Peter Misselbrook's Blog

Jul 13 2019 - Hosea 2:2-22 – Israel judged and restored

The Israelites have forsaken the Lord and have turned to worship the idol-gods of the nations they had dispossessed. God declares his judgment upon the nation for its adultery.

The Lord their God had been gracious to them providing them with abundant harvests from the land that he had given them. But instead of thanking God for his goodness they had turned to the fertility god Baal whom they were crediting for their grain, wine and oil (2:8). If they cannot see that the Lord God is the source of all they enjoy then he will take it all away from them. Their harvests will fail and they will have no harvest celebrations (2:9-13). Perhaps they will then come to their senses and see that the Lord whom they have despised is the source of all they could desire.

But judgment does not have the last word; God cannot utterly cast off a people whom he has loved and made his own. The judgments he is about to send upon them are intended to turn them back to him. This is beautifully expressed in verse 14:

Therefore I am now going to allure her;
    I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her.

Long ago, God had rescued this people from slavery in Egypt. When they had failed to trust him to give them the land he had promised them, God made them wander for forty years in the wilderness. The wilderness was a place of discipline where a new generation learned to trust in their all-powerful God who could provide them with bread from heaven and water from a rock. Then at last they were ready to trust God and to take possession of the land he had promised to give them.

So God plans another wilderness experience for his people, not to destroy them but to win them back. He will speak tenderly to them until they turn again to him in repentance and heartfelt love:

There I will give her back her vineyards,
    and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.
There she will respond as in the days of her youth,
    as in the day she came up out of Egypt.

Achor, meaning "trouble", was the name that Joshua and the Israelites had given to the valley where Achan and his family had been stoned to death for taking treasure from Jericho when it was captured. Their greed had brought defeat to Israel. Achor was a reminder that the land could only be possessed if the people were obedient to the Lord their God. Achor, the valley of trouble, is here called "a door of hope." Through the harsh lesson of Achan, Israel had learned to trust God and to obey him and so had gone on to possess the land of Canaan. Hosea's word of prophecy calls the nation to re-learn this lesson, so that present judgment will become a doorway into future blessing.

The final verses of today's reading (vv. 16-22), speak of the abundant blessings that God will pour out on his people when they turn again to him. At the heart of these verses is this beautiful promise:

I will betroth you to me for ever;
    I will betroth you in righteousness and justice,
    in love and compassion.
I will betroth you in faithfulness,
    and you will acknowledge the LORD.

Lord, we sometimes face all sorts of troubles and difficulties and are tempted to complain against you. Teach us rather to trust you and to know that your love for us in the Lord Jesus will ensure that blessing and not trouble will always have the last word.

Jul 13 2020 - Introduction to 2 Timothy

The Pastoral Epistles

For a general introduction to the Pastoral Epistles (Paul's letters to Timothy and Titus), see the outline in the "Introduction to the Pastoral Epistles and to 1 Timothy"   

2 Timothy

John Stott calls 2 Timothy Paul's "last will and testament to the church." Paul is in prison in Rome and facing the prospect of imminent death. In this letter Paul encourages Timothy to remain true to the gospel message and to be ready to suffer for the sake of the gospel. The precious message of God's grace in the Lord Jesus Christ has been faithfully proclaimed by Paul and is now being committed to Timothy: it is his turn to shoulder responsibility for it, to preach it and teach it and to defend it against attack and against falsification. Timothy is to ensure that it is accurately transmitted to coming generations. These are the key themes that run through every chapter of this final letter of Paul.

Jul 13 2020 - 2 Timothy 1:1-18 – Handing on the faith

Paul writes to Timothy to encourage him in the faith, a faith "which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also" (2 Timothy 1:5). Timothy had learned of the living God through his mother and grandmother. His life had been shaped by their faith, a faith which had now become his own.

Timothy had grown up learning of God’s great acts of salvation recorded in the pages of the Old Testament. He had learned how God had rescued the Israelites from Egypt, bringing them through the Red Sea, caring for them during forty years in the desert and bringing them to the Promised Land. He had learnt of the faith and conquests of King David and the glory of Solomon and of the Temple he built for the Lord. Timothy had been told how God had promised Abraham that through him all nations would be blessed, a promise echoed time and again in the words of the prophets.

Then Paul had turned up at Lystra, preaching about the Lord Jesus Christ. Timothy had come to understand that in Jesus all of the promises of God to his people were now finding their fulfilment. He is the descendant of Abraham in whom all nations will be blessed. He is the Saviour of the world. Timothy had joined Paul’s missionary team and, having been thoroughly trained by Paul, had now been entrusted to minister to the church in Ephesus.

Paul is writing to Timothy from prison in Rome. He knows that he may soon face death. This is probably the last of his letters (the letter to Titus probably having been written between 1 and 2 Timothy). This is Paul’s “last will and testament to the church” (Stott). In it Paul reminds Timothy of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ and his consequent call upon our lives; “He has saved us and called us to a holy life – not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Saviour, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (1:9-10). All that God promised and purposed beforehand has been accomplished and brought out into the light in Jesus. Death has been destroyed; indestructible life has been given in him.

Paul had been appointed by Christ to herald this message and he had been faithful to that calling. Now he is entrusting it to others – to Timothy and to those whom he will also train and equip for the work of the gospel. Timothy is being encouraged to be fearless in ministry; tireless in teaching others the things he has learned not only from his mother and grandmother but also from Paul.

And so the message of salvation has been passed on through the generations: from parents and grandparents to their children and grandchildren; from evangelists and ministers of the gospel to those gathered to hear them; from many ordinary Christians captivated by this message gossiping the gospel to friends and strangers. And many generations later it has come to us. From whom did you learn this saving message?

What are you now going to do to herald this message to generations to come: to children and grandchildren; to friends and strangers? The best inheritance we can leave is an inheritance of faith.

Father, thank you that Jesus has destroyed the power of death and has brought life and immortality to light. Thank you that this good news was passed on to us. Help us by your Spirit to respond to his call to a holy life – a life devoted to his service. Help us also to make him known to others that the message may resound through coming generations to the blessing of the nations and the glory of your name.

Peter Misselbrook