Bible Study on Acts 10, verses 44 to 48, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word

 

Acts 10:44 ¶  While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. 45  And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. 46  For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, 47  Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? 48  And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.

 

Notice how these believers receive the Holy Ghost in this instance first and then are baptized? Now, see the baptism that Peter called for with the Jews as they were to repent of the crime against Christ. Baptism first, then receipt of the Holy Ghost.

 

Acts 2:38  Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

 

There are commentators who wish to make a clearer distinction between the two baptisms and declare that Acts 2 was a baptism of national repentance. I believe that comes from trying to view the Bible as a set of directions and parsing out minor variations as significant of a different dispensation. A Jewish or a Gentile believer today receives the Holy Ghost when they believe and then they get baptized as a public profession of that invisible act.

 

Luke 23:34a  Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.

 

Even if Acts 2:38 was an act of national repentance this does not change the need for every Jew or Gentile to receive Christ and believe in Him and to trust in His righteousness and not their own for salvation.

 

The Jews present responded to Peter’s sermon were baptized and received the Holy Ghost but was this a presentation of a strict order of events making their salvation different from Gentile salvation?

 

See the order presented here in the text. First, with Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch there is no mention of receiving the Holy Ghost but it is assumed.

 

Acts 8:26 ¶  And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. 27  And he arose

and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, 28  Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. 29  Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. 30  And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? 31  And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. 32  The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: 33  In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. 34  And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? 35  Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. 36  And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? 37  And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 38  And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. 39  And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. 40  But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.

 

Then, with the Roman centurion and company and Peter where it is implied that they believed what they heard and then they received the Holy Ghost and are then baptized.

 

Now, do you honestly think that each of these situations were different in that in one instance you are baptized then you receive the Holy Ghost after that and yet in another you get baptized because you believe and it is implied that you received the Holy Ghost upon belief and in another instance you believe and receive the Holy Ghost and then are baptized? How many dispensations do you want to create? Christians often don’t have a problem with belief. They have a problem with reading comprehension. This is a lot like those people who believe Noah walked off the Ark with a white son, a black son, and an Asian son when it nowhere says that but they read back into the text what they want to believe.

 

Earlier in Acts 8 you will have people believing and being baptized but not receiving the Holy Ghost until Peter and John lay hands on them. In Acts 16 Lydia believes and is baptized but no mention is made of the Holy Ghost. In the same chapter the jailor believes and is baptized and no mention is made of the Holy Ghost. In Acts 9 it is implied that Paul believed and then he received the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. In Acts 22 he relates that he was baptized after that. Again, if you are going to read the Bible like a textbook how many dispensations do you want to create?

 

When you get saved it is because you believed, were given faith, and received the Holy Ghost. At some point, to fulfill all righteousness as Jesus said, you should get baptized as an outward manifestation of your inward change and faith.

 

In any event Jesus Himself puts the focus on your belief, not your baptism.

 

Mark 16:16  He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

 

 

Bible Study on Isaiah 5, verses 5 to 7, nothing but oppression and a cry for justice

 

Isaiah 5:5  And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: 6  And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. 7  For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.

 

Here is a direct threat against Judah and the house of Israel. The metaphor of Israel being a vineyard, God’s vineyard, is confirmed. God also explains why in this passage, because He, God, looked for judgment and only saw oppression and for righteousness but only heard a cry of distress. God’s poor, the common man, commentators attest, were struggling under the yoke of oppression and robbery from above them. Repeatedly in the scriptures the cry of the poor reach God.

 

Now see a similar metaphor of judgment made about Jesus’ second advent by John the Baptist.

 

Matthew 3:11  I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: 12  Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

 

Also see Jesus talking about the coming destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans.

 

Luke 19:41 ¶  And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, 42  Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. 43  For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, 44  And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

 

Notice, as well, how the Psalms refers to judgment on Israel.

 

Psalm 80:8 ¶  Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it. 9  Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land. 10  The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars. 11  She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her  branches unto the river. 12  Why hast thou then broken down her hedges, so that all they which pass by the way do pluck her? 13  The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it. 14  Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine; 15  And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself. 16  It is burned with fire, it is cut down: they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance.

2Kings, chapter 12, brief comments

 

2Kings 12:1 ¶  In the seventh year of Jehu Jehoash began to reign; and forty years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. 2  And Jehoash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him. 3  But the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.

 

Jehoash’s reign is lined up with Jehu’s in Israel. He was a good king in God’s sight as long as Jehoiada taught and counselled him but faltered in that he did not put an end to the idolatry of the people, probably for political reasons.

 

2Kings 12:4 ¶  And Jehoash said to the priests, All the money of the dedicated things that is brought into the house of the LORD, even the money of every one that passeth the account, the money that every man is set at, and all the money that cometh into any man’s heart to bring into the house of the LORD, 5  Let the priests take it to them, every man of his acquaintance: and let them repair the breaches of the house, wheresoever any breach shall be found. 6  But it was so, that in the three and twentieth year of king Jehoash the priests had not repaired the breaches of the house. 7  Then king Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and the other priests, and said unto them, Why repair ye not the breaches of the house? now therefore receive no more money of your acquaintance, but deliver it for the breaches of the house. 8  And the priests consented to receive no more money of the people, neither to repair the breaches of the house. 9  But Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid of it, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one cometh into the house of the LORD: and the priests that kept the door put therein all the money that was brought into the house of the LORD. 10  And it was so, when they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king’s scribe and the high priest came up, and they put up in bags, and told the money that was found in the house of the LORD. 11  And they gave the money, being told, into the hands of them that did the work, that had the oversight of the house of the LORD: and they laid it out to the carpenters and builders, that wrought upon the house of the LORD, 12  And to masons, and hewers of stone, and to buy timber and hewed stone to repair the breaches of the house of the LORD, and for all that was laid out for the house to repair it. 13  Howbeit there were not made for the house of the LORD bowls of silver, snuffers, basons, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or vessels of silver, of the money that was brought into the house of the LORD: 14  But they gave that to the workmen, and repaired therewith the house of the LORD. 15  Moreover they reckoned not with the men, into whose hand they delivered the money to be bestowed on workmen: for they dealt faithfully. 16  The trespass money and sin money was not brought into the house of the LORD: it was the priests’.

 

Basically, this boils down to the fact that the first temple was in a disgraceful state of disrepair. Commentators said that the priests pocketed the money that should have gone to the repairs. So here in this passage we see King Jehoash aka Joash commanding that money that was brought in be used to repair the house of God with exceptions of money that was to go to the priests legitimately. They focused on structural repairs rather than items such as snuffers and other vessels of gold. It appears that everyone worked faithfully and honestly on this project so there was no haggling or bickering about the work or the payment for it.

 

2Kings 12:17 ¶  Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it: and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem. 18  And Jehoash king of Judah took all the hallowed things that Jehoshaphat, and Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own hallowed things, and all the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of the LORD, and in the king’s house, and sent it to Hazael king of Syria: and he went away from Jerusalem. 19  And the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 20  And his servants arose, and made a conspiracy, and slew Joash in the house of Millo, which goeth down to Silla. 21  For Jozachar the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, smote him, and he died; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.

 

So Jehoash buys off King Hazael of Syria with the treasures from Solomon’s Temple and the King’s palace. This sell-out may have prompted his servants to assassinate him and place his son on the throne. Notice how the spellings of Joash and Jehoash are together in this passage for the same person. The fact that his mentor, Jehoida, was dead perhaps led to this action that showed no faith in God and led to his downfall.

 

2Chronicles 24:15 ¶  But Jehoiada waxed old, and was full of days when he died; an hundred and thirty years old was he when he died.

Bible Study on Acts 10, verses 34 to 43, To him give all the prophets witness

 

Acts 10:34 ¶  Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: 35  But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. 36  The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:) 37  That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; 38  How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. 39  And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree: 40  Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly; 41  Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead. 42  And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead. 43  To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.

 

Before a nation hears the gospel of Jesus Christ and about His death, burial, and resurrection God has provided the basis upon which the New Guinea tribesman or the Swedish businessman could be accepted by Him. The requirement is that they believe and fear an Almighty Creator and that they try to do right as a result. God will send them a messenger from Him to deliver the truth of the gospel as He does here.

 

There is peace with God only through Jesus Christ. Mankind is in His wrath apart from Christ. This is not about religion but about understanding and accepting God’s amnesty in your rebellion and wickedness.

 

Peter declares that he not only walked with Christ before the Cross and Crucifixion, but he ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead making Peter a reliable and authoritative witness. God only revealed Christ after the Resurrection to those witnesses chose by God and these were sent out to be witnesses as the prophets were before them.

 

This explains why Christ did not reveal Himself after the Resurrection in the emperor’s palace or to the Sanhedrin. Paul says there were upwards of five hundred of these witnesses who saw Christ.

 

1Corinthians 15:1 ¶  Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2  By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3  For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the

scriptures; 4  And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 5  And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 6  After that, he was seen of

above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 7  After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. 8  And

last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. 9  For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

10  But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 11  Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.

Bible Study on Exodus 17, verses 1 to 7, Is the LORD among us, or not?

 

Exodus 17:1 ¶  And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink. 2  Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD? 3  And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? 4  And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me. 5  And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. 6  Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7  And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?

Again, the Hebrews complain. The complaint seems legitimate. This mass of people and their animals must have water but again they are doubting God’s provision, even His ability to sustain them or His will to preserve them. Here they are, probably moving through the Sinai Peninsula and very uncertain about their fate, having seen a tremendous miracle of the parting of the Red Sea but now uncertain again of their survival. They are afraid.

The body of the children of Israel are, in type, examples of the individual Christian. In other words, we each are like the children of Israel as a group. I am not talking about following God in how you dress, what you view as entertainment, or whether or not your language is raw or you drink so-called adult beverages. I’m talking about whether or not you actually believe God’s promises as laid out in the Bible. God seems to be underscoring to us, emphasizing that He places a great importance on our trusting Him, and not only trusting Him, but accepting His timing and His judgments even if they are not pleasant experiences to us.

One thing missing from the Christian’s walk with God, one of probably many things missing, is trust. We receive mercy after mercy, blessing after blessing, deliverance after deliverance, and then complain loudly when faced with a problem. We complain so loudly you would think we never knew God’s kindness at all. How many Christians have even doubted the premise of their faith in God, even doubted His very existence, because they are walking through a dry land and are thirsty?

Moses strikes the rock in front of the elders and water came out of the rock.

Psalm 78:15  He clave the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink as out of the great depths. 16  He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers…20  Behold, he smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed; can he give bread also? can he provide flesh for his people?

Psalm 105:41  He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out; they ran in the dry places like a river.

Part of our problem spiritually is that we do not thirst after God’s righteousness but are always thirsty for the wrong thing.

Matthew 5:6  Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

The rock is Christ and in mankind’s first encounter with Him they struck Him.

1Corinthians 10:4  And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

Isaiah 53:1 ¶  Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? 2  For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3  He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

    4 ¶  Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7  He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 8  He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. 9  And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

    10 ¶  Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin…

This had to be, God ordained it so. There is no other way for us to be delivered from the consequences of our breaking fellowship with God by our sin than for God Himself to pay the ransom He demanded for the sinner’s soul and to be the propitiation to appease His own wrath.

The Bible contains many pithy sayings that stick in your mind. There is I believe; help thou mine unbelief in Mark 9:24 and Be still, and know that I am God in Psalm 46:10 among many others that should ring in our brains in practically every situation. Here also is one of the great ones that may come to mind in many a church meeting where contention and strife are present; Is the LORD among us, or not?

The Sinai Peninsula is about 150 miles wide and contains a million and a half residents today. If this mass of people in Exodus is moving at the rate of only ten miles a day they could traverse the peninsula in half a month, of course. We will get a little more information in the next passage on where they actually are at this point. Do not be confused by traditions or where some Christian group has placed a monastery. It was not uncommon for Christian groups to read back tradition into the Bible and declare a place as the location of a Bible event when the truth is not known for sure. Traditions have placed Mount Sinai in the southern part of the Sinai Peninsula or in Arabia based on what Paul said when Arabia covered a huge area, larger than we think of today. Arabia Petraea was a Roman province that encompassed parts of present day Jordan, the northwest Arabian peninsula, and the Sinai peninsula from the second century. It was also bordered by Arabia Deserta and Arabia Felix so obviously this area was known as Arabia in Paul’s time.

It is also the same with unbelievers who say that Mount Sinai must have been a volcano and there is no volcano in the Sinai because they don’t believe in the truth of God’s presence and the power He displayed as per the Bible. These same people call Ezekiel’s vision a UFO because of their unbelief.

What comes next suggests the Hebrews traveled more easterly than southerly.

Bible Study on Acts 10, verses 19 to 33, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard

 

Acts 10:19 ¶  While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee. 20  Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them. 21  Then Peter went down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius; and said, Behold, I am he whom ye seek: what is the cause wherefore ye are come? 22  And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by an holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee. 23  Then called he them in, and lodged them. And on the morrow Peter went away with them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him. 24  And the morrow after they entered into Caesarea. And Cornelius waited for them, and had called together his kinsmen and near friends. 25  And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him. 26  But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man. 27  And as he talked with him, he went in, and found many that were come together. 28  And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean. 29  Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for: I ask therefore for what intent ye have sent for me? 30  And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, 31  And said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God. 32  Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter; he is lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner by the sea side: who, when he cometh, shall speak unto thee. 33  Immediately therefore I sent to thee; and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God.

 

The Spirit of God and we know that due to its capitalization alerts Peter to the three men who came from Cornelius. Verse 23 shows that it took a day and a night and part of another day to get to Caesarea. Verse 26 warns us about the dangers of worshipping the messenger and not the One who sent the message. Fundamentalism in America has this whole “man o’ God” cult going on. There are other times when persons delivering a message are worshipped and yet are told not to as in Acts 14:8-18. There is also;

 

Revelation 19:10  And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

 

Verse 28 shows us how Christ’s resurrection was a great leveler of men and their presumption of superiority, especially here religious superiority over other men. Verse 29 suggests to us that once we are certain of God’s will for us we should immediately proceed to obey without hesitation and without holding back.

 

Cornelius is prepared to hear some preaching. He is ready to receive what God has given Peter to say to him. This is basic to our receiving God’s will and understanding what He wants. We must be prepared like a field must be plowed to receive seed. Both the giver of the word and the receiver of the word have been prepared by the Holy Spirit.

Bible Study on Exodus 16, verses 22 to 36, the seventh day of rest

 

Exodus 16:22 ¶  And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. 23  And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning. 24  And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein. 25  And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the LORD: to day ye shall not find it in the field. 26  Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none. 27  And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none. 28  And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? 29  See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. 30  So the people rested on the seventh day. 31  And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.

The Sabbath day, the seventh day, was a gift for man, a day of rest. It was holy to God, as a day set apart. You have a God-given right to a day off and any system, government, or person who denies you that is a godless tyranny over you. God ordained a day of rest, one out of seven.

Genesis 2:2  And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3  And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

As part of the Law given to Moses for the Hebrews, the children of Israel, they were to observe this day as a special day.

Exodus 20:11  For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. 12  Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.

The religion of the Hebrews was primarily a physical one, with observances, and special days, and requirements for carrying out physical duties. The religion of the Christian is a spiritual one with no sacred spaces outside of the Christian’s own heart. The Jews had a tabernacle and a temple. However, for the Christians;

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

1Corinthians 6:19  What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

The Hebrews had a Sabbath day, a physical day of rest, and there were other special Sabbaths, as well. Many Christian faith traditions tried to call Sunday the Christian Sabbath all the while making it not a day of rest but a day of obligation. The truth is that early Christians, as history provides evidence, worshipped before dawn on Sunday and then went to work. Sunday was not a day off from work for three hundred years after Christ. If it were truly the Christian Sabbath then from sundown Saturday to sundown Sunday you would do nothing, not even light a candle in your home.

27  And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none. 28  And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?

Notice here, though, one common thread between Hebrew and Christian. God gave a command and told them how it was going to be and yet they still tested reality to see if it were true what God said. Do we not all do that and should not God be angry when we presume upon Him with our doubting disobedience?

God will lay out moral laws, confirming what had always been His standard. Modern man and woman will test these laws and suffer judgment from disobeying them but typically just don’t ‘get it.’ Sexual immorality, stealing, lying, cheating, and tolerating those who do under the excuse of tolerance typically results in suffering but many people still don’t see what they’ve done in defying the standards that God set down. These are physical facts just as much as gravity. You might jump off the roof and not break your leg but usually something like that happens. You might regularly commit sexual sin and get away with it but many times it will result in disease, lowered self-esteem, even unwanted pregnancy and poverty. ‘Pushing the envelope’ or ‘dancing on the edge’ are two euphemisms we have for testing limits. Life is hard enough when you do the right things and suffer misfortune but you are a fool when you practically beg for judgment on your behavior.

Don’t test what God has said to see if it is indeed true. There are some things you should never do, not even to think about them.

Philippians 4:8  Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Exodus 16:32 ¶  And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commandeth, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt. 33  And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations. 34  As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept. 35  And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan. 36  Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.

This passage gives the measurement omer a definition as one tenth of an ephah. Strong’s dictionary gave a measurement, if you convert it to U.S. gallons, of between 5.5 and 11 gallons for an ephah. That would make an omer a tenth of that. A quantity of this Manna Moses kept for a testimony of this provision by the Lord. Here it says that the children of Israel ate this Manna for the entire forty years of their wilderness wanderings.

Joshua 5:10 ¶  And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho. 11  And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day. 12  And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.

Bible Study on Acts 10, verses 9 to 18, Peter fell into a trance

 

Acts 10:9 ¶  On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: 10  And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, 11  And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: 12  Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. 13  And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. 14  But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. 15  And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. 16  This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven. 17  Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made enquiry for Simon’s house, and stood before the gate, 18  And called, and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there.

 

Housetops in the Ancient Near East were places where people spent the hotter parts of the day and the evening. There are many references to housetops throughout the Bible.

 

Proverbs 21:9  It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.

 

2Samuel 11:2  And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.

 

Mark 13:15  And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter therein, to take any thing out of his house:

 

Luke 5:19  And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.

 

Peter was praying about noon, the sixth hour of the day which started at six a.m. or thereabouts.

 

Psalm 55:17  Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.

 

Peter was awake, was hungry, and wanted to eat, but fell into a trance while praying. A trance is defined as a state where one sees a vision.

 

Acts 11:5  I was in the city of Joppa praying: and in a trance I saw a vision.

 

In Balaam’s blessing on Israel in spite of Balak note that his eyes were open.

 

Numbers 24:4  He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:

 

While a vision can come in a dream as in Job 33:15 a trance as the vehicle for the vision is a wide-awake state of consciousness.

 

Peter is being told something shocking. This was one of the cornerstones of the Jewish separation from the Gentiles, their dietary restrictions. The vision Peter sees and the command he is given are in direct violation of a thousand and more years of instruction from the Law given to Moses. This gives the lie to the Christian who refuses to eat pork because it is forbidden in the Mosaic Law or who imposes some other dietary restriction on themselves or others using the Law given to Moses as a reason. Dietary restrictions not of a medical nature should be a matter of conviction for that person and not imposed on others although we are also not supposed to deliberately try to offend someone who has those convictions. Read Romans 14 and 1Corinthians 8.

 

Verse 15 suggests to us that Christ’s resurrection accomplished a change in dietary restrictions formerly commanded under the Law. Remember how man’s diet changed through history under God’s command?

 

Genesis 1:29 ¶  And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

 

Indeed, this has been supported in a small way by investigation outside of the Bible for the earliest humans whose remains man has found.

“Dentition suggests an omnivorous diet, in which nuts and fruits, grubs, and perhaps some kind of vegetable shoots were more important than animal flesh.”^[1]

But, after the Flood mankind was permitted to eat the flesh of beasts.

 

Genesis 9:2  And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. 3  Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.

 

Then, under the Law given to Moses there were dietary restrictions to set the Hebrews apart from the Gentile world as well as, so some speculate, to protect them from some food-borne diseases. See Leviticus 11. But, we can see by this episode in Acts Peter’s vision shows that God regards no food as unclean.  There will be only one exception, the ingestion of blood, prohibited before the Law, under the Law, and after the Law.

 

Genesis 9:4  But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.

 

Leviticus 3:17  It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.

 

Acts 15:20  But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.

 

There are some sermon possibilities on that regarding Christ’s blood, God’s own blood, with which He purchased us.

 

Romans 14:14  I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.

 

But, read that entire chapter to understand how we are not to abuse this privilege.

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[1] William H. McNeil, Plagues and Peoples (New York: Anchor Books, 1976), 36.

Bible Study on Exodus 16, verses 13 to 21, God feeds the Hebrews

 

Exodus 16:13 ¶  And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host. 14  And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. 15  And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat. 16  This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents. 17  And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less. 18  And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating. 19  And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning. 20  Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them. 21  And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.

God provided quails in the evening. The Bible says also that He provides the prey for the predator and food for the hungry fowls which goes against our wildlife video mentality of the drama of lions taking down Cape buffalo. The lion makes the effort but there would be no success in the hunt without God’s hand in it. Here, God is talking to Job;

Job 38:39  Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? or fill the appetite of the young lions, 40  When they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait? 41  Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.

Psalm 104:21  The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God.

Luke 12:24  Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?

The small, round piece of food that is left after the dew is called Manna, which Strong’s says means, “What is it?” which is also evident from the passage.

It is later called angel’s food.

Psalm 78:24  And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven. 25  Man did eat angels’ food: he sent them meat to the full.

But is also a reference to some event in the realm of the invisible world that we can hardly understand.

Psalm 74:12 ¶  For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. 13  Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters. 14  Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.

Some of the Hebrews disobeyed in not consuming all that was given and trying to save it until the next day, incurring Moses anger, but the point here is that there was enough. The concept of having enough is very important in Christianity and very much in opposition to the American ideal of never having enough, of always wanting more. We see the Christian doctrine further illuminated in the New Testament requiring equality in the community of believers.

2Corinthians 8:7 ¶  Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also. 8  I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love. 9  For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. 10  And herein I give my advice: for this is expedient for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward a year ago. 11  Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have. 12  For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not. 13  For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened: 14  But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality: 15  As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack.

This is how the earliest form of the church was physically nourished although this was short-term and fell short of Christ’s commandment to go out to the world.

Acts 2:45  And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.

Acts 4:35  And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.

God sent persecution to them to disperse them as Christ had said;

Acts 1:8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Acts 8:1 ¶  And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.

So, while Marx and Engels stole this from the Bible;

…every man according as he had need…

…it does not mean that it is not a Christian ideal. However, it is not a required method of coercion excusing governments like Lenin’s Soviet Union or America’s welfare state for their extortions on the working class in order to create not just equal opportunity but equal outcomes at the point of a gun but it is a voluntary principle commanded in the community of Christians. Still, as it is in conflict with American ideals it is pretty much a non-starter. The church is lacking in spiritual power and force as much by its acceptance of inequality in the community of believers as it is by Christians refusing to love each other as an example to the world and a symbol of their belonging to Christ.

John 13:34  A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

I can almost hear the teeth grinding as American Christians will be thinking that the Bible’s clear statements must be wrong because what’s mine is mine and you need to go get your own. It is said that the most repeated sermon in the late 1800’s in America was titled “Acres of Diamonds” about the virtue of obtaining wealth and how rich people were usually the best people. But, God’s word says what it says in the context in which it is said. Here in Exodus and in Acts one might argue that doctrinally it is not applicable to us but you can’t argue with Paul’s statement in 2Corinthians or in the next verse.

1Timothy 6:6 ¶  But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7  For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8  And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 9  But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10  For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 11  But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. 12  Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.