Comments for February 8

manna - Here begins a great theme of God's provision for us to explore. It leads us straight to the verse that Jesus quoted in his temptations - Deut.8:3. Here is a lesson for us to learn from the manna because it was 'to humble thee ... to prove thee ...' Deut.8:16. We have to stand the test of patience as they did. As food, it was supplied only during the wilderness journey and stopped instantly the day that the promised land was providing for them - Josh.5:12. Here is the pattern of our remembrance of Christ "to humble thee ... to prove thee ..." 'until he come' 1Cor.10:1-22

v.26 - This was surely the point that constantly would remind the people that this was a miracle from God. Every day the manna came except the Sabbath. Amazing. This reinforces God's requirement that they rested on the Sabbath day. Exo.20:9-11, Deut.5:13, Eze.46:1

:1 We are only about one month - 30 days - into the period in the wilderness. Israel's first test is seen. The Manna was then provided to :4 'prove' Israel. That is the event was designed to teach Israel to rely on God. Deuteronomy 8:2 reminded Israel that the whole of the wandering period was a learning experience for them. So we have to ask ourselves whether we think of this life as a learning experience for ourselves or is it simply a drudge that we have to endure?

16:3 In saying that they would rather have died by the hand of the Lord in Egypt we maybe have a hint that Israel realised that they were being punished in Egypt for their sinfulness (Ezekiel 20:8)

GRUMBLING

From the time Moses went back to Egypt until after they were settled in the promised land, a constant murmuring was heard in the camp of Israel. They were a nation of grumblers. If things were not just right, they would grumble against Moses and against the LORD. They grumbled about the work, the water, the food, the leadership, the desert, the giants in the land and it went on and on and on for more than forty years.

Having seen this characteristic in God's people Israel after they had been redeemed, we should look carefully at ourselves. After all, we are all human and what is a problem to one person is often a problem to more of us, though it is sometimes hard to see it in ourselves.

Take note of the tone of your conversation next time you find yourself talking about someone else. Are we praising them, planning encouragement or criticising and complaining? Does it make a difference whether we think they deserve our criticisms or not? Israel seemed to think that Moses deserved their grumblings - and yet how wrong they were!

The bottom line is that God does not like us grumbling. It is a sin. Let's remove it from our lives and be positive. Let's encourage instead of complain, and share our needs with God instead of gossiping about things that have gone wrong.

Are you humbly grateful or grumbly hateful?

Exodus 16:3 - "And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger" - Barely a month out of Egypt and Israel is wishing that they had been able to swap places with Egypt's firstborn. It takes great faith to "Let Go - and Let God..." work in our lives some times. Above all, God would like to develop grateful children. How do we we feel when things seem to go "wrong" in our lives? Can we cheerfully accept that our Father knows the way, and will allow nothing to happen to us that is not for our ultimate good?

16:30 So there was a law of the Sabbath before the law specified it a short while later. Here is one of the many indications that the Law of Moses was not the first time that God had laid down laws for His people to follow. Of course the first was ‘of all the trees ..’ (Gen 2:16-17)

Weights and measures in the Bible sometimes do not mean much to us. So spare a thought here for "an omer" Exo 16:18,36. The omer was sufficient food for the average person each day. Think of a good portion of potato or rice. 10 omers made an ephah. In Ruth 2:17  Ruth went home after her first day’s gleaning with an ephah of barley. That would be 10 day’s food. But she was providing for her mother in law as well, so each would have 5 day’s food. 5 is the number of grace, and by grace are we saved. So God is telling us that grace will save us, Jews (Naomi) and Gentiles (Ruth).

Exo 16:13  The Children of Israel were provided flesh on this occasion in the form of quail. We are told that they ate manna for the full forty years. V.35 The only time the quail are mentioned are here and in Num 11:31-32  and again in Psa 105:40  Was it just on these two occasions that they ate quail? 

The Israelites were a fickle group.  They oscillated between contentment and peevishness depending on whether they directly experienced the outpouring of Yahweh or not.  Their faith was governed by sight only. 

We should learn from their mistakes (Rom 15:4).  We know that Yahweh always cares for us (Heb 13:5).  Therefore we must continue to have faith under all circumstances, sight unseen.

To extend Moses' point about murmuring (v.8), it can be said that all grumbling is against Yahweh.  The faithful person will endeavor to be content and enthusiastic, even though circumstances might be painful (Phil 4:11, Col 3:23).

If we allow Yahweh to guide our lives (Prov 3:5,6) then we shall be all right.  But, If we insist on setting the agenda, and expect the LORD to comply, we are on shaky ground.   That's what the Israelites did when they cried for flesh (v.8). The Lord answered them to their detriment (Prov 26:5). The fuller account of this incident in Num. 11, will show just how devastating this was.

V.2 It is less than a month into the wilderness and the peoples are complaining. The murmuring was against Moses; but in fact it was against God. We see His patience and how graciously He promised to redress the grievance V.4-5.

v.3 - The use of language (at least as we have it in the English) is accusatory and emotive - not 'that we should die' but 'that you should kill us'.  Being in charge of this group of malcontents must have been a terrible burden.  Those who God chooses will have similar burdens to bear at the hands of others.  May we bear ours with patience and not rise to the accusatory and emotive language that will surely be used against us.

As we know, every word is important in scripture and so how interesting it is to notice in verse 2 that the "whole" congregation murmured - not a few, not the majority, ALL of them! The word appears again in the next verse in their accusation that the "whole" assembly would be killed with hunger. It is not surprising, therefore, that Moses instructs Aaron to speak to "all" the congregation about this (v.9) and that we are told that he spoke to the "whole" congregation in v.10. We sometimes find ourselves in the midst of a few complainers, even a large number of disaffected people but just imagine being in an ecclesia where everybody was murmuring!

16:5 - is this an encouragement to faithful believers to be actively preaching in the last days?

16:15,22,23,31; John 6:51,58 - we note the mention of the 7th day of rest which reminds us of the millennial day of rest and Christ being the manna/bread that can sustain forever.

16:4      The way in which the provision of manna was organised was to prove Israel. It was the people who needed to know what sort of people they were. God knew already.  That God proves His people for their benefit is seen throughout Scripture.

V.22-26 We have the direction given regarding the manna, that on the Sabbath there would be no manna. This was before the Sabbath law was given at Sinai. The Sabbath had been a element in the Divine system of time when God rested from all His work which He had created (Gen 2:2-3). When the law was given at Sinai we see that this was made clear (Exo 20:11)

16:32 we note that the portion to be kept was a one person size portion, and it became incorruptible bread, in symbol of Jesus.

AFTER ALL HE HAS DONE
 
It was only one month previous that Israel had walked through the Red Sea and seen with their own eyes God's deliverance from the power in Egypt. They had witnessed the power of God in the plagues and had seen his miracles in the desert, especially that of providing water when the people were thirsty. But it was only the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt that they forgot the power of God and grumbled against him. "In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelite's said to them, 'If only we had died by the LORD's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.'" (Exo 16:2-3) A few days later when they wanted water, they asked, "Is the LORD among us or not?" (Exo 17:7)
 
All they had to do in order to know that God would provide for their needs was to look back at the recent past and see how much he had already done for them. They could see the miracles he had done, how he had saved them, how he had destroyed their enemies, fulfilled his promises, kept them safe and given them the hope of entering the Promised Land. Would God really desert them after all that? Would all that effort be wasted?
 
God's efforts with us are not wasted either. He does not bring us trials to destroy us but to test us and to prepare us for the Promised Land.

Although the exact measure of an omer is not known, it is considered to be about two litres in capacity.

The jar mentioned in v.33 was made of gold (see Heb 9:4).

16:3 We should realise that Israel did not suffer hunger in the wilderness by accident or oversight on God’s part. He caused them to suffer hunger - Deut 8:3 that they might learn.

4 Of the many lessons that Israel was to be taught in the wilderness, one of the first is here. They must depend on God for all the necessities of life, here it is for their daily nourishment. Of course the lesson still applies to each one of us to day.

16:7  We probably think of the glory of God as a majestic show. However in this instance the glory of God was seen in the provision of food.

Vs.18-20 The provision for the one day reminds us of Jesus' words in Matt 6:34.

16:2 So we are a couple of months out of Egypt and we see the true character of the people whom God had redeemed. They ‘murmured’ and not one but a number of time – Exo 15:24, 17:3 and here. We do well to remember that those who ‘murmured’ were not satisfied with their lot in life, the life that God had redeemed them to. It was those who ‘murmured’ who died in the wilderness – Num 14:29

Re: Exodus 16:1    Why were the children of Israel longing for the fleshpots, when it's recorded that they had much cattle, Ex 12:38?  Surely they could have had meat now and then if they wished to supplement the manna?

First Principles>Kingdom of God>Existed in the past
8. The Wilderness Journey from Egypt to Canaan was 40 years long. Exo 16:35 Num 14:33 Num 32:13 Deut 2:7 Deut 8:2,4 Deut 29:5 Josh 5:6 Neh 9:21 Psa 95:10 Acts 7:36 Acts 13:18 Heb 3:9,17. Go to Gen 12:1-5 for more about First Principles>Kingdom of God>Existed in the past

Exo 16:4;John 6:31.  Exo 16:18;2Cor 8:13-15.

16:23 Notice that the seventh day is called the ‘Sabbath’ but this is before the giving of the law. So we should be clear in our minds that when the law spoke about the Sabbath - Exo 20:9-11 - it was laying out a law which was already in existence.

16:7-8          Israel had murmured about Moses bringing them into the wilderness to die - Exo 16:3but Moses correctly identifies who was being murmured against. It was against God.

16:33-34     We know  - Heb 9:4 - that the Manna was placed in a golden pot. But we should remember that the Manna was placed in the tabernacle to witness against Israel./ Not because of their faithfulness.

16:32 God cared for Israel in the wilderness. He prepared their sustenance. This idea is seen in Rev 12:6.

OUR NEEDS AND GOD'S GLORY

After the children of Israel grumbled about having no food in the wilderness, the LORD said he would send Manna and quail. When the LORD had told Moses and Aaron of his plans to feed them, they told the Israelites, saying, "In the evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of Egypt, and in the morning you will see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your grumbling against him." (Exo 16:7)

In the evening the quails arrived. It was probably a flock of about nine to twelve million quails needed to feed the nation in the wilderness. Because they had heard it in advance, they could know that it was from the LORD, not just some freak of nature. In the morning, just outside the camp was the first of the manna. This was to be the food the Children of Israel would eat for the next forty years. And yes, they did get bored with it. But with the Manna in the morning the Children of Israel saw the glory of the LORD in his provision for them.

God's glory was shown in providing for their needs. They may have wanted other things, but his glory was shown in providing for their needs. No doubt God's glory is shown the same way in our lives today, but like the Israelites at the end of forty years of Manna, we probably don't see it. Let's look again to see the glory of God in our lives as he provides for our needs. When we see it, let's give him thanks and praise for his glory in our lives.

16:18 The way in which everyone, whatever their needs, were met by the manna is seen when Jesus fed the 5,000 – John 6:11

We're not told whether they ate the quails in this chapter, even though they're mentioned in v13. Perhaps they were satisfied with the Manna? There is more detail about the quails in Num 11:31-32 but that appears to be a later occasion.

Exo 16:20,24,33 – There were three stages by which the Lord blessed Israel in giving them sustenance for their journey through the wilderness. The manna was their bread maintain their life.  Jesus is the bread for our life (John 6:31-35).

16:4   That the manna came from heaven provided Jesus with the reason for his claim in John 6:38

16:19-20     So the human condition is seen. A miracle has been seen. Manna has been provided. But the command of God is disregarded. Are we any different? Or do we think that we never see God’s miraculous provision anymore and so do not have the same sort of evidence that they had?

16:33-34      Maybe here we see a time lapse between Moses’ commandment and the laying up of the Manna before the Testimony. The tabernacle had not been built when the Manna was first provided.

16:4     The way in which Israel were told that they were to “go and gather” Manna daily is contrasted, pointedly, I the requirement to gather straw  – Exo 5:7,13 Would you rather have gathered straw or Manna?

Exo 16  The Israelites were 45 days into the wilderness journey to the land promised by God and they murmured against Moses and Aaron (Exo 16:103) and therefore against the LORD (Exo 16:8). 

This is the third record we have of Israel complaining of their lot in the process of deliverance from bondage in Egypt. The Law had not yet been given so there were no sacrifices for atonement.  The LORD in His mercy overlooked these episodes of lack of faith. Each of these murmurings are answered with divine protection and necessary provision of water and food for their journey. There are spiritual lessons for us in their lack of trust in the LORD. Jesus makes these links for us TODAY!

16:13 the other occasion – Num 11:32 – when they were given quail is alter in the wilderness journey. On this occasion they were hungry. On the other occasion they are complaining about what God had given them.

16:13 the mention of quails being given to Israel should not be taken to indicate that Israel had quails form the first day that manna was provided. The chapter is summarising events over a period of time. Quail were not given when Israel complained about the fact that they were only given manna each day – Num 11:4.

16:21 The clear implication the flows from the fact that the manna that was left after those collecting it had gathered all that they required is that God always provides more than is needed. The same was true at the feeding of the 5,000 as they gathered up 12 baskets of the remnants after all were filled – Matt 14:20.

16:23  This is the first time the word “Sabbath” is used in Scripture.

16:2-3 a month ago Israel were praising Yahweh for the salvation he had given them – 15:2 – and now, apparently, they no longer believe that Yahweh can save them from hunger!

We may not feel that God does not provide food for us, however it is just as easy for us to forget His salvation as we progress through the seemingly humdrum events of our lives.

70 v.4 - repeated from 40:16. May we be numbered amongst these. Ps.5:11, 35:27, 97:12. Isa.61:10, 65:13,14, John 16:20.

71v.9,18 - It seems strange that David should be thinking along these lines. Why should God cast him off when he became old? Psa.92:13-15 suggests that he did not really see that as a possibility, so was this present Psalm a low point such that he felt he might not be able to continue faithful to the end. If so, I, for one, take great comfort in this.

Psalm 70 - This Psalm is an extract of the words of Psalm 40:13-17 and as such shows how the servant who wants to serve his master because he loves him recognises that he has no rights of his own - :5.

71:20 The Psalmist recognises that he will attain to everlasting life through tribulation - that is he recognises the chastening hand of God in his life.

70:1, 5 Whilst God may take a long time to bring judgement on the enemies of His servants those servants still ask Him to 'make haste'. The fact that we know that God will eventually deliver does not in any way minimise the trauma of the events.

71:12 Following on last year's comments even though David believed that God would give him everlasting life he is concerned - as in Psalm 70 - for speedy deliverance.

Psa 70- In saying in the title that the Psalm was to ‘bring to remembrance’ we learn an important lesson. The things of the past are fundamental to our appreciation of how God will work in our lives in the future.

71:20 ‘bring me up again’ shows that David believed in the resurrection.

Psalm 70  A prayer for the speedy overthrow of David's ( and God's ) enemies.

Psalm 71  The Septuagint attributes this Psalm to David. It appears to be a prayer of an older man.

David (presumably) talks of Yahweh's righteousness (71:2,15,16,19,24) and deliverance from the unrighteous (71:4).  He seeks Yahweh's righteousness so therefore he is a righteous man (righteous does not mean perfect).

Yet this righteous man calls for retribution on his enemies (70:2,3, 71:13).
It is true that the enemies of David were the enemies of God, just as ours are.  Yet we are asked to love our enemies and to pray for them (Matt 5:44).  This is what Jesus did.

Psalm 71 - CONFIDENCE IN GOD
 
Our lives are so prone to change and to the unforeseen crises that force themselves on us, that sooner or later we have to realize that we cannot rely on ourselves, but that we need something bigger and more stable to place our trust in.  This is where insurance and security companies make their money.  They play on our insecurity and then push themselves forward as the people we can trust in when things go wrong.  Other people put their trust in their assets, in the bank, in their relationships or jobs.  All these can give us some confidence and security but they are all prone to let us down when we need them the most.
 
The Psalmist put his confidence somewhere else.  He said, "For you have been my hope, O Sovereign LORD, my confidence since my youth.  From birth I relied on you; you brought me forth from my mothers womb.  I will ever praise you." (Psa 71:5-6)
 
Our God is the only thing that will never change.  We can put our total trust and all our confidence in him.  God hears our prayers, he gives us what we need, he answers prayer and when we seek guidance from him, he is never wrong.  God's word and his promises for the future are as certain as what has happened in the past.  Our hope is for God's kingdom to be established on the earth.  We can be confident that he will send Jesus to judge the living and the dead and to establish God's kingdom in righteousness.  And we can rely on the grace of God so that we can share that wonderful time.

70:5 - It takes a great deal of courage to place oneself so completely in the hands of God.  As we read the Psalms, let us determine how to reach that point of faith with David.  Notice that this verse is spoken in contrast to the previous verse.

I presume Psa 71 is written by David, although there is not a title which says so. God had been his trust from a youth (Psa 71:5), and now when he is old and grey he asks God not to leave him until he has showed God's strength and power to everyone who will listen to him (Psa 71:18). The reference to the psalmist singing with the harp (Psa 71:22) is probably another indication that it was written by David.  What a lovely and godly man he was!

70:4      I presume we are among those who ‘love (God’s) salvation’. Does this love we have for the salvation offered cause us also to seek the glorification of God? This is how the Psalmist sees the relationship between the two concepts.

71:1-3  The first three verses of this Psalm are very similar to Psa 31:1-3. A contrast is that in this Psalm David (:3) prays God to be his habitation and deliverance whereas in Psa 31:3 the Psalmist already sees God as his deliverer so maybe the two Psalms were written about the same event but Psa 71 was written before the Psalmist had seen deliverance from the matter which troubled him.

71:18 So we can conclude that this Psalm was written towards the end of David’s life. When he was ‘old’. The desire, therefore, that God would not forsake him must be a comment about a situation near the end of his life when things did not look as if God was taking care of him. We might, therefore, see this Psalm as having its origins in the uprising of Absalom.

71:9 In commenting about ‘old age’ maybe we might see that this Psalm was written when the Psalmist was old.

David was grey haired and ready to retire from being King. However, his chosen heir Solomon was too young to succeed him. This period of waiting was a difficult time for David and his wife Bathsheba, especially as there were many older sons of David who wanted the throne. This is the context of 71:18 :

"I am old and and grey headed. O God, do not forsake me until I declare your strength to this generation.."

David wanted Solomon to have the same faith in God he had himself, and was asking God to give him time to finish the task of teaching him. The next Psalm confirms the context of the heir, Solomon, and we can find much of the advice David gave to him in the book of Proverbs (Psa 72:1).

70:2,4 Notice the contrast. David speaks of those that ‘seek’ his life and those that ‘seek God.

71:10-11 This language is so similar to that found in Psa 41:5-8 which is written about the time of Absalom’s uprising. The repeated mention of old age in this Psalm is consistent with this time as Absalom’s uprising was near to the end of David’s life so maybe this Psalm also was written as a consequence of the way David’s advisers, even Ahithophel, turned against him at that time.

71:20   David sees that the tribulations in this life will have as their terminus a place in God’s kingdom.

71:22-24            David’s singing praise to God was no mere formality. He did not sing hymns simply because they were the ones appointed to be used at a particular time in a religious service. The singing was a heartfelt thanks to God for what He had done.  Familiarity can cause us to see the hymns we sing as mere formalities. We may even choose particular hymns because we like the music. However it is the words which we sing which express our appreciation of Him.

1. Psa 70:2 - this literally happened at Jesus' arrest at Gethsemane (John 18:5-6).

2. Psa 70:4 - the disciples rejoiced when Christ was resurrected.

1.Psa 71:2 - "Deliver <5337> me" (could this have application to Christ?).

2.Psa 71:2,4 - "cause me to escape" (reminds me of Matt 26:39).

3.Psa 71:4 - "Deliver" <6403>.

4.Psa 71:5,17 - "thou art my trust from my youth" (reminds me of Luke 2:42-52).

5.Psa 71:6 - the virgin birth (Isa 7:14;Luke 1:31-35).

6.Psa 71:10 - "they that lay wait for my soul (KJV "my soul", NIV "me" <5315>) take counsel together" (they planned for an opportunity to kill Jesus - Matt 26:3-5,16).

7.Psa 71:11 - "Saying, God hath forsaken him (but God didn't forsake him - Luke 18:31-33;Psa 22:1,24;71:9)...deliver" <5337>.

8.Psa 71:20 - a reference to Jesus' resurrection from the grave.

9.Psa 71:21 - "Thou shalt increase my greatness" (perhaps this has application to Christ's ascension glory and coming kingdom).

10.Psa 71:23 - "my soul (KJV "my soul", NIV "I" <5315>), which thou hast redeemed" <6299>. 

71:16   The society in which we lives teaches to have confidence in ourselves. To make the most of opportunities that arise. Grasp the moment, we are taught. However all of those ideas are at variance with the teaching of God. We are to humble ourselves – James 4:10, 1Pet 5:6 – and go “in the strength of the Lord”

 Psa. 70:2,3.

Here is an example of an inspired writer - David in this case - making what are called imprecations on his enemies.

"May those who seek my life be put to shame and confusion. May all who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace."

How should we come to grips with a writer who is inspired by the Holy Spirit making such statements as these?

My brother George in his first volume - Psalms Studies - considers several possible answers to this general question before settling on one which he calls this: The imprecations are calls to God to remember His covenant. Here is what he has to say as proof of this hypothesis -

The fundamental ground of justification for the presence of the imprecatory psalms is the Abrahamic covenant, specifically Gen. 12:1-3 -

"The LORD had said to Abram, 'Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.'"

On the basis of this covenant, David, the seed of Abraham, the divinely-selected representative of the nation, had every right to pray that God would do what He had promised - that is, curse those who cursed Abraham's seed!

What is crucial to appreciating the imprecatory psalms is this: David never prayed that he might be permitted to avenge himself, but always that God would rise up to avenge His Anointed (Psa 7:6; Psa 35:1; Psa 58:6; Psa 59:5). Like Jesus later, David was capable of generosity and "turning the other cheek" when under personal attack (2 2Sam 16:11; 2Sam 19:16-23). Yet, like Jesus again, he loved righteousness and hated the iniquity which flaunted itself against the honor of God, and he could be utterly ruthless in suppressing such iniquity when he knew the time was right!

Finally, God's judgments are essential if the righteous are ever to be established and glorified on the earth. To pray "Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth" is therefore no different than to pray "Let them (your enemies) be confounded...troubled...put to shame...perish..." - once it is understood that there is no personal vindictiveness involved.

Therefore, the imprecations of the Bible are not mere human cries for vengeance, nor the expression of some inferior Old Testament "righteousness", nor merely prophecies. They are righteous, heartfelt calls upon God to remember His covenant, and to perform it, come what may. For David and the other "imprecators" recognized that only then, when God's enemies are finally and completely cursed, will He be able to get on with the business of glorifying His Name in the earth.

"So may all your enemies perish, O LORD! But may they who love you be like the sun when it rises in its strength." (Jud. 5:31)

71:4-5   God was David’s hope and it was to Him David appealed when in trouble. It is an example to us. So often we either try to sort things out ourselves or even forget to take our concerns to God. 

71:6     The way that this verse speaks could be so prophetic of Jesus who was conceived by the holy spirit. However it should reflect the way each of us think about our reliance upon God.

Psalm 70

This Psalm is also found as part of Psalm 40 and appears in verses v14-17.

70Title. The Psalm is a Psalm to bring to remembrance. So what is to be remembered? One thing that the Psalmist recognises – and we need to remember – is that as verse :5 shows we are poor and needy.

71:9,18            Twice David mentions old age. It seems that his concern was that God would not forsake him when he was an old man – and by implication had no strength with which he could serve God. Do we sometimes worry that when we are unable to be of much use, as we might see it, to God that he will no longer care for us?

71:24   The way that David speaks of God’s enemies being confounded is seen in the later experience of the Jews in the days of Esther –Est 9:2

71:3      This idea is rather like what we see in a Psalm of Moses Psa 90:1.

70:2,4 Notice the contrast between the two groups who “seek”.

70:2,4   We are all seeking something. Our minds are not blank but tend to have a focus. Once we realise this and realise also that there are only two options – seeking God or seeking self-gratification we will be helped in maintaining a correct focus.

70:1-5 We might see David speaking as he fled from his pursuers, be it Saul seeking to kill him or Absalom trying to take his throne. David expresses deep concern, just like we see similar words in Psa 40:13-17. We may think our circumstances are far removed from David’s. However we are pursued by an equally challenging enemy – the power of sin. From our comfortable lives we should reflect on the precarious position we are without the salvation that our Father has offered us.

70:4 The challenge for us is to be totally committed and in love with God’s salvation all the time – not when it is convenient or when we are with fellow believes. Notice David says “continually”

71:9 Society today tends to view old people as of little use. Gone are the days when they were part of society, living amongst the younger ones of us. Confined to Old People’s Homes they may get forgotten. Sometimes family responsibilities neglected.

If we expect God to care for us in our old age we need to value the “old” around us. We treat others as we look to God to treat us.

v.21-23. Is this a condemnation of our preaching? Let us shine forth as lights, as Jesus did John 5:35, Isa.60:1-3. - and us - Eph.5:8,14, Phil.2:15, Matt.13:43

4:24 'measure ye mete tells us that our benefit from the Word is directly proportional to the effort and application we put into reading Scripture.
4:33 That Mark tells us that 'with many other parables' Jesus taught forces us to appreciate that this was Jesus' teaching method. Whilst Mark only records six parables we know from the other records that he told more. We must work at finding the reason why Mark only records these six as they must somehow fit into the theme that he, by the spirit, is developing.
4:37 Psalm 107 showed Jesus how to respond to this situation.
Psa 107
23. They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;
24 These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep.
25 For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
26 They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. Matthew 8:25 Mark 4:38
27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like Luke 8:23 a drunken man, and are at their wits' end.
28 Then they cry unto the LORD in they cry unto the Lord their trouble, and he bringeth them out Matthew 8:23 Luke 8:24 of their distresses.
29 He maketh the storm a calm, so that he maketh the storm a calm the waves thereof are still. Matthew 8:26 Mark 4:39
30 Then are they glad because they be Luke 8:24 quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. Luke 8:24 he bringeth them unto their desired haven Luke 8:26

:12 This quotation from Isaiah 6:9 is most instructive. Whereas we might think that Jesus told parables to enable his audience to understand his message more easily actually the converse it the case.

Just as it was in Isaiah's day God was witnessing against those who were self righteous. The message spoken had one of two outcomes. Either it was spurned by the audience or produced a desire to ask further. The parables, therefore, were not the main message. They were the vehicle to stimulate the hearers to enquire more fully of the words of Jesus - :10 tells us that the disciples actually did ask 'when they were alone' so we see that the disciples were the ones eager to understand.

4:35 Notice that Jesus and the disciples 'passed over to the other side' in the evening. In Israel 'evening' is dark. The sun sets quickly at about 6.00 every day - all the year round. So, when the people had gone home because it was dark, Jesus and his disciples were still working - travelling when the people had left them so that they could maximise their preaching.

4:24-25  It seems unfair to think that the one who has will be given more. However Jesus is not speaking of material things. He is speaking of understanding his message. It truly is the case that the more we understand of that message the easier it is to learn more. So it really is beneficial to just read and absorb the details of his life.

Mark 4:1  The use of a boat as a means of being able to teach the people seems to have been a recognized practice of the Lord. Mark 3:9; Luke 5:3 It would keep Him free of the thronging of the crowd, and with a suitably chosen site could have provided an effective auditorium with the hills behind helping the acoustics.

When we read the parable of the sower, who do we relate to? What are we? Well, I suppose we are the good seed - and we pray that we are, but there is more to be learnt from the parables if we make the effort not always to relate to where we would like to be. Consider, for example the rich man and Lazarus.  Which are you?  Rich and faring sumptuously every day? or a beggar that sits outside and the dogs lick his sores?  I know which I am.

So we must take heed that we do behave like the good seed of the parable - not being taken in by the pressures which caused the other seed to fail, but also bringing forth fruit to our God - growing, as we need to do - towards the greatest harvest of all time.

v.24 - The words of Jesus, and indeed much of the New Testament in particular, lead us to realise the dangers of judging others, pointing out to us that in doing so we condemn ourselves.  Here we see that the yardstick which we might use to measure others, will also be used against us.  With so many passages warning us of our potential to condemn ourselves by this act, we really should take notice.  Matt 7:1-5, Rom 2:1-2, 14:3,4,10

4:8,20  That the good ground brought forth to differing degrees teaches us that we should not have the same expectation of all our brethren. The lord did not. It is sufficient to bring forth fruit according to ability.

4:7,18 the cares & priorities of life cause us to be unfruitful. We may seem to continue in the Truth, but our hearts are not in it.

There are 4 types of ground, but the sower ensures that his seed falls on all types. He gives them all a chance to respond, (Mark 4:1-20).  In the same way the Lord spoke His “Good News” wherever there were ears to hear. So it makes sense that Jesus should follow this parable up with telling the people that a candle is designed to give light, not to be hidden. The third parable in this chapter is exclusive to Mark’s gospel, (Mark 4:26-29). The farmer who sows the seed doesn’t know how it grows, but he does know of-course that it will grow. This is the result of sowing, or preaching.  The Word of God grows in the heart of the hearer, and eventually brings fruit.

The mustard seed is very tiny (v.31). However, the seed of this herb, in the Near East, can develop into a plant reaching a height of 10-12 feet (v.32). Thus, it aptly describes the growth of the Gospel in the first century.

4:1 The idea of Jesus preaching by the sea possibly conjures up an idyllic scene. However in telling us that Jesus preached by the sea side we realise that he was not preaching in the towns and cities. By going to the sea side anyone who wanted to hear his message would have to make the effort to go and hear him.

4:3  ‘Hearken’ catches the appeal of God manifest throughout Scripture – for example Deut 18:19 where there is a judgement upon those who did not listen.

4:2-3 Whilst Jesus has performed miracles already in Marks’ account of the gospel this is the beginning of the record of the things he said. Notice the first recorded thing is the parable of the sower. Understanding this parable is the key to understanding all the parables – Mark 4:13 – hence Mark records it first as the pattern for all the rest.

V.11 Jesus revealed the mystery (secret) (Gr. musterion) of the kingdom of God privately to the twelve disciples and others who were closely following the Lord‘s teachings. That was in preparation for their later leadership roles in preaching the gospel.

Paul, who was also called by Jesus to preach, shows that this mystery (secret) (musterion) has now been revealed (Rom 16:25,26).

Just to recap: In the previous three chapters of Mark we have seen that the people were split between those who drew near to hear, and those who held back. In ch.3 we saw that Jesus even rebuked his own family for being outside when they should have been listening to him (3:31-35).

In this chapter hearing is mentioned in 9 verses, beginning with his cry in v9 "he who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  In v11 he explains that only those who are inside (i.e. listening to Jesus) will understand the parables. In v24 he explains that the more they listen to him, the more they will receive. And in v25 that those who don't draw near to hear will not understand at all: "even what he has will be taken away from him."

So the strong theme in Mark so far is that the Kingdom of God will only be given to those who draw near to hear Jesus. And this has to be a habitual thing. Jesus was only interested in those who made the effort to come out to him in deserted places. Those who served him food or opened their homes in order to be nearer him. Those who pushed through the crowds to touch him. Those who broke through roofs, shouted above the crowds, or even climbed trees to see him. Let's not trust in hear-say when we listen to the Gospel - but open the Bible daily for ourselves, prayerfully and carefully listening to what he has to tell us.

FAITH IN THE STORMS

The disciples believed that Jesus was the Messiah. He was the one God had chosen to be the saviour of his people. Jesus in turn had chosen the twelve disciples who were to help him in the task that lay ahead. Jesus had already shown his disciples by many convincing miracles and teachings that he was the Son of God and future king. God had a plan and had made promises that needed to be fulfilled through Jesus and with the help of his disciples. But when the storm came, it blew away the reassurances and even the logic in the way God had worked and was working in their lives.

The disciples were terrified and said to Jesus, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" (Mark 4:38) They thought they were all going to die! They did not remember that if they all died, God's plan would come to nothing. God was bound to preserve them through this trial so that his plan would be fulfilled. After the storm had died down, Jesus asked, "Why were you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" (v.40)

He could have asked the same question of us. Like the disciples, we too can often panic and forget that God is in control and that he is only a prayer away. God is in control. It is in the calm of our lives that we need to remember this and reinforce it in our lives, so that when the storms come, our faith is already strong and does not give way to fear and doubt. God's plan for our lives will be fulfilled.

GOSSIP

How does gossip spread? It all begins with one person who finds out or hears some information about someone else. Then they tell a friend. Often the information that they tell us is distorted in some way so as to make it more sensational. Of course, that friend cannot keep it to themselves, so they tell their friends, and before you know it the gossip has spread like wild fire.

There are two roles involved in passing on gossip. One is listening and the other is speaking. Jesus' advice is to cut it off at the listening stage. He said, "Consider carefully what you hear ... With the measure you use, it will be measured to you - and even more." (Mark 4:24) If what we are hearing is gossip, let's cut it off at the pass and not even listen. If we don't listen, we can not pass it on and we start to shut down the cycle of gossip.

What's more is that if we do listen to gossip and pass it on, Jesus says that the same will happen to us - and even more. None of us want that! If we have chosen not to listen to gossip we will have avoided the temptation to pass it on. So let's learn to say, "If this is gossip, I don't want to hear it," and avoid the temptation and results of passing it on.

4:34 In saying ‘when they were alone’ we see the ideas of 4:10 echoed. The parables were designed for those who wanted to spend time with Jesus. Not for those who could not be bothered to follow up what they had heard Jesus say.

4:39  In saying ‘peace be still’ to the waves we see the words of the Psalmist – Psa 65:7, Psa 89:9 – having a literal fulfilment in the life of Jesus. In the way that Jesus stilled the roaring of the waves he will still the roaring of the nations.

Summary of Chapter

4:1-9      From a ship – The Parable of the Sower

4:10-20  Jesus explained Parable of the Sower to disciples when they were “alone”

4:21-24  Jesus told more parable to the disciples (at the same time as explaining the Parable of the Sower)

                       :26-29 Parable seed sown in the ground

                       :31-34 Parable grain of mustard seed

4:35-41  same day at even – Multitudes sent away took ship. Storm when Jesus was asleep. Jesus quelled storm, disciples afraid. – evidenced lack of faith

Matt 13; Mark 4; Luke 8

These three Gospel accounts on the Parable of the Sower use a different closing admonition to which we ought to pay close attention:

Matt 13:9 – “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”

Mark 4:24 – “And he (Jesus) said unto them, Take heed what ye hear…”

Luke 8:18– “Take heed therefore how ye hear…”

“Let him hear” – The human ear can only pick up one voice to be able to actually listen to it and understand it. A combination of different frequencies of sound is what Scientists call, “white noise.” White noise describes this combination. If we read the Bible in a room full of distracting noises, we simply will not “hear” what God is saying to us.

“Take heed what ye hear” God in times past spoke through angels, audible voice, prophets, a donkey, in visions and dreams, but “hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son…”(Heb 1:1-2). God said: “This is my beloved Son: hear him” (Mark 9:7). Jesus speaks to us through the written Word. In light of this, we must pay close attention to what Jesus says, not other denominational church leaders and preachers with their cacophony of voices (see Acts 17:11). No matter how often they may wave the Bible up into the air, if what they say does not line up with the Word, you are in the wrong place!

“How ye hear” The human ear is so designed that it can hear more sound vibrations from the front than from behind. The apostle Paul wrote of those who would turn their ears and listen to “fables” (2Tim 4:4; cf. Deut 30:17).

In view of the solemn responsibilities to listen, understand, and obey what the Lord says, it is vitally important to give our full attention to the Bible with utmost diligence and intensity.

4:5    The immediacy of the springing up and the response to problems shows the need to think carefully about what we commit ourselves to. It is all too easy to be enthusiastic on hearing an idea but for that idea, and our involvement in it, to wane ever so quickly when the initial glamour has worn off.

Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8

The parables of the sower and the tares show some of the prophecies of Jesus, foretells some of the mercies of God, and warns us. These parables are a prophecy of Jesus' ministry and the judgment.

Jesus prophesized that people will hear but not understand, that of the four types of listeners only one will understand, an enemy will sow bad seed after Jesus, the harvest will occur only after the wheat is mature, the angels will be the harvesters, the tares will be destroyed, and the righteous will shine forth as the sun.

Jesus explained some of explicit mercies of God in that God: provided the seed and the sower, sowed the good seed on good and bad soil alike, will defer the harvest until the wheat matures, will provide the angels to perform the harvest and not us, will separate the tares from the wheat, and will provide separate places for the harvested wheat and the tares. Implicitly God's mercies include His: provision of a plan for salvation at the time of creation, provision of a earth with the earth and good environment for the sowing and growing of the wheat, provision of John the Baptist to plow the fields before sowing, and so on.

Jesus warned us to be the good soil so that we hear and understand God's word, that there will be an enemy sowing bad seed, and that we don't want to listen to the bad seed and end up like the tares and be thrown into the fire.

4:13    The exposition, by Jesus, of the parable of the sower is the key to understanding all parables. We should, therefore, take great care to understand the way in which Jesus explains the parable. This will help us avoid fanciful explanations about other parables. 

4:14-20         Notice the repeated use of ‘the word’in the parable. The parable is talking of the effect that the word of God has on the minds of individuals.

THE HARVESTED SEED

A little parable I have seen but never paid any attention to is the parable of the growing seed. Jesus was describing the kingdom of God, and he described it like this: "A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces corn - first the stalk, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear." (Mark 4:26-28).

I would have thought that Jesus would end this story to make it a parable about exponential growth. But no, Jesus carried on saying,"As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts a sickle to it because the harvest is come." (v.29).

In the parable of the Sower, we learn that the seed is the word of God that grows within certain people No doubt this parable described the good seed because it reached maturity and produced a crop. But then it also talks about being cut down and harvested. To me, this seems to be speaking about the time of death. We are sometimes surprised when godly people die young.  But God doesn't make mistakes. He is watching his field. He is watching each individual stalk of grain and knows exactly when to harvest it. Those who have died are now part of God's glorious, rich harvest, to be revealed on the day of the resurrection.

4:19  We can see clearly the implications associated with the plant being “choked” and maybe this is what Paul is drawing on in Galatians 5:1 when, using the same word, speaks of being “entangled”.

4:39   Here we see clearly what the parables were designed to do. They were to present the “word” – which must be the word of God. Maybe the people were puzzled by Jesus’ parables because they were not used to teachers teaching in this way.

4:35-36       So Jesus has spent all day talking to and healing the crowd.  When everyone else was resting Jesus moved to “the other side” (of the lake). Jesus is utilising the time to the best advantage, using the night to travel so that tomorrow he will be ready to speak again. Are we so careful with our time?

4:39 In rebuking the stormy sea Jesus was showing that he had God’s power and authority – Psa 104:6 – the Psalm talks of God’s rebuke the weather responded.

4:35 the evening in Israel is a time when the sun sets quickly. In Israel there is virtually no twilight. Consequently there would be very little evening activity. It seems that Jesus used the day time to the full, travelling when people had gone home at the end of the afternoon.

The point made below by Bro. David Simpson (2006) linking the parable of the Sower and the parable of the Candle is supported by Psalm 97:11 where light is said to be sown: “Light is sown for the righteous”.

4:28 It might seem obvious that that the earth brings  forth fruit. However as obvious as it is from our own experience we should realise that it is not an accident of chance. Jesus is drawing attention to Gen 1:12 where it is clear that the Bible is saying that God created everything including the way things grow.

4:41 The way that Jesus could control the weather is exactly what God does indicating yet again that Jesus had the power of his Father.

4:21 What Jesus says here about the “candle” which in reality would be an oil lamp echoes what he has already said – Matt 5:15.

GROW, GLOW, GROW, GROW

Four parables in a row give us some of the essence of discipleship. The first one is the parable of the sower. It is about seeds trying to grow in different places in a field. Some seeds were caught in the sun, others eaten by birds or choked by thorns, but some seeds grew well and produced a crop. We need to be like the seed that produced a crop. We need to grow.

The second parable is about a lamp under a basket. A lamp is no good under a basket, it needs to be put on a lamp-stand so that it gives light to everyone. In other words, we need to shine with the light of Christ in our lives. Glow.

The third parable is about a seed growing. It grows and grows until the harvest and we don't know what makes it grow. In the same way, we need to allow God to give us growth so that we can produce good fruit for him. The message again is to grow.

And the fourth parable is about a mustard seed. The tiniest seed becomes the biggest garden herb. Our belonging, vision and longing for the kingdom of God needs to grow inside us until that vision is fulfilled when Jesus returns.

So here is the lesson from Mark chapter 4: Grow, Glow, Grow, Grow.

4:35 You will see a number of times in the gospels that Jesus and his disciples did something “when the even was come”. The end of the day, for them , did ot mark an end of activity. Work carries on into the nigh hours.

Do we see living a life in Christ as a 9-5 job or does it occupy all of our time?