2 Samuel 3:1-21 - Abner defects

The war between the houses of David and Saul went on for a long time, but David gradually grew stronger while that of Saul grew weaker. Perhaps we can draw an analogy here between our war against the flesh. When we are born again we do not suddenly become perfect, we still have battles to fight, but over time we become more Christlike, and the flesh becomes weaker.

David had six sons. He also had several wives. Now while in OT times it was common to have more than one wife, it tended to cause problems and is not approved of by the Bible. It was more common on those days because men tended to die in battle and women needed a husband for security. In Genesis the original patterns was one man one woman, a pattern affirmed by Jesus and throughout the New Testament.

These sons did not bring unalloyed joy to David's life. Ammon raped his sister and was killed by Absalom. Absalom rebelled against David. Adonijah tried to take the throne before Solomon.

Abner, leader of Saul's army was falsely accused and changed sides. David accepted this, but also demanded that Saul bring Michal who had been promised to him as a wife by Saul. This may have been simply getting his own back, or maybe he wanted another wife, or it could have been a political ploy to help bring unity (ie the house of Saul and David united).

Abner made preparations for David eventually becoming king.

2 Samuel 2 - Fighting

David frequently enquired of the Lord, and about specific matters, such as here.  And the Lord answered him. The Bible does not give us any detail on how God answered him, only the answer that He gave. 

So David went up with his family to Hebron.  The men of Judah came and anointed David as king over the tribe of Judah. Now earlier David had been anointed by Samuel, under God's guidance, as king over Israel. 

In the previous chapter we see how David had the Amalekite put to death for his actions towards Saul. Here David rewards or honours the men from Jabesh Gilead who had buried Saul.

So David continued to have a respect for Saul. However, the house of Saul continued to have a capricious attitude towards David. Saul's son Ishbosheth had been made king of Israel by the commander of Saul's army. This was man's choice, and nothing to do with God's choice, and he reigned for only two years.

Then a rather silly battle ensues. Twelve young men from David's and Saul's sides fought and merely succeeded in killing each other. A further battle followed and David's men won.

Joab and his men pursue Abner, but eventually stop. 

2 Samuel 1 - News of Saul's death

We now return to Samuel, this time the second book. The first book has set the scene. Saul has now died, and David is king. We will see how his reign develops. Now we need to understand that while David was "a man after God's own heart", and is a type of the messiah (ie he demonstrates some of the qualities of the Messiah), he was still a sinful man. So we see both good and evil in his life.

A man arrives from Saul's camp with the news that Saul and Jonathan are both dead. The man was an Amalekite. We need to remember that David had been living among them, pretending to be on their side. This will help us to understand the situation.

David and his followers all wept and fasted, for Saul, Jonathan and the nation. David then has Amalekite put to death. This does seem rather unfair on the man as he was only doing what Saul had asked.

David then wrote a lament for Saul and Jonathan.

Psalm 142 - Rescue me

David wrote this Psalm when he was on the run and hiding in a cave. He cries out to God, as he so often did, looking to God to answer him our of His faithfulness and righteousness. This is significant. He is not hoping for a bit of luck, he is not hoping that a capricious "god" will help him. When we come to God we are relying on His nature, and it is His nature to be faithful, righteous and merciful.

Nor is David depending upon his own righteousness. He knows that no one can stand before God on their own merit. 

David has been pursued by the enemy, relentlessly, and this is having a crushing effect on his spirit. When we go through difficult times it has an effect on our innermost being. So David remembers the times when he knew the reality of God, when he knew God's blessing and he calls out to God.

David wants a quick answer, for his spirit is failing. Note that he doesn't just pray for rescue. He asks God to teach him His ways, and to lead him by His Spirit. We should follow this example.

David makes a final appeal, relying on God's Name, His righteousness and His unfailing love.

Psalm 141 - Guard my mouth

David calls on the Lord to come quickly to his aid. Incense and the sacrifice are allusions to the temple worship. The incense was offered up to God, and David asks God to receive his prayers in the same way. The sacrifices atoned for the people's sins. David asks that his lifting up of his hands work in the same way. In doing this David is putting his trust in God, looking to Him for mercy.

When confronted by evil and danger it is easy to be drawn into following evil ways, to following foolish paths. David asks that God protects him from doing this. We must recognise our own frailty, our own propensity to go down the wrong route. We need God to guard our hearts and minds. 

It is far better to be "struck" by a righteous man. What David means here is that it is better to be rebuked and disciplined by a good man than to be flattered by an evil one. A mark of maturity is that we are willing to accept correction.

The wicked will come to nothing, they will be destroyed.

We, however, should look always to the Lord, this is the only way to true safety.

Psalm 140 - Protect me O Lord

David was used to people plotting against him, even his own children. They devised plans and spoke badly about him.

We can long for a life free from trouble and aggro. This will not happen until Christ returns, so in the meantime we need to learn to live in this world as it is. David shows us how to do this, and the primary thing that he did was to call upon the Lord. We should remember too the example of Jesus Himself. People were constantly plotting against Him, and of course eventually killed Him. Yet He remained calm and in command in all circumstances, even on the cross itself.

We call upon the Lord, and His mercy is the grounds for our protection. 

David calls for the plans of the wicked to completely backfire. David closes his prayer with an affirmation of the justice of the Lord and His concern for the needy. We may experience all sorts of difficulties, but deep down a trust and confidence in the Lord's goodness and mercy should assure us.

Psalm 139- Search me O God

As human beings we are very complex creatures. We have a mixture of good and evil thoughts, good and evil motives. This happens because we were made in the image of God (hence the good stuff), but we have sinned against God (hence the bad stuff). As Christians we have been forgiven and we are in the process of being renewed by the Holy Spirit. So we want to be more and more like Christ, yet at times we seem so far away, and our character, the heart of our being seems to be working against God. What are we to do? We call upon the Lord to search us. In fact He has already searched us, He already knows the most intimate truths about our lives, He knows us better than we know ourselves.

God knows all that goes on inside us, and all the practical details of our lives. God keeps a check on our lives, He acts in our lives. Even if we try we can escape from His presence. We can flee as far and as fast as we can go, but we cannot escape God. Even the darkness cannot hide us from God.

Why is this? Why this inability to escape from God? Because He made us. He made our inmost being, He formed us in the womb. So we should praise the Lord, for we are fearfully and wonderfully made. It is the Lord who gave us life. Our days were ordained before they came into being. Now we must not read this as fatalism (ie life is mapped out and there is nothing we can do about it, that is not what the Bible is saying).  God is intimately involved in every moment of our lives, and every moment matters. What it does mean is that our lives are not at the mercy of chance, it does mean that every hair on our head is counted. God's thoughts are precious to us. Why? Because they are what determines the outcome of life.

Then David indulges in one of his periodic outbursts against the wicked. One day there will be no people who hate God, for the final judgement will have come. 

The Psalm closes with David calling on God to search Him. We need to be examined by God, and we need to trust that He knows what is best for our lives.

Psalm 138 - Embolden me Lord

We are back to one of David's Psalms.

"I will praise you Lord with all of my heart". Jesus told us the greatest commandment was to love the Lord with all our heart, mind and strength. It is always good to praise the Lord. 

David says he will do this "before the gods". We should praise the Lord in the midst of difficulties, in the face of opposition, whether that opposition is presenting itself in human form, as circumstances, or as direct spiritual opposition.

In all situations we should bow down to the Lord and praise His name. He is the One with all power and authority.

"When I called, you answered me". The Lord answers prayers, He comes to our aid. Then David says "you greatly emboldened me". We should look to the Lord to embolden us, to strengthen us. As Paul says in 2 Timothy, He has not given us a spirit of fear. The Lord works in our hearts, strengthening us from within. 

The Lord is the creator of all things, He is Lord of all things. All peoples should worship and acknowledge Him.

Yes despite being such a great God, He looks kindly on the humble. Though He is greatly exalted, he looks down and sees our situations.

Though we walk in the midst of trouble .." We often wish that all our problems would go away, but usually this is not the Lord's way. Rather it is to strengthen our hearts and to see us through situations.

The Lord acts on our behalf, and He will vindicate us.

Psalm 137 - Babylon

This is a very well known Psalm, courtesy of Boney M. Click the link if you want to be reminded why! However, I guess most people do not know that the song comes from the Psalms (thisr, of course, will not apply to readers of this blog).

Its setting is the exile in Babylon. The people were in exile, put there by God because of their sin and repeated rebellion. They remembered Zion, the place where they were meant to live.

The exiles captors mocked them, making them sing songs of joy. The devil sometimes does this with us, taunting us to sing songs of praise when we feel utterly miserable.

The exiles wonder how can they possibly sing songs to the Lord in this foreign land. They are not where they are meant to be. There is also a reluctance to make Babylon their home. They refuse to forget Jerusalem, for that is where they are meant to be. In times when we seem to be far from the place we should be, far from knwoing the close relationship to God we are meant to enjoy, we should refuse to forget. Being with the Lord is our highest joy.

The Psalm closes (and these words were not included in Boney M's rendition) with invocation of revenge against their captors and tormentors, culminating in v9 "Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks". So what are we to make of this? Well to put it in context can help a little. The Baylonian armies had been utterly ruthless in their destruction of many nations, and this had included terrible violence against women and children. So partly this is a call for God's judgement upon Babylon. Babylon was proud, but her downfall would come, and it would be terrible. 

Psalm 136 - His love endures forever

This Psalm is most notable for having the constant refrain "His love endures forever". We do well to remember this, for whatever circumstances we find ourselves in, we know that His love will not fail. As Paul says in Romans, nothing can separate us from the love of God.

The verses themselves put this love in various contexts. First, He is good, and He is the Lord of lords.  His is the Name above all names, He has all power and authority.

Next we come to His acts. He does great wonders and He created the whole universe. This includes the earth itself, and all the stars and galaxies.

He exerted His power in setting Israel free from slavery in Egypt. After having brought them out, He continued to exert His power in seeing them through the wilderness. God's active love for us did not stop on the cross, He continues to act in our daily lives.

He exerted His power against those who opposed Israel. He remembered His people and provides for us, freeing us from our enemies.

We have a great God who loves us and acts for us. His love endures for ever.

2 Timothy 4:6-22 - Running the race, finishing the race

"Drink offering" is a reference to the Old Testament (Numbers 15:5). Paul knew that his life was nearing its end. This tends to make one think about whether ones life has been worthwhile, and what really matters. Paul counts the fact that he "fought the good fight" as the  most important thing. I.e. he lived his life for the sake of Christ and the gospel. Because of this there is a crown of righteousness awaiting him. This is probably an allusion to the wreath presented to the winner of a race. Christ would present him with this crown. Now this is not a salvation by works teaching, but what we do with our lives matters, and will make a difference in the future. Our lives and works will be judged. Paul will not be the only winner, all who have lived by faith will be winners.

Paul closes his letter with several closing remarks. He refers to Demas who deserted him. He wants Timothy to come and see him.  So his death was not that imminent. Luke and Mark, two of the gospel writers, are mentioned. Remember also that Mark had deserted Paul on an earlier missionary journey (Acts 13:13), but had obviously been restored.

Paul gives a specific warning about Alexander the metal worker. Note that there are a number of places in the letters where Paul mentions specific people who have worked against the gospel. Sometimes Christian leaders are criticised for naming specific people who are giving false teachings or otherwise causing trouble. There are times when it is right and proper to name names. At the same time there needs to be a balance. There are some websites that seem to delight in finding fault and pouring out bile. For almost any notable Christian you will find someone somewhere who has something against them! We need balance and wisdom in this matter.

Paul then notes that no one came to his aid at a trial, but he does not hold this against them. So we see a spirit of forgiveness as well. Even so, the Lord stood by him. Paul's whole life was geared to spreading the gospel (Acts 20:24).

2 Timothy 4:1-5 - Good preaching, rubbish preaching

Paul now gives Timothy a solemn charge. There are several things to note here. The first is that the work we do in the kingdom is not volunteer work, we are working for the king, we are soldiers in the army. The work we do is an act of obedience. To fail to do the work is an act of disobedience. We need to remember that when we go through times when we feel like giving up, or just cannot be bothered (and most of us do go through these times).

Secondly, this point is emphasised by Paul mentioning who he gives this charge in the presence of. It is in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus. Jesus will judge the living and the dead (so that includes you and me). He will return, and His kingdom will come. Every other kingdom will fail.

So what is the charge? It is to preach the word, both in season and out of season. I.e. we are to preach it at all times. Preaching involves, correcting, rebuking and encouraging. We are to do this with great patience and careful instruction. It is not simply a matter of preaching a message once and that is it. Teaching involves much persistence. 

Paul then gives another warning of the troubled times that will come. People will no longer want sound doctrine, but ideas to tickle their ears. And they will gather many teachers to give them what they want. They will turn away from the truth to myths. We see this today in many guises. On the liberal side there are those who deny the resurrection, deny Biblical teaching on sexual morality, deny the authority of the Bible. But there are also those who might claim to believe the Bible but teach a load of rubbish, the Charismatic side of the church is rather prone to this. 

We need to be careful that we teach, preach and live the truth, and feed ourselves on the truth, not on rubbish.

So how are we to react? We are to keep calm in all situations and persist in doing the work of an evangelist. The gospel still needs spreading.

2 Timothy 3:10-16 - Toughen up

Paul now tells Timothy how he is to react and live, and he does so first by drawing attention to his own life. We are to be living examples of the life of Christ. So the things he draws attention to are his:

• way of life;
• teaching;
• purpose;
• faith;
• love;
• endurance, persecutions and suffering

Paul had to endure much, but the Lord rescued him from them all. So we are to maintain a godly life in all circumstances, to stay focused on our purpose, and to endure all things. Then we can also be sure that the Lord will help us.

Paul then makes the comforting statement that anyone who wants to live a godly life will be persecuted. It is not just a possibility, but an almost certainty. Moreover, evil people will go from bad to worst. This counters both the falsehoods of some so-called prosperity teaching, and the "everyone is nice really" attitude of some soft/liberal religions. The Bible is our best guide on all matters.

As Christians we are to be tough, resolved to continue in the way of faith at all times. We should look to the Bible for our instruction and encouragement and strengthening. For all scripture is God-breathed and is useful for equipping and training. 

2 Timothy 3:1-9 - False teachers and dark days

Paul now gives Timothy a severe warning about what will happen. There will be terrible times in the last days. There are things we can and must do to counter false teaching in the church, but even so a time will come when things get really difficult. 

"People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God". This is a painfully accurate description of features of our own society. Now we need to be careful here. This does not mean the end is imminent (it might be, but this on its own does not prove that it is). Rather we see signs of the end. In fact in the last days things will be far worse than they are now. 

They will have a form of godliness but deny its power. So there will be a form of religion or "spirituality" about such people, but the power of the gospel will be denied. What is this power it is talking of here? It is probably not the power of miracles, rather it is likely to be the power of the gospel to transform lives, to deal with the sin in our lives.

False teachers have a habit of worming their way into the lives of of gullible women. This is a recurrent feature that is seen in such situations. Jannes and Jambres were, according to Jewish tradition, two of the Egyptian magicians who opposed Moses. Just as the Egyptian magicians ultimately failed, so will false teachers. We need to take matters seriously, but we do not need to be afraid.

2 Timothy 2:14-26 - Living carefully

We are to continually remind people of the truth. Sound doctrine will always come under attack, for truth does matter. Therefore we have to consistently fight for the truth. At the same time we need to beware of getting obsessed with minutiae. There are things that really do not matter, and getting obsessed with them at best does no good, at worst causes serious damage. So wisdom is needed here, for those who argue about "words" will always say that what they are obsessed about is vitally important. 

As leaders we need to train ourselves as people who "handle the word of God correctly". We present ourselves to God and should be worthy of respect. We also need to beware of "godless chatter", or perhaps we should use the word "godless banter" today. What we say does matter and does have an effect. False teaching can spread like a disease, and Paul mentions two contemporary examples. They claimed the resurrection had already taken place, and some believed them. Similarly today there are those who say the resurrection was purely spiritual, and there some who believe them. But the truth remains, whatever supposedly clever people mike claim. Note also the instruction to turn away from wickedness.

We should seek to be used by God for special purposes, and we achieve this by cleansing ourselves, ie living lives worthy of respect. Note that "special purposes" involved being "prepared to do any good work". It does not mean purposes that will make us popular or well known. Some tasks will be difficult, involve suffering, and bring persecution.

We are to flee the evil desires of youth. Some of us have advanced somewhat beyond that stage, but we need to beware the effect of our hormones! Part of the fruit of the Spirit is self-control. 

Timothy is again reminded to avoid silly arguments. At the same time he is to correct people gently. The aim is not to defeat people in argument, but to see them come to repentance.   

2 Timothy 2:8-13 - Fighting with Christ

We should always look to Jesus and remember who He is and how He lived when He was on the earth. He was raised from the dead and descended from David. At various points in history people will question the truth of the gospel, and the church has spent a lot of time fighting false doctrines, often over the divinity or humanity of Christ. So the fact that we have to fight battles today is nothing new.

Paul was in chains because of his preaching, but although he was chained, the word of God was not. So instead of giving up he kept on going, knowing that his work was achieving an eternal purpose. 

v11-13 are very sobering, and make it clear that following Christ and working for Him is not a hobby, but a serious matter with eternal consequences. If we died with Him (ie in baptism) then we will live with Him. If endure and remain faithful then we will reign with Him.. But if we disown Him, He will disown us. Now we might think this is a bit tough, but it is what Christ Hinself said. We might change our minds, but He will not.. He will remain true to His word.

2 Timothy 2:1-7 - Achieving Success

Paul addresses Timothy in affectionate terms as “my child”. Paul had played a big part in raising and training Timothy as a man of God. It is the grace of God in Christ that strengthens us. We often feel inadequate, we become aware of failings and sinfulness that seem to make it impossible for us to be what God wants us to be, and to do what He wants us to do. But the grace of God enables us. In Christ we are forgiven and cleansed of our sins, and through the Holy Spirit we are enabled. The grace of God is not just a passive thing where we receive forgiveness, but an active thing, enabling us to do and be far more than we have any right to expect.

But this is not all about Timothy. Just as Paul passed on his teaching and learning to Timothy, so he is to find faithful men to pass it on to. Note also that we are entrusting a vital message to others. This means if we have been entrusted with the message we need to handle it well. It is not ours, but belongs to God. We should remind ourselves of this if are ever tempted to deviate from what the Bible says.

Moreover, we will share in suffering. Difficulties and trials are not a possibility but an integral part of the package. We are to go through these as good soldiers of Christ. We need to have this tough attitude. We too easily give up when things are difficult.  We treat our role in the church as if it was like a role in a social or sporting club, as a hobby which we are free to give up if we choose. This is not the case. We need to treat it like being in the army.

Paul expands on this attitude issue. We are to stay focused on the task. He then broadens it by bringing in analogies with farming and running. There are rules to play by, things that have to be done if a harvest is to be produced. When we do this the Lord will expand our understanding.

2 Timothy 1:13-18 - Good and Bad Teaching

We must not follow the way of the world, for the world does not know what it is doing, and is heading for destruction. Instead we are to follow the way of Christ. Paul’s words describe the faith and love that are found in Christ. We have been entrusted with a great truth by God. We see here again how God works with man. All God’s plans are predicated on Him working together with us. This was true from the very beginning. In creation He gave us the job of naming the birds and animals. He gave us the task of subduing the earth. But He does not give us tasks and just leave us alone to get on with it. The Holy Spirit lives within us, and we are to work together with Him. So in our own lives today, in seeking to understand and to cope, we need to realise that God has given us a purpose, and He has also come to dwell within us to enable us to fulfil that purpose. This should fill us with joy and hope.

But this does not mean that life is easy. Paul had been abandoned by many in Asia. Conversely, Onesiphorus had remained faithful, and even came to Rome to seek Paul out. All that we do is noted by God, and it makes a difference to our future.

2 Timothy 1:10-12 - Herald, apostle, teacher

God's plan had always been to save us, but it is only in Christ that the details, the outworking, of that plan have been revealed. This is why Christ is the only way to salvation, all other religions are ultimately an exercise in futility. God is the creator of all the world, from the before the beginning of time He has had a plan of salvation, and God has revealed that plan in Christ. It is the creator of the world who decides how things work.

On the cross death was destroyed, and we are given the chance to become immortal. We were not created to die, it is only because of sin that death came into the world. It is through Christ that death is defeated.

Paul was appointed as a "herald, apostle and teacher" of the gospel. With here the key elements of the church's mission. We are to proclaim the good news. We are to go out and spread the good news to all the world, and we are to teach and explain the good news.

Paul was working and living for God, the church is meant to live and work for God, but this is no easy task. It was for this very reason that Paul was in prison. The church will be reviled by society, sometimes violently so. Paul, however, was not dismayed, because he knew whom he had believed in. Knowing Christ is, knowing God, is central to our life. Jesus said in John 17:3 that knowing the Father and the Son is eternal life. We need to focus on knowing God. And so Paul knew that his life was safe with Christ. We have entrusted our lives to Christ. 

2 Timothy 1:8,9 - Standing up for Christ

There are times when we can feel under pressure for our belief in Christ. In parts of the world today, and in Paul's time, this can involve physical threats to life, family and well-being. Even in our society this pressure is starting to affect people's careers, viz. the opprobrium poured on anyone who in the least way questioned the wisdom of same-sex marriage. This pressure can come because of our allegiance to Christ and our connection with His servants. This is why Paul in verse 8 talks about Christ and himself as a prisoner. Paul's first instruction is for Timothy not to be ashamed, and this follows on from his words on the Spirit being a Spirit of power, love and self-control. We need to stand up proud for Christ. We also need to stand by fellow Christians when they suffer. Next we are to be prepared to suffer. Note that we do this by the power of God. There are some who make proud boasts of their commitment to Christ, but like with Peter this usually does not end well. Most of us probably wonder how we would manage if real pressure was put upon us for our faith. Would we manage to remain faithful? The answer, as to most questions, is faith. Faith that God will help us in the midst of the attack. Indeed, Jesus told His disciples not to worry about what to say when called to give an account, for the Holy Spirit would help them. 

The best preparation for tomorrow is to live by faith today. We have been called to a life of holiness, and have been so because of the purpose and grace of God. This grace was given to us before the beginning of time. God has always been working so that the name of Christ is glorified, and that we become like His Son. We need to look at life not in terms of what I can do, or what I am capable of, but in terms of what Christ is doing and can do through me and in me. It is God's work in my life that counts. So we live each day by faith, walking humbly with our God.

2 Timothy 1:6,7 - Power, Love and self-control

Verse 6 tells us various things. First, we have a responsibility when God gives us gifts. We have to nurture and develop them, or as Paul says her, fan them into flame. Gifts do not manifest themselves by default. This is fundamental to the way that the Bible reveals God's working with mankind. God works together with us, this has always been His way. He has designed His creation so that it works when we walk humbly with Him, doing our part. If we do not do our part it will not work, if we do stuff, but do not walk humbly with God, it will not work either.

Next, the laying of hands can have a connection with imparting gifts. We have a tendency to go to one extreme or the other. One is to assign an almost magical quality to laying on of hands, the other is to say it is purely symbolic. Neither of these extremes is in line with what the Bible says. The laying on of hands can have an effect beyond the purely symbolic.

Now we come to a very well known verse about us receiving a spirit of power, love and self-control (or "sound mind" in some translations). So the Spirit of God gives us gifts, but He also affects our character. In the world power, love and self-control are often at complete odds with each other. Those with power use it for selfish or evil ends, showing little love or self-control. Love is sometimes equated with sexual lust, obviously lacking self-control (and love as well for that matter). At other times it is seen as weak, lacking power, or leading to impetuous actions, so lacking self-control.

In God all three, love, power and self-control, work together and complement each other.

2 Timothy 1:1-5 - Greetings

We will now resume our look at the pastoral epistles, moving on to Paul's second letter to Timothy. 

As often in his letters, Paul reminds Timothy that he, Paul, is an apostle of Christ, chosen by the will of God. He was appointed as an apostle to bring the promise of life that is in Christ. Whatever role we have in the church we need to always remind ourselves that we are here to serve Christ, and as part of God's plan to bring His kingdom and His salvation to the world. Part of our fallen nature is that we become very self-centred. We find true life and destiny when we lose our life, for then we will find it (Matt 16:25). In fact this can be a very useful pastoral point to apply to ourselves. If we are struggling, then sometimes it is good to remind ourselves that we are here for Christ's sake, not our own. Taking the focus off ourselves can be enormously beneficial.

Again as in most of his letters, Paul blesses Timothy with "grace, mercy and peace". This is part of our heritage in Christ.

Paul prayed a lot for Timothy, and did so with thanksgiving. Sometimes Paul is viewed as cold, driven and uncaring, but nothing could be further from the truth. Paul had a deep concern for Timothy, and a deep emotional connection.

Then he draws attention to Timothy's faith. We need to remember how precious our faith is. It is precious to God, and it is precious to us. It is a most valuable thing to have. Each person needs to decide for him or her self to believe in Christ, but one generation can still build a foundation for the next. We can provide a spiritual inheritance for our children. 

Micah 7:14-20 - Israel's Salvation

Micah calls on the Lord to shepherd His people, reminding Him that they are the "flock of your inheritance". Israel belongs to God, and He will not abandon her forever. Jesus described Himself as the good shepherd. 

God then promises that He will show them His wonders as he did when He brought them out of slavery in Egypt. Again we see Jesus doing this. He performed many miracles while He was here on earth, and the resurrection was the greatest miracle of all.

Micah then makes a declaration of praise in response to this. The nations that mocked and derided Israel will be put to shame. This still applies today. This does not mean that everything Israel does is right, indeed in many ways they are a godless nation today, but we should treat them honourable and with integrity. For one day they will repent and turn to Christ, and then their salvation will come.

"Who is a God like you ..." This is a vital key to understanding God and His ways. He is a God of forgiveness. The Pharisees and other religious leaders did not understand Jesus, and were even offended by Him, because He forgave people. The Lord does not stay angry forever, He looks for a way to forgive people. God will be faithful to all His promises, and Israel will be saved.

Micah 7:8-13 - Israel will rise

So now we get Micah's response. Remember that he has just expressed his hope in God, despite the desperate situation. First he declares to his enemy that he should not gloat over him. Though he had fallen and was in darkness, the Lord would still save him, the Lord would be his light.

He knows the reason for his suffering, his sin against the Lord. See the complete acceptance of the reality of the situation. There is no pretence here. No pretence that things are not as bad as they seen, no pretence that it is not really his fault. So Micah looks to the Lord to hear his case. There are those who argue against "penal substitution", ie the concept that on the cross Christ was punished in our place. Such people do not know what they are talking about. We need to face up to the reality of our sin, and it is only the cross, only Christ taking upon Himself the punishment that should have been ours, that fully deals with the problem and the reality of our sin.

Christ did bear our sins, and He now pleads our case. So it is now our enemy who is covered in shame. So a time will come when we can rebuild. It is the rest of the world that will end up desolate. Indeed one day the nations will flock to Israel, but this will only happen when they turn to Christ.

Micah 7:1-7 - A desperate situation,but...

Before looking chapter 7 itself, let's remind ourselves of what has gone before. In chapter 5 we had promises of the Messiah. Then in chapter 6 we had God's judgement against Israel, and Israel's guilt.

Now we come to chapter 7. "What misery is mine!" There were great promises for Israel, but her sin means that seemingly she will never lay hold of them. Indeed, this is the condition of the whole human race. We were all created by God, created in His image, created to subdue the earth and have dominion. Yet we sinned against God and so cannot have any of this. 

There were no faithful people left in Israel, instead the land was run by blood thirsty men. The judges were corrupt and the rulers were out for their own ends. It does not need much imagination to see parallel to our own society in this!

So the day that God visits would be a day of alarm. The presence of God should be a day of rejoicing, we were created to live in fellowship with Him. Yes sin means that instead we are enemies of God, we by nature objects of wrath. 

Even the closest relationships, which should be a source of security, break down. No one can be trusted. Again we see this in society. One example is the high divorce rate. But generally, we are becoming a more litigious society, and more and more things are defined by law because trust has broken down.

Then we get a "but". Praise God for the "buts". Micah had not lost hope. Despite all that he sees, despite God's righteous judgement on the nation, he puts his hope in "God my saviour". See that Micah is not blind to the reality of the situation, rather he has faced up to it in full, yet still he hopes in God. This is how faith works.

Micah 6:9-16 - Discipline from the Lord

To fear the Name of the Lord is wisdom, or as it says in Proverbs, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. A respect for the Lord, knowing that He is all powerful, that He has the last word, and that He loves us is a solid foundation for life.

Israel was being disciplined. She had done much wrong, seriously wrong. So she was being punished. The key question was would she react to the punishment? Would she be resentful, would she try and ignore it? Or would she learn from it? Hebrews 12 reminds us that the Lord disciplines those whom He loves. God wants us to learn His ways so that we can have a harvest of righteousness and peace.

Israel had adopted corrupt and violent practices. For a time these had seemed to work, but now the Lord would judge her and everything would fail.

Along with the evil practices she had worshipped false idols as well. So she would be judged, and she would be scorned by other nations. The church too often tries to gain popularity by following the ways of the world, but this only leads to the church being scorned by the world. The only way for us to go is to follow the Lord, then He will exalt us in His ways.

Micah 6 :1-8 - Forgiven so we could be changed

Throughout the Bible the courtroom is often used as an analogy, right through to the effect of Jesus' work upon the cross. There is absolute right and wrong, we will all be called to give an account, especially God's own people. In fact it is a feature of the Bible that it is actually more concerned with how God's people behave, than how the rest of the world behave. It does not ignore how others behave, but its prime concern is with God's people. So our prime concern should be how we behave in the world. 

The Lord had a case against Israel. The Lord had done much for Israel. He had rescued them from Egypt, He had delivered them from various enemies.

Micah then responds to this. It is not more sacrifices that the Lord requires, but a change of heart. We are to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God. This is how we should react in any situation we face. We should not fear the enemy, or the circumstances, but should instead seek to do what is right, to be merciful to others, and to trust in God. Then we will see the Lord act on our behalf. We are not meant to live life as if everything is dependent upon us, or as if we should be in total control. We are meant to live as if we are living in partnership, in fellowship, with God. And of course He is the senior partner!

Now Micah was not saying that the sacrifices were wrong, they were part of the Law, they were required. But the object was always that Israel should live right. In the same way, the gospel is not just about forgiveness, but is about forgiveness and transformation. We were forgiven so that we could be changed.

Micah 5 - Prophecy

We now get another prophecy of the coming Messiah, namely that He would come from Bethlehem. Assyria would marshal her troops against Israel and Judah, and would experience a degree of victory. But another leader would come, this time from Bethlehem, an out of the way place. God has a habit of choosing the insignificant to do significant work. In saying that the ruler would be one "whose origins are from of old, from ancient times", Micah is signifying that this would be no ordinary ruler, and is an allusion to the deity of Christ.

Verse 3 is very interesting. Israel has, to a large extent, been abandoned since that time. She did experience a return from Babylonian exile, but Israel recognised that this was not a full deliverance, for they spent much of the time under the rule of other nations (eg Rome). Then after Christ came Israel as a whole rejected their Messiah. But once the "full number of the Gentiles" has been brought into the kingdom (ie the "rest of his brothers"), Israel herself will return as a whole to Christ.

Jesus shepherds His flock Himself, and He does this in the strength of the Lord, and we live securely. And His greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. We have a great Messiah!

While Christ is the complete fulfilment of the prophecy, there would be a partial fulfilment in the time of Assyria. For Assyria would get to the walls of Jerusalem, but no further. This partial followed by complete fulfilment is a common pattern in the Bible.

Then we read of the remnant of Israel being "in the midst of many peoples like dew from the Lord". Again we see that this has actually happened. Many famous people in history have been Jewish and have benefited mankind as a whole, and individual nations (Einstein, Disraeli, Richard Feynman, Henry Kissinger, even Ed Miliband is the son of Jewish immigrants). They are also a very independently minded people. Despite the circumstances the Jews will ultimately triumph.

The chapter closes with a declaration of God's intent to judge the sin of the people. It is not clear whether this is directed against just the nations, or Israel as well, for Israel was guilty of many of these things as well.

Micah 4 - The Lord's Plans

The end result of all things will be that the Lord's name will be exalted. As it says in Philippians 2, at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow.

It may be that at the moment nations scoff at the name of Jesus, it may be that they rubbish the church, it may be that they show no respect for the ways of God. But a day is coming when people will recognise who the Lord is. They will want to learn from Him. Verse 2 is partially fulfilled through the growth of the church. Before Christ came the Law was restricted to the nation of Israel, but after the resurrection the gospel spread from Jerusalem to all of the world, and has continued to do so ever since. But an even greater fulfilment will come at the millennium. Verse 3 is reminiscent of the similar verse in Isaiah. 

Other peoples may choose to go their own way, but we will walk in the ways of the Lord.

The Lord will gather the needy to Himself and take care of them. Jesus healed the lame, and He spoke of Himself as the good shepherd. He also said He had sheep in other fields to go and look for. Kingship will come to the daughter of Jerusalem. Notice the mixture of genders here: kingship and daughter. The restoration God brings includes a restoration of authority.

But first there must be a time of captivity, of exile. Micah foresees the Babylonian exile, just as Isaiah did. But the exile would be so that they could be rescued. It would not be final.

So we see how God's plans work out. They do not follow a nice neat pattern, but seem at times to be going in the complete opposite direction. The nations thought Israel had been abandoned, but they "do not know the thoughts of the Lord". In the same way people may sometimes look down on you , thinking your life is going nowhere. But they do not know the plans that the Lord has for you. In the end we will be exalted to a place of authority.

Micah 3 - Judgement on leaders, prophets and priests

A repeated failing in Israel was that of leaders failing to be the leaders they were meant to be. The primary purpose of a leader is to "embrace justice". Instead Israel's rulers were hating good and loving evil. Of course, we see this pattern repeated time and time again, whether it be at a national level, or on a smaller scale in organisations and companies. When people see power as an opportunity to get their own ends they start to treat people as objects to be exploited. Then a time would come when these same rulers would cry out to the Lord, but He would not answer them, and the reason he would not answer is because of the evil they had done.

The prophets were no better. A leader is meant to rule on God's behalf, a prophet is meant to speak on God's behalf. This does not mean every single word a prophet says is a direct communication from God, but that what the prophet says is based on God's word, not on human thinking. But the prophets of the day were  speaking for money, not for God. All prophets, preachers and teachers need to beware of falling into the same trap.

So a time of darkness would come when there would be no revelation. This indicates that there is a time when they could hear God, but chose to speak out of the flesh. So the revelation would be stopped.

Micah, on the other hand, was a true prophet of God. He was filled with power and the Spirit, and with justice and might.  So he declared the sin and transgressions of the nation. Today society wants to silence the church, but it is part of the role of the church to declare a nation's sins to it.

The leaders, prophets and priests were utterly deluded. They thought that God would still be with them, that He would still protect them. If we turn away from God, He will turn away from us.

So Jerusalem would be come utterly desolated.