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August
7
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Reading
1 - 1Kings 1
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here to Listen
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v.53
- Forgiveness is the first quality that we see here in Solomon as soon as
he is made king. Although he has not yet requested wisdom specifically from
God, he makes a wise judgement, and one that reflects the forgiveness that
Christ portrayed as well. Prov.24:21.
Peter Cresswell |
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v31
- I am sure this was just a standard saying of the time - and in human terms
highly inappropriate as everyone recognised that David was on his death
bed! But how apposite in spiritual terms! Indeed David was about to sleep
with his fathers to await the great resurrection to eternal life where we
know he will be saved.
Peter Cresswell |
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v.45
- The phrase 'earth / city rang again' only occurs twice in Scripture.
1
Samuel 4:5 1 Kings 1:45
The first being a cry with no joy to follow. The second at a more glorious
time in Israel's history.
Peter Forbes |
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1:5
The way in which Haggith prepared chariots is just the same as his brother
Absalom. It is also exactly how Samuel said men would respond when they
wanted to be king. (1
Samuel 8:10-11)
Peter Forbes
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:48
'mine eyes even seeing it' might seem a strange thing for David to say -
as if he never expected one of his sons to sit on his throne. I think, rather,
he had been hoping that he would not be succeeded until after his death.
The reason? 2
Samuel 7:12 'when they days be fulfilled
' David was longing for
the Messiah and he understood that he would only come after his death. He
knew now, as he had seen Solomon crowned, that he was not the messiah. They
are words of recognition that his hopes have not yet been realised.
Peter Forbes
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RIGHT
TIME, RIGHT WAY
Two of David's sons became king in one day. Adonijah was the first. His
method was to put himself forward with the help of some of the leading men
of the kingdom, to become king. He chose to do it when his father, David,
was old and weak. Adonijah had not been promised the kingdom, nor did he
have the blessing of the LORD or of David. Adonijah's plan was to take the
kingdom without having been given it, at an opportune time.
Solomon was the other son of David to be made king that day. Solomon was
made king through the promise of both God and David. He became king at the
time that was appropriate that he should take over the kingdom. Solomon
also had the support of king David and the God fearing leaders of the land.
Solomon did not have to take the kingdom, the kingdom was given to him at
the right time.
There could not be two kings, and it was Solomon, the rightful king, who
succeeded his father David. In the same way, we cannot force our way into
the kingdom of God. There is only one way to be there, and that way is through
Jesus. We will not get in by doing things our own way, or in our own time,
by trickery or by force, instead we must be invited, called chosen, worthy
and willing to act in the LORD's time and in his way.
Robert
Prins |
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Reading
2 - Jeremiah 28
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here to Listen
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v.9
- Here is the test of a prophet. It seems that Hananiah was one of the more
prominent or at least more courageous of the false prophets, but it seems
there were many of them that Jeremiah had to contend with every day - consider
these passages: Jer.4:10,
6:14, 8:11, 14:13
- all leading up to today's chapter where there is much more detail of a
specific incident. Beware, as many many people now in our day are teaching
a doctrine that is more attractive than the truth. Jeremiah saw it as his
job to show the false teachings up for what they were.
Peter Cresswell |
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v.17
- Further to the comment above, here we have evidence of Jeremiah's truth
as a prophet. It was necessary for every prophet to make short term predictions
so that the people could carry out the test on them to assure themselves
that they did indeed speak God's word.
Peter Cresswell |
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v.1-4
- Whilst the words of Hananiah were pleasant words and even though Jeremiah
also wanted them to be true [28:5]
they were not Yahweh's words and so would not come to pass. Here we have
two individuals claiming to speak God's word. The test was in whether the
words came true or not [Deuteronomy
18:21]
Peter Forbes |
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28:16-17
The death of Hananiah two months after the prophecy would have been a great
comfort to Jeremiah at this time when there were many opposing the claim
that he was a prophet of Yahweh. Though doubtless his antagonists would
not see the fulfilled prophecy as an indicator of his status as a prophet.
Peter Forbes |
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:14
I
the neck quotes Deuteronomy
28:48
Yet another quotation from Deuteronomy confirming that Israel were choosing
the curses rather than the blessings as they were sinful. The repeated use
of the curses was designed to bring repentance to Israel. They should have
seen that the things happening were not chance occurrences. They were 'of
God' because He was keeping His word.
Peter Forbes |
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Reading
3 - Mark 2
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here to Listen
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v.12
- There is a suggestion here that the people were used to 'faith healing'
on a much smaller scale, but here they saw the real thing, which made their
own efforts pale into insignificance. There has to be a lesson here. ch.1:27,
12:23, Matt.9:8, 15:31, Luke 5:26, 7:16, 13:13, 17:15
Peter Cresswell |
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v.2
- As Jesus is in a house at Capernaum and we have seen in Chapter 1 that
Peter lived at Capernaum and it was in his house that his mother in law
was healed it is reasonable to assume that this miracle took place in Peter's
house.
v.5
- There are only two occasions in the gospels where it is recorded that
Jesus forgave the sins of those who came to him, though the implication
is clear that this was a feature of his message and healing.
Matthew 9:2 Mark 2:5 Luke 5:20, 7:48
v.16
- There are at
least two occasions when the religious leaders questioned the disciples
rather than addressing Jesus directly. Matthew
7:24, 9:11 Mark 2:16, 7:2 Luke 5:30. This indicates that they thought that it was
easier to attack the disciples rather than Jesus.
Peter Forbes |
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2:14
Levi who is here styled 'the son of Alphaeus' actually is the brother is
'James the son of Alphaeus' [3:18].
He is also styled 'Matthew' [Matthew
9:9]. So Jesus calls two brethren who, secularly, were dissimilar. As
a tax collector Matthew / Levi would be despised by the Jews. We probably
would have not appointed someone from that type of background to such an
important task as we would probably think it would not help our cause to
present that type of image. This should cause us to think about what basis
we use for making selections in ecclesial life.
Peter Forbes |
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:14
In saying that Jesus called Levi 'as he passed by' we might be tempted to
think the call of the disciples was a random thing, as if Jesus just chose
them on a whim. We know this is not so because he recognised that they were
all given to him by God (John
17:9)
Peter Forbes |
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| What
does Jesus mean with his illustration of the old garment with the new patch?
It's quite a ludicrous picture isn't it, of cutting a hole in a new garment
to make a patch for the old! Similarly to get an old wine bottle, open a
new one, then pour the contents into the used bottle! Jesus is clearly saying
that these things are completely the wrong way round.
So it
is with the Sabbath in v27.
The pharisees were placing the importance of the sabbath above the importance
of the man, for whom the sabbath was made. They were placing the regulation
for observing the fasting ritual, above the benefit that it was designed
to give. It was the wrong way round. In Ezekiel
20v11-13 God explains how he had given these things for their benefit
"which, if a man does, he shall live by them". The statutes
of God had been given to benefit men and women if they would keep them.
The Pharisees had made them into ordinances that would merely condemn
men and women if they didn't keep them. They had got it completely the
wrong way round.
Robin
de Jongh
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