May All Who Hate Zion be Put to Shame

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May All Who Hate Zion be Put to Shame

Psalms 124–125, 128-130; 2 Samuel 1

October 30, 2022 • Psalm 129, 2 Samuel 1, Psalm 124, Psalm 125, Psalm 128

GOD IS our protector through the trials of life. That comes through in the psalms we read this week, all part of the group titled Songs of Ascents.

These come from the period of David’s life between the death of Saul and his acceptance as king over all Israel. They are a reminder that while we will endure trials in this life, God offers us His steadfast love, forgiveness, and redemption.

Solomon Builds the Temple

September 15, 2024 • 1 Kings 5, 1 Kings 6, 2 Chronicles 2, 2 Chronicles 3

BECAUSE DAVID had been a man of war, the task of building the Temple in Jerusalem fell to his son, Solomon. This week, we read the accounts of the Temple’s construction, and how Hiram, king of Tyre, provided the timber and craftsmen for the work. We also note that account in 1 Kings records that Solomon built the Temple “for the Name of Yahweh.” We briefly discuss the meaning of “the Name,” which does not refer to God’s reputation, but an embodied person—an important part of the Godhead in ancient Israel. For more, we recommend Dr. Michael Heiser’s article at the Faithlife Study Bible, “The Name Theology in the Old Testament”: http://www.bit.ly/name-ot

Do Not Rejoice When Your Enemy Falls

September 1, 2024 • Proverbs 24, Proverbs 25

HUMILITY WHEN an adversary falters is one of the lessons in this week’s study of Proverbs. We continue with “sayings of the wise” before returning to more proverbs of Solomon. Themes to take away from this week’s study: Do not envy evildoers or rejoice when they’re punished; do not be lazy, because that path leads to poverty; do not curse your enemies, but bless them instead; and wisdom is to be valued above material wealth.

He Comes With the Myriads of His Holy Ones

August 25, 2024

THE BOOK OF 1 ENOCH has become a source of controversy among Christians. Regardless of your view of the book, it’s undeniable that it was known to the apostles and the early church, who generally had a favorable view of it. On the one hand, 1 Enoch is not in the Bible. There are good reasons for that; there are internal contradictions and details that are contrary to scripture. We agree with the early church, which, guided by the Holy Spirit, excluded 1 Enoch from the canon of scripture (except in the Ethiopic church). On the other hand, 1 Enoch had a profound influence on New Testament (i.e., Christian) theology and was even quoted directly (Jude 14–15 is a quote from 1 Enoch 1:9). So, going forward, we will read from and comment on the Book of 1 Enoch on the last Sunday of each month. This month, we introduce the book and its five sections: The Book of Watchers (Chapters 1–36) — completed by about 300 BC The Book of Parables (Chapters 37–71) — completed by about 4 BC The Book of Luminaries (Chapters 72–82) — completed by about 200 BC The Book of Dreams (Chapters 83–90) — written during Maccabean period (163–142 BC) Note: This includes the Animal Apocalypse (Chapters 85–90) The Epistle of Enoch (Chapters 91–108) — between 170 BC and 100 BC We discuss the authorship of Enoch, which can be traced to a group of Jews who returned from Babylon in the 5th century BC with a belief that the next phase of history was the construction of the temple prophesied by Ezekiel (Ezekiel chapters 40–42). They encountered resistance from the Zadokite priesthood in Jerusalem who believed that the age of prophecy had ended, and that salvation would come through their faithful adherence to the Law of Moses—keeping the feasts and performing the sacrificial rituals. The Enochians, on the other hand, believed that the world had been so corrupted by rebellious “sons of God”—the sinful angels mentioned by Peter (2 Peter 2:4) and Jude (Jude 6–7)—that only God’s direct intervention would put things right. That’s the premise of the Book of 1 Enoch. As we go though it, we’ll highlight the concepts that are brought forward in the New Testament. We are reading from the Hermeneia Translation of 1 Enoch by George W. E. Nickelsburg and James VanderKam. You can get a copy at Amazon (https://amzn.to/4drppkf), or borrow it online from the Internet Archive (https://bit.ly/1enoch). The SkyWatchTV store has a special offer on Dr. Michael Heiser’s two volume set A Companion to the Book of Enoch. You can get volumes 1 (covers chapters 1–36) and 2 (chapters 37–71), plus the R. H. Charles translation of 1 Enoch and a DVD interview with Dr. Heiser about the relevance of 1 Enoch today for just $35 plus shipping and handling. Go here: https://bit.ly/heiser-enoch.