In the Matthew passage, I have to laugh at a mistake I made for so many years and which I heard others make -- until our pastor pointed out something. And I remember shaking my head at how ignorant I had been!
Who wears sheep's clothes? NOT A WOLF! A Shepherd wears wool clothing. It is the cheapest for him! A false shepherd has the heart of a wolf, but all those pictures of wolves coming to prey on the sheep dressed up like a sheep were so silly!
It is the false shepherd that is being spoken of here. "INWARDLY" they are ferocious wolves!
Then this entire passage comes into focus. Their teaching CANNOT bear good fruit, just as the teaching of the true message of Christ cannot bear bad fruit. The fruits here are the results of what is taught, not lifestyles.
This goes immediately into the passage John mentions above. "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord Lord'...."
Again, this is talking about the false teachers. They have done false miracles, proclaimed falsely in the name of the Lord... I am betting we could all name a few names right now of some good examples of these men and women.
And "Depart from me; I never knew you..."
This is not a 'knowing' in the recognition of who someone is. This is a 'knowing' which is intimate -- Christ living in you through the Holy Spirit.
In Acts, Peter has learned the lesson we all must learn and learn well: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accpets men from every nation who fear him and do what is right..."
and a little later we read that "The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles."
I am reminded of an old Negro Spiritual:
"Children go where I send thee..."
Psalm 18 -- I am positive this psalm has, in the middle of it, reference to a natural and widespread catastrophe completely separate from the Flood catastrophe of Noah. The Lord is known to operate through nature, and David points this out quite clearly here. But what else is involved?
Earthquakes, volcanism -- vv7-8
One or more asteroid or meteorite impacts -- v. 9
Clouds and darkness; possibly a result of all the above, along with great winds -- vv 9-11
Hail (since this can mean rocks as well as ice, this may be, again, meteorite showers coming to the ground or it may be the hail from the turbulent skies at that point) -- v.11
Lightning -- v. 11
More than your 'average' thunderings -- v. 13
Giant tsunamis -- v. 15 (a tsunami will first roll back the water FROM the land, leaving the sea floor exposed for a ways out before it hits)
In short, I don't think this is figurative language! Verse 15 speaks of the Lord's rebuke. Would this be the Babel catastrophe? The events certainly would fit in with the multi-catastrophe model, and such a catastrophic series of happening would be sure to scatter people far and wide.
Whatever this was, David is recalling it as a picture of this time in his own life, when everything seems to be threatening him. The
"cords of death" had entangled him, but God heard him, and 'brought me out into a spacious place.'
I must say, though, I honestly have trouble with David's crediting himself with being righteous by the way he had followed the Lord's law. Maybe I just need to meet David in heaven to find out what he was talking about here?.... [img]smile.gif[/img]
And onto the Genesis Gallop -- I think Clint covered it fine. Both these chapters show Joseph's character. He is considered by many expositors to be a 'type' of Christ, and this would be part of that 'type.' He refuses temptation and he credits God with anything he can do which exposes the truth.
Oh, Clint, I can't talk now. I'm going to go lick a flagpole. It's ALMOST cold enough outside.... just a few more minutes....
It only took the fire department half an hour to gete me unstuck the other night. But they were so nice, I thought it would be fun to get together with them again....
Besides, it's a great dietary method. Who can eat after that much pain?
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