Category Archives: Reference selection

15 September 2012 Calendar Reading

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The calendar for 15 September 2012 began with the following verses:
Let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for us unto the Lord, thy God, even for all this remnant, that the Lord, thy God, may show us the way in wherein may walk, and the thing that we may do.
(Jeremiah 42:2 – 3, as rendered by the calendar)

For starters, it actually says this:
Let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for us unto the Lord thy God, even for all this remnant; (for we are left but a few of many, as thine eyes do behold us:) 3That the Lord thy God may shew us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do.
(Jeremiah 42:2 – 3)

They skipped the whole section that is in brackets, and didn’t indicate that they did – I thought it was standard practice to use “…” if you’d missed out part of a statement (especially in the middle) when quoting something, but they didn’t do it.

Then they said “show us the way in wherein may walk” which doesn’t even make sense. It actually says “shew us the way wherein we may walk” (which is probably how you read it the first time or two anyway).

Not to mention they used a comma before the section they missed instead of a semicolon, added three commas, and spelt “shew” as “show”.

Then they’re using the wrong verse to support their point. Let’s consider who is asking this, and what they said later on:
Then all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even unto the greatest, came near, 2And said unto Jeremiah the prophet, …
(Jeremiah 42:1 – 2a)

1And it came to pass, that when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking unto all the people all the words of the Lord their God, for which the Lord their God had sent him to them, even all these words,
2Then spake Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men, saying unto Jeremiah, Thou speakest falsely: the Lord our God hath not sent thee to say, Go not into Egypt to sojourn there:
3But Baruch the son of Neriah setteth thee on against us, for to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they might put us to death, and carry us away captives into Babylon.
4So Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, and all the people, obeyed not the voice of the Lord, to dwell in the land of Judah.
5But Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, took all the remnant of Judah, that were returned from all nations, whither they had been driven, to dwell in the land of Judah;
6Even men, and women, and children, and the king’s daughters, and every person that Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah.
7So they came into the land of Egypt: for they obeyed not the voice of the Lord: thus came they even to Tahpanhes.
(Jeremiah 43:1 – 7)

Let us also consider the following that Jeremiah told the people:
19The Lord hath said concerning you, O ye remnant of Judah; Go ye not into Egypt: know certainly that I have admonished you this day.
20For ye dissembled in your hearts, when ye sent me unto the Lord your God, saying, Pray for us unto the Lord our God; and according unto all that the Lord our God shall say, so declare unto us, and we will do it.
21And now I have this day declared it to you; but ye have not obeyed the voice of the Lord your God, nor any thing for the which he hath sent me unto you.
22Now therefore know certainly that ye shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, in the place whither ye desire to go and to sojourn.
(Jeremiah 42:19 – 22)

He told them this before they had answered a word, and put it in past tense too. How did Jeremiah know? Simply, God must have told him. Why does this matter? Because of the second word in the first sentence of the message on the calendar:
“A faithful remnant of the Jews approached Jeremiah asking that he pray for them so that they might walk a pathway pleasing to God.”

They were most definitely not “a faithful remnant”! This may not take away from the message in any way; however it definitely does not support it. The message is good, but it doesn’t give its own basis. A better verse would have been one of these:
Psalms 5:8 Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face
17:5 Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not
25:4 Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths
27:11 Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path
119:27 Make me to understand the way of they precepts
139:24 Lead me in the way everlasting

23 March 2011 Calendar Reading

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This might be one from last year but I believe it highlights something which many folk don’t get to appreciate until they come to use a King James Bible.

For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you…And ye shall eat old store, and bring forth the old because of the new. And I will set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you.
Leviticus 26:9, 11

Mr M comments correctly that the word “you” is found 5 times in these two verses, plus there are 7 more in the chapter. He asserts that this highlights the fact that God “deals with us always as individuals” and in doing so Mr M uses the words “intensely personal”. We all agree with Mr M that God has provided a means of sal­vation to the world (John 3:16) but individuals have to appropriate it and we agree that God’s personal interest in us as individuals is amazingly wonderful.

As I was writing this my teenage son entered the room and seeing what I had written up to this point commented that he also had read the calendar. My son then proceeded to tell me in his own words exactly what I am about to say! He had spotted it too.

As well-meaning as Mr M may be, he has based his whole comment on wrong interpretation. When “you” is used in the King James Bible it signifies plural [more than one] hearers. In the same way “ye” is used in the King James Bible to signify the hearers are plural. For singular [just one] hearer the King James uses “thee, thou, thy and thine”. This of course is one of the beauties of the wonderful King James Version. When we read in Luke 22:31-32 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. . . you can see that the Lord was saying that while Satan was wanting to sift all of them (“you”) He [the Lord] had prayed for Peter (“thee”) that he wouldn’t fail . . Read it through again now that you know this and see what a different meaning it all takes on.

Mr M has fallen into the trap of presenting precious truth based on the wrong verses. He is not the only one to do this and have it printed by the calendar publishers. The verses he has chosen, by using the word “you” would actually suggest all those benefits mentioned in the verses to be with a group of people. And of course that is exactly what the truth is – God had established His covenant with a group of people.

So where has this well-meaning man gone wrong?

He has read the Bible verses as if they were written to him in the language of 2011. But they weren’t! This in itself is a trap commonly fallen into by Charismatics and Pentecostals who believe they can apply anything they like from anywhere in Scripture. We all need to remember that when we read the Scriptures it is like when we are reading someone else’s letter.

Firstly, the verses in question were written to the Children of Israel, a group of people, with a specific meaning intended. They were not written with me in 2011 in mind – apart from any secondary implications that the Lord, who knows everything, wanted to attach to the verses.

Secondly, just because we often say “you” today and use it to speak to an individual doesn’t mean that’s what God was intending in His message of Leviticus 26:9 and 11. He has specifically chosen to have it written in a plural form [i.e. intended for a group of hearers] – so I have no right to interpret it otherwise.

It appears Mr M has read the verses and spiritualised them. But why would you? If you’re looking for something to show that God’s dealings are with the individual, then why not choose verses that definitely show that?