phillip w. martin

June 30, 2017June 30, 2017

Acts 2:38 [mobile-1262x1262].png

³⁸ And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ~Acts 2:38 (ESV)

The preaching of Peter is the fulfillment of the expectation of Jesus. He was told to baptize in the Jesus’ name and his exhortation closes down with that same refrain!

#bible #Christian #faith #timelesstruth #Jesus #transformation

September 26, 2022

Isaiah 47.3 and Nakedness

While reading through Isaiah 47 recently I came across this:

¹Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you shall no more be called tender and delicate.
²Take the millstones and grind flour, put off your veil, strip off your robe, uncover your legs, pass through the rivers.
³Your nakedness shall be uncovered, and your disgrace shall be seen. I will take vengeance, and I will spare no one.
⁴Our Redeemer—the Lord of hosts is his name— is the Holy One of Israel.
Isaiah 47:1–4 (ESV)

Over the years I’ve heard a lot of talk about how the meaning of this passage should be read narrowly as suggesting that an uncovered thigh is a key to our understanding of nakedness.* Given the context of Leviticus, I don’t think that is the case. This is better read when connected with Leviticus 18.

¹And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²“Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, I am the Lord your God. ³You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. ⁴You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the Lord your God. ⁵You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the Lord. ⁶“None of you shall approach any one of his close relatives to uncover nakedness. I am the Lord.
⁷You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, which is the nakedness of your mother; she is your mother, you shall not uncover her nakedness.
⁸You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife; it is your father’s nakedness.
⁹You shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether brought up in the family or in another home.
¹⁰You shall not uncover the nakedness of your son’s daughter or of your daughter’s daughter, for their nakedness is your own nakedness.
¹¹You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, brought up in your father’s family, since she is your sister.
¹²You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister; she is your father’s relative.
¹³You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s relative.
¹⁴You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother, that is, you shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt.
_¹⁵You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law; she is your son’s wife, you shall not uncover her nakedness.
¹⁶You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife; it is your brother’s nakedness.
¹⁷You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and of her daughter, and you shall not take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter to uncover her nakedness; they are relatives; it is depravity.
¹⁸And you shall not take a woman as a rival wife to her sister, uncovering her nakedness while her sister is still alive.
Leviticus 18:1-18

The meaning here is more clearly about the full import of their adultery with all of its awful implications. Babylon is condemned for their rebellion, they were to be cast down and their sins exposed.

Such is the same awful end for any who would rebel against God. So my prayer today is that we maintain our vow to our creator and King Jesus until the last trump shall sound.

~PW 🌮🛶

*(FYI, I’ll suggest that the best biblical text for that is in the Garden, but we can go back to there another time.).