Comments for April 11

29 v. 7 - There is the requirement, here and in other places, that the people 'afflict their souls'. It is an action associated with the Sabbath, but it is also associated, much more importantly, with atonement. Lev.16:29-31. Lev. 23:27 tells us that the day of atonement was on the tenth day of the seventh month and our current chapter fills in the details of the previous days. This concept of 'afflicting the soul' seems to be particularly relevant to this feast. Ezra 8:21, Isa.58:3-5

29 v.39 The repetition of the details of the feasts in different parts of the law forces the point that the detail and correct observance of the feasts were critical to Israel. Consider why different feasts are mentioned in different groupings. Here we have no Passover, for example.

30 v.3 - 8 The way that the vow of the woman who is 'under' a man is dealt with is instructive. Her father, if she is at home, or her husband, if she is married, can disannul her vow because he is her 'head'. A pattern of Christ and the bride. Of course just as the bride of Christ should know the mind of the groom well enough not to make a 'rash' Ecclesiastes 5:2 vow which he would not approve the wife should behave so in her marriage.

ch.30 - Our gut reaction, living as we do in society where generally an equality between the sexes is felt to be right, is one of a certain feeling of unfairness that the men could make a vow with no-one stopping them but the women were subject to their father or husband's agreement. We tend to think of this as discrimination against the women, but in fact I wonder if the men saw it that way. What a responsibility was placed on the man here.
An implication at a spiritual level is that whatever we determine to do for the Lord, God could disallow, as our Father. But at least there is then forgiveness. Are we accepting of the things to which God says no?

ch.29 - This chapter continues the list of elements of the law to be observed
:1 Blowing of trumpets
:7 Day of atonement
:12 Tabernacles
(with details for each day :13, 17, 20, 23, 26, 29, 32, 35)

30:1,2 Provides the basis for (Ecclesiastes 5:4) When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.

29:40 So even though Moses knows that he will not enter the land he continues to prepare Israel for the time when they will be in the land. Such is the selflessness of the man Moses. A pattern for us. What we do for God should not be based on self interest. It should be based on pleasing God.

30:9 That a widow or divorced woman could not have her vow disanulled show how that the married woman is not independent from her husband - she is 'an help' (Genesis 2:18)

29:40 We may think that as Moses had already received the details of the sacrifices and ordinances from God that he could just repeat them to the people. However it appears that at this time Moses was commanded by God to repeat the details.

30:1 Notice that this issue is presented to the 'heads of the tribes' the inference being that the heads of the tribes would teach the people and then ensure that the injunction was followed by those in their tribe.

 30:4,7  The vow of a woman was only disallowed, if her father, (if unmarried) or her husband disallowed it. She had no choice once the father or husband held his peace or disallowed the vow. The man by holding his peace was also making a vow that the woman would fulfil her commitment.

In Num 30 a woman's vow could be rescinded by her husband or her father. This shows again that the woman in Scripture represents "the Bride".  The man = God. How important that now in the New Testament era, when the Ecclesia is the Bride, that we submit to the will of God and Christ, as our Father and Husband.

Control, over wives and daughters, is generally not in effect in the politically correct societies of the west.  However, it still does exist in other cultures and other parts of the world.

Num. 30: A wife's vow could be annulled by the husband, and the daughter's by the father. But a man's vow would stand even if it affected someone else. Take the case of Jephthah's daughter (Judg 11:30,31,34,35).

Num. 29:  It is easy not to appreciate the physically hard work in which the priests were engaged, particularly during feast times which demanded much sacrifice.

29:12    The number of bullocks reduces on a daily basis from 13. The 8^th day differs from the other days in that the way in which the sacrifice is described does not match the reducing order of bullocks. Totalling the bullocks offered by the time we get to the end of the reducing number is 70 – one for each of the nations – as based on the family tree in Gen 10.

30:2-3 The man cannot  change his vow but can change the vow of his daughter. There is an interesting reversal of this with Jephthah’s daughter. Jephthah wanted to change his vow but his daughter told him that he should not – Judg 11:31, :35-36

The law here allows a voluntary vow from an individual wishing to make that vow (with the option to be overridden by a father or husband).

However, it does not talk about one person making a vow for another.

That did occur. Take Jephthah’s foolish vow (Judg 11:30,31).

Also consider the case of Hannah and Samuel (1Sam 1:11). Hannah devoted Samuel to Nazarite service before he was born.

Jesus, Himself, was also devoted to the service of Yahweh before He was born. Once devoted, the process cannot be reversed. It is the same for true believers of the Gospel who have made a commitment to follow Christ. They are devoted persons to Yahweh - a state that can never be altered.

29:12-38 This detailed listing of all the animals that were to be offered in the week of the Feast of Tabernacles amplifies the details in Lev 23:34 This is relevant as this fest was designed to be kept when they were in the land to remind them of the wilderness experience.

The seventh month was Ethanim in the Hebrew Calendar (1Kin 8:2). It marked the beginning of the civil year. The seventh month equates to September in our calendar. Today, Jews call the beginning of this month Rosh Hashanah which literally means The head of the year (referring to the start of the civil year).

Moses gave the people the commandment for the following three feasts (29:40):

-The Feast of trumpets: 1^st. Day of the month - 1 day of sacrifices.

-Feast of Atonement: 10^th. Day of the month - I day of sacrifices. This Day of Atonement is considered the most holy of festivals. Today, Jews, who normally don’t go to synagogue, or those who go sparingly, will go on this day.

-Feast of Tabernacles: 15^th. Day of the month - 8 days of sacrifices.

Oaths/vows/swearing - Num 30:1-2;Matt 23:16-22;James 5:12;Matt 5:33-34;Acts 18:18;Acts 21:23-26;Isa 45:23. The Old Test law allows vows, oaths and swearing while the New Testament seems to not allow swearing although in Acts we have vows and in Isaiah 45 we have a future swearing.

30:16  The whole of the chapter deals with the way a woman made vows, and in particular the way the woman’s vow is contingent upon the wishes of the husband is because of the principle which Paul later lays out. The husband is the head – Eph 5:23

30:2-16          In the God given hierarchy laid out in Genesis the man has the responsibility for his wife.  Not because she is incapable but because he patterns Christ.

30:10-11         The husband has the opportunity to countermand his wife’s vow. However if he does not then her vow is her responsibility, not his. The husband may decide to revoke the vow for reasons not specified. As her ‘lord’ he has the final say in the matter. Whilst this may not seem very ‘politically correct’ in the eyes of the ‘modern’ westerner it upholds God’s eternal principles.

30:1-16          That the husband can disannul the vow of the wife means that we cannot make promises which are contrary to the will of the Father – our ‘husband’ requires that we obey God. This, of course, means that we should know what our Father and His son will approve just as a  wife in Israel would not willingly make a vow against the wishes of her husband.

30:14  Do we have responsibility to speak against error? If a husband kept silent at the vow of his wife it was assumed that he agreed with what she had committed herself to.  Likewise, if we do not speak out against error then it can be assumed that we are in agreement with that error.

Num 29:7

Afflict your souls- gives the idea of looking down with humility.

A bit like how my son when has been naughty cannot look me in the face!

Its speaking of recognising our failings, realising we are unworthy, needing forgiveness etc.

All associated with the sabbath and atonemant.

The only way we can lift our eyes is to ask for forgiveness and recoginise we are wrong.

Perhaps we have the opposite in Prov 21:2 doing what is right in their own eyes indicating an arrogance when they do wrong? And being proud of what they have done?

30:3   The woman that makes a vow clearly is making a Nazarite vow - Num 6:2

30:2    The obligation for a man to keep his vows is probably the basis for James’ teaching in James 5:12

29:35  The offerings on the 8^th day differ from the previous 7 days with respect to the bullocks, rams and lambs. The 8^th day is typical of the kingdom age. The ordinances of the Law of Moses will be kept in a revised form. Hence the variation from the pattern set in the previous 7 days.

Num 30:9

“But every vow of a widow and of her that is divorced, wherewith they have bound their souls, shall stand against her.”

The grouping of widows and divorced women on the basis of their freedom from their former husbands and, therefore, no longer “under a man,” makes their oaths binding. Paul gave permission for widows and divorced women being in the same category of independence to remarry, the only restriction being it is to be "in the Lord" (1Cor 7:27,28,39; cf. Exo 21:10,11 notes).

30:2      the seriousness of breaking a vow is seen when we realise that the word translated “break” is translated “profane” or “pollute” around 59 times in the Old Testament.

30:9 the mention of the “widow” is very pertinent at the end of the wilderness journey. There would be many widows among the people for all the men of war had died. The wives were not included in the punishment when the ten spies were believed.

29:39 all the details and instruction from Yahweh might lead one to conclude that they were His feasts. However they were the “your feasts”. Yahweh had given them to the nation so that they could observe them as their own celebrations. Sadly the nation, typically, viewed the feasts not as a time of rejoicing but as irksome inconveniences in their lives – Amos 8:5 being such a time. Do we view the time we meet together as irksome or a time of rejoicing? If we say they are a time of rejoicing do we take every opportunity to meet with our fellow believers or do we just do the bare minimum thinking that is acceptable to our Father.

30:2 Chapter 29 deals with the most significant month in Israel’s religious calendar with its three feasts. But now the focus is on the individual. It was necessary to observe the feasts. However such worship must come from the God focussed heart.

One of those fests was the Day of Atonement. God never broke the oath associated with that feast. He always forgave the nation.

The man of God had to maintain the same level of integrity.

Surely the same should be true of ourselves also.

29:12-34 It would have been easy for God to give the information in these verses in a far less repetitive way by giving an overall statement about offerings and specify the way that the number of animals was to be changed each day. However He has chosen to record it in the way he has given. Why?

One thing is clear. Repetition has the effect of enabling us to remember what has been said. “Learning by rote” it is often said.

There is nothing wrong with “learning by rote” – that is repetition is it enables us to remember His word.

30:1 Once again we are reminded that these laws had been spoken already and are now being repeated to the nation that is about to cross Jordan into the land of Canaan.

HUSBAND AND WIFE RELATIONSHIP

The NIV translation of the Bible includes some helpful topic headings every now and then. These topic headings come in the text to explain what the next series of paragraphs are about. They are usually very good and helpful to the reader, but the heading at the beginning of Numbers 30, “Vows,” is quite different to the summary Moses gave us at the end of that section. If I was one of the translators, I too would have entitled this section “Vows” because it is all about who can or can’t make or disallow a vow. But the comment we read at the end of Numbers 30 puts a completely different context on what we read:

“These are the regulations the Lord gave Moses concerning relationships between a man and his wife, and between a father and his young daughter still living at home.” (Num 30:16).

While this section of Scripture uses the examples of vows, vows are only the example, not the topic. It is about the relationship between a man and the women in his household (his wife and his daughters). To summarise the chapter, we could say that the husband or father is ultimately responsible for the spiritual wellbeing of his wife and daughters. He bears the responsibility before God, while his wife and daughters are responsible to him.

These laws were for Israel, but the principles are ones we should adopt as we strive to live a righteous life of obedience for the God who does not change.

v.2 - Proverbs contains a number of similar warnings - 16:2,25, 20:6, 30:12. We also receive the same message from a number of other sources - Luke 18:11,12, Gal.6:3, James 1:22 is particularly powerful in so few words. Let us bear in mind Jer.17:10, Rev.2:23.

v. 14 The secret gift is not designed for show. It is designed to overcome strife. Done in secret it is only seen by those involved. However if the desired end is achieved then good will come. [Matthew 6:3,4]

v.16 - There are many passages that remind us that we must not look back, having put our hand to the plough. There is a situation of wilful sin after baptism which will cause us to reach a state that cannot be forgiven. Wilful sin, I suggest, is sin without subsequent contrition. Consider these passages: Psa.125:5, John 3:19-20, Heb.6:4-6, 10:26-27, 38, 2Pet.2:21-22, 1John 2:19

:27 Ananias and Sapphira would have done well to think upon this verse before lying to the Holy Spirit [Acts 5:3] but before we sit in judgement think about how often you have said something to enhance the opinions that others have of you.

:3 That obedience is more valuable to God than any amount of animal sacrifice is a recurring theme in Scripture: 1 Samuel 15:22 Jeremiah 7:21-22 Hosea 6:6 Micah 6:6-8

21:13 A generous spirit was required of the Israelite Deut 15:8 and also we must manifest this generous spirit James 2:13.

V.30  Mans best devices and reliances are vain compared with God's, or without His aid. Prov 19:21; Psa 20:7

“The most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will”,
(Dan 4:25).  God not only gives the throne to whomsoever He will, (and that is one reason why we don’t vote, lest we fight against God), but He also rules in the kingdoms, as Prov 21:1.  Politics and Christianity do not mix.

21:1 A fundamental truth is spoken here. The Most High rules in the kingdom of Men – Dan 4:17

V.25-26 The sluggard lives in a dream world. He wants what he dreams about, but he is so lazy that his hands refuse to work. So his wishful thinking ruins him, not only materially, but also spiritually. he is so imprisoned by his desires that he can neither command himself, or escape from his laziness. In V.24 we read an excellent example of the pride of life, while in this proverb we can clearly see both the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes. Desire in V.25 and Greedily in V.26 are the same Hebrew word TAAVAH (8378). It is also translate as Lust (Psa 78:30)  

21:10 The behaviour of the ‘wicked’ violates the commandment ‘thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself’ – Lev 19:18

GOT A QUARRELSOME WIFE?
 
It takes two to tango. So when we read the proverbs about quarrelsome wives, let's think about the husbands. "Better to live on the corner of the roof than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife." (Prov 21:9) And, "Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and ill tempered wife." (v.19)
 
Pity that husband, we think. Or maybe there are husbands thinking that they would be better off in the desert, or on the rooftop, than living inside with their wife. But notice first that while the book of Proverbs may speak about less than happy marriages, the wise man never speaks about divorce.
 
Husband, what are you doing to prevent your wife from becoming quarrelsome and ill tempered? Or perhaps we should be asking, what are you doing that provokes your wife to become quarrelsome and ill tempered? Maybe there is some aspect of our lives, or in meeting her needs that could use some change. I know from personal experience that it is well worth  while to be humble and make some life changes in order to develop a great marriage. And for those who refuse to change, living with a grumpy wife must be terrible indeed!
 
One of the following proverbs encourages us in the right way to go. "He who pursues righteousness and love finds prosperity and honour." (v.21) We could perhaps add that the finding of life, prosperity and honour are in the eyes of our wives. So men, let us pursue righteousness and love with our wives, and share our houses with wives whom we have helped to develop noble characters.

21:12 The way in which the ‘wise man’ considers the wicked is not an inquisitive desire to see what he is missing. Rather it is a reflection on the ways of the wicked compared with the ways of God. It is all too easy to consider a life in Christ as a life of deprivation – we are not allowed to do … - but this is unwise. The only value in reflecting on the ways of the wicked is so that we can appreciate the value of the freedom that is available in Christ.

V.2  Every way of a man is right in his own eyes. The word right comes from the Hebrew yashar.

The Book of Jasher (yashar) is mentioned in two places in scripture (Josh 10:13; 2Sam 1:18).

I don’t think that there was a specific Book of Jasher. Rather, I think it a reference to the scriptures in general, which are the writings of uprightness.

CAVEMEN AND CONVERSATION

Men and women are very different in a lot of ways. Women tend to be more social and have a need to talk, whereas men are able to get by with a lot less communication, talking only about the bare necessities and leaving out the feelings and emotions that women need to vent. The wise man had either experienced or had seen this first hand. He said, "Better to live on the corner of a roof than to share the house with a quarrelsome wife." (Prov 21:9) This man had the caveman mentality. When faced with a noisy and quarrelsome wife, he withdrew into his cave, in this case, onto a corner of the roof to escape. Men still do the same thing today. It may not be on the corner of the roof that we go, but the caves we hide in may be behind the newspaper, in the office, at work, in front of the TV, at the sports club, or out with the guys.

According to Willard Harvey, in His Needs, Her Needs, one of the things a man needs from his wife is peace and quiet. But one of the things a woman needs from her man is conversation. If we are in the same situation as the wise man and his wife, we may, as either a husband or wife, need to learn to meet each others needs more so we can live together more peaceably.

Wives, give him some quiet moments. And husbands, give her time of undivided attention where we can listen and respond.

21:9 Here and in Prov 21:19 and 25:24 the contentious and brawling woman is to be avoided. The ‘woman’ should represent the believers and so it is we who are being described and the husband (Jesus) will not abide with us if we are like the woman described in these three passages

V.1 Yahweh rules in the kingdom of men (e.g. Dan 4:17). The figure of controlling rivers of water derives from the Near East practice of irrigation. The main stream could be directed to whichever part of the field it was needed through a series of canals.

V.3 can be linked to Hos 6:6.

Vs.9,19 Does the expression Old Battleaxe (Br.) come to mind?

V.14 A bribe given in secret does not publicise the individual or his motives. The bosom (KJV) refers to the folds of a garment. Here a bribe put in the fold of someone’s garment implies that it is done in public which might expose the individual. See Prov 17:23 for another example of bribes and bosoms.

V.31 Safety (KJV) is better rendered victory as in more modern versions. Nothing that man can produce is any match for Yahweh Elohim, the God of Armies (Psa 20:7).

21:2 This is the second time – Prov 16:2 – that Solomon has made this point. It is hard to remember that whilst we might think we are right that there may well be a better way of viewing things.

21:4-5 The contrast is between the one whose evil activities are seen and the quiet activities of the wise.

21:3   The concept of obedience being more acceptable than sacrifice is seen often in Scripture as has been already highlighted. However this was a concept rarely understood by the Jews, it seems. However there was one man –Mark 12:33 –who pleased Jesus with his understanding of this principle.

1. Prov 21:1 - God turns the king's heart by changing circumstances.

2. Prov 21:2 - KJV "pondereth"<8505> - (Judg 21:25;Dan 5:22-30).

3. Prov 21:3 - NET "To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice" - (Acts 7:42-43;Matt 23:23;Hos 6:6;Matt 9:13;12:7).

4. Prov 21:4 - NIV "Haughty eyes and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, are sin!" perhaps suggests the eye and heart illuminate what is in the wicked.  In contrast to the NIV, the NET reads, "Haughty eyes and a proud heart— the agricultural product of the wicked is sin".

5. Prov 21:5 - NET "The plans of the diligent lead only to plenty, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty" - (Heb 12:1).

6. Prov 21:7 - KJV "The robbery"<7701> - NET "The violence done by the wicked will drag them away because they refuse to do what is right" - the wicked will be caught in their own net because they refuse to act with justice.

7. Prov 21:8 - KJV "froward"<2019>, "and strange"<2054> - NET "The way of the guilty person is devious, but as for the pure, his way is upright" - Christ, the pure seed of the woman, contrasts with the seed of the serpent (Gen 3:15).

8. Prov 21:10 - depraved men sin not because of of weakness, but eagerly and ruthlessly (Psa 52:3).

9. Prov 21:11 - (Prov 19:25;Psa 94:12;119:71).

10. Prov 21:12 - NET "The Righteous One considers the house of the wicked; he overthrows the wicked to their ruin".

11. Prov 21:13 - (Luke 16:19-31;Matt 25:31-46;1John 3:17;James 2:15-16).

12. Prov 21:14 - NIV "A gift given in secret soothes anger, and a bribe concealed in the cloak pacifies great wrath" - (Exo 23:8).

13. Prov 21:16 - the dead end (Psa 145:20;49:12-20;Hos 4:6;Rom 10:2-3) - could this have application to Saul?

14. Prov 21:17 (Matt 6:31-33).

15. Prov 21:18 - God protects his children often at the expense of their oppressors (Exo 14:21-28).

16. Prov 21:20 (Matt 25:3).

17. Prov 21:21 - pursuing righteousness and mercy leads to (eternal) life (Phil 3:11,12,14;Rom 2:7;2Tim 4:7-8).

18. Prov 21:22 (2Cor 10:4-5).

19. Prov 21:23 (James 3:5-11).

20. Prov 21:24 - NET "A proud and arrogant person, whose name is “Scoffer,” acts with overbearing pride" - (Prov 6:16-19;Rom 1:30;2Tim 3:2;1John 2:16;Isa 2:12;Mal 4:1).

21. Prov 21:25-26 - laziness is lethal (naturally or spiritually).

22. Prov 21:27 - abominable offerings - (Isa 66:1-4;Gen 4:1-8;Hos 6:6;Matt 9:13).

23. Prov 21:28 - NET "A lying witness will perish, but the one who reports accurately speaks forever" - Judas perished vs Christ who will speak forever.

24. Prov 21:29 - NET "A wicked person shows boldness with his face, but as for the upright, he discerns his ways"

25. Prov 21:30 (1Cor 2:16;Isa 40:13).

26. Prov 21:31 - "If God be for us, who can be against us" (Rom 8:31;Psa 20:7).

21:4  In speaking of the high look and froward heard Solomon echoes, by inspiration, David’s attitude as seen in Psa 101:5

God is in control

"The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will." Prov 21:1
 

Workshop: There are plenty of examples where this Bible passage is shown to be true in the Bible. Can you think of any kings or rulers that were influenced by God? You can perhaps choose some of the Kings of Israel or of other nations mentioned in the Bible. Write down the following:

1) What was the King's intention or mindset at the start of the story?

2) What changed after God's influence?

3) What was it that influenced the King? (particular events, dreams, persuasion by other people etc)

4) How long did the process take?

5) Was this process visible to the King's friends and family?

Question: Having looked into some examples where God influenced Kings or rulers, it's clear to see that God has everything in control and uses people in positions of power to further His own purpose with the earth, to protect His loved ones, and to punish the wicked. Now read Rom 13:1-7. What does this tell us about our own situation, and what should we do as a result of this knowledge?

21:8    The idea that man is “strange” seems an odd statement. However from God’s view it is “strange” though men might think it normal. This is because the way men think alienates God – Rom 8:7                                                                                                                        

21:6  The end is often seen as justifying the means in society. The acquisition of things often is the reason why people are dishonest. The lying tongue of the serpent brought vanity on Adam and Eve. It brought death – Gen 3:1-7

Picking up on the point Bro. Peter makes above regarding the end not justifying the means, it concerns me that this mode of thinking is becoming more acceptable in our community as well as society in general. It has been my experience that when an attitude of "the end justifies the means" is regularly adopted, it can set one on a path that leads to deceitful, dishonest behaviour becoming the norm and as a result, the cause of much distrust and disharmony - on both individual and ecclesial scales. This attitude is a by-product of Post-Modernist thinking & philosophy and needs to to guarded against in our community.

It is worth noting that in the case of Rahab lying to the soldiers as to where the spies had allegedly gone, the most favourable comment we can make is that Scripture is silent on the matter of her dishonesty. Divine silence or lack of apparent Divine judgement in Scripture over actions such as this cannot be assumed to always portray Divine approval of the means. Whilst Heb 11:31 clearly states that Rahab is included in the "gallery of the faithful" for putting her faith in God into action in saving the lives of the spies, it is important to note that she was honoured for "receiving the spies with peace..." and is also commended in James 2:25 for "sending the spies out another way." In neither passage is she commended for lying to no less than the king of Jericho, and neither in the rest of Scripture is lying condoned -in fact the exact opposite (see the penultimate paragraph below).

In the case of Jacob deceiving his father to obtain the birthright, whilst it had been foretold to Rebekah his mother in Gen 25:23 that the birthright would be Jacob’s and not Esau’s, instead of waiting for the Lord God to work that process to completion in His own good time, the means Jacob and his mother used to obtain it resulted in a) Jacob never seeing his mother again, b) Jacob having to flee for his life to his uncle Laban - by whom c) Jacob was treated on many occasions with gross dishonesty, contempt and deceit. Surely the lesson here is that whilst we are to be interactive with God in His will for us in our lives, we need to ensure our interactions comply with His laws at all times and allow Him to work with us.

To emphasise this point, it seems that, particularly in the interactions between Jacob and Laban, there is a Divine warning to us: in that the way Laban treated Jacob was a Divine example to Jacob of "what goes around, comes around"; and it could rightly be argued that the treatment Jacob received at the hands of Laban was Divinely allowed to happen in order to teach him a valuable lesson on honesty and to build his character which, to his great credit, he both learnt and practised well with Laban.

What must not be overlooked is that in the Hebrew, Jacob’s name means "supplanter" or "heel-catcher" <03290> and that later in his life, after he and Laban had parted company (and shortly after Jacob's wife Rachel died in giving birth to Benjamin) Jacob's  name was changed from "supplanter" to "Isra-el" - "prince with El" <03478> i.e. prince with God.

It appears to me from this change of name, that the privileged position Jacob now enjoyed as a "prince with God", was not only a result of the promises made to him, but was bestowed on Jacob partly for the calibre of his dealings with Laban. In this long and trying association with his disreputable uncle, Jacob had learned the lesson of being honest in his dealings with others from being on the receiving end of so much deceit and dishonesty from Laban. And whilst there were times when Jacob allocated greater priority to the welfare and increase of his own flocks than to that of his uncle's, we do not read that Jacob intentionally mis-appropriated any of Laban's flock as his own or was intentionally dishonest.

Furthermore, when Jacob wrestled all night with the angel and the angel probably knocked his hip joint right out of its socket, instead of scheming his way through and out of the situation as he had done with his mother to deceive his father to gain the birthright, Jacob was forced (to quote Exo 14:13 ) to "stand still and see the salvation of the Lord" as Esau raced towards him with 400 men. And Jacob found  to his great relief that "the salvation of the Lord" could be reliably depended upon!

We read in Gen 31:38-42 of the terrible one-sided "conditions of employment" that Laban had forced on his own nephew and of the numerous times Laban had demanded compensation from Jacob for animals lost through no fault of his own, yet Jacob bore with the undeserved chastisement and financial loss, and was rewarded by God with the privilege of being a "prince with God" - I suggest partly for his undeserved suffering and overall honesty during those awful years in the employ of his uncle. And we haven't even mentioned the awful way Laban cheated Jacob on his wedding night!

Surely in these incidents, Scripture is teaching us very clearly that we are to be totally honest and open with each other as Col 3:9 states i.e. " … lie not one to another … " - which means we should not use underhand, deceitful or dishonest means (which includes "being economical with the truth") in our dealings with each other but be totally honest and above board - even if it’s in the process of obtaining a positive and/or beneficial outcome for our brother or sister - even though their behaviour towards us may be at times, unworthy of such favour!

After all, isn't that following the example our Lord left for us during his ministry on earth?

21:20  The wise who have oil is seen in Jesus’ Parable – Matt 25:8-9

21:1   The wise man – Ecc 9:1 -  was inspired to make a similar point at a general level about mankind. So this must include you and I.

Prov 21:2

“Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.”

Pondereth is in Hebrew, “takan,” # <8505>. “… i.e. to measure out (by weight or dimension).” We cannot read anyone’s heart, much less ponder or weigh it; only Yahweh can.

By our very nature, we tend to justify ourselves. Sometimes we do it in sincerity, sometimes with deception, but it is stubborn pride unwilling to admit a wrong, that generally makes us insist that we are right. Yahweh knows our thoughts and the intent of our hearts. Only He can know the true motives behind our actions. God is not swayed by public opinion, nor moved by loud professions, and His balances are always true, in order, and always exact!

In this age of apostasy, the people decided capital punishment is cruel, using a rod on a child is abuse, sprinkling babies is as good as water-immersion baptism, a Baal tree honours Christ, Planned Parenthood and the Supreme Court decided that abortion is right, and over 50 million women here in the United States decided abortion is right (cf. Exo 20:13). The gay community decided homosexuality is right; feminists decided that rebellion is right; Catholicism decided bowing down and praying to statues is right, the law-of-the-land decided no-fault divorce is right, and on and on!

The people of Israel were caught up in a cycle of sin, deliverance, and sin again, and we read in the book of Judges the consequences of their doing what was right in their own eyes instead of doing what is right in Yahweh’s eyes - His commandments. Adam and Eve decided it was alright to eat the forbidden fruit.

There are many sincere people who want to do right, but the problem is it has to be not what seems right to them, but what is right to God. They think it is right, but it is wrong and the consequences are deadly (Prov 14:12). Only God has the right to decide what is good and what is evil.

God’s ways have been replaced with subjectivism, the remaking of His ways redefined to what seems right or noble to us. What seems right is wrong, and what is wrong seems right! God set down His objective rules, and we either accept it, commit to it, follow it, or perish with our own “make-em-as-you-go rules.”

21:1   We see a similar comment about God and man’s heart in Psa 33:14

LESSONS FROM A HORSE

There are so many places in the Bible that talk about God helping us and growing us, that we could almost get the impression that we can sit back and watch God do it all. Knowing that it is by faith we are saved, and that good works are only a show of our faith, we could get the impression that there is nothing on our part to be done except to have faith that God will do it all.

But then there are other places that talk about us seeming to do all the work. Put on the whole armour of God, show the fruit of the Spirit, work out your salvation, and so on. Some of these leave us wondering if we have to do it all ourselves. Is salvation something we have to earn, work at and get in our own strength? What is the balance in these two views?

This proverb may help: "A horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory is from the LORD." (Prov 21:31). Our job is to prepare the horse for battle: Pray continually, listen to God's word, put on your armour, be ready to share your faith, train in godliness, and ride that horse to the place of battle. Then God does the rest. When we are prepared, he is in charge of the victory. That's when we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Our job is to prepare. God's job is to give us the victory over sin and death.
 

21:1 An example of Solomon’s inspired comment is seen in the way events transpired with Rehoboam – 1Kin 12:4-15.

21:2 Who ever thinks that their decisions and judgments are wrong? Of course we think we are right. There would be no point in having thoughts if we did not consider them to be correct!  However it is wise to be circumspect. We should always consider the possibility that we might be wrong, or at least only partially correct.

By contrast the “fool” is always right but the wise listen to what others say and correct their position if necessary (Prov 12:15)

21:15 Sadly there are times when we rejoice in being able to condemn a fellow belier. The rejoicing in judgment spoken of here is a pleasure in doing God’s will, not finding fault with others.

21:16 The journey of the man here is aimless and directionless – he is wandering with no focus.

This is like reading material uncritically. Eventually it will pollute the mind and without really realising it the “wanderer” will have forgotten the truths that God teaches in His word and will remember error that he has uncritically absorbed – the end of that man is, as the proverb puts It, death.

2 v. 17 - The disciples minds went back to Ps.69:9. The context of Psalm 69, shown here in v.7-12, shows the way that Jesus was showing his disciples how far the people had gone already in their plans to reject him. Jesus showed anger on this occasion. The anger he showed was justified. Are there times when we should be angry? Eph.4:26, Rom.12:19-21. What do we do when faced with the same situation that Jesus had? Keep quiet?

2 v. 12 Below is a list of the occasions when we are told that His family members came to see him. Matthew 12:46 Mark 3:32 Luke 8:19 here It is only in John that there is no indication of displeasure amongst them. The unbelief of his family must have been a great sorrow to Jesus - only removed at the time of his death when his mother was at the foot of the cross and after his resurrection when he appeared to James 1 Corinthians 15:7 This experience of Jesus should help us to put into perspective our own families reactions - or lack of response to the message of salvation.

Chapter 3

Jesus took the opportunity to preach to Nicodemus, seeing him in the audience in John 8. Clearly Nicodemus responded to the teaching of Jesus as he begged the body of Jesus [John 19:38-39]

2:13 This is the first Passover which John records.
So when Jesus cast out the money changers the temple would have been teeming with people who had come to Jerusalem for the feast from all over the Roman empire. They would be unfamiliar with the way that things were done in Jerusalem but doubtless were amazed at what Jesus did.

3:1 (2:25) In chapter 2:25 we learnt that Jesus knew what was in man. 3:1 introduces a man whose heart Jesus read.

THE HOUSE OF GOD
One of the earliest things Jesus did in his public ministry was to cleanse the temple. He had found men selling cattle, sheep and doves and exchanging money. He said, "Get out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!"

God's temple, his house was to be a house of prayer for all nations. It was a place where men and women from all over the world could come to learn of God, to worship him and to pray, yet the Jews had turned it into a shopping mall, a place to make money. Their actions made the temple into an unclean place that needed to be cleansed.

Just as the Jews strayed from the primary use of the temple as a place of worship, it is easy for us to do the same. Where are our thoughts as we come to the place where we worship? Are our thoughts centred purely on the God we have come to be with and to praise, or do our minds pollute God's holy place with business, personal grievances, criticism, and impure thoughts? We need to make our worship times into true times of pure worship - not the unclean market that Jesus had to cleanse.

Let's get back to the house of God.

2:23-24 In saying 'many believed' and 'did not commit ...' we find the same word used. So whilst many wanted to give themselves to Jesus he was not willing to compromise his position. He knew how fickle the human heart is.

3:8 'but canst not ... goeth' quotes Ecclesiastes 11:5. Look at that area of Ecclesiastes and see other similarities of ideas and language. Jesus is looking at the way that Eccl speaks of the purpose of life. That is what Nicodemus, at this time, did not understand.

 V.10  It was not the earthly bridegroom who held back the good wine. It was the God of Israel, who in the fulness of time sent forth the Heavenly Bridegroom with the true wine, which had in it the essence of eternal life.

2:13 Maybe the description of Passover as 'the Jew's Passover ...' indicates that the primary audience of the gospel of John were not Jews.

3:3,7 When Jesus says 'ye must be born again' he is using the word 509 which is elsewhere translated John 19:11 'above' or John 19:23 'top' or Acts 26:5 'beginning' so we can see how the translators gave us 'again' however it would be better to say that Nicodemus had to be born 'from above' as the RV margin has it.  Nicodemus, even though he was 'master in Israel' (John 3:10) was 'of the earth' (John 3:31) - he was not spiritually minded - he did not think of things that are 'above' even though he was the 'master' in Israel.

Likewise we, just because we are in Christ, are not guaranteed to think of spiritual things. Being 'born again', in this sense, is a continual process and must be manifest in a certain state of mind.

3:5 The Lord endorsed baptism as a necessary step for salvation.
 
3:13,31,34 do not speak of Jesus as literally coming from heaven as part of a triune God.  They show the special spiritual relationship that Jesus had with God, the origin, of which, was in heaven.

Jesus was born of a woman whose Father was God (Luke 1:34-35).  He was, therefore, a man subject to the same human nature as ourselves (Heb 4:15, Isa 53:3).

Nevertheless, God gave Him His spirit without measure (v.34). By that means He could reveal His Father to us through His great knowledge and understanding of scripture and through miracles and wonders.

Nicodemus; a member of the Sanhedrin and a teacher or learned one (3:10), had a quality which is most unusual for a person of his standing, he was a listener. "How can these things be?"  He obviously had listened very carefully to Jesus. This is lesson for all to-day, how often do find ourselves in a position were we are too busy to listen?

2:1      Cana of Galilee is only found in John’s gospel record John 2:11, 4:46, 21:2 – one of John’s ways of highlighting the work of Jesus in Galilee, even though many of the events he records took place in Jerusalem.

3:17     We do well to remember that God’s objective is salvation, not condemnation. God is not willing that any perish – but that all should repent 2Pet 3:9

2:12 In saying that Jesus and his family went to Capernaum and ‘continued there’ we can infer that the family moved from Nazareth to Capernaum. The absence of Joseph’s name possibly indicates that he was now dead – maybe the reason for the move.

I wonder if Christ’s comments to Nicodemus (John 3:5-21) were all said at night, in private, just to that one man? If so, what we think of as the best known verse in the New Testament (John 3:16), was also said in private! But that doesn’t matter, as Jesus has said that everything his disciples heard in private could and should be shouted from the housetops (Matt 10:27). The Gospels are not private messages.

2:22 Because the truth had been cast in the form of a veil, it lingered in the mind of the disciples. Again and again they turned it over in their minds. But, until the day of Christ's resurrection they failed to see its meaning. No doubt this was due in part to their unwillingness to accept the fact that the Messiah would certainly suffer and die. The fact that Jesus arose on the third day opened the minds of the disciples so that they then understood the veiled saying about raising up (rebuilding) of the temple in three days.

3:9     Nicodemus is ‘a teacher in Israel’ – John 3:10 – and yet he cannot understand Jesus’ words. His problem was not that he did not know what Scripture said. His problem was that he came to the word with the wrong attitude. Isaiah  teaches us how we should approach Scripture – Isa 66:2

3:16 is probably the most often quoted Biblical passage. Most people take the verse on face value. They think that a simple confession in Jesus is all that is necessary for salvation. If that were the case, why did Yahweh go to all the trouble of having the Bible written? Belief in the Gospel (good news) and a commitment through baptism is necessary (Mark 16:16). But what is the Gospel? It is: the things concerning the kingdom God and the Name of Jesus Christ (Acts 8:12). In order to sufficiently understand the Gospel, one has to study the scriptures. A simple oral assent in Jesus is not enough.nam

3:13 - no man has ascended into heaven except Christ. Christ was the first born of the new creation and believers will receive their reward upon his return.

2:5 The word translated ‘servants’ here <1249> Is elsewhere -1Tim 3:12 – for example, translated ‘deacons’ thus we see what a deacon was. He was a servant of the churches.

2:4 Mary interfered with something out of her realm when she, in effect, asked Jesus to provide wine. Although she had never seen Him perform a miracle, she must have known that He was capable of extraordinary things. Jesus first responded by asking what the matter had to do with Him (it was someone else’s responsibility to provide wine); and then told her that He was not prepared to provide the wine (at her prompting). Mary understood the lesson as 2:5 shows.

Mary's concern was for the state of wine at the present marriage. The Lord was also concerned with the future role of wine in His sacrifice and in His own marriage (Matt 26:27-29; Rev 19:7). The fact that He produced better wine than the host foreshadowed this (2:10).

2:13-17 The cleansing of the temple grounds is the first cleansing, which occurred near the beginning of the Lord's ministry. The second cleansing comes near the end of the Lord's ministry (Matt 21:12,13). These two cleansings relate to the cleansing of a house from leprosy under the Law (Lev 14:33-57). Then, the priest inspected the leprous house and commanded that it be cleansed by removing the affected stones, scraping clean the rest of the house, and re-plastering it. The priest would come a second time to inspect the house, and if leprosy had appeared again, then the whole house had to be destroyed. The Lord Jesus inspected His Father's house and found leprosy (spiritual rot). After cleansing it, He came back a second time and found it still leprous. The house had to be destroyed. That occurred in 70 AD.

3:3 Evangelicals (and others) believe that being born again consists of an oral admission that Jesus has been accepted as one’s personal Savior. They would say that straight belief is all that is required, and cite as proof 3:16. Water baptism is not necessary in their view.

3:5 This would be interpreted as elliptical speech. Elliptical speech omits words. For example: Eat when hungry would be understood as missing you are to make the completion Eat when you are hungry.

And so, Evangelicals would say that in 3:5, water and the Spirit are understood to mean: water and the Spirit, being one, he cannot enter… Thus, if the water is synonymous with the Spirit then water baptism is not implied.

Peter uses the same term born again (1Pet 1:23). However, he makes it clear that baptism is essential for salvation (1Pet 3:21).

3:31 In what way does Jesus come from above or come from heaven? Christendom will say that Jesus came from heaven because He is God incarnate. But, Jesus was a man, born of a woman. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit. The word cometh (Gr. erchomai) can be used either literally or figuratively. Figuratively He did come from above because the Holy Spirit that conceived Him came from His Father in heaven.

In 2:7-9 Jesus, by the Spirit, makes better wine than the previous wine. The master of the wedding feast says to the bridegroom "you have saved the best till last!" (2:10). What do those words imply about the previous wine? Even though it was good at the time, now it is called inferior. Later, John says of Jesus "the friend of the bridegroom rejoices greatly.. he must increase, and I must decrease" (3:29-30). This is confirmed when we hear that Jesus (or his disciples) baptised more men and women than John (4:1). So John's humility and meekness of character is shown here. Though people rejoiced in his light for a time, that light was now paltry in comparison to the light of the Christ (see 5:35-36) and that which was perceived to be good, was now inferior, but he didn't complain.

We all have tasks to carry out among the body of believers. We main gain praise for what we do. But when someone comes along more suited to that task, and they obtain more praise than we do, do we fade into the background as graciously as John did?

3:2 Nicodemus’ statement of the knowledge that the Pharisees had of Jesus – they knew he was from God – is the first, and most indicting, comment that is made about their understanding. They were not ignorant of Jesus’ abilities and the origin of the power. They simply did not want to acknowledge it.

2:4    Jesus’ response to his mother may seem very harsh but he is actually quoting 1Kin 17:18 where the woman whose house Elijah was lodging in. She was troubled by the situation and was seeking a response from the prophet. His response was to meet her needs. Likewise Jesus’ mother responds in faith leaving things in God’s hands.

3:14   Whilst Jesus clearly was referring to Moses and the serpent in the wilderness the idea of being lifted up echoes the language of deliverance associated with the flood as recorded in Gen 7:17

John 2:11

“This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.”

We learn from the Genesis account of the first week of creation that God established and ordained the first marriage between a man and woman (Gen 2:23-24). It was God’s expression of utmost blessing for mankind, and a joyful event till they sinned and incurred a serious breach with God.

In Eastern cultures among the Jews, a wedding was considered a very blessed and social event where family, friends, distant relatives and neighbours were all invited (cf Luke 14:15-24), and lasted for seven days (Gen 29:27). At Cana the wedding feast was into the third day when the wine ran out, so you can imagine the gravity of the situation they found themselves in. This was a serious breach of hospitality and embarrassment for the bridegroom, bride, and family.

It is not without significance that during the first week of Jesus’ ministry he performs his first miracle at a wedding, and that John begins his Gospel with the words, “In the beginning” (cf Gen 1:1), recounting other similar words read in the Genesis account. John wants us to see the coming of Jesus as a new creation, the light shining in a dark place, and that in this new creation, a new people of God is to be born by faith in Christ (see John 1:12,29-34).

It is not without significance that the couple is not named. This is because they represent the bride of Christ. What John is really doing is presenting Jesus as the Messiah, the divine bridegroom (see John 3:29), and provider of the new and better wine at the wedding feast of the new and better covenant (John 2:10; Heb 8)! By this first miracle, Jesus presented a powerful testimony of himself in revealing his transforming power to all who would come to him.

John 2:3-4

“And when the wine failed, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.” And Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come” (RV).

When Jesus’ mother saw the dire situation the wedding party was in, she immediately appealed to Jesus. Bible critics point to Jesus’ reply in addressing his mother “Woman” as disrespectful and offensive. Yet, we read in John 19:26 that he again addressed his mother as, “Woman” while dying on the stake! Surely no one would suggest that Jesus ever dishonoured his mother, let alone when she was there with him at his crucifixion sharing his sorrow and pain. In his last few dying moments Jesus handed his mother over to John. He made sure she would be taken care of! The Good News Bible left out the word, “Woman”! How sad, as this word is a truly endearing word often used in Christ’s time (Matt 15:28; Luke 13:12; John 4:21).

So what did Jesus mean when he said his time had not yet come? We must firstly consider that Jesus manifested his glory through his power of transforming water to wine. Secondly, that the best wine and of Jesus’ “hour” merges the priesthood of Melchizedek (Gen 14:17-20; Psa 110:4) with the priesthood of Christ when Jesus will identify the wine with his own blood in the upper room as they prepared for the Passover for his hour had then come (Matt 26:20-29; Mark 14:17-25; Luke 22:14-23; John 13:18-27). His hour had come for the Son of Man to be glorified, referring to his death as the Lamb of God, and by his total love and obedience glorified the Father (John 17:1).

An invitation to a wedding feast is also extended to us, if we accept it and believe on Jesus (Matt 22:1-14). These will be offered the best wine of redemption by Jesus in that day when the LORD will make up his jewels (Mal 3:16-17).

Summary Of John

2:1-11              Water into wine at Cana  1^st miracle in Cana – Galilee

2:12                 Jesus, family and disciples in Capernaum

2:13-25            1^st Passover in Jerusalem

                        Casting out the money changers       

3:1-21             Nicodemus (In Jerusalem)

3:22                Jesus baptising in Judea

3:23-36           John baptising and being questioned

John 2:1-4.

Jn. 3:8.

The whole of the signs of John show the spiritual development of a son of God.

The Eight Sgns of John

Putting these signs together we have:

Come to Jesus who can wash us from our sins in his own blood Rev 1:3(1st)and allow the word to heal (2nd) you from the consequences of sin. Walk(3rd) in the truth and feed(4th) on the word of life that you might live and reign with Christ over the sea of nations(5th).Those that  see(6th)  the light and know the truth  will be raised(7th) to glory and become sons of God(8th)

This 1st sign of John has many important links with the Red Heifer. It was done on the third day after Nathanael met Jesus which would also have been the 7th day if we count the days in John 1:29,John 1:35,John 1:43). Now the 3rd and 7th day are highlighted in Num 19:12,Num 19:19-20 . We also find that the red heifer was used to prepare water of purification Num 19:9-22. Now the water for purifying had run out as these jars were used by the Lord Jesus to make wine, It shows the limitation of the Law of Moses which couldn't save and we have the new wine representing the sacrifice of the Lord. There are also several references to Moses. Cana means "place of reeds" and in Exo 2:3. where bulrushes and flags =reeds. John 2:8 the servants had to draw out and Moses was given his name because he was drawn out Exo 2:10. We also have the water turned into blood Exo 7:19-20

2:14-15        There were two occasions when Jesus purged the temple. Here and at the end of his ministry – Mark 11:15– The temple was like a leprous house. Contaminated by the leprosy of the religious leaders’ spiritual uncleanness. If a house was suspected of having leprosy in its walls the priest was to visit the house twice and examine it – Lev 14:36,39 before, if the leprosy was clearly identified, the house was to be pulled down. The pulling down of the leprous house (temple) in Jerusalem took place in AD 70. 

2:22    In saying that the disciples remembered after his resurrection we see that what Jesus said about the comforter was true –John 14:26. John is not saying that the disciples simply came to a realisation of the meaning of Jesus’ words.

John 2:23-25

“Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.”

What these verses teach is that seeing is seeing and believing is believing, not seeing is believing. While the crowd believed in Jesus because of the miracles they saw, they did not believe in Jesus as their Messiah (cf. John 7:31). They were not hungering for the Word of God, they were hungering for the meat that perishes (cf. John 6:27), and Jesus knew this. Believed is the Greek word, pisteuo, # <4100>, “believe… commit.” So, while they believed in Jesus’ works, Jesus did not commit (i.e. pisteuo), or believe in them because of their unbelief of who he is (cf. Heb 3:12)!

We all have faith in someone or in something, but the Bible is about developing the right kind of faith. This kind of faith comes only from hearing the Word of God (Rom 10:17). But, just hearing the Word is not enough; we must also believe in what we are reading (Heb 11:6). Just hearing the Word and believing the Word is not enough; we must also then obey the Word (1John 2:4,5).

True faith, the faith, is always linked to obedience. Our faith is shown by our obedience to the Word (Rom 16:26; James 2:26). We are saved by grace through faith, not by works, true (Eph 2:8.9), but it must be faith that works – in other words, faith that generates obedience! This right faith is the heart’s response to the soul, or character built in the image and likeness of God and Christ shaped and moulded by His Word.

John 3:16
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth into him would not perish, but have eternal life.”
The New Testament written in Greek used the word en, ev (# 1722) translated here as “in,” but which may also be translated into. So what difference does it make?
The word into means we have been engrafted with Christ. To believe into Christ is more than mental knowledge or acknowledging his existence, as believing in Christ implies, it involves a lot more, it involves a spiritual receiving. This is what Christ meant when he said, “… unless ye eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood, ye have no life in you (John 6:53).” Christ is no longer outside of us. It is about internalizing and this will lead to eternal life (cf. John 6:32,33). It is believing into him! It is having a direct, personal experience with him.

Salvation is not a matter of learning about Jesus, though it encompasses it, but of eating Jesus. Head knowledge is not enough. It is those who live by his body and blood who are the royal priesthood. The spiritual man feeds on spiritual food. To receive him, to believe into him is to be united with him. To believe into Christ is to believe everything he said, it means our conviction to obey, coupled with a genuine belief in him in baptism (Mark 16:15,16), an outward symbol of a person’s new life, which includes repentance (Matt 4:17; Acts 2:38).
While objective facts are important, the Bible reveals a deeper relationship than merely acknowledging God and Christ’s existence. Many claim to believe in Christ, but according to the Bible, they really don't. They believe about Christ.
A true belief into Christ brings about a new creation, a morally transformed personality (2Cor 5:17). Have you ever come across “believers” years later, only to experience the same adverse and hostile character? If we are true believers abiding into Christ, the fruit of righteousness is borne out. The fruit of the Spirit is borne wherever the Spirit is present (Gal 5:22-25). We fight against evil everyday and to those who are willing to fight the good fight of faith and overcome are given to eat of the Tree of Life (Rev 2:7,17). We must lay hold on eternal life, struggle each day to choose life that evil not maintain its control over us. We must overcome because there is no salvation in merely believing the things about Christ.
Carl Gustav Jung, Swiss Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist who founded Analytical Psychology, made a clear distinction between knowing and believing. Scripture teaches this difference and we can see that there is a world of difference in knowing and believing, to know about, or believe in Christ, and to believe into Christ.

2:6     There was no need to tell us that the empty waterpots were of the type used for the purifying of the Jews. The little detail begins to highlight the work of Jesus in purifying the people from sin through the offerings of his own self – his blood (that is his life)

3:2   There are a number of occasions in John’s gospel when we learn that some of the Jewish leaders believed on Jesus. We see this in 12:11,42 and later in  19:39 and possibly even a hint in7:50-51

3:2      Here Nicodemus acknowledges that the Jewish leaders recognised that God was with Jesus. However – JJohn 9:16 – say that Jesus is not of God.

2:15-16   the disciples’ reflection on Psa 69:9  highlights that Jesus was consumed with anger when his Father’s house was desecrated by the activities of the sellers of doves. How often are we troubled when God’s name is denigrated?

3:15        Jesus returns to this promise – John 10:28 – when speaking in the context of the healing of the man who was born blind.

3:30    John states that Jesus will increase and John decrease. Luke, on the other hand, - Luke 3:20-21 – placed John being imprisoned immediately before speaking of Jesus being baptised even though, obviously, the imprisonment of John was some time after Jesus was baptised.

3:3 “Nicodemus” derives from nikos <3534> ('victory') and dēmos <1218> ('people'). Using a couple of related words to nikos, 1 Jno. 5:4 states: “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh (nikaō) the world: and this is the victory (nikē) that overcometh (nikao) the world, even our faith”. To truly live up to his name by being spiritually victorious, Nicodemus needed to be “born from above” (Jno. 3:3, AV mg.), or as 1 John 5:4 says, “born of God”, and by so doing his faith would be victorious over the world through Christ.

3:13 this is the first of a number of time that Jesus speaks of having come down from heaven in this chapter. The others are  6:38, 51,:58. This claim of Jesus draws our attention to Isa 64:1 where is the cry that God would “come down” to save – like God’s action in Exo 3:8. This is the beginning of a theme in John which highlights Jesus as the saviour sent from God.

2:16 Jesus casts out the traders from the temple at the end of his ministry as well as at the beginning– Luke 19:43. We might conclude that he saw these individuals every time he went into the temple during his ministry.

3:30   John states that Jesus will increase and John decrease. Luke, on the other hand, - Luke 3:20-21 – placed John being imprisoned immediately before speaking of Jesus being baptised even though, obviously, the imprisonment of John was some time after Jesus was baptised.

3:2 Nicodemus declares that Jesus "came from God". Being a Jew he did not infer that Jesus existed in heaven  prior to his birth  and descended to earth through an incarnation event. He simply meant that Jesus was a devout and educated Jew who was given God's power to perform "signs" (miracles) to attest to the fact that "God was with him". 

3:20-21 In speaking of “light” in the context of understanding God’s plan we are being reminded of what we read in  1:5-9.