Jonah 1:4-6 - How can you sleep?

1:4

Jonah had his plan, but God had His plan. It is sometimes said that if one individual or group of people won’t fulfil God’s calling then He will find another individual or group who will. There is an element of truth in this, but it is also an element of it being a load of nonsense. Jonah was most reluctant to fulfil God’s calling on his life, but God was persistent in getting Jonah to preach the word to Nineveh, going to extraordinary lengths. And we see this pattern elsewhere. Moses was a reluctant leader, making excuse after excuse in Ex 3 and 4, yet God persisted. Peter failed Jesus, but Jesus restored Him. So in this case a mighty storm brewed up, endangering the ship.

1:5

The ship’s crew were normal pagans, having various gods. So they prayed to whichever god they happened to worship. They also took practical action, throwing off the cargo to lighten the load. This latter aspect would tend to imply that Jonah had only paid for his passage rather than hiring the whole boat. Jonah, meanwhile, was fast asleep. Remember that Jesus also slept while a boat was experiencing severe storms. Jonah had faith in God!

1:6

The captain is none-too pleased with Jonah’s sleeping and orders him to call on his God. The sailors were desperate. Their calls on the their own gods, and the captain’s instruction to Jonah to pray to his God were acts of desperation, rather than faith.

Acts 13:36-39 - Did not see decay

13:36,37

Paul then points out that these verse could not have been fulfilled in David for David did indeed die and his body did see decay. Peter made a similar point in Acts 2:34. So what do we have here? The accepted religious thought/belief saw David as important (which he was) but had a wrong understanding, and one which was demonstrably wrong, and so demonstrated by the undeniable fact that David was dead. The Scriptures must have been pointing to something, someone, greater. Jesus Himself made a similar point as well (Matt 22:44). Jesus is that someone who is greater, and to whom the Scriptures are pointing. For Jesus did not see decay. He was raised never to die again. The resurrection is the proof that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. This section here is vital in interpreting parts of the New Testament letters that speak of Jesus becoming the Son of God, or being shown to be the Son of God.

13:38,39

Paul now gets them to look at what their own response should be, and we see the centrality of the forgiveness of sins. So often we put the “gospel” in terms of what God can do for us, in our own terms. But for each one of us our fundamental need is to be forgiven. We have sinned against God and we need forgiveness. That forgiveness is provided in Jesus Christ. In Christ we are justified from all our sins, we are made righteous. And the Law of Moses could not make a man righteous, could not justify a man. All the Law could do was condemn us, show us how far short we have fallen. This applies to all of us, even if we are not “under the Law”. In the West we would probably say that love is the most important thing, or perhaps even tolerance. Well suppose we accept that love is the most important thing, how then do we measure up against it? Have you loved perfectly? Are all your thoughts perfect? If we take tolerance the situation is if anything more clear. Those who speak of tolerance are so often the most intolerant people on earth. We have all sinned and we all need forgiveness.

Jonah 1:1-3 - Go to Nineveh

1:1,2

As mentioned in the introduction, Jonah was a prophet who had previously prophesied expansion of Israel’s borders (2 Kings 14:25). This was no doubt a very pleasant task, and one that made him popular with the people and the rulers. Sometimes God may give us pleasing tasks to carry out, but we must always remember that we are His servants, here to do His will, and His will and concerns is far greater and broader than ours. Jonah was pleased that Israel’s borders were expanding. God now tells him to go to Nineveh and preach against it. This would be a far less pleasant task, and one that we might think would make him unpopular with the Ninevites. At this time Assyria was not the regional superpower that it was later to become.

1:3

Jonah did not want to do this task, so he ran away! The exact location of Tarshish is not known. It could be as far away as Spain, or somewhat nearer in the Mediterranean. The important point is that it is far away, so if Jonah got there he would not be able to fulfil God’s task, or so he thought. We will learn later that fear may not have been the motivating force, though it is hard to tell. The text says that Jonah paid the fare, though the text could actually mean that he hired the whole boat.

Acts 13:30-35 - We tell you good news

13:30,31

“But God raised Him from the dead”. Man killed Him, God raised Him. God has the final say all matters. And we see again that the resurrection is central to gospel preaching in Acts, we also note that it was central to Peter’s preaching, and it was central to Paul’s preaching. Paul did not preach a different gospel. Moreover, the centrality of the resurrection does not mean that other things do not matter, rather it means that they matter all the more. And there were many witnesses to the resurrection, and Paul refers to these in 1 Cor 15.

13:32,33

In Christ the promises made to Israel are fulfilled. The Old Testament is full of promises about Israel, but it is also full of the sinfulness of Israel and God’s judgement upon her sinfulness. How could these promises ever be fulfilled. The answer is that they are fulfilled in Christ, and the resurrection is the proof that Jesus is the Messiah. Paul describes this as good news. It is also good news for the whole world. While the Old Testament focuses upon Israel, it also includes both condemnation of the sins of other nations and promises of salvation for other nations. The quote comes from Psalm 2:7.

13:34,35

Paul then quotes two further passages from Scripture, Isaiah 55:3 and Psalm 16:10. Note that in Paul’s letters he often gives quotes from Scripture to back up or explain his arguments, just as he does here. This lends credibility to the fact that Luke is giving an authentic record of Paul’s preaching. Isaiah 55 speaks of the offer of salvation from God, an invitation to come to God to buy true food and drink that truly satisfies, instead of wasting our lives on what does not satisfy. In Christ alone do we find the true mercies of God. Everything else is fake.

Lazarus rose again only to die again later. Jesus rose again, never to die again, never to see decay or corruption.

Jonah - Introduction

Jonah is one of the minor prophets, but is without doubt the most well-known. One of the key questions is how are we to interpret Jonah. There are some who say we should view the book as allegory or parable, ie not as a historical event. However, there is a Jonah in 2 Kings 14:25, who is called Jonah of Amittai and was a prophet. So to reject the book as non-historical is unwarranted. We also need to appreciate that the primary reason for rejecting the book as historical is his being swallowed by a fish. The book does make historical sense. Jesus refers to Jonah (Matt 12:39-41), though the references would be valid whether or not Jonah was allegorical or historical.

In 2 Kings 14:25 we read that Jonah prophesied who predicted restoration of Israel’s boundaries, so that would make him more popular than the Jeremiah’s of this world! If we look at the book it is more in line with the records of Elijah and Elisha, than being like other prophetic books. Ie the emphasis is on the life of the prophet and his relationship with God.

God sends Jonah to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria. It is important to realise that this happened at a time when Assyria was not that powerful, it is about fifty years before Assyria became the dominant power in the region, eventually conquering the northern kingdom of Israel.

The book stresses God’s concern for all nations, all peoples, not just Israel, Jonah needed to appreciate this, and whether he ever did is left open in the book. Jonah can be seen as being representative of Israel. For Israel, like Jonah, had no interest in other nations receiving God’s mercy, and this was one of the many failings of the land.

A link can be drawn between Jonah and Amos. Jonah went to the land of Nineveh, preached repentance, and much to Jonah’s annoyance they did repent and so were saved. Amos went to the land of Israel (northern kingdom), preached repentance and was rejected. Eventually destruction came upon the land. This mirrors, in some ways, the reaction of the Jews and the Gentiles to the gospel. But we should always remember that the final part of Amos is salvation for the Israel as well.

As for the big fish (the Hebrew is literally big fish, rather than whale), it certainly is unusual. There are some tales that lend some credence to the possibility of it happening. However, the approach I take is to accept it as face, but one that I cannot explain.

Acts 13:27-29 - The rulers did not recognise Jesus

13:27

Paul then refers explicitly to those who lived in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus’ ministry and death. He includes both the people and the rulers. They acted in the way they did because they did not understand what the prophets (of the Old Testament) were saying. This was despite these prophets being read every Sabbath. There one or two interesting points out of this. First, hearing the word alone is not enough, for the Jews heard the word. We need to “have ears to hear”, our minds need to be opened to the word of God. Today when we preach and teach we should ask God to enable the hearers to truly hear. No amount of eloquence is sufficient to overcome spiritual blindness, only the Holy Spirit can do that. Secondly, one might ask what would the people have done if they had truly understood the Scriptures, would they have then still had Jesus crucified? Now at one level at least this is a silly question, it is certainly a hypothetical one, but there is still something we can learn from it. The people should have repented and believed, that is the clear command of God. Killing Jesus was utterly wrong, even though it was fulfilling Scripture. We should always seek to do what is right, without wondering or worrying if and how this is going to lead to God’s will being done. It is always God’s will to do what is right.

13:28,29

Again we have clear links between what is said here in Paul’s speech and gospel accounts. The trial of Jesus was so clearly wrong for no cause for death could be found, Pilate could find no judicial justification for Jesus’ death (Luke 22:4). All this happened in fulfilment of Scripture. God knew and God planned what was going to happen, it was all meant to happen, but this in no way takes away human responsibility.

When Jesus was dead He was taken down from the tree and His body was laid in the tomb. It is common in the New Testament to speak of the cross as a tree, because it was made of wood. As an aside this does illustrate an interesting point in Biblical interpretation. There are eternal debates (though presumably they will end after Jesus comes back!) on whether there is a young or an old earth, was the world created in six literal days or not. Many of these debates focus on the words used for “day” in Genesis. This is a relevant point, but its relevance is limited. The context in which words are used is also crucial. For here the word for tree is tree, but this clearly does not mean that Jesus was crucified on a literal tree, such an interpretation would be plain stupid. So it seems to me that much of the talk about the meaning of the word “day” in Genesis is somewhat irrelevant.

Obadiah 1:18-21 - The kingdom shall be the Lord's

1:18

Jerusalem was set on fire, destroyed. Yet Israel itself would become a flame that will set the world on fire. Esau is the nation that would be destroyed forever. We should note that the nation Edom has not existed at all since AD 70, these words have come true.

1:19

There would be a reversal of the current politico-geographical situation. The present situation that Edom observed was temporary. We should note that the current geopolitical landscape we see is temporary. So how are to respond, how are we to act? Two key things. First we are to react with righteousness, to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God. Then we are to pay attention to the promises of God, for they are what tell us what the final outcome will be. If we look at the history of Israel, both as recorded in the Bible and what has followed, we should also realise that there is no simple easy road to the fulfilment, but fulfilment of God’s promises is the assured destination.

1:20,21

The present situation would be reversed. Israel would once again possess the land, and Edom would become subject to Israel. “And the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.” This is the final destination of the whole of human history.

Acts 13:24-26 - Who do you suppose I am?

13:24

So God had sent His Messiah, but there is also our part, and John the Baptist showed what that it. He preached repentance and baptism. Moreover, this was preached to the nation of Israel. Israel considered themselves a special nation, and in many ways that was true. But they were, and are, a special nation of sinners, just like the rest of us. And the message of repentance, the message that prepared the way for the Messiah, was preached to Israel. Israel needed to repent for her own sins first. In the same way, all of us need to repent for our own sins first. Then we can teach others the ways of the Lord (Psalm 51:13).

13:25

As noted earlier, it is important that here Paul is basing his teaching on basic gospel teaching. Paul is sometimes presented as being totally separate from the gospels, even ignorant of them. This section demonstrates that this is simply not the case. He knew of John, and the quote in this verse is recorded in the gospels (eg Mark 1:7). John made it clear that He was not the One, but was merely pointing the way forward to the One. One who is much greater than he.

13:26

“Sons of the family of Abraham and those who fear God” is addressing both those who were ethnically Jewish, and those who were “God fearers”. The message Paul has is a message of salvation.  Note yet again that this message of salvation included repentance. I know I keep going on about this, but this aspect of Biblical preaching is one that is so often lacking in modern day preaching, and often even frowned upon (or worse!).

Obadiah 1:15-17 - The day of the Lord is near

1:15,16

Obadiah then draws a more general lesson. “The day of the Lord is near for all nations”. The day of the Lord is not just a single day, but a time when God’s judgement comes, when things are brought into His order. We all need to be aware of this. Nations and individuals will be judged for what they have and have not done. This awareness of a day of judgement is a key factor in a civilised world, and when a society abandons all concept of a final accounting it will slowly, or quickly, descend into chaos and inhumanity.

1:17

Edom has been castigated for going along with Babylon (if we accept the later date) in mocking and taking advantage of Israel’s downfall. But Edom had drastically misread the situation. She thought this was the end of Israel, and why not take advantage of the situation? However, the final outcome would be that there would be deliverance on Mount Zion, there would be holiness there. Now consider this carefully. Why was Israel destroyed by Babylon? It was because of her persistent sin, as various prophets attest to. But that was not to be the end. She would be delivered, and she would become holy. Anyone who holds to any replacement theology like ideas should pay very careful attention to this verse. Israel will be exalted, and it will happen purely because of the grace of God.

Acts 13:21-23 - From David

13:21,22

The people wanted a king, against God’s command. But God let them have Saul. Saul proved to be a bit of a disaster. God then removed Saul and David became king, “a man after God’s own heart”. So Saul was the result of Israel’s choice and proved to be a disaster. David was the result of God’s choice and was a good king. Man chooses his way but it leads only to death. God chooses His way and it leads to life. So what should we choose? Man’s way or God’s way? Israel was putting herself forward as the way to follow, and so rejected God’s choice. The gospel was, and is, God’s idea. In modern debates look at the issues, and we will see time and time again that it is a choice between God’s wisdom and man’s wisdom. Today this is most poignantly clear in issues like transgenderism and homosexuality. Man’s wisdom or God’s wisdom. One way leads to death, the other way leads to life.

13:23

David was the great king of Israel, the one who united the nation. He was chosen by God, and the Messiah is referred to as the “son of David”. Jesus’ human descent could be traced back to David, in accordance with Scriptural promises. So Paul is establishing Jesus’ credentials. They were waiting for a Messiah, at some point the Messiah had to actually come, and this had now happened. In the same way, the second coming will happen one day, maybe even in our day. At that point it will no longer be a matter for academic debate, but one of present reality. The Jews, along with all mankind, needed to face up to the reality that the Messiah has come.

Acts 13:17-20 - A history lesson

13:17

The gospel was the next step in God’s working with Israel and the whole of mankind. Indeed it was what the Old Testament had been pointing forward to. This was something the Jews, on the whole, failed to grasp. Paul starts with the Exodus from Egypt, the foundational event in Israel’s history. While they were in Egypt God had greatly increased their numbers (Ex 1:7). He had made them into a significant body of people, but clearly slavery in Egypt was not the state they were meant to be in. Indeed, it was a state which they hated and groaned under. And God never intended them to stay in that state, so at the right time He set them free from slavery in Egypt. Now Israel (along with all mankind) was a nation, but was in slavery to sin, and Christ had been sent to set them free from this greater slavery.

13:18,19

Paul then recounts the events following the exodus. Their wanderings in the desert, and their eventual taking of the land of Canaan. Note that Paul says God “put up with them”. Israel deserved nothing, she was no more deserving than any other nation, for they were a sinful people, as the record of the Old Testament amply demonstrates.

13:20

Paul continues to give a sweeping overview of Israel’s history. There are a couple of important points to note about this. The first is that this is similar to what Stephen did back in Acts 7. The history of Israel points towards Jesus and the gospel. The second point is that Paul’s theology, his understanding of the gospel, is based on history, and in later verses we will see references to specific incidents in Jesus’ life. There are those who seek to claim that Paul preached a different gospel, such people do not know what they are talking about. So there was a period of the judges from entering Canaan until Samuel.

Complete notes on 1John

Complete notes on 1 John can now be found on Dundee Believer.

Acts 13:13-16 - In Pisidian Antioch

13:13,14

They left Cyprus for Pamphilia. This was in the southern coast of what is now Turkey. They would have landed at Attalia. A paved road led from there to Perga, about ten miles inland. This was one of the two chief cities in the region, with an estimated population of possibly around 100 000 (all estimates of populations are at best approximations). John Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem.  Then they went on to Antioch in Pisidia. This was about 100 miles from Perga, and uphill, so the journey would take about a week. Pisidian Antioch was not a major city in the Empire, but was of local significance. Antioch was a common name for cities. Indeed Phrygia had another city called Antioch. On the Sabbath they went to the synagogue and sat down. Here they would meet the local Jewish community.

13:15,16

Reading of the “Law and the Prophets” (ie the Scriptures) was a common part of Jewish worship. The synagogue leaders invited Paul to speak if he had a word of encouragement. This is one of the reasons that Paul went to the synagogues, as he would often have the chance to speak. Remember also that Paul was previously a trained Pharisee, so he had the necessary credentials. We should make use of the qualifications and opportunities that we have. Paul most certainly did have something to say! So he addressed the synagogue, including God fearers.

Obadiah 1:10-14 - Do not gloat

1:10,11

Edom has committed violence against Israel (Jacob).  She would suffer because of this. We should always act out of righteousness, not what seems pragmatic. If we take the later date for Obadiah, then Babylon was the all-conquering nation. It would seem that there was nothing to lose by siding with her against Israel, and much to gain. But such reasoning would be shown to be foolishness. Parts of the church are siding with the LGBT agenda, but all ideologies fade away, and only the word of the Lord lasts forever. So the truly wise choice is to stick with God’s word. Edom has just stood by, standing aloof, as Babylon carried away the wealth of Jerusalem. Now we need to remember that Israel suffered the Babylonian conquest because of her sin, it was God’s judgement against her, but that did not mean that other nations could freely join in the plunder, or stand idly by. We should always act with righteousness and mercy.

1:12-14

Edom gloated over his brother’s demise. Now remember where the two nations had come from, they came out of Esau (Edom) and Jacob (Israel). There was a dispute between them, Esau sold his birthright, Jacob diddled his way through life. Neither of them were exactly honourable! Yet God still expects them to have some responsibility towards each other, and in Genesis we read of a sort of reconciliation. This can teach us things about family relationships. It is quite common for there to be disputes between family members, and there will usually be some sort of justification for this, and sometimes this will be reasonable, at least up to a point. Even so, even if one party has acted quite unreasonably, we still have a degree of commitment. Instead, Edom saw Jacob’s demise as an opportunity to take advantage of her. This is not the way we should act.

Acts 13:8-12 - Elymas the sorcerer

13:8

Elymas the sorcerer knew that the gospel threatened his magic, so he opposed Saul and Barnabas, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. The gospel threatens society for it will demand changes, but it does not do this in the way that Islam threatens a society. For Islam works by law and force. The gospel changes men’s hearts, and they begin to see what is truly good and beneficial. When Christians seek to impose godly standard by force they have gone far off the rails.

13:9

We now get the first use of the name Paul. This was an example of a Roman extra name given to Roman citizens. Paul was not a change of name, but was an extra name, and was now used predominantly by Paul as his mission was increasingly to the Gentiles. He was filled with the Holy Spirit and then addressed Elymas directly, both in looking at him and in what he said. Sometimes the Holy Spirit will inspire someone to speak words of judgement, as here. We have a very poor conception of what it means to be Christlike at times. Elymas is addressed as a son of the devil, and is told that he is perverting the ways of the Lord.

13:10-12

But Paul did not use words only, he then declared that Elymas would become blind, and indeed he did. Now that is a gift of the Spirit that isn’t much on display these days! Of course it isn’t a gift as such, but this is a clear operation of the Holy Spirit, and again goes against our popular conceptions of how the Spirit operates. You don’t get many sermons on this side of the Spirit’s work. We do need to bear in mind that this is not a common means of operation of the Spirit, but it is part of His operation. This also led to the proconsul believing. His belief arose out of both a clear demonstration of the Spirit’s power and clear presentation of gospel teaching. The two are not opposed, but are supposed to work together.

Obadiah 1:4-9 - Cut off by slaughter

1:4,5

Edom thought very highly of herself, and God uses poetic language to describe her downfall. She would be brought low. God then gets Edom to appreciate the reality and gravity of what is going to happen. “If thieves came ... would they not take as much as they wanted”. God often uses poetic or allegorical language to convey the message, rather than straightforward prose. He wants the message to really sink home. This would be no minor punishment, but an army would invade the land and plunder it at will. But even in that case, a thief would not take everything, only what he was after. Likewise, grape pickers always left a few. In the Mosaic law the edges of the crops had to be left alone, and it seems that this was a widespread custom.

1:6,7

But the ravaging of Edom (Esau) would be without limit, it would be far worse. Even his hidden treasures would be ransacked. This would be done by the hands of those whom Esau thought were his allies, his friends.  They would achieve this by deception. They might seem to be friendly and helpful, but they would set a trap for Edom. a people who neglect God are a people who are easily fooled.

1:8,9

A society that becomes proud is also that tends to boast about its wisdom. In the west today the elites boast about their progressiveness in various areas. The Lord would destroy the wise men. The warriors would fare no better. In short, everything that Edom put its confidence in would be shown to be a worthless source of security.

Acts 13:4-7 - On Cyprus

13:4,5

Luke emphasises that it was the Holy Spirit who was directing affairs. Selucia was a coastal town some fifteen miles west of Antioch.  Then they sailed to Cyprus, about 60 miles away, Barnabas had contacts in Cyprus (Acts 4:36), Cyprus was quite a wealthy place. Salamis was the first port that they reached, and was also the most prominent city in Cyprus with some 100 000 residents. There was also a Jewish community there, but it was slaughtered in the second century. The Jews have always been victims of persecution. The historical and geographical details we find here, and indeed throughout the Bible, are a sign of how grounded the Bible is in the real world. Once they had landed they began to preach the word of God, starting in the synagogues. Saul knew that he would be preaching to the Gentiles, as that was God’s call on his life, but even so they usually started in the synagogues. As well as the “first to the Jews ...” principle, there is also the very practical reason that it provided an early opening for them.

13:6,7

They walked their way across the island to Paphos which was on the western side. They would have passed through various towns and cities on the way, presumably they preached in these places, but no mention of that is made here. In Paphos they encountered a Jew who was a sorcerer and a false prophet. There is a record of some notable magicians having Jewish roots. This man was with the proconsul, something akin to a special adviser in today’s terms. The proconsul, Sergius Paulus, wanted to meet with Barnabas and Saul, and to hear the word of God. The date for this is probably around AD45-46.

Obadiah 1:1-3 - You shall be utterly despised

1:1

“The vision of Obadiah”. This is similar to the introduction used in some other prophets, eg  Isaiah and Nahum. In those times it was common that when a dominant nation such as Assyria or Babylon went to war, they would call upon their vassal states to join them in supporting the battle. If we take the later date for Obadiah, then Edom would have received such a rallying call from Babylon when she was going to attack Jerusalem. So the wording in verse 1 reflects this sort of call, except that the Lord is now calling on the nations to attack Edom. We need to remember that none of these nations were godly nations, yet God is the Lord of history. We look at modern day Israel and the attitude of the surrounding nations, and of the United Nations, and this can lead us to despair. We should not despair, instead we should pray, for God is the Lord.

1:2,3

Edom had perhaps developed a high opinion of herself, thinking she was important, but God was about to make her into an insignificant nation, and a despised one. Edom had become proud, trusting in her own strength. She thought she was impregnable, but this was a delusion. We see this pattern again and again, both in nations, in organisations and in individuals. When we become proud, pride deceives us into thinking we are something we are not, and into thinking we have powers that we do not have.

Acts 13:1-3 - Prophets and Teachers

13:1

We now get a brief description of the leadership team at Antioch. It is noted that there were prophets and teachers. Prophecy was clearly an important part of the New Testament churches. However, there is rather limited information on what the prophets actually did, but I find nothing in Scripture to support the idea that prophecy no longer has any role in the church. Moreover, I find nothing in Scripture to indicate that prophecy in the New Testament church in anyway contributed to Scripture (Revelation could be viewed in that context, but Revelation is unique), and arguments from cessationists often rely in prophecy being equivalent in some way to Scripture. It isn’t!

We see here a variety of people in leadership. Simeon is a Jewish name. Niger does mean dark, it being a Latin name, but does not necessarily mean he descended from Africans, though he may have done. Lucius came from Cyrene, a North African city with a significant Jewish community. Manaen is a Greek form of the Jewish name Menahem. He had had some connection with Herod Antipas. Barnabas and Saul were also there.

13:2,3

They ministered to the Lord, or worshipping the Lord. They were also fasting. While they were doing this the Holy Spirit spoke to them. The Holy Spirit speaks to His people, and sometimes directly. The Spirit instructed the church to set Barnabas and Saul apart for the work to which the Spirit had called them. This is a reminder that it is Christ’s church, not ours. The Spirit is ultimately in charge, not us. There was more fasting and praying and Saul and Barnabas were sent on their way, possibly with money for the journey.

Obadiah - Introduction

Introduction

The book of Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament, comprising of just a single chapter. The book tells us nothing about Obadiah, apart from his name, which means “servant of Yahweh”. The prophecy is directed almost entirely against Edom, one of the few that does not have a go at Israel! The context is an attack on Jerusalem by Edom. Edom was a people that descended from Esau, Jacob’s brother. The date is not known either, but there were attacks on Jerusalem in the ninth (2 Kings 8:20-22; 2 Chron 21:16,17) and eighth centuries BC (2 Chron 28:16-18). Jewish tradition places it at about 844 BC. Edom is judged for her delight in the fall of Jerusalem. It is possible that Obadiah is much later, namely after Babylon’s conquest of Jerusalem. For Edom migrated into the southern part of Judah at this time, and other prophets castigate Edom for her attitude (Jer 49:7-22; Lam 4:21; Ezek 25:12-14, 35:1-15). Indeed, in reading the prophecy itself this later date seems to fit the context better. The Edomites disappeared as a people after the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70.

The key message of the book is the sovereignty of God, and the inadvisability of attacking Israel, or taking advantage of her in any way.

An important question is who did Obadiah address the prophecy to? The words of the prophecy are directed to Edom, so the question is did he actually go to Edom and say these things (or maybe address them to some representative of Edom), or did he address them to Israel. In the latter case the point would be to give the defeated Israelites some perspective on the matter. However, the message itself would make more sense if it was addressed in some way to Edom herself.

Acts 12:21-25 - Eaten by worms

12:21-23

Herod was addressing the officials from Tyre and Sidon in Caesareas’s theatre. Josephus also makes note of the splendour of Herod’s garments. This is just another small point lending authenticity to the accounts in Acts. The people acclaimed Herod’s oration as the one given like the voice of a god (I would guess in reality it was pretty boring, a bit like most dictators’ speeches). Again, the historian Josephus also refers to people calling him a god. Remember also that Roman emperors were likened to gods, so this seems to have been quite a thing in those days. So Herod was struck by an angel of the Lord and he was eaten by worms. Josephus says that he was ill for five days and died in terrible pain. He died a most horrible death. Note that Luke has no qualms about attributing this to the direct action of God. Sin does get judged.

12:24,25

Herod had planned to destroy the church and the gospel, but he came to a sticky end. Conversely, “the word of God continued to spread and flourish”. Man’s attempt to stop the gospel never succeed, the really serious problems arise when the church stops believing, and this is what we see in much of the West today. Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, presumably to Antioch, taking John Mark with them.

Hosea 14:7-9 - The ways of the Lord are right

14:7

Israel was increasingly becoming an object of scorn, and this would only increase in the years to come, but this process would be reversed. Instead, people would “dwell in her shade”, they would have a high regard for Israel and would flourish because of her. Israel would be sought after. We have seen this to some extent with the church. Societies with a strong Christian influence have respected the church and greatly benefited from its influence. Of course, this was highly imperfect, but it was true nevertheless. Now the West is quickly seeking to divest itself of all Christian influence. Israel is scorned by most nations, but one day this will change. She will return to God, and then she will be exalted among the nations.

14:8

Ephraim was currently heavily into idol worship, but God has nothing to do with idols. God alone is the one who answers our prayers, He alone is the source of our fruitfulness. And we need to remember that many of the “gods” were fertility gods, both in terms of harvest fruitfulness, and in fruitfulness in terms of having children. We should look nowhere else for fruitfulness.

14:9

Israel was facing a critical situation, one in which she would make the wrong choices. We need to learn from her mistakes and be sure to make wise choices. The wise man is the one who looks to the Lord alone. This is true wisdom. In our age today much of the church seems to think it is a good idea to turn to the world for wisdom, nothing could be more foolish. Such churches will stumble in God’s ways because they reject them, for the ways of the Lord are right.

Acts 12:16-20 - No little disturbance

12:16-19

Peter kept on knocking and eventually got let in! The people were amazed. Peter told them to be quiet for a moment and then explained what had happened. He then told them to tell “James and the other brothers” what had happened. Evidently they were not at the prayer meeting. Peter then left.

In the morning there was equal surprise in the prison, though not of a good kind. They could not understand what had happened. They searched everywhere, but found no trace of Peter. The guards were questioned and then executed.

12:20

Herod had sought to destroy the church with his persecution, in particular his arrest of Peter. God had intervened and thwarted his plans. Now we read of Herod’s downfall, and his downfall is directly related to his sinfulness, his pride. Tyre and Sidon were dependent upon grain coming from Herod’s lands, and for some reason or other Herod had cut off the grain exports to these places. The situation had become so serious that Tyre and Sidon sought to make peace with Herod, and did so by friendship with Herod’s aide Blastus.

Seek first the kingdom - a sermon on Haggai

Seek first the kingdom - a sermon on Haggai.

Acts 12:12-15 - Peter is here

12:12,13

Having realised what was happening, Peter makes his way to the house of Mary, where many people were gathering. The house would be quite large, and it was owned by a woman. Many believers were there praying for Peter. Rhoda, a servant, came to the door. Notice that Luke makes sure that women are mentioned by name, it they matter, even servant girls.

12:14,15

The girl was so delighted that she ran back without even letting Peter in! One can imagine how he felt at this point. She told the others that Peter was at the door. The reaction of the believers was one of unbelief. So we see that the notion that when we pray we have to be full of faith is, at least in one sense, bogus. It is more important that we pray than that we believe. Now is it better that we are full of faith? Of course it is, but we can so easily make prayer religious. Prayer is a conversation between us and God, that means we come with all our shortcomings and doubts. Better to pray with doubt, than not at all. This also reminds us that the source of answered prayer is God, not our faith. Now faith is a spiritual gift, so sometimes people will have faith for the most unlikely things to happen. I am not saying we should not believe, but the more we pray the more faith we will have. So the “believers” (or “doubters” in this case) thought the girl was mad and that she had seen an angel. Or more accurately Peter’s angel, meaning he was dead.

Amos - Complete notes

Complete notes on Amos are now available on Dundee Believer.

Acts 12:7-11 - Behold, an angel of the Lord

12:7-9

An angel of the Lord came to Peter and stood by him, and his chains fell off. A light also shone in the cell. The words of this verse remind of some lines in Charles Wesley’s famous hymn, “And can it be”. Peter was then told to put on his sandals. Prisons did not provide clothes or footwear, so these would have been Peter’s own footwear. Peter thought that all this was just part of a dream, he didn’t know that it was real.

12:10,11

The angel led Peter out of the prison, there is no record of why the guards were totally oblivious to all this. The doors opened of their own accord. Once they were out of the prison and on the main street the angel departed. It was only at that point that Peter was fully convinced that this wasn’t just a dream and was real. Peter had been delivered from the hands of Herod and the expectation of all the Jewish people. There is a lot of emphasis these days on what “the people” think. We do need to remember that quite often “the people” don’t have a clue. Here they would have thought that was it for Peter, Herod would have him killed and that would be the end of him. Today a couple of times or so a year there are reports on the death of the church. Many of the fact may indeed point in that direction, but these predictions all forget one major fact, God!

Hosea 14:4-6 - I will heal their apostasy

14:4

Now we see a complete transformation in the attitude of God towards Israel. Paul often talks about the mystery being revealed in Christ. Two of the key themes in the Old Testament are (i) Israel’s persistent sin and rebellion, along with God’s righteous anger against this sin; the other is (ii) God’s great promises and love for Israel. The mystery is how the two can be reconciled. The gospel reveals how this happens. We should a number of things though, for much of the “church” has a deeply mistaken view of God’s salvation. First is that God “will heal their waywardness”. God accepts sinners, but He does not leave us as we were, an essential part of His salvation is that He works in our lives to change us, to heal us of waywardness. If we do not want to be changed, then the gospel has nothing to offer us, except judgement. Second is “my anger has been turned away”. This is the propitiatory nature of the cross, it turns away God’s wrath. There are many who deny that Christ took our punishment, our judgement, upon Himself. Such people are fools. We are guilty and something needs to be done about that guilt, and that happens through Christ’s death on the cross.

14:5,6

Dew brought early morning refreshment to the land. God will bring refreshment to a people in the wilderness. Acts speaks of times of refreshing (Acts 3:19,20). Without Christ decay is the thing that characterises our lives, as individuals and as societies. We see decay in our bodies, we see decline in society. When the gospel comes in life comes in, we become strong. This does not happen all at once,  but it is the “direction of travel”. We become people who give off a pleasant fragrance.