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There Eat Bread

January 31, 2025 by admin Leave a Comment

The prophet Amos said Jeroboam, the king of Israel, would die by the sword and Israel would be led into captivity (Amos 7:11). At this message Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, said to Amos, “Go, you seer! Flee to the land of Judah. There eat bread, and there prophesy. But never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is the royal residence,” (Amos 7:12, 13).

Prophets were covenant enforcers for Israel, calling the people to be faithful to the covenant of the Lord. Amaziah had the wrong idea of the function of a prophet. He apparently thought a prophet was to always bring news people wanted to hear. If a prophet brought news that was hard to take, Amaziah’s solution was not to respond to the message in repentance, but to remove the prophet so the hard message would no longer be heard.

Amaziah said to Amos, “Go, you seer! Flee to the land of Judah. There eat bread, and there prophesy,” (Amos 7:12). Often kings had their own prophets on their payroll. They would hire men to be prophets for them by providing their daily necessities, such as food. For example, false prophets ate at Jezebel’s table (1 Kings 18:19). If a prophet was being thus cared for by the king and queen, it is no surprise that prophets would often tell the king whatever he wanted to hear whether true or false. This is what Ahab’s prophets did to him (1 Kings 22:6). Thus, Amaziah was telling Amos to go to Judah and make a living by prophesying there. Amaziah thought Judah would be more receptive to Amos’ message. He appeals to Amos to just worry about taking care of himself and his own physical needs.

Amos, on the other hand, had the correct view of a prophet’s duty. He replied to Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor was I a son of a prophet, but I was a sheep breeder and a tender of sycamore fruit. Then the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel’” (Amos 7:14). Amos understood that prophesying was not just a way to make money. Amos had the occupation of a herdsman. His prophesying was not to make money but because the Lord had charged him to do so. Amos knew God had a message that needed to be delivered. It was not about pleasing men, but God (cf. Galatians 1:10).

Nowadays, some preachers are concerned primarily with making money and pleasing people. They approach preaching as a means to these ends. They have the same false view that Amaziah did. The truth is God has a message to deliver, and it must be preached even if it does not please people. Let us support those who preach God’s message without fear or favor.

I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. (2 Timothy 4:1-4.)

Behold, I Thought…

January 25, 2025 by admin Leave a Comment

Naaman was captain over the army of Syria. He had a high position of prominence and respect. He was also a mighty man of valor. However, he had one big problem; he was a leper.

Fortunately for Naaman, God was willing to cure him of his leprosy, and Naaman had been told that if he would go to God’s prophet, Elisha, he could be healed of this horrible disease. That Naaman came to the door of Elisha’s house with great hope and desire of being healed there can be no doubt. Naaman had great expectations, but something happened that caused Naaman to be angry and disappointed. Instead of Elisha coming to meet him, a messenger was sent out of the house who told Naaman to go and wash in the Jordan river seven times and he would be healed. The Bible says in 2 Kings 5:11-12, “But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.”

Now, consider Naaman in the state he is in at this point. He has a cure for his dreaded disease of leprosy, but because it is not what he expected, he is choosing to continue to suffer instead of being cured. The Bible reveals that later Naaman changed his mind, but suppose he had stayed in this mindset? He would have continued suffering by allowing what he thought to overrule what God instructed, and leprosy would most likely have caused his death.

How often is this repeated in our day. When it comes to discussions about what God requires of us, many often say, “Well, I think…”, or “I believe…”, or worst of all “I know the Bible says that, but…” instead of giving heed to the actual words of God. Those with this mindset refuse to be swayed by God’s instructions and—following their own beliefs—will continue suffering from spiritual leprosy: sin. If they do not change their minds, it will ultimately cause death (Romans 6:23). There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12; 16:25). Let us strive to not give what we think or feel but what God says (Jeremiah 10:23; Matthew 4:4; 2 Timothy 3:16, 17). “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:20).

-Mark Day

The Hebrew Midwives

January 19, 2025 by admin Leave a Comment

Exodus 1:15 introduces two midwives by the names of Shiphrah and Puah. These were instructed in verse 16 to kill any son born to the Hebrew women. No doubt the midwives were faced with a dilemma. They had been given a command by the king of Egypt to do something they knew to be wrong. What did they do?

Exodus 1:17 says they “feared God and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them but saved the men children alive.” A principle is illustrated here that is important for Christians to consider. It is the same precept Peter stated in Acts 5:29 to the Sadducees, “We ought to obey God rather than men.” God has given government as his minister to execute wrath upon the ungodly, and a Christian is expected to obey the civil authorities (Romans 13:1-4); however, when government gets out of its realm and begins to make and enforce laws that are contrary to God’s will Christians must follow the example of the midwives and Peter. Egypt’s king did not recognize that God’s laws held rank over his laws (Exodus 5:2). The civil authorities of today often likewise overlook this fact. Christians need not only recognize this fact, but also must be bold and courageous enough to act accordingly when the time comes.

The king of Egypt questioned the midwives for their disobedience (Exodus 1:18). Their reply in verse 19 does not seem to be entirely truthful when compared to verse 17. Some scholars point to verse 20 where God deals well with the midwives and ask if God is sanctioning their deception. Is this true? God cannot lie (Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18). His word is truth (John 17:17). God does not uphold lying, so let’s consider some plausible alternatives.

First, it is possible that the way they saved the Hebrew boys was by not being involved in their births. If they were informed of a Hebrews woman going into labor, the midwives may have hesitated and were dilatory in their arrival. The sons of the Hebrew women may then have been born prior to the midwives’ arrival, so the midwives could have told the truth, at least part of it.

Let us also remember that Exodus 1:20 does not necessarily indicate that God blessed them for lying to the king. Verse 20 is saying they were blessed because they feared God rather than Pharaoh, not for their deception. It is much like the situation with Rahab the harlot (Joshua 2). Hebrews 11:31 and James 2:25 commend Rahab for her reception of the spies, but her lying to the king’s servants is not mentioned in these commendations. The deception of the midwives and of Rahab are both told as part of the story and no comment is made regarding God’s judgment of these individual acts; thus, God is not sanctioning the lies. The Bible does not have to stop each time a sin is committed in historical narratives and make a comment as to what is right and wrong and why.

Finally, we should remember that God judges man based on the overall tenor of his life. God does not take the worst moments in our lives and judge us by them alone. Faithful people like Abraham, the midwives, and Rahab lied on occasions when they felt their lives were at stake. It was not right, but God forgave them and considered the overall picture of their lives and what their aim was. Would any of us do better if we were in the same situation? Hopefully we would, but if not, we ought to be thankful that God is forgiving. When we fall short of His glory, as we all do (Romans 3:23), He is willing to forgive us if we repent of our sins and confess them to Him (1 John 1:9).

Things Aren’t Always What They Seem

January 12, 2025 by admin Leave a Comment

Often things are not as they appear. When it comes to Satan’s temptation of the saints, he endeavors to make sin look good. He hides the ugly consequences and tries to make us think it’s no big deal and we can handle it. No matter how attractive sin may seem or how we may try to rationalize it, we must remember sin leads to death (Romans 6:23; James 1:14-16). As Christians, our responsibility is to, “exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:13). Like he did with Eve, the devil does with many today—he influences them to think that sin is really for their best through the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16). Genesis 3:6 reveals that Eve became convinced that the forbidden fruit was “good,” “pleasant,” and “to be desired.” 2 Corinthians 11:3 says that “the serpent beguiled Eve.” This means he deceived her. A few verses later in 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 we read of the deception the devil was working among the saints at Corinth through false apostles, “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” Satan does not come to us in a red suit with a pitchfork so that we can plainly see who he is. He uses tricks—or as Ephesians 6:11 says, “wiles,”—and deceives us to sin.

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash

The devil’s tactics still work today. We appreciate public figures who stand up for values we hold dear. In a mixed-up world (Isaiah 5:20), they make sense. Some of them seem sophisticated and intellectually adept. They can dismantle the lies our society feeds us, so we respect them. They say they are followers of God; however, they might use some foul language, tell dirty jokes, advocate the use of alcohol, or mention something they watched that, it turns out, has very explicit sexual content in it. We want a champion so badly that we may overlook these things as no big deal, but the Bible says they are (Ephesians 5:3-5; 1 Peter 4:3). These are lusts of the flesh and lusts of the eyes.

They may mention the evolutionary timescale in passing as something they believe. Some of these public figures are obviously intelligent and well-studied, yet they believe the universe is billions of years old. Certainly, they would not make any assumptions, would they? Since they can unravel the false assumptions of our culture, then certainly their conclusions must be grounded in solid, observable evidence. Right? We are tempted to think that if we want to be intelligent and honest with the evidence, we must agree with them. Some of them claim to be Christians and suggest that perhaps God used evolution to create the world over millions of years and eventually man was brought on the scene. They want to hold to the timescale of evolution, so they have tried to reinterpret the Bible to fit this theory of man. This is simply the pride of life. Theistic evolution treats the Bible like a ball of clay that can be molded to fit popular theories of men rather than what we ought to do—mold our thinking to fit the word of God (Romans 12:1-2).

No, things are not always as they appear. Be careful of blindly following any teacher, no matter how intelligent they seem. You shall know them by their fruits (Matthew 7:15-20). If we are not cautious, we just might start thinking like the world. We might become convinced that a little bit of language, liquor, and lust is something we can handle. We may give in to the lie of evolution. Remember: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Make sure you are on guard and attentive to the deceitfulness of Satan.

Instructions for the New Year

January 5, 2025 by admin Leave a Comment

Since the New Year is here and we are contemplating the passage of time, the inspired words of the apostle Paul in Romans 13:11-14 are apropos:

And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

Three instructions stand out in this passage.

Wake Up

Paul says it is high time to awake out of sleep. The apostle was concerned about followers of Christ falling into a spiritual stupor. He frequently writes to Christians to wake up. Not only does he tell those in Rome to do so, but in Ephesians 5 Paul emphasizes the need to be awake and make the most of the time (v.16) after quoting from the prophet Isaiah: “Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light” (Eph. 5:14). To his converts at Thessalonica, whom he had to abruptly leave after their conversion (Acts 17:1-10), Paul wrote: “Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation” (1 Thess. 5:6-8).

Get Dressed

Paul’s instructions to put on these pieces of the armor in 1 Thessalonians 5:8 brings us to the second instruction–being properly attired. The works of darkness are to be cast off; the armor of light must be donned (Rom. 13:12). We put on the Lord Jesus Christ initially in baptism (Gal. 3:27); yet, Paul exhorts Christians to put on the Lord Jesus Christ in their behavior (Rom. 13:14). Colossians 3:8 lists sins we must put off. Colossians 3:12 give virtues we must put on as the elect of God. A parallel in his epistle to the Ephesians is, “that ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Eph. 4:22-24). Ephesians goes on to detail certain sinful habits and dispositions to “put away” (Eph. 4:25-31); moreover, it details the whole armor of God which Christians must “put on” (Eph. 6:10-17). Almost as if we were changing out of graveclothes (Jn. 11:44), the Christian has been given new life and must put off the former sins associated with spiritual death and put on the Christian armor associated with light and life.

Walk in the Light

The daily activity of the Christian is described as walking honestly, as in the day (Rom. 13:13). Paul warned Christians how to walk (Eph. 4:17, 5:15). This is similar to the familiar passage John gives on walking in the light (1 Jn. 1:5-9). What habits will you break, form, or continue in 2025? Let us examine ourselves so that our habit is to walk in the light of God’s word (Psa. 119:105).