Reading 1 – Num 4

“Previously the Levites were counted from a month old and upwards because they were to replace the firstborn of the other tribes. However, now they are to be numbered for service, and accordingly the count is to be from thirty years and upward. This denotes a measure of maturity, and whilst it is not obligatory on Christ’s followers that they should await the age of thirty before ministering before him, it does show that maturity is required of all his followers. The duties of the various families of Levites are set forth in proper order, revealing that each has his work to do in the “ecclesia in the wilderness” in a co-operative service. Hence, as each group arrived at a new site the tabernacle was reared up in a regular and orderly fashion with the least trouble. Co-operation and order are the keynotes of effective ecclesial service today as well” (HPM, “Christadelphian Expositor”).

Reading 2 – Pro 1:20-22

“Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out, in the gateways of the city she makes her speech: ‘How long will you simple ones love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge?’ ” (Pro 1:20-22).

“We very rarely have a literal shouting of words of wisdom in the streets of a city, or in the broad places of human activity, but when we remember that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, we can see a definite meaning in the saying. In ancient Israel and in the modern world the idea of God is before men all the while even though human thoughts fail to turn to Him. In our time we can hardly live for a single day without Christ being brought before our minds, and through Christ, the Father who was manifest in him. Even the daily newspaper utters the call of wisdom in spite of its low aim and its native foolishness. The date it gives is from the birth of Christ, the record of human vanity confirms the teaching of Christ, while often, especially in these latter days, there is an item of news which shouts of the purpose of God to those who can understand.

“Even apart from these matters the call of wisdom can surely be heard in the ordered wonders of the universe in which we live. Man’s cheerful acceptance of the earth as his home proclaims that in his heart he recognizes that there is a Creator. Would he feel comfortable on a ship with no captain? A hundred thousand tons of metal and wood driving through unknown seas at thirty miles an hour and no one in control? How then should he feel when he realizes that he is all through life on a vessel weighing millions of tons and going through space at sixty thousand miles an hour? Of course men believe that someone is in control. The stability of the earth and its long continuance, the facts of human consciousness and human ideals, the wonders of chemistry and the wonders of life all combine to prove that there is a mind far above that of man. Human intelligence is just sufficient to contemplate these things and to make some response. Wisdom is thus calling to the sons of men in the streets, in the broad places and at the entering in of the gate” (Islip Collyer, “Principles and Proverbs”).

Reading 3 – Luk 15:20

“But while he [the prodigal son] was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him” (Luk 15:20).

There is a great urgency of love and reconciliation in Christ’s picture of the waiting and watching father, as he daily and even hourly stares down the road, looking for the familiar figure. There is not one shred of formality or legality in his reception of his returning son. Even while he is a great way off, his father sees him, and with compassion, runs and falls upon his neck and kisses him.

He did not stand upon his dignity, or remain coldly aloof — demanding some formal or elaborate proof of repentance. He did not coerce an apology. He loved him and he wanted him back and he was willing to forget the past and hope for the future. He showered every display of affection and attention upon him, in his intense joy at reconciliation.

Here is the divine example for the ecclesial attitude toward any sinning brother who makes the first, faltering steps toward repentance. The members should never question the sincerity of those who seek to return (for they would not like their own sincerity to be questioned), nor should they make the barriers to fellowship more difficult for such than for new converts. The ecclesia should rejoice in that the withdrawal of fellowship collectively administered has by God’s grace achieved its hoped-for outcome: the reclamation of the one who has strayed.

Reading 1 – Num 5:11-31

“As the sin of adultery is particularly defiling and destructive of the relations existing between Yahweh and Israel — which are typified by the husband and his wife (Isa 54:5; Lev 20:26) — and as such sin is disruptive of the very foundations of the social order, the whole subject is dealt with in this chapter at a length proportionate to its importance [vv 11-31]. However, Scripture does not reveal one instance where this law was invoked by a jealous husband, so it is evident that it is designed to illustrate spiritual adultery and Yahweh’s viewpoint towards it.

“Considered in that light, this strange law become prophetic of Israel’s relationship with Yahweh her spiritual Husband, and His treatment of her as exhibited by the words and actions of Hosea, the prophet of enduring love.

“Through Moses, Israel was warned that it must have no other God: ‘for Yahweh, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God’ (Exo 34:14). The Law relating to the Trial of Jealousy reveals the responsibility resting upon the nation because of its privileged position as Yahweh’s bride, and the consequences of spiritual adultery” (HPM, “Christadelphian Expositor”).

Reading 2 – Pro 2:1-5

“My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God” (Pro 2:1-5).

“The exhortation in the Proverbs is God speaking. Whatever proximate sonship and fatherhood there may be in the Proverbs, their ultimate origin is God, and their aim the instruction of His sons. And Proverbs, with other parts of the ‘Living Oracles’, must not be limited in its application to Solomon’s day. ‘Ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto YOU’, says Paul [Heb 12:5]; it is the Father’s word to you, His sons. How persuasive is God in His counsels; how endearing in His address. To each of His children He says, ‘My son’ ” (John Carter, “Letter to the Hebrews” 258,259).

Reading 3 – Luk 16:13,14

“No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money” (Luk 16:13).

How we handle money reveals much about the depth of our commitment to Christ. That is why Jesus often talked about money. One-sixth of the gospels, including one out of every three parables, touches on money and stewardship. Jesus dealt with money matters because money matters!

For some of us, though, it matters too much: “The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus” (v 14). They were highly “religious”, but they could not see how money and its pursuit and acquisition could hold anything less than the preeminent place in a man’s life, and for any man to question that preeminence was for them an undeniable proof of his folly.

Reading 1 – Num 11:10,11

“Moses heard the people of every family wailing, each at the entrance to his tent. The LORD became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled. He asked the LORD, ‘Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me?’ ” (Num 11:10,11).

“Our heavenly Father sends us frequent troubles to try our faith. If our faith be worth anything, it will stand the test. Gilt is afraid of fire, but gold is not [1Pe 1:7]: the paste gem dreads to be touched by the diamond, but the true jewel fears no test. It is a poor faith which can only trust God when friends are true, the body full of health, and the business profitable; but that is true faith which holds by the Lord’s faithfulness when friends are gone, when the body is sick, when spirits are depressed, and the light of our Father’s countenance is hidden. A faith which can say, in the direst trouble, ‘Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him’ [Job 13:15], is heaven-born faith. The Lord afflicts His servants to glorify Himself, for He is greatly glorified in the graces of His people, which are His own handiwork. When ‘tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope’ [Rom 5:3,4], the Lord is honoured by these growing virtues. We should never know the music of the harp if the strings were left untouched; nor enjoy the juice of the grape if it were not trodden in the winepress; nor discover the sweet perfume of cinnamon if it were not pressed and beaten; nor feel the warmth of fire if the coals were not utterly consumed. The wisdom and power of the great Workman are discovered by the trials through which His vessels of mercy are permitted to pass. Present afflictions tend also to heighten future joy. There must be shades in the picture to bring out the beauty of the lights” (CHS).

Reading 2 – Pro 7:2,3

“Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart” (Pro 7:2,3).

“That is the final object of all good writing. Much that is written on paper is destroyed without even being read. Even commandments written and engraven on stone have been neglected until the stones have crumbled into dust. But when the commandments of God are written on human hearts, the final object of writing has been achieved. Words written on paper, parchment or stone, or words spoken by inspired lips have then been received by the senses, understood and approved by the intellect and the thoughts expressed have been, in some measure at least, woven into the character” (Islip Collyer, “Principles and Proverbs”).

Reading 3 – Luk 21:8

“Watch out that you are not deceived” (Luk 21:8).

“We must fervently pray God to free us from our illusions and delusions. He sometimes does it roughly, but it is wholesome and beneficial. How we tend to make special rules and exceptions for ourselves, and give new, excusing definitions to sin and folly! But God’s holy laws are impartial for all, and wisdom will not seek to bend them for personal gratification or self-justification. We must seek the divine blessing of… impartiality and honesty in our necessary, constant self-examination. It is grimly interesting and amusing to see how deceptive our minds can be, and how contrary to our true and larger well-being” (GVG).

Reading 1 – Num 13:30,31

“Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, ‘We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.’ But the men who had gone up with him said, ‘We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are’ ” (Num 13:30,31).

Men of faith, even though they have not as yet received God’s promises, may with the eye of faith see that fulfillment, even when it is “far off”. Then in spirit they “receive” those promises to themselves, and “embrace” them, and act as though they are already theirs (Heb 11:13).

Ten men who failed to see God saw cities impregnably high;

Two men, looking “far off” to God, saw doom for those cities draw nigh.

Ten men who failed to see God saw giants frightfully tall;

Two men, looking “far off” to God, saw giants as grasshoppers small.

Ten men who failed to see God reported, “We’re certain to fail”;

Two men, looking “far off” to God, cried, “Up! for with God we prevail!”

Ten men who failed to see God discouraged their brother men;

Two men perceived God everywhere; are you of the two — or the ten?

Reading 2 – Pro 8:1

“Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice?” (Pro 8:1).

“We have found the ‘Truth’: the saving Gospel of the Kingdom of God and the things concerning the Name of Jesus Christ. That is fine. That is indeed vital (and let us make sure we always HAVE it, and not just HAD it. The mind is leaky. We must keep refreshing and replenishing it). But, have we found THE truth? Have we ‘gone on to perfection’ — to completion? — right to the heart and core of the matter? ‘He that loseth his life shall save it’… ‘A man must forsake all he has to be my disciple.’ Have we ‘lost’ our (natural) life, and forsaken all of it? — total submission, total self-emptying, total yielding, total humility, total devotion, total service, total love, TOTAL ‘peace with God’? This is what God gently, reasonably, lovingly asks of us. Do we love Him enough to give it? This is what ‘love’ means. Is it worth it? Is eternity worth that much effort and application? Can we give less than all, and safely presume on God’s ‘mercy’ — or that hopefully He will not notice that we are selfishly ‘keeping back part of the price’? Human beings are congenital gamblers: that is part of the ingrained ‘works of the flesh’. But are not the stakes here a little too high, the risks a little too great? Doth not wisdom cry a warning?” (GVG).

Reading 3 – Luk 22:14,15

“When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, ‘I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer’ ” (Luk 22:14,15).

“What the disciples could not know is that even while he encompassed them in this simple memorial, his eyes were lifted beyond them down the years that were to be; towards disciples gathered in caves with Roman soldiers dogging their steps; towards men and women dying in the mountains with his Name upon their lips; towards a faithful remnant struggling to keep the faith in a closing age of folly and darkness. He saw countless disciples down the years and over the world, humble disciples who lived and died unknown. He saw them living out their little lives with their hopes and their fears, their struggles and their failures, their prayers and their victories. He came quietly to them with his invitation, ‘With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.’ And in humble earnestness had come their answer, ‘With desire we desire to meet at thy table, Lord.’ And so obediently they came, they remembered, they loved, they went back to their tasks inspired by his presence, resolved to struggle on. Eventually they died, faithful to the end, not having received the promise but having seen it afar off” (Melva Purkis, “Life of Jesus” 322,323).

Reading 1 – Num 13:31–14:4

“But the men who had gone up with him said, ‘We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.’ And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, ‘The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.’ That night all the people of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, ‘If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert!’ ” (Num 13:31-14:1).

Spiritually, they did “die in Egypt”, for they never completely left. Physically, they died in the wilderness, short of the Promised Land (Num 14:28,29) — all that generation, except for Joshua and Caleb, perished before reaching the land God had promised to them.

*****

” ‘Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?’ And they said to each other, ‘We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt’ ” (Num 14:3,4).

Egypt was the symbol of sin and bondage (Joh 8:34; Rom 6:16; Tit 3:3; 2Pe 2:19). It had held their fathers in bondage, until death, and now although this generation was “free” of Egypt — physically — it still held their souls, their minds, and their hearts in bondage; and they would never really escape!

“One bold push forward, and their feet would tread on their inheritance. But, as is so often the case, courage oozed out at the decisive moment, and cowardice, disguised as prudence, called for ‘further information,’ that cuckoo-cry of the fainthearted” (J Sidlow Baxter, “Explore the Book” 1:179).

Reading 2 – Pro 10:22

“The blessing of the LORD brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it” (Pro 10:22).

Does this mean that there will be no trouble in life for those who are blessed by God? Of course not! It means that — while there will inevitably be troubles in life for EVERYONE — the special spiritual blessings that come from God will never add more troubles to those which must come.

“Material blessings, however real and desirable they may be, always bring an accompaniment of sorrow. It is a blessing to live as a human being, but ‘man is born to trouble’. It is a blessing to have good parents, but the better they are the sadder it is to lose them, and go they must. It is a blessing to have health and strength, some say the greatest of personal blessings, but the strong man who has never ailed feels most keenly the loss of strength when his time comes. It is sad for a man to be cut off in his prime while still he had seemed capable of doing good work, but it is still sadder for him to live on until all powers have failed. Yet in merely human life it is one end or the other for all of us. It is a great blessing for a man to find a ‘help’ ‘meet for him’. The Proverbs express this thought more than once. ‘Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the Lord.’ Yet from this blessing arises the most poignant sorrow that a human being can experience, for the years pass by like the turning of the pages of a book, and the time of inevitable parting is only a few leaves further on.

“It is a great blessing to have children, yet all parents experience the addition of sorrow, for even if the children all live, even if they are strong, virtuous and fortunate, they have nevertheless entered an evil world, the way cannot be all smooth for them and parents must share their troubles and anxieties as long as life may last. So even at the best there is an addition of sorrow and too often we do not experience the best. Disease and death or folly and misfortune so often add to the sorrows of parents.

“If we wanted to imagine a human being who should be free from all such pain, we should have to think of one without blessings, without friends or companions; one leading an animal life and finding it hard work to live at all. He would have no real sorrow because he had no real joys, and death would not be an enemy, because life had never been a friend.

“Sometimes we have seen the close of an unusually serene and happy life. It seems that nearly all possible blessings have attended. Husband and wife have spent an ideal married life and have grown old together without any serious failing of their mental powers or any of that hardening angularity which so often mars the last chapter. They have grown mellow with the advance of years, and when nearly all of their generation have passed away, they have lived feebly on, commanding the love and respect of all who knew them. Then one day the messenger of death has arrived, hastening as if to make up for delay. One of the lives is taken by disease and the other nickers out through the shock of parting. ‘They were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in death were not divided’, as we heard quoted over the grave of such a pair. A sympathetic observer remarks on the sadness of the end. The one spared by disease could not survive the shock of separation after so many years of close companionship, and so quickly followed to darkness and silence. It is rightly described as sad, and yet it is the best that human life has to offer. It is far more sad to be torn in two while there is still sufficient strength to survive the shock and so live on. Saddest of all perhaps for life to become so painful that death is a release…

“It is so with all ordinary blessings of life, but not with the special blessing offered by God to all who will hear His call. Spiritual riches which can be ours even now, bring no conclusions of disgust or sadness, nor any fear of being robbed. They will not save us from the sorrows of human life, but they will help us to bear the pain. They do not arrest the process of decay in the dark streets of a Gentile city, but they give us hope of a better city to come” (Islip Collyer, “Principles and Proverbs” 191-194).

Reading 3 – Luk 23:11

“Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate” (Luk 23:11).

The KJV calls these soldiers “men of war” — a phrase which is true enough to the original text, but is especially apt, as an example of supreme irony! What “men of war” they were! Courageous and unrelenting in their mockery of a man who could not — or, more precisely, would not — defend himself!

We cannot help but remember that an earlier Herod — father of this one — had sent his “men of war” out to the village of Bethlehem, where they seized the babies from their mothers, and butchered them (Mat 2:16)!

The world has such “men of war” today — they may be seen executing innocents and raping young women, stealing from the poor, and polluting themselves with every vice, in the “third-world” backwaters of the world… whose sole claims to legitimacy are cheap uniforms and deadly weapons, who serve men every bit as vile as the Herods.

May the true “Man of war” return soon, riding on a white horse, and leading the armies of heaven, to destroy once and for all such would-be “men of war” (Rev 19:11-14)!

Reading 1 – Num 15:37-40

“The LORD said to Moses, ‘Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the LORD, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes. Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God’ ” (Num 15:37-40).

“What nation under heaven can show a feature of civilisation like this? Talk of the fashions for the month. Here is a fashion for ever! whose sole object was to keep before the mind the one thing most odious of all others to the taste of the followers of Parisian models. It shows more eloquently than anything else the place which God should have in human life, according to God’s view of the matter, and His view alone is the one which will prevail with the children of wisdom. All other views are bound to become as extinct as the vegetation of the carboniferous era” (Robert Roberts, “Law of Moses” 81).

Reading 2 – Pro 11:25

“A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed” (Pro 11:25).

“We are here taught the great lesson, that to get, we must give; that to accumulate, we must scatter; that to make ourselves happy, we must make others happy; and that in order to become spiritually vigorous, we must seek the spiritual good of others. In watering others, we are ourselves watered. How? Our efforts to be useful, bring out our powers for usefulness. We have latent talents and dormant faculties, which are brought to light by exercise. Our strength for labour is hidden even from ourselves, until we venture forth to fight the Lord’s battles, or to climb the mountains of difficulty. We do not know what tender sympathies we possess until we try to dry the widow’s tears, and soothe the orphan’s grief. We often find in attempting to teach others, that we gain instruction for ourselves. Oh, what gracious lessons some of us have learned at sick beds! We went to teach the Scriptures, we came away blushing that we knew so little of them. In our converse with poor saints, we are taught the way of God more perfectly for ourselves and get a deeper insight into divine truth. So that watering others makes us humble. We discover how much grace there is where we had not looked for it; and how much the poor saint may outstrip us in knowledge. Our own comfort is also increased by our working for others. We endeavour to cheer them, and the consolation gladdens our own heart. Like the two men in the snow; one chafed the other’s limbs to keep him from dying, and in so doing kept his own blood in circulation, and saved his own life. The poor widow of Sarepta [1Ki 17:9] gave from her scanty store a supply for the prophet’s wants, and from that day she never again knew what want was. Give then, and it shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, and running over” (CH Spurgeon).

Reading 3 – Luk 24:2

“They found the stone rolled away from the tomb” (Luk 24:2).

Was ever a mountain so “large” as the great stone which sealed Christ’s tomb? Truly, as miracles go, no miracle has been or could be so great as the one that caused this “very large” stone to be removed, and thus proclaimed Christ’s tomb to be open… forevermore.

Jesus had told his followers, “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him’ ” (Mar 11:23). Of course, we have trouble with moving literal mountains, even as we have trouble explaining this passage.

But seen from a spiritual perspective, isn’t the greatest “mountain” of difficulty — which no man can move — death and the grave? Engineers with bulldozers and explosives can move even literal mountains. But who among them can move the mountainous “stone” that covers the grave? Not a one!

And even the disciples of Jesus could not move such a stone from the mouth of his sepulcher… not at that time; they were weeping in sorrow, and hiding in fear. It was the faith of Jesus alone — though he was dead and unconscious in the tomb — that moved the hand of the angels of God, and rolled back the stone. It may be said that the greatest miracle that Jesus ever performed was this: the blood of this wholly righteous man cried out from the depths of the earth, and the Father heard!

Do WE, today, have faith to move mountains? The answer, I believe, is really another question: ‘Do WE have faith that the greatest “mountain” has already been moved?’ “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mar 11:24). Our faith may be — not a prospective — but a retrospective faith: we look backward, and ask, ‘Do I really believe that the “mountain” has been moved?’ If we truly believe that, then — it is absolutely sure and certain — ALL THINGS are possible for us!

Reading 1 – Num 16

“One of the most serious threats to the unity of the nation… was the affair of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. It arose directly because a purely fleshly reasoning caused the men concerned to press their personal importance to the detriment of the good of the nation as a whole. They fell into the error of ‘not holding fast the Head, from whom all the body, being supplied and knit together through the joints and bands, increaseth with the increase of God’ (Col 2:19). Their action was based upon premises that seemed sound enough: ‘All the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them’ (Num 16:3). These were the words on the lips of the ‘250 princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown’, men who according to the record, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram ‘took’. Much lies concealed behind those words! One can imagine the secret meetings, the passing on of information from mouth to mouth, the fomenting of trouble, the sowing of discord, and all because Korah, being a son of Levi, desired to play the part assigned to others of his tribe, and Dathan and Abiram thought their tribe, the tribe of Reuben, deserving of greater pre-eminence than that to which God had called them!

“What is the relation of all this to ourselves as a community?… Our heritage is no less [than that of Israel], for the same God is working towards unity in Christ in the Ecclesia, which is both a body and a commonwealth….The people of Israel had a history of fragmentation and division which began in the wilderness and for which there are two principal reasons: Firstly, they had no sense of devotion to the Lord, whose Name was revealed in His mighty acts of power and compassion on their behalf….Their loss of the vision of the Divine glory caused them to yearn for Egypt, and ultimately to refuse to believe that they were the people whom God would bring into the land of His promise. They fragmented because they had no faith in the purpose of their calling.

“The other reason for their disunity was their failure to keep in mind, much less to comprehend the concept of the unity of their people, or to realize that the purpose of God was not with individuals or with tribes as such, but with ‘all Israel’, to whose wellbeing individuals and tribes contributed by playing each their several and necessary parts. Any fellowship other than that which acknowledges that one is our Head and all we are brethren is still, as it has always proved to be, a fellowship of opposition which leads to further fragmentation within the dissident group itself. As far as we can tell from a survey of our own history and that of Israel, there is no exception to this principle” (AH Nicholls, “The Christadelphian” 115:42,43).

Reading 2 – Pro 12:10

“A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel” (Pro 12:10).

This is a good verse, and an insightful one. The plain fact is… the animal can almost never do anything to hurt the owner, and will — one way or another — probably be as devoted to the master whether it is hurt or not. (The devotion, or even “love”, of some horses, or dogs, for their masters has become legend — the stuff of great novels.) So to care for one’s animals — whether it’s a farmer with work and farm animals, or the pet owner — is to demonstrate, to some degree, that we are conscious of a God in Heaven, who takes notice of what we do to others.

There can always be a measure of self-interest in our “doing good” to others: perhaps we invite others to dinner, knowing full well that they will invite us in turn. Perhaps we give to charities, knowing that others will think better of us for doing so. Perhaps we are courteous and “kind”, knowing that little acts like this will “oil” the wheels of commerce and business… and help us materially. Perhaps we “feel the pain” of others, in some kind of pseudo-sympathy, merely to “get on” in the world. Perhaps we act friendly merely to “pick the pockets” of the beguiled buyer.

Somewhere in this list of “small kindnesses” there is really “cruelty”… because we may have stopped caring for others, and are only caring for ourselves, advancing our interests, making more money, whatever… It is then that “the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel”, as the proverb says.

So if you want to know if a man is really kind — deep-down, honestly “kind”, and not just “self-interested” — you might want to see how he treats dumb animals, or even how he treats people who can’t do anything to hurt… or help… him.

Reading 3 – Gal 2:21

“I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” (Gal 2:21).

“This may be one of those verses that you casually glide by in reading, but it is a concept that has tremendous implications for the person who will but study its meaning.

“The initial implication for the verse is simple. The Judaizers, believers in Jesus who taught that salvation still came through following the Law of Moses, had put themselves in an untenable position. They had, in effect by their teaching, made Christ’s death on the cross meaningless. Paul states the logic as follows: (1) If salvation comes by the Law of Moses, and (2) we already have the Law of Moses, then (3) Jesus did not have to come into the world to save us, and thus (4) his death was meaningless. The Judaizers had made the Law of Moses the thing that needed to fill the ‘salvation gap’ — the gap between baptism and salvation in the Kingdom. In other words, it was fine to believe in Jesus and become baptized as taught by Jesus and the apostles. However, the Judaizers inserted a step between baptism and the kingdom that enabled salvation. Their stopgap was the Law.

“We readily see the logic and validity of the argument when we apply it to the Law of Moses, but do we see it when we apply it to other things? Do we see that we commit the same error when we take that verse and subtract ‘the law’ and put something in its place? For example, let’s take out ‘the law’ and put in ‘works’ and see if the logic still holds? ‘I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by works, then Christ is dead in vain.’ The logic again is irrefutable. Isn’t this the logic of Eph 2:8,9?: ‘For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.’

“The fact is that everything — EVERYTHING — that can be done for us in the way of salvation… was done for us on the cross by Jesus Christ. We might be able to take ourselves out of the way of salvation by refusing to act on our ‘faith’, but we cannot do anything more to save ourselves than we did when we believed and were baptized into the saving name of Jesus. When we appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ, it is not to see if WE have saved ourselves, but to see if we have keep the precious gift of salvation that we were given in an appropriate manner… or have we buried our talent in the ‘earth’ of our flesh?

“All human-created fillers for the ‘salvation gap’ — works, Bible study, being nice to our neighbors, etc — as important as they may be, will not save us because that work has already been finished. When we do those things (and rest assured we MUST do those things), it is not to save ourselves, but because we have been saved. These acts of faith must be done or we do not possess the faith that saved us in the first place.

“We fear this position because it hurts our human pride. We have nothing to brag about (which is the point in the first place). We also fear, like Paul’s Judaizing opponents are quoted as saying, ‘Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?’ This too is a complete misapplication of Scripture. Having our names written in the Book of Life is not about license to sin, but about understanding the process of salvation. The last thing we want to do is be guilty of teaching that ‘Christ is dead in vain’ ” (Kyle Tucker).

Reading 1 – Num 18:20

“The LORD said to Aaron, ‘You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any share among them; I am your share and your inheritance among the Israelites’ ” (Num 18:20).

“When the Lord divided Canaan among the tribes of Israel, Levi received no share of the land. God said to him simply, ‘I am thy part and thine inheritance,’ and by those words made him richer than all his brethren, richer than all the kings and rajas who have ever lived in the world. And there is a spiritual principle here, a principle still valid for every priest of the Most High God. The man who has God for his treasure has all things in One. Many ordinary treasures may be denied him, or if he is allowed to have them, the enjoyment of them will be so tempered that they will never be necessary to his happiness. Or if he must see them go, one after one, he will scarcely feel a sense of loss, for having the Source of all things he has in One all satisfaction, all pleasure, all delight. Whatever he may lose he has actually lost nothing, for he now has it all in One, and he has it purely, legitimately and forever” (AW Tozer).

Reading 2 – Pro 13:24

“He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him” (Pro 13:24).

” ‘Spare the rod and spoil the child’ is a saying known to everyone. Solomon was even more definite. He declared that a man who spared the rod hated his son. It is hardly possible to think of anything more emphatic.

“In interpreting ‘the dark sayings of the wise’, however, we must not always insist on the literal even where the literal could easily be applied. No one would take this reference to hatred in a literal sense, for it is quite certain that a destructive leniency is usually the expression of a genuine but foolish love. The saying means that the effect of parental weakness is so bad that it is akin to hatred in its effects even though love is the cause of it. The saying is intelligible and forceful but not strictly literal. Why then insist on nothing but an actual rod and physical pain in the other part of the saying? Correction may be made by word and look and in a hundred different manipulations of circumstances, some of which may be more effective than the rod, although even that may sometimes be necessary” (Islip Collyer, “Principles and Proverbs”).

Reading 3 – Gal 3:8

“The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through you’ ” (Gal 3:8).

“[This] was God’s promise to Abraham before he left his native Ur to go to the land of promise (Gen 12:3). This purpose was repeated as the ground of God’s communication concerning the overthrow of Sodom. ‘Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?’ (Gen 18:17,18). What is the blessing here promised? We perhaps think firstly of the material blessings of Christ’s reign, the era of peace, the establishment of justice, the abundance of food; houses for all; security based on law; the removal of tyranny, bloodshed, oppression and torture of all forms; the bringing of enlightenment, and love of the things that are best to all. It is true that these things are included, as the glowing pictures of the prophets of the coming age abundantly show: but they are not the first or the most important blessing. Paul quotes the words… as proof that God would justify the Gentiles through faith. ‘All the nations’ included Gentiles as well as Jews — clearly, therefore, the blessing of Abraham is for Gentiles. The proof that God would justify them lies in the word ‘blessed’ — in other words, when God said the nations would be blessed the promise concerned the justification of the nations” (John Carter, “Galatians” 66).

Reading 1 – Num 19:7

“After that, the priest must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water. He may then come into the camp, but he will be ceremonially unclean till evening” (Num 19:7).

In the offering of the red heifer, as a means of cleansing from the defilement of death, the priest becomes so much associated with the sacrifice, that he becomes unclean himself. Thus the lesson is taught: to remove death, he must first become subject to it (Rom 8:3; Heb 2:14).

“The ashes of a slain heifer applied to a man defiled by death, was a curing of death by death. This is precisely what has happened in the antitype: Christ, ‘through death, destroyed that having the power of death, that is, the devil’ (Heb 2:14). How could he do this if he had not in himself the power of death to destroy by dying? He has destroyed death. But in whom? In himself alone as yet. Believers will obtain the benefit by incorporation with him at the resurrection: but, at the present time, the victory is his alone. The fact is plain to everyone. Some who admire Christ are horror-struck at the idea of his having been a partaker of the Adamic condemned nature — a nature defiled by death because of sin. Their horror is due wholly to too great a confinement of view. They fix their attention on the idea of ‘defilement’ without remembering that the defilement was undertaken expressly with a view to removal.

“We must have God’s revealed object in view. The power of death was there that it might be destroyed. If it was not there, it could not be destroyed. This is the mischief of what may be truly called the Papal view. By denying that Jesus came in the very dying flesh of Adam, it changes the character of the death of Christ into a martyrdom or a punishing of the innocent for the guilty: instead of being what it is revealed to have been — a declaration of the righteousness of God that He might be just, while the justifier of those who have faith in it for the forgiveness of their sins (Rom 3:24-26)” (RR, Law of Moses 264,265).

Reading 2 – Pro 14:1

“The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down” (Pro 14:1).

“Perhaps this has a meaning even on the most material plane. Some women take steps to improve their houses as time goes on, while others let everything go to ruin. We have even heard of people breaking up some of the woodwork of their houses and burning it through foolish indolence or still more foolish anger. On a slightly less material plane we have noticed the extraordinary difference between the woman who builds a home of confidence, unselfishness and love and the one who pulls a home to pieces by suspicion, jealousy and a generally negative attitude. On a higher plane still, the saying is true of the corporate woman formed through the ages. Those who desire to be constituent members of the bride to be, must be wise. They must build the house and not pull it down” (Islip Collyer, “Principles and Proverbs” 134).

Reading 3 – Gal 5:22,23

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Gal 5:22,23).

Love is THE ‘fruit’ of the Spirit. Love is the basis of every other aspect of Spiritual fruit. Therefore, there are not nine separate fruits; rather, there is ONE fruit, in eight separate manifestations:

JOY is love exalted.

PEACE is love in repose.

PATIENCE is love enduring.

KINDNESS is love in society.

GOODNESS is love in action.

FAITHFULNESS is love overcoming.

GENTLENESS is love in submission.

SELF-CONTROL is love under discipline.

Reading 1 – Deu 2:15

“The LORD’S hand was against them until he had completely eliminated them from the camp” (Deu 2:15).

This was the “pruning” (which is the meaning of “Zered”: cp v 13) of the murmurers over 38 years. “His power was exerted in a way of wrath and vengeance on them, for their murmurings at the report of the spies; and therefore, it is no wonder they were consumed, for strong is His hand, and high is His right hand; and when lifted up it falls heavy, and there is no standing up under it, or against it: it smote them with one disease or another, or brought one judgment or another upon them: as the sword of Amalek, by which many were cut off, and the plague at Shittim in the plains of Moab, in which died 24,000; besides the destruction of Korah and his company, which was quickly after the affair of the spies, and the plague at that time, of which died 14,700; and thus, by one stroke after another, he went on to destroy them from among the host until they were consumed, even all of them but two” (John Gill).

Reading 2 – Pro 29:20

“Do you see a man who speaks in haste? There is more hope for a fool than for him” (Pro 29:20).

“We can bring ourselves into line if we frequently raise the question: what is our aim in speaking? Speech may be with the object of giving instruction, or putting questions to receive instruction, or it may be in the ordinary amenities of social life. We can think of nothing else unless it is mere self-expression, a talk for the love of talking. Where is there room for any ill-feeling to be expressed in any of these opportunities for speech? In the ordinary amenities of life there is surely every reason for good feelings which may be revealed freely with only good effects. If anyone is so unfortunate as to find ill-feeling at home, then a desperate effort should be made to avoid any aggravation of it. Words provocative of anger are always out of place in the home, but they are especially to be deprecated when such provocation has already begun. If a little fire started in a dry corner of the house, no man would be fool enough to throw petrol on it. It is strange that men should often be so ready to feed that more terrible flame, which, as the apostle James says, is set on fire of hell. Homes have been wrecked and lives made sad by the folly of hasty and ill-tempered speech. It is perfectly true, as the wise man says, that there is more hope for a fool than for a man who is hasty in his words” (Islip Collyer, “Principles and Proverbs”).

Reading 3 – John 12:8

“You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me” (John 12:8).

It has been said: “Since Jesus said, ‘The poor you have with you always’ (John 12:8), and we cannot change the world, why should we bother trying?”. But Jesus did not say, “Forget the poor because they are always there.” He said, in effect, “You will always have opportunities to help the poor.” When Jesus was present, his followers lavished gifts upon him, and they did well. But now that he is absent, we may forget that we can give gifts to Jesus just as well by helping his poor brethren. Who would ignore the needs of the Master? But now he sits at the right hand of God, and he no longer needs the cup of cold water, the food, the clothing. But someone else — who bears his holy name, or might — does!