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:
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.
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