v.11 - This concept of God repenting him that he had done certain things [here, v.35, Gen.6:6, etc] is one which I am sure we have all struggled with from time to time. If it were not for Ps.110:4 and similar passages, we may feel that he would even repent that he had made you and me. Men may let us down (and do regularly) but God's covenant is truly binding on both sides.

v.22 - A recurring theme in the Scriptures is the fact that Yahweh does not want animal sacrifices. This is not to be taken to indicate that he did not institute sacrifices. He did, but they were added to remind Israel of their sinfulness, and not primarily as a means of pleasing Yahweh. [Jeremiah 7:21 - 23] However Israel saw the offering of sacrifices as a virtue in themselves and forgot that the offering of the sacrifice was an advertisement of their sinfulness. Samuel had to reprove Saul on this point. Saul spared the Amalekites, in direct contravention of the word of Yahweh on the flimsy pretext that the people saved the animals alive to offer to the Lord. Saul lost the throne because he saw a virtue in sacrifice rather than obedience. [1Samuel 15:22 - 24] This principle can be seen in other parts of Scripture [Psalm 51:16 17 Proverbs 21:3 Isaiah 1:11 - 17 Hosea 6:6 Amos 5:21 - 24] Jesus reinforced this point be appealing to some of those Scriptures to show that the leaders of his day had also missed the point. [Matthew 9:13 12:7 23:23] However David understood that Yahweh wanted obedience. [Psalm 40:6 - 8] David was a pattern of what Jesus was to be like [Hebrews 10:5 - 9] Nor is the principle unrelated to our walk in Christ as we are to be living sacrifices [Romans 12:1 - the end of the letter] Our obedience is to the constraints of the gospel, some of which are laid out in the remainder of the letter.

 V.22  Please God with sacrifices? Why not please Him with obedience. What good are these formalities if you have no real intention to do His will? It is obedience that matters; far more than all the multitude of offerings one can talk about.

V.3 Yahweh's instructions to Saul via Samuel were very clear.  But, Saul disobeyed: his rebellion was equated with witchcraft that carried a death penalty; while his arrogance was likened to idolatry (v.23; Exo 22:18).

We should learn from Saul's mistakes not take Yahweh's instruction lightly.  Paul tells us that witchcraft and idolatry are works of the flesh (Gal 5:20).  Furthermore he equates idolatry with covetousness (Col 3:5).  And so, we must be careful to obey the Word so that the Lord can say about us what he said about the ecclesia at Philadelphia (Rev 3:8).

V.33 Every year as read this chapter, We are inpressed with Samuel, as he called to have Agag brought before him, and then went about fulfilling the commandment of God to slay him. What a lesson in obedience for the Children of Israel and for us to day.  

15:1     Notice the emphasis ‘hearken’ ‘voice’ ‘words’ – Saul was not a listener! Are we?

15:2 Saul seemed to have forgotten what Amalek had done and what God had commanded – Exo 17:8, Deut 25:17-19

15:3      If Saul had kept this commandment then we would not have had the odd claim by the Amalakite that he had killed Saul – 2Sam 1:8

V.8 Agag (meaning fiery) was a title of the kings of the Amalekites, just as Pharoah was a title for the kings of Egypt.  Amalekites were often called Agagites such as Haman (Est 3:1,10; 8:3,5). Had Saul followed Yahweh's commands, Haman would not have existed.

V.2 See Exo 17:8-16.

V.6 The Kenites were a branch of the Midianites that derived from Midian, a son of Abraham by Keturah (Gen 25:1,2).  Jethro, Moses father-in-law was a Kenite (Judg 1:16).  The Amalekites were a Hamitic people who had been troublesome to Israel ever since it left Egypt (Exo 17:8).

V.22 See Prov 21:3.

V.24 Saul chose to listen to, and obey the voice of the people rather than listen to, and obey the voice of Yahweh.  This caused Saul’s rejection by Yahweh (v.26).

We are faced with the same choice: if we listen to God’s voice (through His Word, the Bible), and obey, we shall live (forever); but if we listen to the voice of men (the world), and follow their path, we will die (forever).

V.33 Samuel was a Levite.  He was not of the sons of Aaron, and yet he offered sacrifices to Yahweh (e.g. 1Sam 7:9).  Samuel portends the Redeemed of Christ who will be priests in the Kingdom (Rev 1:6; 5:10). The brethren of Christ, both Jew and Gentile, are called from all parts of the world.  Those accepted at the judgment will become the Redeemed.  This special priest order will help Jesus put down the enemies of Yahweh, just as Samuel dispensed with Agag.

15:5 We see a nice characteristic of Saul here in the way he treated the Kenites We see that it was not just that Moses’ father in law among the Kenites had been supportive of Israel. For it was through the Kenites that Sisera was slain – Judg 4:17

1Sam 13:13 - Samuel reminds Saul that the Lord has been his (Saul's) God. 1Sam 15:30 - but here we find a rejected Saul sadly referring to God as being Samuel's ("your God" NIV) God - not unlike the Israelites who also disappointed God (1Sam 12:19,20,25).

We have a paradox with "repent"[Heb. "nacham" (5162) various meanings including "repent, suffer grief, be consoled, be comforted, to be sorry, regret, to sigh, be moved to pity, to avenge", etc.]. 1Sam 15:29,35 - v.29 reads "...the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent." But six verses later we read v.35 "...the Lord repented that he had made Saul over Israel." There is no inconsistency here, it just depends which particular sense of the word "nacham" is being referred to in each case. For example, perhaps v.29 refers to "be consoled, be comforted, change his mind" while v.35 could refer to "suffered grief".

59:7 has men running to shed blood
59:20 has the redeemer coming and turning ungodliness away.

The contrast marks the needs of man and the wonderful provision of our Father.

V.2 Israel has been separated from God through sin.  Because of sin, Israel would grope around like a blind man (v.10).  Jesus illustrates this condition when he healed the blind man in John 9:5-7.  Here the man would have to grope half-way around town to the pool of Siloam (see my comment for John 9 on Oct.17).  The only way to have sin removed is through the Lord Jesus (v.20). 

59:12 In saying ‘We grope for the wall like the blind’ Isaiah is quoting the curse of Deut 28:29

V.17 - believers can also follow this example of putting on the armor of righteousness 1Thess 5:8.

V.15,20,21 - we look forward to the light of Christ's return to Zion/Jerusalem to redeem those who repent, both Jew and Gentile, in the millenial age of truth and justice Rom 11:25-27; Isa 60:1,2,3,11,12,14,15,19,20,21.

When things are going really badly for us it is well worth having a read of this and the previous chapter. Chapter 59 starts with the statement that God isn't handicapped from saving us, neither is He deaf to our requests. The reader is supposed to ask the question "so why isn't my prayer for help being answered?" (58:3). The answer comes in v2 "your iniquities have seperated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you".

Sometimes this exact thing will happen to us, just as it did to Israel. We may think that we've got everything right, just as they did (58:2-3), but often we have to admit that we've let our good intentions slip, and we're merely paying God lip-service rather than serving him by loving our neighbour. If this is the case, it is entirely right that God should bring some trauma into our lives in order to alert us to the fact. This is what He did time and again with Israel.

Early detection of such an occurence in our lives can save us a lot of heartache. The grass which bends with the wind is not broken by it. Likewise if we bend in the storm and repent of our halfheartedness before God, He will relent just as He promised for Israel (58:8-9). Once we turn to him and confess, trying to get our feet back into the right paths, "then you shall call and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and He will say, "Here I am".

59:9-12 Notice how the prophet associated himself with the people using the words ‘us’, ‘we’ and ‘our’.

59:2-3 Notice the repeated use of ‘you’ and ‘your’ it is really important to ‘own’ our own responsibilities. It is all too easy, encouraged by the way in which people in positions of importance in the world duck their responsibilities, to try to blame others for our shortcomings or inactivity.

59:17 The armour that the prophet speaks of can be found on the soldier of Christ – Eph 5:8, 1Thess 5:8

V.5 If someone fosters sin, it will turn around and bite (kill) him/her at some point.

V.7 See Rom 3:15.

V.8 See Prov 2:14,15.

V.17 For spiritually protective dress, see Eph 6:14-17.

V.18 When Jesus returns, He will judge every man according to his deeds (Rom 2:6); His fiery indignation shall devour His adversaries (Heb 10:27); His enemies in the isles afar off will not escape (Eze 39:6).

V.19 Yahweh’s Name shall be known from one end of the earth to the other in the time to come (Isa 45:6; Eze 26:23; Mal 1:11).

Vs.20,21 Jesus is the Redeemer of both Natural Israel and Spiritual Israel (Rom 11:26; 1Pet 1:2).

59:14 Truth is the bedrock upon which judgement and justice stand. Often we try to make decisions based upon part knowledge. We may even withhold parts of the truth as we feel that a decision has to be made and all the facts will hinder that decision making. It is fundamental that all the facts are known – the truth – about a matter before decisions are taken if those decisions are to be just.

3 v.2 - The phrase 'kingdom of heaven' is unique to Matthew's gospel and is found in the following places [Matthew 3:2 4:17 5:3 10 19 20 7:21 8:11 10:7 11:11 12 19:12 14 23 20:1 13:11 13:24 31 33 44 45 47 52 16:19 18:1 3 4 23 22:2 23:13 25:1 14] We realise that when John came preaching repentance and the kingdom of God he only had the Old Testament and the revelation that he received as a prophet to guide his understanding of what he was preaching about. We might ask 'how much did he understand?' He was able to declare that Jesus was the 'lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world' [John 1:29] But we do know that the prophets, and the angels for that matter, had a limited knowledge of the purpose of God and had a desire to know more. [1 Peter 1:10 - 12]

4 v.3 - 'if thou be the son of God' as a temptation is seen also at the end of Jesus' life. [Matthew 4:3 6 27:40] This marks the point that whilst the devil left him for a season [Luke 4:13] He was continually being tempted. It might be that we are not told about the continuing stresses that Jesus was under but we are told about the work that he did that we might understand that we should not dwell on our own problems but rather concentrate on the problems of others. 'If' is the recurring word in the temptations. as if Jesus is questioning his own position with each of the trials.
4 v.13 - And so Jesus, and presumably his family, moved to Capernaum from Nazareth. See also [Matthew 9:1] Family tree of Joseph and Mary [taken in part from The Easter Enigma - John Wenham - A fascinating book]

The way in which Matthew links these two Old Testament passages gives us an insight into how we should relate Isaiah 42 to Psalm 2.

4:8 The 'high mountain' of the temptations contrasts with the 'high mountains' (Revelation 21:2). It was the joy of the kingdom which strengthened Jesus in the temptations.

"IF YOU HAVE REALLY TURNED FROM YOUR SINS TO DO, PRODUCE FRUIT THAT WILL PROVE IT"
There is only one way to tell if a person has really changed. It is not by what they say or preach. It is not by what they do when they can be seen in public or when they think that someone is looking. The way to tell is if a person has really changed is if they have changed in their whole life - little private things as well as the big public things, when they can't be caught out no matter where or when you try to catch them, when the attitudes and opinions of others change toward them.
The people John the Baptist was speaking to came to repent for their sins. If we have accepted Christ then we need to have repented from our sins too. There are too many people who say they are Christians and who have not changed the way they live. They may go to church on Sunday and say grace before their meals, but then they go out and get drunk, read pornographic magazines, are ruthless in business, or beat their children and wives. Would Christ accept that?
Now that we have turned our faces from our sins, let us produce good fruit to prove that we have changed. Produce good fruit first in the small private areas of life and then in public where everyone can see. Be consistent.

ch 3 - If we were seeking to advertise something special we would doubtless select a prominent place to stand and speak. Not so John. He was down by Jordan away from centers of population. Why? God is not looking for 'passers by' to accept His call. He is seeking those who will be willing to put some effort into learning about Him.

4:9 Whilst the 'devil' offered Jesus 'all the kingdoms of the world' they were already his for the asking (Psalm 2:8). Likewise we have wonderful things promised to us so let us not be deceived by the apparent benefits of things we might think we can have now. Eve and then Adam made that mistake.

A further point to ponder:

Salvation for mankind was not to come through mankind, but through God. God signified this by claiming Jesus as His son in verse 17. John said that the baptism of Christ was different to his, because Christ was the son of God, and he wasn’t (John 3:30-31).

ch.4 - Why did Jesus go to “Galilee of the Gentiles”, as soon as he heard that John was in prison? What changed with the passing away of John? Similarly in John 4:1 Jesus departs to Galilee and Samaria once the Pharisees realise he is has more followers than John. Is Jesus signifying that it is now time to go to the gentiles, because God’s stiif necked people have had their chance? Again in verse 24, “his fame went throughout Syria”. Most of the prophecies of Christ speak of him going to the gentiles.

A further point to ponder:

What do you think was going through the dizzy, hazy, spinning mind of Jesus after forty days in the wilderness? Stones! How marvelous a proof of the devil being ones own thoughts it is, that all his temptations involve stones, tripping over them, or falling over!

3:12 In speaking of the chaff being burnt up John is quoting Mal 4:1 where Malachi says that the stubble represents those that ‘do wickedly’ so the Pharisees would doubtless see the force of John’s point. They were not just passive observers of the baptisms. Their inactivity was actually ‘doing’. It was doing wickedly. How often is our inactivity wickedness?

4:3 ‘If thou be the son of God’ is cast in Jesus’ teeth again (Matt 27:40) – this is how the devil ‘departed from him for a season.’ (Luke 4:13)

4:2 After being weakened by forty days' fasting Jesus faced temptation.  His trial was a great internal struggle pitting the flesh against the spirit.  Jesus knew the unlimited power He had at His command (John 3:34).  And yet, He resisted His desires in obedience to His Father. He did this in refuting the devil (fleshly desires) by the Word of God.  Thus, the last king kept the Yahweh's Word whereas the first king (Saul) did not. 

3:7 The phrase 'wrath to come' is picked up by Paul 1Thess 1:10in a way which shows that repentance and baptism is the way that deliverance is obtained.

4:21 James and John may well have been mending their nets because of the draught of fished of Luke 5:6

3:9  In warning the Jewish leaders not to lay claim to Abraham John saw the potential which was manifest – John 8:33 - when these same individuals were reasoning with Jesus some time later.

4:11     When we see that ‘angels ministered unto him’ we appreciate that Psa 91:11– quoted by ‘the devil’ was actually true.  But it was fulfilled in a different way to the way in which the flesh thought about it.

And so, each person is tempted internally by his/her own desires and not by an external agent.  Jesus, being a man and having a human nature, weakened by forty days of fasting, was tempted internally. He overcame each temptation by refuting it with the power of the scripture.

3:5 In preaching ‘in the wilderness’ - Matt 3:1– john did not make himself easily accessible. Those who wanted to hear his message had to put some effort into the process and go out to hear him. We should not only be willing to listen to the message of the gospel when it is convenient and easy. We should be willing to put ourselves out to hear the message of the gospel.

The Devil And Satan - part 1 of 3 [lesson 12 of 20 from Outline of Basic Bible Teachings by Wes Booker (for part 2 see July 15, Matthew 16)]

I. The Devil

     A. "Devil" is translated from two different Greek words, "daimon" and "diabolos": 1.) Daimon = demon (modern versions) = different kinds of diseases and illnesses in the New Testament   2.) Diabolos = a New Testament word. Literally 'traducer, one who defames or slanders'. Translated "false accuser; slanderer". Comes from two Greek words - "dia" = through, and "ballo" = throw. The idea is one who strikes through with words, i.e. a false accuser or slanderer. "Devil" is NEVER found in the Old Testament, and "devils" is only found four times - each refers to idols.

     B. Serpent - mentioned in the Old Testament - Gen 3. It was a beast which God made - Gen 1:24-25. It was part of the "very good" creation. According to popular theology, either (1) the devil became a serpent, or (2) the devil entered into and / or controlled the serpent. There are problems with both views. The serpent becomes a symbol for sin in the Bible - Matt 23:33;Matt 3:7.

     C. Heb 2:14 - important points:   1.) Christ had the same nature as all men; see also Heb 2:17;4:15   2.) If Jesus destroyed the devil through his death, then why is the devil still around tempting people to sin?   3.) Also, how can a supernatural fallen angel devil be "destroyed"? "Destroy" translated abolish, do away, cease, etc.   4.) But if "the devil" = sin nature, then Jesus could destroy it through a perfect life, a sacrificial death, and resurrection to eternal life.   5.) The devil has the power of death. Other verses say that sin has the power of death. Therefore the devil = sin, and is a personification of sin nature - Rom 6:23;8:3;1John 3:8;James 1:14-15;Heb 9:26

     D. Devil (diabolos) is also used of Judas Iscariot (John 6:70-71) and of women and men - 1Tim 3:11;2Tim 3:3;Titus 2:3 = slanderer, false accuser

     E. If the devil is a personification of sin, then why did New Testament writers choose to personify it? Sometimes New Testament writers personified "sin" - Rom 6:6-20. Also other attributes of human nature are personified - wisdom (Prov 8), love (1Cor 13).

3:7 John's indictment of Israel's leadership echoes the indictment we just read in Isa 59:5.

John exclaims that the Pharisees and Sadducees were a generation of vipers.
This is one of the two classes of people that have populated (and continue to populate) the earth since the beginning:

The seed of the woman - those who have chosen to follow God on His terms.

The seed of the serpent - those who have chosen to follow their own fleshly desires.

The Pharisees and Sadducees were supposed to be the knowledgeable, religious leaders of the Jews. And yet they were in error from both the true understanding of God's plan and in correct conduct.

The lesson for us is that if we desire to serve God, then we must make sure of what He wants. This can only be obtained by reading His Word, the Bible.

We must not give credence to those who claim to be religious authorities until we have checked out what they say against the Bible (See Acts 17:10,11).

4:4,7,10 Jesus countered His temptations by reflecting on God’s Word. This is the most powerful instrument for overcoming the flesh (Heb 4:12).

4:11 When Jesus’ temptation was over, angels ministered to him. Those angels are available to the true followers of Jesus also (Heb 1:14).

4:15,16 See Isa 9:1,2.

4:23 When Jesus preached, His message always concerned the gospel of the kingdom.  And yet, the kingdom  is the very fact that Christendom denies.

4:23 The religious leaders and seat of religion in Israel was to be found in Jerusalem. So Jesus went about Galilee preaching. His message was for the people who saw a need rather than those who thought that they did not have any need for salvation.