• About
  • BULLETIN ARTICLES

etsop95

~ Perspectives on Bible, philosophy, and politics (sometimes)

etsop95

Tag Archives: history

History is past

26 Friday Jun 2020

Posted by Ron Thomas in God, Uncategorized, Wisdom

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Ecclesiastes 1, history, League of Nations, vanity, wisdom

History is past and whatever I learn from it I learn about it in books. History is past and whatever some might think I should learn from it, I won’t. I won’t because the past mistakes are not necessarily those of the future; in fact, they are NOT those of the future. We are in better position to know what to do, how to do it, and why. Science is king. Liberalism and a progressive spirit mean one is not tied down to yesteryear.

Why is it that so many think blindly in this direction? It is because those of today (generally speaking) don’t see themselves as inferior intellectually to those of yesterday. In fact, they see themselves as superior and “We know better now!”

After WW-1 the League of Nations was set up (1920); it did not prevent WW-2, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, The Gulf War (1 and 2) and many other tragic occurrences in the life of nations. They saw themselves as in better position to prevent the mistakes of the past. Yet, they prevented nothing, but have given rise to rogue nations, muscle to thuggish nations, and, it seems, to hamstring the host nation.

People seeking understanding will not attain that mutual understanding when the moral and/or political philosophy is radically different. Perhaps there is some assuaging, but it is a matter of time before the bandage deteriorates.

Solomon set his mind to understand why things happen on earth as they do (or did). He was a man in the best position of any man before or after him to do such a thing. In an exclusively naturalistic world, a world wherein God plays no factor – there is no point to existence that is greater than the individual. Once a person dies, the point of that person’s existence is gone! Life for that person was, ultimately, meaningless.

Solomon, however, was not so short-sighted, not so unwise. He knew, was convinced and had experience with the fact of God’s existence. To live life without God is to live a life of vanity.

The Generation That Did Not Know

24 Tuesday May 2016

Posted by Ron Thomas in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

history, Judges, learning, moral compass

Every generation that comes into the world needs to learn its own history. This is not only fruitful to the mind in the way of intellectual knowledge, this is also beneficial to the mind in that it sets the compass directional finder in place.

Learning history stimulates the mind in areas that generates interest. For instance, one might have learned that Abraham Lincoln was murdered by southern sympathizer John W. Booth, but is there much knowledge about Booth’s escape and then capture? Not nearly as much, but one can learn and note there was no peace for him in his running, and there was certainly no peace for him in the way that he died.

Learning history is important when it comes to biblical matters also. In Judges 2:10, the Scriptures teach there arose a new generation of Israelites that did not know the Lord the way the previous generation did and neither did they know the deed or works that were done by the Lord. A tragedy of no small amount!

The tragedy was the result of two things (I suggest). First, it was the result of parental guidance, or the failure thereof. Education must always start in the home. If there is no foundational education put in place by the parents, then the education put in place—for it will be put in place—will come from an outside source that may not at all correspond to the parent’s way of thinking. Second, because of the failings in parents, it was the result of the student (child) who took her/his education from another source, having no interest in his or her heritage. Perhaps a third reason for this kind of tragedy is in the teacher and/or the teaching of those who are in position of leadership within the community.

The community that I want to address in this brief article is the church.

Each generation must be taught, actively taught, the ways of the Lord. Without learning from the parents, without learning from elders and the preacher, it is very possible that when teaching does occur, as it is stated in Judges 2:17, “Yet they did not listen to their Judges [religious teachers], for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the LORD, and they did not do so.” (ESV)

Those who refused to listen to the Lord end up forsaking the Lord’s way entirely. The word “forsake” means to abandon what is viewed as precious by the Lord. Thus, the compass directional finder that was once in place has now begun to corrode and it is but a little time following the compass no longer works. When the compass no longer works, then the one who was living by it will do what? In Acts 27:15, there is a phrase that represents a literal occurrence in the life of the apostle Paul while on a ship to Rome, but the wording corresponds to a spiritual journey for those who lose their way. “And when the ship was caught and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along.”

Some of the things that need to be taught young people (and older folk also) would be the historicity of Jesus, salvation from sin, the nature and importance of the Lord’s church, the day of judgment that is before us all. these are but a few very important points of teaching.

Each generation needs to be taught the Lord’s way; the vacation Bible school activities are very important for a local congregation, but it is even greater for the parents and the local church to be sure that teaching of the Lord’s way is a regular occurrence and not just during a small time in the summer months. RT

 

History and Foolishness

19 Monday Jan 2015

Posted by Ron Thomas in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Aaron, Exodus, history, Moses

Last Sunday evening it was my plan to preach from Exodus 14 and 15, but with the inclement weather we experienced, I gave attention to some devotional, abbreviated, thoughts instead.

On the text of Exodus 14 and 15, it was my intent to highlight the Lord as a warrior (a man of war, 15:3). How the Lord dealt with situations of the past is a great encouragement to us in the present. As you know, historical lessons are crucial points of teaching that benefit all who take time to read, reflect and apply. We learn much about the Lord, but we also learn much from the people who, foolishly, refused to learn. Even more unfortunately, more times than not, people identifying themselves as belonging to God have refused to learn from the Lord. No doubt this has applied to you and me on, hopefully, rare occasions. This has resulted in much heartache and loss regardless of frequency.

The Israelites suffered much, but they also experienced much good in that which they suffered. The Lord redeemed (saved) them from Egyptian bondage, and He prevented them from going back after they crossed the Red Sea (in actuality, that was Israel’s Exodus from Egypt). But as they learned much, it seems that many refused to learn at all. There were difficulties before them, and on the occasion after having come from the depths of the Red Sea, they went back into the depths of old habits, not remembering the sustaining power of the Lord that was just experienced! They had a significant difficulty on their hands, that is, the lack of water. The significance of this is in relation to the sheer size of the nation (hundreds of thousands of people), coupled with their current location in the desert. What do many of the people do? Complain. This accomplished what? It certainly accomplished nothing positive in their relationship with the Lord. Thus, the Lord put them to the test (Exodus 15:26).

There are some lessons we can learn from this historical account. First, when faced with a significant difficulty complaining is not the answer. It only agitates the heart and mind. Second, facing the problem squarely, as Moses did, let us also do the same. The Lord is our solution. Third, reflect on what the Lord has done previously.

Learning from the past helps to remind us that as the Lord took care of His people long ago, He will do the same today.

Samuel’s Exhortation

25 Tuesday Mar 2014

Posted by Ron Thomas in Communication, Leadership

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

history, Israel struggle, prophets. Samuel. Idolatry

                The book of Judges is a book that speaks to the peaks and valleys of the nation of Israel. They came out of the wilderness into the land of promise only to struggle for hundreds of years both physically and, even more important, spiritually. The reason for this struggle experienced is told to us twice in the book: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6; 21:25).

This history was fresh in the minds of the Israelites; they tired of the struggle. In order to move beyond such experiences, the people decided that it must be the Lord who was the problem (1 Samuel 8:7)! Thus, they wanted a king like the other nations that were surrounding them (1 Samuel 8:5). From the outside they looked at other kingdoms and said to themselves, “Surely, they don’t experience what we are; it must be the case that it’s because they have a king to lead them.”

The people’s rejection of their holy King brought much heartache to the people through the years. Whatever joys might have been experienced by the nation, quantitatively speaking, there was more pain and heartache. Samuel’s exhortation to them before they had their first king was simple: “Serve only the Lord by putting away idols and preparing the heart for holiness” (cf. 1 Samuel 7:3). Still a good exhortation for us today!

 

 

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 689 other followers

Last Month

Log in

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Blogs I Follow

  • Christian Publishing House Blog
  • Canon Fodder
  • PreachingHelp.org
  • Biblical Proof
  • Sunrush Church of Christ
  • The Church of God : Official Website
  • Brotherhood News
  • Believing Prayer
  • Daniel B. Wallace
  • NT Resources
  • etsop95
  • Forthright Press
  • Ferrell's Travel Blog
  • Larry Hurtado's Blog
  • Carolina Messenger
  • ThinkingJesus
  • CRI
  • Big Ten Network
  • eScriptorium
  • Biblical Notes

Blog Stats

  • 13,535 hits

RSS Ron Thomas – Forthright Fellowship Room

  • PERFECTED The love of God…
  • Secular Society – A False Hope
  • Our Plague

Blog at WordPress.com.

Christian Publishing House Blog

Apologetic Defense of the faith, the Bible, and Christianity

Canon Fodder

Exploring the origins of the New Testament canon and other biblical and theological issues

PreachingHelp.org

The sermons and writings of Steve Higginbotham

Biblical Proof

Speaking where the bible speaks, and silent where the bible is silent.

Sunrush Church of Christ

The Church of God : Official Website

There is one Body!

Brotherhood News

Believing Prayer

Daniel B. Wallace

Executive Director of CSNTM & Senior Research Professor of NT Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary

NT Resources

Established by Dr. Rod Decker - Maintained by Dr. Wayne Slusser

etsop95

Perspectives on Bible, philosophy, and politics (sometimes)

Forthright Press

Straight to the Cross

Ferrell's Travel Blog

Commenting on biblical studies, archaeology, travel and photography

Larry Hurtado's Blog

Comments on the New Testament and Early Christianity (and related matters)

Carolina Messenger

"This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." (1 John 1:5)

ThinkingJesus

Letting Jesus Speak Today

CRI

Big Ten Network

Big Ten Network's website

eScriptorium

this and that from the pen and keyboard of mcgarvey ice

Biblical Notes

- Est. 1965 by Roy C. Deaver -