Class Notes on Isaiah 5:8-24, The Six Woes

Isa 5:8-10 Woe to you who add house to house // and join field to field

till no space is left // and you live alone in the land.

9 The Lord Almighty has declared in my hearing:

"Surely the great houses will become desolate, // the fine mansions left without occupants.

10 A ten-acre vineyard will produce only a bath of wine, // a homer of seed only an ephah of grain."

 

• Isaiah describes the fruit of the vineyard using six woes.  As if to answer what went wrong, Isaiah holds ups six clusters of wild grapes in verses 8-25 (Ortlund, 2005).  What is the first woe or problem with the fruit?
• The people are consumed by consumerism, wealth, an addiction to things
• They have beautiful homes, but it doesn't lead to justice or righteousness (vs 5:7)

• Judgment?  Homes will be desolate and the fields will produce virtually nothing, no wealth

 

Isa 5:11-14 Woe to those who rise early in the morning // to run after their drinks,

who stay up late at night // till they are inflamed with wine.

12 They have harps and lyres at their banquets, // tambourines and flutes and wine,

but they have no regard for the deeds of the Lord, // no respect for the work of his hands.

13 Therefore my people will go into exile // for lack of understanding;

their men of rank will die of hunger // and their masses will be parched with thirst.

14 Therefore the grave enlarges its appetite // and opens its mouth without limit;

into it will descend their nobles and masses // with all their brawlers and revelers.

15 So man will be brought low  // and mankind humbled,  // the eyes of the arrogant humbled. NIV

• Second woe / reason for bad fruit
• Hedonism or pleasure seeking (the party animal)

• Judgment?  Exile, hunger, thirst, and only the grave will enlarge its appetite

 

Isa 5:18-19 18 Woe to those who draw sin along with cords of deceit, // and wickedness as with cart ropes,

19 to those who say, “Let God hurry, // let him hasten his work // so we may see it.

Let it approach, // let the plan of the Holy One of Israel come,  // so we may know it.” NIV

 

• Third woe / reason for bad fruit
• The cynical believer (if he really is a believer).  The description sounds like religious people who really don't believe.  They go through the motions, but all the time they are really looking for reasons not to believe, so that they can continue in their secret sins

• Judgment?  There is not judgment listed after this woe.  Quite possibly it deserves no response.  The fulfillment of God's prophecies, in his timing, are sufficient in themselves

 

Isa 5:20 Woe to those who call evil good // and good evil,

who put darkness for light // and light for darkness,

who put bitter for sweet // and sweet for bitter. NIV

 

• Fourth woe / reason for bad fruit
• They were changing the definition of morality.  In today's terms, abortion is called choice; homosexuality is just a lifestyle; adultery is called "consenting adults"; sex before marriage is testing one's compatibility with a partner or just having a date

• Judgment?  Woes three through five are judged in a general sense (with woes one, two, and six) in verses 25-30, which is essentially the Assyrian destruction of the Northern kingdom and the Babylonian destruction of the Southern kingdom

 

Isa 5:21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes // and clever in their own sight.

 

• Fifth woe / reason for bad fruit
• Pride and conceit, and to a certain extent, thinking you are smarter than God

 

Isa 5:22-24 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine // and champions at mixing drinks,

23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe, // but deny justice to the innocent.

24 Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw // and as dry grass sinks down in the flames,

so their roots will decay // and their flowers blow away like dust;

for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty // and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel.

 

• Sixth woe / reason for bad fruit
• The verses seem to be focused on judges who relish in their machismo
• Maybe helping the poor and the downtrodden is considered too far below their manhood

• Judgment?  The judges are consumed by God's fire because the rejected his law and spurned his word

 

APPLICATION:  It is not hard to see the relationship of Israel to the USA in these verses.  These verses are specific to Israel, but Jesus' and Paul's use of the vineyard motif are much more general to people groups (nations).  Change starts with individuals.  The issue isn't the size of the house, but what have we rejected in pursuit of the house.  Do our lives project Jesus to others?  Are we honest in our relationships with people?  Are we involved in helping the poor and downtrodden?   

Class Notes on Isaiah 5:3-7

Isa 5:3-7 "Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and men of Judah,  // judge between me and my vineyard.

4 What more could have been done for my vineyard // than I have done for it?

When I looked for good grapes, // why did it yield only bad?

5 Now I will tell you // what I am going to do to my vineyard:

I will take away its hedge, // and it will be destroyed;

I will break down its wall, // and it will be trampled.

6 I will make it a wasteland, // neither pruned nor cultivated,

and briers and thorns will grow there. // I will command the clouds

not to rain on it."

7 The vineyard of the Lord Almighty // is the house of Israel,

and the men of Judah  // are the garden of his delight.

And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; // for righteousness, but heard cries of distress. NIV

 

• First of all, the song addresses who is at fault.  Is it the owner or the vineyard itself?
• The owner had done all he could for the vineyard
• Therefore the fault for the bad fruit lies on the vineyard itself

• What is the owner's response to the bad fruit?
• He will take away the hedge and the wall
• It will be destroyed and trampled
• It will become a wasteland

• In verse 7, Isaiah names the vineyard and the owner.  Who is it?  The vineyard is Israel and Judah.  The owner is the Lord Almighty
• In 722, the Northern kingdom is destroyed by Assyria
• In 586, Jerusalem (capital of the Southern kingdom, Judah) and its walls are destroyed by Babylon
• The land becomes a wasteland

• What is the reason?
• No justice; bloodshed
• No righteousness; cries of distress

Class Notes on Isaiah 5:1-2, The Vineyard

Isa 5:1-2 I will sing for the one I love // a song about his vineyard:

My loved one had a vineyard // on a fertile hillside.

2 He dug it up and cleared it of stones // and planted it with the choicest vines.

He built a watchtower in it // and cut out a winepress as well.

Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, // but it yielded only bad fruit.  NIV

 

• The imagery of a vine and vineyard is repeated many times through scripture.  Jesus specifically uses it in a number of parables and observations
• Jer 2:21 I had planted you like a choice vine // of sound and reliable stock.

How then did you turn against me // into a corrupt, wild vine?  NIV

• Ps 80:8-9 You brought a vine out of Egypt; // you drove out the nations and planted it.

9 You cleared the ground for it,  // and it took root and filled the land.  NIV

• John 15:1-2 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. NIV
• In the OT, the vine refers to Israel (chosen by God to believe and represent faith to the world around them), and the gardener is God.  Jesus says he is the true vine, and he does represent a better vine.  The church is his body, and they represent true faith in God to the world today.  That doesn't invalidate Israel as the vine, although scripture indicates that it is but an original branch off the true vine
• Rom 11:17-24 If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, 18 do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in." 20 Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.

     22 Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. 23 And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!

• A point of fact is that "all Israel will be saved" as Paul relates in the next few verses
• Rom 11:25-27  I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:

"The deliverer will come from Zion; // he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.

27 And this is my covenant with them // when I take away their sins." NIV

• This is actually an important distinction between some forms of reformed theology and dispensationalism.  The church does not replace Israel.  The original branch will be grafted back into the true vine

• Matt 21:33-46 "Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. 34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.

     35 "The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37 Last of all, he sent his son to them. 'They will respect my son,' he said.

     38 "But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance.' 39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

     40 "Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?"

     41 "He will bring those wretches to a wretched end," they replied, "and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time."

     42 Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures:

     "'The stone the builders rejected // has become the capstone;

the Lord has done this, // and it is marvelous in our eyes'?

     43 "Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44 He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed."

     45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus' parables, they knew he was talking about them. 46 They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet. NIV

• In this parable, Jesus seems to be alluding to Isaiah 5, but definitely to the imagery of Israel as a vineyard.  What are some similar aspects and what are different?
• Similar: vineyard, owner (I/my and Landowner), planted, watchtower, no return
• Different: cleared (Isa), wall (Matt), rented (Matt), went away on a journey (Matt), sent messengers (Matt), sent his son (Matt)
• It would seem hard to believe that the people would not realize that the vineyard was Israel.  Verse 45-46 show that the Pharisees understood

• APPLICATION: Even though Israel rejected the Messiah, and was cut off from the vine (for a time), that didn't prevent individuals from coming to faith in Christ.  The initial church was primarily Jewish and over time became more and more Gentile.  So, the warning is not about individual salvation but falls into two areas, one a group sense, and two, an individual physical sense.  The group sense is that Gentiles could be cut off for unbelief and that appears to have happen in many nation groups.  Secondly, like Israel, there is physical punishment to those who are cutoff that affects individuals (believers and non-believers).  One could argue that believers were not affected (killed) by the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, but that ignores the loss of property and relatives that occurred because of national disbelief.  Is America at that point?  It sure seems like it

Class Notes on Background for Isaiah

1. Isaiah, son of Amoz (not Amos) - Isa 1:1;
• Contemporary of Amos, Hosea, in Israel, but younger.  Possibly Jonah
• Contemporary of Micah, in Judah
2. Review Larger timeline
• Israel's time of Kings 1043-931 BC (Saul, David, and Solomon)
• Split into two kingdoms (Jereboam and Rehoboam)
• Israel (10 Northern Kingdoms, 931-722 BC)
• Judah (2 Southern Kingdoms, 931-586 BC)
3. Review Kings (multiple sources for dates)
• Uzziah, 52 years, good, 792-740/739 BC
• Started good
• Finished poor
• Jotham, 16 yrs, good, 750-732 BC (8+yrs joint rule w/Father)
• Prophecies are probably mostly oral
• Ahaz, 16 yrs, evil, 732-715 BC
• Chp 7-10:4
• Would see the destruction of Israel
• Hezekiah, 29 yrs, good, 715-686 BC
• Chp 10-39 [till the middle of Hezekiah's reign]
• Manasseh, 55 yrs, evil, 686-632 BC
• Additional key dates / points of interest
• 681 BC Murder of Sennacherib
• 736 BC Micah begins to prophesy
• 732 BC Hoshea becomes king of Israel
• 727 BC Shalmaneser IV becomes king of Assyria
• 722 BC Sargon II becomes king of Assyria; Samaria falls; the ten tribes go into captivity
• 705 BC Sennacherib becomes king of Assyria
• 701 BC Judah invaded by the Assyrians
• Legend is that Manasseh sawed Isaiah in two (Heb 11:37)
4. History is found in 2 Kings 15-21:17 and 2 Chron 26-33:20
5. Outline -- 2 Divisions
• Chapters 1-39
• Isaiah's time
• Story of Judgment
• Chapters 40-66
• Refer to Judah's exile (150 years later)
• 40-55 in Babylon during exile
• 56-66 in Israel rebuilding Jerusalem
• Story of Comfort
• Similarity to the bible
• 39 OT books of Judgment
• 27 NT books of Comfort
6. Economic Times
• Peace and prosperity at the beginning
• Isa 2:7 Their land is full of silver and gold;

there is no end to their treasures.

Their land is full of horses;

there is no end to their chariots. NIV

• Things get progressively worse (it will reach a point where only  Jerusalem is left of Judah)
• The nation was economically strong but already spiritually cold
• Isa 3:8-9 Jerusalem staggers,

Judah is falling;

their words and deeds are against the Lord,

defying his glorious presence.

9 The look on their faces testifies against them;

they parade their sin like Sodom;

they do not hide it.

Woe to them!

They have brought disaster upon themselves. NIV

• Sounds a lot like today

Thoughts from Isaiah 5

Isa 5:1-7

I will sing for the one I love

a song about his vineyard:

My loved one had a vineyard

on a fertile hillside.

2 He dug it up and cleared it of stones

and planted it with the choicest vines.

He built a watchtower in it

and cut out a winepress as well.

Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,

but it yielded only bad fruit.

...

7 The vineyard of the Lord Almighty

is the house of Israel,

and the men of Judah

are the garden of his delight.

And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed;

for righteousness, but heard cries of distress. NIV

 

NOTE:  Jesus used this same imagery in a number of parables.  One in particular is an exact reference, except it adds an owner and a son.  In the parable, the people, the vineyard workers, kill the son, to which the listeners respond in shock.  Then Jesus quotes the verse "the stone the builders rejected has become the capstone."  God knew that his people would reject the message of the Messiah.  Someday, they will recognize their fault and turn to the Messiah in repentance and faith.  Today they are still blinded.

 

More importantly, in the Isaiah passage, the people's rejection of God is based on abundance and wealth.  They have fallen in love with the world.  They have no time for God or for any of his plans.  They are consumed by life, not by God. 

 

We are guilty of the same sin in the USA.  We have fallen in love with wealth, the world, and wickedness, and have forgotten that we don't own the vineyard, it is and always has been God's.

Class Notes on the Rapture

1 Thess 4:13-18 Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage each other with these words. (NIV)


• What is he referring to when he says "those who fall asleep?"  Dead
• Is there any corroborating information in the text?
• Grieve (why,unless dead); still alive (in contrast to sleeping), dead in Christ (in context, mentions the dead rising first)
• Verse 17, "caught up" is where we get the word "rapture."  The Greek work is harpazo, our word is from the Latin equivalent
• The rapture is imminent but the Great Tribulation is not -- what does that mean?
• It is a theological distinction.  There are specific events related to the Tribulation which must occur first, whereas the rapture can happen at any moment
• What do we know about the rapture from scripture?
• John 14:1-3 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God ; trust also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." NIV
• No details, but some basic truth -- what do you see?
• Promise to take us to where he is going
• Where is he going? to Heaven
• This is counter to the post-tribulation view, where Jesus meets us in the air at his second coming and takes us with him down to the earth.  Which is why pre-tribulation makes more sense.  We are met in the air by the Lord and taken to Heaven.  At the end of the tribulation we come back with Christ to earth
• In the 1 Thessalonian verses read earlier, we learn that the dead will not miss out, and we also get a chronological sequence, what do you see?
• The Lord descends from Heaven
• With a shout (probably a command for resurrection and translation)
• WIth the voice of the archangel (probably Michael repeats Jesus' command, much as you would see in many military units)
• With a trumpet of God (trumpet used for battle and worship; in this case it triggers the rapture itself and sets the plan in motion)
• The dead in Christ will rise first (this is limited to Church saints only; the bodies of OT saints will be resurrected at a later time)
• Then, we who are alive, shall be caught up (this is when living saints are removed from the earth)
• Meet the Lord in the air (so we return to heaven)


1 Cor 15:50-56 I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."


55 "Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?" 


56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. NIV


• Verse 50 explains the necessity of the rapture:  our bodies are corrupt.  This leads to a very long discussion on the intermediate state between death and resurrection (will be included in a later input -- a quick summary: our souls rise and are with Christ in heaven at death, but our bodies are not resurrected and changed into new bodies until the rapture)
• Gen 2:17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."
• When Adam ate of from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he corrupted the body which God had given him.  Because the body is now perishable, it cannot enter heaven.  Therefore, we need a new body
• How will the change occur?  Instantly
• When will it occur?  At the last trumpet
• Here is where people try to place the rapture in the tribulation, they interpret it to be the seventh trumpet
• At the time Paul wrote this passage, John had not written Revelation, so no one would have interpreted it in that context  (Fruchtenbaum, 2003).  More likely, it refers to the Feast of the Trumpets, where there are a series of trumpet blasts followed by one long trumpet blast.  When you look at the Jewish feasts, . . .
• There is a line of reasoning that suggests that the seven feasts of Israel have prophetic significance  (Fruchtenbaum, 2003)
• The first four occur in the Spring and are fulfilled in the FIRST coming
• Feast of Passover - Jesus was our Passover lamb
• Feast of unleavened bread - absence of leaven where leaven is a symbol of sin in the OT; the power of sin is the law and represents the beginning of a new covenant not based on law
• Feast of First Fruits - Jesus' resurrection is called the first fruit (twice)
• Feast of Weeks - Pentecost
• Four month gap between the feasts
• Jesus said that there are four months until the harvest
• The church age is fulfilling that now
• The second three feasts occur in the fall and will be fulfilled in the SECOND coming
• Feast of Trumpets - Rapture of the church
• The day of Atonement - tribulation period
• The Feast of Tabernacles (booths; ingathering) - time of rejoicing after the tribulation
• The timing of the rapture
• Book of Revelation
• The church is mentioned in chapters 1 to 3, events prior to the tribulation, and in chapters 19-22, events after the tribulation
• The church is not mentioned in chapters 6-18, the tribulation period.  Therefore the church is not in the tribulation (tribulation saints, individuals who come to Christ during the tribulation are present)
• Luke 21:34-36 "Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. 35 For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."  NIV
• The only was to escape is to be able to stand before the Son of Man, and the only way to stand before the Son of Man is to be a believer (Fruchtenbaum, 2003)
• 1 Thess 1:9-10 for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead — Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.  NIV
• The Thessalonians were waiting for Jesus' return
• Jesus will return for the believer and will rescue us from the coming wrath, the tribulation
• 1 Thess 5:1-11 Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2 for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. // 4 But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. 5 You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 6 So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. 9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.  NIV
• God has not appointed us to suffer wrath
• Salvation is physical here and not just soteriological
• Rev 3:10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.  NIV
• There is a distinction between Church saints and Tribulation saints in Revelation
• This statement is to Church saints

Class Notes on Intro to End Times

• Why study prophecy?
  

1. Walter Rauschenbush, A Theology for the Social Gospel, p 209, wrote  "Prophecy has also suffered at the hands of its supporters because of inconsistent and incorrect usage of a person's rules of interpretation"
   
• We will employ a common sense hermeneutic (leads to a dispensational view point)
  
2. From, a theological point of view, the bible is full of prophecy and it is a large part of its content.  Revelation pulls together the entire bible in theme and other prophecies and is critical in developing a coherent understanding
   
• Fruchtenbaum, in his book, references every book in the bible, except Ruth, Esther, Philemon, and 3 John (2003)
  
• There are over 500 references to the OT in the book of Revelation (Fruchtenbaum, 2003)
  
3. Revelation is the only book of the bible with a promise of blessing to those who read it
   

• Draw out a picture of the Gentile age and Church age
  

1. Gentile age is from 586 BC (destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon) until tribulation
   
2. Church age begins with Pentecost (30/33 AD) and continues until the rapture (prior to Tribulation)
   

• There are three main views of the tribulation, what are they?
  

1. Pre-tribulation (rapture precedes tribulation)
   
2. Mid-tribulation or pre-wrath rapture (rapture occurs somewhere in the tribulation--seventh trumpet)
   
3. Post-tribulation (rapture occurs at end of tribulation)
   

• There are also three views of the millennial kingdom
  

1. Pre-millennial: tribulation occurs prior to the millennial kingdom
   
2. Post-millennial: tribulation occurs after a thousand year reign of Christ (making things better view)--often this is not literal, but a general idea of Christ ruling through his people
   
3. A-millennial: we are in the midst of the millennial, the millennial age is not literal
   

• The rapture is imminent but the Great Tribulation is not -- what does that mean?
  

1. There are specific events related to the Tribulation which must occur first, whereas the rapture can happen at any moment

Class Discussion Notes for 2 Thessalonians 3

2 Thess 3:1-5

3 Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. 2 And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. 4 We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. 5 May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance.  (NIV, 1984)

 

• It is always interesting to compare the prayer of early believers to how we pray. What do you see in Paul's prayer? What is missing?
• Not a lot of health prayers (missing)
• Focus on the message
• to spread quickly
• to be honored (why?)
• When people think the message is foolish or ineffective, they dismiss it
• Deliverance from wicked people
• Direct our hearts
• into God's love
• into Christ's perseverance
• What does it mean "direct our hearts?"
• NT:2720 kateuthuno (kat-yoo-thoo'-no); (an idiom, literally 'to guide the feet properly') to guide or direct behavior in an appropriate manner (Greek-English Lexicon Based on Semantic Domain. 1988 United Bible Societies, New York.)

• APPLICATION: Do our lives honor the message or cause people to doubt the reality of God?

 

2 Thess 3:6-10

6 In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, 8 nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9 We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow. 10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat."  (NIV, 1984)

 

• This is a general teaching to the entire church, the specific admonition will follow in the next paragraph. There is an even more general rule that was given in the last letter
• 1 Thess 5:14 And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
• What vas the key point That we discussed concerning this verse?
• Not to confuse the verbs and the objects

•  First of all are we discussing Christian on non-Christian? "Brother"
•  Next, what is the characteristic of the brother?
•  Lazy
•  He is in rebellion the teaching

•  In this case, how are we to treat the believer?
•  Actually, the first step was giver in the last letter, what is it? Warn!
•  To keep away (separate)
• Why?
• The faithful majority in the church was to separate, probably individually and socially, from the unruly to alert the offenders to the fact that their behavior was not acceptable. The desired result was that they would repent (Constable, 2007)
• This is consisted with Matt 18:15-17 "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. 16 But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.'  17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector. (NIV, 1984)
• Apparently, it is assumed that the warning was personal and then with one or two others

• To emphasize the point, how does Paul continue the argument?
• Paul points to his own example
• But Paul's example is actually different from the case at hand, how?
• Paul didn't have to work outside of ministry
• Technically, Paul could have expected pay for his ministry (3:9) and ...
• 1 Tim 5:17-18 The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, "Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain," and "The worker deserves his wages." (NIV, 1984)

• APPLICATION:
• The first is that we are to separate from the brother who refuses to obey the scripture, even after being warned (this is a COMMAND -- see 3:6)
• The second is that we are to pay for our expenses
• The third is that we should set an example beyond what is required

 

2 Thess 3:11-13

11 We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. 12 Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat. 13 And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right. (NIV, 1984)

 

• Now, Paul gets very specific.  Apparently there are idle brothers, busybodies
• What is a busybody?
• NT:4020, periergazomai (per-ee-er-gad'-zom-ahee); from NT:4012 and NT:2038; to work all around, i.e. bustle about (meddle): (Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. 2006)
• In some languages one may speak of a busybody as 'one who puts his spoon in someone else's cup' or 'one who always tells another how to buy and sell.' (Greek-English Lexicon Based on Semantic Domain. 1988 United Bible Societies, New York)
• (Ecclus 3:23; Herodotus 3, 46; Plato, Apology, p. 19 b.; others): used apparently of a person officiously inquisitive about others' affairs (A. V. to be a busybody), 2 Thess 3:11, as in Demosthenes, p. 150, 24 (cf. p. 805, 4 etc.).  (from Thayer's Greek Lexicon, 2006)

• After Paul admonishes the idle brother, why add the admonition "as for you, never tire of doing good" for everyone else?
• Have you ever tried to "warn" or "rebuke" someone for some sin? 
• It doesn't always turn out very good
• It is easy to give up and say, I'm not doing that again
• One might even apply (wrongly) the "busybody" instruction to themselves to avoid confronting someone over sin
• It is tough to do the right thing.  The key is not to make it personal nor emotional.  Also, don't warn someone on the basis of one or two failures, we all fail many times.  A rebuke or warning should be on the basis of a pattern

• One interesting point is that these brothers may have chose "idleness" based on an incorrect understanding of the end times.  One could say they were trying to follow scripture.  Although scripture never teaches to quit work because the end times are near.  The only behavioral teaching regarding the end times is to not let one's lamp go dim.  Which actually suggests living even more fervently for Christ as the days get darker
• APPLICATION:  This is very hard stuff.  The far easier application is not to be lazy and a busybody

 

2 Thess 3:14-15

14 If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed. 15 Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother. (NIV, 1984)

 

• Paul expands the definition beyond just idleness, but to anyone who disobeys the instruction in the letter
• What is the purpose of "not associating" with a brother in rebellion to God's word?
• He would feel ashamed
• Ultimately that he would be restored, because he is not an enemy, but a brother (or sister)

• Ignoring a person's sin does not help the person (although it is easier because no one enjoys conflict)

 

2 Thess 3:16-18

16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.

 

17 I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand, which is the distinguishing mark in all my letters. This is how I write.

 

18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. (NIV, 1984)

 

• We add another item for our prayers -- praying for God to give peace at all times and in all ways.  I think we prefer that God changes the circumstances rather than provide peace
• Apparently Paul does not write his letters, but dictates them, except now and then at the end.  This could be the result of the purported letters (2:2) from Paul.  Since this is not in Galatians or 1 Thess, this is a new thing for Paul