2015DBRP_332 Est1-2 Is40b Philemon

In the final two chapters of Nehemiah, we heard of the culmination of Nehemiah’s work— the ceremony for the dedication of the wall. The people proved that the wall could stand up to more than just a fox walking on it. Then Nehemiah went back to Babylon. When he came back to Jerusalem, he needed to right several wrongs, as the people had allowed a deterioration in the temple worship.

We now turn to the book of Esther, which may have been written by Mordecai (a major character in the book), or by Ezra or Nehemiah, who would have known this story. The king Xerxes was defeated in a famous naval battle against Greece. From the historian Herodotus we find that the feast mentioned in the first chapter of Esther was the occasion for planning that battle. Esther has been compared to Joseph and David. She also started out as just an ordinary person, but God planned something great for her.

The Jews always read the book of Esther in the celebration of Purim. Whenever Haman’s name is mentioned the people boo and shake rattles or noisemakers to drown out his name.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/est.1.nlt

 

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We return to Isaiah 40. I stopped our reading yesterday at verse 17. Three memorable musical compositions in Handel’s Messiah are taken from just verses 1-11. Today I will start in verse 12.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/isa.40

 

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In chapter 4 of Colossians we heard Paul encourage alertness in prayer and making the most of every opportunity to share the Good News. Our speech should be (literally translated ‘seasoned with salt’. NLT does a nice job translating that meaningfully as ‘attractive’.

Along with other people, Onesimus was mentioned at the end of Colossians. He was the slave of Philemon. We will read that letter now. I wish that we knew if Onesimus was so attracted to the Gospel after over-hearing Paul speak at Philemon’s house that he ran away to search for Paul when he was under house arrest in Rome. Or did Onesimus just run away as any ordinary slave might do and just ‘happen’ to ‘end up’ in prison with Paul in Rome? Each story would be fascinating!

One of my spiritual fathers was Dr. Glen Zumwalt, who taught aeronautical engineering at Wichita State University and was the faculty advisor for Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. Whenever Glen had the opportunity to do a one-off Bible study, he picked Philemon. I think I heard him lead a Bible study on this book four times. He always showed how this little book is a picture of the Gospel. Philemon is in the place of God. Paul is an advocate like Jesus. And picture yourself in the position of a runaway slave.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/phm.1

Translation notes:

4I always thank my God when I pray for you, Philemon, 5because I keep hearing about your [fully believing//faith] in the Lord Jesus and your love for all of God’s people.

6And I am praying that you will put into action the generosity that comes from your [believing/faith] as you understand and experience all the good things we have in Christ.

10I appeal to you to show kindness to my child, Onesimus. I became his father in [believing the Good News about Jesus//the faith] while here in prison.

25May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with [each of you spiritually//all of your spirits//your spirit].

 

The shift to plural-you indicates that Paul is closing with a greeting to all the people mentioned at the first of the letter, not just Philemon. It is amazing to me that many English translations fail to make this clear.

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2015DBRP_331 Neh12-13 Is40a Col4

 

In yesterday’s chapters in Nehemiah, we heard the names of the various religious and civil leaders who signed the statement of commitment to follow Moses’ Law, which was almost certainly penned by Ezra. Then there was a listing of the various leaders and clans that volunteered or were chosen by lot to live in Jerusalem.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/neh.12.nlt

 

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I always am very disappointed with Hezekiah when he does not pray and ask the Lord to not allow Jerusalem to be conquered by Babylon and not to allow his sons to become eunuchs in Babylon’s palace. God had already responded amazingly to him in answering his prayers. The New Testament teaches us to be alert in prayer, and I think that includes being alert to what to pray.

Today we start the glorious final section of Isaiah, with favorite words set to music in Handel’s Messiah.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/isa.40

 

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Our resurrection to new life because of being one with Christ is not just being raised from death to this earth. We get raised right to heaven. Our real life is ‘hidden’ with Christ. The picture continues with our bodies and evil desires being pictured like clothes. We put off the old life like old clothes and put on the new life like clothes.

Yesterday’s chapter ended with instructions for wives, husbands, children, fathers, and slaves. Today’s chapter continues with the instruction to masters.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/col.4

 

 

 

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2015DBRP_330 Neh10-11 Is39 Col3

The returned exiles showed how sincere they were in following the Lord! They gathered together for the express purpose of hearing the Law. By this time their language had changed so much that they needed 13 Levites to explain what was said in the readings. The people wept because they realized how far they were from obeying the Law of Moses, and also for joy in hearing it. One month later, the leaders gathered to explore the Law in more detail, and they found that Israel had always neglected celebrating the Festival of Shelters. They did that for the prescribed week. Ezra read the Law to the people every day. Then afterward, the was a meeting for confessing their sins including the long prayer in chapter 9. This seems to have been an extra event, about one week after the Festival of Shelters was over. After that prayer,

38eThe people responded, “In view of all this,f we are making a solemn promise and putting it in writing. On this sealed document are the names of our leaders and Levites and priests.”

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/neh.10.nlt

 

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After the prophet Isaiah told Hezekiah that he would die, in 2nd King’s 20 we are told that Isaiah only managed to get to the middle courtyard when the Lord’s message came answering Hezekiah’s prayer. 15 years were added to Hezekiah’s life, and he receive the promise that the Assyrian king would not conquer Jerusalem. In his poem of thanks, Hezekiah said:

15But what could I say?

For [God/he] himself sent this sickness.

Now I will walk humbly throughout my years

because of this anguish I have felt.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/isa.39

 

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Note the distinction about old Jewish religious laws that Paul makes, comparing them with true Biblical Christianity. Those old religious regulations had no ability to help one conquer our persistent evil desires. Following the teachings in the New Testament does allow us to be freed from bondage to evil desires. This deliverance happens when we understand, believe, and meditate upon spiritual realities such as these:  (2:13-15, 20-23)

13You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. 15In this way, he disarmedd the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.

20You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, 21“Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? 22Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. 23These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/col.3

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2015DBRP_329 Neh8-9 Is38 Col2

Nehemiah 7 ends with an incomplete sentence in our translation. That chapter dealt with listing the various families and temple workers who came back after exile. And the transition to the next events as we heard yesterday starts like this:

73So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the Temple servants, and some of the common people settled near Jerusalem. The rest of the people returned to their own towns throughout Israel. In October,x when the Israelites had settled in their towns,

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/neh.8

In chapter 37 yesterday, we heard of Hezekiah’s triumph through his prayer. As we have seen before in Isaiah (and not just in Isaiah’s message to the king), this defeat was prophesied, and we heard the fulfillment yesterday.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/isa.38

After that wonderful poem in Colossians chapter 1— which I can barely resist reading to you a second time, Paul says these things:

21This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

Then in talking about the revelation of the Good News, he says,

26This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people. 27For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/col.2

Translation notes:

7Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then [you will grow strong in your beief of//your faith will grow strong in] the truth [just as/0] you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

12For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you [fully believed in/trusted] the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/col.2

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2015DBRP_328 Neh7 Is37 Col1

Yesterday we heard how Nehemiah stood up for all the people in financial difficulty. The nobles were rich, and everyone else was suffering,—some even having no option but to sell their children into slavery. He convinced the nobles to forgive debts, and had them take a solemn oath about that. The wall was finished in just 52 days, but Nehemiah was getting more and more threats from Sanballat and his cronies.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/neh.7.nlt

We heard the challenge and mocking of the Assyrian chief of staff who brought the Assyrian King’s message to Jerusalem with a huge show of force. The challenge was shouted out in Hebrew for all the people to hear. What a thing to happen to a king that 2Kings 18 praises with these words:

1Hezekiah son of Ahaz began to rule over Judah in the third year of King Hoshea’s reign in Israel. 2He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother was Abijah,athe daughter of Zechariah. 3He did what was pleasing in the LORD’s sight, just as his ancestor David had done. 4He removed the pagan shrines, smashed the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke up the bronze serpent that Moses had made, because the people of Israel had been offering sacrifices to it. The bronze serpent was called Nehushtan.b

5Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before or after his time. 6He remained faithful to the LORD in everything, and he carefully obeyed all the commands the LORD had given Moses.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/isa.37

We finished the wonderful book of Philippians yesterday. I count three wonderful promises in that 4th chapter. But note: This time I feel that all of them are really conditional promises— even the last one. If we are going to have God’s peace with us, guarding our hearts and minds, and if we want God to supply our needs, then we must give attention to how Paul told the Philippians to live and what they were doing in support of Paul’s mission.

I encourage everyone to spend more time looking at the treasures of Philippians, and the same goes for the book we start today— Colossians.

Colossians was written around the same time as Philippians, and Philemon was a member of this church. This letter has another wonderful poetic portion in chapter one exalting Christ. In all of my recent presentations in Indonesian seminaries, I have introduced our translation by reading Colossians 2 and the first part of chapter 3. The things Indonesians don’t understand in their Bibles— and the things I hope you will understand in the NLT, are spiritual realities. The things that are true of us spiritually which cannot be seen with physical eyes. If we understand those things, we get the opportunity to believe them. If we believe them, we can meditate on them. If we meditate on them, we find them working powerfully in our lives to transform us and release us from our persistent sinful cravings.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/col.1

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2015DBRP_327 Neh5-6 Is36 Php4

Yesterday Nehemiah gave a listing of the people who rebuilt the wall. This included Shallum and his daughters, and two named goldsmiths, merchants, and priests. The residents of the land opposed to the construction were threatening violence, so the people armed themselves and had men on guard at all times. Nehemiah and his men stayed fully armed at all times, even when they ‘went for water’— which I take as a euphemism for going potty.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/neh.5.nlt

It was interesting to find this verse among many beautiful portions in chapter 35:

3With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands,

and encourage those who have weak knees.

This verse was probably in the mind of the writer of Hebrews in chapter 13. And in fact, the Holy Highway and its destination is very much like the ‘place’ we ‘come to’ in Hebrews 13!

Today we start on the prose portion of Isaiah from chapters 36-39.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/isa.36

I have found deep meaning and great spiritual help from the portion around verse 13 in chapter 3. And I am certainly not alone in that. This would be one of the most quoted verses in this letter:

13No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved [perfection//it],d but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

15Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things...

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/php.4

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2015DBRP_326 Neh3-4 Is35 Php3

After Nehemiah’s wonderful prayer for Jerusalem, more than three months went by before the king noticed him looking sad. He says he had never before looked sad, so he must have waited. God must have been in the timing, because the king wonderfully agreed to help Nehemiah in every way. And the leaders in Jerusalem also were enthusiastic in their acceptance of his proposal to rebuild the walls.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/neh.3.nlt

Yesterday we heard that the land of Edom would become an eternal waste land and a home for owls and other creatures. I take it that the locations would be in modern-day Jordan, and GoogleMaps shows almost nothing green in that whole area.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/isa.35

Yesterday we heard Paul’s wonderful poem of praise about Christ’s humility and subsequent exaltation to the highest place. And we heard this promise:

13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

Translation notes:

1Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters,a rejoice in the Lord. I never get tired of telling you these things, and I do it to safeguard your [fully believing//faith].

13No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved [perfection//it],d but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/php.3

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