“Being honest in the sight of all men means that we must be completely straightforward and truthful in our dealings with others — and also to ourselves. We say we have accepted the Truth and claim therefore that we are honest. But do we continue to make mischief and tell lies?

“Sometimes we find it hard to be honest because we don’t want to upset anyone. To take a very trivial example: we see a friend and we don’t think that her clothing is at all appropriate but we are afraid to say so and end up complimenting her. Is that being honest? In speaking the truth we have to be gentle and considerate, but sometimes even that can bring hurt feelings.

“We are supposed to be missionaries preaching the Lord Jesus Christ in word and action. He was always totally honest and true — as we must be! He was not only honest in the sight of all men, he was totally honest before God. And he will help us in our aim to be honest before God, for only then will our honesty be complete. Look how he helped Peter to overcome his shameful dishonesty. And he did it in deepest love.

“Sometimes we tell lies and excuse them as jokes when they are found out. ‘Like a madman shooting firebrands or deadly arrows is a man who deceives his neighbour and says, “I was only joking!” ‘ (Pro 26:18,19). This kind of behaviour is often seen in children and because it is not corrected it continues into manhood. It is never too early to learn that complete truthfulness must be a way of life from childhood onward. These things the Lord hates — a proud look, a lying tongue, a false witness who tells lies, and he that sows discord among brethren.

“We must be on our guard that we are not taken in by lies just because we hear them over and over again. We must also make sure that we ourselves are not guilty of trying to convince others of something that is not true by the use of repetition. Remember that mob in the theatre in Ephesus? They wanted everybody to believe that the goddess Diana was real. So they just shouted and screamed and chanted in unison, ‘Great is Diana of the Ephesians’ for a couple of hours until everybody was hoarse. But the idol was as dead at the end of all those ‘vain repetitions’ as it was at the beginning. Let us not be so proud as to refuse to give up a false opinion we have, even though the truth has been revealed to us.

“Recently I spoke to a sister concerning a brother and family member about some misunderstanding that had taken place. The sister made it clear that there was nothing I nor anyone could do to convince this brother that what he heard was a lie. He is stubborn and too proud to let go of self and be humble. We deplore this behaviour in others. Let us also be sure that we despise it in ourselves as well.

“In Psa 133, we are reminded that it is good and pleasant for brethren to dwell together in unity. The final blessing of eternal life will come only to brethren and sisters who dwell together in unity. Spreading lies and believing them causes discord and unhappiness. What a hateful thing to sow seeds of bitterness in a united family and cause unnecessary strife! This is the old nature of man, but for those who are washed in the blood of the Lamb, this should not be named among us. Our faith should be stronger than to tell lies.

“The Internet and E-mail have provided a new medium for spreading lies about those whom we may not like. We can hide our identity while still causing pain to others. I have been appalled at the misuse of the Internet by brethren who should know better. I know one sister who has suffered intense distress because of untrue things circulated widely about her, in some cases by brethren who have never even met her. It should never be like that in the family of God.

“Why should anyone — especially a brother or a sister — tell such lies deliberately? Is it to accomplish evil? Why go naked to such a work when there are many beautiful garments ready to hand? It is easy to feel bitter and find covering which might even deceive ourselves.

“We have much to be thankful for today through the mercies of God shown in the saving name of Christ Jesus. That’s why many of us who have lying lips like Ananias and Sapphira don’t drop down dead immediately as they did. There is still time to start a life of truthfulness. How long are we going to wait before we…

“Speak the truth and speak it ever, cost it what it will. He who hides the wrong he did, does the wrong thing still.

“Brethren and sisters, we cannot lie our way through to the Kingdom. Instead, be honest and true. Be truly serious about the word. Be true to one another” (Gerzel Gordon).

HOPE DEFERRED… DESIRE FULFILLED

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life” (Pro 13:12, RSV).

How many of us have experienced the first part of this verse? Maybe it was a job that you really, really wanted, and you had to wait and wait, and finally, it went to someone else. Or maybe it was a deep feeling for someone, and you thought, “I could be so happy with that person because that person displays every quality I want in a mate.” And yet, for whatever reason, it just doesn’t happen.

Or perhaps, it was the hope for a baby. Husband and wife enjoyed a good marriage; they were in love with one another; yet after months or maybe years of trying, no pregnancy. And the body absolutely ached with this unfulfilled desire.

Sometimes, what starts out in the mind as a hope deferred, after a while, takes on a life of its own. The hurt literally spreads to the rest of the body, and seems to consume the person — until finally he or she cannot function at any level.

There are examples in the Bible of these sorts of feelings. These longings reflect part of the character-building process used by God. Two familiar stories serve as test cases.

Abraham, Sarah, and the seed

At the age of 75 Abraham was told by God that he would have a son who would do amazing things — he would bring salvation to all who had faith in him. Yet Sarah — 66 at the time of the initial promise — was barren. So, month after month, year after year, Abraham grew more despondent. Nothing was happening. Finally, Abraham asked God if Eliezer of Damascus, his steward, might be the promised “seed”. But God said no. Yet it is recorded that “Abraham believed, and God reckoned it to him as righteousness” (Gen 15:6).

And still there was no seed; Sarah remained barren; time marched on. Sarah was obviously frustrated with this situation; at last, she decided to take matters into her own hands: she gave her maid Hagar to Abraham. He complied with her wishes, and Hagar became pregnant. She bore Ishmael to Abraham when he was 86.

Now at last, Abraham had the promised seed, right? But thirteen more years came and went with, as far as we know, no open revelations from God. The question must have pressed upon Abraham’s mind: “Is Ishmael the one or not?” As the baby grew into a child and a young man, it began to be obvious to Abraham and Sarah that Ishmael might not be the fulfillment of God’s promise. But how else could it be fulfilled? They were each getting older and older; Sarah was now 90 years old, and obviously could no longer bear a child. Or could she?

And then, an angel appeared to Abraham to tell him he would literally father a child by his beloved Sarah. Abraham laughed (in astonishment? in disbelief?). And so the angel told him, “The child will be named Yitzhak (Isaac)” — which means “laughter”! Sarah, hearing of this renewed promise, laughed also, and was rebuked. The angel said,

“Why did Sarah laugh, and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, in the spring, and Sarah shall have a son” (Gen 18:13,14).

And it happened! Twenty-five years after the original promises, Sarah finally bore a son, Isaac. And there must have been incredible joy. For the desire, finally fulfilled, became a “tree of life” (both then, for Abraham and Sarah and their descendants; and especially in the future, in the divine “seed” that came through Abraham and Isaac — the Lord Jesus Christ)!

David and the throne

As a teenager, the humble shepherd David was anointed by the great prophet Samuel to be king of all Israel. With the help of God he won a great victory, against Goliath and the Philistines; he returned from battle to the sounds of women singing his praises. Yet even as he did so well, his success inspired the envy and hatred of king Saul, who plotted to kill him. The young man David had to flee for his life. For years he lived in exile, existing from hand to mouth, constantly on guard against a sudden attack from Saul and his men.

During all this time, all these long years, when was David going to become king, as God had promised? Twice David was tempted with the opportunity to slay Saul; but no, he knew he must not lift his hand against the LORD’s anointed.

So how much longer did David have to hold out? Psalms written during this time of exile express his frustration in trying to do the right thing, while hiding in the hills, far away from the peace and comfort of a settled home.

“I cry with my voice to the LORD, with my voice I make supplication to the LORD. I pour out my complaint before him, I tell my trouble before him. When my spirit is faint, thou knowest my way! In the path where I walk they have hidden a trap for me. I look to the right and watch, but there is none who takes notice of me; no refuge remains to me, no man cares for me. I cry to thee, O LORD; I say, Thou art my refuge, my portion in the land of the living. Give heed to my cry; for I am brought very low! Deliver me from my persecutors; for they are too strong for me!” (Psa 142).

Can you not feel the truth of the proverb?: a hope deferred, a sick heart, intense frustration. What could David do? He could only look to God, pray to Him, trust in Him. God was the only way.

And finally, after many years, the way opened up. Saul was slain by the Philistines. David could now assume his kingdom. And here’s the fulfillment in David’s life of the last part of the proverb (a desire fulfilled; a tree of life): when he brought the ark of God to its permanent resting place in Jerusalem:

“So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obededom to the city of David with rejoicing; and when those who bore the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling. And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the horn” (2Sa 6:12-15).

Application to us

And so it may be for each of us: finally, our desires are fulfilled. The barren couple, waiting and waiting, finally rejoices when they discover she is at last pregnant. The young lady, biding her time, finally meets the right young man, who loves her as she loves him. The coveted job turns out to be in a department that is suddenly terminated; so missing that promotion is, in fact, a Godsend.

But what do we do when the hope deferred continues to be deferred? when there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel? when nothing changes for the better?

There are only two options:

Give up, turn your back on God, and say, “I simply can’t take it any more. I quit.” Or… Realize that God might have something else in mind for you, and that the fulfillment of your particular desire — at least for now — does not fit into His plan. And then you do the best you can with what you have.

Conclusion

Darrell Royal was a great football coach at the University of Texas. One day he was asked why he hadn’t changed quarterbacks in a crucial game at the end of the season, when his starter — who had won so many games for him — was for once not playing well. Coach Royal quoted the girl at the party, who was asked for a dance by a stranger. “No, thanks,” she said. “I’ll dance with the one that brung me!”

God brought us into this life. He has been so good to us in countless way. And He has promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us.

We “dance” with God because, almost two thousand years ago, He gave His only-begotten Son for us. And that Son, Jesus, died and rose again so that we might have life, and life more abundantly. Together, God and Jesus have invited us to the “party” of their Kingdom. Jesus said, “To him who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God” (Rev 2:7).

And we know that, one day soon, when Jesus returns, every desire WILL be fulfilled, and we WILL eat of that tree of life.

(WB)

Time: 620 – 605 BC.

Summary: The book begins with Habakkuk complaining of injustice in Judah and his inability to understand God’s failure to judge the wicked and morally depraved nation of Babylon. Habakkuk is shown that God’s people must continue to trust in His mercy regardless of the circumstances about them. The wicked appear to prosper while the righteous are chastened. However, this prosperity of the wicked is only temporary. God will not abandon those who obey and follow His commandments: “the just shall live by faith” (Hab 2:4).

The content of the book, which includes poetic reflections and a psalm of praise, indicates that Habakkuk was a poet as well as a prophet. Since the last verse of the book gives a musical notation similar to some psalms, some students conclude that he was a musician and possibly a Levite.

Outline

1. Habakkuk’s first complaint: Why does evil in Judah go unpunished?: Hab 1:1-4.

2. God’s answer: The Babylonians will punish Judah: Hab 1:5-11.

3. Habakkuk’s second complaint: How can a just God use wicked Babylon to punish people more righteous than themselves?: Hab 1:12 – 2:1.

4. God’s answer: Babylon will be punished, and faith will be rewarded: Hab 2:2-20.

5. Habakkuk’s prayer: Hab 3:1-19.

The name Hosea means, in Heb, “Yah is help” or “Salvation”. He was contemporary with the more famous Isaiah, whose name is very similar. The name finds an echo in Hos 13:4: “I am the LORD your God from the land of Egypt; you know no God but me, and besides me there is no SAVIOR.”

Outline

1.	The unfaithful wife and the faithful husband: Hos 1:1 – 3:5
	a)	Hosea’s wife and children: Hos 1:1 – 2:1
	b)	Judgment on faithless Israel: Hos 2:2-13
	c)	The restoration of faithless Israel: Hos 2:14-23
	d)	Hosea’s redemption of his faithless wife: Hos 3:1-5
2.	The unfaithful nation and the faithful God: Hos 4:1 – 13:16
	a)	Israel’s unfaithfulness: Hos 4:1 – 6:3
	b)	Israel’s punishment: Hos 6:4 – 10:15
	c)	The Lord’s faithful love: Hos 11:1 – 14:9

Theme

The most prominent symbolism in Hosea’s prophecy is the marriage relationship as a parable of God’s relationship with His covenant people; this reflects an aspect of the help God gives to His people. Because of her unfaithfulness, God had “divorced” Israel; He had previously regarded her as His wife, but He now repudiates her. The prophets repeatedly refer to this symbolic relationship between Israel and God (Jer 3:8,20; Isa 50:1; Eze 16:32,38; cp also Eph 5:23; Rev 17:4,5; 19:7; 21:9), but nowhere else than in Hosea is it acted out so dramatically.

God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance, and even the hundredth straying lamb is carefully searched out. The children of Israel are the seed of Abraham; therefore they are the kernel of God’s purpose and “the apple of His eye”, so that despite their rebelliousness and faithlessness He continues to watch over them, and will never make a full end of them. He says to Hosea, “Go again, love a woman who is beloved of a paramour and is an adulteress; even as the LORD loves the people of Israel, though they turn to other gods” (Hos 3:1). The displeasure which God feels at Israel’s sin in departing from her Master to worship Baal takes the form of a loving husband’s feelings toward a grossly adulterous wife: feelings which are perhaps at once the most mixed, and the most harrowing, which it is possible for a man to experience. How strong must have been His yearning desire to go forth and accept the least sign of repentance on her part. Yet at the same time, how intense His feelings of loathing toward her abominations!

In the naming of Gomer’s children (of which some seem not to have been fathered by Hosea) there is found this mingled compassion and loathing: The second child was named “Lo-ruhamah”, which means “without compassion”, or “without pity” (Hos 1:6,7).

God contrasts His great compassion toward the Southern Kingdom of Judah with His lack of compassion toward the Northern Kingdom of Israel. And so God allows the overthrow of Israel by the kings of Assyria, but He saves Jerusalem and Judah from the same Gentile power by a miraculous destruction of Sennacherib’s great army. The third child was “Lo-ammi”, which means “not my people” (v 8)… “for you are not my people, and I am not your God” (v 9).

Yet, because of His own covenants of promise to Abraham, God cannot allow this to be the permanent condition of His people Israel. The apostle Paul takes up these words from Hosea in Rom 9:25,26. Paul points out that the breaking off of Israelite branches has made room for the grafting of the Gentiles into the true olive tree, and then also speaks of God grafting natural Israel back in again. And he speaks of those who previously had not obtained the mercy of God, at last obtaining His mercy again (Rom 11, esp vv 30,31).

In the purpose of God concerning a final restoration of Israel, a reunited kingdom is envisioned, so that as the northern kingdom has no future separate existence, only the return of Judah from captivity is referred to. In Hosea’s day the faithful ones in Israel went over to support the kingdom of Judah (Hos 6:1; 2Ch 11:13,16,17; cp Eze 37:16-20). To indicate the Messianic application in the future, the meaning of the names are reversed; the negative (“Lo-“) is removed from “Ruhamah” and “Ammi” (Hos 1:10,11) — so that the names now signify “MY compassion” and “MY people”. After continuing “many days without a king” and all the things that make for a divine nation (Hos 3:4), Israel will finally “return and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and they shall come in fear to the LORD and to his goodness in the latter days” (v 5). (Here is indicated a Last Days application of the prophetic parable.)

“They shall go after the LORD, he will roar like a lion; yea, he will roar, and his sons shall come trembling from the west; they shall come trembling like birds from Egypt, and like doves from the land of Assyria; and I will return them to their homes, says the LORD” (Hos 11:10,11).

“Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from Death? O Death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where is your destruction?” (Hos 13:14).

“They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow, they shall flourish as a garden; they shall blossom as the vine, their fragrance shall be like the wine of Lebanon” (Hos 14:7).

Throughout the book of Hosea Israel and Judah are accused of relying upon Egypt, Assyria, and their own fenced cities, and of worshiping idols and the calves of Samaria. These evils brought appropriate recompense upon them. In the meantime, therefore, captivity in Egypt and Assyria will be their lot, and their king will be dethroned (Hos 7:11; 8:14; 13:1,2; 9:3,6; 10:3).

Israel having ignored the word of God revealed in His commandments, their faithfulness is described as “whoredom”, or “adultery” (Hos 1:2; 4:2,10-14; 5:3,4; 6:10; 7:4; 8:1; 9:11-14; 13:13). Yet, in spite of all, God would reinstate them (Hos 11:8-11). As he originally called Israel out of Egypt, so He would do so again. They would return from their false worship to the recognition of the one true God whom their fathers had worshiped.

What happened in a limited sense in OT times (with the return of Israel from Babylon to their land under the leadership of Ezra, Nehemiah, Zerubbabel, Haggai, and Zechariah) will happen once again in the Last Days. Indeed, it has begun to happen already, with the return of millions of Jews from Europe (and now from the former USSR); but this return is only a preliminary — for there is no real acknowledgment of the hand of God in modern Israel’s affairs.

However, this state of affairs can change rapidly, when the children of Israel realize that they can no longer rely on their peace treaties with surrounding nations (like Egypt), nor the support of their former ally the United States, nor even their own military might. Age-old enemies will finally find the means to defeat them in battle. Then, like an adulterous wife who knows at last that there is neither comfort nor security in the arms of another, Israel will turn back to her God. “And I will have pity on Not pitied, and I will say to Not my people, ‘You are my people’; and he shall say ‘Thou art my God’ ” (Hos 2:23). The history of Israel, a pattern for the future?

“Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the LORD are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them” (Hos 14:9).

Time: 520 BC — during a 4-month period.

Haggai referred to himself as simply “the prophet Haggai” (1:1; etc). Nothing is known about Haggai’s parents, ancestors, or tribal origin. His name apparently means “festal” or possibly “feast of Yahweh” — appropriate since much of his prophecy deals with the blessings of the coming Kingdom. It is a form of the Hebrew word “hag”, meaning “feast” (cp the Arabic “haj”).

Ezra mentioned that through the prophetic ministries of Haggai and Zechariah the returned Jewish exiles resumed and completed the restoration of their temple (Ezra 5:1,2; 6:14; cp Zec 8:9; and — in the Apocrypha — 1 Esdras 6:1; 7:3; 2 Esdras 1:40; Ecclesiasticus 49:11).

Haggai exhorts them to “consider their ways” and to complete the Temple whose foundation had been laid 18 years before. (The people responded and the Temple was completed in 516 BC.) Haggai further pronounces that pagan empires will be overthrown by God, and Judah will be elevated during the time of the Messiah.

Key verse: “Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but have harvested little… You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it… build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honoured” (Hag 1:5,6,8).

Outline

1. First message: the call to rebuild the temple: Hag 1:1-11 2. The response of Zerubbabel and the people: Hag 1:12-15 3. Second message: The temple to be filled with glory: Hag 2:1-9 4. Third message: a defiled people purified and blessed: Hag 2:10-19 5. Fourth message: the promise to Zerubbabel: Hag 2:20-23

HOW JESUS USED THE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHETS IN HIS GOSPEL TEACHING

1.	In addition to citing Moses and the Psalms to establish and endorse his teaching, Jesus called on the writings of the prophets to reinforce and emphasize his teaching (cf Luke 24:44; Mat 5:17; 22:40).
2.	Jesus could have argued that his teaching was correct and worthy of acceptance because he was God’s Son — but he did not. Old Testament Scripture was equated with the word of God, and that was sufficient to give his teaching divine authority (cf John 5:37-40; 8:45-47).
3.	For Jesus, Scripture could not be broken, that is, it was inherently true and must be fulfilled; Old Testament teaching should not be watered down or replaced by the words of men (cf John 10:34-38; 17:17; Mat 15:1-6).
4.	Jesus invariably argued his points using an Old Testament phrase or idea (eg, Mat 12:38-42; 13:11-17; 21:16,33-43; 23:29-39; John 6:45).
5.	Jesus clearly understood and presented Scripture in a way quite different from all others (eg, Mark 1:27; Mat 22:15-22; John 6:52-69); he opened up the understanding of the Old Testament, primarily because they spoke of him and he was able to explain the meaning (eg, Luke 4:16-21; John 5:39). So Jesus makes the Old Testament teaching come alive, and renders it much more comprehensible (cf Luke 24:25-32; Acts 1:3).
6.	But Jesus did not introduce any new teaching in the sense that it contradicted or repudiated the Old Testament teaching. The Old Testament is the basis of all New Testament teaching, and Jesus’ message is the same as the message of the prophets — for example:
	(a)	the Lord’s prayer taught in Mat 6:9-13 has 1Ch 29:10-13 background,
	(b)	the two great commandments taught in Mat 22:36-40 tied together Deu 6:5 and Lev 19:18, and
	(c)	the prediction of Jerusalem’s overthrow and Christ’s return taught in Mat 24:15 cites Dan 9:27.
7.	Jesus “filled full” the predictions about the suffering Savior (cf Luke 24:25-27,44-47), confirmed the promises made in the Old Testament (Mat 5:17; cf Acts 3:18; 13:33; Rom 15:8), and will be the completion of the Old Testament prophecies about the returning Christ (eg, Luke 21:7-36). However, the subject of this article is not so much how Jesus fulfilled/will fulfill the Old Testament prophets as how he used their writings in his teaching.
8.	The four Gospel accounts record the actual teaching situations of Jesus and therefore are the best source of information to determine how he used the Old Testament prophets. Of the many examples available, four are taken from each Gospel to provide a sampling sufficient to draw some conclusions.

Matthew

1. Mat 9:10-13 cites Hos 6:6 — to teach the leaders that they should go and learn what “desire mercy” means.

2. Mat 11:7-15 quotes Mal 3:1 — to teach the people about the greatness of the prophet John the Baptist (cf Mat 17:10-13).

3. Mat 13:10-17 quotes Isa 6:9,10 — to explain why he taught in parables, and why the apostles were privileged to understand.

4. Mat 24:3-28 cites Daniel’s prophecy (Dan 9:27; 11:31; 12:11) — to explain the signs of his coming and the end of the age to the apostles.

Mark

1. Mark 2:23-28 cites the story of David in 1Sa 21:1-6 — to show that the Sabbath was made for man and that Jesus was Lord of the Sabbath.

2. Mar 7:1-8 quotes Isa 29:13 — to expose the hypocrisy of the Pharisees (their traditions and external cleansings).

3. Mar 7:21-23 builds on Jer 4:14; 7:24; 17:9 — to remind the disciples of a key teaching, namely, that the human heart is the source of all evil thoughts, etc.

4. Mar 8:31; 9:31; and 10:33,34 are a series of Old Testament references — to plainly teach the apostles of his impending death and resurrection… yet they did not understand!

Luke

1. Luke 4:16-31 quotes Isa 61:1,2 — to show how he was fulfilling Scripture before their very eyes, in their very hearing.

2. Luke 11:29-32 cites Jon 3:4,5 and 1Ki 10:1 — to use Jonah and the Ninevites and the Queen of Sheba and Solomon as examples to prompt his hearers into belief in himself as the Messiah, who was much greater.

3. Luke 13:6-9 uses Jer 8:13 and Hos 9:10 as the background for his parable of the fig tree — to give a warning to Israel of its impending destruction.

4. Luke 21:20-24 talks of Old Testament predictions such as Lam 2:8,13 and Mic 3:12 soon to be fulfilled — to give a warning to Jerusalem of its impending destruction.

John

1. John 2:13-16 alludes to Zec 14:21 and Jer 7:8-11 — to explain his ousting of the temple moneychangers and to remind his disciples that the temple cleansing must happen.

2. John 7:38 consolidates the teaching of Isa 44:3; 55:1; 58:11; Joel 3:18; and Zec 13:1 — to help the Jews understand that he was the promised Messiah.

3. John 12:12-16 enacted Zec 9:9 — to show the people and the disciples that he was the promised king.

4. John 17:6-19 claims that the Scriptures were now fulfilled — to emphasize that the time spent developing his disciples was according to God’s will.

Conclusions

• Belief in the prophetic message demands belief in Jesus and a corresponding change in life.

• Understanding the Old Testament is made easier by having the New Testament writings, especially the words of Jesus.

• Fulfilled Scripture concerning Jesus’ first coming indicates the certainty of fulfillment of Scripture concerning his second coming; that time seems to be near!

• We need to use the whole Bible in order to understand God’s message of salvation to us.

• Jesus used Old Testament Scripture to instruct himself (cf 2Ti 3:16,17); disciples should do likewise.

(NF)

The mighty city of Babylon, situated along both banks of the great river Euphrates, controlled one of the greatest empires of ancient times in the middle of the sixth century BC. The great king Nebuchadnezzar had set the stage for empire by his far-flung conquests seventy years earlier. Among his exploits was the sacking of Jerusalem and the deportation of the Jews. Now his grandson Belshazzar sat as lord over Nebuchadnezzar’s legacy — the proud ruler of a proud city.

Daniel 5 tells of a great feast prepared by Belshazzar for one thousand of his lords and captains. In the midst of this drunken revelry he offered toasts to the Babylonian idols of wood and stone out of the same holy vessels taken from the Jewish temple by his grandfather (vv 1-4). Such a blasphemous insult to the God Of Israel, the only true God, could not go unnoticed by Heaven. In the same hour there appeared a disembodied hand writing on the wall of the banquet hall, and the haughty king was in a moment reduced to a quivering fear (vv 5,6).

What could the words possibly mean? A search was begun for someone, anyone, who could interpret this divine message. Finally the “queen” (probably the young king’s mother) remembered Daniel, the prophet of Israel and wise counselor of Nebuchadnezzar, now about 90 years old and in retirement. With great haste he was summoned to the banquet hall, now in excited disarray, to explain the curious vision (vv 11-16).

The old servant of God stood before the frightened young king, his eyes ablaze: “Your grandfather was lifted up in pride to challenge the one true God, the God of my people. And God cast him down, and drove him into madness for seven years, until he recognized that the most high God — and He alone — rules in the kingdom of men! But you, Belshazzar, have not learned this lesson. By relating his mistakes, you have doomed your kingdom.”

Daniel now turned to the mysterious words engraven on the wall, and quickly revealed their import (vv 25-28):

“Mene” (numbering): “Your number is up! God has counted out your years, and finished them,”

“Tekel” (weighed): “You are weighed in the balances of divine judgment and found wanting.”

“Peres” (divided): “Your kingdom is to be broken up and given to the Persians.”

At that very moment the Persians, the longtime rivals of Babylon, were entering the “impregnable” city. History records that Cyrus and his field commander Darius diverted the course of the Euphrates and, guided by two deserters, marched their army through the dry river-bed into the very heart of the vast city. Because of carelessness — or perhaps the festive atmosphere of the evening — the watchmen had left open and unattended the river gates opening into the city. Unimpeded, the Persians stormed the palace, where they slaughtered Belshazzar and his lords in their drunken and confused stupor — as Jeremiah had prophesied years before:

“In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they ray rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the Lord” (Jer 51:39,57).

The warnings in this incident for our modern world are pointed. “Babel” (Gen 11), or “Babylon”, has always designated, in Scripture, idolatrous and tyrannical powers, powers odious to God. From the beginning it was a place where men gathered to rebel against God, building a tower to mark their great accomplishments, and as a means of worshipping themselves. The name itself means “confusion”, for there God confounded the languages of those first proud men; ever since, “Babylon” has stood for the confusion of this unenlightened world, which cares not to retain God in its knowledge (Rom 1:28).

In short, our modern world is “Babylon”, in all its forms: There is a religious “Babylon” (usually identified as a great false church in interpretations of Revelation) that, by its erroneous teachings and its near-deification of its leader, denies in reality the one true God, while figuratively drinking from the “vessels” of His house. There are political “Babylon”, that afflict and oppress God’s people Israel, and brutally stifle all free expression of the individual, religious and otherwise. And there are “Babylonian”‘ societies (like our own!) that ignore God and His claims while exalting man, building “towers” of human accomplishments, and degrading the higher aspirations of man’s spirit in debauchery and trivial pleasure-seeking.

The fall of Babylon is not just an obscure Sunday-school story. It is a parable of the impending fate of our modern world. Notice that in Rev 16, “Armageddon” and the second coming of Christ are accompanied by another drying up of the “Euphrates” (v 12), and the remembrance by God of great Babylon, “to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath” (v 19). The next two chapters of Revelation detail the fall of modern “Babylon” in all its religious, political, and commercial splendor, so that — finally — “the Lord God omnipotent reigneth” (19:6)!

If in fact history is soon to be re-enacted on a grand scale, what are God’s servants to do in the meanwhile? Surely they should stand in spirit with Daniel, who boldly proclaimed to a wicked Babylon that “the most High ruleth in the kingdom men” (Daniel 4:17,25; 5:21), and that one day He would take affairs into His own hands. And they should attentively observe the “handwriting on the wall” in these days, what Jesus called “the signs of the times”, that foretell divine judgments on a wicked world. As they hear of “wars and rumors of wars”, economic distress, Middle East turmoil, and “third world” instability, they are not to despair, as do others, but to lift up their heads in anticipation of coming redemption (Luke 21:25-28).

Cyrus the Persian conqueror captured the gate and then the city of Babylon. It was said prophetically of Christ that, as Abraham’s seed, he would “possess the gate of his enemies” (Gen 22; 17). It cannot be said how that Christ has possessed the gate of his enemies, for wicked and ungodly men still rule the world.

But when the kingdom of God is about to be established, Christ will subdue all world kingdoms as surely as Cyrus subdued ancient Babylon:

“He shall break them in pieces like a potter’s vessel” (Psa 2:9).

“Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle” (Zec 14:3).

“He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth” (Psa 72:8).

Then shall this world proclamation be made for all peoples to know and accept:

“The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord; and of His Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever” (Rev 11:15).

Paul said that the gospel encompasses the blessing of all nations in Abraham’s seed (Gal 3:8), and that by “Abraham’s seed” he meant the singular seed Christ (v 16). First this blessing applies to individuals, and the true gospel has been preached in many nations for the repentance of faith. But the blessing of all nations has not yet been accomplished, for we see the nations still subjected to wicked and cruel rulers. In some countries there is an appearance of good government, but underneath we see sadly that it is rottenness and corruption, the will and lusts of the flesh in absolute control. There is no true fear of God with most world leaders, but mere lip service only.

All nations are not now blessed in Abraham and his seed Christ, but they will be:

“Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness and princes shall rule in judgment… the eyes of them that see shall not be dim and the ears of them that hear shall hearken” (Isa 32:1-3).

“In that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book: the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness” (Isa 29:13).

“Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing” (Isa 35:6).

“Many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of Hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord” (Zec 3:22).

“He shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper… His name shall endure for ever. His name shall be continued as long as the sun, and men shall be blessed in him; all nations shall call him blessed” (Psa 72:12,17).

Modern political leaders, some no doubt with the best of intentions, proclaim “New Deals” and “Great Societies”. But the true and lasting blessing of mankind can never come by human efforts. It can only come when “Babylon” is overthrown finally and for all time, and when the nations “learn righteousness” under the righteous rule of Christ.

Cyrus’ conquest of Babylon was followed immediately by a decree for the rebuilding of Jerusalem and its repopulation by the Jews (Ezra 1:1-4). In like manner, Jesus Christ’s coming conquest of latter-day “Babylon” will signal a massive rebuilding of Jerusalem and Israel. Jews who have been persecuted and scattered across the face of the earth will return to Israel to be incorporated into what Micah the prophet calls “the first dominion” of God’s kingdom (Mic 4:8), which will be the kingdom of Israel restored (Acts 1:6-11; 3:19-21), but on an immensely grander scale than before. This rill be facilitated by the righteous rule of Christ and the immortalized saints. The law of God will go forth from a revitalized Jerusalem, backed up God’s power in His glorified “children”. War and turmoil and famine and unrest will in short order be things of the past (Isa 2 :2-4).

And that lovely prophecy will be fulfilled at last:

“And there shall come forth a rod cut of the stern of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out or his roots: And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and under-standing, the spirit of counsel and night, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the reek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Isa 11:1-9).

Surely, in our own day, the “handwriting is on the wall”. The foundations of our world, weakened by a thousand minor tremors, will collapse utterly in the final great “earthquake”. But for those who believe and trust in God, there is no fear in such a prospect, but only abiding hope.

“Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7).

And because we can read and understand those “secrets” in God’s Holy Book, we have no reason to fear, but every reason to rejoice, at the unfolding of His purpose with the nations.

“We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until” the day dawn” (2Pe 1:19).

That new “day” will soon dawn, and with it will come changes unimaginable for those who have denied God in this present evil age. Now, before it is too late, while the divine warning may still be read on the printed page of Holy Scripture, let us take steps to insure our admittance into God’s new world.

HURRICANE ISABEL September 22, 2003

The past week we had an unwelcome visitor at our home — appropriately named Hurricane Isabel. As you may know, Isabel is a form of the name Jezebel, wicked wife of King Ahab of Israel. The storm has generated a few random thoughts that I would like to share with you.

By the storm reached our area, it was, statistically speaking, fairly unimpressive. It had degraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm. It had wind gusts of only 65 miles per hour (100 km per hour). Yet, despite this meager statistical display, it all but shut down the metropolitan Richmond area of close to one million people. I have about 5 large trees down in my yard. My parents have about an even dozen down in their yard. Most of these trees are so large you can’t get your arms around them. We lost power on last Thursday night and as of today, Tuesday, we still do not have power back on. This is true for several hundred thousand people in the area.

It is amazing to me just how powerful nature is in the hands of God. We sometimes fool ourselves into thinking how clever we are or how powerful we are as humans. When we consider the force of a hurricane, the power of a flood or the energy released by an exploding volcano, we can only stand back in awe.

It is also very interesting just how vulnerable we all are. The recent loss of the power grid in the eastern coast of North America is yet another example of how fragile is our technological house of cards. Imagine the chaos if many of the mishaps happened at once in a sort of domino effect. The huge storm knocks out the power grid which causes a nuclear accident which… you get the picture. I don’t mention this to upset people or to be a predictor of doom; the point is that we have to faith in something greater than technology and man’s ability to control everything. It doesn’t take much. One lousy tropical storm has created what will surely be billions of dollars of damage in Virginia alone.

Another thing that this storm has brought to mind is the nature of man. Events like those of the past week tend to bring out the best and the worst in people. On the morning after the storm, most of the neighbors around me checked on each other. The men got together and helped those who had problems. We removed a tree that blocked one neighbor’s driveway. We helped another neighbor remove a tree that had toppled onto the top of his barn. Strangers helped clear debris from the roads and get cars out of ditches.

Of course, there were also those people whose civility was carried away by the hurricane. My parents’ road was nearly impassable due to downed power lines. As this was a main thoroughfare, people were having to drive on the shoulder of the road to get past. The man whose house was in front of this shoulder was out early blocking the path with debris from the storm so people would not drive on the side of the road — thus rendering the road completely impassable. You also hear stories of price gouging and people arguing over scarce resources such as ice.

One last thing that this storm brought to mind was just how soft we have become. Now I am not pointing fingers at people when I say this. After making sure our families and neighbors were okday, we took off for a hotel at the beach to get to electricity, running water and telephone service. It made me think about how just 200 years ago none of these conveniences would have been disrupted, as they didn’t have them anyway. These men and women of old knew how to survive. They could make what they needed — grow or kill what they needed to eat. Today, if the Quickie Mart and Burger King are closed, we are in a heap of trouble. It makes me wonder what will happen when the time spoken of by Daniel comes to pass. “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.”

By God’s grace, may we all be prepared for that Day — not with survivalist gear, but with the faith of Abraham.

(KT)

“As distinctive among the writings of the NT as Hebrews is, we actually know very little about its origin, its author, and its first readers. The traditional and ancient designation of the book as ‘The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews’, found, for example, at the head of the book in the KJV, is not a part of the original document, but is rather an opinion of the early church that first comes to expression in the Eastern church (Alexandria) late in the second century and in the Western church two centuries after that. Moreover, this ascription appears to have been inferred from the document itself, much in the manner of modern scholarship, rather than derived from any independent tradition about its origin. The result is that we are left to draw such conclusions as we can from the actual contents of Hebrews” (NIBC).

“The epistle was used by Clement of Rome and probably also by Polycarp and Hermas. Therefore the author was an early Christian. The earliest reference to authorship is a statement of Clement of Alexandria that Paul wrote it in Hebrew and that Luke translated the work into Greek (quoted in Eusebius, Eccl Hist 6:14:2). When it was accepted as part of the NT, this was partly at least because contemporaries held Paul to be the author. This view, however, appears to rest on no reliable evidence but rather to be a deduction from the facts that Paul was a prolific writer of epistles and that Hebrews is a noble writing that must have had a distinguished author. But both the language and thought forms are unlike those of Paul. The Greek is polished; Paul’s is rugged, though vigorous. This book moves in the context of Levitical symbolism, about which Paul elsewhere says nothing. The same argument also tells against Clement of Alexandria’s view that Luke translated it. While there are some interesting coincidences of language between Hebrews and Luke-Acts, there are also some differences. And it is incredible that if Luke knew Hebrews, he should have made no reference whatever to its teaching either in his Gospel or in the Acts. [The mention of Timothy, in Heb 13:23, also suggests Paul’s authorship.]

“None of the early writers who cites the epistle mentions its author. Nor does internal evidence help us much. The author was plainly a teacher, a second generation Christian (Heb 2:3). The style is unlike that of any other NT document; consequently, we have nothing more to go on to determine authorship than conjecture. Though many suggestions have been made, it will suffice to mention only a few of them. The allegation that Barnabas was the author is as old as Tertullian, but little can be said in its support. Barnabas was a Levite (Acts 4:36), and there is much about Levitical ritual in the epistle. Again, in Acts 4:36 Barnabas was called ‘huios parakleseos’ (‘son of encouragement’); and in Heb 13:22 the epistle refers to itself as ‘my word of exhortation’ [or ‘encouragement’: the sw]. But it is hard to see Heb 2:3 as applying to Barnabas.

“Luther suggested that Apollos was the author. A number of modern scholars support this view. Apollos was an eloquent man (Acts 18:24), and there is indeed eloquence in this epistle. Apollos came from Alexandria, a center where allegorical interpretation, which might be said to be akin to the method used in Hebrews, flourished. Apollos had ‘a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures’ (Acts 18:24), a description particularly appropriate for the author, who did not simply use the ‘proof-text’ method but applied a thorough knowledge of Scripture in an original manner. Apollos must remain a possible author, but the evidence is far from conclusive.

“Harnack thought that Priscilla probably wrote the epistle. His strong point is that this would account for the suppression of the author’s name. It was a man’s world, and there would be every reason for keeping it quiet that a woman had written an epistle intended to be authoritative and to have wide circulation. Priscilla and her husband were cultured Hellenistic Jews, and the woman who could instruct Apollos in the faith (Acts 18:26) was no mean teacher. The interest in the tabernacle would be natural in a family whose living came from tentmaking (Acts 18:3), and the outlook of a pilgrim would be natural to one who did so much traveling. All this is interesting but plainly it falls far short of proof. And against it stands the masculine participle ‘diegoumenon’ (‘to tell’) used of the author in Heb 11:32.

“In the end we must agree that we have no certain evidence about the authorship of Hebrews. Who wrote it remains unknown to us. We can scarcely improve on the words of Origen’s conclusion, that ‘who wrote the Epistle, God only knows the truth’ (Eusebius, Eccl Hist 6:25:14)” (EBC).