Author Archives: Peter Jones

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September 2, 2017

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Malachi

Malachi 1:1-5

malachi

Background
538 B.C. Cyrus, King of Persia, issues a decree allowing Israel to return to the land. (II Chron. 36:22-23, Ezra 1)
538 B.C. First return to Israel takes place under Zerubbabel. (Ezra 1-6)
536 B.C. Restoration of the temple begins, but stalls.
520 B.C. Haggai and Zechariah are sent by God to encourage Israel to finish building the temple. (Ezra 5:1-2)
515 B.C. The temple is finished.
460 B.C. God sends Malachi to prepare the people for the ministry of Ezra and Nehemiah.
458 B.C. Ezra returns to the land. (Ezra 7-10)
445 B.C. Nehemiah returns to help rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

The general dating of Malachi is pretty clear. He prophesied during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. This can be seen from the following facts. First, he prophesied during a time when the temple and priesthood were established and things had become routine. Thus he had to prophesy following the rebuilding of the temple under Zerubbabel, Haggai, and Zechariah. Second, he uses the term “governor” in 1:8. This is a Persian term, again indicating a period when Israel was under Persian rule. Persia ruled from 550 B.C. until around 360 B.C. Finally, Malachi addresses many of the same issues found in Ezra and Nehemiah. For example, the issue of marriage to foreign wives is addressed in Ezra 9-10, Nehemiah 13:23-27 and Malachi 2:11-16. Also both Nehemiah and Malachi address the misuse of the tithe. (Nehemiah 13:10-13 and Malachi 3:8-10) All of this is to say that Malachi probably prophesied during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. Continue reading →

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September 1, 2017

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Colossians, Pastoral, Sanctification, Work and Labor

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Dangers of Being a Man Pleaser

 

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Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God. (Colossians 3:22, KJV)

 

Paul warns us in this passage to make sure we serve God and not just our employers in our vocations. When a man first gets a job he usually has a great desire to impress his boss. Of course, this is good. But Paul tells us this is insufficient. What are the dangers of “eyeservice” and “menpleasing?” (By the way, the ESV version says, “people pleasers.” That is lame.) Before we note the dangers let’s be clear on what Paul is saying. He is not saying we should aim to displease our “masters according to the flesh.” All employees should seek to honor their bosses. But Paul is saying that our ultimate allegiance is to God. Paul closes this verse by focusing on singleness of heart, which means a whole-hearted devotion to God. We are to fear God. We are to obey our masters, but our hearts are to be completely devoted to our Lord.  What are the dangers of man’s approval being our ultimate goal instead of God’s? Continue reading →

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August 30, 2017

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Feminism, Pastoral, Sin, Sodomy, Women

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Mere Sexuality

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The Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) released the Nashville Statement this week.  I have had more disagreements with the CBMW over the years. Initially I was enthralled by them. But more reading, in particular historical reading, has led me away from them. However, this statement is good. It lays out mere sexuality, as in basic, very basic, Biblical sexual ethics concerning marriage, sodomy and transgenders. Initially, I thought the statement was too basic to be worthwhile. But the response by many progressive Christians has vindicated the need for it. Surprise, surprise many Christians are not as firm on the basics as they let on.  Continue reading →

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August 29, 2017

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Scripture, The Church

Genuine Submission

Here is a wonderful quote from Stephen Clark’s book Man and Woman in Christ: 

Christians are often tempted by a selective submission [to God’s Word]. Some scriptural teaching is very attractive to them, and they find in themselves an admiration and a willingness to submit to it. Modern Christians usually  find it easier to be enthusiastic about Christian teaching on God’s fatherhood [you can tell this was written in the 80’s] or about love of others. Some scriptural teaching, however, contradicts their desires. Some may even repulse them. To be sure, often the difficulty is genuine uncertainty about how to respond to some part of scripture. Often a person may know that the scripture is saying something on a given subject, but can be uncertain how to understand or apply what is said. Despite some uncertainties, for most Christians there remains much scriptural teaching that is sufficiently clear, or could become sufficiently clear with more investigation, but which they find themselves unwilling to submit to. The genuineness of submission is tested precisely at these points. They prove their submission is genuine, and not a mere pretense, when they submit to the Lord in something which is personally difficult and which may lose them the respect of the world around him. (Emphasis mine)

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August 26, 2017

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Fathers, John Calvin, Marriage, Reformation

Parental Consent to Marriage in Geneva

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In most cultures parental involvement in a child’s marriage was a given. Children assumed that the approval, especially of the father, was good and in  many cases necessary for a marriage to move forward. Geneva was no different. Eight of the first ten articles in Geneva’s 1546 Marriage Ordinance were devoted to parental consent. The prominence of parental consent issues in this document show the importance of the doctrine to John Calvin. Here is a summary of those eight articles.

1. Any son under twenty and daughter under eighteen years of age had to have the father’s consent to marry. After that age they were free to marry whom they wished though the father’s consent was still desirable. Continue reading →