Posts Tagged ‘bible stories’

Introduction

A.         Slaves to Sin

Ron is a longtime Christian who worked for many years as an information technology director for a large company. His boss and coworkers admired his dedication, honesty, and integrity. One day, however, Ron was called to his super-visor’s office to be told that he was being fired for violating the company’s “fair use” policy: a colleague had discovered a huge number of pornographic images stored in Ron’s computer.

Ron confessed that he had become addicted to Internet porn. His technical expertise had enabled him able to hide the files for some time. Ironically Ron had become aware of Internet porn while investigating other employees, several of whom had been fired for similar violations. Ron lost his job but saved his marriage and family by confessing his sin and seeking counseling. He told his counselor that he was glad he had been caught because he had felt for a longtime that the porn had taken control of him. Ron’s situation illustrates the irony of addiction to sinful habits. We fear the loss of short-term gratification if we quit, but at the same time we fear the long-term consequences if we don’t. This is true not only of “high profile” sins such as pornography and drug abuse, but also of more common sins like anger, gossip, and lying. Once we develop a habit of doing the wrong thing, it becomes very difficult to change on our own. In our lesson today Christ offers us freedom from the power of sin and the fear of death.

B.         Lesson Background

The events and teachings recorded in John 7and 8 occurred during one of Jesus’ visits to the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem (see John 7:1,2, 37; 8:20). God instituted this festival for two reasons. First, it was a time of thanksgiving during the season of the olive and fruit harvests (the September-October time frame). Second, it was a time to remember deliverance from slavery in Egypt (see Leviticus 23:33-44).

As something of an object lesson, many who celebrated this festival would live in tents (“tabernacles”) outside the city to reenact the forty years that the Israelites had lived in tents while wandering in the wilderness. It is against this backdrop of deliverance from physical bondage that Jesus proceeds to demonstrate the way to deliverance from spiritual bondage.

I.          About the Jews’ Status (John 8:31-38)

A.         Discipleship and Truth (vv. 31, 32)31.

Then, said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him. “If ye continue in my word, then ye are my disciples indeed.”

The word “Jews” seems somewhat out of place here because both Jesus and John (the author of this Gospel) are Jews by race, culture, and religion. Why would a Jewish person refer to other Jewish people as “Jews,” as though they were somehow different from Himself?

Scholars generally see this unusual terminology as evidence that John had been persecuted by Jewish people by the time he writes, just as Jesus had predicted (John 16:1-4). The story of the blind man in chapter 9 reveals that this sort of persecution already had begun during Jesus’ ministry (see especially John 9:22).

Here at John 8:31 we see that some Jewish people have gone against the grain and have taken a positive view of Jesus. These are the ones which believed in him (see also v. 30). Jesus proceeds to test their faith by stressing that they must accept His teachings if they wish to be disciples. The verses to follow will reveal that they are not quite ready for that level of commitment.

32.        And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Truth refers back to Jesus’ “word” in verse 31, which He now says will give freedom to believers. The context reveals that John is not referring to Jesus’ ethical commands about lifestyle issues, the Gospel of John actually includes very little of that sort of teaching. In John 8:12-29 Jesus has been speaking about His identity as the light of the world, the one who reveals God in a special way. Believers know the truth in the sense that they accept what Jesus claims about himself; they recognize Him as the unique Son of God. This is the truth that gives us freedom. Our acceptance of Christ through His plan of salvation allows us to become children of God. This liberates us from the power and consequences of sin and death (see John 1:12).

B.         Servants and Sons (vv. 33-36)

33.        They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?

At first glance, the Jews seem to be very forgetful. Their people, in fact, had been in bondage many times over the years: slaves in Egypt, oppressed by foreign powers many times during the Judges period; taken in exile to Babylon; dominated by Rome even as they spoke. The reference to Abraham suggests, however, that they are thinking of their spiritual status with God.

Ancient Jews believe that having God’s favor comes from being born as descendants of Abraham, the person to whom God had made covenant promises (Genesis 12:1-3). Jesus, however, seems to say that their descent from that great man is not enough. So they want to know how He can make such a preposterous claim.

34.        Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.

Jesus challenges the Jews’ claim to spiritual freedom by stating the obvious: everyone commits sin. That fact should eliminate any prideful belief that a person can somehow get to God through ancestral connections. Even if the Jews do think of themselves as “born into God’s family,” every subsequent sin should have underlined how far away from God’s will they had gone. Sin alienates us from God and enslaves us to carnal desires. This is a problem that our parents cannot solve for us.

35, 36. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Jesus’ words refer to legal relationships in ancient households. A son and a servant may live in the same house, and both serve the same person (the father, who is also the master). But the servant is, ultimately, not a permanent part of the family. He or she has no legal rights. The fact that the Jews are servants of sin shows that they do not enjoy full status as God’s heirs.

A son, however, is heir to everything the father has. A son carries the family name from generation to generation. The son’s status in a household is thus permanent (abideth forever) because he is a true member of the family. The genuine Son in view here is Jesus himself. Jesus as the Son has the power to grant full membership in the family. Abraham, himself a sinner and a servant, cannot grant true spiritual freedom. The phrase free indeed brings with it the sense, “I am the one who can set you free from sin and its power forever.”

C. Attitude and Testimony (vv. 37, 38)37.

I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.

The word “but” highlights the irony of the situation. As the Jews well know, Abraham was famous for his faith (compare Genesis 12:1-4; 22:1-3). The Jews are not doing a very good job of following their famous forefather’s example. When they hear God’s message through Jesus they respond not with belief but by trying to silence him (compare John 5:18; 7:19, 25, 32, 44).

38.        I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.

Jesus stresses again and again that He speaks and acts in complete harmony with the Father (see John 4:34; 7:16; 10:38; 12:44; 14:9-11). Jesus’ power both to do great works and to offer freedom from sin finds its source in this unity. Similarly, the Jews’ refusal to accept Him reveals the true source of their thinking. They claim to be Abraham’s descendants, but their lack of faith in the one whom God sent reveals that they actually are children of the devil (John8:43, 44, not in today’s text). The Jews will remain under Satan’s power as long as they reject Jesus’ words.

II. About Jesus Himself (John 8:48-56. 58, 59)

A. First Accusation (v. 48)

48.        Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?

Just before this verse, Jesus had stressed again that His words come from God. Thus He condemns the Jews for their disbelief. He can only interpret their stubbornness as evidence that “ye are not of God” (v. 47).

This claim is extremely offensive to the Jews, but they do not know how to refute it. Jesus invited them to prove Him guilty of sin, but instead they resort to name calling. The Samaritans are a people of mixed Jewish and Gentile descent who live just north of Judea and worship at Mount Gerizim. The hostility between Jews and Samaritans is well documented both in the Bible (Ezra 4:1-5; Nehemiah 4:1-8; John 4:9) and in other literature. Jews and Samaritans each claim to be God’ select people. The accusation that Jesus is a Samaritan follows from His statement that the Jews are not acting as true children of Abraham. The accusation that Jesus is demon possessed is an attempt to contradict Jesus’ statement in verse 38. The Jews think that Jesus’ words do not come from God but rather from the devil, because surely neither God nor a true prophet would call them “slaves to sin”!

You are a Samaritan

The ad hominem argument is one of the oldest fallacies in the history of logic. The name of this argument literally means that it is an argument against the person, rather than against the logic of the person’s argument. It is an easy and convenient way of scoring points off an opponent. Sometimes it can be used in a humorous way. As children we could end an argument by stating, “Your grandmother wears combat boots!” Modern politicians can dismiss certain issues by claiming their opponents are “left wing” or “rightwing.” Valid points can be ridiculed by commenting, “You’re only a truck driver; what do you know about international diplomacy?” By giving people labels with negative overtones, we can dismiss their observations unfairly.

Jesus’ opponents found it hard to respond to His discussion on the proper behavior of the children of Abraham, and the implication that the Jews were not acting as true children of Abraham should. So they simply dismissed His comments by saying that He was a Samaritan. In their minds that ended the discussion. Ethnic Samaritans could not be expected to contribute intelligently to a discussion on Judaism, so Jesus’ comments could be ignored.

Yet ad hominem arguments don’t prove anything. They are a fallacy and therefore irrelevant to the discussion. The observations that Jesus makes are still valid. His critique cannot be overlooked simply by name calling. Neither can modern society dismiss Him by thinking of Him as a mere first-century carpenter.

B. First Response (vv. 49-51)

49-50.   Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honor my Father, and ye do dishonor me. And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth.

Jesus, unlike the Jews, does not reject the word of the Father but rather obeys. Further, while the Jews are seeking affirmation of their own spirituality, Jesus is seeking only to do God’s will. God, however, is seeking to glorify Jesus. God knows that what Jesus says is true. The Jews will therefore be in a dangerous situation unless they repent.

51.        Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.

Obviously Jesus is using the word death in away other than in a physical sense, since everyone dies. Death here refers to the lost state of those who do not accept Christ (compare 1 John3:14). That condition will become irreversible once we leave this world. Only those who believe Jesus’ claims about Himself will escape this fate and enjoy eternal life (John 6:63, 68).

The verse before us follows logically from Jesus’ earlier remarks in verse 34 about slavery to sin. As Paul notes in 1 Corinthians 15:56, “The sting of death is sin.” Those who accept Jesus need not fear judgment. Their belief in Him frees them from sin’s power and makes them God’s children.

The phrase verily, verily appears often in the Gospel of John to draw attention to particularly important sayings by Jesus. As is the case here and at v. 34), comments followed by this formula often relates to Jesus’ divine identity or the need to accept Him in order to receive salvation (see John1:51; 3:3, 5, 11; 5:19, 24, 25; 6:47; 12:24; 13:20).

C. Second Accusation (vv. 52, 53)

52-53.   Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead and the prophets who are dead: whom makest thou thyself?

Taking Jesus’ discussion of death in a physical sense, the Jews mock His claim. Even their great heroes of the faith, Abraham and the prophets could not grant life; in fact these people died themselves. The Jews’ comment suggests that it would be impossible for any human being to do what Jesus claims He can do.

Apparently the Jews’ earlier “faith” that we saw in John 0:31 was based on the idea that Jesus was some sort of prophet or holy man (compare John 7:40). Now however, they suspect that He may be claiming something more.

D.         Second Response (vv. 54-56, 58)

54.        Jesus answered, If I honor myself, my honor is nothing: it is my Father that honoreth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God.

Jesus responds by pointing out that God, working through Hint, is making Jesus’ true identity plain to the world. Many people may refer to God as Father because they recognize Him to be the creator of the universe, yet Jesus is God’s Son in a unique way. Titus, the Jews (and others) reject God’s offer of freedom and life when they refuse to believe Jesus. God honors Jesus both by empowering His miraculous works and ultimately, by raising Him from the dead and restoring His divine glory in Heaven (John 17:5).

55.        Yet ye have not known Him; but I know Him: and if I should say, I know Him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know Him, and keep His saying.

Jesus now exposes the real reason that the Jews cannot accept Him; their misunderstanding of Jesus reflects a deeper misunderstanding of God. Everything that Jesus does and says reveals the Father in a dark world, so that one can see God in Jesus (John 14:7-10). Those who reject Jesus, then, actually are rejecting the God who sent Him. John raises this point at the very beginning of his gospel by noting that Jesus’ “own” (the Jews), received him not” (John 1:11). They refused to recognize God’s power at work in Him.

KNOWING GOD

I know that World War II happened. I have read books about it, seen pictures taken during, and listened to recordings of speeches by Roosevelt and Churchill. Yet if my father were to say, “I know World War II happened,” he could speak with more authority than I could. In 1943 he was drafted into the army and saw service in New Guinea and the Philippines. I know about the war, but he knew it first hand.

The verb “know” has two meanings, both in English and in Greek. On the one hand it can mean to know something intellectually, or to have what we often call “head knowledge.” This applies to facts, information, et cetera. Another meaning of to know is to have experience of something, this goes beyond mere head knowledge. This has to do with life experience and awareness.

The Jews had knowledge of God. They had learned the Old Testament; they had studied the law. They performed the ritual cleanings and they practiced tithing. The Jews knew factual data and information about God, but had they really experienced God in their hearts?

Jesus could claim, “I know Him,” because He had firsthand experience with God. Jesus invites us to go beyond mere knowledge about Him and experience Him in our hearts.

56-58.   Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. … Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

Jesus confirms the Jews’ suspicions by noting two ways in which He is superior to Abraham. First, Abraham rejoiced to see Jesus’ day. Some ancient rabbis believed that God had revealed the secrets of the messianic age to Abraham in a vision (compare Genesis 15:17-24). A better idea may be that Jesus is referring to the joy that Abraham experienced when told by God that “in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). The Jews of Christ’s day have the opportunity to see that promise fulfilled in the coming of Abraham’s descendant Jesus. Abraham, then, was looking forward to what Christ would do.

Second, and much more substantially, Jesus existed before Abraham. Such a statement would be absurd if Jesus were a normal human being (compare John 8:57, not in today’s text). But it is obvious that Jesus is claiming something more. “I am” is drawn from Exodus 3:13, 14, where God refers to himself as Yahweh, meaning “the one who exists.” The ancient Jews came to treat that “I am” phrase as God’s sacred name. Many times in the Gospel of John, Jesus describes himself with a statement that begins with I am—”I am the light of the world”, “I am the good shepherd”, et cetera. But when “I am” is used in the absolute sense and with no other words following, Jesus is applying God’s sacred name directly to Himself. This highlights Jesus’ own divine nature. Jesus can offer freedom from sin and eternal life because He is, in fact, completely one with the God who existed before Abraham. It is therefore pointless for the Jews to appeal to Abraham as their spiritual forefather for Jesus is much greater than he is.

E. Actions (v. 59)

59.        Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

The Jews’ actions reveal that they finally have come to understand the implication of Jesus’ words. Stoning was prescribed in the law for blasphemy (Leviticus 24:16). Clearly they realize that Jesus is claiming to be God; sadly they reject that claim and the eternal life that He offers.

Conclusion

A. The Freedom Center

Recently a new museum opened in Cincinnati, Ohio, called The Freedom Center. This museum celebrates the men and women who led the Underground Railroad before America’s Civil War. Those heroes helped escaping slaves secretly make their way northward to freedom. The Ohio River, a natural boundary marker between North and South, symbolized a new life of liberty. Many pre–Civil War houses and buildings in northern Kentucky and southwestern Ohio still include secret rooms, trap doors and concealed crawl spaces for hiding. The Underground Railroad provided a means of escape from a world of harsh servitude.

How much more profound is the eternal freedom that Jesus offers! He, and only He, is our “eternal underground railroad.” To reject His route to freedom is both sad and amazing. Yet that’s just what we see people doing in today’s lesson. It is a pattern that continues today.

B. Prayer

Lord, we live in a world full of doubts and temptations. Very often we don’t understand why we do the things we do. We want to do what’s right, but we fall back into our old, bad habits and patterns. Please give us both the power to believe Your Word and the faith to follow it at all costs. Then we can experience the freedom that Christ promised us, in Jesus’ name, amen.

C. Thought to Remember

When facing temptation, ask: Did Jesus come to earth so I could do this or be free not to do it?

Introduction

A. “Now Go Do the Right Thing”

Laura Schlesinger’s radio program has become one of the most well known and most listened to in the highly competitive world of talk radio. Her no nonsense approach, characterized by a strong emphasis on Judeo-Christian values, has gained her a significant following. At the end of each hour of her broadcast, “Dr. Laura” concludes with this brief but compelling advice: “Now go do the right thing.”

Such counsel seems simple. Yet there is no question that if listeners really took it to heart and applied it to their circumstances, they would avoid numerous heartaches and tensions. Perhaps Dr. Laura would find herself with far fewer callers to deal with!

Today’s lesson comes from Malachi, the last book in the Old Testament. Malachi, the last Old Testament prophet chronologically, is the final messenger of God to address God’s people before the gap of 400 years until the New Testament era begins. As we will see today, the book of Malachi closes the Old Testament with an appeal from God that is appropriate for His people to hear, whether in an Old Testament or a New Testament setting. It may be summarized as, “Now go do the right thing.”

B. Lesson Background

Malachi’s circumstances were somewhat different from those of the other prophets we have studied this quarter. Yet the basic thrust of what all these men of God had to say is the same: being part of God’s covenant people means much more than basking in a special status. God expects a certain lifestyle of those who lay claim to that status. One of the primary tasks of God’s prophets throughout the Old Testament was to call His people to account when they failed to carry out their sacred responsibility.

Not much is known about Malachi himself. One bit of information is his name. In Hebrew it means “my messenger”, a theme that will become crucial in today’s text. We must examine information within the book itself to learn the time in the history of God’s people when Malachi likely prophesied.

Such an investigation points to the time of Nehemiah as perhaps the best fit for Malachi’s ministry. This is because many of the sins highlighted in the book of Malachi are the same sins that Nehemiah had to confront. These included: indifference toward the kind of sacrifices required by the Lord (Nehemiah 10:37-39; 1:6-14), disregard for the Lord’s teaching concerning marriage (Nehemiah 13:23-27; Malachi 2:14-16), and the bringing tithes and offerings to support the Lord’s work ( Nehemiah 10:37-39; 13:10-13; Malachi 3:8-10). Furthermore, the mention of a governor in Malachi, 1:8 fits well with Nehemiah’s time, since he was recognized by that title (Nehemiah 5:14).

Nehemiah had traveled to Jerusalem in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes, king of Persia (445AC). He went there primarily to spearhead efforts to rebuild the wall of the city (Nehemiah 2:1-11).This was approximately 100 years after the Jews had first returned from captivity in Babylon, and about 70 years after the second temple had been completed through the encouragement of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. Today’s Scripture from Malachi focuses on his challenges to God’s people in his own day, but it also highlights a portion of his glimpse into the future and of what God planned to accomplish through a messenger far greater than Malachi, the Lord Jesus Christ.

I. People’s Complaint(Malachi 2:17)

A. Malachi Alleges (v. 17a)

17a.      Ye have wearied the Lord with your words.

Much of Malachi is written as if the Lord is engaging His people in a dialogue. Malachi pictures the Lord as making a statement, then, he pictures the people as challenging the statement. The Lord then responds to the challenge. In so doing He calls attention to an area of His people’s relationship with Him that they have neglected. Examples of these dialogues are found in Malachi 1:2, 6, 7; 2:13, 14; 3:7, 8, 13-15, as well as in the verses before us.

When Malachi says, “ye have wearied the Lord with your words”, one may ask how this can be true in light of Isaiah 40:28, which declares, “Hast thou not known, hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching for understanding, but there is no contradiction. The Lord does not grow weary in the sense of losing His power, strength, or majesty; He can become weary (meaning frustrated and disappointed) with the behavior of His people and their refusal to heed His call to change.

B. People Ask (v. 17b)

17b.      Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him?

One can understand why the people would want to know how they have wearied the Lord. Have they spoken blasphemous, angry, or lying words? Have they been practicing what Jesus would later call “vain repetitions” (Matthew 6:7) Is God concerned because their lives are not consistent with their words? What’s the deal?

C. Malachi Answers (v. 17c)

17c.      When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delighteth in them; or, where is the God of judgment? Here is the answer to the people’s inquiry. The words that have wearied the Lord are words that have questioned His judgment (meaning “justice”). It appears to the people that the Lord no longer cares whether evil is punished or good is rewarded. Earlier, the prophet Isaiah declared, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20). Has the Lord done the same? It seems so in the eyes of Malachi’s audience.

Why would God’s people speak so critically of the Lord? At this point in Old Testament history, God’s people have been back in the Promised Land for nearly 100 years. They know the words of the prophets who had spoken of a glorious new day for God’s people. That day is to be ushered in by the coming of the Branch (Isaiah 4:2-6:111-3; Jeremiah 23:5-8; 33:15, 16). They know of God’s promise to “set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David” (Ezekiel 34:23). But where is this special person? When will He come and do all that the prophets had said He would do? God’s people had finished the temple many decades previously. Hadn’t a prophet declared that at that time the Lord would “fill this house with glory” and that “the glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former”(Haggai 2:7, 0)? The people have done their part, why hasn’t the Lord done His? Where is His glory?

II. Lord’s Coming(Malachi 3:1-5; 4:1)

A. Preparation (v. 1a)

la.         Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me.

The Lord proceeds to answer the challenge. He has not forgotten His promises. “Where is the God of judgment?” He is coming, but He will not come without a messenger to prepare the way before Him.

Earlier we noted that the name Malachi means “my messenger.” Here the Lord promises another messenger. Malachi 4:5 describes him as “Elijah the prophet.” The New Testament is clear that John the Baptist is the one who fulfills Malachi’s prophecy in his role as the forerunner of Jesus Christ. Jesus equated John the Baptist’s ministry with the promised coming of Elijah (Matthew 17:10-13).

E ADVANCE TEAM

My wife and I were in Cincinnati, Ohio, in the1980s when then, President Ronald Reagan was to visit the city for a speech. As we drove down the highway on which the presidential motorcade was to pass, we noticed police officers guarding the route. We drove downtown that evening to see if we would get a glimpse of the president. The streets were cleared of traffic and there were no parked cars along the path the motorcade was to follow. Barricades were up and the airspace cleared.

All of these details were accomplished by an advance team. This team took great care and precaution to ensure that every eventuality was covered and that the president was kept safe for his entire visit. The team wanted nothing to impede the safe progress of the president in accomplishing his mission.

John the Baptist came as a kind of one man advance team for the Messiah. He did all he could to prepare the way for Jesus. The church today plays the role of the advance team for the second coming of Christ. How are you preparing yourself and the world for His return?

B. Place (v. lb)

lb.        And the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple.

As noted previously, part of the reason why God’s people question His whereabouts and His justice is the fact that the temple had been finished many decades previously. Perhaps they are expecting a display of glory similar to what occurred when the first temple was dedicated (1 Kings 8:10, 11). Thus far nothing at all like that has been witnessed with the second temple. However, the glory of the Lord will, in time, fill this second temple. That is exactly what takes place when the Lord Jesus Christ enters there during His earthly ministry.

The word suddenly depicts how most people are caught off guard when He arrives because He comes in a manner that is unexpected. God’s glory will enter the temple but not in the dramatic way it had filled the tabernacle (Exodus 40:34, 35) or the first temple. Rather it will come about because “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,(and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth”(John 1:14).

C. Program (v. 1c)

lc.         Even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.

Malachi now declares the Lord to be another type of messenger, the messenger of the covenant. Thus one messenger (John the Baptist) will prepare the way for another messenger (Jesus), who will establish a new covenant. Earlier, Malachi referred to two other covenants. One was “the covenant of Levi,” involving the priests. In Malachi’s day they have “departed out of the way” (Malachi 2:8) and neglected their sacred duties. The other is “the covenant of our fathers” (2:10), which probably refers to the covenant God had established at Sinai. That covenant had been profaned (again, 2:10). Clearly there was a need for a new and better covenant. That is exactly what Jesus comes to establish (Jeremiah 31:31-34; compare Hebrews 8:8-12; 10:16, 17).

It may be with a tinge of sarcasm that Malachi describes the messenger of the covenant as one whom ye delight in. The people of Malachi’s day act as if they desire the Lord to come and vindicate himself, but will they be ready to welcome Him when he does?  Sadly, most in Jesus’ day were not (John 1:11).

D. Purpose (vv. 2, 3a)

2-3a.     But who may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.

The two questions in this portion of our text are to be considered rhetorical; that is, they are asked not in order to produce an answer but to challenge people to think. Lest people become too complacent about the Lord’s promised coming, they should realize that when He comes He will make some serious changes!

A refiner’s fire is used to burn away impurities from precious metals such as silver (compare Isaiah 48:10; Zechariah 13:9). Fullers’ soap (an alkaline lye) is used to cleanse, bleach, and sometimes dye cloth. Most likely the cleansing represented by these processes refers to a spiritual cleansing.

Thus it is easy to see why the question is raised as to who can abide or stand such treatment. The sins from which people need to be cleansed are too numerous to count. This messenger of the covenant comes to perform what in today’s terms would be considered an extreme makeover, on the inside!

E.Product (vv. 3b, 4)

3b- 4. And he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years.

The sons of Levi include the priests, who have already been called to account for having “corrupted the covenant of Levi” (Malachi 2:8). The priests have also been charged with offering blemished, unacceptable offerings to the Lord (1:6-10). All of this will change when the Lord’s purifying work has been accomplished.

These verses describe another dimension of the consequences of Jesus’ work as the “messenger of the new covenant” (Malachi 3:1). One of the most significant characteristics of the new covenant is that every Christian serves the Lord as a priest (1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:6). Priests offer sacrifices and good works. Similarly, every Christian is called to offer the sacrifice of praise and good works to God (Hebrews 13:15, 16).

The period described as the days of old and former years may refer to any period in the history of God’s people when there was a greater consistency between the sacrifices they offered and the lives they lived. This would have been true during the reigns of godly kings such as David, Hezekiah, and Josiah.

F. Punishment (3:5; 4:1)

5.         And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts. While some will choose to accept the refiner’s cleansing fire, others will refuse to undergo the purifying process. Those who refuse will one day learn, to their ruination, that the fire of refinement can also become a fire of judgment.

Several of the sins mentioned in this verse bring to mind some of the Ten Commandments as listed in Deuteronomy 5. These include the actions of adulterers (Seventh Commandment), false swearers (Ninth Commandment), and those that oppress the hireling, or worker, in his wages (this amounts to stealing, a violation of the Eighth Commandment).

To engage in the practices of sorcerers could violate the First Commandment, which prohibits the worship of other gods. The neglect of the widow, the fatherless, and the stranger is forbidden in Exodus 22:21, 22; Deuteronomy 24:17-22. All of these sins (indeed, any sin) can be traced to one root cause: they are the consequence of failing to fear the Lord. Recall how our printed text began with Malachi alluding to the people’s inquiry: “Where is the God of judgment?” (Malachi 2:17). The verse before us gives the answer: He will come, and His judgment will be swift when He does come. Malachi’s words are reminiscent of what Peter writes concerning Jesus’ return in 2 Peter 3:9, 10.

MISTAKEN IDENTIFY

I was visiting a church one Sunday for the first time. In talking with the minister, he learned that I too was a preacher. Somewhere along the line he got my first name (Gene) confused with another man he knew (Gus). Gus and I have the same last name, although we are not related and have never met.

At the close of the service, the preacher called on me for the prayer. Before I prayed, he told the congregation about the family of Gus and how they had meant so much to his family through the years back in West Virginia. Many came to me after the service, just thrilled at the great story the preacher had told about “my family.”This case of mistaken identity was hard to deal with given the situation. But there is another case of mistaken identity that is even worse. We see the fatherless and the widow, and we mistake them for the lazy who shouldn’t eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10). Though we may smugly rejoice at the thought that swift judgment will be meted out on the sorcerers and the adulterers, we fail to see that the same judgment will be made against those who ignore innocent people who are in genuine need.

4:1.       For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

This verse also emphasizes the certainty of coming judgment. Both the attitudes of the proud and the actions of all that do wickedness are highlighted. Earlier prophets had used the terms root and branch as the basis for prophecies concerning the coming Messiah (Isaiah 4:2; 11:1; Jeremiah 23:5; 33:15). Now we see that this judgment pronounced by Malachi will be so complete as to leave neither root nor branch. Today’s text describes the impact of both the first and second comings of the messenger of the covenant, Jesus. With His first coming, He initiates a ministry of cleansing and purifying through His sacrificial death on the cross and His resurrection. That ministry continues through the testimony of faithful Christians who bear witness to what Jesus can do for others through the gospel message.

At His second coming, however, the refining ministry of Jesus will mean judgment upon those who have not accepted for themselves His cleansing power. It is similar to the saying that those who do not acknowledge Jesus as the “chief cornerstone” (1 Peter 2:6) will have Him to be “a stone of stumbling” and “a rock of offense” (1 Peter 2:8).The kind of rock and the kind of refiner that Jesus will be for us is up to us. Our choice!

Conclusion

A. Right Makes Might

The phrase “might makes right” is familiar. This reflects a belief that the strong or those in positions of authority generally gain the upper hand because of their ability to exercise sheer force. The supremacy they possess due to these factors gives them the power to determine what is “right” and to enforce their will on others. The more biblical view and the theme of today’s study is that “right makes might.”

When an individual is committed to doing right in the sight of the Lord, he or she gains a sense of accomplishment and purpose that not even the mightiest “might makes right” advocate can possess. We began with a reference to Dr. Laura’s oft heard counsel, “Now go do the right thing.” Consider how often Jesus gave essentially the same challenge. After telling the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus said, “Go, and do than likewise”(Luke 10:37). He told the disciples after washing their feet, “I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you”, John 13:15.Have you learned some important lessons from your studies this quarter? Sit down and make a list of the top ten lessons you have gleaned. With each one, list an action step that you can take in order to apply that particular insight. And then, “Go, and do thou likewise.”

B. Prayer

Father, forgive us when we fail to do right. Forgive us for those times when a Christian’s influence was needed, yet we remained silent and inactive. May we follow the example of Jesus, “who went about doing good” (Acts 10:38). May our light shine in this sinful world, in Jesus’ name, amen.

C. Thought to Remember

Right makes might, not just believing it, but doing it

1.         When Lazarus became seriously ill, his sisters Mary and Martha felt free to call upon Jesus to ask for His help. How will you form that kind of relationship with Christ? What things or attitudes in your life will be a help or a hindrance to this?

One definite help will be to make sure that our regular conversations with Jesus are filled with words of praise and celebration. These should be a natural part of expressing our inner most thoughts. When we build a lasting relationship with Him this way, we will avoid having what we may call a “spare tire” religion: “Use only in emergencies!”

Malachi 2:17 lists a possible hindrance: “Ye have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say. . . Where is the God of judgment?” This verse should make us gasp! Undoubtedly part of the weariness that we bring to God stems from questions about His judgment, questions such as, “why doesn’t God do something about such and such?” Causing weariness in God will be a definite hindrance to prayer.

2.         Our timetable isn’t always the same as God’s timetable. What are some reasons that God may have for not responding immediately to your prayer requests?

One good way to approach this question is by asking the reverse: What would the world be like if God responded to all prayer requests immediately? The results would be almost too bizarre to contemplate.

As is the case in today’s text, God knows the best way to accomplish His purposes. Sometimes we ask for things that we are not really prepared to accept. What we think is good for us may not be good for others. What may benefit us in the short term may be harmful over the long haul. God is in the position to know all this. Many of us can look back and say with all honesty, “I’m sure glad that God answered my prayer in His way instead of the way that I requested. I can see now that He knew some things that I didn’t.” Reflecting on how God has answered prayers in the past helps us to understand how the Lord’s way is better.

3.         Jesus expects our faith and obedience even when (or especially when!) He doesn’t reveal His plans to us. What was a time or circumstance that you can look back on and say, “Ah, now I see what God’s plan was”?

This kind of question can lead to some lengthy and emotional stories. Be sure to ask this follow up question at the conclusion of each anecdote:”How did your faith grow stronger as a result of how God worked?”

4.         Mary and Martha weren’t alone when Jesus arrived; many were there to comfort them. What are some things we can do as a church or as a class to minister to those who have suffered the loss of a loved one?

Remember this principle: someone suffering grief needs your shoulder more than he or she needs your mouth. The presence of a friend can be of great comfort during a time when many emotions are vying for attention. Just to be there and not say too much is so important. We can show care also by taking away the burdens of everyday chores. Certain helpful acts like bringing covered dishes or mowing the lawn flow from a servant’s heart. For this kind of ministry to be most effective, your church needs to have an advanced plan of ministry action. Having an ongoing plan to help during such times can ensure that the ministry is most effective when it is needed.

5.         Martha’s testimony expressed her confidence in the lordship of Christ, in spite of her grief. In what ways can you use tough times to reinforce your reliance on Jesus?

Several New Testament passages tell us to expect tough times (for example, John 16:1-4; 1 Peter 4:12-19). These times of trouble may refine us (1 Peter 1:7), they may help as serve as examples to others (1 Peter 2:21), or they may come as a test from Satan to determine how firmly committed we are to the Lord (2 Corinthians 12:7).It is especially during tough times that we must keep our focus on Jesus. Others are watching to see how we handle ourselves during tough times. God may want our struggles to serve as a witness to how much we trust Him.

Into the Lesson

Read the following accounts to your class, afterwards discuss them with the aid of the questions that follow.

In the early seventeenth century, a certain Marjorie Elphinstone died and was buried. When grave robbers attempted to steal her jewelry, she shocked them by groaning. The robbers fled, and she revived. She walked home under her own power and outlived her husband by six years! Marjorie Halcrow Erskine died in 1674 and was buried. The church officer (called a sexton) who buried her returned to the grave later to steal her jewelry. While the thieving sexton was trying to cut off her finger to get her ring, Erskine awoke, she lived many more years.

1.         What was the mind-set of the robbers just before their intended victims awoke?

2.         If you were a family member of one of these women, what would have been on your mind just before she walked through the door?

Tell your class that today’s lesson deals with the reactions of loved ones to Lazarus’s death and to Jesus’ presence after that death.

Into the Word

Read aloud John 11:1-7, 17-27. After you have read, divide your class into groups of four. Each group will choose one of three activities described below. Provide pens and paper for their work, or direct them to the student books for the exercises.

Group Activity A: Your group is the staff of a newspaper, the Jerusalem Post, covering the events surrounding the death of Lazarus. Write an article based on imaginary interviews with at least two of the following: Jesus, one of His disciples, or Mary. Using information from today’s text, describe the state of mind each would have had before the resurrection.

Group Activity B: Your group is the reporting staff for Jerusalem television stations WWJD. Write and present to the class an on-the-scene interview with at least two of the following: Jesus, one of His disciples, or Mary. Using information from today’s text, describe the reaction each would have had before the resurrection.

Group Activity C: Your group is the editorial staff for a monthly religious magazine, Judaism Today. You’ve decided to do a story on Martha, a true believer in Jesus and the sister of Lazarus. Using information from John 11:20-27, describe Martha’s strong faith as well as her spiritual doubts during the time of her brother’s sickness and death.

Allow groups sufficient time to complete their activities. Then ask a volunteer “reporter” from each group to share that group’s project with the entire class.

Into Life

Read the hypothetical situations described below. Ask your class to suggest scriptural answers, based on the principles Jesus expressed in His teaching before the raising of Lazarus. (This activity can also be found in the student book, ifyou are using that optional resource.)

1.         A member of your congregation has just learned that he has inoperable cancer in an advanced stage. His doctors give him no hope of recovery. How do you help him and his family deal with this crisis?

2.         A coworker has lost her teenage son in an auto accident. She and her husband are not Christians, and they are torn between seeking God and blaming Him for their son’s death. What would be an appropriate way to minister to them in their time of grief?

3.         Your friend’s mother, a Christian, is approaching the end of her long life due to deteriorating health. She longs to go home to be wills the Lord and end her suffering. How can you comfort both your friend and her mother?

4.         Your neighbor, a long time Christian has been stricken by a mysterious disease that has left his doctors baffled and his faith shaken. He lies in a hospital bed, uncertain of his recovery and doubtful of his eternal destination. How do you reassure his faith?

Into the Lesson

Display an outline of a person (on roll paper or poster board) as your class assembles. Have the following heading over the drawing: “The Ideal Leader.” As students arrive, hand them a marker and say, “Go up to the drawing and write in a characteristic you think is important in the ideal leader.” (Make sure the marker won’t bleed through the paper and damage the wall.)

As class begins, point to the list and ask, “Are there other qualities you want to add, now that you have had more time to think?” Then intro-duce Deborah as a judge of Old Testament Israel.

Into the Word

Before class recruit a volunteer to be inter-viewed as the Israelite judge Deborah. Encourage your volunteer to be well studied on the time period of the judges generally and on the life and work of Deborah specifically. Provide your volunteer a copy of the lesson writer’s commentary and the questions that you (or a class member) are going to ask. Be sure to allow some spontaneity from your class and from your interviewee. Interview questions are provided Isere, but you may choose to write your own questions to match your class’s level of biblical maturity. Of course some answers may be speculative; be sure your students understand that. You should discuss the reasonableness of answers that are not directly revealed in Scripture. Related verse numbers from today’s text its Judges 4 are given after each question.

(1) “Deborah, what did your husband think about your work on behalf of God’s people?” (v.4); (2) “What was the nature of your prophesying? How did you receive the Spirit’s Word?” (v.4); (3) “Why was your work done under a tree by the side of the road?” (v. 5);

(4) “What sort of cases did you handle?” (v. 5);

5) “How did you know of Barak, who lived so far away?” (v. 6);

(6)”What would Barak have known of the Canaanite oppressors?” (v. 8);

(7) “How could Barak raise an army of 10,000 men from only two tribal groups?” (v. 7);

(8) “Where exactly is this Kishon River, and why would God want the battle to take place there?” (v. 7);

(9) “Why do you think Barak refused to go to war without you?” (vv. 8-10);

(10) “Why did you caution Barak that the honor of victory would come to a woman and not to him?” (vv. 8-10);

(11) What is significant about the fact that your army was to face 900iron chariots? Didn’t your 10,000 men seem to be the stronger army?” (vv. 12, 13);

(12) When you assumed command of Barak’s army and gave the command to charge, how did Barak respond?” (v.14);

(13) “From Mount Tabor you had a good view of the battle. Exactly what happened?” (vv.15, 16 and Judges 5:18-22);

(14) “Your poem of victory that we have recorded in Judges 5 is a beautiful expression. How do you account for such a response to the defeat of God’s enemies?”As your “Deborah” responds, stop to discuss key elements of the text. Allow students to inter-act with her assumptions and conclusions.

Into Life

Give each student an index card. Display a list of the primary leaders of your congregation: ministers, elders, deacons, and others. Pair up each student with a leader’s name. If your class is not large enough to cover pairing up all the names, ask for volunteers to take two or more names. If there are more class members than leaders, have more than one student responsible for each leader.

Have students make the following commitment: on one side of their cards, write out a plan for how they will offer prayer support for their chosen leader. On the other side of their cards, write a commitment to visiting with their chosen leader. This visitation may be at the leader’s home, by going out for coffee, etc. By participating in this activity, students will have an opportunity to express appreciation for their leaders and enjoy being in their presence. This will reflect Barak’s appreciation and reliance on Deborah’s leadership.

Introduction

A. The Dream Team

The film The Dream Team is a 1989 comedy about mental patients who meet for group therapy. When their psychiatrist takes them on an outing, he witnesses a slaying and is nearly killed by the perpetrators. The group, not knowing what happened to their doctor, is left in New York City alone. They soon learn they are wanted both for the slaying and for the attempted murder of their doctor, who has ended up in a hospital.

The humor results from the need of this “dream team” to grapple with reality. How will they find their way out of the trouble they are in? In our days of psychiatrists and psychologists, support groups, and abundance of self-help books, it sometimes makes us wonder where previous generations got mental and emotional help. What did Christians do in all those centuries before professional Christian counselors came along?

Once I came across an ancient work entitled Conferences. It was written by John Cassian, a monk who lived about AD 365-433. In this book, monastery leaders are portrayed as meeting with Cassian in groups to discuss issues of how to live the Christian life. In other words, they would counsel together for the spiritual benefit of themselves and for those to whom they ministered. Those with greater spiritual maturity could help guide others.

Today’s lesson also offers us a picture of members of a group coming together for counseling. Chief among the group members are the future Jewish exiles. The prophet Isaiah writes 100years before the Babylonian exile, but Isaiah knows that the Judeans will find themselves in deep trouble. They will not know where to turn. The counselor, however, is the Lord himself. His wisdom and knowledge are infallible. We often wonder, as though in a dream, where to turn in times of trouble. God often uses our Christian friends who are wise enough to help us deal with reality. At other times He provides those with professional training to help. But behind any of these counselors must be the wisdom of the Lord, who alone can bring hope from despair.

B. Lesson Background

In last week’s text, the Lord sought to shock Judah into repentance. Their acts of worship were in vain unless their lives demonstrated inward purity and outward righteousness. Isaiah’s ministry was a call to repentance. Failure to repent meant destruction. Isaiah was told two things about Judah. First, since his preaching would fall on deaf ears, destruction would occur.(In fact, it did in 586 tic.) Second, in order to keep His covenant, the Lord would preserve a remnant of faithful people in spite of this destruction (Isaiah 6:8-13). This remnant was the exiles surviving the Babylonian captivity, which ended in 539 BC. This week’s lesson stresses that message again.

The first section of Isaiah, chapters 1-39, is mostly judgment. The second section, chapters40-66, is mostly blessing; almost all of it is poetry (except for 66:17-24), which means there is To spend money or exert one’s own labor summarizes the human pursuit for happiness. The Lord uses a rhetorical question to stress that these yield what is not really bread. Whatever the Judeans are striving for is not food that truly nourishes. It satisfieth not the deepest human need.

The command to hearken diligently means to understand and heed. The structure of the He-brew indicates that both of the next two statements will be the results of obeying Him. First, the readers will eat that which is good. Second, they will experience delight in the plenty(fatness) of the land.

These images may be taken in a physical sense, since the future exiles will return physically to “the land of milk and honey” that the Lord provides. But as figures of speech the implications are much more profound: godly living will bring great spiritual blessings. To take the promise merely in a physical sense would be to miss the main message.

B. Benefits (v. 3)

3. Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.

Every parent knows the frustration of giving instructions and warnings to a child, only to have the child blithely skip off to do whatever he or she wants to do anyway. That must be how God feels on occasion. His prophets must feel the same way as well (compare Ezekiel 33:31, 32).The people will behave sinfully right in the midst of the exile itself! Yet the result of their coming back to the Lord will be that He will make an everlasting covenant.

The please the sure mercies of David is quoted in Acts 13:34. There the phrase is applied to the resurrection of the Messiah. The name David usually refers to the human king in historical writings. David may also stand for his royal descendant. However, David is sometimes used by the prophets in an ultimate sense as a title for the Messiah (see Jeremiah 30:9; Ezekiel 34:23, 24;37:24, 25; Hosea 3:5). The next two verses offer clues as to which the Lord intends here.

C. Agent (vv. 4, 5)

4.Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people. The tense of have given does not rule out an event later than the time of writing; the context is future. Therefore the historical King David cannot be in view. A strictly human king of the line of David could be possible, except that no such ruler is ever the cause of the actions inverse 5, below.

Therefore, the name David as used in verse 3(him here in v. 4) seems to refer to the ideal, ultimate one: the Messiah. As witness to the love of God, the Messiah will make plain God’s love to His people. As leader and commander, the Messiah is qualified to rule the people.

5.Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee, because of the Lamp thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.

As we work through our lesson text, remember that we are trying to figure out who is speaking and who is being spoken to at every point. Here the words thou and thee may refer to Zion being spoken to. If so, then the Lord’s future kingdom, redeemed Zion, will call a nation it previously did not know. This seems to look forward to the time when redeemed Zion is the church.

If thee and then refer ultimately to die church, then shalt call refers to the preaching of the gospelto the world by the church, and shall run refers to the Gentiles’ inclusion into the church. From Isa-iah’s perspective, this will happen because of the Lord thy God. From our perspective, this has in-deed happened and continues to happen.

The phrase for he hath glorified thee probably also refers to redeemed Zion and to the church. Isaiah 46:13 predicts the glorification of redeemed Zion (Israel; see also Isaiah 61:3). Romans 11:11-24 describes the glorification of the church in terms of a restored relationship between God and all believers, both Jewish and Gentile.

We should realize, however, that it is also attractive to understand thou as indicating that the Lord now turns to speak to “David,” meaning the Messiah, while in the presence of Zion. If this is the case, then it is the Messiah who will call nations to the Lord; the nations will run to the Lord because He will have glorified His Son (see Acts3:13; Hebrews 1:1-3).

Hebrews 5:5 implies that the Son was glorified by the Father. Under this idea, the divine Messiah calls a nation that thou knowest not and nations that knew not thee in the sense of establishing relationships.

The Messiah will indeed have that relation-ship with the Gentiles under the new covenant. That relationship was not really a part of the old covenant (Hosea 1:10; 2:23; both quoted in Ro-mans 9:25, 26; see also 1 Peter 2:10).

11. Acceptance Urged(Isaiah 55:6, 7)

A. Seeking Required (v. 6)

6. Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near.

The speaker is now the prophet Isaiah. This is indicated in verse 7 (below), where he refers to “our God.” The idea in the verse before us is not that the readers should seek God before God moves away and becomes distant. Rather, the idea is for the readers to seek God while their hearts are soft and willing to believe. They need to seek Him and grow in their faith.

In Hebrew poetry, the center of a poem often is the main point. Isaiah’s urge to Zion is the center of the chapter. Therefore, this appeal to seek the Lord is the main point.

B. Forsaking Required (v. 7)

7. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lou, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

Isaiah tells Zion that two things are involved n seeking the Lord. First, the wicked must for-sake his way; that means that unrighteous lifestyles are to be left behind. Second, the un-righteous man must forsake his thoughts: this is a challenge to abandon the internal sins of the heart. These are summarized with the challenge to return unto the Lard. . . and to our God. The results of returning to the Lord are twofold: first, the Lord will have mercy upon the one who does so. Second, the Lord will abundantly pardon. What comfort this must bring the exiles while they are suffering! They will be in exile some 70years, without temple or homeland. When that time comes (in about 100 years from Isaiah’s perspective), many will see no hope of restoration. The years will drag on and on. Well may they wonder, “Has the Lord rejected us forever?”The Lord affirms that there is abundant forgiveness. Even so, every individual outside of Christ today is God’s enemy. Once one learns the reality and depth of the life of sin—a life governed by self without God—one asks the samequestion, “Is there no hope for what I have done in rejecting God?” The good news is that there is the “wonderful grace of Jesus, greater than all my sin.” IS. question #3, page 374.1

III. Unfailing Word Affirmed(Isaiah 55:8-11)A. Thoughts and Ways (vv. 8, 9)

8, 9. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Clearly the Lord has resumed as speaker be-cause it is the Lord’s thoughts that are unsurpassed. That He is speaking to Zion is clear because the pronoun your in Hebrew is plural. The fact that God’s thoughts are so far beyond ours has at least two applications. First, this fact can give us hope when we see no way out of trouble. God can see a way out when we can’t. Second, this fact should make us humble about our own ability to know. When we are “sure” that we know the motives of others who have hurt us, we ought to remember that only God truly knows the human heart (Jeremiah 17:9, 10).(See question #4. page 374.(

HIS THOUGHTS, AND OURS

Enrico Fermi (1901-1954) was an Italian immigrant and nuclear physicist who played an important role in building America’s atomic bomb His brilliance was evident early in his career. He received his PhD in 1922 at the age of 21. At his graduation ceremony he gave a lecture that put some of his professors to sleep; it was more intricate than they could follow.

He was present at the explosion of the first atomic bomb on July 16, 1945. Wills others, he was safely some distance away at the moment of explosion. Most of the witnesses were transfixed by the nature of the explosion itself. But Fermi was focused on determining the amount of power that the explosion released. Fermi dropped pieces of paper before, during, and after the passage of the blast wave. By measuring the displacement of lire pieces, he was able to estimate the strength of the blast.

We can see the grandeur of God’s creation, and that is well and good as far as it goes (Psalm19:1). Yet we can miss the power and force of His values if we’re not careful. His thoughts and ways are indeed far beyond our OW11, and one of His highest values is the repentance of the sinner and the power of forgiveness. Though none of or saw the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, the immeasurable power of the cross still reaches us.—J. B. N.

B. Intent and Outcome (vv. 10, 11)10, 11. For as the rain commeth down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto or void. but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

The Lord illustrates the certainty of His word by referring to ruin and snow from heaven in relationship to what gives life on earth. Returned)not thither brings out the point that the precipitation does not go back into heavers without having a useful effect.

Verse 11 is the lesson to be learned from the illustration. Precipitation Irons above corresponds with the Lord’s Word that goeth forth out of His mouth. He sends it down to earth through His prophets, but His Word does not return to Him without effect. Rather, it accomplishes what He intends. (See question #5, page 3741

Conclusion

A. “You Can’t Miss It”

I do not have a reputation in my family for al-ways being able instinctively to find my way around while traveling. Since I know this, I (un-like many men) do not have any qualms about stopping to ask directions.

However, some people are better at giving directions than others. Upon finishing the description, he or she may utter those often heard words, “You can’t miss it.” Since on occasion I have indeed “missed it,” those words do not offer me much comfort!

However, the Lord is saying to the exiles who will experience His punishment, “If you listen to what I say, if you give up trusting in your own ways, and if you seek me, then restoration will occur. Its scope will be beyond anything you can imagine. And this restoration is as certain as my Word: you can’t miss it.”

His directions are clear: seek Him. This always leads home. This was comfort to the faithful remnant. It is comfort to all who seek the Lord today. No one is too far away to come to the Lord. One does not have to be free from sin to do this (otherwise no one would come). One has to be willing only to stop demanding to be the boss of one’s life and let the Lord be the boss.

B. Prayer

Dear Father, We thank You for being absolutely trustworthy and effective. For all the times we still struggle wills wanting to run our own lives apart from You, we ask Your forgiveness. We, the most defiled, thank You for the relationship You have built with us through Christ, the Messiah, in whose name we pray, amen.

C. Thought to Remember

“Behold, what summer of love the Father bath bestowed upon us” (1 John 3:1).

1.How has God quenched your own spiritual hunger and thirst? Did you find this surprising? Explain.

Our generous God indeed pours His grace upon us! He satisfies our spiritual thirst as we heed His Word. This Word is strong meat for our spiritual nourishment (Hebrews 5:12, 14). Jesus, the Word in the flesh (John 1:14), is also our spiritual bread as well as the water of life (John 6:35).God provides for us as well through the promises of the spiritual drink and spiritual manna for those who overcome (Revelation 2:7,17). The gift of salvation sustains our souls (John4:10). The promise of Heaven does so as well. There we will drink freely of the water of life(Revelation 22:17).

2.What are some ways that people today spend money fur that which does nut satisfy? How can we guard ourselves against stumbling into such foolishness?

We know all too well that people are guilty of accumulating “treasures of wickedness” (Proverbs 10:2). But even people who accumulate money honestly can trap themselves into thinking that possessions will bring happiness. We can make the mistake of doing much the same thing spiritually. Some Christians spend money attending seminar after seminar or going to numerous conferences on spiritual growth. They pay for “knowledge” of how to grow spiritually, but fail to practice basic disciplines for spiritual growth such as Bible reading and prayer. Churches, for their part, may spend lots of money on feel-good activities, such as taking trips to theme parks, while at the same time failing to invest money in evangelistic activities or benevolent ministries. The former are not bad as long as the latter are not neglected.

3. Was there a time when God restored you after you returned to Him? Explain. Estrangement from God may lead to sinful practices such as alcohol and drug abuse, which harm the body. As we come back to God and leave these practices behind, we are restored. There is restoration even though we may still carry some of the marks of those sins in our lives.

At other times, our problem may be financial. Neglecting our stewardship to God may be part of this. Returning to God and becoming good stewards will bring blessings from Him. We can sin against one another, hold grudges, and refuse to forgive. When we are convicted of those sins and return to God, He restores relationships.

4.What are some specific areas in which you have had to admit that God’s thoughts and ways surpass those of your own? What happened when you finally made that admission?

Admitting that God is superior to us in thinking and acting should be a given. But sometimes we still believe that we should be able to provide a sound answer to all issues of existence. For ex-ample, some try to explain exactly how creation occurred. Some even set a date for when it occurred. Other times we try to explain the concept of the Trinity even though full explanation eludes us; all of our analogies break down at some point. We stumble as we try to explain why bad things happen to good people, or why good things happen to bad people.

At the tragic death of a small child we may say that God just wanted another little voice in His heavenly chorus; that runs the risk of assigning blame to God. Sometimes the best thing to do is to say that we don’t know the answer to a question, and yet, by faith, we still believe that God is good and His plans cannot be undermined.

5.What purposes of God’s Word are being accomplished right now in your life? in your church?

Sometimes we may live our lives as if God were not really doing much of anything through us or through the church. We may place blame on a world that is hostile to Christianity, on the busyness of people and lack of concern about the things of God, or on Satan.

It is important to see in Isaiah 55:11 that for God to accomplish His purpose, His Word goes forth. When God’s Word does go forth, faithfully proclaimed by His people, souls come to Jesus and lives are renewed. When we live out God’s Word to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, our needs are supplied (Matthew 6:33).

A. Singing, Exercise, and Doctrine

We used to call them action choruses. Young people of varying ages were encouraged to use
their arms and hands to simulate motions for the fountain that flowed deep and wide, the little light that shined, or the rains that threatened the houses of the wise and foolish builders. The choruses taught spiritual truths, helped the youngsters expend pent-up energy, and enabled youth workers to fill prolonged periods of time.

In recent years another such chorus was very popular with young people. The opening phrase affirms that Abraham had many sons. That is biblically true, for Paul says the same thing—that Abraham is the father of all who believe (Ro-mans 4:11, 16; compare Galatians 3:7). As the lyrics reacts the refrain, the words prompt several physical exercises that require agility, balance, and much energy. Most youngsters love to sing this exhilarating chorus, but it is doubtful that they realize the doctrinal implications of the opening words. That initial affirmation is a part of the lesson today.

Abraham is the great example of faith for all who believe in Christ. Abraham is the first per-son in the Bible of whom it is said that his belief was reckoned for righteousness (Genesis 15:6).He has more verses about him in the Faith Chapter (Hebrews 11) than any other Old Testament saint. His name appears more than 200 times in the New Testament. So the next time you hear young people singing the chorus about Abraham having many sons, remember that that really is profound truth (with or without the suggested athletic movements!).

B. Lesson Background

The lesson last week was about the covenant that God made with Noah. Using the Genesis chronology, there are hundreds of years between Noah and Abraham. The Bible is silent about any direct communication from God to humankind during that period of time.

After the flood the sons of Noah and their descendants did well in obeying the command to fill the earth (Genesis 9:1, 7). The “table of nations” in Genesis 10 gives the names of individuals who were the founders of nations or tribal groups. The incident at the tower of Babel (Gene-sis 11:1-9) served to separate people by language, which God devised and assigned to the families of humankind. It is said that language, more than any other difference, serves to divide people yet today.

God’s first message to Abraham occurred while he was still in Ur of the Chaldees. There are several sites named Ur, with the traditional site of Abraham being the one in southern Mesopotamia (Acts 7:2). It was a city with sanitary sewers, schools, and the worship of a noon god and goddess. This was a very modern city in the twenty-first century BC when Abraham left to be-come a sojourner.

Abraham’s obedient response to leave with his family is a positive example of faith, for he did not know where God was leading hint (Hebrews 11:8). The family traveled toward northwestern Mesopotamia, finally stopping in Haran (Genesis11:31).

It is interesting that both Ur and Haran are known as centers of worship for a moon god and goddess. Idolatry eventually was common after the flood, and it was even practiced by Abraham’s father and brother (Joshua 24:2). Some, however, did maintain a genuine faith. (It is often assumed that Job lived during this time, and his faith is highly exemplary.)

When God selected Abraham, He chose a man without children, land, or reputation. To such a person God is ready to promise a son, a land, and greatness!

I. Promises to Abraham(Genesis 17:1-8, 15, 16)

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, patriarchs in the book of Genesis, receive promises by God on different occasions. God gives messages to Abraham several times in Genesis (12:1-3, 7; 13:14-17; 15:4, 5, 13-18; 17:1-22; 18:17-33; 22:15-18).

Acts 7:2 indicates an earlier contact before the family leaves Ur.
Similar promises are given twice to Isaac(Genesis 26:4, 24) and Jacob (Genesis 28:14, 15;35:9-12). As we open our lesson, we remember that Abraham’s name originally was Abram(Genesis 17:5, below).

A. Name for God (vv. 1, 2)

1. And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lox appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be than perfect.

The factor of Abram’s age is of interest. He was75 when he, Lot (his nephew), and others de-parted from Haran to go to the land of Canaan(Genesis 12:4, 5). When Abraham was 85, his wife suggested that perhaps she could have children through Hagar, her handmaid (16:2, 3).Abraham accepted the proposal, which was contemporary practice for a wife who was barren. Ishmael was born when Abraham was 86 (16:16).Such statistics interest some people, but the message underneath them is very important: God keeps His promises, but the time of waiting maybe a testing of the patience and faith of those who are the recipients of the promises. In this case Abram and his wife Sarai were “running ahead” of God instead of waiting for His time.

The Lord identifies himself with His first words to Abram. He is not just God, but He is Almighty. (See question #3. page 241 This God is one who can accomplish things that are considered impossible. Over 1,400 years later Jeremiah will echo the same thought when he writes that nothing is too difficult for God (Jeremiah 32:17).Two imperatives are used by the Lord to ex-press His expectations. First, Abram is to walk before God. Second, his walk must be unblemished; Abram is to do his best in meeting his obligations to God.

“WHAT’S IN A NAME?”

In the early 1960s General Motors tried unsuccessfully to sell its new, economical compact model the Nova in Latin America. The problem, it seems, was that the name Nova means “no go” in Spanish. After GM changed the car’s name to Caribe, sales took off at least so the story goes. Actually, this is one of those urban legends we hear from time to time. For one thing, sales weren’t really that bad, and the Caribe was sold by Volkswagen. However, this story has gained lots of “mileage” (pardon the pun) by being repeated many times in marketing textbooks and business seminars.

Let’s try another one. When Coca-Cola entered the Chinese market, it had to find Mandarin characters that sounded like “Coca-Cola.” The characters they chose could mean “to allow the mouth to be able to rejoice” but could also be translated “bite the wax tadpole.” Hmmm. Whether or not either story is true, in the final analysis their very existence points to the fact that names are important. So it was with the name by which God revealed himself to Abram. Abram’s culture believed in many gods, but the God who spoke to Abram was the Almighty God!

He was significantly different from the fictitious gods that people worshiped. He was and is the God who has power and who makes covenants with those who believe Him.

2. And 1 will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. This is the first of 13 uses of the word covenant in this chapter. It is used only once with Abram prior to this chapter, in Genesis 15:18. In that chapter God specifically promises that Abram will have a son and that his descendants will he as numerous as the stars (Genesis 15:5).The words will accompany many of God’s blessings as given in this chapter. This construction shows that the fulfillments are in the future, but God will keep His promises.

B. Nations to Result (vv. 3, 4)

3, 4. And Abram tell on his face: and God talked with bins, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.

Abram’s immediate response is to fall and assume a position of utmost respect. The implications of what the Lord has just said are racing through his mind, and heir overwhelmed! God’s next words reinforce the thought that Abram is to have many descendants.

An excellent commentary on Abrams thoughts can be found in Romans 4:19, 20. In these verses Paul stales that Abraham was not weak in faith, even as Ire considered his own body and his wife’s womb tube dead. The God who created life in the beginning could do the same again for this elderly couple!

In verse 4 God states that the covenant being made is with Abram, and one outcome is that many notions will result. The factor of notions(plural) is a new concept. The singular form of the word is used in Genesis 12:2, so this adds a dimension to the promises that God is making. Of course, living in the twenty-first century so means that we are aware of the historical fulfillment of this prophecy. But it must be a staggering thought for Abram in the twenty-first century! Some; of the descendants of Abram who will produce marry sons include Ishmael and the six sons that Abraham had by his second wife, Keturah (Genesis 25:1, 2).

C. New Nattre for Abram (v. 5a)

5a. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham. A new name is given to Abram, and it is very meaningful as a part of this covenant. Whereas Abram means “exalted father,” the name Abraham means “father of a multitude.” This new name itself is a challenging part of this expanded covenant.

The exact nature of this exchange between God and Abraham is not given; it may have been personal, private event. One can only wonder at the responses of others when Abraham tells them that his name is now “father of a multitude.” Abraham has a private army (Genesis14:14); when those men think of Abraham as childless, elderly man, how can they use his new name without a snicker?

D.Nations and the Kings (vv. 5b, 6)5b, 6. For a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.
The thought that Abraham will be a father of many nations is repeated from verse 4. This time the concept is amplified: Abraham’s descendants will be exceeding fruitful.

Abraham’s offspring will also include kings. This is a new factor, not mentioned previously. Moses (the author of Genesis) will later record the names of several kings who are descendants of Ahraham’s grandson Esau (Genesis 36:31-39). Stu-dents of biblical history are aware of Saul, David, Solomon, and other kings who trace their lineage In Abraham (Matthew 1:2-11). God’s promises do come to pass!

E.People of the Covenant (v. 7)

7. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed otter thee in their generations, fur an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. This special covenant relationship will continue into the future for the children of Abraham, for it is an everlasting covenant. It must first be noted that the applications of these phrases are restricted: in this same chapter the descendants of Ishmael are excluded, in spite of Abraham’s expressed thought that the covenant could be fulfilled in him (vv. 18-21, below).This verse also allows us to compare the use the word seed in the King James Version with the word descendants in the New International Version. The selection of the word seed seems to begetter, for Paul uses the fact that it is singular to show that the ultimate fulfillment is a spiritual one in Christ, that He is the promised seed (Galatians 3:16; compare Acts 3:25).

The same word occurs again in Genesis 22:18.There the promise takes a phrase from Genesis
12:3 and states that it is through Abraham’s seed that all the families of the earth will be blessed. The beauty of the apostles’ argument is that all people now have access to the spiritual blessings that the redemptive work of the Messiah makes available.

F. Place Assigned (v.

8. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

The land of Canaan had been promised to Abraham previously (Genesis 12:5, 7; 15:18). These words from God provide a further confirmation of that promise. There is a certain irony here: it has been 24 years since Abraham entered Canaan (compare Genesis 12:4, 5; 17:1), and so far Abraham does not possess any of it. God told Abraham previously that his descendants would be oppressed 400 years in another land, and in the fourth generation they would occupy Canaan when the iniquity of the inhabitants was full
(Genesis 15:13, 16)!

G. Position for Sarai (vv. 15, 16)

15, 16. And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.

The intervening verses record the establishment of circumcision as a sign of the covenant for Abraham’s male descendants. Now the role of Sarai in the promises is expressed for the first time. God begins by changing her name for the role that she will have in redemptive history: to become the mother of nations and kings. This will have its beginning in her own son, Isaac.

The meanings of the names Sarai and Sarah seem to be the same, but there is the difference in spelling. Both names mean “princess.”

II. Perplexities of Abraham (Genesis 17:17-22)

Abraham finally has an opportunity to express his reactions. Those reactions concern two people: Sarah and Ishmael.

A. Problems Stated (vv. 17, 18)

17. Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is a hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
Keep this map posted throughout the quarter to help set the geographical context.
Abraham’s emotional response is laughter. The fact that Sarah is to become a mother goes beyond what is humanly reasonable. If God is in it, however, then it becomes reasonable!
Abraham projects the promises a year into the future, the earliest time for a son to be born. Abraham will then be 100 and Sarah will be 90, and he inwardly wonders about what he has just heard. Could it possibly be true?

18. And Abraham said unto God, 0 that Ishmael might live before thee!

At this time Ishmael is 13 years old (compare Abraham’s age in Genesis 16:16 and 17:1). Abraham loves this young teenager and states that he is willing to accept him as the child of promise. In his humility he does not demand that God go to any special trouble.

B. Problems Solved (vv. 19-22)

19. And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.
God speaks and assures Abraham that Sarah is the one who will bear the son who will fulfill the promise. In addition, God continues to provide names for the people involved, and He states that the son is to be called Isaac. The name Isaac means “laugh,” and it will ever serve as a reminder of Abraham’s reaction when he heard the prediction.

The I will statements of this section continue. God asserts that it is through Isaac that the everlasting covenant is to be established and that it will continue for generations after him.

20.And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.

God assures Abraham that his concerns for Ishmael have been heard and that blessings are included for him. They are similar in nature to the promises of the covenant. But limitations are set concerning the number of future leaders among his descendants (twelve princes). The final promise is that Ishmael’s descendants will become o great nation.

21.But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.

The closing words of God in this account re-state the factors that are to have imminent fulfillments: that the covenant is to be continued through Isaac, that Sarah is to be the mother, and that these things will occur the next year. One can only wonder concerning Abraham’s final reflections and actions: will they be outwardly exuberant and joyful, silent and profound contemplation, or overwhelming gratitude? It will take time for the reality of the promises to be grasped fully.

UNINTENTIONAL FRAUDALANCE

Dossena (1878-1937) was a stonemason from northern Italy. He became skilled at carving reproductions of sculptures from ancient times, and his work was so good that others began selling his carvings as genuine antiques. Despite Dossena’ best efforts to spread the truth of the matter, dealers in antiquities continued the fraud since they were reaping handsome profits. So many pieces of his work were in circulation as genuine that it became impossible to trace the mall. It is said that some of Dossena’s copies are accepted as genuine antiquities yet today.

With the best of motives, Abraham and Sarah also perpetrated an unintentional fraud. They had received God’s promise of a son as a sign of God’s covenant with them. Time went by, and still there was no pregnancy. Their solution was for Abraham to have a son by Sarah’s servant girl, Hagar.

The consequences of their decision were far-reaching. We see the effects today in strife in the Middle East, as some elements of religious extremism claim covenantal blessings through Ishmael. Although the child Ishmael would be blessed by God, he was not the “genuine article” the son of the covenantal promise. We al-ways get into trouble when we try to push God’s timetable!

22. And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.

God departs from Abraham, and this brings to a conclusion this stage of Abraham’s developing role in the covenant. There are more interactions to follow, but the new factors are overwhelming.
Conclusion A. If It Sounds Too Good.

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is—unless God is in it. The covenant that God made with Abraham offered promises that another human could not deliver. It is comforting to know that God did not hold the negative reactions of Abraham and Sarah against them. Their reservations did not thwart God’s redemptive plan. It is God’s plan to provide Heaven for all the redeemed. That’s something that sounds just too good to be true, but it is true. It sounds too good to be true that God forgives and forgets the sins of the redeemed, but God does that—even though we tend to burden ourselves with memories of our failures.
God offers Heaven to sinners who believe on His Son and follow His plan of salvation. That sounds too good to be true—but it is true!

B. Prayer

Thank You, Lord, for the trials of life that develop patience. Forgive my lack of trust in those times. In the name of Your Son, amen.

C. Thought to Remember

Trust God despite your doubts

Introduction

A. The God Who Rebuilds

Most of us have watched a small child play with building blocks. He or she takes great de-light in stacking a certain number, and then with one gleeful swipe scatters the blocks everywhere. Then the child gathers the blocks together and does it again—each time squealing with delight until boredom sets in. Then it becomes time to move on to some other form of entertainment. Rebuilding scattered building blocks is one thing; rebuilding a place of worship is quite an-other matter. Solomon’s temple had been constructed with great care and much effort. I Kings 6:38 records that this magnificent structure took seven years to build. Yet once the Babylonian army had entered Jerusalem (following a siege of about 18 months), it required far less time to demolish what had been so carefully erected and so prayerfully dedicated (1 Kings 8:22-61). Tearing down always takes much less time than building.

But God had other plans for the temple; destruction would not be the final word. The same prophets who spoke so passionately of God’s coming judgment on His people and His temple were just as passionate about the promise that a remnant would return and rebuild.

On one occasion, Jesus used the language of destroying and rebuilding to describe what would eventually happen to Him: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John2:19). The text later notes, “But he spoke of the temple of his body” (v. 21). The same language can be applied to what God can do with our bro-ken, sin-ravaged lives. What we have ruined He can rebuild, restore, and renew. Paul writes of our bodies as a temple in which God’s Spirit dwells (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19). We are not our own; we are under new management.

Whether the damage has been done to sacred structures or to sin-marred souls, God is in the business of rebuilding and restoring.

B. The Chronicles Factor

At first glance the books of 1 and 2 Chronicles may seem to be unnecessary additions to the Old Testament. After all, don’t they cover the same period of history covered by much of 1 and2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings? And why the extensive genealogies that take up the first nine chapters of 1 Chronicles? (Those aren’t exactly the most thrilling portions of the Bible to read!)Most students of the Bible believe that the books of Chronicles were written after the Babylonian captivity and after God’s people had re-turned home to rebuild their temple in Jerusalem. (Their return is the topic of today’s lesson.) It is worth noting that the final two verses of 2 Chronicles and the first three verses of the book of Ezra are virtually the same. Be-cause of this, some have proposed that Ezra may have been the author of the books of Chronicles as well as the book that bears his name. Certainly Ezra was well qualified for such a task (see Ezra 7:6, 10).

Why would Ezra (assuming him to be the author) compose such a record as that found in the books of Chronicles? Consider the following hypothetical situation: A congregation experiences an especially trying set of circumstances, such as a fire that destroys its sanctuary, a split of some kind, or a crisis within the leadership. The result would likely be a keen sense of loss of purpose and direction within the congregation. Questions would surface, such as, “Where do we go from here?” and “What is God’s will for us now?” How would a church in such a situation get the people back on track and restore a sense of direction and purpose?

One answer might be to call attention to the history of the congregation and review God’s faithfulness over the years in preserving the people through other difficult times. By considering such examples from the congregation’s history, the people may be encouraged to continue to “fight the good fight.” They would do what was necessary to see themselves through the current series of events.

A similar scenario confronted God’s people following the crisis of the Babylonian captivity and the return to their homeland. They too must have wondered, “Where do we go from here? Does God still have a purpose for us?” For God’s covenant people, them were other burning issues as well:-Is God’s covenant still intact? Are the promises made to Abraham and David still binding?”The material found in 1 and 2 Chronicles seems especially intended (through the guidance of the Holy Spirit) to address these and other crucial issues in the minds of those who were part of the rebuilding effort in Judah. The genealogies in 1 Chronicles 1-9 would not have been dull or boring to the original readers; they would have given the postexilic generation a sense of identity with their past. They would have been encouraged by realizing that the link with the individuals and tribes mentioned in these chapters had not been severed by the captivity and exile.

There is a special emphasis in 1 and 2 Chronicles on the reigns of David and Solomon and all their achievements. This let the postexilic com-munity know that this was still a part of their history and their identity. God was not finished with them yet!

C. Lesson Background

The conclusion of 2 Chronicles, from which our text for today is taken, is a key part of the previously mentioned encouragement to the postexilic community. As we learned from last week’s text, God’s people had repeatedly spurned the appeals of His prophets to turn from their sins. Eventually, His judgment fell. God used the Babylonians to destroy the temple—believed by some

in Jerusalem and Judah to be indestructible. That belief was based on a theory that God would never allow His people to be overtaken by pagans(compare Jeremiah 7:4).

I. Decree Ordained(2 Chronicles 36:22, 23)

Did the destruction of the temple mean that God had turned His back completely on His chosen people? The end of 2 Chronicles provides the answer, and it is a resounding nu! That the temple will be rebuilt indicates that God still has a purpose for His people.

A. God’s Working (v. 22)

22. Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the Loan stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and to put it also in writing, saying.

Cyrus king of Persia is the human instrument whom God uses to keep His promise to bring His people home. Second Chronicles 36:20 records that Nebuchadnezzar exiled the remnant of God’s people to Babylon “where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia.” Persia came to power in 539Bc through the series of events described in Daniel 5.

King Cyrus possesses a discernment and fair-mindedness that many rulers in the ancient world lack. He understands that it will enhance his reputation and get his reign started on a positive note if he provides some measure of relief from the cruel tactics of the Babylonians.

Thus Cyrus demonstrates an attitude of diplomacy and tolerance in his dealings with conquered peoples. He gives these peoples a wide latitude in allowing them to practice their religions. Thus it should be noted that what the Scriptures describe Cyrus as doing for the Jews, he does also for other peoples: permitting them to return to their respective homelands. There they may reestablish themselves and be free to practice their religious beliefs.

Secular historians may view Cyrus’s actions as simply the exercise of capable and discerning leadership. The Scripture, however, is clear in emphasizing that the Lord uses this policy of Cyrus to accomplish His own purpose. This is all part of His plan as announced by the word of the Loon spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah. That Word, mentioned in the previous verse (v. 21, not in today’s text), describes the captivity as lasting70 years (also Jeremiah 29:10). Cyrus is not acting alone; the Lord, the heavenly king, has moved the heart of the earthly king to implement a program of restoration for the Lord’s people.

It is noteworthy that another prophet gave Spirit-inspired insight into the Lord’s master plan some 100 years before Jeremiah uttered his prophecy. Isaiah prophesied not only before Persia became a dominant force, but also he prophesied even before Babylon gained such a stature! Yet Isaiah gave a message from the Lord that specifically named Cyrus (Isaiah 44:28; 45:1).Thus, some 160 years before Cyrus conquered Babylon and issued his decree, Isaiah’s prophetic perspective named that ruler as the man whom God would use to fulfill His own plan.

B. Cyrus’s Words (v. 23)

23. Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.

As noted previously, Cyrus allows other captive peoples to return to their homelands—not just the Jews. Thus the acknowledgment of the Lord as the God of heaven, etc., should not be considered as a sign of any kind of conversion to the God of Israel on Cyrus’s part. That ruler uses equally grand language of other deities. For ex-ample, on the famous Cyrus Cylinder, unearthed by archaeologists, are inscribed these words:”Marduk, king of the gods [the leading deity of the Babylonian gods] . . . designated use to rule over all the lands.” [See (111t.5150: /12, page 112.)

Nevertheless, it is clear that Cyrus is indeed God’s instrument to carry out His purpose. This is also true of Caesar Augustus, a later ruler whom God will use to issue a decree that results in Joseph and Mary’s journey to Bethlehem. Them Jesus will be born in fulfillment of prophecy (Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:6).

Following the claim to be authorized by the Lord, Cyrus’s decree continues by granting per-mission to any of the Lord’s people to go up to Jerusalem. There they can participate in the re-building effort. The Hebrew word translated as go up occurs elsewhere in the Old Testament in the context of another significant movement of God’s people: the exodus from bondage in Egypt(see Exodus 3:8, 17; 33:1).

To go up thus has a special meaning for God’s people and gives them a sense of kinship with the exodus event that established them as a “holy nation” (Exodus 19:5, 6). In a sense they can consider themselves reborn as a nation. for they are coming out of bondage in Babylon much as they had come out of Egypt under Moses. The promise of God’s presence (the Lord his God be with him) was also a key source of encouragement during the exodus and subsequent events(Exodus 3:11, 12; 33:14-17; Numbers 14:9).

II. Decree Obeyed(Ezra 1:5-7)

The remainder of our printed text describes the compliance of God’s people with the decree of Cyrus.

A. God’s Action (v. 5)

5. Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and Levites, with all them whose spirit God had raised, to go up to build the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem.

This verse lists those who prepare to go up and build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem (just as the decree had stated). The chief of the fathers are probably the leaders of the various tribal clans, or extended families, within the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. These two tribes provide the primary makeup of the southern kingdom of Judah, which the Babylonians had conquered and taken captive.

Included in those who return are the priests and Levites. Their spiritual leadership will be necessary in guiding and mentoring those who choose to return. Sadly, some of these priests

Levites eventually commit sin by marrying women from outside the covenant people. This muses great distress to Ezra and others among those who return (Ezra 9:1-4).

In this verse it is also important to note the guidance of the Lord’s hand in this series of events. Those who choose to return include everyone whose spirit God had raised. The same God who has “stirred up the spirit” of a pagan king (Ezra 1:1) now moves among His people to stir them to action. This also means that the..me God who had brought the king of Babylon against His people (2 Chronicles 36:17) is now working for His people. He is fulfilling His promise to bring them home.

B. Neighbors’ Assistance (v. 6)

6. And all they that were about them strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, with told, with goods, and with beasts, and with precious things, besides all that was willingly offered.

Here one sees another parallel to the events surrounding the exodus of some 900 years be-fore. Exodus 11:2 records these instructions given by the Lord to Moses: “Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbor, and every woman of her neighbor, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold.” And now, as a kind of “second exodus” unfolds for God’s people, all their neighbors assist them with numerous contributions and offerings. The beasts that are provided most likely include animals that can be used for the various sacrifices required by the law of Moses.

SKIPPING CHRISTMAS

Crossroads Christian Church in Lexington, Kentucky, recently took a different approach to Christmas: they encouraged skipping it (the bad parts. that is). What triggered the new thinking was that the church staff was hearing people say such things as “I wish we didn’t spend so much on gifts” or “I feel like I have to buy gifts for some people even though I don’t want to.” So they took a page from John Grisham’s recent book, Skipping Christmas. (The book was made into the 2004movie Christmas with the Kranks.)

Crossroads’s response to the laments was not to tell people that they shouldn’t give gifts or put up Christmas trees. Instead, the church leader-ship decided that what it really needed to do was to help people change their focus. The fivefold emphasis was skip excess, find simplicity; skip obligations, find joy; skip rush, find rest; skip loneliness, find belonging; skip Christmas, find Christ. The foundational idea was to bring back the joy that should be in a season that celebrates giving ).

When the leaders of Judah and Benjamin began the task of rebuilding the temple, all whose hearts were moved by God’s gift of freedom caught the spirit of the occasion and freely gave to the cause. They had found the true focus of giving: gratitude for what God had done. We detect no sense of “Aw, do I have to?”

Christmas is right around the corner. How many of us have that same mind-set?

C. Cyrus’s Assistance (v. 7)

7. Also Cyrus the king brought forth the vessels of the house of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem, and had put them in the house of his gods.

Furthermore, Cyrus brings out the articles that rightfully belong to the temple of the Lord. This shows his personal support for the return home.(See question #4, page 112.) Second Chronicles36:18, part of last week’s printed text, describes how Nebuchadnezzar carried these items to Babylon. That king’s successor had used some of those vessels in a most unholy way (Daniel 5:1-4).Now these actions are reversed, as the temple articles are removed from Babylon and taken to their original, rightful home in Jerusalem. This will give the returning captives some sense of continuity with the past when they are in a position to place the items in the new temple. The removal of articles from a conquered people’s place of worship is a significant religious statement in the ancient world. It is interpreted as a sign of the superiority of the conqueror’s gods. In this case the Lord God of Israel, who had allowed the Babylonians to remove the articles from His temple, now allows the Persians to send them back!

REBOOTING

One of the most famous lines in English literature was uttered in Macbeth, which is one of Shakespeare’s darker works. Evil piles upon evil throughout the play. At one point Lady Macbeth pushes her husband to kill King Duncan of Scot-land so that Macbeth might be king. With Dun-can dead Lady Macbeth goes back to the scene of the assassination and smears blood on guards(who had been drugged). This implicates them in the crime.

But then her conscience begins to work. She starts sleepwalking, rubbing her hands as if trying to wash away the blood that remains. In this state she admits her part in the murder and utters the famous words, “Out, (foul) spot! out, I say!” Guilt over the murder is driving her insane as her fevered mind tells her that there is no atoning for the evil she has done. In computer terminology her mind is desperately trying to “reboot,” to no avail.

Many atrocities had been committed against the people of Judah by the Babylonians. Now, many decades later, Cyrus performs an act of atonement for what his predecessor had done.

Does he feel a sense of shared guilt? We don’t know. For whatever reason seems best to him personally, Cyrus is trying to “reboot” the situation as he gives back the sacred vessels that had been looted.

Perhaps we may be tempted to say “Not my fault” or “Not my problem” when confronted with the need to clean up someone else’s mess. When that happens, stop to consider if God needs to “reboot” your thinking! .

Conclusion

A. “It’s in There!”

A few years ago, a certain brand of spaghetti sauce advertised its product by making the claim, “Homemade taste—it’s in there!” The same can be said of the idea of grace in the Old Testament. Most Christians associate that concept with the New Testament. And while the doctrine of grace is most clearly expressed through the coming of Jesus, grace is not absent from the Old Testament. It is most definitely “in there.” A powerful example comes from today’s lesson.

As noted earlier, the books of 1 and 2 Chronicles were most likely written to encourage the re-turning exiles that God still had a purpose for them and that the captivity did not spell “the end.” Both the conclusion of 2 Chronicles and the beginning of Ezra highlight the fact that God took the initiative in fulfilling His promise. He did that by moving the heart of Cyrus and then moving His people to take the necessary steps to return to Judah and rebuild. If ever there were doubts in the minds of those who returned from captivity concerning God’s intentions, they needed only to look back and remember God’s grace in using the right man at the right time to achieve His holy purpose.

Christians have a similar perspective, based on what Jesus Christ has done for us through His death and resurrection. Sometimes circum-stances we encounter may cause us to doubt the validity of our faith. In those situations we can remind ourselves, as Paul did the Roman Christians, that nothing “shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39).

That love—and that grace—were also revealed during the Old Testament era. It was revealed from the time of Adam and Eve receiving the promise of what the woman’s seed would accomplish (Genesis 3:15). Is grace found within the pages of the Old Testament? Make no mistake—it’s in there!

B. Prayer

Father, where would we be without Your grace? We would be hopelessly lost. May whenever forget the difference that Your grace through Jesus Christ has made in our lives. It is a difference for eternity. Remind us of our responsibility to share that grace with others. In Jesus’ name, amen.

C. Thought to Remember

God is still in the business of rebuilding

I. What are some things that can be rebuilt only by the power of God? How are humans sometimes arrogant in thinking that such power belongs to them?
Given the power of our technology, it is tempting to assume that nothing is beyond building or repairing—eventually. Think of all the wonder medications we have today! They hold out the tantalizing promise of repairing human emotions and bodies. Some people have their bodies cryogenically frozen at death, hoping for the day when ultramodern science will resurrect them. But human arrogance is nothing new—see Daniel 4:28-33; Acts 12:21-23. Only God can reclaim sinners and save them for eternity.
2.Cyrus said that God had given him a mission to rebuild the temple, but other decrees from Cyrus gave equal credence to other deities. Is this an early form of “political correctness”?Why, or why not?
Unfortunately, political leaders will refer occasionally to God in more of a manipulative or pandering fashion rather than as an expression of genuine, personal faith. The goal of gaining political support from religious people sometimes is more important than the goal of attaining God’s support. In such cases God may be referred to in a bland, generic way in order to include as many religions as possible and to offend as few as possible. This is sometimes called ceremonial theism. For a politician to attune his or her policies to God’s will and fight the prevailing political winds is a big challenge. But God can ensure that even a politician who isn’t particularly interested in Him will carry out God’s will regardless. There may be no obvious way to know when that is happening at the time—it may take hindsight to tell.
3.Material support for this “second exodus” came from the gifts of fellow Jews. Support for the original exodus came from non-Jews (Exodus12:36).
When should a church rely on support from the world to accomplish a ministry, if ever? Some churches feel very strongly that ministries must be supported only from the offerings of the members. We need to acknowledge, though, that outside support is essential for some ministries to happen.

Church building projects require support from zoning boards and neighbors. After-school programs may require at least tacit support from teachers and school officials. Your church’s reputation within the town can influence how effective it is for ministry in areas like these. But expecting the community to sup-port the church by participating in church fundraisers involving pancake breakfasts, the sale of Christmas trees, etc., may be going too far. The apostle John notes that “because that for his name’s sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles” (3 John 7).
4.In what ways can a non-Christian ruler become an agent for God?
Ideally, of course, we would love to see every non-Christian ruler come to Christ. Yet God can use even the most unholy ruler to be His unwilling agent. Pharaoh from the book of Exodus maybe the most obvious example.

Even outside the testimony of Scripture, we can see examples of rulers who seem to be acting as agents for God in at least one area of their leadership. (To avoid politicizing these observations, we won’t suggest names here!) This maybe done actively, with a politician promoting pro-Christian policies intentionally—though per-haps from less-than-holy motives. Other times it can be done unintentionally, through policies enacted for reasons that God uses to achieve His purposes.
5.What special items from your church’s past are worth holding on to because of their legacy value? What things are best discarded as point-less relics of a bygone era? How do you decide which is which?
Symbolically, the temple objects connected the Jews to both the lost glory of Solomon’s temple and God’s favor that allowed that temple to be built in the first place (1 Kings 5:5). The articles reminded the Jews that the God of Solomon was the same God leading them back to the promised land. Objects from your church’s past that serve as reminders of the .changing God in the midst of an ever-changing world may well be worth keeping.