Romans, chapter 13, comments: of legitimate government authority and personal behavior

 

Romans 13:1 ¶  Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. 2  Whosoever therefore resisteth the power,  resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. 3  For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be  afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: 4  For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid;  for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. 5  Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for  wrath, but also for conscience sake. 6  For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.

 

For verse 1 let us remember what Jesus said to Pilate.

 

John 19:11  Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.

 

This should give us some evidence of reality and tie us to it in our thinking but unfortunately, for American and those who consider themselves conservative Christians it usually does not.

 

There were no so-called Christian countries when this was written and no constitutions to protect the rights of Christians. This appeal is under pagan governmental authority. God works through heathen leaders to punish evildoers. That is the only legitimate authority of government. We make a mistake if we look at Joseph and his pharaoh’s administration of Egypt under a crisis as our model for government just because it is in the Bible and not condemned.

 

Here, paying taxes to legitimate governmental authority is commanded for the Christian. We must also remember that as brutal as governments were in these times they were not near so as intrusive in every aspect of a person’s life as our government is today telling us even what we are permitted to eat and drink or do privately.

 

There is also a corresponding principle not to obey man by disobeying God as laid out in Acts with Peter and company’s encounter with authority.

 

Acts 5:29  Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

 

It must also be said that you are not justified in disobedience to governmental authority standing on a principle you’ve made up using the Bible as your excuse. Christians must be careful of their rebellious spirit. You have neither a legal nor Biblical right to maintain a working howitzer in your front yard to terrorize your neighbors and let the ‘gubmint’ know you mean business.

 

It is our duty to try to live in peace with all men, working with our own hands, minding our own business, and doing God’s work for us as we will see in Paul’s letters upcoming. We need to pray for our wicked leaders to be saved but we also need to not use Christ as an excuse to rebel against them when rebelling is necessary based on the contract we have with those wicked leaders through the Constitution they abuse and disregard. Thank God for the Bill of Rights! Yes, there is a time for rebellion, for revolution even, but let us not confuse the cause of Christ in drawing all men to Him with our fight for our political rights under an oppressive regime.

 

Romans 13:7 ¶  Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour. 8  Owe no man any thing, but to love one another; for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. 9  For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 10  Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

 

This passage starts out with a call to pay legitimate taxes, tribute to whom tribute is due. It is also a clear call to respect legitimate authority.  The Law given to Moses is then distilled to show us what is important, obedience to God’s standards of righteousness. There are several cross-references to previous statements which we have already discussed, statements made by Jesus Himself and the Apostles.

 

Matthew 17:24 ¶  And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? 25  He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers? 26  Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. 27  Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.

 

In the context of fearing God Peter commands that we honor the king, and there were no Christian kings at that time.

 

1Peter 2:17  Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.

 

In verse 8 loving another as the fulfillment of the Law is noted as in the following;

 

Galatians 5:14  For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

 

What follows defines loving another by not committing these acts egregious to God against them. This is a retelling of the Law given to Moses that Paul wants to impress upon the Christian.

 

The fulfillment of the Law, according to Paul, writing through the understanding and wisdom given to him by the Holy Spirit of God, is in that we do no harm to our neighbor. This is the fulfilling of the Law. Jesus made this type of statement as well.

 

Matthew 22:35  Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36  Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38  This is the first and great commandment. 39  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

 

This does not wash well with those who must dominate others and those who believe they have a right to harm, to oppress, to take, and to control. Those people can hardly be Christians.

 

Love, not working harm, underscores and illuminates the purpose of the part of the Ten Commandments that deals with interactions with other people. Think of that when considering the full force of a command like not committing adultery or not stealing. Doing no harm is the essence of those commandments. So, you cannot obey these commandments by harming someone and say you are doing it out of love.

 

To those people who manipulate Bible verses to justify their own depredations on others weaker than themselves this should be a slap in the face. If you are causing someone pain, emotional or physical, in regard to these specific commands then you are not obeying God, your rationalizations notwithstanding.

 

Romans 13:11 ¶  And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. 12  The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. 13  Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. 14  But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

 

We are all told to be expecting the Lord’s return at any moment. See Titus.

 

Titus 2:13  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

 

Paul, like Christians in every age, believes it is very close. The reference to night is very interesting.

 

John 9: 4  I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.  5  As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

 

Jesus claims that the time He has on earth is a time of light and day, but night is coming. Modern versions say We  to start verse 4, instead of I  which takes the verse away from being a reference to Christ’s limited time on earth. It is Christ who is about to do something. The spiritual night we live in is coming.

John 13:26  Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. 27  And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly. 28  Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him. 29  For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor. 30  He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night.

Paul also wrote;

1Thessalonians 5:5  Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

Peter wrote;

2Peter 3:10  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

As Christ’s resurrection was revealed in the morning, we are waiting for Christ’s return for us, for the morning light to peek over the horizon;

Genesis 1:5  And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Psalm 30:4  Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. 5  For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

Psalm 130:6  My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.

2Peter 1:19  We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:

Jesus was the particular and special light of the world of men while He was in the world. No one living then, other than Him, could have forseen the power over human civilization that His presence was to have. Without His existence in the form of a human we would be lost. It was that visitation that set the stage for our salvation.

John 1:4  In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

John 8:12  Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Paul says to cast off the works of darkness. He lists them in Ephesians 5 by no means suggesting that those mentioned are all there are.

 

Ephesians 5:1 ¶  Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; 2  And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to

God for a sweetsmelling savour.

 

    3 ¶  But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; 4  Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. 5  For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6  Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. 7  Be not ye therefore partakers with them. 8  For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: 9  (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) 10  Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. 11  And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. 12  For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. 13  But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. 14  Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. 15  See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16  Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17  Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. 18  And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 19  Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 20  Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

 

Paul tells the Christian to put on the armour of light, likely a reference to the light provided by Christ. As John notes;

 

1John 2:8  Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.

 

The whole armour of God which we might link with the armour of light is defined in Ephesians 6.

 

Ephesians 6:10 ¶  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15  And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18  Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

 

Chambering and wantonness are two words that we no longer typically use. They refer to sexual sins and unrestrained lust, two very common weaknesses of mankind even today. A Christian is supposed to restrain the baser impulses of the flesh. There are good and proper paths for sexual fulfillment with a spouse but these are references to immoderate obsessions, like those that characterize modern man. Only in those days they were also connected, as we will see in Corinthians, to religion.

 

 

Deuteronomy, chapter 28, comments: some brief remarks

 

Deuteronomy 28:1 ¶  And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: 2  And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God. 3  Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. 4  Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. 5  Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. 6  Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. 7  The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. 8  The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. 9  The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways. 10  And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee. 11  And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers to give thee. 12  The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. 13  And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them: 14  And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

 

From the curse in the last chapter to these promises of blessings from God for obedience we can get an idea of the nature of the world in which the Israelites lived and the world that was in God’s perfect will.

 

This is also evidence that the Israelites’ promises were earthly and of a temporal nature for success and peace on this earth. The Christian by contrast, whether they be of Gentile or Jewish extraction, will face great hardship and persecution on earth even if they are obedient. The comparison is very dramatic.

 

2Timothy 3:12  Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

 

You are not promised a pain-free life or abundant material wealth for following Christ on this earth.

 

This passage ends with a warning about idolatry.

 

Deuteronomy 28:15 ¶  But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: 16  Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. 17  Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store. 18  Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. 19  Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out. 20  The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me. 21  The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it. 22  The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish. 23  And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron. 24  The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed. 25  The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth. 26  And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away. 27  The LORD will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed. 28  The LORD shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart: 29  And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee. 30  Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof. 31  Thine ox shall be slain before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof: thine ass shall be violently taken away from before thy face, and shall not be restored to thee: thy sheep shall be given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have none to rescue them. 32  Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long: and there shall be no might in thine hand. 33  The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway: 34  So that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. 35  The LORD shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch that cannot be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head. 36  The LORD shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone. 37  And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee. 38  Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in; for the locust shall consume it. 39  Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress them, but shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them. 40  Thou shalt have olive trees throughout all thy coasts, but thou shalt not anoint thyself with the oil; for thine olive shall cast his fruit. 41  Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity. 42  All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume. 43  The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low. 44  He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail.

 

If these warnings aren’t explicit I don’t know what God could have said to the Israelites to make them understand. Let’s keep reading.

 

Deuteronomy 28:45 ¶  Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee: 46  And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever. 47  Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things; 48  Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee. 49  The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand; 50  A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favour to the young: 51  And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which also shall not leave thee either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee. 52  And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the LORD thy God hath given thee. 53  And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the LORD thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee: 54  So that the man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which he shall leave: 55  So that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat: because he hath nothing left him in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates. 56  The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter, 57  And toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the siege and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates. 58  If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD; 59  Then the LORD will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance. 60  Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee. 61  Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the LORD bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed. 62  And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the LORD thy God. 63  And it shall come to pass, that as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it. 64  And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. 65  And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind: 66  And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life: 67  In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. 68  And the LORD shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.

 

These things do come to pass on the rebellious Israelites to various degrees. Although this passage is pretty self-explanatory I thought there was a couple of things of note that I wanted to bring out.

 

Verse 49 from the end of the earth would be a figure of speech referring to a nation from a long way away. Assyria and Babylon were brutal and fit this description. We will see many atrocities committed against the Israelites by them.

 

This reminds one of another prophecy with a more grisly threat.

 

Hosea 13:16  Samaria shall become desolate; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up.

 

Then, in verse 57 we can find a fulfilling of this awful threat.

 

2Kings 6:24 ¶  And it came to pass after this, that Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria. 25  And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass’s head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove’s dung for five pieces of silver. 26  And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, O king. 27  And he said, If the LORD do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? out of the barnfloor, or out of the winepress? 28  And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat him to day, and we will eat my son to morrow. 29  So we boiled my son, and did eat him: and I said unto her on the next day, Give thy son, that we may eat him: and she hath hid her son. 30  And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent his clothes; and he passed by upon the wall, and the people looked, and, behold, he had sackcloth within upon his flesh.

Deuteronomy, chapter 27 comments: brief considerations

 

Deuteronomy 27:1 ¶  And Moses with the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, Keep all the commandments which I command you this day. 2  And it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over Jordan unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaister them with plaister: 3  And thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law, when thou art passed over, that thou mayest go in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey; as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee. 4  Therefore it shall be when ye be gone over Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, in mount Ebal, and thou shalt plaister them with plaister. 5  And there shalt thou build an altar unto the LORD thy God, an altar of stones: thou shalt not lift up any iron tool upon them. 6  Thou shalt build the altar of the LORD thy God of whole stones: and thou shalt offer burnt offerings thereon unto the LORD thy God: 7  And thou shalt offer peace offerings, and shalt eat there, and rejoice before the LORD thy God. 8  And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly. 9  And Moses and the priests the Levites spake unto all Israel, saying, Take heed, and hearken, O Israel; this day thou art become the people of the LORD thy God. 10  Thou shalt therefore obey the voice of the LORD thy God, and do his commandments and his statutes, which I command thee this day.

 

Although we don’t have this monument today as this was erected over 3,000 years ago and we would not expect it to last this long it is remarkable that this was done.

 

Deuteronomy 27:11 ¶  And Moses charged the people the same day, saying, 12  These shall stand upon mount Gerizim to bless the people, when ye are come over Jordan; Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin: 13  And these shall stand upon mount Ebal to curse; Reuben, Gad, and Asher, and Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. 14  And the Levites shall speak, and say unto all the men of Israel with a loud voice, 15  Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place. And all the people shall answer and say, Amen. 16  Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen. 17  Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour’s landmark. And all the people shall say, Amen. 18  Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way. And all the people shall say, Amen. 19  Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen. 20  Cursed be he that lieth with his father’s wife; because he uncovereth his father’s skirt. And all the people shall say, Amen. 21  Cursed be he that lieth with any manner of beast. And all the people shall say, Amen. 22  Cursed be he that lieth with his sister, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen. 23  Cursed be he that lieth with his mother in law. And all the people shall say, Amen. 24  Cursed be he that smiteth his neighbour secretly. And all the people shall say, Amen. 25  Cursed be he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say, Amen. 26  Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.

 

One of the things I wanted to comment on was verse 16. Please note the following verses;

 

Proverbs 30:17  The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.

 

Leviticus 20:9  For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.

 

We can imagine that one’s heritage would not be secure if one’s landmarks were moved. Rights of property in all of the ancient world, including the heathen world, flowed from religion and landmarks were sacred.^[1] This is not, therefore, a new rule but one of God’s standards that He was reaffirming here. I’ve already discussed how God must have imposed His standards on man at the beginning but they were lost or corrupted over time by man’s rebellion and the giving of the Law to Moses may have been reestablishing what was already apparent in laws and codes in the ancient world, but imperfect and fouled by rebellion and idolatry.

 

Finally, for this passage, here is confirmed several admonitions that God does not want the Israelites to do and these things may have been fairly common among the people of the land they were to take so all of these commands give us a very good idea of the customs of the ancient Palestine.

---

[1] Numa Denis Fustel De Coulanges, The Ancient City: A Study of the Religion, Laws, and Institutions of Greece and Rome (1864, repr. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2006), Kindle edition, pg 68.

Bible study given at Lake Marburg Baptist Church this morning: Acts 1:1-5 continued through Acts 2:4

 

The Holy Ghost gave commands to the Apostles whom Jesus showed Himself to for forty days after His resurrection. The apostles were ordered to assemble together at Jerusalem and to wait for the Holy Ghost to be given to them. What do we say then to this passage in John?

 

John 20:22  And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:

 

It appears then that, at least for the early believers in Christ, that the Holy Ghost could be given more than once, possibly for different reasons.

 

Titus 3:5  Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6  Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; 7  That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

 

The question I have to ask is if while we are sealed and secure with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit does God renew it in us as we are sanctified for Him in life? Could that be what the following mean more fully?

 

Ephesians 5:18  And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

 

We are saved once and indwelt with the Spirit as Paul relates the absurdity of being saved and lost again and again in Hebrews 6:1-6. In the following passage Paul shows that if you could lose your salvation you could not get saved again. It appears he is trying to get Christians to move beyond salvation to our sanctification.

 

Hebrews 6:1 ¶  Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, 2  Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. 3  And this will we do, if God permit. 4  For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5  And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,

6  If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

 

So, the question would be, are we praying to be filled with the Holy Spirit, to be renewed in the power and mind of God over sin and self? Or are we satisfied and complacent about this unspeakable gift?

 

Jesus walked among His disciples after His resurrection. Paul told us;

 

1Corinthians 15:6  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.

 

The disciples were to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Ghost to be given to them.

 

 

Acts 1:6 ¶  When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 7  And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 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. 9  And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. 10  And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11  Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

 

One of the common errors of Evangelical Protestantism and Fundamentalism is the belief that the Old Testament Jews were looking forward to the Cross as we look backward to it. It is clear, though, from reading the Bible in context that the Jews did not understand the suffering of their Messiah and knew nothing about the Cross at all.

 

Luke 1:74  That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,

 

Luke 1:74 shows that there was an expectation that Christ the Messiah would restore Israel and deliver it from Roman occupation. This expectation persisted even after Christ’s resurrection as shown here in Acts.

This shows how the Fundamentalist doctrine that in the Old Testament the Jews were looking forward to the Cross is wrong. They did not understand Isaiah 53. Their confusion persisted until an eleventh century rabbi nicknamed Rashi developed the idea previously only mentioned by a few that rather than being about a singular man the chapters in Isaiah about the Messiah were actually about the suffering Jewish people as a group thereby totally confusing the Jews with regard to Christ.

Jesus’ Jewish followers literally had no clue what He was talking about when He referred to His impending agony on the Cross or understood anything about His Resurrection.

Matthew 16:21 ¶  From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. 22  Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. 23  But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

 

Mark 9:9  And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead. 10  And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean…31  For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day. 32 

But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him.

 

Luke 18:31 ¶  Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. 32  For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: 33  And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again. 34  And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.

 

John 20:9  For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.

 

The Jews, even Christ’s followers, were expecting Him to restore Israel to its former glory. But, He makes it clear that this information is not for them, or us.

 

Deuteronomy 29:29  The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

 

We understand prophecy and the future only in a limited way but we are given it for a reason. Perhaps, as Jesus told the Apostles;

 

John 16:4  But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you.

 

In verse 8 He tells them what is going to happen in the immediate future and what they are to do.

 

Matthew 28:19  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

 

Mark 16:15  And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

 

Note verses 9 and 10 and read Luke 24.

 

Acts 1:12 ¶  Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day’s journey. 13  And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. 14  These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.

 

A sabbath day’s journey, according to John Gill and Matthew Henry, was about 2,000 cubits from any town. The restriction from traveling on the Sabbath is found under the Law.

 

Exodus 16:29  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.

 

The distance one could travel based on tradition was based on the distance from the ark of the covenant the Hebrews were to walk crossing the river Jordan.

 

Joshua 3:4  Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore.

 

Like modern Christians the Jews were always looking for loopholes in the Law.

 

These events transpired on the hill called Mount Olivet or the Mount of Olives where David ascended mourning at Absalom’s rebellion in 2Samuel 15:30. It plays a significant part in the end of history as per Zechariah 14:4 when Christ returns. Jesus sat on it when he talked about end times in Matthew 24. It is where He was arrested before His crucifixion as per Matthew 26:30 with the Garden of Gethsemane at the base of it. So, interestingly, God’s king ascends Mount Olivet in mourning, Christ speaks of the end of history from it, is arrested on it, and ascends from it, and will land on it.

 

The eleven remaining Apostles and the women, along with Jesus’ mother, Mary, pray together in a upper story of a house that was one of theirs or was provided for them by someone. Either Jesus’ brothers are referred to specifically here or it is a reference to His followers as brethren. There were no buildings specifically set aside for church worship until late in the second century.

 

Acts 1:15 ¶  And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,) 16  Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus. 17  For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry. 18  Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. 19  And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood. 20  For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and

let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take. 21  Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22  Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection. 23  And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. 24  And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen, 25  That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. 26  And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven

apostles.

So, the early Christian church begins with a few dozen people, a hundred and twenty as the text says. Peter is quoting or alluding to prophecy in the Old Testament, also teaching us how to view certain passages in their prophetic significance. Read Psalms 55:12-13 and 109. Read Matthew 27 about Judas’s physical end of life.

Peter, in verse 20, takes Psalm 69:25 and 109:8 combining them for a prophetic statement about Judas guided by the Holy Spirit. Word substitution between Old and New Testaments gives us the meaning of Bishoprick as the office held with Bishoprick being the office of a bishop, what we call a pastor today.

Psalm 69:25  Let their habitation be desolate; and let none dwell in their tents.

Psalm 109:8  Let his days be few; and let another take his office.

Now, Peter is trying to replace Judas as an Apostle. This is very interesting because we are only told about twelve Apostles, the women who supported them, plus an unspecified number of disciples throughout Jesus’ ministry but here Peter names two who were disciples all along. They cast lots for which one will replace Judas Iscariot, Joseph “Barsabas” Justus or Matthias. Acknowledging that God has sovereignty over chance and that there is no randomness in the universe they know that when they cast lots God controls the outcome. They may have used pebbles, a potsherd, or a piece of wood as we would today roll dice or flip over cards or flip a coin. They may have put names in a pot and drew them. But, the Bible teaches that the outcome of all such things is in the hand of God. That’s kind of tough for a modern person to wrap their minds around. Go ahead and flip a penny. The result is an act of God? It boggles the mind but just read the book of Job carefully.

God allowed the Israelites to cast lots in certain situations to determine His will. See Numbers 26:55; 33:54; 34:13; 36:2; Joshua 18:6-10; 1Chronicles 24:5, 31; 25:8,9; & 26:13,14. In addition, heathen also cast lots to determine the will of the gods. See Jonah 1:7.

What does this say about the ideas of chance and randomness in reality?  A person reading the Bible carefully could easily say there is no such thing as randomness or luck, as all events are from the hand of God either by His direct will or by His permission.

Judas is referred to by John as the son of perdition.

John 17:12  While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.

Paul refers to the Antichrist, the Beast of Revelation, which are John’s terms, as the son of perdition. Some commentators imply that Judas will be resurrected in the form of the Beast.

2Thessalonians 2:3  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

They will see this reference to his own place and suggest that he will be the Beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit in Revelation 11:7 and 17:8. We will not know if this is so until the end so there is no point in spending too much time on such speculation.

Acts, chapter 2

Acts 2:1 ¶  And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3  And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4  And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

 

Pentecost, or the fiftieth day, is the feast of harvest, the firstfruits, the second of the three great feasts under the Law celebrated at Jerusalem according to Strong. The Jews call it Shavout. It is the culmination, to modern Jews, of the entire Passover season and commemorates the giving of the Ten Commandments from Mount Sinai. It is a celebration of God’s covenant with the Jews and we find it here as fulfilled in Christ as Passover was fulfilled in Christ. The Jews are missing out on a great and wonderful thing here partly because of a hardened heart and partly because of the perfidy of Christians in history.

 

Exodus 23:16  And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.

 

There is; 1. Feast of Unleavened Bread or Passover. Hebrew Pesach or Greek Pascha. 2. Feast of Harvest or Pentecost. Hebrew Shavuot. 3. Feast of Ingathering or Feast of Booths or Tabernacles.

 

Leviticus 23:15 ¶  And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: 16  Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.

 

It was the fiftieth day after the offering of firstfruits after Passover and it was indeed, at this time in Acts, quite a harvest. The disciples were visited by a sound like a powerful wind (a simile which uses like or as to make a comparison between two different things to aid in understanding), tongues like as of fire (a figure of speech called a simile, not tongues of actual fire, but like as of fire) landed on each of them, and they were filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak in other languages, each as the Spirit gave them.

 

So, you have Passover, Christ the Passover Lamb, Pentecost, the harvest that creates the church, and Tabernacles, the gathering of the church at the end.

 

A tongue in verse 4, or glossae in Greek, is a distinct language or dialect spoken by a unique people. It is not gobbledygook. These figures of speech are similes, unlike things joined by as as in as of a rushing mighty wind and like as of fire as a physical description of the tongues that descended. Cloven tongues like as of fire is an expression of the appearance of the phenomenon in verse 3. Notice here how tongues is used from the same Greek word in two different ways, one for speech and one for how something looked. Think of ways we do that in our everyday speech. We can talk about our physical ceiling in a room and we can talk about the proverbial “glass ceiling” that we cannot pass through for promotion at work. We can even use both ceilings in a letter or email.

Deuteronomy, chapter 26, comments: offering of firstfruits, tithing, and a unique, special, and peculiar people

 

Deuteronomy 26:1 ¶  And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein; 2  That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name there. 3  And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him, I profess this day unto the LORD thy God, that I am come unto the country which the LORD sware unto our fathers for to give us. 4  And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of the LORD thy God. 5  And thou shalt speak and say before the LORD thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous: 6  And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage: 7  And when we cried unto the LORD God of our fathers, the LORD heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression: 8  And the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders: 9  And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey. 10  And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O LORD, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the LORD thy God, and worship before the LORD thy God: 11  And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the LORD thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you.

 

The offering of firstfruits was an acknowledgment and thanks and confirmation that God had indeed done what He had promised and given the Israelites a homeland. They were to memorialize what had happened to them and what God had done for them. These events have been recorded in Exodus and the other books of the Law.

 

Deuteronomy 26:12 ¶  When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled; 13  Then thou shalt say before the LORD thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them: 14  I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I taken away ought thereof for any unclean use, nor given ought thereof for the dead: but I have hearkened to the voice of the LORD my God, and have done according to all that thou hast commanded me. 15  Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey.

 

This is the declaration made on the third year, the year of tithing, a prayer made to God promising that the Israelite had obeyed.

 

Deuteronomy 14:22 ¶  Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year. 23  And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always. 24  And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee: 25  Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose: 26  And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household, 27  And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee. 28  At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates: 29  And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.

 

Deuteronomy 26:16 ¶  This day the LORD thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments: thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart, and with all thy soul. 17  Thou hast avouched the LORD this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken unto his voice: 18  And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments; 19  And to make thee high above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honour; and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the LORD thy God, as he hath spoken.

 

Peculiar in verse 18 does not mean here exactly what it means today. Today it suggests someone who is weird, difficult to get along with, or just a plain oddball. But in Early Modern English, in 1611, it suggested valued, special, unique. It also carries with it the idea of being one’s own possession as in Israel belongs to God.

 

Verse 19 underscores how God treasures the Israelites above all the peoples of the earth.

5-minute Bible Study, Genesis 1:1, #1

5-minute Bible Study, Genesis 1:1, #1