Malachi (4)

Here is what our small group used to work through our fourth session with Malachi - maybe there is something here for you.

Chapters 3 and 4 are interconnected, but since we can’t do everything in one morning, we’re doing the best we can by looking at three distinct sections.

In 3:1 we have a glimpse of not only the Messiah, but also of the messenger who goes before the Messiah. Compare Isaiah 40:3 – 4; Malachi 4:5 – 6; Matthew 3:3; 11:10 – 14; 17:10 – 13; Luke 1:76; 3:4 – 6.

There is a lot to ponder concerning the “Messenger” and we’ll likely pick it back up when we get to Malachi 4:5; I’ve given the above passages as background more than anything.

In 3:1 we see the Messiah termed as “Lord” and as the “Messenger of the covenant”. So we have two messengers in 3:1; the messenger who goes before the Messenger.

What do we see about the Lord’s coming in 3:1 – 4?

Do we recognize Christ when He comes to His Temple? When He comes to our local churches? When He comes to us? He is always coming to us – do we see Him?

What hinders us from seeing Him, both as individuals and as churches?

How does Christ come to us in our marriages and families? In our workplaces? In our neighborhoods? In our churches?

Thinking about 3:2 – 3; how is Christ purifying our lives? What does this look like?

What have you learned, what are you learning, about how Christ purifies you?

Note the picture of restoration in 3:4 – we have hope in the final outcome.

Consider please verse 5, what is God judging?

1.    Sorcerers (think both New Age and the occult)

2.    Adulterers (recall what we covered this week)

3.    Those who swear falsely (does a person’s “word” matter anymore?)

4.    Those who oppress the wage earner in his wages (are employees treated fairly, are companies seeking the “greater good”, or are people simply “human resources” to be expended and thrown away?)

5.    The widow (show me how a nation or a church treats its elderly, its orphans, its unborn, its poor, and I’ll show you the character of a church and nation)

6.    The orphan (see above)

7.    Those who turn aside the alien and do not fear me (show me how a church and a nation treat aliens and refugees and I’ll show you the character of a nation and church…excuses, excuses, excuses)

Note how our passage ends in Malachi 3:6. Compare Hebrews 13:8.

How does Malachi 3:1 – 6 challenge us? How does it encourage us?

Are we living lives of obedience to this passage? How?

Do we see Christ coming into our lives…again, and again, and again?

Much love,

Bob

Malachi (3)

Below is what our small group considered in its third session in Malachi. Maybe there is something here for you. 

Let’s please consider Malachi 2:10 – 16.

Let me say at the outset that this passage is like trying to hit a knuckleball – it moves one way and then another and it can be confusing. Since we can’t just stand at the plate and do nothing, we’ll take our best swings and see what happens. When I consulted an “academic” commentary (a commentary which looks closely at ancient languages, grammar, history, and different ways of looking at a passage) I have on Malachi, I realized that Hoyt Wilhelm (an old knuckleball pitcher) must be descended from Malachi.

Taking a first look at the passage, what do see as its main point(s)?

I think there are two things going on at the same time, and this is one of the things that makes the passage a knuckleball. On the one hand Israel is once again worshiping idols, and on the other hand the men are divorcing their Jewish wives and marrying pagan women who are bringing with them pagan gods; one practice is feeding the other practice. (I’ve pondered this for a few days!)

It is interesting to me that in Hosea, which is the first Minor Prophet, we looked at Israel’s adultery in marrying foreign gods (Hosea chapters 1 – 3). Now in Malachi, the last Minor Prophet, we are dealing with the very same thing.

Hosea took place before the Assyrians destroyed the northern kingdom (Israel) and Babylon destroyed the southern kingdom (Judah); in Malachi the people of Judah have returned from Babylonian captivity and rebuilt Jerusalem and the Temple and now they are back to doing the same thing.

Regarding marrying pagan women, take a look at Ezra 9:1 – 4 and Nehemiah 13:23 – 31. We looked at these passages last May and June. The sequence was:

1.    Judah comes back from captivity.

2.    Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, and Zechariah insist that the priests, civil leaders, and people not form alliances with pagans and not marry pagans; and that the pagan women they have married be sent away.

3.    The people obey.

4.    Then after a few years (let’s say within 50 – 100 years) the priests, government leaders, and people go back the worshiping idols, forming alliances with pagans, and marrying pagan women.

5.    God speaks through Malachi – the last Old Testament prophet.

6.    God (in a sense) will not speak prophetically to His people for 450 years; then come John the Baptist and Jesus Christ.

There are a lot of moving parts in all of this, which is a reason reading, reading, and reading the Bible is critical to developing a framework for “seeing” the Bible.

Note the sequence of Malachi; from Malachi 1:6 – 2:9 we see the sins of the priests, then beginning in 2:10 we see the sins of the people. If the leaders are sinful and immoral, the people will follow. If the ministers and priests are wicked, the people will be wicked. Please remind me again why the morality of our leaders doesn’t matter? I seem to have missed that one. If our seminaries are teaching pagan and worldly thinking, and denying the Bible as the Word of God, and not placing the Christ of the Cross above everything else in life – then what can we expect our congregations to do?

Malachi 2:11. I think the “sanctuary” here is the People of God. God’s People are where God lives. When one of us sins we bring sin into the sanctuary, the rest of us are affected by the sin. 1 Peter 2:5; Ephesians 2:19 – 22; 1 Corinthians 5:6 - 8. If an offensive lineman misses his blocking assignment it affects the entire team; if a soldier on the perimeter goes to sleep, the enemy can infiltrate the camp; the weakest link in a band of brothers can lead to the destruction of the unit.

Here is a nice quote from my commentary, “…the mixed marriages were a desecration of the ‘sanctuary of God,” a violation of Israel’s spiritual existence as a covenant people. Through these marriages the frontiers between covenant people and heathen, between church and world were obliterated.”

The idea that sin can be “private” and not affect others is simply not true. If Christians are truly “members of one another” (1 Cor. 12:12; Rom. 12:4; Eph. 4:25), then what one person does affects the entire Body. Here are some more excerpts from the commentary:

“The sinful divorces which they had considered a private affair had not escaped the notice of the Lord. It is because He had acted as witness.” (The Books of Haggai and Malachi, Pieter A. Verhoef, The New International Critical Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans).

“Whatever the reason for the divorces might have been, the fact remains that it was the reason why the communion with God was broken.”

Malachi 2:13: Judah thought that it could sin by practicing unrestrained and wholesale divorce, and by worshiping pagan gods, and that the True and Living God would still accept their worship. They believed that then, and we believe that now. We believe that we can teach whatever we want to, live however we want to, and that our Sugar Daddy God will pat us on our heads and be proud of us and understand that we are well-intentioned.

Do you think about the fact that when you sin it affects us all?

Do you think about the fact that when you are obedient to Christ that it blesses us all?

Is it possible to restore a Biblical view of marriage, divorce, fornication (sex outside of marriage), adultery, and sexual purity within the professing-church in our nation?

What are the challenges to such a restoration?

How might we begin the process?

Why don’t we think sex outside of marriage is sinful?

Considering that the Bible is clear about sexuality and marriage, why is it that a couple can live together without being married, attend church, join a church, and not be held accountable for sexual sin?

How can churches model strong marriages and strengthen all marriages?

How can churches model sexual purity?

A promiscuous society and a promiscuous church (a church that worships the idols of the world) produces promiscuous people, and promiscuous people produce an idolatrous church.

I love you!

Bob

Zechariah (14)

Below is our small group's final week in Zechariah, maybe there is something here for you.

Our text is Zechariah Chapter 14, the last chapter of the last “burden/oracle of the word of Yahweh” that began at 12:1.

Chapter 14 continues the trajectory of the previous two chapters, and indeed of the book of Zechariah. All of the themes of Zechariah are found throughout the Bible, some are explicitly portrayed, others are implicit. Some are obvious, some are not. As Glen reminds our group, we all need the Holy Spirit to “see” and truly understand the Bible. If 1 Corinthians Chapter 2 is true, then we simply cannot understand the Scriptures and the things of God without the Holy Spirit, without God revealing Himself to us and in us. We don’t check our minds at the door, but we submit our minds to the Holy Spirit (Romans 12:1 – 2).

Psalm 2 – As Psalm 1 portrays two paths for individuals, Psalm 2 portrays 2 paths for all the nations of the world (including our own). In essence the nations and peoples of the world are all in rebellion against Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God; at some point the governments (all of them) will be brought to nothing and God’s Kingdom will fill the earth – Daniel Chapter 2. Let’s remember, we are citizens of heaven (Phil. 3:20).

Here are some passages that overlap Zechariah 14 in various ways. These themes are presented again and again with varying nuances throughout the Bible, as we read and ponder and meditate on God’s Word they form an integrated and cohesive whole – the Big Picture comes together in Christ. It is all about Christ – remember that in Luke 24 Jesus Christ reveals Himself through what we call the OT, both to the couple on the road to Emmaus and to the disciples in the Upper Room.

How do these passages integrate with Zechariah 14?

How do they speak to us about Christ today in our lives?

How might we live in each passage today, and how might each passage live in us and through us?

Isaiah 60:14 – 22

Isaiah Chapter 2

Zechariah 14:7: Revelation 21:22 – 22:5 “they will see His face and His name will be written on their foreheads” (22:4).

Psalms 17:15; 27:8; 31:16 – are we seeking the Face (Presence) of God?

Matthew 5:5, 8; Hebrews 12:14. How is our Father purifying our hearts? How can we help one another live with purity of heart? 1 Peter 1:22 – 25 and Hebrews 4:12 – 13 are two of many Scriptures that can help us think about how God purifies our hearts.

Revelation 16:13 – 21; note verse 15; see also Revelation 3:4 – 5; 19:8.

Feast of Booths (also known as the Feast of Tabernacles) is the last “feast” of the Biblical year; Passover, Unleavened Bread, Pentecost (also known as the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of First fruits), and then the Feast of Booths. The final Feast is portrayed in the final section of the final “word” of God to Zechariah.

It is fitting for the Feast of Booths/Tabernacles to the be final Feast of the year in that Christ came to tabernacle among us (John 1:14 – 18) and a time will come when God will live in us and we will live in Him in a fulness beyond our understanding (Revelation 21:3; Ephesians 1:9 - 12).

Zechariah (13)

Here is what our small group pondered in Zechariah Chapter 13. Maybe there is something here for you.

Our text is Zechariah Chapter 13.

This is the second chapter of the “…burden (oracle) of the word of Yahweh” which began in Chapter 12.

In 13:1 we see the theme of David continued.

What might the “fountain” be that cleanses from sin and impurity?

Please see Ezekiel 36:24 - 32

13:2 & 9: Compare Hosea 2:14 – 23

13:7: Compare Matthew 26:31; Mark 14:27; John 16:32

13:9: Compare Isaiah 43:1 – 2; 48:10; Malachi 3:3; 1 Peter 1:6 – 9; Jeremiah 29:11 – 14; 1 Peter 2:10; Revelation 21:1 – 7.

We continue to see images of the Messiah in Chapter 13, along with God’s judgment on false prophets, His refining and preservation of His remnant people, and the reverse of the curse as expressed in verse 9, “I will say, They are My people, and they will say, the LORD is my God.” God’s original and ultimate intention is being fulfilled, that He might have a family of sons and daughters in the image of Jesus Christ.

What catches your attention as you ponder Zechariah 13 and the accompanying passages?

What has the refining fire of God looked like in your life? How has our Father used trials to purify you and bring you closer to Himself (Hebrews 12:4 – 11).

Can you share about something within your heart and soul that God has removed, or in some measure dealt with – that was/is a danger to you and those around you?

Are you experiencing a measure of fiery trial in your life now? If so, can you please share what that looks like and how you are responding to your Lord Jesus in the midst of the trial?

How can your brothers pray for you?

Is there counsel you should seek from your brothers regarding the trial?

How can Zechariah Chapter 13 give you hope and guidance through trials?

How can we use Zechariah Chapter 13 to minster the grace and hope of Christ to others? How would you do that?

I love you,

Bob

Zechariah (12)

Below is how our small group worked through Zechariah Chapter 12. Maybe there is something here for you.

This past Tuesday we looked at good shepherds and faithless shepherds. Here is a story about a faithful shepherd:

A devout old shepherd lost his favorite Bible while he was out looking for a wayward lamb. Three weeks later, a sheep walked up to him carrying the Bible in its mouth. The shepherd couldn’t believe his eyes. He took the precious book out of the sheep’s mouth, raised his eyes heavenward and exclaimed, “It’s a miracle!”

“Not really,” said the sheep. “Your name is written inside the cover.”

Okay, okay…our passage is Zechariah Chapter 12.

The words in 12:1, “The burden of the word of the LORD [Yahweh]…” introduce the final section of Zechariah (chapters 12 – 14). Remember, there were no chapters or verses in the original documents.

If possible, it will be helpful if we read chapters 12 – 14 at one time prior to Tuesday in order to see the trajectory of the “burden” that Zechariah has, then drop back and consider each chapter for the next three weeks.

Along with this, we might want to review Revelation chapters 21 – 22 and Isaiah chapters 60 – 63. Isaiah has a panorama similar to Zechariah, and Revelation reminds us of where Zechariah and Isaiah (and indeed the entire Bible) are headed.

I have found it helpful to remember the entire Biblical trajectory when I work with passages such as Zechariah chapters 12 – 14; while I may not see all of the details in Zechariah, if I keep in mind that this is about Christ and His people and the glory of God, by God’s grace and the Holy Spirit I can at least glimpse a measure of what God is saying through Zechariah.

When I read a passage like Zechariah Chapter 12 I am reminded of Psalm 2 and Psalm 91. Psalm 2 reminds me that there is conflict between Christ and His people, and the peoples of the world; Psalm 91 reminds me that God takes care of His own. There are numerous Psalms in which God is styled as a rock, a fortress, a refuge, a shield, a shelter, and more. I also think of Isaiah chapters 25 and 26 where we see, once again, God protecting His people in the midst of judgement and chaos. 

This is a motif found throughout Scripture; think of Noah and the Ark, Joseph in prison, Daniel’s friends in the furnace, Daniel in the lions’ den, Israel in Egypt in the midst of the plagues, the remnant preserved during the 70-years captivity – Jesus tells that in the world we will have tribulation, but that we should be at peace and encouraged because He has overcome the world (John 16:33). I love 2 Timothy 1:7 – “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and of a sound mind.”

Keep in mind that in Zechariah 12 “David” is a picture and a type of Christ – the name “David” is speaking of Christ, looking forward to Christ, reflecting Christ. See Matthew 1:1, 20; 9:27; 15:22; 20:30; 21:9; Romans 1:3; 2 Timothy 2:8; Revelation 3:7; 5:5; 22:16.

What are your thoughts about Zechariah Chapter 12? What do you see as its themes?

Note the Holy Spirit in verse 10.

How might this passage give courage and impart faith to followers of Jesus Christ today?

What are the ways in which the world attempts to instill fear in the hearts and minds of people? What are our neighbors fearful of?

What are the ways some leaders in the professing-church attempt to play on the fears of people, both in the church and outside the church?

Are there fears that you are dealing with in this season of your life? What are they? How can your brothers help you and pray for you?

How can you help others, both within and without the church, confront fear?

Can you please share an example of you overcoming fear in your own life?

Can you share an example of helping someone else overcome fear?

Much love,

Bob

Are We Teaching the Difference?

In Ezekiel 22:23 – 31 Yahweh speaks to Ezekiel concerning the sin of Judah, with a special focus on its priests, prophets, and princes. In verse 26 we read:

“Her priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the profane, and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.”

I think, that to hide our eyes from God’s sabbaths is to hide our eyes from Jesus Christ, for He is our Sabbath, and within that Great Sabbath (Jesus Christ) are found all of God’s sabbaths. Christ is our Great Rest (see Hebrews Chapter 4), in Him we cease from our own works of righteousness (which are as filthy rags, Isaiah 64:6) and learn that without Christ we can do nothing (John 15:1 – 5).

No doubt there are myriad ways to do violence to God’s law, but since the context of this passage focuses on the holy and the profane, is it not true that when we use God’s law for our own ends, to manipulate others to gain what we want – such as always bigger churches, always larger offerings, always a wider religious market for our ministerial wares, always more popularity – that we have done violence to God’s law? Is it not true that when we use God’s law as a facade to preach and teach our own agendas, to cater to what is “trending” and “trendy”, that we have done violence to His law?

Is it not true that when we twist the Scriptures to accommodate the world, the flesh, and the devil that we have done violence to the law of God? Have I done this? O God search my heart and reveal the sin and impurities in me; please forgive me in Christ Jesus.

Then we come to the sin of the priests in not teaching the difference between the holy and profane, between the unclean and the clean (a chiasm). Did the priests lead the people astray, or did the people lead the priest astray? Both sinned, but who has the greater sin? Of course the priests, the prophets, the princes – their sin is from the depths of the abyss – all sin is hideous, the sin of those who are to serve and teach others, who are to especially hallow the Law of God and the Person of Christ, is particularly evil (if we can use such comparative language).

And yet when we come to Ezekiel Chapter 44, we see that not all priests abandoned their holy calling:

“But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary when the sons of Israel went astray from Me, shall come near to Me to minister to Me; and they shall stand before Me to offer Me the fat and the blood, declares the Lord Yahweh…Moreover they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean [a chiasm].”

Can we hear Paul saying to the Corinthians, “…what agreement has the temple of God with idols?...do not touch what is unclean…let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 6:14 – 7:1)?

Can we receive Peter’s words, “…like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior, because it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:13 – 16)?

Where are the priests of Zadok today? Where are those pastors and teachers and elders who are teaching God’s People the difference between the holy and the profane, the unclean and the clean?

The name Zadok is derived from a Hebrew word that means “right, just, righteousness” among other nuances. We see the Messiah, the Christ, in the High Priest Zadok and his faithful descendants. “Your throne O God, is forever and ever, a scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness…” (Psalm 45). We see this enfolded in the priesthood of Melchizedek, “king of righteousness.”

As there is only One Sabbath, the is only One King of Righteousness – our Lord Jesus Christ; there is only One Faithful Priest. All other sabbaths, all other servant-leaders of righteousness, all other faithful priests…are found within our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no rest, no righteousness, no faithful priesthood – outside of Jesus Christ.

But how to teach God’s People the difference between the holy and the profane, the unclean and the clean? How to do this when syncretism has not so much invaded, but rather been invited, into the Temple, into the Church, into the People of God?

How to teach the difference between the holy and the sinful when our society and our lives are permeated with the unclean and the world, the flesh, and the devil? How to do this when our methods are not those of God but of the world? When our epistemology and pedagogy is not of the Word of God but of the world?

Peter says that we ought to “sanctity Christ as Lord in your hearts” (1 Peter 3:15). The context of these words contains suffering, righteousness, and witness to the Gospel. How can we do any of these things unless Christ is the center of our very existence? As we sanctify Christ perhaps we begin to discern the holy and the profane, the unclean and the clean.

How can we sanctify Christ when we sanctify popularity, money, prestige, power, recognition, pleasure, comfort, avoidance of persecution, sensuality, entertainment, departure from the Word of God…?

Where are the Zadoks of our day?

Are we teaching the difference between the holy and the profane? Or have we given up?

Zechariah (6)

Here is another installment of our small group study in Zechariah. Are you participating in the rebuilding and restoration of the Temple?

Our text is Zechariah Chapter 6.

This chapter is the conclusion of Zechariah’s series of visions which began in 1:7 (remember there were no chapters or verses in the original OT and NT documents).

After reading Chapter 6, please review the material in 1:7 – 5:11 and do your best to identify similarities between that material and Chapter 6.

What do you see that is interconnected?

What appear to be the main themes in 1:7 – 6:15?

What do these themes have to do with Jesus Christ?

How is God revealing Himself in these passages?

How might God’s revelation (self-disclosure) of Himself influence the way we live?

Influence our priorities (what’s important to us, what we invest ourselves in)?

Note how the vision begins (1:8) and how its conclusion is introduced (6:1).

Note the correspondence between 3:8 – 10 and 6:11 – 13.

Note 4:9 and 6:13. In 4:9 the focus is on Zerubbabel (of Judah), the head of civic authority completing the rebuilding of the Temple. In 6:13 the focus is on Joshua (of Levi) the high priest completing the Temple. But notice this comment in 6:13, “…Thus he will be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices.” (Translations might differ, but this should be close to what all translations say).

This is a picture of the offices of ruler and priest being combined in one person. Notice that the image of the Branch is back in 6:12 (remember 3:8). What we have here is an image of the Messiah in whom we find our King (ruler) and our Hight Priest. All Scripture points to Jesus Christ, again and again and again.

What happens on earth is a reflection of what is happening in the heavens. The rebuilding of the earthy Temple gives us a picture of what the rebuilding of the heavenly Temple on earth looks like. In the OT the high priest did not wear a crown (symbolizing ruling authority), but here we have an exception and the exception is prophetic, it is an image of the Messiah, who is Priest and King – it is a vision of unseen reality in Jesus Christ.

Think about our study of Hebrews and the prominence given to Melchizedek. Take a look at Hebrews 7:1, “For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High…” Here we see the merging of King and Priest in one person, who is an image of the Person of the Messiah (remember the importance of Psalm 110 in the book of Hebrews).

I hope we see the interconnectedness of the Bible, the flow and interchange of the Holy Spirit throughout the Scriptures. This mighty Mississippi has many tributaries; the headwaters of this mighty River flow from the Throne of God and the River leads us to Jesus Christ (Romans 11:36; Ephesians 1:10; Colossians 1:15).

The rebuilding of the Temple is all about Jesus Christ – and it is about us living in Him and Him living us - all to His glory.

How are we seeing Jesus Christ in the book of Zechariah? This is really the main question…this is always the main question. And how are we responding, in obedience, to what we see of Christ? This is pretty much always the second question linked to the first question.

Zechariah (5)

Here's the next installment on Zechariah. 

Our text is Zechariah Chapter 5 – more visions!

Definition: an ephah is about a bushel, or a cubic foot – so we can think in terms of a bushel basket and not be too far off.

In 5:1 – 4 is a vision of judgment on those who “swear falsely” by “My Name”. As with many images in Zechariah the image of a scroll is found elsewhere in the Bible: Revelation 10:1 – 11; Ezekiel 2:8 – 3:3; Revelation 5:1 – 2.

I think there is a sense in which the “whole land” in Zechariah 5:3 is likely the land of Judah/Israel rather than necessarily the “whole earth” in a global sense. I think this because of the emphasis on swearing falsely by the Name of the Lord – that seems to narrow it down to those who are aware of the God of Israel and His Law and Covenant. It also is in line with God holding His Covenant People (whether that is Israel or later the Church) accountable.

Peter makes the point (1 Peter 5:17) that “judgement begins with the household of God”. And of course in Revelation chapters 2 – 3, Jesus holds the Seven Churches accountable and speaks judgement to five of the seven – God does hold us accountable – if we pollute His Temple, His Church, we will be judged. God’s Temple is not some kind of religious frat house. 

The land of Shinar is the land of Babylon; we see Babylon, Babel, Shinar throughout the Bible, beginning in Genesis 10:10 and 11:1 – 9 and culminating in Revelation 14:8, and Revelation chapters 17 and 18. Babylon, as portrayed in the Bible, is much more than a city or a land or a nation – it is a religious (Revelation 17) and economic (Revelation 18) system that prostitutes itself that is found in generation after generation and which Christ will destroy. It seduces God’s people, it deceives the nations, and as it is styled in Zechariah 5:8, it is “Wickedness”.

In Zechariah Chapter 5 and in Revelation Chapter 17 we see a woman associated with Babylon. Please read Revelation 17 – how is the “woman” characterized?

Why might a woman be used to characterize Babylon and not a man?

If you go to Bible Gateway or use a concordance you’ll see Babylon mentioned a number of times in the Bible – it really is a major Biblical thread. In one sense we can think of Babylon as a Satanic system that is the opposite of the Church. The Church is the Bride of Christ, Babylon is the Great Whore of Satan. The Church is called to be monogamous with Christ, Babylon’s goal is to have us prostitute ourselves. When we do prostitute ourselves we are unfaithful to our Husband, Jesus Christ.

Babylon is always trying to seduce the Church and to bring it into captivity – this was the case with ancient Israel and Judah and this has been the case with the Church. Remember, the epistles were written, in part, to correct heresy, unfaithfulness, and spiritual prostitution.

Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah…these books were written, in part, to show us what it can be like to leave Babylon and rebuild the City and Temple of God. But note the opposition that God’s people encountered, and note that no sooner had they returned from Babylon that many of them once again were prostituting themselves with the surrounding idolatrous culture. It seems to never end.

Because the dance of Babylon is usually seductive, we often don’t know when we’re falling under its influence…because it appeals to our egos and desire for more, more, more; it appeals to our desire for the easy way as opposed to the Cross of Christ; it makes us think that we’ll feel good if we just go with the flow.

Babylon presents us with many temptations, including economic temptations – just take a look at Revelation Chapter 18 – when money is the arbiter of life, both for the individual and for a nation, we are probably in the arms of Babylon…just saying.

When the professing-church cares more about economics and feeling good than about a pure relationship with Jesus Christ, a sacrificial relationship with Jesus Christ, about its mission to the people of the world…well then…we’re probably in Babylon.

When the professing-church no longer is in submission to the Scriptures, when we are no longer reading and learning and praying and sharing the Scriptures, when we allow the surrounding culture to interpret the Scriptures…then we’re probably in Babylon.

When we make Jesus Christ into our image, when we accommodate Him to the world and to our lusts, our wants, our desires; when we make Jesus our sugar daddy…then we’re probably in Babylon.

And note that in Revelation 17:2, 7 and 16 the Whore has a relationship with governments of the earth but that eventually they will destroy her as wickedness reaches a crescendo. We ought to be careful…very careful…when we see religious leaders and their followers prostituting themselves with centers of political, economic, and military power. Are we citizens of heaven or lackeys of the world?  

Please read Proverbs Chapter 9 – what do you see? How does Proverbs 9 help us think about the Bride of Christ and about Babylon? (You might also want to read the lead-up chapter, Proverbs 8).

Have you experienced Babylon in your life? How? How do you guard against it? How can we help one another guard against it? How can we help our churches guard against it?

Love,

Bob

Zechariah (4)

This are the reflections our group is using for our fourth week in Zechariah:

Our text is Zechariah Chapter 4.

The imagery continues! We’re given this imagery, as all imagery in the Bible and in creation, to draw us from earthly to heavenly things; giving us glimpses of the Triune God and His glory. I don’t think we can ponder this imagery and say, “Oh yeah, this is what it means” and simply leave it behind and not think about it again. This isn’t a McDonald’s fast-food meal that we eat and then forget about – it is much like the Eucharist, which we partake of as a way of life. The imagery, the sacrament, isn’t so much something we consume, but rather something that consumes us. It begins a “work” in us and continues that work. We don’t own the “Word” of God, the Word of God owns us.

When we see the number “7” we often see an image of perfection and completeness. In Zechariah 3:8 - 9 we see a Branch and a stone with even eyes. We can relate this image to Isaiah 11:1 – 5 where we see the “branch” of Jesse (King David’s father, and an image of the Christ/Messiah), having the “Spirit of Yahweh” resting on Him – the Spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, knowledge, and the fear of Yahweh and so forth. Isaiah lived much earlier than Zechariah; we see a continuity in sacramental imagery – this is true of the entire Bible.

In Zechariah 4:10 we see the image of “eyes” which link us back to Zechariah 3:9. We also have the idea of the LORD seeing what is going on throughout the earth which links us to Zechariah 1:10 with horses patrolling/walking through the earth. It is as if we are viewing a collage or looking in a kaleidoscope.

What do we see about the “eyes of the LORD” in the following passages? 2 Chronicles 16:9; Psalm 11:4, 34:15; 66:7; Proverbs 15:13; 22:12. How might an awareness of these passages influence how we live?

 Note the description of Christ’s eyes in Revelation 1:14, 2:18. What is this image communicating to us?

Note Revelation 5:6 and compare with Zechariah 3:9 and 4:10.

Compare Revelation 4:5 with Zechariah 4:2 – 3, 10.

As we move back and forth from Zechariah to Isaiah to Revelation and back to Zechariah we see the interplay of imagery; it is cosmic and it is transcendent. What I mean is that it moves us beyond the veil of the “seen” into the “unseen”, it moves us from our own “time” into the past, into the future, and into the eternal “now” in Christ. This should not surprise us because our lives in Jesus Christ are meant to be supernatural, we are called to be children of another world (John 15:19; 17:14) There are reasons why we are taught “not to be conformed to the world but to be transformed” (Romans 12:1 – 2). Frankly, we have so adapted and conformed ourselves to the world (this present age) that we no longer know who we really are – we often apologize for Jesus Christ and His Way when it is the world that should be apologizing and repenting.

In Zechariah 4:9 God gives the promise that Zerubbabel will complete the Temple. Since Zerubbabel is an image (an earthly reflection of the heavenly reality) of Christ, this image says that Jesus Christ will complete the building of His Temple, which goes back to the promise in Haggai that the latter House will be greater than the former house – the Church-Temple-Body-Bride of Christ will be greater than anything and everything that has gone before it (when we read the NT book of Hebrews this is a theme). Note the progressive image in Ephesians 2:19 – 22; 4:11 – 16; this is hardly a picture of defeat and retreat.

As I look around me I often see professing-Christians in ghetto mode, retreat mode, defeat mode – this is what Satan loves, to see us cowering and looking for ways to escape and be taken away. As Paul writes in Romans 8, “We are more than conquerors.” As John writes in his first letter, “Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” We are called to be overcomers (Revelation chapters 2 – 3), not those seeking a fire escape to retreat from the fire of conflict and suffering. The same fire that will destroy the wicked will purify the saints.

Which gear are you in? Are you here to overcome in Christ and help others overcome, or are you hunkered down and not taking risks in sharing the Gospel and living for Jesus Christ?

Consider the question of in Zechariah 4:10, “Who has despised the day of small things?” There is an old saying, “Little is much when God is in it.” I seem to be prone to forget that – what about you?

The interpretation of the lampstand is given in Zechariah 4:6 – 7.

In Zechariah 4:7 we see that obstacles as large as mountains will not stand before Zerubbabel. Are there mountains in our lives and in the lives of our churches that we need to see removed?

Finally, I’ve saved Zechariah 4:6 for last, “Not by might nor by power but by My Spirit says the LORD (Yahweh) of hosts (armies).” This reminds me of Psalm 127:1, “Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain.” How does Psalm 127:1 relate to Zechariah 4:6?

How might Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:6 – 8 and John 15:1 – 11 relate to Zechariah 4:6?

What does the working of the Holy Spirit look like in our lives? In the lives of our churches?

What is the practical-truthful reality in our lives and the lives of our churches? Are we living in the Holy Spirit? Making decisions in the Holy Spirit? Being directed by the Holy Spirit? Being led by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:14)?

Or are we substituting our own wisdom and understanding and agendas for the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the empowering of the Holy Spirit? Are our churches more like any other earthly organization rather than reflections of the Kingdom of God and heavenly realities in Jesus Christ?

How, by God’s grace, can we close the gap between heaven and earth in our lives and the lives of our churches?

Zechariah (3)

This is our group's third week in Zechariah:

Our text is Zechariah Chapter 3.

You may have noticed the term “the angel of the LORD (Yahweh)” in our reading, I will mention that there are folks who think that this term is used to designate the Second Person of the Trinity, the Preincarnate Christ, in the Old Testament. I’m not going to delve into this but I mention it in case you want to ponder it. However we want to approach this, I do think that we see the Trinitarian mystery of God throughout the Bible – often veiled in the Old Testament and unveiled in the New Testament.

Zechariah 3:1: Compare with Job 1:6 – 12; Revelation 12:10.

3:2: Compare Jude 9

3:4: Compare Isaiah 6:5 – 7; Revelation 3:4 - 5; 6:11; 7:9; 19:7 – 10.

3:8: Compare Isaiah 11:1; Jeremiah 23:5; 33:15; Revelation 5:5; 22:16

3:9: Consider Isaiah 8:14; 28:16; Psalm 118:22 – 24; Matthew 21:42; Acts 4:11 – 12; Ephesians 2:19 – 22; 1 Peter 2:4 – 8

3:10: Compare Micah 4:4 – a sign of peace and rest.

A look at the above passages should remind us of how expansive the Scriptures are and how consistent their narrative, spanning centuries – and moving from the visible to the invisible. Throughout the prophet Zechariah we see the veil that separates the seen from the unseen (2 Cor. 4:18) pulled back. Can you see a link between Zechariah 3:6 – 7 and Hebrews 12:1 and Hebrews 12:18 – 24?

We are part of a transcendent and universal fellowship in Christ, whether we realize it or not. What we see concerning Joshua the high priest in Zechariah Chapter 3 takes us beyond the visible into the invisible, it takes us beyond the material into the spiritual.

What do our lives look like in terms of the visible and invisible? Are we worshipping God in spirit and in truth? (John 4:23 – 24). Are we “seeing” the invisible (Hebrews 11:27)? Is the Master able to use us in His House as He used Joshua in Zechariah (2 Timothy 2:20 – 21)?

Our Father, our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit desire to draw us deep into the Trinity, together in the Trinity – our Lord Jesus prays that we will see His glory (John 17:20 – 26). If we ask our Lord Jesus to open our eyes He will, if we ask Him to teach us to see Him and His glory He will. And note that in John 17, as throughout the Bible – we are in this together – we need not only our Lord, but in Him we need one another. The Bible is a book about one another in Christ. What does this look like in our lives?

In our congregations? Are we truly living as one another people? Churches? (John 13:34 – 35; 15:12 – 17).

In Ephesians 3:10 Paul writes that through the Church God’s wisdom is being manifested to entities in “the heavenly places”. In 1 Cor. 4:9 Paul writes about the apostles being made a spectacle to angels and to men. My point is that the visible and invisible are closer than we think but that we have had our sense of the invisible and spiritual educated out of us. God hasn’t changed. Spiritual realities haven’t changed. But we have changed and have lost our spiritual sight, our spiritual vision. What we’re reading in Zechariah may be foreign to us, but it would not necessarily have been foreign to the people who first read Zechariah’s words, nor to those who continued to read them for centuries afterward.

Let us ask our kind heavenly Father to open our eyes to see Jesus and His glory; to share that glory with one another, to bring others by His grace to know Him.

Ezra and Holiness

Here's what our small group will be working on next week. What does holiness look like in our lives? In the life of our congregations? 

Our text is Ezra chapters 9 & 10, this will conclude our time in Ezra.

This may be a tough passage for some of us to read. It is important to remember Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians Chapter 10, that the things that were written in the past were written to teach us spiritual truth in Jesus Christ.

It is also important not to romanticize “falling in love” nor to minimize the power and influence of sex. Yes, there is romance (I hope) in love, but there is also choice, and that choice determines where we channel our thoughts and hearts and bodies. Sadly, we live in a culture in which we are programmed to give in to our impulses and not deny ourselves, surely God will understand…won’t He?

Our heavenly Father wants us to know the beauty of sex in marriage, but if we should choose to disobey Him in our sexual expression, we can be sure that there will be consequences to our sin. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus takes the external act of sexual sin and moves it inward to our hearts – adultery is adultery whether you act it out or think it out. In the Ten Commands when God says, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife”, God is looking at our hearts.

In the Law of Moses (Deut. 7:1 – 4) God commanded Israel not to intermarry with the pagan nations because the result would be that Israel would stop following the Lord and He would then send judgment. This, of course, happened in the Wilderness, during the Exodus from Egypt to Canaan, and many times thereafter, including during Ezra’s time. (Numbers 25:1 – 18; Revelation 2:14, 20 – 23). Also remember that in our study of the Minor Prophets the image of adultery has been used again and again to portray the unfaithfulness of the people of God – remember when we explored Hosea?

Please look at 1 Kings 11:1 – 4; a sad commentary on what happens when we think we can ignore God's commandments regarding marital and sexual relations.

Of course, there is much more than sexuality going on here, we’re really looking at God’s command to be holy as He is holy; 1 Peter 1:13 – 16; Leviticus 11:44; 19:22. More than anything else, the idea of holiness, purity, and devotion to God (Romans 12:1-2) underlies our passage in Ezra.

How might the following Scriptures relate to our Ezra passage?

Which of the following speaks to you in a special way? Catches your attention?

Which of the following represents an area in which you have learned specific life-lessons?

Which of the following is an area in which you have been particularly challenged?

2 Corinthians 6:14 – 7:1

1 Thessalonians 4:1 – 8

Hebrews 12:4 – 17 (with a particular focus on verse 14).

Matthew 5:8

1 Peter 2:9 – 10

Ephesians 4:29; 5:1 – 5

Some thoughts:

 A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the prevalence of moral, ethical, and spiritual lawlessness in our society. In looking at Ezra and his relationship to the Persian Emperor, we saw (I hope) that in order to exercise authority that one needs to know what it is to submit to authority (Jesus and the centurion).

This week I hope we’ll ponder that we live in a society that not only rejects the idea of the holy, but that seems to be doing everything it can to destroy the very idea of holiness. Sadly we find this occurring in much of the professing church. The idea that our hearts and minds and bodies should be pure is foreign to our culture, including much of our church culture. It seems as if we are intent on robbing our children of innocence and ensuring that adults are captured in the quagmire of impurity.

If we are indeed people in a relationship with Jesus Christ, then we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit – He is the Holy Spirit. He is not the Anything Goes Spirit, nor is He the Sugar Daddy Spirit, but since God is Holy He is, the Holy Spirit. Consider that while God is also Love, and Light, that the primary designation the God adopts for the Third Person of the Trinity is the Holy Spirit – there must be a reason for that.

The spirits of Satan are unclean and impure spirits; demons, principalities and powers seeking to strip mankind of the image of God. What we look at matters, what we think about matters, the words we use matter, the actions of our bodies matter. If our eyes and ears allow impure images and words into our souls, into our hearts, into our minds…let us remember that if we are Christians, that the Holy Spirit lives within us; indeed, let us remember that the Father and Son live within us – and that we are introducing impurities into the very Temple of God. We are, if you will, desecrating the Temple and image of God when we drink the cup of the enemy.

So then, in the time of Ezra the work of the Temple of God, the rebuilding of the Temple and the City, the worship of God, could not continue until the issue of impure marriage was dealt with. As long as we are engaged in promiscuous relationships with the sin and filth of the world, the Church of the Living God cannot (in some measure which I don’t pretend to understand) be restored. As long as our local congregations are living lives indistinguishable from the world, there will be no lasting renewal into the image of Jesus Christ. This is about so much more than mixed-marriages or sexuality – this is about being holy as our Father is holy.

This is about the purity of our minds and hearts and souls…as well as our bodies. This is about money, this is about our time, this is about what our hearts treasure, this is about speaking the Word of Christ to others, this is about being faithful to Christ in the workplace, the civic organization, the neighborhood - this is about belonging to Jesus.

Ezra, Living Under Authority, and Lawlessness

Below is the handout I prepared for our men's small group for this week. We've been looking at Ezra in our reflections on the Minor Prophets since without understanding Ezra and Nehemiah (as well as significant elements of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel), we will lack the context to consider Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. 

I'm sharing this particular week's material because of its subject matter. In today's society, in our culture, and indeed in the world, we are witnessing lawlessness in myriad forms. From government, to entertainment, to sports, to education, to the professing church; in morality, ethics, "spirituality" and "religion" - lawlessness appears to be prevailing. I use the word "appears" because that is what it is, an appearance - for as Daniel Chapter 2 and Psalm 2 demonstrate, the Living God and His Son are forever prevailing and are, in fact, allowing mankind to turn upon itself (Romans Chapter 1) and imbibe the darkness it desires. 

We have lost sight of what godly leadership looks like, and we are drinking from the cup of lawlessness as it is passed around in our culture - we are constructing our own Tower of Babel - we are drunk with the self-centeredness of lawlessness - not only without, but often within the professing church. 

Well, there just may be something here for you to reflect on.

In Ezra 7:1 – 10 what do we learn about Ezra? Is there anything significant about his family tree? What do we see about his heart, his desire, his passion?

Based on the limited information contained in these chapters, how might you characterize Ezra’s relationship with the King? How did God work through this relationship?

Please consider the following passages: Proverbs 16:10 – 15; 20:2, 8, 26 – 28; 22:11; 24:21; 25:5 – 6; 29:4, 14; 31:1 – 9.

Matthew 20:20 – 28.

What do we learn about leadership and authority in these passages?

How should we exercise authority?

How should we respond to authority?

How can we teach others about authority?

What have we learned about authority in our own lives – both in terms of using it and in terms responding to it?  Please give some examples of when you “didn’t get it” and when you did “get it”. In other words, when did you not use authority responsibly? When have you not responded to authority in a responsible manner? How has your understanding of authority matured over the course of your life?

Ezra was under the king’s authority, and the king found Ezra trustworthy to place in authority.

While there are many “go-to” places in the Gospels that speak of authority, three passages that speak strongly to me are Matthew 20:20 – 28; John 13:1 – 17, and Matthew 8:1 – 13.

I have used Matthew 8:1 – 13 in previous handouts, and I have used it in teaching and preaching for decades, and when I use it I ask the question, “What did the centurion see in Jesus that caused him to place his faith in Jesus?”

Without fail, 100% of the time people respond, “He saw that Jesus had authority, that Jesus was in authority.”

However, the Gospel accounts of Jesus and the centurion are consistent in that the centurion did not view Jesus as being in a position of authority, but rather as being under authority. The centurion understood the nature of authority because he was a military man who, I think, thought deeply about his responsibilities. He knew that all of his authority was derived from the chain-of-command that went right up to the Roman Emperor – the centurion was not a loose cannon doing whatever he wanted however he wanted.

Jesus was, of course, living in submission to His Father, (yes, yes, the Trinity and the Incarnation are mysteries, at least to me), John 5:19, 30; 6:38; 8:28; 12:49; 14:10.  

I use the centurion passage to teach about authority and also to show how easy it is to read the Bible but not read the Bible, to miss the point of a passage because we assume we know what we’re reading and so we superimpose our own images and thoughts on a passage. If we don’t submit to the Biblical text we’ll not “see” the Biblical text.

In my marketplace career I was keen to remember, and speak and act, as a man under authority; the authority of Jesus Christ, the authority of the firm I worked for, and the authority of my clients to whom I had a fiduciary duty. Even when I had my own very small operation in Maryland, because I had an agency relationship with my clients, I needed to be mindful of the authority and duty of those relationships.

In essence, I could never speak and act on my own authority, my authority was always derived; from Jesus Christ, from my firm, and from my clients. This, for the Christian, should simply be the way we live – we ought never to speak and act on our own authority – for outside of Jesus Christ we have none, we have been bought with a price, the blood of the Lamb (1 Corinthians 6:19 – 20).

I could give you many examples of pain I have caused when I have acted on my own authority, which is to say that I know what I’m talking about. I could also give many examples of managers who have worked for me who have grown when they have submitted to authority, when they have learned to be servant- leaders. I could also give many examples of managers who have worked for me and who never “got it” – they used their positions first for their own benefit and didn’t really care how they treated their employees or our clients and customers – they didn’t know how to submit to authority. This latter group did not tend to remain employed – they either couldn’t stand the accountability and left of their own accord or I had to free them up for hopefully a better future elsewhere.

I could also give many examples in the church world of people, including pastors, choir directors, praise team leaders, Sunday-school superintendents, deacons, elders, denominational officials, seminary leaders…you name it…who are in “authority” but don’t “get it” to the detriment of others. But thankfully there are also many examples on the positive side. But, of course, we see this in any group of people, PTAs, service organizations, sports organizations…it is the fallen nature of man outside of Jesus Christ.

All the more reason for us to learn to live under authority so that we might use the authority given to us in Christ to be a blessing to others.

The work of Satan is characterized by lawlessness and rebellion. Our society, indeed our world, is being swept away by lawlessness. We are rebelling against God’s moral law, against common decency, against God’s special revelation in Jesus Christ and His Word, against pretty much all authority. The human authorities we do have are also engaged in rebellion (Psalm 2) and are legalizing the repudiation of the image of God and His Law and codifying sin and demonic images of humanity – resulting in hideous confusion and a moral and spiritual meltdown which, like a nuclear-plant meltdown, is spreading toxicity into our environment.

This lawlessness is, I think, often as present in our churches as it is in general society. We don’t know the Bible, we don’t obey the Bible, we explain away the Bible’s clear moral and ethical teaching, we make excuse after excuse for our collective and individual disobedience and sin, we are ashamed of holiness, we are often ashamed of Christ and go with the flow around us.

Chesterton wrote, “A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it.”  Are we alive or are we, and our congregations, dead?

Will we, will I, will you…live under the authority of Jesus Christ…no matter what?

Love,

Bob

The Restoration - Ezra (1)

The group of men I meet with on Tuesday mornings is nearing the end of its exploration of the Minor Prophets and Daniel. Below is the material I sent out last week for this morning's time together. There may be something here for you. If you do nothing else, consider the last question I ask - the one about Ephesians Chapter 2.

Blessings,

Bob

We have three Minor Prophets left in our series; Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. However, because there is a break of more than 70 years between Zephaniah and Haggai, and because the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon and the deportation of much of Judah occurred at the beginning of this 70-year period, we need to capture the historical context of Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi – otherwise we won’t appreciate what God is doing through these three prophets.

As a reminder, when we explored Daniel we saw that Daniel is the one prophet who spans this 70-year period; he was deported by the Babylonians (Daniel 1:1 – 7) at the beginning of the 70 years and he lived at least to the beginning of the end of the 70 years (Daniel 9:1 – 2). While Daniel is not technically considered a Minor Prophet, we began our study with him because of his historical position in the line of Biblical prophets, especially because he lived during the 70-year captivity.

For the next few weeks we’re going to look at the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther. These three books close out the Biblical “history” section of the Sacred Text, which we can think of as beginning with Joshua, coming as Joshua does after the Pentateuch or Torah, the Five Books of Moses (which of course also contain history, but also covenants and the Mosaic Law).

Haggai and Zechariah both appear in Ezra, and we can’t really read one book without reading the other two books. Nehemiah builds on Ezra, and Esther is a nice exclamation point on the sovereignty of God during this time of transition for Judah.

While the entire Old Testament speaks of Christ and His Body, the Church, His Bride; I have long felt that Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi unveil critical paradigms for the Church. Sadly most Christians are unaware of the story of the 70-year captivity and the restoration of the Temple and Jerusalem, a restoration that was not without spiritual struggle and conflict. More than once I have desired that a congregation “see” the message of Haggai so that we would leave our self-centered narcissistic ways and deny ourselves and go “all-in” for Christ and the Cross. I am certain that I have not always been faithful to God’s message through Haggai, but that is my desire. But before we get to Haggai we’ll need to begin with Ezra.

Our passage for next week is Ezra 1:1 -4.

Compare Isaiah 44:24 – 45:7; Jeremiah 25:1 – 14; 29:10 – 14; Daniel 9:1 – 19 with Ezra 1:1 – 4.

How are these passages related to each other? What do you see? What do we learn about God?

What is the express purpose of Cyrus’s decree?

Why was Cyrus releasing the people of Judah from their captivity?

Why does God, through Christ, release us from our captivity to sin and death? (Compare 1 Thessalonians 1:9 – 10; 1 Peter 2:9 – 10; Romans 12:1 – 2)

Ephesians Chapter 2 – can you see the dual dimensions of the “individual and corporate” in Ephesians Chapter 2? How might this relate to Ezra 1:1 – 4?)