2 Samuel 17-18

2 Samuel 
17.23  Then he put his house in order...  A sad end to a very shrewd and wise man.
18.2  Joab, Abishai, and Ittai the Gittite
18.12  This man is one who did get the memo about killing kings, etc.

2 Samuel 10-16

2 Samuel

10.6  had made themselves repulsive... The text makes this sound like the result might have been a surprise for them, but what did they expect.

10.12  In addition to Joab's othter talents it appears that he had a flair for the dramatic.

11.11 Uriah was an officer's officer.

11.27  the thing that David had done displeased the LORD

12.6  no pity... implies that that we should not only avoid theft, but also be full of pity toward an unfortunate neighbor.
13.12-13  four reasons given by Tamar that Ammon shouldn't do this evil.
     1. It is not done in Israel.  We should have a sense of honor in our conduct as God's people.
     2. It was foolish (or disgraceful) in the sense of Nabal, Abigail's first husband.
     3.  Her shame.  (We are loosing our shame in this country at an alarming rate.)
     4.  His reputation would be sullied.  And when our personal pleasure becomes more important than our reputation, we are in a bad place.
15.37  David's friend...  and a friend in need.
16.12  It may e that the LORD will look on my affliction.  Instead of why o why is God doing this to me. Make it stop!

     .

Setting of a parable

 One of the important things for interpreting a parable is understanding the cultural setting of the story.  A few resources specifically address these issues. 

1. One is the Manners & customs of the Bible.  It gives the cultural background of items mentioned in passages throughout the Scriptures.
Matthew 18:34 Tormentors
    “In anger his master turned him over to the jailers (tormentors, KJV) to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.”
The “tormentors” are the jailers, who were allowed to scourge and torture the poor debtors in their care in order to get money from them for the creditors, or else to excite the compassion of friends and thereby obtain the amount of the debt from them. Trench states in Notes on the Parables: “In early times of Rome there were certain legal tortures, in the shape, at least, of a chain weighing fifteen pounds, and a pittance of food barely sufficient to sustain life, which the creditor was allow to apply to the debtor for the purpose of bringing him to terms; and no doubt they often did not stop there.”
Freeman, J. M., & Chadwick, H. J. (1998). Manners & customs of the Bible (Rev. ed.].) (444–445). North Brunswick, NJ: Bridge-Logos Publishers.

 2. Another great resource is The Intervarsity Press Bible Backround Commentary.  It has many helpful notes about customs and cultures that are helpful.
Matthew
18:21–22.  Seventy times seven (some interpreters read seventy-seven) does not really mean exactly 490 here; it is a typically graphic Jewish way of saying “Never hold grudges.” Because true repentance should involve turning from sin, some later rabbis limited opportunities for forgiveness for a given sin to three times; Peter might have thought his offer of seven times was generous.
18:23.  On “the kingdom may be compared” see comment on 13:24. The story here is about a Gentile king, perhaps one of the Greek rulers of Egypt before the Romans conquered it. “Servants” here could mean his upper-level slaves—who were better off than nearly all the free people of Egypt, most of whom were peasants. In this case, however, “servants” probably refers to free provincial satraps, who functioned as the ruler’s tax farmers in various regions; they too were vassals of the king. The ruler would allow them to collect taxes for him at a profit, but he demanded efficiency; this was the time of year when he was going to settle their accounts with him.
18:24.  Many peasant agricultural workers struggled to pay taxes, but this difficulty did not mitigate the tax collectors’ responsibility to submit the requisite amount to the king. Some of the disciples and perhaps Jesus himself could have smiled as the master storyteller told how far the king had let one of his servants get in debt: ten thousand talents probably represented more than the entire annual income of the king, and perhaps more than all the actual coinage in circulation in Egypt at the time! In one period, the silver talent represented six thousand drachmas, or six thousand days’ wages for an average Palestinian worker; ten thousand talents would thus be roughly sixty million days’ wages (in another period, 100 million). Although taxes were exorbitant in those days, especially for rural peasants, Josephus reports the annual tribute from Galilee and Perea under wealthy Herod to be only two hundred talents; it was thus inconceivable that one official could get so far in debt.
Ancient Judaism often viewed sins as debts before God (see comment on 6:12).
18:25.  Ptolemaic rulers (kings who ruled Egypt in the Greek period) never accepted excuses. Enslaving family members for the man’s debt was a Gentile practice that the Jewish people in this period found abhorrent. The math does not work here; the price of an average slave was between five hundred and two thousand days’ wages, hence the king cannot recoup even one-thousandth of his losses on this sale. But a king with better math skills would not have let the man get so far in debt to begin with!
18:26.  “I will repay” was a standard promise in ancient business documents. But in the light of 18:24, this promise is patently impossible.
18:27.  Given the ruthlessness of ancient Near Eastern kings and the greatness of the debt, that this ruler would forgive his servant is almost as impossible in the real world as the size of the debt. Sometimes rulers had to forgive Egyptian peasants’ past tax debts when failed crops rendered them simply unable to pay, but the sums involved were comparatively small.
18:28.  One hundred denarii represented one hundred days of a common worker’s wages, which would be a small sum for his fellow tax farmer, after he had finished his accounting with the king (18:23). It was also a ridiculously minuscule sum compared to what the first servant had owed the king. But apparently the forgiven slave, instead of internalizing the principle of grace, had decided to become ruthlessly efficient in his exacting of debts henceforth. Such extreme actions as choking are reported of angry creditors elsewhere in antiquity as well.
18:29–30.  Someone in prison could not pay back what he owed (v. 34), unless friends came to his aid with the requisite funds.
18:31–33.  The king is naturally angry; the forgiven servant has put another of his servants out of active commission, hence costing the king more lost revenues. The king had gained more advantage by convincing his people of his benevolence than he would have gained profit from the sale of the first servant; but once it was rumored that this first servant, his agent, was acting mercilessly, it reflected badly upon his own benevolence.
18:34.  Jewish law did not permit torture, but Jewish people knew that Gentile kings (as well as Herod) practiced it. Because this servant had fallen from political favor, he would have no allies who would dare come to his aid; and even if he had, given the sum he owed, his situation would have remained hopeless. He would never be released.
18:35.  The great contrasts of the parable are humorous and effective in relaxing the ancient listener’s guard, but the horrifying details of debt slavery, torture and so forth bring home the point forcefully. This story would have grabbed the ancient hearer.
Keener, C. S., & InterVarsity Press. (1993). The IVP Bible background commentary : New Testament (Mt 18:21–35). Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press.

2 Samuel 7-8

2 Samuel
7.3  I find it a little curious that Nathan would tell David that "the LORD is with you when he hadn't checked to see He was.  Sloppy preaching for sure.
7.15  as I took it from Saul...  Saul didn't ust mess up and loose control, God intervened in and with those events.
7.26  let your servant be established before you...  Things being done before the Lord is a common theme in the OT.  I don't just want, etc. power but want to live in His light.
7.28 You are God and your words are true...  Since He is God, it follows that His word would be true.
8.16-18  David's cabinet
Joab, secretary of defence
Ahulid, recording secretary
Zadok and Ahimelech, priests
Benaiah, Secret Service
The Cherethites and the Pelethites were David's bodyguards (1 Sam. 30:14; 2 Sam. 8:18; 20:7, 23; 23:23).   --Web Bible Encyclopedia  

2 Samuel 4-6

2 Samuel

4.8  Here is the head...  Apparently they didn't get the memo.
5.11 Then Hiram king of Tyre...  Everybody loves you when you're on top.
5.14-16  eleven sons born in Jerusalem
6.11  And the LORD blessed Obed-Edom and all his household...  This was probably the reason David wanted the ark with him.
6.20   Sounds like some marriage counseling would have been order.
7.2  This is a good illustration of the importance of not taking things for granite.

Seeds & Trees - Luke 17.6

Mustard Seed: a plant of the genus sinapis, a pod-bearing, shrub-like plant, growing wild, and also cultivated in gardens

The little round seeds were an emblem of any small insignificant object. It is not mentioned in the Old Testament; and in each of the three instances of its occurrence in the New Testament (Matt. 13:31-32; Mark 4:31-32; Luke 13:18-19) it is spoken of only with reference to the smallness of its seed. The common mustard of Palestine is the Sinapis nigra (= Brassica nigra). This garden herb sometimes grows to a considerable height, so as to be spoken of as “a tree” as compared with garden herbs.

WebBible Encyclopedia… a free service of Eden Communications (provider of ChristianAnswers.Net) / Copyright © 2000-2012, Eden Communications. All rights reserved.

http://christiananswers.net/dictionary/mustard.html?zoom_highlight=mustard+seed 

συκάμινος, ου f (feminine)—‘mulberry tree,’ a deciduous fruit tree growing to the height of some six meters (about twenty feet) and bearing black berries containing a sweet reddish juice. ἐλέγετε ἂν τῇ συκαμίνῳ ταύτῃ ‘if you should say to this mulberry tree’ Lk 17:6.

For languages which have no specific term for ‘mulberry tree,’ one can often employ a generic expression followed by a type of classifier, for example, ‘the tree called mulberry’ (in which case the term ‘mulberry’ may be borrowed from a dominant language of the area) or ‘a tree producing berries’; but in Lk 17:6 the focus is upon the tree as a large object and not upon the type of fruit which it produced. One can, therefore, say simply ‘this tree.’ ¹

¹Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Vol. 1: Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: Based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition.) (28). New York: United Bible Societies.

Sycamine tree mentioned only in Luke 17:6

It is rendered by Luther "mulberry tree" (q.v.), which is most probably the correct rendering. It is found of two species, the black mulberry (Morus nigra) and the white mulberry (Mourea), which are common in Palestine. The silk-worm feeds on their leaves. The rearing of them is one of the chief industries of the peasantry of Lebanon and of other parts of the land. It is of the order of the fig-tree. Some contend, however, that this name denotes the sycamore-fig of Luke 19:4.

WebBible Encyclopedia… a free service of Eden Communications (provider of ChristianAnswers.Net) / Copyright © 2000-2012, Eden Communications. All rights reserved.

http://christiananswers.net/dictionary/sycaminetree.html

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Luke 6:27-38

Luke 6:27-38

6:27–38
Treat Others Mercifully
6:27.  The Old Testament specifically commanded love of neighbor (Lev 19:18), but no one commanded love of enemies.
6:28.  Although Jesus (23:34) and his followers (Acts 7:60) practiced this rule of blessing and praying for enemies, prayers for vindication by vengeance were common in the Old Testament (2 Chron 24:22; Ps 137:7–9; Jer 15:15; cf. Rev 6:10) and in ancient execration (magical curse) texts.
6:29.  The blow on the right cheek was the most grievous insult in the ancient Near East. The clothing in the verse refers to the outer and inner cloak, respectively; the poorest of people (like the average peasant in Egypt) might have only one of each; thus here Jesus refers, perhaps in hyperbolic images, to absolute nonresistance on one’s own behalf.
6:30.  Here Jesus may allude to beggars, quite common in the ancient East, and poorer people seeking loans. In Jewish Palestine beggars were usually only those in genuine need, and most were unable to work; farmers generally sought loans to plant crops. Jewish society emphasized both charity and responsibility.
6:31.  In its negative form (“Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you”), this was a common ethical saying in the ancient world.
6:32–33.  Ideas like loving enemies and lending without hoping to receive again were unheard of, although many Pharisees advocated peace with the Roman state (at least, tolerating enemies in some sense).
6:34–35.  In the Roman world, interest rates sometimes ran as high as 48 percent, but the Old Testament forbade usury, or charging interest. Because many Jewish creditors feared that they would lose their investment if they lent too near the seventh year (when the law required cancellation of all debts), they stopped lending then, hurting the small farmers who needed to borrow for planting. Jewish teachers thus found a way to circumvent this law so the poor could borrow so long as they repaid. Jesus argues that this practice should not be necessary; those with resources should help those without, whether or not they would lose money by doing so.
Biblical laws about lending to the poor before the year of release (Deut 15:9; every seventh year debts were forgiven; cf. Lev 25) support Jesus’ principle here, but Jesus goes even farther in emphasizing unselfish giving. Although the law limited selfishness, Jesus looks to the heart of the law and advocates sacrifice for one’s neighbor. A good man’s “sons” were expected to exemplify their father’s character; thus God’s children should act like him.
6:36.  That human mercy should reflect God’s mercy became a common Jewish saying (e.g., the Letter of Aristeas 208; rabbis). “Merciful” may reflect the same Aramaic word translated “perfect” in Matthew 5:48.
6:37.  “Judge,” “condemn” and “pardon” are all the language of the day of judgment, prefigured in God’s current reckonings with his people (e.g., on the Day of Atonement).
6:38.  The image here is of a measuring container into which as much grain as possible is packed; it is then shaken to allow the grain to settle, and more is poured in till the container overflows. Pouring it “into the lap” refers to the fold in the garment used as a pocket or pouch. Because Jewish people sometimes used “they” as a way of avoiding God’s name, here “they will pour” (NASB) may mean that God will do it; or the idea may be that God will repay a person through others. The Old Testament often speaks of God judging people according to their ways (e.g., Is 65:7). Proverbs and other texts speak of his blessings toward the generous (e.g., Deut 15:10; Prov 19:17; 22:9; 28:8).

Keener, C. S., & InterVarsity Press. (1993). The IVP Bible background commentary : New Testament (Lk 6:26–38). Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press.

2 Samuel 2-3

2 Samuel

2.22  How shall I answer your brother Joab?   It is fascinating that they are fighting each other but still seem to have some kind of sort of relationship or chilvary.
1st  Amnon
2nd  Chileab
3rd  Absalom  son of the daughter of the king Geshur
4th  Adonijah
5th  Shephatiah
6th  Ithream

3.7  Why have you gone...  It seems that Ishbosheth overplayed his hand.  It is a good reminder to avoid visions of grandor.

3.26  And when Joab had gone.  I guess that these generals had a mind of their own, were very powerful, and to be trusted only to pursue their own interest.

3.37  and all Israel understood...  David was such a shrewd statesman and politician!

Two Doctrines to Live By 1 Peter 4.1-11 120212PM@TBC

INTRODUCTION
 A. Book Review 

Read 1 Peter 5.10-11
Theme: “Standing in the True Grace”
Outline:
1. Theology: Our Great Salvation  1.1-2.10
2. Application: Holy Among Unbelievers 2.11-5.14
a) In Submission 2-3
b) In Suffering  3-4
c)  In Church 5
B. Pray and Read Text
C. Doctrinal Foundations

• “...that they may be better prepared to live as Christians within a society that is not sympathetic to their faith.”  —Karen Jobs in 1 Peter (BECNT) p.273
• The context here is of non-Jewish believers who have converted to Christ, left their old lifestyle and are being maligned (nasv, esv), abused (niv), or spoken evil of (NKJV) because of their good behavior.

Big Idea: Two key doctrines lay the foundation for the exhortations given to the believer in these verses.
1. Christ suffered in the flesh

• 1 John 4.1-3  Christ’s physical “in the flesh” life is an essential truth.
• 1 Peter 2.20-24 Note: The context here (and in 4.1) is unjust suffering.
• Note: Vs. 21 refers to Christ’s death on the cross (compare with v. 24 “bore our sins”)
• 1 Peter 3.17-18  Note: “being put to death in the flesh” eliminates any idea of some figurative suffering. 
• Note: The purpose of Christ’s death explained here.
• The suffering was very literal and concrete for The Lord Jesus as it was for the “pilgrims” Peter addressed here.

2. The end of all things is at hand (imminent).

• “From the perspective that all the previous acts in the drama of redemption have been completed—creation, fall, the calling of Abraham, the exodus from Egypt, the kindom of Israel, the exile in Babylon and the return, the birth of Christ, His life, death and resurrection, His ascension into heaven, and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit to establish the church.  The great ‘last act’, the church age, had been continuing for about thirty years by the time Peter wrote.  Thus the curtain could fall at any time, ushering the return of Christ and the end of the age.  All things are ready: the end of all things (the ‘goal’ to which ‘all’ these events have been leading) is at hand.   —Wayne A. Grudem in 1 Peter (TNTC) p.180
• “We teach that we should constantly watch and be ready for the blessed hope, which is the imminent, pretribulation return of our Lord Jesus Christ to rapture His Church from this earth and to reward believers according to their works.”     —-WWT - X. Future Things (eschatology)   B. Rapture
• There is nothing that prevents the rapture of the church from occurring immediately.

D. Big Idea
This passage explains how these two doctrines motivate and inform the believer’s behavior so that he will glorify God.

Break out into small groups to identify how each truth affects the believers behavior.

I. CHRIST SUFFERED… (1-6)
A. Have the mindset of Christ  (1)
Arm yourselves with the same mind that Christ had.  What was that way of thinking?
&  Matthew 26.39  “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”    Priority of God’s will over my desires.
&  1 Peter 2.23 “committed Himself to Him who judges righteously.” The patience to let God make things right in His time and hope/expectation that He will.
“he who” refers to the believer who, rather than taking the path of least resistance—going along with the values and norms of the gentiles, has been obedient even though it results in criticism and the condemnation of unbelieving family and friends.

B. Suffering for doing good  (1&4)
he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin
...those who suffer unjustly for their faith in God have demonstrated that they are through with sin to the extent that they would choose to suffer rather than sin.”  —Karen Jobs in 1 Peter (BECNT) p.266
1. Our belief in absolute truth,
2. strict adherence to Christian ethics,
3. and a final judgment of all men by Yahweh based on His revelation in the Bible
4. and our insistence to share the Gospel
put us at odds with the prevailing politically correct culture in America.

C. Live for the will of God (self control)  (2)

• Too much time has already been wasted in sin.
• Two themes in this list of sins: self indulgence and lack of self-control.
• lewdness  aselgeiais:  any behavior lacking moral restraint, particularly sexual acts but also acts of violence.
• lusts  epithymiais:  unrestricted passionate desires that tend toward immorality
• drunkenness:  oinophylygiais:  a Greek word made up of two words, “wine” and “to bubble up or overflow”
• revelries  komois:  a party of revelers parading the streets
• drinking parties   potois:   drinking bouts possibly held in connection with pagan religious rites (1 Cor. 10.14)
• abominable    :contrary to law and justice, illicit, criminal
• idolatries

D. Accountability to God  (5-6)
v. 5 —an account  logos: lit. a word or speech, an explanation
v. 6

• “those who are dead” refers to those who are now dead.  They were preached to while they were alive on earth.
• Because people will be judged after death (condemned or forgiven), the Gospel message of forgiveness and judgment is important.
• The New Living Translation and the NET Bible present two possible interpretations of this verse.
• “That is why the Good News was preached even to those who have died -- so that although their bodies were punished with death, they could still live in the spirit as God does.” —NLT
• “Now it was for this very purpose   that the gospel was preached to those who are now dead,  so thatthough  they were judged in the flesh  by human standards  they may live spiritually by God’s standards..”  —NET Bible

• Transitional Statement: The thought of the coming day of giving account to God prompts a new way of living. 
• Note the contrast between the old life of inward focused self indulgence and the new life of outward focused service to God and others.

 II. THE END IS AT HAND (7-11)

A. Serious and Watchful Prayers (7)
serious  Strong's G4993 - sōphroneō : to be of sound mind , to exercise self control
YLT—sober minded; KJV—sober; NASB—sound judgment;  WET—of sound mind; NIV—clear minded;
ESV, NET—self-controlled;
NKJV—serious; NLT—earnest;

• The great characteristic of sanity is that it sees things in their proper proportions; it sees what things are important and what things are not important; it is not swept away by sudden and capricious and transitory enthusiasms; it is prone to neither to unbalanced fanaticism nor to unrealizing indifference.  It is only when we see the affairs of earth in the light of eternity that we see them in their proper proportions and their proper importances.    —William Barclay in The Letters of James and Peter

watchful   Strong's G3525 - nēphō  lit. not drunk 1) to be sober, to be calm and collected in spirit  2) to be temperate, dispassionate, circumspect
YLT, KJV—watch; NKJV—watchful; NASB—sober spirit;  ESV—sober minded;  WET—collected in spirit;
NIV, NET—self controlled;  NLT—disciplined (in your prayers);

• It almost looks live the different common translations got together and picked different words from the Greek lexicon.

1 Thessalonians 5.6-8     Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.

• We sleep or act drunk when we don’t give any thought to Christ’s return; when we drift through life oblivious to eternity.

B. Fervent Love  (8)

• Note: the priority of love (1 Cor. 13.1-3)
• Note: the outward focus of love
• Note: the positive result of love 

Prov. 10.12
Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins.
“A community that is suffering abuse from outsiders may become a little frayed internally as well. But if they display hatred to one another, they will merely stir up dissension; by contrast, loving one another will “cover over” the many wrongs that inevitably take place in any community…” 
—DA Carson in Commentary on the NT use of the OT.
James 5.20
let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.
C. “Love for Strangers”  (9)
hospitable  Strong's G5382 - philoxenos  lit. friendly to strangers; hospitable, generous to guests
grumbling   Strong's G1112 - goggysmos  muttering;  a secret displeasure not openly avowed

• This verse addresses not so much whether we will be hospitable, but what our attitude will be when we are friendly to strangers.

D. Stewardship of God’s Grace  (10-11)

• God has given each of us grace
• We are stewards, to “manage” his grace.

1 Corinthians 15.10
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

• Whatever opportunity or abilities God has given us, we should utilize it in dependence on Him.
• The implication is that we will give account for how we have used our gifts, the grace that God has given us.

 Big Idea: These two doctrines motivate and inform the believer’s behavior so that he will glorify God.

Benediction:
In all things may God be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Tulsa Bible Church 2012 Missions Conference Sunday School Lesson 2 - "What Will Motivate God's People to Finish the Great Commission?"

Transcript Lesson 2:

What will motivate God's people to finish the great commission?

          Most of the exhortations for missions involvement seem to focus on the needs of the people. In an attempt to stir the church through compassion, people often get motivated to act out of a sense of duty or guilt. Do any of these sound familiar?

·        Thousands of people every day are slipping into Christless eternities

·        34,000 children die every day from malnutrition and preventable illnesses

·        There are thousands of unreached people groups without a church

·        More Christians have been killed for their faith in the 20th century than all others combined

·        Genocide, ethnic cleansing, illiteracy, homelessness, poverty, oppression...the list goes on and on (Dearborn 71)

          Motivation to join God in missions shouldn't be driven by guilt or obligation. Motivation to join God in missions should come from a love for God and a desire to see Him worshiped in all the earth. Our hearts will never join the Moravians in saying, "may the lamb receive the full reward of his sufferings", if God is not first in our affections.

Missions should be God-centered. We should be driven by a desire to see His name hallowed and His kingdom come.

What if someone doesn't have a desire to see God's name exalted in all the earth?

          It's possible that an idol has captured their heart. Idolatry steals away our affections for God and leaves us worshiping lesser things. If I love comfort, pleasure, convenience, and security more than I love God, then I will not be passionate about missions. If I love sports, leisure, the “American Dream”, and my family more than I love God, then I will not be moved with

God-centered compassion for the nations. I'm not saying that people who have these things cannot be passionate about God. But, if your life is not available to Him, and He's not first in your heart, then your ambitions will be driven by idols. Something besides God is in control of your heart. Piper tells us that a heart for God overflowing in true worship is the fuel for missions:

            Passion for God in worship precedes the offer of God in preaching. You can't commend what you don't cherish. Missionaries will never call out, "Let the nations be glad!" who cannot say from the heart, "I rejoice in the Lord...I will be glad and exult in you, I will sing praise to your name, O Most High" (Ps 104:34; 9:2)

            Missions begins and ends in worship. 

          Of course it is possible that people don't understand God's global purpose. People can fail to see the message of Scripture. Sometimes it's because we approach the Bible as a self-help book assuming that it's ultimately about us. We look and ask questions like, “what does this passage mean to me?” without really considering what it means for God.

          The Bible is basically a book about God. According to Steve Hawthorne:

When we turn to the Bible as a self-help book, we end up bored or frustrated with what seems to be a rambling collection of stories. (Hawthorne 49)

          But when we see the Bible from God's viewpoint, the grand love story finally makes sense. We must see the Bible as one unfolding story. The story of his glory!

          The truth of Scripture is that God is jealous for His name. He wants His name to be known in all the earth. God wants to be loved by His people and some of those people haven't even heard His name…yet. God can be loved only when He is known. If you trace the story of the Bible, you will see that God has been on mission to make Himself known. He wants His name to be famous in all the earth.

Abraham

          God, acting on behalf of His name, gained early worship from a man named Abram. Abram could actually be regarded as the first missionary. I say that because God called him to leave his home and go to a foreign land. We know of many failures Abram made in the new land. But the Bible records this statement for us:

He built an alter to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD. (Genesis 12:8)

Abraham established a public witness that would allow people around him to learn about the LORD. It is apparent that Abraham understood what was important to God. God wanted His name to be made known and Abraham sought to do just that.

In Genesis 14, Abram rescues his nephew Lot and some of the neighboring peoples from an alliance of Kings that captured them and plundered their goods. Abram rescued them and their possessions, and then in an act of worship, he offers a tithe to Melchizedeck, King of Salem and priest of God Most High.

17 After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). 18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) 19 And he blessed him and said, ‘Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20 and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand! And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

          God was making His name known through this event as Melchizedeck gave God glory for blessing Abram. Abram in turn offers worship to God by giving the first recorded tithe. It might not have been the best method of evangelism, but if you notice in the text, it was actually the neighboring people's money that was used for the tithe. So in a sense, Abram was acting as a priest by offering worship gifts to God on behalf of the nations. Abram's heart seemed to be set like flint on magnifying the name of God. When the King of Sodom offered him their wealth as a token of gratitude, his response was,

            I have lifted my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth,     that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should            say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ Genesis 14:22b-23

Abram wanted to make sure that the nations understood it was God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth who blessed him. So he refused to take their wealth.

The Exodus

          In the story of the Exodus, we learn that God was delaying His final judgment on the Egyptians because the nations were in observance. Each plague was purposeful as God was strategically destroying the god's of the Egyptians while making His name known.

13 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself  before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. 14 For this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself, and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth. 15 For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. 16 But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. (Exodus 9:13-16)

In their rescue, the people were saved but they began to grumble in the wilderness about their blessing. They didn't accept that their salvation was primarily about God. They had turned salvation inside-out; they thought their rescue was God's primary concern. Instead God was using the exodus as a way to draw the attention of the nations to Himself. Isaiah captures this for us:

11 Then he remembered the days of old, of Moses and his people. Where is he who  brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of his flock? Where is he who put in the midst of them his Holy Spirit, 12 who caused his glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses, who divided the waters before them to make for himself an everlasting name, 13 who led them through the depths? Like a horse in the desert, they did not stumble. 14 Like livestock that go down into the valley, the Spirit of the LORD gave them rest. So you led your people, to make for yourself a glorious name. (Isaiah 63:11-14)

Conquest of Canaan

          The conquest of Canaan is one event that is difficult for people to understand. On the surface it might seem as though God was orchestrating a genocidal land grab rather than performing an act of love. But God knew that there was one thing that could pull the hearts of His people away from true worship and that was false gods. Almost every passage describing the rationale for ousting the peoples living in the land offers this reason:

Canaanite worship would swiftly turn the Hebrews "away from following Me to serve other gods" (Hawthorne 55)

God was at the point of establishing His name as great among the nations. He was doing so through His people.

          The Lord told Moses to send men into Canaan to spy out the land. (Num. 13:1) The men came back and gave a report that terrified everyone and led the congregation into rebellion. They began to grumble against Moses and Aaron for fear that they would die by the sword. Joshua and Caleb, two of the spies, tried to stop the rebellion saying:

if the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us. (Num. 14:8)

But the people still rebelled and the Lord was angry. The Lord was ready to wipe them all out and start over. He was going to make a great nation out of Moses, but Moses pleaded with God to show them mercy. But he did so not on the basis of the people but to keep from profaning His name among the nations.

            13 But Moses said to the LORD, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for you brought up this people in your might from among them, 14 and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, O LORD, are in the midst of this people. For you, O LORD, are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them and you go before them, in  a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. 15 Now if you kill this people as one man, then the nations who have heard your fame will say, 16 ‘It is because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give to them that   he has killed them in the wilderness.’ 17 And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying, 18 ‘The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ 19 Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of   your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.” 20   Then the LORD said, “I have pardoned, according to your word. 21 But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD.

          Moses pled on behalf of the nation by reminding God that He had set a seal on this people and failure to bring them into the land would look bad on Him. Moses acted as the intercessor and God pardoned the people because of the reputation of His name. Then God makes the declarative statement, "all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD."

The Temple

          After entering the land, God sought to establish His name by way of The Temple. God had already made a statement of worship through Moses telling his people that once they entered their land they should:

destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess served their gods...you shall tear down their alters and dash in pieces their pillars and burn their Asherim with fire. You shall chop down the carved images of their gods and destroy their name out of that place. (Deut. 12:3-4)

          God wanted to establish His place of worship and He wanted it to be nothing like that of the false gods. What David began in preparation for the building of The Temple Solomon finished and the Temple was dedicated. The Temple was supposed to be a temple for all nations. In Solomon's prayer of dedication we can actually see how Solomon anticipated this,

            41 Likewise, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for your name’s sake 42 (for they shall hear of your great name and your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house, 43 hear in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have built is called by your name. (1 Kings 8:41-43)

 The New Testament

          The theme of God acting on behalf of His name runs throughout the Old Testament. We have looked at only a few of the stories. There are many more. Once you begin to see this theme in Scripture you'll notice it over and over. This theme doesn't change when we enter the New Testament. God's long awaited Messiah came and He came making God known.

            No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him            known. (John 1:18)

          When Jesus arrived He came seeking to bring glory to the Father. According to Steve Hawthorne:

            Christ is the crescendo of the story of God's glory. At the end of all things, He will have             bought and brought people from every tribe and tongue to honor the Father. It's no surprise then, to see how His every move was a part of pressing the story of God's glory           toward it's culmination for all nations.

Jesus made the purpose of His ministry known:

            I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me    to do. And what was the work? "I manifested Your name to the men You gave Me out    of the world.” (John 17:4,6) 

          Jesus was close to His death and as the hour pressed upon Him He revealed an even greater glimpse of His purpose:

            27  Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name. Then a voice came from heaven: I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.  29 The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, An angel has spoken to him. 30 Jesus answered,  This voice has come for your sake, not mine. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.

          In the darkest hour of human history, God was glorifying His name. Jesus was sent to glorify the Father and manifest His name. He was to be lifted up so that He could draw all peoples to God. Jesus ministry was about the name. The early Christians also went out because of the name.

Early Saints Motivated by the Name

           When you look at the motive of people who left everything behind for Jesus to serve Him in some form of missionary service, they were said to have left for His name. For example, after seeing the rich young ruler turned away by Christ because of his love for money the Lord said,

it's hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 19:24)

Peter asked Jesus:

Who then can be saved?" The Lord said, "with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Then Peter responded, "See we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have? (Jesus response in v 29) "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my names sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. (Matthew 19:25-29)

Here we see an assumption by our Lord that when people leave...they leave for the sake of His name. This is what causes total abandonment of the world for God. A worshipful love for the name!  

         When the Apostle Paul was converted on the road to Damascus, the Lord Jesus sent Ananias to him with this message:

 "I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name" (Acts 9:15)

Paul shares his life mission with us in Romans 1:5:

through him we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations.

Toward the end of his life, being warned not to go back to Jerusalem he said:

What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready to not only be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.  (Acts 21:13)

The Apostle John, in similar fashion, writing about early Christian missionaries describes their commitment in much the same way saying:

they have gone out for the sake of the name. (3 John 7)

John Stott commenting about these missionaries and the Apostle Paul says:

            They knew that God had super exalted Jesus, enthroning Him at His right hand and        bestowing upon Him the highest rank, in order that every tongue should confess His         lordship. They longed that Jesus should receive the honor due His name.

Conclusion

          So, we asked the question of “what motivates people to join God in missions?” Our thesis was that true worship would lead people to proclaim the name of the Lord and take His gospel to the ends of the earth. We said that people who love God will desire the things that He desires. When we examine the Scripture God's fervent passion for the exaltation of His name is revealed God longs for His name to be made famous in all the earth. It is apparent that Jesus believed people would go for the sake of His name. This was the motive of the early church and it should be our motive as well.

Let's conclude with an exhortation by John Piper:

            God is pursuing with omnipotent passion a worldwide purpose of gathering joyful worshipers for himself from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. He has an inexhaustible enthusiasm for the supremacy of his name among the nations. Therefore, let us bring our affections into line with his, and, for the sake of his name, let us renounce the quest for worldly comforts, and join the global purpose. If we do this, God's omnipotent commitment to his name will be over us like a banner, and he will not lose, in spite of many tribulations (Acts 9:16; Rom 8:35-39). Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exist because worship doesn't. The great commission is first to delight yourself in the Lord (Ps 37:4). And then to declare, "Let the nations be glad and sing for joy!" (Ps 67:4) In this way God will be glorified from beginning to end and worship will empower the missionary enterprise till the coming of the Lord.