Page 1259 - The MacArthur Daily Bible

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DECEMBER 8
How long until they attain to innocence?
6 For from Israel is even this:
A workman made it, and it is not God;
But the calf of Samaria shall be broken 139:9 the wings of the morning. In conjunc-
to pieces. tion with “the uttermost parts of the sea,”David
uses this literary figure to express distance.
7 “They sow the wind,
And reap the whirlwind.
The stalk has no bud; Even the night shall be light about me;
It shall never produce meal. 12 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide
If it should produce, from You,
Aliens would swallow it up. But the night shines as the day;
8 Israel is swallowed up; The darkness and the light are both
Now they are among the Gentiles alike to You.
Like a vessel in which is no pleasure. Proverbs 29:20
9 For they have gone up to Assyria,
Like a wild donkey alone by itself; 20 Do you see a man hasty in his words?
Ephraim has hired lovers. There is more hope for a fool than
10 Yes, though they have hired among the for him.
nations, 2John 1–13
Now I will gather them;
And they shall sorrow a little, T he Elder,
Because of the burden of the king
of princes. To the elect lady and her children, whom I
love in truth, and not only I, but also all those
11 “Because Ephraim has made many who have known the truth, because of the truth
2
altars for sin, which abides in us and will be with us forever:
They have become for him altars
3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you
for sinning.
12 I have written for him the great things from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus
of My law, Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
But they were considered a strange 4 I rejoiced greatly that I have found some of
thing. your children walking in truth, as we received
13 For the sacrifices of My offerings commandment from the Father. And now I
5
they sacrifice flesh and eat it, plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new
But the LORD does not accept them.
Now He will remember their iniquity
and punish their sins.
They shall return to Egypt. 1 The Elder. John uses this title to emphasize
his advanced age, his spiritual authority over
14 “For Israel has forgotten his Maker, the congregations in Asia Minor, and the
And has built temples; strength of his own personal eyewitness testi-
Judah also has multiplied fortified cities; mony to the life of Jesus and all that He taught
But I will send fire upon his cities, (vv. 4–6). the elect lady and her children.
And it shall devour his palaces.” Some think that this phrase refers metaphori-
Psalm 139:7–12 cally to a particular local church, while “her
children” would refer to members of the con-
7
Where can I go from Your Spirit? gregation.The more natural understanding in
Or where can I flee from Your context, however, is that it refers to a particu-
presence? lar woman and her children (i.e., offspring)
8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there; who were well known to John.whom I love in
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You truth. The basis of Christian hospitality is the
are there. truth (vv. 1–3). John accentuates the need for
If I take the wings of the morning, truth by repeating the term “truth” 5 times in
9
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the the opening 4 verses.Truth refers to the basics
sea, or fundamentals of the faith that John has dis-
Even there Your hand shall lead me,
10 cussed in 1 John,as well as the truths expressed
And Your right hand shall hold me. in 2 John 4–6.Truth is the necessary condition
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall
11 of unity and,as a result,the basis of hospitality.
on me,”
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