June 24 - Evening
"How good and pleasant it is
when God’s people live together in unity!
It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe.
It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore."
- Psalms 133
It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe.
It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore."
- Psalms 133
Power of Unity in God's Plan
Psalm 133 is one of the final processional songs in the collection called the Psalms of Ascent (Psalms 120-134). This short three verse Psalm makes three main points concerning the subject of unity.
- Unity is like the anointing that is sent to empower the accomplishment of God’s purpose.
- Unity in purpose brings the individual parts of the body together to function at a higher level.
- Unity brings life and productivity like the refreshing dew on Mount Hermon revives the landscape
- Aaron’s line is the only priesthood. So, the oil of anointing for the priest must flow through Aaron’s priesthood. Any other priesthood would lead away from the good life and the purpose of God.
- The twelve tribes must find their place and align with the other tribes for there to be vitality in the nation of Israel.
- There was only one place that God had chosen for the center of worship for the people he had chosen. That place was Mount Moriah in Jerusalem called Mount Zion.
Entynchano (Gr) – to meet with or to make a request (Eng) – the Greek word entynchano means “meet”, “reach”, “appear before someone.” Anytime you meet with someone or appear before someone you have an intention or a request, so entynchano can also mean “pray” and “ask.”
In Romans 8:26 the Holy Spirit is said to hyper-entynchano for us before God.
This image is also seen in Hebrews 7:25 and again in Romans 8:27 and 8:34.
Am I striving for unity in the faith around basic truths and spiritual realities?
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Someone to Quote
"To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it."
- G. K. Chesterton
- G. K. Chesterton
Something to Ponder
How We Got the Bible
For the first 350 years of the church (30-397 AD) the church recognized the books of the canon without a Church council. No official list was made. No committees voted for or against. It was simply a matter of which books met the above criteria on a practical basis.
The Church of the second century still had the disciples of the apostles leading them.
During the persecution of Diocletian beginning in 303 AD, the Roman emperor, Diocletian, knew enough about the Christians and their “canon” of Scripture to call for the destruction of all Christian Scripture.
When Constantine became emperor he financed the reproduction 50 copies of the Christian Scriptures in 331 AD for use in Constantinople. It is interesting that the persecutors knew which books to burn and Constantine knew which books to have copied.
In 397 the Council of Carthage agreed on the list we have now consisting of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament Canon. A few lists and collections of the books of the canon gathered during the years before the Council of Carthage have been preserved:
1. The Muratorian Fragment - Written around 170 AD this torn fragment lists the books. The list omits Hebrews, James, 1 Peter and 2 Peter, but no additional books are recorded.
2. Syriac Version of Scriptures – A translation of the Scriptures for the churches in Syria is recorded as being used as early as 170 AD. It does not include 2 Peter, 2 John, 3 John, Jude or Revelation. Again, no additional books were included.
3. Latin Version of Scripture – From around 200 AD Latin translations of the Scriptures included our New Testament without 2 Peter, James and Hebrews. No additional books were included.
For the first 350 years of the church (30-397 AD) the church recognized the books of the canon without a Church council. No official list was made. No committees voted for or against. It was simply a matter of which books met the above criteria on a practical basis.
The Church of the second century still had the disciples of the apostles leading them.
During the persecution of Diocletian beginning in 303 AD, the Roman emperor, Diocletian, knew enough about the Christians and their “canon” of Scripture to call for the destruction of all Christian Scripture.
When Constantine became emperor he financed the reproduction 50 copies of the Christian Scriptures in 331 AD for use in Constantinople. It is interesting that the persecutors knew which books to burn and Constantine knew which books to have copied.
In 397 the Council of Carthage agreed on the list we have now consisting of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament Canon. A few lists and collections of the books of the canon gathered during the years before the Council of Carthage have been preserved:
1. The Muratorian Fragment - Written around 170 AD this torn fragment lists the books. The list omits Hebrews, James, 1 Peter and 2 Peter, but no additional books are recorded.
2. Syriac Version of Scriptures – A translation of the Scriptures for the churches in Syria is recorded as being used as early as 170 AD. It does not include 2 Peter, 2 John, 3 John, Jude or Revelation. Again, no additional books were included.
3. Latin Version of Scripture – From around 200 AD Latin translations of the Scriptures included our New Testament without 2 Peter, James and Hebrews. No additional books were included.
Here’s a Fact
The “House of YHWH” Ostracon was found in Arad, Israel along with more than 100 other ostraca (broken pieces of pottery with writing on them). Before King Hezekiah’s reforms around 710 BC, which included the destruction of high places of worship outside the Jerusalem Temple of YHWH, the city of Arad had its own temple. But, this ostracon is from the days of Josiah (640-609) or one of his sons that ruled Jerusalem until the Babylonian destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in 586 BC. The House of Yahweh Ostracon inscription was written by a professional scribe and reads like this:
To my lord Eliashib
May YHWH inquire after your well-being.
And now, give to Shemaryahu a measure (of flour), and to the Kerosite you will give a measure (of flour).
And concerning the matter about which you commanded me, it is well.
He is staying in the house of YHWH.”
The mention of Kerosite is important because the Keros family is mentioned in
Ezra 2:44 and Nehemiah 7:47. The Keros family were members of the Nethinian (or, Nethinim) who were the Temple slaves and originally included the Gibeonites from Joshua 9 (see Joshua 9:27).
(Details 1, 2)
(Photos 1, 2)
Proverb
"Though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity."
- Proverbs 24:16
- Proverbs 24:16
Coach’s Corner
Farmers raise crops in dirt that is sometimes dust and sometimes mud. The ability to discern future potential in the midst of present conditions is often the reason some people are patient when others lose hope.
Nahum 2
New International Version (NIV)
Nineveh to Fall
2
An attacker advances against you, Nineveh. Guard the fortress, watch the road, brace yourselves, marshal all your strength!
2
The Lord will restore the splendor of Jacob like the splendor of Israel, though destroyers have laid them waste and have ruined their vines.
3
The shields of the soldiers are red; the warriors are clad in scarlet. The metal on the chariots flashes on the day they are made ready; the spears of juniper are brandished.
4
The chariots storm through the streets, rushing back and forth through the squares. They look like flaming torches; they dart about like lightning.
5
Nineveh summons her picked troops, yet they stumble on their way. They dash to the city wall; the protective shield is put in place.
6
The river gates are thrown open and the palace collapses.
7
It is decreed that Nineveh be exiled and carried away. Her female slaves moan like doves and beat on their breasts.
8
Nineveh is like a pool whose water is draining away. “Stop! Stop!” they cry, but no one turns back.
9
Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold! The supply is endless, the wealth from all its treasures!
10
She is pillaged, plundered, stripped! Hearts melt, knees give way, bodies tremble, every face grows pale.
11
Where now is the lions’ den, the place where they fed their young, where the lion and lioness went, and the cubs, with nothing to fear?
12
The lion killed enough for his cubs and strangled the prey for his mate, filling his lairs with the kill and his dens with the prey.
13
“I am against you,” declares the Lord Almighty. “I will burn up your chariots in smoke, and the sword will devour your young lions. I will leave you no prey on the earth. The voices of your messengers will no longer be heard.”
New International Version (NIV)
Nineveh to Fall
2
An attacker advances against you, Nineveh. Guard the fortress, watch the road, brace yourselves, marshal all your strength!
2
The Lord will restore the splendor of Jacob like the splendor of Israel, though destroyers have laid them waste and have ruined their vines.
3
The shields of the soldiers are red; the warriors are clad in scarlet. The metal on the chariots flashes on the day they are made ready; the spears of juniper are brandished.
4
The chariots storm through the streets, rushing back and forth through the squares. They look like flaming torches; they dart about like lightning.
5
Nineveh summons her picked troops, yet they stumble on their way. They dash to the city wall; the protective shield is put in place.
6
The river gates are thrown open and the palace collapses.
7
It is decreed that Nineveh be exiled and carried away. Her female slaves moan like doves and beat on their breasts.
8
Nineveh is like a pool whose water is draining away. “Stop! Stop!” they cry, but no one turns back.
9
Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold! The supply is endless, the wealth from all its treasures!
10
She is pillaged, plundered, stripped! Hearts melt, knees give way, bodies tremble, every face grows pale.
11
Where now is the lions’ den, the place where they fed their young, where the lion and lioness went, and the cubs, with nothing to fear?
12
The lion killed enough for his cubs and strangled the prey for his mate, filling his lairs with the kill and his dens with the prey.
13
“I am against you,” declares the Lord Almighty. “I will burn up your chariots in smoke, and the sword will devour your young lions. I will leave you no prey on the earth. The voices of your messengers will no longer be heard.”
2 Chronicles 12
New International Version (NIV)
Shishak Attacks Jerusalem
12 After Rehoboam’s position as king was established and he had become strong, he and all Israel with him abandoned the law of the Lord. 2 Because they had been unfaithful to the Lord, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam. 3 With twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen and the innumerable troops of Libyans, Sukkites and Cushites that came with him from Egypt, 4 he captured the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem.
5 Then the prophet Shemaiah came to Rehoboam and to the leaders of Judah who had assembled in Jerusalem for fear of Shishak, and he said to them, “This is what the Lord says, ‘You have abandoned me; therefore, I now abandon you to Shishak.’”
6 The leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The Lord is just.”
7 When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, this word of the Lord came to Shemaiah: “Since they have humbled themselves, I will not destroy them but will soon give them deliverance. My wrath will not be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak. 8 They will, however, become subject to him, so that they may learn the difference between serving me and serving the kings of other lands.”
9 When Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem, he carried off the treasures of the temple of the Lord and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including the gold shields Solomon had made. 10 So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned these to the commanders of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace. 11 Whenever the king went to the Lord’s temple, the guards went with him, bearing the shields, and afterward they returned them to the guardroom.
12 Because Rehoboam humbled himself, the Lord’s anger turned from him, and he was not totally destroyed. Indeed, there was some good in Judah.
13 King Rehoboam established himself firmly in Jerusalem and continued as king. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel in which to put his Name. His mother’s name was Naamah; she was an Ammonite. 14 He did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the Lord.
15 As for the events of Rehoboam’s reign, from beginning to end, are they not written in the records of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer that deal with genealogies? There was continual warfare between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. 16 Rehoboam rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. And Abijah his son succeeded him as king.
New International Version (NIV)
Shishak Attacks Jerusalem
12 After Rehoboam’s position as king was established and he had become strong, he and all Israel with him abandoned the law of the Lord. 2 Because they had been unfaithful to the Lord, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam. 3 With twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen and the innumerable troops of Libyans, Sukkites and Cushites that came with him from Egypt, 4 he captured the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem.
5 Then the prophet Shemaiah came to Rehoboam and to the leaders of Judah who had assembled in Jerusalem for fear of Shishak, and he said to them, “This is what the Lord says, ‘You have abandoned me; therefore, I now abandon you to Shishak.’”
6 The leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The Lord is just.”
7 When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, this word of the Lord came to Shemaiah: “Since they have humbled themselves, I will not destroy them but will soon give them deliverance. My wrath will not be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak. 8 They will, however, become subject to him, so that they may learn the difference between serving me and serving the kings of other lands.”
9 When Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem, he carried off the treasures of the temple of the Lord and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including the gold shields Solomon had made. 10 So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned these to the commanders of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace. 11 Whenever the king went to the Lord’s temple, the guards went with him, bearing the shields, and afterward they returned them to the guardroom.
12 Because Rehoboam humbled himself, the Lord’s anger turned from him, and he was not totally destroyed. Indeed, there was some good in Judah.
13 King Rehoboam established himself firmly in Jerusalem and continued as king. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel in which to put his Name. His mother’s name was Naamah; she was an Ammonite. 14 He did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the Lord.
15 As for the events of Rehoboam’s reign, from beginning to end, are they not written in the records of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer that deal with genealogies? There was continual warfare between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. 16 Rehoboam rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. And Abijah his son succeeded him as king.