Exodus 31
LORD gifted Bezaleel to be craftsmanverses 1-5
And the LORD spoke unto Moses saying
See – I have CALLED by name Bezaleel- the son of Uri
the son of Hur – of the tribe of Judah
And I have FILLED him with the Spirit of God
in wisdom – understanding – knowledge
all manner of workmanship
To DEVISE cunning works – to WORK in
gold – silver – brass – cutting of stones
to set them – and in carving of timber
to work in all manner of workmanship
LORD gifted Aholiab to be Bezaleel’s assistantverses 6-11
And I – behold – I have given with him Aholiab
the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan
And in the hearts of all that are WISEHEARTED
I have put wisdom that they may make all that
I have commanded you
The tabernacle of the congregation – the ark of the testimony
and the mercy seat that is thereupon
All the furniture of the tabernacle
the table and his furniture
the pure candlestick with all his furniture
the altar of incense
the altar of burnt offering with all his furniture
the laver and his foot
the cloths of service
the holy garments for Aaron the priest
and the garments of his sons
to minister in the priest’s office
the anointing oil
sweet incense for the holy place
according to all that I have commanded
you shall they do
Sabbath: permanent sign of covenantverses 12-17
And the LORD spoke unto Moses
Saying
Speak you also unto the children of Israel
saying
Verily MY Sabbaths you shall keep
for it is a SIGN between ME and you
throughout your generations
That you may KNOW that I am the LORD that does
SANCTIFY you
You shall keep the Sabbath therefore
for it is HOLY to you
Everyone that defiles it shall surely be
PUT TO DEATH
For whosoever does any work therein
that soul shall be CUT OFF from among his people
Six days may work be done
BUT in the SEVENTH is the Sabbath of rest
HOLY to the LORD
Whosoever does any work in the Sabbath day
he shall surely be put to DEATH
Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath
to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations
for a perpetual covenant
It is a SIGN between ME and the children of Israel for ever
for in six days the LORD made HEAVEN and EARTH
and on the SEVENTH day HE rested
and was REFRESHED
Moses given first stone tablets from Godverse 18
And HE gave to Moses – when HE had made an end of communing
with him on mount Sinai – two tables of testimony
tables of stone – written with the FINGER of God
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 3 And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, (4390 “filled” [male] means consecrate, accomplish, replenish, overflow, abundance, complete, endow, impart, give, ordain or confer a gift)
DEVOTION: God has been giving instructions to Moses and the people regarding the worship of HIM. HE gives a detailed account of what HE expects from the priests. HE gives a detailed account of how HE wants the Tabernacle built. HE even gave Moses a peak at the Temple in heaven for an example for him to follow.
Now the LORD imparts special gifts to special people to fulfill HIS plan for the building of the Tabernacle in the wilderness. It would seem that they would not have all the material available while they were traveling in the wilderness but the LORD provided the material for the building of the Tabernacle.
HE also provided the men with the skill to make the project happen. HE consecrated two men listed here to be given the gifts of wisdom, understanding, and in knowledge in all manner of workmanship. This is a gift from God to a man or in this case two men.
Remember each person who is a follower of God in the Bible is gifted by God for a work that is pleasing to God. No one is not gifted!
This is true today in the church. Every individual who is a genuine believer has a gift or two or three given to them by God. This includes every man and woman in the church.
Not everyone has the gift of leadership or pasturing. There are many who seek that gift but it is not given by the LORD for one reason or another. We are told to seek our gift but not to invent our gift.
Giftedness is acknowledged by other believers. There is the WOW factor. One day older Christians will look at other younger believers and see their gift. They will acknowledge that gift to you.
The sad truth is that even though everyone is gifted many Christians don’t care. They don’t want to use their gift for the LORD. They want to be left alone to do what they want to do without listening to the Holy Spirit in their life.
Some of think that they are not saved to begin with but we are not the ones who can make that judgment. We can examine fruit and try to encourage someone who has a gift to use it but it is the Holy Spirit that truly convicts someone of their giftedness and places the conviction on them to use it.
CHALLENGE: Listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying to you about your gift to be used in service to your King!! Don’t seek a gift that has not been given to you!!!
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 13 Speak you als0 to the children of Israel, saying, Verily MY Sabbaths you shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that you may know that I am the LORD that does sanctify you. (226 “sign” [‘owth] means any nonverbal action or gesture that encodes a message, warning, banner, remembrance, omen, warning, token, standard or proof)
DEVOTION: The LORD is into giving HIS people signs of what HE expects of them. HE gave a rainbow to let the people after the flood what to expect of HIM. HE was never going to use a flood to judge the world. In the New Testament we read that HE is going to use fire to judge the world.
Now HE uses a sign of creation to inform the people that HE wants them to set one day a week aside to worship HIM alone. No work is to be done on the seventh day. HE rested and was refreshed on the seventh day and HE wants HIS followers to be rested and refreshed one day a week.
The rest is to be taught to every generation in the future. It is to be practiced so that they have time to make them understand that they are a unique people that are holy or separate unto the LORD.
The rest of the world will look at their actions or inaction on the seventh day of the week and wonder what is going on with these people. It will give them an opportunity to tell others about the God they serve.
God wants HIS people to be unique. HE wants them to be different from the rest of the world but not in a bad sense but in a good sense. We are to be different from the rest of the world, so that, we can tell them about Jesus.
It is explained throughout the Word of God just how we are to be different from the rest of the world. Too many believers are trying to look and act like those who don’t know Christ. This is wrong. It is not pleasing to the LORD and our witness when we act that way is not good.
CHALLENGE: Each generation needs to teach the next generation what the LORD expects of them. What are we being taught today by the older generation of Christians?
: 15 Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever does any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. (7677 “rest” [shabbathown] means a Sabbath with special Sabbath celebrations, a period of rest that may or may not have been on the Sabbath, rest period or Sabbath observance)
DEVOTION: There are penalties for those who disobey the LORD. HE sends warnings to those who are disobedient that a penalty or judgment is on its way. HE expects those who are followers of HIM that HE will not put up with disobedience for too long. HE is longsuffering with HIS children but HE is also HOLY.
Those who broke the Sabbath rest were to be put to death. That seems like a harsh punishment for just doing a little work on the Sabbath. It seems like they could have just caught up on something that they didn’t get to the rest of the week.
We can make excuses for breaking any law the LORD has set down for us to obey. We can just say that we slipped a little from following HIM but we will stop when we get this certain project done or when we get done sowing our wild oats.
God doesn’t accept excuses. The elders of Israel were to observe the actions of those in their families and act accordingly to keep the people true to the teachings of God. If they let one get away with not keeping the Sabbath it would not be long before more would be breaking the Sabbath and then the whole nation would be heading in the wrong direction.
The elders were held accountable to the LORD for policing their families. The husband is the head of the family and he is going to be held accountable before the LORD for the actions of himself and the rest of his family. The elders of the church are held accountable to the LORD for the actions of those under their ministry.
If accountability was practiced in the home and church there would be fewer problems in our local churches. This is not to be done in the wrong manner. All discipline that the LORD does in our life is done in love.
CHALLENGE: That is how the church and the father should be doing the disciple in their individual areas of responsibility. It is never too late to start. If it is done in the right manner!!!
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed. (5314 “refreshed” [naphash] means to take breath, or cease from activity)
DEVOTION: The LORD gifts men both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. In the Old Testament we find these two men gifted by the Spirit of God for work on the Tabernacle. They were gifted with wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and all manner of workmanship. In the New Testament men are gifted for the advancement of the church.
The LORD established the Sabbath as a day of rest. All of the children of Israel had to honor the seventh day as a day of rest. If they chose to not honor the day, they were to be put to death.
Here we find that God ceased from the activity of making the heavens and the earth. HE took six twenty-four hour days to create the world and then rested. It is really good to take a breath after working hard.
The LORD didn’t work hard because nothing is too hard for HIM, but HE set an example for us that the children of Israel needed to rest from work and worship HIM.
Those who didn’t obey the command were given a death penalty. That is not in effect today. If it was a law today many would be visiting the LORD rather than the local church.
Today we are so busy that we don’t take time daily to spend time with the LORD. Many feel that the only day they really have off is Sunday. They don’t want to spend time in church.
Some want to earn overtime and would rather skip church for the extra money. The LORD tells us that HE wants us to give HIM glory. HE gives a command in the BIBLE that we should gather together weekly to worship HIM.
In the book of Hebrews, we are commanded to NOT FORSAKE the gathering together as the MANNER of some is. We gather weekly to celebrate the RESURRECTION of Christ. We are to give warnings to those we know who claim to be a follower of Christ to come to church on a weekly basis or face the LORD’S discipline in their lives.
The LORD is not going to bless those who are disobedient. Are we being obedient to the LORD in our weekly presence in a place of worship?
Are we being encouragers to those who come to worship with us on a given Sunday? Is church encouraging or discouraging? Are we resting in the LORD? Are we ceasing from regular activities to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior? Are we using our Spirituals gifts to cause the church of Jesus Christ to move forward?
CHALLENGE: If this presently not happening the LORD can give us the ability to change and do things right!!
:18 And he gave to Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him on mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.(676 “finger” [ʾetsbaʿ] means finger or toe. [Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship])
DEVOTION: At the end of God giving Moses the law during the forty days on the mountain, God writes down the Ten Commandments personally on two tablets of stone. It is as if God is saying, “If you forget everything else, make sure you remember these!” What is amazing is that God knew full well at the time He was personally writing these down that the children of Israel were already engaged in idolatry, and that Moses would shatter the two tablets (in anger or frustration?) when he came down from the mountain and witnessed firsthand the idolatry of the people. Yet God personally was involved in the writing of these Ten Commandments on the tablets.
Of course, we do not know exactly how God wrote on the stone tablets. The metaphor of using His finger was given to explain how Moses expected God to write (assuming that Moses expected God to write them at all!). Yet the point is made that God personally was involved in the writing on the tablets, and that He did not simply dictate to Moses what to write. The Ten Commandments were written on stone tablets. That means that there was likely some carving or engraving done (unlike what would have happened if He had written them on a scroll, for example). The idea of them being written in stone is so that they would be perpetually available to the children of Israel to see. Of course, the second set of stone tablets was placed in the Ark of the Covenant, as markers of God’s covenant with the children of Israel.
Still the idea that God was getting personal in the making of the covenant with Israel through the Ten Commandments was supposed to remind them of the seriousness of their relationship with Him. Therefore, we ourselves cannot trivialize what God has written in these commandments, even though we know that Jesus came and fully lived up to all ten of them (the only perfect man to ever do so).
CHALLENGE: Can you see God’s activity in any area around you in your life? If so, pay attention to Him and what He is doing. (MW)
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Communication with Godverse 18
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Tabernacle of the congregationverses 7-11
Ark of the testimony
Mercy seat
Furniture of the tabernacle
Table and his furniture
Pure candlestick with all the furniture
Altar of incense
Altar of burnt offering
Laver and his foot
Cloths of service
Holy garments for Aaron the priest
Garment of his sons
To minister in the priest’s office
Anointing oil and sweet incense
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Two tables of testimony: written by Godverse 18
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORDverses 1, 12, 15, 17
I am the LORD that does sanctify verse 13
Creator of universe in six daysverse 17
God rested on seventh dayverse 17
God was refreshedverse 17
Godverse 18
Finger of Godverse 18
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Filled with Spirit of Godverse 3
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Not keeping the Sabbath: defileverses 14, 15
Working on the Sabbathverse 14
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Calledverse 1
Gifts of the Holy Spiritverse 3
wisdom
understanding
knowledge
all manner of workmanship
wiseheartedverse 6
Ministerverse 10
Sanctifyverse 13
Rest verse 15
Refreshedverse 17
Communication with Godverse 18
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Mosesverses 1, 18
Bezaleel the son of Uri the son of Hur of the tribe of Judahverses 1-5
filled with spirit of God in
wisdom and understanding
knowledge and all manner
of workmanship
to devise cunning works
to work with gold, silver and brass
in cutting of stones
carving of timber
Aholiab the son of Ahisamach
tribe of Danverse 6
All hearts of all that are wise heartedverse 6
Tabernacleverse 7
Aaronverse 10
Priestsverse 10
Children of Israelverses 13, 17
Sabbathverses 13-17
Keep the Sabbath
Sign between ME and you
It is holy to the LORD
It is a sign between Israel and LORD
Six day work weekverse 15
Perpetual covenantverse 16
Mount Sinaiverse 18
Two tables of testimony
written with finger of God
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
Death for not keeping Sabbathverse 14
Doing work on Sabbath: Cut offverse 14
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QUOTES regarding passage
To violate the Sabbath even for the sake of working on the tabernacle would result in death (vv.14–15). “Desecrates” contrasts sharply with “makes you holy” in v.13. As God’s covenant people, the Israelites were to carefully observe the sign of that covenant (vv.16–17). The Sabbath was the sign of “a lasting covenant” (berîṯ ʿôlām, “a perpetual covenant”), as were the rainbow (Gen 9:16), circumcision (Gen 17:7, 13, 19), and the table of the bread of the Presence (Lev 24:8). The Sabbath was thus a gift to Israel signifying that they were a separate people. (Kaiser, W. C., Jr. (1990). Exodus. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers (Vol. 2, p. 476). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House)
It was a test of the nation’s commitment to God; failure to keep it a holy day would result in death (i.e., separation from the community which would probably result in death). This command, as stated in the Decalogue (20:8), was based on God’s resting after His work of Creation in six days (31:17). Because the nation was in a covenant relationship with Him, the people were to do as He had done. The Sabbath marked Israel out as God’s people. Observing the Sabbath showed that the Israelites were set apart (i.e., holy) to God. (Hannah, J. D. (1985). Exodus. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 155). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
There is a time to labor for the Lord and a time to rest, and both are a part of His plan for His people (Mark 6:31). Bezaleel and Aholiab were constructing the holy tabernacle, but they were instructed to be careful not to violate the Sabbath. The Sabbath was not given to the Gentile nations but only to Israel as a sign of their special relationship to the Lord. As we have noted before, the Sabbath commandment is nowhere given to the church, for the church honors the first day of the week, the Lord’s Day, the day of His resurrection from the dead. The Sabbath belonged to the old creation (v. 17), but the Lord’s Day belongs to the new creation. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1993). Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the Old Testament (Ex 31:12–18). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
Ver. 14. Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore, &c.] Strictly observe it, according to the rules given concerning it: for it is holy unto you; a day that was set apart of God for holy exercises, peculiarly on their account: everyone that defileth it; by doing any servile work upon it, or not observing it in a religious way; shall surely he put to death; by the hand of the civil magistrate; if the law of the Jewish sabbath is now in force, the sanction continues, and the violation of it ought to be punished by a judge with death: for whosoever doeth any work therein; so much as to kindle a fire, and dress any food, by boiling or roasting, or any other way: that soul shall be cut off from among his people; that is, shall die by the hand of the civil magistrate, it being but another phrase for being put to death; though the Jewish writers, particularly Jarchi, understand the former phrase, put to death, as to be done by a civil magistrate, when there are witnesses and full proof of the case; but this of cutting off by the hand of God, by immediate punishment from heaven, when it was done secretly, and there was no proof to be made of it. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 1, p. 507). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
12–17. Some have thought, that the repeating the commandment respecting the Sabbath in this place, was with this intention; lest the children of Israel should suppose, that while building the tabernacle, which was now to be set about, they might, as it was God’s work, go on with the continuance of the work on God’s day. Hence they were taught, that even the works for God must not break in upon the holy day of God. Oh! How much to be wished is it, that Christians would remember this! (Hawker, R. (2013). Poor Man’s Old Testament Commentary: Genesis–Numbers (Vol. 1, pp. 374–375). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.)
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
EVANGELISM, SECULARISM
Why You Most Certainly Will Fail to Reach Your Secular Friends
Many have never been given a single reason as to why God is relevant to their lives. | Khaldoun Sweis
Why You Most Certainly Will Fail to Reach Your Secular Friends
Image: flickr
Man has, in Aldous Huxley‘s phrase, “an infinite appetite for distraction.” Thus, our pastimes have evolved into weapons of mass distraction: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat, YouTube, and on and on. Pascal told us “that the sole cause of man’s unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his room” (Pensee 136).
“I don’t want or need your god, thank you very much,” she said as she walked away from the boy giving his tracks. He had a look of shock and awe. We Christians try to reach our secular friends with transcendent truths, but we fail at it neither because our methods are not stellar or impeccable, nor because we did not do the proper marketing or sociological, demographical research (although these are very important). The bottom line is that for many, they do not want or need God. (At least that is the story many have swallowed. See Romans 1.)
We error when we ignore the trends and zeitgeist of the times, and we make grave mistakes when we try to stereotype people into this or that category.
According to the Pew Research Center, those who select “none” as their religious affiliation are growing at record rates. They not only think that they don’t need God, but many have never been given a single reason as to why He is relevant to their lives.
They find discussion of these issues like a perpetual hamster running in circles, thus they fill their lives with distractions and don’t want to be bothered with ultimate questions. And when we try to give the gospel to them, they ignore us as radicals and go back to drinking Frappuccinos and continue watching their iPhone.
When I am told by someone that they don’t believe in God, I ask, “What god do you not believe in?” Nine times out of ten, it is usually a god I do not believe in either! The caricatures and misrepresentations of the Christian God are abundant.
Below are three principles that have worked for me in presenting in the secular arena for the past 15 years. I believe these leave a fragrance for Christ that cannot be ignored.
Principle #1: ENGAGE. Sit at the table. Get a seat at the secular public square where you will have the attention of your secular friends.
What I mean is for us to make a difference by connecting with people, getting involved with Apple computers, with Congress, with your high school leadership team, with sports or whatever place the Lord opens a door to. Sit at their table—the table where most of the major decisions are made for government, culture, media, and education. By the way, these are also the four major arenas of secular thought in the world.
Use the pluralism diversity thesis to gain a seat at their table. After all, according to them, Christianity is just another paradigm, and since they don’t want to be intolerant of any viewpoint, you should be allowed to speak too.
Principle #2: ENQUIRE. Turn the table. We must be open to listening and taking the important questions our friends ask, turn them around, and allow people to open up and connect with us in a genuine and uncontrived manner. In doing so, we can expose the unstable foundations of their worldview.
Scripture says to “walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person” (Colossians 4:5-6).
“I do not believe in anything that is not physical. I only believe what science tells me is true,” is what a student of mine told me as he came into my office. I asked him if his idea was physical. He paused. He was invoking a first-person perspective—which is itself not physical. By the way, the idea that “I cannot believe anything that is non-physical” is itself a non-physical idea.
This is what we call a contradictory statement. Once he realized that the table was flipped and his foundation was false, I was able to share with him ten other things science itself cannot prove. You can read more about that here.
The most brilliant example of turning the tables in all of literature is in the story of Nathan and King David in the book of 2 Samuel 12. Nathan does not condemn David; rather, he gets David to condemn himself. Then, more productive conversations can emerge.
Principle #3: EDIFY. Reach across the table. Love individual people redemptively.
The opposite of love is not hate, but indifference. God either loves or hates, but He is never indifferent.
George, whose father died over ten years ago, never forgot that I was one of his only friends who came to that funeral. If you know people long enough, they will inevitably go through difficult times. This is the opportunity to show them the love of Christ. Be with them to rejoice with them and weep with them. It is demanding, if not impossible, for people to forget that! When the heart is tender, it is more open than any other time!
Watch this short video of the power of redemptive love, it deals with the largest refugee crisis in history. It addresses it with just looking into another human’s eyes for four minutes.
The gospel is ultimately about relationships, if it is about anything at all. Matthew 5:13-16 says, “You are the redeemed by God, the salt of the earth and light of the world.” How are you going to be his salt and light today?
Khaldoun Sweis is Tutor of Philosophy at Oxford University and Associate Professor of Philosophy at Olive-Harvey College in Chicago. He blogs at logicallyfaithful.com.
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THE COVENANT OF GRACE IN THE BIBLE
And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
Galatians 3:8
The third proof of there being only one covenant is that the Bible teaches very clearly that there is only one gospel; the gospel is the same in the Old Testament as it is the New Testament. Again I am surprised when a preacher does not see it in the Old Testament, for if a man does not see it there, I doubt if he understands the gospel in the New Testament. Take the gospel that was preached by God in the Garden of Eden and also the promise made to Abraham; that is the essence of the gospel. Look at all the types and shadows; look at the various offerings described in Leviticus and elsewhere. Look even at the very furniture of the Tabernacle. All these things preach the gospel; they are types of the gospel and its message.
It is most important that we should grasp that whenever we read the Bible. Listen to the teaching of the prophets; look at the great passages in Isaiah and in Jeremiah, and indeed in all the prophetic books. The statements of the gospel are the same in both Testaments. Consider, too, the specific statements made by Paul in Galatians 3:8 where he speaks of God justifying the heathen through faith. He says, “And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.” Surely this statement in and of itself is enough to show that there is only one gospel.
My fourth proof is that there are a number of direct statements that tell us that the Old Testament saints are now in the kingdom of God in exactly the same way as we are and share all the blessings of God with us. Take, for example, Luke 13:28.
A Thought to Ponder: The Old Testament saints are now in the kingdom of God in exactly the same way as we are.
(From God the Father, God the Son, pp. 236-237, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
Milk or Meat
“For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” (Hebrews 5:13-14)
The Scriptures are compared in these verses to our daily food—milk and meat. Milk is the necessary food for babies (1 Peter 2:2), but it becomes grotesque when a baby continues year after year as a baby, still incapable of partaking of anything but milk. This was the case with the Corinthian Christians who were, according to Paul, “babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 3:1-2). It was also true for these Hebrew Christians: “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again…the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat” (Hebrews 5:12).
Sad to say, this is still the situation with most Christian people today, even in Bible-believing churches. This is indicated not only by the many carnal divisions between them (1 Corinthians 3:3), but even more by the frothy nature of the Christian materials they read, almost always centered on introspective personal relationships rather than on the person of Christ, the deeper truths of Scripture, and the great purposes of God. The time spent in personal Bible study is minimal, and even most sermons repeatedly serve up milk for Christian babes rather than strong meat for spiritually healthy Christians “of full age” whose “senses” have already been strengthened by use to recognize the true and the false, the good and the evil. How urgently we need to heed the last words of the apostle Peter just before his martyrdom: “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research}
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