Reading for Today:

• 2 Chronicles 30:1 Chapter 30 1 And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of Jehovah at Jerusalem, to keep the passover unto Jehovah, the God of Israel. –31:21
• Psalms 85:1-7 Chapter 85 1 Jehovah, thou hast been favorable unto thy land; Thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob. 2 Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people; Thou hast covered all their sin. Selah 3 Thou hast taken away all thy wrath; Thou hast turned `thyself' from the fierceness of thine anger. 4 Turn us, O God of our salvation, And cause thine indignation toward us to cease. 5 Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? Wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations? 6 Wilt thou not quicken us again, That thy people may rejoice in thee? 7 Show us thy lovingkindness, O Jehovah, And grant us thy salvation.
• Proverbs 21:9-11 9 It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, Than with a contentious woman in a wide house. 10 The soul of the wicked desireth evil: His neighbor findeth no favor in his eyes. 11 When the scoffer is punished, the simple is made wise; And when the wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge.
• Acts 20:1-16 Chapter 20 1 And after the uproar ceased, Paul having sent for the disciples and exhorted them, took leave of them, and departed to go into Macedonia. 2 And when he had gone through those parts, and had given them much exhortation, he came into Greece. 3 And when he had spent three months `there,' and a plot was laid against him by Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he determined to return through Macedonia. 4 And there accompanied him as far as Asia, Sopater of Beroea, `the son' of Pyrrhus; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus. 5 But these had gone before, and were waiting for us at Troas. 6 And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days, where we tarried seven days. 7 And upon the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul discoursed with them, intending to depart on the morrow; and prolonged his speech until midnight. 8 And there were many lights in the upper chamber where we were gathered together. 9 And there sat in the window a certain young man named Eutychus, borne down with deep sleep; and as Paul discoursed yet longer, being borne down by his sleep he fell down from the third story, and was taken up dead. 10 And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Make ye no ado; for his life is in him. 11 And when he was gone up, and had broken the bread, and eaten, and had talked with them a long while, even till break of day, so he departed. 12 And they brought the lad alive, and were not a little comforted. 13 But we going before to the ship set sail for Assos, there intending to take in Paul: for so had he appointed, intending himself to go by land. 14 And when he met us at Assos, we took him in, and came to Mitylene. 15 And sailing from thence, we came the following day over against Chios; and the next day we touched at Samos; and the day after we came to Miletus. 16 For Paul had determined to sail past Ephesus, that he might not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hastening, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.

Notes:

2 Chronicles 30:6 return. The nation was required by law to annually celebrate 3 feasts in Jerusalem: 1) Passover; 2) Pentecost; and 3) Tabernacles (Ex. 23; Lev. 23; Num. 28; 29; Deut. 16). God would have returned to bless the people of the northern apostate and idolatrous kingdom of Israel if they had returned to Him.

2 Chronicles 30:1–27 Hezekiah reached back to restore the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Passover (Ex. 12:1–20; Lev. 23:1–8), which apparently had not been properly and regularly observed in some time, perhaps since the division of the kingdom 215 years earlier (v. 5). The Passover would later be revived again by Josiah (2 Chr. 35:1–9) and Zerubbabel ( Ezra 6:19 19 And the children of the captivity kept the passover upon the fourteenth `day' of the first month. –22). It celebrated God’s forgiveness and redemption of His believing people.

2 Chronicles 30:26 nothing like this. A telling statement about the spiritual degeneracy of the divided kingdom since the time of Solomon over 215 years earlier.

2 Chronicles 31:6 tithe. Since the priests and Levites served the nation, they were to be supported by the people through the taxation of the tithe. According to Leviticus 27:30 30 And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is Jehovah's: it is holy unto Jehovah. –33 and Numbers 18:21 21 And unto the children of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they serve, even the service of the tent of meeting. , 24, the people were to give the tenth (tithe) to supply all the needs of the Levites. Malachi 3:8 8 Will a man rob God? yet ye rob me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. says they were robbing God when they did not give the tithe. Deuteronomy 12:6 6 and thither ye shall bring your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and the heave-offering of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill-offerings, and the firstlings of your herd and of your flock: , 7 called for a second tithe that was to support the nation’s devotion to the temple by being used for the national festivals at the temple in Jerusalem. This was called the festival tithe. Deuteronomy 14:28 28 At the end of every three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase in the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates: , 29 called for a third tithe every 3 years for the poor. The sum of this tax plan totaled about 23 percent annually.

Acts 20:3 3 And when he had spent three months `there,' and a plot was laid against him by Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he determined to return through Macedonia. three months. Most or all of it were likely spent in Corinth. Jews plotted against him. Tragically, most of the opposition to Paul’s ministry stemmed from his fellow countrymen (2 Cor. 11:26). The Jewish community of Corinth hated Paul because of its humiliating debacle before Gallio (18:12–17), and the stunning conversions of two of its most prominent leaders, Crispus (18:8) and Sosthenes (18:17; 1 Cor. 1:1). Luke does not record the details of the Jews’ plot, but it undoubtedly involved murdering Paul during the voyage to Palestine. The apostle would have been an easy target on a small ship packed with Jewish pilgrims. Because of that danger, Paul canceled his plans to sail from Greece to Syria. Instead, he decided to go north into Macedonia, cross the Aegean Sea to Asia Minor, and catch another ship from there. That delay cost Paul his opportunity to reach Palestine in time for Passover, but he hurried to be there in time for Pentecost (v. 16).

Acts 20:9 9 And there sat in the window a certain young man named Eutychus, borne down with deep sleep; and as Paul discoursed yet longer, being borne down by his sleep he fell down from the third story, and was taken up dead. young man. The Greek word suggests he was between 7 and 14 years old. His youth, the fumes from the lamps, and the lateness of the hour (v. 7) gradually overcame his resistance. He dozed off, fell out of the open window, and was killed.

Acts 20:10 10 And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Make ye no ado; for his life is in him. his life is in him. This does not mean that he had not died, but that his life had been restored. As a physician, Luke knew whether someone had died, as he plainly states (v. 9) was the case with Eutychus.

DAY 17: Why did the church gather to worship on Sunday?

“Now on the first day of the week” ( Acts 20:7 7 And upon the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul discoursed with them, intending to depart on the morrow; and prolonged his speech until midnight. ). Sunday was the day the church gathered for worship, because it was the day of Christ’s resurrection (Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:2 2 And very early on the first day of the week, they come to the tomb when the sun was risen. , 9; Luke 24:1 Chapter 24 1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came unto the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared. ; John 20:1 Chapter 20 1 Now on the first `day' of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, while it was yet dark, unto the tomb, and seeth the stone taken away from the tomb. , 19; 1 Cor. 16:2). The writings of the early church fathers confirm that the church continued to meet on Sunday after the close of the New Testament period. Scripture does not require Christians to observe the Saturday Sabbath:

1. The Sabbath was the sign of the Mosaic Covenant (Ex. 31:16, 17; Neh. 9:14; Ezek. 20:12), whereas Christians are under the New Covenant (2 Cor. 3; Heb. 8);2. there is no New Testament command to keep the Sabbath;3. the first command to keep the Sabbath was not until the time of Moses (Ex. 20:8);4. the Jerusalem Council (chap. 15) did not order Gentile believers to keep the Sabbath;5. Paul never cautioned Christians about breaking the Sabbath; and6. the New Testament explicitly teaches that Sabbath keeping was not a requirement (Rom. 14:5; Gal. 4:10, 11; Col. 2:16, 17).

From The MacArthur Daily Bible Copyright © 2003. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson Bibles, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc, Nashville, TN 37214, www.thomasnelson.com.

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