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June 17

Reading 1 - Judges 19

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v.25 - This verse represents the very worst of human nature, but it is here to shock us into the realisation that this is the way of the world, and that the outcome thereof is death. This was, indeed, the reason that this very odd act of dividing her amongst the tribes of Israel took place - as a warning to all of the outcome of human lusts. Jer.5:7-8, Hos.7:4-7, 9:9, 10:9, Eph.4:19.
Peter Cresswell
v.20 - One wonders what their fate would have been had they stayed in the street all night! And this was a city of the Israelites, not of the nations round about, which they had sought out carefully. One wonders if they would have fared better had they stayed with the heathen. We must take a lesson from this and be sure to treat those who are in the household of faith in a better way than the world would do.
Peter Cresswell
v.18 - Notice the repetition of Benjamite, Gibeah and Bethlehem in this chapter. We are seeing elements of Saul's origins and also hints about the location where David came from. The book of Ruth, as we know, shows us the origins of David clearly.
Peter Forbes
19:25 The behaviour of the men of Gibeah are as depraved as the men of Sodom (Genesis 19)
Peter Forbes
:29-30 It is significant that Saul - a Benjamite - did something similar with the yoke of oxen (1 Samuel 11:7) when he wanted to bring Israel together. Whilst Saul imitates the actions of the Levite he is hardly using a good example.
Peter Forbes

Reading 2 - Isaiah 41

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v.28-29 - Here we have the conclusion of the praise of God that has taken place in recognising his greatness throughout the chapter. This is just the same way for us, hence the reason we should start every approach to the Lord in praise and recognise our consequent complete dependence on him for all things. v.24, 44:9-20, Ps.115:4-8.
Peter Cresswell
v.10,13,14 - The call to 'fear not' is also in these places in Isaiah - 12:2, 43:1,5, 44:2, 51:12,13
Peter Cresswell
v.23 - The call to ‘shew the things that are to come’ is the basic challenge of Yahweh which proves His existence. This is the power of prophecy. However there is a moral dimension to His claims for v27 He will bring ‘good tidings’ which contrasts with the immorality associated with idol worship.
Peter Forbes

Notice the way in which names are played upon.

41:10 I am with you Emmanuel
41:13 I will help you Hezekiah
41:14 I will help them Hezekiah

We will have noticed this already in Isaiah 7 and 8.

41:28 Notice the 'man' crops up again. We met him in 32:2.
Peter Forbes

The challenge to the idols as to whether they could foretell the future was a real challenge to those who made and worshipped the idols. God had already shown that he could foretell the future. One might have thought that Israel would have quickly realised that the idols were powerless. The reason why they did not is because they had made idols 'in their own likeness'- that is they worshipped themselves when they worshipped idols.
Peter Forbes
Interesting to note that in Is. 41:14 Israel (God's son in the national sense) is called a 'worm'.
In Ps. 22:6 Jesus (God's only begotten son) describes himself as a 'worm'. The Lord is describing himself as a reproach. Indeed he was as hung on the cross and made to be sin who knew no sin (2Cor. 5:21). The color representing sin is scarlet. The word for 'worm' in both the cases cited above is 'tola'. This can describe a voracious maggot but it also describes the crimson-grub from which was extracted the color for dyed garments.
I make the connection of the worm = color = sin in the above passages.
Michael Parry

Reading 3 - 1John 3 & 4

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3 v.1 - We must expect to be alienated from the world in our thinking because they know not Christ and his ways. We should indeed be behaving a way that is alien to the world. If we are not, we are in the world. And look at the advantages of being out of the world - v.2,3. ch.4:9,10, Rom.5:8, 8:32.
Peter Cresswell

3 v.6-9 - John here returns to the contrast he highlighted in chapter 2 which we spoke of yesterday. The focus is on 'as [a man] thinketh in his heart so is he' [Proverbs 23:7]

4 v.21 - The commandment which we have received of 'him' is actually from Jesus. Jesus draws together two commandments Deuteronomy 6:5 'Love the Lord' Leviticus 19:18 'Love thy neighbour' in [Matthew 22:37-39]. This is what John is drawing on.
Peter Forbes

3:12 Here we have in 'slew his brother' quoting Genesis 4:8 and 'Cain' more references to the behaviour of Cain who did not love his brother. So the example of Cain forms the basis for 3:15 'whoso hateth his brother is a murderer'.

4:4 in speaking of overcoming John is using a key word which occurs a number of times in the letter

1 John 2:13 2:14 4:4 5:4 5:5.

So we should not think of ourselves as failures. We are overcomers and as such are in a wonderful position.
Peter Forbes

3:1 If we truly are the 'sons of God' then we should not be surprised when the world does not 'know' us. Conversely if we feel comfortable in the world then we might reflect on whether we truly are 'in him'.

4:5 We learnt (2:1) that the world does not 'know' the sons of God. That is because the 'world' speaks a different language. This contrasts with (4:6) the language of the servants of God. So we have to reflect on what language we speak.
Peter Forbes