Reading 1 – 2Ki 17

In 2Ki 17, “Hoshea conspired against Pekah, and ascended the throne with the connivance of Assyria (2Ki 15:30). Thus he had to pay homage and tribute to the Assyrian Power. Having successfully conspired against Pekah, he also tried to doublecross Assyria, ignoring the warnings of the prophet (2Ki 17:4; Hos 10:14), and brought destruction on himself and the nation. He was attacked by Shalmaneser V, who died unexpectedly during the siege. Sargon (Isa 20:1), his successor, continued the attack. ‘In the first year of my reign,’ boasted Sargon in his annals, ‘I besieged and conquered Samaria.’ He claims to have led away into captivity 27,290 people. Sargon settled foreigners in Israel, and recorded: ‘People of the lands, prisoners my hand had captured, I settled there. My officials I placed over them as governors. I imposed tribute and tax upon them as Assyrians.’ Thus, by ruthless dictators, the Israelites were rooted out of their land and transported elsewhere. It was a grave time of apostasy in Judah as well as in the northern kingdom. So 2Ki 17:20 records that Judah followed the wicked example of Israel. Baal-worship under Jehoram, Ahab and Athaliah, were also the sin of Ahaz, Manasseh and Amon. Not only so, but there was a twisting of teaching and doctrine, instituted by those who deliberately misquoted and misapplied the Word (see v 32). There was a terrible perversion, in which the true religious was tainted by worldliness and tardiness in spiritual issues. Consequently ‘the nations feared Yahweh, and served their graven images’ (v 41). There is a great need to remain constant and true to our high and holy calling today” (GE Mansfield).

Reading 2 – Eze 7:23

“Prepare chains, because the land is full of bloodshed and the city is full of violence” (Eze 7:23).

The chains suggest restraint, slavery, bonds, and yokes (Jer 27). It was the practice of the victorious invader to chain the captives together, so as to transport them away to their places of slavery: “Lots were cast for her nobles, and all her great men were put in chains” (Nah 3:10). In making chains, Ezekiel would be reminding his countrymen that this would be the fate of those in the land of Judah who had ignored Yahweh.

Reading 3 – Luk 3:19,20

“But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he had done, Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison” (Luk 3:19,20).

“From a certain point of view, it is saddening to think of such a man as John the Baptist in the hands of such creatures as Herod and his paramour; and sadder to think that his life should be sacrificed to the feminine malice created by John’s upright attitude as a preacher of righteousness. But the sadness is only for a moment. It is the lot of divine things and divine men to be under the heel of wickedness in the day of sin’s ascendancy. We can comfort ourselves with the thought that they do not come under the heel by chance, or before the appointed time. It is part of the process by which they are prepared for, and ultimately introduced to ‘an eternal weight of glory’. And there is the further consolation that to the victims of the oppression, the triumph of the enemy is ‘but for a moment’. Death is the best thing that can happen to them. Their trials and distresses are annihilated at a stroke: and in a moment, they are face to face with the glory for which their distresses prepare them, for the simple reason that in death there is no knowledge of time, and therefore no conscious interval to the resurrection” (Robert Roberts, “Nazareth Revisited” 25,26).

Reading 1 – 2Ki 11:1-3

“When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family. But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram and sister of Ahaziah, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes, who were about to be murdered. She put him and his nurse in a bedroom to hide him from Athaliah; so he was not killed. He remained hidden with his nurse at the temple of the LORD for six years while Athaliah ruled the land” (2Ki 11:1-3).

“The king of Judah has been killed, his alliance with the king of Israel having involved him in the latter’s fate. Jehu had also murdered ‘the brethren of Ahaziah,’ forty-two in number. Next, Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah and a daughter of Ahab, killed all the males of the royal family, and planted herself on the throne. She had Jezebel’s force of character, unscrupulousness and disregard of human life. She was a tigress of a woman, and, no doubt, her six years’ usurpation was stained with blood and with the nameless abominations of Baal worship. Never had the kingdom of Judah been at a lower ebb. One infant was all that was left of David’s descendants. The whole promises of God seemed to depend for fulfillment on one little, feeble life. The tree had been cut down, and there was but this one sucker pushing forth a tiny shoot from ‘the root of Jesse.’

“We have in the passage, first, the six years of hiding in the temple. It is a pathetic picture, that of the infant rescued by his brave aunt from the blood-bath, and stowed away in the storeroom where the mats and cushions which served for beds were kept when not in use, watched over by two loving and courageous women, and taught infantile lessons by the husband of his aunt, Jehoiada the high priest. Many must have been aware of his existence, and there must have been loyal guarding of the secret, or Athaliah’s sword would have been reddened with the baby’s blood. Like the child Samuel, he had the Temple for his home, and his first impressions would be of daily sacrifices and white-robed priests. It was a better school for him than if he had been in the palace close by. The opening flower would have been soon besmirched there, but in the holy calm of the Temple courts it unfolded unstained. A Christian home should breathe the same atmosphere as surrounded Joash, and it, too, should be a temple, where holy peace rules, and where the first impressions printed on plastic little minds are of God and His service” (Alexander MacLaren).

Reading 2 – Eze 2:9,10

“Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out to me. In it was a scroll, which he unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe” (Eze 2:9,10).

In Jerusalem, Jeremiah had written such a book, or scroll — with words against Israel and Judah (Jer 36:2). This scroll was read bit by bit, and then burned by king Jehoiakim (v 23), as though he could so easily rid himself of its unpleasant warnings and predictions. But the scroll was rewritten (v 29), and its dire prophecies would still stand: “This is what the LORD says: ‘You burned that scroll and said, “Why did you write on it that the king of Babylon would certainly come and destroy this land and cut off both men and animals from it?” ‘ Therefore, this is what the LORD says about Jehoiakim king of Judah: ‘He will have no one to sit on the throne of David; his body will be thrown out and exposed to the heat by day and the frost by night. I will punish him and his children and his attendants for their wickedness; I will bring on them and those living in Jerusalem and the people of Judah every disaster I pronounced against them, because they have not listened’ ” (Jer 36:29-31).

And now, this is the message which Ezekiel sees written on the scroll in front of him — God’s word concerning the pending judgments upon Judah.

Reading 3 – 2Co 9:15

“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” (2Co 9:15).

The indescribable gift of God, by which He showed His exceeding grace, involved His sowing bountifully, generously, and willingly… above, far above, what He might have been expected to do.

This describes the Father’s giving up of His Son, to a cruel death… which was a loss and a sorrow that hurt Him deeply. This is what Paul has in mind when, in Rom 8, he compares Abraham’s offering of his precious son Isaac (Gen 22) to God’s offering of His Son Jesus: “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Rom 8:32).

I think we are meant to see, here, an intense, ripping pain… experienced by the Father, the Creator of all things, who was not compelled to experience such pain — because, in a sense, it was self-inflicted, and He could have stopped it — but He chose not to stop it. This was not an “academic” exercise; it was not a “clinical” experiment. The agony that the Father felt was like the sun growing dark, and the earth quaking… and these things literally happened when Jesus died… so that we can begin to feel what the Father must have felt.

But, we think to ourselves: THIS is Omnipotence. Surely HE is beyond the intensity of sorrow that we can feel at the loss of a loved one, too young and too soon! Or… surely it couldn’t have hurt HIM that badly… because He knew that it could all be remedied, and that it WOULD all be remedied, very shortly. Surely it wasn’t REALLY that bad, for HIM!

Yet we must ask ourselves as well: What is there about US, that we can feel so intensely… a hurt, a personal loss, a tragedy, an ongoing sorrow? Isn’t it, perhaps, that we are made in HIS image? And, just as our minds are so far above those of other “beasts”, and our capacity to understand matters outside of ourselves, and beyond the constraints of time and place, must far exceed that of His other “creatures”… isn’t that because we are made in HIS image? So, in our sorrow too, which can burn like a physical pain, and leave an ache that no medication can cure, in that too we must be in HIS image. And if His abilities and capacities so far exceed ours, as Omnipotence does weakness, and Eternity does a short span of years… then… how much more suffering must HE have been capable of experiencing, when HE witnessed His Son at the trial, and the smiting, and the flogging, and the cross?

“I will tell of the kindnesses of the LORD, the deeds for which he is to be praised, according to all the LORD has done for us — yes, the many good things he has done for the house of Israel, according to his compassion and many kindnesses. He said, ‘Surely they are my people, sons who will not be false to me’; and so he became their Savior. In all their distress he too was distressed [‘In all their affliction He was afflicted’: KJV], and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit” (Isa 63:7-10).

We are reminded of David, who — given the opportunity to offer to God a special offering provided by someone else — refused, saying: “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing” (2Sa 24:24). That, we see, is the essence of sacrifice: to give up willingly something of value, something the loss of which will hurt. He who has a religion that costs him nothing, has a religion that is worth nothing. And, in that light, we look at the sacrifice which the Father offered in His Son, because it was HIS sacrifice as well as His Son’s, and we must try to fathom what that offering must have cost Him! Surely it is beyond our abilities to put a price tag on such a sacrifice.

That is why God’s gift of grace in His Son is called by Paul “indescribable”, because the Father Himself “sowed bountifully” the “seed” of His Son. He gave up on our behalf that precious “Seed”, which cost Him immeasurably; and He drew a veil, as it were, over the pain and hurt He felt… but we may get a sense of the intensity of His emotions when we see the sun grow dark, or we feel the earth tremble under our feet.

He did this because He loves us! And He had to do it because we have sinned against Him! And because it was the way, the only way, that He could hope to bring us back to Him. Perverse and foolish, like silly sheep, we wander here and there, and lose sight of the Eternal Shepherd. But He seeks us out, and lovingly calls us, and reminds us again — pointing to the cross — of the price HE paid for our redemption. And He reminds us that HE, the Father, is still waiting and watching for us to find our weary way, beaten and broken by the world’s vain pursuits, back to HIM. The One who spared not His own Son stands ready to welcome us with open arms.

“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” (2Co 9;15).

“Speak to us, LORD, till, shamed by Thy great giving,

Our hands unclasp to set our treasures free;

Our wills, our love, our dear ones, our possessions

All gladly yielded, gracious LORD, to Thee.”

Reading 1 – 2Ki 20

” ‘Thou shalt die, and not live!’ This solemn, terrifying message must have been received by King Hezekiah with fear. It was not merely the end of life, but the fact that he had not provided a seed for the throne of David, as was the responsibility of the monarch. The line of David was threatened by the neglect of Hezekiah. He was ‘sick unto death,’ a physical malady that was in a very virulent and incurable form, implying the living death of leprosy (v 7). It typified the cause of mortality in mankind: the ‘law of sin and death’ which afflicts all mankind, and from which there is no cure apart from the divine redemption. It was clearly ‘a sign’ (2Ch 32:34), foreshadowing the death and resurrection of the Lord.

“It was this condition that drove the king to prayer (v 3). He was without a successor, and his death would weaken the attitude of the people in resistance of the Sin-power Sennacherib. It would mean the end of all hopes to establish the fulness of the divine worship (cp Isa 38:9-20). But a wondrous answer was received: vv 4-6; it answered the five-fold blessing of grace. Within three days he would be restored, as Christ came from the darkness of the earth in three days. Hezekiah’s miraculous restoration was hailed by the nations round about. Congratulations were received from Merodach-Baladan, but Hezekiah’s folly in sharing such things with Babylon was condemned by Isaiah: vv 14,15. The king was shown the folly of putting confidence in the flesh, and thereby strengthened the instrument of divine punishment against his people. Thus, though typical of the Lord Jesus, he did not manifest the purity and righteousness of Yahshua, in whose great strength we trust” (GEM).

Reading 2 – Eze 10

“Divine glory cannot bear the presence of sin (Hab 1:13). Therefore coals of fire are scattered over the guilty city, and the Glory makes ready to depart therefrom. It is a sad moment for Ezekiel, for, like his faithful companions, he sought for the peace of Jerusalem. Instead he saw only the spirit of compromise and deviant teachings among its people that augurs its destruction. Thus the vision reveals: [1] Coals of fire ready to consume: vv 1-7. [2] The re-appearance of the cherubim: vv 8-22.

“The coals glowed and ran up and down between the living creatures. They were but one; thus individually they were the Cherub, whilst collectively they were the Cherubim. In scattering the coals over the city, the man in linen had completed his work of sealing (Eze 9:11), and now passes over to judgment. Then the vision concentrates again on the cherubim, now revealing a man’s hand under the wings (vv 8,14,21). Thus it is identified with the Adamic race, for the cherubim of glory was developed from the work of Christ, a man of like nature as his people, taken from among mankind, and constituted the Lord of glory by the resurrection from the dead. Christ as the Ark, is seen in the singular cherub; the multitudinous Christ is seen in the cherubim who convey the glory away from the presence of sin (cp Acts 1:9). The glory awaits the new Age when the cherubim will again be seen shining from the Ark” (GE Mansfield).

Reading 3 – Luk 6:42

“How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Luk 6:42).

“Those things that one cannot improve in himself or in others, he ought to endure patiently, until God arranges things otherwise. Nevertheless when you have such impediments, you ought to pray that God would help you, and that you may bear them kindly.

“Endeavor to be patient in bearing with the defects of others, whatever they are; for you also have many failings which must be borne by others. If you cannot make yourself be as you would like to be, how can you expect to have another person be to your liking in every way? We desire to have others perfect, and yet we do not correct our own faults. We would allow others to be severely corrected, and will not be corrected ourselves. We will have others kept under by strict laws, but in no case do we want to be restrained. And so it appears that we seldom weigh our neighbor in the same balance with ourselves” (Thomas a’ Kempis).

Reading 1 – 2Ki 18:5

“Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him” (2Ki 18:5).

“Most apparent contradictions are easily resolved by a careful reading of the passages in question in their contexts, and by clearly defining what is, and what is not, said. For example, it is written of both Hezekiah and Josiah that ‘after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him’ (2Ki 18:5; 23:25). As these statements read, they appear contradictory until it is noted in what respect ‘after him was none like him… nor any that were before him.’ It will be seen that Hezekiah was commended because he trusted, and Josiah because he turned to the LORD. Since mutually exclusive statements are not made, the two statements are not contradictory. The problem is resolved by merely noting precisely what the records do say” (Ron Abel, “Wrested Scripture” 238).

Reading 2 – Eze 8:8-10

“He said to me, ‘Son of man, now dig into the wall.’ So I dug into the wall and saw a doorway there. And he said to me, ‘Go in and see the wicked and detestable things they are doing here.’ So I went in and looked, and I saw portrayed all over the walls all kinds of crawling things and detestable animals and all the idols of the house of Israel” (Eze 8:8-10).

“As the prophet stood there God said to him, ‘Son of man, dig in the wall’. He did so, and through the wall he saw a door. Then he was told to go in and see what vile abominations were being committed. When he went in he saw portrayed on the wall all kinds of creeping things and loathsome beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel… The description of these gods suggests that the people had adopted some of the gods of Egypt. For some time Israel had been looking to Egypt for assistance in their conflict with Babylon” (WH Boulton, “Ezekiel” 52).

Reading 3 – Luk 4:1-13

IT IS WRITTEN!

Over the course of the 40 days temptation in the wilderness, Jesus resisted the allurements of sin by continual resort to quotations from the Scripture — specifically, in the instances given, from the book of Deuteronomy: Deu 8:3; 6:13; 6:16. Here is a profound lesson for us: while the power of will demonstrated by Jesus is surely extraordinary — even miraculous — and while the Holy Spirit received from his Father must also have played a significant part… nevertheless, there is nothing mysterious about his resorting to the comfort and encouragement of the Bible. This account tells us that the PRIMARY means by which Jesus resisted sin was… the word of God!

And the same will be true of us. Knowing the Bible — its commandments and its promises — and knowing that it IS the word of God, which may effectively work in us… this is the best means to resist all the enticements to evil that come our way. We may pray to our heavenly Father to help us in times of stress and weakness, but surely He will not help us if we have ignored the greatest means of resistance against sin and of growth in righteousness — which we have right here in our hands all the while! — the holy Bible.

Reading 1 – 1Ki 18:45

“Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain came on and Ahab rode off to Jezreel” (1Ki 18:45).

This is the final embarrassment for Baal [the god of storm and rain!] and his worshipers. Who brings the rains back? Do they come back because Baal has escaped from the underworld, and finally has things under control? If the rains had come back without a demonstration of WHY they had come back, then the prophets of Baal could have passed off the three years as part of the natural cycle — in which Baal[the god of rain] is periodically captured and controlled by Mott [the god of death]. But no… the prophets of Baal are given their opportunity to bring back the rain… and fail!

Elijah on the other hand prays to the God of Israel, and not only does fire come from heaven (an event often associated with Baal, the thunderer), but rain comes back! So in a public way the people of Israel were shown that the one who REALLY controlled the weather was Yahweh, rather than Baal, and the people were given something: a solid foundation of evidence upon which to base their faith.

Reading 2 – Jer 44:4

“Again and again I sent my servants the prophets, who said, ‘Do not do this detestable thing that I hate!’ ” (Jer 44:4).

The particular sin, of which the prophet was speaking, was that of idolatry. These Jews would make gods in some form or other, and then they would bow down before them, and neglect the worship of the one invisible Yahweh. The Almighty calls their idolatry a detestable, or abominable, thing — and rightly so, for it is detestable ingratitude. That a man should not worship his Maker, that he should refuse obedience to his Creator, that he should say to Him who made the heavens and the earth, and who also made him, and sustains his being, ‘I will not worship you; I refuse to bow down before you. I choose to adore another god — Baal, Ashtaroth, Venus, Bacchus, anything but the one true God — and I will not worship you’… this is the most shameful ingratitude.

It is also an abominable thing, because it is so degrading and debasing. Everybody ought to be able to see that, for a man with intellect and mind to bow himself down before a carved image, is most degrading. That he should worship that which is made of wood, or stone, or metal, is practically to make himself inferior to the dead thing which he worships. There is practically no act in which a man seems to bring himself lower than when he prostrates himself before any material object, and says, ‘This is my god!’ This is indeed loathsome; it is insulting to God, and provoking Him to the last degree.

Reading 3 – 1Co 3:16

“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?” (1Co 3:16).

“Every true son and daughter of the Lord God Almighty is a miniature tabernacle or temple, as saith Paul. Our minds should be a holy place lined with the gold of a tried faith, in which the one Christ-sacrifice for sins is continually offered, and the smoke of grateful incense, kindled by the fire of the altar, continually ascending, while deeply secreted in the innermost ark of the heart is the law of God in its remembrance, the scriptures in their affectionate study, the institutions of divine appointment in continual reverence, and the bread of God in its continual eating. Thus shall we be the sons of God in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, misunderstood by all, hated by many, despised and rejected of men, persevering in a bitter probation that will end at last in life and light and joy everlasting” (Robert Roberts, “Law of Moses” 98).

Reading 1 – 2Ki 23:3

“The king [Josiah] stood by the pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the LORD — to follow the LORD and keep his commands, regulations and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book. Then all the people pledged themselves to the covenant” (2Ki 23:3).

“We shall not be judged, at the judgment seat of Christ, for how much we know, or how much we have done. But we shall be judged for how much effort and interest and desire we have put into knowing, and how faithfully and wholeheartedly we have tried to do. The widow’s mite is equal to the rich man’s abundance. The mite’s value lay in the fact that it was her all. So it must be with us. Anything less than our all is a mockery and a dishonouring of God, Who freely and lovingly promises us all. But how few really respond with all their heart! They are His jewels among the common clay; today unknown, tomorrow, resplendent forever” (GV Growcott).

Reading 2 – Eze 12:12,13

“The prince among them [Zedekiah] will put his things on his shoulder at dusk and leave, and a hole will be dug in the wall for him to go through. He will cover his face so that he cannot see the land. I will spread my net for him, and he will be caught in my snare; I will bring him to Babylonia, the land of the Chaldeans, but he will not see it, and there he will die” (Eze 12:12,13).

In this prophecy, Ezekiel implies that Zedekiah’s eyes will be put out. This ought to be compared with Jer 34:3: “You will see the king of Babylon with your own eyes, and he will speak with you face to face. And you will go to Babylon.”

Perhaps Zedekiah, in comparing the two prophecies, believed they represented a contradiction, and chose to believe neither. But both were in fact fulfilled: Zedekiah did see the king of Babylon at Riblah, and then his eyes were put out, after which he was carried away to Babylon (2Ki 25:6,7).

Reading 3 – Luk 8:24,25

“The disciples went and woke him, saying, ‘Master, Master, we’re going to drown!’ He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. ‘Where is your faith?’ he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, ‘Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him’ ” (Luk 8:24,25).

A seagoing captain commanded a passenger ship that was sailing from Liverpool, England, to New York. His family was on board with him. One night when everyone was asleep, a squall unexpectedly swept over the waters and tossed the ship violently, awakening the passengers. They were all terribly afraid because of the storm. The captain’s little 8-year-old girl was also awakened. “What’s the matter?” cried the frightened child. Her mother told her that a sudden storm had struck the ship. “Is Father on deck?” she asked. “Yes, Father’s on deck,” came the encouraging answer. Hearing this, the little girl snuggled back into her bed and in a few moments was sound asleep. The winds still blew and the waves still rolled, but her fears were calmed because her father was at the helm.

Reading 1 – 2Ki 3:16,17

“And he [Elisha] said, ‘This is what the LORD says: Make this valley full of ditches. For this is what the LORD says: You will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water, and you, your cattle and your other animals will drink’ ” (2Ki 3:16,17).

“The armies of the three kings were famishing for want of water: God was about to send it, and in these words the prophet announced the coming blessing. Here was a case of human helplessness: not a drop of water could all the valiant men procure from the skies or find in the wells of earth. Thus often the people of the Lord are at their wits’ end; they see the vanity of the creature, and learn experimentally where their help is to be found. Still the people were to make a believing preparation for the divine blessing; they were to dig the trenches in which the precious liquid would be held” (CH Spurgeon).

Reading 2 – Jer 51

The difficult messages of Jeremiah against apostate Judah conclude with a wonderful prophecy of the restoration of the nation in the latter days. It is a literal action which will accompany the downfall of Babylon the Great (Rev 18). Jer 51 outlined:

Israel will be revenged: vv 1-6. The surrounding nations forsake Babylon: vv 7-9. “Thine end is come, Babylon”: vv 10-13. The idolatry of Babylon: vv 14-19. Yahweh’s battle axe and weapons of war: vv 20-24. Babylon: a burnt mountain: vv 25-29. The city is taken: vv 30-33. Jerusalem’s complaint against Babylon: vv 34-35. Yahweh’s Answer: vv 36-40. The completeness of the destruction: vv 41-44. “Get out before Babylon’s destruction comes”: vv 45-50. The reproach of the sanctuary: v 51. Requited by the God of Recompenses: vv 52-56. Complete annihilation: vv 57,58. Seraiah instructed to read the book: vv 59-61. The public prayer: v 62. The book cast into the Euphrates: vv 63,64.

Reading 3 – 1Co 11:29

“For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself” (1Co 11:29).

Those who look too much at the faults, or supposed faults, of their brethren are in danger of doing this very thing. In looking at others rather than themselves and Christ, they are first of all missing the point of the ordinance, and nullifying in their heedlessness the benefit to themselves of the offering of Christ’s literal body. And in so judging others, they may also be tearing the Lord’s spiritual “body” to pieces. He who cannot discern the Lord’s “body” all around him, who sees his brothers and sisters only as so many potential problems of doctrine and practice, is in danger of cutting himself off from them. His “careful” eating and drinking in solitude will then degenerate into a silly smugness, a self-satisfaction that may remove him from the very benefit he thought was exclusively his. “I thank thee, Lord, that I am not as these other men.” But you are like them, and the sooner you realize it the better!

Reading 1 – 2Ki 19:14

“Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD” (2Ki 19:14).

Here is an example of a person who made a special effort to bring his problem to God. He didn’t just stop and pray where he was. He went up to the House of the Lord, and he took the letter with him and presented it before God. He made a special effort to arrange circumstances that he felt God would accept. God is there for those who arrange their hearts in humility, and make the effort to present themselves a living sacrifice before Him. Our ‘House of the Lord’ is embodied in Jesus. This is where we must meet with God.

Reading 2 – Eze 9:4

“Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it” (Eze 9:4).

All those who had remained faithful in opposition to the detestable idolatries of their countrymen were to be symbolically “marked out” in their foreheads; they would be saved from the coming destructions. The similarity with the original Passover, and the exodus from Egypt, is obvious. The mark was to be placed on the forehead as a statement that their differentiation from the other Jews was to be found, firstly and importantly, in their minds.

This procedure is echoed also in Rev 7:3, where the faithful 144,000 are sealed in their foreheads… because the Father’s name was written there (Rev 14:1; Mal 3:16).

Reading 3 – Luk 5:27

“After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. ‘Follow me,’ Jesus said to him” (Luk 5:27).

This calling of a new type of disciple — a publican, not a fisherman — emphasizes the broadening appeal of Christ’s call — and also that aspect of his ministry that brings him into conflict with the Pharisees: “When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and “sinners”?’ ” (Mat 9:11; Mar 2:16; Luk 5:30).

Reading 1 – 2Ki 16:10-12

“Then King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria. He saw an altar in Damascus and sent to Uriah the priest a sketch of the altar, with detailed plans for its construction. So Uriah the priest built an altar in accordance with all the plans that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus and finished it before King Ahaz returned. When the king came back from Damascus and saw the altar, he approached it and presented offerings on it” (2Ki 16:10-12).

The original “foundation stone” was the altar-rock of Zion — which was probably the site where Abraham prepared to offer Isaac (Gen 22: cp v 9 there with Psa 118:27), and which was probably also the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite on mount Moriah (2Sa 24:18-25). The wicked Ahaz, infected with a zest for the worship of foreign gods, removed the altar of burnt-offering from its prominent place atop this foundation stone, and “hid” it away in a corner of the Temple enclosure (2Ki 16:14). Yet whilst the true altar might be set aside, there was no way to shift the massive outcropping of rock on which it had stood (it is still there today, in the center of the Dome of the Rock). Thus, in Ahaz’s day it remained — quite literally — a “stone of stumbling” (Isa 8:14,15) for priests walking across the temple court, and a “rock of offence” in a spiritual sense.

It was only when Hezekiah came into full control of the kingdom that he could remedy this sacrilege, and restore the Temple worship to its rightful setting. And so the “stone” rejected by the new “builders” of Judah became, once again, a precious stone and a sure foundation for the true worship of the Lord (Isa 28:16).

It is easy, then, to see how this foundation stone symbolized Hezekiah himself (and his faith in the Lord), upon which all true worship in Judah depended. While sick unto death, he had been “set aside” by other would-be “builders” and rulers, but when miraculously healed he would stand forth again as the chief prince of his people.

And all this incident, and its typical teaching — even in Isaiah’s day — may be seen, just as clearly, to point forward to the Lord Jesus Christ, and to find its ultimate fulfillment in him.

Reading 2 – Eze 6:3-5

“The evils foretold in previous chapters have been attributed to the general iniquities of the people, not to any specific breaches of particular commandments. Israel had changed God’s judgments and defiled His sanctuary. The charges have been more or less general. Now charges of a specific character are to be brought forward, and one particular charge is in this section…

“O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign LORD. This is what the Sovereign LORD says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: I am about to bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places. Your altars will be demolished and your incense altars will be smashed; and I will slay your people in front of your idols. I will lay the dead bodies of the Israelites in front of their idols, and I will scatter your bones around your altars” (Eze 6:3-5).

“That is the basis of the judgments to be denounced against the people in this section — high places, altars, incense altars, and idols. All these were associated with the religious customs of the people…” (WH Boulton, “Ezekiel” 44,45).

Reading 3 – Luk 2:6,7

“While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luk 2:6,7).

The baby in the manger uttered his first cry, and thereby his Father staked a claim upon our lives. Thereby the Mighty God of all creation became also “Abba” — the tender Father of a little child; and OUR Father as well!

The God whose son was born in that stable, amidst the simple farm animals, ceased being (if He ever was!) a God of remote abstractions and technical theories.

He is now, for us, a God who loves PEOPLE, a Father who is not willing that any should perish, who holds back no blessing from His “children”, who searches out and loves even the least worthy and most neglected.

A tiny cry in a manger. It was truly a miracle. It was the greatest of all miracles — the birth of God’s own son!

But isn’t every birth a “miracle”, and a mystery? Isn’t every child a “holy” child, because he or she receives life from the God who is holy? Isn’t every child a “gift” from God, showing His continuing love for man, showing that even yet He has not “given up” on us?

And shouldn’t every child be a special child — like Samuel or John or even Jesus — who should be dedicated by righteous parents to the service of God?

Like Mary and Joseph, many of us have been entrusted by God with future kings and queens — who will one day, by God’s grace, sit upon thrones and apply to the nations the lessons learned in their parents’ homes.

And, in fact, aren’t we ALL — from youngest to oldest — children of God, begotten by His love… children who manifest our “sonship” by our love for one another? If there is a lesson in the Christmas story, it is this: the preeminence of love. We love him, because He first loved us. For, after all, “sonship” is not what we do, but what we receive. Not what we earn, but a gift. Thanks be to the Father in heaven, that through His special Son we have received the gift of knowing what it means to be His children.

Reading 1 – 1Ki 20:42

“This is what the LORD says: ‘You have set free a man I had determined should die. Therefore it is your life for his life, your people for his people’ ” (1Ki 20:42).

“Here is an apparent frustration of the ways of providence through human weakness. God meant the destruction of the king of Syria, and he escaped through Ahab’s misplaced leniency. The case reveals the fact that there is no mechanical coercion of the human will in the working out of the divine purpose by means of men; co-operation of man in such a case is necessary, and that where the result aimed at is not attained through the failure of that co-operation, the purpose will be accomplished by another instrument, for divine purposes will never ultimately fail” (Robert Roberts, “Ways of Providence” 228).

Compare Mordecai’s words to Esther: “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” (Est 4:14).

Reading 2 – Jer 47

“This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines…” (Jer 47:1).

The Philistines are first mentioned in Gen 10:14. Apparently they came from Caphtor, or Crete, very early in Bible times (Deu 2:23; Jer 47:4; Amo 9:7). The land of Canaan received its other name — Philistia, or Palestine — from them (Psa 60:8; 87:4; Isa 14:29).

The Philistines ousted other peoples and settled initially on the Maritime Plain north of Gaza — a very fertile and desirable area. They seem to have lived in the region around Gerar and Beersheba as early as the time of Abraham (Gen 21:32,34; 26:1).

After the Exodus, the tribes of Israel were directed by God to journey to Canaan by a route that bypassed the coast of the Philistines (Exo 13:17,18), presumably because they were too strong for Israel at that time. When the Israelites began to settle the Land, the tribe of Judah captured Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron (Jdg 1:18), three of the five main Philistine cities; the other two were Gath and Ashdod. But a bit later, because of its idolatries, Israel was handed over into the hands of the Philistines (Jdg 10:6,7). It was delivered from them (Jdg 10:11,12), but soon fell under their dominion again, and remained so, off and on, through the times of Samson (Jdg 14-16), Eli (1Sa 4-6), Samuel, and Saul (1Sa 10:5: 12:9; 13:19-21; 14:52). After Saul’s army was defeated, and he and his sons slain by the Philistines (1Sa 28:4; 29:11; 31:1-13), king David overcame and repelled them on several occasions (2Sa 3:18; 5:17-25; 8:1; 19:9; 21:15-22; 23:9-17).

After David’s reign, the Philistines are mentioned less frequently, although they come in for threats of judgment by various prophets at later times because they invariably aligned themselves with Israel’s enemies (Babylon and Assyria) against their old foe Israel.

The Philistines are joined with other Arab nations confederated against Israel in the latter days was pointed out (Psa 83). This prophetic psalm undoubtedly had a historic fulfillment (possibly 2Ch 20 or 2Ch 32), yet it also points forward to a time when the combined enemies of Israel “know that thou alone, whose name is the Lord, art the Most High over all the earth” (v 18). Today, the modern counterpart to the ancient Philistine territory is what is now called the Gaza Strip, with its exploding Palestinian Arab population — nearly all of which are inflamed with the most intense hatred of their Israeli “oppressors”.

Bible prophecies about Philistia seem to fall into two main categories, with some natural overlapping: (1) first, the Philistines’ hatred toward Israel takes shape in despicable actions; and (2) then, the Lord Himself takes vengeance upon these enemies of His people.

Reading 3 – 1Co 6:20

“You were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body” (1Co 6:20).

“Do not waste a minute of God’s time, not one cent of His money. You are totally ‘bought with a price,’ to be His faithful laborers. You were not selected from the perishing millions to indulge yourself in unfaithful stewardship, or to lounge lazily in the sun. Total devotion to the work of God is the only way to eternal joy. Indolent, self-pleasing, and embezzling servants will be cast with shame into outer darkness. Have wisdom in this brief day of such glorious opportunity. The reward for faithful devotion in His service is beyond our highest conception: the punishment for slothfulness is dreadful to contemplate. Truly, no one can earn the reward: it is a free gift — but on conditions. Only by total love, manifested in total devotion and service, can we obtain God’s mercy and acceptance. Anything less is a mockery of His infinite goodness toward us. Why would any servant be so stupid as to expect a reward, and not rather severe punishment, for laziness and unfaithful self-indulgence and self-use of his lord’s entrusted goods?” (GVG).