420. The prophet Jeremiah warned of the oncoming destruction by hostile empires, and he said sinful people would become "meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth" (Jer. 7:33 KJV). By "fowls" that would feast on the slain, Jeremiah undoubtedly meant vultures, because they feed on dead animals. The griffon is a huge vulture in the Holy Land, particularly in the mountainous areas. Although it is large and powerful, it never kills its own prey, and it will not feed on any animal that shows signs of life. It is a remarkably clean bird in its habits, bathing almost often as it finds water.
421. The Babylonians came. They laid waste to the countryside and were on the verge of capturing Jerusalem just as Jeremiah had foretold. Yet on the eve of destruction, Jeremiah did a strange thing. He bought a piece of real estate, a field near his home village. He paid seventeen shekels of silver for it, had the deed signed, sealed, and witnessed, and then instructed Baruch to put the deed in a clay jar so that it could be preserved for a long time. For just as he believed that God would surely destroy the nation of Judah, Jeremiah also believed that God would build it up again. "Is there no balm in Gilead?" Jeremiah cried out and answered his own question by refusing to despair. God would not forsake his people, no matter how faithless they had been.
422. Jeremiah is believed to be the author of the Book of Lamentations. In chapter three, the writer cries out:
I am the man who has seen affliction,
by the rod of His wrath.
He has driven me away and made me walk,
in darkness rather than light;
indeed He has turned His hand against me,
again and again, all day long.
He pierced my heart,
with arrows from His quiver.
I became the laughingstock of all my people;
they mock me in song all day long.
He has filled me with bitter herbs,
and sated me with gall.
verses 1-3, 13-15
423. Origin of the term Jews. In the year 587 B.C. the Holy City lay in ruins, and its people were led off to captivity in Babylon after the armies King Nebuchadnezzar overran Judah and conquered Jerusalem. Their name changed to "Jews" (from the Hebrew Yehudi, which means "belonging to the tribe of Judah"). They kept alive their faith and their way of life during the years of exile.
424. Habakkuk is thought to have been a prophet around the time of Jeremiah. He struggled with how God would want His people, despite how badly they were behaving, to come under the influence of an even more ungodly people-the Babylonians. God was faithful to His prophet and assured Habakkuk to trust Him for the answer.
425. Ezekiel spoke knowingly about the land and its life. Scholars disputed for a long time about what animal he meant by "the great dragon" (Ezek. 29:3 KJV), until archaeologists excavated ancient Babylon and discovered the remains of an enormous gate that was ordered to be built by Nebuchadnezzar. The ruins of the Ishtar Gate showed decorations with rows of animal sculptures-at least 575 figures in all. One of the animals is a fantastic beast: the Sirrush or Dragon of Babylon.
426. Why a dragon? No one knows for certain why the image of the Sirrush was placed on the gates, but Nebuchadnezzar ordered these words inscribed on it: "Fierce bulls and grim dragons I put and thus supplied the gates with overflowing rich splendor that all humanity may view it with wonderment." It is possible that these figures were intended to impress or even frighten the Medes and Persians. So although actual dragons never existed, sculptured figures of them must have been seen by Ezekiel during the exile in Babylon.
427. The valley of dry bones was a graveyard to which the prophet Ezekiel was commanded to preach. As he did so Ezekiel watched the bones reattach to one another and come to life-an image of the spiritually dead nation of Israel coming back to life by the power of God's Word. This event, recorded in Ezekiel 37, is one of several strange visions of the prophet.
428. The period of the exile in Babylon, lasting approximately from 586 to 538 B.C., deeply impacted Judaism and the Bible. Without the Temple in Jerusalem as the focal point of Yahweh worship, the Jews were forced to create a new form of communal ritual with the earliest beginnings of the synagogue as the center for prayer, Torah study, and teaching.
429. The spirit of hope to return to Jerusalem and restore the Temple gave many exiled Jews a purpose. They began to look for a Messiah, a new leader or savior. However, only a minority of the Jews took advantage of the offer to return to Judah and rebuild Jerusalem. Many of these people had lived in Babylon for two generations and intermarriage had become common.
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
To All The Kids Who Survived The 1940s, 50s, 60, and 70s!!!
First, we survived being born to mothers who took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs with bright colored lead-based paints.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets, and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.
As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags.
Riding in the back of a pickup truck on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.
We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank Kool-aid aid with sugar, but we weren't overweight because, WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.
No one was able to reach us all day, and we were O.K.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendos, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVDs, no surround-sound or CDs, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or chat rooms.........WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!!!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.
We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.
We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!!!
Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't, had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!!
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!!!
When we did something we were not supposed to or got into trouble, we got spanked (by a hand, a hairbrush, or a belt) or even worse we got our legs "switched" with a branch from a special bush grown in the backyard and even had to go cut it ourselves before it was used on us. But we never thought of calling the police or Social Services to report our parents fo child abuse!!!
These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!!!
Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs with bright colored lead-based paints.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets, and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.
As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags.
Riding in the back of a pickup truck on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.
We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank Kool-aid aid with sugar, but we weren't overweight because, WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.
No one was able to reach us all day, and we were O.K.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendos, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVDs, no surround-sound or CDs, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or chat rooms.........WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!!!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.
We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.
We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!!!
Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't, had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!!
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!!!
When we did something we were not supposed to or got into trouble, we got spanked (by a hand, a hairbrush, or a belt) or even worse we got our legs "switched" with a branch from a special bush grown in the backyard and even had to go cut it ourselves before it was used on us. But we never thought of calling the police or Social Services to report our parents fo child abuse!!!
These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!!!
Monday, August 10, 2015
Prophets Speak lll
410. Micah lived after Amos and Hosea. He prophesized of a future king who would be born in Bethlehem. He looked forward to that time as the current kings he suffered with consistently led the people toward idol worship and other forms of sin.
411. Jehoiada and his wife saved the line of kings from the wrath of King Ahaziah's mother, Athaliah, who tried to seize the throne by killing the entire family. Jehoiada was chief priest at the time. They stole Ahaziah's baby, Joash, and hid him for six years. Then they overthrew Athaliah and put Joash on the throne to reinstate his lineage.
412. Following the reign of Manasseh, a notorious king of Judah who reintroduced idol worship, a crucial moment in Biblical history occurred in 621 B.C. During the reign of King Josiah, an ideal king who reigned for thirty-one years after taking the throne at age eight, a scroll that was about to be removed from the temple was discovered by a priest. When Josiah read the scroll, he tore his clothes in anguish because he knew how far the people had fallen from God. He began vigorous reforms and removed all pagan items from Jerusalem.
413. Hilkiah was the priest who found the scroll that brought King Josiah to his knees. Together he and the young king tried to bring the people back to God.
414. The longest prophetic book in Hebrew Scripture, Isaiah has had a remarkable impact on our language. Perhaps more than any other book of Hebrew prophecy, Isaiah has played a central role for Christians and has even been called the "the fifth Gospel" because so many of the book's prophecies were fulfilled in the life of Jesus.
415. The Book of Isaiah has two distinct halves. The first thirty-nine chapters seem to have been written before the Babylonian conquest of Israel, but the rest of the book was clearly written after that event. That has lead scholars to suggest there were two authors or possibly even two different prophets named Isaiah.
416. Many well-worn phrases were born in Isaiah. Besides providing Handel with wonderful lyrics, Isaiah has yielded phrases commonly used even today:
"White as snow"
"Neither shall they learn war any more"
"The people that walked in darkness"
"And a little child shall lead them"
"They shall mount up with wings as eagles"
"Be of good courage"
"Like a lamb to the slaughter"
417. The Servant Songs is the name given to the passages of Scripture in Isaiah 42, 49, 50, 52, and 53 describing an innocent man who endures great pain. Many Jewish scholars did not know what to do with these passages and could not reconcile them to the images of the Messiah coming as a mighty King. But Christians from earliest times have applied them to Jesus Christ, who suffered greatly for the sins of all humankind.
418. Christians and Jews disagree on a key portion of Isaiah's prophecies found scattered throughout Isaiah chapters 42, 49, 50, 52, and 53 in songs that speak of a "suffering servant of God." When Isaiah speaks of a despised, rejected man of suffering who is led like a lamb to slaughter, Christians see another symbolic prophecy of Jesus. Jewish readers, on the other hand, prefer to view this as either a reference to Isaiah himself, the prophet who suffered because his words were unpopular.
419. Huldah, the wife of Shallum, is one of the most noteworthy Hebrew prophetess. She was active in ministry during the days of King Josiah. When the Book of the Law was found in the temple, the religious leaders came to her and asked what God wanted the nation to do. This "Book of the Law" is generally thought to be an early version of Deuteronomy, which places special emphasis on removing any trace of idolatry from the worship of God. For the first time since the time of the judges, before the rise of the monarchy in Israel, the Passover was properly celebrated.
411. Jehoiada and his wife saved the line of kings from the wrath of King Ahaziah's mother, Athaliah, who tried to seize the throne by killing the entire family. Jehoiada was chief priest at the time. They stole Ahaziah's baby, Joash, and hid him for six years. Then they overthrew Athaliah and put Joash on the throne to reinstate his lineage.
412. Following the reign of Manasseh, a notorious king of Judah who reintroduced idol worship, a crucial moment in Biblical history occurred in 621 B.C. During the reign of King Josiah, an ideal king who reigned for thirty-one years after taking the throne at age eight, a scroll that was about to be removed from the temple was discovered by a priest. When Josiah read the scroll, he tore his clothes in anguish because he knew how far the people had fallen from God. He began vigorous reforms and removed all pagan items from Jerusalem.
413. Hilkiah was the priest who found the scroll that brought King Josiah to his knees. Together he and the young king tried to bring the people back to God.
414. The longest prophetic book in Hebrew Scripture, Isaiah has had a remarkable impact on our language. Perhaps more than any other book of Hebrew prophecy, Isaiah has played a central role for Christians and has even been called the "the fifth Gospel" because so many of the book's prophecies were fulfilled in the life of Jesus.
415. The Book of Isaiah has two distinct halves. The first thirty-nine chapters seem to have been written before the Babylonian conquest of Israel, but the rest of the book was clearly written after that event. That has lead scholars to suggest there were two authors or possibly even two different prophets named Isaiah.
416. Many well-worn phrases were born in Isaiah. Besides providing Handel with wonderful lyrics, Isaiah has yielded phrases commonly used even today:
"White as snow"
"Neither shall they learn war any more"
"The people that walked in darkness"
"And a little child shall lead them"
"They shall mount up with wings as eagles"
"Be of good courage"
"Like a lamb to the slaughter"
417. The Servant Songs is the name given to the passages of Scripture in Isaiah 42, 49, 50, 52, and 53 describing an innocent man who endures great pain. Many Jewish scholars did not know what to do with these passages and could not reconcile them to the images of the Messiah coming as a mighty King. But Christians from earliest times have applied them to Jesus Christ, who suffered greatly for the sins of all humankind.
418. Christians and Jews disagree on a key portion of Isaiah's prophecies found scattered throughout Isaiah chapters 42, 49, 50, 52, and 53 in songs that speak of a "suffering servant of God." When Isaiah speaks of a despised, rejected man of suffering who is led like a lamb to slaughter, Christians see another symbolic prophecy of Jesus. Jewish readers, on the other hand, prefer to view this as either a reference to Isaiah himself, the prophet who suffered because his words were unpopular.
419. Huldah, the wife of Shallum, is one of the most noteworthy Hebrew prophetess. She was active in ministry during the days of King Josiah. When the Book of the Law was found in the temple, the religious leaders came to her and asked what God wanted the nation to do. This "Book of the Law" is generally thought to be an early version of Deuteronomy, which places special emphasis on removing any trace of idolatry from the worship of God. For the first time since the time of the judges, before the rise of the monarchy in Israel, the Passover was properly celebrated.
Saturday, August 8, 2015
Prophets Speak ll
400. Majors and Minors, part 2. Israel's prophets were not the type of people to include on your invitation list to a party. The Hebrew prophets denounced evil, corruption, and immorality. The three longest prophetic books, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, along with Daniel and Lamentations, have traditionally been labeled the "Major Prophets." The other twelve books are called the "Minor Prophets."
401. Jonah was cast into the sea by the sailors around him in order to stop the raging sea. The prophet knew God had sent the storm after he refused to go and minister to Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire. When he was thrown overboard, the sea calmed, but Jonah was swallowed by a huge fish. Many believe the fish was a whale, but it is also possible that it was a shark that "saved" Jonah. He returned to Nineveh after spending three days in the belly of the big fish.
402. The plant that God appointed to grow and shade Jonah after he finished preaching at Nineveh is sometimes translated a "gourd plant" and sometimes a "plant." It is believed that the writer meant for his readers to imagine the castor bean. In hot climates it grows very fast and often seems like a tree, with huge umbrella-like leaves that make wonderful shade. The Hebrews valued the oil of its beanlike seeds and used it widely in lamps and ceremonial rites.
403. Nineveh's demise in 612 B.C. brought the city to its end. Nineveh fell after a two-month siege carried out by an alliance among Medes, Babylonians, and Scythians. The attackers destroyed Nineveh by releasing the Khoser River into the city, where it dissolved the buildings' sun-dried bricks. This was a remarkable fulfillment of Nahum's prophecy: "The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace shall be dissolved" (Nah.2:6). Nineveh was lost for well over two thousand years.
404. At the forefront. In the period of the divided kingdom, the focus of the Bible books moves away from the kings to the ministries of a series of "prophets," those who spoke on behalf of God after receiving divine messages through dreams or visions. Prophets tried to counsel-usually with little success-to the rulers and people of Israel and Judah. The prophets became crucial Biblical characters who overshadowed the kings and took their message to the entire nation.
405. Hosea suffered greatly as a prophet. His name means "Save, oh God!" His was a unique task: to marry a prostitute and live as a faithful husband to her. Their relationship paralleled what Israel was doing to God-God was a faithful husband to a harlot nation. Hosea thus could speak from experience and feel personally what great pain God must suffer when His people abandon Him repeatedly.
406. Gomer was the wife Hosea was sent to marry. She bore three children to Hosea, though none of them were likely his own children. God provided names for each of the children, but they were not names to rejoice over. Rather they were fateful reminders of what Israel had become. Their names were Jezreel (in honor of a massacre that took place in Jezreel for which God was going to punish the Israelites); Lo-Ruhamah, which means "not loved'; and Lo-Ammi, which means "not my people."
407. God's chosen people. One of the most significant lines in Amos is the prophet's message to Israel from God: "You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your sins" (3:2). This is the essence of the Jews' designation as the "chosen people." God's covenant with the people did not entitle them to special favors; rather, being chosen increased their responsibility
408. Amos was the first prophet to have his words written down. One of the more interesting facts about his book is that he used the lion to emphasize that his mission was to bring the Hebrews back to righteousness. No other wild animal is mentioned so often in the Bible as the lion. It appears in thirty-one of the sixty-six books of the New Testaments.
409. Lions were still abundant in the Bible lands when Amos lived, and they ranged from Africa across the Near East to India. In the Holy Land itself, the lion was exterminated by about the time of the Crusades in the Middle Ages. It vanished from Egypt in the last century, and the last wild lion was seen in the Near East was captured in Iran in 1923. Hunting lions was an ancient sport in the Bible lands, and many pictures show them being captured in nets and pits. Like many other Near Eastern monarchs, King Darius of Persia kept a den of lions-into which Daniel was cast.
401. Jonah was cast into the sea by the sailors around him in order to stop the raging sea. The prophet knew God had sent the storm after he refused to go and minister to Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire. When he was thrown overboard, the sea calmed, but Jonah was swallowed by a huge fish. Many believe the fish was a whale, but it is also possible that it was a shark that "saved" Jonah. He returned to Nineveh after spending three days in the belly of the big fish.
402. The plant that God appointed to grow and shade Jonah after he finished preaching at Nineveh is sometimes translated a "gourd plant" and sometimes a "plant." It is believed that the writer meant for his readers to imagine the castor bean. In hot climates it grows very fast and often seems like a tree, with huge umbrella-like leaves that make wonderful shade. The Hebrews valued the oil of its beanlike seeds and used it widely in lamps and ceremonial rites.
403. Nineveh's demise in 612 B.C. brought the city to its end. Nineveh fell after a two-month siege carried out by an alliance among Medes, Babylonians, and Scythians. The attackers destroyed Nineveh by releasing the Khoser River into the city, where it dissolved the buildings' sun-dried bricks. This was a remarkable fulfillment of Nahum's prophecy: "The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace shall be dissolved" (Nah.2:6). Nineveh was lost for well over two thousand years.
404. At the forefront. In the period of the divided kingdom, the focus of the Bible books moves away from the kings to the ministries of a series of "prophets," those who spoke on behalf of God after receiving divine messages through dreams or visions. Prophets tried to counsel-usually with little success-to the rulers and people of Israel and Judah. The prophets became crucial Biblical characters who overshadowed the kings and took their message to the entire nation.
405. Hosea suffered greatly as a prophet. His name means "Save, oh God!" His was a unique task: to marry a prostitute and live as a faithful husband to her. Their relationship paralleled what Israel was doing to God-God was a faithful husband to a harlot nation. Hosea thus could speak from experience and feel personally what great pain God must suffer when His people abandon Him repeatedly.
406. Gomer was the wife Hosea was sent to marry. She bore three children to Hosea, though none of them were likely his own children. God provided names for each of the children, but they were not names to rejoice over. Rather they were fateful reminders of what Israel had become. Their names were Jezreel (in honor of a massacre that took place in Jezreel for which God was going to punish the Israelites); Lo-Ruhamah, which means "not loved'; and Lo-Ammi, which means "not my people."
407. God's chosen people. One of the most significant lines in Amos is the prophet's message to Israel from God: "You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your sins" (3:2). This is the essence of the Jews' designation as the "chosen people." God's covenant with the people did not entitle them to special favors; rather, being chosen increased their responsibility
408. Amos was the first prophet to have his words written down. One of the more interesting facts about his book is that he used the lion to emphasize that his mission was to bring the Hebrews back to righteousness. No other wild animal is mentioned so often in the Bible as the lion. It appears in thirty-one of the sixty-six books of the New Testaments.
409. Lions were still abundant in the Bible lands when Amos lived, and they ranged from Africa across the Near East to India. In the Holy Land itself, the lion was exterminated by about the time of the Crusades in the Middle Ages. It vanished from Egypt in the last century, and the last wild lion was seen in the Near East was captured in Iran in 1923. Hunting lions was an ancient sport in the Bible lands, and many pictures show them being captured in nets and pits. Like many other Near Eastern monarchs, King Darius of Persia kept a den of lions-into which Daniel was cast.
Friday, August 7, 2015
Prophets Speak l
390. Prophets and priests played an important role in early Israel, though many of the prophets do not have books named after them. The purpose of these godly men was to serve as messengers from God to the people. The prophets and priests received orders from God and acted upon them.
391. Moses said God would raise up prophets like him in the generations to follow. And God did. Generally keeping a low profile, the prophets did not possess administrative power like the kings. And they had no place in the tabernacle or temple rituals like the priests. They simply spoke the mind of God as it was given to them. Unlike the kingship and the priesthood, the position of prophet could not be passed on to one's descendants. God individually chose each one.
392. Nathan served as a prophet in the time of David and Solomon. It was his responsibility to confront David after David stole a soldier's wife, made her pregnant, and then had the soldier killed in order to cover up his deceitful behavior. When Nathan confronted David for his behavior, David repented, but God took the child born of the woman, Bathsheba, as a punishment. However, the next child David and Bathsheba conceived was Solomon. who would be king.
393. Elijah trusted God completely, so much so that when King Ahab appointed prophets to worship the false god Baal, Elijah told him no more rain would fall. Three years after the drought began, when Israel was literally starving, Elijah had a contest with the Baal prophets to see which deity would answer their prayers-God or the false god Baal. The people were brought to their senses by the sign of a soaked altar bursting into flame, and they came back to God.
394. As one of only two men who never died, Elijah was truly a special prophet of God. Enoch, a man who walked with God, was the other. Elijah was taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire, but before he was taken he appointed Elisha, his servant, to succeed him.
395. Even though Elijah and Elisha were two of the most prominent prophets in the days of the northern kingdom, no book is named after them. Because of this we can assume that the seventeen books of prophecy in the Bible are just a sampling of all that the prophets spoke.
396. The books of prophecy. This section of the Bible composed of seventeen books beginning with Isaiah and ending with Malachi, closing out the Old Testament. Like the books of poetry, these books don't extend the time line of Israel's history; rather, they fill in the one laid down by the books of history. Apart from Job, most of the books of poetry were associated with the kings of Israel's glory days. By contrast the books of prophecy were associated mainly with the period of Israel's decline and fall.
397. Prophecy in the Old Testament was not so much a telling of the future as it was an urgent statement made on behalf of God to his people. Certain elements of Hebrew prophecy spoke of the future in terms that human behavior could not change, but most of it offered God's people a choice and often stated the harsh consequences if the Israelites chose to disobey.
398. Both the major and minor prophets are organized in historical order. This doesn't mean the minor prophets followed the majors in history, however, they coexisted with them. Hosea, for example, was a contemporary of Isaiah. Since the fall of Jerusalem is dated by historians at 586 B.C., all the books of prophecy- major and minor- can be dated within a century or two of that date.
399. Majors and Minors, part l. The distinction is made by the length of each book. Isaiah, for example, is longer than all twelve of the minor prophets together. Although Lamentations is short, Jeremiah was a major prophet, and the full title is "The Lamentations of Jeremiah."
391. Moses said God would raise up prophets like him in the generations to follow. And God did. Generally keeping a low profile, the prophets did not possess administrative power like the kings. And they had no place in the tabernacle or temple rituals like the priests. They simply spoke the mind of God as it was given to them. Unlike the kingship and the priesthood, the position of prophet could not be passed on to one's descendants. God individually chose each one.
392. Nathan served as a prophet in the time of David and Solomon. It was his responsibility to confront David after David stole a soldier's wife, made her pregnant, and then had the soldier killed in order to cover up his deceitful behavior. When Nathan confronted David for his behavior, David repented, but God took the child born of the woman, Bathsheba, as a punishment. However, the next child David and Bathsheba conceived was Solomon. who would be king.
393. Elijah trusted God completely, so much so that when King Ahab appointed prophets to worship the false god Baal, Elijah told him no more rain would fall. Three years after the drought began, when Israel was literally starving, Elijah had a contest with the Baal prophets to see which deity would answer their prayers-God or the false god Baal. The people were brought to their senses by the sign of a soaked altar bursting into flame, and they came back to God.
394. As one of only two men who never died, Elijah was truly a special prophet of God. Enoch, a man who walked with God, was the other. Elijah was taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire, but before he was taken he appointed Elisha, his servant, to succeed him.
395. Even though Elijah and Elisha were two of the most prominent prophets in the days of the northern kingdom, no book is named after them. Because of this we can assume that the seventeen books of prophecy in the Bible are just a sampling of all that the prophets spoke.
396. The books of prophecy. This section of the Bible composed of seventeen books beginning with Isaiah and ending with Malachi, closing out the Old Testament. Like the books of poetry, these books don't extend the time line of Israel's history; rather, they fill in the one laid down by the books of history. Apart from Job, most of the books of poetry were associated with the kings of Israel's glory days. By contrast the books of prophecy were associated mainly with the period of Israel's decline and fall.
397. Prophecy in the Old Testament was not so much a telling of the future as it was an urgent statement made on behalf of God to his people. Certain elements of Hebrew prophecy spoke of the future in terms that human behavior could not change, but most of it offered God's people a choice and often stated the harsh consequences if the Israelites chose to disobey.
398. Both the major and minor prophets are organized in historical order. This doesn't mean the minor prophets followed the majors in history, however, they coexisted with them. Hosea, for example, was a contemporary of Isaiah. Since the fall of Jerusalem is dated by historians at 586 B.C., all the books of prophecy- major and minor- can be dated within a century or two of that date.
399. Majors and Minors, part l. The distinction is made by the length of each book. Isaiah, for example, is longer than all twelve of the minor prophets together. Although Lamentations is short, Jeremiah was a major prophet, and the full title is "The Lamentations of Jeremiah."
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Poetry of Kings lll
380. The most unusual of Solomon's gardens must have been the one devoted to spices, for Solomon's far-flung trade with Arabia and India brought him many exotic plants. One of the prizes of the spice garden was spikenard, which was found in the Himalaya Mountains of Asia. The dried stems became am important trade item in the ancient world.
381. Dried spikenard was transported across Asia by camels and stored in alabaster boxes to preserve its fragrance. That is the reason spikenard was extraordinarily expensive, as John points out when he states that Mary anointed the feet of Jesus with "a pound of ointment of spikenard" (John 12:3 KJV).
382. Acacia, the "shittim wood" referred to often in the Bible, has many uses. Fine-grained and durable, its wood was suitable for beautiful things like the ark of the covenant, the altar of the tabernacle, and the mummy coffins of the Egyptians. Various species of acacia also provide perfumes, gum arabic, medicine, food for cattle, and firewood.
383. An alliance with the Phoenicians was one of the most enterprising of Solomon's many ventures. The Bible never refers to the Phoenicians by name but instead calls them the people of Tyre, Sidon, or Gebal, the three main cities from which the Phoenicians sent out trading voyages to all parts of the ancient world. The word Phoenicians comes from the Greek word for "reddish-purple," which refers to the dye the Phoenicians prepared from species of murex, a marine snail. The murex has a gland that secretes a milky white fluid as a defense against predators, but when exposed to light and air, the fluid turns purple and is a permanent dye on fabric.
384. "Tarshish ships." This Biblical reference to the ships of Solomon refers to those that were built via agreement Solomon negotiated with his Phoenician neighbor, King Hiram of Tyre. Together they obtained skilled workmen to build him a fleet of merchant ships. No one knows exactly what the ships looked like, but they were probably a mix between the Phoenicians battleships and merchant ships. Solomon's fleet was based near his smelters, at Eziongeber on the Gulf of Aqaba. From there his ships sailed with metal and other items to a place known as Ophir.
385. After Solomon's death between 930 and 925 B.C., political and religious differences shattered the kingdom built by David and Solomon. The ten tribes in the north broke away from the southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and two weaker kingdoms were left: Judah in the south and Israel in the north.
386. The call of wisdom is made throughout the first ten chapters of Proverbs. Solomon, who was given great wisdom from God, says in Proverbs 8:22 that wisdom was the first creation of God. It's interesting that Solomon always refers to wisdom in the feminine sense: "She calls out..."
387. Canticles or the Song of Songs is a set of love poems shared between a man and a woman. Some of the images are so mature that Jewish boys were not allowed to read it until they reached adulthood. Many people have questioned its place in Scripture, but Jewish leaders decided in ancient times that the book is allegorical-the man chasing a woman is a depiction of God pursuing sinful Israel. In medieval times Christian scholars suggested that the book also represented Christ pursuing the church.
388. "Solomon's sword" is a phrase used to describe a wise choice. It comes from the time two women, both claiming to be the mother of an infant, approached King Solomon and asked him to settle their dispute. Solomon asked for a sword, announcing he would cut the child in half. With that the real mother insisted that the baby not be harmed and instead be given to the other woman. The king, recognizing that the true mother would intervene for the baby's welfare, awarded the child to her.
389. "Turn, Turn, Turn." During the 1960s, there may have been no more widely quoted Bible verses than the words from Ecclesiastes. They provided Pete Seeger with the lyrics that eventually became a hit single for the Byrds. Americans of that era may recall that President Kennedy admired these verses so much that they were read at his funeral.
381. Dried spikenard was transported across Asia by camels and stored in alabaster boxes to preserve its fragrance. That is the reason spikenard was extraordinarily expensive, as John points out when he states that Mary anointed the feet of Jesus with "a pound of ointment of spikenard" (John 12:3 KJV).
382. Acacia, the "shittim wood" referred to often in the Bible, has many uses. Fine-grained and durable, its wood was suitable for beautiful things like the ark of the covenant, the altar of the tabernacle, and the mummy coffins of the Egyptians. Various species of acacia also provide perfumes, gum arabic, medicine, food for cattle, and firewood.
383. An alliance with the Phoenicians was one of the most enterprising of Solomon's many ventures. The Bible never refers to the Phoenicians by name but instead calls them the people of Tyre, Sidon, or Gebal, the three main cities from which the Phoenicians sent out trading voyages to all parts of the ancient world. The word Phoenicians comes from the Greek word for "reddish-purple," which refers to the dye the Phoenicians prepared from species of murex, a marine snail. The murex has a gland that secretes a milky white fluid as a defense against predators, but when exposed to light and air, the fluid turns purple and is a permanent dye on fabric.
384. "Tarshish ships." This Biblical reference to the ships of Solomon refers to those that were built via agreement Solomon negotiated with his Phoenician neighbor, King Hiram of Tyre. Together they obtained skilled workmen to build him a fleet of merchant ships. No one knows exactly what the ships looked like, but they were probably a mix between the Phoenicians battleships and merchant ships. Solomon's fleet was based near his smelters, at Eziongeber on the Gulf of Aqaba. From there his ships sailed with metal and other items to a place known as Ophir.
385. After Solomon's death between 930 and 925 B.C., political and religious differences shattered the kingdom built by David and Solomon. The ten tribes in the north broke away from the southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and two weaker kingdoms were left: Judah in the south and Israel in the north.
386. The call of wisdom is made throughout the first ten chapters of Proverbs. Solomon, who was given great wisdom from God, says in Proverbs 8:22 that wisdom was the first creation of God. It's interesting that Solomon always refers to wisdom in the feminine sense: "She calls out..."
387. Canticles or the Song of Songs is a set of love poems shared between a man and a woman. Some of the images are so mature that Jewish boys were not allowed to read it until they reached adulthood. Many people have questioned its place in Scripture, but Jewish leaders decided in ancient times that the book is allegorical-the man chasing a woman is a depiction of God pursuing sinful Israel. In medieval times Christian scholars suggested that the book also represented Christ pursuing the church.
388. "Solomon's sword" is a phrase used to describe a wise choice. It comes from the time two women, both claiming to be the mother of an infant, approached King Solomon and asked him to settle their dispute. Solomon asked for a sword, announcing he would cut the child in half. With that the real mother insisted that the baby not be harmed and instead be given to the other woman. The king, recognizing that the true mother would intervene for the baby's welfare, awarded the child to her.
389. "Turn, Turn, Turn." During the 1960s, there may have been no more widely quoted Bible verses than the words from Ecclesiastes. They provided Pete Seeger with the lyrics that eventually became a hit single for the Byrds. Americans of that era may recall that President Kennedy admired these verses so much that they were read at his funeral.
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Poetry of Kings ll
369. The Penitential Psalms is the title given to seven psalms that express deep repentance over sin: Psalm 7, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143. All but two are attributed to King David-most notably Psalm 51, which is his lament over adultery with Bathsheba.
370. The Messianic Psalms are Old Testament psalms that relate information about the coming Messiah. They were generally quoted by the Lord Jesus or the New Testament writings in reference to Him. These include Psalm 22, 40, 41, 45, 69, 72, and 118.
371. The Psalms of Ascent are the songs that were sung by Jewish pilgrims as they traveled upward from the surrounding areas of Palestine to the city of Jerusalem for festivals. The songs tell of looking up to the hills, seeing the walls of Jerusalem, and observing the many people gathering together to worship. They end up with a joyous shout of praise as the pilgrims finally arrive at the gates of the temple.
372. The Philistines held a monopoly on the manufacture of iron, and in this way they exerted control over the Israelites. The Philistines jealously guarded the secrets of the complicated smelting process, and they prevented the Israelites from stocking up on swords and shields by not allowing them to have smiths in their territory. Only after the first two kings of Israel, Saul and David, defeated the Philistines did the metal come into common use. The Israelites then learned the techniques of iron-making. Even the Hebrew words for "knife" and "helmet" came from the Philistines.
373. The conquest of the city of Jebus was one of David's victories. He changed the name to Jerusalem, which means "City of Peace." Jerusalem is situated on a limestone ridge about twenty-five hundred feet above sea level. To the south and west is the valley of Hinnom (or Gehenna), which was used to burn refuse. By New Testament times Gehenna had become a symbol for hell, probably because of the fires constantly burning there.
374. Solomon became king in the year 961 B.C. and reigned for thirty-nine years. The name Solomon is derived from the Hebrew word for "peace," and Solomon indeed lived up to his name. Under his reign Jerusalem became one of the most important cities in the Near East.
375. Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived; he was "wiser than all men" (1 Kings 4:31 KJV). God had asked him what he wanted more than anything, and Solomon asked for wisdom in order to better rule the people of Israel. His wisdom was unsurpassed, and the people lived very well under his rule. A beautiful temple was even built, but sadly many of the Israelites, including Solomon, eventually began sacrificing to other gods. God raised up armies to fight against him and his people, but made a decision not to take the nation from Solomon's rule...He would spare Solomon that for his father's sake. Instead Israel would be lost during the reign of Solomon's son, Rehoboam.
376. Knowing it all. Not only did Solomon speak over three thousand proverbs and write more than a thousand songs, some of which come down to us in the books of Proverbs and the Song of Solomon, he could also speak knowingly on any subject. And he was obviously an authority on natural history. The Bible says that he could lecture on "trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes" (1 Kings 4:33 KJV).
377. The cedar was the largest tree that Solomon could have known, and the little fragrant herb, the hyssop, was among the smallest. Unlike modern hyssop, the plant Solomon spoke of is believed to have been one of the marjorams, members of the mint family that grow clusters of white flowers among rocks and in crevices in walls. Under these conditions it is among the smallest flowering plants in the Holy Land.
378. The cedar of Lebanon was the largest and most noble tree growing in the Bible lands. It was once abundant in the regions of Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey. It towered as high as 120 feet, and the diameter of its trunk sometimes reached eight feet. It had a fragrant gum that made walking in a cedar grove a delight. Its wood not only was a beautiful reddish color, but it also resisted decay and attack by insects.
379. A gardener on a grand scale. The Bible describes Solomon as a gardener (Eccl.2:4-6). No one has yet found the exact location of Solomon's gardens, but they must have been quite close to the palace. A few miles outside of Jerusalem are three large reservoirs that have traditionally been called the Pools of Solomon, and they may be the reservoirs he built to provide water for his gardens.
370. The Messianic Psalms are Old Testament psalms that relate information about the coming Messiah. They were generally quoted by the Lord Jesus or the New Testament writings in reference to Him. These include Psalm 22, 40, 41, 45, 69, 72, and 118.
371. The Psalms of Ascent are the songs that were sung by Jewish pilgrims as they traveled upward from the surrounding areas of Palestine to the city of Jerusalem for festivals. The songs tell of looking up to the hills, seeing the walls of Jerusalem, and observing the many people gathering together to worship. They end up with a joyous shout of praise as the pilgrims finally arrive at the gates of the temple.
372. The Philistines held a monopoly on the manufacture of iron, and in this way they exerted control over the Israelites. The Philistines jealously guarded the secrets of the complicated smelting process, and they prevented the Israelites from stocking up on swords and shields by not allowing them to have smiths in their territory. Only after the first two kings of Israel, Saul and David, defeated the Philistines did the metal come into common use. The Israelites then learned the techniques of iron-making. Even the Hebrew words for "knife" and "helmet" came from the Philistines.
373. The conquest of the city of Jebus was one of David's victories. He changed the name to Jerusalem, which means "City of Peace." Jerusalem is situated on a limestone ridge about twenty-five hundred feet above sea level. To the south and west is the valley of Hinnom (or Gehenna), which was used to burn refuse. By New Testament times Gehenna had become a symbol for hell, probably because of the fires constantly burning there.
374. Solomon became king in the year 961 B.C. and reigned for thirty-nine years. The name Solomon is derived from the Hebrew word for "peace," and Solomon indeed lived up to his name. Under his reign Jerusalem became one of the most important cities in the Near East.
375. Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived; he was "wiser than all men" (1 Kings 4:31 KJV). God had asked him what he wanted more than anything, and Solomon asked for wisdom in order to better rule the people of Israel. His wisdom was unsurpassed, and the people lived very well under his rule. A beautiful temple was even built, but sadly many of the Israelites, including Solomon, eventually began sacrificing to other gods. God raised up armies to fight against him and his people, but made a decision not to take the nation from Solomon's rule...He would spare Solomon that for his father's sake. Instead Israel would be lost during the reign of Solomon's son, Rehoboam.
376. Knowing it all. Not only did Solomon speak over three thousand proverbs and write more than a thousand songs, some of which come down to us in the books of Proverbs and the Song of Solomon, he could also speak knowingly on any subject. And he was obviously an authority on natural history. The Bible says that he could lecture on "trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes" (1 Kings 4:33 KJV).
377. The cedar was the largest tree that Solomon could have known, and the little fragrant herb, the hyssop, was among the smallest. Unlike modern hyssop, the plant Solomon spoke of is believed to have been one of the marjorams, members of the mint family that grow clusters of white flowers among rocks and in crevices in walls. Under these conditions it is among the smallest flowering plants in the Holy Land.
378. The cedar of Lebanon was the largest and most noble tree growing in the Bible lands. It was once abundant in the regions of Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey. It towered as high as 120 feet, and the diameter of its trunk sometimes reached eight feet. It had a fragrant gum that made walking in a cedar grove a delight. Its wood not only was a beautiful reddish color, but it also resisted decay and attack by insects.
379. A gardener on a grand scale. The Bible describes Solomon as a gardener (Eccl.2:4-6). No one has yet found the exact location of Solomon's gardens, but they must have been quite close to the palace. A few miles outside of Jerusalem are three large reservoirs that have traditionally been called the Pools of Solomon, and they may be the reservoirs he built to provide water for his gardens.
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