Comments for May 24

v.8 - It may seem unfair that we don't have this direct communication from God to tell us that he is with us in a particular situation and we should not fear. Joshua would equally argue, were he here now, that it was unfair then for them as they didn't have the complete word of God to fall back on and refer to every minute as we do. God knows what he is doing, and even in their position of direct revelation, they still had to believe - the element of faith has always been required. Let us take heart and realise that when we work with the view to giving God the glory, he will work with us. Josh.1:5-9, 8:1, 11:6, Rom.8:31.

v.5 The way in which Adonizedek sought support from four other cities in the region of Jerusalem [see your Bible maps] demonstrates that the land of Canaan was a very loosely organised country. Rather than being a united country with one ruler it was fragmented - the ideal environment for unstructured and Godless lives.

v.10 - Notice that the record makes a point of saying that the victory was God's. We do not fight our own battles. Our successes are not our. Let us be sure always to give God the glory, as this passage does here.

The events of this great deliverance pass into Biblical use

:24 The way that the captains of Israel put their feet upon the necks of the kings is alluded to in Isaiah 60:12 to show Israel their position in the kingdom when Christ comes. All nations will be subjugated.

10:3,5 The reason why those five kings were confederate together was that they were all Amorites.

In Gen 14 we have the record of Abram meeting with Melchizedek king of Salem. How ever in to-day's reading it is the first time that Jerusalem is mentioned by name in scripture. There is no doubt from Psa 76:2 that they are one in the same place.

Good came out of the Gibeonites deception, in that the five kings who went to punish Gibeon were themselves destroyed, and so an inroad was made into conquering Canaan.

V.8 Unlike the earlier matter of Gibeonite deception, it is clear that Joshua consulted Yahweh at this time, and that Yahweh responded favourably.  Yahweh's willingness to help Joshua fight the Amorites, on behalf of the Gibeonites, shows that He was willing to abide by Joshua's oath towards them.  Of course, destroying the Amorites was in keeping with Moses' command (Deut 20:17).

V.13 The Book of Jasher (upright, just) is only mentioned in two places in the Bible (2Sam 1:18).  It seems to have been a poetic book that chronicled heroic events which were probably celebrated in song.  No other information is available.

10:4      Maybe the kings who joined together – Amorites – saw this as an opportunity to settle some un specified score with Gibeon – who were Hivites Josh 11:19.

V.16,18,22,26,27 - could this be an echo of God's mercy in destroying the power of sin/death when Christ, the good shepherd who gave his life for the sheep (John 10:11), was crucified enabling believers to have a hope of eternal life and their sins forgiven? We have the number 5 which many feel indicates "grace" or "mercy"; mentioned repeatedly is "Makkedah" (4717) "a place of shepherds" according to Smith's Bible Dictionary; evil kings (sinful fleshly nature?); large rocks were put on the mouth of the cave and men were posted to guard it (echoes of the guarding of Christ's tomb during the 3 days?); hung on 5 trees, at sunset they were taken down from the trees and put in the cave which had its mouth covered by rock ( Acts 5:30; Matt 27:57-60).

V.9 This hand picked group of men did indeed come up on the five kings suddenly; In one night! This would have been a walk of twenty six miles. We read in yesterday's readings that this had been a three day's journey (Josh 9:17). We must remember that the normal pace for an army of soldiers, along with their caravans would have been very slow.

10:6 The children of Israel could easily have reasoned that the way in which the inhabitants of the land were going to fight against Gibeon would resolve a problem for them – they would not have to deal with the ongoing presence of the Gibeonites who they should have destroyed. However, to their credit, they stood by their vow.

10:1      We tend to think of Jerusalem as a major city. Indeed it had a long history – right back to the time of Abraham – but the ‘king’ of Jerusalem is afraid. Ai is only a few miles down the hill into the Jordan valley. News would travel fast, Indeed his guards on the hill tops to the East of Jerusalem could even have seen the smoke.

V.28 Here we have an example of ["souls" (KJV), "everyone" (NIV)] being put to the sword and utterly destroyed by Joshua.  When looking up the word used for "souls" (KJV) or "everyone" (NIV) we find the Hebrew word "nephesh" (5315) thus "soul" in its primary meaning stands for creature, a breathing creature man or animal and it is rendered in the Old Testament as: life, person, self, creature, soul, etc. When original words used are looked up meanings tend to become less confusing or mysterious.

10:1 MeclhiZedec had been king of Salem Jerusalem. He was a ‘king of Peace’ – Heb 7:2 – AdoniZedec is now king – His name means ‘Lord of righteousness’! In contrast to Melchisedec he did not live up to his name.

V.1 The name of the king of Jerusalem was Adonai-zedek.  His name means Lord of Righteousness.  It is not a stretch to think that this name is a hold-over from Melchizedek (King of Righteousness) who ruled Jerusalem in Abraham’s time (Gen 14:18).

V.5 The term Amorites is used here to signify people of the Canaanite tribes who are living in the Promised Land.

V.10 Yahweh honoured the oath that Joshua had given to the Gibeonites, and helped Israel. This was despite Yahweh’s will that the Gibeonites should have been destroyed by Israel in the first place. This shows the magnanimity of Yahweh.

Joshua took the cities of the Amorites one after another in quick succession. This was because their men of war had left their cities defenceless in order to fight with Israel at Gilgal (v3-5). They had then been mostly struck down as they fled. This was why Joshua felt it so important to pursue these soldiers and strike them before they reached their fortified cities, and why he took the unusual step of asking God to extend the daylight (v12-14).

We can see from 9:1-2 that the call had already gone out to the five other nations to gather armies against Israel. So Joshua had a short length of time to fight with the Amorites before these all came down, and he would be attacked from all sides. Because of his quick victory Israel was prepared for these armies as they came down, numbering "as the sand that is on the seashore in multitude" (11:1-5).

Josh 10:11 - God will also intervene with storm and hail at Armageddon (Eze 38:22).

10:28,29,31,34,36,38 Having detailed Israel’s victories the record now provides a summary of other cities that were taken by Joshua and the nation.

10:3   If you do not know where Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth and Debir are on a map it is worth looking to see as then you will see the extent to which the king of Jerusalem went to seek support.

It is easy to glance over a chapter such as the one before us and read that city upon city was destroyed. This was the way in which those who were faithful demonstrated their faith. They lived in the era which saw the entry into the land. The warfare of this age and that of the Commonwealth of Israel (The Bronze Age of David and Solomon) was a nasty affair. In our own era (post-Commonwealth) we are not called on to battle against others with the edge of the sword, for we wrestle against spritiual wickedness (Eph 6:12), which we have all around us- that is our equivalent of the gentile kings in this passage. Most especially though, we share one thing in common with those who took up the sword against the gentiles: we all have to overcome our own human nature. So Notwithstanding David's constant cry to God to deliver him from his enemies, he also tellingly leans on Yahweh when he understands his own guilt (e.g Psa 51:2). It is at this pivotal point that share the faith of any Israelite or even Joshua.  

10:14   The description of the “day” like no other when “the Lord fought for Israel” is the basis for the comment by the prophet after the exile –Zech 14:3 – when looking to the final deliverance of Israel.

10:17   The way in which those who were conquering the land with  found the kings in a cave is echoed in Rev 6:15. Thus we see this historical event is typical of a future cleansing of the land / world of those who oppose God.

Josh 10:12-14 What really happened here so that the writer could describe it as "the sun stopping in the middle of the sky and delaying going down about a full day" (v. 13)?

Pretty obviously for those of us who believe in God and His omnipotence, God can do anything He pleases. But the real questions are these: Did He really do as the writer describes here and do miracle upon miracle to cause this long day? Or instead did He do other miracles to allow the Jews to have success against their enemies?

The first thing to note is that the quote in vv. 12,13 comes from the book of Jasher. The only other occurrence of a quotation from this book is found in 2Sam 1:17-27 - David's lament over the deaths of Jonathan and Saul. And it appears to be a collection of songs and poetry.

    "They were swifter than eagles; they were stronger than lions." (v. 23)

So based on this, might it not be the case that Joshua was using figurative and not literal language here?

From what I've read - mainly from bro. Harry Whittaker's book Bible Studies - in this land, the earth's surface and everything on it is revolving around the earth's axis at ~800 m.p.h. So if everything came to a grinding halt, then was there another miracle performed to keep people and buildings and trees and oceans all in their place? And yet another when everything started up again? Maybe; maybe not.

Also consider this. How was it possible for Joshua to know that the "standing still" of the sun and moon was "about a whole day"? No wristwatches in those days! And would Joshua have carried a water clock or a sundial on the field of battle that day? And would a sun dial have shown anything anyway? 

Maybe (??) the miracle was what God helped to bring about within a 24 hour period. Here may be the superhuman element to this true story. 

1. the army marched ~20 miles through the night including a climb of ~3000 feet. 

2. they fought a battle through the early part of the day

3. then they pursued their enemies ~30 miles or so. 

So perhaps here was the miracle - that so much was accomplished - by God's help! - on this amazing day that in the poetic language of the book of Jasher, it's described as a doubling of the day's length. 

Still another possibility is that God's glory shone to give "the light of day" during a full 24 hour period to help them accomplish what they needed to. So then it would be as if the sun had stopped in the heavens. This glory of God - most likely the "star of Bethlehem" and surely the pillar of fire in the wilderness that brought light to the Jews then - may be what was in use here. 

And it may not be an either/or situation - for God may have used His glory to give the light while also enabling the Jews to "almost superhuman" work during that period. 

10:25   In telling the people to be strong Joshua is repeating what God told him in Josh 1:6 and what the people said  Josh 1:18. Unless everyone is strong then the enthusiasm of some will be weakened. A powerful lesson for us.

10:40  At the end of this summary of the taking of the land we are told that Joshua did just as “God commanded”. So this section ends with the confirmation that all had taken place in accordance to God’s will. Can we say this of all our actions?

10:25  The call from God not to fear or be dismayed is quoted from Deuteronomy 31:8. We see the same assurance from god in Josh 8:1

10:8   The assurance that no man would be able to stand before Israel echoes the words to Joshua in Josh 1:5

10:2    We learn, incidentally, that the Gibeonites who made pace with Joshua were inhabitants of a very powerful city in the land of Canaan. That such a powerful city was fearful of the children of Israel would make it easier for the other cities to be subjugated.

Josh 10:13
“… behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.

The book of Jasher is also recorded in 2Sam 1:18. “The title is literally, 'the upright or correct record,' but because the book was not known, it was therefore termed the ‘Book of Jasher…’ it is evident that those who were concerned in getting it up [in print], in making Jasher the name of a Judge of Israel were ignorant of the very rudiments of the language from which they pretended to have translated it, as it is well known, even to a tyro [beginner] in the Hebrew language, that the definite article [the] is never prefixed to proper names.” The Book of Jasher, 1840, J.H. Parry, Translator’s Preface, p. 4.

A genuine book of Jasher exists. Josephus wrote: “… by this book are to be understood certain records kept in some safe place on purpose, giving an account of what happened among the Hebrews from year to year, and Jasher or the upright, on account of the fidelity of the annals.” This book obviously existed before the time of Joshua and Samuel.

The names of the magicians given in 2Tim 3:8 may well be quoted from Jasher. “And when they had gone Pharaoh sent for Balaam the magician and to Jannes and Jambres his sons, and to all the magicians and conjurors and counsellors which belonged to the king, and they all came and sat before the king” -  Jasher 79:27. Potiphar’s wife is identified as Zelicah. While the book of Jasher is not mentioned in the Septuagint in Joshua, it is mentioned in 2Ki 1:18 of the Septuagint, “… behold, it is written in the book of Right.” The footnote at the bottom of page 401 has, “Gr. Straight, or right, sometimes upright, as of a man. Heb. Jasher.” Jasher is not a proper name, and the book is about early historical events in the Bible.

There are fake books carrying the name, The Book of Jasher. During the 13^th Century, a Book of Jasher was published and was a treatise on ethics, not a historical narrative. It made no claims to being the Biblical Jasher. Then there is the claim that The Book of Jasher was discovered by Flaccus Albinus Alcuinus, a noted Scholar and Educator, advisor to the Roman Emperor, Charlemagne, [had him remove the death penalty for pagans who refused to be baptized as Christians] during the 8^th Century while on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and Persia and found it in the city of Gazna, Persia [Iran]. It was published in Bristol, England in 1829. It recognized Jasher as the son of Caleb, one of the Judges of Israel! There is no faithful record pertaining to the Hebrews and is considered a fake. 

If we are planning to purchase The Book of Jasher, we need to examine which is the original because of the forgeries being published out there. The 1840 version by M. Noah from Artisan Publishers is considered genuine, which is the one I have. In Mr. Noah's preface, he wrote: “Without giving it to the world as a work of Divine inspiration, or assuming the responsibility to say that it was not an inspired work, I have no hesitation in pronouncing it a work of great antiquity and interest, and a work that is entitled, even regarding it as a literary curiosity, to a great circulation among those who take pleasure in studying the Scriptures.”

The book is available on AMAZON, or may be read online at:

https://www.scribd.com/document/148889837/Book-Of-Jasher-pdf/

10:3-4 The might of Gibeon is highlighted by the fact that the call was for a total of five kings to go against it.

10:41-42 in describing the area that Joshua and the people conquered there is one key point. “because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel”.  The nation never took any of the land by their own strength. It will be true of us. We will not attain to the kingdom by our own strength. Rather it will be through God’s good grace –  Luke 12:32.

10:9-10  Notice that whilst it was Joshua that went to deliver Gibeon it was Yahweh “cast down stones" indicting that He was supportive of Joshua’s actions in helping the Gibeonites because of the oath that he had made to them.

10:27 The victory was great against the five kings. The nation of Israel must have been buoyed up by the victory against such a large confederation. In the enthusiasm it would have been easy to forget the law and its commandments. However no, the bodies were removed from the trees in keeping with Deut 21:23.

A lesson for us. Our exuberance must never get in the way of keeping God’s commandments.

10:3 There was a faithful “king Priest” in Jerusalem in the days of Abram, we meet him in Gen 14. “Adoni–Zedec” as king in Jerusalem may well have been a descendant. At least his name, or is it a title, carries the tradition of Melchizedek – king of righteousness. Adoni-Zedec being lord of righteousness. But clearly he was not of the same spiritual qualities at his ancestor who met Abram.

VICTORY

It was one thing for Joshua to lead the children of Israel against Jericho or Ai. These were individual cities with limited numbers of people in them. Even though Jericho may have been big, it was still only one city with its armies against the people of Israel. But it was quite another thing when the five kings of the Amorites joined forces against the Gibeonites and Israel. This was now a new challenge. The numbers and strength of the enemy armies had increased greatly. Not only that, but Joshua and Israel were on the back foot. They were unfamiliar with the terrain, and they were not even in the right place at the right time. They marched all night to be in the battle while their enemies were getting rest and sleeping. Then they joined in battle the next day - for an extra-long day of fighting.

It was the LORD that helped Israel with the battle of Jericho. It was he that gave them the victory over Ai. And whether their opponents were big, numerous or strong, it was still God's battle. Joshua was confident of victory because the LORD was in control.

We too can be confident that God will be with us as we live our lives for him. Whether our trials are big or small, or whether it seems like life or everyone around us is ganging up on us, God is in control. With God, we will be victorious in the things that really matter.

v.12-14 - Let us not be proud. 47:7-10, Eze.27:3, 28:2, 29:3, Dan.4:30,31, Zeph.2:15, Rev.18:7,8.

v.3 The concept of being given rest - often from enemies passes into Biblical use. Here are some examples. Notice how strongly it is linked with David and his kingdom. Exodus 33:14 Deuteronomy 3:20 12:10 25:19 Joshua 1:13,15 22:4 23:1 2 Samuel 7:1 1 Kings 5:4 8:56 1 Chronicles 22:9,18 23:25 2 Chronicles 14:6 7 here Matthew 11:28 Hebrews 4:8

v.1 - How often throughout Isaiah's prophecy we get the indication of the inclusion of the the stranger in the promises. The Jews who knew their scriptures must have realised that others would be grafted into their stock, who had not inherited rights to the promises.

Isaiah looks to a time when Babylon will be destroyed and Israel will be at rest in the kingdom.

Zechariah echoes language from this period to raise Israel's expectations.

:12 Lucifer is the day star which contrasts powerfully with Jesus Christ who is 'the daystar from on high' 2 Peter 1:19

V.4-8 In this series of verses we have a chorus of Israelites expressing their joy at the fall of Babylon; the whole earth rejoices. 

14:4 In speaking of Babylon as the 'golden city' Isaiah provides the Scriptural basis for Nebuchadnezzar being the 'head of gold' (Dan 2:38)

PLANS
As we go through life day by day we make plans.  Sometimes we may have plans we make in the morning that are to be seen through in the afternoon.  At other times our plans will be longer term focusing on long term career prospects, marriage, retirement, or finding a place to live.  Wouldn't it be nice if it all worked out the way we had planned it all to be?  But in reality our plans often end up changing or being completely thwarted as other circumstances shape our lives.  This is not so with God.  His plans always happen.
 
In a prophecy against Assyria, God said, "The LORD Almighty has sworn, 'Surely as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand.'" (Isa 14:24)  As we read through history we find that the Assyrians certainly did come to an embarrassing end in the land of Israel - just as God said they would.  His plan came to pass.  But this is not the only plan God has made. One of his most ambitious plans is to fill the whole earth with his glory.  That means that anything (and anyone) that does not contribute to the glory of God will be destroyed. And, as they have always done in the past, God's plans will succeed whether we help or not. 
 
There is an old saying, "If you can't beat them, join them."  We can't beat God.  He will succeed every time.  Let's join with him and be part of making his plans succeed.

V.23 Once again we have a powerful exhortation; History has attested the dependability of God's promises and prophecy regarding Assyria and Babylon. The magnificent metropolis of Babylon and its fortress were conquered by Cyrus, they were eventually demolished and obliterated by desert sands, still not rebuilt.. 

V.12 There are some people who contend that Lucifer is a fallen angel who is synonymous with the devil and Satan. 

Lucifer means morning star, and this chapter is clearly talking about the demise of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon.  From being a luminary in the political heavens, where his pride and ambition overtook him (vs.13,14), he is now cast down to insignificance (v.15). People shall see this fall and remark upon the fate of this man (vs.16,17).                                                                          

The idea of Lucifer, as being Satan the fallen angel from heaven, came about only in the 4^th century AD. It began with Jerome in the mistaken linkage of Babylon as being the empire of Satan as described in the Apocalypse (Revelation).

“Babylon is to fall!”  For the Israelites about 700 years before Christ, that news would have seemed as likely as saying the USA is to loose all its power. But God knew best. The Lord would break the dominance of Assyria “in My land” (Is14:25), and then Babylon would also fall.  As we know, it DID come to pass.

14:28 This is one of the few direct details which dates things that Isaiah says. As this vision was seen ‘in the year that Ahaz died’ we see the destruction of Babylon before Hezekiah came to the throne and before the Assyrians had taken Israel captive and taken the fenced cities of Judah.

How is it that, though Babylon is destroyed, it re-emerges again in the prophecy of Revelation?

I think the answer is that Babylon is more than just a city. In this Prophecy, the city named Babylon initially refers to Nineveh whose army was destroyed by God in Isa 37:36-38. History* tells us that the city was then completely destroyed by an army of Babylonians and Medes, fulfilling Isa 13:7. Nineveh remains destroyed.... or does it?

Esarhaddon, the son of Sennacherib (king of Nineveh) actually built the city of Babylon before Nineveh was destroyed. So we can see that the influences and culture of Nineveh just shifted to Babylon. God in His wisdom, saw these events before time and saw fit to name the whole culture Babylon, no matter which city held the balance of power. We see in the book of Daniel how Babylon was simply handed on from one empire to the next.

When God wishes to destroy a city, it isn't the bricks and mortar He wishes to destroy. It is the culture of wickedness and Godlessness. Culture is something which is passed on from generation to generation, learned from father by son, and as such is virtually impossible to stamp out. When God prophesied of the utter destruction of Babylon He had the impossible in mind. The culture of Babylon which is now rampant in our whole society, worldwide, will be finally erased at the coming of Jesus.

* "The History of the World", Plantagnet Somerset Fry, 1994, Dorling Kindersley.

14:25 Whilst the last two chapters have been speaking of the destruction of Babylon it should be remembered that when Isaiah was speaking these words Assyria was the real threat. Therefore the comment about the removal of the Assyrian is not out of place at all. The Assyrians were broken in the days of Hezekiah.

14:24-27 This would be a source of comfort to the Jews when in captivity in Babylon, being a commitment made by God. As the promise concerning Sennacherib had been fulfilled; God would also fulfil His promise as to the destruction of Babylon.

14:13-14 We might have difficulty understanding what ‘the sides of the north’ is. However the Psalmist – Psa 48:2 – has already used the phrase to describe the location of Zion. So the king of Babylon is trying to unseat God and take His place.

14:1 Against the background of the judgement against Babylon we learn that God ‘will yet choose Israel.’. This provides words for the prophet – Zech 1:17 – to encourage the returning exiles who are coming back from Babylon

V.4 The golden city (KJV) is a reference to the tribute money that Babylon imposed upon the nations it subdued.  The latter-day Babylon (ecclesiastical Rome) has become rich with the tribute it has garnered over the centuries (Rev 17:4). And, like ancient Babylon, Rome will come to a calamitous end (Rev 14:8).

14:7 the idea of the breaking forth into singing is seen elsewhere in Isaiah when speaking of Israel’s response to deliverance. (Isa 44:23, 49:13, 52:9, 54:1, 55:12)

14:5   Whilst Babylon was raised up by God to punish Israel that did not alter the fact that Babylon as wicked. The amazing thing is that God could predict the fall of Babylon through Isaiah before the Assyrian had become a great power.

Isa 14:12

“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning…”

The problem here is that “Lucifer” is a Latin word in a Hebrew passage! It literally means “lucem ferre,” or “light bearer. It was Jerome who had mistranslated the Hebraic metaphor as "Lucifer," and over the centuries this word metamorphosed into many different beings. In ancient Roman astronomy, Lucifer was the name given to the morning star, which we now know as Venus, also a Roman name.

The morning star appears in the heavens just before dawn, heralding the Sun’s rising. In Hebrew, this passage reads: "heleyl, ben shachar" which literally translated is, "shining one, son of dawn," personifying the planet Nogah, the Hebrew for Venus. In Amos 5:20, the word, "brightness" is nogahh - Strong's Concordance # <5051>!

This chapter, as a whole, is a prophecy of denunciation against the Kings of Babylon, and specifically in verse 12 of Tiglath-pileser III. Isaiah characterizes the insolent pride of Tiglath-pileser III as he thought himself fit to appear in the sky as a morning star, exalting himself as a god, but fell down to the ground, being brought low by God.

14:3    The idea of sorrow being removed is seen three times in Isa 14:3, 25:8, 35:10, 51:11. A theme which is taken up by Jesus – in Rev 21:4– when speaking of the age to come.

14:7  Zech 1:11 quotes part of this verse when Israel are back in the land after the demise of Babylon during the return as a consequence of Cyrus’s decree.

14:14   The way in which the king of Babylon is styled as setting himself  as “like the Most High” is a little like the man of “perdition” in 2Thess 2:4

14:31   Isaiah seems to be talking here of the historical event spoken of in the reign of Hezekiah in 2Kin 18:8

1. Isaiah 14:1-3 - Israel's restoration:

2. Isa 14:1 - God will have compassion on Israel and settle them in their own land, and aliens (faithful Gentiles with the hope of Israel?) will join them and perhaps this has a millennial application (Isa 56:6-8).

3. Isa 14:2 - the Jews were captive to Assyria and Babylon and were delivered from both to return home, but when in the past did they rule over these oppressors?

4. Isa 14:3 - could rest from fear and bondage suggest a jubilee?

5. Isaiah 14:4-23 - prophecy against the proud king of Babylon (the confused apostate Christendom of today has its roots in Babel and Babylon Rev 17:4-9):

6. Isa 14:4 - "you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon".

7. Isa 14:5 - the king of Babylon has a broken staff and scepter (he was the hewed tree of Dan 4:20-28).

8. Isa 14:6-8 - the king of Babylon can no longer fell the neighboring trees and the whole earth is at rest (reminds me of Hezekiah's rest during the Assyrian threat, the release of captivity from Babylon by Cyrus, the later saving of the Jews from Haman in Esther's day, the rebuilding of Jerusalem allowed by the king of Persia, and perhaps an echo of the Messianic millennial rest).

9. Isa 14:8-11 - the mighty king of Babylon is brought down to the grave (Dan 4:18-33;Dan 5:25-31), along with the noise of his harps, he is covered by worms; (KJV) V9 "Hell" and V11 "grave" (both are the Heb word "sheol"<7585> and mean grave).

10. Isa 14:12 - "Lucifer"(<1966> means "day star" - Venus rises in the morning and falls in the evening); this is the king of Babylon who once laid low the nations, absent are the terms "devil", "satan", or a "fallen angel"; fallen from heaven suggests political heavens (Lam 2:1;Jer 51:53; political heavens involving Rome Dan 8:8-12).

11. Isa 14:13-14 - the king of Babylon's ambition was to be like God, not unlike a modern "Babylonian" of sorts (2Thess 2:4 who claims infallibility as Christ's Vicar on earth).

12. Isa 14:15-16 - Lucifer was the king of Babylon, a man who made the earth tremble and was brought down to his grave (Isa 21:1-5;Dan 5:1-31;Isa 47:1, 6-15).

13. Isa 14:17 - (NIV) "the man who made the world a 'desert'<4057>...and would not let his captives go home?"

14. Isa 14:22 - (NIV) "I will cut off from Babylon her name and survivors, her offspring and descendants"

15. Isa 14:23 - "pools of water" - Cyrus diverted the river Euphrates that went through Babylon so his army could walk through the city (Jer 51:12-13;Jer 50:35, 38-39;Jer 51:30-31, 36).

16. Isaiah 14:24-27 - prophecy against Assyria:

17. Isa 14:24-27 - Assyria and Babylon seem to have their modern counterparts (Rome seems to be the modern representative of ancient Babylon Rev 17:1-9, 14-15, 18;Rev 18:2;Isa 47:7-8;Rev 18:7); Lucifer i.e. the king of Babylon seems to have a modern Roman equivalent; Assyrian may be the Gogian host (2Kin 18:13,17;2Kin 19:24, 30-35;Eze 38:1-9,15;Eze 39:1-4;Zech 12:2-10).

18. Isa 14:24 - the oath of God regarding all this as 'purposed'<3289> (compare with Isa 9:6 which reads 'Counsellor"<3289>), as in such Messianic prophecies as Gen 22:16-18;Psa 132:11.

19. Isa 14:25 - the northern invader crushed in God's land; "yoke...burden...shoulder" (compare with the overthrow of man's rule and the Messianic rule of Isa 9:4-7 to come).

20. Isa 14:26-27 - the culmination of God's purpose perhaps pointing to a second latter day fulfillment; V26 "purposed"<3289>;  "V27 "purposed"<3289>.

21. Isaiah 14:28-32 - prophecy against the Philistines:

22. Isa 14:28 - this message was revealed when king Ahaz died (circa 716BC).

23. Isa 14:28-31 - prophecy against the Philistines; the rod (Assyria? Ahaz?) that beat upon the Philistines will be broken but out of the root of that serpent that beat upon the Philistines would be a viper with a darting adder (successor to Assyria? Successor to Ahaz?) as fruit.

24. Isa 14:28-32 - the Philistines being destroyed by famine and a cloud from the north contrasts with the very poor finding pasture and refuge in Zion (Isa 2:1-4;Matt 5:3;Heb 12:22-23;Rev 5:10-12;Rev 20:4-6;Rev 21:1-4).

14:32  Whilst Isaiah 14 gives no indication as to when, in the life of Isaiah, it was spoken we see that the chapter is speaking about the destruction of Babylon. 2Kin 20:12 speaks of when Babylon sent communicated with Hezekiah after his sickness. Maybe this verse speaks of the way Isaiah spoke of the eventual deliverance of Israel from Babylon.

14:2      Possibly a short term fulfilment of this promise of Israel’s return from Babylon was fulfilled when Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to the land of Israel.

14:4    The margin for “golden city” is "the exacter of God". The implication being that the kingdom of Babylon sought tribute from the countries she subdued.

14:12 Jesus catches the idea of the downfall of Babylon when speaking of the downfall of sin – Luke 10:18

14:12  Whilst we are correct in saying that “Lucifer” is not a fallen angel or a super natural devil we should actually identify who he is because in so doing we will see how Israel were being encouraged. “Lucifer” is in fact the king of Babylon – Israel is to be delivered from an oppressor who has not yet come onto the scene!

14:3 the “sorrow” that the nation would be saved form is the sorrow in the land of Babylon. Something that would end with the demise of Babylon and the return to the land of Israel. Under Cyrus.

14:32 Having warned the nation about the upcoming Babylonian invasion and spoken of what they would do to Judah -:3 - it is as if Isaiah is writing to prepare Hezekiah for the visit of the Babylonian ambassadors’ visit to see Hezekiah. So it would seem that the word of God was warning Hezekiah but that Hezekiah did not give heed to Isaiah’s warning.

14:9 the word translated “dead” <07496> is a fairly rare word in the Old Testament and is related to the word “Rephaim” with an association to false Gods. The king of Babylon would, along with his false religion be consigned to the same “pit” as the other false gods.

14:9-10  The description of dead world rulers welcoming the king of Babylon is a stark picture of the way that God disposes of those who he sets up and removes. Those who were used to fulfil His plan, and then removed. Of course those kings and rulers did not realise that Yahweh was determining events.

Hopefully we recognise that he is in control and ensuring that His plan is brought to fruition.

v.3-5 - We seem to have an all round exhortation against pride, and going our own way today don't we. Let us see the extreme measures that God considers it necessary to take against the manifestation of this emotion in a person, and use the lesson to take extreme measures to remove pride from ourselves and from the 'traditions' of our ecclesias. 'Wholesome' (v.3) would seem a good word to meditate on today. 1Tim.1:3-6, Rom.16:17, Gal.1:6,7.

The Allure of The 'Strange Woman' is a warning which draws on the language of the book of Proverbs

Continuing last year's theme here are a couple more links with Proverbs 6

Timothy is being exhorted to avoid the 'strange' woman.

ch 5,6 - GETTING RICH

When the stock market crashed some years ago the sudden loss of the fortunes of thousands of people disappeared in an instant. There were also many Christians who had gotten very rich from the share market who were devastated when everything was taken from them. They thought that because they were Christians God had blessed them and they had become rich. Paul spoke of them as teaching false doctrines, who think that godliness is a means to financial gain. The problem with getting rich is that it can all be taken from you in a moment, but more than that, it becomes a temptation, a trap and even a god to those possessed with riches. "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."

To get better value for your riches we should leave the love of money and store up with the riches of God. We read that "Godliness with contentment is great gain." Let us be content with what God has given us, whether it is much or little, and be rich in the true riches of godliness, contentment and peace.

:11 That Timothy was told to 'flee' from the 'strange woman' we have identified on previous occasion we have looked at 1 Timothy 6 echoes Joseph's behaviour (Genesis 39:12) before Potiphar's wife.

1Tim 6:11. The exhortation Paul is delivering to Timothy here is exactly that same as he sent to the Colossians(3:12) where he instructs them that these qualities must be like clothing and worn, so that all can see them, here however they are qualities that must be pursued. These qualities are things that we cannot develop on our own or with out an effort as Paul continues in the next verse. “Fight the good faith”

6:1 Slavery was a feature of first century life. We might, therefore, think that counting masters worthy of honour is hardly relevant today. However we all have masters and even if we are no longer in employment or employers in our own right we have a master -How we respond to Him affects what others think about our faith and way of life(doctrine) .

6:3-6 Notice the threefold use of godliness. Whereas godliness should be achieved through belief and practice some thought it was achieved through material acquisition. There is always the danger of presuming that a brother or sister who is wealthy is also godly. Paul is saying that actually the reverse may be the case!

SPENDERS
 
"But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." (1Tim 6:8-10)
 
I used to have a high pressure job as the foreman of a busy engineering workshop. What I learnt during my time in that job was that the position and the responsibilities were taking me away from God. Little by little I had less and less time to pray, to read the word, to meditate and spend time with God. At the end of each day I arrived home stressed and exhausted with no motivation to give more to God. With the responsibility, my pay went up. But with an increase in pay also comes the desire to spend first money and then time on leisure activities, again whittling away our time from what we would have otherwise have spent with God.
 
Paul's advice to Timothy is great advice to those who have the desire to live for the Lord. The more we have, the more we are drawn away from God to use it or look after it. So let us be content with what we need to survive and spend more time in the presence of the Lord.

6:2 There is always the danger, when brethren work for brethren that the employee might feel that as the employer is a brother then special treatment should be given. This is not the case. In fact, if there are other employees who are not in Christ it is even more important to remember this and be willing to receive less favour from the employer lest the unbeliever feels that there is favouritism shown because the employer and employee are brethren in Christ.

Godliness with contentment is great gain (1Tim 6:6). This is a wonderful statement. It’s a real blessing from the Lord if we can be a godly person as well as being grateful for our privileges.

6:4-5 Simple isn’t it? Any of us who seeks to purvey his own ideas is ‘proud’ – often we think of brethren who come up with innovative expositions as ‘interesting’ .

V.7 The truth of this verse reminds me of a funny observation.                                                        There were two Jewish gentlemen, Cohen and Shapiro, who attended the funeral of their friend Goldberg.  Cohen said to Shapiro: You know Goldberg was a very wealthy man - how much did he leave? Shapiro turned to Cohen and coolly replied: All of it!

6:6 Are we satisfied simply with becoming Godly? Do we view developing the mind of Christ as ‘gain’? The natural man views such activities as worthless and pursues material things. The spiritual man seeks to become more like Christ.

V.10 This verse is generally misquoted by the world when it says that: Money is the root of all evil.  Money is inert and can be used for either good or evil (See vs.17,18).  It is the love of money which is the problem.  If a person loves money, he or she can make its means of acquisition justify the ends.  More often than not, these means are evil.

V.11 Compare the list for the fruit of the spirit in Gal 5:22,23.

6:13 As Jesus gave a ‘good confession’ before the gentile Timothy, by his upholding the things Paul had taught him, would also be giving a ‘good confession’. The same, of course, is true of ourselves also.

6:9 Notice it is not those who are rich. It is those who envy the rich. We should be willing to accept the situation we find ourselves in and not strive to better ourselves.

6:16   In saying that God ‘dwelleth in light’ Paul is alluding to Psa 104:2 where God is described as covered by light.

6:13     The example of Jesus’ good confession teaches us that being right and saying the right things does not guarantee safety. The obligation is to speak the right things whatever the consequences.

1Tim 6:12

“Fight the good fight of faith…”

Throughout history we find that many have joined earthly armies, yet have never fought in a battle. They have never experienced warfare.  As soldiers of Christ it is essential for each and every one of us to “fight the good fight of faith,” endure afflictions, and prove ourselves faithful unto death. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal (Eph 6:14-17). We are to overcome evil with good.

Timothy lived in the 1^stcentury at a time when the whole Roman world was about to explode with violence. The Jewish revolt would culminate with the armies of Titus besieging Jerusalem, and destroying the Temple. Many Jews were slaughtered and others carried away into captivity among the nations. All this was just around the corner.

We live today in a similar kind of age, a deceitful age, wherein as the proverb goes, “What you see is not what you get.”  We are admonished to be good soldiers of Christ and to suffer hardships along with the apostle Paul (2Tim 2:3). To do this, Paul tells us requires the dedication of a soldier, the discipline of an athlete, and the diligence of a farmer (2Tim 2:4-6).

Belonging to the army of Christ is not a social club. The breastplate is not replaced by the dinner plate, nor the sword of the Spirit exchanged for the spoon and fork (cf. Eph 6:13-18). A lesson from ancient Israel provides an ironic example of just how important wearing armour can be (cf. 1Kin 22:31-35).

We must fight our battles! We face a host of enemies daily planning the worst. We hear the battle cry sounds, they begin their charge, and we tighten our grip on the sword and raise our breastplate. We do our best to parry the onslaught; we brace ourselves when clang, the enemies’ sword strikes our breastplate!  We look down only to find that our breastplate of righteousness stopped their deadly blow in its tracks. Delivered by righteousness and with renewed vigor, we plunge back into the fight (cf. Prov 11:4; Eph 6:10-20).

Our breastplate will only stay securely fastened if we remain true to God’s commands. The wicked King Ahab's armour did not protect him. We must: “Never, never, never, give up.” Winston Churchill said that, and he was right. Yet, he spoke of earthly battles, how much more then of spiritual battles.

Neither bond nor free, but yet...

Notice that this chapter is specifically addressing one particular problem:

"Let as many bondservants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honour, so that the name of God and His doctrine may not be blasphemed. And those who have believing masters, let them not despise them because they are brethren... Teach and exhort these things. If anyone teaches otherwise ... he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes ... who suppose godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself" (v1-5)

This is the context of the chapter. Timothy was in a situation where servants were claiming to be equal with their masters, by virtue of their apparent elevated status in Christ. This was bringing the name of the whole ecclesia into disrepute. The Bible nowhere tells us that the gospel will change our social status. In fact, we are to remain in the social status we find ourselves in, not becoming dissatisfied or seeking to change it (see 1Cor 7:20-24). The gospel is a gospel of salvation, not a social gospel. It seeks to change hearts and minds, not social structure and convention. It is sometimes very hard to accept this, but we must each try to come to terms with it in our own way. It's sobering to note that Paul felt this was such an important distinction that he counselled Timothy to withdraw fellowship from those who deliberately wouldn't accept it.

6:13   The example of Jesus’ witness before Pilate – see John 18:38 –is to show Timothy that he should not shirk witnessing because of a fear of reprisals from the Ephesian brethren. 

6:8  when speaking of “food and raiment” echoes the comment in Deut 10:17 where we learn that God takes care of these needs.

VERY IMPORTANT

At the end of his letter, Paul gave a very important command to Timothy. This is what he said about it: "I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1Tim 6:13-14).

The command itself is found a little bit earlier. If it was important for Timothy, it is important for us also, so let's listen carefully. "Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called." (v.11-12).

If you have ever played a ball game like soccer,rugby or hockey, you will know what it is all about to pursue the ball, to chase it until you have got it, and can keep it, and can use it to score a goal. The same energy is required in the pursuit of righteousness, faith, love endurance and gentleness. Keep chasing after them until you get them perfected in your life.

To fight the good fight means that we have to beat our opponent. Only one can win. Only the one that fights hardest will win. Will it be the spirit or your sinful nature?

And take hold of eternal life. Don't let it go - ever. Yes, you can take hold of it now with faith in Jesus Christ.

As Paul said, so I say too: Keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.

6:12      It would seem that others had heard Timothy express his faith in the resurrection of Jesus – maybe at the time of his baptism. Those people are now witnesses to what he said. Our commitment was witnessed when we were baptised. We only hope that those witnesses would not need to be called to testify to what we said because our lifestyle gives lie to what we sad when we were baptised.

LAYING UP A GOOD FOUNDATION

In verse 19 we read about "Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come", but what exactly does this mean?  Sometimes we may think that the wealthy cannot inherit the kingdom of God -but in v.17-19 they are not condemned for being wealthy nor told to give all their wealth away; but they are told what not to do and what to do with it. 

Wealth must never make a person proud or feel they are better than someone without money. The wealthy must not set their hopes in the wealth itself but rather they are told to use their wealth to do good; be ready to share; and that they must remember that we are all part of God's household.

Every time we could give and do not give - it lessens the wealth laid up for us in the kingdom to come. The teaching of the Christian ethic is, not that wealth is a sin, but that it is a very great responsibility. As the Lord taught - ""it is more blessed to give than to receive." (Acts 20:35) Let us lay up treasure in heaven and not on earth.

6:20    The call to Timothy to “keep” the words he had been taught is emphasised again in  2Tim 1:13 – with the words “hold fast …” indicating this was an issue that even a faithful believer had to be reminded of. What about us? Would we take exception to being encouraged to be faithful?

6:11            In saying “follow after” the inspired Apostle is indicating that there is a way that can be seen which is to be followed. It can be seen in the “worked examples” in Scripture. Hopefully that can be reinforced by living examples who we can follow amongst our fellow believers.

6:17    In charging the “rich” Paul is returning to what he has spoken of – 6:6-9

6:8-10 The world in which we have to live encourages self-sufficiency. It encourages us to strive after wealth and prosperity. By way of contrast the servant of God should place his confidence in God who will provide. Of course this is not to suggest that we should not be careful about providing for ourselve.s It is all about focus and priority.

6:8 The phrase “food and raiment” quotes from Jacob’s vow in Genesis 28:20: “bread … and raiment”. Paul’s quote builds on 1 Timothy 3:15 where he alludes to the stone set up by Jacob at Bethel.

6:5 It is all too easy to look at the one who is prospering and assume that he is being blessed by God and at the same time to look down on the one who is poor. Paul is saying that material possessions are no guarantee of godliness. He will reinforce this point in a couple of verses.

HOW TO BE A MAN OF GOD

For those of us who want to develop the man of God inside us, Paul gives us seven practical steps to doing so.

1. Flee from an ungodly way of life, arguments and quarrels, and from the love of money. In other words, if it doesn't look like Jesus, don’t follow it, love it or imitate it.
2. Pursue Righteousness. Make every effort to get yourself right with God. Ask for and accept his forgiveness and love, while at the same time forgiving others.
3. Pursue Godliness. As much as it depends on you live a life that reflects the life God wants you to live.
4. Pursue Faith. Learn to trust in God completely. Start by obeying him in everything. Pray and listen to him.
5. Pursue Love. Choose to love like Jesus loved. Start at home with your wife and children, parents, friends and enemies. Love one another.
6. Pursue Endurance. Don’t give up on all this. Keep going. Even if there seems to be no reward right now, carry on through it to show yourself a man of God.
7. Pursue Gentleness. A real man of God will treat everyone with gentleness and respect. No violence, harsh words or bullying, but instead, kindness and love.

“But you, man of God, flee from these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.”(1Tim 6:11).

6:13 If we search all four gospel records to see what Jesus actually said to Pilate we will see that he said very little – in fact more often than not Jesus was silent. So how as that a “good confession”?

Firstly we learn that it is possible to give a faithful witness without using words.

Secondly Pilate “marvelled” – Matt 27:14 – because Jesus did not try and exonerate himself.

This second point is really important to understand when we might be maligned. The truth of the situation is known by our God – He will be the final judge.

v18 Wealth is not a sin, hoarding wealth is a sin. Poverty is not a virtue - it can often lead to covetousness (v9)

6:14 Rebuke would be required of one who was deviating from the principles of the gospel in word and in the way life was lived. So in speaking to Timothy in this way he is likening Timothy to the bishop of 3:2-7.

6:17-18 Society teaches us to respect successful individuals. It is not unusual either for such individuals to think highly of themselves – or maybe even seeing themselves as above the law.  This should not be so amongst believers. The benefits of success should be used for the benefit of others. It is all too easy for us to imitate the world in which we live rather than imitate the man who tough rich, took upon himself the form of a servant – Phil 2:5-8