Righteousness the Second Look

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In this post, I want to focus on a repeating theme and technique. The theme is dark to light, and I will call the technique “what is and what will be”. In Isaiah I have noticed several of these sections, especially in Chapters 1 – 4. I am sure there are others as usual have your Bible open.

“What is” gone is the righteous relationship the people had with their God, this cascades very quickly to a loss of right legal standing before God and the mistreating of people. 1:13 of Isaiah speaks of offerings and incense that mean nothing because they choose to do evil things (vs.16) and neglect the important things found in verse 17. Verse 21, again, states that justice and righteousness have been replaced with murderers. This first “what is” section goes from 1:1 to 1:23. I see the “what will be” starting in vs. 24 and going through 31 or possibly 2:5. For me, verses 1:26 and 27 are the core of this second part, when Jerusalem will be renamed the “City of Righteousness and the Faithful City”.

This thought is fenced in with vs.24 and what is labeled 2:1. At times it is easy to overlook the “declares, and the Lord says” parts of the text because they may not fall at the beginning of a chapter. These declarations and introductions were added by the Holy Spirit to indicate units of thought from the Father and how they were given to the prophets. They should not be overlooked.

Ah, Chapter 2! To finish this post and show another example of dark to light, I need to work from Chapter 2 to 4. I see 2:1 to 3:15 as being a unit because of “declares the Lord”, then 3:16 to 4:1 as a “dark” unit and “4:2 to 6 as a light unit. Did Isaiah do some editing and strategic planning? 2:1-5 is very much a “will be” section. Starting in verse 6 it sounds like Isaiah is talking to God about Israel. Notice the thought is “their” land. Verse 12 starts a repeated idea that is found in the rest of Isaiah and many other prophetic books – “The Day”. This “dark” section of 2:6 to 4:1 ends with the coming of the “Branch of the Lord”. 4:5 and 6 is the recreation of the Pillar of Cloud and Fire that covered Israel for forty years.

In the dark, right relations with God and man break down and it becomes a judicial matter for God.

When light comes so does proper judicial conduct and proper relationships with God and our fellow man. This is the righteousness that God wants.

Here is a study help. The “H” numbers are from the Strong’s Concordance.

Isaiah 1:26 Hebrew Text Analysis (biblehub.com)

Chapters and Verses in the Bible

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Someone very important to me pointed out that I needed to explain my “French Printer” comment when I talk about chapters and verses in the Bible. Because these divisions have been with us our whole life it is easy to forget that is not how biblical scrolls and early versions of the Bible were written.

You may have noticed that many times in the Gospels Jesus is quoted as saying “it is written in the scroll”. This will depend on your favorite translation, of course. I will offer Luke 4:17 as an example; Jesus looked through the scroll to find where it was written. (It was a nice study in Bible Gateway to put in the word “written” and follow that thought through the New Testament.) If we did that today, you might get looked down on because of your lack of knowledge for not quoting the book, chapter, and verse.

A quick search yielded these sites (no particle reason for giving them) and many more. Langton and Estienne were not the first, but their work seems to be the foundation and final product of what is used today. Many printing companies are now adding chapter headings and section descriptors, which are also a nice help.

Who divided the Bible into chapters and verses? – BibleAsk

Stephen Langton started in the 13th century to break the longer books of the Bible into chapters, especially the Old Testament.

Robert Estienne, a French printer, continued the adding of chapters and verses in the 16th century. The Geneva Bible in 1560 had verses.

Chapters and verses of the Bible – Wikipedia

When and How Was the Bible Split into Chapters and Verses? – Topical Studies (biblestudytools.com)

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Bible Verses and Chapters  | Bible Gateway News & Knowledge  This one has “fun facts” about chapters and verses.

My fun fact. The first printed version of the King James Bible did not use Chapters and Verses.

Bread in the Bible – Feeding Many

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Jesus feeding many people at one time in the Bible is found in all of the Gospels. The stories are important because it was one of the signs that the Jews had decided their coming Messiah would do. There are many lessons that you can find in the story of the mass feedings. Here are the references for each Gospel.

  • Matthew 14 – 16
  • Mark 6 – 8
  • John 6
  • Luke 9:10 -17

The timing of these events is important. John the Baptist has been beheaded and Jesus is headed to Jerusalem. This puts these feedings near the end of His forty months of ministry. Matthew and Mark have a feeding of 5,000 in Israel and then a separate feeding of 4,000 people near the Decapolis on the east side of the Sea of Galilee (See Mark 7:31 and 8:1). The miracles and conversations in and around these miracles are important in the big story. The leftovers were epiousios provision.

Luke – This is the basic story; it is before the Transfiguration which agrees with Matthew and Mark. Like them, it has an interesting thought in it. Jesus broke the bread, and the disciples gave it to the people. I see the Great Commission in that simple statement. John has Jesus disturbing the food; that is not a big deal but it is in line with him proving Jesus is the Son of God.

John – The French printer did a great job with Chapter 6 when he selected where to start and end the content of the chapter. Most of the chapter is about bread and Jesus as the Bread of Life. Remember, John is proving Jesus is the Son of God by highlighting miracles. John has more than seven great miracles in his book, but people tend to focus on the major seven.

Starting in verse 25, Jesus covers a lot of theology. His introduction of communion and comparing Himself to manna and the Bread of Heaven upset many Jews. This section does mesh well with the section in Matthew.

Mark and Matthew – The Chosen had good drama in Season 3 that ended with Jesus feeding the masses and Peter’s walk on the water. Our Gospel writers and the Holy Spirit did a better job (lol). The in-between and after is what has gotten my attention. So, please do not separate the two feedings, but view those chapters as one big section with a lot of traveling between the two main courses. My points will not be in order. John’s beheading, for me, is the start of the third block of teaching on the Kingdom of God.

  • Matthew 15:2, the Pharisees, and Clean/Unclean – Both times after Jesus fed the masses the Pharisees swooped in and challenged Him. After the 5,000 they complained all those people in the wilderness did not wash their hands before eating. Jesus took charge and changed the subject to put the focus on them and they did not like it. After the 4,000 they wanted another sign; think of the miracles in John. They had a list of things the Messiah would do and again Jesus did not play along. At this point, they had several years’ worth of miracles to choose from, but religious paradigms are very hard soil for things to sprout and grow in.
  • Yeast/Leaven – In the natural yeast changes the wheat and water and, in the process, makes a gas that causes the bread to rise or grow. (Take several Muse Moments in this section.) To say that yeast is always compared to sin and is bad is not completely correct. The grain offering at Pentecost was two loaves baked with yeast (Leviticus 23:17). Jesus also compared the kingdom of God to yeast that was put into a large amount of dough (Matthew 13:33, Luke 13:21). Yeast bread was part of the daily diet and possibly it was used to make beer; another common food.  The hypocrisy of the leaders is what Jesus did not want His disciples to consume. He had been giving them pure leaven and wanted that to fill them, not the teachings and mindsets of the Pharisees.
  • Travels – Jesus knew His time was about over. He was teaching His followers and wanted to be left alone. After the 4,000 He took His followers and went north to Caesarea Philippi, where Peter finally declared Jesus as the Son of the Living God. He also left the Galilee area after the 5,000 and went to the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon. (Elijah met a widow there and helped her.) The distances were not great but the separation was what He wanted. This separation provided quiet but also protection for His followers. The destinations were a shadow of going to the nations.  
  • Matthew 15: 26 – This interaction with a Canaanite woman is a foundation stone for Peter and Paul to preach the Gospel to Gentiles. This woman just needed crumbs, leftovers from the full loaf of bread for her miracle. Because of her faith, she got exactly what she needed from Jesus. Matthew has this trip in between the feeding of the two great masses. Mark places the second feeding in the Greek-influenced east bank. Did the disciples pick up on the connection? First to the Jews, then to the Gentiles. 5,000 were fed with twelve baskets of leftovers, then 4,000 and seven baskets were filled. Jesus gave “crumbs” to a Canaanite mother and then fed many in the Decapolis.
  • Reteach – I am pulling this morsel from a completely different basket. Our Master and Teacher gave His disciples a test and a lesson with the feeding of the 5,000. As a teacher, I see the feeding of the 4,000 as a retest, Jesus wanted them to do the miracles. I do not believe they got an A in that particular lesson.

I see the test of feeding the 5,000 as the end of the lesson from them going out 2×2 in Matthew 10. It has a connection to when the Children of Israel did not ask and seek God for provision AFTER He delivered them out of Egypt.

Bible Map: Genneseret (bibleatlas.org)

It is time to put a wrap on this study of Feeding the Masses. Yes, there are more lessons and things to look at; I did not touch on the symbolic meaning of the numbers involved. The most important reference to bread is left, communion.  

A few musings I picked up along the way.

  1. It takes many individual kernels of grain to make a loaf. They have to be picked, cleaned, ground up, mixed together, and baked.
  2. Were there people who ate twice of the miraculously multiplied bread? Besides His immediate followers.
  3. With Jesus a little can become a lot.

What is your favorite thought of bread?

Repeats and Upgrades

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Repeats and Upgrades is my second post from my study of righteousness, it comes from Isaiah. I choose to focus on Isaiah first because it has about eighty “right” references (NASB), Psalms and Proverbs have more and Romans has many also.

I feel it is important to know about Isaiah and the times he lived in. Isaiah’s visions came during the reigns of four kings (1:1) and was probably killed by the fifth one, Manasseh, by being sawed in two (Hebrews 13:37). Ahaz did not do right in the eyes of the Lord. From Uzziah to Isaiah 40 is about 43 years and it is approximately 59 years to the time of Manasseh. Hosea, Micah, and Amos also prophesied during his lifetime. His story is found in 2 Chronicles 26-32, and 2 Kings 15–20. I get the feeling at times that Isaiah edited his visions so they may not be chronological, but that is just me.

“Jesus verses” abound in Isaiah, but that will be a different post.

Something I noticed was the repeated translation of the English word “will”. Chapters 53-56 and 59-62 have “will” used many times. They will make an interesting study.

Repeats

The repeats I want to focus on are words and phrases. It may be an attention device, or it may be to bring a legal witness to the text. The idea of two witnesses is found in Deuteronomy 17:6 and 19:15. It is repeated in Matthew 18:16, 2 Corinthians 13:1, 1 Timothy 5:19, and Hebrews 10:28. Yes, in their courts two or more people were required to determine a fact, but in Genesis 15 God was His own witness in the covenant with Abram. It seems the repeats by the Lord bring righteous relationships into focus; both of the legal and personal nature.

The list will all be from Isaiah, so I will write just chapter and verse with the word or phrase. (I hope I get them all. I used the NASB so there may be different words in your translation.)

  • 24:16 I am finished! I am finished! Woe to me! I think this is Isaiah stating a complaint like Jeremiah and Habakkuk.  
  • 51 and 52, Awake, Awake – 51:9 A call for the arm of the Lord to be strong; 51:17 For Jerusalem, because they were drunk; 52:1 For Zion/Jerusalem to clothe themselves with strength.
  • 51:1,4,7 – Listen to me. 1. Those who pursue righteousness and seek the Lord. 4. His people and nation because His justice will be a light to the nations. 7. Those who know what is right and have His law in their hearts.
  • 51:5,6,8 –5. His righteousness is near and His salvation has gone out. 6. His salvation is eternal and His righteousness does not fail. 8. His righteousness is forever and His salvation is for all the ages.
  • 52:8 Shouts of joy or joyful shouts are commanded 14 times. (NASB translation)
  • 52:11 – depart, depart. To leave the “nations” and not touch unclean things. Levities are highlighted as those who carry the vessels of the Lord.
  • 55:1 Has four invitations to come and get things from the Lord without cost.
  • 55:2 listen, listen. It is a continuation of the offers from verse 1.
  • 57:14 Build up, build up. This is to prepare the road. It sounds like the work of John for Jesus and then Jesus for us to come to the Father. See 62:10.
  • 57:19 peace, peace. It is for those who are far and near, so the Lord can heal them. The work of Jesus.
  • 62:1 The Lord will not keep silent until righteousness and salvation shine out like dawn; for the sake of Zion and Jerusalem.
  • 62:10 Pass through, pass through; build up build up; like 57:14 it is a road.

Upgrades

  • 9:10 The people of the Northern Kingdom are proclaiming upgrades in defiance to God. Their bricks will be replaced with dressed stone and figs with cedars.
  • 41:18-20 Rivers, springs, and pools of water will be in places where they were not or in places to bring life there. Deserts and wastelands will be populated with desirable trees as a sign that the Lord has done this.
  • 60:17 Lesser metals will be replaced with more valuable ones. Peace will be their governor and righteousness their ruler.
  • 61:3 Instead of ashes on their heads there will be beautiful crowns. Oil will anoint the head and bring gladness instead of mourning. Torn garments of despair will be replaced with garments of praise. Verses 4 through 7 also have upgrades for the people.

Righteousness #1 – It really is.

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Righteousness being #1 with God is a reminder to myself not to start the study process with many of my paradigms. The Father’s thoughts overwhelmed mine and left me with an open-ended study. I am not complaining, just humbled. The list of websites is just to help you get started. I referred to the NASB, KJV, MOUNCE, and NIV (1990 copyright).

Matthew 6:33 was at the top of my page, but it went to Melchizedek (king of righteousness) and then to Abram (Genesis 15). A quick search turned me to Noah in Genesis 7:1 and his covenant with God in Genesis 9. By the time I studied Chapters 1 to 66 of Isaiah, it was apparent that there would be several posts in this study.

I will fly with Matthew (for the last several years) to start a study if I can. So, Matthew 6:33 and Luke 12:31 having the same basic statement is just an added witness. Unfortunately, I have read people who “lose it” if you do not quote Matthew. My take on this is very simple; if you are seeking God and His Kingdom you are going to find righteousness. This belief has led to two thoughts: 1. God is holy and loves righteousness (Psalms 33:5 and Proverbs 15:9); 2. We do not get to tell God what those thoughts mean to Him and how He is to apply them. He has done that quite well!

In the Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary, words that deal with righteousness start with H6662 and end with H6666. My concordance is combined with Vine’s Dictionary but online or ink and leaf it is well worth the time it takes to read these entries. H6663 seems to be the main root word. Jots and tittles make a big difference, along with a letter added at the end. Remember to start looking on the right side and go left, they are Hebrew. Now for a look at a few mentions in Genesis.

  • Noah – Genesis 7:1, this reference is H6662. 2 Peter 2:5 identifies him as a preacher of righteousness. It is good to remember what the people were not doing; walking with or following God. Fallen angels had even polluted the human gene pool in an attempt to limit the birth of Jesus.
  • Melchizedek – melchi = king, zedek = righteous. He is also known as the King of Salem and the priest of the Most High God. This word is from H6664 and is a “relational form of the word”. He is mentioned more in the Book of Hebrews than in the Old Testament.
  • Abram – Genesis 15:6 states that he believed the Lord and it was credited to him as righteousness. This word is H6666 and this is the first time it is used in the Bible.

There are two major themes that righteousness is associated with – relational and legal. I believe this started in the Garden when Adam ate from the wrong Tree. Adam and Eve had a relationship with God, He walked in the Garden. When they sinned, the legal component came in because the rulership of Earth changed. The concept of righteousness is often associated with judgment. (An example is Isaiah 43:26.) It is observed that the Father is “jealous” for those who walk with Him.

Okay, my strange sense of humor kicked in when I saw that the numbers in the dictionary for righteous had three consecutive 6’s in it. (It is bad luck to be superstitious:) So, I looked up H666 it is used twice and deals with coverings, turbans, or ashes. G666 is used once and is apousia or being away or absent. It should be compared and contrasted with parousia.

This is my #1 post about righteousness, it won’t be the last.