Bible Study on 1John 1, verses 1 to 4, the Word of life

 

John was the youngest of the Apostles and survived all of them. He penned a gospel account, these letters, and the book we call Revelation.

1John 1:1 ¶  That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; 2  (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) 3  That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4  And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

The apostle John here gives a summary of his experience with Christ as God walked on the earth in the form of a man. From John’s Gospel

John 1:1 ¶  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2  The same was in the beginning with God. 3  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4  In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 ¶  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

The Targums were translations and commentaries on the Hebrew Bible from Hebrew into Aramaic, the language of the common man in first century Judea and environs. They present to us an understanding of their understanding of the scriptures as they even changed the text itself at times to reinforce their beliefs in what the text meant. Several verses in the Old Testament where God is mentioned it is added that it is the Word of God that is being referred to. The Word of God even visits mankind in the form of a human repeatedly in the Old Testament, also called the angel or appearance of the LORD, Jehovah. A study of the Targum referencing the concept of “The Divine Word” will show you this. John makes it very clear that Jesus Christ is that second part of the Godhead, The Divine Word, and whereas God the Father is invisible to us the Word of God walked in flesh as in the Garden of Eden before the Fall. The Jews know all about this theological concept, this Theophany, but denied that Jesus’ and His apostles’ claim that He was that divine Word was true.

A Psalm for Sunday, Psalm 59, Deliver me from the workers of iniquity

 

Psalm 59:1 ¶  «To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David; when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him.» Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God: defend me from them that rise up against me. 2  Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me from bloody men. 3  For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul: the mighty are gathered against me; not for my transgression, nor for my sin, O LORD. 4  They run and prepare themselves without my fault: awake to help me, and behold. 5  Thou therefore, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, awake to visit all the heathen: be not merciful to any wicked transgressors. Selah. 6  They return at evening: they make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city. 7  Behold, they belch out with their mouth: swords are in their lips: for who, say they, doth hear?

 

1Samuel 19:11 ¶  Saul also sent messengers unto David’s house, to watch him, and to slay him in the morning: and Michal David’s wife told him, saying, If thou save not thy life to night, to morrow thou shalt be slain. 12  So Michal let David down through a window: and he went, and fled, and escaped. 13  And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats’ hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth. 14  And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick. 15  And Saul sent the messengers again to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may slay him. 16  And when the messengers were come in, behold, there was an image in the bed, with a pillow of goats’ hair for his bolster. 17  And Saul said unto Michal, Why hast thou deceived me so, and sent away mine enemy, that he is escaped? And Michal answered Saul, He said unto me, Let me go; why should I kill thee?

 

    18 ¶  So David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth.

 

David has had a close call with the agents of Saul but Saul’s daughter, David’s wife, saves him from certain murder. I think about this from Christ’s experience and from the experience of those persecuted Christians in countries like Nigeria where they are hunted like beasts. Like David we might pray ourselves one day for deliverance from wicked men. In fact, I think of this when I consider some of the people operating in our own country today.

 

John 15:25  But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.

 

Psalm 59:8 ¶  But thou, O LORD, shalt laugh at them; thou shalt have all the heathen in derision. 9  Because of his strength will I wait upon thee: for God is my defence. 10  The God of my mercy shall prevent me: God shall let me see my desire upon mine enemies. 11  Slay them not, lest my people forget: scatter them by thy power; and bring them down, O Lord our shield. 12  For the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips let them even be taken in their pride: and for cursing and lying which they speak. 13  Consume them in wrath, consume them, that they may not be: and let them know that God ruleth in Jacob unto the ends of the earth. Selah. 14  And at evening let them return; and let them make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city. 15  Let them wander up and down for meat, and grudge if they be not satisfied. 16  But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble. 17  Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing: for God is my defence, and the God of my mercy.

 

Psalm 2:4  He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.

 

Psalm 37:13  The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.

 

Proverbs 1:26  I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;

 

David has an abundance of faith and trust in God, who will deliver him.

 

Isaiah 40:31  But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

 

 In verse 10 to prevent means to pre-event, to go on before. See how it is used elsewhere with that meaning.

 

1Thessalonians 4:15  For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

 

In verse 11 David seems to be praying for those enemies that they not be killed but that their plans be destroyed as an example to others, that they be scattered.

 

David also prays for his enemies, those that seek to kill him, are frustrated as they search for him. Notice the metaphors and analogies he uses regarding scavenging dogs.

 

And yet in verse 13 David says something that sounds an awful lot to me like something Paul noted in 1Thessalonians about the end.

 

2Thessalonians 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

 

This can be a prayer in the Tribulation to come for those suffering believers who flee the Beast’s wrath unless, of course, you believe that there will be no followers of Christ left alive in the Great Tribulation.

 

Revelation 18:20  Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.

 

It may also be our prayer in times of trouble to come as enemies seek to destroy those who follow Christ here, as they do in other countries even now.

 

Psalm 9:9  The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.

 

Psalm 46:7  The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

Bible Study on James 5, verses 12 to 20, the prayer of faith

 

James 5:12 ¶  But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation. 13  Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. 14  Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15  And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. 16  Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. 17  Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. 18  And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. 19  Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; 20  Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

James concludes with several admonitions. First, our word is to be our word and we are not to swear. Our word should be drawn from such upright character that it would not be questioned. Christ said in the popularly called ‘Sermon on the Mount’.

Matthew 5:33 ¶  Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: 34  But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne: 35  Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. 36  Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. 37  But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

From verse 13 onward the power of our communication with God is elevated. I take this passage in connection with all of the other passages and verses on prayer in the Bible which tempers these statements. Whether in sickness or health, praying for forgiveness or healing is very powerful. This is a great principle that is not lessened when the answer to your prayer is no. God sees things from the point of view of eternity, as if they are events that have already happened. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much shows that prayer is honored particularly when made by someone who is obedient to God even though God already knew who the righteous person would be and what their prayer would be and their need or concern before time began. I’ve read it explained this way.

“Theologians explain that prayer doesn't change God's mind because God is eternal and unchanging; instead, prayer is seen as a means for God to work through in accordance with His existing plan. Prayer is not about persuading an unwilling God, but rather a way to participate in His will and see His plan unfold in specific ways, often by God responding to changes in human behavior like sin or repentance, which He foresaw from the beginning.” 

He responds to your prayer, as He has always responded to that prayer He knew you would make and don’t think that He’s going to change a million other people’s futures or circumstances because of your prayer. Your prayer acknowledges God’s sovereignty over your life and should line your thinking up with His will, always taking the long view of eternity. You may not be healed in this life. You may even die but if you belong to Christ you will live forever. James finishes in verse 20 with the statement that when you pray for someone leaving the path of righteousness because it is, indeed, impossible to pursue righteousness when one is zealously clinging to error, and they turn back to the right path, you have done a great thing. You delivered them from their sin and changed their mind and their lifepath.

So, James is complete and this bold letter warns us to walk the walk and not just talk to talk. This is a nuts and bolts view of our faith. We pick up our Christian “toolbox” each day follow the path that Christ has laid down for us. It is worth reading again whether you agree with my interpretation or not.

Genesis 21, verses 9 to 13, Cast out this bondwoman and her son

 

Genesis 21:9 ¶  And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking. 10  Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. 11  And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son. 12  And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. 13  And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.

I mentioned the rabbinic opinion that the four hundred years of bondage began with this mocking back in Genesis 15:12-16. Sarah does not want Ishmael, who is not her offspring, to share the inheritance with Isaac. Sarah, to Abraham’s dismay, wants him to send Hagar and his son, Ishmael, away. God confirms that Isaac will be the vehicle through which He performs the covenant. He tells Abraham to listen to Sarah and God will make a nation out of Ishmael because he, too, is Abraham’s son. It is just that he is the son of Abraham and Sarah’s presumption, not the son of God’s promise. Abraham’s presumption will cause a great deal of trouble right down to this very day if you examine history.

Paul uses this in his argument in regard to comparing the Law to Grace. He likens those under Grace to be like Isaac, son of a free woman, while those under the Law to be like Ishmael, son of a slave. The Law is bondage, Grace is freedom.

Galatians 4:21 ¶  Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? 22  For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. 23  But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. 24  Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar [Hagar] . 25  For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. 26  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. 27  For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. 28  Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. 29  But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. 30  Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. 31  So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

So, why do so many fundamentalist preachers keep trying to put their congregations back under the Law?

1Kings 22 comments

 

1Kings 22:1 ¶  And they continued three years without war between Syria and Israel. 2  And it came to pass in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel. 3  And the king of Israel said unto his servants, Know ye that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and we be still, and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria? 4  And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with me to battle to Ramothgilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses. 5  And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD to day. 6  Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king. 7  And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might enquire of him? 8  And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. 9  Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said, Hasten hither Micaiah the son of Imlah. 10  And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah sat each on his throne, having put on their robes, in a void place in the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them. 11  And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron: and he said, Thus saith the LORD, With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until thou have consumed them. 12  And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramothgilead, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the king’s hand. 13  And the messenger that was gone to call Micaiah spake unto him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth: let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is good. 14  And Micaiah said, As the LORD liveth, what the LORD saith unto me, that will I speak.

Archbishop Ussher, in his classic work, The Annals of the World, calculated this episode to have happened in 897BC. Jehoshaphat and Ahab unite as allies to fight the Syrians. Ahab gathers a huge number of prophets to justify his intention to seize Ramothgilead from the Syrians. They, being just so many echo chambers for his ambition much like our mainstream press today under any Democratic party president, assure him that he will be successful. However, there is one prophet who did not participate and Ahab hates him because he never prophesies anything good for Ahab.

Micaiah is not a hack, like so many so-called journalists today, but a prophet who is determined to speak God’s truth.

1Kings 22:15 ¶  So he came to the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king. 16  And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the LORD? 17  And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace. 18  And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil? 19  And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left. 20  And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. 21  And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him. 22  And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so. 23  Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee. 24  But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the LORD from me to speak unto thee? 25  And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself. 26  And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah, and carry him back unto Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son; 27  And say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace. 28  And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in peace, the LORD hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, O people, every one of you.

Micaiah is being sarcastic and Ahab knows it. He is not a sychophant. He is telling the king the false thing the king wants to hear and the king knows it by the prophet’s previous pronouncements.

 

Then Micaiah tells the truth that the king will die in this battle, suggesting that a malignant spirit, a disembodied mind with malice, volunteered to deceive Ahab. By this story, which may have been made up for its explanatory power or it may be a relating of real events in the spiritual world, Ahab has been deceived by lying prophets. Micaiah is imprisoned for his truth-telling.

Note that Satan knows his fate. He can read the Bible better than we can as he has seen all of the events in it. But his pride, as Ahab’s is a picture of, prevents him from proceeding to his doom anyway. Ahab is like Satan is many ways, a fitting subject for a sermon or two.

1Kings 22:29 ¶  So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramothgilead. 30  And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and enter into the battle; but put thou on thy robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself, and went into the battle. 31  But the king of Syria commanded his thirty and two captains that had rule over his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel. 32  And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it is the king of Israel. And they turned aside to fight against him: and Jehoshaphat cried out. 33  And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him. 34  And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn thine hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am wounded. 35  And the battle increased that day: and the king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians, and died at even: and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot. 36  And there went a proclamation throughout the host about the going down of the sun, saying, Every man to his city, and every man to his own country. 37  So the king died, and was brought to Samaria; and they buried the king in Samaria. 38  And one washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood; and they washed his armour; according unto the word of the LORD which he spake. 39  Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he made, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 40  So Ahab slept with his fathers; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.

Ahab is going to disguise himself and the only king wearing what identifies him as a king is Jehoshaphat. For someone who despised the prophecy of the prophet Ahab sure acts like he is concerned. But this prophecy is against who he is, not his office. God is going to deal with Ahab in a very personal way. Commentators have said that perhaps Ahab had intelligence that the king of Syria was going to focus on killing him but it is not necessary to believe that to get something out of this passage.

The Syrians were given orders to only attack the king. The only king on the battlefield appears to be Jehoshaphat. When he made it clear he was not Ahab they stopped chasing Jehoshaphat. Then, in one of those seemingly random events in history that are not truly random Ahab is struck by an arrow shot at random. He did not escape God’s prophecy by disguising himself.

Ahab’s wickedness was his undoing and there is no escape when God proclaims that judgment is upon a person. We cannot escape God’s judgments by pretending to not be who we are. His knowledge of us is not based on an outward appearance like clothing. God sees our inward parts, our spiritual hearts, our minds. The person who rejects Christ by pretending that he is a good person and in no need of a Saviour cannot hide behind that false statement. Every person is naturally wicked in the sight of God, comparing ourselves to Him, not other people. We can pretend to be righteous but without Christ we are found out and undone. Our downfall can seem very random and by chance but it is not. You can’t escape God’s judgments.

1Kings 22:41 ¶  And Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. 42  Jehoshaphat was thirty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. 43  And he walked in all the ways of Asa his father; he turned not aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of the LORD: nevertheless the high places were not taken away; for the people offered and burnt incense yet in the high places. 44  And Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel. 45  Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he shewed, and how he warred, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 46  And the remnant of the sodomites, which remained in the days of his father Asa, he took out of the land. 47  There was then no king in Edom: a deputy was king. 48  Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Eziongeber. 49  Then said Ahaziah the son of Ahab unto Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with thy servants in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not. 50  And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Jehoram his son reigned in his stead. 51  Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned two years over Israel. 52  And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin: 53  For he served Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked to anger the LORD God of Israel, according to all that his father had done.

Jehoshaphat made some political compromises although he did walk  uprightly himself. He followed his father, Asa. However, neither removed the high places where idolatry among the people was rampant.

1Kings 15:11  And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, as did David his father. 12  And he took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. 13  And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron. 14  But the high places were not removed: nevertheless Asa’s heart was perfect with the LORD all his days. 15  And he brought in the things which his father had dedicated, and the things which himself had dedicated, into the house of the LORD, silver, and gold, and vessels.

Leviticus 26:30  And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.

Numbers 21:28  For there is a fire gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon: it hath consumed Ar of Moab, and the lords of the high places of Arnon.

Numbers 22:41  And it came to pass on the morrow, that Balak took Balaam, and brought him up into the high places of Baal, that thence he might see the utmost part of the people.

Numbers 33:52  Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places:

When we get to Chronicles we’ll cross-reference the information there with what is found in earlier books. Jehoshaphat removed the male temple prostitutes from the land.

1Kings 14:24  And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.

The navy he tried to build, as Solomon had built and used successfully, was destroyed,

1Kings 9:26  And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Eziongeber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom.

Ahaziah, Ahab’s son, rules over Israel in Samaria. He was as wicked as his parents, and served Baal. But Jehoram, Jehoshaphat’s son, reigns in Jerusalem after him.

 

Bible Study on James 5, verses 1 to 11, for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh

 

James 5:1 ¶  Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. 2  Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. 3  Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. 4  Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. 5  Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. 6  Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you. 7  Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. 8  Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. 9  Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door. 10  Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. 11  Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

In James day the rich were not hindered by any Constitution or Bill of Rights that protected the common man. The rich were only held back by their own good character or by the favor of a ruler or authority. The rich could be abusive and exploitative to the poorer person without any law to prevent them. However, there were certain standards that elevated a Roman citizen such as the right to face their accusers in a trial.

Here is an indictment of the powerful wealthy of the Roman and Judean world of the first century. Pay for workmen is held back and, in fact, they are guilty of murdering the just and innocent. James encourages the oppressed laboring class, the innocent victims of depredations, to patiently wait for the Lord to avenge the wrongs done to them. The return of Christ is always right around the corner and we are to wait expectantly.

Titus 2:11 ¶  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12  Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

 

God will hold these wicked, powerful men to account, but their victims may have to wait until Christ returns. This is a bitter pill for the suffering to swallow. I am reminded of the rich and powerful in socialist countries who stole from and slaughtered millions of their own countrymen in the 20^th century. The assumption in this first part of James, chapter 5, is that we live in a hostile world with people in power who would harm us if they are able. We should always be mindful of that and look to the Lord our God for deliverance and justice.

Don’t fight among and abuse each other but see to the prophets’ patience in your behavior and in your heart. Let us remember that Christ did not resist His murder. It is hard for us to accept if applied to our lives. Aren’t you grateful you were born in a country with protections from the powerful? God expresses tender mercy and He does pity us in our condition of which He is fully aware, having shared it with us in His walk as one of us on the earth.

Bible Study on Genesis 21, verses 1 to 8, Sarah bare to him, Isaac

 

Genesis 21:1 ¶  And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken. 2  For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. 3  And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. 4  And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5  And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him. 6  And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me. 7  And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age. 8  And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.

It is stated clearly that Sarah’s conception of Isaac here in this Philistine king’s generous gift of land was an act of God’s direct will. It went against what we think of as natural processes. We would call it a miracle. However, is not any woman conceiving a child a miracle of God? Lifeless, empty space is the most logical thing in the universe. For there to be something rather than nothing staggers the mind in its improbability without a rational, directing will. Even more so for there to be life, that complicated set of functions from the cell, a little mini-universe all its own, to consciousness, that collection of countless numbers of cells to be self-aware, is beyond amazing. Since we know that the tendency is for organized things, on their own, to simply fall apart, and not for random pieces of lifeless matter to decide on their own to unite to form a complicated thing or process, we must understand that for this life to function, to operate, to exist, it must be a continuous miracle.

Jeremiah understood this.

Jeremiah 1:4 ¶  Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 5  Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

David knew this.

Psalm 71:5  For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust from my youth. 6  By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother’s bowels: my praise shall be continually of thee.

Now, certainly they understood this, as did Isaiah in chapter 49, in the context of being called by God, born to a specific purpose. But, in the way the Bible is written with characters offered as examples for us to see reality we can understand that nothing is without a purpose. As Paul wrote;

Romans 15:4  For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

Randomness does not exist except as a justification in our minds for atheism, to justify our sin and make it have no consequence or meaning.

Isaac, Strong’s dictionary tells us, means, “He laughs,” but that is also clear from the context. Remember that both Abraham and Sarah laughed at the promise as being beyond something they could even wrap their minds around. Sarah was a beautiful, desirous woman but beyond her child-bearing years.

Abraham obeyed God in circumcising Isaac. Read chapter 17:9-14 again for confirmation.