Song of Solomon

Ephesians 5:25 - Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.

First of all, my apologies for neglecting my blog last week while we were in 1, 2 and 3 John and Philippians.  This week I will go back and look into them in a little more depth because I won't be commenting on the Song of Solomon.  The reason for this is mainly that the book is a love poem and should be read as such, at least the first time through.  I don't want to hinder anyone's reading  My advice would be to read it all through in one sitting (it's not very long) and then do so again a few days later.  Don't write in your book until you've read it through.  Let the imagery speak to you without overanalyzing it.  Once you have read through the poem, write down the verses that stood out to you and feel free to take a look at a terrific overview of the Song that can be found here.

Some housekeeping: Would anyone be opposed to me highlighting one or two of the prayer requests from Dennis's list each time I post?  Let me know what you guys think.
I am also going to use each week's memory verse as a header and footer for each post.  That way whenever you get on the site you will have read through the verse at least twice.
AND I am also going to put a little verse or thought for the day in here too.  Just for kicks.

Lift up thine heart unto God with a meek stirring of love; and mean Himself, and none of His goods.  And thereto, look thee loath to think on aught but God Himself.  So that nought work in thy wit, nor in thy will, but only God Himself...This is the work of the soul that most pleaseth God. - from The Cloud of Unknowing, a 14th century work of an anonymous English monk

Ephesians 5:25 - Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.

Philemon/Proverbs 19

Philemon was written to a prominent member of the church at Colossae between 60-62 AD, while Paul was awaiting his hearing before the emperor in Rome (Acts 28:16, 30-31).  Some background on the book can be found here.  Finally, do not confuse slavery in the Roman Empire with slavery in the United States. Roman slavery differed from American slavery in several important ways: 1) Roman slavery was not race-based; slaves could come from any race and were generally captives from Roman wars. Parents in dire economic straits could also sell their children into slavery. 2) Roman law had a process called manumission by which slaves could gain or be given their freedom.  These freed slaves were granted all rights of citizenship excepting the ability to hold public office, and the children of freed slaves were granted the rights of citizens in full. 3) Roman law increasingly provided for the legal rights of slaves.   American slavery, in addition to being cruel and degrading, is especially reprehensible for its discriminatory nature and its denial not only of basic rights to those enslaved, but its denial of their humanity as well.  This travesty is documented (to our shame) in the Constitution, where slaves are counted as 3/5ths of a person.  It is disgusting that this could ever have taken place in a nation full of Christians when pagan Rome had a much better record.

1   "Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus..." As opposed to a prisoner of Rome.
6   I think it is interesting that Paul connects sharing our faith with understanding our blessings in Christ.
18   How cool is it that Paul offers to take the burden of Philemon's loss upon himself?

Proverbs 19
19:3   I unfortunately resemble this remark from time to time.
19:11   Great commentary on the importance of forgiveness
19:13   "...A quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping," and both problems can be solved with a large, heavy pan.
19:18   A lot of parents apparently haven't read this one.
19:21   This restates 16:9 - In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.
19:24   I've always found this one hilarious.

2 Thessalonians 1-3

An interesting historical commentary on 2 Thessalonians can be found here.  Conservative scholars date the book in the 50s AD, written most likely in Corinth shortly after the writing of 1 Thessalonians.  Along with Galatians they are two of the oldest books in the New Testament.


1:2   Grace and peace. It's there every time.
1:4   Paul doesn't elaborate on the "persecutions and trials," but it is speculated that the troubles mentioned in Acts 17:5-8 & 13 continued in Paul's absence.
1:5-10   Echoes what Paul had written in 1 Thess. 5:1-3.
1:8   We usually think of the word "believe" in place of the one used here: "obey."  The Greek word is ὑπακούουσιν (hypakouousin: hi-pah-KOO-oo-seen), which literally means "to hear under."  The "under" is the hypo- prefix, which you find in words like hypodermic (under the skin).  "Obey" is an okay translation, but the implication is more one of "comply with," "submit yourself to the truth of," or "listen attentively and act accordingly."  The key idea is that of submission and surrender to an authority that is above you.  Military respect for a superior's command would convey the same idea.  John Wesley writes that this refers to the Jews of that day, or more generally those who have heard the Gospel and rejected it.
1:11-12   We purpose, we act in faith, and then God fulfills.  We are not responsible for the outcomes associated with our obedience.  We obey and God does the rest, with the end result that Christ is glorified through us (and we in Him!).
2:1-12   The Man of Lawlessness.  Also associated with the Son of Perdition, the Beast, and the Antichrist.  If this passage seems confusing, don't despair.  Scholars have argued over what (and who) it means for, oh, about twenty centuries or so.  If you take a look at Wesley's notes he was convinced it was the Pope.  I kid you not.  For more background take a look at Daniel 7-8.
2:2   I discovered that some scholars have speculated that there may have been a literal "letter supposed to have come from us," a forgery orchestrated by the Thessalonian agitators we mentioned in 1:4.  Apparently they were taking advantage of some confusion over 1 Thess. 5:1-4 and the timing of Christ's return.  Paul takes care to say that for unbelievers, that day will come suddenly and unexpectedly, but those who believe should note the signs which are precursors to His coming and so not be caught unawares.
2:3   "The rebellion"  The NIV is rather needlessly obscure here.  Rebellion against what?  What Paul is talking about is the great falling away from the true faith that will occur in the last days, referred to by Christ Himself in Matthew 24:9-14.  Paul again refers to this teaching in 1 Tim. 4:1.
2:7   "the one who now holds it back"  The Left Behind (dispensationalist) view of the Rapture holds that this means the Holy Spirit, but there are other interpretations.  It gets complicated.
2:9   These counterfeits are predicted by Jesus in Matt. 24:11 and Mark 13:22.
2:10-12   The phrase "refused to love the truth" implies those who know the truth but have rejected it.  Here we come to an interesting dilemma.  The Scripture says that "God sends that a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie...and will be condemned."  Doesn't it say elsewhere that God doesn't want  "anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (2 Pet. 3:9)?  Well, yes it does.  And of course, both are true.  We're not going to easily explain the tension between God's sovereignty and man's free will, but if we can keep in mind that it is a "both/and" proposition rather than an "either/or" one we'll be okay.  God's condemnation and rejection are on those who "refuse to love the truth" and "have delighted in wickedness."  These are people who know that what they are doing is wrong (Rom. 1:18-21, 1 Tim. 4:1-2), yet they refuse to repent and, ultimately, they are unable to repent.  In effect, God says "Fine. If this is what you want, so be it.  I'll even give you a hand."  There does come an end to His patience.
2:13   God chose us; we did not choose Him (Matt. 11:27; John 6:44-45, 13:18a, 15:16).  Christian doctrine states -- and this holds true whether you are a Calvinist or an Arminian -- that God must seek us before we can seek Him.  "For it is by grace you have been saved..." (Eph. 2:8)  Rather than be troubled over some of the seemingly negative implications of this (i.e. I had no choice in the matter, etc.), I think the proper way to view it, and view God, with deep humility and gratitude for His tremendous love and mercy.
2:15   Stand firm.  Jesus says it, Paul says it, Peter says it...maybe it's important.
2:16-3:5   A lot of good words used here: encouragement, hope, strengthen, delivered, faithful, protect, confidence, perseverance
3:6-10   There is a lesson here about abdicating your rights when there is something much larger at stake.  I don't think any of us would think it appropriate to expect Dave and Kyle to minister to us for free.  Yet that is what Paul and Silas and Timothy did among the Thessalonians so they would understand there are more important things than "getting what you've earned."  And it gives a lot of weight to their teaching when they tell them "If a man will not work, he shall not eat."
3:11  In other words, they aren't working, but instead are busy with things that aren't really their business.

1 Thessalonians 5

5:1-3   Echoes Christ's own teachings in Matt. 24-25, Mark 13 and Luke 21. The suddenness of Christ's coming is what is emphasized here.
5:4-6   Two-thousand years of waiting seems to have dulled our senses in this regard. We give lip service to the idea of the imminence of Christ's coming but live our lives as though it's not actually going to be anytime soon. "He could come today...but probably won't" best describes our attitudes. If we lived and thought and spoke and worked as though our King could return at any moment I dare say things would look a bit differently.
5:8   A brief version of the armor of God; Eph. 6:10-18  The hope (in other words, the full assurance and conviction) of our coming salvation figuratively protects our heads. We are liable to forget this piece of the armor and let all sorts of things get into our heads. What if our thoughts were continually drawn back to the fact that our Prince is coming to rescue us and take us away to be with Him forever?
5:11   Paul repeats his admonition from 4:18
5:12-13   Respect for pastors and teachers is urged
5:14-22   A nine-verse list of simple instructions that Paul fleshes out in more depth in other letters. It's amazing how simple the things on the list are.
5:16-18   Upcoming memory verses
5:23-24   One of my all-time favorite passages in Scripture. "The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it." I wish I could remember that every moment of the day.

1 Thessalonians 3-4

3:5   Kind of an odd statement to make.  Did Paul really think their efforts could have been useless, given how he talks about the outpouring of God's Spirit in 1:4?
3:12-13   Two great prayers for people that Paul dearly loved.
4:3-8   In this small section on sexual immorality, v. 6  remains a bit obscure to me: "...no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him."  In what way?  Unless "brother" in this case is used as a generic for brothers and sisters, in which case it starts to make a bit more sense.  A bit more, anyway.
4:9-10   Love one another.  Seems like we've heard that somewhere before....
4:11-12  Future memory verses.
4:13   I find the thought of unbelievers grieving with no hope to be extremely sad.  How many in Haiti grieve that way today?  How many in Louisville?
4:13-18   Some people have mocked Christianity for its belief in "pie-in-the-sky by and by."  But this passage (from which most teachings about the Rapture are drawn) makes it clear that the restoration of our lost relationships and our hope in being with Christ forever are integral to our faith.  Indeed, Paul says in 1 Cor. 15:19 that if there is no resurrection then Christians are the most pathetic people on earth.

1 Thessalonians 1-2

For some good background on 1 Thess., click here.

Paul's visit to Thessalonica is detailed in Acts 17:1-9 and took place directly after the events in Phillippi (Acts 16:11-40).  Phillippi and Thessalonica were both major cities of Macedonia (northern Greece), with Thessalonica located on the Aegean coast about 70 miles to the west of Phillippi.  Acts 16:6-10 tells us that Paul and his companions (Silas, Timothy and Luke) went to Macedonia to preach the gospel in direct response to a vision from the Lord.

1 Thess. 1:3   This is one of our memory verses down the road.  The faith, hope and love triad recalls 1 Cor. 13:13
1:4-5   There is an emphasis here on God's power and sovereignty.  Paul is saying that not only was the gospel preached, it was accompanied by an outpouring of His Spirit.  Reminds me of 1 Cor. 3:6-7, where Paul talks about planting the seed but God making it grow.
1:7   Achaia refers to southern Greece; this is where Athens and Corinth are located.
2:2   Paul refers to his and Silas' imprisonment in Phillippi.
2:3-6   I like how Paul's top goal was to please God.  His sincerity and passion for the message with which God had entrusted him are so evident.
2:8-9   Imparting spiritual blessings was apparently not enough for Paul and his companions.  They had a sincere love for the people they were ministering to and physically labored among them; it's a reminder of the work so many are doing currently in Haiti.
2:10-12   Wouldn't it be nice to be able to know with certainty that your words and actions are blameless?  So much so that you can tell someone else that and they could only agree with you?
2:18   Apparently Satan's opposition is not always ineffective.  God does allow him a short leash, but ultimately it is His purposes that will prevail.

Charles and Irene

Here's what I was talking about with the "Charles and Irene" signature to my blog posts.  Paul greets his readers with the phrase "grace and peace to you" in every letter that he wrote: Rom. 1:7, 1 Cor. 1:3, 2 Cor. 1:2, Gal. 1:3, Eph. 1:2, Phil. 1:2, Col. 1:2, 1 Thes. 1:1, 2 Thes. 1:2, 1 Tim. 1:2, 2 Tim. 1:2, Titus 1:4, and Phlm. 3.  The phrase looks like this in Greek, χάρις καὶ εἰρήνη; or, transliterated into the Latin alphabet, charis kai eirene.  The really neat thing about these words is the depth of their meaning.  At www.greekbible.com, they are defined as follows:


charis: 1. grace,  1a. that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm,  loveliness: grace of speech,  2. good will, loving-kindness, favour,  2a. of the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues  3. what is due to grace  3a. the spiritual condition of one governed by the power of  divine grace  3b. the token or proof of grace, benefit  3b i. a gift of grace  3b ii. benefit, bounty  4. thanks, (for benefits, services, favours), recompense, reward


eirene: 1. a state of national tranquillity,  1a. exemption from the rage and havoc of war  2. peace between individuals, i.e. harmony, concord  3. security, safety, prosperity, felicity, (because peace and  harmony make and keep things safe and prosperous)  4. of the Messiah's peace  4a. the way that leads to peace (salvation),  5. of Christianity, the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is  6. the blessed state of devout and upright men after death


That's a lot to wish upon someone with just two simple words. So grace and peace to you, through Christ Jesus our Lord.