Could you throw any light on the apparent contradictions between the 12th and the 44th verses of Deuteronomy 28:12," TARGET="_blank">Deuteronomy 28:12, 14? We often hear the former quoted in support of the Jews being money-lenders down the course of time. The position in verse is in exactly the opposite order from that of verse 12.

That is so. In verse 12 we read: “Thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow,” and in verse : “He (i.e. the stranger that is within thee) shall lend to thee and thou shalt not lend to him.” The positions are reversed, because the conditions are altered. In verse 12, Moses is enumerating the blessings which will accrue to Israel upon obedience, and though the obedience of the nation was very far from perfect, yet for the sake of the godly, and especially of the Messiah, God did accord them a measure of prosperity, though whether we ever hear of Israel actually lending “to many nations,” I very much doubt. But in verse 44 (beginning back from verse 15) Moses is enumerating the disabilities—the cursings on those who disobey, and these have been terribly realised in the great majority of the people. The idea that all Jews are wealthy is a superficial one. Many have accumulated wealth, it is true, in countries like our own and the United States, where they live and carry on business on equal terms with others. In many lands, however, they are hampered and handicapped, with the result that the mass of Jews at the present day are very far from being able to lend, and are reduced to living on a very low scale, on the debtor rather than on the creditor side, if ever the latter. Verse I2 is, moreover, national; verse , individual. I think when above considerations are weighed, even the appearance of a contradiction disappears.

W.H.

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Free Tabernacle Model from the Old Testament

3D printable model of the Old Testament Tabernacle that Moses received at Mt. Sinai. This Sunday school activity can be done in about an hour. The tabernacle model is a scale replica of Moses' tabernacle.

Click here for the Tabernacle Model. Requires Acrobat reader.

Also included in this link are lesson plans for the wilderness journeys including Moses' plans to build the Tabernacle in the wilderness. Materials required include heavy paper, scissors, color printer.

Students will gain an appreciation for the golden furniture, candlestick, altar of incense, brazen altar and the veils of covering that were part of the tabernacle's design. Instead of simply reading the instructions from the book of Exodus, the printable model gives a students a hands-on activity for building their own take-home project.

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What is the history of the Apocrypha?

What is the history of the Apocrypha?

This collection of 14 books added to the Old Testament (and around 50 lesser known books related to the New Testament) is called the Apocrypha, a Greek word meaning "hidden" and indi-cating that the source of these books is disputed. Josephus, a contemporary of the apostles, refers to only 22 Old Testament books (our 39 books in their Hebrew arrangement). Cyril of Jerusalem (bom 315 A.D.) distinguished the Apocrypha from the Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament), which in its earliest existing manuscripts included the Apocrypha. Jerome (scholarly fourth century translator of the Vulgate) wrote, "the Church... doth not apply them (the Apocryphal books) to establish any doctrine." These writings were likely inserted into the Old Testament between 300 and 400 A.D. The Greek branch of Christendom (Council of Laodicea, 363 A.D.) denied they were inspired, yet the Roman branch includes the Apocrypha in its Bible. In 1546, its Council of Trent equated tradition and the Apocrypha with the authority of Scripture, indicating that until that time the Apocrypha was not considered part of the canon. The Geneva Bible (1560) was the first edition since the fourth century to omit the Apocrypha. These books were included in the first King James Version (1611), but omitted after 1629. (S. Collett, "All About the Book," F.H. Revell Company, pp. 35-48; H. Mackay, "The Story of Your Bible," Walterick, p. 17.)

D. Oliver
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Did Christ eat the bread and drink the cup when he instituted the Lord's Supper?

THE LORD’S SUPPER

INSTITUTION

Did the Lord Himself partake of the emblems when He instituted the Supper?

In none of the three synoptic accounts is it said that He did, though the words of Matthew 26:29" TARGET="_blank">Matthew 26:29 and Mark 14:25" TARGET="_blank">Mark 14:25: “Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the Kingdom,” may be taken to convey an inference that he did at least partake of the cup. Equally well they might be taken as explanatory of His not doing so. In any case, I believe it is a false inference, for in Luke 22:18," TARGET="_blank">Luke 22:18, where we have, I judge, the true order, both these words and similar ones in v. 16referring to what He had just eaten, are connected with the Passover. This order in Luke is, I believe, determinant, and permits us to give weight to two moral considerations. Why should the Lord need to partake of the memorial of His own sufferings? and how could He suitably partake of the emblems of His own body and blood?

W.H.

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Why does Joseph's genealogy matter to Jesus since he wasn't the real father?

Why does Joseph's genealogy have relevance to the Lord when Joseph was not His natural father?

Matthew begins with, 'The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David." His purpose is to present our Lord Jesus as the Son of David Who will reign as king, sitting on the throne of David. Matthew shows that Joseph had descended from David through Solomon, and therefore had the legal rights to the throne. Matthew lists 15 kings by name, but only David is referred to as king (verse 6). Jechonias is the last king named in the genealogy. Concerning him, Jeremiah 22:30" TARGET="_blank">Jeremiah 22:30 says, "No man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David."

When Joseph obeyed the angel of the Lord and took Mary as his wife (Matthew 1:20,24)," TARGET="_blank">Matthew 1:20,24), he also accepted her son as his. Our Lord Jesus thus inherited the legal rights to the throne of David. Since Joseph was not his natural father, He did not inherit the curse of Jechonias. It is wonderful how God worked it out!

W. Gustafson

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Books of the Bible Games

Using a special deck of Bible game cards that you can download from this site , you can help your Bible class students learn the Books of the Bible through games. Seven card Games for learning the names of the books of the Bible.

1. Memory print two sets of these cards. Turn them face down and find the pairs. Use only New Testament cards for a shorter game.

2. Go Fish or Old Maid Print two sets of Bible cards. Shuffle and deal. Use the traditional rules. Use only New Testament cards for a shorter game.

3. Lay them straight. Sequence race Shuffle the deck and give each team (or player) 10 cards. When the dealer says “go”, lay them out in order. The first team to put them in order wins.

4. Uno or SkipBo inspired game - similar to the popular card game except with fewer rules and different cards from books of the Bible.

5. Phase 10 inspired game - similar to the popular card game, but with Bible cards and different phase goals.

6. Solitaire - adapted from the classic single player game, but with Bible books.

Check out the other 200+ games, puzzles and Bible lessons in the Sunday school seciton of this site.

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Is gift required for all spiritual work?

Is gift required for all spiritual work?

Not every Christian can speak in the assembly, but all can fulfill the responsibility to "exhort (encourage) one another daily" (Hebrews 3:13)" TARGET="_blank">Hebrews 3:13) by writing notes (Philemon 7)" TARGET="_blank">Philemon 7) or speaking personally (Acts 18:26)." TARGET="_blank">Acts 18:26). Gift does not enhance "praying in the Spirit" (Ephesians 6:18)." TARGET="_blank">Ephesians 6:18). Our placing undue emphasis on capability displaces dependence on the Spirit and undervalues the work of the Spirit in a believer. Business-like efficiency and effectiveness is helpful when coupled with evidence of the Spirit’s working within; when alone, it is unproductive spiritually in contrast to the hesitating labors of a Spirit-filled believer. We must do God’s work in the best possible manner, while remembering that we can accomplish such work only by the Spirit’s energy.

Some spiritual work, however, requires spiritual gift. Not every brother ought to be preaching the gospel or ministering to the saints or leading a Bible reading, nor should anyone whom God exercises for such work fail to find encouragement to do it.

D. Oliver
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Can we interpret dreams?

Are there consistent principles for understanding our dreams?

Dreams are one of ways in which God speaks to His servants, through His servants, and also to the unconverted.

God speaks in dreams consistent with His purposes and plans. We have three principles: interpretation; confirmation; and prevention by warning.

We observe that in the Biblical revelation He spoke in dreams when the Word of God was incomplete.

God revealed His purposes through dreams to Joseph, Jacob, and Gideon.

God warns in dreams as He did with the Magi and Joseph in the New Testament.

God uses dreams to awaken realities in the unregenerate. The butler and the baker (Genesis 40)," TARGET="_blank">Genesis 40), and Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 2)" TARGET="_blank">Daniel 2) are classic examples. Job 33:14," TARGET="_blank">Job 33:14, 15 confirms this. To the unregenerate, the principle of interpretation is needed.

It is interesting to note that Job, in his dilemma, speaks of being "scared" by dreams (Job 7:14)" TARGET="_blank">Job 7:14) and the wise king in Ecclesiastes 5:7" TARGET="_blank">Ecclesiastes 5:7 contrasts the vanities of dreams with the fear of God.

In His sovereignty, God can still speak by dreams in order to reach sinners; however, wisdom is needed since we have the completed Word of God! A believer could get upset by dreams and have doubts. Let such rest assured that the Scriptures are our ONLY foundation for spiritual and eternal matters; put no confidence in dreams!

We can be sure that God does not save in dreams. It would be the exception when God uses dreams to awaken eternal realities in the subconscious mind. We must be absolutely clear that our faith rests in nothing outside the written Word of God.

A. Hull
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How should a Christian pray for political events?

For what did Paul exhort prayer (1 Timothy 2:1-2)" TARGET="_blank">1 Timothy 2:1-2)?

The Lord’s "world view" ("In the world ye shall have tribulation," John 16:33)," TARGET="_blank">John 16:33), Paul’s eventual martyrdom, and the context make it doubtful that he requested prayer for a government favorable to Christian living and the spread of the gospel.

Leading "a quiet and peaceable life" certainly is "good and acceptable" (verse 3), but the context more likely describes praying "for all men" (verse 1) as being "acceptable" to God, "Who will have all men to be saved." By repeating "all men," Paul encouraged prayer for the salvation of all men.

Even though the government was acting immorally in opposing the gospel and imprisoning its messengers, Christian piety and morality ("godliness and honesty") remained unchanged. Believers would live in quietness (externally "aloof from political agitation," Vincent) and peace (inwardly calm) by keeping their focus and praying for the salvation of all men, including cruel kings. Whatever the condition of government may be, our mission in the world is to see men saved.

D. Oliver
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How could the Lord acknowledge an assembly when it had departed so far (Revelation 2 and 3)?

How could the Lord acknowledge an assembly when it had departed so far (Revelation 2" TARGET="_blank">Revelation 2 and 3)?

The assembly at Corinth was badly damaged by the influence of the world around it. Galatian believers had been influenced by serious doctrinal error. These and other assemblies, including those in Revelation 2" TARGET="_blank">Revelation 2 and 3, began as assemblies, through God’s work, consistent with the pattern. The Lord determines how far an assembly can depart. He reads the heart and judges righteously. We are not responsible to make that decision. He requests permission of no one and informs no one.

We are responsible, though, to preserve the integrity of the assembly of which we form a part. Whether or not a certain company is an assembly, if its practices and associations will damage young believers or lead any astray, we shouldn’t associate ourselves with that assembly.

David Oliver
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