Church

Exodus 36
1 Then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whom the LORD put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the LORD had commanded.
2 And Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whose heart the LORD had put wisdom, even every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it:
3 And they received of Moses all the offering, which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of the sanctuary, to make it withal. And they brought yet unto him free offerings every morning.

A wonderful passage about these wise men building the tabernacle. This is a wonderful type for a good, efficiently functioning church.

More From Exodus 36
4 And all the wise men, that wrought all the work of the sanctuary, came every man from his work which they made;
5 and they spake unto Moses, saying, The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work, which the LORD commanded to make.
6 And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing.
7 For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much.

Here, the artificers are getting too much support. In our age, when do church workers get too much support? There is some little bit of odd humour hidden in this passage.

Comforter

Ecclesiastes 4
1 So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter....

Ecclesiastes. This book certainly has some dreary passages. I guess I haven't come to the uplifting part yet. Thank God we Christians, have a comforter.

John 14
15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
17 even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

From Webster 1828 Dictionary
Comforter, n. The title of the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name--he shall teach you all things. John 14.

Task for the day: consider the doctrine of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit....

The Sweet Savour of Hedgehogs, Porcupines and Kippods

Isaiah 14
22 For I will rise up against them, saith the LORD of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the LORD.
23 I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts.

Bible study for today. A bittern is porcupine (r.v.), a hedgahog (Rashi) or a kippod or soitary crane (Easton). A bessom is a sweeper; this mysterious word was discussed and finally defined as sweeper in the Talmud (Gill). No matter the specific words, this verse notes the fall of the king of Babylon to hell and the utter destruction of Babylon. This helps us to understand the power of the Lord here on earth and - the kingdom, power and glory forever.

Leviticus 1
17 And he shall cleave it with the wings thereof, but shall not divide it asunder: and the priest shall burn it upon the altar, upon the wood that is upon the fire: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.

God is pleased by daily Bible study in this despensation just like he was pleased by daily sacrifices in an earlier dispensation.....

Chosen

Matthew 22
14 For many are called, but few are chosen.

The pastor preached the theme of knowing and acting upon God's will today, and he exhorted the saints to improve their support to the church and missions. At one point he digressed and lamented the unsaved, referring to the above passage, though just in passing. Here is the rest of the passage.

More From Matthew 22
10 So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.
11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:
12 and he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

For some reason, I keep thinking of that poor sinner in verse 11. Here is the question for the gospel age. Are you wearing your wedding garment? The answer is yes - if you lead a humble life, if all the people around you know you as an up-right Christian, and you support your gospel church.

I stumbled on the following passage on wedding garments.

Isaiah 61
10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation,
11 He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.

It was a good day....

Perfect Peace

Isaiah 26
3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

A simple message. Trust in the Lord, and keep him in your mind, always, all day, all night, and you will, thereby, have perfect peace.

Luke 17
21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

The Rod Of God's Anger

Isaiah 10
5 O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation.
6 I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.

Here, Assyria is the rod of God's anger. Against his people, who so richly deserve his wrath.

A quesion. Who is the rod of God's anger in this day and age?

The Blessed Journey

Ecclesiastes 119 Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.

A man came to my church to sing gospel songs and testify about his faith. It was wonderful, a country gospel twang recording behind his heartfelt singing. He grew up on Maryland chicken farm. And he testifled how, at twelve, his father helped him come to Jesus. And I thought wistfully of my own forty year journey. So many twists and turns to finally understand and receive the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

More From Ecclesiastes 11
10 Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.

Leaders And Their Followers Alike

Isaiah 9
16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.

Here, in the time of Aha the people of Judah, leaders and followers alike, fail in the eyes of God. In the end, their punishment will be the captivities.

More From Isaiah 9
19 Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire....

I think there's a message here, for Americans, , leaders and followers alike.

One Last Quote From Isaiah 9
16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed...

Blessed Assurance

Deuteronomy 28
58 If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD....
59 Then the LORD will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance.

This chapter describes a lot of bad things that will happen to you for lack of adherence to God's law. The worst thing that can happen to the Christian is described in verse 66.

More From Deuteronomy 28
66 ....thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life.

A life without blessed ssurance....pointless....and terrifying....

Idols

Deuteronomy 29
16 (For ye know how we have dwelt in the land of Egypt; and how we came through the nations which ye passed by;
17 And ye have seen their abominations, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were among them:)

God hates other gods. And idols. So, what are other idols today? What idols - things - do we worship? For some is it Cars? For some is it Motorcycles? For some is it Collectables? For some is it Jewelry? For some is it Clothes? Some watches? These are things which symbolize who we are. "Things" that we are known for. Things that take our focus off God.

So, what is in store for the Jew or Christian who does not keep focused on God?

More From Deuteronomy 29
20 The LORD will not spare him, but then the anger of the LORD and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the LORD shall blot out his name from under heaven.

For Unto Us A Child Is Born

Isaiah 7
14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Isaiah 9
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

I've been thinking about these two passages, and our savior, Jesus, all day. I could hear Handel's Messiah as I was thinking about them. Good way to work your way through the holiday season.

I was also thinking about the Jews. I have no doubt about God's message, about Jesus, to me, in the above passages from Isaiah. But I wonder what is God's message to the Jews. I assume most Jews think the child that is given is Hezekiah, who is a great Biblical character. And, Isaiah, at the time this passage, must have had Hezekiah, Ahaz's son - and Jesus - in view. This topic appears to be above my pay grade. On the other hand, it pleasant to consider it during the Christmas season.  John Gill references the medieval Hebrew expositor Rashi in Exposition of the Entire Bible.

Rashi Commentary On Isaiah 9:6 (From chabad.org)
For a child has been born to us: Although Ahaz is wicked, his son [Hezekiah] who was born to him many years ago [nine years prior to his assuming the throne] to be our king in his stead, shall be a righteous man, and the authority of the Holy One, blessed be He, and His yoke shall be on his shoulder, for he shall engage in the Torah and observe the commandments, and he shall bend his shoulder to bear the burden of the Holy One, blessed be He.

Prayer For Prosperity

Nehemiah 2
20 .... The God of heaven, he will prosper us....

A Line For A Prayer Of Intersession
....Lord Jesus, please bless those members of the Community Baptist Church of Garfield, New Jersey, who are unemployed. Because, you know, Jesus, it's just hard to be a Christian if you don't have a job....

The Company You Keep

Isaiah 17
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.

This chapter is about both Damascus and Ephraim (Israel), on their way to the ruinous heap, at the hand of the Assyrians. Here's a question. Is the lesson for us be careful of the company you keep? Here, the Israelites kept company with the Assyrians, and they paid a dear price.

Well, that certainly isn't much of a lesson. Here's another view of this chapter:

More From Isaiah 17
5 And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; and it shall be as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim.

This refers to the unhappy story of the Giants, who lived in a fertile valley next to the valley of Hinnom. A sad story of a people lost to history. I spent quite a bit of time reading about the Rephaim and their gatherer (Chedorlaomer - Gen 14:5), and, again, not much of a lesson here.

Except, it was good to spend some time with God. Bible study does not, always, need to be edifying. No important lesson, no big insights, no magnificant spiritual illumination. Just studying your Bible, and being with God....

Generation of Vipers

Luke 3
7 Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
8 Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within ourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
9 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

In this chapter John the Baptist is preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. And in the passage the message here is specifically directed to the Hebrews.

What is curious to me is who does the phrase generation of vipers refer to. Does it refer to just the Pharisees and Sadducees. Or to Hebrews in general. Or all those who came to be baptized by John. Here is a case where referring to a parallel passage may be helpful.

Matthew 31 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
4 And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.
5 Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,
6 And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

I'm still not sure who generation of vipers refers to. What appears to be important is that this passage is about the salvation of Hebrews, salvation not because they are chosen but salvation through repentance and remission of sins.

The Wood Offering

Nehemiah 13
31 And for the wood offering, at times appointed, and for the first fruits. Remember me, O my God, for good.

In Ezra, the temple is built. In Nehemiah, the wall is built. Finally, at the end of Nehemiah, the daily operation of the temple is put in good order. The wood offering, to provide wood for the daily burnt offering, is a good symbol for God's will for the church.

God's will. It is a daily, not a weekly and not a casual, operation....

God's Providence

Ecclesiastes 9
2 All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.

This is about providence, God's will, for each of us, the righteous and the evil. Good and bad things happen to righteous people and good and bad things happen to evil people.

Quote For The Day
A belief in divine providence, is a source of great consolation to good men. Divine providence is often understood God himself.