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May 16

Reading 1 - Deuteronomy 33 & 34

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33 v.2 - We need never be fearful that God's protective power over us could ever waver. Look at the way we are told of his hosts throughout scripture Ps.68:17, Gal.3:19, 2Thes.1:7, Heb.2:2, Jude v.14, Rev.5:11.
Peter Cresswell
34:6 - We know from Jude v.9 that this incident brought about disputes. We have a very small number of men (Enoch, Moses and Elijah) around whose death there seems to be a mystery, but here we see that Moses did die, just that he was buried by God and no-one knows where. This is different from the other two who were taken before they physically died on earth. Interestingly it is Moses and Elijah, and not Enoch and Elijah who appear in the vision(?) of the transfiguration.
Peter Cresswell

33:28 'dwell ... safely' is a concept often spoken of in Scripture. Leviticus 25:18 19 26:5 Deuteronomy 12:10 33:12 here Proverbs 1:33 Jeremiah 23:6 32:37 33:16 Ezekiel 28:26 34:25 28 38:8 11 It can be seen to be a blessing from God to Israel if they were faithful. Dew if also seen as a blessing from Yahweh Genesis 27:28 39 Deuteronomy 32:2 here Psalm 133:3 Hosea 14:5 Micah 5:7

34:5 So matter of fact - but how tragic! So close yet so far. The exhortations for us is so powerful. Consider how often, when the phrase 'servant of God' is found in Scripture, it refers to Moses. Joshua 1:13 Joshua 22:5 1Chronicles 6:49 2Chronicles 24:9 Nehemiah 10:29 Daniel 9:11 Revelation 15:3 There are only two New Testament uses of the phrase which do not speak of Moses Titus 1:1 James 1:1 If we are to consider the phrase 'Servant of the LORD' we will find that the link with Moses is even more striking. here Joshua 1:1,13 8:31,33 11:12 12:6 13:8 14:7 18:7 22:2,4,5 24:29 Judges 2:8 2Kings 18:12 2Chronicles 1:3 24:6 The only other man called a 'servant of the LORD' is David. Psalm 18:1 36:1
Peter Forbes
Moses is called 'the man of God' on a number of occasions (Deuteronomy 33:1 Joshua 14:6 1Chronicles 23:14 2 Chronicles 30:16 Ezra 3:2 Psalm 90:1)

33:5 Jeshurun is another name for Israel which is only used in Deuteronomy in this song context.
(Deuteronomy 32:15 33:5 26)

33:6 - 24 This list of sons of Israel and their blessings differs from that of Genesis 49 - not that it should be the same.)

34:10 We know that Yahweh 'spoke face to face' with Moses but here we learn that Yahweh 'knew' him face to face which extends the fellowship a little further.
Peter Forbes

33:8 It seems that the Levites were at the forefront of the strife at 'the waters of Meribah' at the beginning of the wilderness journey, though we do not learn this from the historical record (Exodus 17:1-7)

34:7 In telling us that Moses' natural forces were not abated God is making the point that Moses' death was not a 'natural' death.
Peter Forbes

33 v. 3 - A lovely thought! - "all his saints" are loved and in the "hand" of God. Does this bring our thoughts beyond the judgment seat and into the Kingdom with Jesus? "They sat down at his feet..."
v. 5 - Jeshurun - Heb. "The upright one"; LXX "The beloved one" - A term of endearment for Israel. (Only here in v.5, 26 and 32:15)
Israel was far from "upright" 32:15 - "Waxed fat and kicked" yet Yahweh did not desert them and the term is still used in ch.33.
One of the most beautiful and encouraging verses in all the Bible is here in Deut. 33. We can never be too far gone or in too deep a pit of despair for our God to help us, lift us up, set us right:
v.26 - "There is none like the God of Jeshurun"
v.27 - "The eternal God is thy refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms".
David Pride
Liked the comment about Moses, Elijah and Enoch.
I think Moses represented the dead in Christ, raised to new life and Elijah, those who are living at the return of Christ.
I bought the Aramaic Vs. of Bible after reading about it in the Testimony magazine. In the verse where the KJV has 'his natural force was not abated', it has 'He had no wrinkle in his cheeks'. Amazing thought, after 40 years taking care of sheep and another 40 years taking care of the ecclesia in the wilderness.
Reminds me of Lamentations 5:21 Restore us to yourself, O LORD, that we may be restored; renew our days as of old-- and Isa. 40:31
Jean Cheetham

Reading 2 - Isaiah 6

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v.1-8 - We also have the knowledge of the glory of the Lord in the face of Jesus Christ. May we be inclined to repeat Isaiah's words 'Here am I, send me', knowing that by the atonement wrought by Jesus, and by the grace of God which we are given freely, we might also be forgiven and made righteous before Him. Acts 20:24, Eph.3:8.
Peter Cresswell
v.9 - we have the quotation which Jesus uses in Matt.13:13-16 to explain his reason for speaking in parables. Notice though that Jesus not only states that those whose eyes and ears are not opened shoudl not understand, he also emphasies the contrast for those who do have eyes to see and to whom the light of the world makes manifest good and evil, that they might see to choose the good.
Peter Cresswell
6:1 Notice that there are two prophecies of Isaiah which were given when kings died 6:1 Uzziah 14:1 Ahaz
Peter Forbes
6:11 That the message was to be spoken until the cities be wasted indicates that the judgement to come - through the Assyrians actually - was a direct consequence of the fact that Israel would not listen to the word of God. The king who had just died has so corrupted the people that they could not listen to the word of God - their thought processes had been so disturbed by the idol worship. A warning for us. The way that we think actually affects our attitude to Scripture.
Peter Forbes
:9-10 God, knowing that the people would not listen to the words of Isaiah, instructs him as to the lack of response that he will receive. As such these words also instructed Jesus as to what to expect from Israel - Jesus uses this passage to highlight to the people of his day how they would not listen to God either (Matthew 13:14)
Peter Forbes
HERE AM I. SEND ME
Oh that more if us could be like Isaiah. When the call goes out, how many people do we ever see running to take up the challenge, to do the work of the LORD, volunteering with a willing heart. There is so much to be done and so few to do it. Even Jesus said to his disciples, that the fields are ripe for the harvest but the workers are few. But Isaiah was different from most people. His attitude to the work of God is a refreshing change to the attitude we get so used to seeing around us.
He heard the voice of the LORD saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And Isaiah said, "Here am I. Send me!" A willing volunteer - no conditions, no excuses, just ready to run and do the work of the LORD no matter what it takes.
Are you one of the ones who makes excuses when you are called? Do you turn around first to see who else will volunteer? Do you think you are not qualified to do the job? Isaiah's only qualification was that his sins were forgiven and his guilt was taken away. For those of us truly in Christ we have already been given those qualifications. Let us live the lesson of Isaiah when we are called to work, and reply, "Here am I. Send me!"
Robert Prins

Reading 3 - Colossians 3 & 4

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3 v.4 - What better reason can we have to make the effort to obey v.5? Let us order our thinking the same way - dwelling on the wonders of the promise which is made to us causes us to have motivation to break the spirit of human nature within us and turn instead to the spiritual things of God. John 11:25, 14:6, 20:31, Gal.2:20, 2Tim.1:1, 1John 1:1,2.
Peter Cresswell

3:16 The use of Psalms to praise God has its origins in the Old Testament. [1 Chronicles 16:9 Psalm 95:2 105:2] And then passes into New testament use as an exhortation as to how we should praise. [Ephesians 5:19 Colossians 3:16 James 5:13] We might ask, how much do we rely on the Psalms in our own praise and prayers?

4:14 Demas figures favourably in two of Paul's early letters [Colossians 4:14 Philemon v.24] But by the time Paul is on trial for his life Demas has 'left the truth' 2 Timothy 4:10
Peter Forbes

3:8 -12 'put off ... put on' continues this theme, drawing on the way that the High priest had to undress and dress on the Day of Atonement. The Day of Atonement shows the need to divest oneself of certain things in order to be clothed correctly to allow entry into the holy of holies - the presence of God.

3:8-9 The concept of putting off and putting on draws on the way that the high priest had to change his garments before he went into the most holy place on the day of Atonement. Lev 16:4-32

4:5 them that are without seems to be a standard way of referring to the unbeliever as the following passages [which also appear in the list of language found elsewhere in Scripture] shows 1Corinthians 5:12 1Corinthians 5:13 1Thessalonians 4:12 1Timothy 3:7
Peter Forbes

3:3 'Dead' is another quotation from Romans 6:2. The 'dead to sin' of Romans is expanded to speak of the provision God has made that we are 'hid' with Christ.

4:1 In what way were servant to be given that which is 'equal'?

The equality relates to the acknowledgement for what they have done. Whilst it might be thought that a servant had no rights Paul is encouraging the brethren to treat their servants with respect. They should acknowledge what the servant does. Of course we are servants, we cannot earn anything. However we trust that our God will treat us with mercy above that which we deserve as servants.
Peter Forbes