During September our daily readings are by no means lacking in the names of men and women upon whom much could be written with profit. Some are almost beyond belief in their rectitude and rigidity for the God of Israel.
The prophets Elisha and Ezekiel are examples of men possessed by God; they were quite immune to the honours of royalty and the material benefits at the disposal of the great of the earth. We get a glimpse of the prophetess Huldah, whose attitude to Josiah suggests a similar character. Messengers came from the king to Huldah as they did to Elisha from Naaman. They appear to have been personally unmoved; prophets are aloof; they are incorruptible; there is an unusual dignity to their office. That is the theory of their calling. There is no attempt to curry favour; no interest in receiving a personal message. The messengers are received; a reply is sent by them; the prophets and the prophetess do not brush aside the messenger and attend to the important business themselves!
In contrast are the indifferent, evil and vacillating kings in whose midst the prophets worked. Jezebel meets her dreadful doom, and her daughter Athaliah equally deserves her violent death.
In the New Testament there is at least a semblance of peace. Paul was a rugged man, a large broadminded individual, but this does not imply laxity towards the faith. He knew when to quote the Greek poets to advantage; he knew how to go out of his way in a practical manner and demonstrate his love for his brethren. He could eat and drink anything without a narrowness of mind; yet he was bi+g enough to override his own wishes if need be: “If meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.”
Coupled with him in 2 Corinthians 1. 19 are Sylvanus and Timotheus, revelling in the harmony of their message: “For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me, Sylvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea.” Here was certainty and a unison of outlook that might even be described as enviable.
Prominent in our readings for the month are various genealogies extending over several chapters. Those who pass them by as dull, dry reading do not know what riches they are spurning. In Chronicles little items of history are sandwiched in between names. In chapter 5 of the First Book we learn that 44,000 men of Gad, Reuben and Manasseh were “valiant men able to bear buckler and sword and shoot with the bow and skillful in war”. Apparently they were not, as is often the case with the clever and able, men who trusted in their own strength. In the war against the Hagarites “they cried to God in the battle and he was entreated of them, because they put their trust in him”. They knew that their human craft was not sufficient to guarantee victory.
There are two verses in chapter 4 which will stand a lot of investigation: Jabez who later proves to be a gentile—has some great problem. There are no details and he turns to the God of Israel. He made a material request, but in his prayer he wisely adds the words, “and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me!” Without comment, or pointer, the verse continues, “And God granted him that which he requested”.
The Jews were particular about their genealogical records. The opening verse of chapter 9 says, “So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies; and they were written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah, who were carried away to Babylon for their transgression”. It is of interest to read in the appendix to the “Emphatic Diaglott”, “The Hebrews carefully preserved their family registers through a period of more than 3,500 years. . . . The Jews lost their registers after the war with the Romans and their final dispersion”.
The problems of the genealogy of Jesus are brought before us in the reading from Luke. The genealogy in Matthew is undoubtedly that of Joseph. Commentators go to great lengths to prove that the record in Luke is also that of Joseph, with a possible Levi rate marriage to account for it—that is, a marriage where a man has taken a childless widow to raise up seed unto his brother. No attempt is made to provide a reason for the genealogy in Luke going back to Adam, whereas that in Matthew goes back no further than Abraham.
There would appear to be only one reason for the Luke genealogy going back to Adam and that is to show a true relationship with the human race. The parenthetical “as was supposed” indicates that Joseph was only connected with Luke’s record because of the custom of the times. The Jews recognized that Joseph was the husband of Mary, but did not recognize the means whereby she became the mother of Jesus. This is borne out by the bitter implications of the sneer, “We be not born of fornication”!
As another opinion, it is worth noting that Bro. Roberts in “Nazareth Revisited” held the view that Luke’s record referred to Mary and, therefore, to Jesus. Another who held that view was Bro. Thomas Williams, in “The World’s Redemption”.
Thus there is an almost unlimited variety before us in September encouraging us to “redeem the time” while health and ability is ours.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One