Good afternoon fellow pilgrims, As you can probably tell, I have really been thinking about the original audience for this account of history of Israel. Blessings, Jeff The contrast between David (a man of blood and war) and "the son who will be to you and will be a man of rest. For his name shall be Solomon." rest is mnuchah; feminine of 4495; repose or (adverbially) peacefully; figuratively, consolation peace is šâlôm; or שָׁלֹם shalom; from 7999; safe, i.e. (figuratively) well, happy, friendly; also (abstractly) welfare, i.e. health, prosperity, peace: Do you think that this is Genesis 3:15 in miniature?  There it is  seed who will crush the serpents head.  Here a son who will be a man of peace. There at unknown point in future.  Here born to you => near future. Of course David already has some sons, but none of them is named Solomon.  The one that David names Solomon before the child does anything will be designated as the next king.  Thinking abo...

Good morning fellow saints, As we walk along the way with Jesus are we ever drawn into "discussion" like Luke tells us about?  I wonder if the disciples had prayed "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil" that morning. Blessings, Jeff A short time after Peter, James and John come down from the mount of transfiguration, an argument arose among the twelve..  KJV translates a "reasoning".  Sounds much more polite doesn't it?  We weren't arguing, we were reasoning. From the Greek, we get the word dialogue.  The same word is reasoning in v47. Remember that Luke is not an eye witness to the things he reports.  They are all reported to him as he  to write an orderly account for you Luke 1:3.  Presumably it was one of the twelve (who prefers to remain anonymous) told Luke about this after the crucifixion and resurrection.  Seems likely that each of them had a part in the reasoning.  Even Judas Iscariot may have given his reasons f...

Good afternoon friends, We now find Jonah at Nineveh and the Ninevites respond in faith to God's warning given by Jonah.  We have another "God changed his mind" situation to deal with. I would be happy to talk with you if you have a limited view of God's sovereignty.  Please make a comment if you do. Blessings Jeff Isn't it wonderful that pagans can get God to change his mind by just putting on sackcloth and ashes?  This is how some think about salvation.  If I just decide on my own to "turn from my evil ways" that God will not destroy me.  But let us probe this point of view a little. What prompted the people of Nineveh to change their ways?  If Jonah had not come and warned them, would they have done this?  Clearly not.  They were perfectly happy with "the violence that was in their hands".  The Assyrians were notoriously brutal and were dominant military power.  Their evil deeds were what got them to prominence. They would never have ...

Good morning friends, Just a very short passage today.  But it struck me as an interesting perspective. Blessings Jeff An amazingly short summary of David's reign from pollical and social aspect.  Other details are about military campaigns. When I think of the audience as the returning exiles, the author may be stating that this would be the standard for any future king.  All the intrigues of Amnon and Absalom are not even mentioned.  So this seems to be a highly sanitized version of history as an aspiration for the future.  But from this side of the first advent of the better David, King Jesus certainly administers justice and equity to all his people (the Church).  He is the only one who can live up to "ideal king".

Good morning saints in the Lord, We find ourselves visiting Jonah on the ship bound for Tarshish in the midst of the storm.  Any time a bunch of pagan sailors ask "What is this that you have done?", it is not a good sign. Having been in the Navy, I can attest that while not all sailors are great sinners, the reputation is not far from truth. So when these sailors recognize that Jonah is the cause of their problems, they know he has done something really bad.  But thanks be to God that he uses even this for good. Blessings, Jeff All part of the plan.  Even though Jonah goes outside of God's revealed will (Go to Nineveh), God's sovereign will is not frustrated.  In fact, if Jonah had not run away, he would not have wound up in the belly of the great fish for three days and nights.  If he had not wound up there, Jesus would not have had "the sign of Jonah" as a sign of death, burial and resurrection.  God's plan of salvation included using the disobedience ...

Good morning fellow aliens and exiles, I may have mentioned my practice of memorizing scripture.  When I did it years ago, it was the Navigator Topical Memory System.  One "pack" had 6 associated topics with 2 verses per topic.  Over the last 6 years or so, I have been using Fighter Verses app from Desiring God (John Piper's ministry.  It has both topics and extended verses.  Anyway, James is one of the books that I have memorized.  As Hebrews says, the Word is a very sharp sword. Blessings, Jeff James has a lot to say about wisdom. From Complete Word Study Bible Dictionary  Sophía stands for divine wisdom, the ability to regulate one's relationship with God, and is distinct from phrónēsis (G5428), prudence, the ability to know and deal with people (1 Cor. 12:8; Eph. 1:17; Col. 1:9: 2 Pet. 3:15). Specifically of insight imparted from God in respect to the divine counsels (1 Cor. 2:6, 7). Metonymically (a figure of speech consisting of the use of the...

Good morning saints in the Lord, For those of us of a certain age, Paul Harvey's closing line "and now you know the rest of the story" brings back memories.  So today's single verse seems to fit into this idea.  A detail just kind of hanging there for us modern readers.  But the returning exiles would be familiar with this story.  So I used the Complete Word Study Bible notes to fill in the rest of the story for you. Blessings, Jeff Another twist in a "marriage made in heaven".  She is daughter of king Saul, sister of Jonathan (David's best friend), wife of king David,  given to David as wife for the bride price of 100 Philistine foreskins (plot by Saul for David to be killed by the Philistines); helps David escape from Saul with the "image in the bed" trick, while still married to David, her father gave her in marriage to another, Phaltiel; at the death of Saul, David forced her to return. Also adoptive mother of five sons of her sister Merab ...

This is an interesting passage to me because it highlights the sound of different Hebrew words that are completely unrelated.  God gives Amos a vision of a basket of summer fruit.  Now God knows what He has shown Amos, so the question is to determine if Amos accurately sees what he has been shown.  I think that Amos was probably wondering why God showed him a basket of summer fruit.  It doesn't seem to have much application to his task as a prophet.  Strong's notes that word for summer fruit sounds like the word for end.  So when Amos sees the summer fruit he is seeing the end. Then the Lord explains that the end has come upon Israel.  Now the vision and the meaning are perfectly clear. Note that the prophet accurately sees the vision, but still needs God to explain what it means.  Reminds me of 2 Peter1:20-21 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by t...

Good afternoon brothers and sisters, I just want to comment on where we are on the reading schedule.  Day 322 means we are now in the last month of this pass through the Word.  So wherever you are on the schedule you have another 33 days.  Keep up the good work and finish strrong. Blessings, Jeff As we saw in previous passage in 1 Chronicles, the author is reflecting back on how the history of David's kingship is a uniting of all the tribes.  During the return from exile in Babylon, unity between all those who return is important.  While other accounts make this process of David becoming king of all Israel longer, the point is that the other tribes come around to supporting him. Knowing that the kingdom later is divided under Rehoboam, David's grandson, it seems that it would have been easy for the author just to exclude the other tribes.  Seems like the author is looking to a renewed kingdom and renewed Levitical priesthood upon the return to Judah.  ...

Good afternoon friends, I want to take a moment and remind us that worship is not confined to 10 o'clock on Sunday morning.  We are to prepare all week long for our time together on Sundays.  Reading the Word and prayer are two of the external means of sanctification according to WCF Chapter 13.  How did the Spirit prepare Mary to sing such a song?  Daily study of the OT where there were other inspired songs. Blessings, Jeff I am struck by the use of songs in response to what God has done or promises to do throughout the Bible.  The psalms are all songs.  Hannah's prayer when  Samuel was given to the Lord is similar to Mary's song. Moses' song after Egyptians drown in the Red Sea.   These are all inspired songs. So I wonder why it is that we want to come up with new songs not based on these inspired ones. His mercy is for those who fear him.  Therefore, there is no mercy for those who do not fear him.  The only rational thing to do ...

Good evening friends, Today we look at a passage that appears to conflict with other passages.  "The day of the Lord" is good news for some and bad news for others.  The question is which is it for you. Blessings Jeff Wait a minute.  When we pray "Your kingdom come", one of the things we are praying is that the kingdom of glory would be hastened.  Aren't we supposed to be eagerly awaiting Christ's return?  But Amos seems to be discouraging such thinking.  So let's try to resolve this apparent conflict.   First, it can only be an apparent conflict.  Because we know that all scripture is God breathed, it cannot say one thing in one place and contradict it some place else. Let us think about the audience of Amos.  He is in the time of Jeroboam II in the northern kingdom.  They have been idolaters since the kingdoms divided.  And yet they think that they will be delivered in the day of the Lord.  All their enemies will be vanq...

Good afternoon brothers and sisters, People usually think of Numbers as the book with all the names in it.  But it is hard to top 1 Chronicles.  Heritage is a big deal in Jewish thought.  Author looks back about 500 years and lists names of people that lived way back then.  Some of us who are interested in genealogy might be able to go back that far, but I think is is pretty rare.  The sons of Israel are real historical figures, not just legends. Blessings, Jeff From Reformation Study Bible notes:  The majority of interpreters have dated Chronicles during or shortly after the ministries of Ezra and Nehemiah, in the latter half of the fifth century or the early decades of the fourth century B.C. It is reasonable to locate the book during the period from about the time of Zerubbabel to soon after the ministries of Ezra and Nehemiah. The major themes of the book fit well within these boundaries (between 515 and 400 B.C.). So the beginnings of Jewish history in...

Good afternoon fellow travellers, We have all seen the credit card commercial that asks "What's in your wallet?".  Today's passage is focused on what was in Israel's stronghold. Blessings, Jeff Observations At God's direction, Amos invites Egypt and Philistines to gather on the mountains of Samaria (aka Israel) to observe the oppressed in her. The Lord's own statement - they do not know how to do right.  They store up violence and robbery in the their strongholds. Thoughts Of all the things to store in a stronghold, violence and robbery are the strangest things I have heard of.  For example I have important documents in a fireproof lock box.  Things I don't want to loose.  I always know where to look for them. Safe deposit boxes are a step above a safe in the house. Then we think of the gold in Fort Knox.  While we aren't on the gold standard, we still have a lot of gold in storage. The castles of Europe.  The center of military might and defending...

Dear true companions Generally, I try not to speculate too much, but I did today.  We can know the words of correct doctrine in this case Christology, but sometimes we need to think about how the doctrine works is real life.  Put it into our own words. Blessings, Jeff Have you ever thought about the implications of the "two natures in one person" aspect of Christ.  Westminster Confession of Faith Chapter 8 deals with Christ the Mediator.  In part, section 2 states "So that two whole, perfect and distinct natures, the Godhead and the manhood, were inseparably joined together in one person, without conversion, composition, or confusion."  In other words, Jesus' human nature did not share any attributes of the divine nature.  Jesus human nature was not all knowing, all present and all powerful.  These are attributes of His divine nature.  So Jesus human nature" grew up" just like every other purely human person.  In particular, he had to learn t...

Good afternoon friends, Here we are at the end of Kings already  We have gone from Saul  with his infidelity from almost the first day, through David and Solomon to a divided kingdom.  Ending with Israel dispersed and Judah in captivity.  Yet God is faithful to his promises. Blessings, Jeff Observations and thoughts Jehoiachin means Jehovah establishes.  He was king for 3 months and 10 days.  Rather ironic. Can you imagine spending 37 years in prison as a conquered king?  Not just exile but imprisoner.d.  Many of the other kings of Judah did not reign this long.  To live a long time in prison instead of reigning as king.  Did he wake up every day and bemoan the folly of his ancestors?  In a way, he was paying the penalty for all their folly and idolatry. He was graciously freed by the king of Babylon.  There was no reason for him to do this.  We hear or prisoners being released early because of good behavior.  But the...

Joel ends his short prophecy with a description of the glorious future of Judah.  Exile is just around the corner, but Joel sees far into the future.  Makes me wonder, what is going to change in Judah to bring about this glorious future?  After all, Judah has been unsuccessful over their 344 year history at remaining faithful to God.  They are going to go into exile.  How is that going to make them any more faithful?  If they weren't faithful with Jerusalem and the temple, how is being in a foreign land and no temple going to help them? Isn't it interesting that Peter quotes an earlier section of Joel in Acts 2 as the explanation for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost?  The fulfilment is not in the return from exile and a restored Judah but beginning of the church. signaled by the disciples changed from cowering in the upper room to bold witnesses for Christ.   Another example of how challenging it is to understand prophecy. ...

Dear Friends, After writing this devotional, I was thinking about understanding our place in history.  Josiah knew that the end was in sight because God told him through a prophetess.  Many of the major events in history are portrayed as a complete surprise.  But there are people who understand the times and can figure out what is coming down the road.  Churchill knew that Germany was going to war before the shooting started.  But no one would listen.  I think God calls the Church to be faithful regardless of what is happening in the  world. Blessings Jeff The last good king of Judah.  Even though God has decreed exile, Josiah still carries out major reforms.  But judgment will come after Josiah has died. What does this teach us? Some thoughts: Impending judgment is never a reason to stop following God.  It would be easy to take the "eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die" perspective.  What we do is not going to make a differe...

Good afternoon fellow soldiers, There is a lot that can be said about the Word.  I hope this short devotional will help to encourage you as you get close to the end of this years journey.  Even if you are behind schedule, know that every minute in the Word is beneficial to your walk with Jesus. Blessings, Jeff Not  only is scripture God breathed 2 Tim 3:16 it is also alive.  A pastor I know of once commented that you don't have to believe that a sword is sharp in order for it to cut you.  One of his methods of evangelism was just to get non-Christians to read the Bible.  They don't have to believe that it is inspired or alive in order for the Spirit to use it to divide the thoughts and intents of the heart.  This is one of the reasons I issued the current challenge to read through the Bible in a year.  Chapter 15 of The Westminster Confession of Faith is Of Sanctification.  The exposition states that the Word read and preached is one of the e...

Good morning sisters and brothers, We say goodbye to Hosea for another year.  While he is a "minor" prophet, there is nothing "minor" in what he says.  The last prophet to the northern kingdom before dispersion.  Yet God is still calling them to return to Him.  May we hear this call as well. Blessings, Jeff Here is another example of God asking a rhetorical question.  This time it is to Ephraim, the tribe that represents the northern kingdom.  Remember that Joseph was Jacob's favorite son and Joseph is replaced by his sons Ephraim and Manasseh who were born to him while he was in Egypt.  So Joseph has a double portion with the nation of Israel.  By the way, Ephraim means "doubly fruitful."  I don't recall ever commenting on the "federal" or representative theme in God's relationship with man.  Adam represents all mankind in the garden.  What Adam does, all subsequent man have also done.  This is Paul's argument in Romans. ...

Good afternoon friends, Westminster Shorter Catechism question 39. What is the duty God requires of man? Answer the duty God requires of man is obedience to His revealed will.  God's revealed will is the moral law.  Adam had one law - don't eat from that tree.  He failed.  Moses gave Israel the ten commandments which they generally failed to do.  But these failures were still part of God's sovereign will.  Man can fail to obey the moral law, but he cannot get outside of God's sovereign will.  Glory by to God. Blessings, Jeff Another interesting episode in the life of Hezekiah.  A predecessor of Nebuchadnezzar sends envoys to Hezekiah because his illness had been reported all the way to Babylon.  Hezekiah tries to impress the envoys by showing all his riches.   Solomon had done much the same when the queen of Sheba came for a visit.  So he had some president for his actions. David had sent envoys to a neighboring kingdom when th...

Good afternoon fellow pilgrims, Have you used one of those scanners at Stop and Shop and had an audit.  They periodically check that users have actually scanned everything in their cart.  I usually get one when I have just a few items.  I think it is because I go once a week and have a pretty full cart and a few items is out of the norm.  Anyway, when I got done the other day and I was putting bags in the car, I looked at some of the last things and couldn't remember scanning them.  I checked the receipt and sure enough I had missed them.  Took those things back and did the right thing.   So business is all about trust.  Does the business trust the customer not to steal and does the customer trust the business to charge a fair price.  Today's devotional has this same theme. Blessings, Jeff The relationship between ethics and righteousness from two perspectives. On one side, a merchant who uses false balances loves to oppress his customer...

Good morning friends, Reading "The Rare Jewel of Contentment" this morning.  Burroughs makes the point that the covenant God makes with his people through Christ should be the source of our contentment.  But as I thought about this, it seems that we don't remember that covenants are one of the ways God makes himself known.  So I hope these observations help you to think more about covenants. Blessings, Jeff Observations: The Lord swore to David a sure oath. What other type of oath would God use?  The character of the person taking an oath is key.  The word of an untrustworthy person is not worth much.  Because man is fallen, even the most trustworthy person may have ulterior motives.  But God is unchangeable.  There is no variation or shadow due to change. The Lord is the initiator.  Remember that when David wanted to build a house for the Lord, God prohibited him from doing this but made this oath to David.  David did not request the pr...

Good evening fellow sojourners Listened to another Martyn Lloyd-Jones sermon on Romans 8 last week.  He pointed out that the motivation for holiness should be what sin does to God and not what it does to us.  I  quench the Spirit when I sin.  It is an affront to God.  I am to put to death the deeds of the body so that I do not offend Him, not because of any negative consequence to me personally.  Today's passage is an example. Blessings, Jeff The sad summary of northern kingdom's entire existence. How can author say that people did things in secret against the Lord that were not right?  Certainly they may have thought that God did not see what they were doing.  But the testimony of scripture is clear that God sees all things and is much displeased with the sin of having other gods.  And God sent prophets galore to warn them. When there are pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and every green tree, these are very public acts.  It ...

When I picked this verse back on the 4th of July '21, I really didn't have any particular reason other than I had written thoughts on most of the rest of the chapter in previous year's readings.  So this was just something that I hadn't written on before.  But now that I have written it (July 18 "21), the applicability to "Independence Day" seems to be clearer.  Israel was well on their road to ruin.  But they still had kings and some degree of freedom.  Hosea may well have been speaking of current loss of benefit and not future. Blessings, Jeff Part of the description of the Lord's punishment of Israel. Hosea was a prophet to Israel at the time of Jeroboam II, the 3rd son of Jehu as we saw in yesterday's devotional.  In reality, the northern kingdom had abandoned proper sacrifices from the beginning.  Because Jeroboam I was afraid that Israel would want to go back to Jerusalem to comply with laws, he made two calves to replace temple worship. All...

Good afternoon friends, Some thoughts on how God fulfills his promise to Jehu. Blessings Jeff Review of the promise to Jehu.  And the LORD said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in carrying out what is right in my eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in my heart, your sons of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.” 31 But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn from the sins of Jeroboam, which he made Israel to sin. 2 Kings 10:30-31 While Jehu got off to a good start (executed Ahab's descendants and wife Jezebel, and the prophets of Baal) God's promise is not based on future performance.  If your sons walk in my ways, they will sit on your throne.  Jehu gets 4 generations with no option for continuation. Jehu 28 years Jehoahaz 17 years Jehoash 16 years Jeroboam II - 41 years Zechariah 6 months Observations We are not told how the Lord made this promise to...

Dearest friends, I was struck by Paul's preparation for departure for heaven.  If the Lord wills, we will live.  But if not, I can think of no better way for a "last letter." Blessings Jeff Contentment - To most people, being executed after years of keeping the faith is not exactly finishing the race in first place.  Most would wonder if God really cared and if it had all been worthwhile.  Paul has much to say in other letters about being content, but to be content at the end is truly amazing.   The key is that eternity with Christ was better than any earthly success or reward. The reality is that "the time of departure" for each believer is closer each day.  Running the race, keeping the faith, fighting the good fight are all that matters.  Not possessions, power or position. Jeremiah Burroughs wrote "The Rare Jewel of Contentment".  One of the things he points out is that a balance between worldly goods and desires is a key.  People wh...

Good morning fellow travelers, We are nearing the end of our travels through the Bible for this year.  This passage reminds us that God's plan of salvation is not merely obeying ritual, even ritual that He has established. Blessings, Jeff Theme of this chapter is that both kingdoms are unrepentant.  Recall that Hosea is last prophet before Israel is dispersed, many years before Judah goes into exile.  We know that all the kings of Israel were bad.  Some were worse than others, but all of them walked in the ways of Jeroboam (first king after the split) who made Israel sin.  Judah on the other hand has some good kings and some bad kings.   So what I find interesting is that from God's perspective both are essentially equally guilty and in need of repentance.  I think v6 is key.  God desires steadfast love and knowledge of Him.  Both kingdoms failed in this.  Judah maintained sacrifice and burnt offerings, but this was ritual in place ...

Good morning fellow pilgrims, I've been working on memorizing the Westminster Shorter Catechism.  This started about this time last year when I was working on the sermons on prayer.  Luther prayed the ten commandments.  So I thought memorizing Exodus 20 and WSC questions on the commandments would be helpful in framing prayer.  Any way, question 39 is What is the duty which God requires of man?  Answer The duty which God requires of man is obedience to his revealed will.  In today's passage, one character is in revolt against God's revealed will in several ways and another character is obedient in face of great opposition.  Yet both are following God's sovereign will. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Blessings, Jeff Observations and thoughts The final appeal of an illegitimate ruler is to accuse followers of the legitimate ruler of treason.  Athaliah must have known that she was done for when the people were celebrating resto...

Good afternoon friends, I wonder what Hosea would say to the health and wealth preachers.  Is marrying a prostitute "my best life now"?  This faithful man living in the midst of an unfaithful people who is called to give them a graphic picture of their infidelity.  God will punish but He will also restore in fulfilling the promise of Genesis 3:15. Blessings, Jeff I chose this group of verses because Hosea's 3 children by Gomer (his wife of whoredom) were Jezreel (son - means God will sow ), No Mercy (daughter) and Not my people (son).  Can you imagine Hosea going around town and telling his friends and neighbors about his children.  We think of naming children after parents or grandparents or a famous person.  God tells him the names for his children.  Everybody around him would know who and what his wife was, and why the children had these names.  He could not escape the message that his family circumstances sent to the people around him. ...

The wonder of God's word.  Says the same thing over and over in different ways.  In regards to suffering, some times it is a passage like John 9 with a concrete example.  But this passage also gives the same answer from a poet's point of view. Psalmist has experienced affliction even though he knows God's rules are righteous and that He is faithful.  Confronts the reality of suffering. Comfort comes from God's steadfast love.  God has revealed his holiness but also steadfast love.  The affliction is not a covering for sin, that is through Christ alone.  As with the man born blind, the psalmist's affliction is so that God's work may be displayed in him. God is a covenantal God.  He makes promises that His people can rely upon.  The only way for people to know of this attribute is through God's self revelation in scripture.  This is not a baseless wish that an impersonal force would somehow comfort him and show mercy to him. Your law is ps...

Several questions jump out of this passage. Why does Elisha go to the capital of Israel's enemy? Why does the king of Syria think Elisha can answer his question?  What difference does it who is the king of Syria make in redemptive history? Possible answers: The Syrian army has just fled for their lives from a non-existent physical opponent.  What do they say to the king when they show up in Damascus and there is no army following them?  There are no casualties, no  one is injured.  Maybe they said, It was the God of Israel who threw us into confusion and chaos.   King of Syria had sent Naaman to Israel to be healed and he came back healed.  Syrian army had been sent to capture Elisha, they were temporarily blinded, captured by Israel and then sent home.  And now his army came back with the story about hearing an army approaching them.  So maybe the penny finally dropped for the king when Elisha shows up.   On the other side of ...