The flying roll

The flying roll.

Zechariah 5:1-4.

5:1-4 Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll. And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits. Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it. I will bring it forth, saith the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.

Lambert’s Cafe in Sikeston, Missouri has a tradition of throwing dinner rolls to customers. That might be the first kind of “roll” that enters the thoughts of American readers. However, this flying roll in Zechariah is a scroll, the “roll of a book” (cf. Jeremiah 36:2,4,32; Ezekiel 2:9), a written message from God. The Messiah the Branch will remove sin from the land (3:9b; Daniel 9:24-27). This removal of sin is either through forgiveness or destruction. Luke 13:3, 5 “except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Cf. Zech 3:8-9 and 4:6-7.

3:8-9 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH. For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.

4:6-7 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.

The law of the Lord is worldwide it “goeth forth over the face of the whole earth” (v. 3)

• John Gill notes that God has exact knowledge of the sins of all men, and strict remembrance of them.

The law of the Lord is equal, it is “for every one” (v. 3).

Matthew 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

• On this side “that stealeth” (the 8th commandment on the second table; relationship to man)
• On that side “that sweareth” (the 3rd commandment on the first table; relationship to God)

The law of the Lord is fixed in God’s purpose, enforced by the Lord, “I will bring it forth” (v. 4).

• The curse of the law and the wrath of God are certain, fixed in God’s purpose.

The law of the Lord is triumphant, enforced on the sinner, “it shall enter…and shall consume it.”

• The curse of the law and the wrath of God are certain of victory. God will overcome and overwhelm all sin.

Conclusion.

The curse of the law extends as far as the rule and control of the law. The law is in writing “on a roll” and “in the hearts” (Joshua 8:34; Romans 2:15).  It is universal in its scope of time (perpetual) and space (global) and impartiality (for all man). “What I have written I have written" (John 19:22; Daniel 6:8). The angel asks “What seest thou” and Zechariah answers, “I see a flying roll.” In size the roll was twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide, that is, 30 feet X 15 feet. It is an uncommon size.

The sinners against whom the judgment of the curse of the law is levelled are: (1) “every  one that stealeth” and (2) “every one that sweareth.” The curse lands on those that break either table of the law. Here God does not rank one sin above the other. These two kinds of sin are representative of and summarize the “two tables of the law,” man’s relationship to man and man’s relationship to God. The curse applies equally to those who break either table. James 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

In the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, God has inscribed and preserved his law and his gospel. 

Galatians 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

Galatians 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

Sin must be removed through either forgiveness in Christ or destruction from Christ. God’s word is the standard by which we are judged, and all must give account to God. God’s roll of his writing has flown through the face of the whole earth. The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men – but God does not tolerate sin. The unrepentant unbelieving will be punished, with the Lord “in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who will be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord.”

When the great day of his wrath is come, who shall be able to stand?

Ananias and Sapphira, Acts 5

Troubles within the Jerusalem Church: the strange case of Ananias and Sapphira, 1-11

Verses 1-2: The peace, prosperity, and community of goods of the church is now abused. Sin takes its toll. Ananias and Sapphira enter a conspiracy to defraud the church at Jerusalem through a lie. Like Joses Barnabas before them (4:36-37), they sell a possession, bring the money and lay it “at the apostles’ feet.” The fraud was in claiming to give all though only giving a part. It seems they wanted the show – the “glory” –without the sacrifice.

Verse 3: Peter exposes the deception as the work of Satan, the devil, “a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44).  Further, the deception is not merely to men, but a “lie to the Holy Ghost.”

Verse 4: Keeping “back part of the price of the land” is not a sin in itself. The possession was their own, and the sale and disposal of income was “in thine own power.” Peter’s commentary emphasizes private ownership and the voluntary nature of the community of goods in the church at Jerusalem. The sin was in the deception, the lie. The lie was not merely in men’s secular matters, but in spiritual matters – “but unto God.” A lie unto the Lord’s church was a lie unto the Lord (Cf. Matthew 10:40-42; 25:40, 45; Luke 10:16; Acts 9:4).

Verses 5-6: The God to whom Ananias lied executed the sentence. Ananias fell down dead at the apostles’ feet, the same place he had brought his gift and his fraud. Despite his deception, they gave a decent burial to one of their own – “the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.”

Verses 7-8: Not knowing the previous events, Sapphira came into the apostles’ presence about three hours later. Peter inquires of her concerning the act of her and Ananias. Though she could have confessed the truth, Sapphira rather sticks to the story they had concocted – “Yea, [we sold it] for so much.”

Verse 9: Here Peter calls the lie an agreeing “together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord” (Cf. Matthew 4:7; Luke 4:12). This tempting, in effect, tested whether God knew all things, and whether they would be found out. Compare I Kings 8:39; II Chronicles 6:30; Proverbs 15:3; Luke 16:15; Acts 1:24; Hebrews 4:12.

• Numbers 32:23 …ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out.
• Job 4:8 Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.
• Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

Verse 10: Sapphira is also buried through a kind act by the church “the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.”

Peter plainly declares the sin of this incident – Ananias and Sapphira lied and attempted to deceive even God! The sin was not that they did not sell all. The sin was not that they kept a portion of the sale. The sin was not that they did not give all. At no time were they required to do so.

Verse 11: The details of this incident brought “great fear” – esteem and respect of God, his power, his work, and his dealings with mankind – both within the church and without, “upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.”

A Little Maid: a Note in Passing on God’s Providence

Luke 4:27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.

2 Kings 5:1-3 Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper. And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife. And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.

From the story of 2 Kings 5, we hang three large portraits on the wall. Elisha, of course. And Naaman. And Gehazi. God is not there – simply because images are not to be made of him. We won’t display Benhadad’s and Jehoram’s pictures, since we don’t really like them! When we come to the end of the chapter and see his deceit, we decide to remove Gehazi’s picture. As we take it down, we notice a small previously unnoticed frame in the corner. “Who is that,” we ask? “I don’t know her name,” comes the answer. “She’s just a little maid from Israel.” A little unnamed maid out of the land of Israel.

Naaman is a primary and noteworthy figure throughout the chapter. The little maid is mentioned in passing. Naaman was a captain; she was a captive. Naaman was a great man; she was a little maid. Naaman is accentuated by name; her name is unknown. Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Let us not rush past, but stop and linger here. Look here. Learn here.

Doubtless a man in Naaman’s position had tried the doctors, tried the experiments, and even tried the quacks. Nothing worked. Despite his position of honour and power, he was a diseased dying man, afflicted by the uncurable leprosy. Whatever he might have tried for healing had failed. “So death will soon disrobe us all, of what we here possess.”

In his providence and by his special aid, God used Naaman the captain to bring deliverance to Syria, expanding their power and prosperity. Why, God? O, why? They are Israel’s enemy. Syria’s armies had gone out in companies, raiding the coasts of Israel. In one particularly successful raid, a little maid was taken, separated from father and mother. Did she know what happened to them? Did they know what happened to her? We know what happened to her. Of all the families in all the houses of all the people of Syria, she landed in just one house, the house of Naaman – the captain of the host, the great man in the eyes of his king, the mighty man of valour – who was also a leper. A little maid; a prominent household; a grand providence.

The little maid was brought into captivity because of God’s judgment on Israel. At this time Jehoram was king in Israel. “He wrought evil in the sight of the Lord” (but not like his father and mother – Ahab and Jezebel). Jehoram sanctioned, promoted, and stood by “the sins of Jeroboam” – the worship of the golden calves that Jeroboam installed in Dan and Bethel (2 Kings 3:3; 1 Kings 12:28-33). This serious breach of God’s law was an invitation of God’s judgment. God had begun to lay Israel low, and he would lay them lower. If Israel would not hearken to the voice of the Lord in keeping his commandments, “the Lord shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies,” and “thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people” (Deuteronomy 28:15, 25, 32). Through no direct fault of her own, but through the fault of her national leaders, a little maid in Israel is now a captive in Syria.

The little maid received her cup and allowed no root of bitterness to spring up. Perhaps this little maid saw her parents slain before her eyes; perhaps she was ripped from their arms never to know what happened to them. A sad fate, either way. In our society, we excuse bad behavior because of bad circumstances that decimate one’s life. In our mindset we would concede her every right to be angry, to nurse a grudge, to become bitter, to wish the worst for her captors. Yet the little maid let no root of bitterness spring up within her. She obeyed the New Testament exhortation, “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you” (Ephesians 4:31). It seems she dutifully went about her business, serving the mistress of the house, Naaman’s wife.

The little maid loved her enemies, blessed them that cursed her, and did good to them that hated her. It is likely that this little maid did not consider her master and mistress as enemies who hated her. What God would do for Naaman and how Naaman received the God of Israel as the true God suggests God was working a work in his heart. However, the Syrians and Israelites were enemies who hated one another. They were at odds, and at war. Nevertheless, the little maid did not withhold the good news she could impart in her household. Out of the mouth of babes – and of little maids – hath God perfected praise. The little maid believed in God, his power, his miracles, and his prophet. Surely, she testifies of what she has seen? Nay, O man, she testifies of what she knows! How many lepers had the little maid seen cleansed? None! (Luke 4:27) She withholds not the good. She withholds not the good news. There is a prophet in Samaria of a God in Israel (yea, in all places) who heals. If the master could just get to him. The simple words of a simple child, so beautiful in their simplicity, were not dismissed by the wife or household of Naaman. The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them. How miraculous in itself is their submission to the words of this child! Naaman had no were else to turn.

The providence of God rules over all – the just and the unjust, in good times and in bad times. God hath done whatsoever he hath pleased (Psalm 115:3). Often, we speak of providence of the good things of our life, of how God works all things for our good. Truth! On the other hand, the way we speak of God’s providence might lead the unknowing to believe that God wakes up betimes and then realizes he needs to take care of us. How unlike the God of mercy and grace. Speaking of this, George MacDonald acknowledged, “God’s care is more evident in some instances of it than in others to the dim and often bewildered vision of humanity.” For this reason, “Upon such instances men seize and call them providences.” But how much “gloriously better if they could believe that the whole matter is one grand providence.”

These things were written for our learning. May we learn:

• To not despise the day of small things – or small people, for God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.
• To trust God and believe him in all our circumstances. Trust in him at all times.
• To act in faith, for who knoweth whether thou art come for such a time as this?
• To do good to them that hate you, for all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them. 
• To speak out in all circumstances. Speak the truth, in Christ, in love, always.

The seven who were hung, 2 Samuel 21:1-14

Q. Why would David deliver the seven descendants of Saul to the Gibeonites to be hanged? That seems wrong.

A. David ordered them hung because of a three-year famine and to fulfill the Gibeonites’ yearning for retribution against Saul and his actions.

The record of this incident begins with God’s judgement by way of famine on the nation of Israel.[i] When David enquires of God about the problem, “the Lord answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites.”[ii] Saul sinned against the Gibeonites in cruelty and treachery. This wrong had not been righted. The Israelites swore an oath and made a league to spare the Gibeonites and live at peace with them (Joshua 9). The Gibeonites devised a cunning ruse to persuade the Israelites to make peace with them. God nevertheless expected them to keep their oath (Ecclesiastes 5:4).[iii] Saul violated this covenant. David was right in enquiring of God as to the problem. However, it appears that he erred in enquiring of the Gibeonites rather than God for how to fix the problem. In verse 3, he asked the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you?” They answer their desire (see verses 5 and 6) – “let seven men of [Saul’s] sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the Lord in Gibeah of Saul”.

David does not hesitate. He agrees and delivers seven sons of Saul to the Gibeonites for hanging.[iv] The Gibeonites received their revenge on the house of Saul. Had David enquired of God, perhaps God would have commanded another solution.

Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the mother of two of the men hanged, is an honourable character in this story (cf. 2 Samuel 3:7). The Gibeonites left the bodies hanging for all to see.[v] Rizpah protected the bodies from the devouring by birds and beasts.[vi] When David hears what Rizpah had done, he seems to be moved with compassion and ends the gruesome scenario. Only after David buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan and the bones of the seven that were hanged “God was intreated for the land.”[vii]

This incident in the life of David is unusual and contrary to our modern sensibilities. That God recorded it does not mean he approved it, morally. However, we know that such stories are recorded for our learning and our admonition, and “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter” (Proverbs 25:2).

As someone has said, regardless of the interpretation of this passage, the story will ruffle its readers. I do not have all the answers, but here are a few observations.

Regardless of what we may not understand or misunderstand, God is just. The judgment of the famine and the reason for it is a temporal punishment under the righteous hand of God. Only a fool seeks a quarrel with God.

He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he. Deuteronomy 32:4

God judges nations. See Ezekiel chapters 25-32.

Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel. Read Jeremiah 18:1-10.

God judged Israel because of “blood-guilt” that had not been justly compensated according to the law. Seven of Saul’s sons were executed. Though the capital punishment was carried out by the Gibeonites, it seems that God’s wrath was not satisfied until all the associated dead were buried – “after that God was intreated for the land.” All told, it is a sad episode in Israel’s history that illustrates that God is not mocked, but whatsoever a man, or a nation, soweth, that will also be reaped.

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[i] 2 Samuel 21:1-14 is a section of 2 Samuel chapters 21-24, which may be a non-chronological supplement to the narrative of the reign of David. “Then” would be a sort of reference to other things that happened “in the days of David” rather than a chronological referent. “Then” does not bear the pure chronological weight as a statement such as “it came to pass after these things” in 1 Kings 17:17. Shimei, a Benjamite, a man of the family of the house of Saul, cursed David as a bloody man (2 Samuel 16:5-14). This may refer to the incident of 2 Samuel 21:1-14. Many believe it to be.
[ii] It is not clear exactly when this occurred. According to John Gill, “the Jews commonly say that he slew them when he slew the priests at Nob, they being hewers of wood and drawers of water to them, and were slain with them.” See Joshua 9:27 and 1 Samuel 22:17-19. However, their answer in verse 5 suggests this was an ongoing process in the reign of Saul to eliminate the presence of the Gibeonites as inhabitants of Israel. The land was polluted with blood, Numbers 35:33-34. 2 Samuel 21:2 – his bloody house – possibly implicates Saul’s family in the attempted extermination of the Gibeonites.
[iii] For their submission, the Gibeonites achieved survival and received protection (Joshua 9:25 and Joshua 10:6-7)
[iv] David’s action are seen by some as a violation of his oath to Saul, 1 Samuel 24:21-22. He does not, however, seek the extermination of all Saul’s descendants, and he carefully keeps his oath to Jonathan (1 Samuel 18:3; 20:15–17, 42; 23:18).
[v] A violation of Deuteronomy 21:22-23.
[vi] Such a fate was incurred in the curse of an Israel that would “not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.”
[vii] It seems that the nation was also guilty of not honouring their dead leaders of the first dynasty with a proper burial. Compare 1 Samuel 31:8–13.

Identifying and Exposing False Teachers and False Teaching

“Judge not, that ye be not judged” (Matthew 7:1) is a favorite text of those who judge others for judging! [i] In the extreme, it is used to shut down all forms of discernment and division. Yet the very context of Jesus’s statement requires that one be able to discern what is holy (v. 6), who is a false prophet, a wolf in sheep’s clothing (v. 15), and the difference between good trees bearing good fruit and corrupt trees bearing evil fruit (vs. 16-20). Often it is the false prophets bearing evil fruit who want no one judging – that they might not be exposed for what they are. Nevertheless, the Bible bears evidence throughout that false teachers and false teachings should be identified and exposed as such. Those who teach false doctrine publicly are candidates for public rebuke. The teaching and examples of the New Testament demonstrate that faithful stewardship includes exposing error.

Jesus exposed the errors of the religious teachers and leaders of his day. The Gospel of Matthew records both John the Baptist and Jesus calling the Pharisees a “generation of vipers” and denouncing their errors (Matthew 3:7; Matthew 12:34). Jesus identified the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees as a leaven that spreads and corrupts (Matthew 16:12), as well as how many of the overtly religious made “the word of God of none effect” through their traditions (Mark 7:13). He excoriated those who do their works to be seen of men (Matthew 6:1-5; Matthew 23:4-7).

Paul denounced false faith and faulty practice, even naming names. He labeled Hymenaeus and Philetus as erring from the truth and falsely teaching about the resurrection (2 Timothy 2:17-18). He called out Demas for loving the world and deserting the faith (2 Timothy 4:10). Alexander the coppersmith withstood the truth. Paul named him and warned Timothy about him (2 Timothy 4:14-15). John pointed out Diotrephes as one who loved preeminence and withstood him (3 John 1:9).

The Lord, through John’s writing, commended the church at Ephesus for judging certain false apostles and determining they were liars (Revelation 2:2). Paul advised the Thessalonians to withdraw from those walking disorderly rather than walking after the tradition they had been taught (2 Thessalonians 3:6). Unrepentant unreformed heretics are rejected (Titus 3:10). When a teacher falsifies the gospel, Paul goes so far to say of such an one, “let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8-9).

The censure of false preachers and teachers should not be taken lightly. Too often one proceeds without the facts, or in the spirit of censoriousness Jesus denounced. [ii] The proper response is not to say or do nothing. We should be slow to speak (James 1:19-20), have the facts first (Ephesians 4:29), and then and only then proceed with wisdom and fortitude – as did the early disciples of our Lord. Let us “judge righteous judgment” (John 7:24) and then say so.

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[i] Jesus here speaks of the critic, “one given to harsh or captious judgment” (Merriam-Webster). The censorious spirit finds fault in others and not in self.

[ii] And often the censure derives from personal pet pursuits with little or no support from scripture.

Those who will not hear the word of the Lord...

...will hear the word of the Lord. Isaiah 28:14 Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.

The word of the Lord is a simple word.
Isaiah 28:13 But the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little...

The simple word is despised and rejected by the scornful leaders.
Isaiah 28:9 Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. 10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:
The arrogant drunken leaders in Jerusalem (see verses 7 & 8) seem to mock the simple message of Isaiah. It is beneath them. These who fancy themselves PhDs do not need (read "want") a kindergarten level lesson (content) in kindergarten style (expression). They are chewers of meat, not suckers of milk.

The simple word is deferred and replaced by a senseless speech.
Isaiah 28:11 For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. 12 To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.
The simple word is from their God for their good, an agent of rest and refreshing, yet they would not hear (Cf. Isaiah 30:15). Alec Motyer notices, "When the simple intelligibility of the word is refused, divine judgement falls in the shape of the unintelligible." When they reject what will benefit them, they receive what will judge them.

The simple word is enforced and accomplished by the sovereign God.
Isaiah 28:13 But the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
God's word is simple. God's word is truth. It is unchangeable and inescapable. It goes forth from God and will accomplish his purpose and pleasure (Cf. Isaiah 55:10-12). In this case (Isaiah 28:9-13) that purpose concludes in judgment.

The word of the Lord is simple, straightforward and inescapable.

[Note: Idea derived from an outline in The Prophecy of Isaiah: an Introduction & Commentary by J. Alec Motyer, page 229.]

A prudent man foreseeth the evil

“A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.” Proverbs 22:3

Noah, warned of God, prepared an ark to the saving of his household. Lot, admonished by the angels, fled out of Sodom. So there is a fleeing from the wrath to come. How careless, how secure, and unconcerned are we until quickened with spiritual life! Solomon speaks of those who sleep on the top of a mast, where one jerk of the wave, or one turn of the sleeper may precipitate him into the boiling ocean. God’s anger is gathering against a wicked world. Who will escape this fearful storm of eternal, unmitigated wrath? Those who flee to Jesus. Who flee to Jesus? Those only who feel their need of him. How are they made to feel their need of him? By the flashes of God’s anger. Whence issue these flashes? Out of the thunder-cloud of God’s holy law—the revelation which he has made of his anger against transgressors. How necessary then to feel the application of the law to the conscience, to experience what Job calls, “the terrors of God,” that Jesus Christ, who is a “covert from the tempest,” may be seen and fled unto! It is like the warning given in Egypt of the grievous hail: “He that feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses: and he that regarded not the word of the Lord left his servants and his cattle in the field” (Exodus 9:20-21). Faith credits what unbelief derides. As is their nature and operation, so is their end. Faith ends in salvation; unbelief in perdition.

J. C. Philpot (1802-1869)

These three men

Ezekiel 14:14 though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God.[i] See also Ezekiel 14:12-21.

In this prophecy of Ezekiel the expression “these three men” is used three times, in verses 14, 16 and 18. The three names of the three men – Noah, Daniel, and Job – are mentioned twice. Noah, Daniel, and Job are examples of righteousness. Noah is described as having “found grace in the eyes of the Lord…a just man and perfect in his generations,” and one who “walked with God” (Genesis 6:8-9). By faith he built an ark (Hebrews 11:7). Daniel is a prophet (Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14) who is “a man greatly beloved” (Daniel 9:23; Daniel 10:11), who separated himself to God in the midst of his servitude in Babylon (Daniel 1:3-8). He remained faithful in the face of death (Daniel 6:4-10). Job was a man “perfect and upright…one that feared God, and eschewed evil” and there was “none like him in the earth” (Job 1:1-8; 2:3). His faith sustained him when all he had was lost (Job 1:20-22).

In contrast to the prophecy of Ezekiel in the present situation, these three men had each been the means of delivering others. Noah prepared an ark to the saving of his house, and was the means of preservation of human life on the earth (Genesis 6:18; (Hebrews 11:7). Daniel interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and was thereby the means of saving his friends, as well as the other wise men of Babylon (Daniel 2:5; 16-18; 47-49). Job prayed for his friends, with whom the Lord was displeased, and God accepted his intercession for them (Job 42:7-10) – a living lesson on the mercy of God (James 5:11).

Despite the recognized righteousness of these men – men whose names were connected with deliverance – Ezekiel warns that even such as these three could not delay the judgment on God on these people. Even were there dwelling in Jerusalem well-known righteous men from either past or present – it would be no benefit to them. There would be no stay of the sentence through their intercession (Cf. Jeremiah 15:1). There would be no repeal of punishment for their presence (Cf. Genesis 18:23; Genesis 18:32). Matthew Henry wrote, “But a people that had filled the measure of their sins, was not to expect to escape for the sake of any righteous men living among them; not even of the most eminent saints...” God is longsuffering, but we must not presume upon it (2 Peter 3:9-10). He knows how to separate the righteous from the wicked (2 Peter 2:9), and ultimately the wicked will perish (Psalm 37:38). There is judgment surely coming that will not be restrained (Psalm 7:9).

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[i] Adonai Jehovah; Notice here, since the word Adonai/Lord is present that YHWH/Jehovah is translated God and placed in small caps.

The wild grapes of Judah

Some have called as the last two-thirds of Isaiah 5 "Judah’s Grapes of Wrath". The prophet pronounces six "woes", interspersed with four "therefores". 

Isaiah 5:4-5
...when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down...

The vineyard is Israel, which brought forth these "wild grapes":

• Greed and self-promotion: join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth
• Pleasure and self-indulgence: rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them...they regard not the work of the Lord
• Presumption and  rash defiance: draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope: That say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it
• Perversion and self-vindication: call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness
• Pride and self-satisfaction: wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight
• Power and false judicature: are mighty to drink wine...Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him

The end of the useless field is its destruction.

• Verses 13-16 Therefore...

Appropriate to their self-promotion and self-indulgence in multiplying wealth and pleasure, they will lose their land (go into captivity), experience hunger and thirst, be humbled and be ruined by death and hell (Their appetite meets one more insatiable than their own v. 14, Cf. Prov. 30:15-16). "But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness."

• Verses 24-30 Therefore...

Appropriate to their rash defiance, self-vindication, self-satisfaction, and  false judicature, the Lord will speedily repay those who challenged "Let him make speed." Those who consented to sin and issued false judgment will now submit to God's justice. The warnings did not appease God's wrath, and now they must prepare to meet God, whose anger is not abated and whose hand is still stretched out in judgment. God will bring against Judah an insurmountable enemy who will exercise his judgment upon them, and there is no turning back. 

Cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?

Definitions 
self-promotion: the action of promoting or publicizing oneself, especially in a forceful way. 
self-indulgence: indulging one's own desires, passions, whims, etc., especially without restraint. 
rash defiance: a hasty, daring or bold resistance to authority. 
self-vindication: defense or justification of one's thoughts or behavior. 
self-satisfaction: excessive satisfaction with oneself or one's achievements; smug complacency.
false judicature: partisan administration of justice.

The Man Comes Around

There's a man going around taking names,
And he decides who to free and who to blame.
Everybody won't be treated all the same.
There'll be a golden ladder reaching down
When the Man comes around.

Johnny Cash's The Man Comes Around is an intriguing mix of half talking/half singing that is recognizable to a lot of people -- at least in its opening lines, "There's a man going around taking names, And he decides who to free and who to blame." It has numerous biblical references which leave me wondering exactly what Johnny believed and what he meant. Generally it must speak of the judgement day, but specifically I'm not sure. 

What do you think?

A piercing eye

Almighty God, thy piercing eye
Strikes through the shades of night,
And our most secret actions lie
All open to thy sight.

There’s not a sin that we commit,
Nor wicked word we say,
But in thy dreadful book ‘tis writ
Against the judgment–day.

And must the crimes that I have done
Be read and publish’d there;
Be all exposed before the sun,
While men and angels hear?

Lord, at thy feet ashamed I lie;
Upward I dare not look:
Pardon my sins before I die,
And blot them from thy book.

Remember all the dying pains
That my Redeemer felt;
And let his blood wash out my stains,
And answer for my guilt.

O may I now for ever fear
T’ indulge a sinful thought,
Since the great God can see and hear,
And writes down ev’ry fault!

Isaac Watts, in Divine Songs: Attempted in Easy Language, for the Use of Children

Divine retribution may be slow but is always sure

“Though the mills of God grind slowly;
Yet they grind exceeding small;
Though with patience He stands waiting,
With exactness grinds He all.”

"Retribution" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (via Friedrich, Freiherr von Logau; Sextus Empiricus)

5 Reasons for a Universal Flood

Was the flood of Noah's day universal? Is the Genesis flood account a myth or perhaps an exaggerated story of a local flood? Some scientists deny the possibility of a universal flood. The modernist scoffs at such an idea. The Bible-believing Christian must decide. What does the Bible say? Is there evidence?

Here are five biblical reasons that Noah's flood was universal:
1. God's intent was to destroy the entire human race from off the face of the earth (i.e., except Noah's family). See Genesis 6:12-17. A local flood would not have fulfilled God's purpose of judging the entire population for their sinfulness.
2. If the flood had been only local, the ark would have been unnecessary. God could have simply told Noah to leave the area before the flood and to return when the flood waters had abated.
3. The terminology used throughout the account indicates an event of universal proportions. In Genesis chapters 6-8, "the earth" is used 34 times; "every" 14 times; "everything" 11 times; "all flesh" 8 times; "all" 7 times; "filled" and "whole" twice. An expression such as "under the whole heaven" (Gen. 7:19) cannot be reduced to apply to a local area.
4. To cover the Ararat mountains (Gen. 7:20), whose highest peak is almost 17,000 feet, would require a universal flood. Water seeks its own level. The whole earth would have been covered at least to that depth.
5. God's promise to Noah after the flood -- Genesis 9:11 -- is a promise of universal rather than local application.

The preponderance of biblical evidence favors a universal flood. Will you believe it?

Thou Art the Man by M.L. Vaughn

In the Book of books we read of two of God's chosen men who committed great crimes, yet condemned those who committed them as being worthy of death until the guilt was placed on them.

In Genesis 38 we read of Judah, the son of Jacob, who condemned a woman to be burned until she proved him to be the guilty man. Then he declared her to be more righteous than himself.

David the Psalmist, declared to be a man after God's own heart, committed the great crime of having Uriah put in the front in battle that he might be killed and that he might get his wife, II Sam. 11 and 12. God sent Nathan to David with his parables, and when David heard the parable he said, "The man must die." Then Nathan said to David, "Thou art the man." Then David confessed to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord." Later he said, "Against thee, thee only, have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight." (Psalms 51:4)

How careful we should be in passing judgment on others. We should first get the beam out of our own eye before trying to get the mote out of the other fellow's eye. None of us should set himself up as being more honourable than Judah or David to whom it was said, "Thou art the man."

This old selfish nature of ours is so prone to condemn faults in others, but often the verdict comes ringing back, "Thou art the man."

Psalms 19:14 : "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer." May this be the prayer of us all.

By Elder Marshall Lewis Vaughn (1858--1947), Mt. Enterprise, TX. First printed in 1940 in The Baptist Progress. Reprinted in The Baptist Waymark June 1986.

More than a hypocrite

"Am I am pharisee?" Have we ever asked ourselves that question? If we are, we probably haven't!! If we haven't, we should. Every aspect of our lives must be held up for inspection under the light of God's Word. This examination will not hurt us -- it can only help us.

What is a pharisee? To us the word is usually synonymous with hypocrite -- one who feign qualities, virtues, or religious devotion he does not possess. A pharisee is certainly a hypocrite, but more than just a hypocrite. Not the common variety -- but a religious hypocrite; not the lukewarm, but the fanatical. All hypocrites are not pharisees, but all pharisees are hypocrites. To define and understand the pharisee, we must examine the biblical record.

The implication from the Gospels is that the Pharisees were the most numerous and influential sect of the Jewish religion in Jesus' day. The Pharisees were divided from other factions chiefly because of differing positions concerning the law of Moses (Phil. 3:5). By observing their practices, doctrines, and attitudes, we may notice the distinguishing traits of the Pharisees.

The Pharisees were zealous (Rom. 10:2), though their zeal was misguided. They were devoted to their religion. They worked hard and traveled far to make converts (Matt. 23:15). Their devotion to their sect, its tenets, and its traditions was greater than their devotion to God (Mark 7:7,9). Their religion was a false one that shut men out of heaven (Matt. 23:13,15). In their blind zeal for their sect, they carried on a relentless campaign against Jesus and His work. The Pharisees' system of man-made doctrine was not compatible with Jesus' teachings. They impugned His character (Matt. 9:34; 12:24), denied His miracles (John 9:13-18), laid snares for His speech (Matt. 19:3: 22:15), threatened Him (Luke 13:31), attempted to stone Him (John 8:59), and eventually obtained agreement to His death (John 18:3; Matt. 27:20-22; Luke 23:13). Their devotion to their cause and their antagonism towards those who opposed it was so great they could justify the crucifixion of Jesus, and consent to the death of Stephen.

The Pharisees emphasized ritual and outward observance -- washings (Mark 7:3,4), fasting (Matt. 6:16; 9;14), strict Sabbath observance (Matt. 12:2), tithing (Matt. 23:23), public prayers (Matt. 6:5; Luke 18:11), etc. The hypocrite must necessarily have the outward in order to appear religious and righteous before men. Outer form replaces inner character as a sign of who is religious and right.

Doctrinally, Pharisees were strait and narrow (Acts 26:5). If the Sadducess were the religious liberals of Jesus' day, the Pharisees might be called the fundamentalists. They believed in a literal resurrection, angels & spirits (Acts 23:8), and were painstaking in their devotion to law-keeping (with their traditions, of course). Due to their lack of the Spirit, they were doomed to follow the letter. They were so sure they were right, everybody else must be wrong. They were the only scholars (John 7:15). They were self-righteous, covetous, treacherous, merciless -- even bloodthirsty -- but with skillful manipulation of the scriptures, they could justify every action (e.g. Mark 7:7-13).

The Pharisees were no mere hypocrites. They had so refined hypocrisy into a religious system, that Jesus identified their doctrine as hypocrisy (Luke 12:1 with Matt. 16:6, 12). They had a reputation for righteousness (Matt 5:20), but it was a self-heralded righteousness. The Pharisees feigned a religious devotion they did not possess. In the final analysis, they sought to exalt themselves and impress men rather than please God (Matt. 23:5). [Note: they did not necessarily try to please men, but tried to impress them; e.g. Matt. 6:2,5,16].

Jesus did not condemn their keeping of the law, but rather their exalting traditions above God's commands. He did not condemn their scrupulous observance of the details of the law, but rather their failure to observe its major themes. He did not condemn their zeal, but rather the misguided direction of it. Jesus' renunciation of the Pharisees shows that they exalted tradition over commandment, letter over spirit, seen over unseen, minor over major, ritual over spiritual, and that they condemned others while condoning themselves. Every single doctrine and practice was not bad, but their system moulded it all into a deadly combination. Their religion was a farce which outwardly continued that which was once inwardly meaningful to others.

Realize that any keeping of God's commands will be dubbed pharisaical and legalistic by some. Christianity has certain ritual (e.g. baptism, communion, etc.) and certain outwardly visible demands (e.g. modest dress, plain speech, etc.). These should be obeyed without concern for what one might be called. But Pharisees felt that these kinds of things alone marked them as righteous. Some outward things will be part of righteous separated living, but only an inward change of heart -- a washing in the blood of Christ -- makes one righteous. Realize also that claiming one way/doctrine/religion is right and another is wrong is not necssarily pharisaism. The apostles claimed their faith was from God and that both Judaism and paganism were wrong. But Pharisees found their rightness in being a Pharisee. Christians found their rightness in God.

Let's not worry about pharisaism among others. The question before us is, "Am I am pharisee?" If I travel far and wide to convert others to a religious affiliation rather than preach the gospel -- I am a Pharisee. If I exalt my forefathers, history and traditions above the commands of God -- I am a Pharisee. If I relentlessly, though insidiously, attack the words of God -- I am a Pharisee. If I observe outward motions without inward movement -- I am a Pharisee. If I follow the letter but not the Spirit -- I am a Pharisee. If I major on minors and minor on majors -- I am a Pharisee. If I feign righteousness and devotion -- I am a Pharisee. If I use the Bible to try to convict others, and it never condemns me -- I am a Pharisee.

The result of Pharisaism in Judaea was the existence of a self-righteous religionist who thumbed his nosed at sinners. I wonder if one reason Pharisees compassed land and sea to make one proselyte was that they would not reach down to the masses under their feet? And perhaps they could not, because the masses knew what they were. Maybe they had to find someone who didn't know them!! The failure of the Pharisees, though, did have the effect of highlighting the One who spoke "not as the scribes," and "the common people heard Him gladly."

The problem of pharisaism is not just one of legalism, ritual and tradition. These are symptoms of the problem. When religious affiliation and doctrinal correctness become more important than relationship with God, then religion becomes a clean-swept shell of a house which is completely empty inside. The outside must be kept freshly painted and beautifully adorned -- that it may appear someone dwells within. Sepulchres, however lovely, merely hold dead men's bones!

When presented with this challenge, we usually look at someone else (Matt. 23:29-35). The publicans and harlots had an advantage over the Pharisees -- they knew they were sinners (Matt. 21:32; Luke 5:30-32). The Pharisee will not get what the publican got until he gets where the publican was. Read Luke 18:9-14. May we, like Nicodemus, seek Him even if we must come by night. May I not say "I thank Thee that I am not as other men are," but rather, "God be merciful to me a sinner."

(A slight rewrite of an article that appeared in The Baptist Waymark, March-April 1995, page 1)

Note: In an e-mail on February 6th, Brother Hoyt Sparks called attention to two references that add information to show the totality of who the Pharisees were: John 8:23, "Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world"; and John 8:44, "Ye are of your father, the devil, and the lusts of you father ye will do."

More than a hypocrite

Am I a Pharisee?

If I travel far and wide to convert others to a religious affiliation rather than preach the gospel -- I am a Pharisee.
If I exalt my forefathers, history and traditions above the commands of God -- I am a Pharisee.
If I relentlessly, though insidiously, attack the words of God -- I am a Pharisee.
If I observe outward motions without inward movement -- I am a Pharisee.
If I follow the letter but not the Spirit -- I am a Pharisee.
If I major on minors and minor on majors -- I am a Pharisee.
If I feign righteousness and devotion -- I am a Pharisee.