1 Timothy
1 Timothy1:4 mentions 'endless genealogies'. Paul warns against false teachers who devote themselves to these 'endless genealogies'. What's so wrong with genealogies? Apparently the Jewish bloodlines had become so intricate that tracing lineage back to the twelve tribes really did make for endless genealogies. The importance of keeping the twelve tribes separate really disappeared after Jesus, the Messiah, came to save the whole world, rather than just the Jewish nation. Devotion to these genealogies wasn't necessary, and was likely a sign that the false teacher was, well, false, and insistent on still following the Jewish law rather than God's grace. So in this case, I guess genealogies really aren't that great after all.
Showing posts with label twelve tribes of Israel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label twelve tribes of Israel. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
The 12 tribes of Israel, and Paul and Barnabas
Key verses
Matthew 9:37-38 - Then he [Jesus] said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
Genesis
Another curious reading in Genesis - today we find out that Manasseh and Ephraim are adopted by Jacob as his two sons. This got me thinking about the 12 tribes of Israel, because Jacob already had 12 sons, and I knew that these two sons of Joseph figured in there somewhere. After some digging, I got to Numbers 34. Here God tells Moses which people will assign the inheritance of land to the tribes. Reuben and Joseph are not mentioned, and Joseph's first two sons are. If you want to read an outside article on this, check out http://www.gotquestions.org/twelve-tribes-Israel.html.
Acts
What a perfect story to demonstrate mob mentality. In Acts 14, we read about Paul and Barnabas' ministry in Lystra. They healed a crippled man and the crowd thought they were Hermes and Zeus, which both Paul and Barnabas quickly denied. Here they are cheering Paul and Barnabas, and then a couple verses later, the Jews from Antioch and Iconium come around and persuade the crowd over to their side (which is against Paul and Barnabas' Messianic message), and the crowd goes from cheering for these two to nearly killing Paul by stoning him! You've got to have a tough hide to be a missionary.
Matthew 9:37-38 - Then he [Jesus] said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
Genesis
Another curious reading in Genesis - today we find out that Manasseh and Ephraim are adopted by Jacob as his two sons. This got me thinking about the 12 tribes of Israel, because Jacob already had 12 sons, and I knew that these two sons of Joseph figured in there somewhere. After some digging, I got to Numbers 34. Here God tells Moses which people will assign the inheritance of land to the tribes. Reuben and Joseph are not mentioned, and Joseph's first two sons are. If you want to read an outside article on this, check out http://www.gotquestions.org/twelve-tribes-Israel.html.
Acts
What a perfect story to demonstrate mob mentality. In Acts 14, we read about Paul and Barnabas' ministry in Lystra. They healed a crippled man and the crowd thought they were Hermes and Zeus, which both Paul and Barnabas quickly denied. Here they are cheering Paul and Barnabas, and then a couple verses later, the Jews from Antioch and Iconium come around and persuade the crowd over to their side (which is against Paul and Barnabas' Messianic message), and the crowd goes from cheering for these two to nearly killing Paul by stoning him! You've got to have a tough hide to be a missionary.
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