Archives for March 2014

All the cities that you give to the Levites shall be forty-eight, with their pasturelands. Numbers 35:7 (ESV)

The cities of the levites were to be spread out across the land and serve as a reminder to the people of their calling to be a holy nation before God

For he must remain in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest, but after the death of the high priest the manslayer may return to the land of his possession. Numbers 35:28 (ESV)

We thank God that Jesus is both our city of refuge and our great High Priest. We run to Jesus our city of refuge and know we can stay under his protection for eternity because he lives as our High Priest forever as stated in Hebrews 4:14-15 and Hebrews 7:26-28

The inheritance of the people of Israel shall not be transferred from one tribe to another, for every one of the people of Israel shall hold on to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. Numbers 36:7 (ESV)

The case of these 5 daughters of Zelophehad reminds us of the parable Jesus taught in Matthew 25:1-13 with the five wise and five foolish virgins (Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah are the wise ones). The foolish virgins wanted to borrow oil from the wise but the oil was not transferable, they had to go and get their own. In the same way our inheritance in Jesus can not be transferred or imparted to someone else but belongs to us, each person must pursue and maintain their own inheritance before God.

On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. 1 Corinthians 16:2 (ESV)

Further evidence that from the earliest days of the church the body of Christ would meet for corporate worship on the first day of the week rather than the 7th day in honour of the resurrection of Jesus Christ as is also noted in Acts 20:7

for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries. 1 Corinthians 16:9 (ESV)

When Paul mentions the great and effective open door he is pointing to the great reception his preaching and the gospel message has found as mentioned in 2 Corinthians 2:12, Colossians 4:3 and Acts 14:27.

However as we know the gospel message always meets with resistance as it challenges the pride of man causing many adversaries to rise up, see Philippians 1:28 and1 Thessalonians 2:2. We give thanks to god that hostility is no real hindrance to the gospel as Paul mentions in Philippians 1:12–14

Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love. 1 Corinthians 16:13–14 (ESV)

In Paul’s conclusion to this letter he summarises the practical imperatives he has been talking about throughout the letter. He calls them to be watchful which is a call to holiness and sanctification. To stand firm in the faith is to uphold the gospel message as first preached and the godly traditions handed down to them. To act like men and be strong is to be mature in their thinking and behaviour. The call for everything to be done in love reminds us of the overarching love theme of the letter outlined back in chapter 13. We are called to grow up and live out the faith in love.

If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come! 1 Corinthians 16:22 (ESV)

Love is not an option for us as Christians but an imperative command given by the Lord Jesus himself in John 13:34

For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. Psalm 30:5 (ESV)

God is always displeased with sin and can never be indifferent to it, so he judges sin with a holy anger. However for his people God’s judgments and anger are short-lived and pass quickly while his favor lasts for our lifetime and on into eternity. We should be grateful today that Gods mercy, grace and love towards us outweighs his anger through Jesus.

then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you and destroy all their figured stones and destroy all their metal images and demolish all their high places. Numbers 33:52 (ESV)

God calls on Israel to not only drive the people out of the land but to destroy their idols as well. The main reason these peoples needed to be driven from the land was because of their idolatry. Idolatry brings demonic bondage to the idol worshiper, God wanted these false gods / demons cast out of the land so that the trap and alluring temptation of idolatry would be removed from his people so they could worship the true God without distraction.

We can apply this to our lives by killing sin wherever it is found in us and casting it out, see Galatians 3:5-6

But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those of them whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell. Numbers 33:55 (ESV)

When we do not firmly deal with sin in our lives the compromise we make will become like torment for us, because we can not serve two masters (Matthew 6:24)

Moses commanded the people of Israel, saying, “This is the land that you shall inherit by lot, which the LORD has commanded to give to the nine tribes and to the half-tribe. Numbers 34:13 (ESV)

God made abundant provision for Israel, although they posses much of the land they never posses all of it, not even in the times of David and Solomon. This points to God’s abundant provision for us in hearing and answering our prayers beyond what we requested and providing abundantly more thane we need or use. See Ephesians 3:20, Romans 8:32 and James 1:5. Jesus said he has come that we should have an abundant life (John 10:10)

It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 1 Corinthians 15:44 (ESV)

Our future resurrection is not just an idea, it is a reality, we will be raised to life, our new bodies will be empowered by the life giving spirit of Jesus who was the first to rise from the dead. We will never die again but will become immortal. This is a great hope and we should believe and look forward to it with firm and solid faith.

We won’t just float around as disembodied spirits, no, we will have life, physical yet spiritual life that will never end. John mentions that this hope will keep us walking in purity in 1 John 3:3

in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 1 Corinthians 15:52 (ESV)

Those of us who are alive when Jesus returns will have our bodies transformed from merely human bodies to our new resurrected bodies that are immortal and we will then join the Lord along with the saints who will be raised when the Lord returns.

An interesting note is that when we die our spirit go to be with the Lord straightaway, when he returns we will all then receive the new, eternal resurrection bodies we have longed for.

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58 (ESV)

Our belief in the resurrection and the rewards that will be given to us in heaven should spur us on and make us firm in our faith and encouraged in our work for the Lord. We have assurance that the sacrifices and work done for God and his kingdom are not done in vain and will be richly rewarded. So lets abound in our work for the Lord and not grow weary in doing well. See Galatians 6:9, 2 Thessalonians 3:13 and Hebrews 12:3

The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD, over many waters. Psalm 29:3 (ESV)

Jesus is the voice of the Lord, see John 1:1

The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD sits enthroned as king forever. Psalm 29:10 (ESV)

Jesus sits as king, enthroned over every storm and flood. God is sovereign over everything and is still in control in the middle of the storms of life.

Moses wrote down their starting places, stage by stage, by command of the LORD, and these are their stages according to their starting places. Numbers 33:2 (ESV)

We are called to progress and grow as we journey with the Lord, the journey of the children of Israel points forward to the pilgrim like journey of every believer as we draw closer to God’s eternal promised land. As we walk with the lord our faith will be tested but we must endure till the end to receive the reward. See 2 Corinthians 3:18, Hebrews 11:16, Hebrews 12:1-2

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 1 Corinthians 15:17–18 (ESV)

Paul was correcting some bad teach the Corinthian church had started to believe which agains was influenced by the word around them and possibly the misinterpretation of Paul’s own teaching. They had concluded that there was no resurrection.

Paul shows them the implication of this error is that Christ too did not rise form the dead and if that were true we could not be saved and have no hope. The resurrection of Jesus and his death on the cross are both a part of one saving act by God. Without the resurrection of Jesus Christ there is no Christian faith.

When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all. 1 Corinthians 15:28 (ESV)

Gordon Fee comments well stating that… “Paul’s point is that in raising Christ from the dead God has set in motion a chain of events that must culminate in the final destruction of death and thus of God’s being once again, as in eternity past, “all in all.”” Fee, G. D. (1987). The First Epistle to the Corinthians (p. 759).

Oh, save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever. Psalm 28:9 (ESV)

Hebrews 13:20 encourages us that Jesus is our great shepherd, he will cary us forever

But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out. Numbers 32:23 (ESV)

As stated in Galatians 6:7 what we sow we will also reap and there is no way to pull the wool over Gods eyes. Justice for your sin will ultimately come on the day of judgement or was ultimately satisfied through Jesus on the cross.

Just because Jesus has paid the price for our sin, it does not mean we can live in sin, this is wickedness and foolishness and God will not be mocked in this way. We can not hold God to ransom, he is no fool, he is God!

For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints, 1 Corinthians 14:33 (ESV)

This is the main point for Paul, he was dealing with a very unruly church in Corinth where there was a lack or order in the service with tongues and prophecies being said over each other which just ended up with no one benefiting as everyone tried to say their piece. James 3:16-17 paints a picture of the problems in the church at Corinth.

Instead of this our worship should reflect the nature of our God. Mayhem and confusion are not characteristic of God (but these were the traits of the false gods) and so he is not the author or cause of it in the church, the charge for this lays at our own feet, so we must abandon self centred behaviour like this.

God desires harmony, peace and order in his church for the mutual benefit of its members and for his glory, so lets reflect him in our worship.

the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church. 1 Corinthians 14:34–35 (ESV)

Understanding the background to the problems in the church at corinth will help us to put these statements from Paul into their proper context. In the Greek tradition prophecy like the ones coming from the oracle at Delphi required questions being asked to prompt the prophetic utterance. It is likely that some married Corinthian women in the church who were likely prophetesses themselves and involved in the weighing of prophesies were influenced by their surrounding culture and asked questions as part of the service.

Paul wanted to make the point that unlike the oracle at Delphi and other forms of prophecy form the ancient world, prophecy in the church did not require priming questions but was instead completely dependant on the inspiration and direction of the Holy Spirit and so addresses these women in this context in particular to ask questions at home and not to disrupt the service. So the theme of order in the service remains.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 1 Corinthians 15:3–4 (ESV)

Paul made clear the thing of first or greatest importance is the Gospel message which he summarises here

One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple. Psalm 27:4 (ESV)

God is truly beautiful, just thinking about who God is as revealed in his word is so wonderful. We should stop and savour God, his word and his presence. When we stop and look to God, then when we ask him questions we get answers

Moses said to them, “Have you let all the women live? Behold, these, on Balaam’s advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the LORD in the incident of Peor, and so the plague came among the congregation of the LORD. Numbers 31:15–16 (ESV)

In Revelation 2:14 we hear Jesus tell us through John that the church at Pergammum were in a dangerous place of compromise, which was expressed by some holding to the teaching of Balaam who taught these Midianites to put a stumbling before the children of Israel in the form of sexual immorality and idolatry. Jesus calls on the church to repent of the sins of compromise and appeasement with the world. Balaam represents false teaching while the women guilty of enticement represent compromise and sin, we must kill both of these with impunity, like John Owen said, “…be killing sin or sin be killing you”

Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up. 1 Corinthians 14:5 (ESV)

Paul’s main point in this section is to encourage the Corinthians who were fond of using the gift of tongues (the miraculous ability to speak unlearned human and angelic languages), to see the greater worth in prophesying (bringing a message from God under the direction of the Holy Spirit to the body of believers that is intelligible) as this builds up the body which is one of his main points in the letter as a whole.

For the immature it seems the gift of tongues was one of the things leading to pride and a false sense of maturity. We should use our gifts to build up our fellow believers. Prophesying provides insight, warning, correction, and encouragement.. tongues will do this too only with interpretation.

Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue. Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature. 1 Corinthians 14:19–20 (ESV)

Paul made clear that he spoke in tongues more than everyone in the Corinthian church, but from the context it seems he did this speaking in tongues “more than them all” in private. Paul makes his point even clearer by saying he would rather speak just 5 words that were intelligible while in the public assembly of the church than 10000 words in tongues which are not intelligible (without interpretation). So the point is again made that we should seek to build one another up, this should be the motivation behind the pursuit of and use of the gifts in the church.

God made our minds not the devil, God wants our minds to be engaged and used for him and his glory, in light of this Paul calls the church to clear and mature thinking. As Christians we need to engage in the discipline of thinking, mediating on Gods word and using our God given intellectual faculties to build up and encourage one another in the Lord.

Prove me, O LORD, and try me; test my heart and my mind. Psalm 26:2 (ESV)

We should walk with a pure heart before the Lord in integrity then we can join David in this prayer asking God to examine us. The New Testament goes even further and reminds us to examine ourselves to see if we are really in the faith see 2 Corinthians 13:5