Acts 2- A Few Questions Answered

Today in Sunday School we had a little review of Acts 2. Afterwards, several people asked me some questions about this passage. Since they had these questions, maybe you did to. Here they are, including the answers that I gave.

1. Were the tongues a miracle of speaking or a miracle of hearing?

IE, was it possible that a particular person spoke, proclaiming the wonderful works of God, and the hearers each heard the SAME speech in THEIR tongue. Sort of a like a universal translator in which one person speaks and everyone hears it translated into his own tongue. This is a common question and one commentator, Abraham Kuyper says that the apostles spoke one pure language that someday we all will speak in heaven, and the others heard them speaking in their respective native languages. This however, is not correct. This was not a gift of hearing, nor was it a gift of pure speech. It was clearly a gift of SPEAKING in various languages. Acts 2:4 "All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them." A better translation ends this verse with "as the Spirit gave them utterance." It's clear then, that the gift of tongues was not of hearing but of speech, speaking other languages.

2. Who spoke in tongues?

There are two main views on who spoke in tongues in Acts 2. One view says that it was the 12 apostles, plus the 120 believers that were there waiting for the promise to be fulfilled. Acts 1:15 mentions this group of 120 believers or "brothers" as the marginal note says. So were they all speaking in tongues, all 132 of them? The second view says that it was just the apostles that spoke in tongues. There are several reasons for this view. 1) The closest antecedent of the pronoun "they" used in Acts 2:1 is the apostles mentioned in the last verse of chapter 1. 2) Christ gave the promise of the Spirit directly to the apostles as recorded in Acts 1. Notice what is said in vs 4 to the apostles: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about." And further in vs 8- "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." These verses specifically refer to the apostles receiving the spirit and power, so it seems they would be the ones speaking in tongues. 3) In Acts 2:7, the witnesses of the tongues remark "Are not all these men speaking Galileans?" We know that in Acts 1 vs 11 the angel calls the apostles "Men of Galilee" as they watched Jesus ascend into heaven. Based upon these three reasons, it seems that those speaking in tongues were just the apostles.

3. Did they all speak at once? Did they speak in turn?

One commentator described the situation in Acts 2 where all the apostles were speaking at the same time, each in a different language. As the crowd heard them, each would gather around a speaker speaking the language of his homeland. Other commentators say that the apostles probably spoke one at a time in an orderly manner. We simply don't know the answer to this one.

4. Was Peter speaking in tongues when he gave his sermon? What language was he speaking?

There is no indication whatsoever that Peter was speaking in tongues during his sermon. IE, he doesn't indicate he is speaking anything but his normal language nor do the hearers respond as if he is speaking a tongue. Since they all seem to hear and understand him, it must have been a common language that all understood. There are three choices- Hebrew, Greek, or Aramaic. Hebrew is the written and spoken language of Judea and the Old Testament is mainly written in this language. Archaeological evidence in burial sites shows that Hebrew was an active language of the time. Because the Greeks had conquered Judea about 200 years prior to Jesus' birth, Greek was the trade language of the region. The New Testament is written in Koine Greek, and is a good indication that there were two languages active in that time frame in that region. In addition, Aramaic was the native tongue of Galilee and also a common tongue. Jesus' use of Aramaic is quoted a number of times in the gospels. So which was it? I throw out Aramaic, as not all there would have understood it. That leaves either Hebrew or Greek. I chose Hebrew, because Peter was preaching a sermon to devout Jews, convincing them of Jesus from the Old Testament scriptures and quoting from them. Undoubtedly, he would have used the native Jewish language- Hebrew.

5. Tell me again about the quotation from Joel?

Joel is one of the earliest of the OT prophets and his message to Judah is one that contains two elements: Judgment and Blessing. This is what the devout Jews would have thought when they heard Peter quote from Joel- "Oh boy, he's quoting from Joel which describes a terrible time of judgment upon our people. An army from the North will arrive and destroy the city and scatter everyone. And that's just what happened to our people when the Babylonians came. God judged us for our unbelief! But then God promises blessing! He'll pour out His Spirit on all people, which will be followed by wonders in the heavens. Then Mount Zion and Jerusalem will be a place of salvation. That hasn't happened yet- it was promised long ago that the Messiah would return to Mt Zion. But somehow, Peter is saying that what we see here today is what Joel was talking about." Judgment and blessing. As the book of Acts unfolds, we see that the message of the risen Messiah is brought to the Jews again and again. Some believe but in general, they persecute the new Christians. Peter speaks in Acts 3:19-20 and says "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you- even Jesus." The common message to the Jews is to repent from their sins and unbelief. Listen carefully- it seems that IF the vast majority of Jewish people had repented at that time...then Jesus would have returned THEN. It's almost as if Jesus is in heaven at that point, poised to come back. Why even Stephen when he is stoned sees Jesus STANDING at God's right hand, as if ready to return! But no...the Jews by and large will have none of it. Until finally, both Peter and Paul turn from the Jews and concentrate on the Gentiles. Then judgment falls on the Jews in AD 70 when Titus and the Roman army destroy Jerusalem. Jesus is then described as SITTING at God's right hand. So when Peter quoted Joel, we see the beginning of the blessing- the Spirit poured out, but the conclusion is postponed until later. When the Lord returns, THEN the rest of Joel will be fulfilled- the wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below.

Hope that helps!

Eric

Background for Tongues

This past Sunday we spend looking at the Old Testament usage of tongues/languages to get some background for our study in I Cor 14. New Testament tongues are first used on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2 and the witnesses were Jewish people. With their rich OT background, what came into the mind of the Jews when tongues were spoken in Acts 2? We looked at 4 OT texts.

Genesis 11 The Tower of Babel



In this account, the people of that day decided to make a name for themselves by building a tower right into heaven. God looked down upon them and said "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do is impossible." So God went down and confused their language and scattered them. A Jew thinking back on this would conclude "God judged the people by confusing the language." God struck the very thing which binds men together- a common language. The result of this judgement? Various languages, the people are scattered, and they can no longer reach their potential.



Deut 28 Blessings and Cursings

Around 1500BC, near the end of Moses life, he gave a series of discourses captured in the book of Deuteronomy. The 3rd discourse is called "Blessings and Cursings" and is found in chapters 27 and 28. Chapter 28 in particular provides a series of blessings for Israel if they obey the Lord their God:

1 If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.
2 All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:
3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.
4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
5 Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.
6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.

Later, come the curses for disobedience:

15 However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
16 You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.
17 Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed.
18 The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
19 You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.

The curses go on for the remainder of the chapter in quite some detail. God describes how He will use foreign nation to punish Israel for it's disobedience:

49 The LORD will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand, 50 a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old or pity for the young. 51 They will devour the young of your livestock and the crops of your land until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain, new wine or oil, nor any calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks until you are ruined. 52 They will lay siege to all the cities throughout your land until the high fortified walls in which you trust fall down. They will besiege all the cities throughout the land the LORD your God is giving you.

When this punishing nation attacked and overran Israel, they would know it by their foreign language. It was a clear sign of God's judgement on their unbelief.

Isaiah 28 Woe To Judah

In this passage, we have the prophet Isaiah describing Ephraim, the northern 10 tribes, and their captivity by Assyria around 700BC. Ephraim's leaders are described as drunken men, with their faces in their own vomit. The leaders respond to this condemnation by mocking the prophet, saying that Isaiah is speaking as if to children. The response?

11 Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues God will speak to this people, 12 to whom he said, "This is the resting place, let the weary rest"; and, "This is the place of repose"— but they would not listen.

In the remainder of the chapter and in the next, God describes how He will do His work, His strange work, of punishing the people by sending an army from a foreign nation. Because of their unbelief, He will punish them- they will know it by the "foreign lips and strange tongues" of the besieging army- that is how God will speak to them. Again, tongues are associated with judgement for unbelief.

Jeremiah 5 Spiritual Adultery

The prophet preaches against the rampant idolatry of the day in 600BC- the people have run after and served other gods and again and again committed spiritual adultery. God says in vs 9 "Should I not punish them for this?" Once again, the method of punishment is for God to send a foreign nation to inflict the punishment.

15 O house of Israel," declares the LORD, "I am bringing a distant nation against you— an ancient and enduring nation, a people whose language you do not know, whose speech you do not understand. 16 Their quivers are like an open grave; all of them are mighty warriors.

Now for the fourth time, we have God's judgement on unbelief connected with foreign languages.

Acts 2 The Day of Pentecost


Now go ahead to Acts 2 where the Holy Spirit comes down to form the church. Notice the details:


1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. 5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? 9Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs-we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" 12Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?"
13Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine."

A couple of things to point out.

1. Jews from every nation witnessed the speaking in tongues- they heard them speak in the language of their home.


2. Some reacted with amazement and asked "What does this mean?"


3. Others reacted with unbelief and made fun.

Peter then stands up and explains the situation. The Jews have murdered their Messiah- due to their unbelief, they have crucified God's own Son and His blood is upon their hands. After many words, the Jews are convinced of their guilt and cry "what shall we do?" Peter replies that they must repent, believe in Jesus, and save themselves from this generation. Why the latter? Because it was going to be JUDGED by God...just a few short years and Titus would come through and grind Jerusalem to dust. What was the sign of the judgement upon them? Tongues- other languages.

That's why Paul quotes Isaiah 28 in I Cor 14:22 and says "Tongues are for a sign, not for believers, but for unbelievers." When those with unbelieving hearts hear tongues...they know the judgement of God is upon them.

Finally, one more comment about Acts 2. The breaking of the language barrier is a sign that the Church of the Living God can do all things! All things are now possible for the church, the Body of Christ! All barriers now fall!

Eric

57 Varieties- An Unforgettable Experience

This past Monday, I took the day off from work and along with my friend Frankie the Greek, attended an all day conference for pastors and lay leaders in the far away land of Williston VT. The speaker was none other than world renowned theologian, author, and teacher, Dr. D.A.Carson. Dr. Carson has written a total of 57 books. FIFTY-SEVEN. Like in how many varieties good ole Heinz comes in! Carson gave four lectures of about an hour an a half each, and let me tell you...as the sign says...these were PURE FOOD for the soul. I have never ever in all my days heard anyone speak, preach, and teach like this man. His knowledge of history, politics, world events, and especially scripture coupled with his engaging presentation style left me completely amazed at his abilities. How can I describe it? Here's a little story...

I was saved in college due to the teaching of an older engineering student named Bruce. He held a Bible study every Friday night on campus. I was utterly amazed that he could open the Bible, find things, teach things, and pretty much know his way around the scriptures. I clearly remember one night some asked "what's the deal with anointing with oil?" And Bruce immediately replied "oh, that's in the book of James, right at the end. Let's have a look." Well, pardon me ma'am, but you could have knocked me over with a feather. I couldn't BELIEVE this Bruce guy knew about this anointing thing and where to FIND it. I said right there and then "I gotta get me some of that. I need to know the Bible." Thirty years later...well, I guess I know my way around the Bible a little bit. And I'm pretty conversant with the issues and debates going on in western Christianity today. Ahem.

But this guy. This Dr. 57 Varieties guy- totally and utterly blew me away with his profound knowledge of the Word of God. I feel like I did 30 years ago, listening to Bruce. I was a babe playing at his feet. I'm not kidding you.

His topic was "Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament- The Gospel According to Jeremiah". A full day in the book of Jeremiah! I took 12 pages of notes. I couldn't write fast enough.

In fact, the day spent under the teaching of this Man of God (yes, that's Man with a capital M) resulted in a range of responses from me.

• Encouragement- I now know the true meaning of "edify". I was built up in my most holy faith like no other time in recent memory.
• Wonder- at God's goodness and the amazing perfection of the Word of God.
• Conviction- I was convicted about several things as I heard him speak. My devotion, my study habits, my outreach, sin in my life. But done in such a way that I wasn't overcome by guilt, but with a desire to IMPROVE, to be the man of God (see, for me it's a little m) that I need to be.
• Refreshment- it was like cold water to a parched man. I couldn't get enough of the Word of God and the breaks came too soon. I didn't want him to stop.
• Joy- at the love of God and the work of Jesus on the cross.
• Sorrow- in one passage, Carson eloquently explained the tension between God as Light and God as Judge. Israel had committed adultery by going after other Gods and these sins are described in detail along with God's judgement, chapter after chapter. Then amazingly, right in the middle of this, the language turns and God begins weeping over His lost daughter "Let my eyes overflow with tears night and day without ceasing; for my virgin daughter-my people- have suffered a grievous wound." Jer 14:17 His VIRGIN daughter. After a couple hundred years of Israel playing the harlot, God the Father weeps over his virgin daughter. I was overcome by sorrow.
• Fear- Oh boy. I got a glimpse of the holiness of God and His abhorrence of sin. Not sure I've ever quite seen such a thing. It scared me right to the core. Enough said.
• Filled to Overflowing- by day's end I was totally filled...but spent also. Like after a long run- tired to the bone but energized at the same time. Over the course of the next day at work, several people asked "what is UP with you?" One person said "you look different today. Radiant." I felt like Dr. Carson had brought us into the presence of God, through his exposition of the scriptures.

An unforgettable day.

On another note, here's a little video you might like called "Perspectives".

Perspectives from Peacemaker Ministries on Vimeo.

So if Grandfather Goosey Gander doesn't get bedridden with the colly-wobbles, I'll write to you again next week!

Eric

PS- leave a comment!

Columbus Day

Greetings and Salutations!

Today is Columbus Day. So what do you recall from all your years toiling at school about good ole Chris Columbus?
In fourteen hundred and ninety-two,
Columbus sailed the ocean blue.

Well of course we remember that little ditty. And of course we know that Columbus set out to prove the world was round, not flat. In fact, most school textbooks talk about how Columbus was opposed by the church leaders of his day that vehemently insisted that the world was FLAT as a pancake. We were told how even his crew almost mutinied because they were afraid of sailing over the edge! The children's poem ends with these lines:

Some people still thought the world was flat.
Can you imagine that?

This situation has been held up for 150 years as a classic example of how Christians oppose science. Opponents to Christianity smile smugly and nod knowingly as they think of poor Chris, surrounded by a mob of Christians screaming stupidly about how the earth is flat! They say Christians haven't gotten any smarter today, with they denial of Darwin and their babbling about Intelligent Design. Ouch! What a black eye Christians have taken over this incident! As the poem says, "Can you imagine that?"


Too bad it's a lie. A lie repeated in decades of school textbooks.

Did you know that? Did you know that virtually no one in the Middle Ages believed the world was flat, including the theologians and the main churches? It was a semi-fictitious book by Washington Irving called "The History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus" in 1828 that got the lie rolling. Those opposed to Christianity picked up on his inaccurate portrayal and found it a convenient caricature of Christianity. It became so popular, that it was perpetuated for over a century.

Want to know more? Here's a couple of links to get you going...


Justin Taylor
Wikipedia Article

What other lies are out there, that are perpetuated to make Christians look bad?

What's that got to do with Sunday School? Well, not too much...other than we have to try everything by the Word of God, and sometimes get rid of preconceived notions. Are we open to what the Word says? Do we have ears to hear? Often, our position is slanted and skewed, and is based on what we've heard somewhere. I asked Shep tonight, on the way home from play practice, about Chris Columbus. He told me that he discovered America and proved the world was round. I asked him where he heard that. "I dunno. Somewhere. School I guess." Often, that's how we answer when it comes to the Word. When pressed, we have no real biblical backing, no proof, no real understanding of the facts or the context or even the issues surrounding the subject. Instead, we have an idea, we read something somewhere, we faintly remember a sermon or a Sunday school class, we heard it...somewhere. As we continue our 1000 year study in I Corinthians, let's continue to be students of the Word- to work hard, to dig deep, and be open to letting the Word mold our thoughts, not the other way around.

Someone made a great comment to me after the class on Sunday with respect to the verse we talked about "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face." He mentioned that one understanding of this text is that now, in our bodies of sin and death, we are but a poor reflection of our Saviour. But you just wait until our salvation is complete, when Jesus will come and change our vile bodies, so they we be like HIS GLORIOUS BODY. Phil 3:21. Oh, I like that thought. It's so rich. We're supposed to reflect Jesus in all we do. We have no light of our own, but we reflect His glorious light. Just like the moon reflects the sun...

Have a great week!

Eric

Welcome Back Carter

After a year-long hiatus to get my hair done and my back waxed, and after being called out publicly seven times by Joe Carter, I guess it's time to post a blog or three...

So where are we??? Just like Days of Our Lives, The World Turns, and The Edge of Night, not much has changed in 12 months. STILL in I Corinthians. But at least we've made it into Chapter 13.

Chapter 13 is the "Love" chapter and part of my challenge has been for us to have a fresh look at this chapter and to really understand the context. What first comes to mind with this chapter are weddings and marriage ceremonies, where the chapter is often read. While the application is certainly appropriate, it's not the context for marriage- remember back in the dark ages when we studied marriage in Chapter 7 of I Corinthians? The context of Chapter 13 is spiritual gifts. Paul is addressing a misuse of spiritual gifts and at the end of chapter 12, he says "and now I''ll show you a more excellent way." Then comes the Love Chapter. The first verse of chapter 14 says "Follow the way of love...". So chapter 13 is his exhortation to exercise spiritual gifts in a loving way. That's how it fits in.

Last week, I was asked, as a Justice of the Peace (JP for short) to perform a wedding for a young couple in Addison. We discussed how the ceremony would go- the vows, the rings, and any readings. I told them that I'd like to read a passage from the Bible and they readily agreed. And what passage did I choose? You guessed it- I Cor 13 the Love Chapter! - sigh- I'll never learn...

Chapter 13 can be divided into three sections:

Verses 1-3 The Necessity of Love- no matter how complete the spiritual gift, if it isn't used in Love, then it's useless, a clanging symbol (the Dixie Chicks, as it were)!

Verses 4-7 The Character of Love- 15 verbs are used to describe love in both positive (Love is...) and negative ways (Love is NOT...).

Verses 8-13 The Permanence of Love- some things are for the present time only, but love is forever.

Our SS class will start on this last section this coming week. And I have a feeling that there might be some difference of opinion on this section. Let me explain....

Many respected Christians believe that certain spiritual gifts were exercised during the time of the apostles and stopped soon after the apostles died. The gifts ceased. These Christians are called Cessationists. John MacArthur believes in this way. These specific gifts are called "sign gifts" and accompanied the apostles to give credence to the word preached...until the New Testament was written. Sign gifts include tongues, prophecy, and healings.

Other respected Christians believe that all the spiritual gifts named in the New Testament continue on to this day, including the so-called "sign gifts". There are two main branches of believers in this group. One branch is made up of many pentecostal and charismatic churches and believes the sign gifts are generally part of the normal Christian experience. The other branch believes that the sign gifts are not part of everyday experience, but that God does use them in special circumstances or locations. IE, God can send the gift of tongues to a Christian today.

What has this got to do with the price of lobster in Maine (low these days) or I Corinthians? ALOT! Cessationist Christians use the last section of I Corinthians 13 to explain their position. This section describes three specific spiritual gifts that will cease- prophecy, tongues, and knowledge. Paul then uses two specific allegorical examples to describe the use of these gifts presently (NOW) and then when they stop (THEN).

Understanding what Paul means by NOW and THEN is the crux of the matter. When is "NOW" and when is "THEN"?? Is NOW during Paul's life or like... right NOW? Is THEN after the NT was written or like...later in our future?

Or should I say "NOW" and "LATER"???

So this week in preparation for the study, have a read through the chapter and see what you think. Are you a Cessationist? Or a Continuist?

And now for something completely different....

I read a great book this week called "Unmasking Male Depression" by Dr. Archibald Hart.

This book is written from a Christian perspective and I highly recommend it for anyone suffering from depression or that lives one someone that suffers from depression. One of the key premises is understanding how male depression differs from female depression, particularly in how the sufferer reacts to his depression. For example, males tend to be more aggressive in makeup and their symptoms tend to be along those lines- impatience, anger, critical outbursts can all be ways that men respond to their depression. The book's table of contents is below:

It can be obtained from Christian Book Distributors or Amazon among many places.

Have a great week and if the teakettle doesn't run away with the dishpan, I'll see YOU in Sunday School!

Eric

How We Handle the Word

I've never been one to get excited over teacher's that provide an outline that begins with all one letter; in fact, I find most of those somewhat contrived. But I have to tell you, as I prepared for the message this past Sunday, it came flying out automatically. So in case you missed it, here's the outline from II Chronicles concerning the story of Josiah, the boy king:



33:21-25 Rotten to the Core



34:1-2 Right in God's Sight



34:3a Return to God



34: 36-7 Removal of Sin



34:8-13 Repair of the Temple



34:14-18 Recovery of a Treasure



34:22-28 Responsive Heart



34:29-30 Read Aloud the Word



34:31-32 Renewal of the Covenant


Chap 35 Rejoice in Worship



I want to share with you another relatively obscure chapter in the OT and how it relates to II Chronicles 34 and Josiah. Keep in mind that the main point that was impressed upon me as I read and studied this exciting chapter, was how Josiah treated the Word of God. Simply,



- He heard it.
- He recognized it's authority.
- He internalized the message.
- He acted on it.
- He shared it with the people.



This is a very powerful example that is much needed in our day. The world has thrown the Word on the trash heap and is doing it's best to bury it, just like in the days leading up to Josiah. It's a story of hope and excitement to see how God can work.

Now I didn't really finish the story of Josiah. It has a bad ending. Have you read it? Check out II Chronicles 35:20-26. This Egyptian king by the name of Neco comes onto the scene- I think they named the wafer after him some years later.

Anyway, even though Neco, an Egyptian, tells Josiah he is being directed by God, Josiah persists in attacking him. He puts on a disguise and engages Neco in battle. Archers shoot King Josiah and he's brought back to Jerusalem to die. Sad day. All of Judah laments his death. What do we lesson do we learn from this? Always listen to God. Don't stand in His way. And don't wear a silly disguise- it never works.

So a sad day in the history of Israel. Even Jeremiah writes a lament about Josiah to be recorded for the ages.

Which brings me to that obscure chapter I mentioned earlier.

Some weeks ago, I was reading a blog and the writer mentioned Jeremiah chapter 36. I had a read through that chapter and when it came time for the message, I was pretty certain that my message would be based on that chapter. Let's have a very quick look at it.

Jehoiakim was king in Judah, just a couple after Josiah. And he was a pretty rotten guy. Have a quick look here for a great summary of the Kings of Israel, all color-coded to show their level of rottenness.

http://www.geocities.com/thekingsofisrael/kings.html

Judah is in terrible shape and it won't be too long before God has enough of them and sends in Nebuchandnezzar to carry them off to Babylon for a few hundred years. God speaks to Jeremiah and says this:

1 In the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 "Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah and all the other nations from the time I began speaking to you in the reign of Josiah till now. 3 Perhaps when the people of Judah hear about every disaster I plan to inflict on them, they will each turn from their wicked ways; then I will forgive their wickedness and their sin."

So Jeremiah dictates the Words of God and Baruch the scribe copies them on a scroll to take to the king. The people are so scared of Jehoiakim that they tell Jeremiah and Baruch to go hide and someone else will read the message to the king. Here's how the king handled the Word from God.

20 After they put the scroll in the room of Elishama the secretary, they went to the king in the courtyard and reported everything to him. 21 The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and Jehudi brought it from the room of Elishama the secretary and read it to the king and all the officials standing beside him. 22 It was the ninth month and the king was sitting in the winter apartment, with a fire burning in the firepot in front of him. 23 Whenever Jehudi had read three or four columns of the scroll, the king cut them off with a scribe's knife and threw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll was burned in the fire. 24 The king and all his attendants who heard all these words showed no fear, nor did they tear their clothes. 25 Even though Elnathan, Delaiah and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. 26 Instead, the king commanded Jerahmeel, a son of the king, Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the LORD had hidden them.

So as you can see, the king is pretty rotten-hearted and burns the Word of God as it's being read. My idea was to do a sermon on this passage and talk about how the Word of God is treated today. It's being burned, piece by piece, every where we turn.

As I did research on this passage, I was led to the story of Josiah and I was overcome by his handling of the long forgotten Word of God.

In these two stories, we have the extremes of the spectrum. One man sees it for exactly what it is and it transforms his life and the lives of those around him.

Another man will not accept it, but cuts it in ribbons and throws it in the fire. His life and the lives around him are also transformed.

29 Also tell Jehoiakim king of Judah, 'This is what the LORD says: You burned that scroll and said, "Why did you write on it that the king of Babylon would certainly come and destroy this land and wipe from it both people and animals?" 30 Therefore, this is what the LORD says about Jehoiakim king of Judah: He will have no one to sit on the throne of David; his body will be thrown out and exposed to the heat by day and the frost by night. 31 I will punish him and his children and his attendants for their wickedness; I will bring on them and those living in Jerusalem and the people of Judah every disaster I pronounced against them, because they have not listened.' "

And judgement soon came to pass on Jehoiakim, because of his rejection of God's Word.

Both chapters speak to us today- one shows the right way to handle God's Word and the other shows the wrong way.

Eric

Joe Carter- Update

We had a surprise phone call from Joe a few minutes ago. It was great to hear his voice! It was full of enthusiasm and very positive. Here's a summary of what's going on...

• First off, Internet access has not been that frequent, so he hasn't been able to update his blogs. He was planning once a week, but he wasn't able to this past weekend. This weekend may be doubtful too, because...
• He's been chosen to participate on a basketball team that will travel to several places in Nicaragua. It's primarily made up of native Nicaraguans and coached by a Christian. I'm assuming the team is made up of all Christians. The purpose is to play other teams and then minister- get to know the other players, hear their story, and then share the gospel with them. On Friday, he goes on his first trip to Matagalpa, a city in the mountainous highlands. This is the coffee capital of Nicaragua and is much cooler than Managua. Here's a bit about the city: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matagalpa Joe is really excited about this and said "It's going to be CRAZY- jungle and monkeys and mountains!" He said this was a two day trip, so I'm not sure if he'll be back to update his blog.
• Joe's mornings are quite structured. He has Bible classes, prayer time, and then another class in which they are reading a book on spiritual warfare. He describes it this way "We're ready the Bible like crazy, very powerful... and it's WILD." That's a good thing!
• Afternoon's are ministering as part of the local church. In typical Joe Carter fashion, he's made quite an impression on the local youth- he's raced them, arm-wrestled them, and played them at soccer and basketball. All this is used as a way to get to know them and he's been able to share his faith with them. He then brings them to Youth Group. He and the other guys in his group have also visited a local rehab facility. He didn't give details, other than it's a chance to talk to the people, hear their story, and then share the gospel. Note this common theme... There's a planned visit to an orphanage next week.
• Joe seems really happy and excited about what he's doing. He's very much appreciated all the comments to his first blog.

That's about it...the call was over way too soon. It's hard to believe he's so far away!

Eric