B.A.S.I.C. NEWSLETTER # 103
B.A.S.I.C. NEWSLETTER # 103
I Cor. 16:9 “For a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.”
Aug.31, 2007
Take the Task He gives you gladly, Let His Work your Pleasure be. These words from a hymn remind us of the joy of serving Him. For the East Africa Trip in Oct.-Nov. two more men are coming to work with the brethren. Loren Hansen and Russell Schmitt will join Larry Hansen and Pastor Mayhew. We thank the Lord for these volunteers. We also praise our God for the work of our 16 CLC brothers and sisters who helped our sister churches in India recently.
BIBLE QUESTIONS -part 6
Who Was the Correct Father of Jotham? In Mt. 1:9 in the genealogy of Jesus it states, “Uzziah the father of Jotham”(Uzziah is Greek). In Old Testament times Azariah is referred to as Jotham’s father 2 K. 15:1-7, 1 Chron. 3:12. Later in 2 Kings, he is referred to as Uzziah 15:32-34. Likewise he was referred to elsewhere as Uzziah 2 Chron. 26,27:2, Is. 1:1, 6:1, 7:1. This is simply a normal situation of an individual bearing two names that are similar in meaning. Azariah means “God has helped.” Uzziah means “God is my strength.”
Zechariah, Son of Berekiah, the Last Martyr
Jesus said Zechariah son of Berekiah was the last martyr of the Old Testament Mt. 23:34-35). Most people assume that the last martyr was Zechariah, son of Jehoiada, who was stoned in the Temple court as ordered by King Joash 2 Chron. 24:20-22. However, there were many martyrs since Zechariah ben Jehoiada, who died circa 800BC. In fact, the last martyr mentioned in Scripture is Zechariah, son of Berekiah, just as Jesus indicated Zech. 1:1.
The Name of Nehemiah’s Opponent
Nehemiah refers to his opponent using two names. In 2:19 he uses the name “Geshem” while in 6:6 he refers to him as “Gashmu”. It is not uncommon for people to have more than one name. In this case the difference is based on the common usage of the Arabic speaking people, who typically end names with a “u” and the Aramaic/Hebrew speaking people whose names usually omit the short vowel endings. The book of Nehemiah uses the common Arab reference in one case and the common Hebrew reference in the other.
Jehoiachin’s Curse
God placed a curse on Jehoiachin in Jer. 22:30 that this king of Judah would be considered childless, that “none of his descendants would sit on the throne of David.” Of course Jesus sits upon the throne of David. And Jehoiachin is included in His genealogy Mt. 1:11-12 Of course God’s special and unique plan was having the Holy Spirit “overshadow” Mary to conceive Jesus. No human male was necessary. Jesus had the unique position of being born of a human mother and the Spirit of a perfect God. But through the male line He did inherit His lineage as King.
Homiletics part 5
Testing A blacksmith known for his strong faith, had a great deal of illness. He was challenged by an unbeliever to explain why his god would let him suffer. He explained, “I take a piece of iron, put it into the fire to bring it to a white heat, then I strike it once or twice to see if it will take temper. I plunge it into the fire again, then I put it on the anvil and make a useful article out of it. If it will not take temper when I first strike it on the anvil, I throw it into the scrap heap and sell it for a half-penny per pound. I believe God has been testing me to see if I will take temper. I have tried to bear it as patiently as I could, and my daily prayer has been, ‘Lord, put me into the first if you will; put me into the water if you think I need it; do anything you please, O Lord, only do not throw me on the scrap heap.'”
The Example of the Pine One day a boy and his father went into the mountains. They took shelter from a storm in the lee of some great gray boulders that lay like sleeping giants close to the crest of a lonely ridge. As the two looked upward, they saw the wind lay its grim hands on a mountain pine that towered from the summit of the ridge. It was a sentinal that could escape no danger, an outpost to receive the first shock of the enemy’s attack. Savagely the wind tore at it, shook it violently, and howled through the branches. To the boy, the tree, strong though it was, seemed about to be torn to pieces. “Look, Father!” he said, pointing upward, “what the wind is doing to that pine!” The full fury of the blast just then made the pine shudder and sway. It heaved desperately against the black sky. “Storms are an old story to that tree,” said the father. “A tree like that lives in a struggle from the time it is high enough to catch the first breath of air. Tennyson says a tree is ‘storm-strengthened on a windy site’. The strongest trees are always those that have weathered the greatest number of gales. Besides, the question is not what is happening to the tree, but what is happening in the tree.” “The pine does not really seem to mind fighting the storm, does it?” “No, because it is able to withstand the strongest wind,” the father answered. “It is the same with us. It really does not matter what happens to us, but it matters a great deal what happens in us.”
Pastor Koenig