At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I want to
remind you today of the main purpose of reading the entire Bible. The Bible has
one story and that is about Jesus Christ. There are many, many detours along
the way but in some way shape or form the message stays the same. Why bring
this up now? First of all we need to be constantly reminded of the reasons to
read and study God’s word. Secondly, in today’s study I make some direct
references to Jesus in the Old Testament story of David. There is an old adage
that says, “Keep the main thing the main thing”. We need to do that with the
Bible at all times. That is not to say we need to press every word and make
them proclaim Christ but the overarching story is the story of Salvation, which
has its completion in the person and work of Jesus. Here is a quote from a
great book:
“At the heart of all doctrine is the biblical truth that
we are justified by grace through faith in Christ alone. All other teachings
relate to this one. God has revealed his truth to us so that we will know and
receive salvation in Christ Jesus. All other doctrines prepare for this, reveal
this, convey the benefits of Christ to us, and respond to his gracious work.
His saving work is the very heart of Scripture and of all true theology.” (p.
22, Called to Believe, Teach and Confess, Edited by Steven Mueller)
Do not forget to keep Christ in mind as you read all parts
of the Bible. On to the study...
Seth’s Thoughts
The Old Testament
The over arching theme for this week in the life of David is
once again DRAMA!! That guy is just a lightning rod for trouble. He never seems
to catch a break, and when he thinks things are going well, he does something
stupid and gets himself into trouble (sounds a bit like us doesn’t it??). The
prophet Nathan is there to try to keep the king in line, but he is not always
successful. We do catch a glimpse of the good side of David in his dealings
with Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth. David loved Jonathan and he missed his best friend
very much. David found out about Mephibosheth and wanted to show him kindness.
Now Mephibosheth was crippled and needed help. If David is a type (remember
typology) of Christ, as some theologians suggest, then the relationship that
David has with Mephibosheth is similar to our relationship with Christ. He
seeks us out to show kindness to us and we are the crippled ones in need of
help. Because of the kindness of David, Mephibosheth eats at the banquet table
of the king. The same will happen for us one day; we will eat at the heavenly
banquet table prepared for us.
The rest of the story could be the plot of a bad Lifetime
movie or a daily Soap Opera. We have incest and rape, rebellion and
fornication, murder and treason. Hollywood does not have to look far to find
some shady storylines. I think one of the overlooked points of the story is
that because of sin there will be consequences. David sinned when he had an
affair with Bathsheba. He sinned when he had Uriah killed. These were just a
few of the sins of David. Nathan comes to confront David and David realizes his
sin and asks for forgiveness. This is the occasion when David penned Psalm 51.
If you don’t remember it, look it up right now and read it before you continue
on with the study..... seriously........read the Psalm.................O.K. now
that you are back you read that David asked for forgiveness and God has
promised to forgive those who repent and ask for forgiveness. So, David is a
forgiven man but why do all these bad things still happen to him? Well there
was a little caveat from the Lord, “This is what the LORD says: 'Out of your
own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I
will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie
with your wives in broad daylight. (which happens later in the story,
YUCK!).... But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the
LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die’” (2 Samuel 12:11,
14 NIV) There are consequences for sin. We should not fool ourselves in
believing that just because we are forgiven, our lives will be without
problems. We will constantly struggle with sin and its consequences until the
day we are taken to heaven.
The New Testament
Two things to highlight this week; first of all, Jesus
spends a lot of time talking about sending the comforter or advocate after he
leaves. This is a direct reference to the Holy Spirit. Since we just celebrated
Pentecost, now is a good time to dig a bit deeper with what this all means. The
Greek word is parakletos. In my Greek dictionary I found this
definition:
Summoned, called to one's side, esp. called to one's aid,
one who pleads another's cause before a judge, a pleader, counsel for defense,
legal assistant, an advocate, one who pleads another's cause with one, an
intercessor, of Christ in his exaltation at God's right hand, pleading with God
the Father for the pardon of our sins , in the widest sense, a helper,
succourer, aider, assistant, of the Holy Spirit destined to take the place of
Christ with the apostles (after his ascension to the Father), to lead them to a
deeper knowledge of the gospel truth, and give them divine strength needed to
enable them to undergo trials and persecutions on behalf of the divine kingdom.
This is a pretty deep word and John is the only New
Testament writer who uses it. You might be familiar with the Latin version of
this word, paraclete. There is a Catholic high school in Lancaster by that name
and it is the preferred word in a Catholic Bible. Jesus spends a lot of time
with this word because when he is gone, he wants to assure His disciples (and
us too) that we are being looked after. This is a source of comfort for us.
Second thing this week is the continuation of the “I Am”
statements. I hope you are not getting sick of reading about these, but I find
them so fascinating. The big one comes when Judas brings the guards into the
garden to arrest Jesus. Jesus asks them who they are looking for and they tell
him that they are looking for Jesus. And then he drops the bomb.......”I AM he”
and note what happens next, “When Jesus said, "I am he," they drew
back and fell to the ground.” (John 18:6 NIV) Why did they fall on the
ground? What was the reason? It could only be that they were taken aback by the
power of the name of Yahweh. And they retreated in respect of at least the name
and possibly the person speaking. Jesus says it three times (most likely
symbolic by John), and then all heck breaks out. Peter cuts off an ear. Another
follower (possibly Mark) runs away naked....it is just a mess. It is
interesting that John does not record that Jesus healed Malchus, the high
priests slave. I am not sure why but the scene moves quickly to the high
priest. We finished up with the passion of Jesus and his death on the cross. We
have been over the big issues of this part of the story before, but if you have
any questions please let me know.
One thing I want you to look for this week. When Jesus says,
“It is finished” from the cross he uses a word that has a meaning of completing
the goal. Not the end of something but the completion of a task. Jesus reached
the goal of atoning for our sins with his death. His resurrection is then proof
of his power. I know that is sort of a tease but this word is the climax of the
salvation story.
Bits and Pieces
The Old Testament
We will be finishing up the book of 2 Samuel this week, move
into the book of 1 Kings and we will see the end of David’s reign and beginning
of Solomon’s reign. Here are the vital stats for 1 Kings:
PURPOSE: To show that the Lord of history executes the
threats and keeps the promises of His holy covenant.
AUTHOR: Unknown. Possibly Jeremiah or a group of prophets
SETTING: The once great nation of Israel turned into a land
divided, not only physically but also spiritually.
KEY VERSE: “As for you, if you walk before me in
integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I
command and observe my decrees and laws, I will establish your royal throne
over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said ‘You shall
never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel’” (9:4,5)
LAW THEMES: The Lord condemns the evil deeds of Israelite
and Judean kings who violate the covenant, especially by instituting idolatry.
GOSPEL THEMES: The Lord establishes David’s household
through Solomon’s line, from which would come the Messiah’s everlasting
kingdom; promised mercies are delivered through the temple services.
KEY PEOPLE: David, Solomon, Rehoboam, Jeroboam, Elijah,
Ahab, Jezebel
SPECIAL FEATURE: The books of 1 and 2 Kings were originally
one book
The New Testament
We will also be finishing the Gospel of John and we will get
into the book of Acts. Here are the vital stats for the book:
PURPOSE: To link the Gospel of Jesus and the service of the
12 apostles with the missionary work of the apostle Paul.
AUTHOR: Luke (a Gentile physician)
TO WHOM WRITTEN: Theophilus and all lovers of God
DATE WRITTEN: Between 63 and 70
SETTING: Acts is the connecting link between Christ’s live
and the life of the church, between the Gospels and the Letters.
KEY VERSE: “But you will receive power when the Holy
Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all
Judean and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (1:8).
LAW THEMES: Kingdom of God; way of God; call to bear
witness; repentance; devotion to the Law; turn to God; call to preach;
condemnation of lying; magic; simony; and superstition; resisting the Spirit;
persecution; generosity urged.
GOSPEL THEMES: Kingdom of God; way of God; God’s promises
fulfilled; resurrection; filled with the Spirit; salvation; Jesus’ name;
forgiveness; fear of God; grace; Gospel proclamation.
KEY PEOPLE: Peter, John, James, Stephen, Philip, Paul,
Barnabas, Cornelius, James (Jesus’ brother), Timothy, Lydia, Silas, Titus,
Apollos, Agabus, Ananias, Felix, Festus, Agrippa, Luke
KEY PLACES: Jerusalem, Samaria, Lydda, Joppa, Antioch,
Cyprus, Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, Philippi, Thessalonica,
Berea, Athens, Corinth, Ephesus, Caesarea, Malta, Rome
SPECIAL FEATURE: Acts is a sequel to the Gospel of Luke.
Because Acts ends so abruptly, Luke may have planned to write a third book,
continuing the story.
