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Reply-To: Christian explanation of the Scriptures to Israel
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From: Teus Benschop
Subject: The Scriptures opened, 40
To: Multiple recipients of list CHR-EXP
Contents
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1. Numbers 29:40 - Moses, the faithful servant
2. Psalm 35, - Prayer for God's help, part 3
3. Romans 1:1-4 - Paul preaches Christ's gospel
1. Numbers 29:40 - Moses, the faithful servant
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Weekly reading: Numbers 25:10 - 30:1
And Moses told the children of Israel according to all that the LORD
commanded Moses. (Numbers 29:40)
Moses. He was the faithful servant of the LORD. He led the people out
of Egypt, gave them the law, and brought them unto the borders of the
promised land. In all these things, he did nothing unasked. All
things, which he did, he did them according to the words of the LORD.
As our text states: "And Moses told the children of Israel according
to all that the LORD commanded Moses".
Moses did not tell the children of Israel own inventions, but he
delivered them the words of the LORD. All what the Lord had commanded
him, that he had to do, so he did. As is elsewhere written: "Thus did
Moses: according to all that the LORD commanded him, so did he."
(Exodus 40:16)
What, for example, has Moses taught the people? He taught them
all the words of the Lord, and he urged them to keep these. He said:
"Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgements, even as the LORD
my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to
possess it." (Deuteronomy 4:5) He didn't give only the truth, but he
also insisted on the observance thereof. Only giving the truth is
well, but not enough.
A faithful minister, therefore, will teach the congregation not
things of his own heart, but the pure Word. He will not teach the
inventions of the scholars of this age, who deviate from the just
Word, but he will teach them the Word, as the Lord has said him. Many
people who claim to explain the Word, use but blandishments. They
pervert the Word according to the will of their hearers. Moses did
that not, neither does any true servant so. Many servants are there in
our times, who tell you the truth. Yes, they give you the truth, and
think that they are therefore good servants. Now, as we have seen by
Moses, telling the mere truth isn't enough. They have also to press
for obedience. The Word of the Lord must become reality in our lives,
and the ministers must point out how that goes. The truth must be
experienced in the heart. For the servants, to explain how it is
experienced, it is necessary that they have experienced it themselves.
If not, how can they tell you the power of the Word? How can a servant
tell you about prayer, when he cannot pray with the heart? How can he
tell you about the power of the law, when he has never heard it
thundering from Sinai, or when he never has had some like experience?
The Old Testament says us that the true servants of the Lord
teach according to God's words. The New Testament commands the same,
as appears from Jesus' words, when He charged His disciples. He said:
"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to
observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with
you alway, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen." (Matthew 28:19,20)
After He said that the ministers must baptise the nations in the name
of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, He said: "Teach them
to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you". And Paul, a
very faithful servant, said: "I have not shunned to declare unto you
all the counsel of God." (Acts 20:27) Paul didn't dream up his letters
and his sermons, but He declared unto us all the counsel of God. He
declared not more then God's counsel, but also not less.
Let we then learn from Moses to listen only to such servants, who
bring all the counsel of God, suppress nothing, nor invent anything.
Listen to such servants, who are true, sent by God, and of whom it can
be said: He told the congregation according to all that the LORD
commanded him.
2. Psalm 35, Prayer for God's help, part 3
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(... continuing last week's issue ...)
19 Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me:
[neither] let them wink with the eye
that hate me without a cause.
20 For they speak not peace:
but they devise deceitful matters
against [them that are] quiet in the land.
They rejoice over David, when he will stumble and fall down. That is
why they had hid a net for him in a pit. They wink with their eyes at
him, giving him a nasty smile, and thinking that his time will come
soon. "They hate me without a cause", says the prophet. That has
always been so. Always the wicked hate the pious without a cause. The
children of God, and the children of Satan never make their peace.
Always and ever, the wicked seek the destruction of the pious.
They speak not peace, but disturbance. They devise deceitful
matters, for so is their nature. They cannot get the best by being
true, so they try it by being false. They devise deceitful matters
against the quiet in the land. They who are quiet in the land, that
are the peaceful people. But the wicked, as if there must always be
disturbance, device lies against the peaceful. Whatever happens, they
must use deceit.
21 Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me,
[and] said, Aha, aha,
our eye hath seen [it].
22 [This] thou hast seen, O LORD: keep not silence:
O Lord, be not far from me.
The ungodly, like raging wild beasts, opened their mouth wide against
David. They wished to devour him, when they could. "They gaped upon me
[with] their mouths, [as] a ravening and a roaring lion." (Psalms
22:13) In later times, when Jesus had said the truth about the
Pharisees, they were "laying wait for him, and seeking to catch
something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him." (Luke 11:54)
Times don't change. Whenever you try to live according to God's will,
they will rage against you.
They said "Aha, aha, our eye has seen it". Now we have seen our
wish, namely your destruction. But, fortunately, not only their eye
has seen it, but also the LORD has seen it. "Thou hast seen, O LORD",
keep not silence. This is a great consolation for us, that the Lord
always sees us. When they storm against us, the Lord sees it. When
they nearly overcome us, the Lord is near to help us. When they open
their mouth to devour us, the Lord will devour them in His wrath.
23 Stir up thyself, and awake to my judgement,
[even] unto my cause, my God and my Lord.
24 Judge me, O LORD my God, according to thy righteousness;
and let them not rejoice over me.
David prays for God's help. "Stir up thyself", o Lord. "Awake to my
judgement". He says "awake, o God", for when God not helps at the
beginning of any distress, it seems to us as if He is asleep.
Therefore, "awake to my judgement", unto my cause. And he continues,
and asks for God's judgement over him. David is accused without cause
by his enemies. He has done nothing wrong, and his conscience is good.
That is why he dares to ask for God's righteousness. He knows that he,
because he has done nothing wrong, will be acquitted. When he is
summoned before God's judgement-seat, together with his enemies, he is
sure that he will be acquitted. We see what a great help a good
conscience is. It makes us dare to ask for God's righteous judgement.
When our conscience is bad, when we have done evil, we fear God's
judgements, because we know, and our conscience assures it us, that we
will be condemned. But now, having done nothing evil, we call upon His
Name, to help us.
25 Let them not say in their hearts,
Ah, so would we have it:
let them not say,
We have swallowed him up.
The Hebrew has "Let them not say in their hearts, Ah, our soul". But
because the words "our soul" would be unclear to the readers, it is
translated with "Ah, so would we have it".
David, then, prays to God, that He might help in good time, lest
his enemies rejoice over him. They would then say: "We have swallowed
him up". This are words of murdering enemies, who devour whoever they
meet.
26 Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion together that
rejoice at mine hurt:
let them be clothed with shame and dishonour that magnify
[themselves] against me.
They rejoiced at David's hurt, but now, let them fall in their own
pit. Let them be ashamed, when they see that all their guiles succeed
not. Let them brought to confusion together, namely when they are
caught by their own nets. Let their rejoice at mine hurt be for a very
short time. Let their rejoice be as short, as the crackling of
burnings thorns under a pot; which is for a short time. Let them be
clothed with shame and dishonour. Being clothed therewith indicates
that they are wholly covered with shame. They are but shame, and
nothing more. Let now the boasters brought to dishonour.
27 Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous
cause: yea, let them say continually,
Let the LORD be magnified,
which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.
Here again we see a very great difference between the ungodly and the
pious. The ungodly, as appeared from the previous verses, rejoiced in
David's ruin, but the pious shout for joy, when they hear about
David's deliverance. "Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour
my righteous cause". A difference as between night and day. Let the
ungodly vanish; we now engage in matters concerning the pious. They
continually say: "Let the LORD be magnified, Which has pleasure in the
prosperity of His servant". The righteous are glad. They rejoice
before God: yea, they exceedingly rejoice. Sing then, O daughter of
Zion; Shout, o Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O
daughter of Jerusalem! For the LORD has judged the righteous cause of
David. The Lord chased off David's enemies, and has set His servant in
freedom.
28 And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness
[and] of thy praise all the day long.
After the deliverance, David's tongue shall speak of God's
righteousness, and praise Him all the day long. When God rescued
David, his heart became so filled with love toward God, that he now
praises Him all day long. During the entire day, he will speak of that
good God, Who is so righteous.
This is a lively picture of what happens, if God forgives one's
sins, and frees him of the burden on his back. Who is thus freed, will
always speak of God's righteousness. His mouth shall speak the praise
of the LORD. He says: "let all flesh bless His holy name for ever and
ever." (Psalms 145:21)
3. Romans 1:1-4 - Paul preaches Christ's gospel
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Romans 1.
1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ,
called [to be] an apostle,
separated unto the gospel of God,
This is the beginning of Paul's letter to the Romans. The apostle
begins to declare who he is, and Who has sent him. "Paul, a servant of
Jesus Christ". To give due weight to his teachings, the apostle says
that he does not come in own power, but that he is sent by his Master,
Jesus Christ. He called Paul to be His servant. Nay, more, to be even
an apostle; that is, one who is sent out, namely to preach the gospel
to all nations. He is "separated unto the gospel of God", namely from
his very birth. He says, in his letter to the Galatians, that it is
"God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called [me] by his
grace," (Galatians 1:15) We see, that God foreordains His ministers
and apostles, to preach the gospel. Nothing happens without God's
decree and foreknowledge. When the appointed time was there, God sent
to the heathens that apostle, whom he had prepared from his mother's
womb.
2 Which he had promised afore
by his prophets in the holy scriptures,
The full sentence is, including a part of verse one: "Paul is
separated unto the gospel of God; that gospel which He had promised
afore by His prophets in the Holy Scriptures." The Old Testament is
indeed very full of promises of the coming gospel, namely promises of
the Messiah. A few follow here:
- And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy
seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise
his heel. (Genesis 3:15) That is, God will put enmity between the
serpent and the woman, and between the serpent's seed, that are the
wicked, and between the woman's seed, that is Christ and all His
believers.
- And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
because thou hast obeyed my voice. (Genesis 22:18) In Abraham's
seed, that is, in Jesus Christ, shall all nations be blessed.
- And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and
will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall
all the nations of the earth be blessed; (Genesis 26:4) The
Israelites will be as the stars of heaven in multitude, and in
Abraham's seed, that is in Christ, will the nations be blessed.
- The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between
his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him [shall] the gathering of
the people [be]. (Genesis 49:10) The kingdom will remain in Judah's
tribe until the Messiah, that is Shiloh, come. The people will
gather unto Him.
- The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of
thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;
(Deuteronomy 18:15) The LORD will raise up a Prophet, that is, He
will raise up the Messiah, Who will be from the midst of the
Israelites. We know that Jesus was a Jew, and was born in the midst
of His brethren, as is foresaid here.
- And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy
fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out
of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. (2 Samuel 7:12) God
will set up David's seed, that is David's Son, that is the Messiah.
His kingdom will be established.
- The LORD hath sworn [in] truth unto David; he will not turn from it;
Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne. (Psalms 132:11)
The LORD has sworn unto David, that the Messiah will sit upon his
throne; that is, Jesus Christ sits upon David's throne now.
- In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious,
and the fruit of the earth [shall be] excellent and comely for them
that are escaped of Israel. (Isaiah 4:2) That branch of the LORD,
that is Christ.
- Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin
shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
(Isaiah 7:14) The virgin Mary conceived, and bare Jesus, and His
name was Immanuel, that is, God with us. Rightly so, for Jesus was
God, and He was with us.
- For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the
government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called
Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The
Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6) Jesus is a child born unto us, as is
known from the gospels. He is Wonderful; look to His wonderful
deeds. He is Counsellor, for He gives counsel in distress and
difficulties. He is the mighty God. He is the everlasting Father,
namely the Author of eternity, and by Whom the Church and every
member of it will be preserved forever, and have immortal life.
Jesus is also the Prince of Peace, for he gave us peace with God
through His blood.
- Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong [hand], and his arm shall
rule for him: behold, his reward [is] with him, and his work before
him. (Isaiah 40:10) Jesus has come, as is foresaid here, and He has
beaten all enemies, including satan, hell and death.
- Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David
a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall
execute judgement and justice in the earth. (Jeremiah 23:5) Christ
is that righteous Branch. He is King, reigns and prospers. He govern
His Church; and all true members of that Church experience His
mighty hand. He does justice in the earth.
- In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of
righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgement
and righteousness in the land. (Jeremiah 33:15) In those days, that
is, in the times Jesus was born, God caused the Branch of
righteousness to grow up unto David.
- And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them,
[even] my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their
shepherd. (Ezekiel 34:23) This servant David, that is the Shepherd
over the Church.
- And David my servant [shall be] king over them; and they all shall
have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgements, and
observe my statutes, and do them. (Ezekiel 37:24) In the times of
the Messiah, that is now, Jesus rules His people and is King over
them. They form one flock, under one Shepherd.
- Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city,
to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make
reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting
righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint
the most Holy. (Daniel 9:24) Daniel has precisely foretold when the
Messiah would come, namely seventy weeks after he prophesied this.
Now, these weeks are not weeks of seven days, but are weeks of seven
years. Seventy times seven years after this prophecy, the Messiah
came, namely Jesus Christ.
We now return to Paul's letter to the Romans.
3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord,
which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;
When the previous verses are repeated, the text goes thus: Paul is
God's servant, a minister of the gospel of God. It is that gospel,
which He had promised afore, by His prophets, in the Holy Scriptures
of the Old Testament. Paul is a minister of that gospel, namely that
concerning God's Son Jesus Christ, Who is our Lord. Jesus Christ was
made of the seed of David according to the flesh.
We know that Jesus was born of Mary, the virgin, who was a
daughter of David. Now, since Jesus' Father was God in heaven, He
could not be a Son of David through His Father. Yet, Christ was a Man,
consisting of body and soul. Whence, then, did He have His body, His
flesh? He took it out the virgin Mary, one of David's descendants. In
this way, Christ was a Son of David, according to the flesh.
4 And declared [to be] the Son of God with power,
according to the spirit of holiness,
by the resurrection from the dead:
Christ declared to be the Son of God. How appeared it that He was
God's Son? Because He stood up from the dead. Now, to be a conqueror
of death, that shows that He is God Himself. When He would be only
Man, he could not have overcome death. But now, He is the Son of God,
and had the spirit of holiness, that is, He had the Holy Spirit.
Since God sent Paul to us, let we then listen. Let we no longer harden
our hearts, but obey God. Let we listen to God, Who speaks by His true
servants, like Paul was. Listen not to the false servants, who are not
called, who but preach for money. The false ministers flatter their
audience, but let we forsake them. The true ministers, as Paul, can
tell you of their calling. They knew when God called them to serve Him
in the ministry of the Word. They tell you of Christ, the only
Redeemer, Who reconciles us with God. Listen to the true servants,
nay, to God Himself, Who preaches you the Messiah. When you are among
the audience of such a true minister, you will experience the power of
God's Words in your heart. Though there stands a common man in the
pulpit, it will appear to you as if God Himself stood there. The mouth
speaking there is no longer the mouth of that man, but it becomes
God's mouth. His mouth is a two-edged sharp sword, which cuts through
your inward parts. "For the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and
sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing
asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and [is] a
discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12)
Have you ever heard such a minister, reader? No? Then it becomes time,
that you seek a true, called servant, one like Paul; a true servant of
our Lord.
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Teus Benschop | t.benschop@pobox.ruu.nl | editor of the list Chr-Exp
"A Christian explanation of the Scriptures to Israel"
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