Titus 1:1-10, “New” Things in Kind/Time (2)

We completed “kainos” (things new in kind or substance).  Now “neos” (things new in time).  Be sure to note what is on both lists.

neos (n):

·       Mt. 9:17; Mk. 5:22; Lk. 5:37-39: The wine is new in time; the wineskins kainos.

·       Lk. 15:12-13: In the story of the Prodigal the younger son is neos.

·       Lk. 22:26: He that is greatest, let him be as the younger.

·       Jn. 21:18: Jesus reminds Peter, when he was younger he did as he pleased.

·       Ac. 5:6: The young men carried out the body of Ananias.

·       1 Cor. 5:7: Purge out the old leaven that you may be a new lump.

·       Col. 3:10: Put on the new (“man” is italicized, not in the text but supplied by the translators) who is renewed in knowledge acc. to the image of the Creator.

·       1 Tim. 5:1,2,11,14; Titus 2:4,6: Speaks of younger men, women, widows.

·       Heb. 12:24: Jesus Mediator of a new covenant.

·       1 Pt. 5:5: Let the younger submit to the elders.

Now, let us consider these terms.  First, in Rev. 21, it appears that the “new heavens and new earth” are a new creation, not just the latest in time. But if you are wondering about the differences between the two words, consider where they appear together in the same context.  The wine is new in the sense of the latest batch; the wineskins must be a completely new creation; you can’t just patch the old and reuse it.  The “New Covenant” is both something substantially new, so that the old is “vanishing away.”  Yet, it is also newer in the sense of time.  In Heb. 12:24 the writer is contrasting Mt. Sinai with Mt. Zion, the older and the newer in time, so Jesus is Mediator of a “new in time” covenant.  In Heb. 9:15 Jesus is Mediator of a “new in substance” covenant because the contrast is with the older covenant that didn’t work; it needs a total replacement.  In Mark the “tongues” are new in kind, not just time. Thus, in Ac. 2:4 they are “other” tongues in the sense of being unlike anything the speakers had ever known.  In Romans our “new” walk is something unlike we have ever done.  Thus, we should no longer walk as the Gentiles walk (Eph. 4:17).

Rev. 21:1-5, “New” Things in Kind/Time (1)

In Rev. 21:1,2,5 we read of a new heavens and new earth.  In what sense are they new?  Is it the old heavens and earth restored?  Or is it a complete new creation?  A comparison of the two Greek words “new” in the NT is helpful.  The two words are “neos” and “kainos.”  Let me also tell you that Richard Trench in Synonyms of the New Testament distinguishes them as “neos” (new in time) and “kainos” (new in kind, substance).  I mention this in advance, not to color your minds, but so that as we list all the uses of each word, you can consider his thoughts as to their validity. and so you can meditate on things God makes new.

kainos (adj): new, as in recently made, unworn, as in a new kind, uncommon.

·       Mt. 9:17; Mk. 2:21-22; Lk. 5:36abc,38: Put new (neos) wine in new wineskins. The new piece of cloth on the old wineskin won’t work.  2:22 same (neos/kainos) as 9:17.

·       Mt. 13:52: K. of heaven like a scribe who brings from his treasures old things and new.  Interesting.  The scribes are the meticulous students of Scripture.  Jesus says the scribes teachings must now include new treasures.

·       Mt. 26:28-29; Mk. 14:24,25; Lk. 22:20; 1 Cor. 11:25: At the Lord’s table, the juice is the blood of the new covenant.  Jesus will not drink it again until He drinks it new in His Father’s kingdom.

·       Mt. 27:60; Lk. 19:41: Jesus’ body laid in a new tomb, hewn out of the rock, in which no one had ever been lain.

·       Mk. 1:27: People ask of Jesus’ teaching, what new doctrine is this?

·       Mk. 16:17: Believers will speak with new tongues.

·       Jn. 13:34: A new command, to love one another.

·       Ac. 17:19,21: Paul asked by Greeks in Athens about his new teaching. All they did was talk about things new.

·       2 Cor. 3:6: Paul a minister of the new covenant.

·       2 Cor. 5:17: Believers are a new creation; all things have become new.

·       Gal. 6:15: What works is not circ. or uncirc. but a new creation.

·       Eph. 2:15: Christ has created one new man from the two, making peace.

·       Eph. 4:24: Put on new man, created acc. to God in true righteousness & holiness.

·       Heb. 8:8,13; 9:15: A new covenant promised, new meaning the old would vanish away; Christ is Mediator of a new covenant.

·       2 Peter 3:13ab; Rev. 21:1ab: We look for a new heavens and new earth.

·       1 Jn. 2:7-8; 2 Jn. 1:5: First, not a new command but an old one, to believe; then a new command, to love one another. To love one another is not new in the sense that it had been around since the start of Christianity.

·       Rev. 2:17: A white stone with a new name given to overcomers.

·       Rev. 3:12; 21:2: The New Jerusalem is the “City of My God.” Overcomer receives “My new name.”

·       Rev. 5:9; 14:3: A new song sung to the Lamb. A voice from heaven sings a new song before the throne.

·       Rev. 21:5: Behold, I make all things new.

kainotes (n):

·       Rom. 6:4; 7:6: Through our death and resurrection we are designed to walk in newness of life and serve in newness of Spirit.

Jeremiah 8:8-17, Sawfer, Old Testament Scribes

The Gospels make several references to “scribes,” often connected by Jesus with the Pharisees.  Some translations call them “lawyers.” They were experts in the Law of Moses, being those who copied the Scriptures and those who studied them.  They would have provided much fodder for the Pharisees who considered themselves keepers of the Law.

These “scribes,” while not mentioned in the Mosaic Law alongside the priests and Levites and prophets, nevertheless have their roots later in the OT.  The Hebrew word for “scribe” (sawfer) means to “count” and often recording that count by “inscription.”  It is used 161x in 154 verses, the first being in Gen. 15:5 when the LORD told Abraham to look to heaven and count the stars if you can number them. 

On 50 occasions the KJV translates the word “scribe.”  Most of these come from the historical books, and Isaiah, where they refer to the “king’s scribe.”  This was the “clerk and recorder” in OT times.  Obviously, he did lots of counting and recording, not just numbers but history and events during a king’s reign.  Isaiah 33:18 says, Your heart will meditate on terror: Where is the scribe?  Where is he who weighs?  Where is he who counts the towers?

But then there was Baruch and Ezra.  Baruch was Jeremiah’s “secretary” before the Babylonian captivity. Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote on it at the instruction of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And besides, there were added to them many similar words (Jer. 36:32). Later we see that Baruch was a man with authority, respected by the people (Jer. 43:3).

Jeremiah also speaks of “scribes” in today’s Scripture reading, that they were in cahoots with the false prophets of the day who were preaching “peace, peace.”  This is valuable context for Jesus’ words for the scribes in the NT.  In Mark 12 Jesus noted that it was the scribes who interpreted the Scriptures, saying that the Christ is the son of David (12:35-38).  But then He rebukes them for how they lived only for themselves (12:39-40).  As Jeremiah put it, they forsook God’s Law to follow the dictates of their own hearts (8:13-14).

After the Babylonian captivity there was Ezra.  He is called a “scribe” with this descriptive phrase: a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses (Ezra 7:6), having prepared his heart to seek the Law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel (7:10), expert in the words of the commandments of the LORD, and of His statutes to Israel (7:11), a scribe of the Law of the God of heaven (7:12,21; so called by the Persians).  In Nehemiah Ezra was told to bring the Book of the Law of Moses (8:1), which he stood on a platform (8:4) and read publicly.  Ezra shows us what a scribe could be and how he could be used of God in the society of Israel.  They did not have to be corrupt as the tended to be in Jesus’ day.

Zeph. 3:14-20, The Prophets and God’s Message of Love

The Prophets use “love” in the ways we have seen already in the OT.  There are the inappropriate loves (bribes, Isa. 1:23), false prophets and priests (Jer. 5:31), the sun, moon and host of heaven (Jer. 8:2), wandering from the Lord (Jer. 14:10), shame more than glory (Hos. 4:18), the evil rather than the good (Mic. 3:2), sacrifices offered with an evil heart (Amos 4:5), and a false oath (Zech. 8:17). Frequently God calls attention to Israels “lovers” (the nations, and thus their gods, from whom Israel sought help, Isa. 57:8; Jer. 22:20,22; 30:14; Lam. 2:1,19; Ezek. 16:33,36,37ab; 23:5,9,22; Hosea 2:5,7,10,12,13; 8:9; Mal. 2:11).  There are a few references to “friends” which use the “love” term (Isa. 41:3 where Abraham is God’s friend; Jer. 20:4,6; Zech. 13:6, Christ, wounded in the house of my friends).

But what I find wonderful in the Prophets, in the messages of doom and calls to repentance, is their affirmation of God’s love for Israel. 

·       Isa. 43:4: Since I have loved you, therefore I will give men for you and people for your life, speaking of Israel’s future redemption.

·       Isa. 63:9: In all their affliction He was afflicted. … In His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He bore them and carried them all the days of old.

·       Jer. 31:3: I have loved Thee with an everlasting love!

·       Hos. 3:1: As a picture of God’s love, He told Hosea to Go again, love a woman who is loved by a lover and is committing adultery, just like the love of the LORD for the children of Israel.

·       Hos. 11:1,4: When Israel was a child, I loved Him. … I drew them with gentle cords, with bands of love.  And I was to them as those who take the yoke from their neck.  I stooped and fed them.

·       Hos. 14:4: I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely.

·       Zeph. 3:17: The LORD your God in your midst, the Mighty One to save; He will rejoice over you with gladness.  He will quiet you with His love.  He will rejoice over you with singing.

·       Mal. 1:2: I have loved you … in what way have you loved us? … Jacob I have loved; but Esau I have hated.

In response to God’s faithful love, the Prophets call Israel to love God in return.

·       Isa. 56:6: Even the nations will love the name of the LORD to be His servants.

·       Amos 5:15: Hate the evil and love the good; establish justice in the gate.

·       Micah 6:8: What does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

Lastly, when it was time for God to keep His word and bring Israel back from Babylon, Daniel could pray, O LORD, great and awesome God who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him!  This is the God Moses communed with on Mt. Sinai (Ex. 34:6-7).  He had not and does not change!

Psalm 61

This is a Psalm of David.  David is a man’s man, so to speak.  He killed 200 Philistines on his own once.  He led an army.  He ruled a nation.  But he also knew the love of a friend, a peer, Jonathan; and he knew the overwhelming grief of Jonathan’s death.  He knew the heartache of family turmoil and the death of grown sons.  He knew what it was to be used and exalted by God, as in the killing of the giant.  He knew what it was to be severely rebuked and humbled by God, as in the tragedy that surrounded his first attempt to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem.  He knew the trouble he brought upon his family and the citizens of his kingdom by his own selfishness and pride.  He had numerous situations in his life whereby he might have said, “My heart is overwhelmed.”  And apparently he is in the midst of one of these overwhelming situations.  And in that moment he is crying out to God.

And what does he cry?  Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.  Think about that for a moment.  What insight!  He is in the “slough of despond” or on the “narrow way” or whatever you might call it.  He has looked inside himself and what he sees is a heart that is weak, faint, and unable to advance.  This tells us that he is not ignoring the situation or blaming it on others or making excuses for himself.  He is facing it head on but it has overcome him.  He does not see in himself the resources to go on. 

What does he do but to look outside of himself?  He cries out to the God that he has learned to trust.  In smaller ways perhaps, or at least what he now might consider easier situations than what he now faces, God has sheltered him.  God has been the strong tower in which he has found protection from the enemy.  God has blessed him in the past and he anticipates will do so for years to come.  But he does not say, “God, get me out of this mess and back where I was before.”  He does not simply say, “God, protect me.”  He says, “God, advance me.  Take me to a better place than I was before my heart was overwhelmed.  LEAD ME to the rock that is higher than I.”  What a prayer for these “defining moments” in our lives.

Note the commitment, the faith of David.  I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings.  In v7 abide means to sit down, to remain, to be in a restful situation.  In v4 abide is a different Hebrew word that has the idea of turning aside, as in turning off the road to a place of lodging.  David is saying he will turn aside to the place of fellowship with God.  He will seek God in the place of His dwelling.  The wings that he trusts in for shelter are not those of the hen that covers over her chicks in time of trouble.  That’s a nice picture, but here these wings are those of the cherubim that cover over the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle.  David pleads with God to lead him; he then commits to a relationship with God in which God can lead him.  For David this happens via pilgrimage, going to the temple.  For us this happens via our communion with God in the word and prayer.

Lastly note the effect of this approach to the overwhelming moments in our lives.  David has a confidence that God, by His mercy and truth (v7), will preserve him.  He will preserve him forever as an object of praise to God; and He will preserve him daily in faithful service to God (v8). 

How do we handle these overwhelming situations?  Do we face up to the realities of the situation?  Do we cry out to Someone who is trustworthy?  Are we pleading with Him, not simply to get us unstuck, but to lead us to a higher place?  Are we submitting ourselves to God so that we are able to be led? 

Song 3:1-5; 8:6-7, More on Love from Solomon

There are a few references to “love” in Ecclesiastes.  Consider “love” from the Preacher, the Son of David, King in Jerusalem (1:1). 

·       3:8: There is a time to love and a time to hate. 

·       5:10ab: He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity.  We must evaluate our “loves,” ultimately by their connection to the loving of God with all our heart, etc.

·       9:1: People know neither love nor hatred by anything they see before them.  Solomon is searching out the work of God.  What Solomon saw was that there was not that much difference in terms of life experience of those who are good and those who are wicked.  Can’t determine God’s view of you by the things (love or hatred) you have experienced.  Everyone experiences these things.

·       9:6: When a person dies, their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished; Nevermore will they have a share In anything done under the sun.

·       9:9: One of Solomon’s conclusive statements … Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which He has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity; for that is your portion in life, and in the labor which you perform under the sun.

That final “love” in Ecclesiastes leads us to the Song of Solomon where you would expect there to be many references to love.

·       1:3,4,7: Speaking of her beloved, she says the virgins love you, rightly do they (the daughters of Jerusalem) love you, and you are the one I love.  If you see Christ in this love story this is a good start: many love the Beloved, Christ, including His bride to be (the Shulamite).

·       2:4,5,7: The Shulamite says to the Daughters of Jerusalem: his banner over me was love; I am lovesick; and do not awaken love until it pleases.

·       3:1,2,3,4,5: By night on my bed I sought the one I love; I sought him, but I did not find him. Thus, I will seek the one I love.  And to the watchmen: Have you seen the one I love?  Then, scarcely had I passed by them when I found the one I love.  I held him and would not let him go.  Then again, do not awaken love.

·       3:10: Solomon arrives on the palanquin whose interior is paved with love.

·       5:8: After the difficult situation, she again is seeking her Beloved and tells the daughters of Jerusalem, if they see him, to tell him I am lovesick.

·       7:6; 8:4: The Beloved says to her, How fair and how pleasant you are, O love, with your delights! Then again, do not awaken love.

·       8:6,7ab: For love is as strong as death, Jealousy as cruel as the grave; Its flames are flames of fire, A most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love, Nor can the floods drown it. If a man would give for love All the wealth of his house, It would be utterly despised.  A magnificent description of marital love!

Prov. 15:9-17, Wise Love

I believe it will also be helpful to record all the uses of “love” in Proverbs.  Again, pay attention to the object of love. 

·       1:22: How long, you simple (naïve) ones, will you love simplicity (naivete).

·       3:12: For whom the LORD loves He corrects (Dt. 8:5; Hb. 12:6; Rev. 3:19).

·       4:6: Love her (wisdom) and she will keep you.

·       5:19: Always be enraptured with her (your wife) love.  This reminds us of an important aspect of “love” which is that we must be good recipients of love, whether of a wife, a friend, or the LORD.

·       7:18ab: The harlot entices the simpleton, Come, let us take our fill of love until morning, let us delight ourselves with love.

·       8:17ab,21,36: Wisdom says, I love those who love me.  Again, That I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth, that I may fill their treasuries.  And again, All those who hate me love death.

·       9:8: Rebuke a wise man and he will love you.

·       10:12: Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins.

·       12:1ab: Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge; he who hates correction is stupid (yes, this is the actual NKJV translation).

·       13:24: He who loves (his son) disciplines him promptly.

·       14:20: The poor man is hated by his neighbor, but the rich has many friends.

·       15:9,12,17: The LORD loves him who follows righteousness.  A scoffer does not love the one who corrects him.  Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a fatted calf with hatred.

·       16:13: Kings love him who speaks what is right.

·       17:9,17,19ab: He who covers a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates friends.  A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.  He who loves transgression loves strife.

·       18:21,24: Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.  There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

·       19:8: He who gets wisdom loves his own soul.

·       20:13: Do not love sleep lest you come to poverty.

·       21:17ab: He who loves pleasure will be a poor man.  He who loves wine and oil will not be rich.

·       22:11: He who loves purity of heart, and has grace on his lips, the king will be his friend.

·       27:5-6: Open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed.  Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

·       29:3: Whoever loves wisdom makes his father rejoice.

Psalm 119:161-168, Love in the Psalms (2)

·       97:10: You who love the LORD, hate evil!  This is a command, not a description.

·       99:4: The King’s strength also loves justice. 

·       109:4-5,17: In return for my love they are my accusers, but I give myself to prayer.  Thus they have rewarded evil for good, and hatred for my love.  More of David’s experiencing hatred at the hands of those who should love him.  Thus, part of the imprecatory prayer: As he loved cursing, so let it come to him.

·       116:1: I love the LORD, because He has heard my voice and my supplications.

·       119:47-48: I will delight myself in Your commandments (misvah, something commanded) which I love.  My hands also I will lift up to Your commandments, which I love.

·       119:97: Oh, how I love Your law (torah, a law, direction or instruction).  It is my meditation all the day.

·       119:113,119: I hate the double-minded, but I love Your law.  You put away all the wicked of the earth like dross; therefore I love Your testimonies.

·       119:127: Given the fact that men regard God’s law as void/empty, Therefore I love Your commandments more than gold, yes, than fine gold!

·       119:132: Look upon me and be merciful to me, as Your custom is toward those who love Your name.  God will faithfully bless those who love Him!

·       119:140: Your word (imra, something spoken) is very pure; therefore Your servant loves it.

·       119:159: Consider how I love Your precepts (piqqudim, something appointed); revive me, O LORD, according to Your lovingkindness.

·       119:163,165,167: I hate and abhor lying, but I love Your law.  Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble.  My soul keeps Your testimonies (eda, something witnessed, observed and then affirmed), and I love them exceedingly.

Take a moment for a deep breath, after Ps. 119, to consider your love for the word of God!  Perhaps you might review: how is this love for God’s word evident in our lives?  How do we handle it?  What fruit does it produce in our lives?

·       122:6: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; may they prosper who love you.

·       145:20: The LORD preserves all who love Him.  Here is an opportunity to note the connection between loving the LORD and loving His word.  He preserves those who love Him.  Also, those who love His word will not stumble (119:165).

·       146:8: In a list of blessings from the LORD in the lives of the saints, the LORD loves the righteous.