Reading 1 – Ezr 10:1

“While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God, a large crowd of Israelites — men, women and children — gathered around him. They too wept bitterly” (Ezra 10:1).

“Human life is a river which flows evenly along from day to day; but it is a river like the Zambesi or the Congo, not without its rapids and its falls. Usually it flows silently, but sometimes it dashes along with impetuosity and uproar. So is it with our Christian life, with our religious course. There are things exceptional as well as things ordinary and regular, for which room must be made by ourselves and allowance by other people. There may be, as here at this juncture in the life of Ezra and the returned Jews, a time of exceptional exhibition of feeling. Ezra ‘wept’, ie, made lamentation, audible and visible, in presence of all the people, and instead of standing or kneeling he cast himself down, and lay prostrate in the temple court, in order to impress on the multitude the strength of his feeling, and the critical character of the present emergency. And his example proved contagious, for all the people ‘wept very sore’, and there was a great and general outpouring of emotion. Ordinarily our feelings are wisely kept under control. In this country we are, indeed, apt to press this a few points too far, and let self-control pass into a chill or cold reserve. But self-control gives force and dignity to character, and almost anything is better than habitually giving way to tempestuous feeling. Men that are constantly violent in their expression of feeling are disregarded if not despised; they lose all influence over others; they expend themselves in trifles, and have nothing in reserve for large occasions. But there are times when feeling may be freely poured forth; when, as in Ezra’s case, there is urgent reason for exciting others to feel as we do; or when, as in the case of the people, there is general fervour in which it would be unsympathising or unpatriotic not to share. It is a very noble sight when a whole people mourns with an honourable repentance, or arises in holy indignation, or braces itself up to a generous struggle, or rejoices with a pure and holy joy. Then let feeling swell to its highest tide; let it pour itself forth as ‘the mighty waves of the sea’ ” (Pulpit Commentary).

Reading 2 – Hos 11:1

The flight of Joseph’s family into Egypt, and their return after the death of the king, are shown by Matthew to be a fulfillment of Hosea’s prophecy: “Out of Egypt I called my son” (Mat 2:15; quoting from Hos 11:1).

God’s Son in the Old Testament was a national, plural “son” (Exo 4:22,23), but in the New Testament the prophecy is given a definitely singular emphasis. The reason is not difficult to grasp. “Not all who are descended from Israel are Israel” (Rom 2:28; 9:6), and only those with the faith of Abraham are fit to be called his “children” (Rom 4:11-13; Gal 3:8,9; Mat 3:8,9; John 8:33,39). According to the apostle Paul, Jesus was the singular seed of Abraham (Gal 3:16); he proved his claim to that family inheritance by perfectly obeying the will of God. In doing so he became the “hope of Israel”, the singular and only-begotten Son, through whom others might become “sons”, associated with the promises to the fathers of Israel. Like Moses before him, but in a fuller and richer sense, Jesus will bring “Israel” out of “Egypt” (symbolic of sin and death, Rev 11:8) by the blood, not of a passover lamb, but of himself, the Lamb of God (John 1:29) and the true passover (1Co 5:7; Heb 13:20).

The exodus from Egypt is a parable, then, of our redemption in Christ, and a foreshadowing of Christ’s role as the true passover for the true Israel. How appropriate then that in the life of him who is the “Israel” — the “prince with God” (cp Isa 49:3) — there should be a physical coming out of Egypt as a preview of the greater salvation which is the keynote of our Lord’s mission!

The allegory is even more firmly grounded in Scripture. The first acts of Christ after reaching maturity, as a prelude to entering upon his life’s work, also follow the “Egypt-pass-over” pattern. His baptism echoes the “baptism” of God’s national son in the Red Sea (1Co 10:1,2). His 40-day wilderness temptation likewise finishes the 40-year wilderness trial of the children of Israel. Where the nation in the wilderness grumbled and failed, the Son in the wilderness brings Scripture to bear upon his temptations, resists them in faith, and succeeds!

The theme of Hosea

“Out of Egypt I called my son” (Hos 11:1; quoted in Mat 2:15).

Matthew does not quote Hosea as an isolated phrase that “sounds good”. It should never be supposed that Bible quotations are mere verbal “echoes” without substance. There are definite themes throughout the book of Hosea which find confirmation and fulfillment in the life of Christ, of which Hos 11:1 is but one example.

Two consistent threads run through the whole of Hosea’s prophecy:

God’s continuing love for His people; Israel’s continuing rejection of that love.

In God’s eyes Israel is an unfaithful wife as well as a wayward, rebellious child. Israel the unfaithful wife never quite puts away her adulteries, yet Yahweh, her Husband and Lord, is patient and full of mercy. Israel the wayward child never quite “grows up”, yet Yahweh gently takes him by the hand and with “ties of love” leads him out of danger (Hos 11:3,4). Though Israel backslides and falls away again and again, still the Father will not forget His “son”: “How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel?” (v 8).

In counterpoint to God’s abiding love there is Israel’s stubborn rebellion and rejection. Israel rejects God, rejects God’s Son, and finally is rejected by God, whose longsuffering can be stretched no further. This reciprocal rejection is the constant theme of the last sections of Hosea’s prophecy, and is especially evident in the verses preceding Hos 11:1:

Hos 9:7: “The days of punishment [literally, visitation] are coming” — The “King”, Jesus, visits his city and is rejected. “They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you” (Luke 19:44). Hos 9:9: “The days of Gibeah” — an echo of “Gabbatha” (John 19:13), the judgment seat where the King was at last and conclusively rejected. Hos 9:10: “The early fruit on the fig tree” — “nothing on it except leaves” (Mat 21:19), and the “fig tree” nation of Israel is cursed by Jesus. Hos 9:12: “Even if they rear children, I will bereave them of every one” — an evident similarity to Jer 31:15, the slaughter of the Bethlehem children. Hos 9:14: “Give them wombs that miscarry and breasts that are dry” — Because Israel rejected God in crucifying His Son, they would themselves be rejected: “Jesus turned and said to them, ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. For the time will come when you will say, “Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!” ‘ ” (Luke 23:28,29). Hos 9:15: “All their wickedness (is) in Gilgal” — a possible reference to “Golgotha”. “I will drive them out of my house” — the cleansing of the temple, not once, but twice (John 2:13-17; Mat 21:12, 13). “Look, your house is left to you desolate” (Mat 23:38). Hos 9:17: “They will be wanderers among the nations.” Hos 10:3: “Then they will say, ‘We have no king’ ” — that is, no king but Caesar (John 19:15). Hos 10:5: “Its splendor, because it is taken from them into exile” — “For I tell you, you will not see me again…” (Mat 23: 39). Hos 10:8: “Thorns and thistles will grow up and cover their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, ‘Cover us!’ and to the hills, ‘Fall on us!’ ” — This is cited explicitly in Luke 23:30. Hos 10:15: “When that day dawns, the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.”

Hosea sees the cutting off of Israel’s king as the nation’s final break with its God. Israel will now suffer at God’s hands and be rejected — for a long age at least — while God’s love is transferred to a new Son, Jesus the spiritual “Israel”. Through him a new nation, a new “Israel”, will be created.

“Who is wise? He will realize these things. Who is discerning? He will understand them” (Hos 14 9).

Matthew and the rejection of the king

Against this backdrop of Hosea, then, Matthew, and his reference to Hos 11:1, may be seen in perspective. Matthew’s is the Gospel that particularly portrays Jesus as the king of Israel: he is born to be a king, announced by a heavenly sign, worshiped by Gentile “kings” who lay their treasures at his feet. He preaches the coming of the Kingdom in his own person, and its final establishment in his return in royal power and authority, as portrayed in many parables: “The kingdom of heaven is like unto…”

As with Hosea, however, there is a darker side to the picture of God’s love shown toward and through His Son. There is the familiar two-fold rejection: Israel’s rejection of God’s King, and God’s consequent rejection of Israel. Even in the beginning, Christ is hunted by the murderous Herod, “King of the Jews”, who will allow no one to rule over him, and thus the family must flee to Egypt (Mat 2:13-15; Hos 11:1). As Matthew’s Gospel unfolds, the kingly parables give way to more forbidding ones — like those of the vineyard, and the sheep and the goats — which speak of rejection and judgment. Israel’s destiny is sealed when, in a fateful morning, they utterly cut off their king. “We will not have this man to reign over us,” they say, but at the end they will find themselves rejected with “weeping and gnashing of teeth”.

In view of the foregoing, Hos 11:1 may be seen not as an isolated verbal link, but as part of a continuous theme found both in the prophet and the Gospel.

Reading 3 – Col 2:19

“…The Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow” (Col 2:19).

“The ecclesia is the body of Christ, who is its Head. All the members look to him for guidance, all actively accept his call for service to him and to all the rest of his body. Harmony between the members in their work and life in the Faith is obtained only secondarily by considering working arrangements with one another. Primarily it is secured by looking to and listening to the Head, obedience to whose counsels brings peace to all ecclesias of saints. Jesus and the spirit of Jesus were all that mattered to the first century brethren. The rest followed naturally. The apostles did not preach themselves or their arrangements; they preached Christ Jesus the Lord. Their knowledge was only of Jesus Christ and of him crucified, their glorying not in the ecclesial organization they were building up, but in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. All things but him were loss. The Truth was not primarily a set of doctrines; the Truth was Jesus. The Life was not essentially a series of injunctions and prohibitions, the Life was Jesus. They were all brethren of Jesus, believers in Jesus, called out (ecclesia) and set apart (saints) by and for Jesus” (JB Norris, “First Century Ecclesia” 164,165).

Reading 1 – Neh 2:18

Many lessons of a very practical nature might be gleaned from the inspired diary of “the king’s cupbearer” (Neh 1:11). For the present purposes, however, we shall concentrate on the qualities of character that constituted Nehemiah “a wise masterbuilder” (1Co 3:10) and give us guidelines to do likewise.

Having learned from his brother Hanani (Neh 1:2) that the wall of Jerusalem was broken down and the gates burned (v 3), Nehemiah pleaded with Artaxerxes for permission to travel to the land of his fathers to promote a reconstruction program (Neh 2:1-8). After a long and rigorous journey he finally arrived at Jerusalem; within only three days, ever the tireless worker, he was up and about on an inspection tour of the city and its fortifications. Nehemiah found many adversaries ready to hinder the work (v 10), while very few were willing to help in the building.

After viewing the desolations, he called the nobles and the priests together and explained his purpose, and how the king had supported him. They were so impressed that their response was immediate, concerted, and sincere — “Let us rise up and build” (Neh 2:18). The work was well-organized by Nehemiah, and construction began without delay.

But it did not go perfectly; the characters of Nehemiah and his brethren, like ours, must be tempered by adversity and hardship. There was opposition from the neighboring Samaritans and Gentiles, who used both guile and physical threats in an attempt to intimidate Nehemiah and impede his work. Most troublesome yet, there were internal dissensions: the Tekoite nobles would not “put their necks to the work” (Neh 3:5), and the men of Judah were prophets of pessimism (Neh 4:10). But Nehemiah did not despair, or lose hope; he maintained his impressive example and cheerful disposition at all times. It was characteristic of this man (and typical of Christ!) that he prayed for the forgiveness of the sins of the people as though they were his sins too! “We have sinned”, said he, and he was willing to share in the guilt of his nation, his “ecclesia” (Neh 1:6,7). The knowledge of the sins of his brethren did not discourage him, nor impel him to disassociate himself from the work, but only to redouble his efforts to bring the nation to repentance and finish their task. His enthusiasm was infectious, and the great work of repairing the wall was completed in only 52 days (Neh 6:15), “for the people had a mind to work” (Neh 4:6).

Reading 2 – Hos 12:3,4

“In the womb he [Jacob] grasped his brother’s heel; as a man he struggled with God. He struggled with the angel and overcame him; he wept and begged for his favor. He found him at Bethel and talked with him there” (Hos 12:3,4).

Jacob received his name (“Supplanter”, or “the one who grabs by the heel”) when he grasped his brother’s heel while he was still in the womb of his mother Rebekah (Gen 25:26). This was a preview of the grasping character that marked him all his life (Gen 27:35,36).

In later life — “as a man” — Jacob also continued to struggle or wrestle with God. In fact, Jacob was contending with God when he wrestled with the angel at Peniel. Yet there he prevailed over God’s angel — not by strength of arm — but by weeping and pleading with him to bless him (Gen 32:22-32).

This event was a turning point in Jacob’s life because he finally realized that he could not succeed simply by manipulation and trickery. He recognized His need for God’s help and turned to Him in desperation. This was the occasion of Jacob’s repentance.

Another significant event in Jacob’s life was when he returned to Bethel, where God had appeared to him in a dream years earlier (Gen 28:10-22). This return to Bethel and the act of worship Jacob performed there were in obedience to God’s word to him to go there and fulfill his former vow (Gen 35:1-14).

This too was an act of submissive obedience and resulted in God changing Jacob’s name to Israel (which signifies “prince with God”), blessing him, and renewing the Abrahamic covenant with him.

It is ironic that the place where Jacob put himself right with God was Bethel, since Bethel was the place where the Israelites went wrong by worshipping idols. Jacob’s return to God at Bethel provided a good example for Israel: they might still set themselves right with God at the same place as their ancestor had!

Whereas the NIV has “and talked with HIM there”, the AV reads “and there he spake with US.” Several translations follow the LXX and Syriac: “there he spoke with HIM” (RSV, NEB, NIV) — while others follow the Masoretic Text: “there he spoke with US” (KJV, NASB).

The “us” reading very reasonably suggests that the prophet Hosea was keen to apply the lesson to himself and all Israelites. So often in the Bible, when God speaks to an individual, we should realize that — through the inspiration and preservation of the Scriptures and His providence — He is speaking with… every one of us! (In this connection, notice how the very last verse of Hosea emphasizes this point — that the whole of the book is given to ALL OF US, that is, to ANY who will listen!)

Reading 3 – Col 4:5

“Make the most of every opportunity” (Col 4:5).

“Redeem the time” (KJV). The Greek “exagorazo” means, literally, to buy out of the marketplace. What is being “bought”? If we are prudent, we are using the minutes and hours and days we have been given to “buy up the opportunities” in daily life to serve and glorify our Heavenly Father.

“Love, thankfulness, and knowledge of God: we never have enough. We never begin to have enough. The amount God will judge us by is the amount we could have developed in the time, opportunity, and ability He has given each one. Are we, as commanded, ‘redeeming the time’ — every moment? Or are we wasting it in folly and self-pleasing? What a tragedy to appear at the judgment seat of Christ in our cute little play-suit, full of jokes and games, but with our lamps and minds dark and empty! Who dares contemplate the shame and the hopeless remorse?” (GV Growcott).

If we had to buy time, would there be any difference in how we would spend it? Would the days of our lives be used more wisely? What if we had to pay in advance $100 an hour for the time allotted to us? Would we waste it?

Of course, we can’t put a price tag on the minutes and hours we possess. They are given to us freely. But that doesn’t excuse us from using them conscientiously, carefully, and wisely. The giver of time is God Himself, and that places a far greater value upon it than any monetary figure could suggest. We must therefore use our time intelligently, taking advantage of opportunities it provides for us to serve the Lord and to do His will.

Reading 1 – Neh 3

Nehemiah 3 enumerates 44 teams who begin work on the wall. Each team is assigned its own portion to build. Did some complain about the quality of their brethren’s work at other stations? Did others grumble because they could not be everywhere and do everything and supervise? Did some sit down and refuse to help? “We just are not sure that we can approve of all the details of this operation.” In the divine retrospect on the work of Nehemiah, all such petty hindrances and worries are put to one side. “Let us rise up and build” was the mandate; this call to the men of the city did not admit of any paltry quibbles. The work was too great to let personalities and prejudices and pride stand in the way.

It is the same with us as we strive to fortify God’s “city” today. There may be fears without, fightings within; but each brother, each individual ecclesia has pressing responsibilities near to home. Each of us has his portion of the “wall” to build, and no matter what we think of our neighbor’s building, or that “shoddy bit of work” way across on the other side, when the True Masterbuilder comes to inspect the work, each of us will be judged on his own portion!

“Every unit of the body must do its part by — ‘…speaking the Truth in love… growing up into him in all things, who is the head, even Christ: from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto edifying of itself in love’ (Eph 4:15,16).

This is the only formula of a true ecclesia. What we do for our brethren and sisters, is what we do to God. If what we do is dominated by love, all will be well, but if we are not truly motivated by love and kindness in all we say and do, there will be no edification, and no bodily growth, and we will be brought into condemnation, and will never enter the kingdom of God. For, said Jesus, ‘Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me’ (Mat 25:40).

Reading 2 – Hos 13:14

“I will ransom them from the power of the grave [Heb Sheol]; I will redeem them from death. Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, [Heb Sheol] is your destruction? I will have no compassion” (Hos 13:14).

The LORD asked rhetorically if He should buy the Israelites back out of death’s hand. Should He pay a price for their redemption?

And the answer, after reflection, is… No. In the case of Ephraim, compassion would be hidden from His sight; He would have no pity on them.

Later, we know, God DID provide a ransom for His people from the power of the grave, and a price of redemption from death. He did this through His Son, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross and rose again. God’s future redemptive work for His people meant that death would not be the end for Israel — even though judgment in the near future was inevitable.

Paul quoted this phrase in 1Co 15:55, and applied it to the effect of Christ’s redemption on all of God’s people. Because God did provide a ransom and redeemed His people, death and the grave are not the final judgment and resting place of the believer. God has a glorious future — beyond His punishment for sin — for His own people, both for national Israel (those who believe) and for Christians. God’s purpose will not be fulfilled in a regathered 10-tribe (or even 12-tribe) Israel only, but in a calling of faithful believers out of all nations, to inherit the “hope of Israel”.

Here in Hosea the promise is that the Israel of that day would indeed suffer death and the grave, not that she would escape it. But Paul turns the passage around, and shows that Jesus Christ’s resurrection overcame the judgment and death that are otherwise inevitable for sinners.

Reading 3 – 1Th 2:7,8

“We were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children” (1Th 2:7).

The word “nurse” describes any woman feeding a baby at her breast; in this case it is the mother herself, since Paul’s phrase is “her own children.” And the word “caring” (“thalpo”) means to keep warm, as a mother bird covering her young with her feathers (Deu 22:6, LXX); it is also used of the love of Christ the husband for the ecclesia his bride (Eph 5:29).

Thus there is presented the lovely picture of a mother suckling her baby at the warmth of her breast.

How fascinating to think that Paul — the learned Rabbi, the author of Romans and Ephesians, the wise and eloquent teacher of Mars Hill — could yet have it in him to think of himself and his converts in this way!

Paul continues: ” We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us” (v 8).

Still we may follow the imagery of v 7: the mother fondling the baby at her breast, and feeling her own life going out to it in her milk, to nourish it.

This, says Paul, is the only way to convey the gospel message to others: it must be given along with our own hearts and souls. It must be given with passion, with love, with life itself. How else could we attempt to preach the gospel of the God who “spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all” (Rom 8:32)? How else preach the gospel of Christ, “who gave himself for our sins” (Gal 1:4), who “poured out his soul unto death” (Isa 53:12)?

Reading 1 – Neh 4:9

“But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat” (Neh 4:9).

“Nehemiah was sent to Jerusalem by the king to with the authority to rebuild the wall. He is vehemently opposed by two individuals, Sanballat and Tobiah, and their cronies. The returning Israelites are forced to complete their work in odd fashion — half of them work while half of them stand guard.

“Perhaps you have struggled with the balance between faith and practical action. When faced with a situation, do we take immediate action or wait for an answer to our prayers?

“The amazing thing about this little verse is how practical it is for all of us. We all face Sanballats and Tobiahs in life. We are trying to do the best we can and for every block we built on the wall, they tear two down. We are faced with the question of what we are to do about it. We can determine ourselves to work twice as hard. We can sit back and pray that God will provide and answer. Nehemiah provides us with a little key that it might not be one or the other, but both.

“So many times when faced with life’s adversity, we will try to overcome with our own strength. We don’t necessarily seek the Lord’s guidance in our endeavor, but depend on ourselves or others. On the other hand, we may be tempted to wash our hands completely of the whole thing and simply ask God to fix everything.

“Nehemiah didn’t do just one, but both. He prayed and asked God’s guidance and then acted. His actions were not impetuous or prideful, but an act of faith. We recall that the ‘faith’ chapter of Heb 11 is not just men and women who sat around, but people of action. Abel offered. Noah prepared an ark. Abraham obeyed and went out. Sarah conceived. Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter and forsook Egypt. Rahab received the spies. Their faith in God could not be confined to the mind alone.

“It would benefit us all to pray to God and post a guard. Ask God for the strength, guidance and blessing of success in whatsoever we put our hands to do and then get to work” (Kyle Tucker).

Reading 2 – Hos 14

“O Ephraim… I am like a green pine tree; your fruitfulness comes from me” (Hos 14:8).

“Our fruit is found from our God as to union. The fruit of the branch is directly traceable to the root. Sever the connection, the branch dies, and no fruit is produced. By virtue of our union with Christ we bring forth fruit. Every bunch of grapes have been first in the root, it has passed through the stem, and flowed through the sap vessels, and fashioned itself externally into fruit, but it was first in the stem; so also every good work was first in Christ, and then is brought forth in us.

“Our fruit comes from God as to spiritual providence. When the dew-drops fall from heaven, when the cloud looks down from on high, and is about to distil its liquid treasure, when the bright sun swells the berries of the cluster, each heavenly boon may whisper to the tree and say, ‘From me is thy fruit found.’ The fruit owes much to the root — that is essential to fruitfulness — but it owes very much also to external influences. How much we owe to God’s grace-providence! in which He provides us constantly with quickening, teaching, consolation, strength, or whatever else we want. To this we owe our all of usefulness or virtue.

“Our fruit comes from God as to wise husbandry. The gardener’s sharp-edged knife promotes the fruitfulness of the tree, by thinning the clusters, and by cutting off superfluous shoots. So is it with that pruning which the Lord gives to thee. ‘My Father is the husbandman. Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit’ [Joh 15:1,2]. Since our God is the author of our spiritual graces, let us give to Him all the glory of our salvation” (CH Spurgeon).

*****

“Who is wise? He will realize these things. Who is discerning? He will understand them” (v 9).

“Paul’s application of this to the transformation of the faithful in Christ from mortality to immortality gives it a far deeper significance than just the political resurrection of Israel to which it primarily applies. We are taught by this, as we are so often taught elsewhere, that as Hosea was an allegory to Israel, so Israel is an allegory to us. Therein lies the great significance of the final words of the prophecy… Who IS wise? God said sadly through Hosea — ‘My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge’ (Hos 4:6).

“How much do we care about knowing these things? How much real, sincere effort have we put in this past week to learn and understand the lessons of God’s Word through which we have been passing in our daily readings? To what extent have we meditated upon it and prayed for understanding? Let us face these questions honestly. Are we truly ANXIOUS and concerned to learn more and more about God and His Word?

“It is so easy to just go through the motions and think we are in the Truth, without ever having the real love of and yearning toward the knowledge of God which is essential to salvation. This is what marks off the true disciple from the common run of mankind. These divine words are life. They are essential meat and drink. In them alone is the power of love and of holiness and godliness and of overcoming the flesh” (GV Growcott).

Reading 3 – 1Th 4:9

“Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other” (1Th 4:9).

“Taught by God” represents one word in the Greek, a word that occurs here alone in all the New Testament. (A similar expression is found in John 6:45.) God’s coming Kingdom will be marked by the fact that all Zion’s children will be taught of God (Isa 54:13). There is a natural interpretation of this verse — and one which renders unnecessary any theorizing about “an indwelling Spirit”: God, in all His loving provisions for mankind (Mat 5:44,45), and especially in the gift of His Son for those who believe (John 3:16; 1Jo 3:16), is constantly teaching us by example how we ought to love one another. “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God: for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another” (1Jo 4:7-11).

Do we need anyone to write to US “about brotherly love”? The subject, says Paul, is fundamental. We are taught of God to do it: we are taught by God’s own example in giving His only begotten Son to die for us on the cross; by that Son’s whole preeminent life; perhaps especially by his washing of his disciples’ feet just before he suffered: “For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you” (John 13:15).

Such matters may be comprehended more easily than almost any other teaching of Scripture. Comprehended easily, no doubt. But how difficult to apply the lessons!

“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35). This is Christ’s test of discipleship. We might want to propose other tests, with which we would feel more comfortable; but how wise and fitting is this one. What sort of faith do we have if it does not compel us to love the men and women who share it? What sort of faith do we have if it does not compel us, out of an eager yearning in love, to share it with the poor, suffering souls around us?

The reaction of many of us, whenever the subject of love is mentioned, is either one of shyness or fear or else a feeling that it is not practical. If we are shy or afraid, it is because we have a wrong conception of its nature. We think that it has something to do with emotion and sentiment. It has not! Neither is it impractical any more than Jesus himself or Paul or Peter or John were impractical. Just how practical, how sweetly reasonable, this love is, is seen in the previous chapter: “And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: to the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints” (1Th 3:12,13).

The end: their being established in holiness at the Judgment. The means to that end? Their increasing in love. The end cannot be attained without the means.

Reading 1 – Neh 5:14,17

“Moreover, from the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when I [Nehemiah] was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, until his thirty-second year — twelve years — neither I nor my brothers ate the food allotted to the governor” (Neh 5:14).

This provision would have been Nehemiah’s by right and law, since he was the royally-appointed governor of the land. Note the comparison between Nehemiah and Paul (1Co 9): both had the right to be supported by their brethren, but neither exercised that right. It was Paul who wrote, “And when I was with you and needed something, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied what I needed. I have kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so” (2Co 11:9). Notice that Paul, like Nehemiah, had personal enemies who sought to harm him.

“Furthermore, a hundred and fifty Jews and officials ate at my table, as well as those who came to us from the surrounding nations” (v 17).

Nehemiah kept an “open house”, at his own personal expense. In all his work, and his generosity, and his support of others, Nehemiah showed beforehand the work and attitude of the apostle Paul. Consider the following passages:

“Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality” (Rom 12:13). “Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches” (2Co 11:28). “I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’ ” (Acts 20:33-35). “Nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you” (2Th 3:8).

Reading 2 – Joel 1:3

“Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation” (Joel 1:3).

“In this simple way, by God’s grace, a living testimony for truth is always to be kept alive in the land — the beloved of the Lord are to hand down their witness for the gospel, and the covenant to their heirs, and these again to their next descendants. This is our first duty, we are to begin at the family hearth: he is a bad preacher who does not commence his ministry at home. The heathen are to be sought by all means, and the highways and hedges are to be searched, but home has a prior claim, and woe unto those who reverse the order of the Lord’s arrangements. To teach our children is a personal duty; we cannot delegate it to Sunday School teachers, or other friendly aids; these can assist us, but cannot deliver us from the sacred obligation; proxies and sponsors are wicked devices in this case: mothers and fathers must, like Abraham, command their households in the fear of God, and talk with their offspring concerning the wondrous works of the Most High. Parental teaching is a natural duty — who so fit to look to the child’s well-being as those who are the authors of his actual being?” (CH Spurgeon).

“The remembering of the outstanding acts of God on behalf of His people, or in furthering their discipline, must be carried on faithfully from generation to generation. From earliest days Moses had striven to establish this tradition: ‘Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons; specially the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb’ (Deu 4:9,10). If these exhortations of Joel and Moses had been heeded, would the day of Babylonian invasion some five generations later have ever happened?…

“You are to establish a tradition in your families, urges the prophet. From father to son to grandson this cherished message must be faithfully handed on. How many generations are involved here? Is it five or six? And how many generations of the Truth faithfully preserved are there in these Last Days, all of them scanning the horizon eagerly for the dawn yet to be seen rising over the Mount of Olives?

“In modern times the five generations of the New Israel, having such a Word, as others do not know and with its fulfilment so nigh unto them are yet content to set their children and their grandchildren a mediocre characterless example of diluted enthusiasm.

“Remember! Remember! Teach! Teach! These should be welcome duties. Yet Moses had learned that neglect might overtake them. Specially pointed and valuable is this precept: ‘Teach them thy sons AND THY SONS’ SONS!’

“Yet how often it happens that grandparents treat ‘their sons’ sons’ as though they were a box of chocolates — a luxury to be enjoyed now and then — and not at all as a holy commission entrusted to their care; [vessels] to be filled with precious jewels of Truth.

“Alas, it is so much more comfortable to write Joel off as out-of-date and incomprehensible, and to bequeath THAT tradition to those whose future is one’s own special responsibility!” (Harry Whittaker, “Joel”).

This is true, in general, but here the special emphasis is — not upon the goodness of God’s arrangements — but upon the judgments that Joel is about to describe. So terrible are these that four or five generations cannot remember anything that compares.

Reading 3 – 1Th 5:5

“You are all sons of the light” (1Th 5:5).

The “all” gives reassurance that none need be excluded from the blessings implied; even those with uncertainties about the details of Christ’s coming (1Th 4:11,12) or those who are “weak” (1Th 5:14) may take heart.

In Hebrew idiom, to be the “child” or “son” of a certain characteristic or quality means to exemplify it. A “child of light” is one who has experienced a complete transformation through the “light.” In this way is the phrase used elsewhere: “While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light” (John 12:36); “for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light” (Luke 16:8); “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light” (Eph 5:8).

The condition of being in Christ is continually associated with light (Mat 5:14,16; John 3:21; 8:12; Acts 26:18; Col 1:12; 1Pe 2:9, 1Jo 1:7).

The true followers of Christ are “sons of the day” — even though the “day” has not officially arrived! That “day of the Lord” has cast its radiance ahead with the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, and especially with his sacrificial work. We must remember, and endeavor, to live in that “day”, and to exemplify all its qualities, EVEN NOW. In no other way may a people ever become prepared to enter into the glories of that future inheritance, when it does indeed arrive!

Reading 1 – Neh 7

“Nehemiah not only directed the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem; he also set out to rebuild the nation and to strengthen its morality. His work does not cease with the building, but he was careful to follow up with regulations that were calculated to help the development of the nation. How important that example!

Nehemiah set out security regulations: vv 1-4. The population problem considered: vv 5-73.

“Nehemiah undertook his labours on behalf of Yahweh. He recognised the importance of determining who were the true seed of Israel, for it was to this end that careful genealogies were kept. How otherwise would it be established that Jesus was of the lineage of David? So he set out the register of those who had come from Babylon with Zerubbabel. Nehemiah used it as a basis of comparison for the census he plans to undertake. We might spend less time reading such a chapter, or avoid the difficult names, but we should remember that if our name were included, how delighted we would be to have everyone read the chapter!” (GE Mansfield).

Reading 2 – Joel 2:12-14

” ‘Even now,’ declares the LORD, ‘return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.’ Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing — grain offerings and drink offerings for the LORD your God” (Joel 2:12-14).

“Here… is the only solution to Israel’s woes and troubles: Repentance! It is doubtful whether any exhortation to a new life is to be found in the Bible to compare with this sustained and detailed pleading. But for long centuries God’s people have been impervious to these appeals of heaven. Yet repentance — note the piling up of phrases — is the only thing that can save Israel from the unparalleled disaster which today appears threateningly on the horizon.

“It is an aspect of the teaching of God’s Word concerning Israel, which the New Israel just as stubbornly refuses to recognize, that except there be repentance first, even the omnipotence of an Almighty God cannot save the people of His choice. It is not possible to print out in full the entire list of Scriptures about this. Instead, the bald references are given. If any reader doubts the Bible’s intensity of emphasis is really as strong as all that, let him work his way patiently through the subjoined catalogue. He will then ask himself, and his fellows, in amazement why such a vital theme has gone so much ignored for so long a time. Is it because earlier teachers left it alone, and if they didn’t see it, it can’t have been there? Or is it because, even for those who are spiritually streets ahead of natural Israel, repentance is an unpopular topic?

“Zec 6:15; 12:10-14; 13;9; Isa 17:6-8; 19:20; 59:20; Eze 20:42-44; 36:24-28; 37:11,23; Psa 81:13,14; Rom 11:15,26; Jer 3:14-18; 4:1,2; 29:12-14; Deu 4:27-31; 30:1-3; Mat 23:39; Amos 5:15; Lev 26:40ff; 1Ki 8:47-49; Gen 18:19; Zep 2:1-3; Acts 3:19,20.

“In the face of this sustained remonstration, is it possible to believe that the Second Coming of the Lord will/can take place except the people of God demand it by their holy way of life and godliness? (2Pe 3:11,12).

“The character of the repentance called for by the prophet Joel is spelled out very precisely, both as to disposition and the practical godliness summed up in the religious routine appropriate to his own day: ‘meal offering and drink offering unto the Lord.’ In practice, in this 20th century, what sort of repentance does Jehovah demand from His Israelis? One thing, for certain: an avowal of faith in Jesus as the Messiah. Let a Jew of today make that initial big step, and Messiah Jesus will see to the rest in due course. The guarantee for this, says Joel, is the character of the God of Israel which he quotes with gusto from Jehovah’s own declaration to Moses: ‘gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness’ (Exo 34:6). This character of God had been exhibited in His longsuffering extended to brutal grasping Assyrians in the days of Jonah (Jon 3: 5-10; 4:11); and, thanks to the godly zeal of Hezekiah, was exhibited by the chosen people, undeserving, in Joel’s own day (see, by all means, 2Ch 30:6-9)…

“Happily, neither Joel nor any other inspired writer goes so far as to assert that Messiah will come to the rescue of his nation only when all Israel is repentant. If Jehovah treasured seven thousand in the days of Elijah, is He not likely to be content with even fewer in the 3 1/2 year ministry of Elijah’s great successor (Mal 4:6)?” (Harry Whittaker, “Joel”).

Reading 3 – 2Th 1:3

“We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing” (2Th 1:3).

It is sobering (and challenging) to consider all those for whom Paul constantly prayed:

Believers in Rome, regarding their mutual faith and Paul’s desire to return to them (Rom 1:9-12). Believers in Corinth, regarding the “grace” (gifts?) given them, and that they may be blameless when Christ returns (1Co 1:4-8). Believers in Ephesus, regarding their growth in knowledge and wisdom (Eph 1:15-18), and that they might be filled with Christ and his love (3:14-19). Believers in Philippi, regarding their fellowship in the gospel, and that their love may abound (Phi 1:3-9). Believers in Colosse, that they might be filled with knowledge and walk worthy of the Lord (Col 1:3-6,9,10). (Epaphras, “who is one of you”, likewise prayed — 4:12.) Believers in Thessalonica, giving thanks for their faith (1Th 1:3-8), that it was growing (2Th 1:3); that they might glorify Christ (v 11), and that they might be comforted and established (2:16,17). Timothy, that he might see him and be filled with joy (2Ti 1:3,4). Philemon, giving thanks for his love and faith (Phm 1:4,5).

And these are merely the prayers that the apostle saw fit to tell about!

Reading 1 – Neh 8:10

“The joy of the LORD is your strength” (Neh 8:10).

“Perhaps what we should pray for most is to be taught how to enjoy God, for this is the foundation of all constructive life, and by nature we are so woefully lacking in even the realization of its existence. By nature we are coarse and ignorant and animal and worldly, and we naturally seek our ‘joy’ in coarse and ignorant and animal and worldly things. To give the name ‘joy’ to such is a desecration of the word. Joy must be the root of all action, not its goal. Joy must come first, flooding in upon us by the realization of the beauty and glory and love of God. The contemplation of beauty is a joyful thing. The personal, active, communing contemplation of the highest, fullest, love-radiating beauty is the most intense joy possible… Let us use that strength to the utmost” (GV Growcott).

Reading 2 – Joel, overview

Nothing is known for certainty about the ancestry of Joel, or about him personally. There is even some uncertainty as to the precise time when he prophesied, although the prophecy itself provides a number of clues, as shall be seen.

Literal Locusts?: Joel pictures an enormous locust invasion brought by God upon His land, as a punishment and a warning to His people (Joel 1:15; 2:11). The devastation wrought by the locusts brings the inevitable famine, and Joel chronicles the suffering of man and beast alike, in its wake (Joel 1:4,5,9-12,16-18).

Outline

1. The locust plague as a foretaste of the Day of the Lord: Joel 1:1 – 2:17

a) The calamity: Joel 1:1-20

b) The scourge as the forerunner of the judgment day: Joel 2:1-17

2. The averting of judgment and bestowal of blessings: Joel 2:18 – 3:21

a) The Lord’s restoration of Judah: Joel 2:18-27

b) The outpouring of the Holy Spirit: Joel 2:28-32

c) Judgment upon the nations: Joel 3:1-16

d) The blessings on God’s people: Joel 3:17-21

Historical Application: But Joel has more in mind than a literal plague of locusts. Whether there was, in Joel’s day, a real such infestation, or whether the prophet is presenting an idealized picture merely based on the well-known phenomenon of such plagues… either way, he definitely also has in mind a real army, of men, not insects (Joel 1:6,7; 2:1-7).

What was this army which Joel saw sweeping down upon the Land of Israel? Most likely the Assyrians of Sennacherib, who first devastated most of the north of Israel, and then turned upon the south of Judah, besieging and capturing most of its fortified cities (2Ki 17; 18; Isa 36; 37). Assyria was joined in its onslaught upon Judah and its capital Jerusalem by the Arab nations of Tyre and Zidon, Edom and Egypt (Joel 3:4,19). Egypt was the natural enemy of Assyria, but that did not stop the Egyptians from using Judah’s misfortune as a chance to ravage their share of Judah’s south. Would the Assyrian hordes also destroy Jerusalem, along with Temple of the LORD? Or would God at last spare His own city? The answer lay in Israel’s reaction to this great invasion of human “locusts” (Joel 2:12-14). True repentance and faith would save Jerusalem from the Assyrians. Led by their fine king, Hezekiah, the people did repent, and the Assyrian confederation was destroyed by the Angel of the LORD (2Ki 19; Isa 38): “Then the LORD will be jealous for his land and take pity on his people” (Joel 2:18). “And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the survivors whom the LORD calls” (Joel 2:32; cp Joel 2:20; 3:16).

Last Days Application?: But this historical fulfillment is, as we have come to expect, only half the picture. The normal pattern of Bible prophecy, with few exceptions, is the presentation of a two-fold message:

a contemporary reference to events in or near the days of the prophet (necessary to confirm his credentials as a true prophet: Deu 18:20-22), and a Messianic application, having to do with the first Coming or the second Coming, or — quite often — both. In this, Joel does not disappoint us. Seen in a first century application, the apostle Peter cites Joel as an explanation for the Holy Spirit being poured out on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:16-21). Peter used Joel’s prophecy as the basis for his appeal to the people to repent and be baptised, and so be saved (Acts 2:37-40). Seen in a Last Days perspective, every indication is that Joel envisions an attack by a great Arab confederacy upon a faithless nation of Israel. These Arab peoples were previously too weak, but now at last [because of continual arm supplies from the West, and/or from the former USSR?] they are finally strong enough to accomplish their goal (Joel 3:9,10). Such an attack will be initially successful (see Joel 3:1-7), destroying much of Israel’s livelihood and reducing God’s people to helplessness. It will then be only by a renewal of their faith, in the God of their fathers, that a remnant of Israel will be saved when — once again and to a far greater extent than ever before — “….the LORD will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the sky will tremble. But the LORD will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel” (Joel 3:16).

How do we know that this great alliance of the Last Days will be Arab? (a) In Hebrew, the words for “locust” (arbeh) and “Arab” (arbi) are practically identical. (b) The nations actually mentioned by Joel (the ones “on every side”: Joel 3:12) are Tyre and Zidon (Lebanon and Syria, in modern terms) and Philistia (exactly equivalent, linguistically, to the “Palestinians”!) in Joel 3:4; and Egypt and Edom (modern Jordan and/or Saudi Arabia) in Joel 3:19. In order to defeat Israel, these will line up with “Assyria” (modern equivalent: Iraq, or just possibly Syria, or even both). (c) The phrase “Prepare for [or make holy] war” (the literal meaning of Joel 3:9) suggests a jihad, or Moslem holy war. The first attack, in Joel’s day, by Assyria and its allies was seen by its leaders as a “holy war” — between Ashur the god of Nineveh and Jehovah (or Yahweh) the God of Israel (Joel 2:17; 2Ki 18:22,25,30-35; 19:14-19). And now, in our day, though the Arab “god” is called by a different name, the controversy is the same: whether “Allah” the god of Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, et al is greater than Yahweh the God of Israel.

Temple Mount Controversy: The controversy of the Last Days, between Arab and Jew, is preeminently about:

Zion (Joel 2:1,15,23,32; 3:16,17,21), God’s holy mountain (Joel 2:1; 3:17), Jerusalem (Joel 2:32; 3:1,16,17,20), and the house of the LORD (Joel 3:18)….

…where, after Israel’s defeat and true repentance, a great Divine deliverance will come, and where the LORD God will dwell once again “in the midst of Israel… and my people shall never again be put to shame” (Joel 2:26,27).

A great deal of language in Joel (regarding sacrifices and services) suggests that the Last Days will see a resurgence of religion in Israel. It is possible that a revived Judaism will accelerate and exacerbate a controversy with the devotees of Islam — over their own “holy places” on Mount Zion, in the heart of the Old City of Jerusalem. To what extent such Temple worship may develop before Christ returns (even to the removal or destruction of the ancient “Dome of the Rock” to provide the site for a modern Jewish Temple), one cannot be certain. But many other Last Days prophecies point to a controversy in or over God’s holy place or mountain or Temple — so many, in fact, that this possibility must loom large: Eze 25:3; 36:2,3; Psa 79:1-4; 83:12; Rev 11:1-3; 2Th 2:3,4; Isa 14:13,14; Oba 1:16,17; Mal 3:1; Dan 9:24-27; 11:31,45; 12:11; Mat 24:15; Mar 13:14; and Luk 21:20-24.

Revelation Parallels: There are numerous and striking correspondences between Joel 1,2 and Revelation 8,9:

Locusts (Joel 1:4; Rev 9:3) Like a nation? (Joel 1:6; Rev 9:4,7) Teeth like lions’ teeth (Joel 1:6; Rev 9:8) Trees, pasture burnt up (Joel 1:12-20; Rev 8:7) Destruction from God (Joel 1:15; Rev 9:11) Fire (Joel 1:19; 2:3,5; Rev 8:7; 9:17) Rivers of water dried up (Joel 1:20; Rev 8:10; 9:14) Blowing of trumpets (Joel 2:1,11,15; Rev 8:6) Darkness (Joel 2:2; Rev 9:2,18) Horses (Joel 2:4; Rev 9:7,9) Chariots (Joel 2:5; 9:9) Torment (Joel 2:6; Rev 9:6) Earthquake (Joel 2:10; Rev 8:5) Sun, moon, and stars are darkened (Joel 2:10,31; 3:15; Rev 8:12; 9:2) “Turn to me,” says God! (Joel 2:12; Rev 9:20,21) The “locusts” go back to the abyss (Joel 2:20; Rev 9:1) Day of Atonement (Joel 2:15-17; Rev 8:2-4) Deliverance for the faithful remnant (Joel 2:32; Rev 9:4)

It is reasonable to conclude that Joel and Rev 8; 9 describe the same events. Therefore it is possible to deduce a Last Days application: a battle for Jerusalem and its holy places, fought by Jew and Arab, which ends with Christ returning to Israel to save the faithful remnant who call upon him (Joel 2:32; 3:20). This interpretation is supported by the observation that the sounding of the first six trumpets (Rev. 8; 9), with their sense of immediacy and urgency, culminates in the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet (Rev 11:15-19) and “the time for the dead to be judged”. And so Joel contributes his share of details to the ever-changing (and sometimes mysterious) mosaic of future events, a challenge and consolation for every student of Bible prophecy.

Reading 3 – 2Th 3:6

“In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle [or ‘disorderly’: AV] and does not live according to the teaching you received from us” (2Th 3:6).

This verse describes not false teachers, but those whose way of life is contrary to the apostolic norm. The “disorderly” meant the idlers, or loafers, who rapidly turned into “busybodies” (2Th 3:7,10,11). The word translated “disorderly” (“idle” in NIV) here is also translated “unruly” in 1Th 5:14. It is actually a military term for those “out of step” when marching, and thus “insubordinate”. This lack of discipline in the case of the Thessalonian ecclesia was manifested in a refusal to work (vv 8,10,12), perhaps because of a misguided belief that Christ’s imminent return rendered labor unnecessary.

Reading 1 – Neh 9:8

“You found his heart faithful to you” (Neh 9:8).

Examples of faithfulness in service:

Samuel (1Sa 3:20); David (1Sa 22:14); the temple overseers (2Ki 12:15); the workers (2Ch 34:12); Hananiah (Neh 7:2); Abraham (Neh 9:8); the treasurers (Neh 13:13); Daniel (Dan 6:4); Timothy (1Co 4:17); Epaphras (Col 1:7); Tychicus (Col 4:7); Onesimus (Col 4:9); Paul (1Ti 1:12); Moses (Heb 3:2,5); Gaius (3Jo 1:5); Jesus Christ (Rev 1:5); and Antipas (Rev 2:13).

Reading 2 – Amos, overview

The Man: Amos was a native of the little village of Tekoa, a few miles south of Bethlehem in Judah. He is described as a herdsman (Amos 1:1; 7:14: in two different words which probably mean, respectively, a keeper of sheep and a keeper of oxen), as well as a gatherer of sycamore fruit (Amos 7:14: probably figs); this sounds very much like a lowly farm worker. Many of the metaphors used by Amos in his prophecy reflect this humble background. [It is possible that, instead of a humble herdsman, Amos was a “trader” of livestock, an occupation which might explain his travels between Judah in the south and Israel in the north.]

The Times: The historical period covered by the reigns of Uzziah of Judah and Jeroboam II of Israel is very significant. Jeroboam II (who reigned c 783-743 BC) led a great revival of Israel’s political power, casting off the Syrian yoke from Israel and extending her borders even beyond those achieved by Solomon (2Ki 14:25,28). Simultaneously in the south Judah was “benefiting” from a similar political revival. Uzziah conquered the Philistines and the Arabians, took tribute from Ammon, fortified Jerusalem, and built walled cities for defense of his borders (2Ch 26:6-15). Of course, political developments in a wider field, under the hand of God, were the real explanation. The period 800 to 750 BC was marked by Assyrian involvements to its north and internal struggles in Egypt. This left Israel and Judah with more or less free hands to become, for a short while at least, dominant powers in the land of Canaan. The effects of these “successes” were disastrous in both civil and religious life. Owing to increased control of important trade routes, wealthy classes emerged in the people of Israel. The poor were increasingly oppressed, and the rich lived lives of immoral self-indulgence. Civil justice was corrupted; the spirit of the Law of Moses was abandoned, even while nominal worship of Jehovah flourished. Their God was with them! or so it seemed: had He not given them wonderful prosperity? But it was all a delusion. The “sepulchre” was whitewashed on the outside, but inside were “dead men’s bones”: greed, dishonesty, licentiousness.

Outline

1. Judgments against the nations: Amos 1:1-2:16

a) Introduction: Amos 1:1-2

b) Judgment of neighboring nations: Amos 1:3 – 2:3

c) Judgment of Judah and Israel: Amos 2:4-16

2. Three oracles of judgment against Israel: Amos 3:1 – 5:17

a) A declaration of judgment: Amos 3:1-15

b) The depravity of Israel: Amos 4:1-13

c) A lamentation for Israel’s sin and doom: Amos 5:1-17

3. Two oracles of woe against Israel: Amos 5:18 – 6:14

a) Woe against Israel’s perverted religion: Amos 5:18-27

b) Woe against Israel’s complacent pride: Amos 6:1-14

4. Five visions of judgment against Israel: Amos 7:1 – 9:10

a) The devouring locusts: Amos 7:1-3

b) The flaming fire: Amos 7:4-6

c) The plumb line: Amos 7:7-17

d) The basket of ripe fruit: Amos 8:1-14

e) The judgment of the Lord: Amos 9:1-10

5. The promise of Israel’s restoration: Amos 9:11-15

Coming Judgments: The judgments Amos had in mind were probably those to be brought upon Israel and Judah by the Assyrians, and then the Babylonians. These soon-to-be-powerful nations are not mentioned by Amos at all, but their approaching shadow looms over his message. When they finally came, then the smaller nations, whom Israel had thought they need not fear, rose up against Israel — Syria, Philistia, Edom, Moab, and Ammon joining themselves with first the Assyrian and later the Babylonian against their ancient enemy Israel. The result of God’s judgments was the carrying away into captivity (Amos 5:18-20,27).

The Return: But the promise of Amos was that, after the captivity had run its course, the tested and chastened remnant of Abraham’s seed would be brought back to the Land. The almost unrelieved burden of Amos’ earlier message gives way, in his very last utterance, to a message of hope and renewal (Amos 9:11-15).

Multiple Fulfillments

Israel’s return from captivity in the days of Ezra and Zerubbabel, Haggai and Zechariah, was a near-term fulfillment of this prophecy. Amos 9:11,12 is quoted by James in Acts 15:16-18 to support the argument that God intended to include Gentiles among His people. So there was a first-century fulfillment of Amos’ prophecy. The chastening judgments of God, followed by the restoration of a humbled people, provide us a pattern by which we might discern developing events in our own day. How might this be? This outline is suggested:

Israel prospering in their own land in the Last Days, but surrounded by Arab nations, and practically indistinguishable from them in character and conduct, is subjected to attack by Assyria/Babylon… …and also by Edom, Moab, Ammon, Syria, and the Philistines, loses all it has worked for and accumulated, and is carried away in another captivity, out of which a remnant turns to God and is saved (by calling upon the Messiah!), so that God will bring them back once again to their own Land, this time in righteousness as well as prosperity!

And so, in the near future, for the first time, will Amos’ very last words be truly and completely fulfilled: ” ‘I will plant Israel in their own land, NEVER AGAIN TO BE UPROOTED FROM THE LAND I HAVE GIVEN THEM,’ says the LORD your God” (Amos 9:15).

Reading 3 – 1Ti 1:3

“As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer” (1Ti 1:3).

The Greek noun “parangelia” and its corresponding verb “parangello” appear six times in 1Ti, translated as either “charge” or “commandment”. The words are strictly used of commands received from a superior and transmitted to others — down a “chain of command”.

Paul was quite concerned for his young disciple Timothy, and went to great effort to remind him of the truth and charge him to keep it and encourage its keeping in the lives of those in his care: First, Paul wanted to charge Timothy to remain strong in his personal faith, so that he might fight a good fight: “holding on to faith, and a good conscience” (1Ti 1:18,19). “I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1Ti 6:13,14).

In a similar vein, Paul knew the dangers of false doctrine. “I urged you… that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer” (1Ti 1:3). Following a discussion of specific false teachings (1Ti 4:1-10) and their refutations, Paul concludes: “These things command and teach” (1Ti 4:11). Even those who nominally adhere to proper teaching need direction. “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God” (1Ti 6:17). Living up to these charges (commandments) brings real benefit in this life as well as in eternity: a pure heart full of agape love, a conscience unfettered by sin and false doctrine, and a sincere faith, not weakened by hypocrisy (1Ti 1:5).

If we would be disciples, we should mind the charges given to Timothy.

Reading 1 – Neh 10

After Ezra’s prayer on behalf of the nation, in Neh 9, the people were prepared to seal the covenant with Yahweh, and to dedicate themselves to His service. Four groups sealed the covenants, presumably as representatives of the whole of the nation:

The governor: v 1; the priests (the heads of 21 priestly families): vv 2-8; the Levites (17 mentioned): vv 9-13; and the chief of the people (44 heads of other leading families): vv 14-27.

The phrases “house of our God” and “house of Yahweh” occur nine times in this chapter, emphasizing the importance of the work.

Why is Ezra not mentioned as sealing the covenant? Probably because he was officiating at the ceremony — in the place of the High Priest and as the representative of God Himself.

Why is Eliashib the High Priest not mentioned? Probably because he had turned away from Nehemiah’s party. Were Eliashib and his followers responsible for the apostasy of Neh 13? See Neh 3:1.

Reading 2 – Amos, “for 3 sins and 4”

“For Three Sins, and for Four”: The most distinctive feature of Amos’ prophecy is the eight-fold repetition of: “This is what the LORD says: ‘For three sins of ______, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath.’ ” (“Three… and four” does not necessarily mean “seven”! In Hebrew, a three-fold repetition suggests finality: ie “I will overturn, overturn, overturn…” in Eze 21:27. So “three sins” would be the fulness of transgression, and “four sins” would be a wretched excess — implying the God had waited far too long to exercise His wrath!) This formula introduces divine statements of judgment about Israel (the northern kingdom) in Amos 2:6-8, and Judah (the southern kingdom) in Amos 2:4,5, as well as six Gentile nations surrounding God’s people:

Damascus, or Syria (Amos 1:3-5); Gaza, or Philistia (Amos 1:6-8); Tyre, in Lebanon (Amos 1:9,10); Edom (Amos 1:11,12); Ammon (Amos 1:13-15); and Moab (Amos 2:1-3).

Why these nations? Because, during the general period of Israel’s (and Judah’s) expansion and prosperity, the Jews had allowed themselves to become very much like the idolatrous, immoral nations around them (Amos 3:14-4:2; 6:1-6; 8:11-13). And so the time of God’s judgments upon the Gentile nations would also see severe chastening of Israel and Judah. But there would be this difference: God’s people, or rather a remnant of God’s people, would survive the severe judgments and emerge stronger, their faith having been tested so that they learn once again to trust in the LORD their God (Amos 3:1,2; 9:9).

Reading 3 – 1Ti 5:25

“Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses” (1Ti 5:23).

This verse seems out of context; in other words, vv 21,22,24,25 could be read entirely reasonably WITHOUT v 23. What is the point? Perhaps: as Paul writes these verses encouraging Timothy to “keep himself pure” (v 22), he realizes that Timothy may be too much given to asceticism, and so Paul reminds Timothy that — given his constitution — a little wine could be a healthful thing! Timothy may have been of a weak constitution, as Paul had seemed himself to be, and he would then need the strengthening effects of a little wine. (This verse is a corrective against the suggestion that “wine” in Scripture means unfermented grape juice and nothing more. If so, then what strengthening effect could be derived?)

In his autobiography Robert Roberts recounts a similar miscalculation: while a young man he embarked with the best of intentions upon a strict (but unbalanced) vegetarian diet (more precisely, as I recall, a rice-only diet!), only to come dangerously close to ruining his health.

Paul is saying here, “Not that I enjoin upon you that extreme and foolish ‘purity’ which is asceticism. You may even go so far as to use a little wine, as it might be needed for your health.” God commands believers to use all Scriptural means which may be at their disposal for preserving health to keep their “temples” sound.

But it is good never to forget the other side of the coin. “Be not drunken with wine” (1Ti 3:3; Eph 5:18). Our thoughts must not be clouded by the effects of alcohol or any other strong depressant or stimulant.

The sentiment here expressed is inconsistent with the opinion of some fanatical advocates of total abstinence, that drinking wine is altogether incompatible with true Christianity. Pharisaic ‘purity’ in such cases does not guarantee true godliness. On the contrary, it can lead to mechanical, rote worship, in following the do’s and don’ts of “the Law”. Even so, common sense (scriptural sense) should guide us in matters such as this. Paul recommends this to Timothy for purely medicinal purposes, not as a means of escape or a way to warm the ‘cockles of his heart’.

In addition, we must consider the weaker members because our liberty should not be an occasion of stumbling to someone else. “If meat makes my brother to offend, I will not eat meat so long as the world stands.” We would not want our liberty to be an occasion of stumbling to someone outside the faith either. An elder will give no occasion for the Truth or its adherents to be evil spoken of. Ascetic ideas regarding alcohol seem to play a more professed role today than in the past (wine was frequently taken with meals in Jesus’ day). Therefore this word of caution.

And it should be noted that there are brothers and sisters who are recovering alcoholics — for whom even a “little wine” could be the last push over the edge into the abyss. Clearly such advice as Paul dispenses here is not for them!

Finally… the very unpretentious quality of this tidbit of personal advice is an argument for the genuineness of this letter. Would an imposter have thought to include such mundane but practical details? This verse could have come from no pen but Paul’s.

Reading 1 – Neh 11:1,2

“Now the leaders of the people settled in Jerusalem, and the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of every ten to live in Jerusalem, the holy city, while the remaining nine were to stay in their own towns. The people commended all the men who volunteered to live in Jerusalem” (Neh 11:1,2).

When the exiles returned to the Promised Land, living in Jerusalem was not an attractive prospect because the city lay in ruins. However, with the rebuilding of the temple and the walls, the capital became a more desirable place to live. Nehemiah as governor saw the wisdom of populating Jerusalem with pure-blooded Jews, and set about to encourage the people to live within the city walls. Some citizens of Jerusalem were chosen by lot (v 1), while others volunteered to move there (v 2).

After the resettlement, the population of the city itself would have been between 5,000 and 10,000.

Reading 2 – Amos 3:3

“Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?” (Amos 3:3).

The verse is used to suggest the notion that only when there is perfect agreement among brethren can they “walk together” in the bonds of fellowship. In the first place such a blanket assertion is not true, and in the second place such a usage of the verse is entirely beside the point.

It is certainly wrong to state as a matter of fact or principle that two men cannot cooperate unless they are perfectly agreed in every particular. In actual practice, nothing is further from the truth. Two men or a group can work together quite well on a common project by agreeing beforehand to submerge their differences in matters of secondary importance. If in their minds there is the same major goal, then minor considerations are modestly set aside so that their full energies may be directed toward its achievement. Such a policy is wise, and Scriptural! Peter’s “Be ye subject one to another” (1Pe 5:5) surely expresses such a spirit of “compromise” in the best sense, as does Paul’s exhortation to the strife-prone Corinthians: “There should be no schism in the body… the members should have the same care one for another” (1Co 12:25).

What then is the point of Amos 3:3? Perhaps the RSV rendering here would be helpful: “Do two walk together, unless they have made an appointment?” Or, as the Hebrew: ‘unless they have met together?’ This sounds very much like the thoughts expressed above: Two men can and do walk together IF they have agreed beforehand to walk together; it is as simple as that.

However, a consideration of the prophet’s message in the broader sense indicates that the two who must agree in order to walk together are God and man. God knew Israel in the sense that to Israel He had committed His laws (v 2; Psa 147:19,20). This knowledge placed upon Israel the burden of responsibility to obey God, to agree to walk with Him; else Israel would be punished above all the nations for her transgressions. But, responsibilities aside, there are also great privileges in such a close association with the Almighty: “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7).

Man must walk in communion and harmony of heart and purpose with God. In doing so his blessings will be many, but if he deserts such a partnership then he may expect fiery judgment. God is saying, ‘Can you think to ignore My advice and still claim to be My friend?’

The very first thing God asks us to agree with Him about is that we are sinners, not that we are as perfect as He is. An awareness of our weaknesses before God should make us considerably more sympathetic toward the weaknesses of our brethren. The goal of all is that we learn day by day to walk more and more in conformity with God’s will. In the awesome shadow cast by our Father, we are all no better than toddlers, and our petty quarrels with His other babes are just so much futility, and are due to our limited horizons. The Lord of all creation has condescended to grasp each of us by the hand; like a natural father, He has shortened His pace so that we may be helped and guided in our first faltering steps upward toward manhood. Let us set our attentions upon His standard and strive to conform to it; let us walk with God (Gen 5:22; 6:9; 17:1), and not be so concerned to scrutinize the faltering steps of our brothers.

One final thought: Today divorce has become a widespread practice in the world around us, so much so that many young people enter marriages fully intending to terminate them at the first sign of trouble, on such flimsy grounds as “incompatibility”. It is as if they are saying, ‘We can no longer walk together, because we do not agree on such-and-such.’ There are few in the brotherhood who would not deplore such a childish disregard for the marriage bond. And yet how often do brethren put forward this same excuse for “divorcing” themselves from a bond just as sacred — the tie that binds (or should bind) all Christ’s brethren together! They thus put asunder in the spiritual realm what they would never think of dissolving on the domestic level; and this means a debris of broken homes and lingering recriminations. And all because they will not apply the same restraint and reasonableness and patience and understanding in the ecclesial family that every husband and wife knows is essential in the natural family.

Reading 3 – 1Ti 6:7

“For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it” (1Ti 6:7).

“The LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away: blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21). Compare the parable of Luke 12:20,21. Compare also Psa 49:17 and Ecc 5:15 (“As he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.” This picture runs throughout the book of the Preacher. The grave is the ash heap of mankind — in it there is no hope.)

Paul’s line of reasoning is obvious. If we could, at death, take our possessions with us into a future state, then there would be at once an end to the “contentment” (v 6) with whatever position we occupy now. This is because the possessions of the future would then in some way be dependent upon this present existence, and what we might eke out of the earth by the sweat of our brow.

Ignorant and superstitious men have believed this fallacy from primitive times. Nearly all ancient cultures bury their dead with the best provisions possible for their trip into the unknown. But those who know the Truth realize man’s state in all its stark reality — of poverty and blindness and weakness. What God gives him now is only a provision for his journey through this life, to be dispensed with (just like a used bus ticket) when the “destination” of death is reached. We are even more helpless at death than we were when we came into the world. Without the hope of resurrection to life man is no better than the animals. Thank God we have hope!