Leviticus 23; Psalm 30; Ecclesiastes 6; 2 Timothy 2
Daily Catechism
QUESTION 76: WHICH IS THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT?
Answer: The seventh commandment is, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”
Scripture: Exodus 20:14.
Leviticus 23
I take the main point to these celebrations that the LORD wants his people to remember. He wants them to ingrain into the fabric of their lives a reverence for him and a remembering of God’s work to deliver them and to set them apart. He wants them to know that they have a special purpose and that they were chosen by him apart from their works. The law and the special ceremonies, however, become a source of pride and stumbling for the Israelites (Rom 11:9-11). But this stumbling was for the salvation of the world and will ultimately pass (Rom 11:13-14, 23-24, 25-26).
Psalm 30
I will praise you and my heart will rejoice because you sustain me always and you hear me when I call out to you (Ps 30:1-2). You lift my countenance when I am low O God and you restore me when I am tired or weak (Ps 30:3). May you always move me and all the saints to praise your name and to give thanks when you have lifted our head and given us joy and satisfaction (Ps 30:4). Your discipline is real but it leads to joy in the end and I thank you that weeping may come for a season, but indeed joy comes in the morning (Ps 30:5). May you remind me in times of prosperity not to trust in myself or in my circumstances that I would not be arrogant and that I would not begin to love or enjoy the gift more than the giver. It is you who give abundance Lord and it is you who take it away (Ps 30:6-7). Let me always remember Lord that it is mercy I need and not wages. You do not owe me but you give because you love me and because it is your good pleasure to bless me (Ps 30:8). It is mercy Lord that you would allow me to remain and to labor for your kingdom…please grant me great resolve to praise you and to tell of your faithfulness (Ps 30:9-10). Lord you rescue my thoughts whenever I am distressed and you have turned my attitude to gladness even when circumstances are hard in order that your name may be exalted and that I may have the great joy of reflecting your glory (Ps 30:11-12).
Ecclesiastes 6
I see that Solomon points out the folly of toiling to whet an appetite that is never able to be fulfilled (Eccl 6:7). He indicates that the difference between the wise and the fool in this is that the wise will find satisfaction in what he sees (what he already has) and the fool will continue to hunt after what he does not yet have (Eccl 6:8-9). Our life is but a shadow and if we live merely for stuff and things we will surely levee no legacy or impact on this place or on our children’s children. Let us live to the glory of God and hope for what is unseen (Rom 8:23-25)!
2 Timothy 2
v1. Paul prays for strength for Timothy. The servant of the Lord must be strengthened for the service he is to provide. Delivering the Word of God and leading a people in his way is not a simple task and it takes rigorous work and diligence. Note that he prays it be the grace in Christ Jesus that strengthens him. He wants Timothy to rely on what he himself received from Jesus…the hope and joy and forgiveness and the satisfaction he gets in Jesus should give him strength to labor for others. Grace here is the power of God and not anything like license or a hall pass. Grace is the transforming power of God to bring change and glory to his name.
v2. He wants Timothy to pass along the teaching to faithful men who will do the same. This is the multiply model of biblical discipleship. This is the small group concept of focused attention (sometimes one on one) and is different than congregational teaching.
v3-7. Here Paul tells him to share in sufferings as a good soldier. He then switches analogies a couple times to indicate essentially that there will be much labor and struggle involved and that there will even be danger. No shortcuts. You will suffer with the Lord and this should be your aim. Seeking creature comforts is a distraction. Don't look to build up the bank account and enjoy the offerings of the world. No- you are a soldier on point here. You need to compete by the rules that God assigns and he does this by suffering and he shows that the hard worker gets the harvest, not the sluggard. Labor for your flock and be not distracted by the world. My family is part of this army Lord and may you help me to lead them and point them to the battle and to support them and to not leave them as easy picking for the enemy. Help me to live this message in context of family as well as ministry and make me always a faithful shepherd.
v8. If the suffering begins to get to you…remember Christ. He rose from the dead. You too will live and do even now.
v9. And remember those that suffer even more than you do for his name. No suffering or struggle can keep back the Word of God.
v10. So when Paul thinks of Christ and the gospel he is motivated to endure anything at all because he knows that his service is used to call the sheep and to gather the choir of lights for King Jesus. Jesus saw his offspring, his brothers and sisters, Jesus saw and was satisfied to suffer for their sake (Is 53:11). So too Paul is willing and we aught also to be willing to suffer for the sake of the elect. This is calvinistic evangelism 101. Evangelize at great cost precisely because God has chosen to save some. Seek them out…the reward is sure.
v11-13. Difficult passage here. I think context immediate and large is needed and still I am unsure. This sees to be a parallelism where he contrasts two sets of statements. First is about positive statements with positive outcomes... if we are united in him and references Rom 6:5 and Rom 5:17. Then switches to negative with negative outcome. Matt 10:33 and then Matt 7:21-23 suggest that denying Jesus could result in Lord Lord. This seems an unsaved state and condemnation when our would be savior does not confess his union with us. If we are faithless he remains faithful- for he cannot deny himself. So here is the most debatable part. Does this refer to his faithfulness to us or to himself? I think it is clear actually because of the final statement that he cannot deny himself. So this faithfulness here is about God being faithful to himself…yet does this swallow us up in it because of our union with Christ and the indwelling Spirit? Or does this indicate that he is faithful to himself and therefore condemns just like he will be faithful to himself and fully righteous to condemn the world? See Rom 3:3-8. There the judgement of God proves the righteousness of God. This even is against the chosen people (Israel) if they are faithless. It is not so much God's faithfulness to the one who is faithless as it is his faithfulness to himself and also, consequently, his faithfulness to uphold his righteousness for the sake of the faithful ones who trust in him. He killed his Son and vindicated this righteousness and he will not deny Jesus. He will not deny the need for his sacrifice and the fact that he must be received by faith or there is no hope of salvation. I believe this passage is not granting unending hope to the faithless... but warning. This again is why Paul labors so for the elect. Not because people are slam dunk when they profess faith but because they must endure and they must remain faithful or else there is hell to pay. Back to the exegesis. Remember the first half…if they have died, they live. If they endure, they reign. Living and reigning is a contrast to the outcome of denying a righteous God who is faithful to his righteousness and to the dying vindication of His Son. Remembering Peter tells us that a temporal denial and temporal faithlessness is not the problem but a failure to endue to the end is. The elect will return from faithlessness and strengthen their brothers (Luke 22:31-32) and the others will not (Matt 27:5).
v14. Paul further tells Timothy to remind the men who will pass along the message of this so they will be motivated to avoid quarreling over words that ruin the hearers and focus on the truth that will help them remain faithful.
v15. Prepare and know the Word. Suffer and come through approved after testing. Do not be slack but come in from battle with a message from the king! Labor and come in with a right and sound word that you need not be ashamed about. Do not pick it up at a drive through window with no labor or toil or validation or confidence. But suffer and work and try and pray and pour yourself over the text and come in with confidence that you have handled the Word of God well.
v16. This is to avoid irreverent babble that would take people into more ungodliness. So this might be talking about things that are not really from the Word or that are not of eternal consequence or that are not thoroughly vetted in the Word. If it does not take the death and resurrection of Jesus for the message to make sense then it is irreverent to be taught in the house of the Lord to the children of God and thus is not worship and has no place there. If the house of the Lord on the Lord's day be a place for anything but worship and feeding the sheep from the Word of God what will be faithful and beneficial for their soul and their eternal state, then there is irreverence before the holy God that we serve.
v17-18. Also the irreverent babble could be unconfirmed and un-vetted statements that are really not researched that could lead to false ideas and teaching to spread because if the shepherd does not see fit to validate his sermon, then how likely are the sheep to look further into it. And if he is careless in the words he uses and the impression he gives the sheep likewise may be careless and /or they may take away an unintended concept and spread it. This could kill and be used by the devil to poison and devour and indeed here it has.
v19. God' firm foundation of holiness stands and thus a sign of his disciples, and shepherds, is increasing personal holiness (sanctification).
v20-21. Know that there will be some among you who are vessels of wrath. So you can recognize the honorable vessels because they repent and they are made holy by their holy God. They are useful for the cause and they are prepared to do good for the kingdom.
v22. So spend your free time with those that are seeking the Lord with a pure heart. Flee from the passions of the flesh and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace. Love issuing from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. 1 Tim 1:5
v23-26. Stay away from arguments and controversies. Do not give in to the cat fighting and the temptation to make a point and be right. As a servant of the Lord you must be kind to all (unbelievers as well as believers with differing opinions) you must be able to teach even those that disagree on some points. Can this be possible if you hurl insults and condescension at them? Patiently endure…so they may be off base and you may have to endure their comments and their failure in not acknowledging the holiness or sovereignty of God but this is for the sake of their souls and for their faith! Suffer as a good soldier! You may very gently correct them and pray that God might grant them repentance. God may yet grant them knowledge of the truth for their salvation or for the building of their faith. The last verse seems to make it sound like these people are unsaved and so these would be arguments with unbelievers who want to debate. Perhaps these could also be saved people that are still doing the devils bidding (the flesh is ruling by default due to a lack of seeing and engaging in the battle) and they can be won unto faithfulness to their calling and like Peter, can return to even strengthen others.
Soli Deo Gloria!
