1 Corinthians 3-4
1Co 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal (G4559), even as unto babes in Christ.
1Co 3:2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
1Co 3:3 For ye are (G2075 pin) yet carnal (G4559): for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are (G2075 pin) ye not carnal (G4559), and walk as men?
1Co 3:4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are (G2075 pin) ye not carnal (G4559)?
G4559 - From G4561; pertaining to flesh, that is, (by extension) bodily, temporal, or (by implication) animal, unregenerate: - carnal, fleshly.
- G4561 - Probably from the base of G4563; flesh (as stripped of the skin), that is, (strictly) the meat of an animal (as food), or (by extension) the body (as opposed to the soul (or spirit), or as the symbol of what is external, or as the means of kindred, or (by implication) human nature (with its frailties (physically or morally) and passions), or (specifically) a human being (as such).
G2075 - Second person plural present indicative of G1510; ye are.
pin - present (tense) indicative (mood) active (voice) - present indicative asserts something which is occurring while the speaker is making the statement.
Voice - Active - represents the action as being accomplished by the subject of the verb.
Mood - Indicative - makes an assertion of fact and is used with all six Greek tenses. It is the only mood in which distinctions can regularly be made about the time when an action occurs.
Tense - Present - represents contemporaneous action, as opposed to action in the past or the future. In moods other than in the indicative mood, it refers only to continuous or repeated action.
Taken from The Complete Word Study New Testament, Zodhiates.
Genesis 37 - rent clothes -
Gen_37:29 And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.
Gen_37:34 And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.
Gill: and he rent his clothes; as a token of distress and anguish of mind, of sorrow and mourning, as was usual in such cases; Jacob afterwards did the same, Gen_37:34.
Well I went looking for information on rending clothes - I am frankly amazed at some of the information out there. In particular the ritualistic mind set of some sects to every jot and tittle (as it were) as evidenced by in this article - Rending the Garments.
I found this one interesting as it noted various instances of times when garments were rent in the Bible.
This one was equating the loss (rending) with the loss of truth...ponderable.
And while I'm on the subject of clothing...
Garments of widowhood - found this article - Bible Topics: Widows - while searching for information on garments, never did find anything pertinent. Though intrigued with this topic as it leads to the next book.
I found this verse to be of comfort:
Isa_54:4 Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.
I've always imagined myself as a type of Ruth - but have begun to wonder if I'm not more of Naomi, perhaps (hopefully) not in depressing character, but more fitting to the role of an older woman, nuturing the younger versus my ever hoped for being 'found' by my Boaz.
Regardless of who I may be a Ruth or a Naomi, this book is always a joyful read, refreshing, encouraging as Father unfolds His redemptive plan in and through the lives of everyday people who are struggling to simply provide for themselves and their loved ones through another day.
Rth 2:12 The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.
She found refuge under His wings - the ever present blessing of a Father towards His daughter, providing all that she needed (not necessarily wanted) in the quantity and timing which corresponded with His plans and purposes.
Others have taken refuge and reflected upon His provision and protection:
Psa_36:7 How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.
Psa_63:7 Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
Boaz begins to provide for Ruth:
Rth 2:14 And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left.
What is parched corn? Heh...so if you want to make your own, visit this site. Sounds like a pretty shelf stable food if you needed to prepare stuff for making it through 'lean' seasons.
So...how long between all these harvests?
Rth 2:23 So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and dwelt with her mother in law.
Well, interesting indeed - seems Barley harvest is the first one...so Boaz and Ruth meet at the beginning of barley harvest and she is 'proposing' to him by the end. Weeks?
Try this site - I enjoyed it, and it has a small graph which shows the different harvesting months/products.
Haven't read all of this one, yet, sounds interesting. This one as well. Skimmed through this one - and found this exhortation ready made for my impatient self.
"One of the most difficult things for Christians to do in the harvest, though one of the most important, is to simply wait upon the Lord to provide. It is the Lord of the harvest who supplies that which Christians are to reap, which He supplies in His time. And Christians must wait upon the Lord to make known and reveal that which He has for individual Christians to gather and work with in the harvest."
Psalms 27-29
Job 19-20
Isaiah 51-55
Isa 54:4 Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.
Isa 54:5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
Isa 54:6 For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.
Isa 54:7 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.
Isa 54:8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.
I know this passage is referring to the nation of Israel, but for those who are single women, or women who have been forsaken, there is comfort in this passage. It reaches beyond just a physical people, to the heart of being cared for...almost, if I may, a reflection of the kinsman redeemer evidenced in Ruth and completed by the Lord. He is the ultimate and final redeemer of His people, guiding, protecting, providing for them.
Redeemer - H1350 - A primitive root, to redeem (according to the Oriental law of kinship), that is, to be the next of kin (and as such to buy back a relative’s property, marry his widow, etc.)
Used 104x in 84 verses - specifically in Ruth 2:20; 3:9, 12, 13; 4:1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 14. :-D
Isa 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
not - H3808 - lo; a primitive particle; not (the simple or abstract negation); by implication no; often used with other particles.
return - H7725 - A primitive root; to turn back (hence, away) transitively or intransitively, literally or figuratively (not necessarily with the idea of return to the starting point); generally to retreat; often adverbially again.
unto - H413 - (Used only in the shortened constructive form (the second form)); a primitive particle, properly denoting motion towards, but occasionally used of a quiescent position, that is, near, with or among; often in general, to.
void - H7387 - From H7386; emptily; figuratively (objectively) ineffectually, (subjectively) undeservedly.
- H7386 - From H7324; empty; figuratively worthless.
- H7324 - A primitive root; to pour out (literally or figuratively), that is, empty.
Matthew 26-28
Mat 26:7 There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head (G2776), as he sat at meat.
I've always been intrigued by 'pouring oil' on the head - mentally likening it to 'bathing' in it. However, as I've recently gone 'poo free' a/k/a shampoo free (for a brief overview see this post) and my dear daughter recently recommended using coconut oil on my hair to help with dryness and to re-nourish.
In addition I've been reading up on 'oil pulling' which I thought was primarily for the teeth, but had another sister in the Lord share that she'd been using it on her face. All this to say 'pouring oil' always had the connotation (to me) of making one oily or greasy...only to find out that it doesn't!
Our bodies need 'good' oil - the oil pulling alone is an intriguing concept - but when someone is being anointed with oil that doesn't mean they look like they've walked into an a pool and are the residual of an oil slick. :-D
Nor does it mean when someone is pouring or anointing with oil that it is a large amount - I take a dollop about the size of a quarter or less (extremely long hair) and massage it into my hair and my the shine!
Gill's a little lengthy on this one, however, I will be reflecting on the last paragraph of his commentary for a while.
and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat: which was usually done at festivals, or at any considerable entertainments, as at weddings, &c.
"Says Rab, they "pour ointment on the heads of the doctors"; (the gloss is, the women put ointment on the heads of the scholars;) says R. Papa to Abai, does the doctor speak of the ointment of the bridechamber? He replies, thou orphan, did not thy mother cause for thee, that "they poured out ointment on the heads of the doctors", at thy wedding? for lo! one of the Rabbins got a wife for his son, in the house of R. Bar Ula; and they say, that R. Bar Ula got a wife for his son in the house of one of the Rabbins, ודרדיג מישחא ארישא דרבנן, "and poured ointment on the head of the doctors" (g):''
to this custom are the allusions in Psa_23:5. The pouring of this ointment on the head of Christ was emblematical of his being anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows; of his having the holy Spirit, and his gifts and graces without measure; which, like the ointment poured on Aaron's head, that ran down to his beard, and the skirts of his garments, descends to all the members of his mystical body: and was a symbol of the Gospel, which is like ointment poured forth; and of the sweet savour of the knowledge of Christ, which was to be diffused, throughout all the world, by the preaching of it; and was done by this woman in the faith of him, as the true Messiah, the Lord's anointed, as the prophet, priest, and king of his church.
Then there is the follow up verse which Jesus states:
Mat 26:12 For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body (G4983), she did it for my burial.
Using body versus head...
head - G2776 - Probably from the primary word κάπτω kaptō (in the sense of seizing); the head (as the part most readily taken hold of), literally or figuratively.
body - G4983 - From G4982; the body (as a sound whole), used in a very wide application, literally or figuratively.
- G4982 - From a primary word σῶς sōs̄ (contraction for the obsolete σάος saos, “safe”); to save, that is, deliver or protect (literally or figuratively).
Gill contends: upon my body: for being poured on his head, it ran down all over his body.
Which I don't know...could she have poured that much? How big could/would an alabaster box have been?
alabaster box - G211 - Neuter of ἀλάβαστρος alabastros (of uncertain derivation), the name of a stone; properly an “alabaster” box, that is, (by extension) a perfume vase (of any material).
There are 3 references to an alabaster box in the NT:
Mar 14:3 And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head.
Luk 7:37 And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,
Neither of the above are the same person - Got Questions had this on the topic. I didn't find any suitable resources worth sharing, several which gave me pause, and many more concern.
Matthew Henry's commentary was a bit lengthy on this passage - but thought provoking. To read click here. Specifically the commentary on verses 6-13.
I usually prefer Gill or Poole because of their one verse commentaries, whereas Henry tends to group verses together...however Poole did the same thing on this particular passage - you can read his commentary here, specifically pages 123 and 124 (it comes up in PDF format and is NOT easily searchable.
This verse wasn't part of my original ?hmm? but after reading the commentaries above and browsing some of the sites, caused me to stop and reflect.
Mat 26:13 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.
If the Bible were being written today, would anything I do be noteworthy of inclusion? Am I by reflecting Him in my daily thoughts, actions, words? Does my citizenship touch people? Do they know they've been in the presence of an ambassador for Christ?
Which thoughts lend itself well to the last verse of this week's reflection:
Mat 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Am I being watchful? Prayerful? Ever aware of how frail my flesh is...and my spiritual self if I am not being regularly nourished by the Word? My spiritual state, my ability to stand fast, to wield or wear my armor successfully is a direct reflection upon how much time I'm spending with Him...at His feet.
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