V.38  Blue is not mentioned in the New Testament. It is used here in the priest's garment to serve as a rememberance of God. We have been provided with many ways to remember God; the sky is blue, it is also a sign of healing of a wound.

Vs.33-36 Treatment under the Law could be harsh and immediate.  We live under the law of liberty in Christ (Gal 5:1,13). We have flexibility to operate but are still governed by the Laws of Christ.  Our actions will be judged as surely as they were under the Law, but at a later time (2Cor 5:10, Heb 10:28,29, James 2:12).

15:39   The fringe on the garment was to be a perpetual reminder that Israel should not use their own reasoning to decide what was possible or not. It was their own reasoning which had barred them from the land. Where do we stand on this one?  Will our Father give us the kingdom or not?

V.15,16,25,26,29 - Jews and Gentiles living under a sacrificial umbrella that foreshadows the oneness in Christ.

V.30-31 - "'But anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or alien, blasphemes [Heb. "gadaph" (1442) means "blaspheme, reproach"] the Lord, and that person must be cut off from his people. Because he has despised the Lord's word and broken his commands, that person must surely be cut off; his guilt remains on him." So we have the concept of defiant sinning echoing Heb 10:26 and the Lord blasphemed with His word despised echoing Matt 12:31.

15:31 We might have thought that Israel simply did not believe what God had said about entering the land. However their unbelief is styled by god as that they ‘despised the word of the Lord’. Quite a different complexion is it not?

Vs.6,7,9,10 A hin was a liquid measure which , probably, originated in Egypt. It consisted of 12 logs (Lev 14:10). In today’s measurement, a hin is equivalent to two imperial gallons (eight quarts).

15:39 These words were spoke at the beginning of the wandering. Similar words are spoken to Israel. Just before they enter the land Deut 12:8

Advice is good, but sometimes it just doesn't go in! The proverbs roll off the tongue very well, but do they stick inbetween our ears? God has provided a way for us to remember their message more readily, and also learn how we might apply them in day to day life. It is through examples.

In verses 24-26 we are told that the more we give, the more we will receive. If we withold, then we will be witholden from. We have some excellent examples of this in action. In 1Sam 25:2-3,10-11,36-38 we read of Nabal. He was a very rich man, yet witheld good from David even though it was easily in his means to help him. This man's riches came to nothing because of it. Compare this to Job. (29:11-17, 42:12). Again, the widow who had just one meal left, gave all she had to Elisha, and ate of it for months! (1Kin 17:12-16).

In v26 "he who waters will also be watered himself" can be demonstrated in Rebekah's watering of a stranger's camels leading to her acquiring a husband and many gifts (Gen 24:14-22). Jesus picked up on these things, and made a spiritual point to follow on from them. If we give a cup of water to a brother or sister in the name of Jesus, we will gain an eternal reward. It is the acts of kindness and love, motivated by our faith, that will build us up treasure in heaven. God will not be mocked; He doesn't give inadequate reccompense as human masters often do. His reward will be "pressed down and overflowing..." (Luke 6:38).

Jesus ultimately demonstrated this principle by giving everything, and gaining everything by it. That which he gained was actually worth many many times what he gave away. He gave thirty three years of his life, and he gained eternity. He gave all he had, and he gained all God had. He gave one life, and he gained all our lives. This ridiculously high ratio of giving to receiving is always the case with God. In our lives it will be the same, but it requires faith.

I am going to try to comment on the first verse of the remaining chapters of Proverbs, God Willing. Prov 11:1 tells us that God hates it when we cheat, and conversely, is pleased when we are honest. I suppose it was relatively easy to add an extra weight underneath the loose weights, or under the scale pan. In a similar way it’s very easy for us to cheat in all sorts of little ways.  We must not. Remember God is watching.

11:27,30 There are a number of quotations from Genesis 2 and 3 in these verses

Prov 11:2 - "Pride" can come from being deceitful (including self deception) and thus is related to v1. "Pride" comes from the Heb. "zadown" (2087) meaning "arrogance, presumptuously, pride, proud", etc. and comes from the Heb. "ziyd" (2102) meaning "to seethe, to be insolent, be proud, deal proudly, presume, (come) presumptuously", etc. People who are proud tend to want everything done their own way. Pride is one of the three basic sins (1John 2:16). Pride was the essential part of the fall (Gen 3:5) and is a rule of fallen man (Mark 7:22). Haughty eyes are detestable to God (Prov 6:17).

Prov 11:7,8,9,19,30,31 - When the wicked dies, his hope perishes and ditto for those without understanding (Psa 49:20). Thus the righteous have hope of life after death on earth through the knowledge (John 4:24; Rom 10:2-4) of the good news including Christ's sacrifice on the tree.

Prov 11:12-13 - the wisdom of holding one's tongue vs the harmful foolishness of talebearing/gossip.

11:22  Looks are not everything. IN fact physical beauty without wisdom is seen to be incongruous. It is so easy to make ourselves physically attractive but in reality we should be seeking to develop the ‘hidden man of the heart’ – 1Pet 3:4

11:28 This Proverbs about trusting in riches is drawn upon by Jesus in Mark 10:24.

V.1 echoes the appeal to deal fairly with people found in Lev 19:35,36. The phrase just weight is translated from the Hebrew eben shelemah meaning perfect (complete) stone. The deeper connotation is that of Christ, who, originally rejected by His people, became the perfect stone on which to found the household of faith (Psa 118:22; Acts 4:11). After completed their journey, the chosen faithful will receive a personalized stone representing righteousness and acceptance. They will spend eternity with the Lord (Rev 2:17).

11:14 How often, when we have a difficult decision to make, do we see the advice of others? Or do we just seek the advice of those who we know will agree with us? Solomon’s spirit guided counsel is to seek advice, by implication, of those who might not agree with our planned course of action. It what we plan is right or wrong seeking the advice of many will only be helpful.

11:18 The way in which Solomon speaks of ‘sowing righteousness’ is picked up – Hos 10:12

The word spirit comes from the Gr. pneuma and has been used to describe unseen conditions such as:
-divine entity (Matt 3:16)
-mental illness (Luke 8:29)
-physical infirmity (Luke 13:11)
-mental desire (Matt 26:41)
-mind, mental disposition, inner self (Mark 8:12)
-life force (John 6:63)
-attitude (1Cor 4:21)
But in v.37 when Jesus appeared to the disciples, they thought that they had seen a spirit (pneuma).  This is not proof that ghosts, poltergeists or other popular superhuman apparitions exist.  This is a reference to angels who, although they can appear in human form, are nevertheless spirits (Heb 1:13,14).

V.27 is a handy verse to show that Jesus is grounded in the Old Testament (see also Luke 16:31, John 5:46).

V.53 Luke began his record with a temple scene. (1:5-23). He ends it similarly. He began with songs, of Elizabeth and of Mary. So he ends most appropriately, with praises to God, for of Him and through Him, and to Him are all things.

24:27-29  Notice that Jesus, whilst expounding Scripture about himself did not force himself on the two. The inference is that if they had not ‘constrained’ Jesus to lodge with them he would not have revealed himself to them. This is a powerful lesson to us.

Jesus' ascension took place around Bethany (vs.50,51).  This dispels the misunderstanding of some that Jesus ascended from the Mount of Olives.  Bethany lies about two miles S.E. of Jerusalem (John 11:18).  Jerusalem could not be seen from Bethany as the Mount of Olives blocked the view.  Jesus probably chose this location for His ascension as a private affair for His faithful to witness, and not for the host of unbelievers in Jerusalem.  He will return in like manner, i.e. stealthily and to a few (His household).  Later, he will be revealed to the world. That will be a grand public spectacle as His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives (Zech 14:4; Rev 1:7).

This chapter is all about what is said.  We have the words of the angels to the women; the words of the women to the disciples, which seem like nonsense; the confused words to each other of the disciples on the road to Emmaus, and then the words of Jesus to them which cause their hearts to burn within them; the words "Peace be with you" with which Jesus reassures the disciples, and then his last words of teaching to them, which helped to open their minds to understand the Scriptures, as he had done for the disciples on the road to Emmaus.

v 28 reminds us of the incident when Jesus walked on the lake and would have passed them by if Peter had not called out to him Mark 6:48

24:4 That the women were ‘much perplexed’ add to the understanding that no one expected that Jesus would rise from the dead. This perplexity is seen in all those disciples who were involved in the events of this day

Cleopas and his companion did not recognize Jesus until He was revealed to them.  Do we recognize Jesus in our brothers and sisters?  If we do, then our treatment of them will be exactly how we would treat the Lord (Matt 18:5). 

24:9 Notice ‘the twelve’ have now become ‘the eleven’ Judas is no longer with the disciples.

A second redemption

In v21 are some curious words. Jesus' followers expected him to "redeem Israel", but from what? It is clear from scripture that Israel had already been redeemed (see Exo 6:6, Deut 21:8, 2Sam 7:23). God had taken them from slavery in Egypt and made them His special nation. So what more did they want? Both Psa 25:18-22 and Psa 130 speak of a further redemption; a redemption from sin itself. I wonder whether the disciples understood this afterall?

24:18 Cleopas’ wife was called ‘Mary’ – John 19:25. It would be most likely that the two were Cleopas and Mary who were walking along the road discussing the events of the day.