Second Corinthians

Second Corinthians. The Holy Bible. New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

Paul was a missionary who established and grew churches in Asia and Europe. He also kept up correspondence with several churches. The Bible includes two of his letters to the church at Corinth, though some think the book we call Second Corinthians may be Paul’s fourth letter to that congregation.

Second Corinthians covers a lot of ground. The Corinthians were prone to get puffed up and too ready to listen to self-seeking teachers and set aside the Gospel and sound doctrine. Sometimes they seem like children, and sometimes Paul addresses them that way. Don’t judge them too harshly; modern Christians can too easily fall into the same errors and we have fewer excuses.

Part of the letter is informative. Paul writes about what is going on in his life, his travels, his missionary work, and news from other churches.

The letter is also a tool of teaching. In the instance of someone who had been disciplined for wrongdoing, Paul reminds the church to forgive and remember that the purpose of chastising is to lovingly return people to good relationships, not to punish them indefinitely. He reiterates the Gospel and reaffirms the belief in resurrection.



The letter is encouragement as well as instruction. Paul exhorts the church to live the kind of life they were called to, imitating Christ with purity, humility and generosity.

Paul defends himself, too. Other teachers visited Corinth. In some cases, they were not faithful to the Gospel, taught falsely, aggrandized themselves, and took advantage of their positions. Paul contrasted himself to these other teachers, reminding the Corinthians of his conduct among them, his humility and his support of himself without taking using the resources of the Corinthians. He especially emphasized his faithfulness and constancy in the Gospel.

In anticipation of a future visit, Paul sent a gentle warning. He wanted to come to Corinth and find the church in good shape, full of people dedicated to the truth and active in goods works. He wanted them to be the kind of people he was bragging about. He didn’t want to come to find a lot of problems.

Pau’s tone in this letter is interesting. I find it to be often humorous, especially in the ironic argumentation and the way he points out the absurdity of some of the things said against him and the faith. Paul speaks as an older brother with tough cajoling, a mother with gentle nagging, a father with loving discipline, and a friend with persuasive pleading, and a shepherd calling his sheep to safety.

Paul also wrote
First Corinthians
Romans

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
Acts
The Gospels
King James Bible

Amos

Amos was a shepherd in Judah who God called to deliver a message to his nation, its sister nation Israel and the surrounding countries. His tenure as a prophet occurred during the reigns of Uzziah in Judah and Jeroboam in Israel. His message had three components: an indictment of the nations for their sins, a warning of the oppression to come from occupying nations and a hopeful vision of the kingdom to come.

Amos warned the people, and particularly called out the leaders of the nations, that God saw their sins and He would not tolerate them forever. In particular, greed was rampant. People used dishonesty and force to gain wealth, especially to exploit those who were already poor. The leaders of the nations were complicit and expanded their own wealth by these means.

The luxurious lifestyles of these aristocrats was not to last. Amos warned them of the judgment to come in the form of subjugation to a foreign empire. That empire would be Babylon.

Like many of his contemporaries, Amos had a vision of a future restoration. Israel would be restored to nationhood for a while after the end of its occupation by Babylon (and later Persia), but these prophetic visions also extended the unending kingdom of Christ.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in

Isaiah

Second Chronicles

Amos. The Holy Bible. New King James Version. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

First Samuel

First Samuel.  The Holy Bible.  New King James Version.  Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

First Samuel tells of the establishment of a monarchy in Israel, especially the rise of David from shepherd to king.  It is named for the prophet Samuel, a principal person in the book.

Samuel was the son of Elkanah and Hannah.  Hannah was one of Elkanah’s two wives.  Elkanah loved Hannah and doted on her, but she had no children, which grieved her and made her feel inferior to Elkanah’s other wife, Peninnah.  She prayed that she would have a son and promised to dedicate him to the Lord.  That is what happened.

Samuel helped the priests from the time he was a boy.  As a child he heard God’s voice.  God told the boy He would do things in Israel so astounding that hearing it would make your ears tingle.

It started with the overthrow of wicked priests.  The Ark of the Covenant fell into the hands of the Philistines and would not return to Israel in Samuel’s lifetimes.

As a prophet, Samuel led Israel in the manner that the judges before him did.  The people began to clamber for a king so they could be a nation like the others around them.  Samuel was understandably hurt by the rejection.  God told the prophet they were really rejecting Him.  He saw fit to give them a king anyway.

Saul was the first king of Israel.  Like many modern leaders, he was tall and handsome. 

Unfortunately, he was week.  He craved approval from the people and was jealous of his position and power.  Eventually, his disobedience was too much and God sought out another king.

David did not immediately become king.  He was still youth when he was anointed by Samuel.  God led him through a series of events to prove David, the most famous being the battle with the giant Goliath.  David became a great general in Saul’s army, a fast friend of Saul’s son Jonathan, and popular with the people.

Saul’s jealousy of David was severe.  David had to get of the country.  He lived in foreign lands where he was permitted, along with many fighting men who were loyal to him and their families.

Israel had enemies all around and it was the king’s job to lead the defense, through diplomacy or war.  Saul faced capture during a battle and fell on his sword rather than face humiliation in the hands of his enemies.  Most of Saul’s family was wiped out, including Jonathan.

David became king of the portion of Israel called Judah and later the whole nation.  Samuel was a witness and participant in these events.  His death is described at the end of the book.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in

Joshua

Judges

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