Debt

 2 Kings 4:1-7 - Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen. And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil. Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full. So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out. And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed. Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.

The bible doesn’t tell us who got this family into debt, but we can surmise that this godly man would have obeyed the law enough to properly take care of his family.

 

1 Timothy 5:8 - But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

Many times God provides what we need and we squander it on things we desire instead of learning how to save or budget for "emergencies". We should remember that stuff happens, and put aside some money for when those instances occur so that we aren't caught off guard and hastily go into debt to take care of them.

Elisha tells her to pay “thy” debts. After her husband dies, it seems that she’s made some awful financial decisions that have put her so far into debt that her kids are now in jeopardy of being made bondsmen to pay it back.

Proverbs 22:7 - The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

Due to a series of unfortunate events, this woman who has lost her husband is about to lose her sons because of poor money management.

Elisha doesn’t give her the money to pay the debt. She wouldn’t have learned anything and would probably have ended up in the same position again in the future. 

He first asks what she has in her house (I think he was seeing what she could sell). When he finds out that all she has is a pot of oil, he remembers what Elijah did for the widow woman of Zarephath. He wants her to use resources available to her. He has her borrow from neighbors and then go into her home with her sons and fill the vessels she had borrowed.

Psalms 37:21 - The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.

Her neighbors showed themselves merciful by allowing her to borrow their vessels. We can assume that she returned the vessels to her neighbors. God doesn’t want us to borrow and not repay.

Elisha has her follow specific instructions, perhaps to teach her to work to solve her problems and not go into debt by financing what she cannot afford.

Luke 16:10 - He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.

She has to not only follow the instructions precisely, but make certain that her sons also obey.

He tells her to sell the oil and pay off her debt. And then to live off the remainder of the money.

She may not have made enough money to live off for the rest of their lives, but now she has the knowledge of how not to handle her finances, how to work with her children to make ends meet, and an understanding how important it is to obey godly guidance in material matters.

1 Corinthians 4:2 - Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.

There is a debt we all owe. Unlike this woman it is not one that came about through poor choices. It is the sin debt. But someone has paid the debt for us. 

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord,

You cannot work to pay off your sin debt. The only thing you can do is follow the instructions given in the Bible.

Romans 10:9-10 - That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

There is only one thing you can do to eliminate this debt, and it is a choice that only you can make.

The Sons Of God And The Daughters Of Men

  

  

While I view the old Scofield reference Bible as a fine reference Bible, there are some points of disagreement.  One such point is his view that the "sons of God" of Genesis 6:2-4 are not fallen angels, but rather the godly sons of Seth who chose to intermarry with the ungodly daughters of Cain.  His note reads as follows:

"Some hold that these "sons of God" were the "angels which kept not their first estate" Jude 6. It is asserted that the title is in the O.T. exclusively used of angels. But this is an error Isa 43:6. Angels are spoken of in a sexless way. No female angels are mentioned in Scripture, and we are expressly told that marriage is unknown among angels. Mt 22:30 . . . The uniform Hebrew and Christian interpretation has been that verse Ge 6:2 marks the breaking down of the separation between the godly line of Seth and the godless line of Cain, and so the failure of the testimony to Jehovah committed to the line of Seth Ge 4:26. For apostasy there is no remedy but judgment Isa 1:2-7,24-25; Heb 6:4-8; 10:26-31. Noah, "a preacher of righteousness," is given 120 years, but he won no convert, and the judgment predicted by his great-grandfather fell Jude 14-15; Ge 7:11." 

Since I do not particularly enjoy the wild possibilities that must be considered with the fallen angels view, I actually wish that I could subscribe to Scofield's view, but I can't.  Here are some of my reasons:

(1) Scofield is incorrect in his treatment of the term "sons of God."  The exact phrase "sons of God" is found five times in the Old Testament, two in Genesis and three in Job.  The two in Genesis are found here in Genesis 6:2 and in 6:4.  The other three Old Testament occurrences are in the book of Job, the oldest book of the Bible.  So, the term "sons of God" in the Old Testament is found only in the two oldest books of the Bible, Job and Genesis. The three Job occurrences are as follows:

"Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them."  (Job 1:6)

"Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD."  (Job 2:1)  

"When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"  (Job 38:7) 

All three occurrences refer to spirit beings, and two of the occurrences have Satan himself, also a spirit being, in the group. Scripture with scripture, there is no precedent for claiming that the "sons of God" are mere men.  The three witnesses found in Job, a book which predates Genesis in authorship, establishes the "sons of God" as something other than men.  It's certainly true that God is opposed to the integration of the righteous and the wicked throughout the scriptures, but He never terms this the "sons of God" and the "daughters of men."   Something very different happened in Genesis 6.

(2) If God had intended for us to interpret "sons of God" as the sons of Seth, then He could have simply said, "sons of Seth."  Hoping that we would interpret "sons of God" as being the godly children of Seth when no scripture says this would be almost a vain hope since it is the way of God to teach us scripture WITH other scripture.  Had God already told us that the children of Seth constituted a "godly line" or perhaps "godly sons," then maybe the Scofield view would carry more weight, but God never made such statements, nor did He ever call men the "sons of God." Adam was "the son of God" (Luke 3:38), but he died spiritually when he sinned and failed to reproduce sons in God's image (Gen. 5:3). 

(3) Scofield's desperate attempt to use Isaiah 43:6 is downright embarrassing to serious students of scripture, since the verse is a PROPHECY of a future reality when Israel is converted to Christ, not a declaration of Old Testament doctrinal truth.  The verse says, "I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth."  The verse is a prophecy that is yet to be fulfilled, and the verse does not use the exact term "sons of God," as do the other five references previously given. The fact that Scofield gave only this verse as a reference shows the weakness of his view.

(4) After the initial five "sons of God" references in the two oldest Old Testament books, the term is not found again until the NEW Testament, where it enjoys 6 occurrences (John 1:12; Rom. 8:14, 19; Philip. 2:15; I John 3:1-2), all of which have reference to believers in Christ who have BECOME sons of God as a result of having received Christ.

(5) The New Testament's first usage of the term "sons of God" makes it very clear that men had not been sons of God since Adam's fall and that only through Christ THE "Son of God" could sonship be regained.  John 1:12-13 says, "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."  A man is a son of God when he is BORN of God by believing on Christ.  No children of Seth were born again, so no children of Seth were "sons of God."  It makes no sense to say that receiving Christ would give people power to have what they already had.  No, believing on Jesus would give people what they did NOT have, divine sonship, which had been lost in Adam since Genesis 3.    

(6) Scofield denies that the "sons of God" of Genesis 6 are the angels which kept not their first estate (Jude 6), yet the word of God offers no other historic setting for these angels to fall or an account of their fall.  In other words, Jude's comments about "the angels which kept not their first estate" refers to exactly WHAT?

II Peter 2:4-5 clearly places these fallen angels into the context Noah and the flood:  "For if God spared not the ANGELS THAT SINNED, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; And spared not the old world, but saved NOAH the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in THE FLOOD upon the world of the ungodly."  Scripture with scripture, angels fell in the days of Noah, Genesis calls them "sons of God," and Job verifies the terminology as being scriptural.

(7) Scofield does not bother to explain how the union of godly Sethites and ungodly Cainites produced GIANTS, yet Genesis 6:1-4 clearly indicates that this happened.  Saved people marry unsaved people all the time, yet we do not see ten and twelve-foot kids on the junior high basketball team, nor do we see 95-yard field goals being kicked by giant football kids wearing size 22 cleats.   Something more than humans were cohabitating in Genesis 6.

(8.) Scofield's statement that "Angels are spoken of in a sexless way" is just plain false and is unworthy of his fine reference Bible.  Angels in the Bible are spoken of as MEN from Genesis to Revelation:  Genesis 18:1-3; 19:1, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15-16; Judges 13:6; Luke 24:3-6;  Hebrews 13:2; Revelation 21:17.  Scofield's reasoning that angels are sexless, since they aren't female, is quite bazaar, since everyone else in the Bible who isn't female is MALE!  

(9) He also blunders by stating that "marriage is unknown among angels" and giving Matthew 22:30 as his reference.  Big mistake.  Matthew 22:30 speaks of the angels IN HEAVEN not marrying.  That's why they had to LEAVE heaven, their "first estate" (Jude 6) and come to the earth.

(10) As if knowing his argument to lack strength, Scofield then attempts to add a bit of weight to his position by appealing to the "uniform Hebrew and Christian interpretation."  Seriously?  You just fumbled the scriptural football half a dozen times and now you're going to impress us with a quarterback sneak?  LOL!  Hit the bench, Cryus; we'll take it from here.     

Look, I know the fallen angel view is wild, but so is the Revelation scenario when they come again:  "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and HIS ANGELS WERE CAST OUT WITH HIM."  (Rev. 12:9; emphasis added)  The context is the great tribulation when the devil goes into panic mode ON EARTH because of his time limitations (12:12). The very next chapter introduces the antichrist.  If there's no new thing under the sun (Ecc. 1:9-10), then Revelation 12:10-12 is a repeat of what has happened in the past.  Just read a bit of Greek mythology, if you think this is new.   

I might also add that the reasoning that God would not have made the angels with reproductive ability is flawed, because the fallen angels view does not require that God Himself equipped the angels to reproduce.  Satan was the ringleader of this rebellious plan, so it is very likely that Satan concocted a means by which the fallen angels acquired the necessary blood and DNA for reproduction in hopes of corrupting the seed (Gen. 3:15) and destroying God's redemption plan.  How all of this happened exactly, I do not profess to know, but given what we see with modern-day sex perversion, transgenderism and genetic engineering, it doesn't seem at all far-fetched to this writer that Satan and his angels might have experimented with such in the days of Noah.  In other words, Doc's "blood-sucking angels from Jupiter" might not be as crazy as it sounds. I guess time will tell.  Meanwhile, keep your generations perfect (Gen. 6:9), and look out for anyone trying to "mingle themselves with the seed of men" (Dan. 2:43). 

James L. Melton  

biblebaptistpublications.org

Shaken with the Wind (video sermon)

Believer’s Heritage- Ron Hamilton

 Ronald Allen Hamilton was born in South Bend, Indiana on November 9, 1950 to parents, Melvin and Leota Marie Hamilton

Ron remembers kneeling by his bed at a young age acknowledging Jesus as God’s Son who had died on the cross in payment for his sins, asking Jesus to forgive those sins, and accepting Jesus into his heart to save him.

Ronnie, as his friends and family called him, was an active young boy who loved to tease and be funny. When Ronnie was 11, his sister Marty 9, and brother Terry 7, his mother hired a pianist to teach the children. Mom Hamilton was inspired to make a professional recording of her children.

The family would sing gospel songs whenever they traveled, harmonizing in three parts. Mom Hamilton is the reason each child became a proficient musician—Ronnie as a composer, arranger, singer, guitarist, pianist, trombonist, and music pastor.

In addition, Ronnie was a high school track star, gymnast, swimmer, and bicyclist. One summer in high school, Ron rode his bike across the entire United States with the Wandering Wheels organization.

In 1969, Ron went to Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. He auditioned and was accepted into Dr. Frank Garlock’s vesper choir. This same year Ron saw Dr. Garlock’s daughter, Shelly, running across the BJU campus in her cheerleading outfit. Not long after, Shelly spotted Ron in her dad’s vesper choir. It was love at first sight for both of them. Ron and Shelly dated for six short years and tied the knot on May 31, 1975. They both did undergraduate and graduate work in music and have made beautiful music together ever since.

In 1978, the couple’s life took a sharp turn—not of their own making but of God’s. At a routine eye exam, an ophthalmologist discovered melanoma cancer in Ron’s left eye. Surgery followed to remove the eye resulting in Ron having to wear a leather eye patch permanently. This earned him the title Patch the Pirate from children everywhere. This seeming tragedy became the greatest ministry blessing of Ron’s life.

Following Ron’s eye surgery, he composed his most loved song, “Rejoice in the Lord,” compiled from Scripture sent to him on hundreds of cards.

In 1980, Ron with his father-in-law Frank Garlock wrote songs for the first Patch the Pirate album, “Sing Along with Patch.” At the last minute, Ron added a simple story line between the songs which included himself as Patch the Pirate, his wife Shelly as Sissy Seagull, and a handful of other characters. Since then, one Patch adventure has been produced each year, totaling 43 adventures to date.

Ron and Shelly Hamilton have owned and managed Majesty Music, a sacred music publishing company, since 1980. Ron has traveled across the country giving sacred music concerts, preached God’s Word at multiple conferences and church services, directed the music at The Wilds Christian Camp for 10 years, taught music at BJU and directed the BJA choir for three years, produced and written children’s audio story/adventure recordings for 40+ years, created the Patch the Pirate church choir clubs, has written and arranged 40 Christmas cantatas and church choral books, produced two hymnals, six vocal solo recordings, eight orchestra recordings, directed the music program at Calvary Baptist Church in Simpsonville, South Carolina for 21 years.

Ron and Shelly’s five children, Jonathan, Tara, Alyssa, Megan, and Jason, are their crowning jewels. The five children have loved and served God with their musical talents.

In 2010, when Ron was just 60 years old, he started showing early signs of dementia. Several years later, he was diagnosed with early onset dementia. Because of his declining condition with dementia, Ron’s health took a downward turn in April of 2023.

Ron passed away quietly on Wednesday, April 19, 2023 surrounded by his family.

The Patch the Pirate albums have sold over two million copies. The adventures are featured on over 600 radio stations, Spotify, YouTube, and other digital outlets. To date, over a million streams of Patch are reported every month. To the glory of God, countless children have come to know Christ because of the Patch outreach.

Forever And Forever (poem)

 "There his no need to dread the night,

For Jesus is the brilliant light,

And in his arms he holds me tight,

Forever and Forever.

There is no tear he will forget,

No worry, care, or deep regret,

That Jesus cannot rightly set,

Forever and Forever.

So I can rest within his hold,

Safe within my Father's fold,

All things I yield to his control,

Forever and Forever."

~by The Homespun Wife (2022)

Wish You Were Here (song)

The Thief On The Cross

The Bible talks about two malefactors who died on either side of Christ. 

Mark 15:27- And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other on his left.

Both men were condemned to capital punishment. Bible says they were thieves. Have you ever wondered what did they steal to deserve death?

In todays society, there would be outrage over this conviction! Especially in America. But, these men didn't seem to have anyone who cared. The Bible doesn't even mention whether they had loved ones at their execution.

Matt 27:39-44-And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God. The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth. 

Both of these thieves joined in and reviled Jesus. It didn't matter to them that they were dying. It appeared that all that were there would mock the Lord!

However, between the time they were nailed to the cross and the time they died, something had happened to change his mind.

Luke 23:39-42- And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

 We can only guess at what that something was. But here is what I see when I read this story.

Christ, an innocent man, never begged for mercy.

At any execution, there is someone begging for mercy. Many plead not guilty as they are led to the execution room. However, everyone knew that Jesus was delivered to death being unjustly condemned because of the Jewish Priests' jealousy, and yet he never begged for mercy or tried to plead his case.

Matthew 27:17-19- Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ? For he knew that for envy they had delivered him. When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.

Pilate said that he found no fault in Jesus. Meaning that He had done nothing worthy of death.

Isaiah 53:7- He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

Christ, unjustly condemned never threatened retaliation, but rather asked God to forgive them.

Most people threaten those who do them harm. There's the threat of a curse, or vengeance, or some form of retaliation. But those threats are rarely backed by power. Christ had the power to carry out any threat He made, and yet He never threatened; He asked for them to be forgiven instead.

Luke 23:34- Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

Christ was continuously mocked, but didn't respond in kind.

He was mocked by the religious leaders. He was mocked by the dying thieves. He was mocked by the Romans. He was even jeered by the passers-by. And yet He took it all without speaking a word back.

Christ, in agonizing pain, took the time to remember those He loved that were present.

As the first born, it was His duty to look after His mother when her husband passed. He took the time to ask His disciple, John, to take care of her. He knew that John would do it. While dying, He even fulfilled His earthly obligations.

John 19:26-27- When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.

Christ, condemned to die, showed no fear of death.

Never before had the Roman soldiers not had someone struggle while they were laid on the cross. There had never been a person who willingly stretched out their arms and legs for the spikes. But Jesus did. This was the whole reason He came!

There were a lot of things that this thief could never do. He couldn't make amends with his family. He never got to tell his friends what he had learned about the man dying next to him. He would never get the opportunity to change his life around. All future possibilities in this life were over.

But there was one thing he did get:

Lord- he figured out who Jesus was.

Remember me- he knew what Jesus could do.

Luke 23:42- And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

He had no way to earn forgiveness, and yet he asked. He had no way to prove he was worthy to not go to hell, and yet he reached out in faith and acknowledged who Jesus was and that He had the power to make it happen.

And Christ heard him and accepted him because He is no respecter of persons.

Luke 23:43- And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

The same hold true for us. We, at any moment in time, can reach out to Christ and ask for forgiveness of our sins, and He will hear us. We can ask that Christ remember from His throne in heaven and He promises that when we do that He will give our souls a place with Him.

I John 1:9- If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Romans 10:9- That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

I John 5:13- These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.