Comments for April 27

13 v. 6-11 - The attitude that they were told to have to those who wished to take them away from God was not one of compassion! It was obviously right to separate all such temptations from their thinking - ch.17:2-3. We have similar commandments eg. Eph. 4:14, Col 2:4, 2Pet.2:1 create a situation but 2Cor.6:14-18 sets a clear instruction. We no longer, however, are required to kill for this - simply to make such a person 'as a heathen man' - if they fail to repent after the procedures of Matt.18 have been obeyed - which demonstrates that he has removed his own life voluntarily, but we are not to condone it.

13 v. 6-11 False doctrine and practice is not to be tolerated. The fellowship in Christ is more important than family loyalties in this respect. Matthew 10:37 The family of Korah understood this so the sons of Korah did not perish in the uprising at that time Numbers 26:11

14:21 That Israel were not to eat of that which 'dieth of itself' is seen in the following passage. Leviticus 7:24 22:8 Defilement follows from such activity. The spiritual lesson is that death is the punishment for sin. Not that the animals have sinned but they are all suffering change that came over creation as a consequence of Adam's transgression. Therefore to eat such flesh is to associate oneself with the dying nature of creation.

14 v.22 - There is much debate about whether it is appropriate to tithe now. It seems to me it would be a good discipline to give a tenth of both our money and our time to the work of the Lord, but an extremely difficult discipline for most of us, being, as we are, under the curse which says that if we do not work neither shall we eat. Giving a tenth to God was required practice. Traditionally we leave this to individuals and their own consciences. I hope we are right to do this. In ch.26:12 we see the point of this - that the requirements of the needy might be supplied.

13:12-17 Idol worship was a total abhorrence to the Lord. Therefore those who harboured the idol worshippers and those who taught error were to be punished along with those who were in error. This is rather like the way in which the whole nation rose up against Gibeah of Benjamin (Judges 20:9)

14:3-20 This detailed list of clean and unclean things given to instruct Israel as to what they could and could not eat develops the instructions of Leviticus 11. As Leviticus 11 was spoken at Sinai many standing listening to Moses at this time would not have been old enough to understand what was said at Sinai. The laws were not primarily to preserve health. Rather they were to teach holiness (14:2)

ch 13 -The whole focus of this chapter is the removal of idol worship. It starts first with the prophets and then the family. There would be no point in ridding the land of the idol worshipping inhabitants if the nation of Israel was not already clear of idol worship itself.

14:21 Whilst Israel could not eat of 'that which dieth of itself' it could be given to the 'stranger' which demonstrates that the law is not primarily concerned with health matters. The prohibition was to mark the point that the nation of Israel was 'holy' - the 'stranger' and the 'alien' were not holy.

13:1 When John told the brethren to 'try the spirits'  (1John 4:1) he was advising the implementation of the principle laid down in this chapter. Just because someone claimed to be 'of God' was - and still is not - a guarantee of their veracity. We have a responsibility to assess, against Scripture, the validity of their words.

14:2 The reason for the constraints put upon Israel - 'thou art ... a peculiar people' shows that the restrictions are not a punishment but the consequence of a privilege. We should appreciate this in our walk in Christ.

 14:2  We, like Israel, are a "peculiar people."(1 Pet 2:9) So we must show forth the praises of our Heavenly Father. How? we might ask. By doing the will of our Heavenly Father; By abstaining from fleshly lusts; Honest conversation (behaviour), and by our good works glorify God. Like natural Israel we are truly a privileged people.

Deut 14:1,2 speaks of Israel not cutting or defacing their bodies, because they were "the  children of God."  This looks forward to the New Testament, in which we are told that "Ye are the temple of the living God" (2Cor 6:16)

13:2-3    Israel had seen amazing things in Egypt. The magicians had been able to deceive Pharaoh into thinking that they had special powers. Israel are now warned that even if someone can make predictions that is not a sufficient reason to believe what they say. The acid test is to be found in what they say. Therefore the people were not only to listen to word which were the sign but they were also to measure the words against what Scripture taught.  Each individual had that responsibility.  Today it is all too easy to be deceived by words. We must always measure the words of teachers against the background of Scripture. John says ‘try the spirits’ –1John 4:1.

 14:23-26             The provision for the man or woman to sell their animal and then when they arrived at the place of God’s choosing to buy another one to offer provided the environment in which the religious leaders in Jesus’ day made merchandise of the people and defiled the temple. –John 2:14, Matt 21:12

13:4 Worship requires activity – therefore Israel were to ‘walk’ – 1Kin 6:12, Hos 14:9, Eph 2:10

14:2    The idea of Israel being a ‘peculiar people’ is developed in the New Testament to show that we, likewise, are special to God – Titus 2:14, 1Pet 2:9.

Separation from false worship, like the Jews, is the role of true Christians. However, as followers of Christ, they will be at peace with their neighbours and even their enemies. Judgement is left to Yahweh.

13:1-3 True followers of Jesus are still surrounded by the seeming success of false worshippers today (2Thess 2:9-12). Care must be taken to uphold the Truth and not be seduced.

14:23 Fearing God – that is having respect for Him – does not come naturally. It is learnt by keeping His commandments. It follows, therefore, that the more diligent we are in trying to understand and practice the principles of the gospel the better will be our understanding of and respect for our Father.

13:1-5  As in the case of natural Israel, so it is in the case of spiritual Israel. Christendom has been led astray by false prophets who will suffer the same condemnation as any prophet in natural Israel (Gal 1:8; Rev 19:20).

14: 23-29 It is interesting to see that the tithe spoken of here is to be shared with the one tithing. They were to take it or money to the place chosen by God and to eat it before the Lord sharing it with others particularly the Levite, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow. It is not the tithing of the churches around us that go to the opulent buildings or the lavish lifestyle of ministers. It was a sharing of God's blessings. This should be especially of interest to us today given the need that has and will continue to arise in the household of faith as the world pays the price for its recklessness and greed. All of us need to be prepared to share our blessings from God with those in need.  

Deut 14:21 - This could refer to a Canaanite practice of boiling a young goat in its mother's milk which would be detestable to God, instead they were to offer the firstfruits (Exo 23:19;Exo 34:26). Also, it has been interpreted to mean don't mix meat and milk products else it is not kosher. Possibly the spiritual lesson suggests don't introduce the deeper meat of the Word with those who have not yet been weaned of the milk of the Word or otherwise mixing different levels of teaching so as to cause confusion (Isa 28:9;1Cor 3:2;Heb 5:12-13;1Pet 2:2;2Tim 2:15).

13  Israel had, by and large, been isolated from the insidious effects of people around them with different beliefs. However they were now to move into a totally different environment. The warnings of this chapter served to highlight the potential problem of individuals among them being influenced by the nations living in Canaan.

13:16  There is a beautiful contrast here with Rev 22:2. Here we see spoil of war in the midst of the streets. When Christ returns we will see ‘the tree of life’.

14:21   The reason why the Jew was unable to eat that which died of itself but could sell it to a stranger is that when an animal died the blood did not drain from it. So it was not ‘Kosher’ so the prohibition of eating blood would be violated.  Lev 7:26

13:12-14          The wise injunction here is violated soon after the nation enter the land of Canaan – Josh 22:11-12

Deut 13:6-18 has direct fulfillment in Judges 17 to 20 where four chapters are devoted to the direct consequences of not keeping this first law.

Deut 14:21  - The Jews were not permitted to eat an animal that had not been killed in a manner that would enable the blood to be drained from it. This law also applied to any who lodged among them as a guest (Lev 17:12-13), see Strong’s for ‘sojourneth’ <1481>. However, a distinction is made with this law, between those who “sojourned” and those who were “in the gates”. The law was not binding on “the stranger that is within thy gates”. Perhaps they were those who did not live with the Jews, i.e. under the same roof as a Jewish family.

13:17 The “cursed thing” <7264> that should not cleave to the faithful Jew is seen violated in the behaviour of Achan in Josh 7. In particular verses 7:1,11,13,15,20

14:29   When Moses speaks of God blessing the people in all their work he stating a point which will be developed more extensively in Deut 15:15-18

13:6-9  The requirement here regarding one speaking falsehood is the basis for the comment – Zech 13:3– where Zechariah speaks of the removal of false teachers.

13:4     The concept of walking after the Lord is what God said to Solomon –1Kin 6:12 -  when he was building the temple at Jerusalem. The principles do not change.

14:21   There are three places where the law said that a kid should not be seethed in its mother’s milk. Here Exo 23:19 and , Exo 34:26.  The Law of Moses is opposing a Canaanite practice of doing just that and then burning the animal and spreading its ash as some sort of fertility offering that they might receive a good crop.

13:3 It is all too easy to be intrigued by the things said by those in error of the gospel message. Or even worse they might be listened to in order to try and learn different ways in which we can serve God. The warning to Israel is a stark warning to us. Our instruction must come from the scriptures, not the ideas of men.

Deut 14:24 Why repeat the way to long and the place to far?

The way is our journey the place is our destination. How often do we find our journey in life hard and how often do we find our way to the kingdom hard, perhaps we are to old or unfit to make the way or perhaps we simply we lose sight of it, maybe we cannot see it or with think it is to far?

But we see in these verses that the Tithes MUST be delivered we have an obligation to make that journey to reach our destination. 

Deut 14:25 shows us the mercy of Yahweh, that he understands our journey is hard so he makes the journey a little easier by allowing the tithe to be converted to money (easier to carry) and be converted back again at the journeys end. But the word money here is KESEPH or rather silver. REDEMPTION. And was a reminder of Israels redemption see Exo 30:16, Matt 11:28 Jesus makes our burden light!!

Notice the word bind in v25. menas to lay seige to it CP Deut 20:12 hold on to the truth dont let it go, despite our journey being hard. But notice they could not offer the money it HAD to be redeemed for produce again. This teaches the redemptive work of Christ could never be susbstituted instead of something. It is only to lighten the burden never to take it away.

Was this why Jesus became angry in Matt 14:24? CP 1Pet 1:18

Deut 14:28 this was 3 year tithe. Not for the priests this time but for the stranger and the poor. Under the law a corner of a field was left for the poor. It was a much better social security system than the UK has where we get money without any effort. Under Gods laws work still had to be done. However this tithe was taken from the "increase" so imagine taking YOUR wine, oil and bread that YOU had made then giving 10% away! 

But in Deut 14:28 we see the tithes are placed at the gates of the strangers, widows and fatherless. The word gates literally at their dwelling. Perhaps Deut 26:12 tells us this was also meal of fellowship? Do we entertain our brethren and sisters that are less well off? Because the effects of doing this is seen in v29 that they shall eat and be satisfied! Not just physical but spiritual satisfaction. Sharing our homes builds close friendships I find. Cp Psa 65:4

Deut 14:29 Israel were once strangers Lev 19:34 and so we were once strangers. D0 we welcome strangers when they isit our ecclesia's?

13:18 the phrase “I commend thee this day” only occurs once outside the book of Deuteronomy –Exo 34:11. It is used a total of 18 times in Deuteronomy. Clearly Moses is reminding the nation of what was said at Sinai to their fathers.

14:12 The first time that God told Israel that they were a “peculiar people” was at Sinai – Exo 19:5 – where they are told that they are a “peculiar treasure”. This privilege should not have developed arrogance but rather humility. In like manner our high calling in Christ should breed humility, not pride, in us.

14:1  The nations around Israel did various things to try and appease their gods. Cutting themselves was one of those things. Sadly the practices of the heathen were seen from time to time in the behaviour of Israel – 1Kin 8:28 – where the prophets of Baal, in the days of Ahab, did just this.

14:25-27 This thoughtful provision of God – namely that they did not have to transport beasts to Jerusalem to offer them. Rather the Israelite could take the money and buy the animal in Jerusalem explains why there were those that sold animals in the temple in the days of Jesus  - Matt 21:12. The religious leaders were misusing God’s generous provision to enrich themselves.

13:5 there are inherent dangers from listening to someone presenting error. Of course we are forbidden from killing them.  However there is nothing to stop us from listening to that person.

This makes me wonder why some of us continue to consult books which we know teach things which are in error.

v. 12 reminds us that we do not know the future. By contrast, of course God does. In fact he not only knows it but controls it. For this reason we ought always to pray, that we might attune our minds with the Almighty and with our future, both in this life, and in the life to come. ch.12:13

6:2 The 'vanity' of another eating one's own wealth was Israel's experience Hosea 7:9 Lamentations 5:2 This was because of their faithlessness. Such calamities were not 'chance' happenings but Yahweh's way of teaching Israel that they were astray from Him.

v. 6 - Here Solomon quotes twice the lifetime of the longest living man of all time to emphasise the point that this life is but nothing, and would be even if it were 2000 years long, compared with the glorious eternity which God has promised to those that love (and therefore obey) Him. See also ch.3:20, 12:7, Job.1:21, 30:23, Heb.9:27

6:7 This is the outcome of the curse (Genesis 3:17-19) that man would labour in the field. The labour in the field was to enable the man to continue living - this would provide an opportunity for the man to seek God. So many see the acquisition of food and other items as an end in itself. This is not the way a servant of God should think.

:8 So in terms of material things there is no benefit being 'wise' - material things actually do not provide sustaining benefits. The benefit, then, that comes to the 'wise' is that he understands that God is working in his life through the events that happen to him - including the possession or lack of material things.

6:12 We tend to think that we know what is good for us. Ecclesiastes tells us that we do not know what is good for us. Because of our deceitful heart Jer 17:9 we can always justify our desires, but God knows our hearts. We should trust that He will give us what we need.

In this chapter we see the futility of desire; It is summed up in the following observations:

Eyesight is a wonderful gift from God. The Preacher says (Ecc 6:9) that it is better to see than to dream. Perhaps he had far more lofty ideas in his head when he wrote this, but just taking it on face value we should always treasure our eyesight.

6:11 Isn’t it so true that there are many things that increase vanity. As I write this Christmas approaches – and we are assailed on all sides by tempting adverts. But, when compared with the good news of the kingdom the things we are encouraged to desire are all empty and fruitless.

6:3-4 A large family, in Israel, was seen as a blessing. However it must be coupled with a Godly upbringing and Divine blessing. The children, in themselves, are not sufficient. God has to be involved in that person’s life.

6:7   The sentiments of this verse reflect the words of  Prov 16:27

The preacher is cynical and sceptical about the value of life as it exists presently. One could be rich; live to a very old age; or be stillborn, and it all amounts to the same thing - oblivion. Meanwhile, the life lived will be accompanied by some form of sorrow or dissatisfaction. Such are the conditions of life since Adam and Eve’s fall from grace in Eden. Only when Jesus returns will these things be changed. Thus, true believers live in the hope of eternal life in a world full of God’s glory (Hab 2:14; Titus 1:2).

6:10-12 The use of the word ‘man’ here clouds the force of the point. The word translated ‘man’ is actually the word translated ‘Adam’ in Gen 2:7. Adam was given charge over creation but, through desire, lost it all. Thus Solomon is highlighting this point showing that now Adam’s life was full of vanity.

V.9 Simple blessings of the present are worth more than a hankering for greater things (1Tim 6:8; Heb 13:5).

V.10 All of mankind’s different circumstances have been known already.  Man (Heb. adam = red earth) is known to be vain, and in no position to argue with Yahweh (Rom 9:20).

6:12 Here we come across another use of ‘all the days’ echoing Deut 12:1. Israel should serve God ‘all the days’ of their lives but instead they were tempted to be involved in ‘vanity’ – things of no profit ‘all the days’. What about ourselves?

6:7     The striving for things which never satisfied is actually a consequence of Ecc 1:8– we are never satisfied.

Ecc 6:3-5

“If a man beget an hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also that he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he…”

Those in favor of abortion actually use this verse to prove that the inspired writers of the Bible did not teach a newly conceived “embryo” to be a human person! Their premise is that a physical body and immaterial spirit combined makes a person (James 2:26)! They are right in believing that nothing lives without the spirit, but they are wrong in their interpretation of it. To accept their reasoning, we would have to conclude that the “fetus” is dead before it is even born! Why? Because, they believe a "fetus" receives the breadth of life when born and literally takes its first breath through the nostrils (Gen 2:7; Job 27:3)!

They cite Exo 21:22-25, but no matter how you want to reason these verses (the woman or baby was harmed) the issue is NOT about abortion – a willful termination of the pregnancy. Other Scriptures cited showing there is no value to a “fetus” are: Gen 38:24, which speaks of a pregnant woman, Tamar, condemned to death by an angry Judah, even though she was carrying a “fetus”! Lev 27:6 is used that a baby under a month old had no monetary value, let alone a “fetus”! Num 3:15 is used to show a census was taken from a month old and up, and anything less, like a “fetus” was not counted as a human being! None of these references mean any such thing. If it did, we would have to conclude that infanticide is all right as long as it is done under a month old! Like rust that spreads on a chunk of steel, we now have two “ethicists” who published a paper, “After-Birth Abortion” wherein they justify birth abortions! What was once unthinkable is thinkable today, and will be common tomorrow. http://jme.bmj.com/content/early/2012/03/01/medethics-2011-100411.full.pdf+html/

The Bible makes no distinction of any kind in terms of describing a “fetus.” The same term is used for the unborn child as for the born. “Babe” in Luke 1:41 (cf. Luke 2:12,16) is # <1025>, brephos, the same word translated in Luke 18:15 for “infants.” If God were to withdraw His breath, everything living would perish (Job 34:14-15). We read in Job 33:4, that it is the spirit (ruwach) of God (Ail) that made him, and that the breath (neshamah) of the Almighty (Shaddai) gives life. If there is no breath from the Spirit of God, there is no life (Psa 104:29; Psa 146:4). In Ecc 11:5, the word, spirit is “ruwach.” God’s life-giving spirit is in the womb; God’s spirit permeates every living atom (Col 1:16-17)!

Abortion is not addressed in the Bible, but the value of the unborn is (Psa 139:13-16; Isa 44:2; Isa 49:1,5; Luke 1:41-44). Only if there is a direct threat to the mother’s life making it impossible to carry the baby to full term is abortion permitted, although, with the advancement of modern medicine, if the mother is able to carry her baby to five months, it is possible to save her child! There are no benefits in losing two lives if one may be saved.

God created three basic classes of life: plants, animals, and people (Gen 1:11,12,20-25,26-30). Since each produce after their own kind, in which category would we place the unborn children? Since it is the result of human reproduction, the life in the womb of a human mother must necessarily be human. If people are careless and casual about life at the beginning of life, why should it be surprising that there is an increase in killing people? Life is simply no longer valued; love has waxed cold (Matt 24:12)!

6:4      The futility of a life – coming into life with nothing and leaving life with nothing – is picked up by Paul when writing to Timothy 1Tim 6:7. We do well to realise that all that we have has been given to us.

6:1        There are two occasions. Here and Ecc 10:5 where the wise man speaks of “an evil which he has seen under the sun.” Here it is the folly of heaping up material things. In Ecc 10:5 it is a variation and development of what is shown as an “evil” here.

Taking satisfaction

This chapter talks about the vanity of mankind, who reach the grave not having been satisfied with life. Yet isn't satisfaction relative to our own perspective? Is our joy not relative to how much satisfaction we decide to take out of life? Verse 9 tells us:

"better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of desire"

In other words... WAKE UP AND SMELL THE ROSES!

There is nothing so sad as a person who, walking past lovely things, is consumed instead by thoughts of what might be, completely missing what is in front of his eyes. How miserable is the person who, instead of enjoying the day's blessings, worries about tomorrow or frets about yesterday's decisions.

Today we all need to make a decision that we are going to enjoy what we have before looking for more, either in the future or in the past (yes, reminiscing is still just desiring other things than what we have today). When we walk past a daffodil, the most common of flowers, look at it, smell it, thank God that spring has come today. This is the attitude that is the antidote to everything in this chapter, so that we could come to the end of our lives and quote verse 7 like so:

"Every day of my life I laboured for just one day's food; and every day I was satisfied with it"

1. Ecc 6:2 - "for his soul"<5315> - surely if the soul was immortal and ethereal it would have no need of wealth, but the soul is a mortal living breathing creature (man or animal) or life (Eze 18:4;Josh 10:28;11:11;Acts 3:23).

2. Ecc 6:3-6 - (NIV) "a stillborn child is better off than he. It comes without meaning, it departs in darkness...it never saw the sun or knew anything...Do not all go to the same place" - all flesh goes to the grave as opposed to a supernatural heaven or hell where there is eternal bliss or eternal suffering; the dead have no thoughts (Psa 146:4;6:5;Ecc 9:5-10).

3. Ecc 6:7 - "All man's efforts are for his mouth, yet his appetite is never satisfied" - no matter how much people have they will always want more; no amount of temporal riches will fully satisfy.

6:6      Life expectancy is not the key. How long one lives is far less relevant than how one has responded to God’s offer of salvation. Length of life cannot, of itself, give wisdom in the things of God. The contrasts with the way in which medical science strives to extend life whilst natural science strives to shut God out of our consciousness by presenting the theory of evolution as a matter of fact. 

6:2       The picture of the rich man who God has blessed not benefiting from what God has given him is seen in the parable of the man with the bigger barns in Luke 12:16-21

Ecc 6:7

This verse reminded of a conversation i had at work with a colleague. He wastelling me how he hoards his money every week has no intention of leaving it to his grown up children, I had to remind him that upon death money doesnt go with him his reply was he would sooner burn it than leave it to someone else.

Yet this is the thinking of flesh we should remember that nothing in this life besides the word of God can give us true happiness perhaps if we only desire the food we eat to satisfy our appetite and a roof over our heads we may be a little happier?

6:2     Solomon, in speaking of a man who had been blessed by God, describes the situation of Nabal –1Sam 25:36-37

6:2        We on an earlier occasion considered Nabal in the light of this verse. We see also in one of Jesus’ parables – Luke 12:6-21 – another such man. A man who placed his confidence in possessions rather than being rich towards God.

Summary of Ecclesiastes 6

6:1-5      there is no value in possessions, even if God given, if they cannot be enjoyed

6:6-8      All our labour  just keeps us alive, whether wise or a fool

6:9-10    so be satisfied with what you have. Don’t desire more

6:11-12  because we cannot tell what is good for us

6:4     If we could only remember that everything we have is from God. We brought nothing into he world when we were born and we will take nothing with us when we die. Such a realisation should help us to avoid lusting after material things.

6:9 “desire” <5315> speaks of the human body. The wise man is telling us to be satisfied with what we already possess and not to strive after more as we saw in Ecc 4:6

6:2 there is nothing more sad that seeing a wealthy man or woman who cannot enjoy the benefits of their wealth. This should help us to understand praying for hearth is more important than praying for wealth.

6:1-6This life is given to us to be “exercised”  in the events of life ( 1:13, 3:10) However the man, whoever he is, no matter how wealthy he is, who does not apply himself to the way in which God is seeking to train him is no better than a still birth! Ironically wealth that reduces the possibility of want can at the same time blind one to the need to seek to imitate God’s character. Prov 30:8-10 is wise counsel.

6:7  When we look at the animal creation we see the birds almost constantly searching for food/ We see the cattle almost constantly munching grass. We must appreciate that the uneducated man – that is uneducated in spiritual matters – is just like the birds and cattle.

Sadly it is all too easy to see work as an end in itself – a means of acquiring things to maintain our lifestyle. For the servant of God this should not be so.

God will provide what is needed for the man striving after the kingdom of God.

6:2  So what would we desire in this life? Wealth or health? The tragedy of seeing someone with the financial means to care for themselves in all respects – except their health is a real tragedy to see. If you think you do not know anyone in that position reflect on how many older people you know whose health is failing them.

6:1-2 And now thoughts and words turn towards a man who has a relationship with God but whose life is beset with problems which the remainder of the chapter speaks of. So :9 contrasts fleshly thinking with “sight” – we might say of Godly things.

3 v. 12 - There is an important lesson here. The apostles, Peter and John, were virtually being worshipped, and instead of giving in to their own pride, they turn the situation into a preaching one by giving God the glory. It is very important to give God the glory for all things. ch.14:11-15, Gen 40:8, 41:6, Dan.2:28-30, John 3:27-28, 7:18, 2Cor.3:5

3 v.15 When Peter and John assert that the Jews have killed Jesus he is not simply condemning them.  Rather he is wishing to cause them to appreciate their sins in order that they can repent.  Consider Romans 3:23-24.  Unless we recognise our sinfulness then we cannot appreciate the forgiveness that is available through Christ. Acts 4:11 'The stone which the builders rejected' quotes Psalm 118:22.  The use of Psalm 118 reflects Jesus' use of that Psalm when speaking to the same people as Peter and John.  During the last week of his life, only a few weeks earlier, Jesus used the Psalm to great effect, drawing on the expectations of the common people.
The use of Psalm 118 in the last week - a Passover Psalm
On the way in to Jerusalem Matthew 21:9-10 - Psalm 118:25-26 'Have ye never read?' Matthew 21:42 - Psalm 118:22 'Ye will not see me until...' Matthew 23:39 - Psalm 118:26

4 v.13 Consider what it must have been like to spend 40 days with the risen Jesus.  What is it like to be with a man you know is alive for ever.

ch 3 - We ought to realise that when Peter was preaching the resurrection of Jesus he was speaking only a few weeks after the tremendous events of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus and he was speaking in the city where Jesus was killed to the men who actually did the deed.

4:21 So the leaders have not changed. They feared the people in the days of Jesus and now, after the resurrection, they are just the same. So whilst the disciples had been changed out of all recognition by the resurrection it had no impact on the Jewish leaders.

3:21 'restitution of all things' quotes their earlier comment (Mark 9:12) that they understood that Elijah was coming back but now they understand that Jesus will restore all things even though Elijah has a work to do.

4:13 In taking knowledge that the apostles had been with Jesus the understanding is that the leaders realised that they had been with the risen Jesus.

ch 3 - God had said to Abraham in Gen 12:3; that in him all families of the earth would be blessed. The gospel message through which these blessings flowed first went out to the Jewish world. In vs. 25,26; “ Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, and in thy seed shall all the kindred’s of the earth be blessed. Unto you first, God having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities”. Forgiveness of sins is the forerunner of these blessings. The apostles Paul went on to say to the Jewish people in Acts 13: “It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing you put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo we turn to the gentiles and this is alluded to by the apostle in Acts 4:

ch 4- As Jesus had forewarned in the Olivet Prophecy Peter and John were brought before the religious leaders. And Peter answered them vs 10-12; “Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved”.

Why did Peter go on to quote Psa 118: in this way. Well is used a number of times in the N.T regarding their rejection of the Messiah, but it is used here I believe in connection with something Jesus himself had said to the Chief priests scribes and elders after he had spoken the parable of the wicked husbandmen. Jesus saith unto them, “Did ye never read in the scriptures, the stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? therefore say I unto you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder”.

Here is a clear reference to the present and later rejection of the word of God. Were any of these religious leaders there when Jesus spoke those words? Well we don’t know for sure from their response. It didn’t seem that they had immediately caught on to what he was saying but what I believe is certain both Peter and John remembered and had in mind what Jesus had said at the end of that parable and the salvation they had in mind wasn’t just related to eternal life but their deliverance from God's destructive judgements coming upon the nation.

 3:1  There is a significance about the ninth hour which is worth a look at; Consider the following.

In each of the above cases, the ninth hour was important to certain people. In each case, the time, whether of the day or the time of life of the person concerned, was well advanced. As we advance in life's journey, each day brings us nearer to the time when shall stand before the Son of Man to give an account of ourselves.

3:25 The use of Gen 12:3 is the first time any of the disciples have given any indication that they see the gentiles being involved in the gospel message of salvation - we are doubtless aware that this same verse from  Gen 12:3 is used elsewhere in Scripture (Rom 4:17) to make just this point.

4:4 When Jesus fed the 5,000 he later reproved them for only seeking him because of the 'loaves and fishes' (John 6:26) but now we see the same number baptised!

3:13 "and denied him in the presence of Pilate"  Peter is now piling on the agony and giving them no chance to excuse themselves. They had turned against the God of Israel, the God of their fathers. Their reverence for his Name was hardly justified by their actions. They had killed the Messiah who had come to save them, yet they could not save him. But there was worse to follow. They had delivered him over to a Roman overlord, a Gentile, a representative of the oppressors of Israel.

3:8  That the man who had been lame was ‘leaping up’ is a fulfilment of Isa 35:6

4:25  Notice the mention of ‘David’ try to be alert to the number of times that David is mentioned in Acts. This demonstrates that things about David are relevant to the Christian gospel.

4:34 The lesson of this verse is one of victory over selfishness. The verb "sold "  POLEO (4453) is continuous, and shows that they continued selling from time to time, and, when they had sold, they brought the value to the apostles. It does not mean that everything was sold at one time, but now and again, it was an ongoing thing. 

A BLESSING
 
To bless is one of those concepts that can take quite a bit of working out to define it in our own minds. A while ago I was asked what "bless" meant by a class of people for whom English is a second language. It took quite a bit of thought before I could give them a reasonable answer.
 
In Acts 3 we have a very good example of the way God blesses us. If you have tried to define what it means to be blessed for yourself, you may find that this blessing pushes the boundaries of your definition. Often our definitions often consist of being given good things, made prosperous, healthy or strong, having good relationships or any other good thing we might want. The blessing here is different. "When God raised up his servant (Jesus), he sent him first to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways." (Acts 3:26) This blessing does not consist of getting good things, but rather that we are changed in preparation for an eternal blessing.
 
At the time the methods God employs to help us change may not seem like a good thing - they might even seem quite painful - as far from a blessing as we can imagine. But in the end we will look back on the changes God has brought on us and will realise how richly he has blessed us by turning us from our evil ways.

A pre-written warning

If they had heard Peter quote Psa 2 the Jews would have been very worried indeed:

1) It claimed that the man they had crucified was the Christ.

2) That in rejecting him, they had rejected the LORD also.

3) God was now very displeased and angry.

4) The man they had killed was now King and Lord over them.

5) He had the power from on high to strike them down for their evil.

The important lesson for them, and the one that Peter drove home, is found in the rest of the Psalm.

Acts 3:20 In speaking of ‘Jesus Christ’ Peter is the first after the resurrection of Jesus to use the name and title together. This is why Jesus was born – to be the saviour as highlighted at his birth – Matt 1:18 etc:

Peter has learnt his lesson about denying Jesus. In Acts 3:12-14 he first of all asks the people why they are looking so earnestly at John and himself. It was not by their own power that they had made this man to walk. Then he twice says “deny”. It must have stuck in his throat. It’s the same word the Gospel writers use for Peter denying Jesus.

 3:5 Luke had no way of knowing what went through the man's mind, but, in stating this, he shows us a deep insight into human character. This remark tells us something of the character of Luke. He was a great lover of people, and he was also capable of providing a life like character sketch.

brIEF MESSAGE, BIG RESULTS

3:12,14            ‘holiness’ and ‘Holy One’ highlights the emphasis that the disciples put on where the power to heal came from. It was not from their own status, but from him who had been raised from the dead.

Peter and John were challenged by the Sadducees over the claim that Jesus had risen from the dead.

The Sadducees did not believe that people rose from the dead. They also denied belief in spirits or angels (Acts 23:8). These beliefs put them at odd with the Pharisees as we see in the dispute over Paul (Acts 23:6-10).

It is interesting that Jesus, predominantly, opposed the Pharisees rather than the Sadducees. One of the main differences between the two sects was that the Sadducees believed that the written Law of Moses was all that was needed for the people of Israel. The Pharisees, however, maintained that there was an oral law given to the people of Israel by Moses. As guardians and interpreters of this law, the Pharisees became absolute authorities. Jesus attacked their interpretations as misuse of the written Law (e.g. Mark 7:9-13).

Understanding the written law of Moses was important to appreciate the role of Jesus (John 5:46). And so, that is the reason for Jesus challenging the Pharisees more vigorously than the Sadducees.

In Acts 3:23 we read about ["soul" KJV or "anyone" NIV. The word used here is the Greek "psuche" (5590) which corresponds with the Hebrew "nephesh" (5315) and is similarly rendered: life, soul] being destroyed. There is no mention in the Bible of the words "immortal soul" together.

3:2 The ‘lame’ man is the first of a number of quotations from Isaiah 35

Christ will return to the earth - Acts 3:19-21; 1:6-11; John 14:3; Matt 25:31-32; 6:9-13.

3:21  Jesus must remain in Heaven until He returns to earth to set up His Kingdom.

4:12 Salvation is available through Jesus only. There is no other way.  Salvation means the opportunity to be like Jesus, which is to become immortal and live forever (1Cor 15:3; 1John 3:2).

4:25,26 These verse quote  Psa 2:1,2. Heathen and kings refer to the Romans (Pilate et al); and people and rulers refer to The Jews (that is their leaders).  These two elements conspired to crucify Jesus (4:27).

3:17 The ‘ignorance’ was quite specifically ignorance of the teaching of the prophets about Messiah. The message of Messiah was ‘hidden’ but was now revealed in Jesus - 1Cor 2:9-10  - the preaching of the apostles was now making the message clear and it was the responsibility of the Jewish hearers to accept the message.

4:2    And so we see the true colours of the religious leaders. They were ‘grieved’ that the apostles were offering salvation!

3:20    In saying that God will ‘send Jesus Christ’ Peter and John are repeating what the angels told them in Acts 1:11 so there is no doubt about their understanding of what the angels said.

3:18     Jesus had taught that he would die and rise again ‘according to the Scriptures’ for example Luke 24:25-27.

Acts 4:13.

3:21-23     Notice how Peter presents the return of Jesus. He says that the proof is Deut 18:15,19. The way in which Peter quotes the Old Testament here and elsewhere should be used when we review those Old Testament passages because the New Testament gives us an inspired exposition of those passages. 

3:26   In saying that the Jews “first” knew of the raising of Jesus we see an indication that the resurrection was to preached to gentiles also.

Acts 3:2

“… And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple…”

As we go through the various stages of life, we realize life really does not seem to get any easier. 

We realize the many responsibilities and pressures that come with life and that the grass is not always greener on the other side. We muse that if we could just change something, then we’d be ok. We don’t know what that something is and lose sight of what is really important because we are always looking elsewhere.

In this chapter, we witness that Peter and John are men of prayer. They no longer feared and ran from those who killed Christ, and now boldly entered the temple to pray. As men of prayer, they grew in strength, courage, and wisdom. The temple was a strategic place for begging. Those who passed by the certain man had with them their offerings for the temple. It would be hard for those sensitized to prayer to ignore the beggar of over 40 years of age (Acts 4:22), and not give him something. Here was a poor, lame, impoverished beggar at the temple gate called Beautiful, and all he could do was to hope, trust, and pray that some would have mercy on him to give him what he wanted - money. When he saw Peter and John, he called out to them. Beggars usually don’t call out, and little did he know how his life would soon change by simply having called out! In many ways, this beggar typifies the spiritually crippled without Christ.

Luke’s summary of the life of the early ecclesia after Pentecost wrote in Acts 2:43, that “fear came upon every soul,” and “many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.” We have no record of these signs and wonders, which makes this first-recorded miracle all the more significant, and for us to give careful attention to it and learn from it.

When Peter fixed his gaze on the beggar, he showed compassion, and when he asked for the beggar to look on him and John, the beggar had great expectations. What a let-down it must have been when Peter told him they had no money! But, Peter had something greater than money to give. He gave what the lame beggar needed and healed him. Even more, the lame beggar leaping up in faith (cf. James 2:17; Isa 35:6) and received hope in Christ. Money will never spiritually transform us, but God’s Word will, if we let it.

By the authority of Christ was this miracle wrought. The certain man who was barred from entering the temple (Lev 21:18) was now able to walk into the temple and praise God. It was an undeniable, unexplainable miracle (Acts 4:14,16), and this led to the first persecution of the newly-formed ecclesia with Peter and John being arrested (Acts 4:1-3).

Living in a materialistic culture, we may forget that money cannot buy a lot of things. Money does not buy happiness, good marriages, good jobs, good health, and definitely cannot buy us salvation. Money is not where the power is, though the world believes, “money is power.” When we call out to God, we come to realize that the most important thing in life is to have a relationship with God through Christ and be in constant prayer (communication) with them. We are to rise up and walk and be what God wants us to be. We are to look up and let our faith center upon Him. If our focus is on God, then, and only then, will we experience a real change in life that is not only fulfilling, but also glorifies God.

Acts 3:6

“Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee …”

The apostles Peter and John were classed as “pillars” of the ecclesia to whom were given the monies from houses and land by the disciples and laid at their feet (Gal 2:9; Acts 4:34,37). This act was a continuation as first described by Luke in Acts 2:45.

It is worthy of note that despite these collections, they had no money! Unlike the “pastors” today, they did not put the money in their pocket, use the collection money to build bigger and better ecclesial buildings, buy bigger and better homes, live in luxury, travel luxuriously, buy three piece suits and gold cufflinks, or even use it to send their kids to college. They did not use fear-mongering to get the people to tithe to them, so that God would bless them and make them rich!  

The word of God records that the money given to the apostles were used to distribute it to those who had need in the ecclesia. Preachers today do not preach this principle; rather, they say “we have not because we tithe not.” They say God cannot bless us with riches because we rob Him in tithes, and then justify their wealth by saying God does not want His children living poorly and further justify their wealth by trumpeting their missionary work! While missionary work is to be commended, the robbing of the people to do it is not!

100% of the money collected by the apostles went to take care of the needs of the people within the ecclesia. They took the money God gave them and made absolutely sure that no one had needs, that no one had any lack, that no one went hungry among them. This reflects the true ministry of Christ.

True agape love stems from truly caring for one another. God is the provider of all that we have and we often give thanks to God for all He has given to us, but we may become possessive of those things we call our own. If we have a proper understanding of the ownership of our possessions, we will come to realize that God is the owner of it all (Psa 24:1), and we are merely stewards of it. God gave those things we have for our management and use, and we make the decisions on how those things will be used, but we will be responsible to God for the decisions we make in its use.

4:33     We should notice the focus of the first century preaching. It was that God had raised Jesus from the dead. If that is not the central part of our hope and what we teach we are missing the core of the Christian gospel.

4:37   The chapter division here is unhelpful. The theme of selling land passed into the next chapter where, by way of contrast, Ananias and Sapphira.

3:14   Whereas the phrase “Holy one” occurs a number of times in the Old Testament all occurrences in the New Testament refer to Jesus Mark 1:4, Luke 4:34, Acts 2:27, 3:14, 13:35, 1John 2:20

4:32    In speaking of the new converts to Christ as having one heart and one soul we are being reminded of the command to Israel – Deut 6:5. In this the newly baptised differed from the Jewish leaders of Jesus’ day who had to be reminded of that commandment –Matt 22:37.  Whilst the leaders of Jesus’ day did not seem to see a relationship between worshipping God and caring for their fellows the newly baptised did.

4:6  these are the same men who condemned Jesus to death and conducted his trial. Surely they remembered the consequences of that trial.

4:36 “Barnabas” <921> means ‘son of a prophet’ with nabas corresponding to nḇy’ (‘prophet’).  So why does the Spirit through Luke interpret it as, “The son of consolation (paraklesis, <3874>)”? Because paraklesis is an inevitable consequence of prophesying: “But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation (paraklesis, <3874>), and comfort” (1 Cor. 14:3). The related verb parakaleo (<3870>) is also linked to prophecy: “And Judas and Silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted (parakaleo, <3870>) …” (Acts 15:32); “For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted (parakaleo, <3870>)” (1 Cor. 14:31). A son of a prophet is by inference a son of consolation.

4:6 these are the same men who condemned Jesus to death and conducted his trial. Surely they remembered the consequences of that trial.

4:3 Whilst we cannot put a precise time on “eventide”  we know that they started preaching at 3.00 in the afternoon –  3:1. It gets dark about 6.00 PM in Israel and so we might conclude that the authorities had not wasted much time before they apprehended Pater and John.

4:3    It would appear that they also imprisoned the man who had been healed because on the next day when they were brought before the Jewish leaders they looked at the man who had been healed – 4:14. We can only wonder as to what sort of conversations Peter, John and this healed man had that night in prison together.

4:11  Only a few weeks earlier – Matt 21:42 – Jesus had asked these very same leaders what they thought was meant by these words in Psa 118

3:17  I know that you acted in ignorance as did your rulers

Who was Jesus referring to in Luke 23:34 when he said, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do"?  It has been suggested that Jesus was referring to the Roman soldiers as they banged  the nails into Jesus' body. But Luke 23:35 also mentions the people and the Jewish rulers as scoffers at Jesus' crucifixion.  Interestingly, in Acts 3:17 Peter identifies the people and the Jewish rulers as those who acted in ignorance (they know not what they do) in promoting Jesus' crucifixion. Maybe then, the people and the Jewish rulers  were the audience Jesus was referring to in Luke 23:34.

3:2 A man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple

Presumably the lame man had been asking alms for some time - he was more than 40 years old (4:22), and it seemed like this was his established behaviour (3:2). All the people recognised him, suggesting that he had been at the Temple gate for some time (3:9,10) and was well known. The Jewish authorities  found the evidence of a miracle "undeniable" (4:16) and had nothing to say in opposition (4:14). Had the lame man only recently appeared at the Temple gates they could have argued that his healing was a stunt. 

He asked alms at a very public part of the Temple entrance to maximise his receipt of money. Jesus, when he visited the Temple throughout his ministry, likely had seen this man but chose not to heal him.  The reason could be that Jesus wanted this man to be healed later on by his disciples so that the work of preaching might be very publically  confirmed by the miraculous power that they were given.

3:2-8 This is the first recorded miracle of the apostles after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus.

Acts 4:10,12

“Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified… for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

Was “Yahshua” the Real Name of Jesus

Israel Bible Center

https://weekly.israelbiblecenter.com/jesus-hebrew-name-yeshua-yahshua/

By Dr. Nicholas J. Schaser, Dr. Eli Lizorkin-Eyzenberg and Dr. Yeshaya Gruber

“Despite the assertion of some that Jesus’ Hebrew name should be spelled “Yahshua,” there is absolutely no evidence for this name in any known ancient Hebrew or Aramaic sources. In the Judeo-Greek language of the New Testament, "Jesus" is written as Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous). Translated back into Hebrew/Aramaic, the name is Yeshua (ישׁוּע) or Yehoshua (יהושׁוע).

The name Yeshua (ישׁוּע) was common in the Second Temple Period and appears almost thirty times in the Hebrew Bible as well (e.g., Ezra 3:2; Neh 3:19; 1Chron 4:11). "Yeshua" (Jesus) is a shortened version of “Yehoshua" (Joshua). If Yehoshua (יהושׁוע) means “the Lord saves”, then Yeshua (ישׁוּע) means either “he [i.e., the Lord] saves” or simply "salvation." In fact, Judeo-Greek does not distinguish between "Yeshua" and "Yehoshua," transliterating both as Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous or "Jesus").

The origins of Jesus’ name in Hebrew probably include both the verbs meaning "to be" (היה) and "to save" (ישע). Matthew’s Gospel states the reason for calling the Messiah "Jesus," in that direct linguistic connection exists between his name and the salvation of God's people: “You shall call his name ‘Jesus,’ for he will save his people from their sins” (1:21). Insofar as Jesus' name comes from the Hebrew word for "salvation," Matthew's argument makes perfect sense: Miriam's son must be called "salvation" precisely because “he/the Lord will save” his people from their sins.

The problem with "Yahshua" is not that the original name of Jesus cannot come from both roots (in fact, this may well be the case, since "Jesus" is so closely related to "Yehoshua"). The main issue is this: while the name "Yeshua" is widely attested in Jewish sources, the spelling/pronunciation of "Yahshua" is not attested at all. In the end, we must agree that even though it may sounds appropriate for "Yah to save" from a theological perspective--and thus to speculate that Jesus' name might have been "Yahshua"-- until some evidence is found to the contrary, the name "Yahshua" exists in the hypothetical realm alone; that is, "Yahshua" is only a real name in the minds of those who argue for it.” (Underline mine).

To make a point, the name Erzsebet, or Erzse (shortened version) in Hungarian is translated as Elizabeth, or Beth, in English. Does this make Elizabeth a corrupted version of this lady's birth name? Of course not! It is the same person with the same name but in a different language. Unless you are Hungarian, you wouldn't even know how to pronounce it, and if you tried, it would be linguistically incomprehensible.  Do we honestly believe that Jesus cares in what language his name is used of those who approach him in faith? Would he refuse to listen because, “Oh, that’s not my name?” This is the flesh’s way, not Christ’s way. Those who insist that we use only Yeshua, which happens to be a shortened version of the name Yahoshua, are Judaizers.  Hence, the debate continues which one to use, the real or shortened version, and let's not forget the spelling, while some even insist on the importance of its pronunciation! 

Please see notes Phil 2:10,11. Thank you.