The Living Word

Bible study on the set readings widely used by various churches and chapels and a weekly storytelling video. Also at www.medium.com/the-living-word and https://thelivingword.substack.com

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Oct 2: Trusting God by Exercising an Active Faith

September 28, 2022 by Ian Greig Leave a Comment

A river waterfall with cascading water in Glen Nevis
Cascading waterfall, the lower fall of the river that runs through Glen Nevis, Scottish Highlands

This is The Living Word Bible Study for Groups and Individuals, for Sunday, October 2, 2022

Theme: Trusting God by exercising an active faith

We’re using five fairly short OT + NT Bible readings this week — the second OT reading from Habakkuk is the alternative OT reading in the Revised Common Lectionary, and it helps to tell the story,

Psalm 137:1-6

Lamentations 1:1-6 — The cost of proudly continuing the way we like

Habakkuk 1:2-4; 2:1-4

Luke 17:5-10 — Jesus tells us to take our faith and put it to work

2 Timothy 1:1-14 — Know the power of the Spirit and stay true


• Read this week’s linked article Jesus Tells Us To Exercise Our Lazy Faith

• Watch this week’s video in desktop wide format or tall format for mobiles


Psalm 137:1-6

1 By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.

2-3 There on the poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

4 How can we sing the songs of the Lord

 while in a foreign land?

5-6 If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy.

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Lamentations 1:1-6 — The cost of proudly continuing the way we like

A picture of a community left struggling  with God’s glory having departed

1 How deserted lies the city, once so full of people! How like a widow is she, who once was great among the nations!

“How” — a stronger word in Hebrew expressing shock as well as sorrow.

“Like a widow” — Lamentations depicts the remaining southern kingdom, Judah, as an abandoned, desolate woman.

2 She who was queen among the provinces has now become a slave. Among all her lovers there is no one to comfort her.

All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies.

“Queen… become a slave” — from queen to widow, to slave; a vivid picture as once-thriving Jerusalem now seems deserted.

“All her lovers… friends have betrayed” — Judeans had turned to fertility gods Baal and Asherah and the nation threatened by Babylon failed to find help from Egypt, Tyre or Sidon.

3 After affliction and harsh labour, Judah has gone into exile. She dwells among the nations; she finds no resting place. All who pursue her have overtaken her in the midst of her distress.

4 The roads to Zion mourn, for no one comes to her appointed festivals. All her gateways are desolate, her priests groan, her young women grieve, and she is in bitter anguish.

“The roads to Zion” — exile has depopulated the city, the temple is in ruins, the priests are out of a job and there is no throng of worshippers for the festivals.

5 Her foes have become her masters; her enemies are at ease. The Lord has brought her grief because of her many sins. Her children have gone into exile, captive before the foe.

“The Lord has brought her grief” — now it is made plain that the downfall is deserved.

6 All the splendour has departed from Daughter Zion. Her princes are like deer in weakness they have fled before the pursuer.

“Splendour… departed” — or God’s glory departed, 1 Samuel 4:21, Ezekiel 10:18-19.

Habakkuk 1:2-4; 2:1-4

2 How long, Lord, must I call for help, but You do not listen? Or cry out to You, “Violence!” but You do not save?

“Violence!” — King Jehoiakin’s cruel and corrupt reign.

3-4 Why do You make me look at injustice? Why do You tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralysed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.

“Tolerate wrongdoing” — it appears to the prophet that God is letting sin go unpunished, so there is no justice.

2:1 I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what He will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint.

“Station myself” — Habakkuk positions himself as a spiritual watchman, like being a look-out on the ramparts.

2 Then the Lord replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.

“Write down” — like a royal messenger he is to write the vision on a clay tablet to share it accurately, Isa. 30:8.

3 “For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.

4 “See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright — but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness.”

“Live by… faithfulness” — or live by his faith, much quoted in this form in the NT; meaning to hold firmly on to God’s promises.

• For further study, Hebrews 10:38-39.

Reflection

SUMMARY These two prophetic passages speak of how God’s people, persisting in abandoning their God-given teaching and covenant, and rejecting the prophetic voices sent by God, face the inevitable outcome. 

APPLICATION Complacency in believing that we are God’s holy people, entitled to His protection, sets us up for the ‘ichabod’ moment when we discover that God’s presence has departed. This is the reality in churches that have lost both their message of personal salvation and new life in Jesus, and most of their congregation.

QUESTION What are biblical preachers preachers saying about living as people of personal faith, and how do we respond?


Luke 17:5-10 — Jesus tells us to take our faith and put it to work

We want Him to increase our faith, but He is telling us to use what we have

5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

“Increase our faith” — the request of every aspiring disciple of every age, trying to live up to Jesus’ standards.

• For further study: what genuine faith is, John 15:7, James 1:6-8, 1 John 5:21.

6 He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

“Faith… as a mustard seed” — Jesus’ classic answer compares active, effectual faith with the smallest kind of seed, tiny but living and active.

“Mulberry tree… uprooted” — a near-permanent tree with a vast and deep root system giving a lifespan of several hundred years.

7 “Suppose one of you has a servant ploughing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’?

“A servant ploughing” — the idea is of putting faith to work, to do what faith is meant to do. In that culture, bond-servants existed to serve their masters.

8-9 Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do?

“Won’t he rather say” — a master would address as bond-servant commandingly and would expect duties fulfilled. This describes a robust approach to speaking words of faith which relates to verse 6.

• For further study, read Matthew 17:20; Matt. 21:18-22; Mark 11:22-24.

10 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”

“Only done our duty” — without expectation of reward, because in the kingdom of God, grace is given which by definition is undeserved and received without any sense of merit.

Reflection

SUMMARY This passage depicts the disciples asking for an increase of faith as an abstract, God-given attribute. Jesus explains that faith, whether great or small, is to be like a bond-servant to be put to work. Even ‘tiny’ faith, put to work in a robust declaration of the Lord’s purpose, achieves what is humanly impossible,

APPLICATION The faith spoken of by Jesus is different from a general or prevailing religious belief, and is distinct from a passive mental assent to Scriptural teaching. Rather it is active and practical, able to speak creative words of power as words which Jesus Himself is speaking. Even the most deeply rooted ‘tree of difficulty’ cannot withstand this. Faith is personal to you and God, working with Him in the confidence (i.e. hope) of Him working with you — and it comes with practice.

QUESTION What is a situation where you might have asked for more faith? How would you now exercise the faith you have, in line with v.6?


2 Timothy 1:1-14 — Know the power of the Spirit and stay true

Timothy’s mentor is showing him the way of demonstrating courageous faith 

1-2 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

“To Timothy, my dear son” — travelling companion and apprentice of Paul, left to build up the Ephesus house churches which were being set back by false Jewish ritualistic teaching.

3 I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers.

“As my ancestors did” — Paul sets out his heritage in Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Christian faith was not a new religion, or even a new take on an old religion, but bore grateful witness to godly people of the past.

4 Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy.

“Tears” — probably when Paul was taken to Rome under arrest.

5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

“Your sincere faith” — in this mixed Gentile and Jewish church it was significant that Timothy’s mother and grandmother were both Christians of Jewish origin, while his father was a Greek.

6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

“Fan… the gift of God” — the impartation given at Paul’s hand at the time of his public commissioning, an anointing for spiritual leadership assuming and recognising other specific spiritual gifts, 1 Cor. 12:1-14:40.

“Fan into flame” — the Holy Spirit’s empowering of us must be cultivated by exercising faith in using the gifts.

7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

“Not… timid, but gives us power” — the Spirit-filled person has a confidence from beyond themselves. Jesus’ challenging teaching becomes more accessible in the post-resurrection church which operates in the empowering of the Spirit.

8 So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.

“The testimony about our Lord” — our word ‘martyr’ comes from the Greek word for testimony. Witness and adversity go hand in hand and most of the apostles died for their faith.

9-10 He has saved us and called us to a holy life — not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Saviour, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

“Saved… because of His own purpose and grace” — a succinct summary of the Good News which emphasises Christ’s saving action for us in destroying death and bringing life.

11-12 And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.

“No cause for shame” — although Paul is chained up and facing imminent death, he looks forward to his reward in eternity, Luke 19:15, 1 Cor. 3:10-15, Rev. 11:15, 18.

13-14 What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you — guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

“Keep… the pattern of sound teaching” — which Timothy is holding in trust against the attempts of false teachers to turn it into a religion. The gospel in every age is undermined by man’s attempts to water it down or subtly change it.

Reflection

SUMMARY Timothy’s situation in Ephesus requires him to show fearless faith in confronting opposition from older and politically more adept false teachers who, bound up with their own legalism, are burdening new converts with their own lack of spiritual maturity.

APPLICATION That same tension between religious form and spiritual freedom is experienced today across the spectrum of Christian expression. In all of these teachings there is the sense of God wanting to work with us, His Holy Spirit empowering us, to help us do what is just, right and good — if we will let go of our desire to control and trust Him in the unseen partnership.

QUESTION If we recognise the devil’s spoiling force in these kinds of difficult situations, what will we now seek to do differently?

PRAYER Lord, we realise we always ask You to be strong for us without asking whether You require us to be strong for You!

Forgive us for our times of passivity and put a new spirit within us to stand firm in faith, be wise to the spiritual battle and speak out what You are saying.

For Jesus and His Lordship. Amen

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There’s a printed version to print A4 as a Bible-sized folder which can be copied for Bible study groups etc.

TLW39C-Oct-2-final-BookletDownload

Filed Under: Pentecost to Advent, Year C

Living with a heavenly perspective

September 25, 2022 by Ian Greig Leave a Comment

View of distant mountain with Scottish highland pasture in foreground
Looking north from Torlundy, near Fort William and Ben Nevis in the Lochaber Highlands, Scotland. UK

This is The Living Word for September 25 (TLW38C) a Bible study drawing out the meaning of these Bible readings set for Sept. 25, 2022 by the inter-denominational Revised Common Lectionary:

Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16

Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15 — Investing in God’s plans and purposes

Luke 16:19-31 — How earthly sufficiency can lead to losing all

1 Timothy 6:6-19 — Pursuing a life that satisfies, close to God


• See also this week’s linked article which uses storytelling to find the unified message through which God speaks to us today

• Watch this week’s 15-min. video How to Keep an Eternal Perspective Amid Life’s Urgencies wide format for desktop or tall format for mobiles


Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16

1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

3-4 Surely He will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

5-6 You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.

14-15 “Because he loves Me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges My name. He will call on Me, and I will answer him; I will be with Him in trouble, I will deliver Him and honour Him.

16 With long life I will satisfy him and show him My salvation.”

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Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15 — Investing in God’s plans and purposes

The prophet demonstrates a faith position for the future God is revealing

1-2 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. The army of the king of Babylon was then besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace of Judah.

3 Now Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him there, saying, “Why do you prophesy as you do? You say, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.’ “

“Besieging Jerusalem” — in 587 BC the city had been under siege by the Babylonian army for a year.

6-7 Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me: Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle is going to come to you and say, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth, because as nearest relative it is your right and duty to buy it.’’

8a “Then, just as the Lord had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. Since it is your right to redeem it and possess it, buy it for yourself.’

“Buy my field” — Jeremiah had the right to buy his cousin’s field, to keep the property in the family. It was a prophetic act of obedience because in reality it was already under Babylonian occupation.

8b-10 “I knew that this was the word of the Lord; so I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and weighed out for him seventeen shekels of silver. I signed and sealed the deed, had it witnessed, and weighed out the silver on the scales.

“I knew…” — Jeremiah was acting on what the Lord had already shown him. His cousin had visited him, and he made and witnessed the transaction.

11-12 “I took the deed of purchase—the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions, as well as the unsealed copy — and I gave this deed to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and of the witnesses who had signed the deed and of all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard.

 “In the presence… of the witnesses” — bystanders must have wondered at this public purchase at full market value of occupied and valueless land.

13-15 “In their presence I gave Baruch these instructions: ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Take these documents, both the sealed and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time. For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.’ “

“Put them in a clay jar so they will last” — now Jeremiah reveals the point of the prophetic act: a demonstration that against all the evidence, the Lord’s word was that this land and people had a future.

Reflection

SUMMARY  Jeremiah lived with a heightened spiritual perspective of what God was doing in the present, and a vision of His intentions for the future. He could see beyond the present dire circumstances.

APPLICATION We may not feel called as prophets, but Christians who have trusted Jesus with their lives and who welcome the leading of the Holy Spirit share a measure of that same capacity to see where God is pointing.

QUESTION Reflect on a difficult or threatening situation, and ask God to show what He is bringing out of it.


Luke 16:19-31 — How earthly sufficiency can lead to losing all

The rich man learns too late the danger of his selfish complacency

19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.

“Dressed in purple” — an expensive type of dyed cloth.

20 “At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

“Lazarus” — a common name from Hebrew Eleazar, ‘whom God has helped’ and the only name used in a parable of Jesus, probably for its symbolism. Not the Lazarus raised from the dead, John 11:43-44.

22-23 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.

“The beggar died… the rich man also died” — now a sharp contrast, with Lazarus escorted to the father of Jewish believers in heaven, while the rich man finds he is in hell.

24 “So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

“Send Lazarus” — not realising that the earth’s values no longer apply.

“I am in agony” — Jesus depicted Hades as a place where hell’s torment had already begun: separation from God, reminders of opportunities lost — and the eternal lake of fire, Matt. 25:41.

25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.

“Remember… you received… good things” — Abraham’s speech applies the principle of Luke 13:23-30 which ends with “…those who are last… will be first, and first… last.”

26 “‘And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

“A chasm has been set in place” — a person’s state after death is permanent.

27-28 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

“Let him warn them” — he proposes a warning for his brothers, implying that he was entitled to it himself.

29-30 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’

“‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

“They have Moses and the prophets” — they have the teaching of Scripture about being generous with money and care of the poor. The parable contrasts the finality of death, with the sufficiency of the Word.

• For further study, see Deut. 14:28, 29; Isaiah 3:14, 15; Micah 6:10, 11.

31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

“If they do not listen” — God speaks through His Word, overcoming unbelief in those who are disposed to hear its message. The Pharisees demanded signs to prove Jesus’ Messiahship, although the scriptural evidence about Him was clear.

Reflection

SUMMARY The Pharisees were were all about a pious lifestyle and religious observance, and believed in the merit achieved by good works. For them, the rich demonstrated God’s favour and blessing, and they wrongly judged that the poor and destitute showed the opposite.

APPLICATION Using well what God has given — including care and responsibility towards the poor — is a test of how much we actually love God. For Christians this becomes the result of, not the route to salvation, the good fruit of new life in Jesus.

QUESTION What comforts of life are we in danger of taking for granted?


1 Timothy 6:6-19 — Pursuing a life that satisfies, close to God

There’s a way to lay up treasure through generosity, not temporal gain

6-8 But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.

“Godliness with contentment” — while a desire for material prosperity is never fulfilled, belonging to Jesus brings a happiness and satisfaction that cannot be found in any other way, Phil. 4:11-12.

9-10 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

“The love of money” — a wrong, and dangerous, motivation which was being promoted by false teaching that had arisen in Ephesus. Greek culture rewarded professional orators which didn’t fit with the ‘body life’ and fellowship of the Christian church.

• For further study, see 1 Peter 5:2; 2 Peter 2:1-3, 15. 

11-12 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

“Take hold” — Paul urges Timothy to live free from any sense of entitlement. Timothy had declared his assurance of salvation at baptism; to continue to live in salvation is a spiritual battle.

13-16 In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time — God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honour and might forever. Amen.

“In the sight of… Christ Jesus” — unlike the false teachers, Timothy was to live a Christ-centred life, ready at all times for His return.

17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

18-19 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

“Those who are rich in this… world not to be arrogant” — teaching people to avoid the self-sufficiency and pride of wealth, but to use God-given resources well and live by the values that have an eternal quality.

Reflection

SUMMARY Ephesus was prosperous with ship and property owners, merchants and tradesmen. Some of those sharing the teaching in the house churches were swayed by this culture and losing the distinctives of righteousness, faith, love and gentleness.

APPLICATION We, too, can quickly lose what is distinctive about the good news of Jesus Christ instead of modelling the new life of Jesus and His kingdom. The church of Jesus Christ can easily lose its spiritual dynamic and become an institution, like Timothy’s situation, that is losing awareness of Jesus.

QUESTION  Is the issue we see around us just the love of money — or does that also include status, control and power?

PRAYER  Lord, so much of simple godliness has been lost. In a consumer age, finding contentment in the face of all the choices is a struggle.
Help us so to draw close to You, that the things that try to pull us away lose their attraction for us.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Filed Under: Year C

Sept 11: Grace flows to those who know their need of God

September 11, 2022 by Ian Greig Leave a Comment

Trio going down steps into the lower garden of Snowshill Manor
Trio going down steps into the lower garden of Snowshill Manor

This is the Living Word Bible study for groups and individuals, on the Revised Common Lectionary Bible readings set for Sunday, September 11, 2022.


Exodus 32:7-14 — Moses intercedes for God to relent on His anger

Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28

Psalm 14

Luke 15:1-10 — Heaven’s joy in bringing in people who were lost

1 Timothy 1:12-17 — God relents and we find grace turning to Christ

Theme: Rebellion invites holy judgment but God seeks grounds to show mercy

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• Read this week’s linked article

• Watch the 14-min video Why God’s Grace Is Too Good To Be Untrue in widescreen YouTube or tall format for mobiles on Instagram

• The same material is available on The Living Word publication on Medium, https://medium.com/the-living-word

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Psalm 14

1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. 

2 The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. 

3 All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.

4 Do all these evildoers know nothing? They devour my people as though eating bread; they never call on the Lord. 

5 But there they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous.

6 You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the Lord is their refuge. 

7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord restores His people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

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Exodus 32:7-14 — Moses intercedes for God to relent on His anger

Jeremiah later prophesies unrelenting judgment on those who would not repent

7 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt.

“Go down, because your people…” — irony in the Lord’s phrase “your people… whom you brought out…” as He warns Moses of the trouble that has arisen in the camp.

8 “They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’

9-10 “I have seen these people,” the LORD said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked people. Now leave Me alone so that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”

 Stiff-necked people” — first use of this phrase describing Israel’s arrogance before God.

• For further study, see Deut. 10:16, 31:27; Neh. 9:16; Jer. 19:15.

“Now leave me alone” — a test, leaving the way open for Moses to continue as intercessor to plead for the Lord to relent.

11 But Moses sought the favour of the LORD his God. “LORD,” he said, “why should Your anger burn against Your people, whom You brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand?

12 “Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that He brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on Your people.

“Turn from Your fierce anger” — accepting the Lord’s verdict, Moses appeals on the basis of “Your people”, the phrase the Lord challenged Moses with earlier.

13 Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom You swore by Your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’ ”

“Remember” — in this great intercessory prayer, Moses reasons with the Lord that His deliverance from Egypt should not be abandoned and the covenant established long before, should be upheld.

14 Then the LORD relented and did not bring on His people the disaster He had threatened.

 “The Lord relented” — because He had threatened, rather than decreed, punitive action, so Moses could be drawn into prayerfully calling on God’s mercy to overrule.

Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28 — A judgment foretold where God will not relent

11-12 At that time this people and Jerusalem will be told, “A scorching wind from the barren heights in the desert blows toward My people, but not to winnow or cleanse; a wind too strong for that comes from Me. Now I pronounce My judgments against them.”

“A scorching wind” — not the beneficial wind that helped in winnowing grain, but like the hot and dusty desert sirocco; a sandblast judgment.

22 “My people are fools; they do not know Me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good.”

“Fools… senseless… ” — Judah was wise in the ways of evil but ignorant about right living: strong language to bring repentance.

23 I looked at the earth, and it was formless and empty; and at the heavens, and their light was gone.

“: “formless and empty… their light… gone”, echoes Genesis 1:1-2.

24-25 I looked at the mountains, and they were quaking; all the hills were swaying.

25 I looked, and there were no people; every bird in the sky had flown away.

I looked… I looked” — repetition emphasising the prophetic perspective of a judgment like reversing creation itself 

26 I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert; all its towns lay in ruins before the LORD, before His fierce anger.

“Fruitful land” — or Carmel; the vineyards and olive groves turning to desert.

27 This is what the LORD says: “The whole land will be ruined, though I will not destroy it completely.

“Not…completely” — a ray of hope enters the speech.

28 Therefore the earth will mourn and the heavens above grow dark, because I have spoken and will not relent, I have decided and will not turn back.”

“Will not relent” — and in parallel, “will not turn back”. This will be God’s judgment unless there is repentance, e.g. Jer. 18:7-10 where God relents for the nation that heeds the warning and repents.

Reflection

SUMMARY Where Moses was able to intercede for God to withhold judgment, Jeremiah foretells the consequences for those who repeatedly refused to learn, a judgment so severe it is like reversing creation.

APPLICATION Moses pleaded for people who had made a serious, but early mistake, while Jeremiah’s context was a longstanding and unrepentant rebellion against God. By contrast the NT perspective emphasises God’s merciful grace through believing and trusting in Jesus as the sole condition.

QUESTION Does this impending judgment apply in our time? If so, how can we best help others to find eternal life and not eternal punishment?


Luke 15:1-10 — Heaven’s joy in bringing in people who were lost

Jesus teaches through stories about finding a lost sheep and a lost coin

1-2 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

“Tax collectors” — marginalised for serving the pagan emperor, together with notorious sinners such as robbers, nevertheless these outcasts showed that they had “ears to hear”, Luke 14:35.

3-4 Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?

“Jesus told them” — three stories confronting the self-righteous murmuring and gossip of the more religious Jews.

“A hundred… leave the ninety-nine” — a typical sized flock and shepherds often watched over each others’ animals, allowing freedom to search.

5-6 “And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbours together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’

“Found my lost sheep” — the gathering of the flock was familiar as a picture of God delivering His own people at the end time.

• For further study, see Isaiah 40:11; Jeremiah 31:10-11; Ezekiel 34:11-12.

7 “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

“Rejoicing… over one sinner who repents” — God in His love desires to reach every individual. The Pharisees and scribes should have been rejoicing over lost sheep of Israel entering the kingdom, not judging them.

“Do not need to repent” — ironic, meaning those considering themselves righteous and not in need of repentance.

8-9 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?

“Search… until she finds it” — about more than monetary value; a bride’s wedding gift was a head-dress of 10 silver coins.

9 “And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbours together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’

10 “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

“Rejoicing” — heaven’s joy over a precious individual turning to God, confronting the solemn religiosity of the Pharisees.

Reflection

SUMMARY Two of the three parables in which the Lord taught the special favour given to those who are lost and without hope. The concluding parable is the story of the father’s heart toward the son who was lost.

APPLICATION This teaching challenges the inward club attitude of many churches. Our worship of God is insincere unless it is joyful about meeting with Jesus, sharing His mission and helping others to find new life in Him.

QUESTION Churches may have many priorities but what is the main one as taught here?


1 Timothy 1:12-17 — God relents and we find grace turning to Christ

Paul the persecutor becomes a prime example of God’s undeserved mercy

12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that He considered me trustworthy, appointing me to His service.

“He has given me strength” — insight and endurance empowered by the Spirit of Jesus.

13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.

“I was once” — Paul the persecutor of God’s people was met by God’s mercy in his encounter with Christ.

14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

“The grace of our Lord… poured out on me” — as the epitome of a person without merit. The false teachers also in view here were failing to teach the gospel — new life through faith and grace — but were reverting to religious Jewish legalism.

15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners — of whom I am the worst.

 “A trustworthy saying” — emphasises key teachings, such as grace, in the letters to Timothy and Titus.

• For further study, see 1 Timothy 3:1, 4:8-9; 2 Tim. 2:11-13; Titus 3:4-8.

16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His immense patience as an example for those who would believe in Him and receive eternal life.

“Believe in Him and receive eternal life” — Paul emphasises his experience of the sole condition for salvation: believing and trusting in Jesus Christ to receive eternal life, a truth found more than 185 times in the NT. 

17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

“Now to the King eternal…” — Probably a line from an early Christian praise song.

Reflection

SUMMARY Writing to his apprentice Timothy, Paul shares his story to bring out a teaching about how God’s grace works. His background and actions persecuting Christians make him “the worst of sinners” and the least deserving of God’s grace and forgiveness — and the best example of the change that happens when we simply believe in Jesus and receive eternal life.

APPLICATION Jesus called people to follow His Way by faith but the religion that people constructed out of that tends to make salvation exclusive and conditional. The truth is, it is neither. Faith that believes who Jesus is, and trusts what He has done for us and our burden of sin, simply receives what He freely gives. The simplicity of that is unsatisfying to the religious mind. But Paul spells the plain truth out in short simple words — “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”. We believe what we cannot learn — and receive what we cannot earn.

QUESTION In a world that has little awareness of sin, how do we share the incredible Good News of salvation in Jesus?

PRAYER Lord, You are good beyond any human idea of goodness and yet we can come to know You in a close and intimate relationship through Jesus and overcome our old selfish nature.
We were as lost and hopeless as the sheep in the story that needed to be carried — and You went out of Your way to find us and bring us back.
We renounce our judgmental Pharisee spirit as we humbly ask for Your heart of love to grow in us. Especially give us love for those we might not, of ourselves, want to reach out to.
Amen.

///////

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Filed Under: Pentecost to Advent, Year C Tagged With: #christian, #Christian Living, Bible study, Church Sunday Bible Readings, Revised Common Lectionary

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  • Who Has Your Heart?
  • Who is Jesus? Where is Jesus? How Mystery Leads Us to Revelation
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  • Why as Christians We Never Get to Stand Down
  • Why God’s Grace Is Too Good To Be Untrue
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  • About…
    • The pros and cons of the lectionary format
    • A personal guide through the maze of Bible versions
  • About TLW print edition
  • Explaining…
    • Explaining… Christmas: the call to worship
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    • Understanding… The danger in our complacency
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  • Understanding…
    • Understanding… Holiness and the Great Commandment
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    • Understanding… the difference between reacting and responding to God
    • Understanding… The freedom that is ours in Christ
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    • Understanding… The need to be ready for the Lord’s return
    • Understanding… The way agreement and conflict play out in the kingdom of God
    • Understanding the Good News – God’s grace
    • Inexpressible and glorious joy
    • The need to be reborn from above
    • Understanding the Trinity of God
    • First-century gnosticism

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Welcome to The Living Word

You get a lot more out of the Sunday service readings if they are already speaking to you. TLW is about reading and re-reading these Scriptures with some commentary to bring out what is hidden and make connections with cross references. This is different from liturgy because it is a Bible study, putting the Bible passages in sequence from OT, through the NT gospel era, and then through the lens of the post-resurrection, early church in the power of the Spirit. Enabling this progressive revelation points to a theme.  The translation used is the readable and widely-used 2011 edition of the New International Version (NIV) Bible. Commentary is drawn from a wide range of sources and is Bible-centric and theologically neutral. As we read and reflect and allow the Holy Spirit to help us hear God through His word during the week, we prepare ourselves to hear afresh and receive the Sunday sermon in church or chapel.

For convenience, use the ‘Subscribe’ box below to receive a short email with the Bible passage and notes for each weekday (and that’s all!).

Unsubscribing is just as easy.

A little about me and my vision for The Living Word

I live in the Marches, a green and beautiful expanse of hills between England and Wales where churches and chapels share duty to the Christian faithful in every valley, and churchgoing is still part of the community life. However, there are few Bibles to be seen in these buildings, and home-based groups for fellowship and Bible study are rare.

I want to encourage Sunday worshippers in churches and chapels to enjoy reading the Bible during the week, to get used to hearing God for themselves through His word, and to be  spiritually prepared for the message they will hear on Sunday from the lectionary readings they all share. It is no substitute for meeting and worshipping together, nor for Holy Spirit-inspired preaching. It supports both by encouraging the personal growth of church and chapel members of any denomination. It offers faith encouragement for those no longer able to, or no longer wanting to take part in, formal physical church.

My background is not in churches that use the lectionary and I bring a breadth of tradition and spiritual understanding to the writing.  I have pastored a number of churches and been involved in a variety of other missional initiatives with a ‘kingdom of God’ agenda.

As well as The Living Word and its weekly video I also post regularly on www.freshbread.today and www.thelivingword.substack.com with a podcast as well as video and written content. There is also a Facebook page at fb.com/TLWbiblestudy

Revd Ian Greig BD (Hons), DPS

SEE ALSO other Living Word Publications

Substack newsletter and podcast (free subscription) — audio podcast, video and written content all in one place

Fresh Bread Today — the freshest bake, with a bit of a tang, unpackaged and uncut. His word to live by, today.

Believe the Good News – finding the good news and encouragement all through the Bible

GLOW – God’s Love Over Weobley, encouraging prayer and spiritual fellowship. With a local flavour for this NW Herefordshire village.

 

 

 

 

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