Thursday, December 31, 2015

PT-2 A Promised King


SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/31/2015 10:03 PM

My Worship Time                                                                           Focus:  PT-2 A Promised King

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Micah 5:1-5a

Message of the verses:  1 "Now muster yourselves in troops, daughter of troops; They have laid siege against us; With a rod they will smite the judge of Israel on the cheek. 2 “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity." 3 Therefore He will give them up until the time When she who is in labor has borne a child. Then the remainder of His brethren Will return to the sons of Israel. 4 And He will arise and shepherd His flock In the strength of the LORD, In the majesty of the name of the LORD His God. And they will remain, Because at that time He will be great To the ends of the earth. 5 This One will be our peace.”

We pretty much went over what the first two verses of this prophecy were about in our last SD, and so today we will try and see what verses 3-5a is saying.  We want to look at what Dr. Wiersbe has to say from his commentary at this point:  “In this prophecy, Micah reveals a number of important facts about the Messiah.  To begin with, He is eternal God, for His ‘goings out are from old…from days of eternity (see NIV Margin).  Jesus stepped out of eternity into human history, sent by the father to die for the sins of the world (1 John 4:14).  But He is also truly a man, for He is born as a human child.  We have here the miracle of the Incarnation (John 1:14).”  Now those who are following the Spiritual Diaries on the book of John have seen this as we looked at the first chapter of John’s gospel, and we have also looked many times at the key verses in the book of John which tells us exactly why John wrote this book:  “30 Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31  but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.  This is why John wrote his book as stated, to tell others exactly who Jesus was and Micah was prophesying about the coming Messiah in these verses.

One may wonder why it was that the very Son of God chose to be born in Bethlehem, and not a major city like Athens of Rome or Jerusalem.  In my Christmas message I tried to answer that question by stating that it is my belief that the prophecy of Micah 5:2 was fulfilled by Jesus Christ being born in the same cave that the Passover Lambs were born in for John said of Jesus “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world,” and Paul writes in “1Co 5:7 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.  Jesus died exactly when the Passover Lambs were sacrificed for as we read here His is our Passover.  Now when Jesus comes in victory the second time He will not come to Bethlehem, for Zachariah tells us exactly where He will land along with an angel talking to His disciples in the first chapter of Acts.  Jesus will come down on the Mt. of Olives where He was taken up into heaven.

Dr. Wiersbe writes “However, before He can stand as a Shepherd and care for His flock, His own people must reject Him.  Between the cross and the Kingdom Age, Israel will be ‘given up’ by the Lord until the time when Jesus returns and the nation is ‘born’ into her kingdom (see Isa. 66:8).  The King will reign to the ends of the earth and will bring peace to all nations.  Today, of course, Christ gives peace to all who will come to Him by faith (Matt. 11:28-30; Rom. 5:1).”

Micah gave the people of his day an encouraging message, but they did not pay much attention to it.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “Whenever a prophet foretold the future, it was to awaken the people to their responsibilities in the present.  Bible prophecy isn’t entertainment for the curious; it’s encouragement for the serious.” 

I love the prophetic Word of God, but God has and continues to teach me things like Dr. Wiersbe just stated and that is it is not entertainment.

Happy New Year to all, on we hope and pray that the Lord will return to take His bride to heaven this year.

12/31/2015 10:56 PM

 

Review of John Chapter One


SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/31/2015 10:38 AM

My Worship Time                                                                             Focus:  Chapter One Review

As mentioned in our last SD from the book of John this SD will be a bit different in that we are going to look at a quote from a sermon by John MacArthur which he entitled “The Beginning of Miracles,” and this is one of his later sermons on the book of John done sometime around 2012. 

Now before we look at this quote I want to wish all who read this SD a very happy new-year as it is hard to believe that 2015 has ended so fast.  Time seems to be moving faster than any time that I can remember, but perhaps it is because I am getting older.  My plans for 2016 as far as my Spiritual Diaries are concerned are continuing with the book of John, which will probably take most of 2016.  I also want to continue in my study of the final OT books as I continue with the book of Micah and then try and finish the rest of the Minor Prophets which will actually complete my study of the entire Bible.  After that is completed my plans are to begin a study of the letters found in the NT, and I want to begin with Colossians as that was the book that I actually wanted to do this year before it seemed to me that the Lord directed me to the book of Revelation.  I also want to finish putting some of my older Spiritual Diaries onto the other blog that I have.  When that happens I will then put either the rest of the OT Spiritual Diaries onto that blog or the NT letters on that blog.  All of this that I write about is my plans, but I commit them to the Lord to see if they are His plans for my life this coming year and trust He will guide me into doing what He wants me to do.

“For now, it’s John chapter 2, John chapter 2. And I have reminded you and will remind you again that John has written his gospel for one purpose, really. These have been written, he says--the words of this gospel--that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. John writes to give evidence for the fact that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah and is the Son of God, that you may believe that, and that believing you may have life, eternal life, in His name. So we’ve been saying he has an apologetic purpose to give evidence that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and he has an evangelistic purpose that you might believe that, and then believing have eternal life in His name. John’s gospel is a collection of evidences, of evidences concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, to prove His deity and His humanity. The whole purpose of this gospel is just to line up supporting proofs for the deity of Jesus Christ.

“We already know that from our experience in chapter 1. There is the first eighteen verses, which is the testimony of John the apostle himself. In the opening eighteen verses that some call the prologue, John gives his own testimony that the Word, who is Jesus Christ, is God, with God, created everything, is the Light, is the life, all of those things are part of that. “The Word,” verse 14, “became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory. The glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

“So in the opening eighteen verses, it is the testimony, the inspired testimony of the apostle John concerning the fact that Jesus is the Creator God Himself and yet distinct from God, being God and yet being with God. Then starting in verse 19, we have the testimony of the greatest of all Old Testament prophets, the greatest man who had ever lived up until this time--John the Baptist, the great and last Old Testament prophet and the first preacher of Jesus Christ. And he affirms that Jesus is the Messiah, the Lamb of God.

“And then starting in verse 38 you have the third group of those giving verbal testimony--Andrew, Peter, John, Philip and Andrew--who are Old Testament believers who were true worshipers of the true God, who give us first-hand testimony that Jesus is in fact the Messiah, that He is the One spoken of by the Law and the Prophets, that He is the Son of God, He is the King of Israel.

“So the first chapter is verbal testimony from John the apostle, John the Baptist, and five followers of John the Baptist who then follow Jesus and later will become apostles. All of that is verbal testimony. Jesus is God, with God, is the Light, is the life, is God in human flesh, is the Lamb of God, is the Messiah, is the One spoken of in the Old Testament, is the Son of God and is the King of Israel. All of those confessions are made in that first chapter.

“Now we come to chapter 2, we move from verbal testimony to testimony by the works of Jesus. And John is going to alternate now as we go through His gospel, between the words of Christ, and the works of Christ. He’s going to have us look at the statements Jesus made that indicate His deity and the works He did that demonstrate and prove His deity. He will do what no one but God can do. And we see that in the very first miracle in chapter 2.

“Now in John’s book, he gives us eight signs, eight miracles that Jesus did that are signs pointing to His deity. He turns water into wine in chapter 2. He heals a dying man in chapter 4. He cures a paralyzed man in chapter 5. He creates food for thousands of people in chapter 6. He walks on water at the end of chapter 6. He gives sight to the blind in chapter 9. He raises a man dead for days in chapter 11. He creates a meal in chapter 21, breakfast for His disciples. And then the culminating miracle beyond the eight, He is raised from the dead. So those are the miracle signs that John records. And I would just remind you that in chapter 20, verse 30, it says this: “Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples which are not written in this book.” So I don’t want you to think that these are the only miracles Jesus did, far from it. There are many others. They were a daily experience of those who followed Jesus.

“And then in chapter 21, verse 25, the last verse in the gospel of John, John writes “there were also many other things which Jesus did which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.” Jesus did so many signs and so many miracles that the books of the world wouldn’t be able to contain the details of all of them. Many other things; John is merely giving us samples of these miraculous evidences that Jesus is in fact God because He does what only God can do. In chapter 1, verse 14, the Word, the divine Word, the eternal Word became flesh and manifested His divine glory. That’s John’s point. He shows His glory as God through these signs.

“Now as we come to chapter 2, it is also in chapter 2 that we have the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. His ministry to the crowds, His ministry to the people of Israel, and His public ministry goes from chapter 2, verse 1 to the end of chapter 12. When you come to the end of chapter 12, that’s the end of His public ministry. Chapter 13 through 17 is His private ministry in the Upper Room to the apostles. And that is right before His death and resurrection, which then become the subject of chapters 18 to 21. So the book is divided then into those sections: chapter 1, verbal testimony; chapter 2 to 12, public ministry; 13 to 17, private ministry; 18 to the end, His death, resurrection, and post-resurrection appearances. That helps locate you in the big scheme of things in the gospel of John.”

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Peter” (Acts 2:1, 14).

Today’s Bible question:  “Jeremiah was a prophet to which kingdom?”

Answer in our next SD.

12/31/2015 10:56 AM

 

 

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

PT-1 A Promised King (Micah 5:1-5a)


SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/30/2015 9:59 PM

My Worship Time                                                                      Focus: PT-1 A Promised King

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Micah 5:1-5a

Message of the verses:  “1 "Now muster yourselves in troops, daughter of troops; They have laid siege against us; With a rod they will smite the judge of Israel on the cheek. 2 “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity." 3 Therefore He will give them up until the time When she who is in labor has borne a child. Then the remainder of His brethren Will return to the sons of Israel. 4 And He will arise and shepherd His flock In the strength of the LORD, In the majesty of the name of the LORD His God. And they will remain, Because at that time He will be great To the ends of the earth. 5 This One will be our peace.”

I want to first of all quote John Gill as he outlines what we will be looking at as we look at this fifth chapter in the book of Micah:  “This chapter begins with a prophecy of the siege of Jerusalem, #Mic 5:1; and then follows another concerning the place of the Messiah’s birth, #Mic 5:2; and of the case of the Jews, either before or after it, #Mic 5:3; and of Christ’s office as a shepherd, and of his grandeur in the world, #Mic 5:4; and of his being a peacemaker, and protector of his people from their enemies, #Mic 5:5,6; and of his people, the great increase of them, and their usefulness, and also of their courage, strength, and prowess, #Mic 5:7-9; likewise that the Lord will remove from them their vain confidence, and all occasion of it, and whatsoever illicit arts and practices were found among them; and all idolatry, and the instruments of it, #Mic 5:10-14; and the chapter is concluded with a threatening of vengeance to the Heathens, #Mic 5:15.”

As Gill states the first verses speaks of the siege on Jerusalem and this verse does not speak of the troops that Judah has, but of the troops that the Babylonians have when they begin their siege on Jerusalem.  I want to quote an endnote from Warren Wiersbe’s commentary at this point.  “It is unwise to make Micah 5:1 a prophecy of what happened to Jesus during His trial, although He was slapped in the face, beaten with a reed, and scourged (Matt. 27:30; Mark 15:19; John 19:3).  The context of Micah 5:1 is definitely the siege of Jerusalem, not the trial of Jesus.”  Now I for one am glad for this note for when I read this verse it made me think of the trial that Jesus went through, and when He was slapped in His face.

When we studied the book of 2 Kings we learned what had happened to King Zedekiah as he and his family tried to slip out of Jerusalem when the siege was going on with the Babylonians. They were overtaken and then the Babylonians killed his sons in front of him and then caused him to go blind and took him to Babylonian.

Now as I was reading these verses this time I was stricken by the great contrast between verses one and two.  Dr. Wiersbe writes:  “The fact that Micah 5:2 is in contrast to verse 1 (‘But, thou, Bethlehem’) is another proof that verse 1 is not speaking about Jesus; for verses 2-5 definitely refer to Messiah.  God selected the ‘little town of Bethlehem’ as the place where the King of the Jews was to be born.  It was this prophecy that the priests shared with the magi who came to Jerusalem looking for the King (Matt. 2:1-12).”

In Genesis 35:16-20 we read the story of how Rachel, Jacob’s favorite wife gave birth to their last son.  Rachel died giving birth to this son and named him “Ben-oni” which means “son of my sorrow.” It was very near Bethlehem that Rachel died and was buried.  Now Jacob changed his name to Benjamin, which means “son of my right hand.”  Now as we look at the two names given to Jacob and Rachel’s son we can picture our Lord Jesus Christ.  Dr. Wiersbe writes: “These two names remind us of our Lord’s suffering and glory, the cross and the throne at the Father’s right hand.” 

More history of Bethlehem was that Ruth came there as the daughter-in-law of Naomi, Ruth being a Moabite and is in the blood line of Jesus Christ.  Remember the people of Moab began when one of Lot’s daughter got her father drunk and slept with him and she had a son whom she name Moab.  I have to say that what I seen in this story is Romans 8:28 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”  Ruth fell in love with Boas and they had a child who became the father of King David and all of this happened in Bethlehem. David was given a promise by God in 2 Samuel chapter seven that the Messiah would come through his line and it did as both Mary and Joseph came through the line of David.  Now when we look at John 7:42 we read that the Jews knew that their Messiah would be born in Bethlehem:  “"Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the descendants of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?"”  With that we will stop and do some more from these verses in our next SD on Micah.

12/30/2015 10:31 PM    

 

 

PT-2 The Seeking Savior (John 1:43-51)


SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/30/2015 9:01 AM

My Worship Time                                                                        Focus:  PT-2 The Seeking Savior

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  John 1:43-51

Message of the verses:  “43 The next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him, "Follow Me." 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote-Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." 46 Nathanael said to him, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!" 48 Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." 49 Nathanael answered Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel." 50 Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these." 51 And He said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.’”

We mentioned the initial skepticism that Nathanael had when he heard that the Messiah came from Nazareth, but Philip simply says to him, “Come and see.”  Now if someone whom you are talking to about the Lord Jesus Christ has questions as to who He really is my advice would be what I learned from a sermon that I listened to by John MacArthur where he stated to have that person read the book of John, and I may add that it would also be advisable to have that person do two things before they read the gospel of John.  First ask God to show them the truth that is found in John’s gospel about Jesus and second begin with the key verse which we have been repeating throughout our study in this first chapter of John:  “but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31).”

Next we look at what Jesus says to Nathanael:  “Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!”  MacArthur writes “From the human perspective, Nathanael came to Jesus through the witness of Philip.  But, as his interview with Jesus reveals, he did so only because Jesus had first sought him.  Gerald L. Borchert perceptively notes, ‘Jesus ‘finds’…Philip (1:43).  Philip in turn ‘finds’ Nathanael and reports to Nathanael, ‘We have found’ him (1:45)…But it is intriguing to ask the very simple question concerning these stories: Who really finds whom?  Christians have frequently been known to say that they found Christ or found faith as Andrew and Philip reported, but maybe Jesus’ perspective in these stories could profitably alter such a self-centered view of salvation.  It was not Jesus who was lost!’”

MacArthur writes “Jesus described Nathanael as ‘an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!’  His point was that Nathanael’s blunt, honest reply to Philip revealed his lack of duplicity and eagerness to examine Jesus’ claims for himself.  Jesus may have been alluding to Jacob (and by implication the nation descended from him) who, in contrast to Nathanael, was a deceiver (Gen. 27:35; 31:20).  But unlike many of his fellow Jews, who were hypocrites (Matt. 6:2, 5, 16; 15:7; 22:18; 23:13ff.; Luke 12:1, 56; 13:15), Nathanael was ‘an Israelite’ indeed.  Alethos (indeed) means ‘genuinely,’ ‘in truth’ or ‘actually.’  Paul pointed out how mere external conformity to the rites, rituals, and observances of Judaism did not make one ‘an Israelite indeed:’ ‘28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. 29 But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God… For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; 7 nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants, but: "THROUGH ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS WILL BE NAMED’ (Rom. 2:28-29; 9:6b-7).  It is those who continue in Jesus’ word who are His true (alethos) followers (8:31).  Nathanael was a true disciple from the beginning, as his response makes clear.”

Nathanael’s response to Jesus was “How do You know me?” to which He replied “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”  John Gill whose commentary on every verse in the Bible is on my Online Bible program and in one of his sermons John MacArthur mentions what I am going to quote that comes from John Gill, and I find it very interesting, although as to the truth of it we really don’t know:  “It is said of Nathanael, in the Syriac dictionary {x }; that his mother laid him under a fig tree, when the infants were slain, i.e. at Bethlehem; which, if it could be depended upon, must be to Nathanael a surprising and undeniable proof of the deity of Christ, and of his being the true Messiah; since, at that time, he was an infant of days himself, and was the person Herod was seeking to destroy, as the Messiah, and king of the Jews.” 

John Gill also writes the following note on this section:  “before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee; in which words Christ gives two instances of his omniscience; the one is, that he knew Philip had called him; he was privy to all that passed between them, though they were alone, and the conversation was had in the most private manner. Christ knew what an account Philip had given of him, and what objection Nathanael had made; and what an invitation Philip had given him to go along with him to Christ, and judge for himself; which is here meant by calling him, and with which he complied: and the other is, that he saw him under the fig tree before that: he was sitting under it, as men in those countries used to do; see #Mic 4:4, where he might be reading the Scriptures, and meditating upon them; and if, as some observe, he was reading, and thinking upon Jacob’s dream, concerning the ladder which reached from earth to heaven, and on which he saw the angels of God ascending and descending, the words of Christ in #Joh 1:51 must strike him with fresh surprise, and give him another convincing proof of his omniscience: or he might be praying here in secret, and so acted a different part from the generality, of religious men of that nation, who chose to pray in synagogues, and corners of the streets, that they might be seen; and likewise proved him to be what Christ had said of him, a true and rare Israelite, without guile and hypocrisy, which were so visible and prevailing among others. It was usual with the doctors to read, and study in the law, under fig trees, and sometimes, though rarely, to pray there. It is said {t }, “R. Jacob, and his companions, were "sitting," studying in the law, תאינה חדא תחות, "under a certain fig tree".””

Now Gill speaks of perhaps what Scripture that Nathanael might have been reading, and although this fits in to what Jesus tells him, to me, there is great speculation on his part to think that Nathanael may have been reading under the fig tree from God’s word, but what Jesus tells him does in fact go along with Jacob’s dream in Genesis 28:12. 

I want at this point to go back and talk about Jesus’ reply, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe?”  MacArthur states that this “should probably be understood not as a question, but as a statement of fact.  Thus, Nathanael is the first person in John’s gospel reported to have believed in Jesus (though the disciples called earlier had as well).  The Lord’s display of supernatural knowledge in seeing Nathanael ‘under the fig tree’ was enough to make him a believer, but Jesus promised that he would ‘see greater things than’ that.  The first of the thirty-seven miracles of Jesus recorded in the gospels would soon take place in Nathanael’s own hometown of Cana (2:1-11).  In addition, Nathanael would witness countless other miracles beyond those recorded in Scripture (cf. 21:25).”

Now one more comment on what Jesus says about “the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” In the dream that Jacob had he saw a ladder and that ladder is the Lord Jesus Christ as He is the link between heaven and earth, the revealer of heavenly truth to men.  Jesus is the “one mediator…between God and men as seen in 1 Timothy 2:5), and He is the mediator of a better and new covenant spoken of by the author of Hebrews.

We see the title of which Jesus likes the best “Son of Man” and John uses this thirteen times in his gospel but a total of around 80 times it is used in the gospels.  The title comes from the book of Daniel and is a Messianic title first given by Daniel:  “13 "I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. 14 “And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed (Daniel 7:13-14).”  MacArthur writes “In the future, the ‘Son of Man’ will receive the kingdom from the Ancient of Days.” 

MacArthur concludes this section which ends the first chapter of John, a chapter which we began on the 24th of November of this year.  “This passage, which records Jesus’ call of His first disciples to salvation, pictures the balance of salvation taught throughout Scripture.  Salvation takes place when seeking souls, come in faith to the Savior who has already sought them.”

I want to say that before we get into the second chapter of John it is my desire to do a review of what we have been learning in this first chapter by quoting from a sermon which I listened to yesterday from John MacArthur in which he preaches on the second chapter of John verses 1-11, but before he does this in a way that he usually does he has to review what he has been speaking of earlier.  As I listened to it I felt that this would be a fitting way to not only end the first chapter of John, but also end 2015’s Spiritual Diaries.  I have posted a total of 913 Spiritual Diaries onto the two blogs that I write to and there has been many of them read around the world to which I give glory to the Lord as I am both thankful and privileged to be writing these Spiritual Diaries as a ministry that the Lord has given to me.  Again to God be the glory.

Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am thankful for the Lord putting into my heart almost 42 years ago a desire to seek Him as He was seeking me and found me, for I was the one who was lost, not Jesus.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust that the Lord will continue to give me the desire to write my Spiritual Diaries and that He will continue to use them to bring glory to His name.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Caesarea” (Acts 10:1).

Today’s Bible question:  “Who preached a sermon on The Day of Pentecost?”

Answer in our next SD.

12/30/2015 10:25 AM  

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

A Promised Conquest (Micah 4:11-13)


SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/30/2015

My Worship Time                                                                             Focus:  A Promised Conquest

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Micah 4:11-13

Message of the verses:  “11 “And now many nations have been assembled against you Who say, ’Let her be polluted, And let our eyes gloat over Zion.’ 12 “But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD, And they do not understand His purpose; For He has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor. 13 “Arise and thresh, daughter of Zion, For your horn I will make iron And your hoofs I will make bronze, That you may pulverize many peoples, That you may devote to the LORD their unjust gain And their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.”

This section is speaking of the future of Israel when there will be many nations that will come up against her and believe that they will be able to defeat her, but as we see in these verses the Lord will cause Israel to “pulverize many peoples.”  Think about all the nations today that have stated that their sole purpose in life is to destroy Israel.  When Israel was declared to be a nation in May of 1948 the first thing that they had to do was to defend her land, something that they had done centuries before and they will have to continue to do this as we have seen in the more recent past as Israel is surrounded by her enemies who want to destroy her.

Zechariah12:1-9 says “1 The burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel. Thus declares the LORD who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him, 2 "Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. 3 “It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. 4 “In that day," declares the LORD, "I will strike every horse with bewilderment and his rider with madness. But I will watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 “Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ’A strong support for us are the inhabitants of Jerusalem through the LORD of hosts, their God.’ 6 "In that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem again dwell on their own sites in Jerusalem. 7 “The LORD also will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be magnified above Judah. 8 “In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them in that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD before them.  9 "And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.”

Zachariah has more to say in chapter 14 and verses 1-11:  “1 Behold, a day is coming for the LORD when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you. 2  For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. 4 In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south. 5 You will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him! 6 In that day there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle. 7 For it will be a unique day which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at evening time there will be light.

    8 And in that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter. 9 And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one. 10 All the land will be changed into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; but Jerusalem will rise and remain on its site from Benjamin’s Gate as far as the place of the First Gate to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s wine presses. 11 People will live in it, and there will no longer be a curse, for Jerusalem will dwell in security.”

Dr. Wiersbe writes that “the nations are sure of victory because they ignore Scripture and don’t know God’s plans for His people (Jeremiah 29:11).”  “’For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ’plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”

Even though at this time the nations will look upon Israel as weak and defenseless the Lord will give strength to do what He has planned for them to accomplish. We can see in this section that God will give them horns and hoofs which symbolize power and also the speed as they attack their enemies.  Dr. Wiersbe concludes “This great battle is usually called ‘the Battle of Armageddon,’ although that phrase is not found in Scripture (Rev. 16:16; 19:17-21).  When the battle is over, the victorious Jewish army will devote all the spoils to the service of the Lord.”

12/30/2015 1:14 AM   

PT-1 The Seeking Savior (John 1:43-51)


SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/29/2015 9:41 AM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  PT-1The Seeking Savior

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  John 1:43-51

Message of the verses:  “43 The next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him, "Follow Me." 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote-Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." 46 Nathanael said to him, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!" 48 Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." 49 Nathanael answered Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel." 50 Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these." 51 And He said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.’”

We see something a little different in the calling of Philip in that Jesus sought him out, however MacArthur writes “In any case, whoever initiates the contact, those who come to Christ do so only because God first sought them.”  Let’s once again look at John 6:44 “"No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.”  Now let us look at John 15:16 “"You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.”  I have mentioned that when I was saved in Florida in 1974 close to the age of 27 I was not seeking the Lord, but as I look at verses like Jesus seeking out Philip I realize that it was the Lord who was seeking me out in order to save me, so when I read about Philip it gives me great comfort.  John MacArthur writes “Though this is distinct from the others, their being brought to Jesus by another refers only to the human contact, not the sovereign divine election by God.  That is true of everyone who comes savingly to Jesus.  Philip’s response of faith is not recorded, but it certainly took place.”  We know it took place because the first thing that he did was go and get Nathanael and tell him about Jesus.

We read all of this happened the “next day” which speaks of a day after Andrew found Peter and brought him to meet Jesus.  We know that Jesus purposed to leave where John the Baptist was baptizing, but the place where He called Philip is not stated.  We see that Philip was from Bethsaida which was a fishing village on the shore of the Sea of Galilee and not far from Capernaum, and it was also the home of both Andrew and Peter, but we learn in Mark 1:21 and 29 that they had moved to Capernaum.  Even though they moved to Capernaum Andrew and Peter remained associated with the village they grew up in similar to Jesus who was raised in Nazareth, but was still associated with it.

We mentioned that Philip went to find Nathanael and MacArthur quotes Frederic Louis Godet who writes “Philip’s part in the calling of Nathanael is like that of Andrew in the calling of Peter, and that of Peter and Andrew in his own.  One lighted torch serves to light another; thus faith propagates itself.”  Now we should know that Nathanael means “God has given” and he is called Bartholomew in the Synoptic Gospels, which never uses the name Nathanael, just as John never uses Bartholomew.  MacArthur writes “Evidently Nathanael was his given name Bartholomew (Bar-Tolmai; ‘son of Tolmai’) his surname.  In the lists of the twelve apostles in the Synoptic Gospels, his name immediately follows Philip’s.  John’s only other mention of him notes that he was from the Galilean village of Cana (21:2).”

Philip tells Nathanael “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote-Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”  Notice that he says that Jesus was of Nazareth even though He did not live there now as we mentioned when we looked at verse 45.  We can determine that because Philip says “we” that he included himself as a follower of Jesus, and also because of what he told Nathanael that he had a love for the Old Testament.  Another possible reason he said this to him was because of what we said in an earlier SD and that is perhaps Jesus spoke of His being the One who was going to fulfill these OT prophecies found in the Law and the prophets.  One more thing we should understand when Philip states that Jesus was the son of Joseph that he was not denying the virgin birth, but this is the way that people at that time stated their names and legally Jesus was the son of Joseph, as Joseph cared for His growing up and was married to Mary.  Both Joseph and Mary came from the line of David as we see in the books of Matthew, telling of Joseph’s line to David and Luke’s showing Mary’s line all the way back to Adam.  In the SD that I did on Christmas day I wrote about this.  As for the fact that those who did not realize that Jesus was born in Bethlehem but thought he was born in Nazareth as we will later see, and we see here when Nathanael asks “can any good thing come out of Nazareth” we can see that Jonah was born very close to the village of Nazareth:  Jonah is identified as the son of Amittai, and he appears in 2 Kings aka 4 Kings as a prophet from Gath-Hepher, a few miles north of Nazareth. He is therein described as being active during the reign of the second King Jeroboam (c.786–746 BC), and as predicting that Jeroboam will recover certain lost territories.  (Wikipedia)  

We will continue to look at these verses in our next SD.

Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have mentioned that the way that Jesus called Philip was very similar in the way that He called me in that Philip was not looking for Jesus as I wasn’t when He found me.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Ephesians tells us that we are dead, that is we are all born spiritually dead. “Eph 2:1  And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, Eph 2:5  even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).”  Realizing this there has to have been a miracle that took place in my life in Jan. of 1974 to spiritually raise me from the dead, which is what Jesus did and it is my desire to tell others of this miracle so that they too, can experience it.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Elisabeth” (Luke 1:43).

Today’s Bible question:  “In what city did Cornelius live?”

Answer in our next SD.

12/29/2015 10:29 AM

 

Monday, December 28, 2015

A Promised Deliverance (Micah 4:9-10)


SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/29/2015 12:23 AM

My Worship Time                                                                         Focus:  A Promised Deliverance

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Micah 4:9-10

Message of the verses:  “9 “Now, why do you cry out loudly? Is there no king among you, Or has your counselor perished, That agony has gripped you like a woman in childbirth? 10  "Writhe and labor to give birth, Daughter of Zion, Like a woman in childbirth; For now you will go out of the city, Dwell in the field, And go to Babylon. There you will be rescued; There the LORD will redeem you From the hand of your enemies.”

The first thing we want to explain is that “Daughter of Zion” is the city of Jerusalem as seen in verse ten, so we know that Micah is speaking of the Southern Kingdom, especially those who dwell in their capital city of Jerusalem.  It is no wonder that Jerusalem is given this name for most cities are usually classified as feminine in name, which make it a term of endearment which assured the people of God’s loving care no matter what will happen to them.  However we see in this section that the city was in travail, similar to a woman who is about to give birth, and only a woman who has gone through that will understand the words the Micah is saying here.  Why is this city in travail?  Well Babylon is about to capture them in what was a very bad scene as we read about what this happened that families would actually eat their offspring because food was so short.  God is showing them through this prophet that the exile to Babylon would not be the end for them as God will bring them back to their city and He did as He promised them that He would.

When we studied the book of Jeremiah we learned that if the leaders would have listened to Jeremiah then Babylon would not have had to destroy the city of Jerusalem nor the temple, but these leaders were influenced by the false prophets who were telling them that God would not destroy the city nor the temple because of the covenant that He had made with David.  We also learned from Jeremiah in 25:11 and 29:12 that the exile would only last for seventy years and at the end of 2nd Chronicles why it was seventy years of captivity:  “2Ch 36:21 to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept sabbath until seventy years were complete.”  Israel was suppose to let the land lie without planting it every seven years and they had missed 70 of these sabbaths or for 490 years and that is the reason that Jeremiah said they would be in Babylon for 70 years.

12/29/2015 12:39 AM

 

PT-3 The Seeking Souls (John 1:38-42)


SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/28/2015 11:03 AM

My Worship Time                                                                         Focus:  PT-3 The Seeking Souls

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  John 1:38-42

Message of the verses:  “38 And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, "What do you seek?" They said to Him, "Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?" 39 He said to them, "Come, and you will see." So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which translated means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas" (which is translated Peter).”

John MacArthur writes concerning Messiah:  “Messiah transliterates a Hebrew or Aramaic term that, like its Greek equivalent Christ, means ‘anointed one.’  In the Old Testament it was used of the high priest (Lev. 4:3, 5, 16; 6:22), the king (1 Sam. 12:3, 5; 16:6; 24:6; 26:9; 2 Sam. 1:14; 22:51; 23:1), the patriarchs (Ps. 105:15), and the people of God (Ps. 28:8).  But supremely, the term referred to the prophesied (d. g. Dan. 9:25-26) Coming or Expected One (Matt. 11:3), God’s anointed Deliverer and King, His Son the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Andrew was not just content in telling his brother about whom he had found, but he took the time to bring Peter to meet Jesus and then Jesus said to Peter “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas" (which is translated Peter).”  When I first became a believer I use to listen to Hal Lindsey a lot and one of his sermons I listened to many times was entitled “Becoming what you Are,” and the title of that sermon and what was said in that sermon fits into what Jesus said to Peter, for Jesus was telling Peter what he would become when He changed his name from Simon, the son of John to Cephas or his Gentile name which we know the best as Peter.  Now when we read in the gospels about Peter we know that this was going to be a long process, but when we read what happened to Peter in the book of Acts we find that the process of him beginning to be fulfilled.  As we look at this can we wonder if when the Lord saved us that He has plans for what we are to become just like He did Peter, and we wonder how far along in that process we are and what we will finally become. 

John MacArthur quotes from his book “Twelve Ordinary Men” in his commentary the following rather long statement of a couple of pages in his commentary.  Perhaps it is best to quote this section in closing as we all can probably gain from his insight into the life of Peter.

“Simon was a very common name.  There are at least seven Simons in the Gospel accounts alone.  Among the Twelve were two named Simon (Simon Peter and Simon the Zealot).  In Matthew 13:55, Jesus’ half brothers are listed, and one of them was also named Simon.  Judas Iscariot’s father was called Simon as well (John 6:71).  Matthew 26:6 mentions that Jesus had a meal at the home of a man in Bethany named Simon the leper.  Another Simon—a Pharisee—hosted Jesus at a similar meal (Luke 7:36-40).  And the man conscripted to carry Jesus’ cross partway to Calvary was Simon of Cyrene (Matthew 27:32).

“Our Simon’s full name at birth was Simon Bar-Jonah (Matthew 16:17), meaning ‘Simon, son of Jonah’ (John 21:15-17).  Simon Peter’s father’s name, then, was John (sometimes rendered Jonas or Jonah).  We know nothing more about his parents.

“But notice that the Lord gave him another name.  Luke introduces him this way:  ‘Simon, whom He also named Peter’ (Luke 6:14).  Luke’s choice of words here is important.  Jesus didn’t merely give him a new name to replace the old one.  He ‘also’ named him Peter.  This disciple was known sometimes as Simon, sometimes as Peter, and sometimes as Simon Peter.

“Peter was a sort of Nickname.  It means ‘Rock.’  (Petros is the Greek word for ‘piece of rock, a stone.’)  The Aramaic equivalent was Cephas (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:12; 3:22; 9:5; 15:5; Galatians 2:9).  John 1:42 describes Jesus’ first face-to-face meeting with Simon Peter:  ‘Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, ‘You are Simon the son of Jonah.  You shall be called Cephas’ (which is translated, A Stone).’  Those were apparently the first words Jesus ever said to Peter.  And from then on, ‘Rock’ was his nickname.

“Sometimes, however, the Lord continued to refer to him as Simon anyway.  When you see that in Scripture, it is often a signal that Peter has done something that needs rebuke or correction.

“The nickname was significant, and the Lord had a specific reason for choosing it.  By nature Simon was brash, vacillating, and undependable.  He tended to make great promised he couldn’t follow through with.  He was one of those people who appears to lunge wholeheartedly into something but then bails out before finishing.  He was usually the first one in; and too often, he was the first one out.  When Jesus met him, he fit James’s description of a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways (James 1:8).  Jesus changed Simon’s name, it appears, because He wanted the nickname to be a perpetual reminder to him about who he should be.  And from that point on, whatever Jesus called him sent a subtle message.  If He called him Simon, He was signaling him that he was acting like his old self.  If He called him Rock, He commending him for acting the way he ought to be acting…

“This young man named Simon, who would be Peter, was impetuous, impulsive, and overeager.  He needed to become like a rock, so that is what Jesus named him.  From then on, the Lord could gently chide or commend him just by using one name or the other.

“After Christ’s first encounter with Simon Peter, we find two distinct contexts in which the name Simon is regularly applied to him.  One is a secular context.  When Scripture refers to his house, for example, it’s usually ‘Simon’s house’ (Mark 1:29; Luke 4:38).  When it speaks of his mother-in-law, it does so in similar terms:  ‘Simon’s wife’s mother’ (Mark 1:30; Luke 4:38).  Luke 5, describing the fishing business, mentions ‘one of the boats, which Simon’s’ (v.3)—and Luke says James and John were ‘partners with Simon’ (v. 10).  All of those expressions refer to Simon in such a context; the use of his old name usually has nothing to do with his spirituality or his character.  That is just the normal way of signifying what pertained to him as a natural man—his work, his home, or his family life.  These are called ‘Simon’s’ things.

“The second category of references where he is called Simon is seen whenever Peter was displaying the characteristics of his unregenerate self—when he was sinning in word attitude, or action.  Whenever he begins to act like his old self, Jesus and the Gospel writers revert to calling him Simon.  In Luke 5:5, for example, Luke writes ‘Simon answered and said to Him, ‘Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.’  That is young Simon the fisherman speaking.  He is skeptical and reluctant.  But as he obeys and his eyes are opened to who Jesus really is, Luke begins to refer to him by his new name.  Verse 8 says, ‘When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!’

“We see Jesus calling him Simon in reference to the key failures in his career.  In Luke 22:31, foretelling Peter’s betrayal, Jesus said, ‘Simon, Simon!  Indeed, Satan has asked for you, the he may sift you as wheat.’  Later, in the Garden of Gethsemane, when Peter should have been watching and praying with Christ, he fell asleep.  Mark writes, ‘[Jesus] came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, ‘Simon are you sleeping?  Could you not watch on hour?  Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.  The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak’ (Mark 14:37-38).  Thus usually when Peter needed rebuke or admonishment, Jesus referred to him as Simon.  It must have reached the point where whenever the Lord said ‘Simon,’ Peter cringed.   He must have been thinking, Please call me Rock!  And the Lord might have replied, ‘I’ll call you Rock when you act like a rock.’

 “It is obvious from the Gospel narratives that the apostle John knew Peter very, very well.  They were lifelong friends, business associates, and neighbors.  Interestingly, in the Gospel of John, John refers to his friend fifteen times as ‘Simon Peter.’  Apparently John couldn’t make up his mind which name to use, because he saw both sides of Peter constantly.  So he simply put both names together.  In fact, ‘Simon Peter’ is what Peter calls himself in the address of his second epistle:  ‘Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ’ (2 Peter 1:1).  In effect, he took Jesus’ nickname for him and made it his surname (cf. Acts 10:32).

“After the resurrection, Jesus instructed His disciples to return to Galilee, where He planned to appear to them (Matthew 28:7).  Impatient Simon apparently got tired of waiting, so he announced that he was going back to fishing (John 21:3).  As usual, the other disciples dutifully followed their leader.  They got into the boat, fished all night, and caught nothing.

“But Jesus met them on the shore the following morning, where He had prepared breakfast for them.  The main purpose of the breakfast meeting seemed to be the restoration of Peter (who, of course, had sinned egregiously by denying Christ with curses on the night the Lord was betrayed).  Three times Jesus addressed him as Simon and asked, ‘Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?’  (John 21:15-17).  Three times Peter affirmed his love.

“That was the last time Jesus ever had to call him Simon.  A few weeks later, on Pentecost, Peter and the rest of the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit.  It was Peter, the Rock, who stood up and preached that day.

“Peter was exactly like most Christians—both carnal and spiritual.  He succumbed to the habits of the flesh sometimes; he functioned in the Spirit other times.  He was sinful sometimes, but other times he acted the way a righteous man ought to act.  This vacillating man—sometimes Simon, sometimes Peter—was the leader of the Twelve.”

That is the end of the quote from John MacArthur’s Twelve Ordinary Men.  

Egregiously:  “Very bad and easily noticed.”

MacArthur concludes this section of his commentary on this subject: “Seeking souls will always find Christ receptive; as He later promised:  ‘All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out’ (6:37).

Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I certainly could see myself as I read about Simon Peter as there are times when I act like Simon far too much.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I want to act more like Peter and less like Simon.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Yea and Amen” (2 Corinthians 1:20).

Today’s Bible question:  “Who said ‘And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”

Answer in our next SD.

12/28/2015 12:26 PM  

 

 

 

Sunday, December 27, 2015

A Promised Kingdom (Micah 4:1-8)


SPIRITUAL DIAYR FOR 12/27/2015 10:21 PM

My Worship Time                                                                   Focus:  A Promised Kingdom

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Micah 4:1-8

Message of the verses:  “1 And it will come about in the last days That the mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, And the peoples will stream to it. 2 Many nations will come and say, "Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD And to the house of the God of Jacob, That He may teach us about His ways And that we may walk in His paths." For from Zion will go forth the law, Even the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 3 And He will judge between many peoples And render decisions for mighty, distant nations. Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they train for war. 4 Each of them will sit under his vine And under his fig tree, With no one to make them afraid, For the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken. 5 Though all the peoples walk Each in the name of his god, As for us, we will walk In the name of the LORD our God forever and ever. 6 “In that day," declares the LORD, "I will assemble the lame And gather the outcasts, Even those whom I have afflicted. 7 “I will make the lame a remnant And the outcasts a strong nation, And the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion From now on and forever.  8 "As for you, tower of the flock, Hill of the daughter of Zion, To you it will come-Even the former dominion will come, The kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.”

Let us begin with and endnote from Dr. Wiersbe on the subject of “A Promised Kingdom.”  Isaiah painted the same picture (2:1-4).  Some interpret these passages in a spiritual sense as describing the church today, but I prefer to see them as specific prophecies for the Jewish nation.  The conditions on earth described by Isaiah and Micah haven’t appeared, especially the elimination of war, anti-Semitism, and religious rivalry among nations.”  To this quote I say AMEN!  I have written about some in the church wanting to take the promises of Israel which are made in the OT and say that these are for the church today, and I have said before that I truly believe that Satan has influenced these people who say this so that they can disregard Israel as having any future.  Paul writes to the Romans that the age of the church is like a wild olive tree that is grafted into the “tame” olive tree which is Israel: “17  But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, 18  do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in." 20 Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; 21 for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. 22 Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. 23 And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree? 25  For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery-so that you will not be wise in your own estimation-that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in (Romans 11:17-24).”  I ask how can anyone read this and not understand that God has a future for the nation of Israel.

The timing of this message, and also the message that Isaiah gave gives hope to the children of Israel since at the time of this writing the Assyrians were about to destroy the Northern Kingdom of Israel and then take a part of the Southern Kingdom of Israel before God will first hand destroy the Assyrian army that is camped outside of Jerusalem.  Israel needed hope and Micah gives them hope with these words as they speak of a future time for Israel when their Messiah will rule and reign from Jerusalem.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “When the outlook is grim, try the uplook.  Thus the prophet encouraged the people to look ahead to what God had promised for His chosen people.”

I have written as to what is described in these verses from looking at other OT prophets and also from the later chapters of the book of Revelation as God has promised a future for Israel and before that promise will be fulfilled they will go through seven years of horror described in Revelation chapters 6-19, and then the Lord Jesus Christ returns to set up the kingdom that is partly described in these verses that we are looking at as these verses help us better understand what will happen during what the Bible calls the Millennial kingdom.

Dr. Wiersbe helps us understand what verses four and five is about:  “Every Jewish family wanted to achieve what Micah described in 4:4: a pleasant home with a productive garden in a peaceful land (see 1 Kings 4:25; Isa. 36:16).  But even more than peace and economic stability was the blessing of knowing the Lord and obeying Him Micah 4:5).  This verse doesn’t refer to the future, because during the Kingdom Age all the nations will worship Jehovah.  It was an affirmation of faith on the part of the true believers, the remnant in the land: ‘The other nations may now be serving their own gods, which are false gods; but we will walk in the name of Jehovah, the true God, and obey Him alone.’”

      If any read the blog post that I put onto my blog on Christmas Day of this year they will understand what the words in verse 8 of this section means when we read “As for you, tower of the flock,” as these words in the Hebrew are “Migdal Eder,” Migdal means tower and Eder means of the flock.”  I explained that this is where the Passover lambs were raised in Bethlehem and it is my understanding that this would have been where our Lord Jesus Christ was born, and this would have been in a cave, not a stable.  Jesus Christ is the Passover Lamb as Paul describes Him and also John the Baptist described Him as “the Lamb of God who will take away the sin of the world.”

12/27/2015 11:00 PM