There is an interesting record in the gospel of Matthew in the sixteenth chapter.  To read the verse we are interested in, I would like to start in Verse 13 to read it in its context.

Matthew 16:13-20 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.

A quick search of the scriptures for the words “key” or “keys” shows that neither word is not used again in relationship with Peter anywhere.

But there are two records in the life of Peter that are remarkably interesting considering what Jesus Christ said.

First, we must remember that a key is usually used in a lock as in a locked door.  If the door is locked, a key is required to gain access to the area behind the door. Without the proper key, you are prohibited from entering.

The first record occurs on the day of Pentecost when the gift of holy spirit was given. This was the first time being born from above, having the gift of God aka the new birth was available.

Act 2:1-4 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

While Jesus Christ was still here on the earth, he had instructed his Apostles on what to look for and instructed them how to receive the gift.  They followed his instructions exactly and then they spoke in tongues – the proof of the indwelling of the gift of holy spirit, the new birth, and it witnessed that they were born from above.

Now the people that were present had no idea what was going on.  This was Pentecost, a great feast of the Jews.  By the Old Testament law, they were required to attend, so they came to Jerusalem from all over the known world.  They wanted to know what was going on here in the temple.
Peter stood up and began to explain what they had just seen or witnessed.

Act 2:14-21  But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Peter proceeds to explain to them who Jesus Christ was.  He told them that they, the people of Israel, had taken Jesus Christ and had him put to death. But on the 3rd day, God had raised him from the dead.  And Peter explained that these men that had spoken in tongues were witnesses of his resurrection.

Then Peter told those attending and asking, that Jesus had received the gift of holy spirit from his Father, and that Jesus had given out that gift to the men they had heard.

Act 2:37-39 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

These people needed a key to unlock the kingdom of heaven, and Peter just happened to have a couple!

The key was to know and believe that God raised Jesus from the dead and to make Jesus lord in your life as it says in Romans.

Romans 10:9, 10 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

This is what they were to do. This is the key.  Without the key, the door stays locked.  With the key, you can enter and have eternal life!

One key down and one to go.

The second time Peter used his keys to the kingdom of heaven occurs in the 10th chapter of Acts.

Up until this time, the only people that had been able, or that knew how to enter the kingdom were Jews.  Remember, on the day of Pentecost, Peter had said, “as many as the lord our God shall call?”  Well, now, God was calling the gentiles.

Act 10:1-7 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway. He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius. And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter: He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do. And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually;

Now the next day Peter was up on the housetop praying (They had flat roofs, or he might have fallen off!) while lunch was being prepared.  He had a vison of which he later understood meant he was not to call the gentiles unclean.  About that time, the men from Caesarea showed up and asked for Peter.

Act 10:19,20 While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee. Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them.

Somewhere in the process of traveling and speaking, Peter realized that God was no respecter of persons.  He began to teach these gentiles the information they needed in order to receive the gift of holy spirit like the people of Jerusalem had done on the day of Pentecost.

Act 10:44-46a While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God….

Peter had just used his second key and had unlocked the door to the new birth, the kingdom of heaven, for the gentiles.  I am thankful for that as I am a gentile!

So, of the keys that Jesus gave him, one was used to unlock the kingdom of heaven for the Jews and the other key was used to unlock the kingdom of heaven for the gentiles.  Wonderful!  What a faithful man!

God did not give all His keys to Peter.  He reserved some to be used at later dates.

Revelation 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

Revelation 3:7 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;

Revelation 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.

It will be interesting to watch these keys being used, and we should have box seats for the event as we are seated in Christ at God’s own right hand.

Until then, “Come quickly, lord Jesus!”

When I was in my first year of college, a young man attempted to witness to me about the Bible by saying that Romans 13:1, 2 and following said that God put all government leaders in power, and we were to obey them. I will tell you what I said to him at the end of this blog.

I did not know the truth about Romans 13 and obedience to the government for many years, but I never forgot what he said.  His comments stayed on a hook in my mind until I found a good answer/response to his statements.

Romans 1-11 sets out the reason mankind needed a redeemer. “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God,” “there are none righteous, no not one.”  It also sets the criteria for salvation for both the Judean and the Gentile — believing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It also shows that the accomplishments of Jesus Christ made available spirit life, which Adam lost, to all those that believe the Gospel concerning Jesus Christ.

It speaks about our walk in newness of life for those that have been justified by believing the accomplishments of Jesus Christ. 

It speaks about walking according to the new nature and not the old nature of sin.

It speaks about the believer no longer being under condemnation/judgment and being inseparable from God any longer.

It speaks about the realities of the accomplishments of Jesus Christ being made available to both the Judean and the Gentile by believing.

Then in Romans 12 especially Vs. 9 and following, it speaks about the believers’ walk in love toward those that have been born again or born from above.  In *A Journey through the Acts and Epistles on page 245, one of the footnotes reads: “Here in Romans 12 it is considered in its practical aspects with regard to the renewing of the mind and the relationships with others in the body of Christ.” (emphasis added)

One of the relationships we have in the body of Christ is our relationship with the higher powers God has placed in the church.

Romans 13:1-2 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. KJV

The Living Bible translates Romans 13:1-7 this way!

Romans 13:1-7 Obey the government, for God is the one who has put it there. There is no government anywhere that God has not placed in power. So those who refuse to obey the laws of the land are refusing to obey God, and punishment will follow. For the policeman does not frighten people who are doing right; but those doing evil will always fear him. So, if you don’t want to be afraid, keep the laws and you will get along well. The policeman is sent by God to help you. But if you are doing something wrong, of course you should be afraid, for he will have you punished. He is sent by God for that very purpose. Obey the laws, then, for two reasons: first, to keep from being punished, and second, just because you know you should. Pay your taxes too, for these same two reasons. For government workers need to be paid so that they can keep on doing God’s work, serving you.  Pay everyone whatever he ought to have: pay your taxes and import duties gladly, obey those over you, and give honor and respect to all those to whom it is due.

Although many have said and translated the “higher powers” here to be the government, the context does not support that understanding. It is obvious from reading history that God did not put at least some of the more modern leaders into power for us to obey. God did not put Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, or Pol Pot in their positions where they set out and killed many of God’s people. Even with a small amount of logic, that should be evident.

God uses the illustration in Romans 13 of the respect, honor, and monies paid to the government to teach us we are to give that same honor and respect to the higher powers in the church, the body of Christ. So much so, we owe no man anything.

The section of scripture that does deal with obedience to the government is in 1 Peter.

Although these records in 1 Peter are not addressed to the whole church, they are addressed to all Israel that are born again and were part of the diaspora, the scattered of Israel.  They were to be a royal priesthood to serve those not born from above, the Gentiles.  It talks about their conduct as they lived and served as strangers and foreigners here on the earth. (This world is not our home!)

From *A Journey through the Acts and Epistles:

 1 Peter 2:11-15 Beloved, I exhort you as visiting foreigners and sojourners to abstain from fleshly cravings, anything that wars against the soul, keeping your good manner of life among the Gentiles, so that by it those who speak against you as evildoers may glorify God in the day of visitation as they behold your good works.  Be subject to every created human being for the Lord’s sake: whether to a king as the one in authority or to governors as those sent by him [the king] for punishment of evildoers and for praise of those who do good. So is the will of God that by doing good you may muzzle the ignorance of foolish people.

God by way of Peter speaks here also of the born-again Israelites’ relationship with wives and Gentile husbands, and men that have Gentile masters or employers. 

Even though this is not written to the body of Christ at large, there is much to be learned from what God instructs the diaspora, the displaced and born-again Israelites, on conduct while we in the church sojourn here until Christ returns.

In 1 Peter 2, it also says if you are going to sin (get in trouble with those in authority over you), it is no glory to you or your Father even if you patiently endure the consequences.  But if you get in trouble for righteousness sake, that is grace before God.

1 Peter 2:21 – 23 Moreover, for this purpose you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving an example to you so that you might follow his tracks, “who did not sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth.” When he was insulted, he did not retaliate with an insult.  When he suffered, he did not threaten in return, but he delivered himself to Him Who judges justly. WTJ

Having looked at all of this, it is important to remember that our lives are not our own.  Having God’s spirit within, we are to walk with Him as to right conduct in different situations.

We have the written Word here to guide us, and we have His gift of holy spirit. It takes both a knowledge of His Word and the spirit of God to walk in the love of God.

Some have talked about our “rights” lately — our rights under the Constitution or our rights according to the founding fathers of our country.

Romans 14 talks some about “rights.” — the right to eat meat offered to idols, to not celebrate one day above another, etc.  Yet, it teaches that I may cause others to sin if I exercise those rights. Our walk with God is one of love, not one of claiming all of what we perceive to be our rights.

Some have spoken recently about “civil disobedience” and then have found what they said were great believers in the Bible exercising civil disobedience.  In most if not all of these records, these people were doing what God instructed them to do in that specific situation. 

In the book of Acts, Peter was in prison and the angel of the Lord came and set them free. The angel then told them to, “Go, stand and speak in the temple all the words of this life.” This is what God told them to do even though they had been commanded by the ruling authorities to not speak in the name of Jesus anymore.  Peter’s response, when questioned about his disobedience, was, “We ought to obey God rather than men.” This is what God told Peter and the others to do.  This was not civil disobedience; it was obedience to God.

When the midwives saved the male children alive as opposed to killing them in the time of Moses, as was the King’s commandment, they were obeying what God told them to do.  This is not civil disobedience.

We do not live this life for ourselves but as sons and daughters of God and as those that serve him.  We are to honor the higher powers in the church and obey those in authority over us whether they be kings or employers.

But we also have the spirit of God born in us. We are to walk in love and obey our Father whether it is what is in the written Word or what He tells us by way of His spirit so that we may bring glory to Him. 

Oh yes, the young man that witnessed to me about Romans 13…  I asked him,

“Are you saying God put Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin in power, and that as Christians we are to obey them?”

He said, “Yes that is what the Bible says.”

I said, “I don’t know what the truth is, but you are an idiot.”

Then I walked away. I thank God that He put me in a place where I could eventually learn truth.

*Footnote: A Journey Through the Acts and Epistles A Working Translation By Walter J. Cummins
    Available at www.ContinuingintheScriptures.com

The Parable of the Dishonest Manager

Luke 16:1-7 And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. So he called every one of his lord’s debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore.

In this culture, the steward had a perfect right to do this.  But was he prospering his master?  Was he taking care of his master’s business OR providing a place for himself at his master’s expense?  At the end of the year was his master ahead in his accounts OR at a loss?

We will see in a minute that the Pharisees that loved money were listening to this parable, too, and they got upset most likely because they knew Jesus was really talking about them.  They had the charge of the temple money and were making themselves rich rather than taking care of God’s business.  They did have the right to do so, but we will see in a bit what God had to say about that.

Luke 16:8 And the lord commended the unjust steward (note here that God, the author of the scriptures called the steward UNJUST), because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.

The lord here is the steward’s master not the Lord Jesus Christ. In their culture, this was considered just and wise.

Luke 16:9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness (money); that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.

EW Bullinger in his Companion Bible says this should read as a question.  Jesus: “Is this what I taught you to do, make friends with the things of this world?”

Luke 16:10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.

This steward here had not been faithful or just to his master in managing his master’s accounts for a profit.  He had actually cost him money to the sole benefit of the steward himself.

Luke 16:11-15 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him. And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.

God’s assessment of the situation with the unjust steward and the Pharisees was that they were not faithful nor just. That even though men thought this was great, even though it was part of and acceptable in the culture, God said what they had done was an abomination.

This is a great example of not being faithful. The steward had cost his master a loss.  It was easy to see; they just sat down and looked at the numbers.

Faithful is in part the Greek word “pistis” translated into English many times as “believe.”  So, in part faithful means to believe the instructions that are given BUT also to DO what you have been told.  If you believe and do as instructed, that is the essence of the word trustworthy, another definition of faithful.

An example would be Moses.

Numbers 12:7 My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.

Now in order to see how Moses was faithful and learn from that, we would have to read a lot about Moses.  For a short blog that is not practical. So, let’s go the Luke.

In this next record, you can see how the nobleman came to “trust’ two faithful men.

Luke 19:11 And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear.

Note:  In looking at these parables, we are not trying to ascertain the meaning of the parable.  We are just looking at the use of the word “faithful” within them.

Luke 19:12-17 He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy (carry on business) till I come. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.

In this parable, Jesus uses money to teach about being faithful.  Money is a very quick way of teaching what faithful is compared to using prayer or forgiveness, etc.  With money you can just count and see the answer/results with little explanation.

With this faithful man, he increased his master’s money by 1000 %.  Quite the opposite of the first parable where he cost him money.

Luke 19:18-19 And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities.

Remember what we read in the previous parable: “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much.”

It is easy to see the faithfulness of these two men because we can count — 1000% and 500%.  It takes quite a few attributes to be a faithful person in this situation. Things like:

Integrity — they gave the money back;
Diligence — they got the job done;
Trading — they had to know their business;
Saving — they did not spend all they made;
Appearance — they had to know how to dress and present themselves in their field of business;
Knowledge — what they did not know about their business, they had to go learn;
Accounts — they had to have kept strict accounts;
Confidence — they had to have confidence in their ability;
Focus — they had to focus on the task at hand and not get distracted.

There may be other attributes, but this is enough for the point.

The master knew that as they had applied the principles necessary to gain the profit they did, that these men would also apply the same principles if given a much larger responsibility. Faithful in little, faithful in much.

It reminds one of what the Apostle Paul wrote — God counted him faithful putting him into the ministry.  Paul was out capturing Christians, throwing them into prison and having some killed.  God knew that Paul would apply the same diligence, commitment and other attributes in service to God as he had in the past when he was on the wrong side of the fence.  God counted him a faithful man.

Next, we have a small example of not faithful:

Luke 19:20-26  And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, (table, money changers) that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury (interest)? And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.) For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him.

This last verse is fascinating.  To those that have, more shall be given.  And from him that hath not, even that which we hath shall be taken away.  This is written here in the context of money.  It is a principle of life.  In our vernacular, we might say, “Use it or lose it.”

We could also see that as Christians begin to apply these principles, they acquire more and more.  But those that do not apply them continue to have lack.

This expression also occurs in:

Mark 4:25 For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not,

Here the principle is used of knowledge and understanding.  If you have gained some knowledge and understanding — think about it, incorporate it into your life, God will give you even more.  If the knowledge and understanding go in one ear and out the other, you will lose what you do have.

As you apply those things in the area of money, you are much more likely to apply them in other fields as well. So Remember:

Luke 16:10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.

So, as a Principle of Prosperity, Faithful may include:

Giving,
Saving,
Staying out of debt,
Diligence in business and personal finances,
Trusting God,
And other things.

Everything really belongs to God anyway and as in the parables, we are stewards of that which God has entrusted to us.  As we learn to incorporate these principles of faithful stewardship into our lives, we will show ourselves to be faithful/just stewards.. Then He will be able to trust us with even more.

May God bless you, and thanks for reading.

Roger B.

The Gospel of John recounts the record of Jesus and The Woman at the Well.

John 4:5-20 Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

People have speculated much about what the references of husbands in this record are referring to. Some have said she was a prostitute (whore), some have said the Samaritan culture allowed dating as opposed to the Jewish culture, and some have said she had been married several times.

Interestingly, none of those subjects are dealt with, but the woman immediately brings up the subject of where is the proper place to worship your chosen God!

Sometimes the best place to look to understand the scriptures is to look AT the scriptures.

Isaiah 54:5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.

People generally worship their gods. That is why she so quickly turned the conversation to where to worship. She must have been very familiar with the expression that whatever god you worship is your husband. That you are married to the god you worship. So, the question then is where to worship!

If you need more on this subject here are some other places where God says He is the husband to Israel or the Jews.

Jeremiah 3:14 Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: ….

Jeremiah 31:32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:

Hosea 2:19-20 And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD

Whenever a person who is married has sexual relations with another, it is called adultery. In this instance, the adultery would be to worship any god other than the one you are married to.

Jeremiah 3:8 And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.

John 4:19-20 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

This mountain is where her fathers had gone to worship their idols, their gods, their husbands so to speak.

John 4:21-22 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.

Jesus said her forefathers did not even know what they were doing or what they were worshiping. For there is only one God.

John 4:23-24 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Jesus is explaining to her what was to come to pass shortly on the Day of Pentecost. Believers would be worshiping by way of the new birth spirit – speaking in tongues.

John 4:25-29 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he. And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her? The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?

This was not a woman of ill repute as some have suggested. Her husbands were the gods she had been worshiping.

Jesus did not need to convince the woman to believe what he had said, nor did he have to argue with her. When she heard the words of God spoken by Jesus Christ – she believed.

Many times, rather than guessing what the scriptures are saying it is best to search the scriptures for yourself and expect God to give you understanding in all things.

This is an audio file about The Fool, The Wicked and The Wise or The Puppets and their Puppet Masters

Well worth the time to understand.  Let me know what you think!

Sharon and I went shopping for food on Thursday, and it was interesting. Everywhere we went people were wearing masks. We live in a time now where some people won’t leave their homes and where police arrested a father and daughter playing catch in a park. The world seems to be filled with fear and oppression everywhere you look.

In light of current goings on, God’s Word has some interesting things to say. Our adversary, the devil, has a temporary lease on the earth and is currently the god of this world. The devil has his people in many positions of power all over the earth.

We as God’s children live in this world, but we are no longer of this world. God is our Father and our citizenship is in the kingdom of God. As our Father, God has given us great understanding through His Word and has made many promises available to us.

One of the most revealing sections of scripture about current events is in Ephesians 6:10 and following:

Ephesians 6:10-13 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

We are in a spiritual battle of which the ultimate goal is to stop the movement of God’s Word and to afflict God’s children. The way we fight in this battle is to pray for each other and for the leadership of the church.

Ephesians 6:18-20 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; And for me (Paul), that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Many ministers are being told not to hold services in their churches on Sunday under penalty of arrest. WOW! So, we pray. Even when Judah was carried away into captivity into Babylon, God told them to pray for the city, even though it was ruled by pagans.

Jeremiah 29:7 And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.

Good advice for us today. Pray for our cities, our country and our leadership.

1 Timothy 2:1-2 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

Could you pray for people not born again that run your cities and states? God says to. Note that there are many different types of prayers in the Bible.
But as we live here and are at times put under much pressure, God has much to say about His protection that He offers His children. The following is like an expansion of the 23rd Psalm where it says, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou art with me.”

Isaiah 41:10-13 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish. Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought. For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.

In the context we are talking of here;

They that are incensed against you shall be as nothing.
They that strive with you shall perish.
They that contend with you shall be as nothing.

These are they that are of this world.

We live in this world, but we are not of this world.

John 17:11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

John 17:15-16 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

Our Father, knowing the pressure and persecutions we are subjected to while we are in the world, tells us where to put our thoughts, our trust and our hope.
Therefore, I have asked my fellowship to read the 91st Psalm every day through these times as it offers some great reminders of our Father’s love for us, how He fights for us and the protections He offers us.

Psalm 91:1-16 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

Dake’s Annotated Bible makes some interesting observations about parts of this Psalm.

For the person that dwells in the secret place of the most High, God shows His great ability to protect.

He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler (traps set for the righteous by the wicked).
He shall deliver you from the noisome pestilence (a rushing calamity that sweeps everything before it).
Cover you with his feathers (used here figuratively to indicate God’s protection and care).
There is protection under His wings.
His truth will be your shield and buckler.

God also gives us illustrations of what we do not need to fear:

Not afraid of night terrors (treasons, robbery, murders, disease)
Not afraid of day arrows (figuratively, dangers that come by day)
Not afraid of pestilence that come in the dark (plague)
Not afraid of noonday destructions

Then God says that a thousand shall fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you. This reminds one of the night the destroyer flew over the land of the Egyptians known as Passover, none of Israel’s firstborn died.

God also says you will see the reward of the wicked. I don’t know when that will be, but for sure we will be there when the books are opened at the Great White Throne. After the Great White Throne, you will seek for them and will not find them. Perished forever.

God promises to be with us in trouble, to answer us when we call upon Him for help and to deliver us.

God’s Word is filled with records of His great ability to deliver even in the worst of times. What He asks us to do is to pray — pray for each other, pray for our leadership in the church, pray for all men and pray for our city, state and country leaders. God asks us to put our trust in Him and set our love upon Him.

Stand with your loins girt about with truth. Put on the whole armor of God. Then having done all STAND.

Did the people of the Old Testament, outside of the priests, have access to the written Word, the Scriptures?

If not, why was it written?
Why was the Word of God then written if most could never read it?
How were the Israelites to learn what God had said if they could not read it?
Why does the written Word seem to carry so much authority that the phrase, “It is written,” is used 80 times in the Bible and 63 times in the New Testament?

We will start our search for these answers by looking at:

2 Peter 1:21: For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

These holy men of God, prophets, communicated God’s will to people primarily by speaking what God told them.

So then in the Old Testament what people had of the scriptures was the spoken Word. They had to remember what they heard. Some eastern cultures put great emphasis on memorization for this reason. This way they could teach their children God’s Word, and they taught them to put it to memory.

At times God told these prophets to write down what he had told them.

Exodus 31:18:  And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

This may be where the expression “written in stone or it is not written in stone” comes from.

Exodus 24:3, 4:  And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do.

And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, ……

Deuteronomy 17:14-20: When thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me; And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: that his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.

Deuteronomy 31:9-13:  And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and unto all the elders of Israel. And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles, When all Israel is come to appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing.Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law: And that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.

Deuteronomy 31:24-26:  And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished, That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying,Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee.

Moses wrote the Words of God down, and if they had a king, the king was to make a copy for himself. There were only two copies of the written Word as far as we have read. Notice there is no allowance made for additional copies. There were not copies handed out to the people. You could not go the local Bible book store and buy it. The people only had the spoken Word.

1Samel 10:25:  Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.

1Kings 15:31:  Now the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

2Chronicles 32:32 : Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his goodness, behold, they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, and in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.

Nehemiah 13:1:  On that day they read in the book of Moses in the audience of the people; and therein was found written, that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God forever;

As we have read several times, the people only heard the Word when it was read to them. They had no copies of their own. In fact, from what we have seen there was a copy in the Temple, and if the King did what God commanded him to do, he also had a copy. That was it. Other scrolls or books that the prophets wrote down were taken to the temple and laid up before the Lord.

Even as late as Judah being carried away in the Babylonian captivity, there was only one copy as recorded in:

2Kings 23:24:  Moreover the workers with familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the images, and the idols, and all the abominations that were spied in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD.

When Judah was carried away to Babylon and Jerusalem was burnt to the ground along with the Temple and the Palaces, some believe the scrolls were taken with some of the righteous men that were carried away to Babylon.

It was during that time that eventually the Hebrew Old Testament was translated into Greek. That Greek translation is called the Septuagint. While the Hebrew, according to scholars, had many rules about who could copy it and how, the Greek translation had none of those rules.

Thus, if you were a wealthy family you could hire a slave to copy all of the Old Testament so your family could have a copy. This is most likely how the synagogues had scrolls in them to read from. Remember, just before the captivity they found THE book of the law. Now when Jesus comes on the scene there are copies in the synagogues.

Bullinger notes in his Companion Bible whether Jesus quotes from the Hebrew or the Septuagint.

Remember, Jesus was of the House of Judah and would not have had access to the scrolls that the priest and Levites had in the temple. Being the son of God, he needed to know the scriptures. God took care of that problem. His family must have had the funds to have the Old Testament copied out.

There is no doubt that the Old Testament was addressed TO the people of that time. It was addressed mostly to Israel, but other sections were addressed to the nations around them. But it was all spoken to them.

Jonah 3:2-4:  Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days’ journey. And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.

Once again, the Ninevites had the spoken word.

So why did God have all this Old Testament written down?

To answer that, let’s look at Genesis. God had made Adam three parts: body, soul and the most important part was spirit.

Genesis 3:9-15:  And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

God is standing there with Adam and Eve, who had the dominion of the creation, on one side and the devil on the other side. At this point, because of the sin of Adam, the dominion of the creation is overthrown from Adam to the devil. As we will read in a minute in Ephesians 1:4, the word, “foundation” is sometimes translated “overthrow” or “reordered.” The devil then became the god of this world, and the world was overthrown or reordered. On that day of Genesis 3:15, God lost his son, Adam, because of Adam’s sin. So God promised to send a redeemer to pay for Adam’s sin.

God knew that once Jesus Christ had paid in all that was required to redeem mankind that He would have sons and daughters once again born of His spirit that He could talk with like He did with Adam.

But before God reordered the world and gave the dominion to the devil, He called out the church of today. This is what this verse in Ephesians is referring to.

Ephesians 1:4:  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation (the overthrow/reordering) of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

In the Old Testament times, the people were body and soul, sons by adoption, servants of God. God did some mighty and great things for them, but they were not His children born of His spirit

God knew from this point of Genesis 3:15 that He would have children once again. God wanted His children to know what all He had done to redeem and acquire His family. He wanted us to know what He liked and disliked, how He had delivered his people and saved them in the past. He wanted his children to have a history of what all transpired to bring their redemption to pass.

So the prophets spoke, rehearsed in the ears of the people, what God told the prophets to say. But at times, God told those prophets: Write that down. My children are coming, and I want them to know.

But then who was it written for? Not the people of that time, it was laid up before the Lord in the temple.

Before we answer the question of who the Old Testament and the gospels were written for, I want to cover the following point.

Why is it that things that are written are so full of authority, or why do we ascribe more authority to written words than we do to spoken words?

Why does the phrase “It is written” show up 63 times in the New Testament alone? I found an article written by Randall D. Kittle titled “The Enduring Power of the Written Word.”

He states that written words do have more power, are more permanent, more easily reproduced, and pervasive than spoken words.

The written words can penetrate more into people’s lives. In other words, people that may not listen, may pick up an article and read, thereby letting the words enter their minds. And these written words may move around the world because they are easily copied and transmitted and end up in places the speaker could never reach.

Words communicated by mouth can easily change when repeated from one person to another, as can be seen by children’s party games. Written words are easily reproduced and that, accurately, via magazines, newsletters, books etc.

Written words are more permanent. Spoken words disappear into thin air as soon as they leave the speaker’s mouth. Gone. Clay tablets have been unearthed in Ur of the Chaldees. Thousands of years old. Ancient works by great authors are still around. You may have read some of the words of ancient authors as well as more recent ones like the biographies of Bullinger, the works of Dickens, etc.

Finally, written words have more perceived authority. All of us have misspoken at times. We have used the wrong word. Sometimes we must back up and cover for what we did not really mean to say. But written words are completely different. We have all heard the phrase, “I read it in a book.” Or we have quoted some famous author. That is because our minds assume that words that are written are premeditated. We assume that the writer has researched the subject, has tried out the information, has chosen his words carefully, and once it is published, the piece is exactly what he meant to say. Therefore, written words carry more weight and have more authority than spoken words.

God had all the Old Testament and gospels written for our sake, His children that He had waited so long for. God wanted His words to endure over time. Having His Word written down gave it great authority to the end that the New Testament writers could say, “It is written,” all the way through the gospels and the first three books of the church epistles.

God explains that He had this all written for our sake, His children, upon whom the ends of the world are come, That we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

Romans 4:23, 24:  Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

Written for OUR sake also.

Romans 15:4:  For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

Written for OUR learning, that God’s children of the age of grace might have hope through patience and comfort of the scriptures.

1Corinthians 9:9, 10:  For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope.

Written for OUR sake. Could it be any clearer? It was addressed to Israel, but it was written for OUR sake!

If God expected us to realize these truths for our administration from reading about an ox what else is hidden in the pages of the Old Testament that God put there FOR US? If we don’t read and study the Old Testament, we will never know.

1Corinthians 10:11:  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

Written for OUR admonition (our instruction) upon whom the ends of the world are come.

For years I have heard people say, “Well, our group just studies the church epistles, the part that is written to us. We mainly work the book of Ephesians, the mystery, that was written to us.” Really? That is kind of an insult to our Father that went to all the work to have the entire Old Testament and gospels WRITTEN FOR YOU!

So read and enjoy the Old Testament. Read about Abraham. Read the law. Read of the rebellion of Israel in the wilderness. Read about how God worked with the kings of Israel and Judah. Read about David’s life. Read the wisdom of Solomon. As you read, the Church Epistles will come alive with new understanding.

God had the Old Testament written for YOU, His child.