Ephesians 3

Dear RTB’ers,

I wrote yesterday of Paul’s unity message in Ephesians: that the Gentiles are …no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. (Eph. 2:19) He continues that theme in today’s reading, strengthening the Gentiles’ position by referring to them as …fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. (v. 6) The NASB translation uses a “fellow” triad, in my mind more effectively: … that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers…

One of my Study Bibles makes a really good point about this level of Gentile-Jew unity: “That Gentiles would turn to the God of Israel and be saved was prophesied in the Old Testament (see Romans 15:9-12); that they would come into an organic unity with believing Jews on an equal footing was unexpected.” I would encourage you to go to that Romans citation and see the extent to which the Old Testament predicted that the Gentiles would be brought to faith, where Paul has references to Deuteronomy, II Samuel, Psalms, and Isaiah.

There is another point worth making with respect to these Old Testament verses. Earlier in this chapter Paul had written that this Gentile-Jew unity …was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. (v. 5) Imagine what Paul would say to us Gentiles today who are living two millennia later, we who have not only the Old Testament prophecies, but also the New Testament gospels and epistles and tons of research scholarship to reinforce that Gentile-Jew unity. If Paul could see the extent that the Gentile wing in this unity has (numerically) overwhelmed his Jewish Christian brothers – and the extent to which he had been the lead evangelist in this outcome – he would be amazed. He claimed to be the very least of all the saints (v. 8), but we can all be thankful for his evangelical zeal!

Blessings!

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See also: October 29 (2021) / Ephesians 3:1-21.

Ephesians 2

Dear RTB’ers,

I read in one of my Study Bibles that unity is one of the themes of Paul’s writing in Ephesians. We see that played out in today’s reading. In the last paragraph of the first chapter Paul had written to “you”, presumably referring to all of God’s people in Ephesus. He continues with that “you” in the first paragraph of today’s reading, but then switches to “you Gentiles” in verse 11. He continues his message to them in the rest of this chapter. Verse 12 is one of my favorite verses to read in all of Paul’s epistles: …you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. I love this description of the Gentiles’ earlier situation – separated, alienated, strangers, having no hope, and without God. But then he ends this chapter with his unity message, that these Gentiles are …no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God… (v. 19)

One more comment on today’s reading. Verses 8 and 9 are often quoted by believers: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. The intent in quoting these verses is to point out that Jesus has done it all – that there is nothing that we can do to earn our salvation. But I like to point out that Paul is not discounting our “works”, as he makes clear in the next verse: For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (v. 10) Yes, with our salvation already assured, we still have work to do.

Blessings!

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See also: October 28 (2021) / Ephesians 2:1-22.

Ephesians 1:15-23

Dear RTB’ers,

…that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation … that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His great might… (vv. 17-19) Paul’s writing often has a number of clauses and participial phrases in his sentences, such that it is often difficult to pick out the essence of a sentence that he has written. Somewhat hidden in the verses quoted above are three aspects of God’s relationship with us, His church – our hope, our inheritance, and His power. First, the hope to which He has called you (note that very personal “you”!). This is a hope that is an expectation, not some remote wish like “I hope I win the lottery.” Second, our inheritance, expressed as His inheritance for us (the saints). That inheritance is our eternal reward, living with Him in Heaven forever! Finally, His power, reflected in His raising Jesus from the dead. Then Paul adds four more verses glorifying Christ.

Don’t misunderstand me – those clauses and participial phrases in Paul’s writing include a lot of worthy content! But let’s not get caught up in all the verbiage such that we miss the main thought. Paul is often a tough read!!

Blessings!

Ephesians 1:1-14

Dear RTB’ers,

Back to the New Testament, Ephesians… One important item to note about this epistle right away is that Paul spent some 2-3 years living and preaching in Ephesus (Acts 19:1-10). [Read the whole of Acts 19 for a more complete account of his time there. It’s worth reading!] So although he is writing this letter from prison, he is well acquainted with his audience, both in Ephesus and in the six nearby cities that are mentioned in Revelation 2-3, who will probably also be reading this letter.

There is a ton of theology in these introductory verses – none of which I choose to discuss this morning. The verses that intrigued me today are those that get more personal: …we who were the first to hope in Christ… [and] …you also, when you … believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit… (vv. 12-13) The “we” at the beginning of these verses likely refers to those Jews who were Jesus’ first followers and those Jewish converts in the first couple of decades after Pentecost. But then it gets personal for me – for us! – with those two words, “you also”. No doubt Paul was referring to Gentile converts in Ephesus and the surrounding area, but you and I are among those who have believed in Him and also have subsequently been sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. So, folks, as we read the rest of this letter, let’s imagine that Paul is writing to us. Yes, let’s make it personal!

Blessings!

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See also: October 27 (2021) / Ephesians 1:1-23.

I Samuel 31, Review

Dear RTB’ers,

The end of Saul and his son, Jonathan, and two other sons… Different from other battle accounts, nothing is said about Saul’s battle plan – only simple mention of the Israeli defeat and the Philistine victory and their mistreatment of the dead bodies. (Recall how the Philistines treated Samson when they defeated him. They were a rude people!) The chapter ends abruptly, with the men of Jabesh-gilead retrieving Saul’s and his sons’ bodies – no doubt they were remembering Saul’s deliverance of them from the Ammonites. (I Sam. 11:1-11) Beyond this one incident, Saul’s story is told without further comment. The writer of I Chronicles provides that commentary: So Saul died for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the LORD in that he did not keep the command of the LORD, and also consulted a medium, seeking guidance. He did not seek guidance from the LORD. Therefore the LORD put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse. (I Chr. 10:13-14) The end of Saul…

For the first time since we met young David back in chapter 16, there is no mention of him in today’s reading. It will be five more weeks in our reading schedule before we see David again, in II Samuel. But if you want to read ahead…

For many of us the Old Testament history books tend to run together. However, there is an easy memory tool for this time in Jewish history: I Samuel is about Saul (and David); II Samuel is about David; and the Kings books are about David’s descendants, split into a Northern Kingdom (Israel) and a Southern Kingdom (Judah). Then Chronicles retells all four of these books. So it will be a long time – well into next year – before we finish these Jewish history books!

Tomorrow – back to the New Testament.

Blessings!

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See also: April 1 (2023) / I Samuel 31; II Samuel 1; Psalm 18 (which gets into II Samuel 1, but still relevant, nonetheless).

I Samuel 29-30

Dear RTB’ers,

David has moved to the Philistines in order to get away from Saul’s constant pursuit. He has served one of the Philistine kings, Achish, and has been given his own city to live in, Ziklag. He has deceived Achish and pretended loyalty to him, although his heart is certainly with his brother Israelites. So David plays along when Achish wants him to go to battle with the Philistines against Israel. However, the other Philistine lords do not want David in the battle, fearing that he would be loyal to Israel and fight against them. So David and his men get sent back to Ziklag – essentially the Lord God delivering him from the battle, from having to fight his own people. [NOTE: Ziklag is in the far south of the Philistine lands, on about the same latitude as Beersheba in Judah. So when David goes on raids in 27:8-12, he is actually raiding people to his south, not raiding Israelites. And it is those people to the south, the Amalekites who have sacked Ziklag in chapter 30 and taken wives and children.]

Ziklag is destroyed by the Amalekites and David is in hot pursuit in order to rescue the women and children. He owes the victory in this quest to the Lord and rules against the “wicked and worthless fellows” among his followers who get greedy over the spoils, in so doing leaving us with an oft-quoted maxim: For as his share is who goes down into the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the baggage. They shall share alike. (v. 30:24b) He also uses the spoils to thank the many cities who have provided shelter and safety while he was fleeing Saul, generosity that will serve him well when the issue of his kingship arises.

Blessings!

I Samuel 27-28

Dear RTB’ers,

Today we see the end of David and his men running and of Saul’s pursuit: And when it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath, he no longer sought him. (v. 27:4) The Philistine king gives David his own city, Ziklag, a border city between the Philistines and Judah. Ziklag will remain as his home base until Saul’s death.

The story of Saul and the medium is a strange one. Although he has banned mediums and spiritists from the land, Saul disguises himself and visits a woman who has some strange powers and is able to call up Samuel’s spirit. The interchange between Saul and Samuel is less interesting than the fact that Saul is indeed communicating with the dead. I don’t believe there is anywhere else in the Bible where anyone is speaking with the dead. It is strictly forbidden in the Pentateuch. (See Leviticus 19:31, Deuteronomy 18:10-12.) Still, here it happens; Saul confronts an angry Samuel and receives the bad news of his future. We will read of that bad-news-future two days from now.

Blessings!

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See also: March 31 (2023) / Psalm 54; I Samuel 26-30.

I Samuel 25-26

Dear RTB’ers,

Two incidents, both fairly straightforward. In the first, Abigail defies her husband Nabal and provides David and his men with food and drink. David is truly grateful and Nabal is equally angry – so much so that he appears to have suffered a stroke or a heart attack and dies ten days later (at the Lord’s hand, v. 38). David then takes Abigail to be his wife. Recall that David was already married to Saul’s daughter, Michal. Surprisingly, that marriage is over, with Saul turning Michal over to another young man. But that’s not the end of the Michal story. We’ll meet her again one more time.

The second incident has David again sparing Saul’s life, with David’s spoken phrase, “the Lord’s anointed”, appearing four times in our second chapter. Saul had acknowledged David’s righteousness two chapters ago when David had earlier spared Saul’s life. Today Saul appears genuinely remorseful: Then Saul said, “I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will no more do you harm, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Behold, I have acted foolishly, and have made a great mistake.” (v. 26:21) David does not “return” to Saul’s house. In fact our first verse in today’s reading tells us that David does not at all believe that Saul’s remorse is genuine: Then David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of seeking me any longer within the borders of Israel, and I shall escape out of his hand.” (v. 27:1) Now, on to the next reading…

Blessings!

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See also: March 30 (2023) / I Samuel 24-25; Psalms 57, 142.

I Samuel 23-24

Dear RTB’ers,

David on the run and Saul in hot pursuit. It’s a continuing story of Saul’s pursuit and David’s escape – or of Saul’s withdrawing. There are a number of smaller items in today’s reading, but David sparing Saul’s life really sticks out for me. They are both in the same cave, with Saul unaware of David’s presence. David’s men suggest that David can now end Saul’s pursuit by taking Saul’s life. David, however, has a different response: He said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the LORD’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the LORD’s anointed.” (v. 24:6) In liturgical churches today we consecrate our clergy with anointing oil when we ordain them. I have always been careful not to speak out directly against these clergy who have thus been anointed. I may disagree with decisions that are made, but I’m careful to hold back my tongue in speaking directly against them. Sadly, however, I’ve heard many harsh words spoken against some of those who have been chosen to lead us.

So, Saul repents: You are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil. And you have declared this day how you have dealt well with me, in that you did not kill me when the LORD put me into your hands. (v. 24:17b-18) But as I wrote above, David on the run and Saul’s pursuit is a continuing story. Again, stay tuned!

Blessings!

I Samuel 21:10-22:23

Dear RTB’ers,

We will find as we move through the Samuel, Kings and Chronicles books that detailing the lineage of the kings of Israel and Judah is important to the Biblical writers. Somewhat less important, but still helpful is the lineage of the high priests. This will become much more important later. For now we have Ahimelech described as the son of Ahitub. Back in I Sam. 14:3 we learned further that Ahitub was directly descended from Phineas, the son of Eli. I asked Copilot, an AI source, about Eli’s ancestors: “…from later biblical texts and genealogical records, we learn that Eli is a descendant of Ithamar, one of Aaron’s sons. This places him within the Levitical priesthood, though not from the more prominent line of Eleazar, the elder of the two. His line later becomes dominant through Zadok.” During David’s and Solomon’s times, Abiathar (Ahimelech’s son) and Zadok “compete” for the high priesthood. We’ll have to refer back to this post when we see infighting and divergent loyalties from the priests toward the kings.

Have any of you ever heard of anyone named “Doeg”? No? I didn’t think so. Doeg is one of the most despicable characters in all of Scripture. Reporting David’s movements to Saul is one thing, but then he killed Ahimelech and 84 (or 85) other priests before destroying all the inhabitants of Nob, the city of the priests. We never hear of Doeg again in the historical literature, but we do see him in the header of David’s Psalm 52. You might want to read that Psalm and get David’s personal evaluation of this “most despicable” character.

Blessings!

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See also: March 29 (2023) / I Samuel 22-23; Psalms 52, 63.