Obey the Lord

June 1, 2014 Background Scripture: Haggai 1:1 – 11 Lesson Passage: Haggai 1:1 – 11 Obedience is a word that is used many times in the homes of God-fearing people. First, children are taught to obey their parents from infancy. Secondly, children are taught to respect and honor adults. Thirdly, children are taught to be kind and courteous towards other children. Then fourthly, children are taught to reverence, pray to, and obey God. I know we start with God when we are talking about adults but there is a very good reason the training often follows a different sequence for children. Children identify with people first and they have to be taught how to have right relationships with others. In fact, it is of the utmost importance that children learn the proper behavior towards their father or the “father figure” in their lives. It is the father-child relationship that forms the basis for a child’s first concept of what God is like. Christian men who would be leaders in the church are required to first be leaders in their homes (1 Timothy 3:5). Certainly this makes it easier to teach obedience to God knowing that the foundation for it should have been established in the home. In our lesson today, God rebukes Israel for being negligent in rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem. The work on the temple’s foundation had begun 18 years prior to the prophecy of Haggai. However, because of local opposition from some Samaritans and other neighbors, the work ended immediately after the foundation was completed two years after it was started. The Jews in Jerusalem had neglected the temple construction for sixteen years but they had not neglected to rebuild their own houses during that same time. Although there was local opposition, God had made the way plain for them by moving on the hearts of the kings of Persia who endorsed and decreed that the work on the temple should be done. Again it should be noted that the local opposition did not deter the Jews from finishing their own houses. It was to that attitude that the word of God responded. They were indifferent to the house of God but responsive to their own housing needs and desires. For this, God would withhold blessings from them, curse the work of their hands that it would not be fruitful, and frustrate their personal plans. God sent Haggai to prophesy to Israel and tell them that their misfortune was not a coincidence. When Israel questioned what was happening to them, the prophet’s answer was: “Consider your ways.” It was not coincidental but rather God’s hand working against them. God was not destroying them. Physically, that would have been very easy for God to do. Instead, God was working against them to cause them to reflect on their disposition towards Him and change their behavior. Zerubbabel had led 50,000 Jews out of captivity back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. They had not worked on completing that project for the last 16 years and they were going on with their lives as though it didn’t matter. It mattered to God and now it needed to matter to the Jews. They were not sent back to Jerusalem to restore their personal houses but to restore the house of God. Today’s lesson was a reminder for them to obey the Lord. Robert C. Hudson May 27, 2014

The Greatest Commandment

May 25, 2014 Background Scripture: Leviticus 19:18; Deuteronomy 4:35; 6:1 – 9; Mark 12:28 – 34 Lesson Passage: Leviticus 19:18; Deuteronomy 6:4 – 9; Mark 12:28 – 34 Sometimes when we are having our internal theological debates among Christians, there are people on the outside who have much more pressing questions. Of course the situation with some on the outside is that they have questions but they refuse to accept our answers. I listened attentively as a person who was a professed Christian struggled to the point of frustration trying to give “church” answers to a non-Christian who had questions but yet was very opinionated about “church” answers. The questions were good questions with known biblical answers. What is the bible? What does the word bible mean? Did man write the bible? Since the bible is written using metaphors and it contains contradictions, why should I believe anything that’s written in it? One lesson to be appreciated from the conversation is that all questions are not in search of answers. Such was the case in our lesson today. Jesus was asked a question by a teacher of the Law who was not seeking information concerning the question but rather publically testing Jesus to see if he truly understood the doctrine of the Old Testament or the Jewish Torah specifically. Jesus’ answer to a question of Jewish theology caught the attention of a nearby scribe who obviously saw himself as an expert in the Holy Scriptures. The scribe did not give Jesus a make believe scenario to see how he would apply scripture to the situation. The scribe asked a direct question and the answer to the question is perhaps the cornerstone of Jewish theology and faith. Which is the first commandment of all? Put another way, if all of the commandments were prioritized in order of importance, which commandment would be first on the list? Being that there are over 600 commandments identified in the Old Testament, only a person well-versed in Jewish theology could properly answer the question. Jesus went a step further. Jesus named the first and the second commandments in sequential order and declared that the rest are subservient to these. Without doubt, there is no commandment greater than to love God with all of one’s being. God is preeminent and nothing comes before Him. Until a person can seek God first, above all else, there is no eternal salvation possible. To even be given the privilege to seek God for salvation speaks to the character of God. Just knowing this also represents the greatest challenge to evangelism. Seeking God requires faith. If a person does not believe that he or she is a sinner in need of the grace and mercy of God, there is little incentive on their part to change their disposition towards divine judgment and eternal life. When a person comes to a state where he can give an accurate assessment of himself spiritually, then the word of God can provide the guidance that is needed to accept God’s saving grace. Access to spiritual awareness is only given through the grace of God. Some people believe that treating others fairly is the ultimate goal of all religions. It is easy to see why they will equate their spirituality with how they treat others. This way of thinking leaves no need or room for an all-powerful God to guide them and save them from their sins. When God is left out of a person’s thinking, that person will always be confused and lost. So the commandment to love God puts everything else into proper perspective and this is the greatest commandment of all. Robert C. Hudson May 15, 2014