Joshua's Farewell Address and Death

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Joshua 23:1) And it came to pass a long time after that the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua waxed old, stricken in age.

Israel had divided the land of Canaan among the tribes, and the people lived in peace and rest from all their enemies surrounding them.  Several years had passed, and Joshua had become very old.

(2) And Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers, and said to them, "I am old, stricken in age."

Joshua called to him all the elders and chief people in Israel, including heads of the tribes, judges, and officers.  He began by telling them that he had become very old.

(3) "And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations because of you, for the Lord your God is He who has fought for you."

He reminded them that they had seen all that the Lord had done to the nations of Canaan for His people Israel.  He had fought for His people and had brought them to this point of peace and rest.

(4) "Behold, I have divided to you by lot these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, even to the Great Sea westward."

I believe Joshua's point was that all of Canaan had been divided by lot to them, even the nations that remained unconquered.  Those unconquered parts, along with all the nations Joshua had cut off with the sword, all the way to the Mediterranean Sea, had been divided as an inheritance to the tribes.

(5) "And the Lord your God, He shall expel them from before you and drive them from out of your sight, and you shall possess their land, as the Lord your God has promised you."

Joshua encouraged the leaders of Israel that the Lord willed that they should inherit all of the land of Canaan, and He would drive the rest of the Canaanites out of their land, and they would be able to possess all of it, as their Lord had promised them.  It has been discussed before that they never did fully possess all the land that God had promised them because they were not obedient to the Lord to hold up their side of the covenant.  However, God said they would possess their land, and a passage in the book of the prophet Amos confirms that they eventually will possess it (Amos 9:15).

(6) "Be therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that you not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left."

Joshua was giving the leaders of Israel the same words he had received from the Lord when the reins were handed over to him after the death of Moses (Joshua 1:7).  He cautioned them to be courageous in keeping the commandments of the law, that they not turn aside from it.

(7) "That you do not come among these nations, these that remain among you, neither make mention of the name of their gods nor cause to swear, neither serve them nor bow yourselves to them."

Specifically, Joshua cautioned them against going among the pagan nations of people that remained and acknowledging their gods.  They were not to even speak their names, much less swear by them, serve them, or bow down to them.

(8) "But cleave to the Lord your God as you have done to this day."

They were to cleave only to their Lord God through their obedience, service, and worship of Him alone, as they had done since their time in Canaan to that point.  It can't be said that they were always so faithful while in the wilderness.

(9) "For the Lord has driven out from before you great nations and strong, but you, no man has been able to stand before you to this day."

The reason Joshua gave for them always cleaving to their Lord was because of the good things He had done for them.  He had driven out great and strong nations from before them so that no man was able to stand before them even to that day.

(10) "One man of you shall chase a thousand, for the Lord your God is He who fights for you, as He promised you."

One man of them would be able to chase a thousand of his enemies only because it was their Lord who fought for them as He had promised He would (Leviticus 26:8, Deuteronomy 1:30).

(11) "Take good heed therefore to yourselves, that you love the Lord your God."

Joshua impressed upon them the need to be careful and on guard that they always love, honor, and obey their Lord God.

(12) "Else if you do in any way go back and cleave to the remnant of these nations, these that remain among you, and shall make marriages with them and go in to them and they to you, (13) Know for a certainty that the Lord your God will no more drive out these nations from before you, but they shall be snares and traps to you and scourges in your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the Lord your God has given you."

For if they turned away from their Lord and attached themselves to the remnant of the pagan nations in their land and made and consummated marriages with them, they could know for absolute certain that their Lord would no longer go before them to drive out those remaining nations.  They would remain as snares and traps to them, very troublesome and distressing, drawing them into idolatry and immorality.

(14) "Behold this day, I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you; all have come to pass to you, and not one thing of it has failed."

Joshua told them that he was going to die just as all living things eventually do.  He was about to leave them without a human leader, but he reiterated why they should put all their love and faith and trust in their Lord God to lead them.  They knew in their hearts that He had not failed to give them any good thing He had promised.  All He had promised had come to pass; therefore, they should continue to have total faith in Him.

(15) "Therefore it shall come to pass, as all good things have come upon you, which the Lord your God promised you, so shall the Lord bring upon you evil things until He has destroyed you from off this good land which the Lord your God has given you. (16) When you have transgressed the covenant of the Lord your God which He commanded you and have gone and served other gods and bowed yourselves to them, then shall the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from off the good land which He has given to you."

However, Joshua warned them, just as the Lord had given them all good things as He had promised, He also most assuredly would bring bad things to them until they were destroyed off that good land if they turned away from Him and their covenant with Him to serve idols.  If they did that, His anger would burn against them, and they would perish quickly from off their good land that He had given them.  Just because they had all good things at that time, didn't mean they could keep them always if they chose to turn from their Lord.

I take note here that the number one sin that will always kindle God's anger against His people is idolatry.  It is just one of ten big commandments of the Lord, yet it is the one He always mentions that will cause Him to turn away from His people.  However, is not every sin rooted in idolatry?  It may be idolatry of money or power or even self, but there is always something that we choose to make more important than God and His commandments when we sin.  And when we choose something else over God, He may let us have our way, and He will turn away from us.  He will never force Himself on us; He gives us a choice.  However, we must live with the consequence of our choice.  When we begin to see all good things in our lives as blessings from Him, we naturally want to love and follow Him.  Why would we want to follow after some empty idol that can never give us more than some brief pleasure?  In God there is a lifetime of joy and fulfillment and eternal life.  Money and power or anything that we build of ourselves can never do that.

Joshua's farewell address continued in the next and last chapter of Joshua:

(Joshua 24:1) And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers, and they presented themselves before God.

Joshua then gathered all the tribes, and especially the leaders of Israel, the elders, the judges, the officers, and the heads of the tribes, to Shechem, and they presented themselves before God.  Shechem was a significant place in Israel's history as it was the place where the Lord made His promise to Abraham that He would give his descendants that land, and he built an altar there (Genesis 12:6-7).  Jacob had also built an altar there (Genesis 33:18-20).  Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, where they shouted blessings and cursings (Joshua 8:33), were at Shechem.

(2) And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the Lord God of Israel, 'Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nachor, and they served other gods.'"

Joshua spoke prophetically to the people the words of the Lord.  He began by telling them about their ancestors on the other side of the flood, or rather river, including Terah, the father of Abraham and Nachor, who served other gods.  The original word translated as "flood" most often meant "river" and was most of the time transcribed that way by the KJV translators, but for some reason they translated it as "flood" this time.  Perhaps the meaning might be that the people's ancestors since the flood had served other gods.  It was understood that before the flood all people except Noah and his family had served other gods, but for their fathers more recently to have turned to false gods would be a very grievous thing.  However, most Biblical scholars believe the meaning should be river rather than flood, and that Joshua spoke of their ancestors who had lived on the other side of the Euphrates River.

Some Biblical scholars think that the verse should read that their fathers, Terah, Abraham, and Nahor, served other gods.  Of course, it is possible that Abram served other gods as he saw his father do until God called him away from his family, but I saw no actual example of his serving other gods.  I read the verse as your fathers, including Terah, served other gods.  "The father of Abraham and Nachor" just described who Terah was.

(3) "'And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.'"

The Lord took Abraham out of that idolatrous family and place, telling him to get out of his country and away from his family and his father's house (Genesis 12:1).  He took him through the land of Canaan and told him He would give his descendants that land (Genesis 12:7).  The Lord indeed gave Abraham many descendants, and he had given him his son Isaac.

(4) "'And I gave to Isaac, Jacob and Esau, and I gave to Esau Mount Seir to possess it, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.'"

Isaac had two sons, twins, Jacob and Esau, who had been "two nations" in their mother's womb (Genesis 25:23).  God gave Esau an inheritance in Mount Seir, leaving the promised land of Canaan to Jacob's descendants alone.  However, first Jacob and his children went to Egypt.

(5) "'I sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them, and afterward I brought you out.'"

God sent Moses and Aaron to Egypt also to demand the release of His people who were in bondage in Egypt.  He plagued Egypt with ten plagues because they refused to let His people go, and then He brought them out.

(6) "'And I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea.'"

The Lord brought His people out of Egypt, and the Egyptians chased them with chariots and horsemen which would suggest they would soon be able to overtake the people on foot.  They chased them to the Red Sea.

(7) "'And when they cried to the Lord, He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them, and your eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt, and you dwelt in the wilderness a long time.'"

The people cried out in distress at the Red Sea.  The pillar of cloud that led them then went behind them and was a cloud of darkness to the Egyptians and light to the Israelites.  He then parted the sea and after His people crossed the Red Sea on dry land, He then let the waters back down to cover the Egyptians.  Many of the people who had been children at the time had seen what their Lord had done in Egypt.  They had been in the wilderness a long time, forty years, because of the unbelief of their fathers, and until those fathers had died in the wilderness.

(8) "'And I brought you into the land of the Amorites who dwelt on the other side of the Jordan, and they fought with you, and I gave them into your hand, that you might possess their land, and I destroyed them from before you.'"

The Lord brought His people to the kingdoms of Sihon and Og on the eastern side of the Jordan River.  Those nations fought with them, but the Lord had delivered their enemies into their hand and destroyed them so that they might possess that land.

(9) "'Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and warred against Israel and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you.'"

Then Balak, the king of Moab, warred against the Israelites.  He called for the prophet Balaam to curse the Israelites.

(10) "'But I would not hearken to Balaam; therefore he blessed you still, so I delivered you out of his hand.'"

However, the Lord would not allow Balaam to speak curses to Israel, and he instead blessed them; thus the Lord had delivered His people out of the hand of Balaam and likewise, Balak.

(11) "'And you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I delivered them into your hand.'"

Then the Israelites crossed over the Jordan River and came into their promised land where the men of Jericho fought against them, but the Lord delivered their enemies into their hand.

(12) "'And I sent the hornet before you which drove them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites, not with your sword nor with your bow.'"

The Lord sent hornets before them to drive out the Canaanites including two kings of the Amorites.  I'm not sure if these were actual hornets or figurative speech about how the Lord drove out their enemies, not by the Israelites' swords or bows, but by the Lord's power only.  Twice the Lord spoke prophetically about sending hornets to drive out their enemies (Exodus 23:28, Deuteronomy 7:20), and here the Lord through Joshua said that He had done just that.  However, in the actual battles, it doesn't say that the Lord sent hornets.  Joshua 10:10 told how the Lord discomfited their enemies and chased them, but it said nothing about Him sending hornets.  However, it did say that He then sent hailstones.  Again in Joshua 11:8 it says the Lord chased their enemies, but it doesn't say it was with hornets.  Of course, that might be an ideal way to chase soldiers and kings, but I think if actual hornets were sent, scripture would have specifically said so.  In many other places in the Bible, scripture said specifically what sort of pest was being sent, and immediately after Joshua 10:10, scripture was specific about sending hailstones, so I just believe it would have been specific about sending hornets, as well, if He had sent them.  I truly believe this was figurative speech or perhaps a word that the translators were not familiar with, and it just meant that God Himself chased and drove out the enemy by His own power.

(13) "'And I have given you a land for which you did not labor and cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which you did not plant, you do eat.'"

The Lord had given His people a ready-made land that they did not have to dig and cultivate, and He had given them cities they did not have to build, and He had given them fruits of the land that they did not plant.  He had given them, as He had promised, a land flowing with milk and honey and many good things.

(14) "Now therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood and in Egypt, and serve the Lord."

Having concluded the words of the Lord in verse 13, these are the words of Joshua telling the people that because of their Lord's mercies and goodness in all that He had done for them, they should reverence Him and serve only Him in sincerity with no hypocrisy and in the truth found only in His word.  He had told them in verse 2 about how their fathers since the flood had served other gods, and he urged them to put away those false gods and serve their Lord God.

(15) "And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Joshua challenged the people that if it seemed evil, or say just burdensome and unpleasant, to serve the Lord, then they should choose whom they would rather serve.  Did they wish to serve the gods of their fathers or the gods of the Amorites who had been in their land before them?  Let their choice be whatever they wished, but as for Joshua, he was resolute in the fact that he and his house would serve the Lord.

(16) And the people answered and said, "God forbid that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods."

The people answered that they would never think of forsaking their Lord to serve other gods.

(17) "For the Lord our God, He who brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way in which we went and among all the people through whom we passed, (18) And the Lord drove out from before us all the people, even the Amorites who dwelt in the land; we will also serve the Lord for He is our God."

The people went on to explain why they would never think of forsaking their Lord, because of all the great things He had done for them.  He had freed them from bondage, preserved them wherever they went among enemies, and then drove out the enemies who had dwelt in the land He was giving them.  They declared their choice was to also serve the Lord their God.

(19) And Joshua said to the people, "You cannot serve the Lord for He is a holy God; He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. (20) If you forsake the Lord and serve strange gods, then He will turn and do you hurt and consume you after He has done you good."

I believe both verses should be taken as one sentence.  I think Joshua's point was that the people would not be able to serve a holy God jealous that His people be only His and serve only Him, if they continued in sin.  As Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, "no man can serve two masters..."  They must wholeheartedly choose to serve their Lord or they would be forsaking Him, choosing another master, and then the Lord would turn away from them and that in itself would destroy them.  The Lord God is our only choice for life.  Since the beginning of time, since Adam and Eve brought sin on man, we sinful creatures are unable to stand before such a holy God.  It is only by His love and mercy that He gave us a way to be acceptable in His presence, but if we choose not to go that way, then we are doomed to be left in our sin, and in the righteous judgment of God, we have chosen to accept the consequences of sin, which is death.  God has set before each of us two choices, life and death, and He urges that we choose life if we want to live (Deuteronomy 30:19).  The other choice leads only to death.

(21) And the people said to Joshua, "No, but we will serve the Lord."

The people declared that they would not serve other gods but would serve their Lord God only.

(22) And Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for you the Lord, to serve Him." And they said, "Witnesses!"

Joshua declared that they would be witnesses against themselves if they should turn away from their Lord after their testimony that day.  They would be self-condemned by their own words.  The people agreed that they were indeed witnesses to that truth.

(23) "Now therefore put away the strange gods which are among you and incline your heart to the Lord God of Israel."

Joshua told them therefore they were to put away the strange gods among them.  There may have been actual physical small idols of worship that had been kept from their fathers before them, or it might rather be that Joshua spoke of idols of the heart, secret sentiments they had toward some idol.  Whatever the idol that took their hearts away from their Lord, they were to put away, and they were to incline their hearts toward the Lord God of Israel only.

(24) And the people said to Joshua, "The Lord our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey."

The people confirmed that they would serve and obey their Lord God.

(25) So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.

Joshua established that covenant with the people and made it a permanent law that they and their descendants would always bind themselves to God only.

(26) And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak that was by the sanctuary of the Lord.

Joshua wrote the words of their covenant established that day in the book of the law that would have been in the ark of the covenant which must have been with him at Shechem that day.  He took a great stone and set it up under an oak tree that was by that holy place of the Lord.  I don't believe this was meant to have been at the actual sanctuary.  The word that was translated as "sanctuary" also means "a consecrated thing or place, holy place."  Joshua had brought the people to Shechem to a holy place of their fathers, and there he placed a memorial stone which wouldn't have been necessary if they were at the actual sanctuary.

(27) And Joshua said to all the people, "Behold, this stone shall be a witness to us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord which He spoke to us; it shall be therefore a witness to you, lest you deny your God."

Joshua told the people that that stone would act as a witness of the covenant they had made, as it was a symbolic reminder of the words of the Lord that had been spoken there that day and of the witness against the people should they turn from Him.

(28) So Joshua let the people depart, every man to his inheritance.

With that, Joshua let the people go back to their lands that they possessed as their inheritance from God.

(29) And it came to pass after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died a hundred and ten years old.

It was shortly after this that Joshua died at 110 years of age.  I think now is a good time to reflect on the reason why Joshua is always identified as the son of Nun.  Joshua is such an important figure in the Bible in his own right, and Nun is never mentioned other than being the father of Joshua.  As studied previously, I found that the original words were "Joshua bin Nun" rather than "Joshua ben Nun," which would have meant Joshua was the son of Nun.  "Bin Nun" or "binnun" meant the "understanding one."  From the beginning, Joshua was an excellent student of Moses and wouldn't leave the tabernacle even after Moses did (Exodus 33:11).  Additionally, he always demonstrated complete faith in God when others failed in their faith.  Perhaps this moniker of "Joshua the understanding one" did demonstrate that Joshua was a man in his own right.  

This time, in my study, I reflected on just the word "nun" which means "perpetuity."  The name Joshua, "yehoshua," means "Jehovah-saved."  Jehovah, the name of the Lord, the self-existent eternal God, which is what Jehovah means, saves eternally.  Was Joshua Jehovah-saved in perpetuity?  Biblical scholars often speak of Joshua being an Old Testament type of Jesus.  Actually, their names are the same in Hebrew, but in Greek in the New Testament, Jesus (in English) became Ieous.  Joshua was the one who brought the people into their promised land on earth, but Jesus brings them into the heavenly promised land.  Joshua succeeded Moses who represented the law, and Jesus's gospel succeeded the law.  Joshua made a new covenant with the people before he died, and Jesus brought a New Covenant of grace.  While names are very important in the Bible, and Joshua being eternally saved by Jehovah who saves, and being an Old Testament type of Jesus who was the one who ultimately fulfilled that salvation through His death and resurrection, I have to note that according to the genealogy in 1 Chronicles 7:27, Joshua was indeed the son of Nun.  Perhaps Joshua was always referred to as the son of Nun because all the symbology in both those names was the very essence of who he was.

(30) And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath Serah, which is in Mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash.

The people buried Joshua in his own inheritance in the mountains of Ephraim in the city which he built, Timnath Serah, on the north side of Mount Gaash in the mountainous region.

(31) And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua and who had known all the works of the Lord that He had done for Israel.

The Israelites kept their covenant and served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who had lived during the time of Joshua and beyond, men who had known all the things the Lord had done for His people.

(32) And the bones of Joseph which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, they buried in Shechem in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for a hundred pieces of silver, and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.

The Israelites had brought the bones of Joseph out of Egypt as he had requested (Genesis 50:25) and as Moses directed (Exodus 13:19).  They buried them in Shechem in a parcel of ground that Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for a hundred pieces of silver (Genesis 33:19), in the land that became the inheritance of the sons of Joseph, specifically Ephraim.

(33) And Eleazor the son of Aaron died, and they buried him in a hill of Phinehas his son which was given him in Mount Ephraim.

Eleazar the priest, the son of Aaron, also died, and they buried him in a hill of Phinehas, Eleazar's son, which had been given to him in Mount Ephraim.  The priests had no land of their own but were given cities in which to live, so the Ephraimites had undoubtedly given this piece of land to either Eleazar or his son, Phinehas.

So ends the book of Joshua.  Obviously, the last five verses couldn't have been written by him but were added after his death.  Once again, I can't help but reflect on what a great man Joshua was and how like Jesus he was, the perfect illustration of the Christ to come.  In addition to the similarities before mentioned, it doesn't appear that Joshua ever married or had any children.  He devoted his entire life to the service of God, from his time as a young man learning from Moses up until his death.  Of course, Joshua was only human and must have sinned sometime in his life, but I don't recall any such thing being recorded thus far in the Bible.  Joshua never worked to provide for himself and never asked for much.  Even the inheritance he had apparently once asked for (Joshua 19:50), he didn't ask for when the time came to divide up the inheritance, but the people gave it to him.  And it wasn't even a choice land but rather a rough mountainous region where he built the city of Timnath Serah.  He lived as a servant of the people and most importantly of his God, and he led his people to their rest in their promised land.  Jesus, about 1400 years later, would bring people to that true eternal rest.

Also notable in the last chapter of Joshua is the retelling of history and of the marvelous things the Lord had done for His people.  Throughout the Bible, the people were retold history so that they would never forget the goodness of the Lord, and so should we always reflect on the good things the Lord has done for us.  No matter what circumstances we find ourselves in, we can always be thankful for the greatest gift of all, eternal salvation in Him that was only possible through the sacrifice and death of Jesus Christ.

Praise the Lord for His Wonderful Works

Following a chronologically ordered Bible study set forth by Skip Andrews, who admits, "Although we may not be able to precisely date these Psalms at this time, their general themes fit the topics we have just read in Deuteronomy," I continue with Psalm 105:

(Psalm 105:1) O give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name; make known His deeds among the people!

Although this psalm is thought to be made by David, it could have just as easily been made by Moses.  It speaks of the time of Israel from Abraham through the exodus from Egypt.  The psalmist exhorts the people to give thanks to their Lord, call upon Him in prayer, and proclaim His works among the people.

(2) Sing to Him; sing psalms to Him; talk of all His wondrous works.

He encouraged the people to sing to the Lord and play music for Him.  The original word "zamar" that was transcribed as "psalms" has a fuller meaning of making music and song.  They were to talk and sing about all their Lord's wonderful works.

(3) Glory in His holy name; let the heart of them rejoice who seek the Lord.

They were to rejoice in the Lord, those who sought the Lord with all their hearts and souls (Deuteronomy 4:29).

(4) Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His face evermore.

The people were encouraged to always seek the Lord, seeking strength and mercy and favor from Him.

(5) Remember His marvelous works that He has done, His wonders and the judgments of His mouth.

The psalmist exhorted the people to remember all the wonderful things the Lord had done, His miracles and His judgments and commandments.

(6) O seed of Abraham, His servant, children of Jacob, His chosen!

He reminds the people that they are the descendants of God's servant, Abraham, descendants of Jacob, His chosen people.

(7) He, the Lord our God, His judgments in all the earth.

The God of Abraham and Jacob, the one true God, was their Lord God.  And as the one true God, His judgments were executed all over the earth.

(8) He has remembered His covenant forever, the word He commanded to a thousand generations.

The Lord had kept His covenant and promise to His people forever, up to that point and to future generations, even though His people often defaulted on their end.

(9) Which He made with Abraham, and His oath to Isaac, (10) And confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, to Israel an everlasting covenant.

The Lord had kept that covenant He had made with Abraham, reiterated with Isaac, and confirmed with Jacob, and promised it to be an everlasting covenant.

(11) Saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance," (12) When they were few men in number, yes, very few, and strangers in it.

The Lord's part of the covenant He had made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, was to give them and their descendants the land of Canaan as an inheritance.  He made that promise when His people were small in number and strangers in their promised land.

(13) When they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people, (14) He allowed no man to do them wrong; yes, He reproved kings for their sakes; (15) "Do not touch My anointed and do My prophets no harm."

Before they inhabited their promised land, the people wandered from one nation to another with no permanent place to call their home.  While they wandered about, the Lord protected them and even reproved kings for their sakes, telling them not to touch His anointed ones, also called His prophets, to do them any harm.

(16) Moreover He called for a famine on the land; He broke the whole staff of bread.

The Lord called for a famine in the land in the time of Jacob, which was the reason he migrated to Egypt.  The Lord had cut off their supply of food.

(17) He sent a man before them, Joseph, who was sold for a servant, (18) Whose feet they hurt with fetters; he was laid in iron, (19) Until the time that his word came; the word of the Lord tried him.

The Lord had sent Joseph before Jacob and Jacob's sons, Joseph's brothers.  His brothers had sold him into slavery, and he was imprisoned until the time that his vision came to pass that he would be exalted above his brothers.  That vision, that word of the Lord, tried Joseph's faith and patience before it was accomplished.

(20) The king sent and loosed him, the ruler of the people let him go free.

At that point, the king of Egypt had Joseph released from prison.

(21) He made him lord of his house and ruler of all his substance, (22) To bind his princes at his pleasure and teach his senators wisdom.

The king of Egypt made Joseph the lord of his house and ruler of all his possessions and affairs.  Even his princes would be under Joseph's command to learn from him.

(23) Israel also came into Egypt, and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.

Jacob (Israel) and Joseph's brothers also came to Egypt when they learned that Joseph was alive, and they all dwelt there in the land of Ham, the father of the Egyptians.

(24) And He increased His people greatly and made them stronger than their enemies.

God increased the people of Israel greatly in the land of Egypt.  He also made them stronger than the Egyptians who would become their enemies.

(25) He turned their heart to hate His people, to deal treacherously with His servants.

Whereas the Egyptians had once highly esteemed Joseph's family, the Lord allowed their hearts to be turned against them.  He may have actively turned them against His people in order to fulfill His will to lead them away and into their promised land.  However, I believe He just allowed it to happen naturally.  By enlarging and blessing His people, the Egyptians would naturally become jealous, and God allowed that to happen for His purposes.  The Egyptians made them slaves and put them to hard labor.

(26) He sent Moses, His servant, and Aaron whom He had chosen.

The Lord then sent Moses as His servant and Aaron, Moses's brother, chosen to be his spokesman (Exodus 4:16).

(27) They showed His signs among them, and wonders in the land of Ham.

Moses and Aaron showed the Lord's signs and miracles in the land of Egypt.

(28) He sent darkness and made it dark, and they did not rebel against His word.

The Lord commanded Moses to stretch forth his hand toward heaven to make a darkness fall upon Egypt, and he and Aaron did just as He commanded (Exodus 10:22).

(29) He turned their waters into blood and killed their fish.

Continuing to describe the signs and wonders from verse 27, the psalmist tells how the Lord turned the Egyptians' waters into blood which killed all the fish (Exodus 7:19).

(30) Their land brought forth frogs in abundance, in the chambers of their kings.

The Lord caused a plague of an abundance of frogs that covered the land, even in the bedchambers of their kings (Exodus 8:3).

(31) He spoke and there came diverse sorts of flies and lice in all their territory.

The Lord spoke and brought a swarm of flies that corrupted the land of Egypt (Exodus 8:24), and He brought forth lice from the dust of the land (Exodus 8:16).

(32) He gave them hail for rain and flaming fire in their land.

The Lord caused it to rain hail on Egypt and caused lightning to run along the ground (Exodus 9:23).

(33) He struck their vines also and their fig trees and broke the trees of their territory.

The hail struck "every herb of the field and broke every tree of the field" (Exodus 9:25).

(34) He spoke and the locusts came, and caterpillars, and those without number, (35) And ate up all the herbs in the land and devoured the fruit of their ground.

The Lord told Moses to stretch out his hand over the land of Egypt to bring locusts to eat up every herb the hail may had left (Exodus 10:12).  They were so numerous that they could not be numbered, and they darkened the sky (Exodus 10:15).  Again we are told of caterpillars that were not mentioned among the plagues in Exodus.  I believe these must refer to young locust nymphs.

(36) He killed also all the firstborn in their land, the chief of all their strength.

The Lord killed all the firstborn of both man and beast in the land of Egypt (Exodus 11:5).  The firstborn were called the first or beginning of all their strength (Genesis 49:3).

(37) He brought them forth also with silver and gold, and not one feeble among their tribes.

God brought the Israelites out of Egypt with silver and gold from the Egyptians (Exodus 12:35), and there was not one person feeble and unable to travel.

(38) Egypt was glad when they departed, for the fear of them fell upon them.

The Egyptians were glad when the Israelites left them because they were afraid of what plague might be next.

(39) He spread a cloud for a covering and fire to give light in the night.

The Lord spread a cloud over the Israelites by day (Numbers 10:34) and a pillar of fire over them at night (Exodus 13:21).

(40) They asked and He brought quails and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.

This refers to the first time that the people asked for meat (Exodus 16:13), and the Lord brought the quails to them and satisfied them with manna the next morning.

(41) He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out; they ran in the dry places like a river.

The Lord opened the rock to bring forth water (Exodus 17:6), and it ran like a river through their dry places.

(42) For He remembered His holy promise and Abraham, His servant.

The Lord did these marvelous things for His people because of the promise He had made to their forefather, Abraham.

(43) And He brought forth His people with joy, His chosen with gladness, (44) And gave them the lands of the heathen, and they inherited the labor of the people.

It pleased the Lord to bring His people out of Egypt to lead them to their promised land, but this may refer more to the joy of the people when they were led out and how they gladly sang praises to their Lord for bringing them out (Exodus 15:1).  The Lord gave His people lands of the heathens in righteous judgment against those countries so that His people were able to dwell in houses already built and fields already worked and wells already dug, etc.

(45) That they might observe His statutes and keep His laws. Praise the Lord!

The Lord did all these things for His people as His part of His covenant with them.  All that was asked of His people was that they should be obedient to the One from whom all blessings flow.  Praise the Lord!  That was the full intent of this psalm.  It is similar to Psalm 78 in that it recited a history of God's people.  However, the 78th psalm pointed out the sins of the people and God's just punishment for those sins, whereas this psalm only pointed to the goodness of God, exciting the people to thanksgiving and praise to and for Him.

The Death of Moses

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Deuteronomy 34:1) And Moses went up from the plains of Moab to the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is across from Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead to Dan,

The Lord had previously told Moses he would not be able to cross into their promised land (Numbers 20:12, Deuteronomy 32:51-52), but that He would allow him to see it.  Now Moses went up from the plains of Moab where the Israelites had been for some time and went onto the mountain of Nebo to Pisgah, the highest point of Nebo.  This was across from Jericho on the other side of the Jordan River.  The Lord began to show Moses the promised land as He had promised He would.  First the Lord directed him to behold the land of Gilead on that side of the Jordan where he was, which was the possession of the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh (Numbers 32), then to Dan, which was not the possession of the tribe of Dan, but rather a city in the farthest north of the promised land as seen in this map:

(2) And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, to the utmost sea, (3) And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, to Zoar.

The Lord showed Moses the promised land from the city of Dan in the north, to the lands of the tribes as they would soon be assigned, Naphtali, down through Manasseh and Ephraim, to Judah, to the sea, and to the southernmost part of the land.  He showed him the valley of Jericho near to them on the other side of the Jordan River.  If you click to enlarge the map, you can see Jericho in the tribe of Benjamin across from Mt. Nebo.  He showed him the whole plain from Jericho, called the city of palm trees, to Zoar, which was at the southern tip of the Salt or Dead Sea, as seen in this map:

As the tribal lands had not yet been assigned in Canaan, Joshua either wrote this chapter some time after the fact, or perhaps he wrote by inspiration of the Holy Spirit about what was to be.

(4) And the Lord said to him, "This the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, 'I will give it to your descendants,' I have caused you to see with your eyes, but you shall not go over there."

The Lord told Moses that He was showing him the land He had promised to his forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give to their descendants.  The Lord said He "caused" Moses to see it with his eyes.  When you think about it, it would not be possible for Moses to physically see all that land without some supernatural help.  The Lord blessed and allowed Moses to see the entire promised land but told him again that he would not be crossing over into it.

(5) So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord.

Then Moses died there in the land of Moab as the Lord had said he would (Deuteronomy 32:50).  

(6) And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth Peor, but no man knows of his sepulchre to this day.

Amazingly, the Lord Himself buried Moses!  He apparently buried him in the land of Moab across from Beth Peor which may have been in the same vicinity of Mount Peor near Mount Nebo and Pisgah.  However, even at the time of the writing of Joshua, no one had ever seen Moses's grave.  Perhaps the Lord hid it so that the people would not be susceptible to idolizing it and Moses himself.  Some think that perhaps Moses was carried away like Elijah, pointing to the transfiguration of Elijah and Moses with Jesus in Mark 9:4, inferring that Moses must have been in the same state after death as Elijah.  However, the two verses above state that Moses died and the Lord buried him.  Some point to an interesting scripture in Jude 1:9 that tells about Michael the archangel contending with the devil, disputing about the body of Moses.  That does seem to suggest something extraordinary about Moses's burial place.  But as scripture states, no one really knows; however, there may be symbolism in Moses's burial place or lack thereof.  John Gill wrote in his Exposition of the Bible, "...the death and burial of Moses were an emblem of the weakness and insufficiency of the law of Moses, and the works of it, to bring any into the heavenly Canaan..."

(7) And Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died; his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.

Moses was 120 years old when he died, and although he was in advanced age, his eyes were still clear and good, and his mind and body were sharp and strong.

(8) And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.

The Israelites mourned and wept for Moses there in the plains of Moab for thirty days, which was the usual time of mourning for someone of high place.  After thirty days, the weeping and mourning for Moses ended.

(9) And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands upon him, and the children of Israel hearkened to him, and did as the Lord commanded Moses.

At that point Joshua was filled with the spirit of wisdom as Moses had laid hands on him and prayed for such, and the Lord had delivered.  Therefore the people listened to him and did just as the Lord had commanded Moses, acknowledging Joshua as Moses's successor.

(10) And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.

At the time of this writing, Joshua or whoever wrote this last chapter of Deuteronomy, said that there had not arisen a prophet like Moses who had known the Lord personally and conversed with Him.  "Face to face" is not to be taken literally, because no man could see the face of God and live (Exodus 33:20), but it is meant to say that Moses had a very familiar relationship with God.

(11) In all the signs and the wonders which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land, (12) And in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses showed in the sight of all Israel.

There had not arisen a prophet like Moses who had done all the signs and wonders which the Lord had sent him to do in Egypt to Pharaoh and his servants and his land.  There had not arisen a prophet with so mighty a hand as had divided the Red Sea or as had done in all the great and terrible things that the Lord enabled Moses to show in the sight of all the Israelites.

So ended the life of Moses and the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, commonly called the Law of Moses.  I believe that we might argue that there never has been another prophet like Moses even to this day.  There would arise great prophets, but I'm not sure any can compare with the long-term familiarity and friendship Moses shared with God.  Moses was probably the most highly privileged prophet in all the awesome signs and wonders that God worked through him.  Moses was allowed to see God's glory and His back only, as again, no one could see God's face and live.  That sight made Moses's face shine like the sun which terrified the people when he returned to them.  Moses was the Old Testament figure who was mentioned the most times in the New Testament.  It is probably safe to say that Moses indeed was the greatest prophet until Jesus Christ, of whom Moses himself said, "The LORD your God will raise up to you a Prophet from the midst of you, of your brethren, like me; to Him you shall listen" (Deuteronomy 18:15).  God Himself confirmed that prophecy when He said of Jesus, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear Him" (Matthew 17:5), a probable allusion to "to Him you shall listen."  Moses was an Old Testament symbol of Christ.  God sent him to save His people, and he gave them God's law to live by.  Jesus came to save people from the consequences of the law that they were unable to uphold.  Indeed, Hebrews 3 compares Moses to Jesus, but of course pronounces Jesus as superior to Moses.  However, Moses was worthy to be compared to Jesus!  That is the highest honor and privilege of all.  Moses was a faithful servant and forerunner of Christ the Son of God and God Himself.

Choose Life

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Deuteronomy 30:1) "And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you shall call them to mind among all the nations, where the Lord your God has driven you,"

In the last chapter, Moses called all the people together to again enter into covenant with their Lord God in Moab.  He now begins a speech in which he tells the people that when all the things he had told them in the past few chapters came upon them, especially the blessings and curses that had been pronounced and prophesied by Moses, they should remember them in all the nations where the Lord had sent them.

(2) "And shall return to the Lord your God and shall obey His voice according to all that I command you this day, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, (3) That then the Lord your God will turn your captivity and have compassion on you and will return and gather you from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you."

When the people had been scattered to various nations, when they called to mind the things the Lord had told them through Moses about His blessings and curses, and then returned to the Lord and obeyed His commands with all their hearts and souls, the Lord would then turn back to them and have compassion on them and gather them from all the nations wherein He had sent them.

(4) "If you are driven out to the outmost of heaven, from there will the Lord your God gather you and from there He will fetch you."

No matter how far the people might be, if they had returned to the Lord with all their hearts and souls, He would gather them from wherever they might be.

(5) "And the Lord your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed and you shall possess it, and He will do you good and multiply you above your fathers."

Their Lord God would gather them and bring them back to the land which their fathers had possessed, that promised land of their forefathers, and they would again possess it.  The Lord would do good for them and multiply their numbers greater than the numbers of their fathers. 

(6) "And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live."

Their Lord would then circumcise their hearts and the hearts of their descendants, circumcise the foreskins of their hearts (Deuteronomy 10:16), cut through the hardness of their hearts, that they would love their Lord with all their hearts and with all their souls that they and their descendants might live.

(7) "And the Lord your God will put all these curses upon your enemies and on them who hate you, who persecuted you."

The Lord would then put all the curses recorded in Deuteronomy 28 upon their enemies and those who hated and persecuted them.

(8) "And you shall return and obey the voice of the Lord and do all His commandments which I command you this day."

At that time they would return to the Lord to do all that He had commanded them through Moses that day.

(9) "And the Lord your God will make you plenteous in every work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your cattle, and in the fruit of your land, for good, for the Lord will again rejoice over you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers."

Then would the Lord bring upon them His blessings, making them successful in every work of their hands, giving them an abundance of children, a large increase in their livestock and in the harvests of their land, doing only good for them.  He would again rejoice over them as He had once rejoiced over their forefathers.

(10) "If you shall hearken to the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this book of the law, if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul."

The Lord would bring all those blessings upon the people if they listened to and obeyed their Lord God, to keep all His commandments and statutes that were written in the book of the law recorded by Moses, if they turned to the Lord with all their hearts and souls.

(11) "For this commandment which I command you this day is not hidden from you, neither is it far off."

It would be easy for God's people (and us this day) to listen to and obey the Lord for His commandments were not hidden from them (nor us).  It is not some secret held in a faraway land or in heaven, but God had given it to them, and to us with His Bible still with us.

(12) "It is not in heaven that you should say, 'Who shall go up for us to heaven and bring it to us that we may hear it and do it?' (13) Neither is it beyond the sea that you should say, 'Who shall go over the sea for us and bring it to us that we may hear it and do it?' (14) But the word is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it."

Indeed, Moses went on to say that God's word and His laws were not stored secretly in heaven nor in a faraway land, but it was very near to them, not only in the written word, but written on their hearts, and recited by their mouths, so that they (and us today) were without excuse (Romans 1:20).  

(15) "See, I have set before you this day life and good, and death and evil, (16) In that I command you this day to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and the Lord your God shall bless you in the land which you go to possess it. (17) But if your heart turns away so that you will not hear, but shall be drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, (18) I denounce to you this day that you shall surely perish and shall not prolong your days upon the land which you pass over Jordan to go to possess it."

The Lord through Moses had set before the people the choice between life and goodness and death and evil.  If they loved their Lord God, walked in His ways, kept His commandments and statutes and judgments, they would live and multiply and the Lord would bless them with goodness in their land that He was giving them.  However, if they turned their hearts away and would not listen to and obey Him, but were drawn into other cultures and worshiped other gods and served them, then they would have death and curses.

(19) "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life that both you and your descendants may live, (20) That you may love the Lord your God and that you may obey His voice and that you may cleave to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days, that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them."

Moses called upon heaven and earth as witnesses to record that day against the people, that he had set before them, as the Lord had directed He do, life and death, blessing and cursing, both the life and blessings they would have if they chose to obey their Lord, and the death and curses they would receive if they chose to turn away from Him.  Moses exhorted them to choose life that both they and their descendants might live, that they may love and obey their Lord and cling to Him as He was their very life and length of days in the land the Lord had promised to their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

What a simple choice we have!  Just choose life that is only found in the Lord God, and in the atoning blood of Jesus Christ!  It makes all our decisions so much easier.  Should women choose abortion?  God said, "Choose life!" That both you and your babies may live!  Should we endorse homosexual marriage that cannot produce life?  God said, "Choose life!"  Should we encourage transsexualism that cannot produce life?  God said, "Choose life!"  Should we embrace certain environmental laws that starve and kill the people?  God said, "Choose life!"  Should we remove God from schools and the public square?  God said, "I AM your life!"  Should we support nations that enslave and kill the people?  God said, "Choose life!"  Should we allow drug cartels and sex slave operators and terrorists to pour over our borders unchecked?  God said, "Choose life!"  And yes, we can choose to save the lives of immigrants, but they must come through legal channels and be vetted.  And if those legal channels need to be modified to make it easier for good people to be added to our numbers, then that is what we must do.  The way we are doing it now only leads to death.  Choose life!

Repent and Enter at the Narrow Gate, or Perish

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:

(Luke 13:1) There were present at that season some who told Him of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

In the last chapter Jesus had been speaking to His disciples and a multitude of people, teaching them to be reconciled to their Lord and ready for His second coming.  At this time some of the present company told Jesus about a certain incident.  According to Biblical scholars, this was most likely about the Galileans who were followers of Judas of Galilee (Acts 5:37) who refused to acknowledge the Roman government.  There was an occasion recorded by the historian Josephus when Pilate surrounded and killed Galileans while they were sacrificing in the temple, thus mingling their blood with their sacrifices.

(2) And Jesus answering, said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans because they suffered such things?"

Jesus perceived that their reason for telling Him of this incident was to pass judgment on the character of Galileans who seemingly sinned above all and received their just punishment.  He point-blank asked them if that was their supposition.

(3) "I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you shall all likewise perish."

Jesus answered that was not the case, but unless they repented, they, too, would in like manner perish.  Indeed, they would.  The fate of those Galileans, killed while sacrificing at the temple, was an illustration of what was to happen to the Jews who would be slain in Jerusalem by Roman soldiers.  The broader point was that unless they repented of their sins, they would perish in hell for eternity.

(4) "Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were sinners above all men who dwell in Jerusalem?"

In this question of Jesus, He showed them that not only Galileans, whom they may have had contempt for, but also inhabitants of Jerusalem had died violent deaths.  Apparently, this was a recent occurrence that a tower which had been built at the Pool of Siloam fell and killed eighteen men likely as they were purifying themselves in the pool, which made this case much like the one they had described with the Galileans.  Did they also presume that those eighteen Jews were more sinful than the other Jews in Jerusalem?

(5) "I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you shall all likewise perish."

Again Jesus told them that was not the case, and that unless they repented, they would all perish in the same way.  Once again, it was a picture of what was to come.  As the tower fell and buried the eighteen in the pool, so would Jerusalem fall and they would all be buried in the ruins of the city.  This may have been exactly what Jesus meant, warning them to repent before all of Jerusalem fell, but I can't help but think about it in a broader sense.  That's because, if there was someone in Jerusalem who repented and followed Jesus, Jerusalem would have still fallen and could have killed that innocent person.  Jesus said it rains on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45) indiscriminately, but the just will have eternal life whereas the unjust will be permanently destroyed.

(6) He spoke also this parable, "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came and sought fruit on it and found none."

Jesus then began a parable to illustrate His point.  He spoke of a man who had a fig tree planted in his vineyard.  He went to it to gather fruit from it, but there was none.

(7) Then he said to the vinedresser, "Behold these three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none; cut it down, why let it cumber the ground?"

The owner of the vineyard spoke to the keeper of his vineyard, telling him he had been coming to that particular fig tree for three years looking for fruit and had found none.  He told the vinedresser to cut it down as it was taking up ground that a fruitful tree could use.  This was a symbol of God looking for good fruits from His creation, and finding none, wishing to destroy it and allow the more fruitful of His creation to take its place.

(8) And he answering, said to him, "Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig around it and fertilize it."

The vinedresser answered his master, asking that he allow the tree one more year.  He would work it, nurture and fertilize it.  The vinedresser is a symbol of Christ, the intercessor for us sinners, asking for patience while He was on earth to nurture and teach the sinners.  

(9) "And if it bears fruit, well; and if not, after that you shall cut it down."

Like the vinedresser for the barren tree, Christ the intercessor for sinners, asked for one more chance to allow sinners to bear the fruit of repentance, and if by then they did not, then they could be destroyed.  Interestingly, Christ's ministry was also three years like the time that the owner of the vineyard had been looking for fruit from the fig tree.  Still the Jews had not come to repentance, but Jesus in His love and mercy and patience, asked for more time for them.  Even at His crucifixion Jesus would ask forgiveness for the ones who crucified Him because they didn't know what they were doing (Luke 23:24).  However, after that, if they still did not bear the fruit of repentance, then they were to be destroyed.

(10) And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.

Sometime later Jesus was teaching at one of the synagogues on the Sabbath day.

(11) And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years and was bent over and could in no way lift up.

There was a woman in the synagogue who had a condition that kept her bent over and unable to lift herself up.  She had had the condition for eighteen years, but it did not keep her from attending the synagogue on the Sabbath.  I can't help think about what feeble excuses we might use not to attend church, but this woman went in her condition and received an incredible blessing as we will see in the next verses.  What blessings might we be missing when we miss church?

(12) And when Jesus saw her, He called and said to her, "Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity."

When Jesus saw the bent over woman, He called out to her and told her that she was released from her infirmity.

(13) And He laid hands on her and immediately she was made straight and glorified God.

Jesus laid His hands on the woman, and she immediately straightened up and praised God.

(14) And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath day, and said to the people, "There are six days in which men ought to work; in them therefore, come and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day."

The ruler of the synagogue was indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath.  He seemed to be indignant at the people as well as he quoted to them the fourth of the ten commandments that men were to do their work in six days and not on the seventh.  He suggested people should come to be healed on one of the six work days and not on the Sabbath.  You would think that prayer and laying on of hands would be exactly what was expected on the Sabbath.  What Jesus had done could not really be considered work, but the laws had become so strict and cumbersome, they had lost all sense of their original purpose.

(15) The Lord then answered him and said, "Hypocrite, does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it away to watering?"

Jesus called the ruler a hypocrite and asked if he or any of them loosed their oxen and donkeys on the Sabbath and lead them to water.  That was considered work in their strict interpretation of the law, yet they, including the ruler himself who was being so hypocritical at that moment, would certainly do that.  If they would do good to water their animals, how much more good and proper was it to heal people from their infirmities when the occasion arose?

(16) "And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?"

Indeed, Jesus went on to say that as they would all loose their animals in order to water them, shouldn't that woman, who was a daughter of Abraham, one of God's own chosen people, who had been bound by Satan for eighteen years, be loosed from her bond on the Sabbath day?  After all, was she not worth more than the animals, as Jesus said in Luke 12:7, "You are of more value than many sparrows."

(17) And when He had said these things, all His adversaries were ashamed; and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.

When Jesus had spoken what He did, the ruler of the synagogue as well as other adversaries like the scribes and Pharisees who were surely also in the synagogue hoping to catch Jesus in the wrong, were all put to shame.  Whether or not they personally felt ashamed or not, they were surely disgraced and silenced as all the people rejoiced in what Jesus had done and said.

(18) Then He said, "What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it?"

I don't believe this question of Jesus was made at the same time as when He was in the synagogue, but rather later or at another time, "Then He said...."  Jesus asked a question He would answer Himself, what was the kingdom of God like and to what should He compare it for His listeners' understanding.

(19) "It is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and cast into his garden, and it grew and became a great tree and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it."

Jesus used this comparison to show that the kingdom of God was not a sudden perfection on earth that they might have believed it would be.  The people expected an earthly king Messiah who would set up His kingdom immediately.  However, He explained it was not like that.  It would start very small like the mustard seed but would grow to be enormous in the world and would shelter many who would take refuge in it.

(20) And again He said, "To what shall I liken the kingdom of God?"

Jesus asked the question again in order to give another example.

(21) "It is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till the whole was leavened."

Jesus said the kingdom of God on earth was like leaven, though small and perhaps seemingly begun in secret with a small few, would swell and spread till God's people throughout the whole world were leavened with the Gospel.

(22) And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.

Jesus went through cities and villages as He journeyed toward Jerusalem, and He took the time to teach people about the kingdom of God as He went along the way.

(23) Then one said to Him, "Lord, are there few who are saved?" And He said to them, (24) "Strive to enter in at the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter in and shall not be able."

Someone among the people Jesus taught asked Him if there were only a few who were saved.  He told the people to strive, or be diligent about their salvation, striving to be Christ-like in communion with Him in prayer, in study of the scriptures, contending with Satan and the world that opposed salvation.  Jesus called this a narrow gate that many would seek to enter but would be unable.  The use of the word "seek" here bothered me a little because Jesus had said, "Seek, and you shall find."  However, God said in Deuteronomy 4:29, that one would find Him if he sought Him with all his heart and with all his soul.  I believe that is what makes it the narrow gate.  It's not enough to just say we wish to enter the kingdom of God and call ourselves Christian because we say we believe in Jesus and Father God.  We must truly strive to make Him the Lord of our lives proving we desire Him with all our hearts and souls.  Just saying we believe and continuing to live a worldly life is trying to enter by a broad gate that is not of Christ and His narrow gate.

(25) "When once the Master of the house has risen up and has shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us,' and He shall answer and say to you, 'I do not know you where you are.'"

Jesus told them that once the Master of the house, meaning God in heaven, had shut His door, and people stood outside the door asking to be let in, He would answer and say He did not know them as His own who lived among His flock, as they came from the world.  Not only would people be unable to enter the narrow gate because they did not wholeheartedly seek the Lord with all their hearts and souls, but they came too late.  God said in Isaiah 45:23, and it was reflected upon in Romans 14:11, that in the end every knee would bow to Him and every tongue would acknowledge Him; every person would eventually acknowledge God, but it would be too late then.

(26) "Then you will begin to say, 'We have eaten and drunk in your presence, and you have taught in our streets.'"

Jesus said those people would plead their cases saying that they had been in His presence, if not with Him personally, in His church, and His word was taught in their streets.  They would say that they "knew" Him.

(27) "But He shall say, 'I tell you, I do not know you where you are; depart from Me, all workers of iniquity!'"

However, the Lord would reiterate that He did not know them where they were in the world.  He would call them workers of iniquity and would demand they depart from Him.  Most all the translations other than the King James Version translated Jesus's words as something to the effect of, "I don't know you or where you came from" or "I don't know where you come from."  The fact that it was said twice the very same way, "I do not know you where you are," or exactly in the KJV, "I know you not whence you are," I believe that is exactly what was meant.  The Lord Jesus knows everyone and He knows where they came from.  I believe the sense is that He did not recognize them as one of His own because of where they were in the world, living as the world and not as one of His flock.

(28) "There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you shall see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you thrust out."

Those Jesus told to depart from Him would find themselves wailing in anguish when they saw their fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the prophets who had foretold Jesus to them, there in the kingdom of God, and they were thrust out.

(29) "And they shall come from the east and the west, and from the north and the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God."

Souls would come from all corners of the earth to sit in the kingdom of God.  This meant Gentiles would come from all nations to sit in the kingdom of God, but they, God's chosen people, would not be able to enter because they never really knew Jesus and He did not know them as His own.

(30) "And behold, there are last who shall be first, and there are first who shall be last."

By this statement, Jesus was telling them that the last, the Gentiles, the farthest removed from God, and the last to receive the Gospel after it was rejected by the Jews, would be first in the kingdom of God.  God's first chosen and the first to hear the Gospel would become last because they had rejected it.

(31) The same day there came certain of the Pharisees saying to Him, "Get out and depart from here, for Herod will kill You."

That same day some Pharisees came to Jesus and warned Him to depart from there because Herod would kill Him.  From verse 22 we know that Jesus was journeying toward Jerusalem, so He was not there yet.  Therefore this may have been Herod the Tetrarch of Galilee whose jurisdiction went no further than Galilee.  Perhaps it was of good will that some Pharisees warned Jesus to get out of Herod's jurisdiction, but more likely they just wanted Him to leave and that was designed to make Him leave, whether or not it was Herod who sent them.  

(32) And He said to them, "Go and tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.'"

However, Jesus fittingly called Herod a fox as he was known as a crafty and incestuous prince.  He told those messengers to go tell Herod that He intended to stay and do the works He was sent to do for the short time He had left to do them, and on the third day He would depart for Jerusalem where He would be perfected when He died there.  Whether He would be just three days there before He was perfected, or rather what He said was to be symbolic of the three days He would be in the tomb before He rose again, the meaning was the same.  He had a short time to do His work and then He would be gone.

(33) "Nevertheless, I must walk today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem."

However, Jesus said that He would be walking toward Jerusalem those three days, though He intended to keep working His miracles as He journeyed.  He said that was because a prophet could not perish out of Jerusalem.  Obviously, it wasn't true that no prophet could ever perish outside of Jerusalem, but as that was where the Sanhedrin was which was said to be the only one to try and judge a prophet, that was where Jesus determined to go.  He did not fear death by Herod where He was and would not immediately depart, but He knew where He must go to die so He would be journeying that way.

(34) "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to you; how often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!"

Jesus then lamented over Jerusalem calling it a place that killed the prophets and stoned to death those who were sent to it in order to save it.  How often Jesus had desired to gather the people of Jerusalem together to protect them as a hen gathered her chicks under her wings, as He had made three different trips to Jerusalem in order to do just that.  However, Jerusalem rejected Him.

(35) "Behold, your house is left to you desolate, and verily I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you shall say, 'Blessed He who comes in the name of the Lord.'"

Because Jerusalem rejected Jesus, it was then consigned to destruction, and would not see Him again until the time when its people would acknowledge Him as Messiah and Savior coming the second time in the name and authority of the Lord.  However, that would be to the posterity of Jerusalem's present people, when the time came that they might be converted in the latter days.

Genealogy of Jesus Continues Back Past David

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:

(Luke 3:33) Who was of Aminadab, who was of Aram, who was of Hezron, who was of Pharez, who was of Judah,

The last post established Jesus's descendancy from David, who was the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, who was the son of Aminadab, and Luke continues the ascendancy through Judah, making Jesus that Lion of Judah referenced in Revelation 5:5.

(34) Who was of Jacob, who was of Isaac, who was of Abraham, who was of Terah, who was of Nahor,

Judah was the son of Jacob, who was, of course, the son of Isaac, who was the son of Abraham, and that established Jesus's descendancy from Abraham.  Luke continued by naming Abraham's father as Terah, and Terah was the son of Nahor.

(35) Who was of Serug, who was of Reu, who was of Peleg, who was of Eber, who was of Shelah, (36) Who was of Cainan, who was of Arphaxad, who was of Shem, who was of Noah, who was of Lamech,

Luke continued Jesus's ascendancy through Noah who was the son of Lamech.  Once again, I have to continue in the next post as Blogger only allows me 20 labels per post.

The Triumphant Wisdom of Jesus Christ

Continuing a study of the gospels:

(Matthew 22:1) And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables, and said,

In the last chapter Jesus had told the parable of the vineyard to the chief priests and scribes, and He now spoke to them again in parables.  The account in Mark said that the priests and scribes had left Jesus and went their way.  However, Mark did not relate this particular parable Jesus was about to tell, so it is reasonable to assume that they did not leave until they heard this parable, as well.  If the chief priests and scribes did go away, then there were other Pharisees who remained to hear this parable:

(2) "The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who made a marriage for His son, (3) And sent forth his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding, and they would not come."

Jesus began His parable by likening the kingdom of heaven to that of a king who had arranged a wedding for his son.  He sent his servants out to call all those who had been invited to the wedding, but they would not come.  This, of course, represents God calling His people, the Jews, to salvation.  Jesus is often called the bridegroom, and His people are His bride.  God called the Jewish people first, as His special people, but they would not come to Jesus.

(4) "Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, 'Tell them who are invited, "Behold, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and fatlings are killed, and all things are ready; come to the wedding."'"

Jesus went on to tell how the king sent more servants out, instructing them to tell all who were invited that he had prepared a feast and all things were ready for the wedding, and bidding them to come.  This represents the disciples and those messengers in real time who told the invited Jews that the time was now for the wedding.

(5) "But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise; (6) And the remnant took his servants and treated them spitefully and killed them.

Jesus told how the people invited to the wedding ridiculed it and most went on with their usual business.  However, a small number of them remained and reviled and abused the servants and killed them.  This represents most people who rejected God's invitation to come to Jesus and salvation, and those who persecuted and killed His messengers, His disciples.

(7) "But when the king heard of it, he was angry; and he sent forth his armies and destroyed those murderers and burned up their city."

The king in the parable was very angry when he heard about how his servants had been abused and killed, and he sent his armies to destroy the murderers and burn their city.  This was prophetic of what was to happen to Jerusalem because its people rejected and killed Christ and His messengers; God would send His armies of Roman soldiers to burn Jerusalem.

(8) "Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.'"

The king in Jesus's parable, representing God, declared that the wedding was ready, but those who had been invited were not worthy.  They represent the Jews who had basically snubbed their noses at God's gracious invitation, so how could they be considered worthy?

(9) "'Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you can find, invite to the wedding.'"

The king sent his servants into the highways to find as many people as they could, inviting them all to the wedding.  This is representative of God offering His gift of salvation to all the world after it had been rejected by His special people, the Jews.

(10) "So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all they found, both bad and good; and the wedding was furnished with guests."

The servants went out and gathered together all the people they found, without distinguishing whether they were moral people or open sinners.  The wedding was full of guests.

(11) "And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man who did not have on a wedding garment."

When the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who was not appropriately covered.  People who were brought in from the highways could not be expected to be formally dressed, but it is said that the ancient custom was to provide wedding garments for accidental attendees.  For this man not to be properly dressed means he must have refused them.  This represents a person not heart-ready to receive Christ.  

(12) "And he said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here not having a wedding garment?' And he was speechless."

The king asked the man how he had come to be there without having on a wedding garment.  The man was speechless to defend himself.  This represents the soul professing to be called a Christian, but without the repentance and faith and heart to be prepared to enter the kingdom.  At judgment, he will have nothing he can say for himself.

(13) "Then said the king to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot and take him away and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"

The king told his servants to bind the man and take him away to outer darkness where there would be weeping and the gnashing of teeth, expressing pain and anguish.  Of course, there can be no doubt this represents hell for the unrepentant hypocrite soul pretending Christianity.  This represented what would happen to the chief priests and scribes and Pharisees who had only a pretense of religion.

(14) "For many are called, but few are chosen."

Jesus declared that many people were called to accept the gift of salvation, but relative to the world full of people called, only a few accept it and become part of the chosen elect of God.

(15) Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk.

The Pharisees then left Jesus and plotted among themselves about how they could ensnare Him with His own words.  The irony is they were the ones who were always ensnared by their words!  When truth is on one's side, he can talk freely and not be worried about being ensnared by his own words.

(16) And they sent out to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, 'Master, we know that you are true and teach the way of God in truth, nor do you care about anyone's opinion for you do not regard the positions of men."

The Pharisees sent their disciples to Jesus with the Herodians, who were attached to Herod and therefore zealous for the interest of the Roman government.  Their purpose was to trap Him, but they laid on the flattery and false praise, calling Him "Master," and saying they knew He was true in His teaching of God and had no regard for the positions of people.

(17) "Tell us therefore; what do you think? Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not?"

They asked Jesus what He thought about whether or not it was lawful to give tribute to Caesar.  A little history is needed to understand how it was that they were trying to trick Jesus.  About a hundred years prior the Jews had come under Roman rule after being conquered by the Romans, and therefore tributes were demanded of them.  However, the Jewish nation, as Abraham's seed, should not be in bondage to any man.  The Pharisees felt that if Jesus answered that it was lawful to give tribute to Caesar, that the Jewish people would rise up against Him as a betrayer of the liberties of their nation.  However, by bringing the Herodians with them, those who were more zealous for Roman interests, they dared Him to say it was not lawful and set the Roman government against Him.

(18) But Jesus perceived their wickedness and said, "Why do you tempt Me, hypocrites?"

Jesus, knowing their thoughts, knew they were only trying to entrap Him, and were not asking out of any real interest and desire to know the truth.  He called them hypocrites because He knew they only pretended respect for Him and a scrupulous desire for truth.

(19) "Show Me the tribute money." So they brought Him a denarius.

Jesus told them to show the tribute money to Him; and they brought Him a denarius, which was a Roman coin that was used to pay Roman tribute.  Tribute for temple service was paid with the Jewish shekel.

(20) And He said to them, "Whose is this image and inscription?"

Jesus put the question back to the Pharisees, and asked whose image and inscription was on the coin.

(21) They said to Him, "Caesar's." Then He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."

By having received Caesar's coin and acknowledging that it came from him, they were clearly under Caesar's government and therefore under obligation to give back that part demanded by the government.  However, God's image and inscription is upon the soul, and they should give to Him what was His, their hearts and lives in service to Him, as well as tribute money for the service of the temple with the traditional Jewish shekel.  Christians are called to obey authority, even if it means a wicked and corrupt government, until the point that one is called to do something in direct opposition to the word of God.

(22) When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.

When the Pharisees heard Jesus's answer, they were amazed at His wisdom in answering them in such an unexpected way, and they left Him, having nothing else they could say in response, and not being able to get any advantage over Him as had been their plan.

(23) That same day came to Him the Saducees, who say that there is no resurrection, and asked Him,

That same day another sect, the Saducees, came to Jesus.  The Saducees did not believe in an afterlife.  They believed one should love and reverence God with no thought to a reward, and did not believe in resurrection, angels, or spirits.

(24) Saying, "Master, Moses said, 'If a man dies having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.'"

The Saducees asked Jesus about a Mosaic law referenced in Deuteronomy 25:5.  It was a law given by Moses in order to keep the tribes of Israel distinct and to perpetuate them.  If a man died having no children, his brother was to marry his wife and their children would be reckoned as children of the deceased brother.

(25) "Now there were with us seven brothers; and the first, when he had married a wife, died, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother."

The Saducees report what they said was an actual case of seven brothers who had been among them.  The first son married a wife, but died before having any children.  The wife is supposed to be left for the second brother to marry.

(26) "Likewise the second also, and the third to the seventh. (27) And last of all, the woman died also."

The Saducees continued with their story; the second son also died apparently leaving no children, as subsequently, also did the third through the seventh sons.  Finally the wife died also.  This certainly seems a wild coincidence that seven brothers all died before having children and all died before the wife, and if it wasn't true, seems to be much more extreme than needed to make their point.  Maybe it was true, but if not completely true, I'm sure it was partially true and presented a real difficulty in their eyes, as demonstrated by their question:

(28) "Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife shall she be of the seven? For they all had her."

The Saducees didn't believe in a resurrection, so their question was designed to show the difficulty in a belief in resurrection, assuming that husbands and wives would be reunited as they were on earth, and they didn't see how a woman could be the wife of seven men.

(29) Jesus answered and said to them, "You err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God." (30) For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven."

Jesus told the Saducees that they erred in their thinking, apparently not knowing the scriptures which plainly asserted a resurrection, and not knowing the power of God who is well able to do anything.  He went on to tell them that in the resurrection people would not marry, but would be as angels of God with no earthly need to marry or procreate or satisfy any human need that they had on earth.  

(31) "But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, (32) 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."

Jesus went on with further proof of a resurrection of the dead by asking if they had read the words of God in the scriptures.  At least twice in Exodus (Exodus 3:6, Exodus 3:15) God had proclaimed Himself the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Those patriarchs had been dead two to three hundred years when God spoke those words to Moses.  Jesus told the Saducees that God was the God of the living, not of the dead in the past.  God had said, "I am" not "I was Abraham's God."  

(33) And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at His doctrine.

When the multitude of people around Jesus heard what He said to the Saducees, they were astonished at His doctrine, probably partly because of the pure, perfect angelic state of the righteous in the world to come, and because He had so quickly and strongly proved the immortality of the soul and the resurrection of the dead.  In his account, Luke stated that the Saducees didn't dare to ask Jesus any other questions, evidently being so confounded by His answer, proof, and reasonings.

(34) But when the Pharisees had heard that He had put the Saducees to silence, they were gathered together.

The Pharisees didn't believe as the Saducees did, so they may have gathered together to joyfully discuss how their rivals the Saducees had been silenced by Jesus.  But then again, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend," so more than likely they were dismayed that Jesus had also prevailed over the Saducees and they gathered together to plot another way to trap Him in His words.

(35) Then one of them who was a lawyer asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, (36) "Master, which is the greatest commandment in the law?"

Then one of the Pharisees who was a lawyer sought to trick Jesus and asked Him what the greatest commandment in the law was.  A lawyer at this time was not someone practicing law as we know it, but was someone very learned in the law of Moses.  The Pharisees had tried to trap Jesus in matters concerning government, religion, and now were testing Him in the law.  What one commandment could be called the greatest?  They were probably sure they had entrapped Him now, for whichever law He called the greatest, they could offer up another which would seem greater.

(37) Jesus said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. (38) And the second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' (39) On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

One cannot trap the very author of the law.  Jesus knew exactly how they were designed.  The first four commandments were all about loving God.  Even the fifth commandment about honoring parents is a learning step toward honoring authority and loving God.  The last five are all about loving one's neighbor and treating him as he would want to be treated.  Therefore, all the commandments were based on these two broader commandments.

(41) While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, (42) Saying, "What do you think about Christ? Whose son is He?" They said to Him, "The Son of David."

While the plotting Pharisees were still all gathered together, Jesus asked them what they thought about Christ.  They were all expecting a coming Christ the Messiah.  He asked them whose son they thought Christ was.  They answered they thought Him to be the Son of David.

(43) He said to them, "How then does David in spirit call Him Lord, saying, (44) 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit on My right hand till I make Your enemies Your footstool."'?"

Jesus asked the Pharisees if Christ was the son of David, then why was it that David under inspiration of the Holy Spirit called Him Lord.  He then quoted David's words in Psalm 110:1, where the Lord God said to David's Lord Christ to sit at His right hand until He subdued all His enemies under Him.

(45) "If David then calls Him Lord, how is He his son?"

Jesus then summed up the paradox brought about by their mistaken belief that Christ would be some earthly prince on earth.  If David called Christ his Lord, then how could Christ be his son?

(46) And no man was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day forth did anyone ask Him any more questions.

Obviously, based on their beliefs, they couldn't answer His question.  The only way it could be answered was to admit that Christ was divine as well as human, and that He had an existence at the time of David as his Lord, but He descended from him as man.  From that day on, it seems the Pharisees ceased trying to trick Him with their questions.

I believe the biggest takeaway from this chapter is the infallible wisdom of Jesus Christ and the Word of God.  Just as the Pharisees and Saducees were unable to ensnare Him, so the mighty foes of God and His Word from time immemorial have been unable to triumph over Truth.  The only seeming triumphs against God and His Truth come from our lack of understanding.  When we immerse ourselves in God's Word, we can then defend against lies.  Of course, we can never be 100% as Christ, who was the Word Himself, but we should strive to be as Christlike as possible, and by constantly studying His Word, we are better prepared against ensnarements which will surely come our way.