Reading 1 – 1Ki 22:7,8

“But Jehoshaphat asked, ‘Is there not a prophet of the LORD here whom we can inquire of?’ The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, ‘There is still one man through whom we can inquire of the LORD, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah’ ” (1Ki 22:7,8).

“An ill-omened alliance had been struck up between Ahab of Israel and Jehoshaphat of Judah. The latter, who would have been much better in Jerusalem, had come down to Samaria to join in an assault on the kingdom of Damascus; but, like a great many other people, Jehoshaphat first made up his mind without asking God, and then thought that it might be well to get some kind of varnish of a religious sanction for his decision. So he proposes to Ahab to inquire of the Lord about this matter. One would have thought that that should have been done before, and not after, the determination was made. Ahab does not at all see the necessity for such a thing, but, to please his scrupulous ally, he sends for his priests. They came, four hundred of them, and of course they all played the tune that Ahab called for. It is not difficult to get prophets to pat a king on the back, and tell him, ‘Do what you like.’

“But Jehoshaphat was not satisfied yet. Perhaps he thought that Ahab’s clergy were not exactly God’s prophets, but at all events he wanted an independent opinion; and so he asks if there is not in all Samaria a man that can be trusted to speak out. He gets for answer the name of this ‘Micaiah the son of Imlah.’ Ahab had had experience of him, and knew his man; and the very name leads him to an explosion of passion, which, like other explosions, lays bare some very ugly depths. ‘I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.’

“That is a curious mood, is it not? that a man should know another to be a messenger of God, and therefore know that his words are true, and that if he asked his counsel he would be forbidden to do the thing that he is dead set on doing, and would be warned that to do it was destruction; and that still he should not ask the counsel, nor ever dream of dropping the purpose, but should burst out in a passion of puerile rage against the counsellor, and will have none of his reproofs. Very curious! But there are a great many of us that have something of the same mood in us, though we do not speak it out as plainly as Ahab did. It lurks more or less in us all, and it largely determines the attitude that some of us take to Christianity and to Christ” (Alexander MacLaren).

Reading 2 – Jer 49:19

” Like a lion coming up from Jordan’s thickets to a rich pastureland, I will chase Edom from its land in an instant. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? Who is like me and who can challenge me? And what shepherd can stand against me?” (Jer 49:19).

A LION… FROM JORDAN’S THICKETS: Many lions lived in that region, leaving from time to time to prey upon flocks nearby.

WHAT SHEPHERD CAN STAND AGAINST ME?: Or “before me” (AV). God will provide a “shepherd” (Jesus, the Good Shepherd) to defend the “flock” from the “lion” which lurks in the “river of death”.

Reading 3 – 1Co 9:24

“The New Testament has several allusions in it likening our life in Christ as a race. This conjures up several images in our head. In today’s heavily competitive environment, we might think of many racers jockeying for position and using every possible advantage to beat his or her competitors…

“The story is told of two men who are walking in the forest when all of a sudden they spot a large, angry-looking bear charging at them. As one of the men takes off running, he notices his companion stopping quickly to take off his boots. As he runs on, the first man yells back to his friend, ‘What are you doing? You can’t outrun that bear!’ The man, who has just finished taking off his boots. yells back, ‘I don’t have to outrun the bear. I just have to outrun you!’

“Although this verse may give us the impression that we are in a competition to outrun one another, taking in the whole counsel of God gives us another lesson altogether. Quite to the contrary, we are not in a race against each other. In fact, only in helping each other along the way can we help ourselves in our own race. Paul’s point was to urge the brethren in Corinth, whose main problem was ecclesial schism and factions, that they needed to run this race for eternal life in a much more focussed and determined fashion. The point was not to gauge their progress by comparing themselves among themselves, but to run their very best for Christ — which would include putting aside these fleshly problems which beset them.

“This important point escaped the apostle’s notice for the longest time. For all of Jesus’ earthly ministry, they argued who would be the greatest among them. Jesus told them that the one who sought to be the greatest should seek to be the servant. Those who would be first would be last and those who would be last would be first. This turns our notions of competition on its head.

“A few years ago, I had the opportunity to run in a race that more closely mimics the race for eternal life. It was the ‘Run for the Cure’ 10K race raising money for the fight against breast cancer. It was a run/walk, meaning that you could either run it or walk it. Running time nor athletic ability did not matter. All that mattered was that you finished. What was particularly interesting was that everyone who finished was a winner. By the time I crossed the finish line to the applause of the greeters and my own medal, the first finishers had probably showered off and gone home. However, it didn’t really matter. Neither did it matter that when I finished, there were still hundreds of people running their race. We all ran for a common goal which had nothing to do with besting one another.

“We should all endeavor to run our own race for eternal life to the best of our ability. It is not a competition pitting brother against brother. It is a race pitting us against our sinful desires — one of which is the desire to be the greatest. The author of the Hebrews gives us the perfect racing metaphor here: ‘Let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith’ (Heb 12:1-2)” (Kyle Tucker).

Reading 1 – 2Ki 1

“1Ki and 2Ki were originally one book divided into two by the LXX (BC 294-289). It appears Isaiah and Jeremiah were the authors, using the public records of the kings. It could be that Isaiah wrote to the time of Hezekiah (2Ch 32:32). Jewish tradition says that Jeremiah was the author. The purpose of the book is to show the reason for the Davidic Kingdom being disrupted and to reveal why Yahweh sent Israel into captivity (Eze 21:24-32). It describes the events in the Northern Kingdom of Israel from the ministry of Elisha to the death of Jehu, Israel’s 10th king (2Ki 1-10). It provides alternating annals of both kingdoms to the captivity of Israel. Jonah, Amos and Hosea prophesied at this time in the north (2Ki 11-17). The record continues to the end of the Kingdom. The prophets Obadiah, Joel, Isaiah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah and Jeremiah prophesied at this time (2Ki 18-25). Judah outdistanced Israel for over a century. The Northern Kingdom was compared to the shameful example of Jeroboam. The Southern Kingdom was likened to the glory of David. The one example cast the shadows of death; the other revealed the light of life. Nineteen kings reigned over the north for a period of 250 years, whilst 20 kings reigned in the south from the time of the Disruption for 390 years. The 19 kings of the north came from 7 different dynasties in contrast to the one dynasty in the South. The record of the kings graphically shows the faithfulness of Yahweh to the Davidic Covenant in the preservation of a line (cp 2Ki 8:19)” (GE Mansfield).

Reading 2 – Jer 50; 51

Jer 50; 51 is the most detailed prophecy of the fall of Babylon. And again, this passage was certainly fulfilled in 539 BC. But a number of verses suggest a future fulfillment: ” ‘In those days, at that time,’ declares the Lord, ‘the people of Israel and the people of Judah together will go in tears to seek the Lord their God. They will ask the way to Zion and turn their faces toward it. They will come and bind themselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten’ ” (Jer 50:4,5). When in the past has Israel bound itself in a perpetual covenant to the Lord at Jerusalem, a covenant that cannot and will not be broken? Never. So these verses have yet to be fulfilled.

” ‘But I will bring Israel back to their own pasture and he will graze on Carmel and Bashan; his appetite will be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead. In those days, at that time,’ declares the Lord, ‘search will be made for Israel’s guilt, but there will be none, and for the sins of Judah, but none will be found, for I will forgive the remnant I spare’ ” (Jer 50:19,20).

Israel will experience true forgiveness only when they accept Jesus as their Messiah. That event is yet future.

Reading 3 – 1Co 10:32

“Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God” (1Co 10:32).

“Regardless of how ‘lawful’ a thing may be for us, if it is not a necessity but just a matter of our pleasure and desire, and if we know that it will distress our brethren and sisters, and weaken the ecclesia, and perhaps even divide it; and if we ignore the tears and pleadings of those who implore us to put the love of God and the peace and welfare of the ecclesia ahead of our own selfishness — and if we still go ahead with our willful course, then we have committed a serious sin before God. We have brazenly declared that our own present pleasure and satisfaction is more important to us than the love of God or the ecclesia’s wellbeing. We have declared that we neither have nor understand the beautiful, self-sacrificing spirit of Christ, and that we are, therefore, none of his. We may argue all too truly that few indeed have this. That’s beside the point. The point is: do WE have it? Can we face Christ without it?” (GVG).

Reading 1 – 2Ki 3:16,17

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

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

Reading 2 – Jer 51

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

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

Reading 3 – 1Co 11:29

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

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

Reading 1 – 2Ki 4:1-7

“The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, ‘Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the LORD. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.’ Elisha replied to her, ‘How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?’ ‘Your servant has nothing there at all,’ she said, ‘except a little oil.’ Elisha said, ‘Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.’ She left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. When all the jars were full, she said to her son, ‘Bring me another one.’ But he replied, ‘There is not a jar left.’ Then the oil stopped flowing. She went and told the man of God, and he said, ‘Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left’ ” (2Ki 4:1-7).

Widowed, childless, and past 80 years of age, Bill Cruxton wanted his $500,000 fortune to make a difference in someone’s life. A 17-year-old waitress who had been kind to him seemed the perfect choice. So when Cruxton died on November 9, 1992 he left the bulk of his estate to Cara Wood, a high school senior who befriended him during the 13 months she worked part-time at a restaurant. Even after she quit her job, Cara kept in touch with Cruxton, running errands for him and helping him around the house. Because of his poor eyesight, she often helped him read his mail and pay his bills.

Like Cara Wood, the widow here became the recipient of another’s wealth. But the riches she received came from the hand of God. The woman had known great heartache. She had lost her husband, who was of the men from the “company of the prophets”. Soon she would lose her sons as well, since they were about to become slaves. The Mosaic Law gave a creditor the right to claim the person and children of a debtor who was unable to pay. They were obliged to serve as the creditor’s hired workers until the year of Jubilee, when they were set free (Lev 25:39-41).

It was not a happy prospect, and the prophet Elisha, who knew her husband’s devotion to the Lord, wanted to help this desperate widow. When he learned that she had nothing in her house but a small flask of oil, he told her to collect from her neighbors as many empty jars as she could — leaving the number of jars, and the size of her faith, up to her. The woman was to shut herself and her sons inside the house and pour from her flask until all of the jars were full. Nobody else was to see or know about the miracle. Nobody needed to know about it, or Elisha would surely have been swamped with “business offers”.

The woman did as Elisha instructed, and had enough oil to pay her debts and live off the rest. God’s prophets were not only messengers of His judgment, but instruments of His miraculous provision for His people.

Reading 2 – Jer 52, conclusion

Jeremiah’s life is one of the loneliest and saddest in Scripture. His personal experiences were bitter; the message of disaster he had to proclaim was depressing and unwelcome; and the times in which he lived were of unparalleled calamity. His cause was lost from the beginning, because the people would not hear him. He was everywhere hated and misunderstood. While intensely loving and grieving for his countrymen and his nation, he was despised and persecuted as an enemy and a traitor.

In a short period of 40 years Jeremiah witnessed a temporary resurgence of true worship, saw it fall victim first to Egypt (Josiah’s death), then to Babylon and finally watched it destroy itself while trying to break free from Babylon. His books reflect the tragic drama of the situation. Out of his agony, and the agony of his people, comes the sombre note of lamentation.

When Jeremiah began his ministry, he and Josiah were about the same age. It is truly touching watching these two young men — prophet and king — labouring to turn the nation to righteousness as the smoldering judgments of God hovered over the land; just as two young men — a prophet and a king — John and Jesus, did in the days of the nation’s final judgment.

It is notable that Jeremiah’s ministry began just forty years before the destruction of Jerusalem and the burning of the Temple by the Babylonians, as recorded in the Lamentations. We remember that Jesus began his ministry just forty years before the destruction of Jerusalem and the burning of the Temple by the Romans. In each case we see a period of final probation given to the city.

Jeremiah’s mission was to witness for God against apostate and worldly Judah. But his work was not only as a witness of condemnation; it had a far more glorious purpose. It was to encourage and strengthen the scattered, faithful remnant — of his own day and of all the ages since. And in our present time of crisis for the Truth, and imminent judgment, its message of comfort has great and sustaining power.

When the terrible judgments came, it would appear that God had completely rejected Israel, and that all hope was gone. But the lonely prophet with his message of eventual glory was a symbol that God was still concerned with them although they had been unfaithful, and his prophecies gave comforting assurance that those who held fast would never be forgotten, and that, though these dreadful evils should come, the latter end would be blessing and peace.

Reading 3 – 1Co 13:4-7

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” (1Co 13:4-7).

God is a jealous God. He demands all our love and attention. But because we love God the more, do we love our brethren less? Our love for God is different from our love for another person. If we truly love God, we will show our love for Him in practical expressions of love for others. True divine love does not exclude human love; rather, it enhances it.

1Co 13:4-7 above contain a dozen or so characteristics of Scriptural “love”. We shall consider each one in turn:

“Love is patient”: We have the example of Christ, who patiently taught his disciples and time after time helped them when they stumbled and lacked faith. Undoubtedly there were times when he wanted to throw up his hands and abandon the effort altogether, for they were so slow to learn and so bent on maintaining their own natural affections. But he loved them dearly; he loved them despite their inadequacies; he prayed for them; and he persisted until his efforts began to bear fruit. Can we do any less for our brethren?

“Love is kind”: This English word “kind” is one of those pale, sentimental words that just does no justice to the original. We should say, instead, that love is considerate — showing an active, involved concern for the needs of others, even to the detriment of one’s own comfort. We probably all think of ourselves as being “kind”, for we certainly are never “unkind”! Are we?

“If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit?” (Jam 2:15,16).

There are times when a “kind word” is no more than hypocrisy, because it masks a failure to help in any practical way. Have we ever been guilty of such an act, in a benign, “friendly” indifference to the circumstances of others? Then we may have been courteous and civil and pleasant, but we have not been “kind” in the Scriptural sense, and we have not been loving.

“Love does not envy”: The divergence of gifts among the Corinthians was a cause of envy. Likewise, envy can result today from comparisons between brethren: “Who is the better speaker?” “Why was he elected Arranging Brother?” “So-and-so wants to run everything. Who put him (or her) in charge?” The person who can ask such questions does not have at heart the best interests of the whole body. Jealousy, or envy, is a terrible disease, and often fatal in the spiritual sense. It destroys its originator much more quickly than the one at whom it is directed.

“Love does not boast… is not proud”: Envy and boasting are quite closely related. They both stem from the same basic problem: love of self rather than love of others. True love does not have to be pushy. It does not need attention. It can afford to wait. Remember what Jesus said of the arrogant Pharisees — who did their works to be seen of men: “They already have their reward.” Let this not be said of us.

“Love is not rude”: There is a right way and a wrong way to do almost anything. Sometimes a gentle admonition or even a stern rebuke needs to be administered. It is possible to be in the right — even to say the right thing — but to say it in absolutely the wrong way. A criticism may be correct in every particular, but if it is delivered with a superior or proud or overbearing manner it will not achieve a good result. As always, the principle is consideration for others: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. In short… love.

“Love is not self-seeking”: Have you ever participated in a three-legged race? You may be the fastest runner at the picnic, but you’ll wind up sprawled on the grass unless you can adapt yourself to the style of your partner. This principle also holds true in the ecclesia. We are all members of the one body, and we must learn to function as a unit. We are “yoked together” with our brethren in many endeavors; we cannot always choose the way that pleases us most.

Your way of doing things may always be the best, but it won’t always be the one chosen by the majority. Then what do you do? Go along or “drop out”? There have been cases of members leaving meetings because of absolutely trivial disagreements, in which they failed to get their own way and just could not bend enough to go along with others. And they, and sometimes their families, have paid for that stubbornness with twenty or thirty years of self-imposed isolation.

There is an extremely illuminating passage in this connection:

“For even Christ pleased not himself” (Rom 15:3). Just six little words, but a world of exhortation and self-examination. If even Christ did not please himself, who are we to think that things should always go our way? Who are we to please ourselves in everything?

“Love is not easily angered”: A person possessing the true love of God has a peace of mind that no other has. In the midst of strife and controversy, he maintains a calm and reasoning mind, and a disposition to peacemaking. He has that same inner serenity that sustained Christ through his great trials. A person in such a frame of mind cannot be offended by others. He is not provoked to backbiting or vengeance. He relies upon the grace of God, he knows that there is a final judgment that will right all wrongs, and he is not concerned about what man may do to him in the meanwhile. If God is for him, who can be against him?

“Love delights not in evil, but in truth”: If ever a thought might be coupled with “Let a man examine himself”, surely this is it! Don’t we all do this? Don’t we all listen to gossip and rumors and evil insinuations? Don’t we all — sometimes — derive pleasure from the shortcomings of others, especially those who have previously appeared to be models of uprightness?

We judge ourselves by the standards of others, and when we do this we are glad to see them fall. We tend to think we are lifted up in proportion as our brother is cast down. But when we live by this standard we are completely corrupting Paul’s teachings of the unity of Christ’s body and the dependence of one member upon another. These lofty ideas lose their meaning when cooperation is replaced by competition.

“Love always protects”: We need go no further than Christ’s example. Christ bore our sins in his body on the tree, and more than that he bore our sorrows that he might be a perfect mediator.

The mind lingers on a picture, perhaps well-known to many. One boy with a younger one on his back. “He ain’t heavy. He’s my brother!” Strain is obviously there, but he bears his burden gladly. All things are relative, aren’t they? Yes, in more ways than one! We are willing to do for our families what seems intolerable if done for others. Do we sit in the meeting on Sunday morning, and feel that those with whom we break bread are really our family? Or are our expressions of “Brother Smith” and “Sister Jones” merely a formal, stylized address? Let us live that family relationship of which the Bible speaks so often; let us rejoice with them that rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Let us “bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal 6:2).

“Love always hopes… always perseveres”: The Christian’s life of love is a joyful existence. In the midst of sorrows and pains, he rejoices in the great gifts of the Creator. His eye is firmly set upon the hope that rises as a mountain before him. There may be a valley to traverse before he reaches that distant peak. But he never takes his eye off that glorious future; and all life’s little annoyances and inconveniences are seen for what they are — stepping stones en route to the Kingdom. Paul says in another place: “I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound; everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phi 4:12,13).

All that God has given us — riches, talents, intelligence, health — diminishes with the passing of time. Man grows old and dies. Only love remains, as a bridge between this life and the life to come, a bridge over the chasm of eternal nothingness. Every other gift or talent will fail, just as the Holy Spirit gifts finally ceased. The only thing that endures is the character of man, engraved in the infinite mind of God.

Reading 1 – 2Ki 5:13,14

“Naaman’s servants went to him and said, ‘My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, “Wash and be cleansed”!’ So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy” (2Ki 5:13,14).

“It may seem strange and incredible that God would connect such a momentous change [covenant relationship, and forgiveness of sins] with a trivial and (as some regard it) ridiculous observance [baptism]. An earnest mind, however, will not stop to reason on the matter when once satisfied that it is the will of God, especially when he remembers that it is one of the characteristics of God’s dealings with men that He selects ‘weak things, things despised, yea, and things that are not’ (1Co 1:27,28), by which to accomplish important results — that it may be seen that the power is of God, and not in the means, and that true obedience may be secured in His servants. It was not the eating of the fruit in itself — apart from the divine prohibition — that constituted Adam’s offence. It was not the mere looking at the brazen serpent in the wilderness that cured the serpent bitten Israelites. It was not Naaman’s mere immersion in Jordan in itself that cured him of his leprosy. It was the principle involved in each case that developed the results — the principle of obedience to the divine law, which is one prominent feature in all God’s dealings with man. Obedience is the great thing required at our hands: ‘Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams’ (1Sa 15:22).

“It matters not what the act may be; the more unlikely the thing required, the more severe the test, and the more conspicuous the obedience, even if it be the offering up of an only son, or the slaughtering of a whole nation. In any case, and at all hazards, obedience must be yielded. God is not less exacting in this respect under the Christian dispensation than He was under the law; but, if possible, more so” (Robert Roberts, “Christendom Astray”).

Reading 2 – Lam 1:1

“How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people” (Lam 1:1; cp Isa 3:8).

Well-known among students of ancient history is a medal struck by a Greek artist of the Roman Court to commemorate the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus and Vespasian in 70 AD. It is called “Judea Capta” (“Judah Subjected”), and it depicts a powerful soldier standing triumphantly over a helpless woman, who sits destitute upon the ground. How did this come about? Let us ask ourselves and learn the answer well. It came about because Judah neglected its true strength — the Lord their God.

What do we naturally think of when we hear the words “many people”? Ideas that come to mind are a party, or a market place — people milling around, laughing, joking and empty of serious thoughts. This is how Isaiah pictured this same city, Jerusalem — “full of stirs, a tumultuous city, a joyous city” (Isa 22:2); a city, in fact, thoroughly opposed to the Divine will, and heedless of her impending punishment: “And in that day did the Lord GOD of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth: And behold (instead) joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall die” (Isa 22:12,13).

To those who thought in their hearts, “Peace and safety”, came instead sudden destruction (1Th 5:3) by the wrath of God: “I will make your cities waste… desolation”, He had threatened through His prophet Moses (Lev 26:14-16, 31-35). But the people had continued to delight themselves in every imaginable form of wickedness until it was too late (Note the summary of Nebuchadnezzar’s destructions in Jer 52:12-23 — and remember that he was merely God’s “servant” — Jer 25:9 — to perform this).

”As a widow”: The city of Jerusalem had lost her husband, her lord and her protector (Jer 2:2). All of the pains associated with widowhood were hers — an absence of her “husband’s” favor and protection; sorrow and grief; a pitiful feeling of helplessness (Isa 54:6; Hos 3:3, 4).

Let us remember why such things came upon Jerusalem: “Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves (ie, into slavery), and for your transgressions is your mother put away” (Isa 50:1). “Your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you” (Isa 59:2).

“She that was great among the nations”: Israel, in its beginning as a kingdom, was lavishly praised by Hiram of Tyre (“this great people” — 1Ki 5:7) and the queen of Sheba, who saw Solomon’s wealth (1Ki 10). The united kingdom of Solomon’s time must have been very nearly unsurpassed in commerce and power. And the kingdom of Judah continued to prosper at times in the years following the division of the kingdom.

“How is she become tributary”: We are perhaps too accustomed to viewing Judah, during the period of the kings, as having much less majesty and authority than she actually had. Only when we realize what a magnificent position she once occupied, can such a phrase as this have its proper effect upon us. Just as God brought the splendor of Egypt and Babylon to the dust, so was He able to humble Judah. The word “tributary” refers to personal servitude (the same word as in Josh 16:10; 17:13). Compare Lam 5:8,13,16. The princess had become a “slave” (NIV), a “vassal” (RSV).

Reading 3 – 1Co 14:40

“But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way” (1Co 14:40).

“The brother or sister who sincerely loves God will endeavour always to be punctual in the observance of His requirements and appointments. (Unavoidable lateness is exceptional, and need not here be considered.) To be late at the meetings when we could have been early is indicative of indifference and carelessness in regard to the things of God. The meetings are of God’s appointment for the benefit of His children. The latecomer not only himself loses much of this benefit, but hinders those who are punctual in receiving the good. Usually the meetings commence with collective thanksgiving to God; is it not manifestly irreverent, and consequently displeasing to Him, that the privilege should be disturbed by latecomers, who with a little thought and care could have been present to unite in prayer and thanksgiving? Christ is our example in all things, and there is more than a suggestion of punctuality in the record that ‘when the hour was come he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him’ (to eat the Passover) (Luk 22:14)” (WJ White).

Reading 1 – 2Ki 6:1-7

“The company of the prophets said to Elisha, ‘Look, the place where we meet with you is too small for us. Let us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get a pole; and let us build a place there for us to live.’ And he said, ‘Go.’ Then one of them said, ‘Won’t you please come with your servants?’ ‘I will,’ Elisha replied. And he went with them. They went to the Jordan and began to cut down trees. As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. ‘Oh, my lord,’ he cried out, ‘it was borrowed!’ The man of God asked, ‘Where did it fall?’ When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float. ‘Lift it out,’ he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it” (2Ki 6:1-7).

The floating ax-head is perhaps related to Canaanite mythology: El, father of the gods, yields rulership of the gods to Yamm (the god of the sea) — who is sometimes interchanged with Nahar (the god of the river). Baal is jealous and goes about to kill Yamm/Nahar, after which he succeeds and becomes the ruler. Baal kills Yamm/Nahar by means of two axes — which fly from the hands of Baal.

Because of this the ax became a cultic symbol to Baal worshippers. Idols have been found of Baal brandishing an ax, and Baal worshipers (rulers/priests/soldiers) would often walk into the river (nahar) holding the ax of Baal to illustrate the supremacy of Baal over Nahar. As the Baal versus Yamm myth was supposed to be a cycle, often these people would stand in the river to associate themselves with the regeneration of Yamm/Nahar (ie, his coming back to life to start the cycle all over again: cp Naaman and the Syrian rivers in 2Ki 5:12).

Here, the ax-head flies into the river… just like Yamm/Nahar (Sea/River god) was killed by Baal’s ax. But, even with ‘Baal’s weapon’ in the river god’s body, the servant of Yahweh has power over both of them. That is, Yahweh is greater than Yam/Nahar, and greater than Baal. Elisha exercised power over the river by having a stick thrown in the water, causing the ax to float.

Compare, incidentally, the related features of Exo 15: where the iron of Pharaoh’s chariots could not part the sea, but the wooden rod of Moses does; and where it is the tree — of wood — that makes the bitter waters sweet.

Reading 2 – Lam 2

In Lam 1, the central theme was the helplessness of Israel — “None to comfort her”. But in v 18 of that chapter, there was recognition of God’s hand in her desolation — which continues as the main theme of this chapter. In the first chapter, the thought “None to comfort her” occurs seven times; in the second, the “Lord” (“Yahweh”) is mentioned by name seven times as the One who “hath done this” (vv 1,2,5,7,8,17,20). Once, in v 16, Jerusalem’s enemies boast proudly, “We have swallowed her up.” But they, as all others outside the understanding of God, have misinterpreted the forces and the reasons behind the history of the Jews. God has thought only to punish the nation temporarily, as a necessary part of His overall plan. Then He must cleanse them and establish them, for they are His peculiar people, and He cannot utterly cast them away, because of His promises to their fathers. The promises to the fathers were made immutable by oath, as Paul reminds us. Nevertheless, their punishments (and their recognition of it as coming from God) are essential.

In this chapter, Jeremiah speaks too as the voice of the righteous remnant — who lament the fate of Zion (vv 13,14), but who never cease to arise and call upon God to remember His people (vv 18-20).

Reading 3 – 1Co 15:42-50

“So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: ‘The first man Adam became a living being’; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven. I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable” (1Co 15:42-50).

“We drop a seed into the ground,

A tiny, shapeless thing, shrivelled and dry,

And, in the fulness of its time, is seen

A form of peerless beauty, robed and crowned

Beyond the pride of any earthly queen,

Inset with loveliness, and sweet and rare,

The perfect emblem of its Maker’s care.

This from a shrivelled seed? —

Then may man hope indeed!

For man is but the seed of what he shall be,

When, in the fulness of his perfecting,

He drops the husk and cleaves his upward way,

Through earth’s retardings and clinging clay,

Into the sunshine of God’s perfect day.

No fetters then! No bonds of time or space!

But powers as ample as the boundless grace

That suffered man, and death, and yet in tenderness,

Set wide the door, and passed himself before —

As he had promised — to prepare a place.

We know not what we shall be — only this —

That we shall be made like him — as he is” (J Oxenham).

Reading 1 – 2Ki 7:9

“Then they said to each other, ‘We’re not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let’s go at once and report this to the royal palace’ ” (2Ki 7:9).

“Make sure that you have found the Savior. Eat and drink of him; enrich yourself with him; and then go and publish the glad tidings. I shall not object to your going as early as possible; but still, I would prefer that you should not go to assure others until you are quite certain yourself. I would have you go with a personal witness, for this will be your chief power with others. If you run too soon, and do not first taste and see that the Lord is good, you may say to others, ‘There is abundance in the camp’; and they may reply, ‘Why have you not eaten of it yourself?’ Thus your testimony will be weakened, if not destroyed; and you will wish you had held your peace. It is better that you first of all delight yourself in fatness before you proclaim the fact of a festival. It is good that your faith should grasp the exceeding great and precious promises; and then, when you run as a tidings-bearer, you will testify what you have seen. If any say to you, ‘Are you sure that it is true?’ you will answer, ‘Ay, that I am, for I have tasted and handled of the good word of life.’ Personal enjoyments of true godliness assist us in our testimony for truth and grace.

“But the point I desire to bring out is this: if those lepers had stopped in the camp all night, if they had remained lying on the Syrian couches, singing, ‘Our willing souls would stay in such a place as this’; and if they had never gone at all to their compatriots, shut up and starving within the city walls, their conduct would have been brutal and inhuman. I am going to talk to some at this time… who think that they have found the Savior… who write themselves down as having truly enjoyed religion, and who imagine that now their sole business is to enjoy themselves. They delight to feed on the word, and to this I do not object at all; but then, if it is all feeding and nothing comes of it, I ask to what end are they fed? If the only result of our religion is the comfort of our poor little souls, if the beginning and the end of piety is contained within one’s self, why, it is a strange thing to be in connection with the unselfish Jesus, and to be the fruit of his gracious Spirit. Surely, Jesus did not come to save us that we might live unto ourselves. He came to save us from selfishness.

“I am afraid that some… have never yet confessed the work of God… They feel that, whereas they were once blind, now they see; but they have never declared what the Lord has done for them. Has all this work been done in a corner for their personal [enjoyment]? I want to [address] them, and at all others who have not yet considered that the object of their receiving grace from the Lord is that God may, through them, communicate grace to others. No man liveth unto himself. No man should attempt so to live” (CH Spurgeon).

Reading 2 – Lam 3:7

“He has walled me in so I cannot escape” (Lam 3:7).

In the past, God had fenced Israel with a fiery wall of protection (Exo 14:19,20; Zec 2:5), and He will do so again in the future (Zec 9:8; Isa 4:5; 60:18). But here, the “hedge” (AV) has become a hedge of thorns (as in Hos 2:6,7) and a prison (cp Job 19:8).

Likewise, compare Christ’s crown of thorns (Mat 27:29; Mar 15:17; Joh 19:2,5).

Every life is surrounded by divine limitations. God hedges us all about, in one way or another. For one there may be physical limitations — of health or disability or advancing age. Another might feel most severely the limitation of poverty; and another yet, the lack of education. If we accept our Father’s will, then we will accept and graciously live with the “hedges” He has imposed upon us. But if we fret and grumble and batter against these “fences” and “chains”, then — for one thing — we are rebelling against God. And — for another thing — we are proportionally neglecting our unique opportunities to do the good which God has placed within our power. As one brother expressed it, we must do what we can, with what we have, where we are. We are not responsible for what we cannot do, nor for what we do not have, nor for where we cannot go.

Reading 3 – 1Co 16:2

“On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made” (1Co 16:2).

The rules of the collection:

Regularly (“on the first day of every week”); Individually (“each one of you”); and Proportionately (“in keeping with his income”).

Reading 1 – 2Ki 8:1-6

“It appears that ‘a great woman’ of Shechem had befriended the prophet, finding him and his servant, from time to time, as they passed by that place, food and lodging. In return for this he sends her a message: ‘Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host?’ (2Ki 4:13) Now we should have gathered from previous passages in Elisha’s history, that Jehoram, who was then king of Israel, was not one with whom he was upon such terms as this proposition to the Shunammite implies. Jehoram was the son of Ahab, his old master Elijah’s enemy, and apparently no friend of his own; for when the three kings, the king of Israel, the king of Judah, and the king of Edom, in their distress for water, in their expedition against Moab, wished to inquire of the Lord through Elisha, his answer to the king of Israel was, ‘As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee’ (2Ki 3:14). What, then, had occurred in the interval betwixt this avowal, and his proposal to the Shunammite to use his influence in her favour at court, which had changed his position with respect to the king of Israel? It may be supposed that it was the sudden supply of water, which he had furnished these kings with, by God’s permission, thus saving the expedition; and the defeat of the enemy, to which it had been instrumental (2Ki 3:16,17). This would naturally make Elisha feel that the king of Israel was under obligations to him and that he could ask a slight favour of him without seeming to sanction the character of the man by doing so. And this solution of the case appears to be the more probable, from Elisha coupling the ‘captain of the host’ with the king; as though his interest was equally good with him too, which he might reasonably consider it to be, when he had done the army such signal service; and it is further confirmed by another incident related of this same Shunammite in a subsequent chapter. For having fled from the seven years’ famine into another country, she lost her house and land in her own, on which she appealed to king Jehoram. Accordingly, ‘the king talked with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things Elisha hath done’ (2Ki 8:4). Elisha having now, no doubt, actually recommended her case to the king. And when Gehazi had named some of these miracles, ‘the king appointed to her a certain officer, saying, Restore all that was hers’; so that the event shows that Elisha on the former occasion had not miscalculated his powers, or the grounds on which he might challenge the king’s favours” (JJ Blunt, “Undesigned Scriptural Coincidences”).

Reading 2 – Lam 4:1,2

The most precious possession — the greatest natural resource of any nation — is its people. Thus, the sons of Zion are symbolized by gold and precious stones. A nation’s vitality is determined by the condition, motivation, and loyalty of its citizens. This was especially true of Judah, for their national economy was as strong as their faithfulness to God. When the sons of Zion were faithful, they were precious in God’s eyes and He became their staff and shield. When they were unfaithful, God became the rod of correction to them, and they became base in His eyes. They were removed from their place of pre-eminence over the nations and like a shattered piece of pottery they were broken and scattered.

In times of stress people often lose whatever “godliness” they might possess. Israel, for example, had become lower than animals with respect to responsibility to their young (2Ki 6:25-29). This is a picture of futility — even depravity, brought about by great tribulation. The city’s inhabitants, once the picture of health, became spiritually and physically “withered”.

“How is the gold become dim!” (v 1): Gold is used throughout the Bible as a symbol of faith — a tried faith in God, as gold that has passed through the fire and been purified (1Pe 1:7; Job 23:10). Thus, gold or faith is the basis for the kingdom of God, both in the past and in the future. In Jeremiah’s time, true faith had all but completely disappeared, and thus the kingdom was removed from the “daughter of Zion” (Ezek 21:25-27). The gold became dim (dark) because of impurities.

“How is the most fine gold changed!” This is a reference to a deed of Solomon, but it is typical of the lack of faith in God common to most men and most times — especially so to Jeremiah’s time. Solomon possessed 300 gold shields (1Ki 10:17) — symbols of faith in God (cp Eph 6:16 — “the shield of faith”). But he unwisely used his wealth to buy leagues with other nations, and thus to glorify the flesh and his own ingenuity. This did not profit him, and after his death Shishak of Egypt removed the remainder of the gold shields during the reign of Rehoboam (1Ki 14:26,27). And Rehoboam replaced the shields of gold with shields of brass — or copper — denoting trust in man. The fine gold was changed!

“The stones of the sanctuary are poured out in the top of every street.” Stones are often representative of people; and the type of stone determines the type of person intended. Peter’s profession of faith in the Messiahship of Jesus is called a “rock” (Mat 16:16) — the sturdy foundation of the Holy City (Rev 21:14), the stones of God’s sanctuary or temple — because all the “stones” of that eternal city will have professed the same faith as Peter. They will be “lively (or living) stones” built up around Christ — the “chief cornerstone” (Isa 28:16; Psa 118:22; Acts 4:11), the “rock” in the wilderness (1Co 10:1-4). Thus Jeremiah is here bewailing the righteous.

“How are they esteemed as earthen pitchers” (v 2). Those who might have been precious stones and fine gold instead failed to please God; and they were to be broken, as in Jer 19:11 and Isa 30:14.

Man is an earthen vessel, made by God (Jer 18:6; Rom 9:21). He must be filled — or fill himself — with the “treasure” of God’s knowledge (2Co 4:6, 7), or else he will be destroyed as vessels of wood and earth (2Ti 2:20).

Reading 3 – 2Co 2:17

“Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God” (2Co 2:17).

The word translated “peddle” — which is “kapeleuo” — occurs only once in the New Testament. It refers to a huckster, a retailer, who by implication adulterates the goods he sells, for these hucksters in the apostles’ days were notorious for their habit of watering the wine, and mixing their commodities, such as grain, with sawdust or the like. Men adulterate the wine of God’s Word when they dilute it with the water of their own reason, and read into it what is not clearly there.

Reading 1 – 2Ki 9:35,36

“But when they went out to bury her [the abominable, idolatrous, immoral Jezebel], they found nothing except her skull, her feet and her hands… This is the word of the LORD that he spoke through his servant Elijah the Tishbite: On the plot of ground at Jezreel dogs will devour Jezebel’s flesh” (2Ki 9:35,36).

But they did not eat everything! There is undoubtedly a lesson here, expressed symbolically: so wicked was Jezebel, that even the wild scavenger dogs of the streets — capable of eating the most disgusting garbage and offal — did not consider her head (symbolizing her thoughts), her feet (symbolizing her walk), or her hands (symbolizing her actions) fit to consume! When these dogs, which may readily consume their own vomit (Pro 26:11; 2Pe 2:22), turn their backs on any “dish”, then it must be abhorrent to the last degree!

Reading 2 – Lam 5:1-4

“Remember, O LORD, what has happened to us; look, and see our disgrace. Our inheritance has been turned over to aliens, our homes to foreigners. We have become orphans and fatherless, our mothers like widows. We must buy the water we drink; our wood can be had only at a price” (Lam 5:1-4).

Is it far-fetched to suppose that, in His mercy, God might bring such reproaches on His Ecclesia before it is too late? Loss of homes and wealth, break-up of families, destitution… But the flesh’s failure can become the Spirit’s successes. And if we as God’s children need the lesson reinforced that we are still “strangers and pilgrims” on the earth, with no permanent dwelling-place, and no “fine prospects” in this wicked generation — then, most assuredly, God will see that it is done.

Reading 3 – 2Co 4:17,18

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2Co 4:17,18).

“There can be no comparison between a temporal and an eternal object, since the finite can never be compared with the infinite. It is a fact, however, that in all temporal objects men pay great regard to the time required for the endeavour and the durability of the finished work. Who would not be willing to endure a single second of suffering in order to secure some substantial advantage for the rest of life? Yet even a second is a proportion of our allotted span. The fraction can easily be expressed in figures, and not such an appalling array of figures either. Sixty seconds to the minute, sixty minutes to the hour, twenty-four hours to the day, three-hundred-sixty-five days to the year, and then seventy years for a human life. But the whole history of mankind does not constitute a fraction of eternity. The realization of this fact helps us to see something of God’s point of view, and we can understand why that which seems like the most awful suffering to us can be described as a ‘light affliction which endureth but for a moment’ ” (Islip Collyer, “Convictions and Conduct” 125,126).

Reading 1 – 2Ki 10

“Jehu is one of the most curious characters to appear in the report of the kings. He manifested an unquenchable zeal for Yahweh while undertaking the mission of wiping out Ahab’s house, but as soon as he came to the throne he casually reintroduced the apostasy of Jeroboam and completely ignored the Law of Yahweh concerning Israel’s worship. In order to ascertain his character, attention must therefore be focused on what motivated his professed zeal for Yahweh.

“Jehu massacred, in succession, Jehoram, Ahaziah, Jezebel, seventy sons of Ahab, 42 princes of Judah, and many thousands of Baal worshippers gathered by his decree to a special conference in Samaria. The cool and calculated ruthlessness with which he accomplished the vengeance of Yahweh upon Ahab’s house is a clear indication of the real essence of Jehu’s character. Yahweh commended him for destroying the house of Ahab (2Ki 10:30), but not for the attitude he adopted in accomplishing it. Jehu relished bloodshed and derived great satisfaction from the destruction of his fellow-Israelites, as is revealed in the death of Ahab’s seventy sons — whose heads he piled up in two heaps at the gate of Jezreel (2Ki 10:8-11). His zeal for Yahweh was really only a cloak for a blood-thirstiness unequalled in the history of the kings; hence Yahweh declared that He would in turn ‘avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu’ (Hos 1:4)” (JA Cowie, “The Kings of Israel and Judah”).

Reading 2 – Eze 1

What is the derivation of the Hebrew word “cherub”? One possibility: “cherub” = ke-rab: the conjunction of two Hebrew words: (a) “ke”: the likeness of; and (b) “rab”: greatness, or a great number (cp “Rabbi”). Thus cherubim (the plural) thus signifies a great and mighty multitude, in whom God is manifested. This might refer to an angelic company or the company of the redeemed. All of the places of worship have cherubim associated with them (Gen 3:24; Exo 25:13-22; 26:31,33; 1Ki 6:23-35) — suggesting that the great cherubic multitude will be finally revealed through their true worship of the Almighty.

The cherubim were associated with chariots (1Ch 28:18) — the ancient vehicles of war, suggesting that their manifestation will be accompanied by a great battle. (John Thomas suggests the word “cherub” is related to the Hebrew word “rekab”, or “chariot”.)

Therefore, the cherubim speak of the sureness of God’s purpose, covenants, and provisions, and His promise to fill the earth eventually with His glory, in the persons of many resurrected Spirit-beings. This salvation is the hope of all creation, and the cherubim in Eze 1 are pictured with four heads:

The lion: the head of all wild creatures; The ox: the head of all tame creatures; The eagle: the head of all birds; and Man: the supreme head of all God’s creation (Gen 1:26,28), who has been promised dominion over the earth.

Reading 3 – 2Co 7:1

“Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God” (2Co 7:1).

“Just as all disciples are against sin, so all disciples are in favour of purity. But all disciples know it is easier to denounce sin than to renounce it. Most would confess that it is easier to approve purity in principle than to perfect it in practice. To be convicted of impurity seems worse than being convicted, say, of covetousness. It is not worse necessarily but it seems worse. It appears more shocking. Why is this? Because in the minds of many people impurity has a strong sexual connotation. This is understandable, because sexual permissiveness does lead to a great deal of impurity… But there is other carnal conduct apart from sexuality. There is greed and gluttony and sloth. There is the cry of the mouth, there is the seeking of the eye, there is the grasping hand. There is the allurement of temptation. There is envy, jealousy and lust. By these things discipleship is tainted. Purity, therefore, is a condition free from contamination and pollution. Positively, it is clean, chaste, unsoiled. The absolute tone of these adjectives drives home the realisation that it is easier said than done.

“As an example, think of this. We sometimes speak of having pure motives. Who dares to say that his motives are always pure? No secret selfishness; no hidden self-esteem; no veiled pride? So, although we may be satisfied that we are free from sexual impurity, wisdom should warn us that there are other kinds which have to be recognised and repudiated… The first thing to notice is that the motive force in the process of cleansing is not human strength but divine influence. ‘Having therefore these promises.’ The power is in the promises and the claim that faith makes upon them. To strive for the cleansing and to neglect the promises is to court failure. To accept the promises and to neglect the personal cleansing is to keep the pollution. What are the promises? 2Co 6 is the answer: ‘I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.’ ‘I will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters.’ Because of the promise the cleansing command is this: ‘Touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you’ (2Co 6:16-18).

“It is evident that disciples under the influence of the Father have a definite thing to do. Having put their faith in the promise they must take resolute action towards cleansing from the unclean thing, whatever it is. No half-measures; no secret reservations; no escape routes; no reserves for rebuilding the old bridges in case we need to retreat. The call is for firm, clear-cut action. Associations, habits, friendships, indulgences which are known to lead to impurity must be renounced and denied. Cut the cord, burn every bridge. Go back to the early days, before you got involved in tainted things. Go back to the beginning when the vision was bright and separation entire” (Dennis Gillett, “Genius of Discipleship”).