Comments for March 15

23:42  it is only those who have experienced slavery and redemption form that slavery who can appreciate that significance of dwelling in booths. In like manner only those who recognise that they have been saved from the slavery of sin who can appreciate the transient nature of this life.

23:22 God has already spoken similarly about this –  19:9-10. It is designed to teach Israel to think about the needs of others. It is all too easy for us to be so self-centred that we do not think of the needs of others. We should try and build strategies into our lives that become so habitual that we are caused to always think of the needs of others.

Lev 23:11-13 - Following the Passover and 7 days of unleaven bread the Sabbath the Priest waved the sheaf of firstfruits before the LORD (v.11).  This was followed by the burnt offering of the lamb with no blemish (v.12.  The “meat” offering (KJV) was made of flour and oil.  Other Bible versions translate as “meal”, or “grain” or “flour” offering.

All the offerings and sacrifices in this chapter were pointers to the work of Jesus when, at the time appointed, the Word became flesh and dwelt among the Jews (John 1:14). 

Jesus was the firstfuit offered to the LORD (1Cor 15:20).

“On the day after the Sabbath” (Lev 23:11), that is the first day of the week, Bread and wine offerings were made (Lev 23:13). 

On the first day of the week (John 20:1), the tomb was empty, Jesus had risen from the dead. It was the first day of the week (Acts 20:7) when the disciples remember Jesus sacrifice in bread and wine. 

23:3 the phrase “in all your dwellings” might seem unnecessary. However the point we might consider is that whilst when people were out and about and could be seen by others they would observe the requirements of the sabbath but when they were in their own private dwelling then maybe they would be tempted to ignore the less convenient requirements of the sabbath.  In like manner believers today might appear to follow God commandments when in public but live a very different life in private. Such behaviour, of course, is totally unacceptable to your God.

1Cor 15:20, Rev 14:4 Both speak of firstfruits one is christ, the other the saints?

How is this possible?

Lev 23:10-11 speak of the firstfruits that are first collected to be accepted or offered for you. This clearly speaks of Christ in 1 Cor 15:20.

Lev 17:17-21 speak of another firstfruits after pentecost 50 days after the first firstfruits which "ye shall bring out of your habitation". These are persoanl offerings baked with leaven and 7 lambs. And in v20 these firstfruits are offered to the high priest. These firstfruits then being personal and containg levean represent the saints and correspond to Rev 14:4.

There are contradictions is scripture everything has its place. 

23 in this summary of the major feasts that Israel were to keep we see a repetition of the idea that no work was to be done and then the feasts were Sabbaths. This must be considered against the background of the judgment on Adam that required him to work every day – Gen 3:17 – These feasts all spoke to the nation of the time that will come when the judgment on Adam in the garden would be removed and the earth would be blessed. That is the “rest” we are working towards – Heb 4:9

23:15 the way that the details of the time between the Passover and Pentecost (50 days) enables us to be sure that the events of Acts 2 took place only a few weeks after the resurrection to Jesus.

23:17  We might think of leaven as a corrupting influence – indeed it is used in this way – Matt 16:16 – however we should not assume that whenever it is mentioned that there are bad associations. This, the only occasion, is a situation when leaven is commended to be offered.

23:3 This is not the first time that Israel were commanded to observe the sabbath. However we do well to remember that whilst they were slaves in Egypt the children of Israel would not have had a day off. They would have worked a seven day week. To us in the western world the concept of not having a day off is foreign so the impact of the sabbath law on freed slaves does not impact on us as much as it did on them. However it was not to be a day when they did nothing. It was a day that could be dedicated totally to serving God.

128 v.3 - We are reminded here of what a blessing family is - as we must be careful not to forget. This, v.4 tells us, is the way that a God-fearing man should expect to be blessed. Think of Gen.49:22, Prov.5:18, Eze.19:10, Ps.52:8, 144:12, 127:5.

Psalm 128 For the faithful Jew living a faithful life provided that assurance that Jerusalem would remain inhabited. (5). However they were taken into captivity because of their rebelliousness and as a consequence were not able to see the good of Jerusalem which was overthrown.

Psalm 129 v3 the plowers did plough Jerusalem. Micah 3:12 prophesied this in the days of Hezekiah (Jeremiah 26:18) and it was fulfilled by the Romans in about 132 AD. The judgement was postponed in Hezekiah's day because he repented at the word of the prophet.

Psalm 130 vs 3-4 show us the way that the atonement works. God does not hold our repented sins against us. We must believe that He has forgiven our sins. If we doubt then we do not accept the implications of the sacrifice of Christ.

130:3 - the picture of the grace and mercy of God as the only path to salvation was understood by people long before the coming of Jesus. Although the perfection required for our salvation was not brought about until the death and resurrection of Jesus, the psalmist here is quite clear that salvation is only available to us by that route. We cannot save ourselves. If God were to mark iniquity, none of us could be saved. We should thank God constantly for his unspeakable gift.

Psalm 128 - In speaking of 'thy wife' as a 'fruitful vine' :3 the Psalmist sees the faithful wife as a cameo of how the nation should be. Israel had been, at one time, a fruitful vine [Ezekiel 19:10]. The pattern today is clear. The ecclesia will only be strong if each individual brother and sister is strong. We cannot rely on the strength of others. We must strive ourselves to be Christlike.

Psalm 129 - Jerusalem was repeatedly overthrown because of the faithlessness of Israel. However the true servant of God will continue to pray :5 that Jerusalem's enemies will be confounded because Jerusalem's enemies are God's enemies. This is what it is to 'pray for the peace of Jerusalem' Psalm 122:6 and 'mourn' Matthew 5:4

130:6 the way that David speaks about waiting for God should be how we are in our expectation of the return of Jesus. We should be like the bride looking for the coming of the bridegroom.

Psalm 127, Psalm 128 - CHILDREN ARE A BLESSING FROM THE LORD
Children are not accidents - they are a blessing from the LORD, a reward from him. Children keep us young and as we age they become our strength. Psalm 127 says, "Blessed is the man that has his quiver full of them (children)". Blessed is also translated in other places as Happy. So the man who has lots of children is a happy man. Psalm 128 echoes that comment when it speaks of the blessings of the man who fears the Lord. Two of the blessings concern his wife and his children. "Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your sons will be like olive shoots around your table. Thus is the man blessed who fears the LORD."
It is a sad fact that society had revoked this blessing from the LORD with the advent of working mothers, contraception, abortions and the social trend of having only one or two children. The age of childbearing has also raised significantly taking away from us the blessings of sons born in one's youth.
Let us rejoice in the blessings that God has given us and bring them up to give back to God.

128:5-6 The blessing out of Zion and peace upon Israel will be seen in the kingdom, when Christ returns to sit on the throne of David.

129:3 'the plowers plowed upon my back' is taken up (Micah 3:12) to speak of Judgement that was to come. This was spoken to Hezekiah (Jeremiah 26:18). Whilst he hearkened to the prophet Israel generally did not - hence the comment by the Psalmist.

130:3 This is a very sobering thought. We should truly appreciate that we are 'justified' by God's grace - if we are willing to believe what he has done for us in Christ.

128:1 Fearing the Lord and walking in His ways are related. It is not possible to have one without the other. The walk demonstrates the fear. It is rather like ‘faith without works is dead’ (James 2:20)

Psa 129- Because Israel tended to disregard the word of God Jerusalem was never the city of peace. Rather she was despised and cursed by the nations – hence the Psalmists comment about what they did not say about the city. (v8)

130:4 Seems paradoxical doesn’t it? That God should be feared because he forgives sins. One might have thought He would be feared if he did not forgive our sins. The ‘fear’ is not terror, it is respect.

Psalm 130 This Psalm brings us to the redemptive work of Christ. He required redemption from mortality, as represented here by disease of leprosy. All, apart from Christ, share Hezekiah's position." If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities O Lord, who shall stand?" V.3 We can only stand because there is forgiveness with God through the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

"Blessed is every one who fears the LORD, Who walks in His ways. When you eat the labour of your hands, You shall be happy, and it shall be well with you." Psa 128:1-2

Does God really mean it, writing those words? When I read them 15 years ago when I first wrote this comment, and then looked at my own life, I wondered at that. I served Him, but He didn't seem to bless me! I did what I could to get to know Him, but where was my happiness? I tried not to sin and to be blameless, but where was my prosperity? Is God kidding writing these words? I was almost forced to conclude it!

The other option is too difficult to face. Let's say that God isn't kidding, for the sake of argument, and that the promise of this Psalm is true. I would have had to conclude that I was the problem. "Blessed is the man that fears the LORD". Did I truly fear God? If I did, then He'd bless me! I din't feel blessed... I din't have any children for a start (v3) or a wife for that matter! So was it me that was wrong, and not God? Did I possibly not fear God as much as I thought I did?

"Unless the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it". (Previous Psalm, v1).

That made me think of Haggai 1:6. The people had been labouring, but in vain; putting their wages into a bag full of holes! They were bringing in the harvest for God to blow it away! And all because they had been building their own houses, and not the house of God. Yet when they heard the exhortation and started building the house of God, He promised to build their houses for them and bless them from that day forth, just like in the Psalm (Haggai 2v19). So I had to ask myself; "have I been building my own house, or the house of God?" Where have my labours and efforts been directed?

Perhaps when we feel the contents of this Psalm isn't true for us, we have to ask ourselves this question too. Are we labouring in vain, thinking we fear God, yet demonstrating by our priorities in life that we actually care less for Him than for ourselves? Is God kidding? Of course not! He's true to His word! If we lack blessings, then it is our fault and not His! In fact, our lack of blessings is very often His indicator to us that He is displeased with us and wishes us to examine ourselves (Hag 1:5,7; 2:15,18).

If we re-prioritise and leave off the building of our own houses, and instead start working on His, then we have His promise that He will build our house while we are at work. As the Psalm says, "unless the LORD build [my] house, [I'll] labour in vain [to] build it."

A BLESSING
 
"May the LORD bless you from Zion all the days of your life; may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem and may you live to see your children's children."  (Psa 128:5-6)
 
There may be more to this blessing than meets the eye.  At first glance we would say it is a wish for long life and a blessing particularly suited to Jews.  It is, but there is much more.
 
Zion is the place God has chosen as the place of his throne.  While the blessing, "May the LORD bless you from Zion," may be spoken by a person of God, the blessing itself will flow directly from God.  No-one could bless us more.  The blessing is for "all the days of your life."  Our hope is in the return of Jesus and in the resurrection of the dead.  At that time we will live again and never die.  To be blessed by God all the days of your life and through eternity is a long and exciting blessing!
 
"May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem."  The time when the city of peace (Jerusalem) prospers, will be when Jesus returns to reign from there as King.  At that time he will bring peace and prosperity.  It is a blessing that takes us forward into God's kingdom.  And living to see your children's children, to be together with your descendants in the kingdom of God, must be one of the greatest blessings we could ever have.  Let's bless someone with this blessing and give them the richest future they could have.

Forgiveness is a most wonderful gift.  Without it, where would we be? See Psa 130:3,4.

128:3    ‘Vine’ is an appropriate tree to use as it is a symbol of Israel Hos 10:1

129:5    All nations will be confounded’ when the Lord reigns from Zion Isa 24:23

130:8    Israel always sought deliverance from their enemies. However God’s plan is greater than that. His plan is deliverance from sin and death. Such deliverance puts the trials of this life into perspective doesn’t it.

130:1-4 The Psalmist’s despair was because of his recognition of his sin. However he saw the resolution of his problem, not in the offering of animal sacrifices, but in God’s forgiveness even though he was living in the time of the law of Moses.

128:3,6 The mention of children and fruitfulness in child bearing and seeing great grand children is not just a nice expression of the happiness of people in that position. The focus in Scripture is on the promises to Abraham and the promised seed. God wishes to have a large family of believers and His promises focus on families. Hence the Psalmists comments.

Psalm 128 seems to be a continuation (or second part) of Psalm 127.

Psalm 129: This psalm recounts the difficulties that the captives experienced in Babylon. Perhaps the phrase from my youth suggests that the memories reach further back, to Egypt.

Psalm 130: Here we have an expression of penitence. The hope of the captives is that Yahweh will forgive them for the misdeeds that brought them to Babylon in the first place.

128:1 A life of worship and pleasing God is not one of simply knowing what he has said. One has to ‘walk’ in His laws. That indicates activity, putting into daily practice the things one has learnt. – Eph 2:10, Hos 14:9

130:3 We are constantly sinning, whether we realize it or not. If Yahweh noted every sin we made, then none of us would ever be free. But, Yahweh is merciful and willing to overlook our transgressions (Psa 103:12).

130 Notice the progression in the Psalm. Whilst the Psalmist beings by crying ‘out of the depths’ by the end of the Psalm he is speaking of God’s mercy. Wallowing in self pity sis of no value. The Psalmists solution is, in prayer, to consider the wonderful works of God.

130:7 Having spoken of his own hope being his salvation the Psalmist now looks to the nation to encourage them to share his hope. Do we try to encourage others to share our hope. Not just those ‘without’ but our own fellow believers.

130:1   Have you noticed how often faithful men and women in Scripture speak out of the depths of despair? A life of faithfulness to God is not the passport to a trouble free, successful, life. Though many would suggest it is. Jesus is our example. No one suffered so much wrong and despair as he did. Should we expect any different?

1. Psa 128:1 - "Blessed is every one that 'feareth'<3373> the Lord; that walketh in his ways" (No one did this better than Christ. But Christ suffered in his mortal life and was a man of sorrows Isa 53:3 who suffered for the joy to come Heb.12:2).

2. Psa 128:3 - "Thy wife" perhaps refers to the church (Eph 5:23-27;Rev 19:7-9;John 3:28-29;2Cor 11:2); "a fruitful vine" perhaps this refers to natural/spiritual Israel and/or Christ (Psa 80:8-11;John 15:1-8); NET Bible reads "in the inner rooms of your house" perhaps refers to the Most Holy Place where the chosen will meet with God's manifested presence i.e. Christ (1Kin 6:16;Heb 10:19); "thy children like olive plants" perhaps refers to Jews and grafted in Gentiles (Rom 11:11-25); "round about thy 'table'<7979>" perhaps this refers to the memorial table and remembering Christ along with his sacrifice.

3. Psa 128:6 - "'peace'<7965> upon Israel" - this will fully happen when Christ returns to establish his Father's kingdom on earth with the capital in Jerusalem (Isa 2:2-4).

1. Psa 129:1 - "Israel" - frequently in Isaiah 40 through 66, Israel is used not only as the name of a nation, but also with reference to Israel's Messiah, as the representative of the nation (Hos 11:1).

2. Psa 129:1 - "afflicted me from my youth" - Israel's youth was spent in Egyptian bondage (Hos 2:15;Jer 2:2); being in bondage in Egypt is somewhat of a metaphor for being in bondage to sin (or sin nature) and death, both Christ and Israel were in Egypt; but both Christ and Israel came out of Egypt which perhaps suggests that Christ was given a new non-sin nature and Israel will be given that nature as well when the Messiah returns (1Cor 15:25-26); Christ at a young age debated with the rabbis (Luke 2:46-50) and awareness of the Passover's meaning would have been painful.

3. Psa 129:1-2 - "Many a time they have afflicted me from my youth...yet they have not prevailed against me" - Christ's birth brought death yet the power of the enemy could not prevail against God's Anointed (Matt 2:13-18).

4. Psa 129:3 compare with Isa 50:6;Matt 27:26;Isa 53:5.

5. Psa 129:4 - The Lord in offering His Son removes from believers the bonds of slavery to sin and offers us a new and lighter "yoke" to bear (Matt 11:28-30); an alternative meaning to verse 4 is the cords of the wicked bound Christ as a sacrifice to the "altar" (Psa 118:27), and these cords were broken by Christ's resurrection from the dead.

6. Psa 129:5 - it's unwise to hate Zion.

7. Psa 129:8 - perhaps has application to the blessing of the royal seed (Luke 1:28-31).

1. Psa 130:1 - a righteous leader (e.g. Hezekiah, Christ) not disavowing the sins of his community; the effects of believers sins have attached themselves to Christ and he has sunk in the depths (Psa 40:2;69:2,14), plus he has borne our iniquities and made intercession for us (Isa 53:11-12).

2. Psa 130:4 - the assurance of forgiveness in Christ.

3. Psa 130:6 - could this have application to they that wait for the morning of the resurrection and the guarantee of the redemption (Mal 4:2;2Sam 23:4)?

4. Psa 130:7 - Let (the new) Israel hope in the Lord...with the Lord there is mercy, and...plenteous 'redemption'<6304>.

5. Psa 130:8 - "he shall 'redeem'<6299> Israel from all his 'iniquities'<5771>" - blessings of the kingdom (Acts 1:9-11;Dan 12:2;Mic 7:18-19;Isa 2:2-4;Matt 5:5) for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

129:5-6             We see Jerusalem riven with conflict. Does this trouble us? Are we troubled by the Godless nature of the disputes over the city? The servant of God is not happy with the present situation and seeks for God to change it by sending His son.

DOWN, BUT NOT OUT

"They have greatly oppressed me from my youth - let Israel say - they have greatly oppressed me from my youth, but they have not gained the victory over me."(Psa 129:1-2) In today's language we would say, "Down, but not out."

As far as the land of Israel and the Jewish people went, it was true. It seemed they had lost. The land was deserted, salt and stones had been scattered on their fields, and the people had been sold, deported or killed. But after their initial scattering from the land, the people returned to flourish again and the land regained it's fruitfulness.

It happened again when the Romans conquered Jerusalem in AD70. Again the people were scattered all over the world and the land was left deserted for almost 2000 years. But even the Romans did not gain the victory over the land and it's people. The Romans have gone, but the Jews are once again blossoming in their land.

People may try to eradicate our faith, tempt us away from it, and when persecution comes, we may feel that all is lost. But if we keep our faith against all odds, we will follow the same pattern as Israel. We may be oppressed, but they will not gain the victory over us. One day Jesus will return and we will be shown to be victorious, while those who oppressed us will be put to shame.

SHARE THE LOVE

Psalm 130 starts out with one man in the depths of despair, crying out to God for forgiveness. "Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD; O Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy." (Psa 130:1-2) The psalmist then explains that if there was no forgiveness, no one could stand. Then he waits for the answer.

Unfortunately we never hear what the answer was. He waited, trusting in the Lord for His forgiveness, and I believe he was rewarded.

It is the same psalmist, but a new man that begins the last part of the psalm saying, "O Israel, put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is unfailing love, and with him is full redemption. He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins." (v.7-8

Having been forgiven himself, the psalmist is now able to encourage others to take advantage of the forgiveness of God themselves.

Have you cried out to God for forgiveness? Have you been forgiven? Have you seen God's grace and mercy in your life? If so, then now is the time to encourage others to be forgiven, to put their hope in the Lord, and to experience God's mercy and love toward them.

130:3,8 Israel’s iniquities separated them from God. They could not be justified before God by their own actions. On realising that there will come a time when they will be justified by God. This is our position. We cannot save ourselves but we can be saved through God’s work in Jesus – Rom 3:23-24

130:8    whilst Israel, and maybe we, are concerned to be delivered from our problems David focuses on what really matter – deliverance from our sins.

Psalm 129

In v1-2 David talks about the history of Israel at the time of the Judges. Verse 4 (the bonds being broken) is figurative, but this did literally happen at the time of Samson (Judg 15:14).

Psalm 130

In the Garden of Eden, God put Adam there to tend and keep it. When he and his wife sinned, God put Cherubim in front of the entrance to the garden to keep the way to the tree of life. When Cain slew Abel, his reply to God's questioning was "am I my brother's keeper?" and when God revealed His plan of salvation to Abraham He said "Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations."

Tracing this word through its first four occurrences in the Bible gives us a potted history of mankind. Adam should have kept the garden rather than been bothering with the tree of good and evil. Through sin God had to keep him away from the tree of life. By not keeping his brother Abel safe, Cain did evil and was cast away from his family. By keeping God's commandments mankind could find a way back to God.

In Psa 130:3 David says: "If thou, LORD, shouldest mark (keep) iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared."

In using the same Hebrew word for "keep", is he referring back to those early days in the plan of God with mankind? Is David pulling out the main lesson for us from those early chapters of Genesis? God does not keep hold of our sins -- He casts them away if we ask Him.

128:5   The blessing that will come out of Zion is, in fact, God’s laws which will be in the world at the return of Jesus – Isa 2:2

Psa 128

This Psalm relates to how to achieve the ideal marriage and is a companion to Psa 127. It is not an unattainable utopia, as some would suggest.

This Psalm shows us the ideal marriage, a God-ordained united family, related by marriage, blood or adoption. Beset by all kinds of ideologies that divest it of its divinely endowed values, family in our contemporary society suffers greatly from those who purport to have a better way of fulfilling its divine mandate. Thus, the ideal becomes an ordeal looking for a new deal.

The importance of family has been derailed in today’s society. God intends that men bear the greater responsibility to protect the marriage and family (cf. Eph 5:25-33). A successful marriage begins with a godly man as the head of the home. Like a pebble thrown into a placid lake, his godliness ripples out to his wife and children.

The fear of the LORD Yahweh is the foundation on which a successful marriage is based and is repeated twice (vv.  1,4) to emphasize its importance. It will cause us to walk in God’s way, and if the life we want in a marriage is the life God wants for us, then God will cause it to happen for us.

We live in an age when we have bigger homes, but smaller families; we have more degrees, but less common sense; we have knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, yet more problems; more medicine, but less wellness. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. Why? Because only in a God-fearing home will we be truly happy and satisfied.
Worldly psychiatrists and counselors cannot cure the problems and heartaches of a dysfunctional family. It is the responsibility of the parents, particularly the husband, as the head of the house, but both parents must be godly for it to work. This does not mean there will not be hard knocks along the way. One parent cannot make it work if the other parent is not godly and not willing. It takes two godly and willing partners working together as heirs of the grace of life. The ideal can be achieved, not our way, the psychiatrist’s way, or the worldly way, but only one way, the God-appointed way. Considering the blessings in this life and in the life to come, it always pays to follow God’s way.

129:6   That the wicked are like grass that is soon destroyed is seen in a number of Psalms. Here are some Psa 32:2, 90:5-6, 102:4

129:8  The way that the Psalmist speaks of one speaking to another with respect to blessing seems to have been a normal way of speaking for we see an example in Ruth 2:4.

130:3-4  The contrast here between what we deserve and what God has done for us is seen in two verses in one of Paul’s letters – Rom 3:24

130:7 There will come a time when “Israel hope in the Lord”. It is the time when God’s kingdom has been re-established and Israel as His faithful people in a very different world from that which we see now.

130:5 Notice that David, because of the forgiveness that God offers, hopes in “His word”. Once we begin to question the reliability of His word we begin to lose the very basis for understanding how His forgiveness works.

130:1-6We were in the “depths” when we were “in Adam”. But like David we recognised “there is forgiveness with thee” (136:4) so like the Psalmist we “hope” (:5). But do we look for the return of our lord with the same amount of eagerness as the Psalmist says in verse :6?

129:2 The key point to remember is what the Psalmist says about those who oppressed him many times. “yet they have not prevailed against me”. This should be our confidence as we journey through life and its setbacks. God never forsakes His children.

129:3-4 There appears to be a n unusual contrast between these two verses. On the one hand sorrow and punishment is spoken of and in the next verse we read of God being righteous. This is because the punishment was followed by judgment on the oppressors.

128:2 The promise that the faithful would eat the fruit of their own hands is not a promise that the faithful will not surer. The faithful here are contrasted with the wicked who Moses spoke of – Deuteronomy 28:33 – who would be deprived of their food by their enemies. David recognised that God would keep His word as spoken to

Psa 130:3,4

THE FORGIVENESS OF GOD

“THE combined effect of all these sacrificial provisions of the law, is, to give ground of hope to all men who fear God and submit to His appointments. They may be erring and shortcoming, and a trouble to themselves because of their many imperfections; but if they are ‘humble and contrite of heart,’ and make confession of their sins in the name of Jesus, in whom all these sacrifices concenter as the end and substance foreshadowed, they may trust to be forgiven. ‘If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord who shall stand. But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.’”

Robert Roberts, The Law of Moses, p. 246

v.12 - Here is something to try to live up to in our lives of following in our master's footsteps. Are there any of us anywhere that could sustain this sort of communion with the Lord? I know I couldn't. The disciples couldn't either, could they, at the other end of Christ's ministry [Matt.26:40]. Let us learn from this - Ps.55:15-17, 109:3,4, Dan.6:10, Matt.6:6, Col.4:2

v.1 'second Sabbath after the first'.  This way of numbering Sabbaths is the only time this happens in the gospel records.  Luke is drawing our attention to the time of the year. There is one, and only one, occasion when  Israel were  commanded to count Sabbaths. [Leviticus 23:15] "And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day  that ye  brought the  sheaf  of  the  wave  offering;  seven  Sabbaths shall   be complete:" The Passover was kept  and then  on the  [Leviticus 23:10] "morrow after the Sabbath" at the end of the Passover they were to [Leviticus 23:10] "bring a  sheaf of  the firstfruits  of your harvest unto the priest:"  From  that Sabbath  they were  to [Leviticus  23:15]  "count  unto you  from the  morrow after  the Sabbath,  from the  day that  ye brought  the sheaf  of the  wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be complete:"  Thus it can be seen that the event referred to in Luke 6  occurred two weeks after the offering of the wave  sheaf. That is  three weeks after the beginning of the feast of Passover. This detail enables us to precisely locate in time this event  in the ministry of Jesus.

v. 3 Details concerning the shewbread tell us that it was changed on the Sabbath [Leviticus 24:8] Notice that Jesus and his disciples were walking through the corn on the Sabbath. The appeal to the events of [1 Samuel 21:3] must have taken place on the Sabbath day or the shewbread would not have been available for David and his men. The issue in Jesus case is that he is 'lord of the Sabbath' marking that a man's need comes before the letter of the Sabbath law. This is a point which occurs a number of times in the gospels. This event is recorded in three of the gospel records highlighting its importance in laying down a principle. Here, Matthew 12:3, Mark 2:25

6:11 Being filled with madness was one of the curses that would follow from faithlessness - Deuteronomy 28:28. So this mention of madness shows how the curse was fulfilled on those religious leaders who refused the grace of God manifest in Jesus.

KINDNESS

Kindness is one of those attributes that everyone likes in a person. Kindness is also a quality that God wants to see in us. If we are kind we become like God, because God is kind. And if we show kindness toward each other, God will reward us. "Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." (Luke 6 v 35 - 36)

So to help us with our kindness, Jesus gave us 15 simple little rules to teach us how to be kind.

• Love your enemies
• Do good to those who hate you
• Bless those who curse you
• Pray for those who ill treat you
• If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also
• If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic
• Give to everyone who asks you
• If anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back
• Do to others as you would have them do to you
• Do good to your enemies
• Lend to your enemies without expecting to get anything back
• Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful
• Do not judge
• Do not condemn
• Give a good measure when you give

Let's follow these rules and show ourselves kind

:7 We noticed (Chapter 5) we saw that the people waited until the end of the Sabbath to be healed we know also that Jesus confronted the Scribes and Pharisees by healing on the Sabbath - so now they are ready, watching to find fault.

V.30 In to-day's society, this is a very difficult commandment for us to follow. Those around us claim that a thief must be prosecuted, but if we do, are we following the direction given by Christ?

6:17 Notice the distances the men and women travelled to hear Jesus. Jesus was in Galilee at this time so those from Jerusalem had travelled some 60 miles. Those from Tyre and Sidon 40 miles or more.

V.23 If , by the grace of our Heavenly Father we are granted a place in the kingdom, we shall possess the greatest treasure imaginable(1Cor 2:9), immortal bodies that will need no protection, that will feel no disabilities. No longer to fear, no longer to have anxiety, no longer to be victims of abuse or hatred, but to be the distributors of happiness under the guidance of God.

6:2 In interpreting the way the disciples were gathering corn shows a very strict legalistic approach to the Law of Moses. The law made provision –Deut 25:4 - for oxen to eat whilst they ground corn. It was this legalistic attitude of the Pharisees which caused them to be unable to recognise Jesus as Christ. How about ourselves with our man made rules and regulations?

In Luke 6:15 we have two opposites. Matthew was a tax collector, working with the Romans. Simon Zelotes was a Zealot, an extreme right-wing “Israel for the Israelis” type of person.  But Jesus knew what He was doing, and used them both as apostles.

6:12-13 We see that the major decision of selecting the twelve was preceded by prayer. This was not merely a formality with Jesus for those twelve had been given to him by God – John 17:12

In this chapter Christ is teaching the disciples the rules of life, rules which from then on would govern all their words and actions, these rules still apply in the 21st. century; it is a really high standard of behaviour that is demanded. We might think or feel at times: "Its not for me, I can't do it." The truth of it is that it is for us, we can do it. We have been called, we would not have been called if we could not do it. But, we must remember that these qualities are not natural to any one of us. We must be continually putting off the ways of the old man, and be developing the ways of our Master.

6:4     The shewbread was changed every Sabbath – Lev 24:88  – so we can conclude that David’s escapade also happened on the Sabbath – the day on which the disciples were challenged.

The promotion of life trumps any law. That is the lesson Jesus gave regarding the Sabbath law. On the Sabbath, He ate ears of corn (v.1); pointed to the life-giving example of David and the shewbread (vs.3,4); and healed (vs.9,10).

6:16 Notice that Judas is ‘the traitor’ in the description of the call of the disciples – though none of the other disciples realised his intentions even in the upper room. We must be careful that we do not live a life in Christ with secret motives which, whilst hidden from our fellow disciples, are known to God.

V.5 The word also (KJV) comes from the Greek kai. It also means even which makes for a better translation. This is how kai is translated in Matt 12:8.

Vs.27-29 Jesus’ words are plain and easy to appreciate. It is hard, therefore, to understand so-called Christians who can justify their violence towards others. They must be following a different Jesus than the one speaking here.

6:31 Jesus’ instruction here resolves so many problems. When we don’t know what we ought to do in a difficult situation we simply need to think about what we would like for yourselves. Here is one occasion when being selfish can have benefits. Of course we may not benefit directly but we will benefit by learning how to treat others.

6:18   There seem to be a tremendous number of people with ‘unclean spirits’ in Israel in Jesus’ day. The focus on such individuals is because they represented the nation and so  figure prominently in the healings that Jesus performed.

6:36   In saying that God was ‘merciful’ Jesus reminds his audience of God’s character as recorded in Exo 34:6

Ch 6 v 5 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day. How is the Lord Jesus Lord of this day? He exhibited the true principles of the Sabbath as outlined in Is 58. He was the embodiment of those priciples which showed how we ought to act to others and display love for our neighbour and in so doing our love for God. The Sabbath was made for man that he might develop spiritually and here was one who was the epitome of all spiritual development. It also points us forward to the kingdom where on that 7th day (7000 years) Jesus will be Lord over all the Earth and the people will bring forth praise to honour our heavenly Father

Summary Of Luke

6:1-5        Second Sabbath after first – plucking corn in the field

6:6-11      Another Sabbath – man with withered hand in synagogue

6:12         Jesus went into a mountain to pray

6:13-17    Call of the 12 disciples

6:17-19    In the plain people came from far and wide to be healed

6:20-49    Sermon – like sermon on the mount (Matthew 5-7)

                       Parables

                       :39      Parable - can the blind lead the blind

                       :47      Parable - house on sand / rock

Luke 6:45

“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.”

Statisticians estimate that “each of us will spend 13 years of our life talking, and every day, our words could write a book of 50-60 pages. In a year, if we are just average, we could author 264 books of over 200 pages, just with our words”! Words are a reflection of who we are. If we can not say something positive without throwing in painful negatives then “it is better to keep the mouth closed and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt” – Abraham Lincoln.

Ancient Greek philosophers taught that: “a good tongue is the clearest mark not only of a good upbringing, but of a moral life.” The Greek sage and Stoic philosopher, Epictetus and the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius both argued that prudent and conscientious speech is a sign of authentic spiritual growth. The theologian Dietrich Bonhoffer, murdered by the Nazis weeks before the end of WWII, advised his students that they speak about people only when they are present.

When I was a child, if I talked back to either of my parents, my mother would get out the soap and wash my mouth out with it. It didn’t take me long to learn that it pays to keep quiet. But, the problem was not with my mouth, but with my heart. We speak what is in our heart, and unclean conversations will only come from an unclean heart (cf. Matt 12:34-35).

Our tongue reveals what is in our heart. Have you ever been insulted and had false accusations hurled at you and then told that if you were truly spiritual then you would not take offense? This is unscriptural (cf. Prov 14:14; Matt 7:16-18; Matt 12:37; Matt 15:18-20)! It reminds me of Jesus' adversary who told him: "... If thou be the Son of God" then ... (Matt 4:6). We must be so careful and choose our words wisely and not deceive ourselves, “for the tree is know by his fruit (Matt 12:33). This includes the fruit of our lips (Heb 13:15)! The quality of the fruit is a reflection of the tree that produced it. The tree and the fruit must coincide - this is a simple parabolic truth. What goes in the heart determines the fruits that come out of it. Let us, therefore, learn to guard our heart, “for out of it are the issues of life” (Prov 4:23).

Luke 6:3-5.

Build upon a rock. What is that rock? It is the word of God. But what are we to build? We should build that which will be permanent. Nothing on earth has been permanent; not buildings, not churches, not the Temple of Solomon, not countries, not lives, not anything. The only permanent things are those stored in heaven as explained to us in Matthew chapter 6:19-21.

The things stored in heaven are Jesus and the book of life about us written by God describing our works (figuratively) as in Malachi 3:16-18 and Philippians 4:3. We take our soul and our heart to the judgment seat and if confirmed (written in the book of life) our resurrected body is taken into the Kingdom.

1 Titus 1:5 states: “Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:”

The pure heart is the house we are building.

The good conscience is the mind we are building.

The unfeigned faith is the soul we are building.

Charity; our works out of our pure heart, good conscience, and true faith.

We build our soul and heart with the help of the Holy Spirit throughout our life. Are we doing well in this building effort?

Notice the similarities between Luke 6:47-49 and Psa 1:1-6 and Jer 17:7,8 concerning the ‘fruit’ which is also talked about in this chapter (v43+). In many cases we should know how to discern between good and evil  - that is by noticing the fruits created by those we see.  ‘…by your fruits ye shall know them…’ talked Jesus about the false prophets in Matt 7:15-20 – knowing that ‘ Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire….’ (Matt 7:19) talking about the coming judgement. John was preaching to the people when he proclaimed that they should ‘...Bring forth fruits meet to repentance…’ (Luke 3:8) – for in Luke 3:9 the judgements upon the world then present were shortly to come to pass within a generation concerning those who had not repented and brought forth fruit by the time AD70 was at the door.

Surely we will only ever know what the good and evil fruits are borne through a proper understanding and working out of the word of God in a persons life (Jer 10:23). This is how we come to understand the fruit of the spirit and all of it’s attributes which are tied together in love. This is how we will hopefully be able to see a set of evil fruits such as those possessed by swine (Matt 7:6) and a disorderly walking brother or sister (2Thess 3:6). And hopefully if we are able to discern the evil, we will know that their fruits are not in accordance to the walk of life which our heavenly father loves -Isa 33:15.

We will bring forth fruit if we plant ourselves by spiritually living waters, and get out of the way of the congregation of the wicked. By the right ingredients, (though of course only with the grace of God) it is possible to flourish into a living tree, whose ‘…leaf doth not wither, And all that he doth he causeth to prosper….’

6:5      Psa 92 title (the online version does not show the title) show that Psalm  as a Psalm for the Sabbath day. Reading through the first few verses of the Psalm  we see that the Sabbath was given to man so that he could praise God.  Throughout his ministry Jesus’ Sabbath healings glorified God and so were most appropriate action for the Sabbath. 

6:28-31     The words of Jesus here are the same as the sentiments found in Prov 24:29

6:11-12         Jesus has been surrounded by his adversaries and now he is in prayer. He lives out the experience of David – Psa 109:4

6:35  The concept of lending and not expecting that loaned to be returned echoes what Israel were taught – Deut 15:8 – about the year of release.

There is an interesting contrast and connection between verses 7 & 17 of this chapter:

We read in verse 7 that the Scribes & Pharisees came to WATCH our Lord on the Sabbath Day to see whether he would "profane the Sabbath" (even though he was lord of it - verse 5) whereas in verse 17 we read that the common people came from miles around (as far as 60 miles away according to Bro. Peter Forbes' comment in 2004 above) to HEAR the teaching of our Lord. It appears from this that the Scribes & Pharisees thought themselves to be too educated in the Law to listen to the teachings of someone they regarded as being "born of fornication" (John 8:41; Matt 1:19; Deut 22:13-21)

Surely there is a powerful lesson of attitude in this connection for all of us: do we study our Bible to be able to use it to WATCH our brothers & sisters with, or do we study it to HEAR what our Lord has to say to us personally? Verses 41-42 and Rom 2:1-11 may help us decide.

6:28-31        The way Jesus taught how we should respond to those who might find fault with us echoes the teaching of the Law of Moses – Lev 19:18

Luke 6:46

“And why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things that I say?”

“It is not sufficient to hear the truth and like it. There are many who sit and listen with pleasure to the beautiful sentiments of the Gospel, to whom the words spoken to Ezekiel are applicable (Eze 33:32): ‘Lo, Thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not.’ You will not forget that Jesus likens this class (‘who hear these sayings of mine and do them not’) to men building their houses on the sand, which when the rains descend, and the floods come, and the winds blow, fall with great ruin (Matt 7:26). If, therefore, we are to be associated with Jesus, and the glorious band that constitute the kingdom of God, we must distinguish ourselves by the present and actual performance of his commandments.”

Robert Roberts, SEASONS OF COMFORT - OBEDIENCE, p. 34, Fourth Edition

6:45      we should remember that how we speak demonstrates how our heart thinks. Motive is everything!

6:22  Of course there is no inherent virtue in being hated by others, It is the reason behind their hatred which brings the blessing form God. The disciple is hated because of his strict commitment to following Jesus’ teaching.

6:7,17 Notice the contrast. The scribes and Pharisees “watched him” – seeking to find fault. Whereas the people that travelled some distance “came to hear him”.

6:22 Of course there is no inherent virtue in being hated by others, It is the reason behind their hatred which brings the blessing form God. The disciple is hated because of his strict commitment to following Jesus’ teaching.

6:47-49 Jesus regularly based his parables and teaching on the Old Testament – the Jewish scriptures. On this occasion things are no different. A Jew who was familiar with his scriptures could easily have seen the way that Jesus was echoing the ideas of Eze 13:10-16.

Ezekiel is speaking of those who heard the word of God but chose not to take any account of it. The context in the prophet matches the circumstances when Jesus was speaking.

6:9 There is no recorded response from the scribes and Pharisees. One can imagine that they did say nothing being convicted by their thoughts. They focussed on their interpretation of the requirements of the Sabbath rather than thinking about how they could help others.

Are we so focussed on “procedures” that binding ourselves with rules and regulations that we miss opportunities to help others?

Luke 6:36

“Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.”

Christ’s Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5; 6; 7) teaches us the highest standards by which to live and to strive to live.  We are admonished to be merciful as our Father is merciful, and it is to the merciful that God will extend His mercy. We read in Matt 5:7, “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.”

“Obedience is better than sacrifice” (1Sam 15:22) and in Hos 6:6, we read: “For I desire mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” Mercy is the highest standard because if we have mercy all the other attributes, our qualities and characteristics, will fall into place.

“Mercy,” in Hos 6:6 is # <2617>, checed, “… beauty, kindly (loving), merciful (kindness)…” Then, in Hos 14:3, mercy Is # <7355>, racham, “to love, compassionate: - have compassion (on, upon) … mercy…” It teaches that to exhibit compassion is to be merciful! This is also taught in the New Testament, for example in Rom 9:15, God says, “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion” (Exo 33:19). God mentions who are the recipients of His mercy and who are not (Prov 28:13; James 2:13a). “Mercy,” # <1653>, eleeo, “from <1656>… compassionate, mercy…”  Jude 1:21, “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” “Mercy,” #<1656>, eleos, “compassion… mercy.” To demonstrate mercy and compassion, the elect of God holy and beloved, are to put on “bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing and forgiving one another…” (Col 3:12,13).

I often wondered about Matt 7:22,23, “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils” and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Well, no matter how hard we may labour in the Lord, sacrificing our time and money for the Lord's work, if we are critical, compassionless, merciless, loveless, unforgiving, judging unrighteously by what we hear, or even what we think we see (cf. Isa 11:3,4) and form opinions, spread them, devouring those we think are less worthy than we are (Gal 5:14-26), we will not make it. The Pharisees and scribes who displayed their very strict characters in keeping the Law (albeit, polluted by believing in their own traditions) were merciless and compassionless and Christ rebuked them (Matt 12:1-8; Matt 15:2,3; Mark 2:25,26; 7:1-9. The Law wasn’t just about sacrifices, but also of obedience, love, mercy, and compassion as demonstrated by the very nature God revealed of Himself (Exo 34:6,7).

Imagine our spiritual growth without an unforgiving spirit, agape love, mercy and compassion. No matter what we do, it is cold, hardened, and spiritually lifeless!  Both the Old and New Covenants teach us the importance of growing spiritually and developing characters that manifest God and Christ if we want forgiveness and mercy when we stand before Christ in the day of Judgment (Matt 6:14,15). We must manifest it in our lives now, because in the end it is the quality of mercy that will triumph over judgment (James 2:13b).

6:3  Notice Jesus opening comment – such a common approach that we might miss the significance. “Have ye not read …” – an invitation to think about what scripture says. The historical narrative relating to David to which Jesus draws their attention taught principles.

Is this how we read scripture or do we just see it a dull history?

6:30 Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back.

This verse appears to suggest that we should give in an uncritical and indiscriminate way. So taken literally,

 * The local atheist society seeks donations to support its work - so we give.

 * A pampered and self-indulged child is given whatever he wants including money to be spent on junk food and pornography

 * A drug addict solicits money to be spent on his drug addiction - so we give.

Is this what Jesus meant?

A simple look at how God put this in action shows that we are to give with discernment rather than indiscriminately and uncritically. Examples:

1. The Apostle Paul begged three times that the thorn in his flesh be removed - God said No! three times to prevent Paul from being puffed up (2 Corinthians 12:8,9).

2. Jesus begged three times that the cup of crucifixion be passed from him - God said No! three times (Matthew 26:39,42,44)

So how do we apply this verse in our lives?

A suggested paraphrase: Give to everyone who begs from you where the giving honours God and conforms to his principles, and where you have the means to give. Don't be overly concerned about the prompt return of your goods if the person has an ongoing need for them, even accepting that they may never be returned. Be governed by the overriding principle "and as you wish that others should do to you, do so to them" (Luke 6:31).