A PROPHET'S TASK

“Go and tell My servant David, thus says the LORD: you shall not build Me a house to dwell in (1 Chron. 17:4 KJV).

Nathan was a great prophet in the time of King David. In our verse he is given a special task from God which gives us some very helpful lessons. Thus we note the prophet’s mandate and the prophet’s message.

Mandate – “Go and tell David my servant . . . you shall not build me a house.” For Nathan, this was not an easy assignment. There are some orders that are difficult and unpleasant to carry out. In this case it meant giving David some bad news. It also meant that Nathan had to change what he had told David earlier about building the Temple (1 Chron. 17:1-2). So this was not an easy assignment for Nathan. But to his credit he did it with excellence. In general there are no easy task. However, we cannot ignore the difficult tasks but must do them, too. And we must do them well if we want to live a successful life.

Message – “Thus says the Lord, you shall not build me a house.” Here we note several things about the message God gave Nathan to tell David. They are the divinity of Nathan’s message and the details of Nathan's message.

1. Divinity of the message: “Thus says the Lord.” This message was God’s message. This is the message that all men of God should proclaim. We are to preach His Word, not our own thoughts or worldly philosophies.

2. Details of the message. This message was a negative message. It stipulated something David could not do. The message also did not give a reason for the ‘no.’ When God tells us ‘no’ He does not have to give us a reason; His Word is reason enough. Yet, later God did give David some reasons. Further, God is more interested in our obedience than in our doing some great and mighty deed. Obedience is the great work. Obedience is more important than greatness.

(Adapted from Butler Daily Bible Reading NT)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“God measures our service, not by our ability, but by our willingness!”

Anonymous

Word Study

Dignified

In Titus 2:6-7 we read, “Likewise urge the young men to be sensible; in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified” (NASB).

Dignified is the Greek word Semnotes (σεμνότης = sem-not'-ace). The word refers to decency, gravity, calling for respect through age, character, and attainments. Semnotes could also be translated as moral earnestness and refers to moral dignity and holy behavior before men. It describes a serious and worthy conduct that earns reverence and respect. It describes that behavior which is befitting and implies a measure of dignity leading to respect.

In Classical Greek semnotes is used as an honorable attribute of the gods and to describe a person’s deportment that commands respect. In the Septuagint it is used to describe the reverence and respect due to the temple. In the New Testament semnotes is used to describe the conduct of Christian citizens, and as a necessary characteristic of a bishop in his household. Further, Paul used the word in Titus 2:7 to characterize how Titus was to conduct himself as a teacher.

It is to be noted that the exhortation to be dignified urges a realization of the dignity and solemnity attached to the handling of the Word of God. This includes the idea of living one’s life so as to invite, attract and inspire reverence, honor and respect, ultimately of God and His glorious gospel. Semnotes implies that one should be able to distinguish between that which is important and that which is trivial.

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – That He would suffer the piercing of His hands and feet (Psalm 22:16; Zech. 12:10).

New Testament Fulfillment –John 19:34, 37; 20:25-27

Bible Facts

As the first man and first human father, Adam had no example to follow except God. He faltered on that, plunging the world into sin. He also had to deal with the tragedy of his son Cain murdering his other son, Abel. Adam has much to teach today’s fathers about the consequences of our actions and the absolute necessity of obeying God (Gen. 3-4).

Bible Quiz

I am called Rufus and I am proud to say that my dad helped Jesus carry His cross to Calvary. Do you know the name of my privileged father?

**Answer to last week’s trivia: What two promises are given in Deuteronomy 5 for honoring ones father and mother? “That your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you” (Deut. 5:16 NKJV).

That’s in the Bible

"Word is gone out”

“I have sworn by Myself; the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath!” (Isa. 43:25 NKJV ).

When we say, “the word has gone out,” we are referring to a matter being made known to people in general. The word of God has literally gone out to all the world. God used His people and didn’t need a slick marketing campaign to get it done. The God of the Old Testament who said every knee would bow to Him is the same God in the New Testament to whom every knee will also bow: Phil. 2:10 declares, “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth” (NKJV).

Did You Know – Christian History

James Gilmour was born June 12, 1843 in Cathkin, Scotland. He was a Scottish Protestant Christian missionary in China and Mongolia, and served with the London Missionary Society.

Gilmour learned to trust Christ from godly parents and grandparents. His mother read him stories of missionaries. Further, because his parents were prosperous he was able to afford an education. He was an outstanding student. Yet to him, Christianity was not merely a classroom exercise. At evening time he would venture alone to speak with workers as they walked home, reminding them of their eternal souls.

Soon after his arrival in China in 1870, 22 Roman Catholic priests were massacred. This however did not stop Gilmour who was willing to die if it advanced God’s work. He learned Mongolian and was engaged in years of seemingly fruitless evangelism. Working alone in Mongolia, Gilmour poured out his heart to his diary: “preached to 24,000 people, treated 7,500 patients, distributed 10,000 books and tracts...and out of all this there are only two men who have openly confessed Christ.”

The common folk accepted him because he came with all his goods in a backpack just as their own lamas did. He healed the sick with simple remedies. Medicine became his main tool for touching lives. Worn out with travels and lack of necessities, Gilmour died in North China at age 47 from a severe and sudden case of Typhus Fever.

A Little Humor

Martin arrived at Sunday school late. Miss Walter, his teacher, knew that Martin was usually very punctual so she asked him if anything was wrong. Martin replied no, that he had been going fishing but his dad told him that he needed to go to church. Miss Walter was very impressed and asked the lad if his dad had explained to him why it was more important to go to church than to go fishing? Martin replied, “Yes he did. Dad said he didn't have enough bait for both of us.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“Salvation changes our heritage from a living death to a deathless life!”