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June 13

Reading 1 - Judges 12 & 13

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ch.12 - In v.1 of ch.13 we find that Israel have once again turned from God. This is a direct result of the leadership recorded in ch.12 - leadership which in God's eyes was either significantly wrong (v.9), or of no spiritual consequence, hence no account of their lives. Where will our lives as spiritual leaders be rated? How full a report would our lives command? Food for thought.
Peter Cresswell
13 v.6,18 - The significance of names seems to be different in the angelic realm, though we are given name for some angels. This one would not give his name to either Manoah or his wife. The same happened with Jacob in Gen 32:29
Peter Cresswell

12 v.4 This strife between tribes in Israel over a trivial matter really, the men of Ephraim had their pride hurt, and that is all. Is this not like how we sometimes behave in the ecclesia. The way that Israel behaved towards their brethren can provide us with an insight into the folly of our own ecclesial actions at times.
12 v.6 And so some were made offenders for a word. [Isaiah 29:21]

13 v.3 The use of the phrase virgin ... conceive ... bear ... son is found in the following places [Judges 13:3 5 7 Isaiah 7:14 Matthew 1:23 Luke 1:27-31]
13 v.7The use of the phrase 'virgin ... conceive ... bear ... son' these three times in Judges 13 matches the threefold use in the New Testament.
Peter Forbes

12:8-15 This small area of Judges covers a period of 25 years and 3 Judges which shows that the book of Judges is concerned to report specific events in the time of the Judges rather than be a detailed historical account of the period.

ch 13 - Continuing the theme of the links between Samson and Jesus we note that there are words used here which we later find in Isaiah 9 which are prophetic of Jesus.

13:18 secret 06383 Isaiah 9:6 Wonderful 06382
13:19 wondrously 06381 Isaiah 9:6 Wonderful 06382

Peter Forbes

12:6 The Gileadites were making their brethren 'offenders for a word' (Isaiah 29:21). So they were fighting their brethren who spoke the same language using a small pretext to justify their actions whereas they seemed to accept the presence of the inhabitants of the land who had no knowledge of Yahweh!

ch. 13 - Samson was of the tribe of Dan (2). 'Dan' means 'judge' - :12 'order' is the Hebrew word 04941 - 'judgement'.
Peter Forbes

Reading 2 - Isaiah 37

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v.16 - Here we have a prayer recorded - the prayer of a righteous man. We have very few prayers recorded exactly, as this one is, and we do well to note its structure, as it matches with other recorded prayers. The first part of the prayer is praise of God. This is a very important pre-requisite, as it emphasises the gulf that is fixed between man and God, and the fact that we realise that it has been bridged by Jesus, so giving us, as sinful mankind, access to the supremacy of the creator. (ch.43:10,11).
Peter Cresswell
v.2 - Shebna, of whom we read quite a lot in connection with Hezekiah, means 'vigour'.
Peter Cresswell
37 v.30 - In speaking of ‘that which groweth of itself’ and ‘third year’ we are reminded of the Jubilee year [Leviticus 25:11] indicating that this year was a jubilee or the year of release.
Peter Forbes
I make no apology for repeating this table from chapter 22. The promises to David form such a central plank of the gospel.

9:7 Throne of David
16:5 Tabernacle of David
22:22 Key of the house of David
37:35 Defend for David's sake
38:5 The God of David thy father
55:3 The sure mercies of David

God worked in Isaiah's day because of what he said to David.
Peter Forbes

:4, 17 In speaking of the 'living God' Hezekiah is clearly contrasting his confidence upon Yahweh with the idols of Assyria which were no gods.
Peter Forbes

Reading 3 - 1Peter 3,4 & 5

To Listen
3 v.3-5 - This passage is not just for women, it simply uses the tendency that women have rather than men to use external beauty treatment to make a spiritual point. It is a call to all of us to keep our lives in perspective, to recognise the 'adornment' which is of the inside, not of the outside. Acts 9:36, 1Tim 2:9,10, 5:10.
Peter Cresswell

3 v.2,53 - chaste / pure. Whilst we might think that this word means sexually pure when speaking of a 'chaste virgin' that is not the sense of the word. As we can see from these passages: 2 Corinthians 7:11 clear 2 Corinthians 11:2 pure Philippians 4:8 pure 1 Timothy 5:22 pure James 3:17 pure 1 John 3:3 pure Purity is the meaning of the word and so when it is translated 'chaste' it is speaking of purity. Tit 2:5 chaste 1Pe 3:2 chaste

4 v.4 'Riot' 810 may convey to us a rather wild behaviour [Titus 1:6 1 Peter 4:4] which we might think would not be found in brethren and sisters. A 'riot' in current use relates to a wile, unruly mob behaving wildly. However we can see:- [Ephesians 5:18] That 'riot' in the above examples actually is 'excess', which is something we can understand as something which might be seen in brethren and sisters. Of course excess is most inappropriate for those who are appointed to 'rule'.

5 v.2 - Being materialistic must have been a problem in the first century because on a number of times:- [1 Timothy 3:3,8 Titus 1:7,11 1 Peter 5:2] There is the warning that those who take ecclesial office should not be greedy of 'filthy lucre'. We know that a gift perverts justice. [Exodus 23:8 Proverbs 17:23]
Peter Forbes

ch.3

He that will … unto their prayers
Psalm 34:12

In this quotation from Psalm 34 Peter reminded his audience of the words that David used to teach the 400 in the cave (1 Samuel 22) how they should trust God.

ch.4

Charity shall cover the multitude of sins
Proverbs 10:12

If we were able to implement this teaching there would be far less strife amongst us. Rather than always seeking to highlight errors in other we would be willing to accept the repentance of others and simply not mention misdemeanors unless it was really necessary.

5:1-2 If one thinks oneself as being in positions of responsibility in ecclesial life then the responsibilities must be shouldered. The 'elders in the first century had to 'feed the flock'. Those who find speakers for meetings are involved in that 'feeding' therefore care must be taken in what is said from the platform. Responsibility lies not only with the speaker but with the ones that have selected the speaker.
Peter Forbes

3:6 Sarah called Abraham 'lord' in her heart (Genesis 18:12) - it was an attitude of mind, not just words to please Abraham. He was unaware that she had thought the words. In the same way our respect and honour tot he Father must be from the heart, not just outward show.

4:9 'Without grudging' is an all pervading aspect of the gospel message. The generous spirit reflects that of our God. Think for yourselves of examples of Scripture teaching us that we should have this generous spirit. Maybe you can e-mail me with your list?

5:1 In what way was peter a 'partaker of the glory that shall be revealed'? He was still 'in the flesh' and he still sinned. The way in which he was a partaker of the glory is that he had fellowship with his God through the sacrifice of Christ. We are in the same position. We are now partakers of that glory. Once we realise this we will want to walk worthy of that position.
Peter Forbes