There is no charge for the concert. A love offering will be taken during the service. Rulers, scholars, and commoners — history shows people from all walks of life have made errors in judgement that cost them something.
In the Shakespearean tragedy Romeo and Juliet, the lovesmitten Romeo plots his own suicide upon hearing the announcement that his Juliet is dead. In his haste, he ingests poison before he receives the message that she is not gone, but merely drugged. Consider another example of fear and misjudgment from the life of King Saul. Instead of waiting for the priest Samuel to offer sacrifices for Israel to be blessed in battle, Saul hastily does the task himself.
But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart. The stories of impetuous mistakes seem endless. And if we mentally review our past, we find our own errors in judgment. How strange that the very action we avoid is the one God asks of us: to wait. Waiting can be one of the most difficult things in life, but the alternative can sometimes be more difficult.
When we recognize this for what it truly is, we see this has been our temptation since the Fall of Humanity. The serpent in the garden convinced Eve that God was keeping the fruit and the blessing of being like God from her. The truth was that she and Adam were already created in the image of God. Unfortunately, our biblical ancestors did not trust and wait, and thousands of years later we struggle in the same way. In the days ahead, I hope that you pause long enough in life to remember the importance of waiting on God.
A favorite hobby of mine, that I share with many others, is working in a garden. Not to mention the blessing of health and tastiness that you get to enjoy and share with others. But, as with any blessing, there is also a necessary sacrifice. Much to my dismay, I have found that gardens do not plant themselves. Neither do they weed, water, or any of the other things necessary for them to thrive.
To enjoy all the blessings that a garden can produce requires a good deal of intentionality, determination, and sweat. I have found this to also be the case within my own life; spiritually, relationally, and in almost every other area.
If I want a strong relationship with God, then it is going to require intentionality and work on my part. I am going to sacrifice some things in order to make time to spend with God and develop my faith. These principles apply to my finances, my health, and every other sphere of life.
We have to prepare ourselves to receive the blessing God wants us to experience. Now, can God bring blessing in spite of neglected efforts? Of course. God is gracious and generous causing the sun to shine on the godly and ungodly Matt. God is good like that and loves to surprise us with His goodness.
But it is foolishly presumptuous to assume God will always send good your way, especially when we are not putting forth the effort to encourage those blessings. So my question to you is: what harvest do you want in your life?
What do you want in your relationship with God? What do you want for your marriage and your children? We all have certain hopes and dreams for these areas of our life, but are we doing the hard work of preparing ourselves to receive these blessings? Are we making plans, breaking up the soil, planting those seeds, and picking the weeds?
You remember the harvest. So, I hope that you will plant those seeds now in this season of your life. That you will sacrifice those good things now, for the best things later. And I hope that God will bless you with a harvest that far surpasses your wildest expectations. One of my favorites is the movie Rudy. Throughout the movie he ignores or overcomes obstacles and criticism from family, friends and fellow teammates.
In the end, his persistence inspires the entire team to allow him to play in an official game, fulfilling his dream.
Perhaps your obstacles are more internal. The question we answer each day is whose voice are we going to listen to? Another great underdog story is that of a young Jewish boy named David. The youngest of eight brothers, he was the handsome runt of the litter who was often overlooked.
We first see David being overlooked by his father, Jesse, when Samuel the priest comes to anoint one of his sons to be the next king of Israel. We next see David overlooked when Israel goes off to war against the Philistines. Jesse sends his seven sons to the battlefront, but keeps David with the flocks at home.
When David is eventually sent to deliver food and supplies to his brothers in camp, he sees the army of Israel cowering as the champion of the Philistines taunts Israel and their God. In this moment David will either rise or fall depending on whose voice he listens to. His brothers try to shame him into silence and King Saul reminds him of his inexperience, but David keeps his focus on God who had helped him overcome the overwhelming obstacles of bears and lions before.
Most of us are familiar with how the story goes. Once the dust settles, young David is left standing with Goliath lying at his feet. The impossible has happened and the underdog is victorious! Both armies are left dumbstruck and God is glorified through the centuries. All of us have been the underdog at some point in our life.
We have all faced obstacles and challenges that seemed too big for us to handle. Thankfully, we have a God that is bigger than our obstacles. Like David, we need to remember how God has caused us to overcome the struggles in the past and is the same today as he was yesterday. Will you cower with those around you, listening to the naysayers, or will you march onto the battlefield listening to the soft whisper of God?
There are times where big changes happen. Sometimes these changes are welcomed, like when a couple gets married or at the birth of a child; and sometimes they are forced upon us, like the death of a loved one or the loss of a job. But whether the change is wanted or not, all change has a way of challenging us as we let go of what is familiar to us and step into the unknown.
It is often during these transitions that we can either grow and thrive or get lost and lose hope. Our nation and our local community have found ourselves in the midst of a seismic change.
With a pandemic-induced lockdown, elevated racial tensions, and the ever increasing political divide in our country; it can often seem like our world is transforming from what it once was. None of us asked for these events and most of us long for things to return to the way they used to be. One of the greatest changes we see in scripture is when God gave birth to a new nation by liberating the Hebrews from the bondage of slavery in Egypt.
While this was something that the Israelites had longed for, the catalyst for the change was anything but smooth and peaceful.
Most of us are familiar with the ten plagues of Egypt and the increased workload that the Hebrews were punished with. While it is true that God was working in profound ways to bring a blessing to his people, it is also clear that the process of receiving that blessing was not altogether pleasant or easy.
In Exodus chapter 13, all the plagues of Egypt have passed and Pharoah has finally agreed to let the Hebrews leave. It would seem as though their liberation is complete and the time of change has passed. However, in verse 17 we read an interesting statement that might surprise us about God and how he works in our lives. The Israelites had been longing to be freed from slavery and enter into the Promised Land that God had sworn to their ancestor Abraham more than years earlier.
Yet instead of leading them by the quickest and straightest route that would have had them there in a week or so; he instead takes them on a zig-zag path through the barren wilderness.
God did this because he knew there would be obstacles along the way that would have kept them from finishing their journey and experiencing his blessing. Some are looking forward to getting married, buying a dream house, or retiring. Others are looking forward to a season of difficulty and hardship to be over with.
What we see in the lives of the Israelites is important for us to remember, least we lose heart and give up. Sometimes God seems to be taking us out of the way in order to get us to where our blessings are. We tend to know what we want and we want it now. Whatever the case may be I can assure you that God does not hold back any good gift from us unless the timing is not quite right.
He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people. This is the wonderful promise of God. As he brings about the blessings he has for us, he may lead us through seasons of life that we would rather avoid.
So, I pray that you will continue to journey on and keep your eyes on the one who loves you and is guiding you home. The donation was made by Isaac Martin I. Thomas is one of several family members who grew up in Pilot Mountain, with some relatives still residing in the area. The couple was married in and in moved to Pilot Mountain. Isaac Martin Gordon co-founded the Bank of Pilot Mountain and continued to work there until his passing, almost 50 years later.
The original First Baptist Church building was burned to the ground in a fire, after which Isaac Martin Gordon, who served as a church trustee, recorded that the only items salvaged were a small table, a Bible and offering plates.
Later that year, land was purchased for the church to be rebuilt at the Main Street location where it now resides. The new church building was constructed in , with Gordon serving as chairman of the building committee. Stained glass windows were dedicated in memory of family members. In , Gordon began a year stint of service as Sunday School Superintendent.
In , a plaque recognizing that service was placed on the back wall of the church sanctuary. Gordon also served for years as a deacon of the church.
As his home was only three doors from the church, Gordon often rang the church bell on Sunday mornings, built fires in the coal furnace and shoveled snow from the walks. He donated the first organ to the church in and, in , he and his daughters donated a new organ. The daughter of a Missionary Baptist minister, she and her husband regularly hosted visiting ministers for meals and overnight stays in their home.
She was presented with a portrait of herself which today hangs in the Sunday School classroom. According to Gordon M. He was baptized at First Baptist Church and went on to be an active member.
He later became a Baptist minister, pastoring other churches in the area. His house was always open to visiting ministers. He was a man with a big heart. Painted by a Salisbury artist, the painting hung above the fireplace in the Isenhour home.
Gordon M. A longtime resident of Arlington, Virginia, he was given the painting by a cousin, Kay Isenhour Kyle, in He recently contacted First Baptist through another cousin, Pilot Mountain resident Carolyn Boyles, who is a member of the church. Thomas said in a letter accompanying the donation. At the presentation, Gordon M. Thomas added a thought. Dalton, who will serve as moderator for the radio broadcast, said that Dr. In addition to the message, Dalton said he would read proclamations recognizing the day of prayer from both Mount Airy and Surry County officials.
Prior to the pandemic, the ministerial association sponsored a National Day of Prayer service on the front lawn of the city municipal building for years, and in had its first such service in front of the county courthouse in Dobson, something Dalton had hoped would be done annually going forward. Both of these people reached out to Jesus in faith, knowing that he could change their situation, when no one else could.
Both of them reached out with a confident expectation that Jesus would help them and they would have the results that they each desired. Jairus was a very high-ranking religious official, no doubt with upper-class social status, and the woman was not even identified by name and was of the lowest social status in that day. In fact, she could have been killed on the spot for merely being out in public in her physical condition.
The culture was at that time if she came out she had to announce herself unclean and avoid touching anyone. These two people represented either end of the social spectrum, and I believe this is on purpose because the Lord wants us to know that His help is equally available to everyone.
It is by our faith, not our social status that we get results. Verse 29 tells us that as soon as she did, her condition changed and that she knew in her body that she was healed of that plague. She got what she requested from the Lord, her healing miracle. She believed, pursued, and received. Jesus was not looking for her, she was looking for him. She did not wait for Jesus to come by her house, she reached out to him.
As believers, this is the action part of our faith that is necessary to receive what we desire from the Lord. Christians, I cannot express this point strongly enough. There are spiritual laws in place for the believer to correct negative things that arise in our lives.
Jesus told many people who came to him seeking help that their faith in Him produced their desires. Psalm tells us to delight ourselves in the Lord and He will give us the desires of our heart; we need to live like we believe the Word and act accordingly. God has provided a system for us to access His power in our lives, but we have to follow it.
Hoping God will help you, but thinking that He might not is a zero faith prayer, and do not expect it to be answered. In fact, it is an open door for the enemy to come in and do the exact opposite of that prayer, and then blame it on God. Jesus said in Mark that we can have what we say, but the problem is we are saying what we have.
Jesus had to keep him from accepting the bad report, and to keep his focus on the healing that he was believing for. It works the same for us today.
We have to stay focused on our faith, knowing God loves us and will help us to get our desired result, as we stay connected with Him. Three people in Mark 5 connected with the Lord by faith, and they all got life-changing glorious results. He wants to provide so much more than just forgiveness of sins and a heavenly home.
Although if that was all He offered, that would be an overflowing glorious plenty, but He is always a very present help in time of need Psalm because He loves us so much. We see this in the second part of Mark chapter 5. We pick up in verse 21 where Jesus returns to the other side and many people are gathered to hear Him teach. Jairus, who was one of the religious leaders, came and begged Jesus to come to his house and lay His hands on his daughter, as she was at the point of death.
Jairus made a faith statement to the Lord when he said she will live if You lay hands on her. She will live; not she might, or we have tried everything else maybe this will work. He said she will live. In verse 24 we see that Jesus went with him.
Our faith does the same thing today. Jesus probably had an agenda when He came back from Gadera. Jairus was looking for Jesus, Jesus was not looking for him. The focus changes in verse 25, and we see a certain woman with an issue of blood for 12 years, who had been to many doctors and spent all that she had. In spite of all the medical care, she was no better, and in fact she was worse. She had to say this to herself because no one would be around her, as she was considered unclean, an outcast, diseased and untouchable.
She was taking a huge risk by just coming out in public, much less approaching Jairus and gasp touching Jesus.
She could very well have been sentenced to death as a result. That day she had a decision to make, either stay in the house and complain about how bad it was, or by faith pursue healing that was available with Jesus.
She chose to take action. Faith takes corresponding action toward the goal. This is what James chapter 2 means in saying faith without works is dead. Faith has to be spoken and declared, as both the woman and Jairus did. Faith must have action, as both came to Jesus, they did not stay at home. For example, if you are believing for a job, you must put in applications.
You cannot sit on the couch and say you are believing for a job without corresponding action. Faith without works is dead. We must take action toward our goals, connected with the Lord. But we must first believe that we receive Mark The most important component of faith is being connected and communicating with the Lord, knowing how much He loves us and believing His great desire to help us. In Mark chapter 5, Jesus encounters three people who are dealing with extremely difficult life circumstances, even to the point of life and death.
The first man that Jesus met, the Bible describes him as having his dwelling in the tombs and no one could subdue him anymore, not even with chains. This man was possessed, or oppressed, or controlled by several unclean spirits. His condition sounds like addiction or a self-harm mental illness of today. The Bible says the man was crying cutting himself with stones as a result of the influence of the unclean spirits. The man did muster up enough of himself to run to Jesus for help, as we see in verse 6.
In verse 7 the spirits took back over and spoke to Jesus. I look forward to talking to this man when I get to heaven.
He was in extreme bondage and probably hopeless, but when he saw Jesus, he got a glimpse of hope and he desperately ran to Him. That last-ditch effort for help that he made paid off. Jesus freed him from the spiritual bondage that was controlling his life. That man was suffering through life miserable and isolated, with no hope for change or a better future.
No one had been able to help him. I imagine the local religious people tried to talk to him, but to no avail. Everyone had given up on him. The man was pitiful. But Jesus came and gave him a new life. In verse 15 we see that he was sitting with Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. What a change.
In verse 18, the healed man wanted to go with Jesus on his journey, but the Lord had bigger plans for him. He told that man to go back to his home and to his friends, those people who had seen him decline to his worst condition, and tell them how the Lord had changed his life. I submit to you that Jesus desires to do the same thing today, which is showing Himself real and doing great things in our lives. That man, even in his worst condition, connected with Jesus on purpose and asked for help.
Jesus promised in John 14 and several other places in Scripture that if we would ask, He would always help us. He said if we would ask, we would receive, seek and find, knock and it would be opened to us. Our situations may not be changing because we are not asking and seeking and knocking. Or when the Lord tells us to do something, we do not do it. Jesus told the healed man to go home and tell people, and in verse 20 we see that he began to publish in Decapolis Ten cities the great things Jesus had done for him.
I believe he had to publish it in written form so he could get the word to everyone in those 10 cities, and I believe he achieved a level of notoriety and respect and a comfortable lifestyle that he enjoyed throughout the remainder of his life. Jesus transformed him from misery and torment, to peace, joy, and prosperity.
I am looking forward to talking to the healed man of Decapolis when I get to heaven. Let us have that same motivation to seek the Lord for our best life. Be blessed friends. At the end of the last column, we reviewed Ephesians I am drawn back to that passage that clearly illustrates the character of God.
Jesus tells us in John that we as believers will have a piece of God that will live in these bodies with us, and that Holy Spirit will connect us to His peace.
Sometimes it feels really hard to not worry or be in fear when difficult situations arise. But when we look inward to connect with our spirit, our core, that sealed place where our personal Spirit of God resides, we can find the peace that passes all understanding Phil. We can to have a strong spirit by being connected with Him. God created us for this connection, and the enemy is constantly trying to distract us away from it. Worry, fear, strife, bitterness, just to name a few, can cause our focus to be taken off of our relationship with Him.
This is why the Bible tells us to guard our heart with all diligence Proverbs , so that we keep our focus on our Father, and access his best blessings in every area of our lives. Verse 17 tells us that with Christ dwelling in our heart focusing on and listening for him , we can be rooted and grounded very secure in His love for us. As a pastor and professional counselor, I see so many people who are insecure, or not sure of who they are as a believer.
God loves us perfectly, and His great love is unconditional, which means it does not depend on our performance. He will not love me more if I can be really good because He already loves me perfectly, and that cannot be improved upon.
We stay close to our Father and enjoy His best blessings! Verse 18 speaks to the enormous level of love that God has for us. Folks, this is where miracles happen, when we believe what the Word says, and operate in it with a confident expectation in the goodness of God and His great desire to help His children. This passage is telling us to be continually mindful of the broad range of blessings that our loving heavenly Father graciously bestows upon His children daily.
We should recognize how much He loves us and the fact that He is always trying to help us. He is constantly flowing helpful communication to the believer, and we should be steadily working to improve our ability to hear and receive His guidance and direction. He only wants the best for us.
God is not trying to hurt us to teach us a lesson or trip us up to see if we will fail. That is what the enemy does. Furthermore, examine the Gospels and we find Jesus always teaching, helping, and healing, never hurting anyone to teach them a lesson.
He never rejected a request for healing under the pretense of God trying to teach them a lesson with sickness or infirmity. In Luke chapter 13, Jesus made it clear that Satan had caused the woman to be bowed over for 18 years, not God teaching her a lesson. The only people who did not receive healing from the Lord were those who did not seek it and those who did not believe that he could or would. Mark chapter 6 tells us that Jesus could not do any mighty works in his hometown because of their unbelief.
Jesus did not suddenly lose his power to heal, the problem was that those people would not believe and receive healing He wanted them to have.
The woman with the issue of blood in Mark chapter 5 confidently stated that if she could just touch His garment, she knew she would be made whole. She did not question His ability or His desire to heal her. It is important that we as believers apply this truth into our lives. God is well able to help us, and He desperately wants to.
Psalm tells us that He heals all of our diseases; 3 John v. Jesus promised us in John that if we would ask He would always help us. Jesus said many times Matthew 7, et al. His healing is for physical, emotional, mental, relational, and whatever else needs repair. His Word is His will for us. It all comes down to how much He loves us. A week from now is Good Friday, the dark day on which Jesus died a brutal, horrific death on the cross at Golgotha, the place of the skull.
We began to hear the story of Jesus when Moses wrote down the history of the universe. And they lived happily ever after for ever and ever and ever and ever. But the world broke. Poor Peter Parker. He never wanted to be Spider-Man. That little radioactive spider descended from above, bit his hand, and caught him up in a web of superpowered internal and external conflict he was not prepared for. All Peter wanted was to be noticed by Mary Jane.
Nothing much has changed for Peter as the second Spider-Man movie begins. Spider-Man keeps Peter from being present with everyone he cares about. Peter is slipping up and falling down all over the place. Af first, Dr. Otto Octavius is everything Peter wants to be — married to the woman he loves, successful, well-respected, and about to change the world.
Then, Dr. Doc Ock is a man taken over by his alter ego. He is made mad by his great power. His normal life is destroyed, and he becomes only his superpowered self. Finally, Peter has had enough. He gives up the suit and steps into a new day. His new post-superhero life seems wonderful at first. Mary Jane is still going to marry someone else. God's Impartial Judgment Romans 2: 7. Who Is A Jew? Romans 8. Take Advantage of Your Advantages Romans 3: 9. The Man in My Mirror Romans 3: Abraham and Circumcision Romans 4: How Paradise Was Lost Romans How Paradise Was Regained Romans Free At Last Romans 6: Free From the Law Romans 7: Whatever Became of Sin Romans 7: The Struggle Romans The Deliverance of the Spirit Life Romans 8: 1- 4 Life in The Spirit Romans Suffering and Glory Romans The Spirit of Intercession Romans God's Great Promise to the Saint Romans The Golden Chain of our Salvation Romans Absolute Security Romans God Is Sovereign And Fair!
Romans 9: Straight Talk About Election Romans Stumbling Stone or Cornerstone Romans God's Simple Plan of Salvation Romans Israel's Final Future Romans God's Altar Call Romans 1 Living A Transformed Life Romans The Christian and Government Romans It's Time to Wake Up! The Danger of a Judgmental Spirit Romans The Beauty of Unity Romans God's Multicultural Church Romans Paul's Ministry in Capsule Romans Paul's Prayer Request Romans Friends Along Paul's Journey Romans , Notes on this book from A E Garvie.
Rosscup: A popular series of radio expositions by a dynamic former pastor of The Church of the Open Door Los Angeles and key figure in the success of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, now developed into Biola University, one of the leading Christian liberal arts institutions in the world.
Many aspects will prime a preacher or Bible study leader. Many, however, will not agree with Talbot that Romans —24 refers to the defeated Christian life, but will hold that even the mature Christian life will experience in some degree daily the down pull of sin and yet the uplift of the Spirit described in chapter 8.
James Rosscup - Dr. Chafer, president of Dallas Theological Seminary until , used to say that Newell knew more about the book of Romans than any other man he knew. Newell has written here a detailed English commentary which is very helpful to laymen and easy to read. James Rosscup - Because of its thoroughness in matters of the Greek text, some have regarded this as the best of the older Greek works on Romans.
It is good, but not as lucid and normally workable as commentaries by Bruce, Cranfield, Gifford, Murray, and Schreiner. These other works do not go into the minutia as Sanday and Headlam, but get to the point much better.
However, the ICC work should be obtained by the serious student who can use his Greek. Sam Storms :. For many years the standard work on the Greek text, it has been replaced in the ICC series by Cranfield. Still worthy of study.
This work was published as a book in but is available at no charge on the web. Remember that Scripture is always the best commentary on Scripture.
Therefore the inclusion of specific links does not indicate that we agree with every comment. We have made a sincere effort to select only the most conservative, " bibliocentric " commentaries. Should you discover some commentary or sermon you feel may not be orthodox, please email your concern. I have removed several links in response to concerns by discerning readers. I recommend that your priority be a steady intake of solid Biblical food so that with practice you will have your spiritual senses trained to discern good from evil Heb note.
Acts 1 Corinthians. Under Law Romans Frustration Review of What Have You Learned? Romans Death in Adam or Life in Christ? Romans Kill Your Sin! Romans Chosen or Hardened? Romans But We Are Different.
Romans Who Is a Real Jew? Romans The Light of the Law. Romans The New Race. Romans The Bankruptcy of Man's Best. Romans The Law of Life. Romans History's Painful Waiting. Romans Unshakeable Foundations. Romans Justice and Mercy. Romans The Way of Salvation. Romans The Christian Ethic.
Romans The Christian and the State. Romans The Heart of an Apostle. The tragedy was not so much in what happened, but in what was lost, in what could have been, compared to what was. King David lost his exaltation because of his foolish attempt to cover his sin of adultery through murder. Saul, called by the Lord to be the first king of Israel, soon forgot who was the true king and ended his life in a frantic search for tranquility.
Samson had unusual powers given him, and yet he wasted them in frivolous and self-centered actions. In this chapter you will study another Old Testament tragedy, but in this case it was a national tragedy. The Israelites had been led out of the power of the greatest empire in the world at that time. They had been personal witnesses to plagues that afflicted the Egyptians but left Israel untouched.
They had with their own hands smeared blood on the doorways of their homes and then heard the cries of the Egyptians as their firstborn fell. They had walked between towering walls of water that divided at the command of Moses, then watched as those walls collapsed on the armies of the pharaoh.
They ate bread that miraculously appeared each morning, drank water gushing from a rock, felt Sinai quake, and saw it glow with fire. What people in all of history had greater witness that God was with them and would use His unsurpassable power in their behalf? They had so much and were promised so much more. Then came the choice. In one foolish, blind, faithless choice this generation of Israel lost it all.
Read now the tragedy of Israel. It should make every righteous soul of every age weep for these foolish people. Look into your own heart and see if the tragedy of Israel could not be repeated in your own life. At this point in history, Israel was just a few months out of Egypt, and they had been given the law of God. The Lord indicated that it was then time to go in and possess the promised land.
He commanded that a reconnaissance group be sent into Canaan to reconnoiter the land. The evidence of the richness of the land was irrefutable, and the spies even brought back a cluster of grapes carried on a staff between two men to demonstrate the beauty and richness of the produce see Numbers Yet the spies, except for Joshua and Caleb, reported that, despite the richness of the land, there was no hope for driving out the inhabitants. Such an exaggerated report of itself was bad enough and demonstrated the lack of faith of the ten men who gave it.
But the national tragedy began when Israel hearkened to their report. Nor did the murmuring stop there. A movement was started to reject Moses and choose a leader that would take them back to Egypt see Numbers and Nehemiah , which suggest that they actually chose the leaders who would take them back.
When Joshua and Caleb tried to counteract the effect of the negative report, the congregation sought to have them stoned see Numbers Little wonder that the anger of the Lord was kindled. In a great intercessory prayer, Moses pleaded for mercy for his people see Numbers — He did not excuse the behavior of his people, but only emphasized the long-suffering mercy of the Lord. Israel was spared destruction but lost the privilege of immediately entering the promised land.
For the next thirty-eight years they were to wander in the harsh wilderness of Sinai. But they would not, and so all above the age of twenty who had repudiated the power of the Lord, except Joshua and Caleb, were to die in the wilderness.
And yet, their mourning was not that of true repentance, as the events which immediately follow show. But Moses indicated that it was too late. The Lord had retracted the commandment to go up and possess the land, and, therefore, if they went up then, they would go without His power. Then came the second stage of the tragedy.
The Israelites had just lost the right to enter the promised land because they had refused to follow the Lord. Recorded here is the actual application of the various sacrificial offerings prescribed in Leviticus 1 through 7. That is, they were to be excommunicated from the camp of Israel see v. In some cases the sin also required the death penalty.
It was not a sin committed in ignorance or weakness, but a deliberate refusal to obey the word of the Lord. This law thus teaches, on an individual basis, the same lesson taught Israel collectively; that is, when persons or nation despise the word of the Lord and willfully sin, they will be cut off from God and not be counted part of His covenant people.
They will suffer spiritual death. To stone a man for violation of the Sabbath seems a harsh punishment. But in its historical context, two things are significant. Moses had just given the law for willful rebellion against God. Did this man know the law of the Sabbath? Moses had clearly taught earlier that one who violated the Sabbath was to be put to death see Exodus —15 ; But think for a moment of what had just happened to Israel.
They, as a nation, had despised the word of the Lord, first, by refusing to go up against the Canaanites when the Lord had told them to, and second, by going up against them after the Lord had told them not to. Thus Israel had been denied entry into the promised land.
Now, an individual despised the word of the Lord and refused to enter the rest required on the Sabbath.
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