Comments for January 30

1 v.11 - The word for 'burdens' here (c'balah - 05450) is peculiar to Exodus and this situation - It means 'forced labour' or 'compulsory service' and is used 6 times, here, 2:11, 5:4,5, 6:6,7. This is the affliction prophesied to Abraham in Gen 15:13 (Why did God choose to reveal this to Abraham?). This 'hard bondage' as it is described in v. 14 is mentioned using the exact same two Hebrew words 6 times - 3 times about Egypt - here (hard bondage), 6:9 (cruel bondage) Deut.26:2 (hard bondage) - twice about the request made to Rehoboam not to be like his father (parallel passages) - 1Kings 12:4 (grievous service) 2Chron.10:14 (grievous servitude) - but then lastly in Isa.14:1-3 when it is to cease.

2 v.10 - Notice that Moses, even though named not thus by his parents, but by Pharaoh's daughter, does not have his name changed by God, even though God uses him for a very special purpose. On this occasion, it seems, the Egyptian name (as presumably it was) was acceptable to Him.

Chapter 1 - There are strong verbal links between this chapter and Genesis 15
:11 afflict Genesis 15:13
:12 afflicted Genesis 15:13
:13 `serve Genesis 15:13
Which begins to show that the Exodus from Egypt was a fulfilment of the promise made to Abraham in Genesis 15. We will return to this theme in the early chapters of Exodus as appropriate.

2:24 Covenant with Abraham Genesis 15:18
2:18 the 'Reuel' here spoken of is elsewhere called 'Jethro' so this is the beginning of the relationship between Jethro and Moses which develops through this book

MY TIME, MY WAY

Moses, in a position of high authority in Egypt, saw his own people in slavery. An Egyptian was beating a Hebrew and Moses delivered the Hebrew by killing the Egyptian. Many people think that at this stage Moses was ready to deliver his people from Egypt. He had not been commanded by God to do so but he began to go ahead anyway.

Moses tried to save his people at the time he thought best and in the only way he knew. But even though Moses had great authority in Egypt, he had physical strength and the ability to draw together an army, and even though he was motivated to save his people - it was not God's time or God's way. When it came to the right time and the right way 40 years later, Moses didn't feel qualified or ready, but it was right for God.

There can often be times in our lives when we think the time and the method are right for the changes we see that we think are needed. But if the time or method are not God's ways then our plans will be fruitless. God will work out his plan but he will do it in his way and in his time - not ours. So let us be sure to do what we do in God's way and in his time. By doing that we are bound for success.

1:9 Do we really think that there were more Jews in Egypt than Egyptians at this time? Or was it simply a ruse to destroy the Jews?

2:10 'The child grew' might seem to be a very causal comment. However it passes into Biblical use in a very significant way speaking of men who became faithful servants of God Judges 13:24 1 Samuel 2:21,26 Luke 1:80 2:40 and has its origins in Genesis 21:8

Exodus 1:1- "Now these are the names" - Better "And these are the names..." Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers all start with "And" linking all these books together in one flowing narrative. Having travelled in Genesis from life in Paradise to death in Egypt, Exodus introduces us to the creation theme again. In the first few chapters of Exodus we will find new life being formed in the land of Egypt, the seed of the woman prevailing, King Sin reigning, death highlighted, along with hard labour etc.

Exodus 1:8 - "which knew not Joseph" - a change of dynasty in Egypt. Not so much that the new Pharaoh had not heard of Joseph, but that he did not acknowledge any obligation to him.  We may therefore understand by the new king’s not knowing Joseph, his disapproving of that system of government which Joseph had established, as well as his haughtily refusing to acknowledge the obligations under which the whole land of Egypt was laid to this eminent prime minister of one of his predecessors.

Exodus 1:12 - "Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens" - One of the themes of this portion of Exodus is, "Whose house is being built?" This Pharaoh was all out to build himself great treasure houses, but in v21 we learn that God was making "houses or families" for the children of Israel.

Exodus 1:16 - "if it be a son, then ye shall kill him" - The grand plans of Pharaoh are thrown into a real spin, as we read the record from here and make a note of what women (including his own daughter) do, which completely undoes all his schemes. The strength of God is truly made perfect in weakness.

[Peter's Note: Cliff has produced a Word document - a Bible insert which is a timeline for the book of Exodus. Click here to display or download it (which happens depends on your browser and your settings). It is a single page (86.7K) with two copies of the insert. Please print off and distribute if you wish. Our thanks to Bro. Cliff for this work. The required paper size is A4.]

1:8 Given what Joseph had done for Egypt and the fact that this could not have been more than 100 years or so after Joseph it is difficult to understand ‘know’ as meaning other than that this new king did not regard what Joseph had done as being because of his faith in his God.

2:3 The place of vulnerability of Moses – by the river’s brink became the place of conflict (7:15) when Moses confronted Pharaoh some 80 years later.

1:7 Notice the 4 words to indicate the increase in Israel’s numbers. 70 people went down to Egypt, and 2,500,000 went out. (Num 1:46 the soldiers were 603,550. Multiply this by at least 4 for a wife, 2 children, elderly parents, maiden aunt etc = 2,400,000, and round it off = 2½ million)

Exo 2:24  We saw with Joseph earlier this week that God does not forget his people. (Gen 41) This verse goes one step further. We are shown that God not only does not forget His people, He also hears their pleas. We must always remember, however bleak or dark it may be, that He (God) will not fail thee, or forsake thee Deut 31:6  

The following opinion assumes that the Hyksos kings were in power at the time of Joseph's sojourn in Egypt. 

The Hyksos kings had ruled the delta region of Egypt, where Goshen was, while the native Egyptian kings ruled southern Egypt.  A war arose between the two groups in which the Egyptian kings defeated the Hyksos.  The Hyksos, who were kindly disposed to the Israelites, were expelled.  However, the native Egyptians were contemptuous of Semites, which accounts for the hostility of the new ruler towards the Hebrews (1:8).  It is suggested that this new ruler was Rameses Miamun or his son Amenophis who succeeded him about 1604 BC. The date for Moses birth has been given at 1525 BC (although some sources cite a later date). 

Moses means drawn out of the water.  He was saved by water in an ark just as Noah was saved in his.  This is a figure of baptism which also saves us (1Pet 3:20,21). 
Moses is a type of Christ, and right away there is an echo of Pharaoh's attempt to kill him (1:16) with the attempt of Herod to kill Jesus (Matt 2:16).
Moses went into exile to Midian for forty years.  The number forty is associated with trial.  The flood was forty days upon the earth (Gen 7:17); the temptation of Jesus lasted forty days (Mark 1:13). 

Exodus 2:6
"This is one of the Hebrews' children"
The famous movie with Charleston Heston shows a piece of cloth in the basket as being Hebrew threads, but I believe that the identity was most likely because of circumcision.

1:17 - It is easy to do as the king commands - much less easy to have the courage to go against the law of the land when you know that what you do is for God.  These were women of faith who laid their lives on the line for their God, just as all people of faith should.

1:17 - We have an attempt to kill male children just as with Jesus. We also have an example of how important a role women can play in God's plan as Peter Cresswell touched on. 2:2,3,10 - Possibly some echoes of Christ and the sacrifice/resurrection by which people are led from the slavery of sin and death to the promised land. We have the number three. We have an ark type construction coated with pitch over water  kind of a mini version of Noah's wooden ark where 8 were saved with the washing away of sin much like baptism and saved by the wooden ark (wooden cross?). Moses means drawn out as he was drawn out of water (a symbolic grave/baptism/resurrection?) and thus saved.

1:7       In saying ‘Israel were fruitful’ we are being asked to consider that the promise to Abraham – Gen 12:2 – is still being fulfilled even though Israel were not in the land of Israel.

2:22      In saying ‘I have been a stranger in a strange land’ Moses is reflecting on the promise that God made to Abraham Gen 15:13

2:24 "God remembered' As we said a couple of days ago; God's promises can not be forgotten or broken. We have heard it expressed that one of the few things that God can not do, is to brake a promise. These promises provide assurance and comfort to all true believers.

1:1-6This section of this chapter summarises the background to the affliction of the book of Exodus. In saying ‘Joseph died’ we are seeing a link with Gen 50:26 where Joseph died. So whilst the book of Exodus follows on from the end of Genesis there must be a time gap between the books of around 100 years.

2:5    We learn a little here about life in Egypt in the days of Moses. Bathing was done in the river therefore we can conclude that even in Pharaoh’s palace there were no bathing facilities.

1:10 ‘Deal wisely’ – so political ‘spin’ is hardly new!

2:1 Moses father was Amram who married Jochabed (Num 26:59).

2:4 Miriam was probably about ten or twelve years old.

2:5 The daughter of Pharaoh was Thermuthis according to Josephus. The Nile was considered sacred by the Egyptians; and so, it is not clear whether this act of washing (bathing) was religious or a matter of hygiene.

2:11 Moses was now forty years old (Acts 7:23).

2:18 Ruel is alternatively called Raguel (Num 10:29); Jethro (Exo 3:1); Hobab (Judg 4:11). However, on further examination, Hobab would appear to be the son of Raguel (Num 10:29).

First Principles>Kingdom of God>Existed in the past
6. 12 tribes of Israel descended from the 12 sons of Israel. They remained in Egypt until the 400 years expired. Gen 15:13 Gen 47:27-31 Exo 1
Go to Gen 12:1-5 for more about First Principles>Kingdom of God>Existed in the past

Exo 2:14;Acts 7:27-28.

1:15-19 Given the midwives could have killed the children after they were born even if the midwife arrived after the birth it would seem, reading between the lines, that the Egyptians wanted to make the deaths appear natural.

The Mystery of the Extra Five

There is a tendency amongst those who think themselves scholarly to dismiss biblical anomalies as being a copyist error. There's one of these anomalies in Exo 1:5 (70 persons) compared to Stephens speech in Acts 7:14 (75 persons). So where did the extra 5 people come from? The bible margin unhelpfully suggests its an error.

But the answer could be Joseph of course; because he had come to Egypt ahead of the others. This omission is confirmed in that very same verse: "for Joseph was in Egypt already". So lets check if his family comes to five:

Joseph himself, that's one. His wife, two. Their two sons, four. Ah. That makes just 4. More problems. So shall we go for a double copyist error then? Or why not just take it in faith that both passages are correct? It would be better to trust Gods word than scholarly advice wouldn't it? And if we just trust, then maybe years later we would stumble on the fact that Jacob himself was the 5th person, as he's not counted in the 70 either: "these are the names of the children of Israel... descendants of Jacob" (v1,5). Lets not be quick to point the finger at the word of God, quoting so called scholars, when the answer is often in the same text we thought we had a problem with.

[Note added 2011. The men's wives also don't appear to be included in the 70 in Gen 46, so this is another possible answer.]

Exo 2:11-19,21,23 - in v.11 the brethren of Moses were heavily burdened and slaves (in bondage to Egypt/sin); in v.12 Moses kills an Egyptian [could this be an echo of Christ's sacrifice and how Christ dealt sin/death a mortal blow? (Gen 3:15)]; v.14 perhaps an echo of Christ being ruler and judge; v.15 Moses faced death but escaped from the head of Egypt (echo of Christ escaping from king sin/death?); vs.16-18 ["Reuel" (7467) means "friend of God"] God friendly people driven off but rescued/delivered by Moses [perhaps an echo of Christ delivering/rescuing believers and giving them living water (John 4:10,13,14)]; v.21 bridegroom and bride (echo of Christ married to believers?); v.23 during that long period the king of Egypt died (an echo that eventually there will be no sin and death?).

2:11  Moses had been brought up as a prince in the royal household, knowing only a privileged, regal way of life, yet here we have recorded the fact that he voluntarily turned his back on such a way of life and "went out" to his brethren. Clearly his mother had a great influence on Moses.  It must have been she who had - presumably secretly - brought him up with a knowledge and appreciation of his Hebrew descent.  In worldly terms Moses' brothers would have been the other royal princes, not the Hebrew slaves.

2:2   The death of the sons was potentially the death of the seed of the woman. Egypt, then, would be the seed of the serpent – but if the Egyptians had their way they would be dealing a wound to the ‘head’ not the ‘heel’ of the seed of the woman. One wonders if this was understood by this faithful wife.

Old midwives tales

Exo 1:19 The midwives played on the fears of the Egyptians who were so afraid of the Israelites that they were starting to think of them as a superior race (see v9,12).

1:21 I don’t think that we  should imagine that God built physical dwelling places for the midwives. Rather, as Scripture often speaks – 2Sam 7:11 etc: - here we are talking about blessings of a family. Most appropriate for those who delivered children.

Exo 2:18

“And when they came to Reuel their father…”

We read eight lines down in Exo 3:1: “Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian…” Then in Num 10:29 we read: “And Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father in law…”

Who was Moses’ father-in-law? Reuel? Jethro? Hobab? Most commentators conclude that Reuel and Jethro are the same person, Jethro being a title rather than name. The Septuagint adds “Jethro” or “Jothor” twice in Exo 2:16 in an attempt to harmonize the name, “Jethro” with “Reuel” (Raguel).

Reuel, #<7467>, Reeuwel, means a, “friend of God,” and he is identified as the father of Zipporah (Exo 2:21). “Father” is cham, #<2524>, and is translated as, “father-in-law.” “Jethro” is # <3503>, Yithrow, and means, “his excellence.” While it may be considered a title, it does not necessarily rule out it being a proper name. From a Scriptural point of view, though, it appears to be the same person - Reuel being his proper name, Jethro his title being the priest of Midian (see Exo 18). Reuel and his descendants were Kenite residents in the land of Midian (Judg 1:16; 4:11). It is by this association that we read of Hobab as being a Medianite (Num 10:29).

Hobab, # <2246>, Chobab, "cherished," is identified as “father in law” to Moses, and here the Hebrew word is chathan, # <2859>. In addition to meaning, “father in law,” it also means, “to contract affinity by marriage: - join in affinity.”  Since Hobab is identified as the son of Reuel, then by marriage he became Moses’ brother-in-law (See Judg 1:16; 4:11 AV).

Against this background, we read in Exo 18:1-27 that Jethro went away into his own country without any effort on the part of Moses to detain him, whereas Hobab, though he first refused to remain with the Israelites, seems to have yielded to the pleadings of Moses to be their guide (Num 10:29-33).

There are other commentators who say Reuel simply had three names, while still others say Jethro was the son of Reuel who inherited the priesthood being the eldest son, making Reuel, Zipporah’s grandfather, not “father” in an effort to reconcile these seeming differences.

Confusion revolves around the fact that the translators have a tendency to assume that the same range of words that define relationships in the Western World defines the sociological family structure of the Ancient World, which simply is not the case.

Exo 1:22; Exo 2

“And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.”

After the death of Joseph, a new king rose up in Egypt. When he saw that the children of Israel were more and mightier than the Egyptians, he turned against them and made the Israelites his slaves. But, Pharaoh was not content to stop there. He ordered his people to kill every male born to the Israelites by casting them into the Nile River. It was during this period of time that a son was born to Amram and Jochebed.

Amram and Jochebed saw that their son was no ordinary child and hid him for three months. It took tremendous faith to risk their own lives, not fearing Pharaoh’s commandments (Heb 11:23). When the parents could no longer hide their son, they made an ark of bulrushes daubed with slime and pitch and put their son in it and sent him down the river. His sister, Miriam stood at a distance and watched to be sure her brother would be safe. He was now in God’s hands to do what He alone could perform, and this river that was to be a means of death became a river that preserved life because of their faith in God.

Pharaoh’s daughter came along at the precise moment, and when she opened the ark, the baby began to cry. Providence? Absolutely! The eloquent babe melted the heart of the princess. She called him “Moses” because she said, “I drew him out of the water.” Moses’ sister then appears and offers to call a Hebrew woman to nurse the child and Moses’ mother is brought to him. What tears of joy Jochebed must have fought back when she saw her son again. Pharaoh’s daughter told her, “Take this child away and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages.” In Hebrew, “take this child” literally means, “here is thy child.” She knew! She could perceive the anxiety on Jochebed's face, and she could see the love in Jochebed's eyes as she looked upon her son.

God, who really drew Moses out of the river, not only gave Jochebed back her son, but she also received wages to continue nursing him. What a tremendous God we serve! As Jochebed raised her son, she impressed upon him his Hebrew nationality, the hope of Israel, and the promises made to their fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. She impressed his Jewish heritage in such a way that Moses’ heart responded. Outwardly, he was in Pharaoh’s court, educated in the wisdom of the Egyptians, but inwardly, he was a Hebrew (Acts 7:21-25).  

Succession to Pharaoh’s throne was not dependent on the father, but uniquely, on the mother. Moses was the apparent heir to Pharaoh’s throne but, “… By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season”  (Heb 11:24-25). A very valuable lesson is brought home to us. The world’s education and sometimes even its honours will not destroy our children if we faithfully play our part in their divine education. From the earliest possible time in life, we need to sow in their hearts a love of divine things (Prov 22:6). What a testimony to Moses raised by humble slaves, and what a testimony to his parents!

2:12,14       Moses’ experience in Egypt forms the basis of New Testament teaching

The two quotations in Acts are used by Stephen to build a picture of Israel’s history in which the Jews always rejected the saviours that God sent them.  In Luke 12 Jesus uses the quotation in a parable to highlight the way in which the Jewish leaders in his day rejected him as their saviour.

2:2    Amram and Jochabed did not hide Moses, as he was later called, because they had a son who pleased them. They hid him because they had faith – Heb 11:23. We must ask what they had faith in? The conclusion is that they must have believed that Moses was the deliverer who would come in the “fourth Generation” –Gen 15:16, Exo 6:16-20 shows that Moses was amongst the fourth generation since Israel had gone into Egypt. 

1:11    In saying that the Egyptians afflicted Israel we see a quotation from Gen 15:13 showing that the time in Egypt is what God spoke to Abraham about in Gen 15:13-16

1:22    So all newborn boys were to be cast into the river to drown. However when Moses was “cast out” Acts 7:21 he did not drown. Reading the narrative in Exodus we would not have described Moses being but on the river in a basked as being “cast out”. The record here and in Acts 7:21 contrast the outcome of most male babies with that of Moses.

A SIX YEAR OLD GIRL

...And a six year old girl changed the course of history.

Have you ever wondered whether God might have a plan for you? Like me, maybe you have felt too ordinary, insignificant or lacking in talent to do anything really significant for God. But Miriam was only a six year old slave girl. You can't get much more insignificant or ordinary than that. She wasn't even about to dazzle the princess of Egypt with her dancing or crochet skills.

The task she was given was a task a six year old girl could do - a six year old with quite a bit of courage. Her job was to watch her baby brother float down the Nile in a basket and see what would happen to him. But she did more than that. When the baby was rescued by Pharaoh's daughter, she plucked up the courage to ask, "Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?" (Exo 2:7).

And so the stage was set for Moses to grow up in the courts of Egypt, but with the background of the Israelites and sympathetic to the cruel bondage they were facing.

If God can use a six year old girl, He can use any of us. All He needs is a willing spirit, one that hears His voice and obeys. Let's give ourselves to God today.
 

1:10     Here is a clear case where man’s wisdom is foolishness with God. It is those who bless Israel who will be blessed and those who curse Israel – as Egypt proposed to do – would be cursed. Gen 2:3

1:20     The fact that “God dealt well” with the midwives is a simple illustration that God takes care of those who take care of His people. – Gen 12:3

2:24      God “had respect” towards Israel because Moses “had respect” towards God’s promise.

Exo 1:1-5  The Book of Exodus opens with a list of the “souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls…”. (v.5). The souls out of the loins of Jacob therefore include, Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh. 

Jacob lived for 17 years in Egypt died at the age of 147yrs (Gen 47:28). We can deduce time lines from the Genesis record that suggest Joseph was 56yrs old when Jacob died. Therefore, Joseph was to live a further 54years until he died at 110years of age (Gen 50:26). Joseph along with Benjamin were the youngest of the sons of Jacob, so there was ample time for his generation of siblings to have died by the time of Joseph’s death. So the read of a new “King over Egypt that did not know Joseph.”(Exo 1:8). The Lord sets up and removed rulers according to His purpose then, as He does today. We like Jacob and Joseph must place out trust in the LORD.

1:16 So here we see controlled ethnic cleansing. It might have been thought that killing the girl babies would stunt the growth of the nation as no more children would be born but Pharaoh is going further than that. There would be no males to father children who would be Israelites. But there would be women who could bear children to non-Jews, thus corrupting the Jewish nationality.

1:8 “Knew not Joseph” is one of the many phrases in Israel’s history that is woven into Stephen’s speech –Acts 7:18

2:24 Four times – Gen 8:1, Gen 19:29, Gen 30:22, Exo 2:24– we read that “God remembered”. It is not that God had forgotten and all of a sudden these things came back into His mind. Rather He was constantly thinking about the individuals concerned but there now arose a time when He actually intervened on their behalf. This should give us assurance that He will remember all of His faithful servants when He finally rises up to judge the world.

2:1 So we see, potentially at least, marriage within the tribe was practiced before the command in the Law of Moses

1:8 The idea of knowing not is, elsewhere, used in the context of disregarding. For example Eli’s sons -1Sam 2:12 – where it is obvious that they were aware of who Yahweh was. Or, in a similar context to Exodus – Judg 2:10 – where the generation after Joshua “knew not the Lord” but were doubtless aware as to who Yahweh was.

54 v.4 - David suffered so many occasions when he feared for his life. Surely none of us will come near to what he suffered, but we can still take comfort in the things that he took comfort in, knowing that God is on our side (Ps.118:6,7,13). David is writing about a time when he fled for his life from Saul but the inhabitants of the land which he had chosen for refuge (the Ziphites) joined with Saul in seeking him out.(1Sam.23:19,20, 26:1). This left him with no refuge but God. We take comfort in this and draw lessons from it. Isa.41:10, 50:7-9, Rom.8:31, Heb.13:6.

Psalm 54, Psalm 55 - There was a clear distinction in David's life between his friends and his enemies. We live lives, generally, where this is not so. It is much harder for us to recognise who our enemies are, and there is a danger then that we might fail to avoid joining their practices. Jesus tells us to love our enemies, but he does not tell us to join with them in their practices. We must develop the clear distinction that David had.

Psalm 53 - This Psalm almost duplicates Psalm 14. Against the background of sin and evil the Psalmist desires salvation out of Zion - :6. Is this how we think when we see the evil that is in the world?

Psalm 54 - David's own countrymen were his betrayers - Ziph was in the inheritance of Judah Josh 15:24. Even though betrayed by his own tribe David still seeks for God to bring deliverance :2. He left things in God's hands rather than seeking justice himself.

Psalm 55 - This Psalm is for instruction 'Maschil' in the title. It speaks of David's feelings when Ahithophel betrayed him. David's distress was because a friend had betrayed him :13,14. We must take care that we do not let our friends down. The closer we are to someone the greater is the pain if we fail them.

Psalm 54, Psalm 55, Psalm 56 - THE DESTINY OF THE WICKED
These three Psalms all have graphic curses given in them for the wicked. These are people who attack the innocent, who do not care for or regard God, who manufacture suffering for others, who make violence and destruction, who lay evil plans for their neighbours, conspiring, lurking and eager to take life.
The curses in these Psalms are mostly curses in which the Psalmist asks God to do right then and there in the life of the wicked people. They are more like instantaneous actions he wants God to take against the wicked. God did answer his prayers in many of these cases and the wicked did fall before David. Ahithophel, for instance, who is referred to in Psalm 55 was cursed with "Let death take my enemies by surprise, let them go down alive to the grave, for evil finds lodging among them." Ahithophel was one of David's wisest men but after this his wisdom was not highly regarded any more and he killed himself.
But the long-term destiny of the wicked is even worse than the short term. They will not get to share in the glories of life in the kingdom of God. They will be cast out into outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth and death.
Is wickedness really worth it?

53:6 The cry that salvation would come out of Zion is voiced against the background of the wickedness in Israel. Do we sigh for the abominations of this world and long for the restoration of Zion and the kingdom?

54:2 The Ziphites betrayed David to Saul but David prayed that God to intervene on his behalf. He did not take vengeance himself.

55:12 In lamenting and reflecting on the hurt cause by the treachery of Ahithophel David voices the deep sorrow of one betrayed by a friend. Do we think of the consequences of our actions when we choose to sin?

Psalm 53 - "To the chief musician upon Mahalath" - belongs properly as a subscription to Psalm 52. Psalm 53 begins with the words "Maschil, A Psalm of David." There is a remarkable resemblance between this psalm and Psalm 14:1-7. Both are ascribed to the same author, David; and each pursues the same line of thought - the folly and wickedness of Atheism. They both show that the belief that there is no God is not a harmless idea, or a mere speculation, but that it has important consequences on the life, and is naturally connected with a wicked life, Psalm 53:3-4.


Psalm 54 -  "To the chief musician upon Neginoth" - belongs properly as a subscription to Psalm 53. Psalm 54 begins with the words "Maschil, A Psalm of David when the Ziphims came and said to Saul, Doth not David hide himself with us?"
Ziph was a village in the southern part of Palestine. David having taken refuge in the mountains of that country, the Ziphites went to Saul, and informed him of the fact. Saul, with his army, immediately went thither, and was on one side of a mountain while David was on the other. Just when he was about to fall into the hands of his merciless pursuer, an express came to Saul that the Philistines had invaded Israel, on which he gave up the pursuit, and returned to save his country, and David escaped to En-Gedi. See the account in 1Samuel 23:19-29. It is supposed to have been after this deliverance that he composed this Psalm.

Psalm 55 -  "To the chief musician upon Neginoth" - belongs properly as a subscription to Psalm 54. Psalm 55 begins with the words "Maschil, A Psalm of David."

Psalm 55:12-14 - " For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company" - Though this Psalm was originally written by David, and the one he speaks of here is undoubtedly Ahithophel, the Psalm is also Messianic and probably provides an insight into Jesus' estimation of Judas that perhaps we might not otherwise have ascribed to that man. Was part of the bitter cup that Jesus wanted the Father to remove from Him, the bitterness of being betrayed by a friend and his kiss? - Matthew 26:28.

53:2 That God ‘looked down’ is rather like the way that He looked and then went down to Sodom (Gen 18:21). Of course God can see everything and could bring judgement from afar. However He involves Himself in the judgement.

54:3 Whilst we pointed out that the Ziphites were men of Judah we notice that David calls them ‘strangers’. They were strangers because they did not know David. Their hearts were set on mischief. In a similar way people we know well may well be strangers. We must appreciate that a relationship with God determines friendship and alienation.

55:14 The behaviour of Ahithophel demonstrated his hypocrisy. David had no idea of his treachery and deceit. However God did. We do well to remember that even though our brethren and sisters do not know our motives our Father does and will act in due course.

Psalm 53 In this psalm there is a plea that God would remove the "captivity of his people" V.6  This psalm is very similar to Psa 14

Psalm 54  David's prayer for God's help at the time when the Ziphites betray David's location to Saul. (1Sam 23:19)

Psalm 55  Once again a prayer of David. This would have been when Ahithophel defected to Absalom. (2Sam 15:31) You might also take a look at Psa 41

Psalm 55 clearly outlines David's bitter disappointment over being betrayed by Ahithophel. We can well imagine our Lord's similar disappointment over Judas' betrayal. It is possible that we too might be let down at some point by someone close. How would we handle it?
The hope is that we would emulate the Lord. He knew that Judas was going to betray him and yet he continued to treat him as he did the other disciples. He left judgment to God and so should we.

Psa 55 CHANGE
 
One of the hardest things people have to cope with is change.  We like to have our lives constant so that we are not put in uncomfortable situations where we feel out of our depth.  Change challenges us.  It forces us to re-think, take risks and live outside the box we would dearly love to call our home.  But we cannot grow without change.  Without change we would still be children living a child's life.  It is change that brings us close to God.
 
Human nature dictates to us that we should do our own thing, put ourselves first and ignore God.  It is prone to sin.  In that state we cannot be at peace with God.  We need to change our natures to become more God like and obedient to our Creator.
 
David spoke about people who resisted changing their ways for God.  He said, "God who is enthroned for ever, will hear them and afflict them - men who never change their ways and have no fear of God." (Psa 55:19)
 
The lesson for us is to allow ourselves to be changed by God to become the people he wants us to be.  In allowing those changes to happen - and making them happen - we will find ourselves outside our comfort zones, but at the same time we will be growing and maturing for the LORD our God.

54:7 We sense here David's satisfaction in beholding the overthrow of his enemies, as those of God. But, does not imply any selfish feelings. Compare Psa 52:6-7  

53:3 - We tend to believe that this degree of unbelief is a feature of the modern age, but it seems not.

The last verse in Psalm 53 (Psa 53:6) is one of those amazing prophetic verses.  The Psalm is written by David, so it was to be another 500 years before Judah's captivity would return from Babylon.  David really understood a lot about the future of his nation, and God's prophecies in Deut 28and other places.

53:1-4 - God wants more than simply casually seeking Him. He wants us to diligently seek and worship Him. In v.2 we have God looking to see if any "seek" [Heb. "darash" <1875>  means "to follow, to worship, to seek, search, inquirer, to ask, care for", etc.] Him. Matt 7:7 - we read "seek and ye shall find". The word "seek" used in Matt. is the Greek word "zeteo" <2212> means "to seek, to worship, desire, endeavour, enquire, seek", etc.

53:1      Scripturally a ‘fool’ is someone who does not listen to sound instruction. Prov 10:8

54         The historical background to this Psalm is to be found in 1Sam 26

55:22    ‘cast thy burden (mgn that he hath given thee) upon the Lord’ indicates that David realised that his flight from Absalom was ‘of God’.

55:7 Maybe in saying ‘then would I wander far off and stay in the wilderness’ David is commenting on his feelings when he fled from Absalom. 2Sam 17:16

55:22 The phrase ‘casting ... sustain thee’ is quoted by Peter – 1Pet 5:7 – when encouraging the brethren as to how to deal with persecution.

Condemn not, that ye be not condemned

We probably can't think of too many worse sins than rape, adultery and murder. This is what David did, and as a direct result he obtained the hatred of one of his own close acquaintances. Psa 55:21 describes this man's inner feelings: "war was in his heart".

One might think that it was right for this man to hate David. He had seen a great sin committed and he wanted justice to be done. He viewed David as a transgressor. Yet in the next verse (v22) David describes himself as righteous, and in v23 how God would protect him from his enemy.

The big lesson here is that God forgives those who seek forgiveness; and when He forgives it is total. David was now a righteous man again. God had removed his sin so that it didn't exist any more. This man, however, still remembered, and therefore he faced the wrath of God. We need to be careful when retaining memories of another's sins. How are we to know if God has already taken that sin away? If we judge another person in our hearts, we can set ourselves up in direct opposition to God, who will go to any lengths to vindicate His righteous (forgiven) servants. This is why Jesus commanded "judge not, that you be not judged" (Luke 6:36-37).

53:6 The Psalmist saw that the only way in which the ‘wicked’ would end their activities would be when Zion had brought forth salvation – clearly a reference to the work of God through Christ in the kingdom.

Psalm53 mirrors Psalm 14. It certainly reflects today’s God is Dead attitude.

Psalm 55 recounts the time of the Ziphites betrayal of David (1Sam 23:19-29).

Psalm 55: David complains about the ill treatment he received at the hand of his smooth-talking acquaintances. But, he instructs the reader how to deal with problems (v.22 see 1Pet 5:6,7).

Psa 53:1-3;Rom 3:10-12.

55:17 David’s prayer three times a day is like Daniel – Dan 6:10. Is this an indication that it was common for faithful men to pray at three specific times in the day?

55:13    the man who was David’s ‘guide’ was Ahithophel. 2Sam 15:12

55:15    Notice the shift from the singular “a man” of verse :13 with the “them” of this verse and the “they” of verse :10 . Whilst Ahithophel was the individual David is concerned in this Psalm for those who conspired with Absalom and Ahithophel against David. Rarely is an action motivated and acted out by one person. We must take care not to get swallowed up in other people’s evil plots even if they sound plausible.

Psalm 53 has the subscription of "Neginoth" <5058> and uses "God" <430> instead of "Lord" <3068> as is in verses (2,4,6,7) of Psalm 14.

Psa 53:1 - "The fool" <5036>

Psa 54:1 - "Ziphims" [<2120> according to Brown-Driver-Briggs "Ziphites" indicates "smelters"] as Peter Forbes noted in his 2002 comments were in the inheritance of Judah (Josh 15:21,24) and betrayed David just as Christ's brethren betrayed him.

Psa 54:3 - "strangers...oppressors" - both Jew and Gentile men of power collaborated against the Son of God.

Psa 54:3 - "they have not set God before them" - an indictment of the chief priests against Christ.

Psa 54:5 - "He shall reward evil unto mine enemies" - perhaps a reference to what happened in 70 AD.

Psa 54:5 - "cut them off in thy truth" - the New Covenant cut the priests off from their spiritual privileges.

Psa 54:6 - "I will freely sacrifice" - one free will sacrificial offering of grace.

Psa 54:7 - "For he hath delivered me out of all trouble" - this was completed true of Jesus .

Psa 55:2 - "mourn...make a noise" (Heb 5:5-7).

Psa 55:3 - "they cast iniquity upon me" (Matt 21:12-15;John 10:33-34).

Psa 56:1 - the subscription for Psalm 55 mentions "Jonath-Elem-Rechokim" <3128> can mean "dove of distance" and perhaps refers to Psa 55:6 - some believe the dove is a symbol of God's people (i.e. the Israel of God) being holy, harmless and undefiled - other mentions of "dove" (Gen 8:8-12;Matt 3:16).

Psa 55:9 - "divide their tongues" (Gen 11:6-7; Mark 14:55-56).

Psa 55:12-14 - Ahithophel (2Sam 15:31;17:1-3) - Judas (Matt 26:49-50;John 13:18;6:70-71).

Psa 55:15 - David recalls the rebellion of Korah (Num 16:26-34).

Psa 55:22 - "Cast thy burden upon the Lord" (Matt 11:28-30;Isa 53:4,12).

55:9     Maybe a Psalm relating to Absalom’s uprising. In asking God to divide their tongues maybe we see a reference to david asking God to overthrow the counsel of Ahithophel –2Sam 15:34

55:19   In saying that God will afflict those who are seeking to capture him in the house David recognises the Divine principle that vengeance and recompense belongs to God – Deut 32:35

54:6      David, in saying that his sacrifice will be freely given highlights an attitude which should be ours in all aspects of our worship of God. It should be willing, not because we feel obligated – 2Cor 9:7.

Psalm 53

Whatever situation David is faced with here, it is reminding him of the hopeless situation at the time of Noah. For example, see the similarity between Gen 6:12 and Psa 53:3

"And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth."

"Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one."

Psalm 54

In the heading (1) to the Psalm we read this interesting snippet:

"To the chief Musician on Neginoth, Maschil, A Psalm of David, when the Ziphims came and said to Saul, Doth not David hide himself with us?" (Psa 54:1)

It's referring 1Sam 23:14-24 and 1Sam 26, a major event in David's life. We can see clearly that with a little searching, each Psalm can be put into its context. The text in Samuel tells us what happened, and the Psalm tells us what David was thinking and adds in extra detail. This is one of the great keys to Bible understanding: every passage in scripture has its counterpart elsewhere that illuminates it.

Note #1 Most headings in your Bible are inserted by the Bible translators to aid us finding the text, but in Psalms the headings are part of the Bible text itself -- they are as much part of the inspired word of God as the rest.

53:3     In saying that they have “gone back” we see that the Psalmist is speaking of individuals who once accepted God’s teaching.

55:17     A New Testament example of a man praying at noon is Peter – Acts 10:9

55:1-7  The way that the psalmist speaks of his feelings because of the persecution he experienced should give us an insight into Jesus’ feelings during his ministry.

55:7  Going to the wilderness is exactly what David did when he fled from Absalom – 2Sam 17:16

54:5 David had been betrayed to Saul by the Ziphites – 1Sam 23:1 – but David does not seek to take vengeance. He understood Lev 19:18 and so leaves things in God’s hand.

55:6,7 The "wings like a dove" would enable the psalmist to "wander far off, and remain in the wilderness". Similarly, the Spirit, which was "like a dove" (Matt 3:16), "led up" Christ "into the wilderness" (Matt 4:1).

55:20  The one who had broken the covenant was Ahithophel who had turned against David.

54  Title. Twice – 1Sam 23:19, 1Sam 26 the Ziphites were willing to betray David to Saul. The treachery of the Ziphites towards David is understandable given Saul’s ruthless treatment of those who might be thought to be harbouring David. But notice David never speaks words of condemnation of the Ziphites. Rather he seeks God for deliverance (54:2,7). If only we could always be charitable towards those who we feel have wronged us. If only we could maybe have a fuller understanding of the reason for their actions.

55:21 This Psalm speaks of Ahithophel’s treachery - :13 2Sam 15:12 – and so David reflects on the way that he was spoken to by Ahithophel. He was double minded. Saying one thing but doing another. Such behaviour is easy for those who have their own agenda. We must never be like this. We speak truth at all times.

55 David realises that Ahithophel is encouraging Absalom in his revolt against David. But notice David’s prayer s to God for deliverance. There is no hint in the Psalm that David sought vengeance against Ahithophel by his own hand. He left matters in God’s hand.

This is a characteristic of David’s behaviour whenever he was wronged by others. As such it gives us a powerful example of how we should behave in all circumstances.

7v.1-6 - The analogy of marriage as we know it is used so often to demonstrate the commitment we should have to Christ. v. 3 is true only of human life and that is the reason it is put here - by contrast our marriage to Christ is not one that will be broken by death. In this marriage 'until death do us part' is for ever. Let us all therefore try to 'serve in newness of Spirit', knowing that we no longer 'bring forth fruit unto death'.

EVEN PAUL STRUGGLED

Sometimes we can find it a real struggle to walk the Christian life with all the temptations and pressures life throws at us. Sometimes it can even get depressing when we tally up our day or our week and realise how often we have failed to do what we should have don, or have done the things that we shouldn't have done.

While there is no excuse for sinning and we must still confess our sins to God and ask for forgiveness, we can be encouraged by the fact that even Paul, who we look up to as being one of the greatest men of God, struggled with exactly the same sins as we do. He said that the good that he wanted to do he did not do and the things that he did not want to do, he did! We all have exactly the same problems whether we are as great as Paul or whether we consider ourselves the lowest of the low.. Yet Paul, at the end of his life, despite his struggles, was 100% confident that his Lord was prepared to give him a crown of everlasting life.

Despite our struggles too, we can have the same confidence as Paul and know for sure that we will be given the kingdom. It is not an excuse for sin, but a faith and confidence in the grace and mercy of our God and his Son, Jesus Christ.

8:29 'Predestinated', <4309 'pro+orizw'>, 'to determine beforehand'. As buses have destination blinds which state the intended end of the journey, God has stated for us his intended end of our life's journey. In the case of the bus there is no guarantee that it will complete its journey. Leaving the route or mechanical failure can cause a vehicle to fail to reach its destination, but nonetheless the pre (beforehand) destination was a clear statement as to its intended end.

Here, God states beforehand his intended 'end of the road' for us! The predestined end is set for His angels to see on our foreheads, it reads, 'This individual is intended to be conformed to the image of my Son'. Israel's High Priest too, wore on his forehead God's intended destination of the nation, 'Holiness to the Lord', although successive generations (with notable individual exceptions) have failed to complete the journey.

What a privilege we have to be so foreordained by God, we only have to steadfastly complete our course. The questions of v31-37 lead us to realise that God is on our side and so finally (v38-39), we are brought to the glorious realisation of God's love.

Romans 7:24 - "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" - This account of the pervasiveness of sin is finished more impressively by the groans of the wounded captive. Having long maintained a useless conflict against innumerable hosts and irresistible might, he is at last wounded and taken prisoner; and to render his state more miserable, is not only encompassed by the slaughtered, but chained to a dead body; for there seems to be here an allusion to an ancient custom of certain tyrants, who bound a dead body to a living man, and obliged him to carry it about, till the contagion from the putrid mass took away his life!

Romans 8:1 - "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" - Baptised and walking with our Lord day by day, there is nothing that can conspire against us to keep us separated from Him. Our past sins are far removed, and our present shortcomings are covered in the blood of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world to take away our sins, so frail as we are and weak as we may feel, there is no condemnation levelled by God against those who are in Christ Jesus.

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THE GOLDEN THREAD - As Psalm 53 told us, only the fool would say there is no God. Pharaoh, thinking that he was God found out this truth to his eternal chagrin in Exodus, and Paul teaches us to rejoice in the fact that there is a God, therefore nothing can pluck us out of His hand - Romans 8:28-39

7:11 In saying that he was ‘deceived’ Paul is quoting Gen 3:15 to show the origin and all pervading influence of sin.

8:9 The ‘spirit of Christ’ is not some mystical inner experience for the believer. It is a tangible manifestation and acceptance of the work of Christ as a pattern for our lives. If we do not manifest his life we are none of his.

Rom 7:4  Christ was born under the law, and redeemed from the law, that we might be redeemed by the sharing of his redemption.

7:7 - Here we see a distinction which it does us good to contemplate.  The law, we see is not sin, but a means whereby we might choose to sin.  The same applies of anything that provides us with this choice.  Let us be sure to recognise that the blame, and the consequent need for forgiveness, is with us, the sinner, and not whatever (or whoever) we might wish to blame that we feel led us in that direction.

8:23 We, like Paul cannot feel complacent about our walk in Christ.  It is a struggle - the flesh is always contending with the spirit.  If we are not constantly cognizant of our failings then we should take stock (1Cor 10:12). 

If we are not yearning to be free then we must be satisfied with this passing life. When times are tough, let us remember the words of the psalmist: Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD. (Psa 31:24)

GOD WORKS FOR GOOD
 
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Rom 8:28)
 
This verse provides a stumbling block to many who believe that God is not interested in the mundane events of our lives and that life is made up of a series of chance happenings where God is not involved at all - except, of course, where he may chose to intervene at a particular moment for a particular purpose. 
 
Paul's confidence in his God was far more than as the watcher of chance and circumstance.  He said, "We know."  This was not a matter of what he thought, an opinion or belief - it was a matter of being totally sure of the fact. 
 
"We know that in all things."  Again Paul could have phrased this in many other ways - the occasional things, some things, certain things, but no, he said, "ALL things."  Are there any exceptions to "all things"?  No, of course not.  Good, bad, mundane, exciting, stressful - God works in them all.
 
"We know that in all things God works..."  Yes, it is his hand at work in our lives, whatever comes along.
 
"For the good"  God is always interested in us, and as our Father he works for our best.  Everything that happens to us may not be rosy, but we, like Paul, can know it will be for our good.
 
"Of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."  Here is the defining factor.  It is up to us.  If we have been called and we show God our love, we can know that in all things God works for our good.

Taking 7:8 and comparing it with 6:7,18 we see that we must recognise that we are no longer bound by law.  By our covenant which God has entered into with us we are no longer sinners but righteous.  How else will we attain our promised inheritance?

7:10      That the law of Moses was ‘ordained to life’ is an exposition of Lev 18:5 – that man that kept the law would live, unfortunately men cannot live by that law. The shortcoming is in man, not in God.

8:2       If we are ‘free from the law of sin and death’ then death cannot rule us. However we regularly forget what God has done for us in Christ and  despair of our situation. Rom 8:1-3 should get us back on the correct course again.

There are many uses of “Spirit” in today’s 2 chapters. Although I know there are a few Brothers and Sisters who will disagree with this, but most of our published commentaries, and many of us regard this use of Spirit as the godly side of us, compared with the fleshly, or carnal, side. The word “spirit” should have a small “s”.  It is not the Holy Spirit at all. So when Paul concludes the chapter in Rom 7:25 saying that his mind serves God, but his flesh serves sin, he says exactly the same in Rom 8:1, where he calls the flesh, flesh, but the “mind” he calls “spirit”. Rom 8:6 summarises the argument: if we are fleshly minded, we die, or perish (as in John 3:16), but if we think of things of God then we have eternal life, and peace.

7:7 How often have you heard said "we have nothing to do with the law" or "the law is not for us" This is not what Paul is saying here, he would not have known sin, if it had not been for the law. For him the law was of value, but it cannot save. It can and does reveal our sinfulness, and brings and points to our Savior, as Paul wrote to the Galatians "the law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ," Because it taught obedience, it led to maturity.

7:22-23 We may well be troubled by the fact that we know that we sin even though we do not want to. We should, in a sense, be encouraged by this awareness. If we do not experience these feelings then we do not appreciate how we can be delivered from our sinful nature.

8:2    Being ‘free from the law of sin and death’ does not mean that we do not sin. However  it is the status of the one who is justified by faith as his faith is counted to him for righteousness – that we are counted righteous by God despite our nature.

7:1 The use of the word ‘dominion’ catches the flavour of Rom 6:9,14. On those occasions Paul was talking about sin having dominion over us. Freed from that in Christ Paul now turns to the Jew who would rest in the law and uses the same word to highlight the point that those who want to observe the law are slaves to that – like they were slaves to sin. He is offering freedom from that in Christ.

8:29 Yahweh knows all things, the end from the beginning (Isa 46:10). Therefore, He knows His elect in advance (1Pet 1:2). However, He did not predestinate those to be saved in the sense that they could not fail. It is difficult for our finite minds to understand the infinite (Isa 55:9). Foreknowledge is a statement about Yahweh’s complete understanding of things beyond time. Predestination (foreordination) refers to His purpose concerning the foreknown elect (2Tim 1:9).

SAVED

I. things required for salvation: hope Rom 8:24-25; belief or faith John 3:16; obedience Heb 5:9; baptism after belief in the Gospel Mark 16:15-16; the blood of Christ (or sacrifice of Jesus) 1John 1:7; the grace of God Eph 2:8-9; keeping in memory what has been preached 1Cor 15:1-2

(note how all the above are interrelated and dependent on each other).

II. three types of being saved:

     A. past tense - saved when the believer avails himself of Christ's sacrifice at his baptism 2Tim 1:9;Titus 3:4-7.

     B. present tense - saved as a continuous process throughout life Acts 2:47 (RSV,NIV); 1Cor 1:18 (RSV,NIV);1Cor 15:2;2Cor 2:15-16 (RSV,NIV); Phil 2:12-13.

     C. future tense - saved in the ultimate future sense Matt 10:22;Matt 24:13;1Cor 3:11-15;Rom 13:11;1Cor 5:5;1Tim 4:16.

III. is eternal security (i.e. once saved always saved ) Scriptural? Not if by believing this it is thought impossible for him/her to fall away Heb 3:12-14 (notice the condition "if"), 4-6; 6:4-6;10:26-31;1John 1:6.

IV. the process of being saved Acts 22:10,16;Phil 3:10-13;1Cor 9:27;Titus 3:7;Rom 8:24;2Pet 1:4-11;Col 1:22-23; Jude 1:20-21 (KJV).

References to Eden:

7:7-11 is a commentary on what happened in Eden by the tree. The commandment not to eat the fruit. The deceit of the serpent.

8:20-22 specifically mentions all the curses (except the curse on the serpent - but see below!)

Rom 8:35, 38-39 refer to the separation of mankind from Eden by God, effected by the angels/cherubim in the first instance, and ultimately by death. Notice it even mentions the sword and nakedness - two further separating factors (Gen 3:10, 24)

and finally the quote in 8:36 refers to Psa 44 where in v15 we read of shame and a covering, in v21 God searching out their secrets, v24 hiding, and v25 the curse on the serpent: to cling to the ground and wallow in the dust.

If you can find any more references to Eden, please post them here or email me!

7:6 Having highlighted that the brethren should not be slaves to the law Paul deals with the possible response that the law must have been bad then given it is superseded in Christ. By quoting Exo 20:17Paul highlights the benefit of the law – it taught him what sin was.

WHAT'S COOKING?

Almost everyone likes cake. If we like cake so much, then why is it that the ingredients that go in to making up a cake are not nearly so nice as the end product? What I mean is that we all enjoy our cake, but none of us wants to munch our way through a cup of flour, suck on a couple of teaspoons of baking powder, swallow a teaspoon of salt, lick our way through a cup of sugar, slurp a teaspoon of vanilla, chew through 200g of butter, down a raw egg or suck up half a cup of raw cocoa. We find most of these ingredients distasteful on their own. But mixed together and heated in a hot oven, they combine to produce a cake that everyone can enjoy.

God works in our lives in a similar way to us making chocolate cake. He wants to make something beautiful from our lives. As we go through life, it seems that he is mixing in a whole lot of things that are distasteful to us. He gives us problems and difficulties, people turn against us or tempt us with things that are not good, he gives us sickness and times of need, and a whole variety of other trials. Like the ingredients in a cake, we don't like any of them that much. But in putting all these things together in our lives God is working to prepare us to be part of his kingdom.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Rom 8:28)

Let us allow God to work in our lives or we may find some of the vital ingredients have been left out when it comes to the finished product.

7:14   Being ‘sold under sin’ is drawing on the language of Isa Isa 50:1

Rom 7:24-25

“O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord…”

The ancient Roman Emperors were renowned for thinking up cruel and unusual hideous forms of punishment. One such was the crucifixion, but there was another, that of binding a corpse to a person convicted of a capital crime! Under penalty of death, no one was permitted to remove the corpse off the body of the condemned person until the putrefaction of the corpse eventually killed him.

By Paul bringing up this practice, he is comparing himself much like this condemned man carrying around a strapped corpse. He was using this example to show that while our body is not in itself bad, our nature, which we carry with us wherever we go, is. But, it goes even beyond this. Paul recognized that under the Law of Moses (body of this death), he could not be saved even though the Law was good (Rom 7:7; 10:5). Only under the Law of Christ could he be freed from eternal death. Being a man of the Law blameless (Phil 3:3-5), he also struggled with this issue.

We must bear in mind that the context of this chapter and its purpose was to show the Jews were no longer under the Law, and the thrust of his words, though simple are dramatic! God represented Himself as a husband married to Israel, His wife (Isa 54:5-6). This covenant under the Law between God and the people of Israel was likened to a marriage. This marriage covenant under the Law was no longer in force, Christ having died and nailed it to the cross (Col 2:14). Christ is now the husband, and the ecclesial body his wife (Mark 2:19-20; John 3:29). This is the new covenant (Heb 8:8,13;12:24), and end of the Law (Rom 10:4-6), which Paul strived to show the Jews as we read in 2Cor 11:2, “For I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.”

What a preposterous thought it would be to suppose that the new bride and groom should abide by the terms of the marriage contract of the previous bride and groom! (Christ also taught this in Matt 9:17). In so doing, Paul showed its absolute termination and removed all grounds of the Judaisers’ utterly incongruous teachings they sought to impose upon the new Christians.

8:28     If the events of this life are part of God’s plan to bring about salvation in our lives then it must be that ‘all things work together for good’ though it often does not seem like that to us at the time. It is only ‘afterwards’ that we appreciate  it – Heb 12:11

Rom 8:9

“But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you…”

The Spirit of God is defined in the Greek as pneuma, # <4151>, and means a “current of air,” “breeze.” This pneuma, or breeze, cannot be understood by theological knowledge. If we wish to be in touch with this pneuma, we must look for it inwardly, in the very center of one’s center. Our total passion, love, and devotion must be focused on this inward pneuma.

It is only with the power of God’s Word and His pneuma that we are able to make a fantastic journey of transforming power. It takes us from death to life, and from glory to glory. ‘Dead’ men walking with soulless eyes – changed! Idolatrous pagans – changed! Spoiled, “it’s all about me” children – changed! Men/women with embittered spirits – changed! The haughty, self-centered folks – changed! The smug, and self-righteous, whose mouths cluck and prate about what this world is coming to – changed! The money loving and greedy – changed! The power of the transforming pneuma, if it dwells in us, brings life to the dead, passion to the indifferent, and generosity to the selfish. The minute we step inwardly, we lack nothing, but have everything for we are then one with God having the very pneuma of Christ in us.

7:4-5    Notice that Paul uses the word “fruit” twice. Left to ourselves we bring forth ”fruit unto death”. Now we have associated ourselves with God through our baptism in the saving name of Christ we must change our way of behaving and “bring forth fruit unto God”. There is no middle way and unless we do actually try to change our way of life we will be continuing to bring forth “fruit unto death”.

Rom 7:2-4.

Verse 4 - "So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God."

This verse is the practical outworking of the type of marriage and death and remarriage as presented in vv. 2,3. yet it's not the easiest thing to make a one to one correspondence. Is there a one to one correspondence between v. 4 & vv. 2,3? And if so, what is it? In other words, where is Paul going with this argument?

The main analogy, I think, is likely this: at one point in time - prior to Jesus' sacrifice and resurrection - believers were married to the Law of Moses. So they were the collective bride with the Law being the husband. For them to try to be a part of the Bride of Christ while at the same time being married to the Law of Moses (since it was not "dead" by their adherence to it) would be wrong and sinful - like a woman who, with a living husband, deciding to marry a second husband. What must happen for the brethren to be successful in their journey toward eternal life in God's kingdom was to first of all count the former husband as dead and second become fully joined for life to Christ. And then godly "fruit" could be produced (v. 4) - i.e. the true "fruit of the Spirit" as Paul says elsewhere will be what life in Christ produces leading to inheritance in God's kingdom (see Gal 5:19-24).

One thing to note about Paul's analogy in vv. 2,3 is what he omits. He says nothing about divorce. The scenario he creates is that of a woman being married to a husband and then deciding to take a 2nd husband while still being married to the first. In Old Testament times and even likely into early New Testament times, polygamy was allowed (but never, ever encouraged!). But it was always a man having more than one wife. Never did it occur with a wife having more than one husband.

One final point - throughout much of the rest of the chapter Paul goes to great lengths to speak of the benefits of the Law of Moses - v. 12 - "it is holy, righteous, and good." But as the means of obtaining salvation, he says, it simply was never intended to do that since that fact would supplant Christ as the one and only means to that glorious goal. To use it as a schoolmaster to lead Jews to Christ (Gal 3:24) in Old Testament days was its correct usage. But in Paul's day to use it as an end in itself would eventually lead to destruction unless those folks changed and began to truly follow Christ.

7:16    Paul’s inspired comment that “the law is Good” forms part of Paul’s inspired comments to Timothy – 1Tim 1:8. The reference back to Romans from 1 Timothy is an example of the way in which later letters draw on principles laid out in earlier communications both in the Old and New Testaments. 

Rom 7:23, Rom 8:7

We have some very important Doctrine here in understanding how the mind battles against the flesh.

In V23 we see members (the flesh) battling against the mind. There is a law in the mind and a law in Pauls flesh, and this applies to everyone of us including the Lord Jesus Christ.

His flesh was as ours, becuase he was born of a woman like us, but his mind was of his father because he was also begotten of his father, I and my father are one, he who hath seen me hath seen the father".

His flesh was as ours but his thinking was different. His flesh warred against his mind liek Pauls, but being a mind so wrapped up in the word a mind 100% heavenly thinking he overcame.

Rom 8:7-9 Tell us how the battle against flesh is won for Christ and how we can try and win. We see a carnal mind (like the serpant) or we see a mind of spirit like Christ.

Our minds are carnal which we attempt to change to spirit minded by applying the word. Christ's mind was NOT carnal it was spirit. His mind was heavenly thinking 100% of the time, the more we absorb the word the more our minds should change from carnal to spirit. See my notes in John 3.

Phil 2:5

Let our minds then become like his!

8:5  The idea of minding the things of the flesh Paul picks up again – Phil 3:19 - when encouraging the Philippians to focus their lives on Christ.

8:7      Paul’s statement here expands the comment of the wise man – Prov 21:8

Sin, in the primary and completest sense, is disobedience. In this sense, there was no sin in Christ.

But there is the source of disobedience? In the inclinations that are inherent in the flesh. Without these, there would be no sin.

Hence it is (because they are the cause of sin) that they are sometimes spoken of as sin. As where Paul speaks in Rom 7:17-20 of "Sin that dwelleth in me" and "The motions of sin in my members" etc.

These inclinations are so described in contrast to the Spirit nature in which there are no inclinations leading to sin. It is only in this sense that Christ "was made sin", which Paul states 2Cor 5:21. He was made in all points like to his brethren, and therefore of a nature experiencing the infirmities leading to temptation: "Tempted in all points like them but without sin". All this is testified Heb 2:17; Heb 4:15.

He has also come under the dominion of sin in coming under the hereditary power of death which is the wages of sin. He was in this sense made part of the sin-constitution of things, deriving from his mother both the propensities that lead to sin and the sentence of death that was passed because of sin.

He was himself absolutely sinless as to disobedience, while subject to the impulses and the consequences of sin.

FROM THE BLOOD OF CHRIST  'Sin in the Flesh'

8:1,2    Notice the double blessing “no condemnation” and “made free”

8:33   In quoting, twice, Isa 50:8, the inspired Apostle is giving us great encouragement. If the creator of the universe is on our side who can say anything against us? We should try to remember this at all times.

Rom 8:38,39

“I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life… shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”