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
I Am
“And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.” (Mark 14:62)
After His arrest, “the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found none” (Mark 14:55). Then they got their sought-after witness from Jesus Himself when the high priest asked Him: “Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” (v. 61), and it only took two words from Him. “I Am!”
As a matter of fact, this was not the first time He had thus identified Himself as the self-existent, eternal God. On an earlier occasion in Jerusalem, He had told the Pharisees: “I am the light of the world,” and then, “I am from above: …I am not of this world… If ye believe not that I am, ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:12, 23-24; the “he” in verse 24 is not in the Greek original).
He made this especially clear a few minutes later when He asserted: “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). But when He finally made this wonderfully truthful claim in the presence of the council, “they all condemned him to be guilty of death” (Mark 14:64). He had committed the capital crime of blasphemy in their opinion, by claiming to be God.
“I am” is, in fact, the very name of God. When Moses, at the burning bush, was called by God to deliver the Israelites from slavery, God said His name was “I Am That I Am” (Exodus 3:14). The name Jehovah (or Yahweh), the most frequently used name of the Lord in the Old Testament, is essentially this name.
One can count at least 196 “I am” claims of God in Christ (“I am the way, the truth, and the life,” for example—John 14:6) in the Bible. Truly, our Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal, self-existent God, “Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last” (Revelation 22:13). (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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