Marriage Covenant

Relationship Problems with David and Michal

All marriages suffer difficulties and problems of some sorts. Husbands and wives will have differences of opinions from time to time, and must communicate and compromise to work through tough times. Thus, it should not surprise us to see the king of Israel come home from a victorious day to a turbulent home (2 Sam. 6:12-23). Let us see if we can understand this dubious passage.

First, we introduce the story with a death—the background to this incident in Second Samuel 6 is the familiar account of Uzzah touching the Ark of the Covenant and God punishing him with instant death. Of course, the Law of Moses was quite clear that only Levites (specifically, the descendants of Kohath) may bear the Ark of the Covenant upon their shoulders. Yet, they tried to transport the Ark of the Covenant on an oxcart, and death resulted.

Then, we note the displeasure of David (6:8). David questions God, but after a respite of three months at the house of Obed-edom, the Gittite, to which David learns that God blessed the bearer of the Ark of the Covenant during this time, evidently David enquires from the Law of God how to transport properly the Ark of the Covenant and correctly brings it into Jerusalem as he should have done it the first time (cf. 1 Chron. 15:26).

Then, we note the occasion of dancing (6:14-16). As the Ark of the Covenant enters Jerusalem, there are sacrifices commemorating the occasion (6:13). All of the pomp and ceremony is not for the purpose of glorifying David, but for the purpose of glorifying God—the focus is on God! There were the sacrifices, singing (1 Chron. 15:27) and musical instruments likely being played, trumpets blaring and people shouting (6:15), celebration with food (6:19) and David dancing. Of course, the fact that we see David dancing is strange to those of us who live under the new covenant, but we should understand that God allowed (to be more specific, authorized by inspiration) this physical, carnal form of worship under the old covenant. Not only do we find this type of glorifying God from Miriam and the women in celebration of their victory over the Egyptians in Exodus 15:20-22, but we also see David, by inspiration, writing many psalms that indicate such: “Praise him with the timbrel and dance” (150:4). No, David was not dancing with other women. No, David was not dancing in the same fashion as we typically think of dancing that we would consider to be a work of the flesh (Gal. 5:19-21). Yes, he was dancing and rejoicing to God (along with all the house of Israel) in an acceptable fashion under the old covenant, because the occasion called for it!

Then, we note his dress—David wore a linen ephod (6:14). This was a garment usually reserved for the priests (cf. 1 Sam. 2:18; 22:18). It is strange for him to wear such, and it very well could have been considered an undergarment (cf. Ex. 28:42; Mark 14:51-52).  Nevertheless, it may have typified his humility on this occasion, being grateful after all that has transpired up to this point in time, and after the Ark of the Covenant being gone from the tabernacle for such a long period of time—decades if we go all the way back to the events of First Samuel 4-7—to finally see the Ark of the Covenant rest in the city of Jerusalem that he would establish as the city of God.

Finally, all of this prepares us for her despising (6:16-23). There she is, looking out the window—Michal sees her husband, David, “leaping and dancing before the Lord, and she despised him in her heart.” Here is the key to the rest of this passage. While the entire nation, with David as their leader, celebrates this victory to God, his wife watches it all and despises him (in the midst of what is ongoing). Does this not remind us of her father, Saul? We have heard the axiom, “Like father, like son,” but maybe here, we ought to think, “Like father, like daughter,” for we see this same type of reaction from Saul after David’s victory over Goliath. While David and the people are rejoicing over their victory from the Philistines, Saul is seething over how the people are cheering over David, and this seems to be what is happening here in the reaction from Michal. Thus, when she sees him next, we not only hear sarcasm dripping from her words, but it is possible that she chooses words to exaggerate: “How glorious was the king of Israel today, who uncovered himself today in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself!” (6:20). It is because of her despising that she exaggerates what she thinks to be a fault within—he may have worn a garment that one may construe to be inappropriate, possibly even an undergarment, but this does not mean that he was lewd, neither does it mean that he sinned. Anytime one tries to find fault in others because they are filled with despising, we usually always see little specks exaggerated! He responds that he did nothing wrong, the things that he did were focused towards God, that he was the rightful king, not her father, and that because of her attitude, she would likely never view him again without some sort of disdain, although he clearly did nothing wrong (6:21-22).

Thus, we see the account end sadly in the fact that she bore no child unto her death (6:23). This is what harsh attitudes may do, even in relationships of husbands and wives. Whenever one person begins to despise another (for whatever reason), we see a breakdown within the relationship, exaggerated mistakes, motives judged and harsh accusations. May the breakdown between the relationship of this husband and wife teach us some valuable lessons within our own relationships.

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The Real Boogey Man

It seems that people have always loved to be frightened. The feelings of fear and fright causes our heart rate to accelerate and gets a little adrenaline flowing, thus causing a heightened sense of awareness. We begin to feel more “alive” when we are fearful. To some this feeling is quite pleasurable, at least for a short while. We should note that there is a difference between fear or fright and terror. Fear or fright is a feeling we get while we watch a spooky movie or read a horror novel in the safety and security or our own home or a movie theater. Terror, on the other hand, is something experienced. Terror is a mortal and realized fear for our own life, or that of another person. Most victims of violent crime, police officers, fire fighters and combat veterans have felt a sense of terror at some point.

All Hallows (Saint’s) Evening, a.k.a. “Halloween” is the evening before All Saint’s Day, which is a catholic holiday in honor of all of their “saints.” Halloween has its roots in paganism. However, today it has little or nothing in common with the pagan celebration. This day and age, Halloween is just a time for children to dress-up in costumes and get tummy aches from eating too much candy. It is a day when being frightened is fun. It is a day for hearing and telling scary stories by the light of a campfire or by the light of a flashlight held beneath a chin.

The spooky stories we hear and tell on Halloween are full of ghosts, ghouls, goblins, witches, were-wolves, vampires, and worst of all – the Boogey Man, or when I was kid the, “Booger Man.” We tell these stories, knowing full well that there is no such thing as a vampire, or a ghost, or a Boogey Man. They’re all just stories. We all know that, don’t we? However, the scary elements of the stories (ghouls, goblins, etc) all have at least one thing in common – they all represent evil and darkness. The “Boogey Man” of the story is always an evil, sinister being that wants to kill and destroy.

The stories are make-believe, but Boogey Man is real! He has a name – Satan, the Devil. He is an evil, sinister being who only wants to kill and destroy souls. He is an angel, who led a revolt against God and was cast down, along with his fellow rebel angels. For him and his angels, God has “reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day” (Jude 6). However, as of yet, the Devil is allowed to roam free. Our adversary Satan, “as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” (2 Peter 5:8). He is the “Father of Lies” and a murderer. “He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” (John 8:44).

He knows that he has been condemned to everlasting fire in Hell and seeks to take as many souls as he can into that fiery pit with him. He is the source of all that is malicious, despiteful, evil, hateful, malevolent, malignant, nasty, rancorous, spiteful, vicious, wicked, poisonous, venomous, virulent, baneful, detrimental, noxious, pernicious, envious, jealous, mean or petty. He is the ultimate liar and deceiver. He is not a physical being who stalks and kills his victims like Jason (“Friday the 13th”), Freddy Kreuger (“Nightmare on Elm Street”), or a monster in a story. He seeks to kill and destroy in other ways. He tempts mankind into sin just as he tempted Jesus, “Who did no sin” (1 Peter 2:22). He seeks to have us kill ourselves in sin, knowing full well that “the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23).

We need to fear and be in terror of him and his influence. He can destroy us if we allow him to. However, in our fear and terror of him, we must not panic! We must stand firm against him and resist his temptations. Soldiers in combat experience terror, but they stand firm in the face of it. Fire fighters and police officers experience terror and fight against it. Christians face the terror of Satan and his evil works and overcome them through faith in God and the assurance of eternal life in Christ Jesus. “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” (John 10:28). Satan cannot snatch away your soul unless you let him. Fear him. Be wary of him. Nevertheless, stand up to him! “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7).

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Hell

1 – Sheol, occurring in the Old Testament sixty-five times. This word Sheol is derived from a root-word meaning “to ask,” “demand;” hence insatiableness (Prov. 30:15, 16). It is rendered “grave” thirty-one times (Gen. 37:35; 42:38; 44:29, 31; 1 Sam. 2:6, etc.). The Revisers have retained this rendering in the historical books with the original word in the margin, while in the poetical books they have reversed this rule.

In thirty-one cases in the Authorized Version this word is rendered “ hell ” the place of disembodied spirits. The inhabitants of Sheol are “the congregation of the dead” (Prov. 21:16). It is (a) the abode of the wicked (Num. 16:33; Job 24:19; Ps. 9:17; 31:17, etc.); (b) of the good (Ps. 16:10; 30:3; 49:15; 86:13, etc.).

Sheol is described as deep (Job 11:8), dark (Job 10:21, 22), with bars (Job 17:16). The dead “go down” to it (Num. 16:30, 33; Ezek. 31:15, 16, 17).

2 – The Greek word Hades of the New Testament has the same scope of signification as Sheol of the Old Testament. It is a prison (1 Pet. 3:19), with gates and bars and locks (Matt. 16:18; Rev. 1:18), and it is downward (Matt. 11:23; Luke 10:15).

The righteous and the wicked are separated. The blessed dead are in that part of Hades called paradise (Luke 23:43). They are also said to be in Abraham’s bosom (Luke 16:22).

(3.)  Gehenna, in most of its occurrences in the Greek New Testament, designates the place of the lost (Matt. 23:33). The fearful nature of their condition there is described in various figurative expressions (Matt. 8:12; 13:42; 22:13; 25:30; Luke 16:24, etc.). (See HINNOM.)            …. Easton’s Dictionary

NOTE: The word most often that refers to the place of eternal punishment is “Greek — Gehenna”.  Whenever we look at the words that generally refer to the grave we find that the word in the Old Testament is “Sheol” and in the New Testament is Greek, “Hades”. When looking for word meanings, consider these distinctions. The three words must be translated in their proper place according to context. Remember this: there are three words in the Hebrew and Greek languages that are to be considered as we seek an understanding of the grave, the intermediate state of the dead and the eternal state of the wicked.

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Divisions and Denominations

QUESTION: “If there’s only one God and only one Bible, then why are there so many different churches or denominations?”

Excellent question! Certainly that’s not the way God intended for it to be, nor is it the way things were in the first century between 33 A.D. when Christ established His church (Matt. 16:18-19) on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:14-47), and the writing of Revelation by John, somewhere near the end of the 1st century. During that time the Scripture shows us but one church in existence. The church was the body of Christ, and there was only one (Eph. 1:22-23, 4:4-6). During that time all the ‘churches’ (that is to say, local congregations of the same, one, exclusive, New Testament church over which Jesus was Head – Eph. 1:22-23) all taught the same things (1 Cor. 4:17, 7:17, 11:16, 16:1). They were expressly, exclusively, and unequivocally committed to the apostles’ doctrine only (Acts 2:42), as the apostles alone delivered by divine authority the very commandments of God (1 Cor. 14:33-38; 1 Thess. 2:13, 4:1-8; 2 Tim. 1:13).

Divisions (or denominations) were thoroughly condemned (1 Cor. 1:10-13), while unity was achieved only by simply standing together as one on the absolute truth of God’s Word just as Jesus had prayed for (John 17:6-23; Phil. 1:27-2:2). For 200 years or so thereafter there was but the one church Jesus built as seen in Scripture. Emperor Constantine later (313-337) began departures from the Scripture that led to the foundation of the Catholic Church being laid, and it wasn’t until 1517 that the first major protestant denominations began to be built by mere mortal men (Matt. 15:7-9), which did not resemble the church of Christ as seen in Scripture (Rom. 16:16), its having been established some 1484 years earlier. Most people are stunned to learn that in fact, none of the modern-day Protestant denominations (i.e. divisions) are more than 500 years old, being founded and established by mere, mortal men instead of Christ and His hand-picked, divinely-inspired apostles.

Bottom Line? There is one and only one God, one faith, one Lord, one baptism, and one body/church, according to God Himself in His holy word – period (Eph. 4:4-6). Want to learn more about the Lord’s one N.T. church as established and experienced in Scripture; the same one the apostles worked and worshipped both with and in respectively?  Come and see and check us out. Ask for a study. Ask questions. We’re easy to find, both in the phone book, and, unlike the denominations, also in The Book (Acts 2, Rom. 16:16).

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Humility

What does it mean to be humble?

Well, the Bible states that we are to be clothed with humility (1 Pet. 5:5). We are to humble ourselves under God (1 Pet. 5:6). Jesus said, “Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt. 18:4) Thus, we are to serve “the Lord with all humility of mind . . . ” (Acts 20:19)

In the Bible, we read of examples we can follow of those who were humble. In regards to Christ, it is recorded that He, “being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” (Phil. 2:8) King Hezekiah, “humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah.” (2 Chron. 32:26) From the pen of God we see, “how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house.” (1 Ki. 21:29)

Now, we can show humility in different ways. First, it can be shown by serving one another. Paul wrote, “. . . be at peace among yourselves.” (1 Thess. 5:13) The Hebrew writer said, “For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.” (Heb. 6:10) Therefore, “let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:” (Heb. 10:24)

Second, humility is shown by preferring one another. Being, “kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;” (Rom. 12:10). Timothy was told to, “. . . observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality.” (1 Tim. 5:21) “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them. . . ” (Matt. 7:12)

Third, in showing humility, you must love all people. Paul said to, “walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour.” (Eph. 5:2) Thus, “Let brotherly love continue.” (Heb. 13:1)

Fourth, we show humility by working for others. We are commanded to be, “perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:” (Eph. 4:12) “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” (Phil. 2:12) Therefore, “whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” (Jam. 1:25)

Fifth, we demonstrate humility by edifying and encouraging others. Many times Christians forget that we are suppose to be, “the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.” (Eph. 4:16) “not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.” (Col. 2:19) So, “Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.” (Rom. 14:19)

Living in humility is shown to be difficult when everyone goes their own way, does their own thing and forgets that they are connected to the body. Paul showed this confusion when the saints of Corinth even came together when he said, “How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.” (1 Cor. 14:26) Thus, if something in the worship causes another to stumble and be unstable in his faith, how can that leader be humbly edifying others?

Therefore, we ought to always ask ourselves, “O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” (Mic. 6:8) For, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” (Col. 3:1-2) “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” (Rom. 12:3)

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