Scripture Studies - Vol. VI; No. 6 - August 1999 ================================================ In this issue: Old Testament Study - Haggai 1:1-15 A Classic Study - Navigation Spiritualized, pt. 16, by John Flavel New Testament Study - Matthew 7:12 A Study for Young Christians - God as All A Study of Wisdom - Ecclesiastes 4:1-8 Bibliography - Suggested Reading Postscript - Life as a Journey Footnotes ---------------------------------------------------- "Scripture Studies" is edited by Scott Sperling and published ten times a year by Scripture Studies, Inc., a non-profit organization. It is distributed all over the world by postal mail and via the internet free of charge. If you would like to financially support the publication and distribution of "Scripture Studies", send contributions to: Scripture Studies Inc. 20 Pastora Foothill Ranch, CA 92610 USA Contributions are tax deductible in the United States. 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May God bless you as you study His Word. ====================================================================== Old Testament Study - Haggai 1:1-15 =================================== God's Call to Rebuild His House ------------------------------- 1 In the second year of King Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest: 2 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "These people say, `The time has not yet come for the LORD'S house to be built.'" 3 Then the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: 4 "Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your panelled houses, while this house remains a ruin?" 5 Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways. 6 You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it." 7 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways. 8 Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored," says the LORD. 9 "You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?" declares the LORD Almighty. "Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house. 10 Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. 11 I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the oil and whatever the ground produces, on men and cattle, and on the labor of your hands." 12 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the LORD their God and the message of the prophet Haggai, because the LORD their God had sent him. And the people feared the LORD. 13 Then Haggai, the LORD'S messenger, gave this message of the LORD to the people: "I am with you," declares the LORD. 14 So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began work on the house of the LORD Almighty, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of King Darius. --------------- As mentioned in the previous issue, in 538 B.C., with the approval of Cyrus king of Persia, Zerubbabel led some 50,000 people from exile in Babylon back to the promised land in order to rebuild the Temple of God in Jerusalem. When they arrived, initially they enthusiastically began work on the Temple. However, as a result of some opposition they faced from the Samaritans who were living in the promised land at the time, construction on the Temple languished, and then came to a halt in 530 B.C. (see Ezra 4:24). Ten years later, in order to exhort the people to resume work on the Temple, God spoke to the people through the prophet Haggai: "In the second year of King Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest" (vs. 1). As far as we know, this is the first voice of prophecy from God to the people after they returned from the exile. And it was much needful. The people of God were strangers in their own land. They did not have the leadership of a king, the support of a kingdom, the protection of a king's army. The Temple was destroyed, so they had to worship the Lord at a makeshift altar. A subtle indication of how far the people of God had fallen from glory can be seen in the first verse of Haggai's book, in that the year was marked in terms of the reign of a pagan king: "In the second year of King Darius..." The people had no recent key events of their own by which to mark time. The time of year of this first message through Haggai was "the first day of the sixth month." Being the first day of the month, it was a new moon day, and therefore a feast day, on which a sacrifice was offered to the Lord (see Num. 28:11). Thus, the word from the Lord concerning the construction of the Temple came on an appropriate day, a day when the people would be acutely aware of the absence of the Temple. Note that the word of the Lord was addressed specifically to Zerubbabel (the governor who was appointed by Cyrus, see Ezra 5:14) and Joshua (the high priest). And so, both the civil and religious leaders of the community were directly spoken to by the Lord. It was the responsibility of these leaders to heed the word of the Lord, and encourage the rest of the people of God into service of God. The Lord, through Haggai, first noted what the people were saying concerning the rebuilding of the Temple: "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'These people say, "The time has not yet come for the LORD'S house to be built."'" It had been ten years since the people had actively worked on the Temple. Yet, the people were still saying, "The time has not yet come for the Lord's house to be built." There was some serious procrastination going on here! And yet, the people were probably rationalizing their procrastination by saying things like, "Well, I just don't feel that the Lord desires that I work on the Temple right now. After all, I'm busy with my work, my kids are young and they need my time,... and besides, there's opposition to the building of the Temple. Doesn't that mean that now is not the right time to serve the Lord?" The Lord responded by asking the people a telling, and convicting question: "Then the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: 'Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your panelled houses, while this house remains a ruin?'" (vss. 2-4). The Lord pointed out to the people that they had the time, resources and ability to build themselves fine, "panelled", houses. They were able to overcome any obstacles they faced in building their own houses, but were unwilling, at that time, to commit themselves to do what it would take to finish the Lord's house. With His question, the Lord revealed that the people's problem was that they had inverted priorities. The Lord's work took the back seat. It seems that they only served Him when they had nothing else to do, and then only when the way was smoothed for them. And things haven't changed much, have they? Don't we have the same problems? It seems that there is never time to serve the Lord. And when we do find the time, it seems that nothing goes smoothly, so what's the use? And yet, we find time to chase after pleasures. We go to great pains to prepare for and take that ski trip. We find time to watch three or four hours of television a night, but there is no time to serve the Lord. So we see, the Lord is speaking through Haggai to us, as well as to Zerubbabel and Joshua. We too have our panelled houses next to a Temple in ruins. We need to heed the words of Jesus: "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matt. 6:33). I have found that if I seek to serve the Lord first, He returns to me great happiness and fulfillment, glorious God-given panelled houses, as it were. As for the people in Israel, they had panelled houses, but they were unsatisfied, unfulfilled: "Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it'" (vss. 5-6). The key message in this book is: "Give careful thought to your ways." They worked hard. They had plenty of food and drink. They were making good wages. But they remained unfulfilled. The material possessions, their "panelled" houses, did not satisfy them. They "never had enough." My, my, this sounds familiar. Things have not changed much in these last 2000 years, have they? God had a solution for them: "This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'Give careful thought to your ways. Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,' says the Lord" (vss. 7-8). To be fulfilled in life, do what the Lord of the Universe may "take pleasure" in, do that which brings "honor" to Him. This is the surest way to a rich, fulfilling life. It is noteworthy that God tells them to "go up into the mountains and bring down timber" for the Temple. They had already done this. In Ezra 3:7, we are told: "Then they gave money to the masons and carpenters, and gave food and drink and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre, so that they would bring cedar logs by sea from Lebanon to Joppa, as authorized by Cyrus king of Persia." So, we might ask: What happened to the "cedar logs" that they imported from Lebanon? Could it be that they were used for their "panelled" houses, instead of for God's Temple? God next revealed to them the source and cause of their frustration: "'You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?' declares the LORD Almighty. 'Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house. Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops'" (vss. 9-10). God Himself was working against their prosperity, against their fulfillment. "What you brought home, I blew away." God works against you when your work separates you from Him. We think we have more spare time when we neglect to serve God, but the opposite is true. We think that we will have more fulfillment in life if we pursue our careers to the neglect of God's work, but the opposite is true. To the great credit of the people of Israel, they responded to the word of the Lord: "Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the LORD their God and the message of the prophet Haggai, because the LORD their God had sent him. And the people feared the LORD" (vs. 12). Note here that the people in Israel are called the "remnant". This is the "remnant" that was prophesied about in the book of Isaiah: "A remnant will return, a remnant of Jacob will return to the Mighty God. Though your people, O Israel, be like the sand by the sea, only a remnant will return" (Isa. 10:21-22). They were chosen specifically by God to return to the land. But their special status, being the remnant of the people of God, required more than their just "being there" in the land. They were there to serve the Lord, rebuild His Temple, reinstitute the proper worship of God in the promised land. In the same way, each one of us, as a child of God, is invested with more responsibility than just "being here". It is not enough for us as a child of God to just attend a Bible-believing church. We are here to serve the Lord, rebuild His Temple, reinstitute and encourage the proper worship of God. God, in turn, responded to the obedience of the people: "Then Haggai, the LORD'S messenger, gave this message of the LORD to the people: 'I am with you,' declares the LORD. So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began work on the house of the LORD Almighty, their God, on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of King Darius" (vss. 13-15). God responded both in word and in deed. In word, He told them: "I am with you." This was a short, but, oh so precious message from the Lord of the Universe to His people. What more could one want, than for God to say, "I am with you"? In deed, God "stirred up the spirit" of the leaders and the remnant. With their spirits on fire, they began anew "work on the house of the Lord Almighty, their God." May we respond in like fashion to God's call to us to serve Him. Lord, stir up our spirits to serve You. ====================================================================== A Classic Study - Navigation Spiritualized, pt. 16, by John Flavel ================================================================== A Classic Study by John Flavel (1628-1691) ------------------------------------------ [Here, we continue our reprint of excerpts from John Flavel's book *Navigation Spiritualized*. John Flavel was a 17th Century minister in the seaside town of Dartmouth, England. A good many of his parishioners made their living on the sea, and so Mr. Flavel wrote *Navigation Spiritualized*, a book which draws parallels between things of the sea and spiritual things.]*--Ed.* Constancy in Important Matters ------------------------------ *Look: as the sea, by turns, doth ebb and flow, * *So their estates, that use it, come and go.* OBSERVATION. The sea hath its alternate course and motion, its ebbings and flowings; no sooner is it high water, but it begins to ebb again, and leave the shore naked and dry, which but a little before it covered and overflowed. And as its tide, so also its waves are the emblem of inconstancy, still rolling and tumbling, this way and that, never fixed and quiet. Instabilis unda: as fickle as a wave, is common, to a proverb. See James 1:6,11: "He that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind, and tossed." So Isa. 57:20: "It cannot rest." APPLICATION. Thus mutable and inconstant are all outward things, there is no depending on them: nothing of any substance, or any solid consistence in them: "The fashion of this world passeth away" (I Cor. 7:31). It is a high point of folly to depend upon such vanities: "Why wilt thou set" (or, as it is in the Hebrew "cause") "thine eyes to fly upon that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings, and fly away, as an eagle towards heaven." (Prov. 23:5). In flying to us (saith Augustine) they have, alas vix quidem passerinas, scarce a sparrow's wings; but in flying from us, wings as an eagle. And those wings they are said to make to themselves; i.e., the cause of its transitoriness is in itself; the creature is subjected to vanity by sin; they are sweet flowers, but withered presently: "As the flower of the grass, so shall the rich man fade away." (James 1:10). The man is like the stalk or grass, his riches are the flower of the grass; his glory and outward beauty, the stalk, is soon withered but the flower much sooner. This is either withered upon, or blown off from it, while the stalk abides. Many a man outlives his estate and honour, and stands in the world as a bare dry stalk in the field, whose flower, beauty, and bravery are gone: one puff of wind blows it away, one churlish easterly blast shrivels it up (see I Pet. 4:24). How mad a thing is it, then, for any man to be lifted up in pride, upon such a vanity as this is! To build so lofty and over-jetting a roof upon such a feeble, tottering foundation! We have seen meadows full of such curious flowers, mown down and withered; men of great estates impoverished suddenly; and when, like a meadow that is mown, they have begun to recover themselves again (as the phrase is) the Lord hath sent "grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth" (Amos 7:2). Just as the grasshoppers and other creatures, devour the second tender herbage as soon as the field begins to recover its verdure; so men, after they have been denuded and blasted by Providence, they begin after a while to flourish again; but then comes some new affliction and blasts all. None have more frequent experience of this than you that are merchants and seamen, whose estates are floating; and yet such as have had the highest security in the eye of reason, have, notwithstanding, experienced the vanity of these things. Henry IV, a potent prince was reduced to such a low ebb, that he petitioned for a prebend's place in the church of Spire. Gallimer, king of the Vandals, was brought so low, that he sent to his friends for a sponge, a loaf of bread, and a harp: a sponge to dry up his tears, a loaf of bread to maintain his life, and a harp to solace him in his misery. The story of Bellisarius is very affecting: he was a man famous in his time, general of an army, yet having his eyes put out, and stripped of all earthly comforts, was led about crying, Date obolum Bellisario ("Give one penny to poor Bellisarius"). Instances in history of this kind are infinite. Men of the greatest estates and honours have nevertheless become the very ludibria fortunae, as one speaks, the very scorn of fortune. Yea, and not only wicked men that have gotten their estates by rapine and oppression, have lived to see them thus scattered by Providence: but sometimes godly men have had their estates, how justly soever acquired, thus scattered by providence also. Whoever had an estate, better gotten, better bottomed, or better managed, than Job? yet all was overthrown and swept away in a moment; though in mercy to him, as the issue demonstrated. Oh then: What a vanity is it to set the heart, and let out the affections on them! You can never depend too much upon God, nor too little upon the creature: "Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded and trust in uncertain riches." (I Tim. 4:17). REFLECTION. Are all earthly things thus transitory and vain? Then what a reproach and shame is it to me, that the men of this world should be more industrious and eager in the prosecution of such vanities, than I am to enrich my soul with solid and everlasting treasure? O that ever a sensual lust should be more operative in them than the love of God in me! O my soul, thou dost not lay out thy strength and earnestness for heaven with any proportion to what they do for the world. I have indeed higher motives, and a surer reward than they: but as I have an advantage above them herein, so they have an advantage above me in the strength and entireness of the principle by which they are acted. What they do for the world, they do it with all their might; they have no contrary principle to oppose them; their thoughts, strength, and affections are entirely carried in one channel; but I find "a law in my members warring against the law of my mind" (Rom. 7:23). I must strive through a thousand difficulties and contradictions to the discharge of a duty. O my God! Shall not my heart be more enlarged in zeal, love, and delight in Thee, than theirs are after their lusts? O let me at once find it so. Again, is the creature so vain and unstable? Then why are my affections so hot and eager after it? And why am I so apt to dote upon its beauty, especially when God is staining all its pride and glory! Surely it is unbecoming the spirit of a Christian at any time, but at such a time we may say of it, as Hushai of Ahithophel's counsel, "It is not good at this time" (Jer. 45:5, 6). O that my spirit were raised above them, and my conversation wore in heaven! O that like that angel (see Rev. 10:1,2) which came down from heaven, and set one foot upon the sea, and another upon the earth, having a crown upon his head, so I might set one foot upon all the cares, fears, and terrors of the world, and another upon all the tempting splendor and glory of the world, treading both underfoot in the dust, and crowning myself with nothing but spiritual excellencies and glory! ====================================================================== New Testament Study - Matthew 7:12 ================================== The Golden Rule --------------- 12 "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." --------------- In perhaps Jesus' most widely known teaching, He commands: "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." This, of course, is what is known throughout the world as the Golden Rule. Some have noted that similar teachings were given by other notable teachers. Confucius (ca. 500 BC) said: "What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others." [Bartlett's Quotations]. Aristotle (ca. 350 BC) said: "We should behave to our friends as we would wish our friends to behave to us." [Ibid.]. In the Apocryphal book of Tobit, it is taught: "What thou hatest, do to no one" (Tobit 4:15). The Talmud relates that Rabbi Hillel taught: "What is hateful to thee, do not do to another" [cited in Broadus, 161]. Philo taught: "One must not himself do what he hates to have done to him" [Ibid.]. These are similar to the teachings of Jesus, but they are different. Notice that all of these teachings (with the exception of Aristotle's, which applies only to "friends") are stated in the negative. They tell what you should "not do". Only Jesus' teaching is stated positively ("Do to others..."), and Jesus' teaching applies to all, both enemies and friends. "Our Lord makes it a rule for positive action, and towards all men" [Ibid.]. In other words, Jesus is not just telling us to refrain from doing evil, He is commanding us to actively do good to others. This is a far cry from the example set by the religious leaders of that time. "The morality taught by the Scribes and exemplified by the Pharisees, seems to have been-'Do to others as they do to you-Love your neighbor, hate your enemy-Love them that love you, do good to them that do good to you-Lend to them from whom you hope to receive again; and as to those who do you injuries, the rule is, An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth'" [Brown, 308]. The poor example of the religious leaders of the day made necessary Jesus' teachings concerning the Law. And what better way was there to conclude His teachings than with one easily memorized rule that summarizes all He taught concerning the Law in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus ties the Golden Rule to His previous teachings by beginning, "So in everything..." (which can also be translated, "Therefore..."). The Golden Rule can be seen as a summarizing, concluding statement for all of Matt. 5:17 through 7:11. Note that in Matt. 5:17, Jesus referred to "the Law and the Prophets", saying that He had not come to abolish them. Here He gives a rule that "sums up the Law and the Prophets." And so, Jesus enveloped His teachings concerning the Law in the Sermon on the Mount with a reference back to the Old Testament, as if to underscore the continued importance and validity of the Old Testament teachings. Indeed, Jesus' statement that the Golden Rule "sums up the Law and the Prophets" adds extra weight to the rule, and gives us extra incentive to pay special attention in carrying it out. To practice this rule, and to make it the basis of our dealings with others, is not merely to apply a trite saying to our lives, but it is to live a life in compliance to the written commands of the Almighty Creator of the Universe. It is to please the Living God. It is to live a life acceptable to Him. It is quite interesting to me that the Golden Rule, which "sums up the Law and the Prophets", takes advantage of our natural love for ourselves. We are to "do to others what [we] would have them do to [us]." Since we all naturally love ourselves, to practice this rule is to show love for others. Jesus elsewhere gave a similar command, which He also said summed up the Law: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments" (Matt. 22:37-40). The command to "love your neighbor as yourself" assumes as its basis that we love ourselves. And we do. This is how God has made us. We all love ourselves. Those who say they do not love themselves are self-deceived. Someone may wake up in the morning, look in the mirror and exclaim: "Blecch! Look how ugly I am! I hate myself." But his statement, "I hate myself", is a lie, for if he hated himself, he would not be so concerned that he was ugly. The very fact that he is concerned that he is ugly demonstrates that he loves himself. Jesus uses the natural, God-given trait of love for oneself as the basis of the Golden Rule in order to give a general rule for obeying God's law that is understandable to everyone. There is no need for interpretation by learned theologians. If there is any question as to how to keep God's law in your behavior towards another, remember the Golden Rule. Even a child can readily understand the Golden Rule. "This is a golden rule indeed! It does not merely forbid all petty malice and revenge, all cheating and overreaching: it does much more. It settles a hundred difficult points, which in a world like this are continually arising between man and man; it prevents the necessity of laying down endless little rules for our conduct in specific cases; it sweeps the whole debateable ground with one mighty principle; it shows us a balance and measure, by which every one may see at once what is his duty" [Ryle, 66]. Now, there are some who (I guess) do not think the Golden Rule is clear enough. They would invent hypotheticals, such as, "...but what if I desire that someone do evil to me? Should I then do evil to him?" Don't be absurd! Use your God-given common sense to interpret this rule of life. "Put yourself in another's place, and then act to him as you would wish him to act towards you under the same circumstances. This is a right royal rule, a precept always at hand, always applicable, always right" [Spurgeon, 80]. Sadly, though the Golden Rule is very easily understood, we fail miserably in keeping it. "We all know how easy it is to read such a statement, or to listen to an exposition of it, or to read an exposition of it in a book, or to see some great picture which conveys it, and to say, 'Yes; wonderful, marvelous,' and yet to fail completely to put it into practice in actual life and living" [Lloyd-Jones, 207]. Even we, who aver that this magnificent rule should be the basis of all our dealings with others, fail consistently at living up to its standard. "The tragedy is that, having praised it, [we] do not implement it. And, after all, the law was not meant to be praised, it was meant to be practiced" [Ibid., 211]. Even we who love the Lord, who delight in the worship of the Lord, fail in treating our fellow men in the way our Lord commands. "It is utterly vain to speak like angels when on our knees before God, if we act like devils in our transactions with men" [Pink, 206]. In dealing with our fellow man, we far too often take our cue from the world. We follow the world's version of the Golden Rule: we seek to treat others in the same way they treat us. We demand our rights. We demand our justice. If I am crossed, I will cross. If I am wronged, I will wrong. "Worldly pride and honor will say, Treat them as they have treated us-return a kindness, revenge an injury. Jesus says, Treat them as we should wish them to treat us-forgive, forbear, make the best of the past, hope for the best in future.-To carry out this rule requires imagination, sympathy, unselfishness" [Broadus, 163]. The rule is not: Treat others as they treat us. The rule is not conditional upon others observing this rule. Even if they don't, we must. The rule is not a rule of justice, but of love, of God's love. The Golden Rule is based on God's willingness to give: God gives to us even when we do not deserve it. So also, we should give to others, even when they are not giving toward us. Our behavior, as children of God, should without exception be better, more giving, more loving, than the behavior of others toward us. Such behavior should set us apart as Christians. "A man is never in a right frame of spirit until he takes as much delight in doing others good as he would take in having good done to himself; nay, more; for our Lord tells us that 'it is a more blessed thing to give than to receive' (Acts 20:35). Why a more blessed thing? Because this comes nearest to the nature of God, who gives, all, and takes of none" [Manton, 374]. God well knows that there are some upon whom we would rather not practice this rule. "They're evil! They're sinners!", we cry. But wait: are you not a sinner? But for the grace of God, would you not be doing the same thing they are? But for the guidance and conviction of the Holy Spirit, would you not be delighting in sin? Those of us who know the joy of the salvation of the Lord, also know the depths of our own depravity. This realization should help us in carrying out this rule. We know the mighty work that the love of God has wrought in our lives, and so, we should be willing, indeed eager, to practice the love of God toward others. Then there are some who are ready and willing to practice the Golden Rule in their dealings with those who do not know God, but they seem to forget to practice it in their dealings with brothers. Don't just practice the Golden Rule out in the world, be sure to practice it at home, and in everyday, ordinary situations. "In the ordinary relations of life, this rule may be of the greatest use. Were husbands and wives, parents and children, masters and servants, often applying this rule, how full of peace and happiness would be the domestic scene!" [Brown, 312]. Love your brothers; build them up; commend them; complement them; defer to their needs and desires. And in every situation, stop and ask yourself this question before you act: "Is this what I would have others do for me?" We praise You, Father, for such a great rule to live by. We praise You for this teaching of Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. May we by the help of Your Spirit carry this rule out, practice it in all our dealings with men. Bring it to mind when we need to be reminded of it. We ask these things in name of our Teacher and our example, Jesus Christ, Amen. ====================================================================== A Study for Young Christians - God as All ========================================= A Classic Study by Richard Baxter (1615-1691) --------------------------------------------- [Here we continue our reprint of Chapter 2 from Richard Baxter's classic tome *A Christian Directory*.1 This chapter consists of twenty directions to (as Mr. Baxter says) "young Christians or beginners in religion, for their establishment and safe proceeding." Though these studies were written specifically for "young" Christians, I think that you will find (as I have), there is much in here worthy of meditation also for those who have been walking with God for many years.]--*Ed.* Direction XX - God As All ------------------------- See that your religion be purely divine, and animated all by God, as the beginning, the way and the end; and that first upon thy soul, and then upon all that thou hast or dost, there be written "HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD;" and that thou corrupt not all with an inordinate hypocritical respect to man. To be holy is to be devoted to God, and appropriated to Him, and His will and use; and that our hearts and lives be not common and unclean. To be godly is to live to God, as those that from their hearts believe that He is God indeed, and that "He is the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him," (Heb. 11:6, KJV); that He is "our God all-sufficient, our shield and exceeding great reward," (Heb. 11:6; Gen. 15:1 ; 17:1, KJV); and that "of Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things," that all may give the glory forever unto Him (Rom. 11:36, KJV). As God is infinitely above all creatures, so living upon God, and unto God, must needs advance us above the highest sensual life, and therefore religion is transcendently above all sciences or arts. So much of God as is in you and upon you, so much you are more excellent than that highest worldly perfection can advance you to. God should be the First, and Last, and All in the mind, and mouth, and life of a believer. God must be the principal matter of your religion. The understanding and will must be exercised upon Him. When you awake you should be still with Him (see Ps. 139:8). Your meditations of Him should be sweet, and you should be glad in the Lord (see Ps. 104:34). God must be author of your religion; God must institute it, if you expect He should accept it and reward it. God must be the rule of your religion, as revealing His will concerning it in His word. God must be the ultimate end of your religion; it must be intended to please and glorify Him. God must be the continual motive and reason of your religion, and of all you do; you must be able truly to fetch your reason from heaven, and to say, "I do it because it is His will; I do it to please, and glorify, and enjoy Him." God must be taken as the Sovereign Judge of your religion, and of you, and of all you do; and you must wholly look to his justification and approbation, and avoid whatever He condemneth. Can you take God for your Owner, your Sovereign, your Saviour, sufficient Protector, your Portion, your All? If not, you cannot be godly, nor be saved: if His authority have not more power upon you, than the authority of the greatest upon earth, you are atheistical hypocrites, and not truly religious, whatever you pretend. If "holiness to the Lord" be written upon you (see Ex. 39:30), and all that is yours, you are devoted to Him and His own peculiar ones. If your names be set upon your sheep, or plate, or clothes, you will say, if another should take them, "They are mine: do you not see my mark upon them?" Slavery to the flesh, the world, and the devil, is the mark that is written upon the ungodly (upon the foreheads of the profane, and upon the hearts of hypocrites and all); and Satan, the world, and the flesh have their service. If you are consecrated to God, and bear His name and mark upon you, tell every one that would lay claim to you, that you are His, and resolved to live to Him, to love Him, to trust Him, and to stand or fall to Him alone. Let God be the very life, and sense and end of all you do. When once man hath too much of your regard and observation, that you set too much by his favour and esteem, or eye Him too much in your profession and practice; when man's approbation too much comforteth you, and man's displeasure or dispraise doth too much trouble you; when your fear, and love, and care, and obedience are too much taken up for man; you so far withdraw yourselves from God, and are becoming the servants of men, and friends of the world, and turning back to bondage, and forsaking in our Rock and Portion, and your excellency; the soul of religion is departing from you, and it is dying and returning to the dust. And if once man get the pre-eminence of God, and be preferred and set above Him in your hearts or lives, and feared, trusted, and obeyed before Him, you are then dead to God, and alive to the world; and as men are taken for your gods, you must take up with such a salvation as they can give you. If your alms and prayer are done to be seen of men, and to procure their good thoughts and words; if you get them, make your best of them, "for verily," your Judge hath said unto you, "you have your reward," (Matt. 6:1-3, KJV). Not that man is absolutely to be contemned or disregarded. No; under God, your superiors must be obeyed; you must do wrong to none, and do good to all, and as far as in you lieth, you must avoid offence, and give good example, and, under God have so much regard to men, as to become all things to all men for their salvation. But if once you set them above their rank, and turn yourselves to an inordinate dependence on them, and make too great a matter of their opinion or words concerning you, you are losing your godliness or divine disposition, and turning it into man-pleasing and hypocrisy. When man stands in competition with God, for your first and chief regard, or in opposition to Him or as a sharer in co-ordination with Him, and not purely subordination to Him, He is to be numbered with things to be forsaken. Even good men, whom you must love and honour, and whose communion and help you must highly value, yet may be made the object of your sin, and may become your snare. Your honouring of them, or love to them, must not entice you to desire inordinately to be honoured by them, nor cause you to set too much by their approbation. If you do, you will find that while you are too much eyeing you are losing God, and corrupting your religion at the very heart. And you may fall among those that, how holy soever, may have great mistakes in matters of religion, tending to much sin, and may be somewhat censorious against those that are not of their mind; and so the retaining of their esteem, and the avoiding of their censures, may become one of the greatest temptations of your lives. And you will find that man-pleasing is a very difficult and yet unprofitable task. Love Christ as He appeareth in any of His servants, and be followers of them as they are followers of Christ and regard their approbation as it agreeth with Christ's: but O see that you are able to live upon the favour of God alone, and to be quieted in His acceptance, though man despise you; and to be pleased so far as God is pleased, though man be displeased with you; and to rejoice in His justification, though men condemn you with the odiousest slanders and the greatest infamy, and cast out your names as evil-doers. See that God be taken as enough for you, or else you take Him not as your God; even as enough without man, and enough against man; that you may be able to say, "If God be for us, who can be against us? Who is He that condemneth? It is God that justifieth" (Rom. 8:31,33,34, KJV). "Do I seek to please men? For if I yet pleased men, I should not be a servant of Christ," (Gal. 1:10, KJV). "Thus saith the Lord: Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath the desert, and shall not see when good cometh. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit" (Jer. 17:5-8, KJV). "Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?" (Isa. 2:22, KJV). Having given you these directions, I must tell you in the conclusion, that they are like food, that will not nourish you by standing on your table, or like physic, that will not cure you by standing in the box: they must be taken and digested, or you will find none of the benefit. It is not the reading of them that will serve the turn to so great use, as the safe proceeding and confirmation of beginners or novices in religion; it will require humility to perceive the need of them; and labour to learn, digest, and practice them. Those slothful souls, that will refuse the labour, must bear the sad effects of their negligence; there is not one of all these directions, as to the matter of them, which can be spared. Study them, understand them, and remember them, as things that must be done. If either a senselessness of your necessity, or a conceit that the spirit must do it without so much labour and diligence of your own, do prevail with you, to put off all these with a mere approbation, the consequence may be sadder than you can yet foresee. Though I suppose you to have some beginnings of grace, I must tell you, that it will be comparatively a bad kind of life, to be erroneous, and scandalous, and troublesome to the church, or full of trouble, and fears, and passions, and to be burdensome to others and yourselves! Yea, it is reason that you be very auspicious of your sincerity, if you desire not to increase in grace, and be not willing to use the means which are necessary to your increase. He is not sincere, that desireth not to be perfect; and he desireth not sincerely, who is not willing to be at the labour and cost, which is necessary to the obtaining of the thing desired. I beseech you, therefore, as you love the happiness of prudent, strong, and comfortable Christians, and would escape the misery of those grievous diseases, which would turn lives into languishing, unserviceableness, and pain; that you seriously study these directions, and get them into your minds, and memories, and hearts; and let the faithful practice of them be your greatest care, and the constant employment of your lives. ====================================================================== A Study of Wisdom - Ecclesiastes 4:1-8 ====================================== No Comforter ------------ 1 Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun: I saw the tears of the oppressed--and they have no comforter; power was on the side of their oppressors--and they have no comforter. And I declared that the dead, who had already died, are happier than the 2 living, who are still alive. 3 But better than both is he who has not yet been, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun. --------------- At the end of the previous chapter, Solomon had just concluded: "So I saw that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?" (Eccl. 3:22). Here in this chapter, Solomon begins to look at some of the details and difficulties that man faces in attempting to "enjoy his work". First, Solomon observed oppression: "Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun: I saw the tears of the oppressed-and they have no comforter; power was on the side of their oppressors-and they have no comforter" (vs. 1). It is a sad, but true, fact of life, that many who have power, take advantage of their power to oppress those without power. The nation of Israel, of course, had an adequate judicial system, based on the Law of God, which should have prevented such oppression, had godly men administered it faithfully. But, sadly, oppression still occurred. Solomon emphasizes the bitterest aspect of the oppression: "...and they have no comforter; ...and they have no comforter." They not only were oppressed, but there was no one who took up their case and gave them comfort. We who are in Christ will never be without a comforter. One of Jesus' most precious promises to His disciples was: "And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever" (John 14:16, KJV). The "Comforter" promised to us is the Holy Spirit (see John 14:26). The Holy Spirit is with us, leading us, guiding us through any adversity that we may face in this fallen world. To Solomon, to live through such oppression with no comforter, or to even witness such oppression, was worse than death: "And I declared that the dead, who had already died, are happier than the living, who are still alive. But better than both is he who has not yet been, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun" (vss. 2-3). To those without a comforter, this may well be true. In Solomon's time, the gift of our Comforter, the Holy Spirit, had not yet been given to the people, and so, indeed, the evil that men perpetrated upon other men could be unbearable. And also, for those in the world today without the gift of the Holy Spirit (who is given to all God's children), the oppression of men can be unbearable. The onus is upon us, who have the Comforter, to ourselves be comforters to the oppressed who do not have the Comforter. May the comfort of the Holy Spirit overflow out of our lives upon those who need His comfort: that they, through the comfort we give, may find life bearable; that they themselves may seek the comfort of the Holy Spirit by turning to the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. Man's Labor ----------- 4 And I saw that all labor and all achievement spring from man's envy of his neighbor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. 5 The fool folds his hands and ruins himself. 6 Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind. 7 Again I saw something meaningless under the sun: 8 There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. "For whom am I toiling," he asked, "and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?" This too is meaningless--a miserable business! --------------- The first obstacle to man "enjoying his work" that Solomon noted was the oppression by other men. The second obstacle, which Solomon notes here, concerns the motives for men working: "And I saw that all labor and all achievement spring from man's envy of his neighbor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind" (vs. 4). Man's motivation for work, as witnessed by Solomon, springs not from his desire to improve society, but from his envy of his neighbor. With such an evil motivation, how could man, with a clear conscience, "enjoy his work" (3:22). With such a motivation for work, Solomon realized that a man could never find peace and tranquility in his life. The envy of one's neighbor can never be satiated. One can never win the game of "keeping-up-with-the-Joneses". Such a motive makes one's work "meaningless, a chasing after the wind" (vs. 4). This is not to say that we should not work, for, as Solomon points out, "a fool folds his hands and ruins himself" (vs. 5). We must work, of course. To not work, to "fold [one's] hands", is to "ruin [oneself]". The King James Version gives a more literal translation of this verse: "The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh." Laziness is self-destructive, a form of self-cannibalism. Solomon recommends moderation in work as a way to tranquility in life: "Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind" (vs. 6). Tranquility comes from contentment with "one handful"; it is the chasing after "two handfuls" that costs tranquility. Solomon gives an example of a workaholic, chasing after "two handfuls", with no other goal: "Again I saw something meaningless under the sun: There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. 'For whom am I toiling,' he asked, 'and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?' This too is meaningless-a miserable business" (vs. 7-8). The key to this man's misery was that "his eyes were not content with his wealth." "He hath enough for his back, his calling, the decency of his state and condition; but he hath not enough for his eye." The key to tranquility is to be content with what you have, with the lot God has given you. And the key to contentment is to stifle the insatiable desire of the eyes. Father, help us by Your Spirit to be content with all the great blessings You have given us, to be content with the things that You know are good for us. Guide us as we work. May all that we do be done to Your glory, and to the glory of Your Son, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray these things, Amen. ====================================================================== Bibliography - Suggested Reading ================================ Baldwin, Joyce G. *Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi*. Downer's Grove, IL:Inter-Varsity, 1972. Baron, David. *Commentary on Zechariah*. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1989. (Originally published in 1918). Baxter, Richard. *A Christian Directory*. Edmonton, Canada: Still Waters Revival Books. (Originally published in 1673). Boice, James Montgomery. *The Minor Prophets*. 2 Vols. in 1. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1983. Broadus, John. *Commentary on Matthew*. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1990. (Originally published in 1886). Bridges, Charles. *A Commentary on Ecclesiastes*. Edinbrugh: Banner of Truth, 1992. (Originally published in 1860). Calvin, John. *A Minor Prophets, Vol. V.* Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1986. (Originally published in 1559). Calvin, John. *A Harmony of the Gospels*. 3 Vols. Grand Rapids: Eerdman's, 1972. (Originally published in Latin in 1555). Carson, D. A. "Matthew" from *The Expositor's Bible Commentary*, Vol. VIII, ed. by Frank Gaebelein. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984. Feinberg, Charles L. *The Minor Prophets*. Chicago: Moody Press, 1990. (Originally published 1952). Flavel, John. *Navigation Spiritualized* from *The Works of John Flavel*, Vol. V, pg. 206ff. Reprint Edition. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1968. (Originally published ca. 1670). Hubbard, David. *Mastering the Old Testament: Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon*. Dallas: Word, 1991. Jamieson, Robert; Fausset, A. R.; Brown, David. *A Commentary: Critical, Experimental, and Practical on the Old and New Testaments.* 3 Vols. Grand Rapids: Eerdman's, 1993. (Originally published in 1866). Kaiser, Walter. *Ecclesiastes: Total Life*. Chicago:Moody, 1979. Kaiser, Walter. *Mastering the Old Testament: Micah-Malachi*. Dallas: Word, 1992. Keil, Carl & Delitzsch, Franz. *Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament.* Reprint Edition. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1971. (Originally published ca. 1880). Kidner, Derek. *The Message of Ecclesiastes*. Downer's Grove, IL:Inter-Varsity, 1976. Laney, J. Carl. *Zechariah*. Chicago: Moody Press, 1984. Leupold, H. C. *Exposition of Zechariah*. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1965. Nisbet, Alexander. *An Exposition with Practical Observations upon the Book of Ecclesiastes. *Reprint Edition. Edmonton, Alberta: Still Waters Revival Books, 1998. (Originally published in 1694). Morgan, G. Campbell. *The Gospel According to Matthew*. Reprint Edition. Grand Rapids: Revell, 1992. Morris, Leon. *The Gospel According to Matthew.* Grand Rapids: Eerdman's, 1992. Moore, T.V. *A Commentary on Zechariah. *Reprint Edition. Edmonton, Alberta: Still Waters Revival Books, 1998. (Originally published in 1856). Ryle, J. C. * Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew.* Reprint Edition. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1986. Spurgeon, Charles. *The Gospel of Matthew*. Reprint Edition. Grand Rapids: Revell, 1987. Wiersbe, Warren. *Be Satisfied*. Wheaton, IL:Victor Books, 1990. ====================================================================== Postscript - Life as a Journey ============================== "Though surrounded with outward enjoyments, and settled in families with desirable friends and relations; though we have companions whose society is delightful, and children in whom we see many promising qualifications; though we live by good neighbors, and are generally beloved where known; yet we ought not to take our rest in these things as our portion. We should be so far from resting in them, that we should desire to leave them all, in God's due time. We ought to possess, enjoy, and use them, with no other view but readily to quit them, whenever we are called to it, and to change them willingly and cheerfully for heaven. A traveller is not wont to rest in what he meets with, however comfortable and pleasing, on the road. If he passes through pleasant places, flowery meadows, or shady groves; he does not [allow himself to be content] in these things, but only takes a transient view of them as he goes along. He is not enticed by fine appearances to put off the thought of proceeding. No, but his journey's end is in his mind. If he meets with comfortable accommodations at an inn, he entertains no thoughts of settling there. He considers that these things are not his own, that he is but a stranger, and when he has refreshed himself, or tarried for a night, he is for going forward. And it is pleasant to him to think that so much of the way is gone. So should we desire heaven more than the comforts and enjoyments of this life." -- Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758)