Category Archives: Bible Study

Rats #2

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Rats #2

I have noticed in the “search terms” box a number of people wanting the “meaning” of rats in dreams, etc. Rats in the Bible discusses the few times they are mentioned and the possible problem they caused in Samuel.

When they are in dreams, I think you need to check what they are doing in the dream.  Most people think of the black rat.  They cause fear and loathing in many people and that is what is projected into dreams. This is the rat that brought the fleas that carried the Black Death to Europe.

In Samuel, God uses the “rats” and the problems they “carry” to bring judgment on the Philistines. Being a science teacher, I need to mention the parasites, the rats carry, cause a lot of damage.

Being fair to the rats, we do need to remember that they would have been in the sheet that Peter dreamed about in Acts. However, eating them is probably not a good idea because of their habits and food choices.

Week Two Study for Passover to Pentecost

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This is the continuation of the study that will go to Pentecost.

  1. Passover to Pentecost –Out of Egypt/ End of Passover
  2. Passover to Pentecost -Out of Egypt – Things You Might Recognize
  3. Passover to Pentecost –What Is Important
  4. Passover to Pentecost –Passover Number Two
  5. Passover to Pentecost –Joshua’s Passover and His Fifty Days
  6. Passover to Pentecost –Food
  7. Passover to Pentecost – Three Days

Things That Happen With † = ♥

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While having a morning break in our local Mickey D’s a man, in a plumber’s uniform, stopped and said, “After Jesus put that guy’s ear back on in the Garden how could you not believe!”

Surprised at his question, I added, “Remember, that was after everyone picked themselves up off of the ground when Jesus spoke.” We traded several other ideas and said good-bye. All of this started because I was wearing a † = ♥ shirt.

When a GODportunity like that occurs, it tends to lift you from your earthly thoughts and sets your mind on things above.  My two thoughts were:

  1. Did that servant join with the crowd calling for Jesus’ death?
  2. How was it that there were only two people who saw Jesus as the Son of God on Good Friday? The thief on the cross and the Roman soldier.

My thought on #1 is, NO!  He may have been there but a touch from Jesus would have changed him.  It would be nice to know his story.

The thief was a Divine Appointment.  Jesus was doing His work of glorifying the Father right to the very end of His earthly life.  This would also set an example for the Christians who were to die at the hands of the Romans many years after death.

The battle-harden centurion knew Jesus was different because of how He died.  No curses, no fighting with the guards, no blaming everyone else, no crying how unfair it was, just Jesus speaking words of comfort to His friends and being in control of Himself.  He recognized the darkened skies had to be from God as a show of His disapproval!  I like to believe that he was the centurion who had his servant healed at Jesus’ command.  And that he would have a visit from Peter, after all of these events, and receive the Holy Spirit!

Two other thoughts about this day:

  1. Were the people who came out of the tombs among the three thousand on the day of Pentecost?

2. Was it grief, fear, or a limited vision of Jesus that blinded the disciples from seeing Jesus as the thief and soldier saw Him that day?

Add your thoughts and questions!

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Things Paul Wrote About

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Paul, as the Apostle to the Gentiles, is responsible for many of the Books of the New Testament. Because of all of the different Churches, his circumstances, and the various needs of the people, he addresses many topics.  He likes to list things in his writings, and we love to form our beliefs around those lists.  But he does vary those lists according to the Churches/people he is writing too.  In this post I want to explore two topics he lists and how they are related.  The topics are: 1. “Armor” 2. “Faith, Hope, Love”.  I have previously written post on these topics, so if you want to see them they are: Faith, Hope, and Love; Putting On.

I think it would be safe to say that Paul’s habit of listing things has its foundations in the Old Testament.  One that he expounds on for this study is Isaiah 59: 17.  Isaiah is stating that the Lord was displeased because no one intervened for the sake of justice, so He clothed Himself with righteousness, salvation, vengeance, and zeal.  We love to use Ephesians 6: 14 as the Armor of God that we are to put on, but Paul uses the idea of armor and “putting on” in other Letters.  I think we focus on this one because it is a more complete list, and who does not want to be dressed up in armor!

1 Corinthians 13: 13 is our favorite verse for faith, hope, and love.  This in part is due to the beautiful explanation of love, and maybe because he uses the word “greatest.”

In 1 Thessalonians 5: 8 Paul brings these two themes together; faith and love are the breastplate with hope of salvation as the helmet.  In 1 Thessalonians 1:3 faith is paired with works; love prompts labor; and endurance is from hope in Jesus.

He weaves faith, hope, and love together in Colossians 1:4+5 with what is stored for us in heaven.  Changing ideas slightly, Colossians 3:12 uses the idea of “clothe yourself” with a list that sounds like the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5: 22.

To keep this mix going, in Romans 13:11 – 14 Paul tells us to “put on the armor of light” and “clothe yourself” with Jesus in order to “put off” deeds of darkness, which are listed.

Trying to “split hairs” over these lists is not in the spirit of Paul’s writings, and it would be better to combine all of these various thoughts to get the big picture/message.  One “big picture” I saw in doing this post is from 1 Thessalonians 5: 8 faith and love covers your heart, and hope covers your mind.

Josiah’s Generation, His Legacy, and The Day

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Josiah’s actions of cleansing the Land and the Temple, his Passover celebration, the legacy of prophetic ministries from his reign, and their relationship to “The Day” talked about by earlier prophets are acts of major significance.  This “breath of fresh air” in the family of David was God’s attempt to let Judah repent and put off the cleansing of the Land that had to come.

His importance was announced many years before his arrival in 1 Kings 13:2. This was a time of spiritual darkness when Jeroboam had divided Israel and was replacing Jehovah with man-made images.  An unnamed prophet came out of Judah, and prophesied the birth of Josiah and the destruction of Jeroboam’s altar; this story is finished in 2 Kings 23: 15 – 17.

Josiah’s shining light comes between two really dark chapters in the history of God’s people.  Manasseh and Amon took evil and ignoring God to the lowest point for Judah.  Then Josiah’s sons and grandsons ignored the reforms he made, inviting destruction of the Day for Jerusalem.  Jeremiah endured this abuse and had Burach chronicle it, Ezekiel and Daniel were also witnesses of this unfaithfulness of Judah and Israel, only they were in Babylon.

Imagine the voices trying to speak into his life at eight years old when he became king.  At sixteen he personally starts seeking God.  The amazing thing about this is that he had no scripture to refer to, I wonder if he knew of the prophecy during Jeroboam’s reign.  At twenty he started purging the Land, some areas were not in Judah.  After cleansing the Land, he turns to the Temple and orders it cleaned and restored; then the Law is given to him, and he realizes how far from God they have been.  This in turn forces him to find Huldah that leads him to celebrate Passover.

Points of a Josiah Generation

  • Josiah sought God. This in itself is not a grand idea, but the term “of his father David” clarifies exactly Who he sought.  It was not the current version or idea of God, but the God that helped David through the trials and hardship he endured, the God that showed Himself faithful.
  • Josiah physically removed and destroyed things that were offensive to God and hindered the mindset of Judah. In 2 Chronicles 34, the list of things that he destroyed was impressive.  I am certain that there was crumbling and opposition to this work; they were probably expensive and many of the people had grown up with these altars, images, and the “religious” activities that were associated with them.  WARNING: He took care of what he was responsible for!  He did not go into Moab, Edom, or Ammon trying to clean them up, he took care of what God had given the people of Israel.
  • In 2 Chronicles 34: 8 he knows there is another level that he has to go to. He turns to the “church.”  Things inside his worship house had been neglected and were broken.  An important point here is Josiah empowered the people to do the repairs and many/most were worshipers (vs. 12).  Verse 9 tells where the funds came from, the descendants of Judah and Rachel are listed by name, but other Tribes/people also gave!  The named tribes are the chosen first-born (Judah) and the heirs of the “loved wife” (Joseph and Benjamin).  Jesus has the people and the resources to fuel the revival that will happen before the “Day” arrives.
  • All of this leads to the “Book” once again being allowed to direct the people of God. PROVEN prophets of the Lord once again are consulted and the Lord speaks through them.
  • Josiah’s Passover symbolizes the revival that many are expecting to occur, but it came after a considerable amount of effort and actions.

SPOILER ALERT – Once Josiah was gone things came undone very quickly!  The offspring of the revival ignored God and twenty-two and a half years later Jerusalem was in ruins and the Land was getting to rest!