Archive for category: LivingEd – Online Learning

Author: Mr. Kenneth Frank | Faculty in Theology, Living Education

Estimated Reading Time: 5 min., 30 sec.

Did you know that God describes acts of rebellion and idolatry using expressions intended to turn our stomachs?

The Bible contains many colorful and descriptive phrases intended to make an impression on our minds. Hebrew can be very graphic as well as poetic. Understanding how this language conveys bold ideas is critical to capturing the message God wants us to understand.

Acts 8 describes a conversation between the apostle Peter and a magician named Simon. Simon had used sorcery and bewitched the people of Samaria, pretending to be some great one. Philip had been in Samaria preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 8:12). After hearing this, Simon was baptized and stood amazed at the miracles and signs Philip performed. The Jerusalem apostles sent Peter and John to lay hands on the new converts so that they might receive the Holy Spirit. When Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was conveyed by the laying on of hands by the apostles, he tried to buy this power. Peter rebuked and commanded him to repent, for Peter detected that Simon was “in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity” (Acts 8:23). John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible explains that Simon “was in a state of nature and unregeneracy; under the power and dominion of covetousness, ambition, and hypocrisy; and in a way pernicious to himself, infectious to others, and ungrateful to God, and to good men…” (e-Sword 12.1). Simon begged Peter to pray to the Lord for his forgiveness.

This expression, “the gall of bitterness,” which appears only once in our Bible, has a colorful history. The NET Bible notes that it is “… an idiom meaning to be particularly envious or resentful of someone. In this case Simon was jealous of the apostles’ power to bestow the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands, and wanted that power for himself” (e-Sword 12.1). This expression is a Hebraism and a superlative intended to convey “excessive bitterness.” Gall was also used in the OT for idolatry: ” Deuteronomy 29:18 KJV  Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood.” Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible explains that gall “denotes properly ‘bile,’ or ‘that bitter, yellowish-green fluid that is secreted in the liver.’ Hence, it means anything very bitter; and also any bad passion of the mind, as anger, malice, etc. We speak of ‘bitterness’ of mind, etc.” (e-Sword 12.1). B. W. Johnson’s Peoples New Testament adds that “The gall of reptiles was considered by ancients the source of their venom. The expression would denote moral corruption” (e-Sword 12.1).

The Greek word for “gall” is chole and appears only in Acts 8:23 and Matthew 27:34, referring to the drink of vinegar with gall that was offered to Christ while on the cross. Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible describes the gall given to Jesus as “no more than bitters of any kind. It was a common custom to administer a stupefying potion compounded of sour wine, which is the same as vinegar, from the French vinaigre, frankincense, and myrrh, to condemned persons, to help to alleviate their sufferings, or so disturb their intellect that they might not be sensible of them” (e-Sword 12.1). This reminds us of Proverbs 31:6 KJV  “Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.”

Bob Utley’s You Can Understand the Bible expands this expression: “The terms ‘gall’ (cholç) and ‘bitterness’ (pikros) both refer to a bitter spirit, usually associated with anger and apostasy (cf. Deuteronomy 29:18; Deuteronomy 32:28-33; Hebrews 12:15). Paul uses the term ‘bitter’ several times in lists of things to avoid (cf. Romans 3:14; Ephesians 4:31)” (e-Sword 12.1). He will later use a similar expression, appearing only once in Scripture, warning Christians, “Hebrews 12:15 KJV  Looking diligently lest any man fail of [fall away from] the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled” (e-Sword 12.1). This expression seems to relate back to Deuteronomy 29:18. Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible notes at Deuteronomy 29:18, “That is, as the apostle expresses it, Hebrews 3:12, An evil heart of unbelief departing from the living God; for to this place he evidently refers. It may also signify false doctrines, or idolatrous persons among themselves” (e-Sword 12.1). His note on Hebrews 12:15 adds, “The root of bitterness is here used metaphorically for a bad man, or a man holding unsound doctrines, and endeavoring to spread them in the Church” (Ibid.).

Paul describes troublemakers in God’s church who were influencing Hebrew Christians to apostatize back to Judaism! Bitterness and resentment are poisonous causing contagion in others. Portraying the nature of bitterness, The KJV Study Bible reports that “First it is hidden, but when it is discovered its noxious roots have spread and it springs up as something much bigger and more destructive (cf. Deuteronomy 29:18)” (Tecarta Bible App).

God’s people must be on guard to prevent some evil influence from making us bitter against God or other Christians leading to our departure from God and His church. Regrettably, such departures have occurred over the 2000-year history of the Church of God. By remaining steadfast with God through His written word as taught by His ministers we can prevent a gall or root of bitterness from growing inside us that troubles and defiles us leading to our departure from the faith. Christianity is a life or death struggle. By God’s Holy Spirit we will deflect Satan’s deadly blows. We must stay true to the “Shepherd and Bishop of our souls” (1 Peter 2:25).  

Kenneth Frank was born and raised in New Jersey, USA, and attended Ambassador College, graduating in 1973. He served in the Canadian ministry from 1973-1999, after which he returned to the USA to pastor churches in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina for 15 years. Having earned a BA degree from Ambassador College he later earned a MA degree from Grand Canyon University before being assigned to the Charlotte office to teach at Living University, now Living Education. Currently, he teaches the Survey of the Bible course to the on-campus students and writes the Digging Deeper column for our online Bible study program. He is married, has four children, and seven grandchildren.

Author: Mr. Kenneth Frank | Faculty in Theology, Living Education

Estimated Reading Time: 6 min., 46 sec.

Did you know that God’s care for His people is so protective and familial that He speaks of protecting them as the “apple of his eye”?

This phrase or one similar appears in five Scriptural passages. These verses reveal something special about the relationship of God to His people. What is an apple of the eye and what does each of these passages tell us about our relationship to God and His way of life? Examining each of these passages will enable us to dig deeper into God’s written word on this theme.

Our first passage is part of Moses’ final words to the new nation of Israel before his death. Israel was just about to cross the Jordan River to inherit the Promised Land. Deuteronomy 32:9-10 KJV reads: “For the LORD’S portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.” 

An annotation in the NET Bible explains the word apple: “Heb ‘the little man.’ The term אִישׁוֹן (ʾishon) means literally ‘little man,’ perhaps because when one looks into another’s eyes he sees himself reflected there in miniature.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible explains its significance: “He kept him as the apple of his eye, with all the care and tenderness that could be, from the malignant influences of an open sky and air, and all the perils of an inhospitable desert. The pillar of cloud and fire was both a guide and a guard to them.” Continuing this idea, the Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary reports: “It is a beautiful image, and, by alluding to the care with which every person defends his eye from injury, conveys a graphic idea of the tender, vigilant assiduity [care] with which the Lord watched over His people.” 

Our second passage from Psalm 17:8 is David’s prayer in which he requests, “Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings.” The Dake Annotated Reference Bible comments that “It is an idiom for what is dearest to us; that which must have extreme care and protection. If the eye is lost one is blind. In creation God saw to it that the eye was well protected, being deeply entrenched in the skull and where the hands could easily protect it. He designed it to be further protected from dust and other harm by the eyelashes, eyelids, and eyebrows.” David understood God’s marvelous design of the human body and expressed his special request with this in mind. The NET Bible annotation reads, ” Heb ‘Protect me like the pupil, a daughter of an eye.’” Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible explains that daughter denotes, “that which is dependent on, or connected with (Gesenius, Lexicon), as the expression ‘daughters of a city’ denotes the small towns or villages lying around a city, and dependent on its jurisdiction.” 

Our third passage is Proverbs 7:2 KJV: “Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.” Here God commands us to diligently observe His teachings. The Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary explains, “As we guard the pupil of the eye from the least mote, which is sufficient to hurt it, so God’s law is so tender and holy a thing that the least violation of it in thought, word, or deed, is sin; and we are so to keep the law as to avoid any violation of it. The law resembles the pupil of the eye also in its being spiritually the organ of light, without which we should be in utter darkness.” Knowing this will impel our commandment-keeping! 

Our fourth passage is Lamentations 2:18 KJV :”Their heart cried unto the Lord, O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night: give thyself no rest; let not the apple of thine eye cease.” This lamentation over the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians was probably written by the Prophet Jeremiah. An annotation from the NET Bible explains: “Heb ‘the daughter of your eye.’ The term ‘eye’ functions as a metonymy for ‘tears’ that are produced by the eyes. Jeremiah exhorts personified Jerusalem to cry out to the LORD day and night without ceasing in repentance and genuine sorrow for its sins.” Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible supports the notion of tears: ” בת עין bath ayin means either the pupil of the eye, or the tears. Tears are the produce of the eye, and are here elegantly termed the daughter of the eye. Let not thy tears cease.”

Our fifth and last passage is Zechariah 2:8 KJV: “For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.” This section of Zechariah’s prophecy is God’s vision to His prophet. The NET Bible notes that, “A scribal emendation (tiqqun sopherim) has apparently altered an original ‘my eye’ to ‘his eye’ in order to allow the prophet to be the speaker throughout vv. Zechariah 2:8-9. This alleviates the problem of the LORD saying, in effect, that he has sent himself on the mission to the nations.” The reason for such a textual emendation is given by E.W. Bullinger in his Companion Bible: “The primitive text read ‘Mine eye’; but the Sopherim [Jewish scribes] say (App-33) that they altered this to ‘His’, regarding it as derogatory to Jehovah to read aloud such pronounced anthropomorphic expressions.” 

To explore even further, Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible leads us along to this intriguing possibility: “בבבת עינו bebabath eyno, the babet of his eye. This is a remarkable expression. Any person, by looking into the eye of another, will see his own image perfectly expressed, though in extreme miniature, in the pupil. Does our English word babbet or baby come from this? And does not the expression mean that the eye of God is ever on his follower, and that his person is ever impressed on the eye, the notice, attention, providence, and mercy of God?”  The Pulpit Commentary provides us this touching reason for the usage of this term, “Nothing can more finely convey the idea of the exquisitely tender care of Jehovah for the objects of his love. Such interest the Bible teaches with frequency and fervour. Hence we read, ‘In all their affliction, he is afflicted.’ We read, ‘As a father pitieth his children,’ etc. We read, ‘Can a woman forget her sucking child?’ We read, ‘He is touched with a feeling of our infirmities,’ etc.”  

These five passages have expressed the depth of God’s love for His people Israel. However, we must remember that the God of the Old Testament is most often the One who became our Savior. Now we can better understand this New Testament passage from the words of Jesus Christ about His followers today. Matthew 25:40 KJV reads: “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” All of these tender biblical words of God should fortify our appreciation for His abiding love and care. 

Kenneth Frank was born and raised in New Jersey, USA, and attended Ambassador College, graduating in 1973. He served in the Canadian ministry from 1973-1999, after which he returned to the USA to pastor churches in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina for 15 years. Having earned a BA degree from Ambassador College he later earned a MA degree from Grand Canyon University before being assigned to the Charlotte office to teach at Living University, now Living Education. Currently, he teaches the Survey of the Bible course to the on-campus students and writes the Digging Deeper column for our online Bible study program. He is married, has four children, and seven grandchildren.

Author: Mr. Kenneth Frank | Faculty, Living Education

Estimated Reading Time: 5 min.

Did you know that an Old Testament prophet of God made a mistake in judgment when advising King David about building the Temple?

Nathan was a prophet during the reigns of both David and Solomon. He is first mentioned in the account of David’s arrangements for building the Temple. David had built himself a fabulous palace and thought it showed a lack of respect and sanctity that God’s worship center was merely a tent. Even though Nathan wanted to encourage David in his heart-felt desire to build God a permanent structure (a temple) for worship, he gave David advice he had to later retract. There are two passages of this account in the Old Testament: 2 Samuel 7 and 1 Chronicles 17.

Nathan’s mistake is a common one: not consulting God before acting on our decision or before advising someone else on their decision. Another example of this was in the time of Joshua when the Israelites made a league with the Gibeonites without first consulting God (Joshua 9:14). They were tricked into a long-term covenant they later regretted. When we fail to seek God before making major decisions, we are asking for trouble. Nathan’s advice to David was premature. An annotation on 2 Samuel 7:3 in Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible explains: “What Nathan said here was partially wrong. God was with David and approved of his desire to build a temple. He let David collect materials for the temple, but He had reasons for not letting David build it himself (1 Chronicles 22:1-16). Nathan later told David who would build it (1 Chronicles 17:4-15).”

The Temple would be built instead by David’s son, Solomon, because David had made great wars and had shed blood (1 Chronicles 22:8; 1 Chronicles 28:3). Solomon’s name means peaceful or peaceable. Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible explains: “Heathens, Jews, and Christians, have all agreed that soldiers of any kind should have nothing to do with Divine offices.” The Jamieson Fausset and Brown Commentary adds further, “An innate feeling of propriety dictates the purification of the worshipper from all defilement when about to engage in the solemn rites of religion. Above all, persons polluted with blood were prohibited even among the pagan, of which many instances are found in the works of classical writers, (see Homer, ‘Iliad,’ 6:, 335; Euripides, ‘Iphigesia, in Tauris,’ 5:, 380; Vigil, ‘AEneid,’ 6:).” 

The Jamieson Fausset and Brown Commentary explains what went wrong with Nathan’s counsel: “The prophets, when following the impulse of their own feelings, or forming conjectural opinions, fell into frequent mistakes (see the notes at 1 Samuel 16:6; 2 Kings 4:27).” What was missing in Nathan’s advice? Robert Hawker’s comment in The Poor Man’s Commentary on 2 Samuel 7:3 explains: “Had the prophet first made it a subject of prayer, his directions would have been better. The Lord being with his people, as indeed he always is, doth not supersede the necessity of asking continually his wisdom to guide us.”  God expects us to consult Him. Nathan meant well and David’s desire was honorable (2 Chronicles 6:8) – but we learn from them that we must always consult the LORD in our plans. In our New Testament, the Apostle Paul provides us wise counsel of a similar nature in Philippians 4:6-7 (KJV throughout): “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  (7)  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Even though Nathan made a mistake in judgment, God did not cast him aside. He went on to have a successful and lengthy career advising David and Solomon, two of the greatest kings during the heyday of Israel’s United Kingdom. He later reproved David for his adulterous affair with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:1-14), was charged with Solomon’s education (2 Samuel 12:25), and took a prominent role in Solomon’s accession to the throne (1 Kings 1:8-11, 1 Kings 1:22-45). His two sons, Zabad and Azariah, held high places in the king’s court (1 Chronicles 2:36; 1 Kings 4:5). He seems to have written a life of David (1 Chronicles 29:29) and another of Solomon (2 Chronicles 9:29). 

No doubt, sometime in your life you realized you had not consulted God before making a major decision. It may have not turned out well. We may even wonder why God would allow that decision to go astray. The Almighty is trying to teach us that He alone knows the end from the beginning. “Seek the LORD” appears 27 times in our Bible revealing an important lesson for us since it is so frequent. Isaiah 55:6 instructs us, “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near.” This seeking has a condition attached: “But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul (Deuteronomy 4:29).” Our seeking God must be genuine and with pure hearts. King David composed under inspiration many of our psalms. Here is one that is especially fitting for this lesson in life: “Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass (Psalm 37:4-5).”

Kenneth Frank was born and raised in New Jersey, USA, and attended Ambassador College, graduating in 1973. He served in the Canadian ministry from 1973-1999, after which he returned to the USA to pastor churches in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina for 15 years. Having earned a BA degree from Ambassador College he later earned a MA degree from Grand Canyon University before being assigned to the Charlotte office to teach at Living University, now Living Education. Currently, he teaches the Survey of the Bible course to the on-campus students and writes the Digging Deeper column for our online Bible study program. He is married, has four children, and seven grandchildren.