The Knew Kingdom: July 2009

Learning Lessons from History (10:1-14)

The Corinthians should not be ignorant of the fact that despite the many privileges post-exodus Israel received from God, most of them were still judged and never entered the Promised Land. Paul speaks of Israel as "our forefathers" which is significant considering he's talking to both Jewish and Gentile Christians (perhaps specifically the Gentile Christians here, given the subject matter). This indicates that the Jewish/Gentile church was the "Israel of God" under the New Covenant. This is good news (that Gentiles are included in the people of God), but also comes with a warning. Paul writes of some parallels between post-exodus Israel and the 1st century Corinthian church:

They were all baptized into Moses (through the cloud and sea)
They all ate spiritual food and drank spiritual drink (manna, water from the rock)
Nevertheless, most of them perished!

You (the Corinthian Church) were all baptized into Jesus (through water baptism)
You all ate spiritual food and drink (through the Lord's Supper)
Nevertheless, it is possible that you will perish as well!

It seems, then, that many of the Corinthians felt they were eternally secure b/c they had been baptized and took part in communion. But Paul considers this doctrinal position ignorant. They should learn from the example of Israel and, rather than using their new-found freedom to sin, they must continue to walk in obedience to the Lord.

Post-exodus Israel...
6-7 Was idolatrous (Exodus 32:6)
8 Was sexually immoral (Numbers 25:1-9)
9 Tested the Lord (Numbers 21:5-6)
10 Grumbled (common theme, Numbers 11, 14, Psalm 106)
*Each of these examples fit Paul's purpose well b/c they involve food/meat

1 Corinthians 10:8 presents an interesting problem
Paul tells the Corinthians that "we should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did- and in one day 23,000 of them died"
The problem is that this doesn't match up correctly with the Old Testament text.

I have run across 5 solutions to this problem

1. Paul was speaking from memory and made a mistake
2. Paul was right, but our OT texts are mistaken
3. He's referring to Exodus 32 and adding those killed by the sword (3,000 in Ex. 32:28) with those killed by plague (unknown, 32:35)
4. He's referring to Numbers 25, where 24,000 died. But Numbers is giving the TOTAL and Paul is giving how many died in "one day"
5. He's COMBINING Exodus & Numbers into 1 theme, taking the 3K from Exodus but keeping the 20k from Numbers. This is why no judgment is mentioned for idolatry in 10:7 when judgment is mentioned for the next 3 sins (10:8, 9 & 10). Paul is connecting idolatry and sexual immorality under 1 judgment.

Options 1 & 2 would bother most people's view of inerrancy. Options 3, 4 & 5 involve Paul basically playing with numbers in a way that seems quite odd.

Personally, my view of the reliability of Scripture would survive option 1, which I feel is the simplest solution. I wouldn't be very impressed with option 2 unless we found at least 1 manuscript that read 23,000 (maybe this exists and I'm unaware). I don't think Paul is referring to Exodus 32 here (though he is in the previous verse), which eliminates option 3 (Aside from it being somewhat 'silly' as well). I think that option 4 seems somewhat silly. Option 5 seems overly complicated and we don't have any other examples that I know of where Paul plays fast and loose with numbers like this.

In any case, the point is clear, the Corinthians should not presume safety just b/c they were God's people. Temptation came to Israel and they gave in. Temptation will come to the Corinthians too, but they need not give in. God desires to help them and will not allow unconquerable temptations to come to them. But there role is not passive, they must flee idolatry.

Swine Flew (Matthew 8:28-34)

The Gospel According to Matthew
Jesus for President (Part 30: Swine Flew)

Earlier in Matthew we saw a few references to Jesus’ exorcism ministry (4:24 & 8:16), but this is the first detailed account. There are 5 key exorcism stories in the Gospels:

Exorcism Accounts Matthew Mark Luke
#1 Spirit in Synagogue 1:21-28 4:31-36
#2 The Blind/Mute Man 12:22-29 11:14-26
#3 The Plunging Pigs 8:28-34 5:1-17 8:26-39
#4 Demonized Daughter 15:21-28 7:24-30
#5 Shaking Son 17:14-21 9:14-29

What this passage teaches about the demon-possessed
1. Demon-possession led these men into isolation. At least one of them hadn’t live in a house for a long time, instead having to live among the tombs (Luke 8:27, 29).
2. Demon-possession led these men into violence. In fact, they seem to have given one or both of the men unique strength (Mark 5:4).
3. Demon-possession led these men into depression. One or both of these men spent most of their time crying and/or in self-mutilation (Mark 5:5).

What this passage teaches about the demons
1. The demons were capable of controlling the bodily functions of the possessed person/creature (for example: able to speak).
2. The demons seem to have understood Jesus identity.
3. The demons seem to have known their destiny (destruction).
4. The demons seem to have needed a host creature in order to remain on earth (Matt 8:31, Mark 5:10, Luke 8:31).

What this passage teaches about Jesus
1. Jesus had authority over the demons, even two-thousand demons at once had to submit to His authority (Mark 5:13). He did not utilize the typical tools of the trade.
2. Jesus is able to restore the demon-possessed (Mark 5:15).
3. Jesus’ work is the very work of God (Luke 8:39)

Jeremiah 7:1-9:26 (Empty Religion)

The Weeping Prophet
Part 4: Empty Religion (7:1-9:26)

Actions Speak Louder than Words
The people in Jeremiah’s day talked the talk, but they didn’t walk the walk. They were going to the temple (7:2, 4, 14), taking part in the sacrificial system (7:21-22), and even interacting with God’s word (8:8), but their hearts and lifestyles did not match up. God was not fooled by their act (7:11). He called them out for their deceitfulness (7:9, 8:10, 9:3-8).

Prophets for Profit
Most of Judah’s Prophets were corrupt and told people what they wanted to hear (7:4, 7:8, 8:11). But Jeremiah was telling the truth about God’s wrath. His message was not an empty threat (7:12), but a certain reality. Jeremiah is even told not to pray for his people (7:16). It was not the time to cry for mercy, it was the time to mourn the death of Judah (7:29, 9:17-22).

What Had God Desired?
God had never been most interested in religious rituals (7:22-23). It wasn’t that God was expecting perfection, but He was expecting persistence (8:4-5). He wasn’t expecting sinlessness, but shame over sin (8:6, 12). And He wasn’t expecting greatness, but to receive the glory for whatever was accomplished (9:23-24). He was looking for people who took their religion to heart. (9:25-26).

The Right to Remain Sacrificial (9:1-27)

* This passage is simply an illustration of one of Paul's major points in his answer to their questions about food sacrificed to idols (8:1-11:1). Paul uses his own practice to make the point that sometimes rights and freedoms are better off left un-utilized.

1. Paul has the RIGHT to be compensated by the Corinthians (9:1-12a)
- He has rights because he is an apostle (he's seen Jesus, 1a)
- He has rights because he is their apostle in particular (1b)
- He has the right to compensation for his labor (food and drink, 3-4)
- He has the right to travel with a wife and not have to work a job for support (5-6)
- Soldiers get paid (7)
- Farmers reap benefits from their labor (7)
- Shepherds drink the milk of the flock (7)
- Oxen get fed when they labor (8)
- Temple workers eat of the sacrificial food (13)
- The Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel (14)
- How much more should those who show SPIRITUAL seed reap material compensation (9-11)
- Paul has the right, more than anyone, to material compensation for his labors in Corinth (11)

2. Paul has SACRIFICED his right to compensation (9:12b-19a)
- Instead, he chose to put up with receiving no compensation (12)
- He's not saying this so they will compensate him (15a)
- Paul does not want them to deprive him of this chance to sacrifice for God (15b)
- Paul feels that since he's been compelled to preach (he didn't really volunteer), he's compelled to work for free (16-18)

3. Paul makes this sacrifice for the sake of EVANGELISM (9:19b-22)
- He becomes like a Jew among the Jews to win Jews (20)
- He becomes like those under the law to win those under the law (21) despite his freedom from the law
- He becomes like one not having the law to win those not having the law (21), but he won't go against the law of Christ (their are boundaries)
- He becomes like the weak to win the weak (22)
- He does all this so that he might save some (22)

4. Paul thinks sacrificing will prove WORTHWHILE (9:23-27)
- He makes these sacrifices so that he might share in the gospels blessings (23, a greater reward)
- Athletes make significant sacrifices if they are serious about winning an earthly race (24-25a)
- We are running a much more significant race so we should be willing to sacrifice too (24-26)
- It's in making these sacrifices that we protect ourselves from disqualifications (26-27)

Jeremiah 4:5-6:30 (Disaster from the North)

The Weeping Prophet
Part 3: Disaster from the North (4:5-9:26)

Disaster Coming to Jerusalem
Jeremiah was told to prophesy about a coming invasion by an army from the North (4:6). They would invade like a ferocious lion, a hurricane force wind (4:11-13), a pack of wild animals (5:6). This was to be the wrath of God against Judah (6:11-12). This was a hard message for Jeremiah to preach. At first, he questioned God’s justice (4:10), but he came to realize how corrupt his own people had become (5:3-5). Even though he knew it would be unpopular, he was compelled to share his vision (4:19-21, 23-26). Just as God had predicted, the people were offended by Jeremiah’s prophecies and refused to consider them.

Reasons for Wrath
God wrath was about to be poured out because the people were sinful (4:14, 18, 22). Specifically, they were being judged for the sins of deceit (5:1-2), idolatry (5:7), adultery (5:8), avoidance of revelation (5:12-13, 6:16-19), a lack of fear of the Lord (5:22), obsession with power and money (5:27), tolerance of injustice (5:28), and empty religion (6:20).

Hints of Hope
Despite all the bad news, there are hints of hope contained in this section (4:27, 5:10, 5:18)

Calm in the Storm (8:23-27)

The Gospel According to Matthew
Jesus for President (Part 29: Calm in the Storm)

23 Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24 Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" 26 He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. 27 The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!"

Life is filled with storms. Sometimes we see them coming and sometimes they come without warning.
 We should recognize that Jesus was honest about this

We often feel abandoned. Sometimes it seems that God isn’t concerned about what we are going through.
 We should resist the temptation to accuse Jesus

Some problems seem too big. Sometimes we honestly don’t think it’s possible to survive the storm.
 We should enlarge of view of Jesus’ identity

Fear is a worthwhile emotion. Sometimes we need to make sure our fear is directed to the proper place.
 We should fear the Lord, not the circumstances

Some problems seem too long. Sometimes we forget that the storms won’t last forever.
 We should remember that Jesus will bring peace

Next Week:
Swine Flew (8:28-34)

1 Corinthians 8:1-13, 10:14-11:1

The issue of whether it was OK to eat meat that had previously been used in idolatry is a very specific issue that may, at first, seem irrelevant. But Paul deals with it so thoroughly that we are able to gain some vital principles to help us deal with corresponding issues today.

1. The issue
-animals were sacrificed to pagan gods
-the meat was then sold in the marketplace

This situation provoked a number of practical questions for the Corinthian Christians. Were they free to buy and/or eat such meat? What if an unbeliever invites them to dinner and serves it? What if they are invited to the pagan temples themselves?

2. The argument FOR eating
a. the idols aren't real. there's only 1 God (8:4-6)
b. the food doesn't make the man (8:8, mark 7:15-20)
c. God made all food, be thankful and eat (10:26, 30)
SO It is permissible. We are free. We have the right.

3. The argument AGAINST eating
a. It may hurt your brother, which IS a sin (8:7, 9-12)
b. Rights and freedoms are sometimes better off refused (9:1-27)
c. It's very easy to fall back into idolatry (10:1-14)
d. Eating it is in some sense participating with demons (10:15-22)
SO It is not beneficial. We sacrifice. We submit (10:23-24)

4. Applications of the Principles (10:25-11:1)
a. Don't be overly paranoid/worried about the meat (10:25-27)
b. If the connection is made clear, don't eat (10:28-30)
~ not b/c you can't, but b/c you won't
c. Put your love for God and others first (10:31-11:1)
~ like Jesus did

5. Corresponding issues in our culture?

The Cost of Christianity (8:18-22)

The Gospel According to Matthew
Jesus for President (Part 28: The Cost of Christianity)

When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake.

Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."

Another disciple said to him, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead."

1. Jesus knows the difference between quantity and quality. He was interested in having a bunch of fickle fans. He was interested in having faithful followers.
ie. the worship wars (we made worship about what faith could do for us)

2. Jesus is basically seeing if He can talk these two potential followers out of following Him. Would they follow Him if it meant having no home? Would they follow Him if it meant forsaking their own family?
Jesus' consistently taught the cost: 10:37-39, 13:44-46, 16:24-25, 19:16-22, Luke 14:25-33

3. Evangelicals have talked so much about how grace is freely given that we have neglected the fact that there is a cost to following Jesus.

* It's like God freely giving you an extremely expensive medicine for your terminal disease. But it has some serious side effects like 1) You have to daily visit the doctor 2) You'll have body odor and 3) It's an illegal medicine so if you get caught you might get in trouble. Jesus was calling people to following Him and He made sure that they knew the cost. They'd have to stay in relationship with Him, they'd become a stench to many of their formers friends and family, and they may even get jailed or killed.

Jeremiah 2:1-4:4

The Weeping Prophet
Part 2: God Files for Divorce (2:1-4:4)

Jeremiah’s Stunning Sermon
Jeremiah’s 1st recorded message paints the picture of a marriage between God and the Jewish people. For his part, God was passionate for His bride, protected His bride, and provided for His bride. For their part, at least at first, Israel loved God and was faithful to Him. (2:1-3) But something went terribly wrong. The bride stopped loving the bridegroom. In this sermon, Jeremiah acts as God’s lawyer, laying out the case for God’s divorce from His bride. He illustrates the unfaithfulness of the bride with nine nasty comparisons (2:5-9):

The Bridegroom’s Case Against the Bride
Exhibit #1 She’s like a nation changing its gods (2:10-12)
Exhibit #2 She’s like a person preferring dirt & thirst (2:13)
Exhibit #3 She’s like a beast breaking its yoke (2:20a)
Exhibit #4 She’s like a harlot waiting for action (2:20b)
Exhibit #5 She’s like a wild vine (2:21)
Exhibit #6 She’s like a stain that won’t come out (2:22)
Exhibit #7 She’s like a camel running loose (2:23)
Exhibit #8 She’s like a donkey in heat (2:24-25)
Exhibit #9 She’s like a bride forgetting her wedding (2:32)

The Bridegroom’s Attempts at Attention
God utilized 2 methods to get His bride’s attention. First, He issued a series of softer judgments (2:30, 3:3, 3:10) so as to avoid the judgment of an ultimate divorce. Second, He set up the world in such a way that wickedness carries negative consequences (3:2, 24). But neither of these methods brought the bride back home.

The Bride’s Defense
Even though the case was so strong and the verdict would inevitably be ‘guilty,’ the bride attempted to defend herself. This took 3 all too common forms:

Defense #1 The Docile Denial (2:23, 35)
Defense #2 The Blame Game (2:29)
Defense #3 The Sorry Speech (3:4-5, 10)

But God didn’t want His bride to defend herself. He wanted her to repent of her sins. And He was still willing to call off the divorce if she genuinely did so (3:12-14). Unfortunately, she did not do so.

The Future Hope
God will, however, one day be united to a faithful bride. This bride will be made up of all those who are honest about their sin (3:22b-25) and dedicate themselves to the Lord (4:1-4). This future wedding ceremony is described for us in Revelation 19:7 & 21:1-4.

Nahum 1-3

Nahum is, perhaps, one of the most ignored books of the Bible. This is probably due to various reasons, including:

1. It's short (we just miss it)
2. It's in the OT (which is less read than the NT)
3. It's about God's wrath (we prefer God's more 'positive attributes')
4. It's not about Israel
5. It's about Nineveh (and Nineveh don't exist, so what's the point?)

Nevertheless, Nahum is in the Bible, part of the Christian canon of Scripture. We would do well to understand its subject (Nineveh) and the content (Nahum's prophecy).

Nineveh

Nineveh (which was located in modern day northern Iraq, near Mosul) is a very ancient biblical city. It is first mentioned in Genesis 10:8-12 when Noah’s Great-Grandson Nimrod built it. Eventually, Nineveh became the capital of the Assyrian Empire (911-609). Jonah famously warned Nineveh of an impending judgment from God in about 785 BC. But against Jonah’s wishes, they repented of their wickedness and the judgment was cancelled.

In 722 BC, the Assyrian Empire destroyed the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Archaeologists have discovered that Nineveh’s reached its zenith between 705 and 633 BC. But Nineveh’s again became wicked and Nahum was commissioned to prophecy against it one final time at some point b/w 663 and 612 BC when Nineveh was destroyed by the Babylonians.

* Archaeology has given us much information about ancient Nineveh. It's walls were about 8 miles in circumference, at least 30 feet high and sometimes 50 feet thick. A 1650x800ft palace was unearthed with a 20,000 clay tablet library inside, including notes of Assyrian triumph over Babylonian & Jewish (Hezekiah) kings and the epic of Gilgamesh. The city could have housed about 150,000 people.

Nahum

Pretty much everything we know about Nahum we learn in Nahum 1:1. He seems to have been a Jewish prophet who received a vision concerning the future of Nineveh (the capital city of the enemy).

If I were to ask you to ask you to list some of God’s attributes, what words first come to mind?

How does our list match up with 1:2?

How does the story of Nineveh illustrate the fact that God is slow to anger (1:3)?

To whom did Nahum deliver these prophecies? To the Ninevites? To the Jews? Both? Consider 1:12-15.

What can we learn from the accurateness of the prophecy, especially seen in 1:8, 2:6 & 2:8?

What was Nineveh being punished for according to 3:1, 4, 16?

Why could they be assured that judgment was coming (3:8-11)?

Based on the final verse (3:19), what was God’s new purpose for Nineveh?

Nahum

Here are my notes on Nahum in the form of a summary of its contents, life applications, and some additional (older) notes that I made:

SUMMARY

Nahum is a somewhat unique book in the Old Testament because its message, while relevant to God’s people, primarily had to do with the Assyrian Empire and, specifically, its capital city of Nineveh.

To understand the book of Nahum, it is best to be familiar with the book of Jonah. Over 100 years before Nahum uttered prophecy against Nineveh, God had sent another prophet, Jonah, to Nineveh with a message of judgment. When Jonah warned that Nineveh would be destroyed in a mere 40 days, the king initiated a national repentance and judgment was averted.

More than a century later (in Nahum’s day), the Ninevites had apparently repented of their repentance and were once again on the brink of divine judgment.

Summary of the Text

Nahum prophesied in the late 600’s (B.C.) sometime prior to the destruction of Nineveh in the year 612. He spoke of God’s powerful wrath against his enemies. Nineveh had proven itself mighty among the kingdoms of men, but they would not be able to survive the wrath of the King of Kings. True, the Assyrians had been used as a tool by God to discipline many other peoples (including God’s own people!), but now it was their turn to be judged for their oppression of those peoples. From the vantage point of those who had been oppressed, this final end of the Empire would be a moment of vindication. News of its fall would cause celebration for all who heard of it (including Judah).

APPLICATION

1. We should not judge God’s character on the basis of an isolated incident, but on the full narrative of His revelation.

2. We must think long and hard about the meaning of God’s wrath. Is it loving discipline? Is it a pulling back of grace and mercy? Is it direct violence?

3. We may avoid the ‘wrath of God’ by trusting in the Lord, responding well to discipline, and living lives of worship.

4. We may bring on the ‘wrath of God’ by living lived marked by pride, idolatry, violence, deceit, lust, and greed.

5. The purpose of God’s temporal wrath is to expose the emptiness of the world and its institutions so that those who remain may learn from their mistakes.

6. We shouldn’t complain about God allowing evil in the world if we’re simultaneously going to complain about God dealing with evil in the world.

7. The Christian worldview includes assurance of ultimate justice. Most worldviews don’t even pretend to be able to accomplish this.

OLDER NOTES