EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/02/2025 9:16 PM
My Worship Tim Focus:
PT-3 Intro to 3 John 9-14
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 3 John 9-14
Message of the verses: “9 I wrote something
to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not
accept what we say. 10 For this reason, if I come, I will call attention to his
deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words; and not satisfied
with this, he himself does not receive the brethren, either, and he forbids
those who desire to do so and puts them out of the church. 11
Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good
is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God. 12 Demetrius has received a good
testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself; and we add our testimony,
and you know that our testimony is true. 13 I had many things to write to you,
but I am not willing to write them to you with pen and ink; 14 but I
hope to see you shortly, and we will speak face to face. 15 Peace be to
you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends by name.”
I mentioned in the last SD’s that I am going to quote
from John MacArthur’s commentary’s introduction as he has made it quite long,
and so I feel that is the best way for us to understand this passage.
“During the lawless days of the judges, Abimelech, the son of Gideon, wanted to be king. So passionate was his lust for power that he murdered seventy of his brothers in an attempt to eliminate any possible rivals (Judg. 9:1-6). But Abimelech’s reign came to an untimely and embarrassing end. During his siege of the city of Thebez, ‘a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head, crushing his skull’ (v. 53). In the throes of death, he made a desperate, prideful attempt to avoid the shame of being killed by a woman. He ‘called quickly to the young man, his armor bearer, and said to him, ‘Draw your sword and kill me, so that it will not be said of me, ‘A Woman slew him.’’ So the young man pierced him through, and he died’ (54). Despite his attempt to cover it up, Abimelech’s shameful death was recorded for all time in Scripture.
“Absalom’s quest for power and prominence led him to
stage a coup against his own father, King David. But his day in the sun was short-lived, and
he met an ignominious end. While he was
fleeing from David’s men through a dense forest, Absalom’s mule went under an
oak tree. His flowing hair became entangled
in the tree’s thick branches, leaving him dangling helplessly in midair. He was soon executed by David’s general, Joab
(2 Sam. 18:9-15).
“Another of David’s sons, Adonijah, also sought to usurp
the throne of his father. In the waning
days of David’s life, ‘Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, ‘I
will be king.’ So he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen with fifty men
to run before him [like his brother Absalom had done; 2 Sam. 15:1]’ (1 Kings
1:5). His attempt to claim the throne
failed, however, thwarted by the quick action of Nathan the prophet (vv.
11-48). Granted mercy by King Solomon
(vv. 50-53), Adonijah repaid that kindness by scheming to overthrow him (1
Kings 2:13-21). Solomon saw through his
plot, however, and had him executed (vv. 22-25).
“Not content with being king, Uzziah attempted to
usurp the function of the priests.
According to 2 Chronicles 26:16, ‘When he became strong, his heart was
so proud that he acted corruptly, and he was unfaithful to the Lord his God,
for He entered the temple of the Lord o burn incense on the altar of incense.’ Uzziah was courageously opposed by Azariah
and eighty priests, who warned him the he was overstepping his bounds (vv.
17-18). Enraged, the proud and
self-confident Uzziah threatened the priests, and was immediately stricken by
God with leprosy (v. 19). For the rest
of his life Uzziah, the outcast, lived in a separate house and his son Jotham
assumed his royal duties (v.21).
“The book of Ester relates the story of Haman, the great
foe of the Jewish people. Obsessed with
his self-importance after being elevated to a high position in the Persian
Empire, Haman was enraged at Mordecai’s refusal to do homage to him
(Est.3:5). He therefore instigated a pogrom
to exterminate Mordecai’s people, the Jews (v. 6). In the end, however, it was Haman who
perished, hanged on the very gallows on which he had planned to hang Mordecai
(Est. 7:10).
“Nebuchadnezzar was the king of the mighty Babylonian
Empire. One day as he walked on the roof
of his royal palace in Babylon, the king reflected and said, ‘is this not Babylon
the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might my power
and for the glory of my majesty?’’ (Dan. 4:30).
But his pride was swiftly and humiliatingly crushed:
31 “While the word was in the king’s mouth,
a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is
declared: sovereignty has been removed from you, 32 and you will be driven away
from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the beasts of the
field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and seven periods of time
will pass over you until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the
realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.’ 33 "Immediately the word concerning
Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled; and he was driven away from mankind and began
eating grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven
until his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’
claws.”
Lord willing we
will begin to look at things from the New Testament in this introduction to our
verses from 3 John, and this will be the last SD on the introduction of these
last verses in 3 John.
6/2/2025 9:48
PM
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