Category Archives: Bible Study

Who Has Believed Our Report

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The iconic statement “who has believed our report” or “message” is first made in Isaiah and then repeated in John and Romans. As important as those five words are you should not miss where they are said. Those words in context are what this post is about.

Isaiah 53:1

Isaiah did not put in chapters or verses; a French printer did most of that. Paragraphs came after that and the helpful chapter and section headings are the work of publishing companies. This section of Isaiah is important, so you may need to work a little at grouping thoughts together. I like looking for, “This is what the Lord says.” So, if you start at 52:4 and go to 55:13 that may be a section. A problem with that is there are several times in this body of Scripture you will find the Lord reinforcing things He has said. These are also a nice place to put in chapter or sections breaks. Regardless of how you think the sections might read, I would suggest you read 52:4 through the end of Chapter 53 to get a little better context for this study.

Just before Chapter 53 are several “Repeats and Upgrades” that the Lord uses to get our attention for 52:13 where He talks about “my servant”. This flows into 53:1 and continues the description and work of this servant. Christians, you will see many references to Jesus here and portions of this are repeated in the Gospels, look at the footnotes if your Bible uses them.

We see this “servant” as Jesus and much of this describes His condition after the Romans laid hands on Him before He was “raised and lifted up and highly exulted” (52:13 NIV) at His crucifixion. Yes, both the Jews and Gentiles laid hands on Jesus as part of Him becoming our sin offering. Okay, those looked more like slaps and punches and not the simple touching and confessions of the Mosaic sin offerings.

The message/report, is the Ten Commandments (Deuteronomy 5) and the righteousness that the Father wants with and for His Children, Jew and Gentile. Love God and love your neighbor is the heart of the Ten Commandments, but righteousness also has two parts. Righteousness deals with justice and right standing before God, but it also has a fellowship component and that is with God and with man. Deuteronomy 11 is about loving God and keeping His commands and He would take care of His Children, it would be a good place to read that Chapter.

Part of Isaiah’s message is this righteousness. Look at the “Repeats and Upgrades” that precede 53:1 and you will see this. The Northern Tribes did not believe God and were unfaithful to Him in how they worshipped. So, Isaiah and many of the “minor” prophets were trying to get Judah back to the Father; they would not believe his report about God.

John 12:38

John’s focus is different than the other Gospels, but that last Passover is still majority of his Book. John 12 is about Jesus getting ready to follow the example of David and ride into Jerusalem. I see this time as Jesus going to pay the Bride’s Price for His Church. John reflects on the stubborn attitude that persisted even with His message and the miracles to back up His words.

The people liked the power Jesus displayed with the healing and miracles, but their idea of Kingdom was not wrapped around repentance and righteous fellowship in God. They wanted a military leader. His sermons on the two mounts on Tuesday of Holy Week was not what they wanted. Please note that the wedding parables are given on the Mount of Olives after having answered marriage questions on the Temple Mount. All of this happened after the fig tree died.

The leaders just wanted Him to go away so they could keep the Temple (vineyard). War is messy and they had a nice deal going in Jerusalem and the synagogues. Temple tax, offerings, and sacrifices added up to a lot of money coming into the region. Plus, they could make the people feel good.

Running tally on believing the message.

  • Isaiah – The Ten Commandments and righteousness. They took Baal and the sex-oriented worship that went with him. Plus, the servant in Chapter 52 and 53 did not sound very powerful.
  • Jesus and His message to repent and the miracles to confirm the Good News. They were nice but dead Romans and no Herod would be better. They took Barabbas.

Romans 10:16

I want to say that this section of Romans that deals with several important topics goes from 9:1 to the end of Chapter 11 with the Doxology, that is open for debate. The verse is nestled in with a part of the “Roman Road” and confession because of hearing the Good News. If you have footnotes for Chapter 10, look at them; mine are from Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Isaiah, Psalms, and Joel. Clearly these ideas are found in the Old Testament.

(A note from my reading through Acts. Saul/Paul’s part of the story begins with the testimony of Stephen and ends with Paul’s testimony. Both are to Jewish leaders and those groups were divided on what they heard.)

Paul, several times, is confronted with Jews hearing and not believing. Acts 22:18-19 is where Jesus tells Saul to leave Jerusalem. Saul is convinced that the Jews will listen to him because of who he was, he leaves. Chapter 28:24 talks about the Jewish leaders in Roman, some believe some don’t. There were many cities where Paul started talking to Jews and had to stop, then they mounted physical attacks against him. Just because we speak the Word of Life to people does not mean that they will or can hear the message. Jesus help us and send us into “the field that is ripe for harvest”.   

Counting God’s People

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Counting God’s People started as I was reading through Numbers. In Numbers, God has Moses count His people twice; once in Numbers 1 and then in Chapter 26. Many things were done with these totals, but I will focus on camp/marching order and then division of the land. These are at the beginning of their journey and then before they crossed the Jordan.

In Numbers 1 is the totals for the first census. This, I believe, was for Marching Order and camp placement around the Tabernacle. Numbers 26 is the second census; this is at the end of the journey before crossing the Jordan. Some Tribes increased and some had a decline. Ephraim and Manasseh switch places in the Family List in the second census. (Manasseh was the oldest but Jacob switched the blessing to Ephraim.)

  • Ruben – 46,500.                       43,730
  • Simeon – 59,300.                     22,200
  • Gad – 45,650.                          40,500
  • Judah – 74,600.                       76,500
  • Issachar – 54,400.                   64,300
  • Zebulun – 57,400.                   60,500
  • Joseph/Ephraim -40,500.        32,500
  • Joseph/Manasseh – 32,200.   52,700
  • Benjamin – 35,400.                 45,600
  • Dan – 62,700.                          64,400
  • Asher – 41,500.                       53,400
  • Naphtali – 53,400.                   45,400
  • First census total – 603,550.    601,730

Levi

  • Gershon – 7,500
  • Kohath – 8,600 The NIV has a footnote for – 8,300. This number evens the total to the stated 22,000.
  • Merari – 6,200

In Numbers 26 there is no breakdown of the families of Levi, just a total of 23,000. The second census was for the allotment of land for the tribe’s inheritance (26:64). The Levities would receive towns from the other tribes as their inheritance was the Lord.

Toledoth or toledot is the Hebrew term for a family list. These censuses are a toledot of God’s family through Jacob. Seth, Adam’s son, has a toledot in Genesis. Terah is at the end of this list but has his own that features Abram. Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7 have the same list for the men who returned to repopulate Jerusalem and the Land. Matthew and Luke also have toledots for Jesus. 1 Chronicles has family list and some interesting narratives mixed in; these lists are just one of the things that validate the Bible as history and not a nice story.

David in 2 Samuel 24:1 orders a count of the men of Israel. David should not have done this as the people are the Lord’s; in ordering the count he was “claiming” the people as his. We know that ended with punishment and the purchase of the land for the Solomon’s Temple.

Appeared and Speak

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God talking and appearing to Old Testament characters has had my attention for some time. How and who did He use come first in my thoughts. Were there other “prophets” about? Did they hear audible voices? Many of them had no Scriptures to read, they were writing them. We belong in the Family of a supernatural God, and it is very clear they heard and saw something. These encounters were vivid enough to get them to know that they had heard and seen God.

As I read through Genesis His appearing to Abram/Abraham caught my attention, again. Some of these were dreams and visions, but with some of them a physical body appeared. Now, this also occurred with Issac and Jacob/Israel. God talked with them, had dinner, and even wrestled with Jacob. So, as I read through Exodus, I found some of the same activities happening, but this time with Moses.

We have “modern” terms to identify and explain some of these encounters. You can even say it was just an angel, think about that for a while. Sadducees, a religious branch of Judaism, who had many priests in their ranks, accepted the five Books of Moses; they however did not believe in angels, how did that work? God is not confined to your paradigms, but you are. We have the luxury of having His Word written for us to use to know God. Your experiences maybe limited, but my God is not. Did He speak to everyone the same, no. These men and women, however, knew they had heard God and acted on what they were told and saw.

Now when you read from Joshua to Mary and Joseph and then to John the Baptist observe the many times and varied ways that God talked to His people. God has not changed; Him speaking to His people picked up again in the Book of Acts. The Holy Spirit was given to help us hear and know His voice and ways better.   

Moses

From the Burning Bush to the top of Mount Nebo, Moses heard, talked with, and saw God and His glory. He was given to Israel, not only as leader, but as an example for them and us on ways to hear and know God. Thank You, Father.

This will be more a research post for you. I am giving links to Bible Hub and their resources. An interesting fact for those of us who never took Hebrew, most concordances use a “root word”. Bible Hub does this also but list the various forms of the words you are looking for. So, these will have all of the similar words and where they are used. (As much as you think you know, there is always something else to learn.)

Exodus 4:5 Hebrew Text Analysis

Strong’s Hebrew: 7200. רָאָה (raah) — To see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider

Hebrew Concordance: nir·’āh- — 22 Occurrences

Alright, just because it has to be said, not everyone who saw and heard God in the Book of Exodus listened and stayed faithful. God calls out ten times the people tested Him. The Book of Judges is a book of ups and downs. Even David and Solomon lost focus, unfortunately this is a very human condition; thank God for His grace and the finished work Jesus did on the cross.

Scholars have sorted, collected, and analyzed every word in the Bible, both First and Second Covenant. They have set the words in context and argue about the exact meaning. For me just looking at the same word everywhere it is used has given me better insight to the word. Please understand that there are times when a form of a word is used only once in all of Scripture. I also wonder why, and are we really getting the depth of meaning God wants us to have. In the New Testament in the Lord’s Prayer is the word epiousious, and there are some of these single-use or limited-use words with God appearing in our Old Testament.

Here are some other times when it is noted that God visited men:

King David in his disobedience set into motion an appearance of an angel that was visible and about to destroy Jerusalem. See 2 Samuel 24:16 and 1 Chronicles 21:15 for the story of the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite that became the site for Solomon’s Temple. Celtic Christians might refer to this location as a “Thin Place”; that is where it just seems you are closer to God. This story extends to God appearing to Solomon after he sacrificed at Gibeon (2 Chronicles 3:1 and 1 Kings 3:5), and then how the glory of God filled the new Temple as it was being dedicated (Just like He did in Leviticus 9 for the Tabernacle). We all know that even with these visits Solomon lost focus and strayed from God. Did he come back, I think so, the end of Ecclesiastes makes you think he returned to what was important.

Righteousness is an idea that carries two meanings. The first one is a judicial concept and is frequently found with the word justice. The second meaning is a relational practice of spending time with God. Yes, God will and does appear and speaks to humanity, He wants to do that.

Lord’s Prayer – Forever

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Matthew 6: 13b – For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen 

Well, this sentence appears to have been added to the copies of Matthew and Luke. If you start reading the internet the theories abound as to why. One that was echoed several times was it made Luke sound more like the prayer in Matthew. The denomination I grew up in used this line. I want to say there was an additional “ever” at the end, but that might just have been me.

Yes, there are differences in the manuscripts of the Gospels over the centuries. Check your footnotes as many times these slight additions or missing words will be noted. The NIV (1984) documents lines and phrases that appear to have been added or not in all ancient manuscripts – Matthew 24:36, 23:13, 21:44, 19:29, 18:15, 17:20, 16:2 and 3, 15:14, and 6, 12:47, 6:13, 5:44 and 22, 26:28, 27:35 and 46. (Guess how I explored that thought?)

Another fact I looked into this morning was the original languages the Gospels were written in. Since I have pointed out in 6:11 about epiousious and how special of a word it is; I will point out that Matthew’s first copies were written in Hebrew.

Here are some resources:

John’s first manuscripts are in Greek.

People have definite opinions on the meaning of Revelation 22:18 and 19. With this prayer I see a well-traveled and often said petition to the Father. The slight variations, I feel, reflect years of repetition through various cultures and languages. It is hard to image that the prayer was used from Ireland to India and the Arctic Circle to the Equator hundreds of years before the Great Bible ever made it to paper.

Appeared and Went Up

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As I read Genesis 17 and 18 the words “appeared” and “went up” (NIV) were used of God visiting Abram/Abraham. They reminded me just how important Abraham was in God’s plan for mankind.

First a little background: In Chapter 15 Abraham God brought Abram into Covenant. Chapter 16 Sarai “helped” God out by encouraging Abram to have a child with Hagar. Thirteen years later in Chapter 17 God added circumcision as a sign to confirm the covenant in Chapter 15, plus the promise of the land of Canaan, and a son born of Sarai. This is also the chapter where God changed the couple’s names to Abraham and Sarah. The narrative in Chapter 18 tells of God’s second visit to Abraham, which included a meal, Sarah laughing at the thought of being a mother, and the dickering Abraham did with God over Sodom.

APPEARED

God had spoken to Abram, given him visions, and had a smoking firepot and a blazing torch be visible to represent Him. (The firepot and torch became a pillar of fire and cloud with Moses and the Children in the desert.) But in Chapter 17:1 and 18:1 God came and showed Himself to Abraham. The Hebrew word is way·yê·rā and was first used in Genesis 12:7; the root word is raah. Hebrew Concordance: way·yê·rā — 20 Occurrences

Strong’s Hebrew: 7200. רָאָה (raah) — To see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider

If you look at the twenty times way·yê·rā is used, it is clear that God showed Himself to Abraham. This is a great Bible study by itself, so use the Bible Hub link and explore this thought. Yes, all of those appearance have a term we have given them and a lot of ink has been used in explaining them. Don’t miss the fact that God showed Himself to this man, the father of faith.

He Left  

What grabbed my attention was that He appeared and then the text also adds that He left. In 17:22 the word is wayyaal and it comes from the root word alah.

Hebrew Concordance: way·ya·‘al — 110 Occurrences

Strong’s Hebrew: 5927. עָלָה (alah) — To go up, ascend, climb, bring up, offer

In 18:33 the word used when God left is wayyelek. Hebrew Concordance: way·yê·leḵ — 212 Occurrences 

God accomplished many things in His appearing and leaving, but I think the message to Abram in 17:1 “to walk with Him” was the most important part. That word is hithallek. Hebrew Concordance: hiṯ·hal·leḵ- — 4 Occurrences. Noah and David are the others that this word is associated with. The root word is Strong’s Hebrew: 1980. הָלַך (halak) — To go, walk, come, proceed, move. If I read Genesis correctly, Adam and Eve and Enoch also experienced walking with God. I think God wants us to walk with Him and fellowship with Him in righteousness.