PLEA FOR RELIEF

“Your father made our yoke heavy; now therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you." (2 Chron. 10:4 NKJV).

After the death of Solomon, his son Rehoboam became king. The people came to him and pleaded with him to be a little more gracious in his rule than his father. Our verse gives a summary of the request made to Rehoboam by this group. The request spoke of splendor, suffering, and service.

Splendor – “Your father.” The reign of Solomon over Israel was one of tremendous splendor. To visit Israel would leave one greatly dazzled by its splendor. The Queen of Sheba is a good example of this experience. Yet all that glitters are not gold. The great splendor was simply a facade that covered up the oppressive rule of Solomon. It was G. Campbell Morgan, the great English preacher of the past who said, “Some of the worst tyrants the world has ever had, robbed the people of their rights, but kept them passive by the deadly drug of gorgeous display.” This is a picture of sin. Sin always advertise and present itself in the most appealing forms. But the gorgeous display and advertisements only deceives people about sin’s great evil.

Suffering – “The burdensome service of your father.” Here the evil of sin is emphasized and described because Solomon did oppress the people. He not only used forced labor, but imposed heavy taxation on the people. Sin may be attractive, but it soon brings great suffering. The “pleasures of sin” are only for “a season” (Heb. 11:25), then comes the suffering.

Service - “Lighten the burdensome service of your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.” If only Rehoboam would ease their burdens, the people promised to be his servants. Unfortunately, Rehoboam did not listen to their plea. The lesson here is that salvation frees the sinner from the curse of sin, and this promotes service for the Deliverer. An important purpose of our salvation is service for Christ.

(Adapted from Butler Daily Bible Reading)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“God isn’t interested in how many talents we have - He’s interested in how we are using the talent we have!”

Anonymous

Word Study

Disguise (transform)

In Phil 3:21we read, “who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself” (NKJV).

Disguise (transform) is the Greek word metaschematizo (μετασχηματίζω = met-askh-ay-mat-id'-zo). It is made up of two words: “meta” which means with, and “schema” which means outward form, figure, fashion. The word therefore means to transfigure or disguise, change, fashion, figure, transform. In Classical Greek, metaschematizo has the meaning of transforming, altering or changing the outward appearance of a person or thing. It was also used in the field of astronomy to refer to the changing of the constellation. In the Septuagint metaschematizo carries the idea of transforming or disguising.

In the New Testament, metaschematizo refers to that which is changeable, the outward fashion of a person or thing. The apostle Paul is the only New Testament writer to use this word. In 2 Cor. 11:13-15, he uses the word to describe Satan transforming himself as an angel of light, as well as the false prophets transforming themselves into ministers of righteousness. The change however, is only an outward change; there was no change in the essence of their person.

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – That He would become a greater high priest than Aaron (Psalm 110:4)

New Testament Fulfillment – Hebrew 5:4-6, 10; 7:11-28

Bible Facts

Origin of the major language groups explained (Genesis 11). After the rebellion at Babel, God scattered the people by confounding the one language into many languages. Evolution teaches that we all evolved from a common ancestor, yet offers no mechanism to explain the origin of the thousands of diverse languages in existence today.

Bible Quiz

“All is vanity” is a phrase often repeated in what book in the Old Testament?

**Answer to last week’s trivia: According to the Psalmist, what is “precious in the sight of the Lord?” “The death of His saints” (Psalm 116:15 NKJV).

That’s in the Bible

"Balm in Gilead”

“Is there no balm in Gilead, Is there no physician there? Why then is there no recovery for the health of the daughter of my people?” (Jer. 8:22 NKJV).

This relates to something soothing; relief. Gilead was a famous source of healing balms made from various herbs (cf. Gen. 37:25; Jer. 46:11). If physical healing were needed, effective remedies were close by. But Judah and Jerusalem required more than physical healing; neither the balms nor the physicians of Gilead could help them. Like the situation today, Divine help is required.

Did You Know – Christian History

William Fox was born at Clapton, Gloucestershire, on 14 February 1736. He was a wealthy Baptist merchant and founder of the Sunday School Society.

William was an extraordinary individual who developed his first business plan at the age of ten and completely fulfilled it. Impressed by the Sunday school work of Gloucester’s newspaper editor Robert Raikes which tallied with ideas he had earlier tried to implement, William had called for an association to assist and promote Sunday schools.

When he became successful he remained deeply concerned for the poor and did what he could to meet their needs through attempts at legislation, through efforts for their education and his single-handed endeavors to clothe them.

Seeking more leverage, William wrote to Robert Raikes, owner and printer of the Gloucester Journal about his educational plan. Raikes and other prominent philanthropists gathered to implement William’s idea. The result was the first Sunday School Society for Britain.

It is hard to overemphasize the value of this society. It coached the poor each week, educating thousands who otherwise would have had no schooling. The society established rules, provided textbooks and offered funding. Close to 4,000 Sunday schools were formed. This spelled relief for many communities in England.

A Little Humor

A bar opened opposite a church and the church prayed daily against the bar business. Days later the bar was struck by lightning, caught fire and was completely destroyed. The bar owner sued the church officials for the cause of its destruction, as it was an action caused by their prayer. The church denied all responsibility. In his summation, the judge made the following comments: “It’s difficult to decide the case because here we have a bar owner who believes in the power of prayer, and an entire church that doesn’t believes in it.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“A little sin will add to your trouble, subtract from your energy, and multiply your difficulties!”