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 – 1Ki 18:45

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

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

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

Reading 2 – Jer 44:4

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

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

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

Reading 3 – 1Co 3:16

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

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

Reading 1 – 2Ki 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 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 – 1Ki 21:3

“Naboth replied, ‘The LORD forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers’ ” (1Ki 21:3).

The Jews could not permanently sell their land, but only lease it until the year of Jubilee (Lev 25:23). To sell land is to presume its ownership, but the true Israelite knew that Yahweh was the only real “owner” of the Land. Naboth only held the property in trust for Him.

Naboth’s rationalizations might be imagined:

The Law is often ignored anyway; Selling the land will bring me material gain; and I must protect my family.

Yet against all these arguments Naboth is steadfast to the Law of God.

Likewise, we must learn to look at our SPIRITUAL inheritance from the LORD; we must not “sell” it — no matter the price offered, or any other inducement to part with it, or any threat to us if we don’t give it up! It is absolutely priceless.

Reading 2 – Jer 48

“The prophet Jeremiah reviews the neighbouring nations to Judah, and pronounces divine judgment. Jer 48 is against Moab, because they did not wisely benefit from their long period of peace (v 11). They thought they did, by fortifying their cities, establishing their worship, building up their wealth. But these were the very grounds of complaint against the nation (v 7). So the prophet declares that:

They will be invaded by Babylon: vv 1-5. Therefore they were urged to flee: vv 6-10. Consequently Moab would become desolate: vv 11-25. The reasons for divine judgment are given: vv 26-30. A lamentation for Moab is expressed: vv 31-39. The Babylonian invasion is pronounced: vv 40-46. There is a restoration for Moab: v 47.

Moab and Ammon were closely related to Israel, being born of the incestuous union between Lot and his two daughters (Gen 19:31-38). Moab signifies ‘from a father’, and Ammon ‘son of my people’. In his treatment of Moab, Jeremiah reproduces some of the language of Isaiah 140 years earlier (cp Isa 15;16), and applies them to the Babylonian invasion as Isaiah did to the Assyrian. Though closely related to Israel, even in language, the Moabites showed hostility to them on Israel’s original approach to the Land, and refused them hospitality, on account of which they were denied entrance into the congregation of Yahweh to the tenth generation (Deu 23:4). They hired Balaam against Israel, and used their women to entice Israel from their allegiance (Num 25:1). But a latter-day restoration of Moab is seen in the redemption of natural Israel (Jer 48:47), who have acted as did Moab formerly” (GEM).

Reading 3 – 1Co 7:26,27

“Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for you to remain as you are… Are you unmarried? Do not look for a wife” (1Co 7:26,27).

Some historians say that it was a localized plague or epidemic that was taking away many Corinthians at this time.

“It is a great mistake to think that Paul discountenanced marriage because upon one occasion, by reason of certain distress, he gave exceptional advice. To the Hebrews (Heb 13:4) he wrote of marriage being honourable in all, and the word he used has been rendered ‘had in reputation’ (Act 5:34); ‘dear’ (Act 20:24); ‘precious’ (1Co 3:12); ‘most precious’ (Rev 21:11); and similarly in fourteen texts. Besides, Paul expressly commanded the young women to marry (1Ti 5:14). Who were they to marry? Surely not old brethren — or the medically unfit — or the alien young men! No: marriage is honourable in all. Brother Roberts was right in concluding as he did: ‘I always felt that marriage was something that lay in my path before I could enter upon the earnest work of life. And, now I see how serviceable it has been in every way for the work that has been done.’ How many of us who have been Christadelphians practically all our lives can say Amen to those conclusions?” (FG Jannaway).

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 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 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”).

Reading 1 – 1Ki 17

Elijah was a prophet of the LORD; a man sent from God (1Ki 17). He appeared out of Gilead to Ahab, the apostate king of Israel, who ruled the ten rebellious tribes that worshipped at Bethel and Dan. Evils covered the Land like a flood. For three and a half years Elijah prayed for no rain; the LORD answered with drought and famine. The Land literally burned during that judgment, for its natural life and livelihood depends on the water from heaven.

Elijah hated Queen Jezebel’s promotion of Astarte, the goddess named for the planet Venus. He hated the whoredom of the people who worshipped the goddess of “love” and “queen of heaven” through the religious cult that included sodomy and prostitution. Elijah hated the robbery and oppression condoned by King Ahab. He hated the people’s disobedience to the Law given to Israel at Sinai. Ahab also worshiped the calves, the pagan imagery of the worship of the “host of heaven,” which dates from even before the time of the exodus from Egypt.

Elijah was one individual among 7,000 who remained faithful to God during Israel’s apostasy of the ten tribes. He was very zealous for the one true God, who created the heavens and the earth. A righteous man, Elijah was also a passionate man. Simple, child-like, trusting; at times not fully understanding why, he nevertheless did the bidding of his God. That’s all. Because he was hot and not cold to do His work, God will send him [or someone very like him!] to Israel again, before Christ returns to rule from Zion’s hill.

Reading 2 – Jer 43:7-11

“So they entered Egypt in disobedience to the LORD and went as far as Tahpanhes. In Tahpanhes the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: ‘While the Jews are watching, take some large stones with you and bury them in clay in the brick pavement at the entrance to Pharaoh’s palace in Tahpanhes. Then say to them, “This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I will send for my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will set his throne over these stones I have buried here; he will spread his royal canopy above them.” He will come and attack Egypt, bringing death to those destined for death, captivity to those destined for captivity, and the sword to those destined for the sword’ ” (Jer 43:7-11).

At last the emigrants arrived at Tahpanhes, ten miles west of where the Suez Canal now stands. There, in response to the word of the Lord, Jeremiah the prophet called the attention of his fellow-Jews to a specific prophecy regarding Nebuchadnezzar, whose wrath they had sought to flee.

Not only would the king of Babylon come into Egypt, but he would even set up his pavilion and throne of administration at the very place where they now were. Egypt would surely feel the weight of his military might. There would be plundering and destruction — and surely these fearful and faithless Jews would not escape him, even in this distant land!

In as powerful way as he possibly could, Jeremiah warned them, ‘You may run from the judgments of Yahweh, but you can’t hide!’

Reading 3 – 1Co 1:27-29

“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things– and the things that are not– to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him” (1Co 1:27-29).

This is one of the fundamental messages of the Bible, and shown in practice a hundred times:

God saves a nation through one man, after first selling him into slavery, and casting him into prison. God rescues that same nation through one little baby destined for death, but plucked out of his burial coffin on a whim by a king’s daughter. God sends home 30,000 troops, and wins a great victory with 300. Another army cringes in their tents at the threats of a giant warrior, who blasphemes the name of the God of Israel, but a little boy — rejecting all the armaments of a soldier — goes out to “fight” him with a shepherd’s sling… and faith. A whole nation is brought to the brink of ruin, and extinction, with a huge army surrounding its capital city — and then, to top it all off, its king is smitten with a deadly disease — but God answers his prayers and the threat is wiped out in a single night. Thousands of Jews die ugly, horrible deaths on Roman crosses, but one of those poor suffering “criminals” turns out to be the Saviour of the world.

In our Father’s world, a still, small whisper of wind shakes the earth; a tiny cry in a lonely manger introduces a new world order; a microscopic seed grows into a great tree; and a little stone becomes a great mountain to fill the whole earth…

…”So that no flesh may boast before HIM…”

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).