101027 1 Chronicles 24

1 Chronicles 24
24.6  in the presence of the king...  David was concerned to get these detail right.
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1 Chronicles 25
25.1  prophesied with lyres, with harps, and with cymbals...  Strong's H5012  nä·vä' --under influence of divine spirit.  I never really thought of the music in our worship service being prophecy under the OT influence of the divine Spirit.  I always thought of being under the influence in this sense as being more spontaneous.  It is an interesting thing to think about.
25.2  sons of Asaph...prophecied under the direction of the king
25.3  sons of Jeduthun...prophesied with the lyre in thanksgiving and praise to the Lord....
25.4  sons of Herman...the king's seer...  
Berth., e.g., connects it with הָאֱלֹהִים בְּדִבְרֵי, and translates, “to sound loud upon horns, according to the divine command,” referring to 2Ch_29:15, where, however, both meaning and accentuation forbid us to connect יהוה בְּדִבְרֵי with what follows. This interpretation of the words is thoroughly wrong, not only because the Levites under Heman's direction did not blow horns, the horn not being one of the instruments played by the Levites in connection with the worship, but also because on linguistic grounds it is objectionable. קֶרֶן הֵרִים קֶרֶן .el never has the signification to blow the horn; for to elevate the horn signifies everywhere to heighten the power of any one, or unfold, show power; cf. 1Sa_2:10; Lam_2:17; Psa_148:14; Psa_89:18; Psa_92:11, etc. That is the meaning of the phrase here, and the words are to be connected, according to their sense, with what follows: “to elevate the horn,” i.e., to give power, God gave Heman fourteen sons and three daughters; i.e., to make Heman's race mighty for the praise of God, God gave him so many sons and daughters.  Keil & Delitzch
25.7  trained in singing...skillful...  This fits well with the next verse. 
25.8  teacher and pupil alike...  
25.9-30  The order for Asaph...  So they had special music schedules back then.  Maybe it would be easier for our church if we chose a certain number of musicians and assigned them their weeks rather than all the switching around we seem to do.
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1 Chronicles 26
26.1  gatekeepers...
26.8  able men qualified for service....  A nice endorsement.
2612  divisions of gatekeepers...east, west, north, south...
26.14  Zachariah, a shrewd counselor...  This is an interesting note that almost seems to come out of nowhere.
26.20  charge of the treasuries of the house of God...
26.22  charge of the treasuries...
26.29  external duties...  I guess that they had maintenance crews and security back then too.

101026 1 Chron 22-23

1 Chronicles 22
22.5  So David provided materials...  David did what he was able.  We all have limitations.
22.16  Arise and work!   That ought to be the last verse that high school AWANA kids and teens in general should memorize.  :o)
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1 Chronicles 23
23.3  38,000
23.4  24K  house of the Lord; 6K officers and judges
23.5  4K gatekeepers; 4K offer praises with instruments
23.7  sons of Gershon...
23.12  sons of Kehath...
23. 21  sons of Mahli...

101025 1 Chronicles 21

1 Chronicles 21
21.13 Let me fall into the Hand of the Lord, for His mercy...  God's hand is a good place to be in both bad and good times.
21.17  It is I who sinned...  Confessions like this revealed Davids sincerity and honesty.
21.24  that cost me nothing...
21.30  because he was afraid of the sword...  Heb 4.12 and ...

101024PM@TBC Sandwich Worship Romans 11.33-12.3 and topical

Big Idea:  Our Sacrifice of service is central to worship.

I. BACKGROUND ABOUT WORSHIP

BIG IDEA

What I want you to leave with tonight, and for some of you this is going to rock your world. For others of you, its gonna be a good review. That our sacrifice of service, our sacrifice of service, is central. You might even say the core, is central, to worship. Our sacrifice of service is central to worship. And that’s key. And I hope that, you have that thought and some, some supporting material firmly in your mind, as we leave tonight.

PRAYER

Let’s begin in prayer, and ask God that He would enlighten us, to understand His Word, and work in us to change our hearts as we look to Him.

“Father! I thank you for your Word. I thank you that it is a light to our feet, and a lamp, and to our path. And I thank you God, that here in this country, we are blessed with open and easy access to your Word. And I pray that we would be good stewards of that opportunity tonight. And I ask your Holy Spirit would help us to understand, in a spiritual way your scripture. And that He would change our hearts.

And that we would have a resulting change of actions and words. In Jesus name. Amen!”

REVIEW

1. Read Philosophy of Worship Quotes.

Worship can be a very, a high and lofty concept for us. Let’s review some of the things that have been said in this series.

1. “Worship results from seeing and savoring Jesus Christ as Lord: who He is and what He has done.” 
Worship results from seeing, and savoring Jesus Christ as Lord: Who He is, and what He has done. There is an aspect of worship that involves seeing.  We add the idea of savoring to distinguish us from the demons who see it, and have a different result. 

2. “Worship is ascribing honor and glory to God our Creator because honor and glory are due His name.”    

Another aspect of worship is ascribing. It is attributing honor and glory to God. Worship is ascribing honor and glory to God. As we sang tonight and as we give heed to God’s Word, we are ascribing honor, and glory to God. Make no mistake. He already has it whether we ascribe it to Him or not. It is our privilege, to join in the process, and recognize who He is.

3.  “A believer who treasures Jesus Christ loves His Word, presents himself as an obedient living sacrifice...”  

The last slide has our last aspect. A believer who treasures Jesus Christ, loves His Word, and presents himself as an obedient, living sacrifice.

  

2. Review Worship Definition Words  SEE - ASCRIBE - SERVICE

Our sacrifice of service is central to worship. We can summarize worship in three words. The first one is, to see. Think of that as savoring.  The next one is, to ascribe to God, the honor and the glory that is due Him.  The last one, I like to summarize with the word, to serve.

All three of those, are central and key to worship: to see and savor, to ascribe or attribute to God, and the sacrifice of service.

3. OT and NT words for Worship

The Old Testament word for worship, “shachah”- literally means, “to bow down, to prostrate yourself before.” That’s the physical action it refers to. The figurative meaning, is the concept that we think of, with “reverence” or “worship.”

The New Testament word, that is commonly translated worship, “proskuneo”…means basically the same thing. So we have really a pretty good parallel in the Old Testament, and the New Testament.

4. The first record of Jesus talking about worship.   Mathew 4.9

I would like to start tonight with when the Lord Jesus is first recorded, talking about worship. Turn with me to Matthew 4:9.  The first time we find the Lord Jesus, talking about worship, actually comes in a rather unexpected situation. In Mathew chapter 4 most of you remember as, the temptation of Christ. What a fascinating thing it is to me to think that the first time Jesus talked about worship, was with Satan. That in itself is something to think about.

Iin Mathew 4:9 Satan says to Christ, “All these things, (and he is showing Him the kingdoms of the world)  I will give to you, if you will fall down, and worship me.” The word ‘fall down’ is ‘Pipto’ in the Greek. And the word for worship, is   pros-ku-ney-o.

What was it that Satan wanted Jesus to do? How did Jesus respond to him? Look at the next verse. What did He say in response? Isn’t that interesting? It is written, ”You shall worship The Lord your God, and Him only, you shall serve.” This illusion comes from Deuteronomy chapter 6. I want you to turn back there in your Bible to Deuteronomy chapter 6. (Every time I see this passage, and see the Lord Jesus quoting from Deuteronomy, the first thing that comes to my mind is, how long has it been, since I’ve read Deuteronomy? There is more back there, than it first meets the eye.)

In verse 4, we have “Hear O Israel, The Lord our God, The Lord is one. You shall love the God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength...” The next several verses talk about how it should pervade your entire life, and how you should spread it to your children, and your grandchildren. “And so it shall be,” in verse 10, “when The Lord your God brings you into the land of which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful cities which you did not build, houses full of good things which you did not fill, hewn out wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant. When you have eaten and you are full, then beware, lest you forget The Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, you shall…” What does it say in your version? He said, “You shall fear The Lord your God, and serve Him.” What Jesus doesn’t quote, but could have is, “and take oaths in His name.”

Exactly, what was it that Christ understood, Satan wanted Him to do? Satan was wanting more than Jesus to take a certain physical posture. It wasn’t, “Just take a certain physical posture and I’ll give this to you,” because Lord Jesus responded when he said, fall down and worship me. Of course Jesus says, “No, I am to worship.” The Old Testament words were fear and serve God. Jesus could have added, “When I do something important like taking oath, it’s going to be in His name, not yours.”  This is much larger in scope than liturgy or and act or observance done as worship.

II. EXPOSITION OF ROMANS 11.33-12.2

Take your Bibles if you will, and turn with me to Romans 11:33. Whenever I think of Romans, I think about Martin Lloyd Jones spending sixteen years preaching through this book. Think about how far we’ve come when we get to the end of chapter eleven in Romans.

Verse 33. “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!  "For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?"  Paul is quoting from Isaiah.  “Or who has first given to Him, and it shall be repaid to him.”  He quotes from Job. “For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.”

Chapter 12. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.”

1. THEREFORE

What is the “therefore,” therefore? Paul has spent eleven deep, intricate chapters, laying doctrinal foundations, for what he is saying in these verses.

I’d like to read you something from Warren Wiersbe.

He says, the Christian life is not based on ignorance, but knowledge, and the better we understand Bible doctrine (Romans 1 through 11), the easier it is to obey Bible duties (Romans 12 through16). When people say, don’t talk to me about doctrine, just let me live my Christian life, they are revealing their ignorance of the way the Holy Spirit works, in the life of the believer. It makes no difference what you believe, as long as you live right, is a similar confession of ignorance. It does make a difference, what you believe. Because what you believe, not necessarily professed, but what you believe, determines how you behave.  

 -- Wiersbe, W: Bible Exposition Commentary. 1989. Victor 

He says, therefore, by or through the agency of God’s mercies, I’m making this appeal. God’s mercy on us reminds us of two things.

One, is that we are pitiful and to be pitied. In our sin, and unregenerant state, we are a mess. When you go by and look at someone who is so hooked on drugs, that they are living a filthy life or some horrible sinner you feel sorry for them. That’s what mercy means. That describes how God feels towards us. It’s easy for us to sit in a church pew, and feel pretty good about ourselves. But, the reason we need God’s mercies, is because we are pitiful.

The second thing that that word ‘mercies’ reminds us of is that God, has made, a provision, for you, and I, to be in a right relationship with Him. Each one of us have a God filled vacuum in our heart. Many of us don’t have enough sense to realize what it takes to fill the gap. We have sinned against God, and we are to be pitied. Christ has provided us a great salvation. The work has been done. It requires us taking verse three to heart. To not think more of ourselves than we ought, and to throw ourselves humbly at Christ’s mercy.  If you haven’t come to that point in your life yet, the rest of what we are talking about, and what we’ve talked about, really is not going to make sense. If you are here tonight, and you do not have peace with your God, a right relationship with God, that is where you need to start. And you are in a great place, to be in that position. Because you have lots of people sitting around you, who can take you to God’s word and show you how you can know, that you have eternal life.

This is not a outline that Paul had in mind, but it illustrates something important.

Look here at verse 33. He says, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!  "For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?  Or who has first given to Him, and it shall be repaid to him.”  

We see Paul, seeing who God is and ascribing to Him, honor and glory.  And, coming at it the other way, look at verse 3. By shining the light back on us, he does the same thing, doesn’t he?

What does verse 3 say?

“For I say through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think more highly of himself, than he ought to think”. And even thought it’s not speaking directly of God, by promoting humility, he is ascribing glory, and honor, to God.

Romans 12: 1-2 are sandwiched right here in between these.

2. PRESENT

This work is used of the priest, as they would bring the offering, or present the offering to God. He says, “I speak to you that you should present…” what? “your bodies.” And the word there is the word for a physical body. It’s the same word that we have in 1^st Corinthians 9:19 when he says, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you? And you have from God, and you are not your own, you were bought with the price. Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit.” God is interested in your physical body. When ask someone if they can be somewhere, and they have another engagement, they sometimes say, “I will be with you in spirit.” It is a nice gesture that says. God doesn’t want us to be with Him just in spirit. He wants your body. He says, present your body, to me. That’s something tangible.

3. REASONABLE (spiritual--nasb, esv, niv) logikos logical, thoughtful, spiritual not physical

And He says, this is your reasonable, some of your versions say spiritual.

If you have a version that says “reasonable,” take your pencil and write “spiritual” out in the margin. If yours is one of the versions that say “spiritual,” take your pencil and write “reasonable” out in the margin. The translators tried to grab this Greek word and they can’t really communicate it all with one English word, so they had to choose which one they preferred. This is a word that takes its roots in the word ‘logos’. And so, it definitely has a sense of the rational, or the thinking. It’s used here contrast to doing some physical act of worship or some procedure. This is something that is spiritual. When we present our bodies, it is our reasonable, spiritual service.

4. SERVICE not proskuneo, but latreia: service rendered for hire / to perform sacred services in worship of God

It is interesting to note that this is not the word “proskuneo” for worship. This is a word that means, to serve. It’s used of a hired servant. If you hired someone, you would say he is doing you some kind of service. It’s also used in the temple of the priests as they went through their service of offering sacrifices and doing other things. We get this big picture what it means here to worship. It is your reasoned, spiritual service. It’s a “doing” thing. It’s the physical body that you are presenting.

5.  Verse 2: What does that service look like?

Look at the next verse. It’s interesting that there is no conjunction. It is just kind of slammed in there together. The sense of the Greek here is, “What does the service look like?” It says stop confirming. Stop being molded to this ‘world’. Another word for world is ‘age’. “Age is the word in the Greek. It says conformed to this age. It refers to the attitudes, and the morays of the times we live in. Don’t be swept off your feet by the way everybody else is living, by the world and the way it thinks. And that might be a little different for us than it is in another country, but you know the prince of the power of the air has his system, in place. And He says, stop being. Requires a little humility. You guys say, yeah that’s me. I look at people in history, and how they were confirmed, to their world to some extent. Even godly men were. With the perspective of years we can see that very easily and very clearly now, that serves as a warning to us that we need to be careful that we are not being conformed to the morays and the values of our time.  But be “transfigured.” or transformed. This is the same word that it used to explain what happened to Jesus on the mount of transfiguration.  And I think what that highlights to us, is how big of a change, how far outside the box we are thinking, when we are transformed by the renewing of our mind.

Your service, that your living body, that has been presented to God as a living sacrifice, does is the core of worship. Now, I don’t care how good your buns are on a hamburger. It’s the stuff inside that makes the hamburger. Amen! And, the best gourmet buns in the world, doesn’t make up for rotten meat in the middle. And our service, as we present ourselves to God, as we go through our daily lives, as an act of worship to Him, that is core and central, to what worship is.

III. APPLICATION

1. What does it look like when we are worshipping God in our daily lives?  Look with me at Colossians, chapter 3. Let’s see what this service looks like. Now some might be think, “If this is the core of worship, I don’t need to come to church anymore.”

Chapter 3, verse 16. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom. Teaching and admonishing what? One another. We have a responsibility to each other. To teach each other, to admonish each other. And that happens on Sunday morning, on Sunday evening, during the weekday Bible studies, Wednesdays, where we come together in teaching and admonishing one another. In songs, and hymns and spiritual song singing, with grace in our hearts, to The Lord. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do all in the name of The Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God, The Father, through Him.

The picture I have of that verse is, the service trucks that you see driving around town. Joe Blow’s plumbing and stuff. And those guys got to watch what they do. They have that company name all over the van they’re driving and in big letters on their shirt. They are not acting for themselves. They are doing it for someone else. When I did air-conditioning service, I didn’t necessarily do it the way I thought was best. I do it the way the company wants it done because they got the check, they got the complaints, etc. And we need to have that same attitude.

Look on. What does it say?

Wives ... As it is fitting in The Lord.

Husbands ... In Ephesians 5, it says, as Christ loved the church.

Children… as well pleasing to The Lord.

Fathers … (in Ephesians 6, it says in the, raising your children, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Bond servants… Do it heartily as to The Lord.

You masters… Keep it in mind, you have a master in heaven.

So what does this worship look like? Everything I do and every relationship that I have is centered around who Christ is. I am fearing God, and serving Him in whatever do. We swear, whenever we do, in His name.

2.  Service has a central location in our text like it does in worship.

In Romans 11: 33-35 we see, and we savor who God is. “The depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God. And how unsearchable are His judgments. His ways past finding out. Who has known the mind of The Lord? Or who has first given to Him?” And then the glory ascribed, for of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things to whom be glory forever. And then in verse 3 on the other side, with our attitude, of humility, not thinking more highly of ourselves, as we ought.   In between in the heart of worship, our daily service for the Lord.

3. Church Marquee illustration

I’m not a big fan of cute little, quippy, church marquee things on my church, but I enjoy reading them on other churches. I saw one that really struck to the heart of what we’re talking about tonight. It says God does not want weekend visitation rights. He wants full custody. God does not want weekend visitation rights with you. He doesn’t want ten percent of your money. He doesn’t want ten percent of your time. He says that, all belongs to me. Present it to me. And, it’s used to served, and to fear me.

Our sacrifice of service is central to worship.

4. Hot Check Illustration

Proverbs 21:27 – “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination.” Or your version might say, is detestable.

And I like to put that in the context of writing a check. When we come Sunday morning, Chuck and the worship leaders provide us a wonderful opportunity to write this check of praise to God about how much we love Him.  However, f you haven’t been putting money in the bank during the week, that’s going to be a hot check. When you go to a merchant, and you write him a promise to give him money, and don’t have the resources back in the bank, to back it up, it is an abomination, and detestable to him. And it’s the same with our worship to God. Our sacrifice of service is central to what it means, to worship Him.

5. Hamburger Illustration

Gourmet bread on Sunday doesn’t make up for rotten meat during the week. And I hope to sear this picture in your mind, and I hope you never look at a hamburger the same again. Or when you see that hamburger or sandwich and that nice piece of meat, or chicken or whatever it is you like middle, remind yourself that my service, my fear of the Lord, my doing everything important in His name, is central, to what worship is. Now, very few of us like to eat a hamburger without buns. It is just a mess, so the buns are important. But if you went to Wendy’s, and you asked for a hamburger, and they just gave you two buns put together, you’d be right back up to the counter complaining that the most important part had been left out. Our service is the most important part of worship

Closing Prayer

Father. Take my life. And let it be consecrated to thee. My moments, my days, my hands, feet, voice, lips, my silver and, my gold, my mind, will, heart, and love. Oh God! Make me true to you, in all that I do. May I be ever only and all for you. Amen!

Closing Prayer:

Take my life and let it be concentrated to Thee

My moments and my days

My hands, feet, voice, lips

My silver and my gold

My mind, will, heart, and love

May I be ever, only all for Thee. Amen.

101023 1 Chronicles 18-20

101020 1 Chronicles 16-17

1 Chronicles 16
16.4 to invoke...the Lord...   This is an interesting word in this context.
16.43  went home to bless his family...  We men need to do this too.
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1 Chronicles 17
17.2  What is going on here with Nathan saying one thing and God telling him to give a different message.

101019 1Chronicles 13-15

1Chronicles 13
13.10  died before the Lord...   There are numerous references to people doing things "before the Lord."  I don't have a real exact sense of all its implications, but this is an interesting one to add to the mix.
13.12  and David was afraid of God that day...  You disobey and you should be afraid.
13.13  the LOrd blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that he had.  This is one of my favorite verses in 1 Chronicles.  Having and honoring God's presence in our lives brings blessings.
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1 Chronicles 14
14.3  And David took more wives in Jerusalem...  Why?
14.12  and they were burned...  The heathens took gods as trophies.  Worshipers of the true God would not tollerate the foolishness of other gods.
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1 Chronicles 15
15.3-10  a lot of records about the choir.
15.2  for the Lord had chosen them...  What has God chosen me to do?
15.26  and because the Lord helped them...  to move a box.  They didn't really need much help for that, but to move the ark of God, that required a certians spiritual touch that they did not have without God.

101016 1 Chron 10-12

1 Chronicles 10
10.13  he broke faith with the Lord...  It is thought provoking and instructive to think about the twin descriptions of breaking faith (or unfaithfulness) and disobedience.
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1 Chronicles 11
11.11 Jashobeam...killed three hundred...
11.12  Eleazar...took his sand...
Chronicles seems to be missing Shammah
11.20 Abishai...chief of the thirty...
11.22  Benaiah...
11.26  The mighty men were...  Of special interest in this list is Elnaam, who had three sons in the group of David's mighty men, and Hotham, who had two.  These must have been remarkable fathers and families.
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1 Chronicles 12
12.1  the men who came to David at Ziklag...
12.8  Gadites...
12.16  the men of Benjamin and Judah...
12.19  Men of Manasseh...
12.23  the numbers of divisions...
12.38  the rest of Israel...

101013 1 Chron 1-9

1 Chronicles 1
1.5  What about the sons of Madai, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras?
1.8  What about the sons of Put?
1.10  Nimrod.  He was thefirst on earth to be a mighty man.   A very enigmatic statement.
1.38 Seir...  So why? how? did he pop into the geneology?
1.43  kings who reigned in Edom...  So, up pops Edom.  I'm just wondering "Why here?"
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1 Chronicles 2
2.24  the wife of Hezron his father...  Lots of questions about this one.
2.30 Seled died childless...
2.32  Jether died childless...
2.41  Elishama...  So, who is this guy?  and why stop with him?
2.50  Ephrathah (esv) doesn't show up in the WebBible Encyclopedia.  Alternate spelling or what? Sorting through these genealogies is mind boggling.
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1 Chronicles 3
3.1  sons of David...  his sons from various women
3.10 Solomon's sons and descendant 
3.17  Jeconiah, the captive...
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1 Chronicles 4
4.1 The sons of Judah...
4.10  Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying...  It is interesting to me that a whole book, etc. was written about this one verse.  Seems to overemphasize one verse.
4.24 The sons of Simeon...
4.39  they journeyed to...
4.41  in the days of Hezekiah...  an interesting benchmark.  It seems a little late for continued conquest of the Land.
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1 Chronicles 5
5.1  sons of Reuben...
5.1  his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph...  after his father's death, which would seem to indicate it was a family position, not something that you owned outright.
5.6  Beerah his son, who Teglath-pileser king of Assyria carried away into exile...
5.10  sounds a little like a land grab.  Wonder if it was part of their original "lot."
5.11  sons of Gad...
5.17  in the days of Jotham ... Jeroboam...
5.18  had valiant men who carried the sword...
5.21  livestock
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1 Chronicles 6
6.1  sons of Levi...
6.10  priest in the house that Solomon built...  An appropriate place to note in the genealogy of priests.
6.31  service of songs...  Interesting that the choir and orchestra were priests.
6.33  of the sons of the Kohathites...
6.39  and his brother Asaph, who stood on his right hand...
6.44  on the left hand were their brothers, the sons of Merari...  I assume nobody knows for sure if this notation had any musical significance.
6.54   These are their dwelling places...  probably an important thing to enumerate for people who didn't have a specific section that was alloted to them.
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1 Chronicles 7
7.1 sons of Issachar...
7.2 & 5  mighty warriors...
7.6  sons of Benjamin...  
7.11  mighty warriors...
7.13  sons of Naphtali...  Someone must not have turned in their report, cause their is nothing written about Naphtali.   :o)   I would like to think that there will be something worthy commenting about my life.   This makes me wonder why almost nothing is said about this tribe.
7.14  sons of Manasseh...
7.20  sons of Ephraim... 
7.29  these lived in...
7.30  sons of Asher...
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1 Chronicles 8
8.1  Benjamin fathered...
8. 8  Shaharaim fathered sons ... in Moab...  I am wondering why this was mentioned.  Also, is this the same guy as Shephuphan in verse two?
8.12  built Ono and Lod...  Seems somewhat random.
8.15  Beriah and Shema...houses...caused the inhabitants of Gath to flee.
8.40  mighty warriors, bowman...
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1 Chronicles 9
9.1 because of their breach of faith...  This seems to be an instructive way to think about obedience and our relationhip with God.
9.3  lived in Jerusalem...
9.10  of the priests...
9.14  of the Levites...
9.13  as guards... So even the tabernacle had a security detachment.
9.17  the gatekeepers...
9.

101012 Exodus 18

Exodus 18
18.4  God of my father...  "Father" singular.  Moses had quite a dad.  Ex 2.1 & Heb 11.23
18.3-4  Gershom to Eliezer show growth in Moses's understanding a attitude.  Sometimes it is easy to think of Bible heros coming out of the box perfect.
18.8  the Lord had done...the Lord delivered...  God centered view.  Both Pharoah and the Israelites had hardships.
18.11  Now I know...  Compare with Ex. 5.2.
18.14  Why do you alone...  Leadership (and the Christian walk) is a team sport.
18.17  you will shurely wear yourselves out.  
18.18  by yourself...   Leadership is a team sport.
18.20  stand before God before the people...   Prayer.
18.20  teach them...   2 Timothy 2.1
18.21  look for men who...   Delegation and teamwork.

a. Strong's H2428 - chayil strength, power, might, valour —Gesenius’s Lexicon

KJV, NASB, NKJV, ESV—able; NIV, NLT—capable
--------
b. Strong's H3373 - yare' fearing, reverent, afraid —Blue Letter Lexicon
fear
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c. Strong's H571 - 'emeth    firmness, faithfulness, truth —Blue Letter Lexicon
KJV, NASB, NKJV—of truth; ESV, NIV—trustworthy; NLT-honest
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d. Strong's H1215 - betsa`   profit, unjust gain, gain (profit) acquired by violence —Blue Letter Lexicon
KJV, NKJV—coveteousness; NASB, NIV—dishonest gain; ESV, NLT—bribe

101007 2 Kings 23-25

2 Kings 23
23.4  to Bethel...  The political situation must have been somewhat fluid.
23.22  for no such Passover...  
23.25  Before him there was no king like him...  This is why I named my son Josiah.
.
2 Kings 24
24.2  according to the word of the Lord...  Things always play out the way God says.
24.4  which the Lord would not pardon...  This type of statement is alway sobering.
24.13  which Solomon...  It is interesting to see the places where Solomon's name is invoked with the Temple.
24.18  Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he...  It is breath taking how young these men were when they became king, especially in tumultuous times as this.
.
2 Kings 25
I mark my Bible with colored pencils (gentiles in OT are brown) and I noticed that there is a lot of brown in chapter 25.
25.6  The brutality is breathtaking.

101010AM@COD The Most Quoted Verse - Lev. 19.17-18

I want to encourage you to be in a habit of reading through the Bible. 

Noticing that OT verses are used in the New Testament can help us as we read through the OT.

INTRODUCTION

1. What OT books are most quoted or alluded to in the NT?

According to the BlueLetterBible:

Isaiah ————163

Psalms ———-146

Exodus ———114

Genesis ———-94

Deuteronomy —65

2. Exodus 20 (Deuteronomy 5) is the most commonly referred to chapter.

3. What verses are most often referred to?

3. Psalm 118.22, Isaiah 6.9 & Exodus 20,12 —–—— 6 times

2. Psalm 110.1 ———— 8 times

1. Leviticus 19.17-18 — 10 times  (1) &Matt 18.15; Luke 17.3

4. Right here in Leviticus 19 is verse the most quoted and alluded to in the N.T.  Turn to Leviticus 19 and look through the chapter to see if you can figure out which verse it is. 

5. PURPOSE STATEMENT:  Tonight we will ...

· look at the context of these verses

· look at the meaning of these verses

· review the NT allusions to these verses

· and hopefully make some applications along the way.

6. Background:

Leviticus:

· Explain the “story books” and “supplemental information” books

· Leviticus fits in with the Exodus part of the story of the OT

· Egypt, Red Sea, manna, water from the rock, Mount Sinai, 10 commands, Moses up the mountain, golden calf, second session on the Mountain (tabernacle & offerings instructions), dedication of the tabernacle, then God gives Moses Leviticus.

Chapter 19:

· 1-8 Get right with God — sacrifices

· 9-10 Stories about the priests

· 11-26 Stay right with God — rules for the nation’s separated, holy living

· Chapter 19 is about social regulations

  

A. I AM the Lord  and the immediate context

Notice the pattern of concluding each section with “I am the Lord.”  The expression “I am the Lord” has an interesting history.

Ex 5.2 Pharaoh tell Moses and Aaron, “Who is the Lord that I should obey Him?”

Ex. 6.7  God tells Moses how He will bring judgments and rescue Israel, Then you shall know that I am the Lord.”

Ex 7.5 “And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out my hand on Egypt.”

Ex 7.17 (plague of blood) by this you will know that I am the Lord

Ex 8.22 Moses tell pharaoh that God will not send the flies on Goshen, “in order that you may  know that I am the Lord in the midst of the land.”

Ex. 9.14 (hail) I will send all My plagues to your very heart, and on your servants and on your people, that you may know the there is none like Me in all the earth.

9.20 He who feared the Word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh made his servant and his livestock flee to the houses.

The expression “I am the Lord” was meant to say “I mean business. Don’t ignore me.”

The OT verse most referred to in the NT is in the section that include verses 17 & 18.

  

B. Explanation of verses 17 & 18

Leviticus 19

17 'You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him.      cross references / Matt 18.15;  Luke 17.3

Matthew 18:15 "Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.

Luke 17:3 “Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.”

· 2272 śānē˒) hate, to be hateful.     The verb śānē and its derivatives have the root meaning “to hate.” It expresses an emotional attitude toward persons and things which are opposed, detested, despised and with which one wishes to have no contact or relationship. It is therefore the opposite of love. Whereas love draws and unites, hate separates and keeps distant.  Harris, R. L., Harris, R. L., Archer, G. L., & Waltke, B. K. (1999, c1980). Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed.) (879). Chicago: Moody Press

· Hate is part of the old life. (Titus 3.2-3)

· “rebuke your neighbor” —- Resolve conflicts. Don’t let things fester.

· “not bear sin because of him.” —-

“I will allow no man to drag me down so low as to make me hate him. No race can hate another without itself being narrowed and hated. Character, not circumstances, makes the man.” ———-Booker T. Washington

Hate injures as much or more than the person we hate.

18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

a) Deut. 32.35 “Vengeance is Mine, and recompense; Their foot shall slip in due time; For the day of their calamity is at hand, And the things to come hasten upon them.' 36 "For the Lord will judge His people And have compassion on His servants,”

b) bear any grudge (naw-tar) : to keep, keep guard, reserve, maintain

· The picture is of a farmer who watches or guards his vineyard.

· It is also used in the sense of nurturing, keeping or cherishing one’s anger or wrath.

· “A grudge is the only thing that doesn’t get better when it is nursed.”

  

C. New Testament allusions and quotes

1. 

Matt 5.   Sermon on the mount

43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor  and hate your enemy.' 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors  do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. 

· Notice the opposites   love-hate; bless-curse; do good-hate; pray-spitefully use, persecute

· How to fight Satan comments

· “Neighbor” includes our enemies.

· § Love—If the sun shown on you today, God loves you.

· It is how we show we are our heavenly Father’s sons.

· Self interest versus true love. Love is given without thought to what you will get in return.

· Love is necessary to be “perfect” or complete  tevleioß .

2.  

Matt 19.     SUMMER—-29 MINISTRY IN AND AROUND PEREA       The Rich Young Ruler

16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?"

17 So He said to him, "... But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments."

18 He said to Him, "Which ones?"

Jesus said, "'You shall not murder,' 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 19 'Honor your father and your mother,'  and, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' " 

20 The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?"

21 Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." 22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 

· § “good thing shall I do”  O-Precious Blood of Only Son—Salvation is not what I do; It is what Christ did.

· In spite of his contention that he was following the commandments, there was something that he was holding on to.

· This prompts me to think, “What do I have that I am not willing to invest in heaven?”

· To be “perfect” or complete, we must be willing to let go of anything we have.

 3. 

Matt 22.37    LAST WEEK after Triumphant Entry       a lawyer testing Christ

35 Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 36 "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"

37 Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."

· This and “the first and great commandment” are the two guiding principles behind all the laws God gave. 

· If you think that learning the 10 Commandments is too difficult, start by learning and understanding these two.  All the law belongs under one of these two commands.

4.

Mark 12.  LAST WEEK after Triumphant Entry

28 Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, "Which is the first commandment of all?"

29 Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment.  31 And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."

32 So the scribe said to Him, "Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. 33 And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."

34 Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." But after that no one dared question Him.

· Loving one’s neighbor is more important than all the offerings and sacrifices.

· Love is not something we do to convince someone to become a Christian. It is just the core of who we are as Christians.

· Behold to love “is better than sacrifice” too.   1 Samuel 15.22

· Understanding the importance of love is an indication that one is “not far from the kingdom of God.”

 5. 

Luke 10.  FALL 29—LATTER JUDEAN MINISTRY   Parable of the Good Samaritan

25 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"

26 He said to him, "What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?"

27 So he answered and said, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.' "

28 And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live."

29 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

30 Then Jesus answered and said: "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.' 36 So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?"

37 And he said, "He who showed mercy on him."

Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise." 

· § “to justify himself” — Sin and need of a Justifier  (Someone to fix not just fake it, pretend.)

· Love involves mercy or compassion.  He showed ...

· Our neighbor is someone we see who needs us.

· Love is demonstrated by things we do to help others.

6. 

Romans 13.⁸ Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹ For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not bear false witness," "You shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."  ¹⁰ Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. 

· We have a debt or obligation to love.

· Loving is at mandatory as paying a debt.

· Being obligated to love is a good thing.

· Loving is the fulfillment of the law.

 7.

Galatians 5. 13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 15 But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! 16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

· Loving is a purpose of our liberty.

· If we don’t love we are in danger of “devouring ourselves.”

· Loving is a result of walking in the Spirit.  It is not a fleshly instinct.

 8. 

James 2.1 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. 2 For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, 3 and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, "You sit here in a good place," and say to the poor man, "You stand there," or, "Sit here at my footstool," 4 have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? 7 Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called? 

8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well; 9 but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. 

· Love is a demonstration of or a result of  our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

· Love does not show partiality.

· Treating someone well because of their status is not love.

· It is especially important to love the poor and undesirable. The harder it is to love someone, the more important it is to do so.

· Not loving makes us a “transgressor.”

  

CONCLUSION

Unsaved—

· Admit that you fall short.

· Avail yourself of God’s love for you and provision through Christ’s death and resurrection.

· John 1:12 “But as many as received...

Saved—

· Love is not a theoretical, abstract idea for discussion and dissection.

· It is not a command, it is the command.

· It has to be active, something you do, and intentional, it does not come natural.