Category: The Nation Israel

The Centurions #2

Saturday, February 17, 2024

“And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,…” (Matthew 8:5 KJV).

What are “centurions?”

After surveying the Four Gospel Records and finding three isolated centurions (Matthew 8:5-13; Luke 7:2-6; Matthew 27:54; Mark 15:39; Luke 23:47; Mark 15:44,45), we find the rest of them in the Book of Acts. Consider some of the Acts references now.

The fourth singular centurion in Holy Scripture is in Acts chapter 10, even being identified. “There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band,…. And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by an holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee” (Acts 10:1,22).

A group of centurions is featured in Acts 21:32: “Who immediately took soldiers and centurions, and ran down unto them: and when they saw the chief captain and the soldiers, they left beating of Paul.” We find the fifth sole centurion in Acts 22:25,26: “And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned? When the centurion heard that, he went and told the chief captain, saying, Take heed what thou doest: for this man is a Roman.”

There is a sixth lone centurion included in Acts 23:17: “Then Paul called one of the centurions unto him, and said, Bring this young man unto the chief captain: for he hath a certain thing to tell him.” Two centurions are in Acts 23:23: “And he called unto him two centurions, saying, Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea, and horsemen threescore and ten, and spearmen two hundred, at the third hour of the night;….” The seventh solo centurion appears in Acts 24:23: “And he commanded a centurion to keep Paul, and to let him have liberty, and that he should forbid none of his acquaintance to minister or come unto him.”

Let us find and read the remaining Acts “centurion” references….

The Centurions #1

Friday, February 16, 2024

“And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,…” (Matthew 8:5 KJV).

What are “centurions?”

The King James Bible refers to “centurions” some 27 times—always in the New Testament (never the Old Testament), and usually as individuals (occasionally in the plural). Before we study the word itself, we need to quickly survey all the references.

Today’s Scripture and its context allude to the first solitary centurion, whose ill servant Christ cured. “And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,…. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed…. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour” (Matthew 8:5,8,13). The parallel account is Luke 7:2,6: “And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die…. Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof:….”

At Christ’s cross, we find the second individual centurion. “Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God” (Matthew 27:54). “And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God” (Mark 15:39). “Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man” (Luke 23:47).

When Christ’s body required burial, there is a third distinct centurion. “And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead. And when he knew it of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph” (Mark 15:44,45).

There are more “centurion” verses for us to read….

As Ye All Are This Day

Monday, February 12, 2024

“I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day. And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women” (Acts 22:3,4 KJV).

A dear brother in Christ and coworker in grace ministry—just a few years into right division—recently told me how astonished he was to realize the great opposition to sound Bible doctrine! Not only has he read our Bible studies on this subject of antagonism, he now faces it firsthand when sharing dispensational Bible truth with his friends. Instead of receiving the spiritual light he offered them, they favored their denominational doctrine (especially an obsession with Matthew through John).

In today’s Scripture, the Apostle Paul delivers a speech to lost Israel gathered in Jerusalem, opening with his testimony. Some weighty words are, “[I] was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.” There was Paul, trained in Judaism, the Law of Moses and all the “supplementary” rabbinical traditions. As Saul of Tarsus—lost in works-religion and headed for an eternal Devil’s Hell—he had wreaked havoc on the Little Flock (Israel’s believing remnant) during the early Acts period. However, in Acts chapter 9, he met and trusted as his personal Saviour the resurrected, ascended, and glorified Lord Jesus Christ.

Now 30 years into ministry, Paul is pleading with Christ-rejecting, works-religionist Jews in today’s Scripture. Essentially, he exclaimed, “I used to be where you are in your fanatical unbelief, so you should give me a fair hearing to see why I am no longer where you still are and see where you should be!” People can never argue with our testimony—what spiritual darkness the Lord saved us from, what spiritual error they can be delivered from (if only they would allow us to share Bible verses with them). Let us not be disappointed when they decline our Bible verses… for unsaved Israelites also refused to hear and believe Paul (read Acts 22:1-22).

A Family Enterprise #6

Friday, February 9, 2024

“The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger” (Jeremiah 7:18 KJV).

What is their family enterprise?

These sins of heathen idolatry were not accidental but deliberate, the result of several centuries of unbelief. Like today, it had been the family’s practice to ignore God’s prophets or preachers generation after generation.

Read what follows today’s Scripture: “[22] For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices: [23] But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you. [24] But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward. [25] Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them: [26] Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers.

“[27] Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call unto them; but they will not answer thee. [28] But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the LORD their God, nor receiveth correction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth. [29] Cut off thine hair, O Jerusalem, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on high places; for the LORD hath rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath. [30] For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith the LORD: they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to pollute it.”

Let us summarize and conclude this devotionals arc….

A Family Enterprise #5

Thursday, February 8, 2024

“The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger” (Jeremiah 7:18 KJV).

What is their family enterprise?

Generally, society looks down upon people who take their children with them during the commission of their crimes. They wag their fingers, shake their heads, and cry out, “Shame! Shame! Shame!” To see a son accompany his father in a theft, or a daughter go with her mother to commit a murder, is an extremely appalling situation to anyone who possesses integrity and seeks justice. Yet, and this is most (most! most!! most!!!) unfortunate, almost no one has any spiritual sense to recognize the eternal disgrace connected to parents taking their children to religious services that will damn their souls.

It is no secret that children copy their parents. When children in today’s Scripture collect wood, it is because their parents by example taught them to do it! For what purpose are these children gathering this wood? Why, their fathers will light a fire with those sticks. The mothers, their wives, are hard at work in the kitchen forming cakes to bake on that fire. What is their reason? The queen of heaven, the mother goddess, is to be worshipped with food and drink! A holy meal will be held in her honor, and she will be venerated because of all her goodness, power, and wisdom! Apparently, she deserves far more attention than JEHOVAH God! (While it is offensive, the fact of the matter is that this blasphemy is being committed all over the world this very moment, and the most obvious form is the Eucharist or the Mass of Roman Catholicism [wherein Mary is actually called “the queen of heaven!”]. Check the warning in 1 Corinthians 10:19-22, what the professing church has ignored for 20 centuries!)

The family enterprise, the family business, of today’s Scripture is nothing but devil worship. Yet, it has nothing to do with murder, stealing, adultery, gambling, smoking cigarettes, drunkenness, prostitution, gangbanging, drug-dealing, or any other sin of the flesh. It is the sin of the spirit, a transgression committed in works-religion… with children in tow….

A Family Enterprise #4

Wednesday, February 7, 2024

“The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger” (Jeremiah 7:18 KJV).

What is their family enterprise?

Mother-goddess worship can be traced back to the Tower of Babel 4,000 years ago. Her original name was Semiramis. When the LORD God scattered the nations from Babel (Babylon) because of their pagan idolatry (Genesis 11:1-9), they took with them worldwide that concept of a mother goddess.

Consequently, all peoples paid her homage, though under various names because of language differences: Nana (Sumerians), Indrani/Isi (Indians), Disa (Scandinavians), Venus/Fortuna (Romans), Nutria (Etruscans), Aphrodite/Ceres (Greeks), Shingmoo (Chinese), Hertha (Germans), Venus/Fortuna (Romans), Isis (Egyptians), Cybele (Asians in Turkey), Virgo/Patitura (Druids), Astarte/Ashtaroth (Phoenicians—see Judges 2:13, Judges 10:6, and 1 Samuel 7:3), and Diana/Artemis (Ephesians—see Acts 19:24,27-28,34-35). In fact, she is the Virgin Mary of Roman Catholicism, and Mother Earth or Mother Nature (also known as Gaia)!

The Jews during Jeremiah’s ministry (today’s Scripture) knew God’s attitude about pagan idolatry, especially mother-goddess worship, but they engaged in anyway. This resulted in their deportation to Babylon under King Nebuchadnezzar. Even after the Babylonian exile was underway, they kept worshipping her. Jeremiah chapter 44: “[17] But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil. [18] But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine. [19] And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men?”

How sad it was that (in today’s Scripture) they even brought their children into this heathen darkness….

A Family Enterprise #3

Tuesday, February 6, 2024

“The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger” (Jeremiah 7:18 KJV).

What is their family enterprise?

Despite what natural-man thinking dictates, the biblical model is for the husband-father to be his family’s spiritual leader. God gave His Word to Adam first, for Eve was not yet in existence. Adam, apparently, had the responsibility of committing that Divine revelation to his wife when she came later. “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17).

“And if they [the women of verse 34] will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church” (1 Corinthians 14:35). “Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety” (1 Timothy 2:11-15).

“Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing” (Ephesians 5:22-24). “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).

In today’s Scripture, however, we find families in spiritual disarray, for they have strayed quite far from the Creator’s design. The men are leading their families—their wives and children—down the path of certain spiritual destruction….

A Family Enterprise #2

Monday, February 5, 2024

“The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger” (Jeremiah 7:18 KJV).

What is their family enterprise?

Consider the following passages that form part of the Law of Moses. “Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons; Specially the day that thou stoodest before the LORD thy God in Horeb, when the LORD said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children” (Deuteronomy 4:9,10).

“And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up” (Deuteronomy 6:5-7).

“Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; And then the LORD’S wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you. Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up” (Deuteronomy 11:16-19).

Re-read today’s Scripture in light of these passages. Do you see any negligence on anyone’s part? You should….

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A Family Enterprise #1

Sunday, February 4, 2024

“The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger” (Jeremiah 7:18 KJV).

What is their family enterprise?

The most basic unit of human civilization is marriage (which results in family, the next unit). As Genesis chapter 1 reports, “[26] And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. [27] So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. [28] And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”

Indeed, God created us humans to be social beings: “And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet [fit, suitable] for him…. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet [fit, suitable] for him. And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man” (Genesis 2:18,20-22).

Families come in all sizes, shapes, and colors. What binds them can be food, religion, language, geography, finances, education, hobbies. One clever axiom adequately captures this idea: “The family that prays together, stays together.” In this case, the reference is to religion. Let us exposit today’s Scripture so as to see how the families of Judah—Israel’s southern kingdom—found clever ways to start a certain enterprise and thus greatly enrage the LORD….

Stripling

Saturday, February 3, 2024

“And the king said, Enquire thou whose son the stripling is” (1 Samuel 17:56 KJV).

What is a “stripling?”

Possibly everyone familiar with the Scriptures knows how the Philistine giant Goliath challenged Israel. The Philistines have been oppressing the Jewish people for decades, and now they are at war with King Saul. Goliath is said to be a “champion,” with a recorded height of “six cubits and a span” (verse 4). This was probably the standard cubit of 18 inches (1.5 feet, or 46 centimeters, or 0.5 yard, or 0.5 meter). A “span”—or handspan—would be the maximum distance from the tip of the outstretched thumb to the tip of the outstretched little finger. That was a half-cubit, or 9 inches (0.75 foot, or 23 centimeters, or 0.25 yard, or 0.25 meter). If we take these figures into account, we conclude Goliath stood at least 9 feet 9 inches (3.25 yards or 2.97 meters) tall!

Furthermore, Goliath’s coat of mail—his armor—weighed “five thousand shekels of brass” (verse 5). This was roughly 166 pounds (75 kilograms). The head of his spear alone weighed “six hundred shekels of iron” (verse 7), approximately 15 pounds (7 kilograms). He was an enormous man, someone whom the Philistines assumed would proudly represent them on the battlefield as he fought Israel’s best warrior. The Jewish people, even King Saul, are greatly afraid, worried, or troubled because of Goliath (verses 8-11). Young David is sent to minister to his older brothers who belong to Israel’s army. Trusting the LORD, David decides to fight Goliath. “And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth” (verse 33). By chapter’s end, however, Goliath is dead and David is victorious!

Having watched the fight from afar, King Saul wishes to know the identity of the “stripling” who has slain Goliath (today’s Scripture). This appellation is applied to a young person (see Hebrew word translated “young man” in 1 Samuel 20:22). David was likely a teenager, having a slim body, one as thin as a strip. Being an unbeliever, Saul could not understand how a “lightweight” could vanquish a “heavyweight!”