1 Thessalonians 1:4-10 - Living examples

We now get a further reason why Paul thanks God for them. God has chosen them. Remember that Jesus said, I chose you, you did not choose me (John 15:16). Note also that Jesus goes on in that verse to say that the purpose is that they might bear fruit. So Paul is giving thanks because he sees that the fruit is indeed being produced. We also need to always remember that the initiative for our salvation rests with God, not with us.

So how does Paul know they have been chosen by God? Because he saw that the gospel came to them with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. There is both strong internal and external evidence. 

Paul and his companions did not simply preach the message, they lived it as well. So the Thessalonians could become imitators of them. We are to be examples of what we preach. 

They also welcomed the message in the midst of suffering. We know that Paul was attacked in Thessalonica and had to escape. The attack on the Christians would have continued. But with the suffering came joy in the Holy Spirit. So the Thessalonians became an example to be followed as well. The Thessalonians had a good reputation. May our church be a church with a good reputation. Now this is a good reputation in the right sense, a reputation of being devoted to God and having turned away from the things of the world. The Thessalonians had turned away from idols and turned to serving Christ. We live in a time when the world is increasingly seeking to squeeze us into its mould. Same-sex "marriage" is the most obvious example of this at present, but not the only one.

Paul closes the is section with reference to the return of Christ. When Christ returns it will be to judge the world. The wrath of God will come. And the wrath of God is God's passionate and reasonable judgement on our sin. 

1 Thessalonians 1:1-3 - Hope

The letter comes from Paul, Silas and Timothy. They frequently worked together, and, of course, we have two of Paul's letters to Timothy in the New Testament. This is one of the few letters where Paul does not introduce himself as an apostle, though the letter does include the usual "grace and peace to you". 

Another feature of chapter one is how short it is! However, that is not really a feature as chapter numbers were put in many years later.

Paul had been force out of Thessalonica, so is assuring the Thessalonians that he has not forgotten about them. Moreover, he thanks God for them. 

Verse 3 is one of several instances in Paul's letters where faith, love and hope occur together, 1 Corinthians 13 being the most famous example. Faith and love produce work and labour (ie much the same thing!). Hope produces endurance. Endurance is one of the most important Christian virtues. Many can start well, many can shine for a time, but there are few who keep going, who will see something through to the end, who will press on during the difficult times. Endurance is vital if we are to build something that lasts, and it is hope that enables us to endure. We know that Christ has already won the victory, and we know that we will share in His inheritance, so we have hope for the future.

1 Thessalonians - Introduction

Acts 17:1-9 tells us about Paul and Silas in Thessalonica. There were some Jews there for he initially spoke in the synagogue, and a few of them believed. However, a large number of God-fearing Greeks and prominent women believed. There was also much opposition from the Jews. So Paul and Silas had to flee from the city.

Paul probably wrote 1 Thessalonians from Corinth in AD 51. This letter may well be Paul's earliest letter, Galatians being the only other contended.

Thessalonica was an economically active city and the capital of Macedonia. 

Paul's primary purpose was to encourage the church, and also to give them instructions on how to live their lives. A new faith meant a new way of life. Both Thessalonian letters have a significant eschatalogical element to them, and is seen by many to be a directing them of the two letters.

2 Chronicles 36 - The End

We now come to the final chapter in Chronicles. After Josiah Judah was dominated by Egypt for several years, effectively having puppet governments. The puppet kings did themselves no favours (v8, 9) carrying on with their detestable practices. After being a puppet to Egypt, they then became dominated by Babylon. 

Zedekiah is castigated for not paying attention to Jeremiah the prophet. He also rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar. The nation continued to go from bad to worse.

The Lord had send numerous prophets to the land warning them of the consequences of their actions, but they paid no attention. So the Lord handed them over to Babylon and they suffered much. Many were carried off into exile. v21 tells us that the land was given its Sabbath rest. The Law had stipulations for Sabbath years and Jubilee years, but it is doubtful that these laws were often observed. So the Lord gave the land its Sabbath rest, when all the people had been cleared out. So the people were in exile until the seventy year period had been fulfilled, then King Cyrus gave the order for people to return to their land. The writer is setting everything in its context, enabling the people to understand their present situation. In a sense the nation had a second chance, it should learn from the past. 

Some will object that God's judgement, involving much bloodshed as it did, is harsh. However, this is a stupid attitude. We should learn the lesson and put things right, following God's ways instead of rebelling against them. However, it seems that we would rather argue that God is unfair than repent.

2 Chronicles 35 - State and religion

As with Hezekiah, a much greater emphasis is put on the celebration of the Passover than is given in 2 Kings. The writer is emphasising the importance of worshipping the Lord properly. It is important to realise how Kings and Chronicles fit together and what they teach us. Israel lived in the real world, things happened, economies grew and shrank, battles were fought and lost. Israel worshipped God, rebelled against God, worshipped idols, cleared out all idol worship. And the two were intimately linked. The state of Israel's relationship with the Lord, the level of her commitment to the Lord, was the determining factor in how her economy, and her relationships with the rest of the world went. 

So it is for us. Society tries to make "religion" a purely private matter. It is not. This applies to us as individuals and as a nation. Society is trying to get us to abandon our religious beliefs (especially on sexual morality at present) or at least to keep them to ourselves. We must not let this happen.

In verse 7 we read that Josiah provided for all the lay people the sacrifice for the Passover. There is an obvious parallel with Christ here. Jesus has provided the sacrifice for all of us, He is our Passover lamb.

The officials, ie the state, provided for the people and priests. A state that honours God will be a more powerful state.

Josiah was killed in a battle with Egypt. This was a result of disobedience to the Lord. The word had even come from a pagan ruler. All our actions of obedience or disobedience have consequences.

2 Chronicles 34 - Young Josiah

Josiah became king at the age of eight. When he was about fifteen he sought the Lord for himself. Then fours later he started to cleanse the nation if its high places and idols. The idols were utterly destroyed, symbolic of the desire to be completely rid of all vestiges of idol worship.

Next he set to work on the temple. Again, the use of money is mentioned. In the church we should not be shy of talking about money and using it properly. It is the improper use of money and wrong attitudes (especially a love for money) that are the problem. Money should be used to achieve God's purposes. 

While all this was going on they found the Book of the Law. It is amazing that they had forgotten about it. However, much of the church today seems to have forgotten the Bible, so maybe we should not be that surprised. 

The king listened to the Law and repented. A female prophet then speaks. The news is bad, for judgement is going to come. However, Josiah would not see it because of his faithfulness. 

Josiah reacted by getting all the people to commit themselves to the Lord. 

2 Chronicles 33 - Manasseh, from evil to good

Manasseh came next was an evil king, he also reigned for a very long time, fifty five years. He followed the practices of the nations the Lord had driven out. The driving out of nations, particularly in Joshua, was not part of a land-grab, but was driving out of nations whose practices were detestable (including child sacrifice), the purpose was to avoid Israel following these practices so that a Godly nation would be raised up that would be a light to the nations. There are some today who see Israel rather too much in terms of the land that they have. I am not saying the land does not matter (and I  most definitely do not believe in replacement theology), but we need to have the focus on the right thing. Likewise, the church is meant to be a light to the nations and we should not adopt the practices of the world, which we seem all too ready to do.

Manasseh even went as far as setting up idols in the temple of God. He sacrificed children, practised divination and witchcraft. 

The writer makes it abundantly clear what Manasseh's sins were. Verse 9 is most damning, Israel was worse than the nations they had driven out. The Lord sent prophets but they were ignored (remember Jesus' parables on the same theme). So God sent an army against them. Manasseh was carried off into exile but then humbled himself and the Lord listened to him. This is a model of what happened to the whole nation. They all sinned and many were taken into exile, but if they repented the Lord would forgive and restore them (see Solomon's prayer).

Manasseh returned to Jerusalem and did some restoration work, and also removed the idols. The people still used the high places, but only to worship the Lord.

So Manasseh followed the reverse path of several of the previous kings, who started off well and then fell at the end. Manasseh started off badly but then turned to the Lord at the end.