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Daily Bible Study

January 10, 2019 Bible Study — Laban and Jacob, Two Peas In a Pod

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I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Genesis 29-30.

Once again we have a biblical story about a man taking more than one wife, and once again it goes badly.  However, before I get into that I want to take note of Laban’s response when he hears the story of why Jacob had come to him.   “You really are my own flesh and blood!”  Laban recognized in Joseph the same trickery and cunning which he himself exercised.  This really sets the stage for the relationship between Jacob and Laban over the next many years, each trying to outmaneuver the other.  The first round went to Laban when he got Jacob to marry Leah.  However, Jacob did not exactly lose since he got Rachel as his wife was well (however badly that went for him).  The next round went to Jacob, despite the fact that Laban cheated him by removing the spotted and speckled goats and the black sheep from the herd after agreeing that those would be Jacob’s.  Despite this, Jacob was able to manipulate the breeding of the sheep and goats so that the herds he tended produced large numbers of speckled and spotted goats and black sheep.

Meanwhile Jacob had domestic bickering as his wives fought for his attention and were jealous of each other.  Rachel, the love of Jacob’s life, blamed him for her inability to have children, while Leah counted coup with each child she bore.  Then Rachel and Leah made it worse by introducing other women to the equation.  

Daily Bible Study

December 28, 2018 Bible Study — Some people will reject God, no matter what

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I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Revelation 9-12.

As the fifth and sixth trumpets sound, each announces a new terror upon the earth.   There is significance to John’s descriptions of the first and second terror, but what I find most telling is that John writes that those who did not die also di not turn from their evil deeds.  Watching the world around me, I see the mindset which leads to such behavior.  In the 1980s, when the AIDS crisis first reared its ugly head and little was known about how it was transmitted, people resisted the idea that people should avoid the behaviors which had been shown to turn the chance of contracting the disease from improbable to likely.  I use that as an example, yet I see people do the same thing on a smaller scale with other things as well: they are unwilling to turn from their sins to God even when the terrible consequences of their sins are obvious.<br>

Between the sixth and seventh trumpets, John recounts an episode which is clearly influenced by the writings of Ezekiel.  First John was given a scroll to eat, which was sweet in his mouth but, unlike the scroll which Ezekiel ate in his vision, sour in his stomach.  Then, also reminiscent of Ezekiel, John measured the Temple.  Neither of these similar elements are intended to mean the same thing as they did in Ezekiel, just as the four horsemen earlier in this letter did not carry the same meaning as the four horsemen in Ezekiel.  Rather they borrow symbolism from those earlier uses to give them deeper symbolic meaning than another image might convey. 

Daily Bible Study

December 27, 2018 Bible Study — A vision with symbolism galore

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I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Revelation 4-8.

I always struggle with what to make of the vision which John describes here.  It is filled with symbolism from beginning to end, but I am unclear what many of the symbols mean.  Many people strive to interpret it as a prophecy regarding the end of the world, but today’s passage does not seem to me to be that.  Rather, it seems to be a vision concerning the state of the spiritual world as it exists today.

John starts with the description of God’s throne room. The glory and majesty of the throne and all around it are overwhelming.  I am sure there is meaningful symbolism in the emerald glow which surrounds God’s throne, but I do not know what it is.   Then we have the 24 thrones with the 24 elders sitting upon them.  I am sure that the fact that 24 is twice 12 is part of the significance of that number, with 12 being the number of the tribes of Israel and the number of the Apostles…and that may be why 24.

Then we have the presentation of the scroll.  There was no one in all of heaven and earth who was worthy to open the scroll until Jesus died and was raised from the dead.  Here once again John tells us that Jesus and God are One, yet different:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Blessing and honor and glory and power
    belong to the one sitting on the throne
    and to the Lamb forever and ever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Both Jesus and God are equally deserving of glory and honor and power. In addition, John describes how the living beings and the elders worshiped the Lamb in the same manner which they worshiped the One seated on the throne.

 

Traditionally, the four horsemen are interpreted as riding forth together.  Yet, as I read it today they seem to ride forth successively.  First, the white horse rides out to win battles and gain the victory.  After that, the red horse rider rides out to bring war to all of the earth.  The third and fourth riders naturally follow after the second.  Widespread famine and hardship follows where there is war and battle.  Famine leads to disease and death.  

Which brings me to one of the messages in this passage which I do understand.  The rich and powerful believe that they are sheltered from the coming destruction.  John’s vision tells us that only those who are faithful to God will be sheltered, and even they will experience suffering.

This entry is longer than I prefer, but I need to cover this last piece of the passage.  After the seventh seal is broken, John’s vision begins to truly enter into a description of the end times.  I am unsure how much of this describes distinct events and how much of this is figurative about those days.  However, John describes how at the end of time seven trumpets will sound, one at a time.  As each trumpet sounds disaster will strike Creation.   It will be a time of great terror, but John reminded us just before he started describing this that those who put their faith in God can be sure of how it will end.

 

 

 

Daily Bible Study

December 26, 2018 Bible Study — Have we lost our enthusiasm for the Lord?

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I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Revelation 1-3.

In the introduction to his letter to the seven Churches of Asia (Asia Minor), John gives us a description of God and Jesus which shows us that they are One.  Yet, despite being One, they are different.  God is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.  Jesus is the First and the Last, the Living One who died but is alive for eternity.  Both of them are the One who <strong>IS</strong>, who <strong>ALWAYS WAS</strong>, and who <strong>IS STILL TO COME</strong>.  I can think of no way to easily express better that for God time is no constraint.  He is present both at the beginning and at the end (not “was present” and “will be present”), and at every point in between.  Yet, He understands the passage of time.

Often times I have seen people talk or write that each of the seven Churches represent archetypes of Church, “which one is YOUR congregation?”  However, I realized today that there is only three types listed here.  There are variations between those that fall into each of these categories, but only three categories.  There are three Churches which have lost their enthusiasm: Ephesus, Sardis, and Laodicea.  There are two Churches which tolerate false teachers: Pergamum and Thyatira.  And there are two Churches which are faithful in the face of opposition:  Smyrna and Philadelphia.

I think it is worth looking at the Churches which have lost their enthusiasm in more detail.  Laodicea is neither an enthusiastic, energetic group who strive to get everyone excited, nor a solid, pragmatic group which sees it through to the end.  Sardis is living in the past.  They have a reputation for doing good things, but they are not doing them anymore.  They are just going through the motions.  Finally, Ephesus is still doing good things, but has lost the love which motivated them in the first place.  They no longer act out of love, just routine. 

Daily Bible Study

December 25, 2018 Bible Study — Three takes on loving others in the face of false teaching

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I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Merry Christmas!

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 John, 3 John, and Jude.

How appropriate that 2 John is part of the reading for Christmas Day, the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus.  John writes that we should have nothing to do with those who teach that Jesus never had a physical body.  The context here makes clear that he is referring to those who claim to be followers of Christ and teach that Jesus was purely a spiritual being, or that He was merely an ideal with no actual physical existence.    No matter how good and beneficial we may find the rest of their teaching we should not support their preaching in any manner.  Interestingly enough, John writes that following God’s command to love one another will lead us directly to avoiding such people.<br>

In his third letter, John writes that we should be hospitable to and support those who travel around teaching the Gospel.  The context makes it clear that John is referring to those who follow the example of Paul, traveling around and preaching the Gospel to nonbelievers.  In addition to encouraging those to whom he is writing for their faithfulness in supporting such preachers, John condemns a local Church leader who actively opposes those who travel around preaching to nonbelievers.   In his second letter, John wrote that we should have nothing to do with those who preach a false Gospel, but here in his third letter he makes clear that does not apply to those who preach true Gospel.  In many ways, it would be more elegant if these two letters were reversed.<br>

Jude writes an explicit condemnation of those who teach that God’s grace means that we can live immoral lives without concern.  He writes that such people’s only concern is their own desire.  They are not seeking to better others, but to satisfy themselves.  They tell us repeatedly how wonderful they themselves are and use flattery to convince others to go along with their teaching.  Such teachers cause division by demeaning those who question their teaching while offering flattery to those who are still trying to discern the truth of what they say.  If we wish to be faithful to Christ, we should, on the other hand, build up those whose faith we perceive as weak or wavering, encouraging them to more closely follow God’s truth.

Daily Bible Study

December 23, 2018 Bible Study

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I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Peter 1-3.

Peter gives us a short and easy guide for how we should live our lives in chapter 1 verses 5 to 9. I use the NIV for this because it seems slightly more concise.  Peter reiterates what James and Paul have said elsewhere; having faith is not enough.  Our faith must inspire us to action.  In particular, Peter tells us that our faith should lead us to be good.  Or, as he puts it,  we need to add goodness to our faith.   However,  over time we will realize, or, at least, we should, that seeking to do good is not enough.  We need to actually know that our actions have good results.  At that point we need to seek knowledge.  As we come to know more about God’s will, we will learn that we need to exercise self-control.  A natural consequence of self-control is perseverance.  As we persevere   our actions will become not just good, but godly.  As we exercise godliness we will come to have an affection for others.  Here the NLT provides an insight, it translates this as “brotherly affection”.  Which tells me that it is like the feelings a brother has for his siblings, slightly protective and desiring the best for them assuming that they will feel likewise, but not dependent on them doing so.  Perhaps you have seen the families where one sibling demonstrates that affection for their sibling, only to be repeatedly hurt when the other sibling fails to reciprocate?  Well, that is what we will experience from time to time.  Which leads us to actual godly love.  We no longer assume that others will return our good feelings about them and act for their benefit anyway.  

I wrote the above as if it “just happens”, that each step automatically follows the one before.  But Peter makes it clear that we must actively choose to add knowledge to goodness, self-control to knowledge, perseverance to  self-control, godliness to perseverance, brotherly affection to godliness, and love to brotherly affection.   The fact of the matte is that if we fail to take the next step we will fall back to the previous one until even our faith is lost.  I had intended to write something about what Peter says about false teachers and the Second Coming, but this is already too long.  Please read that part for yourself.

 

Daily Bible Study

December 19, 2018 Bible Study — Living By Faith

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I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Hebrews 10-11.

The writer here dismisses the idea that the concept of being saved by grace means that I can go on sinning without consequence.   While I cannot earn my salvation, faith in God means that I seek to overcome my sinful nature and act according to His will.  The writer than goes on to give us examples of people who have lived by faith.  All of these people acted on faith that God would grant them a better life after resurrection.  The writer points out one basic thing, in order to come to God we must have faith that God does indeed exist.  This is important.  While I can make a logical case for God’s existence, I cannot prove that He exists.  Sooner or later, each of us will need to make that leap of faith and put our faith in God’s existence.  The writer makes a second important point in this passage.  If you truly have faith in God, then you will embrace any suffering which comes as a result of living according to that faith in the knowledge that doing so will result in God’s will and a better life after the resurrection. 

Daily Bible Study

December 18, 2018 Bible Study — Jesus, High priest after the order of Melchizedek

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I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Hebrews 6-9.

The writer tells us that Jesus is the High Priest of God’s new covenant with mankind, a covenant which replaces the one He made with the people of Israel.   Under this new covenant, Jesus is a priest in the order of Melchizedek, not the order of Aaron.  The writer makes the point that Jesus made His sacrifice once for all time and does not need to make additional sacrifices.  Under the old covenant, only the high priest could enter into the presence of God, and that only once a year after offering up the yearly sacrifice.  Jesus sacrificed Himself so that we can enter into God’s presence at all times.    As a result of this change, God enters into our hearts and minds and writes His laws there.  Under the old covenant, the high priest made sacrifices in the earthly copy of the Tabernacle.  Under the new covenant, Jesus, the new High Priest, made His sacrifice in the Heavenly original Tabernacle.

Daily Bible Study

December 17, 2018 Bible Study — The Theology of Who Jesus Is

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I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Hebrews 1-5.

The Book of Hebrews seems to me to be more about theology, the study of God, than any other part of the Bible. Here the writer tells us that Jesus was not an angel. He is far greater than any angel. This runs directly counter to the Mormon teaching that the angels are Jesus’ brothers. Angels are servant spirits sent to care for those who will accept God’s salvation. Further the writer tells us that Jesus became human, which is a little lower than the angels. Yet this status of being a little lower than the angels is only temporary. Upon His death and resurrection, Jesus was raised up above the angels. We too, who put our faith in Him, will be raised up above the angels, because God will adopt us into His family as brothers and sisters to Christ. The next element of the theology which this writer presents us with is that Jesus was categorically different, and greater, than any prophet, even Moses, the greatest of the prophets. Prophets are servants in the House of God, but Jesus is the Architect and the Builder of that House. Each and every believer is the House of God, both as individuals and as a group.

Daily Bible Study

December 16, 2018 Bible Study — What You say about others says more about you than it says about them

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I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Titus and Philemon.

One of the first thing Paul touches upon in his letter to Titus are the qualifications necessary for an Elder in the Church.  I am only going to touch on one part of it, because I think it is a part to which we pay too little attention when we debate this.   Actually, it applies to all Church leaders.  They must be people who like other people, who like to socialize.  Church leaders should be people who enjoy hosting get-togethers in their own homes and elsewhere.<br>

Paul segues from discussing the qualifications of Church leaders to another teaching to which we tend to pay too little attention.   Paul writes, “Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure. But nothing is pure to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, because their minds and consciences are corrupted.”  Another way of expressing this is something my Dad told me.  He told me to be cautious of people who constantly thought that others were cheating them.  Such people thought they were being cheated because they were always looking for ways to cheat other people.   On the other hand, people who are honest and trustworthy generally trust others.  When Paul tells us that everything is pure to those who are pure, he is both telling us to modify our behavior and giving us advice on judging the merits of those who speak about others.   Trust and rely on those for whom it is a struggle to say anything negative about others.  Watch closely, and do not put much credence in the accusations they make, those who can give you a catalog of the flaws of others.  Of course, that also means that we should strive to be the former and not the latter.<br>

By reading between the lines of this passage we can learn a few things.  Onesimus was the slave of Philemon.  Philemon was a leader of a congregation which met in his home.  In addition, Philemon became a Christian as a direct result of Paul’s ministry.   Onesimus ran away from his slavery to Philemon and ended up in Rome, where Paul was a prisoner.   Onesimus heard the Gospel from Paul and also became a believer.  For awhile he aided Paul.  Eventually, Onesimus became convicted that he should return to Philemon to make good on his obligations to him, but he was afraid of how Philemon would treat him.  Under Roman law, Philemon was entitled to punish Onesimus severely.    I will mention that slavery as practiced in Rome was different than slavery as practiced in the pre-Civil War American South.  <br>

Having written all of the above, I realized that the main point I want to make about Paul’s letter to Philemon has little to do with any of that.  Paul writes to Philemon that Onesimus had indeed wronged him, but that was before Onesimus came to know the Lord.  Now that Onesimus has come to know the Lord, he has been transformed.  Philemon should forgive Onesimus the wrong he had done him, and Paul would reimburse Philemon for any cost Philemon had incurred because of Onesimus’ actions (with the suggestion that perhaps Philemon should just write them off).  Here is the lesson for us: we should not judge believers by the actions they took before they were saved.