II Chronicles 10
Jeroboam confronts Rehoboamverses 1-4
And Rehoboam went to Shechem
for to Shechem were all Israel come to make him king
And it came to pass – when Jeroboam the son of Nebat
who was in Egypt
whither he had fled from the presence of Solomon the king
heard it – that Jeroboam returned out of Egypt
and they sent and called him
So Jeroboam and all Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam
saying
Your father made our yoke grievous
now therefore ease you somewhat the grievous
servitude of your father
and his heavy yoke that he put upon us
and we will serve you
Rehoboam asks for three days to replyverse 5
And he said to them
Come again to me after three days
And the people departed
Rehoboam asks older menverse 6
And king Rehoboam took counsel with the old men
that had stood before Solomon his father
while he yet lived
saying
What counsel give you me to return answer to this people?
Older men give adviceverse 7
And they spoke unto him
saying
IF you be KIND to this people – and PLEASE them
and SPEAK GOOD WORDS to them
they will be thy servants for ever
Rehoboam asks his friends for adviceverses 8-9
BUT he forsook the counsel which the old men gave him
and took counsel with the young men
that were brought up with him
that stood before him
And he
said unto them
What advice give ye that we may return answer to this people
which have spoken to me
saying
Ease somewhat the yoke that your father did put upon us?
Younger men replyverses 10-11
And the young men that were brought up with him spoke unto him
saying
Thus shall you answer the people that spoke unto you
saying
Your father made our yoke heavy
but make thou it somewhat lighter for us
Thus shall you
say to them
My little finger shall be thicker
than my father’s loins
For whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you
I will put more to your yoke
my father chastised you with whips
but I will chastise you with scorpions
Rehoboam gives Jeroboam his replyverses 12-14
So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day
as the king bade – saying
Come again to me on the third day
And the king
answered them roughly
And king Rehoboam forsook the counsel of the old men
and answered them after the advice of the young men
saying
My father made your yoke heavy – but I will add thereto
my father chastised you with whips
but I will chastise you with scorpions
Prophecy of Ahijah fulfilledverse 15
So the king hearkened not unto the people
for the cause was of God
that the LORD might perform HIS word
which HE spoke by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to
Jeroboam the son of Nebat
Israel returned to their homesverse 16
And when all Israel saw that the king would not hearken to them
the people answered the king
saying
What portion have we in David?
We have none inheritance in the son of Jesse
every man to your tents – O Israel
and now – David see to your own house
So all Israel went to their tents
Rehoboam ruled in cities of Judahverse 17
BUT as for the children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Judah
Rehoboam reigned over them
People of Israel rebelled against Rehoboamverses 18-19
THEN king Rehoboam sent Hadoram that was over the tribute
and the children of Israel stoned him with stones
that he died
BUT king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot
to flee to Jerusalem
And Israel rebelled against the house of David to this day
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 4 Your father made our yoke grievous: now therefore ease you somewhat the grievous servitude of your father and the heavy yoke that he put on us, and we will serve you. (7185 “grievous” [qashah] means to have difficulties, to be or make heavy, difficult, to cause a situation to not be easy, cause something to require great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure)
DEVOTION: It is said that “death and taxes” are always going to be with us. Here we find that the children of Israel wanted a tax break from the former administration. They thought that Solomon asked too much of them and wanted his son to ask less from them.
They came to Rehoboam with someone who had rebelled against Solomon and fled to Egypt until Solomon died. He came back to lead the rebellion against Solomon’s son Rehoboam.
We would like our taxes to be less as well today. We would like to have more to say about where our tax dollars are spent. We would like to see improvement in our country without a large burden on us that didn’t seem to match what others are paying.
Now if we carry this idea to the church, we would like everyone to give their equal amount in the offering plate each Sunday, so that, the ministry could move forward for the LORD.
Sometimes we think it would be better to rebel against what is going on in the church rather than supporting what is going on at the present time. We might think that the money could be used better in a different area and therefore it should be used in that area.
The membership in a local body of believers need to ask the LORD for wisdom regarding the proper spending of the money that comes into the offering plate each Sunday.
The prayer life of the church is very important to keeping everyone on the same page regarding the use of money. Money can be a divider or cause unity in a local body of believers.
What programs will reach the most people for the LORD? What programs seem to not be reaching those who need to be reached with the gospel of Jesus Christ? Decisions need to be made on the basis of the leading of the LORD through prayer by the leadership and people of a local church.
Rebellion is not a good solution to the problem. Prayer is a better solution. We need to be loyal subjects of the LORD to those HE has placed in leadership over us if they are listening to the LORD.
CHALLENGE: Our enemy, the devil, wants there to be rebellion in the church. The LORD wants us to come a solution that causes unity in the body.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 7 And they spoke to him, saying, If you be kind to this people, and please them, and speak good words to them, they will be your servants forever. (7521 “please” [ratsah] means to accept with pleasure, to become friends, to take pleasure in, to react favorably to, be pleased with, enjoy, or be determined)
DEVOTION: Does being older make you wiser? Are old men wiser than young men when giving advice regarding dealing with people? Do we always make decisions by asking others for help to make a wise decision?
The answer to these questions is what this chapter is all about. Here is a future king asking advice from older men who have served under his father. They wanted him to speak well to those who had come to him for leadership.
Leadership in never automatic when one generation follows another in leadership. The father is always different from the son in many areas. There are some that are the same but most of the time a younger generation thinks they know better than the older generation.
Today we find that there are so many new things in our world. We have new types of phones. We have new types of computers. We have new kinds of televisions. Every day it seems that we have a newer nation than we grew up in. The churches are even changing. Some for the better but most for the worst.
New generations have to answer to the LORD just like the older generation. If they seek advice from their elders it can be good if the elders are ones who have learned from the past. There are even some older Christians who have not learned very much from the Word of God.
God has to give us wisdom to understand who we should listen to for advice. Here we have a young man taking over a kingdom and he asks the older men first for advice then goes to the younger men who he grew up with.
It would be good if both generations gave the same advice regarding pleasing the LORD and then pleasing the people around them. This usually doesn’t happen. Each generation thinks they are smarter than the previous one.
This was true here but the younger generation didn’t have wisdom. This happens many times because our sin nature makes us think that we are smarter than everyone.
Sometimes we should listen to the older generation regarding Biblical truth. The Holy Spirit needs to give us wisdom and HE will if we ask HIM for it.
CHALLENGE: We might not like the advice but we should pray and see what the LORD tells us regarding it.
: 8 But he forsook the counsel which the old men gave him, and took counsel with the young men that were brought up with him, that stood before him. (5800 “forsook” [‘azab] means to leave behind, let go, give up, abandon, forsake, loose, to desert, to depart from, or refuse)
DEVOTION: Age can make a difference in how we think and how we act with others. When we are young we don’t really know how to act with those who are around us. We learn as we get older what is good to do and what is not good to do if we are willing to listen to those who are older than we are in certain areas of our life.
There are always those who are older who have never learned how to make wise decisions. They have refused to change. They think that what they have done all their life is good enough. This is not always true.
However, there are older people who have gained wisdom over the years by learning from their mistakes and are willing to give advice based on what they have learned.
Many times younger people think they know how to do things better than those who are older. They think that they are set in their ways and change comes hard to them. That is true of some older leaders but not of all.
Sometimes we find that there are older people who think well and know how to help the next generation to make wise decisions. They have learned from their past and want to help the next generation to not make the same mistakes they have made.
Here we have an example of younger people thinking that they are wiser than those who are older. They reject any advice from the older generation and pay the consequences of their actions.
We need to be sure that we don’t reject advice from older individuals just because they are old. We have to weigh what is said and ask the LORD for wisdom regarding the advice we receive.
CHALLENGE: Rehoboam would have been wise to listen to the advice of the older men or elders. We might be wise to listen to them as well.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 15 So the king hearkened not unto the people: for the cause was of God, that the LORD might perform his word, which he spoke by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat. (6965 “perform” [quwn] means to arise, become powerful, come on the scene, stand, to be established, to confirm, to be proved, or to be fixed)
DEVOTION: How often we ask advice from people? Do we ask it of those who are older than us or those our same age? Do older people give better advice than young people? How do we know who to listen to?
Solomon is dead. His son Rehoboam is to be king. However, a man by the name of Jeroboam confronts him at his coronation. Jeroboam speaking for the people of Israel wants Rehoboam to ease the tax burden on the people that Solomon had put in force.
Rehoboam asked for three days to answer the people. He went to the older servants of Solomon and asked their counsel. They gave it but he didn’t like it. So he went to his friends who were younger and they gave him the advice that he wanted.
Rehoboam gave the answer to the people that the younger men had given him and this caused the children of Israel to rebel against him. So, the ten tribes went their own way under the leadership of Jeroboam.
The LORD had predicted that ten of the tribes would follow Jeroboam. This was done years in advance of it actually happening. The LORD is omniscient. The LORD knows the future. The LORD has a purpose for each one of us. HE knows us before the foundation of the earth.
HE knew what Rehoboam would answer the people before he did. Rehoboam had a chance to follow the advice of the older men who served with Solomon. He chose the advice of the young men that he grew up with instead.
Too often this happens today. The word of the LORD was confirmed with the taking of the kingdom from Rehoboam. He listened to the wrong council because the LORD allowed it to happen. The LORD knew what was going to happen before it did. God has a plan for HIS people and is working HIS plan.
We have choices to make each day. Are we seeking our answers from the LORD? In this passage we don’t find Rehoboam going to the LORD in prayer. Are we entering the presence of the LORD to find out HIS plan for our lives? Are we open to HIS leading?
CHALLENGE: Before making decisions – PRAY!!! After making decision deal with the consequences if you have gone off on your own. REPENT!!! If you have followed the LORD’S leading and asked counsel of HIM and sometimes of older wiser individuals who love the LORD. REST!!!
: 19 And Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day. (6586 “rebelled” [pasha] means transgress, revolt, to act in disregard of laws, fall away, break away, be disloyal or apostatize.)
DEVOTION: Solomon had put a heavy burden on the people of Israel to keep his lifestyle going during his reign. He was always building new things that used the people as either those who did the work or those who made sure the work was done. He also required that food was given to him for those who came to eat with him on a daily basis.
The people came to Rehoboam and asked if he would lighten their taxes. He said NO!! This answer caused the people to break away from him and follow Jeroboam that was not of the family of David.
So we have ten tribes following Jeroboam and two tribes and the Levites following Rehoboam. He had listened to the advice of those who were in his own age group rather than those who were older and wiser.
Too often we think we know better than those who are older than us. We think we can do things differently because we have new ideas or the old ideas seemed to work before and so why change.
Here was an example of not going to the LORD for wisdom and waiting for HIM to give an answer that would work for the kingdom. It was because of Solomon’s actions that the LORD allowed this to happen. He had caused the children of Israel to disobey HIS commandments and this was the consequence of breaking the commandments of the LORD.
If we don’t wait on the LORD and make sure that we are acting according to HIS standards we will face chastening of the LORD. Rehoboam was facing the chastening of the LORD because he didn’t turn to the LORD for help in making the decision.
His decision caused a division of the children of Israel that would not unite the nation until after a time period of captivity. The wants HIS people to be united in their service to HIM.
CHALLENGE: Are we waiting on the LORD regarding any decisions we are making regarding our service to the LORD? Whose advice are we seeking? Are we following those with years of faithful service to the LORD or those who have no experience in serving the LORD yet? New is not always better!!!
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)
Tributeverse 18
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)
God – Elohim (Creator)verse 15
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal)verse 15
Perform HIS Wordverse 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)
Egyptverse 2
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Grievous yokeverse 4
Forsook counsel of older menverses 8, 13
Counsel of younger menverses 8-11, 14
Answer roughlyverse 13
Hearkened not to the peopleverses 15, 16
Murderverse 18
Rebelledverse 19
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Kindverse 7
Pleaseverse 7
Speak good wordsverse 7
Servantsverse 7
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Rehoboam- son of Solomonverses 1, 5-11, 17, 18
Made king in Shechem
Asked for three days before making
Decision
Counsel of the older men
Wanted him to speak kindly
Didn’t listen to older men but took
Counsel of young men he grew up with
He reigned over Judah and Benjamin
Stoned his man who collected tribute
Went back to Jerusalem
Jeroboam: son of Nebatverses 2-4, 12-16, 18
Came from Egypt where he fled from Solomon
Led Israel to speak to Rehoboam
Answered with a NO by Rehoboam
People rebelled against Rehoboam
Stoned Rehoboam’s tribute man
Ahijah the Shilonite: prophetverse 15
Davidverse 16
Israel rebelled against the house of Davidverse 19
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
DONATIONS:
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QUOTES regarding passage
16 The rebellious spirit of the Israelites, however, against the Davidic dynasty that God had established, was equally sinful (13:5–7). Their cry, literally, of “Every man to your tents,” had been employed before, against David (2 Sam 20:1). For the situations of life in Palestine are naturally those of geographical isolation; its broken terrain encourages political disruption. Some interpreters not infrequently reject the Chronicler’s commitment to the legitimacy of God’s messianic revelations to the house of David and assume an opposite stance, that the “declaration of independence by the northern kingdom [was, instead,] restoring the more basic situation of the people of God” (North, “The Chronicler,” 1:417). (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. 475). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
Verses 12–19
We may learn here, 1. That when public affairs are in a ferment violent proceedings do but make bad worse. Rough answers (such as Rehoboam here gave) do but stir up anger and bring oil to the flames. The pilot has need to steer steadily in a storm. Many have been driven to the mischief they did not intend by being too severely dealt with for what they did intend. 2. That, whatever the devices and designs of men are, God is, by all, doing his own work, and fulfilling the word which he has spoken, no iota or tittle of which shall fall to the ground. The cause of the king’s obstinacy and thoughtlessness was of God, that he might perform the word which he spoke by Ahijah, v. 15. This does not at all excuse Rehoboam’s folly, nor lessen the guilt of his haughtiness and passion, that God was pleased to serve his own ends by them. 3. That worldly wealth, honour, and dominion, are very uncertain things. Solomon reigned over all Israel, and, one would think, had done enough to secure the monarchy entire to his family for many ages; and yet he is scarcely cold in his grave before ten of the twelve tribes finally revolt from his son. All the good services he had done for Israel were now forgotten: What portion have we in David? Thus is the government of Christ cast off by many, notwithstanding all he has done to bind the children of men for ever to himself; they say, We will not have this man to reign over us. But this rebellion will certainly be their ruin. 4. That God often visits the iniquities of the fathers upon the children. Solomon forsakes God, and therefore not he, but his son after him, is forsaken by the greatest part of his people. Thus God, by making the penal consequences of sin to last long and visibly to continue after the sinner’s death, would give an indication of its malignity, and perhaps some intimation of the perpetuity of its punishment. He that sins against God not only wrongs his soul, but perhaps wrongs his seed more than he thinks of. 5. That, when God is fulfilling his threatenings, he will take care of that, at the same time, promises do not fall to the ground. When Solomon’s iniquity is remembered, and for it his son loses ten tribes, David’s piety is not forgotten, nor the promise made to him; but for the sake of that his grandson had two tribes preserved to him. The failings of the saints shall not frustrate any promise made to Christ their Head. They shall be chastised, but the covenant not broken, Ps. 89:31–34. (Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 588). Peabody: Hendrickson.)
10:12–16. When Rehoboam again confronted Jeroboam and the people, he repeated the policy advocated by his young cohorts (vv. 12–14). This, the chronicler wrote (v. 15), was of God, however, for He had already promised Jeroboam that he would rule over the Northern tribes (cf. 1 Kings 11:29–39). Surely enough, when the assembly heard the words of Rehoboam they disassociated themselves from the house of David (To your tents, O Israel! cf. 2 Sam 20:1) and, in effect, declared their independence of Judah (2 Chron 10:16). (Merrill, E. H. (1985). 2 Chronicles. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 628). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
10:16–19 Here is recorded the beginning of the divided kingdom. Ten tribes followed Jeroboam and were called Israel. The other two tribes, Benjamin and Judah, stayed loyal to David’s line, accepted Rehoboam’s rule, and were called Judah. However, Benjamin at times demonstrated split loyalties (see note on 1Ki 12:21). (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (2 Ch 10:16–19). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
10:16 “Israel,” the ten tribes other than Judah and Benjamin, often called “Israel” in distinction from Judah. This division of the kingdom marks an epoch of great importance in the history of the nation. Henceforth it is “a kingdom divided against itself” (Mt. 12:25). The two kingdoms are to be reunited in the future kingdom (Isa. 11:10–13; Jer. 23:5, 6; Ezk. 37:15–28). See “Kingdom” (O.T.), Gen. 1:26; Zech. 12:8; (N.T.), Lk. 1:31; 1 Cor. 15:28. “Israel,” Gen. 12:2, 3; Rom. 11:26. (Scofield, C. I. (Ed.). (1917). The Scofield Reference Bible: The Holy Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments (pp. 499–500). New York; London; Toronto; Melbourne; Bombay: Oxford University Press.)
16–19. If we read this spiritually, and with an eye to Jesus, is not the language of every unawakened man similar to this, We have none inheritance in the son of Jesse. Alas! how was this fulfilled in the instance of the Jews at the crucifixion of Jesus! precious Lord Jesus! how did thy prayer bring down mercy to turn many of them from the error of their ways, when those among them who had been most clamorous, crying out, Crucify, crucify him! at the day of Pentecost were pricked at the heart, and then their language was, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Acts 2:37. (Hawker, R. (2013). Poor Man’s Old Testament Commentary: 1 Kings–Esther (Vol. 3, pp. 467–468). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.)
If in perusing the page of Rehoboam’s folly we stand amazed to see the blindness and infatuation of such conduct; how much more may we be astonished at the folly and infatuation of sinners in rejecting the counsel of God against their own souls, and preferring the pleasures of sin for a season. Oh! ye simple ones (is the language of wisdom in the streets of the city) how long will ye love simplicity, and scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge! Surely the sinner that slights Jesus and his salvation is simple to the utmost possibility of simplicity. He hath no true knowledge to guide him. He prefers the hollow and empty husks of the world to durable riches and righteousness. The sinful pleasures of the earth are to him preferable to Jesus and his grace and glory. Could a man make a mock at sin, if he were not a fool? Could he sport with that which must end in ruin if he were not blind, and ignorant, and senseless, and stupid? Precious Jesus! thou that art wisdom itself. Oh! give us to see, to know, to appreciate rightly thy value, and to be thoroughly convinced of this, that Happy is the man that findeth thee; for thy merchandize is better than the merchandize of silver, and the gain of thee more than fine gold. (Hawker, R. (2013). Poor Man’s Old Testament Commentary: 1 Kings–Esther (Vol. 3, p. 468). 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 and keep up with current trends in some churches!!
Now, Apartment Therapy probably isn’t the first place you look to find insight into God’s design and His intent for Creation. But just a few weeks ago, a writer at that magazine described going through her late grandmother’s possessions and was surprised by how many candleholders her grandmother had owned.
These were no ordinary candle holders. They were for Shabbat, Hebrew for “Sabbath.” On a Friday afternoon, after looking at her grandmother’s menorah and other Jewish art, the writer lit the candles, and, for the first time in quite a while, observed Shabbat.
What followed for her was a rediscovery — actually, in her case, a discovery — of the wisdom and the blessings associated with keeping the Sabbath, or, as she puts it, “[setting] clear boundaries between work and non-work time,” not to mention the opportunities for rest and reflection that it brought. Thanks to her Jewish heritage, this author discovered one of the most important things that we’ve lost as a society — the ordinances that God wrote into Creation, such as the Sabbath.
Trying to live while ignoring these ordinances is trying to live while ignoring gravity.
You might pull it off for a while, but eventually you’ll come crashing back down to earth. Now, if you doubt the importance of Sabbath, just run a quick Google search for terms like “exhaustion” or “burnout” or the various mental disorders that accompany the habits of our society. This is what crashing back down to earth looks like for a society. It’s a recurring blight on our culture.
Now, you don’t have to have a Jewish grandmother to gain an appreciation for God’s gift of the Sabbath. All you need is a willingness to consider the possibility that maybe, just maybe, God has written down what we need for genuine human flourishing and built it into the actual fabric of the created order.
In his book 24/6: A Prescription for a Happier, Healthier Life, physician Matthew Sleeth notes that the Third Commandment is the only one of the ten that begins with the word “remember.” Sleeth adds, “It’s almost as if God knew we would forget.” And of course we have forgotten. As individuals, as families, and as a society, we keep forgetting the Sabbath.
Not only do most of us work longer hours in the office than ever before, we take our work with us. Our phones are no longer primarily just phones; they are computers, keeping us tethered to our work. Even our watches are linked to our phones, keeping us further tied to the world of work. This rhythm, this pace that we keep in our culture, is many, many steps away from what we read in Scripture.
“And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done.” It bears no resemblance whatsoever to “Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns.” (Break Point)
THE REAL REASON FOR REVIVAL: THE HONOR OF THE CHURCH
Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin… Exodus 32:32
The second real reason for revival—and it must always come in the second place, never in the first—is a concern about the honor of the church itself. In Exodus 33 there is nothing more wonderful than the way in which Moses shows his concern for…the nation of Israel. God had been giving Moses some wonderful intimations of His loving interest in him, but Moses is not content with that. Moses does not merely seek personal blessings. He wants to make sure that the children of Israel, as a whole, are going to be involved in this blessing.
He is given again a wonderful example of that in Exodus 32, one of the most glorious passages in the Old Testament. “And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the LORD; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin. And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. Yet….” It is as if he breaks down and cannot speak any longer. He is in great agony of soul. “Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin—…” He pauses and then he is able to speak: “and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written” (Exodus 32:30-32). “I do not want to go on living,” he says in essence, “if You are not going to include them in the blessing.”
God had said, “I am going to blot out this people—I am going to make a nation out of you.”
“No,” says Moses, “blot me out as well. I do not want to go on without them.”
Oh, this is true intercession [needed by those] concerned about the state of the whole church.
A Thought to Ponder
The second real reason for revival is a concern about the honor of the church itself.
(From Revival, pp. 191-192, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
In the Midst
“And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.” (John 20:26)
Jesus, in His earthly life, was often “in the midst” of things. At the age of 12 He was found in the temple, “sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions” (Luke 2:46). Then, early in His adult ministry, His hometown enemies at Nazareth attempted to kill Him, “but he passing through the midst of them went his way” (Luke 4:30). Later, in Jerusalem, a group of Pharisees sought to stone Him, but He simply went “through the midst of them, and so passed by” (John 8:59).
Finally, however, they were able to put Him to death, and as a bitter testimony of their hatred, they had Him crucified with two common criminals, “on either side one, and Jesus in the midst” (John 19:18). Three days later, the tomb was emptied, and He would never again be in the midst of enemies. Instead, He met His disciples in the upper room.
There, “when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you” (John 20:19). Eight days later, with Thomas present, Jesus once again appeared in their midst and greeted them with reassuring words of peace.
Though now in heaven, His presence still speaks peace to us through His Holy Spirit, for He promised: “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). Even in the ages to come, He will be in our midst, for John says, describing that scene: “In the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain,” and then all creation will sing “unto the Lamb for ever and ever” (Revelation 5:6, 13). (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
Children of God
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The basic sense of pasha˓ is “to rebel.” There are two stages of rebellion. First, the whole process of rebellion has independence in view: “Then Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab” (2 Kings 1:1). Second, the final result of the rebellion is the state of independence: “In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves” (2 Kings 8:20, nasb). A more radical meaning is the state of rebellion in which there is no end of the rebellion in view. The process is no longer goal-oriented. The state thus described refers to a status quo: “So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day” (1 Kings 12:19). The prepositions used (be, “against,” and more rarely mittachal yad, “from under the hand”) indicate the object of revolt. The usage of mittachat yad with pasha˓ fits into the category of rebellion with no goal in view (2 Chron. 21:8, 10). It is best translated as an absolute, radical act (“to break away from”).
Thus far, the usage has a king or a nation as the object of the revolt. Translations generally give the rendering “transgress” for pasha˓ when the act is committed against the Lord: “Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me …” (Hos. 7:13). This meaning also appears in Isa. 66:24: “And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me.…” The preposition be, “against,” before the name of God occurs about 10 times. In each case the act is an expression of an apostate way of life: “In transgressing and lying against the Lord, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood” (Isa. 59:13).
The Septuagint translators are not consistent in the translation of pasha˓. The most common translations are: asebeo (“to act unpiously”); aphistemi (“to go away, withdraw”); anomos (“lawless”); and hamartia (“sin”). The kjv gives these senses: “transgress; revolt; rebel.” (Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W., Jr. (1996). Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Nashville, TN: T. Nelson.)
Should Women Teach in Seminary?
Pastor and founder of desiringGod.org John Piper recently garnered widespread attention for his comments regarding women teaching in seminary. In a Podcast, Piper answered a male seminary student’s question: Should women be hired as seminary professors?
To begin his answer, Piper said that in his denomination, women were not permitted to serve as pastors. This is based upon 1 Timothy 2:12 which reads, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.”
He also clarified that he would not address if women should attend seminary to “get the best biblical grounding possible.” He was answering one question: As he put it, “The issue is whether women should be models, mentors, and teachers for those preparing for a role that is biblically designed for spiritual men.”
Simply put, Piper’s answer was no.
He defended his answer, reasoning, “Samuel Miller, one of the founders of Princeton Seminary, said, ‘A professor’s example as a devoted, laborious, faithful minister, was above all else a record of requisite for his successful training of ministers.’ Now, this implies that seminary teachers be more than competent historians, competent linguists, competent exegetes, educators, or theologians. The proper demand on the seminary teacher is to be an example, a mentor, a guide, an embodiment of the pastoral office in preparing men to fill the pastoral office.”
“The inconsistency is this: the more one succeeds in distinguishing the seminary teacher from the pastor teacher, the more one fails to provide the kind of seminary education enriched by the modeling of experienced pastor-mentors. In other words, in seeking to justify women teacher-mentors for aspiring pastors, one will be hard put to stress that they’re not in the same category as pastors, and thus, as we believe, out of step with the Scriptures.”
According to Piper, it is not biblical for a woman to train a man for a man’s role in the church.
Piper continued, “Let me put it another way in the form of a question. If it is unbiblical to have women as pastors, how can it be biblical to have women who function in formal teaching and mentoring capacities to train and fit pastors for the very calling from which the mentors themselves are excluded? I don’t think that works. The issue is always that inconsistency. If you strive to carve up teaching in such a way that it’s suitable for women, it ceases to be suitable as seminary teaching.”
Piper also expressed his views that women were competent, just not appropriate for the seminary role.
“The issue, as always, is not the competence of women teachers or intelligence or knowledge or pedagogical skill. It’s never competence! That’s not the issue in the home or in leadership. It’s “not the issue in church leadership. It’s not the issue in seminary leadership.
“The issue here at the seminary level is largely the nature of the seminary teaching office. What do we aim for it to be? Is it conceived as an example and model and embodiment of pastoral vision, or not? That will lead us in how we staff our seminary faculty.”
Piper’s comments were met with both praise and criticism as they circulated around the web.
Christian author Kaitlin Curtice sent out a call on Twitter for men in the ministry to name the female teachers they had that shaped them, and the movement exploded. Author Mike McHargue summed up, “Twitter doesn’t offer enough characters for their impact.”
Yet Boyce College professor Denny Burk backed up Piper for upholding biblical standards. In a response, he wrote, “I think Piper has made a compelling case here—one that is consistent with a complementarian view of gender roles and one that I have long agreed with. Moreover, it’s a position that is not new. It is precisely the case that many other complementarians have made over the years.”
Burk is correct that this is not a new argument. While Piper brought the issue to the forefront of conversations in the Christian space, it has been debated for some time. And while the debate will likely continue for years to come, author Tina Osterhouse urges women not to keep moving forward: “Now, women let’s keep doing what we’ve always done: listen to God and go where we are called to go.”
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