Yesterday we heard regulations for the priests and Levites, about foreigners, and about the prince of Israel. Also there was the fascinating detail about the eastern gate, which must remain shut.
Yesterday we heard the prophecy against Egypt, but again it ends with a note of hope for Egypt.
Yesterday we finished the book of Hebews. I would encourage anyone to camp out a bit longer in the 12th and 13th chapters. There is deep insight hidden there.
Here at the end of the year, we will be touring through some of the deepest writing of the New Testament, like what we experienced in Hebrews. 2nd Corinthians is such a letter. It is actually called “Paul’s hard letter.” And from a Bible translator’s experience, it is the hardest book in the New Testament to translate. This is because Paul shares his feelings deeply and in doing so he often draws fine distinctions— not wanting to be misunderstood. It is those fine shades of feelings that are so hard to translate.
2nd Corinthians is a book where Paul shares in an intensely personal way. First he shares about ministry set-backs and discouragement. In sharing these things, Paul also gives us golden keys to unlock comfort and encouragement in our lives. Then Paul shares several personal stories because he feels forced to. That is, because of comparisons drawn between him and false teachers, the Corinthian church needs to know information about Paul’s apostleship and relationship with Christ that Paul would prefer not to boast about.
Paul also urges the Corinthian church to complete their desire to minister financially to the needy fellow believers in Jerusalem. In teaching about ministering with Christian kindness, Paul gives valuable examples to us about the proper motivation for Christian charitable work and appropriate fund raising.
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