We Uphold the Law

"Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law."

Romans 3:31 is a transitional point between Paul’s argument in chapter 3 and the illustrations he provides from Abraham’s life in chapter 4. Chapter 4 illustrates the points he makes in chapter 3. The term “law” in verse 31 refers to the entire OT, the teachings regarding the sinful condition of man and the redemption found, through faith, in Christ Jesus. That can be easily demonstrated by the context. Paul quotes several passages, mainly from Psalms and refers to them as law:

9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin;
10 as it is written, "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;....
19 ¶ Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God;

Paul says that the whole world is condemned by the testimony of the law. He also says that the righteousness of God apart from the law has been manifested. The law and the prophets testify that righteousness is attained by faith:

21 But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;

Romans 3:27 contrasts the “law of faith” with the ”law of works.” Paul’s point here is that the law the OT was always about faith. He uses the examples of faith from Abraham’s life in chapter 4 to illustrate his thesis in chapter 3.

When he says faith establishes the law, what he means is that because faith was always the message of the OT, those who believe in Jesus confirm (2Co. 13:1) or uphold (NRSV,NIV) or establish (KJV,NASB) the OT teachings about salvation by faith.

Paul then moves into chapter 4 to illustrate how the OT, through the experience of Abraham, taught salvation by faith, apart from works.

Circumcision

The significance of circumcision as a redemptive element in OT times is clearly illustrated by the plight of Ishmael. Although he was circumcised, he was ultimately rejected and cast out (See Genesis 17 and 21). While the ritual was important, the OT sometimes emphasized the inner significance of the outward act:

De 10:16 "So circumcise your heart, and stiffen your neck no longer.

De 30:6 "Moreover the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.

Jer 4:4 "Circumcise yourselves to the LORD And remove the foreskins of your heart, Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Or else My wrath will go forth like fire And burn with none to quench it, Because of the evil of your deeds."

Paul clearly explains that circumcision was a sign of justification by faith:

Rom 4:11 and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them,

He explains clearly that baptism is the Christian equivalent of circumcision:

Col 2:11 and in Him you were also circumcised <4059> with a circumcision <4061> made without hands, 12 having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision <4061> of Christ;

The NT offers three other alternatives to circumcision:

1Co 7:19 Circumcision <4061> is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God.

Ga 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision <4061> nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.

Ga 6:15 For neither is circumcision <4061> anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.

True circumcision is clearly explained:

Php 3:3 for we are the true circumcision <4061>, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh,

The Pledge

The “pledge” is introduced in the story of Judah and Tamar (Genesis 38:12-20). After Judah negotiated with Tamar, she asked for a pledge. The pledge was a down payment or deposit which assured her that the full price would be paid later:

15 "When Judah saw her, he thought she was a harlot, for she had covered her face.
16 So he turned aside to her by the road, and said, "Here now, let me come in to you"; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, "What will you give me, that you may come in to me?"
17 He said, therefore, "I will send you a young goat from the flock." She said, moreover, "Will you give a pledge <06162> until you send it?"
18 He said, "What pledge <06162> shall I give you?" And she said, "Your seal <02368> and your cord, and your staff that is in your hand." So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she conceived by him."

When it was discovered that Tamar had become pregnant, Judah demanded that she be burned. Tamar produced the pledge and was set free. One might say that she was justified in judgment by her possession of the pledge. Judah stated, “She is more righteous than I” The term righteous is Strong’s # 06663. The word represented by that number is often translated as “justify” in the OT

The term pledge is also used in the following NT passages:

2Co 1:22 who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge <728>.

2Co 5:5 Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge <728>.

Eph 1:13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
14 who is given as a pledge <728> of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

Sealed by the Spirit

2 Co 1:21 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, 22 who also sealed <4972> us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.

Eph 1:13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed <4972> in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,

Eph 4:30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed <4972> for the day of redemption.

Revelation 7:1-9 describes the sealing of 144,000 members of the tribes of Israel:

Re 7:3 saying, "Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed <4972> the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads."

Revelation 14 says that this group has the father’s name in their foreheads:

1 ¶ Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads.

Those who serve God in the New Jerusalem are portrayed as having God’s name in their forehead:

3 There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him;
4 they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.

On the one hand, Scripture is clear that the Holy Spirit seals believers. On the other hand, it also clearly describes the seal as the Father’s name.

Redemption

Eph 1:7 In Him we have redemption <629> through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace

Col 1:14 in whom we have redemption <629>, the forgiveness of sins.

As evinced by the texts above, the forgiveness of sins is one aspect of redemption. Another is the “redemption of our body” at a future time:

Ro 8:23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption <629> of our body.

Eph 1:14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption <629> of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

Eph 4:30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption <629>.

This dimension of redemption clearly takes place at the second coming of Christ:

Lk 21:27 Then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN A CLOUD with power and great glory.
28 But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption <629> is drawing near.

Hebrews 11:35 offers a different understanding of redemption. The word "release," translated as "deliverance" in the KJV, is the same Greek word usually translated as “redemption”:

Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release <629>, so that they might obtain a better resurrection;

The Obedience of Faith

The obedience of faith is mentioned in these passages:

Ro 1:5 "through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience <5218> of faith <4102> among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake,"

Ro 16:26 "but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience <5218> of faith <4102>;"

Ac 6:7 "The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming <5219> obedient <5219> to the faith <4102>."

Other passages make clear just what it is to obey the faith.

16 "But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?"

As the above parallelism shows, to “obey the gospel” is to “believe.”

Hebrews 4: 1-6 juxtaposes faith and obedience:

2 "For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.
3 For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said, "AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH, THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST," although His works were finished from the foundation of the world."

Verse 6 summarizes by saying because of disobedience, the people failed to enter the rest. Verses two and three indicate that entering the rest was based upon belief or unbelief:

6 "Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience,"

Peter also considered obedience and belief to be one and the same. Note that while verse six says those who believe will not be disappointed, verses seven and eight say that those who disbelieve are disobedient:

6 "For this is contained in Scripture: "BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED."
7 This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, "THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone,"
8 and, "A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE"; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed."

John recognized the relationship between faith and obedience in the following text:

Joh 3:36 "He who believes <4100> in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey <544> the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

The Sacrifice of Issac

Abraham was 10 years older than Sarah (Genesis 17:17).

Abraham was 75 years old when he left Haran (Genesis 12:4).

He had lived in Canaan 10 years when he took Hagar (Genesis 16:3).

Ishmael was born when Abraham was 86 years old (Genesis 16:16).

Abraham was 99 years old when he was circumcised (Genesis 17:24).

Abraham was 100 years old when Issac was born (Genesis 21:5).

Sarah was 90 when Issac was born.

Sarah died at 127 years of age (Genesis 23:1).

Scripture doesn’t say exactly when Abraham believed God’s promise and was justified by faith (Gen. 15:6). It happened sometime between the time he left Haran and the time he took Hagar. Scripture also doesn’t say how old Issac was when he was offered upon the altar. It appears to have taken place before Sarah died.

From the existing testimony we can deduce that Abraham received the justifying promise before he was 85. Abraham was ten years older than Sarah. He was 137 when she died. Since Sarah was 90 when Issac was born, Issac could not have been more than 37 when he was offered. He was strong enough to carry the wood to the place of sacrifice and intelligent enough to reason (Genesis 22:6,7).

Issac is referred to as a “lad” (Genesis 22:12). Ishmael is called a “lad” (Genesis 21:12, 17, 18). He was at least 14 at the time. He was born when Abraham was 86. Issac was born when Abraham was 100. Ishmael was driven away when Issac was weaned. The age of weaning is not disclosed in Scripture. Samuel's age at weaning is not disclosed, although he was old enough to help Eli around the temple (1 Sam. 1:20-2:11).

Issac was between 14 and 37 when he was offered. If Abraham believed God and was justified just one year before he took Hagar, he would have been 84.There was at least 15 years between the time Abraham was justified and the time Issac was offered. There may have been nearly 35 years between those events.

James asks, “Was not Abraham justified when he offered Issac upon the altar (James 2:21)? Although the answer, in the mind of James is yes, Genesis tells us that Abraham was justified between 15 and 35 years before, when he believed the promise of God.

Perfecting the Conscience

The perfection of the conscience is introduced in Hebrews 9:

8 ¶ The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing,
9 which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience,
10 since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation.

One unfortunate shortfall of the Jewish ritual system was that it did not actually cleanse the conscience of the worshipper. The ritual washings could only clean the body, not the mind. Christ’s sacrifice was far superior because his blood actually purges the conscience of the believer:

13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, with the sprinkling of the ashes of a heifer, sanctifies those who have been defiled so that their flesh is purified,
14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to worship the living God (Hebrews 9:13,14 NRSV)!

Chapter 10 continues to elaborate upon the cleansing of the believer’s conscience:

1 ¶ For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near.
2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins?
3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year.

Hebrews is making its point by reference to the Day of Atonement. The cultic worshippers were never really cleansed from their sin. They were reminded each year on the Day of Atonement. And then the cycle started again. The people never really had rest from their sin. It was not purged from their conscience. They knew they would face it again on the DoA

To be perfect is to have no more remembrance or consciousness of of sins, as Hebrews 10:1,2 states. The conscience could not be cleansed like this in the Jewish ritual.

Christ, by one offering, has perfected forever them who are sanctified (Heb.10:14).

Verses 1 and 2 define perfection as having “no more consciousness of sins” Verse 14 tells us that we are perfected forever . The sanctified, according to Hebrews 9:13,14 are those whose conscience has been purged by the blood of Christ. They will never again face their sin, as the Jews did every year on the Day of Atonement.

Hebrews tells us that those whose conscience has been purged or cleansed by the blood of Christ [sanctified] will never again face their sins or call them to remembrance.

The Law in the New Testament

The term “law” is used numerous times in Scripture It is often defined by the context. The Greek word is [nomov]. In Strong’s Concordance, [nomov] has the number 3551.

Sometimes the “law” is referring to the writings of Moses:

Joh 1:17 For the Law <3551> was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.

Joh 7:19 "Did not Moses give you the Law <3551>, and yet none of you carries out the Law <3551>? Why do you seek to kill Me?"

In other examples, the law is distinguished from the prophets:
Joh 1:45 Philip *found Nathanael and *said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law <3551> and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."

Mt 5:17 "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law <3551> or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.

In one case, the law of Moses is distinguished from both the prophets and the Psalms:

Lu 24:44 Now He said to them, "These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law <3551> of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled."

The following passages are quoted from Psalms. Jesus referred to them as “law”:

Joh 10:34 Jesus answered them, "Has it not been written in your Law <3551>, ‘I SAID, YOU ARE GODS’?

Joh 15:25 "But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law <3551>, ‘THEY HATED ME WITHOUT A CAUSE.’

The following passage, referred to as “law” is also likely a reference to Psalms:

Joh 12:34 The crowd then answered Him, "We have heard out of the Law <3551> that the Christ is to remain forever; and how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?"

Note the following passage from Isaiah. Paul calls it “law”:

1Co 14:21 In the Law <3551> it is written, "BY MEN OF STRANGE TONGUES AND BY THE LIPS OF STRANGERS I WILL SPEAK TO THIS PEOPLE, AND EVEN SO THEY WILL NOT LISTEN TO ME," says the Lord.

The following passage in Romans contains passages from Psalms and other OT books. After rehearsing them, Paul says, “Now whatever the law says…” He is calling the passages he just quoted, from various OT books, “law”:

9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin;
10 as it is written, "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;
11 THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;
12 ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE."
13 "THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING," "THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS";
14 "WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS";
15 "THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD,
16 DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS,
17 AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN."
18 "THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES."
19 ¶ Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God;
20 because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.

The term in "law" the NT may refer to the writings of Moses, the Psalms, or the Prophets.

Perfection and Mercy

Matthew 5:48 "Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect (SN#5046).

Luke 6:36 "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful (SN#3629) .

The Greek words [teleiov] (SN#5046) and [oiktermov] (SN#3629) are used interchangably in these passages. To be merciful is to be perfect. The context of the passage, in Matthew, says as much. We are admonished to be like our heavenly father, who lets the rain and sunshine fall on the just and unjust.

The word translated "merciful" in Luke is used just one other time in the NT:

Jas 5:11 We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful <3629>.

The word is used about 60 times in the LXX. It is often used as in the passage in James. It refers to the character of God in his gracious dealings. When David was given choice of judgment, he chose the Lord to judge him because of his mercies:

2Sa 24:14 Then David said to Gad, "I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of the LORD for His mercies (SN #3629) are great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man."

The term in the Greek OT 2 Sam 24:14 translated "mercies" is the same word or a closely related word translated as "merciful" in Luke 6:36.

Note: The "Apostolic Bible" translation of the LXX by Charles Vanderpool has coordinated the Strong's numbering system with the Greek OT. In Strong's, OT word numbers begin with a "0". In Vanderpool's system, the OT word numbers correspond to the Greek; therefore, no "0" appears in front of the number.

Note the use of the term in the following passages:

Ne 1:11 "O Lord, I beseech You, may Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to revere Your name, and make Your servant successful today and grant him compassion (SN#3629) before this man." Now I was the cupbearer to the king.

Ps 37:21 The wicked borrows and does not pay back, But the righteous is gracious (SN# 3629) and gives.

Ps 78:38 But He, being compassionate (SN#3629), forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them; And often He restrained His anger And did not arouse all His wrath.

Ps 103:13 (102:13) As a father pities (SN# 3629) his children, the Lord pities them that fear him.

Pr 12:10 ¶ A righteous man has pity (SN#3629) for the lives of his cattle; but the bowels of the ungodly are unmerciful.

There is a practical aspect involved with the term translated as merciful. People who are merciful lend, care for their children, their livestock, grant favors and so forth.

Christian Maturity

In the New Testament, a word derived from the Greek term [telov] (Strong's #5056) is often translated as “perfect.” It is also translated as “mature,” “fulfil,” and “finish”.

The [telov] derivative [teleiov], Strong's #5046, is translated as "mature" twice in 1 Corinthians:

Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature <5046>; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away (1Co 2:6);

Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature <5046>.(1Co 14:20).

The following passages all use the same Greek word. Some passages translate the Greek as “mature,” some translate it as “perfect.” The meaning is about the same in each passage.

Eph 4:13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature <5046> man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

Php 3:15 Let us therefore, as many as are perfect <5046>, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you;

Col 1:28 We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete <5046> in Christ.

Col 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of your number, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings, always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect <5046> and fully assured in all the will of God.

The idea of maturity is more fully developed in Hebrews:

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.

For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.

But solid food is for the mature <5046>, who because of practice have their senses trained,<1128> to discern good and evil.

Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity<5047>, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.

And this we will do, if God permits (Hebrews 5:13-6:3).

Note that the mature [perfect] are those who through practice have trained<1128> their senses to discern good from evil. Paul admonished Timothy to train or discipline himself for the purpose of godliness (1 Timothy 4:7).

Sanctuary Defiled

11 ¶ Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.
12 He did evil in the sight of the LORD his God; he did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet who spoke for the LORD.
13 He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar who had made him swear allegiance by God. But he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD God of Israel.

14 Furthermore, all the officials of the priests and the people were very unfaithful following all the abominations of the nations; and they defiled the house of the LORD which He had sanctified in Jerusalem.

15 The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to them again and again by His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place;
16 but they continually mocked the messengers of God, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, until there was no remedy.
17 Therefore He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or infirm; He gave them all into his hand.
18 All the articles of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king and of his officers, he brought them all to Babylon.
19 Then they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all its fortified buildings with fire and destroyed all its valuable articles.

Jeremiah and Ezekiel offered the following explanation of how Israel defiled the temple of the Lord:

Jer 7:30 "For the sons of Judah have done that which is evil in My sight," declares the LORD, "they have set their detestable things in the house which is called by My name, to defile it.

Jer 32:34 "But they put their detestable things in the house which is called by My name, to defile it.

Eze 5:11 ‘So as I live,’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘surely, because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable idols and with all your abominations, therefore I will also withdraw, and My eye will have no pity and I will not spare.

Sanctuary Destroyed

The destruction of the temple began in the reign of Jehoiakim. At that time Nebuchadnezzar advanced on Jerusalem. He took some of the temple items with him when he returned to Babylon:

5 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and he did evil in the sight of the LORD his God.
6 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against him and bound him with bronze chains to take him to Babylon.
7 Nebuchadnezzar also brought some of the articles of the house of the LORD to Babylon and put them in his temple at Babylon ( 2 Chron. 36).

Jehoiachin reigned next. Nebuchadnezzar then took him to Babylon along with valuable items from the temple (2 Chron. 36:9,10; 2 Ki. 24:8-16):

He [Nebuchadnezzar] carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, just as the LORD had said (2Ki 24:13).

The reign of Zedekiah followed Jehoiachin. He was eventually taken to Babylon. During his reign, the temple was plundered and destroyed.

2 Ch 36:17 Therefore He [the Lord] brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or infirm; He gave them all into his hand.
18 All the articles of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king and of his officers, he brought them all to Babylon.
19 Then they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all its fortified buildings with fire and destroyed all its valuable articles.

The Psalmist commented on the destruction of the temple as follows:

Ps. 74:3 Turn Your footsteps toward the perpetual ruins; The enemy has damaged everything within the sanctuary.
4 Your adversaries have roared in the midst of Your meeting place; They have set up their own standards for signs.
5 It seems as if one had lifted up His axe in a forest of trees.
6 And now all its carved work They smash with hatchet and hammers.
7 They have burned Your sanctuary to the ground; They have defiled the dwelling place of Your name.
8 They said in their heart, "Let us completely subdue them." They have burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

The Coronation of Christ

Acts 2:33 Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear.

Revelation reveals Christ’s reception of the Holy Spirit. It was then that he was coronated as high priest. Notice that the seven spirits have changed from lampstands to horns and eyes and moved from before the throne to the lamb

Rev. 4:5 Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God;
Re 5:6 And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.

This event was foretold by the Psalmist:
1 ¶ A Song of Ascents, of David. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brothers to dwell together in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil upon the head, Coming down upon the beard, Even Aaron’s beard, Coming down upon the edge of his robes.

It was at Pentecost, when the disciples were dwelling together in unity [of one accord], that the Holy Spirit was poured out. This happened when Jesus was crowned as high priest. He was anointed with the Holy Spirit and as promised, poured it upon the disciples.

Acts 1:4 Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, "Which," He said, "you heard of from Me;
5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
6 ¶ So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?"
7 He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;
8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."

Naaman and Job

Naaman's cleansing from leprosy is described by a word also used in Job. The word translated "be clean" in 2 Kings 5 is used in a parallelism with "justify" in Job 4:17: “Can mankind be just <06663> before God? Can a man be pure <02891> before his Maker?”

The parallelism indicates "be clean" and "be justified" have the same meaning.

2Ki 5:10 Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you and you will be clean <02891>."

2Ki 5:12 "Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean <02891>?" So he turned and went away in a rage.

2Ki 5:13 Then his servants came near and spoke to him and said, "My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean <02891>‘?"

2Ki 5:14 So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child and he was clean <02891>.

The LXX translates the Hebrew word #06663 with the Greek word #273 in Strong's Concordance. This word is used in the following places in the NT:

Lu 1:6 They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly <273> in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.

Php 2:15 so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless <273> and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world,

1Th 3:13 so that He may establish your hearts without <273> blame <273> in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.

The blameless in the NT are those who have been justified.

Job on being Pure, Clean, and Just

Two words in Job that are translated as “be pure” or “be clean” are used in parallel construction with the word for justify (06663). Thus it made be said that to be justified is to be clean or pure, in Job’s view.

Job 4:17 ‘Can mankind be just <06663> before God? Can a man be pure <02891> before his Maker?

Job 15:14 "What is man, that he should be pure <02135>, Or he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous <06663>?

Job 25:4 "How then can a man be just <06663> with God? Or how can he be clean <02135> who is born of woman?

Proverbs contains a verse which uses <02135> and <02891> together. They have the same meaning. That meaning is synonymous with being justified in Job.

Pr 20:9 Who can say, "I have cleansed <02135> my heart, I am pure <02891> from my sin"?

To be clean and pure from sin is to be justified.

Justification and Job

A Hebrew word translated "justify" (Strong’s # 06663) is used more often in Job than in the Psalms and Moses combined. 06663 is used 17 times in Job. It is only used 40 times in the entire OT. > than 40% of the times that the Hebrew word for "justify" is used in the OT, it is in the book of Job. 06663 is translated by such words and expressions as "vindicated, "declare you right," "be just", "be righteous," and "to justify" in Job.

06663 is used in parallel structure with other important words translated as "perfect," "cleanse," "guiltless," and "pure".

Job 4:17 ‘Can mankind be just <06663> before God? Can a man be pure <02891> before his Maker?

Job 15:14 "What is man, that he should be pure <02135>, Or he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous <06663>?

Job 25:4 "How then can a man be just <06663> with God? Or how can he be clean <02135> who is born of woman?

Job 22:3 "Is there any pleasure to the Almighty if you are righteous <06663>, Or profit if you make <08552> your ways perfect <08552>?

Job 9:20 "Though I am righteous <06663>, my mouth will condemn me; Though I am guiltless <08535>, He will declare me guilty.

Girt about the Paps

Re 1:13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps <3149> with a golden girdle.

"Paps" is a translation of a word in the NT which always refers to the breasts of a nursing woman. In addition to the text just quoted, it is used two other times in the NT:

Lu 11:27 And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps <3149> which thou hast sucked.

Lu 23:29 For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps <3149> which never gave suck.

The Greek words which describe the breasts of Christ and the breasts of angels in Revelation are completely different. The angels are described using a word that "stethoscope" is based upon. The breasts of Christ use a word that "masticate" is based upon

Re 15:6 And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts <4738> girded with golden girdles.

<4738> is used several times in the NT:

Lu 18:13 "But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast <4738>, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’

Lu 23:48 And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, when they observed what had happened, began to return, beating their breasts <4738>.

Joh 13:25 He, leaning back thus on Jesus’ bosom <4738>, *said to Him, "Lord, who is it?"

In the epistle of John, the apostle rests upon the chest of Christ. In Revelation, Jesus has a golden belt around nursing breasts.

Breasts are said to comfort and delight in Isaiah 66:

10 Be joyful with Jerusalem and rejoice for her, all you who love her; Be exceedingly glad with her, all you who mourn over her,
11 That you may nurse and be satisfied with her comforting breasts <07699>, That you may suck and be delighted with her bountiful bosom .

Scripture says Zion, and those who turn from transgression in Jacob will:

Suck the milk of nations And suck the breast <07699> of kings; Then you will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob (Is. 60:16).

Repairer of the Temple: Josiah

Josiah spent several years cleansing the land and the house of the Lord (2 Chron. 34 3-8). After cleansing the house, Josiah set about to repair and restore it (2 Chron. 34:8,10). During the restoration process, a copy of the book of the law was discovered in the temple (2Kings 22:8). Its contents were shared with Josiah. He responded with an even greater purge of the temple. The uncleanness of which he purged the temple is listed as follows (2 Kings 23):

4 ¶ Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second order and the doorkeepers, to bring out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels that were made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven; and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel.

5 He did away with the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah and in the surrounding area of Jerusalem, also those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and to the moon and to the constellations and to all the host of heaven.

6 He brought out the Asherah from the house of the LORD outside Jerusalem to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and ground it to dust, and threw its dust on the graves of the common people.

7 He also broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes which were in the house of the LORD, where the women were weaving hangings for the Asherah.

11 He did away with the horses which the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entrance of the house of the LORD, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the official, which was in the precincts; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire.

12 The altars which were on the roof, the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the LORD, the king broke down; and he smashed them there and threw their dust into the brook Kidron.

The purging of the land and the house of the Lord was followed by a Passover celebration:

21 Then the king commanded all the people saying, "Celebrate the Passover to the LORD your God as it is written in this book of the covenant (2 Kings 23).

Cleanser of the Temple: Hezekiah

Hezekiah's work cleansing the temple is set forth in 2 Chronicles 29:

3 In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the LORD and repaired them.
4 He brought in the priests and the Levites and gathered them into the square on the east.
5 Then he said to them, "Listen to me, O Levites. Consecrate yourselves now, and consecrate <06942>the house of the LORD, the God of your fathers, and carry the uncleanness out from the holy place.

15 They assembled their brothers, consecrated <06942> themselves, and went in to cleanse <02891> the house of the LORD, according to the commandment of the king by the words of the LORD.
16 So the priests went in to the inner part of the house of the LORD to cleanse <02891> it, and every unclean thing which they found in the temple of the LORD they brought out to the court of the house of the LORD. Then the Levites received it to carry out to the Kidron valley.
17 Now they began the consecration <06942> on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they entered the porch of the LORD. Then they consecrated <06942> the house of the LORD in eight days, and finished on the sixteenth day of the first month.
18 Then they went in to King Hezekiah and said, "We have cleansed <02981> the whole house of the LORD, the altar of burnt offering with all of its utensils, and the table of showbread with all of its utensils.
19 "Moreover, all the utensils which King Ahaz had discarded during his reign in his unfaithfulness, we have prepared and consecrated <06942>; and behold, they are before the altar of the LORD."

The terms consecrate and cleanse are used interchangably. "Consecrate" is often translated as "sanctify" or "hallow." The temple was being cleansed or set apart for holy purposes.

Following the cleansing and dedication of the temple, the passover was observed (See chapter 30 of 2 Chronicles).

Like Passions

The following verses use a word which describes the similar nature human beings share with each other. Elijah was a man with passions like us. Paul and Barnabas were men with passions like us. This word is not used with reference to Jesus and humanity.

Ac 14:15 and saying, "Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men of the same <3663> nature <3663> as you, and preach the gospel to you that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, WHO MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA AND ALL THAT IS IN THEM.

Jas 5:17 Elijah was a man with a nature <3663> like <3663> ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.

The word "likeness" does describe the nature of Jesus, in passages such as Romans 8:3 and Philippians 2:7:

Ro 8:3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness <3667> of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,

Php 2:7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness <3667> of men.

Notice the parallelism which exists between the expressions "likeness of sinful flesh" and "likeness of men". When Romans says Jesus was sent in the likeness of sinful flesh, it is really saying Jesus was sent in the likeness of men and vice versa.

Abraham and the Gospel/ Justification

8 The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU."

The justification of the Gentiles, by faith, was the gospel Abraham learned. In verses 9-12 that follow, Paul sets forth the difference between justification by faith and justification by works. He then concludes by explaining that Christ's death on the cross secured the blessing of Abraham for the Gentiles. The "blessing of Abraham" is justification by faith, as explained in verse 8 above .

13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, "CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE"—
14 in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

The Gospel and Death

Three passages in the NT mention the abolition or destruction of death. One tells us death has been abolished. Another tells us death will be abolished. The third tells us that Jesus, through his death, destroyed death. Life and immortality have been brought to light through the gospel.

1Co 15:26 The last enemy that will be abolished <2673> is death <2288>.

2Ti 1:10 but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished <2673> death <2288> and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,

Heb 2:14 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death <2288> He might render <2673> powerless <2673> him who had the power of death <2288>, that is, the devil,

The Cleansing of the Sanctuary

The expression, "cleansing of the sanctuary" is used one time in the Bible, Ezekiel 45:18-20:

18 ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, "In the first month, on the first of the month, you shall take a young bull without blemish and cleanse <02398> the sanctuary.
19 "The priest shall take some of the blood from the sin offering and put it on the door posts of the house, on the four corners of the ledge of the altar and on the posts of the gate of the inner court.
20 "Thus you shall do on the seventh day of the month for everyone who goes astray or is naive; so you shall make atonement for the house.

Notice that the cleansing of the house is described as making an atonement for the house.

Reference to the cleansing of the altar is also made in the following two passages. These passage recount the ritual associated with the consecration of Aaron and his sons as priests:

Ex 29:36 "Each day you shall offer a bull as a sin offering for atonement, and you shall purify <02398> the altar when you make atonement for it, and you shall anoint it to consecrate it.

Le 8:15 Next Moses slaughtered it and took the blood and with his finger put some of it around on the horns of the altar, and purified <02398> the altar. Then he poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar and consecrated it, to make atonement for it.

In the case above, as in Ezekiel, the cleansing is also described as making an atonement for [the altar]. Leviticus also describes the purification as consecrating the altar.

There are only two passages in the entire OT in which the words "cleanse" and "sanctuary" are used together. One passage is quoted above. The other follows:

Nu 19:20 ‘But the man who is unclean and does not purify <02398> himself from uncleanness <02398>, that person shall be cut off from the midst of the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary <04720> of the LORD; the water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him, he is unclean.

This passage concerns the ritual involving the ashes of the red heifer. Those ashes, mixed with running water, were used to cleanse those who had contact with a corpse. The person who does not submit to the ritual cleansing shall be cut off because he has "defiled the sanctuary."

The Cross and the Gospel

17 ¶ For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void (1 Cor. 1).

The preaching of the cross is the preaching of the gospel.

23 but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness,24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God (1Cor.1). While verse 17 says Paul was sent to preach the gospel, verse 23 says he preached Christ crucified, the power and wisdom of God.

1 ¶ And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, 4 and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God (1 Cor.2).

Paul's testified of Christ and him crucified. That was his message and preaching to the Corinthians.

Paul became quite explicit in explaining to the Corinthians what his message was:

1 ¶ Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand,
2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve (1Cor. 15).

The Gospel in Romans

Paul introduces the gospel in the opening verses of Romans:

1 ¶ Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,
2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures,
3 concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh,
4 who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,

The gospel is about Jesus, a descendant of David and the Son of God as well. The gospel was promised in the OT, through the prophets.

This message about Jesus Christ, son of David and son of God has the power to save those who believe:

15 So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
16 ¶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

The Gospel and the Poor

The gospel is defined by numerous texts in the NT. One of the earliest key texts is found in Matthew 11:

2 Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples
3 and said to Him, "Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?"
4 Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and report to John what you hear and see:
5 the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM.
6 "And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me."

One would expect that the text would say, "the poor are made rich," to correspond with the blind seeing, deaf hearing, lame walking. Jesus says that the poor have the gospel preached to them. This is the way that God enriches the poor, through the preaching of the gospel.

As James said, "God has chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which God has prepared for those who love him (James 2:5).

Methodology

As a student of Scripture, it is my desire to remain as true to the text as possible. The safest way to do that is to allow the Bible to explain itself. There are few skills required to accomplish this goal. One is to recognize key texts. Another is to find them. A key text is a text that illuminates the subject in question. For example, the Bible tells us to preach the gospel to every creature (Mk. 16:15). That particular text does not explain just what the gospel is, however. For an explanation of the gospel, we must discover a text such as this:

1 ¶ Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand,
2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve (1 Cor. 15).

Another example is the word "redemption." The meaning of "redemption" is defined by the following text:
Eph 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.

This passage clearly explains "redemption" to be the forgiveness of sins.

The Online Bible is a most effective tool for finding key texts. I own a large collection of lexicons and concordances. The Online Bible is comparable to that large and expensive collection in almost every way, when it comes to finding key texts. It is also faster and much more convenient.

The Online Bible incorporates the Strong's numbering system. Each word in the Bible is assigned a number. The numbers are then used to search Scripture for all occurences of the word. Because the New Testament and the Old Testament are in different languages, it is necessary to find the number of the Greek word in the NT and the number of the Hebrew word in the OT. Sometimes, in the blog entries, you may notice the word number like this <2097>.

In the case of "tidings" or "gospel," the NT number is 2097 or 2098. The OT word for "tidings" is usually 01319. OT entries have a zero in front of them <01319> . Many Greek and Hebrew words are translated with different English words. The words 2097/2098, for example, are translated by English words such as gospel, good tiding, and glad tidings in the KJV. That is the beauty of the numbering system. Since you are searching on the basis of the Hebrew or Greek, every place a word is used will appear, regardless of how the word was translated into English.

The Online Bible also includes versions of the NASB and KJV which utilize the Strong's numbering system.