In Isaiah 58:1, the Lord instructs the prophet to deliver a forceful address of His people’s continued rebellion:

 “Cry aloud, spare not;

Lift up your voice like a trumpet;

Tell My people their transgression,

And the house of Jacob their sins.”

Such a bold condemnation of this people is somewhat surprising since verse 2 gives this description of them:

 “Yet they seek Me daily,

And delight to know My ways,

As a nation that did righteousness,

And did not forsake the ordinance of their God.

They ask of Me the ordinances of justice;

They take delight in approaching God.”

These were religious people; they delighted in approaching God in religious observances, hearing His ordinances read and praying to Him. Verse 3 even indicates they fasted and afflicted their souls. So where is the transgression God is powerfully condemning?  Verses 6 and 7 provide the answer; God asks:

“Is this not the fast that I have chosen:

To loose the bonds of wickedness,

To undo the heavy burdens,

To let the oppressed go free,

And that you break every yoke?

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,

And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;

When you see the naked, that you cover him,

And not hide yourself from your own flesh?”

Religious observances are of no value if a man will not love his neighbor and help the needy (Lk. 10:27-37). Jesus warned of the condemnation coming on the scribes and Pharisees who outwardly appeared so religious but devoured the poor and needy (Mt. 23:1-33; Mk. 12:38-40; Lk. 20:45-47). Indeed, Jesus will judge us regarding our treatment of those in need (Mt. 25:31-46) God identifies with the vulnerable in society. He describes Himself as a helper of the helpless and fatherless (Psa. 10:14; 68:5).  Thus, if we give to the poor, we give to our Maker and please Him (Prov. 14:31; 19:17). Isaiah was crying out against individuals who observed special days of fasting and religious activities, but were exploiting their workers (Isa. 58:3). Later, to the same stripe of people, God asked through Zechariah if their fasting was really for Him, for if their religion was really for pleasing the Lord then it would include showing kindness to the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, and the poor (Zech. 7:4-10). Phony religion is easy to practice and easy to find all around us, but, “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world” (Jas. 1:27).

–Mark Day

Abraham’s herdsmen and Lot’s herdsmen had a conflict over grassland available for the livestock. Abraham said to Lot, “Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren” (Gen. 13:8). Even though Abraham, through his seniority, could have claimed his rights to choose the land he thought best for his flocks, he chose rather to give Lot first choice of where he would go. If Lot went left, he would go right and vice-versa (Gen. 13:9). There are situations in life that call for me to be the bigger person and accommodate my brethren for the sake of peace. While sin and false teaching can never be tolerated (Gal. 2:4-5; 1 Tim. 5:20), there are areas in life where the Lord has given us liberty to differ. This liberty (freedom of choice) must not be asserted in such a way that it becomes a stumbling block to others (1 Cor. 8:9) Rather, liberty gives us the freedom to serve through love (1 Cor. 9:19; Gal. 5:13; 1 Pet. 2:16).

In Romans 14:1-15:7, Paul addressed matters of judgment such as eating of meats and keeping certain days. These were not to be bound on others as requirements of salvation. If a brother in Christ had scruples regarding eating meats, then brethren who recognized there was nothing unclean in eating meats should not despise the brother that had such scruples and insist on eating meat (Rom. 14:10-15). Instead of doubtful disputations over meat (Rom. 14:1), when the kingdom of God is not meat and drink (v. 17), the inspired apostle redirects the brethren by writing, “Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another” (v.19).

The past few months have introduced changes to our usual worship routines. While we follow the New Testament’s instructions to come together to worship in the Lord’s supper (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 11:17-26), singing (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16), praying (1 Cor. 14:15-17), preaching (Acts 20:7), and giving (1 Cor. 16:1-2), there is a tendency for brethren to have strife over where they are sitting in the auditorium, how the elements of the Lord’s supper are packaged and distributed, and whether or not a mask is worn. Sometimes there is strife between congregations on the different procedures each congregation has chosen to implement as the church assembles to worship. Let us remember to pursue peace with our brethren. The kingdom of God is not in these incidental details. Each congregation of the Lord’s church is autonomous. A plurality of elders (also referred to as overseers and shepherds in the NT) serve among each local congregation to look after the members (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5-7; Philippians 1:1; 1 Peter 5:1-4). An elder of one congregation should not tell another congregation how to conduct their affairs in the realm of judgment. There is no Scriptural precedent for such.

Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God” (Matt. 5:9). The Lord’s people are to pursue peace with one another; this includes allowing differences in the realm of judgment. In this way energy may be focused on growing closer to God and bringing the Gospel to the lost so they can obey it and have peace with God. Let us all be peacemakers.

-Mark Day

Who were the people of Tyre and Sidon we read about in the Old Testament? There are a few notable characters who hailed from this region of Palestine. When Solomon began building the Temple, Hiram king of Tyre provided the cedar (2 Chron. 2:1-11). Jezebel was a princess of Sidon, who violently opposed God’s people and persecuted His prophets (1 Kgs. 16:31). Tyre, Sidon, Beirut, and Byblos were the major city-states that made up the Phoenician nation. These city-states were autonomous, meaning they ruled themselves. Though they jointly made up the Phoenician civilization, they were not under a centralized kingdom. In this bulletin article I want to examine where the Phoenicians came from and how the Bible, history, and archaeology work together to give the full account of these people.

Little is recorded about the Phoenicians until Israel is established because the Phoenicians were the remnant of the Canaanites expelled by Joshua. The most likely outcome was the Canaanites who survived the conquest banded together at strongholds just outside Israelite control. The tribe of Asher was given much of the coastal land as inheritance, but the city of Tyre was a boundary for their territory (Josh. 19:29). Simply put, the Phoenicians are the nation that arose after the Canaanite tribes were removed. When Israel conquered Canaan, they notoriously forsook God and went after the false gods of the land. They served the Baals and Ashtoreths, which were the deities of the Canaanites (Judg. 2:10-23). Fast-forward to the Phoenician Jezebel who hailed from the city-state of Sidon. Which deities did her people worship? Jezebel financed and fed the prophets of Baal and Ashtoreths (1 Kgs. 18:19). Her own father’s name is Ethbaal (1 Kgs. 16:31). Do not think of the Phoenicians as a new nation in Canaan, but as a continuance of the local people in the promised land. God commanded the Israelites to utterly destroy the Canaanites, Israel did not, and the Phoenicians were a result (Deut. 20:16-18).

The city-states that made up Phoenicia were by no means strong militarily. In fact, Tyre’s tactic when war came to their land was to retreat from the coastal city to an island off the coast that was easier to defend. This tactic was successful in resisting the Babylonians (Ezek. 29:17-20), not so successful against Alexander the Great (Ezek. 26:12). War was not the tool utilized by the Phoenicians in expanding their borders. What set the Phoenicians apart from every other nation in antiquity was their unparalleled sea trade and travel. The Bible describes the Phoenicians as the seafaring traders of the ancient world (Is. 23:1-12; Ezek. 27). Their location in Palestine not only placed them on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, but provided them with the best lumber for ship building. While studying, you may have run across the cedars of Lebanon. These cedars were highly valued by all nations around the Mediterranean. The nations who had an abundance of these cedars were wealthy (1 Kgs. 10:27). The Phoenicians put this highly sought-after lumber to use by creating ships that could sail the open sea. Other seafaring civilizations, such as the ancient Greeks were not able to sail in open water. They would instead sail the coastline or hop from island to island. The Phoenicians were not restrained to the coastline, but could sail wherever they desired. This gave them the ability to trade with and colonize places as far as Sicily, Sardinia, Spain, and southern France.

Next month, my bulletin article will continue to examine the Phoenicians and their importance to the ancient world.

-Brandon Foresha

In the New Testament, Jesus uses many descriptions of Himself which point to who He is. Of the many that Jesus used, what follows is merely a small sample of those He used of Himself.

SON OF GOD. Of all the terms Jesus used to refer to Himself, no other more clearly expresses His deity than the Son of God. In Revelation 2:18 we read, “And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write, These things saith the Son of God”. The phrase “son of” in the Bible sometimes carries the idea of the “nature” of someone. Jesus using the description Son of God regarding Himself is making a claim of deity. Jesus is not a Son, but the Son of God, that is, the Son of God in a sense that no one else is. The Jewish leaders in John 5:17-18 understood Jesus’ claim that He is the Son of God and therefore equal with God. Before Jesus was born, the angel told Mary “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest’ and “that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God” Luke 1:32, 35.

SON OF MAN. This description Jesus used more than any other of Himself. If when Jesus used the term Son of God it indicated Jesus’ deity, then when Jesus used the term Son of man he would be indicating His humanity. This would be referring to His incarnation in which He added to His divine nature, human nature. See Philippians 2:6-8. As the Son of Man, Jesus became hungry (Matthew 4:2), weary (John 4:6), thirsty (John 19:28), He sorrowed (Matthew 26:38), He wept (John 11:35), He had a troubled soul (John 12:27), He was moved with compassion (Matthew 9:36), He loved (John 11:3),and He could die (Matthew 27:50).

THE CHRIST. During the conversation with the Woman of Samaria in John chapter 4, the woman said “I know that Messiah cometh (he that is called Christ): when he is come, he will declare unto us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.” Messiah is the Hebrew work for the Greek word Christ. Messiah/Christ means “Anointed One”. Jesus of Nazareth was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies pertaining to the coming “Messiah”. In the Old Testament, anointing with oil was used ceremonially to set apart special roles, especially that of prophets (1 Kings 19:16), priests, (Exodus 28:41), and Kings, (1 Samuel 9:16). Only Jesus was all three in one person as Prophet (Acts 3:22), Priest (Hebrews 3:1) and King (Acts 2:30-36). As Prophet, Christ is the spokesman for God, John 1:18, as priest, he offered his blood for mankind, Hebrews 9:12, as King, he reigns at the right hand of God, 1 Peter 3:22.

THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. Jesus makes this statement in John 14:6. Jesus is the way to the Father. This is a truly encouraging statement; for man’s greatest goal is to one day be in heaven with the Father and all the redeemed forever and ever. He is “the” way meaning there is not a multiplicity of ways that a person can choose and go to the Father. No one comes to the Father except through Christ. That is an absolute statement. There is no other way. He is the Truth. Truth is a large word, embracing the mind, nature, and promises of God. Christ, the Truth, expresses fully and completely the divine knowledge of God directing us to “the way”. Christ, the truth, is the revelation of divine light leaving us in the fellowship of God in “the way” 1 John 1:6-7. Jesus called himself the Life. The ultimate of life is eternal life in Christ Jesus, the Son of God, 1 John 5:11-12. Jesus is the source of eternal life, Jesus has said ““I am the resurrection and the life” John 11:25. As brother Wendell Winkler said in the January 1987 issue of The Spiritual Sword, “Since Jesus is “the way,” without him we are lost; since Jesus is “the truth,” without him we are in error; and since Jesus is “the life,” without him we are (spiritually) dead.”

-Jerry D. Sturgill