Comments for June 24

v.1 - This description is a demonstration of how far the house of Eli had slipped from the true worship of the Lord. The word was precious, suggests that it was possessed by, or heard by, only a precious few (of which Samuel is about to be one). This chapter was obviously written some time later, as it makes the point that there was no 'open vision'. This is the first occasion in scripture where the word 02377 (vision) occurs, so it could not refer to the past, but must instead be referring back from a future time when there was open vision through the prophets.

v.11 'Ears tingle' This phrase, which is first used in the time of Samuel passes into use by the prophets to remind Israel that they are following the sins of the house of Eli. [1 Samuel 3:11 2 Kings 21:12 Jeremiah 19:3]

The change in Samuel's life from v.7 to v.11 of this chapter in a matter of minutes was immense. Suddenly he became a responsible citizen of God. God, in His foresight, knew that Samuel was a chosen one, but we should learn from the childlike simplicity of his faith, which is required also of us, whatever our age. (Luke 18:17)

3:1 So things were bad./ Eli received no open vision. This is to be contrasted with the way in which God spoke to Samuel (3:4, 6, 8, 21 4:1) The repetition stresses the difference between Eli and Samuel. Notice that it took three attempts before the 'blind' Eli actually understood what was going on.

:15 That Samuel 'opened the doors of the house …' indicates that the tabernacle was part of a more elaborate structure. Of course this structure was of man's device - it is interesting therefore that we can only glean details about it from incidental comments by contrast to the detail given of the tabernacle which was God's design.

3:10 The Lord 'stood and called' but on the previous occasions the record says 'the Lord called ...' (3:4,6,8) Why the emphasis on the Lord standing on the last occasion?

V.1 " The word of the LORD was precious in those days" It was very rarely known to the Children of Israel. Only two prophets are mentioned as having appeared during the administration of the judges.Judg 4:4, Judg 6:8

What a lovely way for a young man to start his life's work with the Lord God, "Speak; for thy servant heareth." (1Sam 3:10).  Our ears must be open and ready for what the Lord wants us to do.

V.19 Samuel was a faithful servant because he retained the word of Yahweh.  The ecclesia at Philadelphia was commended by the Lord for keeping His word (Rev 3:8).  And so, it behoves us, as faithful servants, to keep His word and handle it correctly (2Tim 2:15; James 1:22).

There is a lot of mention of the word of the LORD in this chapter. It begins in v1 "the word of the LORD was rare in those days". That is to say, there had been no revelation from God during the time of Eli and his sons for some time. The word of the LORD then came to Samuel, a mere boy at this time. It's significant that it came to him rather than the high priest or the other priests, his sons. In v17 Eli asks Samuel "what is the word that the LORD spoke to you?". The priest had to ask a boy for the word of the LORD! In v21 the pattern is set that the LORD revealed His word to Samuel regularly.

Furthermore the difference between these two men was what they did with the word of the LORD. Whenever we read of Eli he is within the confines of the house of God in Shiloh - yet he was supposed to Judge all of Israel! His apathy at fulfilling this task can be further seen by the amount of times he is described as sitting down. He had also become a "heavy" man, so it seems this was habitual. Eli had been saving the word of the LORD in his own heart. Samuel, on the other hand, was a man who used the word of the LORD, speaking to "all the house of Israel" (4:1, 7:3).  How did he speak to "all Israel"?  By getting up off his chair and travelling from city to city! (7:15-17).

We too have had the word of the LORD revealed to us. We can take the examples of either of these two men. Samuel sowed it. Eli saved it. When we come to the parables of Jesus we can see the lesson drawn out of this in his story of the talents (Matt 25:14-30). Just as the word of the LORD was taken away from Eli and given to another more worthy of it, so Jesus will do to us if we hide his word only in our hearts without investing it in others too.

3:2       That Eli ‘could not see’ here and 1Sam 4:15  doubtless is a comment on his physical condition. However it also reflected his spiritual condition.

V.8,9,15,21 - Samuel is laying down, after the third time it is recognized Samuel is being called by the Lord. Come morning Samuel rises up and opens the doors to the house of the Lord. Perhaps this is an echo of Christ's sacrifice, being in the dark pit 3 days and the resurrection which opened the door offering followers a hope of eternal life in God's kingdom on earth (Matt 5:5) where the Lord will reveal himself and communicate his word from Jerusalem (Isa 2:3) throughout a metaphorical "Shiloh" [(7887) means "place of rest"]. 

V.18 The burden ( the Lord's message) was an extraordinary premonition of the judgements that impended over Eli's house; and the aged priest, having drawn the painful secret from Samuel, exclaimed "It is the Lord; let Him do what seemeth good". Such is the spirit of meek and unmurmuring submission in which we ought to receive the dispensations of our Heaven Father, however severe and afflictive they may appear to be. 

3:19  In saying ‘Samuel grew’ might seem such an obvious thing to say but speaks of his spiritual development as can be seen when the same language is used of John Baptist – Luke 1:80 – and Jesus Luke 2:40

3:10 "Speak; for thy servant heareth." This became the key of Samuel's life. To Samuel the word of the Lord was supreme, and obedience to it was his greatest concern. As Samuel grew the Voice continued to instruct him (V.19). In turn he taught the people the Word of Truth. He revealed to them the purpose of God. What a powerful exhortation for all today. We, like Samuel must be prepared to listen to the Word. 

V.10 Samuel said: Speak; for thy servant heareth (is listening). The Hebrew word translated heareth is shama which means to hear attentively and intelligently with the intention of obeying.

The period of the judges lasted 350 years and was a dark time in Israel's history. Samuel was the last judge. He became the transitional element between the judges and the monarchy.

Samuel was called by Yahweh in the morning (The lamp of God had not yet gone out...v.3). This was significant as Yahweh was showing that He would introduce a new phase in the development of Israel. Through the monarchy, Jesus would come, the ruler of all the earth. The lamp of God would be preserved to shine brightly, and darkness would be turned to light (Isa 9:2).

3:1     We might think that the only time when there was no direct message from God was between the Old and New Testament. However we see that this is so here – even though the tabernacle is standing. God was waiting for the man who would be the faithful priest so that he could appear to him. In like manner the silence between the testaments is broken by the coming of John.

V.1 It is supposed that Samuel was twelve years old at this time.  Samuel ministered (Heb. sharat which means serve or wait on) unto the LORD.  Jesus was also found in the temple at age twelve where He was serving Yahweh (Luke 2:42,46).

3:1,2 The ‘no open vision’ is matched by Eli who ‘could not see’ Eli’s spiritual perception was diminished also. We will only see’ things in Scripture if we have the right attitude – that of one who ‘trembles’ at the word – Isa 66:2.

V.8 Three times Samuel was called.  Three seems to be a number of confirmation and balance.

Here are some examples of three in the Bible.  Perhaps you can think of other examples:

-The world’s diverse people came from three fathers: Shem, Ham, and Japheth (Gen 6:10)

-The priestly blessing consisted of three parts (Num 6:24-26)

-Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days (Jon 1:17).

-Jesus’ parable of the kingdom depicted three measures of meal (Matt 13:33)

-Peter’s three-fold denial of Jesus (Matt 26:74,75)

-Jesus was crucified with two others (Matt 27:38)

-Jesus was three days in the grave (Matt 12:40)

-Jesus’ three-fold confirmation of Peter’s love (John 21:15-17)

-The three unclean spirits which have infected society (Rev 16:13)

1Sam 1:9;1Sam 3:3 - "temple" [Heb. "heykal" <1964> means "palace, temple, sanctuary"] and may refer to a porch or designated area where a throne/chair was put just outside the entrance to the Holy Place. 1Sam 2:22 - "tabernacle" [Heb. "ohel" (168) means "tent, habitation, dwelling, tent of Jehovah"]; another word for "tabernacle" is the Heb. "mishkan" (4908) meaning "dwelling place, tabernacle".

3:4-10 The repeated ‘calling’ reminds us of the naming of Samuel – ‘asked of God’ Hannah asked God for a son. Now God is asking Samuel to respond.

3:12  Eli doubtless realised that what Samuel had been told was not good news. But he still wanted to hear the word of God.  Do we see God as one from whom we only want to hear good news?

3:21       That God revealed Himself to Samuel by the word of the Lord is seen in the next chapter 1Sam 3:11 when the word of the Lord came to Samuel. We are expected to see that God kept His word.

Psa 17:3 I always wonder why Yahweh appeared to Samuel that night. Was Eli's concience clear? What was he thinking about before he fell asleep or was he tossing and turning? Ecc 2:22 Was Eli thinking about hard done to he was? Had Samuel just concluded his prayers?

What do we think about when we go to bed? 1Kin 21:4 Do we go to bed early and sulk if we have a bad day?

Job was ready to rise early Job 1:5 to perform the will of God, and we cannot get up early if we lie in bed tossing and turning can we? Prov 8:17 .

Psa 1:1 we see 3 progressions or movements, sitting, standing and then walking, Deut 6:6 here we see the same priniple, we should be studying Gods word at all times when we go to bed and when we get up.

So how do we sleep at night? Psa 4:4 Dont look back and think "i have had it bad today, someone upset me today i will get my own back tommorrow", (Mic 2:1 tells us why for we plan evil things when we lie in bed). Rather take Davids example in Psa 4:4 and say "yes i have had a bad day, but is the father trying to tell me something"? Or look at how great he is, how have i failed him today?

Psa 63:5 has the answer "remember HIM in the night watches"

Thats how we sleep soundly Isa 26:3 becuase our minds shall find peace.

We have two different minds at bedtime seen in eli and Samuel, 1 responisive to Yahweh, and one whose lamps had grown dim. Which one are we tonight?

3:15     The dimness of Eli’s eyes echoed his spiritual ignorance of what was going on around him. 

3:14    The only way to remove sin is by repentance. Eli’s house was not interested in repentance. Hence no sacrifice would purge the house.

Growing with the Lord

1Sam 3:19: This verse in particular stood out to me as I read this chapter and it made me think about the spiritual growth we all experience. God provides His word - much like the parable of the sower - and when it lands on good soil, it grows to become a plant that yields pleasing fruit. Samuel was that good ground at the beginning, and now we can see, as a growing plant, none of the words are falling to the ground but are instead being absorbed and used for further growth - much like plants taking in the sunlight during photosynthesis. Compare this with Isa 55:10-11. We can see Samuel here has not fully matured (many commentators believe he was 12 at the time), but is steadily growing in the Lord. 

With enough nutrition and care with God, we can become like strong, sturdy trees planted beside the river. See Psa 1:1-6 and Jer 17:8. 

So let us ensure we're taking in the Word of God and not just reading it, but absorbing it and meditating upon it all day and night (see Prov 6:22-23). Much like plants, without the sunlight and nutrition for growth, we will wither and die. But with enough of it, we will become strong and sturdy; never fearing and being able to produce good fruits for God. 

3:2     Eli’s inability to see extended to his spiritual perception. However there was another prophet with poor eyesight. That was Ahijah – 1Kin 14:4. However, in contrast to Eli, Ahijah’s spiritual perception was as effective as ever.  We learn that our physical limitations should not diminish our spirituality.

3:19        The way in which Samuel did not allow any of God’s words to “fall to the ground” is an indication of faithful hearing of His words. We see this again in 2Kin 10:19 and may be the basis for the inspired comment in Heb 2:1

3:1    Samuel had been brought up in Eli’s house. Eli was an old man with failing natural forces. However the record is clear. Samuel ministered “unto the Lord”. This was, and always would be, his focus.

3:5     So, at night, hearing the voice Samuel “ran” only to be disappointed by Eli’s deaf ear to the Lord speaking. It seems that the second::6 and third:8 time saw Samuel a little less enthusiastic about how Eli would respond. Maybe even if we do not understand someone’s enthusiasm we should try to encourage them, not dismiss them as Eli did Samuel.

3:12-13 So the first communication that Samuel receives from God concerns the overthrow of the man who has brought him up from a child. Did it surprise Samuel or was he already aware of Eli’s shortcomings and what God had told him?

3:12-13 So the first communication that Samuel receives from God concerns the overthrow of the man who has brought him up from a child. Did it surprise Samuel or was he already aware of Eli’s shortcomings and what God had told him?

3:8  Should Eli have realised that God was calling Samuel on the first or second time that Samuel went to Eli?

We cannot tell. However before we criticise Eli as one who was slow to respond to the word of God we must ask ourselves how often and how quickly we respond when we read something in the word of God that challenges  our way of thinking.

3:2,3 Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD

Why was the young Samuel lying down in the "temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was" (v3 ESV)? Why wasn't Samuel being looked after by a family rather than being resident in the tabernacle under the supervision of Eli, an old, infirm and blind man? Even Eli should have been looked after by others given his physical infirmity. It may be that Eli knew his sons were so corrupt that the impressionable Samuel might be corrupted if fostered by them and their families. It could also be that Eli, always protective of the ark, wanted to be a kind of security person so that the ark and the tabernacle were not vandalised or desecrated.

So he lived, along with Samuel in the tabernacle. A desperate situation in Israel!

3:7 So at this time Samuel had no idea what was going to happen. The “voice”, he presumed, was that of Eli to which he responded immediately. An indication of the commitment of Samuel as a child to serve others.

3:10 And the LORD came and stood, calling as at other times, "Samuel, Samuel!"

There was more than a voice from God - there was a physical presence ("came and stood"), presumably an angel.

3:2-3 We are expected to see a connection between Eli’s eyes being “dim” and the lamp of God going out. The fact that Eli’s poor eyesight affected his lack of spiritual perception meant that true worship of Yahweh was going out also.

v. 5 - Isaiah's job was to bring back Israel to God. It didn't work, but it was a type of the work of the Lord Jesus. Matt.15:24, which in this respect also failed - Matt.21:37-41, 23:37.

v.18 'as ... I live saith the LORD' is a mark of the certainty of Yahweh acting on his own behalf. Numbers 14:28 Isaiah 49:18 Jeremiah 22:24 Zephaniah 2:9

v.6 - The concept of the light for the gentiles is a firm theme of this prophecy, leading eventually to a recognition that Messiah would come for the gentiles - ch.60:3 - a clear reference to the coming of the wise men to Jesus and a clear reference of the universal nature of the new covenant, whereby we all can come to the bright and morning star. (Rev.22:16)

Consider this chapter is, so to speak, a conversation between Jesus and his Father.

He spoke to the two on the road to Emmaus from 'all the Scriptures' (Luke 24:27)

A couple of links with 2 Kings

The circumstance of the deliverance in the days of Elisha are used by Isaiah to remind Israel that God does actually deliver His people - maybe Isaiah was speaking this about the way in which the Assyrians were destroyed upon the mountains of Israel by the angel.

49:2 That Jesus' words were like a sharp sword is seen in Rev 1:16, 19:21

V.10 "They shall hunger no more"  These words are repeated in our New Testament reading today.Rev 7:16  They who "hunger and thirst after righteousness" today, shall then be filled. Matt 5:6

V.9 After Israel had been sitting in spiritual shadow for four hundred years - the time between the Old and New Testaments - the Messiah would be revealed.  Jesus, the Son of promise, would be the light which would dispel that darkness (Isa 9:2; Matt 4:16). 

V.23 So wonderful will be Israel's restoration that it will result in her knowing the power and glory of the LORD in a way never known before. Then Israel will realise that those who hopefully wait for Him will not be ashamed. The restoration from Babylon was a prefiguring of the far greater restoration from their present worldwide status.

Parts of this chapter appear to be God talking to Isaiah, the prophet. See especially Isa 49:1-12.  But surely the spiritual side of this prophecy is that the Lord Jesus Christ is speaking, rather than Isaiah.  Look for instance at Isa 49:5,6. God formed Jesus from the womb, and He is to raise up the tribes of Judah, and to be a light to the Gentiles. Isaiah probably didn't have the privilege of releasing prisoners, but Jesus will do (see Isa 49:9).

49:6 Isaiah is clear in his prophecies about the call of the gentiles. Israel did not see it in the days of Isaiah, nor in the days of Jesus and the apostles even when Paul – Acts 13:47 – quotes Isaiah’s words.

49:6 Read this verse as part of a conversation between God and Jesus. Jesus has expressed despair at the lack of response to his preaching amongst the Jews – Isa 49:4 – and so God responds that his message of salvation will extend to the gentiles also.

V.16 This reflects a probable custom the Jews had in marking their hands to represent their city and the temple (Exo 13:9).  Continuing this figure, Jesus bore the marks of crucifixion in His hands, which He revealed to His disciples (John 20:20).

49:20 ‘the place is to strait for me’ – drawing on the language of 2Kin 6:1– speaks of the increase of Jesus’ followers.

HAS GOD FORGOTTEN?

Have we ever felt like God may have forgotten us? It often happens when we go through a time of trouble that seems to lengthen the longer we put up with it. At those times it seems like prayers are no longer answered, and positive spiritual thoughts seem to evaporate before they have even been spoken.

When God afflicted his people Israel, they thought he had forgotten them. "But Zion said, 'The LORD has forsaken me, the LORD has forgotten me.' Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion for the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands: your walls are ever before me!" (Isa 49:14-16) God will never forget his people Israel, and nor will he forget us.

Last week I was speaking to some parents of an adopted child who has gone off the rails. Many parents would have disowned him by now. But though he is not their flesh and blood, they still think of him, pray for him, visit him in prison and talk about him. As part of their family, they will never forget him. How much more is that with God?

Again, we can never fail to be reminded of important things by marks on our hands when they flash in front of our faces thousands of times a day. As children of God, he is reminded of us every time he sees his hands - not that he needs reminding!

Take courage. God will never forget of forsake us even when life is hard.

HAS GOD FORGOTTEN?

Have we ever felt like God may have forgotten us? It often happens when we go through a time of trouble that seems to lengthen the longer we put up with it. At those times it seems like prayers are no longer answered, and positive spiritual thoughts seem to evaporate before they have even been spoken.

When God afflicted his people Israel, they thought he had forgotten them. "But Zion said, 'The LORD has forsaken me, the LORD has forgotten me.' Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion for the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands: your walls are ever before me!" (Isa 49:14-16) God will never forget his people Israel, and nor will he forget us.

Last week I was speaking to some parents of an adopted child who has gone off the rails. Many parents would have disowned him by now. But though he is not their flesh and blood, they still think of him, pray for him, visit him in prison and talk about him. As part of their family, they will never forget him. How much more is that with God?

Again, we can never fail to be reminded of important things by marks on our hands when they flash in front of our faces thousands of times a day. As children of God, he is reminded of us every time he sees his hands - not that he needs reminding!

Take courage. God will never forget of forsake us even when life is hard.

v 18-23 First Principles>Kingdom of God>Restoration clearly foretold
In Eze 21:25-27 UNTIL indicates a limitation to the overturning. Go there for more prophecies about Israel's restoration.

This is a messianic prophesy that Christ would be formed in the womb of his mother by God's power, that Christ would be despised by man, abhorred by Israel, be a light to the Gentiles and glory to thy people Israel - Isa 49:5-8,14-15,22;7:14;Gal 1:15;Luke 1:26-35;Isa 53:3;John 1:10-11;Matt 16:21;Luke 2:27-33;Acts 13:46-47;26:23;Zech 12:10-11.

This chapter introduces the Messiah, Jesus. Yahweh will never forget His people or fail to deliver them (V.15).

V.2 See Rev 1:16

V.26 Consider the elements of flesh, blood and wine that relate to the demise of latter-day oppressors.

In the end times, the first opponent will be Gog and its confederates who will have invaded and devastated Israel.  Yahweh has prepared a feast of their flesh at Armageddon (Rev 16:16; 19:17,18 cf. Eze 39:17,18).  Jesus and the immortalised saints will subdue this oppressor.

After Gog, another opponent will be dealt with.

The false Babylonian system of worship that developed in the early centuries AD will have climbed to heights of untold wealth and power by the time Jesus returns.  Over the span of history, this oppressor has been guilty of violence against the Jewish people. Furthermore, true followers of Christ have been tortured and killed by this system, for their faith .  Much blood has been shed (Rev 17:6; 18:24). This system has seduced many people and nations by its intoxicating wine (Rev 17:2). Rome (Babylon), the seat of this system, will be destroyed by Jesus and His brethren (Rev 18:2,21).

Jesus' opposition to the nations will not yet have been completed. We shall see what comes next as we read Revelation.

Don't forget that this prophecy has a context. It sits within the story of the Assyrian invasion of the land. Previously in Isa 39 God had delivered Jerusalem as He promised, and the verse which follows it (40:1) is "Comfort, yes comfort My people... That her warfare has ended". So when 49:13 repeats the phrase, it is speaking of the same event "The LORD has comforted His people".

We're so used to seeing Jesus in prophecy that perhaps we allow it to blind us to the original context of scripture. That's a shame because there's so much to be learned from this time period. If we look at this prophecy within the context we will gain a fuller understanding of Jesus' mission. For example, verses 8,17,19 speak of the desolate land. This refers to the Assyrian invasion which had laid waste all the cities of Judah (36:1) and also "all nations and their lands" (37:18). So God having destroyed this great army (37:36) left a massive void that Hezekiah stepped into for a time. He (and his God) were seen as the saviour of the nations, not just of Israel. A massive pilgrimage must have ensued both of captive Jews, Israelites and other scattered people who saw Jerusalem as their beacon of hope (40:5, 11:10-13, 16). This is a vivid picture of many aspects of the work of Jesus which we will not appreciate if we lift verses out of their historical context.

49:4 Jesus may well have thought that he had laboured in vain at the end of his ministry. However the promise of verse :6 – I have given thee for a light for the gentiles – would have been a comfort and put things in perspective.

49:23 The licking up on the dust of thy feet is echoed with slight modification in the contemporary prophet – Mic 7:17

49:18  “Lift up this eyes and behold” echoes the words of Elisha with regard to his servant – 2Kin 6:17

49:9-10          This description of the way in which God will feed Israel is rather like the way in which Jesus fed the 5,000.  John 6:35.

49:1    We often read the call to “hearken”. When God requests His people to hearken we see an appeal to the promise of the prophet like unto Moses to whom the people would hearken – Deut 18:19

49:5  In speaking of the servant being formed from the womb we see an idea which is taken up later –Jer 1:5 – to speak of the prophet Jeremiah.

1. Isaiah 49:1-7 refers to the servant of the Lord:

2. Isa 49:1-3 - has some application to the servant Isaiah but seems to apply even more to Jesus; an individual Israel (i.e. Jesus) is this servant (Phil 2:5-8 better translated in the NIV than the KJV), this servant was to bring the apostate national servant Israel back to God (Isa 7:14-15;Psa 86:16;2Sam 7:12-17); this son, "Immanuel", would be a manifestation of God; V2 "sharp sword" can refer to God's Word (Eph 6:17;Heb 4:12).

3. Isa 49:4 - could apply to Isaiah or Christ; Christ was largely rejected by his own people; not laboring in vain (Phil 2:16).

4. Isa 49:5 - the glorious servant Jesus formed by God's power in the womb of Mary; and it is he who will bring "Jacob" again to God.

5. Isa 49:5-6 - the "tribes of Jacob" suggests the preserved of Israel; (Zech 9:9-12;Isa 9:2;Rom 1:16;Gal 3:26-29) and followers of Christ are to be lights also (Matt 5:14-16); V6 Christ will be a light to the Gentiles also (Acts 13:46-48).

6. Isa 49:7 - Christ, the redeemer of Israel, would be despised by many and abhored by Israel (Isa 53:2-5).

7. Isa 49:7,23 - a humbling of kings and peoples before the chosen of the Lord.

8. Isaiah 49:8-26 refers to the restoration of Israel:

9. Isa 49:8 - Christ to be heard, helped, and preserved by God (the body of Christ is identified with Jesus 2Cor 6:1-4); a "covenant<1285>" involved the cutting, killing, shedding of blood , and eating of sacrificed animals (Matt 26:26-28;John 6:53-54); Jesus is the mediator of the new covenant (Luke 22:20 "testament<1242> means covenant"; Heb 8:7,8,13;Heb 9:15-16;1Tim 2:5-6).

10. Isa 48:12,21;Isa 49:9-10 - manna and the smitten rock echo the bread of life and spiritual refreshment from Christ (Rev 21:6;Rev 22:1); Isa 49:9 -perhaps the prisoners in darkness are the dead (Isa 26:19) sleeping in Christ or perhaps it refers to the spiritual darkness of those who will learn of the way of life; Isa 49:10 - the prisoners of hope being liberated (John 6:35;Rev 7:16-17), "He who has compassion on them will guide them".

11. Isa 49:11-13 - the elect coming from ways near and far; V11 mountains into roads and roads into mountains (Is this a reference to the major earthquake of the last days? Will mount Zion be a highway to righteousness?Isa 35:8;Matt 7:13;Isa 2:3;Jer 6:16;Jer 18:15); V12 "Sinim<5515>"; V13 (Luke 13:28-29).

12. Isa 49:13-14 - natural Zion is still not comforted.

13. Isa 49:15-16 - God reassures Zion - natural Zion will not be forgotten.

14. Isa 49:17-18 - the children of Zion clothe Zion as with an ornament and bind as with a bridal array (Jer 31:31,33,34).

15. Isa 49:19-20 - a land laid waste is obviously not referring to heaven, it is refering to Israel.

16. Isa 49:21 - the astonishment of natural Zion at the manifestation of the "children of the resurrection" will be in proportion to Zion's hopelessness and despondency.

17. Isa 49:22-23 - a huge impression will be made upon awe-struck Gentiles; the Gentiles will be favorably disposed toward the Jews; V22 "my standard<5251>" does this refer to Christ? V22 sons and also daughters (Gal 3:28); V23 they shall not be ashamed that wait for Christ (Rom 10:9-11).

18. Isa 49:24-26 - the humbled Gentiles will sustain and nourish regenerated Israel in the hands of the saints; the prey appears to be natural Israel; V26 the self destruction of the enemies who oppress; V26 all flesh will know the Lord.

49:3    Notice that God will be glorified in his servants. His glory has to be seen in the lives of His children. Just as Jesus could indicate that was true of himself - John 14:9 -  it should be true of us as far as we are able.

49:5    If we see the words of this verse as Jesus’ thoughts then we see a realisation that because he had been born for a purpose he felt an obligation to fulfil that purpose. Do we feel equally committed to the things of the gospel since we have been chosen by God?

Isa 49:12

“Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.”

Napoleon Bonaparte once said, “When China wakes up, the world will tremble.”

“The land of Sinim” is according to Biblical scholars the ancient name of China. The “Sinite” referred to in Gen 10:17 are the people who lived in the land of Sinim. These Sinites settled in the east in what we know today as China.

The word, “Sinim” # 5515, according to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance means, “… a distant Oriental region.”

Brown, Driver and Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon identify Sinim “with the inhabitants of Southern China.”

Heinrich Gesenius (1786-1842) in his Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon (1821) said, “The context requires that this must be a very remote country [from Judah]…I understand it to be the land of the Seres of Chinese, Sinenses; this very ancient and celebrated nation was known by the Arabians and Syrians…and might be known by a Hebrew writer living at Babylon…at what period this name was given to the Chinese, by the other nations of Asia, and what its origins may be, do not plainly appear.”

Dr. John Gill (1697-1771), Exposition of the Bible Commentary, pointed out that Manasseh ben Israel (1604-1657), a Hebrew scholar, identified Sinim as China, as did Ptolemy (c. 90-168AD), an Egyptian scientist and geographer.

The older reading of the Masoretic Text points out with certainty that Sinim is China.

Commentary on the Old Testament, C.F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, German Scholars, point out that Sinim refers to the Chinese.

China and the Asian nations are the “Far East” and differs from Eze 38; Eze 39, the “Near East,” Israel being the Middle East.

49:1     Israel were told that God would raise a prophet that they should hearken unto – Deut 18:18-19. Now we see that the nations are called to hearken in the same way. In particular they are commanded to hear the message that God was providing a saviour.

49:26  The later prophet – Eze 21:5 – uses very similar words to Isaiah but whilst Isaiah is speaking of God being a saviour Ezekiel speaks of judgment.

49:22  the assurance that those who wait on God willnot be ashamed echoes the words of the Psalmist – Psa 25:3.

49:3 we are re-introduced to the “servant” who has already been spoken of –  42:1 – and who will figure again man times in the next chapters. When we read of God’s servants as we continue through Isaiah we should consider whether we are readings prophecies of what Jesus would do.

49:7 Notice the contrast. Yahweh is presented as “redeemer” “Holy one”. He is not so recognised by the “nation”. He, in the person of His son Jesus, the Messiah, is abhorred. However He will be worshipped by the nations. This was Jesus’ experience. He was “despised and rejected of men” – Isa 53:3.  Yahweh knew this was how His son would be treated. However He still gave him for the salvation of you and me.

This realisation should cause us to reflect on the gracious majesty of our heavenly Father and be more motivated to serve Him faithfully.

49:22 We are so familiar with the way that the gospel message has been extended to the gentiles that if we are not careful we will not see passages like this as strange from a traditional Jewish perspective. What Isa was inspired to write is a continuation of verse 6.

We should always try to come to our reading of scripture with fresh eyes.

49:3 Servants have obligations. They cannot do as they please. Ultimately Jesus was the “servant” spoken of by the prophet. However the nation were bought and so were His servants also. Sadly they did not live up to their obligations. We are left asking ourselves whether we see ourselves as servants with the obligations that flow from that status.

49:23 The mention of kings bowing down to the one spoken of here echoes the language of Psa 72:11 which, like this chapter, speaks of the king Jesus.

7 v. 1-9 - Here we have evidence that there is still salvation for some small number of God's people.
v.9 shows us that it is no longer exclusive, but there is a remnant of Israel to be saved along with multitudinous hosts of the gentile nations from throughout the ages. Notice the palms in their hands (v.9), ready to welcome Jesus in his truly triumphal entry into Jerusalem as King of the World.

7 v.3 The sealing of the servants in their foreheads before the judgements of God further shows His concern for His servants and catches the way in which He, figuratively marked out those in Jerusalem in the Days of Zedekiah before the Babylonians overthrew the city. [Ezekiel 9:2-11]

8:3 The association of prayer with incense is seen in the words of the Psalmist [Psalm 141:2]. [Exodus 30:34-38] describes the manner of the manufacture of the incense. Notice that the constituent parts were to be beaten 'very small' - an indication of the need to offer prayer regularly and often. The quantity of each spice is not mentioned, just the relationship - 'like weight' indicates that there is no limit to the amount of prayer that we offer, just that our prayers must be 'balanced'. It was not to be imitated marking the need to recognise that we pray only to the Father. We have no other God to whom we make petition.

9 v.3-4 A swarm of locusts normally would devastate the grass of the earth. That these locusts do not, but only attack those who do not have the seal of God in their foreheads shows the wonderful power and care that our God has. He is able to differentiate between those who serve Him and those who do not when he judges the earth.

Numbers 1 records the numbering of Israel at the beginning of the wilderness journey. We will remember that none of those numbered at this time except Joshua and Caleb, were alive at the end of the wilderness journey. Do we see ourselves as being among the first or last numbering?

Whilst we certainly see references to Babylon in later chapters in Revelation it is important to note that the demise of 'Babylon' in Revelation starts early in the book.

Even before the Assyrian invasion of Judah Isaiah predicted the fall of Babylon (Chapter 14 and 15)

As Isaiah was reminding Israel about the demise of an upcoming enemy so the sixth angel predicted the demise of an evil system which sought to oppose truth.

7:11-12 Again we see God and the risen Jesus being praised. This time by the redeemed.

8:4 The smoke of worship and sacrifice here contrasts with the smoke of the bottomless pit (9:2)

9:2 Smoke rose as a furnace when Sodom was destroyed (Genesis 19:28) - an indication of the judgements of God against the wicked upon the earth.

Rev 7:9. At our baptism we “put on Christ” as a garment to cover our past sins. Those seen by John are all the saints whose sins have been covered by the forgiveness of God through Jesus Christ.

Rev 7:14.Although a man’s sins are forgiven by God at the time of his baptism, further forgiveness is dependant upon man’s own efforts to obey the word of God. We all must be willing to put forth the effort. We are familiar with what God said to Israel through the prophet Isaiah. (Isa 1:16-18.)

Rev 9:5,10. Why five months twice? (v.5, v.10) Why not one period of ten months? The locusts’ life cycle appears to be only five months; hence a ten month period would have been contrary to nature.

7:3 sealed the servants of God in their foreheads' quotes Eze 9:4 where the context is  the same. On both occasions God is  holding back His judgements until the servants of God are safe.

8:8 Whilst we have seen before that the casting into the sea echoes the language of Jeremiah it also draws on the language of the deliverance from Egypt (Exo 15:4)

9:6 The horror of the fifth seal will be reminiscent of the time of the overthrow of Jerusalem by the Babylonians as the language of Jer 8:3 is quoted  - a stark reminder for Israel.

8:1,2,13 To understand the unfolding of history subsequent to 90 AD, let us picture a three-sectioned telescope.  The first section contains the first six seals.  Then we open the second section where the seventh seal contains the six trumpets (incorporating two woes).  Then the third section is opened where the seventh trumpet (containing the third woe) contains the seven vials. Traditional interpretation marks the first trumpet at about 400 AD.  The sixth vial period is the present time.  The seventh vial marks Armageddon and the Lord's retribution on Babylon.  And so we see that we are very close to the Lord's return.  This should spur us on to get our houses in order. 

7:1  The holding back of the winds is rather like the restraining of the six men with swords – Eze 9:2 – who were restrained until the servants of God had been sealed. This is a major element of this chapter also.

8:3 That the prayers of the saints was offered with incense on the golden altar provides us with evidence that proves that the offering of incense under the law of Moses was but a shadow of prayer.

9:4 Amidst all the devastation that is to come we might be forgiven for thinking that we are at risk of being devoured in the trouble that is to come. However it is clear that the Father is well able to take care of His children. He is the one who is directing world events.

PRAYER
 
"Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel's hand." (Rev 8:4)
 
The prayers of the saints are obviously an important part of our worship of God. They are also powerful and effective and provoke action from God. On this occasion the action that resulted from the prayers being offered was that the seven trumpets were prepared to be sounded in order to bring God's righteous judgements on the earth. So if the action that resulted from the prayers of the saints was to bring God's righteous judgements on the earth, then what were their prayers?
 
We are not told what they said, but we can make some suggestions that perhaps should be included in our prayers also. Maybe they prayed for the glory of God to fill the earth; for God's judgements to come on the wicked; for vengeance on their enemies; for release from their suffering; for God's glory to be revealed; or for sin to be vanquished. Note also that this was not the prayer of one person, but of all the saints.
 
Let's pray together, in unity, for the time of judgement to come and to pass quickly so that God's glory will fill the whole earth.

BASICS OF LIFE
 
We have the Ten Commandments hanging on a poster on the wall of our Sunday School room where everyone can see it. We need to keep ourselves constantly reminded of those simple rules so that we are kept looking to the basics of the type of life God wants us to live.
 
The judgements of God brought about by the sixth angel sounding his trumpet conclude with these words: "The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts." (Rev 9:20-21) Notice the number of the Ten Commandments that were broken in that list of unrepented acts.
 
"You shall have no other gods before me," yet they worshipped other gods.
"You shall not make idols," and they worshipped idol their hands had made.
"You shall not murder," they did not repent of their murders.
"You shall not commit adultery," they did not repent of their sexual immorality.
And, "You shall not steal," and neither did they repent of their thefts.
 
So let us always make sure we keep the basics in mind. In doing so we will constantly be prepared to make the right choices for our God, and not end up being one of those condemned for unrepentance.

7:16 The promise of blessing contained in this verse quotes Isa 49:10 which highlights the benefits of the kingdom of God that Jesus will establish.

7:17   The promise that ‘God shall wipe away all tears …’ quotes Isa 25:8

7:9 The 144,000 clearly are taken from Israel. But notice the hope is not simply for Israel. In addition to the 144,000 there were others, too many to number, who clearly are gentiles. The way that they are described as those who ‘no man could number’ draws on the promise to Abraham Gen 22:17

The Lamb had opened six of the seals, and then in Rev 8:1 came to open the seventh. There was “silence in Heaven” or peace. Constantine had accepted Christianity, and it seemed almost as though the Kingdom had come. But this was not to be. State Christianity became a persecutor of the true church, and the ravages of persecution started again, typified by the trumpets being sounded.

7:4-8 144,000 are sealed from every tribe. The first tribe is Judah, which is the tribe of the Lord Jesus. Thus, the 144,000 represents (in symbol) the redeemed from all nations. Notice that Joseph replaces Ephraim, which confirms that the 144,000 speaks of spiritual Israel and not natural Israel. Also notice that the tribe of Dan is not represented. Why not?

The numeral 144,000 is made up of twelve multiples of twelve and one thousand.

Twelve is the number of tribes and forms the basis of description for Israel. Spiritual Israel has been grafted into that commonwealth, and so it can be designated by the same number.

One thousand is a number that describes the perpetual nature of divine grace (Exo 20:6; Deut 7:9; Psa 105:8). The foursquare character of 144,000 (12,000 x 12,000) depicts completeness.

Twelve is associated with the heavenly City of Jerusalem (the redeemed saints) (Rev 21:2, 10-16, 21). One thousand is associated with divine grace in the Kingdom (Rev 20:6). Thus, the 144,000 represents the redeemed of the Lord in the Kingdom (vs.14-16; 21:4).

In Chapter 8, four trumpets are blown. A trumpet is blown to alert one’s attention to something. In this case, it was to alert the enemies of Rome to move against her. In the fifth century, various groups provoked Rome.

8:7 The first trumpet summoned the Goths

8:8 The second trumpet summoned the Vandals

8:10 The third trumpet summoned the Huns

8:12 The fourth trumpet sounded the diminution of Rome in the west and the birth of an eastern rival in Constantinople. It was Constantine who founded Constantinople in 330AD as a second Rome.

Finally, in 1054 AD there was an official Catholic split between east and west.  Rome continued in the west while the Orthodox Church ruled in the east.

This historical event is described by the legs of Nebuchadnezzar’s image in Dan 2. There we are told that the image has two iron legs. Iron is a symbol of Rome. Rome was split into two parts, east and west, hence two legs.

8:11 Wormwood is a plant of the genus artemesia.  Several varieties of the plant are found in Israel.  The plant is known for its bitterness.   

Chapter 9 deals with the rise of Mohammed and Islam. It also talks about the Turkish Empire as it expanded its territory.

9:3 Mohammed was born in 570 AD.  He gathered followers to him in droves. And so, here, the Muslim Arabs are numerous, like locusts.

9:8 This verse is descriptive of the Saracens (Muslims).  They were on a warpath to convert people to Islam.  They spread throughout the Middle East, conquering Damascus in 634 AD, and Jerusalem in 637 AD.

Later, they laid siege to Constantinople, the seat of eastern Rome. The first siege (674-678 AD) was not successful, but the second siege (717-718 AD) was successful, and Constantinople fell.

9:11 To those attacked, the Saracens were the Abaddon and Appolyon. These two words mean destroyer.

9:20 the worshipping of Devils echoes the condemnation in Lev 17:7 of that sort of practice. The ‘devils’ in Leviticus are false God – idols.

7:10  In crying ‘salvation to our God’ Jesus puts the words of Psa 3:1-8 into the mouths of the redeemed from the tribes of Israel. Why?  The context of Psalm 3 is that the king of Israel (David) has been delivered from Absalom, his son, who tried to take the throne from him. The deliverance from Absalom was ‘of God’, hence the appropriateness of the quotation in Revelation.

DRESSED IN WHITE

When I got married, I wanted to hire white suits for the best men and myself. There were two things that put me off. The first was the price. A white suit, if you could find one, cost almost twice as much to hire as a dark suit. Obviously a white suit is much easier to ruin. The second thing that put me off is that I am the sort of person who is almost guaranteed to get it dirty, dripping tomato sauce, gravy or some other coloured matter on it.

John saw a vision of the redeemed. "After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands." (Rev 7:9)

When we dedicate ourselves to Christ, are baptised and forgiven for our sins, we become the people that John saw in his vision. "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb." (v.14) At that point, in God's view, we have washed our robes and are dressed in white.

But white robes are hard to keep clean. They show up every speck of dirt. They look fantastic but any shade of grey is instantly noticeable. Let's do all we can to keep our white robes free from the stain of sin. And if we get dirty again, let's ask for forgiveness and have them washed white again.

9:4    Those who are “sealed in the foreheads” are like those in Eze 9:4 – they are the ones who lament over the oppressed state of the things of God. On reading these words those who  heard would have been caused to remember the salvation of the faithful when the Babylonians took Judah captive.

9:7-9   There are three quotations from the prophecy of Joel in these verses

7:5-8 When reading lists of the tribes it is difficult to remember those which are left out. Here Dan and Ephraim are not listed but Joseph is included (which gives us both Ephraim and Manasseh even though Manasseh is mentioned as a separate tribe also)

Rev 7:4-8.

9:19    In saying that their power was in their ‘mouth’ and in their (serpent like) ‘tail’ we are directed to think of the serpent in Eden which spoke to Eve and deceived her with its words. Gen 3:4-5

Rev 7:4 - the 144,000 could very well be a symbolic number representing spiritual Israel as is the 144,000 in Rev 14:1,3.

1. Rev 7:2-4,9-17 - The angel with the seal of God, a great multitude of people; angels, elders, and living creatures.

2. Rev 8:1-5 - The lamb opens the seventh seal, and 1/2 hours silence issues in the preparation to sound the seven trumpets, before which incense is offered together with the prayers of the saints ... there are voices, thunders, lightnings, and an earthquake.

3. Rev 11:15-19 - The seventh trumpet is blown. The heavenly voices announce the imminent establishment of the kingdom of God to replace that of men. God's power is about to be shown; the wrath of the nations is about to be quelled by the mightier wrath of God; the dead are about to be judged and the faithful of all ages rewarded, and those rebellious to God are about to be destroyed.

4. Rev 16:17-21 - the seventh vial is poured into the air, and unheard of portents, accompanied by the breaking of "the great city" into three parts, and the total dissolution of the entire terrestrial system, herald the final crisis and the victory of God over evil.

7:13   In asking John "what are these” John is being encouraged to think about what he saw and form his own conclusions.  He was at a loss so responded that elders knew and could enlighten him. Are we so willing to both questions what Scripture means and to acknowledge our need for instruction?

9:20-21            We were all in the position of being alienated from God by our actions. However the gospel and God’s forgiveness being extended to us produced a response – so it should have. Those who respond get baptised into Christ.  It seems here those who are evil are so set in their evil ways that there is no place of repentance in their hearts. And this is despite the awesome evidence of God’s involvement in the world. May it be that we not so blind to God working in the world that we do not respond to His offer of salvation and change the way in which we live.

PRAYER MAKES THE DIFFERENCE

Our prayers make a difference. Can one little prayer change the world? Perhaps more than we might think. Listen to what John wrote down describing one of the visions he was given:

"Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel's hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightening and an earthquake." (Rev 8:3-5).

The prayers of the saints in this description change the world. The prayers of the saints were the catalyst to releasing the judgements of God. And as the time progresses those prayers will bring us closer to the reign of Jesus in God's kingdom.

Let's make sure our prayers are included in the ones that come up before God with incense. Let's pray more than ever for God's glory to fill the earth, for Jesus to return, for sin and injustice to be destroyed, for righteousness, and for God to be all and in all.

 

9:7-11  The way in which the “locusts” are described carefully teaches us that they represent an army prepared for war.

9:17      As if a horse in battle would not seem to be fearsome enough the horse had a face “like a lion” – even more ferocious.

Rev 8

THE PERIOD OF THE SEVENTH SEAL

“THIS Seal covers the judgments specially allotted to the seven trumpets, seven vials, and seven thunders.

It treats of the development of the Imperialized Laodicean Apostasy into ‘the powers that be’ of the Greco-Latin habitable under the forms of the Beast of the Sea, the Beast of the Earth (Rev 13), the scarlet-colored beast and drunken woman (Rev 17:1-6), the image of the Beast (Rev 13:14-18), and of the relation of these powers to the fugitive woman and to the remnant of her seed ‘who keep the commandments of the Deity, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ’ (Rev 12:17).

The Seventh Seal ends with the total and complete abolition of the sin-powers represented by Nebuchadnezzar’s image, Daniel’s Four Beasts, and the Little Horn of the Goat, or absolute King; and the Stone-power that smites them becoming a great mountain dominion, and filling the whole earth. Hence, although the Seventh Seal prophecy shall be fulfilled, it will be said, ‘Behold all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest’; for then the spirit of Yahweh Elohim, apocalyptically styled, ‘the Spirits of Deity burning before the throne,’ will have been quieted in all countries of the earth. The mission of the Christ, personal and mystical, will have been fully accomplished. The tribes of Jacob will have been raised up; the desolations of Israel will have been restored; the nations will have been enlightened; and Yahweh’s salvation developed to the ends of the earth--Isa 49:6.”

Brother Dr. John Thomas, Eureka, Vol II