Reading 1 – 1Ki 13

“So he [the old prophet] said to his sons, ‘Saddle the donkey for me.’ And when they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted it and rode after the man of God. He found him sitting under an oak tree and asked, ‘Are you the man of God who came from Judah?’ ‘I am,’ he replied. So the prophet said to him, ‘Come home with me and eat’ ” (1Ki 13:13-15).

Though not prepared to fight for the truth himself — which seems evident from the earlier part of the narrative — the “old prophet” was quite happy to spend (that is, waste!) the time of those who did!

“The man of God said, ‘I cannot turn back and go with you, nor can I eat bread or drink water with you in this place. I have been told by the word of the LORD: “You must not eat bread or drink water there or return by the way you came.” ‘ The old prophet answered, ‘I too am a prophet, as you are. And an angel said to me by the word of the LORD: “Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat bread and drink water.” ‘ (But he was lying to him)” (1Ki 13:16-18).

Many years later the apostle Paul warned against just this sort of thing: succumbing to the allurements of those who merely CLAIM to have a revelation from God — without “testing the spirits”!

“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!” (Gal 1:8).

Do not be turned aside by the words, ‘I prayed, and/or had a revelation from God.’

Peace and ease beckon seductively to us in many forms. But all are of sin: “But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin” (Rom 14:23).

Reading 2 – Jer 39:7

“Then he [the king of Babylon] put out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon” (Jer 39:7).

Jeremiah had prophesied that Zedekiah would actually see the king of Babylon, and speak with him face to face, and that he would go to Babylon (Jer 32:4,5) — whereas Ezekiel had prophesied that, even though Zedekiah would go to Babylon, he would NOT see it (Eze 12:13)! These two prophecies seem ALMOST contradictory, until it is understood that they were fulfilled in just this precise manner: (1) First, Zedekiah saw the KING of Babylon, then (2) his eyes were put out, and finally (3) he was taken to the CITY of Babylon, which he would NOT see.

John Gill calls this “a full proof of the prescience of God; of his foreknowledge of future and contingent events; of the truth and certainty of prophecy, and of the authority of divine revelation.”

Reading 3 – Mar 13:14

“When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation’ [ Dan 9:27; 11:31; 12:11 ] standing where it does not belong — let the reader understand — then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains” (Mar 13:14).

And they did, fleeing to Pella — in a similar fashion as Lot and his daughters fled from Sodom (Gen 19:17).

“To advise anyone to flee from a city already encircled by a besieging army sounds the height of absurdity; nevertheless this was the instruction, which the saints of those days received from their Lord. Nor was there any absurdity, for throughout the siege Titus, the Roman general, seems to have been actuated by an earnest desire to keep destruction of both life and property to a minimum — so much so that, according to Josephus, in the early days of the siege there were several opportunities for flight. At one time, for example, the siege of Jerusalem was as good as raised for a period of four days, so casual was the watch maintained by the Roman army. In another place Josephus writes (2.20.1): After the first attack upon the city many of the most considerable of the Jewish folk forsook it as men do a sinking ship. Eusebius, the Christian historian, has this similar narrative: ‘The whole body of the church at Jerusalem, having been commanded by a divine Revelation given to men of approved piety there, before the war removed from the city, and dwelt in a certain town beyond Jordan, called Pella; there those that believed in Christ having removed from Jerusalem, as if holy men had entirely abandoned the royal city itself, and the whole land of Judaea, the divine justice for their crimes against Christ and his Apostles finally overtook them, totally destroying the whole generation of those evil-doers from the earth’ (Eccl Hist 3.5)” (Harry Whittaker, “Revelation”).

Reading 1 – 1Ki 11:1-3

“King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter — Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. They were from nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, ‘You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.’ Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love… and his wives led him astray” (1Ki 11:1-3).

It was not merely that he had “many wives”, but that they were “foreign” women, securing the throne by political and marital connections with occupied nations; but these wives also introduced spiritual adultery into Israel. So the story of Solomon’s sad decline is recorded, to remind us that, in spite of Solomon’s greatness and wisdom, the temptations of his position were too much.

The Scriptures abound in warnings against alien marriage: The sons of God marrying the daughters of men resulted at last in the Flood (Gen 6-9). Abraham and Isaac, faithful sojourners looking for the Kingdom, opposed such marriages for their sons (Gen 24:3; 28:1). The Law of Moses forbade the yoking together of the clean ox and the unclean ass (Deu 22:10). Moses said to take no alien spouses (Deu 7:3,8). Ezra (Ezr 9; 10) and Nehemiah (Neh 13:23-29) tell us of the evils of such alliances, and Paul has stressed the deviation of such a union (1Co 7:39; 2Co 6:14-18).

Those who are courting or are contemplating marriage must remember that complete happiness can be achieved only when it is “in the Lord”. History and experience show that where there is no unity of thought and purpose, whether it be between God and Israel, Christ and the ecclesia, or between a husband and wife, there may follow a break in fellowship and unity. How could it be otherwise? That is the sadness and the tragedy of divorce or separation.

When the Israelites were delivered from Egypt they were told that they should not “make marriages” with the peoples of Canaan. Moses gave the reason in words which are relevant today:

“Thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods…” (Deu 7:3).

Paul had much the same thing to say when he wrote: “Do not be mismated with unbelievers. For what partnership have righteousness and iniquity? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?”

Marriage, properly understood and lived, is a part of the divine fellowship in which love, patience, sympathy, understanding and service can be truly learned, and happy is the couple from whom these flow to the rest of the household of faith, for their reward will be the eternal blessing of the Father.

In being prepared against the “problem” of “alien marriage”, it is not sufficient merely to quote one or two passages like “only in the Lord” and “be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers”. We should see far more clearly than that. It is the general realization and appreciation that to marry “outside” is willful disobedience to the Lord who bought us, and it is a failure to understand the loftiness of our calling. We are invited to be the Bride of Christ. How then can we be associated in the closest intimacy with one who is not a member of the called-out ones in Christ? The whole of the Word of God requires this necessary separateness.

The Lord knows all our circumstances and He arranges that which is best for us. If in all our ways we acknowledge Him, He will direct our paths. “Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him” and the Psalmist assures us that finally “He will give thee the desires of thine heart”. If we thus “rest in the Lord”, then we can rest assured that in whatever circumstances we find ourselves, those are the best for us in the ultimate. If other conditions were better, then the Lord would bring them to pass.

It may be, perhaps, that celibacy is best for us — the Lord knows. If, on the other hand, marriage with a true companion is the better condition, then the Lord will see to it that the proper partner comes along. Sometimes such comes to pass later on in life. Place the whole matter in the Lord’s hands and leave it there. Above all, don’t try to short-circuit the Lord: after putting it in His hands, don’t rush hastily into a marriage pretending it is the Lord’s doing. When the Lord moves in the matter there will be no mistaking it, and then one may say: “This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.”

Reading 2 – Jer 37:1

“Zedekiah son of Josiah was made king of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; he reigned in place of Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim” (Jer 37:1).

“Zedekiah was a small man on a great stage, a weakling set to face circumstances that would have taxed the strongest. He was a youth at his accession to the throne of a distracted kingdom, and if he had had any political insight he would have seen that his only chance was to adhere firmly to Babylon, and to repress the foolish aristocracy who hankered after alliance with the rival power of Egypt. He was mad enough to form an alliance with the latter, which was constructive rebellion against the former, and was strongly reprobated by Jeremiah. Swift vengeance followed; the country was ravaged; Zedekiah in his fright implored Jeremiah’s prayers and made faint efforts to follow his counsels. The pressure of invasion was lifted, and immediately he forgot his terrors and forsook the prophet. The Babylonian army was back next year, and the final investment [encirclement, siege] of Jerusalem began. The siege lasted sixteen months, and during it, Zedekiah miserably vacillated between listening to the prophet’s counsels of surrender and the truculent nobles’ advice to resist to the last gasp.

“The miseries of the siege live for ever in the Book of Lamentations. Mothers boiled their children, nobles hunted on dunghills for food. Their delicate complexions were burned black, and famine turned them into living skeletons. Then, on a long summer day in July came the end. The king tried to skulk out by a covered way between the walls, his few attendants deserted him in his flight, he was caught at last down by the fords of the Jordan [Jer 39:4,5; 52:8], carried prisoner to Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah away up in the north beyond Baalbec, and there saw his sons slain before his eyes, and, as soon as he had seen that last sight, was blinded, fettered, and carried off to Babylon, where he died [2Ki 25:7; Jer 34:3; 52:9,10]…

“A weak character is sure to become a wicked one. Moral weakness and inability to resist strong pressure was the keynote of Zedekiah’s character. There were good things in him; he had kindly impulses, as was shown in his emancipation of the slaves at a crisis of Jerusalem’s fate. Left to himself, he would at least have treated Jeremiah kindly, and did rescue him from lingering death in the foul dungeon to which the ruffian nobility had consigned him, and he provided for his being at least saved from dying of starvation during the siege.

“He listened to him secretly, and would have accepted his counsel if he had dared. But he yielded to the stronger wills of the nobles, though he sometimes bitterly resented their domination, and complained that ‘the king is not he that can do anything against you.’

“Like most weak men, he found that temptations to do wrong abounded more than visible inducements to do right, and he was afraid to do right, and fancied that he was compelled by the force of circumstances to do wrong. So he drifted and drifted, and at last was smashed to fragments on the rocks, as all men are who do not keep a strong hand on the helm and a steady eye on the compass. The winds are good servants but bad masters. If we do not coerce circumstances to carry us on the course which conscience has pricked out on the chart, they will wreck us” (Alexander MacLaren).

Reading 3 – Mar 11:15

“On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there” (Mar 11:15a).

In keeping with Passover command and ritual, Jesus was purging the leaven from the house of God (Exo 12:19).

“The action of the Lord in cleansing the temple is often quoted as an example of righteous indignation. Yet in all the four records (Mat 21, Mar 11, Luk 19, Joh 2) it is nowhere stated that the Lord was angry. Certainly it was not righteous indignation which drove back those soldiers, ordered to arrest him (Joh 7:46); nor was it righteous indignation which made armed men retreat and fall to the ground in Gethsemane (Joh 18:6). Was not the same power at work in the temple incident? But even if we concede that the Lord might have been expressing righteous indignation, what right have we unrighteous ones to claim that we can also show righteous indignation? It is more likely that we are confusing righteous indignation with wrathful feelings of revenge, personal provocation, and wounded pride. Certainly the Lord never lost his temper. Every word and action was under complete control” (Percy Bilton, “The Christadelphian” 114:218).

“He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves” (v 15b).

We may well imagine the tables of moneychangers, overturned by Jesus, while the coins fall on the floor (Mat 21:12; Luk 19:45; Joh 2:14). Compare this incident with another not too many days later, when Judas threw the 30 pieces of silver into the temple (Mat 27:5). Imagine the coins clattering and clanking along the floor, while the priests scurried here and there to gather them up.

In both cases, this was money paid for “sacrifices”!

Reading 1 – 1Sa 25

Commenting on the example of Abigail — the faithful wife of the wicked Nabal — Jane Roberts writes:

“It sometimes happens that the husband is overbearing, and forgets the conditions which engender a loving and ready service on the part of his wife. He neglects the working out of his pattern, and takes to admonishing his wife about some flaw in her attitude, instead of acting the part that would remove the flaw. Paul nowhere enjoins upon the husband to assert his headship over his wife; but exhorts him to meet his wife’s loving and spontaneous subjection by following the example of Christ, with the great love with which he loved the ecclesia. However, to follow this, would lead me out of my province. I must leave him to think it up for himself, hoping he may, as the result, approve the more excellent way. I direct my thoughts and counsel to the sister-wife who finds herself mated with such a one. Her task will be a difficult one, but let her not quail before it. Let her by all means endeavour to fulfil in a becoming manner the duties and responsibilities of her position. Let the dignity and patience of her meek and quiet spirit, be the means of heaping coals of fire upon the head of her faulty companion, if such she have. Let her remember that a ‘soft answer turneth away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger’ [Pro 15:1]. If she has a Nabal to deal with, she can at least, like Abigail of old, show herself to be a woman of good understanding; and her wisdom may, like her, avert much evil that would otherwise come upon her household.”

Reading 2 – Jer 2

“The voice of the prophet Jeremiah commences a forty year ministry leading to the dissolution of the Kingdom of Judah. He gives a review of Israel’s sins, showing that Yahweh still loves His people, but expects that the filial love be reflected to Him. Through the prophet, Yahweh expostulates on their ungrateful return for past goodness, and shows that their wickedness has resulted in calamity. The voice concludes with an appeal to them to return.

“This chapter may be outlined:

Israel’s early promise: vv 1-4. Yahweh kept His contract despite provocation: vv 5-8. The enormity of Israel’s conduct once more stressed: vv 9-13. Israel suffers because it turned from Yahweh: vv 14-19. The true character of the nation despite Josiah’s reformation: vv 20-30. Israel will suffer: vv 31-35. Israel in heart turned to Egypt: vv 36,37.

“It must have been a sad experience for the young prophet, brought to witness for the righteousness of his God, and seeing about him the failure of the ecclesia. The nation rejoiced in its high and holy privilege, and boasted in its attendance at the temple in Jerusalem, but did little to manifest divine qualities in daily life. They were barren, thankless soil, returning nothing for Yahweh’s glory. Instead they looked to their southern neighbour [Egypt] for support and help, putting confidence in the power of the flesh. Yet, in spite of the darkness of their spiritual condition, the voice of Jeremiah brought a measure of encouragement to the faithful remnant that were looking for a redeemer. So he continues to witness at the end of the age — as must those of the Brotherhood today as we wait the advent of the Great Judge” (GE Mansfield).

Reading 3 – Mat 13:12

“Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him” (Mat 13:12).

The parable — that strange mixture of natural and spiritual, simple and complex — was a test to the hearers. How would they react? Would they joyfully come to the light, or would they turn away for fear of what that light would reveal? Like the pillar of cloud and fire (Exo 14:20), the same parable may be darkness to the “Egyptian” but light to the “Israelite”. Like the shell or husk, the parable may preserve the precious kernel of truth FOR the earnest seeker, and protect it FROM the lazy and proud and careless!

Reading 1 – 1Sa 14

“During the Palestine campaign in World War I, the Allies were at the same spot where these events [of 1Sa 14] occurred. One recalled that this was referred to in Scripture, a Bible was obtained, and the experiences of Jonathan and his armorbearer proved profitable to the advancing Allies” (Islip Collyer, “Where It Happened” 101).

Reading 2 – Isa 58:6,7

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter — when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?” (Isa 58:6,7).

“What if we shut up the bowels of our compassion towards those who suffer? What if with plenty in our hands, we think only of our own need, and our own comfort, and our schemes are shaped and burdened only and continually with our own cares and our own interests? What if we never help the heavy burdens under which so many around us are staggering to the grave? What if we practice a habit of absolute indifference to the yokes, and the oppressions and difficulties which are crushing to the earth our neighbours on every hand? Is it not obvious that in that case, we are in the exact position of Israel, ‘delighting in Yahweh’s ways’ after a fashion, but to no profit, because He takes no pleasure in us?” (Robert Roberts, “Seasons of Comfort” 27).

Reading 3 – Mat 1:20

“But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit’ ” (Mat 1:20).

Both Mary and Joseph are asked by God to accept the disgrace and shame of a couple who have “sinned”. Joseph is told to name the child (Mat 1:21), an act which would be interpreted by all as an admission of paternity. (This would also be equivalent to an admission that he had lied in previously asserting his innocence) In the eyes of the people, then, either Joseph was a weak man who could not control his passions, or, worse yet, a fool duped into raising another man’s son. (Because of Mary’s three-month sojourn in Judah, the tongue-waggers could make a strong argument for the latter view.) Such matters would not be soon forgotten in a close-knit country village.

God could have made it easier. He could have smoothed the way, but He did not. Mary must now gather her belongings and go quietly to the house of Joseph. She would go with relief, certainly, that her beloved no longer doubted her, and that he was one with her in understanding the marvelous revelation of God. But she would go also under the disdainful eyes of her friends and relatives, and perhaps the sorrow of her parents, which she could do nothing to alleviate. For Mary and Joseph there would be no happy wedding, bridesmaids, feasts, laughing children, gifts or good wishes. The cloud of suspicion was made worse because there could be neither repentance nor explanation, only passive endurance (see 1Pe 2:20,21).

God saw to it that His own Son was provided with sterling examples of such traits in his childhood. Jesus was “called” to follow the pattern of meek suffering in well-doing that Mary and Joseph set for him. The grace under pressure which they showed during an extended trial was the object of his keen discernment. He could not fail, as he grew up, to hear the whispers and the innuendoes (cp later incidents: ie John 8:1-11); but from his parents, never a complaint. These lessons were taken to heart, and given the perfect reinterpretation in his own life.

Reading 1 – 1Sa 16:11

“So he [Samuel] asked Jesse, ‘Are these all the sons you have?’ ‘There is still the youngest,’ Jesse answered, ‘but he is tending the sheep’ ” (1Sa 16:11).

Even before his name is revealed, David is described as a shepherd!

“Unlike many occupations of the twentieth century, that of being a shepherd in the chosen land gave scope for the mind which wished to worship God and to keep itself unsullied by the world without. Even so, the will of God brought David from the pastoral peace of the sheepfold into the world of men. This was essential for that development of character which has endeared David to generations of followers of the call of God. It is impossible for most of us to spend our days in the hills around some quiet village. Our lot is cast in meeting people and situations, in making the daily choice between this world and the next, in living a whole life in a fragmented world. The fact that David passed from quiet pastures and still waters into the tumult of wars and fightings has rendered him the companion of all of us” (Harry Tennant, “The Man David” 24).

Like Moses, David was another shepherd hidden in the wilderness, unknown to the public eye, until the time for his work to begin.

Reading 2 – Isa 60:5

“The wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come” (Isa 60:5).

“All the earlier sanctuaries of the Lord were made of Gentile materials. Israel plundered the Egyptians, and from their riches fashioned the tabernacle. David dedicated all the gains of his long series of Gentile wars to the temple which Solomon built. The second temple, built after the Captivity, had the practical encouragement of Cyrus and Darius Hystaspes. The temple built in the time of Jesus was financed by Herod the Great, an Edomite. So it is fitting that in the coming era God will be glorified by the votive offerings of Gentiles (cp Jer 33:9; Deu 33:19)” (Harry Whittaker, “Isaiah” 520).

Reading 3 – Mat 5

“A fairly accurate description of the human race might be furnished one unacquainted with it by taking the Beatitudes, turning them wrong side out and saying, ‘Here is your human race.’ For the exact opposite of the virtues in the Beatitudes are the very qualities which distinguish human life and conduct. In the world of men we find nothing approaching the virtues of which Jesus spoke in the opening words of the famous Sermon on the Mount. Instead of poverty of spirit we find the rankest kind of pride; instead of mourners we find pleasure seekers; instead of meekness, arrogance; instead of hunger after righteousness we hear men saying, ‘I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing’; instead of mercy we find cruelty; instead of purity of heart, corrupt imaginings; instead of peacemakers we find men quarrelsome and resentful; instead of rejoicing in mistreatment we find them fighting back with every weapon at their command.

“Of this kind of moral stuff civilized society is composed. The atmosphere is charged with it; we breathe it with every breath and drink it with our mother’s milk. Culture and education refine these things slightly but leave them basically untouched. A whole world of literature has been created to justify this kind of life as the only norm alone. And this is the more to be wondered at seeing that these are the evils which make life the bitter struggle it is for all of us. All our heartaches and a great many of our physical ills spring directly out of our sins. Pride, arrogance, resentfulness, evil imaginings, malice, greed: these are the sources of more human pain than all the diseases that ever afflicted mortal flesh. Into a world like this the sound of Jesus’ words comes wonderful and strange, a visitation from above. It is well that he spoke, for no one else could have done it as well; and it is good that we listen. His words are the essence of truth.

“The way to deeper knowledge of God is through the lonely valleys of soul poverty and abnegation of all things. The blessed ones who possess the Kingdom are they who have repudiated every external thing and have rooted from their hearts all sense of possessing. They are ‘poor in spirit.’ They have reached an inward state paralleling the outward circumstances of the common beggar in the streets of Jerusalem; that is what the word ‘poor’ as Christ used it actually means. These blessed poor are no longer slaves to the tyranny of things. They have broken the yoke of the oppressor; and this they have done not by fighting but by surrendering. Though free from all sense of possessing, they yet possess all things. ‘Theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’ Let me exhort you to take this seriously. It is not to be understood as mere Bible teaching to be stored away in the mind along with an inert mass of other doctrines. It is a marker on the road to greener pastures, a path chiseled against the steep sides of the mount of God. We dare not try to bypass it if we would follow on in this holy pursuit. We must ascend a step at a time. If we refuse one step we bring our progress to an end” (AW Tozer).

Reading 1 – 1Sa 17

The story of David’s victory over the Philistine giant Goliath is an enacted parable of the promise of Gen 3:15 (the seed of the woman crushing the head, and power, of the serpent). It is also a powerful and provocative picture of our redemption.

David’s defeat of Goliath typifies the work of Christ in two different, though related, aspects:

Christ’s moral victory over the power of sin in himself, and Christ’s coming victory over sin in its military and political forms.

It was necessary that Christ first conquer the “world” in himself, by subduing the lusts of the flesh, so that he might be qualified to conquer the nations and rule over them. Both these victories — the one past, the other yet future — are beautifully outlined in the stirring drama of 1Sa 17. In this epic encounter between faith and force, Holy Spirit and human nature, the heavenly and the earthly, we see all the redemptive purpose of Almighty God, unfolding from Eden onward.

“Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war” (1Sa 17:1). The name “Philistine” has found a place in the English language as a common noun, describing those who are ignorant and uncultured, who are “of the earth, and earthy” (1Co 15:47), without the least aspiration toward higher things — in short, the natural and mortal enemy of everything that is spiritual.

The Philistines pitched their tents in “Ephes Dammim”, which signifies “the border of blood”. This site was a little south of Jerusalem and halfway over toward the Mediterranean Sea, at the border between the Israelite hills and the Philistine plain. In this story, “the border of blood” marked the crest, or high point, of human power — the point where blood, and sin, and death were to be broken and turned back. [It is also the “border of blood” in the sense that it prefigures the point where the blood of Christ, shed in obedience and dedication to God, established the boundary of righteousness and life!] “This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt” (Job 38:11). As such, “Ephes Dammim” typifies Golgotha in the past, and Armageddon in the future: the sites where “sin” reaches its high-water mark and is then repulsed by the hand of God. (Linguistically, Ephes Dammim is closely related to “Aceldama” — the “field of blood”, where the traitor Judas met his fate: Acts 1:19.)

“The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them” (1Sa 17:3).

Mountains and hills in Scripture often represent powers and kingdoms (Zec 6:1; Dan 2:35-45; Joel 3:17; Isa 2:2,3; Eze 38:20), while valleys are places of sorrow, humiliation, and trial — and sometimes of destruction, such as the valley of Jehoshaphat (Joel 3:12), where the serpent-power of the Gentiles will be broken when it comes against Israel.

Like David, Jesus had to descend into “the valley of the shadow of death” (Psa 23:4) to win his victory. He had to confront the “giant” of sin in the very arena where that giant reigned supreme — the flesh of humanity. Like Israel too, Jesus had to go through his own “valley of Achor (trouble)” (Hos 2:15), and “valley of Baca (tears)” (Psa 84:5-7). On the other side of the “valley” of sufferings, he would come at last to the “glories that would follow” (1Pe 1:11) and , beyond that, to the Kingdom of God.

“Goliath” (1Sa 17:4) means “exile”; he was from “Gath”, which means “winepress”. The Philistine giant was, like Cain (Gen 4:14,16), an exile from God because of sin. He was trodden down by David, his enemy under his feet (Psa 8:6) — even as all human power and pride will be trodden down by Christ (cp 1Co 15:25,27; Eph 1:22) in the great “winepress” of the wrath of God (Isa 63:3; Rev 14:19).

Goliath’s height was six cubits (the number of man: compare the “666” in Rev 13:18). He was covered with bronze, or brass — its reddish color suggesting its connection with the flesh. He was the human equivalent of the bronze serpent of Num 21 — the power of sin destroyed by Christ on the cross (John 3:14). He was arrayed in armor and weapons of the flesh, in contrast to the spiritual arsenal of Eph 6:13-17, which was David’s trust (1Sa 17:45), as well as Christ’s.

This mighty champion of the flesh came out into the valley between the two armies, every morning and evening for forty days (v 16), to defy the God of Israel. It was a sad, shameful spectacle; not a man of Israel, not even King Saul (himself a giant: 1Sa 10:23!), nor his son Jonathan, a brave warrior, had the faith and courage to confront this blasphemer (1Sa 17:11). Goliath was too great, too powerful, and too fearsome to be overcome by any mere man, except…

*****

Now comes a break in the narrative (v 12), introducing the second antagonist in this epic struggle: David, a young man, a shepherd of Bethlehem (v 15), has been sent by his father to take provisions to his three older brothers serving in Saul’s army (vv 17-19).

David, when he comes to his brothers, is met with mockery and derision (v 28). Likewise Jesus, when he comes to save his brothers from the “giant” of sin, meets the same ridicule. How much natural man needs salvation; yet how little he realizes it. Like the drowning man, he will thrash about and generally resist the very one who has come to save him… and he must in fact be saved from himself, and his own worst instincts, as well as the external danger!

The boy David cannot understand the inaction of Saul’s men: “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (v 26).

The words of the shepherd boy come to the ears of the distraught king, who is so desperate that he sends for him. And the poor shepherd boy says to the mighty king: “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him” (v 32).

Saul reasons according to the flesh, which is fatally obsessed with size and natural advantage: “You are not able…” (v 33).

BUT WHY NOT, IF GOD IS WITH HIM? “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom 8:31). How often do we forget the strength of faith, and make the same mistake — being tentative, timid, and even afraid? How often do we forget that, if God is on our side, then nothing can stand in our way!

David wisely refuses Saul’s offer of armor. The children of the Spirit are no match for the children of the flesh IF they attempt to meet them on their own ground and do battle with their own weapons. The “seed of the woman” will always be outclassed by the “seed of the serpent” in numbers, experience, prestige, and learning. Their defense — and offense — must be in the “shield” of faith and the “sword” of the Spirit (Eph 6:16,17)!

For the battle, David chooses five smooth stones out of the brook (1Sa 17:40). (Why five? is it because Goliath has four brothers — 2Sa 21:15-21 — who were also giants?) The stone which is to bring down the mighty giant has been slowly and meticulously shaped by the flowing waters of the brook, its rough edges smoothed and rounded, until it is ready for the use at hand. This smooth stone, then, typifies Christ — prepared through the trials and tribulations of daily life and special, providentially-developed experiences for the unique work of deliverance. (In a similar figure of speech, Christ is also spoken of as the Stone rejected by the builders, who is later made the cornerstone of God’s temple: Psa 118:22.)

David’s sling would propel the stone to its destined target. The sling, made of animal skin, would have required a death for its preparation. Like the garments that God prepared to cover Adam and Eve’s nakedness after their sin, the sling also typifies a sacrificial death. This sling (representing, in effect, the sacrifice of Christ) gives all the power to the stone which David hurls against the giant: it is the sacrificial offering of Jesus Christ, coupled with his spotless character, which had been tested and prepared by the Father, that destroys the Power of Sin on behalf of all mankind.

*****

Prophetically, David is also the stone cut out of the mountain of human flesh WITHOUT HANDS (that is, born of a woman but without a human father: Gen 3:15), which strikes and destroys Nebuchadnezzar’s image (Dan 2:34), and then proceeds to fill the whole earth with the glory of Yahweh.

The smiting of the “dream” image in Daniel 2 is parallel to David’s smiting of Goliath, with one significant difference: one stone strikes Goliath in the HEAD (cp Gen 3:15), which symbolizes the vital life center. The other strikes the image upon the FEET, symbolizing the time when destruction is accomplished — at the very end of the age of the Kingdom of Men. But, each time, the end result is the same: the great image of “Sin” is destroyed, and Israel is saved.

The Nebuchadnezzar image represents the accumulated history of the four great empires that collectively make up the “serpent-power” of the Kingdom of Men, which has oppressed and will oppress God’s kingdom of Israel. David’s selection of FIVE smooth stones relates his victory to the FIFTH great Kingdom: the Kingdom of God that will finally conquer all and fill the earth with His glory.

*****

“Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground” (1Sa 17:49), already dead (v 50). On this verse the old Bible commentator, Matthew Henry, quaintly writes: “See how frail and uncertain life is, even when it thinks itself best fortified, and how quickly, how easily, and with how small a matter, the passage may be opened for life to go out and death to enter.”

This is the typical fulfillment of the Edenic promise that the woman’s seed should crush the serpent’s head. The antitype stretches from the cross to the military destruction of the last vestiges of human misrule and oppression, when Christ returns.

“David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the scabbard. After he killed him [that is, with the stone: see v 50], he cut off his head with the sword” (v 51). And later he brought the head to Jerusalem (v 54). Jerusalem proper was at this time still under the control of the Jebusites (2Sa 5:6-10). We know that Goliath’s sword came to be kept at Nob (1Sa 21:9), an Israelite settlement of priests very near Jerusalem (cp Isa 10:32; Neh 11:32). So probably Goliath’s head was buried there too. Nob may be identified with Golgotha (‘the place of a skull’). David’s act symbolized the destruction of the power of sin, accomplished by Jesus in his life, and finalized at Golgotha just outside the walls of Jerusalem. (Ancient Hebrew tradition also suggests that Golgotha was so named because it was the burial place of Goliath’s head.)

David’s act also prefigures the cutting off of all mortal ruling power, and the transferring of all the world’s headship to Jerusalem, “the city of the great king” (Mat 5:35).

*****

“Then the men of Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath and to the gates of Ekron. Their dead were strewn along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron” (1Sa 17:52).

David’s wonderful feat revitalizes and energizes the army of Israel, which then go on to rout the Philistines, “possessing the gates of their enemies” (cp Gen 22:17; Rev 1:18; 20:6; 1Co 15:256,55,56). Those who were powerless and afraid to face Goliath receive new faith and strength and courage upon witnessing the victory of David. Like David in this richly symbolic story, Jesus in absolute reality is the only one capable of winning the special victory over the “serpent”. Yet his victory over that “devil” — like David’s over Goliath — delivers his brethren who, previously, “all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” (Heb 2:15).

“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?… The sting of death is sin… But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1Co 15:55-57).

Reading 2 – Isa 61:10

“I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels” (Isa 61:10).

The “garments of salvation” are the garments of a priest (Exo 28:2,40; Psa 132:9,16; Isa 62:3; Exo 39:22); but they seem also to be the garments of a bridegroom — an interesting combination!

Likewise, also, the priestly garments are in Scripture likened to the uniform and armaments of a warrior (cp Eph 6:10-17).

Both these additional aspects of the priest’s service are instructive:

firstly, the priest as the mediator for God Himself, would represent God in His aspect as the Bridegroom, or Husband, of His people Israel, the Bride; and the priest, like a warrior, would wage war against sin in all its manifestations, both personal and institutional — compare 2Co 10:3-5: “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

In Psa 45, as well as the Song of Songs, and especially in Rev 19; 21, our great High Priest Jesus Christ appears in his joint “offices” as a victorious general and a loving Bridegroom. And both these (superficially quite disparate) occupations are very appropriate!

Reading 3 – Mat 6:5,6

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Mat 6:5,6).

By “room” is meant a “closet” (AV).

Jewish men wore a garment called a “talith”, “talis”, or “prayer shawl”, all the time, not just at prayer. “Talith” consists of two Hebrew words; “tal” (tent) and “ith” (little). Thus, each man had his own little tent. (The apostle Paul was a Jewish Pharisee, but also a tentmaker. Some believe that he made prayer shawls, not tents to live in. Since all Jews could not worship in the Tent of Meeting at one time, God gave to each Jew his own private sanctuary where he could meet with God. In prayer, the man would pull it up over his head, forming a tent, where he could retreat to cali upon Yahweh. It was intimate, private, and set apart from anyone else — enabling him to totally focus upon God. It was his prayer closet.

With this may be compared the words of God through Isaiah: “Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until his wrath has passed by” (Isa 26:20).

Reading 1 – 1Sa 23

David saved Keilah (men of his own tribe) from the Philistines, but then found himself, with his men, in a walled town. To Saul this was a splendid opportunity to capture or kill David — it was so much easier than hunting him in the open wilderness. And the men of Keilah, mindful of what had happened at Nob (1Sa 22:18,19), were disposed to seek Saul’s friendship by betraying David to him (1Sa 23:7). Divine counsel by Urim and Thummim saved the situation (vv 9-12). David had no desire to be encircled, because the last thing he wanted was to have to fight against “the Lord’s anointed”. And so (directed by divine counsel?) he cleared out.

What helps to explain the attitude of the men of Keilah is the fact that they were Calebites, as also were the men of Ziph (1Ch 4:16,19). Their disreputable link with Nabal (see 1Sa 25) evidently counted for more than their honorable descent from the courageous and faithful Caleb. The men of Ziph likewise attempted a betrayal (1Sa 23:19); had it not been for the providence of God (1Sa 23:27) they would have succeeded.

Reading 2 – Isa 66:23

” ‘From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me,’ says the LORD” (Isa 66:23).

“There is an evident counterpart to the Mosaic monthly institution in the blessed age that is coming with the advent of the saints to power. It is ‘from one new moon to another’, as well as from Sabbath to Sabbath, that all flesh appears in the temple courts to worship. It is ‘every month’ or once a month, that the Apocalyptic wood of life (the saints) yields its fruit for the healing of the nations (Rev 22:2), and it is ‘according to his months’ that the literal tree on both sides of the temple river yields its fruit ‘whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed… the fruit thereof shall be for meat and the leaf thereof for medicine’ (Eze 47:12). There will be no monotony in a state of things in which the whole population is roused with the advent of every new moon in the heavens to a special service of worship and praise, and a special distribution of healing and blessing. The prospect of the Kingdom is a prospect of an endless succession of joyful activities” (Robert Roberts, “Law of Moses” 198).

Reading 3 – Mat 11:4-6

“Jesus replied, ‘Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor” (Mat 11:4,5).

Jesus is healing those people who previously would have been excluded from the Lord’s service (Lev 21:17-21; cp 2Sa 5:8) — those people who, if they had been animals, would have been imperfect sacrifices (Lev 22:22-24; Mal 1:8,13,14). So here is emphasized the fact that we are all imperfect specimens and imperfect “sacrifices” — and we all need the only One who is perfect to heal and cleanse us! And he can do this: through the forgiveness of sins — which he only can provide — he can present us, as a radiant bride or church, “without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish” (Eph 5:27).

“The good news is preached to the poor!” The last point on Jesus’ list… the poor have the gospel preached to them… is the greatest miracle of all! Because it lifts Jesus’ work out of the physical realm and puts it into the spiritual. In fact, it comprehends all the other “miracles” in one: because the gospel believed does — in the most meaningful sense — give sight to the spiritually blind, give strength to the weak, and cleanness to those who were “leprous” with sin, and hearing to the spiritually deaf. So here is Jesus’ way of lifting his work out of the ordinary (if any miracles can be ordinary!) and putting it on the higher plain: the greatest “miracle” (and such miracles are occurring all around us) is a life changed by true belief in Jesus Christ. Which means… the greatest work of God’s Holy Spirit has never ceased from among men, and never will, so long as sinners hear the Word of God and repent.

*****

“Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me” (Mat 11:6).

Nothing that was ‘blemished’ was fit for the animal sacrifice, for it would be offensive. Jesus had outward scars, but his life was perfect, and so he could make the perfect sacrifice.

One might look at Jesus, even then, and say: “He’s not perfect”… and of course, and especially, when he might see that same man, beaten and broken, on his way to the cross, it was painfully true that “he had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not” (Isa 53:2,3). To all outward signs and human expectations, Jesus couldn’t be the perfect sacrifice either… because of his physical appearance. And thus the observer — who saw only the surface of things — might be offended, and fall away (cp Isa 8:12-15).

But the heart, and the life, of Jesus was perfect — and that was what the Father saw. And that is what we must see, with the “eye of faith”, as well. And thus the promise of Jesus: “Blessed is the man who is not offended by ME!”

Even the cross itself was — as Paul said — “foolishness to those who are perishing” (1 Co 1:18), and the man who looked at the mere “letter of the Law” would undoubtedly be offended by the whole process: “This just CAN’T be right!”

But the man of faith sees his own sins “mirrored” in the face of the suffering Saviour, and his own deserved punishment reflected in the bruises of his Lord. And he realizes the absolute perfection that is necessary to cleanse, and forgive, and pardon him.

And so he sees the beauty of this divine arrangement, and thankfully embraces it, and joyfully proclaims, as does Isaiah himself, prophetically: “Surely he took up OUR infirmities and carried OUR sorrows… he was pierced for OUR transgressions, he was crushed for OUR iniquities; the punishment that brought US peace was upon him, and by his wounds WE are healed” (Isa 53:4,5). If Jesus appeared to be a blemished and imperfect offering, we need not be “offended” nor “stumble” at this. Instead, we need only remember that such blemishes and imperfections were inflicted, and accepted, on OUR behalf. He was made “sin” for us, so that we might be made “righteousness” in him (2Co 5:21).

Reading 1 – 1Sa 15:32

“Then Samuel said, ‘Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites.’ Agag came to him confidently, thinking, ‘Surely the bitterness of death is past’ ” (1Sa 15:32).

“Much of our difficulty as seeking Christians stems from our unwillingness to take God as He is and adjust our lives accordingly. We insist upon trying to modify Him and to bring Him nearer to our own image. The flesh whimpers against the rigor of God’s inexorable sentence and begs like Agag for a little mercy, a little indulgence of its carnal ways. It is no use. We can get a right start only by accepting God as He is and learning to love Him for what He is. As we go on to know Him better we shall find it a source of unspeakable joy that God is just what He is” (AW Tozer).

Reading 2 – Isa 59:17

“He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak” (Isa 59:17).

“Sin has not only to be atoned for, but also slain. So the equipment of the High Priest — breastplate, crown, ephod, girdle and the rest — become the accoutrements of a warrior: a different kind of breastplate, a helmet of salvation, garments of vengeance (ct v 6), zeal as a cloak (sw Isa 9:7), the girdle of truth, and the sword of the Sprit (v 21). And all who join in this war must be similarly equipped with ‘the whole armor of God’ — it is called that because He is the Commander-in-chief and He provides the equipment (Eph 6:14-17; 1Th 5:8)” (Harry Whittaker, “Isaiah” 511).

Reading 3 – Mat 4

“Worship the LORD your God” (Mat 4:10).

“Even a dog can show the beauty of total devotion, with no hope of reward beyond a kind word and a pat on the head. If a human being with the potential intelligence it has been given, cannot use that God-given intelligence to show total devotion to the Highest manifestation of Goodness, Beauty and Love in the universe (with the assurance of infinite reward), it is not worth as much as a dog” (GV Growcott).

“And serve Him only” (4:10).

“To serve God and be a useful, active part of His eternal purpose is man’s greatest privilege and wisdom, and should be his greatest joy. God’s work alone has any permanence or meaning or value or satisfaction. Everything else is silly little baby games — fine indeed for babies, but pitiful for supposedly mature adults” (GVG).

*****

” ‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will make you fishers of men’ ” (4:19).

“How do you account for the fact that so many of the apostles were chosen from this class of fishermen? It could not have been accidental. There was, no doubt, an adaptation, a fitness in the occupation of these men to develop just those attitudes of character most needed in the apostolic office. There are various modes of fishing, and each calculated to cultivate and strengthen some particular moral quality of great importance in their mission. Thus angling requires patience, and great perseverance and caution… Fishing with the hand net… requires a keen eye, an active frame, and great skill in throwing the net. Such a fisherman, too, must be patient, watchful, wide awake, and prompt to seize the exact moment to throw. Then there is the great dragnet, the working of which teaches the value of united effort. No one occupation of humble life — not even that of the shepherd — calls into exercise and develops so many of the elements necessary for… a religious teacher as this of fishing” (WM Thomson, “The Land and the Book”, 401-403).

Reading 1 – 1Sa 24

“Saul continues his relentless pursuit of David, irrespective of the divine determination that the young man who defeated Goliath was Yahweh’s anointed-elect. It is a sad commentary on human nature that it acts in opposition to the divine will, even within the community of the faithful. The Lord Jesus himself was pursued to his death by the priesthood of Jerusalem. So Saul gathered a whole community of murderers: 3,000 chosen men are sent on a mission of death (1Sa 24:2). And yet, in the strange but wonderful actions of Providence, Saul and his men are unwittingly discovered in David’s power (vv 3-7). It was an opportunity for revenge, and of the kind that could be justified on the ground that Yahweh had permitted Saul’s men to come into the power of David. Is not this the obvious purpose of the Deity? Many times actions are justified on grounds that seem to be correct. But David was greater, for his heart was fashioned according to that of Yahweh, and he saw Saul, in his clutches, as ‘Yahweh’s Anointed’ (v 6). Certainly he cut a portion of Saul’s robe (v 4), and particularly that section of the ribband of blue on the hem, which was a covenant garment commanded of all Israel. The ribband represented the laws of the nation. Saul had certainly broken it himself, but it was not proper for David to take advantage — and his heart smote him (v 5). What a change of fortunes, as the weakness of his position is brought before the king (vv 8-15). There was no doubt that Saul had a moment of sanity as he saw the righteousness of David, and the preservation of his life because of that. There is some reconciliation between the two (vv 16-29). A covenant is established, but David could not trust the vacillating promises of Saul, and therefore, as the king returned to his ‘home’ (v 22), David remained in ‘the hold.’ Faithfulness was with the ‘king’ in the cave; whilst the king on the throne of Israel would never find true comfort” (GEM).

Reading 2 – Jer 1

Consider Jeremiah as a type, or historical prophecy, of our Lord Jesus Christ:

In his birth and calling: Jer 1:5,9. As a lamb brought to the slaughter: Jer 11:19; cp Isa 53:7; 1Pe 2:20-24; Joh 1:29. Jeremiah incurred special displeasure from his own relatives: Jer 12:6; cp Psa 69:8; Joh 1:11. Jeremiah faced deep-rooted wickedness in the nation, especially from the priests and elders. Nevertheless he made constant efforts to reform a cynical, corrupt priesthood and to cleanse the Temple of its idolatry: Jer 7–9.

Reading 3 – Mat 12:50

“For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother” (Mat 12:50).

“There are many writers and perhaps even some thinkers who would readily fall into error if asked to describe the true Christadelphian. In the Brotherhood there has been a very natural tendency to put the emphasis upon the subject that is to the front at the moment; and in times of controversy the true Christadelphian is known by being on ‘our side’. The word, however, means brother of Christ, and as the Lord himself gave us an explicit definition we should experience no difficulty in recognizing a much fuller meaning. ‘Whosoever shall do the will of my Father who is in heaven, the same is my brother and sister and mother.’

“This is a principle of first importance. It is so fundamental and so simple that it is continually ignored. There is nothing in the nature of paradox in this statement. It has long since been recognized as a truism that men rarely think seriously of principles that are fundamental and obvious. Such truths are accepted as a matter of course. Every man wants to have truth on his side and it becomes quite natural to assume that it is there, especially when feeling is strong. In the same way men can readily persuade themselves that God is on their side, even while they are violating every command He has ever given. The warring nations and churches all cry ‘God is with us’, even though they could not advance a single argument to show that they are with God. Individuals are just the same. A man will profess his firm belief in providence and relate a remarkable experience to prove the fact of divine intervention in human affairs. He tells us how a series of extraordinary mishaps prevented him from sailing in a boat in which he had booked a passage. After full details of how others were helped by circumstance to catch the boat while he was prevented, we reach the rich conclusion that the boat went down with all on board. We should be accounted rude if we inquired how such selection could be regarded as an evidence of providential intervention. He takes it for granted that if God interferes in human affairs at all, a special care for him will inevitably be a first charge to the angels, while the lives of other men will be a matter of comparative indifference.

“In similar manner, men assume that God will come into line with their feelings in time of controversy. Their differences are stimulated by opposition; they work themselves up to passionate attack or defence. Then if they think of God at all they assume that He will be angry with those who oppose them. They are falling into just the error of the striving nations. They are not trying to be on the Lord’s side but rather assuming that the Lord will be with them.

“We do well, then, so far as we are able, to break away from human passions and prejudices and test ourselves by this first principle. What is the will of the Father in heaven? We who believe the Bible have plenty of instructions to guide us in life. We must get the answer from the ‘Word’ and not from our own hearts. In some respects, ecclesial life is sure to resemble the political or commercial world, for we find the same elemental facts of human nature; but, as we value God’s offer of life, we must find a much higher standard of conduct.

“If we venture to criticise brethren and urge them to take a course contrary to their inclination, we are sure to get some hard knocks. That is a matter of universal experience. It is equally natural that we shall receive commendation and support from those who are still more critical. In such circumstances there is a great danger that we may run to extremes, just on the lines of political parties. A man’s estimate of any situation is so easily biased by personal feeling. Resentment of harsh and unfair words will often play a potent though entirely hidden part in framing a policy. Then, when a party has been formed, when once a decision has been taken, the natural tendency will be to support the party and attack all opposing parties by fair means or foul.

“Possibly some readers will exclaim, ‘On what a low plane you put the matter! Political parties are doubtless developed in this manner; but in the Truth it is different!’

“Certainly it ought to be quite different; but we are dealing with the same human nature, the worst of which nearly always comes to the front in time of strife. We can only make ourselves different from the world by taking heed to the words of Scripture. They are plain enough. We must not suppose that the words regarding the evil human heart and the worthlessness of flesh only apply to other people. We are all of the same nature. The most dangerous men are those who are never conscious of being on a low plane. They can mistake the motions of sheer diabolism for a righteous and worthy zeal. The elements of diabolism are in us all. Often they may be aroused into activity and they will blend with ideals in the most complete manner. There is enough of the genuine to hide the spurious, and unless we apply the acid test base metal will pass off as gold.

“Are we doing the will of the Father in heaven? That is the real test. It is not a question of doing what we assume ought to be His will. It is not enough to find in our hearts general desires and aspirations in the right direction. Is the work we are doing now in accordance with the revealed will of God? Are we engaged in the works of love, dispensing the bread and water of life, doing good to all men, especially those of the household of faith? Are we crucifying the flesh by enduring evil treatment without retaliation, leaving vengeance of all degrees to the Lord?

“It is so easy to be self-deceived in these matters. If men revile us they are doing harm to the Truth. We can soon persuade ourselves that an effort to crush them and make them appear contemptible is simply in the interests of the Truth and not a matter of retaliation at all. This is simply one of the familiar disguises of the heart. Its shallowness is revealed by the fact that sometimes we have such a personal and enduring affection for certain men that when they are unfair to us we have no desire to retaliate or to say anything that would wound. We never feel then that there is any command in Scripture to make us more severe as a matter of duty. A simple statement of the Truth as we understand it does not need the personal hits so dear to the old man of the flesh. If men watch for iniquity in us and make us offenders for a word, or for a possible inflection they choose to put on a word, we must not retaliate by watching for iniquity in them. Sometimes brethren who criticise us lay themselves open to attack by the most amazing inconsistency. It would be easy to raise an agitation which would cause the critics trouble and perhaps even make them appear contemptible. By all worldly standards such retaliation would be right; but would it do any good to the cause of the Truth? Would such work please our Father in heaven? That is the only test that matters.

“In these days of divine silence, and in the absence of visible authority, we have to choose for ourselves what course we shall take and to what manner of work we shall devote our strength. We must try to be honest and free from self-deception in making the decision. Shall we best do the will of our Father in heaven by building up those who have found the saving faith, but who need the helping, sympathetic hand as sorely as we need it ourselves; or would the Father be better pleased if we devoted our energies towards pulling down that which once we built? There are thousands of brethren and sisters who need exhortation, there are millions of fellow creatures who have never heard the Gospel. There are some hundreds who are separated from us by points of disagreement, although if taken individually we should all alike pass the most severe examination devised by any brother of a generation ago. Here we have a choice of fields in which to labour. It might be possible, even easy, to attack the last-named class and skilfully raise such agitation that strife would rage where now there is peace, and we might gain a few adherents out of the wreckage. We may feel that something would be gained even though a few babes should be slain in the struggle. We might easily be tempted to such a course by the natural instinct of retaliation, disguised and out of sight. Sometimes drastic ways may be legitimate, and we can soon persuade ourselves that as we are convinced of the soundness of our position, the possible gain of a few will justify the means. What is the revealed will of our Father in heaven? Would He desire us to raise strife in such quarters, to expose the naked inconsistency of some zealous but mistaken men in order that a few who already hold and practice the One Faith might obtain a better knowledge of human values? The Word condemns such strife and places the sower of discord among brethren as the apex of abomination. It tells us to preach the Word, to be instant in season and out of season; to reprove, rebuke and exhort with long suffering. It presents us with a series of letters to the churches showing where responsibility lies, and how we should trust each other. It gives us a picture of the judgment seat, with the whole emphasis put on positive and constructive work. It warns us repeatedly against judging and condemning each other, and of the danger that we may be guilty of greater errors than those we condemn. It lays down the principle that men may be doing good work even though they ‘walk not with us’. It tells us that the servant of the Lord must not strive but be patient, long suffering and apt to teach.

“There is an immense field of constructive work before us. Every pound we can spare and every talent we can muster can be devoted to work that we know is right. Truly it is easy to find out the revealed will of God, and the one who shall do the will of the Father in heaven is the true Christadelphian” (Islip Collyer, ‘Principles and Proverbs’).

Reading 1 – 1Sa 19:16

“But when the men [sent by Saul] entered [looking to arrest David while he lay in his sickbed]”…

…they found he was escaped from their grasp…

“there was the idol in the bed, and at the head was some goats’ hair” (1Sa 19:16).

Here is an easy echo of the familiar New Testament incident: “They came to the place where he lay” — this time the New Testament “David”, or “Beloved”, or “Anointed” — but THEY FOUND NO BODY!” (Mat 28:6; John 20:2,6-8)

Reading 2 – Isa 63:4

“For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my redemption has come” (Isa 63:4).

“Redemption” is the Hebrew “gaal”. A “gaal” or “kinsman-redeemer” was responsible for protecting the extended family’s interests, often by redeeming property that had been sold outside the family. However, his responsibilities extended beyond financial concerns. He was also responsible for avenging the shed blood of a family member (see Num 35:19-27; Deu 19:6-12). In this verse, where vengeance is a prominent theme (note the previous line), it is probably this function of the family protector that is in view. The LORD pictures himself as a blood avenger who waits for the day of vengeance to arrive and then springs into action on behalf of his “kinsman”!

Reading 3 – Mat 8:14,15

“When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him” (Mat 8:14,15).

“It is no light thing to take a man from his home and wife and family and livelihood to become a… preacher… This healing of Peter’s mother-in-law guaranteed enthusiastic support. From this day forward, Peter need never look over his shoulder wondering how his wandering life… was regarded by the folks at home” (Harry Whittaker, “Studies in the Gospels” 123).