-------------------------<BrethrenVoice>------------------------- [which seeks to be guided solely by the NT Biblical pattern, facilitates free flow of Christian info. To God be the glory!] [eMail Moderator: brethrenvoice-owner@...] [<GLEANINGS-FOR-THE-DAY> archives/read online: http://associate.com/groups/brethrenvoice/ezmlm.cgi] <GLEANINGS-FOR-THE-DAY> <12 & 13 December 2002> Contents: ---------- 1) <Devotional> "Praise God from whom all morals flow" - Ravi Zacharias 2) <Bible-Study> "Ghehazi's greed and Naaman's return" (Pt-32)-C.E Wigg 3) <Prophecy> "The Redeemer's Return" (Pt-103)- A.W.Pink 4) <Q&A> "Rahab and the Hebrew midwives" - Answers by C.E Wigg 1) <DEVOTIONAL> <SLICE-OF-INFINITY> "PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL MORALS FLOW" Ravi Zacharias Every now and then, especially when new crime statistics are released or when electioneering rhetoric heats up or some horrible story of a mangle life hits the press, speeches pour forth urging us to teach our children moral principles again. Few indicators of the paucity of our moral resources are more mind-staggering than a bestseller in the 1990s that was nothing more than a compilation of old stories of moral rectitude. The book sold on a massive scale, beyond the publisher's greatest expectations, with purchasers lining up at the cash register like starving peasants queuing up for bread in a famine-stricken country. Sadly enough, in a time when nary a school budget does not have funds allocated for what is called "character education," bloody campus tragedies seem more abundant than ever before in our nation's history. Why is this? To put it simply, we have moved away from our objective point of reference. We speak of morals, while at the same time eschewing the Moral Lawgiver from whom all morals flow. To put it metaphorically, we have rushed to cut the flowers from off the bush, only to be disappointed when the flowers die for lack of sustaining roots. We savor tales of morality, yet neglect God's Word. God has given to us a record of his thoughts, his laws, his dealings with humanity. This is the basis which provides structure and a ground for moral judgments. If we do not believe that God has spoken, then all moral points of reference, individually and corporately, become vacuous, and all that remains are pretty stories, at best, and the din of competing wills to power, at worst. We expect our children to act in ways that exhibit self-sacrifice, delayed gratification, honesty and the like, yet without the sufficient impetus or rationale to do so. Let me wrap up these thoughts. Feminist writer Ellen Goodman observed that yesterday's political shouting match over family values has become today's choir, as those from Left, Right, and Center are all singing in harmony the lyrics of morality and character. In May 2000, The Los Angeles Times ran an article on the booming business of ethical and moral consultation. In a time when we are drawn to talk of values, let us reconsider the One from whose nature all goodness proceeds, and remember that just as flowers cut from their branches cannot flourish and grow, severed morals cannot nourish a life. And that, dear friend, is the moral of the story. ---- Copyright (p)(c) 2001 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. A Slice of Infinity is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries _______________________________________________________________________ 2) <BIBLE-STUDY> " GEHAZI’S GREED" (PART-32) Charles E. Wigg .... As Gehazi stood by, and listened to these things, and as he witnessed his master’s refusal to accept the offered gift, covetousness and greed filled his heart. So he decided to do what Elisha refused to do, and slipped away in pursuit of the group. The General got down from the chariot, and enquired as to what was wrong. Perhaps he was afraid of losing the blessing that he had received? But Gehazi calmed his fears, and told a lying tale so that he might get the money and clothes that Elisha had refused. Doubtless greatly relieved, Naaman pressed the greedy Gehazi to take twice as much as he requested, and he was quite willing to do so. Once the ill gotten gain was safely stored in his house, the covetous man came once more and stood before Elisha. When questioned by Elisha as to where he had been, he lied, and said that he had been nowhere. But he was to receive a sentence of judgment from the lips of the prophet. The leprosy of Naaman would cling to him and his seed forever. This should be a warning to all those who pose as God’s servants today, who play on the ignorance of carnal Christians, so as to get riches for themselves. However it seems that God must have shown mercy even to Gehazi, because we see him talking to the king of Israel in a later chapter. It seems that God must have granted him repentance also, that he must have been cleansed, or else he could not have been in the presence of the king. NAAMAN’S RETURN: What a joyful home-coming it must have been for Naaman and his house. Just think of the joy that must have filled his soul, as he showed those in his house the wonder of what God had done for him. How the little maid must have rejoiced also to think that she had been the one that God had used to bring the good news of hope and blessing to her master. I expect that thereafter she would be given an honoured place in that great home. But what about the king, how did he feel? No doubt he was glad that his general had been healed, but it seems that he did not like the change that had taken place in his character. Naaman could no longer be happy to lead the armies of Syria on expeditions of cruelty, especially against the land of Israel, the place where he had received such blessing. The details of the following chapters in 2Kings, show that Naaman must have been removed from his place as Commander in Chief of the Syrian army. In chapter eight, when Elisha went to Damascus, Naaman was no longer in charge of the armies of Syria, but Hazael was. Perhaps Elisha had heard of what had happened to Naaman and had gone there to visit him, and to comfort him? As he had been removed from his post as Commander in Chief, then he would no longer have to attend the temple of Rimmon, And would not need to bow down in that temple to those idols? So his request about this matter was not needed. What a testimony to God’s faithfulness! [To be concluded] --- [Reproduced by permission] _____________________________________________________________________ 3) <PROPHECY> "THE REDEEMER'S RETURN" (PART-103) THE RETURN OF CHIRST TO THE EARTH ITSELF PART 6/6 Arthur W. Pink .... He comes followed by "Armies" "And the armies which were in Heaven followed Him upon white horses clothed in fine linen, white and clean" (Rev. 19:14). The "armies" that follow the Divine Warrior will be made up by both the Old Testament and New Testament saints. Those armies are not "angels" as some teach, though these "armies" will certainly be accompanied by angels as we learn from 2 Thess. 1:7. That the "armies" are not angels appears from Jude 14, where those who accompany the Captain of their salvation are denominated "saints" a term which is never applied to angels; and also from Rev. 17:14, where those that are "with Him" are styled "called and chosen and faithful"--language which is applicable to none save the children of God. The saints who are one with Christ, then made "like Him," will fully share His feelings and participate in His victory, though He alone will do the fighting. He comes to overthrow the Anti-christ and his legions. The issue of this battle, the Battle of that great day of God Almighty (popularly but unscripturally called "Armageddon") is never in doubt. Its issue if fore-announced. A call is given to the fowls of the air to devour the carcasses of the slain before the battle begins--"And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of Kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great" (Rev. 19:17, 18). It is to this same terrible event the prophet Ezekiel bore witness, "Thus saith the Lord God; Speak unto the feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to My slaughter that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh and drink blood. Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan. And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of My sacrifice, which I have sacrificed for you. Thus ye shall be filled at My table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord God. And I will set My glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see My judgment that I have executed, and My hand that I have laid upon them. So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day and forward" (Ezek. 39:17-22). But to continue, and complete our review of Rev. 19."And I saw the Beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him that sat on the horse, and against His army. And the Beast was taken, and with him the False Prophet that wrought miracles before him, and with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the Beast, and them that worshipped his image. Those both were cast alive into the Lake of Fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of Him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of His mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh" (Rev. 19:19-21). Comment is needless. The Anti-christ and the False Prophet are both cast into the Lake of Fire where, a thousand years later, Satan shall join them. 1 The awful but richly deserved fate which overtakes the armies of the Anti-christ is dramatically portrayed in Zech. 14--"And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the Lord shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour" (vss. 12, 13). Thus will end the present Age. What a termination! What a climax! What consummation of wickedness! This is the goal--now so near at hand--toward which all our boasted enlightenment, progress, and civilization is headed. The end will witness all Christendom (minus the Body of Christ, previously raptured) in organized and open revolt and rebellion against Almighty God, to be utterly destroyed at the Redeemer's Return. During the Millennium Satan is secured in the Bottomless Pit. [To be concluded] _____________________________________________________________________ 4) <QUESTION & ANSWER> "RAHAB AND THE HEBREW MIDWIVES" [Question: In Judges 2, we find the story of Rahab secretly hiding two spies and then blatantly lying about knowing where they were. How do you account that through a lie her faith was commended? Or was it? (Hebrews 11:31) What about the Hebrew midwives who lied to Pharaoh and were blessed of God? (Exodus 1)] Answers to the question by Br Charles Wigg*: 1) Rahab the Harlot: The case of Rahab is very interesting indeed. The thing that is mentioned about her several times is that she was a harlot. We may question about the righteousness of God in sparing a person of such low moral values. However we need to remember that she was a part of a heathen society, whose laws and whose ethics were quite different to the laws of God and the ethics that He required His people to maintain. In a pagan society because of the darkness of peoples' minds, immoral behavior is often regarded as an act of worship. In India as an example, there are women that go about with a flat basket on their heads, and in that basket will be sitting an idol of the goddess "Yellamma". These women go from village to village. They dance in the village square and sell their bodies to any that desire their services. They never wash their hair, but anoint it with cow dung. I have seen such women, with their hair matted, and crawling with lice. Yet they do all these vile things, as an act of worship, in devotion to the goddess Yellamma. It is possible then that Rahab was a deeply religious woman, and it is evident that she was a seeker, and that she became a believer. She had heard of what God had done for Israel, first and last. She knew that He had given the Land of Canaan to His people Israel. She knew that if she received her due she must perish along with the wicked, but she dared to hope in the mercy of Jehovah. All that hope in the mercy of God, will receive mercy and forgiveness. It is said that she received the messengers and put them forth by another way. James, 2:25, and that she was justified by her works, (not by her words). We are not told that the spies engaged in her trade with her. Suspicious and evil minds presume that she did, but the scriptures do not say so. She had no law to tell her "Thou shalt not bear false witness’, truth was only a matter of convenience to her. It is what she said to the spies, that mattered, it brought confidence to Joshua and the people. It made them to realize that from the moment that they crossed the Red Sea, the inhabitants of the land were a defeated foe. It strengthened their faith, and nerved their courage. Just as in a later day, the man telling his dream to his tent-mate confirmed Gideon as to what would be the result of obeying the word of God. Judges, 7:10-15. By His action God was not endorsing Rahab’s lies, but He did honour her faith. It was her faith that brought her deliverance from judgment. She testified to her faith, by her works, in receiving the spies, Heb. 11:31. It is to be noted that not only was she delivered from judgment, but through her later marriage to Salmon that she came into the genealogy of Christ, Matt. 1:5. (Became personally related to Jesus Christ). 2) The midwives, Shiphra and Puah.: There is no suggestion in scripture that these women lied in what they said to Pharaoh. What they said was probably true in fact. These were noble women, and key personnel. It seems that they were senior midwives, as there is no way that two women could fulfill the needs in this area, of two and a half millions of people. Thus we understand that they were the supervisors of many others. It is the work of the midwife to assist in the birth of babies, and often such women retain an interest in those babies that they help to bring to the birth. When passing a grown person in the street, some have been known to say, "I helped in that person’s birth when they were born". The Devil hates such people, (in the spiritual sense), and if he can instill fear into them, then he knows that he can hinder the increase of the family of God. But these two women feared Jehovah more than they feared the king. God honoured them because of this, as today He will also honour them that seek to help in the new birth of precious souls. In Proverbs 11:30, we are told, that "He that winneth souls is wise". May God grant this wisdom to us all, and to the brother that asked these questions! It is a very precious thing to be able to look at a person, and say to yourself, "By God’s grace, I led that person to Christ". --- [*We are grateful to Br. Charles Wigg for the answers. May God continue to use him for His glory - Ben] ---------------------------<BrethrenVoice>--------------------------- Subscribe, eMail:<brethrenvoice-subscribe@...> Unsubscribe, eMail:<brethrenvoice-unsubscribe@...> FAQs/Faith Statement, eMail: <brethrenvoice-faq@...> <BrethrenVoice> Home: www.brethrenvoice.com <eFellowship> Home: http://groups.msn.com/BrethrenChristiansForum/ "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith." 2 Cor 13:5 "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Jn 8:32 _________________________________________________________________ STOP MORE SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail