Bible Class

Plotting the Proverbs: Introduction

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Proverbs is a book like nothing else we’ve ever looked at. It’s got that poetic feel about it and as such the normal rules for understanding the true meaning of the text don’t necessarily apply.

If you think about the principles we use to discern God’s Word when we look at a doctrinal book such as the Epistle to the Ephesians, these may include:

  • looking at the words
    • definition of the word (in the original language)
    • use of the word elsewhere in Scripture
  • looking at the context:
    • chapter, book, entire bible
    • geographical
    • cultural
    • historical

In our study of a book like Proverbs, many of these normal principles will be unsuitable towards deriving the meaning. We can’t approach a study of proverbs in exactly the same way as we are used to. So for this session we’re going to focus on understanding how books like Proverbs work, the style of writing and such like which will help us interpret and benefit from the truth in the book correctly.

(having said that we should always interpret Scripture in context. A verse out of context is a pretext.)

Background

Translators of English Bibles place Proverbs among the poetic books (Psalms—Song of Solomon), whereas in the Hebrew Bible it is found among the “Writings,” the third and final major section. The title helps us to understand that it is really a collection of proverbs, from several individuals. These include King Solomon (1:1; Solomon spoke 3,000 proverbs cf. 1 Kings 4:32), Agur and King Lemuel (chapters 30 and 31 respectively) and some unnamed sages  (22:17—24:34). As far as dating the complete work, Hezekiah’s men are referenced as having written down some of Solomon’s proverbs in 25:1, so it was probably complete at the earliest, around 686 B.C.

There are three main sections

  • 1-9: Collection 1
  • 10-24: Collection 2
  • 25-31: Collection 3

The Style

The clue to its unique style is in the word ‘proverb’ itself. In Hebrew it basically means ‘resemblance’ and so we might view the style of the writings to paint a small word picture of what life is like or should be like. As with every picture, a proverb does not always represent what life always looks like. One picture does not capture everything, but offers a resemblance of similar things. So you could preface many of the proverbs with, ‘generally speaking’. Because of this characteristic, it is not helpful to think of the proverbs as being promises in all cases. Some are ,but more often what is written is ‘general’ life wisdom.

Several things mark biblical poetry, and for the purposes of our study we will confine ourselves to three main characteristics. These are prevalent in the proverbs: terseness, imagery, and parallelism. Terseness, or conciseness, is observable in Proverbs in so far as principles and truths are formulated in a very compact way). It is the terseness of a proverb in many cases that makes it hit home so well. The phrase “too many cooks spoil the broth” works so well because it’s short and to the point. The sayings in Proverbs do that a lot. that are also epigrams (concise, wise, witty, and sometimes paradoxical sayings). Imagery is figurative language that is evocative and brief. Some important figures of speech in Proverbs are: simile, metaphor, allegory, anthropopathisms, anthropomorphisms, synecdoche, metonymy, personification, hyperbole, litotes, and irony.21 Parallelism characterizes Hebrew poetry by contrast to english poetry which is characterised, often by rhyme.

Interpretation

This is the really challenging part. First, the original language is Hebrew and so the poetic nature of the proverbs is often lost in translation. Actually, the best translation in this respect is probably the KJV. To illustrate the problem think about the English proverb, ‘A stitch in time saves nine’. In English this rhymes which makes it memorable. You would find it difficult to maintain that after translation.

If you stitch up a torn garment when the tear is small, it’s going to prevent a lot more stitches later. But is that really what it means? The meaning goes far beyond that.

If you repair the garment early, you save not just stitches, but the cost of the thread, time spent, and the appearance of the garment. Not only that, this means that it is a good idea to check your garments every once in a while for small tears, right? So this has much broader application than what it actually says. And we haven’t even begun to talk about that fencepost which, if not repaired, puts extra stress on the entire fence, or that time you hurt your friend and it is going to tear your relationship apart if you don’t mend it. Or the fact that we should check our relationships for small problems before they become big. Or the fact that it’s a good idea to check the oil in your car and top it up even if it is just a little bit low. Or the fact that small sins usually lead to bigger sins.

Now, how do we come up with all those applications? We come up with them by thinking about the proverb, turning it over in our mind, meditating on it — and it isn’t even a Biblical proverb. That’s what we need to do with Biblical proverbs, and the more memorable the wording, the easier it is for us to remember it and apply it at different times.

Proverbs 3:5-6. This is a proverb with a very high degree of probability because it repeats a truth that God guarantees as absolutely true elsewhere in Scripture. In almost every book of the Bible, we have evidence that those who trust in the Lord wholeheartedly, and do not rely on themselves alone, receive guidance from Him (e.g., Gal. 5:16). This is such an obvious truth that when we read it in Proverbs, we should know that it is a “proverb” that expresses something that is consistently true. It also expresses what God promises elsewhere in His Word. This means that interpreting the proverbs accurately requires some knowledge of what God has promised elsewhere in His Word. This is the correlation step in Bible study.

Wisdom

The fear of the Lord. Our proper functioning as humans depends on our relationship with our creator God.

Contradictions

Look before you heap vs he who hesitates is lost.

Many hands make light work vs Too many cooks spoil the broth.

Eccl 12:9 -there is an order

 

 

Bible Class

Bible Class: Abels Field

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This last week we got to watch ‘Abel’s Field’ and I thought it might be helpful just to reflect on some of the points brought out in the story:

  • prayer is not a cold religious habit – it gives us an audience with God and its vital we take the opportunity to pour out our hearts to Him. If you’re going through difficult circumstances, tell God how it is. Whilst it would be wrong to encourage venting your frustrations to God, we should be honest and cast our care upon Him
  • We all have issues to wrestle with – try and be a listening ear and encourage others as well as looking to others to do the same for you.
  • If you’re struggling with something, don’t drag everyone else down with you, ask for help. If you don’t the issue will likely eat away at you until it becomes unmanageable and out of control.
Bible Class

What think ye of Christ: His Present & Future Ministries

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This is the final episode in our series on ‘What think ye of Christ?’ so we should briefly re-cap to remind ourselves of the big picture here. In the words of John Newtown’s hymn:

What think ye of Christ? is the test
To try both your state and your scheme;
You cannot be right in the rest,
Unless you think rightly of him;
As Jesus appears in your view,
As he is beloved or not,
So God is disposed to you,
And mercy, or wrath are your lot.

Some take him a creature to be,
A man, or an angel at most:
Sure these have not feelings like me,
Nor know themselves wretched, and lost;
So guilty, so helpless, am I,
I durst not confide in his blood;
Nor on his protection rely,
Unless I were sure he is God.

Some call him a Savior in word,
But mix their own works with their plan;
And hope he his help will afford,
When they have done all that they can;
If sayings prove rather too light,
(A little they own they may fail)
They purpose to make up full weight,
By casting his name in the the scale.

Some style him the pearl of great price,
And say he’s the fountain of joys,
Yet feed upon folly and vice,
And cleave to the world and its toys;
Like Judas, the Savior they kiss,
And while they salute him, betray;
Ah! what will professions like this
Avail in his terrible day.

If ask’d what of Jesus I think,
Although my best thoughts are but poor;
I say he’s my meat and my drink,
My life, and my strength, and my store,
My shepherd, my husband, my friend,
My savior from sin, and from thrall,
My hope from beginning to end,
My portion, my Lord, and my all.

We began by considering some of the perversions so far as what people think of Christ. They were mainly with respect to the substance of his nature – is he man, is he God, is he both, always, entirely? Having a right view of these truths is absolutely fundamental to the rest of the truth of Scripture. As we have seen over the last few weeks the Word of God reveals him to be the Eternal Son of God and therefore, eternally God and as being incarnate – God manifest in the flesh, truly God, truly man from his conception up unto this present day. These truths underpin the work of Christ, past, present and future. Particularly so far as his work for us is concerned, at Calvary as the sin bearer and presently as High Priest and then his future work in the world as Judge – he cannot be those things except he be truly God and truly man. So these truths are absolutely crucial.

However, there is still confusion amongst people as to his present and future ministries. And so we do well to consider this aspect and above all, be encouraged and have further cause for worship of our Saviour.

Present Ministries

High Priest

The ministry of the Lord Jesus as High Priest is brought out in the book of Hebrews where he is shown to be one who could sympathise with the difficulties which the believers were going through since after all, He had also gone that way. This is a great encouragement to us all, especially in times of persecution, trial or sorrow. We can be sure of this, that whilst in relation to the work of the cross nothing more needs to be done, that in relation to our sojourn down here the Lord Jesus is very much active in constant service to aid, relieve and support His people.
He wept, He suffered, He bore reproach, He learned obedience, He was tempted (yet without sin). And so He understands. He understands as a true man. If you go through trials, endure persecution or experience sorrow, you can pour out your heart to Him and know that He totally understands.

The work of the High Priest in Hebrews is not in relation to dealing with sin. The matter of our sin is not really in view. This is important because we often confuse the High Priestly ministry of the Lord Jesus as being one that is connected with addressing our daily sin. Whereas, the writer says that the matter of sin has once and for all been dealt with. It is because it has been dealt with that he can be a High Priest, notice the words ‘that He might be’ in Hebrews 2:17-18. This type of confusion is easily explained – we generally think of the High Priest as one who would be involved in the matter of sin’s being atoned for. And the writer to the Hebrews speaks of the intercession which the Lord Jesus makes for us (Hebrews 7:25). But with ‘types’ of the Lord Jesus that come over from the Old Testament, it is important to note the contrasts as well as similarities between the earthly type and the heavenly reality. The matter of dealing with sin (past, present & future) is one such contrast. Since we know that ours sins have been dealt with once and for all, the intercession which the Lord Jesus makes for us cannot be in relation to the forgiveness of sins. Rather it has to do with obtaining mercy and finding ‘grace to help in time of need’, (Heb 4:16).
Again, the Lord Jesus isn’t High Priest for an finite period of time as with the earthly Tabernacle. Rather, his priesthood is after the order of Melchisidec, a priest continually. Thus the one that is there to support us today will always be there, the same dependable Christ. We don’t have to start over with a new High Priest like they would have had to in the earthly Tabernacle. Christ is better = the message of the book of Hebrews.

Advocate

So what about the matter of daily sin. True, it is dealt with once and for all. But there’s no use pretending that practically speaking, we can just live in sin. True Christians wont – indefinitely. They become deeply upset by the fact that they have sinned, let God down, failed again! What can meet our need in these circumstances. How can things be resolved so we can move on. This is where the ministry of The Lord Jesus as Advocate comes in.

Now confusion abounds here also because we project our understanding of what an Advocate does in the context of a legal defence, into scripture. The Lord Jesus does not go before the Father to plead our case and seek forgiveness for sins that we have committed, pointing to his finished work at Calvary. Remember, the matter of our sin – from a legal, punitive perspective – is dealt with. So when we come to 1 John 1, we don’t have a court room scene. We explained it this way – a child misbehaves at the dinner table and the father asks him to leave the table, go to his room and think about what he has done. The child storms upstairs completely defiant. At this point, the child leaves the sphere of family fellowship and whilst in his room, in particular, moves outside the sphere of enjoyment of his relationship with his Father. A short while later, the mother will go to the child and firmly but graciously make the child aware of why he was asked to leave the table. The child calms, remorse sets in and in due course, he apologises and sheds a tear or two. Then, the mother takes the child’s hand and brings him back to the dinner table where he re-enters the sphere of family fellowship and his enjoyment of his relationship with his Father continues as if nothing had happened. This, is how the Lord Jesus ministers to us as advocate.
Without building on the illustration anymore than we need to, as Advocate, the Lord Jesus is the one who makes us conscious of failure and draws us back into the sphere of enjoying fellowship with the Father (which John states is his primary reason for writing, 1 John 1:1-4).

These two ministries are unhelpfully combined in the hymn ‘Before the throne of God above’ which perpetuates the idea that our Advocate is pleading for us. Apart from that it’s a great hymn – one line even states “Who made an end of all my sin”.

Future Ministries

King

In the wider sphere of Church testimony there is a great deal of emphasis on the Lord Jesus as King. This is down to a fairly fundamental difference in the way God’s plan of events is viewed for the world vs the church. Supposing for a moment we viewed Matthew 28:18 as referring to a literal kingdom authority. Supposing we viewed 1 Corinthians 15:25 as referring to Christ’s literal reign as being present. Then we would see the Lord Jesus’ primary ministry as King. Although he is not here physically, nevertheless we are his subjects and in due time all things will be subdued. The constitution is perhaps captured best in the sermon on the mount and that is what we should seek to bring into effect socially and even politically where possible. When all the world is subject to him through the vehicle of the church Christ will come (and may or may not establish his millennial kingdom).
That however, is not how we view those scriptures. We view them as future and not present.

Now scriptural clearly teaches that there is a kingdom which all believers are in since being ‘delivered…from the power of darkness’ (Col 1:13). And in a spiritual way we do recognise the Lord Jesus as King of our hearts. But he is not physically in residence yet and the remit of the church is not to bring reform inline with the normal responsibilities of a kingdom authority. Instead, our remit is to call men to spiritual rebirth through the preaching of the gospel. The Kingdom of God is within us and we should by all means show that by living out the beatitude attitude, but the Lord Jesus’s present role so far as authority is concerned is primarily defined as being Head over the church – our role as being members of his body to serve him out of love not out of duty. And so collectively we recognise him to be Head understanding there will come a day when Christ’s primary charge, received of His Father, will be to reign over a physical kingdom.

Again, hymnology plays a role here in forming our view, perhaps inadvertently, but either way.

Judge: 2 Timothy 4:1

 

Bible Class

Hands-on Bible Study #2

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Layering on-top of what we explored last week, this week we look at another technique which we can use to help get to grips with God’s Word.

Our main focus with these studies is to study a book as a whole. Usually this begins by reading the whole book through once in a single sitting. You should then keep doing this regularly. With a book like James, you’re really only talking 10-15 minutes so you could set aside 15 minutes each day whilst you’re studying James to read it through, again, in one sitting.

Being as you don’t want to get distracted, it would make sense to read from your physical bible. Digital bibles have their place but lack the ‘focus’ that you get with a physical book. Apart from the temptation to start clicking away, on a phone or tablet for instance, you may be interrupted by message and notification tones to mention just a few of the potential distractions. The other benefit of reading from your actual bible is that you’ll start to develop a sense of ‘where things are’ on the page itself. This is great for memory recall – imagine you’re studying another book sometime else and a verse in James comes to mind. Because text in a physical bible is laid out in physical space you’ll be able to recall whereabouts on the page that verse is and therefore will find it more easily. That’s never going to happen when using a digital bible because the text is just linear.

So, reading the book through in one sitting you can start to use the additional technique we explored this evening, highlighting and annotating as you go:

  • key words
  • key ideas
  • use of metaphors and other literally mechanisms
  • key doctrinal points
  • use of OT scriptures

Tonight we experimented with this approach, just on chapter two. As an example, here’s what I came up with: https://www.evernote.com/shard/s4/sh/4fe987e7-136a-4585-a52f-019926e34ee9/ce38c42f8906fae5244297ad2e399d48. I copied the text from a version I’m not familiar with but in any case, it serves to illustrate how by using different colours you can draw out the key ideas and words. With just a glance it’s obvious to see because of the colours, how significant the point is that James is making in relation to faith and works/deeds/actions. When you take this approach for the whole book you’ll quickly identify the major hooks on which the whole thing hangs together and may even see patterns emerging which help to grasp the flow of thought.

These annotations can be made in your physical bible or in a online bible. Bearing in mind the other comments in this post about using your physical bible, why not photocopy/scan the book in to your computer and then either print and annotate with pens or digitally annotate using an app like Skitch. Either way you’ll be looking at the layout of your physical bible to benefit your recall of scripture without spoiling your physical bible with lots of scribble!

Bible Class

Prayer – a tool for developing the habit

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Our prayer life is something we constantly need to evaluate. Are we praying, are we praying enough, are we praying intelligently, are we proving God through noting when prayers are answered and so-on-and-so-forth. We have been constantly reminded of the importance of prayer recently in our bible reading studies on the books of Philippians and now Colossians. Paul was a man of prayer despite his prison circumstances.

This evening we discussed a way to develop and continue the habit of prayer in an intelligent and meaningful way.

Purchase or make some index cards, amazon.co.uk sell a pack of 100 for £1.99, take a look here: http://amzn.to/1pTMtVm. You could also invest in a set of dividers and a index card box but elastic bands around each set of cards will do.

You want to think about praying for a range of different needs on a daily basis so decide on some categories, for example:

  • Praise/Worship
  • Family
  • Assembly Members
  • Assembly Outreach
  • World Mission
  • Patience & Grace
  • Personal Growth
  • Personal Witness

Then for each prayer item, label the top of the card with the item and category, and then list the specific details on the lines below. So I want to pray for you – I write your name and the category which might be ‘Assembly Members’ or ‘Brothers and Sisters’ and then list the specific things – thanks, requests. For Praise/Worship this may be something that you are encouraging yourself to be reminded of, a verse of scripture for instance – but if you’re reading your bible then hopefully there will be thoughts which will enable you to be spontaneous with your worship and this helps to avoid becoming clinical. Patience/Grace is a category you could use to pray for those who are hurting, being faced with big decisions/challenges/terminal illness etc.

Then each day, take a card from each category and use that set as the basis for your prayer focus for that day. Index cards are small enough as well, to go with you throughout the day if you want to pray-on-the-go. At the end of the day it’s up to you how you work this – you could place the cards back in the categories and shuffle so that each day you’ll get a ‘fresh set’ to go with, or you can place them aside until the end of the week so that way you won’t revisit the items on those cards until next week. I think I like the shuffle approach.

For those of you who possess a smartphone try out the PrayerMate apps: on iOs, or on Android. These are especially handy for those occasions when you say ‘I’ll pray for you’. All it takes is whipping out your phone and making a note – assuming you actually visit the app on a daily basis of course!

Hope this is helpful.

Bible Class

Hands-on Bible Study #1

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On October 22nd 2014 we began a hands-on bible study on the book of James. The goal was to refresh our minds of some of the techniques we can use to get to grips with God’s Word.

We’ve began by using simple method that you can re-use whenever you are trying to get an overall grasp of a book:

  • First, to get our minds into gear we look for titles of The Lord Jesus and other references to deity. The choice of designation that the New Testament writers use when speaking of the Lord Jesus is always significant and often provides us with a key to unlocking some elements of the writers purpose.
  • Second, we identify key words and key ideas. This will provide further clues as to the theme, purpose and meaning of the text.
  • Third, we start developing the setting, Who is writing, Who is he writing to, When is he writing and Why is he writing.

You can use this template to capture these elements in your own bible study.

Bible Class

Discernment: Part 1

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“Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right.”

Proverbs 14:15-16

—C.H. Spurgeon

Background

There is a period in history known as ‘the Dark Ages’. To characterise it somewhat simply, knowledge was tied up in the minds of an elite group. Times have changed and today we are overwhelmed with the spread of knowledge. One of the things that brought this change was the invention of the printing press. It caused an explosion in the sharing of thought and knowledge.
Unfortunately, mankind had really just exchanged one problem for another – a monopoly of knowledge was replaced by a democracy of knowledge. With a monopoly you only have one source of knowledge that claims the truth so your understanding as a man is totally at the mercy of that one source. With a democracy you have thousands of sources of knowledge that claim the truth so the quest to possess truth is still potentially outside your grasp.
Against this there have of course always been believers who in possession of the Word of God and the Spirit of God are able to discern and live in truth. The Word of God and the Spirit of God help us to discern, test, examine and come to an understanding of the truth. That is not to say that God’s grace doesn’t endow the unbeliever with truth in the schools of science and such like nor that a spirit-filled believer sometimes takes on board error.

This is seen clearly in the life of the New Testament church. The Galatians had been assailed by a false gospel which demanded adherence to Jewish customs and so Paul writes his letter. In fact Paul was shocked at how quickly they had fallen fowl of these false ideas (Gal 1:6; Gal 3:1).

There is then a great need for discernment which brings us back to the quote from Spurgeon, “discernment is knowing the difference between what is right and almost right.” This would be supported elsewhere in the New Testament
* 1 Thessalonians 5:21 – Test everything
* 1 John 4:1 – Try the spirits
* Acts 17:11 – Search the scriptures.

Paul also refers to the idea of discernment in 2 Corinthians 11:2 where he describes how desperate he was that the Corinthians with their rather liberal, all embracing mentality would seek after doctrinal purity. This is a very relevant message for today because we live in a postmodern world where it’s deemed a good thing to just embrace everything. At the same time the message to the church at Ephesus in Rev 2:4 was that whilst they were a discerning bunch, they had left their first love. Neither extreme is helpful.
This sets the scene for our study. The goal here is to adopt a more enquiring mentality which seeks to examine, test and try that which may cross our paths. But we must do so in such a way that we speak the truth in love (Eph 4:15). The extremes of liberalism and legalism always lurk in the shadows but we are seeking the biblical middle ground.

Part 1 – Christian Ministry

For the first part of our study we surveyed the various aspects of Christian ministry where we may be exposed to that which requires application of the three principles referred to above from the New Testamant: Test everything, try the spirits, search the scriptures.

  • Bible Teaching Meetings
    Bible teachers should always heed the principle set out in James 3:1 so as to avoid speaking that which is unedifying. As hearers we should nevertheless test that which is spoken from the Word of God and be sure the correct meaning has been drawn out from the text and thereafter applied. In a bible reading situation the conversational nature of the meeting allows for enquiry and hopefully a consensus on both meaning and application. In other meetings we should be like the Bereans who ‘searched the scriptures…whether these things were so’.
  • Books
    Back in the day book options were quite limited but with the advent of the internet the publishing industry has gone wild. Navigating a ‘Christian book shop’ so called nowadays can be very challenging. How can you know which authors to trust and are the best-sellers the best-truth-tellers?
    It definitely makes sense to be alert. Research the author, try to establish what their views are on salvation, church practice and future events. All these and more will influence the way they view scripture and will have a bearing on whether you can trust all or little of what they have to say. If you are still unsure, ask someone who you trust to help you discern correctly.
  • Audio/Video Ministry
    There have been audio ministries now for decades and with the internet, video ministry has grown immensely in the last few years. It is very feasible now to access audio and video ministry from any number of churches on topics which you may never hear spoken of in your local church.
    But the difficulty is that you may be exposing yourself to ‘almost right’ ministry. Furthermore, you may find a particular speaker who is very listenable and likeable and occupy yourself soley with him. But the plurality of bible-teaching-capable elders in the local church is partly in place to avoid a situation where you are absorbed with only one mans ministry. So discernment is key in this area. Be constantly proving all things, hold fast that which is good, dispense with that which is not.
  • TV & Film
    Recall Spurgeons principle again and here is where Christian media such as a film must bear special scrutiny. The ‘almost right’ element can be especially prevalent. A riveting and/or emotional story line can quite easily disarm us of our discernment and we miss the wooly theological basis. We may still be able to enjoy the story somewhat but a wooly theology will make the film no more edifying than a non-Christian film.
  • Music
    This is a very broad and personal element where discernment is needed. Without getting into genres we’re just wanting to assess the nature of the truth that we are listening to/singing. Necessarily with children we express truth in song in very simple ways – ‘Yes Jesus loves me, the bible tells me so’. But as we develop so should our theology in song. If we agree that hymns and songs should first-and-foremost exalt Christ and facilitate true spiritual worship then we can discern ‘good’ hymns on that basis. There is so much, old and new that fails the theology test. Then again, we don’t write-off a writer because of hymn x if hymn y is edifying so discernment plays a part not only in making effective choices but in approaching the choice make process in a balanced fashion. When all is said and done, don’t be afraid to run through your playlists and pull out the fluffy, soulish or theologically weak. We considered songs like ‘I come to the garden alone’ (C. A. Miles) and “Come on my soul’ (Rend Collective) as examples of songs which, (whilst they may have a special significance for the authors), lack a real depth of truth and meaning. When compared with songs like ‘Holy, Holy, Holy’ or ‘In Christ alone’ it is easy to see which is more preferable both for corporate worship and personal development.

In each of these areas discernment is needed. We need not throw the baby out with the bath water but neither need we keep the keep the bath water just because the baby is ok. Discernment is exercised in love and grace that ultimately our development in Christian things may be for our blessing and His glory.

Devotional

The Perfect Time-Keeper

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For someone who transcends time, Christ was a remarkable time keeper. The perfect man of course is perfect in every realm even in the pedestrian.

Perfect time keeping requires at least patience so as to avoid being early and attentiveness to avoid being late and Christ necessarily achieved perfection in both respects. Mortal man on the other hand leans to either end of the spectrum. We talk of people being ‘chalk and cheese’ to describe the vast contrasts between them. To broadly generalise, some of us are impatient because we think by planning/getting ahead we can control our circumstances – which we can’t. Others of us procrastinate indefinitely because we lack any sense of urgency and reject the notion that time has any right over us – when it does.

Christs coming into the world was not a moment early, not a moment late. That is to say he was not impatient to expedite the purposes of God nor indifferent to delay them.

“But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son”. (Galatians 4:4)

It is interesting to note that the world was ripe and ready for Christ’s arrival. Factors such as the broad spread of Greek language and culture and Romans roads created a unique platform on which the gospel could easily and quickly spread.

It is particularly intriguing to see that Christ waited. He waited many years before starting out in public ministry. At 18, if we take that as the age of a adulthood, Christ was as ready as he would ever be we might think, but he waited.

Christ’s timing sometimes seemed wanting as with the death of Lazarus. But time-would-tell a different story. It was perfect timing because it was Gods timing. The same could be said of Jairus’s daughter. Each event was executed in perfect sequence to The Fathers perfection and glory.

Christ never procrastinated nor did he panic. He was neither apathetic or hurried.

He was surely an excellent speaker – oratory requires timing.

And then the moment came when it was “[their] hour and the power of darkness”. The eternal God could not transcend this if He was do the Fathers Will.

Romans 5:6
For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

What a long hour that was.

Bible Class

The Patriarchs: Jacob – Worshipper

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Jacob was a man who had dealings with God. There is a great need in our day and age for us to be men and women who boldly lay hold on God and develop a habit of close intimacy and worship. We have so much available to us to support our spiritual life (especially in the West) but knowing about him is not the same as knowing him.
This aspect of Jacob’s experience is unusually called out in Hebrews 11:21, “By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.”

Leaning on his staff would have become a necessary evil for Jacob ever since the momentous day when God touched the hollow of his thigh (Gen 32:35). It was an outward picture of his inward brokenness.
Despite his brokenness he summons his strength to undertaken the important task of blessing Josephs lads. His sight is failing, his strength is waning, death is looming but the wrestling seems a thing of the past, he is fairly at ease with the whole situation. In amongst it all he makes request for his bones to be carried back to Canaan (no matter how comfortable Eygpt may have seemed at the time), he blesses Josephs boys (evidencing his faith in the convenent promises) and dictates blessing upon his own sons in clear-sighted understanding of God’s future purposes for the nation as a whole.
These heart felt words evidenced a life-long learning process of knowing God. The following points summarise some of the key milestones in Jacobs communion and worship, notice the progression:

  • Gen 28:16 – Jacob has an experience of the presence of God and sets up pillar at Bethel. He does most of the talking – vowing to give God his portion.
  • Gen 32:1-2 & Gen 32:9-12 – while God speaks to Jacob, evidence of their communion whilst in Haran is scarce. It is only after he leaves, or as he leaves that God meets with him again and we see Jacob trying to recognise God’s presence and preeminence in the circumstances (“this is God’s camp!”). In the struggle there is a prayer of thankfulness for God’s steadfast love and faithfulness and a laying hold of God’s promises to him. These statements of faith are overshadowed by the ensuing actions of Jacob to orchestrate his own deliverance. It would be unfair of us to imply Jacobs prayer was academic or conceited. It comes about through genuine fear and so we should give Jacob the benefit of the doubt that it was genuine prayer. But it is a lesson to us of the lay hold on God not just in word but in deed.
  • Gen 32:26-30 – The details of Jacobs experience at Peniel are somewhat mysterious. But what we see is a man who is jealous of God’s blessing. This was Jacobs heart, always desiring God, his blessings, promises and provision. But God knew that Jacob was not yet ready for a full revelation of His person. There were lessons still to be learnt. And so Jacob  leaves the scene weakened and still short of having God’s revelation. So it is with our communion with God – there are no quick and easy fixes for getting to know Him. But for sure, trials are only a reason to be cast upon Him the more. If anything accelerates the process of knowing Him it will be experiences that expose our weaknesses that require His strength.
  • Gen 33:20 – The altar erected at Shechem would appear to evidence progress but God had asked Jacob to return to the land of his kindred and specifically detailed Bethel as the place of his name (Gen. 31:13). So we would take from this that Jacob’s actions are lacking in faith, this is not worship in spirit and in truth. How very possible it is that our worship, private but especially public, is just a charade. Though we cannot broad-brush contemporary worship, the intensely sensory nature of that which is popular today actually militates against true worship. To be balanced we would have to admit however that the other extreme, asceticism is no-less empty and void of spirituality. May God help us to worship Him in spirit and in truth.
  •  Gen 35:1-7 – After the awful tragedy of ch34 God intervenes, calling Jacob back to Bethel. It is there we learn a further weight that needed to be laid aside before true communion with God could be enjoyed, the presence of foreign gods. No wonder Jacob had not returned to Bethel as yet – all was not well.
    These dealt with, Jacob enjoys God’s protection, God’s promise and God’s communion. Finally, God reveals fully to Jacob, “I am God Almighty” and re-states the covenant blessings told to Abraham and Isaac. Jacob appears more-or-less silent in this discourse and indeed, there was little for him to say, the covenantal blessings required nothing of him. However what he enacted, the drink offering, is very clear indication that Jacob knew he had finally arrived where God had wanted him to be. The drink offering signifies pleasure from a completed work. It is possible that this event casts a shadow in which can be seen the nation of Israel’s ‘time of Jacobs trouble’ followed by their eventual repentance and return to God. Both Jacob and Israel are characterised by the desire to lay hold on God’s blessings through their own efforts but when they are finally broken, it is God who ultimately effects it.
  • Gen 46:1-4 – Jacobs spiritual life appears to be in limbo whilst Joseph is in Eygpt. Perhaps this foreshadows Israel’s own laying aside whilst the resurrected Christ is not believed on. But Jacob’s spirit is revived in Gen 45:27 and it is during the subsequent journey to Eygpt that God appears to him for a final time. God re-assures him that he himself ‘will do gown with you to Egypt’, he would not be repeating the mistake of his grandfather in seeking refuge outside the promised land.

And so Jacob comes to Eygpt and passes on the blessings to Ephraim, Josephs younger son. Ephraim never acted as family head per-se but his preeminence is clearly seen throughout the remainder of the old testament with the divided Kingdom being referred to as ‘Judah and Ephraim.’

May this study encourage us to walk with God, claim God’s promises and come to know Him more fully each and every day.