Hosea 12
Looking for help in all the wrong places verse 1
Ephraim feeds on wind – and follows after the east wind
he daily increases lies and desolation
and they do make a covenant with the Assyrians
and oil is carried into Egypt
History of Jacob verse 2- 6
The LORD has also a controversy with Judah
and will punish Jacob according to his ways
according to his doings will HE recompense him
He took his brother by the heel in the womb
and by his strength he had power with God
YEA – he had power over the angel – and prevailed
he wept – and made supplication unto HIM
he found HIM in Beth-el – and there HE spoke with us
even the LORD God of hosts
the LORD is his memorial
THEREFORE turn you to your God
keep mercy and judgment and wait on your God continually
Getting away with cheating verse 7- 8
He is a merchant – the balances of deceit are in his hand
he loves to oppress
AND Ephraim said
Yet I am become rich – I have found me out substance
in all my labors they shall find none iniquity
in me that were sin
Declaration of the LORD verse 9- 10
And I that am the LORD your God from the land of Egypt will make you
to dwell in tabernacles – as in the days of the solemn feast
I have also spoken by the prophets – and I have multiplied visions
and used similitudes – by the ministry of the prophets
More history of Jacob verse 11- 14
Is there iniquity in Gilead?
SURELY they are vanity – they sacrifice bullocks in Gilgal
YEA – their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the fields
AND Jacob fled into the country of Syria – and Israel served for a wife
and for a wife he kept sheep
AND by a prophet the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt
and by a prophet was he preserved
Ephraim provoked HIM to anger most bitterly
THEREFORE shall HE leave his blood upon him
and his reproach shall his Lord return unto him
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 4 Yes, he wrestled with the angel and won. He wept and pleaded for a blessing from him. There at Bethel he met God face to face, and God spoke to him. (2603 “pleaded” [chanan] means supplication, to favor, to earnestly request compassion, implore favor, intreat for mercy, or plead for grace)
DEVOTION: In theology there is a word used when it is thought that God the Son came down to earth before HE came as a baby. The word is Theophany. This word means visible appearing of deity in the Old Testament. Who was the deity? Well, we know that no one has seen the Father face to face. We know that the Holy Spirit has never taken on a bodily form except that of a dove. Here we have God the Son, Jesus Christ, appearing to Jacob and wrestling with him.
We know that God is all-powerful but here we have Jacob seeming to beat this messenger of God. Did Jesus lose on purpose? YES. HE wanted to bless Jacob and teach him a lesson. The lesson being that God was the only resource that could really help Jacob through all of his trials.
God is the only one who can give us the strength to help us through every trial or temptation that comes our way. We need to pray for deliverance from all of the things that happen in our life. Our enemy wants us to fail.
CHALLENGE: What are we wrestling with God about today? Is God speaking to you today about something you need to do for HIM?
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 6 Therefore turn you to your God: keep mercy and judgment and wait on your God continually. (6960 “wait” [qavah] means look for, hope for, wait in ambush, look eagerly for, linger for, tarry or expect.)
DEVOTION: Ephraim is chasing after the wind. Ecclesiastes has a theme of a life that is chasing after the wind or vanity. The children of Israel were only interested in making money. Money was their god. They thought they were rich but in reality they were poor without the LORD.
A history lesson is given regarding Jacob and his wrestling with an angel. He was running from his brother Esau because he had tricked him out of his birthright and blessing. He had done wrong. One his trip to his uncle’s house he met the LORD. He wept. He prayed. He wanted the LORD’S blessing on his life. He made a promise to the LORD there.
Now his descendents loved sin. Hosea asked them to turn or return to serving the LORD. He wanted them to show mercy to those around them instead of taking advantage of them. He wanted them to treat them right when they went to court. He wanted them to eagerly look for the LORD.
We are to eagerly look for the LORD and HIS blessings on our lives. There is a waiting in silence for the LORD to work in our lives. Here we have the children of Israel told to turn from their sins and keep mercy and judgment and expect the LORD to do something in their lives. They are supposed to do it continually. They choose to not look for the LORD. They chose to go to other nations for help. They didn’t want the help of the LORD.
So often we go to the LORD last when we should be going to the LORD first. We sin and try to get ourselves out of it instead of repenting and asking the LORD to forgive us. We should be opposite of the children of Israel. We should go to the LORD first. We should keep mercy before our eyes. We should keep righteous judgment before our eyes. We should reverence the LORD in all that we do.
One of the hardest things to do is look for the LORD to work. HE never seems works in our time frame. Here we have Hosea telling the children of Israel to expect the LORD to help continually. Are we doing that in our daily lives? What do we expect from the LORD? What do we hope for from the LORD? Can HE still forgive us and raise us up to serve HIM again?
CHALLENGE: Are we looking eagerly for the LORD to work in our life? If HE did would we be surprised or expectant? It is my prayer that I would expect HIM to work and praise HIM for it.
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: 8 And Ephraim said, ‘Surely I have become rich, I have found wealth for myself; In all my labors they shall find in me no iniquity that is sin. (4672 “find” [matsa’] means find out, secure, encounter, learn, devise, or detect)
DEVOTION: Cheating seems to be normal in our world. There are college students that pay someone for the answers to the tests. In fact there are students taking tests for other students for money.
In business, it seems that those who worked on Wall Street didn’t think it was wrong to trade stocks that were worthless and make a profit. There are banks that loaned money that they would never get in return and they sold those mortgages to others knowing that there was no money.
Our government allows one of its companies to lend money to people who can’t afford a home and when they default nothing happens. Politicians use their office to find out what is going to happen and then put their money on it and make a profit without any consequence.
The people in the ten tribes told the LORD that they made themselves rich by using scales that were false to weight things. They thought that any way they could make a profit was fair to the people they were robbing. They didn’t think they were doing anything wrong; they were just practicing good business. These were supposed to be the LORD’S people. They were cheating their neighbors. They were cheating other nations. What kind of testimony was this to those around them?
Today we find that there are people in business who call themselves Christian but they are cheating everyone they can to make a profit. They seem to think that everyone is doing it so why shouldn’t they. It is not Biblical thinking. It is wrong. It is sin.
CHALLENGE: God can’t bless us if we are cheating. If we treat those around us fairly the LORD will honor us.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 10 I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets. (1819 “similitudes” [damah] means in the likeness of, compare, resemble, speak in parables, think, imagine, or representation.)
DEVOTION: The LORD used all means at HIS disposal to reach the people with HIS message. It was a message of hope for those who would listen and a message of judgment for those who were unwilling to change direction. The majority fell into the second category. They didn’t care to listen to the LORD and they didn’t want to change.
HE continued to send them for years with the same message of judgment or change. HE is sending the same message today through HIS disciples. We are all HIS disciples once we become a follower of Jesus Christ. We have the same message but one that includes the sacrifice of Jesus Christ in the past. The Old Testament saints were looking forward to the coming of the Messiah, we look back at HIS coming.
Our ministry is supposed to be practiced until we die. There is no retirement in our service for the LORD. Each person we meet needs to hear the message. We can use many ways to give them the message: personal testimony, tracts, invitation to our church, etc.
Some people will listen. There were some in Israel who listened. There were some in Judah that listened. There are some in America that will listen. There are some in other countries. We should never give up getting the message of salvation out to all those in our world.
CHALLENGE: I don’t know if we will have to face people, we have met on judgment day and have them say to us “why didn’t you tell me.”
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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)
Jacob prayed to the LORD verse 4
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Solemn feasts verse 9
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Spoken by the prophets verse 10
Visions verse 10
Similitudes verse 10
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 2, 5, 9, 13
Punish Jacob verse 2
LORD God of hosts verse 5
Mercy verse 6
Judgment verse 6
LORD your God verse 9
Anger verse 14
Lord – Adonai (Owner, Master) verse 14
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
Angel [Theophany] verse 4
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign, Plural name) verse 3, 5, 6, 9
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Angel verse 4
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Assyrians verse 1
Egypt verse 1, 9, 13
Syria verse 12
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels) Lies verse 1
Desolation verse 1
Covenant with Assyrians verse 1
Balances of deceit verse 7
Loves to oppress verse 7
Iniquity verse 8, 11
Sin verse 8
Vanity verse 11
Sacrifice bullocks in Gilgal verse 11
Provoked the LORD verse 14
Reproach verse 14
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Recompense verse 2
Power verse 3, 4
Turn verse 6
Keep mercy verse 6
Keep judgment verse 6
Wait continually verse 6
Ministry verse 10
Prophets verse 10, 13
Deliverance verse 13
Preserved verse 13
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Ephraim verse 1, 8, 14
Judah verse 2
Jacob verse 2, 4, 12
His ways verse 2
His doings verse 2
Bethel verse 4
Gilead verse 11
Israel verse 12, 13
Prophet of the LORD: Moses verse 13
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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DONATIONS:
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QUOTES regarding passage
chanan (חָנַן, 2603), “to be gracious, considerate; to show favor.” This word is found in ancient Ugaritic with much the same meaning as in biblical Hebrew. But in modern Hebrew chanan seems to stress the stronger meaning of “to pardon or to show mercy.” The word occurs around 80 times in the Hebrew Old Testament, the first time in Gen. 33:5: “The children which God hath graciously given thy servant.” Generally, this word implies the extending of “favor,” often when it is neither expected nor deserved. Chanan may express “generosity,” a gift from the heart (Ps. 37:21). God especially is the source of undeserved “favor” (Gen. 33:11), and He is asked repeatedly for such “gracious” acts as only He can do (Num. 6:25; Gen. 43:29). The psalmist prays: “… Grant me thy law graciously” (Ps. 119:29).
God’s “favor” is especially seen in His deliverance from one’s enemies or surrounding evils (Ps. 77:9; Amos 5:15). However, God extends His “graciousness” in His own sovereign way and will, to whomever He chooses (Exod. 33:19).
In many ways, chanan combines the meaning of the Greek haric (with the general classical Greek sense of “charm” or “graciousness”) and the New Testament sense of “undeserved favor” or “mercy.” (Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W., Jr. (1996). Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Vol. 1, pp. 100–101). Nashville, TN: T. Nelson.)
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Hosea here resumes the theme from 6:7–9 that Israel has inherited the worst traits of their ancestor without picking up any of the good qualities; in particular the people of Hosea’s generation are untouched by grace. The portrayal of the life of Jacob here is not chronological but consists of passing allusions to details of the Genesis account that are thematically arranged in order to create a portrait of the patriarch as a desperate man transformed by God. “In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel” alludes to the birth of Jacob and Esau at Gen 25:26. “As a man he struggled with God. He struggled with the angel and overcame him”167 describes the wrestling at Peniel (Penuel), as presented in Genesis 32. The phrase “as a man” is a wordplay in Hebrew: it could be taken to mean “at his deception [ʾāwen],” the term ʾāwen meaning “deception” or “nothingness” and also being Hosea’s byword for the shrine at Bethel, Beth Aven. The implied accusation is: Jacob as a man struggled with God near Bethel; the nation has rebelled against God at Beth Aven.
“He found him at Bethel and talked with him there” refers both to Jacob’s vision of the heavenly stairway while he was en route to Haran and to God’s second appearance to Jacob upon his return to Bethel (Gen 28:10–22; 35:6–15). That is, the line does not so much refer to one incident as make the point that Bethel was the place where God came to Jacob. It is noteworthy that the text here calls Bethel by its right name instead of by the byword Beth Aven; at Bethel Jacob met the true God and not the god of the shrine.170 This implicitly criticizes the decadence of the Bethel shrine to which people of Hosea’s day made pilgrimages by contrasting the cult of Hosea’s generation with Jacob’s experience there. (Garrett, D. A. (1997). Hosea, Joel (Vol. 19A, pp. 236–237). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
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12:3–4. Jacob’s birth gave a hint of the kind of person he would be. His grasping Esau’s heel (cf. Gen. 25:26) foreshadowed his deception of his brother in stealing his birthright and blessing (cf. Gen. 27:35–36). However, Jacob eventually came to a turning point. When he faced the prospect of death at Esau’s hand on his return to the land of Canaan he wrestled with God, refusing to let go till he received a blessing (Gen. 32:22–32). Later at Bethel, the site of his dream years before (cf. Gen. 28:10–22), God appeared to Jacob again. God changed his name to Israel, blessed him, and renewed His covenant promise (cf. Gen. 35:1–14). (Chisholm, R. B., Jr. (1985). Hosea. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 1404). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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The example of discipline (Hosea 12:2–6, 12). Abraham is the father of the Jewish nation (Matt. 3:9), but it was Jacob who built the twelve tribes of Israel (Gen. 46:8–27). Hosea used the name “Jacob” for the nation because Jacob is an illustration of God’s loving discipline. Hosea cited several key events in Jacob’s life.
Jacob struggled with his brother even before he and Esau were born (25:20–23), and at birth, Jacob tried to trip up his brother Esau even as they were coming from the womb (vv. 24–26). The name “Jacob” means “he grasps the heel,” which is another way or saying, “He’s a deceiver, a trickster.” During most of his life, Jacob struggled with himself, with others, and with the Lord, and until he surrendered to God at Jabbok, he never really walked by faith. God had to discipline him to bring him to that place of surrender.
In obedience to God’s command, Jacob left Shechem and went to Bethel (Gen. 35), for it was at Bethel that he had first met the Lord years before (28:10–22). There God had revealed Himself and given Jacob promises for himself and his descendants, and there Jacob had made solemn vows to the Lord. Actually, the return to Bethel was a new spiritual beginning for his whole family; for Jacob commanded them to abandon their foreign gods and worship Jehovah alone. It does a family good to experience this kind of dedication. Alexander Whyte said that the victorious Christian life is a series of new beginnings, and he was right.
But the Bethel experience also included some pain, for it was on that journey that Jacob’s beloved wife Rachel died in giving birth to Benjamin (35:16–22). She called the boy Ben-Oni, which means “son of my sorrow”; but by faith, Jacob renamed him Benjamin, “son of my right hand.”
The divine title “Lord God of hosts [armies]” (Hosea 12:5) reminds us of Jacob’s experience at Mahanaim when he was about to meet his brother Esau (Gen. 32). Mahanaim means “the two camps,” for Jacob saw an army of angels watching over his camp. He was afraid of Esau and tried to appease him with gifts instead of trusting the Lord to deliver him. After all, didn’t God promise to care for Jacob and bring him safely back to Bethel? It was there that the angel of God wrestled with Jacob and “broke” him. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be amazed (pp. 40–41). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books)
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In verses 3 to 6 Jacob is himself before us, as in all respects a picture of the people descended from him. A supplanter from his birth, he manifested his overreaching spirit from the womb, taking his brother by the heel, as recorded in Gen. 25:26. Nevertheless grace had come in, and in his distress he laid hold upon God; or, as the margin says, “He behaved himself princely with God;” thus making good his new name, Israel—a prince with God.
When unable longer to struggle, he clung to Him against whom he had striven; and this was the power in which he prevailed—when he wept and made supplication to Him. It was what another has called “the irresistible might of weakness”—clinging to Him that is mighty, even as the apostle declared, “When I am weak, then am I strong.” This was the secret of Jacob’s prevailing with God, who had found him in Bethel when he was a fugitive and a wanderer because of his sin. “There He spake with us” implies, I judge, that the word of the Lord to him on the night when a stone was his pillow was intended likewise for all his house to the end of time. Whatever their failings, His eye would ever be upon them; “Even the Lord God of hosts, the Lord (Jehovah—the eternal, the unchanging One) is his memorial.”
Oh that Israel would learn from all these things to turn to their God, keep judgment and mercy, and wait on Him continually! (Ironside, H. A. (1909). Notes on the Minor Prophets. (pp. 90–91). Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers.)
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Ver. 4. Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed, &c.] This is repeated in different words, not only for the confirmation of it, it being a very extraordinary thing, and difficult of belief; but to direct to the history here referred to, where the person Jacob prevailed over is called a man, and here the angel; and so Josephus calls him a divine Person; not a created angel, not Michael, as the Rabbins say, unless the Messiah is meant by him; not Jacob’s guardian angel, as Kimchi, every man being thought by some to have one; and much less Esau’s evil angel, that was against Jacob, as Jarchi and Abarbinel; for of him he would never have sought nor expected a blessing; but an increated Angel, the Son of God, the same that went before the Israelites in the wilderness, and that redeemed Jacob from all evil, Gen. 48:16; Exod. 23:20–23. called an Angel, being so not by nature, for he is superior to angels in both his natures, divine and human; but by office, being sent to reveal the will of God, and to do the work of God in the redemption and salvation of men; the same that is called the Angel of the great council in the Greek version of Isa. 9:6 and the Angel of God’s presence, Isa. 63:9 and the Angel or messenger of the covenant, Mal. 3:1, the phrases used denote, as before, the power and prevalence Jacob had with this divine Person in prayer; whereby he obtained the blessing of him, even deliverance from his brother Esau, as well as others respecting him and his posterity. He wept, and made supplication unto him; not the angel, entreating Jacob to let him go, as Jarchi and Kimchi, and so some Christian interpreters; who think that an angel in human form may be said to weep, as well as to eat and drink; and the rather, since this angel was not the conqueror, but the conquered; and since Christ, in the days of his flesh, both prayed and wept, and shed tears; but the case here is different; and though he was prevailed over, it was through his own condescension and goodness: but rather Jacob is meant, as Abarbinel and others; who wept not on account of the angel’s touching his thigh, and the pain that might put him to; for he was of a more heroic spirit than to weep for that, who had endured so much hardship in Laban’s service, in heat and cold; and besides, notwithstanding this, he kept wrestling with him, and afterwards walked, though haltingly: but he wept either because he could not get out the name of the person he wrestled with; or rather the tears he shed were for the blessing he sought of him; for it is joined with his making supplication, and is expressive of the humble, yet ardent, affectionate, fervent, and importunate request he made to obtain it; and here we have another proof of the deity of Christ, in that supplication was made to him, and he is here represented as the object of that part of religious worship, prayer, as he often is in the New Testament. This circumstance is not expressed in Gen. 32 though it may be gathered from what is there said; however, the prophet had it by divine inspiration; and the truth of it is not to be doubted of, being not at all inconsistent with, but quite agreeable to, that history. He found him at Beth-el; either the angel found Jacob in Beth-el, as he did more than once, both before and after this time, Gen. 28:12–19 and 35:6, 7, 9. it is good to be in Beth-el, in the house of God; happy are those that dwell there, and are found there living and dying, doing the will and work of God there: or rather Jacob found God or the angel in Beth-el; God is to be found in his own house, there he comes and blesses with his gracious presence; here Christ the Angel of his presence is; here he meets with his people, and manifests himself unto them. There is in the words a tacit reflection on Israel, or the ten tribes, that bore the name of Jacob; the patriarch found God in Beth-el, Christ the Angel of the Lord; but now, instead of him, there was a calf set up in this place, Israel worshipped; and therefore it was called Beth-aven, the house of an idol, or iniquity, instead of Beth-el, the house of God. And there he spake with us; not with Esau and his angel, concerning Isaac’s blessing of Jacob, as Jarchi; nor with Jacob and his angel, as the father of Kimchi; nor with the prophet, and with Amos, to reprove Israel there for the worship of the calves, as Kimchi himself; but with all the Israelites, of whom the prophet was one; who were then in the loins of Jacob, when he conversed with God, and God with him, at Beth-el: or, as Saadiah interprets it, for us for our sakes, on our account; or concerning us; concerning the multiplication of Jacob’s posterity, and the giving the land of Canaan to them, as the Lord did at both times he appeared to Jacob in Beth-el; see Gen. 28:14, 15 and 35:11, 12 and it is in the house of God, where Christ is as a son, that he speaks with and to his people, even in his word and ordinances there. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 6, pp. 440–441). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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12:6–8 [12:7–9] The nation of Israel continues to live like Jacob the conniver, the man without grace. Like the old Jacob, they struggle for success and seek security not in God but in wealth. Hosea calls for three things from his people: repentance, justice, and faith. “You must return to your God” uses the familiar word šûb, a word that here implies abandonment of the fertility cults and all that went with them and seeking grace and mercy from Yahweh. “Maintain love and justice” is shorthand for doing all that God requires while giving greatest emphasis to the more important parts of the Torah (Matt 23:23). “Wait for your God always” implies an attitude of faith that seeks security in God rather than in wealth or position and that perseveres in faith even when circumstances are difficult. If Israel will repent, they will be like their ancestor in the best sense rather than in the worst sense.
The rigged scales of the merchant are proverbial for loathsome dishonesty in trade. This kind of fraud, a way of cutting any corner to get ahead,188 is in the worst traditions of the Israelite merchant’s ancestor, Jacob. There is a wordplay linking v. 7 to v. 8. The word for “merchant” in v. 7 [Hb. 8] is kĕnaʿan, a word that also means “Canaan.” In v. 8 Hosea calls the prosperous merchant and upper classes “Ephraim.” The point is that the successful but unscrupulous mercantile class of Ephraim has become Canaan, that is, a people who are as unethical as the original Canaanites. These people believe that their wealth and connections have put them out of reach of prosecution; they have acquired the status of being above the law.191 The merchant’s assertion is not, “With all my wealth they will not find in me any iniquity or sin,” as in the NIV, but, “With all my wealth they will not find in me any iniquity for which I can be held accountable.” The point is that although they may escape retribution within the justice system of Israel, they will not escape Yahweh’s retribution.193 (Garrett, D. A. (1997). Hosea, Joel (Vol. 19A, pp. 241–242). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
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FROM MY READING:
Here’s something you may not realize… officially speaking, the emerging generation are not “the millennials.” Anyone born after 1997 is part of the generation that has been dubbed, for reasons I’m not completely sure about, “Generation Z.”
The distinction is more than just one of different names. Millennials and Gen Z have been shaped by different experiences and ideas. Most Millennials can remember a time when the new sexual orthodoxy wasn’t orthodox, and people who opposed—or at least were ambivalent about it—weren’t called “bigots.”This is much less true of “Generation Z,” who even before Obergefell, were being catechized in the new sexual orthodoxy at school and by mass culture.
Even more important—and distressing—is that members of “Generation Z” are leaving the church at an unprecedentedly high rate. Now, I confess that I feel a bit like the boy who cried “wolf” even saying that, given the overblown and often unsupported claims of the rates of young people from previous generations leaving the faith. It’s always been “bad”—not as bad as you’ve heard—but let me be clear: it’s worse for Gen Z.
And, I’d add, I have significant anecdotal evidence that older generations feel a greater generation gap between them and their Gen Z kids and grandkids.
All of this to say, we’ve got some serious thinking to do about how we can transmit the truths of the Gospel and the worldview that flows from it to Generation Z. To start with: What has worked for previous generations may not work for them.
Thankfully, two of the best thinkers and communicators I know have jump-started the conversation. Sean McDowell and Colson Center Senior Fellow J. Warner Wallace have just published a book, “So the Next Generation Will Know: Preparing Young Christians for a Challenging World.”
Both writers are already well-known for their ability to make the case for the reasonableness of Christian truth and morality. And while there is some of this in their new book, it isn’t the primary focus. The focus is on what they call a “biblical way forward” to confronting the challenges posed by GenZ’s lack and/or loss of faith.
This “way forward” starts with taking into account the interplay between truth and relationships. As they put it, “doing a better job of teaching truth and making the case for Christianity” is “only part of the answer.”
To the “reasonable explanations” that we must offer young people, we also have to add “authentic relationships.” And that can be harder than we think.
First, there’s a strong temptation to emphasize the relationship part over the truth part. We can be so desperate to preserve the relationship that we’ll hesitate to speak the truth in love for risk of offending the person. For example, I do not know of a single biblical or theological authority who has changed their mind on any of the contemporary sexual issues of our day, who didn’t have a son, daughter, or close family member struggling with one of those letters of the acronym.
On the other hand, these kinds of authentic relationships take work, time, and patience. We can’t pre-empt the relationship part and think our job is done. McDowell’s and Wallace’s “way forward” requires taking this to heart. We must be willing to invest the time necessary and build the trust necessary to get at what the next generation is really thinking and feeling. That’s why this book about transmitting a Christian worldview to the next generation includes a section on something as important—and yet as simple as—eating together.
This book is a necessary read for parents, grandparents, pastors, educators—anyone invested in the faith of Gen Z. (BreakPoint )_____________________________________________________________
Nehemiah 6
The work on the wall is completed.
INSIGHT
Nehemiah resists the efforts of the adversaries to discourage him or distract him from working on the wall. He is convinced that he is doing the right thing, and he steadfastly resists the interference. The Old Testament often has a literal illustration of a spiritual truth that is explained in the New Testament. In Ephesians 6:11, we read that we are to “put on the whole armor of God”: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. Once these are in place, we “resist”—“stand firm!” (Quiet Walk)
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THE KINGDOM OF GOD, PART 1
And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation. Luke 17:20
“The kingdom of God cometh not with observation.” So, then, how does it come? What are the forms of the kingdom of God? The kingdom of God comes, and came, with the very presence and power manifested by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. There is a wonderful illustration of that in Luke 11:14-20: “And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered. But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils. And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven. But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth. If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub. And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore shall they be your judges. But if I wi th the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.”
Now that is what I mean. The kingdom of God came when the Son of God was in this world. The kingdom of God is a manifestation of the power of God, a manifestation of the fact that God is superior to the elements of nature, that He is superior also to the devils and to everything that is evil. The kingdom of God is God’s reign, and when Christ was here on earth, and when He worked His miracles and manifested His marvelous powers, He said, “This is the kingdom of God.”
A Thought to Ponder: The kingdom of God is God’s reign. (From The Kingdom of God, pp. 56-57, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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It’s time for Christians to stop worrying about the scaffolding and start strengthening the foundations. We always need better methods for serving the Lord, but our methods must be tested by the principles laid down in Scripture. (p. 5)
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In other words, we may have talent, training, experience, reputation, and personality, but if we don’t have character we don’t have anything for the foundation for ministry is character. (p. 9)
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Character is the raw material of life, out of which we either by diligence construct a temple or by negligence creat a trash heap. Abraham Lincoln said that character was like a tree and reputation like the shadow of the tree. “The shadow is what we think of it,” said Lincoln. “The tree is the real thing.” Reputation is what people think we are; character is what God and the holy angels know we are. (p. 20)
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People with character have integrity; what they say and do comes from a heart fully dedicated to God. Integrity means inner wholeness; we’re not trying to fool others (hypocrisy) or fool ourselves (duplicity). (p. 20)
(10 Power Principles for Christian Service by Warren W.& David W. Wiersbe)
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