Solomon's Temple (4)

        

The Furnishings of the Temple

1 Kings 7: 13 - 49

King James Version (KJV)

Inside the temple were carved cherubim, palm trees and flowers; a reminder of the Garden of Eden, which humans could not live in anymore because of their sin. The temple also was a symbol that the Israelites could come back to paradise through the temple.

7:13,14 Hiram: An artisan, not to be confused with Hiram, the king of Tyre (5:1).

7:18-22 Two freestanding pillars or monuments. Jachin and Boaz were constructed to mark the entrance to the temple.  This is a characteristic of Phoenician structures and suggests that both the temple and Solomon’s palace reflected ancient Phoenician architecture.

7:23-26 Molten Sea: This was probably some type of reservoir to hold the great amount of water needed for lavers and for worship in the temple.

7:27 –39  These verses describe the bases constructed to transport the water from the sea of cast bronze to various stations in the temple.

7:48 The table may have been one, with nine others (2Chr. 4:8). The shewbread was a holy or consecrated bread place in the tabernacle (Ex.25:23-30) or the temple (2Chr. 13:11; 29:18) every Sabbath (1Chr.9:32) to symbolize God’s continual presence and His provision for His people. The 12 loaves of bread symbolized the 12 tribes of the nation of Israel.  The shewbread was a reminder to them that God’s presence is more essential than one’s daily bread, and that they were to depend on God to provide for their spiritual and physical needs.

7:49   The tabernacle of Moses had one large candlestick, whereas the temple had 10 smaller candlesticks.

 THE TEMPLE FURNISHINGS

1. PRIESTS’ CELLS as a TURBAN1  west side – Gold and silver bullion, I Kings 7:51, was likely stored here. These cells form the High Priest’s head cover or turban mentioned in Exodus 28:4, 37. The common priest’s cap or bonnet, Exodus 28:40, was more globular, resembling an inverted bowl.

• PRIESTS’ CELLS, south and north sides – These are the arms.    Only one ingress is given, I Kings. 6:8, but Ezekiel 41:11 includes a second. The entrances correspond to the onyx stones the High Priest wore on his left and right shoulders. Each was engraved with the names of six Israelite tribes, twelve names total, Exodus. 28:9 -12.

2. TWO LARGE STARS – These are two 10-cubit tall cherubs of gold plated olive wood, I Kings. 6:23, 28; they are the eyes within Temple Man’s head, while the head is the Holy of Holies2 .

3. THE ARK of the COVENANT – This is a gold plated chest with a  solid gold cover and two small cherubs (small stars).The Ark is his nose; and its poles –when attached to its long sides and drawn forward (I Kings. 8:8) – depict extended nostrils smelling the sweet smoke from the Incense Altar in the Holy Place.

4. STAIRWAY – A short staircase or ramp led from the Holy Place to a slightly elevated (six cubits) Holy of Holies. The stairway is his neck/throat and its top is his mouth.

5. INCENSE ALTAR – This small gold plated altar (I Kings 6:22) is national Israel’s heart, and its sweet-smelling smoke is the prayers and spiritual life of national ideal Israel, i.e., Israel as she should be.

6. TABLES OF THE SHOWBREAD – On these gold plated tables (I Kings 7:48) were bread and wine, symbolizing flesh and blood, i.e., the humanity of national Israel.

7. THE LAMP STANDS (I Kings 7:48, 49) – Their total number was 10 stands/msenorahs x 7 stems each = 70 lights, relating to the 70 Israelites of Exodus 1:5 (Jacob’s offspring). This is national Israel as the light to the world, and the world is the 70 nations of Genesis 10. They may also symbolize Shabbat (the Sabbath) multiplied 10 times, implying a messianic age of worldwide rest (meaning peace).

 8. THE PORCH, Portico or vestibule – This antechamber, the ulam, (I Kings 6:3, II Chronicles 3:4) corresponds to the human pelvis (hips) and, therefore, procreation through the male and female genitalia.

10.  TEN LAVERS – Five bronze water lavers were on the north and five on the south side, by the Porch. These signify the ten fingers of the hands. The lavers were for washing the blood off the sacrificial offerings, I Kings 7:38; II Chronicles 4:6.

11. JACHIN, BOAZ – The large bronze pillars by the Porch were named Jachin and Boaz (II Chronicles.3:17) and form Temple Man’s legs. These are two hybrid plants symbolizing Kings David and Solomon, war and peace.

  

12. SEA OF BRONZE, TWELVE BULLS –  This was a huge basin full of water for the priests to wash their hands and feet (II Chronicles 4:2). It depicts the twelve tribes of Israel crossing the Red Sea. Its water symbolizes the God’s spirit and also his seed. 

13. THE SACRIFICIAL ALTAR – This (II Chronicles. 4:1) forms Temple Man’s feet, while also symbolizing the metallic King Messiah’s feet and  footstool, as was the custom of that time, II

Chronicles 9:18, Psalms 110:1.

This is the Bronze Sea, a big basin made of metal, used by the priests to clean themselves. It stood on 12 bulls.

The table for the Bread of the Presence was also made of gold. The Bread of the Presence (twelve pieces of bread, one for every tribe of Israel), symbolized a continual offering

to God by which Israel showed that she gave to God what she earned with her work, and that everything Israel had received was a blessing of God's.

Playwright Janet Irene Thomas

Founder/President/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performance Arts

info@biblestoriestheatre.org

www.biblestoriestheatre.org

Solomon's Temple (3)

The Ark Returns

Standing before the altar, the king spread out his arms towards heaven, and prayed to God to be with his people when they worshipped in His House, and to bless them. Then the people praised God, shouting and singing and rejoicing that they had been able to help in building the beautiful church to be God’s dwelling place.           

1 Kings 8: 1-22
King James Version (KJV)

8 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion.

2 And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.

3 And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.

4 And they brought up the ark of the Lord, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up.

5 And king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel, that were assembled unto him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be told nor numbered for multitude.

6 And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims.

7 For the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.

8 And they drew out the staves, that the ends of the staves were seen out in the holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without: and there they are unto this day.

9 There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.

10 And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord,

11 So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.

12 Then spake Solomon, The Lord said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

13 I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever.

14 And the king turned his face about, and blessed all the congregation of Israel: (and all the congregation of Israel stood;)

15 And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which spake with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it, saying,

16 Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build an house, that my name might be therein; but I chose David to be over my people Israel.

17 And it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the Lord God of Israel.

18 And the Lord said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart.

19 Nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name.

20 And the Lord hath performed his word that he spake, and I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and have built an house for the name of the Lord God of Israel.

21 And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of the Lord, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.

22 And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven:

8:23 heaven, shamaylim (shah-my-yeem). The word shamayim is plural in form, because the Hebrews knew the great expanse above the Earth (the heavens) to be immeasurably vast, and its stars to be uncountable (Jer. 33:22). In the heavens, the dwelling place of God is located.  However, even such an expanses does not hold God in, for Solomon stated.  "Behold, heaven and the heaven of heaven cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!” (2 Chr. 6:18). Since God spoke "from heaven" (Ex.20: 22), and is "in heaven" (Eccl. 5:2), Jews naturally came to say "heaven" as a euphemism for "God."  Thus, "the kingdom of heaven" in Matt. Is called "the kingdom of God" in other Gospels.

KINGDOM DYNAMIC

After the completion of the Temple it was dedicated by King Solomon in 953 BC. Solomon's speech to the people and his marvelous prayers were followed by an enormous offering of 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. A great public feast followed:

8:2 The dedication of the temple coincided with the Feast of Tabernacles, about 11 months after its completion (6:38).

8:9 The rod of Aaron and the pot of manna, which had been kept in the ark (Heb. 9:4), were no longer there.  They were lost or stolen (1 Sam. 6:19).

8:10, 11 The cloud that filled the house of the Lord (v.10), the glory of the Lord (v. 11), is taken by some as a reference to 2 Chr. 5:13, 14 in Introduction to 2 Chronicles: The Holy Spirit at Work.  The priests could not stand to minister (v.11): Evidently they were in some way incapacitated because of the presence of the Lord.

When all the children of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the LORD upon the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the earth on the pavement, and worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, "For he is good, for his steadfast love endures for ever." Then the king and all the people offered sacrifice before the LORD. King Solomon offered as a sacrifice twenty-two thousand oxen and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. The priests stood at their posts, the Levites also, with the instruments for music to the LORD which King David had made for giving thanks to the LORD for his steadfast love endures for ever whenever David offered praises by their ministry, opposite them the priests sounded trumpets; and all Israel stood. (2 Chronicles 7:1-6)

8:12 –21 Solomon explained to the people why the cloud filled the temple (v. 10): and why he had built it for the Lord.

Playwright Janet Irene Thomas

Founder/President/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performance Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org

info@biblestoriestheatre.org

Solomon's Temple (2)

The Inside of the Temple Is Furnished 

(A Temple without an Idol)

The walls and floors were overlaid with gold, and the beautiful altar was covered with gold. Golden chairs formed a partition in front of the altar, and two golden angels stretched their wings across the sacred inner room of the Temple, in which was the sacred Ark.

When the outside walls of stone were built, the inside of the Temple was lined with the sweet-scented cedar-wood, richly decorated with carved flowers, and palm-trees and figures of angels.

1 Kings 6:15-28                                          Contemporary English Version (CEV)

15 The floor of the temple was made out of pine, and the walls were lined with cedar from floor to ceiling.

16 The most holy place was in the back of the temple, and it was thirty feet square. Cedar boards standing from floor to ceiling separated it from the rest of the temple.

17 The temple’s main room was sixty feet long, and it was in front of the most holy place.

18 The inside walls were lined with cedar to hide the stones, and the cedar was decorated with carvings of gourds and flowers.

19 The sacred chest was kept in the most holy place.

 20-22 This room was thirty feet long, thirty feet wide, and thirty feet high, and it was lined with pure gold. There were also gold chains across the front of the most holy place. The inside of the temple, as well as the cedar altar in the most holy place, was covered with gold.

23 Solomon had two statues of winged creatures made from olive wood to put in the most holy place. Each creature was fifteen feet tall 24-26 and fifteen feet across. They had two wings, and the wings were seven and a half feet long.

27 Solomon put them next to each other in the most holy place. Their wings were spread out and reached across the room.

28 The creatures were also covered with gold.

Now the word of the LORD came to Solomon, "Concerning this house which you are building, if you will walk in my statutes and obey my ordinances and keep all my commandments and walk in them, then I will establish my word with you, which I spoke to David your father. And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel." So Solomon built the house, and finished it.

The feature that set apart the Solomonic Temple from other Temples in the ancient world is that there was no idol in it. It contained only the Mercy Seat over the Ark and the

Cherubim overshadowing the Mercy Seat. This declared to the world that idols are unnecessary for God to be present. The God of Israel was not localized in any sense. Neither was He bound to any other form such as the Ark. The Temple therefore was not necessary because of God's nature. He did not need it. One thousand years later, the first Christian martyr, Stephen, said to an unruly crowd:

...Solomon built God a house. However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says: "Heaven is My throne, and the earth is my footstool. What house will you build for Me? says the Lord or what is the place of My rest? Has not My hand made all these things?" (Acts 7:47-50, quoting Isaiah 66:1-2).

The Temple was built to meet the limitations and needs of God's people. It emphasized the way of salvation to those who asked His forgiveness and represented the believer’s assurance of the grace of God for their joy and blessing. (1 Kings 8:27-30).

But will God indeed dwell on the earth? "Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!" (V. 27)

The Temple also symbolized the hearing ear of God:

Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O Lord my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You today: that Your eyes may be open toward this temple night and day toward the place of which You said, "My name shall be there," and that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes toward this place. (1 Kings 8:28-29).

It was also a place of refuge for the stranger:

Moreover, concerning a foreigner, who is not of Your people Israel, but has come from a far country for Your name's sake. (for they will hear of Your great name and Your strong hand and Your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this temple, hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, that all peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this temple which I have built is called by your name (1 Kings 8: 4143).

The Temple is the house of prayer for all people where all nations of the earth should fear God:

Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My House of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations (Isaiah 56:7).

And Solomon overlaid the inside of the house with pure gold, and he drew chains of gold across, in front of the inner sanctuary, and overlaid it with gold. And he overlaid the whole house with gold, until the entire house was finished. Also the whole altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary he overlaid with gold. In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high. Five cubits was the length of one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the length of the other wing of the cherub; it was ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other. The other cherub also measured ten cubits; both cherubim had the same measure and the same form. The height of one cherub was ten cubits and so was that of the other cherub. He put the cherubim in the innermost part of the house; and the wings of the cherubim were spread out so that a wing of one touched the one wall, and a wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; their other wings touched each other in the middle of the house. And he overlaid the cherubim with gold.

He carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, in the inner and outer rooms. The floor of the house he overlaid with gold in the inner and outer rooms. For the entrance to the inner sanctuary he made doors of olive wood; the lintel and the doorposts formed a pentagon. He covered the two doors of olive wood with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers; he overlaid them with gold, and spread gold upon the cherubim and upon the palm trees. So also he made for the entrance to the nave doorposts of olive wood, in the form of a square, and two doors of cypress wood; the two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding. On them he carved cherubim and palm trees and open flowers; and he overlaid them with gold evenly applied upon the carved work. He built the inner court with three courses of hewn stone and one course of cedar beams. In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid, in the month of Ziv. And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its parts, and according to all its specifications. He was seven years in building it.

Playwright Janet Irene Thomas

Founder/President/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts

info@biblestoriestheatre.org

www.biblestoriestheatre.org

Solomon's Temple (1)

The First Jewish Temple

Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.

1 Kings 6:1-14

King James Version (KJV)

6 And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the Lord.

2 And the house which king Solomon built for the Lord, the length thereof was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits.

3 And the porch before the temple of the house, twenty cubits was the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house; and ten cubits was the breadth thereof before the house.

4 And for the house he made windows of narrow lights.

5 And against the wall of the house he built chambers round about, against the walls of the house round about, both of the temple and of the oracle: and he made chambers round about:

6 The nethermost chamber was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad: for without in the wall of the house he made narrowed rests round about, that the beams should not be fastened in the walls of the house.

7 And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.

8 The door for the middle chamber was in the right side of the house: and they went up with winding stairs into the middle chamber, and out of the middle into the third.

9 So he built the house, and finished it; and covered the house with beams and boards of cedar.

10 And then he built chambers against all the house, five cubits high: and they rested on the house with timber of cedar.

11 And the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying,

12 Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father:

13 And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel.

14 So Solomon built the house, and finished it.

According to the Hebrew Bible, Solomon’s Temple, was the first temple the Israelites built for God. Built in Jerusalem, and called The First Temple, it was divided into three important areas: the Most Holy Place, the Holy Place and the Outer Courtyard. The Bible says that the Lord said to Solomon, “I have consecrated this temple by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there” (1 King 9:3).

6:1-38 It is interesting to note that the temple was built some 400 years after the tabernacle and stood for about 400 years before being destroyed in 586 a.c.  It took approximately 30,000 Israelites and 150,000 Canaanites only seven years to complete the construction of the temple. 

6:1Even though the meaning of this verse is in dispute, it still provides a chronological anchor to give us a general perspective as to the chronological relationship of biblical events.  The exact date of this verse cannot be established because there is uncertainty as to when the beginning of the reign of Solomon is to be dated.  The fourth year of Solomon’s reign is regarded by many to be about 960 B.C.  In that case the Exodus could have occurred about 1440 B.C.

6:2 A cubit was approximately 18 inches; therefore, the temple was about 90 feet long by 30 feet wide by 45 feet tall.  These dimensions exactly doubled those of the tabernacle of Moses.

6: 13 Here the Lord explains the reason for the temple.  God wanted to dwell among His people. 

Playwright Janet Irene Thomas

Founder/President/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts

info@biblestoriestheatre.org

www.biblestoriestheatre.org

THE DIVIDED COUNTRY

Mark 3:24-26 - King James Version (KJV)

 ²⁴And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

 ²⁵And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

 ²⁶And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.

REFLECTION

In this very climactic encounter with the Pharisees over Jesus’ reshaped definition of the kingdom of God, He show the absurdity of the charge of casting out demons by Satan’s power. On the contrary, the exorcisms demonstrate the penetration of Satan’s kingdom by the kingdom of God in Jesus. Jesus’ binding and plundering of the strong man was further inaugurated by His crucifixion and resurrection, is propagated by the church, and will be consummated through the events of the Age to Come.

The term divided further reveals the irrationality of the charge. Jesus does not say that the break-up of Satan’s kingdom will occur by internal dissension (“divided”), but rather by the external aggression of the Stronger One over the strong one(Is.49:24-26;53:12). 

The miracle was performed by the Spirit of God as an indication of the presence of the kingdom of God.  The scribes slandered the Holy Spirit by knowledgeably attributing His work to the Devil, thus committing the “unpardonable sin.”   Their sin was not an act of impulse or ignorance, but the result of a continued and willful rejection of the truth concerning Jesus.  It was a sin against spiritual knowledge, for they had ample evidence of the truth from the words and deeds of Jesus.  In deliberately choosing to insult the Spirit, they forfeited His ministry in their lives and shall not be forgiven.  This analogy demonstrates that the blasphemy was not merely an utterance of the lips, but an expression of character. 

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

The Holy Spirit at Work.  Think back to earlier passage of Mark; wherein we learn of the baptism of Christ Jesus.  He insisted John baptize Him, not for repentance, but because He knew the Holy Spirit would come upon Him at that time. At once The Holy Spirit made him go into the wilderness.  Mark graphically states that “the spirit driveth him into the wilderness” (1:12) to be tempted, suggesting the urgency of meeting and defeating Satan’s attempts to defile Him before He embarked on a mission of breaking the enemy’s power in others.  Hallelujah! 

There is much to be learned from the behavior and attitude of the scribes.  As believers, we are to guard not only our tongue, but our attitudes about the Word of God.

Playwright Janet Irene Thomas

Founder/Chairman/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts (BSTFPA)

www.biblestoriestheatre.org

info@biblestoriestheatre.org

THE UNCLEAN SPIRITS

Matthew 12:43-45 - King James Version (KJV)

 ⁴³When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.

 ⁴⁴Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.

 ⁴⁵Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

REFLECTIONS

We are being warned that returning to a past bondage from which we were once delivered results in deeper bondage.  Jesus’ teaching specifically applies to the emptiness of Judaism in substituting reformation for regeneration.

Sometimes unclean spirits is not a topic we want to talk about. It makes us uncomfortable. And uncomfortable as it is, we really do need to talk about them. They exist and not talking about it will not do us any good. The devil in this parable is called the unclean spirit, for he has lost all his purity, and delights in and promotes all manner of impurity among men. Let’s go back to some basic Bible lessons to learn a bit more.

Angels are creatures that we cannot usually see. Before Almighty God created human people, He created the angels, and they have lived with God in the heavens for a long time. Angels also sometimes come to earth, and they could be standing right beside you and you wouldn't know it. Most angels are very good and do what God tells them to do. When God wants to tell a person something, He often sends some of these good angels to talk to him or her.

Unfortunately, some angels don't obey God, and they listen to a really bad angel named Satan. These bad angels are called demons. Satan is jealous of God's love for us. Sometimes he will send his bad angels to make people sick or make them act crazy.

As believers, we must remember that Jesus is mightier and superior of all the angels. He teaches us how to live in a way that the demons can't control us. He is always nearby so that we can call to Him if we get into trouble. The Bible also tells us that when Jesus was on earth, He sent demons away from many people who were bothered by them.

Here in this parable, we learn of Satan possessing men’s bodies: Christ having lately cast out a devil, and they having said he had a devil, gave occasion to show how much they were under the power of Satan. This is a further proof that Christ did not cast out devils by compact with the devil, for then he would soon have returned again; but Christ’s driving out of him was final, and such as barred a re-entry: we find him charging the evil spirit to go out, and enter no more, Mark 9:25.

Probably the devil had a habit of tormenting those he had possession of; he would go out, and then return again with more fury; hence the lucid intervals of those in that condition were commonly followed with the more violent fits. When the devil is gone out, he is uneasy, for he sleeps not except he have done mischief (Prov. 4:16); he walks in dry places, like one that is very despondent; he seeks rest but finds none, till he returns again. When Christ cast the legion out of the man, they begged leave to enter into the swine, where they went not long in dry places, but into the lake presently.

Let us pray, “Not with standing the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion”.2 Timothy 4:17

Playwright Janet Irene Thomas

Founder/Chairman/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org

info@biblestoriestheatre.org

TEACHINGS on PRAYER (12)

 

SEVENTH PRINCIPLE OF PRAYER

No Evil from God

 

(Matthew 6: 13; Luke 11:4; James 1:13)

  

 

 

 Our Lord’s seventh principle in prayer is this:  God does not lead us into trial, but deliver us from evil.  This important truth is expanded in James 1, which emphatically states that God does not send trials or trouble to any man, but that we bring trouble upon ourselves by our own inclinations or desires.

Dear Friends, 

In prayer we are approaching One who is altogether and absolutely good.  And understand this, God is never the author of evil and it is never the will of God that we should submit to evil and merely endure it.  On the contrary, it is always God’s WILL to deliver us from it. 

T

he believer is indeed called upon to endure the vicarious and redemptive suffering in which he follows his Lord and which God uses to overcome evil.  To live as Jesus’ disciple in this world is to encounter hostility.

Biblical truth does not deny that life is full of trouble.  Such a denial would be blind to reality.  On the contrary, God’s Word asserts that disobedience to God’s will inevitably results in troubles of all kinds and that a world that neglects or ignores the laws of God is sure to be world of suffering and sorrow.   Two attitudes of suffering may be distinguished.

1. We may submit to it, however reluctantly, adjusting ourselves to the limitations it imposes.
2. We may, in the name of Christ, who gave His disciples authority to cast out evil, rebel against it and resist it and eventually overcome it.

These two attitudes may seem the same, but they are very different.  Two such persons may seem to be suffering alike; but one, through prayer, is en route out of his afflictions, while the prayerless one is sinking into them. 

When we turn to God in prayer; we open the door by which His absolute goodness comes in, chasing out the dark shadows of evil and filling us with joy and peace-no matter what our circumstances.

God is the Creator and Giver of all good and of good only.

Playwright Janet Irene Thomas

Founder/Chairman/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org

info@biblestoriestheatre.org