1 TIMOTHY 6
If you are a slave, then you may not be reading these notes! But if you an ‘employee’ then you must give one hundred percent to your employer. If they are a Christian too, then give them one hundred and fifty percent! Treat your employment as though God were your employer. And bosses who are Christians should aim to be the best bosses in the world.
Don’t charge for the gospel. Watch out for money – it can be a trap! It’s not the money itself, but the love of it that ruins you. Jesus himself said that you cannot love God and money. So, choose today whom you will serve. If you are wealthy, then don’t put your trust in it, but trust God. Also, be generous and willing to share your material blessings. If you do, you will be simultaneously converting your cash into a heavenly currency that will be your treasure forever. Good deeds are ‘cash converters’ (6:9, 10, 17-19.)
Finally, Paul signs off – taking about a chapter to do so! – by telling his ‘son’ to flee, to pursue, to fight, to grasp, and to keep… look at 1 Timothy 6:11-14 for more details. Paul cannot resist praising God for Who He is: “The Blessed and only Ruler, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no-one has seen, or CAN see. To him be honour and might forever. Amen”. It is significant, in terms of a biblical proof of the Trinity, that Jesus himself is called the “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” in Revelation 17:14. Paul ends in praise and worship; if we begin our prayers with worship, we should also end them in that mode too.
JEREMIAH 46, 47 and 48
As we come to the final few chapters of Jeremiah, we read a series of prophecies against the surrounding nations, beginning with Egypt, and moving gradually eastwards until we reach Babylonia. Both these two nations wrestled for control of Israel/Judah over the centuries.
Egypt’s defeat by Babylon at Carchemish was one of the most decisive battles in the ancient world and effectively ended Egypt’s claims to be a super-power in the region. “What do I see? They are terrified, they are retreating, their warriors are defeated. They flee in haste without looking back, and there is terror on every side – declares the Lord”. (46:5).
The inhabitants of the land might have thought that the battle was decided on the relative strength of the armies, but the truth was very different: “…that day belongs to the Lord, the Lord Almighty – a day of vengeance, for vengeance on his foes. The sword will devour ‘till it is satisfied, ‘till it has quenched its thirst with blood. For the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will offer sacrifice in the land of the north by the River Euphrates” (46:10). God himself will avenge the cruelties that Egypt perpetrated towards Judah – so many centuries earlier: “I am about to bring punishment on Amon god of Thebes, on Pharaoh, on Egypt and her gods and her kings, and on those who rely on Pharaoh” (46:25). Amon was the chief god of Egypt, and his name was given to Manasseh’s son in Judah.
God also reassures Israel that he will not completely destroy them but will only discipline them in a measured way. (See 46:28).
The Philistines, however, will be swamped: “See how the waters are rising in the north; they will become an overflowing torrent. They will overflow the land and everything in it…” (47:2). This is a metaphor for Babylonian attack from the north. The coastal towns of Tyre and Sidon would be destroyed, along with Gaza and Ashkelon. No mercy would be shown to that nation!
Moab in the east is also prophesied to be destroyed; historically, this is recorded as having occurred in the 23rd year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign – in 582 BC. “Put salt on Moab, for she will be laid waste…”. Salt was flung on the fields to make all agriculture totally unproductive. “This is what the Lord says: ‘Look! An eagle is swooping down, spreading its wings over Moab’”. (48:40). The eagle represents Babylon.
But finally, some hope: “Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab in the days to come – declares the Lord”. The interpretation of this hope must relate to the New Covenant and the ministry of Jesus on the citizens of Moab.
The Big Picture 